After reading Bliztky’s blog about going back to Poland and seeing how some things changed and some things stayed the same, I thought of something that happened the last time I saw my extended family.

I have this wonderful cousin, K. She and and her hubster were at the family thingy that we have every July 4th. While a group of us were just hanging out, I noticed ‘em.

No no no, I am not talking about noticing her and her hub. I am talking her boobs.

I don’t generally find myself staring at or checking out boobies, but one glance at hers had me pondering. I had to look again.

In a flash many many many previous conversations involving her moaning and groaning or commenting on her lack of chest material. She no longer appears to be lacking.

She has always been tall and willowy. She’s still tall and willowy. I say that because sometimes weight gain leads to booby gain. That’s not the deal in her case.

When we left I asked one of the resident boobie expert if he noticed a difference. The conversation went sort of like this.

moi – “Do you think K had a boob job?”

hubster – “Well duh!!!!!”

Yup, the man is a typical man. While I wondered, he taken note, assessed the situation, and was certain of the facts. Many guys are like this, no?

The question I put out there is – is it proper, friendly, snoopy, yada yada to simply say something like “Wow, K, I love the new rack!”

Ha!

Peace

I hate being in a state of limbo!

The kids and I are contemplating a jaunt to New York to see the Tut Exhibit before it flies home to Egypt. The boy has always been a mega fan of mummies, Egypt, and all that jazz. I’ve taken him to The British Museum in London and he was fascinated. Outside of actually visiting Egypt, that museum offers a fantastic experience. The girl has been driving me crazy to take her to New York City.

I have never been there. That seems so weird to me. I have visited and am quite comfortable in a number of European cities, but this great city in my own country is foreign to me.

Had this opportunity come up a year ago, it would have been a no-brainer. I’d already have the plane tickets purchased and the hotel reservations made. Instead I’m torn. New York City is expensive, and when I do these “once in a lifetime” things, the hub usually just says “go for it” and makes sure there is plenty of money for us to blow.

This time is different. The future is simply too iffy right now to be comfortable with an easy decision.

Do I take go for it and spend the money when I may not even have a job a year from now? Does it make more sense to save the money for that possible rainy day? Should I savor this adventure with my kids because we’d be doing something we’d never do again?

The hub says go for it. He’ll dogsit and hand over the cash for the three of us to play in the Big Apple for a few nights. I figure we’d go in October.

Keep in mind, I’m taking both kids to England and France in March. That’s going to hit us in the bank account as well.

Argh – I do so hate hate hate hate hate hate this uncertain feeling.

What to do?

Peace

I am creating a wee little monster, but she truly is a damn cute one.

The other day Babycub (who I really should rename now that she is taller than me) and I  took the little grandbaby to the mall for “girls’ day”. It was a delight!

I think a love of shoes must be a genetic thing that runs strongly through the females in my clan. Actually, shoes were the primary reason for this shopping extravaganza – MiniMouse needed new sandals and I’m just the woman to take her shopping!

We started in the shoe store and after she gleefully tried on a number of pairs, we found the perfect ones. From the shoe store we scampered into a children’s clothing store to find the perfect outfit for our little Diva in Training. The one we chose was so utterly delightful that we simply had to do a quick change in the dressing room after paying for our treasures.

Everyone knows the perfect outfit requires the perfect accessories, so our next stop was a boutique that carries jewelry for teenyboppers and little girls. Our little lady happily found some bracelets, a cute little purse to match her new outfit, and pink polka-dotted sunglasses to complete the ensemble.

The look was complete and she was loving the feeling of struttin’ through the mall in her new get up.

I was giggling.

She was adorable.

We did lunch.

We shopped for new books.

We had a great day and I’m looking forward to a whole lot of days like this in the future. This gram (beebee) thing really does rock!

Peace

Over the 4th of July weekend we headed to the lake. We have an RV parked overlooking the lake in the yard of one of the family cabins. It all works out pretty slick and it allows us to have a lot of people around.

While it’s awesome to be surrounded by people you love, sometimes it can be awful noisy and chaotic. The noise put me in a stinky situation. Yes, yes yes, I did mean “stinky” and not “sticky”.

One morning I slipped off to the RV to use the bathroom. When I went to open the sliding door, I realized the damn thing locked behind me. Who knew the goofy thing locked from the outside, but not from inside? Certainly, I didn’t!

Who wants to sit in a tiny RV bathroom yelling for help? Not me. Yet, I did let out a few “anyone out there?” shouts to no avail. Fortunately, I had my cell phone that sometimes actually gets service in the woods. I began texting various family members while crossing my fingers that they had their phones and were in cell range.

