The OJ Experiment

RePete saw the commercial about orange juice where they show a straw in an orange (as if the juice in the container is so fresh that it is like drinking straight from the orange).

Experiment:  He wanted to try it.  Pete too.

Outcome:  RePete got a tiny drop or two of juice and Pete got pulp.
Lesson:  Don't believe everything you see on television.

~R

Our future

BN and I feel stuck.  We want to live in/near the mountains, but in this world we have to have a good job.  His is here in Hampton Roads.

So we dreamweave about the day he retires or we spontaneously become independently wealthy.  We both see the same piece of land in our future and until this past weekend, we didn't have a picture. In our perfect dream, we see a house on a hill, a pond or other water source nearby and mountains in the backdrop.

As part of my researching for mom on genealogy, I came across another member of our family in a different branch that posted a picture of my great-great-grandfather's homestead as it looks today.  When I saw it, I immediately showed it to BN to which he replied, "Is it for sale?"

That land and our house plans...dreamy.

~R

Grammartastic

Yesterday, as Pete was reading his grammar assignment, he asked,

"Mom, what does semile and metoffer mean?" ( I used these spellings to try and show the sounds he used.  Syllable emphasis on "mile" and "off")

I cracked up laughing.  He started laughing because I was laughing and then I explained the correct pronunciation.

He was asking about similes and metaphors.

~R

The Nutcracker Ballet

I should have known better about buying tickets for a ballet in little old Suffolk, but I thought, hey, I'll give it a try.  Our town converted the old downtown high school into a cultural arts center.  There have been numerous events, ballets, productions, etc and this is the first time I've bought tickets.  It's a beautiful building and I love old architecture like this.

What made it such a flop for me is that there were no props.  The last Nutcracker ballet BN and I saw was so beautiful and elaborate.  You could spend the entire show looking at the scenery and props and never need to actually watch anyone dance.  It was that good.



The ballet in Suffolk?   Well, I think they did a fine job with the dancing although a few of them looked less than thrilled to be there.  The top performers for me were the two guys.  Men ballerinas or whatever they are called really are fun to watch because they are so strong and tend to do the most fantastical things.  The "Nutcracker" guy, however, had on white tights and after the show, Pete said they should not wear pants like that.  He could see the guy's butt in detail. 

He was right.  It was slightly obscene.

Here's what I heard the entire time:

BN:  ( I heard nothing...he kept dozing off)
Pete:  How much longer is this thing?
Repete:  I'm starving and I'm sooo bored. (several octaves too loudly)
Me: (to myself) Damn, this really is lame.  I can't stop staring at the nutcracker's nuts.  I can't believe I paid $80 for this.  Those white pants are too revealing, I wonder what the boys are thinking.  I'll never be able to get the kids to agree to a ballet again. 

~R

I finally saw it.

Twilight, that is.  My sister had a free night and needed to take her son to meet his date at the movies, so we decided to double date with them.  The fact that we couldn't go in together or watch the same movie didn't bother us one little bit.

And I learned a valuable lesson:  never chew wintergreen gum at the movies during a quiet scene.

I don't know how it happened but the theater was so quiet and I switched from popcorn to gum during the scene where Bella is laboring and Jacob is in shock at her "death".  I stopped chewing - because it was so quiet in there I could hear myself chewing even with my mouth shut - and then it happened.

Somehow, wintergreen infused saliva slid down the back of my throat and into my windpipe.  I had to cough but it was so dang quiet in there, I tried not to.  The force of trying to hold that cough in made me pee my pants just a little (my bladder will never be the same after my 9 and 10 pound babies), so I tried to get enough breath to tell my sister I was leaving my purse and needed to go to the bathroom.  She, a nurse, was poised and ready to perform the Heimlich or CPR or something drastic and I put up my hand - like hold up a minute, I'm fine really - and my eyes were starting to water at this point and I was walking down the steps and across the aisle to the lobby exit.

A couple in front of me held open the door and I'm sure because of my tear stained eyes and slight convulsive-type heaving (still trying to be quiet and not wet my pants), they probably thought I was all choked up over Bella "dying".

Finally, I make it to a stall and pee, cough, pee, cough, etc.  Cough a few extra times as I wash my hands and then make my way back to the theater hoping I didn't miss Jacob shirtless or anything.

And that's how I learned to never chew wintergreen gum at the movies.

~R

Success!

The boys took their ornaments to the craft show today at our co-op and sold out!

They raised $31 to give to our local food bank.

I was going to take pictures, but forgot my phone and my camera is out for repairs.  But the display was nice if I must say so myself.  *pat pat*

Our friends are so generous with their time and money and I love that the boys decided to give to others.

Here is the poster Pete and RePete created that I framed for the table display.

How crappy is that picture taken on the webcam.  Anyway, the drawings are beautiful.  Great job to my boys!

~R