Now, For Something Entirely Different

I've HAD it with politics.  Don't want to see anything about it, hear anything about it or talk to anyone about it for a long time.  And the results aren't in yet, so this is not sour grapes about the outcome, whatever it turns out to be.  Just so desperately sick of the whole damn show.

And I don't like either candidate at all, anyway.  I needed a third choice.  I voted for the man that I perceive to be the lesser of the two major available evils, but I can't say I felt good about it.  And in my state, my vote doesn't matter anyway.  As you can tell, I'm not too happy right now.

So...while y'all are watching election returns and raising your blood pressure, I'll be the one watching the kids' Looney Tunes DVDs.

Food For Thought

Found this quotation on a friend's blog today:

"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides…"
~ Goethe 

Not sure if I would go quite this far, but without doubt, a good part of life is what you choose to make of it.  I will say that, as a mother, I notice that my mood significantly affects the overall mood in my house...when I am crabby about something, the entire house becomes crabby in short order.   If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy, and that is the truth.  

It does mean that Mama needs to be careful what she does and says (and how she says it) when she's not happy, though! 

"Call Me Whatever You Want, But Don't Call Me Late For Dinner!"

Watching my kids eat lunch today and pondering their differences.  In contrast to his older brother and younger sister, Thing Two does not mess around when it comes to food: when a plate is placed in front of him, he systematically and efficiently devours everything on it, largely ignoring all conversation going on around him unless he's directly addressed.  And he's always, always asking for food!  The child never stops moving, so he needs all the fuel he can get.  He's invariably the one asking me what I'm making for dinner, even though my stock answer to that dreaded question is "Elephants' toes with strawberry sauce."

My grandfather was a big redheaded and rawboned Midwestern Irishman, a college football player in the 1920s.   I'm told that there was not a lot of ceremony around eating in his family growing up--they were a kind of embodiment of the old tongue-in cheek grace, "Father, Son and Holy Ghost, who eats the fastest gets the most!"  The title line is one I remember Grandpa saying on multiple occasions...he was not about to miss out on food.  (And I don't remember him ever being overweight, so maybe he had a metabolism like Thing Two's.)  When my mother first started dating my father, Grandpa would wade into the action surrounding whatever was on the table and make her a plate, fearing that she was going to starve out of timidity otherwise!

My grandfather never met any of my kids--sadly, he passed away when I was 15.  But I like to think that in Thing Two, he would have recognized a kindred spirit!  And I smile every time Thing Two makes me think about him, because his legacy lives on in this young and perpetually hungry great-grandson.  Miss you, Grandpa...

What The Hell Was That??

ND 29, Pitt 26.  Took THREE frigging OTs to win it, after a major fourth quarter comeback--ND trailed for almost the entire damned game.  Going in, Pitt was unranked and ND was #3, FFS!  Not how I thought the game would go, to put it mildly.

That's the ugliest way to get to 9-0 I've ever seen.  I think that game took 15 years off my life in pure stress!  Major flashbacks to BC in '93 again...

Going to drink a big glass of wine now and pray that this game was just a letdown following last week's huge win against Oklahoma.  Otherwise, bowl season will be ugly!

But Seriously, Folks...

Hurricane Sandy was utterly devastating.  I'm sure you watched it on TV in horror, just as I did.  Large chunks of the Jersey Shore are gone.  Buried in piles of rubble or simply vanished.  Most of the entire state is still out of power five days later, even the parts that are still standing.  Trees and wires down.  Roofs damaged or gone.  Flood water and sand everywhere.  And now it's getting cold out there.  The same kinds of stories are coming from NYC.  They've sent in the Marines, for crying out loud.

Fortunately, my brother's house is still standing, although the basement took on five feet of water and they can't move back in until substantial work is done.  And they were some of the lucky ones.

Please help if you can.

Wear Whatever You Want, Since You Will Anyway!

I mentioned recently that Himself has been working longer hours than usual for the last couple of weeks.  He's been in the city on business, in a situation which requires him to wear a suit and tie rather than his normal business casual attire.  Since he leaves for work very early in the morning no matter where he's working, he always puts his clothes out the night before.

Invariably, as part of the process, he will show me two combinations of shirt, tie and suit, ask which one I think he should wear, and then choose the other.

I have no idea why he even bothers to ask.  I can only hope that he is not regarding my sartorial taste as a lesson in what NOT to wear!

It Is Possible To Have An Entire Conversation Without Saying A Word

One of the many advantages of knowing someone for a long time is that a series of gestures and facial expressions can sometimes completely replace an exchange of words!  Very useful in social situations.  Himself and I have gotten quite good at this form of couples' telepathy already...I'm sure that within a few years we will be finishing each other's sentences as well.

On a similar note, a while back I read a very interesting book written by a former FBI profiler about the importance of being able to accurately read body language in his line of work.  Amazing what you can figure out just by looking at people's eyes and mannerisms, even if the person you are trying to 'read' doesn't happen to be your spouse of umpty-ump years.

Thinking about this because I just came across a blog post talking about body language expressed through the eyes.  I've noticed that when people are processing information, they often look down (and often to the right as well)--this is one of the points in this post.  Food for thought...