Yesterday Mac was sick. He got that stomach flu that seems to be ripping through the Midwest. It ain't pretty. I had it over Christmas break and I know from whence I speak- it was terrible and was not food poisoning.
He started feeling poorly late Tuesday night and couldn't stay out of the bathroom. He also complained of being hot and then freezing, and of hurting all over. Yup, stomach flu. He also said he felt like "blowing chunks." he felt so bad, I made up the couch like a bed because he didn't think he could make if from his bed to the bathroom without incident. Ewwwwwww!
So Wednesday when I got him up for school I knew it wasn't happening. He said he had been up most of the night, ill. And he told me his butt hurt and I stopped him there, not wanting any more details! I asked him if he wanted me to stay home with him and he said he would just sleep, and I was okay with that. I told him to call me at school if he needed ANYTHING. I also told him that when I had it 2 weeks ago, how glad I was that my dad what here with me because even thought I was 38 years old, with this flu, I didn't want to be left alone. He mumbled something about "I'll be okay" and he went back to bed.
I called him on my lunch break and he said he was still sick, threw up in the shower, and just felt weak and achy all over. I told him to go back to bed and call if he needed anything.
About an hour later I got a text message asking me if I could come home; he felt terrible, was shaky, and still puking. So, I told my boss, got my classes covered, and left. When I called him he said he puked some more, as well as saying, "Gawd, how can I just be pooping water?" GROSS! I told him there were some Jello cups in the fridge but he said he couldn't find them so he eat yogurt instead and threw it up. I can't even think about yogurt barf.
I bought some 7Up, Cherry and regular, some chicken noodle soup, more jello cups already made (because we all know I cannot make jello. Baked Alaska yes, Jello No), and some yogurt- that was for me. Then I went home and made him tea and dry toast, gave him some medicine, cleaned up the bathroom, and changed the TP roll. I also gave him jello and poured him 7Up. I got him a book from the library.
He told me while he felt dumb being 16 years old and wanting his mom home while he was sick, it was nice having me there to take care of him.
Now I'm gonna go make him some scrambled eggs with dry toast and see if that stays put. Poor kid.
So, maybe I'm not such a bad mom after all?
Maggie
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
I am a bad mother
Last semester Mac waited until 4 days before his English class deadline to read a book that was worth 10% of his grade for the entire semester. It was about 600 pages. Oh, it was The Book Thief.
It was hell for four days because I nagged him all the time which caused us to argue which made me mad but I still nagged. I couldn't let it go even though I knew he was making the choice to screw around and the outcome hurt him, not me.
Regardless of all the yelling (both of us), the nagging (me), and the tears (me again) he did finish the book and got an "A" on the test.
I was an English teacher in my past life. I was a fairly decent student in school. He is smart. He is an excellent reader and an even better writer. He practically has a photographic memory. But he just pisses this away because he's bored with high school.
So, this semester, I decided to be a bad mom. Or a bad teacher, but I'm not his teacher but still, what I did would be a "bad teacher" thing. I bribed him. Yes, I stand here before you, ladies and gentleman, hand to heart and tell you I bribed my child to read.
This semester he needs like a million points at his reading level which is like grade 29- he's off the charts, to be honest. This semester his teacher broke the number of independent reading points he needs into some the 3rd quarter and some the last quarter. So I bribed him. If Mac reads one of his "for points at his level" books and completes the book and the test over it by Feb. 1, I'll give him $10. If he has it done by Jan. 15, I'll give him $15. Additionally, if he gets all his third quarter points by Valentine's Day I'll give him an additional $20, so he could make $35. For doing his homework, which is something he should do on his own, at his age.
I can't let it go. It's a reading thing. It's a book thing. It's a teacher thing. It's an English teacher thing. It's a control thing (maybe). Hell, it's the mother-of-a-really-smart-teenage-boy-who-is-being-lazy thing.
I'm a bad mother.
Book bribing,
Maggie
_____________
On another note....
I like this song. There's no video here, just a picture of the singer from the group Train, but I like the song: "Hey Soul Sister" by... Train. Enjoy!
It was hell for four days because I nagged him all the time which caused us to argue which made me mad but I still nagged. I couldn't let it go even though I knew he was making the choice to screw around and the outcome hurt him, not me.
