T13- So Lazy I Can't Even Think of a Title

13 Reasons my Blog Hasn't Been Updated since July 8th

1. My birthday was on the 10th. I turned 40. I feel ok about it, but I am not ready to wax poetical about it.

2. less computer time, more sun time!

3. 5 trips to the dealer and a rental car later, and my air conditioning is finally fixed in my van

4. must get out of the house before I kill my children

5. nothing exciting is happening.

6. really. life is sweetly boring right now.

7. my daughter is at camp and I am cleaning her room.

8. have you seen her room?

9. it could take me a month, but I have less than a week.

10. in fact, I have really just one more day.

11. but I am just about done, mostly.

12. have been doing research for curricula for homeschooling

13. it's SUMMER! The kids have it off, I guess I am taking time, too.

<$BlogItemTitle$>

<$BlogItemPermalinkUrl$>

T, who let the time get away from me

Search Me: Thursday Thirteen,

Technorati: Thursday Thirteen, >,

Well, Monkeys Will Just Fly Outta My Butt!

I can't believe it, but he did it! Kyle from One Red Paperclip was sitting at his desk over a year ago lamenting that he couldn't buy a house. He noticed a red paperclip on his desk and decided to trade for it, on the Internet. 14 trades later, he made it!

Here is the story

I guess anything is possible if you have the ingenuity and creativity. Congratulations to Kyle McDonald, duuuuuuuuude, you are sooooooo money! I wonder how many others will try the same thing? Kyle's feat will definitely be the talk of offices throughout the U.S. come Monday!

Ok, now your turn....with what item would you start a trade, and what would you hope to end up with? I will post the answers in a future post, so don't be shy, let me know!

T, who says color me red, I didn't think he would pull it off!

Search Me: news, blog,

Technorati: blog, news,

T13- Maybe I Should Just Stay Home

13 Things About TLC's Car

1. I drive a 2001 Kia Sedona.

2. I like it quite well, but the air keeps going out.

3.Last time it did was a year ago.

4. It is out again. First it was just not getting really cold, and making a hissing noise. Then the air turned warm and swampy.

5. Today is the day we are supposed to go to the beach with our homeschool group, but the air is out in my van and no way am I driving 20 minutes in a tin can with no air.

6. JBear might get heatstroke, sitting in the back of the van with no real windows!

7. I have had my van at the dealer three times now to get the air fixed. The first time was the third week of June. They diagnosed the problem and ordered the part, I brought the van back. They ordered the wrong part! I had to wait until after July 4th. Monday, I took it in, there is another part missing! They ordered that, should be here today. So frustrating.

8. The good news is that it is under warranty.

9. The bad news is that Kia dealers all around us are closing up shop. This is one of the last left in the area. It is even in my city.

10. But I was going to another city, because I bought my car there and I liked them better. That dealer is closed now, so I have no choice.

11. This is our second Kia. The first was J's 1995 Sportage.

12. He still drives it. It has over 125,000 miles on it.

13. Because all the dealers are closing, it is doubtful we will buy another Kia, though they make a good car. We would consider it, but reliable local service is important. So we will probably buy another make instead. My dream is the Honda Odyssey, but it is spendy. We will probably get a Nissan Quest. It is J's turn for a new car, though. This fall he will probably end up buying a hybrid, like the Prius.

>
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, auto-link to your Thirteen. It’s easy, and fun! I will visit everyone who auto-links from my page!

<$BlogItemTitle$>

<$BlogItemPermalinkUrl$>

T, who is thinking I could sweat away the pounds in my own personal "Sauna on Wheels"

Search Me: Thursday Thirteen, memes,

Technorati: family, rants,

All This, and Chocolate on Your Pillow, Too

The guest room has a new resident. Go and say hello to Becca, over at Hot House Momma, in my sidebar. She is a mom of 2, has been married for 3 short years (says me, since I have been married going on 17 years, I can say that). She just got back from Cabo San Lucas and I am envious!

Go and pop on over and send her a little TLC love. I bet she would even set out a margarita for you. She seems to be fond of them. Just don't speak Spanish to her, even though she is tan, she wouldn't understand. (ask her about that, if you don't get it).

