Good Morning and happy Easter everyone, I also want to say happy Passover. This weekend has been a very full one, it started Thursday night with Tessa coming to spend a few days with her Gigi. Friday was a girl filled day, first up pink pancakes for breakfast, then a walk and playing on her beloved rocks. Elizabeth Anne came and we took Tess to our favorite place on earth, yes, Taco Bueno. Then it was off to Build a Bear where she picked out a rabbit and named her Daisy. No day is complete without a trip to Costco and Target!
Then that evening, the Irishman’s girls came and Tess was beyond elated, I let them stay up late playing chase in the moonlight, then eating goldfish crackers and watching Hop. Saturday morning started with blue pancakes and playing outside, the rocks beckoned and they played for hours. Their girlish giggles filled the air and neighbors brought their children out to play with them.
After Tess went home it was grocery shopping then lunch and Hop again, this time with movie popcorn and juice boxes.
I hope they had a good time, in between I managed to read two books and get laundry done. Very productive.
I have something shameful to admit, I have given into peer pressure and have read the first two books in the Hunger Games series. I should have bought the third at the grocery store yesterday, I started the first book on Friday and by Saturday night had finished the second one, now I am in need of the third one. They are quick reads as they are written for the average 13 year old, so fifth grade level, but I am going to tell you, wow, I am impressed and I like them. The premise is interesting, I am guessing the author is a fan of Logan’s Run, as it is similar to the concept of that movie. I did not find it disturbing that they had children killing children as middle school is a dog eat dog world in itself. I will be getting the third book today, I hope a store is open so I can get it!
I am going to see my beautiful Elizabeth Anne in Bonham for Easter, leaving the Irishman to celebrate with his children, I am taking care of their Easter dinner for them, he doesn’t cook, then off I go. So excited, I have never been to Sherman and that is where we will be having Easter lunch.
I hope everyone has a fantastic day, that if you have taught your children about the Easter bunny he comes to visit, and that everyone remember why we really have Easter. He is risen.
The Bachelor, How I really Feel
I saw a tweet the other day where Barbara Walters called the show, The Bachelor a degradation to women, I retweeted and added my own two cents. I called it a degradation to humanity, it was mentioned on MSN.com trends. I had no idea until someone commented here and let me know.
I would like to tell you why I believe the Bachelor and the Bachelorette shows are degradations to humanity. We, as humans, have come so far in the short amount of time we have been on this planet and this is what we reduce ourselves to? Vying to be on a television show where, I admit I don’t know, how many women are trying to get the attention of one man? Vice versa on the other one, but let’s tackle the Bachelor first shall we. All of these women, allowing this man to grope them and stick his tongue down their throat all in the hopes of a proposal at the end of the program. These women are not ugly, however from what I hear some are crazy, but they are not ugly. So why this show? Why humiliate yourself in front of the world for a man?
Fame, comes to mind, in our current culture people will do anything for fame, including taping themselves having sex and “leaking” it to the public. How must the parents of these girls feel watching them do these things. If my daughter, Elizabeth Anne, told me she was going on this show, I would lock her in a room until she was too old to go anywhere near it. But here is the thing with my daughter, I raised her differently, I raised her to be independent, self-reliant and to have self respect. These women have no self respect, and from what I know of the show the man involved has no respect for these women. He goes from one to the other saying I love you to them? When they see the show air do they feel humiliation? Or, because in this society, they are happy to just be on television? That is the real question, when are we going to go back to having morals and not thinking that being famous is all there is to life?
Don’t get me wrong, part of me would love to be famous, just for the free shoes that I know someone would want to send me. Are you out there Jimmy Choo? This show is not romantic, it is skanky and encourages women to whore themselves out for a few moments of air time.
If we boycott this show, like we all should, then these people would have to have real lives, real relationships and perhaps have a modicum of decency. As it is they don’t have any of those things.
Those are my feelings on these types of shows, I hate them, I like scripted programming, let’s get Joss Whedon back on prime time, then I will be a completely happy woman.
Zumba Time
Yesterday I tried Zumba for the first time, I convinced my workout partner, Kay, that we needed to do this. Wow, that is all I can say, well actually not, I am going to say a lot. I finally got it by those endorphins everyone is always going on about. I loved it! It was not like exercise at all, it was an hour of dancing. I haven’t sweat that much in, well, a long time. This morning I could barely get out of bed, my legs and arms hurt so much. We will be doing the class every Tuesday and Thursday, it was just a blast! High energy, low impact fun. There was a woman in there that wore this scarf thing around her waist that had all of these jingle thingies on it, I want one. I need one. I want to jingle when I shimmy. Let me tell you, I didn’t know what I was doing, at times I was lost, but I just kept moving, and figured the more I went the more I would get the steps. I probably looked like a big ol’ donkey, and I didn’t care, still don’t.
