In April, my (then 7-year-old) son developed what we called "chicken neck." He had a weird twitchy thing going on in his neck. Can't describe it. Not popping, not jutting forward, but kind of a jutting forward/sideways. Happened a lot. Looked stupid (especially playing goalie). Drove me crazy! I was… Read full post »

You may or may not be familiar with Zhu Zhu Pets, aka Go Go Pets in other parts of the world. They're cute little robotic hamsters, which my son (turning 7 in 2 weeks) will be giving to his girlfriend at her birthday next week (yes, he's "dating" a slightly older… Read full post »

I used to use the term "white trash," until a (black) friend gave me the evil eye and told me it was offensive, that there is no term "black trash," only the "n" word and such. She wasn't the type who looks to be racially (or gender-ally) offended, so I believed… Read full post »

Year 2, better results, but now barely "average" instead of "way below." He's still technically too young for these tests, so I'm not worried. He's a geek. He is reading and doing math, voluntarily in the summer, 2-3 grade levels above his age.

His school is aware of the discrepancy.… Read full post »

Something just occurred to me. I've known it in the back of my mind for years, but rarely think of it: I accidentally named my son after the first boy I had sex with.

My husband doesn't know, and I will never tell him. My parents might, if they haven't repressed… Read full post »

Okay, so it's only 10:04, but 10:04 Ramblings doesn't have quite the same appeal to me. And I'm typing in the dark for some unknown reason, so forgive any typos. I type by touch, never look at the keys, but it's helpful to have a starting point.

Weird thoughts and dreams have… Read full post »

My son, almost 7, has been playing soccer since he was 4. We didn't have any big interest in soccer, just seemed like an inexpensive introduction to athletics, something to get him active and away from the TV. He was good at 4, but really, that just meant he was a… Read full post »

    At Gwendolyn Glover's request, I am posting the "before" pictures of my new home office. As you will see, it's definitely a work in progress. Here's the to-do list:

• Fix the foundation
• Repair and repaint the walls after the foundation guys leave
• New carpet
• Hang pictures properly

E… Read full post »

I haven't had my own space since moving in with my future husband 20 years ago. (Yikes, has it really been that long?!?) I have my own closet in the bedroom, plus my own little storage corner in the basement. Technically, the bathtub is "mine," but it's in the master bathroom… Read full post »

I still have another week until I start my new job. It looks like emergency unemployment will kick in earlier than expected, so money won't be quite as tight as I expected. It's just so weird, sitting here, waiting ...

I have a million things to do, and nothing to do.… Read full post »

First, I have some housekeeping to do. To those of you who took the time to check on me in my absence, making sure I was okay, sending positive thoughts, thank you. It means a lot that you cared enough to contact me.

 And I'm sorry I disappeared. I've been dealing… Read full post »

The day after my seemingly promising interview, I got a generic "thanks but no thanks" email from the company. Devasted, I emailed the manager, who is an acquaintance, and asked "does this mean I was eliminated?" He said no, they hadn't made any decisions yet, and I almost immediately got an ema… Read full post »

Not in depression or self-pity, necessarily, although those are certainly mixed in at least a little. More like, I don't know what to do with all this time on my hands, or more accurately, all this time DH and I "think" should be on my hands. But when you're sole entertainment… Read full post »

Last Tuesday, I was hard at work on a project, which I was actually enjoying, when it occurred to me that the only possible reason that all the big bosses were eager for me to finish was ... that they were going to can me ...

Instead of doing the smart… Read full post »

Yesterday, I overheard a cute little girl (J) complaining to another cute little girl (S), "you're prettier than I am," about to cry. These are both cute little girls, dressed super-cute but appropriate for school. Personally, I think S is a little cuter, but mostly because she's about the nices… Read full post »

We got the test results today. I didn't think I cared so much about whether my son would get accepted, although I mostly assumed that he would. Or that if he didn't, it would be that there wasn't enough room in the class, he'd get an advanced learning plan for next year,… Read full post »

Several years ago, I watched Defending Your Life. I thought it was a good movie, liked the premise. I do recommend it.

Two things stand out. (If you haven't seen the movie, Spoiler Alert, although it's several years old.)

1. In Judgement City, you face a trial based on your… Read full post »

Today, a guy who I have a harmless crush on saw me walking to the vending machine. (He's not my type, I think I would start to hate him if we were dating instead of just occasional chatters, we're both married, and I absolutely cannot picture any alternate universe where either of… Read full post »

Today my son had a bad asthma attack. The school nurse calls me occasionally to say she's giving him the inhaler, and it always clears up immediately. Same as at home. We're talking maybe twice a week year-round, or daily during spring pollen season. He's getting allergy shots, on… Read full post »

So after weeks of obsessing about the damned postcard for the Gifted program testing ... I screwed up and missed the test!!! How could this happen? I'm pretty organized, have everything on my calendar which I check twice a day, and as I already said, I've obsessed about it, so it's… Read full post »

I have some of the same problems with the accuracy that Verbal mentioned. This girl has no hips. I do. But if I add pounds or hit the "+" sign for body, it makes the whole body chunkier, not just adding some junk to the trunk. And this girl looks… Read full post »

So my previous realization was that I was being snobby and bragging about my child's reading ability. I have made a better effort to be low-key about it.

http://www.open.salon.com/blog/dogmom/2009/02/17/omg_im_one_of_those_parents

But now ... I'm afraid I'm pushing my son to be friends with the futu… Read full post »

I am stuck as a number-cruncher by accident. Everyone knows I don't belong here, and supposedly wants me to get back into the world of writing, where I belong, but they're too complacent and/or cheap to hire the numbers person.

It's okay, for the most part. I'm grateful to have a… Read full post »

It's not that I hate waiting. I'm not the most patient person, but I can certainly bide my time, if I know the important details. Especially when and what. If I know basically what is going to happen and when, I'm fine.

For example, once I decided to start my… Read full post »

I admit it: I thought it was stupid when my church youth group stopped participating in the 30 Hour Famine (http://www.30hourfamine.org/). I don't know enough about this activity to either endorse or renounce it, but our youth group used to raise money for hunger awareness by fasting for 30 hour… Read full post »