men seem baffled by this

If guys meet for lunch, it's a lunch.

If girls meet for lunch, it's an afternoon that just happens to involve eating. My husband doesn't get how two women can meet over soup and salad and talk for nearly three hours.

But, we can. And do.

I met an old friend today, and time escaped us as we shared stories, and laughed about how some things never change. Like the fact that I still run late and tend to be more than slightly forgetful. I'm sure we could have chatted another two hours if it weren't for, well, life and responsibilities, like picking our kids up from school and thawing something for dinner while secretly wanting to serve everyone Ore Ida fries and frozen nuggets.

Surely, men could come up with something worth discussing for longer than it takes to eat a sandwich. So, maybe it's that they secretly want to join us. Or maybe they've figured out that we're talking about...gulp...them.

Or maybe they fear that they actually. might. enjoy it.

I'm going with all three.

ok, so it wasn't that bad

I went to the doctor, as in a real family-practitioner-write-you-a-prescription-type doctor this week for the first time in 6 years.

I know, I know. I need to go a little more often than every one-sixth of my age, but hey, I'm weird about the whole process. There are some things I like, as in caffeine in a stark-white cup that costs me waaaaay too much, and some things I don't, like being weighed by total strangers and co-pays and old magazines in waiting rooms.

But, I did it. After all, I'm not getting any younger. And after noticing some symptoms that I'd hoped would just go away and didn't, I found myself sitting in a waiting room, filling out 6 pages of patient info asking me when my last hangnail occured.

I'm happy to report that it wasn't all that bad. I even made some observations during my visit. Have you ever noticed:

You're just beginning to enjoy that magazine article in the waiting room when you're called back?

You rush to undress and put on that ungodly hospital gown as if it's a race, just so the doctor won't surprise you with your pants down?

For a brief moment, you want your mommy when you're told they will be drawing blood, only to realize you're an adult?

You panic while in the restroom, worried that someone will open that little wooden window intended for urine samples? Can't even imagine that conversation. 'Hey, what's going on? This soap smells gooooood.'

As much as you hate putting on that gown, you're more than happy to shed your coat, shoes, and nearly ALL layers of clothing for that dreaded weigh-in? Hey, a pound is a pound, and stepping on the scales in your birthday suit suddenly seems reasonable.

And that's all.

VIP treatment, 3rd-grade style

My 3rd-grader is the VIP student of the week in his class.

It's a fun way to learn more about their classmates, with a student featured throughout the week and various photos since birth and special toys from home on display. Festivities include the child's parents bringing them lunch one day, and writing them a letter or poem that is read to the class. Hey, adults should adopt this esteem-building concept, don't you think?

So, today is 'letter day.' Here's mine:

GRIFFIN

He loves to play sports, and video games.

Playstation or Wii, on days that it rains.

He loves to eat chicken, or chocolate or rice.

And we think that he's thoughtful, helpful and nice.

Griff runs really fast, and likes Spongebob, too.

He loves to read books and the color of blue.

He laughs at his brother, and dances real well,

With a scar on his ankle from when he once fell.

He eats chili, and corn dogs and ice cream bars...yum.

He likes to trick people by 'removing his thumb.'

He loves his dog, Darby, a black lab who is sweet,

And she keeps Griffin warm when she lays on his feet.

Griff likes books about football, and plays a guitar.

He is good at word searches and sings in the car.

He loves having braces and can be really funny,

And his coach on the field likes to call him 'G Money.'

We're lucky to have him, he's one of a kind.

He's a good friend to others and we have a good time.

He makes us real proud and we know he'll go far.

Griffin...we love you and we think you're a star!

kellie pickler says so long, hair

Here's a glimpse at Kellie Pickler's new pixie cut.

Kellie says she was left with damaged, scarecrow-like locks after dying them red, then back to blonde, in a matter of weeks. It even began falling out!

Fortunately, she says likes the new do. What about you?

checking in and happy Monday

Yeah, I'm still here.

