Thursday Thirteen: The Potterhead edition.

In honor of her inaugural week of blogging, I dedicate this TT to my darlin' Lucy. For an extremely thoughtful defense of her fascination go here .

You might be obsessed with Harry Potter if....

1. You stand in line for wristbands show up at the bookstore for the 10pm book release pre-vent bring YOUR OWN potter themed entertainment to the late night Potter geek fest book release event.

2. After you participate in the above while trying to tell yourself it was something you did for your 8 year old daughter, you spend the next 36 hours in hiding until you finish the book only to resurface looking extremely pale and tired but more satisfied than if you'd had a week-long chocolate/sex binge with Colin Firth.

3. You have the uncanny ability to work a Harry Potter reference into every conversation ranging from your opinions on the use of critical pedagogy as a teaching method to discussions of effective conditioners for curly hair.

4. You laugh knowingly when other like-minded potterheads offer unintelligible phrases like "dementor eating snapes" (ok thats a total guess phrase)

5. You attempt to teach your two year old nephew how to perform spells by waving sticks around and instead of being alarmed by the fact that you have now turned him into an out of control weapon on the move, you express great pride in his "stupefying skills".

6. Your daughter has a Harry Potter flag hanging on her bedroom door only because she busted you putting it on the front door and claimed it for herself.

7. After much soul searching you decide to forgive your loving and devoted sister-in-law/dearest friend/identified "person" despite the obvious disrespect she showed in the use of the phrase "Dumblefuck". You also commit yourself to educating her about this act of clear ignorance.

In all fairness to the obsession, I need to devote the last items to the Harry Potter Party. Which, regardless of how I mock, was a total "bash of the season" as Lucy parties are wont to be.

7. Your party guests call each other in confusion because they have no idea where the hell the party is since you wrote Potter addresses in the location spot of the invitation.

8. You offer comfort to your five year old nephew by telling him that "it's ok, you don't really have it in you to be a death eater and thats a good thing"

9. You have a devoted crew of twenty small children (only about five of whom have any idea as to what you might be talking about) joyfully running all over your backyard looking for snakes and incarnations of Sirius Black and other magical items.

10. Although you are specifically known by your loved ones as being an adult that is vigilantly aware of child safety, you have no qualms about setting up chemical reactions in the back yard as a part of a potion making activity.

11. During said potion activity, one of the children refers to the food coloring and politely through clenched teeth, you explain once again that it is not food coloring but invisible ink. (your frustration stemming from the fact that you've already had to tell them three times that the dried mandrake root was NOT baking soda)

12. You are calm and reassuring after your sister-in-law/dearest friend/identified "person" accidentally eats several dragon eggs meant to be used in the explosion experiment. You totally had back up eggs.

13. (I think this might be my favorite) You know enough Harry Potter to be able to pick personality suiting quotes to put on the loot bags for 23 children!

(honorable mentions)
-When you say the quiz says you are only 19% obsessed, your loved ones look at you dubiously, secretly suspecting that you cheated the quiz to bring your score down so it would not be so glaringly obvious that you have a problem.
-Your loved ones have discussed having an intervention but are afraid that even if you cannot summon snapes or house elves or whatever the hell us, you have no qualms about giving our small children sticks to wield at us.
-You've given your husband the pseudonym Reg because he will not let you directly identify him as Sirius Black in your relentless crusade to be Mrs. Sirius Black so you will be Mrs. Reg Black (named for Sirius's brother)(dont get excited friends, I only know this because of Mrs. Black)

Thursday Thirteen: Wal-Mart: The Evil Empire

My nephew referred to it as such this afternoon and I was very proud. I dedicate this to our blissfully foreign Lina, who did not know what Wal-Mart is.

1. Here is a good article that sums up the evil badness in a global sense.
2. Other evil empire characteristics include stomping out small businesses everywhere they go, locking employees in the store after closing and forbidding them to leave until closing duties are finished OFF THE CLOCK and making gobs of money off the sweat and blood of third world children.

3. Loyal Wal-mart shoppers often tend to be "rednecks". (but there are exceptions, especially in areas that do not have targets)(next week our TT will be about target)Do you know what a "redneck" is Lina? I won't go into the history or etymology of the word, but I will offer a generalized sketch of the characteristics of a red neck. Red necks tend to be largely uneducated. They may exhibit racist and sexist behaviors although it is fairly common to hear a red neck make statements like "I ain't a racist." and then offer a completely racist defense of their racist behaviors. Makes no sense to you? Ohhh you'd have to hear it to believe it.
For some reason, red necks tend to be prouder of and more open about their sexism. Red necks often make bold statements about social issues both locally and globally. These statements are largely ignorant in nature and seldom reflect any real knowledge of the issue being discussed. Red necks seem to be particularly fond of NASCAR racing and staged wrestling matches involving characters that are actually caricatures of different aspects of the redneck personality. Ive noticed that these folks tend to be proud of their ignorance. (please note: there are several fine people that like NASCAR and wrestling that are NOT rednecks). The best quote I found about rednecks is this one: , "They rebel against acting respectable, embracing this counterculture hero—the 'redneck' who is what he is, and doesn't give a damn what anybody thinks." -James C. Cobb (a professor of redneck studies maybe?)
4.As you may gather from that last quote, rednecks are not the politest, most pleasant people to shop with. Sometimes, they also have an offensive odor, because as you also might infer, a person who "doesn't give a damn what anybody thinks" and "rebels against acting respectable" does not tend to make polite social intercourse or personal hygiene high priority.
5. The lines at Wal-mart are likely to be super long and move slowly. I attribute this to the defeated morale of the cashiers and workers.
6. Wal-marts usually sell anything you'd find in a department store. The prices are often competitive which is the draw for folks like me. I hold fast to the ideal that one day i will be rich enough to make the stand to never shop there again.
7. Even now, I do try to avoid wal-mart unless I absolutely cannot (It is a 24 hour store). They unfortunately have diapers that cost almost half the price of other places so they have me by the short hairs (so to speak).
8. It is very rare to have a pleasant trip to wal-mart. If you are not insulted by a fellow customer, (either verbally or through the affront of smell) you will have to look freaking everywhere to find what you want, and you will have to stand in line for an unreasonable amount of time only to be greeted by a surly underpaid cashier who will screw up the transaction at least fifty percent of the time. This will result in the need to call a supervisor.
9. Apparently one of the qualifications of being a Wal-Mart supervisor is that you must be able to steadfastly ignore calls from cashiers asking you to fix their mistakes.
10. The rare friendly cashier tends to be mentally unstable and/or extremely emotionally needy. I once had a cashier start crying during our transaction (it was a lengthy one) about her autistic son.
11. The Superwal-marts (department store and grocery) are designed to be as inconvenient as possible. No matter what two items you need, they are most likely located a football field away from each other. (wal-marts are very big).
12. The automotive department offers oil and tire changes. Our local wal-mart is well known for substandard and shafty service.
13. In sum, to me (and many others) wal-mart is a teeming metaphor of everything that is going wrong in america. The fact that you don't know what a wal-mart is gives me hope Lina.

