I know, I know, I know...I've been bitching, pretty much non-stop about how cold and rainy and icky it's been.  And then today?  85 FLIPPIN' DEGREES...out of NOWHERE!!  I'm not complaining but...ok, I'm not now, but I was earlier today.  Why?  Because it's really too early to convince my husband that we should turn on the A.C.  I mean, it's only April.  And a few days ago I was all for cranking up the heat.  Damn Global Warming.  Damn you people who don't recycle and who drive around in your big SUV's and leave the water running when you brush your teeth!  (Ok, truth-be-told, I'd probably be driving around in one of those big SUV's too, if I could afford the gas...)  But seriously, I'm all for trying to do our part to save the planet and slow down the destruction.  And I did enjoy the past two days of warm weather...just not inside my house.  You see, I've become an air-conditioning junkie.  

I wasn't always this way.  Hell, I grew up in the same town I'm in now...(feel sorry for me...please) and we had absolutely no air conditioning in my house until I was around 15.  I can remember the summers well...going to bed with the window fan on, blowing hot air around the room, while I lay in my 'shortie pajama's' (remember those?) on top of my sheets, sweating like crazy.  I'd flip my pillow around and wallow in the thirty seconds of cool, non-sweaty cottonness of it before it would heat up just like the other side.  And I distinctly remember waking up in the middle of the night because I had rolled onto my side, only to find my legs sandwiched together and pooled in sweat.

And what about the car?!  My dad didn't buy cars that had air-conditioning until well after I had moved out.  (Nor a dishwasher, for that matter.)  I can remember driving along with the windows down, my naturally curly hair (from hell, especially during the Farrah Fawcett days) blowing and curling in the hot, humid wind.  When we'd stop somewhere, I'd look like a blonde version of Carrot Top. 

And then, sometime in my mid-teens, we actually got a couple of window AIR CONDITIONERS.  One for the dining room.  And one for my parents room.  Yeah.  The only time I actually benefited from the air conditioners was when I came down with a major case of strep throat on top of head-to-toe poison ivy (which was NOT contracted from being in the woods while making out with someone at the park during the fourth of July festivities...ahem...) at which time, since it was so UNGODLY hot, and I was so miserable that I was prescribed some major Codeine, my parents actually set up a temporary mattress for me in the air conditioned dining room.However, I was so doped up at the time that I wasn't actually able to enjoy my stint in the coolness of it all...

But then, sometime after my growing up and moving out, I experienced summer-long air conditioning...

Which eventually, when my husband and I put an addition onto the house a couple of years ago, resulted in us getting central air...need I say more?

Once you've had central air, well, why be hot?  Ever.

Which is why, today, being a freak of a hot day, I was more than uncomfortable.  But I did not even attempt to brooch the subject of turning on the A.C.  Because even for me, it's too early. 

But for my spoiled children?  Who've never experienced the window fans, or lack of, or the hot air blowing into the car, immediately upon walking into the house after school exclaimed:

"It's sooooo hot in here!!!!  Why isn't the air conditioning on???!!"

And my reply was, "Because it's hot-as-hell and it's only April.  And it costs a lot to run the A.C.  And wasn't yesterday 'Earth Day'?  And didn't you guys watch 'An Inconvenient Truth' at school and participate in the Global Warming Teach-In last Friday?  

To which they replied, "Yeah, so why don't you have the AC on?

They'll get it eventually, maybe not until they're the ones paying the bills...but yeah, they'll get it eventually.  Until then, we're all sleeping with our fans in the windows tonight, just for old times' sake.

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Holy crap.  Yeah, it has really been six months since I've written anything on my very short-lived blog roll.  Holey ADD is all I can say.  I was busy with the holidays during November and December. 

 And then my computer crashed BAD for a couple of months.  And when I say BAD I mean like, I even brought it into Best Buy (which I'll NEVER EVER do again) and they told me that it was d.e.a.d, that my hard drive was caput and that basically the only thing I could do was scrap it and buy a new computer.  Let me back up a bit.  It didn't crash for a couple of months, as I stated it above.  It simply crashed once and I couldn't get into anything at all...no files, pictures, internet, email...nada.  It was just stuck in a continuous error message loop and every time I would look at it I would almost be reduced to tears.  Why?  Because I did not back up my important files and photos and everything extremely important to me.  Not because I couldn't have, oh no.  I most definitely could have because my husband had bought me an external flash drive months before this incident but I just "never got around" to doing it. 

