Ginapea

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Quote of the Day

Immediately upon waking, early morning:

Boy sits bolt upright and LOUDLY states, "You go to Old McDonald's and eat the food and then you poop it out."

Ah, of what dreams are made...

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Near miss/close call

It's my last day of driver's ed. I am in a rush to get my license because on July 1, the law changes and your probationary license lasts a year, during which you can't drive after midnight. If I get my license between my birthday on May 28 and July 1, I will only have a 6 month probation and can be out until 1 a.m. Who can get home before midnight?

My driver's ed teacher is weird and a little too familiar. He usually picks me up for our 2 hour driving sessions with another student, then I drive her home and we drive aimlessly until it's time to drive to the next student's house. One day we have to take the 40-something daughter of the driving school's owner to her beauty salon appointment in Pikesville. Then he wants to take me to lunch, which is a little weird but I am able to get him to skip it. Us 15 year olds, got to get home because we have busy busy lives, right?

Today, a Friday, I have the last session of the day. He says my driving is good but I need to work on my parallel parking. We drive to some parking lot in the northeast section. I can hear the traffic from a boulevard slightly above us. Even though we are so close to traffic it is actually pretty isolated. No one can really see us, and this huge lot is deserted.

We practice parking for a while. I'm actually pretty decent at it. Then he gives me a standard-sounding talk about the dangers of drunk driving and suggests we role-play a drunk driving scenario. It's weird, but I need to finish this class so I can get to my babysitting job at 6:30, so I say, sure.

So I am the teen who has been drinking and driving, and he is the cop who pulls me over. He asks me if I've been drinking and true to form for me, I say yes. I have a keen sense of when to lie and when to just fess up because you're going to get figured out anyway. He lectures me and then says he has to arrest me. He tells me to get in the back seat and lie down. Then he uses the seat belts in the back to strap me to the seat and tie me up.

I feel like I've very slowly fallen into a deep pit, so slowly I didn't even know I was falling. And now it occurs to me where I am. And I have no way to escape.

He stands over me for a while, just watching. We are both silent and barely breathing. The traffic hums behind him.

Then just like that, it is over. He clears his throat and unstraps me, resuming the teacher-lectute voice while he releases me. I climb into the driver's seat and drive us out of the lot, heading to Kate and Mike's house where tonight I will watch Ben while they go to the movies. During the drive there he talks about how special I am, how much he really likes me, he wants to see me again, can we meet next week?

I smile and nod and say, it's been great, thank you so much. I step onto the curb at Kate's house, dash down her sidewalk and into the house. My hair flies behind me as I run as fast as I can without looking scared. I don't look back.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Thanks to Sharon

..she's my survey lady.

29 questions
1.explain what ended your last relationship? he was emotionally unavailable
2. When was the last time you shaved your legs? yesterday
3. What were you doing this morning at 8am? cuddling in bed with Sammy
4. What were you doing 15 minutes ago? paying bills
5. Are you good at math? yes though I was always REALLY bad at doing homework every single day, so that kind of screwed me in math classes. I did teach myself a unit of stats when I missed 2 weeks with the flu. This greatly impressed my fellow social work students.
6. Your prom night? sex with an ex....
7. Do you have any famous ancestors? That that I am aware, just poor Irish famine-fleers and poor Appalachian hill folk
8. Have you ever taken out a loan to pay for school? god yes
9. Do you know the words to the song on your myspace profile? "Look at you you're young, having so much fun, gonna be a star, blahblahblah...but click there goes the phone, I don't wanta know what my horoscope's predicting..." I could go on.
10. Last thing received in the mail? the new Rolling Stone
11. How many different beverages have you drank today? iced coffee, Diet Coke. I am out of bottled water, milk and cranberry juice
12. Do you ever leave messages on people's answering machine? all the damn day long
13. Who did you lose your CONCERT virginity to? B52s on the Mesopotamia tour "turn your watch back--turn your watch back!--about a hundred thousand years...."
14. Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach? yup
15. What's the most painful dental procedure you've had? drilling for cavities w/o Novacaine
16. What is out your back door? old-fashioned metal porch and my little brick yard, then the back of the Punjab store
17. Any plans for Friday night? recovering from a week of impossible swampedness at work
18. Do you like the ocean? love it
19. Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different kinds of popcorn? my Dad sent me one for no apparent reason when i was a teenager
20. Have you ever been to a planetarium? yes, and had sex in one too
21. Something you are excited about? Project Freefall
22. What is your favorite flavor of JELLO? cherry
23. Are any of your great-grandparents still alive? nope, but I remember Grandpop, he died when I was about 5. He was known for being mean and screaming the Bible at people, but he was sweet to me and let me play with his magnifying glass
24. Describe your keychain. My dad's dogtag from VietNam. For work I had Thing 1 & Thing 2 with blue dreads but it fell apart. :(
25. Where do you keep your change? in my wallet....what a weird question, where else do people keep it? like in a big jar?
26. When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people? oh I don't know, sometime in the last month or so at some work meeting or other....it's a blur...
27. What kind of winter coat do you have? a black pea coat that's getting raggedy, a cheap blue coat that has a zipper that won't fix, a great chocolate and leapard swing coat purchased for $10 at Value Village but that my mom lent to someone and has yet to make it back to me...I'm thinking of buying a blue faux-sheepskin jacket from LL Bean for this year
28. What was the weather like on your graduation? beautiful
29. Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed? just ajar so the cats have access to us.

