Is Everybody Crazy, or Is it Just Me?

A wife and mother who finds that life is just strange so often!

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! Even as I sit here, I can feel the sugar coursing through my system. I am sure that I will be up 1/2 the night. It was a good day. The baby and I ran errands in his 'daytime costume.' A Winnie the Pooh costume that is 12 years old! My oldest son wore it for his first Halloween. Everywhere we went people ooohed and ahhed appropriately over his complete cuteness. After his afternoon nap I changed him into his 'evening costume', a pumpkin costume that is 6 years old. My middle son wore it for his first Halloween. Then I dressed my 6 year old in his costume, a fire ninja (I didn't even know there was such a thing).
I loaded the baby in the stroller and the three of us made our way down the street for the neighborhood Halloween Parade. This is a very liberal use of the word parade. A few strollers, a wagon, a scooter, and a few kids on foot made up our 'parade.' I don't think Macy's needs to worry about us! We ended the parade in the pool parking lot where there were some cute activities. The kids had a great time and the adults got to stand around and gossip.
Then it was time for the best part of the day, Trick-or-Treating! I took the baby to two or three houses, then dropped him back at my place with the hubby. He loves to be the official candy-passer-outer. Any kid who comes to trick-or-treat without a costume has to answer math questions for candy. It is pretty funny and he has a reputation in the neighborhood. After I dropped off my little pumpkin, I went around with my 6 year old. We have the best neighborhood for trick-or-treating. There are about 70 houses, so it is not too big. Also, there is a bit of a tradition around here, we have candy for the kids and beer for the parents. Whenever your cup is empty you can get a refill at one of the houses! It is a total trip and it makes hoofing it around the hood way more fun. Also, a bunch of people set up haunted houses and tables of snacks and drinks. It is a great night for all kids and adults. Only down here in the crazy south would they have booze at the houses on Halloween! My next post will be from rehab!!!!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Movie Night Anyone?

So, I have been thinking about movie lines. You know, the ones that stick in your head forever. The ones that you just have to pop into every conversation you can. The ones that are part of your vernacular.
You have to understand that the hubby and I are movie buffs, big movie buffs. In fact, we even owned a video store at one point. We don't get to go to the movies as often as we would like, three kids makes that a bit difficult, but we rent movies a lot and we have every movie channel that is out there to have. So, we are into the whole movie thing. And we quote movies, all the time. Seriously, I think that we quote either a movie or a TV show every day in our house. My kids even quote movies that they have never seen, they have just heard us use the lines over and over again.
Which leads me to the point of this post, What are the best movie lines of all time?
Here are a few of my favorites:


1. "Leave the gun, take the cannolis." You just can't have a favorite movie quote list without The Godfather, it has to be one of the most quoted movies of all time.

2. "You must chill, I have hidden your keys." Say Anything, I just love that young, cute John Cusack

3. "Goose, you big stud, take me to bed or loose me forever!" Top Gun, Meg Ryan was so cute in this movie. There are sooooo many good lines from this movie! Another fav, "Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash."

4. "Should we or should we not follow the advice of the galactically stupid." A Few Good Men, again there are so many lines from this movie. Also love, "You want me on that wall, you need me on that wall."

5. "Nobody puts Baby in the corner." Dirty Dancing, complete guilty pleasure movie, but Patrick Swayze is so hot in it.

I would love to hear about other movie lines that I forgot. Let me know your favs.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Big Brother is Watching


