My Friends Made Me Do It

Sunday, July 30, 2006

I'm A survivor..almost

of the first of three crazy weekends. This being the easiest of them. Wish me luck in the coming weeks. I say almost a survivor because the running for the day is not quite over yet. Tomorrow will be a day of R&R. No one has anything to do and it's MY last day of summer so we can sleep in late. Chelsea starts drill team practice on Tuesday so I'll be up and out the door by 7:45 each morning at the latest. A couple of days it will be 6:45. YUCK. I'm not a morning person and hate that the drill team practices before school.


This weekend was an early family celebration of Brittany's upcoming birthday. Combination birthday and fall school clothes shopping for her plus the traditional family birthday dinner. Thank goodness these are always at a restaurant and require no cooking on my part. Sharing a couple of shots from last night. This is a "tree" made with empty wine bottles. Val and Britt NEEDED a picture. Probably the only one they wanted taken!

And here's all four girls together. Haven't had one of these since Brooke's graduation. Val said Britt looks like a princess and the rest of them look like they are going to a funeral...oh well, it was her birthday dinner. LOL

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Tomorrow

both my big girls will be coming home. I haven't seen Val in about a month and it's been two months since I've seen Britt. Kind of excited to see them. Will be nice to have the whole crew home. I will be toting my camera to dinner on Saturday night and they better be cooperative. Maybe I'll threaten them with picking up the bill if they don't behave and pose pretty. Going to eat at a really nice restaurant at the Gaylord Texas ...the Old Hickory Steakhouse...check it out...

OK, I'm an idiot I guess. I can't seem to insert a link. What's up with that...help me...everyone else does it and it works. How about a picture then. I know how to do that. LOL. Here's where we are going to eat...what am I going to wear???? Yikes!

The Cable Guy

We are getting Verizon FIOS for internet and TV today finally. It's taken forever to actually get to this point. The last time they were supposed to install everything inside they ran into problems out at the box and couldn't do it. Cleared that entire day for nothing. Really irked me. I hate to be locked in here at the house. Today I got up early for no reason. You know how that is .... if I hadn't been prepared for him to arrive at 8 AM he would have been here then. I hate when they give you those "windows" You know,where they are supposed to show up sometime between 8 AM and noon. I guess I lucked out today since he got here around 9:30 instead of 11:55. I'm hoping it won't take him 4 to 6 hrs to get everything hooked up like they say it could. Really looking forward to getting rid of Comcast though.... it sucks.

Yesterday I tried the Chelsea and me day. Those never go so well. Shopping is not her forte. We both get frustrated during the process. It started out good but then I had to push my luck and head to a different mall after lunch. We found very little she liked or that would fit on that second phase of expedition. I should learn she's only good for a couple of hours and not push it past that or she will end up in tears over something I've said or more likely something she thinks I'm implying. Geez, I just suggested she TRY the next size up in a pair of jeans after she tossed all of them out of the dressing room saying they didn't fit right. Oh well, we're good to go for school I guess. We found ONE pair of new jeans that she liked for this year. All her others are literally wearing out but she doesn't want new ones. Go figure. Certainly my only child that doesn't want new clothes.

Tomorrow Britt will be home and we'll be in two days of shopping bliss for her birthday. Certainly not a hard one to shop with! Brooke is also fun to shop with. Part of that is she doesn't care what the size tag says...never minds going up to the next size to make something look better. Val, on the other hand can have good days and bad days. Sometimes she gets frustrated like Chels did over things not fitting right. She's not as bad as she was back in high school though.

OK, guess I'm going to try and scrap. The things I really need to be doing I can't do with this Verizon guy running in and out of the house.

Oh and Tammy...I've got the wet noodle out. You said you would blog yesterday but I'm not seeing it! Bad bad girl.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

My New Best Friend

lol....is the A/C repairman who was able to fix my A/C in less than 5 minutes. woo hoo....now my bedroom will cool off!

Also got more dorm room information. I'd left a call in with the new hall director on Friday about early check in. Meanwhile I'd been given a different number to call about it and had done that yesterday. The hall director called me back today so I was able to ask her some questions about the actual room and she knew the answers since she had taken a look at that particular one yesterday. ummm, guess the three girls of 443 are "curious". LOL Or maybe it's just their moms. She was able to give me the actual dimensions of the closet and I was loving it when she added "I've lived in a lot of dorms...this is my third school... and these are the biggest dorm rooms I've ever seen. So...my memories of this dorm are accurate even after they chopped the rooms up into suites.

