Extra Great

Right now I'm sitting on my back patio watching my best friend's son and my daughter have the time of their lives.  They've known each other since birth (literally, they're 3 weeks apart), and although it doesn't feel like we see each other nearly enough, they seamlessly mesh into best friends themselves.  In the past, my friend and I have always been a close part of their play. Now they've grown enough to enjoy truly playing with each other without any intervention.  While we thoroughly enjoyed being a part of their play, it's rather nice to be able to sit and chat too.  

I used to think there was nothing better than spending time with a best friend. Now I know watching your children play while you enjoy time chatting is much better.  I feel so incredibly blessed today. 

Extra Yummy!

Two yummy summertime drinks:

I served Amaretto Slush to a group of friends years ago.  My sis shared the recipe with me, and she said it was always a hit. She wasn't kidding.  My friends drank and drank and drank.  Nobody felt the effects of the drink until the next morning when, um, getting up for work was a bit more difficult than anyone imagined.  BUT they ALL ask for this every single time we get together, so it's worth it! 

Amaretto Slush

6 oz frozen oj

12 oz frozen lemonade

3/4 c lemon juice

1 1/2 c amaretto

40 oz Sprite

Mix and freeze.  *I freeze in gallon sized ziplock bags on a cookie sheet. It freezes much faster this way.

Bourbon Slush

1 c sugar

1 c brewed iced tea

2 c bourbon

6 c water

6 oz frozen oj

6 oz frozen lemonade

Mix and freeze.  

And my all time favorite punch:

Coffee Punch

2 qt strong brewed coffee, chilled (double the coffee or 1/2 the water)

2/3 c sugar

2 qt vanilla ice cream

Prepare the strong-brewed coffee. While the coffee is still hot, add the sugar and mix.  Chill coffee.  Before serving, add the ice cream to punch bowl. Serves about 30 punch cups.

*If you don't mind spiked punch, it's really yummy if you add 1/2 pint rum. 

Enjoy!

Extra Lazy

I know I said I'd post the recipes to some of my favorite summer drinks, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I wish I had a good reason, but truth be told, I'm just too lazy to go to the kitchen to double check my recipes.  Nothing like the truth, huh?

I enjoyed listening to Linus sing this afternoon. She didn't realize she had an audience, so I got a good long stretch of listening to her.  As she came down the stairs, she realized I'd been listening.  I complimented her singing, and she said, "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm having a concert tonight. Would you like to come?"  I told her I'd love to come.  "Good! The tickets are $370."  Stunned, I said, "Three hundred seventy dollars? That's a lot of money Linus."  She was appalled at the nerve I must have had questioning the price.  "Moooommmmmm, I gave you a discount!"   

Hey, if she can get $370 for a ticket, discounted or not, I'm pretty sure she'll be able to support herself and pay for college!

If you have a minute, stop by Daisy's and wish her luck. Wait. Do you say good luck for something like this, or is it bad luck? We say break a leg to performers, should I say break a pencil? ;) Or maybe not since she's pretty worried about that.  I guess I should go with good luck after all.

Extra Royal

Linus asked if she could be a queen for Halloween.  Her costume of choice changes a lot lately, so I just said, "Sure, if you want to."  She looked at me and said, "No need to think about it, I know I want to be a queen. Now, let's see. I'll need a queen's hat..." I asked her, "Do you mean a crown?"  Annoyed, she answered, "Sure, you can call it that if you want.  So, as I was saying, I'll need a queen's hat and a queen's chair."  Now I knew I bugging her just a bit, so I said, "Oh, you mean a throne?"  She took a deep breath and said, "Ok. A throne."  I was having too much fun to stop, "Linus, what if a king is higher than a queen?"  I was actually talking about the throne height, but she took it to mean rank. "Mama, this is MY idea.  I'm the queen of MY land, and in MY land, the queen...ahem, ME!...is ME, so I am the highest."  I acted surprised by her minor fit, and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, your highness."  She grinned and said, "Now that's more like it!"  Then she came over to me and whispered in my ear (as if not to let her royal subjects hear), "Mama,  you really don't have to call me 'your highness' and don't worry, I know you're still in charge."  

Now how the heck can I let others know I'm in charge???

