Happy Hump Day!

Since I didn't post last week, today I'll give you a 2fer :)

I love finding "art" on the ground. This isn't the best example, but it's the most recent. Can't remember where this snap was taken, though.


My good friends Mark & Carol have had a clock like this for a long time. I've wanted one ever since I first heard theirs. I finally bought one for myself for my most recent birthday. The particular hour is marked by one of 12 birdsongs. The only one I can ever remember is the 8 o'clock eastern bluebird (of happiness!), but it makes me smile no matter what the hour is that I hear.

I spy with my little eye...something...red

Can't you see the gleam of happiness in all of their eyes... the believers & semi-believers & know betters alike.

St Nicholas night/day pics (Dec 5/6 for the uninitiated)

it's a wonderful night for a moondance

My bestest moon picture yet. Taken with my slightly fancier camera. Of course it helps when Mother Nature gives me a prime opportunity: the moon at it's brightest for the year & a super clear sky

nom nom nom

or: what we did on Friday last. Also starring Lib's bestest, inseparable friend

lmao but...

sad state of affairs. Found while Stumbling (my current addiction)

guess who I saw today?

We finished up some xmas shopping at Toys R Us today. I saw this tall, handsome, young man with a baby face who looked familiar, but for the life of me, I could not place his face. Dressed kind of neat casual with a beanie covering his head all the way to just above his eyes. As we were leaving, we drove past this same man who was putting his purchases into his car. Hmmmm. Nice car. A logo I had never seen before -Maybach- but noticed the Mercedes-Benz name on the car. Slowly, my mind put 2 & 2 & 2 together. Doh! It was none other than our beloved Melo!. Sweet ride. No wonder I've never seen it before. Not many people driving a car that costs more than my house. But good to know he can shop at a "normal" store without being hounded for pics & autographs.

sistahs up in the ho ho ho hizzouse (amended 12.21.08)

all they want for Christmas is:
DD1 Money
**DD2 new shoes (AKA Vans**)(ala A Christmas Story: "a football?!?!?!...I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!")('cuz what she really wants is a Nano, but she says it's "too expensive for Santa")
DD3 american girl doll
DD4 Nintendo DS AND gameboy AND a new puppy


**found out today that it's high tops, not Vans. lol! OMG what goes around comes around, no? I think she's eyeballing the Sketchers version & not the Nike version that Nikki prefers. And today she actually said something to the effect of "look at these pretty colors" as she held up a packet of purple & pink DS styluses (is that plural? is it, "styli"?). She's a'changing alright. She has abhorred those colors for as long as she's been able to tell me so. And now? They're "pretty". Oh & her Mii's name is "Mz. Jonas". Go figure.

3.5 hours

until xmas break!! yay! I'm just as excited as the girls are; I MISS them when they're at school.
We have things to do, places to go. Mountains to ride. (aaaaaah, I can't wait!!! Squeeeeee!!) Squee! My brain makes endorphins just thinking about it. Remember I said I'd rather snowboard than anything. ANYTHING. (Rock climbing takes a very near second.) I would forsake food, alcohol, sex for snowboarding. Yes, I would. And finally, the wait is over. It's been tooooooo toooooo long since I've been on a mountain. I'm ashamed to even say how long it's been. But what can ya do with small children afoot? Yeah, there are "daycares" at the resorts, but the horror stories I've heard have caused me to not go that route. And now, everyone is of an age that they can take part in snow sports. Yay!

Happy Hump Day!

More of my favorite things:

Penny pony rides at the grocery store & my kids are still young enough to be bribed to behave with that after shopping treat.

living vicariously

through an Iraqi journalist. You know you were. I was too. It was one of those "oh sh*t" moments where you're choking on your coffee as you watch the morning news. This leads immediately to an "oh no he didn't" thought and then "omg, that is too effing funny!" all in the span of seconds. And then the man launches ANOTHER shoe! It's something we've all been wanting to do for the past, oh, 6 years or so. In my fantasy, however, it wouldn't have been a man's size 10 loafer. It would have been my size 7 1/2 steel toe Docs. After the most recent "apology" and the smarmy excuses complete with finger pointing at that impersonal -and inaccurate (omg, really? who knew?)- "intelligence report", I have lost ALL respect for Dubya. Well, I suppose I lost 99% of my respect for him when he started this war. In the last couple days, he has dropped into the negative. I mean, really. Here he is with a month or so officially left in office, and he has the balls to say (insert Texas drawl), "Oops, guess I had it all wrong. But hey, it ain't my fault...it was that darned, pesky intelligence report ." We ought to all be throwing shoes (or tomatoes!) at our, ahem, nearly former president.