Thirteen random things Im willing to share today:

1. I have to break up with my doctor. Im very sad about this. We've been together for almost 8 years. And truly, its not her, its me. (well and her staff...mean bitter old ladies) You see, I've turned our relationship into a web of lies. I could say more but it would be degrading for both of us. Suffice it to say that I dont think we can ever go back to how it was. Plus she is 40 minutes away which sucks when I have to drag my sorry sick ass in.

2. Week two of ten year old contact lens is not going well. Im starting to get freaked out. Ive changed solutions and followed gret's and Madame Fabu's advice to the letter but it still takes me a half an hour to get the contacts in and I still feel the white hot holy hell pain when I finally get them in.My eyes are in a constant state of feeling pickled. I did make an eye appointment for tomorrow......!

3. Im reading a Norman Mailer book. Im a little ashamed about this. In my defense it's the new one about Adolf Hitler and gill bought it for me as a surprise. It has become a full blown guilty pleasure.

4. Do you know that I LOVE summer? I mean LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. The hotter the better. The heat that makes people sick? Is my favorite thing in the whole freaking world. Today was 93. I was in heaven.

5. I love my father dearly. Without question or condition. He is taking Norm for a haircut tomorrow and i fear that a buzz cut is inevitable. I love my father dearly. Without question or condition.

6. Tomorrow is landscaping decision day for the panflutemaster house. There very well could be a throw down. Ill keep you posted.

7. Do you know that Im prettier than the queen of trash? Its true. Norm said so.

8. Debra Messing is in a mini-series called "starter wife". The previews for this show make me want to slit my throat.

9. Did you ever have a conversation with a person that was so bizarre you were positive he was having (or just had) a stroke? Whats hard about such a conversation is when the "stroke" person's wife is sitting there acting like everything is making sense. A lot of my job is like that.

10. This whole trans fat thing is a scam isnt it? Its kind of like saying "buy our chips! They are completely arsenic free!"

11. Will I ever mature to the point that I wont snicker when someone mentions the planet "uranus"?

12. Although I completely support non-gender role based play activities, it is not socially acceptable for a sixth grade boy to crochet in school. I wish it were. But it is not. That is all I can say for now.

13. In case you ever wondered about the spelling and grammar errors? Im not a complete idiot. I just dont edit my posts until well after you've noticed my mistakes.

Ok folks its a no frills thursday thirteen! Thanks for playing...

Insomniacal Thursday Thirteen

I know friends. Im complaining about insomnia when you folks havent been able to sleep for months waiting for my next Thursday Thirteen. So without further ado, here it is.

Thirteen Unexpected Somethings About The Week: Focusing on the positive.(sans graphic)

1. The principal who kept me awake in fear last night turned out to be my new BFF. Granted he also blatantly lied to my face regarding his besmirchment of me and mine, but strangely, this did not bother me. In fact, I was somewhat comforted by his having the decency to care enough to cover it up to my face.

2. The above allowed me to come to the realization (once again) that I dont really give a crap what most people think about me as long as they can fake it to my face. And Im pretty sure the opinions i do value are genuine and not faking. Its a good comfort zone.

3. A patient who threatened to strangle me most definitely did not strangle me and was able to leave the session laughing and in a better mood.

4. I have two birthday parties this weekend and actually have gifts for both of them already and its only wednesday. This is unprecedented.

5. The turnip's hateful baby syndrome may possibly be related to fluid in his ear. Im embracing this explanation as opposed to Gill and Gret's which is that he is not capable of accepting any sort of change positive or negative without expressing some level of rage.

6. I found a new happy place in the blogoverse but am not sure if its a sharable thing yet.

7. I got the "Thinking Booger Award" from my beloved mert. Prestige friends. The blog has prestige.

8. Im learning more and more about the wonderful world of data collection and graphing. The sad part? Im not joking. The way the information comes together is delightful to my idiot savant brain. Presenting it in an organized manner makes me feel fullfilled and happy. Im starting to have graph daydreams. (NO ITS NOT PATHETIC DAMMIT!!!) (before you judge me, see above about faking it to my face!!!)

9. I think I convinced a patient that not only is dissociative identity disorder a highly controversial disorder that is most easily explained by faking, but also that obsessing about spider-man is annoying the hell out of her friends and crippling her socially. Tomorrow will tell....

10. The honey is finally out of my hair (and sadly friends, the incident did not involve turnip or any children. Just spider monkey antics on my part)

11. My dad completely and totally rocks. This is not unexpected but it needed to be said.

12. I think I might actually be getting tired. Thats kind of a nice surprise.

13. Gill brought me a new sudoku book tonight (better than a dozen roses, my man knows his crse). I think im off to go do some in bed!

Good night friends and fellow TTers!

