17) The Tale of Playing Scrabble with my Mom

#QuarantineBlues This is the tale of playing Scrabble with my mom... who is like a walking dictionary... putting words that I need to consult the dictionary on my phone secretly to know their meaning...

Secretly because I don't want my mom to laugh at me... or give me the “did I really birth this child” look... because I didn't know the word... as I'm the person, who not only can't spell apocalypse, I can't pronounce it either... Also my go-to-word on Scrabble is usually 3-letter long... I like to take the road more simple... 

Anyway, good news, I won against my mom, the Scrabble Yoda...

How did I win? Read on my rambling tale to find out, where I go off-topic a lot... about cats and dilatory... and why I don't have kids... which may make people want to throw scrabble tiles at me... 

I'm sorry... Please don't triple word score me... I really am trying my best with this writing thing...  

So the other day, I played Scrabble with my mom because it's her favorite game... She's the Obi-Wan Kenobi of Scrabble... Yeah I don't know what this means, I was just trying to sound cool...

Anyway, I was doing the whole trying to be a good daughter thing... which I'm not really good at... but I was trying to learn a new skill... 

Tried Googling “How to be a good daughter” but Google wasn't really helpful... There was some mention of dragons... dancing on trains... battling minotaurs and stuff...  

So I stopped reading but thought to myself... playing the game she loves would probably count... so Scrabble, it is... 

Also I was bored... and was too lazy to read or watch TV... 

 

So I guess I'm not winning any daughter points?

Oh well... Never expected to... 

I'm very accepting of my lack of daughter skills... 

 

Anyways.... This the tale of our scrabble game...

The scrabble board is out... My mom goes first...

She makes one long word that uses almost all her tiles...

I put, “dog”...

She looks at me... I look at her... She looks at me again...

I'm like... what??? I like dogs... 

I mean not in the I want to keep them as pets kind of way... cause taking care of myself is already a losing battle... 

Also I don't like anything furry... I can't stand the feeling of fur touching me... actually I don't like anything touching me.... which is a sordid tale for another day...

A dog or cat brushes by me... I wince... scream... cry... shower for 7 days...

Do the whole shoulder thing... with my body all curled up... 

End up offending the cat or dog owner... 

It's not like I don't like cats... 

I like cute kittens with their adorable faces... Cute smile... 

But then they turn into cats...

Yeah I'm a horrible person... 

You could say a cad... 

 

Shut up? 

Ok...

 

I'm sorry pet owners... I don't want to hurt you... I know your pets are like your babies... but I don't like anything touching me... 

So can you please get your pets to stay far away from me... like perhaps in another room... And don't just let them roam around and come rub themselves against your guests... 

Rubbing yourself against complete strangers is considered rude.. Didn't you teach your pets that? 

Like see what you do to babies; put them in a cage so they don't roam about the house... 

Yeah... I know they are not called cages... but to a kid they may seem like cages...

So anyway cots.... cribs... pram... Yes... These were all my scrabble words... Can't you tell... 😅

Wait.. People actually let their kids crawl around the house... 

Hmmm Who knew... I thought they were always  caged... cribbed up... I should visit more friends...  

See what happens when you give kids too much freedom of movement... 

Luckily I'm not a mom.... 

Not because of the difficulties that come from caring for a kid.... but because of the whole “what if I get a kid just like me”... 

I'm already feeling sorry for myself just thinking about it...

Man, taking care of children is hard.... They say it's not rocket science... 

But have you done rocket science? No? Me too. So how are we going to compare it to rocket science.. 

Like I didn't know toddlers are not supposed to eat cake until they turn one because of the sugar... Like who knew??? I could have unknowingly poisoned my child, poor Christen and Kristen...

Or drugged them... Like my colleague actually did the other day... by accidentally giving her toddler her own cough syrup instead of the kid's... The kid slept for hours..

I really hope babies come with a baby manual... cause I don't want to harm the kid... 

A reset button would be nice too in case I unknowingly make a mistake... and the ability to remove their batteries when they cry too loudly...

Although I'm just glad babies come fully fixed and we don't have to DIY them....

