Island of Misphit Blogs

yeah I'm rambling but go with it

Another great shot if I do say so myself

It was about 4 months before Mom died. I was on one of my many weekend jaunts down to Texas to spend time with Mom because none of us know how much time we have left. I got in my rent a car and headed out of the airport and was going to meet my sister at a Chile's off of FM 1960 as this was on my way (albeit in a round about way) to 290 to get up to Brenham. So there I am sucking on a very bad margarita and my sister shows up. And we start talking about Mom and her condition and hospice and everything else. Now at this point, while I knew in the back of my mind that I would one day get "the call" up here in Maryland I still held out hope Ma had more time. And she did about 4 months. But as my sister and I were talking she looked me in the eye and said very matter of factly "Steven our mother is going to die. As I thought about what she had said I became mad. And thought bad things about my sister. Why could she not think like me? Hey ya never know? Maybe she...

Michele is in the hospital tonight. They found a blood clot in her leg when she had her MRI last week. They will put a stint in her vein tomorrow. Overall she seemed good this weekend just tired. But I got to hug my sister goodnight and tell her I love her as she went to bed so what more do I want from a weekend trip? Not a thing.

I'm glad it's going to work out, and that my kids are going to see their grandparents and my parents are going to see their grandkids, even if not in the way we thought and not for the actual holidays. I'm even perfectly fine with taking the trip without the kids - assuming I do get to take the trip, which is the assumption I'm working on right now. But you know what? Even though I do understand where it comes from, I'm a little upset at being preemptively accused of international parental kidnapping, you know?

Shouldn't spend one weekend kissing one person and then a month later sleeping with another It gets messy. I may have to find a new bar

that will allow me to align the second set of stone circles and get the third artifact of Thor. Does that sound unreasonable? I don't think so. But then again I'm inapt LOL (Bob I didn't start the war BTW LOL)

I have 55 friends on facebook? I'm not sure I even remember that many people lol

Copy of e-mail to Damien's teacher today: Damien's Lack of $ today Dear Mrs. Damien's-Teacher, I wanted to explain why Damien didn't have lunch money today. His dad and I gave him enough for breakfast and lunch for the day this morning. He is forever being told to put his money in his pocket when we give it to him. He did not do so this morning and left it on the couch. When we got to school, he demanded that I go home to get it for him. When I explained that I was already late for work and could not go back to the house, he threw his backpack to the ground, kicked it across the parking lot and started to scream at me. That more or less guaranteed that the sun would rise in the west and devils would ice skate before he got that money. And that is why Damien did not have money for lunch or breakfast this morning. Thanks. Sincerely, Me It's a good thing I didn't have children so I could have someone to love me. Heh.

I trusted her. And while I may have to stop at the gas station and buy whatever the fake sex pills they sell she wants to, once again, see me in the same conditions we were on Friday before I leave for Texas. The living room is now filled with the smoke coming out of my ears from over thinking this one.

and this may be a good idea for a product but to me they all look like they belong to some strange cult wearing these things

for all of you

R: Mommy, when are you going back to the other house? Me: Well, whenever you need to be dropped off or picked up, I go there. R: No, I mean, to live? Me: I'm not going to. J: Not ever? Me: No. ...Followed by about 30 seconds of silence and then random, mostly cheerful conversations about math and science. Updated Showing me her art projects not an hour later: J: And this is where you can put your ring! Me: ...I don't have a ring. J: *Examines my hands* Where is it? Me: Remember, I put it in the quilt? R: And it got lost? (They didn't know about that) Me: Yes, someone cut the quilt and took it. R: Why? Me: I guess they thought they needed a ring more than I needed my art. But then Papi gave me his ring, which was very nice of him. J: Can I see it?

