grit and glory

LOVE the flag tee tradition. Jake rolls his eyes at it, but I love it. ;-)

And I love you! And miss you too. I’m catching up over here….. and it’s fun. I absolutely love spending time reading here.

Happy Fourth Sweets!

Traditions are known to change…

No shame..

Although the tees do rock!!!!! hehehe

I like Heidi’s thoughts. :)

BM — (sorry. couldn’t resist.) i’m really encouraged to hear you say you love spending time over here!

all y’all — what are your plans for today?

I didn’t get any shirts this year either. I could have ordered online, OR at the store. Both options were available to me as I did think ahead and I made it to an ON just once (it’s an HOURs drive and tooooo much in gas $$). Anyhoo- I didn’t get becaaaause….. I thought they were SO UGLY this year! :( I really hated the design this time around. I was super bummed, esp since i had them in my hand and could have gotten them. But why spend $25 (as we are 5 in our family) on something I didn’t like? I got the kids the ones from wal-maahts (how it’s pronounced in NH) for $2.50 each. so I spent $7.50 instead of $25. Sheldon and I will have to do without until 2009 or later. What are YOUR plans for today?

Going to a lake with friends. :) Hubby has to work all day today. =(

But I forgot to tell you! Remember your laptop in the bathroom post? Last week the bartender was really creeped out because this guy disappeared in the bathroom (with his laptop … or PDA or something. I think laptop) and didn’t come out for about 20 minutes. His food came and sat on the table and got cold. A guy! So … yes, folks, it does happen - and apparently in not-so-private ways! HAHA! I thought of you instantly.

Shame!

I think I’ve only sported and Old Navy Flag Tee once in my life, but every time I see them I get all warm and fuzzy inside!

that is tragic girl!

its prob not right to wear last years either eh?

well…whats your new tradition then?

SHAME! But oh, the irony of it all… I’ll check our local store for you and if I find some… I’ll scoop them up.

No plans today- it’s rainy, wet, and actually kind of cold. My mom is hosting a mock-4th cookout on Sunday when the weather is supposed to be nice. Not quite the same on the 6th though…

hmmmm… don’t know why I still get that random triangle face sometimes…. oh well.

I will check my Old Navy for you too! I would be broken hearted about all of this. I am big on traditions. I hope someone can find a pair for you guys. Today Dan, Conrad and me are just having a nice day together.

gasp. we have a 99 one.

$5? that is a great price. I never knew that such a deal existed.

So are you wanting a new tradition?

I bet you could make a snazzy mock t-shirt. It would be a fun project. Get a gray t-shirt from somewhere, and some t-shirt paints, and go to town. And instead of Old Navy (because we wouldn’t want to plagiarize) you could put “Old Niel” (for him) and “Old Niel’s” (for her). Since Christen Hallis thinks this year’s design is ugly you could improve on it. :-)

christen — i haven’t actually seen any besides this little picture i managed to find online… and you know, you’re right. they aren’t as good as years past. which makes this whole thing an easier pill to swallow!

annie — ha ha! i loved that story. thank you for telling me. i got a card in the mail yesterday from a friend that has a picture of a woman sitting on the toilet with her laptop, with pink undies down around her ankles! it was all too perfect. sorry to hear hubs had to work today…

sarah — they make me feel all warm and fuzzy too!

tam — my new tradition? hmmm… possibly to have no tradition. ::sniff::

amy — i know, the irony is ridiculous. and thanks for checking your store for me! i’ll have to remember to call and wish you a happy sixth of july on sunday!

faith — you’re so sweet. thanks!

yeller — i like my 99-er a lot.

