Andy at Wild ARS Chase posted some oddities about himself on his blog this week and challenged his readers to come up with some of their own.

• I do not like sauerkraut. In fact, the smell of it makes me a little nauseated. As I type this my husband is cooking sauerkraut.
• I prefer to sleep with my feet uncovered. This really seems to annoy my husband for some reason. I think I feel trapped if my feet are under the blanket.
• When I was a little girl, I was chased down by a big red dog. Even though he didn't hurt me, I still don't really like dogs.
• I am terrible at mathematics.
• When I swim, I hold my nose with my lip. I bet you are dying to see how I do that.
• I can raise one eyebrow without raising the other.
• There is a birthmark on my head that no hair grows from.

If you want to play along, post something odd about you in the comments or link me to to you blog post. I'd love to find out something odd about you.

1. My sister: "I'll just sleep for five more minutes."
5. "This sales item isn't coming up the sale price. I'm going to have to have a manager override this." Register light begins to flash. 28 people behind us begin to glare.

6. "Doesn't Toys R Us know we are going through a recession? Why isn't everything in this store on sale?"

7. "Do yous want the buffet or are yous ready to order?"

8. At Target, the man on the intercom kept continually announcing that the line started in the "intimates" near the associate dressed like the Cat in the Hat. What part of that sentence doesn't belong?

9. "I think I need another Red Bull."

10. "I'm about to fall out on this here couch and drool on myself," my sister about five minutes ago.

Here's hoping you had an equally "enjoyable" time.

We were expecting quite a crowd for Thanksgiving this year, but due to weather and some other unexpected events, we had a few cancellations. My sister and her family were able to make it up from North Carolina. Here she is below with my daughter teacher her table manners.


Here is the kids table. My girls pretending to like each other and my nephew cheesin' up for the camera.

Here's hoping that you all are smiling as big as my little guy tomorrow during your Thanksgiving feast. We were supposed to have quite a crowd, but the weather and every day life is not cooperating.

I don't know about you but it is hard for me to believe that I'm going to eat one of these guys in just two days.
Look at him, he's giving me the eye. Or maybe it's you he's looking at.
In preparation for my upcoming Griswald Family-like Thanksgiving, I decided to educate my children about the turkey. This way they will be able to throw out random facts during dinner as a way of distraction.
Of course, now that they are educated I'm convinced no one is going to eat any turkey. After all, "He's so cute" according to my 9 year old. (Pray that my future son-in-law is less bird-like)
Now for the list of random facts you probably never wanted to know, but once you read will likely never forget. At least you can say you weren't warned.
1) The costume that "Big Bird" wears on Sesame Street is rumored to be made of turkey feathers. Makes sense to me.
2) Ben Franklin actually wanted to make the turkey our national bird. Picture old "One Eye" on all of our coins.
3) Turkeys can run up to 25 miles per hour! I'm surprised more don't get away.
4) In 2007 the average American ate 17.5 pounds of turkey. I mean damn...what do they consider average!
5) Commercially raised turkeys cannot fly. However, wild turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55 miles per hour. Again, its surprising more don't get away.
6) The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds; his name was Rover and his family treated him like he was the pet dog. I'm not really sure about that, but 86 pounds What. Were. They. Feeding. Him???
7. The male turkey is called the Tom and the female turkey is called the Hen. Female turkeys can occasionally have beards similar to their male counterparts. Now I'm picturing a bunch of Hens at the salon getting waxed. Can you say adult ADHD??
8. 45 million turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving.
9. In England, 200 years ago, turkeys were walked to market in herds. They wore booties to protect their feet. Turkeys were also walked to market in the United States. Makes me want to recite "To Market"

Andy at Wild ARS Chase" is challenging his blog readers this week to post one of the following:

A) Something nobody knows about you, or B) One of your favorites stories from your childhood, or C) Your 10 Top Favorite (Fill in the Blank).

It's a "Get to Know Ya" kind of week.

Since I find it my duty to do whatever Andy says and because this is my 200th blog posting I decided to provide you with a list of 200 things you know you want to know about me, but unfortuately I couldn't think of that many. However, I'm sure you will be enlighten by this list of 100 and want to be my new BFF.

1. I have one sister.
2. Her name is CrazyTrain.
3. She lives in North Carolina.
4. I wish she lived closer.
5. She is four years younger than me.
6. My parents are divorced.
7. My mom and step-father live in Virginia.
8. My dad and step-mom live in Western Pennsylvania.
9. I often get car sick.
10. So does my son.
11. My current favorite TV show is Boston Legal.
12. I'm sad that it is going off the air.
13. I am a work at home mom.
14. I freelance for a local paper.
15. Things I write about regularly include: school budgets, construction projects, taxes.
16. I know...you are bored just thinking about reading it.
17. Believe it or not, I actually like my job.
18. I have three kids.
19. My oldest daughter is 9.
20. My middle daughter is 7.
21. My son is 5.
22. My husband is six months younger than me.
23. He likes to bring that up often.
24. I am a soccer mom and don't mind when people point that out.
25. In high school, I smoked a lot and thought that made me cool.
26. My maiden name used to be a color.
27. I like country music.
28. Occasionally, I rap in the shower.
29. People often accuse me of being funny, even when I'm not trying to be.
30. I don't like to cry in front of people.
31. I have over 20 scrapbooks.
32. My kids are also very crafty.
33. I like to swim.
34. My life is often like a Seinfeld episode.
35. I was born in July.
36. That means I'm a LEO.
37. My husband is a Sagittarius.
38. We have been together since we were 16 years old.
39. That means I have been with him for more than half my life.
40. He still makes me smile.
41. We met while working at Burger King together.
42. Apparently I look sexy while flipping burgers.
43. He is an engineer.
44. My hair is naturally curly.
45. Sometimes I find that annoying.
46. I went to my senior prom with my husband.
47. He went to my senior prom (he was a junior at a rival school)
48. Both my grandmas are still alive.
49. I have one living grandfather.
50. Unfortunately, he has Alzheimer's and no longer remembers me.
51. I do not like to cook.
52. My husband makes all the meat we eat in our house.
53. We don't eat a lot of meat.
54. I am more of a cat person than a dog person.
55. My childhood pet was a cat named Sammy.
56. He lived to be 18 years old.
57. When he died, my dad cried.
58. In my life, I have only seen my dad cry twice.
59. The other time was when my mom left.
60. I am only 5'2.
61. Everyone seems tall to me.
62. My husband is 6'2.
63. I like tall men.
64. My favorite food is Mexican.
65. I could eat tacos every day.
66. For breakfast I usually have a poptart.
67. Cinnamon is my favorite.
68. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the only team worth rooting for.
69. I am a huge football fan.
70. JoePa is considered a legend by all members of my family.
71. My favorite cartoon is Spongebob.
72. For the longest time I thought Spongebob's friend Patrick was a giant tongue.
73. I do not like to play card games.
74. I am a sore looser.
75. My dad encouraged me to play little league when it was not customary for girls to play baseball.
76. Playing baseball was tortuous, but I think I'm a better person because of it.
77. I often played catcher.
78. Nothing pisses a boy off more than a girl taking away his winning run.
79. My favorite movie is Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion.
80. Someday I will write a novel about nothing.
81. If you are still reading this, you should probably find something else to do.
82. My favorite children's book is Harry Potter.
83. My favorite adult book is The Red Tent.
84. My least favorite subject in school - Math.
85. My favorite subject - Art.
86. We have a cat named Natasha.
87. She lives in our garage.
88. She is currently too fat to properly clean herself or fit through her cat door.
89. We also have a hermit crab.
90. His name is Patrick.
91. He doesn't look like a tongue.
92. I like to drink Diet Pepsi.
93. I do not like Coke products.
94. I have worked at numerous fast food restaurants, including LJS, Pizza Hut, and Burger King.
95. I wear contact lenses.
96. Without my lenses, I cannot see the big E on the eye chart.
97. The worst job I ever had was as a maid at the Comfort Inn.
98. If you ever worked as a maid in a hotel, you would never want to stay in one.
99. Once I left more than a half a dozen ferrets loose on the 2nd floor because the person staying there never mentioned to the front desk that they were closed up in the bathroom.
100. There was a senior citizen convention on that same floor.

Wow that wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Apparently I'm full of useless facts about my life. I hope you feel like you know me a little better or at least will remember what I said about hotels.

Seriously, never stay at one.

Yesterday was parent visitation day at my daughters respective schools. For those of you out there who haven't heard of this made up holiday it officially recognizes American Education Week.

What that means is up for interpretation.

Anyway, parents are "encouraged" (more like nagged to death by their own children) to visit that classroom and observe their child's "instructional program". How's that for a press release.

I can only imagine the dread endured by all teachers during parental visitation. I imagine them all getting ready for work that day saying, "Please don't let me look like an ass today."

My first visit began just after 9 a.m. where I found my second grader in the throws of music class. Shortly before I got there, a nameless student vomited in the entrance way. Yes, you read that right. In true Adam Sandler from Big Daddy fashion, the 20 something music teacher covered the vomit with paper towels and continued to practice for the Holiday program, while waiting for the missing custodian.

Let's recap, so far we have vomit, Christmas carols, and a missing custodian. Did I mention that it is just after 9 a.m.?

Music is now over, the vomit is now clean and we are lined up and walking.

Me (to one of the students): "So where are we going now?"

Student: "Mandatory bathroom break."

Me: "Sweet."

Upon returning from our mandatory bathroom break, I was privy to what it is like to give 20 second graders a spelling test and let me tell you. TEACHERS NEED TO BE PAID MORE MONEY!

One little boy tried to cheat on his test right in front of me. No joke. I pointed out the fact that I could see his spelling words in his desk and he turned about three shades of red and threw them away. I've been dying to know how many he got right.

After spending an hour observing that instructional program, I headed off to intermediate school. Our intermediate school is dedicated to the awkward age of 4th, 5th and 6th graders.

I joined my daughter's 4th grade class in the middle of geometry. That's right--GEOMETRY. Are you smarter than a 4th grader? Here is your test...how many centimeters are there in a decimeter? I know, I never heard of a decimeter either.

Daughter's teacher managed to shatter a mixing glass into a billion centimeter pieces without even trying and when I told her that glass was at least better than vomit she didn't even crack a smile.

Hello..didn't you get the memo? Funny. That's. What. I. Do!

Geometry was over (Thank GOD) and we were off to our new adventure. It had to be a little better, right? Wrong. 4th grade gym class. UGH.

On the 3 mile walk from my daughters lower level classroom to the upper level gymnasium, I'm pretty sure her teacher SHHHHHH'd me twice.

After learning for the umpteenth time in gym, that not everyone can juggle, I was glad that my instructional observation was over for the day and feel I must again reiterate that TEACHERS NEED TO BE PAID MORE MONEY!

It should be obvious that I love a good story. So let me share this one with you.

Setting: Golds Gym

Me: (sitting down at the thigh press) "Wow, whoever was using this last was pressing 75 pounds. I can't even make the bloody thing budge."

75 year old lady beside me, who we will call S: "Oh sorry about that, honey, I usually take the pin out."

Oh you read that right, the 75 year old I was sharing the gym weight room with was kicking my sorry, scrawny, weakling ass.

Me: (while moving the pin to 25 pounds) "You are really strong."

S: "Thanks. It's all my chiropractor's doing. He is the nicest man alive. I could hardly move when I started going to him. I was in pain all over. He saved my life."

Me: "I used to go to a chiro, but haven't in a long time. I really need to go back. I have a nerve problem that runs down my lower back and over my butt."

S: "I could set something up for you. Maybe a free consult."

Me: Thinking to myself "This is odd. I don't even know you. Why would you do that? I live in a county where most people never make eye contact, let alone speak to you." (out loud) "That would be nice."

And set me up she did--with a free consult. As a test I brought my five year old along. The entire office passed with flying colors. Not only did he adjust my lower back, which provided some relief from that tingling and numbness I constantly experience, he adjusted my neck and I haven't had a single headache all day.

I think I'm in LOVE with him...

and just when I thought I couldn't like this Dr. anymore. He (not his staff) called me today, at my home, just to see how I was feeling and if I'd had any pain from the adjustments.

S. is right. He is the nicest doctor in the world.

Mama at Mama's Losin It posts great writing prompts every Wednesday. One of the choices this week was I remember when...


In honor of the fact that my daughter, who was born in 1999, has 80s day at school on Friday, I thought I would remember 1988. I see that smile on your face. No doubt you are remembering your big hair and your stirrup pants. Believe it or not these are not the only things 1988 offered to us.


I'm sure your life is better for having seen Beetlejuice. I mean talk about classic. This picture alone could give me a nightmare.


Speaking of nightmares, did you know that in 1988, Friday the 13th part 7 came out. They made seven of these movies. I mean didn't they kill everyone off in the first three??


Also popular in 1988, Rain Man, which made everyone want to buy their boxer shorts at Kmart. Gotta go to Kmart! Kmart.



Playing on your radio was most likely the self-proclaimed King of Pop. In 1988, he looked more like Janet and less like a freak of nature. He often wore a red jacket and one glove and I distinctly remember some uber dorks at school trying to actually pull that off.

Also on the radio, but doubtfully on the same station, were Enya and Guns N Roses.

I'm pretty sure that Christmas my mother waited hours to get her hands on a Cabbage Patch Kid for my sister. There were mobs and fights and name calling. Everyone was in the spirit of Christmas.



The dolls are making a comeback and the company recently reissued some of those all time 80s favorites. Believe it or not, I think they are still wearing the same outfits.



My seven year old has one on her list and I'm prepared to throw out some good ol' fashioned name calling on black Friday when I attempt to garner one.

In the news, Prince Charles escaped from an avalanche in Switzerland. I mean how's that for an obscure factoid. I can sing you a Guns N Roses song (quite a few actually) and I know where my Cabbage Patch Doll is and what he is wearing, but I had no idea that Prince Charles escaped from an avalanche.


History could have been altered for sure that day.




Last but certainly not least, crack made it's first appearance in 1988 as did Prozac. This is most likely due to the fact that those lucky enough to have Internet access experienced the first major computer virus and were immediately sent into a deep spiraling depression when they realized it would days before they could blog again.

My daughters love to go and get their hair cut. They really look forward to it and they put a lot of thought into just how they are going to get their hair done. It is kind of funny to me because most of the time I can't get them to brush their hair without a fight, but say "Who wants a haircut?" and they jump right up. Sunday was no different. As soon as I mentioned that it was a possibility they started drawing potential hair styles.

Middle G, above, decided that she was going short and getting bangs. I don't think she's ever had bangs, at least not recently enough for me to remember. She was glowing in the salon chair and admiring her look before she was even finished. I'm pretty sure she continued to smile and brush her hair for the next three hours.



Big G, my oldest and the one who resembles me the most, also has my unruly, wavy and uber thick hair. She told the stylist that she wanted it much shorter in the back than in the front and low and behold this is a really good style for her type of hair. Who knew? Not, I. You can't see the back in this picture (I really should have taken one) but is is really cute.

Both of the girls are totally excited about their new looks and encouraged me to cut off a lot of mine and to bring back the bangs I grew out more than two years ago. Maybe tomorrow I'll post a new one of me.

One things for sure, I won't look nearly as cute as these two.

I'm sure we would all agree that finding more time throughout our day would be very helpful. Along those lines of thinking, my children have come up with a way to travel down the stairs "in the blink of an eye". While they claim this process is not painful, as long as you are wearing the right equipment (in this case footie pajamas), I'm not sure I agree.

Warning: Attempting the stunts depicted in the following video may result in broken ribs and/or bruises to your upper torso, especially if you are older than 12.

Candy Alert! Candy Alert! Check out Ria's blog. She has some Funky Fairy goodies up for grabs just in time for Christmas - go take a look here. The closing date is the 22nd of November! If you win, I better get a cute card from you! Good Luck!

Today was one of those days for me. A day where if I were, indeed, a turtle, I would have preferred to spend the day like this guy.

My family and I said goodbye to little Ike today. It was an emotionally draining day. Please continue to pray for my cousin, her husband and their 2-year old daughter. The holidays will be an exceptionally difficult time for them.

My grandfather has improved enough to return to the nursing home. Not that living there is much of an improvement. However, his release has brought a little light back to my grandmother's eyes. They will be married 61 years on Thanksgiving!

I'd like to give a shout out to mama at Mama's Losin It. She posts great writing prompts every Wednesday. You should check out her site. She's a hoot.

Now for the list, loosely translated as a How to get along with your Enemies. **smile**

I find if you want to take you mind off of things, the best thing to do is craft. Here is a photo of the popcorn boxes I made using TBBM. They are cut at 5 inches. The matching tag is cut at 2 inches. Sorry about the quality of the picture. Inside are a half dozen homade chocolate coins. They are my kids favorite...white chocolate with peppermint on top.

These are the teacher cards I'm working on. They have been well received in the past, but as you can see from the photos there is an endless amount of them. A problem that occurs when you have three kids, some with more than one teacher.

I'm all about useful or edible presents. The cards will get some stitching tomorrow and I'll post pictures of the finished product.

This is a retired Close to My Heart stamp; It's from a school set. The Thank You stamp is from a clear thank you set; the name of both the these is escaping me, if I remember I'll post it some other time.

First, thank you all for your kind emails, thoughts and prayers for my family.

My grandfather is hanging in there. So far the doctors haven't been able to find out what is causing his bleeding. He will undergo an additional procedure tomorrow, hopefully with more definitive results.

Unfortunately, I do not have positive news to report on little Ike. He passed away today around 4:30 p.m. as a result of SIDS. Please pray for my cousin, her husband and their 2 year old daughter. Needless to say, this is a very difficult time for them.

I'm not one to post very many sad entries. I like my blog to be lighthearted and fun, but some days you just can't muster up lighthearted and fun.

