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Friday, October 31, 2008

Fall Visit with Sis and Daughter

Well, I am pretty much in heaven right now, visiting with my sister and family and then we are off to Dickinson College's parents' weekend and see my daughter for the first time since we dropped her off.

She sounds like she has a cold, so we will probably bring a boatload of medicine for her to take. I told her to will it away, because that's how get rid of colds.

She's going to be thrilled because we are bringing UGG boots and a North Face jacket. Our little Arizona girl thinks it's cold already. Wonder what she will think in February!

Thanks to Dwight's (Gettingraphic) comment last week, I asked husband Bill if I could stay and visit with my sister a few extra days and he was more than happy to be rid of me for a few days. I think he did appreciate not be surprised at a later time.

It's beautiful here. The leaves are all turning colors and the air feels crisp. This is the way Fall should be. Time to go....yeah.

Friday, October 24, 2008

My Favorite Things

It's now 3:23 am. I started to write this post a minute ago, at 2:45 am. Not exactly sure where the time went, but I guess the old saying, "time flies when you are having fun" applies in this case.

I shouldn't complain. I have slept through the night for about 4 nights in a row. Still, waking up at 12:49 am leaves me with lots of time to decide what I should do from my list of favorite things to do in the middle of the night:

Stalking other blogs (see your comments and the times posted)

Vacuuming: Too loud

Laundry: Only do laundry on weekends on off-peak times (doesn't that kill those of you with little kids?!)

Walking the neighborhood: Not a good idea because we have a mountain lion roaming our neighborhood and there are always the pesky havalinas to deal with, too.

Having a glass of wine: Probably the reason why I woke up at 12:45 am to begin with, so I think I'll pass.

Send out emails to Mom and sister: Don't want them to worry about my sanity, so I might compose the email, but not send them until a decent hour (if I'm awake at that time).

House Cleaning: I'm not THAT crazy!

Read the articles in the paper that I passed on the first go-round: No; I need to trust my judgment.

Listen to the Song, "Hide and Seek" from my Playlist on my 'Daily Distractions' page, over and over until I figure out what it's about. (I am reserving 4-5 am for this task).

Right before I went to sleep, I had one of those uncontrollable feelings of loneliness about missing my kids that have left the nest. You may know what I talking about. Suddenly without any notice, your heart is beating in your throat and it hurts and your eyes fill up with big elephant tears. It lasts for about 5 minutes or so. And then you fall asleep. I think there is definitely a connection between this reaction and the amount of sleep that follows this event. And maybe there is some reason I need to understand the words of the song "Hide and Seek", too. It's all a little too much for this empty nest Mom.

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Saturday, October 18, 2008

Candy Corn Addiction




Just because the kids are off at college and the nest is empty, that does not stop me from decorating my house from head to toe for Halloween. Who cares that no one will see each little table covered with fall leaves, pumpkins and scary ghosts. I am sure Husband Bill thinks I have lost my mind a bit and Wrigley thinks the cinnamon potpourri smells quite yummy. When you live in Arizona and the weather is still reaching 90+ degrees during the day, decorations are the only way you know to tell it is the Fall Season.


Perhaps the goofiest thing I have done is to fill this cute white ghost bowl with this very dangerous mix of candy corn in various shapes, jelly beans and sprinkled gumdrops. Bill has such great willpower and never touches candy. The dog wants to eat it, so I cannot leave the bowl on the table. It is now tucked up on a high shelf of the bookcase. So, it is my civic duty to eat the entire bowl of candy corn goodness ("waste not want not"). I cannot walk past the living room without indulging in some Halloween sugar! This has some serious ramifications!


Warning! Do not eat huge amounts of candy corn of else the following will occur:

1) Uncontrollable Urge to eat them all until you're sick to your stomach;

2) Future visit to the dentist;

3) Onset of massive headache approximately 25 minutes after you have indulged;

4) Discussions to yourself on all the reasons to buy more once the bowl is depleted;

5) (And this is the worst!) The smelliest gas you will ever experience.


I confess to you, my loyal readers of Emtnester, on this Saturday afternoon:

I, Beth Southworth, am addicted to candy corn. I have no control over this Halloween substance. I will find ways to purchase it and devour as much of it as I an find. I don't care if I overdose. It's the candy corn speaking!

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Thursday, October 16, 2008

I Love a Good Politician

A friend of mine sent this video. If you are in need of a good belly laugh, this will do the trick!

On August 19th 2007, an oil tanker off the coast of Australia split in two, dumping 20,000 tons of crude oil. Senator Collins, a member of the Australian Parliament, appeared on a TV news program to reassure the Australian public. This actual interview is so funny, you'd swear it was a 'Saturday Night Live' skit. ? (Or Monty Python) It just proves... Once a politician, always a politician!

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Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Just One of Those Days

Okay, today is one of those days I knew would happen once my kids were gone and I was an official empty nester. I thought, "I'll start a blog and just write the words that explain what and how I am feeling which might, in turn, produce helpful comments from insightful readers". The problem is, on days like these, the words don't come together like they're supposed to. I imagine it starts with the stars and the moon not lining up properly or some crazy notion like that. So, I am apologizing in advance for the piss-poor writing that is about to occur.

