You say potato, I say Po-tah-toe....

In yesterday's post I mentioned that Clay was making grilled cheese sandwiches, which Tim calls "toasted cheesies".  Then, in the comments of another blog which I read there was a whole conversation about "soda" versus "pop".  Which started me thinking about all of the other strange interesting things that Yankees Midwesterners Michiganders Tim says.

He calls our laundry room the "wash room".  Which makes me think of 

I prefer laundry room.


He pronounces "roof" like "ruff"...which makes me think of

He pronounces "couldn't" like "cuhnt".  I won't show you the image THAT makes me think of.

He doesn't do this anymore, but others (in his family) do.  Hamburgers are "hamburgs"...which makes me think of

Highways are "E-ways" (for expressway).  I don't even know what to say about that one.

He calls all cups, even plastic ones, "glasses".

Pajamas are "pa-jeeah-mas"

Didn't is "dint".  Which makes me think of 

Cabinets are "cupboards".

In spite of all the weird different things he says though...I love that guy!  He is a wonderful husband and father!  

Tim/Daddy rocks!

Yawn.

Today has been gray and overcast and rainy - a perfect day for sleeping late, lounging around in your pajamas all day and reading a book.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do that.  Bah.  I had to get up early and take Clay to Taekwondo...

and then take Paige to Dance...

and go grocery shopping, and drive back to pick the kids up....

and finally - a visit to Chamblin's Bookmine - possibly the coolest and most amazing used bookstore in the world.  It was crowded and crazy - a madhouse!  I did manage to find a few fun sounding books, although they didn't have the one I was looking for - Gamechange.  I am dying to read that - all about the behind the scenes drama from the 2008 Presidential Campaign.  Tim laughs at me for wanting to read it because he says it is "Just a book full of gossip."  Well.  Duh!!

I have absolutely no energy.  I know that it is only 2:30, but still....I think I'm going to take a nice bubble bath, put my pajamas on, and read a book.  I had thought about making some cinnamon raisin bread, but I don't think that is going to happen today!!  In fact, I'm not even going to make dinner.  Clay has volunteered to make grilled cheese sandwiches (which Tim calls "toasted cheesies") and tomato soup for dinner.  Yummy.
Lisa....out.

UPDATE 6:06 PM:
*  I did take a bubble bath in the middle of the afternoon.  It was heavenly.  I love bubble baths.  I rarely get to take bubble baths because I have two teenagers who use up all the hot water.  
*  Even though my two teenagers are selfish buggers who use up all the hot water so their poor, long suffering chauffeur mom can never take a hot bubble bath....they DO have some rather amazing redeeming qualities:

(Exhibit A) Paige preparing the fabulous Trader Joe's Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup that my friend Suzette gave me because she knows that I am extremely envious that she is able to shop there and I'm not.

(Exhibit B) Yummy, yummy, yummy

(Exhibit C) A sideways (oops) picture of Clay making Croque Monsieur/Grilled ham and cheese/Toasted Cheesies.

(Exhibit D) My wonderful children actually working together and GETTING ALONG while making dinner for their grateful mother....I even got the bedtray and was served dinner in bed!  Woo Hoooooo!

So, how awesome and amazing was my hot bubble bath?

(Exhibit E)  Aaaaahhhhhhh.......

By the way - yes, I do notice how yucky my bathtub looks in that photo.  I'll take care of that tomorrow.

Really.

In the meantime, I have started the literary equivalent of The Housewives of Orange County. 

It's called Tales of a Drama Queen.

Hee Hee.  Really.

Paige finally finished up her second round of testing this morning, so my mom and I took her out to lunch at P.F. Chang's.  It was a fun, girly day - which we haven't done for a while!  (By the way, Mt. Vesuvius is still in residence upon my chin and annoying me greatly,  but make-up is a wonderful thing!)

