Fun Monday #13

Robin (the PENSIEVE one) is our hostess this week, and she wants us to share our favorite Quotable quotes and words that inspire.

My first quote has been my favorite since the very first time I read it.

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. " Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have a portion of this quote on a postcard over my desk.

"Every oak tree started out as a couple of nuts that stood their ground."

I love this one because it seems to suit my hubby and I. I know we are nuts, and that people didn't think that we would make it, but we've been married for 10 and a half years now...and still very much in love.

Be sure to visit the other Fun Monday participants!

is the first day or the last?

I'm exhausted, and ready to go to bed. The morning started bright and early at 6:45 and we went non-stop until just now. Church, Home Improvement store shopping, grocery shopping, babysitting, craft store shopping, woodworking, cleaning, cooking...we did it all today. Now it's time to rest. But I want to know, is today the first day of the busy week, or the last day of the not-so-busy week before (which was pretty relaxed since it was spring break)?

Talk amongst yourselves...I'll be back tomorrow, after I've had some sleep.

A stitch in time

I took my mom to a quilt show in Lancaster, PA today. It was a good time. A ton of vendors and an overload of great fabric. There were some really gorgeous quilts. Mom took some pictures, and I'll post them in a few days. Now I'm tired, and I'm going to spend some time with my kids and hubby. Night all!

and another Friday night flight

We went to pick up Bug today. Her plane was 5 minutes early, and hubby and I had a little date night before we actually got her. The ride home was fun, talking about television shows from when we were kids. Now, we're off to soak in the hot tub and head to bed. I'm taking my mom to a quilt show tomorrow.

Things I Love

bag swap for CMHS outside
Originally uploaded by mamalang

This is the bag I received in the Color Me Happy Swaparooni from the wonderful Heymrswilson. I'm loving it. It's so cute, everyone asks me where I got it from. It's the perfect size, and I'm not losing things in it.

I also love Chic-Fil-A...and a new one opened very near my home tonight. You know where dinner was consume tonight. Oh yeah.

Wordless Wednesday #3

Time will tell

Tonight was my first Executive meeting as FRG (Family Readiness Group) Leader for my husbands unit. His unit is being deployed this fall, and the military is trying a new system of deployment and family readiness. So we are apparently the test unit. I'm actually excited about the things we are looking to do, but trying to remain realistic about who will participate. I'm hoping that I'll be pleasantly surprised as time goes on.

It is actually a little hard to decide what topics to cover. Not because of the lack of choices, but the feeling that you have so many and such a short time to get them in. But I think we have some good things planned for the future.

Fun Monday #12

Swampy is our host this week. Here's our scary topic. And since she never follows the rules, we don't have to either.

Choose a topic/theme and make an alphabetical list of words, phrases, photos...however you want to share your topic/theme.

I just don't have the energy to go through the whole alphabet. The cable people were here for over 3 hours this morning. That's a day off of work and several hours without internet. ARGH!!!

So, My alphabet will be like my sons. I'm just going to pick a few letters, and that will be all there is in the alphabet for me.

M is for Monday, not a fun day.
T is for Tuesday, Recycle day, but not this week.
W is for Wednesday, another day off.
F is Friday, the weekend at last.
S is for Saturday, fun for all.

Night!

Happy Easter y'all

Hope you enjoy your day. Dont eat to much candy, and come have some hard boiled eggs....PLEASE!

And happy birthdy Mom!

Oh where are the eggs

We took the kids to my mom's work for an egg hunt today. They had the Easter Bunny and ponies and bunnies and an egg hunt and two clowns making balloon sculptures. That balloon line did not move. These clowns were making insane creations. Swords and hats, bunnies, penguins...it was insane, but fun. Now I'm off to sew my swap buddies bag.

Friday Night Flights

****Please note that this was written on paper Fridy night.

Why the heck did I not bring my laptop? I could be live-blogging my oh-so-exciting Friday night. Oh wait, that's cause I only had 5 minutes to get out the door and on the road.

