Creepy Crawlies

My skin and scalp have been itching and crawling all day. I mean ALLLLLLLLLLLL DAAAAAY. And I know why. And so does my buddy the Daily Diablogger. Or is she the Commentater?

We started out early this morning looking at some houses. You see, she is considering making the change from a renter to a home owner. We looked at two lovely, clean houses. And we looked at two fixer-uppers. It was the second fixer-upper that caused me to scream for the FIRST TIME EVER while showing houses. Last summer a spider climbed up my leg in a house and I didn't scream. I joke that I stained the carpet yellow, but I really didn't. I did scream today, though. I think Michelle did too (and she jumped and dropped her keys).

Realtors traditionally leave their business cards when we show houses as a courtesy to the sellers ... it shows that we've been there and also indicates who to contact if there was a problem (forgot to lock a door, for example). So I saw in one of the fixer uppers that another agent left her card and thought I'd go ahead and leave mine too. I reached and laid the card on the counter and when I did, I accidentally brushed against the other card and moved it ever so slightly. At that moment, about 50 - 5000 baby cockroaches streamed out from under the card at about 200 miles an hour. That's when I screamed. Then reacting to my scream, Michelle screamed (and jumped and dropped her keys). We got the hell out of there FAST.

OMFG. Again, my skin is still crawling. As we sat in the car laughing our asses off, I told Michelle that if she wanted to write an offer on THAT property, she'd have to find another agent.

BTW, let me tell you what a sweetheart Michelle is. We met in my office a tad before 9:00 a.m. and she came bearing a gift! She brought a wonderful, delish, scrummy (scrumptious & yummy) coffee from Espresso Joe's! Awwwww!

The little buggers made themselves right at home!


Michelle, we could have captured them and sold them in Thailand!

26.26672 MPG

I haven't crunched the numbers in 10 years, but I finally saved my receipts and recorded my mileage between fill-ups for my car. And I must say that I'm quite pleased. My 1996 Honda Odyssey has over 157,584 miles on it now (that was the number at the last fill-up a couple of days ago). I think it's pretty stinkin' good! I am seriously thinking about getting a hybrid for my next car, but I plan to drive this one until it goes kaput.

So far, the driver's door squeeks badly, the passenger front window won't go up or down, the little switch that controls all passenger windows is broken, the lock always clicks (sometimes randomly for about 48 hours) because of some freaky-you-have-to-pay-$300-to-fix-it-even-though-all-the-Odyssey's-do-it-thing that was like this when we bought it. I've gone through a couple of sets of tires. The front headlight is burned out (my husband has a replacement on my kitchen counter). The back windshield wiper is so worn that it looks like a mop string flopping around. I have one cigarette burn in the backseat from when I used to smoke (I threw the butt out the window and it flew back in). There is evidence of chewing gum and melted crayon ground into the carpet. Plus the upholstery has a little fart-like odor (thank GOD for the Febreeze that I keep in the back).

So who wants to ride with me to Mothership BBQ next Monday??????????

I CAN Change Lightbulbs

So the bulbs have been out on our overhead light in the office for over a month now. I have used up a great number of my allotted curse words over this (one every other time I tried to flip the switch to "ON"). I finally got tired of feeling my way in the dark to turn on the desk lamp, so the fat lazy woman made the effort to get a couple of light bulbs and the stepladder. I patiently took down the globe (cleaned the bugs out of it, of course) and switched out the bulbs.

My husband comes upstairs that evening and I proudly report that I changed the lightbulbs in the office! He glared at me. Uhhhh... I thought you'd be happy that you don't have to do this, Mr. Hip-Replacement Shouldn't Be Climbing Ladders Man Who Does Everything Else Around the House and My Wife Should Be Doing More Things Too. He had gone to the store that very afternoon and bought SPECIAL bulbs to put in the light (they burn 60 watts, but only use 35 or something). I guess we'll wait until my new bulbs burn out before putting in the special ones.

This is the same reason I don't cook.

