Checking my pulse

"............................Ya' know those women that just can't sit still to watch TV", I said.

"I couldn't stand that; I need a woman who can watch a good movie all the way through", he said.

"Well we know that's not a problem for me", I said giggling.

"Hell no. You can sit still for so long, I have to check your pulse", he said.

Just like a Root Canal

I "got" a Root Canal today. This is my third one in 15 yrs so I feel like a bit of an expert.

Unfortunately I couldn't ask for a full explanation since my mouth was wired open and saliva was pooled in my throat (you don't want to swallow when you've got drills and needles in your mouth).

The shot(s) are the painful part and then it's just uncomfortable. I got a big 'ole shot in the roof of my mouth and it shot up through my sinus's; now that STUNG. I was so damn numb it didn't wear off until 5 hrs later. The good news is that I was numb.

After the drilling and poking and prodding comes the cleaning out of the root canal. What a crazy procedure. It must have been invented by a very sick, angry person. Who in the hell would have thought to jab tiny, tiny saw-like needles up the nerve canal..........up and down and up and down???

For those you've not had a root canal, there may be some women (& some men) that have had this experience-------------snort cocaine and have the kind of sex where your head is pounding on the headboard and you know you won't be having the BIG O. The sound is the same too.

Slowing down without falling off

This was me today...........at home.........on my couch.

My goal is to SLOW DOWN. Smell a few flowers.

I worked really hard today NOT to turn on my computer, or call friends and gab for hours.

As I struggled today with the "how to" slow-down dilemna, I had an image of a bicyclist stopped at a red light, doing that thing where they keep their balance, without putting a foot down. It's that balance thing!

What a great metaphor for life. It's so much easier to ride fast. Ya' don't have to "balance" yourself.

How to make me yell

Here's are some ways to make me yell LOUDLY (with eyes squeezed shut):

Talk to me while I'm watching my soaps.

Play on your skateboard in the living room while I'm watching TV.

Tell me you're NOT going to bed.

Fundraising novice

Congrats to our little Kai man and his parents, Tim and Lee Lee.

We done good! We raised over $7000 at the fundraising BBQ last Sunday at Santa Margarita Park.

Kudos to our friend, Mary, for pushing us through this we-have-no-idea-what-the hell-we're-doing fundraising thing. And then kudos to Dana for taking charge. So many people volunteered and the stuff donated for the silent auction was spectacular.

I bid and won the Tony Hawke Skateboard, signed by the man himself. My son was over-the-top.

I must say that although I've heard about the generosity of the Santa Margarita people, but they were amazingly giving....................and then giving more.

Kai was a rock star at the party! What a trooper. He's getting steadier on his feet every day and had a "tumor and cancer free" report a few weeks ago! His daddy looked remarkably sane considering he's become a stay-at-home dad. No easy feat with a 3 yr old under the best of circumstances. Kai and his parents are a great example of the strength of human nature!

Party Party Party

What a great party we had at my work last Friday!! My dad even came for the shindig. I've got some pics uploaded to my flickr account but there'll be more to come.

And I had a great gang of friends who came to party with me.

The party reminded me of my wedding 'cause I spent so much time prepping and then had so many peops to talk to. I was going a zillion directions at once; I didn't even finish one glass of wine.

It was great to have so many X-WA-ers; just wish I coulda' visited more.

Little Boxes

Have you seen the new series on Showtime called Weeds? It's really, really GOOD. The opening is GOOD. Elizabeth Perkins, Mary Louis-Parker, and the rest of the cast are GOOD.

I have the opening song stuck in my head.

LITTLE BOXES (Words and music by Malvina Reynolds)
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same,
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
And the people in the houses
All went to the university
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same
And there's doctors and lawyers
And business executives
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

I paid her $100 today

I came home from work today and I could smell the Pine Sol from outside!! I found a new cleaning lady (thank you Tewwwi) and she spent 5 hours scrubbing my house today.

It's been a few months since I've had a cleaning lady and my house was DISGUSTING. When I say disgusting I mean that when I walked barefoot in my son's room the other day, I felt at least 4 unknown substances in the carpet.