Regardless of all the yelling (both of us), the nagging (me), and the tears (me again) he did finish the book and got an "A" on the test.
I was an English teacher in my past life. I was a fairly decent student in school. He is smart. He is an excellent reader and an even better writer. He practically has a photographic memory. But he just pisses this away because he's bored with high school.
So, this semester, I decided to be a bad mom. Or a bad teacher, but I'm not his teacher but still, what I did would be a "bad teacher" thing. I bribed him. Yes, I stand here before you, ladies and gentleman, hand to heart and tell you I bribed my child to read.
This semester he needs like a million points at his reading level which is like grade 29- he's off the charts, to be honest. This semester his teacher broke the number of independent reading points he needs into some the 3rd quarter and some the last quarter. So I bribed him. If Mac reads one of his "for points at his level" books and completes the book and the test over it by Feb. 1, I'll give him $10. If he has it done by Jan. 15, I'll give him $15. Additionally, if he gets all his third quarter points by Valentine's Day I'll give him an additional $20, so he could make $35. For doing his homework, which is something he should do on his own, at his age.
I can't let it go. It's a reading thing. It's a book thing. It's a teacher thing. It's an English teacher thing. It's a control thing (maybe). Hell, it's the mother-of-a-really-smart-teenage-boy-who-is-being-lazy thing.
I'm a bad mother.
Book bribing,
Maggie
_____________
On another note....
I like this song. There's no video here, just a picture of the singer from the group Train, but I like the song: "Hey Soul Sister" by... Train. Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Bloggerpalooza!
Alight, I wasn't going to have a book blog and I wasn't going to have a movie blog and now I have both and maybe even 2 book blogs!
It's all Lilith's fault. And some of it's Bragger's fault, too.
First... I wasn't going to do the movie blog; I was just going to post a review of the movies I watch on here, at the bottom of this blog. But then I was deleting stuff I wrote and I try to write every day and sometimes it's good stuff and other times it's shite, but I like to keep most things I write for comparison to... well, other stuff I write. Okay, you're all writers, you so you "get" this. Then Lilith found an AMAZING blog template for movies. And I've already watched 4 movies this year (2 on DVD and 2 in a theater) so I figured, 'what the heck' and I made a movie blog. You can see Reel Reviews 2010 right here, if you want. My former movie blog hardly had any followers but I couldn't help it, I just like to keep track of stuff. It's mostly for me, but I do get an occasional random hit, and sometimes a few of you would read, so please have a read, become a follower even if you don't follow. It'll make me feel better.
And now the book blog. Or book blogs. I blame Lilith and Bragger for both of these. First, I wasn't going to have a book blog because I was going to just write my reviews and keep track of my reading through a website called GoodReads. It's very cool and many of you have joined and are listed as my "friends" on this site, which is also wonderful- and I thank you! But there are some features I don't like on it. I also got into the book blog habit, and some habits are hard to break.
So Lilith (aka Hecate) and I've had an off again/ on again book club made up of the two of us over the last year. We agree on a book and we both read it, then we have dinner and talk about the book. It's cool and we usually get something that would interest us both, or at least would expand our horizons. Then she and I had this shared brain cell thing happen. We emailed each other at about exactly the same time with the idea of a virtual book club. And Bragger mentioned it on Goodreads, on the same day. Uh-huh. Great minds think alike, eh? So, she and I are planning a virtual book club and more details are right here at the group blog called "Read Any Good Books Lately?" The details are all hammered out. And I have to say, I am SOOOOOOOO excited about this project!
I'll probably go on with my boring self and post like I did when I had "Turn the Page" because I know that way but others might take a different approach, which is totally fine. AND I am BEYOND excited at the prospect of reading reviews from people I know and having discussions about books with intelligent people I like!
So while I was thinking I was going to down size my blogging, I actually just stayed at the status quo. Well, okay, I'm down by one blog since I'm not doing my photo blog anymore. Oh goddess, that means I could still add another... someone stop me!!!!!
Blogfully yours,
Maggie
It's all Lilith's fault. And some of it's Bragger's fault, too.
