Merry Christmas

Gerard Butler

Confession time:

Gerard Butler -- don't know him at all so, can't really say that I like him, but boy do I like to look at and listen to him. He just does it for me -- tall, dark, handsome, green/blue eyes, lovely voice with Scottish accent. From the bio info I've read and the interviews I've heard, he appears to be intelligent with a sense of humor, very personable. And that smile....

And he's got a new movie coming out in 1 week: P.S. I Love You. I won't be able to see it when it comes out -- MC's birthday is that weekend and he's already been promised a movie with friends. And I know DH will not want to go, a) because he's not a big fan of romantic movies, and b) because he's uncomfortable with me finding someone else attractive. And to make it worse, his brother knows GB and has mentioned the possible of sometime introducing us. (I don't know if DH thinks GB is going to see me and try to steal me away [right] or what, but he doesn't want to be seen as doing anything to support my interest.) But I think OC will go with me -- we'll have a girls night out, leave DH home with MC and YC.

First movie I saw him in was "timeline" a couple of years ago. Since then I think I've seen them all. Have to say my absolute favorite so far is "dear Frankie." No special effects, no rousing score or fight scenes, just a simple story. And I think he was terrific. I actually have 'Timeline" and "Dear Frankie" on my DVR for when I need a bit of Gerry.

Once I see the new movie, I'll post a review.

Holiday Favorites -- More Fun

Here's a couple more fun Christmas songs -- not on my iPod, but should be.




And

Holiday Favorites -- Fun & Silly

Here's 3 more I have on my iPod but rarely hear on the radio.



What's to say? You've either seen the movie and remember the weather twins, or you don't.



There doesn't seem to be an "official" video of this song, but I like this one.

And finally ...



At least one of these "pains" has to ring true for anyone trying to celebrate the holidays. Again, doesn't seem to be an official video, but I've found many, many videos on youtube, and this was my favorite. It's obviously a very popular song. Bob Rivers has many other "twisted" holiday songs on his website The Bob Rivers Show.

Holiday Favorites -- from Love Actually

It's that time of year (at least here in the States) when some radio stations become all holiday, all the time. I love a lot of the old standards, but I have a few favorites that I rarely, if ever, hear anywhere but on my iPod.



From the movie "Love Actually." It's Bill Nighy in the movie and video, but it's Billy Mack singing.





Also from "Love Actually" this is Olivia Olson singing 'All I Want For Christmas is You.'


Last, but not least



This beautiful version of White Christmas by Otis Redding is also in the movie and on the soundtrack.

Answers to the Quiz

1. Boxing [suggested this, but DH said no]

2. Niagara Falls (The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)

3. Asparagus and rhubarb

4. Strawberry [got this one]

5. It grew inside the bottle (The bottles are placed over the pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.) [got this one]

6. Dwarf, dwell, dwindle. [got 2 out of 3 -- missed dwindle]

7. Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets, parentheses, braces, and ellipses. [got all these]

8. Lettuce [got this one]

9. Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts [got this one]


So, how'd you do?

Test Your Smarts

I got this from a co-worker. Didn't do too badly; course I had DH's help. I'll post the answers in a day or two.

Quiz

These are not trick questions. They are straight questions with straight answers.

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn’t been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters “dw” and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter “s.”

Back at it

Exercising, I mean. So far I've exercised (cardio plus strength plus stretch) the last 3 days this week. And I'm working on my diet, too. I think I just needed a few weeks to work through the subconscious panic the regular exercising was causing (oh no, she's exercising, 5 days a week, that means she's going to start starving me too, gotta eat, eat everything, Mickey D's here I come).
I've got whole grain cereals, skim milk, dried fruit, walnuts, whole grain bread and such at work. For my sweet tooth and chocolate cravings I've got some dark chocolate wafer cookies, in single serving packs, in my drawer. The only fast food this week was a salad from McDonald's, everything else has been prepared at office or home (a lot of it is premade, but it's a step in the right direction).
I've also resumed taking a multi vitamin with minerals, something that was recommended by my doctor during my annual physical.

