I just got "stupider."

Honey-boo-boo.

Oh sweetness.....

It's a train wreck. It hurts, but you can't look away.

See what all this bed rest has done to me?
I've LOST brain cells.
...and I might not ever eat a biscuit again.
If you know what I'm talking about there---then you're so out of the Honey-boo-boo closet!

Showtime? Yes, Please.

So, "The Big C" Season 2 comes on tonight.
Yeah, about that....
We cancelled Showtime when Dexter ended last time.
Today, I had to call & add it back.
Why? Because the two shows we wanted were Dexter & The Big C.
I am so excited about this show coming back! Yaaaay!
....now if Dexter would start again, I'd be sooo happy!!!!

The Big C.....I'm LOVING it!

Have you seen this show?
I am SO loving it.

website:
http://www.sho.com/site/thebigc/about.do

The new SHOWTIME original series THE BIG C features acclaimed actress Laura Linney in the role of Cathy Jamison, a reserved, stifled, Minneapolis schoolteacher who receives life changing news and decides, from that moment on, to make drastic, long-overdue adjustments to the way she is living her life.

Cathy has always been conservative and structured – the perfect suburban wife and mother. Receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis becomes not only a challenge, but a catalyst for change. Cathy is tired of being “the sensible one” — now she wants to let her freak flag fly. For the first time in her life, she is going to make choices that suit her needs. Who says you can't eat dessert as an appetizer? Time is precious, and Cathy is grabbing life by the balls...

While she decides whether to tell anyone about her diagnosis, Cathy declares is it now her turn to act up, confronting her immature husband, spoiled son and her selectively homeless and wildly outspoken brother. She begins to form unusual bonds with unexpected people, including her grouchy neighbor Marlene and her saucy student Andrea.

One of my SNL favorites...

Yes, I know...out of season...but whatever. Still one of my favorite SNL skits.
:)

Thanks, Direct TV.

Okay....so this whole Direct TV thing.
It really makes me miss AT&T U-verse.

I haven't figured it all out yet...like how to hide the PPV porn shows.
"Horny Hungarian Ho's"
Don't get me started on the grammatical/punctuation error there. My concern is that in the near future, when he's able to sound that out, that he's going to ask me what that's all about.

So anyway...I've got a short little while to get it figured out before he starts sounding it all out....but I just wish we could get U-verse out here! I didn't have THIS problem with U-verse!

Dammit Arlene, and Dammit Direct TV

So, it's past bedtime around here, and I'm up blogging.
why??
Because my frick-frackin' laptop overheated (what? you shouldn't use it for like 5 consecutive [or more] hours while it's propped on your down comforter???) and I really started to get the vibe that it was about to fritz out on me. So, I hurried & emailed myself an attachment of my paper. Schlepped my stuff upstairs to Gage's computer, which luckily has the internet, but doesn't have the same Word stuff installed, and I need all kinds of product keys & codes to adequately configure it....yada, yada, freakin' yada.
Point is: I was chugging coke to vamp myself up for a few more hours of quiet homework time. And now---I'm taking a break, and hoping that I'm giving my little laptop a little time to cool itself down so I can get back to work soon.

So, in the meantime.....I sent a little statement to the Customer Service people at Direct TV {after all, THEY sent ME a customer service response card to fill out. It's only appropriate for me to tell them how I really feel}.
Here are my questions relating to the service at the Casa de Lainey-Paney:

1) I've had service for about a week now. Why have I already gotten a bill for a months worth of service?
2) A bill for $102? What happened to the nice price they quoted by phone that was in the $60s? When I said, "does that include the 4 receivers?" I was told "YES" not "Well, there's a $5 charge for each of those, so no, your bill will actually go up by twenty bucks right there."

So far, the only thing I've liked about Direct TV: (1) the installation guy was nice, respectful (covered his shoes to walk into our new house!), and taught me how to use the product. I appreciated that. (2) The fact that I now get the Sprout channel for my son.
THAT's IT!