First... I wasn't going to do the movie blog; I was just going to post a review of the movies I watch on here, at the bottom of this blog. But then I was deleting stuff I wrote and I try to write every day and sometimes it's good stuff and other times it's shite, but I like to keep most things I write for comparison to... well, other stuff I write. Okay, you're all writers, you so you "get" this. Then Lilith found an AMAZING blog template for movies. And I've already watched 4 movies this year (2 on DVD and 2 in a theater) so I figured, 'what the heck' and I made a movie blog. You can see Reel Reviews 2010 right here, if you want. My former movie blog hardly had any followers but I couldn't help it, I just like to keep track of stuff. It's mostly for me, but I do get an occasional random hit, and sometimes a few of you would read, so please have a read, become a follower even if you don't follow. It'll make me feel better.
And now the book blog. Or book blogs. I blame Lilith and Bragger for both of these. First, I wasn't going to have a book blog because I was going to just write my reviews and keep track of my reading through a website called GoodReads. It's very cool and many of you have joined and are listed as my "friends" on this site, which is also wonderful- and I thank you! But there are some features I don't like on it. I also got into the book blog habit, and some habits are hard to break.
So Lilith (aka Hecate) and I've had an off again/ on again book club made up of the two of us over the last year. We agree on a book and we both read it, then we have dinner and talk about the book. It's cool and we usually get something that would interest us both, or at least would expand our horizons. Then she and I had this shared brain cell thing happen. We emailed each other at about exactly the same time with the idea of a virtual book club. And Bragger mentioned it on Goodreads, on the same day. Uh-huh. Great minds think alike, eh? So, she and I are planning a virtual book club and more details are right here at the group blog called "Read Any Good Books Lately?" The details are all hammered out. And I have to say, I am SOOOOOOOO excited about this project!
I'll probably go on with my boring self and post like I did when I had "Turn the Page" because I know that way but others might take a different approach, which is totally fine. AND I am BEYOND excited at the prospect of reading reviews from people I know and having discussions about books with intelligent people I like!
So while I was thinking I was going to down size my blogging, I actually just stayed at the status quo. Well, okay, I'm down by one blog since I'm not doing my photo blog anymore. Oh goddess, that means I could still add another... someone stop me!!!!!
Blogfully yours,
Maggie
Monday, January 4, 2010
Live and let die
Picture this: Civilization, Midwest, 2010. Monday morning, the last day of a teacher's Christmas vacation at 7:41 am...
I'm sound asleep in my bed in my attic room. Today is the last day of freedom, meaning I don't return to the classroom drudgery until tomorrow morning. Some of the schools in our county had to go to school today, like Mac's school. But I didn't have to worry about getting Mac off to school today since he decided to stay at his Sperm Donor's house last night.
So there I was, all curled up and sound asleep, planning of a nice long "lie-in" as the Irish would say, when I hear a pounding and thumping and then see a huge flash of light.
Torn from my dreams and snapped into a quick reality, I sat bolt up right, immediately wide awake. There stands Mac. The thumping and pounding? Him running pell-mell up the stairs. The flash of light? Him turning on the overhead light in the attic.
Mac: "Mom?!? WTF? It's 7:41 am! You're gonna be late for school!! Why are you here? What's wrong?"
Me: "I don't have school today. Our school system starts tomorrow. WTF are YOU doing here?"
Mac (suppressing a grin when he sees the murderous look on my face): "Ooooooooooops, sorry." He smiles. Then giggles. Then sees the look of rage on my face and stops. "I, uh, forgot my schedule and I uh, forgot my book." He starts rummaging through his stuff on the attic floor.
Me: "Oh." But what I was thinking was: A judge would understand if I beat him, right?
Mac: "Sorry."
Me: "Be quiet and don't wake your grandfather." But I said this to his retreating back as he THUNDERED DOWN the stairs and SLAMMED the front door.
Of course I was completely awake and now I had to pee. It was 7:41 am.
Mac is still alive.
Mother Maggie
I'm sound asleep in my bed in my attic room. Today is the last day of freedom, meaning I don't return to the classroom drudgery until tomorrow morning. Some of the schools in our county had to go to school today, like Mac's school. But I didn't have to worry about getting Mac off to school today since he decided to stay at his Sperm Donor's house last night.
