Cracks in Stepford

so I'm always joking about life here in Stepford. How all the mommies look perfectly coifed and children dressed to the nines, and people with their well-manicured lawns and verrrry expensive luxury SUVs.

It's a little intimating to someone like me, who happens to be... shall I say... REAL?


I don't wear makeup every day. shit.... I put it on MAYBE once every other week?


I can't remember the last time I wore an outfit that required ironing. Or at least actually IRONED the outfit I was wearing (cause you KNOW there have been times I SHOULD have ironed my pants before church but didn't...)


anyways.. the point is.. when it comes to appearances, the folks here in my little version of Stepford really have the knack for looking Polished. (that's PAH-lished, Daddy.. not POLE-ished)


However, the longer I'm here, and the more I'm getting to know my neighbors.. the more and more I'm seeing that some appearances only go so far as their front doors.


I'm not going to spill all the gory details, but let's just say that today brought our awareness of the cracks in Stepford appearances to a whole new level.


While I find it SOMEWHAT comforting to know that other people have real live problems... I'm saddened by how easily our 'friends' hide their issues. (big, huge, fucking SHOCKING shit kind of issues) ....Makes me wonder what else they're hiding, and would I REALLY want them watching Rhena?

call me crazy, but I just feel a little better knowing my friend (who told me not to worry about Rhena picking her nose, because she still picks hers too) is watching Rhena versus the friend with the pottery-barn-polo-designer-house. Cause while rhena might stumble upon some old green crunchies at the one friend's house... who knows what she might find in the other. And that's just me being real.

Fearing Kansas

ok... so last night was one of those dreams where it's a big ole mix of crazy, surreal, and very deep rooted fears.


Last night I dreamt I moved to Kansas.


Apparently, I was still in high school, and I was serving on either the President or some Congressman's Political team. SO our task was to go to this high school, and attend some ralley-slash-fashion show, and my job was to stand there looking smart with my clipboard. Some weird guy from a Polish Airline kept hitting on me.


After the fashion show, we went to some nightclub, where the rest of my team was making the rounds. I remember going around this main circle of a dancefloor, checking in with each of the team... and hearing arguments of which section of the club was the coolest to stand by. Stranger still was that the walls of each area of the dancefloor housed hundreds of GAMES... like a toy store. I dunno. weird.


so next thing I know, I'm eating some popcorn, and the clublights turn on, and a guy starts vacuuming. by now it's like WAY late-slash-early in the morning, and we still have to get home.


I end up getting driven home with 2 other girls, cause they're on my way. Our driver starts off sounding like Danny DeVito, but later turns into Jeff Bridges' clone. the weird thing is that at this point, I really hadn't been outside there in Kansas, and while I have an address of where I now live, I have not been to the house.


so the driver takes the other two girls home first, then he starts to drive me home. by now the sun is coming up, and I'm getting very upset that I have to be at school in a few hours, and we're driving out to the middle of nowhere, and I have no idea where exactly it is that I live. Driver dude tells me I'm in the next town up.


so we drive and we drive, and there is NOTHING but NOTHING to see. on each side of the road, all I see is fields for miles and miles. and miles. Then haystacks. Seeing the haystacks freaked the shit out of me, because apparently in my dream I'd never seen real hay before. In real life, of course I have.. but never in the quantities that were in my dreams. we actually went through a tunnel made from hay.

all the whole time, the driver keeps going faster and faster and we keep driving and driving, but still no sign of the next town up. I finally ask him through tears where exactly do I live, and he says about another 45 minutes away. At this point, we finally pass a house, but that's all it was.. just a house in the middle of nowhere.


Another 20 minutes of driving very fast, and going by these weird side-of-the-road exhibits that's supposed to be good for the morale of the citizens, and we troll up on some house. It's not mine, but Jeff Bridges dude had to make a pitstop. We go inside, and the set-up was just like my late Grandma Czernikowski's house, except this house was inhabited by a woman that used to frequent a bar I worked at in seattle. This woman, in my dream, was apparently waiting for a dose of some kind of drug that Jeff Bridges dude was giving her.

Next thing I know, everyone except me is high as a kite, and Jeff Bridges dude and I are finally taking me home on some motorcycle. AT this point, the details are very fuzzy; all I remember is that we were going like 120 mph, and I almost flew away. weird. I woke up a little while later... having never really making it to 'my house'.