@ng — you should check it out next year. but you’ll have to plan ahead. like end of may or early june. “old niel’s” made me laugh. thanks for the suggestion!

that is simply unamerican.

this can EASILY be remedied:
Red Sox t-shirts!!!
wink wink

Hey MANDY!! You mean to tell me I’m not the only one of Alece’s friends who is a RED SOX fan???? YAY! I’m from NH and there are Red Sox t-shirts to be had for all…. A great idea. I’m in SA now, but we can chip in and get Alece one. ;)

also, i didn’t know it wasn’t ‘appropriate’ to wear old Old Navy flag shirts. Gasp. I wear all mine until they are thread bare!!! Well, I’m in SA so who knows but me anyway! :)

you could be like my family and celebrate the 4th on the 5th…that’ll give you an extra day to find an Old Navy w/ some on the clearance rack for 1/2 off!!!!!

joy — good thing i’m practically african now, or i’d be a woman without a country.

mandy — don’t even go there!

christen — yay! you came back for more! i love it! and uhhh… i think i’ll pas on the red sox shirts. but thank you for seconding such a wonderful idea. and don’t worry - niel and i wear our old ones, too (hence niel’s closet is stacked with them!)

cathi — do you always celebrate on the 5th? or just this year??

Yup. Shame. That makes me way sad for you. My family does this too. We all wear them to the family picnic. Dang. Sad.

did you get one this year???

Ok, I swear I responded to this????

This is where I went shopping and what I bought when I took the 4 kids to the mall by myself… LOL

you have no idea the temptation i’ve fought back.

i’m just sayin

You shame me, Alece. How dare you forget!

Shame!

anna — your post is actually what reminded me about them!

mandy — bring. it. on.

andrew — “you’re dead to me.” ha!

mo — don’t forget the “ag!”

have you been following the games this weekend?
i’m asking because if you HAVE been watching, then your invitation to “bring. it. on” sounds more like begging me to rub salt in your wounds.
i wouldn’t do that.
i’m not that mean.

;)

i just i should just zip.my.lip.

seriously.
hehe!

yankees just got a home run. uh oh.

zip.my.lip. lol

My kids teacher used to say that to them all and they all had to actually pretend to zip their lips… in PRESCHOOL! So funny!

Ummm I guess I really am not American! I have never heard of the flag tee tradition. Period. GASP. Am I banned from your blog now? *Hangs head in shame*

You always buy the shirts because it gives you a taste of home! After ingesting US of A daily for a while now, the comforting tradition never crossed your mind.

You got the country instead of the shirt. Good substitution I think.

Hmmm…is it awful that I wasn’t aware of these shirts? I guess I should crawl out from this rock I’ve been hiding under. Hope you had a happy 4th! I was able to spend mine with my mom in Houston. Love you!

P.S. How do I change that awful image that comes up when I comment :-)

it is not about the shirts but the sharing of an experience. i dont care what is on it bu the reason why we wear stuff like that.
maybe you can tie-dy and american flag themed shirt for this year
or get an italian flag one……

I’ll swing by our Old Navy and check to see if they have any leftovers. It just opened a few months ago and never sells out of anything.

Hope you had a wonderful 4th without your flag tee!

mandy — whatever happened with that game? (i wish i had better access to a TV. i’d have loved that game!)

aspaf/anna — ha ha! that’s so great!

ayles — of course not! but next may/june, be sure you head to an old navy and pick one up!

nat — “you got the country instead of the shirt.” good point. thanks!

shea — are you serious? how did you not know??? i’m so glad you got to see your mamasita! how fun. and… a friend posted some instructions on her blog on how to set up a profile so you can pick a picture for your comments: http://angiewashington.com/2008/06/25/bye-bye-ghost-guy-on-wordpress/

AB — you’re right about it being about the sharing of the experience. tell my man to get here so i can share some experiences with him!

brandi — “never sells out of anything”?? i’d be amazed if they had them. thank you for checking!

i don’t know what happened. i’m not THAT much of a fan until the season heats up. i just talk a lot of trash!

so i was at panera last night and a guy walked in wearing that shirt.
yes THAT shirt.
above.
in your blog post.

well, not THAT one, but one of the ones from the past.
made me think of you.

Yep.. I was just going to say that Mandy.

I was at circle K this morning and that shirt was on a kid.

I thought of you..

wake up sleepy head

Thanks! I think I figured it out…we’ll see if my picture starts coming up.

She’s up until 2 and sleeps until 11 huh??

