Twilight Saga

I saw New Moon today with a group of friends. It was much better than the first one (Twilight) and it helped refresh my memory since I read the book so long ago. Now maybe I can start on the 3rd one. Maddie has been waiting for me to finish for months; she wants to have our own little book club about it.

Jacob is much more likable in the movie than I thought he was in the book. In print, he mostly just irritated me. OK, and I'll admit he's kind of a hottie. However, I'm still firmly planted with Team Edward.

There is just something about a skinny, pale, sparkling vampire...

2012???

For those of you who didn't see it, this was the best part of SNL last night.

Even my kids were giggling like crazy...

Joseph

We went to the high school tonight to see "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". I'm glad my kids loved it...it's my favorite play/musical of all time!!

I wonder how many weeks it will take me to get those infectious songs out of my head?

The Shot

I was just reading my sister Jill's blog about her daughter freaking out at the clinic when she was there to get a shot. FUNNY! Well, maybe not at that exact time. But it sure seems funny to me now...

And it reminded me a funny story of myself as a kid at the mature age of about 10. During my childhood in the 1970's and early 80's, it must have been fairly common to inject antibiotics in any kid who appeared to have a cold. (And we wonder why we have so many resistant strains of bugs out there now!!!)

Anyway, our small town doctor especially loved it. He would always give us a choice between taking 10 days worth of pink-tinged oral antibiotics or a single shot in the butt. I always wanted the sweet pink medicine, but mom usually opted for the shot. Something about "being easier" I think.

Yeah, right.

I developed quite a hatred/fear of needles back in those days. But I was able to deal fairly well with it for the most part. Until that memorable day in 1980. My dad just so happened to be in the hospital for something and I just so happened to have another cold. The clinic was located on the first floor of the building, while the inpatient beds were located on the second floor.

After hearing that my cold symptoms were just too severe for merely the oral pink medicine. The doctor told me a needed a shot. I started crying right then and there.

Yep, I was 10.

To console me, the nurse asked if I would rather have the shot done upstairs in my dad's hospital room. To which I quickly responded "YES." At least I knew the terrible poke would be delayed by a couple minutes while we gathered her supplies and we all trekked through the clinic and up the stairs to the hospital.

On the way there, as I was trying to contain my sobs, I was plotting a way to escape the pain. And I came up with a brilliant idea.

At least I thought it was at the time.

So, imagine the scene...here is this big, crying 10 year old kid lying across her dad's hospital bed. (God, I bet my parents were totally irritated with me right about then...) And just as the nurse is about the stick my rear end with the shot, I squeezed my butt cheeks together as tight as I possibly could. And hoped for the best.

The only thing I remember after the little "yelp" from the nurse was turning around and looking at her perfectly white, starched uniform was covered in sprinkles of blood and yellow medicine that must have shot back at her off my tightened gluteus maximus.

I have no memory of anything after that. But...I'm sure I got the shot. And I'm sure I got quite the lecture from my mom and dad. I can just about imagine what I would say if that was one of my kids acting like such a fool...

So, believe it or not, I'm a nurse these days. And I can honestly say that every single time I've ever given a shot in my entire career...this incident crosses my mind.

I wonder if that poor nurse remembers me?

God, I hope not.

Are you loyal?

I'm very thankful for Leah's post tonight! As I sat down, I wasn't quite sure what topic I could pull out of the air, but there is was - something I've been thinking about lately:
LOYALTY TO YOUR HAIRSTYLIST

Any thoughts?

I've been getting my hair done at Marc Daniel Salon for a little over 5 years now. It gets cut by Hannah and colored by Angie. I love them both... I love how they do my hair... I love hearing about the latest gossip...I love comparing stories about our kids...I love the salon...I love the cool concrete floors in the salon... I love the quirky little gifts they have on display...I love how they ask you if you want a gown and something to drink when you walk in the door.

But, it is so crazy expensive, I think my poor husband would have a heart attack if he knew how much this graying, over-processed, thick head of hair costs me (and him) to maintain.

As the prices go up, the thought of going somewhere else has crept into my mind. I've changed hairstylists many times in the past. But I've never had the nerve to explain why or to go back to the same salon but to a different stylist. Heck, I even try to avoid going to another place in the same city.

And then I get scared someone else won't know how to do my hair.
And then I feel guilty that I might hurt their feelings.
And then I look at those brilliant gray roots peeking through in the center of my head.

