And Now for More Randomonium!!!!!

it's been a while so here we go.... 

I need a Randomonium Button, I will use some of the time I have on my 

hands to see if I can make one, if it doesn't turn out I'll be calling on some of my 

more techno savvy bloggy pals for help.

HELP!!! 

:o)

His gorgeousness and I challenged each other to an IQ test tonight, we sat at opposite

ends of the kitchen table with our laptops and took the test simultaneously with 

Syd adjudicating.... the results were SHOCKING!!! I must have been severely 

distracted in this setting because he managed to score a whole two points more than me.

So? what of it? big whoop not a big deal! i hear you cry. 

Apparently these particular two points place him in genius status and me merely in superior

intelligence... am I hearing the end of it???.... not yet!!!! 

The best part was that He and Syd were cleaning the kitchen after dinner and he

was giving her a hard time about fitting the dishes in the dishwasher... she then jibed

"well sorry I can't be the genius that you are!!".  LMAO!!! 

School starts Monday.. where the hell did Summer go??? 

oh yeah...it's still freakin' here!!! 

Temps in the 100's and everything. This makes for

a very hot sticky beginning to the school year... good luck teachers.

Both my kids are more than excited......I keep hearing them saying "I love school"

let's hope this enthusiasm keeps up well into Middle school and beyond. 

Syd is excited that she has bright parents and thinks it makes her doubly bright! 

Last night the kids went to a spend the night party and we didn't... whoah Nelly

... I'm not about to share all that.... we stayed home and had dinner and a movie.

We got Sherlock Holmes from Netflix (did I mention I love Netflix)

and I have to say I was very, very impressed!!! Add it to your list now. 

Maybe I can lure Netflix into sponsoring my blog....just sayin'.

I have been on a mission to rid myself of all the clutter in my life. Oprah keeps 

appearing in my dreams telling me to keep it simple, live an uncomplicated life and write

my own checks. Does she really do that? If I had her beau coups of cash I'd 

print my checks on Big Huge Labs or something using pretty fonts and backgrounds and 

make them huge like the ones they give Lottery winners. So, having said that I'm 

systematically ridding myself of all the chains holding me back, shredding stuff I 

think the fraudsters around here might steal, giving away the stuff that someone more needy

might need, recycling the cardboard, plastic and glass we just don't need!!! 

Can you say Liberating!!!!

Has Twitter changed??? I have been tweeting for about a year now and never really

paid a lot of attention until the other night. There were a bunch o' peeps suggested to me

so I followed them all... prolly you... and you and you... there blurking... so please check

me out, you can follow me from the sidebar, see it??? click it. thanks. 

and my final piece of randomonium for tonight is this... did you know I adore giraffes? 

and I took this picture... I know... really I did...and I do... absolutely adore them, look at that 

big beautiful eye, so kind and soulful... ~*~sigh~*~ 

Y'all have a good rest of the weekend now and come back and see me y'hear!!! 

What's been keeping me busy???

Why my crazy, messy kids of course!!!! 

Raise you're hands if you've been down this road?

Gingerly stepping into an incredibly overwhelming part of your house that

you once lovingly painted and decorated; you think this was once a room you

recognized and you're sure that it is on the blue print although now it seems

as if it has just appeared there from the depths of messy hell.

An evil addition slowly morphed itself into the home whilst I was not

particularly paying close attention... well not looking at all really.

I am the mother of two girls, two adorable angels who once used to 

keep all their precious belongings just so... who would pride themselves in 

their folding abilities and help with the organizing of closets. 

Where did those adorable creatures go????

Someone took them... and changed them into SUPERSLOBS!!!! 

Who committed this outrage? I demand an apology, nay, better than that,

I demand seven hours of my life back. Seven hours i could have been 

having a pedi, or reading a book, or taking pretty pics instead of 

toiling tirelessly to reclaim my real estate and make it all good again. 

There's nothing under the beds now... giddy... there's no strange smells

coming from the corners of the closets... giddier... and there are four or

five huge black garbage bags full of nasties to go to the DUMP....