Come on girl WAKE UP

i’m glad that those shirts will forever make you guys think of me…

and sheeeesh. i’m up, i’m up!

Yeah for you Shea! You figured it out. :-) Cool.

high-five, shinea! i’m glad i get to see your beautiful face now…

Now somebody teach this dork how to get my face up there and also get the hyperlink!!!

heidi — my friend posted this on her blog not too long ago. see if this helps:

1. Get a free wordpress account (somewhere in that process you will be asked to upload a profile image).
2. Go to your ‘Dashboard’ on WordPress.
3. On the far right there is a link to ‘users’ - click it.
4. On the left side there is an option you need to click called ‘Your Profile’.
5. Here you will see that you have your profile pic (and you can change this whenever you want - of course), and if you scroll down you will find a part that says ‘website’. Fill this in with whatever address that you want your name to hyperlink to when you leave a comment on a WordPress site (Xanga, Blogger, personal website, personal blog, etc.).
6. At the bottom of that page click ‘update profile’ and your changes will be saved.

k.. I did what you said.

YAY! there you are!!!

I am such a dork. I’ve at wordpress for 1 1/2 years now. I gotta get a new picture. hmmm.

To comment I always had to logout.

Thanks friend..

had not at

have fun choosing a new picture… and i’m so glad i get to see your smiling face next time we have a comment conversation!

tonight?? I’m ready for silence #2

oh yeah. i’ve been waiting to hear the rest of your thoughts on that!

i should be on tonight…

see ya then

Good morning alece!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

good morning, class…

oh wait.

i mean…

mornin’ mandy!

you successfully taught me today. and entertained me.

well waddayaknow!?!

surprise!!!

im bored. just wanted to let you know. its nothing youve done. im just…bored.

so hey!!! how ya doing?

so mandy, are you just gonna keep bolding things now? just cause you can?

hi tam. i’m bored now, too. i think you must be contagious.

lets proclaim tuesday as national boredom day!

so it shall be written. and so it shall be done.

how can you guys be bored? Today is Tuesday July 8th…

i’d wear a t-shirt celebrating national boredom day! Bring it on, Old Navy! There are very few items I would purchase from your store, but that shirt would certainly be one of them!

nope.
.
.
.
.
i’m bored because i keep coming over here and it’s now tuesday and there’s still no new post, and we’re still stuck on friday.
and how come we’re all bored but we’re not hanging out?
seriously.
where’d everybody go???
i’m supposed to be getting the ww post ready for tomorrow. but i’m floating all over the internet trying to find y’all.
national boredom day.
hey y’all.
:)
ok.
bye.

Im here wtg on Alece’s new post. humpprh!!

I had a flag t-shirt once but have no idea where I lost it. Thanks for reminding me I need to get a new one.

I can’t say I am bored like you, Mandy and Tam, but I do seem to be brain dead. Temps around 90 and very humid. I melt when I go outside in the bad air. I also have lost electric power each of the last three days, so couldn’t put on the AC when I get home if I wanted to.

I just got power back so I can look up my blogging friends. Otherwise I am just planting my behind on my chair and sitting here melting.

Ed… do you need a popsicle?

Heidi, I would be nice to hear the “Good Humor” truck outside. With the power going off any popsicles or ice cream in my fridge has melted. :)

side note…the ice cream truck in my sister’s neighborhood plays the jingle “what child is this”…yeah, you’re right…that’s odd

What child is this?? thats hysterical!!!

@ed I know about power going out. Here in San Diego we get rolling blackouts with all the ac’s. Fortunately we have only had one!!!

What is the good humor truck?? Is that the ice cream man??

i know…of all the songs in the world???

I have just dated myself. I did a google search and the last Good Humor Brand Ice Cream Truck was parked in 1976.

I don’t remember any music, but those jingling bells would bring all the kids, and a few adults, running from miles around. It’s now an brand name, owned by Beyer, that is sold in stores, at least here in the Northeast, USA.

I was born in 1976! :-D

what is going on?!
I would like a blog. Not this random chitter chatter.
Come on, folks.

