Champagne taste on a Bud Light budget

The SPQs are supposed to "BE PARTICULAR." I have kinda decided that between FlyLady and my own experience of being a female outnumbered by males all my life that I have not only earned this right, but have also honed it to an art. I have enough patience or foresight or whatever to know what I want and be willing to wait for EXACTLY that or at least a reasonable substitute. (Unlike SOME husband that I know!) I.E., my bedspread. A few years ago, I found a bedspread that I just adored: a big ole Texas flag -- unfortunately it was a little out of our price range. SO that brings me to my other point -- my personal motto is "never pay retail." MyPoolBoy kept wanting to buy it and I was determined to wait it out and see if it went on sale or at least wait until we could better afford it. Well, it never went on sale - in fact all that line of bedspreads just disappeared from the shelves one day. One day, meaning well, I'm sure, MyPoolBoy found a spread that had Texas flags all over it - kinda cheesey patchwork printed - and it was made of T-shirt cotton material. Bless his heart, I know he meant well but it was not what I WANTED. (that's all that really matters, right?) Fast forward 1 or 2 years and the same store has a revival of the bedspreads! This time they were on sale and they had ONE left that fit our bed! MyPoolBoy was with me and I lingered and lingered by them until he KNEW what I was thinking... I couldn't pass up getting exactly what I wanted because at this point I was planning on buying material and making the darn flag myself - cuz the spread MyPoolBoy bought was U.G.L.Y.

Of course, this side of me does have its drawbacks: it is one reason why my house is not finished -- the other reason being that MyPoolBoy will not DO ANYTHING to help!

Track meet today - had to take the kids to get on the bus at 5 AM. Gotta go pack lunch and ice chests!

Emergency dieting starts today - this is the code blue of all-time weigh-ins.
Heaven help me.

Sweet Potato Queens / Lucilles

Oh lord, have I ever found my psychic twin! After reading a couple of southern humor books from the library I discovered one called "The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love" by Jill Conner Browne. I now know that I am not the only tiara-coveting, cat-eye-rhinetone-sunglasses-sporting, prom-dress-at-a-meeting-wearing, silly-drunk-and-too-loud-with-all-your-girlfriends woman out there. In fact, this book actually came out in 1999 (the year I graduated college) -- so I had been the "Technology Princess" for a couple of years, thus proving that my twin was out there writing a book and living here in TheSticks I never even knew it! So, I read through the book and I thought she had been spying on me and my friends (the Lucilles) because, by golly, no one can get bawdy and debaucherous the way we can! Anyway -- I really have resolved that I am not going to let MyPoolBoy get me down any longer. In fact, I confronted him today and told him that he was too negative and it was getting to me. He actually listened and apologized -- we'll see..... Ok, so here's the deal: I am going to write the quotes from the book that struck a chord in me the most so that I can review them every so often. I also need to get ahold of my own copy of the book as well as the sequels. There's even some CDs by Kacey Jones that have songs like "Never Wear Panties to a Party" and "You're the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly". I had to laugh really hard. I've set up links on my Yahoo Bookmarks and will probably post them here somewhere.

Ok - so in the intro I really laughed at or related to:
1 The fact that she declared herself queen (like I declared myself the Princess)

2 The instance where they bought ball gowns at Goodwill and wore them in the parade (me and some of the Lucilles wore prom dresses to a faculty meeting right before homecoming one year, complete with tiaras and toilet-paper sashes emblazoned with slogans like "ARD Queen" "Technology Princess", etc.)

3 The quote from Delta Burke/Suzanne Sugarbaker in "Designing Women": "There's just nothing better in life than to ride around on the back of a convertible with a crown on your head." And Browne follows it with "Words to live by." Well said.

4 Her spiel on the Miss America pageant and that the scholarship part is crap. She acknowledges that everyone just wants that crown - "Call the thing a beauty pageant, and be done with it."

5 I can do "the wave" too!

6 Laughed at the chunking of sweet potatoes from the float and the story of her softball champ friend being a little too zealous at her chunking. (My Lucille friend MrsRodney fits this description!)

7 Browne acknowledges that many of women's day to day activities and organizations are thankless.

8 The only reason she was never a Golden Girl of Alcorn State was that she was not born black. "It's a bitch, but there you are." Adding that "Brown fat just does not look as bad as white fat." And then goes on to compare it to a pork chop: when raw and white it is globby and unappealing, fried it is brown and golden -- I need to tan, see?

9 The discussion about Real Live Majorette Boots had me hooting. First of all, I had majorette boots - not the kind the SPQs wear, but I was a majorette, so there you go. BUT Her Royal Highness's advice for those who did not is good advice for anything in life (and why I think I started wearing tiaras in the first place). Pretty much she chides you that if you grew up wishing that you had a pair of those boots to dress up in as a child you shouldn't whine over it NOW: "Hell, you're full- grown now. If you don't have Real Live Majorette Boots at this stage in your life, it's our own g*d* fault. Quit whining about it and go get some!"

