calorie "bombs"

who is walking into to any fast food establishment with the idea of getting a healthy meal? these lists are goofy and if you are stupid enough to think your eating healthy at the majority of fast food place you are dippy.

what age is the magic trustworthy age?

what is the golden number when children can be left home alone to fend for themselves? I have never left my 9 year old home alone for any amount of time in spite of the fact I think it would be okay and at that age I was babysitting home alone in someone elses home and responsible for their children no less. I believe there are laws now about that sort of thing, there might have been way back when too but no one paid much attention as far as I could see. We were not exactly latchkey kids growing up my grandmother lived in a mother-in-law apartment attached to our house and she was in residence most of the time but not all of the time and in the mornings my brother and I were responsible enough to get ourselves fed, dressed, lunches made etc...not once did we set the house on fire, let in a stranger or miss our ride to school. I do recall more than one sick day being left home alone to fend for myself. Again nothing earth shattering occurred. I am bemused by the David's Mom as she will not leave my 15 yr old nephew (Z) home alone even for the 1/2 hour it is taking her to pick up David. Z has given her absolutely no reason not to trust him for at the very least a 1/2 hour all by his lonesome never mind those time during the school year we get him overnight because no one would be home till 10 at night. I can't imagine that at 15 we won't be able to trust C home alone although knowing his father's and other various and sundry uncle's past histories he might not be left alone till he's 35
I should add MIL is particular about who is or is not in her house anyway so the fact she won't leave Z is not so very strange. It still amazes me after all these years we have finally been allowed a spare key to her place.

I never win anything

except today I did! I won a trivia contest on twitter from Buddy's BBQ! yippee! I won 4 tickets to a Smokies Game and a $10 gift card to well Buddy's of course.
Today was a good day now only if I could set my sights higher and win oh I don't know maybe the lottery or something now that would really make my day

sometimes bigger is not always better

okay you yes you get your mind out of the gutter I am talking about grocery stores here.
They built a fancy schmancy new Kroger complete with furniture, toys, linens and blenders fabulous to be sure but overall the selection of foods not so great. And not so great as in I cannot do a full and complete weekly shop at their store. Don't get me wrong they have some decent international foods, the Gorgonzola potato salad is to die for, they have a sushi bar for Pete's sake and they are great with wooing me mailing coupon after coupon suckering me back into the store only to leave exasperated because I will need to make at least another trip to another grocer to complete my list on any given week. Just down the road Ingles has put in a fancy schmancy new grocery store too with guess what..a better variety of food no towels or plates and silverware and not a couch or bunk bed to be seen just food and really really great selection of food....
Novel idea huh?

operation go on a real vaction is in effect

okay our goal is Disney.
yup that's right the big rat no no the other big rodent not that big rat.
I see a yard sale or two and some ebay auctioning in my future to help fund this expedition. School is out May 21st and I want to be in Disney May 24th. This is totally doable and I am opening up a special savings account for the fun and frivolities on Monday!

you'll break a hip

MIL has a birthday coming up a birthday she shares with a certain pug by the name of Oscar but I digress...
Normally gifts are not so very elaborate but this year she has requested a bicycle. My first thought being of course just how much do you think we have to spend on your gift? 'cause a bike is not in our budget. I work with bike geeks bikes are not cheap. Delving more into the matter she had found a simple one at Wally-world completely affordable as we could go halvesies with David's brother JJ. So get a phone call form MIL JJ does not think she should get a bike because and I quote "you could break a hip" really?!? that's the first thing you go for you could break a hip????
Hell she could break a hip falling out of bed which is how my grandmother broke hers..she could fall on a stick and poke her eye out too
whatever
after birthday update: JJ got her the really practical gift of a magnum of champagne which hopefully she wont drink while riding her bike or she really will break a hip

such a slacker

my big plans for a vegetable garden yes well it did not happen and to top it all off I managed to kill my basil plant. Trying to reconcile the fact that I may have inherited my mother's black thumb...no really she could kill a plastic plant....am now considering the topsy turvy gardening club it looks idiot proof

oh and the vacation from hell

you really don't want the exorcist type details so lets leave it at the highlights:
stomach flu for both C and myself and some sort of arthritic knee thing for David. total suckage of a vacation I so want a do-over but have no vacation hours left or maybe 3.87 vacation hours left as I could only manage a glance at my pay stub in disgust at the lack of vacation hours at my disposal.
On a slight positive note I did get to spend some time with my folks, my brother and his family, my cousin & her husband and one of my uncles so in all fairness it was not a complete and total failure of a vacation(just mostly)

calling shotgun

well not really we only have 1 kid he kind of gets it by default.... C has ever so slowly wormed his way from the occasional jaunt to the grocery store to sitting in the front seat all the time and it's fine except it puts him in reach of the stereo and I have no place for all my crap you know purse, cell phone, water bottle, which ever bags I happen to be toting along that day, inconvient I tell 'ya.

the mark of a crappy vacation

coming back to work more stressed and cranky than when you left...
more on all of that later I have a pile of junk to dig through that is even worse than the pile I left which is no small feat I might add