Extra Help, Please

It is supposed to be h-o-t next week.  It's time for me to do my meal planning, and I'm trying to keep the temperature in mind.  Like most, our house really heats up with cooking.  I'd like to keep the inside temperature lower than the outside temp.  We have no problem with sandwiches and salads, but I can only do that for so long before I get bored.  What are some of your favorite summertime meals?  And while we're at it, do you have a favorite summertime drink?  I'll share some of my summertime standby drinks tomorrow.  

Extra Special

How do you say thanks?

A friend of mine did something so amazing for me yesterday. It caught me completely off guard.  I called Army to tell him about it, and he acknowledged how special it was with, "Oh Lanny, you didn't cry, did you?"  And truth be told, I was so touched that I did want to cry. I wanted to jump up and wrap my arms around her with the tightest hug and cry. 

I know none of this makes sense right now, but it will eventually.

I'm a bit worried now that I disappointed her with my lack of (public) emotion. Don't get me wrong, she didn't do it for attention; she did it as the most selfless act of love imaginable.  She did it because she knew how much it would mean to me (and my family), and eventually how much it will mean to somebody else.  She did it because she's a good person.  She did it because despite being considerably younger, she's far more mature than I am.  

She took time out of her day to do something for me. And like I said, I'm worried that I've now hurt her because my reaction wasn't as thankful as it should have been. Here's the thing though, I'm an ugly crier. A really ugly crier. And I've been a huge ball of emotions lately, so my intention may be to let a tear or two go, but instead the flood gates open. And that's exactly what happened...at home.  I tend to be an easily read book, and I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve. I HATE that about myself.  I view it as a weakness.  I work really hard to hide my emotions in public. Unfortunately, the only time I tend to succeed is when it's least appropriate.  My fear of showing my emotions publicly has probably hurt her. I need to say I'm sorry, and I need to let her know how much I appreciate what she's done for me. I LOVE what she's done for me. I hold my gift in my hands and stare at it multiple times throughout the day.  Yet, I don't know how to thank her.  

 

An Extra Sucker for Advertisers!

My child is the epitome of what an advertiser dreams of.  Linus doesn't get to watch too much tv, but what she does watch is usually Noggin or something similar.  I *thought* I put Noggin on today, but apparently I didn't.  As I was getting ready this morning she came in to my bathroom super excited.

"Mama, Mama!  Guess what? You can get a new car NEW CAR for 2008 TWO THOUSAND EIGHT dollars!  I don't have that kind of money, but it sounds like a great deal!"  She was a little off, the car was a 2008 model, not $2008.  She sounded just like a commercial though.

A few minutes later, she came in again and looked at herself in the mirror. 

"Mama, I've got red eyes. Dry. Red. Eyes. Don't worry though, it's nothing a few drops can't clear right up."

I think I'm going to have to keep the television off the whole months of November and December. Can you imagine what a sucker she'll be for all the holiday advertisements?  

Extra Young

A few of you commented, and a few more emailed, about my friend's murder.  Thanks for you thoughts, I truly appreciate them.  

My friend's murder happened nearly 10 years ago, so the emotions aren't as raw for me as they once were, though I do still miss her.  I'm sure they are for her parents though. Nobody is supposed to bury their own child. 

My friend was the friend that everyone wants to be around.  No matter what the circumstances were, she saw the positive side.  She was tiny (I'm only 5'3", and she wasn't even my height when she wore heels. I doubt she weighed 100 lbs in heavy winter clothing) and spunky.  I don't think I ever witnessed her being rude in all the years I knew her.  She had long brown hair, and was incredibly lucky to have natural golden highlights.  She had sparkling eyes that would light up a room.  And she had a contagious laugh.  Her laugh would dissolve everyone in the room into uncontrollable giggles.  I am SO thankful that I can still hear her laugh when I think about her.  Everyone loved her laugh almost as much as they loved her.  

Guys flocked to her.  

She was a very loyal person. She was loyal to her friends, and faithful to her boyfriends.  She'd never even consider another guy until things were completely over with a guy she had dated.   Towards the end of her life, she dated a guy everyone liked.  He was a great guy. Unfortunately they had ambitions that led them in different directions.  Knowing she'd consider holding back on her ambitions to help put him through law school, he decided to "end" their relationship. It was never meant to be a final end on his part, but he knew she would insist on helping him achieve his goals and put her own on the back burner.  She was young, and she felt she had plenty of time to get where she wanted to go.  She was just that kind of person. She had a huge heart.

Jump ahead a year...

She and I remained close and in regular contact, but we were now living in different states.  In fact, she was living in a different state than any of our friends were.  