......I miss AT&T U-verse. I knew this whole "livin' in the sticks" thing was going to pose a few problems....

Busy, Busy, Busy

Bullets today b/c I'm busy & have to get going!

* Still have a 5 foot by 3 foot hole in the roof. Insurance is going to pay. The big question now is how much. That saga is still going on. I haven't cried or flipped out too much about it yet. My friend, Lexapro, is really helping me through it.

* Flooding in the Phillipines: Ruby's brother lives in Manila, and nobody has been able to contact him or heard from him. Say a little prayer for him. His name is Randy.

* Hubby is sick. Sick sick sick. Flu, now with bronchitis, sinus infection, and working on a bilateral ear infection. Couldn't just have a cold, could he? He really had to go all out. Over-achiever.

* Busy day ahead with appointments until the cows come home.

* Lost my keys yesterday while out in public. By the grace of God, I found them. I assure you---it WAS a small miracle.

* I have a paper due on Monday. All offers of volunteering to write it for me will be considered. Don't everyone raise their hands at once.

* I shamefully admit that I DVR'd The Hills last night {haven't watched it yet}, and yet at the same time---if all the characters of that show just fell off the planet, I wouldn't really miss them. What is WRONG with me? {you know, for making such an ugly comment....and for watching the show. I'm sick & twisted, and sometime think/act like a 16 year old girl...}

HHHHIIIIII-LARIOUS!

8 Things Tag....

I got tagged by Rikki.

* Mention the person that tagged you
* Complete the list of 8 things

8 Things I look forward to:
* finishing school.
* going to Jamaica in the Fall.
* Gage playing sports.
* Bonnie being potty-trained to ALWAYS go outside.
* finishing out my bathroom (y'all, it's still not complete! lacking a few details...)
* girls night with Megan & Susan (it's been discussed, but not scheduled...)
* getting my hair colored & trimmed (not that I've scheduled an appointment or anything...)
* Jessica & her family coming to Texas at the end of this month!

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
* folded laundry
* cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner (yes, Hubby, mark the damn calendar. I cooked three meals in one day. and yes, "assembling cereal in a bowl" counts as cooking in my book.
* snatched a snake away from the dog (I used a stick, and luckily for me, found out that the snake is dead! Woohoo! Hero Dog!)
* heard someone use the "c" word. That's a bad mamma-jamma right there.
* did the dishes.
* sang Neil Diamond with my son.
* found myself amazed that my child slept until 9am!
* bought paper towels at Walgreen's.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
* win the lottery...a really big one....because my lotto dreams have gotten quite extensive, and to be perfectly honest, I'm really not sure 1-2 million would cover the elaborate fantasies I've come up with...
* be done with school already!
* understand these "magic-space-phones" that everyone has now. ...as in, palm pilots, blackberries, and this super-snappy-i-phone. Yeah, i don't get 'em.
* get Bonnie potty-trained!!!
* build myself a "Rosie"...you know...from the Jetsons! They had Rosie to do all kinds of stuff. I want a Rosie.
* cook better...
* sew better...
* go back to Puerto Rico...for free.

8 Shows I Watch:
Hell's Kitchen
Biggest Loser
Grey's Anatomy
Private Practice (except for last week's episode b/c I erased it, assuming that it was a rerun, and come to find out, it was probably new...)
Real Housewives of NYC
Celebrity Apprentice.
Desperate Housewives
SNL
...okay, clearly I watch WAY too much TV.
TAG: You're IT!

Let's Talk Real Housewives, shall we?

So, I have Loved.loved.Loved this show in the past.


In fact----LuAnn used to be my favorite. Loved her last season.
This season---not so much.
And she's writing some book about etiquette & manners b/c she is after all, a COUNTESS (which she reminds everyone of at every turn).
How about this---don't be so rude all the time??? How's that for manners. Don't be so belittling of others---there's a lesson in good manners.

