You haven’t SEEN bored until you’ve been through the car wash with me. 😀
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I know.
I’m a total idiot.
I apologize. 😀
Author: Karen
Hi! My day job is a CMA in the Precertificiation Department (I work with insurance companies). I'm a mom to two young men. I've been married to the same man for 34 years. I have a lot to say about nothing. Lucky you.
Weekend Snapshot – Climbing the Walls
My nephews are in town to visit for two weeks. And being the coolest aunt on earth (let’s pretend that’s true, shall we?), I have been on a mission to entertain them while they are here.
Well, me and my mom. 😀
Let’s switch gears for a minute: my kids and my sister’s kids, are most likely the biggest video game/computer geeks you’ll ever meet via cybernet. These guys are so geeky they squirt binary code every time they walk.
I’m not trying to be cute, nor even derogatory, when I tell you this: it’s simply the truth. These kids would much rather spend their days with their faces glued to the TV/monitor screens than step one toe outside. In fact, I often mention doing something outside just so I can see the stark terror in their eyes – it amuses me. *grin*
Overall, this determination to live their lives through imaginary worlds doesn’t concern me (much), but to offer balance and to ward off any serious weirdness later on down the road, I do occasionally FORCE my boys to step away from their virtual reality and you know, join the rest of the human race.
Oh sure, they grumble, groan and are generally cranky with me whenever I step in and rip their imaginary personas away from them, but I think, deep down, in the core of their hearts and their very nerdy beings, they are thankful that I’ve forced them to come up for air.
At least, I tell myself that. *grin*
With my nephews in town, my mom and I wanted to do something with them other than look at the back of their heads as they frantically give their thumbs a work out. So, my mom came up with the BRILLIANT (again, not being sarcastic) idea of taking them rock climbing.
I’ll let you digest that bit o’ information before moving on. Picture this: The Revenge of the Nerds rock climbing. Isn’t that an amusing thought?
Now before anyone goes and gets the wrong idea, I’m treating their chosen past times with humor because truly, it’s who they are. It’s what interests them. They want to go on to college and become computer programmers and hey, who am I to stand in the way of them making boo-goo bucks, right? I mean, we all know the smart, nerdy, brainy types are the ones who (generally) go on and make something of their lives, right?
And my boys and my nephews certainly fall into the brainy category. Trust me.
But come on, what sort of mother would I be if I just stepped back and allowed them to disassociate themselves from reality? I’m constantly policing their online activities, making frequent and unannounced stops to look over their shoulders and see what they’re doing, or studying the minimized windows to make sure they aren’t doing something they shouldn’t be doing.
And I think we’ve struck a fairly reasonable balance, if you want the truth. As a result of my being “cool” about their activities, they don’t feel compelled to hide anything from me (at least, I hope they’re not).
But I’m simply not the type of personality that can step back and allow them to miss out on all the “real” world fun. So, we took all four boys out to lunch, to see the new Indiana Jones movie and then … rock climbing.
We took them to the Petra Rock Climbing Gym.
The boys got suited up …
(That’s my mom in the background documenting this momentous occasion)
And then stood back to stare in awe at the huge walls they were about to climb.
(Look at how skinny these boys are! I didn’t realize just HOW skinny my kids were until they got those harnesses on. I feed them! Honest!!)
The instructor (who I thought was sort of cute in a jail bait sort of way), spent a considerable amount of time trying to teach GD how to tie a fancy-smancy knot.
He never really got the hang of it.
After the boys were suited up, the older kids went off with the guy instructor and the younger boys went off with the girl instructor. MK and M started off on the beginner wall.
MK took to it like the monkey he is.
M had a bit more trouble, but after a few minutes, he got the hang of it.
GD scaled a more advanced wall in record time and rang the cow bell at the top. His self-satisfied smile down at me was WELL WORTH the effort of dragging his butt to the gym, trust me.
He also scaled back down like a pro, too.
After their initial success, all the boys decided to try a harder wall. MK and M went up the wall GD and A vacated with MK making it all the way to the top (but wouldn’t do it again because it was a bit too high for him) and M made it halfway up before getting too shaky and came back down.
The older boys tried to climb a sheer wall with very few hand/foot holds.
A nearly made it all the way to the top before he ran into some trouble and had to come back down.
GD, his testosterone on overdrive, attempted this wall.
Unfortunately, he was trying to climb not only up, but out, and that proved too difficult for him.