Not even three months after my wedding, I was preparing for Spring Break (I was a teacher).  A group of us were getting together for a girls night out. Early one morning the phone rang. Army answered it, and I could tell something was different. I could only hear his end of the conversation, but I heard him say, "I'll tell her." followed buy, "Sure. Let me hand her the phone." I glanced at caller id as he handed me the phone. It was a friend whose birthday is a week before mine.  I tried calling her on her birthday, but I couldn't reach her.  I figured she was just calling me back or was calling to wish me an early happy birthday.  

Lan? It's Kate. (Her voice sounded really serious)

Hey Kate!  Happy Birthday!  

Lanny, I um, I, I...

Who's that in the background? Is that L?

Yeah, Lanny, it is. We, I, um, L's mom just spoke with T's mom. She's about to call your mom, but I told her I'd call you.

What? Why? Why are all our moms talking? What's going on? (As I said this, Army wrapped his arms around me from behind. I knew it couldn't be good, but I NEVER imagined I'd hear what came next).

Lanny, (long deep breath) T's gone.

Gone where?

Gone Lanny, she's dead.

You're kidding right? People our age don't die.  Haha. That's not funny!  Is she there with y'all? 

(silence on the other end)

Kate! That's. NOT. Funny.  Stop it. 

(sniffles on the other end)

Kate, really, this isn't funny. Please stop. Really, people our age don't die. She can't be dead.

(sobbing on the other end)

No, Kate! NO! She can't be. (At this point I became numb)

Her visitation and funeral were packed.  Her mom hugged each one of us with a deliberate and long embrace.  When she got to me, she broke down (not because it was me, I was just at the end of our line of friends).  We all sobbed. None of us could utter a comprehensible word.  

My group of friends that was supposed to go out and celebrate Spring Break suddenly found ourselves at the funeral of a friend. A young friend.  And because she was murdered, the casket had to be closed.  Because it was closed, none of us could believe she was really gone. Glancing over at her mother, though, we knew she was.  And with that, several young friends experienced the first significant loss of innocence.  Before we thought that happened to other people, now it had happened to one of us.

An Extra Dose of All About Me!

Katherine tagged me for the meme below.  

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4. Tag six people at the end of your post.

5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Here goes!

1. I don't mind doing laundry at all, but I despise folding it.  

2. I have no feeling in part of my forehead as a result of an accident 14 years ago.

3. I say the same exact thing to Linus every single night. It's part of our bedtime routine. 

4 I'm obsessed with monograms on things.  Um, does that say something about me?

5. A good friend of mine was murdered. I always thought that happened to other people until it happened to her. 

6. I love the stems of broccoli. 

I'm tagging:

Leia

Lou

Kim

Katie

Cynthia

Leeann

An Extra Long Tongue

Linus has always had a Gene Simmons-ish tongue.  My poor little girl has a horrible habit of sticking out her tongue when she's thinking. The deeper in thought she is, the more it sticks out.  We have a very inconspicuous way of reminding her to put her tongue back in without others noticing.  If she's really deep in thought though,  it just slips right back out.  

I don't really have a particularly long tongue.  It's definitely not Gene Simmons-ish at all.

So why is it that I can touch my nose with my tongue and Linus can't. Army can't either.  Is it a genetic thing like the ability to roll your tongue?

And now that you know waaaayyyy more about me and my family than you ever wanted to, tell me something about you...can you touch your nose with your tongue?

An Extra Thing Or Two I've Done

I borrowed this from another blog I read. :)  It was actually fun to do.  I've done the ones in bold, and I've put some comments in red. 

1. Touched an iceberg

2. Slept under the stars

3. Been part of a hockey fight

4. Changed a baby's diaper

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Swam with wild dolphins

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a tarantula

10 Said "I love you" and meant it

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sunrise

15. Seen the Northern Lights

16 Gone to a professional sports game

17. Been to the top of the Sears Tower (but I've been to the top of the Twin Towers :( )

18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables 

19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

20. Hand an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Bet on a winning horse

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (but my school DID know, we only got 2 personal days, so they were ok with it as long as it wasn't  multiple days)

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Taken an ice cold bath

28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Ridden a roller coaster

31. Hit a home run

32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking (um, yes and no.  I didn't care until my teacher walked in. Then I cared!)

