Clean. I Don't Wanna Be

Archie trying to be incognito.

The Guy: Churlita! Why is Stinky vacuuming? Is it the apocalypse?

Me: I don't know. Do you need me to hold you?

The Guy: Maybe...

Going Cafe to Cabaret

So, Coadster has been in Europe for a little over a week now. She seems to really love London. She told me that if I ever got out of the US, she thinks I would really love visiting Cambridge.

The Guy joked that when Coadster went to France, she'd fit right in with her surly attitude, but judging from the pic she had taken of herself in front of the Louvre, she might just be a little too dorky for Parisians.

Stand, You've Been Sitting Much Too Long. There's a Permanent Crease In Your Right and Wrong

Stinky and some of her friends at a basketball game.

Last Friday I started reading By the Iowa Sea, by Joe Blair. I was talking to Stinky about it when I got home from work and told her it was about a man who had a son who was profoundly autistic and how hard and wonderful all at the same time it was and how it affected their family.

She said, "Hmm. That reminds me of something that happened at lunch today..." She went on to tell me that a girl with Down Syndrome came over to the end of their table, where some freshman girls were sitting. The girl asked them if she could sit with them, and the freshmen told her there was no room - even though there obviously was. Stinky and her friend were horrified and followed the girl to a table where she sat alone and started crying. They asked her if she would like to sit with them and she told them, "Yes. That she was too scared to even ask the seniors..." Stinky said she was a very sweet girl, who told them all about her life and the things she loved.

Then, Stinky and her friend asked one of the very large and imposing football player guys to go over and have a talk with the freshman girls, because they thought it would be more effective than if they said something. The football player went over and told the freshmen girls that what they did wasn't cool and that they should be ashamed of themselves. I suppose if peer pressure can be used for evil, it's nice to at least see kids trying to use it for good too...

Let 'Em Be Doctors and Lawyers and Such

Here are my girls with one of their cousins.

Soooo, just a little update on the youngin's.

Coadster called to let me know she got her passport in the mail yesterday. She won't be in Dublin on St Patrick's Day, after all. Turns out, all the lodging there has been booked up for months and months. Who'd've guessed it?...Uh, probably everyone. She is going to go on a London pub crawl instead. My mind isn't exactly set at ease with the change in venue.

Stinky has made her decision and applied to the local community college here in town for her first year. It will be a much cheaper way for her to figure out if she's finally ready to get her shit together as far as school is concerned. She's a smart girl, with motivation issues. I hope she figures it out...

I Got Two Turntables and a Microphone.

Coadster with her cousin on Christmas.

So, I was talking to Coadster on the phone the other night about her trip to London that is coming up in March. We were talking about Passports and currency exchanges and she was telling me she was going to go to Paris for a day and a night of the trip and then to Dublin for St Patrick's Day.

Having never been to Europe, I have no idea if every country uses the same currency or not.

Me: Well, before you go, make sure you know what currency every place you're going takes. You'd hate to get to Dublin on St Paddy's day and not have the right kind of money...

Coadster: Are you kidding? I'm going to save my money so I can spend all of it in Dublin on alcohol.

Me: You are not going to spend all of your money on alcohol in Dublin...

The Guy was sitting next to me and started laughing and gave Coadster the thumbs-up with both hands through the phone.

Me: Great. You two aren't even in the same town and you're STILL flipping me shit in unison...

It's Different Now That I'm Poor and Aging

Here is a picture of Heidi getting ready to give Archie the smack-down. You really can't blame her.

I have a longer weekend post coming, but we're too busy at work for me to finish that today.

Instead I will share a lovely text exchange I had with the oldest. I texted her to make sure she was going to eat dinner with me and The Guy tonight and to tell her I love her. This was her response:

I am going to have dinner with you guys! I love you too! Your cat just threw up.

Apparently, Archie doesn't deserve any exclamation points. Poor cat.

You Know I've Seen a Lot of What the World Can Do.

I took this at The Living history Farms in Des Moines. It's a little crooked, but fitting for the subject matter, I think.

Oh, you know...I don't have a lot to say, or I do, but I don't have time to process it all. What the hell, I'll just blather on anyway.

