Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!

Hello folks. Sorry I've been away. We'll chalk up the absense to the circus I call life...and my brain needing some rest.

I got on here last night, wanting to blog, but had not a single thought in my head worth posting. I woke up this morning, wanting to blog, but again couldn't think of anything blog-worthy. Later in the afternoon, I contemplated it again...no dice. Then I pulled up an email that had some things that my good buddy, Kristen, suggested I blog about. They were good topics...and will make their way here one day before long, but I wasn't quite in the jovial mood that they require. And if I'm going to write about them, I've got to do them justice. They've got to be as insane as the experiences themselves were, or what's the point in sharing?!

But FINALLY, just a bit ago, a thought came (and I owe it to Kristen...even though she didn't suggest it for blog...it's still her fault). So fasten your belts, the train's leaving the station....

Those of you who've read my first blog entries and many of you who just know me...you KNOW how crazy I am about the movie "Mamma Mia!" I love that it's making it big in the movies, but people!! STOP going to see it so it can come out on video, doggone it!! Every time I have some alone time, I'm SORELY tempted to go and see it again. I'm...addicted almost. Ok, completely. The soundtrack cd just isn't enough.

I have gone several weeks now without caving in and going to see it again, but the temptation still rears its ugly (yet delightfully melodic) head.

What does it have to do with Kristen? Why do I get to blame her? I'm so glad you asked. Last night she and I were talking on the phone and what does she do? She informs me that they've now released "Mamma Mia! The Sing Along" in select theaters. And as I googled to see when it was released and looked to see if a "select theater" was near me, I found that it wasn't at my usual theater. What does she do? She suggests a website to further my quest. I go to fandango-dot-com and voila! I found it!! It's in my city!!

So the tempation continues. And NOW I have a fantastic reason to see the movie again. I mean, after all, I've NEVER been to an adult sing-along movie in a theater before...or anywhere else for that matter. So now I just HAVE to go. I need to belt out, "YOU CAN DANCE**! YOU CAN JIVE!" and "YES I'VE BEEN BROKEN HEARTED; BLUE SINCE THE DAY WE PARTED! MAMMA MIA!!" with other people who are just as crazy as I am. How could I pass up an opportunity like that? It will be like......a cultural experience. It will be like being IN a musical all my own!! SHOOT! I can even pretend to be the star, lol!

Come on, folks....you know you want to, too. Give in to the temptation and attend the sing-along. It'll be fun!

**Notice I did not say "*I* can dance." There's really really good reason for that. But we'll save that for another day.

Too Much Information

Kids talk. I know. I spend a looooooooong time with 16 kindergarteners every day.

And the things they say!

For example, the other day we were drawing self portraits and when I did my example, I drew lovely red lips. What did one boy say? "Ewwwwwwwwww, that is disGUSting!"

Or they'll talk about preschool and what they liked to play with "back in the day." What? Are you my grandma reincarnated??

I wish I could remember more of their choice morsels (and perhaps I'll start throwing in the really funny ones as footnotes to my daily blog...as they come up.)

But one day just last week, a child spoke...and if their parents knew what she'd said they'd be ... well ... embarrassed, at best. We were reading "Dr. Suess's ABCs" and I read them the "U" page which makes reference to an umbrella and underwear.

Did you catch that red flag? I said "underwear."

Well, "underwear" always gets the giggles in Kindergarten. There are few things in life more funny to a kindergartener than an adult saying the word "underwear" out loud. So, we read about "Uncle Ub's underwear" and they all dissolved into laughter, and "Mr. 'DisGUSting'" piped up with, "Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, that's disGUSTing." (yes again...although I'm hoping it's a different rank for underwear than for my red lips.) So I calmly said, "It's not disgusting; EVERYBODY wears them." And what does Little Miss Cutie say through her giggles? "Not my dad!"

You might be comforted that a couple moments later, she clarified that he didn't wear boxers. Still something I didn't need to know.

