Just Another Day

- Ok, did I finally come up with a version of "random" that hasn't already been done? - Why, oh why did I do NaBloPoMo? If I still have my other gig, please let me know that I am a complete idiot if I try again. And, although the Ning site was very cool with all the groups and networking and whatnot, I had no time to participate. Boo! - Question of the Day: Why do some bloggers (i.e. the more well-known ones) treat links like they are some sort of golden coin to only be handed out once a year? I got to thinking about Dooce and how many damn people link to her, and does she even have a reciprocal blogroll? I mean, why do people link to someone who will never, ever link to them, and most certainly will never, ever read their blog? Is it like high school where people just want to associate themselves with the popular kids? And why are some of them so popular anyway? I happen to think a lot of them are not that great, and it isn't just sour grapes. - All right, I am...

I've only got about four presents left. How far along are you on your holiday shopping/making?

Scene: Living Room. Gina and Hubba-hubba watching the news. News Anchor: And up next, the story of a man who left his kids in the car while he went to a strip club. Hubba-hubba: So where was the crime in that? Gina: silence Hubba-hubba: Hey, that picture showed Tabu night club, is that the one that's off the 91 freeway? Gina: looks at him Like I would know? Hubba-hubba: Oh no, wait, that one was Tabu with a "u" and the one off the 91 is Taboo with two "o's." Gina: And I cannot even begin to tell you how pleased I am that you knew that.

My sister and I went shopping at a very posh mall last weekend. We went into a fairly upscale store called " Z Gallerie " just to poke around and see what there was to see. Well, it turns out, there was quite a bit. There was a woman in there, putting on a show. And by that, I mean a woman whose every detail, from her mile high heels to her platinum blonde hair to what I can best describe as a "bedazzled poncho" was calculated to make you look at her. And look people did. But not in the way methinks she wanted. My sister and I could not help but snicker behind her back, as she looked ridiculous but thought she looked awesome. You've seen these people, no? And all of what she had on was most likely very expensive, down to the little Yorkshire Terrier she was carrying in her arms and asking in a loud voice if her "Baby" was feeling ok. So she flounces around the store, and as we are walking back toward the entrance, we see another lady with a bemused l...

The lovely Patois tagged me ages ago for a meme, and now since it is Tuesday night and I am tired, I figured that it is time for the "Fours" meme. Brace yourselves. For what I don't know, it just sounded really cool and dramatic. Four Jobs I've Had 1. Summer Camp Counselor. If you were a nice kid, I was the best counselor ever. If you were a crappy kid, then every day was a fresh hell. 2. Library Clerk. I've alluded before to the way my dreams were shattered at this job. Liking books ain't enough, people. 3. Assistant Women's Volleyball Coach, Unnamed Junior College. You would never know it to look at me now, but I was quite the athelete in my day. Volleyball and everything volleyball was my world from the age of 14 to 21. 4. Research Supervisor. My last job in the working world, I was employed at a famous and oft-quoted in the media think-tank. I worked on various studies, ranging from breast cancer to terrorism to education to Gulf War veter...

As with all young children, for a very long time we parents rely on the old "spell the word out" trick for talking about things in front of them that we don't want them to know. Well, our time seems just about up. Hubba-hubba was trying to tell me about an upcoming event in which Santa would be making an appearance. As Mr. P is very much into Christmas this year, we knew that any mention of Santa would bring a long soliliquoy about how Santa is magic and how he makes the toys and how he has a list and on and on and on. And at that moment, we just didn't feel like hearing it. Don't judge people, don't judge. So, Hubba-hubba spelled out "S-A-N-T-A." "Hey, what did you just say?" said the five year old. "Nothing" lied replied his father. "I know what you said, Daddy! You said Santa!" Anybody know a place that sells semaphore flags?

Ok, so now that the Thanksgiving holidays are over, you have absolutely no excuses. I know you are thinking, what is this woman talking about? I am talking about the TeenyManolo Sweepstakes. All you have to do is link to TeenyManolo in a post. You don't even have to make the post about Teeny Manolo, it could just be mentioned in the first or last sentences. Then, go to this post and let Team Teeny Manolo know that you've linked! That's it! I don't know how it could get any easier! You could win one of three fabulous prizes, one $150US Amazon Gift Certificate, or one of two $50US Amazon Gift Certificates. And wouldn't you know, just in time for the holidays! You can live anywhere, Australia, England, Canada, the Netherlands, it's all good. We will simply email you the gift certificate code and you can instantly shop away! You can join the illustrious ranks of those who have already entered, including chichimama , cherry boogiemum , awesome mom Atasha , dr....

