$1 of fun and some other things

We went to the dollar store tonight. We needed balloons for science experiments. I had a huge ziplock bag full of balloons, but they disappeared. I bet if I went and cleaned under Thomas's bed, I'd find them.

A friend of mine showed a picture of a cute clay creation her daughter made. It was precious and made me want to play with clay. There are two brand-new Sculpey kits upstairs hidden away for Christmas presents. I really didn't want to get into those, so was thrilled when we happened to find boxes of modeling clay at the dollar store.

We bought one box.

That one box provided 2 1/2 hours of play tonight -- play by Thomas and me. It was cheap clay, though. When we started working it in our hands, our hands turned colors. Mine were green and Thomas's hands were blue. They still are, even after washing them numerous times.

Thomas made a cute hermit crab and a darling bird. He's feeling sad because all six of his hermit crabs died, so he had to make a new one. (No, they weren't molting.) I just made messes.

We had a ball.

It got me to thinking, deep in the far regions of our homeschool room closet is a Sculpt Now kit. We got it this summer, watched the video, and for some strange reason, put it away. Perhaps I should dig that out.

***

School today went much better. We spread it out over the day and finished at 5:30. We took a long break between each subject. That was kind of nice. Thomas and I lied down on the living room floor and did geography together. Last year it was his favorite subject. This year it's his least favorite subject aside from math. So I tried to make it fun. To me it felt like we had really connected to each other as we learned. (Yes, we.) Thomas said it was "kinda' fun. Oh well.

*****

I got news that the cowboy is not doing well. It seems he is only eating ice cream and not wanting to drink anything. He's losing weight rapidly. He's in and out frequently. It breaks my heart -- but it's life. The day my mom died, we had a long talk. In fact, it was minutes before she died unexpectedly. She said to me: Death is a part of life. You're born, you live, you die. That's the way it's supposed to be. It's only hard on those you leave behind. She was right. It's hard to watch happening, though.

I think the best thing that I can personally do to honor both the cowboy and my mom is just to live my life without worrying about them. It makes the mundane days seem special, because in reality, they are.

Our pancake breakfast (for supper)

(Sorry for yet another blurry photo.)

We didn't make it out to breakfast for pancakes, but we did have them for supper. Thomas and I had a long talk about school. I took my paper and a list of all we needed to accomplish in school. We looked it over, talked it out, cussed and discussed. Oh wait, we didn't cuss. Well, he didn't, I'm sure with my potty mouth I had to have said one bad word during the meal.

At any rate, we scribbled out schedules, we crossed things out, we arranged and we re-arranged.
We both agreed on a final schedule that includes everything, but not on a day-to-day basis. Gulp. Mom is feeling a little panic that we'll get everything done that needs to be done. However, the pressure also just seemed to lift from my shoulders.

I just read at Carole's blog how she dropped vocabulary for both her boys and was "trimming her sails." I was thankful she posted that because it helped me in letting go. Thomas loves vocabulary and excels at it, so instead of dropping it, we are reducing it to two times a week instead of four.

We've made several reductions, and all these reductions we made will enable us to hit the big subjects that we have, sadly, been hit and miss with: US History, World History, and Science.

So I'm feeling a little better, Thomas is feeling much better, and we'll give this adjusted schedule a few weeks to see how it goes.

And as Heather suggested in the comments section (thanks!) -- we have decided if we are climbing the walls with boredom or from being antsy, we will get in the car and hit the library.

Whew. Crossing my fingers on this.

Mom, School's boring

Yup, Thomas uttered the words I didn't want to hear this afternoon.

"Mom, school is boring. We do the same thing day after day after day after day."

And he's right.

Our homeschool has slowly evolved into public school at home, only with more subjects.

I have to admit that I am bored as well.

Problem is, I'm out of ideas. I just don't know how to shake things up. The only thing I could even fathom is doing a week of science and nothing else. Problem with that is he'll get behind on math, and at this point we can't afford to get behind on math. Yeah, I suppose we could do math and science all week.

Argh.

Today I thought it would be fun to listen to a Kids Bop Halloween CD while we did school. Oh, no, Thomas couldn't have that, it was too distracting.

All my visions of cool school have flown out the window.

I think tomorrow morning I'll take Thomas out for a pancake breakfast. I'll take a notebook with me and we'll sit and brainstorm.

I'm curious what others do if their school gets boring!

PMS

The Hormone Hostage knows that there are days in the month when all a man has to do is open his mouth and he takes his life in his own hands! This is a handy guide that should be as common as a driver's license in the wallet of every husband, boyfriend, co-worker or significant other!

