I win!

Sorry, that title was meant for an extremely limited population of the readership/in code but for those three or four of you who do understand it -- you know I RULE! K. sorry. where were we... ah yes. HAPPY THANKSGIVING past!

I am Thankful for:

1) my kids. they rule. i would not be one tenth as happy on this planet without them.
2) my girlfriend. Thank you for saving me from a life of self-inflicted me-centeredness. I thank you. My children thank you. Hell, even the puppy is sort of delighted you've arrived.
3) my friends. Bees, BBQ, Miss Tail, Mistah-LL/K -- without you people to keep me honest/sane there would be no me. there would only be a shivering mass of gelatinous crazy-minded silliness. PLEASE do NOT EVER leave me to my own devices. EVER.
4) my family. Who has the best brothers ever???? That's gonna be me. The mom and pops ain't so bad either. At least the combined genepool rocks. ;-)
5) my stuff. Loving the new house, delighted with the books, the piles of crap/treasures, the cars and ultimately the wherewithal to be able to continue adding to the collection without having to choose between the newest Lovett CD and more noodles.
6) my health -- such as it is. Sure I'm always sort of almost about to get sick but here's to the sheer number of times the actual full-blown illness hasn't actually come to pass [knock on wood.]
7) the extraordinary diligence by the angels in charge of looking out for me and mine. Great job, Guys. You are collectively doing one hell of a job and i, for one, am endlessly grateful for the attention.

Oh my freaking God!

{sigh}I. am. exhausted.
I mean,i feel wierd saying that because I'm so completely getting every single thing i want in life but sheesh. Life is work sometimes, knawattamean???

So, the new house continues to be fab. We were there twice today first in the morning to supervise the gas hook-up so i could have hot water/dry a batch of clothes (Did i mention the on-site clothes washer/clothes dryer???? Heaven...) then we took a little walk to one of sweetest parks I've seen in Oakland (b-ball court, tennis courts,afterschool science enrichment club free for for kids 6+, play structure, grassy knoll...) and by little i mean only 4 blocks away! Lunch and massive interior paint ordering happened after that then home for a minute to drop off newly dried clothing, back to pick up newly mixed paint then off to ice skate. We swung by the house one last time to drop off the paint (the sh** is waaaaay to expensive to leave in my truck! Damn low VOCs....) and to have another look at the hood at night and well, gosh, I'm just really liking that place. Plus the back yard is filled with dry yellow leaves that me, the kids and the rockstar who was staying over had a freaking FIELD DAY scampering through!

so, all in all gotta say, sucks that I'm tired/the things i still have to figure out are taking so much figuring out but seriously, me = NOT really complainin'!

Yippee!

We got the house we were looking at over on 41st! Yay. So, much space so little time! k. so i won't ask you all to come help paint but i may be hitting you up for any available paint supplies/ladders/kidcare.... Just remember, you luuuuuvvvvvv meeeeee ;-)

Moving on up!

So, here's this snapshot from the DB who went to the Mavericks/Warriors game last night with his little skate crew and got all posh in the Owner's box....



Food. Drinks. In-suite masseuse (Ha, kidding about that last one! But still...) -- Oh, and I think the Mavericks won, if anyone cares. :-)

broad strokes

Me: [to the Big Girl who has just finished gleefully singing an incredibly violent song about a hawk dismembering a snake] um....
Boo: Hmmm?
Me: So, is that what you're learning in school? About hawks ripping out snake intestines?
Boo: No, silly, BBB (Best Buddy Becky) taught me that!
Me: Ah!
Boo: She also taught me about "broad strokes"
Me: Broad strokes?
Boo: yeah, like how sometimes things are big and clear
Boo: and sometimes they're little and take alot of looking
Me: Really?? BBB taught you that?
Boo: Well, I already knew it but she thinks she taught me so i let her think that.
Me: Ah....
Me: I love you.
Boo: i know.

I LOVE Krafty Kitten (aka The RockStar's Parent)

and not just because she made a Spark Adventure movie!

Smart!

K. so whose 4.5 year old wrote her Mommy's name on a peice of paper on the way to school today? Mine that's who! Oh, sure the letters weren't exactly in order -- i believe we ended with C-N-Y-T-I-A-H but you know what???? Who cares?! Plus she wrote her own name as well in order with all the letters facing the right way (which, considering the "S" as well as the multiple vowels involved, is also pretty huge!) My Spark just rocks so hard.

First let me just say...

