Things I Want Thursday - Busy Edition

Here we are at Thursday.  It's been a while since I've done this.  I hope I remember how to formulate a greedy, self-serving, mildly obnoxious list of things I'm wanting.

Ha.

Yeah...like I'm not doing that in my head constantly, anyway.

So.

Things I Want Thursday (TIWT) is my chance to tell you everything I'm wanting/needing/desiring right now.  Well, maybe not everything.  A girl needs a few secrets here and there, eh?  Then, if you so choose, feel free to put your grubby little paws all over my button and do it yourself on your site.  OR, simply let me know in the comments section what it is that you are wanting right now. 

After you read my list, send me these things.  After I read your list, I'll smile, nod, and say, "poor sap, ain't never gon' happen."

Here we go:

This week, I want:

1.  To tell you that the week after Scope and Cora came to visit, I was in the videostore looking for something to rent for a family movie night.  My husband was still at work, so I sent him a text asking, "Do you think Coraline would be too creepy for the kids?"  He responded, "I don't think so.  She didn't say that much.  And she didn't say anything creepy.  That's a weird question, Sass."  Uh...yeah.  He thought I meant Cora.  As in the blogger, Cora.  The dude at the videostore didn't appreciate me snorting in the middle of the aisle.  Oh well...

2.  To tell you about the new cast of characters at the gym.  But I think that's a whole 'nother post in and of itself.  I will tell you, though, that they include Snarls Barkley (aka Ebola Virus), Earnhardt, Woody, Level One Dominator, and the duo of Silence of the Lambs and Chuy.  It's so much fun being inside my head.

3.  To hug my dad. 

4.  To have some money to go Christmas shopping.  The paycheck has been helping, in that it's being used to pay off some credit cards and junk.  But...I need cash.  In hand.  Right NOW.

5.  To not hear the new dude at work walk in on the second day we've met and tell me..."I had a dream about you last night."  Um...dude...seriously.  You look like my gynecologist, and you smell like you've bathed in cologne.  Keep me out of your dreams.  Seriously.

6.  New running shoes.  Tara, of "I Can't Help It, I'm Just Me..." suggested that perhaps my shin pain when I run could have something to do with my shoes.  It makes me wonder.  And it makes me want.  Like, in an impure fashion.

7.  I want to go use the gift card that Scope gave me to Victoria's Secret.  I think my hubs wants that, too.

8.  I want to have coffee with my mom.

9.  I want my brother to be well enough to travel here for the holidays.  We've become so much closer in the past couple of years.  And I'm finding myself...oddly enough...genuinely missing him.

10.  And finally...I'll admit it.  I won't even lie.  I want to go see New Moon.  Judge me if you must, but I just need a couple of hours of mental chewing gum to refresh me. 

11.  Ooh wait.  One more.  I want a bottle of Red Zinfandel from Catfish Vineyards.  Yum.  But, at $25 a bottle, I'm too much of a tight-wad to make it happen.

What about you?  What do you want today?  What can I do to make all of your dreams come true?

Feeding the Beast

The narcissistic beast living inside me has demanded that I update this blog.  I really have very little to say, but here I am.  I find it interesting that I actually went to all the trouble of deleting the whole thing, and then got a message from a friend one day telling me I was just like John Kerry.

Huh? 

I'm a mildly unattractive Democrat from New England-ish area married to the queen of Ketchup?  (I'm absolutely sure I have all of those details wrong, except the unattractive part.)  Actually, I think it had to do with the blogging/not blogging/blogging/not blogging cycle that I was caught up in.

You see, apparently my blog reinstated itself.  I like to say I'm like a blonde checking turn signals.  It's on, it's off, it's on, it's off.  Oddly enough, though, this time I did not hit the little button that said restore.  It just...did.

I take that as a sign that I am needed.

So.

Here's what's been going on with me in the past few weeks.  A few...highlights, as it were.

1.  My part time job became a full time job.

2.  I've lost about 15-ish pounds.

3.  I've started running, but when I run my shins feel like they are on fire, and it becomes very painful to actually flex my toes up.  It has gotten better since I started, but not by much.

