Life is Fabulous

Listen, I understand that we have a tumultuous relationship. You bear a lot (*snort*) on a daily basis between my husband and I, but really. Come on, now. I've been trying. Walking five miles a day, five days a week for the past six weeks in the blazing heat, sweating more than any girl should have to is HARD. I deserve a little movement from you. Instead, all I get are smug looks and profane little clicks that land on the same bloody (horrifying) number every damn day. All I'm asking for is a couple of pounds. Five. We'll start with FIVE measly pounds. You can do that, can't you? Even the stubbornnest of my features, my thighs have moved a little, exchanging some of the chub for some more defined muscle, and my waist is slowly but surely disappearing where it knows it's not wanted.

So all I'm saying, Mr. Bathroom scale, is that it wouldn't kill you to ease up a little. I've stopped with all the butter. I quit using half and half in my coffee. I've cut WAY back on bread. In fact, if you don't start seeing things my way, I'm gonna chunk you out the upstairs window, and watch you fall to your twisted plastic, metal and springy guts death to the ground below.

And then I'll do the Evil Carrie laugh and inhale a creme brulee or something. Because being good reallllllllly sucks rocks.

You have three weeks, punk ass scale. Consider this your formal written warning.

Sincerely and with the utmost support (for now),

Carrie Leigh

P.S. FUZE Slenderize Blueberry Raspberry drink at 20 calories, is pretty great.

This is the very last time I'll ask you to vote!



Please?

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Times I went to the Amarillo municipal courts building.................2
times stood before the judge for a speeding ticket and no insurance....1
miles over the speed limit I got clocked..............................13
approximate age of the officer that cited me..........................12
domestic abuse cases before me.........................................2
65 year old drug addict women with "hottie" t-shirts on................1
women the judge said were inappropriately dressed for court............3
times I went to the Potter county courts building......................1
new Vera Bradley purses bought.........................................1
toys I threw away upstairs.................................1,000,000,000
bacon cheeseburgers consumed........................................0.75
glasses of wine drunk................................................2.5
chocolate chips in my homemade ice cream...............................*
boys in Childress with their grandparents..............................2
husband asleep on the sofa.............................................1



*come on. I didn't count that. :D

***
This morning I awoke from a vivid dream where I was attending a charity fundraiser wherein I ran into cute and darling celeb, Reese Witherspoon. Being super smooth, I told her she looked fabulous (She did; white dress, tan skin, perfect, shiny blonde hair: in other words - Reese) and was prepared to walk away when I saw she was really upset. So I asked her if she was alright, and she directed me to the ladies room (one of those really posh affairs where there's an actual living room before you get to the actual water closet) and proceeded to tell me that she was pregnant and she couldn't get hold of Jake (Gyllenhall, I'm guessing), and that she didn't know what to do about the baby.

I gave her what I thought was really sound advice about keeping the baby, and she got Jake on my cell, and mission accomplished for Carrie, I left the party and went home.

Poll #1425001 Dream poll
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

This means Carrie is which of the following:

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Now if THAT's not something for everyone, I don't know what is. :)

I made a Dutch Baby for breakfast this morning, and I can tell it's going to be one of those things I whip up on a moment's notice from henceforth when I want a decadent breakfast. It was fabulous. Completely fabulous. Because I love you all, I'll give you the how-to under the cut.
( Recipe adapted from 'Joy the Baker'. : )

After you make one of those for yourself, you must watch this. I've never seen anything quite like it. You have to make it through their weird potato salad song, but about :50 second mark, it gets eye-opening.

And I won thedg_ldws 6th round this week! I'm into the semifinals. Wish me luck. :)

Click the picture and go vote for your favorite and least favorite. It'll only take a minute!

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(Ethan and Nolan are playing the Nazi Zombie level at the End of Call of Duty : World at War, and this was the conversation they just had:)
Nolan:  Guard the door, son, guard the door!

Ethan:  Okay!  (Sounds of gunshots, zombies growling)

Nolan:  Guard the window!

