Can I have some IceCream.... PLEASE!? or WHY DID I GIVE UP ICE CREAM FOR LENT?????

HOLY SPUMONI!

Almost a week has gone by with nary a post from me.

I. Am. Ashamed.

Or, rather, I would be if I did not have an absolutely, very good, terribly real reason for doing so. Or not doing so as the case would be.

I have been laid up, or perhaps I should say, laid out, for nearly a week with a slipped thingy, protruding whatsits in my back that has made living nearly unbearable.

I have no idea what I did to my back. I stepped out of the shower and was getting dressed last Thursday, when OOPS!, a sharp pain shot down my right leg, said leg buckled from under me, and I crashed to the floor face forward.

I managed to get my clothes on and hobble down the stairs and onto the couch, where I stayed pretty much until Monday morning.

Hot showers, long baths in my jacuzzi tub and many yoga stretches later I found I could walk upright like a humanoid, and was just as thrilled as if I were the first to ever do so!

I managed to partake of my Monday morning MallWalk, wearing my Z-Coils and an abdominal binder for extra support, without excruciating or debilitating pain. Of course once in the van, driving and the subsequent langorious , and oh so very necessary bath, were not as innocuous. But I survived to walk another day.

That day being today.

Once again armed, or shod, with my Z-Coils, I trekked the Mall with our little troop of trying-to-be- healthiers, kept pace and enjoyed conversing with other adults immensely.

Home again, feeling more like myself than I have in many moons, I was met by a house full of TeenGirl and her teen-girl friends, eating the cupcakes they made late last night and playing video games on the XBox in the living room.

TweenBoys shoes, 2 pair, were found in the dining room, under a chair, along with one of his plaid button-up shirts and a bevy of dirty socks.

Piles of WonderMutt's rapidly shedding fur, tracked in sand and mud, and several rather large rocks from the yard were also awaiting my return to health it seems.

The girls made a bee-line for the door, hopefully to make a mess in someone else's kitchen, while I surveyed the mess that TweenBoy WILL be cleaning up, as soon as he gets home from where ever it is he has hidden, and I made a quick 'hair-removal' run with the vacuum through the front hall, living and dining rooms.

Yes, I have been laid up, or down, but I am most definitely not out...

Although I am quite sure the kids will wish I was when they get home!

And Man-O-Man I sure would love a visit from my Old Friends, Ben & Jerry, right about now!

Come on Chubby Hubby!
(not to be confused with HeMan Hubby, although, oops, nevermind;)

It's all about SHARING, baby... and I like to share!

It's Saturday Sharefest on Secret is in the Sauce so I thought I would share The SITSgirls with my readers who haven't already checked them out.

It's a cool place for bloggers to get to know, and read about, other bloggers from all over the world. A place where you can give, and get, support for your own blog and those of others.

The blogs range from comedic to political to crafts to how to live on a budget to adopting a child from another country to satirical commentary and cartoons!

A little something for everyone, and everyone wants something!

And if you don't write them, but like to read them... again a great place to find a blog about whatever it is that interests you! ( go ahead you know you want to check it out...)

So, roll up your sleeves, charge up your laptop battery and get comfortable when you visit Secret is in the Sauce... you'll be amazed at the fun you'll have and how quickly time will fly once you start checking out the awesomeness to be found there.

And on Saturday's you will also find some helpful info for bloggers of all experience and types.

So go on, leave my blog and hop over to theirs.
I don't mind a bit...
as long as you come back and see me again real soon!

My Sharefest Saturday Link today was: Welcome 2008 or How to Crochet a Rasta Scarf!

Life After People...

When the world ends what will you do?

I will find the people who have REAL LIFE skills.

The people who know how to grow crops, and turn them into edible things like bread and oatmeal.

Know how to kill and cure a cow for meat and how to get milk from one.

The People who not only can spin there own thread, but can weave it into fabric and then make clothes from that fabric.

The Ones who know which berries to pick to make dye for the cloth and which ones can be eaten or used to make medicines.