Tim left for a (gasp) 6 day trip this morning, so the kids and I are just hanging out and doing absolutely nothing tonight.  Well, actually, I plan to slather my face (especially the aforementioned Mt. Vesuvius) with some of the kid's acne medication and hit the sack early.  The cumulative effect of all these early mornings is definitely catching up with me!  I did not cook dinner - I've been cooking all week, and there are plenty of leftovers.  Instead of cooking dinner, or being otherwise productive, I came home and put on pajamas and have been surfing the web and watching 

THIS!  Oh, I just love (hate) that show.  Seriously, these people can't be for real, right?  I mean NO ONE can REALLY be THAT self absorbed.  Can they?  Oh, this show makes me giggle.  Everyone has big, ol' fake boobies.  Everyone.  In this scene?  The one in the picture?  The brunette bimbo was walking her little weiner dog with the blonde bimbo.  There was lots of talk about superficial stuff and they had to stop to take the pink, glittery sweaters off the dogs because it was too hot, but I loved her walking outfit - the lowcut halter top, the super short shorts, and the high heeled flip flops.  Now, I don't know about you - but when I walk my dog (back when we had one!!) I was usually in sweats and tennis shoes.  I was definitely not making a fashion statement.  My "favorite" character is the Tamra bimbo.  The blonde one with the big fake boobs?  Ha ha....that was a joke because.....well, if you've seen the show you understand.  Anyway, she is the one who proclaimed that she is the "hottest housewife in Orange County".  She's very classy.  She also just bugs the crap out of me.  I want to slap her.

Another "fun" show?  Have you ever watched the Millionaire Matchmaker one?  Oh, that one is just delicious too.  The men are all (usually) in their 40's and they have been so busy making money that they just haven't met "the one".  So they get this matchmaker to find someone for them.  Oh, well, they DO have a few things they'd like....they all want beautiful models who are members of Mensa.  Really.  I kid you not.  It's quite amusing.

You're probably thinking about now that my taste in television is atrocious, so let me assure you that I RARELY watch this stuff.  In fact, I really don't watch much tv at all.  But sometimes....well, sometimes  pure trash tv is just what the doctor ordered...and today is a sit in front of the tv and watch mindless bimbos whine about something silly kind of a day.  So that's what I'm gonna do.

Here comes the sun.....

Yesterday's "live" blog was sort of fun!  A lot of work, but fun.  I think that we will all really enjoy looking back on our day when I get the blog book for 2010 printed out.  I also loved all the feedback!

I am annoyed.  Life is just not fair.  Not only am I dealing with gray hairs and the beginnings of wrinkles...but - at 46 years old - I am also still dealing with acne.  It just doesn't seem right that in addition to applying hair color and moisturizer, I am also having to borrow pimple medicine from my teenagers!  Grrr.....Other things which I am pondering this morning, as I sip my second cup of coffee with Italian Sweet Cream (I LOVE that stuff!) and try to get moving....why are the sunrises most beautiful on cloudy mornings?  Why does everything in the house break whenever my hubby goes out of town?  Why do teenage boys think it looks cool to have droopy pants with their boxers showing?  Why does my house get SO dusty SO quickly?  Why does my black cat, Chloe, love to lie on my white, fluffy bathroom rugs as soon as I wash them (which necessitates the need to re-wash them)??  And so forth and so on.  

Enough pondering....I have things to do....It's FRIDAY!!

A day in the life....

This is one of my favorite blogs.  I read it daily - because it always makes me giggle!  This "June" gal is funny, funny, funny.  The only thing is that I always feel like my blog pales in comparison....I'm just not that funny.  Oh well.  Anyway, she issued a challenge to her readers to take photos of their household at 7:57 pm tonight.  I love the idea (especially since I can't really think of anything else to blog about today - in a bit of a blogging rut!) but because tonight is Thursday night, no one will be home at 7:57 pm.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are crazy running around days for the VK's....Math tutor, Dance, and Taekwondo...today we also have an orthodontist visit and a couple of haircuts squeezed in there.  So I have decided to tweak the idea a bit, and show  our household throughout the day....

7:00 am.  Dropping Clay at school....Yelling at him to pull his dad-gum pants UP!! (an added bonus was seriously embarrassing him by taking a photo)

7:45 am.  A morning view of Doctors Lake...

8:00 am.  Buddy cheerfully starts the day with a jaunty wolf whistle or two (or two million), a lively tune, and a  "eehhh oh uuuhhh eeeee" (Hello Buddy)

8:45 am.  Gus takes a brief break from running from one end of the house to the other, jumping, leaping, twirling, gallivanting, and generally tormenting poor Chloe.

8:46 am.  Chloe tries to hide from the demonic kitten.

9:00 am.  Thomas the turtle contemplates the meaning of life....

2:15 pm.  Paige tries to ignore the papparazzi as she returns from the Math tutor...

