Resolutions

Ok, so here we are at day 3 of January 2010 and no, I have not started any kind of diet. I need to get myself psyched up AND get all the crap that is in the house eaten up! I have decided that this year, I am going to worry about Me, Myself and I. I'm tired of putting some of the blame on my husband, even though he is to blame in some respects. He makes a fattening, wonderful meal and I eat it. Not anymore. From now on , if he wants to make a fattening meal for he and the kids, then have at it, but I will make me something else; whether or not he gets offended or upset that he worked so hard in the kitchen just to have me not eat his wonderfully prepared food. NO. I must have willpower. He doesn't like it that I am fat, yet he does nothing to help me lose it. Well, enough of throwing blame at him. It is ME who must be strong, and strong I will be. As promised (to myself mainly, but also to anyone out there in the black internet hole) I will record my diet each day in my blog journal. I just have to start dieting first. It'c coming..it's coming.

BACK after TWO years! Happy 2009...uh almost 2010.

2 years have passed??!! wow time flies. So, I recently watched the movie Julie and Julia and I liked it so much, I googled the author, Julie Powell, and lo and behold I came across her blog! First I have been following her original blog that she started her "project" back in like 2003. Such enjoyable reading that I then found her more up-to-date blog and am now following that, and checking all day like a stalker to see if she answered my comment.

Do you ever come across someone that you have never met, but once you read their blogs every day you feel like you know them and you could be friends with them? such as the case with Rosie O'Donnell...(love her but I know I will never meet her). Well, now I am hooked on Julie and her blog and after following her whole year project, I feel like I know her. Pathetic? Maybe, but ah well. Plus she loves to cook, hence her "project"; and me being married to a chef and labeling myself as his sous chef, I find Julie's recipes and annecdotes quite entertaining.

anyhoo...back to my blog...Julie has inspired me to once again get back on the blog wagon. I'm starting a diet come the new year and thought I might blog about it each day, giving my progress and of course, writing about the times I will cheat. I know, it might not be as exciting as reading about Julie and her first lobster kill, but at least it will keep my blogging and hopefully in writing about my diet progress, it might keep me more on track. Wish me luck! In the meantime...back to the Julia/ Julie Project....

Happy Holidays 2007

Merry Christmas!

It is December 2007 already. Dustin graduated from high school back in June, turned 18 in July, and then enlisted in the Air Force. Right now as I write this, he is in San Antonio, Texas, at Lackland AFB enduring the rigors of boot camp. We got to spend Thanksgiving with him and then a few days later, he was gone. We miss him terribly, but we will be flying to San Antonio in January for his graduation. Then only after spending a couple of days with him, he will then leave from there to his advanced training. We are not sure where that is yet, as it depends on what job he gets. He will spend anywhere from 6-9 months in advanced training and then he will get to come home for 10 days before shipping out to where ever he will be stationed. He has grown into such a smart and mature young man. We are so proud. I know everyone here, his family and friends, all miss him very much.

Kenny is busy in the 9th grade. He turns 15 this month. FIFTEEN! where did the time go? He is playing basketball in a league and working on keeping his grades up. He too is growing into a nice young man. Very funny and polite and not your typical "teenage" boy. He is very involved in the jr.high/ high school program at church; taking leadership classes and attending camps. The Sunday before Dustin left for boot camp, both he and Kenny were baptized in front of the church. It was an emotional time for Mom! It was all I could do to hold myself together. Kenny had been ready to get baptized and then with Dustin leaving thought it would be great if Dustin did it with him and Dustin agreed. It was awesome to see. I think that now Kenny is thinking seriously about joining the Air Force like his big brother, whom he misses more than he realized he would.

Cameron is turning 12 this month and in 6th grade. Yes, he and Kenny both have birthdays 2 and 3 days before Christmas! It is a busy time for the family. We call Cameron our cuddle bug. His favorite thing to do besides playing video games, is sitting on the couch and watching movies with his family. His favorite thing to watch now is Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares with Chef Gordon Ramsey. With Sandy being a chef for so many years, I think Cameron has taken a liking to cooking and loves to help in the kitchen. I think we may have another chef in the family one day! He too likes playing basketball and will shortly be playing on the school team. Cameron is a sweet boy with a sweet disposition. All his teachers love him and he has many friends.