Is it too late to impeach him? If squandering US money & lives on a futile and senseless war just to take care of a little unfinished business his daddy left behind isn't a high crime, I don't know what is. And lower gas prices for his last 2 months in office will not make me forget nor forgive his transgressions.

hunh?

Lib asks this morning, "Mom, when you die, do you have to get dressed real quick?"

and Maddie had her first experience with freezing hair this morning after her shower.

and the Honda won't start. Darn that arctic chill. Technically, 5 hours for the temps to warm up & get the car going...or it's going to be a super chilly 2 mile walk to & back from the girls' school.

and 3 or 4 avalanches...folks, 40 degree temps and then freezing temps & a pile of snow = avalanche perfection...be careful out there!

love/hate

I love how Colorado's weather is so...so...unpredictable. 19 degrees to 58 in 6 hours. Then down to 0 the next day. And more snow. Well, good. Cold weather without snow is just not reasonable. If it's going to be cold, there must be snow to compensate. Otherwise, no deal. Got that, powers that be?

I hate all the little bugs that go around this time of year. Fi was feeling icky all day Friday but wasn't physically ill until that night and Saturday morning. So she had to miss the birthday party of one of her buds from school last year. I missed going out for a GNO/birthday celebration myself. Sad. Lib had a fever last night & an upset tummy this morning. She's sleeping now, poor thing. From the symptoms, I think it's probably something entirely different from what Fi had. G & I will be missing our third "date" this year. Sad, but what can you do? Hey, well at least the Steelers are on t.v. today...I think...I hope.

Scratch that. The donkeys are playing at the same time, so the Steelers will not be shown here.

whew...and don't cross your fingers

Maddie has told me several times why crossing your fingers is actually bad luck -or rather for wishing something to NOT happen- but for the life of me I can't remember why. Anyhoo. She finished her essay for her middle school application and we turned in all the paperwork. She had the option of either writing an essay or creating an art project. Surprisingly, she chose the essay. Well, it probably shouldn't be surprising, considering her CSAP scores in writing. Nevertheless, she had a choice of 3 topics about which to write. She chose to write about a concern or interest in the world today and how she would like to affect that concern, if she could. She made a list of about five topics ranging from AIDS to war to homelessness, etc. She narrowed it down to those top three and made a list of what she knew about each. Finally she narrowed her topic to war -in Darfur, to be exact. We watched a bunch of documentaries and she checked out some websites. And she wrote her essay. What an overwhelming topic for a 10 year old. She was so involved that she couldn't eat because of the guilt she felt for having the privilege to eat. This research has only strengthened her (current) desire to go into medicine so that she can volunteer with Doctors Without Borders. Mad had quite a few fund raising ideas and is going to write letters to politicians.

Let's hope her hard work pays off for her middle school acceptance (interview will be in January). And lets see how we can help keep this initial fire burning for her political involvement. I mean, she is the kid who really wanted the "Most Likely to Change the World" t-shirt at Forever 21, but opted out of it because she didn't want people to think that she was "bragging".

the moon, jupiter, venus trio last week

not fabulous, but not too too shabby from my not fancy camera.

Happy Hump Day!

My laughing Buddha fountain. Rub the belly & smile. The effect is better in person. The little spin-y thing in the center makes this quiet "click clack" kind of noise & of course there's the water sound. It was a bday gift last year (oops! Forgot about that when I got the Electra this Spring after complaining that I didn't get a bday present. Sorry G! But thank you! Thank you! And Thank you!)(I'll say it again...Thank You!)

so busted...

but too cute! Ever have one of those moments (you know you have) when your kids are supposed to be doing something (like getting ready for bed) & all of a sudden you realize that they're being especially quiet but for the scattered giggles? This is what happened at our house last night...