33. Adopted an accent for fun

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment

36. Loved your job 90% of the time

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (yes and no)

38. Watched wild whales

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach

41. Gone sky diving

42. Visited Ireland

43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited India

45. Bench-pressed your own weight (very, very close)

46. Milked a cow

47. Alphabetized your personal files (I'd FREAK if they weren't! My spices, cd's, etc are alphabetized too)

48. Ever worn a superhero costume (Do underoos from the 80s count?)

49. Sung karaoke (totally not sure about this one. I know I came close at The Cat's Meow, but I don't exactly remember all the events from the night)

50. Lounged in bed all day

51. Gone snorkeling 

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Done something you should regret, but don't

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Sung on a CD

60. Gone without food for 3 days

61. Made cookies from scratch

62. Won first prize in a costume contest

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Been in a combat zone

65. Spoken more than one language fluently (fluently is debatable, but I could definitely be ok in that country, and I could carry on a brief conversation)

66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone (verbal, NOT physical)

67. Bounced a check (sadly, I worked in a bank in college, and they deposited my paycheckS-yes plural-into somebody else's account, so I bounced a check. I didn't work there too long!)

68. Read and understood your credit report

69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy

70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did

71. Called or written your congress person

72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

73. Seen the Golden Gate Bridge

74. Helped an animal give birth

75. Been fired or laid off from a job

76. Won money

77. Broken a bone (not really sure, I refused an x-ray since it was a rib and they wouldn't do anything differently)

78. Ridden a motorcycle (why, yes, I have...and I lasted a whole 10 seconds!)

79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph 

80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing

82. Taken a  canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

83. Eaten sushi

84. Had your picture in the  newspaper

85. Read The Bible cover to cover

86. Changed someone's mind about something you cared deeply about

87. Gotten someone fired for their actions

88. Gone back to school

89. Changed your name (when I got married)

90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands (Eww! BUT Army can)

91. Eaten fried green tomatoes (I wouldn't really say eaten. I've taken a bite, and I didn't like them.)

92. Read the Iliad (No, but I was supposed to for school)

93. Taught yourself an art from scratch

94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt (in my defense, I didn't know I hurt them)

96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

97. Been elected to public office (does president of my girl scout troop in 5th grade count? haha)

98. Thought to yourself that you're living a dream

99. Had to see someone you love in hospice care (more than one person :( but I do think hospice is wonderful!)

100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you

101. Had a booth at a street fair

102. Dyed your hair

103. Been a DJ

104. Rocked a baby to sleep

105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fours

106. Raked your carpet

107. Brought out the best in people

108. brought out the worst in people

109. Worn a mood ring

110. Ridden a horse

111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap (um, no, but I've made an animal from play-doh)

112. Cooked a dish were four people asked for the recipe

113. Buried a child

114. Gone to a Broadway play on Broadway

115. Been inside the pyramids

116. Shot a basketball into a basket

117. Dance at a disco

118. Played in a band

119. Shot a bird

120. Gone to an arboretum

121. Tutored someone

122. Ridden a train

123. Brought an old fad back into style

124. Eaten caviar

125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn't need

126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant

127. Published a book

128. Pieced a quilt

129. Lived in a historic place

130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage

131. Asked for a raise

132. Made a hole-in-one (if Putt-Putt type golf counts)

133. Gone deep sea fishing

134. Gone roller skating

135. Run a marathon

136. Learned to surf

137. Invented something

138. Flown first class

139. Spent the night in a  5-star luxury suite

140. Flown in a helicopter

141 Visited Africa

142 Sang a solo

143 Gone spelunking (not really a hobby per se, but I have been to two)

144 Learned how to take a compliment

145 Written a love-story

146 Seen Michelangelo's David

147. Had your portrait painted

148. Written a fan letter

149. Spent the night in something haunted

150 Owned a St Bernard or Great Dane

151 Ran away (I think I might have even made it 1/2 way around the block)

152 Learned to juggle

153 Been a boss (in a very minor way)

154 Sat on a jury

155 Lied about your weight

156 Gone on a diet

157 Found an arrowhead or gold nugget

158 Written a poem 

159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox

160 Gotten food poisoning

161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission

162. Hiked the Grand Canyon

163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks

164. Gone to the opera

165. Gotten a letter from someone famous.

166. Worn knickers

167. Ridden in a limousine

168. Attended the Olympics

169. Can hula or waltz

170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books

171. Been stuck in an elevator

172. Had a revelatory dream

173. Thought you might crash in an airplane

174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert

175. Saved someone's life

176. Eaten raw whale

177. Known how to sew (very basic)

178. Laughed 'til your side hurt

179. Straddled the equator

180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing (we had a dark room growing up!)

