I complain an awful lot. Have you ever noticed that? Just kidding - of course you have. That is one of the reasons I haven't been posting lately. I'm sick of hearing myself whine, so I figure, "why would anyone else want to hear it?". Thank you to the people that have emailed me, I appreciate it. The thing is, I can't seem to get myself out of my dark place lately, so I've been avoiding this blog like the plague. The worm may have turned, so I'm going to post a few things that I am extremely grateful for.
My son's knee is on the road to recovery. The MRI showed that he had no bone chips, he does have a deep bone bruise, the ligament is stretched pretty badly, but not completely torn off, and they think the cartilage is okay. There is one line that looks iffy, but apparently it's not uncommon in boys his age - when they are growing that fast, their bodies can't always keep up. He's started doing physical therapy 3x a week at a rehab facility, the other 2 days he's exercising with the trainer at school who actually works for the same rehab facility.
He's on the short brace now, which he hates, but that's only until the PT/trainer people tell him can stop using it unless he's actually running or exercising. The orthopedic doctor wrote the script for 4 weeks, we see him again at the end of October. Hopefully the boy'll have a clean bill of health at that point. The only reason they would want another MRI is if he's still having any problems at that time, without the brace on. I'm keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed that it gets taken care of completely now, without any long term effects.
Other things I'm grateful for include my girlfriend and her husband giving my son guitar lessons every weekend for free; one of my sisters finding a possible place in town that will give my son formal lessons in the winter on a sliding scale or scholarship; another girlfriend letting me borrow money in cash, and then her credit card also when I really needed it; the prez of my company offering to give me my "end of the year" bonus early when he found out I was in really tough financial straights - on the day when they laid off 6 people; the fact that I still have a job; the prez offering to pay for courses in Quickbooks so I could maybe start a side business as a bookkeeper to offset my full time wages; a lady at the rehab facility tonight who turns out to be the wife of the head of the sports dept. telling me that the school's insurance should help me cover the co-pays, which total $450 just in what has already occured or what is scheduled in appointments so far... I have been so unbelievably blessed. That is the way I choose to see it, right now.
I have a bad habit of only looking at the glass as half empty, and I have a nasty, quick temper. Things can go from placid to really bad pretty quickly around here. Case in point: my special sister is living with me. I'm so grateful that she empties the garbage every day and does her best to fill the dishwasher - but only on weekdays. She has it in her head that we agreed when we moved in together that she would only do these things on the weekdays. I have tried to tell her many times since that I still cook every day, so she should still do the dishes every day. She is adament against it, so I have cooked and cleaned up the dishes on my days off. She has even gone so far as to claim she is too sick to do the dishes if I get a 3-day weekend.
Apparently, the last time that happened, I was cursing and yelling and banging things so much in the kitchen that I scared her. When she went to say good night to me, she started crying. I gave her a hug and a kiss, and asked her why she was crying. She said it was because I scared her, that I was so angry in the kitchen and she thought it was because I was angry at her. Well it was, but I didn't mean to scare someone who is basically a child! What is wrong with me?!
When I'm actually getting some sleep without wondering where the money is coming from for the next big thing, I'm not really all that bad as a person. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever change, be able to change, be in a position to change. When I'm feeling the squeeze, I can't even remotely find the light at the end of the tunnel to hang on to. When I do see the light, it's beautiful and I am able to remind myself of the times I have seen it in the past and how I might feel in the future.
A couple of weeks ago I was sitting at my desk when out of the corner of my eye I spotted what I thought was a bird hopping outside the entrance door. It was a rather large bird, so I gave it my full attention and discovered it was actually a baby bunny. Which is what I yelled as I grabbed my camera and headed out the door, "A Baby Bunny!". Of course, when I got out there, it had long ago hopped away, but I still searched under all the bushes out front trying in vain to find a picture.
While in the bushes, I realized I was looking right into a co-workers office. She in turn was staring out at me and when she had my attention, she made a shadow puppet rabbit ears with her hand, and gestured that it was hopping away. Little Bunny Foo Foo! I hadn't thought about Little Bunny Foo Foo in years!
(If you're not familiar with it, it's a rather violent little children's song that uses hand gestures to get the point across. It's similar in tone to The Itsy Bitsy Spider, but is more repetitive and has a moral. Until I looked it up this morning and found it on Wikipedia, I had no idea it was as well known as it is.)