We'll call this one "Kids are really freaking stupid." I would like suggestions as to an alternate name for The Boy in light of yesterday's events. I like the way that DCup changes the name of her youngest Spawn depending on behavior--from Cupcake to Resident Evil. I want something along those lines. The Boy plays all the time, every chance he gets, with the boy down the street. His name is Cesar and I've mentioned him before. Cesar lives exactly three doors down from us on our side of the street. So, we don't really worry about The Boy heading on down there on his own. As a matter of fact, The Boy has very definite limits to his ability to roam. He's allowed exactly from one speed bump just the south of our house to the speed bump just north of our house. That's the extent of his free area all of which is easily within eye shot of our front porch. See below: Yesterday, The Boy went out at about 3:30 or so to go play with Cesar. At 4:00, Ces...

on Meet the Press right now "Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who. This is supposed to be a 'appy occasion" *sigh*

It's that conversation, six months later, that goes, Maybe I shouldn't have answered And Maybe I shouldn't have asked And Do you want to make the call, or should I?

Just talked with Michele and she sounded great! She will be off treatment after next week. She even offered to pick me up at the airport. I know she has a long road ahead but when you get that moment when you are just alking and nothing is wring its great GO MICHELE nfl who cares? :)

I hate the Borg

this shot netted me 6 bucks!

I've had the conversation with her she won't like that first trip to the vets. I've opened the door twice and she has walked outside and came back in. I may have a cat. Ceiling Cat help both of us.

Michele gets a two week reprieve from Chemo treatments. As much as I want to wake up with Barry X as Prez I'll take my sister getting a little better any day. I know it is selfish but I muted the talking heads and talked with Michele for almost an hour and it was even better than McCain just coming out and conceding.

(And we helped! Are we having Meatloaf?) Jen and Bob said we had to take pictures Sunday. Does this count? This is me after a few Jameson's. Here's Keith after a horrible accident in the kitchen. The brisket was unharmed. This is Pidomon, after the Cowboys won but so did everyone else who the Cowboys needed to lose in order to up their rankings. No, huh? Well, okay fine then. Here ya go: We call this proof that Pido is actually an angel despite the cigarette and Budweiser. See the heavenly glow? There you go, proof of the Cowboy Angel. And this is the two of us with the camera ham in the background. The Boy talked poor Pidomon's ear off, The Girl plugged herself into the computer and the grown ups had a few beers, watched the Cowboys win a game for a change and all of us ate some of Keith's brisket & biscuits and SOME of us had the potatoes, broccoli and cheese, California veggies and corn on the cob. SOME of us had only the brown/beige portions of the meal....

Actually that is kind of a joke. Sheri called me tonight. Michele had a bad day. Not a near death she will be dead soon day just a bad day. Tried to eat a banana and coud not keep it down after a long day at the hospital. And Michele will have more bad days. I hope for more good than bad but after a year plus of having the equivalent of the Chernobyl meltdown forced into her body guess what? It ain't easy for her. There are a lot of people in this world dealing with gradations of cancer and how it impacts the person who actually has the disease and how it impacts their family. I'm not alone. And that makes be both sad and hopeful at the same time. At the end of today my sister is still alive and I will hold her in my heart this evening and when I wake up in the morning and repeat that cycle.

Sean Hannitys America. Because that's one scary place

(It seemed so popular on the last post) My dog Meggie would follow me every morning to the corner where the bus would pick me up and would be there waiting for me every afternoon when I came home. She was really Dad's dog but for some reason took a liking to me. And she was smart but unfortunately for her I was a little behind. Back in the middle 1960's we had screen doors. Occasionally at dinner Meggie would be outside while we ate. When she was we would hear someone politely knock on the screen door. And I would get up, go to the door, and say "there is no one here" and Meggie would look at me like "HEY IDIOT I loves ya but let me inside!" And I would walk back to the table leaving Meggie to wonder why she loved me so much But she never stopped taking me to the bus stop and greeting me when I came home