So, I refused to call tech support for almost two weeks, because I was afraid of what they would say.  And then after calling them, and them telling me that there was nothing they could do for that problem for which I was describing, they suggested that I should take it somewhere like Best Buy to have them try to at least recover my data.  So, once again, being totally scared shitless that I would bring it there and they would say "sorry, nothing we could do!", I took the bull by the horns and did what I do best...I woke up every morning, looked at my blank computer and decided that today was NOT the day that I wanted to bring my computer, only to be told that my data couldn't be recovered, and fall into a deep pit of despair.  So, I didn't bring it in.  For weeks.  The procrastination worked for a little while.   If I don't bring it there, they can't tell me what I don't want to hear, a crazy voice in my head kept telling me. 

Until one day, I couldn't take it anymore.  I scooped up my processor and schlepped through the rain into the nearest Best Buy, told them my sob story, made sure they understood that it was very, very important that they somehow retrieve my data and gave hugs and kisses goodbye.  (To my processor, what'd you think?  Actually, you're right.  If I thought it would have helped, I would have had a little make-out session with the Geek Squad guy but, seeing as how the skinny little thing looked to be about sixteen, not only would he have been repulsed, but I would also have been arrested so...yeah.) 

I went home and waited and worried and then the next day, just as I was feeling pretty good about the fact that I hadn't heard from them (which to me meant that they were busy backing up all of my files), I ran out for an errand and when I came back, there was a message on my machine.  From them.  The Geek Squad.

"Hi.  This is (some name) from the Geek Squad?  Uh, yeah, I just wanted to let you know that we couldn retrieve your data, so you can pick up your computer at any time."

Huh??  "I just wanted to let you know that we couldn retrieve your data"??  Is that a COULD or a COULDN'T??? 

So, I listened to it again.  And again.  And again.  And yeah, I was 99% sure that it was a couldn't.  But, in my true procrastination form, I didn't call them back, and I didn't go get the processor either.  Until another call appeared on my machine a couple of days later.  With the same message, but this time there was no mistaking the couldn't.  I was devastated. 

And when a third person called a few days after that, I assured her that I would be in within the next couple of days to pick it up.  Which I did (about a week later). 

I'm not going to get into it anymore here but let's just say that after picking up my processor (because of things that were said and speaking to people who didn't really seem to know what they were talking about, and things that were written on my work order that didn't seem to make sense to me), I was still not convinced that my precious data was lost forever.  I brought her home and hooked her up and waited while she booted up.  And there, there was the same damn error screen that was stuck in a continuous loop and then suddenly, what is this?  A Geek Squad program pops up on the screen and again, not going to get into it, we discover that they left their diagnostic disk in the processor and, the little door to the drive is stuck shut.  Yeah, I have lots of faith that they did all they could....NOT!

So, my husband and I pretty much dismantle the processor before he discovers that the tiny little hole on the front near the jammed drive will open the door nicely if you stick a paper clip in (what can I say, that's why we don't work for the Geek Squad) and we remove their disk.

Of course, my computer still wasn't working but...I still had such a strong feeling that there must be SOME way to recover my data that I still refrained from sticking in my re-install Windows program which, as you know, would wipe out EVERYTHING in there and start out factory fresh.  (Even though the Geeks told me that I couldn't even do that because everything was d.e.a.d)

So, (sorry this is dragging on so...see what happens when I don't write for six months?) I leave it for a few days when I decide to call my mother one morning (I never call her in the morning...don't even remember why I did that day either) when I ask her what she's doing and she tells me that she's waiting for, get this, the computer guy to come over!!!  (Who knew that my mother even had a computer guy?)

Anyway...he took my processor home, called me later that night and told me...here's where it gets good..."THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR COMPUTER"!!!

WTF?????, I want to scream.  But instead, I say "huh?", because I can't quite believe my ears, because I know that it hadn't been working, and what's he saying?

