The Ribs of An Old Cat

My family went to Tahoe for a week with a whirlwind side-trip to Disneyland, which is why I haven't been writing. It was very fun, but it made me quite tired. Skiing was perfect on two days and not as nice on a third. I got to see my kids have a ton of fun and that is the best kind of fun that I ever have.

Today has been the Catch Up Day, full of finding all the lost things and putting them on the calendar, cleaning like I haven't done a thing in two weeks, and there have been Oreos going into my tummy. Yummy Oreos.  Double Stuff. Stuff I need to resist but can't. I don't buy it, mind you, but I help make it go away. To my middle. (Heavy sigh.)

I think I broke a rib, too. For real, this time, and not just pulling a muscle. There is an actual spot where the pain is the most intense, not just a general area of pain like before. I was on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland and I was being bounced around like I was going to get whiplash for sure and when I got off the ride, I had pain in my back and side. I like to complain about pain more than the next guy, I'm sure, but I tried to be a stoic and ignore it as best I could. When I got in the car, however, for the long ride home, I poked my fingers around my rib cage to figure out what exactly was hurting.

When my finger hit the Spot of Pain, it was so intensely sharp that the gruesome scene in Inglorious Basterds came to mind when Brad Pitt's character stuck his finger in the bullet wound of that woman's leg. Ouch!

All I can wonder is how long it's going to take to stop hurting. (10-days, Mr. Anonymous?) I like to remember back to my Army days when I was in the best shape of my life. I would love to have the boundless energy and pain-free feeling again. I had the body of a kitten and once did 83 push ups for a PT test. I felt like I could do anything and I would give almost anything to feel like that again. To have that body again. To be able to eat all the Oreos I want without them hanging around like an unwanted party guest who just won't leave. That's life, I guess. There are quite a few things I wouldn't trade to stay exactly where I am, right at this moment, flaws and all. With age comes wisdom, even if it comes with a certain amount of physical deterioration.

I'll take it. I'm happy. Rib pain and all.

Greasy, Grimy, Gopher Guts

I wish I would write more. I hate pulling up my blog to check my favorite links for things to read and seeing how lazy I am. Sometimes I'm even too lazy to read, like today. It's funny, though, on an episode of The Office, which I watch less and less and I'm quite behind, and I don't like nearly as much in the later seasons as is always the case, BJ Novak's character says that blogs are "out."

Is that true? I know that skirt lengths are getting longer, but that's about as current as I get. I know that I like reading blogs more than I like watching TV.

I'm sick, though, and even for a current post, I'm really too out of it to write much. But isn't that the way it goes? I tell you what, though. Please help me out by posting your ideas or knowledge of what should go in the following poem:

Great green globs of greasy, grimy, gopher guts,
mutilated monkey feet,
chopped up baby parakeet,
blah blah blah blah
rolling down my dirty street,
and I forgot my spoon!

Fill in the answer or what you think the answer to the blahs are and you will solve the mystery of the song that I have running through my head since I saw all the worms on my dog-walk-hike that I never wrote about.

Step Right Up! Welcome to the Carnival!

Another carnival! We have rides that don't appear safe to the ordinary mom, pickpockets lurking in the crowd and carnies with more tattoos than LA Ink. Watch your wallet and meet me at the food tents later.

Step right up and I will try to guess your weight before you eat. And if you're eating a hamburger, well, let me know when you're, um... done. PB Lecron has The Last Bite at A French Education. 

At My Marriage To God, we get the highlights and lowlights of a day in the life of...a dedicated runner! After watching Run Fatboy Run last night, I can really appreciate that sort of dedication. It's not like I'm going to run a marathon or anything, but still - you can really admire people who run before 6:30 in the morning, let alone just get up that early.

I wonder if Randy Howard at ChinMusik likes Billy Joel as much as I do. I was just thinking that The Stranger is Desert Island album* and I should probably get a copy. And I can't believe I don't already have it. In Not Cool: Chuck Klosterman, he calls out a critic who can't appreciate The Piano Man.

