The Prince of Darkness

Today was a weird weather day. This morning it was bright and sunny, then it clouded over. While folding some shirts, it suddenly got very, very dark. I asked, "Who brought the darkness?"

Brett replied, without looking up from his video game, "He did," and pointed at Tyler with his elbow.

"So, Tyler, are you the Prince of Darkness?" I asked.

"No, Ozzy Osbourne is," Tyler answered.

Then both of them chorused, "He's been the prince of darkness since 1979!"

I think they watch too much tv.

Going to the Orlando Tea Party

Since it is a weekday, and it is short notice, I'm not sure how the turnout will be. On the other hand, it is downtown and during lunch. Everything downtown is walking distance from Lake Eola, so

A Sorry Letter by Tyler

Tyler G.
Writing

I hit my freind in the back. It made a mark. It was redder than a baboons butt. Than I got in trouble. He told me to hit him. We had to write a sorry letter.

The End.

Mom's note: This is spelled exactly how it was in the letter. I found this tucked away in last year's student planner.

Back on my school schedule

I'm butt deep in homework from Wednesday til Saturday. I have one class that so far is full of rather dumb assignments. I could get them all done in about 5 minutes.

OMG IT'S COLDER!!

It's below freezing here in sunny (not really) Florida. Yes. It is 31 degrees out. I am so glad I bought the boys those oversized heavy winter coats. I thought they might wear them 2-4 times a year for the next 3 years. They wore them that many times last week. The other days they required sweatshirts and jackets (layers, it's FL, usually warms up in the afternoon)

Next thing you know, I'll see snow. If it's going to be this cold, we might as well. I haven't seen actual snow, beyond a flake or two, in florida in over 20 years. At that point, I was driving to MA during a storm that pretty much blanketed the east coast.

Sorry global worming fruit loops, I didn't believe your fairy tales before, I sure as hell don't believe it now

OMG IT'S COLD!!

My fingers are having a hard time typing. I'm cold. It's only 44 degrees out here in sunny (not) warm Florida. I don't want to put the heat up, but I'm shivering. I know the sun will warm the house sooner or later (like it does all summer) but I'm not sure I will last that long LOL.

Maybe I'll go out to Dunkin Donuts for a cup of HOT coffee. Yes. That would be good. I can just hold it. Snuggle it. Caress it. Until I absorb all the heat from it. Then it will be cold enough to drink.

I'll even hold it between my feets to warm the toesies, which are rarely cold, but are now protesting me wanting to throw on flip flops for the trip to DD. Tying sneakers is just too much effort. Not that I tie them. They are perma-tied so I just jam my footsies in. But socks. Too much effort. What? My feet just told me to just stuff them in sock free. Anything to prevent being exposed to the cold in the flip flops.

Journalspace is up

I just went back and resigned up. I was just getting used to being here. I'll give it a try, maybe write in both places

Hell is in a closet

I spent two hours in the boys' closet culling toys. The boys cooperated fully. In fact, they were more than willing to part with their crap. Superheroes - gone. Cartoon guys - gone. Trains - gone. Cars - gone. Hulk hands - gone. Keyboard with microphone - gone. Happy meal toys - gone. Surprisingly enough, stuffed animals were KEEP!!! They never like them much when they were younger, but when I threatened to bag a froggy (Brett has 10 of them), he freaked. There are so many stuffed animals on their beds that there's hardly any room for them.

I kept a few of their favorites when they were younger, but the rest are in lawn and leaf bags ready for the Salvation Army. There are four and a half bags. I just don't have the motivation to sell it on ebay. I still have to go through their books and drawers and cull small clothes.

Going to the asian food store

I have a favorite one down in Orlando where I will get my month's supply of kimchee and curry (tyler's fave). I'll stop at Albertsons on the way back and pick up some Lean Cuisines which are on sale 6 for $10. I love their cabbage roll dinner. I lost 20 lbs eating them during my last days at work, and hope to lose even more.

I spent 1.5 hours on the elliptical today and I need a shower before I go. See you all later!

First Day of School (for me)

Well, here we are, another semester, another buttload of homework. I have 3 online classes and one drag my butt across town class. At least I have no writing classes this time. I figured out that that is what was making me ignore my virtual life... if I spend so much time being forced to write, I just don't want to do any writing for me.

At least the first week of class has nothing due, since this is still the add/drop period. There is one class that I think is going to be way more work than I want to deal with, but I HAVE to take it, even though I pretty much know everything they are going to teach me already. It's always the the "easy" class that loads you up with work. It's not hard work... just time consuming.

I have two other instructors who are extremely picky... but I've had them before and know what to expect. One has reasonable exams and is very picky on the projects, the other has nightmare exams (minutiae) and is a little easier on the projects as long as they are in on time.

The Drag My Butt In class is for Adobe Illustrator and I've had this instructor before too. She's extremely easy as long as you follow directions, there are no exams, just design projects. And design projects I like, even when I'm forced to do it.

A few minutes of peace

I set my alarm clock 45 minutes earlier than the boys get up. Sometimes I snooze for a few extra five minutes (snooze is at 5 min intervals) and sometimes I get my bleary eyed self up and sleepwalk the internet. I have five minutes left before I have to deal with getting the boys up and ready for school.

I used to get them up earlier, but rushing them keeps gives them less time to whine, complain and resist. Sometimes they wake up smiling, but it is rare. Most times it's with a whine, "Why can't you wake HIM up first?"

Two more minutes of peace and it's time to start the most stressful part of my day.

Evil, evil twins

I swear my blood pressure must be sky high.

