Archive for September, 2008

Yeah, a meme, but I’ve had this one for awhile and since I’m hangin’ with my dude Obama this morning (unless he was suddenly called back to DC for an economic vote…hey, I’m doing this on Sunday afternoon, when I have time, cut me some slack!), here ya go.

I have, in my hot little hands, four (4) FOUR tickets to see Barack Obama speak tomorrow here in Colorado. Ten minutes from my house. Why four? Because we’ve been promising the boys for months that we’d take them to hear Obama speak if we could. And, thanks to my darling husband ignoring severe back pain (and taking the boys with him this morning to wait in line), we.are.going.

I’m taking nothing more than ID and my camera. And if the boys act up, I’m leaving them with the Secret Service. (Oh, please, Dear Sweet Baby Jesus, don’t let the boys’ antics get us on CNN…)

Ok, I’ve tried so hard to not rant political here. That’s a huge reason why I’ve been so silent lately. If you can’t say something nice…sigh…

Can Senator McCain walk and chew gum? Think and talk? Pat his head and rub his tummy? I mean, I know men have a much harder time multi-tasking than women (example one: my husband), but surely a man who is a candidate for the highest office in the land could manage a few things at once! Suspending his campaign and avoiding the debate? Are you kidding me???? Yes, running for President takes an enormous amount of time. And, yes, the economy is tanking badly (I won’t look at my retirement account right now; I’m afraid I’d hurl on my laptop and frankly, it has enough problems). But this is someone who is interviewing for the most important job in the country, and he’s yelling “Time Out!!! I can’t do both right now!!!!”  That does not inspire a whole lot of confidence. I want someone as President who can handle multiple crises at the same time and not lost his/her cool. To keep his/her head when everyone around is losing theirs. By suspending his campaign (and calling for his opponent to suspend his), Senator McCain lost his head. Not.Cool. Calling for the debate to be postponed (which is campaign-speak for cancel…or cancel the VP debate next week so there can still be three Presidential debates), is Not.Cool.

Finally, my largest amount of anger has to do with lying. I was a fervent supporter of Bill Clinton until the idiot lied. I thought John Edwards would make a fanfreakingtastic Attorney General until the idiot lied. Tell me the truth, I can handle it. But lie to me, and you’ve lost me and my respect. It’s a small thing, but last night McCain was supposed to be on David Letterman. He called before the show taped and bailed, claiming he was rushing back to DC because of the economic crisis. He lied. He went on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric instead. As of this morning he was still in New York. Did he really think he wouldn’t get caught lying? Really? Yes, it’s a small thing, getting out of a late night talk show, but he lied. Is that really someone we should have in the Oval Office? A liar? Who would lie about something so small and assume he wouldn’t get caught, when it was inevitable that he would? Are you kidding me?

So any respect I ever had for McCain (which, several years ago, was not unsubtantial) is gone. He is not trustworthy, I think his judgment is less than stellar, and…sigh…he is not appropriate for the highest office in the land. For if we truly believe that leadership comes from above, do we really want to follow his lead?

So last week I asked advice on smartphones. And when I went back to get Princess, the PMSing Laptop, I was fully prepared to plunk down some money and commit to another 2 year contract with Verizon. Happily. With a smile on my face and hope in my heart.

Alas, it was not to be.

The universe said no. Verizon won’t let me upgrade my phone (!) for another 12 months. Okee dokee then Verizon. Ain’t gonna happen!

‘Cause in another 12 or so months, I’m probably going to be in the market for a laptop that doesn’t get its panties in a knot when I turn it on, or ask it to do computer-y things, or type faster than it can understand. And that computer will be a MacBook, barring any unforeseen circumstances. And if I’m getting a MacBook in 12 or so months and my Verizon contract is up shortly after that…then Mama will also be in the market for an iPhone. ‘Cause right now I just want all my electronics to play nice together. They aren’t right now and Mama is tired of it.

I’d like to thank the universe for its foresight. I didn’t see this economic tsunami coming (I saw perhaps a hefty tidal wave…maybe somthing surfable, with enough practice…but not something of this magnitude. No, I haven’t checked my retirement account, I’m afraid to look), but the universe did and prevented me from slapping down cash last week. Thanks, universe! Glad you were on my side last week.

Now tell Murphy and his sadistic little Law to take a flying leap, will ya? Recovering from the stomach flu/food poisoning on my birthday sucked donkey danglies and was really BAD form.

Dawn at weldable cookies has tagged me with this random list of questions. Let’s see how I do, shall we?

1. Where was I ten years ago?
Hmmm…1998… I was in my second year of grad school at the University of Colorado, in flute performance. I was about 6 weeks from burning out, and then coasting through the rest of the year as best I could. Tom and I had just purchased our first home, a small condo. I was working four part time jobs while in school to make some money (flute lessons, assistant to a vision-impaired grad student, band librarian, and in charge of all the lockers and instruments for the College of Music).

2. What was on my To Do list today?
More than it would be humanly possible to do within one 24 hour period, even if one eliminated sleep, meals, bathroom breaks, and oh, breathing.

3. What would I do if I were a billionaire?
Seriously? I’d build the music school where I used to teach a state-of-the-art facility, with soundproofed studios, a real auditorium, a recital hall, storage, parking, great offices…and a separate office just for my husband, so he could have an office and I could have my house back. Oh, and then donate money to various charities…all after I’ve paid off our obligations and saved for the future. Who really needs all that money?