Because all this baby stuff is enough to make anyone live in a constant state of worry... 

Don't feed them this or that... This cry means they're hungry... That one means gas... This cry means they are just cranky... 

How do they know?!

Then there are parents whose antenna lights up when their children get into trouble... do something they are not supposed to... or when their kid is lying... 

How do parents know this stuff... Is there like a Guardian Angel network where the Guardian Angel reports to the parents when their children mess up... 

Paging parents of Crystal Bethany... This is Alpha One calling Bravo Two. Do you read me? Here is an update on the status of your first born... 

She lied to her friends... Said the dress was nice when it wasn't... Also she ate a pizza... And yes she enjoyed the pizza... 

 

This is the loving gaze I give my slice of pizza.... 

If I'm gonna kill my diet.. I would rather do it with pizza..

 

She just finished work... She should be home soon... Over... 

Like is this how it works? 

Although my Guardian Angel probably wouldn't have much to complain about me... cause I'm like good... 

Don't wait-what me, Tyler.. 

I'm serious... I'm like the Fraulein of the Maria kind... The only sin I commit is eating sinful food... and maybe losing my temper... 

And I may have the sin of pride... of hubris (P.S. Angels would probably use this word cause they're, you know.. angelic)... 

But I don't commit any other sinful acts... 

I wear petticoats and camisoles under my clothes in case they're transparent... which some might think makes me more weird than sinless...

Oh well... No matter what people think... no sexy tank tops for me, that's for sure... but then again, that could be due to my stomach being of the flubber kind... 

The other sinful act is looking at handsome men...  

Especially this particular man... 

whom I shall not name.. as my therapist, that I'm going to in my head, says I should stop thinking of him... 

Like celebrity crushes are fine... but neglecting your work by dreaming of him... all the time... is not fine... 

Ergo, the therapist that lives in my head... let's just call her Crys says, “Move on and call it a hiatus”... 

Anyway... where was I... yeah... sorry... I don't knit...

 

Stop staring at me, Tyler... Nobody's going to let me adopt, are they? 

 

But have to say kids nowadays are so smart... Now they ask for cakes with specific dinosaur names and planets, etc... 

When I was that age, people ask me what cake I wanted... I'll be like... "Ermmmm cake???"

And if they continue asking for details, “yeah but what type”... 

I'll be like, “a tasty one?”... 

The same answer I would probably give now... It's a wonder nobody has smashed cake in my face out of frustration... 

 

Yeah... I just wanted the cake... I didn't care how it looked... As long as it tasted good and had cream... Actually this is still my reaction to cake now...

 

Look... I do like cute kids... Those who are adorable and quiet... 

But then when I see these cute kids and tell their parents, “Your children are so cute... Can I babysit”... 

They're like, “Take them.... please... Keep them... Forever... It's ok if we never see them again”... and I turn to the kids giving me sweet smiles with their cute angelic face... and I turn to their parents looking at them in horror... 

And I'm like... Wait.... Am I supposed to be seeing something here.... Because all I see is an angel... A vision of sweetness... 

Guess that's why I shouldn't have kids... I would probably be bad at disciplining them anyway....  

I can't even discipline a cat... I scold it... Say 'shuuuuu'... It glares at me.... and I say “sorry” to it....

 

See cats are fierce, scary animals... 

 

I definitely won't be able to scold the kid... I would probably start bawling the moment their tears start...

I, of course, would present a united front with the poor miserable man deigned to be my husband... which I hope never happens cause I ain't putting some guy through unbearable tormented misery being married to me...

 

Yes... The same disgusted expression every guy has to me too, Tyler... 

And I'm perfectly fine with that... 

And not say things like “Did daddy punish you... Oh you poor thing... Bad daddy... Come let Mummy give you a hug”... cause even if I don't know much about parenting... or being in a relationship for that matter... I know that a united front is key when it comes to disciplining your kids...

And all the “bad daddy” should be left at the bedroom or so I've read... People do have some kinky tastes... 

Why do people think calling “daddy” in the bedroom is sexy... It's gross! Why would anyone think of their parents when doing the bedroom-jango... I don't get people sometimes... 