Completely new topic --
My last post was about my hellish week. Obviously I survived (it felt pretty doubtful over the weekend). What I didn't mention was how great DH was during the whole thing, starting with the special private time Tuesday night (I'll post about it on my other blog Robin's Red Bottom, if you're interested in the explicit details). Wednesday and Thursday he had to make sure the kids got up for school, then did chores and homework after, plus make sure they had dinner (don't know if they ate fast food or if something was fixed in house). He also had to take the youngest trick-or-treating, and man the candy bowl when they were home. On Friday, I was able to do the morning stuff, but he was again responsible for afternoon/evening. And he cleaned the house! It was so nice to walk into a clean and polished house after 3 long days of work. [This is something I regularly do for him when he's been travelling -- it makes coming home more pleasant for him.]
Then came the weekend and the head cold from hell. He took the kids out for lunch on Saturday and kept them busy the rest of the day (especially YC, she's such a momma's girl she doesn't like to leave me alone). And Sunday he took the kids and did all the grocery shopping, feeding them while they were out.
Monday, when I made the decision to stay home, he got the kids up and took YC to childcare so I wouldn't have to get up and take her into school. And when the kids came home, they pretty much took care of themselves.
So through the whole miserable week, DH was my knight in shining armor, making sure everything was taken care of so I could get the rest I needed. Am I lucky or what?

Where'd October Go?

So it's been more than a week since I last posted, but when you hear how crazy things have been, you'll excuse me.
Last post I mentioned my two crazy work days with the extra long commutes. Last week was worse.
Monday was normal, Tuesday was a little longer than normal (last business day of the month always is). I know Tuesday the 30th is not the last day of October, but since we started physical inventory on Wednesday, EOM was moved up a day. My responsibility for physical the past couple of years has been tag control. I won't go into the boring details, but basically it means that as long as product is being counted I have to be at work to check the tags in and out. Consequently, on Wednesday I worked from 430 am to 615 pm (with only about a 20 minute break for lunch). Thursday I started again at 430 am and was the last building employee to leave at about 8 pm -- and Thursday was much crazier than Wednesday, plus I was getting a cold. Friday I didn't have to start til 830 am (counting was done), but still ended up being one of the last out at about 7 pm.
Definite living dead for Saturday just from the long unusual work hours. But to make it even more zombie zone, I got a nasty nasty head cold. I spent most of the weekend in bed, didn't even have energy for date night. It's one of those colds where everything is stuffed up and the bones in my face and my teeth even ache due to the sinus pressure. I tried rinsing out my sinuses, but couldn't even get any drainage. OTC medications weren't even really helping, just taking the edge off. Absolutely miserable. I even stayed home from work today -- especially good as this afternoon I developed a migraine.
So, no exercise since Monday last week, poor diet due to extreme situation, stress, head cold, migraine, period -- I'm a mess. Here's hoping the cold does not become a sinus infection (I have chronic sinus problems) and continues to improve. I will get back to exercising regularly this week. I WILL. Things can only get better, right?
Now to bed.

Too Tired

It's been a busy week. So of course the exercise has fallen by the wayside the last couple of days.
I'm exhausted -- I had a 50 mile drive one way (about 2 hours) Tuesday and Wednesday to attend some special project meetings for work (which it turns out I really didn't need to attend as it was all review for me). Long, boring meetings in uncomfortable chairs which people from other facilities who have to be difficult. Aaaaaggggghhhh. Then OC had a band rehearsal Wednesday evening, with the actual concert tonight. So fitting exercise in just was too hard.
I do plan on getting back on track tomorrow after work.
Saturday I have a chiro appt and then it's clean the house top to bottom before DH comes home -- he's going to be exhausted and one of hte best ways to welcome him home is with a clean house. I even plan on reducing my piles (if you could see my bedroom, you'd know what i mean).

You Must Watch This

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HqdnjgkExY

I tried to put the video itself here, but couldn't seem to manage it tonight.

Randy Pausch and his last lecture have been all over the news. I saw him today on Oprah. Very inspiring, but somewhat painful for me. Randy has pancreatic cancer, the same cancer that killed my dad 3 1/2 years ago. It's one of the worst cancers to get, with no survival rate. At least my siblings and I got to have our dad til we were all grown up.

If you can, I would also suggest watching today's episode of Oprah -- Randy gives a version of this lecture plus sits down and talks with Oprah and Dr. Oz. Very inspiring episode.

Randy's webpage at Carnegie Mellon:

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/

Friendly Reminder...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (at least in the U.S.) -- have you had your annual mammogram yet?

I did, just this past week. Believe me, it is not a pleasant experience to have your breasts pushed and pulled and placed just right, and then squashed. There's nothing quite like having a part of your body that you consider beautiful and sexy and sensual handled like so much meat (visits to the gyno are ickily similar). But it's only 5 - 10 minutes once a year. And considering that it just might save my life, it's an unpleasantness I'll put up with.

This was my third annual mammogram. And if you're doing the math (40 years old now minus 3 years = 37 at first mammogram), you're aware that I had my first one earlier than generally recommended. This is because my mom had breast cancer. She went through treatments (never even lost her hair) and has now been cancer free, and considered cured, for more than 10 years. I don't know whether the cancer was discovered during an annual mammogram or thru self-exam, but now that there is a family history (no other blood family members on either side that I know of have had breast cancer), plus I have a few other health issues that raise my risk, I'm not taking any chances. If it's going to happen, I would rather catch it earlier than later.

luv ur breasts So, ladies, if you haven't had your mammogram yet this year, get it done; and make sure to do your monthly self-exams.

Gentlemen, encourage the ladies in your life to get their mammogram. And those monthly exams, you might consider helping out with those, make them more fun than chore.

Still Going Strong

Well, the exercising thing is going well -- 5 days last week, and up to 3 days this week. And I can already see positive changes in my body, less jiggling, etc. (the scale hasn't changed -- see next paragraph). Weekends are more difficult than week days because that's when we do everything that didn't get done during the work week -- cleaning, shopping, cooking, errands, sleeping.

I have discovered that I have a psychological issue -- I cannot diet and exercise at the same time. Ever since I committed to exercising at least 5 days a week, I just cannot keep up the healthy eating. I keep healthy food at work, but have been going out to eat, and buying cookies and other not so good choices for weight loss and healthy living. I know it's psychological, and I am trying to work through it. I'm hoping that has the exercise thing becomes a regular, easy to keep with, expected part of my day, that my mind will realize that I am not trying to starve and torture myself and will then be able to reincorporate healthy eating habits. (Thank you Martha Beck and "4 Day Win" for helping me with the mental aspects of healthy living/eating).

Other things going on --
DH is travelling again. He'll be home for the weekend, then off again until the last week of the month, just in time to take charge of Halloween (I will be at work 4:30 a.m. till at least 6 p.m. that day and the day or two after as well).
Special multi-day project at work -- I am so not a morning person that I will be stressed out and cranky for the duration. In light of this, my chiropractor has arranged a one hour session the Thursday before and the Saturday after to help me relax and destress (I am one of those people who holds all their stress in the back -- can only go so long without a good therapeutic massage and adjustment).
Oh, and I can expect PMS that week as well. Oh, joy, can't wait.

Reading --
Just finished 'Expanded Universe' by Robert A. Heinlein. I love the way he writes and what he writes about, fiction and non. He is someone I would have like to have met.
Also read 'The Worst Thing I've Done' by Ursula Hegi. Very interesting, but somewhat dark. I don't often read novels of this type, but it fit my mood when I saw it. I enjoyed it -- read it in two days, and recommend it.
Now reading 'I'd Kill For That,' a serial mystery edited by Marcia Talley (authors include Rita Mae Brown, Kathy Reichs, Kay Hooper, and nine others). It's a little confusing to start -- too many characters introduced too quickly -- but I'm getting into it now.

And that's about it. Same old, same old.

3 days

Totally exhausted and sore, but managed to make it 3 days in a row for exercising. Unfortunately, the endorphins aren't boosting my mood so well tonight -- feel the need for a good cry. But I really need to try to sleep since tomorrow is another work day.

Nothing much else going on -- since I've been exercising after work, I haven't had a lot of time for reading or attentive TV watching. Soon, once the exercise becomes for of a regular habit, it will be easier to fit it all in.

Sore and tired

Sore and tired today, but I again did 30 minutes of cardio and some strength training. Definitely need to take the ibuprofen before bed.

I'm trying to find a widget of a calendar where I can check off the days I exercise. Haven't found one yet, so I'm looking to see how hard creating my own will be. If I find one or create one, I plan to add it to this blog.

I'm trying

I came home today and exercised. Whoo hoo! Did 30 minutes of cardio and some strength exercises. Now if I can just keep this up. I did not eat well today, but I did exercise.

I've tied my computer time in with this -- I won't get on the computer, for blogging or anything else, until I've done my exercise. Some days there may be exceptions (evening appointments, illness, etc.) but my mantra today was "I will exercise when I get home. I will do 30 minutes of cardio. I have no excuses, I am not sick, and being worn out is not valid." I just kept repeating this to myself through out the day. Amazing how changing one little word changes the force of the message (should to will).

And I needed the exercise endorphins. I've been spiralling into a funk the past few days, not really sure why, happens occasionally, and I think if I hadn't exercised I'd be curled up in a ball listening to my 'need to cry' playlist on my iPod.

Here's to keeping up the hard work.

Physical follow up

I mentioned previously that I'd had my annual physical. My injection site is almost back to normal -- no longer red and swollen, but there is still a hard knot present. Got my test results back and everything is normal, with the exception of my cholesterol (LDL too high, HDL too low). Dr doesn't want to put me on meds, so I've got to make some lifestyle changes. We all know what those are: move more and eat better/less. I don't do well on either point, haven't for years, which of course explains all the extra weight I carry around with me.

I've tried over the years -- joining various dieting groups, the gym, hiring a personal trainer. I have a hard time sticking with anything, and I've discovered I'm somewhat of a picky eater. And with working full-time with an hour commute each way, I find it difficult to find the energy and enthusiasm for exercising before or after work (doesn't help that I am not morning person, either).

I know I've got to pull it together -- I'm 40 and there are a variety of cancers in my family medical history -- and get healthy before it's too late. I actually eat healthier at work than I do at home, keeping whole grain cereals in my desk and non fat milk in the fridge, along with frozen meals, veggies, fruit, etc. also either in my desk or the fridge. There are vending machines, but I rarely raid them (usual only during that one week of the month), and I am not a big soda drinker, diet or regular -- water is my drink of choice. So I have to take care with dinners and weekends.

Exercising is my biggest challenge. When I do exercise, I enjoy it and I feel good after (gotta love those endorphins), but I can always come up with excuses not to (I'm tired, exercise clothes aren't clean, kids need taken care of, dinner needs fixing, housework needs done, errands to run, etc., etc., and on and on). A lot of guides to healthy living are now talking about building rewards into the system -- every time I exercise I get to do something that I enjoy (as long as it has nothing to do with food), and anytime I reach a small, specified goal, I get a bigger reward, and so on. I'll have to come up with a list -- I think computer time/blogging is going to have to become an after exercise reward. Maybe I can enlist DH to provide extra special rewards when I meet my goals

Mom's Overture

My Mom sent this to me, and especially given yesterday's post, it's especially funny. Even if you aren't a parent, you will probably remember your mom saying many of these same things to you -- I sure do.

Enjoy.

Teenagers!!