Numb Mind

I read today that having "senior moments" may be an early sign of Alzheimers Disease. Fortunately my senior moments are not too frequent - I'm sure my diabetes and/or liver disease will kill me long before the Alzheimers kicks in. (Yay me?). Seriously, my mind is just numb tonight. Can housework harm brain cells? We had surprise company on Sunday from Lexington, Ky. so busted butt to clean the house before they showed up. Although we never mopped the kitchen floor and their was dog/cat hair all over the dining room floor, I was okay with that because the company has pets and they're used to it! But the thing about dogs and cats... you can sweep or vacuum the entire house and within an hour, you see hair again.

Because the house was presentable, we enjoyed a nice visit (it had been four years). I cooked (yes, I cooked) lasagne, opened a bag of salad, cooked pre-made breadsticks, and made a cucumber/tomato salad. It was all edible. I didn't say "good," just edible.

I've been doing the real estate thing all day today, and all day tomorrow. I have to carve out some time to take the teenagers to the mall so I can say I made an effort to entertain. Anyone have any ideas for something cool to do that won't cost me a flippin' fortune? And doesn't involve driving in harrowing traffic?

BTW, the hubby didn't say anything about the blog. Guess I wasn't too mean to him afterall. Whew.

Feel Nervous

I'm feeling a tad nervous. I gave my hubby the address of this blog. Now he's going to ::gulp:: read all the things I've written about him! Eeep! Fortunately, I think I've been pretty nice.

I don't know if he'll like the sombrero picture below though.

Hola Senor Ricardo

For my husband's birthday, we dined at La Siesta in Smyrna. It was nice. I think he even enjoyed wearing the hat.

We're pretty sure the waiter thought Richard was retarded because the husband kept putting the hat ties in front of his face to be silly and the waiter kept moving them saying, "No senor. They go here. No senor. Here." It was funny. I'm so grateful for camera phones!

Unless you want to hear about my boring work-day, I don't have much news. Except I heard something funny today. An agent in my office said, "I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize." Cracked me up. He and I don't see eye-to-eye politically, but he's such a fun person to be around when we aren't arguing politics!

Heart of Gold

For my husband's birthday, he picked up Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" filmed at the Ryman Auditorium. We're watching it now and feeling sad that we're not close friends with Neil so we didn't get hand-picked to watch this performance live. :-( Meanwhile, it's really interesting.

My biggest regret in life is that I can not sing. I always sing, but my voice sounds like nails on a chalkboard (one of the worst singing voices ever). But I love singing. It's not right.

Sigh ... Home Again Tra La

I feel as if I've run non-stop so far this summer. And it's not over yet!

I went to Dawson Springs, Ky. yesterday evening to be with my parents before Mom's "procedure" today. I very much enjoyed seeing them, along with my sister and her almost adult children. Didn't get much sleep, but I've managed to run on empty before and I did it again. I got up early early early with Mom & Dad, then woke the girls after they left for the hospital. It took some doing, but I got the girls rounded up and out the door at the time intended. We got to the hospital and sat with Dad for about two hours until we heard from the doctor.

Mom had a double bypass this past October (8 months ago). Today they found one of the bypasses was already blocked 100%, due to her diabetes and inability to take medicine for high cholesterol. Fortunately, they were able to inflate the vessel used in the bypass and insert a stent. Had they not been able to put in the stent, I don't know what would've happened because they couldn't do another bypass - it would not have been good news. But she will be fine. Whew.

With the good news under our belt, we hightailed it to Bowling Green where we met my niece for lunch and waited for Hillary's friend from Lexington to arrive. They were delayed because of a fatal accident outside of Elizabethtown. Eeep. After sending my kid off to a better place for a few days, Melissa and I returned home. Of course I've had a gazillion work calls and have a dozen things to do tomorrow, but that's okay. Because I stole about a 30-minute nap between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. Ahhhhh... I needed it.