So anyway... My kid gets punished by my hubby, I would say something like, “Did daddy punish you.. Good! You probably deserved it!”... 

I'm kidding! 

I'm a profesional here... 

I would sit down an explain the justification for the punishment... Like chairing a boardroom meeting... The pros and cons... The control measures... The objective... The expected outcome...  

They probably would not listen to a word I say... 

 Man... Having kids is tough... Why would anyone want to do it...

See tough... Someone like Clark Kent would make a perfect husband... but I would prefer if it was without the kids...

Anyway.... Back to dogs...

Look I find dogs cute... I love them... 

I mean I love cute videos of animals like cats and dogs, who sometimes forget they're not human by doing stuff like dancing... or taking a selfie...

Love kids too... Especially cute babies... Coo at them... Say “awwww so cute”.... but from afar... very far... like social distancing far... Like stay with your parents far... 

Yes... I'm horrible... We've established that... Let it go...

So anyway... Me and Scrabble... And my mom frowning... and giving me the “Do you think the stork gave me the wrong daughter.... Like mistakes could happen... No stork delivery is perfect” kind of look... for putting a 3-letter-word like “dog” for Scrabble...

"Just be grateful I didn't put "cats"... which are your arch-enemies", I tell my mom...

 

Wait... Is the cat showing me the finger?

 

Yeah... My mom is feuding with our neighborhood cats... and calls me at work because waiting for me to come home from work is way too long a wait... to tell me tales of the cat world scandals...

If my mom's cat tales are to be believed, it's like a whole West Side Story going on... amongst the cats from the different clans... although without the synchronized dancing... finger-snapping and hero tragically dying... 

The strays that use our porch as their sleazy motel.... and have orgies and stuff... according to my mom... I don't really know... 

I usually tune out when she starts her “cats terrorizing her” stories... cause I hear the word orgy... and oh mamasita... me being a Victorian era prude immediately tune it out...  

 

This has always been... and will always be... The Planet of the Cats... We are merely here to serve them... 

So as our lieges and masters... they drive their subjects.... like my mom... crazy....

Her cat-feuding has gotten so bad... that people have started offering her one solution after another to solve her feline predicament... 

Like putting cucumbers around the lawn cause cats are supposed to be terrified of them...

Well.. Not the gangsta cats that stray around my neighborhood... They play with those cucumbers...

Oh... Talking about cucumbers... A colleague was talking about the ways you can solve the problem of swollen eyes, that comes from a lot of crying... Which she says she does a lot because her significant other upsets her... 

So the magic cure is cucumbers... 

She said, “Put cucumbers on your eyes the next time you want to treat eyes swollen from crying a lot”... 

I replied, “I'm not in a relationship, and have never been in a relationship, and don't ever want to be in a relationship.... so I don't cry... No reason to... 

Like the only crying I do is like for fun, when I watch sad videos or read touching words in my storybooks”.... 

Wait... This is exactly the reaction some of my colleagues had... Some even looked at me like they wished they could throw cucumbers me...

But why... Look I'm being helpful by giving them some mind-blowing facts that people who cry a lot are usually in a relationship... 

That's the perks of being single... There's no reason to cry... 

Hmmmmm Perhaps I should have offered her some words of comfort... A hug perhaps... 

Instead of telling her, “Life is better being single”... 

I guess tact isn't really my thing... Not that I mean to hurt... I was just sharing information... Trying to lighten the mood...

Just didn't realize how rude I sounded saying those words.... I'm sorry to everyone I've unintenionally hurt by being a tactless fool.

Beginning to realize I AM a horrible person.... 

Wait... Am I my company's Dwight Schrute?

 

Gee thanks!😒  

Anyway... Those cats... Cucumbers didn't work... So I'm stuck with those cat tales... 

The tales so legendary that once my sister came home for a visit... and I was at work... and my sister texted me a cat gif with the word “started” and I instantly knew what she was talking about... 

No further explanation needed here... The gif spoke for itself... My mom and her cat tales... 