YOU BIG DUMMY

I can't resist. This is the funniest commercial to me. The funniest I've seen in a really really long time. This "Phelps Phan" in the commercial (which you can view in my side bar)...this "Phan" is a kindred spirit. She's my kinda gal. She's...well...she's me.

Ok, I'm not a Phelps fan, but it's been rumored that I'm a bit of a zealous fan for some other guy. What was his name? What was his name??? (Scroll down through my blog and I THINK you might figure it out.)

I just can't resist this commercial. I watch it, amused at the crazy girl...both the one in the background who's so excited in her "fanship" (if that's a word...or if it's not.) And amused at just the way the narrating girl talks. (Yes I know they're the same person, but how on earth else do I differentiate??)

So I'm watching...I'm amused...giggle, giggle. And then the big orange AT&T screen comes on and the announcer (who's really trying to ruin some good entertainment, in my humble opinion, lol) starts talking. As he finally winds down you hear crazy girl yell, "YOU BIG DUMMY!" And that is precisely where I lose it.

I love it. LOoooooooooooooooooooooooove it! lol

P.S. - Forgive me Kristen for not mentioning sooner that Kristen tipped me off about this commercial...and developing my habit now for saying, "YOU BIG DUMMY!"

Don't Be Jealous!

Let's hear it for interest-bearing checking accounts! WHOOO!!

This month's dividend: $0.01

Wherever shall I spend it? Heavens! What am I thinking? Money like that was meant to be SAVED! I mean, shoot! If I keep this up, 90,000 months from now I'll have saved enough to pay a month's rent!

You think I'm kidding, don't you?

And to think I was worried about not getting my yearly raise. So silly.

I KNOW it's here! AAUUGGHH!

Ever lose something? Even something that might not matter too much? When I do (and it's more often than I'd like to admit), it drives me crazy!

Tonight it wasn't me. It was Meg. She had a math worksheet and she'd had it out on the table, calling her uncle, grandma, and aunts to ask a question so she could fill out a graph to represent her data.

We interrupted the project to eat dinner. After dinner was over, Meg went back to her work and got ahold of one of her aunts to get more info. But she couldn't find the paper. And so the search began.

We searched EVERYWHERE, Meg and I. Alli knew we were searching but didn't really join in. She was enjoying the fruit of her labor. Translation: she got her homework done in time to cozy down with a video. But Meg and I searched. Meg, surprisingly, was not too upset about the missing paper. I wasn't upset, but I'd JUST seen it. I KNEW it was here. So I searched.

I looked under beds, in the refrigerator, the freezer, in cabinets, under furniture, in closets, in pockets (in case it got folded), in folders, through backpacks, in the garage, through garbage, in the bathrooms...I mean E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E.

Finally there wasn't much to do but resign to the fact that it was lost. So Meg headed in to do her reading. But I couldn't let go. I kept thinking (and saying,) "I KNOW it's here!" So I continued searching...through everything I'd already searched, and it was then that Alli came through the kitchen. Assuming the answer would be "no," I asked Al, "You didn't pick her paper up, did you?"

She whirled around with the HUGEST smile on her face and said, "NOW I REMEMBER! I hid it from Megan!!" At first I thought she was being sarcastic and was about to say, "Ha ha, very funny," when she whirled and headed for her room. Then I knew she was serious.

She had taken it and hidden it from Meg to see how worked up she'd get...and then despite our crazy hunting for it...she didn't remember until I flat out asked her if she'd taken it.

Oy! And they wonder why I'm crazy.

The Wall O'Greg

Those who know me really well know that I have quite the collection of photos I've collected of Greg Page...some of them from times I've met him and had photos taken with him...some from newspapers, etc. Zillions of them are on disks (multiple backups, of course, lol), but I have a good number of them framed and hanging on a wall in my room. I reserve the living room, hallway, and dining room, to put all kinds of photos of our family and my girls...and bring a few of them into my room, too, but I always reserve a wall in there for "The Wall O'Greg" (as my good friend, "Squooshy" named it, lol.)

