Anyone

Checked out the My Space thing?

I'd be interested to hear about it.

I do loves me some crazy

My beloved husband has named his pectoral muscles.

One is Gregory.

The other is Bushel Anna.

That made me laugh so loud and long that I got in trouble with #1 for keeping her up when she is trying to go to sleep.

I can't....I MUST go to the pool!

Well it's gonna be another hot one in T-town today, already about 95 or somethin' and it ain't even noon yet.

AHHHH! (Sorry for the interruption, but I was just hit with a surprise goatee from my beloved husband. Sexy ! It come to us as the result of a beard trimming mishap.)

Anyway back to my posting. I don't mind the heat much. Except for getting into the car and having to drive. I hate that hot steering wheel and gear shift.

I especially don't mind the heat when I have free access to a semi-private pool. Which I do. HA HA!

So friends we are off to spend the hot afternoon in the good ol' H2O!

Yeeee Haaaaww!

Could I BE more lazy?

Dang.

My posting ratio could not be much worse unless I just shut the blog down altogether I think.

Many reasons why this is so I suppose, however none of them are terribly good or interesting so I won't trouble you with them (much).

In a nutshell I am having some angst about my life being a bit on the dull and repetitive side right now. Whining is excruciating to read frequently so I choose to keep my blog quiet for fear that I will not be able to resist the siren's call to purge myself in this so-called forum and incite a universal (can I call it universal if I only have 3 or 4 readers?) ban of this whine-fest.

There you have it.

Good news!

Tonight after putting it off for ohhhhh...nearly 6 months I have completed my training plan so that I can begin my travels down the road to becoming a licensed clinical professional counselor.

In two years after completing 4000 hours of supervised clinical experience I get to take yet another licensing exam and then add an extra C to my licensing credentials.

What does that mean?

Well in theory it should mean that I could practice privately if I so choose. However since many insurance companies apparently have not bothered to look into the difference in credentialing for my sect as opposed to ohhh... say the licensed clinical social worker (there is really little to no difference in the process of attaining clinical licensure between the two, I have NOTHING against those who hold that license and have many friends who are LSCSWs I just get pissy when there is a failure to recognize the skill level of those who share my type of license) many will not accept LCPCs as providers so that cuts in to the private practice thing. That and the fact that it is more personal responsiblity than I care to have for my career at this time. A regular paycheck with paid time off and cashola to help me keep that license is pretty important to me.

Soap box aside..it will mean more autonomy and possibly more money (although I won't hold my breath) in the future. This has been a goal for a long time, I have been an LPC for almost 4 years now and I will be glad to at long last have this hurdle jumped. Here's hoping for smooth sailing. I also think this process will help me stay put jobwise, because to change it is a large throbbing pain in the boo-TAY.

Well.. I think that is all for now. It is getting late and I need my beauty rest.

Happy Bastille Day (also our cat's birthday)

We gave her a can of tuna as a special birthday treat.

Other than that....

I am bored.

Bored bored bored bored bored.

I can't seem to think of anything that even slightly resembles something interesting to do.

I think it is something going through our house right now, kind of like a virus.

Bored.

Blah.

I am going to stop writing now because this post is as boring as I am.

Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Guess What!

I was checking out the Zach Braff blog/website this evening and discovered that I can pre-order the soundtrack to his upcoming movie on Amazon.

Of course I took care of this task IMMEDIATELY. I may be more excited about the soundtrack than the movie itself. I love me some Zach as you all know, so that is saying something.

I know I have said it before but I will say it again because it is important to listen to good music. (Good of course means music endorsed by me.) If you have not done so you need to waste no more time in checking out the following:

Scrubs Soundtrack
Garden State
Scrubs Soundtrack vol 2. (I can't seem to give a link for this one, it is only available on itunes)

I am pretty sure that you should check out the soon to be released Last Kiss soundtrack, but as I have not officially heard it and loved it I will not insist just yet but rather make a strong recommendation that you look in to the matter once the soundtrack is released in a couple of weeks.

You won't be sorry. I promise. If you are sorry then I suggest you have some kind of complete medical work up done as soon as possible because something is not right in your world.

I am pushy about those things I believe in.

Listen to me. Then get over it.

Hot Damn!

Can you believe this?

