The Four Square

Baked Eggs (Shirred Eggs)

2009-10-19T10:52:00.000-04:00

Inspired by my friend Wade (no, not my hubby Wade, but an long lost and recently found college buddy), who made baked eggs the other night and tempted all of his Facebook friends by posting about it, I decided to make baked eggs again. Also known as shirred eggs, I've given them a shot now and again but have always been disappointed in the end result. Either too dry, overcooked, undercooked or just not tasty. I discovered once Wade posted about his successful baked eggs that one must really pour a tablespoon (give or take) of cream or milk over the eggs before baking. While Wade baked his plain in a small ramekin, nestled mine in a scoop of corned beef hash, as the combination of corned beef hash and a lightly cooked egg yolk is heaven. I did forget the cardinal rule of cooking eggs at 350* or more, but I was close at 325*. I used the convection toaster oven too, which tends to get hotter faster. These guys would have been happier if they had baked for 9 minutes instead of 10 as the yolk is almost too done. But otherwise I think I finally managed to bake an edible egg.

1 large egg
1/2 cup corned beef hash
1 tablespoon heavy cream (or milk or light cream)

Warm corned beef hash in frying pan or small saucepan. Scoop into oven proof ramekin. Make well in the center of the hash. Crack egg into well. Depending on your ramekin and well, the white of the egg may spill over the edge of the hash. Pour cream over egg. Bake in 350* oven for 10 minutes, checking often for doneness. Season as desired.

Monday Morning Musings

2009-10-05T07:59:00.000-04:00

So this morning I was blessed enough to have W join us on our walk to school. He doesn't leave for his trip this week for another few hours. While I enjoy my quiet walk home it was nice to have the few rare minutes alone with W.

I am feeling much better and have no excuses anymore not to get some things on my do-list taken care of. Fighting an ear infection for the last 3 weeks has taken its toll, but the infection is gone, I'm not sniffley, and the cough is minimal. The first thing that needs to be taken care of is to make the items I need to make for church. I need to make 3 bats, 4 birds, a zebra and two horses out of felt for the Religious Education program. The deadline for these items went whoosing by 4 weeks ago. The other thing that needs to be done this week is to wrap TJ's birthday gifts and make his cake in anticipation of his birthday Thursday. We probably won't celebrate until Saturday as W won't be here until then, but I'd like to get everything ready.

So...off to take a shower and start cutting felt....

Friday Five

2009-10-02T20:16:00.000-04:00

Five things I should have done but didn't this week:

1) Work on items I'm making for church.
2) Deposit W's last pay check.
3) Clean out TJ's art box.
4) Begin to clean up basement.
5) Make my bed.

Five things I did do this week:

1) Worked on TJ's Halloween costume. (He's going to be Darth Maul.)
2) Went grocery shopping (finally).
3) Took TJ to his neurodevelopmentalist appointment.
4) Possibly, finally, got rid of my ear infection.
5) Called my mom and dad, which I should have done last week.

Thursday Thoughts

2009-10-01T07:51:00.000-04:00

Well I didn't make it to the grocery store or Once Upon a Child yesterday. Both of those things are a must today. I also need a shower and I have some paperwork to fill out before TJ and I go to the neurodevelopmentalist this afternoon. Also it's trash day. If nothing else the recycling needs to go out, as it hasn't been taken in the last several weeks and the bin is overflowing.

Fell all the way down the steps yesterday evening. On the first hit I landed on my left butt cheek/thigh. I've got a bitch of a bruise there this morning and I can't put any pressure on it without pain. As soon as I was able to get up, I called my chiropractor and was at his office within 30 minutes. I think getting an immediate adjustment will really help me not be as sore as I'd be otherwise.

My Morning Walk

2009-09-30T08:51:00.001-04:00

Yeah, it's been nearly a year since I last posted. We're not going to get into that.

TJ started preschool a few weeks ago. His school is less than a mile from our little four square, so we walk to school each morning. It's a lovely walk through our neighborhood and local village and one I'm beginning to enjoy quite a bit. I get to have a nice chat with TJ on the way there and a few minutes to enjoy the fresh air and my quiet thoughts on the way home.

Today I was thinking that a few years ago I belonged to an online group where we shared our thoughts, goals, plans, joys, and concerns for the day each morning. Since I left the group (for reasons that aren't important here), I haven't really done that and I've realized I've missed typing it out. It was a good way to start the day. Sometimes it got things off my chest that I felt were important and once I typed them out realized they weren't. Sometimes it helped me organize my day. Sometimes it was simply a nice way of saying "I saw a beautiful sunrise this morning." (Which TJ and I did today).

So...this morning's post.....

Today I really should get off my bottom and go to the grocery store. I've been putting it off the last two days with the excuse I still don't feel well. And I really don't yet feel well (cold and ear infection for the last 3 weeks), but it needs done. I also need to go to Once Upon a Child to find a black shirt for TJ's Darth Maul Halloween costume. And since Junebug puked on my bed last night, I've got sheets and a comforter to wash today.