GIDDY HEAVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When it was all over we sat on the floor (which was now visible) in a triangle,

 with lighted candles around us

 and solemnly made a pact (Travelling Pants style)

to never, ever, ever go down that filthy rotten road again;

promises were made and mercy was generously granted on the 

perps. I think the Halloween music CD in the background helped

in scaring the bejesus outta them!!! 

Scared Tidy. 

Bwaa haaa haaaaa haaaaaaa!!!!!

What's she thinking?

I wonder what was going on in that complicated 9 yr old mind of hers? Was she simply enjoying the sun on her shoulders? dreaming of fourth grade? imagining what it must be like to be a bird soaring high in the sky? or was it intense concentration on her next catch?

I will cherish these precious moments and of course i'm overwhelmed with gratitude that I have the means to capture fragments of her journey and share them with family and friends. Proudly displaying these pictures is like saying "look what I have, the very best gift in the world." A beautiful girl who loves life, loves to be fishing off a pier one day and prancing around in a pageant dress the next. A mix of girly fun and really intense love of all things nature. She'll enthusiastically share her knowledge on every living creature we happen upon, leaving me wondering where in the heck she stores all this information, where will her thirst for every tiny detail regarding our planet take her? The latest thoughts on her future are that she's going to be a marine biologist, or something along those lines. I truly, truly hope we can make those dreams come true for her. After all this is the land of opportunity, the one place on Earth that someone with a God given talent like hers should be able to be all she can be.

For now I'm just pausing, taking a moment to really let it sink in how utterly floored I am that I'm given this opportunity to take care of her for as long as I'm allowed. Savoring these years in which I can smother her with kisses, find her tickle spot and put her down in a gufawing heap, and try to answer all her questions. There are so many questions, the ones I don't know the answer to.... yep you guessed it... we Google it together. As long as she's aware I don't have all the answers but can help her find them, she'll still come to me with the questions.... and as long as she's doing that I'll still have the honor of being her guide.

I think this particular picture will remain one of my favorites for a long time, the sun in her curls and the expression.... just what is she thinking???

Pour Your Heart Out - Rejection.

OK, I'm linking up today because I came across this site... Things I Can't Say... and it seemed

to be quite pertinent to me and my big mouth in some way. 

Go check her out and see what she has to say... or not... well you get the picture. 

My particular heart pouring today is kinda a hard one for me and that's what this is all about isn't 

it? This is what this link up is for, a place for one to air one's painful memories, air ones 

heartaches, stretch our literary muscles and paint a picture of the gut wrenching pain that 

lives in out hearts and oftentimes needs to be shared with a reader, not face to face with a friend

or family member, not discussed and twisted until you can't convey your original feelings.

So here goes.... throughout my life I have experienced rejection, from an early age really, 

like the first day of school. I had a fight with Margaret who sat next to me, mostly because

I was English and now living and going to school in Scotland. The centuries old animosity was 

still alive and kicking, literally, in Fife in the mid 1970's. My feelings of not fitting in and being different

continued all through school, this was where I learned to change my accent to fit in with 

those around me. In high school it continued, mainly because now my parents decided to send me to a

school outside the village we lived in, more reason for ridicule and rejection by my so called peers. 

And at age sixteen, the family  moved back to England, and my world was reversed.

Suddenly I was a Jock, with a Jock accent living in a town where although my mother had

grown up there, no one knew me. More chameleon like tendencies just to fit in and ease 

the pain of rejection. 

Then my Dad left. 

This was a horrible, horrible time in my life that I'm not even going to go into on my blog.

There's pouring your heart out and there's totally crippling yourself emotionally for the sake of art.

Just be assured that for the next couple of years I was totally reeling from the pain of that

particular rejection.... and this time it I think I did a lot of the rejecting. 

So on into my early twenties, although I feel I built myself a strong foundation for my own 

life, I was still plagued by the underlying fear of more rejection. There were the pretty girls

who looked down on my chubby self, the smart girls headed to college who no longer had 

anything in common with the working girl. The guys who would use me, never abused me, 

physically anyway, but could see a vulnerable chick just hoping to find someone at last who 

would love and accept her. An easy hit for those not willing to commit. 

