A Season for Everything

BLINKIES! I resisted as long as I could, which has actually been years, but the bug has finally bitten me. You can see the ones I snagged over on the sidebar. The absolutely gorgeous one above reminds me of our puppy, Elvis, and is the creation of Lilm’s Glitter.

Rain, rain, rain. That’s all it seems to do lately…and the smiling weatherman on channel 4 tells me that’s all it’s going to do all this week. Oh joy. I have so much to do that got ignored last week while I was getting ready for and then having the garage sale and rain means I will have anywhere from 3-5 giggling teen and preteen girls in the house, underfoot and in the way. Remember I’m the only mom in the neighborhood that will allow them all in my house. There’s tons needing done outside, too, that’s been on hold for what seems like forever. All this rain has made the weeds grow like mad and yet I still can’t get out there to pull them. At least the ground will be incredibly soggy when the rain does stop and those weeds will pull right out with no effort. During the garage sale my mom pulled out a dandelion with a root nearly 2 ft. long and an inch in diameter. I’d go out and pull all of mine while the gettings good, but without them we’d have no lawn at all!

Ah well, Meg and I will make an overdue trip to the library and drop what didn’t go at the garage sale at St. Vincent DePaul. Then I will just try to get done what I can get done….and as much of it as possible this week….because next week is a busy one for us. We’re having all our families and a few extras over for the Fourth and four days after that is the long awaited and much needed V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N! I can’t wait.

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Since leaving for school last July, Matt calls fairly frequently….usually at the oddest times to tell us (or ask) the oddest things. At first it was things like “How do you make Hamburger Helper.” Um, you read the directions on the box. But as time passed and he began to create a life of his own, his calls took on the form of updates about what he’s doing. However, it isn’t the day to day stuff or how school is going (at least not until there’s a problem in that area). It’s stuff that’s going to happen months down the road. At the moment I can tell you he’s going to a concert for some group I’ve never heard of in August in Columbus, OH. In October he plans to take the free bartending course the school is offering because he feels bartending will be a good part-time job. And in November the grocery store he works at is getting a new Cool Whip display and he is getting the cooler from the old display. Now, if you ask me how school is going, I only have a vague idea. Same for who he spends his time with and how he spends his free time. Kids! (Especially ones who think they are grown and independent and forget who is actually paying all the bills.)

Just in case you hadn’t figured that out yet.

I am one happy camper today. I went to my nearest Ticketmaster location this morning and got my ticket for the lottery drawing to determine placement in the sale line and ended up in the number 2 position. At 10:01 I had my tickets to Toby’s Pittsburgh concert. It was a blast hanging out with the other Toby fans. The concert is gonna be sooooo much fun.

September 11, 2006. Five years since terrorist attacks changed the face of America. Five years since the victims gave their lives….in the rubble of fallen towers in New York City….in a charred wing of the Pentagon….in a scorched and isolated Pennsylvania field. We’ve heard the stories of that day’s horrors and seen the pictures over and over. In honor of the fifth anniversary, D. Challener Roe is trying to organize 2996 volunteer bloggers to commemorate the lives, rather than the murders, of these fallen heroes.

His guidelines are:

2,996 is a tribute to the victims of 9/11.

But, and this is critical, the tributes should celebrate the lives of these people–kind of like a wake. Over the last 5 years we’ve heard the names of the killers, and all about the victim’s deaths. This is a chance to learn about and celebrate those who died. Forget the murderers, they don’t deserve to be remembered. But some people who died that day deserve to be remembered–2,996 people.

If you would like to help out, either by pledging to post a tribute on your own blog, or by offering your services to promote this cause, visit the website and leave a comment there and you’ll be emailed the name of a victim. The tributes will be posted on September 11.

Sorry I haven’t been around much lately. Since summer’s gotten into full swing and the weather’s finally turned….well, summer-like….I haven’t felt like there’s been much to write about. My days are mostly filled with being at the beck and call of La Looch and her friends, hauling them here, picking them up from there, sitting by the pool while they swim to make sure they don’t drown each other, making lunches for crowds of picky eaters, providing an endless supply of sugar-laden treats and supervising near nightly sleepovers. There’s not a whole lot of adult conversation, stimulation or even contact going on at the moment. Even Tim, my trusty sidekick and partner in life, has jumped ship, working long hours and getting home just before dark. I’m going to get to play with the grown-ups soon, though. I’m having a garage sale this Friday and Saturday with my mom and a friend. Soooo…..woot!…..two whole days when I know I’ll have someone over the age of 13 to talk to.

