Friday, February 27, 2009

Pods Vs. U-Haul

So, our house sold and we were supposed to be renting/buying from friends. We just had a month or two between our closing and then we could move in.

MM was supposed to be working, so we decided a Pod was the way to go - we can keep it for a while, load at our leisure, and have it delivered to the new place to unload at our leisure. It was a tad expensive, but not much more than a U-Haul and storage for a few months. Plus we wouldn't have to load a truck, unload it into storage, and then reverse the whole process and do it again. What could go wrong?

We get the Pod, we begin loading it, and our rental/purchase falls through. OK, we'll figure something else out, no big deal. Then, MM gets laid off. We decide we'll head back to AZ. Again, no problem - they can deliver the Pod there instead of here.

I called today to make those arrangements. Our original local delivery price? $86. Our new long distance delivery price? $2,353. Yowza!

So it looks like we'll be going with the load the truck, unload into storage, reverse, repeat option instead. More of a hassle, but so much cheaper. Even with the money wasted renting a Pod for a month.*

The only problem with the U-Haul is that we can't tow MM's truck with it. It apparently weighs too much. Looks like we'll be leaving it here and selling it, and buying him something else in Phoenix.

Now the last time we moved, we went to south Texas, had to evacuate for Rita, and ended up deciding to move to West Texas instead. 700 miles from where we originally intended. We moved all our stuff from Arizona to storage near Houston, to an apartment out here, and then to a house nearby - all in a four month period. Most of which occurred over the summer. In Arizona. And Houston. You'll understand why still I feel like we're still doing pretty well so far....

*I think I should get credit for Pod advertising or something. It was in my driveway for a month, all the neighbors saw it. That should count for something, right? Right??

Thursday, February 26, 2009

It Just Keeps Getting Better

We're getting geared up for the move back to Phoenix. Places to stay are being arranged, new homes being looked at, job websites being perused.

The home inspection and appraisal have been done. All that's left is the rest of the packing, and for MM, the drive down (over, actually) in an old truck filled with some personal belongings, two dogs, a motorcycle, and a hope that the old truck makes it that far.

So, everything is going according to plan. Up to and including BW waking up with an earache and me waking up with a sore throat. Because in our family, no insurance means getting sick. I woke up to BW whimpering in pain on our floor.

With earaches, I like to go the natural route - heating pads, drops, a little Tylenol for pain if it's really bad. Hopefully it won't be a big deal. As for the sore throat, it's not too bad, it could be one of those things that turns out to be nothing. It's not accompanied by any other symptoms, other than the little bit of coughing left over from last month's sickness.

I think Texas is just trying to give us one last little push - I swear we've never been sick as often as we have, or as seriously as we have, until we moved here.

We'll be taking it easy for the next few days, rallying our strength. We'll rent some movies, watch Gilligan's Island, and loaf around until we feel better. And, as always, we'll look at the bright side - being sick and/or taking care of a sick child means I won't have to help pack. See? There's always a silver lining.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Ow! What The Hell Was THAT?*

MM's job is no more. We got the call this morning.

On the plus side, we're not waiting to find out, and in case you hadn't heard, our house has sold.** No more mortgage payment = whew...no more worries about not being able to pay said mortgage payment.

On the minus side, well, what now? We found out that the house we were going to rent fell through, so that's out. We went and looked at some other places, and there's nothing out there I particularly want to live in.

Right now, at least, it looks like BW and I will be staying with M2 while I finish out the semester. Maybe. Hopefully. MM might be going to AZ to see if he can find work there. We just don't really know at this point.

Our dreams of having money to save just got blown all to hell, that much is for sure. MM's great paying job is gone. Our cheap rental place is gone. Our future just got even more uncertain, and it was already pretty uncertain to start with.

The only thing I can say with any certainty at all is this: it will all work out. It always does.***



*That's what I said when the other shoe dropped squarely on my head this morning.


