Possession by Playskool

JJ owns this nifty little toy. It's actually very cute. The farmer and all of his animals are all removable. And when you snap them into place, it makes the sound of the animal, or in the case of the farmer, it starts to sing, "Old MacDonald". It even knows which animals are in place, and will tailor the song to reflect the present crowd. It's a smart toy.

John and I realized exactly how smart the other night when, long after JJ had gone to bed, completely out of the blue, the farmer proclaimed, "I can't drive!"

After our initial shock, because this toy chose to speak of it's own volition, John and I looked at each other and said, in our best farmer imitation voices, "'Cause I've been drinkin'!"

I told you it was a smart toy.

And on a more personal note...

Hi Jim!

Wordless Wednesday

Is there a shrink in the house?

I just finished "Dark Lover", the first book in this series. I really enjoyed it, but I did encounter one slight problem. I don't know if everyone operates like this, but when I am reading a book, I am not just reading the words. In the back of my mind, I am actually viewing the action as well - like a movie. But perhaps, like in all other things, I am a bit lazy in my creation of the movie. To the point where, instead of creating new characters, I will often take the description, and put in place a character I have seen before.

WARNING: If you enjoy this series, and you have the same movie-theater mind that I have described, you may not want to continue reading - lest I destroy these works for you.

J.R. Ward's main story characters were a prime example of my character regeneration. Wrath is a huge, burly, almost frightening beast of a vampire, and Beth is a beautiful, innocent woman who can take care of herself. And their inevitable romance didn't help me escape the forms of characters I already knew...

Beth = Belle (Beauty)
Wrath = the Beast

Yes, I have taken a book that, if books were rated, would warrant an NC-17, and played all of the scenes out with rated G characters. Overall, I guess it makes that a PG-13 story... and one very disturbed Disney fan.

Wordless Wednesday

Overheard...

As he was picking chip remains out of the carpet, John says to JJ (who was begging for more chips):

I don't think so, dude. You don't get any more when you throw them on the floor. That's a new rhyme we're going to live by, little man.

Surprise!

One of these showed up on our doorstep this afternoon:

Apparently, JJ wanted to wish us a Happy Father's and Mother's Day. He's such a thoughtful young man.

They're absolutely beautiful. Thank you - We love you, too! ;)

Mother, are you sitting down?

I went to the library a little over a week ago and reserved a book.

I picked it up a few days ago and finished it today. (I enjoyed it very much, by the way.)

I returned the book, reserved the next two in the series, and checked out the first book in another series I've been wanting to read.



For those unfamiliar, I could practically open a library myself, because I own nearly every book I've ever read... or want to read... or somebody gave me... or came in a box for a dollar at a yard sale... etc.

My name is Marly. I am impatient, and I am a hoarder.

Happy Father's Day!

I love you, Daddy!

Hurricane JJ

It's 4:30 in the morning. We've been awake for the past four hours. John and I have been incredulously watching JJ, who normally sleeps for a good 12 hours at night, run around like somebody laced his before-bed sippy cup of milk with sugar... and speed.

Deja Vu?

We're going to try this again.

We lowered the reserves this time.

Please notify the wealthy.

Wordless Wednesday

Attention Spammers:

I do not need my colon cleansed! Please... Stop sending me emails offering various products to perform this action. It's creeping me out.

Happy Birthday!

Today is my mother's birthday!

I hope you have an outstanding day, Mom. And as a special present, I'm not telling everyone how old you are... They wouldn't believe me anyway. ;)

We love you!

Just a couple of observations:

* The residents of Sesame Street must be extraordinarily fond of toast. Luis and Maria have had that fix-it shop for years, and I can't say I've ever seen them working on anything but toasters. I'm thinking they might have a little extra cash to throw around as well, 'cause I don't know how much it is to fix a toaster, but a new one is like, fifteen bucks.

