Toma Forca!

Just playing with YouTube again.  This is such a cute video!  Nelly actually is wearing something decent in it too..  Viva, Nelly Furtado!!  If your wondering what "Forca" means (it's pronounced like Forsa).  It means basically:  with force, with all your strength. 

I'm hearing Andrew playing "soccer" with a little rubber ball in his bedroom.  May be that is why I chose this video today?  I went with him today to get new football cleats.  Is that how you spell it?  He plays flag football on the weekends.  He is getting more and more interested in playing soccer now as well.  Perhaps his visit this summer in Portugal made him pick up interest?  I'm not quite sure.  His father will be thrilled to know he is interested.  His father was quite the player when he was younger.  Too bad he didn't take the game seriously.  It's every Portuguese mother's dream to have their son turn into a soccer star. 

I'm in the process of making tacos for dinner, and I'm waiting for the furniture people to come so they can take away the broken hutch the delivered.  Lizzy and Matt are going to the homecoming dance later.  I hope to take some pictures to share with all.  Do you realize that it will be another 11 years or so before my youngest goes to prom?!  Oh dear Jesus, give me strength.  By the time these teenagers are out of the house, I hope when it's Nicholas' turn, I'll know what to do.  Yeah...right, I know..good luck! 

Have a great evening!  :) 

 

Summer Memories on a Rainy Day

The other day, my little guy got nostalgic for his summer days spent in the Azores..

While driving to preschool, out of no where, Nicholas blurted out:

"Mommy, I miss Miguel.  I want to feed the birds again with Miguel."

I looked back in my rear view mirror, and there was Nicholas staring at the rain from the backseat of the car, with a sad look on his face.

"Remember the birds, mommy?"

"Yes, Nicholas, I remember."

"Can we go see Miguel and feed the birds popcorn again?"

"Sure Nicholas, one day we will."

Before I forget, here are the pictures we took that day.  They were taken at the city park in Angra do Heroismo, Terceira. 

Popcorn..yummy!!

Nicholas and Miguel, friends of hungry pigeons. 

Pigeon Heaven

Pure joy--one of my favorite pictures taken this summer of the little guy. 

That's my cousin, Adelaide sitting there between my kids, and her own daughter.  We used to play at this park as children.  Doesn't seem that long ago, Adelaide.  How I miss you!

Friday

It's finally, Friday---couldn't have gotten here any sooner.

It's been a long week. 

Little things that usually don't phase me, have been really getting to me lately.  I mean, a little back talk from teenagers really doesn't bother me until just recently.  With me, if I don't release some tension right away, it just builds up until it gets to a point of no return, when the straw just breaks the camel's back, or the shit hits the fan-so do say, and all that built up anger just flows out like a volcano!!  Without further to say, I feel like the wicked, evil step-mother this week.  I don't like the feeling--it's quite a downer. 

I went beyond my job duties, and did someone a favor yesterday, by moving data cases from one caseload to another in the computer system here at work.  The changes were causing chaotic confusion at the ghetto, so I decided to just do it.  It wasn't my job really, and the annoying woman whom I can't stand who works here, who talks all this computer jargon was going to do it, but she was gone.  Yes, it involved a lot of ten key action, and my eyes are still feeling a quite sore, but I'm glad it was done.  I can't stand clutter--especially cleaning up stuff in the system later. 

 Well, I received many emails of thanks, and even made one guy in the office especially happy; I got a marriage proposal:

"If you ever divorce your husband, Julie, I'll marry you!" 

Gee, thanks but no thanks.  Never mind the guy is openly gay.  My boss lady found out and told me that was quite impressive--"I turned him around."  Well, he is just happy from ear to ear, and sent a big ole' email to tell everyone what I did.  From the way it reads, it sounds as if I worked my fingers to the bone.  Not really.  I'm just feeling a bit cross-eyed. 

Oh well, at least I made someone happy this week.  Now where is my raise?! 

Remember that "bonus" check that everyone got, where I only was given a stub?  Well, it was eaten up by allmy tax deductions.  Isn't that sad?  All I got was a stub.  Oh well.  Still kinda depressing.  It's like waiting for Valentines to arrive, and not finding any in your hand made paper Valentine holder.  Everyone else is smiling, waving their Valentine when all you are holding is a rock.   It was a true Charlie Brown moment. 

It's cold, and a tad depressing weather here in California.  It looks like rain, but not quite raining yet.  This hour change really needs to happen very soon.  It is just too dark at 6am in the morning.  I need that extra hour of sleep!! 

