I'm Lucky I'm Sleeping At All

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have."
-Thomas Jefferson

In other news, the game of the year was Friday night and my word, people, it was an amazing thing to watch. Our team was unranked and they beat - beat - the number two team. Prep was in her element. The cheerleaders from both schools were the half time show - they worked up a dance/stunt/tumbling routine. They were phenomenal. (I know. I am her mother. A cheer mom.) At the end of the game, as the cheerleaders ran out on the field, one of the referees handed Prep the game ball. She said she nearly fainted. Granted, she had to hand it over to the coaches, but she got to carry it for a while.

I hope she is able to translate all this enthusiasm and turn it into something profitable as a grown person. At least I hope she is able to look back on this night and remember how much fun she had and how excited she was.

Gas, Gold and Groceries

Back in the saddle and the damned horse just keeps on going.

Thank you for your sweet comments about BrownBear and her trip. She had a fabulous time, but, alas, got cold and wet. "I didn't pack my Northface jacket because my mother told me not to," she rasped to me after she got home. Oh well. No one said I was going to be mother of the year. She had mighty great adventures that she will remember for a lifetime.

Down here in the deep South, we are still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Ike. Uh huh. I said Ike. Some kind of crap about the pipeline and... weeks later, we are still sitting in freaking gas lines. I kid you not.

I went on a girls' weekend to the middle of Nowhere, Alabama. I swear. There was one blinking traffic light in the middle of town. Swear. On the way, I realized I was running out of gas in Prep's car. So, I began stopping for gas at every station that had gas. Not many had gas and those that did were only letting you buy so much. Let me just say that I made sure that Prep's car was FULL of gas before I got home so I wouldn't have to worry about finding it here.

So that brings me to this.

One of our teachers has a brother who is a financial advisor. This teacher told us that his brother sent a message to his clients who weren't inclined to panic and this message said to keep your car full of gas, several hundred dollars in cash and your pantry full. I am inclined to panic; I would have been the first person in "It's a Wonderful Life" to go get my money from Jimmy Stewart. This gas thing has been enough to push me over the edge. If you think those words of wisdom were comforting, think again.

I've got $40 in my wallet and some spaghetti sauce in the pantry. While I doubt that would tide us over in a real panic, it is better than I usually do.

Flipped Out Friday

Yea -- squished boobs!! Nothing says Day 2 of vacation like: Squish Those Girls!!

Now, being the paranoid crazy that I am, I wanted my radiology technician to tell me right there that all was well. After all, hadn't I just gone through the mammogram? Of course, she wouldn't/couldn't do that: got to let who ever compare all the films with all the originals and then we'll get back to you. Great.

So, I went to my favorite shop of all time (Love Street - I know it sounds a little,well..., but it's adorable and I actually tried to get a summer job there, but the college girls beat me to it) to cash in a birthday gift card and store credit and still ended up spending money. Trust me, the store credit wasn't that much. I had been oogling a Pandora ring for quite a while and I figured that my paranoia might be quieted a bit with a little purchase. I'm like that.

Why am I so paranoid? I have been like this my whole life. When I was pregnant with PrepGirl, I had all those tests - all but amnio - and I sat for a solid week, completely certain there was something wrong with her. I did the mathematical probabilities for all the genetic abnormalities that she could possibly have. LawyerBoy finally called my OB/GYN and told her that she was going to have to get the test results for us before I completely freaked out.

Congrats to BrownBear who finally finished 6th grade today!! And don't forget - the beach is at my Dad's house and my Dad's girlfriend happens to be there. But a bad day at the beach...