TJ's curiosity was in full peek this morning. He had to investigate everything and I mean everything on the way to school this morning. He left no stone unturned. I wish his teachers good luck. They are going to need it today.

And the sunrise was stunning this morning. There were a lot of black storm clouds overhead as we left the house, but as we walked and the sun rose, the storm clouds moved their way across the sky. The sun came up behind them turning the clouds to a lovely deep pink. It even caused TJ to stop to look and appreciate it.

Pics of the New Puppy

2008-10-08T00:26:00.003-04:00

So here's some pics of the puppy I adopted in one of my many moments of weakness and insanity. Her name is Junebug after the mother in the book SkipppyJon Jones. I brought her "home" (i.e. back to my parents' on July 3, a day after W and my 15th wedding anniversary.)

From Junebug

The Last Four and a Half Months...

2008-10-07T23:10:00.008-04:00

...in as much of a nutshell as I can muster.

Okay, so I haven't updated in forever for a very good reason. On May 17 my dad (who is paralyzed called to ask me to come help care for he and Mom, as Mom had what we all thought was a stomach virus. She hadn't kept anything down for 3 days. I took Mom to the ER as soon as I got there since it was obvious she was dehydrated. The ER doctor confirmed that she was, indeed, severely dehydrated, but she was also severely anemic. He sent her to a larger hospital an hour away for further testing.

Twenty-four hours later Mom was receiving a blood transfusion. (We still haven't figured out if she had 2 or 3 units.) Another 24 hours later she was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer in her stomach. Her stomach was pumped of more blood than I care to even think about. After two more days of trying to get her to eat, take her meds, or keep anything down that we actually managed to get in her, more tests were run. Final diagnosis: bleeding ulcer and bowel obstruction; the bowel obstruction is what caused the ulcer.

The docs decided to let the bowel obstruction pass itself. On May 30 (six days after her 70th birthday), Mom showed no signs of improvement, so her surgeon decided it was time to do exploratory surgery. They found a tumor, so Mom underwent a bowel resection.

On June 3, Mom was admitted to a rehab center (read nursing home) supposedly for a week to continue her recovery. After being in bed for nearly three weeks, atrophy had set in the muscles in her legs so severely she could hardly walk. Because she had to discontinue use of the anti-inflamitory med she was taking for the osteoperosis in her hips, she was and still is in great amounts of pain. Fast forward to July 10. Dad and I walked into Mom's room at the rehab center whereupon Mom announced "I want to go home - NOW! TODAY!!!" We couldn't get ahold of her doctor to discharge her that day, so she was discharged on July 11. Upon discharge she was still using a walker and occasionally a wheelchair to get around.

Mom had in-home physical therapy through August when she was discharged against her wishes. (Read Medicare wouldn't pay for any more sessions.) She's still using a walker 80% of the time. Sometimes she uses a cane, and when she forgets to grab something, she actually walks without using anything at all. She cannot drive due to the pain. She can't get her foot off the gas peddle and onto the brake quickly enough.

So...from May 17 through May 31, I spent the majority of every day sitting in a hospital room watching Mom getting her stomach pumped, holding puke buckets, washing her hair, and helping her to the bathroom. In the evenings I spent my time attempting to clean up their disaster of a house, caring for their blind diabetic dog and doing mountains upon mountains of laundry. My brother finally got leave to come visit on May 26, so he and SIL drove up for a week. I got a 4 day break to come home to see TJ and W. It was by far the longest I'd been away from TJ and I was to the point of crying myself to sleep every night from exhaustion and missing him.

Went back to help Dad and move Mom to the rehab center on June 2. SIL and I made plans then for her to come back up to relieve me in two weeks. From the way she talked then and had talked earlier in their visit, I was given the impression we would alternate every two weeks until Mom and Dad didn't need us any longer. Went back home to see W and TJ on June 15 (Father's Day) through June 24 (Mom and Dad's anniversary.) At that point I understood that SIL would come relieve me somewhere around July 6 or 7.

After asking SIL several times and her jerking me around several times, I finally left a voice mail on July 10 asking her "Straight up. Are you coming to releive me or not." Within five minutes my brother called Dad. He told Dad that SIL wanted him to give me the message no, she was not coming back up to help me care for my parents. Okay...so I KNOW I was asking her to care for MY parents. But I was asking her because SHE had just weeks earlier volunteered. Neither my brother or SIL have bothered to contact me since, and I'm not interested in having a conversation with them yet either.

Meanwhile TJ was getting bounced back and forth between our house in Roanoke with W and at my in-laws' in Bristol. Every time I talked to him, or on the rare chances I had to actually see him, he begged me to take him "home to house in Roanoke." *sigh* On July 18 (I think), I drove over to my in-laws' house and brought him back to my parents' with me. As much as I missed him, it was a huge mistake. Between the stress of caring for Mom, Dad, the blind diabetic dog, the cat and the puppy I adopted in a moment of weakness and insanity, adding caring for TJ was just too much. And we had such bad days that I was afraid taking him back to the in-laws' would cause him to think I really didn't want him. I was so torn between taking TJ back and keeping him with me. I made the decision to keep him with me. I'm still not sure if that was the best decision or not.

