Good Enough

When I’m in the car and the kids are locked into their seats I experience a certain feeling of euphoria.

It’s a time when I know they’re not getting into anything, they may be yelling at each other but they can’t hurt one another, really it’s fantastic.

Other moms may take this oppurtunity to get to know their children on a deeper level. They may use the time their children are strapped down to impart further light and knowledge, or inoculate them with spiritual wisdom.

My hats off to these mothers, that never let a teaching moment go by.

Me? I like to turn on the radio, or play a CD.  And I’m not talking FM Disney or We Sing and Play. Sometimes I play my talk radio, while other times I’m in the mood to rock out. At these times I feel like if gas weren’t so gall durned expensive I might just keep right on driving, past my destination point, because somehow I feel like this is quality “me time.”

There’s just one thing that stops me from truly disappearing into my own world and running the mini-van on “auto-pilot…” It’s the constant chattering at me from the back seat. From the 4 and 7 year old.

“Mom, why are bears called bears?”  “Mom, what’s 102 plus 102?” “Mom, can we go to Chuckie Cheese for my next birthday party?” “Mom, in my dream last night my teeth turned to stone.” “Mom, can I go to Laylee’s house?”

And on, and on.

My first question is “When my kids see me rocking out, don’t they understand that I’m in ‘the zone?’ When I’m singing a song at the top of my lungs do they really expect me to stop and tell them why bears are called bears?” Which by the way I really don’t have an answer for anyway. Sometimes when the good song is playing on the radio, there IS NO REWIND BUTTON, or PAUSE. My song is playing and I have to see it through. DO YOU FEEL ME PEOPLE?

and Secondly…in these moments when I do answer or acknowledge them, sometimes I can’t fully hear what they’re saying, them being in the back seat and myself in the front. So I take this tactic…I simply say “mmm hmmm” to everything. But my question to YOU people is what exactly am I saying yes too? Is it that “mmm hmmm we can go to Laylee’s” or “mmm hmmmm sure we can go to Chuckie Cheese for your next birthday and throw money down the drain while we’re at it.”

I’ll never know. I’m sure I’ve promised many a splendid thing while I’m driving. What I really want to do is say, “Kids, Loveys, for the next twenty-something minutes anything I say must not be taken seriously. So if you ask for an Elephant or anything else while we’re in the car, the answer is really NO. Because for the next twenty minutes, Mom is on AUTO-PILOT.”

Brittani. I hail her as the piercing guru. Seeing as she was the fastest to reply and had the most correct, she is hands down the winner. Congrats Brittani!  Please e-mail me (goodenoughblogatgmaildotcom) your address so I can send you your most coveted prize.

Answers:

rook - just above the entrance to the inner ear

snug - just down from the rook in the very center of the ear, just out from the entrance
            to the inner ear

labret - lip

monroe -it is above your lip like her mole

septum  - the cartilage between your nostrils. Like a bullring.

Very interesting. And I thought I was so punk rock in highschool when I got my bellybutton pierced.

Thanks for playing everyone!

Hey Eve,

Here’s a challenge for you:  Em has an ear infection (from her recent ear piercing) and
we went online today (of course) to see what to do for it.  We found lots of advise from
“Piercees” in our lovely blogosphere referring to the many piercings on various parts of
their bodies.  The interesting thing was, I had no idea what parts of their body they
were referring to!!  I thought you could do a contest and see how many of your readers
could match the body part with the name.

Here are the ones I came across — so crazy!!!

1.  rook
2.  snug
3.  labret
4.  monroe
5.  septum

Alright so the prize is a $20 gift certificate to Claire’s for all your piercing needs! But let’s do this on the honor system. The only rule is you cannot look up any of these online or in a book (if any of you use books anymore.) You can ask people, or simply take a guess. NO PEEKING! The person with the most correct wins. If there is a tie I will draw names.

Contest will end Saturday PST at midnight.

