Hey...

I don't know these people. But they are pretty clever, make funny faces at each other, and can carry a tune...



I'm going to hum this all the way to Election Day.

Link via my friend Aaron.

Pouty

Day two of our Ashland trip is in the books. It was very rainy so I didn't get many pictures today. I did get a nice shot of Stinky and his new friends though:

We got to go to a special dinner with some of the actors and staff of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Stinky was seated next to Christopher Rivera and they hit it off pretty well. Actually they spent most of dinner talking about "Family Guy". Boys are weird.

Since he had a play to go to (he is "Demetrius" in Midsummer Night's Dream), Chris had to leave dinner early but stayed long enough for me to snap a few photos of him with Stinky and another actor, Eddie Lopez (who played "Cobweb"). He also posed with my mom:


But... how was Midsummer? VERY good! Extremely good! Visually it was outstanding, and the interpretation was SO much fun. But not for the faint of heart. Some people told us ahead of time it was the "Rocky Horror" of OSF. Have you ever been to a play where some of the audience members dress up like their favorite characters? There were fairy wings and donkey ears on more than just stage. That's not enough? The fairies were all played by guys. And they were fairies. Geddit? Even if you don't like Shakespeare, you might like this play. And if you like Shakespeare, you might love this play. I had a BLAST. And Stinky found it amusing too.

Advice

A friend sent this to me, and I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives.

By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr. Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished."

So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how good I feel.

Handy

Boo was excited on Monday when I picked her up after school. I could tell through the car window that she had something to tell me. And from her expression, I figured it was good.

"What's up?" I said as she hopped in, stashed her backpack, and leaned over the center console to give me a quick hug. (Yeah, one kid isn't too cool to hug me in public. At least, for the moment...)

"Mama, I got a helping hand!" She giggled, and bounced a little. "Want to see it?"

"Sure!" I thought, could it be a certificate or Tornado Ticket for helping around class? Whatever it was, she was sure happy about it.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out...

A little rubber hand
It is about an inch tall, and made of some rubbery stretchy material. When Boo saw my expression she giggled harder - and then the peals of laughter started bubbling out. I couldn't help but start to giggle too, as she waved "Helping Hand" at me. It was absurd... and silly... and just plain weird. She reached out to shake my hand, but with her own hand tucked into her sleeve and "Helping Hand" peeking out. Later that night she figured out a tough homework problem and answered my call for a high five with (you guessed it) a high five from "Helping Hand".

"Helping Hand" has gone everywhere with Boo for the last few days. She's a pretty smart kid... figuring everyone needs a little helping hand every once in a while!

Warning

Here's another reason why you shouldn't surf for free on your neighbor's Internet connection:



But wait! There's more... check out part two!

Sanitized

If you haven't seen this one yet, they you probably aren't reading this blog because you don't have a computer!



We just call ours "Stinky". And no, I don't know anyone that's ever attempted an SQL injection attack. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Comical

Today I saw something that made me chuckle.

I was driving through town and when I stopped at a red light a car pulled up next to me. In the window was a big sticker that said, "Hang up and drive". Guess what? The driver was yakking away on her cell phone.

But it gets better. There was a flag ornament on her radio antenna, and another dangling from the rear view mirror. She pulled ahead of me and I saw another flag in the back window. And there were stickers all over the rear bumper proclaiming that she was a "Proud American" and the like.

And then... one bumper sticker that said "Thank God for Wal-Mart". You know, that place where you can buy all things made in China.

People are funny critters.

Sweeeeeeet

Surprise

No, the kids still don't know. We decided to see how long it takes them to figure it out. We have refused to confirm or deny any/all guesses as to our destination.

I am revelling in my kids' distress. It's been fun to mess with them a little. Witness the conversation between Boo and me, after we got in the car yesterday.

Boo: Mama, please tell me where we are going!
Me: No, it's a surprise.
Boo: I promise not to tell Scott or the other kids.
Me: No, it's a surprise.
Boo: Will you tell me the first letter of where we are going?
Me: OK, the first letter is "S".
Boo: "S"... what starts with "S"?
Me: "Surprise"
Boo: MOM! I'm being serious!
Me: So am I.
Boo: So... where we are going really starts with "S"?
Me: Yes, Boo. "Surprise" really starts with "S".

We gave them their packing lists last night. Threw in all kinds of random items just to throw them off. For instance, the big kids are using their backpacks. (I got them for camp this year, as there was a screaming sale and they LOVE them.) I let it drop that they would have to carry them a long ways, so now JJ is convinced we are going backpacking.

That's right... they don't even know we will be going on a plane. Not sure how we are going to explain why they need to put their toothpaste and deodorant in baggies, but I am sure we can come up with something. Or, we'll just let it be part of the mystery.

I will be keeping my camera at the ready, hoping to capture that moment when they all realize what's happening.

Froggy

One of the things that the kids brought back from camp was "The Froggy Song". Actually it's not so much a song, as a chant. And now it's stuck in my head.

My froggy is purple
Your froggy is YUCKY GREEN!
My froggy is purple
Your froggy is SICK! HAH!

My froggy eats oatmeal
Your froggy eats CORNMEAL MUSH!
My froggy eats oatmeal
Your froggy is SICK! HAH!

