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May 17

5-things1Well, we’re glad that’s over. This past week at Bank of No Forks has been brutal. Especially after coming back from vacation. You know how when you come back from vacation you can never remember your job? Or your passwords? No worries. BofNF switched Amylynn’s job while she was gone and no one  else knows what they’re doing either. We fit right in. Ava participated in 75,264 conference while Amylynn was gone and still has no f**king clue. You know what makes that so funny? It’s totally true. Knowing what we go through every day, is it any wonder we spend so much time screwing around on the internet? It’s good for you cause we finds lots of funny stuff to tell you about. Let’s JacobLewstart with these five.

1. Good penmanship. In January, President Obama nominated his Chief of Staff to be the new Secretary of Treasury. Ever since Jacob Lew has been practicing his signature. Apparently, it’s so bad as to be unreadable and apparently that isn’t good if you’re going to be signing all the new money. A series of loops that bear no resemblance to “Jacob Lew” simply won’t do. We guess that’s why Ava’s never going to be nominated for the Sec of Treasury because it wouldn’t matter how many diamondmonths she practiced her handwriting, it would never be legible. We wonder if Mr. Lew is left-handed too?

2. $600,000+. There is no point in you buying a Powerball ticket this week. The Sister’s have that all sewn up. We’re so confident that we’re going to win that we’ve already spent a good deal of that money. diamond 2See item #3 below. And we contacted a real estate company in the Caribbean to find us a nice little island. Also, the diet is over because we’ll be paying to have ALL that fat sucked out. We’re done with this nonsense.

3. DIAMONDS! We love diamonds. We think it might be genetic. Gina Lollabrigida just sold a 74.53 carat yellow diamond ring that used to be owned by the Shah of Persia. It sold for just shy of $3 Million. harry & chrisAlso, a 101.7 carat flawless diamond ring just sold for 26.7 million. Are you not sure how big that is? Go find a baby and have them make a fist. That’s a 101.7 carat diamond. It looks gorgeous around our necks.

4. Harry and Chris. Two of our favorite men were tooling around New Jersey together. Prince Harry and Chris Christie. They played on the boardwalk. They toured disastrous sites. They were funny and charming. Girls all over the North East swooned and craved an ice cream. When we heard they were in the same state we started cruising the internet for pictures. We really wish we’d been invited because this would have been a fun field trip to be on. Chris is hysterical and Harry is adorable.

5. Drinking on the job. We don’t actually get to do this, but for all the attention we get paid down here in BofNF Pergatory, we could build an entire bar in our office and start charging people and no one would know. Starting Monday we’ll be running a special on margaritas. Besides, the day’s go so slowly we need something to keep us occupied. We have fairly decent health care here so we can all do rehab next month.

Now I’ve totally jinxed it

Ava and I are going to the Romance Writers of America convention in July. It’s in Atlanta and I’ve never been to the South.

We’re so excited.

To make matters even more exciting, we will be attending the soiree held by the Beau Monde chapter of which I am a member.

You know, if we’re attending a real Regency ball we have to have real regency dresses don’t you.

YES WE DO!!!

We found and purchased patterns we really adore and  talked my mom into sewing them for us. We’ve got 2 months to get these dresses complete so we’re not even waiting until the last minute. All of that sounds like it’s coming together very smoothly, doesn’t it?

You have no idea. No idea whatsoever the magnitude of how well this is actually working.

We met my mom at the JoAnns during lunch today to buy fabric. I didn’t think for even a minute that this would actually happen. I mean really, this was me and Ava. And my mom. The three of us have a certain problem with projects like this to varying degrees. We’ve discussed it on the blog before. Essentially what happens is one or all of us will have an idea in our head of what we want. We can see it. We can practically feel it. We know it intimately. The problem, of course, is that the majority – or at least the vital parts – of this fantasy don’t actually exist in the real world so we end up in a morass of frustration.

I hold out the imaginary purse Ava has been making me shop for the last several years as evidence. I have this problem as well, but I’m not quite as stalwart as my Sister. She’s like an Olympic level obsessive. I generally give up before people threaten me in department stores.

So knowing all this, why in Zeus’s name did I think it would work out to buy fabric today. Our first stop? Really?

Not a chance in hell.

EXCEPT THAT IT TOTALLY HAPPENED!!! I wish I had photographic proof, but I don’t. You can call the JoAnns and ask the lady at the fabric counter. I’ll bet any amount of money that she’ll remember us. We were a bit memorable – as we usually are when we take the Amy and Ava Show on the road. At one point I shrieked something about anarchy and people running amok when the number machine stopped working. If that doesn’t ring her bell, I’ll bet she’ll remember my mom yelling at Ava to buy the amount of fabric she was telling her to and shut up about it.

All of that is neither here nor there. We bought every single thing we needed today to make those dresses.

You know what… I’ll bet my real hell comes when Ava makes me go to every shoe store in this hemisphere to find “just what I’m looking for.”

