Mother’s Day this year was a little different than previous Mother’s Day. I had to work on actual Mother’s Day but decided to spend a day with each of the kids individually on something that they wanted to do with me by themselves. Alyssa really wanted me to chaperone one of her field trips which was the Thursday before Mother’s Day and Jimmy wanted me to go to his school for a Mother’s Day tea which fell on the Friday before Mother’s Day. I felt that the kids would get more of that than doing a brunch at a crazy busy restaurant while the kids fought over who got the most chocolate milk/syrup/peanut butter/(insert gross condiment here) that they could possibly compare and fight over.
Thursday. Field Trip Day. Some parents go to the State Capital on Field trips, some go to a museum. Nope, not for me and my kids. We go to the DUMP. Yep, you read that right, the Dump. It was all based on Earth Day and the impact our trash has on the environment. A cool concept, except that we had 25 1st graders at a Dump. I end up switching cars for the day with James so now I am in our big SUV that I rarely drive. This will become important later on. I have been on many field trips with the kids, but since I have a smaller car, and since the kids are required by law to be in a car seat/booster until they are 16, I have always just driven my kids. Nope, not today. Today, I am going to grab 5 kids and brave the 15 minute drive with kids filled with excitement that only field trip day can bring. So I go to the classroom and get directions from the Teacher and immediately another parent advises me to not follow the directions because some of the roads are closed due to construction. “Just go to the Dump” the other parents tell me. I raised my hand. “Um, excuse me. I am not from here, nor I have ever needed any reason to go to the dump, so I have no idea where the dump is” (This is not just for Eugene, I couldn’t tell you where the dump is in California if my life depended on it). Another parent and a good friend told me not to worry, I could just follow her. Great, got that out of the way. Round up the kids in my group, grab their boosters and head out to the car.
Mistake #1. Not putting the booster chairs in the car while the kids are in the classroom. So I have all the kids come out to the car carrying their booster chairs which I thought was a little weird since no other child in any of the other cars were carrying theirs. Trying to put 5 booster chairs with kids who are anxious to leave and getting into the car is not an easy feat. For some unknown reason, the back seat does not fit 3 boosters, so out goes rule number one. Take Alyssa out of the booster, get the kids all buckled up (an event that took no less than 20 minutes) and we are off. Which leads to…
Mistake #2. Not getting the actual directions to the field trip. We have to make a left hand turn out of the school onto a busy street, which means that it is not easy to follow the people in front of you. I lose the other parents in no less than 20 seconds. Break another rule by having to use the cell phone to find out where I am going. Finally catch up to the other parents and we are all set for our field trip.
Get to the dump and get hit with all of the kids yelling, in unison mind you, “EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, it stinks. Ewwwwwwwww what is that smell? Ewwwwwww (insert child’s name) farted” Oh, dear. It is going to be a long day. After a few hours, yep you read that right, a few HOURS at the dump learning all about things that can be recycled and what we are doing to damage our environment, we have to go to location number 2, a 5 minute drive to a recycling place. Get the kids in the car, place myself in the middle of the pact of SUV’s hauling the 1st grade class and we are off.
Mistake #3. Not having any snacks available for the kids to eat. “I am STARVING, Mrs. Blackwood,. I AM STARRRRRRRRRRRVING”. 5 kids yelling on the top of their lungs and I don’t have one thing to offer them. This coincides with Mistake #4.
Mistake #4-See Mistake #2. Not getting directions on how to get to destination number 2. I have to travel no less than 2 miles and somehow I get stopped as the first car in a construction zone. Break another rule again and pick up the cell phone and call….again…to get directions to the new place. Arrive at the 2nd part of the field trip with the whole class anxiously awaiting our arrival so that the rest of the field trip can commence and they are huddled in front of the only parking spot left at the recycling plant. Of course the car next to the only parking spot left is halfway over the line and of course I am driving James car, which I am not familiar with and seems no smaller than a tank, and I attempt to park the car. Ok, first try did not work, lets try this again. Hmmm, ok second try does not work, maybe third time is a charm. Nope third time is not charming at all to say the least, so I call out to my friend to park it for me since she drives said tank everyday. Of course, she gets it in on her first try and now the entire class is more interested in why I had to let somebody else park than listening to the leader explain all about recycling. The leader begins to ask if anybody has any questions and a bunch of hands shoot up. First question “How come Mrs. Blackwood does not know how to drive?”. Ummm, excuse me little girl. I know how to drive, I just evidently do not know how to park. Next question. “Where did Mrs. Blackwood get her drivers license?” Well, now this is getting out of hand. I raised my hand and ask “Is there any questions that do not involve Mrs. Blackwood and her driving skills. All hands fall down. Well, at least I can say I contributed something to this field trip.