So there I was, all curled up and sound asleep, planning of a nice long "lie-in" as the Irish would say, when I hear a pounding and thumping and then see a huge flash of light.
Torn from my dreams and snapped into a quick reality, I sat bolt up right, immediately wide awake. There stands Mac. The thumping and pounding? Him running pell-mell up the stairs. The flash of light? Him turning on the overhead light in the attic.
Mac: "Mom?!? WTF? It's 7:41 am! You're gonna be late for school!! Why are you here? What's wrong?"
Me: "I don't have school today. Our school system starts tomorrow. WTF are YOU doing here?"
Mac (suppressing a grin when he sees the murderous look on my face): "Ooooooooooops, sorry." He smiles. Then giggles. Then sees the look of rage on my face and stops. "I, uh, forgot my schedule and I uh, forgot my book." He starts rummaging through his stuff on the attic floor.
Me: "Oh." But what I was thinking was: A judge would understand if I beat him, right?
Mac: "Sorry."
Me: "Be quiet and don't wake your grandfather." But I said this to his retreating back as he THUNDERED DOWN the stairs and SLAMMED the front door.
Of course I was completely awake and now I had to pee. It was 7:41 am.
Mac is still alive.
Mother Maggie
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Whiny ramblings, with music!
Snow sucks. I was going to hang out with Lilith (aka Hecate) today but the weather has thrown us a loop. I think one or both of us would be stuck if we could get in the same spot. Wait, that could be fun!
No, but seriously, she and I are much more responsible than that and won't get together because of the bad weather. So much for the manicure and pedicure. My poor feet are yelling at me already, that how dare I get them all excited and then abandon the plan. My poor dogs may never forgive me.
I'm not even sure how hard it's actually snowing but it's windy and blowing and it's the drifting I'm worried about, more than anything. You know the song lyrics "snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun" in "Jingle Bell Rock"? They obviously did not live in the Midwest in January because snowing and blowing does not make bushels of fun- it's makes drifts, stuck cars, low viability, and white outs.
Well, in other news, I don't have to go back to school until Tuesday. That's pretty awesome. I'm not ready to go back. I really like sleeping in. Maybe I've been out of work to long and re-adjusting to work again is taking a toll. Maybe there's a pill for that?
I watched District 9 on video last night and it was scary. I didn't like it at all. It was terribly violent and just... harsh. Maybe I didn't like it because it would be how humans would actually deal with 1.8 million aliens landing on Earth. I don't know.
And speaking of movies, I went to the theater and saw Up In The Air yesterday. I wanted it to be the best movie I've seen all year. It was good and certainly award worthy, but it was just sad and daunting in the economic hardship that is America this year. I knew what it was about when I went but I didn't think it would be that stark of reality. And it wasn't the best movie I've seen all year, though it was certainly one of the better. I think the best movie I've watched this year was Julie& Julia. I'm waiting for Hollywood to dazzle me with something that makes me leave the theater going, "Wow! I can't wait to see that again! OMG!" and I haven't had that reaction to a film in a very loooooooooong time!
So this is one of my favorite songs off the new Bon Jovi album The Circle. It's called "Superman Tonight." I was hunting to find the actual music video and couldn't come up with it, but I thought this was a pretty cool live performance. I'm a total Bon Jovi fan. They were popular when I was in high school so I just can't help it! I've seen them in concert 3 times and I'm going to admit it here; I'm gonna try and see them on The Circle tour either through Eventchaser or I'll buy my own ticket. I think Jon Bon Jovi is still a cutie, even after all these years.
Have a happy Sunday! In spite of the whiny tone of this post, I do have a good book to read and I think I'm going to rent a movie or two and just hang out and take it easy.
Maggie
No, but seriously, she and I are much more responsible than that and won't get together because of the bad weather. So much for the manicure and pedicure. My poor feet are yelling at me already, that how dare I get them all excited and then abandon the plan. My poor dogs may never forgive me.
I'm not even sure how hard it's actually snowing but it's windy and blowing and it's the drifting I'm worried about, more than anything. You know the song lyrics "snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun" in "Jingle Bell Rock"? They obviously did not live in the Midwest in January because snowing and blowing does not make bushels of fun- it's makes drifts, stuck cars, low viability, and white outs.
