Posts Tagged ‘me’

green fail

// August 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // life, me

We recycle. We repurpose. We’re learning to eat more raw and less processed. We bring our own bags when we shop. We use water bottles instead of bottled water. I buy most of our clothes at consignment stores. I love second hand furniture. We are trying to continually evolve into a greener lifestyle. After spending a day in the Smokies and using their outhouse disguised as a restroom, I have decided that I will never, ever give up my over-priced, environmentally unfriendly toilet tissue. In fact, I may start traveling with a roll of the “good stuff” in my bag. Maybe I’ll go to the Center for Peace, Earth Day Festival and other hippie hangouts and sell from my private stash of luxury tissue. “Pssst! Three or five squares?”

like an amateur haunted house

// June 30th, 2010 // 3 Comments » // humor, me

Ka-chunk-a-chunk-a-clank.

The disposal makes a distinctive sound when there’s something stuck inside, but the sounds aren’t distinctive enough to identify the obstruction. It could be a harmless sippy cup valve. It could be a sharp bone fragment. It could be a brown recluse. Regardless of what is in there, the only way to retrieve it is to stick your hand in past your wrist and feel around in the darkness.

I checked the switch to make sure there was no chance of the horror movie gears grinding my fingers to nubs. I held my breath and reached down until I felt metal. I began fumbling around the blades to find the source of the problem and then . . . I felt something. It was hard and sharp, but flexible. I gritted my teeth and picked up what I was sure would be a bug. As soon as my eyes made contact with it, I knew I would reflexively fling it far, far away. It still had to come out of the disposal. With every muscle in my body tensed so tight I could have touched the ceiling if anyone had walked in and startled me, I pulled out my hand. Staring anxiously, my fingers emerged and I saw black legs and they were attached to a black body and as I heard my scream escaping, I saw the plastic ring attached to the toy spider. I stopped screaming.

My heart racing, I double checked to confirm that I was holding a spider ring. Then, I looked around to see if anyone had come to rescue the screaming woman. The sounds of children playing in the next room reassured me that my stupidity had gone unnoticed. I finally exhaled. The offending ring was punished for its’ crime with banishment to the trash. I paused, picked it up again and put it in the plastic recycling. I walked to the couch to calm myself. Evan didn’t even look up from his Lego Batman game. “Why did you scream mom?”

more pockets

// June 7th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // me

I need more pockets. No. I’m lumpy enough without the addition of a cell phone, earbuds, plastic money and car keys. Maybe I could have my internal girlie parts replaced with a velcro pouch. Perhaps I should just wear a utility belt. How about a camera/iPhone holster?

next time, I’m wearing a clown nose

// April 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // food, me, parenting

I spent almost an hour casually strolling the aisles of the grocery store. I marveled at the varieties of something as simple as milk. I looked at new products that may or may not have been food. I studied the changes in packaging and the subtle reduction of quantity in each and every prepackaged food item. I scowled at the shelves packed with artificial sweeteners. I drooled at the increasing number of fruits in season. I made certain that there was something in my cart that each of my children like to eat. I mentally calculated the food prep time in relation to each day’s schedule of activities.

Small children waved at me as we walked past each other. Adults smiled or laughed out loud and I imagined that they were kindred spirits enjoying the splendor of treasures that is a grocery store. The visit was surreal in its normalcy. Even the cashier and bagger were all smiles. “Did you make your necklace yourself?” I looked down and realized I was wearing the necklace that Evan made for me. (“You look prettier now Mommy.”) I smiled and explained that it was a gift from my 4-y-o, thinking that they already knew that. I was mistaken. “Well, everyone likes to make their own jewelry these days.”

big girl underoos

// April 8th, 2010 // 7 Comments » // clothing, me

Since candy and education are so controversial (who knew?), let’s talk about the clothing that women wear under their clothes. It had been more than four years since I bought new under the clothes clothing for my bottom half. The situation was getting to the point that it would be very embarrassing if I was in an accident. I took advantage of an online bargain and ordered a few pairs late one night while staring at my computer. Even though I ordered from a store that is in the mall down the road, it took almost three weeks for the few teeny pieces of fabric and elastic to arrive. When I say teeny, I mean that in the four years since I last bought this exact same size and style, the actual pattern has changed so that there truly is less fabric. Oddly, the new style fits better than the old style, it just took some time to adjust to the new cut. I was caught off-guard by the pair that was named “large blue rose” that should have been named “covered in GLITTER” to warn the buyer. The vaglitter result is not a good look for middle-aged moms.

The under the clothes clothing for my upper half was an equally dire situation. For the past two years I have only had one of these items that are worn daily. The wires escaped from all of the others and without the wires, they were pretty pointless. So, the past two years have been spent standing beside the dryer waiting for it to finish drying that item or running around the house trying to find the item, as it apparently has some kind of invisibility power. Unfortunately, it didn’t have any cloaking or reduction abilities when it was on my body. It did have straps that were constantly trying to sneak down my arms to, I don’t know, maybe they wanted to join the missing wires. Aaaaanyway, I had a few pairs of new lower items, so I determined that I would find one new upper item.