The US government, it all of it's wisdom, has decided that I am a danger to myself. How so? It is not that I smoke (I don't), or that I drink (I do), or that I am taking too many different prescription drugs (no comment). No my problem is far worse, far more insidious. I....Play internet poker! Now, try to stop thinking all of those horrible things about me, I am not a bad person, not really.
Seriously, the US has passed legislation, and Dictator, I mean President, Bush has signed it into law, making it illegal for me to put my money into an internet poker account. Apparently, the fact that I enjoy cards and have been playing internet poker for the last two years on the same $50 means that I have a problem, or could develop a problem. Poker has been a great way for me and my husband to 'hang out' with our friends back in Jersey. We can all log on, sit down at the same table, and play cards and chat. It is almost as nice as when we all got together for home games in my kitchen. An important note, Poker is not gambling. Anyone who plays the game can tell you that it is a game of skill. When you play poker you are not playing against the house (always a losing proposition), you are playing against the other people at the table. If your skills are better than their skills, you win. It is that simple. Gambling is plopping your money down on a roulette table and waiting to see where the ball falls (another game that I love).
What is the logic behind this big brother type control? The children. We must prevent our children from becoming compulsive gamblers. As a mother of three, two of which already play poker with us at home, I feel that it is my responsibility to parent my children, not the Government's. Also, you need a credit card to sign up for an internet poker account. Children should not have credit cards to use. I know that I am always teaching my kids to avoid credit cards. But what about the poor college kids? These poor, misled children could put themselves into deep debt and become compulsive gamblers. It would seem to me that the bigger problem is the banks that are handing out high limit credit cards to college kids like they were candy on Halloween. Where is the legislation to stop the credit card companies from providing these poor kids with the crack that will keep them in debt forever? Oh, that's right, the banking lobby takes care of our legislators, so they would never pass a law that would hurt the banks. Who cares that debt is far larger problem in the US than gambling?
So, at the end of the day, I can sit down with a gallon of vodka, a cartoon of Lucky Strikes, and handful of Oxycoton, but my government has saved me from spending $25 on my entertainment. Wow, do I feel safer already.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

What are the best albums ever?


So, last night the hubby and I were watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, one of the best new shows on TV this fall, and Sting was a guest star. BTW, he is at least 50 years old and still hot as hell! So we are watching Sting play the lute and sing 'Fields of Gold' when I make the comment that Synchronicity by the Police is one of the best records of all time. Why do I say this? Simple, it is one of the few albums that you can listen to start to finish without wanting to skip any songs. Every song on the album is good. You can't say that about too many records. Even albums by some of my favorite artists have a dog or two on them. Some notable exceptions, U2 The Joshua Tree, REM Automatic for the People (this album was first suggested by the hubby which is a true miracle since he is a music retard!), and anything by Pink Floyd. And, I have to say, I really need to be in the mood to listen to Pink Floyd. So, I am wondering, what other albums are out there that I don't know about or didn't think of? Let me know. Just one rule, Greatest Hits albums don't count, each song on them has already proven itself. Let me know what you all think!

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Here we go!

Hi all, welcome to my strange little world. I plan to use this space to talk about all the odd things that I seem to see out there. I may rant a little, I may complain a little, but mostly I just need to share all the weird, crazy, and idiotic crap that happens around me everyday. You would think that a wife and mother would not run into all that much craziness, and yet, it seems that everyone down here is crazy!
I am a Jersey Girl through and through, and now I am stuck down here in Georgia and everything is strange. This was not a choice, my husband had a great job opportunity, so one year ago we packed up the house and kids and down we came. I don't want to sound like I am only complaining, the move has had some amazing results. I no longer have to work full time, we have a great house, and we were able to add a new member to our family. None of these things would ever have happened in New Jersey, it would have been financially impossible. But, things are very different down here.
Everyone is nice, all the time. It all seems so completely fake. No one is nice all the time. You just have this feeling that they are all smiles and sunshine to your face and then they are flipping you off the minute you turn away. At least in Jersey we are upfront with everything, we say fuck you to your face.
There are no Italian people here! Everyone from Jersey seems to have some Italian blood. Even if you aren't Italian, you spent so much of your life around Italian people, you feel like some of it must have rubbed off on you. This was my first holiday season without at least one person inviting me over for the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. And as for Italian restaurants, no way! Back home you could walk into any little hole-in-the-wall pizza joint and get the most amazing penne vodka, but not here. The Italian 'restaurants' are either chains or run by people who are not Italian. It is so weird. Nobody even has a last name that ends in a vowel.
There are Baptist Churches everywhere. There are so many churches, that they advertise. They send out bulk mailings of postcards trying to get you to join their church. The nearest Catholic Church is about 30 minutes away. And forget about trying to find a synagogue. They all think that my husband and I are going to hell. Maybe we are, but this is just another example of how all that niceness is crap. Sure they smile to your face, but when your back is turned, they are condemning you to an eternity in flames.
This place is crawling with Republicans. I feel like the odd man out all the time. I don't have a problem with lively political debate, there were plenty of republicans in Jersey, but it is weird being the only people who didn't drink the red Koolaid.
As I make my way in this odd world, I will let you know about all the strange things I witness down here in the South.