What's the point of all of this? beats me... though it did really remind me how afraid I was when I did go to Kansas a few years ago on business for Amazon.


I clearly remember the anxiety of being on the road, alone.. not really sure where I was going, and having nothing but miles and miles of fields around me. With no cell phone reception. I was tense the entire drive, with a steady stream of cold sweat and heightened alertness that would make rabbits on crack look like molasses going uphill in the winter.


Visions of rapists and murderers out there in the fields, and the Children of the Corn characters and creepies and crawlies certainly did a number on me that trip, as would happen ANY time I'm out of civilization. I just don't do so good away from buildings, people. So whether it's on a road to nowhere, out in a forest, or in the deep blue ocean... you're not going to see me there... at least not happily.

I respect the beauty of Nature, and all that happens in its naturalness and shit... but I appreciate it a hell of a lot more from the comfort of my couch, while watching Discovery Channel. where I have food. and cell phone reception.

Public Service Announcement

ok... just letting you guys know I'll be changing the looks around here very shortly. I'm still ironing out a few kinks and colors... then I'll be all set.


so be on guard... things might get funky for a little while during the changeover.



Also... due to overwhelming pressure from my neighbor... and MUCH to my chagrin... I'm going to start taking a yoga class. or Bellydancing... we're on the fence. actually... *I* don't want to do either... she's the one on the fence as to which activity we'll be doing... but yeah... I'm going to be one of THOSE moms. gag.

oh well. it could be good. Lord knows it's better than sitting around on my ass eating bon bons all day like the rest of my SAHM friends! In fact.. any increase in exercise would logically mean I can now eat even MORE bon bons. SWEET!

speaking of.. what exactly IS a bon-bon?? those are the little ice cream nuggets, right?

oh well. Happy birthday Joder-Boder... have a great time in Vegas, you lucky bizzle, you!

Pretty Thief

we have a Pretty Thief here in the house. no... not PETTY thief.. I mean pRetty thief.


it would seem as though Rhena has taken to stealing things out of my vanity drawers.


both of my brushes? gone.


toothpaste? no clue.


also notably missing are tweezers, a few things of eyeshadow, and numerous hair clips.


I sort of think it's funny, but I'm also sorta annoyed. I REALLY have no idea where she's hidden everything, so I'm doing without my daily things. In fact... this morning, I was so desperate, and running late for playgroup, that I actually ended up using a bath scrub brush to smooth my hair down somewhat. It was one of those small little hand-held jobbers with the pumice stone on the other side... you know the kind. Yes, I know.. gross... but I only used it once on my feet, so I guess I justified that it wasn't THAT bad.

seriously. who DOES that? well.. now you know. I do.


oh well.


Praying for my friend Angela today. Other friends, too... but mainly for Ang.

busy

yeah yeah yeah... so no great post from me today... yet.


places to go, food to buy, all that other happy shit in between, too.


Cze-Bingo has all the winners... I'll do a proper congrats post to Ferg and Mary when I don't have to keep telling rhena to put the toothpaste away every 2 minutes. But yes.. that means prizes are forthcoming! hooray! prizes! (shit!! prizes!!! what to do, what to do?!?!?!?)


anyways... here's a recent pic of the Boog... taken this weekend before our farewell lunch with Grandma and Granpa (Gah-cah). For such a messy child, she sure does clean up alright!

peace out, kiddies. more in a bit. I promise!

stupid blogger

this is my THIRD attempt at posting today.


see if I can get anything to publish.....


stupid blogger.

Guess Who's Back

Well, I wouldn't exactly call myself a SLIM shady.... but I do alright.


either way... I'm back on blogger.


It would appear that all the visiting to the Johnson Manor is now complete for the month.... so I expect to get back into a routine again.

I'll post more later, because there's quite a bit to post about. There's Easter pics to share, there's new toys in the house that are starting a rebellion fight in the living room... there's visits to recap and reminisce about, and there's a certain NEW JOB that Troy will be starting at soon to review as well.

Right now, however, there's a shower that needs to be taken, air conditioning guys that have to be called, thank you notes to write, congratulation cards to be sent (new baby was born to my mom-friend group yesterday morning... Welcome to the world, Georgia!) and moments of silence while I think of yet another friend having surgery today (Good luck, Kelli... my thoughts and prayers are with you!).