Bug is leaving her mothers house today, which requires a plane ride or an extremely long car ride. With the price of gas, the plane fare is cheaper. The plan was for daddy to bring her over and the other kidlins and I would be hanging out at home. But when it was time to leave, it was discovered that he had left his billfold at his other home (he's having to attend classes a lot in a nearby town, and the military has nicely provided a place there for him to stay during the week.) That means he couldn't get past the security checkpoint to sit with her and wait for the plane. Even though she no longer has to fly as an unaccompanied minor, we still don't like leaving her there for hours alone. So off I go. I had warmed up some leftovers for Bug and daddy before it was time to leave so that they didn't have to stop for fast food. With five minutes to grab my book and shoes and other necessary things, I didn't get that chance. Off I go, stopping to get gas and a drink.

We arrived at the airport around 7:00, which gave us a good amount of time before her flight was scheduled to leave, and found out it was 15 minutes delayed. 8:35 comes and goes and the plane hasn't arrived from wherever. They announce it will be there at 9:10. No plane...finally, it arrives at approximately 9:20. Okay. Now they announce that they aren't loading the plane due to the weather in the Midwest. What have you all done to mother nature out there? She was pissed off at you this weekend. We sat there for a while. One of the restaurants brought us danishes/pastries, and Southwest brought us hot soda and some snacks. At just after 11:00, the announcement came.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have 6 minutes to get this plane boarded. Please line up and we'll get you out of her." And yes, they loaded that plane and pulled away from the gate in less than 15 minutes. People didn't fight or jostle, they simply handed him their boarding pass, went and sat down in a seat. I know my jaw was hitting the ground. They managed to safely land and deplane (as a matter of fact, she beat me.)

1 am, I finally got home. Yuck. From now on I bring the laptop.

Love Thursday #3

Tonight was my night out with friends. It's a game night, but it's really about talking and eating. I Love this group. I always come home feeling so much better about so many things. They like the things I like, they have kids around the same age as mine (or grandkids...my mom and mil are part of this too. Actually, so is my sil. Funny.) Anyway, it's just a good couple of hours. And after almost 9 years, I'm glad I still have it to go to each month.

I also love that I have the day off of work tomorrow. I'm so ready to sleep in.

Happy Love Thursday everyone. I'll see you well after the sun rises tomorrow.

Wordless Wednesday - The Easter Egg Edition

Fears relieved

First, let me say...I have dentalphobia. I HATE going to the dentist. But having children made me realize that I had to be the grown up and not transfer that fear to them. I had a very bad experience as a child, and I have worked very hard to ensure my children never endured that.

Today was the kids dental check up day. I love our dentist office. They used to go to a pediatric dentist, but they stopped taking our insurance. And while our insurance company would still pay them, I couldn't afford to pick up the difference every time they charged more than insurance was willing to pay. I was so sad to leave that office...he was a great dentist, and I never heard a child scream in fear in that office. Luckily, I found another dentist that was accepting patients and would get us in. Crazily enough, they are both in the same building...they are actually next door to each other.

This office goes out of it's way to make sure you are taken care of. They are all pleasant, they take the time to schedule my kids next appointments with me while they are in getting their teeth cleaned. They have a play area for the kids and a ton of magazines for all different interests. When things don't happen the way they are supposed to, they don't try and charge to fix it (both girls have sealants that didn't stick...he made sure to tell me they were free of charge before he took a breath.) The first visit, Bug had a tooth that needed to be pulled and she was leaving for a trip at the end of that week. He rearranged his schedule to get us back in that afternoon, and then apologized that we had to come back. And then I fell completely in love with him when he called that night to check on her. The dentist called my house to check on her. Sorry, but that bears repeating. And today's appointments were over in less than 45 minutes.

I still hate going to the dentist, but at least I found a good one.

Fun Monday #11

Nikki at My Husband Calls Me Weird is our hostess this week. She says:

1.) I don't know about you, but my family is great at creating strange words that only we know the meaning. Some were created when the kids were first learning to talk, others came about when our tongues were twisted and the word came out funny. Either way, the words stuck and we still use them in our daily conversations. What created words does your family use?! Please share the story behind the word if you remember. If you don't have a made up word then tell us about the unspoken way you communicate with someone. Do you and your significant other have a look that means "This party is boring, lets split" or do you have a look that your kids know means their butt is in serious trouble? Please share!! And a picture of the look would be very entertaining!