He had to give up after losing his hold several times and ended up swinging like a little lost pendulum.
Overall, all the boys did remarkably well. I suppose the desire to climb and conquer is instinctually embedded in their male brains. Either that, or they were pretending they were in one of their army video games.
*sigh*
(Note the military stance – and GD’s cranky I’m-tired-is-it-time-to-leave face. hehe)
The bottom line? They had fun (I think), they got some exercise and they slept really, really well that night. 😀
Who’s up for more fun with Aunt Karen? Hhmm?
writefromkaren.com
Monday Morning Meme – June 9th
All you have to do is answer the questions below either in the comment section, or on your blog. And elaborate! Make these questions show your unique and special personalities. This meme entry will post at 12:01 every Monday morning and will be the first postentry listed on WFK all day Monday morning. (This is an all-day Monday meme, so please, play all day!)
June 9th Questions:
1. Tell me, what do you have planned for father’s day? Do the kids really help you pick out a gift, or is it all you? If you don’t have a significant other, what do you have planned for your father? What gift do you plan on giving to the father in your life?
2. What did you do over the weekend?
3. What is your favorite saying, quote or expression? WHY is this your favorite? Is there a story behind your favorite quote?
4. How “green” are you? Tell us what you’re currently doing to help the planet. Tell us what you could do better to help the planet
My Answers:
1. ACK! My husband reads my blog so I can’t really tell you what we’ve got planned for his gift, but I can tell you what we’re going to do – whatever he wants to do. 😀 It’s his day, so we’ll let him choose his activities. Knowing him though? He’ll want to go go-cart racing or play tennis. The kids don’t really help me pick out the gift, but they do go with me when we purchase it and they pick out their own cards to give to him. Now for my father … I have no clue what I’m doing for him. I’ll have to ask my mom … “MOM! What does dad want for Father’s Day! HELP!”
2. My nephews spent all day Friday, Friday night and Saturday with us. However, that didn’t keep me from working out, tanning, grocery shopping and getting some chores done. We were going to take the boys go-cart racing, but it rained and they were too tired to go on Saturday (they stayed up till 4:00 a.m. I had to go to bed with my iPod in order to drown out the noise – not from the boys, but from my husband who snores REALLY LOUDLY).
3. My words to live by: “I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime.” by Elisabeth Kubler. I’m a HUGE ADOVCATE of taking responsibility for one’s actions – do not point the finger at anything or anyone, be a decent human being and accept responsibility for your actions. Hence my favorite quote. ‘Nuff said. *crosses arms and nods brusquely*
4. Green? What’s that? *wink* Actually, we’re not terribly green, but we do try not to be a big burden on the environment (we could do better on the trash, though). We use energy effiicient lighbulbs. My husband We are ANAL about turning off lights when leaving the room. My husband drives his motorcycle to work every chance he gets, i.e. saving gas (he drives a Ford 150), we recycle containers and use them for various purposes (for example, my husband cut up some water jugs and used them to keep his tool doo-dads in.) And WHEN (I’m optimistic) they start mass producing electric cars, I’ll be the FIRST in line. 🙂
monday morning memeBehind the Scenes
So I’m behind the scenes working on some stuff and I’m not quite ready to talk about any of it at this point. But to give you a sneak peek (Sundays are all about sneak peeks with me lately – check back later for the Monday Morning Meme sneak peek questions) of what I’ve been up to …
1. I’m working on importing my old Reflections entries from my previous self-hosted blog. One of the biggest reasons I blog is to leave a part of me behind for my family/children/grandchildren and I have several books (Reflections from a Mother’s Heart, Between Me and You – Mom Edition, Between Me and You – Honey Edition, and The Book of Myself) that I’ve been systematically answering questions from that I would like to document and post here for anyone interested enough about me and the life I led to read later on down the road. I’m currently writing new entries and will be posting those at irregular intervals in the weeks ahead.
2. Looking up these books has gotten me in the mood for a giveaway – a little something to honor Father’s day … check back next week for details on that.
3. I’ve also been researching charities for the 2008 Blog-a-thon that I’ve decided to do unofficially. (The official Blog-a-thon organization is taking the year off but I feel pretty strongly about continuing the tradition of blogging for charity so I’m going to go ahead and participate this year on an unofficial level). And I’ve decided to blog for a cause that has always tugged at my heartstrings – Operation Homefront. I’ve started a page that will explain more about the charity and how I plan to blog about it (keep checking back as the page evolves), so I won’t go into too many details here. Suffice it to say, this is going to be an emotional blog-a-thon – have a full box of tissues close at hand.