Last but not least is Patrick. Anyone who knows this 8 year old will tell you they think he is the funniest thing ever! He is in the 3rd grade but you would think he was 18 instead of 8. He keeps us cracking up all the time. He is the house goofball. He doesn't skip a beat when it comes to having a comment on something or replying back to a question. He always has a funny remark to make. He too is smart and teachers love him, but they love him for his wit and charm. He is playing basketball on a team for the very first time and doing great. Last week he made a basket and immediately ran over to me and said, "Can I celebrate with a milkshake now? Uh..no Patrick..the game isn't over...get back out there! So he skipped back onto the court with all watching him. That's our Patrick!

Sandy is still working as a project manager in construction and I am still working part-time from home doing medical transcription. We will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary this April.

I hope this letter finds all of you healthy and happy. Merry Christmas and have a very happy and prosperous new year!

Children and sports

Two of my sons, Cameron and Kenny, just finished playing in their community league basketball teams. It was enjoyable to go to Kenny's games, as he is 14 and the kids are a bit more mature than the younger-aged teams. Plus his games were a bit more competitive since they were older kids. But going to Cameron's games were hard this year. Not because they are boring but because the majority of the kids on the team were what I refer to as "Little shits". (I refer to them in private, obviously, not directly to them or to Cameron). Cameron is one of those type of kids who likes everyone, sees the good in everyone, and is a bit in the dark when it comes to kids that bully or tease. He loves playing basketball. I wouldn't say he is the best player on the team, but I wouldn't say he sucked at it either. He is great at defense and remembering plays and screens etc, but he doesn't get every basket he shoots for and he isn't real aggressive when trying to steal a ball away or run down the court while dribbling. BUT these are only 11 year old kids and so it isn't like the team had tiny Michael Jordans out there playing. All the kids play about as good as the other.They all made mistakes. BUT you wouldn't know it from listening to these kids! What little shits! It was a constant, "Cameron!" that I would hear from the bench. and these boys go to school with Cameron so at school they would tell him, "Cameron you suck. Cameron you need to be more aggressive. Cameron your sneakers aren't the right kind. Cameron I can't beleive you missed that basket" Cameron would come home from school and tell me of the things these "perfect" boys would say to him. It got to where at the games, I would sit across from the bench and literally glare at the mean kid who I heard say something. They saw me...they knew. One kid even told Cameron, "your mom is always staring at me and it makes me uncomfortable". but it worked. This particular kid stopped yelling at Cameron and finally was giving him tips on how to play better.
The coaches also were frustrating because they would sit there and let these kids taunt and tease, not only Cameron, but whoever was out on the court playing and making mistakes. so about a week ago, one of the coaches stood up and yelled, "Thats enough!" he said to them that he and the assistant coach would be the only ones telling the kids what to do, that if they wanted to say things, then only cheer for their team. But every once in awhile I still could hear the little shits over there. But I think the worst of them all was the coach's son. OH BOY. What a kid! I started referring to him as Mr. Drama because every time he missed a basket or got the ball taken from him or got a foul called, he would cry, slap his own head, stomp his feet, throw his water bottle down etc. He was the WORST poor sport I have ever seen at this age. I think if I witnessed any one of my boys handling situations like that, I would tell them, "until you can stop crying and handle the situation better, you will NOT play". It was rediculous. AND he was one of the worst kids that teased Cameron. I would watch as the coach (his dad) would put his arm around him and console him every time the kid threw a fit. NO WAY. So it taught this kid that he would get attention if he acted like a spoiled baby. It was pathetic to watch. By the time the season was over (last weekend) I was never so happy. Those of you who know me, know that it is hard to keep my mouth shut and I was just about to open it to all those little shits, their parents AND the coach. But I held my tongue for Cameron's sake. Now, though, this Saturday is the team's end-of-season dinner and trophy presentation. I really don't want to go, but again, going for Cameron's sake. But I don't think I will clap for any of them when they get their trophys. It is my way of quietly saying, "take THAT you little shits".

