our pumpkins

Last year's pumpkins:
http://spyder-girl.blogspot.com/2005/10/warning-camping-season-is-over.html

once there's cable, its official

Well I'm officially moved now, and although I am sleeping on a mattress on the floor and there are still boxes everywhere, its starting to feel homier by the day. I'm embarrassed to say that getting phone/cable/internet helped, as did rearranging the living room furniture and getting an area rug. Its going to take a long time to get things the way I want them but I am going to be patient.

The other day M came over and we all played scrabble and had mango sorbet. It was fun, except I didn't make any good words but M was slaughtering us with words like 'zygote'
My english-majorness has been put to shame.

Luckily ( or, skillfully?) I have worked things out with the dog. In the morning I've been walking the dog and kid to school, then running back (its far-ish, since I am keeping him in the school he has been going to until the end of the year which is out of our school district). Then he is chill enough to leave free around the house without fear of destructive behaviour or peeing or anything, which is nice because I can't stand the idea of leaving him in a crate for 6 hrs a day! Then he gets let out at 3:30 by Cody after school, then I run him again at night to wear him out. I've moved the crate to my room so no howling and he is tired enough to sleep all night after all fo that. halleluja!

Other then the farts and the committment, I like having a dog laying on the rug at my feet. Its also keeping me in great shape! Can't wait until Sunday when my baby gets back! He called me and said he missed me, and he sounded legit.

instead of vote or don't vote, how about educate the people?

dog sitting

after two nights of not getting very much sleep, going through a crying drama with jake about how he doesn't want to stay at the new house because he is afraid of the dog since he hasn't been trained not to jump up on people, after having to drive across town after a long day at work to get special dog food and some treats and toys since I have none for the dog, after all of that- last night every hour from 3 am on, the dog was howling. the neighbors must *hate* me, this is my third night in a row of barely any sleep-
now add to this scenario me imagining v on a warm tropical Jamaican beach drinking a margarita and dangling his feet in the water, surrounded by bikini-clad divorcees,
the sound of reggae music in the background


that is the definition of BITTER.

workmans comp

How was your day at work, honey?

bond, james bond

Wow this is so cool!
The Hydra Spyder
"The Hydra Spyder is a sports car for the open road -- and open water. It's amphibious."
you know you want one! They really need a better website though, for realz.

Blurry photo of a coworkers' party I went to on Thursday (click to enlarge).

Kevin lives 2 doors down and his house was broken into that night while he was at the party, by a crackhead who had to be dragged out by dogs while police helicopters circled overhead.

On the way out she said to the cops, "you better check your deg, he bit me and I got AIDS!"

Ah life in the 'Urbs' (as jake likes to call it)

;)

great day!-ish

Today I went with V to Culpepper VA to visit his mom. It was a really great day. The weather was beautiful, cool and crisp without any biting wind, the way a fall day should be. We had a slow start which led to a nice, relaxing Saturday morning with enough time to take the kids to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and get a doppio machiatto from Starubux before their dad picked them up and V picked me up. It takes 2.5 hrs to get there, a ride that V dreads but I don't mind at all, because the ride is a BMW, the scenery is the rolling hills and treelined roads with the blue ridge mountains as the backdrop, and the company is top notch. :)

Once there we had a delicious lunch of mostly vegetarian fare, delicious sweet potatoes, asparagus, cabbage, acorn squash, everything fresh and delicious, watched his little brother's football game, had some nasty fried dough and french fries, big mistake! V played football with his little brother in the yard and I made a necklace with his mom which everyone said came out beautifully! I got to pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch and got 3 bags full of farm-fresh fruits. It was kind of like a field trip. We finished off with some thai food for dinner and an 80 mph ride home. Who'd-a-thunk that spending the day with your inlaws could be fun! :P

Once we got back we had a fight, so that sucked, but when we fight we don't scream and yell or say hurtful things, we just talk things out and discuss our thoughts and feelings and explain why we are upset and try to understand why the other person is upset. Its really the best thing ever, as wierd as that is to say about fighting! It just reinforces how much I love him and think he is the best person in the whole wide world.

skip the stairs, drink cola instead!