DANGEROUS:	SAFER:	SAFEST:	ULTRA SAFE:
What's for dinner?	Can I help you with dinner?	Where would you like to go for dinner?	Here, have some wine.
Are you wearing that?	Wow, you sure look good in brown!	WOW! Look at you!	Here, have some wine
What are you so worked up about?	Could we be overreacting?	Here's my paycheck.	Here, have some wine.
Should you be eating that?	You know, there are a lot of apples left.	Can I get you a piece of chocolate with that?	Here, have some wine.
What did you DO all day?	I hope you didn't over-do it today.	I've always loved you in that robe!	Here, have some more wine.

13 Things PMS Stands For:

1 Pass My Shotgun

2 Psychotic Mood Shift

3 Perpetual Munching Spree

4 Puffy Mid-Section

5 People Make me Sick

6 Provide Me with Sweets

7 Pardon My Sobbing

8 Pimples May Surface

9 Pass My Sweat pants

10. Pissy Mood Syndrome

11. Plainly; Men Suck

12. Pack My Stuff

and my favorite one.

13. Potential Murder Suspect

Pass this on to all of your hormonal friends and those who might need a good laugh!

...Or men who need a warning.

And remember: Money talks .... but Chocolate SINGS!!!

Oh, boy, this is good...

So I belong to this popular (over 1000 members) yahoo group. It is a secular homeschooling group. So someone sends a post to this group talking about a neat new game geared toward homeschoolers. I read it, checked out the link, and the hair on my neck stood up.

I didn't post to the group because I just don't post to groups much anymore. However, others did. Some didn't like this new game and discussed it openly and freely. It is America, after all, and that sort of this is still allowed.

Lo and behold guess what happens next? We get a post from a gal who happens to be the sister of the game's creators. She just happened to join this "secular" group and is very surprised they are discussing her sister's game! Wow, shock. She was either tipped off or joined the group to shill, in my humble opinion.

So a few people "call her" on her comments. She came in and personally bashed, whereas we were discussing why we did not like the game. She pointed her finger at us and told us we needed to stand together as a community and not bash. She commented to one who was pro-game (or rather pro-her opinion) that he had character and she had much respect for him because he was able to stand up to the opposition.

Oh, give me a break.

So what is the game? It's called Homeschoolopoly. Like we need yet another monopoly game. I went to the website. Guess what I learned?

For $29.99 I can purchase their game. I clicked on the Affiliate page and read this:

There is no cost to join and you can start earning commissions today from this exciting new game that EVERY homeschooler will want to buy!

I think not. This homeschooler will never want to buy the game.

Number one, I would never buy the game because I have no interest in yet another monolopy game.

Number two, the community chest and chance cards were replaced by grace and mercy cards.

Number three, some of the companies represented in this game are: HSLDA, Homeschool Blogger, and the Old Schoolhouse. Read my right side bar on the last two. I am not a member of HSLDA because I do not support their agenda.

Number four, when you buy the game, that's not all you get. You get more -- much more. (Okay, see my post on The Old Schoolhouse and their 19 free gifts.) You get the game plus a homeschooling brochure and a homeschool resource guide. If you find a special ticket in your game, you get.....drum roll here.............

A free, one-year subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. The person who finds the very special ticket in their game gets a lifetime subscription to the magazine ~plus~ a $250 shopping spree at Bob Jones University Press.

Oh, yipee! Reminder: Old Schoolhouse supports Pearls, Pearls sell books on how to abuse your children. See my sidebar. I boycott Old Schoolhouse, Homeschoolblogger and the Pearls.

I do not buy anything from Bob Jones University Press, new or used, because they are openly anti-gay.

I would not have even posted about this had the sister of the game's developer not joined our group and condemned us for not having an open mind about the game. And she stated that this game teaches character traits. ??? Does it teach ethics? Does it teach that open and free discussion is a good thing? Does it teach that we can have our own opinions?

I'm sure it's a lovely game for those that fit their market. It was a creative idea. But it's 2006, not 1986, and the face of homeschooling has changed. It's not all Christians anymore. Somehow I doubt it ever was. It's a melting pot full of people of differing religions, politics, agendas. The common thread is that we all love and want the best for our children.

So just a note to developers and creative people out there. If you develop something for the homeschool market, don't have tunnel vision. We don't all fit the same mold. If you want to market to the entire homeschool community, do some research and really learn what the entire homeschool community exists of.

