Boys...

Where and what age do kids pick up sarcastic comments? I think my nephews are the most sarcastic kids around sometimes. But, you can't help but laugh at their comments.


Last night's example:

Colin - four years old

Colin (talking to my sister) - "Prepare for Duty!" Sits for a second and starts to giggle. "He he, I just said duty."


Robin - Get ready for this with your baby Boy!

Spelling & Grammar

Let's get this out of the way first off: I know that I'm not the best speller or grammar person and terrible with comma placement. I try to be diligent with using spellcheck, but, an occasional word will slip me up. However, I sometimes wonder about people my age and younger.

I received an email recently from a young family member and was appalled at her lack of spelling skills. Punctuation? Non-existent. I had to email her back and say that I couldn't understand anything written because it was all one sentence.

One of my biggest pet peeves, besides parking garages, is shortening words in emails or text messages. I hate the new world of symbols and letters meaning words. Jeez, just type the word! g2g? lmao? Ugh! To me, that means you are too lazy to type the word out. Also, don't text someone "k". You can't even put an "o" before it? Just don't respond!

I wonder sometimes if it's just laziness. Please spellcheck or read something out loud before you send it out. Loser is not the same as Looser. To and Too mean separate things.

Am I too harsh with this one?

Lost

Since Megan posted a blog about FNL, I thought that I'd post about how excited I am that Lost is back on. Most of the time I am completely confused, but, I still love that show. They kill off major characters, have a monster, time-travel, flash backwards and forwards, etc. My head hurts after each show and I am usually so baffled that I have to read online what I really watched. It's too much to comprehend! But, I am loving it!

Ode to Nissan

During the holidays, people sometimes write about what they are thankful for or memories of previous holidays. I've decided to write an ode to my car. Why, you ask? Probably because I just paid it off and I also want to share some of my memories of the ol' Nissan.



This past Monday was the five year anniversary of when I bought her. She already had a few miles on her and a previous owner, but, I was so excited at her speed and color. Of course, I had to have red. First thing I did was get a good cleaning done. I didn't want anybody's cooties in MY car. Plus, I love a car that has clean shiny rims and tires. I always get the "tire dressing" whenever I get my car cleaned.



Some of the fun memories:



Having to remind people where Reverse is....sometimes I forget to tell people about pushing down the shifter before putting it in the reverse.



Laughing at the car dealership when they quoted me the price for new tires. I thought it was the price for all four tires......no, it was for one tire.



Driving to Houston in under three hours after being laid off earlier that morning. I was wanting to be pulled over so I could show the cop my ridiculous lay-off letter. That's how you tell someone they are being laid off? A letter on their desk? Not even in person? What cowards!



Cramming a too large suitcase in the floorboard of my front seat and my little sister trying to fold her legs around the suitcase so I could take her to the airport. She is such an over packer!



Having three people in the car on multiple occasions. Usually, Elizabeth is one of them. Not sure why we didn't take her huge Jeep out....maybe because we thought we weren't going to have a few too many and decide later that we needed to continue to party. In case you wondering, it's kind of hard to shift when a leg is laying across the shifter.



The block of concrete in the middle of the street that I thought I could run over. Wait, Elizabeth was with me then, too. I think she is no longer allowed in the Nissan.... The drunk lady who decided that SHE would be the one to get the concrete out from under my car. She had to yell at Elizabeth to get the big stick down the street so she could move the block where she could reach it.



The F-Bomb that was dropped in front of a church when I hit a median on a Sunday morning. My car and I will be in hell for that one. (I had to wait two years for someone to hit me so I could get the bumper replaced, but, it's all new and shiny now.)



Teaching my little sister how to drive a standard in a car that is too powerful for her. If you've never taught someone how to drive one, I don't recommend doing it. I almost vomited. She's a pro now, but, the learning part, with the jerking of the car while switching gears, would make anyone carsick.



Well, that's about all I can think of off the top of my head right now. I did think about getting rid of her about 18 months ago, but, now that she's paid off....she goes nowhere.

It's OVER! No more running for me!

Horrific, Horrible....I can't think of any other "H" words to describe the entire day of the New York Marathon. Hell? True. But, I completed it! That was my goal...not a time goal, just completion and to get the silly medal.





Here is my dad and I before we left the hotel. Don't we look happy? We had no idea what was to come.




We had to be at the start line at 6:30am, but, the our wave start wasn't until 10:20am. So, we sat on this hard concrete block in 40 degree weather with icy 15mph winds for four hours. It was FREEZING!

Here is the Verrazano Bridge where we started the race. The bridge is 2 1/2 miles long. It's not easy to run on a bridge and it's where we start the horrific 26.2 miles.

Here are spectators and runners dancing in Brooklyn. Runners were stopping to dance with the spectators. Crazy!

Here's my dad running backwards in Brooklyn. :)

Here is the dreaded Queensboro bridge that takes you from Queens into Manhattan around mile 16. IT SUCKED! Most were walking across this bridge....of course, we were part of the slower group.

We met Kris and Teresa right after we exited the bridge. They were taking pictures and cheering us on. We definitely needed the pick me up.

Um, especially me. Nice face, Jen!

Here we are after the finish with our "keep warm" gear.

After the race, Kris and Teresa decided they were going to put us in a bike cab to get us back to our hotel. In their drunken state (they had quite a few drinks after they saw us at mile 16), they decided that a bike cab would be quicker than a regular cab. It was the scariest ride that I've ever been on. The bike driver had no fear of real cabs or big delivery trucks. He also showed no respect for red lights. Just cruised right through them. It was the most frightening 30 blocks that I've ever experienced (and never want to experience again).

Overall, the experience sucked and I never want to do it again. :)

I'm happy to be a spectator and cheer anyone else on as they run 26.2 miles.

I hate to run.

After this weekend, I will only run when being chased. Why do I let my sister talk me into these things? Why do I come from a psychotically competitive family?

Well, I'm off to New York tomorrow to run that silly marathon on Sunday.



I hope this isn't me:

I KNOW this will be me:

I am taking a camera with me on the run, so, be prepared for some hilarous pictures. There are over 40,000 runners for 26.2 miles. There will be 2 million spectators and 100 bands along the route. Yes, they will all see my pitiful running.

I've waited years for this!

Yay! I finally got to see New Kids On The Block again! I am completely aging myself by writing this, but, it's been 20 years since I first saw NKOTB. They were my very first concert. My sister and a friend of hers drove my best friend and I down to Indianapolis for the concert. Oh, the memories. I loved Joey McIntyre....I may have even written "Mrs. Jennifer McIntyre" in my notebook over and over again. Others will say that they were meant to be with Joey, but, he was MINE.

The concert was as fantastic as I remember from 1988. They sang their old songs exactly the same way (directly to me, of course). They did add a little crotch-grabbing to be able to keep up with the times. And, some crazy lady threw her bra on-stage. Before you ask, no, it was not me. I went to see Justin Timberlake a year ago and this concert put his to shame. I have never seen so many late-20 to early 30-somethings going crazy like that. We had no shame. There was yelling and belting out the words like we were on stage with the boys.

Can you spot the lone male in this picture? Everyone else....female.




Sweet Jordan can still hit those high notes.

Have to save this picture for last. Oh, Joey.