Happy Halloween!

I love pumpkins.

I love pumpkin anything. Pie, bread, muffins, smoothies, cheescake. Yum.

But pumpkins also remind me of a story. A story of two young people, in love, and looking for their first house. That would be me and Hubs. Stop rolling your eyes.

We were out one evening, looking at three houses with our agent. We arrived at one, where the owner was home, and walked up the steps to the front porch, waiting for the agent's knock to be answered.

I looked down. Puzzled, I tried to figure out what I was looking at.

Suddenly, it dawned on me. What I was looking at was the remnants of a Halloween pumpkin - from a very, very long time ago.

All that was left was a shriveled stem sitting on a pile of brown, shriveled seeds and maybe a few threads of dried up ick. THAT's how disintegrated it was. Not something I would leave on my porch if I was trying to sell my house. We should have listened to that little voice and turned and run.

But he answered the door with beaming smile and booming greeting. Wearing these on his feet:

Run! But we didn't listen to that little voice. Instead, we got a personal tour, including the hand built, (not well, I might add) plywood.... I don't even know what to call them. He'd basically built a second sent of 'cabinets' on top of the kitchen cabinets to "best use the available space for storage". I'm all about good storage, but these didn't match, hinged differently, and had mismatched hardware. We also saw the 'Elvis Room' in the basement, as we called it, complete with red shag carpet and mirrors on the walls and ceiling.

Needless to say, we didn't buy it. But to this day, when Halloween is over and a pumpkin starts to go soft, the whole thing replays in my head and makes me laugh.

And I'm quick to get my mushy pumpkins to the compost bin.

***Ally
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Homecoming Run Down

Homecoming came and went, and I didn't mention it after the fact.

It was good.

It was sweet.

They were responsible and reliable.

They looked great.

They went to dinner in a nearby town (but not close enough for Mom not to worry about them driving in the dark and rain), came back to the dance, then scratched their plans for the haunted house because it had gotten too late, and went to Applebee's for dessert. They texted us each time they arrived somewhere new. A couple of them came back to our house and hung out until 1:00am, then we sent them all home, with no complaints from them.

How did I get so lucky? Really, this is junior year, and knock on wood, this teenage thing is actually pretty fun. What? Not what you are used to reading about teenagers?

Well, if you've read for very long, he IS still a teenage boy. But in the grand scheme of things, I love being the mom of a teenager. And while I sometimes worry about the length of his relationship with his girlfriend at such a young age (over a year and a half!), I look at some of the other teenage "relationships" or kids out there, and I can only be thankful. That and the fact that they aren't at drinking parties and they aren't smoking pot and skipping school like the kid down the street (another story, another day).

AND his date wore an appropriate dress, unlike our niece who wore a dress that would show her underwear if she sat (yes, we are still hoping she had on full panties and no thong).

Here's some pics from a proud mom, taken at one of their friend's house before the evening began:

I know he'll be thrilled that I just posted their pics all over my blog. Oh well, I only said flattering things, right? He's still my baby.

***Ally
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PS - I'm still sick. Which is why I'm way behind on reading blogs. I still love you all. 

A Hairy Situation

I am slightly ocd when it comes to shaving my legs and pits. I know, quite a way to start a blog post, right? It's been only the last couple of years that I've talked myself into shaving my legs only every other day in winter. Daily pits are non-negotiable.

In my defense, I have thick, dark hair. So those of you with blond, fine, or sparse hair might think I'm nuts, but when I get stubbly, I seriously get stubble.

Yesterday I stopped by TJMaxx. I'm keeping a look out for a great bargain dress for the guild fundraiser I'm involved with every year. It's not until Mardi Gras in February, but now through the holidays is the best time to find a good bargain. Yes, this is relevant.

I was in the dressing room rejecting trying on dresses when I saw it. I thought someone else's short hair had been transferred to me from one of the dresses.

