I Survived Spring Break (And I Didn’t Even Get A T-Shirt)

Ah Spring Break.  Tropical destinations.  Big parties.  Trips to Disneyworld.

Ha ha ha ha.  What? YOU got to do that kind of stuff?  Sorry, couldn’t hear you over my laughter.  Really, good for you!  I’m glad you got to do the stuff that dreams are made of.

Me, not so much.  I can’t even say that I got to do a staycation.  Instead I got the pleasure of getting to take my children to work with me.  Isn’t that fun?

No, it’s really, really not.

Really, they’re good kids, there’s just so much they can take.  Mommy works at a library.  A place where you’re supposed to be quiet.  And well behaved.

Ironically, my son reads constantly.  Except when we are at the library.  Why choose to read when you are surrounded by thousands of books to peruse however long you want?

Kids at the library these days. Sheesh… If you look very closely you can see The Professor’s head at the computer.

Our weather wasn’t really all that “springey” either.  Except when I was working, naturally.  My big plans of trying to fit in some walking with the kids royally fizzled out.

Because of my husband’s hours, my hours, and the weather, I didn’t get out for the 3-5 mile walks that I’ve been taking except for the one night I practically ran out the door when my husband came home.  Consequently, my tolerance for pretty much everything went from decent to zero in no time.  Isn’t it funny how a little something like being able to get out and exercise can make a difference?

Because it was Spring Break and I was around my children constantly, there were some things that really, really bothered me.  I think if I were to keep track of just how many times I heard the words poop, butt, pee, fart, and throwing up sounds accompanied by hysterical laughter and giggling that it would be into the thousands.

So by Wednesday, I was literally foaming at the mouth.

Our weather has been so crappy here in the Midwest that I finally go to see my mom for the first time since right before Christmas.  It had been three months.  She had Christmas presents for us, that’s how long it has been.  Every weekend it has snowed.  EVERY STINKING WEEKEND.  Except for the weekend we were all throwing up.  Then yeah, there was that.

Thanks to my Mom coming up and staying over a couple of days from Thursday to Saturday, I got some long overdue visiting in and bit of relief from all of the bodily function words.  She also watched the kids for a night and I got to go to my husband’s company meeting, then to Texas Roadhouse for some supper.

And then I got to go here…

If you’re ever in Ames, Iowa and you love you some wine, check out Della Viti! For more information here is their website: http://dellaviti.com/

What is this?  It’s a wine bar.  Yes you read that right, a wine bar!  Kind of like an AutoMat for wine enthusiasts.  It’s very cool-you load the amount you think you want to spend on to a debit type card and stick that in to the machine.  You can then choose whichever type of wine you want and the amount.  Since I’d already had a margarita at Texas Roadhouse, I chose the “taste” amounts.  There’s also beer and different cheese, because what goes better with wine than cheese?

Then Evil Genius went to a bachelor party and I killed him.

(Not really, but it makes a good story, huh?)

So while it ended well, if it weren’t for that I would have surely been committed to the Looney Bin.  Which brings up another terrifying thought:

Summer Vacation is only two months away, and that is almost THREE MONTHS LONG.

(Ulp!)

Did you get to do anything over Spring Break?  Did you stay home and tear your hair out?  I’d love to hear your story!

The Cap’n Countdown: A Geek Girl Post

Hi Steve Rogers:

You don’t know me, but I just want to say this…

Of all the formerly frozen guys in the world, you are totally my favorite.

(Giggles and runs away.)

On Friday April 4th, I finally get to have my date with the Cap’n.  I have to share him with a friend, but I think he can take it.

Also, I don’t get out much…

(Sorry Iron Man, but a geek girl’s got needs.)

Fly on the Wall March 2014: The Cheesecake of Doom Edition

Have you ever wanted to be a fly?  I’m not talking about buzzing around in people’s ears and annoying them, though I do admit that would be kind of fun if it was someone you didn’t like!  I mean getting the opportunity to sneak into people’s houses and get a little glimpse into their lives. Today, you get just that opportunity.  You can take a little sneak into my household by reading the post below.

Unfortunately my life is dreadfully boring these days.  I’m on month three of terrible writer’s block, unless you count the fiction I’m writing that no one else will probably ever read (or want to).  However, you can read these little bits of funny from my life and then go visit the other bloggers on the block who are more interesting than me.  All you have to do is visit the links at the bottom of the post and it will take you out of here lickety split.  Get ready, get set, GO!

