Just Like A Movie!

Alright. So. Today I was at the local Wal*Nut, doing some shopping. I had kid number two with me, Miss Beta, and we decided to head over to the toy section to look at potential Xmas gifts. The final gift I had planned on getting her I decided not to after all, and needed some new ideas. What better way than to ask the recipient of said potential gifts what it is, exactly, that they want? See, I smart like dat.

Anyway, whilst she was ogling the Littlest Pet Shops and the Bratz dollz, a woman approached me. Is this your daughter, she asked me. I said, indeed she is *grin*. The woman introduced herself as a representative of kidz in media, and told me that Beta was cute and that she was the kind of kid they might be looking for. She gave me a card, and invited me to bring Beta downtown tomorrow for an audition. She gave me a rundown of what to expect, told me to bring a picture, and said that she really hoped to see us there.

So I get home, and the first thing I did was look up their website. And hmmm... you know, I might do it. I might take her down there tomorrow. Beta seems pretty interested... she said she wanted to give it a go.

I guess we'll see. But kinda cool, right? I mean, I thought that stuff only happened in the movies... people approaching you in a crowded store, yelling "You! You're just the look I'm looking for! Yes, YOU!" ok she really didn't do that, it wasn't QUITE that dramatic... but still....

And that is, as they say in some circles... that.

Oh, and here is a little somethin' somethin' that has absolutely NOTHING to do with anything I just wrote about. I just like it.

At The Moment...

I am sitting here, sipping wine, and thinking thoughts.

Today is supposed to be a day of thanks and gratitude, and while I don't normally like to conform... eh. I'll make an exception today. It IS Tday, after all.

So, from the mundane to the all important, here's a random list of many things that Jenna has to be grateful for. Not in, you understand, in any particular order.

1. Naturally, to head this list, I have to say that my family is number one. That they're mine, their good health, their love, their foibles and flaws... all of it. I am a better woman because of them, and ever am I grateful for my husband and children.

2. What can you say after that? Something like... oh! My health. I'm chunkier than I'd like to be, but I'm pretty healthy. This bod has served me well, and I am grateful for it.

3. My friends. In particular, Shanna. Lisa. Becky. My Ninjas.

4. That I quit smoking. I would love to pick that habit up again... but it's SO bad for me. I'm glad I quit.

5. Diet Pepsi and books. My two favorite things.

6. My computer. I love my computer, despite it's many... issues :) I love the internet.

7. Spellcheck. WOW. Yeah, that, totally. Thank the gods that someone was smart enough to come up with that!

8. Toilet paper. 'Nuff said.

9. My stretch marks. Yes, I love them. Every. Single. One. They mark me as a woman who carried a body inside her body, gave it life. I love to run my fingers over them. My babies gave me those marks, and I am grateful for them.

10. Good tuneage. I lalalove music!

11. COFFEE and CREAMER.

12. ...my cool mug that Shanna gave me for my bday.

13. Good wine. Like this lovely chianti that I am currently drinking.

14. The beach.

15. Cable. Many good shows it brings me, yes.

16. Yoda rocks.

17. Warm, fuzzy socks.

18. Cafemom.

19. That my husband is gainfully employed, in these uncertain times. I am SO grateful for that.

20. That I get to be a stay-at-home-mom.

21. That my mom and I made good on reconciliation before she passed away. I love her, miss her, and am grateful to her.

22. For the many, many, MANY art pictures my children see fit to bestow upon me.

23. Cleaning products and paper towels.

24. Contact lenses.

25. Debit cards! I remember life before them...

26. That I know how to crochet... maybe not WELL, but still... I know how.

27. That I can cook. Some people can't; I'm glad I can.

28. Lotion. Oh.... lotion. I love lotion.

29. TOOTHPASTE!

30. That I have so very many things to be grateful for.

I have much more, of course, but I think I will stop at thirty. Otherwise I might be here all day, and I still have some cooking to do.

You know, I am pretty lucky. Some might say blessed. Whatever, all I know is that I'm grateful for all of it!

Peace, all. And Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Someone Needs To Draw A Line! End This Insanity Now!