What is it with teens (and pre-teens)? Good grief!

Today started like any normal day, everyone up and out to school or work. During my commute, DH calls to tell me that our oldest child (OC) has a disaster area for a bedroom and needs to be told to clean it. Can't do anything about that until the afternoon so I continue on to work.

While on my lunch break (taken very late today due to "crises" that kept arising every time I was ready to go), DH left me a voice message. He had called home and talked to OC and she had proceeded to argue/debate with him about the necessity of cleaning her room -- she doesn't like to put her dirty clothes in the hamper, doesn't want to keep her clean clothes in the closet (too much work to open the door and put clothes away or take them out), and on and on. This sort of behavior/attitude really pisses off DH.

I tried to call her but she was out picking up her little sister from school and our son missed the bus, so he wasn't home to take a message. When he called to tell me about the bus, I warned him about his sister and that she might be in a bad mood. Next time I tried calling, MC (middle child) was home and OC was in her room, and according to MC didn't want to talk to anyone (I told him to tell her that was unacceptable and to come talk to me, but by the time he made it back upstairs, she'd gotten in the shower). He also told me that he was going to do his chores and her chores since she was busy in her room. I went over what needed to be done, and told him to tell OC to call me back.

While on my commute home, MC called and asked if he could go to the nearby elementary school with a friend. He implied that all the chores were done, I told him to be home before dark, and he agreed.

I got home and NONE of the chores were done, MC had left his backpack out, did not have his cell phone, and according to OC had never told her that I had called and that she needed to call me back. OC had worked on her room but was still argumentative. While I was having a calm discussion with OC, DH came home, and was immediately irritated that MC wasn't home and hadn't done his chores, etc. DH drove up to the school to find him, but he wasn't there, so we pulled out his cell phone and started calling friends, starting with the one he was supposed to be with (he wasn't). DH just got more and more pissed. OC finally got up and started doing chores -- talking the whole time (motormouth).

DH left for the gym, and I waited for MC to get home. He was late -- it was already dark. He acted like he had no idea why we would be upset with him. But this is not the first (second, or third) time that he has completely disregarded the rules and lied. You would think with as many times as he's been caught and disciplined he would know better, but I swear sometimes that his brain completely shuts down. And he is such the consummate liar -- unless we've actually got proof of the wrongdoing, it's very hard to tell when he's lying. Test scores indicate intelligence, but sometimes we have to wonder. DH was so pissed he actually talked about spanking him to get the point across -- for DH to even suggest spanking the kids is an indication of how angry he was.

I've taken his cell phone, DS, and computer access away -- again. He's restricted to the house except for outside chores, school, and family activities for at least a week and a half. This usually works for awhile but eventually he do it all over again.

Part of the enforcement problem is that there's no adult supervision when they get home from school. No way to resolve that at this time, but hopefully by next school year (when OC enters the main high school), I'll be working part-time and home in the afternoon.

Don't have the answers, just hope we survive the teen years (2 at the same time, one female, one male -- I hope we make it out sane).

Dreams -- the Good, the Bad, the Bizarre

I had the oddest dream the other night -- zombies. Yep, living dead eat the living zombies. Still haven't figured out where this came from. I'm really not a big fan of horror in general, let alone zombies in particular. I have occasionally watched a zombie movie, most recently Shaun of the Dead and part of another one who's title completely escapes me, but the most recent was weeks ago. So, clueless as to why my brain decided to spit out zombies during dreamtime. And to make it worse, it became one of those dreams where I knew I was dreaming and was trying to change it to make everything okay and nothing was working.

