Saturday, October 29, 2011

80's music

I love the 1980's. I love the music. I loved my piggyback permed hair (a la Whitney Houston in "I Wanna Dance with Somebody") which used to take 3 hours to achieve in a beauty parlor. I loved MTV when it was MUSIC TV. I loved leg warmers. I loved the decadance and innocence in adolescence. We didn't worry about the environment. We didn't worry about anything except will my pink socks show through my white Keds and will I have enough Aqua Net to keep my ratted bangs defy gravity?

Oh yeah and Rick Springfield's feathered hair and guitar.

This morning as with most Saturday mornings, we tune into the '80's music channel on Direct TV and dance with the boys.

Now. I know me some '80's music. Back in the day, if I couldn't dance to it, I didn't like it. Therefore, I was not into Glam Rock. Poisin. Cinderella. Warrent. Motley Crue. You get it. I tuned all these bands out. The only exception was BON JOVI. Love, love, Bon Jovi.

So back to Saturdays. A glam rock song came on and my husband was all over it. Danced the whiteman side-to-side shuffle, with a lip snare. Wow! What the %^&#@!!! Then he proceeded to tell the boys how much he loved this song. I, of course refrained from being a Downer Debby and kill his history lesson to the boys.

Then, the Psychodelic Furs's song came on "The Ghost in You" and I started to sing to it. The lovely burst out into "I was thinking I've never heard this song, but I bet Linhda would know". As soon has he said that, here I come out of my room singing along. He was teasing me. Teasing me. The Glam Rock lovin', side-to-side step dancing man was teasing his '80's queen.

Lastly, the Beastie Boys song "You gotta fight for your right" came on. S.E. heard the first lines of them not wanting to go to school and he declared this was his new favorite song.

Which brings me to this question, "Besides old biddies, does anyone get perms anymore?".

Friday, October 28, 2011



The boy is just so excited to be in Cub Scout.

Dress to Throw Pillow







What to do with an ill-fitting dress you got at a garage sale for $1 because you love the design? Cut it up and make it into a throw pillow.

Revamped Aprons









Isn't it about time? With life kind of going crazy, working on projects and posting them seem to be impossible. However, when my favorite white shirt got spaghetti sauce on it-it was go time for aprons.



I love aprons. If you drop by my house, you will often find me wearing an apron. Aprons make it possible for an under 5 feet mama to get cooking without getting the top part of my shirts dirty or wet. What is an average height countertop goes to my armpits. I need maximum coverage on top.



Another reason is when I am wearing my apron, I can let my gut relax and I don't see my tummy rolls. And the pockets of the aprons holds many a small pieces of legos, paper, and whatnots as I walk through my house picking up after two juicy boys.



Here's where thrifty meets creativity. I found these six aprons at a thrift store for $0.50 each. Not my style because half aprons don't work for my shortframe b/c of the beforementioned height problem. I had to buy them because some lady somewhere took the time to make these wonderful aprons. And I do love me a crafty woman.














So, I cut them up and turned them into my favorite full-length version. Yes, they do look like they can fit an eight-year old...

Monday, October 24, 2011

Make your own dinner kids







My kids have been making their own pizza for awhile but could I be bothered to document their accomplishments?



Last week, I made dough before their soccer game and when we got home, I had them roll out their crust and as of July their favorite toppings are Canadian bacon and pineapple.


Eat your heart out Pizza Hut.

All I want for Christmas...



S.E. finally has lost his front top tooth and of course his daddy and I are hoping the other falls out before his forever tooth comes down. Daddy wants the full "hick" effect.



Always the supportive daddy. He lost this last week (pulled it out himself) and I took the picture right after all the blood stopped but have not been able to find my camera until today to post.



Warning: Serious Ramblin' On on this post

I get tired of the victim mentality protrayed on the internet. When I open my internet, it goes to the Yahoo! homepage. In the center, there are headline news/commentaries about celebrities.

I don't always click on it unless it's someone I find interesting. Today, there are two stories which as I opened and read, annoyed the crap out of me: Madonna's homeless brother and Martha Stewart's daughter's tell-all book about her mom.

Losers to both Anthony and Alexis. Anthony sounds like he is of sound mind and body, can't find work after a year and half so he is homeless and doesn't understand how his sister can't help him. Really buddy? You are a grown man. Get a job. If the roles were switched, would you help your sister out? I'm not a Madonna fan, but really, she has worked hard to sell herself (literally) for the buck and you think you can live off her?

As for Alexis Stewart. What a bigger loser. Instead of making herself her on person on her own merits, she sells out her mother for her own monetary gain. Ungrateful. To make matters worse, she used to have a talk show just to rip into her mother's show.

