We chirp no more

I have a sledgehammer and a smoke detector that is facing it's demise. This is no ordinary smoke detector. This particular one chirped (that sound when the battery's going dead)............in my garage/internet smoking lounge..........for perhaps a year. Yes I said a year. It wasn't until yesterday when my x-roomie came for a visit and said "what is that noise?" that I realized it was still doing it. Seriously. And before the day was over she had found that smoke detector........in a box, with pictures.
I either drowned out the chirping sound with iTunes or I developed a tick and no one bothered to tell me.

Two of my favorites

I love these pics.

I took them with my new Nikon Rebel,

at my annual scrapbooking retreat,

in San Simeon,

last month.

And on the 8th Day

This NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month.........I think is what it stands for) is CRAZY and WONDERFUL. Why, you ask, would joining a group of crazy bloggers in a contest to blog every day in Nov, be a good thing? Mostly because of the Randomizer. I scroll through this amazing group of over 2000 bloggers and I am overwhelmed with stories, images, information.........

I could have scrolled through Blogger blogs anytime. Blogger has this same feature. But when I did it a few times, I was bored reading about people I had never met or wrote of things I didn't find interesting. HOW could I have been bored? I'm not sure anymore. What is it that makes the NaBloPoMo Randomizer experience so much better?? The only difference is that I am connected to these people in one way for sure.

This post is becoming long winded. What I wanted to say is that I'm totally captivated by reading all these different blogs. I've read about parenthood, traveling in Turkey and Italy, stories of a scrap-a-holic, gluten-free diets, a woman who talked on the phone with Gloria Steinem this week, voting issues in other states, colds and flu's, and quitting this damn contest 'cause their busy lives must take precedence.

And if the Randomizer wasn't enough, there's a crazy blogger who REVIEWED about half of all the blogs. They haven't gotten to my blog yet (it's in the R's) but someone named "The Crap-o-Rama" has voluntered to do our those. WOW.

There is a bit of pressure but I'm taking one-day-at-a-time. Always a good lesson. And I'm a bit worried about overloading my readers, although I'm only sure about a very few readers (thanks Mom for being my lone "commentor", for who else is the best supporter and witness of your life?!)

I just signed up for this free site meter thing to see if I can track visitors. And where did I learn of this site? None other than fussy.org (one of the organizers of this NaBloPoMo contest thingy).

conversations

Earlier this evening.............
"Mommy? Come throw the ball with me."
"I'm doing my hair and it's almost your bedtime".
"You never play with me anymore. "
It's not the first time my son has said this to me lately. My heart actually hurts when he says this to me.
Later..........
"Get in bed. Light on or off?"
"Either way"
"Sweet dreams and............I'll play basketball with you tomorrow. K?"
"K"
"Now make mommy happy and go to sleep".
Guilt works both ways.

A few days ago, with the other guy in my life.........
"I like your hair better red"
"I knew you'd hate it"
"I didn't say that"
"It'll lighten as I wash it"
"I can't call you strawberry shortcake anymore"
"How 'bout blackberry shortcake?"
"How 'bout chocolate souffle?"

This morning, IMing with my lunch date............
"Did I tell you I colored my hair brown?"
"Good thing you told me so I can recognize you."
Later at lunch...........
"I miss your red hair"
"I know, I know. I asked to have highlights on top. I gotta get it fixed."
"He can't call you shortcake anymore"
"OMG, that's what he said!"

And one more conversation with "the other guy in my life"................
"You're X-wife and I look alike"
"What? No you don't"
"Yes we do"
"NO. YOU. DON'T."
"ya huh"
"na huh"
"She's got light, freckly skin and her hair color is like the color mine was 2 days ago. We look alike"
"Quit saying that"
"just sayin' "
"You better quit sayin' 'cause you're gonna lose weekend visitation rights with your bed"

Sharing my bathroom

Have I mentioned lately that sharing a bathroom with my 9 yr old son continues to amaze me?? (I could look back in my "parenthood" category and probably find at least 5 posts about my son's bathing experience.)

