Let's Make A Few Things Clearer, Shall We?

I realize that there may be some confusion about some of my recent blogs so I thought I would clear a few things up:

• Ricky and Lucy, are not MY Ricky and Lucy but the REAL Ricky and Lucy. I even thought about giving that blog another name but I didn't. I have learned my lesson.
• I didn't mean Belated Happy Birthday to Brandon, I meant Happy Birthday to Brandon on the 17th, but I don't think he reads my blog so I'm OK there.
• If we can call William Ayers a terrorist, I think I should be allowed to call the media terrorists, I'm just saying.

OK, so I think that's all for now.

-june

It Sucks (and I mean really sucks) to be Sick.

I have been sick four times since I graduated high school. Once in September 2000, again in December 2000 (when we were visiting family in Arizona), December 2005 (again visiting family in Arizona) and then in May 2006 (thanks to consuming unneeded antiobiotics on an empty stomach pre-IVF #1).

Why do I remember the dates so well? Because I am the worst sick person you could ever hope not to meet. When I mean sick, I don't mean headache, cough or cold sick, I mean hugging-the toilet-dry-heaving-by-noon because I refuse to eat sick.

Yesterday morning I woke up around 4 a.m. nauseous. I tried to shrug it off and go back to sleep with no luck. I even called my husband mid-morning to come home and take care of the kids. He then arranged for his mother to come and help me, despite the fact that I was really angry about that at first, it ended up being just what I needed.

I hate being sick, the lack of control, the dirty feeling, the icky feeling, the nose burning, throt burning feeling. When I got sick pre-IVF #1 I thought I would just give up on trying to have a baby if I was going to be that sick for months on end during pregnancy.

When I got pregnant with the twins I expected to get sick but it never really happened (with two exceptions that I could live with). My doctor was surprised that I wasn't getting sick but I think I now know the answer.

The universe and whoever is in charge of it, they really don't give you what you cannot handle and I really cannot handle being sick. It was more than a blessing when I woke up feeling much better this morning.

Bailey is a little under the weather today which is probably the result of two top teeth coming in, diarrhea and the resulting diaper rash, and I couldn't feel worse for the little girl because I know how awful it is when you are sick.

She's asked that I hold her all day, I am doing my best with her request.

It's True. I don't get out alot.

Yesterday, I ran out after Ward got home from work to go to the bank. I was running close on time but I had to stop at the gas station or I wouldn't be making it to the bank anyways. So I stopped by the Sheetz near our home and pumped more than $72 in my non-energy friendly vehicle. While I was waiting for my gas guzzler to be refueled I decided I would like a drink. I never get to go into gas stations, it is just too much to take the twins in for a 20oz. But I didn't have any money other than my check card and I am always embarrassed to use my check card for $1.37 (though I did use it Monday at the Post Office for one stamp just because they really annoy(ed) me, but that's another story). After scrounging around in my car I was able to come up with $1.50 so I went in to get a drink. I was surprised at all the changes to Sheetz since the last time I went in one.



First, they no longer sell 20oz drinks, just 16oz, but for the same price as before. I just love inflation. So I head over to the new and quite fancy fountain machines where you can get vanilla, cherry or lemon mixed in whatever soda you choose, and I don't mean one of those manual pumps, I mean it mixes in with your soda so you will have the perfect soda to additional flavoring to satisfy your taste buds. Since they don't have Cherry Coke on fountain, it will have to do. They also have gourmet coffee, like Starbucks, only different. And make you own milkshake machines. OK, so I knew about the milkshake machines, I just wanted to share that with you.



But what really caught my eye was this:

You may not be able to tell what this is so I will enlighten you. It is a set of 40-16oz plastic cups, 4 ping pong balls and 4 'wash' cups, all you and your drunken friends need to play beer pong.

You don't know about Beer Pong? Well, let me further enlighten you.