Yesterday was a Brooke and mommy day. Seems we are having lots of those. It's always that way as we prepare to send another kid off to college for the first time. It started out with her eye doctor appointment (she's trying contacts again. This time I think she is actually just blind enough that she will wear them instead of just using her glasses in class as needed to see the board. The were on her head more than on her face in the past...just another fashion accessory. She has just now crossed that line to where the world is not as clear as you'd like it to be and that's motivation to actually put the contacts in. After the appointment it was off to lunch and a little more back to school shopping before she had to go to work.

In just a few more days Brooke will have to take the back seat because it will be Britt monopolizing mommy and me time. She will be home Friday to celebrate her birthday. She is also "needy".... no clothes, gotta have some "stuff" for her room in the Zeta house, etc. I've only been able to buy one gift for her. I don't dare buy her clothes so will have to take her shopping and let her pick them out.... plus she is wanting cash for a Vegas trip with the girls over Christmas break when her best friend turns 21. Oh well, at least "shopping" for her is easy this year. I'm thinking Christmas will be too...she will want money (again) and clothes for that upcoming trip.

At some point I have to turn the focus on Chelsea! That will happen quite naturally I'm sure. School deadlines will ensure the important things get done. Her summer is pretty much over Aug 1 since drill team starts back up practices then....8 AM< practices 6 days a week...ugh... I guess that will help me get back into morning mode since two weeks later school will start and she has to be at practice 5 days a week at 7 AM. Do I ever wish she was an older one in her grade instead of a young one. I will have to drive her the entire year!

Sunday, July 23, 2006

It's Always Something

Isn't it? Today's fiasco was the downstairs air conditioner going out AGAIN! In May the compressor had to be replaced. This time I can tell it's coming on but the bottom line is...no cold air coming out. It appears the fan isn't coming on. I've made the call but on a Sunday you don't really get any answers. Hopefully they will call me back tomorrow morning. It sucks having to go through the homeowner's insurance BUT it would suck more having to pay for the repairs. I GUESS! When it comes to air conditioning in Texas that is questionable. The good news is that we had a cold front move in so the temps are only in the low 90s instead of 105 like it was last week. My upstairs air conditioner can keep the house pretty cool. The exceptions are my bedroom and Britt's. Won't need her room till this Friday so I'm really hoping it will be fixed by then. If it's going to take time then I might have to go buy a window unit or two! LOL

Until I figured out the air wasn't working down here I was caught up in my OCD. I wish my condition carried over in a productive way like cleaning but that's not the case. I only get that way about stuff that's not that important. Currently I'm obsessing over how to fit my third child's wardrobe into her dorm room. The container store has become my best friend. I only seem to do this when a child moves away fro the first time and the dorm room situation is an unknown to me .... or them. It never bothered me when Val changed from dorm to dorm..each time it was moving up to more room. When Britt started she was moving into the same dorm with Val so we knew what she needed and how much room she had. But with Brooke...it's a big unknown. I know the dorm and what the rooms were like 30 yrs ago but they have chopped them up into suites now. I've looked at the video tour of the rooms online and they don't show me as much as I'd like to know. Seriously...who shot the footage...a man obviously! Show us the closet space and just how much storage there really is in that bathroom. And really, there's a great architectural department there yet I'm sure those floor plans are not drawn to scale. AND, they don't even give you the room dimensions or the window measurements.

Speaking of OCD. My dog is that way over new toys. Not all of them but when I get one he really likes he gets weirder than he usually is. What possessed me to think he needed a new toy yesterday I don't know. He's picky so I have to really search for something I think he will like. It's got to be small, latex, preferably orange or yellow/with orange and it's a big plus if it's got one end at least that is sort of ball shaped...oh and it's even a bigger plus if it's "spiny". I did good I guess. This one is a spiny pacifier with a ring "handle" on one end. If I shake it by that ring it makes a funny fast squeaking sound. Since he got it yesterday it has never left his side...most of the time it's been in his mouth except when he's making me throw it repeatedly. He's barely eaten since he got it!

