7 Quick Takes (Volume 55)

1) We were discussing over dinner a piece we saw on t.v. about foods which cause bloating and gas. Actually, my husband and I were complaining about how there's nothing a person can eat anymore without causing some malady.

Miss Innocent One surprised us with her take on the matter, saying,"Does anyone really care if they have gas anyway?"

Apparently not in our house. You may want to think twice about coming over.

2) What do you do when something's eating at you? Do you clam up, hit the gym hard, cry, scream, what? Apparently I'm a bad actress because people can usually tell when something weighs on my mind.

"What's the matter? You're so quiet."

I try to buck up and deal with it myself for a while, but eventually I break and talk and talk and talk, ad nauseam, completely exposing my irrational and self-centered self, until I get sick of hearing my own words.

Needless to say, I have very patient friends. Thanks, guys, for knowing me and loving me anyway! You da best.

3) I thought I may have to swallow my critical words about H1N1 this week when 15% of the student body in our school district was ill. I don't know if the bout was actually H1N1, but whatever it was hit Miss Innocent One for a few days. She seems to be on the mend now.

Ladies Man had fun with it at the middle school. For once he didn't catch it which is a true miracle in itself. This kid gets EVERYTHING!. He uses up his allotted sick days and then some nearly every year. To celebrate his health, he started fist pumping kids in the hall at school saying, "Hey, congratulations! You survived the plague!"

I thought it a cute gesture until I considered how many germy fists he probably touched. I hope his words don't come back to haunt him (and ME!).

4) Pray for me and Drama Queen today. We're going formal dress shopping. She shops like her mother who fingers things on the rack and finds reasons why they probably won't work without ever trying them on. Last year we went to 15 stores, 15!!!, before we found a dress and that was only with the help of her friends who insisted she put some things on.

I should make a public confession right now. I am a sub-par woman. I hate shopping. (GASP!) It stems from nightmare shopping trips as an overweight child when nothing fit right and my skinny sister came away with bags of cute loot.

As an adult all I see is dollar signs which spin my head into calculation mode, giving me a headache and sucking the fun right out of it.

Shopping. Ick. Pray for me. And Drama Queen. She inherited the shopping-stinks gene too.

5) Drummer Boy got a job this week as the drum line instructor for our high school. He's super stoked and so are we. NICE!

Drama Queen/Drummer Girl isn't sure what to think about it. Now her brother is her instructor. She thinks he'll be a great leader, but worries how this may affect their relationship.

"I s'pose he'll have to be all professional now and won't be able to talk about people like we used to," she said.

To which I responded, "That's okay. You probably shouldn't have been talking about them in the first place."

She answered me with an eye roll, a grunt and a, "You don't understand. . ."

Yeah, yeah. You said that already, like 1000 times! Anyway, congratulations, Drummer Boy! We're proud of you. Going for title #6. . .and go get 'em, Drama Queen. Girl Power!

6) Miss Innocent One reminded me how the family you're raised in influences your view on the world. Sitting at a community theater production last weekend, she leaned over and asked, "Which one wrote this play?" How many 11 year olds stop in the middle of a performance to think about that? It made me smile.

7) One of the best things I ever did was import this blog into my Facebook notes. People who wouldn't have found it otherwise have started following it there. When I think about who might be reading these words I get excited, scared and humbled all at the same time. A high school classmate put my heart at ease this week with her sweet note of appreciation. It did my heart good and made it feel worth the risk.

So here's to all my Facebook friends. Your comments and "likes" never go unnoticed. You spur me on. (Is that another way of saying you're responsible for this train wreck?)


I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a weekend. To add to your jollies wander over to Conversion Diary and read more Quick Takes. Enjoy!