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...at the Georgia Aquarium? That is what this guy is asking as he looks out at the sea of faces squished up against his fishtank glass and watches them nudge and push and step on each other. And he also probably notices a lot of the the really big men are sweating. And babies are crying. And little kids are jumping up and down because they can't see.
And he probably hears my kids saying, "Mom, Mom, Mommmmm...can we get Dippin' Dots yet?"
I am halfway joking but it was super crowded this past Saturday and very very hard to see anything very well. I hope I can take the kids back during a less busy time - it's an amazing place. My little one actually cried when we had to leave. :-( Must go back.
Only not in July...maybe January?
:-)
The only good thing about losing my camera before I even left the airport on Wednesday (I left it in the little plastic bin it rides in through security), is that I discovered my cell phone is way cooler than I knew. Not only can I take some fairly decent pics with it...I can shoot video clips. Whoa. Who knew. Well...not me.
So maybe, just maybe, I can get a video clip uploaded and into my blog. Because, my parents were pretty funny riding in the limo on the way to their 50th Wedding Anniversary Dinner! We'll see. At least maybe I can eventually get a pic of them up. They were very very cute.
Oh...this pic was taken at the Georgia Aquarium. The most amazing thing about this picture is the fact that I could get close enough to the glass to take it. There were 15,000 people there with me. It seemed like it anyway.
Fun weekend.
:-)
Before I start, let me say that this Tribute has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that in only four short days I will be needing a ride from the Atlanta airport to my dearest brother's (yeah, the older one's) home. And a place to sleep for four nights. :-)
Really.
So, despite all the fun my oldest daughter and I had writing the Teva Tan post - she can't get over those tan lines - I realize it is totally unfair. Because my brother has been a low key but constant supporter of whatever it is going on in my life that needs addressing and does so in that way only an older brother can. And while I've grown to have a mind of my own, I like running extremely important things by him.
Important things like, am I too old to wear a toe ring or is my daughter too young to have a boyfriend or do I look fat in these jeans? Kidding. I call him rarely - he's a busy man with a family of his own - but when I do, he listens and briefly pinpoints the issues and outlines what I need to address. This, let me tell you, takes talent. I ramble. Just a bit.
So, despite the Teva Tan, Uncle M doesn't just rock on his own. Uncle M has unobtrusively become a rock my little family can count on when we really need a rock. A rock with funny tan lines is still a rock nonetheless.
Love you, Big Bro. And if there is a surf store in Atlanta we'll find it this weekend. Gotta have at least one pair of Reefs. ;-)
Love, Sis
:-)
It is with an inkling of hesitation and with even less (but some) regret that I retell this tale of humiliation...at my older brother's expense. Of course. It's only natural after years of repressing memories of Red Bellies and Indian Burns and Misguided Fashion Advice (why, why, why did I listen to you we went shopping together??!!).
Anyway...revenge is sweet. I'm here to tell the world, or at least the blogosphere, all about your Teva Tan. :-)
Yeah, go ahead big Bro...you can run (slowly on bad knees) but you can't hide. Well, you never could hide very well but that's another blog post.
Ha - I really shouldn't be enjoying this quite so much. :-)
So, what exactly was that design or pattern or, ummm, fungus growing on the top of your foot last Sunday when you decided to take off your (oh so fashionable) Teva to show off your, ummm, tan?????
Apparently, you aren't alone brother dearest. :-) Amazing, huh?
As your "Hipper than Any of Us Can Ever Hope to Be Again" Niece just quipped as she breezed by my desk, "Flip Flop Tans are Cool, Teva Tans...No." :-)
So Uncle Mike, you truly rock - you know that. But, before your next trip to Florida, toss the Tevas and buy a 5 visit punchcard to the corner Tanning Salon and...wear your FLIP FLOPS!
Love you.
:-)
Sort of. One summer ago my daughter discovered MySpace. And like some others of us who have visited...just to check it out...she majorly got sucked in to a never-ending urge of adding more and more and more friends, obsessively messing with her layout and putting up songs only to replace them with another days, hours or even minutes later.