OR/AND

2.) In honor of St. Paddy's Day, please share your worst green beer story!

We have several words we use among our family and friends.

The one that sticks out the most is NooNoo Head. This is a term of endearment, frustration, teasing...whatever that instance calls for. There's generally a lot of giggling after someone utters the phrase "you are such a noonoo head."

We randomly make up things to call each other as well. Turkey Butt is a favorite in our house. Poo Poo brain is another. To people who don't know us, it can sound mean, but it's never meant that way, and it's usually not taken that way. It usually means that either a) you are about to drive me crazy, and I have to call you something or I'll kill you or b) I love you and we're feeling silly.

Another one from college is goosh. My friend devised this upon seeing a jogger that was apparently color blind but wanting to be visible. He had on red, neon green and neon yellow if I remember correctly. She yells out...OH MY GOOSH. Apparently her brain was thinking goodness, and her mouth wanted to say gosh. But it works.

We have lots of other words we insert. Son of a Biscuit is one of my favorites. My MIL says Sasquatch when she's frustrated (which is oddly satisfying).

Alas, I have no green beer stories. I don't like beer, and I don't really drink. But I learned by watching others that Tequila will kill you, which is what Nikki learned as well.

Happy Fun Monday. HEad over to Nikki's to see who else is sharing this St. Patrick's Day!

What a weekend

As you can see from the previous posts, it was a busy weekend here in langville. However, what I didn't mention is that fact that I was sick all weekend. I went to bed at a relatively early time Friday night, even before my teenager was home. I spent Saturday in various stages of hot and cold, and spent our adult time Saturday night napping on our friends couch with fever and chills. The last two posts were written on the appropriate days, and then saved as draft for review before posting. You would thank me if you could have read some of the rambling.

Apparently, I'm on the mend. Not so fevery, just tired. Its going to be a busy week, and my hubby is gone, so hopefully one more good night of sleep will make me all better.

Who?

We went to see Horton Hears A Who today. What a great movie. Just a touch of the old school Dr. Seuss animation, and just a few things for the adults. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see 10 minutes of the last 15 minutes, so I missed the climatic part and just saw the happy ending. But it was still good. I do not like our movie theater though. They are the only one in town, and they know it, so customer service is non-existent. And the bathrooms are far away from a lot of the theaters.

But the movie was good. You should go see it.

Now for some adult time with my hubby.

Friday Night Dinner

We went to dinner tonight. Just my hubby and I with 3 other couples. Our church does a group called Table of Eights every year. It's one night a month for four months. Each month you eat dinner with 3 other couples from the church. One couple hosts and supplies the main dish and side, another a veggie, another salad and bread and the last is desert. What you provide and who you eat with changes each month...so at the end you should have eaten with 12 other couples from the church. We've been members of our church for over 10 years, so there are quite a few couples we have know for that length of time. But there are always new couples as well, and it's nice to catch up with those we know and to learn more about those we don't.
Tonight's dinner was delicious, with great conversation. Next month we host. I'm already trying to figure out what to fix. Any suggestions?

I'm mamalang, and I'm a...

fabric addict. I love fabric. I love the possibilities. I love the colors and the textures, the designs. I love home made crafty things. I really don't love our local chain fabric store, or the fact that to get to a decent fabric store I have to travel over an hour away. I guess I need to find a supplier...teehee.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm stealing this picture from the samples that were on my new computer. Apparently it was taken by someone named Kevin Forest. I'm ready for spring.

(And yes, I realize it's not wordless if I put words under it. So sue me.)

What are they thinking?

What the heck is this? Are we that stuck in the 80's? I thought Spandex was out. I'm scared.

Fun Monday #10

IT Guy asks:

I need YOU (yes, the wonderful YOU!) to pick 5 memorable lines from 5 different movies (if you could tell us which character said it and to whom, would be a bonus)...and tell us to WHOM (who in the people in your life) you could have said those lines.

I totally suck at movie things. I don't get to watch them, and when I find something funny...it doesn't stick for long.

However, I can remember at least one.

Master of Disguise, Say this to my daughter all the time.