You get the idea, right?

The kids sang some new verses that I don't remember from my days of playin' in the woods.

Any suggestions for a new annoying song to get stuck in my head? Or any cool Froggy comparisons I might not have heard yet, just to mix things up a bit?

(Help!)

Oregonian

Take that, Jake! :)

You are 100% Oregon

Congratulations! You are a native Oregonian. Pick up your honorary singing salmon plaque at City Hall.

How Oregon are you?
Quizzes for MySpace

Slurpee

Don't forget that tomorrow is 7-11 ... aka Free Slurpee® Day*!



Here's the scoop. Usually the 7-Eleven stores have special "Free Slurpee®" cups that are 7.11 ounces. The regular size Slurpee's® are not free.

For your convenience... here is a map of the six Central Oregon 7-Eleven locations. I don't know if all of them will offer free Slurpees. Last year I got my free Slurpee® at the Galveston location.

I wonder if the special Kwik-E-Mart themed location will be giving away free Squishees instead?

*Not guaranteed! If you don't get a free Slurpee® don't expect me to buy yours or compensate you in any way. Let me know if a location isn't giving away free Slurpee's® and I will remove them from the map.

Tater'd

Just in time for Mother's Day... check out Tater Mitts!

What a great Sunday night chuckle... I wonder if they really work?

Particle

Today is another Woot-Off so I am keeping an eye on email and the site in general... just in case.

So far? This caught my eye. No, not the product itself... look at the product description.

It's... "Particle Man" by They Might Be Giants (a relic of my high school years... yes I was - and still am - one of the nerdy kids).

For those unfamiliar with the original song, check out the spoof/video from another relic of my teenager-hood... Tiny Toon Adventures. (I miss that show!)

Cats

For some reason this made me laugh so hard I cried.

Who knew cats were so darn funny?

Twitter

Have you tried Twitter yet? It's like IM, only cooler and less invasive.

Little known fact... if you break Twitter you get a kitten! (Not literally, but the picture is darn cute...)

Useless

Reserve your useless account name now!

http://uselessaccount.com/

Any questions? Be sure to check FAQ item #4!

Super

What a pathetic Superbowl. I didn't watch the game itself, but tuned in for the commercials and halftime. Super? Maybe... a "super" waste of time!

This spot, starring the ex-Mr-Spears, was the only commercial I found particularly clever:



Oh well. There's always next year!

Reservations

Recently the Travel Channel was added to our basic cable lineup. I watch off and on, but mostly record the shows I really want to watch, as they never seem to be on at the "right" time. (I loooove Tivo!) I like the shows about warm, beachy places. Hawaii, Mexico... anything to make me forget that I am in cold, snowy Oregon... if only for a few minutes!

But I also record the shows about Oregon. I think it's really interesting to see how Oregon is portrayed nationally, especially for tourism purposes. I like seeing which local businesses are highlighted, and whether I agree with the attractions that are recommended.

Enter Anthony Bourdain

On Monday his show, "No Reservations" covered the Pacific Northwest. Of course, that means Portland and Seattle! In Portland, he visited Voodoo Doughnut, Apizza Scholls, and the Heathman Hotel. He was accompanied by author (and Portland native) Chuck Palahniuk (read: Fight Club, Invisible Monsters). They had a lively discussion about why Portland is such a... er... "diverse" town.

Apizza Scholls is open from 5pm "until they run out of dough". The chef is a pizza purist of sorts. He is referred to as a "pizza nazi" and has all these rules about how you can have your pizza, and will make you leave if you disagree with him. Hmm.

Next time you are in Portland and you have the munchies, visit Voodoo Doughnut (as long as it isn't between 11am and 1pm - that's when they are closed). They offer bacon maple bars, voodoo doll doughnuts (with red jelly filling), and doughnuts with cocoa pebbles and peanut butter... just to name a few. One of their previous menu items was a Pepto-Bismol dooughnut but they had to pull it because, according to the FDA, "you can't put medicine in food."

Later he went camping at Lost Lake with Philippe Boulot, Executive Chef of the Heathman Restaurant. Can you imagine camping with a professional chef? I love to cook and we eat very well when camping... but their food looked amazing. I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time, as I did while watching Anthony Bourdain trying to put up his tent. "Nature sucks!" he exclaimed while chopping wood and getting tangled in tent stakes. He mused that the name of the lake perhaps referred to the fact that he might never see civilization again, and that they must be in "Sasquatch Country". LOL... maybe he will come to Bend for the Bigfoot Expedition!

Overall he gave an interesting, different perspective on Portland. Now I'm hungry... for a slice of pizza with no more than 3 toppings (only one of which can be meat) and a Froot Loop doughnut for dessert!

Stuck

Last night I called Divot for dinner. I could hear her claws on the the hardwood floor, so I knew she was somewhere in the kitchen/dining room area. I looked under the table, in the cupboards, and around corners... when I saw a little tail poking out from under our china cabinet.

She was stuck!

So... I did what every good doggy mom does, and took pictures.




She is growing soooo fast... she is about 9 weeks old and weighs about 20 pounds. It appears she still thinks she is tiny, and constantly bumps her head-haunches-hips on whatever she tries to walk under.