Michele and Sheri would take turns "protecting" me and terrorizing me (notice terror is not in qoutes lol) I must preface this post with the following admission: I was not the brightest child in the world. I would like to contribute that to the fact I just wanted to trust everyone but hey the knife wasn't that sharp back in the really young days so maybe it was a combination of stupidity and faith. Anyhow I was (and still am) a very picker eater. So we would be at the table for dinner and I would have vegetables I didn't want to eat. Michele, being the loving sister she is, would whisper in my ear "Pretend to eat the vegetables but put them in your napkin and then go to the bathroom and flush them down the toilet" I could have been one of those cartoon characters with the huge light bulb above his head. What a great idea. My sister was a genius!1!zomgeleven (even though back then we did not have !1!zomgeleven it still applies) So I go through with my mast...

I talked with Michele tonight and it was her off week from the chemo pills. Understandably she sounds so much better on these weeks. 2 weeks of 8 pills a day and a week off. Repeat. She thinks they may take some tests after this next round that starts Friday. But regardless of how many or how few conversations we have left it's always good to talk with Michele

You wanna make sumin of it? Do YA?

OK y'all can mull this over while I'm greeting the great unwashed masses in San Diego. In between dealing with people today who just figured out they or I am about to be gone for a week my thoughts went to our blogs. There are the 5 of us listed as contributors (even though, sadly, it seems Portly has been stuck in the meat world for far too long) And then I think there a few other people who are in our mutual orbit. D-Cup Linda OuyangDan Burning Prairie Brave Sir Robin And maybe a few more I'm leaving out. So hows bout a "blog switch day"? We plan it enough ahead and we all write a post for each others blog. No we dont give out passwords etc it would be done via email (or I Phone if you have one :)) and on one day we all posts other peoples writing at our places with the usual links etc. Since we five rule the island we make up the rules, invite who we want and go from there. Maybe it's a bad idea and it was more ti think about something than comic books and...

Except, well, I'm a dude.... You Act Like You Are 31 Years Old You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! You're responsible, wise, and have enough experience to understand a lot of the world. You're at the point in your life where you understand yourself pretty well. You are figuring out what you want... and how to get it! What Age Do You Act?

The following is a direct transcript of a "status conversation" * that took place today, over a four hour period, between two supposed grownups. Bob: Flargle razmitsif! Jen: Fling waddle clip Bob: /nods/ Yep, that's it exactly. Jen: Smashis crawp pru thysysphy Bob: Razr! Bliff norgush wal pliffy! Jen: /Fragwess/ Klimpet snaragon twanzy. Bob: Snaragon flazny? Cojrig mofe labbis. Jen: Grimplet strabbit foos. Twilup pagglist mar bulidep... Bob: (Jaznit reebly) Marschk o dlappisney. Jen: Vlinto sparinad...postrimex exto fin pwaddle. 9.9 Bob: FHF! Nyl priznat wabby. /ghusch/ Jen: Brrcafi > Nucafi? Diyo. Diyo san. Bob: Diyo san, mrajif. Jen: Plentif sprawnix zyglio, sprit twiz braddle. Pio blund :) Bob: Shazliffit. ;) Jen: Crogimot limbal. Zyble! Bob: Mallafah! Hey, we knew what we were saying! * (if you don't get it, you obviously don't have GMail.)

As I said in my lame post last night I talked with Michele who said she would never go through anything like radiation again. And we briefly talked about Mom's decision to opt out of chemo. And reminded ourselves that we all supported that decision. And I did my best to let her know that whatever decision she makes she has the same support from her brother, sister, and father. And tonight on the way home I cried a bit. (Or a lot depending on how you look at it :)) People die every day in ways that are much more horrific than what my sister is going through. But in the end what it comes down to is my sister is going to die. Probably before me, before Dad, before Sheri, before her husband and wonderful kids. But even if that happens she will always be with us and we will support her and whatever decisions she makes. It is not me being filled up with radioactive crap and going to the bathroom and throwing up at the same time. It is not me looking at 2 wonderful children wondering how ...

