Showing posts with label Vacations According to Mom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacations According to Mom. Show all posts

Monday, November 5, 2012

Make a List Monday 11/5/2012



Ahhhh, Monday, I can't ever recall looking forward to you until now.  My house is clean, the laundry's done, no one's sick (and won't be, thank you very much)...and I'm off the rest of the week!  WHOHOO!!

So, a recap of last week's Make a List...

* Don't fall  DONE!  No falling, slipping or sliding of any kind since the tub debacle!
* Quilt, bind and label the Albatross quilt DONE! And it's already in Captain Studly's possession.
This is only the second quilt I've EVER labelled


One big-assed label..like J Lo's butt



* Finish the 10 year cross stitch WIP  DONE! And already hanging up.

So, what's on the agenda for this week..?

* Make Christmas cards.  As the list is extremely short, this shouldn't be an issue, however, card lists are like fishing stories: the more time that passes, the bigger the list (or fish) gets. WHOOP!  As of 5pm, these are d-u-n...DONE!!

* Tie off threads and bind four quilts.  They're just sitting there all sad and lonely waiting for me to get off my duff and git 'er dun!  Sorry, I really love Larry the Cable Guy!

* If Himself has his way, I'll be helping clean out the storage building.  Um...NOT!!

So, what are you up to this week?  And don't tell me it's 5'6", okay!

Happy Monday, God bless bosses who grant vacation time, and happy quilting y'all!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Cross Purposes

Starting tomorrow afternoon, you will find me practically attached to my sewing machine via umbilical cord.  No plans (except possibly a stop at a local quilt shop) and no sick kids or calls from the principal (I've already issued threats...to the kids not the principal).

Enter Himself followed closely by his sidekick, Idea.

Bad things happen when Himself and Idea team up.

There was that year I got a wet/dry shop vac and set of drill bits for Christmas.

Then there was the time the shrubbery magically disappeared from round the old homestead.  Naturally, I wasn't around to supervise.  I believe I described the results as 'like a brazilian wax gone bad'.

Now, he's taking off a few days to be with me.  A boy and all that icky testosterone as I try to be creative with fabric and thread and watch Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia?  Oh, the horrors!  It'll be my luck if there's a Barrett Jackson car auction going on.  Karma, you bitch!  Before you get all gushy and go 'awwww' at the prospect of Himself wanting to spend time with the most fabulous woman in the world (that'd be me, not Gisele), let me remind you, this is a man we're talking about here.  Wait for it...

I've about decided that not only do vacation plans require utter secrecy from the Co-Defendants (I swear they can get strep throat on command), but Himself as well.  My mistake opening my mouth.  Which brings me to the next phase of his E-veeel Plahn (sorry, going for a European accent here): apparently my help is required for two of my precious sewing days to clean out our storage building we had built back in the summer.

I use the word 'our' loosely here because the majority of the crap contained therein is his.  Women, after all, have treasures; men have crap.  I suggested, nay nagged, that we weed out the detritus that no longer suited our needs rather than storing it up for auld lang syne when, according to Himself's psychic abilities, it would be worth something.  Damn you, eBay!  I swear, the man would save navel lint if he thought it'd fetch a pretty penny.

Anyway, I had a plan, a vision.  This is, after all, what women do...we plan plot strategize.  I wait until he's left the vicinity, then scurry to my little car and stuff it full of crapola for donation and he's none the wiser.  For me, it's a place for everything and everything in its place.  Do you think I got my way? 

That's a negative, Ghost Rider!  And now, on my vacation, he wants me to help him clean that out?!  Actually, that's not quite right.  I got told I was going to help him. 

Oh, realllllly?!

Funny, but in my alternate reality the word 'vacation' implies the conspicuous absence of a boss.  Hmmm....

I know now why women tend to outlive men.  It's because men get ideas and do stupid shit...like getting between a girl and her fabric...and they wind up taking a dirt nap.  Wish him luck.

Pass the Xanax.


Monday, August 8, 2011

Your Honor, I'd Like to Enter Into Evidence...

...photographic proof that, yes, indeed, I did take pictures of more than just flowers...and mixed drinks (but the drinks flowers were sooo pretty).

Tortuga Mexican Grill, Galveston...





Moody Gardens Aquarium, Galveston...



Texas State Aquarium, Corpus Christi...




Joe's Crab Shack, Corpus Christi...



The drive home...




