Alrighty-Roo

I wasn't sure what I was going to blog about this evening, and then I was looking for a video on YouTube of Elvis singing "I've Lost You." (Someone read my ditty and said they didn't know the original so I was researching.) The video was a slideshow that some fan made to his song. A minute or so into it, along came some shots of him in his Vegas-y jumpsuits. You know, the ones that open down to the waist? Yeah, those. Well those photos reminded me of a kick my girls (and Sunshine, bahaha, sorry, just kidding or am I?) are on right now. Are you scared?

They are on this kick right now where they are VERY amused by the fact that men have (or should have) hairy chests. It's not exactly news to them, but they just think it's about the funniest thing ever. Well, we were listening to the "Mamma Mia" Soundtrack and track number 5 began to play. (Yeah I got the numbers down, wooo!) Track number five is "Our Last Summer" and at the end, Sophie sings "And now you're working in a bank, a family man, a football fan, and your name is Harry." The girls have heard this for weeks, but the other night they said, "His name's HARRY?" (giggle, giggle) And then Megan reaches down, says,

"Get it?" ::pantomimes ripping her shirt open and thrusts her chest out:: "HAIRY??" And they laughed hysterically.

Ok, really it was me pantomiming. Wait no. No it was really her. But I was DEFINITELY in on the hysterical laughing. For different reasons than them, (I was laughing at THEM; THEY were laughing at hairy chests! LOL) but still laughing!

Whilst (I like saying that word, whilst, whilst, whilst) I'm here...and talking about things that make me laugh hysterically... (one day I'll talk about something that's really in my heart but right now the hysterical laughter thing is working for me)... WHILST I'm here, etc., I'd like to share yet another YouTube video, that quite frankly, could make the sourest person roll on the floor (It's TOTALLY worth spelling ROFL out...THAT funny!)

Ok, I just went looking for it and YouTube has discontinued it, BUT I found it on another site, thanks to our friends at Google. So I guess it's not really a YouTube video now, is it? Anyway, you won't recognize a word of it, unless you're fluent in Finland-ese. (Finnish?? What DO they speak??) But you will know the song and ... well ... just trust me ... and watch the whole thing. Laughter is a good aerobic activity!

And just for the record, the charm of this video is totally unrelated to the fact that the man's name is GREGorius and he's wearing a yellow shirt and black shorts. Really. It doesn't. No I'm serious. That wasn't sarcasm. Go watch the video.

http://www.kewego.com/video/iLyROoaftOcC.html

You can thank me later. :D

Ditty Time

Well, this is NOT "Mamma Mia," but my thoughts got derailed before I sat down with lyrics to any of the songs of "Mamma Mia." This idea suddenly came to me, so I sat down and just wrote it out.

It amused me. (Yay! I'm my own entertainment!! I wonder if I can get my own autograph, hardy har har.)

Well here it is. It's entitled:

“I've Lost It”
To the tune of “I've Lost You” (Think Elvis...or better yet, think Greg! He used to have it as a demo on his site. Just enough to leave us begging.)

Entering the room I can't remember
The reason I got up and came this way.
Seems like more and more I start conversing
With no idea what I'd thought to say.

Ohhh I've lost it yes I've lost it.
I can't think straight anymore
I don't know what was for breakfast
and I get lost at the grocery stooore...

Who can tell me where I parked my caaar?
And who can tell me where I laid my phone?
Once my mind was sharp, I had no proooblems
But now it seems I'm in the Twilight Zone.

Ohhh I've lost it yes I've lost it.
I can't think straight anymore
I don't know what was for breakfast
and I get lost at the grocery stooore...

Ohhh I've lost it yes I've lost it.
I can't think straight anymore
I don't know what was for breakfast
and I get lost at the grocery stooore...

Ten o'clock, my tummy will be groooowling
And with good cause. Whoops! I forgot to eat!
Made a list of things I must remember
If I could find it, that would be so sweet!

Ohhh I've lost it yes I've lost it.
I can't think straight anymore
I don't know what was for breakfast
and I get lost at the grocery stooore...