Closer inspection revealed that I have apparently been missing an entire strip of hair in my left armpit. Just the left. The actual problem seems to be that these 8 or 9 hairs were a half an inch or so in front of where the hair should be. What is it doing there? Why is it growing there? And how in the heck have I been missing it? Repeatedly, judging by the length. And OMG, has anyone else seen it??

Well, the bright side: at least it was my armpit and not my chin.

***Ally
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Tips For The Common Cold/Bronchitis

It's been a while since I've been sick with any kind of true virus, so I'm milking this one (since it seems so willing to hang around for a while.)

The following are some tips for getting everything you can by while the virus wreaks havoc on your world.

1. Crowded where you are? Cough that rattly cough into your elbow or shoulder. People mysteriously start moving away.

2.  Drink copious amounts of fluids, preferably making most of that water. Wine and whiskey do not count. Moderate coffee is actually okay - did you know it had mild decongestant properties? Yeah, I don't even know if that's true, but I'm going with it since I read it on the INTERNET.

3. Use it as a reason not to cook. No one in their right mind wants you touching their food anyway.

4. Go pee every half hour whether you want to or not. Look, you do NOT want to go into a lung-spasming-coughing fit with a full bladder. Trust me on this. (see #2)

5. Catch up on all your recorded shows or watch some movies. It doesn't happen often, so use the time wisely - do nothing. And don't even think of feeling guilty about it. The destruction and mess happening around you can all be cleaned up later.

6. Forget your water/tea/kleenex/cough drops in the next room? Moan helplessly from the couch and get one of those rugrats you gave birth to, or the spouse, to bring it to you. Next week they'll tell you to get it yourself. Right now they feel sorry for you. Do not waste that moment.

7. Should you be coughing all night and get sent to the couch or guest room, don't be irritated. Look at it positively. Wherever you land, you get it all to yourself. There will be no one snoring, kicking you or hogging the covers. Enjoy it.

8. Use it as an excuse to go to bed early. You need your rest. Now grab that book and get some quiet reading time in.

9. Steam is great for your respiratory tract. Fill up the tub with hot water and epsom salts, maybe a little eucalyptus oil, and soak. Forbid anyone to open the door - after all, it's vital you don't let the steam out.

10. Don't be fooled. The only ones of these things that are really going to happen is #2 and #4. But try to sneak in one or two of the others, mmm-kay?

***Ally
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A to Z, Ally Style

I stole it from Jaclyn at Snap, Crackle Pop - and she stole it from Yes, Teacher.

But since I'm lacking anything of substance to tell you, here's my version.

Age: Just turned 44. Though I'm sure I stopped aging at around 35.

Bed size: Queen. I was enjoying having the whole thing to myself when I got sick when Hubs was out of town. But he's home now. His first night back, Friday, I offered to sleep in the guest room. He didn't believe the seriousness of my virus during the nighttime hours. By Saturday night, he was glad to see me go, when I moved in there after an hour straight of coughing in the middle of the night. But I digress.

Chore I hate: Scrubbing the shower. Hands down. Hubs and I have an unwritten agreement. He'll scrub the shower and I'll dust. We're both happier that way.

Dogs: One six year old spoiled rotten princess of a lab mix.

Essential start to my day: Well, coffee would be obvious. So here's another - I put on a bra. I just don't think my teenage son wants to see my 44 year old boobs braless under whatever shirt I slept in.

Favorite color: Don't know if I have just one color I'm crazy for, but I do love greens.

Gold or silver: Silver, but heck with the price of gold these days, I should be taking all the gold I can get!

Height: 5'8-1/2" The 1/2 is only relevant because Hubs is 5'8". He may or may not be occasionally sensitive to that.

Instruments I play: Zip, zero, zilch. Though I took piano as a kid and can still play scales. But that's it.

Job title: Active Release Techniques Provider. yawn.

Kids: One 17 year old boy. Love him to pieces!

Live: Born, raised and still living in the Pacific Northwest - Seattle area. EXCEPT for that unforgettable year and a half I spent living on Maui. Something I vow to do again some day.