**Have I mentioned this? I'm not sure that I have.... :)

***This has always been my mantra, and I've been saying it a whole lot more these last few months. That and ommmmmm.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

I Hate Packing, Unless it's for VACATION

The title pretty much sums it all up.

We have so much stuff. I'm finding paperwork from 2005 jammed into kitchen drawers.* There's stuff everywhere. I'm still not really sure where we're moving.

The people we were going to rent/buy a house from have some stuff going on, so we may not be able to rent/buy from them after all. Hopefully we'll know in a day or two.

I really, really, really want to buy a 5th wheel and live in that. Unfortunately, it would involve buying a new truck, and paying space rent, more insurance, etc. I know we could swing it, but I don't think it would be the cheapest way to go. We've agreed that we're going to go cheap until I finish school. As much as I hate to admit it, I think we'd be better off renting a place here in town and living there. I'm not happy about it, but it is what it is. I'm still running the numbers though, and depending on what happens with MM and his work situation, it may still be the best option.

Speaking of work, MM still has no idea what's happening with his job. Before the rig shut down, he would have reported back to work Wednesday evening. He's still officially on days off, but since he has no job to go to that we know of...I'm not sure when or if that will transition to unemployment.**

I'm still happy and relieved though. I'd much rather be doing something then sitting around waiting for something to happen. Since the house is sold, we're packing and piling and taking things to the dump. We're trying to figure out our next living situation. We're enjoying MM's time at home. I'm keeping busy, and that's good.

It'll all work out, it always does. And I'm promising myself a trip to somewhere beachy this summer. That will make this all worthwhile.

Mmmm....Beeaacchhhh......


*Don't hate me for my mad filing skills. They're a gift, what can I say?

**Limbo with me, everyone!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Moving Right Along

Today we got our Pod. MM got BW's bunk bed and our entertainment center torn down, and we went through several of our kitchen cupboards and the hall closet. We went through the stuff we had already packed away in our garage, separated out a pile for a yard sale or two, started a load for the dump, separated out the baby stuff I'm giving to my cousin, and started loading up the Pod.

I'm exhausted.

MM's work future is uncertain. He's not officially laid off - he's technically on days off right now - but he doesn't have a rig to go to yet. We have no idea what's going to happen as far as that's all concerned. My game plan is to do as much of the big stuff as we can while MM's home. I'm assuming he'll be going back to work again soon.*

My house looks like a thrift store exploded in it. I keep thinking we really don't have that much stuff, so where did all this crap come from? The good thing is, since we're moving to a much smaller place, we're getting rid of a lot instead of moving it.** This is making me all sorts of happy. I've been wanting to pare down our belongings to things that we really care about and get rid of a lot of the clutter. My new philosophy is, if I don't LOVE it, I don't want it.

So, that's about all that's new. Well, that, and tomorrow I'm doing something I never in a million years imagined I'd be doing - participating back stage at a pageant. I'm helping M2's daughters get ready and watching them do their stuff. Should be interesting.


*'Cause no matter what my mother says, I'm an optimist.

**Futon, anyone?

Monday, February 16, 2009

M's Birthday Post

M1 and I have been friends since 8th grade. She sat next to me in Biology and she had just moved to Arizona from Montana. We've been together ever since. There have been times we've drifted apart, but we always ended up back together again.

We've been through boyfriends and breakups, being brought home by the cops in our youth (one time, one time only), one of us puking on the other one in the backseat of a Camero (I've not assigned blame so as to protect the guilty party*), all night baking fests, and countless nights at desert parties or Golf N'Stuff at Metro Center.

We've been a part of each others' lives during the divorce of my mom, the death of her father**, our first pregnancy, and the coincidental emergency c-section births of our sons, born less than a month apart. I slept at the hospital when her daughter was born a few years later, just so she wouldn't have to get out of bed to change icky diapers.