181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival

182. Sent a message in a bottle

183. Spent the night in a hostel

184. Been a cashier

185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

186. Joined a union

187. Donated blood or plasma (I don't qualify! :( )

188. Built a campfire

189. Kept a blog

190. Had chicken pox

191. Worn custom made shoes or boots

192. Made a PowerPoint presentation

193. Taken a Hunter's Safety Course

194. Served at a soup kitchen

195. Conquered the Rubik's Cube (maybe? I know I had them in the 80s)

196. Known CPR

197. Ridden in or owned a convertible

198. Found a long lost friend

199. Helped solve a crime (sort of, I gave the license plate # the police needed, and I was haunted by what I saw for YEARS!)

200. Received a professional massage (no, Leia, I haven't!)

An Extra Touch of Irony

Two things have happened concerning recent posts.  

1) The very first friend I made the very first day of first grade (most kids had gone to this school for kindergarten, and although I was registered to, I did not) got in touch with me.  I was excited about first grade, but I was also quite scared.  On that first day, my new friend offered me her chocolate milk. Now really, is there anything better than being offered chocolate milk the first day?  She and I became quick friends, and we were excited to learn we lived a mere two blocks away from each other.  We remained close for several years, but we eventually drifted apart.  I do not think I have seen her since my wedding.  Hopefully we'll be able to meet up again soon.  Talk about timing though!

2) The bitch spoke this morning.  I was tucked away in bed sleeping rather soundly.  Before she could even telling me where the fault in the system was, I had jumped out of bed.  Thankfully Linus had snuck into our room during the night. Since she was in our room, I was able to lock my bedroom door and head for the phone.  Linus was still asleep, so I chose not to wake her up. She told me that the basement door had been opened.  Thankfully I can key-lock the basement off from the rest of the house.  One thing I noticed on the way to the phone was how bright it was outside. I must have really overslept, because judging by the light, it had to be at least nine.  On my nightstand with the phone, there is a clock.  The clock clearly said it was much earlier than 9:00. Before grabbing the phone to call the police and rat out the intruder, I glanced at the dog's bed. She as gone.  Dang it!  At this point I was pretty awake and realized she spoke because Army let the dog out.   Have I mentioned lately that she drives me nuts?

Friendship That Lasts an Extra Long Time

After talking with my closest childhood friend, I realized we've been friends for nearly 25 years.  People who were 25 were really old to us when we met, so it amazes me that not only are we now older than 25, but we've been friends nearly that long!  She knows everything about me, she's the one friend (aside from Army) who I don't freak out about crying in front of, and I can't imagine life without her in it.  She's always been there for me when I needed her, and I've been with her through some unimaginable times too. No matter what the situation, without fail, she can always put a smile on my face.  Trips down memory lane together leave us giggling like school girls.  Everyone needs a K in their lives!

So, how many years have you known your best friend?  For the record, I don't think a friend has to be a friend for a long time to be a great friend. K and I were inseparable after knowing each other for a matter of a few weeks.  We just clicked that well.  

Extra Loud!

The bitch is back.  Unfortunately she's learned more words than before.  Army and I both went to bed with migraines last night.  Guess how thrilled I was to hear her yapping away this morning (with her new expanded vocabulary).  

Extra Annoyed

Why is it that people don't really stand behind their work anymore?  What ever happened to doing it right the first time? Hmm, I sound like my grandmother.  But really, why has customer service gone down the potty?

We had a new alarm system installed today.  The two installers were very nice, and neither seemed to mind any of the questions that Linus threw at them (and yes, I did try to keep her away).  The remained at my house until they got every known kink out of the system.  There were a fair number of kinks since the original alarm was not put in correctly (and no, I don't think that was a marketing ploy because we did not have to pay for the extra time they spent).  

About 2 hours after they left, the alarm started sounding.  We called one time and company head quarters told us what to do to fix the problem.  Only that didn't work.  So we called back. Army got a new guy when he called back, and this guy told us how to replace the special $30(!) battery.  As Army was discussing this, I was pitching a fit.  This is BRAND NEW, I should NOT have to replace it at my expense.  When Army told him it was brand new, he said they'd fix it.  They will be here at some point in a five hour stretch.  Army told them that they really needed to narrow down the five hours.  They said they really could not narrow it any further.  Because we were late meeting somebody, Army didn't argue.  