Things are just fine at home. The Guy and I are happy as clams. We are having a little cooler day reunion party for the Monday Night Ride tonight. It's too cold for anyone to really want to ride at night here, but we are still going to have the normal riders over for Mexican food and drinks. The Guy was wonderful in helping me cook. We made veggie enchiladas, and refried beans and de gallo salsa. When I get home tonight, all I have to do is make guacamole, finish refrying the beans and put the enchiladas in the oven. With dinner parties, I've found the less cooking or drink making I have to do, the less stressful it is. I'd love to serve margaritas from scratch, but I wouldn't love to spend the whole evening, trying to make them. So, instead we're drinking beer and some sipping tequila. Let's hear it for simplification!

Oh, sure. It is a subtle beauty, but I do like the look of Iowa.

I get off work early today to sift through Stinky's senior picture proofs and pick the ones we like the best. I'm looking forward to that.

From what I hear, my friend G. had a bad day yesterday. I'm sure she's reaching the saturation point with her headaches. Her chiropractor was going to work with another friend of her's to arrange coming over to help with her pain and I told G. about a good physical therapist to go to, but I can't make her go. G. is at home for now, so all I can do right now, is wish her the best and let her know that I'm here if she needs me. I will post on here the second I hear that her headaches are finally gone. I can't wait for that day.

You Float Like a Feather in a Beautiful World

The only smiley one.

Okay. This will be a quick and dirty post...just not all that dirty. Sorry.

I'm a fan of the black and whites.

So, I took Stinky to get her senior pictures taken yesterday afternoon, and we're both pretty happy with the ones we've seen. We went to a friend of a friend's studio and it was soooo much better than the guy we went to for Coadster's. This guy was cool, he worked out of a house and put on an old Radiohead CD during the studio session.

The color ones turned out well too.

Stinky wanted some outdoor shots down by the river, because I had taken some of her and her sister when they were little and there was one sculpture in particular that she wanted to be photographed in. Of course, Iowa in November made for some beautiful, if not very cold shooting locations.

We had to get at least one showing even a little bit of her attitude.

The photographer put a few of them up on his FB site. Most of them, I put on here for you all. next Thursday, Stinky and I will go through the hundreds of photos and pick out a few of our favorites to make into 8 x 10's and wallets. From the looks of things, it could be pretty tough to do that.
This is one of my favorites so far.

In other news...My friend G. is doing much better. She's actually eating and starting to get her short term memory back. She finally went to her own home. She is going to stay at our house from Sunday evening through Monday evening, because there is some construction work scheduled for her house. I can't wait to see her now that she is mostly conscious.

I Hear the Crystal Raindrops Fall

Stinky as a Marine (because their uniforms totally look like that. Ahem.) and Slash.

So, Hey. What say we talk about something other than cyclocross today? Okay.

I am finishing that memoir called Falling Through the Earth by Iowa grad Danielle Trussoni. It's pretty good, and next I will read a book by another Iowa grad, Anne Patchett. It's called Bel Canto and it's been on my list for a few years now. I'm pretty excited to start it.

The Guy and I started watching the first season of The Walking Dead series. It has some very real flaws, but it's about zombies so I'm more forgiving.

I tried doing some yoga to a video yesterday for the first time. I figured I'd better get acquainted with some of the poses, before I did it in public at a class. I don't want people to worrying that I'm having a seizure and calling an ambulance for me. It was pretty tricky trying to do some of the movements while following Rodney Lee in the video, but I think it will get easier and easier the more I do it, and it does seem to be a nice contrast with the pounding my body takes while running and jumping on and off of my bike.

Coadster and her BF on Halloween. I think she was supposed to be a 1920's gangster, but had lost her hat by the time this was taken.

...And now, for the good news. Coadster got accepted into a study abroad program in London for 12 days of Spring Break. They don't usually take underclassmen, but this will be the only year she can do it, and her grade point is very high. So, they made an exception. Go Coadster!

That's Life. That's What People Say.

Here is my quick and dirty photo expo catch-up.

Stinky had Homecoming last week and Friday's game had them all dressing like hicks... Er, Iowans. Whatever.

Saturday we went to Pella, Ia. - a town of mostly Dutch descendants. It's where they make the windows too.

I did my first cyclorcorss race there. It was fun and scary.

The Guy was wonderful and amazing at helping me figure out how to ride through all the twists and turns without killing myself.