---------------------------------------tired of all those surveys where you list favorite this, favorite that...? Well now you get to list off everything you hate and vent about everything that annoys you or makes you mad. Just let it all out and say as much as you want! HERES YOUR CHANCE TO RANT !!!

MOST HATED...
FRUIT: tomato
CANDY: circus peanuts....ugh
BEVERAGE: grapefruit juice
COLOR: peach
TOWN/CITY: I can't think of any I hate...hmmmm....
MOVIE: the new Star Wars
ASPECT OF MYSPACE: wierd random people askign to be your "friend"
ASPECT OF INSTANT MESSENGER: ppl knowing whne I'm online and forcing me to talk
ANIMAL: rat?
INSECT: bees since I get sick when stung
BIRD: I really kind of like birds now, even though they freaked me out for a long time.
SEASON: winter
AGE OF KIDS: snooty girls of any age

...WHAT ANNOYS YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING WHEN...
DRIVING: when ppl flag you to go, then they go, like they're trying purposefully to make you have an accident, or when they flag you to do something illegal--hey, I think you should go down that one way street the wrong way!
TALKING ON THE PHONE: not being able to get someone to shut up
WATCHING TV OR MOVIES: boring movies
EATING IN RESTAURANTS: beign asked "have you eaten here before?" like there's some secret club and special way of eating there
GOING THROUGH DRIVE-THRUS: rude staff
AT THE MALL: ppl who walk v e r y s l o w l y
SLEEPING: never getting to frickin sleep in
SHOWERING: the shampoo bottles fall down
YOU'RE AT THE BEACH: dealing with the whole sunscreen fiasco
YOU'RE AT THE GROCERY STORE: long lines
ON A DATE: sexist attitudes
COOKING OR BAKING: not having some ingredient I did not use the last of

WHAT HOUSEHOLD CHORE DO YOU HATE THE MOST? dusting
WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD BE THE ABSOLUTE WORST WAY TO DIE? torture WHAT'S THE MOST ANNOYING HABIT IN OTHERS? chewing with mouth open...women who pee on toilet seats (just sit on the damn thing, you will not get a disease!), ppl who are mean to or ignore their kids so I have to take care of my kid and theirs
WHAT IS YOUR WORST HABIT? always late, don't work out, eat lots of crap, buy too much expensive coffee, stay up too late, buy too many magazines... boy I could go on and on
MOST HATED FASHION TREND (PAST OR PRESENT): I'm going blank on this one...must have blocked it...
WHAT POPULAR SONG (PAST OR PRESENT) HAVE YOU HATED THE MOST? "Break My Stride"
WORST OR MOST HATED PICKUP LINE: anything creepy
WORST THING ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL: no boys
IRRITATING THING ABOUT YOUR CAR: heat shields! damn Honda problem, they make a lot of racket
AND TO BE COMPLETELY STEREOTYPICAL, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST ANNOYING THING ABOUT GIRLS? cruelty
TO BE COMPLETELY STEREOTYPICAL, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST ANNOYING THING ABOUT GUYS? salivating over bisexual and lesbian women
WHAT'S ANNOYING YOU TODAY? the sheer amount of work I have at work

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

I've only seen 51!

