A Season for Everything

Spring Fever has struck. Tim decided yesterday that he’d rather have this than a motorcycle. So today it was delivered.

At 4:00 this morning, I suited up (Seriously, I needed protection for this.) and cautiously gave Megan a gentle poke. With a very long stick. If you think I jest, trust me when I tell you there is little else as dangerous a 13 year old who’s had far from enough sleep. Surly, snarly, rabid little beasties, I tell ya!

The entire eighth grade, looking like hollow-eyed refugees, was herded onto coaches at 5:00 carrying what looked like all their earthly posessions. Megan alone had a blanket, a pillow, a backpack/purse kind of thing, her walkman, DVDs for on the bus, a stuffed animal, a camera and a tote bag with enough food and drinks to keep a small third-world country alive for a month. Now multiply that by 200 or so and you begin to get the picture. The teachers are toting, too.

Not all of the eighth grade went to the same place. One team (our middle school uses a weird team system) is in Baltimore at the Inner Harbor touring the National Aquarium. It’s where Megan dearly wishes she was. So, now you know she isn’t. No, woe is us and could life just be any more unfair? Megan is in……..

Gettysburg. Home of Lincoln’s famous address. Site of the Civil War’s bloodiest battle. The whole town and surrounding area is basically one huge museum. Historic stuff is tucked in everywhere. I don’t think you can find another town (outside of Washington, D.C.) that has more statues and monuments. History is not Megan’s thing. We tried our best to put a positive spin on it, but what she’s most looking forward to is the bus trip and shopping for something for Matthew, who is a huge Civil War buff (he did his senior project on Gettysburg).

The bus is due back between 8:00-8:30 tonight. I imagine she will emerge looking just as tired and bedraggled as she did this morning, but I think she will have had fun inspite of herself.

Please? Because I am sure my mind has flown the coop. Why else would I do the job I do? Bratty kids. Haughty parents. And innocence all around. It’s enough to make me scream. As a matter of fact, I’ve done that today. It might have relieved my stress enough to prevent a stroke. Maybe.

It all started with a fight on Tuesday. Elementary kids. On the bus. Bad enough I had to turn off the bus and leave my seat to break it up. I did not see or hear what led up to the fight. My bad luck. All I could (and did) do was turn in slips on the boys I saw involved and leave it for the school to figure it out. Turns out the fathers got into a fight themselves over the fight. Nice. Real mature. Great example you’re setting there fellas. Then parents began calling principals. And the bus company. And the school district’s transportation dept. One boy has a black eye. His parents photographed it and took him for x-rays. No skin off my back. For my part, situation handled. Or so I thought.

Today my boss met me between my high school and elementary runs. I had to speak with the principal. He in turn still has to talk to the transportation director and who knows who else…before he can even call the boys in to talk to them. Then the momma of the kid with the black eye cornered me at the bus stop. And ripped me a new one for a good five minutes about how her poor little boy shouldn’t have to endure such awful bullying. No. He shouldn’t. But what goes around eventually comes around. I can’t tell momma that. She doesn’t want to hear that most days her precious angel is more like demon spawn.

Enter “Precious Angel’s” best-friend, the notorious “D”, I’ve written about in the past. This morning “D” was in a vile, hateful, spiteful, abuse-spewing mood. And lucky me….it was all for (and aimed at) me! I cannot discipline “D” because he does not listen. If I try he runs to momma and says I pick on him.

All three boys deserve to be punished for Tuesday’s fight, but after today I am sure that if “Precious Angel” and “D” get punished it is going to come back and bite me where the sun don’t shine.

I need to find a new job.

UPDATE! After I threatened to quit this morning, I guess my boss figured out that I was pretty stressed and just might be serious. This afternoon he threw me a major bone. He told me I am first on the list for a brand new bus and should have it in the fall. He just “didn’t want me to think my efforts aren’t appreciated.” Wow. Nobody ever knows ahead of time that they’re getting a new bus. And the cherry on top? I know three little brats that got suspended for two days! (I am really trying hard not to grin and gloat. I’m failing miserably.)

Today’s post is brought to you by….the letter “P” (for pee and poop) and the number….No, wait, that’s not right. This isn’t Sesame Street. Today’s post is actually the result of Megan spending the night at a friend’s, me being on puppy duty, and said puppy howling all night long. The whole thing about the letter “P” still stands.