I have, over the years, noticed a rather disturbing trend in today's society. It is at once both disturbing and, yes, obnoxious. It defies explanation. Those who do it cannot give a good reason as to their atrocious bad choice, and those that stand by and let their loved ones do it are just as much to blame.

I am, of course, talking about the Trend of the Saggy Pants.

It started innocently enough: I remember the first time I saw a grown male in saggy pants. I'm certain he didn't mean to start such a godsawful thing, but I cannot think of where else to lay the blame. I will show you here where I believe, according to all fifteen minutes of my research, this madness began. In the video below, I will show you PROOF of this trend's origins. Be cautioned; it is NOT for the faint of heart.

See? See? I think it is safe to say, he started it. Little did he know when he filmed this cinematic classic, he was corrupting the little hearts of America's youth. Or, at least, their fashion sense.

Perhaps it would have died with him, but no. The corruption was going to spread. Initially, it was isolated incidents. A sordid few would wear their pants low-slung on their hips, and the rest of us would give them the hairy eye, but still, those individuals were few and far between. Perhaps we could have killed this trend before it started, but alas, it was not to be. THIS blockbuster hit the theaters, and that was the end. Or rather, the beginning... America would spiral down into a sad state of fashionably challenged, all because of a single scene in a movie that not only glorified the saggy pants, but made it socially acceptable.

 

The above is a screen shot from the movie Clueless. This socially conscious movie made considerable headway into our culture, changing the fashion of America as we knew it.

At first, it seemed that although the boys were bent on wearing their pants around their hips, it wasn't that bad. Certainly it was a sight better than the traditional plumber crack, something that the majority of us were unfortunately familiar with:

 

But then it got worse.

The pants start getting lower and lower... and lower still. Soon a new trend would rise, that of wearing pants UNDER your pants. Strange, but true. Observe:

The madness spread.

Innocents everywhere started doing it. Friends were telling friends, condoning the trend, and encouraging it. Children are doing it younger and younger every year, and I fear that there is no hope. You might think that the below is an isolated incident, but no. My research has uncovered many such disturbing images, and this is but a sample of them:

It's spread so far and wide, it seems that there is no way clear of it. Sights like these-

-are all too common anymore. Grown men with their pants down below their buttocks, held precariously in place with a strip of leather commonly referred to as a belt, are sweeping across the nation. It's something of an epidemic.

And it's not just the men. Women-

-are doing it, too.

Although, to be fair, most women are sensible enough to NOT accept this trend. Usually you only see sights like the above when alcohol is involved. Still, though, as the more intelligent sex, you would think that we would lead by example. Just sayin'....

And so, in conclusion, I say, stop the madness. If you are a man and you are wearing sagging pants, keep these few points in mind:
1. You do not look cool. You look like a dork.
2. You have to walk around holding your pants up with one hand, lest they fall down. These leaves you with only one hand free to carry important things, like beer. Beer is usually heavy. You could drop it. Then you will be mad.
3. If the zombie uprising occurs whilst you are wearing your saggy pants, you cannot run from them, no matter how fleet of foot. You will be amongst the first to have your brains eaten and turn into the walking dead.
4. Penguins are cute. You are not.
5. Let me reiterate my first point: you look like a DORK!

Alright, I have said my peace. Join me in this fight against the Trend of the Saggy Pants. Save your loved ones from this fashion disaster! Do whatever you must, but

STOP THE MADNESS!

And next week, I will address the sad, sad state of-

-THIS unfortunate trend. Until then....

PEACE!

 

Do You Have A Life?

Apparently, I do not. It has come to my attention that I have been spending waaaaaaay too much time on the computer these days... so what do I do? I blog about it :)

I went over my list of books that I've got lined up to read, and dude. I am way behind. I read purely for pleasure, so for me to say "OMG I'm, like,  so far behind on my reading!" (imagine I said that in full-on Valley Girl, it's funnier that way) means that things have come to a pretty pass indeed.

I have several books on my top shelf (where I keep my to-read books) that I bought several months ago, and haven't touched. I've gone from reading two or three books in a week to maybe that many in a month! I mean, yeah. I've got a few to catch up on.