HELLO end of Daylight Savings Time -- How much do I love thee?? Let me count the ways!!!!!!

God! i feel like i've been let out of some sort of time-prison... o.k. sorry. I'm just really, really happy things are back to normal with the time thing/I don't have to move to Arizona. Seriously, it's not even like farmers are farming anymore what with all the government subsidies. One would think we could just stop the DST madness already. (i think i may need to write a letter....)

k. So. had a great week-end! Got to see the Girl for extended playtime on Sat. eve/Sunday morn which was really nice PLUS got the bonus hang-out with the BBQ and her trusty Gal-Pal, J. Really. I need to figure out how to make more BBQ hang-age a reality. That girl = quality!

Then, on Sunday proper, me and the babies went ice skating! Fun! (at least until the little one started with the squalling. I'm chalking it up to lack o' sleep, pushed nap-time, hunger issues but I'm also getting a little concerned/prolly gonna look into advanced assessments pretty soon. Not that she's not PERFECT but i just really need to know if there's something i'm missing/should be doing here becasue she is really not happy once the screamy-ness starts. Notwithstanding all of that, she was actually going really good the first few times around the rink. Balanced and everything.) We're planning on making it a regular Sundee things (minus the yelling, i hope) so if anyone wants to come along, yer more than welcome...

And finally, capped the evening off with a late-night/early morning visit from the DB who, almost in spite of myself, I actually may have missed (a tiny, little miniscule amount) so... while i'm not thrilled with the timing of the call, (seriously, Dude, could you at least shoot for something a little bit closer to when normal people are awake??!) i guess i do have to say I'm glad you're back on this continent. Oh and really liking the bike. See! Isn't it fun to have a real job so you can buy new stuff/explore new ways to try to kill yourself? ;-]

Is it too much to ask for a little "fate" to step in???

Gosh. I have got a LOT going on right now. Or potentially going on i guess. I don't want to list everything because I'm afraid of jinxing it but suffice to say pretty much every area in my life is ripe for major shaking up and yet (and still) no one is calling me back! k. sorry. Just needed to put that out there.

in other news, Hallows-een was FAB! I don't think i've seen cuter kids and that was just the batch that were with us! I especially like how the adult to child ratio seems to be holding at appx. 2 grown-ups per... what is it about having adorable little people that makes us adults want to hang around them so much. I mean, sure i get that there's prolly some evolutionary component to it but still! K. next time we're going to need the Bee children along to try to even this out a bit. Seriously. It's ridiculous.

Alrighty, because I am proving too lazy to write/call individual people, here are some public notes:

Craft-Kitten (aka Rockstar's parental unit) - if you find a random clarinet atthe house it's ours. I'm a loser/forgot it the other night. I'll call you to arrange pick-up. Thanks!

Bees - thank you soooo much for watching the Little-little one whilst me and the Chick-friend are getting our going out on! (I love you more than any other couple on the planet! Really...)

DB - Sorry, going with you guys to see Warriors vs. Dallas sounds GREAT but 1) I already have plans that night and 2) I'm not really interested in watching a bunch of padded men trying to hurl things through a goalpost or past a goalie or wahtever.... (yes, I know it's basketball. Still couldn't care less.) Thanks anyway!

BBQ - What're you doing tomorrow night? Call me!

Abby-tail - you. are. hilarious. And yes, you should stop it.

K. I guess that's it. kisses to you all. much love. peace out!

Can I still be a feminist...?

if presents from my girlfriend that come in flat, pink boxes inspire me do a MAJOR happy dance around my kitchen??

the p in perfection

My baby girl is great. Sure she kept me up ALL night being mumbly/upset (she had pretty good reasons -- hurt her big toe, congested, kept thinking about the "big man in the green head" we saw on our way to get some quality -- albeit a little sketchy what with the random automatons everywhere! -- burgers and fries) but still and all there is NOTHING so adorable as a sleepy-deepy girl who, in being moved from the bed where she has finally, FINALLY fallen asleep to the the couch where she will be propped up and dressed prior to sallying forth into the new day, quietly inquires about her new basketball to the tune of "[tiny voice] Mommy, I tired. I'm too tired. can i have my ball?"

Dyin' I tell you!