So without going into the gory details about three years ago my little brother found himself single again.

He’s been dating but no one he really likes and there are not a plethora of women in the area to choose from. I’m proud of him for stepping out there into the wide world of women.

After him complaining to me that I’ve never set him up with anyone, I say enough is enough. So I signed him up for an on-line singles website. I spend about an hour a day scamming the site for girls that could potentially be “the one” it’s been a lot of fun, but I’ve only been looking for about a week. I’m about to take it one step further and advertise on my own sight but there are a few rules…we may sound shallow and close-minded, but that’s the way it is. The guy has a right to be picky…he’s been through enough.

His list

age  between 23-29

between 5′6 and 5′11  (he’s 6′3 and is slightly obsessed with having tall children)

beautiful

slender build

he says blond (but I’ve already swayed him on this one because there are some gorgeous brunettes out there!)

intelligent (schooling would be a plus)

comes from nice family

and if she comes from money that wouldn’t hurt.

My list

LDS and proud of it. (I don’t talk about my religion because it’s personal.)

must have a good maternal instinct.

Wants to have babies someday.

natural (meaning no orange skin and piles of make-up) 

honest

active

must have a good sense of humor

Really I’m sure we could go on an on. We are looking for a nice girl. If she’s divorced it’s alright. We are non-judgemental about that. If she comes with a child or two that might be alright as well. My brother will keep an open mind. The important thing here is that he finds someone that puts the spark back in his eye, someone that will give him something new to live for.

A little about Bro

He’s tall, with dark blond hair and blue eyes. He went to BYU-Hawaii and got his Master’s in Biochemistry and the University of Kentucky? is that the University in Lexington? Don’t quote me on the name of the school.

He is really into UFC I’m sorry to say. He knows I don’t condone that kind of sport. He has a great job and lives in the Seattle area. I’m not lying when I say he loves spending time with his nieces and nephews and they all adore him. He really wants kids of his own someday. He cooks, he cleans when his house gets dirty enough. He boxes. He snowboards and loves punk rock and hip hop. He loves to lift weights and is a great personal trainer. He has a very passionate personality as all my siblings do. My family loves to debate with one another, and sometimes we’re bad losers if it doesn’t go our way. Mellow people compliment our personalities well.

He just needs a girl who can reign him in a little.
I will say that whenever he has dated long term in the past he has been extremely kind and supportive of his significant other.

So someone out there must have a sister, cousin, friend, co-worker that will fit the bill.

Don’t be bitter if we reject some offers. That is part of the rules.

And don’t try to hook him up with anyone that is mental unstable. I think that goes without saying. Since he lives in my neighborhood, I don’t want any stalker types hanging around.

Final here is a photo for your viewing pleasure…

Sorry that’s the only picture I have close enough of his face. I don’t take many pictures of my siblings.

Here’s one at the local science center. He came with the kids and I. You can get an idea of his size.

Cute right? I’m trying to be objective.

But again, I don’t want any hate mail getting mad because our lists are exclusive. Use your best judgement as a mom, or sister or friend. If she is an amazing girl and doesn’t fit all the criteria, drop me a note. I’ll interview her. There is no harm in trying. This is supposed to be fun and I don’t want any “The Bachelor” drama on this blog!

My husband said said it right, after I relayed the story. “So you had Beattlemania?”

In so many words, Mr.Good. Only I think it’s SoYouThinkYouCanDancemania!

Thanks to an amazing birthday gift from my little sister. Check out the link because I write in full detail at Seattle Mom Blogs!

Jennifer B from Going Barefoot! Hurray Hurray! It was just as I predicted, almost a one in 10 chance, but it was 1 in 9 and overcoming all those odds won YOU Jennifer B a delightful Office Package which I will be happy to mail you as soon as you contact our office at goodenoughblogatgmaildotcom and leave your shipping address. Thanks to everyone for their participation!

