All things American

There are so many things I love about America, growing up, if someone asked me what do you think of when I say "America" I would have said - Drive-ins, Coca-Cola, Mailboxes, Yellow School buses, driving on the open road on a Harley Davidson, the Hollywood sign and Las Vegas. Now I am here of course, I still think of some of those things as being typically American, but my thoughts of them have changed.

One of my favorite American things seems to be dying a death. Our local town (I say local its 20 miles away for me) had a drive-in movie theater until December 2007. It was one of my favorite things to do on a Saturday night. My husband and I would grab a take away and head off to the drive-in, pay our $6 and watch 2 current movies until about midnight. We made it a family affair, we would take the dogs and when the kids were born we would put them in their pyjamas and they would be asleep by the time we got there, and Nic and I could have a 'night out'. We attended the last night of our local drive in and I felt really sad when the voice on the loudspeaker finally told everyone goodbye. The lot where the drive in remains empty while the landowner is sorting out permits for new buildings etc. There are so few left now around the country and I think it is so sad - as it is a great family/date night.

Coca-Cola is still all American for me although my tastes lately have changed to Pepsi - which isn't good for all the Coca-Cola advertising art work I have in my kitchen.

Mailboxes - I dislike the American system of having mailboxes on the roadside. In the UK the letter box is in your front door, so the post man has to physically push your mail through the front door. We have had our mail stolen here in the US - so now we have a locked version. I loved the idea of having the mailboxes on the road when I would see neighbors chatting on TV, in their robes and slippers, that's not real life in my neck of the woods.

Schoolbuses - still all American for me.

Las Vegas - I love all the casinos and the glitz at night, but hate walking down the street having pornographic material shoved in my hands. My new judgement on Las Vegas is 50/50 still all American but a little too seedy for me.

Hollywood sign - still amazing but then I don't live in LA.

Harley Davidsons - just recently 2 of the local dealers have gone bankrupt - I would hate to see this American icon go out of business forever.

What I now think of when I think about America is the countryside - I think of all the wonderful beaches where we live, the wildlife from marine to air, the mountains of Lake Tahoe and the deserts of Palm Springs, the tropical and volcanic Hawaii and the beauty of the Sierras. That's now what America means to me, this is the America the beautiful!

And the winner is...

Firstly I want to apologize my posts are going to be a bit erratic over the next month. We have visitors for most of the month, and I have a little project that I need to work on. I am trying to read as many blogs I can at night in bed, but I haven't been able to comment as much as I like to - so know I am reading your blogs.

Remember my problem for needing a name for my children to call my mother. Well I gave all your suggestions to my daughter and asked her to decide and the winner is "Grandma Aimee".

Thank you everyone for giving me suggestions, I really do appreciate your help.

I am a little disturbed

Since adding Google Analytics at the beginning of February I have been shocked at how people have found this blog using keywords. Let me tell you, I am a little disturbed.

Here are the top 5 in order of hits

1. Itouch the sex toy - from this post
2. McDreamy - which could have been from this one or this one
3. Blue poop in infants - from this one of Charlie's birthday
4. Gray pubic hair - you know you want to read this (in fact I had a comment left yesterday on this one)
5. Dog sex, Dogs with pubes (this is too yucky for me to think about) the only post I can think this is - is this one (Seriously dog pubes - who would do a search on that)?
   

So now I am wondering if I should drop analytics as it is freaking me out a little, especially as there were lots of variations of the above. Plus I am probably going to get more people checking my blog out, because I've gone and said it all again - eeeewwww, sorry can't get over number 5.

NOTE TO GOOGLE WEIRDO'S

THIS IS A FAMILY BLOG, NOTHING FOR YOU TO SEE HERE - TAKE YOUR SEARCHES ELSEWHERE PLEASE!

Help I need a name

Molly-Mae - Your daddy is dead right. (Oh no not again)
Me - Yes
Molly-Mae - and your mummy?
Me - Yes
Molly-Mae - Did they want to see me?
Me - Of course they did.
Molly-Mae - and now they are dead!
Me - Yes
Molly-Mae - I want to see them!
Me - Well you can see them in your dreams, that's where I see them and in photos.
Molly-Mae - I see Grandpoppy in my dreams and Ariel (I am not sure how my dad got to be with mermaids but if he is, he is probably having a great time).
Me - Its good to see them in our dreams
Molly-Mae - I love Grandpoppy, he's your daddy right?
Me - Yep
Molly-Mae - What's your mummy called?
Me - Ummm! Ummm! (Unbelievable amount of silence)
Molly-Mae - What's your mummy called?
Me - Ummm!
Molly-Mae - Mummy, what's your mummy called?
Me - Aimee.

