Only One More GS Event this Year

We had our end-of-the-year party for my girl scout troop tonight at the Smyrna park... right as it was supposed to begin it started raining like a sunnufabee-otch. Once the rain slowed, we tried to let the girls play. But they had to come in to the picnic shelter when we heard thunder (where there is thunder, there is lightning). It didn't look like much fun to me, but all the girls seemed quite happy to be wet and muddy. We only have ONE MORE event this year and it'll be a doozie... we're heading to Beech Bend Amusement Park in Bowling Green, Ky on Sunday. We'll leave around 9:00 a.m. and return around 6'ish. It'll be a long long day. But one week from Sunday, I'm heading to D.C. with my oldest daughter for another girl scout troop event.

For the DC trip, the leader wants us to wear color-coordinated clothing. Ummm.... nope. I don't want to wear a fuschia shirt (probably because I don't want to look like a bright pig waddling across the mall). I don't own anything light blue except a business shirt. And I can't even remember what the other color is we're supposed to wear... maybe lime green (which I don't own). So I'll be the oddball. Oh well. I'm such a rebel!

I nearly popped a vessel today when my teenager brought her report card out to the car. She failed English. This is the same girl who had 103, 98, 97, 99, 102 in her other classes. Something wasn't right (especially since she failed several other straight A students). Her teacher said she missed two tests during her two days absent this six weeks, so she just failed her instead of giving her the makeup tests. I guess that teacher had already been yelled at by other parents so she let my daughter do quick makeups. She ended up with an 87 in English which was enough to get her average up to an A, thus keeping her at a 4.0 this year. Boy was I unhappy for awhile, though. My daughter was mad at me for being upset. She explained that a B is actually good. I explained to her that a 4.0 is much better when you try to get scholarships for college three years from now. That was not a pleasant conversation, but a very necessary one. The good news is that my youngest daughter also brought home straight A's. Yay!

Here's the Thing

I've been inspired by my friend Ivy to blogroll some folks. First, I copied some of the folks that she blogrolled because that's what I do. I copy. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, so copying should be at least a backhanded compliment. OMFG. Newscoma thinks along the same political lines as me. And Ceeelee. Ceeelee I think I love you. I carry Immodium AD in my purse. Along with a Tide spot remover marker.

I've also finally added Katherine Coble whose name must be said as Katherine Coble - not Katherine, not Coble, but Katheirne Coble. Several other friends were blogrolled a couple of weeks ago, so don't miss Aunt B, Rachel of Women's Health News, Malia, Heather, and Sonia.

But now that I've added all these genuinely fascinating, funny writers, I'm ashamed of my own lame reports on what we had for dinner and what I'm doing to keep my dogs out of the kitty litter. I remember playing with mercury balls when I was a kid, too, and I had diarrhea in KMart tonight. But turning pale and rushing my kid through the dressing room while she tried on bathing suits is b-o-r-i-n-g compared to pooping out the Poseiden. So forgive me if I don't entertain like the fine folks mentioned above. I don't think quick-on-my-feet. Sometimes I do come up with a perfect comeback a couple of days later, but mostly I don't even then. But I promise I'll keep trying.

Recovering from Memorial Weekend

It's been a nice weekend, but I think this week will be just as busy. I worked most of Saturday, so didn't really have a 3-day weekend. On Sunday, we headed toward W. Ky. but didn't make it even into the downtown area of LaVergne when that hail storm hit. We shelted up next to an aluminum building - didn't want to park next to a concrete one in case it came down. When the little business signs began blwoing around (see picture to left), we headed back home and waited for it to blow over. We left 30 minutes later to my uncle's house. He has a million dollar view - his house sits on a hilltop overlooking a lake. Very nice. Anyway we got to visit aunts, uncles, cousins. My nephew was in from Ft. Riley, Kansas and he said they've begun training for going into Iran. Pretty scary.