Evil Genius:  “Why am I yelling?  I’m making cheesecake, I should be happy, dammit!”

Evil Genius: “Hey, anyone want to eat the frosting out of all of these oreos?”
To clarify, he was making a chocolate cheesecake.  And yes, the frosting was removed with a knife, not a tongue.

Evil Genius’s Chocolate Cheesecake of Doom was rich AND delicious.

You know when you are a parent when you have this conversation:
Evil Genius “I need a towel to clean this up.”
I hand him a towel.
Evil Genius:  Where did this towel come from? Isn’t this one of the crappy towels?”
Me:  “We don’t have any non crappy towels.”
Evil Genius: “We don’t have any nice towels?”
Me:  “No, unless you count the Penguins of Madagascar one.”

Add this to the evidence that will prevent me from getting that coveted Mom of the Year Award: Apparently there IS a thing as a Kindergarten Snack Emergency. Because Mommy, sending treats for Valentine’s Day apparently does NOT COUNT as the monthly treat. Duh. One mad dash to town and back later I at least could keep myself in the running for The Kind of Mediocre Forgetful Mom Award.

The Dukes of Hazzard was on TV.
Me:  “This was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid.”
The Professor:  “Oh, so you watched it in the 1800s?”

We finally made it to the LEGO movie.
Lesson learned: This is NOT the next size up from the large bag of popcorn.
And yes, they ate the whole thing!
PS-Movie cops-I took this before the movie started.

Evil Genius:  “Are you ready to help me cook supper?”
The Princess:  “Yes!  Let the experimentation begin!”

On the way back from town the other day, we got behind an Infiniti.  The license plate read “N BEYOND”.
I so want to be this person’s friend.

One extremely cold morning, instead of his usual sweatshirt and athletic pants, The Professor donned a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans.
Me:  “Aren’t you COLD?”
The Professor: “MOM, I’m supposed to be dressed like a Backstreet Boy!”
(Because apparently Backstreet Boys don’t dress appropriately in cold weather?)

Evil Genius: “My bachelor party sucked.”
Me: “Yes honey, but you don’t have to make it your life’s mission to make sure that everyone else’s doesn’t.”
That would be one weird superhero:  Bachelor Party Man!

Note to self: No matter how much he cries, no matter how much he begs, do NOT let your child take his tooth to school.

The Princess:  “Mommy, my brother poured my cereal for me this morning!”
The Professor, looking very proud “I can pour ANY kind of cereal!”

I picked my NCAA Tournament bracket this week. As I do every year, I utilize a highly scientific system based upon coolness of team names and mascots.
Yep, according to my calculations the Lumberjacks are going to win purely based upon Monty Python song references and flannel wearing opportunities.

Ok MOM, I’ll pose so you can take a picture of my dress but I WON’T put down the DS!

Totally falling asleep due to excessive boredom?  Never fear, go fly on over to my friend’s homes and see what is happening in their lives!

http://www.BakingInATornado.com  Baking In A Tornado

http://www.therowdybaker.com  The Rowdy Baker

http://www.justalittlenutty.com/ Just A Little Nutty

http://themomisodes.com  The Momisodes

http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/ Spatulas on Parade

http://followmehome.shellybean.com  Follow me home . . .

http://stacysewsandschools.wordpress.com/ Stacy Sews and Schools

http://dinoheromommy.com/ Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

http://www.someoneelsesgenius.com  Someone Else’s Genius

http://www.menopausalmom.com/ Menopausal Mother

http://www.pinkheartstring.com   Pink Heart String

http://spinstersnacks.com Spinster Snacks

http://www.juiceboxconfession.com  Juicebox Confession

Twisted Mixtape Tuesday: Under the Covers

It’s time to get twisted!  Twisted as in Twisted Mixtape Tuesday.  This week’s musical topic is Cover Songs. 

Here I was all set to go and simply link up an old post and be done with it.

Then as I dug that old post out and set it out to look at it I realized that this was in my TMT infancy.  In other words, I was such a novice at it that I had no idea how to put video in my posts.  I’ve come so far…  So with a little tweaking, here is the post with fresh new life!

