Hoilday! Celebrate!

Woo hoo! Prom is over. (this photo of Stinky and her friends is stolen from our local newspaper)

Coadster with a friend on one of her last days of living in a dorm.

Oh lord, but every weekend seems to be getting busier and busier.

On Friday, The Guy's friend, Jen came to visit. Stinky suggested we have dinner at Blackstone where Stinky's friend works and we did and it was nice. Her friend comped us dessert even. We got home around 10 and went to bed.

The church where we rode to in Holcomb, Ia.

On Saturday we woke up early. I went to Ames to pick Coadster up from college, The Guy went to a bike race, Stinky went to decorate for prom and Jen went to her grandparent's house in another town. Coadster was pretty prepared, so it didn't take long to get her out of her dorm and head back to Iowa City.

When I got home, The Guy had sushi and flowers for me (early Mother's Day) and had our bikes all ready to go on a ride. How great is that? We rode about 40 miles and then made it back for me to take Stinky's prom pictures. All the kids cleaned-up so nicely.

Coadster and I got home and we ate a pizza and watched Sunshine Cleaning. I really like that movie.

On Sunday. The Guy and I got up early again and his friend Jen came back for a morning bike ride. We did another 30 miles and she was really impressed with how beautiful the countryside was where we rode. We got back around noon.

Stinky was getting home just as we were putting our bikes away. She said she felt awake enough to go to a late lunch with us.

So, The Guy and my girls took The Guy's mom to a nice brunch in Oxford Iowa. Stinky started to fade during her steak and eggs, so Coadster had a great time poking her and waking her up from time to time. Yes, we are all easily amused.


We got back from brunch and went for a nice long walk with The Guy's mom. Stinky went upstairs to bed, but the rest of us followed the bike path behind our house for 3 1/2 miles.

Then The Guy took his mom home and went with his friend Bry to play pool, Stinky went to her youth group meeting and Coadster and I stayed home and watched Black Swan. Nothing like that movie to make me seem like the perfect mom.

I hope you all had a happy Mother's Day...No matter what kind of mutha you are.

If You Don't Answer, I'll Just Ring It Off the Wall

Here is Coadster in college. It seems she hasn't lost her attitude at all...

So, Coadster called me last night. As I've said, I hate to talk on the phone. I have no idea why. I think it has something to do with how socially challenged I am. I can't see the person who is talking and it makes me antsy and babble and then I get distracted by whatever is going on in my house at the time and only half listen, which makes me even more antsy and babbley and it really just isn't my thing. Of course, Coadster loves to talk on the phone and now that she lives somewhere else, talking on the phone is a necessary evil. I'm sure Coadster laughs her ass off after I constantly say, "So, what else is going on?" In order for her to talk more, so I don't have to.

Anyway, Coadster called me yesterday to tell me she gave blood for the first time. She is O negative, (universal donor) so her blood is in demand. Coadster is a HUGE wimp about that kind of thing, so it was even bigger deal that she donated. I'm proud of her.

Stinky is starting to go through that stage that Coadster went through when she got closer to being 18 - the one where she was a self-absorbed pain in the ass. Lord knows, I love them both, but I do have to roll my eyes sometimes. This morning, Stinky and I got into a little spat and she said something to the effect of, "Well, I thought I lived here, so I wouldn't have to...(be more conscientious about whatever)" I informed her that she does live here, but she's not the only person who lives here. So, she did step down and realize she was being hard to take, but we've been having more and more of those special moments lately. At least I've been through it with Coadster before, and I know it's just a phase.

Got Motion. Restrained Emotion

Here is Stinky and her friend's peace sign.

I'm not sure if I've ever told you how much I hate bullies, but boy howdy, do I. So, there's been some harassment going on for Stinky and the main guy doing it, has been calling Stinky bad names every time he passes her. Not only does he do this at school, but he also works with her.

Since he's pretty sneaky about it, it's her word against his, and she's 17 and doesn't want to have a big deal made about it, she hasn't reported it to the principal. She had reached the end of her rope today, though and was texting me most of the day telling me how badly she felt about it and how she didn't want to go to work tonight. She went anyway, and I was proud of her for that.

Of course, my first impulse is to go up to the kid, even though he's probably three times my size, and slap the shit out of him...Or at least verbally go off on him. Unfortunately, they have these things called jail time and probation and restraining orders, so I have to show a little more restraint than I'd like to. Instead, I just happened to stop by her store and then just happened to get in the line at the register where he was cashiering. Stinky came up to me and under my breath I asked her if that was the kid. She nodded.

