Tri Beta

Beta Beta Beta! 

Say it with me..

Beta Beta Beta! 

Yeppers!

She is now a member of the honors Biology society at her university.

Freshmen year.

She was inducted last night.

We could not be more proud.

Way to go Squirrel.

Love you honey and miss you so much.

<3 Mom and Dad

Please...Give Me Sumthin' and You Win a Prize!

This is a pretty basket, right?

It is one of those Longabergers I was talking about the other day.

It has both the plastic and cloth liners inside the basket.

This baby rocks!

 Yeah. But, still....it has TEN sections....

And I ask myself....

What to do, what to do?

It is about 1.5 ft x 1 ft.

[Read: HUGE in the "Storage Land of Life"]

Each section holds about 3 cups of sumthin'.

And it is the sumthin' I am having a problem with because this is the one basket I am not selling or gifting - but I want to DO sumthin' with it.

There's a theme here gang. 
Try to deal with it.
 Or, please, just tolerate me. 
Either works. 
::wink::

Do I serve food in it? Do I store stuff in it?  What?

Ideas.
Please.
Ideas would be good.
Great even.

So ... Tadpoles - I need your best idea of what to do with this dang thing.

Please comment with what you think would be the greatest purpose of this useless wonderful heirloom piece.

The person with the suggestion that works the best for us will win their own Longaberger basket from my stash.

This isn't a comment and random pick entry - you have to be creative and come up with SUMTHIN'. Bonus points if you make us laugh. :)

Knock my socks off Tadpoles.
I need the ingenuity that y'all give me everyday - you can solve this.

*One suggestion per person.

Who Knew It Only Took Law and Order: SVU to Parent Your Child?

Evidently not I.

A bit of history if you will indulge me.
[Please do, otherwise you will be walking down a blind alley. hee]

Our little collegiate who wanted to venture to Oklahoma for an internship has now changed her mind and decided that perhaps an internship in Pennsylvania will be better. [And before anyone - NMM - accuses me of trying to change her mind, I did not. She realized OK was a bit far for even her.]

Soooo - University of Penn comes up and she informs us that she will be attending this internship and will be taking the Greyhound bus to get there and back.

Excuse me?  Did you say you were taking the Greyhound young lady?  ::finger in the ear wiggling::

Uh, no.

Tadpoles if you read that link or, well...if you have EVER been on a freakin' Greyhound bus you realize why we told her no. Nope. Uh-uh and pretty much absolutely not, over-my-dead-body-there-will-be-no-discussion-missy. End.of.story.

We told her we would happily drive her to Pennsylvania or buy her a ticket on a plane, but the bus was not an option.  Mom's been there, done that and nearly lost her t-shirt. NO.

She threw the "I am 18 years old and can do what I want card" at us.

Then her Noni [Grandmother] tossed in her two cents and those pennies hit the wall [and stuck] with a resounding "NO."

Still - Squirrel held fast and firm.

Until today.

Thank goodness she has a crush on this man:

Chrisopher Meloni
aka: Detective Elliot Stabler
Law & Order: SVU
Courtesy of the Busy Bee

As my daughter watches the show religiously she did so today and the 4:00 episode resulted in this phone call [and yes, since I am a fan too, I was watching it ]:

::ring ring::

Mom:  "Hello honey."

Squirrel:  "OMG MOM I AM NEVER RIDING GREYHOUND. EVER. EVER. EVER."

Mom:  ::laughing:: "Wait. What. Are you watching SVU because I just saw that scene too."

[Then the heavens parted, the angels sang and I thanked the gods of cable because she said:]

Squirrel:  "Yes Mom. OMG - the PEDOPHILE got on the bus after being released from prison and he sat with the little girl that was Wallene's age! MOM, MOM, MOM! MOMMMMMMMMM!"

Mom: [trying not to sound too happy] "Oh, okay.  We'll take you to Pennsylvania. No worries."

Squirrel: ::sigh of relief::  "Thanks Mom."

SVU = 1 Greyhound = 0

Thank you Detective Stabler.

[I am still giggling. YAY!]

I Am Not Blogging Today Nah-Nah!

Because the ever wonderful Slightly Cranky Waitress has given me a guest spot on her fabulous blog.

Go visit - she is one of my oldest/youngest* Tadpoles and a great read.