Well, in other news, I don't have to go back to school until Tuesday. That's pretty awesome. I'm not ready to go back. I really like sleeping in. Maybe I've been out of work to long and re-adjusting to work again is taking a toll. Maybe there's a pill for that?
I watched District 9 on video last night and it was scary. I didn't like it at all. It was terribly violent and just... harsh. Maybe I didn't like it because it would be how humans would actually deal with 1.8 million aliens landing on Earth. I don't know.
And speaking of movies, I went to the theater and saw Up In The Air yesterday. I wanted it to be the best movie I've seen all year. It was good and certainly award worthy, but it was just sad and daunting in the economic hardship that is America this year. I knew what it was about when I went but I didn't think it would be that stark of reality. And it wasn't the best movie I've seen all year, though it was certainly one of the better. I think the best movie I've watched this year was Julie& Julia. I'm waiting for Hollywood to dazzle me with something that makes me leave the theater going, "Wow! I can't wait to see that again! OMG!" and I haven't had that reaction to a film in a very loooooooooong time!
So this is one of my favorite songs off the new Bon Jovi album The Circle. It's called "Superman Tonight." I was hunting to find the actual music video and couldn't come up with it, but I thought this was a pretty cool live performance. I'm a total Bon Jovi fan. They were popular when I was in high school so I just can't help it! I've seen them in concert 3 times and I'm going to admit it here; I'm gonna try and see them on The Circle tour either through Eventchaser or I'll buy my own ticket. I think Jon Bon Jovi is still a cutie, even after all these years.
Have a happy Sunday! In spite of the whiny tone of this post, I do have a good book to read and I think I'm going to rent a movie or two and just hang out and take it easy.
Maggie
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Why I have Writer's Block
I'm sitting here staring at the blank screen trying to figure out what to type. It's way to early in the year for me to have writer's block. Or maybe it's just a carry over from last year?
My writer's block could be because I've been on vacation and haven't done much bust stick close to home. My Aunt and Uncle from Texas have been here since Tuesday, making the house over full with adults and personalities. I love them to death and love having them come visit. Daddy-O's house is small and is an "open concept" meaning the only doors are on the bathroom and his bedroom so if if anyone wanted to be alone, they had to leave or go in the bathroom. But the visit was good and it's always wonderful to see them. I did think my Aunt was going to freeze to death because she HATES the cold and the temperatures have hovered around 10 degrees here, with snow, for the last week.
I also attribute my writer's block to just not really doing anything with anyone but Mac, the family, Daddy-O, Curley, and XRayGirl. And none of these outings have been outrageous, just our normal stuff- shopping, watching movies, hanging around. I've not really watched the news or been out and about because it was cold. I've been to see movies but I haven't been reading or watching tv.
I can understand why I might have run out of things to say on my blog. I've run out of things to say in real life to Daddy-O and Mac. Mac and I rode in the car for 30 miles and never said a word to each other the whole time. Maybe there's too much together-ness happening right now, since we've all been in the house together for almost 3 weeks?
Oh, I could tell you I've done away with my movie blog. No one really read it too often so I've just decided to keep a list of movies I see on this blog, over in the side bar, and I'll be writing a review of some of the movies in a "gadget" found at the bottom of this blog- if you scroll down there now you can see what I'm talking about since I saw The Princess and the Frog yesterday. (And it was sweet!)
I haven't decided if I'm going to host a book blog or not. I did, however, write a year end recap of my 2009 reading habits. Now, I do know I have readers of that one, and I found the absolute most adorable PINK book template so part of me wants to keep the book blog just for those reasons, but I'm not sure. I also keep track of my books on a web site called GoodReads. It will allow me to write reviews, page number count, date them and adds the book cover art and everything I do on my personal book blog, and more. But can anyone read my reviews at Goodreads if they aren't a member? (And if you do have an account at Goodreads, I'm there listed as 'Maggieo') I should check that out while I'm deciding, but I'm not in a huge hurry to get that set up because I'm just not in the mood to read right now. But I digress...