I've had many cleaning ladies over the years and the one bummer is that you can't always find your stuff. It gets put somewhere different. My new "cleaning angel" not only put moved the clutter but she rearranged furniture!!! And ya know what? I don't care. So far I have found everything I was looking for in a nearby location . I actually like the way she rearranged my bedroom.

I do however need to explain to her that she can't shut off my cable box 'cause then my TIVO doesn't record. So I missed a day of soaps and I spent $100 today, but the removal of germs and dustbunnies and sticky stuff on the carpet, is soooooooo worth the price!!!!!!!!

Kai Man (aka poopboy)

This sweet little boy is a cancer survivor at 3 1/2 years old!! He had a brain tumor removed in July and then endured 6+ weeks of radiation at the Children's Hospital at Stanford.

I created a blog to share info. with his friends and family and to raise money for the huge costs of medical treatments.

On October 23, we're having a Benefit BBQ at the Santa Margarita Park, just blocks from his house. We're got Tim Jackson playing music and a silent auction. It's been a big undertaking but I hope will be fun and successful.

Beauty

My sister and brother-in-law went on a 2 week adventure around Arizona. Beauty, heh?!

I will not say it another time

Capricorn Horoscope for week of October 6, 2005
In his poem "Jerusalem, Easter," Stanley Moss writes,
"On this bright Easter morning
smelling of Arab bread,
what if God simply changed his mind
and called out into the city,
'Thou shalt not kill,' and, like an angry father, 'I will not say it another time!'
They are praying too much in Jerusalem . . ."
With this as your inspiration, Capricorn, I'd like you to meditate on two themes:
1) What crucial message do you keep getting from God or life but continue to ignore?
2) Is there a certain ideal you say you believe in but sometimes neglect to carry out in your day-to-day encounters?

Those are some heavy questions to ponder. I read Brezny every week in the New Times. This week's is particularly good!

AS IF

My son was reading a book before bed tonight in which the characters are Lego's (there's a cartoon of these Lego people on Nick Toons or some such thing).
First, I must say that I'm so very relieved that my son is actually sounding out words by himself and not throwing the book across the room in frustration when he can't read every word perfectly. And because of this amazing new skill of his, I'm listening to him read in more of a read-me-a-story-and-I'll-fall-asleep kind of way.
So tonight Wayne's reading and I'm relaxing and one of the Lego characters says "I can't believe my ears" to which he mutters...... AS IF LEGO'S HAVE EARS. I found this hilariously funny and I laughed and then he laughed and then we laughed together. He has this great new laugh that is childlike and sweet and innocent. I find this totally delightful because my child isn't often childlike and sweet and innocent.
These are the moments that make me think "I will not strangle him today" and "I will not pack my bags and run away from home".

I was not properly warned about motherhood

Note To Self: when the bathroom smells really good it is because one of your very expensive hair products has been used by your son as part of some game he his playing while bathing.

You would think after so many years of this behavior, I wouldn't be surprised when my son plays with my always-expensive hair products. I often say my son is a "funny little guy" but what I mean by that is that he is often unexplainable, odd, & downright weird.

At perhaps the age of 2 or so, he started emptying mass amounts of not only my hair products, but his own shampoo & bubble bath, into his bath. I started taking all the stuff out of the bathtub before he got in but he figured out he could get out to rummage the bathroom for fun, yummy smelling stuff. He has explored many options over the years; recently he found it fun to spray the air freshener all over the mirror.

Here's the thing. This is an expensive and messy behavior. I don't clean my house much as it is so cleaning up unneccessary messes is SO out of the question.

I punish him. I make him give me money from his piggy bank. I make him get out of the bathtub early. I make him go to bed early. I lecture him. I talk incessantly about my frustration. And the thing with punishing him is that it usually punishes me too. Taking away TV or toys or hog-tying him to his bed makes MY life more difficult. Yes, that sounds stupid.

Of course parenthood is difficult and takes time and energy and is a full-time, thankless job. I knew that or so I thought! What I didn't understand is that there ARE NO words to actually describe parenthood.

And to think I actually applied for this job. I signed up for it. I signed the contract. I "prepared" for it. I studied for it.

Note To Self: tell future parents that there are no preparations, no books, no words that adequately describe parenthood. It's a learn-as-you-go job.