I want that. (from Napoleon Dynamite)

Bon Jour!

Yesterday I had lunch at Madame Croissant's house.
Dylan named her that after his first day of French this year.
"Honey, what's your french teacher's name?"
"Um...I don't know....Mdme. Croissant?"
So she's the French teacher at school and she's a real Frenchy!!
All the way from France!
She invited a couple of us over to her little french oasis.
Her house is so cool but the yard is the best part.
She has chickens, peacocks, a pond, a huge garden along
with herbs and flowers in pots EVERYWHERE.
An enormous tree fell across her yard and is leaning on another
tree. Instead of cutting it, they hung a bench swing from it and
put sheer curtains around it - beautiful.
They have a garden rock wall which they made, along with
a playground size sandbox for 3 year old Frenchy - who by the
way was running around naked the whole afternoon, painting,
playing, swimming in the old cement bin which was turned
into a kiddie pool! Baby Frenchy speaks 3 languages, English, French and Spanish.
I barely speak American.
Lunch was a gorgeous salad.
Greens, cukes, tomato,
hard boiled eggs FROM THE CHICKENS,(Paul was like "YOU DIDN'T EAT THOSE, DID YOU??????)
grilled chicken (we were assured it was NOT one of THEIR chickens, but who knows.)
shredded carrots in the middle. So simple but
so beautiful. AND OF COURSE a baguette and brie.
If it hadn't been 4,000,000 degrees with 978%. humidity, I would have enjoyed it a bit more,
but she had fans going in the yard and we just sat back,
perspired and enjoyed.
Well, tonight guess what we're having for dinner..........
Frenchy's Salad!!!!
Organic greens (sorry Dylan)
Organic tomatoes
Organic asparagus
Organic cukes
carrots in a bag because I don't care THAT much
raspberries
cold rotisserie chicken
a BAGUETTE AND BRIE. Just love that!
I'm so excited........over a salad.
Someone slap me.

Africa hot.

It is so freakin' hot here, it's like Africa hot.
NY is not supposed to be this hot.
I'm moving.
I want to live where it's 72 degrees and sunny all the time.
Where is that?

Relief!

I am a pill popper, have been all my life.
No, not like a Valley of The Dolls character.
Headache pills.
Ever since high school I've carried around a little bottle of
various headache meds., aspirin, advil, motrin, sinus pills etc.
My friends joked that I was a walking pharmacy.
But it was no joke.
I always had headaches and I've had 4 major migraine's.
Paul has been asking me to please see a doctor but I never went
because, hey, I'd always been like this.
Dylan also gets headaches. I never really though much of it but
two weeks ago, I think he had a migraine.
He was in the shower crying and when I went to check
on him he asked me to turn the light out. Tell tale sign.
I gave him some Motrin and put him to bed.
He has an appointment with his Ped. tomorrow.
This also prompted me to see a Neurologist.
Guess what....all those headaches I get.....
they're migraines.
I guess it's not normal to have 3-5 headaches a week.
How was I supposed to know??? This has been my life.
Well, Dr. Wonderful prescribed something for me to take
as soon as I feel a headache coming on and you know what....
IT WORKS!!!!!!!
I AM SO HAPPY!!!!!!
I can't believe I don't have to have headaches all the time, even dull ones.
I'm going for an MRI on my brain this week.
Dr. Wonderful doesn't think there's anything there but just wants a pic.
Well, I hope there's SOMETHING in there.
If not, it will explain a whole lot.........

Another Open Letter

Dear Crazy Lady at the New Over Priced Organic Gourmet Store,
Shut up!
Just shut up!
You are so loud!
NO ONE cares to hear you tell your two little kids
how great this store is....over and over and over again.
I get it, you're excited to have this new store in town.
I know that you used to have to travel miles to their other store.
You've told everyone you pass that you used to shop
in their other store and that this one is GREAT!
I get it, you're SO HAPPY!!!
And wow, I never knew anyone could be so EXCITED to find CHICKEN SAUSAGE!
Yes, we understand it's difficult to find.
Yes, we hear that it's delicious.
Yes, we now know you don't like the kind with the parsley.
WE ALL GET IT.
WE ALL HEAR YOU!
And what is the deal with the sushi???
You tell your kids how good it is, over and over.
You show it to them, "SEE?? SEE???"
Then you tell your 3 year old she can't have it.
Over and over and over again.
You ARGUE with her.
SHE'S THREE!
How do I know she's 3?
Because you said, "HONEY, A 3 YEAR OLD WON'T LIKE SUSHI."
Over and over and over again.
It takes 2 two argue. Just SHUT UP and move on!
I get it, you're reaaaaallllly into the whole organic thing.
Good for you.
I think you should wander your loud ass
into the toiletry section and
see if they make organic shaving cream,
because honey, you could really use a shave.