Pooldad and I are off to look at [yet] more houses.

Wish us luck and have a great Saturday gang!



*been reading eachother for years/she is a young'un :)

Can You Please Stop Dying and/or Downsizing?

'Cause my house is running out of room.

I am not a hoarder, but lately I am starting to feel as tho' I am.  Everytime I manage to purge a full house of stuff someone else passes away or decides to move and give all their stuff to us.

The past 8 years have gone like this:

My father passed away in 2003 and we were gifted with a shed full of tools, golf clubs, golf balls and various knick knacks. All of this has come in handy and we use them.

My mother moved in 2004 and we were blessed with furniture, pictures, kitchen ware and more knick knacks.  

Okay, THAT was a lot of stuff.

We were granted a breather for a few years. 

We found time to organize, donate, sell and gift the stuff we were given.

It was nice. 

For a while.

Then my beloved in laws downsized in the summer of 2010 and the mother load showed up at our house.  It took us six weeks to find a place for all of it. It was insane, but these are my husband's childhood memories so they stay.

One month later my Mom was gone and my sister scared me when she sent me a list of everything we were supposed to retrieve from Mom's South Carolina home.

Don't get me wrong - the stuff is nice. Really nice.  But they aren't my collections and most of it doesn't hold much sentimental value to me.  Am I awful for being that way?  These are things that she collected later in life that I wasn't really around - so I can't point at it and say "Remember when......."

 

I know I could keep it for the kids and some people have suggested it, but they have no attachment to the stuff either.  And I don't want to have to keep moving all of it or storing it until the kids are settled.

Sounds like ebay and Craigslist are in my future.

Longaberger anyone?

Questions, questions, questions

Okay, I have 3.

First, can anyone explain how in the span of a mere 3 hours, while I was napping, I went from 83 followers to 121 followers?  Tadpoles, you guys know me - I don't really pay attention to numbers or followers or blog hits - I don't bribe people to follow me or come around - and it's not that I don't love you all, but I write this blog for our family and to keep in touch with you guys.

So a jump like that has me scratching my head.  Was there some kind of tour bus that stopped by here yesterday I don't know about? Some school field trip that I didn't get the memo to?

I wouldn't have even noticed that it passed 100, but Pooldad has been teasing me that I would hit 100 before June.  I just shook my head. Nuh-uh, wasn't happening.  I have no idea where 38 new Tadpoles came from in such a short period of time.  Thrilled, of course, but just a little perplexed. [And no, I am not a "blog of note" thank goodness.]  Anyway - welcome to everyone and thanks for hanging out in the pond with us.

Second, what is it with portion size?  Here's my problem.  Pooldad bought 72 oz of chicken quarters the other day [legs/thighs]. Once we cut them up we had 8 pieces weighing in a 9 oz. each.  It looked like I was frying ostrich parts - they were huge.  A healthy serving of protein is 6 oz. so if the family was to eat their average of two pieces they would be eating the equivalent 3 servings each!  We were all pretty much full after one monster piece, but if you normally eat 2 pieces, as most us do [I mean, it IS fried chicken], is it any wonder weight gain is a problem in this country?  Where are these mutant chickens coming from and why do they have to breed them so large? Really makes me wish we could raise our own.

Finally, let's talk about perplexing.  As in, Chris Brown does not make sense to me.  If you don't know who he is - he is a 21 year old singer who was arrested for beating his girlfriend, Rhianna, a few years back. And when I say he beat her, he really beat her. Restraining order type beating.  Well, he was on "Good Morning America" yesterday and he didn't like the interviewer's questions regarding his ex-girlfriend. He kept insisting he was just there to promote his new album.  Okay, fair - I can respect that and he wasn't rude to the host and he did perform.  It was when the show was over and he went into his dressing room that he let his true colors show. He picked up a chair and broke out a plate glass window, showering the sidewalk and pedestrians below with broken glass.  Class act, eh?  What I want to know is what do people see in him?  Why is this type of mentality accepted and even applauded?  He keeps getting record deals and tours and people are buying his albums.  It is just like Charlie Sheen - who got away with beating and threatening his wife, but kept his [$2 million per episode] job until he went way over the edge.  I think someone needs to step up and get the young man some help because obviously the court ordered anger management classes didn't take.

How's that for being all over the place this morning?  Just some things that were on my mind and I thought you guys might want to share your thoughts.

