Sunday, April 29, 2007

SNL - TV Funhouse: Maraka

OK, this will be funny to anyone who - like myself - has had to watch about a million episodes of Dora.

This is satire that I can sink my teeth into!

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!

I was actually unaware that TODAY was earth day, I guess I thought it was last Friday or something... but had several reminders this morning.

First Reminder was my seven year old daughter wrote a letter to our Gov., Bill Ritter. (While I was sleeping in... her dad told me she worked really hard on it.) What a smart girl she is. Her topic: that Walgreens was building too many stores, and destroying the bunny and prairie dog homes that were in the open spaces. She only blames Walgreens, mind you... not the 25 acre shopping mall that was built about 5 miles from our house, or all the new housing developments springing up all around us. Just Walgreens. Apparently they are the bad guys in this scenario - and the bunnies and prairie dogs would be thriving but for the drug store chain that does seem to be building a lot of locations too near to each other lately. I will, like a good mother, mail her letter off to the Mr. Ritter - and hope that he takes a minute to familiarize himself with how a first grader would improve the earth. (My apologies to Walgreens - I patronize them for all of our prescriptions so I would miss them if they went away. But, please realize that I must encourage my seven year old to fight for things she believes in.) (Also, I wonder if she is mixing up "Walgreens" with "Walmart", which she has overheard her father and I discuss on more than one occasion. If they weren't the only ones still carrying Dove Nutrium liquid body wash, I'm not sure we'd even step foot in one again.)

Second Reminder was at Soccer. One of the moms, who is hilarious btw, mentioned to me that she would not be a concerned citizen on Earth Day if she didn't point out that I should have brought my OWN cup to Starbucks for my latte today before the game. She's right, but it was only AFTER the caffeine kicked in that I realized it really was Earth Day.

Oh, and then this afternoon my dog threw up all over the front step of our house. Ewwww. There I was, out in the open for all to see, HOSING OFF THE PORCH, wasting water on Earth Day.

I vow to do better next year. I will at least try to remember my own cup for the Starbucks run!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Funny she would say this today...

DD1: Mom, remember when I was (her sister’s) age and my life was all puppies and rainbows and horses and dolls? Well, it’s not like that anymore. I’m growing up, and things aren’t so simple now.





Sigh... she's so right.

A heavy heart...

My thought, prayers, and sorrows are with the families of those affected by the tragedy at Virginia Tech yesterday.

There are probably going to be no answers to the question, "Why?" It's confusing and horrific. Please know that my heart is with each and every one of you.

My husband and I were in Mexico with friends 8 years ago when the eyes of the world turned towards Columbine with such saddness. It was strange to be in a different country when it happened - and to really realize that things like this do have an effect on so many others in this world. But, I assure you, the eyes of the world are on this, the prayers of the world are with you... and the knowledge - once again - that we cannot absolutely protect those we love no matter how much we love them.

love,
Dodi

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Survey sent to me

45 random things you probably didn't need to know about me


whats your name spelt backwards? nosirrom

What did you do last night? slept

The last thing you downloaded onto your computer? probably spyware

Have you ever licked a 9 volt battery? yes

Last time you swam in a pool? Sept 2006

What are you wearing? "mom" duds

How many cars have you owned? 3

Type of music you dislike most? opera

Are you registered to vote? most def

Do you have cable? yes

What kind of computer do you use? dell latitude

Ever made a prank phone call? does anyone every say "no" to this question?

You like anyone right now? I like everyone right now.

Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? sky diving

Furthest place you ever traveled? Mexico

What's your favorite comic strip? baby blues

Do u know all the words to the national anthem? absolutely!

Shower, morning or night? morning

Best movie you've seen in the past month? Strawberry Shortcake Play Day Surprise. (I don't get out alot.)

Favorite pizza toppings? green peppers

Chips or popcorn? popcorn. buttered.

What cell phone provider do you have? verizon

Have you ever smoked peanut shells? no... do people do that?

Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? have you actually seen me?

Orange Juice or apple? orange

Who were the last people you sat at lunch with? Julia, Bo, and Hannah

favorite chocolate bar? mr. goodbar

Who is your longest friend and how long? Susan. 21+ years

Last time you ate a homegrown tomato? Sept 2006

Have you ever won a trophy? no. how pathetic is that?

Favorite arcade game? pinball

Ever ordered from an infomercial? yes, and I have the floam to prove it!

Sprite or 7-UP? 7up

Have you ever had to wear a uniform to school/work? yes, along with nametags. very pretty.

Last thing you bought at Walgreens? generic birth control pills.

Ever thrown up in public? do public restrooms count as "in public"?

Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love? true love, naturally

Do you believe in love at first sight? no

SPONGEBOB OR JIMMY NEUTRON? NERDTRON!!!!!

Did you have long hair as a young kid? yes

What message is on your voicemail machine? standard greetings

Where would you like to go right now? Scotland. Just as soon as I do laundry so I have clean underwear to take with me.

Whats the name of your pet? Hannah, Bo

What kind of back pack do you have, and what's in it? Backpack? How retro!!

What do you think about most? probably my husband and kids

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Freaking out just a little

I thought this was over. I thought that last year was the year that we “hemorrhaged” money. I see now that I was delusional. Hemorrhaging money is a multi-year process for us. It would be too simple to have one bad year.

Let’s backtrack. Last year was expensive. In the spring I got a letter that we owed $1800 in taxes that we had been overpaid to us in our 2004 refund. (Oops, my bad. I wondered why we got such a big refund!) Spring in to Summer our dogs both got sick. Hannah, the husky, cut her foot to the tune of a $600 ER visit, plus a couple hundred in “re-bandaging” fees every time she chewed through the bandages to the stitches. Bo, the boxer, developed two mast cell tumors. About $2900 later he was fine – and they did a really good job. (The dogs are not something I am sad about spending our money on – as they are such sweeties and such an important part of our family.) Between the dogs illnesses we had the AC recharged in the minivan ($400). We had to have our house painted ($3200) but before we had the house painted we needed to have the attached shed repaired because it was rotting and pulling away from the house ($1400). After tires for Jim’s car and a trip to Washington / Oregon for a wedding and vacation ($??? Didn’t keep track, but about $1500), it was time for dental surgery for Annie (roughly $3200 total). That takes us to roughly mid October. We’ll stop before the Christmas outpouring gets added in.

Oh, and our home’s AC went out in September. (We’ll discuss this a little further later.)

Shoot forward to 2007. I’m breathing a sigh of relief, because while we do have to replace our furnace and AC (furnace has to be replaced because it works sporadically at best – we live in Colorado so that’s not really acceptable, and because it’s not big enough to support an AC that is big enough to cool our house properly), we’ve known it was going to happen for a while now. Estimate: $5000+. DH has convinced me that we really do need to buy another car. ($10,000 - $15,000… but will probably have a three-year loan – so not totally scary) BFF in TX is getting married. (Driving to TX, hotel, meals, dress and alterations, gift… lets say $1000) Today we received the stunning news that the minivan needs massive repairs (because of the storm and “Lake Lisbon” I incurred a ton of damage to the front end of my car) - $1700 to make it “safe” to drive. We’ll need another $1100 to fix the AC, which has now been traced to the compressor. DH is not taking this laying down; he’s determined to find a cheaper way to get the AC fixed.

It’s only April.

Pray for us.

I’m thinking of buying “The Secret” to see if I can stick a finger in the proverbial dike.


I’m serious.