On Monday, we got up, went Krogering, and began cooking for a friend of mine to come over. Richard had picked up some ribeyes which he grilled (mmmm...). I sauted mushrooms, made greenbeans, a cake, fruit salad, deviled eggs, mac & cheese, and had chips. Ivy came over with the fabulous Megs and too cute for words Nate. I'll tell you a secret about Nate. He likes swimming naked! ha! I had picked up a slip 'n slide at Kroger and the kids had a ball on it. After a while, Nate got tired of wearing his heavy, swollen diaper and clearly indicated he preferred to be sans clothes. It was funny, but I'm not sure Ivy loved it! But that was my fault because I made the little girls go inside when he started swinging it around. hahaha! Seriously, folks, Ivy is such an amazing person. She's got the most interesting, best personality that I've been around in a long time. I love that she's incredibly easy-going. She said I let her know how much I truly like her when I started calling her names (dorkfish).

Everyone left that evening, then I climbed upstairs and sat on my lazy-girl for about an hour before I hit the sack. Got up this morning and here I am at work! Joy!

Helicopter Answer

I talked with a past client of mine today who is in the military. He said the helicopters have been flying over because they've had their annual two-week training exercise. He said there have been more in the air this year because on of the helicopter units just returned from Iraq. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh.

Some drivel... I worked all day today. When I got home, I did a little weed-pulling in the front yard. Now my legs are sore from bending over. We're going to my uncle's barbeque tomorrow - he makes some killer ribs and homemade ice cream. My dad is making homemade bread right now for the cookout. I'm not sure what we're bringing yet. Guess I may have to run to the store in the morning to figure out something.

I've been listening to "Pepper" by the Butthole Surfers all day. I love that song.

I don't mind the sun sometimes
The images it shows
I can taste you on my lips
And smell you in my clothes
Cinnamon and sugar and softly spoken lies
You never know just how you'll look through other people's eyes.

Love it. And Lady Marmalade by the Pink, Mia, Christina and Li'l Kim combo pack. I think I want to see the video again... even if they all do look slutty. I also have to have at least a bi-weekly fix of Holiday by Green Day. What a great protest song.

Good Gosh I'm Such a Fuddy Duddy

I went to an event tonight that should have been an absolute fantastic time. An agent in my office graduated from the police academy and his wife threw a big honkin' party. Free booze. Free food. Live rockin' band. Great people. I had a plate of food (which was yummy). I had one beer (can't have more than that because of my bad liver and I had to drive home). But the loud music really did bother me. And the female singer began walking around singing "to" people. Gaaah!

I began to feel a tad negative. So I didn't want to stand around and bitch about everything to everyone all night and decided to leave. I was there only an hour and a half. Geez. I just didn't feel like schmoozing and working the room. I can't hear in one ear, so really couldn't hear with the loud band. And I felt awkward. And my liver is hurting tonight.

I'm such a fuddy duddy. I feel OLD. Why can't I ever let loose?

I'm Just Wondering

There has been a lot (and I mean A LOT) of military activity in the airspace around our house (we're not too far from the national guard base at the Smyrna airport). Helicopters flying over in training exercises at all hours of the day AND night. So what's going on? We're thinking maybe training is underway for an invasion of Iran. Anyone know anything about all this activity?

Get with the Program

The space program, that is. I just spent about five hours on a yellow school bus with no air conditioner heading to and from Huntsville, Alabama for the U.S. Space and Rocket Center with two fifth grade classes. It actually wasn't a horrible experience and I rather enjoyed it. I got six kids to herd around (including my own). For the most part they were well-behaved except for the tendency to go from a casual stride to a run that could rival any rocket there.

I rode the Space Shot for the second time (first time last fall with my older daughter's GS troop). I loved it, but Melissa and her friend Lindsay weren't as enthusiastic. In fact, I think both may have teared up a little from fright. Silly girls. The other two girls and two boys rode two or three times, though.

My ankles are a bit swollen tonight and I'm not sure why. Probably all the walking, then the two and a half hours on the bus home. Another Mom sat next to me instead of kicking the kid in the entire seat in front of us to the back of the bus (too many kids had their own seats for me to have to share one). There was also a wheel well under the seat in front of me, so as a result I couldn't stretch out my legs. Ugh. Okay, enough about swollen legs and hot buses.

One more day of school! WOO!!!!!!!!!! The two classes who went on the field trip have their award ceremonies tomorrow, then I have to go to the office and get some work done.