Thursday Thirteen number 3

Thirteen Things Crse is Worried About This Week

1. Norm's wistfulness about his ill-spent past. Lately, he has been referring back to his "childhood" and talking about if he were that age again, he would really do things differently. All this remorse before the age of five.
2. Gret not being my life manager anymore. (I cannot even speak about this) But go see her blog if you havent already!
3. Will we ever have premium movie channels again?
4. On that note, will my quality of life ever really improve? One of the mothers I work with tried to sell me cream for the bags under my eyes. I was shocked because for the past five years Ive honestly believed that the bags were only because Im not getting enough sleep. Once I get caught up and rested, they would go away. For the first time it occurred to me, Oh my god that is not going to happen in the foreseeable future. I will never get to watch grown up television, i will never leave the house unfettered, I will never completely relax again. Ergo those bags aint going away.
5. Is it better to admit to the children that I am a crappy mom or should I deny and let them realize it on their own? I guess the only difference is whether they will seek the therapy sooner or later based on the knowledge. This worry came as I was giving the turnip cookies for breakfast today.
6. Several small fires brewing at work. Only one is actually patient related. (no worries madame fabu, its just everyday bullshit)
7. Im flailing around in limbo since I lost my bag of important things. It isnt just the lost stuff, its the sense that anything could disappear with a moment's notice. Ive already misplaced a stack of checks and my bank card several times. I have no sense of constancy.
8. Along the suckmom lines, I am totally neglecting their spiritual development. On the other hand, this post totally made me want to stand up and scream "Hell yeah". Now if I could only impart it all into my children.
9. Even though Im a sorry assed excuse for a grand dork, Im very nervous about Friday the dorkteenth. How do we link in? Is there any way I can be disqualified because Im thinking about taking the dork out of the box.
10. What is going to happen to My man Kirby Carson?
11. The knowledge that we are completely out of cheese and I STILL have not gotten my eyebrows waxed is weighing on me. There is a connection between the two but the correlation is not causal.
12. The messed up societal values Im exposing my kids to every day. Everything from rampant consumerism to our fucked up attitudes about death to the ideals we as a society hold sacred. aw fuck.
13. On that note, Blogmaster rock star Xavier Onassis and my favorite neurotic wise west coastbloggin' surfer boy both had disturbing realities on their blogs that yanked my head right out of the sand.

And that friends...is what is going through the mind of a crse this week.

Thursday thirteen 1

Starting over because why not?

Thursday Thirteen Random Bereavement Edition 1. Taking the red eye flight is a much better idea than a late evening flight. WE ALL SLEPT!!! It truly rocked. 2. No matter how well the trip is going it is NEVER and I repeat NEVER appropriate to find yourself singing “It’s the best day ever” (from spongebob squarepants) on the day of your mother-in-law’s funeral. 3. However, it apparently is totally appropriate to go to the toy department with your sister in law and play the 20 Q game in the middle of the aisle for about ten minutes as your husband becomes more and more annoyed with you at each passing question. 4. Witnessing the sweet man love between my father in law and his buddies was purely adorable. My favorite was his crusty friend Jim (a Vietnam vet with a plate in his head) commiserating with me about how both Gill and his father tend to intellectualize their feelings and never get into the meat of the emotions. I think Jim truly could be the next Oprah. 5. My middle child syndrome was never in higher gear than when my father in law mentioned his love of Bill O’Reilly. It did prove to me what my friend Andy says, that if someone told me that they ate their own baby, I would probably try to find a way to affirm them. 6. Norm’s shelf life with limited cartoons and no internet is approximately five days. On the sixth day he unfortunately has no qualms about shouting that he hates this place and that we need to leave right now and nothing I could say would make it any better. 7. It is never a good sign when you are in the midst of your vacation and you text one of your supervisees with a “how’s it going?” question and she texts back “Oh thank god” 8. Which reminds me why I hate to take vacations. Bad things always happen to my cases while I am gone and I never truly relax. 9. It is also inappropriate to refer to your trip back to bury your mother-in-law as vacation. Unless it is my in-laws apparently because they used the term all week. And it truly felt like a vacation in many ways. 10. I do feel less anxious than I did. 11. Jack in The Box makes a killer ultimate cheeseburger. In fact, I think it may absolutely be The Ultimate cheeseburger. 12. It is very hard to explain the concept of cremation to a four year old without freaking him out. 13. It is 86 degrees in Phoenix today…. Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore Did You Ever Get The Feeling? The Knut Hut Canada Snarkypants Ash In Wonderland Dorkbloggers Using My Powers For Good

Get the Thursday Thirteen code her e!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Final TT for real hopefully

Thursday Thirteen Life Gratitudes I Could Have Never Imagined” 1. My husband. My goofy wonderful amazing perfect match of a husband. I assure you gentle readers that we all thought I would end up with an abusive ex-con with a hair trigger temper. (that was at the height of my prison pen pal phase) (KIDDING there wasn’t a prison pen pal phase) (it was internet based) (KIDDING KIDDING KIDDING) 2. These beautiful amazing smart well-adjusted boys. I had no idea someone like me make could make something so perfect! twice! 3. My career. I bitch about it I know but when I think about how great my job is sometimes I actually get scared. It is a perfect Crse job! I literally get paid to be me! (and do a bunch of other stuff) Plus, this job has brought me in contact with some truly amazing people. 4. My friends. Oh. My. God. Where do I begin? I have way more amazing friends than one person should have. God my friends rock. Thank you rockin’ friends thank you! (special little shout out to Erthy for providing possibilities of awesome entertainment to us that I didn’t get til Monday because I was off my phone and sleeping all day….LOVE YOU ERTHY!) 5. Gret- She deserves her own for getting me through the most difficult stage of parenthood so far. To be taken care of in the manner ive become accustomed and even just to tell stupid things like “I think we got a new mail man” (and she knows even as she tells me that I am just as excited as she is by this). Gret the universe made this happen to save my life this winter. I love you. Oh and also because you do things like this to the Turnip. 6. My house. Growing up I never had a vision of what my house would be. We didn’t find this house, it found us. It was only the fourth place we looked at and I knew before we walked in. I have never felt so at home in a place in my life. Even if it may be haunted by candy bar, camera, cell-phone, bank card stealing ghosts. Now if the damn mortgage company would just back off about the payments. 7. Digital cable. I know I talk a lot about ti-vo and that is next, but I never could have conceived of having so much information available to me all at once. It is truly mindblowing that I can find out at any given time exactly what I need to know about the weather, what happened in congress, or the status of the Anna Nicole Smith case. 8. Which of course brings up ti-vo. Now I did fantasize about ti-vo before it happened. In a sort of “jetsons” way. But when my dad gave it to us as a housewarming gift? I had NO IDEA how lifechanging it would be. As god as my witness I will never be ti-voless again. 9. Speaking of which? My dad! What a truly. Rockin. Guy. He is constantly amazing me with how many different inconceivable ways he saves my ass all the time. 10. The picture phone. First I thought it was a waste but stay tuned for more gratuitous picture photos. 11. The internet. The idea that I can be faced with any mystery or nagging question that can be answered in a few short minutes COMPLETELY blows my mind even still. It’s a trivia lover’s wet dream. 12. My blog. Did I ever think I was going to end up “knowing” such amazing cool people? Although Gret is right now threatening to parent block it so I get my paperwork done, I believe it enhances my life in a way I could never before perceive. 13. The Thursday Thirteen. Its time to say goodbye and send future TTs out alone in the universe but I thiank you Thursday Thirteen. For giving me an outlet for my narcissism while allowing me to voyeuristically peek into other people’s lives! Viva La TT!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code her e!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen 26