Then when I came home from work, my mom said, “Your sister was quiet today while I was talking to her... I hope nothing's wrong... Go and ask her if everything's ok”... 

“Oh ma... maybe she had nothing to contribute to your cat tales”... 

Did I tell her that... Of course not! My mom made shepherd's pie! 

Also I get my mom was just worried and concerned for my sister... 

So I said, “Maybe she's tired”...

Anyway, we all sat down to eat that shepherd's pie... my sister was her usual chatty self... and all the worry was forgotten... 

That shepherd's pie my mom makes... her special Indian version with spices and chilies... sure does have magical properties. 

 

Sometimes when my mom complains about the cat... 

I tell her... "Chase the cad away"...

See what I did there...  

Cause the cat is a cad... The womanizing cad of a cat who brings multiple partners around...

Yeah... My mom wasn't impressed too... Worst... Didn't even think it was funny...

I wonder if my mom wishes she could chase me away with a broom too... 

Probably... So if any of you out there... are having moments of anger with your daughter... just think of it this way... it could be worse.. you could have had me as a daughter... 

Yes... Sure.. Go ahead... feel sorry for my mom...  

Hmmm Maybe I should write about my mom's feud with the stray cats... in a future blog post...

The cat tales that my mom deems so urgent and important, and probably feels I'll be excited to hear that she calls me at work to tell me about them... 

Yeah mom... Since I live with you, you do realize you could tell me these stories when I come home from work...

 

You could at least pretend to be excited over the prospect of hearing those cat tales, Tyler Hoechlin...  

 

Ok I suck at puns... I suck at being a daughter too... But the positive aspect of this is that I get to use cad for Scrabble... Win!  

So my mom glares at me too for the "cad" joke... Gave me the Derek Hale scowl... Probably learnt it from him... from the amount of watching of him her Hoech-obsessed daughter does... 

Although happy to say that the Hoech-obsession is getting less... Not as quickly as I want it to... But it's getting there... I'm giving myself my own intervention... I'm like Rambo now... 

 

Anyway... Back to the Scrabble game...  

My mom says, “Let me see your tiles... How can you just have “dog”... I'm sure you can make longer words... like dogma... Or do you have a “s”... you can make it plural... Let me see your tiles... What do you have”...

I say, “No... Don't see my tiles... Don't plural me... My tiles are private.. You worry about your tiles... I worry about mine”...

My mom rolls her eyes...  

So I get 8 points for my effort and that argument about scrabble tiles rights....

My mom with all the triple and double word scores... gets like 60...

So the next word she puts is… (yeah I can't really remember the word she put or how to spell it... or what it means either)... for 45...  

I giggle at her.. “Losing your touch, eh?”

and then stop giggling when I look at my tiles... and an hour passes... 

Ok... maybe it just felt like an hour... because my mom gets bored with how long it is taking me to think of a word... and starts watching her Whatsapp videos... 

Maybe also starts reading a book... Doing some gardening... Planting some hay...

 

Exactly how my mom felt, I guess...

 

Then I put “hay”... and excitedly count the tiles... and get 23... I'm like yes... My points are increasing... Also I used the “Y”... Kudos to me...

After an hour... my mom is like 500 or 600 points ahead of me... and she starts looking at my tiles, and starts helping me make words...

Actually it's more like:

“Give me those tiles... You have “F”... Why did you put 'at' when you could have added 'd' to the end of my word and make the word 'daft' downwards... and get more points”

Wait Ma... daft... seriously... Is that a dig at me... Are you calling me daft... And yes... I know the meaning of the word “daft”... 

Yes... Michael Scott... I'm as smart as truffles too... Although a little bit nutty perhaps... Which is probably why I love nuts so much... 

I'm a nuts kinda girl... cashews... pistachios... I don't really go for biscuits and cookies much but Florentine biscuits yes... absolutely yes...

Also nuts is kinda my thing... cause people also usually tell me... “Are you nuts!”... Also their reaction reading this blog, I guess... 

Oh Hello Gorgeous... 

I'm nuts about youuuuuuu, Tyler Hoechlin.... 