I also have CCD tonight, so I ought to prepare for class... and then there's the undaunting task of laundry.. but there's ALWAYS laundry.

catch you soon! and oh yeah... happy birthday to my niece, Delaney!!! my little Laney-Bird turns FIVE today. five!!! boy does time fly!

Good Friday

hey gang...


sorry I've been MIA for a while.



As previously noted, I've been having Family Invasion 2006.



Troy's folks left on wednesday and were replaced by the presence of MY folks about 9 hours later.

SO far, the visits have been wonderful. Troy's folks had a great time, and even though we didn't take a lot of pictures, will be leaving with lots of good memories.


and once MY mom and dad were acclimated, my mom got down to business prepping all of the things we're going to FEAST on for Easter. Daddy did the usual and tried to stay out of the way, and went food shopping. Today we set up the assembly line and make the pierogis. I'll report in another day with the final total, but when the Czernikowskis get together to make pierogis, it's usually on the magnitude of 20+ DOZEN at a time. booyakasha!!!


As for things in Johnson-land... things are smooth. Rhena is Rhena... what can I say other than I love my little boogie??!?!?

Troy has been interviewing for another job, and pretty much is at the point that he's waiting for an offer letter. I'm really hoping that the offer will be a good one. I saw their benefit package and nearly shit myself. It's amazing how when you go for 2 years of paying your own medical insurance, just HOW appreciative you become when you think of company sponsored insurance that INCLUDES dental and vision, and has a zero dollar deductible for only $100 a month for our FAMILY.

but the other good stuff is that Troy would be in a REAL job.... around other people... in downtown charlotte. I'm thinking taking boogie on our museum days and meeting up with daddy for lunch kind of days... like real people do. I'm thinking about how he would no longer be working an average of 80-100 hours a week.... and that in itself can make my head spin with delight.

Anyways... we're being hopeful on that.


And today for me personally is a big day. I think of Good Friday, and it marks a culmination in all I have been reflecting on the past few weeks during this Lenten season. I think of what today represents... the day that a man named Jesus was crucified to a cross and died for the sake of others. And being the little CCD teacher that I am, today means so much more, but I'm not going to turn this into a religious lesson. I know everyone has their own beliefs, and others out there can surely find error in something I say... but my point is that today.. for me.... I remember that someone gave up His life for the sake of others, and that's pretty darn huge.

So today... every though my OWN path in life has not been a shining example of humanitarianism and morality.... today marks a time when I remember that *I* am not dead yet, and every day is a new day to try again.

And today, I think of you, my blog friends.... and I am thankful for your association. I think of all of my friends who love me despite my faults, and I appreciate them. I think of SO MANY of you who have very real problems and heartaches but manage to get up each day and make another go of things.


So despite what religion you may or may not practice, today..... I wish you ALL a peaceful weekend, and that each day brings about the faith in yourself that you CAN rise above whatever beats you down, and find a way to start anew.

Oh no he Di'int.... NO Brokeback Mntn Edition

ok... it's been too long since my last edition of ONHD....


but seriously..... Bucky the cowboy from American Idol did NOT just say

"Freddie Mercury is no guy I'd like to stand behind..."



can the irony get ANY MORE obvious??????

Glutton

ok... I've mentioned before how I tend to be the glutton for punishment.


well, I've went ahead and done it again.



Today, my friends and casual readers... today... I went to WalFart. During my FREE TIME.



Now free time don't come easy in these parts, you see.... when your husband works 100+ hours a week, the only thing I can really count on each week is that I can go volunteer-teach my CCD class, and once a month I get together with my lovelies... my Bunco girls.


But outside of those things.. Troy is pretty much working. Sure, sure... I'm sure I sound like a big ole hypocrite considering I just got back from a girl's weekend in DC... but even then, mountains had to be moved and funerals had to be missed in order to make THAT happen. so trust me when I say that free time don't just come easy in these parts.


Sometimes I almost miss working full time, because I remember being able to do things like read, go out to lunch, go for a drive with my stereo BLASTING, talk about who's sleeping with who and can you believe she wore THAT to work? you know... catty shit.

I mean, overall, this is definitely the life for me, no doubt. I can't even begin to list the blessings I've found as a stay at home mom... and let's face it... looking back on my professional positions? They sucked in a lot of ways, too. Right now I have REALLY good friends that can relate to me where I'm at cause they're floating in the same damned boat down the street from me.. and did I mention just how fucking cool Rhena is, and how much fun I have spending my time with her??

but nonetheless.... every now and then.... I get an itching to have some free time. no kid, no timeline, nobody but me. So today... with Troy's folks still in town... they gladly watched the Pooper while I went and ran some errands.