I was at my grandparents ranch (haven't been there in over 10 years) and my kids were with me. It's hazy but I think a few other adults were there too (my sister, maybe?). And we were trying to keep zombies out of the house and away from us so we could escape. Almost all the "walls" of the house were floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass doors (really, in real life). And for some unknown reason, while I'm trying to fight off zombies and protect my kids, I'm worried about making sure the cat can get in and out of the house okay and has food and water -- even during the dream I was aware of how stupid this was. So, as I kept trying to change things so the zombies would be gone, and nothing was working, I was becoming ever more frustrated. I put large SUV right next to the door, got everyone into it, and took off, and just as I'm thinking "finally, no more zombies, it's over" there's one of them on the roof of the car! That's when I finally woke up enough to decide I'd had it with zombie dreams for the night.

As I'm lying there, barely awake, I'm thinking "what can I possibly fill my mind with that will help me not focus on zombies? Know what came to mind? Sex, of course :) I honestly don't remember specifically what thoughts of sex I filled my mind with, but it worked. No more dreams of bleeping zombies. But it did lead to another interesting dream, the one I was having when I woke up.

DH and I were at some club somewhere, dim lighting, tables, lots of people. A guy comes up to us while we're getting drinks and tells DH that he'd really like to get to know me better, and DH invites him to join us at our table. A table that already has about 4 or 5 other men sitting around out. Apparently, we were interviewing to find someone to join us in a threesome (or moresome).

I'm not going to lie, this is a recurring fantasy for me (4 hands, 2 mouths, 2 cocks [shiver], focused on me, oh wow -- could be heaven). DH goes back and forth as to whether it might ever be a reality, and I'm not holding my breath. It's ultimately his decision, and it's not something I "need" to be happy. I don't think he's so much worried about how I would handle it, but how he would -- he might consider it his "get out of jail free" card and he would think that he was then entitled to go fuck anyone he wanted, with or without my knowledge/approval/company. I don't look at it that way at all, but as long as he does... Guess it will stay firmly in my fantasies.

The Everything Test

The Everything Test

There are many different types of tests on the internet today. Personality tests, purity tests, stereotype tests, political tests. But now, there is one test to rule them all.

Traditionally, online tests would ask certain questions about your musical tastes or clothing for a stereotype, your experiences for a purity test, or deep questions for a personality test.We're turning that upside down - all the questions affect all the results, and we've got some innovative results too! Enjoy :-)

Personality You are more logical than emotional, more concerned about self than concerned about others, more atheist than religious, more dependent than loner, more lazy than workaholic, more traditional than rebel, more engineering mind than artistic mind, more cynical than idealist, more leader than follower, and more extroverted than introverted. As for specific personality traits, you are innovative (71%), horny (61%).

Stereotypes Prep 92% Young Professional 70% Punk Rock 67%

Life Experience Sex 40% Substances 8% Travel 41%

Politics Your political views would best be described as Libertarian, whom you agree with around 45% of the time.

Socioeconomic Your attitude toward life best associates you with Middle Class. You make more than 81% of those who have taken this test, and 8% less than the U.S. average.

If your life was a movie, it would be rated PG-13. By the way, your hottness rank is 52%, hotter than 22% of other test takers.

TAKE THE TEST
brought to you by thatsurveysite

I have to say I disagree with many of these results, particularly the classifications of 'concerned about self,' 'dependent,' 'cynical,' 'leader,' and 'extrovert.' I don't think those are correct, and most people who know me would agree. I don't think any of the stereotypes fit me, either. Hmmm, not sure how 'everything' this test is, but it was interesting to take.

Feel like ...

I feel horrible this evening. Headachy and pains. Don't know why. I do know the site of my DTaP injection is huge, red, swollen, itchy. Don't think I want another one anytime soon. I've taken ibuprofen for the aches and pains, but it doesn't seem to be helping much -- I'm just hoping it's not a migraine (the aches and nausea lead to this possibility). The only migraine medicine I have is Excedrin, full of caffeine, which if I take now will keep my up all night. Considering I live with insomnia on a regular basis, taking something that definitely will keep me up is not a bright idea. I don't really think I should miss work tomorrow -- Tuesday is going to be short anyway as I have an appointment before work that will make me late, and an appointment that I will need to leave early to keep.