And then, once I can't deal with the fear, guilt and gray roots any longer...I pick up the phone and make another appointment with my girls.

No really...I'm not a wuss. I'm just LOYAL.

Their version of heaven...My version of hell

Daily blogging with an uneventful life is proving to be a real challenge for me. I hope you don't mind if we back-track a bit!

Bill and Will joined some other Gallagher boys (Paul, Ricky and Brian) several weeks ago for a weekend at "The Shack". And by "The Shack", I'm not talking about the book.

I know that I've told you about this before, but here are a few things to refresh your memory:
- just a bit northwest of Duluth
- lies deep within beautiful Lake Superior National Forest
- private, secluded and serene
- infested with mice
- held together with a winch in the attic that runs around the entire building
- accompanied by an outhouse with a glass storm door and skylight
- filthy
- stinky

In addition to (or should I say despite of) all these unique features, my two favorite guys just happen to LOVE this place.

Me? Not so much. Just thinking about it gives me an anxiety attack.

I have tried to understand their relationship with this place, but it truly escapes me. Maybe I have to think like a boy. Hmmmm...


Boy thoughts: Mmmmm. Fire. Fire's cool. I like to play with fire. I wonder how many things I can throw into the fire?

Boy thoughts: Ooooo...motorized vehicle...mud...trail through woods...

Boy thoughts: Hmmmmm...how can I further optimize the effectiveness of this mouse-trap? With peanut butter and a drowning well, of course!


Boy thoughts: Dang. My wife/mom never lets me play with guns in our house.


OK...don't freak out. I'm told that these are just BB guns used to shoot the mice that escaped the fancy beer-can-peanut-butter-drowning-bucket-trap.

I'm told that they are being safe at all times.

I'm told that "it's the most fun place, ever!"

I'm also told that what happens at the shack, stays at the shack.


Gotta go... anxiety attack coming on.

I Love Norwwex (this is not an infomercial)

I cleaned the house again today. This is the third time in 3 weeks. I think that part of my motivation for cleanliness may be my new-found cleaning tools.

Several weeks ago, a friend of mine started selling this stuff called Norwex. It's an antibacterial microfiber material that comes in all kinds of different forms (small cloth, dusting mitt, large window cloth, mop, bath towels, etc). You can't believe how much easier and faster it is to clean everything!!!! Even disgusting, nasty, filthy wood blinds. No kidding!

No more cleaning solutions. No more flying dust. Today, I scrubbed out a carpet stain that I've been staring at for over a year. Using only water and this miracle cloth!

Seriously amazing!!!!

Kevin Bacon

This made me laugh...

The Kevin Bacon Movie Club from Kevin Bacon

Goofy Little Girl

Here's my goofy little girl!

This daily blogging thing is running my brain dry. In search of a topic, I went into the first computer photo album I could find: Fall 2004. I remember that like it was yesterday.

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE missing front teeth on little kids???

It's my favorite. Followed closely by Ben & Jerry's Phish Food Ice Cream.

A Voice from the Past

Bill helped pack and move his Dad today. He recently sold the house where he and Bill's mom had lived for the past 15+ years and will be moving to a town home. During the sorting, he found a cassette tape of an interview he did with his Grandma Agnes. He thinks it was done in 1983-ish...not quite sure.

I never met his Grandma Ag. But I know a little bit about her. I think she died before Bill even graduated from high school. I know that she was a teacher. I know that she loved to play Scrabble. I know that she was the "queen" or something of Fridley and rode in a parade. I know that she used to pack Bill and Brian bags of snacks and trinkets to take with them on the long drive back down to Rochester. And I know that the people who knew her thought the world of her.

It was pretty amazing to hear her voice on that tape tonight. Hearing someone speak registers at a whole different level than just looking at a picture of them. I think it's the intonation; maybe the rhythm of their words. Maybe it's how I heard her interact with her grandson...my husband. For me, it just put a whole new light on who this woman actually was.

She came across very bright and articulate. She seemed knowledgeable of the world around her at that time, transitioning from politics to religion smoothly. She was spunky.

I wish I had known her.

But tonight, I feel lucky to have heard her.

Swim Slideshow

Here is my latest project for the kids' swim club. Once I start messing around with Photoshop, I lose all track of time! It's amazing!

Actually, this slideshow didn't take me very long at all. Projects on Elements 6.0 are so easy to put together.

I'm not sure what I love more: my camera, my Photoshop, my computer, or my kids' swim club...