It was nice to be able to drive stop get out drive stop get out drive stop get out my way through town without having to add in the unbuckling, lifting down, walking slow, hold my hand.. no no no... ok, let's go now... no no no.... no touching, that's yucky!... ok, just another minute honey... ok.. here we go.. ok, up you go, buckle up and away we go stuff that comes with going anywhere with Rhena in between each stop.

but am I on drugs???? What would make me think that going to WALMART BY MYSELF would be a GOOD idea???


I mean... that hellhole is bad enough when you have a kid, but it's almost the built in excuse cause when you have a kid, it's like you HAVE to go to walmart. Like.. yeah.. I have a kid, she needs diapers, so groan.. here we are.

And when I have Rhena, I have to admit, it's nice to snicker with her about all the rednecks that are in there, and how much we hate the place. (Yes, I KNOW Rhena still really can't talk yet, much less say the word redneck... but live with her long enough, and you'll start to think her "oiyuh doy doo dah dah muh muh gah okay!" translates roughly to "Did you see what that woman was wearing, mommy? please don't ever dress like that in public, ok?")

Without my trusty co-pilot with me today, I was left to wonder silently to myself where these people actually come from, and is it POSSIBLE to chew anything with teeth like that?

I shuddered alone as I went by the in-store nail salon as I saw seat after seat filled with fat and or homely marmy looking women getting their piggy toes touched up with what could only be a parade of pastels and gaudy painted designs for Easter Sunday.

I cringed when I saw the too-young-to-really-be-a-mother mother and child in the photo studio as she used her dirty flip flops to push her crawling child back into the floor of the photo-studio. cause the dirty floor in there must have been better than the dirty floor just two inches away in the 'main store'.


I wiggled my way through fatties in the candy aisle. and listen... I'm not bagging on fat people, I'm really not. But if YOU'RE fat, and your KID is fat... do you REALLY think they NEED their easter basket stuffed with ANOTHER bag of chocolate??? And on what planet does it seem like a good idea to ASK said fat child if you've gotten them enough candy, or if they want more? Shit like this hurts my eyes, people... it really does.


but alas.. I did what I needed to do. I got the diapers, and goodies to make baskets for all the little kiddies that will be hopping through here on Sunday. and then I beelined my ass out of there... cause if I saw one more dude with a wad of chew in his mouth, I was gonna get ill.


SO now I'm home, and my free time continues in its normal house-arrest capacity as Rhena naps. But at least the in-laws stepped out for a little bit, and it's quiet here. no nascar, and no sportscenter on the TV as I write. And that... shit... right now that just about as good as free time NOT spent in Walmart.

And the wheels go round

Day three of Racing here in the Johnson house... yippie.


not.



Well, other than the constant spew of nascar and sportscenter coming from my TV, the visit with Troy's folks is going great. I mean... I'm CRAVING to just shut the damn TV off for a little while, or put on a cooking show.... but when you put things in perspective... some annoying noise coming from the living room is far better than not enjoying your company.


And like I said, the visit is going very well. Rhena is in full happy-mode because her Grandma brought her clothes, and because her Grandpa is, well... her Grandpa. She's still a little clingy to me and Troy, but has definitely warmed up and hasn't help back on the grandparent lovin's.


Today was nice, too... Troy's folks watched Rhena so he and I could go to church by ourselves. Now, I'm a little torn on this, because I feel that since Rhena has been baptized, she should attend church, REGARDLESS of what she's actually getting out of it at this point... but I have to admit that this week was the first week in quite a while that Troy and I were actually able to fully get something out of mass, cause we weren't shushing boogie, or feeding her some trifecta of snacks.

Today was a long one, too... Palm Sunday. the Gospel is always hella long on Palm Sunday, and church was beyond the normal packed. it was like packed on crack. Oh well.. what's done is done, and Troy and I had some good quality couple time, and his folks got one-on-one time with the Boog.


