I was awakened at the ungodly hour of 4:45 a.m. this morning, and now, here I sit, at 5:20 a.m., making a post. Why, you ask?
Because the Husbandly One, when setting his alarm last night, for some inexplicable reason, also set his clock one hour ahead.
O_o
Yes, it is his job to wake us both up in the mornings, since he is a light sleeper, and I am a notoriously heavy sleeper, even though I have the bizarre and utterly useless tendency to wake up 5 seconds before someone actually wakes me up. Dunno why, but I've always been that way. I have to be completely and totally exhausted for that not to happen.
Anyhow, I didn't notice this until after I had checked the weather, and looked at local news, and was about to log into my writing blog. The Impertinent One had asked me to get her up a little earlier than usual so she could shower, and I automatically checked the computer clock to see what time it was... and blinked when I saw it said, "5:15." Turn to the clock on THO's side of the bed. 6:15.
Okay, so maybe the computer clock is off? I look down, there's my cell phone, so I pick it up to check that clock. 5:15.
B'zuh?
So, I trot into the kitchen where THO is making himself some coffee, and I said, "Honey? What time is it?"
He stops right in the middle of the kitchen, looks at me like I'm nuts, and says, "Huh?"
"What time is it? Check the time on the microwave," I said encouragingly.
So he looks at it, frowns, and then... his whole body slumps. "It's after five?? What the hell...?" He checks the living room clock and yes, it's still after five. He smears his face around with one hand, then says, "I must have reset the clock when I was setting the alarm."
"Yeah," I said sympathetically. "I was wondering why I was feeling so stoned." I mean, I had to force myself into "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" mode!
*an hour later*
He actually tried to go about his morning as usual, but while I was sitting here typing, he came in, stripped down to his boxers, tugged me away from the computer, and said, "We can't sleep, but we can doze for an hour, so... let's go back to bed!"
*grin*
Who'm I to turn down an invitation to bed with a handsome man?
I know this is going to turn into one of our funny family stories. Can't wait to see the expression on the kids' faces when I tell them what their papa did! When I'm a little more awake, that is!!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The String Cheese Incident
Oh, how I wish I was talking about the jam band...
I was sitting here yesterday, working on a post about cheap crap Dell computers, and how fail-tastic they are when the phone rang.
I answered it, and... it was the vice principal at the Impossible Son's school. And I couldn't help it, the first words out of my mouth were, "Oh, what has Mr. Impossible done now?"
Understand, Mr. Impossible is actually a pretty well-behaved kid at school. He gets in occasional trouble, like the time in kindergarten when he poured glue all over the toilet seat in the kindergarten restroom as a "trap," though we're not quite sure what exactly he was trying to catch. Other than a few blips like that, he's always gotten a lot of praise for his good manners, and how polite he is, and how well he listens, etc, etc, to the point where I want to say, "You are talking about my son... right?"
So, when Mr. Vice Principal called, well... I just knew, and I even told him after he asked why I had said that, "Well, Mr. V.P., it's very rare for me to get a phone call from the school unless Mr. Impossible is sick or hurt, or has done something strange but relatively harmless. And even then, it's either his teacher or the school nurse calling me. If you're calling me, I'm thinking it's probably because he's in trouble."
And I was right.
Apparently, my son took the string cheese I put in his lunch today, held it to his crotch, and started wiggling it at the girls in his class.
*dies*
Y'all have no idea how hard it was for me not to die laughing right there on the spot. I swear, I nearly broke a rib suppressing it, and it wasn't necessarily because it was so funny, but because it was just so... wildly inappropriate and just... so not like the Impossible Son! What else could I do but laugh?
I didn't, though. I remained calm, and asked what exactly was going on.
Well, a teacher caught him, made him sit in lunch detention, and then sent him to the vice principal for a "talk." According to Mr. V.P., to this teacher, this meant either an in-school suspension, or a three day suspension.
Thank goodness Mr. V.P. seems to be a reasonably sensible person, who decided to talk to the Impossible Son and try to figure out what was exactly going on, and he quickly realized that it was an impulse of the moment thing. Because, Mr. Impossible truly had no idea why he did that.
