formerly Diane's Addled Ramblings... the ramblings are still addled, just like before, and the URL is still the same...
it's just the title at the top of the page that's new

Monday, November 24, 2008

Blog-O-Rooter

I'm officially blog-blocked. I've been thinking about a post for a couple of days now. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. It's the worst case of blog-block I've had since starting this little missive factory. Dunno why. I need me some Blog-O-Rooter. I figure I'll ramble a bit here to clear my head (BEWARE: Snore Alert) and maybe I'll come up with something that's actually interesting for tomorrow's post. So... since Thursday...

I went on a field trip with Ryan's class to Jamestown on Friday. We had to get up at 4:30 in the morning. It was cold. And dark. I was grumpy. I spent 7 hours total on a bus with a crapload of 4th graders and their mommies. It was loud. It was a long trip. I tried not to be too grumpy. Jamestown was simply not that interesting, though I'll admit I did learn a few things. Mostly that the white man was a big, fat, arrogant bastard back in the olden days. Oh, and my sister-in-law (wife of the brother I don't speak to anymore) was on the field trip, too. She ignored me completely. So I ignored her right back. Nice, huh? Yeah, Thanksgiving is going to be a joy here.

Speaking of... I was planning to go away for Thanksgiving. I didn't want to spend it here, in the company of the above-mentioned brother and sister-in-law. But my mom said that if she couldn't spend the holiday with ALL of us, she wouldn't spend it with ANY of us. Manipulative? You bet. Effective? Oh yeah. I wasn't going to be the reason my mom spent Turkey Day alone, so I agreed to stay. Though why she'd want to spend the day in the company of three people who can't stand each other is beyond me. And get this... she got the Pictionary game out yesterday. When I asked why, she said, "Oh, I thought we could play it on Thanksgiving!" WTF?! Methinks someone's sailin' down De-Nial River. Luckily, my ex is coming to Richmond to spend the holiday with his sister, so as soon as I finish eating, I'll be hopping in the car and driving Ryan there to meet him. She'll get spend the weekend with her dad and I have a built-in excuse to eat and run. And that, my bloggy friends, is something to be THANKFUL for!!

Something not to be so thankful for, though, is that Ryan has walking pneumonia. She's had a cold and that stupid nagging cough that lasts forEVER. I knew there was pretty much nothing we could do but wait it out but I ran her to the doc this morning, just to be sure. And I paid $50 to find out what I already knew. He wants her out, running around as much as possible, so she can cough all the crap up and out of her system. She wasn't happy to hear that, as all she wanted was something to STOP the coughing. No such luck. And you know, though I started this paragraph feeling not-so-thankful, I shouldn't have. I know all too well that she could be in much worse shape... so I'll revise my thinking... I'm very thankful that all she has is a pain-in-the-ass cough (but let me assure you, if she keeps whining about it, that's not all that's going to be wrong with her).

Oh... I started a new book last week. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. My friend Colin gave it to me for my birthday last year (thanks, Col), as I'd wanted to read it for a while. Nearly a year later, I finally got around to starting it. I actually gave a copy to my sister-in-law (the one I love, not the one I ignore) and she's reading it now. She told me she hasn't been able to put it down since she started it. I know why. It's amazing. If you haven't read it, check it out. It's about 6,000 pages long, but don't let that turn you off... it's worth it.

What else? Oh... yeah... I met someone this weekend. Someone nice. Someone funny and smart and cute, who didn't vote for McPalin (that's hard to find in these parts, believe me). And there was a little bit of kissing (she says, blushing). And it was very nice. And we're going out again on Wednesday. And that's all I'm sayin'.

21 comments:

Melissa said...

That happens to me too...where I "want" to write a post...but "can't"...which I can never understand because I am normally a talker, talker, talker!!
BTW- I hope Ryan gets better...I had walking pneumonia in February (right before we nt to Tahoe for skiing--blah) and it was misery!! :)

Have a good, creative day!!

Melanie Gillispie said...

Wow, that last sentence almost sounds like something you'd hear from me. ;) Pillars of the Earth is so good! And, so is the sequel World Without End. They're both long, but they're both worth the read. Oh yeah, and because you decided to be manipulated by your mother and are not coming here for tgiving, I ended up being manipulated by mine and she's coming to my house for. the. whole. day. Um. Yea?? (Momma if you happen to read Diane's blog and read this, I mean my OTHER mother.)

Diane said...

LOL... Sorry Mel (but seriously, who's day do you think will be worse?). And God, I hope your mother doesn't read my blog!!

Melanie Gillispie said...

Yours for sure, no doubt about that. Hopefully, it will just be uncomfortable silence, though, and not screaming and thrown gravy (or meat liquid as a vegetarian here at work called it the other day). I just have to prepare my topics and subtopics.

Diane said...

Sucks to be us.

Kendall said...

I couldn't be bothered to come up with an excuse for my leaving thursday night, I just said I had other plans.

Walking pneumonia sucks ass, although I also felt like someone was sicking on my chest and I couldn't keep food down. Not a fun time.

A new man, I sense a good story here.

Heather said...

First of all, I hope Ryan feels better soon!!
Second, my cousin Jen is IN LOVE with that book you're reading. I've been meaning to put it on my list...I'll do that, and maybe bump it up to the top...after I finish the very addictive Twilight series that I SWORE I would avoid like the plague.
Third, I expect to be hearing more about this new man in your life!! I want details!! :)

Ronda's Rants said...