"There were just a few minor viruses and glitches that I cleared up and it's working fine.", he says nonchalantly.

"You mean, I still have my stuff?  My files, my pictures, my porn???"  (Just kidding, I had deleted all of that already...)

"Yeah, I'm just going to finish cleaning it up a bit tonight and install some new virus protection on it and I can bring it by to you tomorrow around noon."

I was so estatic that when I hung up the phone, I started jumping up and down, pumping my hands up in the air and shouting "YES, YES, YES!!!!!"  (Yeah...just like when I'm with you, honey.)

So thanks to Mark A. (aka, 'Mom's Computer Guy'), I have backed up all of my important files and pictures and I'm sitting here today, typing away on my long lost blog...and I didn't even have to make out with him for it....you-the-man...!   

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So I've been majorly busy every day for the past week.  Just lots of things going on at once so that I've been doing a lot of running around but feeling like I'm not getting much done.  Anyway, Saturday was another of those days. 

I had been up late Friday night because Ang and BF K went to a 'club' in the area to hear some high school bands which were playing and I didn't pick them until after 11:00 and then we all know that I just can't seem to ever go to sleep at a decent hour... So, I slept in a bit (yay!) on Saturday and then got up and did my whole routine and started doing a couple of things around the house when Ang asked if I could drive her and K to the mall.  I told them that I could bring them around 1:00 and drop them off, and then go back and pick them up at 4:00 since our mall has a 'no one under age 18 without an adult' policy after 4:00 pm on Friday and Saturday nights.  (I actually like the policy...too many large groups of kids had been going there and causing trouble.)

So, we were going to leave but first I ran the dog across the street to quickly potty and then when I tried to get her to come back in, she dawdled for a minute so I had to sort of coax her, while the girls waited by the car.  (Trust me, this is relavent to the story...I'm not having an ADD moment and getting off track!)

We finally got going and we were driving along, listening to the radio, talking and singing.  Well, we were about two minutes away from the mall, singing along with J.T. to 'Sexy Back" when suddenly,

WHOA!!! 

And I hear myself saying, "Oh Shit!!" and I'm laying on the brakes, which lock up and I skid off the road so as to avoid the THREE CAR ACCIDENT which just happened DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME!!

Swear.  I was just going around this curve when I see this pickup truck coming in the opposite direction suddenly start spinning around and BAM!, he slams into the car two vehicles ahead of me, bounces off of him and BAM!! again, to the pickup truck in front of me!!  I was sure that I was next so I steered off to the side of the road and hit my brakes, problem was, it was waayyyy wet and slippery because we had had some major rain and wind that morning, so the roads were just a slick mess.  I ended up avoiding being hit but then we noticed the major gasoline, fluids, etc. pouring out of the guys pickup truck so Ang was all "Mom!  You need to back up!!  What if that blows up?"  Problem was, I couldn't back up because the guy behind me had locked up and slid right into place only a couple of feet away from my back bumper and he was getting out of his car so I very calmly stated..."Oh hell.  Get. Out.  Get out, get out, get out of the car!"  And then I made them go way back on this path away from the road because aside from the fact that we were worried about the trucking blowing up, I was even more worried about someone else coming from behind us and smashing into our cars and the girls being there.

So, the weirdest thing was, the guy behind me?  His daughter got out of their car too and what do I hear her shout?  "Ahhh!!!  Ang!!  K!!!" and I turn around and they're all hugging.  Turns out they're friends from school and the girl actually lives in our neighborhood.

Anyway, nothing blew up.  Seven people were taken to the hospital but none were too serious, I don't think. 

And me?  After I called 911 and tried to get the guy with the cut on his head to sit down and stop pacing (he wouldn't), the paramedics came and I figured that my job there was done, so we piled back into the car, pulled back onto the road, turned around and started to head back down the road when, after going about two feet I said,

'Uh, oh, I think I have a flat."

So, off the road we pulled, about 50 feet away from the accident and sure enough...my right front tire was totally flat.

Flat Tire!

"Not to worry.", I said.  And I whipped out my cell phone and called AAA.