When I lived in Phoenix, our weekends usually revolved around each other, much like in high school. One weekend at her house, one at mine. Still spending the night a lot of times, even as adults. We vacation together with our children (and we're long overdue for a trip). We've taken more trips to San Diego than I can remember. We've still got one in the works for Hawaii, if it ever happens. Maybe for 40, since we mucked up 35 with our lack of funds and lack of planning. (Sorry, planning is my job, and I failed miserably.)

M was mad at me when I up and left her in AZ. We were raising our children together, they were going to grow up knowing each other from day one. I screwed up that little plan. But she forgave me. She had to after so many years of friendship. We tried to say goodbye without crying the night before I moved, and we managed to hold back the tears until she drove away. But then she forgot something and had to come back. Twice, I think. And we ended up laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole situation through our tears.

Our friendship is still the same easy relationship we've always had, even after living 12 hours apart for the last three years. We do talk a lot less. But that has more to do with her company's personal phone call policy*** and the time zone differences than anything else.

She gets me. She gets my sense of humor. She knows everything about me, she has seen me at my worst, and she still loves me. She puts up with my crap, my craziness and my annoying habits of repeating everything I say at least seven times and of talking everything to death. Not to mention all my relentless planning and my dreams of living in RV's or tipis or yurts. And she still likes to be around me.

I can tell her anything, anytime. (It's too late to apologize.) She shares my absurd sense of humor, and she's got this laugh...oh, the laugh! How I love that laugh! We e-mail each other quotes from The Office and she turns me on (that's what she said) to all sorts of music and tv and cinema that I'd probably never watch otherwise.

We even lived together once, and though it wasn't the best, our friendship survived it. And either one of us would do it again. That says a lot right there, doesn't it?

I can't imagine a life without her. And today she is turning 36. Thirty friggin' six! We've known each other for over 22 years now. And knowing what I know now, if we went back to 8th grade biology and she asked me if the seat next to me was empty, I'd say yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

For her birthday, I have composed a special haiku. I think it sums up our relationship nicely, keeping to the 5/7/5 haiku guidelines. I hope you enjoy it.

Happy birthday friend
Connected for oh so long
That is what she said

I love you, M1. Here's to many, many more years of having you in my life!

*But let's just say I was on the receiving end. And it wasn't pleasant.

**Although I was out of town and didn't find out until a few days after he died, and I've always felt horrible for that. I'm sorry. I still think about it and wish I had been there for you.

***Bastards.

Arr

I've been on this pirate kick for the last several months. I keep coming across pirate jokes* and finding jobs openings that make me feel like a pirate when I say them.**

I also keep thinking of things I'd like to do, but would be too afraid to because of pirates. For instance...I'd like to sail around the world, but, y'know - pirates. Or I'd love to be a cruise ship nurse. But, again - pirates.

That's really all I got today. Pirates. Sorry. Just that, and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, M!!!!!

*A pirate walks into a bar. He has a ship's steering wheel sticking out of his pants. The bartender says, "Hey, you know you have a ship's steering wheel coming out of your pants?" and the pirate says, "Yeah, it's drivin' me nuts!" ... You can thank My Name is Earl for that little gem.

**Registrar....Go ahead. Say it out loud. Now say it again, but really emphasize the 'ar' and add matey.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Yay!!!!!

We got two offers on our house today. They're pretty comparable. I'm crossing my fingers and doing a hesitant version of the happy dance. I have no idea where we're going to move yet. We may be buying that 5th wheel or RV after all!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Living Healthier

I have this tendency to do well in one part of my life, but neglect everything else. For instance, if we're really where we'd like to be with homeschooling, the house is a disaster because I've let it go. If I'm doing super well at my own classes, I'm slacking on what BW and I are trying to do with homeschooling. If the house is clean and classes are great, I'm not taking care of my health and my body. You get the picture. I can't seem to multitask.