Week-end = grand. Got to see a great deal of the QBGF who ... is ... perfect and who i like just so very much! What, you may be thinking to yourself could possibly be so perfect about this person (although anyone of you who actually knows will prolly instead be thinking "What is it about Chick that is keeping this person interested!" No worries. it's actually the kids who are keeping her around. Me, I'm just along for the ride!) well! to begin, she got the girls basketballs. Basketballs. Really nice ones. and then commenced to playing basketball with them. Seriously. add to that the brownies produced from scratch that her and the Big girl collaborated on and you've got the "P" in "Perfection' my friends! Really, just unbelievably sweet. (the GF although the brownies were great too!)

Then also got fifteen thousand loads of laundry done as well as part of house tidied so i sort of have to say, this really was a very lovely and productive week-end! Hope everyone else's was swell as well. I'm missing everyone BTW so expect actual "check-in" phone calls starting... right... now!

Ovulating...

I'm ovulating. I know this because...

1) My breasts are HUGE
2) I was "spinning" yesterday and now am having "ye olde 'bloodie' showe"
3) I have a new, sudden work-crush on one of the boy designers here which only manifested itself upon his recounting the various ways in which his body became disfigured/crushed/bruised & broken during his "last cage match" --- mmmmm lithe manly men grappling to the death for... um. well, for something. maybe a prize or a trophy or something. Ah, who cares. They're locked in a tiny space trying to kill each other in an enormously testosterone-enabled way and that's just HOT! (at least it is right this second. I'm sure i'll go back to being appalled/mystified once this egg-enrichment opportunity has passed. Note to GF: remember, I like you *regardless* of where i am in my cycle! Sweetie....?)

so, anyway... this is interesting to me because I am old. I am old and i have old eggs. I have, therefore no idea what my body is thinking. i mean, sure maybe i'm not ready for standard menopause yet but still.... one would think there'd be some sort of slow-down in the biological clock -- or maybe not. Maybe it's just the quality of your eggs that's iffy not so much the monthly response to the progesterone bomb....

---

in other news, going out on a Dinner-and-a-Book date with the QBGF and the childrens. I am beside myself delighted with the prospect of getting to see her so soon and with both of the kids and being all out-and-about at night so... me = happy right now.

---

let's see... what else. Work has calmed down a huge amount in the over-all sucking department. Once it got to "seriously crazy" levels, I went to have a chat with HR and they (sensing, I think the "potential lawsuit aspect of the sitch) moved very quickly to get me "out of the line of fire" as it were so that's nice. I also got a nice little bonus with this latest code release (not sure why exactly as I am a PM and everyone knows PMs do nothing!) but whatev. Not gonna look a gift check in the mouth!

---

Um... hmmm. Puppy = good. Super smart. learning lots fast. Children are grand. growing like freaking weeds but i feel like I'm doing a little better with all of that... Bee family back (FINALLY) from their extended time-away-from-me-to-attend-some-random-sibling's-wedding so that's a load off....

All in all, i'd have to say things look smashing! Looking forward to the Halloween festivities and, I guess, toward the end of this mostly wonderful but sometimes awfully taxing month!

Is it just me...?

or is it a little disconcerting to have your hamburger proclaim "100% beef!" on the wrapper like it's a selling point! I mean, really, if there wasn't a potential "marketing boost" associated with that fact what else would they be putting in there...?

k. so, last night thanks to the generosity of Uber-Craft-Mom-Event-Planning-Angel (again with the needing to come up with a better blog-a-nym for that lady) we (me, the Boo, the Spark and the QBGF) were treated to the sheer genius that is Disney's High School Musical on ICE! Pretty cool i have to say but then again I grew up fantasizing about someday hitting the road with the Ice Follies so... Peggy Flemming and Mr. Debonaire??? Anyone?? Of course, the little one was captivated. Of course, now i have to find ice skating clases for 5 year olds.... I have a secret suspicion the QBGF was equally taken by the magic of the frozen world. She, however, is on her own in arranging the rise to the top in the cutthroat world that is the Ice Capades!

"You know, some people use rings to say all of that...."

Me:[feeling snuggly and warm and possesive as hell!] you know what? i don't want anyone else in the world to think they stand a chance with you. i want everyone to know you're mine. i want you to get "Chick's!" tattooed on your forehead or embroidered onto a jacket that you wear ALL the time or laminated onto your bike or car or binder or something just so it's clear to anyone who crosses your path that you are taken!

QBGF: You know, some people use rings to say all of that.

Me: ...

QBGF:[smiling] Just saying.

