My Drinking Team Has a Rugby Problem.

Last night I was browsing the web and came across a video clip for "Awesome Rugby Hits".

It brought back a lot of memories from college when my husband played rugby.



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I didn't miss a single game during the three years he played. It was so much fun. Although I have to say, without fail, not even five minutes of time would go by before some sort of fight would break out...and after awhile I didn't even have to check to see if my husband was involved. He always was.

Nature of the sport I imagine.

There were clean moments...



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There were the muddy moments...



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But no matter how the weather was, or who the team was playing...it was always an adventure with lots of action and the day always finished up with a friendly party of songs, laughter, and good times.

Sometimes I wonder what all the ruggers are up to these days. Hoping you're all doing well and that life hasn't had you 'drinking from the boot' very often.

~Your Rugby Princess

In addition:
Some day I really want to travel to New Zealand to watch the All Blacks play. Please, please, pretty please?

Blunt

I've always been a rather blunt person. Sometimes this can be a good quality and other times it can be a not so good quality.

I took the munchkin to breakfast this morning, actually lunch by the time we sat down and it's what I was in the mood for - chicken strips and fries! This is the same breakfast restaurant that I frequent often so naturally I wanted to share my happy pregnancy news with the staff since they watched me grow and grow and grow with my first pregnancy and then watched my daughter grow and grow and grow over the past year.

I wasn't expecting bluntness to be plopped back in my own lap...not in the way it was at least.

It's true that this pregnancy came as a shock, because I really didn't think I was pregnant. We've just been too busy and preoccupied - if you know what I mean. However, apparently not all that busy and not all that preoccupied, because three pregnancy tests later ...all showed that I'm pregnant.

But I'm an honest person, and while I was still smiling, I mentioned to the owner's wife that this baby came as a surprise. And she looked at me and asked me if I planned on keeping it.

Wow.

It really took my breath away.

"Why of course I do. Children are a blessing! and we feel very lucky!"

So now I've spent the rest of the day wondering what expression I must have had on my face to make this woman ask such a thing. Or was she just asking to ask, because I certainly thought I looked happy about the coming of this new baby.

It wasn't like the moment was drawn out or anything of the sort, but it really has felt drawn out in my mind.

Everyone else I talked with was cheery and upbeat, why did this woman ask me that?

Not Quite the Same

Well, donuts were not to be had so I made some funnel cakes at home instead.

The first one tasted great...the second was average..and the third...I didn't finish the third and I threw out the rest.

Like so many things these days, and I blame first trimester blahs, something sounds GREAT and then I eat it and suddenly don't want it any more.

However, I'm sure if I had eaten REAL Krispy Kreme donuts I'd have been in donut bliss alllll night long!

Must.Have.Donut.

I wonder if Krispy Kreme delivers?

I'm having a moment of donut desperation.

*hack*

This is nasty. I don't know why I continue eating at fast food restaurants when there are soooo many gross stories about health code violations.

I'm going to be sick.

But it was kinda funny that it happened in Tipp City.

Happiness

According to an MSN article, Fresno, CA is ranked #7 on the US's happiest city list.

I'm not sure how this will affect me, but it's gotta be good!

No Rest For the Thinker

Naturally, a lot has been going through my head as of late. But last night I had such a restless night.

The Artful Blogger has implanted (get it, imPLANTED) this idea into my head about gardening and having your own tasty vegetables fresh from your own tilled and tended soil.

I kept having lengthy and strange dreams about tomato plants. I was running around holding a tomato plant that I had ripped off from this immaculate farm I was walking by. I had stolen it quickly so it looked pretty darn shabby as I frantically scrambled for a place to stick it in the ground in my own garden area.

Thing is, my yard apparently met up with the State maintenance area and I was trying to find a good spot along the edge of my yard to plant the forlorn tomato plant because of the automatic sprinkler system that the State had put in to maintain the luster of their land.

Thinking to myself, "I don't know how to garden! I'll surely kill off this plant I stole and wahhhhhhhhhh then I'll NEVER get any fresh tomatoes!"

I finally found this spot on the corner of the lot where a State water sprinkler would sufficiently water the ground in my yard...so the thought of a gasping tomato plant was now put to rest.

I didn't have a shovel though. So suddenly I had a metal spatula in my hand and I was trying to spatula a hole of dirt out so I could plant this scraggly tomato plant which by now was probably very much in shock.