Christmas:  My kids won't be going to NJ for Christmas.  My daughter can't take the time off because she was promoted to Holiday Manager at the store where she works.  It's a mixed blessing though; it might mess up our Thanksgiving plans.  She confided in me that she really didn't want to travel cross country during the holidays.  She is trying for the first week of January though. Anyway, I'm content that all the children will be home at Christmas.  Big sigh of relief.  See, I was stressing for nothing.  I tend to always do that.

Yesterday in the news the was another possible child abduction near the city I live in.  Someone tried to coax a 12 year old boy into their car, threatening that they would get run over if they didn't.  We truly live in a scary world.  Stories like these immediately came to my mind when I was looking for my son the other day under the rain.  It's just more worry to feed this worried mother hen. 

I have to get back to my job applications, and work on my resume now. 

Have a great Friday! 

P.S.  It's Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Avon's Pink Ribbon products help support cancer research.  You can see and purchase these items on my website:  http://julielangley.avonrepresentative.com/

Wet Wednesday

Hello---

I don't know about you, but those pictures of Ellen DeGeneres that I've been seeing on the net the last few days, are really bothering me.  Okay, may be she didn't follow the rules when she handed over the pooch to her friend, but she did it with the best intentions.  The media is totally blowing this way out of porportion though--all these pictures of "bawling Ellen" is really silly and not to mention unflattering to poor Ellen.  Enough already!  I'm sure the hairdresser will go back to the pound, and Ellen will help pay for the costs to get the dog back!

I am familiar with the hoops you have to go through to adopt a dog or cat.  Been there, done that, and I'm not kidding when I actually thought they were going to send out "spies" on the house to make sure the cat was being properly taken care of.  I remember a co-worker friend of mine who was put in a lottery drawing to adopt an iguana.  She was given a test.  Yes, I'm not kidding.  It was between her and this other gentleman, and the one who scored highest on the test, got the iguana after they paid  enormous amount of money of course.  My co-worker "won" the reptile, and end up calling her Imelda because she liked sleeping on her leather heels. 

This all makes me wonder though why  we aren't as much concerned with all our displaced human beings.  Sure, it is important that animals be given to a nice, safe and loving home, but what about the homeless and transient people walking the streets without their mental health meds?  Are they less important?  Don't you think we should have more laws to protect them?  Am sure I'm not the only one who wonders about this.  With the rain, there are plenty of displaced people around here, and it is quite frankly very sad. 

It's raining over here today, but unlike yesterday I'm not out searching for my son.  He is nice and safe away from the rain at his dear grandma's house.  Yep, he is grounded for the rest of the week, and the weekend, but I'm sure grandma is just spoiling him to death with hot soup, and chocolate chip cookies--sounds hardly the punishment, huh? 

I've been catching up with the dirt in Hollywood, and after seeing some clips of the paparazzi chasing Ms. Spears I have to say, if I had that many people following me around with constant camera bulbs flashing in my face, it would drive me to drink too.  I think it's just horrible.  No one needs that much attention.  You would think she was, I don't know...someone important?  Crazy stuff.  Those celebrities don't have a charmed life, no matter how many carats they have on their fingers, or gold toilets in their mansions...they can have it all.  Privacy is a sacred to me, so I've come up with this list: 

10 Reasons WHY I'm Happy I'm Not A Celebrity:

1.  I can wear whatever I want and I will never be voted as worst dressed celebrity of the year.

2.  I can leave the house in pajama pants and no one would care.  I really don't, but I can!

3.  I don't have to deal with people hiding in bushes, and stalkers who leave crazy love notes on my doorstep.

4.  I can gain 50 lbs and never see my swollen face or big butt on the cover of the National Enquirer.

5.  I can go through a drive thru without fear that someone will catch me eating that extra cheesy been burrito that just fell on my lap.

6.  I never have to worry who my TRUE friends are.

7.  I will never have to sleep around in order to find work.

8.  I can go to rehab without anyone caring or knowing about it.

9.  I never have to worry about "what to wear" to the Grammys, Emmys...Oscars..etc.

10.  I don't have to worry about anyone coming into my home  stealing any of  my personal diaries, shoes or pictures and see them being sold on Ebay. 

That is just 10--I really can think of more.  Feel free to play along. 

                                 

Worried Mother, Me

First of all, what in the hell is wrong with AOL?!  Sorry, if I haven't stopped by to leave a comment on your blog, but each time I go, I get that irritating message with the AOL guy telling me that the entry was deleted.  Oh well.. 

This is not why I feel so angry right now.  

I just got back from driving in circles, in the rain, downtown and back from there and my son's school looking for my son for the past hour.  Don't worry, I found him finally.  He just called from the Boys & Girls Club.  I guess word got around that I had been looking for him. 

My son Andrew ALWAYS calls me after school to let me know where he is.  I sit by the phone at that certain hour waiting for his call.  In fact I was dying to go to the bathroom, but I was afraid to leave my desk thinking that as soon as I headed to the toilet, he would call.  So, I sat there, staring at the phone.  The phone rings.  It's my mom.