Really I could care less. I avoid rollercoasters with the same vengeance that I avoid right-wing overzealous Christian conservatives. (That is kind of a a repetitive description huh?)

But for some reason thinking about Dollywood give me the giggles.

I...uh...erm..well...

I am pretty sure I had something charming and witty to say, but I can not recall what it was.

Damn.

Better luck next time.

How about a rant instead?

Yesterday morning as I was sweating away to the Today Show (too lazy to find a DVD to watch) I happened upon the announcement of the Emmy Awards.

Now I was glad to see that a few of my favorite shows got nods. (Arrested Development, Scrubs and House to be exact.)

What I was unhappy about was that none of my favorite actors from those shows got nominated with the exception of Will Arnett (He plays Gob on Arrested Development for those who are not in the know. If you are not in the know about that show I strongly recommend that you do so. You won't be sorry I promise!)

I was particularly unhappy that Hugh Laurie was overlooked. I feel this is a wrong that must be righted immediately. He is an outstanding actor (VERY easy on the eyes too. I think that should figure in somehow.)

OK, I am surely about to risk offending someone (Let us not forget the Kenny Rogers debacle a few months ago.) But I have to ask how the guy from the King of Queens got a nomination? I can not figure that one out at all. I have to be honest and say that I have never watched an entire episode, or more than two minutes of an episode for that matter. Obviously I do not find the show or it's cast to be entertaining, and if I don't find it entertaining then of course the rest of the world should have the same opinion. I don't know why it doesn't work out that way often, but it should.

I have not yet decided what to do about this gross oversight on the part of the whatsit academy that decides who gets nominated. When I do you can rest assured that my faithful reader(s) will be the first to know!

Together we CAN make a difference.

Beware the eggshells

Well it is about 8:30 PM and I think it is safe to say that my loved-ones are what we like to call, "done."

"Done" at Chez-Us means that the ability for a reasonable response to just about any type of stimulus is near impossible, or in lay terms, "everyone 'round here is pretty f%$#@&*g grouchy."

In our defense we had a long day. Truthfully we have had a long couple of weeks. Today was long because we spent pretty darn close to 8 hours in the car traveling back from Missouri where yesterday we attended the funeral of Beloved's grandmother who died on Sunday. We have known this was coming for about two weeks now and it was just one of the many things that have been going on the past few weeks that have contributed to the doneness of this evening (and a few others truth be told.) We have just been loaded down with extra-curricular family activities between weddings, funerals, visiting great-grandparents,camps, all along with our regular daily living.

Hopefully things will be a little slower now and we can get back to our regular routine, which should help eliminate the grouchies.

I also hope that I will be able to get back to blogging about important and vital issues such as Hilary's big confession that the reason she and Chad divorced was due to his "addiction problem."

What? Addiction problem?! My cute boy has an addiction problem? Why am I only learning about this now? This is an outrage! No one will even tell me what he is addicted to! How can I offer help and support on so little information?

Heads will roll over this one people.

HEADS. WILL. ROLL.

Free Shipping!

Sometimes when I can't think of a title for a blog post, or a subject for an e-mail I just type in the first thing that catches my eye on or around the screen of the computer I am working from.

It kind of confuses people at work sometimes.

The wedding went off quite beautifully. #2 was too adorable for words of course and did a great job in her first (and likely only) stint as a flower girl.

I found just the pair of shoes I was looking for mere hours before the ceremony, so everyone can rest easy now knowing that I did not show up in my "fancy goin' to a weddin' dress" sporting my Old Navy flip flops. (OK. Technically I did show up at the church in my dress and flip flops, only because my toes had just been painted moments before our departure. I changed before the ceremony into my fabulous new silver strappy sandals. I love them. I want to wear them with everything, but they look a little funny with my work out clothes. They also aren't too comfortable for treadmill walking. Maybe if I didn't do the incline....)

I am ready for some down time now. We have had something family oriented going on every night for a week now. I can't remember the last time my children got to bed on time, and it is beginning to show in the nightly performance of, "I am so past the point of exhaustion that everything makes me cry hysterically" show starring #2. Playing at the same theatre is the, " I am really tired and refuse to admit it therefore I am going to grouch and give everyone who speaks to me the stink eye" show starring #1. The performances start at about 7:30 every night at Chez Us. Call now for tickets before they are gone!

