Friday, June 25, 2010

things i do not care about

but seem to be news worthy and talked about a lot right now;
  • soccer. yes, i know it's played all over the world, and the world cup is a big deal, and vuvuzelas are in fact annoying horns and not vulvas from venezuela, but it's still a sport. a boring sport where hardly anyone scores. who cares.
  • the newest iphone. i do indeed have a macbook; my pop bought it for my mom a few years ago, because as far as laptops go, macbooks have a good reputation. i'm sure if i had an iphone, i would be all about all the cool stuff it can do. then again, i think the apps would annoy me, and since i got rid of my cell phone over a year ago, i've never been happier. i really like not being tethered to the outside world all the time with a cell phone. we have a land line, and that is more than enough phone for me. i'm really all for everyone just giving them up, or turning the damn things off on occasion. how many times must we overhear or have the conversation, "hey, i'm at the grocery store. no, just waiting in line." ???
  • the anniversary of mj's death. yeah, it's sad. what's sadder is what a freak/spectacle he'd become, and how everyone went from making pedo jokes one day to being all "boo hoo" the next.
in other news that you probably don't care about, i'm doing a big old super-late-but-what-the-hell spring cleaning. stuff has been going up on ebay and amazon, and while i am not raking in the dough, things are leaving my house and for the most part the postage is being paid. my car is also full of stuff that can't be sold online that maybe some punk-ass teenage kid will find amusing enough to buy at value village.

speaking of punk-ass teenagers, you know how for the most part i'm all "my semi-step kids are awesome"? ha ha! i was so naive! the "you're not my mom" claws have recently come out. one of them has taken it in their head to become a jerky-jerkface pretty much all the time ever since summer break began. i already want to send both back to school. one is doing all they can to push my buttons and get some sort of rise out of me, both are spending way too much time arguing about what to watch on tv, and my lovely cartoon and email lunches have been ruined. for my part, i'm just trying hard to see these new developments in a somewhat positive way. yes, i am getting an inordinate amount of grief and sass lately, and yes, it does hurt my feelings, but i guess they must be feeling comfortable with me if they're hell bent on pissing me off, right? i am also trying hard to remember that sometimes kids act like jerks for no good reason, and even they don't know why. it might not be personal. it's just been kind of hard to deal with. no one wants to hear "if i don't like you, i'll make dad dump you" or "just remember, if i want you gone, you will be." it's a shitty thing to say, and a shitty thing to hear.

spinsterhood never sounded so awesome lately. maybe now that the weather is finally warming up, the kids will get out more, and take pleasure in something other than irritating me and making a giant mess in the house. someone in the house has fallen in love with press-on fingernails, and if i pull one more off my sock, i'm setting this place on fire. just watch!

oh, and i didn't win the button maker i bid on on ebay. which is sad, because it got up to $150, and that could have been me! i just wasn't paying enough attention. i'm not cutthroat enough when it comes to auctions sometimes. oh well, i guess i'll have to try again.

Monday, June 21, 2010

i think i need to buy a button maker

i've thought about it for years, i have a nice little collection going of 1 inch pinbacks, but i have a million ideas for ones i want to make. checking out the busy beaver button blog makes me want one even more, because i could do fun stuff like a button a day.

i spent a long time cleaning up my sewing/computer room. i'm not done, but it's a lot tidier in here. i got rid of clothes i wasn't wearing and probably will never wear again, i put together a box of books for the thrift store, i put some stuff on sale on ebay and amazon, and put together a pile of magazines to list as well. it felt good to make this space a bit more useable; it had gotten so cluttered just being in here wasn't that much fun. if i can get this room, and our bedroom, up and tidy, i might reward myself with a button maker. until i get things sorted though, no new crafts! or craft supplies.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Sunday, June 13, 2010

such a sunday

i am being terribly lazy. the only thing i've done so far today has been brush my teeth and pull my hair into a greasy ponytail. i keep thinking about showering, but i'm not thinking too hard about it. D and i went to costco, where we bought way too much, and i ate a slice of their sub-par but inexplicably delicious cheese pizza. normally i make fun of adults who like cheese pizza (i make a lot of "what?! are they five?" jokes at their expense), but for some reason i seriously enjoy costco's cheese pizza. it's weird, and i'm ashamed, but i still eat it. D is now busy grilling something porky on the smoker, and i'm working on finishing a pair of socks for the girlchild.