Devlin Bowman: I think it's time for you to go.
Pistachio Disguisey: [Making talking gesture with hand] This is what you're doing...
[Closes hand] this is what I want you to do.
Devlin Bowman: Did you just tell me to shut up?
Pistachio Disguisey: Yes.

That's it. I can't remember any other lines except for the ultimate cheesiness...

Nobody puts baby in a corner.

So with that, I'm out.

Sunday already?

That post below? It was Saturday's. Since I was still up, it was still Saturday for me.

This post? It's Sunday's. After several weekends at home, this weekend was a busy one. Sunday School, Church where the girls played bells, home for lunch and some clean up, and then back to church for bell practice. Home for dinner, ready for bed, where did the weekend go? I'm exhausted. I reallllly hate Daylight Savings Time.

Spring Forward

Can I just say that Daylight Savings Time sucks. I hate losing an hour...I need my sleep, and my body takes weeks to adjust. Then we add to that fact that DH and I went out to listen to a band tonight, so we just got home. And although it says 12:47...it's really 1:47. Tomorrow morning will not be a good time.

Night.

March Madness

First the Madness. PB's school has this function every year in March. I remember 5 years ago when Bug was in 4th grade feeling just as frustrated. Nothing is sent home about this. I don't know what this program is for, and it always seems to be thrown together at the last minute. The 4th and 5th grade classes play basketball games against the other 4th or 5th grade classes during the week, and the two classes with the highest points in each grade level play against each other on Friday night. We found out today that PB was playing and needed a yellow shirt. Today. The function was tonight. Nothing was sent home...she was just told in class. We receive an envelope every Wednesday that includes a newsletter and other important papers. The only mention was in the upcoming dates to note section. It stated the time and location for March Madness. That's the entire sum and substance of what we received. Arghh.

Now the fun part. Her class has several of the most athletic kids. PB isn't one of them. One boy has been easily able to score numerous points on teenagers since he was 5 years old. There wasn't any doubt who would win this game. The total points from the games this week were 10, 16 and 52. The other team had twice as many students, and the star player wasn't there. They still won 22-10 (I think.)

I was afraid that it would be a blow out and not so much fun. But it wasn't...and it was a good game. The kids worked together, and everyone got a chance to play. The ball was passed, and every student had a chance to "touch" the ball. The reasons I love this school were reaffirmed for me tonight (even with the lack of communication for this event.)

Love Thursday #2

I've joined a party. A blog party. It looks like a good way to find some new reads. I know that some of my links are stale, and I want to update my blogroll, so this will be a good way to find some new reads. What a great way to share the love this Love Thursday. You can join yourself. It starts tomorrow, so you have some time left!

Reality, Schmality

I'm not a big fan of Reality television. I generally have a hard time watching people make total and complete fools of themselves. Honestly, I have a hard enough time dealing with people and their "issues" in real life. I don't find it entertaining to sit and watch people destroy their life, and the constant rambling drives me crazy. Sometimes, there's one that is a train wreck and I just have to keep watching (generally it's because there isn't anything else on.) Tonight, I'm riveted to the show "Moment of Truth." It's one of those train wreck shows.

When the choice is between a relatively large sum of money and your relationship with your family members, your marriage, your job, I have to wonder if that sum of money is worth it. And apparently this person feels that either her marriage can withstand this onslaught, or that the money is more important. I'm watching this woman emotionally wound her husband for $100,000. I'm not sure that any amount of money is worth causing that amount of pain and discomfort to any of my family members, but especially not to my husband or children. And someday, her children will see this episode and she will have to explain this to them. And while the high of $100,000 will get them through for a while, someday that money will be gone, and they will have to live with the fall out of that time. I'm just happy that she was smart to not gamble any further, and to be responsible with the money she did earn.

I really do think that reality TV brings out the worst in people. People may go into their participation saying they're doing it for the right reasons, but somehow, that all goes out the window in the "heat of the moment." I'm not saying all reality TV shows are bad. Some do great things for people (The Biggest Loser comes to mind), and some are truly just mindless entertainment (American Idol). Some don't even seem so much like Reality TV as much as scripted soap operas after awhile (the majority of the shows on VH1 or MTV).

So when my kids ask if we can watch Food Network, I sigh a little in relief.