Finish up at the recycling place, dropped the kids off at school, silently pledge to myself that I will never chaperone a field trip again and Alyssa turns to me, gives me a big hug, and said she had the best time with me today. Yep, made it all worth it!!!
The next day I arrive at school for Jimmy’s special Mother’s Day luncheon. The Pre-Kindergarten class does it every year and it is one of those special memories. I get to the school, and Jimmy comes up looking especially dapper that day (I actually ironed his clothes for once) and said “I will take you to your seat ma’am.” I smiled and whispered to him he does not have to call me ma’am. (I really despise being called ma’am). “Ok, Ma’am, I will stop calling you ma’am”. He sits me down and serves me a spinach salad with mandarin oranges which he quickly devours off of my plate. Now it is time for the show he puts on for us. The whole class sang a song about how much they love their mom’s. Then it came time for the special “entertainment” where the boys and girls in the class are paired up and they do a “waltz”. Well, Jimmy’s partner was just in the moment, gazing into his eyes, rocking back and forth, and going in for a kiss at any time she could. Jimmy did what any normal 5 year old boy would do, spin her around as fast as he could. It was really a sweet moment, though.
Now comes the final part of the luncheon: The presentation of portrait made by our children and a declaration of love from them. This should be sweet, but is actually very nerve wracking considering Alyssa’s picture of me consisted of a round face, a round body and arms the size of Arnold Swarchenegger circa 1982. I got off easy though. James, the poor bastard, got a round face with, literally, three hairs drawn on the top of the head for his Father’s Day presentation with Alyssa. When reading her declaration of love, Alyssa announced that she loved me because I knew how to walk in heels. Glad I am making such an impact in her life, but I digress. So each child is called up one by one and they proudly hold their portraits for everybody to see and the funny comments read by their child. Jimmy is eventually called to the front. DUM DA DA DUM. Ok, kiddo. Hit me with your best shot. Portrait. Ok, round face, round body seeing a trend. Could possibly be that is the only way my kids know how to draw people, but regardless, there is no way in hell I am eating dessert now. Now it is time for the declaration: “My mom is talented because she knows how to make my lunch”. Ok, that wasn’t so bad but damn, I have got to start doing sports or something and find an actual talent. These said “talents” are sort of embarrassing. Anyway, the day was perfect and a perfect way to spend Mother’s Day with the kids. I just can’t wait to see what Father’s Day brings…
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
WD40
So I have been trying to keep with 2 of my New Year's Resolutions. 1. To write more and 2. to clean and organize my life. I have been going through my emails that I have saved forever and found this. I find it funny, because I find the information very useful, and feel super motivated to try it out after I have read the email, and then I get distracted and forget about it all over again. You know, sort of like New Year's Resolutions. Maybe if it is on my blog, it will be a constant reminder. Hmmmmm....
WD-40 Well, Who Knew...?
I had a neighbor who had bought a new pickup. I got up very early one Sunday morning and saw that someone had spray painted red all around the sides of this beige truck (for some unknown reason). I went over, woke him up, and told him the bad news. He was very upset and was trying to figure out what to do probably nothing until Monday morning, since nothing was open. Another neighbor came out and told him to get his WD-40 and clean it off. It removed the unwanted paint beautifully and did not harm his paint job that was on the truck. I'm impressed! WD -40 who knew?
Water Displacement #40. The product began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a "water displacement" compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40. The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts.
Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you.
When you read the "shower door" part, try it. It's the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass. It's a miracle! Then try it on your stovetop... Voila! It's now shinier than it's ever been. You'll be amazed.
Here are some of the uses:
1) Protects silver from tarnishing.
2) Removes road tar and grime from cars.
3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
4) Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making it slippery.
5) Keeps flies off cows.
6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.
7) Removes lipstick stains.
8) Loosens stubborn zippers.
9) Untangles jewelry chains.
10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
12) Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.
17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes
18) It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn't seem to harm the finish and you won't have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19) Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40!
20) Gives a children's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
21) Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.
22) Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
25) Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.
26) Restores and clean s roof racks on vehicles.
27) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.
29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
30) Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
31) Removes splattered grease on stove.