Romance....where did it go?

Blue eyes,
Blue waves,
Blue moon,
Blue Nun,

Memories....

My sister informed me that my niece got engaged last night. Her boyfriend of several years took her to dinner at the Space Needle and proposed, diamond ring and all. VERY romantic. How nice for them. When Sandy proposed to me, it too was romantic in a different way. We had been on an 8-day hiking trip with some other people. We were climbing the 2nd highest mountain in America; Mt. Whitney, in California. When we got to the top peak, Sandy got down on one knee and proposed. Someone took a picture and there I am, freezing, and all bundled up, looking like the picture of loveliness. I laughed about it later saying, "if he can propose to me after 8 days without a proper shower, he really must love me!". Sandy even went so far as to properly ask my father for his daughter's hand in marriage. My dad, holding back tears replied, "it's about time! I was ready to run an add in the newspaper for someone to marry her!" He was joking of course. I was 23 then and Sandy was 33. Other than the fact that Sandy is the type of husband who brings me flowers for no reason (most women I know would LOVE to have a husband like that!), I can honestly say that I don't recall any other romantic memories from Sandy in all the 19 years we have been married. There is something lacking there. Now, don't get me wrong...we have had romance and even romantic getaways that were wonderful, but it always seems to be ME that plans them. I would love some day to have a planned romantic night, one that I didn't plan myself. But for now, I can enjoy the romantic stories of my niece (congratulations, by the way) and fondly remember the past. *sigh* Oh, that reminds me...our anniversary is coming up soon..I better get to planning....(o;

And the Oscar goes too...

Hmm....the Academy Awards last night. I have to say I was a bit disappointed. They actually were rather boring. I'm a big fan of Ellen, but I gotta say, she wasn't as funny as usual. She had some great lines here and there, but basically it was a bit lame. What was up with the vacuuming? I didn't find it too entertaining. And the winners....well, no surprise there either. It was basically a show that showed us 10 seconds of every movie ever made with some awards thrown in. Boring. The only thing I really enjoyed was those silhouette dancers. now THAT was entertaining!

I must say, the dresses this year were prettier than previous years. No Bjorks wearing a bird. But I swear, I hate it when the press asks, "WHO are you wearing?" If I was there on the red carpet and they asked me that, I would reply, "WHO am I wearing? I didn't know I was wearing anyone. I thought I was wearing a dress". But I won't be on the red carpet any time soon, so I don't have to worry about being asked. (o:

Anna Nicole Smith, Donald Trump, and other celebrity rants.

Is America still at war? Are our troops still getting killed every day? Well, you wouldn't know it from watching the news. Instead, every news channel I switch to, Anna Nicole Smith's picture is all I see. Her and her "so-called" boyfriend-fake husband, Howard K. Stern. I'm sick of it. Yes, it is sad that she died and very sad her son died, but why does this have to be constant news to us on a daily basis when we are a country still at war and our troops are dying every day?? In order to stay updated on what is happening in the world and with the war, I have to read that damn ticker that speeds by on the bottom of the screen, all the while Anna Nicole's court proceeding is carrying on the full screen of the tv. I admit, today while flipping from one news station to the other, I got caught up in the proceeding. Howard K. Stern was on the witness stand trying to vie for the body of Anna Nicole to bury her in the Bahamas, where apparently her son is buried; while the camera would go from him to the judge to the attorneys to the mother, then back again. And this judge! Well, he would make Judge Ito from the OJ Simpson case, look good! To me, this judge loves his 15 minutes of fame. Loves to be on TV. It seems to me he is dragging out these proceedings so he can drag out his 15 famous minutes. Shouldn't this be a no brainer? Before Anna Nicole died, she buried her son in the Bahamas and then proceeded to buy a plot next to his for her own body to be buried next to him. Case, then, should be CLOSED. That was her intent so why drag this on? AND when it comes to the paternity of this poor baby, just simply order DNA from the 6 men or more who keep coming forward claiming to be the father, and again case closed! Why does it seem so easy to me? It all comes down to this judge that loves the spotlight. And so all the while our troops are fighting a war that shouldn't have happened, we have to endure watching this circus instead. Bury her in the Bahamas, where she will be next to her son, and get paternity tests. Then maybe finally we don't have to see the same footage over and over of Anna Nicole Smith embarrassing herself on national television.