Mother's name: Mama Sue - at least that's what Lela used to call her.

Nicknames: Hmph. From elementary school - Big Bird. Another day, another story.

Overnight hospital stays: Some stupid virus I had in high school, giving birth, appendix removal. Fun times - those places are not somewhere you go to get REST.

Pet Peeve: Um, should I be embarrassed that I can't narrow them down to come up with just one to list here?

Quote from a movie: Oh, I don't know. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner," comes to mind, not as a favorite, but certainly most quoted.

Right or left handed: Right handed to write. Left hand and leg dominate.

Siblings: Half sister, step brother. Love 'em both.

Time I wake up: Too damn early most days. 6:20 most weekday mornings.

Underwear: Yep. What? What I am supposed to say to that? Bikinis, thongs - I'm very particular about comfort level and won't wear them if they don't meet my standards.

Vegetable I hate: easy - celery. Gross. Seriously, what is that stringy stuff??

What makes me run late: Procrastination. I am the Queen. I shall wear a crown.

X-rays I've had: Good grief, I was accident prone my whole life. More than enough, in fact I'm afraid of the radiation exposure I've put myself through.

Yummy food I make: Massaman beef, Mexican Chicken with Dumplings, Bailey's Fudge. Go on, drool.

Zoo animal: Gorillas. Our local zoo is set up so that if they are in their resting area, they are right on the other side of the glass - they absolutely amaze me. I can spend an hour just looking at their hands and feet! It's freaking scary how human like they are.

There you have it. 26 things you probably didn't need to know about me. 
***Ally
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Friday Rambles

It's been a week, alright. If you stopped by earlier in the week, you know I got sick with the "Ick" just in time for my Hubs to go out of town and leave me to hold down the fort without him.

One thing good came out of that - I got the bed to myself. If he'd been home, I'm quite sure I'd have been kicked to the guest room in half a night. There's a lot of tossing and turning to drain sinuses, sitting up to blow noses, coughing and general complaining about the copious amounts of "fluid" being produced by my head.

What? TMI?

I still feel like shit, if it matters.

The high school Homecoming football game is tonight, and I've never missed one, but this might be a first. Short of some sort of miraculous recovery, I'm not sure I'm up for it. That bums me out, as a friend of mine's daughter, who is a senior is in the running for Homecoming Queen. A position I could spend hours criticizing, but yet can't help feeling a little happy for her.

And the big dance is tomorrow. The Boy and I picked up his tux the other day, and I have to say, when he tried it on, I was struck by the fact that he no longer looks so much like a little boy playing dress up (like he did his freshman year - or even last year), but like a young man who fills his tux out with a much more muscular frame that he was sporting a couple of years ago. My baby is growing up.

I'm thrilled that his date's dress, which I've seen a picture of, is classy. Unlike my niece's dress, which I saw a picture of - their dance was last weekend. I really shouldn't use the words that enter my head when looking for adjectives to describe it, so let's just say that no child of mine would have left my home in a dress so short that sitting down most certainly exposed the color of her underwear. God, I hope she was wearing full underwear.

I kid you not. The back story is that her friend made the dress, and it came out too short. Somehow all of her, and her parents', logic and common sense was lost and she wore it anyway. We won't even talk about the tape she used to hold her boobs in that was showing in the picture I saw on Facebook. There is short that makes you raise your eyebrows, and then there is short that makes you want to grab something to wrap around her and hide her privates from the world. It was the latter.

What the hell?

Back to my kid. This is the first year they'll be driving on their own and I can't help but have the worries about them being out on the streets. But I have to let go and trust they'll be smart and safe. There's a reason parents are willing to chip in and pay for limos... note to self for senior year.

Okay, now could someone run out and buy me some more Vitamin C, some soup, and maybe another box of Kleenex? Oh, and if you could get that kind with lotion, my nose would appreciate it.

