Smashing Pumpkins and Cameras

Happy Halloween, all.

Not crazy about this holiday, but my kids are, so...I try to be as cheerful about it as possible.

It takes an extra effort to be cheerful these days, too. I am on day 10 of not smoking. It hasn't been horrible at all. But my mood has definitely suffered. I know it will get better once my brain and my body start getting used to the whole thing.

Someone stole my baby's pumpkin over night and smashed it at the end of our driveway. Right now I am waiting for him to get up so I can break the news gently...he is going to cry, and I hate that. Who would do that to a five year old? Poor little guy. Jerry is giving him his...but you and I both know it won't be the same.

The camera: totally fixed. I took it into the camera store...they confirmed the devastation, and sympathized with me. Then - they gave me a whole new lens.

I felt like I had won the lotto. But that camera is going to be the death of me! A very good lesson in why we are not supposed to love material things as much as I love THAT thing.

Have a great day, all!

Bullets for Pondering

I am going to bulletize this because I am in the middle of scrubbing toilets, cleaning up messes from my 7 year old who ate too much candy at the neighbor's house, and putting away laundry.

Here are some things I want you to write on your heart:

• When going to a different city to meet up with a group of people you only know a couple of, you should know the address of where you are going. And google a map of it, too.
• When going to a different city to meet up with a group of people - no matter how many you know already, you should make sure to have plenty of gas in your tank.
• When you are only seven days into quitting smoking, you should not fight with your spouse about going to a different city to meet up with a group of people you only know a couple of.
• When going to the bathroom, don't hang your camera on the hook of the bathroom stall. It will fall. And break.
• When going out, don't leave your children with the responsible people across the street. They will take your sweet, unsugared babies to Halloween Parties and screw them all up on candy.
  
• Don't make funny sounds while cleaning up after your sugarcracked out babies - it only makes them make more messes.
• And above all, don't get angry and say things to your spouse and co-parent that you can never take back.
  

This concludes my bulletizing. I hope you will be able to apply at least one thing to your own life, or my whole experience has been a waste...;)

ofgs...

Why? Why am I selfish? Why am I not a good wife/mommy etc. just because I don't want to die a slow, rotting death in this house? Why am I irresponsible because I want to LIVE? Why am I shortchanging my children when I participate in group activities and enjoy social events? Why am I acting like I am single if I go out for drinks and dancing with my girlfriends?

I get that he doesn't want to go anywhere or do anything and could be perfectly happy sitting in his easy chair drinking beer and watching netflix movies. I even can still love him.

Why? Why don't I get the same allowance?!

I am sick of this.

Oh, the Great Pumpkin is Coming!

The Pumpkin Patch - SO much fun. Beautiful sunny day, crisp Autumn air, frolicking children and great friends. And no. There was not ONE pub even remotely close to me - so you know it was just that great all by itself!

Last year I realized that I am somewhat of a closet redneck (as much as that makes me want to vomit) because the one thing that draws my attention and keeps it for long periods of time is the Punkin'Chunker.

I LOVE the PunkinChunker! Guess what it do? It chunks punkin's cleeeeeaaaar across the countryside.

Yeah. See? Told you I had a closet redneck in me.





But seriously - check that out! It sounds like a cannon, and then it feels like nailing the greatest drive ever down the green...'cause noone sees the object land. Until you finally give up looking for it and then - wham! It hits the ground and smashes all over the place.

I want one. And I am ashamed of myself.

In other news: Because I am a mommy/wife, I do not get to take an uninterrupted shower. I have seen other women blog about this, and heard many a woman whine about it - so I have just accepted it as part of the deal.

Yesterday during my shower (right at the lather/rinse part) my middle child started banging on the door, hollering at the top of his lungs about how my youngest was using the "f" word.

Me: *Sigh* What are you yelling about?!
Jeremy: Jory is saying the "F" word!
Me: What? I don't understand you. Send your brother here.
Jory: What, mom?
Me: Are you saying the "F" word? Do you need me to wash your mouth out with soap?
Jory: No, Ma'am. I am only saying "F*cking"... not the really bad "Freakin''' word!