Let’s kick it off with the woman responsible for getting my parent’s alley paved.  True story.  She was coming to town to give a concert across the street, and they paved the alley.  And at the time I thought “Who is Sara Evans, other than obviously someone with a fabulous first name?”  This is hands down my favorite cover of the song “I Could Not Ask For More”.

I Could Not Ask for More-Sara Evans

Remember the 80s?  Why is it that I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast but I can remember every word to almost every 80s song ever written?  This song is no exception to that rule. The original version of this song is pretty dang good, but I’m partial to this particular cover.  The quality of this is not great.  As a matter of fact, it was the only one I could find that the person sat really still while taping the song off the TV using their phone.  Apparently that takes some serious skills!

The Boys of Summer-The Ataris

 

I’m not a big Marilyn Manson fan, but this particular cover is one of my favorites.  Creepy?  Yes.  Cool.  YES.  I couldn’t find a decent, um, clean version of the video, so you have to deal with lyrics.  Want to see the real video?  Google it.  There are boobs in it, among other things…

Tainted Love-Marilyn Manson

And now for something completely different.  How could any version of this song be better than the original?  Make it acoustic-I’m a sucker for that…  Hey look, a video that is actually a video!!!

Listen To Your Heart-DHT featuring Edmee

This cover of Nine Inch Nails “Hurt” could also be used on a mix entitled “Songs that make me want to shoot myself”.

Hurt-Johnny Cash

Garth Brooks makes it very difficult to share his music.  I’m not stealing, I just wanna share the love!  I apologize for the crappy sound, but take heart in the fact that you can try to win a staring contest with Garth Brooks while the music plays.  “Shameless” is in fact a Billy Joel song.  I like his version too, I just love me some Garth.

Shameless-Garth Brooks

Now it’s your turn.  Are there covers of songs that you love a little more or a lot more than the original?  Share that goodness!  Leave me your list in the comments, or better yet share it with Jen and all the cool kids by hooking at My Skewed View!

Twisted Mixtape Tuesday: If My Life Had A Soundtrack

Welcome to the latest edition of Twisted Mixtape Tuesday.  This week’s theme is “If My Life Had a Soundtrack”.

That’s right, you saw that right, what IF there was really a soundtrack to your life?

Previously on my IPod and now on my IPhone I have lists of songs that may not necessarily go together, but they are little snippets of the soundtrack of my life.  I’d like to imagine that my life had a soundtrack like Garden State, only one of the coolest soundtracks ever.

And wallpaper I could hide in.

So just what exactly would I want to put on a soundtrack of my life?  There are so many choices-some that would bore you to tears and some that would depress you beyond belief.  So I kept it middle of the road.

Starting this off (and speaking of Mr Braff in the picture above) I’ve shared this song (used in a very funny episode of Scrubs) before, but as one who suffers from anxiety and insomnia, this just fits.  And Mr Hay is welcome to follow me around and sing about my life.

Overkill-Colin Hay

Just when you think you’re in control, just when you think that you’re on a roll.  In other words, just when you think things are going really well… yeah, here it goes again.  Just like my life.  If you have never seen this video, what rock have you been under?  It’s AWESOME!

Here It Goes Again-Ok Go

Every time I go to do laundry, dishes, or something equally important in my house I wish this song or something similar would start playing.  I’d feel more important, not to mention get more done.

Top Gun Anthem

Have you ever sat and REALLY listened to the lyrics of a Foo Fighters song?  One night I was trying to find some songs for a mixtape and just started googling the lyrics of all their songs I have on my playlists (I currently own twelve Foo Fighters songs that I love equally).  There’s some really deep stuff there.  This is currently on my “life soundtrack list”.  I’m still learning to walk again.  Figuratively of course.

Walk-Foo Fighters

I know what this song is really about.  I prefer to think it be about poor choices… I’ve made a lot in my life… Now if you can get past the creepy video…

Fallen-Sarah McLachlan

My theme song for much of my adult life…

Brain Damage/Eclipse-Pink Floyd

I wish I had some.

At the end of the day, this song needs to play, because I made it, and that’s a triumph in itself, right?

Star Wars Episode IV Throne Room Scene-London Symphony Orchestra

And if there actually was a movie soundtrack to my life, what would it be called?

Or….

Orrrrrrrr…

Ba ha ha…. If you could have a soundtrack to your life, what songs would be on it?  Share, share, SHARE!  Leave a comment, or make your own mix and link it up to Jen’s insanely awesome linky HERE.