32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
35) Removes all traces of duct tape.
36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.
37) Florida's favorite use is: "cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers."
38) The favorite use in the state of New York WD-40 protects the &nbs p;Statue of Liberty from the elements.
39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no & nbsp; time. Also, it's a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states.
40) Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
42) Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and re-wash. Presto! Lipstick is gone!
43) If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.
P. S. The basic ingredient is FISH OIL.
P. P. S. I keep a can of WD-40 in my kitchen cabinet over the stove. It is good for oven burns or any other type of burn. It takes the burned feeling away and heals with NO scarring.
WD-40 Well, Who Knew...?
I had a neighbor who had bought a new pickup. I got up very early one Sunday morning and saw that someone had spray painted red all around the sides of this beige truck (for some unknown reason). I went over, woke him up, and told him the bad news. He was very upset and was trying to figure out what to do probably nothing until Monday morning, since nothing was open. Another neighbor came out and told him to get his WD-40 and clean it off. It removed the unwanted paint beautifully and did not harm his paint job that was on the truck. I'm impressed! WD -40 who knew?
Water Displacement #40. The product began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a "water displacement" compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40. The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts.
Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you.
When you read the "shower door" part, try it. It's the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass. It's a miracle! Then try it on your stovetop... Voila! It's now shinier than it's ever been. You'll be amazed.
Here are some of the uses:
1) Protects silver from tarnishing.
2) Removes road tar and grime from cars.
3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
4) Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making it slippery.
5) Keeps flies off cows.
6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.
7) Removes lipstick stains.
8) Loosens stubborn zippers.
9) Untangles jewelry chains.
10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
12) Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.
17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes
18) It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn't seem to harm the finish and you won't have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19) Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40!
20) Gives a children's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
21) Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.
22) Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
25) Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.
26) Restores and clean s roof racks on vehicles.
27) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.
29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
30) Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
31) Removes splattered grease on stove.
32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
35) Removes all traces of duct tape.
36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.
37) Florida's favorite use is: "cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers."
38) The favorite use in the state of New York WD-40 protects the &nbs p;Statue of Liberty from the elements.
39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no & nbsp; time. Also, it's a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states.
40) Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
42) Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and re-wash. Presto! Lipstick is gone!
43) If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.
P. S. The basic ingredient is FISH OIL.
P. P. S. I keep a can of WD-40 in my kitchen cabinet over the stove. It is good for oven burns or any other type of burn. It takes the burned feeling away and heals with NO scarring.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Halloween 2009
This year, Halloween happened to be on a Saturday, which happened to be a home game for University of Oregon, which happened to be at the time one of the biggest games of the year against USC. James's best friend Jim and his wife Stephanie have two children around the same ages as our kids and decided to come down for the game (they are the biggest USC fans that I know). When it was announced that that game was going to be played at 5pm, my heart broke. We had already planned on taking the 4 children to the game, but we knew that there was no way the kids were going to be able to do traditional trick or treating in the neighborhood. Fortunately, we did have a lot of friends that were also going to be taking their children to the game and decided to do a trunk or treating at all the tailgates. We had no idea if anybody else was going to be bringing candy so we took it upon ourselves to buy a bunch of candy and each have it at our tailgate spots so that all the kids would have at least a few places to hit during tailgate time. Oh my, was I off on my assumption. Every single person who tailgated had brought candy for the kids, and I swear that our group of kids was the only group to do trick or treating and we were MOBBED. It was like a G Rated Mardi Gras with people yelling "Show Us Your Kids". Every person had bought a ton of candy not knowing how many kids would be out and we were attacked. Each person was giving handfuls, that's right, handfuls of candy to all the trick or treaters that came by (I am to assume it was so that they did not have to go home with a bunch of candy that they bought for the game. That, or the fact that everybody seemed to have started drinking at 5am in the hope that they would appear on GAMEDAY on ESPN. By 3pm, the kids could no longer hold their bags as it was too heavy for them to trek around. At 3:30 a friend of ours brought out bags from the University of Oregon filled with Costco sized candy to each kid that was in our group. By the beginning of the game, even James and I could no longer carry the candy we had so much. There was pounds of it, and I am not exaggerating, pounds of candy that we took home. It was a successful day for Oregon with the win over USC (though our friends would probably say differently), but a great weekend. In our group we had Nancy Drew, a Power Puff girl and two fireman.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Wakeboarding
This summer we were fortunate enough to be invited a bunch of times on different boats various friends of ours own (this has also led to a very serious conversation in which James does not feel that we can go one more summer without owning a boat!). Wanting my children to be able to experience everything that they can, I pushed them to get on the wave runners, tubes, and water skis. For the most part, they loved it all, but Alyssa got a big rush of water up her nose when trying to water ski which led her to get mad and lash out at me (honestly, I just have no idea where she gets this from). After telling her to get back up again and not give up, she yelled (rather haughtily I might add) "Well I don't ever see you doing this!". Oh, Miss Priss, them some fighting words right there.