Signed,
Frankie
a nonconforming nonconformist Christian

yawn

Last night was a terrible night. My poor dog had the runs. He needed me to let him out about 30-45 minutes apart. So I'd get to sleep for 28 or more minutes, then I'd wake up and be up for 15 minutes, then back to the vicious cycle. When Thomas woke me up this morning I was growly and said fix yourself some breakfast, pop in a movie, take care of the dog, he's sick, and let me sleep. He's such a good boy. He ate breakfast, took care of the dog and watched a movie he had just rented. He also picked up a book and read for about an hour. He woke me up at noon.

I'm the type person that needs my sleep. If not, I'm a bear. Just ask my sister or my mom, when she was alive, what would happen if they called me on the phone and woke me. I think I made my mom cry and just pissed my sister off really bad.

I have not recovered from this screwed up sleep cycle. I was groggy all day long and then I went to bed at 10:30 tonight and laid there wide awake. I finally took a sleeping pill about 10 minutes ago and am waiting for it to kick in.

While I'm talking sleep, I'll switch gears to the bedroom. Specifically, the nightstand next to my bed. On the nightstand is my trust alarm clock. I bought it in either 1988 or 1989. It had a tape player in it. It had very easy buttons for its two alarms. I have always loved that alarm clock. It's been part of my life for almost 20 years -- it's an extension of my left arm. It has survived me waking from a deep sleep and accidentally throwing it into the wall. Yes, that was accidental. Yes, there is a small gouge mark in the wall. Well, I'm sad to report that two of the signals on the LED display have gone out. There is no way to fix them. I am going to have to say goodbye to my trusty alarm. That alarm woke me on my wedding day. That alarm woke me on my first day of my career. That alarm woke me the day I went into labor with Thomas. That alarm has been there. Sniff, sniff.

My husband bought me a new alarm clock last Christmas. It's sitting on his dresser because I refused to use it. I think it's time to steal it and replace old faithful. This alarm has a nap snooze button, which comes in very handy for homeschool moms who like to take a short afternoon nap after lunch. This alarm clock has a CD player -- perfect for snuggling up in bed with Thomas and listening to Joy Hakim or The Story of the World. It will have to do. It's just not the same as old reliable.

Makes me sad to say goodbye to an old constant in my life.

My pill has kicked in and I think I shall now engage in a blissful sleep.

Tomorrow Thomas can dissect the old faithful.

Oh, and I'm glad Jeffery won Project Runway....especially after the bi-otch red-head Laura accused him of cheating.

Haunted Window

Well, here it is. Our haunted window. Not a very good photo, but it will have to suffice. We used glow-in-the-dark spray paint for ghosts, spiders and other creepy things. They don't show well. They also don't glow. Oh well. I put a string of orange lights in the window so they show up better when it's dark.

As for the painting of windows, what a MESS. When I mixed the soap into the paint, I knew it was going to be a runny, drippy nightmare. And it was. We put old gross towels down on the window sills to catch any drips. The towels are soaked in paint. The paint went on so thin I couldn't see the color. That pumpkin, which is painted very poorly, has about five coats of orange. The last two coats were straight tempera paint. I figured all the soap underneath would scrape off easily. And it does. I used my Sam's Club card to scrape the eyebrows, eyes and nose. A fingernail did the mouth.

The good thing about the runny paint was the drippy-bloody letters. That was fun. I knew immediately that I would do that when I mixed the paint. My husband thought it was an accident! Not! My husband was also mad my beware dripped into one of the ghosts. He made the template for it as the templates that came with the spraypaint were way too small.

DS did the graveyard and black cat and sprayed most of the ghouls.

Now that we know what we're doing, how messy it is, and actually how much fun we had, we'll do it again next year -- but we'll plan a cool window, rather than painting haphazardly.

We also splurged and bought purple and orange lights for our stair railing to our front door. DH and Thomas were booing me for picking purple, because orange is the color of the season, but the two together looked fantastic.

I wish I were rich. I would go all out, do a grave yard in the front and do lots of cool decorations. There are many wonderful websites with such cool ideas. I think I should go buy a lottery ticket.

Next week Thomas and I are going to grab a pair of DH's old jeans and an old ugly shirt of his, stuff it with leaves, and make a man. We'll sit him on a chair under our window, paint one of our pumpkins with a face, and let the man hold his head in his lap.

That's about as creative as I can be this year.

November 1st I'll grab my Sam's Club card again, scrape the windows, and be done. I think that's the easy part.