But the only good that came out of the media going on and on about this Smith case was that it finally took the publicity away from Donald Trump. I think if I had to see his ugly-haired mug on tv, complaining about Rosie O'Donnell one more time, I would scream. He acted like a spoiled child and I was mad that the media kept giving him an outlet to do his pouting. So, Rosie made a comment about his morals....big deal. I agree with her. Who made him, as Rosie put it, the "moral compass"? And so with that he had to try and get back at her by insulting her looks, her weight, everything else he could come up with. At first I thought, "Ok..he is mad...he needs to have his word". but his word kept turning into a tirade and after awhile he just looked more and more rediculous and frankly, I was embarrassed for him. Well..only for a little bit. Then I just had to laugh. Who is he to cut down anyone's looks?? My gosh, can you even imagine that man with wet hair? One side of his head would have hair that is a foot long, while the other side is 2 inches. I bet that is a comical sight. His hair is so strange...it isn't even a comb-over. it is more of a swoop and swirl with ton's of hairspray holding it in place. I'm just glad we don't see him ranting anymore on every channel. But he will probably be upset that Anna died when she did and took the spotlight away from him.

And now we have to see over and over, Brittany Spears and her bald head. What is wrong with that poor girl? Where on earth is her mother?? Why hasn't someone intervened and stepped in to help her earlier? Sad. But I think I read on the ticker while watching the Anna trial, that her family has now put her back into a re-hab. I just hope that this time she stays and gets the help she needs and I hope her mother stays in the picture. I suppose I will see more of that in the media as the days go by.

I asked my husband, Sandy, today, "did you hear another helicopter crashed in Iraq yesterday with 6 soldiers killed on it?" he said, no, he hadn't heard. Well, it figures he didn't "hear" about it because unless he was watching the Anna trial and READING the ticker at the bottom, he wouldn't have known. I think that the media is confused on what it important. Obviously, they think celebrity fueds and deaths and nervous breakdowns should be more important than our men and women fighting in Iraq. Sad....but true.