See what I did there.... A pun... A nutty pun... I'm so punnily nuttily smart... 

You hate me, don't you, Tyler Hoechlin jpg?

 

Me too Forrest... Me too... 

 

Anyway... Back to the Scrabble game... that is beginning to become a one-woman show...

My mom continues to make more and more words for me... and I say, “I don't even know some of these words... Are you making these words up”... 

And she looks at me, like I just called her a bad word... because I had the audacity to accuse her of cheating... 

Yeah.. we are not allowed bad words at home... No swearing... No 'F' words... Not even while playing scrabble to hit the double word score... 

Like my mom could use a swear word to make a word and earn her winning points... the no-coming-back-from-them... no-way-in-truffle-we're-going-to-beat-her now... points... 

Yet stubbornly refuse to use them... cause people might see them... and that would be a reflection of her... 

 

My mom's reaction too, Tyler... 

 

So no swearing allowed... Not even on TV... 

We watch movies with “F” words thrown about and we earn from my mom a: 

i) frown

ii) shake of the head

iii) tsk tsk tsk 

We're not the ones saying those words, ma... It's the tv people... 

But it doesn't matter... We're guilty by association... Guilty for allowing the show to play while they say those words...

Not even my brother swears... All thanks to my mom's upbringing... 

And even out of the hearing range of my mom, we still don't swear... 

Because haven't you heard... your mom can always hear you... or see you... even if you're a country away... 

My mom once angrily counted all the F words a relative of ours was saying when he was drunk and arguing with someone... 

More than 50... That was the number of times he was saying the F word... She counted every one of them... 

Like it didn't matter that he was arguing with someone else... It was within her vicinity and she could hear those words... Years later, she still remembers.... 

P.S... As I am writing this, I wanted to confirm the number of times he said that dastardly word... 

And so I ask my mom... and she angrily replies, "More than 50!!! I stopped counting after 50! I'm going to tell him one day how atrociously he behaved"... Yup... Still angry...

 

 

You know something, Clark... My mom would fully concur with your assessment too... 

So no cussing in our house... Not in speech... Not in writing... Not even on TV... 

I don't care if you just got injured with that heavy pan falling on your toes... I don't care if you're dying... No profanity will be excused crossing your lips... 

You cut your hand while cooking, you say, “Oh golly my”... or “Gee whiz it's you”... That's how it's gonna be in our home... 

 

Or you could always swear in minion... 

What the Papoy has a nice ring to it, don't you think??? 

Anyway.. Back to the scrabble game... 

If you haven't guessed by now, I'm losing badly... Like losing the iron throne badly...

And she looks at me with the look that says, “Did I birth this child? Why does she have to check the dictionary for some of the words I make?”

Yes... I need to check the dictionary... 

1. One to make sure these words are not completely made up just to hit the double word score... cause some of the words she used did sound fake... 

I salute the wisdom of dictionary people coming up with these words... They're so creative, aren't they? Those Word-Making people...

2. Two, to find out what the words mean.

Like seriously... I've never even heard of some of these words in normal conversation... How does my mom know them...

Like dilatory... which she joined to the word, “lat” I had made... 

 

The look I had too...

 

Ok actually my mom helped me make the word "lat" by telling me it's a valid scrabble word... and I was like “Are you sure? I've never heard it before”... and she rolled her eyes.... 

I Googled the word... Apparently it's the large, broad muscles of your middle and lower back... hmmm who knew... 

Now I know why some of the workouts I do is called developing my lats... I distinctly remember something called Lat Sweeps with weights... 

Man playing Scrabble is so educational... So much fun too... Lats are so cool... I could stare at lats for hours...

What... This is purely for educational purposes... It's not like I want to see Tyler Hoechlin shirtless... It's for teaching vocabulary - behold the "lat"...

 

So “dilatory”... Another word I learnt... Although I was like what does that word even mean... when my mom first excitedly put the word to my “lat”.... knowing all the points she's going to make... 

Also realize she uses most of her tiles... And I'm lucky to use 2 or 3 tiles...

Anyway... Dilatory... Sounds like a bad word, doesn't it?