I do realize it's not that big in the scheme of things, but what if I still worked? Teachers are not given the luxury of taking off an hour here or there. Our options are full day or half day.  If I were still working, I would have needed to take off a full day today for the installation, and another full day tomorrow for the repair since their five hour block does not fall within a teacher's half day hours.  And that doesn't matter anyway, because no matter what you line of work is, you should not have to take a five hour chunk out of your day to babysit a doorbell.

I'm finding more and more companies are giving themselves large time slots in which to show up at your house. On some occasions, I do understand, but most of the time it irritates me.  We had a guy coming to give us an estimate on some work on our house.  He cancelled the first appointment. The second time he kept pushing the time back further and further.  At the point that he was pushing two hours behind, he called Army to tell him he'd be another half hour or so. Army very plainly told him that we'd have to cancel the estimate because if he couldn't show up on time for an estimate twice, then Army felt like that may be reflective of his work running behind when he began a project on our house.  

So, how do you handle situations like this? Do you have  stock answer that really works each time?

Extra Inquisitive

Do you think you'd enjoy having lunch with Linus?  For anyone who dared to answer yes, let me ask you again after I tell a little story.

We had lunch today with a friend of ours who is very obviously pregnant.  Linus knows she has a baby growing in her tummy.  Linus adores this friend, and conversation comes easily for the two of them.  About half way through lunch, Linus looked at this friend and asked, "So, Ms J, how exactly is that baby going to come out?"   

I choked.  I could barely catch my breath, and when I looked over, our friend was bright red.  

So, let me ask again. Would any of you like to have lunch with Linus?   :D

Extra Nosy

We are enjoying our new neighborhood.  We've met several neighbors, and we were already friends with several before we moved here.  We do, however, have one terribly nosy neighbor. As far as we can tell, she's nice, just n-o-s-y.  

We had a feeling she was kind of snoopish when we first met her.  Two minutes into our first conversation with her she let us know that somebody had been at the house the night before between the hours of 9 and 11.  Hey, guess what! Somebody had been there. WE had been there!  Another time she let us know that a package had been on our doorstep for a while (a few hours, NOT days). She told us that she was about to come get the package off our porch because it had been there so long.  I laughed. The UPS guy doesn't ring the doorbell here.  I don't make a habit of checking my front door every 30 minutes to see if I have a package. 

One day this week, we got another package.  Three sides of the package were plain white. The fourth side of the package was purple with HUGE letters describing what the contents were.  Lucky us, the box was filled with laxatives.  Got to love the marketing department for that OTC drug.  WHY oh why couldn't they have sent it to Army's office? I'm sure by noon that day my whole neighborhood had been told we have serious bowel issues here.  

Every morning, Ms. Nosy wakes up and (I'm assuming) immediately opens her blinds.  If we walk out our door, she's out her door within 30 seconds.  The blinds remain open until (I'm assuming again) she goes to sleep.  Army has taken this as a personal challenge.  He insists on walking around in his boxers each morning and night. Our front door is glass, and we have glass sidelights, so she can easily see in.  Here's the problem though: so can the rest of the neighborhood. I'd prefer that they not all see my husband in his boxers.  On occasion, he'll even wave in her direction.  

On the flip side though, I'm pretty certain a burglar couldn't break into the front of our house without her noticing.  

Oh well, at least she's nice!

 

Extra Yummy!

Let's talk drinks.  I'm thinking of getting Army a margarita maker for his birthday. I'm a little concerned it would be a waste of money though.  I think we'd use it, but I'm just not sure.  We use our porch a lot, and it's not uncommon for Army to enjoy a drink out there.  We're not super heavy drinkers, but we're certainly not against drinking.  Our new house is pretty great for entertaining, so I'm pretty certain we'd use it then too.  I'm considering one of the Margaritaville ones.  Anybody have one they love or hate? If you have one, do you actually use it? Good gift/bad gift? Thoughts?

An Extra Nice Guy

Last night while at dinner, we met a well known baseball player.  He is known for a somewhat callous demeanor on the field, but he could not have been more pleasant off.  He was faced with multiple people asking for autographs, which he happily obliged; one guy even jumped out of a car to ask for one.  Since we knew he was eager to get back to his family, we politely stayed back and didn't ask for an autograph.  