This is what I sound like after my son has taken his shower and/or bath:
"OMG.........look at this bathroom." Squish Squish. "These towels are soaking wet for criminy sakes". (OK......so sometimes I use other words). Ouch Ouch. "These stupid batmen are going in the trash mister 'cause they're not in the basket". "Oh man......you emptied this shampoo bottle; that'll cost you about $4. You are soooo lucky it was one of the cheap ones". "And what the he^^ is on the mirror; it looks like the Febreeze". "um.........NO......you are not cleaning this up right now; it's past your bedtime". "Jezuzzz...........I just needed to go pee".

I almost took a picture of the disaster that is my bathroom after his bathing experience...........for his scrapbook............and for this blog. But dammit, I just needed to pee..........and a dry, flat surface to walk on.

P.S. Guess what I figured out the other night?? The nightlight in the bathroom has ONE purpose. So my son can't tell me, "I missed the toilet 'cause it was dark".

ramblings and run-ons

I simply don't have time to blog right now. I'm late for beddie bye time. It's 11:11 and I must go. I put off a work project until tonight and instead fiddled about this weekend doing who knows what.

Wait...I know.........I went to a kid movie, which I haven't done in ages 'cause my kid doesn't want to see them anymore but was pressured into going 'cause his friends wanted to go and so I took them all. Flushed Away was a cute and action packed movie.

And.......I did my part to help with the construction of the basketball hoop (one of those big 'ole freestanding things) by getting the sand. Too bad I couldn't actually pick up the 70 lb bags of sand. My son did it. He's 9 yrs old. Note to self: go to the gym and lift weights.

And.......I met my boyfriend's dad and xwife today. Did I just say boyfriend? Shit. Very nice people and we're all excited about "the boyfriend's" new pad, just across town. And did I mention that I gave him my old bed? I have weekend visitation rights and I so enjoyed those rights this weekend.

OK. I did it. I posted for the 5th day in a row. Whew.............

Zits

Do you ever read the cartoon Zits? I seem to find the trials of a 14 yr old boy and his parents totally relatable. What does that mean?

Can you read the cartoon? I don't have time to fiddle with it now.

OH MY......................the pressure of this blogging-every-day-thing!!!!!!

more bed walking

continued from yesterdays post...............

1st night (last night) on the Tempur-Pedic Memory Foam DELUXE was just fine. Not great yet. More bed walking required. My munchkin (who's not much smaller than me now) and I walked, ran, wrestled (he pinned me every time), and played football on my bed tonight!!

The foreground of my pic is the handle of my vacuum and I left it there as evidence that I actually HAVE a vacuum and I do use it on occasion.

Every 10 years

Every ten years you're supposed to get a new bed, right? Or was it 7? Not sure but it was coming up on 10 years with my faithful, good quality bed and it was the perfect excuse to get a brand-spanking newTempur-Pedic memory foam bed! I've got a friend that owns a bed store that sells 'em and I've talking about it for a few years. TODAY was the day!!

Spending a bunch of money on a bed is a guilt-free experience 'cause the darn thing is going to last at least a decade, and a good quality bed saves me from oh-so-many neck spasms which leads to chiro's and massueses and headeaches and painkillers.

I'm very excited but also nervous about the first few nights in a new bed. It can be hard to get used to a new bed, even when it's a good one. The interesting thing about the foam beds in that you need to WALK on them to break down the "starch" (I'm not kidding). My son and I did this today. Who knew I was going to get a quad work-out too!!! (Imagine trying to make footprints in damp sand).

And to prove how very excited I am, I woke up at 6am today and started preparing my room for the new bed!! I had to clean underneath the bed, and vacuum up all those nasty little dust bunnies that give me nasty little colds. I also decided it was a good time to move some stuff around in my room and that involved a whole lotta' cleaning.

To be continued........................

National Blog Posting Month

Did you know it's National Blog Posting Month?? I didn't either until I read about it on emdot's flickr. I have decided to join these crazy bloggers in a pledge to blog EVERY DAY in November.

You can read all about it here.

Not sure what the heck I'm gonna write about EVERY DAY but I can't wait to find out.

I'm considering today a "freebie", an introduction, a title page. I wonder how long it'll take me to buy the book, No One Cares What You Had for Lunch:100 Ideas For Your Blog.