The Ones who can build a barn in a morning and a house in a day.

The Ones who have no need for electricity, computers, modern financial institutions or petrol-guzzling vehicles.

That's right...

I'm going to the Amish!

I Love Pink and Gold.... don't look at me. It's Ludacris's song, not mine!

You know how you listen to a song and THINK you know all the words?

Well, sometimes you think wrong.

Case in point... Ludacris's song How Low.

Now I KNOW it says "How Low Can You Go"... but when the Chipmunks jump in, it does take on a slightly different sound, which GirlChild pointed out to me...

I was sitting at a red light, just minding my own business when How Low comes on the radio.

GirlChild turns to me and says," I know their not saying this but to me it sounds like: I love Pink and Gold, I Love Pink and Gold", she sings.
I turn to stare and she says " I wonder why he's singing about Pink and gold?"

Seriously! Seriously? What?

So I told her the song is called HOW LOW and the chipmunks are singing "How Low Can You Go" and she says....

"Yeah, that makes more sense."

Yeah. That makes more sense.

And GirlChild is one of the 'Smart Ones'...

Seriously.

Ode to the Satellite Radio... OR... How I survived 18 hours in a car with TeenBoy!

I'm back from my grueling weekend in The Big Easy... and what a weekend it was.

First things first~ because some people DO read this and may be interested...

TeenBoy's DeMolay Chapter swept the Major Events ( only the 2nd time in the 20 year history of this competition that has happened--- Hall OF Fame here we come!) and TeenBoy ended up with 4 1st place medals as a result.

All the boys competing were awesome, and I should know, I was a judge!

So, with that out of the way, can I just say that I am glad I have Satellite Radio in my minivan?

Any of you who have ever driven anywhere, for any length of time and distance, will understand what I'm talking about when I say
Satellite Radio Saved My Life!

When driving 1202 miles in 18 hours, passing thru 7 states, chasing the sun on the eastern horizon half the day, then running just as quickly from it the other half...

One does start to find one's mind feeling a bit, well, mushy, after a while.

Local FM stations tend to fade off all too soon, leaving you with an earful of crackling static while you hurriedly try to find another station with, at the very least, half-way decent music to keep your brain cells sparking while you roll along.

The wonderful thing about this new-fangled Satellite Radio is that the stations are always there!
And the variety is so totally AWESOME!

Thank. You. Lord.

Blue Collar Comedy, Laugh USA, RadioClassics, The Pulse, 70's, 80's, 90's, Book Radio...

I laughed til I cried.
I sang until I was hoarse.
I waited with baited breath for Boston Blackie and The Texas Rangers to catch the bad guys...

And I drove and drove and drove...
until I had to stop for a bathroom break, or 8.

Because you do know, don't you, the other way to keep the brain working at top speed is to stay well hydrated...

and 112 ounces of fluids later...

we arrived at our home, safe and sound, in only 18 hours and 15 minutes.
Tired but happy to be home, proud of the achievements of the weekend.

It was wonderful... yeah, well, most of the time that is!
But that's a story for another day!

On The Road Again..... Me and WIllie, we're kickin' it!

Yes. Today is the day we arrive in New Orleans, Louisiana.

NOLA for short... Home to some and Playground to others.

For us, it's where the boys will compete for medals and awards, but mainly, the prestige of winning the Old South Competition in New Orleans.

This is a big deal. A really big deal.

I, for one, believe the boys will bring home the Gold, or what ever color the medals and trophies are this year...

And, I have faith that TeenBoy will WOW the judges with his first ever BIG individual event... memorizing many pages of script and direction... it ain't so easy, but he makes it look like it is... Amazing the memory on that kid!

So, after driving for 2 days we will arrive this afternoon. TeenBoy full of expectations of accolades and awards...

Me? Bourbon Street, Musicians on the corners, and Cafe' DuMonde ... Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

Les Bon Temps Roule... Let The Good Times Roll, Cher!