I dunno, Becca. I kinda like the random chitter chatter. Sure, I’d prefer a blog, but… it’s been fun to observe all the random rabbit trails from these comments. :D

BECCA!!! i completely and wholeheartedly agree with you.
WHAT is going on here???

but, Roo, if it makes you happy, then i guess it’s worth it. ;)

Is alece on strike?!!!

If she is on strike: what are her terms? We can try to do all in our power to meet her demands, under the regulations of the bloggers union, of course.

http://www.dailyblogtips.com/the-bloggers-union/

Mandy that is funny! I never knew such an idea existed. :-)

funny what you can find on the internet these days.

but, even “funnier” is what you CAN’T find on the internet right now:
a new post from alece!!!

I have a new post on my site miss mandy my dear cousin…

:o)

THANK YOU @NGIE!!!
;)

$5 should be spent on a batch of good brownies…! maybe mandy can help make those while you watch a game together…?

oh jon you are sooooooo startin something!!

ALece is on strike!!???? :(

JON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heidi: i think we’ve lost her… she showed up on my blog briefly today. but has since disappeared. maybe we should call in the search team??

yeah.. she was on my blog too..

hmmm.. should we get Scooby Do or the search and Rescue team?

that cop from the 911 call needs a new job, maybe he can go look for alece…?

As long he doesn’t snort!!!

JON!!! HAHAHA!!!!!

he didn’t snort it, he chewed it. :)

Just stopping by to say hi!

I’ve talked to Alece and it seems she’s kinda busy lately. She is alive. Don’t worry!
I really AM amused by all this begging for a new post.

Roo… we know she’s one busy woman.
We love here that’s all

and we want her to come out and play!!!

Okay, I’m officially going to be demanding here….

NEW POST FRIEND!!! NEW POST!!!

It’s Friday…AGAIN. That’s one week with nothing new! Busy is no excuse. No excuse!! :lol:

Okay, done being demanding. Now being supportive…. take all the time you need friend. We’ll be here when you get back. Love you so much!

;-)

cathi — you don’t like shopping at old navy?

heidi — i’m sorry we missed our comment-chat date! i feel so bad!

ed — why have you been having so many power outages. just over the sound, here on long island, everything is A-OK!

ed, cathi, heidi — i loved all the ice cream truck banter. the sound of the ice cream truck (which should NEVER be “what child is this?”) will forever conjure up mental pictures of childhood summers. my favorite to get was the bomb pop — red, white, and blue icy popcicle. mmmm…

becca — take a chill pill.

roo — i’ve quite enjoyed it myself.

heidi, angie — i wasn’t striking, i promise. but if i were, my demands would be: a cold, frothy starbucks beverage with a friend.

mandy — the search team found me, thanks to you! thanks, friend.

jon — sorry for the strange timing (on my part) of your arrival on my blog. welcome to the g&g craziness. i mean, family.

blessed1 — you’re so sweet. hi back atcha!

bran — i love that you commented on THURSDAY and announced that it’s FRIDAY. thanks for being both demanding AND supportive.

all y’all — being missed is actually a wonderful feeling. thanks for all the fun, encouraging, and crazy comments.

i’m headed to florida saturday morning. my grandma (who turned 95 in april) is not doing well and it was suggested that we come down to “say our goodbyes”. i’ve bought a one-way ticket and will be there for probably at least a week… i appreciate your prayers.

my brain. my brain can’t process…

i think i just read “all y’all” on your blog.

on YOUR blog.

~love you. be safe travelling to sunny florida…. i’ll be thinking about you.
xxoo

i did that just for you, you know…

take a chill pill?
hmm……
All I have to say to that is:
You.
Me.
Outside.
The playground.
For a game of chicken on the monkey bars.
You
are
going
down.

don’t make me fight you.
cause i will.

and you know i’ll win.
like always.

jerk.
You just THINK you’ll win.
I am of course restraining my grew-up-with-two-boys-so-I-know-how-to-fight-ness.

you just called me a jerk!? on my own blog.

oh now you’re really going down… PAST chinatown.

restrain not. i’ll still take you. anyday.