Amie Stuart ~ On the Back Porch

Who would have thought a song called Handlebars…or as my kids call it, the “I can ride a bike with no handlebars” song, would actually be…good. The first time my son told me about the song, I laughed! I was like WTF! Then I heard it. Just wow…..Unfortunately UMG has disabled the embed feature but you can see the vid here on YouTube.

Must have for iPod. Band website here.

Happy Weekend everyone! It’s a Dark Knight weekend here!

So I took the kids to see WANTED yesterday afternoon. GO SEE IT. IT ROCKS. I’d give the story a six or seven (esp because of a couple things toward the end) and the special effects a 10 (in part because they were uber-cool yet you weren’t bombarded with them). I can’t wait for this one to come out on video so I can see it again!

I also have two copies of Lynn Viehl’s TWILIGHT FALL to give away. Leave a comment between now and Saturday midnight (central time). Anyone’s eligible. Consider it my Canada Day/Fourth of July gift to you all.

One last thing. I was reading this post at Agent Janet Reid’s blog and it really got me to thinking. It’s not for the faint of heart. You were warned. Anyway, it got me to thinking and I wanted to ask you all a question. When’s the last time you smiled or said hi to a stranger? Do you make it a point to on a regular basis? I do. It’s a small thing, but I always think, especially if I’m in the store or something and it’s 5:00 PM and I see someone who looks grumpy, “What if they’ve had a really bad day?”

And inevitably, they always smile back.

Can one little smile make a difference? Can you change someone’s (possibly) crappy day? Help it end on a high note? Does it matter? I think it does. I really do. So go say hi to a stranger and smile.

Happy Fourth of July.

Blogging that is. So I’m officially taking the summer off from my blogging duties. I’ll be checking in and still reading blogs and occasionally posting here (and working up an idea for PBW’s Left Behind workshops in July), but again, it feels like work right now, and the kids are out of school and I need all the brain cells I can get.

What are your plans for the summer? Going anywhere cool?

That’s Mad Mommy Dearest….I swear before all I hold dear that the following is true.

Yesterday I get a text message from Elvis in the middle of the day:
We just had a food fight

Laughing, I show my co-worker–bad mommy. I’m getting ready to text him back when I get another that says:
I didn’t get in trouble

He knows me MUCH too well.

After work I hit the grocery store. I have to buy extra food because tomorrow is the last day of school and my little Hoovers will be at home full time playing XBox and eating anything they can get their hands on. I won’t tell you how much I spent but I could fund a small country with my food bill (or buy myself an Audi). Anyway…

I get home and we’re unloading and cleaning out the fridge and Elvis says, “What about this Twix. Can I throw this out?” all while giving me a smirky look.

Moi, “No. It’s mine.”

Kevin says, “But you havne’t eaten it and it’s been in there.” (more than 48 hours)

Moi, “And in three weeks when I go looking for it, it better still be there or heads will roll and blood will flow.”

KEvin, “Why?”

Elvis rolls his eyes because he alreayd knows the answer.

Moi, “Because when the PMS hits I want to come out here, pull my Twix from the fridge nad enjoy it.”

Kevin, “What’s PMS?”

Sweet baby Jesus kid….Moi, “It’s right before I have my period when I get real cranky and bitchy.”

Kevin, “Ewwwwwwwww! You had a period?”
As if I’d only ever had ONE in my life (i wish).

Elvis laughs, “Don’t be stupid….See I’m smart. I KNOW when mom’s all cranky and stuff so I stay on her good side.” (unlike you is totally implied here)

Kevin, “Mom…I hate to tell you this but you’re always bitchy.”

Mutual torment and harasment amongst the boy-children commences, forcing me to yell a couple times. Kevin cries. Elvis walks to Walgreens for a finger splint –due to a previous injury.

FFWD to bedtime….

Elvis comes in my room laughing. “Ham got punked.”

Moi, “Huh?”

“I think Ham got punked by Kara…I think she farted on him.”

Moi laughing, “OMG does he smell like shit?” (did I just say that in front of my kid?)

“Yeah and it’s really bad!” Elvis goes running down the hall, “Hey Kevin, your cat got punked by my dog.”

And that’s a fairly normal night. I wonder how many more grey hairs I’ll sprout before summer vacation is over?

(my child is watching Noroku *sigh* I hate cartoons)

I cleaned house (which was like four hours of my life I’ll never get back), went to the movies and Blockbuster, took the kids to eat (twice), cooked, hit Home Depot, the pet store and the hardware store, fixed Raine’s smileys, updated the website, listened to my children argue (more hours I’ll never get back), sent a newsletter and hung a fan in my child’s room. I’m proud to say the fan works … but the light fixture doesn’t *sigh*

Did I leave anything out?

Oh yeah WRITING!

Off to do two blog posts (and finish cooking dinner)

TO: Boy Children
FROM: Mgmt.

MEMO:
I don’t care if the sun is shining. I don’t care what the projected high is. If it SNOWED the previous night and if, when I wake up, it is 37 degrees YOU ARE WEARING PANTS TO SCHOOL. Do not bother arguing. This is non-negotiable.

I’m blogging about Haters over at NAS Today.

Did anyone watch the season finale of Terminator?? OMG *sigh* When Derek (Played by BAG) took John to the park I nearly bawled! WOW! And yes, I did the math! In 2007 John’s dad is only FOUR!

Daylight Savings Time is costing YOU!

That’s right…you heard me. DST which is supposed to save you money, is costing you a whopping $3.19 extra each year in utility bills.

I wonder how much the study to figure that out cost?

SCREWED:

Not much progress over the weekend. Sunday was a wash. Don’t ask what I did because the answer would just be NOTHING. And I do mean nothing.

It’s Monday and I’m not really here. Okay I’m here but I’m also there, talking about stuff I don’t really hate as much as I hate other stuff.