Lately my health has been something I've worried a lot about.* I was really doing well with my weight and my eating a few years ago, but I let it slide and went back to my old ways. I've been wanting to start eating healthier and exercising, but I seem to be lacking the drive to actually do it. My exercise plan is nothing but a pipe dream.**

I keep telling myself I'm going to work at it, but I never really do anything to get started. I know what to eat, I know what's good for me. My plan is to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, more whole grains. But the fact of the matter is, that is the sum of my nutritional plan. And for me, it's just not enough.

I need something to answer to. I need to journal my foods, count calories, plan my meals. But I just don't want to work that hard at it, so I've been trying to find a shortcut. And it's just not happening, friends.

With that in mind, I decided to find something I could do, something free, something that would help me be more accountable. I decided to look for an online plan. And I found one that looks like it might work. It's called Live Strong, and there are a bunch of different handy online features.

I decided I'd sign up and give it a try. I filled out the little questionnaire about how many calories I should eat, and then I looked at a few different links in the side bar. One was a fitness tracker. I decided to be optimistic, and put in some exercise that I'd do on a regular basis.

As I scrolled through the options, a few caught my eye. There was 19th century dance, accordion playing and airplane repair. Hmmm. Thorough, I thought to myself.

I scrolled down to attending class (192 cal/hour). Hey! I already do that! Awesome.

Next, I happened upon beauty salon - receiving hairstyle or manicure (107 cal/hour). These are my kinda people, I think to myself.

I decided at that point to get a little more serious, so I scrolled down to walking. I was happy to see there were all sorts of choices. Walking socially, walking to class, walking at work, walking uphill. And then I saw it. And I knew this was the website for me.

Walking - to and from outhouse (to is faster)*** (266 cal/hour)


*By worrying, I mean stressing out about it and then eating too much fresh bread to make myself feel better. And then feeling guilty for eating too much fresh bread, and soothing that pain with dark chocolate.

**Which is code for: If you think I'm exercising, you must be high.

***Hell, yeah, it is.

You've Got To Be Effin' Kidding Me

Yesterday MM called from the rig to tell me they're getting stacked. But it's OK, because they have another rig for him to go to. Only it's 120 miles away, and he'd have to drive there and back every day. And oh yeah, it's a pay cut. Pay cut, a two hour one way drive and a ton of money for gas to get there. Awesome.

Right after I get that call, I get the mail. There's a letter from Alltel refusing my crazy SIL service without a deposit. She's applying for cell phone service, fresh out of rehab, and using our address.

She had called when she got out, couple of weeks ago. We talked briefly, I told her good luck with everything and that was the end of it. It was pretty awkward and pretty obvious that we weren't going to be talking again anytime soon.

But apparently not awkward and obvious enough that she didn't feel it was inappropriate to apply for credit using our address as her own.

And here I was, all high on the happiness of my test score. My happy dance must have drawn attention from from the powers that be. I've been thwarted. Thwarted, I say!*

*And wasn't I just saying the other day that the opportunity to say that doesn't come up all that often? When life brings you lemons....

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

I Am Awesome.....

I got my exam back tonight, and I got an A+. A 99%. Our class had a 77% average, with the highest score being a 101% (extra credit question), and the lowest was a 39%. I'm so unbelievably happy, I can't even begin to tell you. I worked my butt off for that test, and it's always nice to see all that hard work pay off.

I was so scared to take this class, I'd always heard it was so difficult. I kept putting it off and putting it off. And don't get me wrong, it is hard. It takes a ton of time. But it's not nearly as difficult as I'd imagined.

So, I have hope for the rest of the semester. My professor said this was one of the more difficult exams we had to take. I know I can't slide on this class at all, but as long as I can stay focused and get enough study time, I'll be just fine.

What a relief.

All is Well

Grades? Still not posted.

Cell phone? Dead with no hope of resurrection.

Numbers and appointments stored in said cell phone? Gone for good.

But all is fine!

Class? Tonight - so maybe I'll find out my grade then.*

New cell phone? Aqua!!

