How old would you say you are, if you didn't actually know your age?

Um, Um, yeah I'll admit to fudging the whole age issue sometimes. However, other times I wear it like a badge. In my MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) group I am one of the oldest Mom's and I find it quite cool.

It is surprising to me at times that I am a Mom of four and in my ahem early 40's. In my mind and soul I still feel 28 0r 29. My hubby and closest friends would say I sometimes act like I'm 18, yeah I do have a stubborn, wild streak that pops up now and then.

In truth I hope my thinking and acting will always be 10 years behind my actual age. I plan to go kicking and screaming into my 50's and 60's. I make it a point not to do the math on how old I will be when my last precious child finishes college and my dear hubby and I become official empty nesters.

With any luck and a lot of prayer that day will find me energetic, open minded and ready to take on the world in a whole new way. I don't plan to slow down until the grandkids come! LOL

100 years use to be here.

Get Mortified ~ Teenage angst

I can hardly wait to get the book and read other people's teenage journals/poetry. When I moved a couple years ago I came across my teenage diaries. I laughed and cried it was like therapy to read my crazy entries and sappy deliriously bad poetry. Usually about some guy. Now that I have a son soon to be a teen it was good to revisit my diary thoughts and be reminded how seriously I took all my hurts, pain, and betrayals. It may be humorous to me now but I need to remember at the time it was completely tragic. Much like the poetry I will be unleashing on you today.

Back-story - I wrote this after things went very bad with my first serious boyfriend. I was very into tragic poetry and novels at the time and sickly enjoyed wallowing in grim tales of emotional pain and suffering.
The character here is my animated self or who I imagine my cartoon self
to be anyway. Hope she makes up for the bad poetry.



How does life become so completely numb?
Mindlessly going through the routine, unable to pause and understand the pain.
Lost words lie painfully on your tongue, jumbled up making no sense at all.
What’s black is white then turns to grey, print on the page blurred by youthful fantasy.
Tears quietly raining down and washing away dreams.
Wax seals are broken from promises long since made.
The brown paper quickly forgotten and thrown away.
Those lips once sweet are full of bitter words.
The eyes no longer suck you in but send fire to your soul.
The lovers are forever gone burnt ashes in the wind.
Friendship slowly slips away as hazy eyes awake.
A world re-born unconquered, fresh, lies beyond the doorway.
A single silhouette leaves her home to venture in a brave new way.
Her shield on and armor raised poised with her weapons for her prey.
An ugly world beneath the dream just like the last and next will be.
And yet each time she dares to believe that this one will last forever ~ her reality.

Favorite Cartoons - great posting idea!

Okay ~ first you need to know I have a wierd sense of humor. I enjoy cartoons that not only make me laugh but keep me doing that secret smile or audible laugh all day long. I really don't care if I get a sideways look from some stranger who thinks it's inappropriate to crack up in the line at the bank or in an elevator. Yeah, I have had people take a step away after one of my unprovoked giggles. I feel sad for them : (

All time favorite cartoon is Calvin & Hobbes, I still remember the last day it appeared in the paper. I was quite depressed. Luckily technology has stepped in I go to www.calvin-and-hobbes.org when ever I need to plug in my inner child. I remember one year for Christmas I gave my Mom a sweatshirt that I painted with a Calvin & Hobbes cartoon. She loved it!









TEE HEE HEE - who isn't going to laugh at this kind of humor. HEE HEE in this one I am imaging that I am Hobbes and my little sister is Calvin. Sorry sis, does it bring back memories? At the end Calvin (aka - my sista) is gonna kick my but in the mud. In case your wondering she often did. I just loved how Hobbes would meditate on the big issues of the time. He was so thoughtful in his musings, then as if a switch was flipped he'd get over it and go back to playing or tormenting Calvin. Calvin was always trying to get out of something or justify some rash thing he had done. I could relate to both these characters but had to live vicariously through them because if I had reacted the way they often did I would have spent a lot of time in the Principle's office and my room.

Moving on a close second is my obsession with Felix the Cat and his buddy Poindexter. I don't know if it was the black cat, the bag of tricks, silly music or the bad guys he was always fighting but I loved this comic strip and movie clips. Didn't matter black/white or the later color versions I would laugh till I almost pee'd my pants. For more info here's a cool web site for all things Felix www.felixthecat.com











I start smirking just saying "Poindexter" boy oh boy did the two of them get into a lot of trouble. I have a tape of some of the old shows (thanks sister) that I watch with my kids sometimes, they don't seem to get it? Maybe they are too young, or maybe the humor is to old? I always wished I had a magic bag of tricks, I would have gotten even with so many practical jokers in the neighborhood. Poindexter was the brains of the whole operation and made being a geek seem kind-a-cool. Not that I am admitting to ever having an awkward geeky stage in my adolescence.

Finally, there is the really goofy me who still loved cartoons as an older teenager and thought Hong Kong Phooey was absolutely hysterical. The karate, the silly jobs as part of his disguise, his crazy car, how he always messed up but somehow his disaster was the key to solving the crime. As a bonus he had that cool voice I found it very intriguing.



So there you have it, my childhood/adolescent cartoon fav's. I was influenced by many others but these three best describe who I was and the kind of humor that appealed to me. I don't think my parents really understood although my Mom did like Calvin & Hobbes and it was one area in which we were in agreement. You always looked for those moments as they were few and far between during the "Dark Years".

Current book I am reading:
Sea Change by James Powlik

I guess this book would fall under the category "Techno-Thriller". It has to do with an environmental threat that might have been caused on purpose. The main characters then have to figure out a tangled web of facts and data to discover the truth about what is killing people.