Luckily, there was no one in line behind me, so I was able to loudly say,"Yeah. It's too bad that people can be so mean. I know it's a sign of their unhappiness and insecurities, but that doesn't make it alright. In fact, in the real world, when people continually say mean and inappropriate things to someone, it's called harassment and people can lose their jobs and get suspended from school. So, Stinky. Let me know if that happens to you ever again, and I will be more than happy to talk to whoever I need to talk to get it to stop." The kid wouldn't establish eye contact with me (I get that a lot) and seemed to be very interested in a certain spot on the floor in front of him during my little lecture, but I know he heard me. So, we'll see what happens.

Before I left, Stinky said, "I love you, Mommy." It's nice to know my unbridled bitchiness can be good for something.

Don't Be a Hard Rock When You Really Are a Gem

Here is a window painted on a building next to a bricked-up door. Weird.

Man, it just feels like all I do is drive around all night after work sometimes. I gave plasma tonight and got gas and then stopped at the store, just in time to hang out with Stinky for her break. It was all fine, but I can't wait until tomorrow night, when I can just hang out at home with the guy most of the night.

Speaking of the guy...He goes back for the first time since the accident tomorrow. I know there's a part of him who would like a little more time now that he can finally do stuff, but there's also another part who will be happy to get back in the swing of things and I'm sure the steady income will be nice as well.

For me? Tomorrow is my work Christmas party. We get an hour and half in the middle of the day. The party isn't mandatory, so I think I'll just go home for a bit and harass the kitten and relax. I think it will be so much better for my morale NOT to go to the party.

She Comes Back to Tell Me She's Gone

The girls in Coadster's dorm room.

This will again be very brief, as I am furtively blogging from work right now. Still no computer at home yet. I'm hoping for today, but it could still be tomorrow.

Coadster has some unpacking to do...

So, we took the girl to college yesterday. I didn't really cry....Much. I did tear up a little right as we hugged goodbye and left her bounding up the stairs to her dorm room. I told her to have a great time, learn from her mistakes and not to beat herself up about stuff. She laughed and said, "Of course, I'll beat myself up about stuff. That's what I do..." But I can still remind her not to, can't I?

What the hell? Her dorm room is pretty sweet.

I know she's ready for college and I'm so happy for her. I have to say, it was a little lonely waking up this morning and not seeing her. It's not like she moved far away, though. She might be back for Labor Day weekend and if not then, she'll for sure come back for the Iowa/Iowa State game. Until that time, there's always Skype...Once my computer ever gets here.

Stealing Down a Wrong Way Street

This will be short. The car is packed and we're ready to take off in the morning. It will be a quick unload, because Stinky has to work at 5, but still wanted to go with to say goodbye to her sister. This will be REALLY hard on Stinky. As much as they drive each other crazy, my girls are very close and Stinky will be pretty lost without her...As will I. Stinky and I are more alike and Coadster is a little more...Uptight, probably isn't the right word...Controlling? No. Stinky and I are fairly laidback about things in general, and Coady is...Not. She's a good balance for us, because she makes sure things get done a certain way. Plus, she's the only one of us who has a sense of direction. Without her, we could spend a lot of time driving around in circles. Just kidding. Really though, it will take some time to get used to dealing with the loss of her family contribution.

We finished up the shopping for Coadster today. I think my favorite teenager line today was, "I wouldn't normally get that, but since you're buying, sure, I'll take one." Awesome.

Okay. The next time I write here, I'll be one child short in my house. I got a computer update today too. They shipped it off and I should get it in the next couple of days. I just hope one of us is here to sign for it when it does get here.

Pick-Up the Pieces

Here is Coadster's choir.

Well, it's been a busy week so far. No doubt, this post will be a bit random...I'm sure that will surprise exactly none of you, coming from me.

Tonight Coadster had a choir concert. I didn't get my nice alone time, but that's just fine. Stinky didn't go to her youth group, because most of the kids in it are also in choir. She came with me to the show and we both made a huge point to make faces at Coadster whenever she entered the auditorium. It was awesome.

I finished The Road last night and started reading Ethan Canin's America America. I've only read a short story of his, but he's a local author and Coadster used to love a movie called The Emperor's Club, based on one of his short stories when she was younger. So far, it has a bit of Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy feel to it and I remember really liking that book when I read it in high school. As always, I'll let you know what I think about it once I finish it.