You Are a German Shepherd Puppy

Intelligent, quick witted, and a bit aggressive. You’ve got the jaw power to take a bite out of anyone you choose.

Looking to add a little bundle of furry joy to your household? Head on over to Puppyfind for listings of all kinds of breeds.

All About Puppies is a great source of information on all things puppy related.

Prison inmates get a chance to do some good through Puppies Behind Bars. The program trains them to train puppies to become quide dogs for the blind and explosive detection canines for law enforcement.

I’m a poodle lover so had to include a link to TLC Poodles in Virginia. They have a real cutsie, sugary sweet site.

You might want to consider Hushpuppies when looking for something comfy to slip your tootsies into for those long walks with your furry buddy.

Is there anything drug smugglers won’t do to get drugs into the country?

Look no further than this for information on the band, Sickpuppies.

Slushpuppie, purveyors of brainfreeze and blue tongues, have a site filled with contests (you could win an iPod) and lots of other fun stuff.

REDNECK PET CARRIER

I’m just back from the gym. Sorry. Stand down wind….or is it up wind? Anyway, I thought I’d mention it. ‘Cause I’m so darn proud of myself! I am sticking with this Curves thing if it kills me. It isn’t like I’ve lost weight yet or shrunk a size, but I do feel more energetic and if nothing else, I can tell the difference in my legs.

I bought the book on the Curves program last Friday and have been reading it when I can. The diet plan outlined in it sounds pretty sensible to me, provided the “facts” in it aren’t just a bunch of hooey. How is a person supposed to know who knows what they are talking about these days? According to the book, the Curves gyms are supposed to teach the food plan along with the exercise program. I asked this morning. The one I belong to doesn’t. In fact, none of the ones owned by the same people teach the food plan. The manager at my gym pretty much trashed the plan. Well, poo on them all. I’m going to give it a go. Goodbye, my sweet, precious carbs.

That said, I’m hungry. Hey, when you get up at 4:00 a.m., 10:30 or so feels like lunchtime.

The hubster and I are planning ahead. A conversation last night led to a plan. A plan to celebrate our 25th anniversary (2009) in either Mexico or somewhere in the Caribbean. I’m too excited just thinking about it. I’ve never been out of the country. Canada doesn’t really count. It’s more incentive to stick with Curves, too. No way am I going to the islands fat.

Bought myself one of those keychain digital cameras yesterday at Wally World. It’s pink. How sporty. I thought I’d keep it handy to snap pictures of interesting things. And I will. Just as soon as I figure out how to use it.

Puppies make me tired. And I think they may be completely made of poop and pee…judging by the number of messes I clean up every day. And when, oh when, are those razor sharp baby teeth going to fall out? He is chewing EVERYTHING!! That includes us. Megan looks like she fought with barbed wire and lost.

The elderly should have to retest for their drivers’ license every year or two to prove they are road-worthy.

Now that the weather’s nice, Tim’s drooling over these again.

I wish we could manage it, but I think it’s going to have to wait a year or two. Too bad with gas at $2.95.

Ryan Seacrest should be shot. That whole thing at the end of American Idol last night with Ace and Chris standing there. OMG! Megan and I about had a stroke thinking America would actually boot Chris and keep Ace. Thank God the viewers finally voted Ace off of American Idol. I don’t think he’s cute. I don’t think he’s talented. He should have been gone a long time ago. I still think Chris is the best performer on the show. Totally consistant. Kelly’s going to be a star no matter where she finishes up just because she’s such a personality. Kind of like Dolly without the boobs. Taylor will end up okay win or lose because of his huge fan base. Catherine? I don’t know. I guess she’s technically pretty good. I just don’t like her. Paris is cute, but I don’t see her winning. Elliot is terrifically talented and a real sweetheart. I just don’t think he has the “it” factor Simon is always talking about. And let’s face it. Idol is nothing but a popularity contest in the end.

Rachel over at Life Being Beautiful had this neat meme posted last week. You go to wikipedia.com and do a search for your birthday (no year). Then post 3 interesting events that happened on your birthday, 2 interesting births and 1 interesting death.