Thanks to all who asked to rent...keep trying, and..I'll leave the light on for ya.

T, who loves guests

This is how they did it in my day, youngster

That's right, we are doing it Old School. I remember when I was just a kid, and Pong came out. How excited we were! Games! That you could play on your television! In the old days, we had black and white games and they were sticks that hit a ball, and we liked it!

We have been telling the kids about it, and how games now are so much better. This weekend we took the kids on a trip down memory lane. We pulled out our Sega Genesis and the games we have, as well. We also pulled out the Atari and wiped the dust off of it all. Can I just say, that the memory of Atari was not as sweet as it was when I was a kid? My children were unimpressed with the lack of graphics and how difficult the controls were. Honestly, the games were pretty lame. Adventure, which was literally just a square that could carry a key around mazes. Whoopee. Games like Centipede and Missle Command have not stood the test of time. And the kids are finding the games were difficult, as well. And, while Pitfall looks fun, it is incredibly frustrating to play.

The Sega Genesis, however, fared a bit better. Despite incredulous looks when we announced that you can't save the games which for difficult multi-level games like Toe Jam and Earl is just ridiculous they liked the graphics. My son was a bit frustrated at how hard the old Sonic the Hedgehog was...and it really is, even more so than I remember. Another favorite was Ecco the Dolphin, kind of the Tai Chi of the game cartridge market. At the time, I would play the game and just enjoy the music and the ability to move around as a dolphin. The game play itself was hard. But the game experience was beautiful.

I have been trolling eBay and I am amazed at just how many cartridges there are out there for the Sega Genesis! And they cost next-to-nothing! Guess we will have some inexpensive fun this summer. And my kids can go back to their Nintendo DS portables actually appreciating what they have. Hey, that would be a good fringe benefit!

T, who can't believe we gave in

With Liberty, and Justice For All

this post was for yesterday, but was delayed due to technical problems...

In honor of the 4th of July, I wanted to present some food for thought. The Declaration of Independence I know, I know, you have read it before. Read it again...with fresh eyes.

Also, go and listen to this song: (Didn't Know I Was) Unamerican

And remember, it is our basic right to speak up when something isn't right.

In the words of our Founding Fathers:

When the government fears the people there is liberty; when the people fear the government there is tyranny. --Thomas Jefferson

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." Thomas Jefferson

"What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?" --Thomas Jefferson

"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech" -- Benjamin Franklin

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin

"Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people." --John Quincy Adams

"But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." --John Adams

"Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it." --John Adams

"[H]owever weak our country may be, I hope we shall never sacrifice our liberties." --Alexander Hamilton

"An elective despotism was not the government we fought for; but one in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among the several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the others." --James Madison

"Where an excess of power prevails, property of no sort is duly respected. No man is safe in his opinions, his person, his faculties, or his possessions." --James Madison

"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism." --George Washington

"No country upon earth ever had it more in its power to attain these blessings than United America. Wondrously strange, then, and much to be regretted indeed would it be, were we to neglect the means and to depart from the road which Providence has pointed us to so plainly; I cannot believe it will ever come to pass." --George Washington

"If you love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." --Samuel Adams

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.... O sir, we should have fine times, indeed, if to punish tyrants, it were only sufficient to assemble the people!" --Patrick Henry

I love this country. It is not unamerican to believe we are headed in the wrong direction. Today, I prayed and participated in a parade with my children. I believe in change, for the better. And it starts with us. We have to want it. We have to want the government to do what is right and just. We have to want them to care for the interests of more than just the Almighty Dollar. We have to pull the power out of the hands of the few, those who would sacrifice us to the special interest groups. We have to fight those who would destroy our air, water and our very lives in order to grow richer! We have to be informed. We have to vote and not just turn on American Idol. Right now, the american idol is MONEY. Everything in this country is based upon the god of Capitalism. I weep for our future if those in power continue as they are going.

And finally, I leave you with my favorite quote, by a famous cultural anthropologist:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has" --Margaret Mead

God bless us, and God Bless the United States of America.