White Line Fever... That's what I'm working on right about now!

Today is a day when I'm not really here.
Well, I'm here, but I'm just not here, typing this blog post.

Actually, I am in the process of driving the 600 miles to my sister's home while en route to Louisiana. (See yesterday's post)

Because my life seems to resemble the lives these ladies lead just a little too much... I thought these could stand in for me today... they like when you leave a nice note too!

From Hip to Housewife:
http://fromhiptohousewife.com/2010/03/15/at-least-my-dog-still-loves-me/

That Girl Blogs:
http://thatgirlblogs.com/white-noise/

Peeling an Orange with a Screwdriver:
http://peelinganorangewithascrewdriver.blogspot.com/2010/03/swivel-sweepers.html

While you're enjoying the blogs above I hope you'll think of Me, travelling across the country with TeenBoy...
and send prayers our way...
for me to live thru the trip with him, or for him to survive the trip with me...

Either way it works!

Les Bon Temps Roule!... Oh Yeah Baby!

Wednesday is Hump Day.

Now who on earth thought that was a good idea?

No one knows do they... or if they do, they ain't saying, are they?

Yeah, me neither.

So, it's another Hump Day which will lead to another Thursday...

Only this Thursday will find me on the road to New Orleans, and a wonderfully lovely weekend spent herding 12 teen boys around The BIG EASY...

and why on earth is it called that anyway?

Hump Day, The Big Easy... see a pattern here anyone?

Yeah, me too.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a... Basketball?

March Madness starts today.

At least that's the word on the TV and internet.

What exactly is March Madness?

Is it like Mad Cow Disease?
Do you foam at the mouth with the onset of Spring-like weather?

Or, is it like being Love Sick?
Does one wander through the month of March with a silly grin on their face and a song on their lips?

No, it's like neither of these, is it?

It's all about Basketball!

What's up with that? I love sports, but seriously.

SERIOUSLY?

Basketball?

Yep. Basketball.

Guess everyone now knows what I won't be watching...

International Women's Day... Let's Hear it for the Girls!

Last Monday, March 8th, was International Women's Day... Who Knew??

I know this sounds like something auspicious ( totally awesome and grand) but in reality, what does it mean?

To me it means that today is a day to Honor and Applaud Women who have made a difference in the world in which we live.

Women who lived and died before I was born, like the Suffragettes.

Women who defied the conventional ideas to do what they loved, like Amelia Earhart.

Women who loved and nurtured because it was what they had to offer, like Susan B. Anthony and the nurses of the civil war, on the front, tending the wounded and dying without regard to their own safety.

Women who pushed the envelope and thought outside of the box, like Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, The Unsinkable Molly Brown and Coco Chanel.

And most importantly of all, the women who gave life to us, who taught us right from wrong, who encouraged us to live our lives the way we want but to be accountable while doing so, who allowed us to be free-thinkers and pro-lifers and pro-choicers
(I know not a real word but you know what I mean), the mothers and grandmothers and adopted mothers and aunts and sisters and friends who have shaped each of us throughout our lives by loving us and caring for us and letting us live and learn and grow.

To all Women, Everywhere... thank you for what you have given not only this generation of women, but the ones to come as well.

Radio Killed My Hearing... well, it's probably not the radio's fault, exactly... it's more like the volume button's

Now I live in a pretty not-racist-too-very-much-that-I-know-of area.

Or so I thought until I just totally heard a radio commercial and it said, and I quote, "call to find your local asian"...

Is that effed up or what?

Or, wait, maybe they said " Find your local AGENT"? It might have been an insurance commercial... maybe.


Unlike in Georgia, where I'm pretty sure someone said that her daughte-in-law said that they had a ticker scrolling across the TV screen that said the KKK meeting that night was postponed... Not CANCELLED... POSTPONED...

Hello???

I wonder if there were a bunch of bed sheet returns to the Wal-Mart after that... assuming those people (and I use that term lightly) could read the notice, or were actually watching the news channel instead of the shopping channel...

