Deep Tissue Massage

Oh...it hurts SO good.

My last couple of weeks at work have been somewhat stressful/chaotic/tiring/head-hurty-ish. I'm managing 3 projects pretty much by myself that are running concurrently. They are for the same parent company, but different departments. So, my life as of late has been full of conference calls, system configuration, project management, etc. And my kids have been in their last couple weeks of school, so this meant end of year parties where I have to buy crap for them to bring...but I usually don't find out about it until the last minute which leads to 9pm grocery store runs...which I don't particularly enjoy.

And then to top it all off, I thought that I was still young enough to do cartwheels and roundoffs with my kids in the front yard last night. I was wrong. Those activities use muscles that are agile and flexible (do those words mean the same thing?) when one is young...when one is older and stiff, those muscles scream at you the morning after...like waking up with a hangover, except with aching muscles instead of aching head, and no tequila burps.

So, with the combo of job/life stress and achy muscles, I scheduled my monthly massage at Hand and Stone. I broke down and got the monthly membership, so I get one massage a month "FREE" with the membership. They are usually 50 minute relaxation massages, but I asked the gal if I could request deep tissue. Of course I could, for $10 more. ;) I paid the 10 bucks...it was worth it. Did you know you can have tight muscles in your ass, even though you sit on it all the time, and it's most definitely not from doing squats and lunges? Even though you would like to pretend that's why they are tight. And the hips! I didn't even know there was muscle on my hips...I thought it was just excess fat there, but lo and behold there are muscles underneath, and they hurt when someone pushes on them with extreme force. She got into the shoulder blades, and neck, and those muscles that run along the spine all the way down to your lower back. When she was done, I felt like a million bucks...it seriously melted the stress away and the achy cartwheely muscles. And I only yelped in pain once!

Good Ole Grandpa Razzi

Today Cita and SAM were watching "John & Kate + 8" - Cita LOVES this show. She even asked for the DVD of Season 1 and Season 2 for her 7th birthday this past March. She's a weird kid, I know. (just kidding) We've been to the stores since the tabloids and now even the 'reputable' magazines have confirmed that John got caught in an affair and their marriage is probably over. So, my girls knew that something was up, but didn't really understand what had actually happened. Today as they were watching one of the episodes, Monkey (my 4 yr old) asked if they were going to show the episode where they lose their 8 kids. I don't know why she thought that would happen, but maybe she overheard someone at the grocery store saying John was going to lose the kids in the divorce or something. Anywho...I said "No, they probably won't show any of that on TV". SAM, my oldest, asked "What happened anyway?". I said "John cheated on Kate, and got caught" She says, "Kate caught him?" I started walking down the hall at this point to go get Baby Pants, and I call back to her "No - the paparazzi got a picture of it or something." I hear silence for a moment...and then I hear SAM say "Ohhhhhhh...I get it now. For a second there I thought they had a Grandpa named Razzi." (We call our grandpa "Papa"...so get it? Papa...Razzi?) I think I choked on my spit I was laughing so hard. I love my kids.

Milk Duds

I ate a whole box of 'em this morning. Just thought I'd let you know. ;)

Friday Fillins on Thursday Night

I'm doing these now because I most likely will not have time tomorrow.

1. Moving in the summertime in AZ sucks.

2. Smiles are free.

3. My best quality is seeing the good in people.

4. I'm starting to really not like the details.

5. In nearly 10 years, my oldest daughter will be 20!!!.

6. A big ass margarita is what I need right now!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Friday night dinner with the fam, tomorrow my plans include spending the day with my mom who I haven't seen since Christmas (YAY!) and Sunday, I want to go to church and do my laundry!

My Grandpa, The Standup Comedian

OK...so in my previous post, I talked about how funny my Grandpa is, and I confirmed this in a conversation I had with my Mom last night on my way home from work. We guffawed over every funny thing that my Grandpa, whom we also lovingly call "Papa", has said. We have 3 generations of people that interact with him, and it's hard to know who anyone is talking about when someone is calling him "Dad", "Grandpa" and "Great-Grandpa"...so "Papa" covers the gamut. We also did this with my Grandma, who is now just "Nana". But when they were raising me, they were Grammy and Grampy. I just recently remembered that's what I called them back in the day and laughed because I would literally yell that through the house, for instance when a spider was anywhere in the vicinity of me and I was rendered helpless..."GRAAAAAAMMMMMMPPPYYYYY". I wonder if he ever thought I was screaming "Crampy" because I was on my period? OH!! That reminds me that I also screamed "Grampy" once because I was on my period, but I was out of tampons, and I was still in bed, and I knew if I got out of bed there would be issues...so I yelled for him and had the poor guy go to the store and buy me tampons. TMI, I know...but whatever.