Before her concert, I finally worked up the guts to cut into the gross, stained carpet in Coadster's room to see what was under it. Thankfully, I found hardwood floors. So, now I can add another project to the list, and tear it all the way up and get the floors underneath it cleaned. When my brother ripped up the carpet in his living room, he found a spot in the middle of the hardwood floors, where someone had replaced it with plywood. Obviously, I'm hoping I don't find any unwanted surprises like that in this bedroom.

Okay, I'm beat and so I'm going to hit the hay. Tomorrow, I'll only work until one o'clock, so I can get Stinky a physical. I went to get my doctor to sign off on a physical for Stinky to be in track, and was informed that she hadn't had one since August 2008. I could have sworn she had one last February when Coadster had hers. Oops! I guess it's just another reason for me to start expecting that mom of the year award any day now.

Good News Will Work Its Way to All Them Plans

Here is me dancing like a total dork. I will be doing this throughout my post to celebrate my upcoming, week long vacation.

Sooooo, one more day until my week off. What I didn't tell you guys, is that after I asked for the time off, I found out that Stinky had basketball camp out of town and then Coadster got her job. Coadster now works four ten hour days and gets one day off. On that day, she and I will make a college visit to UNI. I haven't been there since I was a student in 1983. It should be pretty weird. I wonder if it will look familiar at all.

More dorked-out dancing. Apparently, I never get tired of it.

The rest of the week will be mine. I'll see Coadster a few evenings and Stinky will be back on Thursday, but then they leave for the Quad Cities for most of the weekend with their dad. I can't remember when I've had that big a block of free time without work or my girls. I'm calling it my hibernate and reevaluate week. I plan on cleaning and organizing my life. Yeah, I know. A year would be more realistic, but I'm taking what I can get. The plan is to make a list for every day. I'll clean and organize one area of my house, then spend the rest of the day doing something for myself. It could include writing, drawing and painting, reading, watching movies, riding my bike, getting my massage or playing video games. The point is not just to try and get some work done, but to also spend quality time with myself. I know it sounds totally weird, but I'm one of those people who can't process things as I go. When I get busy and things get too social, I get kind of off-kilter. So, I know myself well enough to slow down and do things that I love, and get my feet back on the ground and my head back in the game. I can't tell you how much better I like myself when I make that effort.

I think I'm doing some kind of bizarre windmill maneuver here....Uh, yeah. Who the hell knows.

Tomorrow when I get off work, I'll run if it's nice, then I think the girls and I might watch Coraline with 3-D glasses. Yes, my whole family is just THAT nerdy. Thank you very much.

Saturday begins my Churlita mental wellness celebration. I'll write my list at the beginning of the day and run and do my chores and spend time with the girls. Saturday night I'm supposed to meet G.'s friends who will be in from Europe. She wants us to go to a show at a bar called Kandyland, but we're leaving things open to see how it goes.

Now, what are your plans for the weekend? Will you be celebrating your mental/metal health or will you be geeking out with your family?

Don't Want to End Up a Cartoon in a Cartoon Graveyard

Stinky took this photo of some African daisies I planted a few years ago that want to take over my garden.

So, I came home from work and couldn't get my computer to open. Since my first instinct is always to spaz, I freaked and just assumed my computer was dead and that I'd have to figure out if I could afford another one and if I couldn't, I might actually have to talk to people in person during the week and not rely on a certain social networking site to provide me with a life and then the whole world would explode and all of humanity would die off, leaving nothing but rubble, dander, and feces to remember us by...Then I got a paper bag out of the counter to breathe into and collected myself a bit. Once I did, I realized that it was just that our mouse was dead. Ahem. It was the one we got with the computer, so it should come as no surprise to a rational person....So, Stinky and I took a little trip to Best Buy and bought ourselves a new one for cheap. I don't know if you're aware of it, but in the last 5 or 10 years they came out with these new fangled things called wireless mouses, and they sure are neat-o. In other words, I love my new mouse.

On the way to the mall, Stinky was prattling on and said, "So, I guess Ellen's mom has gone totally crazy lately..."

"Uh oh. Is she okay? What is she doing?"

"Well, she's making Ellen turn her computer off at 9:30 every night to read for an hour," Stinky explained.

"Scandalous!"

"No. But I mean, it's Summer. You shouldn't have to start doing homework for at least another month."