Yeah, I'll keep our sheets on the beds ( their like all flowered or pink or blue anyway) and pay better attention to the commercials so I can tell for sure if they are talking about Asians, or Agents...

That would be a good thing to be sure of, just in case I need a...

Whichever...

Lie To Me... Or Not, and I would SO prefer the not!

"What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive..."

Who the HECK wrote that? And WHEN were they talking to my kids?

I have the TeenBoy, TeenGirl and TweenBoy... they eat a lot. I mean unreasonably large amounts of food for the actual normal sizes they are.

In an attempt to manage the intake of junk food, and not-so-healthy foods, I started limiting the amounts of these that I purchase and bring into the house.
Makes sense, right?

Apparently not!

Nope, my kids ate, in one weekend cuz grocery day is Friday, 2 boxes of peanut butter bars, 1 box of swiss cake rolls, 2 packages of snickerdoodle dough (the raw break-apart kind) AND 10 pounds of apples and 3 pounds of bananas.

Yep- these kids ate all that, and the regular meals. Like breakfast, lunch, dinner, 2nd breakfast, 2nd dinner and bedtime snack.

I only grocery shop every other week. This, theoretically, keeps the food bill down, and limits the junk coming into the house.

Well, actually it has done exactly that.

The only problem is HeMan Hubby, GirlChild, ManBoy and I are the ones not getting the junk food and snacks!

Maybe this is the Teen and Tween way of watching out for our health?
Or maybe they just are gluttons who are compulsive eaters, and liars...

Because NotMe sure is eating a lot for someone that appears to be invisible...
for that matter IDon'tKnow is too...

But, they are well fed compulsive eater liars...

I'm so... proud?

Put One Foot in Front of the Other...

I know. I KNOW!

I've been MIA this week, but for good reason.

And what is this good reason you may ask.

Well,I have been working on one of my New Year's Not-Resolutions!

Yes, I said NOT RESOLUTION. And by this I mean I didn't make any 'Real' list of what I wanted to accomplish this year, it was more like a vague outline.

But, one of the things I wanted to do was get healthier. Eat better, feel better, work on being the me I am inside on the outside... one that I would recognize in a mirror would be helpful too, you know how that is?

I recently joined a Mom's forum called CafeMom where there are various groups and forums for Mom's to chat, talk about their kids, their jobs, their varied interests, and YES, even weight loss and getting healthy.

I wanted to see if there were any Mom's in my area that wanted to start walking with me, and HOLY COW! There were!

We started walking earlier this week. We met at a local park, took a nice walk along the trails while we got acquainted. It was really nice to find ladies in my town that could meet several times a week to walk with me.

N is my age, while L is Girlchild's age.

L has 2 small children she pushes along in the stroller, getting the added benefit of upper arm workout while the rest of us just get to plod along.

N has 5 kids, most of them the same ages as mine, and they went to the same high school. It's a small world, seriously!

It rained today so we met at the local mall, window shopping our way through 3 laps of the GINORMOUS place. GirlChild made it today and enjoyed meeting L. I knew they would get along, and L only recently moved here so it's nice that she meets some people of her generation too.

So, with meeting these lovely ladies, making arrangements to get our walking ritual in place, working AND getting TeenBoy ready for this weekend's trip...

And then there's the New Orleans trip he and I are taking for DeMolay next week...and TeenGirl's Rainbow weekend...

It's been a rather busy week at our house.

But if the choice is between active, healthy and well-traveled kids versus kids sitting at home playing video games or hanging out at the mall...

I'll take the hectic and ever-exciting life we live anyday!

Watching the Detective.... Morse that Is!

Windows. Mac. Linux.

These are the operating systems that make our computers run.
When we buy a computer it has one of these on it along with the programs to let us do things like get on the internet, check email, watch dvd's and listen to music, right?

WRONG!

I have a Media Player on my system so I thought when I put a dvd in and turned on the media player, it would play my dvd.

No such luck. Apparently the program does not come with the software "decoder" required to read the dvd's.