Now I'm sitting with my feet up imagining how nice it would be to go for a swim. I did price swimming pools on Sunday. Let me tell you what I think of Pool & Spa Depot (did I already say this?). They are asshats. They had a commercial on TV that had me all excited - buy a brand new pool completely installed for $1200. I thought, "Hmmmm.... I could afford that!" My husband assured me that it was a bait and switch scheme - that they only say that to get you in. But hell even for a crappy pool, $1200 isn't too much. Well he was right. The $1200 was for if you have an EXISTING pool and it needs to be relined and reposted. The lying shitheads. The least expensive pool I found was $3600. So I walked away and admitted to my husband that he was right. Happy Father's Day. You are right. I was wrong. But for the remainder of the year, I will be right. :)

Monday Looking Good

Whew. After freaking out over the one closing last Thursday and Friday, it finally looks like we got the clear to close. The good news is that I'm going to be in town for it. The bad news is why I'm still in town for it. I was supposed to be heading to Bowling Green right now (yes, this instant) to have my daughter meet one of her friends from Lexington. She was heading up to spend the week with Chelsea (a great vacation as Chelsea has an in-ground swimming pool etc.). But she never did any of her laundry yesterday. She never came downstairs to help me unload groceries (I asked her twice). It really pissed me off so I delayed her trip until she helps around the house more. I'd like to see her volunteer to do things without being told every single time. She's assured me, "Well THAT won't happen." Of course she thinks I'm an idiot and even said, "That sounds so much like what a MOM would say!" haha... Surprise baby girl. I am a Mom and a vengeful one at that.

Meanwhile when my afternoon closing (with a quick oil change prior to) is done, I'm heading to Dawson Springs to spend some time with Mom and Dad. Then I'm going to the hospital with them in the morning to wait with Dad while Mom has her procedure (either a stint or another bypass - we're praying for the stint). If you're the praying type, please say some prayers for my Mom. We discussed getting old on the phone last week and I said, "It sucks that your body starts giving out but your mind is still strong." Mom stunned me with her reply, "Well I don't think my mind is as strong anymore either. I forget a lot and don't think as clearly as before." That comment made me sad ... to recognize the decline of both your mind and body.

Dang. I've completely talked myself into being depressed. I didn't mean this post to end on a down note (hence the peppy title of this post) so I guess I'll write some more babble. Hey how about the flooding in Houston? The missing soldiers in Iraq? I guess I need to depend upon my friends to blow some sunshine my way.

Ivy was feeling down. My friend Mandi was down (thanks to her MIL). My friend Pat could express her very strong opinions about politics, but I always get mad after talking with her (we agree politically, but she sure get me wound up!).

I saw an interesting comment by Stephen Hawking on Startrek.com yesterday. He says the only way he can conceive mankind surviving in the long-run is by colonizing the moon, Mars, and eventually other solar systems. He thinks in 20 years, we'll be able to colonize the moon. Wow.

Father's Day

Today is Father's Day - a good day to think about the two most important men in my life. My own dad (of course) and the father of my children.

Norman Evans Thomas is my Dad. I believe he was about 24 years old when I was born and was an airman in the US Air Force. We grew up around his military career, so lived in several interesting places and got to see many others as we traveled. When I was growing up, I knew my Dad to be the most brilliant man in the country and possibly in the world. I knew he'd be president some day because he looked a little like John F. Kennedy. Tall, slender, blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, and funny. He's not so tall anymore - I think about 5'9" or 5'10". That seemed huge to me then. He is still very funny, but his humor has evolved to where he's more like a grumpy George Carlin, only on the Republican side rather than the Liberal side. Maybe a nicer Bill O'Reilly.

When I was sick, I wanted my Daddy. I had a bicycle wreck one time and when I regained consciousness, I cried for two hours until my Daddy would get off work to take me to the hospital. Remember, my Mom was alone with six young children... Dad couldn't take off early because he had a family of 8 to support on his (by that time) Staff Sergeant salary. But he came home and I was fine although I had to drink out of a straw for a week. Another time when I was probably 11 or 12, I ran a high fever and had to go into a room temperature bathtub of water. I didn't want Mom to touch me. I don't understand why I always turned to Dad when I was sick... but he got my temperature down. Maybe it's because of the agreement he and Mom worked out as we were growing up. She handled the poop and he handled the puke.