We've had them for years and this is the first time that I've had to use them.  The woman on the phone was so very nice and she told me what tow service would be coming to rescue us (well, change the tire, but still) so I assured the girls that all would be well, our truck would be there shortly.  And I walked over and told the old fireman who was directing traffic that if my tow guy came, to make sure that he let him in.

So, while the paramedics and fire and policemen were attending to the accident victims, the girls and I patiently waited for our tow truck.

Waiting for the tow truck...

And waited. And waited....

The victims were all loaded up and whisked off to the hospital.

I bet it says 'slow' for a reason...

And we waited...

The cars were pulled onto wreckers, one by one.

And we waited...

The glass and debris were carefully swept up off of the road.

And we waited...

Still waiting....

Sand was put down to absorb the spilled fluids.

And we waited...

The fire trucks, rescue trucks, and volunteer vehicles left little by little..

The old fireman wished us luck finding our tow-guy, as the firetruck came and picked him up and off they drove.

The road was reopened and people were once again driving too fast around the wet curve.

And still we waited.

The last lone firefighter came sauntering back to his truck (which was parked near us) to change out of his gear and go home.  He talked to us for a few minutes (in his very sexy Irish accent) and told us that his fire chief had been in the first car that had been hit.  And that he had just gotten out of the hospital a couple of days before after undergoing neck surgery.  And that an eight year old girl had been in the truck in front of us and she had received some trauma to her stomach or possibly her ribs.

I watched him too drive away and it was another fifteen minutes before our tow truck came to help us out.

Hip hip hooray...

And I realized that any other time, I would have been absolutely steaming at the fact that it had taken him so long to get there.  But this time?  All I could think about was how lucky we were that we were not one or two cars ahead...because it would have been us who would have gotten hit.  And who knows what kind of injuries we may have gotten.  It was a big truck.  And we were in a car. 

 And how lucky for us that Samantha had dawdled for a minute when I had tried to bring her back in the house after she had pottied.  If she had come right in, we would have left a minute sooner.

So yeah, we got a flat tire.  And yeah, we had to wait forever the guy to come and fix it.  But so what.  We were lucky that all we had was the flat tire...and I found that I wasn't upset by it one bit.  

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A bad thing happened tonight.  Cesar Millan (aka 'The Dog Whisperer') started his new season tonight with not just one hour of his amazingness...but two!  (In case you're wondering, this is bad because now I will get nothing done around here on Monday nights!)  I was mesmerized.  I had never heard of him until late last year when someone on another blog mentioned him and raved about how unbelievably awesome he is.  But I could never seem to find when any of his shows were on so I only watched him briefly on-line advertising the show.

Photo_dogwhisperer

Well, let me tell you, if you are a dog owner, or thinking of becoming one, you should definitely check him out.  He goes to people's homes and usually within a matter of just a couple of hours, he has completely changed the negative behavior in the dog.  More accurately, he changes the owners behavior which in turn changes the dogs behavior. 

And since we recently adopted a middle aged Shepherd into our home (who really is amazingly well behaved, aside from a few quirks), after watching the show I was all like "Okay, I'm the pack leader...she will do what I want, when I want it" and feeling all authoritative.  So I took her out for her nightly stroll and I put into practice some of the things Cesar says that you should do to reinforce in them that you are the leader.  

And she actually went along with the changes I made about who walks out the door first, and not getting ahead of me while on the leash.  She was really good.

And then, we came home and I got on the computer and she took her bone into the hallway and I heard her happily chewing it apart.  Except that a few minutes later, I found out that it wasn't her bone.  It was one of her tennis balls.  And that ripping sound that I thought was her rawhide bone was really her tearing the crap out of the fuzzy tennis ball covering.  Like, she tore it completely off.  Into about eight pieces. 

The good news was that when I grimaced and questioned her in a low tone about what she had done, she slunk down to the end of the hallway and wouldn't look at me, so at least she knew that what she did was wrong. 

Either that or she went down there to hide her face so that I wouldn't be able to see her laughing at me and my  'pack leader' skills.... 