People, if you feel you didn't get a fair shake in your childhood/life, get up, work hard without taking others down with you, and get on with your life. We all have too.

I'm sorry if this blog is a waste of your time, I understand if you never look at it again but if I were to raised boys who all they did in life was complain about what I didn't/give them.

I would take the high road, know you did the best with what you knew at the time, and tell them they are automonous now, THEY get to decide how they live the rest of their lives-without blaming me for their failures.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

I didn't run the race this morning because it was raining and with my compromised immune system, I didn't want to risk getting a cold and breaking out again.

Also, my partner got sick in the middle of the night-turns out to be kidney stones. Ouch.

Last, our water heater decided not to work so we had no hot water and so no shower for stinky me and hubby needed to go get parts to fix it. Too many things working against me today.

Therefore, it felt like an omen to just stay home and run on the treadmill instead which I did.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Paul Simon ~ Father & Daughter

Tears

I am finding that I wear my heart on my sleeves a lot these days. I tear up almost all the time. I can't even wear non-waterproof mascara anymore.

What tears me up?

There's the obvious when I hear a friend's world has been shaken up with the bad news.

Hearing "Fathers and Daughters" from Paul Simon.

I tear up when I get to hold a baby.

Hearing S.E. (the non snuggler) ask me to snuggle with him-which I promptly throw bedtime curfew out the window and plop my hinny on my comfy seat and hold him. I love the smell of him. I love his run-on sentences and hearing about his discovery of learning how to spell.

I cry for my little Koo when his feelings get hurt so easily or when he is so happy when he is on the soccer field-not even getting hit in the head by the ball during practice broke his stride.

I tear up when I visit with a friend who is getting better and she's doing well. I cheer with her.

I even tear up when I think of how warm and just spoiled I am. I am loved wholeheartedly by one man and two little boys.

I tear up when Koo wants to brush my hair and pluck my grey hairs because he doesn't want me to get old and leave him.

I tear up when S.E. thanks me for cutting the crust off his lunch and for making his PB and J mushy (that's how I used to like it when I didn't care about carbs and fat). Just like mom.

You get the idea. As I write this post, I'm tearing up.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Twiddling my thumbs. Yup. I've been up to nothing but running, bare minimal cleaning, and just being available to the three most important people in my life.

I started to get a panic of "oh, I've got 2 hours each day, I should be signed up for something" or "I should get this project or that project done".

But then I remembered how stress oozes itself through my skin. How much I used to itch. How many open sores were on body that I used to hold my breath when I showered because even the super mild/hypoallergenic soaps would burn my open sores.

So, today like so many other days, I just do what is absolutely needed to do, let go of those which is not dire, and get healthy.

How much we take our health for granted until we don't have it. If I don't have my health, I can't take care of my lovies. Long-term visions of being around long enough to cuddle with my boys' babies puts life pretty much into perspective.

Hope you are able to stay healthy and give yourself a break.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Guess what?

My kids are away. To Portland, OR. This is their 2nd Annual trip to the Rose city with their adopted aunt and uncle.

Hubby and I miss them. I woke up this morning climbing into their empty beds to sniff out a smell of them.

But alas, time without them shall not be wasted as hubby and I slept in and are now heading to a big city an hour away to shop and skip around the town without kids.

I have to say, our lives are so much richer and we are so much more connected because of our sons. I thank God everyday for his blessing and am grateful he has given lovely and I the pleasure of raising them together.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

I still heart my treadmill

As I got off the treadmill on Saturday, I thought about how much having a treadmill in my house has been such a positive addition.

My past encounters with home treadmills have been: stored in a corner with dust collected all over it, being used as a clothes rack, broken, or banished to an area of the house where NO ONE goes to unless they have to quickly retrieve something. Not one person who've own a treadmill have continued to use theirs.

So I was very hesistant to get one. But now I have one and I use it all. the. time. Even if I just crank out 1 mile. I get on there and go.

I especially love it when the weather is gross or when the lovely hubby travels. I don't have to miss out on my workout and I get to stay on track.

I have made a commitment to not hang one clothing on my treadmill.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

9.5 miles!!

Ran it. Felt good. Soaked my feet afterwards like Mr. Dean Karnazes the greatest endurance runner ever. If it's good for him, it's good enough for moi.

For fuel, four Clif Shot blocks every 30 minutes along with 6 almonds and water. This works for me because not only does it help me keep going but after the run, I am not jittery and crazy hungry.

I made up my mind to run a half marathon in two weeks. I'm not racing for time, just going to finish it.

My feet feel better now, I'm getting off the stool and hobble to take a much needed shower.