Happy Hump day gang. Let's make it the best one we can. :)

Wowser - 60 Is Looking Great....

....on Kirstie Alley.

I was absolutely stunned to discover, while watching "Dancing With the Stars", that Ms. Alley is 60 years old.

I do realize that there is make up and a stylist involved, but c'mon.
We should all look this good at 60!
I couldn't believe her birthday was really January 12, 1951.

I have always enjoyed her work - she was great on "Cheers"  and although the pool is a little shallow this season on DWTS - I will continue to watch to cheer on her and Ralph M. [The real "Karate Kid"].

Yes, yes...I know. It's DWTS!

But, in my defense, I have very few guilty pleasures and our family loves watching this show.

Think of it as a bonding moment. :D

Have a fabulous Tuesday Tadpoles.

When Lightening Strikes

The bus stop does not become a viable option.

We had a wicked thunder storm this morning, right around the time that Wallene had to walk to the bus stop to catch a ride to school.

I had a few problems with this because - 1. The bus stop is three blocks away.  2. We only have one car and Pooldad had it at work so I couldn't drive her. 3. This was a horrendous storm with a lot of lightening and torrential rain. 4. We live in a tree filled neighborhood and her bus stop is right beside a huge electrical box [think metal], both conductors for lightening.  

Not to mention an umbrella is not an option. Metal tip anyone?

So, like any good mother, I let made her stay home. :)

Bonus!  YAY! Three day weekend!

Except - I had to call the school and give them an excuse for her absence.  After the Super Bowl debacle - I just  decided to tell them she was "under the weather."

That's not a lie, right? heehee

Have a good one Tadpoles.  See ya' on the flipside.

Angelina Jolie Lips

I haz them this morning.

Anyone who has ever met me or seen a picture of me [look at my side bar] will notice I do not have amazing lips. In fact, I have very, very thin lips.  My whole life people have commented on how thin my lips are.

No biggie.  Lipstick helps if I care to accentuate them - to tell you the truth I hardly ever thought about them.

Until this morning.

Seems I had an allergic reaction to something last night* and woke up with hives and really, super fat lips.  Angelina** with an extra dose of botox thrown in fat lips.  I have to tell you Tadpoles - I am seriously questioning how people who have big, voluptuous, pouty lips function.  I sound funny [like that guy in "Fat Albert"], I can't drink out of a cup and I am using a straw.  My lips are so swollen they are near about touching the tip of my nose.

[and no, you may not have a picture heehee]

They don't hurt. They just look weird and are kind of in the way.

Wouldn't it be nice if something had to swell it could've been my boobies instead?

*As close as we can figure the only thing I ate yesterday that I haven't eaten in almost a year is margarine.  I always have unsalted butter on my food but I had margarine, cheese and noodles for lunch and toast with margarine for dinner.  Everything else I had I eat all the time.  Have you ever heard of an allergic reaction to margarine?  Me either.

** I do think Ms. Pitt is a lovely woman and I am not making fun of people that are lippedly endowed.  And yes, I made up the word "lippedly".  Spellcheck hates me.

PS: I almost forgot! HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! Be safe and have fun.

Have a great one gang!  I am off to find some Benadryl. :)

No Bail Money Neccessary

Seems I am not going to spend my future in an Aussie jail. hee

Look what arrived at Mynx house today - Whisker Lickens' and Altoids.

So happy!

Little tired this week Tadpoles - so I hope you are well and having a great week.

See ya' on the flipside. :)

Just Gotta' Laugh

Courtesy of the fabulous Mr. Bill Waterson

Love, Laughter and my Family.

It's what gets me out of bed in the morning.

Why do you get up?

Could You Be More Arbitrary?

Things that struck my fancy this past week:

• We were issued flood warnings a week ago - one for 8:21 pm the next evening and then it was updated to 8:24 pm an hour later.  Does 3 minutes really make a difference?  And is anyone really sure the floods aren't going to hit at 8:30 pm? Or perhaps 8:34?  Where do they get the numbers?
• The toilet paper that we bought this week happily announces [on it's wrapper] that is has a whole 193 sheets per roll.  Where did that number come from and why do I feel the need to actually count them? heehee

Random comment from Pooldad :  "Did you know that "Inside the NFL" is the longest running cable show?"

That's nice honey. Okay.

