Last night I enjoyed the musical stylings of Ragged Sole. Mind you, I was in my bedroom trying to sleep while they played in the bar next door. On the plus side, they weren’t terrible, which caused me to wonder if someone local had read previous blog entries in which I bitch about the horrible cover bands that play next door and reported my bitchings to the owner.

I don’t know how that conversation would go. Something like,’Hey,Steve…your neighbor thinks you need to find better bands for her to listen to while she’s laying in bed trying to fall asleep. For the love of God, book some decent bands so she quits her bitchin’!”.

However the booking came about, I’m glad. I’d rather listen to a cover of “Blister in the Sun” by the Violent Femmes over poorly covered Southern Rock anthems and cliched versions of George Thoroughgood’s “Bad to the Bone ” anytime.

Tonight is Earth Hour 2008

Crunchy Domestic Goddess has tips on things you can do with kidlets to make Earth Hour a family event.

I personally am sick of family-oriented fun. I say tuck the kids in bed early,take your clothes off and have an Adults Only party for the Earth. Just be sure to use proper contraception and not add to the population problem.

We all have our own little things we can do for the environment. The important thing is this: find something fun to do in the dark for just one hour this evening! Have fun,folks

I want Tilda Swinton’s gig.

I’d also like one of Sandro Kopp’s yoni paintings for my bedroom.

Oddly enough, I have a cousin who is currently living the poly life with 2 boyfriends and 2 kids and one in utero that she is clueless about it’s paternity (and they are fine with that….it’s both their’s to raise jointly). Listening to family members talk about this scandalous arrangement, gives me a sense of what would be said about me. It’s a good thing I don’t mind being called a Hillbilly Harlot.

I watched No Country for Old Men the other night. It was one of those movies I was almost willing to shell out a fortune on a babysitter to go see but didn’t. I read the book a couple of years ago and fell in love with it.

It was one of those books that Dylan and I read “together”Co-reading is something that often happens in our house. This is one of the reasons I’ve gotten into the habit of reading more than one book at once. Another member of the family will decide they want to read what I’m reading and it becomes a challenge to try to steal moments alone with my book ,so I resort to having to pick up something else to read until I can get my hands on my book. Conversations between myself and my co-reader for the duration of the book will consist of,”Have you gotten to the part yet where such-and-such happens? ” So,what do you think of Character X?”. We shush each other to not give away to much and bite our tongue to keep from telling too much. It’s like a mini-Book Club in progress without the coffee clache talk and people trying to look more intellectual than they really are.

Dylan felt the same way I did after reading No Country. He praised it to his Grandmother, which led her to read it. I have learned that there’s no point discussing any book deeper than Danielle Steel with my mother but I give Dylan points for trying. As I predicted, she did not like the book but still…being the doting Grandmother that she is, she took Dylan to see the movie when it came out.

He raved about it. She wasn’t so impressed.

Likewise, I watched it and gushed and raved about how utterly perfect it was. Bob and Nicole watched it after I did and were as unimpressed as my mother. It’s the ending that does it to people, I’m guessing. I had to explain that all it meant is just that the movie was about much more than a bag of money and emphasizes the truth of life and human nature.

They still didn’t get it. Ah,well. I still loved it just as much as I love the book.

Yesterday the forecast said 2-4 inches of snow.I informed the kids that we were moving immediately before it hits. Seriously,I wish.

School’s delayed 2 hours. The Pseudo-Hubby has um…a “procedure”…. this morning… the one men over 40 are supposed to have.  I have another wedding to make paper for…pink with white flecks. 250 guests.I need to build a drying box.That’s the bones of our day ,in a nutshell.

I woke up this morning and was soooo excited to see that “Patches” is finally  going to a good home. I was about ready to take it out of the shop and give it to my Pseudo-Mother-in-Law for her birthday.

Now I have to figure out what else to get her.Hmmm….

I was tagged by Calina .
Write ten weird, random things, facts, or habits about yourself.

[One] My favorite genre of music depends on my mood. Some days are Billie Holiday days…other are Billy Talent days. Some days, Patsy Cline helps me get the housework done and other days, Nellie McKay makes cleaning the kitchen go much faster (and songs like, “I Wanna Get Married” accompany the things in my daily life I hate doing with a touch of humor and irony). Also,I have to have music on when I’m working.In my new studio space,the CD player on the stereo won’t work and the only radio stations I can get to come in are WSKG, which plays mostly classical music and I100, which is a classic rock station. So, my choices of music to create by are classical or classic rock. Both are wonderful..but not all the time. There is only so much Styx and Journey my poor brain can handle and is it really good to be creating things people are going to be wearing while listening to 80’s music? Probably not. I have no ipod at the moment and besides, if I have headphones on ,I can’t hear what the kidlets are up to in the rest of the house. I’m thinking of stealing Maia’s Sansa Shaker,which she only listens to at night when she’s going to sleep anyway. I’ll just have to remember to remove The Distillers and whatever else I’m in the mood to listen to at that moment and replace them with her lullabyes before she goes to bed at night

[Two]I hate white walls.Beige,tan and neutrals are fine…but white is a no-no. In my perfect world in my new perfect house, my bedroom walls will be deep red, my workspace will be some vile shade of green that only I like and everything else is negotiable. Except for white. No white walls ever.

