How To Make A Teenager Groan

While sitting around a table at a local restaurant with my three teens and talking about their day, their friends, and their pet peeves, the youngest asked why I wasn't wearing a particular black tank top under the blouse I had on (I chose a white t-shirt instead). "Because that tank top is kinda low and I didn't want to be tugging it up the whole time while sitting across from my sons and giving them a show," I replied.

She rolled her eyes a bit and the boys muttered a Thanks, Mom to which I couldn't help add (with a wink), "Now if I was sitting across the table from your dad, I would definitely be wearing that top." The table went quiet for a split second with three young mouths hanging open before they all let forth a collective groan.

"Yeah, I could have went through my entire day without that," stated the oldest.
"Gee, Mom, uh... yeah, that is not a pleasant picture," stuttered the middle.
"Really, Mom? Really?" moaned the youngest.

Apparently the thought of their dad appreciating the attributes of their mom was a little too much for them. Who knew?  =)

I Am A Former User

It's official! I have cut the facebook cord. I deactivated my profile, gave my kids a heads up that their own accounts were up for "search and seizure" at any given time, and removed that familiar blue f from my favorites tool bar. I honestly have no intention of going back. The only thing I will really miss is the ability to post these entries to facebook; I know a lot of my friends and family followed me that way. Oh well. I guess now we'll see if any of them liked me enough to track me down (and the answer there is probably not).

And like I often say, "That's that."

Facebook No More (Well... Maybe)

Here we go. The great facebook debate. To stay or not to stay. For the first time since I joined the site, I do believe I'm about done. I logged on this morning to see the status update of someone who is not on my friend list for good reason:

A). I have no clue who the person is, and
B). Vulgar language about male body parts is something I can do without.

Since facebook implemented their latest round of changes to the site, pretty much everyone is open game. It all has to do with mutual friends and status updates and comments and likes and all that, but the short of the story is, if I can view information about people that I am not personally linked to, then those same people can see mine. I have always been very particular about my friend list. I keep it at around 100 (this in a world where people have 300-500-1000! people on their list of friends). Yes, I've unfriended people who:

A). Never commented or updated anything anyway which for some reason annoys me, or
B). Used that aforementioned vulgar language about body parts or their mama or God.

I figured that was the point of having some sort of control. I immediately nixed the whole places feature that turns ordinary people into celebrities by allowing the paparazzi (aka their friend list) to follow their every move. That kind of thing is just not for me. I once "followed" a guy as he went from the library to the gym to Starbucks and finally back to his home. This is one of those guys who has friends in the 1000s and think about it, if I was following him via facebook (this was back in my farmville days... 198 days sober!), how many other people were also? He's got a beautiful home, a beautiful wife who stays home with beautiful kids, and a brand-new 52" flatscreen/LCD/HD3D (I have NO idea what I'm talking about here)... anyway, he's one of those people that will post everything about his life.

Does this make me sound like a stalker? I promise you I'm not, but with the information that some people put out there, I almost feel like one. I'm just a semi-bored housewife with no evil intention at all who just also happens to be very observant. Imagine if I really were looking to do something like steal your new tv or investigate your child custody case or raise your property taxes...

Yeah. Maybe I should go offline with facebook.
I may not have many friends left after this anyway.

My point is that there is so much information out there. Yes, I give my own pointless updates and post pointless pictures from time to time and just generally have a little fun with it all, but that control, my control, is slowly getting peeled away and I gotta tell you, I don't like it one bit. As I told one other person earlier this morning, the whole thing is starting to get a little creepy. I know there are people out there, good people, who could care less about the whole privacy issue. That's just not me. I didn't have a high security clearance for nothing, you know.

I'm a private person (who also happens to write a public blog).
Yes. I do see the irony there.

So what happens to a facebook user who leaves the arena? Is there withdrawal? You know, the farmville reference earlier was just a joke (I really haven't counted the number of days since I last plowed or harvested or whatever), but I did discover more time once I stopped.  Maybe I won't miss it at all.

Or maybe I won't go anywhere.
Are there really more changes in store?
Am I jumping ship too early?

I never had this problem in the pre-facebook world.

Seven Minute Recap...

Cause I'm killing the light at ten o'clock.

1. Woke up with a smile.
2. Waved goodbye to kids.
3. Made some coffee.
4. Read my bible.
5. Talked to my dad.
6. Got a sick call from school.
7. Picked up a girl.
8. Went to doctor.
9. Picked up more kids.
10. Made it back home.

Yeah. Pretty typical, ordinary kind of day. I'm thinking I should have just called it a day then and went to bed early because shortly after 5:30 p.m., the remote went missing and over four hours later, I still have no clue where it went. The fridge is acting up, first the freezer side and now the refrigerator side. I have no clue why.