As I bent down to dig the hole, there appeared a State worker who had lifted off this lid over the ground...some hole that went down to the watering system mechanisms. It looked damp and cool in there, yet I didn't see any water system controls...just dirt. And I thought, "Oh I could just plant this tomato plant in there once this guy leaves! The hole is already there!"

So I asked the man if I was in his way and he assured me I wasn't...not that he knew I wanted to toss my plant into his service compartment.

As I waited there, under the sun and the sprinklers lightly getting my shoes wet...grasping this depressed little stolen tomato plant thinking that the man was taking.a.lifetime.at.the.controls.... I woke up.

Kids These Days

So here I was, reading a juicy blog entry and my munchkin was happily emptying the contents of her diaper bag. Yes, Manababies, the same diaper bag as when you were over on Saturday with the very same contents...except I didn't let the kids emtpy it then. THANK GOODNESS!

Ok...
So deep into reading and thinking and wondering what must have been going through the head of Marianna (like Banana)...

And I hear this cha-chink-cha-chink-roll-chink-roll-chink...

I suddenly remembered there had been a bottle of aspirin in the diaper bag from our flight to California...and the rattling of the pills sounded very ~clear~ and ~loud~ and when I glanced down from my monitor...

My little girl, the genious that she is, somehow opened the child proof cap and was dumping pills everywhere!! Thank goodness she didn't eat any...but I totally and completely freaked out - enough to make her panic. So there we both were freaking out.

I'm holding her in my lap now as all she wants to do is try to figure out the child lock lid again...and she's brushing my face with my sparkle blush brush and giving me kisses.

People Watching

On so many of my daily walks, I find myself absorbed in watching the people around me.

One of my favorite things to see is when a man and woman are crossing the street. It can actually be a man/woman combo of almost any age really...adult...teenager...

I don't know if it's from upbringing, or if it's just nature of the beast, but more often than not, the man either takes the woman's hand or gently places his hand on her lower back as they cross the street. As if to say, "I'm looking out for you with all these crazy cars and drivers around...and I'll save you if I need to!"

Most the time the woman doesn't acknowledge this gesture from my observations. But I think it is so sweet.

It shows me that chivalry isn't dead and gives me something positive to reflect upon when I'm trying to maneuver the stroller through the doors at Borders Books and some jerk who can't be bothered for half a second pushes his way through the door, half stepping over my daughter and nearly knocking me out of the way.

Wheat Toast and Tea

I'm not sure if it's from the strange weather... it actually SNOWED yesterday.... or if it's that the furnace filter needs changing?...

but my allergies are driving me batty today. They started acting up yesterday and have continued to be a pest since.

Word that comes to mind:

ANNOYING!

YUM!

I would love to plan a trip to Las Vegas to attend The Great American Dessert Expo!!

It's coming up in June, but I don't think we've got the time to plan for it. But it sure looks like a lot of fun!

I think Coffee Fest goes on at the same time in the same place as well!

FUN!

Change Again

With the slight nausia and sleepyness I'm feeling lately, this whole beach scene just isn't working for me.

So when I'm avoiding packing, I'm going to be working on yet another new template.

But first, a nap is in order!

Proof

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My daughter usually ~only~ naps in my lap. I am documenting her napping on the floor, on this day, April 21, 2005.

Taking Time to Smell the Flowers

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I think in order to keep my stress level down, I'm going to ask my mother in law to come out and help me pack and host a garage sale to sell off some of our unwanted items...like that yellow, flowery bedspread.

We could use the garage sale money as gas money for the drive to CA. I'll have to see what my doctor says about me flying with the munchkin, or if I'll need to ride in the car with my husband. My in laws are going to be driving the moving truck for us with all our stuff.

My husband doesn't want me lifting any boxes. And he doesn't want me stressed out.

I guess I'll ask for help.

Waiting

My doctor's appointment isn't until May 11. And while that doesn't look that far away on a calendar, it's going to feel like I'm waiting all of eternity! I'll get an ultrasound done at that time to get some idea of how far along I am and a ballpark due date.

Until then, I need to be keeping my munchkin happy and trying to pack this blasted house of mine. We'll most likely be moving in one month - end of May. The amount of work that has to be done is just unreal. And yet, the house just seems to be getting messier and messier and more jumbled and chaotic. And I just seem to be feeling more and more tired.

Where are those little packing elves when you need them??

Moving and Growing

So apparently all the craziness of moving just wasn't enough for me and my family.