"Didn't you say Ellen slacked-off last trimester and got really bad grades? Her mom is probably getting all crazy trying to help her daughter do better in school next year. Damn. They ought to get her in a straight jacket, where she can't do anymore good for herself or others...." I said and could almost feel Stinky's eyes roll.

While we were at Best Buy, I did make a little purchase. I'm not sure if you've heard of it? It's called the Watchmen movie? I never got a chance to see it when it came out in theaters. It was the first graphic novel I ever read way back in the 80's and so I've always had a soft spot in my heart (and head) for it. I didn't get a chance to watch it tonight, but I'm taking a whole week of vacation next week, so I intend to spend an amazing day reading my new graphic novels by a pool somewhere and then watching my new graphic (from what I've heard about the large blue appendage) movie at night. I should be in geek heaven whatever day that falls on. Woot!

They're Looking to the Sky, Daddy-O

So, today was much better. I thought I'd put up some beach photos in keeping with yesterday's theme. The first two are from Coadster's camera when we were at Carmel. The top one doesn't even look real, does it? The bottom two were taken at Half Moon Bay with my camera. The last one is a little more eye candy. I can't remember if I posted it last Summer or not. If I did, I'm posting it again. Sue me.

After such a hectic week so far, I'm feeling a little random. I still haven't had time to process things, so it's all coming out in little digestible bits...For the most part.

Well, here's a little more information than anyone really wants or needs, but I'm a giver that way. Also, if anyone reading this has teenage girls I hope they can get a little chuckle or a good cry in recognition. Anyway, I found out what was up with the girls the last few days. Turns out they were both PMS'ing at the same time. Jaysus, Mary and Joseph, it's lucky any of us are still alive. I was a little concerned about my girls' overreacting, spazzing and disrespect, but now that I know, I'm just relieved I didn't end up like the mom in the movie Carrie - staked to the wall with knives.

Coadster's soccer game got rescheduled to tonight, after Tuesday's lightning storms that began precisely two seconds before her game was supposed to start. Tonight, they were actually able to finish their game precisely two seconds before the storms broke. When I was hurrying to my car with ominous clouds and thunder raging just behind me, I heard a cheery little exchange yelled at each other by two men, above the parental mass exodus. the first guy said, "Hey, Jim. How ya doin'? I hear you were really down for a while there..."

"Yeah, things are a lot better now. Thank god for drugs." Then myself and most of the people around me, smiled and nodded knowingly. I'm glad people are so much better about admitting they need help and then going and getting it, than they used to be. Personally, it took me almost thirty years to finally go get my ass some migraine meds, and they have changed my life.

I go to this place called the Can Shed to exchange my bottles and cans for cash. I hate using the machines at the store, so every few weeks I drive down to the Can Shed and someone sorts, counts and gives me money for recyclables. The people there love to see me coming, and they all exclaim about how I have the cleanest and dryest cans and bottles they've ever laid hands on. When I went there last Saturday, I said, "I can only imagine, how dirty some of them come in..."

"Oh, yeah, " the woman with about five teeth still in her head said, as she batted cans into a box. "Most of them are real bad. I got my first rodent in a bag yesterday." Ew. I was so grossed-out, I didn't think to ask her if it had been alive or dead, or what kind of rodent it was. Remind me never to bitch about my job again.

Life is Funny, Skies are Sunny

So, kids. It was another insanely busy weekend, made a little more difficult by my relentless migraine that hung around on and off for most of the weekend. It was so bad today, that my meds didn't really work on it. Mother's Day was a bust for the most part, but I'm not a big Hallmark holiday kind of girl, so I didn't feel any worse by not being able to do something special. Of course, it would have been really nice if the girls had washed the dishes and cleaned up a little while I was lying down trying to deal with my brain pain...

With all this prom business on Saturday, I just had to suck it up and deal or drive or whatever else was required of me for the occasion. In the morning I drove kids to soccer and track practice, and in the afternoon we ran a bunch of errands to be ready for the big dance.

By three, I took some time out for myself and ran and took a long hot bath, while the girls' friends came over and helped Coadster get ready.

I went to a prom once in high school, but it was just with two of my friends who had to go because we were juniors and they were in student council, so it wasn't a big deal like this. Luckily, Coadster's good friend goes to the other high school in town and just went to prom the week before. She also has an arsenal of make-up and hair care products that almost made my head hurt even more.