In any case, I think my Dad taught me my stubborness. He gave me confidence. Love of politics (we discussed current events at dinner). He taught me how to take jokes. Sarcasm. He showed me how to defend myself. Then to pick myself up and move on (after I lost a fight with a bully and ended up with two black eyes). He told me I was smart. He and Mom also taught me that I could do anything I wanted when I grew up. He used to shoot mistletoe out of the trees behind our house. I'd bag it up and sell it to nearby apartment dwellers for 25 cents.

They always say a woman marries a man who is like her husband. I can see some of my Dad in my husband Richard. He is smart. He's stubborn. Sarcastic. Makes me laugh. I must have laughter in my life and he definitely brings joy. Richard and I dated for five months before we got married. We lived together for two weeks before we married (Catholic guilt pushed us into marriage and he isn't even Catholic). But I knew he was the one for me on our first date. We stayed out all night and parked on the dam at Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park talking and making out. When I got home, my Dad was gone. He had gone out looking for me (this was before cell phones) because he was worried. I was 26 years old. I should have called, but it didn't occur to me at that age. Richard has been a good father and husband. I wish sometimes that some things would change. But I think he wishes there were things about me that I'd change too. I think I'd like to go out more with him. We had dinner together on Friday night and it was nice. I want more moments like that.

Meanwhile for Father's Day, I salute two men in my life. One gave me life. One brought me life. Both have made my time on Earth precious.

If I Won

My turn to copy everyone else who has posted what they'd do if they won the lottery. It would sure be a sweet sweet joy in my life. I think money COULD buy me happiness (for a while anyway).

1. My husband and I would quit our jobs. Welcome to retirement.
2. Have a million dollar house built (or purchase one in the Governor's Club). It would have at least two wings - one for the MIL and one for us. I'd also want an indoor/outdoor swimming pool, hot-tub, exercise room, theater, and a bowling alley. Plus a guest house in the back for company.
3. TRAVEL! I want to go to Australia. Europe. The Far East. Plus Connecticut, Michigan and Alaska (my three states I haven't seen). And maybe Namibia. Why not?
4. Hire a couple of full-time housekeeepers and a chef. And a yard-boy / pool-boy.
5. Maybe I'd buy myself an election too. Mayor? Governor? State Rep? Hmmm...
6. I'd pay off homes and debt for all my family and probably several of my friends (but not the ass-hats who think MY children are a bad influence) (btw, she can go FuC* herself and the static in her head).

So that's a good start. Had a GREAT time at the Middle Tennessee Bloggers meeting today. Met a couple of people who were very interesting. Saw others who I've had the privilege of knowing for several months now. What a prolific bunch of peeps.

Also, to update my Thursday / Friday. I closed one house, but the other hasn't closed yet. I'm fairly stressed about it, but I suppose it's part of the process. Keep your fingers crossed and/or say some prayers that it closed on Monday or Tuesday. I'm still holding on to a glimmer of hope like a crocodile pulls in prey (and rolls until it drowns). Be happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! Eeep.

Utter Breakdown

If I've never had a nervous breakdown before, today is the day it will happen. I'm supposed to be in a meeting upstairs but am waiting until they take a break before I slip in... all the while I'm juggling two closings today. One is like a God-send - perfect down to the wire. The other is another story altogether. The buyers are good buyers, but everything has been difficult - from wiring money to lender requiring proof that their house has sold (it hasn't). We're at the beginning of the domino line, so if this one doesn't close, about three behind us won't, and the dominos fall. Needless to say, the pressure is on.

... I had to stop for a moment to breathe. When I was in college, my on-off switch for my body to expel disgusting waste was my level of nervousness. The first time I had to speak on-air for a radio station was one-upped only by my mad rush to the bathroom and barely making it back to the microphone. I hope that doesn't happen today, but I have a feeling it could.