Numbers and appointments? Sent everyone an email asking for information.

And something that made me smile: a lovely little reminder of BW** (thanks to Notes From The Trenches) from back when he wasn't much older than this.***





*If not, I'll wait patiently and quietly until she gets around to grading and posting them. But on the inside? Well, on the inside I'll be stomping my foot, tearing at my hair, and wailing in despair.

**When BW was little he used to pronounce our last name as 'foreskin' and it made us laugh so hard it took us months to correct him. Boy Wonder Foreskin. It still makes me laugh.

***Oh how I miss those curls and chubby wrists.

Monday, February 9, 2009

I'm Trying

My A&P professor said that the test scores for our first exam would be posted by Sunday night or early Monday morning. It is now officially 27 minutes past Monday morning. The test scores? Not posted.

I'm trying, really trying, not to be that person. The person who obsesses about things, who is horribly impatient, who needs. To. Know. Everything. NOW. I understand that she's busy, that she's got other classes, other students. But oh my frickin' god, this is driving me insane.

Luckily, my cell phone died yesterday, so I have that to distract me. It's refusing to charge, and it's only five weeks before I'm scheduled to get a new one. Yay! I'm heading to the Alltel shop later today to see what can be done. I'm concentrating on not going to that deep, dark place - the place in my mind where I fear that my phone numbers cannot be retrieved.

As far as homeschooling goes, my attempts to get into a routine have been completely thwarted.* Having MM home every other week throws us off, being sick for a week messed me up, and of course, juggling BW's homeschooling and my own studying isn't easy. I've decided that the best thing to do right now is to figure out what I want to accomplish for the week as far as the basics go - reading, writing and math - and putting it all together for BW Sunday night. He'll have until the following Sunday to complete it all.

Don't get the wrong idea - he's seven, I'm not sending him off to do everything on his own. I'm just organizing it all and giving him a little more freedom about when he works on it. Some of the things he does can be done on his own, some things he still needs help with.

So I'm going to try this for a while and see how it goes. We've talked about the consequences of procrastinating, and agreed on what they would be. He understands what will happen if he blows it off and it doesn't get done. I'm going to give him a little slack and see if he takes any initiative on getting things done. If he doesn't, then it's back to him doing it all on my schedule. The last thing I need is a big fight every Sunday while he's stressed out and upset because he didn't get things done during the week.

MM's work schedule is turning out to be pretty awesome. Having him gone for a whole week is pretty nice - one less person to pick up after, it's a lot quieter around here, and we seem to eat healthier and lighter when he's gone. When he's home, he's home for a whole week with nothing to do but hang out with us. We can spend all this time together as a family, we can stay up late and sleep in if we want to, we can go to the park every day. It feels a lot like being on vacation. All that's missing is the change of scenery and hotel sex.

*I've always liked that word. I love being able to use it. I also really like saying, "I've been thwarted! Thwarted, I say!" while shaking my fist in the air, but I've found the opportunity occurs a lot less frequently then one would think.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Day o' Fun

M2 and her hubby are off on a romantic getaway*, and we've had her kids (in one combination or another) for the weekend. Yesterday they all had various musical lessons in town, so we decided we'd spend the whole day hanging out and having fun.

We started out our day at group Suzuki violin lessons. These kids are mostly four or five years old, and watching them standing in little rows with their tiny violins was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. I also got to see my old Chemistry professor, which was fun. Right up until we were leaving and the kids overheard him speaking in his native tongue to his family. They then debated (loudly and within what had to have been his earshot) his nationality, all the way back to the car.

We had a quick snack, and then headed over to another lesson. After that was over, we had lunch at an Indian place, and then went to this great park. It's like an old west town and it's awesome. MM and the kids have so much fun goofing off on the swings, and playing tag and hide and seek. It's free and probably one of my favorite places to go.

After having our fill of fresh air and exercise, we headed to one of those obnoxious video game restaurant places. After an hour or two, we took our $20 whoopee cushions** and headed for the drive-in.