"Beer Pong is a drinking game which is especially popular among college students, but can be enjoyed by any group looking for anything from a good buzz to a drunken stupor. It is generally played in pairs of two, with the teams standing at opposing ends of a flat, rectangular surface (preferably a ping pong table, but anything accepted by both teams can be used). Six or ten cups are formed in a pyramid at either end of the table, with the base of the pyramid centered at the edge of the table. The players attempt to toss or bounce ping pong balls into the cups, each of which is filled with 1/3 of a beer (or other intoxicating spirit). When a player makes a shot into a cup of the opposing team, a player from the opposing team drinks the contents of the cup and removes it from the table. The game continues in this way, with both players from one team taking a shot, followed by both players from the other team. The team that is able to clear all of the opposing team’s cups first is the winner, with the losing team splitting the contents of the winning team’s remaining cups. To begin, a player from each team takes a shot simultaneously without looking at the cups. This is repeated until one team makes, and one team misses. This decides who gets the first possession. After the first game, the winning team gets the first shot. The elbow rule is also applied for EVERY shot. A players elbow may not cross the plane of the playing table or it does not count."

I went to college, two of them, almost three. I spent five and a half wonderful years there. I never played beer pong. I used to drink, not to heavily but not so lightly either, I never played beer pong. I have four cousins. They all went to college. They have played QUITE A BIT of beer pong. When my youngest cousin turned 19 I went to his birthday party which was thrown at his mother's house. In her garage were two sawhorses with a piece of wood roughly 30 inches wide and 9 feet long. Not as wide as a normal ping pong table, but would suffice for their needs for the evening. Another one of my cousins, Sean, who is my age and who I haven't been close to in years (and might have gotten worse when we both were trying to get into UVA, fortunately we both got in and neither of us went for more than a year) asked me if I wanted to play. I didn't know what it was, so I said yes.

Folks, this is one of, if not the, grossest games I have ever played. You are throwing a ball that several people are touching into cups that you will than have to drink. If the person you are playing is better than you (and they were) you will be forced to drink quite a bit. And I was. This past May we attended that same cousin's graduation (the youngest cousin, Ian). Before the commencement ceremony at Tech for History Majors we met at his house to eat on the back deck. My aunts prepared a fine meal on what else, a very, very fancy homemade beer pong table. My cousin had a good four years?

Anyways, for only $4.99 you too can have a simple Beer Pong set up in you own house (minus the beer and table obviously). Something to think about perhaps as you all plan your Holiday gatherings?

I couldn't buy a kit, all I had was enough money to buy a fountain soda, but I got a kick out of my convenient store experience, that's for sure.

-june

Excess Luggage

So this explains all the scratches on this vehicle, thanks Sammy.

Note the bumperstickers, I actually have four of them!

First Impressions

So Ward and I just finished watching Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech and I just thought that I would take a few minutes and respond because I know all of my republican readers can't wait until tomorrow for my response.

I will keep it short and to the point, it's late.

I like Obama. I mean I really do. He delivers a good speech (having taken one speech course in high school and two in college I have no idea how all of these people pull their speeches off so effortlessly). He says the things I want to hear and I think I like him even more tonight than last night.

So of course he said what I and other supporters want to hear, isn't that politics as usual, if you vote for me this is what I will do for you... But I think that it is more than just saying what I want to hear, I think he has a plan for us and I would like to see him have a term in office to prove himself, I mean what do we have to lose.

I like his stance on the War, on education, on the energy crisis. I like that he says that the election isn't about him, that it's about the rest of us. As corny and ridiculous as this will sound, when he was talking about Martin Luther King, Jr and the change we need now I caught myself holding my breath. I like what this man is saying. I feel silly and giddy, but I really want to see him in office. I am ready for the change he spoke of.

Here is this man standing before his country asking them to vote for him and I say-

OK, Obama, OK.

I am going to try and watch as many of the speeches next week as I can, I want to give McCain a fair chance but I hate to admit that my heart has already been won over. I will have to remind myself to keep an open mind next week. Either way I am already looking forward to that first debate on Sept. 26th.

When I think about my family and what would be best for just us I sometimes think that I could be/would be a republican but when I think about what is best for others, for the world, for our planet, I have to lean more towards the liberal side of things. I don't register with either party. I don't usually get this involved in elections (even though I think I should). I have NEVER donated money to a candidate before, yet alone on multiple occasions. But something has stirred in me as well and I want to be involved. I get excited when the polls call and they have now, several times. I get excited when the Obama camp calls and I can tell them what I am thinking. We want to feel that our vote makes a difference and for some reason with him, I feel like my vote, my support, really does matter.

