Going Bonkers

Going Bonkers isn't JUST a euphemism. It's the name of the kiddy palace where I took my son and his friend today. I think you know the kind of place I'm talking about. You pay to get in and then you ditch your shoes. After that you can climb around inside a giant indoor maze with slides and stuff. When you're bored with physical activities, you can whine to your ATM/Mother to give you money for tokens for the games. When you're done with the games, you can buy high fat, over priced pizza and junk food.

We were supposed to go to Big Surf, but the weather was sabotaging our fun. I'm the type of person who feels really guilty about things I can't control - like the weather raining us out of the water park. Anyway, I gave them a trip to Going Bonkers as atonement for my crime of letting it rain. They had a fantastic time. I passed out dollar bills like a drunk in a strip club. Toward the end of the day, they started bickering over really important things like who got the most M&Ms or which Chinese finger cuffs belonged to whom. That was my cue to take the show on the road and get the grumpy, sugar stoned boys home. All in all, we had a great time. We stayed for 5 hours, which I'm sure you will all agree makes me mother of the year.

Here's the kicker... I took a book with me to pass the time. About three paragraphs in, I realized that I had already read this book before. (Momma's girl!) So there I was for 5 hours with NOTHING to read. I should get some kind of trophy for that.

One of These Days I'm Gonna Fix That

Many years ago Mister and I went to Indiana to visit one of his old Air Force buddies, John. While we were there, John's parents had a barbecue and invited us over. When we walked down the stairs, I took hold of the bannister and it came off the wall in my hand. His dad said, "Don't worry about that. It's been broken for years. One of these days I'm gonna fix that." When we were in the back yard, we couldn't help but notice their swimming pool. It was half filled with green water and had a film of slime over the top. John's dad said, "Sure wish we could invite you to swim, but the pool needs some work. One of these days I'm gonna fix that." No one else thought it was funny as John's dad made the same proclamation throughout the evening. Broken tap in the bathroom sink? "One of these days I'm gonna fix that." Dishwasher not working? "One of these days I'm gonna fix that." Mister and I were trying to contain our laughter because it seemed rude and no one else seemed to notice that he kept saying that. If we had been drinking alcohol, we could have made a drinking game out of it.

So here we are, 15 years later, and we still think it's funny. Last week our coffee pot died. I got out the old percolator and we used that. Yesterday my son asked why we weren't using the other coffee pot. I started to tell him it was broken and one of these days we were gonna buy a new one. Before the words left my lips, I started laughing. Then I went to the store and bought a new coffee pot.

99 Bottles of Milk on the Wall

Notice the baby application to your left? As of this writing, we are down to 99 days. We are under 100. Isn't that exciting? I promise I won't be annoying and do a daily count. You can just keep your eye on the countdown application.

On another topic, here's a tip for you. When you are cleaning out your closets and sheds and garages and you end up with a pile of stuff that is too good to throw away, don't. I hate to hold garage sales because they are a lot of work and very little payoff, plus I have to do something with the things that don't sell. Instead, I bring everything to Savvy Seconds. It's a resale store that is run by our local sheltered workshop. It's a win/win/win situation.

WIN- I get rid of my stuff knowing it will go to someone who needs it PLUS I get a tax receipt for it. (I itemize.)

WIN- People in the community can come in and by good quality clothes, furniture and household items at bargain prices. The store is very upscale and not at all what you picture in your head when you think 'thrift store.'

WIN- People who have disabilities have good paying jobs sorting, pricing, hanging, organizing, etc... all the donations.

But here's the great part. If you don't live in my town, you probably have a very similar set up close to you. The Salvation Army thrift stores typically employ people with disabilities. Sometimes other communities have workshop resale stores. It's a great thing to do with your stuff.

I'm tarred (That's how rednecks say they're sleepy.)

We had an 8:00 ball game tonight which we won 20-10. Didn't get home till almost 10:00. Now I want to go to sleep, but I have to stop in here to gloat. Tomorrow is my last day of work until June 22. I need a rest. Too bad I've scheduled activities for every single day.

In case you care, here they are:

Saturday - Cleaning and shopping
Sunday - Yardwork and The Boy is having a friend stay all night.
Monday - I'm taking The Boy and his friend to a water park.
Tuesday - Possibly a movie, then we have a ball game.
Wednesday - Packing for the camping trip, grooming the dogs, baseball game.
Thursday - I have to find a way to commemorate Joey's 21st birthday. I think heavy drinking is in order.
Thursday thru Sunday - Camping at the lake. I have an itenerary set up for those four days. It includes swimming, fishing, horse shoes, the swinging bridge, Visitors' Center, and the play ground.
Sunday - Home, unpacking, de-ticking, laundry, etc...
Monday - Back to work.

Sounds relaxing, doesn't it?

270 Miles and 43 Years

I took a journey this past weekend. My mom and I drove 270 miles to a little dot in Kansas to attend a family reunion.

43 years ago, when I was still in Momma's belly, her dad and his siblings decided that they needed to start having an annual get together so that they could see each other someplace other than funerals. That first official reunion was held in the summer of 1966. Since then my Grandpa and his brothers and sisters are now gone. In fact, many of their children are gone as well. The original remaining cousins visit with one another and get reintroduced to one another's descendants, but attendance among the younger generations has dropped off sharply. Those of us from the third and subsequent generations who do attend usually cluster within our own branches. I have a feeling the reunion will die off in the next ten years or so. Still, there were some great photo ops.

Remember this picture from a few weeks ago?

Well here they are 60 years later. Still gorgeous!

Also, here is my mom and her brother, George.

And here she is with her cousin, Janie.

This is a group of us kids with my great Uncle Charlie while camping at the reunion. I THINK this was 1971. If not, it was pretty close. I'm the one who is trying to gouge out her own eyes.

Two of the kids in the above picture are all grown up in this one. My cousin Davey is on the far right up above. Below he is the only guy in the picture with - from left to right - cousin Barb, Me, and cousin Becky. Yeah. We are all that short. I'm 5'1", so you can guess everyone else's height from there!

And finally, here is my cousin Jeff. I haven't seen him since I was about 12 years old. If I had seen him on the street, I would have known him. He looks just like the two of his brothers with whom I keep in touch.

I bet you can't wait for Reunion II, the Sequel! We have another reunion Father's Day weekend. It's also a camping reunion. We're rednecks.

Nightmares

The Boy had a nightmare last night. He dreamed that both of our dogs fell down into a big silver tube and only one of them got out. He was sad and upset when he woke up. Poor thing!

I've escaped!

I know I haven't blogged in a week, but seriously, it wasn't my fault. I was kidnapped by a roving band of ninjas who held me for ransom thinking that I was super rich. After a week, they finally figured out that I wasn't super RICH I'm a super B-TCH. They obviously misunderstood the rumors.

Really though, it's been a crazy week, but now I'm back.

To catch you up... we lost our ball game Thursday night but won the game last night. Right now I think we are heatedly battling it out for last place. Or 4th. Maybe 5th. I'm not sure. Baseball statistics confuse and frighten me. All I know is that The Boy hit a great line drive last night and doubled. He also got two RBIs. When we were walking to the car after the game he said that the line drive was "the greatest moment of my life!!!" He can be very easy to please.