At a Loss for Words (for once)

As my Art History class draws to a close, my Science class is gaining speed as it grows more complex and turns my mind into mush as I try to memorize the complex formulas to figure out how Inverse-Square Law works and units of Joules, Newtons and Watts bang around in my cranium.
This morning I've been working on my 10 page essay about ONE work of art. This is no easy feat, since I can't think of any ONE thing I could write 10 pages worth of work about.
So, I keep finding myself using run on sentences and abusing adjectives like there's no tomorrow.
In the background I'm listening to Oprah, which I don't normally watch, but I don't want to leave the computer desk to change channels.
On this episode, she's bragging about her trip to Paris and has wheeled Valentino onto the show, so her and her friends like Halle B. can rave about how womanly they feel in his clothes, something that us regular women will never experience, but thanks to Oprah rubbing it into our faces, we are reminded of our lack of funds for being able to afford a several thousand dollar dress.
Her show just gets on my nerves. Especially the ones which features some rich bitch sitting in her mansion screaming "HELP ME OPRAH, this room is a disaster."
"OOH girl, I hear ya, let me send my team of designers over to provide much unneeded help your way."
Come on.. I'd be much more impressed if she featured a woman living in a shelter trying to get away from her abusive husband, who REALLY needed help.
Then there's the never ending line up of celebraties she's always marching across the stage.
I just don't understand why so many women worship her, all she does is use her show to brag about how many celebraties she knows and how much money she's able to spend.
Ok, it's time to turn off the t.v. and get back to finding more words to describe Picasso's 'Three Musicians' which is quickly going from being one of my most favorite works of art, to one of the most loathed. I NEVER want to look at this painting ever again once this essay is written.

Twiggy and Twiggy

For those of you who have been living under a rock, Twiggy Rameriz is the former bass player for Marilyn Manson.

Anyways, he got a chance to meet up with the always darling other Twiggy.

Together, they recorded "I only want to be with you"
I stumbled upon it and downloaded it into my MP3 player, totally kicks ass. I've tried to figure out how to pipe the song onto my blog, but I don't have all night to sit here fiddling around with it.
Well worth looking for, and it's a THOUSAND times better than that Perfect Circle crap he got into.

Uncool at the Pool

David left early Monday morning for the field. And would you believe it, after having mostly cooler than usual weather for June, the day he left it turned HOT. So, he's hating life right now, having to sleep in a scorching hot tent and all.

I feel kinda bad for having a good ole time over here with the kids.

Today we went to the pool. I brought one of my school books and got a lot of work done while the boys played in the kids pool. I thought I was lookin pretty cute wearing a little black cotton dress over my bikini and a fashionable straw cowboy hat until I got home....

I went into the bedroom to change and after pulling the dress off over my head, I looked into the mirror and discovered my new bikini top had these flimsy little boob pusher upper things tucked into each cup. I found this out because what do ya know, one of those boob pusher upper things had worked it's way out and was flapping around precariously by my arm pit. I'm such a dork, and no, I have no idea why I didn't notice it, and yes, I'd walked around the pool like that, since I took the dress off while we were there.

Into the Wilderness

On Friday we decided to visit the small town of Fischbach. Which is about an hour away, and by taking the small town roads, instead of the autobahn, we enjoyed a very pretty drive.
Once again, we seriously considered having one of those limo privacy sceens installed between the front and back seats. The nonstop questions, chatter and having to stop small fires before they spread had David and I both ready to rip our hair out within the first 10 minutes of the trip. (My hair anyways, since David doesn't have any)
But once we got there and released the 2 wild beast, I mean boys from the backseat, it was all good.
We didn't have to worry about things on the homefront since we had these 2 holding down the fort.

Who needs guns when you have buns?
It's hard to describe the place we went to. Basically it's a museum, nature skywalk, playground and rooftop resteraunt all rolled into one.


Here we are on the skywalk/nature walk. Garrett did not like being so high up and kept a death grip on the guard rail the entire time.
Afterwards, we grabbed ice cream. Since my energy resources had been depleted, I had the coffee/ice cream with generous sprinkles of chocolate-YUMMY.


David's always more fun after you get a few beers in him.

We stopped to look at the moo cows. This picture was taken right after we warned the boys not to touch the fence. Being the city folk we are, we thought the fence might be electric. As you can see, Kyle decided to test that theory, and proved us wrong.



