Am I a Terrible Mother?

Paula inspired me with her Shampoo experiment. Last night an opportunity for another great experiment presented itself, and now I'm wondering if I will be judged a terrible mother.


In the end, it doesn't matter, because I am not going to waste this opportunity!! In fact, I have future ideas spinning in my head!


But before I get ahead of myself, let me set the stage.


Thursday was my son, David's, 21st birthday. In honor of the special day, we took the family out to David's favorite restaurant for dinner. His girlfriend, Britany, joined us. For some reason, when all the family gathers, it is "let's make fun of Mom" time. It never fails, and that night was no different. The subject of ridicule that night involved my childhood life-size doll. (Those of you on Facebook may recall the pictures I uploaded of the doll, dressed in Hayley's clothing. I took a cute picture of both my "girls".)


Well, my children - and husband - proceeded to tell me how creepy the doll was. Apparently my children have been scarred for life by this doll. They proceeded to tell me that they had friends who wouldn't come over to our house because of that doll! And David informed me that when his friends would spend the night, he would set the doll up, with a plastic gun in her hands, so that upon awakening they would open their eyes to a doll standing in front of their face with a gun trained upon them! (Who knows what other mis-treatment my poor doll endured!! And they blame ME for their friends not coming back????)


Last night, while laying in bed with my husband, an idea so wondrous entered my head! I shared it with Wayne and we both about split a gut laughing. I love ideas that make me burst out laughing hours later as I ponder them.


Now let me show you a picture of my son's room. I warn you, he is what I call - a pile person. You've been warned!

Yes, that is the permanent state of his bed. And he sleeps among clean clothes, boxes, bags, whatever he has piled upon that bed.
















Now, take a look at his bed again!

David slept in that bed last night! (My shoulders are shaking with inner laughter as I write this.) The experiment that rivals Paula's shampoo bottle is: How long before David realizes that he is sleeping with my doll?????????? Waha Ha ha ha ha ha ha..............)


So am I a terrible mother?

Yellowstone

Yellowstone is a unique National Park - but my heart belongs in the Tetons!!

Old Faithful Boardwalk

So much cooler to see but the clouds spoiled the picture

Saw this male challenge the line of cars--he pawed the ground and then ran toward the cars, stood in front of one, and then returned to the herd.

This glacial field just popped up out of nowhere and then it was back to the regular terrain- near Mammoth Springs

Mammoth Springs-- mostly dormant now -- just a few areas still spewing hot water.

Do you see "the Silent Scream"?  Look closely.  Very cool!

Town of  Mammoth Springs from the top

Teton Pictures

This is why I want to spend the summer in the Tetons.  Average temperature 75 - 85 degrees.  Cool mornings and evenings.  Great sleeping weather at night and low humidity during the day made for perfect days!

From the Top of Signal Mountain - Tetons

Hidden Falls - Near Jenny Lake - Tetons

Breakfast on Elk Island - Lake Jackson

Ain't the "wildlife" cute?

Home to KC

I'm not leaving the house until October!!!

We arrived at KC airport at 11:30 pm last night.  75 degrees and HUMIDITY!!!!  I want to go back to the TETONS!!!  So Bad!!!!!!  Wayne and I are trying to figure out ways to spend the summer in the Tetons.  We'll keep you posted on our progress.

Got up this morning about 9:00 am to discover that those damn gnomes were at it again!

Note the beer can in the foreground!  I'll probably be picking empty bottles and cans out of the bushes for weeks!!

Well now it is back to reality.  Had a great time with family; lots of laughter and great memories!

I'll post pictures in snippets so it is not overwhelming!

Day 2 -Wedding Day

Day 2 of our Utah adventures.  Kind of overcast to start the day but still very nice temperature-wise.  Cloudy mornings make for great spa days.  It was time for all the women folk to get the old mani-pedi workover.  Finding the place was where the adventure began! Can't always rely on the ole GPS phone app!!! 


After driving back and forth a couple of times and looking at the dot on the map pass the supposed location---we knew we were in trouble.  To make matters worse, when we called the salon to make sure we had the correct address, Lindsey and Paula had a hard time understanding the asian woman's speech.  I must say we were in stitches listening to Paula trying to translate the woman's directions!!!  It didn't help when Paula added her own impressionation of an asian woman speaking english.  (So politcally incorrect of us!!!)


Luckily, Kate also had a GPS on her phone, and hers worked.  As we pulled up to the correct location, Paula noted the nearby Jiffy Lube and commented that she could really use a lube job too!!!  Had a few laughs about that one, just imagining a rather grizzled old guy with greasy hands giving her the old lube job!


On to the wedding in the afternoon.  Beautiful outdoor location---imagine an Italian winery with restaurant and lots of outdoor arbors etc.  Romance, good food, and dancing; what more could anyone ask for?  Oh ya, and the open bar :)

And we all now know that Hayley was born to dance!!!  She took control of the dance floor early and often.  Nothing like seeing the joyful exuberance of a two-year-old to remind you of how good life can be!!!  Can't wait to see the pictures and the video!