I love our drive-in. The closest one to us in Phoenix was in a creepy neighborhood, and I was always afraid of being caught in the crossfire of some sort of gang altercation. Here, there's a nice playground and lots of families with kids running around. We always park way in the back so everyone can easily get to the bathroom, which is clean and contains many, many stalls. And the cost - kids five and under are free, and it's six bucks for two movies for the rest of us. A playground, clean bathrooms, and family and budget friendly. What more could you ask for in a drive-in?

The movies*** we saw were mediocre at best and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. Well, I take that back. If you're not expecting much, and you want something mildly amusing that the kids will enjoy, they were OK. They weren't horribly offensive. No more suggestive than your average animated movie.****

Today, once the kids all get up, we're heading to the park to play some more. I've got some photos I still need to shoot for my class, and then it's back to town again for Youth Orchestra. For M2's kids. Because mine? Mine wants to be a rock star and has ditched the violin for drums. Yippy.

*I found this great place, picked a spa package, booked it, found local restaurants to try, prepared a power point presentation explaining it all, and put together a little gift bag of goodies. Would this not be a great business idea? Personalized romantic weekend planning. Like a super specialized travel agent for people who either don't know what to plan or don't have the time to plan it. And did I mention I provide babysitting services as well? But only if I know you. And like your kids.

**Sorry, M2....I know how you feel about those types of things.

***Pink Panther II and Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I give them an eh. As in, "How were they?" "Eh."

****I'll never forget Shrek and Donkey discussing whether or not the Prince (King? I don't remember) was trying to compensate for something with the size of his tower. And, seriously, Donkey singing Baby Got Back at the end? Fantastic. But explaining why I found that so funny to a child kinda took the wind out of my sails.

Friday, February 6, 2009

I've Been Tagged

Zayna at Zayna's Garden* tagged me. I've never been tagged before so I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy right now.

Here are the rules:

1. Go to the 4th picture folder on your computer.
2. Post the 4th picture in that folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 more bloggers.





This was the last stop sign before you get to my mother-in-law's neighborhood. I think it was more a statement of how important it was to stop right there, rather than an advertisement of sexual activity. Although there is a "gentlemen's club" on that corner, too, so I can't be sure.**

The sign was changed to just a simple stop sign after less than a year. Until that happened, MM, his brother, my SIL and I stopped to take pictures and giggle like 12 year old boys every time we drove by. Which, come to think of it, was probably more of a traffic hazard then running the stop sign had ever been.

I don't know who all has already been tagged for this, so I'm just going to leave it in your hands - if you haven't done this one already, please join in and leave me a note so I can check it out.

*If you haven't already checked out Zayna's Garden, drop on in! She's a Douglas Adams fan AND she writes great poetry, what more could you ask for?

**Oh, small town America....The club on the corner advertises with a gigantic cow statue. Just what sort of clientele are they trying to attract with that??

Flashbacks

My photography assignment this week was to take action pictures at different settings in order to get different effects. Totally clear stop-in-time shots, partial blurs, etc. One thing we had to do was make the blur our subject - take a picture while moving the camera around to create the blur.

Can you say tracers, anyone?

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

A Day of Rest

My first A&P exam was last night, and even though I've had the plague since Saturday night, I think I did pretty well on it. I feel good about it, anyway. I'm thinking I at least got a B, but possibly (dare I hope?) an A. I'm just waiting for it to be graded, hopefully I'll know by Thursday night.*

We had another surprise showing yesterday. Maybe things will start picking up. The people weren't interested (from what I could tell), but at least there are more people out there looking.

I've done nothing but blog, clean house, study, and lie (lay?) in bed for the last four days. I made a pot of sweet potato soup and luckily, we have lots and lots of fruit and Bernie-O's so I haven't needed to do a lot of cooking.** I don't think anyone wants me in the kitchen right now, what with all the coughing and sneezing and general germiness.

