Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Aramaic and How to Fail at Dating

Friday night Hubby and I went out to eat. It's a regular thing for us to NOT eat at home on a Friday night. It's our little treat for ourselves at the end of a long week.

Sometimes we play the "where do you want to go? I don't know, where do you want to go?" game. But this week I knew exactly what I wanted, I was craving Chinese and when that's the case, there's only one place to go. For the last four or so years we've been going to the same little place in Hamilton Mill, Golden Palace Express.http://www.goldenpalaceexpress.com/aboutus.php  It's a small restaurant (only six tables) that does the majority of their business through takeout and delivery. We've tried a lot of different Chinese restaurants and this place, by far, is THE best Chinese food in town. Obviously we're not the only ones that think so because the restaurant is always busy and we often see the same faces each time we go.

My only complaint about eating there is, due to the small size, it's hard to maintain a sense of privacy. It never fails that while there we run into some annoying and obnoxious person. Sometimes it's someone talking on a cell phone, you know that person, the one who yells so loud you wonder why they're even bothering to use a phone. Other times it's the woman with the high pitched voice that makes you want to poke yourself in the eye with your fork chopstick. Or the man who reeks of self importance and appears to be strutting his stuff for everyone around him. And don't the forget the person who tells bad jokes and then laughs like a hyena. Ay yi yi, all I want is a nice dinner and pleasant conversation with my husband. Is that too much to ask for?

Anyway, back to our latest night out. We ordered our usual: one bowl of egg drop soup, one bowl of won ton soup,

one eggroll, one spring roll, fried rice and an entree of Hunan Chicken to share.

YUMMY! Along with our order came the couple who sat next to us. The guy seemed normal enough and didn't fall into any of the categories mentioned above. The woman, however, was another story. As soon as they sat down my annoyance radar went off.

She talked LOUD and was exuding an air of superiority. You know the person I'm talking about, it's not just the words being spoken (practically every sentence out of her mouth contained the words I, me, or mine) but also the tone in which they are relayed. Heck I wasn't even sitting at her table but was afraid to open my mouth for fear of being reprimanded. Consequently, Dale and I didn't talk much during our meal. Instead we resorted to listening in to their conversation and ..... making judgments observations.

My take: this was a date. She was trying to impress and he was just trying to get through it.

Dale's take: this was a father/daughter dinner. She was trying to impress and he was just trying to get through it.

I won't bore you with the details except one .... the talk turned to religion and Bible reading. Somewhere in the conversation he mentioned the word - Aramaic...and she corrected him, saying the correct pronunciation is ar-a-mic. And then she continued to spout some literature jargon which I assume was to make him believe she knew more than he did. He pulled out his smart phone and looked it up in the dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aramaic which clearly shows the pronunciation as "ar.a.ma.ic" . (on my link here you can even listen to the correct pronunciation) And you know what....that wasn't good enough for her! No, that's not right, it's "ar-a-mic" She repeated this to him two or three more times!

At this point it was all I could do to not jump in the conversation. But then, that wouldn't be very pc of me would it? I also thought about writing her a note on my napkin but I knew my husband would die if I did. So instead I'm coming on my blog to leave her this advice:

Dear Girl at the Golden Palace Express, 
An important life lesson can be learned from tonight. First, if he's a date, he's way to old for you. Second, if he's your father, you need to learn a little respect. Third, it's never in your best interest to claim to be smarter than your companion, especially after he pulls out irrefutable evidence. Fourth, learning a little humility and knowing when to admit you're wrong is a sign of maturity not a weakness. And, fifth and final point, learn to use an inside voice when eating in a restaurant, because really....the people around you don't care or want to hear your crap!" 
Sincerely,
 the Woman at the table next to you that really wanted a quiet dinner, not a lesson in how to be annoying!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

It's Fall, Even Though....

It's cold and wet outside....I do believe that Fall really is here. 

 Even though the leaves have not changed much around the house ...

the pine straw is rapidly falling. You can hardly see the driveway. 

When it's wet, like today, it is treacherous to walk on. 


Even though there's still some green grass in the backyard....
 there's lot's of pine straw there too. Of course the pine straw has been falling for months now...


  


Usually Miss Priss, won't go out in the rain ... maybe she thinks her cone is an umbrella?
Whatever. 

I'm just glad summer is gone. It is my least favorite season. 

I love Fall, I just hope Winter doesn't push her way in too soon. Now is the time to think about turkeys, stuffing, and pumpkin pies. Leaves falling.  Bright reds, yellows, orange - everywhere you look. Warm days and cool nights. Blankets on the bed. Fires in the fireplace. Jeans and sweatshirts. Socks and Crocs. 

Yes, I love this time of year!


Thursday, October 28, 2010

Cats and Dogs and Getting Comfy

Why is it that cats think people go around making comfortable spots for them to sleep? That blanket is dirty laundry and is on floor prior to being tossed in the washing machine. It's not a bed!

How is it that dogs can find comfort regardless of their position. Holly, have you no shame?

And yes, right now Holly is a cone head....