Like those naughty toys... of the bedroom variety... which was why I was at first afraid to Google the word as I didn't want to see any x-rated photos that were going to burn my eyes... 

Also my mom would probably be able to see my phone screen... and the photo might appear... and she might think I see all those explicit photos all the time... What would she think of me... 

She already thinks I'm nuts... Can't have her think I'm corrupt and immoral too...

 

Man... Another "Are you for real?" look from Tyler... 

I seem to get that a lot from his gifs...

Tyler Hoechlin's gifs speak with me... I have life-changing conversations with Tyler Hoechlin gifs all the time...Why said with words... when you can say it in gif..

No.. I'm not weird... I'm unique... and innovative...

It's like Tyler Hoechlin being innovative by using the light from the TV with this cute doggie photo...

Awww... helps that the dog looks like the sweet golden retriever my sister had, who had the same cute, adorable smile and “I love you forever and ever and ever” look in his eyes that this dog has... and would happily fawn over my sister, brother, my parents... while looking at me like I was something the cat dragged in... 

I don't do well with animals... or babies... Actually I don't do well with people... 

So that was pretty innovative... Tyler caught some flak for not using a light thing... but hey he was making do with what he had... So good job, Tyler!

What about me, Tyler? If I was in that same lightless position?

I wouldn't think of any light... I would sit in the dark like the Grim Reaper and do the inteview... It would be a shadow of me... like a ghost was sitting there... 

Would help that I look like a ghost on most days anyway... Can you blame kids for being afraid of me... or dogs not liking me... 

So anyway about those toys I mentioned, before I got sidetracked by Tyler Hoechlin and his ring light saga... 

For your information, blog readers... that I hope I have... And I'm just not writing this blog for me to read... and Googlebots to read... 

(Heard a lot of bots are taking sick leave that comes from having crawled through my blog)... 

Anyway... I don't know anything about those kind of naughty toys... 

I mean I like toys.... But only those that you can play with.

I mean... Not play in THAT manner... But play as fun... Like board games and cute dolls that twirl... 

Cause I love toys...  Actually my dream is to own a toy shop one day... but I would probably lose money as I'd end up taking the inventory home for a test drive... and then keeping it... It will be like every time I buy toys for the shop, I would probably take one for myself... 

So I'm literally talking about toys... good toys... not naughty ones...  

Anyway I don't have personal experience with those kind of naughty toys... But I read it in a book somewhere and was curious but was too scared to Google it... 

And no I don't read naughty books... It was a completely safe crime investigation novel from JD Robb... All the books I read are clean... ok maybe it had those bedroom scenes... but I skipped those parts... 

Cause mostly I can't really imagine the scene or how it works... like it sounds really complicated... like wouldn't knees hurt... 

I find it hard to get on my knees on my bed to crawl and tuck in the covers properly cause I can't sleep with the covers coming off the mattress... cause sleeping without a mattress cover is like sleeping on the floor.... 

So imagine... yeah... no.. I take that back.. not imagining... 

Anyway... The main character of the book series, Eve Dallas, is a cop... and those things were discovered during the investigation... in a secret hidden compartment... which made her partner excited... while Eve scowled.... and frowned... Man... Eve Dallas is so me...

And I was wondering what it was... That's it... Just wondering...

Also I get Google notifications for those kind of toys... like why Google... I don't look up those things... Why are you targeting me for those ads... I ain't interested... 

Can you send it to people who has use for those stuff... Like people in relationships... Like Christian Grey perhaps... 

And no I haven't watched that movie... or read the book... I mean I wanted to... for the 5 minutes of Tyler Hoechlin's appearance in the movie... But I haven't yet... cause I'm scared of my mom...

Gawd... Why am I saying all this in this post...

Sorry... This scrabble game is stressing me out! 

Notes : If anyone is wondering... Dilatory means slow to act... tardy... slack... procrastinating.... In law terms, dilatory tactics is doing things just to delay the proceedings... Hmmmm I guess I have a dilatory nature... dilatory brain... Yes... I looked it up... Thanks dictionary inventor...