Without further ado, here are mine:

Events

1. 1620 - The Mayflower departs Southampton, England.
2. 1877 - Thomas Edison makes the first-ever recording - “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
3. 1945 - World War II: Victory over Japan Day - Japan surrenders.
**and because I never was any good at following directions**
4. 1961 - Construction begins on the Berlin Wall, Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany.
5. 1969 - The Woodstock Music and Art Festival opens.

Births

1. 1769 - Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France (d. 1821)
2. 1968 - Debra Messing, American actress
3. 1972 - Ben Affleck, American actor

Deaths

1. 1057 - King Macbeth I of Scotland

This first recipe comes from Kraft Foods and is so good I’m sure it’s a sin. My sister-in-law made it yesterday and she skipped the carmel topping. It was so sweet and moist it didn’t need it.

MOIST CARAMEL APPLE CAKE

1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Vanilla or French Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 cup water
4 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, coarsely chopped
20 KRAFT Caramels, unwrapped
3 Tbsp. milk

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan. Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, water, eggs and oil in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Beat on high speed 2 min. Gently stir in apples. Pour into prepared pan.
BAKE 50 min. to 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 min.; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
MICROWAVE caramels and milk in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 min., stirring every 30 sec. until blended. Cool 10 min. until slightly thickened. Drizzle over cake.

KRAFT KITCHENS TIPS :
Do not use cake mix with pudding in the mix. To avoid soggy cake, drizzle caramel sauce over cake just before serving.

This next recipe is my own quick and simple creation, because I’m all about quick and simple. Everyone likes it better than the more involved recipes I’ve tried and it takes about 10 minutes.

Deviled Eggs

1 doz. eggs, hardboiled
1/4 cup Miracle Whip (mayonaise)
1/4 cup Thousand Island salad dressing
Paprika, to taste

Peel eggs and cut in half length-wise. Scoop yolks into a bowl. Add Miracle Whip and Thousand Island dressing to yolks. Mash and mix with a fork or mixer (by hand takes forever) until well mixed and remaining lumps are small. Spoon mixture back into egg whites and sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Ugh! I’ve got a post-Easter food hangover. Seriously. My body aches and my head is pounding. I am stuffed to the gills with ham….and eggs! Rainbow hued hardboiled eggs. Pickled eggs. Deviled eggs. Oh, the excess of it. We had Easter dinner with my mom and her husband on Saturday and again with Tim’s family yesterday. At both places we had ham and all three kinds of eggs (the plain old dyed ones being the only ones I have the will-power to avoid) along with all manner of other goodies. I’ve got two recipes to share. I’ll post them here later today and also over at Stacy’s House.

I had planned on getting up this morning and heading to the gym first thing then spending the day relaxing at home doing nothing more taxing than a few loads of laundry and reading. Megan got the ball rolling on the killing of that plan when she convinced her aunt to let her go home with her yesterday. That means I have to drive over the mountain at some point to retrieve her. Then I pretty much drove in the final nail when I called a friend that lives near the sister-in-law Megan is with. I just called to chat. When she heard I had to come up that way today anyway, she suggested I come at 9:00 A.M. and go with her and her daughter while said daughter takes the test for her driving permit and then we could go to lunch. We’d be back in the early afternoon in plenty of time to pick up Megan. Guess what? I’m going to Johnstown. Oh well….a good friend and a Chinese buffet are better than a nap and a book any day (no matter how much the nap is needed).

By the way, with Megan away and Matt back at school, Elvis the long-eared hound had to sleep in our room last night. Scooby already sleeps on the bed so there was no way the puppy was coming in, too. I don’t think it would have allowed any of us to get much sleep. We drug his crate into our room and put him in there. I was afraid he’d cry all night since he’s used to snuggling up with Megan, but after 10 minutes or so of heart-breaking wimpering he plopped down and slept soundly until Tim got up at 4:00. He didn’t even get up when I was up for Tylenol at 2:30. Tim put him back in the crate when he left for work and he slept until 6:15. Not too shabby for such a little guy.

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.

Today is one of my “favorite” holy days. I do not relish Christ’s pain, but I celebrate that His death removed the curtain that separated me from God.

If I don’t catch you again before then…ENJOY A BLESSED AND HAPPY EASTER!

I finally caved. Megan took this picture of Scooby and me in her room tonight. So, now you know what I look like.