Linus took note of all the autograph seekers:

"Mommy, why are people bothering that man?"

Well, Linus, he's a bit of a celebrity, so I think they are a little star struck.

"But, Mama, he's just a guy."

To you he is, but to many people he's a celebrity.  

"It's just so rude, Mama. Even if he is a celebrity, people should not clobber him like that."

Well, Linus, they are interested in him.  He's a famous baseball player.

"I still don't get it, Mama.  Even if he is a celebrity, people shouldn't forget their manners. By the way, what's a celebrity?"

And with her last comment, I think he may have been bitten by the Linus bug. :)  He turned towards us and winked.

An Extra Thought on Names

Poor Dad is still in the hospital.  He's sweet talking the nurses into doing anything he wants, so I know he's on his way back to being more like himself!  

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Strange question tonight, I know...

If you had a daughter and naming her was solely up to you, what would you name her?

How 'bout a son?

An Extra Long Time Coming

Thanks for the prayers!  Dad is still in the hospital, but he is in better spirits.  

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Growing up I was a good kid. I was no angel, but I wasn't a horrible kid by any means.  I'm pretty sure my parents knew of the bad things I did even if they didn't always let me know.  I knew I wasn't allowed in the French Quarter during particularly crowded times, and to be honest, I tended to go to local places and rarely the Quarter anyway.  I did go one time that it was crowded though.  I can't remember if it was New Year's Eve or if it was the night of or before the Super Bowl.  I knew I wasn't supposed to be there, but I went anyway.  The streets were so crowded that you could barely walk.  I was there with several friends, but my best friend and I wandered away from our other friends a bit.  All of a sudden we noticed a blinding bright light.  With drinks in our hands (um, we may not have exactly been of legal age), we looked up and saw news cameras. Uh oh! There was a good chance we were caught. Our parents would know we were where we were not supposed to be.  Instead of staying out as late as we had planned, we headed home before we needed to be home in hopes of minimizing our chances of getting busted.  Once there, she came in with me.  We were greeted by my mom, aunt and grandmother.  Mom asked what we had done, and we fumbled around being very non-committal with our answers.  Mom finally said, "Before you dig yourselves any deeper, I saw the news."  We immediately fessed up to being in the quarter, we were obviously caught.  

That story has been told several times by my family and hers.  It's always the same, nothing changes. No new details are revealed; it remains the same each time.  

Tonight I was talking with my mother as she was beside my dad's hospital bed.  Somehow we began talking about that story.  I could hear my father, and I assumed he was moving around a lot in his bed.  Then my mom began giggling uncontrollably.  I asked what was so funny, but she wouldn't answer. I finally begged for an answer.  "Um, Lanny? I was totally bluffing. That didn't happen. I knew there'd be cameras there, and I took a chance on it. You caved and admitted where y'all had been."  What? You never saw me on the news??? "Nope, never." You've let me believe I was caught on tv all these years? "Well, yeah, I have." Mom! How could you? "Ha! That wasn't the only time. I was really good at that, wasn't I."  

I still can't believe it!

Some Extra Irony

This has not been the best day.  I can sum it up with the first event of the day: we had an electrician come out to help us with some unknown wires. Less than five minutes after he showed up, the power company shut off power to the whole street.  Lovely.  I'd ask what the chances are, but knowing this is my life, they are pretty dang great.

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I know some of y'all have been following the story of my dad's incident.  He had to be rushed to the ER this morning.  My sister is very worried, which worries me.  I think he'll pull through this time, but I'm worried that he doesn't have enough fight left in him for the long haul.  Poor guy, each time he gets ill, he loses a little of what he's worked so hard to get back.  Any prayers and good thoughts would be tremendously appreciated!

An Extra Post on Words

Do you speak the same way with friends that you would professionally?

I don't.  While I was very professional at work, I'm very casual with my friends.  I'm a big believer in having a nice image in public (Daisy, I did NOT wear flip flops when I had to go to the courthouse last week!) and dressing appropriately (gee, who would have guessed that after the curler post?). By nature, I'm a very casual person, so when kicking back with friends, I'm all about comfort.  

