Archive | November, 2008

One of our local TV stations is running a teaser for an upcoming segment called something like: “Texting: Know The Lingo”.

Because they like to tackle the big issues.

The idea is that the TV station is going to crack the code that the kids and the teens use when they’re IM’ing or texting with friends.

I’m sure they’ll cover most of the obvious abbreviations like LOL for “laughing out loud” and BRB for “be right back”. But what’s more helpful, a rehash of the obvious abbreviations or a good hard look at some of the more obscure ones?

Of course, the obscure ones. With that in mind, I bring you MBI’s Guide to Texting Lingo:

CYB – Call You Back

G2G – Got To Go

SBCC – Sorry! Bad Cell Coverage

IJAASOTHOAHB – I Just Ate A Skittle Off The Floor Of A Hardee’s Bathroom

LGSM – Let’s Go See A Movie

ITSSUKTH – I Think Someone Saw Us Kill That Hobo

GMS – Good Morning Sunshine!

G2CU2Day – Great To See You Today!

IADSICTNBDWTHBPTBEBADADUIOGSIWHTTYL – I Am Driving So I Can’t Text Now Because Driving While Texting Has Been Proven To Be Every Bit As Dangerous As Driving Under The Influence Of Drugs So I Will Have To Text You Later

LHSS – Let’s Hear Some Skynyrd!

WIWAKMHGILWTBOTTD – When I Was A Kid My Highest Goal In Life Was To Be On Tic Tac Dough

LAP – Look! A Puppy!

GSM – Gimme Some Money

DWYDAGRMBIBTGIAR – Drop What You’re Doing And Go Read My Best Investments Because That Guy Is A Riot

So there’s a handy reference for you to guide you through this crazy thing called texting. Can you think of anything I’ve missed?

MC and I are romantic people.

This year, in a quest to find the most heartfelt, most memorable experience possible, we sidestepped all the cliched ways to celebrate our anniversary.

No flowers. No fancy meal out. No sappy love letters. No fine wine.

We took it to the next level.

We parked our kids at Nana’s house for the weekend. We went straight home. We locked all the doors. We changed into something a little more comfortable.

And then we…

(I think you know where this is going!)

…moved furniture all weekend.

I know. Hot, right?

When we moved into this house last summer, the kids were a little big smaller and the house is a little bit larger than our previous place.

For those reasons, we setup the kids’ bedrooms in the rooms closest to our bedroom. That worked well, but our long term plan was to put them in two bedrooms upstairs.

This weekend, we finally got around to moving them into their big kid rooms.

First, we had a little prep work to do.

Here’s are two Before pictures of Son’s new room:


With a new paint color on the wall, new bed, and some stuff from his old room, here is what Son’s new room looks like now:

I don’t have as many Before pictures of Daughter’s room, but I did snap this photo to show a problem I had to solve.

Both of the bedrooms have exposed brick. It works in Son’s room since it’s got a masculine feel to it. It doesn’t work quite as well in Daughter’s room, which is very feminine.

This Before photo shows the brick wall against her bed.

And here are the After photos of Daughter’s room. We took care of the brick issue by hanging some pink gingham panels over the wall.

By late Sunday afternoon, our own Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was complete.

We brought the kids home and chased after them as they bolted up the stairs to see what we’d done.

They were both thrilled with their new pads. After about 30 minutes of shrieking and squealing and running to and fro, we got them pajama’d and tucked into their beds.

And with only a few new-room jitters so far, our kids are settling nicely into their new surroundings.

So even though we didn’t eat a gourmet meal or wander off for a romantic weekend away, I think this anniversary will always hold a special place in our hearts for the excitement and fun we were able to create for the kids.

Here at the MBI Estate, we are nothing if not the picture of sophistication.

We use big words. We hold our pinkies in the air when we sip drinks. The children play quietly with simple toys like yo-yos and marbles.

And if you believe any of that, I’ve got some outstanding real estate in the smokin’ hot Florida market to sell you.

Anyhow, at some point a while back the kids discovered a big pile of koozies in a cabinet.

I’m not sure when or how we accumulated such a supply of koozies. A koozy is certainly not a premeditated purchase.

In fact, I can only remember buying one koozy in my entire lifetime. We still have it. It reads:

“Welcome to Loserville. Population: 1. THAT’S YOU!”

Jealous?

The kids have done all sorts of things with the koozies. They’ve stacked them, they throw them around, etc.

Finally, they figured out what koozies were designed to do.

That’s why I’m able to bring you this photo:

I know. We’re so proud.

Either by the grace of a good and loving God, or in one of the greatest practical jokes in the history of mankind, this woman married me.

Nine years ago today.

Happy Anniversary, MC!

I hope you’ll all join me in shouting a collective:

IT’S OVER!!

Whether your man won or not, we can all take comfort in the fact that the barrage of insane campaign commercials will soon stop.

So we won’t have to hear any more of this stuff:

“John McCain stole your 401k money!”

Or any more of this stuff:

“Ever notice that you never see Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden in the same room?”

I think we can all use a breather from sniffing that garbage every day.

As far as the voting process was concerned, MC and I both had good experiences. I went to vote shortly after 9 a.m. and found myself in a longer-than-normal line.

My iPhone paid huge dividends to me as I was able to disappear into many, many games of Wurdle. Other voters didn’t plan quite as well as I did. The lady in front of me brought her iNewspaper to read, which was a little awkward to manage while standing.

The lady behind me didn’t bring anything to pass the time except her iNastyCough.

As I was approaching the inner sanctum of the polling place, MC walked in and took her place in line. We were able to text back and forth for a moment before I went into the booth.

All told, neither of us waited more than 45 minutes. Then we did exactly what we’re going to do today – and every other day that we’re able – MC went home to care for our kids and I went to work to earn us a living.

God bless America.

Dear Person Handing Out Ring Pops Last Night:

Thank you for your participation in our Trick-Or-Treating last night. It’s always nice to get sweet treats on Halloween.

I am especially glad that you decided to hand out Ring Pops last night. Your timing couldn’t have been better, since my daughter’s mouth just returned to its normal color after eating her last Ring Pop. In July 2007.

You’ve also helped me solve the problem of how to make my 5 year old daughter look like a tiny Goth without having to put black lipstick on her. Now her lips are bluish-black and should stay that way for a long time to come.

So thanks for that.

Until next year,
L