He speaks of change. He says we can.

I like him.

And that ole Al Gore too.

-Of course, june

Did You Know?

1. I am bored and can no longer fall asleep before midnight?
2. I love mexican food, especially La Carreta mexican food, especially Vegetarian Fajitas?
3. I almost always delete FW: emails, before even reading them?
4. That Madonna and I share the same birthday? Month and Day only, I am not yet 50.
5. I was scared to take so much as a single painkiller during pregnancy and now won't even take a single Tylenol P.M. to help me sleep.
6. I have friends who don't know who U2 are and yet still call these people 'Friends'?
7. I went to Lynchburg College and graduated Magna Cum Laude and haven't worked a day outside the home since?
8. That I majored in Human Development and Learning?
9. That HD&L is 'education'?
10. That I never did my student teaching so I have to go back for a semester before I can put my degree to any use?
11. That even if you don't work a day outside the home after graduating that they still expect you to pay off your student loans.
12. I do work for Ward's company.
13. I even get paid.
14. I don't know if people think that counts.
15. The only night I ever stayed in a dorm was at UVA for orientation.
16. That I withdrew my acceptance from UVA to stay close to Ward and the rest of my family.
17. That I have never regretted that decision?
18. Not even once?
19. That Elvis died on my birth date? On the same month and date but several years before I was born?
20. That Elvis had a twin who died at birth?
21. That I love Karaoke?
22. A lot?
23. That my favorite color is red?
24. Because it is welcoming yet powerful?
25. That I once killed a cat by putting it in the dryer?
26. That I was two when I put that cat in the dryer and that his death was always blamed on me but that I could have in no way turned on the dryer?
27. That I love They Might Be Giants?
28. That I was born in Raleigh?
29. That I have never been abducted by aliens?
30. Not even once?
31. That I know of at least.
32. I hate Johnny Quest.
33. And Ren and Stimpy.
34. And Spongebob.
35. That when I drink alcohol I drink too much.
36. And say too much.
37. That Christmas is my favorite holiday?
38. And Halloween a close second?
39. I hate Valentine's Day.
40. But just a little.
41. Death of a Salesman is my favorite play.
42. That I enjoy the film Look Who's Talking?
43. More than it is probably safe to admit.
44. And that by now most people have stopped reading so they will never know that.
45. That my sister and I used to pretend we were dating 'The Corey's".
46. I was dating Feldman.
47. Which at the time seemed like I was being duped.
48. But now it looks like I had the better one.
49. And I also had a crush on Michael J. Fox.
50. Ah, Teen Wolf.
51. And Leonardo DiCaprio.
52. Pre-Titanic.
53. And Johhny Depp.
54. Pre-Pirates.
55. That I collected Marvel Cards from 1990-94.
56. And comic books.
57. Once I went to a Halloween Party as Rogue.
58. That she is so much cooler than she is portrayed in the X-Men films?
59. That I didn't have Cheesecake until I met my husband's family?
60. And now I love it?
61. I love pistachios.
62. And pecans.
63. But not Brazil Nuts or Peanuts.
64. Unless they carry around blankies and play a mean piano.
65. That I am afraid of horror movies?
66. That I love The Muppets Christmas Carol?
67. I am afraid of any positive attention from the opposite sex?
68. And that I always have been?
69. I mean oddly afraid?
70. So much so that it is amazing that I even have a husband?
71. That once in high school.
72. I was stalked.
73. At least I think I was.
74. That we bought a van when we decided to have children?
75. And then a house a month later?
76. And painted the 'nursery' yellow?
77. And then couldn't get pregnant?
78. So we sold the van.
79. And the house.
80. And now we have an SUV?
81. And a yellow nursery?
82. That I used to by sort of a pyromaniac?
83. When I was ten.
84. And I used to steal cigarettes from my mom?
85. And smoke them in my neighbors backyard.
86. And I used to lie all the time?
87. Hey, I'm just being honest.
88. And Laying it all out there.
89. I once owned an '89 Pontiac.
90. And a Wicket instead of some furry die?
91. And I once slept in a house intended for goats.
92. And spray painted the inside of a house on Rivermont?
93. With the owner and his girlfriend.
94. That I hate Orange Juice?
95. But that I love GAP t-shirts?
96. And Levi's?
97. And Chuck Taylor's?
98. That I once owned a Hamster named Nutmeg and a grasshopper named Jiminy?
99. That I no longer check the weather everyday?
100. Because it never changes.
101. And it never rains.
102. That I have a bumper sticker on my car?
103. A Smith's bumper sticker.
104. Ward has a bumper sticker on his car, too.
105. A Homestar bumper sticker.
106. I'm just sayin'.
107. That I love lists and list making?
108. That I still haven't finished Breaking Dawn?
109. That I should really try and go to sleep.