I loved (sarcasm there) when her housekeeper returned from visiting her family across the globe---and LuAnn says something along the lines of, 'oh, i know you're jet-lagged'....'I'm so tired because I had to do all of your work. Well, [so & so] came to clean the house of course....' and 'we'll keep it light today so you can rest, but we need to get ALL of this laundry done.'
blah, blah, stinkin' blah.

She is on my nerves this year.

Alex & her husband. What train-wrecks. This inflatable-above-ground pool that we have in our backyard on the patio means that we live in the lap of luxury!???? WHAT??? I have to admit though---they are interesting to watch. They really are.

Bethenny's boobs----did anyone see the episode where she was in Jill's pool at the Hamptons---and I think she was wearing a green bikini (how do I remember that???)...her boob job....that area around her sternum. GROSS. Maybe it's because she's just so skinny. I don't know. I just know that her chest was like a train-wreck itself---it hurts to look, but you can't look away. In clothes, I think she looks great. But in a bikini---um, that was just gross. And why is she even on the show? It's "Real HouseWIVES of NYC". Last time I checked---you had to be married to be a wife. Hmmmm.....

And now, I'm feeling guilty for throwing these opinions out there b/c these are people somewhere....but, they put themselves out there for the public to see....and well, I have formed opinions.

Anyone else watch this show, or agree with me....or both???

Incredible Pizza....

Well, on Tuesday, we had a very full day.
Very.Very.Full.

It was Dad's birthday, and we started the day at Incredible Pizza.
Incredible Pizza review:
* at least four of the games we wanted to play either took our money & then we were told that they weren't working that day, or there was a message indicating that they didn't work.
* upon entry---you must purchase the food buffet to even think about venturing beyond that for play. Food purchase is required.
* it's a buffet. That won't work for my friend, Tera, or Hubby.
* However: they offer more than pizza! I had some beef stew that was really pretty good. Everything looked very good, clean, & fresh, I must say.
* I was warned that the place would be a zoo---just crowded & hopping with people. Well, apparently---Tuesday around noon is the time to go. I counted 8 customers (in addition to our crew of 4) who all arrived after us. So, as far as the buffet---we were the firsts!
* I wasn't super excited about the prices. It all just seemed kind of pricey to me. We dropped about $60 in two or three hours. The biggest rip off: go karts. And that was the part I was most excited about! Single Rider: $4.50 per turn. Double Rider: $5.50 (total) per turn. Guess what---the go karts would have gone faster if I had to pedal them myself, and instead of a figure-8 track, you just go around in a circle. It was lame. [Celebration Station has better go karts!]
* coolest thing: mini-bowling. So fun.
* tip if you go & take more than one child: get each child a specific set of $$ on their own card. You swipe these cards for games instead of using coins or tokens. But, when you have a 3 year old & a 12 year old, and one card---no. They want to each go in their own direction.

So...I suppose this is a mixed review. Incredible Pizza: it's not perfect, but it was still fun. I certainly won't be going there every week, by any means!

Pics from the day.....






My goofy Dad, preparing for mini-bowling....


Me & Gage, mini-bowling....


Mini-golf under black lights was fun for the guys...




A little Texas trivia in there....








Playing basketball with my little man...

So, in the end, I must say that we had fun at Incredible Pizza.
I'm not sure it was Dad's first choice for how to spend his 58th birthday....but, I think he enjoyed spending time with us, and we certainly enjoyed spending time with him.
:)

After that---we headed to a nearby movie theater. Nothing really worked out there.
We all went to WalMart to get Allen some kind of CO2 cartridges for some air-puff gun, or something. I dunno....

Then Gage & I ventured home for about an hour & a half of rest....before we headed off to El Fenix off Colorado Blvd. to meet my Dad, Allen, & grandparents for Dad's birthday dinner!
[I told y'all---it was a busy day!]










Dad's Angel Food Birthday cake.




AAAAND, after that, we all went home. Dad & Allen went home to watch a movie, and Gage & I came home to go to bed! After the family was all successfully asleep, I watched The Biggest Loser & just was so impressed by Mandi's work at home. She's lookin' so great. I just loved Mandi on that show, and I'm gonna miss her!