Well folks, The Office is back and treating us to a 1 hour episode this Thursday night at 9 pm! To celebrate I’ve bought some prizes that any Office fan would be more than delighted to own… or re-gift.

To win the mystery Office Goody Basket, please leave your predictions for Thursday’s episode, and your favorite office quote in the comment section. I will be drawing names from the list, and since I get about 10 comments per post, you have a 1 in 10 chance of winning the prize! Isn’t that cool?

Also, only residents of the United States are going to qualify for the win…sorry, I can’t afford the shipping to places like Australia!

Good Luck! And happy Office viewing!

Chilihead tagged me for this meme and these are the rules…

       1.) You have to post the rules before you give the facts.

       2.)Players - You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name.  If you  

      don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

       3.)At the end of your post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.

This may be a little rough…I could lie about my middle name…it’s a long one! But I love my middle name as I share it with my Great Aunt because I was born on her birthday, and I love her.

V~ volatile. Sometimes around certain times of the month, I get slightly volatile…B12 seems to have taken the edge off.

I~  Idle. I am such a LAZY person! I have no desire to move unless I desire to move. 

R~ Rebellious. not something I’m proud of. I always want to fight “the man” even if the man is right.

G~ Generate. I have now generated 3 children…a thought that still amazes me. And I love them GREATLY.

I~Island. Sometimes these 3 children make me want to fly to a deserted island…and stay there…for a few days at least!

N~Napkins. We grew up without them. Although my mom will be mortified to read this…we used to have one “rag” at the table and we’d pass it around to anyone that asked for it. I was always slightly bewildered when other homes had “napkins.” They were a novelty to me!

I~Issue.While I enjoy honesty and love blogs that reflect that, what I have issue with is bitter people! I think we all have things we could be really bitter over, but MOVE ON! Make your life as good as you can and stop dwelling in the past! Get over it!

A~Academics. I would love to continue my education this year. I hope to begin further schooling in January.

Now I need to tag some people…

Unidentified Rantings Girl; Mammadoggylove; Temporary?Insanity; Hope is Power; Annie; Literary Geek; am I still going? Help me out Johnny; and Absolutely Bananas! 

Hello class, I’d like to share what I did this summer with you…and if you read this, you must share what you did. This is your assignment.

Snakes are fun! But I could never own one. The thought of feeding them live mice freaks me out. If only a snake could be a vegetarian?

Mr. Good gets friendly with them

I like them…?

Buster likes them.

Missy’s in love. She cried when we had to leave them.

The reason you don’t see a picture of Bubba holding one, is all he wanted to do was kick them. Why does he insist on kicking pets? It’s infuriating!

Huntington Beach

My surfer boy.

B-boys at the beach.

My kids were captivated. This was better than TV. They sat and watched for an hour!

Buster took this one.

We watched the sunset.

This picture was part of my much needed “Girls Night.” I love these two chicas.

Look closely. This house is the one in Beaches. Very fitting for an afternoon with girlfriends!

These are the only remaining friends I keep in contact with from High-school. We all have a lot of history together, and they love me anyway!

So that was my summer montage. What about yours?

Although I’ve been waiting for the moment to reach my 100th post, that time has come and gone without me knowing it…for those of you who aren’t familiar, it is tradition in the blogosphere to write 100 things about yourself on your 100th post. I can’t really insert this postbetween the 99th and 100th so this will be untraditional, and you will all get 106 facts about me, and it’s getting late so I may reveal too much information at any time. I will not be editing this post, the thoughts will be typed in order of “thunkage.”