4. And last but not least, I just found out that my blog has been nominated for two of the ten categories from Kailani’s 2008 Bloggy Hoss Awards. WHOA. I was shocked to see my name listed among so many talented bloggers. And these folks are certainly more entertaining than I’ve ever been, believe me. I’m very humbled by the honor – thank you. I’ve been nominated for the Brainiest and Most Talkative categories. I’m sure the brainiest category has to be wrong but I’m reluctant to bring it anyone’s attention because they will most likely gasp in horror and rip my name right off of there. *grin* But the most talkative ….? Yeah, I can see that one. 😉
If you have a few minutes, please visit Kailani’s blog and vote for me! And while you’re at it, click over and visit all of the wonderful people that have been nominated – talk about a stellar group of people!
As always, thank you for visiting my humble abode and I wish each and every one of you a FABULOUS Sunday! *blows a huge sloppy kiss to everyone in the room*
Painting with Your Food
FINALLY! Someone has come up with a useful function for french fries. 😉
Saturday Photo Hunt – Bad Hair
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This week’s theme: Bad Hair
You know you’ve been blogging too long when you start posting the same pictures over again. 😀 NO one has bad hair days like MK. I swear, he woke up like this – no gel.
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Friday Five, er, Fifteen
This post is brought to you by the number 15.
(Please feel free to answer any, or all, of these questions in the comment section. I’d be curious to read your answers).
The first two sets of questions came from the Friday 5 website , the last set of questions came from the Friday Fiver website.
Sorry, I just felt like answering questions today and I thought the following questions were interesting:
Sediment
1. When was the last time you had your hands in dirt?
Do you mean on purpose? The day before yesterday when I had to dump the plant MK gave me for Mother’s day into the trash. I TRIED to keep the thing alive but my thumb is not only black, it’s charcoal. I can’t keep plants alive to save me. So obviously, I’m not a gardener, so obviously, I don’t put my hands in dirt very often.
2. When was the last time you had your hands in clay?
I’m not sure I’ve ever had my hands in clay. Maybe when the kids were little and we played with Play-Doh. So to recap, I’m not a gardener and I’m not artistic. Geez, I’m boring.
3. When was the last time you had your feet in mud?
Ugh, never! My mother once told me that one of the first words out of my mouth was “dirty.” I don’t like being dirty, I don’t like feeling dirty and I’m certainly not going to put myself into a dirty situation. (Unless it’s something naughty with my husband, but we won’t go there. *winkwink*)
4. When was the last time you had your feet in sand?
Let’s see, that would probably be when we went to Florida for a family vacation about … three or four years ago. We drove/flew to Florida four years in a row and we got so burnt out on beach vacations that we really have no desire to go back any time soon. Doesn’t that sound trite – burnt out on beach vacations. Pfft.
5. What part of your life could use a serious cleansing?
Wow. What a loaded question. However, I’m pretty satisfied with my spiritual life (Christian), personal life (everything is going well and I don’t feel any discontent), and emotional (solid as a rock, thankyouverymuch). So, I’d have to say my life is pretty seriously cleansed right now. I’m a happy, well-rounded individual. And why do I feel guilty admitting that?
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Annoyances
1. What’s something people do in public that really annoys you, even though it’s probably not a big deal?
The fact that people are CLUELESS when they’re shopping. I ESPECIALLY dig the people at the grocery store who take up the whole freakin’ aisle (angle their cart so that the entire aisle is blocked) while they thoughtfully stand there and tap a finger against their lips as they decide on which brand, of the same food, to buy so that I’m FORCED to wait impatiently while they make up their damn minds. HELLO?! You’re not the only shopper here! Make room dork! (This doesn’t really upset me … heck, who am I kidding, having no courtesy for others annoys the ever-loving-crap outta me).
2. How readily do you ask strangers to stop their annoying behavior?
I don’t. I just fume and think really evil, bad thoughts in my head. However, I’ve been known to give them the stink eye a time or two. (Hey, don’t discount my stink eye, it’s QUITE rude, let me assure you). Unless it’s my family and then I’m QUITE verbal, let me assure you.
