things to do when you're 36

oddly, i awoke this morning completely forgetting my internal odometer had flipped another year. it wasn't until brushing my teeth did i glance up and notice a couple new, slightly graying hairs that had popped up to wish me a happy b'day.

hmm, 36... not really a very interesting mile marker. not like an 18 or 21 or 40 or even a 50. 36 is neither here nor there. kinda tucked in the middle of the decade. too young to sip coffee at hardees at 5am and too old to hang around the toy aisle without looking a little creepy. so, what does one do at 36? this is the question that has been on my mind all day. perhaps it's time to click on that reoccurring natural hair growth spam that plagues my junk mail, or at least become familiar with that clairol for men box i've noticed at walmart (i believe the windswept chestnut color would best complement my eyes). of course, jen is threatening to sign me up for the ol' colon flush again (think i'll opt for the pina colada flavored go-go juice this time).

to put things in perspective, i recall my perception of mom and dad when they were 35 and 36. i was 16 and remember them being respectable, mature, and very adult-like. they were lofty and imposing in their wisdom and life experiences; seasoned in their adulthood. they were the very definition of what grownups should be. but mostly, i remember them being ancient.

inadvertently, someone always asks if you feel any older on your birthday. and i guess i don't. actually, i consider myself quite hip in regards to my awareness of the latest video games and movies, i don't dress like mr green jeans, and i still think the three stooges is true comedic art. i guess i'm not ready to become the aloof, serious grownup yet. maybe this mindset is the key to eternal youth, maybe i've somehow broken this coming of age cycle and get to live the Neverland dream, (peter pan's version, not michael jackson's) where you always have fun and never grow-up...maybe the proverbial saying, 'you're only as old as you feel.' is true after all.

sheesh, who am i kidding. after reading the nonsense i've just written, i'm most definitely in the early stages of a mid-life crisis..

so, if you happen to notice a middle aged man with a faint pina colada scent hovering around the toy aisle, leave me alone. i'm just checking out the latest star wars toys..

oh yes, in response to the message left on my phone by the 'rogaine representative', (with the strangely familiar little sister voice) all i can say is, your time is coming... whaa haa haa haa [evil laugh implied]

hair for sale

a couple days ago, while listening to my morning radio talk show regiment, i learned that britney spears had shaved her head. well, to be quite honest, i couldn't have cared less; but what did rouse my attention was the hair salon selling her abandoned strands of split ends for a cool million bucks. hmmm. it didn't take long to convince the kids (and sissy) to donate their hair in hopes of securing a seat on this latest gravy train..

sooo, for your purchasing consideration, i have in my hands a heaping hunk of healthy hair clippings. a complete smorgasbord of recently mowed head grass. a tower of tuft, a mountain of mane, a beautiful bushel of lusterly locks, if you will.

hurry, while supplies last. this is, of course, a once in my lifetime opportunity. (as, most likely, my life will end fairly soon..)

blizzard of '07

the snow has arrived. at long last, we finally have mounds of the white bliss. well, maybe not mounds. perhaps 'cups' would better describe our recent dismal flurry. all in all, we barely had enough regional snowfall for sissy&shae to scrape together a batch of snowcream. what is snowcream? quite simply, you mix milk, sugar and snow in a bowl and eat it. sounds simple enough, you may say. but actually this is a very precise and complicated science especially when you live in the country, where constant animal traffic can taint the most pleasant intentions. there are basically two rules when gathering snow for consumption (especially when snow collectors include a 3 yr old): number 1: steer away from the colored snow (it may be pretty; but can really foul up the whole nostalgic experience. number 2: chocolate is never an ingredient in snowcream. it just leaves too much room for mistaken identity. of course, the making and eating of snowcream is more of a childhood memory opportunity than it is a delectable dessert. i mean, you could safely get the same taste by scraping the frost from your freezer; but i don't think feeding your kids freezerburn would be recalled as a good childhood memory and would probably warrant a visit by aunt niki.

we were actually expecting a little more snow than what we got too. everyone was congregated at the wal-mart buying bread and beer in anticipation of being snowed in, and school was closed just in case. unfortunately, we didn't get enough accumulation to do much. our snowball fight was more like a snow pellet fight and the only possible sledding location was down the back porch steps where sarah had spilled some milk while feeding her cats. the photo shows a snowdrift on our porch chair.

so, pretending to be snowed in, we had to find something to do to occupy our time. the boys elected the mind-numbing xbox, jen curled up with one of those 'wife kills husband murder mystery' documentaries on tv (think she may enjoy those too much..), and sarah and i decided to make a cake. i searched the internet for good moist chocolate cake recipes and soon we had a hunk of homemade heaven. sissy and her gang came over and she and jen agreed it was a good cake; but then yelled at me for making cake while they were on a diet. (something about being thick and tired.)

well, according to our weathergirl, we are expecting more snow over the weekend. maybe up to a half inch of accumulation! school will be closed, salt trucks will be dispatched, and local beer sales will soar.

i think i'll try that banana cream pie recipe.