Childhood Memories

Tuesday, Dana and I were sitting on the couch talking and I noticed a small container of Play-doh sitting between us. I opened it up to smell it. (I love the smell of play-doh. Well, maybe not love, but you get the idea. It's a very comforting smell that takes me back to my childhood.) I replaced the cap and put it back on the couch. I was surprised when Dana picked it up, continuing his conversation with me, opened it, smelled it and put it back on the couch. Neither of us said a word about it. So although Dana claims to not like the smell of play-doh, I have a sneaking suspicion that he feels the same way as I do when he smells it.

Later that night, I was picking up one of Katie's many school boxes full of crayons. I shut the lid and noticed it was not latching correctly. I opened it to correct the problem, then quickly closed it. When I did this, I got a quick burst of the smell of crayons. Mr. Douglas, my grade school art teacher, popped into my head. I can still see him drinking coffee from the cup he made on the pottery wheel, complete with a moustache protector. Mr. Douglas had a pretty big moustache and he made a piece that went inside his mugs to keep his moustache from getting wet. Remember, it was the late 70's when I was in grade school. And we all thought Mr. Douglas was the coolest!!

Wednesday night, Katie and I were making pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. If you've ever made a pumpkin pie, you'll know what I'm talking about here. When you are pouring in the evaporated milk, it will actually pour through the pumpkin and then rise to the surface as you stir it. It's really cool and you get a neat swirling, kind of tie dye effect until it all mixes together. I remember making pies with my mom when I was a kid and watching the milk mix in with the pumpkin.

Ah, memories. . .

A D D I C T I O N S

Addictions. . . we all have them. Some will kill you, and some just make you feel kinda silly. For example, I seem to be addicted to coke. No, not the one that will kill you, but the one that now has a nice picture of Santa on the can. They tend to collect at my desk, although right now I only have one. I like to put them in the recycle box just outside HR, but the can has to be completely empty, and I don't always drink every drop. Hey, maybe I'm not addicted after all. Anyway, I digress.

I'm currently addicted to http://www.eonline.com/. It's ridiculous, I know. But I can't help myself. Every day at lunch I'm checking it to see what's going on in the entertainment world. I know that Lindsay Lohan got pelted with flour last week by animal rights activists because she was wearing a fur coat, but I couldn't tell you who Obama has picked for his cabinet. I know that Amy Winehouse is back in rehab.

I'm also addicted to LOTR (see previous post). It's been 7 years since the first movie was out, and no, I didn't have to look that up. Cassidy introduced Dana and I to http://www.mobango.com/ where you can gets all kids of free downloads for your phone. The LOTR wallpapers leave a little to be desired, but my phone currently has a video of the ring flipping up into the air and back down where Frodo catches it. I also downloaded some ringtones, but am still searching. Oh, yeah, and a LOTR trivia game that I haven't gotten to play yet. I could be doing that instead of making this post! Some of my passwords are even LOTR related. You can buy The One Ring wedding rings. I think I'm going to ask Dana to marry me again.

L O S T. . . the train wreck that is L O S T. You don't want to look, but you just can't help yourself. I missed the better part of the first season but it's come so far since then, I don't think it matters. Last year they announced it was signed for another 3 years. THREE YEARS!!!! Ugh, I don't want to have to keep watching to find out what happens and what it all means. It probably doesn't mean anything, like that one season of Dallas that was just a dream. What a rip off!!

So, what is your addiction?

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock

"The Big Bang Theory" is on Monday nights at 7:30 on CBS. It's just about the only show that we watch as a family. Through watching this show, I've come to the realization that there's a little bit of geek in all of us. . . some more than others. (Sometimes I think I'm riding the fence, except for the genius part.) If you don't watch it, you should check it out. Of course it's also special to me because of the frequent LOTR references. (For you non LOTR fans, that's "Lord of the Rings".)

On Monday, two of the characters were trying to decide what to watch on TV. Sheldon, the slightly OCD physicist, suggests a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock. (See drawing.)

So, Spock can vaporize scissors and rock, but not paper? Wouldn't paper be easier to vaporize than a rock? And couldn't Spock vaporize everything? Thus making Spock a winner every time? And why couldn't scissors cut/stab Spock?

Just a little something for you to think about.

My Sweet Baby Girl

Yesterday was not a good day for me. It was filled with life stresses.

I was in the kitchen last night still upset about the happenings of the day. Katie came in a gave me a big hug and asked me what was wrong. I just told her that I had a really bad day. She stayed in the kitchen with me for a little while, and then disappeared upstairs.

I put a frozen pizza in the oven (hey, they were 3 for $11 --that's a cheap dinner) and then caught up on the latest episode of Hannah Montanna. That's just what happened to be on the TV, but it did make me laugh. Katie then re-appears with her "Feel Good Box." She has a book called Mommy & Me and it is filled with mother-daughter activities. One of which is the aforementioned box. She painstakingly decorated it this summer, and has felt the need to get it out twice since then. You're supposed to fill it with things that will make you and/or your daughter feel good. When one of them is having a bad day, she is supposed to pick something from the box that will make her feel good.

She presents the box to me with instructions to close my eyes and pick something out. So I reach in and pull out two things that are folded together. She tells me I am to take both. I imagine they were the only thing in the box. The first piece was a little note from her Mommy & Me book that reads "Take note: I love you!" Folded inside this is a lined piece of paper with a pencil drawing. It has 2 clouds in the sky over "M" mountains (you know the kind - the ones we used to draw when we were 7) and 2 stick figures drawn on top of the mountains. They are each saying "I love you." Written next to them is this:

"I hope the rest of the week you have a beter day."