"Where's Andrew?  Is he coming to my house?  Does he have a jacket?  You know it's raining."

Yes, it's raining, and Andrew still has not called.  He is somewhere wearing basketball shorts, without a sweatshirt or jacket somewhere in the rain.  If my mom knew this should be calling CPS on me.  (I'm not kidding.)  Well, I'm still sitting in front of the phone, waiting for a call.  Of course he doesn't have his cell phone with him, and I lost mine.  I am dying to go pee, but I can't leave the phone.  I realize that it's been a good 1/2 hour since school got out, and still no phone call.  He NEVER does this, so naturally, I get a little worried.  I decide to go drive to the school and see if by any chance he is waiting out there. 

I get to the school, and of course, I see a lot of wet children out there dressed in shorts with no jackets, and my son is not one of them.  I sit there staring at his sweatshirt that he refused to wear while running out from the car this morning.  (SIGH)  I decide to go inside the school, and see if he is in the library by chance.  Of course, he isn't.  I ask to use the school phone in the office, and I call work in hopes that he had called while I was gone, and of course he hadn't. 

So, I head out to the Boys & Girls Club.  Nope, not there either.  I ask to use the phone (I hate not having my cell phone.) and no, he hasn't called.  It's now been a good hour since school is out.  I am now starting to feel a bit worried. 

 I decide to go to one of his friend's homes that is nearby.   The house smells like cabbage.  The father of his friend (who resembles an overgrown elf) answers the door and looks at me like I'm crazy for being "worried". 

"Nope, my son is not home yet.  I really don't know where he is.  You know, boys will be boys..."

I should have known.  I've spoken to this guy before, and I swear he is always half stoned or something.  I shouldn't have expected any less. If I lived there I probably wouldn't go straight home after school either. 

Frustrated, I go to another home of a friend.  This time an elderly man with limited English skills answers the door. 

"No, my grandson not home yet.." 

At least this guy doesn't look like an elf.  But, man, this gets me to thinking, am I the only concerned parent out there who would worry if they couldn't find their son after school has been out for 2 hours?  When do they usually expect their sons home? At nightfall?  Aren't these people at least concerned, in this day in age when all you  hear in the news is children being snatched up in cars, molested, and killed??  Am I just overreacting??

Defeated, I drive back to work.  I go to the bathroom finally, and pee a river.  (Sorry)  At least I'll be by a phone at work, and hopefully Andrew will call.  At least I know that he is more than likely with these friends. 

Of course, Andrew calls and has a lot of excuses WHY he didn't call me before.  Yes, he was making a make up test at school for Science, and the teacher would let him call..etc...  And he just came back from the school to the Boys & Girls Club, and he was walking in the rain...etc...  And I really shouldn't be mad at him because, he has always called me before...etc..etc..

This kid is SOOOO grounded!! 

Thank You For The Music--A Music Meme

 

Hello!  Here is a fun Music Meme I copied from the Queen of Memes... Dawn! 

Music of Your Life Meme

Representing every 5th year of your life, starting at birth, pick a song title and artist (if you can remember it), and end with a song for now.

Birth  -  'Red Rubber Ball' Simon & Garfunkel, 1966.  This song came out the year I was born.  My mom's doctor informed her that I was going to be a very small baby.  Well, I proved him wrong when I turned out to be a 10 pounder.  Yep.  According to my mother I was very pink.  I was the big red rubber ball, with a pink ribbon on my bald head.  My 10 year old brother told my parents that they brought home the wrong baby.  According to him, I looked Chinese. 

5  years old  -  'Our House' by the Kinks.  "There's always something happening, and it's usually quite loud.."  Yep.  All the lyrics to this song describe my childhood.  It's one of my favorite songs. 

10 years old  -  'Too Shy' by Kajagoogoo.  At school, my teachers referred me to pieces of fruit for some reason.  Perhaps it was because of the clothing I wore.  I remember having a green jumper with a lemon on the side, and I had a yellow one with a peach?  I was always referred to as "my little peach" by one teacher.  I had another teacher who referred to me as her "lost lamb."  I was pretty shy in school.  I would follow my teachers around, and hide in the library at lunch sometimes.  Don't worry...  I don't do that anymore. 

15 years old  -  'Celebration'  Kool & The Gang..  Oh to be 15 again..  I remember dancing to the song at the "discotecas" in the Azores with an array of different teenage boys.  During my teen years I spent a many summer there--4 times to be exact.  It was definately a time of many celebration..  Whhoooohooo!!! 