I found out today that our family will be growing.

~I'm pregnant!~

Of course when I have a house to pack, prep to move, then travel, then unpack and get settled...that would be the time I get prego!

We're excited.

I took a second test of a different brand just.to.make.sure. Same result - two lines.

I guess I'll call my OBGYN in the morning and get an appointment set up. I have no idea how far along I am...

Craziness!

So Much To Do

Well, after freaking out about all that has to be accomplished in a short amount of time, I decided to spend a little bit of time in the attic this morning before it got hot outside. I gathered more items for donation and even more things to pitch out.

My husband and I decided that we'd leave our bedroom furniture instead of packing it. We've used it since college and it's big and bulky and while it's still very nice furniture...it's just time to move on. The idea of new bedroom furniture is fun fun fun!

I also decided that I'm not bringing our gold velour bedspread...no matter how nice it is. I'm also not bringing our yellow floral guest room bedspread. In fact, the floral bedspread is definately going to have a ceremonial toss into the garbage can while sipping a beer one night soon here. It was a wedding gift and while it was lovely to receive such a nice bedding set ... I.just.don't.like.it.and.don't.want.it.any.longer! Actually, in truth, I won't throw it away. I'll donate it with the other items we're donating. I'm sure there's someone else who will adore it the way it should be adored. It just won't be me!

After exhausting my daughter's patience in the attic this morning, she napped and then I ventured into the kitchen. I figured the kitchen is such a long, tedious job of packing that it would be a good place to start...you know, get that part OVER WITH. So, I packed up all but two of our dinner plates and all of our salad plates, the turkey pan, the belgian waffle maker, placemats, and napkins, coconut bowl, and my wool jacket for extra padding.

I also am getting rid of some of our glasswares, steamer, sandwich snackmaker gadget, air popcorn popper, coffee maker.

We're minimizing. There's just no point in hauling a bunch of stuff half across the nation if I don't really WANT it.

Hopefully later tonight I can get more done, and tomorrow even more!

But tonight - We're grilling bbq pork ribs, corn on the cob, sauteed mushrooms and zucchini, roasted garlic with brie cheese on sliced baguettes.

I Need Lots of Boxes

We're moving to Fresno, CA!

I have so much packing to do right now that I don't even know where to begin or where to even start thinking.

I knew I should have started on the attic cleaning sooner.

I'm so excited - I'll have palm trees in my new yard!!

What the Hell Happened to My Feet?

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The little one got a new 'Olivia' pig (with matching book) and frog slippers in the mail today.

While she took to Olivia right away, she's a little concerned that she's turning into an amphibian.

Ouchers and Bubble Gum

This morning started out well. Got decent sleep last night. The munchkin was in a good mood. Snacking in her playpen while I diligently cleaned the kitchen and washed dishes.

Dishwashers should be a mandated household appliance.

I was washing a bowl and it slipped right out of my hands. I was able to catch it though!!...the superwoman that I am...

However, I happened to catch it just as it hit the sink and broke.

I thought I lucked out though. You know, those first few moments after you've really hurt yourself when you're numb to it all?

Thinking, "Oh rock on! Damn, I lucked out...STOKED! No cuts!! WHEW!"

Then reality settles in and the blood starts flowing...

Ew.

So I have four nice cuts on my dominant hand. Three which just hurt and aren't too horrific, but then the last one which is on my middle finger knuckle and it's a doozy.

A nice hunk of fleshy finger meat flapping around. Beautiful.

Hurts like a BLEEP!

Of course the munchkin saw her daddy up earlier than usual and didn't really give a rat's hiney about my injuries..."Ooo Daddy's awake!! Hold me nowwwwwwwwwwwww Daddy!"

We tossed a cookie at her in hopes of satiation.

It worked for a bit. Long enough for me to get bandaged up. I can't bend my middle finger and the other cuts hurt but aren't throbbing the same as my middle finger.

And I can't forget to buy Bubble Gum.

I'm packing for a trip to California. We fly out Thursday. Fly back Saturday.

Suitcases. Come out! Come out! Wherever you are!

Mu Goo My Margarita!

I spent most of the day out walking around today....it was sooo nice!! A bit chilly to start, but then it warmed up nicely. And I heard it's supposed to be in the 80s tomorrow...woo hoo!

We decided to walk a few blocks away to this dive of a Chinese place.

"You want to eat there?"

"Hmm. Sure."

"What if it's really bad?"

