Happy Weekend:-)

We're outta here in a few.

It's a last minute weekend trip to Disneyland! We decided last night.
Joseph and I are on our way to pick Chris up at work, and off we go.

We'll be back Sunday.

I LOVE having annual passports, LOL.

Have a great weekend everyone!

As of yesterday, the US military death toll in the Iraqi war hit 2,000 :*( today it hit 2001. That doesn't even count the thousands of Iraqis killed...men, women and children.
2000 is a hell of a milestone, and one I'm afraid will go much higher.

There were candlelight vigils all across the country tonight http://www.afsc.org/default.htm

I was going to go, and found a couple within a half our or so of home ( although there were none here...) but by the time I got dinner finished and everything cleaned up, it was too late to go anywhere. So...Joseph and I held our own. We lit candles and stood in the front yard. Small and insignificant though it may have been, I felt we were lighting candles in the darkness...and it at least made me feel I was doing something. We had the boom box playing Imagine and Give Peace a Chance.


Smile for the day:
We went to Target today to get Halloween candy . Tonight when Chris got home, both Joseph and I were teasing him, so Chris asked if we had bought an attitude while we were shopping. Joseph said,"Yeah, Target had some on clearance, so we got a whole bunch"


My son the smart ass;-)

A party on Monday night? You bet;-)

I just got back from Karla's 50th birthday party. It was at Diana's house, and there were about 10 women there, plus Diana's husband Steve who did all the cooking and made pitchers of the best Cosmopolitans I have ever had;-)

It was so much fun. We all got dressed up. I don't dress up enough. I like feeling like a girl:) The food was wonderful, and the company was even better. There was a lot of girl power there;-) It is funny. I have known about half of these woman for a few years (some longer) but mostly through church related activites. Hoo boy.....I certainly saw a different side to some of them tonight, LOL.

Get a bunch of Catholic women together, serve them Cosmos and watch OUT, LOL. We even played party games. Now, I'm really not much for party games, but Diana is a great planner. We played a grown up version of pin the tail on the donkey....called pin the boobs on Karla;-) Diana WAS going to buy the long skinny balloons and play pin the dick on Clark, LOL. I learned a lot about her tonight;-) She may be a spiritual woman, but she has a wicked sence of humour. I like that;)

We all went together and got Karla a spa day. She has been though a lot in the past couple of years, with her husband doing what he did. She deserves a pampering:)

Happy Birthday to MIL Eleanor who is 74 today, to BIL Steve (aka Yehudi) who is 60 and to Paula who is 27;-) I was 27 once, about a hundred years ago, lol.

I got a phone call from D. Luckily she just got the voice mail...

*Sigh*

We were such good friends. She really is a kind soul, but she is so far out there that, well....I can't afford her, KWIM. Part of her phone call was griping about being dissed by some friends of mine, and why should they worry, after all, she is 'married' to two gorgeous men, and has a girlfriend. Hello? And holy crap. When she told me last year she was married, I thought she married the love bug, aka baby boy (young enough to be her son) Weeeeeel, apparently, she not only 'married' him, but also 'married' the kid who was renting a room from her. His name is Laci, but it sounds like Latte. I think he is Czech or Russian or something like that. I think he is about 23. The love bug is 29 or 30. She turned 50 in August. I wonder if she ever told them her age?

She told me that "Kimmy" is back in her life, and apparently they have a thing too. She also told me that one of her husbands is having a gallery show in January. She said it is too bad I'm not up there, because he id doing nudes and needs another model. I don't think so. Sorry.

Its all just to weird for me. When I met her, she was already a free spirit, but I think she has gone over the edge:( A mutual friend of ours told me in August that she has lost all her old friends....alienated them. I worry about her, but I have learned I can't take care of the world. I just hope she stays safe....

Youth group had the first donut sale of the year. We got to the church at 7 a.m., and had to wait almost 30 minutes for Jo to show up! I have a key to her office but couldn't get into the hall to get to her office:/ A couple of the kids showed up about 10 minutes after we did so we just waited. Joseph called Jo ( I was afraid she had forgotten!) and she said their gazebo blew over last night in the windstorm, and they had to put it back up.

Anyway, they all got there about 7:30, and Flo showed up with the donuts soon after. It was a busy morning. After paying for the donuts, we cleared almost $300, so it was a good day....and we ran out of donuts. That has never happened before. Those kids work their butts off. We got finished cleaning up about noon.

Joseph went over to Derek's afterwards, and Chris and I went out to lunch and to do a little shopping. We got Joseph a new pair of Vans (19.99), I got a pair of Emu boots (19.99) and Chris got some fake Birkenstoks for $8.00!