Now suddenly all grown up and although I'm stronger than ever, thanks mostly to the complete

love and support of Mr Gorgeous, there are still pangs of hurt and insecurity. Still times when I 

drive myself out of my mind with worry, the thought that all this self loathing will come back and 

haunt me when I'm rejected in some way. Still times of catching my reflection 

and hating what I see, hating what 

I say and do sometimes, wondering if I was not me would I be my friend?

    

At this juncture in my life I am feeling it all again, a million fold. I'm trying very hard not to wallow

in self pity, hold my head high and move on. It's not easy and try as I might not to spill my 

guts on this blog... it's my freakin' blog and I'll spill if I want to!!!!!! 

I don't know how to pick myself up at this point, other than to just keep a routine and move on,

 but it's always there nagging at me, there's a lump in my throat and sick feeling in my stomach. 

Smiling on the outside and puking with nerves on the inside. 

There.... said it... out there... cannot be undone. 

Still waiting for Spud to crochet me a silver lining, maybe she can crochet me some

big girl panties too so I can just shut up and put them on and get over it. 

Refreshed and Ready to Rock...

Man, have you ever been fishing off a pier in Florida? It's a hot bed of eclectics and quite

frankly freaks... that's why we were there. However, it's the best thing in the world to me! 

So... am I an eclectic or a freak? or are they, in fact, one and the same?

We filled the truck with fishing poles and coolers, sunscreen and hats, hooks and 

squid, the squid is the bait... eewww and headed off to Gasparilla Island, yep the home

of Boca Grand and the vacation spot to the Bushes... yep those Bushes, W, Sr, Jed et al. 

We didn't see any notable billionaires on our pier but who would even know? You're in the 

back o' beyond out in the sun where everyones in a bathing suit and hat so you can't

tell who has the big bucks and who's collecting unemployment (that would be moi).

It waaasss the weekend and I'm entitled to a break in job hunting a couple of 

days a week right???? I did ask my in laws if they'd hire me as an assistant to their

bulldog so I can put that down as job hunting...right???

We copped our spot on the pier and cast our lines.... fantastic!! I settled in with my 

Nikon, snapping away and wondering what the Sam Hill was up with my camera?

Was I drunk? did I have something in my eye? was there sunscreen smeared on the 

lens... WWWWWTTTTTTFFFFFFF!!!!!! 

Panic stricken I dialed 911 and asked for the camera EMS peeps.

Before they even arrived I determined that someone had been messing

with my baby and had switched it to manual focus and turned the 

VR (vibration reduction) to off...rendering me useless. 

I think that's the next chapter of the manual... stay tuned. 

Anyhoodles... the morning progressed, we caught several pin fish, a couple 

of grunts and a holy mackerel!!!!! 

Now, none of the above seem overly appetizing to me, I'm more of a 

mahi mahi or tuna steak girl myself and won't ever turn down a shrimp. 

Still there are always those who will take your catch and put it to good

use, and that my friend is the best part of fishing a pier in Fla. 

We were fishing close to a Vietnamese lady and her hubby who gladly 

took our fish off the hooks and placed them in their catch bucket. 

She told us how she would steam them in a soup bowl balanced on a 

veggie basket in a large pot of boiling water and add ginger. She steams

them with the head on and hubby was more than happy to share that her

favorite parts are the cheeks!!! delish!!!! 

Then a cute guy turned up to fish, thought he'd make a good catch for

Aunt Kim but apparently she was suffering from a fit of the shy's???

As if???

He caught me taking a pic of him just for fun! 

He was topless with cargo shorts and a few tattoos... wore a hat and 

had a cooler of beer... what more can you ask for?

My M-I-L was telling Aunt Kim about him looking at her.. of course I 

knew he was staring at me.. pasty, fat and fortyish... he could hardly contain

himself, and who could blame him!!! 

So all in all, a great afternoon fishing, the beers were gone and 

the fish were fished and it was time to leave. Time to head to the

pool, enjoy some pizza and hang out and wait for the inevitable late afternoon storm. 

What a lovely day, makes me want to move to the seaside. 

I want to be where the sun sparkles across the water, where the fish jump 

and make everyone say "You see that??" I want to be where we can hop into

a boat, sail out a ways and watch the porpoises at play.