10 Calling the kids "Tater Tots" was pretty funny. My friend Tammy (her REAL name, not her SPQ name) in high school and I called each other taters. When we graduated and got married and had kids we called them "Tater Tots!"

11 Their hangout, Hal & Mal's is a must-see for me the next time I am in the vicinity -- I am dying to see the Elvis shrine in the men's room! I figure H&M must be their version of the R-Bar -- I wonder if they've ever been locked in?

SO I have decided that the Lucilles are SPQs of a sort (and my stepmother is an honorary Lucille -- she personally bought me my high-heel acrylic hooker-looking "Bingo" shoes). There is a place on the SPQ website to start your own chapter. We would definitely qualify.

Office decor and Yahoo blog

First of all .
and bp was 130/80-something this past week
and weight is at 158# (dammit)

Went to Wally world and got some Mary Engelbreit material on sale in the remnant bin and I am going to cover the desk and my treadmill shelf and the office chair with it and put clear vinyl over the desk to keep it clean. Saw the librarian at the other Elem. had done this and it was very cute. Got some black/white check to do a valance on the window and some smaller check to cover the bulletin board and the stool. It ties the whole room together. I am going to go ahead and paint all the walls a lighter color yellow than is in there right now, but it already looks cute just draping the cloth over everything.
MyPoolBoy finished his science class last week, his last history paper today, and got the notes for his algebra final tonight at class. He is almost done with a whole semester! Next he starts speech during Christmas break and then does another semester starting in January. He will probably apply for the aide's job at my campus and hopefully will have time to study and test like he did this past semester at the middle school.
Thunderduck is coming home tonight - a day early -- we haven't told Chunk yet, though. We're going to let him be surprised!
took Lurch to get his late b-day present -- soccer gear. He really thinks that he wants to be goalie. TrainWreck and all the varsity guys he hangs out with took him over to the fields yesterday and shot goals at him and then took him to play Halo with them and hang out at TrainWreck's friend's house.
btw TrainWreck went and got a job at McD's just out of the clear blue -- kinda a good deal, now that I think about it because he will have some running around money since things are tight around here.
L8R = going to go on a quest for cookie dough

Long Time No Post

What all have I been up to? Let's see... Thunderduck made the college soccer team, so I've gotten most of that squared away. He just needs to get a few more scholarships and all of his expenses will be covered without dipping into his tuition fund! He also has a GIRLFRIEND! (the girl he took to prom)
TrainWreck MIGHT go to regionals in triple jump - if the 3rd place kid at district is indeed failing.
Both TrainWreck and Thunderduck got the Packmule Pride award at the soccer banquet (that I spent all afternoon decorating for!) Thunderduck was academic all-district --- strange how he suddenly got serious about his grades this year. I wish TrainWreck would!
Lurch is still doing tae kwon do, and is practicing his talent for Mr. Packmule. Apparently he has a girlfriend, too, but I hear that it is a "middle school relationship" (walk to class with me but don't talk to me!)
Chunk's conduct grade slipped again to N (mostly because of HW not being turned in and TALKING)
We are working on the house from now until Thunderduck's graduation, so I now have my lawn mowed weekly (!) and it has been weed n feeded, my windmill is in the front yard (and is almost done being painted -- it needs the red trim done), my picnic table has been repaired, primed and painted to match the swing. MyPoolBoy is working on cleaning out his shed this week so we can finish another coat of paint on it and make some doors for it. We also will be building a chicken coop on the lower level of the fort and then we can put the rabbit out in the hutch.
I did P90 this AM!!!!! I hate/love the ab ripper! I decided that I will blog as a reward for doing my am workouts, so if I get behind on blogging you'll know it's because I am not working out :-)
Ok, we have a field trip today, and I still have to get Lurch to weight lifting (plus take a shower!) and get everything ready for a sub tomorrow -- I'm going on the field trip with Chunk's class --shhh he doesn't even know it yet!

Ok -- to the shower!

no migraine

Went to the movies with Lurch and Chunk this morning. Came back and ate a LARGE bag of peanut butter M&Ms mostly by myself. Needless to say I sat and felt sorry for myself for pigging out, but at least I didn't have a migraine today! :0

Sick and Tired

I'm sick (coughing phlegm)
There. I said it.  Isn't admitting you have a problem the first step? 
This coming week is going to be outrageously busy. I doubt I will get over whatever illness it is that I've got any time soon. *insert hacking phlegm noises here* There are still holiday decorations up, and the boxes for them are in the floor of my bedroom. GAWD!  *insert yet another phlegm hack* I guess I will see how long I can have Christmas this year.  I don't know if MyPoolBoy will keep giving me presents, though.
I need to:
Do lesson plans (nothing like waiting until 8:00 on Sunday nite to do that!)
Get a sub folder ready for Wed.
Get parent conference packets ready for Wed.
Clean the kitchen (sink is full of dishes!)
Put up the Xmas stuff *phlegm hack*
I also want to do the rest of my Scotland scrapbook...when I don't know 
*phlegm hack*  No wait, that was a lung....