Me: Oh...oh. Well. Hmmm. Don't say that either, okay? But go tell your dad about this first before you stop saying it forever.



Here he is picking up a pumpkin that weighs 4/5 as much as he does. I know. He LOOKS innocent anyway.

And don't forget this: I got my bracelet today for three days of no smoking. What do you think I should get for 3 WEEKS of no smoking? Yeah, I thought I should get a trip to Greece, too. Glad we think alike.
;)t

Chewing My Gum, Chewing My Gum...

Starting to feel like a cow chewing cud. Ugh. And my lungs seem to be extra excited to expel (ROFL! Three words with ex! YES!) the yuckiness I have introduced to them in the most expedient (that was just for effect) way.

'Tis Monday morning. And I shall make the very best of today. I hereby do solemnly swear not to smoke, yell at anyone, bite/kick/scratch/slap anyone, shoot anyone and/or cause any discomfort to anyone else in my endeavor to break loose from the dreadul smokie treats.

And Amen.

;)t

Superheroes and the sounds they make...

(Drug Under doing an acoustical set)


I quit smoking yesterday. I know. *groan* Again. But I have to say, I am feeling pretty good about it...and I am hoping that the cough I have had since getting sick (what was that, a month ago?) will start to subside. Although I know it will get worse before it gets better.

After scrambling through the house, purse and car the night before last looking for any smokes that I might have left in a pocket somewhere (so I didn't have to go buy more) I found THREE of them yesterday. Today I will probably find a whole pack somewhere random. Smokes are abundant when you don't smoke anymore.

I awoke today to the sound of the boys playing Rescue Heroes...and I do mean the sounds. Having only been around girls, I do not understand why boys have to add the audio effects to punctuate the actions of shooting, drilling, cutting, shooting, stabbing, shooting and wrecking the helicopter. Why do they need to play such violent things anyway?! I guess I would be sad if they had tea parties, though. Perhaps I will just go get ear plugs.


We are going to the pumpkin patch this afternoon - hay rides and pumpkin cannon included. Don't know why, but I am pretty excited. And it won't even be at a pub.

Have a great day all! ;)

Make Mine Medium Rare...

(one of those sweet moments when the boys are working together...the older boy was showing the younger one how to fly a paper airplane. Isn't that some rite of passage?)

So - the week. The week is over, and now we have to start a new one. I don't think I am ready yet. Recovering from doing all of that yucky, stressful paperwork and telling my boss that he owed thousands of dollars more than he expected took quite the toll on me. For four days or so, I tried in vain to get my back to loosen up - to no avail. At one point I thought I had lung cancer...but no. I don't. But I am scared of these damn smokes again - so THAT's a positive thing!

Got to check out a new group last night, a really, really GOOD group. I love bands that are just starting out because they work so hard to make the audience happy. I love watching them try new things to see what kind of response they will get. It is the epitome of being an artist - expressing oneself authentically, and measuring the effect that it has on other people. Bonus was that the lead guitarist and vocalist is a new chef in the kitchen. I have such a new found respect for him - he never once led me to believe that he is as talented as it turns out he is. THAT is modesty, my friends.

We have made a new deal in our house:
Jerry is in charge of all of the cooking, and I will do all of the cleaning up. I LOVE this deal.

Except, I don't want to do the cleaning either.

Have a good Sunday, all!

So Far Away...

Yeah, I know. My blogging ain't what it used to be.

Truly it isn't a lack of things to say - I have just been actually doing other things! Hard to imagine me doing other things, huh?

