halloween witchiness...

i'm finally at the point where i'm indignant FOR my son, not at him. this week is dennis's birthday. his birthday is november 1 - and we are having a big ole time teaching him what it means to have an american birthday party. i had the brilliant idea to have a party on halloween. teenagers don't trick-or-treat, right? i mean, the ones whose mamas raise them right don't. there is an age where you don't get to beg for candy any longer. there is an age when the gifts you open on Christmas morning no longer come from a guy in a red suit.

so dennis invited a few friends from school, some grown-ups he knows from moldova and his sister. he was most excited about his school friends. he told them about the party a month in advance so they wouldn't make halloween plans. on monday, he took the invitations to them, and, turns out, every little girl who said she could come has decided not to come. they'd rather trick or treat.

i. am. livid.

he is so hurt by their actions - that they lied to him. he threatened to take away their invitations, and after explaining that wasn't couth, i told him i'd beat them up. then i had to explain that wasn't couth, either.

i don't like this part of motherhood, because my heart just aches. i promised him we'd have the best darn party ever, and they'd only wish they'd come to his party. he didn't look like he bought it.

it's a good thing that i have work to do today, and a heck of a party to plan. because i want to call the mamas. and explain that where i'm from, you just don't let your kids trick or treat at the ripe old age of 16. and you certainly don't teach them to lie.

killing trees isn't always a bad idea.

i need to take a quick break from posting about all the goings on to just comment. indulge me.

i've been posting recently about all the trips we've taken to arkansas. when i go by myself, i almost always get a book on tape from the cracker barrel. when we all go, jon always drives (against my wishes), and i almost always read a book (which makes not being the driver a little bit easier to take).

on the trip to pick up dennis from his two-week stay with nana and pops, i listened to Run, by Ann Patchett. normally, i get a lovely little no-brainer, something that will make me giggle as the flat fields on eastern arkansas fly by. but for whatever reason, i thought, why waste my money on nonsense? let's get something worthy of "reading."

well...one of my favorite blog spots is Real Simple. they have about 16 blogs all in the same place all about stuff i care about. you know - earth-shattering essays on what to eat for dinner, how to arrange your living room and the merits of digital scrapbooking. recently, they began the "no-obligations book club" blog where you can read along and discuss books online. right up my alley. one of the first books they chose to feature was Run. so exciting. i wouldn't even have to read to participate, since i had already "heard" it all. or so i thought.

the moderator is picking apart the layers of the story, and while i knew it was complex, it's SO much more than i thought. there was even an entire storyline that i missed completely.

so here's the issue: am i just a bad listener, or is it difficult to "get" the nuances of a story without the benefit of print?

i've been itching to get seth godin's new business book, tribes. he has released a copy on iTunes, with himself as the reader. it's only 99 cents. but here's the rub...do i spend 99 cents on a piece that i MIGHT get a little bit out of (a very earth-friendly choice, since there's no oil consumed in delivery, no trees harmed in the printing and no packing materials to kill any penguins), or do i spend $13.57 on the hardcover book from Amazon, veritably killing the earth, one key-stroke at a time? my guess is that the extra $12.58 and ensuing consequences are worth it.

there's something about print that just makes it past my ears and into my head. it's why i ran to my computer to type all the words to "Bent" when I was a junior instead of just listening to the words. they made whole lot more sense that way.

i've been tagged...

i'm always the one that doesn't respond to the multiple question emails. i'm that girl...the one that loves to read others' dirt, but would rather not add her own. and never mind that in a contest with an aloe vera plant, i'm pretty sure the aloe gets the most exciting life award. but my friend hannah tagged me, so...here goes: 7 random things about me:

1. i feel extreme, uncontrollable guilt if i go to bed without removing my makeup. if i fall asleep with it on and wake up at 3 in the morning, i immediately go grab a face wipe. pretty sure this stems from a mary kay party my mom threw me once.

2. i usually speak to my dog before i speak to anyone else when i get home from work. can't help it. he's the only one that guaranteed will give me love and listen without interrupting.

3. i listen to npr in the morning so that i will have something to talk about.

4. i cry at every single gray's anatomy episode. every. single. one.

5. when i sing at church, i pray that there is a recording executive sitting next to me that will discover that i have incredible potential and will offer me a contract, or at least some free lessons. this is really not out of the ordinary in nashville. we're all praying for the same thing.

6. i could eat cheese and crackers for every meal. this explains why i can't lose weight. the stinkier the cheese, the better. i have been known to grab a pinch of grated parmesan right out of the tub. there. i said it.

7. i pluck my gray hairs in traffic.

 

why i'm not ready to be rachel ray:

i love to cook. it's one of the few things that i've aspired to that i've accomplished. i'm pretty good at "cooking by feel," meaning i can read a recipe and execute well, but i like to throw things together and have them come out tasting much better than any recipe. if ever i have a show on the food network, my mom and i have it all worked out...it will feature "cooking from your pantry" and i'll impart my knowledge to a world of eager viewers. seriously...my family's favorite meals are the ones where i clean out the fridge and concoct a really great meal.

so, how do i know i'm not ready? please look at the photo. that's an example of cooking from your pantry gone awry. my dad had told me about this cheese that you get at walmart that melts into a fantastic mexican dip. i picked up what i thought was the right cheese, but after sticking it with milk in the microwave for about four minutes, it refused to melt. it just got rubbery. so i decided to open a can of beans and a can of corn and throw the cheese in with it. only the rubbery white stuff crumbled instead of melting. my husband said, "wow. it looks like cottage cheese." thanks. in addition to being crumbly, i didn't drain either the beans or the corn or the milk from the dip attempt. so it turned into purple soup.

it didn't taste bad, but man, was it ugly. thankfully, my husband and son know better than to comment. they just ate it. however, i'm almost positive dennis didn't ask for seconds.

also...today would have been my mimi's 95th birthday. i can't ever remember anyone's birthday, but i always remember hers. she's a hero of mine...she loved the Lord, loved her family, and had a good dose of spunk. may it be said of me.