Number One: I miss my kids! I miss the noise. I miss JB singing loudly to some awful song. I miss Andy arguing with me about something he supposedly already told me. I miss the boys teasing Laura and quizzing her ("Who's' Elliot Spitzer?") and laughing at some of the crazy answers that would come out of her mouth ("Is he that preacher on TV?"). I miss them calling "shotgun" every single day to determine who gets to ride in the front seat of the car. I miss them complaining that the chicken is dry but the mashed potatoes are the best ever. I miss looking in and complaining about their messy rooms and how I told them I was afraid if we ever had a fire, they might not get out due to tripping over the clothes on the floor. I miss feeling needed (mostly for money for t-shirts, school pizza parties, for team training fees). But also being needed when a girl broke up with them or they were worried about getting good enough grades to get into a good college. I miss the 30-minute period prior to getting into the car to attend Church (Mom screaming: you are not wearing that, I don't care that Karla can wear short jean skirts, I don 't care if you are sooooo tired and stayed out too late last night, GET UP!, etc), but then walking into the Church looking like the perfect well-behaved family. I miss the physical touch from my kids. Andy's fish-kiss, JB's bear hug and Laura's snuggling on the couch.

Number Two: What to do about all these feelings?
A)

On days like these, I have no good ideas. I don't feel like transferring that love and affection to my puppy today. He doesn't feel like it either. He wants to run away on our morning walk, get into the Halloween candy I have sitting on the table not being eaten by anyone and dig up the grass in the backyard.

My husband is having one of the most difficult weeks of his entire career and coddling me is just about the furthest thing from his mind.

I do a presentation tomorrow with my networking group and I need to get that ready, so I might spend some time on it.

I never FEEL like cleaning the house.

A 'nooner' doesn't sound half bad.

I leave you with a simple plea: as a reader of this post, guide me through this lonely day. Share your thoughts. Point me in the right direction. Tell me a joke to get my mind off my special grown-up kids.

But it is one of those days and so probably there will not be anyone commenting on my blog today either!

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Wednesday, October 8, 2008

What Have You Done to Your Child's Room?

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Treat Yourself Tuesday


What do you do when there are two different ways you want to treat yourself that conflict with each other? I'll do what most empty nest people would do...I think I'll flip a coin to decide!
Heads it's taking a Pilates class at Sommet Fitness; tails it's a venti caramel frappaccino at Starbucks. Both choices are sweet but in very different ways:
Pilates Class Sweetness:
Angella is the teacher/trainer and she makes you feel good and happy;
I want to lose weight and pilates really targets the places on my body that need help;
After the hour-long session, I feel calm and relaxed;
You get to listen to great tunes while you are working out;
Going to pilates on a regular basis is good for my overall health situation.
Starbucks Sweetness:
Very tasty, delicious caramel flavor;
Reminds me of the good ol' days when my daughter and me would go up together and enjoy this drink and its 600 calories (or whatever the count actually is);
Can bring my dog with me and sit on the patio.
Now you see my dilemma? In a perfect world, I'd go to my Pilates training session, pick up Wrigley and head over to Starbucks for a treat. But, then I'd never lose the weight I REALLY want to lose. Right now I am focused on myself for once, so....
HOPE IT'S HEADS!

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Monday, October 6, 2008

I Wanna Play, I wanna play!

I'm kinda like the puppy who sees the other puppy chewing a big stick and thinks it must be the best tasting thing ever so he runs over and slobbers all over the stick while the other puppy is trying to enjoy his prize alone. But Jen of the Steenky Bee blog did generously open her 7th tag to anyone who wants to play.




Being so new to this whole blog underworld, I have never heard of a 'meme', but Jen's post is pure-T fun, so I wanna play. Thanks, Jen. Now the rules of this meme: List seven insignificant things about yourself. Link the person that tagged you in your post, then tag seven other people and let them know that they’re now it.




Here goes:




1) I'll try anything to get my hair to grow. I've tried vitamins, creams, special brushes, you name it. Once, we saw about 1/4" of new growth. I put in extensions twice and it was like having my own Barbie on my head.



2) I vacuum backwards starting from the end of the room and work my way out;



3) Despite the fact that I have gained 10 pounds since my daughter left for college, my wedding ring still spins around on my finger;



4) I have a birthmark in the shape of a football on my hip;



5) Whenever I doodle I always write the same two words, MOM and WOW;



6) No matter how organized and prep work I do before a dinner party, I am always chaotic the two hours before the event.



7) I pace around the room when watching political debates on television. I become the strategist behind the scenes, coming up with clever comebacks and I am nervous for the candidates. There is considerable relief when the debate is over and I feel exhausted.



Now, I'm not sure if these people have already been tagged, but here goes:



1) Max Mahoney @ Freshly Squeezed Mental Masturbation. I'm sure his list will be "smashtastic".


2) http://stirringsfromtheemptynest.blogspot.com/ Stir it up!

3) An Authentic-life.blogspot.com

4) menopausaloldblog.blogspot.com

5) pretavoyager.blogspot.com

6) literaldan.blogspot.com (That's literal, not liberal)

7) My Mom.com (okay, I ran out of people to tag, so I went with Mom joke)

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