My life - reduced to an M & Ms commercial...and earthquakes

The other day I saw an M & Ms commercial that made me want to hide under a rock. I despise the M & Ms commercials. First of all, it has to be one of the worst campaigns in the history of advertising. What is SO intriguing about those dumb M&M puppets? -- by the way, if somebody reading loves the commercials, please don't take offense, it is only my feeble opinion -- Anyway, I really don't get it. In fact, the only thing these ads make me want to do is never eat M&Ms again, just to be spiteful.

Here's the main reason the commercials bug me so bad...they use the best music that has nothing whatsoever to do with influencing someone to eat candy coated chocolate. The latest one I saw used the song "this is the day" by the the.


For me, this is a very personal song. I know its severe 80s synth but it has always been one of my favorites. It's one of those that, without getting TOO personal, has a lot of relevance to some pretty significant times in my life. I think it came out early 80s - I was probably in 7th or 8th grade and to this day I still listen to it at least 4 or 5 times a week. Now that I've painted that picture, maybe you can understand my dismay when I find it being used to encourage people to find their inner M & M. Are they serious? I find this so disturbing and can't help but take a personal hit. Does anyone get it? Isn't it a bit of a stretch to think that by hearing this song and seeing an M & M get a mohawk, a human being would be inspired to go to their computer and create an M & M avatar? And isn't the point to buy M & Ms? How does creating your "inner M & M" make you go buy candy? I'm irritated and confused.

Also, we had an earthquake tonight. The first one for me and the girls (it's old hat for Tosh). I wish I had a camera to capture our faces as the blinds shook and ground rolled. It caused some severe queeze and an unwillingness on Kennedy's part to go to bed. She has an unruly fear of natural disasters and freak accidents. She prays regularly that planes will not crash into our house during the night and that there won't be any hurricanes or earthquakes. So it was a tough night for her. Welcome to CA!!

Weekend Fun

What better way to spend the weekend before Halloween than surrounding yourself with pumpkins, carnivals, treats, wizards, & ladybugs. A few pics of the pumpkin patch and "Trunk or Treat" to keep the grandmas happy:

Fashion diva, Subway nazi and dookies

Most mornings around our house are awfully chaotic - which inevitably results in a chaotic rest of the day. Some days, however, turn out a little special. Today was one of those days.

Although chaos ensued as usual, this was the result of Izzy dressing herself with no input from anyone else in the family. She usually gets a little help from one of us. But not today. And it was beautiful and caused instant joy amidst the frenzy. Off to a great start.

Adding to my silent joy, another great thing happened at work. I eat at the campus Subway on a pretty regular basis. I get the same thing everytime and I know who, of all the workers, makes the sandwich the way I like it. The manager is one who doesn't satisfy my expectations. Not only that, but the woman is literally the sandwich nazi. For example, Subway will put carrots on your sandwich if you ask. They are matchstick carrots, so a handful of slivers amounts to probably a half carrot at most. Miss Manager, however, doesn't see the point of giving you more than 4-5 slivers. "May I have a few more carrots please?" I say. She glares at me through the glass and grabs one or two more slivers. "May I have a few more please?" I say, again. Add another sliver (singular). I never get enough carrots! Is it really so much to ask? Not only that, but if I ask for an extra slice of cheese (you know, that whopping 1/4 ounce slice of cheese) she always makes sure to let me know that it's 50 cents extra. Not to mention that she always tells me (you'd think she'd remember how many times she's informed me before) that it's better to inform the sandwich maker if I want spinach at the beginning of the assembly line because it stays on the sandwich better. "Well, why don't you put the spinach at the beginning of the line then?" I ask. No comment.

Today, though, all was different. I noticed she was there as I walked to the counter and had my usual moment of debating whether or not I was in the mood to throw down with her for a dumb sandwich. But I was hungry and didn't have much time. To my pleasant surprise, however, she greeted me with a big smile. Friendly for the first time EVER, she continued to piece my sandwich together making chit chat and even dancing a little to the beats playing in the background. I made sure to tell her of my desire for spinach early on - which seemed to make her even more giddy. When it came time for the carrots, she scooped an entire handful onto my sandwich. Perhaps even the equivalent of an entire carrot! The joy! The excitement! What a fantastic sandwich...made even better because of the extra carrots. Could little Miss be warming up to the Veggie Delite girl?