Thursday Thirteen Symptoms of the Cabin Fever From the Snow Storm

1. “mommy you just relax and go to sleep and im going to trash the rest of the house.” (This is a DIRECT QUOTE)

2. Hand to Hand Poop Transfer. (by both boys today)

3. My compulsive need to offer myself up to the natural selection process. Only three eggs left? Oh no we wont make something we can stretch out. We will scramble them! And hey, why don’t we have some chocolate milk for snack. We still have a few glasses left…

4. My Valentine’s fantasy: Committing the perfect crime to get myself put in jail so I could have adult contact and be able to sleep at night. Gill got a little nervous when he heard the fantasy had elaborated itself to the point where I planned a way to bitch myself to the biggest bull in prison, thus securing safety and privilege in the prison pecking order. (Think this is idle worry? See number 3 for a recap of my survival skills).

5. He also became nervous when I offered to have buttsex with him, his boss or the weird slightly autistic guy at the plant in St. Mary’s if it would get him home sooner. (ok in my defense this was completely contextual. Not a random offer...)

6. Apparently my Blanche DuBois “Ahve always depended on the kahndness of strangahs” philosophy does not pan out in terms of magic plow fairies showing up. Couple this with not even owning a snow shovel or a PHONE BOOK to look up snow removal services and you can imagine the complications.

7. “Mommy, I need to slap both your cheeks to see if they make different sounds.” (Thank you Drake and Josh)

8. Im an educated professional adult. The grilled cheese should have never been such a struggle.

9. “Remember when I puked today?” Uh no? “Well I did on my bedroom floor but I didn’t tell you because I don’t understand you and you don’t understand me. So I thought I would wait to tell you.”

10. This.The picture I see countless times each day before the turnip shuts my work down on my fingers and giggles maniacally. (yes, I know. This was pre-mullet.)

11. Did you know that you can see the same episodes of Spongebob, Jimmy Neutron, Drake and Josh and Fairly Oddparents several times in one day? How the hell many times do I have to see Josh and Mindy break up this week? Because Im up to four.

12. There was a torn apart couch in the family room that I ignored for a few days.
When I made it over there today, I found two pairs of my socks, a pacifier (the turnip has not used a pacifier in at least a year) several sippy cups, and a huge amount of junk. Oh and dog puke on the cushions. I cleaned up the dog puke and the sippy cups, took the pair of socks I knew Id wear and pushed it all back under the cushions. And the worst part is? I don’t even care.

13. Hey there mr. snow plow guy showing up at 6pm. Don’t you judge me for the way I dress my kid. He threw on the Scooby doo t-shirt and camo shorts expressly for your benefit. We were perfectly happy being naked here. Now take your 25 bucks and be gone.

Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore

Did You Ever Get The Feeling?
The Knut Hut
Canada
Snarkypants
Ash In Wonderland
Dorkbloggers
Using My Powers For Good




Get the Thursday Thirteen code her e!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

TT 25

Ah folks. We all know I love my job. Honest I do...but this week's list answers the question what will i do when it all falls apart....

1. Professional Drinking Buddy. I never make you feel bad about drinking alone, I listen and am willing to philosophize about everything from your sexual history and why it bothers you that your sister thinks you are misogynistic to your mother’s recipe for long life. I also will stalk and leer with you on demand. Warning: you must sign waiver that I cannot be held responsible for anything happens ranging from 4am trips to tattoo parlors to talking you into clown college.
2. Muse: I figured this out. If I had sixty clients, charged twenty bucks a week and promised one five minute phonecall a day, I could really make a nice little chunk of change. I could call you and say things like “I can’t tie my shoes because they don’t have laces.” Or “The word “juniper” emanates sensuality” and let you run with it. Or “don’t say “going to Mars” say “going to Uranus” . Its way funnier across the board.”
3. Verbally sadistic dominatrix: All my cuss talents finally would have an outlet.
4. Professional recliner: The year I was pregnant with Norm, the local furniture store had a lazy-boy reclinathon. Gentle readers? I felt a stirring inside. A calling if you will….I knew with the proper training I could win that baby hands down. I never saw the contest again, but someday friends…
5. Cult leader: (Speaking of stirrings and callings) Id be an EXCELLENT charismatic leader. (It’s the crazyhair. Crazyhair people always make good charismatic leaders. Skycat? Am I right here?) Id never make anyone drink bad kool-aid and people would only give me money because they WANTED to not because they had to.
6. Spin Doctor: I already feel like I do this for a living. We do not say. Oh my god you are too fucked up for us. We only work with people who want to be helped.. Instead we say, my clinical observations are indicating that we’ve come to the end of the therapeutic road. Perhaps more intensive services are called for (like prison or the nut house)
7. Troubleshooter: Again, I already do this. If there is a system, my supervisors already stick me into it as a test monkey to see if it can be accidentally dissembled or destroyed in any way. Things that survive the “Crse Factor” generally tend to be workable and should be introduced wide scale. Im also good at finding holes in logic (by falling headlong into them leaving a trail of destruction in my wake)
8. Professional writer of break-up letters: I can go kind. I can go snide. I can go postal. Im limited only by your moral code.
9. TV or movie critic: I will go beyond the norm. I will find and expose annoying speech patterns of the actors, illogical plot holes, and character quirks that will make you want to smash your head against the wall every time you think about it.
10. Asshole school headmistress: This is a dream Gill and I have. To change the justice and social system to create the consequence of “asshole school” (run by us of course) We would walk around with tasers all day long and present different scenarios to the students. Every asshole response would get a sad shake of the head….and a taser shock of course.
11. Date coach: Be prepared for honesty. There are single people in my life right now who Id love to coach. In friendships however, its more of a struggle to find a loving way to say “You cant get a date because you are rude in conversations, interrupt people constantly, and talk about yourself incessantly. People you think you’ve impressed? Find you boorish.” At the same time, it would be so helpful for a single person to hear this I think.
12. Onion Detector: Ok this is a long shot I know but im running out of ideas and I have an UNCANNY ability to detect the onions. It does ruin meals out on a frequent basis as I often end up with food that appeared to be onion free to the server. Someone like me could save restaurants a lot of grief as they cater to the onion hating masses.
13. Professional Dorkblogger: I love the site. My dream right now is to one day make a living creating and maintaining this space with Jennfactor. We would be the patron saints of dorkdom. Ahhh it’s a dream.

Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore

Did You Ever Get The Feeling?
The Knut Hut
Canada
Snarkypants
Ash In Wonderland
Dorkbloggers





Get the Thursday Thirteen code her e!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen Number 24

After spending several hours in a meeting this afternoon that concluded with me making clinical recommendations on how to eliminate "booger smearing behavior" in a patient, I decided writing a thursday thirteen about the ..... peculiarities..of my work would be not only cathartic but would prevent me from thinking too much about the fact that as a little girl, I never really hoped and dreamed that id be discussing booger smearing behavior for a living.



Thursday Thirteen Sentences I Never Wanted To Have To Write.

1. “Patient engages in fecal smearing”. I don’t care how seasoned you are as a professional, that one always makes your stomach sink.
2. “Patient barricaded himself in play castle and shouted profanities at therapist and school staff until castle was dissembled and patient removed from area.”
3. “Patient presented “hello kitty” cosmetic bag that appeared to be filled with her own urine.”
4. “Wrote book “licking people and things” to address patient’s behavior”.
5. “Patient has repeatedly eloped from daycare by removing window pane crawling through window and running away from room toward traffic.”
6. “Patient showed therapist collection of mucus saved in what appeared to be a pickle jar.”
7. “Patient appeared to be stimulating himself by tucking his hands down by his crouch and bouncing as he was laying on his stomach during circle time.”
8. “Patient removed baseboards from walls and attempted to attack school staff with them.”
9. “Patient stuck his finger in his nose several times while shouting IM PICKING MY NOSE AND YOU CANT STOP ME repeatedly.”
10. “Patient is defecating in his pants and then denying it in what appears to be a passive aggressive power struggle move.”
11. “During tantrums, patient is placing spit from his mouth into his hand and hurling it towards therapist.”
12. “Upon arrival, therapist observed patient standing in front of the class, laughing awkwardly and delivering what appeared to be ninja like punches and kicks into the air.”
13. “Patient’s parents reported that they decided to take patient off lithium against medical advice.”

Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore

Did You Ever Get The Feeling?
The Knut Hut
Canada
Snarkypants
Ash In Wonderland
Dorkbloggers

Thursday Thirteen #23

Have you noticed Ive abandoned all attempts to be creative in my header?

Thursday Thirteen Things That Deal With Being Sick At Home With Two Small Children This Week or Thirteen Reasons I Could Not Be A Stay At Home Mom. 1. Ill start with the most disturbing and work backwards. Last night I came dangerously close to taking a picture of my own poop. What is worse, I had almost an entire post written explaining the picture and musing on my inner workings before I realized this was totally across the line. 2. I actually made a video on my phone of the turnip have a screaming fit (where he brings out the torturous high pitched keening noise) and labeled it “free birth control”. I did stop myself from sending it to all my friends with mobile phones. (It’s the stopping myself that I think is good in these first two cases) 3. Ive developed a “no poop past four” strategy for the turnip. The strategy consists of leaving all post 4pm pooped diapers for next shift. The only exceptions to this are if he appears to be uncomfortable or Norm finds the smell unbearable enough to complain louder than the cartoons we are watching. 4. I honestly think my hygiene is suffering drastically. If I miss my bath window during the day (and it’s a very small window) I find it hard to talk myself into grooming at all for the day. 5. I have been walking around all day saying “State of the union? How about the state of my butt?” to the point that even my four year old is annoyed with me. Yet still I giggle gleefully each time. 6. Im fearful that nobody will recognize my magna doodle drawings as the serious cry for help that they are. 7. I find myself being wistful that I haven’t called more 800 numbers to complain about bad service. And reminiscing about this at length. 8. Ive sent Gill numerous texts saying things like “You will be home in 318 minutes.” 9. As much as Norm says he wants to be home with me, he refuses to engage in meaningful conversations with me about why the “wonderpets” need to put on costumes and break into song when there are animals in trouble (Gret, you know you feel this, don’t leave me hanging) and why if Richie Rich is really the richest boy on the planet, why does he waste his romantic energies on freaking Gloria who is the only 12 year old on the planet that makes Carol Brady look like a playboy centerfold. 10. I made place and bake cookies today and burned two batches. 11. I would rather let the turnip make a “Hansel and Gretel” type trail with pretzels throughout the house than face another tantrum like the one mentioned above. 12. I actually lied to norm about the fact that he was eating a stale freezer burned popsicle, convincing him that it didn’t taste right because he was sick in order to slow down his popsicle consumption so I won’t have to leave the house or be alone with the children again until tomorrow. 13. When Gill calls and says he hasn’t left work yet, I say “but its 503?” in an incredulous tone as if to imply this defies the laws of the universe. Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore Did You Ever Get The Feeling? The Knut Hut Snarkypants Ash In Wonderland