Eventually, I was rescued and didn’t have to die in a smelly RV bathroom. Whew! Tragedy averted.

Peace

I struggled and toiled and kicked myself hard in the cyber shins over whether or not I should post yet another entry about my frustrations with school.

The verdict is – nah – not at this moment. Note note note the “this moment” thingy? That means I shall bore you all later with the latest installments. Needless to say, the soap opera continues.

Instead *tick tock tick tock*

What to write about? *scratches chin*

I do know that it is absolutely delightful to watch my fifteen year old son blush and turn hideously green before running away when I make innocent comments that have a double meaning.

For instance …

The hub was going through one of his tackle boxes and came across some lure that made me ask what it was.

The hub replied with “this is called a six-inch grandma”.

Even knowing that fishing tackle tends to have rather silly names, I still couldn’t resist responding with “Oh, I prefer six-inch grandpas”.

The boy groaned and moaned.

The hub grinned at me then said (complete with hand gestures) “well some also come in 9-inch sizes”.

That was all it took. The boy was utterly and completely disgusted and wandered off. Hmmmm who knew fishing tackle could have such a negative  effect on a kid?

Peace

Hmmm… Where to start. I feel as if so much has happened in the past few days that my head is spinning.

Even though my heart was breaking, I went to graduation as did every other teacher in my district. It’s what we do – we are there for our kids – they are a part of our lives. However, the chairman of the school board opted out. Graduation started at 7:00, and at 5:00 he called the principal to say he (and the rest of the board) wouldn’t be coming.

The Rational?

They heard everyone was angry with them. They didn’t want to be boo’d and they heard the kids were going to refuse to shake their hands when they handed out diplomas. So, instead of the school board recognizing the kids that night, the principal and one of the teachers handled graduation. Parents were less than impressed with the actions of the board, especially when they found out the board chair was across the street having dinner at a local restaurant during the ceremony.

The next day was our last day of classes with students. The kids were amazing in their support of their teachers. My desk was buried under cards and things from my kids. Previous graduates were in and out of the building all day to say “g’bye” to those of us who wouldn’t be back. Television and newspaper reporters were all over the place. The story had gone wild. This was the third day straight that my baby school was one of the lead stories in the area.

The student walk-out was well done. They had a bbq and held signs that said things like “what about us”, “don’t destroy our family”, and things like that. A number of them were interviewed by television stations and they did a beautiful job. Every bit of press coverage was excellent. Parents showed up to support their kids when they walked out. I cried at the support we were being given.

The board meeting to cut us was scheduled for 6:00 that evening and everyone was going to attend. At the end of the day, we heard they were planning to meet at 5:00 to “discuss” things first. Within minutes of hearing that, the text messages and facebook pages were updated to let everyone know what was happening. Parents and students arrived early – just in case.

Our students packed the floor of the gym and reserved the seats in front of them for their teachers. They wanted us to all do this together. As it turned out, almost more people showed up for this than for graduation. They came at 5:00 and waited until 6:00 – they had things to say. Again, reporters and cameras were everywhere to cover this.

The meeting started at 6:00 with the board reading a statement explaining what was happening. The crowd was not impressed. Our principal spoke as well. He supported the teachers completely and said the board did this without his input, after he left a meeting, and that he was not in favor of the cuts. The crowds cheered. One lone board member said the same thing. In fact, he pointed out that they didn’t even let him know they were planning on cuts – he was out of the loop completely and he was angry. He also felt the cuts were insane and impossible. The crowd cheered.

After that parents, students, teachers, and community members lined up to address the school board. One after another stated they didn’t want this to happen. At times it became a little heated. I was impressed by the quality of the arguments being put forth. Parents did their homework and had facts and figures given to them by the state to support their cause. The board squirmed and tried to squiggle out of some things. The meeting went on for hours!

During the meeting the board chair actually began texting while one of the kids was asking a question. At that point, parents shouted “listen to our children and put your phone away!” At first he refused, but when more and more started shouting, he put the IPhone away. Later, three of the board members leaned back and began talking among themselves. The crowd shouted to stop that because it violated the open meeting laws. The board responded by saying they were considering tabling the cuts.

Eventually, the board challenged the parents to pass a referendum that we need to survive. They told the parents and teachers that they’d stop this IF everyone – community, employees, and board all worked together to find ways to make our school solvent. The crowd cheered. The only voice that argued was that of our superintended. He wasn’t at the meeting, but he was called. When the board told him hundreds and hundreds of community members were demanding they stop this, he said “too bad, make the cuts”.