The Beauty of Homeschooling -- A Day Off

Yup, we're taking a day off today. Actually, we're switching today for Wednesday of next week as we already had Wed - Fri scheduled off. DH has the day off. Ah, I love homeschooling and having the freedom to do such a thing!

Oh, I had grand plans for DH...go sell one of our four cars. I've only been begging him to do this for YEARS. He got mad at me (again) for suggesting that he do that today of all days. I said again, if not today, then when? We pay way too much for car insurance, especially considering he hasn't driven this car in about three years. Ugh. It sits in our driveway, cluttering our home, our neighborhood, my mind and the checkbook.

It's still cold and the wind is a blowin' something awful. No outside work today.

DH is on the couch reading. DS is in my bed reading. I'm at the computer, reading.

I don't know what we'll do with the rest of our day off. I'm thinking perhaps we'll paint the windows. I found a recipe for making window paint:

Use Tempera Paint
1. For each color of paint, mix about 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid with 1/2 tablespoon of paint (the mixture should have the creamy consistency of house paint).

2. Using a different brush for each hue, paint on the window, being careful to avoid sills and woodwork.

Tips:
To remove the dried paint or fix a mistake, wipe it off with a moist paper towel.

DH said he didn't mind if we did this. (Yes, I asked his opinion. I would have done it anyway, though. lol) He's concerned about getting paint on the trim, though. I'll have to tape the woodwork really well before we start. I envision cute pumpkins and a scary witch or two. DS will probably make bats and spiders: easy art, but cool and creepy.

Today was just weird

Murphy's law was working against me today. This morning I started to do yesterday's dishes (all of 'em). They were stacked in the sink, unrinsed. I usually rinse. There were even some on the counter. It was definitely a full dishwasher load.

I turned on the water, started rinsing, and the sink clogged up. The disposer wouldn't work. Shoot. What a mess. I called DH at work. He wasn't happy.

It was C~O~L~D in Minnesota today. When I got up, I turned the radio on. The announcer informed me snow was on the ground and that it was a whopping 24 degrees out. There go my flowers! The kitchen was 62 degrees. I confirmed the radio's report by taking my dog outside. Brrrrrr.

After the dog was in, the coffee was made, I trudged down the stairs to turn the furnace on. Flipped the switch, climbed back up the stairs, and turned the thermostat on. Nothing. Oh, for the love of Pete. Nothing. I trudged back down the stairs, stood next to the furnace and heard a clicking. Click, click, click. Shoot. I called my DH. I asked him if he wanted me to call the furnace guy. No, he'd look at it over the lunch hour.

Did I mention it was 62 degrees in the kitchen?

I woke Thomas up. Luckily I had bought him a pair of fleece jammies for his birthday. He was in those. He was so cold that he put a big sweatshirt and sweat pants on -- on top of his jammies. He wore the hood.

We ate breakfast and started school. Funny, in this cold, I actually felt good. I hadn't felt this good in a very long time. The swelling in my foot was gone, for the first time in two months. It was either the cold or the fact that I did not take a sleeping pill last night.

The noon hour came quickly. He looked at the furnace, couldn't figure it out, and told me not to call, that he'd check it out after work. He ignored the sink. Yeah, that's okay, I don't need to do dishes. He was a sweetie and told me he'd take me to dinner tonight.

Thomas had an "on" day with school. He did more work today than he did the last two days put together. Maybe that cold was good for him, too.

DH got home from work and went straight for the sink. Wouldn't you know it, he got it unclogged in about two minutes. The disposer was working again. I don't think he did anything other than turn it on.

Then he went downstairs to the furnace. He vacuumed the thing out and tried it. Nothing. I brought him a flashlight and he just started laughing. It seems when the air conditioner repairmen were here this summer (of which we had THREE different companies) one of them turned the switch inside the furnace to the off position. We never do that, only the outside switch. So he turned in on and.....ah, warmth.

DH was relieved that he didn't have anything major to do, no headaches, no cursing. I was relieved everything was working. DH lied down on the couch, snuggled up under a Biederlack blanket, and fell fast asleep.

Me, I got on the internet instead of doing dishes.

All is well in my world, the heat is working, the sink is draining, Thomas did an awesome job with school today, and no cooking for me tonight!

Candidates for Mayor

Last night, minding my own business while shopping at Kmart, this guy came up to me. I was looking at pumpkin cake pans. He started talking about the pumpkin cupcake pans next to them. He talked and talked.

