I have been sitting here for the last two hours looking at a blank screen as if staring at the screen is going to make words magically appear. For the life of me I can’t come up with anything to say. It’s not so much that I don’t have anything to say, it’s just the stringing together of all the words in a semi-coherent fashion that is leaving me baffled.
Apparently, I used too much brain power earlier at Starbucks deciding between the Peppermint Mocha or the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.
I went with the Peppermint Mocha. Sadly, it was 4:00 p.m. so I will regret that caffeinated decision for the better part of the wee morning hours, but in the meantime I am very peppy for 9:54 p.m.
And, on a side note, how old am I that I have to monitor my late afternoon caffeine intake? Kids, Ma-maw can’t have an afternoon coffee or she’ll be up with her rheumatism all night.
Not to mention the fact that I talked to A.J. earlier on the phone and directed her to the Boden site so she could join me in drooling over the Fab Day Bag that is currently on sale. I wanted her to buy it because she is single and in her twenties and doesn’t have to spend her hard-earned money on things like Barbie Diamond Castle Carriages.
Not only did she point out that it’s “kind of a mom bag”, she and her roommate C. also crushed my hopes and dreams by pointing out that the coveted Dalmation print version isn’t on sale. Apparently, Ma-maw can’t read the fine print.
As for the “mom bag” comment, I’m just going to say that someone who still carries their college backpack for business travel may not want to throw handbag stones.
I also have some other things I’d like to share and will now resort to a list.
1. I built a fire in the fireplace by myself. A real fire with real logs. By myself.
Granted, I used an HEB firestarter brick and a large container of lighter fluid to get this bad boy going and nearly forgot to take down our Christmas stockings, but, still, I made fire.
I have never felt more like Ma Ingalls. Well, if Ma Ingalls used lighter fluid and ate storebought iced sugar cookies by the fire.
2. For Caroline’s birthday this year, my sister-in-law bought her a Ladybug Farm. However, due to weather conditions in the midwest or some such nonsense, we didn’t receive our ladybug larvae (ewww) until about a month ago. I have followed all the directions on the care and maintenance of ladybugs to the best of my ability.
Yes, we have managed to hatch one ladybug and I found two more in the backyard that have become prisoners of the plastic dome. But by all appearances, the only thing we’re growing in abundance is mold.
Is this normal? Or am I unknowingly creating some sort of biological weapon?
3. By the time y’all read this I’ll be on my way to Houston for the night. I’m going to Converge to see CeCe Winans, Travis Cottrell and Beth Moore. I think my excitement is part of the reason I’m having a hard time forming coherent paragraphs.
4. How much do I love that Texas Representative Joe Barton is introducing legislation to end the BCS system in college football?
The economy is in the toilet and automakers want billions of dollars in loans, but let’s make sure we get this whole NCAA football thing figured out.
Don’t mess with Texas.
5. Don’t forget that this Monday, the 15th, is Boomama’s Christmas tour of homes. So finish decking your halls and take some photos.
6. Also, I’ve gotten some great entries for the Ugly Sweater Contest. Keep ‘em coming and I’ll announce the winners on Friday the 19th.
I’ll also announce the first runner-up because if for any reason the winner of the Ugly Sweater Contest can’t fulfill its duties, the title will pass to the first runner-up.
Y’all have a great day.
Well – - – being an avid NCAA football fan myself, I say MORE POWER TO YA, JOE!!!!
Let’s face it – - – only God can save our economy, get us out of Iraq, and do all those other really important things – - – maybe fixing the BCS system is something we can do!!!
Playoffs! Playoffs! Playoffs! Playoffs!
I think that’s a GORGEOUS bag! Mom bag? Pshaw! Never mind that *I* am a mom too! I think the Red is just beautiful!
Uh-oh, class, looks like AJ has been smoking crack! (Line from School of Rock, for those of you w/o boys who LOVE that movie) That bag is gorgeous! I am totally coveting it right now.
(and yes, I do get the irony, that I am obviously a mom of a teenager even and loving the bag…sigh)
Way to push on through that writers block. What a trooper!
Don’t feel bad, I also cannot drink caffine after 4pm or I’ll be popping some Tylenol PM. And then I can’t take those after 9pm or I’ll never get up in the morning. Life is such a balance when you’re old.
For what it’s worth, I’m not a mom and I love the bag.
Have a great Weekend!
Welcome to Houston – it SNOWED here last night! I know that snow is not as much a novelty to you, living in the Texas Hill Country, but for us Gulf-Coasters, it’s a rarity!