This afternoon, Troy and I are going to take Rhena over to our neighborhood spring-Easter festival for a little egg-hunt action. I think the race will just be starting at that point, so not sure if the grandfolks are going to go, too.... but you know *I'm* not staying home to watch more cars.


alrighty. time for me to go downstairs and get some face time in. I just layed rhena down, but I have to visit. and I'm sure there's a pre race to watch or something. gah.


peace out..

Almost There

you ever have one of those moments (days, weeks, MONTHS???) when you feel like you're just *almost* there... but not.


yeah.. this has been one of those weeks.... I feel like I'm ALMOST where I'm supposed to be, in just about every aspect of life, but I'm just... not.


oh well.


I e-mailed my girlfriend and told her I feel like I've been running around at about 60% these past few days. It could be this dumb ass cold (pollen reaction? who knows) I've had, the fact I haven't really been sleeping very well, or... something.


I feel that perhaps change is afoot, ladies and gents. you know how dogs get weirded out before a big storm? yeah. well, I guess this old dog is feeling a little weird.


Maybe I haven't bitched about Mariah Carey enough... so my universe is slowly shifting into some weird vortex of 'off'. It';s not for the lack of FUNNY pictures of mimi, either... Mary and Cheeky were so kind as to refer me to some oh-so-tempting-trash-talking-begging-to-happen pictures of your and my favorite pop diva.

but again... I'm just... eh.

off.


but for what it's worth.. everything is going fine and dandy and all that super great shit we pride ourselves on here in the land of Psuedo-Stepford. I even volunteered to donate some cakes to a cake walk. could you just puke???

yeah.


oh well. I'll report in again after the in-laws get here and I'm needing a pit-stop from all the nascar talk.

Winners, Losers, and some good drunk fun

hey gang....

so it would appear that Elvis actually rose from the grave to claim a cze-bingo. I'd say that maybe just maybe this might get him to blog again, but I doubt that. oh well. he still wins.

see it here for yourself.... BIG X... right there atcha.




As far as losers.... I'm talking to the American Idol voters who let Mandisa leave last night. I mean... I'm not talking TOO much, cause you know MY cheap ass didn't vote... but I was sad to see her go. She's a beautiful girl with a great voice. I wish her well. If I ever get into Gospel music, I'll totally buy one of her CDs. but actually, no... I would listen to her sing some other stuff, too. but not now. cause I'm too cheap to buy a CD.


now... I KNOW I caught your attention with the 'good drunk fun' part of the title.
y'all know I love me some Hänni-pants. She and those crazy kids at the Haus are having an American Idol Finale Party, and YOU (well, ME, but now YOU, cause I'm telling you about it!) get to vote for which drink Hänni will consume in mass quantities at the AI Finale Party!!! FUN!!!!


Each week the Drink with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated, until one drink is left, and no one is left standing. Genious, these people are, I swear! There's even a nifty little button you can get... though personally, I'm holding out for the t-shirt.

Anyways... this kinda gives me joy being that I'm still doing the lent thing. I sure as heck didn't give up getting OTHER people to drink for Lent!!! SO go vote.

ok.. the sidebar needs updating, but my laundry needs attention, too. clothes win out; look for sidebar changes later.

The best part of waking up

ok.... so I have to tell you... last night really SUCKED for me sleep-wise.


Rhena had a very off-day yesterday... between not enjoying her swim class (I know.. tell me about it... I actually checked her label to make sure she was really her) NOT NAPPING

AT ALL.


ALL. DAY.


to a very fitful night... she was just oh-eff-eff OFF. SO all night, she was randomly letting out whimpers and cries. errrg.

so I have the turets-like-crying going on over the monitor to my left, and damnit to hell, troy was snoring like a motherfucker last night to my right.

in between these musical interludes of WAHHHH! -kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssss.... kkkkkkkkuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggghhhhh (you get the idea) I had the craziest dream.

First of all, I was in some brokeback mountain setting where I was an insurance salesman. but the insurance was only a sell when you reeled out the cord from your ear piece to the ipod and were able to pull it back in without the ear piece falling out. hmmm, and I got extra money if I could get them to fit into a size 12 pair of courderoys. I dunno... it was a war time, and Tony Soprano's wife was taking over.. or at least being more in charge of family affairs, so all I knew was I had to get them to put on the courderoys.


so yeah.. wake up again to hear rhena cry out, and troy cutting down logs. nudge troy, tell him to shhhh and stop snoring, and realize rhena's really ok, and is already back to sleep. dozed off in the middle of nudging troy trying to get him to stop snoring again.