I'm thinking to myself...I'm fat, I'm in sweats, I haven't touched my makeup since early in the morning, he's not coming on to me, but WTF does he want??? (Yes, I thought the "F" word, it was so weird.) He kept chatting away, very nice, then all of a sudden he says...I have something for you. He reaches into his back pocket slowly. I kept thinking...I have to be safe, I'm in Kmart, for crying out loud. He pulls out a brochure. Whew. He's running for mayor.

He then proceeds to BS me for about 15-20 minutes. He was very nice, but also very uneducated. I just have a thing about people using poor grammar. It bugs me. Not that mine is perfect, far from it, but ain't ain't a word, ya know? lol Trying to put that aside, I listened to what he had to say. He was a rebel and wanted to make changes in our unprogressive little town. I kind of liked his spirit.

I did catch him in a falsehood -- or an uneducated assumption. He mentioned the place my husband works, not knowing I have an affiliation with it, and that their salaries aren't any higher because there is no competition in town. I smiled my evil grin and asked him if he was positive that no competition had any relevance? Oh, yes, he assured me.

Then I let him know that it didn't. I told him that the company is a Fortune 500 company, it is international, and there are three divisions in the United States. My husband would make the same no matter where he lived. That's just poppycock. And it is.

Gosh, get your facts straight before you start throwing stuff out in your campaign.

I checked his website out when I got home. Let's just say he's not a good testament to our local public schools. Every plural word he used he spelled with 's. Yup, an apostrophe S. He spelled economy "ecconomy." Actually, he had tons of misspellings. No, I won't hold all that against him, but it still gets under my skin. Hire a proofreader, for crying out loud.

So fast forward to early this afternoon. Thomas and I are snuggled in bed for reading. Okay, I admit, I'm napping and he just started Little Town on the Prairie. All of a sudden BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM -- someone is pounding on the door! Scared the you-know-what out of me. My dog went crazy. I actually had another WTF moment.

I get up, peek out the window, and no one is there. I open the door. Not a soul. I did find a brochure. Another mayoral candidate. Sheesh.

When my hubby got home, I told him about it. I told him it really ticked me off that the guy pounded on my door. I said the only time anyone pounds on my door is -- well, no one pounds on our door. I told DH that I was going to shoot off an email.

Before I emailed, I read his brochure. I liked it. He had a proofreader, that's for sure. lol I agreed with the few things mentioned on the brochure.

So I composed my email. I told him we had a doorbell and that I thought the pounding was very rude. Then I switched, told him one little problem with our city -- tiny, but something people of importance might not know about. Then I asked him his party affiliation.

Five minutes after I shot the email off, the phone rings. It's mayoral candidate number two. Apologizing profusely. Mrs. Straight, I'm so sorry, that was me. I did knock on your door. (He pounded.) He said he did that because doorbells don't always work. I'm thinking to myself it would be smart to try the doorbell first. We chatted a little bit. He didn't know about my little problem and was thankful that I mentioned it.

One of the questions I asked him in the email was his party affiliation. He told me that didn't matter for the position of mayor. I told him it mattered to me, because we need a progressive mayor for our city, and open-minded mayor, and someone who is an ultra-conservative (which our town is full of) won't be as open minded as an independent or moderate. He then told me he was a republican, but that he had democrats working on his campaign. I checked it out, it's true. So that tells me he'll be an open minded mayor. (Hopefully.)

I don't know who I'm going to vote for yet. I do know this: Mayoral candidates are a pain in the neck. The guy last night took up so much time that I didn't have time to leave Kmart and go to another store that closed at 9pm. Darn it all, I absolutely needed a new Yankee candle. And who in their right mind goes to Kmart, pretending to shop, but in actuality it is a guise to campaign. On top of that, he was going on and on about the crime problem in our little city. The crime here is horrible. I started laughing when he said that. I told him he needs to move to a big city if he wants crime. He said that we have actually had a few murders through the years and there was recently a stabbing. Now those things are awful, but I had to open my mouth again. I told him I was a court reporter for 11 years and that I had sat through more murder trials than I care to admit. I told him our community is very safe. And it is. As much as I hate this town, the one thing I will say about it is that it is very safe.

The guy today violated the peace of my home. You just don't pound on doors. It's rude.

Oh bother. I will stay informed and watch the televised mayoral debate tonight. Maybe then I can make a good decision.

One more thing tonight

I just can't shut up tonight.

Last week I ordered Megawords by EPS publishers. Yet another stab at the spelling monster.