Why must kitties insist on cramming themselves into every little box, basket, drawer, etc. that they find available?
 Yes Spunky, you are a cute LITTLE kitty, but sweety.....
that basket is way too small for you!

Now that's more like it!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Fall Is In The Air

It is finally beginning to feel like Fall around here. The last couple of weeks have been cool enough to turn off the air conditioning (though the last two days contradict that, 85* yesterday!) and the beautiful colors of autumn are showing up everywhere.

I always like to dress up the front porch even though, as Sam puts it, no one sees it but me and him! That's ok, you never know who might surprise us, so it's better to be prepared.

If you look real close, on the shutter is an original cobweb. Everyone else goes out and buys the fake stuff. 
I have the real thing and it's totally free!

Inside are a few decorations that make me smile.


Ian and Sarah were here a couple of weeks ago. And even though Halloween was several weeks away they bought pumpkins and carved them up.
Pumpkin carving is so much more fun when they're old enough to 
clean up their own mess and not leave it for mom!



Aren't they cute little pumpkin heads!



They took them out front and insisted on putting candles in them. 


ohhhhh, scary!


Sarah's pumpkin
Ian's pumpkin


Alas, these works of art have already hit the trash bin, but they sure were cute while they lasted!


All of these thoughts of Fall and Halloween made me feel rather nostalgic. Time to bring out the photo boxes and scrapbooks. Rummaging through them I came up with a few photos that are calling out to be shared.


Halloween 1993 - our little Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles



"Jason" and his sons "Dracula" and "Mr Policeman" 1995 


(note the TV on in the background. I don't think we have many photos and videos that don't have the tv blaring in the background. We love our tv!) 

love the painting in the background. He's praying over our little hooligans!

1999 Jamal Anderson and Goku

I made Andrew's costume and though it looked a lot like a prison uniform, he was happy with it! Both of these tough guys look pretty intimidating, don't you think?

Where we live isn't really conducive to Trick or Treating. Fortunately we had friends that invited us over to ToT in their neighborhoods. This year we were with the Johns and the Denneys 

for a little apple bobbing 


before heading out to gather our goodies. 

This group of kids were the best of buddies. Lot's of fun and great memories of growing up together. 


Ahhhhh, FALL. Colored leaves, cooler weather, pumpkins, apple cider, silly/scary costumes, lots of candy and ...... never forget.....pilgrims, turkeys, and INDIANS! 


I love this season!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Someone just can't get their act together.....

And that someone is ME! I haven't blogged since April - BAD Sherri. So, once more, let's try this again and hopefully this time do it right!

Two things happened that told me to jump on the band wagon again. One, I was reading my friend Cristi's blog   http://cristikit.xanga.com/weblog and her new blogging style has inspired me to try something similar. My hope is that if, following her lead, I have specific things to cover I will be more consistent than when I was just willy-nilly blogging. I'm still working on "my" format and hopefully will roll it out soon.

Another thing, this is THE week. The week the boys go back to school. Aren't the adorable here.


 What happened to my babies?

Summer is officially over and it's time to get off my rear and start being productive. So, to repeat once again, let's try this one more time and hopefully do it right this around.

And now a word from out favorite kitty....


MOM! Get outta my face, I'z dream'n here.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Why did I stop scrapbooking?

This topic was recently posted on Two Peas and it got me to thinking....I haven't really scrapbooked in years, it's been so long I can't even really remember.  So.....why did I stop? I have no concrete reason but there are plenty of possibilities.

One, I was so involved in homeschooling the high school years, creating the co-op and teaching, that I found that it took all of my time and energy.

Two, I though switching to a digital camera would make things easier and less expensive. What I didn't count on was not having a great printer to use. And the crappy one I had wasn't worth the frustration to use with marginal results. Not to mention the cost of ink, yikes!

Third, I found interests in other creative outlets. First it was stamping, punch art and card making,



then altered arts,


followed by polymer clay,


jewelry,



and most recently fiber arts and sewing.


I certainly can't blame it on not having a space for working....I have a wonderful craft room, one that I find myself constantly reconfiguring and rearranging.


It's not for lack of inspirations, I have totes of stuff that needs to be put into albums.


It's not for lack of paper,embellishments, and scrapping tools. I still have all my scrapping supplies...a lot of them.


Occasionally I will think about doing a layout but that's as far as it gets. Scrapbooking has been pushed to the side.

I have lots of guilt thinking about all the photos that haven't been scrapped.


I never got around to doing the work Louise wanted me to do and there are still tons of the boys memories that need to be put in a book.

I never got around to finishing my Book of Me.



I did not create the promised baby book for baby Josslyn.

It's not that I don't WANT to do these layouts. I guess it's just a mindset that I don't multi-task like I used to, I have too many other things that I want and need to do. And of course there are the ever present time-robbers - the tv and the computer, that gobble up the hours.

I have a plan though, to get back to scrapping memories. It will be different this time around...more 21st century. I have this blog and I've purchased  digital scrapping software. Now let's hope and pray that I'm not too technologically challenged to be successful AND that I will make the time to make it work!