My god people, why did not one person say to me, "Gina, are you stuck in some sort of time warp? Where is your Friday poll?" Don't be bashful, I need to be reminded of stuff like that. So, does the person who cooks also clean the dishes at your house?

This is a time for reflecting upon all the wonderful blessings we have in our lives. Except, I am bitter. You see, I am a big believer in denial. I think that my life runs more smoothly when I just sort of shove the unpleasant things away, and I usually wind up forgetting about them. Because if I think about them a lot, they bog me down, and my function starts decreasing, and for what? So that I can wallow in things? So not for me. But, two days ago, I unwittingly clicked onto this story in the LA Times. And when I saw the picture of that beautiful, precious dead infant, I totally lost it. I cannot get over how beautiful he is, and how the loss of him must have felt to his parents. In fact, I am losing it now. At this point, I was supposed to be seven months pregnant. I was supposed to be starting my last trimester. And obviously, I'm not. I don't know if I will ever even get pregnant again, such is the nature of my disorder. I was probably blessed, in a way, to get pre...

An important lesson was learned by me tonight. It was one that you would have thought I had learned a long time ago. But, you can benefit from my misfortune. Don't hold a bunch of semi-wet knives in your hand. Because one of them is bound to slip. And cut you where your thumb tendon thingy is. And make it really hard to type. Or maybe the lesson should be don't ever be helpful and try to dry the dishes. Yeah, I like that one better.

Hopefully, you won't be too drunk full of tryptophan to unscramble this: PYHAP EKTRYU YDA! But maybe it would be more fun if you were.

It is a family tradition that when we eat dinner, the three of us as our little family, we share the best thing that happened to us during the day. I feel it is a way to start positive conversations, and give each other a glimpse of how our days went. Last night, Hubba-hubba told us that he had a fun time at lunch because he met a friend he hadn't seen in a long time, and it gave them a chance to talk and catch up. From stage left, a little voice pipes up, with timing worthy of the greatest comedian and says, " Boooo-riiiing ." Hello young child who cannot even tie his own shoe, how did you go from five to fifteen in a matter of three seconds? When did this jaded world view become yours? We've got a looooong road ahead of us, don't we?

Ok, just to get everyone straight. I am Glinda. Glinda is me. If you diss Glinda, you are dissing me, and we will have to take you out back and school you a bit. I blog over at Teeny Manolo . I suppose that now makes me a WAHM, since it is a job for which I recieve compensation. And really, I'd like to keep my job. So, go over and check it out. The thing is, I am not forced to write in a voice that isn't mine. Every single thing that Glinda writes, Gina would write. There is no hypocrisy, there is no "selling out" for the man. I am very lucky in that regard. I have tried to keep the two blogs sort of separate, because I enjoy blowing steam off here, and I wanted to try and keep this as my private place. But hey, newsflash to Gina, this is the internets, nothing is private! So, go over there, spread the word about the sweepstakes we are having, and I promise to be just as entertaining over there as I am over here. And for some people, I realize that isn't sa...

Teeny Manolo is having a contest. Like you were surprised! Go here to find out all the info. Also, is there anyone willing to have a picture of their young selves, dressed in all manner of bad 60's/70's/80's fashion plastered across the internets? Come on, it was so long ago, I promise no one will recognize you! Also, also, anybody got a question for Glinda? It could be a serious question like the last "Ask Glinda" feature, (although she promises to keep it less lengthy) or it could be totally off the wall. She could really use some blogging material. ;)

Well, yes, I do if I want to stay in the game. So. A meme is in order, don't you think? Back in October, my friend Margaret from Just Me tagged me with an "8 Random Things About My Wedding" meme, and right now seems a good time to do it. 1. Nothing went wrong at my wedding. Unless you count the fact that the Yankees were playing in the World Series that night and lost the game. Which I don't. And actually, Hubba-hubba has many a time told me that they haven't won a World Series since we got married. Can you tell he likes to blame me for things? 2. I got married in the evening, and had the reception in the same place as the wedding. 3. The place we got married is a historical mansion with grounds, so it felt like they were in two separate places. At least, it did to me. And I'm the only one that counts. 4. My sister, tired and having not eaten all day due to helping out, was a little tipsy at the toast given by the matron of honor, and wound up saying a...