 

 

My Anthropological view of field trips

I agreed to be a chaperon for Sassy’s 4th grade field trip to a bowling alley. In case you don’t remember, 4th graders are 10 years old. Ten year-old girls are highly emotional people. It’s just as they get to the cusp of teenagers – those deadly tween years. I don’t remember being this emotional when I was ten, but what the hell do I know. That was 34 years ago.

I have no idea how anything in my life can be 34 years ago, but there you have it. I had the same realization last week in California when I realized I hadn’t been to Knott’s Berry Farm since I went for my 8th grade graduation. That was 30 years ago. Holy shit, I’m old. And my feet hurt. And I had to get reading glasses this year. It’s only a matter of time before I’m complaining about bursitis or gout and yelling for kids to get off my lawn. Well, at kids besides my own.

A N Y W A Y. My age issues are not the point of this blog.

I arrived at the school with the rest of the kids and we promptly climbed aboard the school bus bound for the bowling alley. Just so you know, school buses smell exactly the way you remember them. Like feet and smelly boys. So you’re thrilled to get off the bus at your destination and gasp fresh air only to walk inside the bowling alley to a worse stench. Older feet and smellier boys. And other people’s shoes. And burnt coffee. That lovely potpourri does not encourage you to breath deeply, I assure you.

Even though it doesn’t have anything to do with the children, there was a guy there with three women’s names tattooed on his neck. When I texted this to Ava she told me not to judge – they were very likely his wife and two daughters. That could have been true, except two of the three names were crossed out. I swear to Zeus.

We eventually got all the kids in rented shoes. It took awhile because there was not a single child with us who knew what size shoes they wore. Then all the

Hey! Ava and I are excitable people. That's not the same is it?

Hey! Ava and I are excitable people. That’s not the same is it?

kids made little teams of themselves and we got them signed into the scoring computers. Then I got to sit back and watch the show like Marlin Perkins on Wild Kingdom.

Every time one of the girls would knock down a pin, all the rest of the girls would squeal and there be a 12 minute hugging session reminiscent of the Academy Awards. As you can imagine very little bowling was actually accomplished until they got that out of their systems. Fairly early on, the alley people put up the gutter bumpers. If they hadn’t, I can assure you there would have been NO pins knocked down. As it was, it was more like watching an enormous pinball game than bowling.

The child would pick up the world lightest bowling ball – weighing in somewhere between lint and yarn – and hold it in front of her. Then she’d run full tilt up the lane only to come to a complete stop at the line, pause, then fling the ball down the lane with zero finesse. The ball would pinball in the vaguest direction of the pins, bouncing off the gutters as many as five times, careening back and forth, before it would gently tap a pin.

There was a brief moment of epic drama when one of the girls thought the other girls were talking about her behind her back. Copious tears and wailing and then, just as quickly, everyone was back to hugging.

It made my head spin.

All that aside, it was better than being at work.

Next week I agreed to go with The Bandit on their bowling field trip.

That should be truly outstanding with blog fodder. I anticipate less drama and more shenanigans. Stay tuned.

Traitor!

I took Ava with me to see my foot doctor today. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was not that Ava would team up with the doctor to yell at me.

What the hell?

Maybe I was secretly hoping that he’d want to give me another cortisone shot cause that would totally freak her out.

But no, there was actual yelling. And ganging up on me.

The doctor even told her to come back with me when I see him in a month so she can report whether or not I wore my tennis shoes EVERY WAKING MINUTE OF MY LIFE. Do you really think she’ll tattle on me? You bet your life she will.

She’s evil like that. If you see her out and about, do me a favor and squint at her very hard in a threatening manner.

We return to home, crap, home

I spent Mother’s Day yelling at my kids from the front seat of the car as we barreled down the highway from Anaheim.

I’m kidding. Sorta.

We actually had a really great time while we were away. The Bandit was hardly ever surly, and Sassy managed to keep the eye-rolling in check – most of

wearing my FABULOUS new hat

wearing my FABULOUS new hat

the time. We got to ride everything in the new Cars Land – which were awesome to a one. The Pirates of the Caribbean were as rowdy as always. They added stuff to It’s a Small World. If you’re forced to ride, at least there’s new stuff to look for. I will share with you that Captain EO, the Michael Jackson 3D thing-y, did not stand the test of time. I’ll admit to inappropriate laughing through out. Space Mountain was open which was unexpected as there had been some trouble with it in the very recent past.

I will share with you that my foot is in agony. I’m certain this is an overshare, but I don’t care. It’s swollen all the way up my calf and vaguely discolored. I can’t wait to see my doctor tomorrow. I’m certain he’ll lecture me but I did all the things the told me to do including ice it down every single night and damn near overdosing on anti-inflammatories.

Enough self-pity.

When I got home it was bliss. I cuddled my kitty cat – who has definitely gained weight – and read five days of newspaper. After that, I turned on the DVR and  got to dive into Big Bang Theory, Elementary, Da Vinci’s Demons and Game of Thrones.

Bliss I tell you.