Here is Coadster getting her hair did by her friend. There was enough hair spray to kill our ozone and maybe a few other planets' too.

Here is Coadster's friend who did such an amazing job. She's pretty interesting. Her mom was raised Amish, but left the community before she was officially baptized. I was asking her a bunch of questions about it and what it's like to go back and visit the community. That poor girl had to do double duty between Coadster and me.

At 5:30 we went to Coadster's friend's house for pictures. Since the ex doesn't have a car, I offered him a ride. I knew it was important to Coadster, so I had to suck it up again. I took a ridiculous amount of photos. As you can see, they had some amazing lilac bushes as a backdrop.

There was some clumsy corsage exchanges that made for adorable photos.

Here's the whole gang. Can you tell they're all in show choir?

I tried to get a few photos with more natural expressions, but those were hard to come by.


Here is Coadster and her date. he's a really nice kid. She said he was a little awkward at first about dancing, but I told her a lot of high school guys were like that. Since she asked him, we just assumed they were going Dutch and she had money to pay for her meal, but he insisted on paying for hers. He later admitted that his mom gave him the money, but I still thought it was a sweet gesture.

Here is Coadster and her dance partner for show choir. They found that hat in the backyard and thought it would be funny to do a couple of gangsta type poses. Whatever. I guess it's sometimes fun to pretend that you don't live in an overeducated college town in Iowa.

Later that night, I met a few friends for a drink. One of my friends was in town from Seattle and I hadn't seen her in a year. We started off at the Dublin, but it was insanely busy there and then all of the sudden a bunch of guys in suit jackets and shorts, all somersalted down the stairs (some of them hitting their heads on the wall). It meant that the rugby team had arrived. They were all insanely drunk and I stupidly got into a discussion with one of them, who tried to tell me that guys were smarter than girls. Really? Were you one of the guys who just sommesalted down the stairs practically killing yourself? I'm pretty glad I'm not that "smart" then.

Anyway, we ended up at the beer garden at the Picador had a great time. It was a good way to wash off all of the prom business.

I hope your weekend was headache free and that you all had nice Mother's Days.

I am Tired, I am Weary, I Could Sleep for a Thousand Years

I'll just be posting some more flowery photos. I have a ton of them and I like them. So there.

I hope everyone had a nice Cinco de Mayo. I spent most of Monday evening cooking tons of Mexican food. I made frijoles, fresh de gallo salsa, chicken enchiladas and fried up some tostada shells. It was good I got it all done then, because I got a migraine that kicked my ass for most of the day today.

It had been a while since I've had a bad one, so I guess it was just a matter of time. It's the second time I've taken my new generic migraine meds. The first time they worked really well, but today they took a lot longer and wiped me out while they were doing their thing. Which isn't much different than my old meds. Some migraines are worse than others, and my old meds would have to work really long and hard sometimes too. Right now, the jury is still out on them.

Coadster and Stinky have been trying to think of something to do with me on Mother's Day. Coadster proposed that we ride bikes around town and take goofy photos. She sure knows me well, because that sounds like an awesome idea. We could even pick-up sandwiches somewhere and eat them at Hickory Hill Park. I told Coadster that we should tentatively schedule that. Saturday night is her prom and I have a feeling she'll be sleeping in, or most of the day, or all of the day on Sunday. So, our bike ride most likely will take place much later in the afternoon. Whenever it happens, I'm sure it will be a great time.

There Has to Be an Invisible Sun, That Gives Us Hope When the Whole Day's Done

The graffiti on this wall says, "misbehave", I took it as my weekend theme.

Wow, kids. It's been a crazy weekend. I did have some time on Friday to hang out and watch movies because Coadster was sick, but that was it.

On Saturday, I took Stinky to track practice and back and then I ran and then took the girls downtown to get our free comic books on "Free Comic Book Day" and to the mall where we got some stuff we needed. Then we went to the grocery store. Somewhere from the time I paid for my food with my debit/credit card and walked to my car, my magic money card disappeared. I checked all my pockets and the bags, then I retraced my steps and went to the customer service area to see if anyone had returned it, and had Coadster go do it all over again to see if she had would have better luck, but it was gone.