So, Mr. Vice Principal talked to him, explaining why what he had done was so highly inappropriate, and why it was considered vulgar... and then he had to explain what "vulgar" meant, and said, "I guess y'all don't use the word vulgar much around your house."
I snorted and said, "Well, no, not as such. Mainly because anything that my husband and I would consider vulgar aren't things we would necessarily expose our children to in our home, and when they've been exposed to it outside our home, we tend to use age-appropriate words like rude, inappropriate, and socially unacceptable, which we consider to be more accurate, anyway."
"Oh. Good," was all he said, and then he urged me to talk to the Impossible Son about it and explain why he shouldn't have done it, "because explanations like that really are more appropriate coming from his parents, don't you think?"
Well, not that I'm passin' the buck or anything, but you know, he had the Impossible One right there, in the moment, when an explanation would be most effective, so I said, "Do you want me to come to the school to talk to him?"
"Oh, no, he's fine. Just, you and your husband should talk to him tonight, that's all."
And that was fine. And after I got off the phone, I laughed myself silly. Especially after the Husbandly One emailed me that he'd just gotten a call from Mr. V.P. as well, because our son was, and I quote, "waving his cheese at the girls."
*dies*
And yes, it was a very interesting conversation, once I got him home. No, I don't think it was a case of "boys being boys." Mostly, I think it was a case of "boy suffering massive brain-fart, and following the lead of other boy-type stinkers in class." Because, you know, this is not behavior that the Husbandly One models in front of his son, or even behind his son's back. Nor do any of the male role models he's been around. So... I'm left with "peers and peers' siblings."
*sigh*
Adventures in Boy-Land. It's a definite trip, and not for the faint of heart!
I was sitting here yesterday, working on a post about cheap crap Dell computers, and how fail-tastic they are when the phone rang.
I answered it, and... it was the vice principal at the Impossible Son's school. And I couldn't help it, the first words out of my mouth were, "Oh, what has Mr. Impossible done now?"
Understand, Mr. Impossible is actually a pretty well-behaved kid at school. He gets in occasional trouble, like the time in kindergarten when he poured glue all over the toilet seat in the kindergarten restroom as a "trap," though we're not quite sure what exactly he was trying to catch. Other than a few blips like that, he's always gotten a lot of praise for his good manners, and how polite he is, and how well he listens, etc, etc, to the point where I want to say, "You are talking about my son... right?"
So, when Mr. Vice Principal called, well... I just knew, and I even told him after he asked why I had said that, "Well, Mr. V.P., it's very rare for me to get a phone call from the school unless Mr. Impossible is sick or hurt, or has done something strange but relatively harmless. And even then, it's either his teacher or the school nurse calling me. If you're calling me, I'm thinking it's probably because he's in trouble."
And I was right.
Apparently, my son took the string cheese I put in his lunch today, held it to his crotch, and started wiggling it at the girls in his class.
*dies*
Y'all have no idea how hard it was for me not to die laughing right there on the spot. I swear, I nearly broke a rib suppressing it, and it wasn't necessarily because it was so funny, but because it was just so... wildly inappropriate and just... so not like the Impossible Son! What else could I do but laugh?
I didn't, though. I remained calm, and asked what exactly was going on.
Well, a teacher caught him, made him sit in lunch detention, and then sent him to the vice principal for a "talk." According to Mr. V.P., to this teacher, this meant either an in-school suspension, or a three day suspension.
Thank goodness Mr. V.P. seems to be a reasonably sensible person, who decided to talk to the Impossible Son and try to figure out what was exactly going on, and he quickly realized that it was an impulse of the moment thing. Because, Mr. Impossible truly had no idea why he did that.
So, Mr. Vice Principal talked to him, explaining why what he had done was so highly inappropriate, and why it was considered vulgar... and then he had to explain what "vulgar" meant, and said, "I guess y'all don't use the word vulgar much around your house."