And I still purchase them like I'm reading at the same pace. But just so you know, I don't buy two or three books a week, because I re-read a lot of the ones that I have. Like, I usually read an entire series, like The Wheel of Time, at least once a year. This year I have yet to do that. Or read any of the others that I love to re-read.

Spendin' too much time on the comp, I'm tellin' ya.

Here's a LINK to the list of books that I have yet to read. To be fair, about four of them I haven't purchased yet. The rest, however, are ready and waiting for me.

How did this happen? I mean, I have kids, and they take up time, but they're in school all day. I have stuff to do around here, yeah, and some days I'm so busy I don't sit from the time my feet hit the floor til I go to bed at nite, but still. I have plenty of free time to read. I should be taking advantage of that. Instead, I dilly-dally around on the computer, like, all day. It's like I'm addicted.

Is there a computer users anonymous out there? Wait. Don't answer that.

Alright. I gots to go and feed the kidlets. They're doing that I'm STAAAARVING routine again.

More addled and random thoughts from me later, I am sure :)

Peace.

A Headache

I woke this morning with a bitch kitty of a headache. I wish I could say that I had earned it by having a bang-up nite, but alas, not so. A headache for no reason, it was.

Two Excedrin and a glass of water ought to clear that up, I told myself, but it was not to be. I popped the pills and downed the water and an hour later, I was still achy. I drank a cup of coffee. I drank more water. Lay my head down. Drank some milk. I ate. I tried to nap (my Extreme Teen came home and kinda killed it), but still my headache persisted.

I hate that.

I took two more Excedrin, and it has since subsided to a more manageable level.

I wonder what that's about. It smacks of a migraine to me; sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, and pain. Sore neck. Right now it isn't so bad, but I can feel it thumping, waiting for the Excedrin to wear off, and then again, it will return.

I really hate that.

I get one bad one at least once a month. Not bad enough to require stronger medication than OTC stuff, yet annoying enough that it puts a damper on my entire day.

At least the children are in school. Somehow, for whatever reason *tongue in cheek* when they're home and I have a headache, it makes it worse. NO idea why.

Well, I guess there are worse things, right?

 

100! 100! 100!

SO TOTALLY stealing this from Diane. One hundred random things about moi. Now you can die happy, right? Right? Right.

1. My name is really Jennifer, but everyone calls me Jenna.
2. I am 32
3. I love Diet Pepsi
4. I also love to read.
5. I would read more but I can't tear myself away from the computer long enough to do it.
6. I think this might be an issue
7. but I'm not sure yet whether or not I care.
8. I like cherry tomatoes
9. I also like dark chocolate mint truffles.
10. But not brussel sprouts.
11. I haven't had my dinner, so I have food on the brain.
12. Sometimes I use periods when I make lists and sometimes I do not.
13. It depends entirely on my mood
14. I refuse to spell "nite" correctly.
15. And "tonite"
16. And I don't care who it bothers.
17. I am scared of big dogs
18. and big spiders
19. and Bigfoot.
20. I am not scared of plants.
21. Or kittens.
22. I am married
23. For the second time
24. And divorced once.
25. I have given birth four times.
26. My mother gave birth four times
27. And her mother gave birth four times.
28. And all of my mother's three siblings have four children, too.
29. I have two step sons that I refer to as my Bonus Sons.
30. My sixteen year old Bonus Son makes me crazy.
31. My favorite authors are Robert Jordan and Stephen King.
32. And I like to listen to Enigma.
33. I like white wine
34. I do not like shiraz.
35. I am addicted to CafeMom
36. I love the rain best
37. And dislike the snow a lot
38. Although, I bet that if I were in a desert, I would dislike sand storms.
39. My favorite animal is the African elephant
40. My second favorite animal is the Asian elephant
41. with giraffes as a close third.
42. I like candles
43. and Shanna the Bean
44. and when my husband rubs my neck
45. or just touches me in general.
46. I am a former Mormon
47. turned Pagan
48. I used to be a Vegetarian
49. but lost the battle to a cheeseburger.
50. I am a geek, through and through
51. and I often ramble
52. as well as spaz out.
53. I like to crochet
54. and bake
55. and take hot showers
56. but I don't like shaving
57. and I have never plucked my eyebrows
58. because it hurts too bad
59. and I am a complete wuss.
60. I would like to read poetry as it sounds like something rather sophisticated to do
61. but I find that it rather bores me.
62. I enjoy Burt's Bees products very much.
63. The beach is my favorite outdoors place to be.
64. And camping is not my favorite outdoors place to be
65. I don't like "roughing it"
66. and besides, Bigfoot might get me.
67. I believe in reincarnation
68. because it appeals to me.
69. And would love to meet one of my past reincarnations.
70. I have too many books
71. I have too many shoes, also
72. and not enough pencils and pens
73. I heart Ripley
74. I have a zombie uprising survival plan
75. I do not enjoy crossword puzzles
76. but quite enjoy this game
77. although I am still stuck on number sixteen.
78. I have a sinking suspicion that my children are all smarter than me.
79. And that it is only a matter or time before they figure this out
80. and then I'm totally screwed.
81. I think that Uggs are waaaay overrated.
82. But I really really really want a pair nonetheless
83. and I wear a size nine shoe...
84. I had a bazillion Barbies
85. that I should have hung onto but didn't
86. not knowing that I would have three daughters who would love Barbies also.
87. I am scared that I am totally screwing up this parenting thing
88. and have to pay four bills for counseling for four adult children someday.
89. I have never left the US.
90. But I would like to.
91. Just for a vacation, though.
92. I would like to make a really delicious cake
93. and then eat it.
94. And NOT SHARE!
95. I used to smoke but quit.
96. I am very glad I did so
97. although I still sometimes really want to smoke again.
98. I am almost done with this list.
99. I can't think of anything else
100. except, I like pickles :)

