And then they go and do something like THIS!

It's no secret. I love my children and want to strangle them. All at the same time. I'm eternally tired. Still getting over the death of my dad. Struggling to keep the house clean, my ass to work, and my sanity.
And then what happens?
Middle Chicken writes an Ode. To me. *grins*
I needed kleenex.
Without further ado:
An Ode to Mom

When I was little,
I thought I was indestructible;
like nothing could hurt me,
break through my skin.

But as I got older,
I wanted to explore more;
I would climb up on things,
and fall down hard.

You would always be there,
with a band-aid and a hug;
no matter what happened to me,
I counted on you to protect me.

When everything went wrong,
or when my dad was never there;
you stayed with me always,
you were always there.

*sniff* *sniff*
I'll put off the strangling for another day.
*smile*
Chrys*

It's an honest mistake

I take it back. Every Middle Chicken story I've shared thus far pales in comparison to the one I'm about to share that happened last night. Hopefully I won't wet myself in the retelling.
*deep breath*
The girls came home yesterday evening in "picking on each other" mode. Giving each other hell. So on and so forth.
Oldest Chicken looked over at Middle Chicken and said, "A stupid says what?"
Well, of course, that's MC's turn to say "What?" Because you know OC said it so quick, that's the first thing out of your mouth when you don't quite hear something.
Well, I snicker and explain that it's been done before by Wayne off Wayne's World (Saturday Night Live skits, of course. And movie fame). You know...when Wayne and Garth would broadcast from the basement and worship Aerosmith? Yeah. Like that.
But Wayne would always say, "A sphincter says what?" At which point in time, Garth would come up with the "What?" *cue audience laughter*
So I pop off with the story of how Wayne would say, "A sphincter says what?"
And MC looks at me (we're all laying on my bed) and says, "What's a sphincter? Doesn't that have to do with Math?"
Needless to say...I laughed. I explained (after some loud laughter) that no, it most certainly had nothing to do with Math. Then I educated her.
She frowns and says, "No wonder my math teacher walked away when I asked him if I needed a sphincter to solve the problem."
I am totally incapacitated at this point. Tears are streaming from my eyes, and I've adopted the fetal position on my bed. I can't even imagine how the teacher held it together.
I can't even get the next question out. Luckily, OC does it for me.
She looks at her sister and asks, "What did you mean to say?"
MC says, "You know. Those little half circle things?" She makes motions with her hands.
I'm still sucking air like a fish out of water and trying hard not to pass out.
I finally gasp, "You mean a protractor?"
OMFG
MC nods. And that's all she wrote. I totally lost it. I thought I was going to have to take a hit off OC's inhaler. I swear to God.
MC waits for the commotion to die down and says, "It's an honest mistake."
And that, I told her, was what I was going to title the blog.
Grins*

Sharpening my intellect...

...also known as playing a Yahoo game for thirteen hours yesterday.
*grins*

I downloaded Bookworm Adventures onto my laptop Saturday. And I received a couple of free trial turns. But that was enough. I played for a couple of hours Saturday. And then I really got into it Sunday.
I beat the game.
Yeah. That's right. I BEAT THE GAME!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

It's the cute little worm from Bookworm on Yahoo. And he's on an adventure to save some literary chickie. And he has to battle all sorts of mythical creatures. With WORDS.
Oh
My
God

The bigger the word, the more powerful the blow the little worm delivers.
I kicked ass.
That's all I'm saying.

And kudos to the chickens. Especially oldest chicken who could look at sixteen tiles and think up nine letter words.
I'm so proud.
*sigh*

As for the vacation, I got sick again (wheezing, coughing crap this time) Wednesday.
I sleep with earplugs. I have a hard time shutting down at night. I'm like the dude in daredevil.
Gotta have the silence.
So I pop the earplugs in and doze off.
I wake myself at four in the morning with a pounding heart because I think I hear someone talking.
*snickering*
I was hearing myself wheezing because the earplugs trapped the horrible sound in my head.
lmao
Oh yeah. That was extremely special.
So I'm taking OTC meds. Hoping to halt that crap. And I'm back to work today. And the piles...they are huge. pfffffftttttt

UPDATE: Holy crap. Can't believe I forgot to put this in!!!
Baby Chicken is at a Scholastic Meet today. *grins* For English, of course.
Woo!!!
Have a good one!!!
Grins*

Yesterday was my birthday...