Mmmmm-kay? Mwah.

xoxo
Ally

Sleep Talking

I had a phone conversation Tuesday night, between me (at home) and Hubs (in a hotel in Madison, Wisconsin) where he will be until Friday.

We started with normal conversation. He was coherent, chatting away.

Then there seemed to be pauses between his answers and comments.

Me: "How's the room?"

Him: "King size bed... *mumble unintelligibly* Wait, let me find it." Then he begins to read me the description of the pillows on the bed which is apparently printed on a card on the nightstand.

Me: "Are you reading that to me?"

Him: "So you get a good night sleep *mumble, mumble*"

Me: wondering what the heck? "Okay, I'm going to go. I'm going to go to bed now."

Him: "*mumble something about going to bed with me* Okay, I'll see you when I get home."

Me: "Wait, what?"

Him: silence

Me: "I'll talk to you tomorrow, right? It's only Tuesday night - you're not home until Friday. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Him: silence

Me: "Are you falling asleep on me??"

Him: "Um, I think so. I already took my Ambien."

I burst out laughing. Ay carumba. Dude was sleep talking! I cannot believe how fast that drug took a hold of his head.

Yesterday I texted him and told him he had to call be BEFORE he took his Ambien.

I have to admit, I was a little worried that he was that drugged, alone in a hotel room. Fortunately, he only takes it when he travels for business in different time zones. He's such a night owl, that he has a hard time getting a decent night's sleep with the time changes.

Maybe he should try a half a tablet...

***Ally
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Addendum: I talked to him last night. As predicted, he has almost no memory of our conversation! 

The Perfect Storm

Life sometimes presents that perfect storm of circumstances that launches you into the day from hell.

We'll start with the sudden onset of a cold, that I thought I was fighting off successfully. I was wrong. By Sunday night, I suddenly couldn't breathe through my mouth, was coughing and had a headache. Not being able to breathe makes it hard to sleep.

Mix in the first night of my period, which includes hot flashes and insomnia. There's that sleep thing again.

Toss in a canker sore and TWO cysts on my face (the latter, another party favor from my period).

Now add a 5am wake up to drive Hubs to the airport, since he'll be gone UNTIL FRIDAY. Did I mention not sleeping??

Then send me off to work where I have a couple of patients in the morning and a couple of patients in the late afternoon - with a four hour GAP in between. Not enough time to make it worth the 40 minute drive home each way.

Now have the last patient call and cancel - well that wasn't all bad, that would mean I'd get to go home an hour and a half earlier than planned. But THEN the ONE REMAINING afternoon patient DIDN'T SHOW UP.

Having a hard time following? It means I sat there for FOUR HOURS for no reason. Not only did I not get paid for those hours, I could have been home in bed nursing my increasingly worsening cold!!

I am a huge baby when I'm sick. I haven't been sick with so much as a cold virus in over 18 months. THIS is pissing me off. My throat feels like sand paper, I can't breathe and I'm tired. Hubs is gone, I still have to be a mom, and there's no one to take care of me.

Boo Hoo. I think I can hear your violins playing from here. Yeah, I'll get over it. Things could be much, much worse, and all that. I just needed to feel a little sorry for myself. Sigh.

 google images

***Ally
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Monday Listicles - Guilty Viewing Pleasures

Link up with Stasha at The good life for Monday Listicles. It's a different topic every week - follow along or create your own!

This week's topic is Guilty Pleasures. I decided to go with my Guilty Viewing Pleasures - movies and shows I love to watch on those oh-so-rare days that I get to snuggle up and watch whatever I want. The ones that I've seen a hundred times, and can watch again anyway. (Okay, usually this only happens when I'm sick, but still.) These are in no particular order:


1. The Holiday - Jude Law, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet
2. Hope Floats - Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr.
3. Thomas Crown Affair - Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo
4. Dirty Dancing - Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey
5. M*A*S*H rerun marathons
6. NCIS rerun marathons
7. The Shawshank Redemption - Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins
8. Apollo 13 - Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton
9. The Horse Whisperer - Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Scarlett Johansson
10. PS I Love You - Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Harry Connick Jr (best line: "Sorry, I have a syndrome." Seriously, Harry Connick, Jr has the BEST lines in this movie.)