I could also have writer's block on a personal level because I'm re-working my resume. Ick. That is the only word for it: ick. It's hard to do and takes lots of concentration and creativity- I don't want to lie, of course, but I want to make some of my skills sound worthwhile and picking and choosing the right words are a pain in the butt. I've been doing that for a couple days now, and I'm frustrated and it seems to have sapped all my energy for wanting to write creatively and humorously.
I've also been answering letters and emails in depth. Now, I LOVE getting personal emails and I love corresponding with folks but I seem to do it in big blocks and by the time I write 5 or 6 emails that are about 2000 words each, I'm not feeling blog style writing. OMG- is there such a thing as "too much" writing? That's can't be!
So that's why I have writer's block. My creativity is sapped. Or well not sapped, but blocked. I don't have any stories to tell right now, other than I could explain why I've wanted to smack Mac for the last 3 days- the grumpy pants, whining, teenager. Oh yeah, because he's a teenager so by definition I want to smack him. But I'll save that for something to blog about tomorrow! Unless something exciting happens between now and then.
I might even go to church in the morning; that would be a blog post too. That is, if the walls don't come tumbling down or a lightening bolt strikes me dead. Could happen...
Maggie
My writer's block could be because I've been on vacation and haven't done much bust stick close to home. My Aunt and Uncle from Texas have been here since Tuesday, making the house over full with adults and personalities. I love them to death and love having them come visit. Daddy-O's house is small and is an "open concept" meaning the only doors are on the bathroom and his bedroom so if if anyone wanted to be alone, they had to leave or go in the bathroom. But the visit was good and it's always wonderful to see them. I did think my Aunt was going to freeze to death because she HATES the cold and the temperatures have hovered around 10 degrees here, with snow, for the last week.
I also attribute my writer's block to just not really doing anything with anyone but Mac, the family, Daddy-O, Curley, and XRayGirl. And none of these outings have been outrageous, just our normal stuff- shopping, watching movies, hanging around. I've not really watched the news or been out and about because it was cold. I've been to see movies but I haven't been reading or watching tv.
I can understand why I might have run out of things to say on my blog. I've run out of things to say in real life to Daddy-O and Mac. Mac and I rode in the car for 30 miles and never said a word to each other the whole time. Maybe there's too much together-ness happening right now, since we've all been in the house together for almost 3 weeks?
Oh, I could tell you I've done away with my movie blog. No one really read it too often so I've just decided to keep a list of movies I see on this blog, over in the side bar, and I'll be writing a review of some of the movies in a "gadget" found at the bottom of this blog- if you scroll down there now you can see what I'm talking about since I saw The Princess and the Frog yesterday. (And it was sweet!)
I haven't decided if I'm going to host a book blog or not. I did, however, write a year end recap of my 2009 reading habits. Now, I do know I have readers of that one, and I found the absolute most adorable PINK book template so part of me wants to keep the book blog just for those reasons, but I'm not sure. I also keep track of my books on a web site called GoodReads. It will allow me to write reviews, page number count, date them and adds the book cover art and everything I do on my personal book blog, and more. But can anyone read my reviews at Goodreads if they aren't a member? (And if you do have an account at Goodreads, I'm there listed as 'Maggieo') I should check that out while I'm deciding, but I'm not in a huge hurry to get that set up because I'm just not in the mood to read right now. But I digress...
I could also have writer's block on a personal level because I'm re-working my resume. Ick. That is the only word for it: ick. It's hard to do and takes lots of concentration and creativity- I don't want to lie, of course, but I want to make some of my skills sound worthwhile and picking and choosing the right words are a pain in the butt. I've been doing that for a couple days now, and I'm frustrated and it seems to have sapped all my energy for wanting to write creatively and humorously.
I've also been answering letters and emails in depth. Now, I LOVE getting personal emails and I love corresponding with folks but I seem to do it in big blocks and by the time I write 5 or 6 emails that are about 2000 words each, I'm not feeling blog style writing. OMG- is there such a thing as "too much" writing? That's can't be!
So that's why I have writer's block. My creativity is sapped. Or well not sapped, but blocked. I don't have any stories to tell right now, other than I could explain why I've wanted to smack Mac for the last 3 days- the grumpy pants, whining, teenager. Oh yeah, because he's a teenager so by definition I want to smack him. But I'll save that for something to blog about tomorrow! Unless something exciting happens between now and then.