Little Did We Both Know

Remember a few weeks back and my run in with super human strength? I got a letter in the mail this afternoon that may just explain it. Ward's grandmother sent us a letter addressed to Ward & Elekra. I am not sure if she meant Elexia or Elektra but one thing is certain, she must think I am a super hero. It's all coming back to me now, I must have had amnesia, I was a super hero before I fell off my family's yacht and Ward kidnapped me and told me that his kids were ours.

I used to laugh at her blatant mispronuncaition of my name but I am beginning to wonder, since she's sending us checks, if I should tell her who her grandson is really married to.

She may be disappointed.

-june

Prepared oh no OVER prepared

I am unpacking and listening to Alien Lanes.

I have been unpacking, doing laundry and cleaning since we got home Saturday afternoon. Almost half the length of our vacation. Why am I still unpacking? Because we rented a U-haul for our vacation, which came in very handy but was larger than we needed (5X8) so we brought along some other things 'just in case' we needed them. Here is some of what we brought along:

4 coolers
2 high chairs
2 pack 'n plays
1 pack size 1 diapers
1 pack 1-2 diapers
1 pack size 2 pampers
1 pack size 2 huggies
2 packs huggies swimmers
food for 124 people for 7 days (we only had 10)
12 beach towels
1 raft
1 volleyball
4 badminton rackets and multiple birdies (lost most of these)
1 Graco Douglider
1 double jogger
2 large suitcases of clothes (to change 13 times a day)
2 duffle bags of baby clothes
1 monitor
3 cases sunscreen from 30 spf to 60
bread, bread and more bread (most of which molded before the week ended)
1 jumparoo
1 exerciser
2 laptops (which we NEVER even used ONCE)
1 giant frisbee thingy
1 frisbee regular
1 large beach blanket
1 large beach towel blanket
4 baby blankets
1 laundry basket
1 thing detergent, fabric softener but NO stain remover (BIG, BIG mistake)
paper cups x160
paper plates x500
paper napkins x12 rolls
toilet paper x30
every kind of ziploc item Target carries
Tupperware for storage
waffle maker
cheese grater
cookbooks
mixer minus the beaters (???)
candy
cereal x8 boxes, 7 never even opened
burp clothes
changing table assembly for one pack 'n play
32 jars of baby food
2 Sam's cases of formula
16 bottles
100 liners
20 nipples
1 small tube of patience (gone by day 2)
1 beach umbrella
2 beach chairs
5 cases cherry coke (I ran out because everyone likes cherry coke apparently)


So you get the point. Next year were not going to the beach we are going to Disney Land so the following year I will have forgotten how much of this stuff was unnecessary and I will bring way too much again.

-the crazy lady who likes to go on vacation but then does nothing but complain about it the whole time she is there and then for two weeks after she gets back before she miraculously forgets it was stressful and starts planning the next vacation

People still Hoola Hoop?

It's been a long time since a music post and this one might surprise you.

I have liked this guy for a long time. Well, at least their was another song of his along time ago that I was really into. I am going ahead and putting it out their. Then we can talk.




And of course I liked this song,



I am not usually into Hip Hop but Ward tells me that Wycelf is different and hey anybody Paul Simon collaborates with is probably pretty cool. Right?

-june