Of course, I liked the parts where I had to run best.

When I got done, I felt like I was going to puke blood. How fun does that sound, huh?

The real Dutch letters are an S shaped pastry filled with marzipan - pure loveliness.

The fake Dutch letters were weird little maze things they made for us to run up and down hills on our bikes on the cyclocross course. Not so lovely.

After the race, we went to beautiful downtown Pella and ate Mexican food, bought pastries and wandered around a bit before going home.

Here is Stinky making what looks like wannabe gang signs for her Homecoming photos (quaint) but really stands for Work Crew, from the camp Stinky went to this Summer. How even more Iowan of her.

On Sunday I went to Ames to Coadster's choir concert and it was fine. It was one of those things, where I drove for 4 hours to watch Coadster sing in a gigantic choir for 15 minutes. I couldn't tell which one she was, but she saw me arrive and it made her happy and that's all that really matters, right?

Stinky got her braces put on Tuesday. I have no idea how exactly we'll pay for them, but I'm nothing, if not good at creative financing.

Anyway, things are good and busy and stressful and fun and scary and expensive and wonderfully full...About what anyone would expect from their life.

An Image of Me and Of You and We're Laughing. We're Loving It All.

Stinky dressed-up for Nerd Day during Homecoming week at her high school. So, it's just like every other day...

Well, kids. This weekend should be full of stuff. The Guy's ex-wife is in town from Norway (the country, not the town in Iowa) with her two daughters. I went out and had a drink with her and The Guy's ex-girlfriend and another friend last night. The Guy already planned to meet his mom for dinner, so he couldn't make it. Some people think it's bizarre that this town is so incestuous and that I hang-out with The Guy's exes, but I liked them before I started dating The Guy, so why would I stop liking them now? I can't help it if The Guy has excellent taste in women.

it is Homecoming for Stinky. She doesn't have a date, so she will go with a group of other people going stag. I don't know if she really wants me to take photos this year, she said something about just taking my camera for the night. We'll see.

I think I'm going to try my first Cyclocross race this weekend. Eek! Wish me luck.

On Sunday, I'll head to Ames and watch Coadster in her first choir concert of the semester.

Whew! I'm tired just contemplating it all.

Try This Trick and Spin it, Yeah.

Interesting sign, eh?

So, the birthday week last week went well. On The Guy's birthday, he got up early to take his mom to her cataract surgery. While she was getting operated on, he and I went to a nearby park and worked on our cyclocross skillz. He is one of those types who obsesses about a thing and studies it, until he can do it very well. I am one of those annoying people, who go out and tries a thing without studying it and flails around like an idiot until I either get it or don't. The Guy is a very patient teacher as well. He was great about talking to me about what I need to do to mount and dismount my bike and do a bunny hop and a million other things. I think I finally understood how to do a few of those things by the end of our training session.

We picked his mom up from her surgery and went to her house, where The Guy made us omelets (his idea) and they were very good. Then we went home and took a nap. Yea!

Our plan was to ride our bikes to Oxford and eat at the Cajun fusion restaurant there, but after a couple of flat tires, not far from our home, we decided to got a shorter route to Solon and back, and just stop quickly at a bar. The ride was very nice and we shared an order of cheese fries and had a beer at the Solon Station before we headed back. On the way home, I said, "I don't know if it's because I'm not quite over my cold or drinking that beer, but I'm feeling very slooooow."

The Guy responded, "Really? And you're not going to blame the cheese fries at all for that?"

"Uh, no. Cheese fries are always blameless and beautiful." The rest of the ride home was a little scary, because the damn deer kept jumping out in front of my bike and I had to make a total ass out of myself by yelling and waving my arms at them.

The Guy decided he wanted Paglias pizza for dinner, and then we ended the day with a raspberry cheesecake. He said he had a wonderful day.

Stinky at a football game on her birthday.

Stinky went to a football game on her actual birthday, but then had a pizza party on Friday. I went with her to the store to get all the crappy food and soda she wanted and set up a fire in the firepit, so all she had to do was light it when she was ready.