Duck Speak

So today was a lovely day, right? And the children were out of school early, so I decided to take them on a little adventure. Of course, we made a side-trip home first; bathroom business and what-not. Might as well drop off the backpacks as well.

Aaaand I meant to grab my camera, but figures, I didn't. Left it right there on my desk, so I didn't get any pictures. Sucks, too, because they would have been some good ones. As it stands, the pics I'm posting are just of my son, taken by my husband on a different day. But I wanted to show you where we were...

Anyway, we went to a little fishing lake. The girls had never been there... in fact, I just recently discovered it myself. It's a lovely local spot tucked back away from the road. If you didn't know it was there, you would never know it was there. Ironically, my Bonus Son Bryan has been fishing there for years. We had always assumed that he was going to some little fishing pond, not much to it. To think that for the two years we've lived here, we had no idea that such a delightful place existed.

Goes to show you, look around a bit more, right?

At any rate, today I decided to take the kids down there for a little fresh air. As I mentioned, The Man had taken Cappa there for a little fishing last weekend, so Cappa was familiar with it.

Observe:

*is he not a handsome kid? I think so*

So anyway, you can't see them, but this place is teeming with birds. Ducks, geese, pigeons, grebes, and cormorants. And they're pretty used to sharing space with humans, so they're not that shy. The Park Rangers come around daily and feed them bread and greens, and if you're lucky, they'll let you help.

Today we were lucky. We got to feed them bags and bags of bread. The kids were totally spazzing out. At first, "Delta" was a little nervous, but she didn't try and climb my leg or anything, and right soon enough she was having a grand ole time.

Then we headed on a looooong nature walk, along the many nature trails. The kids were all over the place. I should have worn my tennis shoes, but my bad, forgot to change into them before we left. At least I wasn't wearing flip-flops...

Then we strolled out onto the dock to take a break. We watched the ducks and the grebes swimming about, quacking and making a ruckus, and Delta started quacking right back. She would interpret for us what both she and the ducks were saying, thoroughly convinced that they were communicating. It was pretty cute. On the way home, Delta gave us a recap on her conversations with the ducks, and then announced that she is also "part duck" and that's why they understand each other.

We'll definitely be going back. The kids had a fantastic time, and can't wait to do it again.

And that is, as they say, that.

Peace.

 

 

 

Spirits

For me to properly tell this story, I must first go back into time.

Not literally, of course, although that would be a neat trick.