I told the boys we could go to the YMCA and they could play at Club Y if they did their homework. Not only did they not bother with their homework, but they actually whined at me when I said we weren't going since their homework wasn't done. Then Brett had the nerve to try to pass of a list of spelling words as his spelling sentences homework. That was the last straw.

I am now in possession of their Wii, PS2, and both laptops. I already yanked the cable from their room at the beginning of the school year when they couldn't comprehend that bedtime meant go to freakin sleep, not watch TV until 1 AM while sitting on the floor in your bedroom.

I am so tired of this homework battle. I have decreed that they will not enjoy life (play games and go to Club Y) until they learn to do their homework without making my brain explode. Do you know how hard it is to scrape it off the walls and spackle it back in my head? I need every cell for my own homework, which begins anew next week.

Furthermore, if I have to be tortured with my own homework, I'm sure as hell going to have company. You know what they say about misery.

And here I was thinking I was going to enjoy this last week of winter break for myself.

So that's what carpet looks like with 3 yrs of dust

I am rearranging my bedroom. Right now I have to hurdle piles of boxes to get in or out of my room. I have moved the dressers to their (almost) final locations. I need to pull the bed down off the lifts, pull it one way, vaccuum behind it, pull it the other way, vacuum behind it, then flip the orientation. While I'm at it, I'll change the bedding and put away the clean folded laundry sitting on it.

I'm debating on whether to finish it tonight or just wait until tomorrow. I already dragged out all of the stuff that was under the bed.

Oh wait. I need to feed the kidlets before Tyler eats Brett. Guess I'll just have to wait til tomorrow

Eek.

This is why I will never jump out of a perfectly good airplane wearing folded bedsheet attached to a backpack with string.

Clearance Crazies

Why is it that when people hit the Christmas clearance they all look like someone stole their anti-anxiety meds? The panicky manic looks on their faces is quite entertaining. They all look like they're afraid of missing something.

I hope I didn't look like that. Knowing me, I probably just looked pissed off.

I managed to pick up some silver snowflake ornaments today. They were 75% off. I also got a silicone bowl scraper thingiemadoo that will make an awesome icing spreader for the cupcakes I'm intending to bake. I'll have to wash all the silver glitter off it first. It shared a bag with the snowflakes, which felt it would be nice to share the glitter. I'm covered in it, my purse is covered in it, and Brett, who has the retractable umbilical cord and refused to acknowlege his birth, is also covered in it.

Damn

My long term blog home, journalspace, is gone forever. I really loved the place, even though I haven't spent a whole lot of time there recently. Might have something to do with the going to school full time and working full time, at least until August. Now that I'm unemployed and on winter break, I have more time to mess around, and then JS go poof!

Waaaaah!!!

Somehow the money situation got turned around. I haven't hated my job in the last two weeks, and we were allowed overtime, which pulled me out of the financial crapper big time. Then my parents sent money for me to go shopping for the kids, and sent a package with toys and books in it as well. Then their grandma on Boob's side sent them twice as much money for Christmas as she normally does. Then Duncle Dan's parents sent us cash.

Of course, between the overtime and the fact that all this arrived in the last week has me shopping at the last minute. I found that getting up early and hitting the stores right when they open is the best bet. I went to Sears, Target and Linens n Things and didn't have to wait in line in any of them.

You know, I haven't spent a dime of the money meant for me on me. Maybe I'll get myself some exercise videos from Target and workout wear from Macy's.

While I was picking up the Twins of Terror this afternoon, one of the bubbly young counselors gushed, "Your boys are so sweet! They're such good boys!"

I blurted out, "Are you talking about MY kids?"

She looked confused, while an older counselor laughed (who was probably the ripe old age of 21) "You're Brett and Tyler's mom right?"

"Yes... you mean they're GOOD here?" I'm shocked.

She's back to gushing, "They're so sweet! They always hugging each other and they're always so good!"

"Are you sure they were hugging?" I'm mystified. Now if they were trying to wrestle each other to the ground, or strangle each other, that would make more sense. Otherwise, my kids have been kidnapped by aliens and replaced with these duplicates with sweet dispositions. Or they were flipped with an alternate universe... maybe they'll turn up with goatees.

"When one cries, the other gives him a hug," she explained.

Hmmm. That does happen on occasion. When one accidentally on purposely hurts the other and he starts to cry, the guilty party will try to console him so the Mom of Justice won't swoop down upon him.

At this point, B&T exit the building. They're all smiley and happy!!!! With no facial hair. Then Brett was taking his sweet time getting in the car and Tyler starts yelling at him and calling him an idiot. Guess they weren't kidnapped by aliens. Darn, I was hoping to keep the good copies. It was just an act to impress the pretty girls, which they dropped as soon as they got to the car.

This explains why they are so cranky when they get home. They use up their quota of good during the day at camp.

Weather Karma
To all the friends and family in New England that gave me that, "I could NEVAH live in Flahrida with all those huhricanes," and all that happy horseshit:
How do you all like your new indoor pools? What? Can't hear me? Swim closer! Across the backyard! That's it!

I'll take 10 days of inconvenience every 20 years or so over the 160 months of winter you all suffer during that same amount of time. Never mind the occasional HURRICANE or BLIZZARD or plain ole RAIN that might wash your sorry asses away.

The moral of the story: Shit you say can float right back at you.

At least the notice on JS now estimates that everything will be up and running tomorrow. I don't know, maybe I'll start cross posting so nothing ever gets lost again. I'm so lost with all my favorite haunts scattered to the wind.