After we got home, I changed and left for youth group. we critiqued last weeks rally and talked about the LA trip, and another big rally we have in April. Chris did a little work around the house then he met me for Mass at 5:30. He left right after Mass to put the water on for tortellini. OMG, Costco has the BEST tortellini! Dinner was the aforementioned tortellini, a salad, garlic bread and black olives. It was oh so good;-)

That was my Sunday in a nutshell;-)

Back To Square One

Well, the in laws made an offer on a place in Oregon, near Steve and Roberta. It sounded perfect....in a Senior Park, only 5 minutes from Steve's house. What is it that is said about "too good to be true"? They got the inspection report back, and the place is a piece of shit. There is all kinds of stuff wrong, so they withdrew their offer:(

I don't know when the hell the move is going to happen now. There are a couple of other places they looked at, so their Oregon realtor is going to check them out. Will we have to take them back up for another look? Probably. Oh what fun. Not.

Chris has already told them that he will NOT drive a U Haul over the summit in the snow. *I* think they should just move up and find a place to rent, if they can't find the perfect place to buy yet. I am getting frustrated, and I know I shouldn't. BUT....we are basically putting all our plans (including a Disneyland trip) on hold until we find out when they are going to need us:/

HEALTH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise.
Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.
___________________________

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.
___________________________________

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?

A: Well, hell NO, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine. That means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!
____________________________________

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: Well, if you have a body and you have body fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc. ____________________________________ Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program? A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good

____________________________________

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!!. Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

____________________________________

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.
____________________________________

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?

A: Are you crazy? HELLO ..... Cocoa beans ... another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

____________________________________

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

____________________________________

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?

A: Yes. And remember, 'Round' is a shape!

____________________________________

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.
And remember: Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Champagne in one hand - strawberries in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO! What a Ride"!

From The Inbox

Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity :

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses On, Point AHair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom, Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want FriesWith That.

4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk, Label It "In".

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone Has GottenOver Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch To Espresso.

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Over Charges".

7. Finish All Your sentences With "In Accordance With The Prophecy".

8. Don't Use Any Punctuation

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order A Diet Water, Whenever You Go To Eat, With A Serious Face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-Through Order Is "To Go."

12. Sing Along At The Opera.

13. Go To A Poetry Recital, Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme.

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area, Play Tropical Sounds AllDay.

15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friend You Can't Attend The PartyBecause You're Not In The Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, RockBottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won"!!

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking Lot, Yelling"Run For Your Lives, They're Loose"!!

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We're Going ToHave To Let One Of You Go."

20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.......Send This E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile.

Its Called therapy.

You are Psalms.


Which book of the Bible are you?
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I am ready for bed;-)

The youth rally really turned out well. I know I was bugged about it, but I should have known it would all be all right. Oh me of little faith;-) The kids didn't use the video skit they had filmed, instead they did an impromptu skit that turned out amazingly well.

The speakers and the music were awesome. Michael Pritchard http://www.michaelpritchard.com/ was the keynote speaker, plus he spoke a couple of other times during the day, plus he ran one of our workshops. The man is awesome. That's all I can say. He connected so well with the teens, and he made me cry;-)

Our other workshop was called "can God be a sweaty DJ?" That was put on by this guy: http://www.vincenims.com/ Vince also sang for us. I wish I could remember the words to his song, I Like Bananas;-) He also sang a song he wrote about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. I ended up buying his CD. He's another one who the teens absolutely love. Not only is he a good speaker and singer, but he is also a Beatles fan. I know he is good people now;-)

I only hope that when we are in charge of the rally (in 2 years) we can get speakers half as awesome as those 2.

The kids all had a great time. A great time. I think (know) they were all touched, and that they all came away with something positive. What more can you ask? (And Alyssa was sweet....she even gave me a hug and thanked me)

I know it had to be a good day. I used the word awesome 3 times in this post, lol.

Grrr.

Well, I finally just took my video camera up to Jo's so she could review and edit the film the kids made the other day.

First, Alyssa called and told Joseph they couldn't edit it (WTF?) so they are going to have to do something else tomorrow. She had an idea of a skit similar to Punk'd, called blessed, or something like that. Only problem is....the rally starts at 8 AM tomorrow morning...and how the hell are they going to practice? Joseph suggested they just do a couple of the songs they do so well, and she poo pooed that idea, saying "all the kids that are going need to participate." Hello?!?! All the kids that are going are in choir, so it would be no problem. If John and Joeph took their guitars, they could play while the others sing...

But wait, there's more!