Catching Up

Wow, I can't beleive it has been several months since I have posted my thoughts. Let's see...since my last post, the boys all started school. Dustin is a senior in high school this year! I can't beleive it! Graduation only 4 months away. Then hopefully, off to college. That is, if he gets accepted. That's a whole 'nother blog. Hmm..what else.....Oh, well I had to quit school. I was taking prerequisites to try and possibly get into the nursing program and get my RN degree. Well, turns out that you have tons of math classes to take and math not being my forte to any extent of the word, I couldn't do it. Pisses me off too because when I was 21 I went to school to become a Medical Assistant. I worked as an MA for years with different doctors. I have done just about everything an RN has done, even so far as assisting in minor surgeries. I know patient care like the back of my hand and what is even more frustrating to me, is that there is a shortage of RNs in this country. The local hospital near me, probably has 40 listings for needed RNs. So...here I am...wanting to just get that degree.. and MATH kept me from my dream. It's a shame really. And math was not the only prerequisite needed. I was taking many other classes as well, but those I did well in. I know once I actually got into the nursing program, I would have done fine. Ahh, well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be. So for now...still at home and doing medical transcription part time.
I think all that happened in September. October came around and of course Halloween...our friend's annual Halloween party. This year's theme was to come dressed as a rock star. I couldn't decide who to "be". I mean, come on....I'm a fat woman in her early 40's....it isn't like I could dress like Britney Spears. I thought about going as Madonna, but I don't think the pointed bra was going to be very flattering on me. Soooo I ended up going as Janice Joplin. Fairly easy to do...I have long blonde hair so I just dressed basically like a hippee with alot of jewelry on and those funky glasses. It worked. As for Sandy....well..he went dressed like Frank Zappa, but I think others would argue that point and say he looked more like Ozzie Ozborn. The kids did their usual trick-or-treating.
Then the holidays came around and passed so quickly, like they always do. Spent way too much money, as usual, and ate too much food, as usual. And before you know it...here comes February. OH...but not before our wild, whacky weather here in Seattle. Jeeez...in the 19 years I have lived up here, this was the wildest winter ever. We had floods (not exactly near me, thank god). and winds (yes, THOSE were near me....near enough to knock out power for 4 days) It was a nightmare. Luckily, our hot water was on gas so we at least could shower and wash dishes. But nothing else worked. Sandy has a big grill out on the patio and it has a gas burner attached so we basically lived off meat the whole 4 days. we had to BBQ just about everything in the freezer before it went bad. By the end of those 4 days, I was feeling much like a caveman..living off all that meat. At least we could heat up water and have coffee every morning. Also it was freezing outside and we had no heat and were stuck inside with the 4 boys...woo hoo! At night, we just lit a million candles, sat around in the family room all huddled under blankets and played board games. It actually was kind of nice spending time with the boys and playing games. I even think they were a little disappointed when the power came back on. Needless to say, I didn't have any BBQ'd meat for awhile. So then comes the snow storm. At least we had power! but all these weird weather days kept the boys out of school so they now have all these days to make up. School now won't be out until June 22nd. Any more days off and they will be celebrating the 4th of July at school!
And now, here we are; February 16th. Valentine's Day was nice. I got roses and chocolate. What more could a girl want? And Sandy, once being a chef back in the day, made me an awesome dinner. Steak with bernaise sauce, garlic scampi shrimp, sauteed broccoli, baked potato, wine....ahh. And you wonder why I am fat! We keep telling ourselves that we must lose weight. I know, I know...but so much easier said than done. We discussed both of us going on Nutri-system. You know...off the web so that we don't have to drive some place and weigh in. I've actually lost weight on Jenny Craig so I know those plans work. But I like the thought of having my food delivered and not having to talk to a food counselor about why I cheated that week and what was I feeling when I cheated. Well..I was feeling HUNGRY and THAT is why I cheated. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. So...I think here soon, we will try the Nutri-System route. So easy, even a caveman can do it. Oh no, wait, cavemen eat all the meat. Hmmm.....BBQ sounds good right now.

Treasure Hunter

I am one of those people who like reality shows. No, not the ones where the desperate man or woman has 20 different (also desperate) people to choose for their spouse. I am a big fan of Survivor, The Mole, The Amazing Race, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance? Hell's Kitchen, Last Comic Standing, and Big Brother. I just LOVE those shows! Most of them, I actually would love to become a contestant. Well, not Survivor....I'm not into eating bugs, drinking dirty water and not bathing for a month. And no, not American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance, although back in the day I did competitive singing as well as dancing, but I am too old for that kind of thing now (although I think I would make an excellent judge!). And even though I think some of the people on Big Brother are idiots and I could probably beat them with my eyes closed, I don't have that twenty-something-bikini- body to show-off on national television. So the shows that I would really like to become a contestant for is The Mole, which no longer airs, and Amazing Race. Actually my husband and I have thought about auditioning as a team for Amazing Race. But my new, absolute favorite show is Treasure Hunters. Wow!...what a show! The inginuity of it is amazing. My oldest son and I have been hooked on it from the first night it was on.

I have always considered myself to have pretty good common sense, some pretty good "street smarts" and have a slight bit of intelligence. My son, he is the "history buff" in the family and loves pretty much anything that has to do with history. Well, Treasure Hunters is one big history lesson with a game thrown in; one that requires a ton of thinking as well as some physical challenges.