When it was time to leave, I asked the kids if they needed to use the bathroom. They both said no and refused to even TRY to use it, just to be sure.
So, we walked down this big ass hill to the car. And as soon as we'd gotten them both belted in, you guessed it.. "Mom, I need to use the bathroom." GRRRRRR....
So, we had to unbelt them and since David was A LOT more annoyed than I was, I walked them back up the big ass hill to the bathroom, while David seethed in the car.
Overall, it was a GREAT day.

Give them an inch they'll take a yard

Last night I decided to start working on a new quilt, so I set up shop at the coffee table.
I could feel Dexters' ruby red eyes watching me, even though he tried to pretend he was interested in grooming himself.
After a few minutes of watching me laying out, comparing and slicing through the stacks of fabric, he decided to hop over and take a tentative sniff. His eyes closed slightly in bliss as he took in the crisp, clean scent of cloth. Then unable to resist, he gave it a quick lick, this didn't satisfy him, so after a moment he tried a nibble.
"Dexter no!" I gently scootched him away.
Then some force greater than the both of us over took him, and without warning, his sharp little teeth clamped onto a bit of cloth and he made a mad dash across the room with it.
It was hilarious seeing this little gray ball of fur streaking across the room with a chunk of pink, heart printed cloth in his mouth.
Once he got a little ways away, he stopped to collect his thoughts. I could see the little wheels in his bunny brain spinning as he tried to figure out his next manuever.
He ended up dashing beneath the futon, and once he was far enough back, to where I couldn't reach him, he set it down and stared me down, as if to say, "Oh yeah, whatcha gonna do about it?"
Reflecting back, I almost think I heared him growling at me, but I can't be too sure.
I did end up getting the cloth back, even though it resulted in one angry bunny who spent the remainder of the evening glaring at me from his "leave me alone" spot in the living room.
Silly bunny, fabric is for people!

Little Don Juan

Awhile back, while doing laundry, I found a note in Garrett's pocket. It said, "Do you like me? Yes or No" I don't remember writing or receiving a note like that until around the 5th grade. So, I was surprised that not only are kids still writing these notes, but they're also getting such an early start, beings he's in the 1st grade.
Anyways, I thought it was cute, and it was put into his baby book, along with all the other milestone things I've collected since he was born.
At the beginning of the school year, his "girlfriend" was Shelby. Unfortunately, she broke his heart and moved away around Christmas time. But he seemed to enjoy being a young bachelor.
Then the name Eileen became mentioned more and more often. It seems he's quite smitten with her and she appears to be smitten with him. Sometimes he draws her little pictures, and they sit together at lunch time. It's also my understanding that at recess, she chases him around and tries to kiss him. I'm not too concerned, since they're only 6.
The only thing that has me raising an eyebrow is the reaction of others when they find out Eileen is his "girlfriend". With Shelby, everyone thought it was cute. But, with Eileen, I've heared this comment, "Oh, she's black.."
AND???? So????
I think it's great that they enjoy each others company and genuinely like each other for who they are. I've never heared Garrett comment on her appearance, but I have heared him mention often how nice she is, and how much he likes being around her.
I feel like I've done SOMETHING right with him, since he's able to pick and choose his friends based on who they are inside, and not what they look like.
I just can't believe it's 2005 and there are still so many people with primitive thought patterns.
Besides, they're 6 for Pete's Sake. And even if they were in they're 20's or something, who cares, as long as they're happy.

Books, Books, Books

I found this floating around in cyberspace.

1) Total number of books owned:
About 100.
After reading a book, I only keep it if I REALLY love it. It'd be INSANE if I kept every book I ever read.
If I decide the book's not worthy of it's own space on my book shelf, I either give it to a friend, or let fate pass it to someone else through bookcrossing. (http://www.bookcrossing.com)
Most books, I have a REALLY hard time letting go of.

2) The last book I bought:
Last night I ordered these from Amazon.com.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
and
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

3) The last book I read:
She Flew the Coop by Micheal Lee West
a nice, enjoyable fluff book.

4) Five books that mean a lot to me:

1.) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
OMG, what a powerful book! I absolutely LOVE this book.

2.) The Idiot Girls Action Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro
If I'm having a lousy day, nothing tackles it like this book will.

3.) Firm for Life by Anna and Cynthia Benson
This book has NEVER failed to keep me motivated about exercising on a regular basis. I read it whenever I'm in a slump. I like it because it's motivating without being cheesy.