Friday, August 5, 2011

Vacation Head-scratchers, Bribes and Oh-hell-no-you-didn'ts

It never ceases to amaze me what will come out of the mouth of a child, particularly mine, at the most inappropriate moments imaginable.  Be it burp, snark or something potentially off-color and/or embarrassing, it will be uttered at a volume and pitch guaranteed to send me scurrying under the largest rock I can find.

Then there are the adults; you know, the parents.  The responsible party, the grown-ups, the we-know-better-'cause-we've-been-alive-longer crowd.  Yeah, right.  Here are just a few little nuggets (and a few substantial turds) from our vacation...and a few 'isn't that just the oddest thing ever' head-scratchers thrown in for good measure.  Enjoy!


'SHARK!  Oh, my bad...look, DOLPHINS!'...Seth


'Hey, even Mama would fit in there!'...I'll refrain from mentioning the child by name. 



No matter how far you may roam, there'll always be a reminder of home once you get there.



Gotta love the view from our hotel window...dead people truly make the best neighbors!!



'Heck yes, I'll have another!'...Mom



'Do you eat the shrimp's poop or do they clean 'em out first?  And, hey, hey Mom, do they make pepper from roly-poly bugs?'...Paige (I'll never look at a peppermill quite the same way again...EVER)



'Look, something else with big guns'...Clint (with a wink...you clever fellow, you)



'OH, HELL NO, YOU DID NOT!' 
NEVER. GIVE. A. MAN. THE. CAMERA.



WE HAVE THE BEST FAMILY EVER!!!

The Big 1-2!

Seth turned the big 12 while we were on vacation.  Here are a few highlights...

 



Rainforest Pyramid



Yes, it's a butterfly on a lady's butt...too good to pass up

The Aquarium Pyramid


Sister picked out a book and bookmark for him

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUDDY!!






Green with Envy!

Okay, here it is...the promised post featuring the bazillion pics I took of all things brightly colored and green (aka living things) which I'll never find growing at my home because I have a black thumb. My husband jealously pointed out that I was taking more photos of plants than of him and the kids. Pardon me, but has anyone seen a picture of me yet?!



I stopped counting how many colors

Ground-floor view of Rainforest Pyramid

Hibiscus everywhere

'Some sort of fig, but I wouldn't eat it' according to the guide

Brazilian walnut...smelled faintly like gardenia

Pitcher plant...where the bug gets eaten
Monkey-no-climb Tree (no, I'm not joking!)
It's a Chocolate Tree, ladies!!

African violets















Thursday, August 4, 2011

Moody Gardens

Of all the sights we saw in Galveston, I must say my hands-down favorite was Moody Gardens.  We spent over six hours there and STILL didn't get to do everything there was to do and the kids had so much fun, they forgot to argue the entire afternoon!  Now, that's what I call FUN!!  Although it was very humid and putting on makeup was beside the point 'cause it just slid off my face, we all enjoyed mid-80 to mid-90 degree weather.  Back home, it was a sweltering 108!



There were three pyramids: Aquarium, Rainforest and Discovery and each one had at least two floors. 

The Aquarium Pyramid was the kids' favorite...



...aww, don't they look like they just loooove one another?  Smile like you mean it!!



This tunnel was pretty cool, surrounded by sharks and rays.  It was about this time that Seth wondered out loud what would happen if the glass cracked that Mommy had to pause and pop a pill.  Nice goin', kiddo!



The ray, Paige's all-time favorite!



Mom and Dad's favorite...the shark cage!  Too bad there wasn't a lock ;)



The offspring and Daddyo!

The Rainforest Pyramid had lots of gorgeous flowers and foliage which I will save for another post for all you folks with green thumbs (that would not include me, although I can dream).  This pyramid was MY favorite.





Please don't ask me to tell you what this was, but it was about two feet from my face...very cute, very furry...time to go!  Did I mention I'm not a nature-lover?



And finally, the Dino Alive exhibit, just outside the Discovery Pyramid, had life-sized animatronic dinosaurs that the kids just thought was AWESOME, MOM!!







For some reason, Randy Travis' song Diggin' Up Bones just comes to mind.  Sorry, I'm just weird that way!

We all watched (even Daddyo, who managed NOT to hurl...whohoo!) a 3D movie about prehistoric underwater life called Sea Rex.  Please don't ask for details because, yes I freely confess, I fell asleep!  But so did someone else's dad, so I don't feel so bad...nyah, nyah, nyah! 

And I managed to escape the waterpark without getting my photo snapped...go ME!!