Tyler definately didn't inherit my hair cutting ability

Annoyances

Today was the most annoying day known to man. It started off with my kids missing the bus. Then I got home, only to notice that my neighbor had constructed a green house and put it between our property lines (We have a open back yard that allows all the kids to be able to access all the backyard freely. This limits my kids ability to run through, now they have to go around). Then we went to pick up the jeep. The man says, "I have some bad news for you, the part you bought has a leak and we now have to take it apart and put a new seal in it, it will cost another $170 on top of the $440 you have already paid." Great! Then I was already late to get to Viki's to finish the much beloved invitations and I have to run Andrew back home to get the ghetto van that we are borrowing. I call Viki to ask if she wants a diet coke, and of course she does, because people who have serious addictions like to be with others with the same addictions. So as I am rounding the corner, right before her house, it falls out of the holder and spills all over my van. "Oh my bloody *#@&."
I later (after hours of laughing at Viki, trying to deal with her kids who want her undivided attention, while working so diligently on these blasted invitations) rush home to get the cat my daughter thought she could con us into, to bring it to her, so she can find it a home. ( PAUSE, DEEP BREATH) So I drive all over looking for her. Her friends mom is a raunch about it, and I try to explain the situation and she finally gets it. But not before she makes me feel like my kid is probably off doing something bad (You know, because she is Satan and she has turned her daughter into Satan's spawn).
Now I am home, my daughter wants me to pick her up at the movies at 9:30. My exchange student wants me to take him to the mall and later pick him up. With the gas prices in the three digit range, it is going to cost.......oh....$50. (Not) But it feels like it, when I am putting $30 dollars every other day in my van.
I just looked outside only to see a lake in our swell that we spent an hour prepping and seeding the other day.
Oh what an annoying day!
I think the only good thing that has happened today is that Viki and I pretty much managed to get the dreaded invitations done. Again, Thanks Viki. :)
Oh, and Brittain got Student of the Week. Way to go Brittain :)

Tyler

Thought I would give you all an update on Tyler, since I put a picture of him on my blog, but didn't put a post.
One of the classes he is taking right now is lighting. He says it is really fun, and he has learned a lot in that class. He said the first week was nothing but telling you of the many ways that you could electrocute yourself, but now they get to do real hands on stuff. They get to set up the scene (which can take hours) and then they light it and then they take a picture of it so that the teacher can see it. I am assuming the teacher doesn't hang out in the labs at 1 a.m. He was telling me that lighting is one of the reasons that a film can take so long to shoot. Getting it right is an intricate art.
I think he is now starting to really have some fun. He is doing really well, he has had nothing but A's and B's. There are only about a third of the original class still with him, since many flunked some of the earlier courses, and have to take them over again. He is really proud of how well he is doing, and so are we.
He misses home, and we are counting down the days for him to come home, (37 to be exact) although it will be way to short of a visit. If any of you want to stop by and say hi when he is home, he will be here from June 28th-July 6th.

LIFE- I need a day off!

I'm feeling the pressure to post something new, because I know how irritated I get when I check someone's blog (not naming any names) and it hasn't been updated in days. SO I guess I will just talk about all the things that I have been up to for the last week.
Yard work.......That's pretty much it. I have layed sod, tilled a garden, lined it with railroad ties, prepped the swells, seeded grass and planted about 30 plants and two trees. Completely by myself. My body hurts so bad, and my hands are hashed. I have cuts and slivers and bruises all over me. I am burned on my arms, ears and nose and then re-burned. I need a massage and a manicure.
I am hoping the weather dries out enough this weekend to be able to seed the rest of my yard. So I am somewhat glad that I have a few days to recover before I have to work my butt of again.

Also, am I the only one that totally stresses out about all the end of the year crap that has to be done? Viki and I are making graduation invitations for the eighth grade (and she doesn't even have an eighth grader. Thank you Viki.) We have soccer practice, t-ball practice, pitching machine, graduation, my tennis league has started, Pipe's end of the year activities, K, 1, 2 3 grade fun day. I'm sure there are a few things I have missed.
LIFE.......I need a day off. Or maybe a martini?