Hey, if you wanted ladybugs, why didn’t you say so? I could have sent you a thousand or so from our river birch in our backyard. When fall and winter set in, the ladybugs find a way to get inside our house and happily crawl around on our ceiling, walls and curtains leaving gross ladybug trails…YUCK! Anyway they die in our light fixtures, in the drapes of our curtains and by the hand of a six year old who wants them to crawl on his hands all the time. (It’s the only bug he’ll pick up besides a grasshopper. Mama taught him right.)
I just LOVE going to Texas! And then throw Beth, CeCe, and Travis in and well…wow! Have an excellent time!
What the heck was your sister in law THINKING??? Have you disowned her yet?
We had the same experience with the ladybug house. Except we haven’t gotten even ONE ladybug! Just some dead looking (?) larvae that are clinging to the dome. Yuck! We had much better luck with the butterfly habitat.
Oh, ma-maw, y’all are just upset because OU has made it all the way to the National Championship! Boomer Sooner! Don’t be hatin’!! And for not having any “material” to share, you sure did come up with days worth! I would have taken each one and spread it out to give me a weeks worth of material!!
I love that you mention Joe Barton and the BCS in this post because I was thinking the exact same thing yesterday. Seriously, why does the LAW need to get involved in college football? Because even the law knows the system is messed up and they are trying to protect the best interests of the people.
When I read your title and the first couple of sentences, it dawned on me that you’re the blog version of the Seinfield show – a show about nothing, but can make me laugh for a good 30 minutes.
Enjoy Houston and Converge.
And my husband would want me to say this about the BCS business: Go Gators.
Mamaw you are pretty funny on caffiene. Have a great trip.
I was on an insane caffeine high last night too. I never did really crash from it and finally around 1am just decided to go ahead and get to bed. That’s what I get for the late night coke while Christmas shopping. You can tell I don’t get out without my little boy very often!
Great job on the fire! Have fun in Houston.
Go Ma Ingalls! You are better than me. We have a gas fireplace and I wouldn’t know what to do. You remembered to open the flume too.
The whole caffeine after 5 is such a terrible part of age. Remember when you could drink coffee whenever, stay up until 2am and still pop up before 8 for breakfast with the gang?
Those were the days.
Now my legs pop as I get up, and I make breakfast for “the gang”.
A mom bag? Pah-leez! That bag is gorgeous. It has to be big enough so everyone who admires it can surround it and still get a good look.
Praise the Lord for Texas being fed up with the BCS. Us Yankees in the Pacific NW support you wholeheartedly!
Have a great trip.
Love the “get what you get and don’t throw fits”. Perfect words to live by!!
And you thought you had nothing to write.
I don’t think the mold is normal.
You can get ladybugs from Lowes or Home Depot in the spring. They are already hatched, but if Caroline is like my little girl, she won’t care.
Mold in the ladybug habitat is fairly normal. We’ve battled that as well. You know you can just order more larvae again… try in the spring. We always let ours go in the garden.
I wasn’t aware of Barton’s legislative introduction of late. Interesting.
Oh and speaking of ugly sweaters, check this out…
http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/ugly-christmas-sweaters-461208?src=syn&dom=yah_buzz&mag=tdg&ha=1
Have fun at Converge. Wishing I could be there.
Maybe I’ll see you tonight at Converge
If I walk up and say “Hi Big mama, I’m Jen the Newlywed!” you can’t look at me like I’m crazy, okay?!
I had all these thoughts about comments to make and then read about the BCS and was totally sidde tracked. You mean they may finally get this thing right? Love women who know and love their sports! And you rock on the fire making!
You always have lots to say even when you have nothing to say….
Your blog is so great…have fun in Houston!
The BCS ia BS. I agree. This is a daily conversation between Pa & me.
As we, or rather, I type, Travis Cottrell is seranading me with 2,00 years. It is probably one of the best songs ever sung.
Have a great time this weekend!
Joe spoke at my college graduation in 1993. Of course, I don’t remember a thing he said. I was just thinking, “Almost done with school!”
Have you ever read about our Kylie and her ladybug invasion in our home in Texas? I’ll have to email you a link. There were thousands of them all over the place.
LOVE your blog! I am so glad I found you!
Oh, I was all excited to find out there was a ladybog habitat, until I read about the mold, the dead ladybugs, etc.
My 6 year old LOVES bugs, especially ladybugs. He has “pet ladybugs” every time he finds them…until they fly off, of course. It’s better than the pet slugs he tried to keep in our garage this summer. EWWWWW!! They dehydrated, of course! Again, EWWWWW!!
So jealous over Converge. Completely. Hubs kinda rolled his eyes at me when I asked if I could fly out there by myself and see my internet friends and see our beloved Beth and crew. I took it as a “no.”
I have to admit that I do feel a kinship to Ma Ingalls now and again myself! ha Especially now that it’s winter and I have to keep wood in the heater while my husband is at work. Yep….that’s where we get all our heat from…..a good ole Ashley wood heater.