Okay, it's supposed to be a list of 10, so I'll stop. But I could go a little further - I love guilty pleasure watching.

What are the things you can put on to watch, that feel like a warm blanket?

***Ally
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Fabulous Birthday Present

Lela is my oldest, bestest friend. We've known each other for something like 39-1/2 years. But as adults, we live in different states, which means we NEVER get to celebrate birthdays together.

But this year was different. Lela actually got into town on my birthday - Tuesday - and we celebrated together last night - Wednesday.

YAY for BFF's, yummy food and fancy drinks!

 That is a coconut martini and a mango margarita - best ever!
And absolutely the real deal - no drink mixes here.

 Hugest, yummiest fresh spring rolls I've ever had.

 Massaman Beef Curry and Thai Seafood Salad. Heaven.

 What? I know it's not Hawaii, but when you get a flower in your drink, you need to put it behind your ear. 

 The cute waitress had us move to another table so there wouldn't be flash glare off the window behind us.

It really was a fabulous birthday present to get to celebrate with my friend. Finally!

***Ally
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Food Safety In Retirement & A Big Crazy Family

What a weird title.

Let me explain. If you've read here before, you may recall that we moved Grandma into a "Retirement Community". She's in Independent Living currently, but Assisted Living is there should she ever need to upgrade. Grandma was not at all pleased with this new venture, but has settled in quite well. In fact, if you go visit Grandma, you may in fact, cramp her style and keep her from socializing over a roaring card game, or gambling pennies over a dice game.

Cousin J has been trying to plan a Family Dinner (Grandma, her adult two kids, spouses, adult grandkids, more spouses, and great grandkids. Thank God they don't have spouses or kids yet.), utilizing the lovely private dining room that you can reserve there. They have restaurant-style dining at the facility, and for $10 a person, anyone can eat with a resident. Yes, they'll even let us in.

So the dining room that seats 10 was reserved for 12, with assurances from Cousin J that we were more than happy to squish. We're used to that.

We all arrived early and maybe opened the wine a little early up in Grandma's apartment. Then we headed down to dinner, carrying our wine bottles with us. Yes, they let you do that.

We entered the dining room, set for 10. We're a self sufficient crowd, so we pulled up two more chairs and asked for a couple more place settings. They were beside themselves in making us squish and offered repeatedly to move us to the media room next door, but we persisted in remaining the private dining room. Ambiance and all that.

We poured wine.

Dinner choices were one of three "entrees of the day", which included:

Seafood fettuccine - I'm unsure of what kind of seafood, but a few got lucky and got a mussel in theirs.

Pot roast & veggie of the day - remember, they are feeding older folks here. Not exactly large portions. I think it came with 6 green beans (snap peas - we'll get to that).

Unknown mystery - that means I don't remember choice #3 and no one at the table was brave enough to order it, so it couldn't have been too appealing.

There was more wine while studying the menu.

Then there are always the "Healthy Options": Catch of the Day, which is always farmed tilapia, or grilled chicken Caesar salad or a third option not worthy of remembering. And always available is an omelet with fixings of your choice.

Let me tell you what the safe food is: the omelet. Trust me on this. Eggs, a few veggies and some cheese. Truly the safest choice.

And everybody gets as much salad bar as they want. Depending on how much cottage cheese and canned beets you can eat with your salad, which in Cousin J's case, is A LOT. She loves that stuff. Gah!

Cousin J and I got omelets with mushrooms, tomatoes, black olives and cheese. They came with ham, too. We didn't ask for ham. Let me tell you, Cousin J and I are definitely not ham eaters. But hey, this isn't a real restaurant, so we were quiet about it.