During each episode, we the viewers get a chance to win $10,000 by answering a trivia question correctly either online or with text messaging. I enter each week, but the questions are not that difficult. But also, we the viewers, have a chance of winning our own treasure of $200,000 at the end of the season by competing in the show's online game. Each week you are given challenges that you must complete, as well as clues are given to questions that you must answer. Each clue that you receive each week you "keep" and at the end of the season, you have enough clues to be able to give a guess where you think the treasure is hidden. Those who answer correctly will get put into a drawing and 10 lucky winners will be chosen to get flown to a "secret location" to actually compete live for the $200,000. My son and I thought this would be fun and so we started playing this online game. I must say it is NOT easy! Last week alone it too me over 30 minutes to finish my challenge. It is much like playing a video game, but a good amount of thinking is involved as well. I had to go to ask.com to research some of the obscure clues I was getting. It really was a history lesson for me! I have been surprised at the amount of American history I am learning from this show. It is very interesting to say the least. I will say, though, that I do have it narrowed down to where the final treasure is. I know the place but not the "exact" location. Let's just say I have it narrowed down to about 300 acres. No, don't ask, because I am not telling. I have worked hard to figure out this much!

So, my son and I will wait with excitement until next Monday night when we can continue our search. And who knows...maybe I will be lucky enough to get picked to be on the final show. I would much rather do that than be screamed at by an uptight British chef for making bad risotto.

Iraq, The Military, and My Son

I have been following the story of the three missing soldiers in Iraq, and this morning I heard the news of their bodies found, beheaded near where they were ambushed and taken. It hurts my heart. What in the world are we doing there?? Sure, after 911, I was gung-ho in bringing down the terrorists and destroying those involved. And sure, I was gung-ho when Bush told the American people that he was going to bring down Suddam and his "weapons of mass destruction", and yes, I admit I cheered when we captured him and tore his statue down from the town square. But that seems like a lifetime ago. We didn't find any weapons of mass destruction. Oh sure, I think there probably was some buried in the desert sand somewhere, but ok, we searched and couldn't find anything. Suddam is now on trial for the atrocities that he has done to his people. So WHY are we still there?? Oil? To help a civil war between people in another country? I just don't get it. Why is it up to US to "help" all these people in other countries when all the while, our own soldiers are being killed left and right and for WHAT??? Forgive me if I sound harsh and un-caring, because that is far from the truth, but if they are having their own civil war over in another country over religion or whatever, why should we care? I say, let them fight it out. Let them decide HOW their country is to be ran. Why do we have to take our ways and force another country to uphold the way we live? This whole war makes no sense to me. Bush cries out about the "fight on terrorists". Well, that is fine and dandy and I am all for the fight on terrorists. But this is a mish-mash between the fight on terrorists and Bush's own agenda for whatever reason. Innocent people getting blown up every day is not a fight on terrorists. It is people from another country telling us to get the hell out of their country and let them fight it out themselves. We here in America had our own civil war and I didn't see another country coming over here and "helping" or getting involved. We fought it out and the "good" side won. So why can't they?

I heard a senator on tv the other day talking about this war and wanting to bring our soldiers home. He said, "these men and women joined the military to fight for their country, NOT to fight for someone else's country!" My sentiments exactly! and that brings me to my son.

My oldest son will be 17 next month. He has one more year of high school and then his mind is made up to enroll in college and to enroll in the Army ROTC program. He wants a career in the military and to eventually work into a politcal career. He is a bright, stubborn, opinionated young man. He agrees with Bush; that we should stay over there and fight for the cause. Believe me, he and I and his dad get into some heated debates over politics and this war. I'm proud that my son has his own opinions and sticks to them no matter how his parents think or what our opinions are. And as a parent, I will be proud of my son when that day comes where he graduates from college and the ROTC program and becomes an officer in the military. BUT also as a parent, my heart hurts knowing that this damn war may not be over after the five more years of schooling that my son has left. And to know he may be stepping into this horrible place that each day could be his last, well....that thought just makes me feel like a knife piercing through my heart. I am proud of our men and women fighting over there, but I am afraid for my son.