Get the Thursday Thirteen code her e!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen Lets say 22

Thursday Thirteen Good Things About 2007. 1. Luckybuzz came for a surprise sleepover! 2. Gretty did not get the job she wanted (which is sad for her but is awesome for me. Im sorry Gretty but you rock my world) 3. Norm puked all over the back seat of my car but my trusty “little buddy” saved all of my work stuff (except for my day planner). 4. Norm did not get sick after that puke incident (although we had a forty minute ride home)(Again, sorry Gretty!) 5. John McCain referred to the handling of the Iraq war as Whack-a-mole. AWESOME! 6. Nobody called me at any time on new years day with a gun to their head! Nor did they call telling me their wife had taken their kids! HAPPY NEW YEAR CRSE! 7. Im kind of managing my money well. 8. Im sort of keeping up with my case notes. 9. I got sick yesterday but haven’t completely succumbed to it. Im not getting any worse! (knock wood) 10. I cancelled the dentist appointment with my Mafioso dentist without any conflict or threat to my safety. 11. I have a rockin’ new tv! 12. I think the nightmares about my mother have stopped (knock wood!) 13. I think the ugly season is officially over. (and im sorry but the stories were way too gruesome to share, which is why I have been silent for much of the season.) Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore Did You Ever Get The Feeling? The Knut Hut Canada Snarkypants Ash In Wonderland

Get the Thursday Thirteen code her e!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen Insomnia Post. (21?)

I think this could be lame. Also I think I stole the idea from a long ago list from the much cooler than me Ash. But at least I have a list this week! I should have changed the header but now Im too tired!

Thursday Thirteen Things That Im Thinking About At 4am. 1. I really hope the house payment check doesn’t bounce. Even more so, Im really hoping there is money left in the bank so I can go drinking tonight. (Let me rephrase that, I hope there is money so I don’t have to borrow from the Turnip’s piggy bank to go drinking. Because that would be alcoholic. Damn Norm and his new found interest in his own money. And his suspicious mind.) I really wish something would happen that I could pay Gret enough that she didn’t need to get another job. 2. I think Gret was right and Norm is suffering from post-holiday letdown. Im glad he fell asleep at 630 tonight. I hope that helps. Am I ruining him? I should call the daycare. Why am I so phobic about Miss Joy? Gill wont call for me I know he wont. 3. I need to get my haircut soon. It is turning into a jungle. 4. I wonder if my next door neighbor is pregnant yet. I hope so. She is really nice. My friend Andy’s baby is so cute. She is such an awesome Mom. All my friends are good moms. 5. I need to call Lucy on my way to work. I miss her. 6. Im so glad Madame Fabu found that paperwork. It would have otherwise sucked badly. My lock box is working really well. We call it my little buddy. I hope the Fabus come spend the night this weekend. I could use some Madame Fabu down time. And I love the way the littlest Fabu says “george’. 7. I LOVE firefly. I cant wait to get the new DVD player so we can watch it. Oh god the last thing we should be spending money on is a DVD player. But maybe if we manage our money really well… 8. I wonder if I took my adderrall too late in the day. Is that why Im stll up? Tomorrow is going to suck I have a huge day that ends in a two hour home visit with a woman who makes the supernanny look permissive and her father who thinks he is Germany’s next David Hasselhoff. Man that guy freaks me out. Why does he freak me out so much? He is so BIG. Not just tall. BIG. Like his face is big and everything. God why does he have to wear those weird sleeveless wife-beaters? And the tattoos. He is a ridiculous human being. Simply a ridiculous human being. 9. What is wrong with me that I just call a guy a ridiculous human being? I am not a good person deep down. I have a lot of spiritual growing to do. Ill call Lucy tomorrow. She is always good with that stuff. 10. I need to call the dr. and get my back checked. And my eye. I still have that bump and its been a month. I don’t mind looking like Igor for my dog but I should find out if I can do something about it. I don’t want to go yet because I think Im actually at the end of the spiraling out of control eating from the holidays. I really think its over. I haven’t had cookies for breakfast in days and I feel better. I need to take vitamins more. 11. I have to figure out how not to spend any money at work tomorrow. I think Ill make iced tea in the morning. Who am I kidding? Im going to be too tired. I suck. I wonder if I should wear my brown sweater outfit. I still don’t have brown shoes. I wish I had money to buy brown shoes. But I need a haircut first. 12. I wonder if the school is going to charge perfect storm’s family for ripping off the plastic baseboard in the time out room. Her new support worker handled that really well. I feel good about this. I hope she stops hitting soon. 13. This month is going to be different. I wrote progress notes for today and it was good. If I just write them every day the end of the month will be fine. I know I say this every month but 2007 feels different. I have my “little buddy”. And my adderrall is working awesome. When I take it. Even if it keeps me up till 4am. Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore Did You Ever Get The Feeling? The Knut Hut Canada Snarkypants Ash In Wonderland

Get the Thursday Thirteen code her e!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen 21?

In honor of Gill's last week of the Month Of Gill: (and also because I spend way too much time telling him how Gretty makes my life better) (which she does...)

Thursday Thirteen Ways My Husband Makes My Life Better.

1. Makes my sandwiches a special way so the condiment ratio is perfect and between the meat and cheese to prevent bread sogginess.
2. Brings me coffee with just the right amount of sweetener and milk.
3. Orders something he knows I will eat when we are out to dinner and I take a culinary risk. In case we need to switch.
4. Sometimes “sets up” my little relaxation area when I come home from a hard day of work with frosty beverages, snacks etc.
5. Calls me from the grocery store when he is not sure. Tries to make the best possible decision when he cant get hold of me and generally has some type of logic for his decisions showing reflection of my interests.
6. Hangs up my clothes or throws them downstairs when I leave them all over the floor.
7. Organizes me on a regular basis.
8. Gates off my section of the hallway when I sleep in so children are not constantly running in and “telling on him”.
9. Before we had a garage, he would scrape off my car in the winter before he would go to work.
10. Is not crabby when I have to wake him up in the middle of the night because I saw a scary movie and I need him to “spot” me while I go to the bathroom.
11. Only gets mildly upset when I make plans and forget to tell him. Ex: Him: “why is your cousin pulling in the driveway?” Me blushing “Oh…um…do you mind if I go out tonight?” or Me: “Go check and see if we need soda for the party tomorrow”. Him “We are having a party tomorrow? And when were you going to tell me?”
12. He is defensive about the step-monster and other infringements on what he refers to as my “personal crseness”. He always makes me feel supported and validated even if I have to cry and say “you are not being supportive or validating” to remind him to do it.
13. He made me some adorable babies if I do say so myself!

Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore

Did You Ever Get The Feeling?
The Knut Hut
Canada
Snarkypants
Ash In Wonderland





Get the Thursday Thirteen code her e!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants





Special thanks to Novelist In Training for the love banner

Aha

I have the delightful Canada to thank for this one!

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

I was afraid it was bound to happen.

Thursday Thirteen (maybe the 20th?)

In the spirit of The December of Gill-Smoke, here are some (dont try to pull anything you know they were pre-approved Gill) holiday mis-steps committed by Gill for your mocking and giggling pleasure...Please note, I really dont have my crap together to add to my links but below are blogs that do this that I enjoy and please link yourself in comments and I encourage my readers to go there...


this banner courtesy of nello designs

Thursday Thirteen Bad gifts or holiday Faux Pas from Gill Smoke.

1. COMPLETELY forgetting our first valentine’s day.
2. A crossword puzzle and PENCILS for my first birthday with him. (he got me other stuff too. At the time, I had a huge aversion to pencils that he knew about.)
3. Telling my 3 year old niece that “there is no Christmas in jail” when she misbehaved, thus causing her to burst into inconsolable sobs. (although I thought that one was pretty funny)
4. Not acknowledging in ANY WAY our second valentine’s day together.
5. Buying a card the day after said Valentine’s day saying “My heart is with you, at easter and always” which is a catch phrase between us to this day (and he is light years better about the mushy cards now)
6. A baking pan. Not non-stick.
7. Oversized pants that he thought would be “comfy”.
8. Kissing his friend Todd on New Year’s Eve after the ball dropped for the first kiss of the year.
9. Stuffing my stocking full of nothing but cough drops.
10. A sippy cup with fish on it because I like fish. (before we had kids)
11. Picking a fight with the bonsai’s unendingly sweet and currently disabled (knee surgery Jan. 10) mother over the thanksgiving ads after a dinner THEY COOKED for us.
12. A picture of a dolphin that was cracked (so he got it marked down). You know because I like fish.
13. Wearing Orange on st. patrick’s day because he is scotch irish. And a conflict junkie.

Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore

Did You Ever Get The Feeling?
The Knut Hut
Canada
Snarkypants
Ash In Wonderland





Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen

And the month of Gill-smoke continues...


Thursday Thirteen Interesting Things About Marrying My Husband.

1. He proposed with the phrase “what are you doing tomorrow? Want to go get married?” .
2. We were engaged for about 18 hours tops.
3. We were married in a Mexican barrio in downtown Tucson called the “Garden of Gesthemane”. It had life size statues of different scenes of from the gospels. We have a really disturbing picture of the best man leaning over the tomb statue looking like he was doing something not good to Jesus.

4. We only met the best man that day. Never saw him before or after that day. Two better men in town worked that day.
5. We bought our marriage license at the place at the jail where you post bail. It was a Monday so there was a line but we were the only ones getting married and not posting bail.
6. Our ceremony was “universal Unitarian” (which in a crazy twist of fate we actually follow now) and directed by a man we found in the phone book. “Reverend Dan” was missing an eye and a leg and also had a skin condition and blatantly false teeth. Gill likes to refer to him as “reverend dan or what was left of him”.
7. We bought his ring at a pawn shop for ten bucks.
8. We ate pizza for lunch that day and went to shop for a bouquet afterwards.
9. We got the bouquet for free because the ladies at the florist shop were tickled by our story.
10. We both cried during the vows. They talked about “rainbows of happiness”.
11. We went to see “interview with a vampire” after the ceremony. It was the matinee. We got popcorn.
12. We had taco bell for dinner before going home for the night.
13. The entire day cost us less than one hundred dollars. I love my wedding story!

Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore

Did You Ever Get The Feeling?
The Knut Hut
Canada
Snarkypants
Ash In Wonderland





Get the Thursday Thirteen code her e!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants





Special thanks to Novelist In Training for letting me break out of my TT banner slump!

Thursday Thirteen number 18ish?

Friday is my husband Gill-smoke's birthday. In honor of the auspicious occasion, I am dedicating all my TTs this month to him. So consider December to be "Everything you Ever Wanted To Know About Gill-Smoke but Were Afraid To Ask" Month. This week, we will begin with a list of his more interesting qualities.