They opted not to make the cuts and the celebrations began.

Kids and parents were hugging us. Tears were flowing. Parents that I’ve never seen in the school came up to tell us how important we were to their kids. Each of us had our own compliments, and I’m going to post the two that touched me the most. A hubby/wife duo came up and hugged me and said “without you, there is no school here” and another mom said “you have no idea how much this community loves you”. Touched doesn’t even begin to cover the emotions that statements like that stir up.

The kids were ecstatic. They learned first hand that citizens can make a difference if they work together. A number of them said things like “wow, power to the people!”

And then…..

Yesterday – our last day of work. No students were there, it was just us – the staff. For many of the teachers, they won’t be back until August so they would have had no idea what our board and superintendent were planning.

After everyone was gone, the superintendent and a couple of board members met. They posted a new meeting. Legally, every time they meet they must post it ahead of time. Their posting was put up inside the school, facing the empty hallways after everyone left for the summer. It was legal, but was it ethical?

What they didn’t know was that across the hall was one last teacher. He was sitting in the dark, entering grades on his computer. He heard them. He waited until they were gone and he took a picture of that posting.

Before long, the text messages began to fly. Reporters found out. Our superintendent finally spoke to the press and said “we still need to make cuts”.

In spite of everyone’s offer to work together, this man – who doesn’t even officially start as our superintendent until tomorrow – is going to ignore them. He’s going to forge ahead and we think only one board member will try to stop him.

Emotionally, this has been a disaster. It’s up, it’s down, it’s all over the place. Right now, I don’t know if I will have a job or not. I have no idea what is going to happen.

I do know this.

Our new superintendent is going to start his career at a school with no support from any staff. The community despises him. The kids want to toss him off the nearest bridge. Several of the board members are going to be leaving the board so he will lose that support. I don’t think it’s going to be a pleasant job for him, and that’s okay. He negotiated an enormous salary and benefits package for himself. He can spend his time counting his money because he certainly won’t have any friends to count.

Peace

She most definitely is my daughter.

Babycub is heading off to spend a few nights and days at an environmental learning center. She’s all packed up and ready to go on this grand adventure.

Earlier today she and I took our herd of dogs for a walk through the woods around our house. (funny how secure I feel when I’m out there with a lab and two Newfs!) Anyway, Babycub was muttering and grumbling about mosquitos and bugs. She made funky whimpering sounds when we had to trek through some soggy paths. She squealed and shuddered when she discovered a woodtick crawling on her leg. It went on and on.

Eventually, I simply had to ask. Why on earth she is so excited about roughing it in the woods with her friends when her own backyard sends her into a dither. It’s totally the group thing – she’s excited to be with the gang.

She said they have jokingly teased her because she’s never been “camping”. Ptooey! She has – she and I just camp in similar ways. Our camping involves electricity, running water, warm snuggly beds, and indoor plumbing.

This should be an adventure for her! I can’t wait to hear the stories when she gets back.

Peace

Gartoomi, I am beginning to feel like Linda Blair did when her head was spinning hilly nilly around in circles in the Exorcist.

I’m a busy little patootie right now. I am chasing one giant puppy, about to get another giant puppy, das cubs are involved in a bunch of activities through school, I’ve suddenly found myself on multiple committiees and uh, kinda sorta in charge of them as well. The school year is coming to a close which means paperwork and stuff like that. It’s spring which means gardens, flowers, and yard work. I’m redoing some curriculum for next year. *pant pant* Guess what? I am finding that I am loving this stuff.

It’s busy, but a good kind of busy.

I love the committies and I feel like they truly are making and will continue to make a difference.

The Cubs need to be involved in stuff. It’s a good thing for them and that kind of thing keeps kids active and out of trouble. They are on the go a lot, but are both holding down excellent grades. (gotta brag here – A Honor Roll – Sorry, I’m da mom and I’m entitled to brag)

The dog babies are adorably wonderful and galoompy. Who could resist a Newf? I tell ya’, this is a totally rockin’ breed of canine loveliness!

The paperwork that comes with the end of the school year can be good. It means I can say g’bye to the few kids that utterly drive me up the wall. Here’s the shout out “g’bye to JG, RA, JP! I won’t miss you guys one wee bit!

Gardens = flowery goodness and luverly scents wafting about my yard. I happen to love curling up in a hammock near my gardens and thinking “wow, I created those!”

Soon it’s going to be time to go to the lake and just be a bum. I’m looking forward to that. I think we’re putting an RV there so we have our own personal space amidst the chaos that my family is. As long as I don’t have to sleep outside, have electricity, running water, and a cozy bed, I love love love camping.