Ah, yet another way in which the marketing industry attempts to trick the public into thinking that instead of lowering your calorie intake and exercising to burn more calories, you should sit on your couch and consume their product to get skinny! And you know what? I bet people buy into it.

Drinking Enviga (if you read the article, it says you have to drink 3 a day to experience the benefits) is "...a positive step people can take as part of a balanced lifestyle -- like taking the stairs."

Yes indeedy, they did just compare drinking 3 caffineated coca-cola beverages per day, which may even be loaded with sugar, to running up the stairs.

Ok fine a serious post

Its so much more pleasant writing about the good happy things and ignoring the sad or horrible. I used to always get a yearly Christmas letter from the mother of my first best friend Kathy Hardigen. It was the same typed letter they sent out to all of their acquaintances. It made their lives sound so wonderful and joyful and positive, so Norman Rockwell. All lies. Well, not lies exactly, but basically skating over the surface of reality, only revealing the thin ice forming a delicate veil over the dark and murky waters below. Such is the face shown to the world by most people. Smiling, nodding, how are the kids, how are you doing, fine, just fine. Its kind of disturbing, kind of odd living among lies and deceptions, and potentially harmful, when it causes you to feel as though everyone's marriage/kids/job/family/life is great and you are the only one with problems. Well let me tell you, its not so. Sometimes the people with the prettiest and most cleverly crafted facades are hiding the worst secrets.

Well that was more melodramatic then I intended, but anyway, my last posting was criticized as being silly and meaningless so this time I am going to talk about something real. This is what I have to live with and interact with and have as a strong influence and role model for my kids forevermore:

Two things that happened in the recent past with my ex are the following. Kids and their dad go to the mall to pick up a videogame. Working there is 22 yr old ex roommate of mine and friend of my sisters. He offers her $10 to flash him. He has known her since she was 10 or 11 yrs old. I pray the kids were out of earshot.

Yesterday I am pretty sure I overheard him whispering to one of the kids about a secret way to have a TV in his room, which I have forbidden, that I wouldn't be able to find out about because it would be camouflaged and the plaster of the walls will be thick enough to mask the sound.

There are worse fathers, those who don't care at all, molesters, alcoholics, abusers... This is how I try to make myself feel better. I hope and pray that my efforts can counter at least *some* of the effects of his on their growing and developing minds. The guilt comes when I realize there is no way to counter all of them.

repent sinners!

I'm starving.
Decided to fast for the day in an uncharacteristically Jewish move, and now I'm suffering for it.
I've done this before but don't remember it being so difficult!
Part of the problem is that I'm at work and thus required to be productive. Its not like I am doing it because of my beliefs or anything, so it seems like, well, I'm hungry, just give up and eat! But that would be admitting failure and weakness, so I'm still going. Its already 5:30 so I'm in the home stretch. How can those Ethiopians stand it? Are they even still starving in Ethiopia? I am definitely a child of the 80's.

Well, I saw off my good friend who is going to Air Force officer school, and is moving away forever. Its really sad! Hopefully he'll be stationed somewhere cool so I'll want to visit him. Its going to be so weird not having him around! And sad. Also he can't help me move. so sad, on so many different levels :P

I had a massage where the woman now thinks I'm a lunatic, and I can never go back to her, because I didn't recognize her from the last time so when she asked if she'd ever had me I said 'no' but then later on realized it was definitely her! She recognized me too, but didn't really say anything, probably because you are supposed to humor the insane. Awkward!!

The chick who I bought my house from read my blog and called to apologize for having to do the 30 day rent back and for the misunderstanding with the notification, how nice is that? I wish they weren't moving so they could be my neighbors! Just another example of how dangerous the web can be, *anyone* can read what you write and well, I still don't care and am going to say whatever I want! Not that I don't edit my thoughts at all, but in general, its not really an outlet if I have to do too much censoring!