My son seems to think he can change the world. He really does. Even though he agrees that we should be over there, one thing he does not agree with, is the way we are handling things over there. He said our generals and all those men "calling the shots" are doing it "all wrong" according to my son. He said he can't wait until he can make some changes and call some of those shots. My son is a history buff. He can tell you anything you want to know about every past war we have ever been in. He knows the strategy and background and that is what he wants to do in the military. He wants to be a strategist; to plan the attacks and to plan the goals. He thinks he can do it better than the men that are doing it now. I say, "go for it". If anyone can do it better than it is being done now, that is my son. He is tremendously upset with the Washington State Judicial System (a story for another blog on another day), and thinks he can make a difference and change this system as well. That is why he also wants a political career eventually. He wants to change things for the good. Maybe he can. I hope he can.

For now, I just follow the news each day and each day hope that this war will be over soon and our soldiers can come home. But then I hear about the missile crisis in North Korea. Yet another country to piss us off. In 5 years when my son gets done with schooling, it may not be the middle east that we are in war with, but some other country all together. It never ends. Until then, I can only be proud of my son and support his decisions and hope that all will be well with the world.

MySpace teens and the trust factor

I had been hearing about MySpace.com; mostly bad happenings on the news of a woman who got raped by some guy she met on MySpace, or a 14-year-old girl who ran off to another country with a guy she met on MySpace. Then just a few weeks ago my 17-year-old son was talking about his MySpace page and all his friends that have pages. I was a bit surprised because I guess I didn't realize it had become that big of a thing with all the teenagers. So, being the nosy person that I am, and always making my kid's business my own, I decided to make a visit to my son's MySpace page.

It was easy really, because my son uses my computer to access the internet since we had a router problem with the computer in his room. So I just checked out the history section of my computer and it took me right away to my son's page. There, I could read his blog, his likes and dislikes, his "all about me" paragraph and then below that are pictures and links to all of his friend's pages as well. Underneath all of his friends links, were comments left by his friends. Nothing really exicting, just some "hello's" and "see you tomorrow at school" and "this weekend was fun", etc etc. But I didn't stop there. I decided to click on the links of his friends to see what their pages looked like as well. I know most of the friends that were on his page and I was aware of some of the acquaintances that were on there, but there were a few names and faces that I did not recognize nor ever hear my son mention the name. So I clicked on each one to check it out.

Most all of my son's close friends had the usual stuff on thier pages with the usual comments and teenage chatter, but in clicking on their pages, I then could continue clicking on pages of their friends and so on and so on, the links never ending. What I ended up finding out between my son, his friends and acquaintances and their friends and acquaintances, was that many of these kids are up to no good! I read about what drugs were being taken and what alcohol was being drank and where the parties were and when the next party was going to be and whose parents were going to be gone for the weekend. I was amazed at the "scoop" that I could find out just by reading some of these kids pages! Now, mind you, my son is not a total angel, nor are his close friends, but thank goodness, in reading his close friend's pages, they pretty much are the "good" kids we think they are, staying out of trouble, not doing drugs and doing well in school. It was the acquaintances and their friends that I was concerned about.

My son and I have a close relationship. He tells me just about everything and I have quite a bit of trust in him. So when he came home from school, I told him about going on his MySpace page and all the things I read about and this kid doing this and that kid doing that. He agreed that some of his aquaintances were into some bad stuff and that is why he doesn't like hanging out with them, but he will see them at school or run into them at a party etc. We talked a long time about my worry that drugs and alcohol were at some of these parties that he and his friends would drop in at. He assured me that he and his close "posse" make good choices and when they see something "bad" happening at one of these parties, they leave. Well, I have to believe in my son. He will be going off to college in another year and I have to slowly let the leash loose, and put my trust in his judgement, even though I just want him to stay at home with me every night! School is out this Monday and summer will be here and I know there will be more parties, and friends hanging out. I just have to trust my son. He knows that with one slip, one mistake and his summer fun is over. Trust.....I just have to trust.

