Sunday, July 31, 2011

Six Word Sunday-Humor and Healing

Humor helps heal. Bring it on.









A Diary of a Mad Woman does a Six Word Sunday. It was the perfect thing for me today!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

On Grace, and Survival

I must get my son to daycare. I must drop paperwork at the preschool. I must get to my dentist appointment. Running, running, running.

But, every time I get in the car, every time I am still, the tears come. I want to sob. But I cannot. The tears stream down. I will be at the dentist soon, making stupid ass small talk with a hygienist about how often I floss.

I drive to the grocery store. I am in a rush. Of course the dentist appointment took too long. We need milk. We need food. My husband says we are out of everything. By the time I get home from the grocery store, it will be past dinner time, and my three year old will be hungry.

I cry on the way to the grocery store. The car is where this is allowed.

The cashier, the boy who rings me up asks, "How is your day, ma'am?"

I pause. I look at him. Why is he asking me this? "I've seen better."

"Me too," he says.

"I'm usually not like that, but it's just kind of the way it is today," I explain, always having to apologize for my truth.

My heart is breaking for you, my friend.

You just left me. We had a beautiful time. Our boys played together. We connected in our old, sisterly way.

You just left me. You were supposed to go home.

I do not know why there is evil in this world, or why it hurts those who do not ever seem to deserve it.

I do not know why people are mean. We are not supposed to know why they are mean. That is their own demon, their own evil, and of course we do not understand it.

Girlie, I love you more than you love yourself I think.

I am trying to think of the words that can take some of the pain away, and I feel I am failing.

Sometimes, when you do not believe in yourself, it is enough to know that there are so many who believe in you. And someday, a small smile will grace your lips because you will finally feel it in yourself, and you will know that it has been there all along.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Her Own Dreams



She had the place to herself. No TV, no sports announcer shouting at her, no boyfriend filling the space beyond capacity.

He thought she had a photography appointment while he was out. As if she needed something productive to be done if he wasn't around.

All she needed was the silence and the absence of him.

Soon, she would pour another glass of wine. Maybe she would grab a cigarette from her secret stash.

She heard the clicks getting faster, and her heart rate sped up for a moment. Then, the final Snap!

She got up to check the self portrait. Satisfied, she printed the image, happy with her idea to capture the moment. She grabbed a metal thumbtack, pressed it into the top of the picture into the wall above her bed. Lest she forget how good she felt at that moment. Grabbing a black Sharpie, she penned a title at the bottom of the picture:

Starting NOW.

Walking to the front door, she checked the locks again and picked up her phone from the side table. A text was all he deserved.

"I'm done. We're done. You cannot change my mind."

She turned her phone off, poured that glass of wine, and turned on the radio. Dancing, for the first time, without fear of pleasing anyone but herself.


This was a picture prompt for Red Writing Hood at The Red Dress Club, inspired by the image above.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Rocky Mountain High (Wordless Wednesday)

We are fortunate to have the Rocky Mountains nearby to play in. We live at the base of Cheyenne Mountain/Canyon and Pikes Peak in Colorado. Just a short distance away are many beautiful options for camping.

We went last Sunday night, just the three of us, and it was wonderful...







I could not help but think of my grandma many times, as I sat, surrounded by the majesty of the forest around me. She had a great appreciation for this kind of beauty.









And, of course, some pictures that Parker took:







I am linking up with Kristi at Live and Love Out Loud for Wordless Wednesday.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Funnies

I had intended on posting yesterday some fun quotes by my boy in celebration of Sunday Snippets.

(Sunday Snippets was created by Marylin at Pure Unadulterated Softthistle, but she doesn't do the link very often anymore, but I still give her shout-outs for it when I do my own "Sunday Snippet" post.)

Anyways, it is no longer Sunday, but how bout some funny quotes by my boy for....Moot Point Monday?



Said in a very serious, almost aggressive, voice, "I gotta play in the dirt, Mommy."

Upon feeling my bare legs, "You have your spikes back!"

While driving in the car, "Pass those guys, Mommy! We're in a race, and we gotta win!"

Upon seeing a man driving a motorcycle with no helmet on, "That guy gonna break his head open, and then we can look at his brain!"

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Ours was fun-filled! I'll post pictures for Wordless Wednesday...

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Burning Soles

My feet are killing me! I really just want to go home! I thought, but I dared not say anything. I wanted my visiting friend, Jen, to have fun. I did not want to be a fun hater, the party pooper, The Debbie Downer.

