Tee-hee-hee

Today was the perfect example of what launched me into wanting to fix things around the house myself.

I never quite finished fixing the outside hot tub because I was still missing a part.  Then, I forgot I bought said "part" ($60+) until my husband reminded me today.  So I got right on it.  I went outside, again crawled under the deck, and proceeded to try to remove the old part from the hot tub's motor.  I know I could have done it, but I didn't feel like fighting with said piece, so I called my manly man for help.  He came right over, looked, inspected and tried to remove the piece.  Since he was now in charge, I went back to my office to try to fix my sick computer because I couldn't find a hammer...

In he walks claiming he needed the right tools.  After going to the garage to get them, he walked past me again and he went back to the hot tub.  A couple of minutes later he walks by me again, but this time claiming he needed yet a different kind of tool because "this is a really big job - a lot of work to do this!"  Yet again he walked by looking very worried and although I don't remember what he was looking for this time, he stopped for a few seconds to tell me that this was a really complicated job and he wasn't sure we could fix it.

He finally comes back in to sit down with me.  He proceeds to explain to me that there was a sort of inner-clamp that was holding the piece in place.  It was a very complicated thing that needed some sort of "special" tool that we would have to get, but of course we wouldn't even know where to get it.  "Can't we just break it?" I asked.  "No," he said, "we would need it again to install the new piece, with this special tool we have to get".  At that point he got closer to my desk and me and started drawing for me what he was talking about.  I do love him so much...

I didn't say anything.  But I was pretty sure he was wrong.  Mainly because I did ask about this piece's installation (easy, I could do it) and the new piece didn't have anything remotely close to a clampy thing.  I just thought that rust was the culprit for the old piece not releasing.  Well... to end this story, it was the rust, he broke the piece off, and let me do the rest...

...by tomorrow I should have our hot tub ready.

Kill, kill, die, die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY COMPUTER IS VERY SICK.

I THINK I'LL KILL IT. 

ACTUALLY, I WISH THERE WAS A WAY TO TORTURE IT...

...INTO SUBMISSION. 

UGH.

Questions (An Assignment)

The assignment for this week is:  "If your pet had the ability to say one full sentence only, what would it say?" (or something like that)

Carmela, our teacup poodle who sleeps in our bedroom, would most likely say:  "you're lucky I only get to say one sentence, you freaks!!!"

The other part of the assignment was:  "If you had the chance to ask your pet one question, what would it be?"

"What does God look like?"

If I had a million dollars (or "Surfin' USA")

I'd invite my most fun, down-to-earth, love to just hang-out kind of friends on a really cool vacation somewhere.  Like to an all-inclusive resort, or some beach in Brazil or better yet Punta del Este.

Ever since I was young I've had a list I keep in my head.  It is the list I refer to as "List of people I'd invite on my ship to the moon if the earth were to blow up".   These people range from someone I used to know in High School to people I've been fortunate enough to meet albeit briefly.  Once I wrote my list down, but I have no idea where it could be...

I can say this though, my friend Patti would be on it.  Her super-cool mom too.  Oh!  and their old chihuahua Candy, just because she let us make pretend she was surfing while singing "Surfin' USA".  Too long to explain that but this talented dog could take 4 steps with her front legs while taking only 2 with her back legs.  I called it talent, others called it old age...

 

Indiana Skies

My husband and I have traveled to many places, some of them considered among the most beautiful in the world, but we both agree on one thing:  the sky in Indiana can be quite amazing.

Many, many times as the sun goes down we've seen a display of vibrant colors more beautiful than anything in a photo, painting or even a doctored photo.  From orange to magenta, sometimes a little of gold that fades into a faint yellow... maybe lavander fading into a light blue that frames a very white, elongated cloud...  and more than that, the sun shining through in a way that makes the clouds' edges glow as if they had electricity running through them, or better yet, bunches of sunrays beaming down as if God Himself was touching earth. 

Today going home was like that, and it got more beautiful as the sun went down.  My husband and I have called each other on the phone before to share sky sightings, they are really that good.