4.  My oldest daughter and I have reached a point lately where we can not get along, no matter how hard we try.  She's 10, and extremely sassy.  And no, I don't mean that in a good way.  We, her family, are clearly beneath her and we can't possibly begin to comprehend how difficult it is to be in 4th grade right now. 

5.  I've fallen in love with the Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks.  This is a bad thing.

6.  I've gathered a list of words that annoy me.  Top of the list would be moist, supple, nipple, uterus, panties, and scrotum.

7.  I've begun to assemble a list of words that should be used more often.  These include prestidigitation, hence, thusly, awry, somnambulation, and martyrdom.

8.  I've realized that most of what I have to say is inconsequential to the masses, but very important to me.

9.  I have also begun to assemble a list of irritations.  This list begins with people who write (mostly on Facebook) that they "would of" done something.  Or that they "should of."  Hey, idiot...it's would HAVE.  Oh, you didn't know that?  You should HAVE.  See how that works, there?

10.  I've come to realize that I miss you guys.  I don't intend to get back into this thing full force, but maybe just pop in once in a while.  I hope to get a comment or 97 to help me in feeding the beast within.

What have you been up to lately? 

Tell me everything...

Twists and Turns

The road of life can sure have some twists and turns in it.  Perhaps a bump or two thrown in for good measure...

Right now, the road I'm on is definitely twisting, turning, and filled with potholes. 

And because of that, you probably won't hear much out of me for awhile. 

It's not goodbye.  I've tried that once, and failed. 

It's just...see ya later.  Wish me well.  Catch ya on the flipside.  After awhile, crocodile. 

And all that jazz...

Things I Want Thursday...Serenity NOW.

Here we are at Thursday.  It's the most wonderful day...of the week.  Admit it, you're singing the song now, aren't you?  You're welcome.

I must admit, I still do love Thursday.  I hate that my week has changed slightly, due to my new job.  And by slightly, I mean a whole freaking helluva lot.  But still...there's just something about Thursday that makes me smile.  I do see the logic in worshiping Friday, and maybe someday I will.  But for now...Thursday, you are mine and mine alone.

Wow.

And on that creepy note...

Things I Want Thursday, or TIWT to those in the know, is my chance to basically rant and rave about the things I'm missing out on in life.  And once you read the list, you go look through all your couch cushions and your kids' piggy banks and send me the things I'm wanting.  THEN, in the comments section, you tell me what you want.  And I...smile, and nod, and shake my head thinking, "poor sucker, never gonna get that."

So here we go.

I want:

1.  To take a picture of my boobs that I'm not ashamed to send to Scope.  Yeah.  I mean that.  Really.  And if you're wondering what the eff I'm talking about, take a look here.  And, play along.  It's for a good cause!  And it'll make Sass smile. 

2.  I want some really good coffee.  More than that, I want a chance to just sit here and peruse the internet, read all my favorite blogs, and drink a good pot, oops...I mean CUP of coffee.  Seriously, is there anything better in life than a good, hot, steamy, comforting cup of coffee?  I thought not.

3.  I want to continue to embrace my inner redneck.  And when I decide to explain to someone that I'm not a hillbilly, I want to realize it'd be best to not start my argument with, "Y'all have no clue what you're sayin'."

4.  I want the rain to stay away Friday night, so that we can cook hot dogs over the fire.  This would also be known as a wiener roast, but apparently that's not a common term to all areas.  Or, as I call it...the roasting of the wieners.  Yum, yum.

5.  I want a new scrubby thing for my kitchen.  You know...the little scrubby thing that, well...scrubs stuff?  Yeah.  One of those. 

6.  I want some jeans that fit.  I bought a pair of jeans from Old Navy, aptly called "The Dreamer."  I say it's a fitting name, because they are equipped with a tummy flattening panel and butt lift.  Thing is...they're way too big now.  So...all of that fancy extra stuff is kinda wasted on me.  But I must say...if you've ever seen the Butt o' Sass, you'll know it doesn't need too much lifting.  Ka-Pow!