Whew. MySpace wears me out.
It's been a battle and a pleasure. A source of entertainment, a way to keep in touch and a sneaky way to spy on, ummm, things.
Whew, again.
It's been a great escape some days. Like yesterday (remember no more Calgon Bath Crystals) when I randomly clicked on artists' pages and found some pretty interesting choices for profile songs. I'd add them if I were a tiny bit more cool.
My middle kid, sweet little guy, can't do MySpace yet. And he loves music. So together we check out his all-time fave, Relient K and...haha...were we ever amused the day we discovered Episode One of their MySpace Animated Podcast Series (scroll down). At times I wonder if my sense of humor got stuck back in second grade. Relient K really makes me smile. Their page also makes me want to watch "Pimp My Ride". But, so far, I've only caught the tale end of one episode where they turned some guy's Ice Cream Van into, yeah, the same just pimped out. (What's up with that word and why do I feel incredibly old even asking?)
Okay, so other than only filling my head with nothingness, MySpace has become a very positive thing (for lack of a better word) for me. Where, in the beginning, I went all out with colors and decorating and excessive typing, I have ended up with a toned down, less is more profile full of friends I don't know and never will know personally. :-) Out of 42 friends (okay, so who really needs 4,839 friends anyway?) I know 4 personally and face to face, 4 more personally monitor to monitor or keyboard to keyboard and the rest....yeah, all famous type people but I really like getting their bulletins, reading their blogs and listening to the songs they put up for us.
Anyway, it's been a fun year. Interesting, scary and educational at times - but MySpace has definitely been a Blast!!!
Critics...say what you will but MySpace (currently) Rules...still.
:-)
Don't know what it is but, this week, I feel like the lady from the 70's (?) bubble bath commercial for Calgon. Remember (and if you don't just keep reading anyway) the lady squishing her eyes closed, rubbing her temples and trying to shut out the 85 things simultaneously going on around her? A few of the 85 things were shown in like little video clips all around and above her head: the dog barking, the little kid crying, the doorbell ringing...what else? Anyway, normal stuff but it was just one of those days and she exclaimed, "Calgon, Take Me Away"...and you instantly see her relaxed and beautiful in a tub full of bubbles. Not only does she seem more lovely, but her surroundings are peaceful and perfect. I remember her smile.
Funny but I always wondered what was going on around her house while she was sitting in that tub and if...it was going to be worth it to leave it all unattended for a 20 bubble bath. And I was still a kid.
Reminds me that, as a joke, (one that didnt' make me laugh) my brother sent me a box of Calgon Crystals for Christmas a few years ago (see the pink box). My life was a little messy around the edges - oh yeah, and with a gigantic crack running right down the middle - and I think he was trying to make me smile. I think. But I was in too big of a daze to enjoy the humor back then.
That box is long gone, but boy...what I would give to have that box of itchy nose smelling bath crystals tonight. Glad for the memory though and I'm thinking it's probably not too late to laugh about it now.
So see, I'm smiling and I don't need to be sitting in perfectly peaceful bubble bath to mean it.
:-)
Yeah, sounds crazy right in the very middle of July. But there I was tonight sitting on the couch with my "grumpy to be thinking of wearing a stiff khaki skort five days a week" teen wearing out the pages of our Lands End Uniform Catalog.
Then...I realized it's an All Uniform Year. Yep, my little kindergartener will be part of the Khaki Skirt Brigade this year. Only she can throw in a navy blue one when she feels like mixing up things.
But back to my Skort Wearing Teen. I said something I maybe shouldn't have tonight. I told her that figuring out school uniforms with her was less than my favorite thing to do. Nothing against her. It's difficult when you are 13 to stomach too many rules and regulations on a regular basis as it is. Tell a teenage girl she has to wear a stiff skort down to her knees and watch the buzz on the internet as they figure out ways around it...or at least how to live through it.