Ethan:  Dad?

Nolan (Groans from the exertion or WAR) Yes, son?

Ethan.   If the zombies are dead, how do they know where we are?

Nolan.  Because they can smell our brains!

Ethan:  That is SO gross.

***
Because THAT's not going to give him nightmares.  And I have to agree with Ethan.  That is SO gross. 

They're having a GREAT time.

So much to blog about, so little drive to move my fingers on the keyboard.

I could tell you about the ongoing Orwellian nightmare that is the patch of earth around our house, or give you folks a new chicken recipe that rocks.

I'll start with one, and then see if my attention holds to the other for later.

Let me tell you about last Tuesday.

( Known casually around here as the 'Day of Suck' )

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.

My words from maureen were:

( You know you want to read all about it. )

Goodness gracious.  I really didn't think I'd make it this far.  Gooood prompt next week, though.  Looking forward to it.

I'm in Arlington tonight and we're scooping up the boys and headed home in the morning.  Have a good weekend, all.

THE BAD

• I was swerved into on the access road to I-40, consequently got a hole in my tire I could put a fist through
• Nolan told me I should have let the car hit mine
• Ethan (who is 350 miles away) got nine staples in his head by hitting his head on the diving board
• My mom had to take him to the Emergency Room
• I cried a lot today
• Nolan was grouchy about insurance and ER visits
• We had a BLAZING white hot argument/fight thingy
• I got dive bombed by a  freaking bird in the backyard
• I have a headache, puffy eyes and an emotional hangover

THE GOOD

• Nolan called one of the shop guys and my tire was fixed in under 30 minutes
• I was uninjured
• I picked up a new hurricane lamp thingy that we won at the silent auction Saturday night
• I got a list of tentative audition dates for the new season
• Ethan is still not afraid to do a backflip off the diving board *sigh*
• Ethan is (for the most part - minus the 9 staples) okay
• My Mom is a good grandmother and cares for my children.  Tom has unending patience. 
• AJ had a great time at tennis and golf camp
• Nolan apologized profusely for being a GTA
• I weeded the flower beds and they look fantastic
• There's a nest of baby birds in one of our trees
• I ate a coffee ice cream come with Heath bits from Marble Slab

So it all balances out, I think.

Yesterday morning, I got attacked by an amazingly big, giant snake.

...

I'm just gonna let that sink in.

*nods* I KNOW. Horrifying, isn't it?

( Perhaps I'm prone to hyperbole... )

Pfft. Living in fear and disgust at the creatures around me. Seems to be my lot in life, it does.

Lastly, and these two things are in no way related, my parents took Ethan and Aaron home with them this morning until Friday. So I'm freeeeeeeee! FREEEEEEEE! *flails* Keep the adults in your prayers over the next couple of days. They're gonna need it. ;)

The boys just left with the sitter, and Nolan and I are about to go do our duty to the theatre by working the yearly special event starring Linda Eder, star of stage...  and stage, I guess.  She was in Jekyll and Hyde on Broadway, and she has a beautiful voice.  So we take tickets at the door and serve champagne to the rich folks, and we still get to see her minus the $250 dollar a ticket price tag.

That's just good math, I say.

After that, we get to go to the gala party afterward, which is lotsa fun.  Open bar, live band, free food...  what could be better?

*grins*  Next weekend, we get to do it all over again for the ALTA awards.  I'm nominated for something or other (don't expect to win, but it really is nice just to be nominated), and it's the same drill.  Except no rich folks, all actors, which is a rocking good time, let me just say.

And my boys leave Monday for 5 days for tennis and golf camp.  And after they come back, it looks like they'll be leaving again to visit their cousins in Colorado.  *wibbles*  Don't know if I can let them go for two weeks in a row.  I might have to revoke my 'beta mom' card.  Hrm.

Last bit of news, we're having fajitas for father's day dinner tomorrow and inviting a ton of folk, so it looks like I'll be cleaning and cooking tomorrow, which is alot like what I did on Mother's Day.  Maybe without the twinge of resentment.