But seriously...he delivers lines in a totally deadpan way. (I think there's a sandpiper out my office window...sorry, that's my ADD kicking in...back to Papa). He would say "I just flew in from Las Vegas, and boy are my arms tired"...and normally that would be a dumb line, but when my Papa says it, it's totally funny. He also does this obnoxious bird sound, whilst flapping his "wings" like a chicken...and blurting "SCHMOCK!!! SCHMOCK!!!". I think he should randomly do this during his comedy routine. I told him he should, and he said "Yeah, they'll carry me off to the funny farm if I do that." And I also said that he could be the next Milton Berle...he said "Yeah, I will be eventually...he's DEAD!". HA! See? you guys would pay to see my grandpa do a comedy act, right? That stuff's funny right there. That's my next career path...my grandpa's manager for his comedy act. Coming soon to a comedy club near you..."Funny Old Guy"!

Excuse Me? Have you seen my funny?

OK...so every once in awhile I go back through my old blog posts to see what I've written about, because I'm a mom of 4 kids and have short-term memory loss (self-diagnosed). And my posts from back in December-ish were funny, like, I-laughed-out-loud-at-my-own-blog funny. And then, since the first couple of months in the new year, they've just been kind of "bleh". But let me tell you what I have deduced about my lack of funny.

I had my gall bladder removed in early February! And I think what they do not tell you when they remove your gall bladder is that your funny will be removed along with it. Maybe it grows back in some other organ, because I'm sure there are people out there sans gall bladder that are still funny.

You know who's funny? My grandpa. That guy made me almost choke on a Mickey-D's french fry in the car this afternoon. I usually talk to him in the morning, but I didn't get a chance so I called him on my way to go grab lunch. We were just chatting about my job, and some other miscellaneous stuff. And then he tells me he's bored, but he doesn't want to go to bingo again (he and my grandma go to the bingo at the casinos on the indian reservation here in AZ). So, I say "Why don't you go down to the craft store and buy one of those 'build a ship in a bottle' kits?". He says "I never understood those things, why would you want to put a ship in a bottle?". I say, "OK...well go get some of grandma's yarn and start knitting?". He says "That would be the end of it. I would go get my gun down and shoot myself if it ever came to that!" OH MY GOODNESS SAKE! I laughed so hard, that I inhaled part of a french fry (because who can wait until you are out of the car to eat a Mickey-d's french fry?) and almost choked to death (ok, not to death, but to the point of having tears in my eyes). I said "Grandpa! You can't be so funny when I'm eating french fries dang it!" And that's just one conversation...my grandpa is a seriously funny dude. He should be a stand-up comic. Wouldn't people love him? A 77 year old guy, up in front of an audience, saying funny stuff like that? I would pay to see him...but he's my grandpa so maybe I'm biased. He still has his gall bladder...that's why he's so funny.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. If we had no winter it would never cool off here.

2. People driving slower than the speed limit in the fast lane is a perpetual astonishment.

3. If I had my life to live over I would like to not care so much what people thought about me.

4. There's only so much you can do inside of four and twenty hours.

5. If you've never been thrilled by having more work to do than you could possibly do by yourself, we have something in common.

6. To be interested in the changing seasons is something I would be if I lived somewhere where the leaves changed and such.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Mom's Nite Out with the Phoenix Mommies Group, tomorrow my plans include taking my daughter to a bday party (and I guess I'll pick her up too...hehe) and Sunday, I want to go to church and then Family Night with the Phoenix Mommies Group!

Not Much To Say - but somehow turned into a California rant

Still working...a ton. But that means I have a job right? I'm happy about that. My hubby's job has slowed down in Phoenix, so they are getting ready to take some work in San Diego. He is a Superintendent for a general contractor - they build retail stuff, mostly restaurants in shopping centers. So, he was in SD yesterday and is on his way home right now. I keep trying to convince him that we should just move there because I can telecommute with my job, and he can open an SD branch for his company. I really miss California. I grew up there as a kid, then moved away, then moved back when I was 21 to 23, and moved away again. When I moved away the last time in early 2004, I told myself I was on a 5 year plan to move back (because that was when I would have all my debt paid off). Well...I do have all my debt from 5 years ago paid off...but I have some new debt now with a new car, and I bought my husband a dirtbike for his bday last year. I think with the housing market the way it is, we could probably find a house in Cali that we could afford comfortably on our salaries. He doesn't seem to think so. Also, we don't have any family in SD...my grandparents live here and so does my husband's mom...and they are all really active in ours and our kids' lives. That aspect of moving away would definitely suck. And I'm really just daydreaming to think that a move to San Diego at this juncture in our lives could be a reality, but one can dream right?

Friday Fill Ins

It's been awhile since I've participated in Friday Fill-ins! And I didn't read anyone's before I posted mine, because when I read other responses first it always makes me change my answers...hehe.

1. Apples are to oranges as green beans are to asparagus?.

2. Old people driving in the fast lane and that's all I have to say about that.

3. I think I hear The Rolling Stones on the radio, but I'm not sure.

4. You're a grand old flag, you're a highflying flag.

5. Do what you want to do, but be advised it may piss me off and you may get the silent treatment for the rest of the weekend.

