All About Angie

News, News

I’m sorry to have been gone so long, my friends. I was waiting for the end of school, so I would have something juicy to write about. I am sorry to disappoint, but apparently, the summer is pretty dry. And it has almost been an entire month. And even more since the last entry. You could say that I’m feeling creatively unproductive. More about that in another post.

However, we do have some news. The minivan we used to drive now lives with someone else–at least, that’s what we’ve told the kids. It’s not a lie, not really. Somewhere, our old van is frolicking among …well…somewhere. Maybe. The point is, it does not live with us anymore. Its reliability has been seriously questioned over the course of the last 9 months, so it had to go. Our new ride is almost the same make/model/whatever. Except newer (notice I did not say “new”. Because that would be a gross error on my part.). And it’s blue. With a fraction of the number of miles on it. And it has power sliding doors. I thought that this feature alone would float my boat for a long time. But…not so much. I mean, it’s a nice feature. And maybe I’ll think more highly of it when school rolls around and I have to go through the carpool line. But I don’t feel like I can just grab the handle and toss the kids in it. I certainly don’t want to break it. You know, it being new and all. I mean, “newer”.

In fact, something exciting did happen to me the other day while I was in the newer van. It reminded me of this previous momentous event. Here is proof from my newer van (I think I must be neurotic the way I take pictures of my odometer all the time) or maybe proof that I should give it up and watch the road:

Also, as history seems to be repeating itself, another blast from the past showed up at our door this morning. Luke and I went out to water our “garden (ha ha ha, pardon my laughter)” and I noticed something weird about the Rue (it’s a plant). Something was crawling on it. AIGH!! It’s Freckles! He’s back! But wait! It gets better! There are TWO Freckleses. Or, perhaps more accurately, Freckles’ great great great great great great grandchildren. I brought one inside (named “Bob”) in a jar and left the other (named “Beautiful” by Luke) outside. Bob was happily munching away on the Rue when I last saw him. We’ll see how long he lives. Heh.

The final item I am including in this post is the sad and sorry fact that I am a juice waster and keyboard destroyer. I was trying to be healthy when I bought a small bottle of pomegranate juice. When I poured myself a glass this afternoon, who knew that most of the contents would end up in my computer keyboard? Ugh. I tried to save the keyboard by squirting in between the keys with the dust-squirty stuff in a can, but it’s just plain sticky. There are probably too many or not enough spaces in between words throughout this post. And to top it all off, something is wrong with the spell checker, so I don’t even know if I spelled the word “throughout” correctly. Cry for me.
So that’s the scoop from here for now. I have more to post, but I’m not sure if it will make its way out of my head anytime soon.

[Open note to Kristi: I know! But look! I posted something!]

Plea For Help — Now With UPDATE!!

Ok. This is a really odd use for a blog, but hang with me a minute…

We were cleaning out the garage this morning when we saw …EEK!!! MICE!!

But cute little baby ones. Four of them in all. We can’t find the momma, but we’ve got the babies in a large jar (with the lid off, of course!).

Here’s where you come in. Does anyone want these babies?! I am rallying to save their cute little boo-boo lives, but I have neither the time nor the real inclination to take care of them. And that’s to say nothing of what Mark would do to me if he knew I were to keep them. Adopt-a-mouse? Anyone?

Here is “Squeaky” (the kids named him because he’s the loudest):

Their eyes are not even opened yet. And they are cute and fuzzy. (”Fuzzy” is another one of their names, FYI. For the record, “Templeton” and “Honeydew” are the other two.)

So, anyone for a new pet? Heh, heh? Let me know if you want one (or all 4!).

No, I do not know what will happen to them if no one wants them. Please do not think such things!

UPDATE….. We let the mice go in a lumber pile in our backyard. Which probably means they’re all dead by now. Circle of life, kids, circle of life. And I set some traps in the garage for The Momma. No sign of her yet (and YOU KNOW there’s got to be a daddy-type lurking around somewhere). Probably need to change the bait on those traps. I’ve been through Velveeta and peanut butter with no success. Anyone have good results with different bait?

Moving to WordPress

All About Angie is about to move to angie.dishmans.net … hopefully in the next 24 hours it will be up and running!