Their tricks are very clever. Well, duh...of course. ;-) Until tonight the only one I secretly knew about was the rolling the waistband down five times trick (okay, I exaggerate) which drastically changes a skort's length. Their newest idea...and oh my gosh it's really going to work...is to order at least two sizes down in a plus size. Same measurements as their regular size only the tops of their knees will see some sunlight. Nothing too short, just looking for a little room to move around and, yes, perhaps hoping to appear a tiny bit more fashionable.
One teen I know has such deep thoughts about wearing a uniform that she wrote to Teen Vogue last week remarking on their August Back to School Fashion Spread. She explained how excited she was about Teen Vogue's advice and how quickly she looked through the magazine to find the photos. She explained that she was immediately disappointed because she - along with many of her friends - is required to wear a uniform "back to school". And she wondered if the magazine possibly could run a fashion spread (did I make up that term?) on how to maintain your sense of fashion or something like that when your only wardrobe choice Monday through Friday is a Forest Green shirt and, yep, a stiff Khaki extra long skort.
Hmmm. Don't know if she'll get an answer or if there is an answer to that particular question. But I do think it's pretty cool that she wasted no time in expressing her thoughts and, more importantly, asking if they could do something different.
Yeah, I think that's very cool. For 13. You know, complaining could have come naturally but asking for a specific solution...not so much.
So maybe this year our 10 month long debate over catalogs and hems and such will be overshadowed by the birth of a teenager's investigative reporting mind. But the question is...just how far will she take things before she's satisfied with an answer?
Kidding, just kidding. Time for Mom to be quiet now.
Night. :-)
That's right...we're back! Safe and sound. We had an incredible week at the beach-my new favorite place. And more about Longboat Key later but wanted to mention a few special souvenirs.
Yes, we returned with the usual snowglobe, coffee mug (for hot tea), clunky fridge magnet and, of course, t-shirts. However...the best find and my most cherished of souvenirs is a bar of soap. It's sitting right here on my desk and I can enjoy it's delectable fragrance without leaning in any closer. I found this treasure only yesterday afternoon scrunched up in a corner of a shop full of linen tops and colorful necklaces. I'd seen enough of those. But I'd never seen soap quite like the Sister Agnes Soaps neatly arranged on the rickety folding bookshelf.
I chose Beachhouse which, sadly, is not listed in their online catalog. Supposedly it smells like "fresh ocean air" spiked with eucalyptus, coconut and lime.
Anyway...very clever and scrumptious soaps. Took a peek at their website and was amused. Thought I should share.
Glad to be home.
:-)
Here we go...we're off. Well, not exactly yet. But by tomorrow afternoon if we are lucky.
Yippee...the beach. Can't wait. One whole week of sun, sand and wet grainy towels. Or, sitting inside playing cards and glancing out the windows hoping the rain has stopped. We'll have to wait and see which one our week away from home will look most like.
Much, much, much needed getaway - at least that is what the kids are telling me. Time to take a break from Florida city life.
For fun, check in at my "travel journal" as I'm going to experiment with mobile blogging. Maybe some funny (or pretty pics) and a tiny bit of text.
Otherwise, have a great week!
:-)
If you do, don't be shy...drop by Kat's Blog for some not so secret discussion about just that. She's working on building a new site for singer/songwriter/megablogger Shaun Groves and she says she'd love to hear your thoughts. Or read them at at least.
If you've got time, click on the link above and leave her a comment. Check out Shlog, too - it's an awesome blog.
:-)
Happy Fourth to anyone who happens by to read this. Hope your day was relaxing and that your evening is full of fun and fireworks.
The sun wasn't really in a great spot for taking this picture, but I wanted to get the shot before a threatening shower washed it away.
So, this is it...I'm running back outside to enjoy the holiday with my friends and family. Hope you are, too!
:-)
Here's what happens when you take kids who live life in the fast lane and try to bring things down a notch or two. Okay, maybe this was more like bringing it down twelve.
Whatever the number, it didn't quite work out. They didn't create the perfect looking pot within the 36 seconds they are used to achieving an end result.