Friday, July 21, 2006

Good Mail Day

The room assignments did come in the mail today. Ms Brooke and Ms Kim, are indeed roomies and they got their first choice of dorms. One of the older dorms on campus that has been remodeled to deluxe suites. They are in a two bedroom/2 bath unit with a small living area. Brooke and Kim share a bedroom and they have one more room mate that has a private room and her own bath. They might end up being envious of that however it's the way "I" wanted. It's just a little less lonely that first year if you've got a roomie stuck in the room with you. The living room does give them a place to escape...study (we hope) or watch TV while the other one sleeps. Hopefully the other roomie will venture out of her room into the shared area just so she won't have to be alone. The girls are sooo excited. Got to shop for bathroom "stuff". Couldn't do that before since we didn't know if they would have their own bathroom or not. We are counting down the days. Looks like we've got the OK to move in a day earlier. Woo Hoo. Move in day is now scheduled for Aug 6!

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Stalking The Post Man

Just another sign of how impatient I am. I've been out twice...still no mail. What's coming that's so important? Brooke's dorm room assignment. First batch of notices were mailed out Monday and the second on Wednesday. Afraid we are in the second bath since it didn't come yesterday. I know this because a girl that Brooke knows got her assignment via e-mail. WHAT? It wasn't an option to have it delivered that way! I'm thinking she just has a resident assistant that likes to send out mass mailings. She's all excited because she got new housing.....suite style. At first Kim and Brooke wanted this of course until I talked them out of it. Val and Britt have both lived in that style and it's just not good for freshman. Britt had it her freshman year and she barely knew her suitemates. They did not use their common area for anything more than microwaving. the area was never even decorated. It was a perfect arrangement for Val and Linz the year they moved into that dorm. They did decorate and use their living room... they requested and lived on the same floor with a number of their friends. They had a good time in that dorm. Britt on the other hand just slept there...never even met her neighbors. So.... I showed Brooke and Kim where on campus those new dorms were...mentioned to them that there was no food anywhere close...they would have to walk to eat. I just hate that they are setting up the new dorms this way. It forces the kids to live on junk...not that campus food isn't pretty much all junk anyway but.... The dorms I talked them into requesting are all old ones more on central campus. First choice was a really old one that has been converted into suites. Lots of the athletes stay there and it's very popular we hear. It has the best food options on campus including a coffee house. Not likely they will get that. The second and third are old fashioned traditional dorms. The best for freshman.... in fact, they house freshman almost exclusively. The one I hope they get is a boys high rise and a girls high rise connected by a lobby. It had two huge cafeterias back in the days when I was there. Those have been converted in food courts now. About the only place on campus where you can actually get food till 4 AM. LOL. That was the selling point for the girls.

Oh well, we should know soon.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Girls Night Out

Not exactly in the traditional sense since two of the girls are under drinking age. Probably should have said girls movie night. Brooke, Chelsea, and I are going to see The Devil Wears Prada.


I scrapped last night. Very happy with this one although it was a case from the Basic Grey newsletter. Original by a girl named ...geez, now her name escapes me. Mine is flip flopped from hers because of where the "free space" in the picture was located but if you saw the newsletter you will recognize the design.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Big Yawn

Ever have one of those nights where you just can't sleep because you've got too much sleep in previous nights? I hate that and today I'm paying for it big time. It's 10 PM and I just want to go to bed. Not an option when you are the mother of teenagers though. While I was up last night I did get another layout done for Val's album. Little by little I will get the last of her pictures done and this year's album complete. I guess I should be glad that if the girls are taking pics this summer they are not wanting them scrapped. It does give me time to catch up and get albums finished. Nothing special on this one. Just a lot of pics crammed on a page.



Hey Lynne. I'll trade lifes with you. I'll go endure your rain and you can come and work on your tan here at my pool. I've got new comfy chaise lounges out there. The cool kind with the terry covered foam cushions. My girls are really enjoying those I will admit. Thought I would never find them. Got to sneak out there and get a picture of them one day "relaxing" They don't like me taking those kinds of pics though so it's hard to get the shot.

Friday, July 14, 2006

Some Like It Hot

some really don't. I fall in that second category so when the temps climb over that 100 degree mark I try to do my running around early or late during the day. By noon I prefer to be inside and stay inside.

Nothing exciting going on around here for sure. Got my FIOS installation rescheduled. They've got outside stuff to get fixed first so it will be two more weeks. Not that they really put me off that long. I picked that date. Was the first one that I could be sure I could stay home all day. I've still got Comcast so we'll "live". Thank God, I didn't cancel before the other was installed. I'd be a basketcase right now.