6. In front of him was the lake and behind him was a Radio Flyer wagon; in the wagon was a bucket filled with worms.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to finally watching "Body of Lies", we've had it for 2 weeks, tomorrow my plans include a bday party and Sunday, I want to enjoy Mother's Day with my family!

Lotsa Names

Okay, I ripped off today's post from one of the blogs that Green Girl follows, but I'm not inserting pictures. Have fun finding out all of your names too!

1. Rock star name (first pet & current car): Princess Expedition

2. Gangsta name: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Cherry Garcia Chocolate Chip

3. Fly Guy / Girl name (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name): C-Ash

4. Detective name (favorite color, favorite animal): Blue Cat

5. Soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born): Leigh Orange

6. Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first): Ashcr

7. Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink with “The”) Black the Margarita

8. Nascar name (the first names of your grandfathers): Edward Ray

9. Stripper name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy): Angel Milk Duds (how sexy, huh?)

10. Witness protection name (mother's and father's middle names): Sue James

11. TV weather anchor name (Your 5th grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Schaeffer Sacramento

12. Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Spring Sunflower

13. Cartoon name (favorite fruit, article of clothing you're wearing right now + "ie" or "y"): Pineapple Heelsy

14. Hippie name (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Nutrigrain Eucalyptus

15. Rockstar tour name ("The" + your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + "Tour"): The Dancing Rain Tour

Miscellany

I think my next month or so of blogs are going to be "Miscellany" because I have been so swamped at work, that it's probably going to be a week or two in between posts...and by then, I won't have one specific title that applies to them.





For example, I wanted to use the title "Goose Wars" the other day because my office looks out on a lake and there was a goose chasing another goose, and it was really funny. But of course I didn't get to blog about it because I was eyeballs deep in muddy water, I mean, work. (did you like my Tool reference?).





Anyway, I'm frazzled because I'm being groomed to be able to lead full-fledged projects all by my lonesome and it's FREAKIN SCARY I tell ya. Especially when you are dealing with dudes that are super smarter than you, and really analytical...I thought I was analytical...but no, I am not. I have the standard buttons on my Excel screen, and I know how to do pivot tables and vlookups...but this dude has 8 million buttons that run all kinds of funky programs that he wrote himself that will tell you what you want to eat for lunch that day based off of your answers to three hypothetical questions (okay, I made that up...but the dude has a ton of Excel buttons, and that intimidates me because I thought I was smart). There have been a few days this week where I have worked into the wee hours of the AM, and even fell asleep at my laptop once for about 15 minutes.





I'm hungry...I want McDonalds...but it's 3:27pm and I haven't eaten lunch yet, but dinner is in less than 3 hours so if I eat now, I won't be hungry and my husband will be mad because I won't want to eat his dinner. (Yay, my husband cooks! Every night! All the time!) I also need to go to Target, because Aunt Flo arrived today and I'm out of "coupons" (as my once 5 year old, who is now 11 years old, called them)..and I need some Soy Milk for Baby Pants. AND Baby Pants got diarrhea today. Isn't that lovely? And because of the hysteria around this damn "Swine Flu", our babysitter had to send her home. But thankfully my husband was able to pick her up, because I had a super important conference call with Mr. Analytical-Face (aforementioned). (Also...if you are reading this Mr. Analytical-Face, I like you, I am just intimidated by your ultra-smartness...so please take my comments as compliments).





Oh what else...yeah, so I haven't written since my bday...so I guess I'll tell you about my presents. :) My husband got me riding gear since I learned how to ride a dirtbike this year...it's pretty pink and black matching jersey, pants, boots and gloves. My mother-in-law got me some jeans and a couple shirts, and a book...can't remember the name of it at the moment. My grandparents got me a laptop cushion thingie complete with LED light, cup holder and pen slot. This was great because I'd actually been looking at those in the past few weeks, but hadn't made a purchase. My grandpa didn't think I would like it, so when I saw it and told my grandma that I loved it...she said "You go tell your grandpa, because he didn't think you would want this...and I told him you would." (hence why I have "I'm right, you're wrong" issues with my husband...years and years of living with my grandparents...God love 'em, hehe) My dad and step-mom got me a $100 gift card to Victoria's Secret...that one threw me for a loop, because I was like "Dude...I haven't bought anything from VS since I was like 19 years old". I actually had to take my time shopping because I didn't know exactly what I should get. So, I decided to replace the granny panties I have with some cute cotton bikini undies, a super cool pushup bra for the girls that have gone south, a new bathing suit, and some perfume. Happy Birthday to Me!





We took the girls to the Trophy Truck races out at Speedworld this weekend. It was pretty cool...we saw lots of wrecks. That's what everyone is there for. I have also decided that I should have a Trophy Truck...it will fuel my inner desire to be a bad ass.
Anywhoski...I should probably decide what I'm going to do about food because I'm seriously starving, but it is now 3:40 and I leave work in 1hr and 20 mins, so is it worth it to go get something? Or should I just wait until 4 and leave for the day because I didn't actually take a lunch?

Things that make you go "Hmmmm". (C&C Music Factory reference)