3. What’s something you do in public that probably annoys others?
My aggression. I can not stand indecisive people. And this bears repeating – I can not stand indecisive people. Make a decision, yes/no, this way or that way, this brand or this brand … ACT. Grr. So, I have a tendency to park my cart in an out of the way place at the store and simply muscle my way through, or reach around the clusters of indecisive people to get what I need so I can move on and end this little tortuous activity we call shopping. I’m on a mission people, it really is in your best interest to get the hell out of my way.
I’m sure that’s annoying to some people. *grin*
4. What’s your theory about why it’s so easy to get annoyed when one is behind the wheel of a vehicle?
Two reason, really. Stupidity and distractions. Honestly, I think a vast number of people were born without common sense, or a lick of sense, as the saying goes. Some people are simply incapable of seeing the big picture or anticipating the consequences of their bad decisions. Honestly, some of the things people do while driving – what are you thinking? Oh wait, you’re not.
And seriously folks, hang up and drive. Stop telling your life stories to your passengers. Buckle those children in and let them cry (I promise their emotional well beings will survive until you have a chance to pull over somewhere and tend to their needs). You are not only responsible for getting the people in your car safely to their destinations you’re responsible for not crashing into other people so they can safely get to their destinations. And if you think I’m an aggressive driver now? Just wait until my boys start driving – you haven’t SEEN aggressive until that happens.
I’m just saying. *shrug*
5. What regular, minor annoyance have you learned to tolerate?
Oh, let me count the ways:
1. The silence my husband greets me with after I’ve asked a question and I’m waiting for him to digest what I’ve said and answer me.
2. The fact that my oldest son hunches his shoulders and acts like he’s scared of the world.
3. My youngest son’s distractions with EVERYTHING and his unwillingness to be rushed, under any circumstances.
4. The fact that I can not eat chocolate, in it’s purest form, without bloating up like a woman in her third trimester and farting every time I walk from the gassy build up.
Seriously, I could go on forever, but you have lives to get back to … so let’s just say pretty much everything annoys me. Some days, other days, I’m completely laid back and nothing bothers me.
Wow, answering these questions was therapeutic – I feel so RELIEVED! (Hence my sidebar emotion for today. hehe)
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1. What’s your weather?
Right now? It’s raining. In fact, our weather guys were calling for tornadic activity last night but to my knowledge, nothing happened (unless I slept through the sirens and I somehow doubt that because a pin could drop and I would hear it – OH! Another annoyance, I’m a super light sleeper. Okay, I’ll stop now).
Here’s a picture of our current radar:
Nothing too major at this time but check back in an hour – the whole state will likely be a lovely mixture of greens, reds and yellows. (Our weather is insanely unpredictable).
2. Where are you on your way to?
I’m on my way to pick up my nephews. I promised them they could spend all day today, tonight and all day tomorrow with us. My boys are WIDELY excited about them coming over. Me? Not so much. Not because of THEM (they are sweet, well behaved boys) but because I know I will get little to no sleep tonight. Two reasons: 1. I never sleep well when the guys have buddies over – I’m responsible for their well beings! This haunts me! and 2. I have to sleep with my husband (whom I don’t normally sleep with because he snores something FIERCE).
3. Are you good with directions?
Yes and no. I’m good when I’m feeling confident and well rested. And no, when I’m feeling hormonal, edgy and tired. I Mapquest everything. I also suck at GIVING directions.
4. Do you know your neighbors?
Nope. Well, I semi-know the neighbors to our north. He’s a pretty well-known radio disk jockey and his grandson used to come over to our house every Friday night (before he grew up and started driving) so we talked through that experience. But the rest of my neighbors? No. And I have no desire to get to know them. Oh sure, I’m nice when I run across them, you know, the dainty wave and polite smiles, but they are all older adults and well, I just never made the effort. (I’m such a wuss).
Now, the neighbors to our south I dislike, pure and simple. They are sloppy, messy, lazy folks who can’t be bothered to pay their trash bill (their can is currently overflowing with trash because our trash truck, the same company who picks our trash up, has bypassed them for the past few weeks) or PICK UP the trash in their yard (I usually end up doing it when I simply can’t stand it anymore). They also have several years worth of phone books still littering their front stoop and their house is rotting away because they haven’t bothered to have it painted or repaired. The simple fact that they don’t take care of their responsibilities discourages me from wanting to get to know them.
5. What do you smell?
Right now? Warm flesh. I’ve been tanning and I smell like sunshine, lotion and melatonin.