Nothing new going on -- reading The Number of the Beast by Robert A. Heinlein. Worked on the DVR timers to make sure everything we want to watch is set up as the new season starts. DH is home for the next couple of weeks. Had my annual physical last week, but still need to go in for lab work (Tuesday morning), and mammogram (next month), before I find out if all is well (BP ok, weight too high [nothing new there]).

Talked to my younger sister Friday (she called me). She's doing well. DH is trying to convince her to bring her family on a cruise with us next year. Not sure if I want this or not -- afraid it might cramp our style :P But he thinks it might be good for her marriage. Don't know...

Getting late, gotta get ready for bed and tomorrow.

Scary Friday

Haven't posted here in a while -- been focusing on getting my other blog up and running with some consistency. I was going to post this past Friday night, about what my average day is like, etc., but things happened.

I'd had a normal day -- drag my butt out of bed, head to work (fight off a migraine), head home, relax (long soak in the tub). My two older children were excited to be going to their first high school football game. DH took them while I was getting ready for my bath. After the bath, I was getting ready to pull out my computer and do some blogging.

Then the kids called. The football game was a rivalry game with such a large crowd it was held at the local college stadium instead of either of the high schools. Tensions were high, it went into overtime, we lost. After it was over, DH headed into town to pick them up. He couldn't get close because of police activity. Yep, police, everywhere. He called me, I called the kids, spoke with our daughter who was hysterical. Once they got home I got the whole story.

A couple of different things had happened. A longtime acquaintance of theirs had words with someone from the other school, who took offense and managed to shove their friend through floor to ceiling window of a local restaurant. My kids didn't witness this but came upon it right after it happened. They were questioned by the police, which my daughter did say wasn't scary at all (she thought it would be based on what she's seen on TV). Then while the kids were walking away from this, more fighting broke out, apparently all between people from the rival town. My kids got separated from each other, which only frightened them more. Fighting started no more than 2 feet away from my daughter, she just walked on by, but when a group of girls went screaming and running across the street to get further away, she was smart enough to join them (she didn't know any of them as they were all from the other school). An upperclassmen from the other school then pushed her behind him for protection. The police, already there because of the window breaking incident, rushed into to stop the fighting, chasing suspects down the streets. My daughter continued on her way to find her brother and get to DH. She ended up passing the same officer who had questioned her earlier as he was holding down and handcuffing one of the fighters. She was just totally freaked by the whole thing.

They finally got home. I was talking with my daughter, but also wanted to hear from my son. He was outside, very upset, as he'd come home and while IM'ing with friends had found out that the acquaintance who'd gone through the window had subsequently been beat up so badly that he'd been hospitalized. Eventually, everyone calmed down, and I was just thankful that all they'd received was a bad scare.

So what started as an absolutely normal Friday ended up as anything but.

A Start

Hi, I'm Robin.

I'm just hoping to a create a place where I can talk about whatever -- books, news, TV, daily activities, etc.

So, it's late Friday. I have time to do this as my hubby has gone out. He's had a stressful week and heading out to the bar for a few hours helps him unwind. Should put him in a better mood for this weekend.

He bought a motorcycle this week. I think it's a Harley-Davidson Sportster, but since I know nothing about motorcycles I really can't say for certain. Last year it was a sports car (black Lexus SC430). Before you start thinking we're rolling in dough, neither was purchased brand new. We joke that he's going thru his mid-life crisis. As long as I'm allowed my fun, too, I'm not going to complain.

I'm currently reading Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs, 3rd in her Temperance Brennan series. Good books, absolutely nothing like the TV series "Bones". I have to divorce myself from the notion that they are related, otherwise I'd never be able to read them. It's like the movie Sahara -- an enjoyable movie, relatively related to the book, but as someone who has read all of Clive Cussler's books, I just cannot accept Matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt, or Steve Zahn as Al Giordano. Just wrong physically.

Well, anyway, just a brief shot of what has gone thru my mind recently. More to come soon.