20 years old - 'I Do, I Do'  Abba.  Well, one of the guys I met in the Azores was my first husband.  I was young, stupid but in love.  I had to say 'I do' and got married.  Do I regret it.  Nope--the past makes me who I am; end of story! 

25 years old - 'Time' by Culture Club.  If you know the lyrics, you may understand why I chose this one for this time of my life.  I was in denial--hoping things would get better for my daughter's sake, but time would tell, like it always does. 

30 years old - 'I Will Survive'  Gloria Gayner.  Yep..this was MY SONG people!  At 30, I had the courage to get out and start my new life with my 2 kids, alone!  Whhhoohhooo!  At the age of 30 it finally hit me. 

35 years old  -  'The Last Worthless Evening' Don Henley.  I started dating a year after my divorce, and I will tell you honestly, I was not prepared for the dating world.  After marrying so young I was completely naive and oblivious to the "dating scene" and I had no idea how many losers, liars and jerks were out there, wading in the dating pool.  When I met my NOW husband, I won the grand prize.  I never spent another worthless evening ever again. 

40 years old  -  'We Are Family' Sister Sledge.  Happy to say, we are just one big happy family!  If anyone told me 10 years ago I would be a wife again and mom/stepmom to 3 teenagers, and a toddler, I would have called them crazy, but here I am!  The more the merrier!   

 

                                     

Christmas

Yeah, I'm thinking about it already.  I wasn't really thinking about it until my daughter asked me to send an email to her father about Christmas.  Apparently, she and Andrew are still interested in spending Christmas there in New Jersey with their dad.  I was hoping that idea would, like disappear.  It was okay to think about the possibility of them going back in July, but now that Christmas is just a few months away, I don't like thinking about it. 

Reasons why I don't like the idea of my kids away with their dad in New Jersey:

1.  I'll miss my kids.  I've NEVER spent a holiday, or birthday since they have been born away from them. Sure, I know my ex misses them too, but why in the hell did he have to move from California to be on the east coast?  Didn't he know he would miss them?  I am still trying to understand WHY he decided not to see his kids while he was vacationing (he went to a wedding of one of his wife's relatives) in Lisbon this summer.  He could have flown in at least for a few days.  He was only 2 hours away!  I guess the wedding was more IMPORTANT than seeing his two kids that he hadn't seen in over a year!  Perhaps his new wife wears the pants in the family, but still--if she thinks it's okay-I don't like her either. 

2.  My ex-husband is a flake, and  I won't be surprised if he totally forgets he asked the kids to come down for Christmas in the first place.  His priorities are all wacked.  He thinks by sending money for birthdays, and Christmas, and 3 or 4 calls a year makes him a good father.  He flew in to see our daughter graduate, and he was here a total of two days--that's it. 

3.  I don't know his wife.  The only thing I know of her is the awful emails she wrote to me, and the conversations on the phone that were full of lies both from her and her mother.  My ex-sister-in law also told me some interesting stuff about her this summer as well.  They weren't good things.  When the ex-in laws talk badly about their brother's new wife, you have to wonder.  I would much rather my kids spend Christmas with their uncles and aunts in the Azores than their dad--I would have no worries in the world, believe me. 

4.  I'm scared.  I will be totally honest with you.  Do I feel comfortable with my kids with their dad?  No, I don't.  I can't help but think about the past.  I remember the awful words that were said, and stuff that was done.  I remember all the reasons why I left the marriage.  I could have stayed, but for my kids sake, I had to leave. When I hear my ex say things like:  "I want to teach Andrew how to be a man."  I do not lie when I say that it makes me sick.  I shake and feel physcially ill.  I want to kick and throw things. I'm not afraid that my kids will want to stay there, but I know this is what my ex-husband secretly wishes.

So, this is the dilemma I have now.  My daughter is 19, and she wants to go.  I can't really stop her.  My son who is 13 wants to go too.  I can't tell them I forbid them from seeing their dad.  I do know that Christmas is really going to be a major bummer if they do go.  They probably will have fun, and will be spoiled rotten, but you know me, I'm just a worry wart.  I won't be celebrating Christmas until they are safely home--if they do go-which I'm secretly hoping they won't. 

So, will I send the email?  No.  I'm not going to get involved in it.  If he wants them to come, he has to iniaite the plan.  I'm not going to invite the possibility of my kids gone for Christmas.  Its up to him and his wife.  My kids can  send an email if they want, but I'm not going to make him think for one moment that I like the idea, because I don't.  I know my daughter wants to request time off from work if she does go, but she is 19--she can do it; she just doesn't want to take the time to send the email because she doesn't want to deal with it.  May be she doesn't want to deal with the rejection that may come afterwards..  I don't either!!  When my kids hurt, I do too--and I hate the fact that the ex still has that power over us.  Urrg.. 

Thanks for letting me vent.