i've also been doing my "homework" for the weekend; watching some videos about the son-rise program. my co-worker M's oldest daughter was diagnosed as being autistic earlier this year. for a while she just had a general special needs diagnoses, but after a few visits with a pediatric neurologist, it was determined that while she's pretty functional, she does have autism. B is five, and i've already spent some time with her. i babysit her and her sisters on occasion, and D and i go over sometimes to watch games with M. to me, B is a fairly normal five year old with a few quirks. she's not potty trained, she has a hard time talking straight to you, and is very, very shy. besides that, though, she's awesome. she's a funny kid, when she becomes comfortable with you she's engaging and open, and she's obviously smart. M and his wife heard about the son-rise program, which focuses more on loving and accepting your child, and going from there to work on behavioral issues, and have spent some time going to seminars and instituting the program in their own home. at this point, they are recruiting volunteers to help work with B and i'm the first. M says that already B is more comfortable with me than she is with most adults, so he and his wife are excited to have me help out. for me, it's just a chance to give M and his lovely wife a break in their day on occasion. i can see how B is autistic, but she's also a pretty ordinary kid, and i do honestly like hanging out with her. plus, i never pass up a chance to get to color and goof with any kid. i'm honored that M sees me as a positive influence on B, and it's touching that he and his wife are so excited to have me work with them. this is going to sound terribly hokey, but M is great guy, a wonderful co-worker, and i'd help his family out with anything i could do. it's flattering to be considered as a volunteer. i'm just brushing up now on some of the finer points, having done a lot of reading about the program as M acquired it. i'm excited to see how it works out, as well. she's such a great kid, i just want her to feel more comfortable in her world.

and while it would crack M up to know it, i've also been watching a variety of bad horror movies on syfy today as well. shhh! it's our little secret.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

coff coff

i'm still just sick enough that one really long, hectic day at work (today) just took it right out of me. came home, made a sandwich, and passed out on the couch at the impossibly early hour of eight. took some more cough syrup, and now i'm headed back to bed.

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

rainy days

this morning at work i was reading a book i bought the boychik for his birthday (i know! i'm awful!), which is this awesome compilation of stories loosely written in a lovecraft style. i picked it up for a few reasons, one being that the boy has been into lovecraft lately. the other being that i am a sucker for anything ellen datlow edits. i never thought i'd be nerdy enough to say i have a favorite editor, but there you have it. i do, and her name is ellen. anyway, i let him read the first story before absconding with the book, so i'm not a total jerk. back to my story; i was reading, it was raining and i was drinking tea and thinking about how much i'm hating this summer rain storm we've been having. we had enough nice weather to get me excited about summer (or even a late spring) and now we've had nothing but deluge and gloom for weeks. i started thinking and i thought, "rainy days and lovecraft always get me down..." which i think would be an awesome song parody. if you want to steal my idea, go ahead. you owe me, though.

the kids get out of school in two days. one of them has a summer job lined up, and it's not the kid you might think. it's the girlchild! i know, crazy. the past few weekends her grandpa has found all sorts of work in his garden for her to do, and she's been digging in the dirt, planting stuff, mowing and helping out, and she's been making bank. stranger still, she really enjoys it. score! trying to talk to the boychik about his summer plans, on the other hand, is a bit like asking him anything about his personal life. which is to say, kind of difficult and involves a lot of sighing and eye rolling (on my part). we've already let him know that we don't expect him to get anything even remotely full time, we won't force him to do something that will make him cut his hair, and he can even pick up a volunteer gig. he just can't stay home all summer cultivating a laptop tan. he must get out of the house at least a few days a week. for my own sanity. there aren't a ton of options out there, i realize, but i'm sure we can find him something. cross your fingers!

Friday, June 04, 2010

16 years

yesterday was the boychik's birthday. he turned the big one-six. i admit i love having a semi-step-kid that age because when i casually mention my sixteen year old, everyone goes "no way! you look great!" and i'm all, "yeah, i'm a hot mom." hee hee... and while technically i'm old enough to be the boychik's bio-mom, but i am kind of glad i got him later in life. i would have been a terrible mom at sixteen, and the boy would have been named something crazy.

we also realized yesterday that for a few months i'm exactly sixteen years older than he is. spooky.

i have to say, i'm pretty glad D hooked me up with such awesome kids.

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

maybe get some powder for that dude...

my coworker mike, pulling a patient out of the bore for his injection: "how are you doing in there?"

patient, way too loud because he's got earplugs in: "my balls itch!"