Also, found out my mom knows all these words cause her hobby is reading the dictionary... 

Yes people... My mom reads the dictionary for fun.... FOR FUN! Cause according to her, she likes to discover new words... 

My idea of fun is eating... and watching tv... occasionally eating while watching tv... 

Anyway, my mom has now completely taken over my tiles... Rejecting the words I put in lieu of her words that have higher scores...

Good news... My scores are increasing and I'm beating her...

Bad news... None of these are my words...

Do I care that I've not done any of those words... not at all... winning is winning... 

 

Which is exactly what I did every time my mom made a Scrabble word for me that beat her score... I have no shame at all... 

So now I'm in the kitchen, hunting for food.. while she's playing scrabble with herself...

Putting words for her and me...

My job is to pick out the tiles from the bag when it's my turn...

Some time later... I'm still enjoying my ice-cream sundae (that good daughter I was, I also made for my mom; trying to earn good daughter points).

I realize using the word “good daughter” often is not actually making it real... I would settle for getting the “Acceptable” rating right now... since I know “Exceeds Expectation” is too much to ask... and perfectly ok with being the “needs improvement” daughter variety... 

Although I've never gotten a “needs improvement” appraisal at work... so it would suck if I get that rating when my mom does her yearly appraisal of her children... 

Pretty sure my siblings... my sister in law... and maybe even my cousins... get the “Outstanding” rating every year... while I get the Needs Improvement rating... maybe even the Harry Potter OWL rating of “Troll”... 

This ice-cream is so good... I added fruits to it hoping to "healthy"fy it... Because anything with fruits in it is bound to be healthy... Right? 

The whipped cream is just milk... also healthy... Protein.. And I read somewhere that chocolates are good for you... it has like antioxidants or something and it's even good for your brain... 

Which is why I added the chocolate syrup to the ice-cream... 

I needed to improve my brain function for this scrabble game that I'm apparently no longer playing... just watching my mom make words for me... 

Hey... At least I'm improving my vocab... 

Well not really as I'm too lazy to look up the words... 

Man... When and where my mom learnt some of these words is beyond me...

My mom is a genius...

 

So anyway eating ice-cream while secretly looking at Tyler Hoechlin photos on my phone... 

Mostly I just follow all his fan accounts... cause they would do all the posting of latest news, photos, stuff he's up to, places he's going, photos shared by the people close to him, etc... 

They do that by following all the people related to him or that he follows... which I don't cause I'm lazy... 

But I don't look at his photos too often cause I'm trying to cut down on my sweets.... 

See what I did there... Term of endearment... Also he's sweet so I'm trying to cut down on sweet stuff cause I'm on this weight loss journey.... 

Dang... I forgot the ice-cream is considered sweet too... 

Stop with the puns??? Got it!

I wonder if I could use "pun" in scrabble... But then again, my mother might add a "Y" to it and get like 50 points or something... and I can't have that, can I?

Not when I've been defeating her so well with the words she has been making for me...  

Anyway... I could scroll through my personal Instagram but I'm the neurotic woman, who needs to do the all-caught-up on Instagram... so I usually scroll through the app when I have the time to do the all-caught-up... usually at night... in bed... before I sleep... 

So I can't do it now because my mom might call me to take a tile or look at the word she's making for me... and I have to look up from my phone... and I can't do the all-caught-up... 

P.S. Glad that Instagram no longer has the all-caught-up feature... Probably because people, like me, were hyperventilating over it...   

Don't give me that disgusted "What is wrong with you" look which I seem to get from many... I have unique sensibilities...

Although have to admit opening your personal IG once every few weeks... is problematic... cause it leads to me missing out on all the tagged stories... Man I hope they didn't tag me in anything indecent... 

 

Who am I kidding... It's me... Indecent just means photos of me with my mouth wide open... as I stuff food into it... 

Or making a funny, weird face... which is actually my normal, every day face, or so I've been told... 

Because I once tried doing the funny faces Tyler Hoechlin likes to do... and sent it to my family chat group... but my family were like nonchalant... Apparently that's my normal face... hmmm who knew... 