*(normally, I'd feel "bad" for a woman with a beard,
but this LOUD, ANNOYING lady with her organic beliefs
and parsley free chicken sausage put me over the edge.)

I'm OLD!

I'm old.
MAN am I old.
When did this happen?
Hey - I'm 40. I'll scream it from the roof tops, I don't care.
However, when I'm working with kids who are all
young enough to BE my own, I FEEL old.
(Ok, I would have had one when I was in high school, but still)
I know you know I love my camp job. LOVE IT.
This year I'm in charge of a younger age group, no prob.,
but all the group leaders I'm working with are young too!
I know them, they're great kids, hard workers, respectful,
fun, we all get along great,
but they just reaffirm that I AM AN OLD LADY!
I'm AN OLD LADY WHO IS A MOM!
A MOM OLD LADY.
I am the one who has tissues in her bag, along
with bandaids, dental floss, a set of plastic vampire teeth,
a flashlight, and antacids.
I also have Xanax.
Last night at our camp meeting I was the one with the
fold up rain jacket in her bag so when the
torrential downpour started, I was dry.
HEY - I heard the weather report, I knew it was coming!
There are those working at camp that are my age or older.
We tend to gravitate toward each other when in large groups.
Is it because we have more in common or because we're
greatly out numbered by the girls in the teeny tiny shorts
and tank tops or the boys with their baseball caps on backwards?
Would I want to go back?
Would I want to have skin issues or boy issues or tend to keep
my ideas to myself because I was worried what the others would think of me?
HELL NO!
I like having clear skin.
I like that I know who I'm going home with each night.
I love the freedom of speaking my mind and
NOT CARING WHAT ANYONE ELSE THINKS!
I guess these gifts come with age.
If so, I'm proud to be OLD.

Aloha!

So, Dylan and I spent the day cleaning our rooms. I was emptying my closet, when I looked up and saw this:

This pic was is a reflection in my mirror. I didn't want him to know I was taking it.
He heard the camera and didn't seem to mind. So I took another one.

Here he is folding his ties.
A perfectly normal day in the McKibbins house.

On Vacation!

I am FINALLY finished with school.
Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but hey, I'm ready for
they year to be over.
Man, they really stretch out the last couple of weeks;
1/2 days
luncheons
dinners
assemblies
But now....it is done.
I have 2 weeks until camp starts (not counting the numerous
camp meetings I'll have between now and opening day)
Since being on vacation, I've re-discovered the snooze button on my alarm clock.
Not a good thing.
I'm really at my best in the early AM.
I've been skipping the early AM these past few days.
And I've really taken to napping.
I think I was a cat in a previous life. I like to nap and I don't
like dogs or walking over grates.
So how am I spending vacation besides sleeping?
Well, today I'm cleaning and putting away and organizing.
Tomorrow? Well, we'll just have to wait and see what time I wake up.

C-A-M-P

Camp season is here!!!!
Yes, I am a camp counselor.
This is my 4th year working at a camp, my second
year at this one and the first year that I'm actually
looking forward to it.
Why you ask?
Well, this camp is our school's camp.
You can take a look here.
I love our school, the people, the kids, everything about it.
Today is carnival day.
We have a carnival set up for the kids to come, play and
meet their counselors.
I can't wait to meet my kids.
I have a lot to say about camp, both this one and
my previous camp (insert Exorsist music here please).
Stay tuned!

Can you read my mind.....

Dear ________
Apparently you seem to think I am a great clairvoyant.
Thank you for bestowing upon me this distinguished, high-level, majestic moniker.
It pains me to tell you that..... I am but a simple woman.
I am no mentalist.
I cannot predict the future.
The tea leaves in my cup leave me as baffled as the next person.
I am not a prophet, a seer, nor a soothsayer.
I am no more tuned in than anyone else.
So, if you think I should know something then
you should FREAKIN' TELL ME!
Don't expect me to know what is going on in your little mind.
Share you're incredibly ridiculous, insupposable, lame ideas
with me.
I could use the laugh.

Waiting

I do an awful lot of waiting.

I waited for Dylan's class to return from their field trip.
I got there at 7:30 for an 8:00 return.
They got there at 9:10.