Channel Change - 2 seconds max
Movie on Demand - 10 seconds...maybe
Pop Tart (toasted) - 30 seconds on low
That's the kind of thing I was up against tonight. So who do you think ended up sitting in the carport pushing the little plastic pottery wheel pedal blowing gnats out of her eyes? That would be me. And boy was it fun. Honest.
Only one tiny potter isn't finished. My little neighbor's pot sits last in line on the table there and he plans to paint it brown tomorrow after it has dried. Because actually it's not a pot, it's going to be a coconut. I'm not sure but I'm guessing he's been living life in the middle lane and eats something other than Pop Tarts for breakfast.
:-)
I believe tonight will be Sissy's first real babysitting job. I LOVE it. She got the job totally on her own and she really likes the kids. She even took a fresh shower, prettied up and starting talking like a Mom saying things like "Use your words" and "Are you supposed to be doing that". I told her I didn't like using words all the time and that she wasn't the boss of me. :-)
Kidding.
But speaking of liking the kids, you know those other babysitters. The ones you suspect really don't like kids but put on a good show. Or maybe I should say, give it a good try. Maybe they so want to be great babysitters and so want to love taking care of kids but, in the end, they race out the door with a quick "See ya later". Sometimes even forgetting their cash.
Ha ha - that'd be really bad. And I've never seen that happen in real life.
Anyway, I was a terrible babysitter. "See ya later" was blurted over my shoulder one of the few times I ever babysat. I H-A-T-E-D it. It was one of the longest nights of my entire life. The worst part is that it started out lovely. I was happy, the kid was happy. But then, she wanted me to play with her. The whole night. I had no idea.
I guess growing up the youngest didn't prepare me for entertaining others. I was too busy being entertained by everyone around me. And they were terrific at it, by the way. I think I halfway expected my little babysittee to entertain me that night. How embarrassing that I am even sharing this with you. :-)
But I have faith in my daughter. She's an awesome big sister and she LOVES being in charge. She actually is the boss of me - just don't let her know I said so.
:-)
Tonight - no cute pictures, no fun links and no serious, girly, chatty blog post. I am yanking my hair out here trying to get my email to send/receive in Outlook. ARRRRRRGGGGGGG!! That's Pirate for "Oh My Gosh, could somebody please just hang me upside down by my toenails and zing water balloons at me instead of this madness?" :-)
Of course, my internet service provider says to call Norton - like I'll ever end up talking to someone there. Funny thing is my neighbor is having the same issue. We're on a mission and we WILL get to the bottom of this. Haha. I did get a neighborly tip how to access my email without Outlook though. Something I should have thought of before but...didn't.
Maybe I should just fire Outlook. Less stress and I get to keep my hair.
:-)
I'm dying to upgrade my cell. I want a Treo so bad that I've gotten stupidly lazy updating my current calendar on Yahoo. Like I said - that is pretty dumb. But in my mind I've already moved on. Just don't actually have it yet.
But some snazzy new cell phones in Japan are making me think smartphones aren't quite as superior as I've been thinking. Sure I'd love to make little man's next appointment while we are still at the orthodontist after answering emails while waiting for him to get a band replaced or whatever they do in that back room - without digging through my purse for a Palm Thing, dropping my phone, spilling out old grocery store receipts and pieces of gum with missing wrappers. But it'd even be cooler to point my phone toward the backroom and have it tell me, "Back Room of Dr. Metalmouth's Office in Florida."
Then on the way home I could point it out the window and it could say, "Chick Fil A where you have fed your kids Chicken Nuggets 8 times too many this week" or maybe it'd say, "Super Saver Grocery Story where you really need to go so turn around right now and go buy your family some healthy food and soft drinks." If I drove by the Y it would say, "YMCA where you let your membership expire and...what were you thinking - can't you hear the stairmaster calling your name?"