MadKane is back with the trials of owning a motorboat. Her husband really shows his pluck and stick-to-it-ness. And good luck with the sailboat! Perhaps y'all can man the Tunnel of Love cruise for me.

I had a few different entries from ChinMusik and MadKane. I was originally going to plug them all, but I got my foot caught in the cotton candy machine and I had fuzzy sugar all over my leg. I just had to eat it off and the by the time I was done, it was my shift at the hot dog cart. I just got finished with that one and I couldn't pass up a couple of funnel cakes. You understand if my laziness busy-ness kept me from doing more - right?

Thanks for joining me. A carnival just wouldn't be the same if y'all weren't here. And don't forget to stop off at the dime toss before heading home. It's a real money maker for me. ;)




* Do I really have to tell you that it's an album you'd like to have on a desert island because you'll never grow tired of it?

Call For Submissions - Blog Carnival

Hello Folks!

I'm going to be hosting another Blog Carnival here. I was looking for a reminder email to tell me that it was coming up, but realized that I never set the deadline. This will be the third one here and by now, you know how much I love carnival food!

Submissions due by 3/25/11
Carnival Post by 3/28/11

Submit Here

When I first started blogging years (and years) ago, I used to submit to carnivals as a way to get my readership up. As I've changed my site a few times and to some degree my subject material, I thought I'd try it again, but this time as a host. The thing is, though, that I'm very busy these days, which would explain  my intermittent blogging. Perhaps consistent posts and topics that weren't so random would be attractive, too. But anyway...

I'm going to lay some ground rules for this Carnival - think of me as the Carnival Commission and I'm doing an inspection.

1. The subject is Non Sequitur, which means "does not follow." It could be about anything, but I'm going to throw in the added assignment of being humorous. Make me chuckle, please.

2. One entry per person. I've gotten several from a few posters and while they are enjoyable to read, don't be greedy. Make a decision and submit just one. Multiple posts this month will be "grandmothered" in, however I reserve the right to pick my favorite and only link to one of them. We'll see how adventurous I'm feeling.

3. It would be lovely if your blog is featured on my site if you could link back to it from your own. It's all about developing a readership, right? (For both of us.)

That's enough. I'm going to save my rule-making for my kids. I think they could use more of them.

It Must Be Monday

It's Monday. Just back from a ski trip at Lake Tahoe where we drove seven-hours there and five-hours back for a whopping four-hours of skiing. My husband claims they were the best powder conditions he's ever experienced. Me - what do I know? That's a lot of time in the car. 

I didn't want to be the grouch and put the kibosh on the trip, knowing full well that it would be crappy to get there, so I went along and didn't complain one bit. We stayed at the Hyatt, which was lovely, as usual, and they even started us (me) off with complimentary champagne at check in. (I got two glasses ostensibly for my husband and myself, but drank both of them.) What's not to love about that?

We swam in the heated outdoor pool in the snow then roasted marshmallows and made s'mores at the fire pit next to the snowman after that. (Fully dressed, not in wet bathing suits!) Everyone except me went to the arcade, while I watched TV shows about the dangers of tides and box jellyfish. 

In all, it was a nice trip. After working every weekend for over a year, it was nice to feel like a normal human being and spending good quality time with my family. Nice. Definitely nice. 

We were supposed to come back in time to get my dog last night and didn't. My youngest daughter is still in bed and it's nearly noon. I wonder if my dog sitter is wondering where I am. 

And so now that we're home and I'm working on my second cup of coffee, I have an entire house full of chores and my work is cut out for me. My oldest daughter decided she wants to go race go-carts* and I had to say no. This is not what she wanted to hear and suddenly, I've plunged into Meanie Status. If this isn't proof that life continues to move forward, I don't know what is. We cannot rest upon our laurels and past deeds, we must constantly work to stay Top Dog. Me - I'm at the bottom right now. What can I bribe her with to move up the ladder? (Besides go-carts, that is!)

*Did I forget to mention that the kids had a day-off for a "teacher workday" that I only found out about during the seven-hour drive up to Tahoe? (Note to self: put teacher workdays on calendar.)