Jo called later. She said that she didn't see anything wrong with the video, and didn't know why we couldn't use it, but that Alyssa didn't like it, therefore it won't be used. Again, she is letting her daughter run the whole show. I wish Jo would be the mother,and quit letting Alyssa run over her and everyone else:/ There are going to be some pissed off people tomorrow if the only reason they don't use the video is that princess isn't happy with it:/

I will be glad when this rally is over with. I was really looking forward to it. Now, not so much.


And she wonders why we are havig a hard time keeping yg members?

I'm glad I'm not the leader.

Just Breathe

So the big youth rally is Saturday. We film the skit the kids decided on, but there is NO ONE to edit it, and no one who knows what the hell to do now:/ I get an email tonight from the youth minister asking if the tv plug on the video camera is compatible with an LCD projector, because she JUST called the rally organiser TONIGHT and found out there will most likely not be a television there. Great planning:/

Soooooo, tomorrow morning I have to take the camera with all the cords to Best Buy and ask them. If it will work, I drop the camera off at Jo's so she can edit the film. If it won't work...well, I asked her if there is a back up plan. I guess the kids could do a live version of the skit, or maybe just sing a couple of songs. either way, it looks like my Friday will be spent either helping edit, or being at a rehearsal for a skit/song.


Then there is the saga of moving the inlaws to Oregon. After too many phone calls, I think we have it figured out. Chris will go down early Saturday morning, pick Roy & Eleanor up and drive them to Willows (about half way between here and Oregon) Steve and Roberta will meet him there and take R&E the rest of the way. They will stay for a week, looking for a place, and buying it outright if they find one. Either we reverse the process next saturday, or they may possibly just stay then. In any case, soon after that (probably the week after) Joseph and I will go spend a week in Santa Cruz to get their house all packed up, packing what they have marked and getting rid of the rest. Then Chris will rent a U Haul and we move their stuff up to Oregon. Oh what fun. Not.

The only thing keeping me semi sane through all this is the promise of Paul next month. Twice.

The kids at youth group are working on a skit for the big rally on Saturday.

Yesterday we spent 3 hours at the hall filming. I took the new video camera and let Heidi use it. I figured, she knows more about filming than I do, lol. I stayed out of it because it is the kids thing, but oh boy;-) I was getting a giggle out of Alyssa taking over and giving direction. Quite a bit of , ahem, 'creative differences' going on. I think they spent half of the 3 hours arguing;-)

When Joseph and Derek were finished with their part, they went outside. After a while, they got bored (Derek especially....that kid gets bored so fast, lol) First, Derek called my cell to ask for Joseph (who was sitting next to him), then they decided to call Alyssa and ask when it would be over. She didn't like that, so she hung up on Derek. He called her back. She hung up, and so on. I don't know why she didn't turn her phone off, but that isn't the point, really.

~A little backstory on Miss Alyssa.....I love her dearly. She is a funny kid, but she does have a major "my mom is the youth leader, so I should be special and get more privileges" attitude. I know it pisses some of the kids off, because they come complain to me:/ She also can be rude. Very rude...both to kids and adults. I guess because she talks to her mom the way she does (like she is the adult and mom is the child) she thinks it is acceptable to speak to others that way.~

Anyway, back to yesterday. apparently, the last time the hang up happened, she had been yelling at the boys for calling and bugging her and Derek told her that she was being a bitch. (which was true, lol) Now, instead of telling Derek to STFU or whatever (she is 17....they are 14) She marches over to where the adults were, and tells John and me "You need to talk to those boys, they are being disrespectful and calling obscenities. You need to punish them" Excuse me? A 17 year old doesn't tell an adult what they 'need' to do, or how to (or whether to) punish their kid:/ John went out to talk to the boys. He told them it wasn't appropriate behaviour and left it at that. I don't think Miss Alyssa thought that was enough, so she became just what Derek called her;-)

When we were getting ready to go, after cleaning/sweeping the hall, she gave me a horrid , hard look and said "We have to get out of here now. We have to hurry up. NOW" Now remember, she is 17. I am...older than 17. Much older. I just raised my eyebrow at her and continued what I was doing. If the girl wants bitch lessons, I can give them to her, LOL. I have had much more practice than she has;-)

As we were leaving the building, she reaches over to take the camera. She said "I'll take this home and my cousin can come over and edit it" Excuse me?? Sorry, but I am not handing my brand spanking new video camera over to a 17 y/o. First off, Chris would kill me. Second, she didn't ask. She demanded. I held onto the camera and told her we could get together at her house this week with Heidi, who shot the video, to edit.
I think the princess is pissed at me because I didn't acquiesce immediately to her wishes;-P

oh well.