We maneuvered through the crowd to get to the dance floor. People pulsed and bounced to the popular, local band all around me. I tried not to wince in pain with every move. I tried to look like I was having fun, but I uncharacteristically could not wait for the song to end.

The balls of my feet pressed down into the unforgiving, hard soles of the cheap high heels. I looked down at my burning feet as though I would see smoke coming from my toes. Instead, I saw freshly manicured pink toenails. The turquoise and brown sandal heels with delicate straps still looked perfectly cute with my jeans.

The damned shoes had betrayed me. I had worn them many times before, dancing the night away. I had just always been too drunk to feel the pain. Tonight, I was sober, very sober.

As the song ended, I shouted over the noise to Jen, “Let’s go outside for a minute!”

“WHAT?!”

“Outside!” I practically shrieked and motioned her with me toward the door.

As we pushed in between people, I actually felt scared. A bar was usually a playground for me! Tonight, I looked at the wasted faces constantly passing by and thought, These people are capable of anything! Look at them. They are operating on the lizard part of their brains! They have no good sense. No good sense at all, and god knows what could set them off!

We got to a patio table and sat down. “I’m sorry! I just need to get some air for a couple minutes. My feet are killing me!”

“That’s ok!” said my good, dear friend.

“Hey, what’re you ladies up to?” a boy stupidly asked while taking a seat at our table.

I decided to be amused by this boy (well, I guess he could be called a “guy,” but certainly not a man). I looked at him with a small smile on my face and just shrugged my shoulders a bit.

“Well, I gotta say, you’re lookin’ good t‘night!” he slurred at me.

A loud, guffaw of a laugh burst out of my mouth. I couldn’t help myself. It all seemed so absurd. Jen sat back in her chair, watching with a smile on her face.

“Wha?” the boy said.

“I’m pregnant,” I said.

There was a moment, just a moment, of silence.

“So?” he decided to say.

“Listen, thank you for the compliment, that’s very nice. I’m just out with my friend, I’m married, I’m pregnant, I’m sober, my feet hurt, and I’m not in the mood for any shenanigans,” I said. Pregnancy is like truth serum! I thought.

Without another word, the boy pushed back the chair and walked away. I looked at Jen.

“You want to go home?” she asked.

Oh thank god! I thought. “Yes. I’m so sorry, but I really do just want to go home,” I said.

I have never worn those shoes again.


This post was in response to the Red Writing Hood prompt: Shoes.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Cars 2 - A Mixed Bag?

"You keep talking to yourself, people are going to think you're crazy!" -Lizzie

We are somewhat experts round here on all things Pixar Cars. After going to Cars 2 for the second time recently, I feel compelled to give my opinion on it.

It seems there has been mixed reactions out there.

Here's my own breakdown.

Things I Liked About Cars 2
-The visual scenery was amazing! So bright, so colorful. Complete eye candy. Breathtaking.



-All of the different world destinations (Tokyo, Paris, Italy, England) were represented with fascinating detail. It was fun to have an international theme. I love it when I get to feel like a whole lot more exists out there than my own country, and I like for my child to learn about that too.






-The racing scenes are always my favorite. I wanted more, more, more racing scenes!

-As with the first Cars, the music was fun. I love the song that comes on when the characters first arrive in Tokyo. "You might think I'm crazy. All I want is you!" By none other than the music group, Cars. Awesome.

-Watching my sons reactions. When Mater almost flies into a building and has a parachute on, my son put his hands to his cheeks like the Culkin kid in Home Alone. At the beginning of the movie, after the Cars 2 logo was created in metal, my son burst out in enthusiastic clapping. When Holly Shiftwell flies, he gave a loud, "Wow!"

-Francesco's ribbing and teasing with McQueen was much more lovable and fun than Chick Hicks. Chick Hicks was nasty.



-Woot Woot for the first female Cars racer! Carla - how adorable is she? (and not a dash of pink on her)



Things I Did Not Like About Cars 2
-Too much gun action. It was a little much. It starts right out the gate with guns, guns, guns. I was a little shocked



-It is too long. Really, people, when creating a movie geared for young children, you do not need to be pushing the 2 hour and beyond mark. Really.

-There is so much spy talk and story behind the spy stuff that I don't know if any child under the age of 12 even knows what the heck is going on for a lot of the movie. More racing, please!



-Finn McMissile is really cool and all; he's a suave guy. However, he just does not measure up to the moral substance and relationship that Doc provided in Cars. The life lessons and grandfatherly figure of Doc was sorely missed.