This is how we help each other here on the Island. It's how we roll. Christina : Should I take an $1800 flex medical spending account amount or a $2400 flex medical spending account amount? it will be spent, have no doubt, so no worries about losing money. BUT, it means my deduction goes from $150/mo to $200/mo. Bob : I know nothing of what you speak. Christina : BUT, it's pre-tax, so I'll actually see probably about $25 less in my paycheck. Bob : Sounds suspiciously like something that someone with a real job would have. I have no experience in such things. Christina : AND, we may have merit raises this year which would pay for that...Okay. I'm going for the $2400. Thanks for talking it over with me Bob. You are a huge help. Bob : Any time! Friends helping friends. That's what it's all about, right? (And yes, we actually discuss riveting things like that and Travian on chat all day long . Welcome to the Island. ;)

Which Star Wars Character Are You? It's a tie! You are part C-3PO. You are dedicated to others and will do anything for them- even if you don't think they have the best plan. You contain a wealth of information and have a very serious nature. You would jump in front of a speeding truck if it meant protecting someone you cared about from harm. You can take the world a bit too literally, and should probably loosen up just a little! You are a great friend and people know that they can always trust you. You are part Luke Skywalker. You are adventurous and love to be where the action is. Your curiosity runs wild and you have to seek out the answers to all your questions or else you will not be at peace. People see you as a great leader, although you are uncomfortable with this because you don't see yourself the same way. You just believe in being honest and focusing on the good in the world. You are sweet and lovable and have many friends that would be lost without you. Find...

How Evil Are You? [ENTER AT OWN RISK - Bob] Devbook Quizzes! !

Click here to take the test. (Warning: It's an irritating test. For each question, you have to pick between two polar opposites, with no middle ground. Fortunately, they ask the same questions in a lot of different ways, so I suppose it evens out a bit.)

Bob needs input.

Do you agree? Take the test HERE!!!

Exhibit 1: The Girl came home from her second day at work and told us a story. There was a girl that worked with her, we'll call her Quartz. The Girl was warned that Quartz had a really bad attitude on the first day. Second day, The Girl goes to work and Quartz has been called in, an hour and a half late for her shift. Quartz wasn't feeling well. She was pissed that she had been called in to work and so she decided that she wasn't going to work. She left The Girl and one other worker alone on the line for dinner rush. This did not work. The line backed up, people were waiting for 30-45 minutes for their sandwiches and they were getting pissed. So, The Girl--having never heard the axiom "Discretion is the better part of valor."--stuck her head in the back and told Quartz that they needed help and asked her if she planned on working at all that night. Quartz pitched a fit, cussed The Girl out and then called the manager to whine about how The Girl had cuss...

The Boy is supposed to be cleaning his room this morning. He begins speaking to me about negotiating this deal. "Mom, can I do half now and half when I get back [from his friend's house]..." "No." "MOM! I was talking and you just said 'No' and I was just saying that I could do half now and half later. It's not bad, I just have to put my clothes away..." "Don't forget the clean clothes you let fall behind your toybox." "MOM! You did it again! That's why I want to do half now and half later! If I have to do all of it now, it will make it hard to be lazy!!" /Mom laughs until she chokes/

Your results: You are Catwoman Catwoman 91% Apocalypse 91% Dr. Doom 83% Magneto 80% Poison Ivy 78% Mystique 72% Lex Luthor 68% Green Goblin 64% Dark Phoenix 60% Mr. Freeze 57% Juggernaut 56% The Joker 48% Kingpin 46% Two-Face 44% Venom 42% Riddler 28% With a troubled past and an upbringing on the streets you have learned how to fend for yourself through crime. Click here to take the "Which Super Villain are you?" quiz...