Elizabeth Anne has gotten me hooked on a new game, it is a drawing game, for those of you who know me really well, you know that I do not draw well. So it is funny as all get out, I laugh so hard at my own drawings. Elizabeth sent me a text last night that said “What the hell is that” out of sheer frustration at her mother’s drawing ability. For the record it was a cat pouncing. the word was pounce.
Happy Wednesday, the week is going slow, I blame the time change, I am hoping the weekend goes slow as well. Saturday I am volunteering at a Susan G. Komen event, I don’t know what I am going to be doing, but I am sure it is going to be a fun time. I have to be there at 7am, that I didn’t know I had volunteered for until Wanda sent me an email telling me the specifics. I will have to remember to set my alarm Friday night, I am very excited, I do this in memory of Sandi and in honor of all of my friends battling breast cancer.
This morning, the Irishman made my coffee, I love it when he does that, his coffee tastes so yummy! Wednesday is off to a good start!
No Internet Weekend
I did it, I went 24 hours with no internet, it was hard, I am not going to lie. Especially first thing in the morning, I read the comics and Dear Abby online, that is how I start my day, however, yesterday I did not get to. I did make the Irishman bring me a newspaper, I accessed the old fashioned way. He said the hardest part was when his soccer team won and he couldn’t brag about it, and when the man at the bar hit on him. He couldn’t even text me about it, since he is the one that said no text messages. Serves him right, since he came home and then slept all day. Yes, I believe he cheated because he was “sick” so he slept all day. Avoided temptation, is what he did. Ok, so he was actually not feeling well, but still, I went to Costco and Target and couldn’t even tell anyone where I was.
I would also like to say thank you to Jess and Elizabeth Anne for bombarding me with messages I could not read. I resisted the urge to even look; I did call them and ask them what was so all fired important. Nothing, nothing was important!
I have to admit it was kind of freeing in a way, after a while, I didn’t have the urge to look, to see what everyone was doing, to see if I was missing something. I think I will unplug every once in a while just to regroup. I caught up on my TV watching, I read a book, which is something I love to do, it was nice. I did miss the Stylization on Ruelala, which was sad for me, but Elizabeth Anne sent me a text this morning saying I didn’t miss anything. What a relief!
Watched another episode of GCB, I am really loving that show, it is so spot on, everyone who lives in the Dallas/FT Worth area needs to see this show. Oh who am I kidding, all Baptists need to see this show, it doesn’t matter where you live, this show is spot on. Watch it!
A Great Day Indeed
Well, happy Thursday, I see another gateway day has graced us with it’s presence, very happy to see you friend. Has anyone ever noticed how happy Thursdays are? There is a joyousness that cannot be denied, an anticipatory feeling in the air. The weekend is near and anything is possible, a very happy day indeed. This week has been full of goodness, I got to see Jeffrey and Tess more than usual and Alex came home. I communicate with Elizabeth Anne almost every day, whether it is via text, twitter or actual voice. Life is good, I am a fortunate mother, I have amazing children.
Things are good at home, I have no complaints at this point in life, oh it doesn’t hurt that every single thing I ordered this weekend came in yesterday as well.
I renewed my license and the woman that was helping me said wow you have lost a lot of weight since this last picture was taken, I wanted to hug her, make her my new best friend. However since there is a man with a gun working at the DMV I decided not to hop the counter and left with a simple thank you.
Perhaps today will be a Starbucks day, I can practically hear the Passion Tea calling my name, I get it sans sweetener so it is 0 points. Oh, speaking of, did I tell you all I am completely off of te artificial sweeteners? I have switched to honey in my coffee and have not looked back. I do feel better, so far no sinus infections, we will see during the spring season, when it is so windy and there are so many allergins in the air.
Well people, I am totally out of here, looking forward to a good day at work and a good workout afterward. Oh wow, that last part made me literally laugh out loud. No such thing as a good workout!
Weekend Update
What a weekend, first on Friday I get a call from Tessa’s mother asking me if I would like to have Tess on Saturday. As she left a voicemail, I tried calling back, got vm, however not set up, sent a text saying of course. All day Saturday I was on a cleaning jag, the whole bedroom got the treatment, along with my closet; I now have two huge black trash bags and one box ready for goodwill.
