A tiny little RANT for the beginning of this week.

Ah, yes, it is Sunday night, again. I have just finished watching the 3rd in The Complete Jane Austen series (Mansfield Park) and it has become my Favorite of all the three thus far (see here for info on the series on PBS.) However, I have no doubt that as the movies continue to present themselves, it will surely be replaced with another of Ms. Austen's amazing writings. If you are not watching them for yourselves, then you are truely missing out.
And, on to the rant part of the post...
We (Ini and I) went to the Olive Garden this afternoon for lunch. It is one of her *FAVORITE* places to eat, and I figured it was time that we had a little "Girls Lunch" out as it has been a while since we have gone to lunch together. We had approx. a 30 min wait (not bad for a Sunday afternoon) so we made a side trip to Barnes and Noble to check out their Bargain Classics section (I had to pick up some new reading materials - Emily Bronte's Wurthering Heights (YEAAAAHHH!!) and a copy of Mansfield Park to add to my growing collection of Ms. Austen's works. Our "beeper" went off fairly quickly, so we raced back to the restaurant and handed the damn thing to the "hostess" (who chose to ask us at this time if a booth would be alright, 'cuz if we wanted a table we would have to wait longer. Right, like I am going to force my hungry 3 yr old to wait for a table. ((insert eyeroll here)) I say, a booth is fine. Then she turns and asks me if we will be needing a children's menu (can we say a collective "DUH!!!") I just looked at her, like, "Do YOU think that we need a children's menu?" She seated us in a horribly located booth, and informed us that our server would be by soon to take our drink orders. UGH!
Our server was BEYOND negligent. It took her 15 min before she showed up to ask us what we would like to drink, at which time, we took advantage of her being there and ordered. Add an additional 15 min before we received any salad or breadsticks. Before she had taken our drink order she had dropped of another table's check and they were still sitting there, waiting for her to take their money and bring them boxes. At which point, I thought to myself, "This is not going to go well." (The other table eventually flagged down another waitress to settle their check for them.) After she brought the bread and salad, she disappeared somewhere for the next 30 min or so before making an appearance to inform us that our meals *should* be about done (really? 30 min to make some chicken and spagetti? I could have went back there and cooked it myself faster than that.) The food came, and it was decent (presentable, hot, fresh, edible) Our waitress, however, did not come back to find that out.
On to dessert. I always order the same thing, Torti Di Chocolate and it is DELICIOUS. Ini always orders the Chocolate Gelato. And, generally, they give a child sized portion in a little bowl with the caramel sauce and chocolate shavings on it, just like the grown up version. However, this woman brought her a Chocolate Gelato *SUNDAE* with Chocolate syrup and whipped cream on it (in the shape of a smilie face no less ((again with the eyeroll)) ~ she was *NOT* happy. However, she developed a love for maraschino cherries because of it, so the day was not a total failure. LOL
We paid, we went to the fabric store (at which I bought *ONLY* thread HURRAY!!!!) And then went to pick up Cait.
When we picked her up (30 min late, mind you) she had NO COAT on (it was a warm day, but it won't stay that way) and her shoes were from her Dad's and not the ones that were sent with her (UGH!) Normally, I would not have been so angry (who am I kidding, I would have been just as livid,) BUT I make an effort to send her with items that come home with her from there house when she goes back to their house. It would stand to reason that they could make a bit of an effort to make certain that the things that she arrives with, come home at the end of the weekend! And, on top of everything else, they attempt to lay the blame for their lateness on my shoulders. In fact, I believe their *exact* words were "We wish that you would call us when you are coming to S---------- on Sundays." Why? So that they could get out of providing her transportation to the designated pick up site? WHATEVER!
Anyway, as exciting as today was, it is not a day I would wish to repeat.
On a bonus note, Ini was *REALLY* good the entire time we were in the restaurant (despite having woke up at 6 - FREAKIN' - 30 IN THE MORNING!!!!)

I can BREATHE again!

I am soooo very thankful right now at this moment, and I would just like to share with you all.
My brother, who is a service man, is currently stationed somewhere in the Sandbox that is Iraq. Due to some regulation/rule/order we, his family (not even his wife), are not allowed to be informed of his whereabouts or what he is doing. We send our mail to a general postal address, and they find him. He calls my Sister In Law from a secure line once a week, and my parents about once a month or so. He has left his entire life behind to serve his country, and I am very proud of him (not something I could have said, say, 7 years ago.)
Yesterday afternoon we (both my mother and I independantly) received a phone calls from my Sister In Law. We were given the only information that she had -- my brother's Unit had been fired upon, and had sustained heavy casualties/damage. That was all. So, we have all been sitting on pins and needles, unable to sleep, trying to imagine a life that does not include him in more than just memory, jumping every time the phone rang, running at breakneck speeds just to have all our hopes dashed every single time it is not her with new informations. And, generally, not breathing.
Well, we can now breathe again. She just called my mother and told her that, while she cannot give any additional information (as the other families have not all been informed), she can tell us that it was not my brother. That is all she has.
And with those 5 little words, our whole world breathed a sigh of relief.