Thursday Thirteen Interesting Things About My Husband. 1. He had really long hair when we met. When it was wet, he would put it in a pony tail and wrap it around his finger into one tight curl. It was the coolest curl. 2. He has not visited a barber or any sort of hair stylist since we met. In the fall, he grows his hair, in the spring he shaves it. Not just the hair on his head, he does this with his facial hair too. Except for some years he grows a big ridiculous curly mustache. He does this because he figures if he is capable of growing a ridiculous mustache, he has a societal obligation to do so. 3. He is somewhat socially clueless, but is so charming that all he usually has to do is show up and smile and people can forgive this and just about anything else he does! 4. He didn’t learn to drive until he was 26 years old and my father bought him driving lessons for Christmas. He says it is because he never needed to drive while he lived in Arizona, but I found out he knocked down his parents’ car port when he was eight years old by trying to “drive”. 5. He is an ardent feminist. Sometimes, even more so than I am. 6. He is really good at telling stories and describing plots of books and movies. So much so, that sometimes when I hear him describe a plot, then see it myself, the real plot pales in comparison. 7. He was not sure if he wanted children and did not really attach to Norm until about two weeks after he was born. After that, he decided he wanted seven more children. (My reply to this is “I hope you and your next wife are very happy with your six children”.) 8. I love him to death, but he is not great in crisis. When Norm was born, he left the hospital that night and didn’t return until four o clock the next day. When the Turnip was born and was experiencing difficulties, he made it a point to stay home and cook a bunch of food (which was really nice actually). 9. He quit smoking on an 18 hour flight to China while I was pregnant with the turnip. It will be two years in April. But when he did smoke, he would often roll his own cigarettes to save money. It was kind neat to watch. 10. He started working on a quilt when Norm was born. It is very beautiful. I hope he reads this and is inspired to finish it (and re-assemble the fish chair). 11. He is the most “un” moody person I know. He can be grouchy but he will ALWAYS talk about his feelings which is very nice. 12. He is an amazing cook. He goes through phases where he specializes in making a certain dish. His most recent dish was pumpkin pie making the puree from scratch. He once went through a cheese cake phase. Even though neither of these are my favorites, he could make kick ass versions of both types of desserts. 13. He is probably the funniest man I know. He makes me laugh every day and Im so glad to be able to share him with you for his birthday! Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore Did You Ever Get The Feeling? The Knut Hut Canada Snarkypants Ash In Wonderland

Get the Thursday Thirteen code her e!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen sixteen or seventeen?

Thursday Thirteen “really great ideas” I HAD make happen with results ranging from slight disappointment to life changing horror. 1. The birds. It seemed like the perfect pet idea! Birds! Relatively low maintenance cute and entertaining. Too bad Norm and I realized the first night we brought them home that they scared the holy hell out of us. 2. The potato chipper. You slice the potatoes and microwave them on a little potato merry go round. Brilliant! Low fat but with the taste and full body of a potato chip…..except not so much…more like soggy thin overly chewy paper. 3. The iced tea maker. Because I love iced tea. What could make me happier than a bona fide iced tea maker? Oh how I coveted this iced tea maker. You can thus imagine my chagrin when I discovered that making iced tea with this magic machine was three times more complicated than making it the old fashioned way. 4. Car shopping with my adorable but not so business wise sister in law bonsai. Oh I was a feminist with an IQ in the 140s! I was NOT going to let some slimy used car salesman get the best of me! Until I walked in the door, became possessed by their mind control and ended up purchasing a two door sporty sunfire (Did I mention I had a toddler and was PREGNANT?) That car was the scourge of my existence until I ended up with the midsize sedan of my dreams. 5. Setting my dad up with my stepmother. Note to self- next time you set up your ONLY unconditional support? Pick someone who actually likes you (or at least can hide their loathing a bit better!) 6. The religious studies degree for undergrad. Oh that’s served me well….very helpful when people call me in the middle of their religious debates. 7. The smoothie maker. Two glorious alcoholic smoothie filled months with the Fabus until Gill got too annoyed to make them for us anymore. Turns out that drinking alcoholic smoothies is a lot more fun than making them. Especially when you are drunk. 8. The videocamera we had to get before Norm’s first Christmas. Yep its on there. Never watched since. Never used again. Why? No idea. 9. The plan to play and win every single free cell game within the next three years. It was all well and good until I started losing sleep and coming unglued when other activities disrupted the plan. It became my heroin. I can never open that window again. 10. Insisting that Gill renew his relationship with his parents when we first met. Ohhhh that’s what he meant by them being completely insane. Whoops, my bad on that one. 11. Ordering a two hundred dollar phone from a phone solicitor (no pun intended!) because it had talking caller id. Oh they make that in a twenty dollar answering machine? You don’t say…. 12. Observing the free play basketball time during emotional support gym class. Twenty eight kids with aggression and behavior problems with projectile basketballs? Sounds great! Im going to sit over here by the wall farthest from the exit. 13. Tivo. HA like anyone would believe that. I might as well say I regret my sonicare toothbrush. Or my beautiful children… Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore Did You Ever Get The Feeling? The Knut Hut Canada Snarkypants Ash In Wonderland

Get the Thursday Thirteen code her e!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen maybe the 15th or 16th one?

Thursday Thirteen Things I am Thankful For. 1. First of all, my family. My boys. My nuclear crew. Gill, Norm and the Turnip are so far beyond the wildest dreams and expectations I had for my future. (I know its awful, but Im also grateful that they are all so cute and smart and funny) 2. My friends. I have amazing friends. I sometimes look at the friends I have and I say “why do these really cool and spectacular people hang out with me?” Yay my friends! 3. My family of origin. My dad and my brothers. They are so different from each other and they sometimes drive me completely crazy but I cant imagine life without him. 4. My step-sister and my sisters in law. My brothers married good people. Even my step-brother married a goddess. My step sister rocks some hard ass too! 5. My grammy. After she died I stopped putting her in my thank you part of my prayers for a few weeks. Then I realized, even though she died, I still want to pray for her and express my gratitude that I had her in my life and now I have her in my heart. 6. My job. It is a perfect job for me. Not only do I love the people I work with but I love what I do. Sometimes you just know what you are supposed to do in life and as Gretty said today “the only thing harder than following your path, is knowing you should be and not following it” 7. My house. I love my house. I really hope it doesn’t get repossessed. 8. Psychopharmacology. I think everyone in my family and several of my friends are grateful for this too. 9. My blogfriends. You guys smack the shit! 10. My sonicare toothbrush. I shall never forget. 11. That gill’s mother doesn’t know where we live or how to get in contact with us. And that my mother sued us so there is no sense of obligation tomorrow. I cant even begin to describe how much better this makes holidays. 12. This goes back to number two. That my boys have all these awesome women around to guide them through life. They literally have a slew of fairy godmothers. 13. Ok I know it’s wrong, but I have to be true to myself. I am grateful for TiVo. (DVR) I am so thankful for this invention and I never want to think about life without it again. Blogs I like that do TT’s because I don’t have the wherewithal to link anymore Did You Ever Get The Feeling? The Knut Hut Snarkypants Ash In Wonderland

Get the Thursday Thirteen code her e!


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, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants