Random thought...

Sometimes I wish my life were not like an episode of Jerry Springer...

Drama coming soon to a new blog near you!

I go through a list...

Well, I’m still having computer issues…but I’ve not forgotten you dear readers.

Life has been full these past couple of weeks. There are only 4 days of school left for the kids…and that means the end of school madness is at full peak. Seems like every day there is a party, concert or play. Money is flying out of my checkbook and time clicks by at the speed of light. I cannot believe another school year is over. By Friday, I’ll be the mother of a 6th and 3rd grader.

Brandon is home with me today with a cough and slight fever. I’m sure he’ll be fine to return to class tomorrow though – especially since his class is having a pizza party. LOL
Meg’s final cello concert is at 2PM and then she has a softball game tonight – they are 2-0 so far this season! I really think Meg enjoys softball – perhaps it will be something she will pursue in high school. She likes to play catcher and she tries very hard. I’m just glad she is out there being a good team player and doing some exercise. Tomorrow is her final Girl Scout meeting for the school year and Intermediate graduation party.

Busy…busy!

Yesterday we went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. Being a huge IJ geek as a kid, I was beyond excited to see it. I was really surprised that the kids wanted to tag along – but I was secretly thrilled that they seemed to enjoy it. (Maybe they are like me after all.) I would recommend it to anyone who likes the series. Go in expecting a fun romp and you’ll be happy. It isn’t as good as Raiders or Last Crusade – but it was well worth the normal price of a movie. I didn’t much care for Cate Blanchart as the villain, but Shia LeBeof was a good addition to the cast. I think he is a good actor for his age and like most everything he is in. I’m not going to spoil any of the film for those of you who have yet to see it, but I will say that I liked the end shot which takes place in a church…it wasn’t much of a surprise to see the film end in that direction. It’s good fun – go see it!

Sunday the whole family went to the new water park by the zoo called Zoombezi Bay. We won 4 tickets to the preview…which is good because we wouldn’t be able to afford it at regular price. The weather was decent (high 70’s) and there was a cool breeze which was nice at first. The water was very cold in certain areas – but the wave pool was like bath water! We stayed there for a bit and enjoyed the lazy river for most of the day. Brandon hit the slides and fun was had by all. The rides are no longer part of the water park though. They are separate – and anyone can ride them if you buy a wrist band ($15) or a “Z” card ($10). Most rides cost $1 each. We were not happy with that…thinking that our ticket would allow us to ride the rides too. We ended up spending $40 so the kids could enjoy the rides as well as the water park. Brandon is such a dare devil! He hit the roller coaster over and over again! Meg tried it out once – and she was finished.

On the 15th, we took the kids to the Barnum and Bailey Circus while it was in town. Brandon and I tried to catch the traditional animal parade from the train tracks to the arena, but we missed it somehow. So we just hung out at the fence and watched them feed the elephants. Brandon talked me into getting tickets for the opening night ($10 for all seats). The kids got to mingle on the floor with all the acts and clowns prior to the show. They had a blast and we got a ton of autographs! It was a good performance and we were able to get through the night without going broke on all the highly overpriced souvenirs.

Doggy update: We renamed Freda – Daisy. We picked that name because our cat is named after “The Great” Gatsby, and Daisy was the lead lady in that novel. Plus it seems to fit her. I’ve spent a bucket of money on this pooch already. Her “cage” cost us $50. We took her a groomer ($23) and they clipped her nails and bathed her. They put these cute little blue bows in her hair. I almost died from all the cuteness! Friday I took her to the vet – just in case. It was a good thing I did too. She had a slight yeast infection in her right ear and whip worms. She is now on meds for both. We also treated her for fleas/ticks and gave her meds to prevent heartworms ($143). That doesn’t include her leash, tie stake, toys and so forth.

Daisy makes sure I get all my exercise now. We go for walks 2-4 times a day. She is an odd dog. She will only go potty on a walk it seems. When we let her out back on her tie, she just sits there…no business. We’re still dealing with pee accidents. She is also timid around Brandon – even growling at times. We believe a young boy must have beaten her. It is a situation we are trying to remedy by having Brandon walk her and feed her. She loves to chew – so far 3 pairs of underwear, a sock and stuffed dog have become victims! She is a little bandit too – always trying to sneak away with some human food or a random stuffed animal from the kid’s rooms. LOL I feel like I have a new baby at times. Adding her to the family has definitely increased my “to do” list!

I have more to update but I think this is enough for one posting. Hope you all had a nice holiday weekend.

What I’m listening to: Ingrid Michaelson’s Girls and Boys CD
What I’m reading: Trying to get caught up on a mountain of magazines!
What I can’t wait to see: Lost season finale this Thursday…Sex & the City at the movies this weekend
Skip it DVD: License to Wed
Watch it DVD: Little Children

It's a girl!

Meet Freda...as long as all goes as planned, she will be the newest addition to our family as of tonight!

We agonized for years about getting a dog...but always worried we didn't have the life style for one. (Thus we have Gatsby "The Great" Cat.) Well, we all wanted a pooch to call our own and we decided the time was right finally.

We are adopting Freda from a rescue agency called Canine Collective. They are a great bunch of people.

Can you stand how cute she is?!

So what about the name? Freda is the name she has now, but I am not sure if we will keep it or not as she hasn't had it for long. She is part beagle and dashund and is about 1 year. She is full sized.

Sorry I haven't written much lately. My computer is back to hating me and not letting me online. I'm at the library right now. I hope to get my computer back in my good graces (or vice versa) soon.

Everyone say a little prayer that Freda's sweet, shy personality will mix with Gatsby. :o)

Doctor...Doctor...

Did you watch House last night? Whew! What a crazy, sexy hour of TV. :o) I really thought it was a good episode - with the following two exceptions:

1) Why did they let House keep roaming the hospital, and then send him home when his skull was fractured and he was bleeding out his ear?! Also, how did he escape the security guard and Nurse Ratchet at his house?

2.) Why couldn't Cuddy perform CPR correctly? She didn't tilt his head or pinch his nose - therefore he was receiving no benefit from the 'mouth-to-mouth'. C'mon this is a hospital show! She should have been doing it right.

But it didn't really matter...Hugh Laurie was excellent as usual. I don't think it is all that fair for the producers/directors to keep having him take his shirt off this season though - he is like 50! Still, I thought he looked just fine.

He was apparently stuck in my subconscious though because I had a dream about him last night. He was my principal! LOL He was Hugh...not House...but with no British accent that I can remember. I know he was Hugh though because I told him in my dream that I saw him on the Ellen Show that afternoon. (Which I did.) It was a rather odd dream in which I kept following him around the school...which appeared to be basically deserted. I kept flirting with him and then finally just threw myself into his arms and kissed him! LMAO He had a very thin mouth. I remember a couple seasons back when he had to make out with his ex - it was the worst screen kissing in history! :o) Hopefully for the real Mrs. Laurie...he is a better kisser in reality.

Saw a decent DVD - Trust the Man. It was pretty good, with some laugh out loud scenes. It stars David Duchovny...so it can't be all bad. :o)

I'll write more very soon!

It's 3AM - Do you know where your favorite bounty hunter is?

Check this out! Here is the long awaited photo of me meeting Jeremy Bulloch - the actor who portrayed the original Boba Fett! Sweet!

My close friends will tell you that I am an absolute nut job over Boba Fett. I even have a huge life-size cardboard cut-out of him in my basement...yes, I am that person.

Anyhow this photo was taken awhile back when the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination tour stopped in Columbus. This photo was taken at 3:00 in the morning! I am not joking. Don't we both look perky for such a late hour? The special evening I went too didn't start until midnight...hence the late hour. His wife was there as well and she was very nice. Because of the very late hour, he wasn't supposed to take one-on-one photos anymore by the time I reached him...but after I blurted out that I had been waiting since Empire Strikes Back (which was like 26 years!) to meet him, he was quick to comply. It probably didn't hurt that I practically burst into tears. (Hey! It was 3AM!) I even hugged him afterward...what a guy!

Aren't you surprised how tall he is in person? I was. Darth Vader must be HUGE!

See the Boba Fett in the background? There's a real person inside! He was very cool. I tried to bribe him earlier in the evening to disintegrate (Fett's specialty) the huge line in front of me. I told him I had a cool $10 bill with his name on it if he would. He said that wasn't much, to which I replied - "Did you get a better offer? Are you a bounty hunter or not? $10 is $10!" (LMAO!) I told him to come back later and I would try to get more money from the long line of people behind me. (I'm a total geek!) The guy even had a voice changer so his voice would sound like Fett! It was awesome... Obviously I wanted to ask him if he rented the costume by the hour, and if so would he mind paying for a couple more to come back to my place...LMAO! No...no! I'm a married woman! Now if I were single...but he would have had to keep the uniform on! LOL

Here's another picture:

I don't have to tell you that I was in geek heaven the whole night. There were so many awesome costumed people there. Plus there were tons of authentic Star Wars props and so forth. It was something I'll always remember.

I'll leave you with a quote Jeremy had in an article which appeared in our local paper:

Q: Later Star Wars books claim that Boba Fett lived. Have you kept up with his adventures?

A: ...I've always said he's still in the Sarlacc Pit and he's opened a Hooters restaurant.

LMAO! Like I said...what a guy!

Weekend plans...

Would you just look at that picture? Ahh...heaven! What I wouldn't give to be there - for even an hour. :o)

Back to reality: I'll be here in good ol' Columbus facing another busy weekend. I was supposed to go see Judy Shepard (mother of Matthew Shepard) speak in New Albany tonight, but it's not going to happen. Brian doesn't get off work until 5PM and then he has to pick Meg up from Girl Scouts at 5:20. By the time they get home, and I drive across town, the whole thing will be over! :o(

I'm really bummed. I've wanted to see her speak for years, but she only visits Cleveland! She finally comes to Columbus (and speaks for free!) and I can't go. Bah! Just my rotten luck, ya know?

Tomorrow looks like a real challenge too: I have yoga from 11 - Noon, Brandon needs to be out near Plain City for a birthday party from 11:30 - 1:00 and somehow the kids want to make it to the zoo by 3:30 to see some Naked Brother's Band (a Nick TV show) tween star who is going to be there. Did I mention we only have one car? Um, good luck to us!

Brian and I were also invited to a theme birthday party (80s Prom... fun!) but it looks like I'll probably be sending Brian alone - no babysitter. Oh well, the birthday gal (a.k.a. the Prom Queen) is a friend of his from his old job. I wouldn't know anyone there. Maybe I'll finally get to sit down and watch the 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean film! (That bad boy is like 3 hours long!)

Sunday we have the kid's art show at school and we need to go cut my mother-in-law's lawn. Sigh! Where's OUR relaxing weekend?? I'm hoping that tonight I'll get to watch this DVD I keep checking out from the library, but never watch - The Prestige. I heard it was good, plus I love Christian Bale - and it has Scarlett Johansson for Brian too.

Brian has been sick for the last two days. He even missed work yesterday with a bad stomach ache. He never misses work...so you know he was feeling terrible! I hope he starts feeling better - I am worried that we would need to take him to the doctor or something and we don't have insurance right now. Very stressful! I keep telling everyone that they cannot get too sick or break anything until our insurance kicks in! LOL

Wow - the skies just got very dark out there. Meg is working on her "hiking" badge for Girl Scouts today. She and her troop are walking from their school to the Dairy Queen (which is at least 3 miles away). I hope they don't get rained on!

I found out today that JDRF ended up raising $380,000 at the Promise Ball for diabetes research! That's just amazing. I'm glad I was able to volunteer that night. Speaking of diabetes: our insulin and test strip supply is getting very low. Without insurance, it will be very costly to buy Brandon what he needs. I found out that there is a new RX discount card for Franklin County residents available to anyone (no fees or guidelines to meet). It is a different card than the Ohio Drug Card. You can save 20% or more at participating pharmacies. I plan on going over to the Grandview Library (where I read about the program online) to pick up a card this weekend. ANY savings is worth it - especially since a bottle of insulin can cost about $80 or more without insurance.

Well...there's the rain! Good thing I packed Meg's umbrella. Ah, a little water never hurt anyone. LOL

Chat with you all more this weekend - hopefully.