Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Trick or Treat

the TRICK was getting them to both sit still AND look at the camera AND smile so we could get a picture.


The TREAT was that for one year, and if only probably my LAST... I got to have my kids in coordinating costumes for Halloween.



Ladies and Gentlemen: I give you the Princess and the Frog-Prince...

Happy Halloween!!!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Fright Night

ok.. so if you ever catch yourself living in stepford, and attending a halloween-themed bunco... it is entirely acceptable to dress as a cat.



Might I warn against sticking silver skull confetti in front of your front teeth and trying to pose all ganstah, though....





you'll just end up looking like a retarded bunny. (retarded bunny dressed like a cat, that is...)



Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Feeling Blue


Sometimes... I just don't HAVE to write anything.
---update from the walk is on the way; just wanted to lighten the mood around here a little.


Friday, October 19, 2007

Before I begin

Tomorrow is the walk.


before I go and walk my ass off, I want to take pause and give recognition to the SO MANY PEOPLE who helped me achieve my fundraising goal.

For whatever reasons you had to dig in and shell out... I thank you. you all are a huge reason why I'm doing this walk tomorrow. Cause you believe, too. plain and simple... cause you believe.


You're in good company.

_______________

Troy, Rhena, and Danny. Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad Johnson. Derek, Dawn, Dara, Delaney, and Damian. Rachel, Rob, and Lindsay. Jennifer. Denita. Suser, Dan, Liam, and Seamus. Jody, Brad, Dov, and Zoe. Fergie, Jamie, and Jackson. Bridget, Jason, Riley, and Jordan. Laura and David. Gary and Nora. Diana, Garratt, Tucker, and Callie. Marisa. Kelli, Mathew, Kendal, and Ava. Katy, Mike, Dylan, and Cameron. Nancy and Mike. Jenni, Dale, and Garrett. Karen. Bill and Heather. Jina. Tracy. Christina, Scott, Dane and Carissa. Kristina, Mike, Casey and Jacob. Avani, Nimish, and Rushabh. Gina. Maria, Joel, Maddie and Aidan. Marianna. Maria, Ed, Cassie, Anna, and Rachel.


like I said.... Good company. I couldn't do this without you.

thank you all!!!

Friday, October 12, 2007

The irony dumbfounds me

so my last post I bitched about my DVR and the networks and just spoke of TV in general.

WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT, that the VERY next morning, Rhena came down with a cold of some sorts, and was running a fever for 2 days straight. all she wanted was to lay in my bed and watch tv. (and when I say TV I mean the huge variety of three shows she deems acceptable to watch.) too bad I didn't have any of her 'shows' saved up in my room.


we muddled through, though.... and all was back to normal in our house by thursday.


oh, that is until the cable company decided to do 'improvements' in our area.


since yesterday morning, we have had no cable or internet connection.


ASK me how PLEASED I was that the ONE NIGHT of tv I look forward to the most was pretty much CANCELLED for me. and not just cancelled... more like a personal BITCH SLAP for complaining earlier in the week, because don't you KNOW my neighbors acrss the street have cable and internet?

well, I know this because 1- I CALLED my neighbor last night, ready to commiserate missing betty, office, and grey's... and she was pissed I was interrupting her shows. oh, and I know the neighbors across the street have internet, because I'm pirating their bandwidth (not bandWITH, daddy!) just to bitch on this post.


It seems silly to be pissed about missing a little tv, but c'mon... I REALLY look forward to those 3 shows each week... ESPECIALLY now since the writers of the office have finally gotten a clue and made the show an hour long!!!

I'm going to call the cable company when we finally get connected again, and ask that I get pro-rated a refund for the days of no service. seems only fair that the bitches buy me a coffee as some consolation. They should buy my neighbors a coffee, too, being that THEIR connection is probably slow as shit with me hacking into their wireless and all.... but I'll be happy with just the one for me and troy.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

I could be SO RICH

... but you know I'm not.


huh?


what in hell is she talking about now, you ask?


welll... it goes like this.


I'm a tv junkie. we know this. I watch so many primetime shows during the regular viewing season (ie.. not the summer suckity shit the networks give us... though I have to say, I'm really not impressed with some of the newer BIG AWESOME MUST-SEE shows lately... but I digress)

ANYWAYS.... between having multiple recording of higglytown heroes, mickey mouse and little einsteins on the main tv to satiate the beast that my daughter can become, and MY shows that apparently I'm just too fucking tired to stay up and watch, or... in cases like thursday nights, when I have 2 favorite shows on at the same time... my DVR fills up fast.


now, if I could watch some of my shows upstairs in my room (instead of the usual falling asleep to Troy's favorite.. the Military channel) where I would be much more comfortable... i could 'burn' through my show queue faster.

