Not to be missed

Sometimes I just get on my knees and thank God for local officials.

Check it.

I particularly am fond of the third paragraph from the end wherein they list other names that have been restricted from usage by other crack-head parents.

No up-down! Go side-side! Oh that we could all have Mr. Miyagi's wisdom

The first half of 2008 has turned out to be quite eventful for us, not so much in a good way and mostly through no fault of our own. Sure, I could have eaten more green vegetables when I was a lass, but I always thought I could make do just with the minimum required bites. In any case, much of the turmoil of this year has been rather financially straining, and we've mananged, but now I'm thinking I may need to revive the Misfit Fund (you know, the money most people set aside for a rainy day but that I keep in reserve for when I make bad decisions).

I will say that the Typical Me stories have died down a bit since I've gotten married. Maybe I actually don't leave the house as much, leaving less room for public embarrassment. Mom came in town this week and since Dr. J won't let me get a tatoo (another story, another day), I am in need of some other sort of change and decided it would be a great time to color my hair. I've always had the attitude of It's Just Hair so we opted just to go the highlights-in-a-box route. The mere fact that I am blogging about this should be some indication of how wise was this decision.

Our selection: Clairol's Herbal Essences- Shade on Shade Highlights. Check out the deceptively menacing pink plastic comb in the picture. A lesser man would have shyed away from such an applicator, but not us. We were undaunted even by the 10 very detailed "hints to great highlights" (aka ways we think you will probably screw up). We danced around at least a few of those. But a little dancing goes a long way, and in the end, it's just you and the spoils of your labor.

Looking back it really could have been much worse. My hair could have fallen out, I could have gotten third degrees burns on my scalp, the excess could have spilled onto my cat, each possibility more horrific than the one before. To only be left with a patchwork of gold/orange, complete with 3-inch diameter solid gold discs of hair just above each of my ears ... well, someone upstairs was just plain watching over me.

And then, just to kick me while I was already down, I got hit by the meter maid with a parking ticket while I was at the stylist today "recovering".

Thuggery in the Shrubbery

I would have blogged about this sooner ... but, well, you'll see...



Monday was the beginning of my two weeks of summer completely free of committment. I was so excited! I had my week planned full of things like do some reading for school (that never ends), have lunch with friends, you know ... things I never have time for. The only thing I needed to do was go to the dentist Monday morning. I left at 11:35 a.m. and returned about 12:20 p.m.

As soon as I pulled into the drivewayI could tell the door was ajar, the door frame was broken (this is where I did something stupid) so I took off running into the house. I know. Really, really dumb. Breathe easy, the thugs had already come and gone ... leaving the absence of our home computer, my work computer, and our bedroom tv. Pretty much the ONLY things of value we even own. I hope they fully appreciate the HOURS AND MONTHS AND YEARS of my life they now have in their possession in the form of everything I have ever created for my classroom. Please, dear thieves, let it not go to waste.

That's where I almost vomited. Fortunately, I backed up my work computer during spring break, but since my burner wasn't working at the end of the year, I lost a few months. Dr. J had our music, photos and home computer backed up on the external hard drive. I beg of all of you to do the same if you haven't already.

The fallout and drama isn't completely over, but we're working on it.

Irritating? Yes. Devastating? No.