That is all I have friends. Not much to blog about these days it seems. So much so that I have pondered putting this blog to rest lately...since I seem to have slurped up what little creative juice I had stored in the refrigerator of my mind.

Eh..who knows..maybe I can just run out to the store.

Because I KNOW you have been on the edge of your seats

My dress arrived today.

It fits, and does not make me want to retch while wearing it.

I am still a bit boobilicious in it, but since I don't have time for a reduction I will just have to live with it.

Oh yeah..it will look even better with a pair of strappy sandals.

Silver I think.

Only for the very brave AND definitely NOT for the easily offended

I extend a very cautious invitation to some guy's latest blog written by the obnoxious and really disgusting character Chad.

Oy.

Beware reading it around those who can't see the humor.

You may wish I had put off posting for another day

Hi.

Sorry it has been so long, but you can't say I didn't warn you.

Have I mentioned that I have not enjoyed the process of buying clothes for a while?

That fact still appears to be true.

I spent far too long schlepping around today in search of a dress to wear to my brother's wedding next week.

Wanna know what I came home with?

Bupkis...nada..no dressy.

Why?

Because everything was ugly, too expensive, or made me look like I am made of nothing but ass and boobs. Lemme tell you NO ONE wants to look at that. Not that people are going to be looking at me in particular, as it is the Bride's day. Thank God all I have to do is show up with #2 dressed and ready to drop flower petals on time. Once she is delivered I just get to sit back and watch, then eat some cake. My kind of wedding participation.

So I came home shopped online, paid and outrageous amount of money to have the dress shipped before Saturday and get to sit and fret about the dress arriving and not looking atrocious on me.

If not I will recycle the dress I wore to my other brother's wedding three or was it four years ago?

Their pictures didn't turn out so no one will be any the wiser.

Either way I am buying new shoes.

Perhaps I should work on this procrastination thing.

That's my girl!

It's done!

Frames were picked out in 15 minutes flat.

They are fun, with little flower beads on the temple pieces, yet simple and quite becoming to my darlin' #1.

We did a great big comparison and I did not make comment when the funky pair made it in to the pool.

If she is like me, (and Lord I hope she isn't because I will have to take on a second job) we will be picking out new glasses at minimum every two years.

Seeing as I only buy glasses for myself every 10 years or so I forget how much more they cost as opposed to contacts. I had to go home and change after we got the total.

June is starting to be a very eventful month for this here family.

Dance recital next week, followed by a visit from great-grandparents from Ohio and an great aunt, uncle and cousin from St. Louis. THEN the next weekend my baby brudder gets married.
MARRIED, and #2 is on to be a flower girl in the cutest lil' red dress you everdidsee.

That being said I don't think my posting ratio will be improving any time soon.

I do encourage you to check out one of the many blogs beloved has going on.

Klawhammur Wade through the spelling it is worth it I promise.

JP Sousa Political and witty.

I am pretty sure there will be at least two more coming soon.

You ask a guy to start a blog and wind up with 6 of them.

Overachiever.

I have to get glasses!

This is what precious #1 has been telling everyone all evening.

Because it is true.

According to the optometrist whom she saw today the time has come.

We weren't taken at all by surprise, given her family history it has never been a matter of if, but when.

When is now.

I was not able to attend this appointment so no frames were chosen today, as #1 and Daddy felt that choosing of the first pair of glasses is something for which I should be present. So we go tomorrow afternoon to make the big choice.

I have to admit that I am a wee bit nervous about all of this. Those of you who know #1 are aware that she is not exactly...well...how can I put this?

She is generally not too terribly concerned with her appearance, but on those occasions where she decides that she is going to be concerned the choices are...wellllll.....interesting.

I know there are many out there who would disagree and that is perfectly ok. However when your parents is po' and can only afford to buy you one pair of glasses I think neutral is the best choice. Stylish..certainly, but neutral. If we could afford more than one pair then by all means go crazy on the second pair, alas that is not the case for #1.

I am so glad that it is actually kind of cool to wear glasses now, because #1 is actually not at all bothered by this and is actually looking forward to wearing glasses.