"Well, yeah, it could be...but maybe we'll get some tea if we eat there?"

So we walked there and as we reached the door, we notice that the restaurant is a small 9x9 foot room with a couple of card tables and a few metal chairs.

Definately not a place to 'dine-in' at!

"Ok...so you want to get it to gooo?" I say with a chuckle...It was quite obvious that there would be no tea to be had there.

The place was empty except the three of us and the cooks in the back.

We place our order, 'Mongolian Beef', 'Kung Pao Chicken', and 'Pork Fried Rice'...three standards that could easily be compared amongst other restaurants.

While we were waiting (approximately 25-30 minutes) for the food to be prepared, six other people came in to pick up orders that they had called ahead for. SIX!

To me that was a good sign that this nothing-burger place might be better than I had originally anticipated...card tables and no tea set aside.

And while we waited, I found myself acting ridiculous....

"Excuse me...Have you eaten here before??"

I asked that of every single person that came through the restaurant's doors.

"Was the food good? Is it good? Do you like it? What do you recommend?"

Like anyone coming back for more is going to say...'Oh the food sucks and I am just a glutton for punishment which is why I am coming back...'

The woman gave us an extra bag of fortune cookies!! MMM!!

My fortune:
~*~Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.~*~

My husband paid the bill and gave the woman a tip. He had noticed that no one else that had come in bothered tipping! The woman looked very confused (and sooo busy and tired) and started calculating in her head the extra amount and then held out the extra money repeating what the total had come to and saying he had over paid.

He looked at her and said, "Yeah, I know...that's a tip."

The woman just melted. It was so sweet. She, for a brief moment, took in a breath of air from her busy schedule and sighed and said, "Thank you so much."

We got the food home, tore open the containers and while I sorted the baby, my husband began tasting the food.

"Sooo??!?!? How is it???" as I took coats off and reclipped messy munchkin hair and got out baby food, etc.

No answer.

"C'mon!! Can't you just telll me!?! I'm STARVING! I gotta know!"

My husband starts his reply.."It's...fricken..."

And he scruntches up his face and makes a big thumbs down gesture...

"FRICKEN AWESOME!!!!"

So we all sat down and snarfed! I'm so happy to have found good Chinese food by my house!! YUM!

Then my husband scrambled out the door for his 'Boys Night Out' and I sat down to another small helping of the delish fried rice and watched some mental mush tv while I finished my margarita.

Ahhh bliss!

Take a Guess...

So this picture made it's way to me by a friend...

What cup size would you guess this is?



Thank you Carlene.

After you have a firm guess in your mind, click the picture to see the answer!

I'm a Big Meanie

I went for a walk this afternoon and just as I was about to cross the street to head back toward my house a man stops me.

"Excuse me. Can you help me?"

"What can I help you with?"

"Can you ~mummble mummble~ phone number?"

(I didn't really know what he wanted but I did my best to come up with a possible solution."

"There's got to be a phone book around here close by where you can get the phone number you need."

And I wave my hand pointing up the street toward some businesses.

"Oh, I got the number already. I want to call my best friend and have him come over."

"Oh. Sorry. I won't let you use my cellphone to do that, nor will I call for you. Try a pay phone up the street."

And I turn to walk away, but of course, right at that moment GOBS of traffic just had to be driving by making me wait for a good few minutes...

Warm weather brings out all the ~interesting~ types.

So, I'm a meanie...I said no...

Sweet 21

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I was cleaning the attic some more, and I came across this picture of my Mom. It's one of my favorites of her...

She was just 21.

Blasted Blinds and Tackling Tubs

I've been busy lately to say the least. Not only with my attic spring cleaning and day and evening walks, but with this small human being glued to my side that I call daughter.

She's entirely hazardous now that she's walking. And there is nothing passive about her... She gravitates toward each and every danger that she possibly could.

This morning, as I was frantically trying to throw myself together in front of the bathroom mirror so we could get out and enjoy some sunshine, my little one was playing happily by my feet. She likes emptying out the bathroom cabinets and especially grabbing the bandaid box and tossing bandaids all over the tile floor.

She weighs herself on the scale, tries scaling the toilet, and like a kitten, undoes the toilet paper roll leaving strips of toilet paper all over... she's so cute when she's busy like this. And all that's fine with me. Because while she's busy in this manner, she's safe.

But when she stands at the side of the tub, tossing in all the shampoo bottles and conditioner bottles and bars of soap and drain stoppers and and and and.... she starts making me a little nervous.