So there you have it. My run-down on Cars 2. Overall, I liked it. I had some complaints, but I think the good outweighed the bad. It was entertaining. Thank god. I know I'll be watching it many, many, many more times. Whether I like it or not.

Ka-Chow, people. Hope that was the best damn Cars 2 review you've read.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Breaking News


I joined Twitter. @PampersandPinot

I finally caved.

I did it. Took the plunge. Went all in. Didn't look back.

It has been interesting. I am still trying to figure things out, and I will surely expose myself as tech dumb eventually by making some mistake that I don't even realize is a mistake.

The best part has been seeing all these mom bloggers out there and recognizing who they are and TALKING to them! They really do talk to each other! It is cool.

(If you are on Twitter, but I have not found you yet, let me know in the comments here with your username.)

I had people giving me shout-outs like, "Yay! You're finally on Twitter!" and, "Hey everybody, there's an excellent blogger here who has been blogging for awhile, but she's new to Twitter!"

Thank yous go to the following for Twitter love!
Wonder Friend (@Missy_Stevens)
Tropical Mum (@TroppoMum)
Old Tweener (@OldTweener)
Woogsworld (@Woogsworld)
Things I Can't Say (@shellthings)
Where's My Glow? (@Glowless)
HelpMum! (@helpmum)
Multitask Mumma (@MultitaskMumma)
A Mountain Momma (@AMountainMomma)
My Time as Mom (@mytimeasmom)
Naked Girl in a Dress (@NkdGirlinaDress)


Also, Kelly from Naked Girl in a Dress chose my post on Friday, "Everyone Needs a Whack-a-Mole," as a feature for the week at her site! Thank you, Kelly!

Coincidentally, I am a little behind on returning comment love at blogs. But, I will keep doing my best! More excuses on my tardiness include: the husband is out of town, the maniac has not been at daycare, the maniac is (as I type) skipping his nap for the day, there is a wooden Thomas the Train track to put together (cuz I'm a sucker), and I have felt compelled to do really important things like clean up my tag cloud.

Sigh.

Cheers to social media!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Everyone Needs a Whack-a-Mole

"Mommy, can you buy me a Whack-a-Mole?"

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this phrase in the last 48 hours. Repeatedly.

I kind of don't even know what to say to it.

"Ummm, sure, someday," I've said, hoping that satisfies things and I don't hear the question again.

But, moments later, "Will you buy me a Whack-a-Mole? Will you?"

"Well, if I see one sometime," I say perplexed, "Maybe I will."

(I have no intentions of buying a Whack-a-Mole.)

Moments later, "You buy me a Whack-a-Mole?"

"I have never seen s Whack-a-Mole toy that I can buy, but maybe if I see one someday, I will get it."

Even when picking him up from daycare, The Daycare Lady said, "He wants a Whack-a-Mole."

"Umm, yeah, I know. I don't know why he's so into this," I offhandedly say, amazed that this topic has persisted so strongly through the day.

As we walk to the car, I'm thinking, Can we move on to something else, please?

"Mommy, will you buy me a lobster?"

WTF??

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Family Fun (Wordless Wednesday)

Whew! Been busy around here, so how about I share some photos from the last few days? Then, I can catch up on visiting other blogs, working on my novel, and generally lazing about. Enjoy!











And now, of course, some pictures that Parker took!









Friday, July 1, 2011

The Cat Did It!

Our son is an only. He has no one to blame when things go wrong. Or, at least that's what we thought. When you have this guy around, you have someone to blame:


Our cat is aptly named after the naughty house elf, Dobby, from the Harry Potter series.

The other night, it was time for Parker to use the potty before bed. Do you know the cushy insert that goes on the toilet to help a toddler stay above water? It was missing.

"Parker, what did you do with your cushy potty piece?" we asked.

"I don't know!" Parker shouted happily, and we thought suspiciously.

We did not believe him. He had done something with that potty ring, and we needed to find it. God only knew where it was!

"Parker! Where did you put it?" we continued.

"I don't know!" Parker asserted.

"You better remember where you put it. We need to find it," we said as we walked around the house, looking under beds, inside closets, behind toy boxes.

Then, we heard Parker shout, "Dobby has it!"

We laughed. Yeah right. Dobby has it. Good one.

We didn't hesitate for a moment and continued on our quest to find the damn thing. "Parker! Dobby does not have it! Where is it?!"

"Dobby has it! He does!" Parker shouted and giggled. The giggling didn't add to his believability. He just sounded like a really bad liar.

Then, my husband shouted, "Dobby does have it! Come look!"


Busted. Damn cat drinking the toilet water again.