Your result for The Monty Python Character Test... Prince Herbert You scored 70 Stubborn, 39 Crazy, 23 Agressive, and 47 Evil! Apperance: The Holy Grail. The lad trying to climb out of the window. High Light: The rescue of Prince Herbert Scene: The drawbridge of Swamp Castle. Two guards standing here looking very bored. Off in the distance, they see Launcelot running towards them waving his sword in the air. They look at each other, then back at Launcelot. They seem confused. He does not get any closer, though he he keeps running. The guards look at each other again. One taps his forehead. They lean on their pikes and idly watch Sir Launcelot still running towards them and getting nowhere. They look at each other. Suddenly Launcelot appears right next to them and runs them both through. They die, considerably surprised. Launcelot runs through the castle, slicing, dicing, grating, mincing, and otherwise generally killing the entire populace. He fights his way up...

No secret caves, no moving the island. No rabbits occupying the same part od space/time It's still right here. OK maybe I'll find myself in the Sahara with a parka on some day but today is not that day. You know what Ben said? "We all have to go back to the island" So I'm here where are you?

Than watching Return of the Pink Panther on BBC America "There is only one man who would pull the wrong tooth! Kill Him!" Love to you all my innertubes family

Yes I was and Yes I am. Michele (Sister2) finished up 2 days of a lot of test today. MRIS EMIS CKGS and everything else, Funny when you have no idea what is going on it's easier to be positive. "Well we just don't know could be an ingrown toenail" But as the this week went by and the tests were coming in the back of my brain occasionally I slipped into "WORSE SCENARIO MODE" Sheri and I being alot alike I figured she was going through this as well. So we just talked for an hour. Michele came up and what we will do if it's bad news but mostly we talked about how we are a family and how we will be there for each other regardless if Michele has bad news or I get hit by a bus tomorrow and they have to deal with me being gone. I know you are probably tired of hearing this but I have a great family which frankly alot of times I'm not sure I deserve. But we'll pull through whatever happens to any of us. While part of me is sad and worried another part ...

Ok the chores are done. Bills paid, groceries grocered, laundry done and all the other non fun stuff. Now it's no worries until Tuesday morning. Gonna spend the rest of the day at the deck bar with friends, got a steak in the fridge to grill out tonight and tomorrow the tee time is at 11:27 I'll be going back to my cardboard box under the overpass of teh innertubes starting tomorrow. Been a fun week here on teh island. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

... are the best thing in the world to have. Thank you Steve , Christina , PD , Ralph , Jen (especially) and all the rest of you for being mine. (this post brought to you, in part, by Absolut Vodka - but it's the truth, nonetheless)

The movie "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" doesn't get any better just because there is nothing fracking else on TV. Now you know!

I'm supposed to be moving in, what? Like 48 hours? And yet there's no point in packing anything. Repeatedly carrying things to the car till it's full and driving down to the apartment on the appointed day(s) makes more sense than putting stuff in big square boxes that won't fit in the back seat. And which I don't have anyway. The boxes, I mean. I don't even know for sure when it'll be, since my plans say "Monday" but my future landlady kind of needs to call me back and say when she'll be available for general contract-signing and deposit-paying and key-presenting before I can really be sure. So here I sit, making scones and reading Douglas Adams and letting the girls watch all the Muppet videos they want since I can neither think of, nor motivate myself to do, anything more productive than that. Which I guess makes a kind of sense, but you have to reeeeally want to see it. Rather in the same way that this probably makes sense, should one care t...

My Sister-the-PhD-Student, herein after called STPhDS, lives by herself in Southern Texas. She has very regular habits, some of which are talking to my parents regularly if not daily, obsessively keeping her voice mail cleared and being on the computer. So, earlier this week, we heard from her on Monday and then...nothing. No word at all. We called and her voice mail was full. We kept calling all Thursday and early Friday and we got nothing. We e-mailed and no response. We really started to get worried. My dad was planning a trip 4 hrs south to her house to go check on her which I described as moronic when they refused to call the police to do a courtesy check first. I guess they saw it my way and called the police. Seriously, what is white, middle-class privilege for if not to use when you have it? STPhD lives alone, as I said before, and is about 5'0" tall and 110# if she has rocks in her pocket. (To illustrate, she was THRILLED in 4th grade when she finally topped 50...