Well "The Wall" is usually the first "decorative touch" I make when I move into a new abode. But this year I had several reasons (I won't bother with going into) that kept me from bothering to do anything in my own room. Truth be told, I was slow to put any decorations up anywhere, but EXTRA slow in my own room.

Anyway, yesterday I attacked my room, and MAN does it look attacked...and not in a good way. Except for "The Wall." I put it up yesterday. I've still got about ten more framed photos I need to add to it, but I think I'll group them in another corner of my room...or a different wall.
ANYWAY, I decided that SINCE I forgot to participate in the Friday Foto Finish Fiesta (I forget what order those words go in, lol), that I would share a photo today instead. And that photo is going to be my "Wall O'Greg."

And just for the record...that wall is RED...not purple...not maroon. It's red...not orange...red. Ok, MAYBE cranberry. But it was SUPPOSED to be RED.

And for those who also know the tales...that "centerpiece" holds the notorious "water bottles"...and that would be the "bowling ball" from Greg's Aussie tour.

I Need Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

I need Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...the car, NOT the movie. Let's be practical, people.

Tropical Storm Fay passed us without too big a fuss this past Tuesday. However she must have "outer bands" that are INCREDIBLE. Today's the first day we've had real sunshine since then and even our sunny sky is dropping buckets of water intermittently. I swear when I looked out the window this morning the rain was coming down in the closest thing I've seen to an actual sheet of water. It was incredible. Fortunately it didn't last long, but I'm sure it will swirl back around to drench us again...if this week's weather is any indicator.

So I NEED Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...that feul-burning oracle...that fantasmagorical machine. I at LEAST need to borrow its floaties. Yesterday I put in a looooong day at school. (Actually Thursday and Friday both were 12-hour days for me...Monday and Wednesday I limited to about 9.) So I stayed at school yesterday until slightly past 7:30 (which means it was actually MORE than 12 hours...boo hoo, poor me, lol.)

Our playground and soccer fields have been underwater this week ever since Fay passed through. And at 5:15ish yesterday afternoon a lady at our school came and said that I might want to move my car if I planned on staying much longer because the water was rising. I thanked her and she left my room. Not 30-seconds later she poked her head back in my door and said that she'd wait at the door to let me back in (the school was locked) if I wanted to go do that and that my car was already parked in water. (Now that changed things a bit, lol.)

So I went to the door and looked and sure enough, I was parked in water. So I took off my shoes and rolled up my pants and headed for the car. By the time I got to the door of my car the water was around 4 inches above my ankles. Yikes. Felt a little uneasy wading through that. Oddly enough I was afraid of electrocution. (Don't try to make it make sense....I just worried about a down power line or something.)

But I moved my car further from the "lake" and up closer to the school...in the "parent pick-up" circle drive out front. Then I went back in and continued my work.

At 7:35 my friend Ginny looked in my door as she was leaving. (I was packing to go, too.) She told me I had to come see something. I went to the hall and looked out the doors (from my room which is the third from the front of the building.) I could see water filling the yard that is inside the circle drive I parked in. So I'm thinking it's getting higher, I'd better get out and go home.

Back into the class, gather all the boxes of things I need to do for the weekend, and carry them out (yes, feeling like a pack mule). Ginny drives a mini-SUV thingie so it sits higher than my little Corolla. She was waiting to make sure I got out...and then I saw WHY. It wasn't just the yard that was full, both the exits to the drive were under water as was the whole parking lot!

I made it out, but if I'd been there any longer, I'm thinking my little car would not have done the job. So please...Chitty...if you're out there...could you please come and be my car for a while?

I'll even sing all your favorite songs. (Plus some Greg Page favorites.......and Row Row Row Your Boat.)