I could go on forever, I could stare at these skies forever.  But most of all, I wonder why it is that the skies in Indiana are so amazing.  All you see here is the "amber waves of grain".  In other words, lots of flat, boring cornfields... until you look at the sky.

PS:  One of these days I'll get a picture, even though I hate to limit this unparalelled  beauty to the parameters of a camera lens.

Where's my apple?

We all survived the first day of homeschool.  Although Bala seemed as interested as a rock star in a nursing home...  It was funny, really, but at the time I just wanted to put him on permanent time-out.  The problem is that I tried to get him on the same program as Clara (Kindergarten) which is clearly not for him.  So I went onto the www.CalvertSchool.org website and ordered the Preschool kit.  I now have one for each.  It is one of the easiest things I've ever done, plus, the kids are thrilled to be spending so much quality time with me at once.  We do crafts, play games, etc. all in the span of a couple of hours. 

Today was just a good day.

Home School

Starting our first official day of homeschooling...   but I'll only teach 3 of my kids, the other one has too much work to do today, and I think having a 47 year old in our "classroom" will only be disruptive.   ;-)

 

Me and Mr. Smith

...need I say more?

;-)

 

(This picture was actually taken the weekend before my husband went to Vegas for his rendevous...  At the time naive me told him that Smith had nothing on him... Of course, afterwards I was more honest...)

The thrill of opposite

I would like to know if the following belief of mine is actually true:

   Through the past few years I've noticed something about us humans.  That people seem to be the complete opposite of their everyday persona when in the bedroom... am I mistaken?
I'm usually perceived by others as secure, in control, etc. etc. and I must admit I do have certain control-freak issues...  but in the bedroom I like the man to be in charge, almost like the little catholic schoolgirl in me resurfaces and (on the most part)  I like to follow the lead.  Lately, my husband has been slightly aggressive (would it be improper to share that I've had my panties torn off?) and I'm as in love afterwards as I've never been... I just want to wait on him, dote on him and basically act like a schoolgirl in love.  I've also known women who seem very proper and demure in public, but turn into total sluts in bed. 

So what is it about sex that makes us act completely out of character?  Not only do we act that way, we enjoy, look forward to, and welcome the changes.  Are these changes what we really wish we were like, or some other, complicated, psychological thing I don't even want to get into?

This all has been a problem for me in the past, as some men I've dated assumed I would be an animal in bed, but found it to be completely the opposite, after the long wait to even get me there in the first place.  A couple of guys even assumed I'd been with women as well...  which couldn't be further from the truth (although sometimes I wished I had so the playing field would have been wider...)  And if it's true, what one sees in the movies and TV, that the S&M clubs are frequented by executives and powerful men... this would really prove my theory right.

Regardless, although I enjoy getting freaky, there have been only two men in my life who have made me want to be the attacker as well as the attacked...

...and I married both of them.

 

If I was a Superhero

From all the AOL Journals first anniversary hoopla, I came across John Scalzi's assignments.  So here I go:

If I was a superhero I would be the Time-Defiying Woman.  I would break all the social barriers and standards as to how punctual one should be.  I wouldn't be just "fashionably" late I would be "let's call all the hospitals" kinda late.

Never would I be caught in the binds of time and travel, I would free everyone of their schedules and gladly mess up their day by being an hour or two late.  I would even put doubt in people's minds by being late to my own wedding (40 minutes).  If anyone out there knew someone a little too uptight, just leave it up to Time-Defying Woman to make them fall apart at the seams while waiting on her to show up.  Watch the kind turn mean and the mean go crazy; the calm start twitching and the impatient just explode...!  YES!!  It's time to turn the tide, Time-Defying Woman is alive!!!

Extra credit:  As a superpower I would like to be invisible, because I already fly when I dream so I don't need that superpower...

Doo doo

My life really needs to slow down...  Many friends will tell me to "breathe" and "relax" and "take some time off", which are all great concepts, except that it is not me who has a problem, it's the life around me that does.

Suppose I do change into a bathingsuit tomorrow and lay out by the pool all day...  by the time I came back inside everyone would be hungry, I'd have to clean up dog doo doo, have my s-daughter remind me that we didn't pick up the new t-shirts at the church, run completely out of room because I didn't deliver the cans I've collected for our church, have a gazillion messages from friends I was suppose to call so we could do something in the afternoon with all the kids, my husband asking (again!) if I'd finished fixing the hot tub (yes I do), the trash all over the floor because I didn't change the bag...  and much more.

So I would have to:  feed everyone some cereal, clean up fossilized dog shit, go by the church on Monday to pick up the tees, bring the cans along and find the home where they now need to be dropped off, apologetically call back my friends (3 of them), finish the hot tub now that I have the part I need, clean up trash... and much more.

Now, is it worth it to me?  Heck NO.  As much as I know people have the best interest at heart when they tell me to slow down, they don't realize I'm running in front of a snowball that keeps going and growing the longer I let it go.  Which was wonderful when I was single, but not since I started working for the little bosses with runny noses...  most demanding job I've ever had.  Oh!  and I don't get paid.  Or vacation.  Or sick time.  Or a Christmas Bonus.  Or even my own desk!  Or my own anything!!

Then Clara hugs me, tells me she loves me sooo much.  She asks if I'm ok when she thinks I'm hurt and she does things to make me laugh. 

And then Bala tells me I'm gorgeous, he kisses me and sings his "Mommy, mommy, mommy, you're my favorite mommy!" song he made up.

So then I'm happy for about 5 minutes, until I realize that one of the dogs had diarrhea...

 

Well I've never!

I've never written in my journal about the kind of day I had.  I suppose I'll try it and see how it goes:

Lately it's been difficult for me to get up in the a.m....  probably because I'm so overwhelmed by how much I still need to do before we move.

I pretty much sat around most of the early day and did things on the computer, made calls, etc.  But at one point I had such bad twitches that I was freaking my lesbian friend Amy out.  The problem was that my stomach  was twitching, so my whole body would move.  It really was like the times that people twich on purpose and they over-do it to make it obvious...  or at least it felt that way!  I'm just glad I didn't drink coffee.

In the afternoon I convinced my hub to go with me to pick up a fridge from someone on Freecycle for our garage and he agreed (amazing!).  He even went without really knowing where it was as I was only going by the memory from my one trip there in the dark of the night. 

It was beautiful just being with him by ourselves, without any appointments, any rushing, any plans...  He even thought I'd lied about the fridge just because I wanted to spend time with him, how cute is that?  Actually, that could be perceived as vain...

Anyway, we drove around forever and then I told him to take a couple of turns and lo and behold we found it.  The fridge is even working just fine!  How cool is that.  I highly recommend everyone to go to www.freecycle.org and sign up in their city.  If they don't have one, then start one for crying out loud!  You will then be able to get rid of those things that you don't want to pay to haul away and receive things that you've always wanted (someone today gave away a HUGE Yucca plant - I missed it by 20 minutes).  So, check it out.

Back to my day.  Took the hub to pick up my Harley (yay!  it's now running!!) and he rode it back home.  The first thing I did at the shop was start it up.  It was sooo cool hearing the rumble again, and feeling the strength of that bike under my butt.  I'd been away from it for so long!  I can't really describe the feeling any more without alienating a few people.  ;-)

I ended my day doing some cleaning, blogging, having dinner and running the dogs back inside before a major storm with the possibility of a tornado.

That's all.

 

Journaling

I wonder if journaling is all that great a thing as I at times envision, or if it's some fad that only geeks do.  I say that freely because I'm the biggest geek.  I'm such a geek that I used to be what was called a nerd, and that's because I've been a nerd (that time has changed into a geek) for a long time.  The only reason many people don't realize I've been such a nerdgeek is because I don't wear glasses or even look like a typical nerd.  But believe me, I am.

Where am I going with this?  Hmmm... let's see...

In the center of "me" I don't really give a flying shhh-saucer about what or who I am, as I repeatedly do things like stick my foot in my mouth, say something completely unrelated or random, try to make an obvious joke, etc. and I don't stop myself. 

