two dolla

I met The Kid when he was 10 and helped celebrate his 11th birthday at the Mall of America. This was him then:

And today, he turned 13. THIRTEEN. He was at his dad’s today, so we let him open his birthday presents earlier this week. I think he was pretty happy.

I always knew I’d have kids. I just never expected to start learning this whole parent thing just before the teenage years hit. But like I told him in his birthday card, I couldn’t have asked for a better bonus kid and I’m proud of him for just being exactly who he is. There’s so much I could write about when it comes to him, but since he’s 13 and knows how to Google with the best of them, I just save it.

In the event that he does somehow find this, HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY, DON*!

(I’ve started calling him Don, since he’s clearly a grown man now and none of his other nicknames seem to fit him anymore…)

lesson learned, willow river. lesson learned.

The excitement had definitely been building for weeks for the camping season opener this weekend. Imagine the disappointment you’d feel if you pulled up to the parking lot and realized you were going to have to lug all of your camping necessities (like hard liquor, an economy sized box of Oatmeal Creme Pies, and the largest container of Sunny-D known to man) 750 feet to your campsite. It’s a guaranteed disappointment.

Of course you didn’t pack any type of moving supplies. Why would you? It’s not like you had a need for moving blankets or moving dollies in the past, right? Next time you’ll know to read on the website to find out that you’ll be lugging those two coolers and absolutely necessary bottle of Boone’s Farm up a hill and through the woods. And you’ll plan ahead. Like smart people do. And don’t think your dog will help. He was too lazy to carry his own backpack.

dustin’ it off

Man. if I could win some kind of award for being a giant tool that never updates her website, I’d frame that bad boy.

We came home from camping a night early. It was hot. An air mattress is only good for me for about a couple of nights. And I had known there was an Law & Order: SVU marathon on all weekend, I totally would have called off camping all together.

I’m gonna give blogging every day in June a try and see how many days I can make it… before forgetting. Or being super busy. Or wanting to do something a little more exciting than typing away into WordPress.

the 3 day is only 3 months away

So, basically, that means it’s as good of a time as any to throw a few bucks my way. IN THE NAME OF BOOBS!

P.S. Please mark your calendars for June 17th! We’re having a bowling fundraiser at Memory Lanes in Minneapolis, along with a silent auction and all around good time!

i’m so back

So, for whatever reason, my computer decided about a year ago that it really hates being connected to the internet wirelessly. We tried two different adapters for my computer, thinking maybe that was the problem, but neither one of them made any difference at all. The General and The Boy both have full (and consistent) wireless access, so I know it’s not the router. It’s just something about my computer. And really, it’s a good five years old, so it wouldn’t surprise me. At all.

I finally went to MicroCenter this weekend and picked up 50 feet of CAT-5 cable to run from the living room (where the router is) through our entryway and all the way around our bedroom just so I could plug it into the back of my PC. Well, I bought the cable; The General did the rest of it. But I’m so very excited that I can stay connected to the internet for more than one minute.

I see more Instant Watching of my Netflix queue and more photo editing/uploading. The photos? They’re so far behind. I went out and bought a new memory card, just because I hadn’t had a chance to do anything with the 4 GB of pictures I’ve taken since the beginning of the year.

Now, my problem? My hard drive is full. Both hard drives are full. I suppose an external one is the next best option, somewhere I can store the past 11 years of digital pictures and not worry about them going anywhere.

rockin’ the tutu and hair accessories

By special request:

More »

where i gush about a kid

So, today, I realized I’m pretty much in love with a boy. He happens to be turning 13 at the end of this month, but over the last week, I’ve realized that I don’t just love him like he’s my better half’s kid. I love him like he’s my own. I’m not his mom. He already has an absolutely fantastic one of those. I’m not his dad. One, I don’t have the parts to be a dad, but two, he also has a very incredible one of those, too. I’m just his Wendy and I’m cool with that. So very cool with that.
 
We met when he was just a shade under 11 years old. The first time we met was at the dog park. Less than 10 minutes later, he was using his metal detector to search the pockets of my cargo shorts. About a week later, the three of us were at the dog park again. He didn’t want me to leave, so he hid in my car and refused to get out eventually wedging himself on the floorboard between the driver’s seat and the back seat. He was stuck for a good 15 minutes.
 
He was not at all into sports before we met. In the past two years, he’s gotten into basketball and loves going to WNBA games. He waffles between Yao Ming and Shaquille O’Neal has his favorite NBA player. Over the last month or so, we’ve been playing catch with a baseball mitt I got him a while ago. He’s got a heck of an arm!
 
I wasn’t at all into sci-fi and, well, reading before I met him. I’ve read the entire Twilight series (save the last half of the 4th book, because C’MON, IT’S GETTING HORRIBLE) and can tell you things about Dr. Who that I’d never even heard of prior to that. I’m also still very capable of doing middle school math, if you can believe that.
 
Over the past couple of months, this kid has grown from a squeaky little boy to this young man whose voice is dropping and who grows out of jeans every two months. He’s abandoned most of his arguing when he screws up and gotten into the habit of doing his hair every morning. I’m still fighting the Axe Body Spray thing, but that’s a battle that’s probably not going anywhere.
 
Point is, I’m pretty much in love with this kid. He’s as much a part of me as any kid could ever be.

where i tell espn to suck it #2

Guys, remember back in February, where I got really pissed off at ESPN for sending me an email telling me that ALL GUYS ? THE MAG? They just done did it again.

Guess what, ESPN? I’m not a dad and I’m not a grad, but I LIKE SPORTS. And, c’mon, Joe Mauer is on the front.  This is your opportunity to cater to the ladies that might be thinking about subscribing to your dumb ol’ magazine.

NEWS FLASH: YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE A PENIS TO LIKE THE SPORTS GAMES.