9 is simply divine

This just in. Gotta share.

Nine-year-olds are simply marvelous. They are old enough they don't need diapers, they can do some of their own laundry, and homework is often a self-guided activity, yet they still say things that CRACK. ME. UP. Every day.

Kristen the Clever came home from school a bit ago. She did her usual grazing in the pantry, showed off her Jumprope for Heart prizes that finally came in, left other items on the counter she promised to leave "only for a minute." Then she disappeared.

Moments later, while I moved laundry from the washer to dryer (I lead a very exciting writer's life, you know), I heard a clunk from, oh, about 10 feet away. I could see her out of the corner of my eye. "What are you doing?"

"Rrmmghs weheere semoutwh."

"What?"

"WERvkjjdmn."

"I can't understand what you're saying."

"I have something in my mouth that hurts. A little purply thing. Look." She was carrying Todd's maglight, and it had bumped against the very large, very expensive over-the-dresser mirror that's hanging vertically on my wall because it's, well, not over the dresser.

I looked in her mouth and didn't see much, but told her to floss and let me know in a few days if any sepsis or gangrene appeared.

"Where's that handy little flashlight you have?" she said.

I cracked up. "You're so funny! That 'handy' little flashlight."

She was offended. As she walked away, she said, "It was descriptive."

HAHAHAHAHA!

Flying Purple Music Player

I changed my little purple music player so it only starts if the visitor wants to turn it on. Didn't get any feedback except from Gail and Hampton, and they said it was a little startling because it's at the bottom of the page and you can't figure out where it's coming from. Alas, I do not want it at the top of the page, because it's so ... huge, so that's the only solution I can think of.

And this is not myspace. (Where music starts immediately on [nearly] every single site.)

I like to listen to it (all my favorite songs in one place! It's like a mix tape!), so I shall keep it and flip the switch when I am in the mood for tunes while I surf. At least until I find a magical code that allows me to make it the size of a peanut and put it at the top of the screen.

Resourceful little duckies

In our house, we have started a new system. When one of the girls uses the words, "blame," "fault," or "fair," their allowances get docked a dime. (Only we keep forgetting.)

They are very creative children.

Kristen and Emilie are supposed to be sorting and putting up a load of their laundry. Kristen was taking a lot of time to do hers. When we griped, she came in with a long face, bearing a sign that says, "Save the children." I'm not sure where she got it, but I think it has something to do with Ryan spending the night in the park last weekend for Invisible Children's Global Commute.

Todd said, "We are not amused."

I laughed my head off and said, "No, not for very long, anyway."

Then Kristen said, "I didn't tell myself to do it. Ryan did."

Senseless

I've struggled with what to say about the tragedy in Virginia. I think a little of my blue-ness over this has surfaced in the songs I chose for my music player yesterday, although they are favorite songs regardless.

I doubt I could say anything more profound than anyone else, and so I won't even try. One of my favorite authors and bloggers, Barbara Samuel, did manage to convey some really poignant thoughts about it and about our world, though. Please read it here. Hold your candle of prayer and hope high.

"World Spins Madly On"
The Weepies

Woke up and wished that I was dead
With an aching in my head
I lay motionless in bed
I thought of you and where you'd gone
and let the world spin madly on

Everything that I said I'd do
Like make the world brand new
And take the time for you
I just got lost and slept right through the dawn
And the world spins madly on

I let the day go by
I always say goodbye
I watch the stars from my window sill
The whole world is moving and I'm standing still

Woke up and wished that I was dead
With an aching in my head
I lay motionless in bed
The night is here and the day is gone
And the world spins madly on

I thought of you and where you'd gone
And the world spins madly on.

Tune in Tuesday

I decided to play around with project playlist, thanks to juliepersons and love, hampton. Bear with me while I decide if it's fun or annoying. If you have an opinion, please express it freely!

I think I will change from set order to shuffle, first off. I'd hate for you to get sick of Joshua Radin, he's such a nice boy. Also, as lots of the music I listen to doesn't pop up on the radio, and thus, not on many standard music sites, some of my songs seem to load slowly (Alice Peacock and Jason Harrod, for instance). The whole point of this thing, however, is to publicize some music you might not have heard (and to entertain ME!), so I'll leave them for now.

Hope you enjoy the pretty purple player.

The Riches

I'm definitely watching too much TV these days, but just had to mention...

Todd and I watched the first two episodes of The Riches on FX's marathon of the first episodes last night. We recorded whatever came on after that, because although the show is funny and weird and absolutely crazy and ... yeah, it was too intense to watch for more than two hours at one sitting! It's about a family of Travelers (also sometimes called Irish Travelers, gypsies, vagabonds) who cut ties with their clan and take up new identities by moving into the house of some people who died when they got run off the road during a chase scene.

Hoping to watch the rest this weekend so we can be caught up when the new episode comes on Monday night. Minnie Driver is amazing--puts her in a new light altogether.

I gotta wonder what people who are members of these groups in real life think. The show doesn't mince or make things pretty. Not exactly complimentary, but not exactly not. An obvious theme of the show is that Travelers don't define things the way we "buffers" do, so the definition of complimentary might even be subjective.

You should check it out. Not for the fainthearted.

All's well...

I guess that accidental vote didn't hurt too much.

AI Foe Paw

Wow. I accidentally voted for Haley Scarnato.

I knew I didn't want to vote for Sanjaya, so figured any other number was okay ... forgetting about that minor detail of Haley. So, I randomly picked 04, then went to the website to see who I voted for. SNAP! Oops.

And, just for the record, this is only the second time I've voted this season. I think I only voted once before in another year. So, what the heck was I even thinking?

I did go ahead and redial a couple more times until I registered a vote for Blake, too, who is my remaining American Idol boyfriend this year. He was pretty tonight. If it comes down to him and Melinda for the final two, I'll be okay.

Resorting to the weather

Yeah, it was a tornado warning here tonight. Not nearly as scary when it was all said and done, but a few minutes before 9, the tv station said there was a tornado on the ground about a mile north of us, moving south at 15 mph. Yikes, everyone get on shoes, grab the cat and a couch pillow, and dive into the laundry room!

I did go back for my computer...my livelihood is housed here! And, it's portable. Threw it in the corner under some dirty laundry and told the girls to remind me it was there later should things get exciting. I couldn't find my wedding or honeymoon photo albums, but by golly, I got my computer.

So, we had a few minutes of hail, the sirens went off for a few, and then it got quiet again fast. Warning cancelled after five minutes.

Shew, another near escape in Tornado Alley.

EDIT: Oh, yeah, there were four houses damaged to the point of being uninhabitable in that area to the north, and a few others with minor damage, but nobody hurt and the fire department and Red Cross seemed to have it under control, according to Channel 8. Sorry for them, but man, there's been a lot worse on the news lately.