Alaska 2009

What a glorious, glorious time we had! Here are a few pics: My dear father in law with RC (rubber chicken) in his pocket, a picture of me in Prince William Sound, and a couple of pictures of the family at Mendenhall Glacier.

I love Alaska! I was constantly blown away by its beauty. A most highly recommended place to visit.

Chick Flick

David and Kathleen are squeezed together in the recliner, watching Disney's "Princess Protection Program." I asked David if it is any good. "It's a chick flick" he says, "of course it's good!"

That kid cracks me up!

Speaking of chick-flicks, I saw the opposite of a chick flick last night. "The Hangover." It was Paul's birthday and I figured he would like to see a man-movie. What better qualifies as a man-movie than a movie about

a) Las Vegas
b) Bachelor Party
c) Somebody marries a prostitute
d) a cameo by Mike Tyson
e) the entire premise of the movie is based on the after-effects of a night of debauchery.

I think he liked it.

In reality, (i.e., the other 364 days a year), Paul lets me select the movies. The result is that we see nothing but art films and chick flicks, and I like it that way. Secretly I'm pretty sure he does too.

As a special treat, we went to the new AMC theatre in the Power & Light District. For a $10 ticket, you get a movie with waitresses, a full menu, alcoholic beverages, a leather recliner and a larger screen. It was divine! Of course, they require you to purchase a $10 food voucher, so the experience really costs $20 per person. But we realized that you could easily have dinner with your $10 voucher, so the dinner/movie experience can be done for about $20 per person. OK, realistically you'd probably spend a little more than $10 each for dinner, but it's still a pretty good deal. Highly recommended, except for the fact that they always show the worst movies in the VIP room.

One more funny note -- we passed a parking lot that charged $10 and parked right in front of the theatre for free. Hahahahahaha! You gotta love that.

David the Great

I am freaking exhausted from all the relaxation I've been doing. Just got back from the lake: 48 hours of nothingness. Just lazing around, eating and occasional bobbing. We left early and our dear friends closed up the cabin so we could visit David at Boy Scout camp. I am firmly convinced that David is a special kid. Extra-super-special and destined for greatness. I hadn't seen him for a week and he seems so grown up. He showed us around camp and then he took the family to the trading post and bought everybody slushies. What a kid. What a fantastic kid.

"Stop playing with my arm fat."

Yes, that is a direct quote. I just said this to my son who loves to jiggle my arm fat. Not cool.

Speaking of sons, is there anything...I mean anything on this planet that's cuter than two brothers playing together and having a great time?

Brotherly love is way cuter than playing with arm fat.

Raindrops on Roses, not

Things which grate on my last good nerve:

1. Newspapers which are not delivered before 6:00 AM.
2. Serious ethical dilemmas generated by my boss
3. Shoes and socks left outside in the rain
4. Sticky counter tops
5. Finding clean, folded clothes in the dirty laundry basket
6. DVR malfunctions
7. Lukewarm beer
8. Blow drying my hair every...single...day
9. Weight gain, no matter how deserved

Time in the Era Before Internet

What...exactly...did I used to do in the days before internet? How did I spend countless hours?

I think I spent more time cleaning. Certainly my house was cleaner. But I didn't have four children. Let's blame the kids for the layer of dust and dirt that dominates my world, not the internet.

I probably read more. But I don't really remember reading, or what I read, so that couldn't have been it. Besides, if I did spend the extra time reading what good did it do since I have no memory of it?

There was a time in my life when I did a lot of baking. I baked and decorated cakes. I won a prize in the Missouri State Fair for one of my decorated cakes. That accounts for at least eight hours of pre-internet time.

TV was never my thing. In fact, I probably spend more time watching TV now than I did in the past. I'd like to blame the kids, once again, for this erosion of my intellect, but that would be convoluted and flimsy.

Would my children have the ability to conceive of a time before internet? I don't think so, and yet it barely pre-dates them. In fact, I remember our first computer. It was 1989 or 1990, and we were practically newlyweds. I wondered why we needed a computer. What use could it possibly have? I don't like games, never have liked games, so why would I want a computer?

In fact, the old AT&T 8808 (something like that) sat there connected to nothing but an electrical outlet for a few years. My husband would spend time playing games with about as much sophistication as Pong. I had better things to do. I was baking cakes.

But then one tax season, as I sat bored and lonely, I turned to the computer and I found the internet. I remember there was a lot of discussion back in the day about how to use the internet without exposing your ignorance of it. I have no idea what that meant. Supposedly there was a way to hop on the internet and announce to all the world that you were a novice, a newbie...as if we aren't all newbies at one time or another. But we have overcome all that and I think it would be pretty difficult to look stupid on-line. Sure, you can be stupid, but nobody notices or cares.

Viva la internet. What would we do without it? Clean the shower? Life is too short.

Hunger 101

People, I am hungry. HUNGRY! But alas, I am back on the wagon, so I'm shamelessly blogging to keep my mind off of it. Will it work? Doubtful.

Anyway, it's a stormy day and the last day of school. Actually tomorrow is the last day, but I'm working tomorrow, so today is the last day of peace and quiet until August. We have a lot of plans this summer, the best of which is Alaska. We are starting in Vancouver and cruising up to Anchorage. After that we're spending a couple of days at Denali National Park, hoping to see bears, (but not up close.)

My angel baby David is going to Boy Scout camp. This is the moment Paul has been waiting for ever since the sonographer said "boy." (Not that Paul was there when that happened, he was running late that day.) Anyhoo...Paul was an Eagle Scout and loved going to camp. He's going to stay with David for a few days at the end of the session and they're both pretty excited. Poor Little MJ is going to have to suffer at home because he's not quite old enough to go just yet. I'm afraid it's going to kill him. He is 100% MAN after all.

Is it time to eat yet? No...? Why bother trying to lose weight with a cruise in the near future? BECAUSE! That's why.

So much has happened lately: It was a fabulous trip to Italy. Anna made it to senior year and is gathering information about college. Kathleen is busy developing her teen persona, which can by very trying but necessary I suppose. David is a great kid, busy making inventions and comic books. Little MJ concentrates on baseball, fishing and making mischief, just as I always imagined a boy would. Bird is sitting on my head as I write.

We have a new little bird named Sadie. She is incredibly cute, just a wee baby parakeet. She lets us pet her and hold her, even though she's still a little nervous about us. But we haven't eaten her yet, so I think she's coming around.

If it hadn't rained today I was going to help David plant his veggie garden. He wants to grow popcorn, and he grandmother asked him to grow some turnips for her. I hope the ground dries out soon and we get things planted or there'll be no hope of a harvest. To think there might be another gardener in the family! Lucky me.

The Women Go To Italy

Here are a couple of pictures of my recent trip to Italy. I was lucky enough to go with my daughter Anna, my mom and my aunt Pam.

The girls are, (L to R) Pam, me, my mom and the picture on the right is Anna. She's wearing her new leather jacket purchased in San Gimignano.

Anna said, "I hope I age like the other women in my family." Is that sweet or what?