And I still can't find my nook charger.

Is it Friday yet?

Tony's Jeans



 My old jeans from 7 months ago (from 391 lbs. to 256 lbs.).





Yes I have both legs in one leg. LOL. There is room for another person in the other leg.




So very, very happy for you, Brother. =)

Dear World (Take 2),

Well, I gotta admit, when I wrote that Don't Mess With My Monday entry just a few days ago, I had no idea that the world (and Monday) were about to fight back. Yes, I did get the laundry done and the house got cleaned, but sometime after four that afternoon I ended up flat on my back in the middle of an asphalt driveway and everything came screeching to a halt.

So what do the uninsured do? They pick themselves up and pray for healing. At least that's what I did. A quick internet search suggested that I probably suffered something of a mild concussion and though I am loathe to search any medical diagnosis online (they all lead to death, you know), I had to agree that this one was probably right on the money. My vision was not blurred and I wasn't sick to my stomach, so I figured we could save the trip to the emergency room, take Tylenol as directed, and all would eventually be well.

Then Tuesday morning rolled around. Might I say I whimpered like a baby most of that day?  I couldn't move, couldn't eat, couldn't think. My head hurt, my back hurt, and I swear even my pinky finger hurt. The husband suggested the ER more than one time and more than one time I said, Let's just give it another day. I dined on ginger ale and saltine crackers and when the man of the house wasn't around, depended on that other man of the house (aka the oldest) to help his poor mama out of bed. What a mess! I have never (birthing three children included) felt as bad as I did that day.

Wednesday proved hopeful when I could actually crawl out of bed on my own accord. Although ginger ale and crackers still remained my meal of choice, by the evening a pizza was actually sounding good. Even though I slept most of the day anyway, I had no trouble sleeping that night. This morning showed more promise as I woke up and could actually wave goodbye to the kids from the front porch. Yes, I immediately went back to bed, but three hours later I awoke with some serious hunger pains and only a slight headache. Tonight I can actually stand the backlight of the computer and seeing as how I've already gotten a few of those looks from the kids (the do your homework look, that is), I think things are finally getting back to normal.

And normal sure feels good, even if my head is still a little sore.

So there you have it. You can think you've got something conquered (like a Monday) and then everything changes. One thing about it, being down for the count makes you appreciate all those good days you took for granted. I'm going to have a busy day tomorrow playing catch-up with everything that got put on the back burner this week, but I'm looking forward to it just the same.

And a few final thoughts:

To my mom and dad, I'm sorry I didn't call you right away, but you know how it is... I always hate to worry you all. What I would have given, though, to have my mom taking care of me that awful Tuesday. I will never be too old to need my parents.

To my friend who is taking care of her own daughter right now, I will be glad when you are back. Enough said.

And to any of you out there who may have your own concussion horror stories to share, please don't. If I want to get freaked out, I've got the world wide web.

As always, thanks for reading. =)

Dear World,

Not today.

You are not gonna have me today.

I know things look kinda shaky. I stayed up late waiting on - - -

{This reading is interrupted to point out if you've read this before, yes, a portion of this

 particular  blog entry has been removed due to my belated better judgment.

 Ahhhh... the beauty of a delete button.}

And to everyone who is tired of hearing me go on and on and on about this... well, I guess there are other things to read out there. My next big dilemma will be the prospect of going on for a master's degree. Maybe I'm just afraid I won't be able to find a job. Anyway, if this topic bores you to no end, join the long line of already bored people called my immediate family. My children's eyes form an instantaneous glazed-over, bored look at the first mention of Can you BELIEVE what I have to do this week? The husband is the only one who really has to pretend interest. This was his idea afterall. His support is not up for negotiation.

Another thing trying to bring me down this morning was my beloved children. Oh, I know it is a Monday and they stayed up too late and sometimes mornings just stink. I understand the longing to keep the feel of cold, hard cash in your pocket and thinking life is not fair and wishing your siblings would just talk nice. I really do get it, but life and the school bell waits for no one. I considered jumping the car and driving them all to school to remind them who's the boss, but let's face it: I really didn't want to get out of my pajamas. No, I'm not lazy. I'm just practical. If they're mad at me there's no sense subjecting them to another ongoing lecture that can outlast three stoplights. Besides, there's always the ride home.

I'm gonna wrap this up and kick on the tunes. I've got all day to spread a little sunshine in my life via the washing machine and vacuum cleaner. My first cup of coffee is kicking in and things are looking up already. There are some bright spots to the day:

The Falcons won last night.

And at least one kid smiled at me.

I'm taking my Monday back.