"Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken"

Tonight Husband and I got to see the S.E.L.L.O.U.T. comedy tour at Morty's Comedy Joint in Indianapolis. Had it not been for Optimist football I would not have known they were going to be here. Let me explain. Earlier this week I took Bear for his football evaluation, I met another mother whose son happens to be a friend of Bear's. We got to talking about things and she mentioned that she is a comedian. I was intrigued...it's not everyday that you meet someone who has been on television and travels the country doing stand up comedy. Anyway, I must have made an impression because she got me 2 tickets to the show tonight. I had looked forward to it all week. What started as going to a comedy show turned into a terrific date night with Husband. The night started with dinner at Woodfire Grill, it happens to be our new favorite place. Husband had the Fishy Fishy sandwich (which is Mahi Mahi that is grilled) and I had the pulled pork sandwich. My sandwich was so big that I couldn't finish even half of it (the barbecue sauce is wonderful). This place has the best pickles I have ever eaten, seriously. After dinner we drove 30 minutes to the north side to see the show. Much to my surprise, Morty's is a really nice club. There was only a couple of seats that could conceivably be called a 'bad' seat. The house was packed and the comedians were fantastic. "Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken" is the official moto of the tour. It's a hilarious show about removing stereotypes and being 'sellouts' to their race. Some of the jokes were so funny I was near tears. After all four comedians had performed they answered anonymous questions from the audience. The Q & A session quite possibly was the best part of the show as it is entirely improv'd. All in all, it was a fantastic night and I highly recommend that you see the show if you have the opportunity.

OSU Football

See the picture? That's the Bear's first OSU football uniform. Okay, so it's just an OSU t-shirt over his shoulder pads. Nonetheless...my boy is playing his first season of football and much to my disappointment it happens to be tackle. My sickly boy is going to play tackle football. I'm secretly hoping that he'll be the kicker because they don't get hit very much. I'm also hoping that Bear will go to OSU and play football...or maybe he'll just get in because of academics. Back to football. The husband has been walking around with his chest puffed out in the "my boy is playing football just like I did" manner. It's something to see. Luckily (for me) practices will be on the nights that Teenager is playing soccer, so it'll be a little less hectic for me to manage the transportation. Lord knows that it'll be much easier when Teenager gets his license next April..really, it can't happen fast enough for me.

The Teenager Is Away For The Weekend

So, Teenager came to me a couple of weeks ago asking if he could go to Cedar Point this weekend with his friend. I was apprehensive, afterall, it's 6 hours away now (versus the 45 minutes away it used to be) and I had never met the friend he was going with. BUT, I have all the faith and confidence in my son to do the right thing. Anyway, the other day he told me after I agreed to let him go, that his friend's parents were not going to go on the trip but his friend's sister was going to be driving them. I'm sure you can all imagine my immediate response. After a long discussion about it, I decided that I would let him go. The sister is 19 years old, and so were her 3 friends that are also on the trip. I was even more apprehensive about the trip after finding out that it was literally going to be a trip, 6 teenagers, 6 hours on the road, amusement park, two night stay and 6 hours back...and not one parent was going. At the same time I had a really difficult time saying no to Teenager. He is incredibly deserving of the trip...so I let him go. I know what you're thinking...but, I met the girls that are going on the trip as well as the friend...all made a very good impression and seem to have their heads screwed on correctly. I told Teenager to have a good time, act responsibly and not to make me regret letting him go on the trip. I resisted the overwhelming urge to text him all day long. I sent him a text just a little while ago because I knew the amusement park would be close to closing. Below is the conversation:

ME: Having fun???

Teenager: Ya. We're leaving Cedar Point right now for today. We had a lot of fun. And I got pooped on by a freaking bird. LOL

ME: LMAO!!! Karma son. Karma What were you doing wrong? LOL

Teenager: Walking under it I guess? LOL!

ME: Nice Grace, really nice. :D I'm so blogging this conversation tomorrow.

Teenager: Nice to know! LOL. We are gonna get up early 2morrow to ride the Maverick.

ME: Cool! Have fun!

Teenager: We'll try! LOL

Teenager is such a great kid. Seriously, he's awesome. I just think it is positively hilarious that he was pooped on by a bird. I'm sure when he gets home tomorrow he'll wake me up and talk my ear off about the weekend. I'm looking forward to it...I'll be tired as hell on monday morning, but I miss Teenager and can't wait to hear all about the weekend.

The Lines Are Out to Get Me!!!