I was so fortunate to spend time with J and M tonight and their 2 daughters who I call my nieces even though we are not related by family ties. Katy, the 3 1/2 year old wanted to climb stairs and who am I to refuse her? She is at that great stage where you ask her something and when she answers you have no idea what she is saying so you go "Hmmm Really? That sounds great" and of course she then points at the stairs and she knows what YOU said so there is no backing out. And then little 4 month old Natalee. She was kinda squirming in Daddy's arms and for some strange reason I offered to hold her (well not a strange reason she is a beautiful and wonderful child) So I held her and she was a little sleepy but for the first time she put her little head on my shoulder and trusted me. And we walked around a little, I talked to her (sang to her when we were out of earshot of everyone else)and just had a great time. Yes there was a little drool on my shirt. Yes my arms were a...

Becca has given me the virus again! Here are the rules for the virus directly from good ole Splo-krakakow himself! "ere's what I would like to do. I want to create a story that branches out in a variety of different, unexpected ways. I don't know how realistic it is, but that's what I'm aiming for. Hopefully, at least one thread of the story can make a decent number of hops before it dies out. If you are one of the carriers of this story virus (i.e. you have been tagged and choose to contribute to it), you will have one responsibility, in addition to contributing your own piece of the story: you will have to tag at least one person that continues your story thread. So, say you tag five people. If four people decide to not participate, it's okay, as long as the fifth one does. And if all five participate, well that's five interesting threads the story spins off into. Not a requirement, but something your readers would appreciate: to help people ...

For some reason Father is driving Sister1 NUTS and I am the appointed relief valve (which I am glad to be) A little background is in order I guess. Dad turns 74 on June 4th. And we are lucky he is happy, healthy and doing ok. Sister1 retired this week (at the age of 52) after working for 28 years for the Texas State School System where she worked her way up to unit director. A little more background. The Texas State School System ain't really schools. It is a nice metaphor for mental hospital. The woman is a saint (and some people say growing up with me gave her great training for her line of work) So anyway Dad is getting older and has a lot of time to worry. Sister1 just wants to spend a month not worrying about anything until she figures out what her next step in life is. And here I am as non-partisan therapist. I don't mind the role it's just kinda new. When I was young I never really thought about me getting older or my siblings, or my parent(s). And now I'm ha...

So I get home from work tonight and the this was in the mail Once again I'll proudly be able to proclaim my Horned Frog Heritage. Now once I get my window sticker in the mail I'll be all set!

Amazing you type in Monty Python+Island you come up with a sketch even I had forgotten about!

THANK YOU BOB THANK YOU BFNADC THANK YOU BRAVE SIR ROBIN THANK YOU LINDA THANK YOU FREIDA BEE THANK YOU OUYANGDAN THANK YOU TEH PORTLY DYKE THANK YOU JEN THANK YOU MOTORCYCLE MAMA CHRISTINA And thank you to everyone else who stopped by and sent good thoughts. Sister2 talked with her oncologist today and he was not all ZOMG!11!!eleven10!1! Does this mean she is out of the woods? No but truth be told she never will be. She'll have a full battery of scans, MRI's and whatever else soon. But as my wise friend Christina said to me earlier tonight it means we have HOPE And you my glob friends contributed to that. If I had anything other than Gnat Piss Budweiser I'd raise my glass to you. Hell I am doing it anyway. Thank You so much Steve (cross posted at my other cardboard box )

Here's what I would like to do. I want to create a story that branches out in a variety of different, unexpected ways. I don't know how realistic it is, but that's what I'm aiming for. Hopefully, at least one thread of the story can make a decent number of hops before it dies out. If you are one of the carriers of this story virus (i.e. you have been tagged and choose to contribute to it), you will have one responsibility, in addition to contributing your own piece of the story: you will have to tag at least one person that continues your story thread. So, say you tag five people. If four people decide to not participate, it's okay, as long as the fifth one does. And if all five participate, well that's five interesting threads the story spins off into. Not a requirement, but something your readers would appreciate: to help people trace your own particular thread of the narrative, it will be helpful if you include links to the chapters preceding yours. -Splotchy...