Additionally, my heart goes out to all those that have lost their loved ones to situations just like this. Their sacrifice is greatly appreciated, and they are remembered.

Heart wrenchingly sad, unbelieveably timeless.

I just LOVE the Classics. Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, etc. Women that wrote about true "Ladies", and endless love.
It is my opinion that every woman truely wants to feel that at least once in their lives. That breath stealing, heart pulling, searingly beautiful kind of love that only truely comes along once in a lifetime (I have been married twice, and yet have only felt this kind of love once - and not with either of my husbands.) A love that is desperately painful to let go of, and feels like the tremulous pain will never subside when that love is no longer a part of us.
I think that these women authors must have known something about that kind of love. Which is astounding for the time in which they existed. I am in awe of their accomplishments, and I am respectful of the way that they have inserted themselves into our contemporary lives with their timelessly beautiful words.

The Quest Begins

The quest to the land of Sewing More Than I Buy, that is.
In this lovely land, that is no huge pile of UFO's (UnFinished Objects), no HUGE pile of cut fabric, no HUGEMONGOUS stash staring at me taunting me with all the things that I must get done yet know clue exactly where to begin. In this land there is only a small amount of fabric waiting to be something beautiful. The sewing room is *ALWAYS* clean, and the machines are oiled and lint free, ready for use.
In the land of Sewing More Than I Buy, my stash steadily decreases to a point that is more manageable (and doesn't look like the inside of a fabric store threw up in my dining room.) The Man does not walk past the doorway afraid to enter the room for fear of being buried underneath the pile of it all.
Sadly, as of this moment, on the 9th day of January - the train for my trip to the land of Sewing More Than I Buy is currently moving backward.

So the phrase "Death Warmed Over" just might apply to me at this moment.

Sick. That is def one word that could be used to describe me right now. I have spent the ENTIRE day on the couch wondering when the sun is going to stop shining so that this glaringly painful headache might subside.
All of this started 4 days ago when Ini decided that she would spend the entire night crying and sleeping in approximately 30 min intervals. So enter me the next day with 2 hrs of total sleep, and one seriously bad mood. Then yest. we went to O---------------klahoma (where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain) for a funeral (my Great Uncle on my dad's side) and I started to feel slightly like Crap on a Stick myself. Until I woke up this morning feeling like a damn truck had run over my head repeatedly.
Sucky ~BONUS~ point #1 - Ini woke me up at 7:30 this morning by SMACKING me repeatedly and stating "Mommy, I am cold. Mommy, I am hungry. Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom." Over and over again until I hauled my sick, can't breathe to save my own life, "Oh, I slept in yest. travel clothes" - ass out of bed to attend to her every whim.
Sucky ~BONUS~ point #2 - I still have the blasted headache from this morning. Fan-freakin'-tastic for me.

I am going to bed and not coming out for at least 8 hours. Maybe then I will resemble something close to human.

Welcome 2008....maybe?!?!?!

Damn! Is it 2008 already? Where has the freakin' time went? Oh well, I am guessing that my "To Do in 2008" list will contain a vast majority of items that my "To Do in 2007" list did. Time sucks!
So, every year I like to sit down and think about the things that I have added to my vast pool of knowledge on which I can draw from during appropriate situations (this is also known as "useless shit I have managed to collect in my brain for that One-in-a-Million chance that I will appear on Jeopardy at some point.)
#1 -- Grocery stores can sell almost anything to a child simply by placing it in the checkout aisle (ex. This is a list of some of the items that my children have requested to purchase in the past year -- BBQ lighters (?), Doggie/Kittie mint flavored treats (??), dental floss, weird chapsticks, etc.)
#2 -- Fat Free cheese will NEVER melt, no matter how long you leave it in the oven. (And this is NOT something you want to experiment with if you have no idea how to turn off your smoke detectors.)
#3 -- Worms lay "eggs" (and I have actually watched one hatch. -We love our worms-)
#4 -- Children ALWAYS appreciate the parent that does NOT wash their hair in the bathtub the most (this requires no explanation.)
The list could go on and on...literally.
At this point, I am just wondering how much more useless knowledge could possibly be available in the universe for me to learn? I am guessing that 2008 will provide me with plenty more opportunities to store away useless shit, and I am guessing that it will all be just as informative as the last batch was.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!