:-)
Go here and watch some pretty cute ads for Mac. (I'm the guy in the tie.) Sorry, didn't know any other way to post the link so you're gonna have to click on the ads individually. In your spare time.
:-)
Life may not be very exciting (other than the ant convention held at my house yesterday) but I do have something on my mind. :-)
Today I must admit that I am confused over friendship. I watch my oldest daughter with her "friends" and often end up confused. In my own world, I skip along thinking I'm nurturing and growing deep and solid friendships only to find myself strangely out of touch with someone I thought to be a truly close friend.
With my daughter I think it's mostly an age thing. Although I've done my best to forget being in 8th grade, I still remember the schizophrenic-like place where many girls do friendship in middle school. Not that remembering helps me much in parenting through that. But I do what I can and I'm seeing (and, again, remembering) that largely it is a "live and learn" kind of thing. Drats - wish it wasn't.
But at 42...hmmm, can't say that I imagined friendship confusion at this age. And as far as I've come at being direct, well, what applies with the cashier girl at Walgreens doesn't always apply with the friend who no longer seems to have a spot for me on her calendar.
Sigh, life is life whether you are 14 or 42. And girls will be girls. But then I remember one teeny tiny important detail. My daughter is so watching me. When my friend began to cancel plans and not return calls and became more and more of a stranger even when we did meet up, my daughter would say, "She acted different." And I'd say, "Yeah, I know. Don't know why." And my daughter would say, "That is weird." And I'd say, "Yep, I should ask her about it." But I never do.
So I'm teaching my daughter nothing. Not true. I'm teaching her how not to do friendship as a grown up girl. And I'm being such a baby avoiding what could be an uncomfortable conversation. Let's see if I can do something about that.
But what if I'm not that big. What if all I can manage to tell her is that's what I should do but admit to her that I'm scared. That I'm afraid my friend will get mad at me and how much I hate when that happens. Oh my. So that's where my sensitive but outgoing little teenager gets that.
Here's what I think, 97.8% of the time doing the right thing, setting a good example, is the best parenting possible. But for the times when never in a million years is that going to be the case, there's always honesty. There's got to be some halfway good mothering somewhere in the midst of old fashioned messy honesty.
Or is that a lazy way out? I suppose a combination of tactics would be most killer. Dish out the honesty on how much of a 'fraidy cat Mom is but then pick up the phone and make a Starbucks date with my old friend. If nothing else to catch up.
Afterall, life is never the same from one day to another so what makes me think my friendships will be any different. I just realized this very second that I keep holding out for something in my life that does not change.
Duh. I'm such a dweeb. And as usual, I've rambled all over the place here. At least that hasn't changed.
Peace and thanks for reading. :-)
My older brother once told me that living in Florida is like living on top of one gigantic anthill. And, as usual, he is correct. Here are my latest visitors hanging out on my carport column thingy. Looks like they were having some kind of meeting or maybe getting ready to spell out a secret message. Could be they just realized someone made a wrong turn back there in the grass and now they are all stuck on the side of a large white post.
So...life hasn't been too exciting lately. Can you tell?
:-)
Another favorite on my Sweeter Sites list is WordSpy. Most recently my favorite entry there is ringxiety. How perfect a word. Just the day I read that term, I had been in a meeting with my friend Rachael who has the same ringtone I was currently using. Her phone rang and I jumped out of my skin. My phone rang and she knocked over her purse trying to get to hers too quickly. Made us both laugh...nervously. Haha - we had "ringxiety". :-)
I have a feeling I do things a little backwards in the world of blogging. Take for instance my "Sweeter Sites" list on the sidebar. I think it is more normal to list either blogs or websites or to separate them maybe. But since I'm not sure and wonder why in the heck it really matters anyway, I listed a variety. Places I think are sweet. Sweeter than here. By very very far. :-)
Jes MaHarry. Ever since I noticed her jewelry inside a Sundance Catalog, I vowed to one day (maybe) wear one of her creations. I love her jewelry.
This is one of my favorites. And this one. Oh, and this. Sigh...one day. Maybe. :-)