And as for lady bugs….I don’t know where “Southern Gal” who commented is from but we have the same problem here! In the fall the lady bugs start coming in and are a real nuisance. Like she said they crawl on the ceiling, the windows, the cabinets….everywhere!…and leave little nasty trails you have to clean up. So..knowing what I know, I would just be happy with the three bugs you have and hope that they don’t multiply!
Looking forward to hearing about “Converge” later on!
Marilyn
Let me tell you about the time I made fire:
All summer, I’d burned candles in the fireplace (so cozy!).
First cold snap, husband is working that night, so I decide to make my own fire in the fireplace.
Candles come out, real wood goes in, with a firestarter log from Publix on the bottom to get it going good.
Cause I’m smart. A planner.
Pretty decent little fire!
I’m very impressed with myself.
Little man and I (he was 3) sitting at the coffee table eating dinner in front of it.
As the firestarter log starts to fall apart, the flames get bigger.
And Bigger.
So I decide, I should worry, right? Because now the fire is a little too big to be proud of it.
I’m almost scared of it.
So I go get some water to put on it and try to get it to go out. Only, right as I’m about to pour it on, something (hello, the Holy Spirit!) says to me, ‘No, just put a drop first’ — so I do. A drop. And the fire TRIPLES in size!
Uh-Oh.
Flames are starting to lick through the glass door I’ve just closed in a panic.
Now, I’m dreading what I know I must do.
My heart is pounding out of my chest.
I call 911.
Then I call my Mama. (retract prior comment about being smart)
She lives one neighborhood over. She wants to send over my brother-in-law who’s eating dinner there, and have him bring her fire extinguisher. I tell her don’t worry, I’ll be fine.
Then she hears the fire trucks going by (on their way to my neighborhood).
Great.
Just what I needed. (I hadn’t told her I called 911). She heard them.
So now, even though I TOLD the 911 operator it’s only a small fire IN the fireplace, they only need to send ONE truck, and NO, I don’t need to evacuate with the child and the dog…
here pulls up 3 fire trucks and 2 police cars.
And my Mama.
Lord, help me.
Pandamonium.
Dog barking outside because she’s cold and why did I put her out there and there’s new people in the house she needs to greet.
20 firemen in my house with fire extinguishers, trying to decide which one is best for a chemical fire which is now licking underneath my mantel.
Mama asking me why I didn’t tell her how big the fire was and that 911 was on it’s way.
Brother-in-law showing his little fire extinguisher he brought to the firemen to see if he can help.
Best part: 3 yr old ECSTATIC that REAL firemen and firetrucks WITH LIGHTS FLASHING are at HIS house!!!
This is better than a field trip!
Oh yes, and the neighbors. Please don’t forget all the neighbors.
I have never made my own fire since that night I almost burned my house down.
Jordan’s first memory is of that night. He can still recall it vividly, even though he doesn’t remember much else until he was about 5.
And for about the next 3 years, every time he heard a fire truck, he wanted to know if they were coming to our house.
Good Times.
***moral of this story***
Don’t let residual candle wax on the floor of your fireplace come into contact with the chemicals on a firestarter log, because a + b = chemical fire.
And water only makes it grow.
If you burn candles in your fireplace, put wax paper down under them.
Unless you want to give your kids a night they’ll never forget.
(Congratulations Melanie, on your successful fire. I have fire envy.)
Go on with yo’ bad self Ma Ingalls! (Whoever knew the day would come when Ma Ingalls name would be linked with some gangsta lingo?!)
Oh, I LOVE the red bag. It matches a briefcase that I have(one that’s too nice for me to really use) and it looks like it would hold all my junk! Have a great trip!
-Kim
Ok so at Grandmommie’s 90th bday party the birthday girl received a Christmas sweater with the Nativity scene on it. Complete with bedazzled wisemen, camels, and a donkey. Despite the beautiful story it is hideous! Hideodorous as the Grinch says. I think it might even have had matching sweatpants with it. I so wanted to take a pic of it, but I just couldn’t. I mean it’s my grandmother, what kind of grand-daughter would that make me? A girl’s got to have standards, morals, and ethics…I really think it could have won though.
It’s on sale!? SQUEEE! I’ve had my eye on that bag forEVER!
Here’s how out of the loop I am…I had to google to find out what BCS was!! If anyone else is a sports idiot like me…it is the Bowl Championship Series!!
Now I know and don’t feel like such a doofus!
Ok, Lavonda must get a blog!
Joe Barton is MY Rep.! God love him. He’s also the only North TX Rep. who voted in favor of the auto bailout. Go figure–our GM plant is in his district.
You make me laugh everyday!! Even when you claim you have nothing to write about…thanks so much for the good cheer. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas this year and forever and always!!!