We took off for an hour or so, to give her and her friends the run of the house, without our heads exploding. When we got back, all the girls were hanging out in the kitchen, talking and being silly. They were all very sweet and polite and even when they went outside to have a fire, I only had to remind them once to keep it down a little, so they wouldn't freak out our older neighbors. Stinky said the girls all liked the idea of going out and socializing, but still being able to wear sweatpants. According to Stinky, She had a wonderful party.

I'm glad everyone was happy and that this week has been a little more mellow. Ahhhh.

Come On. Oh My Star is Fading.

The shadow of myself.

This weekend The Guy did his first Cyclocross race in Des Moines. As I was still recovering from my cold and I didn't have the right clips on my shoes and I hadn't ever tried to even ride a cross course, decided to abstain from this one and hope to ride one this coming weekend.


The Guy charging over a barrier.

I had a blast just watching the race. I'm a little scared to do one myself, but I think the possibility of fun is outweighing my fear of getting hurt. I'll let you know if I'm singing a different song from my hospital bed after I actually race one...

El Bait Shop in Des Moines has an incredible beer selection on tap.

After the race on Saturday, we stopped at a cycling friendly bar The Guy read about on-line. it had an incredible beer selection and the bartender let us try all kinds of funky beers - ones made with chocolate and chipotle and raspberry. Very interesting.

The t-shirt The Guy won for getting 3rd place in his category on Sunday.

On Saturday night, we took Coadster and her boyfriend out for dinner. We wanted to do a family birthday dinner for Stinky, but since she had to work, we ate without her and will take her out another night.

On Sunday, we went back to the race and The Guy finished 3rd in his category. Pretty impressive. We went to Trader Joe's and stocked up, since we don't have one in Iowa City.

This weekend was also The Guy and my first anniversary. We've been through a lot this year, both good and bad and it's been great to have that support.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby

Me and Stinky in the early '90's.

So, today is Stinky's 18th birthday. Where the hell did the time go? She has always been so sweet and salty. She's smart and funny and silly and open and lazy and a boundary pusher and a lover of attention (both good and bad) and I wouldn't have her any other way.

We normally go out for dinner for our birthdays, but there is a football game she wants to go to instead. Tomorrow, Stinky is going to have some friends over for pizza, a fire, some movies and a sleepover. We wanted to take Stinky out for her birthday when Coadster and her boyfriend were here on Saturday night, but Stinky works until 10. Wah. We're still working on finding an evening for that.

This morning, The Guy was telling Stinky that turning 18 used to mean that you got all of your freedoms, like being able to drink legally. Stinky interrupted him and said, "Yeah. Now it means that you can smoke legally, buy porn and go to a strip club." Wow. It sounds like she's got her work cut out for her today.

Happy Birthday, Stinky Boo Bear!

Planet Earth is Blue. And There's Nothing I Can Do.

Me being chased by the zombie invasion.

Sooo, I caught a bad cold and had to skip the triathlon on Sunday. I had to call it on Friday to get my fee deferred until next year. I just didn't think that me being sick + a 50 degree, rainy day +
a hard physical work-out for about 2 hours would add up to anything very positive. You know?

The Guy enjoying his zombie attack.

Friday night was really nice. The Guy took me out for Thai food and we came home and watched an old movie called, Desk Set. The last time I had seen it, was with my mom. Weird.

Here is a picture of me dancing behind The Guy. Dork!

The rest of the weekend was okay. I tried to clean Coadster's room and have everything ready for when she comes home, so she can go through her pile of crap and tell me what she wants to keep and what I can get rid of. I was pretty tired, so I would clean for a bit and then rest for a bit and then clean and rest and on and on. Of course, there was some nose blowing and sneezing going on in there too.

I took a nap and felt well enough to go out for a little bit on Saturday night. It was the zombie march in our town, and I love to check out all the costumes and obviously, the photo ops ain't bad either.

I'm feeling a little better today. I'm hoping to feel well enough tomorrow to start swimming, running and cycling, but I guess we'll see how that goes...

He Told Us Not to Blow It. Cuz He Knows It's All Worthwhile.

Coadster making the same cheese ball face I always make in pictures. I guess there's no fighting city hall, is there?

Since it's been a little while, I thought I'd catch you all up on a few things in my life. Things are going just swimmingly.