We've done several lessons.

Guess what? I can almost see that lightbulb going off above Thomas's head! He's making connections. Finally!

The first lessons are on compound words. There is a big list of words at the beginning of the lesson. I ticked off the ones he didn't know when we started this chapter. It was a lot. Just the four days we've been working the program, he has figured things out and he is now only missing two words: horseback and snowshoe. He can't spell horse, for some reason...same with shoe. However, that was a huge list of words and he's got them.

It's funny because I've looked at the program in the past and thought there was too much busywork. Lots of worksheets, writing-which he hates-and stuff he calls busywork. He saw crossword puzzles in the book and balked because he doesn't like them. Guess who did his first crossword puzzle in the book today -- and was happy about it to boot.

I think we've found our magic bullet, our magic wand, our ace in the hole. I have my fingers crossed.

So far, Megawords is a huge hit!!!!

Oh, for fun I also ordered Wordly Wise 3000 at the same time. Why didn't I order that when we first started homeschooling? Another program I thought would be too much writing, too workbooky, too much like busywork. Nothing could be further from the truth. He's loving it.

Sheesh, I just love it when things go right!

Knock on wood. I don't want to jinx anything.

Frankie on politics

Thomas and I have been watching a little TV lately. What we seem to notice the most are the political commercials. We've been having lots of discussions about parties, how his father and I are 75% of the time polar opposites when it comes to politics, and how annoying the darned commercials are.

I just have to state that I had planned on voting a straight democratic ticket this year. Normally I don't vote by party, but I felt the need to do it this time. I am an independent.

That decision has changed. There is one woman, Amy Klobuchar, running for US Senate. She's a democrat. She has the most annoying commercial on TV. The darned thing plays over and over and over ad nauseum.

Thomas and I have discussed her commercial at length. We also gag every time it comes on. She has a mother talking about how Ms. Klobuchar brought her child's murderers to justice. That's fine, good job, Amy. But here's the annoying part. The commercial cuts away to other stuff, and then the same mom comes back at the end and says, "Mark Kennedy," the republican up against her, "You ought to be ashamed."

I'm thinking...why? Why should he be ashamed? What did he do personally to you to make that statement? He's standing up for his beliefs, running for office, why should he be ashamed? There's no connection to the statement. It bugs me. I just don't get the connection specifically of the victim mom making that statement.

I find it annoying. It's the kind of politics that I can't stand. Don't name call. It's childish. Really, the voters have more intelligence than you are giving them credit for. Talk issues, don't use playground language -- or rather, ahem, public school language. (Boy I had to get a homeschooler's dig in there!)

I don't think I'm going to vote for her -- all because of her commercial. If she approves that kind of thing, she's definitely not someone thinking on the same lines that I am.

Rant over. It was a learning experience for Thomas as well. We do not use the word ASHAMED in our house. It's a very powerful word that would be used only in dire cases. Shame gets you no where. Thomas is highly annoyed by it as well.

That all said, I didn't mean to put down the mom who lost her daughter. My heart goes out to you, you've suffered the greatest loss imaginable. It's just the way the commercial was put together and the amount of times it plays daily.

My stupid stunt

I went to the library tonight because one of the books I had requested on ILL was in.

The book is on ADD. I read about it on some blog, checked it out at Amazon, and put in my request to get it. It was the first book I'd seen that actually gave some ideas on what to do to help with focus.

I don't know whether Thomas is ADD or not, labels don't matter, honestly. I do know that when it comes to math, he struggles with focus. So thought I'd start doing some reading.

At any rate, when I went up to the counter, the lady grabbed the book for me. She said, "Hmmm, that must be hard." The book's title is something along the lines of Dealing with Teenage ADD/ADHD." I smiled and changed the subject. It's always been a pet peeve of mine when librarians comment on what I'm checking out. Stupid, I know.

So, idiot that I am, I left. Got to my car and could not find my keys. I had left the doors unlocked because this is small-town America, it was right in front of the door, and I knew I'd be back in two minutes. I hopped in the car, emptied the entire contents of my purse onto the seat. No keys. I literally dumped my purse. Good thing I just cleaned it out. lol

The horror of horrors...having to go back into the library to look for my keys. I hopped out, traced my steps; sadly, no keys. I went straight to the counter and asked if she had found a set of keys. She gave me the most odd look....it was absolutely priceless. Yes, the woman who commented about my ADD book two minutes prior, was judging me, probably laughing, and thinking what an idiot was. No keys.