1. I name all our pets after surf breaks…
2. the fish was named Haggerdy both times we had a fish.
3. I’m taller than your average girl
4. this made me feel somewhat like a bodyguard in Highschool
5. I like gummy candy,
6. I can eat it at an alarming rate
7. I used to steal candy from siblings
8. when I was 12 I started a club called C.O.W.
9. that stood for Care Of World.
10. I enlisted my cousins and siblings as members
11. we put on plays and sold cookies and fruit to make money
12. we were going to use that money to buy a patch of rainforest.
13. As President of C.O.W. I was also in charge of the money.
14. one day I spent it on candy.
15. No one has ever forgiven me for that one.
16. I’ve a passion for music
17. of the garagey sort.
18. in my former life I attended many concerts
19. I like to be in the front and try to talk the bodyguards into giving me a playlist
20. or guitar pick
21. I lost the guitar picks
22. I used to play the guitar
23. I had a band called “Red Licorice”
24. you don’t want to know why we named it that
25. my little sister was in it.
26. when we reminisce about the 1 show we put on we’re to embarrassed to continue the conversation
27. what were we thinking?
28. I think that a lot about myself in those days
29. I married a surfer
30. that was always on my list for “Mr.Right”
31. along with many other silly things that slowly were crossed off.
32. English was my best subject in Highschool
33. I was in all the school plays
34. except for that one that I didn’t get the part I wanted
35. I drove a yellow Cadillac DeVille in college.
36. It was sweet.
37. Sometimes when I couldn’t afford the gas to get home, I slept in the back seat.
38. I could stretch out quite comfortably.
39. Don’t worry Mom, I parked in nice neighborhoods
40. I wanted many many children when I “grew up”
41. now that I’m almost grown up, the number is not QUITE as many
42. I love a good yoga class
43. I’m a little embarrassed to “OMMMMM”
44. I don’t think I’ve connected with my “ommm” yet.
45. I love to walk or jog with my dog.
46. she’s an American Bulldog
47. not to be confused with the English Bulldog
48. or the French variety
49. I’ve backpacked England
50. and Scotland
51. I’ve slept in Heathrow Airport
52. and a train station in Glasgow
53. I love to travel
54. I hate flying
55. I’m afraid of heights
56. I’m easily distracted when a subject is brought up that I think I won’t understand
57. that’s why I took Biology three times
58. and dropped it three times
59. I hate MySpace
60. all of my siblings and then some MySpace
61. MySpace is for teens that want to hook up or flirt.
62. that’s just my opinion
63. I’m not as “laid back” as I seem
64. I’m a mother bear when it comes to my children or family.
65. I’m a fiercely loyal friend, even when my friend may be wrong
66. I love my friends
67. I love my family
68. I love honest people
69. as long as they’re constructive about it
70. I’m kind of picky,
71. I’m constantly trying to grow out of it.
72. I’ve only been loving avacado’s for the last 2 years
73. see, now I’m working on Peppers.
74. if I just eat a little bit each time, some day I may like them
75. I find Oprah really irritating
76. sometimes I still watch her
77. I’m a hopeless romantic
78. but I am uncomfortable with P.D.A.
79. I have 3 sisters
80. I have 3 brothers
81. I’m lucky to have them
82. my parents are happily married
83. I’m happily married
84. I like a simple life
85. I’m 30
86. I’ll be 31 very soon
87. I still have big dreams
88. I’m a procrastinator.
89. I’m cold
90. not in the feelings sense, but very literally, It’s FREEZING in here!
91. I feel guilty everyday
92. about different things
93. mostly about being a mom
94. I’m so glad I’m a mom
95. I want to be the best mom
96. is that too much too ask?
97. I want to go back to school
98. I’m going to go back to school
99. My biggest regret is never finishing college.
100.  I will never attend a Highschool Reunion
101. okay if there’s one thing I’ve learned, never say never.
102. But I don’t have the desire to ever attend one.
103. I do like living in Washington
104. Even though I complain
105. there is so much natural beauty here.
106. and for my 106th factoid that I shall write about myself and close shop for the evening…I really enjoy having a blog. It’s re-awakened a part of my brain that I had forgotten I loved to use. I love to write. And I love to read those thoughtful tidbits you other people put out there for the world. Goodnight.