Copy Cat

I stole this idea from Sunshine. Go to Google and enter your name followed by "Last I heard s/he was". Here the life I didn't know I was leading.
Last I heard, Hexe was

1. Living in Austin, Texas and appearing on MTV's Austin stories.
You just know that MTV is looking for a working Mom with two kids who's idea of a wild party is a bunch of preschoolers hopped on kool aid and cupcakes.

2. homeless and begging people to send her cash.
Does begging work?

3. the husband's kitty.
This is PH's favorite. He's hoping this means I have some sort of Cat Woman costume for our anniversary at the end of the month. Keep dreaming . . .

4. getting a petition signed against lip piercing
Do you blame me? What are all the multiple piercing people going to do when they get old and it all starts to sag, thus creating open, gaping holes in their bodies? Think about it!

5. living in Syracuse, NY and was represented by galleries in NY.
Who knew that stick drawings could be so profitable?

6. going back to Florida to have her second kid.
Never left after the first kid, and sadly, still here after the second one.

7. headed up North.
Alright, who's been talking about my Thanksgiving trip before I told my mother-in-law that I am taking her grandchildren away for the week?

8. going upstairs for a smoke.
Yuck!

9. "preggers"
GOD NO!

10. crazy for crystal pleating polyster for scarves.
Wow - I must have said that while I was partying in Austin and drinking that crazy kool aid.

God, it's good to be back!

help my blog is gone

We interupt our regular program . . .

I am feeling very guilty that my blogging has dropped off since I returned to work. I just haven't felt very inspired to write as the new job has been very overwhelming and I can't say much about it. Some good news from the home front:

1. Hew has kicked into gear on the potty training. He only uses a pull-up during nap and night. We are still celerbrating every number 2 with a lolly and a potty dance, but at least I am not changing dirty diapers!
2. KK has decided to be Tinkerbell for Halloween. Hew is still undecided, but is leaning towards being a "princess" like his sister. Sigh . . .
3. PerfectHusband's job has been especially generous as of late and we are now going the New England for Thanksgiving. We are headed to the mountains, where we hope to have a dusting of snow, to get us into the holiday spirit! We thought about heading to Germany or the Netherlands as we have a week and found a really great price, but then realized our children do not have passports - oops!
4. The stress of the new job has resulted in a few pounds of weight loss which my MIL noticed during her visit yesterday.
5. No major hurricanes have hit our area yet!

I will try to find a life and have something more interesting to write about.

The loss of customer service

I have just spent the last hour and a half trying to book an airline ticket for June by redeeming miles that I have allegedly earned on USAirways. I say allegedly because it seems that even though I have the miles, they can not be used out of any airport. Every time we have attempted to redeem our dividend miles, we go through this. If I had been limited to one airport and a set date, I might be more understanding, but I gave the seven different customer services people with which I spoke, seven different airports in Florida I was willing to fly out from and three different airports in Norway at which I was willing to arrive. I also gave them a week of dates to use. The excuses include:

1. I can not find a Stavanger airport in GERMANY (might that be because it is in NORWAY!)
2. There are no seats available on any domestic flight out of Florida for the entire month of June (after that statement, I just asked to speak with the next person)
3. The Star Alliance of which USAirways is a member does not fly to Norway (Also part of the Star Alliance are Scandinavian Air and Lufthansa and in less than thirty seconds on their websites I could find flights to Stavanger, Bergen, and Haugsund)
4. Scandinavian Air and Lufthansa have no seats available all of June (see two above)
5. "We do not talk to our partners in the Star Alliance so I can not tell you if any seats were ever available to be redeemed."

After these conversations, I have to question my sanity in flying with this airline. If they do not have the ability to train their personnel, why should I believe that they have the ability to keep a plane upright. If only there was a really long bridge to Europe . . .

My Latest Addiction

I know that reality shows are for the most part crap. Yet, I can't seem to turn off the t.v. My latest favorite is RockStar: SuperNova. I turn in twice a week, staying up past my bedtime (yes, 9:00 PM is bedtime - I'm old) to watch these musicians sing for a place in the band SuperNova.

While I enjoy the music, part of my infatuation is the bad boy rocker image. I was much too good as a teenager to have dated a rocker, but I can still picture myself driving on some back road like a bat out of hell, screaming out of tune some rebellious lyrics. The bad boy, Toby, the family man, Magni, and the brassy Delana keep me coming back. While I enjoy the show, I know that if my daughter came home with the multiple piercing that Delana showcases or my son came home telling me that he was going to be a rock singer I'd have a fit. Some obsessions are best enjoyed from a distance.

What have I become . . .

I don't buy Barbies. Not to fear, my daughter has her fair share of disproportional Barbies from my mother and my sister. I also take issue with Disney's portrayal of women as "princesses" needing to be "rescued" by some handsome prince. I am all for make believe, but all children should know at a young age that they do not need to be rescued - that they are capable of being/doing anything.

At KK's preschool, there is some four year old who wears a crown to school EVERYDAY. Rather than running around the playground, hanging from the monkey bars, this kid stands around in a full princess gown and crown, making disparaging and hurtful comments about the other kids. As much as KK loves running around and hanging upside down, occasionally she wants to be a princess at school and I am forced to remind her of the school dress code (which is selectively enforced - the "princess" kid's Daddy sits on the Board). Additionally, I personally could not allow her to wander around "reigning" over the other kids.

So, imagine my surprise, when a couple weeks ago, PH shows me an advertisement in the local paper for Disney's Princesses on Ice, and I readily agree to take KK because she'd love it. Just tatoo sucker across my forehead. It was as I feared - numerous, salivating, squealing, young girls (some not even old enough to walk) shoved into princess dresses with full blown make up and nail polish. I could see the yearning in KK's eyes as she was dressed in her pink Osh Kosh overalls.

For those of you who have not attended such a show, it is a condensed version of the Disney classics on ice skates. Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Ariel are all saved by their prince and they skate off happily ever after. Even Mulan, Disney's attempt to appeal to the modern woman, was all aflutter as her prince got down on one knee to propose and then swept her off her skates. Sadly, I was both attracted and repelled. Sure, I'd like some guy on a white horse to handle all of my daily chores and stresses, but come on, that's not reality. Are we not setting our daughter's up for disappointment when the prince turns out to be a guy who can't put the toilet seat down, leaves his underwear on the floor, and periodically forgets to "save us"?

So with ideals already in the toilet, I allowed KK to pick out a Tinker Bell costume, which she is currently wearing. Running through the house flying. Hey, at least Tinker Bell didn't need to be rescued by some handsome prince . . .