I might even go to church in the morning; that would be a blog post too. That is, if the walls don't come tumbling down or a lightening bolt strikes me dead. Could happen...
Maggie
Friday, January 1, 2010
So what did you do on New Year's Eve?
The last time I went bowling was in April 2006 with Mac, one afternoon after school because we were bored. Until last night, that was the last time was bowling. Yup, you read that right. Maggie Mae went bowling.
I also want to say right now that while I love and adore shoes, I think bowling shoes are really really gross. I mean really gross. But I had to wear them because that was the bowling alley rules; they wouldn't allow me to wear my socks, which was too bad because I wore these adorable Life Saver striped toe socks. At least they weren't warm when I put them on.
Okay, so yes I went bowling. XRayGirl and her Hubby invited me to do something with them on New Years Eve and this is what they came up with and I'm game for about anything. Then she calls and tells me it's a couples event. Well, I'm not part of a couple, obviously, so then she tells me she'll fix me up with someone.
So here are the facts: I have a blind date. On New years Eve. To go bowling. Apparently XRayGirl's Hubby has a friend named Bruce and I apparently met him at some point and that's who they were going to fix me up with. XRayGirl told me I said when I met him that I thought he was cute. Okay. No stress. I haven't been bowling in 3 years and I'm not that good to start with- if I can break 75 I consider it a stellar, successful game. I had to put on someone else's shoes in public. And now I have a date on top of it, which I haven't been on a "real" date since March. (I don't consider seeing Trooper in August a date any more... I have some illogical rationale for that which I will explain in another post) Oh no pressure at all.
And what does one wear to bowl anyway? XRayGirl tells me all the time I'm way to dressed up when we just get together for dinner but that's just how I dress. So I went with jeans and a new shirt I got for Christmas that's in shades of dark pink. What goes with 3 tone bowling shoes? Anyway... I digress.
Since Mac was going to a Halo party (think 5 teenage boys with 5 tvs, 5 Xboxes, all linked together and a case of Mountain Dew...) XRayGirl, etal were picking me up so Mac could have the car. When they arrived, Bruce was not there but a back up. Apparently Bruce, unbeknownst to XRayGirl and her Hubby, got back together with his x-wife...he didn't think going on a New Years Eve date with me was a good idea). I was introduced to Kenny.
I want to say right now there was no way in Hell I was going to kiss him at midnight. There was no way I would kiss him if I was told a huge fiery meteor was going to obliterate the earth and he was the last person I would see. If he was the last man on Earth and I was the last woman on Earth, the human population would die out.
Kenny was bald, not stylish bald but just bald. He had no teeth. His pants were falling off, not in a stylish baggy way but a don't fit and don't own a belt way. he smoked brown cigarettes and sounded like he had swallowed a mouthful of gravel and smelled like he forgot to shower. In the last decade at any time.
When we arrived at the bowling ally, I grabbed XRayGirl by thehair arm and yanked her to the bathroom and before I could say anything she explained about Bruce and stressed that Kenny was NOT A DATE. She made it clear to him that this was NOT A DATE with me, that we just need a fourth for the bowling event. I was relieved. OMG, was I ever relieved. I had told XRayGirl she couldn't fix me up with someone she herself would not go out with and she said she wouldn't touch Kenny with a 10 foot pole but he was nice. And he didn't have plans for New Years Eve. Gee, I wonder why?
But he was nice and funny and couldn't bowl worth a shit. And he mostly didn't talk to me but gabbed with XRayGirl's Hubby, which was fine with me. Once I knew that this was NOT A DATE and knew Kenny knew and UNDERSTOOD it was NOT A DATE, then I could relax and have fun.
The bowling was 4 games. The guys threw the first ball and the women picked up the spares if there were pins to spar. This was games 1 and 3. In games 2 and 4 the women went first and the guys picked up the spars. There was also all you can eat pizza and breadsticks and a champagne toast at midnight. There were cash prize drawings during the evening. We had a lot of fun. My bowling scores for the night (well, I guess mine and Kenny's) was (in order of games 1-4) an 85, 98, 137, and a 99. By the time we got to the last game Kenny was so drunk he couldn't see the lanes. Well, so was XRayGirl's Hubby. I was the designated driver. XRayGirl only had a few beers. I actually threw 3 strikes over the course of the four games! Go me! Whoot-whoot!