I snorted and said, "Well, no, not as such. Mainly because anything that my husband and I would consider vulgar aren't things we would necessarily expose our children to in our home, and when they've been exposed to it outside our home, we tend to use age-appropriate words like rude, inappropriate, and socially unacceptable, which we consider to be more accurate, anyway."
"Oh. Good," was all he said, and then he urged me to talk to the Impossible Son about it and explain why he shouldn't have done it, "because explanations like that really are more appropriate coming from his parents, don't you think?"
Well, not that I'm passin' the buck or anything, but you know, he had the Impossible One right there, in the moment, when an explanation would be most effective, so I said, "Do you want me to come to the school to talk to him?"
"Oh, no, he's fine. Just, you and your husband should talk to him tonight, that's all."
And that was fine. And after I got off the phone, I laughed myself silly. Especially after the Husbandly One emailed me that he'd just gotten a call from Mr. V.P. as well, because our son was, and I quote, "waving his cheese at the girls."
*dies*
And yes, it was a very interesting conversation, once I got him home. No, I don't think it was a case of "boys being boys." Mostly, I think it was a case of "boy suffering massive brain-fart, and following the lead of other boy-type stinkers in class." Because, you know, this is not behavior that the Husbandly One models in front of his son, or even behind his son's back. Nor do any of the male role models he's been around. So... I'm left with "peers and peers' siblings."
*sigh*
Adventures in Boy-Land. It's a definite trip, and not for the faint of heart!
Monday, March 8, 2010
GIMME BIRDS!!!
The Husbandly One surprised us by ordering Ponyo, the newly redone My Neighbor, Totoro, and Castle in the Sky, so we sort of had a Miyazaki weekend!
I convinced him to pull the couch around so it was facing the TV (we used part of the income tax return to buy a new flat screen TV, which is all kinds of awesome), and we all crowded onto it to watch Ponyo Saturday night, in Japanese with subtitles, which was incredibly cool, and of course, changed the story completely for us.
Then last night, we did the same thing, except I made a huge bowl of popcorn for us all to share, and it was like being in our own personal movie theater! We watched Totoro, then Castle in the Sky.
I shall have to write Miyazaki-san and tell him that his animation is so realistic, it had one of our cats charging the TV! It was a scene in Castle in the Sky, where one of the main characters is playing a trumpet while a flock of homing pigeons fly around their tower. Calcifer saw that, saw the birds, and I guess in his little cat brain he was thinking, "HOT DAMN! BIRDS IN THE HOUSE!! NOMS!!!" and the next thing we knew, he had taken a flying leap toward the TV!! Thank goodness he didn't knock it over!!
What was even funnier is that he kept prowling around the TV, or he'd get in our laps and stare us intently in the face, then leap down and prowl the TV again, to the point where he got Yuki and Muta involved as well. Then he got behind the TV, poking around in all the wires, and we had to chase him out. It didn't occur to me until this morning why he was doing all that.
HE WAS STILL LOOKING FOR THE BIRDS!!!
*dies*
Even now, that ridiculous cat is curled up on the couch, eyeing the TV suspiciously! The other two have decided he's crazy and gone back to the more important pursuit of the Morning Nap. Not Calcifer. He knows, he knows that somewhere, the birds are still lurking... near the tv....
And this is why Jo sometimes finds her cats much more entertaining than television!
I convinced him to pull the couch around so it was facing the TV (we used part of the income tax return to buy a new flat screen TV, which is all kinds of awesome), and we all crowded onto it to watch Ponyo Saturday night, in Japanese with subtitles, which was incredibly cool, and of course, changed the story completely for us.
Then last night, we did the same thing, except I made a huge bowl of popcorn for us all to share, and it was like being in our own personal movie theater! We watched Totoro, then Castle in the Sky.