Had a great day filled with laughter and fun and we all fell exhausted into our bed at the end of the evening!  Slept the sleep of the living dead!!!

The Road Leads to Utah

Well, sisters, I'm on the road again..... (I think that might be a Willie Nelson tune playing through my head....)
I love 2 hour direct flights!!!  Can't say that enough!  Left KC yesterday at 6:30 am and arrived at Salt Lake City at 7:45 am - even gained an hour on the way :)

Wayne and I had about 6 hours to ourselves before the kids arrived!!  Drove to the hotel and they not only had our room available at 10:00 in the morning, but who should show up, but my brother Rick!  (He's looking a little shell-shocked from writing large checks for his daughter's wedding---but he's still standing!!)

We had a quick visit---as he was on assignment--and had more on his to-do list.  Wayne and I watched a little tennis - it is Wimbledon you know!--then the Greens and Larsons from Minnesota showed up--end of peace and tranquillity!!!

While Wayne went to pick up the kiddos, I lounged around the swimming pool with the clan.  The weather is wonderful!!!  No humidity!!  It was supposed to get up to around 100 degrees but rain sprinkles showed up on and off throughout the afternoon which cooled things down.  Still....no humidity!!!

Well Happy Hour started at 5:30 pm in John and Kim's room and just never ended the rest of the evening!!  From their room it was on to the rehearsal dinner......a little bit of food and more wine and beer!!  I spent the evening trying to keep my sister, Paula, sober.  Unfortunately the videographer caught up with her and asked her for marriage advice for the soon to be married couple.   Imagine that........asking Paula for marriage advice.....  Well he got an earful!  Her first words were:  RUN!  Run far and run fast!!  (Something to that effect!!) 
 (I think perhaps that I should volunteer to edit that video.... but on the other hand Paula did actually have some good advice----THE WIFE IS ALWAYS RIGHT---makes for an enduring marriage of wedded bliss.

So today is a new day of adventure in SLC.  Stay tuned for more updates of summer vacation with the Green Clan!

PS.  Have to thank my favorite neighbor to the north, for getting up at 5:00 in the morning to drive Wayne and me to the airport.  She is a chauffeur extraordinaire!!!

It's Not Your Grandma's Bingo!!

Thought I'd support a worthy cause, enjoy a night out with my gal pals and play a little bingo.  I'm usually pretty lucky at bingo so I thought I might win a few prizes!

The charity we were going to support was for death row dogs.  I guess they save dogs who are on the docket for being put to sleep.  The event was being held at Hamburger Mary's, some place in downtown Kansas City.

After last night, my husband says I can no longer accompany my friend, Lorrie, on any gal pal outings!!!

The evening started out with a bang; a crash bang!  We were almost hit by a truck trying to escape from the police.  Upon entering a highway ramp, the guy flew by us followed by 2 cop cars, sirens screaming.  More cop cars coming from all directions.  Lorrie slammed on her brakes and we wondered if we might want to change our route.  After the coast cleared we tentatively made our way downtown.

It took a while to find the place, so we had to whip out the old GPS device.  (Lorrie thought she knew where she was going----but I guess not!!!---in more ways than one!!)

Well we got to Hamburger Mary's just in time.  Walked in----only to find ourselves in a GAY bar!!!!  Oh it was a-swing-in!!!  We were greeted by a lovely hostess.  Patty turned to me and asked, "Just tell me, is that a girl or a guy?"  Yes, the lovely transvestite asked us if we were here to play some BINGO!!!  The place was hoppin---so we ended up in the back sitting at the bar.  Ordered up our drinks---thought we might need a few before the night was over---payed our $10.00 for our ten bingo cards AND proceeded to play GAY BINGO!!!

Our hostess chose the type of bingo, proceeded to sing and dance for us, call out the balls---with many side comments-----and I won!!  TWICE!  Each bingo round was based on some type of sexual connotation---many of which were unknown by me :)  But I caught on fast. 

We played for about 2 hours. Half way through, our hostess needed to make a costume change.  Then she proceeded to sing a song while mincing around the bar, ending up on top of the bar right in front of  us.  Damn, she had good legs!!!

Well, we stumbled out of the bar after a night of debauchery and lots of laughter.  I won a $20.00 Pizza Hut card and a t-shirt.  And we raised about $700.00 for the death row dogs!!  All in all---a win-win evening.

After sharing my evening fun with Wayne, he told me the police chase was on the news and then he forbade me to hang out with Lorrie without prior vetting!!!  (Actually, if we ever go again---we plan to bring our husbands!)

So, I know you want to know about the police chase......but that's a whole other story!!!  And not as titalating as ours!

It's Official! I Am Now Dangerous!!!

Yep, today I moved into a whole new dimension in my life!!  I manuevered a BOBCAT! 