Sweet Child of

Writing about my prom got me thinking back the other day. And then I read some funny "Quizzes" on a few other blogs and decided to find some pertaining to my teenage years. Here you go...proof that I graduated in 1991.

You Are 96% A Child of the 80s

There's hardly a moment of the 80s that you missed out on. Was there ever a better decade? As if!

Are You a Child of an 80s?

You Are 64% A Child of the 90s

Wassup!?! You remember the 90s like they were yesterday. And you're ready to open up a can of whoop-ass on any other decade.

Are You a Child of an 90s?

Fun Monday #9

Janet from the planet of janet is our host this week. She's a toughie!

Hollywood has come calling. They want to make a movie of your life story!

So here's what I want to read about: Write the brief synopsis of this film that you might use to pitch this project and cast the principal players. Who would play you? You can either cast or ignore significant others, children and/or pets. This is, after all, YOUR movie about you you YOU! Illustrate as needed with casting photos or filming locations. Your life not interesting enough? Hey, this is Hollywood. Never let the facts get in the way of a good story!

Hmmm...This is hard.

The amazing life story of mamalang. See how she rose from the heartbreak of childhood to carve out a normal life for herself and her family. The years of toiling away at school and college in order to never use her degree. The motherhood years, spent entirely at work, in the car, doing laundry. The payment in cuddles and hugs and "I Love You's." All culled from her blog...that useless place where she spewed her random thoughts every stinkin day.

The movie will be set someone tropical and warm, and I'll portray myself. At least I'll get a good tropical vacation out of it!

Make sure you visit all the other Fun Monday bloggers!

Accomplishments

What I've accomplished today:

Cuddling sick Monster
Feeding said monster a cheese stick, yogurt and milk for breakfast (It's exactly what he wanted)
Folding clothes
Reading email
Reading some blogs
Wandering around wondering where the day has gone
Packaging up meat for the freeze
Washing my sheets
Making Chicken Soup

Things still to be done:
Make my bed
Drive children to church functions tonight
Buy Shampoo and conditition for daughters
Cuddle the Monster some more


Wow, very little on my to do list got done. But not a bad day really.

Prom

Loralee is asking for our prom stories, and since I am a lemming it sounds fun, I thought I would try and dredge up those memories.

My final high school had a junior/senior prom. The juniors did all the work, raised all the money and paid to attend, and the seniors did nothing and attended for free. I was on the Prom committee my junior year. I bought the dress, decided on the hair, had a date and cute shoes...and was diagnosed with Mono the week before. Yes, mono...the only known case in three counties. So, I didn't attend prom that year. My boyfriend came over and we watched movies and DIDN'T kiss.

I have to give an aside here. My boyfriend was in college an hour away. This was before the days of cell phones and such. I had to call his mom to tell her I had mono. Here's the conversation...

Me: Hi Mrs. M. It's me, J's girlfriend.
Her: Hi sweetie. What's up?
Me: Well, I had to go to the doctor and have blood work today, and I found out...
Her: (interrupting) OMG, please do not tell me your pregnant!
Me: Uhm, no...uhm, really...uhm, I was just going to tell you I have mono. So he might want to be aware in case he doesn't feel well.
Her: Oh thank God. I'm so glad that's it.

Uhm, yeah, I had been dating her son for about a month at that time. Great conversation.

Anyway, back to prom.

So my Senior year, I had the dress and shoes and all that taken care of. I even splurged for some tanning since I didn't have to buy all that stuff. The only thing missing was my date.

Finally, in a fit of desperation, one of my best (male) friends and I decided to go together. At the last minute, our other friends boyfriend got sick and she joined us. We went to everyone's house and did the required pictures, headed through the Golden Arches for dinner, and off we went. Prom itself was pretty lame...dancing and hanging out, just dressed better. But after-prom...it turned out to be a blast.

One of the girls had a boy from another state come to accompany her. She basically ditched him at after-prom to flirt with some other guy. So he hung out with us. He was cute and we had fun. After the party, we drove around the huge university in town, picking flowers (I learned later how illegal that was) closing down taco bell, and just generally running wild. It was a really good time, and one of my best memories from high school.

Of course, getting to work by 11 am the next day sucked, but it was good practice for college.