One of the (many) perks of teh new car is it came with a free 3 month trial for Sirius Satellite Radio. I've never had a CD player in my car much less some fancy schmancy spy satellite broadcasting things into my receiver (unless you count that one time in college)so I signed up tonight and gonna give it a test drive. If I like I can cancel my subscription to the horrid Baltimore Sun newspaper (which I only get so I have an excuse to stay in bed late on the weekends anyway) and stay revenue even as the last thing I need with an upcoming car payment is yet another bill to pay. We'll see how it works out.

Here's the deal: Here's what I would like to do. I want to create a story that branches out in a variety of different, unexpected ways. I don't know how realistic it is, but that's what I'm aiming for. Hopefully, at least one thread of the story can make a decent number of hops before it dies out. If you are one of the carriers of this story virus (i.e. you have been tagged and choose to contribute to it), you will have one responsibility, in addition to contributing your own piece of the story: you will have to tag at least one person that continues your story thread. So, say you tag five people. If four people decide to not participate, it's okay, as long as the fifth one does. And if all five participate, well that's five interesting threads the story spins off into. Not a requirement, but something your readers would appreciate: to help people trace your own particular thread of the narrative, it will be helpful if you include links to the ch...

The most ambitious of my plans today is balancing my checkbook. Other than that if teh rain stays away I will probably hang at the deck bar this afternoon thinking about nothing and doing even less. Gonna hang out here this week. Somehow right now being on an island seems like a good idea. Hope everyone has a good Sunday.

I was going to write about my first trip to a *GASP* gay bar tonight and was unsure if I would be boring you yet again with that story (bottom line I was insulted, INSULTED I say, no one asked me to dance) Unsure if I had typed poorly about this before I started scanning all the posts here and went all the way back to the beginning. I wish I would have saved Jen and Bob's email explaining how I could possibly be posting on 2 blogs. There was Portly's first post. Christina's very valuable lessons in Bad Parenting. And even an occasional post by Dutch the Lucky Monkey. The Island is a great place to be. So glad Bob decided to create our little island hideaway. If you have some time I recommend scanning the older posts. It's a nice trip down memory lane and a great sign of things to come for all of us.

because when I wake up tomorrow it will be Mother's Day. And I won't go into a long drawn out diatribe but what I really want to say is this. Thank you to my friends here who have given me an outlet for talking about Ma, put up with me when I babbled drunkenly on about her and how much I miss her and most importantly have had my back when i've been emotionally not as strong as I should have been. Love You All Beasie

2:11 PM me : Hi, Buddy! The Boy : hi me : I got an e-mail from [The Boy's teacher]. 2:12 PM He says, "Tell him to feel better soon." 2:16 PM The Boy : i will talk to you later me : Why?!? Don't you want to talk to your mama? 2:17 PM The Boy : yes. me : Yes, what? 2:19 PM The Boy : yes i do. me : What is on the TV? 2:21 PM The Boy : jonny test. 2:22 PM me : Is it good? 2:23 PM The Boy : yes. me : What is next? 2:27 PM The Boy : i am playng a game. 2:28 PM me : What game? 2:31 PM The Boy : a ninja game. 2:32 PM me : Cool! Are you winning? 12 minutes 2:45 PM The Boy : can you stop texing me. me : Yes. 2:49 PM The Boy : thak you.