I am addicted to the bargain movie bin at Wal-Mart. You know the one where you get two DVD’s for $11. I can be found pawing through it every time I go. Sometimes there really isn’t anything there, but sometimes there are some real gems to be found. We currently have a good sized stack of my finds that we’ve yet to watch since our tv time drops way off in the summer. Last night Megan actually chose to stay home with me (gosh) and watch Sandra Bullock in 28 Days. Neither of us had seen it before. It was a little bit darker of a story than you usually see from Ms. Bullock (she played an addict in rehab), but it was pretty good. We were both glued to our seats waiting to see how it turned out. Our one complaint? Even though we know a romantic pairing of two recovering addicts wouldn’t, in real life, probably be the best of ideas…..as far as the movie goes, we’d have liked to see her character get together with Viggo Mortensen’s character. I mean, come on…..it’s Viggo!

Well, I’m off to the gym and then it’s another fun filled day of pricing trash…I mean treasures…for the garage sale.

At a press conference yesterday, police announced the outcome of their investigation into Ben Roethlisberger’s motorcycle accident. Both he and and the car involved had a green light, but it was ruled the driver of the car was at fault. The 62-year-old woman was cited for failure to yield. Her name is being withheld as she has received death threats. Roethlisberger was fined and cited for not having a valid permit or license and for not wearing a helmet, which is required with a permit. He was not speeding or driving recklessly.

In other news, the Steeler’s number one draft pick, Santonio Holmes, was arrested in Ohio on a domestic assault charge. He pled ‘Not Guilty’ and claims it is all a misunderstanding. It’s his second arrest since being drafted. Possibly a case of where there’s smoke there’s fire?
He meets with the coaching staff today.

I can’t wait. I just got the word through Toby Keith’s fan club that there’s a pre-sale on Wednesday for tickets to the Pittsburgh concert on Aug. 25. I am so there. I asked Tim to go with me for my birthday, which is Aug. 15.

Now if only the fan club tells me I’ve been selected to meet Toby before the concert…..

In a statement issued yesterday, Ben Roethlisberger apologized for his reckless and irresponsible behavior, said he had gained a new perspective on life and that he realizes it’s by the grace of God that he is alive.

As for the helmet issue…..Big Ben says if he ever rides a motorcycle again he will definitely wear a helmet. Too bad he had to literally get some sense knocked into him to reach that decision.

At any rate, it looks like Ben’s on the road to a total and speedy recovery. He plans to be at training camp here in Latrobe next month so that probably means he’ll be ready to play by the regular season opener. You’ns know what that means……Pittsburgh’s back, baby, and ready to play!

Offial word is that Big Ben will play football again. None of his injuries should keep him off the field permanently. They might slow him down in the dating arena as they basically had to rebuild his face, which took the brunt of the impact. Both his upper and lower jaw were broke (in more than one place), he lost teeth, he had a few deeper cuts and I heard he also broke his nose and fractured a sinus cavity. Everything else checks out okay, though I’m sure he feels like he’s been run over by a tank.

There was a lot of speculation that he would have to have his jaw wired shut to keep it immobile while it healed. At his size (6′2″ and 240lbs) it would be impossible to get the nutrients to maintain his bulk. The thinking was that he’d lose a lot of weight and would have to build himself back up before he’d be able to play again. Not so. With fame and fortune come the best doctors and technology available. They used titanium plates to screw Ben’s jaw back together and he is already eating a soft diet.

No word yet on how Ben feels about helmets now.

It still hasn’t been announced officially whose fault the accident was, but one thing has come out. Ben was riding without a valid license or permit. In Pennsylvania you can get a motorcycle permit and ride with it for a year without taking the test. I believe it is renewable a couple of times. Getting an actual license involves taking a class and passing a test. The restrictions on a permit include: no passengers, no driving after dark , and you must wear a helmet. Seems ol’ Ben’s permit ran out in March and it’s pretty much common knowledge that he’s been riding without a helmet from the beginning. The police say he will most likely get a ticket. Personally, I think he should have to do some kind of community service with kids, educating them on safety or something. I know a lot of bike riders and I realize that Ben is far, far….far from being the only one to “bend” the permit laws. However, he is the one that kids all over the country hero-worship.

God took care of you this time, Ben. Wise up.