This old broken down granny has found her new career!!!  When I retire from being a teacher-librarian--I'm going to be driving the big earth movin machines for some construction company!!!

It's in my blood now!  Today it was scooping up gravel in the loader, moving it around the community garden, and then dumping the ole bucket.  If only I could have gone faster!!!  (Where's ole Tim the Toolman when you need him??)

From here, no machine is too big.  The bigger the better I say!  (or am I confusing machines with ...........  :)

Anyway, I have found my inspiration.  Now all I need do is convince some construction company to hire me.  I figure I'll get me one or two of those low-rise pair of pants, hang a cute, low-riding toolbelt over these ample hips and wha-lah!!  I'm in!!  Them tools will be a swinging in a way that those men have never seen.  Mesmerizing......simply mesmerizing!!!!

You may now refer to me as,

Bobcat Suzi!!

Mystery Invite!

This arrived in the mail on Friday:

No return address, no name, no date, no location!!

So I'm racking my brain trying to remember if some event was going on at school, at church, etc.  I'm notorious for forgetting events---even after putting them on my calendar. 

I looked over the writing--kinda looked like my library aide's.  But she would have given the details. 

Showed it to Wayne--he was clueless.

Later that evening, my neighbors came over for a glass of wine and a visit on the porch.  I showed the invite to them.  I wondered if it was hand drawn--hard to tell as it was in black ink and so well done it was impossible to tell if it was printed or drawn.  We also noted that PICNIC was misspelled PINIC. 

None of us could figure it out.  So it was forgotten---wine can have that effect...... 

Easter Morn arrived along with our granddaughter, Hayley, waking us at 6:45 all excited because the Easter bunny had brought her a basket full of goodies.  So we started hunting for hidden eggs.  The weather had been very wet lately, so the ole Easter bunny just hid the eggs in the house.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the living room blinds and saw this:

 

Some of you might not be aware that I have a neighbor extraordinaire who loves to create displays (in my yard!) on any given holiday.  She has delighted us with many creations (although the dandelions were rather embarassing!)

This Easter creation included gnomes hidden all over my yard (better than all the beer bottles I usually find hidden in my hostas!)   along with a great looking picnic!

What's really sad is that I DIDN'T make the connection between the mystery invitation and this Easter display!!  (it was all the wine-----and I'm sticking to that excuse)  Only when Laura came out of her house did I make the connection.  SHE KNEW ALL ALONG ABOUT THE MYSTERY INVITE---she and the other neighbors were laughing hysterically behind my back as I was trying to figure out who had sent the darn invitation. 

So I tip my wine glass to Laura for her creativity and devious nature!!! 
I'm lovin it!!!

P.S.  If you look real carefully, you'll see a tiny gnome hidden in the invitation---sneaky!

Snow Madness

Yes, it is snowing - AGAIN!!  We've already had 5 snow days, now we're in for 2 or 3 more!  We've lost Easter Monday and added 3 days on to the end of the year.  The next loss is part of our spring break.  I think this is a plan by the school district to introduce us to year-around schooling.

The earlier snow days at least allowed me to get out of the house by the afternoon.  One day I went for a massage, did a little shopping, just had a leisurely enjoyable day.  I plan to enjoy every snow day to the max---as I'll be making up for them in June!!

This snow is different though.  More like memorable snow days I have spent in Wisconsin.  Not going to get out of the house for a couple of days.  Therefore I must keep myself from succumbing to cabin fever!!  I no longer have cross country skiis, ice skates, or snow shoes---so it is indoor activities for me.

I do have facebook now to keep me connected to the world.  And I had to laugh out loud at one person's thread that talked about picking out the weakest link in your family in case you ran out of food.  With only Wayne and myself here, there would be only limited options. (If only Hayley were still here :)  Unfortunately, I'm thinkin that I'm the weak link and if Wayne were desperate enough---he could stay fed for at least a month if snowed in. 

Now my neighbor thought these kind of thoughts were quite ghoulish!!  Of course she isn't from the great white north and doesn't understand that people up north have 5 or 6 kids for the express purposes of having a food supply if things become desperate in the great snowy darkness of the northern climes.

Perhaps that is why she declined my invitation to sup with us on a delectable meal of chicken tortilla soup and corn bread this evening.  I wonder if she was a little worried about being added to my stock pot?????

So what shall I do to occupy myself for the next couple of days?  I can share the pleasure of my thoughts with the great world wide web via this blog and facebook, I have a prayer shawl to finish crocheting, and I've got lots of books and journals at my disposal.  I have baking supplies and as long as I have electricity I can make cookies and cakes and pies.  I have the TV and NetfFlicks and lots of exercise videos and DVDs (which I'll need if I do all that baking).  And best of all -- my husband is stuck here with me--- so.......I believe we could find some inventive ways to kill time :)   Let's just leave it at that!

So what's happening in your little corner of the world????