2:20 pm.  Clay demonstrates his best Sean Penn impersonation.  Clearly, the papparazzi have crossed a line. (Look at all that hair!  Good thing he is getting his hair cut today)

2:35 pm.  A healthy, after-school snack.  OK, maybe it has a few preservatives, but hey!  It also has CALCIUM!  I DID try to tempt him with some fresh fruit, but the spaghettios were calling his name!

2;45 pm.  Paige displays the new rubber bands (purple) after a visit to the orthodontist.  Wow, that's attractive.

Sean Penn Clay practices his culinary skills as he attempts to ignore the paparazzi. (Culinary skills = opening a can, and then pushing a button on the microwave)

Meryl Streep Paige recites her memorized poem, William Blake's "Tiger, Tiger" with great dramatic flair - as only a 13 year old can do.  And cracks herself up too. 3;00 pm.

3:30 pm.  Tim and Clay after getting their hair cut.

5:50 pm.  Taking Paige to dance...

6:15 pm.  Roxy patiently waits for someone to feed her dinner.  Poor Roxy.....

6:30 pm.  Paige is at dance...Tim took Clay to Taekwondo....I am taking pictures of the moon rather than cleaning the kitchen....

7:57 pm.  Still just me at home....I am about to leave to pick Paige up from Dance...Tim is picking Clay up from Taekwondo...I have cleaned the kitchen and yelled at a cat for licking herself.  Smack, slurp, smack, slurp...it's driving me crazy!!

8:53 pm.  We are all (finally) home.  Clay has showered, and is working on FCAT Explorer...Paige is taking a shower...Tim and I are chilling with a glass of wine.  Day is done.  Good night.

The End.

SunSET for a change

Tim got home last night (Hooray!), but he is only home for two days (Boo!).  Still, it's so nice when he is home - I feel like life is just more balanced when he is here.  My favorite thing to do (which I think he hates) is when the kids start bugging me with questions I love saying, "Go ask your Dad."  He took the kids to Taekwondo this evening to give moi some "alone" time.  Much needed, and much appreciated!

I have been reading a book and snacking on popcorn and listening to the sound of the dryer - absolutely loving the (relative) hour and a half of peace and quiet.  The pics today are of the sunSET for a change...we don't actually see the sunset, but the sky is a pretty pinkish color, and the moon is already out.  Lovely.

Since hardly anyone "follows" this blog (I don't blame you - I'm not really sure what following actually does!)  I decided to install a "counter" to try to keep track of how many people actually do read this.  (Because I know there are more than 7 of you out there from your comments to me!!)  Unfortunately, I kept popping back over here to see if it is working, so quite a few of the visits for today are mine!!  Which sort of defeats the purpose, don't you think?

Last night Paige observed, "I like this new claw-less version of Gus - He thinks he is attacking me, but it just tickles!!!"

She also just informed me that I need to make a correction in the blog.  In yesterday's post I said  "Look what Clay found in the yard when he was taking the trash cans out"  and she has just informed me that because Clay was so busy making sure the turtle was safely released back into our creek, that SHE was the one who ended up taking the trash cans down.  Duly noted.  

Manic Tuesday!

Tuesdays are crazy days....I took Paige to her Math tutor and while she was there I made a quick trip to Publix, then picked Paige up and rushed to pick Clay up from school.  Once we arrived at the house I began making dinner while the kids took the trash out and did homework...a quick dinner, and then it's off to dance and Taekwondo.  I have a brief respite from all the running around before I need to pick them both up....Thank goodness Tim is getting home tonight, so he will pick Clay up from Taekwondo for me ( which is a HUGE help, because both kids finish up at the same time...tough for me to be in two places at one time!)  Look what Clay found in the yard when he was taking the trash cans out (I thought these guys were all hibernating or something!)

If you want to make your family very, very happy then make this for dinner.  (Although, be warned - this is NOT low calorie!!) Yummy chicken florentine lasagna.  I'm happy that it will be waiting here for Tim...he loves it too.

If you want to make yourself happy, then have one of these for dessert.  Only 60 calories.  This is my new favorite indulgance.  Mmmmmm.......

Orange you glad to see more sunrise photos?

Yes, that's right....more sunrise pics....

And, aren't the clouds cool looking?

Look who else was watching the sunrise?

Look at all that fruit!

Oranges.....

Even MORE oranges....

Yummy!