So say some prayers that I survive today without being hauled away in a straightjacket. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

DC Photos (Two)

Now I know why Ivy was irked when she put photos of her family hiking day... here's more!

I love this self-portrait of the Hillinator.


Notice the two colors of stone on the monument (btw, great pic, huh?)....... during the Civil War, work stopped on the monument. When it resumed again 25 years later, the stone on the bottom had been mined out, so they had to go to another "dig" site.


Hillary can pinch the monument. Pinch. Pinch. Pinch.


My teenager.

DC Photos (One)

It's 6:17 a.m. and I should still be in bed. Except I can't sleep. My nose is dripping and my feet are still sore. Today should be pretty good - I hope to go to the Smithsonian's Art Gallery today, along with the National Archives. My husband and his friend want a copy of four of Richard Brautigan's books that haven't been "officially" published or copyrighted. He gave a copy to the national archives and said they could be copied, etc. so I'm hoping to make two people - one I love dearly and the other is a dear friend - happy.

Okay, here are some pictures for you to enjoy!


Hillary and me (I'm the one on the left). I think I do look a bit cross-eyed here.


In this photo, I'm standing in the exactly center of Washington, DC. Unfortunately the photographer (my daughter) didn't tilt the camera down far enough so you can see the fancy little star thingie that I'm standing on. haha.


I love this photo that Hillary took. It's of a fountain outside of Union Station. To the right is the Christopher Columbus statue. I believe you can see the "head of the ship" and the aged Indian who is looking to the past (the other side of the statue has a young Indian looking to the future).


My favorite monument of all time (until they build one for me).


My cousin Gaylord (yes, I have a cousin really named Gaylord), his wife Linda, me, their daughter Linzi, and Hillary in front of the White House. My cousin and I definitely have political views that couldn't be further apart, however I'm very proud of him. He is the commander of the Air Force Honor Guard in DC, so is in charge of the Air Force being represented at any ceremonial functions (welcoming heads of state, Arlington funerals, etc.). It's his second command which is rare in the military. Previously he was in the Netherlands with NATO helping to plan the Afghanistan recovery efforts.

I can't post any more pics on this one, so I'm going to make a second entry.

Highly PO'd

I wrote a long, brilliant piece about our day yesterday in DC. Hit "publish" and the hotel's connection kicked me off of blogger. Grrrrrr...

In summary (aren't YOU the lucky readers):

1. Walked a lot yesterday. My legs have gigantic red welts, blotches on them today. The other moms decided that perhaps it will be a good idea to take the trolley around rather than walking another 20 miles.

2. The Pentagon was neat. High security, including guards inconspicuously holding machine guns. Saw the Pentagon's 911 memorial and walked where the building had been rebuilt. Kinda creepy knowing that all those people died where we were walking.

3. Met Bart Gordon. His staff gave us a tour of the Capitol, then he met with us for about 15-20 minutes. Really liked him and will vote for him in November.

4. Velma (MIL) is home very sick with a bad back. Richard tried to take her to the ER on Thursday night but she refused. I guess she'd rather hurt than spend money on a muscle relaxer. Meanwhile Melissa is very upset at seeing her Grandma hurting.

5. Richard is taking Melissa to see "Cars" today so she can do something fun while we're out gallavanting.

6. I used the word svelte in my previous post. It's a good word.

7. Getting ready to hit the monuments today, then the Holocaust Museum.

8. Have a good day.

Safe in DC

After a 14.5 hour drive, we've arrived safely in D.C. It should have been a 10-hour drive, but with 14 women and girls, pit stops were frequent. Me and my BB-bladder were even annoyed. We actually managed to drive at one point uninterrupted for 2.5 hours. :::rollseyes:::

We're heading to Pentagon tomorrow for a personal tour arranged by my awesome cousin, the commander in chief of the Air Force Honor Guard. We also have a meeting with our Congressman Bart Gordon at 1:30 p.m. Senator Frist never responded to our request.