I went in the mall to the store where big girls go to buy their underoos and filled my arms with one of every kind in the hopes that something would fit. The burly dressing room guard stopped me. No. The size ZERO, cheerful, twenty-something blocked my path. “When was the last time you were fitted?” The honest answer to that question would have been never, but I politely said “a while” and before the words were finished, I was accosted by a tape measure. Actually, it was a quick and painless measure once, measure twice and then she looked at the pile of potential purchases in my hands. “Ohhh, those are WAY too big for you. You need two sizes smaller. I’ll be right back!” If she hadn’t raced away so quickly, she would have felt the burn of my evil death ray eyes. Smaller? Grrr. She was back much too quickly with only three items. Determined to prove her wrong, I tried one on and rang the bell that brought her back to my oddly lit dressing room. “Oops. You need a double d instead of a single. Be right back.” My ego lifted slightly at the prospect of something that sounded like an improvement over the two number sizes smaller. When I tried the double letter item on, I shouted instead of pushing the button. “It fits!”

It may be pathetic, but I walked out of that dressing room clutching that wonderful under the clothing item of clothing like it was a Gold medal that I had just won in the Underwear Olympiad. Now that I have rediscovered the thrill of new, properly fitting, under the clothes clothing, I want to find some that MATCH. Hold the glitter.

bad foreplay

// March 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // Doug, marriage, me

In no particular order and requiring no explanations, five actions that warrant the bad foreplay card:
1. punching partner in the face
2. noxious gas from any orifice
3. “I like this one best, because it’s bigger.”
4. “One of the animals threw up in the other room, but we’ll clean it up afterwards.”
5. “I’m sorry. I drifted off for a few minutes.”

Surprisingly, this post does not fall on the list.

middle-aged Saturday

// March 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // Doug, me

Him: “What do you want to do today?”
Her: “We could work in the garage or we could start thinning out the junk in our closet. After that, Evan needs new shoes.”
Him: “I was thinking it’s a good day to plant grass in the yard. We have some spots that are full sun and some that are complete shade, so I’d like to compare the different varieties of seed at Home Depot and Ernie’s and . . . <- At this point in the conversation, my mind started composing our conversation into a blog post, but I was subconsciously following the key words enough to know that the topic didn’t change. -> . . . get seed out before tomorrow’s rain.”
Her: “Okay.”
Him: “Okay what?”
Her: “You hunt for grass seed while I play on the computer.”

my third boob

// February 5th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // health, me

Remember when I demonstrated my special sense of coordination at the end of December? I pretty much avoided touching my bruised knees for a week or so and then I completely forgot about them after I burned my face with a flattening iron. A few weeks ago, my left knee felt hot and when I rubbed it, it felt . . . odd. It felt like my knee had a breast implant. Well, I’ve never actually touched an artificial breast, but I’m pretty sure that it would feel something like my knee felt.

I did what I usually do when I have a boo-boo. I waited for it to go away on its’ own. Unfortunately, instead of shrinking, my knee boob ached and the lump that was still visible through my jeans made the dreaded panty line seem desirable. On a less vain note, the knee boob made kneeling excruciatingly painful and this caused the twice daily Lego/Playmobile disaster cleanup to take much longer than it should have taken. Eventually, I showed Doug my knee boob and after gagging, he made a doctor appointment for me.

I prepared for the appointment by digging a dust covered skirt out of the closet in an effort to avoid the need to disrobe at the doctor’s office. I enjoyed the dry humor of my doctor and his nurse’s seemingly unwitting role as the straight man for his jokes. I tweeted nervously while they noisily prepared for their highly scientific plan to “drain it and see what’s in there.” I didn’t make a sound when the doctor numbed my knee with super unpleasant needle sticks. I made casual small talk as the doctor readied the syringe with a needle the size of a coffee stirrer. As the words “expect clear liquid” left his lips and blood filled the turkey baster, I sat calmly.

I was the poster child for good patient until the doctor’s soothing voice explaining the inner workings of my knee started to bounce about my head like a moth in a ceiling light. At the same time that I found myself unable to focus on his words, I felt the room spinning and had to instantly decide if I should ignore the symptoms of what was coming next and risk falling off the exam table or announce my weeny-hood. I chose the latter. The doctor acted like he’d lost a bet. “I would have seen it coming if you weren’t wearing lipstick.” I leaned back as the doctor and nurse grabbed my ankles and hoisted them up in the air. At that moment, my clever skirt plan failed me completely. I was walked out of the exam room by a tiny nurse and handed to a husband just like every other 70-year-old in the building.

I started my day with three boobs and ended it as a senior citizen.

making a good impression

// December 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // me, people

I recently ran into someone I hadn’t seen in some time and he introduced his new wife just before saying, “The last time I saw you, you were breastfeeding your youngest daughter.” His wife then added, “Oh, did you have one of those cute nursing covers?” The CORRECT response would have been, “I was a very talented breastfeeder who could be discreet without accessories.” My response was, “No. I was a militant lactivist who fed my babies whenever and wherever they needed it.”

Did I mention that I don’t get out much?

I don’t get out much

// December 13th, 2009 // 5 Comments » // me, people

“I’d like you to meet H. He’s a handsome recording artist from a multi-generational family of talented musicians who has the people on your iPod on his speed dial. This is Cathy. She has five children.”

“Have you met G? He’s the head of a University department who has been in popular magazines for his amazing research. He has recently discovered that a species of local wildlife is several steps behind the evolutionary development of its’ species on other continents. G, this is Cathy. She has five children.”

“This is C. He’s a spiritual teacher and well-respected hospice guide for families at important crossroads in their journey. He is here with his wife. She is an internationally trained Shaman who is on a first name basis with Buddha. Aaand this is Cathy. She has five children.”

“G is a highly respected politician who is legislating world peace and those three are engineers who are collaborating on a brand new technology and she is the owner of a successful local business and this is Cathy. She has five children.”

I do get to meet amazing people. And I have five children.

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