Monthly Archive for August, 2008

No time for a real post today.

With the run on the beach this morning and then the walk on the beach this later-morning and then the 2 hour volleyball game this afternoon and then the 10 mile bike ride this evening and THEN the ride in the back of the police car… and a shower to wash off what might have been living in the back of said police car… and then a cup of hot cocoa and dinner and a beer…

Now it’s time to get on a game of charades. Yo.

Until tomorrow…

Peace and goodwill, and a later explanation of why I found myself in the back of a cop car…

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Published
by
jenny
on August 31, 2008
in 365 and Bloggy Bloggy
. 6 Comments

I went for a bike ride today.

And folks, am I glad you weren’t there to see it. No, I didn’t take a fall. I’m sorry. I know a really good fall is always a fun thing to write read about. Plus, if I had a good “fall off my bike” story, I could have distracted you from the fact that I have the biking skills of a sporty snail. You know how that one pop star is named “Sporty Spice“… from now on you can just call me “Sporty Snail”… just not to my face.

I went on a 12 mile-ish ride with my friend Julie. You know, Crazy Julie… 2 arms, 2 legs… Yes! THAT Julie! She’s so cute. We went on a beautiful route along the Washington Coast. Rolling hills, a view of the Pacific, and a FANTASTIC view of Julie’s butt (which, by the way, looks very small - especially when she is a mile ahead…)

Julie is FAST. Her level of bike skillz earns her a “skill” with a “Z”. Let’s just say… for every HALF a rotation of my wheels she gets three rotations worth of distance. From here on out, I will address her as “Supastar”.

I mean, how much faster can one person go than another when going downhill? Really. I mean, gravity is gravity and… how the heck does that woman go so fast??? How???  **on knees, arms shaking - reaching to the heavens**

Oh well. I guess there can be ONE thing in life I am not the best at. 

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Published
by
jenny
on August 30, 2008
in 365, Fa' Real?, General and Swim/Bike/Run
. 4 Comments

Fridge Friday - 08.29.08

As some of you know, we went camping last weekend. It was oodles of fun… for adults and kids alike! You may be wondering, “Why is Crazy Jenny talking about camping when this is a post about refrigerators? Refrigerators are not for camping?”

Ahhh, my friends. If this is what you were thinking, then I am here to prove you wrong. Not on the “Crazy Jenny” part, but on the “refrigerators are not for camping” part… watch…

The traditional way to keep foods cold while camping:

The BETTER way to keep cold foods cold:

The fridge above and below belongs to Tom and Kathy and family. Thank you for indulging my blogchosis as I circled your camp in order to catch a picture for my Fridge Friday post!

This next fridge belongs to Chuck and Jen. This is not the first time their fridge has “made the cut” here on Jennyonthespot! You know, cuz of all the popular that this site is and I have a loooong list of folks and fridges waiting for their 15 minutes of fame. Yeah, this site here is practically bigger than Oprah.

Speaking of “waiting list” - be sure to come back next Friday when the fridge of my lovely friend Casey…

will show off her fridge - straight from the heat of Arizona. They are a well-hydrated group…

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Published
by
jenny
on August 29, 2008
in 365, Bloggy Bloggy, Eats and General
. 1 Comment

And THAT, my friends, is how it’s done…

Did you have opportunity to read yesterday’s post? I was a pathetic, overwhelmed, wallering mess. Very real-feeling, but pathetic and wallering… undoubtedly.

Wal-ler-ing:

v. when a chubby baby is oozing pints of green snot and her chubby hands rub, rub, rub that snot all over her cheeks and eyes and ears and hair. She wails because it’s miserable, but she keeps smearing the snot all over her chubby-helpless-baby being because she doesn’t even know what a tissue is! Poor baby! Somebody get her a mother!

I digress… when I write “wallering” - it is the adult equivalent of that. A helpless, emotional mess.

But you know what? In the moments between me emotionally and verbally vomitting the contents of my pre-menstrual aching brain all over the stinkin’ world wide world of the internet… Aunto Flo came knockin’. I clicked “publish” headed to bed, and… ummm… “answered the door”, if you will.