And Many Happy Returns

There have been sooooo many posts I have been writing in my head the last week. Like the one about how I think school crossing guards are power-hungry tyrants whose highest goal in life is to confuse unsuspecting parents half to death by conveniently changing their minds (while such a parent is carrying out the honorable wishes of the crossing guard) about what such parents should be doing in the parking lot and then condemning them publicly for trying to abide by said crossing guards wishes. It is impossible to please such “guards”. If you, dear reader, are a nice and happy crossing guard, then I applaud you. I’m sure you do fine work. The “guards” at the school I frequent are not so thrilled to be at work. You get the point, I’m sure. Moving on….

1. Last week was Fall Break. You know, sort of like Spring Break. Except in the Fall. A whole week of fun, to be sure. Mark also took the week off and we had big plans. Plans that involved a major cleaning job on the house and generalized tootling around town together. Well, it was partially successful. We did clean, though not as much as Mark would’ve liked (Is that really measureable? Probably not). And we tootled around. All around the town and then some. It was fun. And the week went by way too quickly. A rapid list of highlights included: haircuts for children (really short for the girls–really cute!), eating at restaurants (remind me someday to post about the Rainbow Squirrel, of course, it’s probably only funny to me), going to the bookstore (or 2), riding bikes, a date with my husband (everybody say, “Oooo!) and lots of other stuff I will cover in the next sections….

2. Friday night, Mark and I went out on a date (isn’t that what they call it?) to a super yummy steak restaurant called The Keg. And we took along some friends to help us celebrate (celebrate what, you ask? See #3). It was major fun to go to a restaurant where I did not have to cut up anyone else’s food or endure numerous trips to the bathroom, each with a different child or the whining that sometimes accompanies such a food experience. Yay and yay again.

3. Now, the celebrating? It involved a birthday. Yes, it was mine. And it was one of the bigger-type ones. I forgive you for forgetting (if you did, but you probably didn’t). I hauled in the best loot. Evah. Here, in photo-montage form is part of the haul….

(the gift part of this is the hand-held shower head that I instructed all 3 children to tell Grandma when she asked them, “What does Mommy want for her birthday?”)
and

Yes, that label says “4 sugar-filled pounds of jelly belly goodness” (embellished a little). POUNDS!! Whoa!
and
many other wondermous things of which I didn’t get a picture. The Oklahoma parentals were here (and braved OU-Texas gameday traffic for me–a game which sadly, by the way, ended poorly for the Sooners) and baked me a cake and even washed the dishes.

So, it was a great day. And Mark wasn’t even phased by the fact that throughout the day everytime I saw him I said, “Did you know today is my birthday?” Just in case he forgot.

But he didn’t.

One last picture….

Here I am on my birthday. I think my posting my picture here is a major step in my aging process. This picture (on the front page of www.dishmans.net) is a Glamour Shot dating from 1995, pre-children, pre-marriage, etc. I think it is the only time I’ve worn makeup since the 8th grade.

This picture is from yesterday. (I have just now noticed that my glasses are crooked. Hm..) It shows my age, I think, and accurately. Without actually stating the numbers, I am now halfway through my thirties. I’ve never considered myself a vain person and I hope that never changes, but I’m starting to notice the gray hairs, the age spots (yes, age spots!), the chins, etc. How is a person to cope with aging?

Eat more Jelly Bellies, I guess. And I’ve got plenty!

Laughs

From the Laffy Taffy wrapper….

What do you call a cow with a twitch?

Beef jerky!

There’s plenty more where that came from….

What did the cabbage preacher say to his church?

Lettuce pray.
(Hee hee, snort)

And for a final thought, my favorite, courtesy of a previous LT wrapper–

Why do lobsters not have very many friends?

Because they are shellfish!

Get it? Shellfish! Ha!

More from my day later……

Today…

is The Day.

More details to follow!

Stay tuned…..

Another View

Just for the complete picture….As the mail carrier sees it….