So we drop off all the children, grab a drink (essential for a day on the boat) and watch my friend 
Teresa hop in the water with the wakeboard on and get up like it is no big thing. Well, if she can do it, surely it can’t be that difficult. Well Teresa decides that she is finished with wakeboarding and drops into the water. I was the Orange Flag Girl (sure there is a specific name like "spotter" or something sensible like that, but we are going to go with Orange Flag Girl) and like the "experienced" boater that I am forget to hold up the flag. I mean really, there is only one job an Orange Flag Girl has to do and I am failing at it. This does not speak well for me getting into the water. Anyhoo, my friends Kendra, Steve and Teresa all decide that now it is my turn to go wakeboarding. This should not be too hard. I hand the camera to Kendra ask her to take pictures after I get up (really, if I only knew what the day had in store for me this would have been funnier) and try to get my feet in the wakeboard. Steve is giving me instructions which I am only half listening (a regret I will have later), when I think he realizes just how inexperienced I am. Here is how the conversation went:
Steve: "So this is going to feel very similar to snowboarding
Steph: "Uh yeah, never snowboarded"
Steve: "OK, what about water skiing?"
Steph: "Nope, never did that either"
Steve: "What about skateboarding"
Steph: "Steve, what about me screams I have ever been to a skate park or ridden a skateboard before"?
Steve: "Good Point. OK, lets just focus on you getting up first"
Steph: "Hahahahaha"
I would like to remind everybody that I am still on the boat at this point. So I am trying to get into the water in this scooting motion because my feet are trapped into this board. Seriously, do you have any idea how trapped a person feels without the use of their legs while going into the water. Not a great feeling! So I get into the water (read: fall in) and I am literally face down into the water and can not get flipped over.
As I patiently listen to the snickers coming from the boat and from shore, I put my brave face on show everybody what a good sport I am (actually I yelled out to everybody to shut the f up before I kicked all of their a**es, but I like this new version of the story better). Steve is telling me to use my hips to get me to flip over and after about 100 tries I finally flip over onto my back. Ok. I am ready (and seriously reconsidering the 4 drinks that I have already had at this point). Steve yells for me to get my knees to my chest, hold my arms out straight, and just let the boat guide me. Really, how hard can that be? Well let me tell you, Pretty Damn Hard! I yell out "Ready" and Steve gets the boat moving. Now, I don't know what I was expecting when holding a rope to a large boat with an even larger motor, but I really was not expecting the force that hit me so suddenly. And then I fell face first even more suddenly. Holy shock, now I know what that water up the nose thing Alyssa was complaining about. It is really, not until then, that I realized how important the job of 
Sh*t, I got up, I am up, I am....down! But I don't care, I got up and the best 
part of it, Kendra took the picture at the exact second that I was up! (unfortunatly, I can't figure out how to zoom in and save it so it just looks like a far away person wakeboarding) Life was good.
We finished up the day with a few more drinks and a wild ride on the tube with my two girlfriends and me swearing I would be doing this again soon. That was until I tried to open the car door at the end of the evening and figured out just what 100 tugs on the rope trying to wakeboard does to your arms. Let us all hope that there is an update next summer with a full ride to report! Though I must add, that if Steve, Teresa and Kendra were not so patient there is no way I would have continued to try.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Our Dancing Queen
I don't know if it is the influence of Hannah Montana, the fact that my daughter is the biggest girlie girl that I know, or some sort of genetic inheritance, but my daughter LOVES to dance. For the past two years, she has been a part of a cute little dancing team that holds a big performance at the end of the year to show off their routine. For both years, she has chosen the intro to hip-hop class which is very cute, but sometimes seems very inappropriate for children in that age group. She joined a new dance class this past year (08-09) after another dance group and I did not see eye to eye on some things. I feel like I am a pretty go with the flow type of person, but some of the things that they did did not mesh well with me. Here is the experience from our first dance class:
Alyssa has a big dance recital where all of the groups at her dance school put on a performance. Ummm where do I start? I guess I should begin with the dance teacher (an 18 year old girl) trying to convince me to buy a sweatshirt to help support the studio. I look at the front of it and it has the dance studio's logo on the front. Oh so cute. Then I turn it around and it says "I'D TAP THAT"! I gave the sweatshirt back to the teacher and let her know that we would not be buying a sweatshirt from her. The teacher, looking at me wildly and bewildered, can not understand why I am so upset about the sweatshirt. I told her that I find it completely inappropriate for a 5 year old to wear a shirt with that kind of content on it, in which she recommended that I get one for myself. Yeah, that would be the day (actually, there was probably about a 5 year span in my life where I would have thought that was really cool to wear something that notified the public that I am "TAP" worthy, but come on, can you imagine me showing up to Alyssa's Catholic School wearing that? Sweats that spell Juicy over my a** completely ok, sweatshirt about tapping that, I do not think so!)