7.  I want to chill.  I'm tired of my heart racing, my head pounding, and always feeling like I'm about to explode.  I screamed at my kids Wednesday morning, and they left for school in tears.  I have completely shut my husband out.  I just want to go sit somewhere and just...breathe.

8.  I want sleep.

9.  I want to go to a local restaurant, Pao, and eat sushi and drink Kung Fu Girl Riesling.

10.  And I want to show you the pictures from when Scope and Cora came.  I don't usually post pictures, but I decided to live on the edge this week.  I know, I know.  I'm a rebel.  And actually, there's only one picture.  You can see the others at Scope or Cora's site.

So.

That's that.

What about you?  What do you want this week?  How may I service...er, I mean be of service to you?

Have a beautiful Thursday everyone!

A good church-goin' fella...

Over the course of the past few years, I believe I've developed a thicker skin.  Very little surprises me.  I could even be described, at times, as jaded.  Perhaps it's because I've had kids, and I've gone through things with them that have "toughened" me, in a sense.  Or perhaps it's because I have worked in social services and have had the chance to see people really struggling, really getting the shaft, or...on the other side of the coin, really screwing the system every chance they get. 

I've seen elderly people abused, abandoned, manipulated, and forgotten.  I've seen kids shuffled through the system because they aren't wanted by anyone.  I've seen developmentally disabled adults left to sit in their own messes when they get lost going to the bathroom.  I've seen juveniles on parole show up at a drug test high as a kite, because they wanted to get out of the 'hood, go to rehab, and get a new shot at life.  I've had a gun pointed at my face when I just happened to drive right through the middle of two rival gangs on a sunny afternoon.

I've seen some stuff.  Nothing too terrifying, but enough to "harden" me, for lack of a better word. 

But today, I saw something that made me grit my teeth.  It made my skin crawl.  It brought tears to my eyes and made me think to myself, "Now THAT'S the kind of guy that gives going to church a bad name."

I had to read this morning, in church.  So I arrived a bit early in order to get an aisle seat, so that I could get up to read when it was my turn.  My husband was getting the kids from their religion classes, and the church was more or less empty. 

A woman, probably in her late 80's, with very white hair and what seemed to have been a painfully humped back came in at the back of the church.  The priest asked her how she was today, and judging by the loud response, I assume she had hearing difficulty.  She loudly replied, "Well, it was going okay.  But this morning I was talking on the phone to my grandson in Germany, and all the power in my house went out.  I sat there all morning confused and in the dark.  Sometimes I'd just like to burn the damn thing down."

Now...

Here's the deal.

This woman is in church every weekend, she's elderly, she is unable to walk up for communion, so the priest brings it to her seat.  But damn it, she's there.  Oh, and yeah, she accidentally (or not-so-accidentally) said "damn," in a church.  Oddly enough, the lights stayed on, and the building didn't come crashing around her. 

But then...and I'm still shaking my head at this...a man, probably in his 50s, somehow connected with her, walked up to her with a little boy.  And he said, so very loudly, "This little guy just asked me if you were a sailor, because you were cussing like one in church."

First of all, I would bet my next paycheck that the little boy in fact did NOT ask that question.  Secondly, big fat hairy deal.  She said "damn," in church.  But this man.  This good, clean, perfectly dressed, perfectly coiffed "Christian" man berated her for five solid minutes for cussing in church.

I looked back over my shoulder, and I saw the woman sitting and staring into her lap.  The man sat down next to her, and continued to ask her, "Do you realize everyone could hear you?  Do you LIKE sounding like a sailor?"


I wish I would  have had the courage to say something. I wish I would have asked him to look in the mirror.  I wish he could have just stopped for a second, and looked at this woman that he was lecturing...she looked like a small child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.




This gentleman reminded me of a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

I don't know what I should have done.  I really don't.  But this small voice in the back of my head keeps saying that by just sitting idly by, I'm really just as bad as him.

Makes me wonder...