I had to run home and call the bank to have them cancel it. Of course, because it was me, I got the New Agey guy who worked there. He went on this long spiel about sun flashes and how they affected everything. He himself had just got his card stolen, and these sun flashes that guided all of our lives and experiences, can also mess with the magnetic strips on the cards and give erroneous information. "See, most people think astronomy is just a boring school subject, but it affects us all..." While he was going on and on, I was pantomiming for Coadster, banging my head against the wall, while making the "too much talkie talkie" signs with my hands and as he kept on, I grabbed a spoon out of the drawer and pretended to pop my eyeballs out with it. He finally stopped talking and canceled my old card and then ordered me a new card. He made it special and made sure it had flowers on it and then gave me some preferred customer status, before he hung-up. So, I almost felt a little teensy bit bad about making fun of him...But just a teensy bit.

This is the happy new baby couple. They don't look too sleep-deprived, do they?

Unfortunately, all that drama made me miss most of my friend's baby shower. I did get there for the end and went out with all the kids afterward. I was just a bit stressed-out, is all.

The girl crush was back, biting people's boobs and creating all kinds of other adorable mayhem. At one point we were joking about the bank card guy's talk about the bad juju caused by sun flares. Me, G., and my girl crush were feeling like we were in the mood to kick someone's ass. We decided that guy might be onto something.

Here's our hot friend doing a shotski. A shotski is great marketing idea. They velcro shot glasses to a ski and people all have to drink the shots at the same time. It brings in every bar crawl, bachelor and bachelorette party in town.

Our other hot friend who used to tend bar at the Dublin was back too. I hadn't seen her for almost a year, so it was a wonderful reunion.

Here's my girlcrush showing us all what the bartender's vag-ina must look like. He had been a surly little bitch all night, so he definitely had it coming.... Reason # 4,587 why my girl crush is my girl crush.

There's a Black-Winged Gull With a Broken Back

Here is Stinky at her confirmation.

Well, I just spent most of my evening at Stinky's confirmation. I'm beat and tomorrow will be a mosh of soccer games and track meets and a choir performance. Since most of these things are out of town, it will be more logistical issues of getting teenagers where they need to be and fed and maybe find some kind of helmet to wear that will keep my head from exploding.

Oh, and during the day tomorrow, I'm going to leave work and meet the girls at their dental check-up to talk about getting a certain 15 year old some badly needed orthodontia. My insurance will cover a little of it, but it sounds like the bulk will come from me and so I might have to scout around for a good bank to rob. Let me know if you're privy to any insider information. Thanks.

Okay, the rest of this post will be short and full of religious icons. I'm sure it's because I grew up Catholic, but the dramatic religious statues fascinate and creep me out all at the same time. I keep expecting them to come alive and start bleeding or talking or something.

FMDM and I were instant messaging for a couple of minutes today. He's been trying to get me addicted to a new video game and judging from the other games he hooked me on, I'm sure I'll be trying to liquify and shoot this new game into my arm in no time. He also gave me shit about the fact that he thought I'd start on fire just walking into a church. But I'll have you know, I'm still here and at normal body temperature. So there.

I think this is a statue of St Francis. He was my favorite Saint as a child and we had a book about how he was the animal protector. As a kid I fancied myself as a savior of animals and tried to heal birds and baby bunnies from the dogs and cat attacks in the neighborhood. I guess I wasn't very good at it, because most of them died. I'd put their dead bodies in margarine tubs to bury in the backyard, but the Arizona ground is usually too dry and hard for a kid to dig up, or else I was just lazy. Usually, my poor brother would end up cursing me when he came across the stacked-up tubs of decomposing creatures while cleaning out our carport. Oops.

Everybody Needs a Place to Rest

Here is a photo that Coadster took of the a drive-by we did on an Iowa highway. Man, it all goes by so fast.

This week started with a big yawn. Not a bored yawn, but a sleepy one. I'm basically at the same place I was last week, but a little better. I'm going to try to chip away at cleaning and sleep as much as possible and then cut myself slack on whatever doesn't get done this week again.

The good thing is that I shouldn't be quite so busy during the week, this time and I'm taking a half day of vacation on Friday.

Coadster took this photo of a barn with corn and a quilt painted on it while I was driving on Saturday. It is located between Kalona and Warshington (that's Washington to non-Iowans. Who knows why they add an R to the word wash here).

I'd like to try not to do the thing I usually do, which is fill up that extra four hours with about 120 hours worth of stuff, but I may anyway.