Ok, so. In my younger days, I developed a liking for alcohol. Or rather, I developed a liking for the effects of alcohol. I don't think I'm that different from other youngsters in this regard; I am, however, different in that I didn't really start drinking until after I was done having children.

That sounds wrong. Let me clarify.

I had my first child when I was 20, and my last child when I was 24. Four lovely babies in four and a half years. Yes, I am unhinged. Yes, I know what birth control is. No, I was not on welfare and no, I did not really plan to  have that many in quick succession, but I did, and they're here, and I'm happy.

My point is, during that time, I did not drink. Ever. At all. Not even a little. Not in between, and certainly not while I was pregnant. Before I embarked on that thing called Parenthood, I drank a little, but not much. Being underage made it hard to get my hands on it, and I didn't know enough to know what I liked, so everything tasted pretty gross to me.

That being said, a year after my "baby" was born, my best friend Shanna the Bean and I decided that we were going to Start Drinking Alcohol. Neither one of us had a clue as to what was good and what wasn't; we weren't drinkers, really, and I wasn't going to call my mom and ask her advice (although, in retrospect, that would have been a good idea. My mom and I had similar tastes, as it turned out). So we got the great idea to try wine.

Yeah. Wine. See, the thing is, in Utah, the selection of fine wine is, shall we say... lacking. The best we could do was Blackberry Merlot by Arbor Mist. In truth, not too bad, but... well, when you're not a wine drinker, you don't really know what's good and what isn't. I chilled my merlot, and drank it over ice. How bizarre. But I didn't know any better.

Then we decided to try something a little "harder". Shanna had experienced vodka and something else, rum, I think, mixed, and it had gotten her smashed but it was also a little much. Hangover City and all. So we decided that we needed to try something not as potent as vodka mixed with rum, and thus began Our Great Experiment With Alcohol.

First, we tried mixed drinks. We were fans of Red Robin, and quite enjoyed their drink menu, thus we at first tried to imitate that. Which was actually pretty good, but I don't think we had the measurements right, because it took a bunch of drinks just to get a buzz. Instead of just adding more alcohol (DUH), we nixed the mixed drinks and just went straight to... shots.

Yeah. Shots.

We, in our infinite wisdom and vast experience (that right there is what they call sarcasm in some circles), decided that shooting tequila and/or vodka was just "too much". Maybe the singular smart thing we did in this, the Great Experiment, was to forgo the tequila and vodka in the shot glasses. And since we weren't going to be shooting the hard stuff, we decided to go with something tastier and, in our minds, not as hard.

Which led to.... Schnapps *shudder*.

Ugh. Even thinking about it makes my tummy turn a little...

And so, it began. First it was, I believe, peppermint schnapps. Um. Yum. Then we moved onto vanilla schnapps. Oh, yeah. Then it was cinnamon, then apple, then grape. We were certain we had struck gold. We would start the nite off with a glass of that fine Blackberry Merlot, then move right into pouring and shooting schnapps. The buzz came fast and hard, and because we were convinced that if we didn't maintain the level of alcohol in our systems, our drunken buzz would wear off, so we kept shooting. And shooting. And shooting.

Good gods, it was ugly. We also tried making chocolate cake shots, and the thing is, they were pretty good... well, after we'd had a few drinks, they were pretty good. But then again, we were drinking peppermint schnapps and chasing it with SunnyD, so our taste could theoretically be called into question. Really.

So one would think that after the first hellacious, monstrous hangover, we would have learned that maybe this wasn't something we wanted to continue... right? One would assume. A smart one. One who HAD AN IOTA OF SENSE.

However, that was not the Bean and me.

To say we were hard learners would be an understatement.

It took awhile. As in, a whole summer, and then some, before we wised up. It was a slow dawning, but dawn it did upon us that SCHNAPPS IS GROSS. And HANGOVERS ARE BAD.

I can't say that I have any regrets, though, in retrospect. I wish I had done a little more research before embarking on that Great Alcohol Experiment, maybe saving myself and Bean some pain. I do wish that I had understood my limitations a tad better, trusting my head more when it started telling me that "enough, now... enough, now" instead of "I might come down! I better drink MORE!". I know that I could have saved myself some serious grief.