I am soooooo in love with my Girlfriend. Completely, stupidly and scarily and NOT just because of the awesome sex! (well.... o.k. it's possible that that particular interaction is tinting my outlook but, seriously.... the boot-knocking could be HALF as good and I'd still be crazy stupid about that girl!)

Alrighty. Glad to have gotten that out of my system. Where were we? Ah, yes, work is wierd. I'm trying to "transition" out of my current position into a less stupid one but it's a little tricky because 1) part of the reason i want to switch over is so i dont' have to deal with the crazy owner of the company BUT the new position is one he's suddenly interested in "working very closely with" so... not sure if that's actually going to solve anything. and 2) I'm still trying to get the h-e-double hockey sticks out of here altogether so part of me wonders why bother switching .... i mean, i'm still gonna try because the work is actually more fun in the other position but... i wish i was away completely is all.

Salud! to Travelin' Man who has officially left for the other side of the planet where he will remain up to his neck in snow for then next year or so. Good luck, god speed and good riddance! Please drop a note every now and again so i know the polar bears haven't gotten you. (Doubt if there are PB's in that part of the world but whatever. Me=ignorant American and proud of it, dammit!)

Speaking of world travelers, also got a call from DB who is learning all that the Japanese street kids can teach him vis a vis using a skateboard to attack things. It is my understanding that thier little Tokyo sojourn ends on the 27th so looking forward to having him back on this continent (strangely, I might add. Who'd a thunk the mere act of getting a job/getting the hell away from me for a minute would help me realize how quality a friend our little DB can be...??? I know. i'm just as surprised by it all as anyone. We'll see how quickly we shift back to mutual loathing once he's back on our friendly shores!)

hmmmm. I think that's it really. life is generally good. the kids are doing well. Puppy is a superstar and is doing well with overall training.... K. that's it for now then. More later when i'm a little more inspired.

Ah, rain...

What is it about rainy days that make me want to stay in bed (preferably with the QBGF but as that's a more recent occurrence, since she, you know, didn't like me last rainy season! -- mostly it's more about the reliable comfort of the multiple cat/thick comforter/country on the radio thing...)

K. so obviously I'm not in bed. i'm here at work. I'm actually here later than usual because we (the kids and i) had dentist appointments this morning. Appointments which, I have to say, the children handled swimmingly! (the little one had a smallish freak-out early on in the visit but whatever. She's getting MUCH better about having her teeth picked at AND no cavities! Yay!)

As i do not particularly want to be here I am interspersing intense bouts of working with checking out my favorite distraction sites e.g.



and marking time until i am free free free to go hang with the Bees for some quality pizza/cake...

"Japan: both more rinkydink and more awesome than I expected..."

Not sure why that particular quote from a Dear-Friend-who-has-suddenly-found-himself-relocated-along-with-his-new-team-to-the-other-side-of-the-world's e-mail message struck me as so gosh darn appropriate/hilarious but it did for some reason.

I also like this one from Aldous Huxley: "It is a little embarrassing that, after 45 years of research and study, the best advice I can give to people is to be a little kinder to each other."

K. so. The GF apparently has time on her hands (what with her non-working vehicle/stranded at home sitch) so she has called me to the carpet re: my not-updating-of-the-blog nature. I considered being annoyed but then i remembered how hot it is to have her get all bossy with me so... compliance thou art my middle name!

Oh! Speaking of funny words like "art" and "quoth" -- anyone who's up for trying to go to the Ren Faire on Sat. Oct 13, give me a shoutout ASAP. I promised the Big Girl we'd go have a looksee and i think it'd be fun to take a whole troop o' folks along. Tickets are a little pricey (25.00/adult) but kids under 5 are free...

k. so let's see.... what else is going on...? Work, still eh-eh. Still "actively looking" as they say but nothing overtly annoying has happened this week so far. ;-] This past week-end was GRAND with the Major Boo B-day blow-out celebration for which i have simply got to thank the fabulous Mistah Lovah-Lovah for being so sweet about supplying the pizzas and the uber Amazing Ex-GV-event-planning-Chick (aka The RockStar's Parental Unit Numero Uno -- gosh. I have got to find that girl a new blog-a-nym!) who pretty much provided everything else! I love you all who came. i missed all of you who couldn't. Kisses abound for the wonderfulness that is the "Village" currently helping my children get to advanced ages like 10 etc. -- Without you all, I am nothing....! (Word.)

The Boo got -- amoung other fantabulous gifties -- a tortoise! Which is just delightful and who lives at the SF house of the other Mommy thus adding to my wholehearted approval of it as a pet choice!

