the grass is always greener…

I don’t care what your poo looks like!! just sayin’.

if you’ve never told me about your poo, then obviously this post isn’t referring to you. just ignore.

yesterday, emma discovered a new use for the angel’s arms. she’s always been fascinated with the angel, they’re about the same size. she likes to hug her and talk to her, and now she shares her juice  😀

from photobasement.com

from photobasement.com

watching, originally uploaded by hockamama.

see the little guy perched on the windchimes, over there on the right? he’s the owner of this particular hummingbird feeder. I have 2 feeders, one on either side of the porch. the other one is red, and it’s open to the public. this one, however, is a private dining room. this guy keeps watch to make sure that no one drinks from his fountain. he has 2 other watch spots, besides this one. we have a puny weeping willow in the front yard that he likes, and also a huge pin oak in the neighboring yard.

when an unauthorized drinker approaches his feeder, he comes flying, screaming all the way. he really lets them have it, and if they fuss back, he’ll smack into them. sometimes the 2 of them will hit the ground, they tussle so roughly. he just cusses and screams, then they’ll go away, and he’ll return to his watch spot. I feel sorry for the other birds, but I reckon he figures they can drink out of the other feeder, so they won’t starve. I sure hope not.

• emma has learned how to take off her shirt; there is grunting and and much effort involved, but the look of triumph is worth it
• rich may have contracted aids and syphilis on his arm…while waiting for me outside of a funky little shop in the heart of uncg downtown greensboro, a woman came up from behind and put her hand on his arm, which was resting on the car door. she explained that she was here from raleigh, seeking treatment for aids and syphilis and wondered if he had any money. she then crossed the street and asked for money of a woman headed into the shop where I was; this time her story consisted of an abusive boyfriend and hungry child, with no mention of vd.
• our neighbors have a little yorkie, named rooster, he’s really cute. he walks the fence like a little guard, watching for cats, then he yaps his little head off. we’ll be sitting on the porch, enjoying a nice glass of wine, and spending time together, when suddenly, the kitty patrol starts.
• I must be the last person in the country to discover dr. horrible’s singalong blog, but I love it! I have long liked neil patrick harris, and I love him in this role.
• madison says, “WHY do they have assorted pizza EVERY monday?!” imagine some head bobbing and attitude and you’ll see what I see. the attitude is ever present…
• putting candles in wine bottles and letting them burn does not necessarily give one the effect one is looking for. mainly because it takes forever for one candle to burn down that far. I need 8 bottles covered in wax for saturday; I think it’s going to take me until then just to burn a second candle
• I read this great quote on craftster, it’s someone’s signature, “the only abstinence you should teach.. is to abstain from voting for Sarah Palin”
• the kids have decided to ride the school bus again, which is great because it saves me gas now that I don’t have to make 2 trips; the downside is that now I have to get my tired self out of bed an hour earlier. ugh
• lately I’ve been hating myself, which leads to binge eating, which results in more self loathing…have. to. break. cycle….(said in shatnerese)
• emma’s dog is pepper (aka my sister) and lately when the neighbor’s dalmation barks, emma says ‘pepper’. this morning a black beetle crawled up onto the porch and died. she called it pepper. I tried to get her to say ‘bug’ and she did a couple of times, just to humor me, but the bug remained pepper.
• my cousin on my mother’s side, and my brother on my father’s side live 2 miles from each other in the town where I grew up. they probably met a total of 10 times in their childhoods; I just think it’s curious that they live so close to each other
• can one ever truly have enough spaghetti? I hope not. tonight is a fundraiser for the 5th grade trip to DC in april. of course, we have to have the standard pta meeting since the only way they can get attendance at those godawful meetings is to bring us there under false pretenses. saturday night, my youth group is having a fundraiser spaghetti/bingo dinner. but, ours will be super cool. we’re decorating the fellowship hall like an intimate italian diner, with candles in wine bottles, italian music (if I can find enough) and a maitre’d. hopefully both of these dinners will raise some good moola!
• my wine racks are FINALLY hung! there’s a guy at church who is an extremely talented woodworker (I reckon that’s what you’d call him) and for christmas last year I asked him to make me 2 wine racks like these, but hopefully less expensive. the ones he made are somewhat similar, but just as pretty, and MUCH less expensive. because my husband is not so ambitious around the house (recall the dishwasher?) I finally ended up staining them myself a couple of months ago, then I asked the guy who made them to come put them up. they look great, and getting those blasted wine glasses out of my cupboard really frees up space in there.
• my cousin and brother up north have both been without power since sunday due to ike. atleast they live in town, so they can use their plumbing. sheryl (the cuz) has been cooking on the grill every night, they sit outside around a fire and play cards, she says it’s just like camping, but with the comfort of home. it’s always exciting to me when the power goes out; we dig out all the extra candles and light the everyday ones. but, living out in bfe has the disadvantage of no toilets…which sucks. big time. for us, it’s like camping at home, but avoiding the bathroom, hoping the power will come back soon.

on saturday morning, jess got the call that everyone dreads. one of her best friends was killed in a car accident very early that morning. exactly one week shy of his 21st birthday. he was going after his girlfriend, who had taken off after a fight. he was drunk.

she and alex had known each other for years, went to school together, had all the same friends…it was through him that she started dating ben, who had also gone to school with them. it was alex who got her the job at ruby tuesday. the very job that she can’t stand the thought of going back to without him.

he was a very good looking boy, well mannered, always in a good mood, the life of the party. he made work fun, and his absence is like a vacuum.

this is the 3rd friend she has lost in 4 years; all of them guys; all of them in car accidents; only one of them was not alcohol related; 2 of them were only 17.

this teenage invincibility crap is for the birds, when will the madness stop? as a mother, I see things so much differently than I did when I was young and had the rest of my life before me.

every time I hear of a child dying in a car accident, I flash back to jess’ frantic 3 a.m. call, and again thank God that it was her calling me, and not a state trooper.

please keep alex’s family in your thoughts and prayers. he was an only child, and his parents were divorced, so they don’t even have the comfort of each other.

I just mailed out a bag of fabric scraps for a swap on craftster. my package went to the UK at a cost of $34! man, I had no idea it cost so much to ship international. it only weighed a little under 4 pounds. I don’t even want to think about it being any heavier.

this was my third swap. I’ve always wanted to join them, but I always felt inadequate in my crafting to actually participate. so, when the chance came to join a raffle type swap, I jumped on it. that way I only had to craft something that I was comfortable with, and send it to whomever’s name was drawn. the first one went okay, the person whose name I drew turned out to be a non-drinker, so the wine bag I had made didn’t go over so well. the second time around lots of people wanted my owl bag, so that was better.

this last swap was really easy, because all I had to do was box up a bunch of fabric scraps. in turn, I’ll get a bunch of someone else’s scraps; I’m so excited! there’s nothing like new fabric to brighten my day, even scraps.

I’ve gone ahead and entered a couple more swaps, one of which I’m nervous about and now wish I hadn’t been quite so impulsive. it’s a book lover’s swap. that’s what drew me in, because I love love love me a good book. but I’m just not sure what to make for my partner, that’s the part that makes me nervous. the other swap will be cool, it’s just stuffing a box with craft supplies (junk) and swapping for someone else’s junk.

ah, well. atleast I have some time to figure it all out.