What to do, what to do

I'm torn. I've been spending HOURS on the net, bookmarking sites, reading tutorials on photography, Photoshop, and digital scrapbooking, and adding images to my Pictures on http://vi.sualize.us/. I'm trying to figure out where to go from here. I'm thinking about starting over with learning my camera again, which would be a very good thing with basketball starting soon (basketball is tough to photograph). I took two classes through National Camera Exchange but I don't think I retained a thing. It scares me how hard it is for me to remember stuff. (Mushy brain from alcohol & aspartame?) Anyway, that's one thing I want to concentrate on.

Another is Photoshop Elements. I've learned some stuff, but again bad retention. I've done a little digi scrapping but I know there's a lot more I can do. I find a tutorial, play awhile, but it would be better to actual DO something that I will print & put in an album.

After months of not scrapbooking, I want to get started again. I have SO many photos, SO many not-finished albums, and SO many supplies. I did a few pages earlier this month, actually started a new album (Chip's sports). I figured I should get going on that so then I can keep it updated, rather than a massive project like Mike's sports.

So...concentrate on photography? Digi scrapping? or regular scrapping (which is actually hybrid for me)?

Leaving is such sweet sorrow

So Chip and I are at the mall, I have to find a charger cord for Mike's cell phone since he's now busted both the home charge & USB cable. (Topic for another post: the hazardous life of a cell phone in a 14-year old's hands). It's time to go, and Chip has had some fun after our futile search for the cord. He's had a Happy Meal, is totally happy with the Batman Lego Happy Meal toy he got, he played at the playland, did the interactive floor screen thingey, I forked over 75 cents so he could ride a motorcycle ride for all of 30 seconds, and he got to pick out & enjoy a gumball. So it's time to leave but he goes into Brat Mode, speaking Whinese and insistent, he does.not.want.to.leave. And I'm telling him that next time I need to go to the mall I probably won't bring him because he's been so difficult when it's time to leave. And he says Mom, don't threaten me. Dude's five. Where does he get this vocab? "Threaten?" Sheesh.

Down to two...

So how am I doing with caffeine withdrawal? Not so good. I'm down to two Diet Cokes a day; the only way to keep me to just two is to just put two cans in the frig each night, so there's only two cold ones for me the next day. If there's more, I'll drink more. Yeah, I know, very little self control. But not only am I headachy and fuzzy-headed, I.am.dragging.ass. Not that I'm the most energetic person anyway, but now my pace is truly glacial.

What possess kids?

I was reading Because I Said So about Brooklyn shoving a mint up her nose, and it brought back memories of when Chip stuck a raisin up his. What possesses a kid to do such a thing? You know what happens to a raisin when it gets wet? It swells up! Our other kids never did anything like this, so we freaked and took Chip to urgent care where the doctor used REALLY LONG tweezers and extracted the errant raisin. Thought the scare would do the trick and Chip would never again shove something in a nostril. WRONG. I think it was just this last year he put a tiny Lego piece up there. Our insurance coverage really sucks since DH's job change, so there was no way I was taking him to a doctor...this was going to be a home extraction. The trick is finding good lighting. I ended up having him lay down on my scrapbooking table and turning on the OTT-Lite. Regular tweezers did the trick. Maybe THIS time, he learned never to do it again. I'm not optimistic though.

Homecoming

My oldest son, a high school freshman, is going to a Homecoming dance tonight. Wish I had an invisibility cloak and could watch.

Remember VHS?

DH slipped a disc and is flat on his back in bed. (By the way, DH does NOT stand for dear husband. Think about it.) I know he's in pain and I do feel bad for him, but waiting on him hand and foot is got old in like 10 minutes of us getting home from the chiropractor.

Anyway he watched Tin Cup this morning. Reminded me of when we first watched it, back in like 1996 or 1997. We had free HBO for the weekend so I had taped it on a VHS tape. Remember the LP, SP, SLP settings? Hee. Well, we get to the part of the movie where Roy is shooting his last ball over the water hazard and...the tape runs out. DH is all WTF? And he's mad at me, of course, and it's all kind of funny because I only recorded it because it was Kevin Costner and talked him into watching it with me, and now he's all invested in it and freaking out because he wants to know what happens (as do I). So he hops in the car, speeds down to SuperAmerica (remember when all the gas stations had VHS rentals?) and rents it, fast forwards to the crucial spot and so we ended up paying for and watching, oh maybe 5 minutes of movie.

I used to have quite the crush on Costner. Even liked him in Robin Hood, even though Alan Rickman pretty much stole the show. One of my all time favorite movies is Bull Durham. And I like Dances with Wolves though I refuse to watch the second half of it. I pretty much stop after Dunbar and Stands With a Fist get together. We were out in Deadwood, SD where Costner owns the Midnight Star casino and he had some of his costumes displayed there. Dude's tiny. Kinda cured my crush.

Playground vent

"Hey, you! Yes, you clueless mom standing there with your playgroup moms, leaning on the slide rail? MOVE! You're blocking the slide and my kid want to go down it. " I wanted to yell that, but instead I told Chip to say "excuse me, please" and go around her and he eventually got his nerve up and did. (He wanted to be polite; me, not so much.)

What's with people who are totally oblivious to others around them and how their actions effect them? Another example, we're leaving a concert, everyone's walking down the skyway and a couple women completely stop in the middle to discuss whether they should go left or right at the T. HELLO? Move to the side before having your discussion and don't block traffic. Clueless!

Vent over.

Watching then walking

So Rog (rhymes with dog, it's a Scoobyism) and I went for about a 45 minute walk this morning. I was somewhat inspired after watching The Biggest Loser last night. Seems like the producers mostly picked overweight women that are also pretty...I can just imagine what they'll look like by the finale. I don't have a favorite yet or anyone I dislike...I'm sure that will happen next week. I just wish Jillian would come over and yell at me until I lose 40 lbs. or so!

No wages, no sympathy

So DH and I are making Robbie’s bed, which is a top bunk and everyone knows changing the sheets on a top bunk is a two-person job. (Tammy, I really wish I would have listened to you, but you’re usually full of shit, but in this case you were right…bunk beds are a PITA.) Last time I tried it by myself, and I was standing on the ladder, reaching way over to the far corner and the ladder popped up and TOTALLY TURNED MY KNEE BACKWARD. Chip would’ve learned some new swear words had he been in the room, but luckily he was downstairs, probably watching an episode of SpongeBob for the bizilionest time.
So we’ve popped out the mattress and we’re stretching the fitted sheet over it and I make some casual comment about how tired I feel. (Probably because of the fact that I’m trying to cut down on the amount of Diet Coke I drink per day. I’m down from about a six-pack a day, to TWO a day. That’s a lot of missed caffeine. I’m been drinking this crap since it first came out, so that’s like what, 30 years? And I read in Prevention that drinking more than 16 oz a day can lead to kidney stones. Maybe that’s why I’m so chubby…got a kidney stone the size of one of my cats.)
DH tells me he doesn’t have any sympathy for me. Then he starts listing off why he’s MORE tired since he was at work all day and his tiredness is worth MORE because he’s the ONE WHO EARNS MONEY. So I ask him even if I broke my leg while vacuuming, then I wouldn’t get any sympathy (or should that be EARN any sympathy)? He shook his head and left the room. Luckily we were done making the bed by then.