Amazing to me. I was exactly her age when I got my first pair of glasses and I was horrified. Of course the first day I wore them to school some jerk of a boy made fun of me within 10 minutes of my arrival on the playground. I had to deal with ugly thick glasses until my parents gave in and got me contacts when I was 15. To this day I rarely wear my glasses in public. I gotta have serious issues for that, even with the new technology that means my glasses no longer resemble the bottom of a glass Coke bottle.

Ahhh..the adventures in parenting never stop.

Tap Dancing and Crochet

Howdy!

It has been a while friends.

This exercising and trying to be more active in the evenings has really cut into my blog time.

Well that and I have not felt like posting just for the sake of posting either.

Several weeks ago I purchased a book that promised to teach me to crochet.

A few days ago I purchased yarn and crochet hooks.

I have successfully mastered the chain stitch, slip stitch, single crochet, and half double crochet.

Tonight I move on to the double crochet.

I tried my hand at crochet about 10 years ago with less than stellar results. Patience has never been one of my strong suits, and I was much less patient 10 years ago than I am now, so I dove into trying to crochet a blanket as my first project, without really trying to master the basics first.

Not surprisingly I never finished the blanket and got rid of my needles, yarn, etc, shortly after I had #1 and could not wrap my tiny brain around ever having time to indulge in something like crochet again.

This time I am taking the slow approach, and plan to do a very simple first project once I have the basic stitches down pretty well.

I will keep you posted and perhaps share a few photos of my efforts as well.

I will also be starting an adult tap class this fall.

Yup it is true. #2's dance teacher approached me about it today and I agreed.

Thought it might be fun, and hope that it will help #2 decide to stick with dance for a while longer.

Yet another tough parenting deal. When do you say, "OK" when your child says they want to stop an activity that they are good at, and is good for them to continue to participate in?

It's a tough call. On the one hand I want my daughter to feel that she has power and choice in her life.

On the other hand...she's 5. Dance is boring right now because the recital is a week away, they are rehearsing upwards of three times a week doing the same 2 dances they have been working on since August. The truth is that things you like and are good at are boring sometimes, but that is not necessarily a reason to stop. Building a skill takes perseverance, and at her age well..you are intelligent people so I don't have to spell it out. When we are not in heavy prep for performance she seems to enjoy herself and we find her practicing steps around the house in her free time. So this year parental rank is being pulled and we are signing her up for another year and myself for a class as well.

That gives us one more year to decide when is enough...enough.

For tonight I believe this is enough.

Ta.

Just in case you haven't wasted enough time reading my blog

I bring you this.

Just so you know, according to this little test I am a poor listener.

Not a very good thing for my chosen career.

Guess I had better quit my job.

It's probably about time for that anyway, after all I have been there a whole three months.

That is a long time when you measure in Missy Job Longevity Time (MJLT).

By the way credit for this little time waster goes to my good friend Tif.

Sometimes ya just gotta be direct

So apparently all I had to do to get Beloved blogging was to ask him directly, "So what are you going to title your blog?"

After a little back and forth banter he has up and done it, yes sir/ma'am he has.

Check it out.

I do believe it won't be your average blog.

Nuthin' wrong wtih that!

Bring it on sugar butt!

Further proof (not that I asked for or wanted it!)

Today at lunch #2 asks me, "Mommy what is the name of your friend who has the boys Alexander and Sebastian?"

"Her name is Valerie." I reply cheerfully.

"Does she take her boys to work with her?" Asks #2.

"Well, not exactly. She does not have a job that she leaves home to go to like I do. Her work is at home." I reply having NO idea where this is going.

"Oh. Then how do you know her?" Asks my darling child.

"Valerie and I have been friends since high school." Is my answer.

"WOW! THAT IS FOR A REALLY REALLY LONG TIME MOMMY!" Shouts my adorable daughter.

"Yes sweetie it is." I respond to her while trying to be heard over the hoots and hollers of laughter from my beloved husband.

People still think I am the younger one.

I plan to hold on to that.

Oh yeah!

Since school is out, I really think we need to step up the campaign to get my beloved to start up his own blog.

Pestering him to death here at Chez Us does not seem to be working very well. I can't imagine why.

Maybe I should invoke "the promise." (SPQ fans will know what I am talking about.)

It has worked before.....

You all need to put the pressure on too.

Get to work!