Pretty cool logo

walk_logo
Originally uploaded by Broken Bindings.

I am also selling 'sneaker'decals, a buck apiece,which will be posted on our "Wall of Fame" with donor's name.

Join my Team!

Many of you know I have Multiple Sclerosis. Again this year, some of my very best buds, my girls, the Hubby and I are rockin' the MSWalk.Click here to visit my team page and sponsor me!


April 23, 2006.


Thanks in Advance! Smooches

Broke, broken, and heartbroken

Honestly, there is just SO.MUCH bad stuff going on around here lately, I hesitate to write about it. I hesitate to even think about most of it. I am fine, well mostly, and my IMMEDIATE family is fine (thankgodknockwood) but so much other stuff is going on my head can't stop spinning.

Trying to just breathe lately. Forgive me. Be back soon, if intermittently.


In the meantime, this just made me smile, for 5 minutes. it's woth a look y'all. Make sure your volume is up.

the biggest chuckle from my morning's reading...

A large spherical object appeared in my peripheral vision which on closer inspection proved to be one of Pamela Anderson's breasts.

I received a refill of champagne just as Elton clambered on to the stage to belt out "Rocket Man" and afterwards I shook his hand.

It was at about this point that I realised that in all the excitement I had completely forgotten the reason I came: to network and try to get an acting gig in Hollywood.

WHEW

Some how, I tried to edit one LITTLE thing in my template, and screwed EVERYTHING up!

wouldn't post any entries, couldn't read or answer comments ( but I read them in email, thanks everyone)

my lil sis suggested I try switching templates to get rid of my eggregious errors, and TA DAH!

I seem to be back.

Thanks Stinkymom.

Lost in translation

I am aware that the promised update is not up yet, but I must exonerate the bookworm immediately.

On Thursday, my sweet six year old told her aunt a joke she supposedly was told by her sister:

Why did the pig follow the chicken across the road?

answer? HE WANTED SEX

I was furious. How could my angelic seeming Bookworm tell her little sis such a dirty joke? Where did she hear it? I could not WAIT to get her home from Grandma's house to castigate her. HOW DARE SHE right?

After much confusion and righteous indignation, I finally got the real joke out of her.



Why did the chicken follow the piggyBANK across the road?

the real answer?

He wanted CENTS

At the turning of the year, will my life stop spinning out of control?

Crazy, crazy life here. It's all mostly good, but I need to catch up, sum up, update, and such. Thank you all for the emails and comments checking on me, we are okay. I have been lurking around on your sites too.

Another update soon. Smooches

Don't Stop Me Now

Earworm number 347, courtesy of QUEEN and last night's entertainment on TLC.

The show was called "The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off." I had no idea that I was soon to become a blubbering blob of jello on the couch.

As the show opened, a rather high-pitched voice began introducing the pictures, of a stange-looking boy in a wheelchair. He wore bandages all the way down his arms, covering oddly-shaped stumps at the ends, a constant hat, and a bemused expression on his face. His little voice sounded so sweet. Pre-pubescent even. Then I listened as it was revealed that this sweet little boy was 36 years old, and had been suffering since before birth with a disease I haven't checked the spelling on yet, called EB, which caused his current terminal skin cancer, and he was planning his own funeral.

This show was more than one of those "look at poor me who suffers while you smug innocents look on" types. He narrated his own death. This man suffered, really really suffered, his entire life, from a genetic skin disorder that kept his skin from ' binding' to his body properly. The first tears came while his mum talked about how difficult emotionally it was to try to cuddle him as a newborn, knowing that EVERY TIME she TOUCHED him, his skin would blister horribly, and painfully. Nearly every day, his body was 75% covered in bandages. Horrendous, constant pain. He was born with NO SKIN covering one of his legs from the knee down, presumably from friction in utero.

And Yet, no pity party for Mr Kennedy. All of Alnwick, England, was invited to celebrate life with him. The sense of humor was immense. I laughed mightily as an English Starlet, spokesperson for the UK Charity, DEbRA, started crying whilst talking to him, and after she left to get him his autographed picture, he turned to the camera, grinned mischeviously, made a 'chalk one up for me' sign in the air, and chuckled. He also mentioned, as an aside, that he could see right down her shirt as she had leant down to hug him.

The earworm came, and WILL.NOT. LEAVE. His funeral was completely planned out. He chose his coffin carefully, made sure it was carved with tigers on the side, and an image of a can of Heinz57 beans. Why? So people would look at each other at the funeral and wonder "Why the beans?" He figured they would have something to talk about then.