Nice ending...shouldn't that have been your lead in...
How did you meet him?
I am sorry Ryan is sick and I hope she feels better soon!!!
Aahhh your Mother sounds like mine!
I went on a cruise last December to avoid my sister...it was wonderful!!!

J Cosmo Newbery said...

(grin)

B said...

Aw, hon.. that really sounds like a tough situation.

I wish you the best.

Anonymous said...

That book sounds like something Guinhyvar (aka Jenna) would read. I'd be surprised if she hasn't already. Me? Not so much.

I hope Ryan feels better soon! I heard that putting Vicks Vapor rub on the bottoms of your (or hers as the case may be) feet then wearing socks to bed that it clears up the coughing (at least long enough to sleep through the night). I've heard people swear by it.

I totally feel for your need to have a Blog-o-Rooter - but hey with a new kisser in the picture hopefully soon you'll have lots of juicy details to blog about ;)

Unknown said...

Not half bad for having nothing. I hope Ryan feels better soon. Good luck with the lucky, new guy in your life :)

Lee said...

Oh...yeah...

Sneaky little Ninja! This is a classic kid's trick of talking about this, that, the other and then dropping the biggie 'Oh...yeah...there's one other thing..."

Oh...yeah...there's one other thing...fanbloodytastic! Hope it goes well.

Jenners said...

Well, once you got started you sure did have a lot to say!!

Re: Field Trip. Sounds like a nightmare. Any kind of bus ride over 20 minutes is a nightmare in my book but that sounds entirely too long and miserable. And to have the stress of the "bad" sister-in-law is even worse. And loud kids. Gosh, I have a headache just thinking about it.

Re: Turkey Day. Sounds pretty miserable to me. I hate the whole family guilt/manipulation thing. We are very lucky in a way that we don't have any relatives nearby that can manipulate us into spending the day with them (but there is a downside too ... no nearby babysitters). We're actually thinking about skipping the whole thing this year and eating a pizza.

Re: Pillars of the Earth. I did read that and just LOVED it. I am planning to post it my book blog as a recommendation (medieval category) but haven't gotten to it yet. I remember that I put off reading it for a long time too because I thought "I don't think I'd like a book like this. The building of a cathedral. Set in the olden days. Sounds boring." But my one friend kept mentioning it and mentioning it and so I finally caved and it was great!!!! My dad sent me a copy of the "sequel" but I haven't started it yet. There is something about reading a book that weighs almost 2 pounds that is hard to start even though I know it's going to be good. It can be pretty uncomfortable. Thanks for mentioning it to me on your comment on my blog...I just love book recommendations!!!!

Hoping Wednesday is rocking! Sounds like you need it! Hope your daughter gets better soon!

Guinhyvar said...

About Ryan's cough/cold thing; rub a thick layer or Vick's Vapor Rub on the soles of her feet (yeah, you read that right) right before bed, cover with socks, and it will soothe her cough. Weird, right? But try it; it works. I hope your puddin' pie gets to feelin' better ASAP.

About The Pillars of the Earth; ONLY one of my favorite books EVER. And yeah, it's seriously ginormous. The sequel is good, not as good, but still good, and not as big.

BLARG on your snotty SIL. If you were my SIL, I would not ignore you.

And woo woo woo! on your mystery date'sh thing. How exciting! One of my favorite things about dating is the beginning stages, when you get that butterfy feeling, and all hot in the tummy, and how you feel like your chest is going to burst (in a totally good way). Haha sounds like an illness, but it's the coolest feeling, right?

OOOO You are twitterpated, aren't you! Sweeeeeeeet :)

Red Cup Mom said...

What a post! You had lots to say... esp. at the end. Blushing myself I must say... must be the Twilight in the air. Cool that that the date worked out very nicely!

Hope Ry gets better soon. She'll hack it up soon enough.

I can see myself pulling what your Mom did to get you all in town for TG. Must be hard to control your adult kids. I am not looking forward to those days twenty years hence. Oh no!

But do enjoy the new potential with the non-Mc-Palin man!!!

Zuzana said...

Diane, considering that you have a writer’s block or blog block, you have PLENTY to write about!
Thank you for sharing your past few days with us all, your life seems just so normal; all of what you describe can be easily recognized by me. Family trouble, strange people, good people. And meeting "not a frog".:) I wish you only the best on that front, by the way.
Give Ryan and big hug from me, I hope she will get well soon.:))

Sam_I_am said...

I usually have blog-block, but I'm self-centered so I just talk about myself :-) Good luck on Thanksgiving, I'll think of you. I get to go to the Mother-in-Law's house to be told everything that i do wrong in regards to her little boy.

justsomethoughts... said...

i'm still stuck at the "getting up at 4:30 AM" part. for crying out loud. that should be illegal. actually, i belive it is in 34 of the 48 contiguous states...

HLiza said...

Ha ha ha..to think that you started the post saying you had no idea what to post! Diane..I love reading all these going-ons..and to know that I'm not the only one in this world who's in no-talking-terms with my brother! Hope Ryan feels better..

Live More Now said...

"Blog-blocked." I like it. I know that feeling, and feel it, ALL TOO OFTEN. That said, YAY FOR YOU AND A NICE DATE!!!!!!! I hope that continues to go very well. If you want it to. :)