You know you are getting old when you pull a muscle and it’s not so easy to shake it off. For the past several days I’ve been dealing with a pain in my neck (no it’s not my son for once) and it’s caused a tingling sensation in my shoulder. Through the years I’ve pulled my fair share of muscles, especially when I was in the U.S. Army, but nothing compares to when you cannot turn your head because the pain is well…horrible. I believe I slept on it wrong, which sucks even worse.

I mean how do you know when your asleep that your sleeping the wrong way and you will wake up in pain? I’m feeling much better today and can move my neck without the pain, but I still feel it a little in my shoulder. I’ve taken some medication, but I am the type of person who likes to try and manage pain without any help. I don’t know why, but I can never remember to take medicine the way I should even when it’s prescribed.

So for now I plan on relaxing, watching a movie with a friend and enjoying a nice dinner with a glass of wine. Unless there are any other suggestions I guess I will “labor” through the holiday and in the next few days I will hopefully feel better.

As I sit at my desk about ready to leave work I am wondering what I want to make for dinner. I am not sure if I want to cook or actually throw something in the microwave. Tonight I will be by myself for awhile because Cole is going with his father to pick up his new bass and amp.

Yippee for me. Now I will have two guitars in my house and have to listen to the loudness. But tonight I will be alone for awhile and it’s wonderful.

So what should I make?

Well I want to say that I enjoyed the past two days off. I spent it with some rather great people in support of a great group of kids– Alton Marching 100. On Friday, I attended the red and grey scrimage at Public School Stadium and it was nice to see such a large turnout in support of this seasons football team. They look good and next Friday I hope they play well against Quincy. But as you know since I am a mom of a “bandy” I was there to support the musical talent of the 109 students involved in the program.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy football, but since I didn’t go to school in Alton I have to gather school spirit when it comes to the game because my sons friends are in band and I don’t know the players. I am looking forward to the season though.

On Saturday night I attended the ABOB annual trivia night. I want to say that it was a great turnout and I had a lot of fun. Although Cole ditched me and his grandparents to play with his friends, I didn’t mind. There was three at out table to start and we picked up two players, which really helped us out. Thanks you Fletcher family.

We didn’t win, but we didn’t lose and that is what made us happy. ( Sorry table No. 13) There were a few questions that stumped me, but once I heard the answer I was like “Uh, I knew that!” There were many others who felt the same way.

My parents have never been to a trivia night and they had a good time, especially since my mom won one of the baskets that was raffled off. Of course I didn’t win anything, but then again I was there to support a great cause. I may not have had all the answers, but it was fun trying.

Why do our hormones wreck such havoc on our lives? When I was younger I didn’t really get mood swings prior to my monthly arrival. However as I get older it seems as though the battle to stay sane is tougher.

The majority of my craziness didn’t start until the birth of my son. It was then that I noticed my mood would swing dramatically in one direction. Little things would set me off. When Cole was younger he would often ask me what was wrong because I was so moody.
I would tell him I didn’t feel well. But when he got older I blurted out, “I have PMS.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his response to the acronym. “Does PMS mean, P****D-Off Mommy Syndrome?”

“Not really, but I guess it looks that way to you,” I said.
He was around 7-years-old at the time. Only out of the mouths of babes right? They seem to tell it like it is and that’s when we are forced to look at things in a different light.

Most women know when they are feeling irritable and will do things to change their behavior and prevent unsuspecting people to be caught in the crossfire. But sometimes nothing you do stops you from loosing it.

Our hormones like to mess with us and often we are harder on people than we intend to be and know we are hurting the ones we love.

At one time to curb the cycle I gave up caffeine for more than one year. I didn’t drink any coffee or soda that contained the “drug” for fear it was helping escalate my problem. I noticed some changed, but overall things seemed to stay the same.

I can go for months now and never have an outburst and then there will be a day that I will go off because someone needs something from me and I’m just not in the mood to give it.
I tend to have outbursts toward specific individuals, because I get tired of being taken advantage of and them never returning the favor.

So I think a better thing to call PMS is Precision Managed Scorn.

I feel like a taxi driver. During the past several days I have spent quite a bit of time with my son.

On Thursday, I registered him for high school, then took him to eat, drove him back to band and then drove back again to pick him up at 8 p.m. On Friday, I drove him to his friends house for a party and then drove back at 11 p.m. to get him.

Today I took him to a fundraiser and then went back to get him two hours later brought him home so he could change and then drove him back to the meeting point where he and all the other Brass section in Marching 100 could get together for a night out. I’m wore out. In btween all the taxing I still had chores to do and never did get all of them done, because just when I got my momentum going I had to stop.

Oh, I don’t mind driving him around. It also feels good to know that he’s in driver’s education this fall and next year he will have his license. I know some parents worry when their children start to drive, however I’m OK with it. Maybe because when Cole was 4-years-old he started riding a motorcycle and ever since he’s been driving something with wheels.

I am sure once he gets his license there are things that could happen, but you know I am not going to dwell on what may or may not happen otherwise I would never get anything done. I think back to when I got my license and how my parents trusted me and allowed me to drive places. Even though my mother and I had are differences when I was young I still likes driving with her more than I ever did with my dad.