TV

I know...I still probably watch too much TV. I definitely don't watch as much as I did a few years ago; but I really do love a good episode of The Office or Law & Order SVU.

Has anyone started watching any of the new shows out there this fall?

My favorite new one is Modern Family. Hil. Air. Eee. Us. Seriously - it's awesome! I can't decide which characters are my favorite. Trust me...it's good.

We've also started watching FlashForward and V. They are both pretty good thrillers. FF gives me my LOST fix while that's not on.

And my guilty pleasure is Witches of Eastwick. It's trashy, mindless, and kind of stupid. But it's still on my DVR. What can I say...sometimes you just need trashy, mindless, and stupid.

And speaking of that...thank God for DVRs.

Drunken Hunting

I kind of feel like I could do another edition of Stupid or Unfortunate today. But instead, I'll just share a thought with you:

I think there should be incredibly strict laws against intoxicated people handling firearms. Isn't that just common sense? Even for stupid people, it should be common sense, right?

And on a related topic...it should be illegal to hunt while intoxicated. It should be illegal to climb one's drunk ass up into a deer stand while intoxicated. And honestly, I don't really care if one's drunk ass falls out of a 15 foot high deer stand and breaks one's drunk-ass neck. But then don't complain about the incisional pain following the fusion of the vertebrae in one's cervical spine.

OMG...can you imagine all the trouble that could be avoided if we had laws against this?

But then I probably wouldn't have a job, would I?

My lesson of the day

This is what I learned today:

Once one of those big exercise balls has been punctured, it cannot be adequately repaired with duct tape.

It is not safe.

Ow...........

YOU'RE ELEVEN!!

My eleven year old daughter is obsessed with getting a phone.

She thinks it's imperative to her survival in this world.
I think: YOU'RE ELEVEN!

She thinks that it'll come in handy when she babysits for C, M, and G.
I think: WE LIVE RIGHT NEXT DOOR!

She thinks that it would be so convenient to call me when she is done with swim practice or needs a ride somewhere.
I think: I ALREADY HAVE YOUR SCHEDULE!!! IT'S THE SCHEDULE OF AN ELEVEN YEAR OLD!

She thinks that she's the only kid in 5th grade who doesn't have one.
I think: I DON'T CARE! YOU'RE ELEVEN!

She thinks that she is totally responsible and take very good care of it.
I think: I COULDN'T AGREE MORE.

...BUT YOU'RE ELEVEN!

Sitting

omgwhataweekend!

I'm so exhausted...but look...here I am...at 11:00 at night...blogging...because I committed to it for the month.

I'm actually anxious for Monday. I think that I can maybe relax a bit. You, know - recover. From my weekend sitting in a pool. Yep - you heard me right: sitting. That's it...JUST sitting.

Sitting for 21 hours.

You don't have to look again. You read it correctly the first time.

One of these days (when I'm not so exhausted from all that sitting), I'm going to calculate the ratio of sitting/waiting time to the time that my children are actually swimming in events.

That could be interesting.

...or shocking.

Long Days

Do you want to know how it feels to spend 10 hours in a hot, humid pool?

Nah...I didn't think so.

Since the kids turned 11 in June, we've become all-dayers at swim meets. The girls 11-12 age group gets shifted to afternoons while the boys 11-12 remains in the mornings. I think it has something to do with the number of girls and the coinciding high school swim season. But, for whatever reason it's for...it means that we've at the pool from the darkness of the morning until the darkness of the night.

Thank God I love to watch swimming!

...and thank God for bleacher-cushions!

Will and his swim buddies

Hypocrisy Waits Silently for the Self-Righteous

And another one for you: Carrie Prejean


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The breakfast-fundraiser-and-dog-poop-in-eye-resource blog

I have this little "Site Meter" function embedded in my blog. It's kind of interesting to see how many views my blog is getting. Now don't get me wrong... there really aren't very many. But I'm pretty sure there are a few "regulars" that check back once in awhile. This includes my sisters, my dad, and my husband. (Hi guys!)

I can't see exactly who is reading my blog, but I can see the city their server is in, approximately how long they are visiting, where they "out click" to and how they came upon my site.

That last part is my favorite. Other than seeing hits referred to my blog from my sister's or friend's blogs, I can see the words that people used in their Google search to access my little online journal.

The most popular Google search that leads to my blog is "Applebees Breakfast Fundraiser". Awhile back I wrote this following my fundraising journey for the Breast Cancer 3 Day. There must be a lot of people looking for ways to raise some funds!