Y'all have a good weekend, you hear? And happy father's day to ... Daniel?  I think you're the only father on my f-list.  And to any an all other lurkers out there.  Live it up on your day, guys!  Stop by for fajitas if you're in town.  :D

I'm an idiot.

I know, I know, I've said it before, but this time it's true.

We're having lots of thunderstorms and nasty weather here in the Texas panhandle, and I've been opening the wondows in the house so that I can listen to the rain, because seriously? It doesn't rain here, like ever. So when we get it, it's like a treat.

My internet has been kind of spotty due to the storms, and so I didn't think anything of it when I turned on the TV to get the weather and all I got was snow. I thought, "Huh. Channel 7 must be having issues."

Not so. It was me. I'm the one having issues.

It wasn't until I was having a lunch meeting with my employer and fellow teachers this afternoon that I realized... television went digital here in the states SIX days ago.

We don't have one of those box thingys or cable, and our TVs are both over 12 years old, so we get nada. Zip. Zero.

That's how much TV I watch.

So. The dilemma? Do I get cable? Or a box converter dealy? A new, fancy flatscreen? Or do I just download what I want to watch and squint at the computer screen? Decisions, decisions.

My boys have gone with their grandparents to our Cabin in Childress until Thursday, so I'm on my own until then, and I'm sitting here, crying into my coffee because I miss them so much.

*snort of epic proportions*

No really, I love my kids; but I adore being alone.

In other news, the economic crisis has hit us, and hard. Nolan has had to lay off 15 of our employees in the last two months, and he feels like a failure, as if the lack of work available is somehow his fault. Intellectually, he knows it isn't, but he still feels responsible for the men and their families. He even went so far as to call around to other contractors, to find them jobs, and that was met with varying degrees of acceptance. I told him that he had to cut them a little slack, they'd been fired and had worries of their own. He's stressed and grumpy and stressed. Did I mention stressed? I keep telling him it's going to be okay; even if we have to downsize and sell the cars and move, he'll still have me and the boys, and we're all healthy. We're blessed. I don't know what more I can do for him.

In writing news, I am still plugging along at dg_ldws; it's a lot harder than I thought it would be, this drabble writing business. I've got one staring at me that's due tonight, and I'm simply not moved. That's always been my problem. My muse doesn't perk up on demand, and she gets distracted oh, so easily.

On the up side, I have lots of time and quiet to bang out 450 words. I think I'm also going to hit the shops and buy myself some new tennis shoes today. (Workout shoes? I don't play tennis, that's just always what I've called them.) The five miles a day is killing my feet.

So, have a lovely Tuesday, friends. I'm off to not hear children bickering for a few days. :)

So we have a new addition to the family.

She's so sweet.
( Dogs make you smile more. Did you know? True story. )

Edit: And don't forget to vote at dg_ldws! I dare you to guess which one is mine. You totally won't be able to, I'm so stealthy. ;)

Nothing good can come of the phrase, "Hey, Mom?  It's okay; the chandelier didn't fall, but..."

*headdesk*

*heavy sigh*

Will not barricade children from house.

Will not call husband and say, "This is all your fault!!  YOU wanted BOYS!"

Will love children even they are destructo-bots.

Carry on, my lovely friends.  Carry on.

75 days left until school starts.  *whimper*

1. Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper at their livejournal.    Pfft.  Do it if you want to.

2. Don't change your wallpaper before doing this! The point is to see what you had on!

( My wallpaper... )3. Explain in five sentences why you're using that wallpaper!

I read Pioneer Woman's Blog, and one of her regular guest cooks is Pastor Ryan, who also has cooking how-to posts on his blog.  One of his last posts had free wallpapers that I thought were pretty.  So I snagged.  I normally have family photos on my laptop and desktop, though.

Eleven years ago at 5:59 pm, June 6, 1998, I married my sweet husband.



Cheers!

Let's hope I let him live to twelve!