May 10

5-things1

The Sisters are having a very different week from each other.  Generally, it’s fairly the same, seeing as how we spend 9+ hours a day together.  But not this week.  No. One of the sisters is toiling away in 26 hours of training at Bank of No Forks while the other is at Disneyland.  Disneyland. The one in Disneyland is hereby disinherited from the family fortune.  However, that did not stop us from laughing at the

following –

  1. 1. Governor Chris Christie #1 – Bug Killer – this is not a political blog but there are some politicians that the sisters LOVE even though they are politicians (Hi, Hillary!).  Governor Chris Christie of NJ is one of these people.  Here’s one example of why – just this last week he had a bunch of kids in his governor’s office and killed a spider with his bare hand.  Now we’ll admit it’s a large hand but he didn’t even hesitate to save the lives of those kids without any concern for himself.  One of the sisters has Arachnophobia, she’s mentioned it before.  I swear, if she wasn’t already married she’d be on her way to NJ to propose.

2. NJ Kid Attempts Murder with A Stapler – this kid is part of the above story but deserves his own spot.  After the Governor squashes the spider, one of the boys says “Let’s staple it.”  That’s a NJ kid right there.  The PETA people are insane over the whole incident but Amylynn thinks the spider got what it deserved even if it didn’t involve a

stapler.

3. Governor Chris Christie #2 – Dieting – Mr. Christie revealed that he had secret lap band surgery in February.  We just love this guy: he diets like us, he kills spiders, he tells people to get off the streets when a super storm is coming by looking directly into the camera and saying “Yes, I’m talking to you.”, he loves Bruce . . . the list seems endless.  If he ever becomes president, we’re moving to Washington to help him out.  We think he’ll need fan girls.

4.Disneyland – the Sisters can’t remember if they’ve ever had Disney as a favorite thing before but it’s here because one of us is there.  (One of us, not both.  Which is wrong.  Not that Ava is bitter or anything.)  There isn’t anything not to love about Disney.  We love, love, love every square inch of it.  Except “It’s a Small World”.  We are deeply suspicious of anyone who doesn’t like Disney or anyone who likes “It’s a Small World”.  Something is really wrong there . . .  We do

  1. debate which is better – CA Disney or FL Disney.  I believe a trip to both is in order to solve this argument.  In fact, we’d better get over to Paris and Japan so we can speak from experience.

5. Monte Cristo Sandwich – this delectable sandwich is made of turkey and cheese.  It is dipped in egg batter and fried to a beautiful golden brown and served with powdered sugar and preserves.  The Disney people make these at the restaurant housed inside the “Pirate’s of the Caribbean” ride – but only for lunch.  TIP: you should make reservations before you get there or you won’t get in.  Holy deliciousness – now we’re starving!

 

Day 2 – the saga continues

Today we decided to go to Hollywood because my kids haven’t seen it and everyone deserves to see the weirdness that is Hollywood. Bogart

If you want to feel really, really old, try to explain to your 10 year old daughter why seeing the footprints in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater si cool. They have no idea whatsoever who Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart are. That saddens me and now I’m going to make them watch Gone with the Wind and The Maltese Falcon. It’s five hours of TV I’ll love and they’ll be completely bored by. I’m totally looking forward to it.

The trip to Hollywood is like 20 miles from our hotel at Disneyland and it took approximately 75 hours in the car. LA traffic is not sane. We asked Siri to give us directions but we kept going rogue and at one point she got so disgusted with us she stopped talking to us at all, but not before she told us, “Fine. You think you know what you’re doing? Good luck.” And then she pouted.

One of the funniest things ever was Sassy surveying the graffiti all over the freeway. She had lots of comments about how stupid she thought it was. “And look at that guy. Some jerk named John wants us to know he was there at 3:16. How stupid is that?” It took me a beat before I realized she was seeing the bible verse. Then of course, we saw it everywhere.

All in all it was a great day. We’re exhausted. Tomorrow is a HUGE Disney day.

 

 

 

Amylynn’s packing = success. HA!

I’ll have you know that we made it to Disneyland in one piece. Or five pieces as the case may be since there are five of us. We left the house at 3:20 in the morning. Or the evening. I’m not even sure what to call that time of darkness. I don’t really consider it the next day until there is sun to confirm it.

Even though we packed last night, everyone seems to have arrived with the requisite amount of stuff. Since we drove that means WAY. TOO. MUCH. STUFF. We were indiscriminate. Sassy brought one bag entirely of shoes. That’s how I know for sure she’s my kid.

I brought two pairs of shoes. The tennis shoes my foot doctor insisted on with the $800 prescription orthotics and my Birkenstock’s that he frowns on. After six hours my feet HURT. They really hurt and I wore his shoe selection today. When I get back I’m going to clock my dear old podiatrist right in the nose. Don’t worry though, I’ll power through with the assistance of powerful anti-inflammatory drugs and chocolate.

And maybe wine and whine.

Also, just as an aside. Our hotel has a bus stop in front of it – directly in front of the entrance to Disneyland. I’m telling you this is the best bus stop in the entire world for people watching. There are the most outrageous characters making that bus stop their home. If it wasn’t completely inappropriate, I’d include pictures but that’s mean spirited and I AM at the happiest place on earth so you’ll just have to trust me on this.

More tomorrow.

XOXO

Amylynn

 

 

 

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