(Men? Did you stop reading?)

I knew it! I. Knew. It. I knew she coming, but there’s a window of 3-5 days. She’s not a good planner, that Aunt Flo.

And still… my under active thyroid is a problem.

Yes, the “too much to do and not enough time” thing is also still a problem.

Yes, the whole thing about my brain not stopping… EVERRR… that is also still a problem…

The guilt… the guilt… and the more guilt about ruining my children forever - is. still. a. problem.

Also, why does health insurance cost so much?

However. How. Ever. When Aunt Flo comes for her monthly visit - the week before her arrival she sends a magnifying glass that magnifies stuff. Imagine that! A magnifying glass that magnifies stuff! I am such a creative writer.

That magnifying glass increases in it’s magnificity (-ficiocity… -ficiousness… -ficitude…) as the day of Auntie’s arrival draws closer, until… KaPow! I finally see that the magnifying glass had been aiming a magnified beam of hot sun directly on my soul and conscience and the one nerve I have left. 

Thank you dear friends (and family!) for your encouragement - not just in this post, but also in the multitudes before. Though I have not visited back in awhile, and can’t seem to keep up on replying to your comments… you keep encouraging me. And I am endeared to you… I WILL be catching up with each one of you. I have my hopes pinned on when school starts next week. Or sooner… or the week after. But I’ll be back… giving comment smooches, linky love, and handing out a diverse array of awards… or something. 

:)

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Published
by
jenny
on August 28, 2008
in 365, Bloggy Bloggy, Guilt, Jenny Jen-Jen, Mental Pause and Mutha' Hood
. 3 Comments

Thick with thought.

Do you know what I mean? The constant spinning of one’s mind. Thought after thought after thought builds on thought after thought after thought… Free association, if you will.

The list of to-do’s… The consequences of not accomplishing the to-do’s… What NEEDS to be done? What on that list is do or die? If I don’t “do” who or what will die? Really? OMG. How will it all get done?

Then there’s the guilt. If I had managed my time better… If I had done “this” instead of “that”. I wish I had paid closer attention. I should have told he kids “NO”. I should have told the kids “NO” and made sure they listened. I should have let them help me. I can’t believe Livi will be in first grade.

Should I homeschool her? I homeschooled Joel for first grade. It was so hard. But it was so wonderful. I’m not ready for her to be at school all day. I feel so sad. I feel relieved that school starts next week. I don’t really know how I feel. I feel like crying. I don’t want her gone all day.

Continue reading ‘Thick with thought.’

Published
by
jenny
on August 27, 2008
in 365, General, Guilt, Homeschooling, Jenny Jen-Jen and Mutha' Hood
. 15 Comments

Note to self: Shaving and Camping

When camping, consider a new “path” for that leg hair. Braiding, perhaps? For oft-times the showers at camp are glorified caves with plumbing. A simple equation of words will demonstrate:

 

“Cave” = “Cold”

“Cold” = “Goose Bumps”

Alas…

“Shaving” + “Goose Bumps” = “Bloody stump of a leg”

Just say “NO!” to camp shaving.

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Published
by
jenny
on August 26, 2008
in 365, Beauty - ha!, General, Not So Much, Note to Self and Take My Advice
. 10 Comments

Make Me Laugh Monday

A special thanks to Jenny at Absolultely Bananas for graciously allowing me to utilize her clever alliterative title… In celebration, I played around with a little image to, uh celebrate this little weekly (or bi-monthly) or whatever event here at Jennyonthespot.

Hmmm… something funny…

I was camping and realized I forgot a pair of pants. Two friends made the trek to Kmart with me to aid in my search. Why Kmart, and not the passion of my heart, Target? I only had Kmart or WalCrap to choose from, and after WalCrap sold me an ice chest without a hole to drain melted ice, I decided on Kmart… hoping their sweat pants would have holes in all the right places. I digress…

Cindy and Emily, two wonderful and lovely friends, who have stuck closer than flies on stink… helped me wade through the “many” Kmart sweat pant offerings… We browsed through a stack of 5 dolla’ pants. Grey, blue, lime…. and red. All. With. Pockets.