MM is home today, and he'll be home for the next week. I'm just hoping he doesn't get sick, too. Hopefully the worst is over for me, and he'll be happy and healthy while he's home with us. We've got M2's kids this weekend while her and her hubby go out of town, so I really hope to be feeling better by then.

I have two days of rest to look forward to - nothing to study for in A&P, and nothing to do that requires a lot of energy. I'm planning on letting my brain rest for a few days before I begin the whole cycle again. Hopefully the next cycle won't involve sickness.


*Impatiently. Grade it! Grade it NOW!

**The sweet potato soup was fantastically yummy but gave me heart burn. I'm guessing too much garlic? After two days of eating it, I called M2 and asked her if she had any of her wonderful soups made. My voice is all sick and pathetic sounding, it's a voice that sounds like it needs soup. She brought me some, and made some for dinner, too. Yay, soup!

Monday, February 2, 2009

It's That Time of the Month Again...

No, not that time....Eco-resolution time!

Last month I read a great post at Zayna's Garden - she wrote about (and joined) It's Not All Mary Poppins eco-resolutions for 2009. It sounded like such a great idea, I quickly hopped on board. I'm a follower, what can I say?

Last month I resolved to start recycling again. I can safely say I'm back in the groove. I still haven't taken all my stuff into town to actually recycle, but I have gotten back into the habit of separating everything and setting it aside. My recycle bin and a trash bag are ready and waiting to go.

This month, I resolve to do two things: Take four "litter walks" around the neighborhood, and to turn off our computers and printer every night.

Once a week BW and I will take a walk around to our local park, picking up litter as we go. BW will get to the park, I will get some exercise, and there will be that much less trash on the ground. I'll be setting a reminder on my phone so I'll remember. And telling BW, because you know how kids are when they want to go to the park.

As for the computers - I already try to turn them off each night, but I've been slacking. I want to get back in the habit again.

Anybody care to join me?

I Have The Answer

My husband likes to do things like skydive, hang glide, fly in ultralights, ride motorcycles and dirt bikes - you know, dangerous, adrenaline junky type things. The only thing he does regularly is ride his motorcycle, but he likes to try or do the other things when the opportunity presents itself.

Several years ago, we were having this conversation about tandem skydive jumps with MM's cousin and his wife, and I made the 'if it's your time to go, it's your time to go' comment. MM's cousin's wife said, "Well, yeah, but what if it's your instructor's time to go?"

It stumped me.

But I now have the answer....*

Click for link.

*And strangely enough, it's not 42.**

**A Douglas Adams reference.***

***Hey, look! I just annotated an annotation. Twice!! I'm so complex.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Super Powers

I filled out some quiz thing on Facebook* the other day. One of the questions was which super power would you choose to have. I instantly said mind control. M2 said disapparating and apparating. She had to explain that one to me. I'm not totally up on my Harry Potter lingo, and I got stuck on how much it sounded like 'evaporate' and couldn't think of anything else. I guess it is basically the same idea, right?

Anyway, M2's theory was she could apparate herself on over to a beach in Hawaii any time she felt like it. Mine involved having minions** who took me to Hawaii any time I wanted because I controlled their minds. They'd also clean my house, cook my meals, and do my laundry.

Our talk quickly turned to compounds, interconnecting tunnels, and moats filled with piranha, which is a logical place to go when you start out at minions. (Anyone starting to see a pattern here?) I've been planning a design for our next property, and I've told MM to expect to work all those things in. He's totally on board with it, I can tell. And I'm sure BW would love to dig a moat. We'd consider it a home school project.

But I wonder...does anyone else spend time thinking about these things? Is it normal to plan out elaborate fantasy houses and to seriously consider what types of super powers you'd like to have?

*I don't have enough to do, so I screw around on Facebook filling out quizzes.

**Many of my fantasies involve mind control, having minions, and being queen of my own island. Is that weird?