And in another installment of "Boys and Their Toys" - Pooldad has a new leaf blower.  Although we have a band festival to be to in an hour my cutie is outside blowing the heck out of our driveway and miniscule flower beds.  There is nothing to blow dude.  Get in here and take a shower.

Finally - Who decided the show "Teen Moms" was a good idea?  I almost don't miss not having cable.

Have a great Saturday Tadpoles.

IT'S A BANNER DAY!

The US FDA has approved Benlysta for the treatment of Lupus.
It is the first new treatment in 56 years.

I am so happy for all my friends and "cohorts in crime" :) that this may help.  The studies look promising, so hopefully....

The only sad part of the trial [link here] is that it doesn't seem to have an effect on certain Lupus sufferers, so the company has agreed to work harder to make a derivation of this drug to help them too. My fingers are crossed and my prayers are with them that this gets fixed.

My Patience is NOT Thick.....

.... and.it is wearing very thin right now.

I don't mean to complain - honest - my view is spectacular.  Either out the window or across the table where Pooldad sits :) - but honest to goodness I am going to scream if someone doesn't start telling me the truth.

This whole "settlling of Mom's estate" is driving me bonkers.  I can't get a straight answer and at every turn it one misstatement after another. [Misstatement is being kind.]

I just want to go home.

I never thought I would say this, but I miss Virginia.

No worries - we will get it done and be on the road soon.  It is just one more little bump in the speedway of life.

But if one more person cranks me up I am going to make Sandra's wish come true and call them a "douchecanoe."

....And the View Ain't Too Bad Either

Here is what I am looking at right now from my perch in my Mom's kitchen.

Then when I walk out on her back porch I see this:

And this:

The view is simply gorgeous.  

It overlooks the ninth green of the community's golf course.

We made it to South Carolina in one piece - but it was a dang long trip.  What should've been 7 hours took almost 10 because Pooldad had to drive through torrential rain almost the entire trip.  When we arrived we were surprised by my lovely sister who had brought us Cracker Barrel.  Yum!

Then we fell [literally] into bed and slept.

Today is going to be a big day - so much to do, but it is a great day to do it.
Hope you all are having a great start to your week!

That's Why I Am the Cool Mom

Don't ask me why - but I just spent the last 3 hours before bedtime [for Wallene] teaching my thirteen year old daughter how to sign my name.

I think the words "forge" and "illegal" were bandied about, although I am not quite sure.

It was a blur of pens.

heehee

Happy Birthday to My Baby

I made you a cupcake - with a candle -

I sang you "Happy Birthday" because today is your 23rd birthday.

I miss you Natalie.
Yesterday.
Today.
And surely I will miss you tomorrow.

Happy Birthday baby. I love you.

If You Are Going to Point Out "Careless Errors".....

...as my child's teacher, please make sure not to make me giggle over one of your own.

Wallene received her interim today.  For English she is holding a steady "B".  Good [we're happy], but Wallene is a good student and her teacher knows she could probably do better - so he added this little tidbit:

"Wallene has been making more and more careless errors as the quarter as unfolded." [Yes, that should read "has".]

I love you Mr. B - I do and so does Wallene, but.......um...thanks?

Vacation Starts in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5.......

4 Hours!

Woooohoooo!

Well, for Pooldad.
I am on a perpetual vacation. heehee

We didn't get a vacation last summer because Pooldad took off so much time when I was in the hospital he didn't think it was fair to his co workers to take off more time to "just relax".  Yep, he is a good guy like that - so he ended up with a week that he had to take before the end of March of this year. [Their vacation/sick leave schedule runs April to April.]

How fortuitous as Squirrel has next week off from college and we are picking her up tomorrow [squeeeee!] and I will spend Saturday relaxing [recovering] from that trip because Sunday we are off to:

Myrtle Beach, SC

YAY!  Sort of.  It is a little bitter sweet because we are going down to help LA! finish with my Mom's estate and see Mom's home one more time.  Okay - that will be a little hard, but....but!

Here are the bonuses to the trip:

• 11 days with my husband [11 days?  That thud you heard was me fainting from my good fortune. hee]
• Squirrel is with us for 11 days!
• Wallene will be off a whole week from school with us
• It has to be warmer in SC - it just has to be - it better be
• I get to see my sister - for days! [She does have to work - boo! - but nights are good.]
• I get to meet Bouncin' Barb and her boyfriend Bruce and deliver Champagne. YAY!