Because I am desperately trying to have us all eat the same dinner, I have resorted to making tacos. Well, not every night, but often enough that it is now in the regular rotation. Goodness, the depths I have sunk to. The directions on the taco shelll box said to put them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. I wasn't about to heat up my big oven for such a short time, so instead I turned on my handy dandy toaster oven. The shells were pretty big, and I was concerned that they wouldn't quite fit on the middle shelf, but the lazy resourceful chef I am, I sort of just shoved them in there. As long as I could close the door, what did I care? As I was stirring the ground turkey (we try to pretend we're healthy around here) I saw a flash of light to my left. Odd, I thought, what kind of light do I have over there that would flash? Turns out the flash was the flames from one of the taco shells being too close to the heating element and burstng into, well, flames....

What would you do if you saw someone you didn't recognize going through the trashcans in your neighborhood, in search of cans and bottles to recycle?

This month is going to wind up killing me. As you can tell by the post below, there are things that need to be cooked up, and yet I need to find the time to get all the ingredients together, the right kind of bowl, and then back out to the grocery store because I ran out of something. Well, horrible analogies aside, things are getting way busier than I anticipated, and I just cannot keep up with commenting daily on everyone's blogs. I like to leave witty comments and I find myself just flying through and doing "thumbs up" sort of comments like "that's great!" and "so cute" and I hate doing that. So unless I have some time to devote to commenting, I will only come by when I can truly read what you are writing, because all of your blogs deserve that type of attention. But really, I am reading them, and I stil love all of them. There are only so many hours in the day, and right now I have to concentrate on the things that pay the bills. Sadly, thi...

Let's just say someone was going to have an internet contest. And let's just say that the entrance "fee" consisted of a link and a blogroll. What prize would you be most likely to want to win?

To all veterans of all wars, my deepest thanks for giving up your freedom, and sometimes your life, so that I could keep mine.

The word for me right now is overstuffed and overtired. Oh, right, that's two words, isn't it? We wound up going out to a nice dinner, seeing a movie, then going out for dessert after. This morning, we went to a fancy breakfast where they have some Caramel Brioche French Toast, which is heavenly. Hung out at the beach, where it was a bit cold and foggy, but we like it like that. Then, a bit of shopping, and on to an 86th birthday party at a fancy restaurant where the waiter, knowing he was already getting his 18% tip because of the large party, was for crap. Hey dude, we realized you didn't want to be there, and we would have rather you weren't there either. And did I mention that Hubba-hubba took Mr. P to get a haircut and miscommunicated to the barber what he wanted, and the man SHAVED HIS ENTIRE HEAD. My poor son has NO HAIR. I hate to say it, but he looks like a mange victim. The Christmas cards are gonna look GREAT. RIGHT. I think I will go out looking for ha...

Welcome to the Saturday edition of Pointless Points Trivia, where the points don't matter! That's right, just like me attempting to make plans for tonight and tomorrow, they just don't matter! What is the scientific word for a cat's whiskers?

You know you are the parent of a young child when you cannot go out on your anniversary weekend because the child is sick, and who is fool enough to watch a sick child? Right, nobody. So, we had to postpone our plans for this weekend. Except, we don't know what the hell to do. You see, we so rarely get chances for a night to ourselves (including a sleepover for Mr. P at Grandma and Grandpa's house) that we are completely out of practice planning for something that does not involve a five year old. We are debating going to see Cirque Du Soleil, but we've seen them a few times already, and dude, the tickets are 90 bucks apiece. For a tent in a parking lot. That's what really gets me. Add to that it is a show based on a funeral, so I'm guessing it may or may not be all light and fluffiness. We are so pathetic that going to a movie in a theater is a treat for us. Maybe what I'll do is look at the movie schedules at the mega-plex and just plan out an entire day ...

In my family, gift lists are requested for Christmas shopping. If there is anything my family (including my parents, sister, grandparents, the works) dislikes, it is buying something the person won't like. So, we take out the guesswork entirely and make lists for each other. How about you, does your family make lists/give suggestions or is it all done by intuition?

Perhaps some of you may have noticed, but the real estate market is beginning a tumble in prices that benefit us, prospective buyers. And we're going to wait. That is cold, cold comfort to those such as J and Py , who are attempting to sell their place as we speak. But, we're not going to wait too much longer, if that makes them feel any better. There is no sense trying to time the bottom of the market, and we have been putting off moving, oh, since Mr. P was born because of the huge runup in prices. So huge that at one point, we could barely afford to buy our own place from ourselves. We should be ok even if we sell at a lower price than we could have gotten say, two years ago. We have, however, a dilemma. We have narrowed our choices down to two cities. And we are stuck there. We just can't figure out which city is better, and they are oh-so-different. Let me give you a rundown. City 1 Older, smaller houses (in our price range) Larger lots Beach city Infrastructure...