What I don't understand though, is why are there not more parents out there who read their kids MySpace page?? Sure, I have heard some of my son's friends say that it is an invasion of privacy for their parent to snoop into their childs personal page...WHAT?? It is posted on the internet for the public to see, so HOW is that an invasion of privacy? It isn't like I went snooping in a bedroom drawer searching for a diary to read! I was astounded at not only what I learned about these kids and what they are up too and the lies they tell their parents, but also the language the inuendos and the "sex" talk. I think to myself, "surely these parents are not reading this stuff that their kids put out there and not doing anything about it?" and if they aren't reading this stuff, then they should be! I think some of these kids wouldn't be in the trouble they are in if the parents would take a bit more control and get involved and seeing what their kids are up to.

I trust my son...for now.....but you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be reading and clicking- away on MySpace pages all summer long.

School drop-off rant

This is the last week of school and so you would think that having a whole school year to get the "rules" down would have every parent doing what they are supposed to be doing as far as dropping thier little ones off at school. NOT! It is quite easy; you drive into the school, where there is a "loop" of sorts. This circle loops in front of the main entrance to the school and it has an "island" in the middle. The rule is to pull into the circle counterclockwise and pull up as far as you can go, or as far as the car in front of you and drop your child off, making sure you pull as far into the loop as possible so that the whole line of cars behind you can get into this circle and drop their kids off as well. Sounds easy right? Well I guess with some of these parents it is not that easy. Most every day it takes the principal out there directing traffic, motioning vigorously for each driver to PULL FORWARD as to let as many cars get to the curb in the circle to drop their little darlings off. Most days he is there and most parents obey his hand signals and pull forward. WELL...the days the principal is not out there for whatever reason, you have these parents, most, but not all of them, in expensive SUVS or Mercedes, pulling their cars into the loop and stopping smack-dab in front of the entrance so that their child does not have to walk those extra 10 steps to the front door! They pay NO attention to us behind them, either that or they don't care that they are making us wait in the line of cars. Not only do they stop and take their time, chatting with their child in the backseat, but sometimes they get out, go around and open the door, let out little Susie or Johnny, kiss them goodbye, turn, wave, then mosey on back around to get back into their car, all the while, we wait and wait for them to move their car so that we too can drop off our children. What is wrong with these parents???!!! Are they so arrogant that they can't show common courtesy to the other drivers behind them? Don't they know the "rules" of drop off at the school by now?? Just a few days ago, a car was stopped in the very middle of the loop, in front of the entrance, and there is a car behind that one and so it is my turn to pull forward. I pull as close to the car in front of me as to let as many cars behind me pull in as well. My two youngest boys get out and head off to their class. I patiently wait for the car in front of me to start moving and then I notice that the car in front of her is empty! Well, I can't back up because there are cars behind me. We are all packed in, not being able to move and so therefore not able to let cars behind us drop off their kids. I was FUMING. Just then I see the culprit of the empty car, some well dressed lady who apparently doesn't give a rats ass who she makes wait. I had had just about enough of these parents. So, I bring my window down and I scream at her, "YOU CAN'T LEAVE YOUR CAR THERE! YOU NEED TO PULL FORWARD!!" She looks at me, shrugs and gets into her car. I tell you what...if I wasn't still in my pajamas, I would have been out of my car and in that woman's face so fast. Arrogance! So, if anyone from Woodmoor Elementary School ever reads this blog, you know who you are and you should be ashamed.

My first ever, blog

I am new to all this blogging stuff, but not new to getting up on my soap box and giving opinions about any subject that I find interesting or I am passionate about. My mind is always racing with thoughts and information and I am usually dying to talk to someone about, or at least get them down on paper to finally get them out of my head. So, I figured starting a blog would be an interesting endeavor. Hopefully, someone out there is going to want to share information with me or start an interesting debate. Either that or maybe I will be able to give a thought-provoking opinion or question to someone else. I guess we will see how this goes. Should be an interesting ride.