[Three]I have never had any desire to be married, in the legal sense. I agree with Sara Sidle in her opinion of marriage being “…a property exchange between your father and your husband”. Cynical and unromantic,I know but I see zero purpose in it,especially in my own life.However,if the day does come when I change my mind and decide to get officially hitched , we’ll have a handfasting, which will take place outdoors…probably among many trees and other naturey goodness. And I shall wear a purple velvet gown.Or a dress I construct myself using recycled T-shirts. We’ll see.

[Four] I make the best Homemade Salsa ever.

[Five]I’m happy with the way my life is but increasingly feel that it’s not the life I’m supposed to be living.

[Six] I take lots of pictures of churches.I’m not fond of going INTO churches and secretly fear I would burst into flames if I were to enter through their doors but I love the architecture,the symbolism ,the beauty and the craftsmanship of churches.

[Seven] Several years ago, I had to go through a battery of tests. It was revealed that I have an abnormally high level of oxytocin, even when I’m not breastfeeding or giving birth, which would normally be when someone would have high levels. Oxytocin is the hormone responsible for the mothering instinct and also romantic love (which makes [Three} rather funny,doesn't it?). It also has something to do with being multi-orgasmic but we won't go into that right now.

[Eight] I am eating a bagel while writing this , while the toddler is occupied watching Bob the Builder (is it just me or is there insane sexual tension between Bob & Wendy?) and the twins are writing in their daily writing journals for homeschool. This is how I steal my internet time….in minute snipets while children are occupied.

[Nine]I have a crazy schoolgirl-like crush on someone who lives in my neighborhood. I’m resisting temptation to make “someone who lives in my neighborhood” a hyperlink that goes to his website because then everyone will know and like,omg,I’ll be so embarrassed. (Everyone SHOULD see his website though so they can see what an incredible artist he is! Ok,I’ll be quiet now)

[Ten] I have a thing for bees . I want to be a beekeeper. Bob’s nickname for me from the very beginning of our days together is Queen Bee. I just plain like bees.

The Hubby & Step-Daughter ran into a relative of mine at the store over the weekend. It was the first time this relative had met my step-daughter. The exchange was polite and your basic first introduction. “Nice to meet you” “You too” “Hope to see you again” blah blah. Hubby & Step-daughter said goodbye and walked away, continuing whatever conversation they were having before,en Espanol .

My relative was overheard saying to his wife:
“God,it’s so rude when they talk Puerto Rican in public when no one understands what they’re saying!”

It’s nice to know that Puerto Rican is now an official language and that it is spoken by all people of Hispanic heritage.

I thank my lucky stars everyday for people who amuse me inadvertently with their antics. I figure I have two choices in this type of situation: be amused or be pissed off. I choose to be amused with a slight undertone of angry that surfaces in sarcastic remarks.

The way this month has been, I need to find the humor in everything. It’s been a month of flu,birthday parties,other unidentifiable illnesses,cabin fever-induced insanity,frustrating stages of childhood, grumpy middle-aged men (well, one man) and various other things that overwhelm me just to think about them.

All that has been topped off this morning with the oldest son’s tooth extraction (which he described as being “extremely violent”). The dentist sent him home on lots of painkillers and I just heard him tell the cat he loves her and ask her to marry him. If this is any indication of what the week will be like, it should be interesting.

Last night’s weird dream: The UPS Man delivered a package to my house meant for Jenna Jameson. She shows up out of the blue to pick it up and brought her laundry for me to do. I went to go throw the laundry in the washing machine (In my dreams, I’m stupid and a pushover) but there was nothing in the laundry basket but …I don’t know…stuff. Not clothes. I went back out to the living room and Jenna’s stripping to The Mahavishnu Orchestra. And then suddenly exclaims she’s late for church (um,yeah…right) and runs out the door.

This is Tom Perotta’s fault.I was reading The Abstinence Teacher before falling asleep and within the 2 pages I read before nodding off,Jenna Jameson,Mahavishnu Orchestra and church were all mentioned. There was no mention of laundry…that’s entirely me working overtime in my sleep.

When I mentioned this morning to Bob that I had a dream about Jenna Jameson, he of course wanted to know what exactly me and Jenna were doing together in this dream.That’s just how his brain works. “I was doing her fucking laundry!”.

“So,how long have you had these fantasies about being subservient to a porn star?”

Um…never? Besides, Jenna Jameson is hardly my type. Ew.

Perks of the weekend included:

Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and has now donated $1 million to Alzheimer’s research. Loyal fans of his books have responded by banding together to match his donation.

Go donate! I watch my Grandmother struggle with this disease everyday. At 35, I crumple into an emotional heap when I run up the stairs to get something and then get there and can’t remember what I went upstairs for in the first place. I’m terrified of getting Alzheimers. I eat my omega-3s and vitamin Bs because research says they’re good preventer but I’d rather there be a more definitive cure. A few weeks ago my Grandmother was diagnosed with a heart condition. My initial reaction was ,”Good.I hope this kills her first.” It’s still my general feeling on the matter. I’d rather she go relatively quickly than what she’s living with now.