Enough of Land... I'm off to be a mermaid with my beautiful Ash. 

PEACE OUT!!!!!

For the next couple of days I'll be incommunicado.... 

don't give up on me... especially those newbies who have just jumped aboard 

the McGilli bus that is pure randomonium on the go. 

I will be back, with lots to share, just can't tell you right

now where or what it is that's keeping me from my precious

bloggy friends. 

In the meantime... check this out.. these geese were not making

a sound, just standing around with their mouths open... 

interesting?????

See you soon my dears.... xxxxx

Back to the PAD... the Photo PAD that is...

This is my Picture a Day mosaic for June. You can tell just by looking at it that I have been seriously cheating on this project. Things went South around May for me, just kinda lost my mojo, for lack of a better phrase. I'm back in the saddle and ready to tackle some more taxing stuff, I have my D60 book at the ready. Really I want to upgrade said D60 but that will have to wait.... must master it first!!!!! So, that being said, I hereby pledge to get reacquainted with my beloved Nikon and all the fiddles that go along with it. I have a lovely tripod collecting dust in my creative corner of the kitchen and a fish eye lens that has been woefully neglected. We went to the lake the other day and Ash (bless her) reminded me it would have been good to have my fish eye lens handy!!!!
Back to my project, back to concentrating on bettering myself and back to what I love!! Speaking of getting back to things... I'll be back to CV next week, it holds a special little place in my heart!!!

Eternally Distracted....

Check it out... I have a mention on my good friend's blog... 

Too funny... http://eternally-distracted.blogspot.com/2010/07/ive-been-outed.html

No post from me today, I want you to go check out ED's 

blog, she's the best!!!!! 

Happy Tuesday y'all. 

Wordless Sunday...

apparently i've done this before... who knew! 

just enjoy the pics..

talk tomorrow. 

yes we swim in springs where alligators are the lifeguards.

Thank you.... thank you all!!!!!

Lately I have been in a funk.... not just any old funk but a 

big ole funkety, funk, funkin' kinda funk. 

There are a myriad of reasons for this funk so don't jump to one

conclusion or another, I'm quite a complex gal with a jumble of issues

going on, any of which can rear their ugly head at any given time.

This just happens to be one of those times where they pretty much

all gang up on me at once. 

Then just like that... POP... the bubble of doom and gloom dissipates 

and I'm back.... all quirky, positive and thankful again. The 

regular me... sans demons on my shoulder... ready again to 

fight the good fight and rise from the depths of despair.

Dramatic, innit???

The things I that have dragged me out of the pitches of dreadfulness

are simple.... 

last night i stayed up late and watched Betelguese with my girls... yeah..yeah..

there are one or two cusses in there.. but that's it.. literally two.

We had a ball laughing together and they're still laughing this morning. 

We're going to swim in a natural spring this afternoon, all cold and 

deliciously refreshing. The kids are excited and eager to pack the picnic, 

pick out swim wear and get on the road. How wonderful that 

they love the outdoors and don't just want to sit in front of the Wii all day. 

Suck it Nintendo....you're no match for Mother Earth.

this morning i'm cooking a huge batch of bacon, and for some reason

it's making me happy. there's no rational (get it, rashers) explanation for the 

happiness other than the smell, the crackling from the pan, the 

thought of a big fat bacon butty with ketchup!!!!! 

and lots of bacon grease to cook with later in the day... 

southern style!!!! 

His gorgeousness has been working really hard this week and it's

showing, he looks tired so i'm thankful that we get to relax this 

afternoon, he really deserves a break. He loves to swim with the

girls and even though it's not chlorinated water (he's afraid of sharks and germs)

I think he'll be OK in a crystal clear spring. 

i live in a fantastic community and when I was filling out an application 

for a career move (my new name for it) i had to put down some references. 

I thought about it and, guess what, there are a million really good peeps 

just outside my door who will vouch for me. That made me feel 

all warm and fuzzy... really... it did. I'm so thankful for the many totally, 

rockin', awesome friends i have here.

I have a Nikon... 'nuff said. 

My sisters are getting togeth with some cousins today in a far off land...

i'll hopefully be able to catch them on Skype later today.