Gets to choose the best outfit. Mr. P's preschool is having their annual Christmas Pageant, with this year's theme being "Christmas Around the World" and as this is a Lutheran school, there is no tiptoeing around the holiday. No "Yuletide Around the World" or "Winter Festival Around the World" over here. It's straight up Christmas, and if you've got a problem with that, don't enroll your kid in a Christian school. I am always early dropping him off to school because I am just anal like that about almost any appointment or obligation. I have yet to drop him off late. I know I just somehow put that curse out on myself, and it is now echoing through the cosmos, probably coming back to bite me in the ass on the day I need to take him to his SAT's. So, there I am being all early and stuff, when I see that there is a sign-up sheet on the little table the teacher has set up outside the door. I pick it up, and it seems that this year ...

I have gotten some comments, on this blog and the other one , that make me pause for a second. The post I just linked to is not an example of that, I just want you to answer the poll. Anyhoo, people seem to take me much too seriously for their own good. I mean, sometimes I write some fairly outrageous things, and I get these tsk tsking responses that leave me scratching my head a bit. I feel badly because I've outraged them or upset them somehow, and really, I am just trying to make them laugh. Perhaps people are just having a bad day. Perhaps they are in a rush, and only reading like, the first two sentences of each paragraph or something. I truly try to make it clear when I am joking in a post. Or do I? Maybe I just think I am being very obvious at the sarcasm or irony or just plain lying. So a word of warning to anyone who reads anything I write, believe me only about 20 40 60 percent of the time and you'll be on the right track.

Today I was granted an extra hour. What could I have done? Taken a walk Folded laundry Done housework Weeded my planter Written the first chapter of the great American Novel Baked some scones Begun reading a new book Learned how to knit Played a game of chess Washed my car Gotten a massage Yes, I could have pursued any of these fine, enriching activities. Well, ok, maybe some of them wouldn't necessarily be considered enriching, but I actually could have caught up a bit on things that needed to be done. But no. Do you know what I did with my extra hour? I blabbed on the phone. Actually I blabbed on the phone for an hour and a half, thus putting me at a negative half hour. So, in the hole for a half hour already. Who says Gina doesn't know how to manage her time? Oh, yeah. Everybody.

Is it just me, or is the NaBloPoMo Randomizer not working very well? It doesn't smoothly move from blog to blog, it opens up an entirely new window for each blog, which I'm sorry to say, sucks the big one. And a free pointer to some of the participants, if the first thing I read on your blog is "Oh, well, I guess I had nothing better to do, and I don't really post a lot but maybe this will inspire me" type of stuff, I will get off your blog as soon as possible. Nothing like enthusiasm to inspire your readers! The other day, we went to a place called Medieval Times with one of Hubba-hubba's brothers and his family. It is the type of place that is continually made fun of because you eat a roast chicken with your hands (because duh, there were no forks back then! At least, that's the premise they're going on) while you watch some knights joust and pretend to tumble off their horses. But hey, we had a coupon for a free kid with each adult, so we got f...

A little bit before summer, I bought my son some plates at Target that were divided into five sections, a big one for the main dish, and then three smaller ones at the top. As I suspected, he adored them. He is very methodical, very logical, so these appealed to his inner engineer. He also doesn't appreciate his various food items touching each other, so the plates worked like a charm. Since then, he demands prefers that every meal he eats utilize the plates. I only have four, so sometimes I am short one. Usually, knowing the fuss that will occur, I will simply hand wash so that I have one to use. Well, I was feeling ill yesterday, and Daddy, not being privy to the odd routines of a five year old, attempted to serve Mr. P his lunch on a regular plate. It was so not pretty. I can understand the perspective of hey, is a particular plate really all that important in the grand scheme of life? And to those that live daily with a child, the short answer is yes. So even though I was...

Seriously, "Friday Poll" is just getting too old for me to type anymore. And, for anyone from NaBloPoMo, I ALWAYS have a Friday Poll so this isn't some sort of cheating thing. I am of the opinion though, that memes, pictures, and quizzes are not cheating at all. Anyone disagree? If you do, meet me out back and we'll have to fight it out. Do you take your shower/bath in the morning or at night? Or both?