* I'm guessing the tune to "Jingle Bells" isn't copyrighted. At the end of every mini-episode of "Elmo's World", Elmo sings a song (which is a stretch in itself - he just repeats one word) about whatever he was thinking about that day, and it is always to the tune of "Jingle Bells". I hope it doesn't ruin Christmas for me JJ.

My Little Runaway

I noticed the grill first. I saw it in my rearview mirror. There aren't a lot of cars like mine around here, so it stood out. The car passed me on the left. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. As it passed, I noticed the headrests for the back seat. The one on the passenger side was up higher than the one on the driver side. I instinctively glanced at my own back seat, and found that the same headrest was raised in my own car. I felt a sudden out-of-control panic, as I realized that I had left the headrest up after attaching JJ's car seat to the LATCH system.

And I lost touch with reality for a moment. I started to wonder if I was actually IN that other car. As I veered off of the highway, down my exit lane, headed for the reality of the errands I had to run, I felt like a part of me (my alter-ego, if you will - her name is Molly) continued on that highway, headed for destinations unknown.

Right before the other car vanished out of sight, I saw the flash of break lights. Enjoy the trip, Molly.

Ouch!

I mean really... How completely unfamiliar with yourself do you have to be to jam the fingers of your right hand into the side of your car, and then, about an hour later, slam the fingers of your left hand in the laundry room door?

I am 35 years old, and I still have no idea where air stops and I begin.

Wordless Wednesday

Offer:

First off, let me say that I am not one to lecture about vices. I have more than enough of my own - I once sustained second degree burns trying to deep fat fry a Twinkie at home. However, many of you know that I recently lost a good friend, due in part to a long history of smoking. I'm not going to pretend that there is a single person out there who doesn't already know that smoking is detrimental to your health, so I'll spare you the details. I am well aware of the fact that it wouldn't do any good anyway. After all, several of my friend's close relatives have resumed the habit - knowing full well that they are genetically predisposed to developing Cancer from it.

THAT IS A TESTAMENT TO HOW POWERFUL A HABIT SMOKING CAN BE.

So, if you are a happy smoker, and content with your habit, so be it. But... if you are a smoker, and wish not to be, you have a long, hard road ahead of you. And I know this may sound silly, but for some reason (Deb?), I really feel driven to post this:

I have a coupon to save $5 on Nicorette 100 ct. or larger. And, if you have a Rite-Aid near you, they have an additional $5 Single Check Rebate available on the 100-120 ct. packages this month. That's $10 to get you started. I know it's not much, but aside from my support, it's what I have to give right now.

I will be happy to send the coupon to the first person to email me (marlylynk at yahoo dot com). Your identity will definitely be kept confidential - unless of course, you would like me to post about your progress (talk about a kick in the pants!). I may not have many readers, but what I lack in quantity, I more than make up for in quality. I'm certain you would receive some heartfelt support.

There's a children's book in here somewhere...

While we were in New York (if you read the comments, you know we were in NY), springtime apparently descended upon us, as we found ourselves surrounded by a multitude of caterpillars. John's nephew Jack took a liking to one in particular and named him Carl. Carl was a special caterpillar, in that he could perform tricks on a stick. His most spectacular trick was holding on while Jack ran approximately 50 miles in the driveway/parking area holding the stick.

At one point in time, however, (much to no one but Jack's surprise) Carl disappeared. Jack was searching frantically for him, and I was just close enough to hear him quietly admonishing, "Carl, this is no time for playing games!"

Luckily, someone on the far side of the parking area was paying attention, and Carl (or another caterpillar bearing a striking resemblance to Carl) was found. And for the next few days, every caterpillar that wandered onto the parking area received a jubilant round of, "Hey! There's Carl!"

Until I found one in the garage. I called Jack over, and told him that I had found Carl. "Don't be ridiculous, Aunt Marly," he corrected me, "That's not Carl."

"It sure looks like Carl," I tried.

"Of course it does. That's Carl's dad, Jerry!"

"Of course."