Yes THIS is where the magic takes place every night. Impressive aint it? Still wondering how I could afford TWO TV trays but I sacrifice for the innertubes. I really do

I think I have mentioned before (and yes a real blogger would insert a link here)that growing up in the stone age before I-Pods, HDTV, cars that were rolling entertainment centers and if you wanted to change the channel in the teevee you got up off your ass and turned a /wait for it/......a DIAL ZOMG And in this prehistoric time we rotated grilling out on the weekends at each other's houses. And this "grilled" into me (man I make myself laugh sometimes)that when you had a place to call home it wasn't home until you had a real grill. AND knew how to cook on it. Lots of years and state and city regulations later after my first grill (long story involving Jessica, Houston and all that that I don't feel like getting into) when I bought my cardboard box that I now own the first thing I bought was a grill. And then ignored it. Something has changed lately. I'm getting back to cooking out. Just a burger or hot dog or some chicken. Nothing much. But maybe it is a s...

Monday: Shirt and pants, no shoes, hair and teeth a mess, no breakfast. Tuesday: Shirt pants, shoes and socks, hair and teeth a mess, no breakfast. Wednesday: Completely dressed, breakfast eaten, teeth brushed, hair looking like Jen's bird nest . Thursday: Completely dressed, cleaned up, no breakfast. Friday: Completely dressed, cleaned up and breakfast eaten. Mom running late. /sigh/

The Girl had a parade to be in today for Cinco de Mayo, so she had the Probe. She drove it to the high school and parked it in the band parking lot. Remember, she was at the high school. This will be important later. We had to turn in the rental today. When she was done at the parade, she had to come and pick us up. So the following conversation took place. Me: Girl, come pick us up at Enterprise Rentals. It's at GP Ford. Girl: I don't know where it is. Me: Okay, you take High School Dr. to Beltline and take a left. You got that? You know where Beltline is? Girl: I think so. But...I'm still trying to figure out where High School Dr. is. I literally took the phone from my ear and stared at it for a minute, trying to figure out where I had gone wrong.

ZOMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!eleven!QWSW@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

That is all

The Boy refuses to get ready in the morning. All he has to do is brush his hair and teeth, eat a bowl of cereal and get dressed. I wake him at 6:30AM to do these things. I need to leave at 7:30AM to be on time for work. Well, he's made me late every.single.day. I haven't been able to get to work before 8:10AM in I don't know how long. Sometimes, I've been as late as 9AM. Yesterday, I broke. I'd had it. I had been yelling and fussing at the child all morning until my throat was hoarse and I didn't get to work until 8:30AM. That was the limit, y'all. The Limit. I went home last night and told him that we would be leaving from now on at 7:30AM and he would go to school in whatever state he happened to be in--pajamas, half-dressed, I didn't care. He didn't think I was serious. This morning, I got him up at 6:30AM, as usual. I reminded him of the new rule. Then, I got ready. I did not holler, fuss or fight with the child. At 7:30AM, I put ...

Three nights in a row I've actually come home and made dinner Granted not three course meals but also not "Look POP-TARTS" or not eating and waking up at 3 looking for Frito Corn Chips. I'm worried

I caught myself typing the following sentence, without irony : I’ve written your CPT letter and left it for Dr. D's signature. However, when I was looking at your GMAP, I noticed that your TPC section GPA is less than 3.3. Were you aware of this issue? I have been a freaking bureaucrat for too long! Happy Secretaries Day to me and all the other folks out there who do this thankless work that turns a person into an acronym-spouting PITA to the rest of the world.

I love you guys and Gals! That is all :)

I get talked into these things

Pat fucking Buchanon calling Barry X condescending and elitist is just to full of irony. Mr Pat and his non americuhn made car telling the folks of small towns how they feel. I must say so far I haven't been happy with the new Dan Abrams Show verdict on MSNBC but he hit this one out o the park basically saying "Ah guys media created controversy here. There's no there there" And I couldn't agree more.

Something about this song appeals to me. I'm not exactly sure what, though. ;) (h/t to Angelos )