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Tonight's episode was very funny what with all of the zingers flying, especially those directed at Danielle and all her drama.  What a vindictive little girl she is though!  And whoa...!  What about Gabrielle?  I know that Carlos wasn't the ideal husband but...ouch!  Having that guy in her bed when he brought her in breakfast was just wrong.  My favorite part of tonight, though, was watching the preview for next week when Lynette goes all 'Cops' on 'Crazies' door, kicking it in and yelling "ding dong!".  I can't wait for that one...I love Lynette...she's so real.  

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Every year I buy apples in the fall, fully intent on making lots of yummy apple desserts like pies, crisps, whatever. And every year, I procrastinate and find a million other things to do until eventually, I have bags full of mushy apples which only the fruit flies find appealing, and then end up tossing the whole lot out into the trash.  So, when my day at the orchard a couple of weeks ago hadn't gone as planned, I wasn't really that upset that we hadn't come home with any apples, because, after all...did I really think that this year would be any different then the past ones? 

But then, I started really wishing that I did have some apples on hand, you know, so that I could at least have the option of letting them rot or not.  It got so bad that when I was at the grocery store the other day, I couldn't resist picking up a cute little paper bag of locally grown apples.  At least it's not the ginormous sized bag that I usually got from the orchard, I justified with myself.  Being that it was a smaller bag, I probably wouldn't feel so bad when I had to throw it out.

Now, just so you don't think that I'm a terrible mother and don't just give my kids the apples to eat, I do, I really do!  But C doesn't like apples all that much and Ang has braces so it's a process for her to eat them.  Instead, those two usually opt for grapes or strawberries or bananas when given a choice of fruits.  Am, on the other hand, loves apples.  But lets face it, she can only eat so many.

Anyway, it must have been a sign, because as I strolled past the refrigerated section at the grocery store, I noticed that Pillsbury had their pre-made pie dough on sale, plus, I had a coupon for it, which the store doubled...how could I refuse!  I was getting pretty close to this pie making thing!

Now, I know what some of you are saying..."Ewww!  Store bought pie crust?"  But PEOPLE...remember who you're dealing with here.  Remember that I am the Queen of Pie Procrastination, so anything that I can do to get the ball rolling and maybe get an actual pie baked is sooo worth it...even if the crust does end up tasting like crap.

So, I was home this afternoon when I found myself with a couple of hours to kill before having to start dinner and instead of doing laundry or vacuuming or doing any one of a million other things I found myself thinking..."Hmmm, I wonder if maybe I should go try to find one of many unused apple pie recipes and just see what I'll need.  But first, I decided to pull out the Pillsbury Pie Crust Dough and see what it was all about.

That's when I noticed something printed on the box that I hadn't noticed before.  It said:

'Spice Packet Inside'

Say What???

That's when I got all excited because I realized, not only had they already prepared the crust for me...but they had mixed up a perfect little packet of cinammon, nutmeg and whatever the hell else I would have had to have dug in my cabinets for!

So, fifteen minutes later, after unrolling the dough, preparing my apples and tossing them with some sugar, lemon juice and 'the spice packet', all I had to do was fill the pie, fiddle with the top crust and pop it in the oven...

Yes, you read correctly... I MADE ME A PIE!

Apple Pie!

And I totally would have taken a picture of it before it got all cut into if I hadn't forgotten to put my pie-spillage-protector- thingy under the pan so that during the last ten minutes of baking, it wouldn't totally leak all over the bottom of my oven.  Causing the entire house to fill up with horrible smelling smoke, instead of the cinammon-y smell of fresh baked apple pie.  Ah well, baby steps..

The best part was...the crust was awesome!  Yes, it truly was, as was the rest of the pie.  My husband was raving about it.

Of course, being that his favorite dessert in the world is pie, and I never make any, he may have just been trying to show how grateful he was...

Whatever. 

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So, I've decided that I really need to step-it-up on this blogging thing.  Especially since I've only been posting on the weekends, which was not my original intent.  And I really don't know why it's happening. 

Yeah, okay...I'm lying.  Big time.  I admit it.  I know exactly why I don't write during the week.  It's because of all of YOU!  Yeah, you read that right...you.

Because, frankly, I have so many other people's blogs on my favorite/have-to-check-daily/if-not-several-times- daily list, that by the time I wade my way through all of their posts, I have absolutely no time to devote to my own senseless ramblings.