Tessa arrives and we decide to take dinner to her daddy, so we go to Wendy’s and take dinner to Jeffrey. After playing for a long while and breaking bread, the two of us head back to the apartment. Tessa tells me in the car, “Gigi, I don’t like sleeping with you because you snore” and she begins to snort, and I said, well then I guess you get to sleep by yourself from now on. She then says “No, I’m not doing that, I’m just telling you.” And she continues to make snoring noises. I don’t even know where she gets this as I don’t sleep when she spends the night because she takes up the whole bed and is a kicker! Humph.
The next day was shopping with Elizabeth, we were on the hunt for my new favorite jeans, Kut from the Kloth, we went to the Dillard’s in Fairview and were told they did not carry them. However they did make the call to two other stores for us to find where the jeans were carried. So off to Willowbend we go. They do have the jeans and I ended up with two new pairs. What I love about shopping with Elizabeth Anne so much is first off, we go to Starbucks and second, I understand that I am comedy relief for her. As I am in the dressing room, trying the jeans she wants me to, I hit my head on the dressing room door, I can hear her chortling on the other side.
Next was lunch with the Irishman, we tried a new place in Plano, The Irish Ice House, it was pretty good, he said the Guinness was not good. Too cold, however the fish and chips were decent, the portion was just right, and the batter not to thick and it was tasty. We noticed they have a breakfast menu, they have the Irish sausage on there, we are totally going back for Sunday breakfast in a couple of weeks.
Then it was taking my car to Jeffrey, he is going back to work tomorrow, the incision looks good, many thanks to all of you who prayed for him and his surgery. My car is not behaving, so he is driving it to work today to see what is going on with it. Freddy was there and we got a good visit in, then home for the Oscars! I will write my thoughts on that in a separate post, just say, best speech, Christopher Plummer, best reaction, Octavia Spencer, so genuine, the both of them.
The best news saved for last I have, Alex is coming home tomorrow! So excited and happy to see my youngest, I do believe this is the longest he has been gone and I have missed him terribly. I hope everyone has a great Monday!
Demons for a Tuesday
Well it is another day, and another opportunity for everyone to do the right thing in their lives. Whatever that may be, to whomever you are.
So today is Fat Tuesday, Mardi gras, what I want to know is what all of my Catholic friends are going to give up for Lent. That is looming ever closer for you, being Baptist; we don’t give up anything, mainly because we have already given up everything. No drinking, no dancing, no gambling and if you are FreeWill Baptist, no movies. So nothing is left to give up, and I have given up so much with the whole not eating thing there is nothing left for me to give up.
I did it, I took my acrylic overlay off of my nails, they look incredibly disgusting now, can’t wait for them to grow out. I may go get the overlays again in the future, but for now I am done with them.
I have decided I am addicted to expensive denim, it just fits so much better and the quality of the denim is amazing. Thank you Elizabeth Anne for introducing me to this delightful product, you have no idea the monster you just created!
I am deciding what I want to do for lunch, I walked out the door without my usual yogurt, I have no fruit and I am starving already. I think it is a mindset, I have no food here, therefore I am hungry for it, if I had food I would not be hungry. So, I will be going to the gym today after work, yes, I am going to torture myself with working out. I hate it so much, but you all know this, the endorphins never, ever kick in for me. I will always hate it, however, I have to be skinny, it is an obsession with me and no I don’t care about health, I don’t understand why people don’t get that. Why the feel the need to lecture me, I don’t care, I just want to look good. I am a product of my avid television watching, from the 1970’s forward, I want to look like the women in the magazines, I don’t want to be flabby, real women, real women are the ones who care about what they look like. I was told from a young age that I was pretty; my grandmother told my grandfather that he was filling my head with nonsense when he taught me to read at the age of 4. She said that girl is pretty, she doesn’t need to be smart, she can get a husband. So, with the mindset that looks is all that matters in life I shall continue my quest to keep mine. That is my opinion, and I don’t care who knows it. Let the criticism begin. I did not have birthday cake; I had no chocolates for Valentines Day, mainly because no one got me any, cake or chocolates. See even the people in my life are trying to tell me I am fat and ugly, and they don’t care about my health either, just want me to be skinny.
On that note, I will sign off and get ready to face my demons, and trust me there are plenty.
Busy Weekend
This weekend has been very busy and full, it started on Friday, packed up the griddle, bacon and off to Jeffreys. Tessa was waiting for her Gigi to arrive, and arrive I did, carrying all kinds of goodies with me. First it was pancakes and bacon, for which Jeffrey did come to the table for. He seems to be doing very well with the surgery, he said he is in pain, but it is surgery pain, so hopefully that means that the back pain is lessened.
