Word-Free Wednesday

"Much Ado About Nothing" OR "No, Sanna, Don't!"

Which title do you think I should choose: "Much Ado About Nothing" or "No, Sanna, Don't"?

Successful battles, party invites, arguments, weddings, infidelity..... If you are well-schooled on the Shakespearean play "Much Ado About Nothing", then I must apologize well in advance for my lack of literary parallel to that work. I just wanted the title, "Much Ado About Nothing". When I chose the title, I decided to take a Cliff's Notes crash course on it and decided that "nope, I really don't have anything in common with the play's themes"...and let me add: I'm glad! However, I've been super busy with all kinds of things, but nothing major.....kinda like an ant building an anthill, eventually, it probably will all add up to something great, but right now, it's just life's everyday tasks. So, if I used just the title "Much Ado....", I would have continued to write about all the mundane tasks I've done, am doing, and need to do. If you want that title, keep reading. If not, skip to the next section where I will tell a story for my plot addicted, yes PLOT, with an "L" sister. She loves a good story---all the details. Typically, she's the only one that can make it through one of Steven's "over-detailed" stories and still be on the edge of her seat as if the details were good enough, and no point or life lesson was ever needed. So, for the much ado's: Our house air conditioner is, well was, broken, but thanks to Tammy's dad, it's not broken now. You wanna talk about a hot (temperature wise!) mama, this one right here was so hot last night without a/c, that when I went to say my night prayers, I just said, "God, I'm hot and you know it. Amen." Don't worry, later I realized I might could have just prayed for the air to be fixed, but instead, I just complained to God. In the heat of the moment...ha haaa, I did realize that some people have to live like that all the time and that I really should rejoice in the fact that I don't. But, quiet honestly....I'm not the best chick at resorting to rejoicing and thankfulness when I feel like I've run on a treadmill for 45 minutes too long and am actually just laying in my unairconditioned hot bed. Nonetheless, thank God for Randall Godwin---fixer of the air at my house....and thanks for Gail, too. They have a great daughter, Tammy. Okay, next "ado". I'm going to have to clean up this place and get us ready to travel to the big CA! We leave next Wednesday. I'd request you to help with our animals and plants, but WE DON'T HAVE ANY. Yipppeee. Sorry, I know that's random, but, being the mad checker at lists, it always tickles me pink when I realize I have opted to not take on anything that requires excessive effort--such as plants and animals. More ado: School's been great. I enjoy my job. Steven is feeling a heapload better. Libby is still doing fabulous and it's all good. The only thing we need to make the nothing better is to win the lottery; that would be a miraculous thing----since we don't play it. Maybe you can play it and split your winnings with us. There's only one time a year we buy lottery tickets and that's to get several to take to gift swaps around Christmas. They usually go over well. Another curiousity: THIS RANDOM NOTE IS FOR ANNA: What's up with your invite only thing on your blog? Have I been kicked out? Just curious.

Okay, so my sister, Sanna, threatened to have another livestock put in my yard so I'd have something to write about. In order to stall her efforts, I am updating my blog. She wants a story about our kids from Eastside. You know that could be a whole new blog: "Life at Eastside--You Thought You Knew, But You Had No Idea". Anyway, today was Arbor Day. I know-- brace yourself for the social calendar getting overloaded with the flurry of events that accompany Arbor Day. Who else works at a job where you get to connect learning to Arbor Day? Okay, so, at 1:15 when math was supposed to be starting, some kids were finishing up a booklet about planting things. Lo-and-behold (<--correct spelling?) if another teacher and a student weren't planting a real tree right outside the window. I quickly, with Hannah's (the class's teacher and my friend) blessing, took the kids outside to watch the tree be planted. After it was planted, they helped throw dirt around it. Then, we sang an impromptu "Happy Arbor Day to yoooou, Happy Arbor Day to yooooou, Happy Arbor Day dear Maple (<--type of tree it was). Happy Arbor Day to you." That was a cool thing. The kids got to see a paper pencil moment come to life right outside their class window. It's amazing how little you have to do to get kids to be interested. They were just loving the bugs, dirt and tools. So, "No, Sanna, Don't!". Don't put any animals in our yard, here's an update.

And, just because I haven't updated with any photo's---here is a clip of Libby's latest song and some pics:

Reasons To Eat At Home

Last night, we went to eat at Ichiban in East Brainerd. In case you don't know, we have to eat Chinese at PF Chang's or Japanese from Typhoon or Ichiban at least once a week. It's way cheaper than the therapy we probably need. When it was time to leave, Libby was getting restless. I took her to see the fish in the lobby while Steven paid the check. There were some people sitting with presents. I tried to detour Libby's mind from the presents because I knew she would start asking them if they brought her one, if she could open it, etc. The elderly couple didn't look like they were up for her million plus one more questions. We talked about counting the fish. We counted them in English and Spanish. We talked about the shapes we saw in the room. Finally, she noticed the tiles on the floor were square----and so were "do-es people's presents". I said, "yes, the tile is square." The presents were rectangular. The math teacher in me was going to try to get her to describe the presents so that she could begin to differentiate between square and rectangle. So, I said: "Libby, what do they look like?" She said, "they're old." I said, "noooo, presents aren't old. Presents are new." I was trying to save myself the embarrassment of what had just happend. She replied, "Yes, presents are new, but 'do-es' peoples are old." About that time Steven walked up and saw that the couple's mouths were kind of open. I was pale with embarrassment and Libby was fixing to say more. We eased out the door. That's another good reason to just eat at home.

