Fourteen

My LLB turned 14 today.
She took cupcakes to school so she could celebrate with her friends at lunch. Some things you just never grow out of...
She heard the Happy Birthday Song 5 times during the day.
My LLB is loved.

She is growing into an amazing young lady.
She is smart, funny, and a joy to be around (most days).
She is talented and good at everything she tries - except sports that involve throwing, catching, or hitting a ball. (Genetics were the downfall there.)
She loves chocolate, video games, and hanging out with her best friend, HP.
She is a typical teenager - except she still likes to hang out with her Mom sometimes. And THAT, my friends, is wicked cool.

Happy Birthday, my sweet LLB!

Tuesday

Gram and I have dentist appointments today - as in this morning.
Then we are going shopping. Oh, and maybe we'll even go to lunch while we are at it. There's got to be something to look forward to while you are sitting in the chair.

Monday...

Last week at this time I was getting ready to take pictures of the pre-schoolers at our church's pre-school. They are 3 years old and absolutely darling - except to get them to smile I practically had to stand on my head. (I had photographed the 4 year olds the previous Thursday and they were down right easy. They spoiled me!)

What a difference a week makes! This week, I'm frantically searching through my files for a handbell piece - Siyahamba. I have already been through both file drawers, but I just remembered two baskets in my car that have music in 'em. I'll check there next. If the music isn't in those baskets (and I sure hope it is), it's at church and I'll have to run down there before school - which isn't that big of a deal since I'm meeting a friend for lunch and then we are heading off to another friend's P*mpered Ch*f party. Yes, I know I don't cook, but I find nifty kitchen tools for Mr. at those things. Besides, they serve snacks...

My other chores for today include laundry, dishes, vacuuming, dusting, and general de-cluttering. My children generate clutter like nothing I've ever experienced. I had hoped that as they got older, they might generate less clutter (since their toys and games got smaller and smaller), but that is not the case. My family room table is covered with all kinds of shrapnel - video games, controllers, calculators, paper clips, scraps of paper, note cards, a sock, and various other items which I cannot identify. Those items have appeared since Friday evening.

The boys have just left for the bus stop. Mr. has a leaky tire that he's going to have fixed on the way to work. I'm hoping and praying he makes it to the shop. He has a portable tire inflater in his car that he borrowed from Grandpa. (Yes, Grandpa has everything!) He pumped his tire up before he left. Let's hope it's enough... He has the magic AAA card, but it would be nice if he could just get where he needs to go without having to use it.

I guess I've rambled on enough for today... It's just a normal crazy day around here. My day really starts when I go to school. It won't end until I get #1 from rehearsal tonight at 9. The rehearsal is supposed to end at 10:30, but that's just too late for me. I turn into a pumpkin at 10...

What a week!

I've been out straight the whole week. I thought our schedule would lighten up a bit as we approach May and June, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

#1 is gearing up for the musical - he's in the pit orchestra again this year. I think it will be his last unless they get a new conductor. The kid who is conducting - graduated last year but unfortunately lives locally - is a pain the - ahem - butt! He doesn't send information about rehearsals (like he is supposed to) and then gets mad when #1 can't be there because we've made plans. He doesn't know how to direct - He can't seem to count to 4 - this drives #1 up the proverbial wall. He had the gall to send me a nasty email telling me that my child needs to learn commitment - the silly boy doesn't know with whom he is dealing. (No one is more committed than my #1.) Needless to say, I blasted him back and haven't heard from him since. He's probably hiding in a corner licking his wounds. Emailing him and the director of the entire musical took a big chunk of my time this week. The good thing that came out of all of those emails - I've found out that there is a website with all the rehearsals listed. I found that extremely helpful - as did the Conductor kid. He didn't know that existed either. So... now that I've squared the theater department away, my year is complete.