Also.... when you stay away from IG too long, you find that the “all caught up” doesn't appear... All you get is the end of the posts... and you can't scroll down anymore... and then you worry you missed out on your loved ones' post... 

Then you wonder if they would be hurt that you didn't “heart” their posts... Would they hate you???? Social media is so exhausting. 

So I open my personal Facebook instead... then see so many notifications from posts of my family that I have missed cause I log into my Facebook account like once a month, so now I have to go “like” all my family's posts...

Sorry Sups... I do ramble on quite a lot, don't I? Sorry...

Anyway... Back to the Scrabble game, which my mom is enjoying, as she excitedly continues to make words on the board for the both of us... 

She explains to me what some of those words mean... I pretend to pay attention and say hmmm appropriately...

Yes I can be the grumpy kid sometimes... who grunts and thinks that qualifies as an answer... and who gets angry and says terrible things... then hates herself for it... 

 

Have you ever said anything then instantly regretted... The wish you can take it back moments... Or at least press delete and redo... I have many of those moments...

Feeling guilty, like I was an elf who ate Santa's cookies... like how can you steal from Santa... 

Yes... Yes... I'm a bad daughter... Santa probably hates me too... 

It's like I need an upgrade... cause my parents were given the low grade version... the low spec version... that doesn't have leather seats, tinted windows, reverse camera, or extra lights... 

My poor parents... Luckily they got the full spec version when my two younger siblings were born... 

Pity there's no manual upgrade so they can upgrade me to the full, all features, version... 

 

My poor parents... stuck with me...

Anyway... Back to the Scrabble game... 

My mom says... “Ok.. Game over... Let me tally the scores”...

Tally... Another word I learnt playing Scrabble with my mom...

She says, “Wow... Congratulations... You won”

I say, “Really... Yayyyy... What's for dinner?”

So I guessed my mom beat herself at Scrabble???

P.S. When people ask, I always say that I'm a genius at Scrabble... And I have the scores to prove it... 

I admire my mom in almost everything she does. The fact that she's almost 70... yet looks and does things like a woman in her 40s... 

Her strength and fortitude in handling daily life... health issues like a knee replacement, cancer and chemo... and being the best teacher anyone could hope for, dedicated and caring towards her students... fills me with awe.

When it comes to Scrabble, I know my mom is in a class of her own... She loves the game, excels at it, and has taken part in competitions... but doesn't have anyone of her caliber to play the game with her at home... as my command of English and vocabulary isn't as strong as hers...   

I love board games... but I'm usually not good at it... or have much luck for it... 

I'm always the first to lose all my money during Monopoly or Poker... I lose almost all the board games I play... 

You name it.... I've probably lost at it...

My mom, the dictionary-reading poet who writes poetry, was approached through her blog (a blog I created for her... hey sometimes I do good daughter stuff)... to publish her poem in their book... and asked if they could buy my mother's poem...

Guess how much she charged them for the poem??? Nothing... She charged them nothing...

She gave them the poem for free because she said it's an educational book for kids, and she didn't want to earn any money from it... 

My mother, the generous... the genius... the badass... also the Scrabble Queen...

When you know, that no matter what you do, you can never live up to the greatness that is your mom... 

And honestly, I'm perfectly ok with that...  

Update : Recently my mom played the game with a neighbor's kid.... She did ask me to play with them but I faked work and stayed in the room... 

Yes... I'm horrible... What else is new... 

So anyway... They played the game for about an hour, and the girl went back home because it was night... 

As I got ready for bed, I walked past my mom in the hall, and saw her making words on the board... 

 

My mom, the scrabble wizard... 

I went, “What are you doing, Ma”... She said, “Just helping her increase her points so she will be happy”...

I'm like, where is the sense of accomplishment in someone else doing the work for you... but no my mom wanted to make her happy... so the next time they play the game, the young girl's score will be higher... 

I guess my mom really likes to play Scrabble... even if it's against herself...

P.S. Update: Since losing my mom recently, I realized I would give just about anything to be able to play the game with her again... I wish I had played more Scrabble with her when she was around... I really do hope they have scrabble in Heaven...