So have a good Friday everyone!

One More Photo & DC Preview

Okay, one more photo from Beech Bend. It's actually my favorite. The look of joy and fright on Melissa's face is wonderful. The look of clenched eyes and abject, unconditional nauseosness and fear is my face. The kid in the middle - don't know him. On the bottom is Hillary and another girl scout, Jennifer. A good time was had by all.


Hillary and I are getting ready to head to Washington DC in the morning. We're pulling out at 6:30 a.m. - ugh! We'll spend all Thursday driving and probably swim when we get to the hotel. Friday through Sunday will be in D.C. at the monuments, museums, and Arlington National Cemetary. We're going to the Holocaust Museum which I'm glad to do - have always wanted to, but have never been in the right frame of mind. The girls are "bridging" to senior scouts at the Smithsonian's Botanical Garden - I think that'll be kind of cool.

Guess I'd better go pull my laundry out of the dryer before it wrinkles! TTFN (ta-ta for now).

Promised Photos

Here are some photos from Sunday's trip to Beech Bend Amusement Park with 10 girl scouts, 1 extra brother, and 1 extra sister. Enjoy!

The big mama, the gigantic hurling factory. Yes, I rode it. Once. That was plenty for my stomach and for my heart.

The swing ride is more my speed. My daughter Melissa is in the first swing on the left hand side of the photo.

Not sure which girls are on this log ridem, but I'm thinking it's my co-leader's daughter Erica.

This ride scared me so badly, I couldn't watch after a few moments. It's the "Power Surge" and reminds me of the new ride you see on commercials for Dollywood... the one the sways while twirling people upside down, rightside up, and all around. I just kept having visions of the harness coming loose and my daughter (Hillary) and the other girls flying out of it. I had to look away.

Okay, one more pic.... which one to choose???

Three sweet girls (from left) Morgan with blue monkey, Jennifer, and Hayley with pink monkey. We were deeply worried about the behavior of ONE of these girls (I won't name names), but she was an absolute angel the entire trip. In fact, all three of these girs were very sweet, well-behaved, and made me very proud.

Blast at Beech Bend

I don't know if it's just me, but this is the fifth time I've tried to reach this page to post... and it's still acting screwy.

We had a GREAT time at Beech Bend yesterday! I'll bet there weren't 200 people in the park (the ride side). All my girl scouts behaved beautifully and because there were no lines at any of the rides, they rode and rode and rode. I tried a few rides myself... my favorite was the water log ride (except I think I pee'd a little going down the big drop the first time). My least favorite that I got on was probably the Wild Mouse.


The wild mouse was okay, but just not my cup of tea. I don't do well on spinning rides. The Wild Mouse is a roller coaster, but when it goes around the curve, the cup you're in also spins around. I think my challenge on this was it was around 1:00 in the afternoon and we hadn't had lunch yet. I was already shaky thanks to dropping blood sugar, then I also whooshed around and spun. I only rode it one time, then we had lunch. It was a fun lunch although my girls are white bread kinda kids. I had a flat wheat bread (like a soft taco wrap). We got lunch meat and cheese and the girls rolled them up to eat. I guess the wheat bread was too healthy. They did enjoy the chips and cookies! I thought the sandwiches were delish and my blood sugar really liked them!

My favorite ride was definitely the water log ride. Here's a pic.

BTW, that is NOT me in the picture. I would NEVER hold my hands up on any kind of ride except a ferris wheel. Ironically, I used to always ride my bicycle (even as an adult) without holding onto the handlebars. Maybe it's because I felt I had some control (all the control). I guess I AM a control freak! ha!

I also rode the big wooden rollercoaster, the Kentucky Rumbler. It was okay. Everyone else rode it a number of times, but once was enough for me. I swear my chest got tight afterwards and that scared the crap out of me. Fuddy duddy indeedly I am. You can go to this site to see the animation of the Kentucky rumbler. I tried to put a pic of the coaster here, but it wouldn't "take." So sad.