T, who believes we can be better than we are

Search Me: holiday, politics,

Technorati: politics,

It's not just a song, it's terror

I lost. Seriously, I ran, screaming from the room. But perhaps I should back up, since I am coming in in the middle of my story. I have this Thing "thing" here meaning: phobia with a capital AAAUGH!" I am so petrified by the thing I fear that its name must not be mentioned in our home. We refer only to this marauder as "the C word." Think: similar to the evil wizard in Harry Potter, "He who must not be named."

We have taken great steps to stay completely free of said invader. But we live in Southern California, and there are the rare times (last time was 4 years ago) when a wandering "C word" finds its way into an open door, squeezes under a screen... they are quite resourceful. To tell you how much I fear these loathsome things, you need to understand that I hate shoes. And it is very common for me to run out to the van to retrieve something without them on. But I do not do this after dark in the summer months. I am terrified that I may run into something I don't want to deal with. If I have to go outside, I wear closed-toe shoes, and I don't bring a flashlight. I run to the car, and run right back. It is similar when a kid has to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. They high-tail it to the bathroom, go and then run like the wind and jump back into bed, eyes squinched shut against the darkness.

So, now that you understand the depth of my fear (I may at some later date go into exactly why I have such terror in the face of these monsters, but not today) I am ready to tell you my story. You will have to use your imagination, because though I usually provide pictures in my posts, there is no way that I am googling for pictures of the vile creatures! In any case, here we go.

Del Taco here sells egg burritos after 11 p.m. So J decided to go and get us a couple. Del Taco is just down the street, the kids were sleeping, no problem. I decided to take a shower while he was gone. After all, what is better than a cool shower after a really hot day? Perfect way to end my evening. Or so I thought. if you are keeping track, here is where you insert the ominous music.

Things started out fine. I started the water, took off my glasses (proves to be pivotal in my story) washed my hair, enjoyed my shower. Lather, rinse, repeat. I conditioned my hair, and soaped up with my shower gel. I was facing the showerhead and happened to notice there was some cobweb on the ceiling. Hmm, I will have to clean that up. Getting ready to rinse my hair now... and I saw the dark spot of cobweb/dirt just above the tile, just at the edge about the same height as the showerhead. There, in the corner, what is that? It is higher than I am, so I wouldn't really notice it very well. It was about 2 inches long or so... What is that? I leaned a little bit closer, because I couldn't make out detalis. Remember, I wear glasses. And.. it moved. And that's when it hit me what it was! .

Let me just tell you, I move fast! Lance Armstrong on his bicycle couldn't have beat me out of that bathroom. I didn't even stop to turn off the shower. I high-tailed it out of there, stopping long enough to grab a towel..

When J came home, he found me, in the middle of the kitchen, standing on the stepstool. Clad in only a towel, I was wet and dripping, conditioner still in my hair, and the remnants of soap drying on my skin. I was shaking and sobbing. I know, it sounds funny now. Last night, it really wasn't. Wonderful man that he is, he immobilized the beast with a shot of shaving gel. Then he was able to get rid of it..

Trust me, I know I have nothing to fear. I know it is completely irrational. I am a big person. It is a small bug. BUT. My biggest fear has been that I would be somewhere I felt helpless and would be confronted with "the C word." And last night, that happened. And to think, I had my back turned, rinsing my hair, and it was there, all that time!! Makes me want to throw up..

I have learned the following things from this experience:

1. make sure to check the shower stall thoroughly before I get in.

2. a can of shaving gel will now sit permanently in our shower.

3. I am damn fast, and could win a sprint if one of those was chasing me.

4. I married the right guy

And finally,

5. don't tell this story to your kids and expect them not to laugh at you.

I mean really, admit it, you are laughing at my expense too, right? I would be laughing if I was you. So, go ahead and laugh. Eventually, I might also snicker a tiny bit. If I am holding a can of shaving gel. Just in case.

T, who swears if I see another one, I am moving out

Search Me: fear, humor,

Technorati: humor, family,