It is very interesting and I am learning alot about micro-organisims and toxic blooms. Nature is pretty radical and I find it amazing how something so small and basic in structure can turn into a lethal organism.

On a lighter note I am also reading, "What Every Mom Needs" by Elisa Morgan with my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. It is a very light hearted and easy read but it really gets you thinking about who you are as a Mother. A big part of the book is about recognizing your personal needs as a Mom and understanding that it is okay to spend time on your own personal growth. As much as I love my kids I'm more than a Mom I am an individual with my own dreams. As long as I don't neglect the needs of my family there is nothing wrong with making some of my personal dreams come true. In fact it is imperative that I do if I want to be a fullfilled person this makes me a better Mom and role model to my children.

HOLD FAST YOUR DREAM
by Louise Driscoll

Hold fast your dream!
Within your heart
Keep one still secret spot
Where dreams may go,
And sheltered so,
May thrive and grow ~
Where doubt and fear are not.
Oh, keep a place apart
Within your heart,
For little dreams to go.

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glint on snow.

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the soothing, gentle rain.

When you awake in morning hush,

I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there ... I did not die.

I don't know who wrote this poem, I just think it is so beautiful. I like to finish reading it by adding, "Heaven is now where I reside."

Topic to post: Two stories from two years ago.

1. (March 2004) Successful Potty Training two weeks before my daughter's third birthday. They say girls train easier then boys, they lied! Both my daughters were stubborn in this area and were nearly three before they were fully potty trained. We used all the tricks had potty parades, read many many picture books about using the potty, reward charts, stickers, candy, prizes, you name it we tried it. If one more person said to me, "Don't worry she won't be going off to college in diapers" I was gonna scream! Victory was finally ours and my daughter got to go shopping for pretty big girl panties. She was very excited her dad and I were ecstatic.

2. (Nov. 2004) I was less then two months from the the birth of my fourth child. My sweet little heavenly surprise. Recently moved into a new house in a new town and I guess slightly overwhelmed by all the changes in my life. We invited family to visit for Christmas and several of them decided to come. How exciting, I thought maybe they'd be here for her birth. The race was on to unpack the last of the boxes and figure out where everyone would sleep and what food we would eat. The house was a buzz with activity and excitement. Having something so concrete to focus my pregnancy energy on was such a blessing. I of course was convinced that this baby could come anytime as she was my fourth. In the end only one relative was still at the house when my daughter was born. My Mother-in-law was such a huge help. Not only with the baby but also playing with the other kids. Oh yeah and she does dishes!

13 Things I LOVE About Mia

1. How easily she goes down for her nap/nightime
2. The way she runs to Daddy at the end of the day
3. Her crazy stumbly dancing
4. The ability to create projectile tears
5. Gorgeous deeply questioning eyes
6. How she sucks her thumb
7. When she paints she doesn't mix all the colors together making brown
8. After bath Streakin'
9. Her smile makes you smile, no matter what
10. Sticky Hugs and kisses
11. Hey Mia, where's your belly button?
12. She was/is our wonderful surprise
13. The way she says, "Oh Great!" anytime something happens she doesn't expect

BACK IN BLOG !

HEHEHE - Today's posting is Music, what is your favorite type, is this a change from UMMM your younger days?

I love music - pretty much all kinds. What I am listening to usually conforms with my current mood or a situation I find myself in, wether good or bad.

In my younger days I was a Classic Rock Freak and stuck mostly to music/groups of the 60's & 70's. One wierd thing though if I needed to clean my room, dorm, apt. etc. I always but on a Neil Diamond album compliments of my parents. Not sure why but his music made me clean like crazy. Looking around my house right now, I am wondering if it might still work? LOL

Today as a wife and Mom to four kids I am still a Classic Rock freak at heart but I also love Christian Rock esp. the edgy stuff my son likes (even the rap go figure). my least favorite is Pop music unless I am really blue then it picks me right up. Country is good for when I am thinking about my Texas days. If I can't sleep I go strait to Enya or Yaz and the other dream state music.

Recently, I was helping my son download music to his IPOD and got a real shocker. The site listed Fleetwood Mac Rumors under the Oldies Category. I think I scared the heck out of him when I yelled out "WHAT~ARE YOU KIDDING" at the top of my voice. Let it be known here and now OLDIES are officially only music from the 50's backward. Say AMEN if your with me here! LOL

I have some very obscure albums that don't exist on CD. I'd like to have them transfered to CD but I am waiting for the cost of that service to come down, yeah I'm still pretty cheap. (Hey watch that-I see you thinking). One band I think only released one album "Klatu", it was pretty out there.

I guess musically the biggest change for me is I really don't mind listening to children's music. Who doesn't love singing "The Wheels On The Bus", 10 times in a row followed by a Kindergarten rendition of "Hit Me Baby One More Time" which comes out "Kiss The Baby One More Time". Being a Mom really is a joy and these musical moments mean no one is fighting!

If asked what band(s) have I most dreamed of seeing I will still and always list the following: Aerosmith(saw this year), Bon Jovi, Rolling Stones, Queen, U2, Cat Stevens (prior to his religious change), Van Halen (Sammy version), Led Zepplin, & Blue Oyster Cult (yes I realize some of these people/bands are no longer together/alive I am dreaming remember). New to the list: RelientK, P.O.D., CREED, Barlo Girls (have seen), Simple Plan, & Third Day.

Hope you enjoy the following song, I don't care what they say groups today don't make music like this, spread the music.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody was here!