You see, it's fine while she's throwing the stuff into the tub, but then when she runs out of things to throw in...well, she wants to start all over again. The only way for her to start all over is to gather all the items in the tub and 1, 2, 3...she's ready to go again.

Normally, she just stands there...dancing along the edge of the tub, making strange baby noises to let me know she's run out of things to throw in. And this is when I stop what I'm doing, help her out, and then we're both on our merry way.

Maybe it's her new found ~FREEDOM~ of walking...her new sense of ~INDEPENDENCE~... her "I am WOMAN, hear me ROAR"... but this morning, instantly she decided to throw herself head first into the empty tub. There was no way I could have acted fast enough to catch her. She's got a lovely bruise on her forhead.

Lord give me strength to make it through this transformation from crawler to stable walker. And please grant my daughter the understanding not to throw herself into hard objects on an instant's notice where she might really hurt herself. And please keep the margarita bottle in the fridge at a minimum 3/4 level full so that I don't turn into a neurotic mess while I guide my daughter through this challenging time.

And the blinds in our computer room are officially broken. After not getting but five minutes of sleep last night, and waking up early to a fussy munchkin and a husband who swears that the baby had been crying for THREE HOURS when in reality it had been five minutes, because I was awake for the entire episode, and seeing the blinds laying on the floor and struggling with them trying to hang them back up only to have them fall back down right.on.top.of.me when I was still cranky and tired...well, they are now laying in a big, messy heap on the back porch. And there they shall stay until I crumple up their sorry blindy butt and stuff them into the garbage can.

Not Only

Not only is my little one walking now, but she's able to walk and talk on her cell phone at the same time.

It's pretty darn comical.

Nice Weather

It's got to be the nice weather outside that has me so itchy to clean and throw stuff out.

I spent six hours out and about walking yesterday and visiting with people. It felt GREAT. I forgot to lather the little one up with sunscreen though, and I can't find her bottle of spf 60 so I need to remember to get some more tomorrow...

I didn't get out for a walk today. Shame on me. But I found myself going a bit bonkers with cleaning and sorting. It's a never ending job really, but I did enough where it's noticeable and that feels awesome.

We got a new vacuum cleaner. A Dyson! And honestly, the first time I heard all the hype about a Dyson vacuum cleaner, I laughed. I thought it was so cartoony and comical...but now that I have one and have actually used it in my house...AMAZING! Works great and is lightweight and really built with the convenience of the user in mind.

I've also been working up in my attic. Look down your shirt and spell attic out loud.... (I swear, I'm still such a child at heart.) So far I have three boxes of stuff to go to Goodwill/Salvation Army and about six garbage bags full of stuff to be tossed! I'm definately in a groove. Funny thing is, in the house, I have a rinky dink boombox that only plays the radio because the CD player part is broken. I rock out while I wash dishes and cook dinner, etc. But up in the attic, I decided why not finally get around to hooking up the stereo...so that's what I did. Right up there in the attic. Now I've got nice tunes to listen to while I throw stuff out and give stuff away...I find it highly motivating and it keeps me from getting over sentimental with stuff.

Now, sushi for dinner, or steak salad with vinaigrette and a sliced baguette...decisions decisions!

How To Be Really Alive

When I first started college, I was very into ~finding myself~. I took a lot of walks, sketched a lot of pictures, did a lot of people watching...

One of the books I came across that I found to be so interesting was 'A Creative Companion' by SARK.

Many stories from the book I found inspiring, but the following is something that has stuck with me through the years:

How To Be Really Alive

Live Juicy.Stamp out conformity.
Stay in bed all day.Dream of gypsy
Wagons.Find snails making love.
Develop an astounding appetite for books.
Drink sunsets.Draw out your feelings.
Amaze yourself.Be ridiculous.Stop
Worrying.Now.If not now, then when?
Make yes your favorite word.Marry
Yourself.Dry your clothes in the sun.
Eat mangoes naked.Keep toys in the
Bathtub.Spin yourself dizzy.Hang
Upside down.Follow a child.Celebrate
An old person.Send a love letter to yourself.
Be advanced.Try endearing.Invent
New ways to love.Transform negatives.
Delight someone.Wear pajamas to a
Drive in movie.Allow yourself to feel
Rich without money.Be who you truly
Are and the money will follow.Believe
In everything.You are always on
Your way to a miracle.

~The Miracle is You~

--SARK