Tagged

10 years ago I was.......I had four kids, lived in Idaho Falls and had one car. I was trying to keep my head above water and merely survive life. Gee, looks like some things never change. Things were a lot more simple back then. My oldest was 8 and the biggest issue was keeping the kids entertained for an entire day.
Five Things On My List To Do Today...... 1.Clean my house (well, some of it). 2. Plant some of my plants. 3. Go to the nursery and buy some more plants. 4. Go to work at the tennis club. 5.Pay a few bills. Yeah, I know my life is rather boring.
Snacks I enjoy.... Okay, I know my friends give me a hard time about the food issues. I don't completely hate food....I just think it is something that really consumes people and frankly I think it isn't that big a deal. I like some foods I just don't think about it until it is time to actually eat. So here are my list of favorite snacks.....Coke (don't know if it counts as a snack, I think it's one of the basic food groups) Girl scout samoa cookies. Lindt chocolate. Baked lays. Smoothies.
What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire? Take my husband back to England to see his family. I would start orphanages all over the world and have Linda and Susan help me run them, and Viki could be the nurse and linguist. I would travel all over the world and take my kids to places that they could serve others and appreciate the billions they would inherit one day. I would take ALL my girlfriends on a much needed well deserved extended vacation. No excuses would be excepted.
3 of my bad habits.....I tell people what I think/I don't have a poker face. I put off today what I can do tomorrow. I spend way to much time on this blog thing.
Five places I have lived....1. Sacramento, Ca. 2. Bothel, Wa. 3. Banks, Oregon. 4. Cornelius, Oregon 5. Gresham, Oregon.
Five jobs I have had...1.Stocked beer and soda at Safeway 2.Mailroom manager 3.Office Manager for a radiator manufacturer 4. Custodian at White Pine 5. Work at the Tennis club
Five Things People Don’t Know About Me....1. Lived on my own, my senior year of high school. 2. Burned my house down when I was 5. 3. I was a bully in elementary school. I was the kid that Gail would be calling home about daily. 4. Want to go back to school (beauty school). 5. Have been cutting, coloring, and perming friends and families hair since I was 12. 6. I used to sew most my kids clothes. When Syd started preschool, her entire wardrobe consisted of home made clothes.

Things That Make Me Happy

1. Staying out until after 11:00 with my friends. Talking and laughing about only things we would understand.
2. Playing outside in the dirt. Especially after a very long winter.
3. Having a ah-ha moment.
4. Saturday morning when Brady comes and climbs in my bed and wraps his arms around me.
5. Having a few minutes to read to my kids.
6. Watching my kids when they do something they are really proud of.
7. Smelling a stinky diaper and realizing it's not one of my kids. 15 years of those was enough:)
8. Playing tennis. Anywhere, anytime with anyone.
9. When my kids say thank you.
10. When my kids come home and have no complaints about their day.
11. Having a really productive Saturday and feeling like a lot of things were accomplished.
12. Going out to dinner.
13. Coming home to a clean house.
14. Finding a really cute pair of shoes.
15. A good pedicure.
16. Waking up not tired.
17. Good sales.
18. Walking into a room and seeing my kids playing, and not fighting.
19. A clean bedroom (my husbands a clutterbug).
20. Getting emails from friends and family.
21. Playing with my blog.
22. Having a spiritual moment.
23. Watching a good movie or show and crying like something tragic has happened.
24. Long car rides with Andrew and just talking about all kinds of things.
25. Knowing my exchange students is going home in 20 day. Wahoo
26. Laughing your guts out.

To Offend Or Be Offended

Why is it that some people never grow up? I am talking about those people who are always looking for high school drama in their lives. Some people are always offended even when there is no offense intended. These are the type of people I just want to grab by the scruff of the shirt and say, "get a life! Aren't there other things that you can waste your time on that are more productive?"
I don't remember the last time I was offended by someone (other than people that are offended by me, when I didn't intend to offend) Are you still following me?
Well actually, I could have been offended the other day when a lady I highly admire told me she liked my hair, she said, "You look much younger, your hair used to look really goth". Now, like I said, I could have been offended, but I chose to take the compliment and not listen to the Goth comment.
My neighbor said his mother has a quote it goes something like this, "You are a fool if you offend someone. You are a bigger fool if you take offense when none is intended."
Look life is just simply to short. Can't we all just get along?