We all laughed and had fun and rang in the New Year with a countdown and "Auld Lang Syne" on the jukebox.
It was a sober time well spent with friends and lots of laughs. And good pizza.
Strikin' and sparin',
Maggie
I also want to say right now that while I love and adore shoes, I think bowling shoes are really really gross. I mean really gross. But I had to wear them because that was the bowling alley rules; they wouldn't allow me to wear my socks, which was too bad because I wore these adorable Life Saver striped toe socks. At least they weren't warm when I put them on.
Okay, so yes I went bowling. XRayGirl and her Hubby invited me to do something with them on New Years Eve and this is what they came up with and I'm game for about anything. Then she calls and tells me it's a couples event. Well, I'm not part of a couple, obviously, so then she tells me she'll fix me up with someone.
So here are the facts: I have a blind date. On New years Eve. To go bowling. Apparently XRayGirl's Hubby has a friend named Bruce and I apparently met him at some point and that's who they were going to fix me up with. XRayGirl told me I said when I met him that I thought he was cute. Okay. No stress. I haven't been bowling in 3 years and I'm not that good to start with- if I can break 75 I consider it a stellar, successful game. I had to put on someone else's shoes in public. And now I have a date on top of it, which I haven't been on a "real" date since March. (I don't consider seeing Trooper in August a date any more... I have some illogical rationale for that which I will explain in another post) Oh no pressure at all.
And what does one wear to bowl anyway? XRayGirl tells me all the time I'm way to dressed up when we just get together for dinner but that's just how I dress. So I went with jeans and a new shirt I got for Christmas that's in shades of dark pink. What goes with 3 tone bowling shoes? Anyway... I digress.
Since Mac was going to a Halo party (think 5 teenage boys with 5 tvs, 5 Xboxes, all linked together and a case of Mountain Dew...) XRayGirl, etal were picking me up so Mac could have the car. When they arrived, Bruce was not there but a back up. Apparently Bruce, unbeknownst to XRayGirl and her Hubby, got back together with his x-wife...he didn't think going on a New Years Eve date with me was a good idea). I was introduced to Kenny.
I want to say right now there was no way in Hell I was going to kiss him at midnight. There was no way I would kiss him if I was told a huge fiery meteor was going to obliterate the earth and he was the last person I would see. If he was the last man on Earth and I was the last woman on Earth, the human population would die out.
Kenny was bald, not stylish bald but just bald. He had no teeth. His pants were falling off, not in a stylish baggy way but a don't fit and don't own a belt way. he smoked brown cigarettes and sounded like he had swallowed a mouthful of gravel and smelled like he forgot to shower. In the last decade at any time.
When we arrived at the bowling ally, I grabbed XRayGirl by the
But he was nice and funny and couldn't bowl worth a shit. And he mostly didn't talk to me but gabbed with XRayGirl's Hubby, which was fine with me. Once I knew that this was NOT A DATE and knew Kenny knew and UNDERSTOOD it was NOT A DATE, then I could relax and have fun.
The bowling was 4 games. The guys threw the first ball and the women picked up the spares if there were pins to spar. This was games 1 and 3. In games 2 and 4 the women went first and the guys picked up the spars. There was also all you can eat pizza and breadsticks and a champagne toast at midnight. There were cash prize drawings during the evening. We had a lot of fun. My bowling scores for the night (well, I guess mine and Kenny's) was (in order of games 1-4) an 85, 98, 137, and a 99. By the time we got to the last game Kenny was so drunk he couldn't see the lanes. Well, so was XRayGirl's Hubby. I was the designated driver. XRayGirl only had a few beers. I actually threw 3 strikes over the course of the four games! Go me! Whoot-whoot!
We all laughed and had fun and rang in the New Year with a countdown and "Auld Lang Syne" on the jukebox.
It was a sober time well spent with friends and lots of laughs. And good pizza.
Strikin' and sparin',
Maggie
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