Ohhh I've lost it yes I've lost it.
I can't think straight anymore
I don't know what was for breakfast
and I get lost at the grocery stooore...

Ohhh I've lost it yes I've lost it.
I can't think straight anymore
I don't know what was for breakfast
and I get lost at the grocery stooore...

CURSE YOU AQUA what???

I know, I know, I've threatened with ditties, but tonight's blog is dedicated to a little "happening" in our house this afternoon.

It went something like this...

I sent the girls into the living room to clean up the uhhhh fallout from the weekend. (Imagine Pollys and Lincoln Logs, etc., all over the place.) Alli went in and plopped down to dig into the mess. She immediately starts howling. My first thought is that she'd hurt one of her feet that she opened a door onto earlier today, which ripped some skin off and turned it some pretty colors. But I wasn't considering her ummm tendency to be a teeny weeny heckuva lot dramatic. She reaches beneath one of her feet and holds up for inspection one of the smaller Lincoln Logs. Then suddenly she bellows...yes, I said BELLOWS...as she shakes the log in the air...

"CURSE YOU, AQUA SCOTT!!!" Bahahaha. (This isn't her first time saying that, but it kills me when she does. Maybe I'm easily amused.)

Megan and I can't help ourselves, and we tell her, "It's 'Curse you, Aqua SCUM.'"

"WHO CARES!!" (Yes, more bellowing.)

So I poke my head around the corner (I'd already left the howler and gone into the kitchen) and I said, "Apparently WE care."

A minute later she comes into the kitchen with the Lincoln Log and says, "I'm gonna punish you, Aqua Scott." And she took it and threw it up against the wall.

Just a teeny weeny heckuva lot dramatic.

C'est la vie chez Hillary.

...now I'll go and see about one of those ditties.... I's gots an idea.

P.S. - "Curse you, Aqua Scum!" is a line from Nemo. Shame on those of you who don't know.

A Great Childhood Love

Ahhh the things I loved as a child. There was Winnie the Pooh. There was The Muppet Show. A little later on there was Scott Baio, lol. There was a friend of my aunt's named Jimmy Lowe, who I named a wide assortment of stuffed animals after, yet I can't remember his face. Yes those animals had to go by both the first AND last names...including that purple pig.

Let's see. Hmmmm.... What else did I love as a child? Well...there were fudgesicles, peanut butter fudge, macaroni and cheese, Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing, and Nacho Cheese Doritos (which are VERY hard to sneak when you're four years old and not a master of crinkly chip bags). There were the chimneys on all of my mom's gingerbread houses. Hmmm, now I wonder where they went? There were my sister's high heel shoes. What were they called? Candies? There was Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley and DEFINITELY the Woody Woodpecker Show. There was standing over an air vent in a dress and watching the skirt puff out like a parachute...and it being considered "cute." There was our dog, Tippie....and my doll, Chubby. Oh! Oh! Oh! And don't forget my RUB-A-DUB DOLLY!! AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!And there was peeling the wallpaper off the wall when Mom stood me in the corner. The list could go on and on. But last night, I remembered something I LOVED as a very small child. And it will show me to be the odd dork you all know me to be. So of course I HAVE to share it.

When I was really little...well...about this big...

(This was the moment I unveiled my Rub-a-Dub Dolly, lol.)

...just a "tot" as Alli would say, my mom took us to this horrible babysitter named "Lorraine." When Mom learned how awful she was to us, she got us out as quickly as she could, but it took a while for her true colors to show. I hated going there. I didn't like being confined to the laundry room...even if my brother was right there with me. I didn't like that my sister was in the front of the house with the bigger kids. There were lots of things I didn't find to my liking, but that was life for a while.

BUT there was one pleasant thing about going to Lorraine's. For a while, the radio station we listened to (which HAD to have been WDAF/61 Country because my uncle worked there and Mom listened to it)...for a while the station would play the same song every morning. I remember the anticipation waiting for it to come on each morning. And when it did, I remember hoping that we'd have enough time to hear the whole thing before we had to get out of the car. I LOVED this song. I still "feel" the happy feelings I had when I'd hear it play. I thought it was the most hilarious thing ever.