Following close behind the Applebees thing is "dog poop in your eye". Seriously! People actually Google "dog poop in your eye." Some Google "dog poop in my eye." Some just search for "poop in eye." But apparently this is an issue worth researching for some folks.

And they're led right to my little blog.

Hmmm...Kind of makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Inside my head...

1. You may have noticed that I've now blogged for 4 days in a row. Can you believe it? I hate to jinx myself, but I'm trying to do the NoPoBloMo or PoBloNoMo, or whatever. Basically I'm trying to blog every day this month. I'm hoping that this will force some creativity out of me. Huh...nothing like forced creativity...

2. We all got seasonal flu shots several weeks ago. But none of us has received the H1N1 yet. I feel like I'm just waiting for my whole family to get struck down by this virus. I usually wake up every morning and feel everybody's head for a fever. So far - so good...knocking on wood.

3. My dad and Marva are coming for the weekend. It'll be great to see them again. Can't wait to see the pictures from their month-long Corvette trip out west! They are also coming to see the kids swim at a meet in Elk River on Saturday and Sunday. I'm pretty sure they have no idea what they're in for. The kids swim in 2 different sections this season - Will in the morning and Maddie in the afternoon. Wow...that makes for LONG days! And guess what... This little all-day arrangement will last for the next 2 years!

4. Has anyone ever worked with Microsoft Publisher? I'm trying to put together a newsletter for work and I'm having a hard time getting everything formatted nicely. Heaven forbid I succumb to reason and use the HELP function.

5. Aside from blogging 4 days in a row, I've also cleaned my house 2 weeks in a row. I'm pretty sure I haven't done that since 1997. But, seriously...it feels GREAT! I think it's kind of like therapy. But free.

6. A friend of mine recently started selling Norwex microfiber cleaning supplies. OMG...the dusting mitt is AMAZING!!!! My wood blinds haven't been this dust-free since they were installed over 7 years ago.

7. Do you want to check out my latest techy/nerdy project? Here it is: Sea Devils Swimming.
The swim team recently switched websites and I ended up as the "temporary webmaster". Yeah, I know...don't laugh. It kind of makes me want to call up my 10th grade computer teacher and tell him that I'm really NOT an idiot. Hey, buddy! I can copy and paste HTML with the best of 'em.


I apologize. This could be along month for all of us.

Grade Check

The schools in our district provide an online site that allows parents to keep track of their kids' grades, view books they've checked out from the library, and look at detailed lunch charges. This school year I've decided to check in on the site weekly. You know, just to see how things are going.

Its a good chance to remind them that instead of buying a bottle of water in the cafeteria for $1.25, they can just bring a bottle of water from home. Or better yet...GO TO THE DRINKING FOUNTAIN.

I can also check up on their grades. Which, honestly, I've really never worried about. They're good kids. They do their homework diligently. They like school. They've never had anything other than an A or A-. And I'm really not trying to be one of "those" moms...but to this point, grades haven't been an issue.

And that's why I almost fell out of my chair today when I saw a B- show up in Will's grade-book. And guess what it was in.

Go ahead, guess.

Phy Ed. Gym. PE. I couldn't help but laugh! Seriously...this is a kid who swims 7-8 hours a week. A kid who is more fit at 11 yrs old, than I have ever been in my entire life. A kid who almost has achieved a six-pack belly.

So, after a brief chat, he thinks he's figured out a way to salvage his GPA.

The solution? Simply wear the correct footwear.

Those darn Keen's are just so comfy and easy to slip on.


God...I hope he still gets into college. :)

Halloween 2009

I can't help but wonder how many more Halloween's will involve costumes at the Gallagher house. Can't be more than one or two...right? My friend Heather implemented a great rule with her son Henry: once your voice changes, that's it.

I think we'll follow with that one.

This year the kids' each took $10 to Goodwill and purchased costumes of their choice. And this is what they came up with:
A hobo and a dead bride.

Go figure...


Here's the Culhane's and the Gallagher's:

The sign is a nice touch, don't you think?

This picture gives me nightmares. I'm not sure who is scarier...Maddie or Lady GaGa

Confusion

OK....I think I'm finally ready to admit it.

I think that I just might be a Vikings fan.

There. I said it.

Vikings. VikingsVikingsVikingsBrettFavreVikings.

OK...so maybe it's not so much the Vikings as it is #4. Which, by the way, still looks really weird in purple.