(side note.. for this very reason, we have a DVR in our bedroom, too, but that just means making sure TWO tvs are scheduled properly, especially when the networks jerk you around by having the shows run to 10:03pm, EVEN THOUGH THE GUIDE SAYS IT RUNS TIL 10:02.... THUS CAUSING YOU TO MISS THE EVER-FUCKING-IMPORTANT LAST MINUTE WHERE ALL THE SHIT FOR NEXT WEEK IS SET UP!!!! )(which, by the way-- I know, another side note--- is my personal thought that the networks are fucking with you for trying to have it all... and the run their shit staggered like that to force people into watching it real-time, or record the show AFTER the show you really want to watch, hoping to get some viewers hooked on the second show who really only just want that last minute of the first show)


bleh. it gets to be too much, and then I forget which show I watched where and what tv has what recorded.. it's enough to make an already frazzled mom scream.


so WHY can't there just be ONE mainframe for the house that any tv can record and/or retrieve from???


naturally, I proudly told troy my geek-a-licious idea, and he told me we COULD have that.. if only we (blah blah computer jargon blah blah blah) set up a hard drive (blah blah more techie shit blah blah) each tv had a wireless (blah blah I'm really glossing over now, couldn't you have just said "great idea honey" blah blah)

yeah. and I COULD have a great body and a clean home all the time, too.. but how practical is THAT????


I'm just talking ONE box.... and any tv that's plugged into your cable or satellite outlet can record or play from that one 'box'. no more drinking coffee to watch the shows downstairs so I don't fall asleep on the couch and fuck up my back!! I can watch them upstairs!!!

I could have breakfast in bed with rhena in our room while we knock back bowls of strawberry oatmeal and watch mickey mouse!!! and NOT worry that the episode where it's minnie's birthday isn't on that particular tv!!! cause you KNOW a girl's gotta have a little minnie's birthday now and then....



anyways... I'm stating my idea here on the web hoping that SOMEONE who can do all that wiring digital shit might hear me and understand my plight. I'd LIKE for this technology to be called DCO.. for Digital Carrie-Over. cause you know.. my name being Carrie and all... and I didn't think Cze-Johnson flowed very well.

hell.. it could even be called Digital Carry Over.. with the Y... I'd still know they were thinking of me.


Now... before you start ripping me a new one with your smarty-pants-selves.. I don't have ANY clue if this technology already exists. I know for DAMN sure it doesn't exist in MY house. I mean seriously.. didn't you just read how I'm too busy watching my shows???

I SUPPOSE the best answer would be for me just to pull the damn plug and read a book... that would pretty much solve my problems!!! but c'mon..... that's just not as much fun!

DCO, people. you heard it here first!

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Clifford, the Big Red (and apparently pissed off) Dog

So I know it's been a while since I last checked in. all is going well, and the school year is in full swing. We had Rhena's birthday party last week, and everyone seemed to have a tropically good time at her luau.


CCD started again for me, and that also is going well. keeping me busy... but going well.


One of the coolest things about me teaching CCD this year, though, is NOT the actual teaching. No.. it's not even the students I have this year. Though I imagine they'll prove to be pretty rockin' 2nd graders... no... the coolest thing about me teaching this year is that I'm teaching in the same classroom that Rhena goes to preschool in. (yes, she attends preschool at our church)



SO every monday night, I get to peer into her world a little. I look at the crafts that are hanging on the boards and walls.... I see posted lesson plans.... and when it's quiet.. like after class is over and the students are gone and I'm cleaning the desks... well, I could swear I hear Rhena laughing from the week before.




but SPEAKING of laughing... I had to share this. Apparently, the kids had been reading about Clifford, and focusing on the color red. so there have been a lot of red projects that come home.. and I ooh and aah appropriately to Rhena as she displays her artwork to me each day.



So ONE project is still hanging up in their class. below you will see a group of clifford-heads... a small sampling of what was done by the students in her class. looks cute when all together... the eyes, the noses... some dogs with their perfect puppy pouts....









annnnnnd.... here's Rhena's.








looks like Clifford had a bad day, you think?