And last night...I found it on YouTube. It might be better to listen to with your eyes closed and not looking at the cartoon. I couldn't figure out how to put a YouTube video in here, so here's the link..so as to give credit where credit is due (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqdy8x9jMGk). You MUST listen to it. It will enrich your life.

I LOVE SNEAKY SNAKE!! And that silly snake can have ALL my root beer because root bear stinks to high heaven and tastes even worse. And I LOVE that sneaky snake is ticklish. Ahhhh Sneaky Snake ......

Those were the days....

(I suddenly feel the impulse to burst out with Colin Firth in "Our Last Summer" which has nothing to do with Sneaky Snake...but then...well...you know..."those were the days"/"our last summer"...it's not without ANY logic.)

My Dad

Today is September 14th. Two years ago today, my dad's struggle with cancer ended and he went to be with the Lord. Two weeks from today he would be turning 66 years old. He died way too soon.

He chose to be my mom's husband and a father to my brother, sister, and me 32 years ago. Notice the word "chose." It's important. Some folks feel like they got "stuck" with a step-parent. But I feel pretty humbled that I was chosen.

I only came up to about mid-thigh on him back then and I was fairly leary of the giant who had invaded our lives. Meanwhile my brother and sister climbed all over him like they were monkeys and he was a tree. I don't remember when he won me over, but he did.

I remember great times, like watching "Popeye" cartoons together when he got home from the night shift and mom had taken off for work.

I remember waking him up after "The Don Ho Show" so he could make my lunch and get me on the bus for kindergarten.

I remember him bringing home baby skunks he'd found on the roadside. There was a lesson in that. PU!!!!!!!!!!!

I remember he broke me of lying. His "rod" of choice? His tennis shoe. To the last year he lived, if something I said sounded outlandish, he'd ask, "Do I need to get my shoe?" lol

And how every time he passed my empty room with the light on, he'd flip it off and call out, "Fifty cents!"

I remember one year when he brought home a Winnie the Pooh birthday cake...FROM A BAKERY ::jaw dropping::...which was unheard of because Mom made all our birthday cakes and did a great job at them. But he saw a Winnie the Pooh cake...and he knew that there was nothing greater on earth to me than Winnie the Pooh, so he brought it home.

I remember coming home from my biological dad's house, sick as a dog because I was homesick, and crawling into Dad's lap in a big rocking chair and feeling so much comfort. I was home.

I remember him calling me "Scott" when I got my hair cut short. :( (Ok, I laughed.)

I remember him hiding my bubble gum in my taco at dinner one night. That was so nasty I bawled my eyes out. LOL

I remember the summer before eighth grade when our family was moving. He and I spent the first week in the new house, while Mom and my siblings finished things up at the old house. He slept on the trundle bed in my room because I was a 'fraidy cat and didn't want to be alone.

I remember him playing and rocking our foster babies and him laughing at Ewok movies and seeing him at my cross country races.

And a couple years later when I experienced the dreadful act of a peeping tom, he let me sleep with him (sorry for kicking you out, Mom...and thank you!) because I was so scared and shaken and needed to be near someone big and strong.

I remember when he walked me down the aisle when I got married. He looked so sharp in that tux!

I remember when he came to see my first newborn and held her in his arms.

I remember pictures of him making snow-angels so Mom could send photos of them to all the grand-kids.

And I remember when my marriage fell apart, how he helped me and my girls leave an abusive situation and live under his roof. I remember all the extra snack cakes and spaghettios and extra-double-creamy chocolate milk and all my favorite things he bought IN BULK to try to put some weight back on my bones. And without being high-handed or naggy, he'd peek in the pantry and see that there hadn't been much eaten and he'd gently and with a funny grin make some comments about me eating more.

I remember him grabbing up my girlies' pom-poms and cheering, "Cecil, Cecil, he's our man! If he can't do it, NO ONE CAN! Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, CECIL!!" And I remember him wrestling the girls around and them laughing and climbing on him just like my brother and sister did 32 years ago.