Near the end, I began sobbing as the camera closed in on his mum, as she was mouthing the words to his chosen funereal soundtrack: Don't Stop Me Now by Queen. His favorite song. She lip-synched along through her tears. And then I could no longer see the screen.

I'm having such a good time. I'm havin' a ball.

List of banned books - why people, why?

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - read this one
   
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - own this one
   
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - read in high school
   
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling- own all of them so far, several copies so Bookworm, hubby and I don't fight over them
   
8. Forever by Judy Blume - read it
   
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson - no, but the bookworm did a project on it last year, fifth grade, an assigned book
   
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger- read it
    
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker- own it, and the movie, but the book is better
    
19. Sex by Madonna- perused it once at B&N
    
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel-own Clan of the Cave Bear, read the others
    
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle-read it as a kid and re-read it when the bookwork took it out of the library
    
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous-read it
    
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl- read it to the bookworm after she saw the movie
    
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume- read it
    
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood-read it
    
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George-bookworm owns the series
    
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison-read it
    
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee-read it
    
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison-own it
    
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton-read it in grade school
    
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel-also read in grade school
    
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes-assigned book in high school
    
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein-own it, and several others as the bookworm loves them
    
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley-read it
    
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King-own it
    
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl-third grade teacher read a chapter a day to us, and we loved it.....I now own it
    
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest-read it
    
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume-assigned book in grade school
    
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende- read it, and own this and several ofthers, Allende is a fabulous writer
    
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney-bookworm read it
    
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut-read it
    
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding-read in jr high, was assigned but we all loved it
    
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King-own it
    
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King-own it, love the movie, love the TV series with Anthony Michael Hall even more
    
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison-own it
    
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford-huh? banned? COME ON...
    
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

---

I saw this posted over at Doc Ern's place, and could not believe how many GREAT books have been banned. Some of the other titles are familiar but to be honest, I read so much I am not really sure whether I have read some or not, so I left those blank.

Who decides to ban some of these wonderful books? Have any of these people ever actually read the books they want to ban?

Kid across the street actually told the bookworm that we must not be ' good christians' because we like the Harry Potter series. Oh well, chalk up another parenting failure for that one. Please, people.

Can't Do It

I sit here, ruminating on all of the STUFF that has been going on in the Broken houshold the last few months. All summer, either here, or in my in-law's house in Wales, I have found myself thinking 'I should blog this....' quite often. Then, as I sit to write

I can't do it

not without getting completely jammed up thinking about that Hussy Katrina, and the devastation she, and the government, have wreaked on our nation.
Many, many more eloquent bloggers have covered this happening much better than I can. Please go check out Amanda and Southern Fried girl's sites, and help out at verzenagain.com, or donate to the fund going at ramdonandodd, or buy a shirt designed by Scotty G. At the very least, DONATE.

I can't even think about these last few weeks without becoming a hopeless blubbering mass. I have lost the tiny shred of faith I still had left in my government, but I am overwhelmed by the generosity and caring spirit shown by my fellow citizens.

Amanda and Scotty B., Southern Fried Girl and your family, and all of those hurt and displaced by Katrina, you are loved.

Is this thing on?

Hello All of you millions of worshiping readers of Broken Bindings. Guess what?


I GOT A BRANDY-NEW COMPUTER!

and I really needed one too.

The old system was truly old. Being the wife of a programmer/system engineer, you may think that I would live in a technophile/crazy gadget house.

WRONG!

It's almost like the story of the shoemaker and his wife. Our system was a patched-together frankenstein like creation, barely chugging along. When our very very old previous system no longer suited our needs, we were lucky enough to be given a computer by my mother. She won it in a drawing at her office. Yippee? or not

It came with ONLY FLOPPY DRIVES. So, of course my dear hubby simply ordered a cd/rom drive from the manufacturer's web site. Okay so far.....

That was seven years ago. Except for one minor memery card upgrade so the bookworm could play a game sent to her by my in-laws, no further upgrades were undertaken.

Well, Windows 98 sucks, you all know that, but it was working okay for the most part. We have cable ISP, so things ran pretty fast despite our dinosaur-age apparatus. Then the trojans hit.

Suddenly things were dragging. I had no idea what was going on. My hubby realized the problem. In my naivetee, we had no virus/spyware protection. Hence- the next MISERABLE piece of software was installed.

The evil N*rton 2003.

ICK ICK ICK ICK ICK ICK.

It did rid us of viruses and trojans. But evidently, while I zipped along using my computer, the system I thought was protecting me was actually LOADING my hard drives with crap. They had an application called clean sweep that was supposed to help get rid of unneccesary files. Didn't work. To make an already long, long story short, we realized this, and decided to upgrade to the 2005 version.