That in itself is a monumental feat of accomplishment which has me 

perfectly giddy with excitement... you have no idea... and the kids

are bubbling with anticipation at "meeting" some cousins that they 

have never seen before. The wonders of modern technology, do

you remember when we only dreamed of such things???

Syd just wrote a short story and read it out load to me... it was 

really good... she's very creative.... it warms my heart!!!!! 

OK peeps.. gotta run... got shizzle to do and hope you do too. 

much big luv from the highly strung whacko that is me today!!! 

working for the mighty Dollar!!!! 

Friday Confessional... via Glamazon.

The meme for today's confessional is WORST.DATE.EVER.

I think I was the mistress of the worst date, there are a good number i could think of

but to be honest it's just embarrassing...truly excruciating and humiliating. 

Oh yeah... that pretty much sums me up so why would my dating life be

any different????

There were the pity dates, ones where some random guy would ask me 

out and I felt obliged to say yes 'cos i hate rejection myself. I was not too good

at thinking up excuses either, maybe if I had come clean and said I'd rather

stick hot needles in my own hemorrhoids i'd have saved a lot of  heartbreak.

There were dates where I was completely infatuated and acted like a total 

bimbo, stuttering, making up lies to impress, falling over and laughing

like a deranged donkey. That's what happens when you are so in awe

of the Greek God accompanying you on a night out. 

I think the very worst date ever was one Christmas, i had gone out with this poor guy we'll 

call Poor Guy.  I had had a couple of dates with him during a break with a long term 

on-again off-again asshole we'll call Spike. 

I asked Poor Guy if he wanted to come to our company Christmas dinner

and dance... of course he accepted 'cos he was happy to have such a 

nice gal like me to go out with and loved the thought of  a formal 

night out with dinner and dancing to a lovely band... I think??

The evening started perfectly well, however, when we sat down to dinner

my lovely black, velvet dress with a gorgeous kinda upside down 

tulip hemline split completely up the front as I plonked myself down at

the table!!!! Shit!!! so I pushed my chair up to the table and breathed in 

so that no one would see what a freakin' disaster I looked. 

So after the meal I kinda hobbled to the dance holding the front of my

dress closed and sat at a table the whole night not getting up once.

Then we left and the plan was to head to a local club, luckily it was a

small town and i lived almost between the first venue and the night

club, so I popped home and changed into something less unfortunate.

Once in the club, I relaxed and enjoyed the company of Poor Guy who showed

me a lot of attention and bought me lots of drinks, we actually had a good time.

Then Spike showed up and also showed a lot of attention, telling me how

great I looked and how he wanted me back and was sorry for all the 

assholey things he'd done. I left with Spike, and didn't even let Poor 

Guy know i was leaving, the memory is hazy but i may have sent one 

of my friends to deliver the news to Poor Guy. 

The next time I say Poor Guy he told me what a weak, coward I was and 

that he was disgusted with me. 

Yep, he was right!!! sorry Poor Guy!!! 

Go check out Glamazon and her stories... she's great!!!! 

Happy Friday y'all. 

(totally off topic, it's amazing how my site hits sky rocketed the day after
I lost my job??? just sayin').

And the Winner Is....

Yeah...  you thought I had forgotten didn't you!!!!!! 

nope, just been a little distracted that's all. 

Last week I offered a cute as can be 

Inner Rambling coffee mug as a giveaway and a 

few lovely people commented on my post. 

The winner is 

STACEY.... of The Brown's Zoo Tales

Let me tell you about Stacey; She is a very busy outdoorsie 

type person with a heart of gold. She and I have been 

following each other for a long time now. We're pretty much at 

opposite ends of the spectrum and other sides of the country 

which is why a love her blog so much. Please go check her out. 

here's what you won....

 yes this one is yours.

and this one is mine!!

Cute huh? Thanks Stacey for your support... mwuuaahhh!!! 

The truth that is job hunting!

Let me just preface by saying that this is a blog, that's all, an online account of my life, yes it's open for all to see but it's mine and it's honest and I"m not trying to do anything other than release my inner ramblings.. hence the title... no malice intended people. If you don't like what I write then don't read it... capisce??