Yes, the lines are out to get me. Let me explain...last Saturday morning it was storming but needed to run to the grocery for a couple of things. So, off to Kroger I went. I bought orange juice, eggs and biscuits. On my way out of the store I slipped on the painted crosswalk lines and fell, resulting in a skinned knee and broken eggs. Who knew that those darned painted lines get slick when they're wet? Anyway, the rest of the weekend was fall free. On Monday morning I had to get gas on my way to work. So, I stopped at the Speedway near the interstate on ramp. Whenever I stop for gas in the morning I always go across the street to McDonald's and grab an iced coffee. I love McDonald's iced coffee and was really looking forward to having it on the way to work. As I pulled into the parking lot at McD's I noticed that the drive thru lane was wrapped around the building. No biggie, I'll just go in and grab my coffee. Why didn't I just stay in the damn car??? Why didn't I wait in the line from hell?? Now keep in mind that on Monday the skies were clear and there was no sign of precipitation. I step out of the car, slip on yet another wet painted line (and why the heck was it wet??? It hadn't rained...) and land squarely on my rear end. And it wasn't the cute kind of slip either, we're talking arms flailing feet in the air sunglasses flying off the head kind of fall. I looked like a turtle on it's shell trying to get up without ruining my clothes, it was so not the way I wanted to start my morning/week. Needless to say, I'm not going to be walking on any more of those lines...wet or dry!

Memories of Washington

This morning while I was driving in I noticed the clouds in the distance. The sun hadn't peaked above them yet, but the rays of the sun managed to hint that sunrise was close. The cloud formation reminded me of living in Whidbey Island, Washington. The cloud resembled the mountains on the island near Deception Pass. I know that clouds and mountains are two very different things, it just triggered memories of a place that I left a lifetime ago. All morning I thought of Whidbey Island. I learned a lot there...I learned what it feels like to disappoint the people I love, I learned how it felt to be abandoned, and then I learned what the word friendship really means.

Don't make me pass you...

I understand that the speed limit is 55mph. I understand that not everyone drives as fast as I do. What I don't understand is how someone traveling 45mph on an interstate on ramp thinks they're going to merge safely into traffic that is going at least 65mph (normally the flow of traffic is closer to 70mph). That's how my morning commute started. I was in the turn lane leading to the two lane on ramp to I-70 E. In front of me was a minivan. I hate minivans. Anyway, this on ramp (because it's two lanes) does not immediately merge into traffic. You have about 1/4 of a mile before the right lane merges, then in another 1/4 mile the right lane merges again. So, in about half a mile you are in the flow of traffic. The light turns green and the minivan (did I already express my hatred of minivans???) begins the left turn onto the ramp. I, of course, do the same. The minivan is going between 40 and 45 mph...seriously. How are we going to merge into traffic moving at 65mph if we're going 45mph??? Luckily for me, I still had room to pass, on the right no less. After passing the minivan I look in the rear view mirror to see the minivan, clearly with no idea that there was a semi in the lane that he/she was attempting to merge into, merge with no regard for traffic. The semi swerved to avoid the minivan and cars swerved to avoid being hit by the semi. Seriously, does it make any sense? Accelerate when you're on the on ramp...get close to the speed of traffic. Don't cause near misses on the interstate because you'd like to take you're sweet time and merge without regard for fellow drivers. Better yet, car pool or take public transportation. You should not be allowed on the road Mr. Minivan Driver!

I'm 35!

Yay! I finally get to steal a few minutes on the computer! Okay, so yesterday was my 35th birthday. According to my husband, I am now In the 'mid-life' stage of my life and is expecting a mid-life crisis to happen any day now. Um...really, no I don't think so. I didn't wake up yesterday and say to myself "So, this is what 35 feels like, I think I'm going to have a mid-life crisis". I actually woke up and was excited to be 35. I've been looking forward to it for several years; please don't ask for an explanation as I do not have one. I just think it's cool to say "I'm 35". Now I get to look forward to being 40! How awesome is that?!?

My birthday was pretty uneventful (which is fine with me). The girls at work decorated my cubicle and took me out to lunch. When we got back to the office we endulged in chocolate cake. I also received birthday wishes from friends and family.Yesterday Eric and I went out to lunch, sans children. He said that my gift isn't ready yet but I should have it soon. I was just happy to have a day where the children were well behaved, and not trying to jump on eachothers heads. Overall, I'd say the birthday was success...

The Joys of Motherhood...

I'm sure everyone out thre who has children knows the joys of parenting. Children can bring such joy into your life...a smile from your little one can erase of the stress of the day. Of course they can also add to the stress of the day. I called off work today because I feel like death on a cracker. Of course being a mother doesn't mean you actually take a day off just because you called off work. The "little ones" wanted lunch and as their dutiful mother I obliged. I was in the kitchen when I saw something poking out from underneath the oven. I bent down to find an empty Gogurt tube...after further inspection I found no less than 15 (Yes, count them...15) empty yogurt tubes under the oven. I call the youngest of my two children into the kitchen for an explination. Osito as if on cue, began the endless "Mom, I swear I didn't do it" speach. Princess merely stood there with a stunned "I hope mom doesn't figure out it was me" look on her face. I looked at her and said "Princess, why did I find yogurt trash under the stove?" to which she responded by crying and running out of the room. Guilty as charged in my book. So, I cleaned up the mess and had a talk with my little angel about putting things under the stove. I'm just terrified to see what she's stuck under the fridge!