The green beans everyone else ordered came, too. Only they were snap peas. And I'm pretty sure they started cooking them last Wednesday. There was a grilled chicken Caesar salad brought out for one of the teenagers, only it was dry because they were out of Caesar dressing. (She went with Ranch from the salad bar) The littlest man had a grilled ham and cheddar cheese sandwich, only it was American cheese.

Another refill of wine, please.

But dessert is always good! A bunch of us ordered ice cream with chocolate and caramel sauce with whipped cream. Only the caramel sauce was really butterscotch sauce, and they were apparently running out of whipped cream because we each got exactly one teaspoon of whipped cream on top.

Okay, now you think I'm complaining. I'M NOT! I swear! The thing is? We all have a great sense of humor. Most of the time anyway. And we just sort of went with the flow, laughing along the way.  Besides, our server had an AWESOME personality.

Grandma was thrilled to have her family together, and I don't know what happened, but she actually SAT and ENJOYED the evening! She usually flutters around, unable to sit still or concentrate on anything. She shared with us a childhood story of why she doesn't like to eat chicken - you know, naming them, then seeing someone chop off their heads and serve them for dinner - troubling for any child. However, in almost 87 years, you'd think one of us would have noticed her not eating chicken? Um, no. Not even her own children. Maybe this memory has only recently resurfaced. She ordered the seafood pasta, by the way.

Then I found an old photograph of her grandfather with a horse. On the back, it said, "Daddy B and his talking horse."

Puzzled, we asked, "What's this about a talking horse?"

She replied, "Oh, well I always knew Daddy B had a talking horse, but I don't know what it said."

And there you have it. An evening with my family. ♥

***Ally
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Monday Listicles - Family Trees & Anniversaries

When I saw the topic for this week, "Family Tree", I wondered what I could do? Looking around, I realized that unfortunate events of recent years (losing both my husband's parents in 19 months) left us with many family mementos. So, while not a traditional family tree, here are some representations of a few branches on Hub's side of the family. :)

Link up with Stasha at The good life for Monday Listicles. It's a different topic every week - follow along or create your own!


1.  Family Crest

2. Hub's grandpa's metronome (the classical cellist):

3. Hub's Grandma's first place golf award (sorry for the blur):

4. Hub's grandpa's top hat:

5. Hand knit baby blanket by Hub's grandma:

6. Hub's dad's walking stick - one of a collection:

7. Hub's mom's Italian Charm bracelet (grandkids, teapot, chocolate, mah jong, tennis, British flag, angel, cross, children's birth stones - represented all she loved)

8. Hub's grandma's travel hangers - name applied before she was married:

9. Hubs. He loves the Chicago Cubs & Wrigley Field. Loves.

10. The Boy.

***Ally
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Oh, and Happy 19th Anniversary to me and Hubs! 

I'm Over It And Need Your Help

When Hubs took on this new career, and the endless hours of training that went with it, as well as the endless hours we know he will put into the job, I knew it would be... different, challenging at times, but worth it in the end.

I took over the role of making dinner. Okay, get out your eyerolling, violin playing and laughs now. Okay, you've had your fun. Yes, he cooks, and he cooked dinner a lot. Especially the couple of nights a week when I work until 6 and then have to drive 35-40 minutes home. And sometimes other nights, too. I loved it. And I was spoiled. I fully admit it.

Don't get me wrong, I actually love to cook. I love to create in the kitchen. But not every day.

I started with enthusiasm. Stir-fry with 6, 7 or 8 different veggies and chicken or tofu and rice. Fajitas. Gorgonzola-turkey burgers. Tacos with all the fixings. Chicken enchilada casserole. Lasagne.

And now? I'm over it. Turns out, I don't really like to cool every day. I do cook the casseroles and lasagne on Sundays so they'll last through at least one of my late days on Monday.

No, now this mama needs to learn to love her crock pot.

And I need your help - what is your favorite thing to cook in the crock pot/slow cooker? For that matter, what's your favorite EASY thing to cook in ANY way that doesn't involve a box of cereal?