So, starting Monday, I'm going to start something new.  I'm going to quickly browse the posts when I first sit down at my computer in the morning, read what's there (and try to resist reading all of the comments, which most times takes longer then reading the post itself) and if someone hasn't posted yet, I'll just have to catch their post the next morning.  That's right!  I'm going for moderation.  That'll be a tough one for me, I'll let you know how it goes.

The other thing I need to stop doing is making almost every post about Ang.  That's going to be a hard one because she gives me so much material to work with!  And of course, the fact that she always lets me take her picture doesn't hurt either.

I just don't want my other kids to ever think that I post about her all of the time because I like her best, or anything.  Because I don't.  As a matter of fact...sometimes I like her least.  (Just kiddin' there Ang!)  Of course, I love them all the same...just in different ways and at different times!  And right now?  I don't even have to worry about any of them thinking anything about this blog...because none of them even know about it!

So...seeing that it's not yet Monday.  And...seeing that my kids won't be reading this so the other two won't feel slighted, I'm going to post yet another little photo series of Ang, who went for her checkup today.  (Notice that I got my camera back!)

That one picture is of the questionare that they have the kids fill out when they become 'adolescents'.  She was laughing as she filled it out because for her innocent self, so many of the questions are just crazy.  (The ones about sex and drugs, etc.)  I hope they stay crazy to her for a looonnnggg time!

But, being the jokester that she is...the last question asked,

"If you could change one thing about your life or yourself, what would it be?"  And she writes:

"I would want my toenail to grow back."

Because, ewww, she managed to rip off one of her big toe nails over the summer in a freak stubbing, plus getting stepped on and then a re-stubbing accident.

So we cracked up when she wrote it down because no one ever notices that it's missing because she paints the skin with whatever color nail polish she's wearing...and it doesn't bother her at all.

The worst part was, the doctor asked me to step out of the room while she examined her...and then looked at the sheet Ang had filled out and discussed the whole 'toenail' thing with her..and Ang went right along with it, and never told her that she had just been joking.

Sometimes I wonder where this child came from... 

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Up to this point, I've always (well mostly always) had a visual or two (or ten) to go with my commentary.  But not this weekend.  Why?  Well, maybe it's because I almost always keep my camera in my purse but recently...Ang has been 'jackin' my camera and not returning it to where it belongs!  This is why you won't get the pleasure of seeing my very p,o.'d face when, on Friday night, Ang and her BF K kept changing their intended plans...every 15 min. or so until I was just about ready to blow and scream "NO!  NOW YOU GO NOWHERE!"  Because I hate, hate, hate the fact that they never seem to be the ones dictacting the plans.  And how they are always the ones who are just going along with everyone elses' plans, no matter how many times they seem to change.  Plus, I had my step-son coming over to visit post-surgery 'Husband-of-Mine' and he was visiting around dinner time so....yeah, I had to actually have some sort of dinner prepared. 

So, Ang and K come home from school and the (original) plan was that everyone (in the world, apparently) was going to the movies together to see The Grudge 2.  Okay, fine.  That 'fine' was my assuming that they (the whole world) were going to the 7:30 showing.  But suddenly, after ten phone calls, it seemed that they (the whole word) were in fact going to the 9:35 showing.  Which is when I was all "Oh, hell no...!  Because all I could picture was me having to drive  an hour (round trip) to drop them off, (which would entail our having to leave our house at around 8:15 so they could get there early to ensure that the show wouldn't be sold out) and then making another hour long (round trip) trek back to pick them up, and we wouldn't get back until somewhere around going on midnight and...come on!...I was already tired, what would I be like at that hour?  (And to all of you who are saying to yourselves, 'What's the big deal?  You never post anything until after midnight anyway!"  I only have two words for you...SHUT UP) 

BUT, by some miracle, my daughter springs a "how far is so-and-so theater from us?" at the last minute, and, as it turned out to be the same mileage away, but in the opposite direction, and it started at 8:10, I was all, OKAY, I'll take you there...final offer.  So, apparently, everyone was able to secure rides to the same show. 