I shall have to write Miyazaki-san and tell him that his animation is so realistic, it had one of our cats charging the TV! It was a scene in Castle in the Sky, where one of the main characters is playing a trumpet while a flock of homing pigeons fly around their tower. Calcifer saw that, saw the birds, and I guess in his little cat brain he was thinking, "HOT DAMN! BIRDS IN THE HOUSE!! NOMS!!!" and the next thing we knew, he had taken a flying leap toward the TV!! Thank goodness he didn't knock it over!!
What was even funnier is that he kept prowling around the TV, or he'd get in our laps and stare us intently in the face, then leap down and prowl the TV again, to the point where he got Yuki and Muta involved as well. Then he got behind the TV, poking around in all the wires, and we had to chase him out. It didn't occur to me until this morning why he was doing all that.
HE WAS STILL LOOKING FOR THE BIRDS!!!
*dies*
Even now, that ridiculous cat is curled up on the couch, eyeing the TV suspiciously! The other two have decided he's crazy and gone back to the more important pursuit of the Morning Nap. Not Calcifer. He knows, he knows that somewhere, the birds are still lurking... near the tv....
And this is why Jo sometimes finds her cats much more entertaining than television!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Because everyone deserves a little warmth in their day...
Here, have a nice, warm, Calcifer, sunning himself on the window ledge behind my desk...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Brought to you by Jo
So, the Impertinent Daughter has been busily busy (while she's supposed to be RESTING) working on her own manga series, and is constantly drawing little "drabbles" that alternately crack me up, puzzle the hell out of me, or make me worry about her sanity. In other words, she's a typical writer/artist!
The last two she showed me, though, impressed me and, as usual, I ran straight to the computer to share them with y'all!!
This is from a series she's calling "The RISE and FALL of Kaya Basia." And I think I'll let the two panels I'm posting speak for themselves...
The second one is just an interlude, so to speak...
Sorry that the words are sort of mushed in the last panel. Miss Priss scanned it, and I tried rescanning it and found that the size of the scanning bed on our scanner, and the size of her paper (as well as her drawing) don't match, so something is going to get smooshed. *sigh*
I'm wondering if her female character ever gets a little bit nervous with those big ol' claws so close to her face!! Ay-yi-yi!! The hazards of a demon boyfriend, I guess!!
The last two she showed me, though, impressed me and, as usual, I ran straight to the computer to share them with y'all!!
This is from a series she's calling "The RISE and FALL of Kaya Basia." And I think I'll let the two panels I'm posting speak for themselves...
The second one is just an interlude, so to speak...
Sorry that the words are sort of mushed in the last panel. Miss Priss scanned it, and I tried rescanning it and found that the size of the scanning bed on our scanner, and the size of her paper (as well as her drawing) don't match, so something is going to get smooshed. *sigh*
I'm wondering if her female character ever gets a little bit nervous with those big ol' claws so close to her face!! Ay-yi-yi!! The hazards of a demon boyfriend, I guess!!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Because Sisters Will Always Be Sisters...
Wednesday, I was in one of those moods, having just read some Star Trek fic, and then gotten into a discussion about some manga with my daughter about a manga series we've been reading. Oh, and explained a few things about Star Wars to Mr. Irrepressible. And it dawned on me; I... am a geek.
Never thought of myself as a geek before, not really. I was a jock in junior high and high school (swimming, basketball, and softball), as well as a band nerd, but... I never thought of myself as a geek, even though I was into Star Trek, LOTR, Star Wars... I never thought of myself as a geek, because I didn't look like the other kids who were classed as "geeks" at my school. I didn't belong to any of the so-called "geek" clubs, and I didn't hang out with them, though a few of them were my friends. Even they didn't consider me a geek.
The Husbandly One has teased me about being a major animation geek (I so totally am, I know that now!), but I always just sort of laughed it off. And he's teased me about being a computer geek and a Harry Potter geek, and I laughed that all off, too. But Wednesday night, it just... sank in, and I felt the need to celebrate it, to own it, as it were, so... I posted this on Facebook.
"Dear Bets and Blondie*
Your sister is a geek. Just thought you ought to know. Take appropriate measures."
Names changed to protect the guilty their identities.
After all, what better way to own something than to "come out" to your family, right?