You know, my mind just went blank so I'm going to say goodbye instead of making you suffer alongside me. :-)

BloggerCue

I went to my first bloggercue yesterday, or barbeque for those of you who don't blog. It was great! I met Aunt B, Heather & kids, Katherine Coble & hubby, Rachel & hubby, Malia & daughter, and more cute kids! Who did I forget??? The always interesting, sweet Ivy was our gracious hostess and I send my sincere thanks to her for opening her heart and home!

I've added links to their blogs on my friends list (to the right somewhere). Go see them!

Going to try to post an icon...

I don't know if this will work or not, but I really liked this icon I found on my daughter's Xanga site. Let's try. Okay. It's not working. But here's the link to the icon I like.

Icon I Like

Sunroom Photos

Hallelujah! The sunroom is ALMOST done. The builders think it's done, but it's not. They've left exposed wood between the vinyl and the stone and that just can't stay like that. Soooo... I guess we'll see them again real soon. Our sunroom people were Centurion Exteriors. For the most part, we really liked them. We paid too much, but it's a guilty pleasure.

On to the highlights and lows of the whole experience. We ordered the sunroom at the beginning of March. They said it would be approximately two weeks before they could get to us, then it would take about 2 days to 1 week to complete, depending on the weather. Well, they started in mid April (that's 6 weeks, not 2). They removed the old deck and the horrible roof at that time.

After it was demolished, another crew came out the following day and built the bottom of the new room (the new deck, if you will). This took approximately 3 days because of rain. Three more weeks passed before we saw workers again (apparently the panels for the sunroom weren't in). They finally came in early May and began putting up the panels and installing windows. That went fairly quickly because a four-man crew came and did that. However, finishing the room was also delayed because one of the top panes of glass hadn't come in.... so it really did take them about a week once they started putting the room itself together. The electrician came and did the wiring. We had to wait several days for that part to be completed because of waiting for the electrical inspector to okay before it could be finished. The electrician (Troy) was awesome. He was a sweet little guy who worked his tail off because he has a very ill wife at home he's trying to support. He actually offered to change out a ceiling fan in our dining room while he was there. He and the four-man crew were my favorites (brothers Stacey and Johnny, Justin, and Trey). Very nice decent people.

Then my friend who owns the carpet store sent her installer who proceeded to aggravate me. I "ohhed and ahhed" the carpet as they unrolled it. He said, "Wouldn't be my top pick." Uh...okay then. It's not your room, either. Then the guy came out to lay the stone around the bottom. He stuck his head in the door and exclaimed, "That's some wild looking carpet!" The carpet installer, "Yeah, I don't like it at all." Me: GRRRRRRRR. But I didn't say anything. I left the room before I told them all to get the hell off my property. I needed them more than they needed me. I did tell my friend she needs to tell her installer to keep his mouth shut on future installs or at least agree with everything the homeowner says. She thought it was hilarious, so I just laughed along!

So tomorrow we have the loan lady coming for us to sign paperwork. We've called the salesman and told him we aren't signing shit until the work is completed. The A/C isn't turned on at the breaker box because it was raining the day it needed to be flipped on. And then there's the exposed wood between the walls and the rock (you'll see). Okay, here are the photos.

Two before pics.




During:






After:


See the exposed wood between the walls and the rock? What's that all about??? And now for the inside shots!





And the carpet... what do you think?? Melissa will get mad if she knows I posted this because she was talking when I took it, but it's the best photo of the carpet.



So it's been 2 1/2 months since this whole process began. And it's still not done. My advice, put the start and end date in your contract if you ever order a sunroom.

Just Another Manic Monday

It has been a crazy Monday. At 8:40 this morning, I received a call from an inspector that I had scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Of course, I had forgotten so I rushed through my shower and got out of the house fast. Luckily, it was a pre-inspection for a new listing I have down the street from me, so it only took me about 30 seconds to get there. The inspection took 3 hours - he did find some problems that my sellers will need to fix. I'm hoping some of it is covered under the home warranty I picked up for them on Friday.

Meanwhile, I've been faxing contracts, etc. to lenders and scheduling signatures, contracts, etc. for this afternoon. I like being busy, that's for sure! I'm still getting used to working on commission only, though. It can get pretty rough.