For sure I want to run and then I have to call my doctor's office to get shit straightened out. I got a letter from my insurance company saying they will only cover generic migraine meds. I've never tried the kind they are offering. If they work, awesome. I'll be fine with that. If they don't, I need to start calling around and see who has the most influence with the insurance company, so I can park myself in their front yard, douse myself with gasoline and threaten to set myself on fire until they relent and let me go back to my old meds. God, I hope they dont' call my bluff on that one.

Then I should have a couple of hours or so before the girls get home from track and/or soccer practice. I would really love to drive around the town of Kalona and take more photos of barns with quilts painted on them, tractors working the fields, feedlots and maybe even steal the souls of cute little Amish kids. I know I keep threatening to do this and something always comes up, but one of these days I'll actually make it happen.

Anway, in the interest on working on getting more sleep this week, I'll end this here. You're welcome.

I'd Rather Feel the Earth Beneath My Feet

Another self-portrait of Stinky.

Well, kids. We had a little scare here at the Churlish household tonight. I just spent the last almost 4 hours in the E. R., so this will be short. Remember how I told you Stinky has been sick on and off for the last few weeks? Well, it all caught up to her tonight. She fell asleep as soon as she got home and I finally had to wake her up, because she was shivering so hard she scared the shit out of me. I made her take some Advil and drink some juice, but she was in tons of pain. The scary kind. Since a lot of her symptoms were like those she had when she had meningitis, I made her do the "touch your chin to your chest" thing you're supposed to do to test for it. She couldn't do it. It made her cry it hurt so much.

I called the triage nurse and she went over all the meningitis symptoms with us. Stinky had so many of them, that she told us to bring her into the E. R. as soon as possible. Of course, Coadster got really worried and upset, so I had her dad come by and pick her up.

They had some screw-up with us at first and put us in the wrong room and forgot about us for almost an hour. When we finally hooked-up with a Dr., she did a bunch of tests and we all decided to wait until the much larger dose of Advil and the IV fluids kicked in before they got all crazy and performed a spinal tap. It was a good thing they did, because the way it looks right now, it probably isn't meningitis this time. Stinky has a bad ear infection in both ears and is extremely dehydrated. She's on antibiotics and isn't supposed to go to school at least until Friday. The Dr. thinks it will take at least two days for her fever to go down and for her body to recover. So, I'm taking tomorrow off to stay with her and her dad will take Thursday off and then we'll see how it goes after that. Jaysus, Mary and Joseph, but it's been a long scary night.

Okay, now I'm going to bed, but before I do, I'll tell you something ridiculous to cut through this big scary downer (even though it had a pretty happy ending) post:

When they finally realized the room snafu and were moving us to the correct place, we were walking past the desk of my friend Bryan who works there. He looked up totally surprised to see me and said, "Hey! I was just writing on your wall on Facebook." There. How's that for ridiculousness?

And We Don't Care About the Old Folks

Here is the silhouette of a satellite dish.

Today Coadster left for NYC. I'm really excited for her and I'm trying not to worry about her too much. I certainly don't want to create any anxiety for her, just because I can imagine a million scary scenarios in my head of all the things that could go wrong. I want her to feel free to go on wonderful adventures without freaking herself out so badly, that she doesn't want to leave her comfort zone. I also don't want her to be too stupid about being in a big city and get mugged or worse either. After all, we almost never even lock our car doors here.

The other side of this is that a few years ago, I was sitting in my living room, in my jammies, in one of the safest areas in the country and a tornado came through and messed with me anyway. Since we don't have a basement, if it had been any stronger, I wouldn't be here writing a bunch of bullshit for you to read right now. I just figure, if the bad crap is looking for you, it's going to find you no matter how safe you think you are, so you might as well, just do what you want and take your chances. That being said, I hope Coadster has an awesome time in the big city and I can't wait to hear all about it.

Now, it's almost the weekend. Tomorrow I leave work about 45 minutes early to go to the dentist. What kind of idiot schedules their dentist appointment on Friday the thirteenth, anyway? I'm just asking for it. Of course, I didn't realize what date it was when I made the appointment, six months ago, so if I need a root canal, I guess it's my own damn fault.

How's the rest of the weekend looking? Well, let me see... Since Stinky's grounded, we're going to hang out together and watch movies and play board games tomorrow night. she loves that, and I'm not much of a board game player, so I'm trying to buck up and go with it. I'll report back later about how badly I got my ass handed to me in Candyland.

Saturday night is a big, aging punk rocker reunion celebration at The Mill. There are also some bands playing at the Picador. I haven't decided if I'll try to mix and match or just stay with the old folks.