Coadster seems happy in Ames and doing well in her classes. She calls me almost every day. Of course, The Guy always laughs at how short my phone conversations with her (and everyone else) are. She'll tell me what's going on, I'll tell her what's going on. We'll make fun of the cats and talk about whether we should worry about Stinky and then I'm ready to go. Thank god my girls have known me their whole lives and don't take it personally that any phone call with me will last 5 minutes if they're lucky. Yes. I am THAT lame.

I've also been working on Coadster's room. Last week I scrubbed the walls, removed all the hardware, patched up and sanded off any holes and I plan to prime and paint and rip up carpet in there this weekend. We're not sure exactly what we'll use it for. It will be a spare room for guests, and probably a sanctuary for The Guy to escape the estrogen flying around the house whenever he needs it...Which could be all the time.

Stinky all dressed up in USA themed clothes for the first high school football game this year. Every game has a different theme.

Stinky is in her senior year in high school and seems to finally be getting down to business. She's such a smart girl, but such a lazy student. She is working a lot, but still seems to get her homework done and in on time. Whew!

My friend's newly built tree house. Her boys love it.

The Guy and I are doing just great. We're training for my triathlon in a couple of weeks lately. He may or may not do it with me, but he's been great about helping me figure out the course and swimming, biking, running it with me and not making fun of me when I'm practically crawling at the end of it.

We had some friends over for black bean chili and corn bread for dinner last night and I made mojitos with fresh mint from my garden last night. It was so nice to hang out with my girlfriends and my boyfriend and have such great talks and laugh that hard. Who knows if it will last or what will happen tomorrow, but right now, I am as happy as a clam. I like to be aware of that while it's happening. I never want to take it for granted.

Some Civil Servants Are Just Like My Loved Ones

The cross-eyed face only a mother could love...Dork!

We interrupt these RAGBRAI posts to tell you about my weekend. The RAGBRAI'ing will continue tomorrow.

So, this weekend I drove to Ames and dropped Coadster off at her first apartment. Her roommates won't be there for another week and she told me she might feel scared and lonely at night. I told her to call me whenever she needed. It's so weird to see her so grown-up in some ways, but to also see signs of the little girl she used to be. Sigh.

The black-eyed face only a mother could love...Dork number 2.

Stinky spent the weekend with some friends at a cabin. She was tubing behind a boat when she got thrown off. She said the minute her life jacket made her surface, the other tube and the shin of the girl riding it, slammed her in the face. Of course, it happened just in time for school registration and ID pictures. Nice. Really, it isn't so bad. It just looks like she's rocking some serious, purple 1980's style eye shadow. I say, get her an OP shirt and some top siders and everyone will just think she's trying to be retro...Poor girl.

I did get Stinky signed up for her last year in high school yesterday. We searched for her locker, I listened to her whine about her schedule and had (got) to hear her talk to some friends about a party that was broken-up because of a fight. Odd to think that it's the last time I'll ever do that.

Sun Come Up. It Was Blue and Gold.

Here is a planter made out of overalls. I'm not sure how I feel about that one plant hanging from the butt, though.

So, things are going great. I was going to try and run after work last night, but I was already getting rained on while riding my bike home. The Guy called me and said he had to work late, but would love to meet me downtown for dinner and a drink when he was done. Sweet! What a wonderful alternative to running 6 miles. Tonight it should be nice and sunny, so I'll probably plan on taking a nice bike ride out in the country.

Now, I will relate a couple of witticisms in my life as of late...

1) Co-worker: How can I be 52 years old and still getting a gigantic pimple?

Me: Don't you hate it when your zits and wrinkles have to compete for face time?

2) Last night I was on the phone with Stinky and Coadster was hovering and listening in.

Me: Your sister has been on kind of a bitchy tear tonight...

Coadster: No, I'm not. I'm being funny and honest.

I suppose it's all about perspectives....

There Is Still a Chance That They Will See

Coadster looking a little psycho with her boy.

The scene is our house on Sunday evening. The Guy and I are in the living room. The girls are in the kitchen with Coadster's boyfriend. They are bickering...As usual.

Coadster says something to Stinky that I can't make out. Then Stinky says, "Oh my god! She's psycho! How can you stand to date her?"

The Guy pipes up from the living room, "Hey, are you talking to me or Coadster's boyfriend?" (har har)

Stinky and one of her best friends at her friend's graduation last month.

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.