Back in la la land... I'm in a parking garage, on my way out so I can order some manicotti, cause it was a long night at the club. Well, as I walk to my harley, I notice that the guy parked behind me is shoveling up a dead body into his car. He doesn't realize that the body is scooping is going to be used int he manicotti filling per Tony's orders, nor does he apparently know that I know what's up, cause next thing I know, I'm busting ass to get out of the garage before he can follow me.

SO this long chase ensues, and I end up back in my parent's garage, and I don't get the garage door shut before the guy comes barreling into the driveway. somehow I make it into the house, which has now apprently become a meat packing plant to support the italian sauce industry. But I guess the guy is mad and confused because the dead body should be mixed in with the sauce and not with the white creamy ricotta filling.

I guess at this point, he's either a different guy, or he's not trying to kill me anymore, cause I end up explaining to him that HIS dead body was mushy, so it had to go in the manicotti (I know it's the ricotta, but in my dream we were calling it the manicotti) and anyways, if it went into the meat sauce that would just be gross.


~~~~~~~

At this point, I wake up and it's about 5am, and rhena's really crying. I went and got her, sushed her down and brought her back into our bed. she slept that last hour with us, quietly, in my arms like a newborn.

It's amazing how one hour with your child can give you all the rest or energy you need for a whole day. In that last hour, I probably didn't sleep, but I was in a lullaby of her warmth and short breaths nonetheless.

and when I opened my eyes to see her so at peace.. so content, so innocent....

well.. THAT was the best part of waking up.

Another Weener!!!

ok, ok... It's time for me to get off my fingers and declare Susie a

BIG WINNER!!!

I have a feeling my stat tracker has gone up a few hits these past two days cause she keeps checking on when her glory will be announced... so without further delay...


throw ya hands up for Suser....

There it is, in all it's glory.. the INNER SANCTUM!!!


Congrats to Susie; and again to Marianna... who has been patiently waiting for the rest of you to call something so she can get her damn prize!

I feel so catholic right now I can hardly stand it.

You're so vain!!!

wow... talk about the power of the written word!!!


since yesterday morning, I have received THREE... count 'em... THREE e-mails inquiring if my little blurb about drama in yesterday's post was about them. The funniest shit is that none of the people who wrote to me had anything to do with my comment! WTF is THAT about???


The first e-mail made me laugh.... and I was all ready to write a response back putting their pretty head to rest, but I kept reading e-mails.. figuring I would do my responding later. The second one made me raise an eyebrow, and now, just after reading the third, I'm torn between shaking my head and laughing out loud.


I don't know if there was a full moon, or I tend to run with a guilty-feeling crowd, or maybe I just tend to be in and around a lot of drama... but this was an unprecedented, unsolicited response from an off-hand comment.

And because this is my blog and I'm allowed to say whatever the hell I want.... I'm going to leave yesterday at yesterday, but still take the opportunity to poke fun at the people who e-mailed me. I do also have to say that all of this makes me call to mind that famous saying "if the shoe fits..." but we won't go there. at least not today.

I mean... seriously!!!!! You'd think I'd at least get a little more sympathy about NASCAR or something??? guess not... so cue the Carly Simon!


oh well. there's more to blog about, like cze-bingo, and a new winner, but Troy wants the laptop. it's weird. he's actually home! so that's it for now... more on cze-bingo later.

Is this thing on???

so I'm convinced that cze-bingo is/was a flop.


I'll still keep the sidebar updated til the end of this month, but I have a feeling everyone just kinda gave up. Perhaps my fault; this took longer than I thought it would to get a winner, and then there was the week of practically no posting. oh well.

Marianna will get a prize for sure. Poor thing is going to need SOMETHING; she's eiher currently IN or coming up on her Greek Orthodox Lent. I know I used to get crazy with giving things up, but those Greeks don't fuck around. They make Gandhi look like a glutton!


and speeeeeeaking of glutton... do you ever find yourself going where you totally shouldn't? either cause it's mentally going to throw you for a loop, physically, or emotionally? I'm not going to get into my latest round of self-punishment, but I was *this* close to self-distructing the other day. Fortunately, I kept myself in check enough to only get emotionally bent, but it was a close call. I just hate when people say stupid shit, and I find it hard to sit back and let them continually get away with it. BUT... I had nothing to do with the original conversation, so I actually stayed out of the ensuing drama. I offered my thoughts to the pretty who vented to me, and that definitely got me fired up.... but I resisted the urge to get involved. go me.


