After all these years...

...we're still in love!

Yesterday was our 14th wedding anniversary! (insert sappy sigh here....ahhhhhh!) To celebrate we had tickets to see Wicked. It was wonderful! This was our first time seeing the show. I'll admit it took me a bit to get settled into it, to get my bearings of what was going on. I knew just the basic gist of the story line. But we loved the show, the music, the characters. It definitely gives you a new perspective on the story of the Wizard of Oz--and will make you think differently about that story from now on. My friend lent me her soundtrack from the show and it has been fun listening to all the songs again. I can see why people like seeing it over and over again. And in the future, I would even take my kids to see it.

Oh, and after 14 years, Doug still had the hottest date in the place!!! (right honey? right?)

Can you say "bummer" in Italian?

Bummer! The trip to Italy is off. Okay, it isn't the end of the world actually. But the university has frozen the funding that would have paid for Doug's trip. They did say he could still go if he wanted to...but he "might" not get reimbursed for it. LOL!!!! :) Like we would fall for THAT one. The reason for me going with him now was because his work was paying for hotel and his airfare. Without that incentive, well, we'd rather wait and do a trip to Europe right--take a few weeks, see LOTS of places, go at a time that is convenient with leaving the kids behind, etc. So, are we disappointed? Yah, I guess. Will it leave us better off financially? Most definitely!!! And with the economy the way it is right now, it's really the wise thing to do. But Doug promises he will take me to Italy someday. That works for me.

"Hi" translated means "I'm an American Idiot!"

I've come to the realization that "hi" is translated into all other languages to mean "I'm an American idiot." When Doug and I were living in Vermont, we would go up to Montreal on occasion. Montreal is part of the french-speaking province of Quebec. So all road signs are in French, everyone speaks French, etc. Now, mind you, my husband WAS the "French Student of the Year" our senior year of high school--proof that the 80-year-old French teacher was sweet on young boys I guess. :) Ten years after high school, I was just grateful he knew that "ouest" was "west" and "est" was "east" (not that I couldn't figure that out)!

Anyhow, on to the story...everywhere we would go you would walk in to a store, museum, restaurant, etc. and the employee would smile and say "bonjour!" To which, I would sheepishly smile and say "hi" in return. This simple utterance of the word "hi" is the well-known code for "I'm an American idiot who doesn't speak a lick of any language other than English so please cater to my lack of intelligence and come down to my level." At which point, the employee politely responds "oh, hi" and carries on with the conversation in English because yes, he or she is actually a minimum of BI-lingual.

So, the point of this story, other than that I wish I had taken my high school Spanish class more seriously, is that it looks like I may get to spend a week in Italy with my husband! Yay! We will be going to Florence, but may try to make a trip down to Rome as well. I'm looking for any recommendations, advice, etc. from those of you who have been to Italy and any suggestions for avoiding being a complete and utter annoyance of a tourist. :)

Pay it Forward!

Pay it Forward!

How it works: The FIRST THREE people to leave a comment on this post will receive at some point during this year a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive will be a total surprise--to both of us.The CATCH is that YOU MUST PLAY TOO! Before you leave your comment here, write a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (you can cut and paste these instructions). Then come back and let me know that you are going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift. It's THAT easy!Remember, only the FIRST THREE comments will qualify. Good luck!

There's good probability that Terry loves his mom

Terry has entered that tween stage where his mom is no longer very cool. Okay, not that I am saying I USED to be totally cool to him, but I'm definitely more of a liability than an asset now. He constantly rolls his eyes at me.

So today Terry said he had very little homework to do. In fact, he only had one math worksheet. The worksheet asked him to define the term "probability" and give an example of it. Then he was to ask one of his parents to define probability and give an example. Well, being a great example of how to get your homework done quickly, I peeked at his answer and wrote down the same thing...

"Probability is the chance that something will happen."

My example that I wrote on his homework for him to turn in tomorrow...

"The probability that Terry has the coolest mom in the world is about 100%." :)

His eyes are rolling yet again.

Bob and His Toothache

Zach had the assignment to write a short story for school. He insisted that a short story only needs to be 2-3 paragraphs. He had picked the topic of "a shark that has a toothache." Here is Zach's story that came out of it...with only a very little bit of help from Mom. :)

Bob and His Toothache

Once upon a time there was a shark named Bob. One day Bob was swimming and his tooth began to ache. Bob knew exactly which of his many teeth were hurting, but he didn't know what to do.

Bob decided to ask a clown fish for help. The clown fish tried to make Bob laugh the tooth out. It didn't work. He asked the octopus for help. The octopus tried to pull the tooth out using all eight legs. It didn't work.

Bob was very sad that nobody could help. Just then Bob ran into a big, fat, sleeping whale and his tooth came out! Bob put it under his pillow and that night the tooth fish brought him a sand dollar.

The end!