A little bit of background - both mine and Nic's parents are divorced and both my parents have passed away. My mum passed away 20 years ago and I don't talk about her unless I'm asked. The trouble is I have never thought of a name for her, for my kids. We already have, Nana and Grandad, Grandma and Grandpa, Grandpoppy and Granny. So if anyone out there has a name they can suggest please leave a comment.

Should it be 20% already

I need a haircut and my hair dyed - my roots are showing and they aren't pretty! The trouble with getting my hair done is Nic has to be home on a weekend, and my hairdresser has to have an appointment. And the next 4 weekends are out as we have the in-laws here and Nic is gone.

Last night I did an experiment - I took a random sampling of hair and counted 10 - 2 were grey, that means I am 20% grey at 39. I am actually pleased with that, because to be honest I thought it was going to be more. Its the way they shine in the bathroom light, I thought that I was about 40%.

I am 40 next month, I am truly not worrying about it but I am noticing that parts of my body are starting to change. Obviously the most noticeable is my hair but for me the second is my hands. I remember my mothers hands and ankles vividly - which is wierd because her face fades now - she passed away 20 years ago. Both my sister and I have my mum's legs and skinny ankles and I am not sure about my sisters hands but mine are looking older, more lines and they look just like hers. I guess its time for me to start using hand cream. My roots, I can cover up (well as long as Nic is around), but my hands they are out there.

Age is not something I am fearful of, but I don't want to look like my husband's older sister or even worse his mum. He was working in our yard once when a newspaper salesman stopped by and asked him if his mum and dad were home - he was 32. He has not got one grey hair, but then his dad has just turned 70 and has only started going grey over the last few years. Lets hope my kids get his 'young' genes.

….99 things…....(also known as too-tired-to-write-anything post)

Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld (how about Disneyland and Eurodisney)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (does a 10-K count?)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person (we were able to walk up it too)
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter (it was a police helicopter too)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (as a waitress when I was 14 because I wanted the day off)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (only Molly-Mae has it)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve (several)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (i'm a vegetarian so this is never gonna happen)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Thank you Christy from a lil welsh rarebit for tagging me. In turn I am going to tag Roshni from Not a Science Geek, Sadie from Welcome to Sadieland and Holly from Journey to Oz (who is preparing for an ironman down under - yep she's crazy).

Inspired by Braja

I have not been able to stop thinking about Braja this weekend, and it has inspired me to turn off my computer and the TV and play with my kids and I mean really play with them. The hugs I gave them were longer and harder and we had a really fun weekend of quality time together. It is way to easy, to forget what we have.

On Friday we had movie night, we snuggled up on the sofa all 3 of us (Nic was in the UK) and we watched Happy Feet. On Saturday, our friend and her daughter came over and we did crafts, and played dress up, and swung on the tire swing. Then on Sunday we took the dogs for a long walk and played in the sand pit and rode our bikes and generally had fun.

Here are a few moments from our weekend thank you Rachel from http://www.sweetnessandlight.vox.com for taking these photos of us.

Good vibes are needed for Braja

One of my blogging friends who is funny, spiritual and just damn right nice was hurt in a head on crash in India on the 12th March. Braja from http://lostandfoundinindia.blogspot.com/ was traveling to the airport for a vacation in New Zealand. Her husband is critical and the taxi driver is in danger of losing his legs.

Please, please, please send good vibes for their speedy recovery.

For more details you can read http://ladyfi.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/lost-and-found-in-india/ or http://mayapur.com/node/1075

Quotes of the week by Molly-Mae aged 4

On the way back from the post office the other day Molly-Mae said:-

"mummy, when we get home I propose we have lunch".

Propose - where the heck did she get that from, it wasn't me - I know she thinks she is a princess but really!

I have to add this as well:-

We went to the lab the other day so that I could get some blood drawn, the room was absolutely full and everyone there was Latino, there was not one seat left. I stood near the counter and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop until Molly-Mae turned to me and said:-

"Mummy, everyone is looking at me, because I am soooooo beautiful".

Let me just tell you I never tell her she is beautiful (even though I think she is), but unfortunately other people do. I've been trying to tell her that beautiful is how nice you are to people. All I can say is thank God she didn't burst out in her pretend Spanish like last time.

Why we live here

There is a reason we live where we live! First of all we live opposite a nature reserve. So we do get to see wildlife pretty much all of the time. We do however live in a very small two bedroom house, that is bursting at the seams with 2 kids and 2 dogs. The other thing is we are in a very sucky school district and I mean VERY BAD!