Hmmmmm...... is that really all i can think of? Honestly, it's not through lack of stuff going on, it's more that my brain is a little fuzzy due to rampant cold-age so... the recall is not the best. Anyhoo.... I think i'm gonna leave it at that for now. I'll write more later when the Spring Thaw begins!

Happy Birthday, BABY!!!!!

My Baby Big Girl = 10 years old today. I'm not sure how this happened but GOD i am soooooo thankful that it did!

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Bee!

I'm not even gonna try to list all the ways in which your continued existence makes me happy/comforted/smarter... suffice to say, you are the wind beneath my wings!

Happy Anniversary to you and the hubby as well. You guys just plain rock separately and together and I am thrilled to have access to you both on an on-going basis! mwah! mwah! mwah!

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Alrighty then, in other news, how cute were the cupcakes orchestrated by me, my kid and my QBGF???? Um, VERY! 40 sugary little ladybugs complete with googly eyes and antennae created especially to be consumed today by the big girl's class in celebration of her B-day which is tomorrow!!!! Seriously. you have seen nothing until you've seen a crowd of ladybug cupcakes peering out at you from the furthest reaches of the refrigerator! {sigh} it really just doesn't get any better....

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and lastly, quick note to mark the two cool events of the week-end -- that being the B-day celebration of the RockStar (Happy 9th b-Day, Chicka! hope your year is splendid!) and the trip to Santa Cruz with the Bee kids, Travelin' man and Mr. Bee himself. Dee-lightful! Just really absolutely splendid. the kind of week-end that makes coming back to work (even if you like your job) probably the worst/annoying thing a person could ever have to do. And yet... here i am... ;-]

Ass-whooping by 5th grade math problems,take one!

Jesus H. Chris on a shingle! I just spent 45 minutes on the internet trying to figure out wtf GCD and LCM were so I could help Boo with her homework. I actually thought I had figured out the LCM part pretty well but then her last homework question completely stumped me. Seriously. It's 5th grade math! She's not even half done with school and i am of no further use to her (not like i ever really was but this latest just throws the obviousness of that fact into stark relief.) God. Me=useless.

Anyways.... At least the world at large is still pretty nice. I was trying to fix this thing on my car and this VERY nice kid/young gentleman who had been watching the whole spectacle with a VERY concerned look on his face totally offered (in a really nice, un-macho -- well, kind of macho but not condescending!) to help me "tighten my bolt or whatever..." Sweet! And adorable too. See,this is one of the many reasons why I cannot teach High School. I just love that whole High School Senior/just starting college age waaaaaayyyyyy too much. I mean, I'm pretty sure I could stay away from anything horrifically inappropriate (and clearly stated to be illegal) but honestly, I'd be hard-pressed to understand why i can't just invite the whole damn lot of them over for beer and movies. (Yup. I'd be THAT teacher. The one who's a little too close to the students for parental comfort but who hasn't actually sparked any scandals. Yet.) Also sweet, while this nice young person was helping me with my nut (tee hee) my other neighbors were also hanging about with worried faces wondering if I was o.k. and offering up the services of their "brother who's a mechanic..." Sweet, i say sweet!!!!! alrighty, gotta go cause the world's mos perfect GF has just arrived but more tomorrow on the delightfulness of re-visiting a well-stocked storage unit!

Like an old leaf... hanging on a branch, in a storm!

this was how a co-worker described being here at work right now. She's Russian which, I think accounts for the poetic flavorings but still. Pretty dead on if you ask me.

in other news, I have a HUGE crush. on a logo. This logo:



Every day i drive past it on Highway 92 and i get a little shiver because it's just so damn sexy! Actually, the picture doesn't really do it justice. the actual sign on the factory that i love so much is sort of more old-school, slightly slanted and really tall/strong/masculine... {sigh} it's dreamy.....

k. sorry. nuff about that. (i was just considering my drive home and got all happy that I get to see it soon.... I know, i need sleep)

More importantly to report: I saw 2/3s of the Texans for lunch today which was grand! they are really very sweet boys and one of them (the pretty one) is about to get married!!!!! According to the most recent news brief, my darling Angel and his Cowboy will be flying to the nearest (prolly east coast) state where they can get official docs after which they will be returning to Tex-ass where they will host a "fuller" gathering of friends/family! All of this is scheduled to occur within the next six months and I, for one, could not be more pleased!!!! All the best to you and yours, Sweet, you deserve each other!