OK so, been unemployed for a week now and what have i accomplished? not a whole lot I can tell you. The laundry is a little less daunting and the carpets are well vacuumed, I have changed my profile pic on FB a million times.... never satisfied.  I have found a few more blogs that are completely wonderful and interesting, have had a video chat with Rxbambi and guess what, she may just reenter the blogosphere at some point so don't give up on her. 

I also managed to fit in a visit to the Dept of Labor, a totally new and humiliating experience I can assure you. I was lucky enough to be in a group of three, the DOL lady explaining the procedure (very calm and nice), another claimant (very disgruntled and total ball of anger) and yours truly (sad and bewildered). It was not the most pleasant morning in my life but, as I left, the other claimant apologized for being an "asshole"... chivalry is not dead. All I can say is please Lord let me get a job before I have to set foot in that place again. The calm lady showing me the ropes didn't seem to share my enthusiasm, when I told her I hoped to find a position before my benefit ran out, she looked at me with a sorrowful look in her eye and told me "times are hard honey, times are hard".

Another step in the direction of securing employment was to enter my resume in one or two employment sites...for the love of God.... the only people to contact me so far as a result of this are bogus, nightmare, scam artists ready to take my money instead of paying me money. Seriously... wtf is this all about??? Please only contact me if you are offering bone fide terms of employment and have enough dough in your pocket to pay me... I'm not about to jump aboard your entrepreneurial, bullshit, magic carpet. I need a real job, with a real paycheck and hours to suit. Thank you.

My next plan of action it to post my resume on every website of every local company in the mild offchance that they may just have an opening suited to my qualifications that they haven't yet posted. You know the deal, I post my resume first, the next morning the HR director is about to post an opening online, stumbles across my superior credentials, decides to talk to me prior to posting the position and, boom, I'm hired on the spot.
Bob's your uncle, in like Flynn and all that other craptastic stuff... back in the ranks of the respectable wage earning society and can once again hold my head high in public. No more having to explain the painfully woeful position to people on the street and I can once again go shopping for the non-essentials that I so dearly love. In the meantime, I'm on a diet of cereal and sandwiches hoping not to outgrow any clothes because I so can't afford a bigger, more full figured wardrobe. I'm making the kids sleep in boxes and strapping their feet with ace bandages in order that they don't grow any more. Ash has it better than Syd cos she can always wear Syd's hand me downs. Syd, however, has been forbidden to grow until I secure full time employment and am receiving a renumeration package deserved by a person of my caliber. By deserved.. I need you to read it as deserv-ed. Thanks.

Now.. next week I'll update you on my perseverance and, of course, once I do secure gainful employment i will undoubtedly issue an invitation to a Bloggy Online celebration where we can all relax, have a cocktail, toast the turn in the economy and make me feel a whole lot better about myself.

Thanks... really... thank you to the followers who have expressed their love and support for me... I have a whole lot more from this blog than I ever hoped to have and will continue the journey... because you rock!!

Here's were I would put a pic of a rock or something! 

oh here's one!!!! 

I've had a little time to think....

I know... I should probably be careful about too much thinking right! 

Well this is good thinking, kinda planning, making a wishlist in my head of 

things I'd like to do with the house down the line (after my ship comes in!).

There are a few things I need to change about our breakfast area and 

dining room, so I've been browsing some sites to find the perfect fit for 

our home. 

I love this for the kitchen....

picture courtesy of CSN

Right now we can only seat four around our table in the dining room and it's a little

tight. Just a couple more seats and we'd be set for when we have all the 

neighbors kids, friends, local ho bo's whoever for an informal chow down.

A little of this would be nice.... 

courtesy of CSN

you know.... just to add a little classic touch to the tabletop. 

I love runners and table cloths but stopped using them when the kids

were babies...  you know, they pull them and everything on them

off the table in a heap!!! 

So my friends... once my ideas come to fruition I'll share

with you the creation of my Martha-like home!!!! 

How to survive the summer.

Are you at home with your kids for the summer? Wondering what to do with them? running out of crafts, excursions and songs to sing? Me too... what the heck are we to do in order to maintain some kind of sanity.
Send them to Grandparents? pack them off to camp? week with Aunt Kim??????