But look where we live. Point A is our house. The other day I had to go to point B which is our local post office.


And on our way to the post office I saw this?


These guys hang out here all the time, and then I remember, yep we live in a small house, in a bad school district - but who gets to sea otters every day.

Smoking typewriter

Last week I was given the smoking typewriter award by the lovely Rachel at A Reservation for Six.The thing is I remember learning to type on a very old typewriter like this, in fact I have one still in my parents attic.

The first part of Rachel's rules to accepting the award includes posting the picture and linking back to the blogger who awarded me. Thank you Rachel! Next comes the fun task of putting my name in a Google image search. So I put in "Fergiesims" and this is the first image that came up - this is my Charlie and the goat - a pic that nanny goats in panties posted. I love this pic! He has a condition called Nystagmus and he tilts his head like this to focus - I guess the goat has Nystagmus too! Everything else that came up,was to do with Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, so I took Rachel's idea and searched for the phrase "Exhausted, Heather" in a Google search, as that currently reflects my state of mind!

Exhausted, Heather is haunted by flashbacks of the nightly attacks during the day and afraid to fall asleep at night. (I didn't want to read anymore on this - sounds to creepy)

Exhausted, Heather knew she needed to make a change. "I had developed a strange eye twitch". (You know you are laughing at this one)

Exhausted, Heather wanders through the crowded streets of Manhattan, winding up on the quays by the waterfront. (I've always wanted to go to Manhattan)

Exhausted, Heather found a model for transforming suffering in the teachings of the Catholic Church - the last place she thought she’d end up. (That's pretty much right as I am not Catholic)

Exhausted, Heather was once again admitted to a psychiatric unit where she spent 6 months. When she was released she had no place to live and nowhere to go. (Tragic, but if I don't get some uninterrupted sleep who knows).

Exhausted, Heather has earnt its summer rest and was coated with an extraordinarily heavy coat of thick frost. (I hope they are talking about the plant)

Exhausted, Heather but isn't she worth just everything! (Heck yes)

Exhausted, Heather served us tea. (You know that would happen I'm a Brit and we all love our cuppa).

Exhausted, Heather is working so hard, but not progressing very quickly. (Sadly that seems so true).

Exhausted, Heather's dreams continued their love making till the songs of the morning birds woke her. (umm, not sure what to say on this one other than I am exhausted before I get into bed and I have nightly 2 legged and 4 legged visitors into our bed so usually its not the morning birds that wake me)

So the final step is awarding this hot smoking typewriter to 10 great bloggers. Now the problem is Rachel and I run in the same circles - and some of the bloggers that I read daily she has already awarded, and because my laptop has been a little under the weather lately, its taken me over a week to do this post, so here are a few out of that circle!

• Kara at I left my heart at preschool
  
• Kirsten at the Norwindians
  
• Kylie at Slightly Cracked
  
• Yo at Write on Yo
  
• Belle at Fawty
  
• Wendi at wendi-arrons
  
• The Muse at a Diva's Hammer
  
• Jessica at Bernthis
• Vodka Mom at waitress wheres my martini
• Stacey at anymommy
  

I double dare you to go and check out some of these great bloggers!

So thank you Rachel one more!

Quote of the week by Charlie aged 2

Charlie was sitting on the sofa next to me with some food on his plate, while I was holding my friends baby. Suddenly my friends baby kicked his legs touching Charlie's plate and Charlie shouted :-

"Mummy, baby Garrett's touching my nuts".

I am so childish I laughed for at least 10 minutes.

A week in review

My lovely apple laptop that I love so much has been playing the "cut me off in the middle of a comment" game. So firstly I want to apologize I've been reading blogs on Nic's Itouch but not commenting as that stupid thing takes ages. Not sure what is going on with my laptop but all I ask is please don't die on me.

My daughter announced at swimming for everyone in the changing rooms to hear - "I can't wear my pants home (sorry we call pants underwear), as they have poop stains in them and are dirty".

I got my MRI results and I have a herniated disc.

My husband replaced my car radiator - thankfully saving us some money - even if it did take all day for him to do it. My husband is now in Colorado for the day, (poor guy had to get up at 3.30am this morning) and then flies to Europe next week. So I can guarantee something is going to happen next week out of the ordinary!

We had a quick power outage this morning and my son couldn't understand why the TV went grey and my daughter thought the answer was to get a "convertor box" - do you think she watches to much TV?

According to Kari at I left my heart at Preschool I am officially elderly in 6 weeks. (Yeah thanks for that Kari).

I got an award this week - woohoo - from Rachel at A Reservation for Six, which I will write about soon.

How much time?