I waited for the boy scouts to leave on their rafting trip.
Scheduled time of departure, 3:45.
We were there on time.
We waited for one last kid to get there...at 4:20.

I waited for the boyscouts to return today.
Arrival time, 1:00. I got there at 12:45.
I waited.
And waited.
Finally got a call, 1:25, that they're running late.

So I ran to the golf course to pick Paul up.
He'd be finished at 1:30.
I waited
and waited
I finally called after the boy scouts called.
He was almost finished - 2:00.

I thought about it and I think I wait because
I don't want anyone else to wait.
If I'm late getting Dylan, then someone has to wait
with him until I get there.
I don't think that's right, so I do the waiting.

I also did a lot of waiting when I was a kid.
If I needed to get picked up somewhere, I called
my parents and they took their time getting me.
It made me nuts, but they were doing their thing and
if I needed to be picked up, I had to wait. It was always
at school or the train station and never if someone had
to wait with me. I was also older, a teenager, but I remember
waiting and I hated it. Why couldn't they be at my beck and call.
Why wouldn't they WANT TO be??

So I wait.

Do you do a lot of waiting?

Bad Blogger

I've been a bad blogger and I blame it all on stress.
We have 4 school days left.
You'd think we'd be just lounging around doing nothing, but no.
That's not how it works. Lots of cleaning, packing up, stuff like that.
As for my home life, again, you'd think, "End of school year, hooray!"
Nah.
Baseball playoffs, boy scout camp outs, end of year this and that.
I've had three scrapbooking deadlines in the last two weeks.
I"M STRESSED OUT!
What happened this year??!!!! Last year wasn't like this!!!!!
I guess it's because I'm working now.
Ok, well, I have the next two weeks off then camp starts.
I'm actually looking forward to it this year.
It makes me feel like a kid, which is good because that's how
I act most of the time. Now I have an excuse.

Goodies in the Mail!!!!

Before I share a pic of my goodies I have a PSA

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT DRINK ARIZONA DIET GREEN TEA ICED TEA BEFORE BED.
It has caffeine and ginsing, which are good for a zippy zip zip,
but NOT at 3am.

Anyway....look what I got in the mail today:

WORLDWIN is partnering up with Fiskars and asked us if we'd like anything.Well, I took a chance and said, "Yeah, I want this, this, this AND this!"
And I got them all!!!!!
I have wanted to replace my scissors for a very long time.
Every time I look at new ones, and the $$$ I think..."well, mine aren't so bad. So I have to use my teeth to cut string, it's ok."
Now I have new scissors!!! And I'm NOT using them on paper. Nope, no way.
Can't wait to try my new trimmer - love the color, and that other thing...
it's a Click Blade. I can't remember why I wanted it.
Why would I want a click blade?
I don't attend a city school.
I don't ride the subway too often.
I don't mug people......anymore.
Oh well, now I can do all those things and more!

Zen

I'm loving Arizona Diet Green Tea.
Yes it has splenda in it, ok, ok, so what.
I drank some yesterday and I was WIRED.
Couldn't get to sleep until 1:30am.
Got a lot of work done.

Gettin' Crafty

I've been gettin' crafty. I made these last weekend:



I thought my idea was kind of nifty. No, they weren't diffucult or ground breaking but I think they're neat.
I used new paper, Elan Metallics from WorldWin Papers and I LOVE IT.
I really like WorldWin cardstock, love the colors, textures and
LOVE LOVE LOVE the double sided paper.
I received another package in the mail with new product that I have to work with.
Sorry, can't tell you about it but I'll be working all weekend!

You MUST check out Serendipity Kits

Milissa is now offering a mini kit along with her monthly kits. This little baby is GREAT!
I can't wait to get mine. AND the wonderful Kimber McGray, 2007 CK HOFer, worked with it and you have to see what she came up with.

AND as for my challenge yesterday:
check this out. So funny!

Humor Challenge

I've gotten a number of comments and emails saying:
"...never a dull moment with you...."
"The strangest things happen to you."
"...you do not live a dull life..."
"...this can't be true..."
"Where the hell do you live that these things
keep happening to you???"
Well, my friends, guess what.....these things
happen to you too. They happen to all of us.
You just have to try to find the humor in
life. Sure, the girl fainting at the walk-in
medical place wasn't all that funny, and her
cell phone conversation annoyed the shit out
of me, but come on, that's good stuff!
Ok, so I challenge you........(stop rolling your eyes)
TRY TO FIND HUMOR IN SOMETHING THAT
GOES ON IN YOUR LIFE TODAY AND BLOG
ABOUT IT.