For the love of God, here's my plea.... a blog kid exchange.  I'll send you my little darlings for a few days and you send me yours. They are adorable I promise, the other day we were at the beauty salon and Ash was in the waiting room just talking away to an old man in there. When I came out he asked me for $200, 000 hush money cos she just told him all our family secrets. She has the blogger gene but it's in her mouth!!!!!

Now.... the deal is... they come as a package, you have to be able to accommodate both the girls, they're no good separated. Although three years, one month, one day and four hours apart they behave kinda like twins. They are like peanut butter and jelly, Torville and Deane, hearts and flowers, Ron and Hermaine, you get the picture. They can fight like a couple of Real Housewives but if you separate them, well it's the saddest sight you've ever witnessed, Love Story and Kramer vs Kramer has nothing on these two. I know, I know there are those of you out there too young to have seen these movies but believe me they are classics... get them on Netflix. You won't regret it.

I don't really know how popular it is today, especially with some many creeps out there but when I was about Syd's age, 9, we had a foreign exchange student come and stay with us. She was French and I remember her name was Pascal, I looked at her like an alien. She spoke very little English and only stayed a couple of days, probably cos our family was a nightmare. Anyhoodles... when I was eighteen I stayed with a host family in Denmark when I was on tour with a local youth choir. It was fun, except when they spoke Danish around the dinner table and I just knew they were talking about me!!!! They were all really tall, like over six feet easily, man was that intimidating for a short ass Brit like me.

So, we may not be ready to do it now but come one peeps...one day... lets swap kids and blog about it.Those without kids are now horrified I'd bring up such a scheme... those with kids are like.. hell  yeah!!!!
Bear in mind though that my youngest is addicted to "as seen on TV ads". I had a stain on something the other day and she told me that I really need Oxyclean with Stain Fighters, so please make sure you have some in when she comes to stay. She may also point to any chubby parts you may have calling them cute or even show you a dance or two that probably belongs on a Nelly music vid, seriously i have no idea where she gets this crap.

All applications to my email please, vetting will be tougher than America's Got Talent so you better make a good case for the exchange. Good Luck!!!!!!!

Inner Rambling of a Mid Life Mama.: Coupons....another addiction????

Inner Rambling of a Mid Life Mama.: Coupons....another addiction????

I would like you to read the post above, this was way back when I had nothing better to do but blog about coupons. I have since given up coupon clippping (mostly) but still love a bargain.

I just wanted to revisit this post cos I like it. That's all.

Tic Tac Toe....or naughts and crosses.

Have you ever thought how much life is like a game of tic tac toe.

We call it naughts and crosses in England, seems more of a practical 

name for it really.... anyhoo.... the point is we're journeying 

through our stay on earth playing on big game of strategy 

after another. 

There's the whole boy meets girl thing, or girl meets girl, or boy meets

boy, what ever shakes your tail feathers.

In my day there were the "rules"; you know, you could only call after

 so many days, not seem too 

keen etc... his move, your move, three in a row and 

you win....or not! 

Then there's the buying a home thing, you put in an offer, 

they counter offer, your move, their move and so it goes

on until someone gets the winning combo or not. 

There are times in the home buying game of tic tac toe

when you could easily wipe the board clean and 

stomp off like a three year old. 

Getting a job or negotiating a contract, all his move, your 

move, what's the other player gonna do next, can you 

predict their plan of attack. Is it better to start on the 

outside or gain a good stronghold in the middle..... 

there isn't always a winner... oftentimes it's a stalemate 

and you'll have to begin again from a clean slate.

So my bloggy friends, what kinda tic tac toe games are 

you playing right now? and are you winning?

Loli.

This is Loli, a distant relative of mine thru marriage... of course none of my blood rellies from England are here.

She recently let me practice my photography (minimal) skills on her and this is what we came up with. She's a doll, such a sweet girl. Thanks Loli for letting me use you as a guinea princess on such a hot, clammy day.

Joining the ranks of the unemployed...and giving stuff away!

Yesterday I was let go.....


I'm working on my resume... or CV... or whatever you want to call it.