So,  dropped them off at the theater but I wasn't sure if they were sold out yet (because...remember?  The whole world is seeing the movie this weekend!  Duh!) but I waited around back where they have this whole glass enclosed exit and you can get a clear view of the lobby and the ticket lines and the snack bar.  ANYWAY, since I had a clear view of them exiting the ticket purchase line but I had NO IDEA of whether or not they had actually been able to purchase tickets, I tried calling Ang on her cell.  But, apparently, we have bad service in that particular area because it kept going right to her voicemail (hate, hate, hate that!). 

So, as I could see her inside the lobby (from my car), she could not see me outside (since it was dark) and I'm so sure that she didn't expect me to be stalking her from afar (which I wouldn't have been doing except for the fact that I wasn't sure whether or not the show was sold out and I didn't want to have to double back after I had already reached home!), I was able to see her meet up with her other friends. Which is when I noticed (immediately) that one of her friends, put his arm around her shoulders.  And, as I watched for a few more minutes (yes, alright!  I was so cursing the car that had pulled up in front of me, paritally blocking my view.  Want to make something of it?) as she was walking towards her girlfriends, he put his arm down around her waist.  OH WHAT?  Which lastest only about a minute, because then she was off in one direction to talk to her friends and he was off in another direction to hang with his.

BUT, you can be sure, because I am so (okay, not) the coolest mom around, I couldn't resist trying to call her one last time on her cell.  And, it was a miracle...it actually went through.  

Me: "Hey, were you able to get tickets?"

Ang: "Yeah, we're good."

Me: "Okay, great.  Who's there?"

Ang: "Um, a bunch of people"

Me: "Okay." (And now unable to control my 'gotta know' disorder..)

       "So, who was that guy with his arm around you?"

Ang :  "WHAT?"

Me:  "The guy...who is he?"

Ang: "Mom?  What?"

Me:  "The. Guy. Who. Had. His. Arm. Around. You.  WHOWASHE??"

Ang:  "Oh!  He's just one of my BFFLs! (Pronounced: 'Biffles') (Which, translated, means 'Best Friends For Life'.)

          See...I really am a cool Mom because I know these things.  Ahem.       

Me: "Oh. (Clearly not expecting that answer)  I don't remember hearing of him before."

Ang: "That's because I just met him last weekend at homecoming..duh!  Just kidding...love you Mommy.."

Me: "Oh, okay...you just met him last weekend and already he's a biffle?

Ang : "Got to go Mom, we have to go get a seat,. Love ya 'G'!"

Me:  "Yeah, go ahead..love you too...just behave, 'kay?"

But the phone was already disconnected, and I could see her heading off with her girlfriends...with no (male) BFFL in sight, but then again, my sight was limited from my spot in the parking lot (thanks again black car partially blocking my view!).

And I sat there another minute because...I remembered what it was like to be fourteen.  And I want her to have her freedom.  But then again, I know what's out there these days.  And I know that what's out there now is a lot worse than what was out there when I was growing up.  But I can still smile.  And still maybe relax a bit.  Because I also know that what she (at fourteen) and 'C' (at just turning seventeen) are doing, and what I had been doing at their at their ages are very different things. 

Thank God for that.

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I LOVE Stephen King.  Really, I do.  No, not in that lustful, I want to screw him way.  But more in that, he's been with me faithfully for sooo many years, way.  Seriously.  I've been reading him since I was barely a teenager and I haven't stopped.  I've honestly bought and read every single book he's written.  I'm not even sure which one I read first.  Whatever it was, it hooked me in.

Which is why I'm very excited that he has a new book coming out this month. 

I'll bet you that if I had had one of his books during my 'waiting room from hell' experience...I probably would have had no problem blocking out the Happy Hour Girls. :)

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McDreamy and McVetdude becoming McFriendly?  Get. Out.  And McSteamy and Calli?  Oh. No.  And Izzy?  (Formerly known as a Surgeon, Formerly/-formerly known as a model)  Becoming the 'Eight(+) Million Dollar Girl'?? (Not that she even knows it yet!)  But the best was the 'stoned' Meredith...we love her so...especially when she's brutally (even while under the influence) honest! ("All my boys are here!")

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