After hours of searching for dvd decoders online, and researching the best or most compatible one for my system, I FINALLY got one downloaded and running!

I'm not sure exactly where I found it, or even how at this point, but suffice it to say, I won't be looking for, or downloading any programs in the near future!

I thought the premise behind computers is that they make life easier, save time?

Apparently, no one told my computer!

Is it really worth the hassle just to watch a BBC mystery?

It is if it's Inspector Morse!

Monday Giveaway.... okay it's not as cool sounding as I thought it would be, Sorry!

In honor of my 100th post (alright it's my 102nd- I lost count. So sue me!)I have decided to give away a piece of jewelry from my Diva Collection.

This lovely necklace and earring set is made of lampwork glass in bronze tones and sterling silver. It's fun for any day and just a little dressy for any night!



So- guess you need to know how to win this lovely piece of Bling-y-ness, right?

You can make a comment... tell me how creative I am or wonderful or witty, anything as long as it's nice!

You can become a follower - make sure you make another comment to tell me you are following me, but only on the blog, not in real life in a stalker-ish kind of way. That would just freak me out and then I'd forget about the giveway... and that would just suck.

You can hop over to DHDesigns, check out my jewelry and leave a comment on the blog there.

And lastly, feel free to share me on FaceBook... okay, not ME me, but my blog by clicking that facebook button thingy where it says Share It... It being my blog.

I will be picking a random winner on Friday March 12th to give people a chance to tell their friends about it, or to stumble across it on their own, either way it's a chance for them to win!


UPDATE!

Using Randomnumbergenerator.com The Winner Is.....

Lucky #7- Theresa Milstein @ Substitute Teacher's Saga

Thanks for Playing along with Monday Giveaway!

Now I understand why the world is coming to an end... seriously, you will too!

I started to type something into Google... you know, I had a question that I wanted an answer to, or at least an idea of where to find that answer, right?

Well, I typed 'Where' and Holy Crap! this is what pops up automatically to finish the sentence:

where the wild things are ( last time I looked they were upstairs in their room)
wheresgeorge.com ( ummm, george who?)
where's my refund ( I second that emotion... Where Is My Refund!... oh yeah, I didn't file yet- never mind)
where is Chuck Norris (What? This is a frequent question?)
where is Haiti (no idea where it is but they could spell it?)
Where is waldo ( I have no idea but I am sure he's not in Haiti!)
where is Santa right now (he's in Florida with all the other old, retired people, Duh!)
where is Tiger Woods ( ok, the real question is whom is he with now isn't it?)
where does Justin Beiber live ( with all the other beibers in the pond?- who the hell is Justin Beiber anyway?)
where is the love lyrics (who cares?)

And here you have the top 10 most frequently asked questions that begin with the word 'WHERE'...

God, what a very sad commentary on life this is...
The people asking these questions will someday rule the world...
Great, just great.

Ever wonder what Leprechauns do the other 364 1/4 days of the year? Now you don't have to!

You know how you have to type letters or words 'as they appear' in a box in order to confirm things online?

Is it me, or do some of them seem like they could be real words?

Things like :

copho- a hooker undercover cop?
papparus- Papa John's dad?
schiztic- a colloquial term meaning AWESOME in NY?- ie: the Greenberg's new Beamer is Schiztic! Or a swizzle stick used in a Manaschewitz wine spritzer?

I see these weird combinations of letters and am sure that somewhere there is a dictionary with them in it.

Or maybe that there should be one.

I know why the random letters/words are generated- to confirm the human element and reduce the SPAM-ability factor.
HeMan Hubby explained this to me very well... meaning I actually understood what he said.

But HOW do these letters /words get out there?
HeMan Hubby did not sufficiently explain this- meaning I have no idea what he was talking about.

So, I will stick with my theory...

That there's a little man in a computer somewhere with a little keyboard whose job is to type words from his language into the confirmation boxes everytime someone hits that 'SUBMIT' button...