1st spelling test

 

yikes

or: say it isn't so, say it isn't so

Only 3 puppies left. I'm thinking Lib might be a little upset. I'm thinking we need a puppy!

Maddie found out about Bratz being taken off the shelf. She was immediately incredulous: "What?! I can't believe it! I like Bratz!" This was followed by harsh criticism: "How stupid! I bet that guy didn't know how many people he'd be hurting by this happening! Now we'll only have stupid Barbies. I hate Mattel. I hate Mattel. I hate Mattel. Mom! We should protest. We should boycott Mattel!". Next came a plan: "Mom! We should go out tomorrow & buy Bratz. Lots of them. We'll sell them after they're gone! Yes! When can we go, mom? Tomorrow? When? I'm going downstairs right now to gather up all the Bratz so I can keep them safe." And then the next day: "When are we going, mom?" every 30 minutes or so. I swear. We ended up not going because I was so annoyed by the end of the day. I'm sure she'll be all over it again after school....

uuuuh-huuuuh

I love this article from Slate's XX Factor

I have to admit, I hated Bratz when they first came on the toy store scene. They were trampy & freaky (the foot/shoe thing) & surely "bad" for my kids. I can, with utmost confidence, say that NONE of my daughters has been led to dress promiscuously or to think less of themselves & the female gender, in particular. It's fiction, and don't they know it. Fashion dolls are merely practice in fine motor skills & social interaction.

Lol, wouldn't my former women's studies profs be a tad worried to read this from me!? I have my very own experiment running on a daily basis, ya know. I've got research to back up my claims. Well, I suppose only time will tell. It could very well be that one day in the far future one of my DD's will be confessing to a therapist somewhere how all her problems stem from being allowed to play with Bratz. I know I blame Barbie for my own shoe obssession: She always had matching shoes with every outfit...and now, so do I (or at least I'm working on it -just ask G, or observe that my closet can no longer contain my footwear.)

Sigh. I just had a thought. A sad thought. All those shoes that I had to donate because they no longer fit after Lib was born. Sigh. They were all so fabulous. Well then, that rationalizes for me the need to further replenish my collection. ;););)

Really???

I might need to do a bit more research on this, but from what I hear, the dude who created Bratz was working for Mattel when he thought of the idea, quit Mattel & sold his idea to MGA. So Mattel "owned" his concept because he was working for them when he thought of it? Hmmmm. Mattel's just sour grapes because Bratz have been taking away some of the market. My beef is that Bratz are NOTHING like Barbie. Nothing. Barbie is "classic"; Bratz is, well, "street smart", to put it euphemistically. Bratz have big removable, interchangeable feet/shoes; Barbie's shoes are teeny tiny & constantly lost. Bratz look like Alien girls; Barbie looks like a fashion model. They're so dissimilar.

Now then, Mattel did come out with the "My Scene" dolls AFTER Bratz were on the market. Did Mattel steal THAT look from MGA? Or did the Bratz creator steal that idea from Mattel, change the doll (alot!) and beat Mattel to the punch?

And what about all the other "fashion dolls" on the market? You know, the cheap knock-offs or the Hannah Montana dolls, etc.? I just don't get it. My kids play with both Bratz & Barbie and would never consider them to be similar. They can't even share clothes because they are different sizes. They have NEVER requested a My Scene doll. Never. Bizarre, huh? Maybe that's Mattel's point, that My Scene doesn't sell because Bratz looks similar but much cooler? I know I prefer Bratz because, though the interchangeable feet thing is a bit macabre, those feet don't get lost -unlike Barbie's shoes that have never stayed on properly & are constantly lost. Heck, half the time Barbie is shoeless because those teeny tiny shoes are a pain in the butt. It's a flaw that Mattel has never improved on, ever since I was a little myself.

Check out the article from the Chicago Tribune here

Opinions, anyone?

who are these little kids??!!??