Now, I will retire and try not to worry about Coadster on her big adventure. She's one of the most poised, level headed high school kids I've ever met...I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

What will you kids be up to this weekend? Will you be rocking with your aging punk rocker friends, worrying, or both?

Lefting and Then Righting, Its Not a Crime You Know

Here is a bench with several issues, kind of close to the Co-op. Do you think anyone is brave enough to actually sit on it?

I think my cold is mostly better. I tried to run when I first got off work, and it was really rough at first. After a mile, I wondered what the hell I was thinking, then after two miles, the endorphins kicked in, and I felt better than ever. I didn't run for three days, so I had lots of energy and felt like I could move buildings all by myself by the time I finished. I really, really love that high. I just hope I get to keep running on a regular basis, until next Winter. It helps me in every way possible.

So, Stinky came out of last trimester with a D+ in Algebra. So close, and yet, so far. She really tried the last part of the tri, too bad she didn't at the beginning. She's grounded for two weeks and she doesn't get her phone for a month. It was going to be the whole tri, but I suddenly remembered high school and the fact that when any of us were grounded for too long, we figured, screw it, if we were never going to be ungrounded, we might as well do whatever we wanted. So, if she hands in all of her assignments for the next month, she'll get her phone back then, but she can lose it just as easily, by missing an assignment. Sigh. I really do hate this shit. A woman I work with told me if I really wanted to put the fear of god into her, I should threaten to take away all of her shoes except her track shoes and one other pair. For a girl who loves her footwear as much as Stinky does, that seems a little too cruel, even for me.

Tonight the girls went to their dad's at seven, so I decided to have a beer in a frosty pint and watch the movie Shooter with Marky Mark. My girls give me shit about showing my age by not calling him Mark Wahlberg. Too bad. I am forty-three years old and I can't help but show my age, just by walking in a room. Since, I love being in my forties, I think that's a good thing. So, I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I'll call him Marky Muthah fucin' Mark, whenever I feel like it... Oh, and how was the movie, you ask? Pretty unbelieveable. Lucky for me, I just really wanted to watch a bunch of shit blow-up tonight, and it was really good in that respect.

She Says to Leave it to Me, Everything Will Be Alright

Here is what happened to the snow in my front yard after it was warm for a day or two.

Tonight I'm just giving you a quick post. I had a choir concert for Stinky tonight, I have another one for Coadster tomorrow night, my iTunes got all weird somehow and went back to an old library version from October, so we could easily lose at least a hundred songs I've put in there since then. We still have those songs on the iPod itself, but I'm afraid that once I attach it to our iTunes, it will all revert back to the old library. If you know how to make sure that doesn't happen, I would love some help with it. Thanks and smooches.

The other thing is that Stinky is back to messing up in school again. It seems I go through this about every other year with her. I love her, she's a sweet kid, but she is lazy as hell and she gets so caught up in the social aspect of school, that she forgets she's there to learn something too. Oops! I hate it when her edumakayshun gets in the way of her important socializing. I detest being the hard-ass. Which is why I try to set things up to prevent me from having to take on that role. I tell the girls my expectations, next I tell them what they stand to lose if they don't meet them and what they will gain if they exceed them. Then I follow through either way. There is no need for boundary pushing, because they won't gain anything from it. It usually works really well...That and the fact that I'm not a yeller, I'm one of those parents who just gets disappointed, and my girls REALLY hate it when I'm disappointed in them.

Soooo, this is the first time in a long, long time that I may actually have to follow through. I've told Stinky every trimester that there is no reason for her to get anything less than a C in any class. School is really easy for her, so if she does the work and hands it in on time, she will get a good grade. If she does get lower than a C in a class, she will lose her phone for the entire next tri and be grounded the first two weeks of it. This is a huge deal, because if she was being completely honest with herself, she might just say she loves her phone more than me. Right now she has a D in Algebra. Math is her easiest subject, (yeah, I'm not entirely sure we're related either) and she should be getting an A in it. So, it's been annoying me and stressing me out lately. I'll let you know if I have to take out my can of whup-ass in two weeks or not.

Well, so much for my short post. Don't get me wrong, I'm not super upset or anything. None of these things are horrible. It's more like I'm overwhelmed with stuff that should just work nicely, but isn't and now I think I should go to sleep and hope everything magically fixes itself when I wake up. It's worth a shot, right?