What, that's not how YOU thought it worked?

FAB FRIDAY... just telling a few friends who tell a few friends who... you get the picture

I got this idea AND the matching BUTTON (isn't it neat!)
from Crystal @ Wanna Be Balanced Mom

The premise is to write a blog about another blogger who has inspired you in some way.

The very first blog I read that made me want to Do More Be More with MY blog was Jenny@The Bloggess.

She is funny, witty, satirical, cynical, has one heck of a sense of humor!
And she has actually made a bit of a career from her blogging... she's (IN)Famous!

She inspired me to write.
Not just a blog, but a story or two, and maybe even a book.
I know a whole book, right?

It's not like she TOLD me to go forth and write a book.
It's that she makes me laugh and when I laugh I get endorphins to my brain that make me feel good and when I feel good I feel like I can do anything and when I feel like I can do anything... I try!

So, Jenny TheBloggess, makes me laugh and that makes me feel like I CAN... do whatever I want.

Thanks Bloggess... and I didn't even talk about how much I enjoy your OTHER blog!

Mr Coffee has Returned!!!!... thanks to ManBoy who is now my FAVORITE child... for today anyway!

To find out what happened to Mr Coffee in the first place CLICK HERE



I am sitting here watching 'Miss Marple' of the Masterpiece Mystery venue on DVR while I catch up on several days of mail- email , not the real mail filled with junk and bills, that is.

I had settled in to watch a movie with ManBoy and GirlChild, only to be left abruptly on my own.

AFTER ManBoy put the very scary movie in the DVD player he suddenly remembered an online gaming date... with Lucas... my son from another mother.

Then GirlChild decides she needs to take a shower for her job interview... the one 5 hours from now!

Leaving me to watch the UberScary movie... knowing that the only reason I agreed to watch it in the first place is:

1) they were going to be here
2) it's the middle of the day time-- meaning it is light outside
3) I am in my own home and can leave the room if it becomes too scary for me...or creepy... or too much like one of my CreepyScary nightmares.

And they just leave me- alone, in an empty part of the house, as the clouds roll across what little sun was there to begin with...

Thus, Miss Marple and I are spending the afternoon together.

I am excited to have gotten another Blogger Award... Wowsers!




There are rules to it ofcourse...
I have to pass it on to bloggers I find exceptional and I have to tell some secrets about myself?

Not sure I have many secrets that I want to become un-secrets, if you know what I mean? But there are some little tid-bits of boring info that I can put out there I am sure.

First- the blogs I am passing the Award Torch to...

Craft Gossip-- for the crafty and the not-so-crafty alike!

'Round The Kitchen Table- a place to find some yummy recipes that your family just may like!

Amy's Assorted Adventures- The wonderfully interesting and entertaining words of a LADY and MOTHER running an Orphange and Mission in Africa... So worth every second you can spend there!

So Not Mom-a-licious- It's a little off-color and a little not-quite... something, but makes me smile none the less!

That's What She Said- She says things that I am thinking... make me think I'm not so abbynormal after all!

Write-Brained- She's got a little bit of color for Spring going on ... and a tribute to The Doctor... Suess that it!

Knit-A-While- She's Witty, Knitty and makes me wish I was a better knitter than I am... but I CAN crochet with the best of them!

On to the Not-So-Secret Secrets part of this post...
(one for each blog seems about right to me)

1) I'm afraid of scary movies... slasher ones are the worst.
2) I'm terrified of heights- so much so that I will drive 1200 miles in 18 hours rather than spend 6 hours in an airplane.
3) I'm allergic to artificial melon flavored/scented things... gum, candy, candles- my throat closes over, my skin itches and my eyes water.
4) I am a bit obsessive about the way the food in the pantry and the dishes in the cabinet have to be placed... it's just easier to see what is missing if everything has a place, right?
5) I've never been popular- I know hard to believe- but it's true...
6) I know lots of people- that's what #5 is hard to believe- but have no close friends
7) I worry that I will ruin my kid's lives- not sure how, but it's always the mother's fault-- according to Freud anyway!