She is my sweet baby girl!

Kids on Leashes

I've never understood a parent that puts their child on a leash. I haven't seen one in a while, but witnesssed one today in Danville. A big red leash tied around his waist. I just thought it was terrible.

KLEENEX UPDATE:
The extra credit Kleenex are worth 10 points each! So for a mere $4, Cassidy is going to earn an extra 30 points. . . . for doing absolutely nothing. He didn't even have to go to the store. Janice, you're right, if you're stupid and you're poor, you're screwed.

KATIE UPDATE:
She's standing here as I type this, and I think she wants to see her name in lights. She's wearing her new holiday dress that Grandma Dixon bought her today. AND she got 100% on her spelling test yesterday! Her teacher thought the "a" in wash was an "o". Katie quickly pointed this out and her teacher changed her grade. (At least she didn't have to buy kleenex.)

This picure was taken with my phone. Not too bad, huh?

And one last thing. The Masonic lodge had a breakfast today and Cassidy and I went to it. As we were waiting on our breakfast, my High School band director, Mr. Peterson, walked in. He ended up sitting right next to Cassidy. I eventually asked him if he was George Peterson. He said he was. I said "Well, it's been about 20 years. . . " and he pointed at me and said "Amy?" So we chatted for a few minutes until his breakfast arrived. I was pretty impressed that not only did he recognize me, but even remembered who I was. I'm happy that I haven't changed that much in almost 20 years.

Extra Credit Kleenex

I don't know about anyone else, but when I was in school and you did something for extra credit, you actually DID something for extra credit. Like write a paper or do some extra homework. But not anymore!! Must be some strange clause in "No child left behind." (I won't get into that today. . . that's for another post.)

Earlier in the year Cassidy told me that he could bring in poster board for one of his teacher's for extra credit. I asked if they needed it for a project and his answer was that his teacher was out of poster board and needed it for her classroom. . . . .OK . . . So I told him that if he wanted the extra credit, he was going to buy the poster board. I certainly wasn't going to buy his grade for him. And he did.

So he texts me yesterday and informs me that he can bring in 3 boxes of Kleenex for extra credit in another class. He could use the points, so I imagine I'll pick some up today after work. But he's going to pay me for it.

So I guess we're teaching our children that you don't have to work hard for a better grade, you just have to help supply your teacher's classroom. Am I the only one that sees a problem with this??

Gosh, I sure wish I could get some extra $$ in my paycheck by bringing in some toilet paper, or something.

Why I don't like country music

I have never been a fan of country music, and I'm quite certain I never will be. Dana had a short phase in college where he started listening to country, and I about went crazy. With songs like "She Thinks my Tractor's Sexy", and "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy," what's there to like? (I'm embarrassed to admit that I even know those songs.)

So, I'm watching DWTS last night (reality TV is my guilty pleasure) and their guest performer was Brad Paisley. Tom Bergeron introduced him as singing "Ticks" and then he acted like he was picking something off his jacket and discarding it to the floor. I thought to myself, "Come on, the song isn't actually about ticks."

I was wrong. Here's the chorus:

'Cause I'd like to see you out in the moonlight
I'd like to kiss you way back in the sticks
I'd like to walk you through a field of wildflowers
And I'd like to check you for ticks

REALLY?

Seriously, I can't figure out if this is some strange way of making fun of himself and/or country bumpkins, a love song, or some distorted pick up line.

Enjoy reading the lyrics at the link below, but it's just not the same as hearing it live.
http://www.lyrics.com/index.php/artists/lyric/brad-paisley-lyrics-ticks

What did you have for lunch today?

Katie had "A giant chicken nugget on a bun."

I will so miss these kinds of conversations . . . sooner than later.

My Super Tan & Those Darn Kids

Well, I don't have a Super Tan by all standards, but for one visit to the video store/tanning "salon", I'm pretty dark. I was getting pale again, and decided I'd go a few times to get a little color. I had gone 3 times and quickly worked up to the full 20 minute session. When I went on Wednesday, there was a sign stating that new bulbs were put in that day. I looked at that and said "Dixon, don't go the whole 20 minutes." But of course, I did. I got a little burned and started feeling it just a few hours later. On Friday morning I noticed a distinct line down the side of my body. I'm sure your back side gets darker than your front because it is directly on the glass. I even met a friend for lunch Friday and she asked me if I was going to Mexico again! I WISH!!

Cassidy's first school dance is coming up in a few weeks. It was originally scheduled for yesterday, but was postponed 2 weeks due to the High School Play. (He even felt the need to text me this information during school.) Anyway, he's asked a girl to the dance. We talked about it for a few minutes, then I realized, "Hey!! That's a date!" His response? "Yeah, Mom. Nowadays. . . " Nowadays? What? Was I born in the stone age?? I realized at that moment that I'm old, at least by his standards. I'm only 37 and while I'll admit sometimes I do feel really old, most times I don't feel it's possible for me to have a 12-year old that's interested in girls.

HALLOWEEN UPDATE: Katie went to Grandma and Grandpa Dixon's house. We went to town with a list of a few houses to go to. Ended up only going to one and coming home. How soon until she grows out of this?