I love to write, but something happened between last Wednesday and now.

And sadly, I can't tell you what that was. Life, I suppose. Not to mention I hardly sat down with my laptop over the past several days. So, this is just a post to say I have gamillion things to post, (gazillion has run it's course), like Lady Antebellum joining us on the show today, Kellie Pickler changing hairstyles again, and eavesdropping on 5-year-old boys.

Oh, and the Colts are Super Bowl bound, once more, in case you've had the covers pulled over your head since yesterday.

More to come...

try to be nice and look where it gets you

I picked up my 5-year-old from school today.

Somewhere along the way of my parenting years, I was never informed that kids who turn five suddenly get a boost in the confidence department.

Here's today's conversation during the drive home:

Me: Hey, Buddy. I see you in the mirror.

Hayden: Mommmmmmmm. Why are you looking at me?

Me: Because I think you're cute.

Hayden: Look, Mom. I'm not cute.

Me: Yes, you are.

Hayden: No, I'm NOT...I'm COOL.

Who turns down cute?

6 observations

I talk to myself early in the morning just after waking up. In fact, today at 3 am, I recall looking in the mirror and saying out loud, 'I'm tired as hell.' I then thought to myself, 'You've lost it.'

I watch iCarly on Nickelodeon when the kids are at school. What can I say, it's well-written!

My dog snores. A lot. And it's loud.

My hands fall asleep quite a bit. Either they always have, and I never noticed, or they do it more often. Probably the latter.

As much as I love, love, love Starbucks, I don't necessarily love when the baristas chat me up past the usual how are you, I'm fine, thanks. Since when did buying coffee turn in to sharing what I have planned for the rest of the day? What if I planned to attend a cousin's funeral, had an appointment with the girly doctor, or just got fired? AWKWARD. Let's face it, they don't really want to know. Just seems weird to me.

Finally, I see a lot of my dad in my oldest son. He told me tonight, 'I'll tuck you in bed, Mom, just like you said Papaw used to do. That way you'll feel like you're in your old home where you grew up.' An old soul, at 8 years old, and I turned my head so he wouldn't see my tears.

And that's six.

tooth fairy deja vu

Who knew?

The tooth fairy is apparently making a return visit to our home. Twice in three days.

The boys were rough-housing this afternoon when my oldest ran in to say our 5-year-old, who had all but banned the money-bringing fairy from our home due to being spooked by the concept, lost another already-loose tooth.

He grinned from ear to ear, showing me what I consider to be the most-adorable grin in the neighborhood, as all moms do. This time, we have the tooth in our possession, after all four of us crawled around on the bedroom carpet until it turned up. Once again, I suggested he put it under his pillow. And, by gosh, we've made progress.

'Okay,' he said. 'I will...

...'but, I'm sleepin' in your bed.'

Baby steps, right?

hope the tooth fairy doesn't look like this

A lost tooth.

It's a significant milestone, especially a child's first lost tooth. My 5-year-old's smile is different now, and he's telling everyone he's reached 'big boy' status.

But, no drama involved. No tying a string around it and attaching it to a door. No bribing in order to try my hand at twisting the tiny thing out. None of that. He simply pointed out that it was wobbly about a week ago, then last night as I tucked him into bed, he noticed he was minus a pearly white.

We searched around a bit, but nothing, which means he likely swallowed it with a mouth full of meatloaf.

Most kids would be excited at the thought of leaving something they no longer have any use for in exchange for some money from the good ol' tooth fairy.

Not my son.

He told me no way, no how was some fairy with wings coming into his room while he slept. He has a point, right? We lock up every night, set the house alarm, and then allow some stranger to stick her grubby hands under our pillows?

The concept didn't sit well with Hayden, and I can't blame him. Something about it creeped him out and he wasn't about to negotiate. So, last night I was specifically directed to fuhgetaboutit. He 'didn't need the money.'

Oooooookay. Who says that?

How bout your dresser? 'Nope, I don't want her in here,' he would say.