Yeah. Good times.

I thought, well, if I have to get the awfulest pair of sweatpants EVER, I might as well get the red ones… right? With movements of stealth I slipped on the legs of the full-on pocketed pair of bright red sweat pants… over my sweatshorts. While Cindy laughed at my efforts in “stealthy” dressing (read: bounce, bounce, bounce, topple, bump, bounce…), Emily browsed the sale rack. Once I finally managed to get the bright red pants of Satan on… I sauntered up to Emily. I queried in my breathiest, sex-kitten voice, “Hey. *tosses hair* Do these big red sweat pants with pockets make my butt look big?”

Without skipping a beat Emily lovingly replied, “No, those bright red sweat pants do NOT make your butt look big! *rolls eyes* They make your butt look ENORMOUS!”

True that.

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Published
by
jenny
on August 25, 2008
in 365, Funny Funnerson, General and Humiliation
. 3 Comments

We went camping this weekend.

I believe this was our 6th annual trip to “Family Camp”. We are blessed to be part of a wonderful group of families who heads to Whidbey Island for a weekend of… well, camping! The kids run wild, as do the parents. The bees are always a bother, the dirt is always on our feet… one can hear birds and laughter and the boys howling their battle cries. It is an event our family looks forward to every year, and will be one of those things that will be a pivotal part of our family memories. Would you like to take a peek into what it’s like?

The first morning we woke up to the aftermath of a raccoon invasion. They were especially fond of the muffins, and hot cocoa packets.

I joined the CSI Club and they sent me a finger printing kit. Look what I found!

After we my husband cleaned up the raccoon disaster-area, my husband took the older two kids to the beach with some of their buddies… A little while later, Lucy asked, “Mama? Will you cake me to uh beach?” *blink, blink* We made the long trek to the beach, hand in hand.

Yay! The beach, and the swarm of children on “Splash Rock”.

Whew! I needed a rest. This is me, sitting on driftwood…. Does this driftwood make my butt look big?

No wait, does this two-table-long spread of late-night dessert make my butt look big???

Ahhh… a few moments at the bunkers.

And more kickin’ back on the seating around the ampitheather-thingy at the bunkers…

Speaking Writing of “kickin’ back”, I’m beat! I’m going to bed!

Peace.

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Published
by
jenny
on August 24, 2008
in 365, General, The Butt Series, The Love and Trippin'
. 9 Comments

No time for details.

Camping. Shivering. Full of chips & dip & Oreos & whatnot. Swimming. Dirty feet. Beachwalks. More eating. Gotta love the great outdoors… Oh, & an iPhone.

Published
by
jenny
on August 23, 2008
in 365
. 6 Comments

It’s a shout-out!

I met Kathleen of Forging Ahead at BlogHer ‘08. We were standing at a table the first morning, trying to eat our breakfast and talk and talk and talk. Early on in our conversation - we learned we had something very special in common - triathloning! Our connection was quick and natural… and lasting!

Well… Kathleen’s time has come. On Saturday (tomorrow!) - she will be competing in her first triathlon! And it’s not the short sprint triathlon like I did my first time (OK - first 5 times!)…. NOOOOO. She’s doing a biggie. My first tri was a 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 3 mile run… Kathleen will be swimming an entire mile (in the ocean, I am not brave enough to swim in the ocean), biking 34 miles and running 10 miles! Her tri-distances are between the Olympic and an Half-Iron triathlon distances!

I just want to send out a great big - Good Luck to Kathleen, Bert and her coach! You guys are awesome! Kathleen, I am so proud of you. You have worked so hard! You are going to do incredible things tomorrow! Go! Go! GO!!! :)

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Published
by
jenny
on August 22, 2008
in 365, Bloggy Bloggy and Swim/Bike/Run
. 3 Comments