First, my mom and step dad called to say my grandfather, who has been suffering from Alzheimer's for the last few years and was recently put into a home, needs surgery. I think surgery when you are in your 80s is never really a good idea. Perhaps that makes me a bit of a pessimist, but it feels like the odds are stacked against you.

Quality of life becomes a factor. If you no longer know your wife, your children, your grandchildren or your great grandchildren are you really alive?

Then my dad called to tell me that my cousin's four-month old was life flighted today and that things do not look good. Four months. Can you remember what you did, in detail, over the last four months? Me either.

I'm not clear on the details but I do know that he was blue and unresponsive. Every parents nightmare.

If you reading this post can you say a little prayer for my grandma and grandpap. They have spent more than 60 years of their lives together. I'm not sure one can truly live without the other.

Also, think of little baby Ike and all of those here who love him and want more time to get to know him.

Miracles can happen.

Let's post some pet peeves. Please note: these are not in any particular order.

1. Bloggers who do not update their blog for weeks at a time. Hey--we are all busy. Stop pretending you have a life or something and get back to blogging.

2. The sound of someone cutting their fingernails or worse yet biting them. It should be noted that I'm not bothered by the sound of myself doing either of these things...just others.

3. People, mostly those I live with, who are unable to turn off the light when they leave the room. Electricity isn't free people. Oh great...now I sound like my dad.

4. People who sound like their dad.

5. Anyone driving slower than me.

6. Anyone driving faster than me. Like you, I always drive the perfect speed.

7. Unmatchable socks. I really should post an entire blog entry about this. I mean for the life of me I cannot fathom what happens to all the socks in our house. Do they disintegrate? Is there a sock fairy who takes only the left sock in order to void the world of matching pairs?

8. People too important to stop talking on their cell phone while they are a) ordering food at a restaurant; b) checking out at Target; and c) dropping or picking up their kids at preschool.

9. Bullies. Big ones, little ones, old ones and new ones. You know who you are. Once a bully, always a bully; and

10. Bloggers who create random lists of items like their pet peeves to overcome their writer's block. I mean, seriously, can't you come up with one original thought?

Hope you had a marvelous Saturday and that you liked this post so much you decided to become a follower. Link is on the right. (hint, hint)

Before you read any further you must first read the post below and watch the video. As I stated yesterday, group workouts are not really my thing. The reason: coordination. Some people have it, some people don't. That's why some people can a) walk with out falling; b) dance without hurting themselves; and c) take step aerobics.

This video will help you to realize that if you can't do any of the above than, most likely, your children can't either.

In case you haven't been able to make it to the gym lately, I thought I would post this video in honor of my friend, Southpaw, who told me just today that she thinks going to classes offered at Gold's Gym is "fun".

No, I'm not making that up.

I, on the other hand, find attending any type of group workout class as much fun as having a root canal.

Play the video, even if you don't jump up and want to try it, your abs will get a good work out from all the laughing.

Happy Thursday.

I'm working on Christmas crafts, which will probably consume me for the next few weeks and though I'm trying to post daily, I have a strong feeling that I may slip.

After working many factory jobs during World War I, the National American Woman Suffrage Association, headed by Carrie Chapman Catt, reminded the President and the Congress that they felt this work, during war, should be rewarded with political equality.

Wilson began to respond to this and in a speech on September 18, 1918, he said "We have made partners of the women in this war. Shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to a partnership of right?"

Less than a year later, the House of Representatives passed, in a 304 to 90 vote, a proposed Amendment to the Constitution:

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any States on Account of sex. The Congress shall have the power by appropriate legislation to enforce the provisions of this article.


On June 4, 1919, the United States Senate also endorsed the Amendment, voting 56 to 25, and sending the amendment to the states. When thirty-five of the necessary thirty-six states had ratified the amendment, the battle came to Nashville, Tennessee.

On August 18, 1920, the final vote was scheduled and one young legislator by the name of Harry Burn, saw that the vote was very close, and with his anti-suffrage vote would be tied 48 to 48, he decided to vote as his mother had urged him: for the right of women to vote.

Tennessee became the 36th and deciding state to ratify and on August 26, 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution became law, and women could vote in the fall elections, including in the Presidential election.

Did you exercise your right today?

Anyone out there do craft shows regularly? What is your best selling item? Do your cards sell? I'm supposed to be doing a craft show on the 15th of November and I must confess that I'm not really into it. It's usually a waste of my time.

The most successful show I ever did netted me about $200 bucks and it still wasn't really worth it. I mean you have to get up at the crack of dawn to set everything up; there is a charge just to be there; and with today's economic status people mostly come to look for ideas for things they can make.

So why am I doing this? I have no idea.