Out Damned Spot!

You all know how I love free stuff? Well, I got a free bottle of Spot Shot to review from Mom Central.

My carpet upstairs is the color of dirt. I did not choose it. I hate it. It is original to the house and it is totally disgusting. But, it's what I have at the moment.

At the top of the stairs in front of the kids' bathroom door is a big old nasty spot. It has been there for at least 3 years. I can't remember if it is from a child or a dog, but it is a large oval spot. It is NOT attractive. I see it every time I climb the stairs. It's annoying and irritating. I have tried everything to get that spot out - including using the line from Shakespeare "Out damned spot!"

Nothing worked.
Until now.
The minute I opened the box containing my new bottle of Spot Shot, I literally grabbed, it and flew up the stairs.
I sprayed the Spot Shot on the spot.
I blotted.
And, after it dried, some of the spot was gone!
I'm in the process of repeating the spraying, blotting, and letting it dry.

Let me just say that NOTHING else ever took ANY of the spot out. This Spot Shot - it works!

Oh and I have this black rug in my craft room. And, well, on Saturday morning Zeb (we think it might have been Zeb) puked up a rabbit on that rug. Yes, people, he ate carrion. He must think he is a vulture. Needless to say, it wasn't a pretty sight.

I was out at my bell conference when this little lovely was discovered. (Thank GOD!) Mr. called and wanted to know where I had put the new carpet cleaner. He wasn't taking any chances with this mess.

He sprayed, he blotted, he let it dry. Guess what? There is no evidence that anything had ever puked on the rug. The Spot Shot works! - It really works.

You got a nasty spot? Get Spot Shot to get rid of your spot.

Ding...

Dong...
I'm off to a Handbell Directors' Seminar today.
I get to ring and ring and ring.
And then I get to shop for music 'til I drop.

In other news, my PTO chairmanship is off to a pretty decent start - considering I wasn't going to even contemplate being the chair. Our first meeting had double the attendance of any meeting last year. We have some new volunteers (thank the Lord above!) who are enthusiastic and willing to jump right in with both feet. I spent part of the day yesterday sending emails, ordering a pencil vending machine, and looking for bulk pencils. Call me cheap, but I want round pencils in bulk that don't cost more than 10 cents a piece. Is that too much to ask??

We had our first church bell rehearsal last night. I want you all to know that I'm just not a 4 in hand ringer. As much as I try, I'm just not. I prefer lower notes - you know.. ones you can actually hear and don't cause every dog in the neighborhood to howl. I'm just sayin'.

So, I best get my rear in gear.
I need to be out of here shortly.
Don't miss me too much!

Thursday 13

Thirteen Things Ladybug is Thinking About Today 1. Our first PTO meeting was last night. It looks like we'll have lots of help this year. I sent out a volunteer plea and I've already gotten 2 of the items checked off the list. I'm so relieved I could cry. I just can't do it all this year... 2. I went to Substitute Training yesterday and I learned how to be a substitute teacher. I knew you'd be thrilled. It was an overly exciting experience... not. 3. #1 had a not so pleasant experience at the last football game. One of his band mates threatened to punch him for cheering for our team. Isn't that what you are supposed to do at a football game? 4. He reported the incident to the band director via email over the weekend. 5. I thought that would be the end of it, but it seems that it didn't stop there. 6. #1 got called to the office to tell his side of the story to one of the principals. 7. The other kid is now off the marching band - as he should have been over aweek ago. He swore at another saxophone student - one of #1's dear friends. Let's just say that threatening my boy (a black belt in karate) was the icing on the proverbial cake. 8. The dynamic on the field is far different - much more unified and calm. 9. The kids are happy. Their nemesis is gone. 10. Band is supposed to be a family - a happy healthy family, not an abusive one. And now it is a happy family. 11. I've got a million things to do today including laundry, dishes, and marking music. Anyone wanna help mark music? 12. I'm taking a well deserved break this afternoon to have lunch with my dearest friend. That "carrot" is going to keep my arse in gear all morning. 13. We have church bells tonight. I'm psyched! Our bells are back from the spa and I am hoping to move into the bass line - my favorite place to play. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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Vindicated!