I was embarrassed and scurried out of there. As I was walking, I looked down and tucked neatly in the side pocket of my purse were my keys. I never put them there.

So I gave the lady a good laugh. I'm sure she's thinking that I need to read the book for me! And karma biting me in the butt because I should have replied to her comment about the book instead of changing the subject.

Doesn't sound so funny reading through -- had to be there, I guess. I laughed all the way home, though. I thought the next time I go to the library and see her, I should wear a tshirt that says I suffer from ADD and CRS disease. My husband bought me a keychain years ago that says I suffer from CRS disease....can't remember shit. He bought it because I was always losing my keys.

And so it goes.

And no, I don't remember where I put my keys when I got home.

150

You copy and paste the 150 things to your blog and bold the ones you’ve done. From Carole's blog.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa (Eiffel Tower, too! I'd die if I tried that today!)
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne -- yuck!
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse (not horse, but dog - hit a trifecta)
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day (I pretend I'm a southern belle)
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie (No, but I was on the national news once, lol)
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo (not me, never!)
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (73 once and 35 another time, so I'm counting it)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane - my brother-in-law let me take over the controls
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol (all three)
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts - I didn't but my husband did and I watched
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Oh My

My sweet, dear, loving husband had had enough. He ran to the store for something really quick before the game (go Vikings!) and when he got home IT was outside.

IT is the poodle that lives next door. IT barks incessantly. It barks at leaves blowing in the wind. IT barks at me -- or any of us if he sees us inside our house! It barks every time we step outside. Every single time. Doesn't matter if IT is inside ITS house or outside. IT barks. And barks. And we can hear it, even with our doors and windows shut.

What could possibly be worse than IT? ITS owners. See, they don't stop IT from barking. Occasionally you'll hear a no-no IT but usually they just go on with what they're doing without a reprimand to IT.

I've always said there is no bad dog, only bad owners.

We have another neighbor who is a big, fat jerk. I might have blogged about him in the past. He's mean and he hates kids. He hates us. He hates himself. Anyway, the jerk was talking to another neighbor, who just happens to be ITS uncle. (ITS mom lives across the street and two houses down from her sister.) For some reason, they were in our driveway talking. At any rate, I was sitting at my kitchen table, minding my own business, eating my lunch when they started talking. I heard everything they said. Seems the jerk is furious over IT. The jerk hates IT. So does ITS uncle. They moaned about it for ten minutes -- in my driveway. At first I chuckled, because I had been validated. ITS barking drives me insane. Then it scared me that I actually had something in common with the JERK other than both being human. (Although his humanity is questionable, tee-hee.)

So today, my husband ran to the store to get some pop before the game. He pulls up in the driveway, gets out and IT starts up. Yap, yap, yap. I looked out the window, ITS mom and dad were out there and neither of them stopped what they were doing to stop IT.

Husband, in his very loud and scary voice yelled: SHUT UP. Then he slammed our garage door.

ITS mom and dad just continued what they were doing. I, of course, told my husband that he shouldn't do that, that if the dog bothers him he should go speak to them in a civil manner. He said he was sick of the dog and didn't care.

There comes a point in time where civility goes out the window. I was really upset that he didn't exhibit the manners I thought should be used. Then I got to thinking. These people have lived here for a year. That dog barks at us continuously -- to the point that we can't go outside. I have talked to ITS dad, who is actually very nice. He will usually take the dog in their house after it has been barking for awhile. I know he gets frustrated with the dog. He's told me how the dog gets upset and pees on their carpet and furniture. (Ewwwww) The uncle, who babysits the dog, has told me how the dog chewed up his carpet. This summer I couldn't take our dog out to potty after 10 pm because they go to bed then and leave their window open. Their dog would bark at us out the window. I was worried about waking them. (What was I thinking???)

What can you do? Screaming shut up won't get the point across -- but the dog did shut up for a moment.

Our city has an ordinance that if a dog barks for 15 minutes, you can call the police. I really hate to do that. I don't want to. But it's come to the point that it may be necessary.

Friday Thomas and I were working on an art project in our schoolroom. We were both standing up while working on this project. The neighbors were in their back yard working. That dog saw me through the window and started barking. I was in the privacy of my own home getting barked at by the neighbor's dog.

Today is a beautiful day. I need to rake leaves. I'm not out doing it. Why? Because it is outside and it will start barking.

There are two sounds that are extremely unsettling to me: A baby crying and a barking dog. A baby crying makes me want to pick it up and love it. A dog barking just frazzles my nerves.