(See previous entry for details…)

Laws of Physics Application

1 Car + 1 Brick Mailbox + Force = 1 Pile of Bricks (after being shot across my yard)

It is important to note that my mailbox is the one on the right. It has been turned approximately 45 degrees to the street and it is severely leaning. My next door neighbor, however, was not so fortunate! Her mailbox ended up all over my yard. I was simply glad that the kids and I were not out chalking up the sidewalk, as we might have been (there’s a nice argument for the triple digit heat in there somewhere!).

And you may be thinking that I was The Mailbox Destroyer, but thankfully, you would be wrong on that assumption. That title would belong to a man who lives around the corner from us. He admitted to us that his picture of the Virgin Mary had fallen down from his dashboard and, as he was leaning over to pick it up, his foot hit the accelerator and shot his car into the mailboxes.

No kidding.

The lessons?
1. Keep your camera charged and on your person at all times.
2. Take lots and lots of pictures of The Other Guy, in case he bolts (ours didn’t).
3. Take lots and lots of pictures of the damage. They make for great blogs!
4. Call the police in case the nutzo wants to DRIVE HIS CAR HOME.”…It’s just around the corner!…” It was extremely undriveable and it took the officer firmly stating that he would be arrested if he tried to drive it for the freak to give it up.
5. If Mary falls from your dashboard, for crying out loud….leave her be! [Insert something here about the perils of idolatry…blah blah blah…..]

No Clever Title Here

So I’ve not been updating this page too frequently. I’m sure you’ve noticed. We’ve had some interesting things going on around here lately. None of which I feel like sharing right now…maybe later. It’s nothing too horribly bad, just stuff I’m working through.

And just when I thought I’d gotten a handle on this summer stuff, it’s time to start school again! Can you believe it? Next week, I’ll send the oldest off to first (1st!!) grade! Didn’t she just start/endure/finish kindergarten?

In honor of such impending doom, I give you this….

How to Know Your Child is Smarter Than You Are:
1. He attempts to tell you how badly his diaper is leaking, but you don’t believe him. When you pick him up out of the cart at Target and his pants EXPLODE all over you, you endeavor to listen more heartily to his wails in the future.
2. She asks for EVERYTHING in sight at Target. You show ultimate parental authority by responding with a simple “no” to every inquiry. It seems the argument is over when out of nowhere she finds a bag of M&Ms and you cave.
3. While you are busy surfing for your latest obsession (more about this later), your 2 year old asks for a snack. Your attempts to redirect his peskiness seem to be successful when out of the corner of your eye, you see the pantry door being taken off of the hinges and thrown out the kitchen window. He brings you a package of crackers and a jar of peanut butter. You quickly find a knife and get busy spreading.
4. You can not think of a clever title for your blog (that you have neglected for a long time) post, but your 4 year old can correctly and confindently identify and give painfully lengthy descriptions of everything you, your husband, or your children have ever done, seen, smelled, tasted, or thought of since she was born.
5. I cannot think of anymore at this time. I am too tired.
(The above scenarios are mostly true. Names have been withheld to protect the innocent. Or something like that.)

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My latest obsession involves riding my bicycle with the children. The children would be riding in a cute little bicycle trailer. I have no trailer. At the moment. You understand my problem?

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I leave you with this….my computer is about to die. The keyboard is not what it used to be. That is why I cannot type contractions anymore…the apostrophe key (which I cannot type right now) keeps bringing up the “find” function and is making me crazy. The forward (or is it backward?..the one that is on the same key as the “?”) slash key will not let me type it, either. My arrow keys are also giving me fits.

And also, I am out of chocolate.

Help.

Pictures and Stuff

And now, for your viewing pleasure, a photo montage of the past weekish….

My Garden…which is full of zinnias and sunflowers (the daisies and forget-me-nots did not come up for some reason)

Birthday boys

Broken toe # 739

AIGH!!!!

Mark found him in the yard and chopped him up…his head was barely hanging on, but the silly little thing still tried to coil up. It took him about 15 minutes to give it up. He coiled around and around and stuck his little snakey tongue in and out and opened his mouth a few times. Very bizarre. Marky with his new dead friend…

So that’s the week in a nutshell. I also have Kindergarten Graduation pictures and Last-Day-Of-School-Playing-In-The-Sprinkler pictures, but none that I wanted to post. You understand, right?