You all remember that back in March I had a run in with Mrs. Doyle? My sweet CRV was crunched and Mrs. Doyle said that the whole thing was my fault.

In case you have forgotten, Mrs. Doyle pulled out of her driveway and made a left in front of me. That alone makes the accident her fault. (Not to mention that she did the same thing to another neighbor less than two weeks after she did it to me. Fortunately, the neighbor was able to stop.)

I had to pay my deductible - which didn't please me, but when you need your wheels you do what you gotta do. I told Liberty that they should not have to pay a cent. If Mrs. Doyle hadn't pulled out in front of me, I wouldn't have hit her - plain and simple. They took my claim, my statement, and my pictures to arbitration. I got a call from Liberty Mutual yesterday, "Ladybug, I'm pleased to inform you that Liberty Mutual won 100% in arbitration. You will receive your check sometime this week."

HA! Take that, Mrs. Doyle!

And to Liberty Mutual - You're the best!

Sometimes

I just forget stuff...
Like this morning...

Grandpa came over at 6:28 - #1 and I were just about ready to hit the road to go to the bus stop.
Grandpa said, "6:30?"
"Oh yeah.... I forgot! #1, Grandpa is going to take you to school today."
"Really? He's driving me in the car?"
"Yes, he has a test at the hospital, so he's going to drop you at school."
He looks at Grandpa and says, "Wow! This is great! Thanks!"

It's the little things...

Emoticons

Mr got this in an email from a very good friend of the family. He forwarded it to me and I just had to share...

We all know those cute little computer symbols called 'emoticons,' where:

:) means a smile and

:( is a frown.

Sometimes these are represented by

:-)

:-(

Well, how about some 'BUTT ICONS?'
Here goes:

(_!_) a regular arse

(__!__) a fat arse

(!) a tight arse

(_*_) a sore arse

{_!_} a swishy arse

(_o_) an arse that's been around

Community Band

I went to Community Band this past week with LLB.
A friend of mine begged me to join and after a year of listening to her whine and plead, I succumbed to the peer pressure.

I arrived at Community Band practice. I sat down in the flute section - I took the last chair because I am new and because I stink - I haven't really played in over a year. As I put my instrument together, I looked down the line at the other 4 flutes. My friend, J, had my old Bundy that I let her borrow last year. The other 3 had silver open holed Gemeinhardts with gold lip plates. I thought to myself, "OMG! What have I done? These people are professionals! I'm totally out of my league". I mentioned that little tidbit to J. She smiled and said, "Nah... just wait."

The director told us to get the music out. I glanced down at the music that J put in front of me. I saw a sea of black notes and accidentals. I should have grabbed my instrument and run and hid in the bathroom. I gulped. I tried not to hyperventilate. I don't particularly like Sousa marches. As a matter of fact, I hate Sousa marches - they freak me out. I can't play Sousa marches without a LOT of practice or a couple of (or 3) alcoholic beverages.

LLB on the other hand, decided she would just play the first and last notes in every measure and if she could get a couple notes in the middle of the measure, that would be good, too. She's smart. I'm not. She sat with a high school boy we know. She played the first trumpet parts. That's not easy stuff. She loved it... of course she did.

I managed pretty well. Basically if I just relax and let my brain take over, my fingers will do what they were trained to do all those years ago. Sometimes, the brain is a little behind, but hey... I'm old and it's rusty.

On the way out, the directors stopped LLB. They were mighty impressed with her tone, sound, and playing ability. I'm sure their first impression was that the sweet little blond kid couldn't play squat. They were wrong. She kicked butt.

The high schooler she sat with went home that night and told his parents, "That LLB, wow.. she's good. She can't wait to be up at the high school to be in the band. But, she doesn't just want to be in the band... she wants 1st chair!" (That would be his first chair, thankyouverymuch.)

Yup... that's my girl!
As for me... If you need me during next week's community band rehearsal, I'll be in the handicapped stall.