And I remember when I flew back for my first custody hearing. I was so scared of losing my girls...and facing my ex. I wanted so badly to hear the judge tell me I could take my girls and go back to Arizona with my dad and rebuild my life. But that didn't happen. The judge ordered me to return to Florida...and that I couldn't even take the girls back with me long enough to pack and return. I was stuck immediately. I was shattered. My dad was waiting in the hallway in case he was called as a witness. I remember walking out of that court room and seeing him standing there in front of this HUGE window and I went to him and sobbed. He stood there, holding me, like the pillar that he was.

I remember my mom telling me about his return trip after that, how he cried at leaving us behind.

I remember visiting him two months before he was diagnosed. I was posting a silly thread on the Wiggles Message Board...asking Greg all kinds of questions. He was in bed and would call out questions for me to post, like "What's up, Doc?" and others I can't remember but that made me laugh.

I remember sitting with him just a few months later as he drew a diagram to tell me about his tumor and the treatment options he'd been told. And I remember going to the doctor's appointment with him and mom and my sister and listening to what the road ahead was going to be like for him.

I remember a LOT of phone calls throughout that next year...funny ones...and as time wore on, heartbreaking ones.

I remember visiting him for the last time. I spent a week helping him lower his feet to the ground and putting on his slippers when he needed to get up and go to the bathroom, and raising his legs again and settling his pillows and blankets around him to settle him back into a comfortable position on the sofa. I remember helping him lay down on his bed...and helping him roll because he couldn't without help. And I remember what a balm it was to my soul to help him in the tiniest ways. I remember enticing him with popcorn, lol, because very little appealed to him and he was so thin.

I remember the morning we drove away. I knew I wouldn't see him alive again and wanted so badly to say my goodbye. But Dad wasn't ready. He still wanted to fight and didn't realize (or wouldn't let us know) that the fight was over.

I remember when he called just a couple days before he died, to tell me that he was dying. He said he didn't know what the Lord was waiting for. He was ready.

And I remember the day he died. I talked to him on the phone. I told him I loved him and would miss him. I told him that I saw Jesus in him. He said that he hoped so, and I assured him that it was so. It wasn't a long conversation. He didn't have much strength left. But I got my goodbye.

A man of God with quiet strength, gentle wisdom, and a hilarious wit...that's who my dad was. And I'm so thankful that God brought him into our lives. He was a blessing and I'm so grateful.

Here are just a few shots of him I have on my computer.





Dad, aka Pappaw, and Megan reading "A Wocket in My Pocket" with Dad's "son," lol, Javier, sitting on his knee.
Another of Dad, Meg, and Javier, lol. (Dad was SOOO not the lap dog type...or so we thought. Then along came Javier....)
Dad and my nephew having fun.
I love this photo. I need to get a big print of it and frame it. It's like a farewell. I used it as the closing photo of the slideshow I made for his memorial service.

So long for now, Dad. Rest in Peace.

Redefining Shame and Mortification

So you think you know shame? Acquainted with mortification, are ya? Come take a stroll with me as I redefine these words.

This is yet another story that involves my good friend, Kristen. You know...my Mamma Mia enabler??? Yeah, that one. Only this time.....she's not to blame.

Before I can redefine shame and mortification for you, you need to know Kristen. Or at least need to know a bit about her. You see, Kristen and I talk on the phone every day...multiple times. In fact, if she doesn't catch up with me on a given day, she nearly sends out a search party to find out what's happened to me. She's that kind of friend. One you love and who loves you and...well...you know...a keeper.

And you know, our conversations are just the norm...

"Bark!"
"Bark!"
"When are we going to stop doing that?"
"I don't know...when we find something better?"
"Okay."

(What? That's not a normal conversation?? Well then, the rest of the world is really missing out.)

Ok... that was a little off the subject. Here's the conversation I was thinking of...