If it were just me and Hubs, I'd eat a big salad and call it good. Or a fruit & veggie smoothie with a light appetizer. But I have this teenager that inhabits my home, and I swear he's putting on a pound or two of muscle every week. The kid needs to eat, and eat well, so I don't want to shove junk food at him, or not feed him enough. (That sounds weird, but when they did their daily caloric needs in health class, he was one of the only ones that came up calorie deficient. Wouldn't that be nice.)

Let me have it. Ideas or recipes either one. You can leave them in the comments or email me direct at twonormalmoms at gmail dot com. I really, really need your help. Just simple ideas. Please? See, now I'm starting to beg. It only gets uglier from here on out.

***Ally
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I Wanted The Boots!

Yesterday on the Today show (it was just on in the background, I swear!) they had "Jill's Steals & Deals" where companies offer these great, exclusive deals on products.

Aerosoles was offering an awesome pair of riding boots, regular price $120, for $36 for 24 hours. I jumped on that like a frog on a lily pad. (I have know idea where that came from. I'm tired.) I got online before the segment was over and found the boots. Except it wouldn't work. It was bogged down and super slow, then eventually it wouldn't add anything to the cart. Finally a message came that they were having problems, but just enter your email address and they'd notify you when the ordering feature was working again.

I knew that was a bad sign. But entered my email address and kept trying (like 342 times) to order the boots.

Finally, 36 hours later, I got an email. "We're sorry... please enjoy 25% off of shoes or boots." But the catch was, in little tiny print up at the top it said, "Sorry you missed the deal."

I did not miss the deal.

I was unfortunate enough to live on the west coast, therefore seeing the deal 3 hours after the east coast. Sucks for me.

Somebody (or somebodies) at Aerosoles is an idiot. Did they really not realize that women would be all over that deal like flies on poop? We're talking women and shoes and a great deal. What part of that doesn't compute? Did they really think their cute little website could handle the traffic? Did they really think they would have enough boots to fill the demand? (They didn't and are sold out. Completely.)

I was better at English than Math in school, but I wasn't that bad. 25% does not equal the deal they had on the boots. And clearly doesn't pacify my irritation.

Lame.

I wanted the boots! (But, you know, I would have taken the same deal on a different pair... just sayin'.)

***Ally
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Quoted and Noted

"Quoted and noted" ...a borrowed theme from Jaclyn at Snap, Crackle, Pop...

There are so many people out there who will tell you that you can't. 

What you've got to do is turn around and say, "watch me."  

-unknown

Love this.

***Ally

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High School Dreams

No, not the dreams I had when I was back in high school.

These are the dreams I have now. About high school.

There's the one where I've just come back from break, and I can't remember my schedule. I don't know where I'm supposed to be or where the class is. Of course, I'm running late, totally embarrassed and there's a line at the office.

Or the one where I hopelessly turn the dial of the combination on my locker, unable to remember even a single number from the combination that will let me inside to get my books.

Or the one where I can't remember which locker is mine in a sea of lockers, all identical.

In last night's dream, I was supposed to get out of class to take someone to an emergency dentist appointment (I know, right? Whatever.). I leave class, walk down the hall where I think my locker is, and place my bag in the open locker - no need to carry it with me, I'm coming back after all. Oops - my purse, with my keys was in the bag. Only that wasn't my locker and now everyone who had been in the hall have gone to class and I have no idea how to get it open. And in this dream, I'm panicking about getting my friend to her appointment, and have no idea how to get my things.

And then I woke up. And my anxiety level was through the roof. I could tell if I went back to sleep, I was going back into the same dream. So I got up and peed for the third time, then laid back down and tossed and turned until the anxiety subsided.

When I mention them to Hubs, I get a look like I'm from another planet. Apparently, he does not share these lack of control dreams!

So, yeah. What's up with the high school locker/schedule dreams?

***Ally
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