I scrapped last night. One for Val's college album. Pics from the annual SAE River Raft Race. 3000 rafts on the river that day she said. It's a good chance it will be the last one... a boy drowned this past year.... so sad. So many rafts in the river at one time have always presented a danger of someone getting trapped underneath. That actually happened to a friend of hers a couple of years ago when she just fell in but she luckily didn't panic and was able to get to the surface. This poor boy had some sort of a seizure and fell in and was trapped. Once that happened they started pulling the rafts out of the river but most kids didn't know why until later.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Bitch and Moan

The tone was set for the day early....thank you Verizon! Today was supposed to be the day they tied us on to FIOS for both TV and Internet. They had called and confirmed the 4 hr window.... 8 - 12. 12:05 and no one had showed up so of course I called. Was on the phone forever (answering their security questions over and over with different reps I might add)before they finally got hold of someone in the field that could tell them what the problem was. Ummm, he had been here and found out there were no ports left to tie on to! What? Their damn "box" is in my easement! Had to be turned over to engineering who will contact me within 48 hrs and THEN once the outside problem is fixed (and they have dug up my yard for like the 5th time!)they will call and reschedule the "hook up". Now I know why the sales rep told me not to call to disconnet from Comcast until FIOS was installed! I asked the poor rep I had on the line WHY the tech didn't walk up to the door and tell me what was going on. His answer was he wasn't authorized to answer that.

Gotta love when days start off like this. Sure, it could be a lot worse and thankfully it's not but it's just annoying and I've wasted 1/2 a day sitting and waiting and on the phone trying to find out why.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Another Milestone Birthday

Happy Belated Birthday to #3 DD. Brooke turned 18 yesterday. I'm still recovering from her celebrating...late nights for me you know. At 12:01 AM she was legal to get into a club on college night...yep, she was there at the door...VIP because one of her old friends is interning for a local radio station that works the college nights each week. Last night was dinner with the fam and her best friend. David was out of town on business so we scheduled dinner one hour after his flight was due to arrive. Of course it was an hr late so he was 15 minutes late arriving. It was OK, we just went ahead and ordered appetizers while we waited. We were at a lovely little authentic Mexican food restaurant in Dallas called Ciudad. Yummy food. Here's a pic of Brooke and her long time friend (and future roomie) Kim


And since it was her birthday of course they brought her out a free dessert complete with candle. Good thing I got this picture because when we got back home she was too full for her birthday cake. Today when she was ready for a piece she wasn't picture pretty so we just skipped the candles and went straight to stuffing our face.

Once we got home it was time to open the rest of her presents. She'd actually started in the afternoon because I thought she needed a few of the things before we went out to go with her dress. Brooke was typical Brooke and enjoyed hamming it up when the spotlight was on her. Oh, how she does love being the center of attention. Typical of a middle child I think. I know it is in our family. This picture just cracked me up. She was yaking away telling some story in the middle of opening gifts. There was obviously a phone call reference that required the "call me" sign be added. Yeah, Lynne, maybe she is really yours. Acting a bit Italian with that need to talk with her hands.

Hard to believe 18 yrs have past since she came into our lives. It would have certainly been less interesting without this one to keep us on our toes!

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

The Cost of a College Education

I swear...this gets to me every time I have to pay it. I know back when I was in college I paid tuition and maybe a small lab fee but there were none of these hidden fees that they don't tell you about until you are enrolled and they give you a bill. It was a shock when Val started. Now I know to expect it but I don't like it any better. This all came to mind because "we" decided that Britt was going to go ahead and take a class second summer session too. She needed 3 more hours to be back on track for a 4 yr graduation. I just hate to have them take just three hours because the "extra" fees are the same no matter how many hours you take. Her summer 2 fees are not up on the website yet put I copied and pasted her summer 1 breakdown so you can see what I mean. Summer 2 cost me only $378.00 in tuition but the amount I had to pay today was $688.00....ugh...I told her I expect an A in this class for sure. Look at this bill....looks like one from the hospital doesn't it? Oh, and all the fees listed below are exactly doubled for fall and spring semesters.

Summer I 2006 Tuition-SumI $756.00 $756.00 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Reg-Bus Fee $26.00 $26.00 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Reg-Comp Serv $78.00 $78.00 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Reg-Rec Sport $23.50 $23.50 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Reg-Stdnt Ctr $30.00 $30.00 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Reg-Stdnt Publ $8.00 $8.00 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Reg-Stdnt Serv $79.00 $79.00 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Reg Int'l Educ $3.00 $3.00 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Reg - Med Serv $24.50 $24.50 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Reg-Library $48.00 $48.00 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Advising Fee $20.00 $20.00 $0.00
Summer I 2006 ID Card Fee $1.50 $1.50 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Environment Fee $1.00 $1.00 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Course Fee ACC $25.00 $25.00 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Course Fee PHIL $17.00 $17.00 $0.00
Summer I 2006 Activity Chg 10 $10.00 $10.00 $0.00