Then, to top the day off right, I arrived home to fed children and this:

These are "dookies," as Isabel calls them. I know it sounds a little odd but it's the cutest thing ever. Tosh makes the best most perfect cookies on the planet. Mmmm. Dookies. That's my kind of dinner. Some days are just like that.

Season of Change

Who knew? Just like that and all of a sudden I am connected to all of my favorite cuzzins, friends and so many other krazy kats out there! Jeesh - whoever invented the "Blog" has made my day. I know there's more of you...so you'd better expose yourself soon or quit wasting time and jump in the water with the rest of us. Best of all, I now have a plethora of credible sources upon which I can draw in my defense when Tosh accuses me of being lost in the blogosphere.

Onto my current thoughts: Usually around this time of year, I feel a sudden urge to change. Maybe it's that everything around me changes - daily schedules with school starting, the color of the leaves, the drop in temperature, the arrival of the pumpkin pie in the Raley's bakery...etc.. etc.. I know it's a common occurrence for everyone but I really find I take it to another level. The other day after Kennedy had a bath, I approached her with the idea of cutting her hair. She said "no way" but after some krafty coersion, 5 minutes later I had scissors in hand and began performing my very first haircut. About 30 minutes and a garbage full of hair later, we both were in shock. Change indeed.

I also decided to purchase a Blackberry yesterday. I've been thinking about this for months. Never really wanting to do it but knowing how much easier my life would be if i had it. An owner for less than 24 hours and already my worst fear is unfolding...I am already 'changing' into "that guy." You know who you are. If you don't know, it's that guy ('guy' meaning any person, male or female) that appears to be talking to himself in the grocery store aisle. Or that guy who carries a holster on his hip, willing to whip out the 'device' in even the most inappropriate moment. Or that guy who always sounds like he's vibrating. Now while I wouldn't consider my case that severe as of yet, I did have a near encounter with the lightrail today while I was searching the web and walking down the street at the same time. Change is good, but only when tempered with rationality.

Finally, I took myself shopping last weekend, for a change. I wore something new almost everyday this week. Now THAT, is the best kind of change. I think I'll change some more this weekend too.

Kennedy's bday

Kennedy turned 8 a couple days ago. We had a birthday party on Monday and hosted 22 little 2nd grade girlies. There was a lot of screaming. The "craft" activity didn't last as long as we thought it would so Tosh was left to entertain. He came up with Sharks & Minnows (see foto). Did you ever see that movie Mean Girls? Seriously. girls are mean. There wasn't severe trauma but it came close a couple of times. Regardless, I think Kennedy enjoyed every second of it...and I guess that's what it's all about. Hopefully she'll remember it.

Giving it another go

So I tried this several months ago but didn't get too far. Now that all my family and friends are expert bloggers, I guess I should jump on the bandwagon...just cuz jumping on the bandwagon is something I like to do. A couple of disclaimers before I get started:

1. I have always been a good speller but in the electronic and virtual world, I will often leave off or add letters in the wrong place...mostly because I'm in a hurry 99% of the time and my brain has tendency to lag behind. Usually, I'll catch and edit my mistakes when reading things over. But I rarely read things over. So, all I ask is that if you do choose to read my blog on occasion, please don't judge me by my grammar and spelling....or lack thereof.

2. I figure if I actually follow through with my blog this time, I will likely be writing while I'm watching TV. We now have wireless and I have a laptop so it makes it real convenient. Plus, I won't feel like a worthless and unproductive TV junky if I'm doing something in addition to burning what little brain cells I have left. That said, if several of my blogs tend to drift to TV shows and how stupid they are, and how stupid I feel for watching them, you'll know why.

3. I tend to get kind of wordy and repetitive. Sorry if you don't make it through to the end of any entry. I won't take it personal. Afterall, this is an outlet for ME, right?

In the profound words of Ronnie Ray: alright then....