BIG MISTAKE. HUGE

My system crashed. 2003 would tell you it was uninstalled, but it really wasn't. The 2005 would not install properly. After screaming, crying, cursing, gnashing of teeth, etc, I gave up. The N*rton web site WOULD NOT HELP ME, because we had clean sweep installed, and it was no longer supported by the EVIL software company. I had no where to go for help, dammit!


After complaining, whining, flattering, demanding, screaming, and then finally thretening to withhold sexual favors, I this week FINALLY convinced the dear hubby that it was time for a new computer. Whew!

Sleek. Black. Pretty.

And FAST! YAY!

So, I am back now, if there is anyone still checking here. Good to see you. I have many many entries to make, and will hopefully be updating frequently now that the kiddies are back in school.

wow, quiet

Nice, relaxing morning. I don't have anywhere I HAVE to be at in the next couple of hours. What a difference. The Kiddo is sacked out on the floor under her "mennie" (what she calls her blanket, I have no idea why) and I have spent coffee time surfing some of my favorite sites. I solemnly swear that soon, I mean it, soon, I will figure out how to add links on the side, post entries with more than one pic, add links in text (I did it once and can't remeber how) and I will also figure out how to take control of this crazy life. Things will slow down soon, but next week starts the multiple 'end-of-year' extra dance rehearsals, and the Bookworm is graduating elementary school on the 21st. I have parent orientation over at the Middle school tonight, she has two awards/5th grade picnic ceremonies next week, the Kiddo graduates preschool the 15th, my mom's birthday is the 22nd, my mom-in-law's is the ninth, the bookworm's is the 28th, and the recitals (3 of 'em for Bookie) are on the weekend of the 25th.

breathe

I am not gonna get hyped up now. Gotta take advantage of these quiet times, right? I will leave you with one of my favorites, I often sing it to my lil ones.

These are days
you'll remember
never before, and never since
I promise
will the whole world be warm as this
And as you feel it, you'll know it's true
That you
are blessed and lucky
it's true
that you
are touched by something that'll grow and bloom
in you.

"These Are Days"
Buck/Merchant
10,000 Maniacs-Our Time in Eden

Let me 'splain...

inigo
Originally uploaded by Broken Bindings.

No, is too much, let me sum up...

(sorry, that movie is a favorite)

Schedule of the past month, format 'borrowed' from the lovely ladybug

7= times I have watched my nephew

10= times I have had to either drive ACROSS TOWN to bring stuff Bookworm forgot at home, or drive HER back to school to pick up forgotten homework

5= extra band rehearsals for music teacher's DEMENTED decision to have 5th graders participate in town-wide 'festival of music'

1= time I got nearly hopelessly lost following 'map-Iamstupid-quest' directions

20= rehearsals scheduled for bookworm and kiddo in this month's dance recital still-to come

4= weekends that have been ENTIRELY taken up by family parties

6=weeks until I am supposed to schlepp 2 kids and a month's worth of luggage across the ocean to visit my inlaws, the Brit will be staying home for 2 kid-free weeks (so what his boss wants him to work- shut up)

457= times my head has nearly exploded

And we still have 3 weeks of school left here.

Fifteen years ago today

I was going to post a mushy, poetic verse here, along with cute pics, to celebrate our anniversary. Flickr is getting a massage, and the craziness that has become our family schedule is still grinding along.

But, I do want to take a moment to celebrate that my wonderful, sweet, adorable, and geeky, hubby and I have been married for an unbelievable FIFTEEN years as of today. I was a dumb kid, literally, when we met, and he had no idea how young I was (I WAS legally an adult - shut up) and I realize how lucky we are, to not only have made it this far, and this long, but we actually lived through my growing up some more, two kids, several job changes, many moves, motorcycle accidents (for another post) sometimes devastating illness, and not only do we still love each other, we mostly LIKE each other a lot too. My dear Brit is funny, charming, sweet, caring, and I feel so blessed that I was right, at 19, when I chose him. After all, he did move more than three thousand miles away from his home to meet me.

Michael, I love you more than I can say. Thanks for enjoying the ride with me. Here's to a lifetime more. I love you, you geek.

Two words for you

MAPQUEST SUCKS



that is all.

What a WEEK I'm having!

DSCF0302
Originally uploaded by Broken Bindings.

Okay, maybe not quite that bad, but really, these two adorable creatures have been running me RAGGED this week.