Hmmmm busy is good.

That’s my life.

I hope y’all are enjoying yours!

Peace

Once upon a time I mentioned on here that we were going to get a new puppy. I became puppy obsessed over this whole deal. Imagine that, me becoming crazily passionate about something. It’s just one of those Deej traits. I read, I researched, I debated with the hub and kids over virtually every single breed of dog known to mankind. I set standards that my new baby had to meet.

1. gentle

2. kind

3. big

4. intimidating looking, but not acting

5. great with children

6. loyal

7. loves people

8. intelligent

9. low-key/lazy

10. funky

 With those things in mind, I searched the web over and bingo I found it! The breed that was utterly and completely perfect for moi.

*insert drumroll here*

 The winner is – the Newfoundland!

 Oh yeah, they are all of those things and then some. My next task was to find one. I know, I know it would be a good thing to do if I’d simply gone to the pound – such is life. I wanted a Newf. Who knew they weren’t one of those breeds that you can just grab a local paper and dash off to buy one. Nope, I had to start the damn research all over again. I hunted for the perfect breeder to match my perfect breed.

 Then it was time – to pick my baby. I opted for a black Newfi girl baby. When I took the cubs to the breeder to meet our new puppy, we met another little Newf girl. She was born in November with a little issue – one rear leg was slightly longer than the others. Because of that, our breeder didn’t feel right selling her or breeding her. They opted to keep her there with them.

 Until…

 That puppy met Babycub. The two of them had this instant and mutual “damn your perfect” bonding moment. The breeder told her I could have the pup if I wanted.

 Uh, yeah – try explaining to the hubster that while off seeing our future puppy and dropping a down payment on her, I found another one and was actually going to bring two giant dogs into our world. Nope, we left her there.

 As we made the few hour drive home, the cubs and I talked about the not-so-perfect Newf I decided to call the hub. I wasn’t sure how to even approach this, but when I did, his reaction shocked the beejeebers out of me.

 His reaction? “What the hell – what difference will one more be? Tell Babycub she can have the puppy.”

 A couple days later we drove back down to the breeders and took our “puppy” home. She’s bigger than our lab and absolutely wonderfully perfect! I am tickled with this breed.

 This weekend we go to pick up our other baby.

 This time next year I’ll have about 270 pounds of Newfi living in my house!

 Oy vei!

 Peace

There I was holed up in a bunker with a friend, T, while the bullets were flying around us. Suddenly, it was so dang real and the two of us were saying “we have to get out of here!! How do we do this?”

At the same time, we were giggling.

Paintball!

Damn is that fun!

Some of the kids at school are really into this and have been asking some of us to go with them. A few of us figured we’d go for it. It totally rocks!

We were divided into teams, given our guns, shields, paintballs, and all that jazz. For the next five hours we traipsed through the woods from one course to the other as the refs set up game after game for us. At first I wasn’t sure exactly what I was doing. Eventually, I found myself yelling out that I’d cover someone or pointing out the positions of “enemy” players to to teammates.

The place we went provided a “ref” and another guy that went along and played on one of the teams – he was on my team. At one point he told us that we were going to “sprint up the hill” when he counted to three. I blinked and said “uh, sprint?!?!” He was a honey and told the other teacher and I we could provided cover fire from the bottom.  Even so, something came over me once the “battle” started. Within a few seconds I was racing up the hill, dodging behind obstacles and trees, firing my gun like Rambo, until I got to the top and actually took out one of the snipers!

The employee guy was even impressed. I was stunned, but oh so proud of my old self!

Later I was involved in a firefight with one of the kids. We were at the edge of the course, and I’d run up the side to try to take over their bunker from behind. Anyone who is shot has to sit out the rest of the game, and the “shot” people were on the sidelines near my wild firefight. As this boy and I moved for position and shot globs of pink and green goo at each other, the “shot” people looked on.

I got the other guy! As I began dancing around in glee, I heard one of the “shot” people say “Oh yeah, that’s MY mom!” I didn’t embarrass my kid in front of the gang from his school. He was laughing and bragging it up. Only two females were on this adventure – both teachers and one was his mom. I held my own and love the game!

I soooooooooo wanna go again!

Peace

PS – By the way, if you are wondering (like I did) – everything used is biodegradable. The “paint” isn’t really paint. It’s some kind of funky dye stuff that is environmentally friendly. The shells that the “paint” is in are made of something that simply dissolves (much like a gel cap pill).