About the template - omg you have to help me find one that I like. I tweaked and screwed and messed around with everything that BlogSpot has - I hate them all. I want something new. Original. TerriBerriStyle. Help me! ;)

Our anniversary was spectacular. AMAzing even. For all that J put me through during the week, he made up for it fifty times over with the day I got to spend with him. We rode the bike to a neighboring town and went to an indie music producer's new warehouse - a grand opening with a keg of 90 Schilling and live music! Does life get any better? Yes, apparently it does. We then went to hear Drug Under do a set - remember that name. They are going to be huge. (Have I been wrong yet?!) The best part was that J had a good time. He interacted with everyone, enjoyed the music, let me drink myself silly with no derisive looks, bundled me back on the bike and brought me back to my children. Who had the house "clean" and the leaves in the yard "picked up". And had made us the most beautiful cards...the kind you NEVER throw away. No matter what.

It was a magical day, like none that I have ever experienced before.

I spent the rest of my free time working with my camera - so much to see, so little time. I have some great shots of the bands - but yeah. I cannot upload them. The batteries went dead. I was not expecting that at all. I thought my camera had committed suicide.

And guess what? I got all of that horrible paperwork finished. My shoulders have no idea what to do with themselves now that they are not weighed down with impossible tasks.

As I speak, I cannot express to you how happy I am on this Monday night. I will not be unreasonable and expect things to be this good forever, but I will enjoy the way it feels right now.

*sidenote: The warehouse owner and music producer is going to let me work for free in his shop - in exchange for CD's and entrance to shows - can you believe my luck?!

M is for Mean mommy

Friday? Oh thank gawd. However, I gave myself a rude awakening this morning when I jolted upright at 6:36 A.M. , and then lied to myself by saying,"Oh, don't worry, terri. Go back to sleep. It's Saturday."

I told myself the truth at 6:38.

This week was a little rough. Okay, alot rough. I caught a deep chest cold on Tuesday, got sent home from work on Wednesday, struggled through Thursday with a runny nose, and have hacked my way through most of today. Plus, the J-Man has sensed our anniversary approaching (tomorrow), and although he has never noticed his cycle of doing this, he is doing his level best to make me wish we had never said those fateful I DO words.

Why?!

Every birthday, every major holiday, and every anniversary he starts freaking out, making the day miserable and unbearable. Oh - he also starts this about 3 days before the anniversary of his dad's death. Do you think it's subconcious? Do you think he just feels pressure to perform? Perform WHAT?! I am the shopper, I am the planner, I am the one who does the holiday and anniversary preperation. All he has to do is show up with a happy face. But no. Whatever.


I broke my middle son's heart the other day. I threw out some papers that have been stacking in my office in quite the haphazardly way. I am not a packrat. I get rid of everything I can as soon as I can. (Except shoes.) Turns out that stack was Jeremy's School Papers. And in that stack was a poster that he had made me for Mother's Day. In PreSchool.

Trying so hard not to sob, with deep dark circles under his eyes, he asked me, "Why would you throw out one of your kid's papers?". If that wasn't bad enough, I could barely understand him because his voice was so choked with emotion that he used no consonants in his sentence.
It sounded like this: "Aye -wha-oo-oh-ow-er-iz-a-erz?" And of course I had to make him repeat it. Which made him cry harder.

Why WOULD I? Who DOES that?!

I suck at this mommy thing. And wife thing.

I gotta get me a title that I am good at.

Ride, Baby, Ride...

(My dearest friend Niel getting her first motorcycle ride. Please ignore the trashy neighbors across the street. I am trying to as well.)

This new motorcycle? HOT! I cannot get enough of it.

One really neat thing...you can't stay angry at a man that you have your arms wrapped around and your nose nuzzled in his neck.

J-man has been doing something new and wonderful - having me call before I am ready to come home from work. He then drives up on the big, black beast and whisks me away in quite a romantic (yet somehow yummy/dirty) way.

Tonight we went to the grocery store on the way home, and I had this really wonderful feeling that I am going to be just fine with us growing old together. It will be just the two of us at some point...going where we want to, doing what we want to, and enjoying the company.

And yeah - the groceries fit in the saddle bags. You would not believe the acts of contrition I performed in order to have my previous gaffe (about them looking like oldmansaddlebags) erased from memory. It was a challenge though - perhaps tomorrow I can come up with another offensive thing to say that will require massive creativity on my part to receive forgiveness.
LOL
;)t