Meanwhile, the wedding was great fun. I heard my brother's band for the first time and they were AWESOME. He has shared comments other people have made to them before, but since I've never had the opportunity to hear the grown-up version of my brother's guitar playing, I guess I wasn't truly expecting great things. I should have. I think they truly have what it takes to be hugely successful. Okay, here are some wedding pictures starting with a really bad picture of the band (that's my other brother filling in on drums during this one set).


I told you the photo ws bad. My other bro is the one playing the guitar on the right.


My niece Kathy and her husband, Jon.


Nieces, nephews, and daughters clockwise from top left: Trevor, Nicholas, Hillary, Leah, Rebecca, Melissa, Rachel & Darby. The girls in the red are obviously bridesmaids and Nick was a groomsman. The rest of us were just hanger-onners looking for free food and cake. And it was SCRUMMY (scrumptious and yummy).


From left, my sister Karen, Mom Millie, and me sans glasses. Aren't we cute? ha!

And lastly (it should have been first), my dad (Kathy's grandpa) walking the bride down the aisle. We lost her Daddy to cancer 3 1/2 years ago, so my Dad filled in. It's weird how I still get angry when I think about how evil cancer is. I never expected my niece to wear a dress showing so much busom, but if you've got it, flaunt it! Dang!

Off to a Wedding

My niece is getting married this evening in Bowling Green, Ky. I'm pretty excited to go since I don't have to do anything except enjoy. She's marrying a real sweet guy who is just nuts about her (except when he suggested "Witchy Woman" as their first dance haha). I suggested "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack. What an awesome song! My brother and his band are playing the reception and I'm VERY excited about hearing him, too. Their lead singer was one of the Nashville Stars, but I don't know how long ago, etc. Apparently they rock, though.

Anyway, that's my exciting bit of news. I'll try to post some pics tomorrow of the wedding etc. Have a great Saturday one and all!

If you're a Bob Parks agent...

... then I told you not to read this! haha! Busted! Now that you're here (if you are here), you have to leave a comment. Remember, I can delete them. Ooooh snap.

I really enjoyed hearing Justin's ideas for marketing. I'm definitely going to use some old pictures to put on cards. I'm checking out the photo place shortly. Here's my poor Romanian family photo. Can anyone help with a caption? Thanks!

New Day is Dawning

I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives.

- Holiday, Green Day.

An Apology from a Bush Voter (I think more apologies from Bush voters are in order!)

Republican right abandoning Bush (Run, Forest! Run!)

Who wins if GOP loses in November? (Uhhh...we ALL win?)

Democrats want price gouging a federal crime (Republicans - Frist - want to give us all $100 instead of using this money to discover and implement new fuels. If money is donated for finding better energy sources, let's NOT give it to the oil companies to find it!)

My Best Moment as President Was Catching Largemouth Bass Or was it okaying the outing a CIA operative, or saying the Constitution is "just a piece of paper" when one of your staff questioned the constitutional legality of domestic spying, or starting another war rather than finding Bin Laden like you promised, or no-bid contracts to your friends in the corporate world, or racking up the federal debt to incomprehensible levels so our children and their children will be bankrupt, or tepid federal response to KATRINA (yes, you're the one who appointed cronies to look over FEMA rather than people who were experienced), or being okay with the management of our ports by a country that was home to terrorists who attacked us on our soil without even a single question or thought about whether this is a good idea, or sitting on your rump while average Americans go broke paying inflated, outrageous gas prices. Yep, I guess catching that fish was a good moment afterall.

TGIF? No TGI-CDM

Happy Cinqo de Mayo day! We just came home from dinner at LaSiesta Mexican Restaurant. As usual, it was good. Made better by $1 Coronas all-day! And I spoke Spanish to the server. And she replied just how they taught us in Spanish class.

Unfortunately, I've missed Spanish class for the last two weeks in a row. Last week I had a listing appointment and this yesterday was Hillary's academic awards ceremony. She won for Honors World History. Yay. She didn't really seem too thrilled, though, although I was! Mom's bragging rights!

Before dinner, we went to my friend Pat's floor store and picked out carpet for our sunroom. It'll be pretty and was much more affordable than laminate or hardwood. We talked about a hard surface because of our dogs, but money made the difference. All the difference. Eep.