I finally got one of my kids to do a "Haunted House" ride as well. At Disneyworld 10 years ago, we stood in line for the Haunted Mansion for 30 minutes. When we finally got in, Hillary freaked out and we had to leave. Melissa was scared, but she made it through the ride (clinging to me). She said it was really scary but I thought it was stupid. Thankfully it was free with the arm band (like all the other rides except go karts). I did the ferris wheel a couple of times. I enjoy a good ferris wheel ride, but it always gives me butterflies that first time it reaches the top, then begins to fall.

Now I'm getting ready to go to Washington DC with my Hillary's girl scout troop this Thursday. I'll be gone until late late Monday night (June 12th).

So who's ready for 6/6/6? Tomorrow is going to be a quick-paced day... I have to be at the office at 8:00 a.m. and won't get home until 6:15 p.m. Yee-haw! Have a good one!

New Blog Name

I've been thinking a lot lately about the name of my blog. I had picked Resistance is Not Futile before because I adore Star Trek and because I feel pukey when I think about the present state of our government and the havoc it is bringing upon this nation. Six or so months ago when I started this blog, I was greatly concerned about whether our country could overcome the devastation brought upon by this Administration. However, I am feeling more optimistic about government relief coming via the November Congressional elections. I believe in this country and think we can be great again. I don't think we're seeing the fall of the "Roman" empire.

Plus I don't feel that I talk about politics enough to warrant the potent name "Resistance is Not Futile." Maybe I should have learned a lesson from my old boss and identified the mission and objective of this blog before I started. What does my blog mean to me? What do I want to accomplish? When I identify the goals, will they change the way I write? I don't believe I can stop talking about my daughters and their activities. I will probably continue to express happiness, sympathy, ire, boredom, annoyance, jokes, anger, aches, pains, mood swings, and more.

Speaking of jokes, I heard this last weekend and it made me laugh. Skip over the next paragraph if you're easily offended.

What do a nearsighted gynecologist and a puppy have in common? They both have wet noses.

I know, it's disgusting but I did laugh when my brother told it. He had two others that were equally nasty but I promptly forgot them.

But back to the name of this blog. I actually think the mute button is superior to sliced bread. I like my friend the mute button more than knee-highs. More than the ice maker in my freezer. More than straws. I feel this depth of affection toward my mute button because I hate most commercials. I hate hearing the cheering fans standing outside the morning news show studios. I hate high voices on men (I feel so dirty saying that). So I love my mute button.

You know from previous posts that I admit that I'm not as entertaining as other blogs out there and I do go on sometimes about shit that's boring to others and sometimes boring even to me. So I accept the fact that anyone who stumbles across this blog can opt to "hit mute" when they see a post that's not interesting to them. And it's okay. But for me, I'm just going to try to enjoy writing without the pressure of being a word genius. A little bit (lot) of babble. A splash of political commentary. Some thoughts on the culture anomolies around us (Brangelina's baby getting as much press as the earthquake in Indonesia). And how tired my feet are.

I apologize to everyone who has blogrolled me under "Resistance is NOT Futile." You are welcome to change the name if you want, but if you don't want to - whatever. I'm not going to feel stressed about it. Kathy T. is perfectly acceptable if "Where's the Mute Button?" is too long.

Thank you, feel free to grab the mute button at any time, and good night.

A Nice Weekend?

Sitting here watching the weather and it looks like it'll FINALLY be nice. I'm so happy about this because I'm taking a van load of girl scouts to Beech Bend Amusement Park in Bowling Green on Sunday. I think it'll be a lot of fun AND will help me sleep well Sunday night. This Thursday (June 8th), I'm going with another girl scout troop to Washington DC. I think this too will be fun, although I admit I'm dreading all the walking just a little. Maybe I'll have lost some weight when we get home!

Saturday looks to be relaxing - picking up some things for the DC trip and maybe straightening the house a little. I think I need to get my stuff back from Ivy for this trip... have the suitcase will be helpful!