However, that was also one of the most fun summers I had in my life. Not because of the alcohol, but because that marked such a huge turning point in my life. Me and Shanna had some really, really good times that summer. We lived in the same complex (she was just upstairs from me), we were more or less in the same boat financially (mostly broke all the time) and we were young moms with young kids. It was a summer of experimentation, a summer of exploring limits, a summer of realizing that we weren't just wives and moms.

I'm glad that I had the Bean to go through my experimental phase with alcohol with me. We did get some ridiculous hangovers (how could we NOT) but damn, we had a rocking good time doing it!!

Hey, Shanna... wanna do a schnapps shot, for old times sake?

*ducks and runs away, laughing maniacally*

Write Much?

Yeah, not lately. Life has been... well, busy. However, I haven't been into the blogging here all that much and there isn't a good reason why. I blog a lot more frequently at my other site, though. I have been seriously considering just bagging this one but somehow, can't quite make myself do it.

I just need to commit. Make a point to blog here at least a few times a week. It's not that hard. I'm just lazy about it.

So, there have been some interesting developments around these here parts... haha ok, not really. I just like saying that.

Lemme back up some...

Yesterday was my fifth anniversary of marriage to The Man. We had a lovely day. He took the day off of work and we spent it together being romantic. We held hands and everything. We went to some of our favorite places and had a good time. I can't believe it's been five years... it seems like it went so fast! I wonder what's in store for us in the next five years? I can't wait to see :)

We did the whole Halloween Trick-or-Treat thing on... you guessed it, Halloween. The children had a ball. They dressed up as mad scientists, and had a wonderful time. Here's a few pictures. Observe:

*evil scientists bent on taking over the world*

*the suspected ring leader. see her slick dance moves*

*the second in command. someone needs to get in command of that hair*

*the boy power of the gang. his finger has more brains in it than most people... have, um, brains in their... um... heads.... yeah. that.*

*we don't know much about her other than she is really cute and likes parrots*

And here's one more for you... the truly frightening one....

Yup. That would be my Extreme Teen in the flesh... and um, in his makeup! I did the makeup for him, actually. He went as Violent J from ICP. Google it, yo.

So... moving on. Right-O.

I am participating in NaNoWriMo this year... although I have yet to actually make a DENT in my writing. Thus far, most attempts at it have been aborted. Lemme gimme you a run down...

On November the first, it was a Saturday. One of the BUSIEST days that I have had in a long time. I was so crazy busy, it was... crazy. I was barely home all day. And I knew that Sunday was not going to be any better. Sunday was just as bad.

No biggie, I thought, that's why I send yonder childrens to school so I can have some alone time. Well, that and the whole education thing... but whose keeping track, right?

Anyway, I figured I would have PUH-LENTY of time to get busy on the whole writing thing come Monday. So I didn't sweat it.

Yeah. You know what they say about the best laid plans, right?

My youngest, "Delta", got sick. With the flu. And when she gets sick, she gets really clingy. Follows me around, wants me to sit with her, that kind of thing. She's been like that since her baby days. Which is FINE, of course... it just makes getting anything done pretty much impossible. Good thing I had already gone grocery shopping, otherwise we'd have been eating nothing but dry cereal and tap water. Not so good. But since I'd done the majority of the shopping, we didn't have to resort to such depths.

Alright, my point is (and yeah, I do have one, believe me, I'm getting to it, just hang in there, I may ramble but eventually I get to the heart of the matter, just have to be patient, I'm almost there *wink*) is that I didn't get any writing done Monday.

She was home still on Tuesday, and was worse off than she had been on Monday. So you can probably gather that I didn't get any writing done on Tuesday, either.

She was home on Wednesday. Yada yada.

And Thursday.

Friday she went back. But Friday also marked the fifth year of marital bliss, and the day was pretty much, you know, used up.

Today is Saturday. I have managed to get SOME writing done, but not a whole lot, and nowhere near where I should be. It's kinda hard to write when everyone is home... so I'm wait for Monday... again. We'll see how it goes. Whatev, I'm woefully behind, but hey... that's life!

Alright, well, that's all for now. I shall be back! When is anyone's guess!