On the upside.......no time to be depressed. heh

The past 10 days or so have been unbelievably busy. Mostly good stuff, our springtime activities heat up every year, with school band/chorus concerts, the annual dance recital coming up, end-of-year girl scout trips, etc. But come on, 10 days with nothing but driving, packing, unpacking, driving some more, screaming, etc?

puhleeeeeeeese gimme a break.

Friday, the 13th, Bookworm and I had a sleepover party at our nearby Girl Scout Activity Center. I was NOT looking forward to this, but actually, we had the time of our lives!
The party was called "Freaky Friday" and included several troops from the area, each girl bringing an important older female in her life. I got to be the Bookworm's important lady.
The evening was chock-full of girly activities like manicure time, making friendship bracelets, creating unique outfits out of construction paper, buttons and bows, and then dragging out the sleeping bags and snuggling up to watch "Freaky Friday" on a huge prejection TV.

WE HAD A BLAST!

Bookie and I laughed, like we haven't in a loooooooong time, cuddled, crafted, teased, tickled, and hugged, both of us reveling in the mother/daughter alone time. We soooooo needed it. I am amazed at how caring, funny, original, creative, and fun my (gasp) nearly 11-year-old baby has become.It was really, really nice to spend that time with her.
The next day, after tackling the 'rope course' at the camp ground, we made our way home. At 1:00
At 2:00-

Kiddo had to be 20 minutes away at a neighbor's birthday party. I dumped luggage, grabbed the Kiddo, and took off. Thankfully, my very sweet hubby had treated Kiddo to a night out at the Golden Arches, and a trip to Target to get the birthday present, otherwise we would have been VERY late.

Meanwhile, said British gentleman assembled our Kiddo's brand-new 15 foot trampoline, which was a birthday present for the lil one, we had promised it to her at her December birthday party and finally delivered.

Okay, this is getting too wordy, even for me, heh.

To be continued.....

I have been reading you all, and missing the interaction. But hey, Spring only comes around once a year, right?

Hugs all

Jealousy

_41147755_portman_pa203
Originally uploaded by Broken Bindings.

How pissed do you think it makes me that this chick can look THIS awesome with NO HAIR!?

I want my frizz gone.

Crazy, crazy weekend, still running around like a psycho, gotta run now and pick up my nephew and then kiddo, will update later. promise

Great sisters come in sets of three

I have three sisters. Actualy, two of them are my stepsisters, but since our parents have been married now for 25 years, the step part no longer counts.
We all gathered Sunday at Sissy's house. She is six weeks younger than me, and constantly reminds me of that fact, by the way. All of the hubbies decided to throw a cookout for the wives, and let Sissy's hubby be in charge of the purchasing. Big mistake.
With children, our party was a grand total of 17. Present was my family, 4 of us, all 3 sisters, their hubbies, and my niece and 3 nephews, and my Dad's ex-wife and her 'friend'. My kids call my step-sisters' mom "Grandma Dee" and just consider her another part of our very big family. (My mom is one of 6 kids, my dad is one of 5).
We played lots of volleyball, had many shots and mudslides, fabulous salads, hamburgers, hot dogs and grilled pork loin. I was impressed with my bro-in-law's preparations. Until.
Until we were packing up to leave, and my bro-in-law started asking for the guys' shares of the cost. He wanted a hundred bucks apiece from each of the hubbies. I handed the Brit the cash, as he NEVER carries enough, but started scratching my head, wondering how he spent over five hundred dollars. We found out.
My mom, as usual watching out for her baby chickies, asked how he could have spent that much. The answer?

He forget to take out and cook the three huge london broil steaks, had purchased 4 cases of beer, 6 cases of soda, 6 different packs of buns, 12 bags of chips that never got opened, 3 'box' wines that are still in his garage, and a box of one thousand plates.

We paid up and left, but my sister now has to host ALL of our summer parties, and maybe Thankgiving, Chrismas, and New Year's Eve too.

I hope all of you mothers out there had a great Mother's day. I have tried to post since Monday, but blogger ate my homework.

Future cosmetologist, doncha know

DSCF0316
Originally uploaded by Broken Bindings.

heh heh, if she only knew how funny she is...

While casually paging through my least favorite catalog just now, Kiddo and I had the following exchange.

Kiddo: Mommy, all I want is Samantha, Kit, Samanthat's tea party, and ....loook look see dis?
Mean Mommy: Uh-huh
Kiddo: 'member Kit and Samantha mommy? like Bookworm's best friend has? I want dem. And the tea party. Oh yeah, and the doggie, and there is this 'udder' 'Mercan Girl dolly that comes with the horsie.
Mean Mommy: Oh, really?
Kiddo: Yup. That's it. Is it enough, Mommy?