...and it sucked.

It had some highlights. (Thanks Amber, Shaun, and chickens.)

But all in all, I could have bypassed the entire shitty day. Plans fell through. I was trapped in a meeting. You know those commercials where the office people are out in the jungle? Yeah. Something like that.
My God. I was wishing for a sharp object to poke my jugular with.

So I have vacation for the rest of the week. Eh. Not quite feeling the wonderfulness of it yet, though I DID sleep in this morning. But I suppose I'll do some writing. Bip around and enjoy the time to myself.
Thirty-six.
hmph
Still feels the same.

Enjoy the rest of your week.
Crystal*

Revelations

The girls and I drove past the old house that burned a year ago. It upset middle chicken the most, but I think all in all, it was a good time for more closure.
And as I feel like I've aged a decade this year at times, I realize several things:

I'm better off now than I was a year ago.
I'm a strong woman raising three strong chickies.
Time DOES heal the wounds.
Life's unexpected turns can lead you down beautiful roads.
Stuff is...stuff.
Some people are genuine. Some people are liars and users.
Faith is priceless.
Hope lives in my heart.
Love comes from the most unexpected places.
Laughter IS the best medicine.
What goes around...comes around.
A helping hand can make all the difference.
I bend, but I don't break.

The most precious things in my world don't hang from a tree or lie under it.
They're around it at the buttcrack of dawn Christmas morning hugging me and telling me "Merry Christmas."

Merry Christmas to you and yours! Have a wondrous safe and happy holiday!
Crystal*

Lord, I was born a rambling blog

Been awhile since I checked in. My lovely blog says Halloween. *grins* Sorry 'bout that.

I have a new term for you: Occupational hangover--when one ingests so much of their job that they have a headache. And yes...that would be me. At least as of late. Not the writing, mind you. The other job.
I also had my brakes go out on my van which was rather unpleasant. My lovely sister let me borrow a car so I wasn't completely without wheels. But I'm SO glad to get the van back!!!

The Red Dirt Festival was a lot of fun. I had a great time with Merline Lovelace and Christine Rimmer. We had a nice turnout, too. The next best thing to WRITING Romance would be talking about it. *grins* And we did.

I have Programmed for Pleasure out this month. Water Goddess in December. One Enchanted Evening in February 2008. Wind Goddess in May 2008. Earth Goddess in October 2008.
So guess what I'm doing right now?
Yep. *laughing* Editing.
Sheesh
I like writing ever so much better.

And some asshat on the news informed me that there were only like fortysomething days left to Christmas shop.
Are you kidding me? I don't have enough to worry about as it is? *sigh* Where in the hell has this year gone???

I saw something on the local news that just royally pissed me off. Oklahoma is 100 years old this year. Our big hoedown Centennial Celebration.
I've always considered Oklahoma my home. Born and raised here. And even though I moved (frequently) while married, I feel a kinship to this state.
So imagine my absolute horror at finding out a certain tribe from Oklahoma is calling it "100 Years of Theft."
Oh
My
God
I'm so glad I waited to write this because when I first composed this blog awhile back...I was livid. There was profanity a'plenty.
But here's the deal, in my opinion: Oklahoma is a great state BECAUSE of the mixing of cultures and heritages. I'm not saying I agree with this state's history as far as taking land or anything else. But can't we flippin' move on? Do you have to take a major milestone for this great state and monopolize it with your whining???
I have enough Indian blood in me to have a roll number.
So what?
It doesn't give anyone the right to slam all the good in a state because of a grudge. We've moved on. Why don't you???

*blowing out a breath and taking a calming one*
yep
Better.
That's been simmering for awhile.

How've you been?
Grins*