Anyhoo, the recital begins and Alyssa and her 4 year old class to a dance to "Mulberry Bush". So cute. The next age group, the 7 to 9 year olds, come and perform SexyBack by Justin Timberlake. Uh, why is a 7 year old trying to convince me that she is going to bring sexy back, and where the hell did it go in the first place? Does she even know what sexy means? Probably. I am pretty sure Alyssa knows what it means at 5, so I do not know why I think it would be different for a 7 year old. Following that performance, the 9 to 11 year olds (pretty sure everybody is still in elementary school at this point) and do a little dance to Soulja boy (supposed to be soldier boy, but the moron can't spell). I believe that fine musical diddy goes something like "Super soak that hoooo, super soak that ho". Did the kids (and/or teachers) think this song was about the ever popular super soaker water guns? Is there a reason why I am watching a 9 year old little girls gyrating to a song about ho's?
The topper of the day came out when the specially selected group from all age groups (the best of the best) begin to dance to "I'm so hood". Oh really Katie. You are so hood. I guess the blond pigtails threw me off for a minute. If it was not the pigtails, it definitely was the gleaming smile and giggles as she did her dance routine. No Katie, you are not so hood. Eugene, though known for many things, is not on the US radar for most dangerous hoods. In fact, I don't think there is even a hood in Eugene. Anyway, I am pulling her out of the dance studio. I am not trying to raise a little girl who dresses and acts sexually provocative and a wannabe gangster (oh my god, I just described my middle school years).
So after that experience, we changed dance studio's and have been much happier there. The video included is at her new dance studio and I think for the most part it just shows that she is having fun and enjoying the stage. I still can't figure out what she enjoys more: being on stage, performing her routine, or getting to put a pound of makeup on her face so that she is not "drowned out" by the lights. She has several friends from school that do dancing with her and she always gets to do her performance in front of my parents who make it up to see her "Big Show"
Monday, August 31, 2009
The spolied Under 30 Crowd
Here is another email that I got that I totally identified with. I feel like I am starting to get real old since I can start a sentence "20 years ago we didn't do...." and totally be able to remember what it was like over 20 years ago!
today have got it too easy.
You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted
five minutes back in 1980 or before!
THE SPOILED UNDER-30 CROWD!!!
If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!!
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears
with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking Twenty-five miles to school every morning
Uphill... barefoot...
BOTH ways
Yadda, yadda, yadda
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up,
there was no way in hell I was going to lay
a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it
and how easy they've got it!
But now that... I'm over the ripe old age of
thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.
You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my
childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!
And I hate to say it but you kids today you
don't know how good you've got it!
I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, We had to go to the damn library and
look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue!!
There was no email!! We had to actually write
somebody a letter, with a pen!
Then you had to walk all the way to the steet and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!
Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! No where was safe!
There were no MP3' s or Napsters! You wanted to
steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself!
Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!
There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished and the tape would come undone.
We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you
were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it!
And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either!
When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school,
your mom, your boss, your Bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you
just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video
games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games
like 'Space Invaders' and 'asteroids'. Your guy was a little square! You
actually had to use your imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or
screens, it was just one screen
forever!
And you could never win. The game just kept getting
harder and harder and
faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was
on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off
your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel, and there were only three of them, ABC, NBC. and CBS. There was no
Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons
on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK
for cartoons, you spoiled
little rat-bastards!
And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat
something up we had to use the stove ... Imagine that!
today have got it too easy.
You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted
five minutes back in 1980 or before!
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