Maybe I'll do something much bigger and better with my life.... or not.

In the meantime I"ll work hard to help my children understand the complexities of an adult situation where Mom lost her job and all that goes along with it (like letting the sitter go) boo..... and I'll teach them that when life gives you lemons, you write about them, take pictures of them and maybe just brighten a person's life with your creative endeavors.

I wish I could take credit for this little beauty but it was my good friend Spud who created this wonderful image of loveliness. It's just gorgeous. Thank you my sweet for letting me use it today :)

So my friends if any of you have any ideas or comments on how I'm to find gainful employment please comment now. Link to this post, follow me publicly and sent it global......you're reward? the cutest little Inner Rambling of a Mid Life Mama coffee mug. Yep, an adorable coffee mug for your efforts. I will use a random number picker thingy to pick the winner. Drawing to take place on Monday July 12th.

CV... Saturday ... with a little Wednesday Rant N Rave

Today's Corner View theme is Saturday.... 

I'm sucking at thinking of things to photograph depicting my 

average Saturday, I guess cos I don't have an average Saturday.

I sometimes clean house.. boring... 

or grocery shop... booooorriingggggg.... 

sometimes we have weekend trips.. yay.... 

sometimes there are birthday parties to attend

or swimming or fishing... just depends.

Here's what I used to love doing on Saturdays....

Walking around my home town of Salisbury... nothing like being out on a Saturday!!!! 

Check out the other CVers.... they are way more interesting.

and now for a little Rant and Rave!!!! 

Brought to you each Wed by the Lovely with capital L....

Little Miss Blogger.

Rant.... we're being watched all the time, every minute of the day

all in the name of greed, big fat hungry profit seekers are monitoring our

daily moves and then pouncing thinking that we don't know what's going on.

If you're from a large monthly book club and I once ordered a children's book 

from you a million years ago when Syd was three... YOU ARE NOT 

MISSING ME!!!!  You miss my money. You never met me and you 

sure as hell didn't buy me a drink or get to know me... stop sending me shit 

in the mail telling me you miss me and want me back. I'm going to file a 

law suit soon because you're quite frankly stalking me. 

Same goes for you... shitty, cheap shoe shop I will purchase stuff from 

in a pinch... we never dated!!!!!!!!!!!

Rave...  my sweet darling hubs is being especially nice to me lately

and it's making me very happy. We're approaching our thirteenth year of

wedded bliss and I think we're happier than we have ever been. 

That's all. 

Rant...... it's just a little toooo hot this summer, everyone gripes about it

and people get testy. I wish it was Spring all year round. We look forward to the 

summer but honestly it's a bit of a bitch. I love to sit on the patio and listen 

to the birds, enjoy an adult beverage and relax. However, when you're out 

there scorching your bare feet on the ground and on the metal table it's 

no fun, or when beads of sweat, nay torrents of sweat pour into your

drink it's downright disgusting..

Rave......  I recently ventured out and got really crazy... I tasted some of 

his gorgousness's Sam Adams Light, (I know). Well.. I always figured 

somehow that it looked like it was for men. Now I come to think of it, most

beers look like they are for men. I'm of the opinion that if Sam rethought

his labels and made them prettier he'd sell more beer. It's totally wonderfully

delish... go try it ladies. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what Sam can 

do for you!!! 

Rant.... I have totally lost one of my closest and most beloved friends to 

T-Ball. I love to hang with her and her family but she's been on the road 

prepping her son to be the next big Ball Star!! Which is great and I applaud their

tenacity but seriously... when can I see you again my lovely friend????

I know she sometimes reads my blog so hopefully she'll see this 

heartfelt plea....Dear Friend... ditch the kid, hire a surrogate Mama to 

scream from behind the dugout, and come play for an evening.. let's have

some seriously strong 'ritas at the stinky Mexican downtown.

I know some cops who will taxi us home at three in the morning for free!!! 

I think that's all for now. Share the love dear readers, check out Jane and 

Little Miss... see what's going on out there in BlogLand.

{{{{{ hugs }}}}}

Don't have any words....

Back to work after a long weekend...

no time... no inspiration and

therefore no words... just pics..

Enjoy

xxxxxxxxx