Tess and I painted and played, then it was time to pick up the Irishman’s girls from school. Off we went, with a quick detour to Target, where Tessa decided that she needed a new dress for a fashion show. So, I got her a new pink fluffy creation, and new dresses for Lauren and Carolion so they could all be fancy.
We went to pick them up, and Tessa was so excited, she loves those girls so much. They played and played, then I took them back to my place so they could have a slumber party.
The next day was back to Jeffreys with all three girls in tow, Elizabeth Anne joined us, where she proceeded to clean her brother’s house. At least the downstairs, Jeffrey will not be able to vacuum for a few weeks, or bend or twist. It was very nice of Elizabeth to do that for him. He now has a clean kitchen and living room.
More shopping at Target, however it was pouring rain, so I didn’t get to go to all the places I wanted to. I didn’t want to keep the girls out in it, the Irishman’s girls are sickly. One was already coughing and sneezing, so, no rain shopping for them.
I am thinking of getting rid of the acrylic overlays on my nails, I find that I hate going in every two to three weeks and put it off and put it off until they are about to grow all the way out anyway. I mean I like having them, they are pretty and make my nails look nice, I have really weird nails, two of them curve in and this straightens them out, so I don’t know what to do. I guess I’ll figure it out.
Today is definitely shopping day, I need to go to Costco, and I need to have some alone time, and I need to go back and check on Jeffrey. I think that will be first, I also need to drop off Tessas car seat.
Another busy day, I better get started, off to the shower I go, then let the fun begin. Will let you all know what I decide on the nails. Very conflicted.
Jeans Shopping
Well it is the day after Valentines day, and well, nothing exciting to report, the Irishman was sick, like fever, chills, throwing up sick. Hard to fake that to get out of, well another day dedicated to me. I did get a present, but no chocolates, no flowers, no card, but understandable as he was sick and it started Saturday.
Tomorrow is the day for Jeffrey’s back surgery, any and all prayers are gratefully accepted. It’s his second one, I pray this one takes away the pain and he can live a normal, pain-free life.
Well, nothing exciting going on, not a lot to report, I wish I could wear the jeans that Elizabeth Anne bought me every day. I love them!
Ok, now I can tell you about the ones I tried on that were just, well, bad, bad, bad. They are called Not Your Daughters Jeans, Elizabeth told me to try them on. First off, they are not denim material, and I think they are all spandex. I put a pair on, the waist was so high, and they made my butt look HUGE, I am not exaggerating. I was like, what the heck, when did Kim Kardashian walk in the dressing room. It was shocking, I don’t know why anyone buys those jeans. Sorry, not jeans, pants, Elizabeth and I just stared at the horrible thing that had become my behind in horror. I immediately got those off and put on the ones that we would decide was the best pair out of about a thousand. So, the moral of the story is if you want to have your behind look like it has its own zip code go buy those pants. If not, run away from them!
My Saturday
Yesterday was an incredibly full and wonderful day, filled with emotion and old-fashioned fun. It started with the party to celebrate Almetta’s 80th birthday, she is Sandi’s mom for those of you who are new to reading me. Wanda was the ring leader in this endeavor, and let me tell you, it came off beautifully. If any of my readers are in Plano, TX please make a point to go to One 2 One, located in the Shops at Legacy. Just a beautiful space, excellent food and just a terrific staff. We had a private room, the staff just took care of us, making sure everything was filled, the food was plentiful and we were all comfortable. Several people spoke, there is one in particular that stuck with me. It was Louise, who is just a beautiful woman, very regal, elegant and, well for lack of a better word, classy. She said that in her country it takes a village to raise a child, and in there, exists a Queen Mother, and Al is our Queen Mother. She really is, Sandi graciously shared her mother with all of us.
The money tree was a huge hit, I am so happy it turned out the way it did. Something about the silver paint on the tree actually camouflaged the money. So when you look at it, the money wasn’t really visible at first. The look on Al’s face at first was like oh thank you, then when she noticed the money, it was “OH THANK YOU!” It was too cute, and so funny.
I also got to see Jason and Daniel, Sandi’s sons, I have not seen them in for a while. So good seeing them, they are incredible young men and Sandi would be proud of the way they are living their lives.
Next up was time with Elizabeth Anne, she came down from Bonham to celebrate my birthday with me. First up, Starbucks for a coffee treat, then shopping, then dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Now, I realize this is our usual time together. What made this so spectacular is that Elizabeth was the one paying! What a switch, she said the bank is probably going to call her and say, Um, these are charges we usually see on your moms card, what’s going on. She bought me the cutest sweater and my first pair of expensive jeans. I cannot wait to wear them! Thank you Elizabeth for a great birthday outing!
Angie World 