Finally, my determined little guy settled on letting me leave a note for the tooth fairy under my pillow, if she had to come at all. It was obvious he was doing this more for me than for himself, but hey, I'm not too proud to work a deal. This morning, Hayden woke to find a little something to acknowledge the occasion of his new holey grin, then realized the worst.

He had come to our bed in the night, which means the tooth fairy was inches away while he slept.

And I'm happy to report...he survived.

Idol Alum Danny Gokey on WFMS-Part 1

the struggle for a darn glass of wine

Mom came over for a visit last night.

Knowing Greg and the boys would be gone, I had a bottle of wine ready for us to share, thinking a little mother-daughter time would be a nice change from the ballgames and sweatbands. I loves those, too, but a girl has her limits.

Needless to say, we had some trouble with that bottle of red wine. Instead of sipping and going back for seconds, we spent the evening on the two adjacent couches, legs propped up, sharing turns on trying to OPEN the bottle with a corkscrew, but not having much luck.

She would give it a turn until she couldn't take it anymore, then I would try, bruised wrist and all, huffing and puffing, and eventually realizing that a little vino just wasn't going to happen. Not this night.

And then out of nowhere, pop! The cork came off, and you would have thought it was New Year's Eve, but more like 5 hours after the ball dropped. A little too late. I think the idea had lust its luster by then, kinda like a penny that loses its shine.

Mom eventually announced that she had a headache and could really use some Tylenol instead, so I helped myself and sipped alone.

Hey, we tried.

paula did great...me, not so much

For the record, Paula Deen did awesome at the Um game. She talked 30 seconds about argyle, without saying Um, Uh, or having any long pauses.

And then I wiped out at the grocery store.

And it sooooo wasn't pretty. It happened after I left work, and not one to shy away from clumsiness, I did my faceplant right in front of the customer service desk at Marsh. Because what's a fall without an audience, right? Stupid wet floors. I nearly took out an 80-year-old woman who had carefully applied fire-red lipstick before arriving, and bless her heart, she helped me up. I was soon met by a store manager asking me to fill out a report, but I declined, despite the purple bruise that I was already sporting on my wrist.

I can't imagine filling out a report, since the last thing I want is to have the entire incident documented for all to see. What exactly would it say?

'Clumsy blonde wipes out trying to get a cart.'

Instead, I pulled myself up, swallowed my pride, and called my husband, who wasn't surprised and enjoyed some laughter at my expense.

Eventful day, without question.

paula says she's game

Paula Deen joins us on the show Monday morning.

Jim is a longtime fan, and can hardly contain himself. Stay tuned, as Paula has promised to play the Um game, where she must talk about a topic we give her for 30 seconds without saying Um, Uhhhh, or any long pauses. It's harder than you think.

How do you think she'll do?

We really don't care, we just wanna hear her talk. Love her accent. And she could make us biscuits and gravy ANY day.

things sure have changed over the years

Did you ever have braces when you were younger?

I did. Not a fun situation.

Back then, I dreaded having a mouth full of metal and never liked getting my bling adjusted. Not exactly my favorite memories of years gone by, and sifting through trash dumpsters at recess in search of my retainer was not my idea of a whopping good time.

But that was then.

Now, getting tracks on your pearly whites is the cool thing to do. My 8-year-old seems to think so anyway, after having green brackets sealed to his choppers today. He's been grinning ever since, and couldn't wait to go back to school to show off his new accessories.

A huge shout-out to Dr. Sadler and his friendly staff for being so great, and making the process an easy one. They couldn't be nicer, and Griff walked out of there as if he'd been to Christmas, carrying a bag full of items, including tees for he AND his little brother. I mean, what kid can't wait to 'go back' to the orthodontist?

This braces thing can't be all bad. We're having chicken for dinner, and Griff?

He's having a milkshake.

Order up.

I didn't lose my cell phone

...I lost my charger.

What is the deal?