but one thing I will NOT be able to not involve myself with this week will be my dear old foe, NASCAR. Troy's folks are coming for a visit, and if y'all remember from last year... that means NASCAR. every damn day.


Nascar in the morning.

Nascar in the evening.

Nascar in the house.

Nascar in the car.

On the clothes.

On the cooler.

On the beer can coolers. (shit... I can't ease the pain by drinking this time around!)

and most definitely.... on my TV.



*sigh* I know I should just suck it up and quit bitching, but I just don't like NASCAR.


ok. I imagine I'll vent a few more times regarding the cars-de-nas before the visit is over, but I know if I'm bitching here, then I'm being a good daughter-in-law in real life. And honestly... all the motor-bore aside... it'll be good to have them visit. My inlaws are good people, and plain and simple, I love when we have family visit. Whether it's my family, Troy's family, or good friends... I really enjoy having people here in our world.


So off you go.... enjoy your day! I personally have a date for breakfast with boogie-pants.

HBOM and RFH

yeah.. for all of those that don't know... that post title means:

Happy Birthday Old Man and Rhena's First Haircut


Today... my dear old dad is 61 years old. old. sorry, just wanted to say OLD one more time.


I can't quite say it's been a good sixty one years, as I can really only speak for about 33 of them... but nonetheless... I'm happy he's around. Happy Birthday, Jhonny!





and as some cruel form of April's fool joke on Boogie... we took her to get her haircut today. for the first time. ever.


I mean , I like Flock of Seagulls just as much as the next gal, but there's no need for Rhena to have continued to look like Mike Score, you know? catch her "before" pic below:

so being that she was definitely due for a trim... off we went to the Land of Scare.... we went to Snip-its. The colors seemed to be intriguing enough for Rhena.. but the LOUD MUSIC and OVER FRIENDLY staff even sent a chill up *my* spine. I liken it to the Cartoon Network taking about 25 hits of crack, and inviting everyone inside!!! for a PRIZE! yeah. a little freaky.

And like the little lamb she is... she trusted mommy and daddy as she was hoisted into the chair and wrapped in a green robe. I'd say that she didn't know the slaughter that was about to happen, but clearly my kid is no dope. This look is not of a child thinking everything is peachy keen.

Well, the sad-pouty-are-you-sure-this-is-legal-to-do-to-kids look didn't last long, and was soon replaced by all-out terror. And as much as it breaks my heart to see her cry, it DOES make me feel better knowing she falls in the normal range of kid behavior. Show us the teeth, baby girl... there you go!

eventually, the receptionist came by and started blowing bubbles for Rhena... and she actually stopped crying. The naive-thinking-the-world-revolves-around-my-child mom in me thought that was so sweet of her to do... but the realistic bitch from jersey knew she had to stop Rhena from screaming because she was probably scaring the shit out of the kids waiting to get snipped. In fact.. I'm surprised they don't have sound-proof hair booths for that reason. hmmm... I could be on to something.

Either way... Rhena stopped crying, but still was mindful to keep up the look that says "I still don't trust this evil place". That's good. that time in jersey taught her well. Always keep a bag of skepticism in your bag pocket. like I said.. that's my girl.

Of course... she got her certificate when the torture was over, and some weird 'prize' of some sorts. Apparently you get to put in a card and a toy comes out of some slot.. but her 'prize' was a tiny tube of yellow lipstick, and it came shooting out of the slot like a freaking MISSLE, and went across the entire waiting area. I picked it up, and quickly pondered if they were trying to insinuate Rhena was a chicken shit scaredy cat with that yellow-belly lipstick, but it doesn't matter, cause there's no way in hell I'm letting her play with lipstick till she's 40.

So we paid our fees, and Rhena got a certificate and baggy full of hair. I never realized just HOW red (strawberry blonde) her hair was until it was in the baggie against white paper, but yeah... she's got the kiss of pink.

Happy to be out of the God-Forsaken place... Rhena finally gave us a smile.

Now we're home, and she's passed out. I imagine she's dreaming of how she'll look with really really long hair, or other ways to avoid ever going back there again. Like I said... that's my girl!

Have a great weekend, everyone, and once again.. Happy B-Day, daddy!