I went back inside the office and said to my co-worker, "You know Little Bunny Foo Foo? I thought that was just one of those random things only my family knew." To which she replied, "I learned it in kindergarten". We looked at each other and started laughing, "Mrs. Capp!". We had already established quite a few years ago that we had the same kindergarten teacher at the same school, one year apart. The beautiful Mrs. Capp with the long blond hair that she always wore in a huge bun on top of her head. Who knew in 1975/1976 when she taught us that song that it would be a bonding moment for two grown women over 30 years later?
A few weeks ago, I was sitting on my back porch smoking a cigarette. One side of my back porch is completely overgrown by what I can only describe as a huge bush. It provides shade and privacy, and encourages birds and bugs to take refuge in it. This particular day, I could see a little bird roosting on the far side of it. Being who I am, I decided to go inside very quietly to see if I could grab my camera and get some pictures of it.
I was extremely surprised to find the bird still there when I came back outside. That never happens. So I slowly made my way down the porch steps to see if I could get a better angle on the pictures. The bird could not have cared less. It let me get as close as I wanted to. It kept looking like it was trying to sleep.
At that point, I thought that there must be something wrong with it. Sure enough, it tried to hop down a couple of branches and it looked like this:
I thought I would probably have to call a wild life rehabilitator or take it somewhere and see if it could be healed. In the meantime, the poor little baby allowed me to croon to it, and stroke it's feathers. I'm not kidding when I say it was the softest thing I've ever touched. It didn't try to attack me while I was touching it, and it didn't seem freaked out by it, either.
I went inside briefly to tell my mother what was going on. I was concerned that a wild life rehabilitator wouldn't take the bird in because they are basically a dime a dozen. There was no way I could bring the baby bird in my house with 2 cats and a dog that wants to eat everything that moves. I didn't know what to do. My mother insisted that I should wash my hands before I did anything further. In my mother's eyes, god only knows what diseases the bird was carrying and I had been touching it.
After speaking to my mother, I went back out and the bird was gone. I can only hope that it wasn't sick, that it was a new baby and needed to rest for a couple of minutes before it found the energy to go live it's life. Sweet little angel baby!
This past Monday at about 4:15, my son dislocated his left knee cap while tackling another kid during drills at football practice. I got the call at about 4:25, and by the time I got to the school (less than 10 minutes) the trainer had already put the leg into a full leg decompression device and called the team doctor. The team doctor is an orthopedic, and was willing to see the boy as soon as we could drive there so the doc could pop the knee cap back into place (the knee cap was completely on the left side of his leg...). Apparently time is of the essence in these kind of injuries. The trainer was leary of popping it back in himself, he thought it would be better to have the ortho do it. Because I live so close to the school and could get there so quickly and get him to the ortho, the trainer didn't think it was necessary to call an ambulance.
When I got to the school, the boy was pale but seemed okay in the compression device. I was concerned about my insurance not paying for a specialist without a referral. Please don't think me cold hearted. If the trainer had popped the boy's knee cap back in place on the field I still would have taken my son to the ER to make sure he was okay. Just as the trainer was thinking it would be an unnecessary expense to call an ambulance just for transportation, I was really worried about out of pocket expenses if the insurance didn't cover us going straight to the ortho. I called the primary care pediatric and asked for an immediate referral rather than waiting until after, and it's a good thing I did because they wouldn't give me one. They told me to go to the ER.
We got to the ER at 5:05. They didn't put his knee cap back into place until after 8:00. At least they gave him a morphine/valium cocktail first, which he wouldn't have had at the ortho's office. Of course, he wouldn't have needed it if he hadn't had to wait almost 4 hours with the joint swelling! Anyway, the ER took x-rays (during which the knee cap popped out again, ouch!), and no bones are broken.. We didn't get home until almost 10:00 that night, and the ER didn't prescribe anything for pain except otc ibuprofen.
I'm still struggling with guilt over putting money before my son's pain. If I had known there was going to be such a long wait, I'm not sure if I would have done things differently. It's a really hard call. If we had gone to the ortho without a referral, I would owe him a lot of money. The office has signs all over their walls advising that if you don't have a referral, you need to pay for services rendered right there and then. Not to mention the follow up treatment which wouldn't have been covered, because the first visit wasn't covered. Now I only owe the hospital a co-pay, but made my son wait hours in pain... As it was, the hospital tried to collect it's $75 co-pay, and I could not give it to them. It was Monday, I had just spent every last penny getting the boy his books for school. I asked them to bill it to me, they are going to have to wait...
We had an appointment with the ortho yesterday, my son can forget playing any football this season. There is definitely a torn ligament in his knee, but they are hoping that will heal on its own. They are trying to get us an appointment as soon as possible for an MRI to rule out torn cartilidge, which the ortho assured me would be rare. If there were to be torn cartilidge, there would probably have to be surgery. If not, he has to wear a long leg brace for 3 weeks, a short knee brace for at least another 3 weeks, and physical therapy. His thigh muscle has already started to atrophy from the swelling in the knee and he's having difficulty picking the leg up because of it. Thankfully the ortho gave him a prescription for something stronger than otc ibuprofen. The kid is in pain! He said the swelling is normal, they don't recommend draining the knee any longer as it will just swell back up. The swelling will probably be there for six weeks!
Here are some pics of his knees I took yesterday at the doctor's office while the brace was off. Yeah, I know, GROSS!
Thanks for all your kind words, I was in a funk, but I'm over it now. One good thing that came out of my last post is that an old girlfriend who reads my blog reached out and her husband offered to give my son guitar lessons for free. So we took a long ride out to their house this afternoon and she and I caught up for hours while the guys played with guitars in the garage. It is impossible to not be happy when I am around these people, they are the human equivalent of sunshine. It went so well, they invited us back next weekend!
Let me tell you something. True friendship is hard to come by. I've screwed it up with her twice in the past. We were best friends in high school, she is my son's godmother, and I love her and her husband dearly. I'm a very lucky lady to still have these people in my life, I think I'll be trying harder to not screw things up with her in the future!
p.s. a word to the wise, celebrating your first day of senior year by doing Kamikaze shots at 7am is a baaaaad idea.
I've had a couple of people ask where I've been. Thank you for your concern, everything is okay.
Things have been strange, and I'm having trouble adjusting. Mom and my sister, Shoufie, arrived home about a month ago. Mom stayed in my room, so I didn't really have as much access to my desktop as I would have liked. Mom is gone, now, but Shoufie remains. Shoufie is my special sister that lives with me. Which presents a whole new set of problems. For both me and my son.
Add to that I've recently been reacquainted with some old girlfriends on facebook. While I'm extremely happy for them that they are doing well, I'm envious as hell of their life styles. And I've been reluctant to talk about it. Hello? Pity party of one? We have a seat for you!
Why the hell was I not born as smart as the girlfriend who makes more in one week than I do in a month? We're both single mothers, our kids are 3 months apart. Yet, she's a brainiac that travels the world doing computer jobs and I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to pay the electric and cable, and get my son uniforms and books in time for school to start.
The worst part about the money situation is the poor kid had someone give him a guitar. All the kid has wanted since his birthday is guitar lessons, which I cannot afford. Football starts on Monday, which is the only sport the kid plays, and I cannot afford that either. The kid deserves so much better. I'm having a difficult time rectifying my issues. My son deserves so much better than what I am able to give him. I would give him the world if it was within my reach. It is not.
I'm overwhelmed right now. And I'm probably going to wish I hadn't shared all of this. Even reading other people's blogs seems like too much, never mind commenting on them.
Never mind dealing with the special sister who keeps tattling on the teenager because she is mentally younger than he is. And dealing with the teenager who can't stand having his special aunt living with him.
So, I'm envious of people with more money than me, I'm envious of people who don't have special sisters living with them, I'm envious of people who have extra bedrooms for their mother to stay in, blah, blah, blah.
I guess this is a start. Admitting the envy is a way to overcome it. If you're my friend on facebook, you know I'm playing a lot of the game Mafia Wars. It's an easy fix to a complex situation. It doesn't require anything more from me than showing up. And right now that seems to be all I can handle.
Wondering what to do with all that zucchini and summer squash in your garden? I have a delicious way to help you out. I didn't say a healthy way to help you out, you should have figured that out with the "Fritters" title for yourself. While not healthy, I swear to god this recipe will make you friends.
This recipe will make eight good sized fritters. I wasn't sure how my Tuesday night dinner crowd of 6 adults and 2 kids were going to like it, but apparently I should have doubled it. For every one that didn't like it, there was a person willing to take two of them. One of my nieces actually intentionally licked one so no one else could claim it. One of my other nieces had her feelings hurt that I didn't save her more than one...
So, here we go:
Fritters
3 cups grated veggies *(zucchini, summer squash and onion; or zucchini, potatoes and onion; or potatoes and onion; or fresh corn and onion; whatever floats your boat - throw in some fresh grated carrots too! Flavor and color are the name of the game. Whatever ratio you use, make sure only about 1/4-1/2 cup is onion. Also be sure to put the grated veggies into a colandar. Then squeeze all the juice out before you put it into the mixing bowl. The only exception would be with already cooked corn. Remember "Don't squeeze the Charmin"? Don't squeeze the corn.
Put the squeezed veggies in a bowl, add grated black pepper, a generous helping of Kosher salt (about 2 TBSP), some chili powder, and whatever else floats your boat.
Then add 1/4 teaspoon baking POWDER (not baking soda, make sure it is the baking POWDER to make it light and fluffy), 1 cup flour and 3 eggs that you have already scrambled in a bowl.
Stir it together well. It may go through a couple of phases where it looks really dry until the egg kicks in, but by the time you stir the shit out of it, it will almost look watery. At this point, you can let it sit if you need to make sure the rest of your dinner will come out on time. If you absolutely need to prepare it in advance, stick plastic wrap on it's surface and stick it in the fridge so it doesn't crust on top.
When you are ready to fry the fritters make sure you have a fry pan with high sides, otherwise use a dutch oven. Preheat vegetable or canola oil, about an inch deep in the pan, over medium to medium high heat. The oil is ready when you have a few drops of water on your fingers and shake them into the pan, and the oil spits.
Using a 1/4 cup measure, pour each pancake into the hot oil. Let heat until each pancake seems to be cooked up it's sides. Only when each pancake seems 3/4 of the way cooked through - flip to cook on the other side. This will help cook the veggies inside and prevent running. If running occurs do not be alarmed. Adjust the temperature as necessary if the cakes are cooking and browning too quickly. The running also makes for deliciousness in the frying arena.
Serve with ranch in smaller measures as an appetizer, serve with dinner in larger quantities. I have a hard time thinking there is a way that this won't be eaten and loved!
Many years ago, a young couple moved in next door to us. They were younger than I was, but that didn't seem to matter. The father had custody of his son who is a year older than my son, almost to the day. Their birthdays are 4 days apart. The boys never went to the same school, but have remained friends since then. We all have remained friends.
Believe me when I say these people have seen me at my absolute worst and remain non-judgmental.
The funny thing is, sometimes you meet people with whom you have a few things in common and somehow you become family to each other. Their son is like my son from another mother, and they feel the same about my son.
They recently moved out to New Hampshire. They came down and picked up my son a couple of weeks ago and brought him up to stay with them for a week. I was happy to reciprocate, and was given a 16 year old last night to spend the week at our house. I'm not kidding when I say I love this kid like he's one of my own. I also wanted to steal their almost three year old giggle monster little girl, but they weren't giving her up. So I guess I was stuck with "my boys".
Apparently, "my boys" decided sleeping in the same bed wasn't cool, and one sleeping in the bed and the other sleeping on the floor wasn't fair. So they chose to sleep in the living room - one on the couch and the other on the love seat.
If you know me, you know I love taking pictures. I especially love taking pictures of sleeping children.
Considering "my boys" are both rapidly approaching six feet, I would have loved to have taken a picture of them sleeping cramped up on a couch and a love seat. Throw in a dog, and I'm practically drooling.
As a matter of fact, I may have taken a picture of sleeping boys just a few weeks ago when there were four of them in my living room, and a very happy puppy making her rounds.
So, I was completely surprised when I woke up this morning and found this note:
I'm not quite sure what he's trying to say. I think it has something to do with his love of God, and also his love of me.
Mr. Condescending put out an interesting meme of sorts recently, and he was kind enough to ask me to play along. As usual, I'm extremely late to the game, but at least I showed. It's called:
Here are his suggestions:
I would like to know a few very important things about you, along with some photographic evidence preferably. If you were going to allow us to spend a night at YOUR home, I would like to know the following:
What books are on your favorite shelf?
What DVD's are on your favorite shelf?
What are your TWO favorite cookbooks.
Select 1-3 recipes you will cook for your special guest.
What will we be drinking that is available?
My bookshelf is a study in disorganization. But it is full of things I have loved enough to save. You might notice I never give away my Stephen King books. You might also notice that I never dust it because it is usually full of framed pictures, and that I was still too lazy after taking off said pictures to bother dusting it before I took the picture. I'm just keeping it real.
The DVD's are the only ones I've cared enough to own, I guess. I have a million other VHS tapes that I never watch. I usually just rent, unless I find something dirt cheap that I feel I'm going to need to watch again. I pretty much watch nothing over and over again enough to actually buy it. I'm usually too busy on my computer to watch movies or television.
My two favorite cook books are as follows. The Joy of Cooking was my first cookbook, a gift from my father while I was still in my teens. I still consult it every time I need a basic recipe. This book changed my life. Every recipe is idiot proof, and it gave me the confidence I needed to try new things.
My second favorite cookbook was a gift from my son many Mother's Days ago. It was basically an empty binder to put my favorite recipes into as I found them. I'm constantly updating it, and always keep the card he made me to go with it in the front pocket.
Our dinner menu will probably depend upon the time of year I invite you over. Here are two alternate dinners. Both will start with this recipe for Orange garlic shrimp by Pastor Ryan on Pioneer Woman's cooking site. This stuff will knock your socks off! I could eat it every night and never get sick of it. Try it for yourself sometime, it's easy and delicious.
If it's summer, I will probably serve you a chicken breast with a lemon cilantro pesto under the skin, grilled to perfection and a heaping serving of chunky avocado salsa on the side. You might even get lucky enough to have this grilled zucchini and red onion pasta salad that I made the other night. I threw in some spinach and shrimp to make it a meal, it was sooo good.
If it's winter, you're probably going to get an herb crusted prime rib meal, complete with au jus, sauteed baby bella mushrooms, fresh mashed potatoes, and my special mashed baby carrots. This particular picture was taken at Christmas last year.
Summer or winter, spring or fall - if I'm going to serve a special dinner, it's going to be on my Haviland Springtime china.
I adore this dish set in ways that no one should love inanimate objects. Here is the story behind it. My mother had an extremely successful antique and collectibles shop around the same time I got engaged, many, many years ago. An older couple was downsizing and asked my mother to try to sell their over 50 year old dish set in her shop. I fell in love with it, and asked my mother to buy it for me at her discount as my wedding present. She bought it, paid for it, and then I broke off the engagement. She flat out told me I would need to get married or she would have to die before I got that china set. I just needed to wait her out, because when she moved to Florida 7 years ago, she gave it me rather than having to move something else. It's an almost perfect set for 12, and I look for reasons to break it out.
Last but not least, what would I serve you to drink? I think wine could be the perfect accompianment to almost any meal, but I'm not really a wine drinker any longer. Therefore, I have no idea what is good and what isn't. Back in the day, I was fond of something called Col Di Sasso, which I now realize isn't very good. But it tasted fine to my uneducated palate.
So, I'm pretty sure my standing BYOB pertains here, also. I also have generic ginger ale, and ice cold water, if you're interested. Iced coffee? Diet soda? Anyone? Bueller, Bueller?
We decided to spend the late morning going to tag sales. This is my mother's passion, and I enjoy it once in a while as well. We finally had a beautiful summer day, and I enjoyed just driving through the country side looking for the signs on the side of the road.
Somehow we ended up way out in the boonies. I'm talking old school New England colonial backwoods, with horses and stone walls. That is where we found an estate sale on a property that was incredible. The adult children were helping their parents clear out the many buildings as the property had already been sold. I can only guesstimate that it went in the millions.
My mother walked around finding things to buy, while I walked the property taking pictures. Afterward, I tried explaining the pictures I had taken to my mother. I told her how I had seen things that I HAD to take pictures of, in between the green of the leaves and the trees and the stone walls and the dappled sunlight.
My mother was trying hard to understand me, I was so grateful. She told me that the words I used to describe what I was taking pictures of sounded like poetry. "Momma", I said, "they looked like poetry to me". I had no other way to explain what I was trying to do. She understood that a picture is worth a thousand words.
We had a moment there, and it was almost as beautiful to me as the pictures in my mind. I don't know if the pictures in real life capture it, but here they are.
I can't believe tomorrow will be a year since I started this blog. I can't believe how much this blog has changed me, for the better. I can't believe all of the wonderful people I have met. I'm so lucky! I love you guys!
My brain has been on overdrive this week for reasons unknown. However, I have some ideas.
1. I think I'm trying to relive my life through my child.
If you are keeping score at home, you may have noticed that was only one idea. Yay for you! You win a prize! I'll tell you how to claim it later!
In the meantime, please try to focus on me and my almost mid-life crisis.
I guess I am having a hard time because I want so much for the boy. I want his life to be different than mine was when I was his age, or any age for that matter. I didn't even realize I was trying too hard. I was being myself, which, like I've said is cool one minute and embarrassing the next.
The fact that this normal teenage trait even bothered me showed me that something was wrong, with ME. Because, really, if you're embarrassing your teenager - you're doing something right. Am I right?
There is an extremely thin line between being the cool mom, and being one of his friends. I would like more than anything to be both, but I rationally know that's neither healthy nor practical. It's not that I'm having difficulty setting down rules and guidelines (I'm not that cool). It's more that I'm inserting myself too much into his personal space, and he's starting to resent it. Stupid Facebook. Considering that one of my major issues with my mother is her lack of boundaries, you would think I would know better.
But, goodness, the separation stings... I will always want him to be my baby. He's not having growing pains, I am. I distinctly remember someone talking about their teenagers, and thinking, "my boy will always want to cuddle on the couch with me, these people don't know what they're talking about."
Do you know what I would give to have my boy cuddle on the couch with me right now?
Jocelyn at Physical Possum tagged me for an Honest Scrap award, and Silver at Tantalizing Treats tagged me with a Bella Sinclair award! I'm so honored by these two lovely ladies!
The Bella Sinclair award states by it's creator, Ces:
“I designed this award to celebrate art in the blogs and to honor the value of friendship, sisterhood, sharing and caring. It is to be awarded to the gifted, accomplished, eloquent and talented blogger whose friendship and influence inspire us to do our best. That I named it after Bella Sinclair is because she epitomizes all of these things. She is an inspiration to many of us”.
“I hope that when Bella returns, this award would have already circulated in the blogs. It is my honor to give this award to the first recipients who I hope will find the same pleasure as I have in spreading its crown, giving shade and the comfort of friendship and caring and of sisterhood by sharing this award with their blog-friends and sisters!”
By the way, Silver, thanks for introducing me to Ces's blog, I can't wait to dig in and read more!
The Honest Scrap rules are as follows:
“The Honest Scrap” award is not one to hold all to your self but it must be shared!
First, the recipient has to tell 10 true things about themselves in their blog that no one else knows.
Second, the recipient has to pass along this prestigious award to 10 more bloggers.
Third, those 10 bloggers all have to be notified they have been given with this award.
Those 10 bloggers that receive this award should link back to the blog that awarded them “The Honest Scrap’ award.
Are there really 10 things you guys don't already know about me that I actually want to share? This might be a tough one.
1. I have always loved animals. I wanted to be a wildlife rehabilitator when I was in high school, but then I realized wild animals are fucking scary.
2. If I won the lottery, I would probably go back to school for a veterinarian degree.
3. I honestly don't think I'm smart enough to get a veterinarian degree.
4. Scratch 2 & 3. If I won the lottery, I would probably go back to school for photography.
5. If I'm running late, I won't shower that day. I take the old French Whore's Bath. All day long I feel disgusting. Which does not stop me from doing it again the next time I can't drag my lazy ass out of bed.
6. I dropped out of high school, and got a full-time job making tie-dyed tee-shirts. I had fucked around my senior year doing things like early morning Kamikaze shots. Then I got really sick and had to have my tonsils out. I lost credit and realized I wasn't going to graduate with my class, so I got a full time job doing something I loved instead.
7. I went to business school after my full time job 5 days a week, and earned a "Word Processing" certificate before I received my GED in the mail.
8. I firmly believe that if roughly 25% of my graduating class had to take their GED, they would not have received their diploma. That shit was hard!
9. I had a pet python for about 7 years before he died, I got him when he was a baby, 6 weeks old and I was 17. I still feel guilty about his death, because I hadn't educated myself enough in advance in the proper care and handling of pythons, and he probably should have lived much longer. I will never forget the day my mother found out I had had a snake in her house for 3 weeks without her knowing! "Get you and your fucking snake out of my house!" Ha-ha, she was so pissed. And then she ended up being the one to name him. She grew to love him, or at least tolerate him. Whatever, I moved out soon after.
10. If I could make money making tie-dyed shirts, or at photography, or working with animals, I would quit my job in a heartbeat.
Bonus 11 - Lucky you! I worry way too much about what my son thinks of me. One minute I'm the cool mom, and the next minute I'm soooo embarrassing. What I really worry about is that he is going to feel about me the way I feel about my mom. He's my only child. What if he and his future wife hate me and move far away from me? I know I worry too much in advance about things. While I'm enjoying a week to myself right now, I wonder what the hell I'm going to do in 3 years when he goes off to college. I'm absolutely certain that the fact that my mother is coming in less than a week to stay for a month has nothing whatsoever to do with this weighing heavily upon my mind!
There you have it! Now for the tags.
I've started following a lot of new blogs, lately, so I'd like to hear from them. If you're not into doing memes or accepting awards, it's all good. There are no obligations, no strings, no worries. But please know that that I bloggy love you enough to tag you, in alphabetical order!
That should do it! If you choose to accept this assignment, both awards, I look forward to your posts! I'm already following all of your blogs, so I'm hoping I might have stuff to read from you all soon! If I was cool enough to be southern, I'd call you all, y'all. But I'm not southern. Or cool.
According to my son, my cool levels plummeted in the last couple of days. Crap, I don't even know why! I must have embarrassed him somehow, by like being alive and/or breathing. Or something.
The Vegetable Assassin left me a comment saying she had started a 365 project and asked me to join along. A 365 project, if you're not familiar with it, means taking and posting 365 pictures in 365 days. Should be a no-brainer for me, unless I'm out of town as I don't have a laptop. I'm making the commitment to try to be as dedicated to it as I can within reason. If you'd like to check it out, clicky here.
I was driving home from the amusement park on Saturday and we were listening to an alternative station on the radio. The boys are all musically inclined, and have eclectic tastes in music, so we have similar likes. When Insane in the Membrane came on, I cranked it. And then I realized I wasn't alone in the car, and I had no idea how they felt about being subjected to Cypress Hill at full volume.
As I was turning it back down, I said, "Sorry guys, that was really loud". One of my son's friends from the back seat pipes up with "It wasn't too loud, you're too old". I thought that was funny as hell, but the poor kid started furiously back-peddling. "Mrs. S, I didn't mean for it to come out like that. My uncle says it all the time - if it's too loud you're too old. But I didn't mean YOU were old...". I was still laughing my ass off, and wasn't about to cut him any slack. "It's too late, kid; you can't fix it". Good thing a half hour earlier he had already told me I was the coolest mom ever or he might have been walking home.
I have a confession to make. I am obsessed with taking pictures. I know! Big shocker!
I love not only taking the picture, but playing with them after. I will literally take a picture of anyone or anything at any time as long as I have my camera handy. If I find a subject that is willing to have their picture taken, I just don't stop. Anyone who is friends with me on Facebook can attest that I've uploaded at least 100 pictures within the last week of just family and friends. I didn't even upload the pictures I took of my little nieces at the beach. Their mom is not cool with that, so I respect her wishes.
This is the time of year I go wild for taking pictures of flowers and bugs, also. Tonight was my first opportunity to start playing with some of those pictures, so prepare for an avalanche of them in the next week. Mother Nature is such a generous spirit.
These pictures are just a fluke that I happened to be there, and I'm so excited by them. I was at my cousin's house last Friday, and apparently there is a wasps' nest under one of their kitchen windows. I didn't even know that wasps kill and transport other bugs back to their nests for food. I usually don't like the kind of bugs that can sting me, I have a little bit of an allergic reaction to them. However, this guy was already busy with his own problems and obviously had no intention of bothering me.
I took pictures of the wasp and his grasshopper meal for a good 10 minutes before he got them both into the particular panel of siding he was trying for. I was absolutely fascinated with how many times the wasp hit that opening, trying to go in. Then he would stop and take a break, and try again. The grasshopper had to weigh twice as much as the wasp did, and that wasp kept trying every different angle he could for a long time until he got in. In insect time, it must have been like 7 dog years. Goddamn, he kept taking breaks, readjusting his load, and trying again, I was actually rooting for the stupid wasp after a while.
Perseverance won the day, and we didn't see the wasp again for the rest of the evening. However, don't think I won't post a picture of a spider catching this particular wasp in her web if I have the chance. It's all about Mother Nature, and my photo opportunities!
I'm still looking for a knight in shining armour, complete with the white horse. I'd prefer if he was not already married, or gay.
I promise I will always give you Way Too Much Information! How could you resist that?