4.) The "Ramona" books by Beverly Cleary
These books are what got me into reading in the 1st place. I use to read them over and over again when I was a kid. And Ramona became my alter ego as a kid. Since I liked her better than myself back then, I did EVERYTHING I could to try to be her. (Yeah, I was a weird kid)

5.) How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale by Jenna Jameson
Yes, the pornstar. After reading this, I felt a termendous amount of respect for her. My husband also read this. (The ONLY book I've ever seen him read in the 6 yrs we've been married) I think he just read it for the pictures though-LOL.

So there you have it.
Hopefully something interesting will happen soon!!!!!!

The Pass Around Test

O.K, it's now my turn to cave in and do this test since all of my other friends have done it.
1. What time did you get up this morning?
6 a.m. on a SATURDAY-UGH

2. Diamonds or pearls?
DEFINETLY Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the movies?
Robots

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Fraiser

5. What did you have for breakfast?
Nothing, not a breakfast person

6. What is your middle name?
Lynn

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Indian/middle eastern

8. What foods do you dislike?
Anything undercooked, i.e. eggs, meat, etc..If it's runny, bleeding or mooing, take it away!!!

9. What is your favorite chip flavor?
Just plain old Fritos

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Can't really pick one,, have been listening to Kid Rock a lot lately though..

11. What type of car do you drive?
Currently a Pontiac

12. Favorite sandwich?
Rueben

13. What characteristic do you despise?
self centered people

14. Favorite item of clothing?
my pajamas- so comfy

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation?
Austrailia

16. What color is your bathroom?
White tiled, with blue and gold accents

17. Favorite brand of clothing?
Don't care, as long as it fits and is comfortable

18. Where would you retire to?
Texas someday

19. Favorite time of the day?
mid morning

21. Where were you born?
Tacoma, Washington

22. Favorite sport to watch?
Figure Skating

23. Who do you least expect to repost this?
who knows

24. Person you expect to repost it.
who knows

25. What fabric detergent do you use?
ALL- free and clear

26. Coke or Pepsi?
Vanilla Coke

27. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Night Owl

28. What is your shoe size?
6.5

29. Do you have any pets?
Right now, 2 bunnies.

30. Any new and exciting news you would like to share with family & friends?
David gave me herpes..
JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

31. What did you want to be when you were little?
18 and living as far away from my family as possible, because "as soon as I'm 18, I'm SOOOO out of here"

Eating the Stinky Cheese

On Saturday, we decided to take a break on our boycott of French products to take a trip into France and pay a visit to a market just past the border. (The French border is only about 1/2 an hour from where we live)
David stood in line at the seafood stand while I took the kids over to the cheese stand. After picking out a cheese that looked like it would tickle the palate, we found him standing amongst the produce holding a HUGE silver bag and wearing a dazed look on his face.
"Did you get the shrimp?"
"Um, yeah... I wasn't sure how much was in a kilo and to make sure we had enough I asked for 2 kilos of it."
He handed me the bag and I almost died when I read the price label on it. 74 EURO!!!! That's like a little over $100.
"Oh hell no! There's no way we're buying 74 Euro worth of shrimp when I can get it at the commissary for $5. Get rid of it!!!"
We wandered around the freezers for awhile, with him looking VERY suspicious. I finally snatched the bag from him and threw it in with some smoked salmon.
I also had a French man grab my ass.... It was weird.. I was standing with Garrett looking at the shelves of food, when I felt something squeeze my butt. I looked over and saw this guy with wild brown hair walking away wearing a scraggly t-shirt, cut off shorts and ugly ass bright red shoes.. THEN, after walking a little ways down the aisle, he turned around and started walking back towards us. This time I was ready. I glared at him, and turned to face him as he passed, so he couldn't access my ass. I must have scared him with my American girl brashness, because he looked frightened and started walking faster.
I found David selecting wine and after telling him someone grabbed my ass, he was ready to rip the guys head off and shove it up his ass. Luckily for that horny Frenchman, he had managed to blend in with the crowd and will live to eat more stinky cheese.
Speaking of which, oh my god, the cheese we bought was just HORRIBLE. It was like opening Pandoras box when we peeled the wrapper off. And the stench just seemed to linger... UGH...
BUT, we got a nice bottle of red wine, some really good blueberry jelly and some little finger foods...And of course, we brought back 2 loaves of french bread fresh from the bakery.