Shut up, IT, shut up.

Proof positive

Your Depression Level: 16%

You aren't depressed, and you probably already knew that. Like everyone else, you have ups and downs. But unlike most people, you've mastered keeping your mood stable.

Are You Depressed?

10 years ago

You've Changed 48% in 10 Years

You've done a good job changing with the times, but deep down, you're still the same person. You're clothes, job, and friends may have changed some - but it hasn't changed you.

How Much Have You Changed in 10 Years?

Ten years ago I knew that you're was a contraction for you are. I still know it today. Do they ever proofread at blogthings? Sheesh.

Global Warming

Sick Day

I'm taking a break...from lying in bed.

I awoke this morning feeling icky. I had promised Thomas cinnamon rolls, so we popped them in the oven. I ate a couple, as did he. We started school. About 10:30, I simply had to lie down.

I have some bug and have been sick. Without getting descriptive, the kind of sick where you aren't lying down too long.

UGH yuck yuck yuck

I am whiner, hear me whine.

I went to the fridge to get a pop and ended up getting ticked instead. The husband drank it all. Damn. I could really use something carbonated right now. Jerk.

My internet addiction led me to the computer to check email and blogs. (Simply have to get my mind off things, ya know.)

Thomas did all his schoolwork that he doesn't need my help with or my instruction. He then climbed in bed with me to read. This afternoon I think I'll have him read some more.

I'm going back to bed.

I might attempt to get a pop first.

We might do grammar this afternoon. As payback for the husband drinking all my pop, I'm going to have him do math tonight. Thomas doesn't like math. Thomas is a royal pain when doing math. Yeah, that will serve the husband right having to do math with Thomas.

Coming up in the world

Our small town is getting bigger. Thomas and I took a little drive and determined the rumors are true, work has begun on our new WalMart SuperCenter. The newspaper confirmed it today. This past weekend, we hit city-wide garage sales and then had lunch at our new Wendy's, which I don't think is even a year old yet. It was an educational lunch, as the three of us ate our lunch staring out the window, watching the brick workers doing their brick work on our new Starbucks. Because dad was along, Thomas was able to learn all kinds of terms that I wouldn't have known or thought to share with him. It was fun to watch.

I've been thinking about all our progress. One thing I hated upon moving to this tiny town was lack of shopping. I know WalMart is controversial, but I am thrilled. Our town has a very small Kmart and a very small Shopko. We must drive 20 miles to hit a WalMart, and I wouldn't even describe that as very small -- shoe box is how I usually refer to it. Anyway, I don't know that a fast food joint, a coffee shop and a WalMart Super Center are "good" progress -- but I know two of the three will make my life happier.

I worked at Wendy's while I was in college. Yes, back when the phrase "Where's the beef" was popular, those TV commercials were running nonstop. It used to drive us nuts, all the people who were just so clever walked in and asked us, "Where's the beef?" We had to wear those stupid buttons, too. I wish I had kept mine, I bet it would be worth $5 on Ebay today. Anyway, I am partial to a Wendy's hamburger. Whenever we used to hit "civilization" or in other words, a town of relative size, I always wanted to eat at Wendy's. Now it's five minutes from my house. And I don't even abuse it. I probably go once a month, if that.

Starbucks. I don't think I've ever had a Starbucks coffee. My sister may have bought one for me while we were visiting my dad in Colorado, but I'm not sure. At any rate, I'll call myself a Starbucks virgin. I used to make fun of people paying $3+ for a cup of coffee. Why, I can buy a whole can of Folgers for that on sale. That was my justification -- make my envy go away with a frugal comment. I am excited to have an expensive cup of coffee every once in awhile -- as long as it's good. I asked some friends awhile back for recommendations. I don't want to go into Starbucks and look like a virgin. I want to know what I'm talking about. Well, I know I'll go in there looking like an idiot anyway. I like very strong coffee. (I use six scoops in my Bunn coffee maker! 2 regular and 4 unleaded, always Folgers.) I like cream. I used to use the powder, but have switched to fat-free half and half. If I make a pot in the evenings, it's still as strong but all decaf. (Gee, think this influences my insomnia???) I love my coffee, and I'm anxious to try Starbucks. So I guess it's a good thing, unless I become addicted, then I'll have to worry about my wallet.

Progress. Now if only we could get some liberals here, get out of our 50-year-behind-the-times lifestyle that people in this small town are stuck in, that would be *real* progress.