Remember "Revenge of the Nerds"?  How prophetic was that??  Bill Gates has been laughing non-stop ever since...  People in H.S. thought I was a dork for taking typing, or even when I took "Computing 101", literally 101.  It was so basic with all those 0s and 1s.  My big project was making up a program that was (get this) a game where after going to an Adam Ant concert in N.Y., one had to go to the Waldorf Astoria and find out which room Adam was staying in.  I told you I was a nerd!

 

Time won't give me time

I don't know when I'm leaving for L.A. at this point.  There is NO WAY I'll make it by the weekend and I feel bad leaving the house the way it is when there is still a lot more that could be done to make it so much better!!

I might just postpone the trip until we are ready to move for good...  After all, if I go now I might have to go by myself with the kids, as because of my travel uncertainties, those who might have gone with me will not be able to at this point. 

That certainly sucks!

But I'll adjust to the new idea and be happy that it's summer in Indy, otherwise I might crawl into a hole and not come out until spring...  I really dislike the winters...

Kelly finished a painting today (the first in many years) and she even titled it "The Darkness Inside".  I think it's a great thing, not that she has darkness inside, but that at 14 she's trying to communicate that she's not all that happy...

Hopefully we'll be able to talk about it.  Rather, she'll be able to talk about it. 

I better go, I'm getting really jittery from the medicine and I'm twitching like mad...  I feel like Faith Hill in "The Stepford Wives":  Do-si-do, do-si-do, do-si-do...!

Heeeeeere's... ME!!!

I WAS ON TV LAST NIGHT!!!

And I forgot to tell everyone.  In a way it's selective amnesia, I wanted to see it before everyone else.  I'm not sure why, but it feels sort of safer that way.  Kind of the same way it is when I get photos developed - I must see them before anyone else.  I am not sure why, because I always end up showing all the pics anyway, even the bad ones.   Strangewise that's right up there with sitting in restaurants with my back facing the wall...  Could it be the Italian in me?  Were my ancestors in the Mafia at some point? 

Anyway, the TV show was for the Local Fox 59 News, and it was on at 10pm, which is better than 3am I suppose.  So, they were doing a story on women who do renovations and repairs themselves and how it's a growing trend and they wanted to center the whole thing around me.  I just can't believe they didn't find anyone else, as I'm sure there are *many* women out there who've done way more than I have and are way more knowledgeable about these things.  Especially since I still refuse to call tools by their names and sort of give them my own ("the grabber tool") or just call them a name that basically explains what the tool is good for ("the grabber tool that can be used to loosen up things"). 

Out of respect for the tools I work with I must get serious and report that I used a NAIL GUN for the first time and it was the COOLEST!  I also SOLDERED a copper tube for a friend of mine, after we installed her new hardwood floors.  It was so great!  I wonder how many uses one could have for these things...

Ok, so the show made me look like I was a complainy bitch who was slightly sick of her husband not fixing things and they conveniently left out the part where I answered that the real reason I did all this was to impress my husband. 

That would not have made for a good story in these days, I suppose!

 

 

 

 

Happy Anniversary!!!

 

Ok, there it is, I did it.  I did not think I would do the torch thing, but I read someone's journal who seemed pretty cool and she had a torch.  So I decided that as always it's all about perception...  and as long as you have Wonder Woman involved it's going to be cool.

Of the good superheroines WW was always the best to me.  It wasn't until she was born that I became excited about superpowers.  Especially when it entails twirling to get said powers going...  It wasn't the way she looked, with all those curves I knew  there was no way she could be very agile, but her femininity was definitely there.  And the twirling.  Loved  the twirling...!

My all time favorite was Catwoman, but she was so bad (in the traditional sense of the word) that I couldn't admit to liking her...  She was a woman, a seductress like no other I'd seen at my age and she kicked ass.  Secretly I twirled and pretended to have golden cuffs, but Top-secretly I wanted to be Catwoman.

However, as life would have it, and as I learned in my much later years, you sort of have to be born that way, that kind of woman.   I just know Catwoman would have never been caught semi-naked with her keys locked in the car while the car was still running and her purse was inside...  (find "Nudie Rudie") 

All this suits me just fine.  I've mastered growling much better than I ever would have a meow.  Just ask my husband.