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Happy 4th of July

I have to admit these kinds of holidays make me a little sad. I long for those days when we were always on vacation on the 4th. Lots of fond memories to look back on from those 4ths. One year we were in Washington DC enjoying the street fair by day and the fireworks at the Washington Monument by night. Another year we were sitting on a beach in Hawaii watching the fireworks out over the water. Most years though we were in Florida at the beach house we went to every summer for 10 yrs. Those are the memories I miss the most. Small children with sparklers and rinky dink fireworks we set off ourselves on the beach...hamburgers and hot dogs cooked on the grill and watermelon. David's parents would always be there with us and many years we'd have a great aunt and uncle come down for the day. Some years the girls' only cousin would come and bring with him the current girlfriend. This year it seems a little sadder than normal. Neither Britt or Val were home. Both just had the one day off (Val from work and Britt from school)Brooke was working then off to eat dinner and hang out with friends. Chelsea is celebrating at a friends' family cookout.

I did take advantage of the 4th sales today. I finally ran across just the right lounge chairs for out by the pool... the exact type I'd almost given up hope on ever finding. My girls will be so happy that the old cheapie ones will be retired. I guess it was good I didn't find them till they went on sale for 1/2 price. Also picked up some good buys on dorm "stuff" today. Little by little that is starting to come together. I sure don't look forward to the day we have to move it all in though. Also did a little birthday shopping for Brooke. Just a couple more things I need to pick up and that will be done. She is an easy one to shop for...expensive, but easy! LOL

Monday, July 03, 2006

The Daily Rant

According to Dottie that is what a blog is for. A place to bitch about stuff. Works for me! Sometimes it's the little annoyances that can set the tone for the day. Maybe if I bitch here about them I won't take it out on the girls.

Silly little thing but it frustrated the hell out of me. I needed to add extentions, spacers, and more protectors to my current album. Get the thing all together and got to screw in the final screw and it won't "catch"...try other screws..nope, none of them will work. There's something ever so slightly wrong with the threads inside that post. So..... I pull the entire post out, find another slightly shorter extention post and decide to make it work until I get buy more. Manage to carefuly work it back through without taking apart the entire album. OK, it will work for awhile...turn it over, go to put it back up and realize I failed to attach the spine cover to the back of the album! ARRRRGGGHHHH Now gotta take the whole thing apart again. This is the reason I used to keep my layouts in boxes instead of albums I think!

Rant two: The humidity is 99% out there I'm sure. It feels like Florida not Texas. We got a few sprinkles this morning...just enough to create a nice sauna effect for the day. I walked out back and in less than 10 minutes I was dripping in sweat ...oh wait...girls glisten, don't they...OK, I was not glistening....I was glowing! YUCK

I will be staying inside today as much as I possibly can. Yesterday I scrapped. My latest additions are entries from Chelsea's birthday. It was on a Sunday. Val was able to come home since she hadn't found a job yet but Britt had already started summer school. Brooke's birthday is Friday and I don't think either of the older girls will be able to make it home. We are celebrating with dinner that night and Val doesn't even get off work till 5:30. Britt has a final that day so even if she could make it home she would not be in any condition to drive. I'm missing the older two. Might have to make a trip down to see them soon. Well, blogger won't load the second layout so I'll save that till next time

Saturday, July 01, 2006

My New Ride






Happy New Car day to me! Yes, I know it's little and sporty and you are probably thinking I'm in the midst of a real midlife crisis. Perhaps that's true but there is a logical reason I went small. Money, or lack of it. LOL. Gas prices were killing me in the old suburban. Originally we planned to trade the old ride in on a small SUV but after shopping around we decided against it. We kept the old one for a backup and for hauling crap and moving kids around. We've put so much money into it in repairs that it still runs great but just isn't looking too hot anymore. It gets to stay with us and go into semi retirement for at least awhile. We opted for this

little baby because I've got another one ready to start learning to drive and it's a good starter type car to learn in. Now David didn't expect me to go this sporty. The one he'd picked out for me to test drive was a 4 door...not cute at all. All i need most of the time now is two doors. Brooke will be leaving in just over a month and then it will just be me and Chelsea. When we need luxury we've always got David's car. Big plus is that Chelsea thinks it's cool.... who knows, she could end up with it in a year if I decide I've got to have something bigger.