Money makes the world go round... Ooops, I think it just stopped!

Learning to live on a budget is not the easiest thing to do.
Nor is it the hardest.

I can think of several things way harder without even thinking...

quitting smoking, making a doctors appointment, renewing your driver's license just to pop off a few.

There are tons of shows on TV and Radio on how to make a budget, how to stick to a budget, how to adjust your way of thinking to fit your budget... and still people act like this concept is a foreign idea.

And I know why.

The government SAYS it has a budget.
Then it SAYS it is spending X dollars a year OVER the budget for A,B and C...
That's how we get the BAZILLION dollar or 13 Trillion dollar or whatever it is today, deficit.

IF you make 4000.00 a month, that is your budget.
IF you spend 5000.00 a month you will create a budget deficit of 1000.00 a month.
Do this for 12 months and you will have an annual budget deficit of 12,000.00!

It's no wonder John Q. Public has no concept of budgeting when the government doesn't actually have one...

so much for do as I say, not as I do...

or for positive role models in American government...

Yeah, what WAS I thinking?

For more information on the Government's Spending Click Here

Just when you think it's safe to come out.... it isn't! Just ask Phil the Groundhog!

March is upon us.

The days are getting longer and the nights are getting warmer.

The sun actually casts shadows and creates warm pools of light on the still frozen ground.

Soon daffodils and crocus will attempt to make their way to the sun-drenched patch of land above them.

But they won't be able to make it.

Why?

There's still 2 feet of snow covering the ground wherever there is no need to walk or drive.

The garden and lawn and hedgerow (that is now a tangle of broken and twisted limbs) remain hidden under ice-crusted snow.

The trees that once made a lovely blockade against the sights and sounds of neighbors, now lay sadly across the fence that is bowed with their weight.

But little things let us know that Spring is indeed on it's way, in real life, not just on the calendar.

The warbling of birds in the early morning, the increasingly visible bunny-paw prints over the snowy yard, little reddish-green buds on some of the early blooming trees, all of these bring the promise of a new season and with it new and much longed for life.

And the rainy season, and muddy foot prints all over the house, and dirty wet clothes piled on the bathroom floor... and interim reports and Spring/Easter Break...

Yep, it's March and Spring is on it's way...

Crap!

And to the Victor go the spoils.... or is it the Victor is Spoiled?

The Olympics have come to an end.

And what an end it was!

Being American through and through we sat on the edge of our seats, anxiously watching, and screaming at, TEAM USA HOCKEY as they played for the GOLD against Team Canada.

We held our breath as the final minute began to tick away, releasing it with a shout of joy when the tying goal was made with less than 32 seconds left in the game.

Waiting for the Zamboni to freshen the ice for the OverTime period to begin was like an eternity and something akin to awaiting the birth of your first child.
Anxious and hopeful, yet just a little afraid of what is about to happen.

As the OT period began we whispered reassuring words to Team USA and ourselves as though they could hear us. We cross our fingers and our ankles and our eyes... anything that could cross was ... we needed all the luck we could muster!

The Game came to a riotous end, not with TEAM USA winning the GOLD, but instead, the SILVER Medal.

For Me, Silver is better than Bronze or, better yet, no medal.

To ManBoy, Silver is 1st Loser and not something to be proud of.

For Me the honor of competing in the Olympics is in itself an acheivement, whether you win a medal or not.

To ManBoy, if you don't win a medal then you should have stayed home.

And this, my friends, is the difference between the generations.

Only when ManBoy has lived more life, failed and been pulled back up, succeeded against adversity, and learned that the journey is often worth more than the destination, will he understand that the medal is not the true prize, but rather the friends and experiences that happened along the way that will forever be worth more than any GOLD medal ever could.

Or, he'll one day have a son, who will be exactly like him, giving me the opportunity and pleasure to say "I TOLD YOU SO"--- and that will be worth more than ANY Gold medal, EVER!