Sharon--I can't believe you have never seen 16 Candles! Don't tell me you have never seen the Breakfast Club!

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 of these movies, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 168 movies on this list. Put your score in header and re-post.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Boondock Saints
(X) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total: 6

(x)The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan: The Legend of Ron Burgandy
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
( ) 50 First Dates
( ) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total: 3

(x) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
Total: 2

( ) Harry Potter 1
( ) Harry Potter 2
( )Harry Potter 3
( ) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
Total: 1

(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
( ) The Grinch
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
(x) Robots
Total: 6

( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
(x)Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(x)KING KONG
Total: 5

( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(X) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber
Total: 2

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) The Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
Total: 1

( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( )Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(x) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x ) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total: 2

( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
( ) Ocean's Eleven
( ) Ocean's Twelve
( ) Identity
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
( x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
(x ) Curious George
Total: 3

(x) Indepenence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(X) ET
( )Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
( )Frailty
( ) War of the Worlds
( ) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
Total: 3

( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
Total: 7

(x) X-Men
( ) X2
( ) X3
(x)Spider-Man
( )Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Others
(x) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
( ) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total: 7

( ) Swimfan
( ) Miracle
( ) Old School
( ) The Notebook
(x) K-Pax
(x) Krippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
(x) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old-virgin
Total: 3

Now Add them up and......put "SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 of these movies, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 168 movies on this list. Put your score in header and re-post.

Saturday, October 07, 2006


Claire, Owen & Sam at the cabin


Owen & Sam enjoying the trains


Sam on the Thomas ride


Thursday, October 05, 2006

Cabins and trains and bears, oh my

Last weekend we traveled to Western Maryland to stay in a rented cabin in Deep Creek with Julie & Casey & Own & Claire. We had a grand time. The place we rented was AWESOME. I want to live there. It was a contemporary style cabin with a loft--gorgeous. I LOVE contemporary architecture, and if I ever win the lottery you bet I will buy me a big Pargo-style wood-n-glass house.

The ride was loooong. Of course, as we were traveling at night and in a rural area, I did not drive, else this blog might be coming to you from my place inside a psychiatric ward. (Rural nighttime driving? Can you say creepy? Give me a good old drug corner any day!) My plan had been to leave the office at 2:30 & be on the road by 3:30. However, I didn't leave the office until 3:30--and when I arrived home, not only was nothing packed, but Hubby hadn't showered and Sam was still in pajamas! (Reason #655 why a SAHD is not the same as a SAHM.) This gave us the opportunity to enjoy rush hour, however.

When we got to the cabin and stopped the car, Sam immediately said "Why are we stopping here???" Once we told him this is where we would stay, he started to make upset-scared noises (the usual when he stays anywhere away from home)...but once we got inside and he saw the cabin....."I like this place! I want to live here!" was the new refrain. When we packed up on Sunday, he said he never wanted to leave.

Saturday we had a lazy morning (well, except for Julie, who made eggs & bacon for everyone), then took a long walk in the woods. Then we went out for lunch to a cute Mexican place, where the kids got glow necklaces and Sam kissed a bear statue. The late afternoon was nap time for the girls while the boys went fishing. We grilled steaks for dinner and got the kids in bed. I stayed up late reading (a book about a foster parent, which had many disturbing and depressing stories of abused children...I know how to relax, huh?)

Sunday we headed to Cumberland to see Thomas the Tank Engine on his world tour. Sam had a blast playing with trains and salivating over Thomas merchandise (and ended his day with an Oil Depot, a book, a canteen, and a 6-pack of tattoos---yea, I'm a sucker). Before heading back to Home Sweet Home, we took a ride on Thomas.

The unfortunate thing about our lovely trip was that I had a pretty wretched cold the whole weekend, which then blossomed even more once at home, grounding me home from work for 2 days. You know you're stressed and overwhelmed at work when you panic because you're sick & missing a day (OR TWO! AAACK!) is a scary possibility. Could I be more swamped? I've spent the rest of the week digging out.

- Crazy/Hip Blog-Mamas+
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