This was the Blonde Sister's reply: "Mom made us promise not to ever tell you that! And I told Bets... wouldn't that be the best if we could tell her? But noooo, you had to find out on your own!!"
*dies laughing*
I love my sister!!
Never thought of myself as a geek before, not really. I was a jock in junior high and high school (swimming, basketball, and softball), as well as a band nerd, but... I never thought of myself as a geek, even though I was into Star Trek, LOTR, Star Wars... I never thought of myself as a geek, because I didn't look like the other kids who were classed as "geeks" at my school. I didn't belong to any of the so-called "geek" clubs, and I didn't hang out with them, though a few of them were my friends. Even they didn't consider me a geek.
The Husbandly One has teased me about being a major animation geek (I so totally am, I know that now!), but I always just sort of laughed it off. And he's teased me about being a computer geek and a Harry Potter geek, and I laughed that all off, too. But Wednesday night, it just... sank in, and I felt the need to celebrate it, to own it, as it were, so... I posted this on Facebook.
"Dear Bets and Blondie*
Your sister is a geek. Just thought you ought to know. Take appropriate measures."
Names changed to protect
After all, what better way to own something than to "come out" to your family, right?
This was the Blonde Sister's reply: "Mom made us promise not to ever tell you that! And I told Bets... wouldn't that be the best if we could tell her? But noooo, you had to find out on your own!!"
*dies laughing*
I love my sister!!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Jo's Hearing Glitch Strikes Again!!
Okay, so... the Impertinent Daughter and I were sitting at the kitchen table this evening. She was sketching and talking, and I was knitting and listening. Somewhere in there, she had pulled out this little toy, one of those little hopper things that you press with the tip of your finger to make it go >pop< and it hops forward a wee bit. She popped it at me and I smiled indulgently as she picked it up, grinning, and turned it over, looking at the underside. Then she laughed triumphantly and said what sounded very much like, "MANGINA!!"
I blinked and looked up, stunned. "What??"
"Look, see?" she said, turning it toward me so I could read what was embossed on the underside of the toy. So I obligingly looked, thinking, this, I gotta see! and wondering vaguely if there was some new, bizarre toy company that someone had named, "Mangina" to make it unforgettable. Kind of like Smuckers for jams and jellies, right?
It said, very clearly and plainly, "CHINA."
That's when I died laughing. I mean, really, I had done so well up to that point, manfully holding my laughter in, because really, the last word in the world that I would ever expect my 13 year old daughter to say would be... "MANGINA!!"
Especially with that degree of relish and satisfaction!!!
*dies again*
When I had calmed down, she said, "Oh, boy, do I even want to know what you thought I said?" Oh, my daughter, she knows me so well!! I did tell her after I'd calmed down from that one, and she was like, "MOM!!! When or why would I ever say that???"
About all I could manage through my helplessness was, "Well... it might just... come up in conversation!"
We pretty much both lost it at that point!!
I have a feeling I'm really going to enjoy my old age!!!
I blinked and looked up, stunned. "What??"
"Look, see?" she said, turning it toward me so I could read what was embossed on the underside of the toy. So I obligingly looked, thinking, this, I gotta see! and wondering vaguely if there was some new, bizarre toy company that someone had named, "Mangina" to make it unforgettable. Kind of like Smuckers for jams and jellies, right?
It said, very clearly and plainly, "CHINA."
That's when I died laughing. I mean, really, I had done so well up to that point, manfully holding my laughter in, because really, the last word in the world that I would ever expect my 13 year old daughter to say would be... "MANGINA!!"
Especially with that degree of relish and satisfaction!!!
*dies again*
When I had calmed down, she said, "Oh, boy, do I even want to know what you thought I said?" Oh, my daughter, she knows me so well!! I did tell her after I'd calmed down from that one, and she was like, "MOM!!! When or why would I ever say that???"
About all I could manage through my helplessness was, "Well... it might just... come up in conversation!"
We pretty much both lost it at that point!!
I have a feeling I'm really going to enjoy my old age!!!
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