I found these on my other camera from last year July 4th. I guess since I bought the pocket-sized camera, the full-sized hasn't gotten much play. Have to change that since the lens is stronger & it's a tad less automatic.

Remember when Mad had long hair??

Trendsetter Mad donated her hair to locks of love; her neighbor girlfriend emulated the haircut the following week.



















They all look so much younger than now.

Mad's lost 3 teeth & grown 1 inch this past month. I think she has one baby tooth left. She's hanging onto it for fear of looking like a "jack o'lantern": two gaping holes on either side of her mouth just back from her incisors...it's bad enough with just 3 holes now. Even though the adult tooth is already through the gum up above the last tooth, she refuses to wiggle it at all. This from the girl who would force her teeth out far before their prime.

Actually, they've each grown an inch this past month. Fi is patiently awaiting her own teeth to want to vacate: "Look! My tooth is wiggly!". Really it's not so very, but we humor her.

c ya later sinners!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

sometimes insomnia has benefits

One of my all time favorite movies. Chick flick, but not in the usual manner. The dialogue is incredibly fun; witty but not annoying like "Juno". I love that the boarding house scenes are rife with actual dialogued ad-libs from the actresses themselves -way impressive! (as opposed to the contrived teenage hipsterspeak in "Juno".) The costuming is incredible for a period study. A young Lucille Ball AND Katherine Hepburn AND Ginger Rogers AND Ann Miller. Freaking awesome for 1937!


This was a very interesting flick. Pretty typical for Brad Pitt; hot as ever -also typical. I'm not a huge Casey Affleck fan, but this was a darn good performance; right up there with "Gone Baby Gone". The storyline was intriguing, never boring even though it was slow. What really impressed me was the cinematography -beautiful- & the score -haunting. You should check it out just for that.



I first saw this advertised on the side of a bus in London. That was 3 years ago. I put it off because of the reviews I heard. Thought I'd give it a whirl last night. Well, it wasn't stellar, but it wasn't actually horrible either. I think the premise is quite original -or at least I can't think of a similar storyline off the top of my sleepy head. I wouldn't have walked out of the theatre had I paid for it. Mmmm, but I am glad I waited to see it for "free" OnDemand.


This was my late last night (early morning) viewing. Whew. I would call this a thriller for chicks. It was even painful for me to watch -or rather imagine- at times. Not bad for a low budget flick. If you've got nothing to do, or there's nothing on the tube, or you suffer from insomnia, check it out. I don't wish I had those 90 minutes back, so there. It kinda reminded me of "Boxing Helena". Then again, I haven't seen that since the 80's; may have to revisit it for clarification.

ugh

Well, I estimate about 20 hours sleep since Saturday. It feels like finals week. I'm almost to the point of sheer exhaustion (cliche, I know, but it works & I'm too tired to think of anything witty). I'm not quite 'seeing things'.

Then I picked up whatever illness the girls all had earlier in the week. They're all fine; I, however, -with the lack of sleep- find my body succumbing to further ick. Like, what was a head cold is now a chest cold. And I woke up (did I really sleep?) this morning with no vocal ability. Not a problem with the littles. However getting the 'tween to buy into the whisper of authority was not easy. I had to resort to taking the phone away through the weekend: Horror of horrors!

How very ironic that when I was younger I thought that laryngitis was, like, the coolest ailment to show up with at school. Now I'm not so sure. I have things to do, people to see, places to go. I feel like I should carry around a notebook & pen like my kids do, except I won't be drawing; I'll be conversing. Gah. And do I really dare to drive anywhere except to those places that are absolutely necessary? Considering the road conditions today, I think not.

What to do? What to do? Where's my mom when I need her? Oh yeah, I am the mom. No rest for the wicked.

whatchootalkin'boutWillis?

 

whatchootalkin'boutWillis?

 

Happy Hump Day!

these are a few of my favorite things...I'll post one a week...things that make me happy. It really doesn't take much; this is what will always bring a smile to my face, no matter what mood....





I don't necessarily like this old tree in our backyard (I prefer broad leaf trees like maples, lindens, aspens), but I love the color of the sky in Colorado...