still lazy, times two

Two names you go by:

1. Mom
2. Mrs. Spencer

Two things you are wearing right now:

1. candy cane striped pajamas
2. WSU fleecy slippers

Two of your favorite things to do:

1. read
2. watch movies

(I know; *snore*)

Two things you want very badly at the moment:

1. Krispy Kreme donut (or 4)
2. sleep

Two favorite pets you have had/have:

1. Sally, our Beagle/practice child
2. Rosebud, our Bassett Hound/practice 2nd child

Two things you did last night:

1. Took the kids Trick-or-Treating at Hewlett-Packard (it was allowed, we didn't crash the place)
2. Watched "The Painted Veil" (and subsequently had fantastic Edward Norton-laden dreams)

Two things you ate today:

1. Sweet potato fries from Burgerville
2. Multiple Halloween-sized chocolate candy bars

Two people you last talked to:

1. Stu; it went something like this: "Stop groping me." "Oh, my hand slipped."
2. Kids as a unit: "GoodnightLoveyouSeeyouinthemorning"

Two things you're doing tomorrow:

1. Giving out costume awards at the Boy Scouts Space Derby
2. Dressing like a cowgirl at our church's Wild West carnival

Two longest trips taken:

1. Ten days divided between Singapore, Penang, Guangzhou, & Shanghai
2. Any of our summer driving vacations from Washington State to Texas, via every other state in the union

Two favorite holidays:

1. Christmas
2. my birthday (yes it is)

Two more people who will fill this out:

1. MamaMilton (please, even though you've endured a medical procedure and various PTA activities this week)
2. Katydidnot (please, even though you narrowly escaped having your house burn down and your ex-mother-in-law is visiting this week)

Two words to my readers:

1. Thank
2. You

here's how frickin' lazy i am

I have my own Life List with 50+ things I want to do eventually, but I got out of bed at 1:20 pm this afternoon and found this at Elaine's blog. It's much easier, just the ticket for this weekend of illness.

You bold all the things that you’ve done. Let me know if you play along.

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink - (This seems like a bad idea for all involved)
2. Swam with wild dolphins - ('wild dolphins' sounds scary...)
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone - (It's not at all as amazing as it looks in the movies...)
8. Said “I love you” and meant it
9. Hugged a tree - (Of course, you say derisively)
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris - next summer!
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise - (Again, not as romantic as expected)
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game - Huge in volume of people, not in meaning
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables - Surprisingly, not yet
18. Touched an iceberg - Why?? It sounds very cold.
19. Slept under the stars - Against my better judgement, frankly
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger - Filed under "Freshman Year at College"
30. Had a snowball fight - It was pretty brief since I'm more of a lover than a fighter (and I hate the cold)
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse - In 5th grade, we built those 'don't ruin your eyes' boxes to look through
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking - Also filed under "Freshman Year"
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day - But what a great idea! I'll totally freak out my students.
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two harddrives for your computer - I don't even really know what this means...
40. Visited all 50 states - Felt like it every summer when my dad drove us to Texas from Washington State
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had/Have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe - I stopped reading at "backpacked"
47. Taken a road-trip - Let me count the ways...
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland - on next summer's list, too
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan - I don't think the airport counts
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs - Everyday; what??
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke - Only in a group and never again
59. Lounged around in bed all day - Today I got close
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class - Self-defense for women, Wilmer-Davis Hall, 1988
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight - I could bold this for my husband...So sad
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice - next summer, too? (I'm still planning...)
80. Gotten a tattoo - Henna only, one from my bff and another from a woman in Malaysia
81. Rafted the Snake River - Rafting. That involves water & coldness, right? Pfft.
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason - Surely there was a reason, but it wasn't written on the card
84. Performed on stage - Well, my classroom was on a stage last spring, but I was also part of a very lame play when I was a day camp counselor
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date - Hello, Freshman Year
89. Gone to Thailand - Again, only the Bangkok airport
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone - Does my living room count? ha.
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in a Rocky Horror Picture Show
96. Raised children - still going...
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour Please, what kind of geek does that?
98. Passed out cold - Is there extra credit for multiple times?
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery - I think C-section counts, right? It felt major.
120. Had a snake as a pet - A former crazy roommate did...
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon - They wouldn't let me because I was pregnant
122. Slept 30 hours in a 48 hour time frame - Possibly; see "Freshman Year"
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days - More water? Yeah, no.
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach - Um, why??
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read “The Iliad”
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read - Salinger's Catcher in the Rye and I hated it. Steinbeck I loved, though.
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language - I'm pretty sure the woman massaging my feet at Norita airport never understood a word I said... 139. Been elected to public office - PTA President count?
140. Written your own computer language - That's funny.
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts - That's funnier.
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ - No, but almost dated a couple
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life - It's really God intervening when I feel like strangling someone, but I did have to get a biscuit out of Mason's throat when he was a year old

sick day

Even though I've been up since before dawn with one kid lamenting his insomnia ("Rocky {our cat} is bugging me and Mario {his hamster} keeps turning, turning, turning and I can't get back to sleep! AND IT'S 4:32!") and the other coughing until she threw up (numerous times), I'm feeling rather sunny. Luckily, my school is late start and I don't teach until 11 am so I will hang out with my barfy daughter this morning, doing the slow & easy fun stuff you get to do on sick days.

1. wear pajamas and slippers (at least until 9:15 for me)
2. color
3. watch kids' PBS
4. eat graham crackers
5. drink blueberry tea from tiny cups
6. color
7. nap on the couch
8. play card games (or if I'm unlucky, succumb to the pleading for "Pretty Pretty Princess")
9. color
10. follow raindrop paths on the window
11. build a chair & pillow fort
12. read magazines (Real Simple for mom, Ranger Rick for the 7-year old - unless there is an article on the Kratt brothers, then we share)
13. lots of snuggling

Read more Thursday Thirteeners here.

pta & me

If you say the title of this post really fast, it probably comes out "PTE and Me." I could be wrong. Here are more random observations from my time at the state PTA Legislative Assembly. (Look out, it's crazy stuff!)

• The heater in my room sounded like a time clock every time it turned on & off. All through the night. Maybe it was multiple bogeymen punching in for their shifts; I wonder if they're union?
• The word "express" on a menu does not necessarily refer to speedy service. Perhaps it was simply super quick to write.
• Candied walnuts are a delicacy for which I might give up buying a new pair of shoes. Especially after I've waited 45 minutes for my lunch.
• Is it too much to ask that a $125/night hotel near a major international airport provide free wi-fi in at least the lobby, if not where I can surf in the comfort of my pajamas (without attracting strange looks)?
• How about giving me walls thicker than 1/4"? At least the one directly by my head when I'm lying in bed, attempting to fall asleep while my neighbors party merrily on at 1 am.
• Finding the local NPR affiliate station for the radio alarm makes waking up (even after only 5 hours of fitful sleep) more joyful.
• Spending $1 on a regular candy bar makes it taste slightly less delicious; apparently guilt and gluttony ruin an appetite.
• Travel candles mostly eradicate the lingering odors of industrial cleaning products and feet.
• I love room service at breakfast even though it costs more than an entire package of bacon, a dozen eggs, gallon of milk, and loaf of bread combined. (I guess the guilt & gluttony theory doesn't hold here).
• It's pretty cool to be part of an organization that cares so much for kids, we can argue vigorously about issues yet still remain allies in the end.