It's the awesomeness!  Isn't it?

We have a couple of logistical problems to work out - like how to move all the furniture back to VA and where to put the bazillion boxes my sister just told me we have to bring back [can the dogs ride on the roof?] and the trip is the longest one I have taken in years, so I am a little worried how I am going to hold up, but...

I'll figure it out - it's all good. :)

[Oh, I just realized I have to pack. Yuck.  I'll do that Saturday.]

Have a great one Tadpoles.  Make it the best day you can!

Australia's Most Wanted

Why yes, this is my driver's license picture.
Closest I could come to a mug shot.
Did good, didn't I?

Stop laughing now. Stop.  If you don't stop I am not going to tell you why I am going to jail.

Are you done?  Good.

I blame Mynx.  Mynx of the "We don't have graham crackers or Altoids in Australia" fame.

Sigh.  No, really I don't blame Mynx - she is too sweet and I wanted to send along some goodies to her in Australia because she is such a good friend and so entertaining in the middle of the night when I can't sleep.  She makes me laugh and keeps my mind focused on the fun!

Now to tell this story Mynx needs to stop reading now - and you guys aren't allowed to tell her.  So Mynxie you go away - I don't want to spoil your surprise.

During our early morning chats [my time] we talk about all manner of things and I discovered that Australians don't have graham crackers.  They may have something similar but it seems they don't have the golden goodness that is Nabisco which we have in the states.   They also [by virtue of not having graham crackers] don't have those neat-o ready made pie graham cracker crusts that we use for Key Lime Pie or Strawberry pie here in Skippyland.

So, in my oh' so infinite wisdom I thought what fun it would be to pack a box of some crackers, some crusts and the makings for a key lime pie. I put in the crusts, a bottle of lime juice and two cans of sweetened condensed milk.  All that Mynx has to do is add eggs and viola' she has a pie.

Little did I know.

Australia is a hard country to send to.  I read the restrictions and after my eyes started to bleed, I gave up and just packed the box.  Carefully.  Nothing is going to leak or break - but....

I gave the box to Pooldad to mail at our US Post Office.  He didn't see me pack the box but I tried to explain what was in it and that he had to declare EVERYTHING so the Post Office would know.

Do you want to know what my lovely husband put on the declaration slip?

The following:

• Graham crackers
• Mint candy
• Recipe cards*
• Tissue paper [there is one piece of this. I used bubble wrap and newspaper. argh]*

Okey dokey.  The box weighs SEVEN pounds. SEVEN pounds!

Yeah. I know.  Those recipe cards and [one piece of] tissue paper are hefty little b*tches.  

Then I went back and re- read the things you are not allowed to send to Australia and seems I missed this little tidbit:

"Any product containing more then 10%  milk."

Any guesses on what two cans of sweetened condensed milk contain?  Eek!

It gets better tho'.  I had also included something for Mynx's American bob cat living in Australia and as I read further it said:

"Any pet food product...blah, blah,blah."  And just about then my head exploded.

I am in trouble.  They are serious about this stuff - and if you lie on a manifest you face jail time and a fine. 

Since the box is so weighty and the declaration clearly states light weight stuff this package is in for a thorough search.

Here's hoping the Australian postal inspectors think that graham crackers and mint candies are REALLY heavy. [::please don't x-ray it , please don't x-ray it::]

Otherwise I am hitting you guys up for bail money.  [Hey, you offered. giggle.]

I think I should stick to sending microwaves to Kansas. :D

*I never said to declare these two things - he just saw me put them in.  

I Have a Wombat In My Mailbox

How many people can say that?  I mean, how many non Australians can say that?

I can!

Meet Wilma the Wombat

Don't be scared little buddy.
 Come here.

Isn't she cute?
She traveled all the way from Australia to come live in America.

Welcome to your new home Wilma.
We are so glad you are here.

She is a surprise gift from Mynx over at Dribble.  Such a sweetheart - she knows my affinity for the little guys and sent one along to make me smile and laugh. 

It worked Mynxie - thank you so much.  She is sitting right here trying to get the hang of my American ways and snuffling through my Altoids.

Tune into tomorrow to find out why I may be going to jail for a package I sent across the ocean.