I'm always losing something. My keys, my cell, my insurance card, my sanity. I just hit SEND on an email to the staff here at the radio station, asking if anyone's seen the cell charger I left in the studio yesterday. It was plugged into the wall, and I even reminded myself as I ended my shift not to forget to take it with me. Obviously, those little reminders do me no good, except for succeeding in making others think I talk to myself.

Ok, I do that, too.

I know for a fact that I left my charger at work yesterday morning. Overnight, it grew legs. Someone, with good intentions, I'm sure, has moved it. I have spent most of my morning searching for it, on desks, mailboxes, etc, and nothing. Though, I have discovered a pack of peanut-butter crackers I never ate, and a half-eaten bag of cough drops in my desk. Might come in handy one day.

It's about as frustrating as the day I went to Starbucks, prepared to use my new gift card that I suddenly couldn't find when I got to the window. Of course, it magically appeared in the bottom of my purse once I pulled away. Moments like these drive me batty. By the way, my cell is now dead. So, the hunt for the charger continues.

Happy Wednesday.

it's almost like the first day of school

Today was a small shock to the system.

After staying up until midnight or later during break, and sleeping an abnormal 8-10 hours each night, 3 am was an abrupt slap in the face this morning.

Not helping one iota was falling asleep at 11:30 pm, only to be awakened by our 5-year-old at 12:05 am. But, as a friend of mine often says, 'Those are the breaks.' My co-worker, Kevin, commented on my bloodshot eyes, as we all tried to remember how we even do things at work, what buttons we push, who are we and why are we here, and what passwords we use to check e-mail.

It's amazing how two weeks off feels so foreign, how I missed my favorite Starbucks baristas near work, and how hearing Jim and Kevin use the same jokes in 2010 that they rattled off in 2009 made me feel at home all over again. How telling Jim he has headphone hair still makes him cringe, and how Kevin still immediately opens the blinds upon walking into the studio. I can count on it like I can count on my youngest asking me for chewing gum a minimum of ten times a day.

Some things never change.

Our first day back also came with some mystery, like who put the fancy girly soap in the women's bathroom at work, why Kevin seems to have an endless supply of peanut butter crackers, and who really eats those plastic-wrapped boiled eggs in the refrigerator at Walgreens?

Of course, I missed my family after sharing some good times over break, like playing Wii and becoming a fan of the show Extreme Pigouts, seeing the boys in their pj's at 3 pm, and making trips to Starbucks for hot chocolate or touring the Christmas lights, yet my work family sure makes work seem like fun. So, here's to another great year.

Old jokes and all.

new year...new resolution...new something

Most of my friends and family have made resolutions for the new year.

I used to.

Problem is, I never really keep 'em. I've had good intentions, of course, but that promise I made to myself back in '07 to not eat the entire basket of tortilla chips at authentic mexican restaurants lasted until about February. Promise broken. Almost as fast as it took me to break the promise I made to myself to skip walking into Starbucks on a daily basis. So, I found one with a drive-thru.

Promise broken or clever self-deceit?

Who cares, right? I'm happier for it, just as others love a good bargain, or getting a massage. So, when asked what I'm resolving for the next 365 days, I don't really know, specifically. I can think of a list of things I'd like to improve:

Leave for work earlier, which would require getting out of bed sooner.

Become more organized.

Go to the doctor at least once every couple of years.

Read more books.

Learn how to play that guitar.

Entertain more.

Have more patience.

Make friends with the treadmill.

Archive the 500+ photos on my cellphone.

And on and on and on. In a nutshell, what I'd really like to do, or promise myself, I'm not sure has a name. I want to live life, really live it, enjoy it to its core, not feel rushed from one place to the next, spend more time with great friends, and take on new endeavors.

What do you call THAT?

Without a doubt, it's been a challenging year and a half. One that taught me a lot about myself. It proved I can endure, laugh, love and as a very dear friend always says, believe. So, I resolve to learn what life is really all about. And the best way to know is to go live it.

So, here's to 2010. Or as my five-year-old says...

'Bring it.'