I'll take some pictures this weekend and post them. We're still waiting for them to shingle the roof, run the electric, and add the stone to the bottom. Then the carpet. Plus we'll add a ceiling fan. We still don't know what furniture to put in and my husband is still arguing about the treadmill. Grrrr.... I do have a little cafe table and two chairs my sister has loaned us. It was an anniversary gift from her deceased husband, so I told her she could get it back whenever she wanted. I sure do miss that brother-in-law of mine. I can't believe it's been 3 1/2 years.

Am I guilty of sedition?

I do not believe this administration and Congress has done a good job for the people of the United States. Is that statement an act of sedition? It could be according to a web site I just found. Some background: Montana's governor has just pardoned several individuals from their guilty verdict, charged with sedition during World War I. They protested that food rationing was a joke, were hauled off to jail and served prison time. I have protested how our government is running the United States today. If we apply the same standards today as Montana's government did at that time, then I'm not the only one who could be found guilty of sedition... let's look at Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, the Dixie Chicks, Alex Baldwin, the list goes on and on. Today we call it freedom of speech. Tomorrow it may be called sedition like it was less than 100 years ago. Here's the definition:

What is sedition? Sedition is the illegal promotion of resistance against the government, usually in speech or writing. What is illegal depends on the government and its regard for freedom of speech. The crime of sedition is alive and actively prosecuted in many countries today. In the United States, sedition as a crime has been enforced at several points in its history, notably during the presidency of John Adams under the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, during and after World War I, and under a 1940 federal law, the Smith Act, criminalizing membership in the Communist Party. When the U.S. Supreme Court first addressed the question of the constitutionality of sedition laws after World War I, the majority used what was then the traditional standard for judging “seditious” speech—whether it had a tendency, even a remote tendency—to stir people to resistance or rebellion against the government. Later, however, justices Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. and Louis Brandeis began to develop a more expansive notion that would give more breathing room to political dissent. One of the most stirring writings in American law in defense of free speech is the opinion by Justice Brandeis in Whitney v. California in 1927. Holmes’ and Brandeis’ theory did not prevail in their lifetimes. In 1964, in New York Times v. Sullivan, a majority of the the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that punishment for sedition was contrary to the First Amendment, And in 1969, in the case of Brandenburg v. Ohio, the high court set forth the current standard for punishing seditious speech. A person cannot be criminally punished for urging the use of force or for urging that laws be broken “except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite...such actions." In other words, mere words, unless intended to immediately provoke lawless action, and likely to do so, cannot be punished by the state. Had such a standard been in effect in 1918, no sedition law would have been enacted.

Round Two of Ortho Bills

We got our oldest daughter through braces three years ago. After paying well over $3,000 (closer to $4,000 I think), she had beautiful straight teeth. Then she refused to wear her retainer. Her teeth started getting crooked again. I drove her back to Lexington to be fitted for a new retainer so at least they would stop their backward progress even more. She "lost" it too. So her top teeth have remained straight, but her bottom ones are again uneven. I told her that if she ever wanted braces again, she was on her own.

Melissa seems to be getting more and more self-conscious about her smile and her face. She even told me they call her "Beaver" at school because her front teeth stick otu too far. So we went to Dr. Sabin Ewing in Smyrna today. His prices are very reasonable - we'll be paying $99 p/month for the next 29 months ($2850) and we only have to pay $175 down (Hillary's was $800 down - ouch). Her appointment is next Friday and she's SO EXCITED! I'll keep you posted. Here's her "before" picture.

I'll post the "during" picture when she gets her braces and (of course) the "after" photo in about two years! haha.

Meanwhile, our older daughter, Hillary, received in invite for the LHS award ceremony. She found out today at rehearsal what award she's getting: Outstanding Student in Honors World History. Yippee! She was so afraid she was getting a health/gym award because her teacher loves her, but she's not very athletic (she thought she'd die of embarrassment if that happened). But it's history, her favorite class. I'm happy for her.

I had my "Ninja" class today and got my personality profile. It was very interesting. Apparently I'm a sensitive extrovert. I'm highly organized both consciously and subconsciously, am a bit of a control freak (surprise!), and have a pretty good self-image. I was actually working on a counter-offer today with some clients and the wife asked me if I was an attorney in a former life. ha! It kind of flipped me out. That's all I have for now. Comment people! I'm feeling lonely!