I know that whenever I get in the car with Cole he will do fine as long as he pays attention and his main concern isn’t what’s on the radio. What stories do you have about your teens driving?

As most of you know school is just around the corner for most kids and I am so looking forward for it to start. Why? Because although I love my son I am ready to have him back in classes, especially since he is a freshman.

His summer flew by pretty fast, especially with band practices at least twice a week since school let out and a two-week band camp in July.

I am looking forward to seeing the Marching 100 perform its new drill “Deja Vu” this fall. On Aug. 23 however, ABOB and the Marching 100 are throwing its 3rd annual Trivia Night. I plan on going, one because it supports kids in music and two because I love trivia.

Visit ABOB to find out more.

Here are a few trivia questions to test your knowledge?
How many drum majors does the Marching 100 have this year?
How many students are in the Marching 100?
How many trombone players are there?

To find out the answers just send me a message.

Are you watching the Olympics? I’ve watched very little, but I am keeping up with the athletes, especially the U.S. women’s swim team.

I was thrilled to find out that Dana Torres took the silver in the 4×100 relay on Saturday. If I were still in the Army I would be yelling “Hoorah” right now. Yes she’s done well, but the fact that this is her fifth time competing in the Olympics and that she is 41 years old is what makes her story even more outstanding.

It’s not often that an athlete continues to compete into their 30s — let alone their 40s. Torres has won 10 Olympic medals, including four golds. She competed in her first Olympics in 1984 and then followed in 1988, 1992 and then 2000.

Torres is co-captain of the swim team along with Amanda Beard and Natalie Coughlin.

To stop any speculation that she might be taking performance enhancing drugs, she volunteered for an enhanced drug-testing program. Obviously anyone who says that athletes in their 40s cannot out perform those younger do not know what they are talking about.

I say this mother of a 2-year-old girl will definitely be able to teach her daughter what GIRL Power is all about. Because Torres is definitely a Genuine Intelligent Respectable Leader for all women and she’s showing everyone that she still has it.

Have you ever had one of those moments where you know what you were doing wasn’t right, but at the time you were so frustrated it didn’t matter Of course we’ve all had those times, but how many of us actually will admit to it.

I had one and now I owe my son an apology. Last night he woke me up out of a sound sleep (not a good thing to do) and told me the needle to the turntable broke as he was recording some LPs onto the computer for a co-worker. OK, I got upset and yelled.

It’s not that the needle broke, but the fact that he should have known not to wake me, because he feels the same way when I wake him — irritated. He then proceeds to tell me that it was actually out cat, Bella, who did the dirty deed when he went into the kitchen to get a drink of water. I was half-asleep and not very nice in the things I said and I feel bad.

I know as parents we yell at our kids for the things they do wrong, but when you yell and later realize that you are the one that screwed up you should be the better person and say your sorry.

I know there are parents out there who would never apologize to their children, but I am not one of them.I will admit to my son when I’m wrong because I love and respect him and always want him to feel the same about me.I know he loves me, but I want his respect and if I act bad toward him and never admit when I am wrong over time I could lose it.

So Cole I’m sorry for having lost my temper.

I read a comment on The Telegraph website by someone who seemed irritated about reading or seeing Fab Femmes videos, or the fact we are now on Myspace, way too much lately.

Well I know people have their own opinions, but I guess they don’t appreciate the fact that The Telegraph is trying to bring more readers to our site and not everything will he hard news.(Not everyone wants to read the police report) One way we are able to do that is to capture a specific demographic — women.

Women are often neglected in the media or at least real women and The Telegraph has done a great job of focusing on this group, especially with flaire for women during the past two years and now Fab Femmes. Fab Femmes is all about our online readers and gives them something extra. Although the two are not tied together, they both do a great job of appreciating women.

In Fab Femmes, Jill Moon and I are trying to provide something fun for the women of the Riverbend and what could be more fun than fashion. If you are noticing us then we are accomplishing our job. But for the critic new episodes of the show only go up once a week(typically Tuesday) and last week was the first time we mentioned Fab Femmes having a Myspace page. So thanks to all of you who support us and to those of you that signed on as our friends on Myspace. We have big plans for our future so stay tuned.

For all of you who don’t like us, then don’t watch.

I’ve enjoyed the past two days off except for the argument I had with my son. Why is it when you ask a teenager to do something they say they will do it and then don’t. They then get mad because you repeat yourself and ask them to do the chore again and they think they can bargain to get out of it.

So what did I ask my son to do? The dishes. He had ample time, because I left for more than four hours to go shopping with my mother and when I go back the dishes were still in the sink. So then we go to the grocery store and when we got back I asked him if he would do the dishes again. He said he would as soon as he finished eating something. OK, he ate and then said he would do the dishes when the movie he was watching was over. Well I get up and he’s not even watching a movie he was on the computer. He wonders why I get upset sometimes… well I don’t like to ask five times for him to do something he told me he would do six hours prior.

I don’t get why when he was asked the first time he didn’t just do it. Then again I think most teenagers are like that and they think they can bargain their way out of doing things. Shoot me a line and let me know some of your teenager woes and maybe as a mother who feels like pulling all her curly hair straight we can share ( and laugh about) our frustrations.