4. Five places I’ve lived:
Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa (gah), Colorado, and….that’s it.

5. Bad habits:
Chewing on my fingers. Speeding. Not exercising.

Now to tag five people. Here’s a challenge. I just can’t…if you need a meme to cover a post, take it with my blessing!

Yup, today is my today. My 35th birthday. Nothing planned, nothing special. Tom has a meeting tonight, so I’ll probably just put the boys to bed and put my feet up.

And start working on my 40 before 40. The 40 things I want to do before I turn 40. And I could use suggestions. I have some ideas, a short list, but could use more. Anyone? Bueller, Bueller???

Got tagged by the charming Tendrils on this one… I need to list 5 current addictions and then tag two poor unfortunate souls.

Addictions. Huh. I don’t think of myself as having an addictive personality. I’ve never smoked (even one), never done drugs (really, I’m a cube…square on 6 sides), didn’t drink until I had children (not even kidding). So let’s see what I can come up with here…

1. Facebook. Damn it, I wasn’t going to ever join this wicked bit of life. It sucks time like Dracula sucks blood. But one of best friends tagged one of our Vegas pictures with my name on it and the only way I could see the photo was by joining. And my life hasn’t been the same. Only been a few weeks and I’m hooked. Another post on this is upcoming…
2. Blogs. With the exception of the last few weeks, I love writing here, I love reading what others write on their sites…it’s a global community that I love being a part of.
3. Politics. It’s my reality tv. Yes, I do scream at the television, thanks for asking. Another thing I’ve had to take some time off of this week because I was so exhausted.
4. Word games. See #1.
5. Organization. Gotta have it. If I don’t have it, my life gets icky.

Ok, so I’m sharing this with Andrea, who has kicked my ass on Pathwords on Facebook (sigh) and Michelle, who I will eventually meet in person again.

I have no reason for being gone so long, other than just busy. And when I get super busy, I get stressed. And when I get stressed, my creativity goes out the window. Add to that computer problems and I pretty much crawled into a hole the last few days. And I feel like I’m in a hole today. I’m just knock-down, drag-out exhausted. I think I ate something with gluten in it and my body is not happy. I suspect the longer I’m gluten-free, the less it will take to knock me out. Like my tolerance is much lower or something.

So today I’m doing a little bit of catch-up as I’m crashed on the couch watching the Broncos game. And my laptop is again getting painfully hot on my lap…stupid Princess.

Yay! Bling! Two very lovely ladies awarded me the I Love Your Blog Award: the very awesome Unplug Your Kids and Denise at EatPlayLove. It’s so good to be loved (and I just love this graphic):

And if someone who uses WordPress could show me how to put just images in my sidebar, I’d be ever so grateful. I have a ton of bloggy love bling I’d love to put there. Please?

I’m passing this along to Karen at Pediascribe, who is, at this very moment, moving from Ohio to Florida. I hate moving with a wild and desperate passion. The last two times I moved into a new place it downpoured after a long drought, so I’m not a fan. And moving cross-country, into a rental as your house is being built, really ranks pretty darned high on “things I don’t want to do right now.” So while Karen is moving, go back and read her archives (she’s been pretty silent lately because of the move, but she’s worth it). Leave her some comment love. Send her a virtual cosmo or something. ‘Cause moving bites. Love you, Karen! Can’t wait to meet you next summer!

Oh, I’m not dead, just Trapped Under Something Heavy: TUSH. Princess the PMSing Laptop is still out partying with the tech guys; rumor has it she’ll be back the end of this week.  She’ll probably have a wicked hangover and unmentionable tattoos, but it’ll be good to have her back. At least my shakes will subside.

Friday night Denise and I partied with the gals with Mile High Mamas. We had a fantastic time, enjoyed quite a few margaritas and mojitos, and are already planning on hitting the next one in January. So, if you’re here from MHM…welcome! Yes, in the MHM post my blog is called Laughing At Chaos, and it’s Never A Dull Moment here…don’t be confused, you’re in the right place. And I’m probably going to change the name of this place to Laughing At Chaos anyway, so no worries.

Now. A little help. I am thinking very seriously of getting a smartphone to replace my current cell phone/PDA. No, I don’t want an iPhone…at least not yet. I want it to get all the bugs out before I get one. I learned my lesson with the titchy iMac Blue Bondis of many a year ago–don’t get an early version or it’ll turn you off the product for life! So I’m looking at whatever Verizon has available. I have it narrowed down to a Palm Centro or a CrackBlackBerry. I’ll probably go with the Palm, since I’m already familiar with the Palm OS.

My question: talk me into this. How easy is it to use a smartphone? How do you check your emails with it? Can I talk on the phone and check my calendar at the same time? How many minutes/what kind of plan would you recommend? Any thoughts you have? I am in your hands.

Now. I have to toddle back into the kitchen, I’m cooking again today. Why I keep doing this to myself is beyond me, but hey, it means the freezers will be full!

It’s just a teeny, tiny, maybe 4 inch long snippet of information.

I would have missed it if I wasn’t dividing this morning’s paper into “read” and “recycle.”

My heart stopped. My jaw dropped. I got lightheaded a bit.

I saw visions of afternoons wandering about. Visions of organization that actually turned me on.

I no longer have to be jealous of Karen or Cursing Mama or Holly.

IKEA IS COMING TO COLORADO, BABEEEEE!!!!!!

Details to come today…