The short clip below is a Valentine song we didn't know she knew until way after Valentine's. She learned it from "Mr. Jackie, her music teacher at school." She started singing it around Easter. That's just Libby....she does everything in her time.

Hot Saturday Plans

First, let me start by saying that if you didn't read "Show and Tell" Friday entry, please do. If you have read it, I know you're super tired of seeing it pop up each time you stop by our blog. So, that's the purpose of this post..........to go ahead and lay Bambi to cyber rest.

That title, "Hot Saturday Plans" sounds pretty catchy, huh? Well, our "Hot Saturday Plans" weren't so hot and what actually ended up happening was even less "hot".

We had planned to go to a wedding at 2 and a cookout birthday party for my PapPaw after the wedding. ---notice the "had".

We actually ended up at home...........all the live long day.

I went to Dr. Williams' office to have a facial done (remember "my complexion at age 32 woes" entry....). Because of the procedure that was done, I couldn't wear make up for 24 hours.

So, in case you're wondering, here's that equation:

Meleia+No Make Up=No Meleia in Public.

In addition, Libby had a pollen allergy cough situation she was in, so............we stayed home with Tiger and the Masters, books, etc.

I hope you had "Hot Saturday Plans" and that they actually came to fruition. In the meantime, I'll be hiding out here on Rolling Hills Way---make-up-less.

Show and Tell Friday

Blogs, I've finally figured out, are kind of like "Show and Tell" for grown-ups.

You must remember the Fridays in school that would be "Show and Tell" day. The teacher posted a list where about five kids could sign up to share something. There was always the neat kid who enthralled the whole class with his rare collection of something, or, the cute little girl with the big hairbow that would share about an amazing place her parents took her.

I always wanted something that would get an oooh or ahhhhh. I, however, just didn't really have those kind of things or experiences.

I finally have that something---I think.

I suppose the joy of "Show and Tell" is that it's your inner "ooooh ahhhhh" that matters.

Drum roll...............32 years of waiting to have a great show and tell and it's too bad Ms. Justice, my third grade teacher, isn't reading this to share in my "arrival".

Today, I got a blog comment around lunch time from my neighbor and friend, Shana. It said,..........well you can look back for the exact wording----but, do finish reading first. It spoke of a "little discovery" in my front yard. Well, because I left at 6:35 this morning, I knew of nothing other than Shana's Bonus Room light was on at an awfully early hour. Now, either, I didn't notice my own yard or IT hadn't happend yet. Here's what Shana was referring to........Here's what my husband didn't even let me know about (THAT'S definitely for a later discussion he and I'll have. He tells me the most insane amount of details when he talks about sports or random things, but come to have a..........) Anyway, here's what stayed in our front yard----ALL DAY, without my even knowing about it:

Gag. Sad. Yuck. Owwww. Not exactly ooohh or ahhh, but eeekkk. I OFFICIALLY notify everyone of this blog that I, Meleia P. Bridenstine, am not, AM NOT, I repeat a country girl. I don't go for this stuff at all. I really don't think this would have happend if we'd been in a gated condo community like I'd preferred. UUUhhhgggggghhhh, yyyyuuuuuck, and saaaaaddddd. It's so sad. It's so yuck. It's so awfully tragic. Bambi went to the great beyond----FROM OUR YARD.

I'm telling you people. I have had enough--Steven's recent "problem", Libby's recent "injury", the car keying, and now Bambi or unBambi or non-Bambi. What's the deal with this stuff? I'm certain I'm on the Truman Show and somewhere there's a population of very puzzled folks watching the random drama my life presents.

Meleia: And....that's all for today's "Show and Tell".
Mrs. Justice: Thank you, I think, Meleia. Next?

Hmmm, why haven't The Bridenstine's updated their blog?

A. They are boring and don't have much to say.
B. They are tired.
C. They are waiting until they can download some new pictures.
D. Both A & B
E. Both B & C
F. Both A & C
G. All of the above.
H. None of the above.

PLEASE, don't send the Blogger Po-Po after me!

I have very good intentions of doing an informative blog with great pictures. However, I haven't gotten around to getting the pictures ready. Please don't send the blogger police after me just yet.

Libby had picture day today with huge bribes that if she wore her dress and sweater without a fit, we'd give her a pygmy marmoset monkey that she's wanted. She wore the dress, but the jury is still out as to whether the fit was at a level that the rictor scale could measure.

Friday, she got stuck on something on the playground and had some problems that weren't evident until Friday evening after 6. As you know, at that point, daycare and the doctor aren't available. We made it until we could see the doctor on Saturday and now all is well. An interesting conversation occurred with the doctor about us having another child. We, of course, have no intentions of having another child. He said that there has been a study that shows that our population is getting "dumbed down" by people who have the sense to have more kids but don't and by people who don't have enough sense having too many children. It was rather interesting.

The cable guy has been to our house numerous times doing something to the HD channels. He asked how many tv's we had and I said 2---many. We don't even watch them that much, but for some reason during the March Madness, the HD channels have decided to scramble like an illegal channel.

The testing has started at our school and the kids are doing great with their new pencils! There's nothing like a good pencil. I think that could be a post of it's own! Probably wouldn't get a lot of comments, though!

Everything is just business as usual right now. The weather is gorgeous (that could change in 5 minutes) and we are so very blessed. Pictures soon!