#1 had his drum major tryouts this week. We've got our fingers and toes crossed. Any good luck you can send our way will be greatly appreciated. #1 has wanted to be the drum major since his very first football game as an 8th grader. I don't think the child has ever wanted something so badly.
They asked him all kinds of questions -
Why should we pick you? Well, I'm tall and everyone can see me. (They nodded.) I'm loud. (They grinned and nodded.) I work hard. (Another nod.)
You say you are responsible. You were late with the paperwork for Solo & Ensemble. What do you say about that? I'm human. (They nodded.)
He had to conduct. He messed it up a little bit, but got right back on. They asked him if he was nervous. He said, "Yes. I am a bit nervous." (He thought, "I'm scared out of my mind up here!")
They asked him a bunch of other questions and then they asked him what would he do differently as drum major. His answer, "Well, I would do something different than the other drum majors. As a drum major you are still part of the band. You are no more special than anyone else. I intend to participate in all the activities they do. When they are running. I'm running. When they are stretching, I'm stretching. When they are jumping off the nearest bridge, I'm jumping off the nearest bridge." He thought they were impressed by that. (That may be the one answer that gets him this position he wants so desperately.)
When we get the results, you'll get the results. The waiting has been excruciating for all the kids and families involved.

LLB did Battle of the Books this year and their final competition was Friday night. We've never done anything like this before. (In a nutshell: you and your teammates read 20 books over the course of the school year. Then you show up to answer questions about those 20 books. There is an individual round where you answer multiple choice questions. Then you do 5 rounds with your team - you need to know the book and the author to get points. Then you do a final round where you have to have 2 answers correct to get points.) LLB and her team didn't win, but they had a great time. LLB scored in the top 5 for the individual and HP got second for the individual. She was blown away! She didn't think she did all that well on the test. (We'd come running in from trumpet lessons at the last minute and she took the test while she swilled down her pizza.) After the competition, we took the kids for ice cream. They do this stuff for the snacks!

In between all of those things, I took my school handbell kids to a school festival out in the Shenandoah Valley for a day. They had a great time and made a bunch of new friends. They can't wait to go back next year.

Yesterday we worked in the yard. What a glorious day! We got the wood all stacked, the lawn mowed, and most of the yard chores done. We took a water break and enjoyed watching the hawk circling and playing on the thermals. This, my friends, is why we live in the country. There was no traffic noise, just the birds chirping... Right now, my back door is open and there is a light breeze blowing across my ankles. The birds are singing, the dog is snoring, and my children are still conked out upstairs. My Mr. is working on his computer out on the deck. Life is good.

If only I could sit and enjoy it... I've got to get my rear to church...

Sad, but True...

A dog had followed his owner to school. His owner was a fourth grader at a public elementary school. However, when the bell rang, the dog sidled inside the building and made it all the way to the child's classroom before a teacher noticed and shooed him outside, closing the door behind him. The dog sat down, whimpered and stared at the closed doors. Then God appeared beside the dog, patted his head, and said,

'Don't feel bad fella'...they won't let ME in either'.

Ohh... the possibilities!

A woman was sitting at a bar enjoying an after work cocktail with her girlfriends when Steven, a tall, exceptionally handsome, extremely sexy, middle-aged man entered. He was so striking that the woman could not take her eyes off him.

This seasoned yet playful heartthrob noticed her overly attentive stare and walked directly toward her. (As any man would.) Before she could offer her apologies for staring so rudely, he leaned over and whispered to her, "I'll do anything, absolutely anything, that you want me to do, no matter how kinky, for $20.00... on one condition..."

Flabbergasted but intrigued, the woman asked what the condition was The man replied, "You have to tell me what you want me to do in just three words."

The woman considered his proposition for a moment, and then slowly removed a $20 bill from her purse, which she pressed into the man's hand along with her address. She looked deeply and passionately into his eyes, barely concealing her anticipation and excitement, and slowly and meaningfully said....

"Clean my house."

An Inconvenient Truth

House #1
A 20 room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400 per month. In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern 'snow belt' area. It's in the South.



House #2
Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. This house incorporates every 'green' feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground.

The water (usually 67 degrees F) he ats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape..

~~~~~
HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville, Tennessee; it is the abode of the 'environmentalist' Al Gore.

HOUSE #2 is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas;
it is the residence of the former President of the United States, George W. Bush.

An 'inconvenient truth.'

Don't believe it? Check it out at Snopes.

All the hype about global warming makes my blood boil. Al Gore is a two faced hypocrite.