Me: Hey, whatcha doin'?
K: Mopping my kitchen.
Me: But...you mopped it yesterday.
K: I know. I mop it everyday.
Me: Alrighty then.
---
Me: Hey, whatcha up to?
K: Steaming the playroom carpet.
Me: But...you just steamed it a couple days ago.
K: I know, but it needs it.
Me: Alrighty then.
---
Me: So, what's goin' on?
K: Cleaning the bathrooms.
Me: But...you...oh nevermind.
K: Hang on, you're going to hear a flush. I'm NOT using the bathroom, I just cleaned the toilet. ::flush::
Me: Alrighty then.
---
Me: Hey, what are you going to do tonight?
K: ::insert your favorite cleaning task::
Me: Again??
K: Hey, I've got four kids!! I've GOT to!
Me: Alrighty then.
---
You get the idea, right? Here's the Cliff's Notes: Kristen cleans A LOT...almost all the time. Seriously. Now that you've got this glimpse of her, prepare for the redefinition of shame and mortification.

Let's back track in time a bit...about four years, I'd guess...maybe three. And let's see, that was two "houses" ago...in my condo, to be exact. I had set up an appointment with some financial advising/planning people and it had been last-minute. I hurried home, forgetting what a mess I'd left my kitchen in. And my kitchen was the entry-way to my condo. So, I know these two squeaky clean men are coming into my house to let me know what they've come up with with my numbers. That's embarrassing enough. And now I have this horror of a kitchen to get "clean" in just a few minutes time. I filled the dishwasher with dirty dishes and still had a few plates and pans. In a panic, I opened the oven and shoved them in. Whew!! A few minutes later the men came. We sat down, went over the numbers, etc., etc., and they left, and I got on with my afternoon.

That was in April. Now fast-forward to the middle of July. Kristen, her hubby (who's a neat-freak, there's just no other way to put it), and her four little girls come to spend a week with my girls and I in our condo. We were much like sardines in a can, but we had so much fun. But I'm a little nervous. I'm soooo laid back and she NEVER heard me answer her question of "Whatcha doin'?" with "cleaning." That's not to say I never clean, but really, sometimes, it's hard to tell.

Anyway, the big day comes and they arrive ready for a week of fun in the Florida sun. Either that night or the next day, she goes into the kitchen to make something. She opens the oven door and..........................I don't know if I can say it..........................................she finds these plates and pans that have been in there since April. And they were stuck together with syrup.

Do I HAVE to go on? Is that NOT shame and mortificiation in action????

It was hard to explain, lol.

Maybe I should have just barked.

Yes, they still give me grief about it. However, I can just return fire with "At least I don't leave used baby diapers under my friends' couches for their dogs to find and eat!!! ::gag::heave::gag::cough::spew::gag::


P.S. - I don't really bake a lot.

Want to Laugh?

We all love to laugh, right? Well, if you're in the mood, you MUST mosey over to hoopsandyoyo.com (should be a link in my right pane).

A few years ago, my good buddy Kristen sent my girls an e-card for Valentine's day. It was from hoopsandyoyo. We watched and well...it was love at first sight. Lots of great laughs on their home pages and their e-cards and their blog and their newsletters. If you take the time to watch their homepages, then you've got an evening of entertainment right there. (Just click on "animations" in their side column, sit back, get comfy, and get ready to laugh!)

But it's not just laughs that make them great. They are gooooooooooood people. We've met them about three years ago. How? Well here's the story.

Shortly after discovering these guys, I started sending their ecards to my dad as often as I could. He found them very entertaining so I sent them to him often, to give him a smile. (That was back when he was fighting cancer.) Well, somewhere in there, I decided to write to hoops and yoyo and thank them for all the laughs, and I explained how much it meant to me to have something to cheer my dad during his illness.

They wrote me back and, long story short, they ended up making a special custom, audio recording for my dad and about my dad. (They asked me for info about him.) It meant a lot to him, and to my mom, and to me, too. And it made us all laugh.

I'm tellin' ya, gooooooooooooood people. And sometime later, we were in Kansas City, where hoops and yoyo live, and we got to go see them, take a tour of their place, sit in the studio while they recorded some stuff, and we got to get in on some recording, too! They even gave us sneak previews on a couple of the e-cards they were working on at the time. Simply put, these guys ROCK!

Anyway, their humor is great, and their hearts are even greater.

So what are you waiting for? Go over and see them...but be ready to laugh.

(By the way...forgive my writing this evening. My girls are watching "The Love Bug" and it's....distracting.)