I recently was at a computerized exhibit at a museum, where a child had been playing. My kids sat down beside him and watched. After about 5 minutes my daughter very politely asked the boy "Evan" if she could have a go. He didn't answer her. A few minutes later Molly-Mae turned to me and said "he's not sharing mummy". Just at the same moment the mother passed by, (I had no idea where she was), and said "a few more minutes Evan". I turned to follow her with my eyes and she was about 30 feet away talking to some friends. I thought she must have seen us standing here and its been about 10 minutes now.

We waited a few more minutes thinking surely she is going to come back and get him off. Again my daughter turned to the boy and asked if she could have a go. He still didn't answer. I leaned forward and asked the boy if my daughter could have a go. He did answer me and I realized that he could possibly be autistic. Anyway, his answer was "no". I truly felt a little thrown. Eventually the mother came over again tapped him on the shoulder and said "3 more minutes Evan there are people waiting". At this point I probably should have said something to the mother but for some reason I didn't. 5 minutes later she came back with her friends kids in tow. "Ok Evan you need to get off now". A very reluctant "Evan" got off the stool and my daughter jumped on. She got as far as pressing the 'start new mission' button when Evan's little friends kept pressing the buttons next to my daughters hand and jammed the friggin computer. Even though I kept telling them to not touch it.

Let me tell you, I was really peeved at the other parents and yet I did nothing, which made me even more mad at myself. The staff were to far away to call for assistance. I understand the boy appeared to be autistic, and I felt that waiting over 10 minutes for a go made an allowance for that, but towards the end it was nearly 20 minutes. I think that is very bad parenting on all parts, including my own, as I feel that I should have stood up to the other mum and showed my kids that you can be polite to ask for things you need or want. However, I think if my kids had been on the exhibit I would have given them 5 minutes at the most before they had to get off if there were kids waiting. I don't blame the boy at all, I do however blame the parent as I found that incredibly rude and selfish. As for the parents of the other kids that "broke" the exhibit, they had seen how long my kids had been waiting and I thought it was very inconsiderate of them.

The outcome is - I am so incredibly proud of my kids for their patience and their politeness.

Your thoughts? What is acceptable?

Scrubs - To wear or not to wear

My sister likes wearing scrubs but I know there are a lot of people who don't like wearing them to work, day in and day out, and I'm not sure why? Ok, they are not that flattering, if you have all the right bits in the right places and want to show them off, but for me, who had to wear them the other day for my MRI I thought I could wear them all the time.

Here are some benefits I thought of :-

1. They are as comfy as pyjamas but you can wear them out shopping, and people will think you haven't just got out of bed, or are to lazy to get dressed.
2. During the time of the month when your stomach gets bloated, (that's pretty much everyday, for me after dinner,) the scrubs don't show your bloated tummy.
3. My butt didn't look that big.
4. They come in all sort of patterns.
5. You don't have to worry about what you are going to wear to work as you know you are going to wear your scrubs.
6. You can save a ton of money by not buying clothes for "work".
   
7. You don't have to worry about visible panty lines (VPL's).
8. You can gain that 5lbs over Christmas and no one would notice.
9. Everybody is wearing the same so you don't have to worry about brand names.
   
10. You can pretend to be a Dr - I'm a Dr in Simsology - I have studied the adult version for 15 years and the junior version for 4. I think that makes me an expert.

Yep, I think I could wear scrubs!

Wales, Oh Wales

Today is St. David's day (the Welsh National day and that is the Welsh flag in case you are wondering), and growing up in Wales it was a big part of my life. We would celebrate the day wearing leeks or daffodils on our clothes, yes I did say leeks. Apparantly, at some point in our history, the Welsh were fighting the English in the mud in similar uniforms, and the Welsh tied leeks to their hats so they could tell the difference. At our school, we would hold an Eisteddfod which is basically a festival. There would be Welsh dancing, singing and some would even dress up in traditional Welsh costumes - NOT ME, I might add.

So who was St David, if you really want to know there is a good portrait of his life right here. But basically he was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop, who lived in the sixth century. During his life, he was the archbishop of Wales, and he was one of many early saints who helped to spread Christianity among the pagan Celtic tribes of western Britain.

Well it is days like today that make me miss home! I miss watching the Welsh Rugby team, rugby is HUGE in Wales and right now they are in the middle of the 6 Nations tournament. I miss the daffodils everywhere and I mean everywhere at this time of year. Of course I miss friends and family.

So if you want to try some Welsh Rarebit a traditional Welsh dinner in honor of St Davids Day, try this recipe by one of my new bloggy friends Christy over at alilwelshrarebit.