My minors are in English and Reading, so I do tend to be a grammar hound, but I can keep it to myself, and I can guarantee you I'm not grammatically correct 100% of the time.  In conversations with friends, I'll use correct grammar, but my word choice is very casual.  I have two friends who always speak formally, and I know it's shallow, but it annoys me.  RELAX, you know?  Both of these friends will call and say things like, "Lanny, I'd like to get together tomorrow afternoon. If you don't mind, I'd appreciate a return call so that we may make plans concerning the park.  I can be reached at 555-1234. Please call at your earliest convenience."  Me? I'm more likely to leave this message: "Hey, it's Lanny. I'm taking Linus to the park tomorrow. Call me if you want to meet us there."  One of these friends left a message for me today, and it grated on my last nerve.  NONE of my other friends speak so formally.  It just seems stiff to me.  

So, do you speak formally with your friends?

Extra Wordy

We ran a ton of errands today.  Unfortunately, one of those errands was to get the tire fixed on my car because of a stupid BOLT in the Home Depot parking lot. Linus did incredibly well throughout all our errands. I did what I could to keep her occupied (had I known we'd have to get the tire fixed, I'd have had more with me). At one point she was coloring.  She asked Army, "And what do you suppose this is?"  The group of people near us made a big deal of her word choice.  They asked how old she is, and upon learning she's five, they made an even bigger deal.  In true Linus form, she said, "Oh, that's not a big word, you should hear the really big words I know."  I cringed when they asked what bigger words she knows; I was terrified she'd say this word. Thankfully she didn't. Instead she said, "Actually it depends on what you consider big."  Then everyone giggled, and Linus changed the conversation to the shape of the clouds outside.

An Extra Word

I think it's pretty well established that Linus likes to talk.  A lot. A whole lot.  She met her match early this morning.  We had a man come to give us an estimate for some work on our house.  Though very nice, he was quite the salesman thus talking a whole lot.  When Linus had heard enough, she got Army out of earshot of this guy and used her thumb to gesture towards him.  As she nodded her head in his direction too, she mumbled, "Uses too many words, Daddy!"  

I believe there may be one person in the world who can talk even more than Linus. 

Extra Thanks!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Many thanks to the men and women who make it possible for us to celebrate this holiday year after year, and to the families of service members who spend so much time without their loved ones while they defend our country.  May they all be home soon!  I truly appreciate you, and I understand the sacrifices you make.

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We began our 4th celebration Wednesday night with fireworks at the stadium (we can watch them from our porch).  It continued Thursday with great company and a delicious dinner. Linus loved it so much she ate with a fork and a spoon at the same time! And she ate the cooked carrots which is pretty amazing.  We planned to watch the fireworks at the stadium again that night, but the game ended earlier than planned. We watched them from our car as we were on our way home from running errands.  Today we have a packed day, and it will end with a fabulous fireworks display set off at the top of the mountain. It's a HUGE event, and Linus loves it and looks forward to it for months.   We'll also continue our tradition of paying for service members meals (for any we spot) today as a small thank you for what they do.    I'm sure there will be some pool time thrown in there too. 

Any big plans on your end?

An Extra Uh-Oh!

This conversation took place shortly after Linus woke up this morning.  Keep in mind that she meant it innocently!

Mama, can I sleep in your bed tonight?

Nope, sorry.

Why not? Is it because Daddy sleeps there with you?

Yep.

Why does Daddy sleep with you? Is it because you are married?

Yep.

What makes sleeping with Daddy so good?

This is when I distracted her so the conversation would END!

An Extra Insult or Two

Courtesy of Linus:

 

Mama, why does your tummy look like Jello?

and

Me: Linus, you're supposed to be following me to the kitchen.

Linus: I am, but I have to stay faaarrrrrrr back. Trust me though, I'm right behind you.

and

Mama, why are your calves so hard?

'Cause I exercise, and do a lot with legs.

(said very innocently) Have you ever thought about exercising your tummy?

I do Linus. I do tons of crunches.

Maybe you should try something else. But it's ok Mama. There's a good side to it. I like your squishy tummy. I'd rather put my head on your squishy tummy than a hard one like your legs.

Thanks Linus! I love you too!

Extra Curious

Sunday's post and some of the comments made me think.  I do not know what many of you look like.  Do you get a picture in your head of bloggers that haven't posted their pictures?  I guess it's kind of like reading a book. I tend to decide what the character looks like and picture what I'm reading in my head.  

Are you curious what other bloggers look like?  Do you ever wonder how readers who don't know you picture you?