Finally, finally on July 28, TJ and I packed up and went "back to house in Roanoke." Mom seemed to be feeling more confident, although still using the walker, as I've already noted. And both parents seemed to be getting along fairly well. TJ and I went back two weeks later to check up on them, do some things around the house they can't do and to celebrate Dad's birthday. I spent a week there; TJ spent part of his time at my in-laws'. We then went back 4 weeks later again to check on them, to take both parents to various and sundry doctor appointments, and do some things around the house. TJ again spent much of his time at the in-laws'. We plan to go back again next weekend sometime for more of the same, in addition to celebrate TJ's birthday with the grandparents. Oh, and between our two trips back to Mom and Dad's we took a quick trip with the in-laws to Dollywood.

TJ has had an absolutely horrible time adjusting to all the bouncing around and traveling. And then a month ago, I made the very bad choice of switching TJ from his toddler bed to a twin bed. His behavior has been horrible, and I have struggled too trying to remember how to parent, especially under more stress than I've been under since he was a newborn. TJ all but shut down, which even people outside the family have noted. One day at school at Jen's, ran out of the room, hid under her guest bed and sobbed to her about all the things that had been going on. Obviously he couldn't articulate things well, but he did sob specifically about Mommy taking his bed, blankets, stuffed animals and pillows away. *sigh* Things are improving slowly but surely. It helps that we've actually finally spent more than 2 weeks at home since the middle of April.

Oh and for those of you thinking it, yes, I'm seeing a counselor to get through all this. She says she's surprised I'm functioning at all after all that's happened the last four and a half months.

We Will Prevail

2008-04-17T00:25:00.003-04:00

Today (technically yesterday) was the anniversary of the Virginia Tech Shootings. I knew it was coming up, but I lose track of days very easily. Having nothing prepared as originally planned, my rememberance will instead be quiet and repetative:

“We are Virginia Tech.

We are sad today and we will be sad for quite awhile. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are strong enough to know when to cry and sad enough to know we must laugh again.

We are Virginia Tech.

We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did not deserve it but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, but neither do the invisible children walking the night to avoid being captured by a rogue army. Neither does the baby elephant watching his community be devastated for ivory; neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy.

We are Virginia Tech.

The Hokie Nation embraces our own with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid. We are better than we think, not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imagination and the possibility we will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears, through all this sadness.

We are the Hokies.

We will prevail, we will prevail.

We are Virginia Tech."

~Nikki Giovanni

Growl-y Momma Bear

2008-02-20T20:44:00.003-05:00

Okay, I don't do confontation. Not with adults and not with kids. I have pulled TJ out of situations where he was getting plowed down by bigger kids in playlands or playgrounds, but I have not confronted the kids or the parents about it. Until Monday....

We went to the local skate center, which also has a huge play area, Monday for our playdate. Being President's Day, the place was packed. As usual, it took a long time for TJ to get warmed up to the place with all the kids there. He does not like crowds, loud noises or older kids. Monday he got all three. I stuck with him in the play area to get him comfortable. He found a bouncy thing he wanted to get on and waited quite patiently for some girls to get finished with it. Two did, and another got on (who had been waiting too). I told TJ to ask the other girl (about 7) who had been on the thing the whole time we had been standing there if he could have a turn. TJ built up his courage and asked. When he did the first girl (about 9) turned to him and said quite rudely, "She's my sister and has to stay with me." I let it go and told we'd find something else to do and then come back. But I gotta tell ya, I was pretty miffed.

So later, TJ, Mark (Jen's 3 yr old) and I were going up the foamy steppy thing to get into the main play area. This 7ish year old comes barging up and pushed both boys out of the way. Momma Bear awoke. Momma Bear was not happy. I grabbed that kid by the back of the shirt and yelled at him not to push the boys down. "You need to wait until they are up."

And then....TJ and Mark found a nice quiet place to play that was somewhat disconnected to rest of the play area. There was a tunnel like thing to run through, a few steps and a short slide to come down. TJ hates slides. He has a horrible fear of slides. But he was having a good time on this one. No one else was around, but Jen and me. The boys were estatic. Suddenly out of no where about 4 older - 10 to 12 year olds? - came running by as fast as they could, into the tunnel and down the slide. I didn't see either of our boys and assumed there was an area in the back of the tunnel they were playing in. The older boys made another lap through, followed immediately by a screaming, tearful Mark. I went to the entrance to the the tunnel and there was TJ huddled in a corner bawling his eyes out too.

Well, that did it. Momma Bear scooped up her Bear Cub and came charging full force. I screamed at those kids at the top of my lungs, and I didn't stop screaming until Jen pulled me off of them. I'm not sure exactly what was said at this point, but something along the lines of "Watch where your going! You plowed down two 3 year old kids in there! You scared my son to death!" Jen, who usually is the confrontational one, started telling the kids calmly "You can use this area, just watch out for little ones." The bigger kids didn't come back.

Anonomous Commenting

2008-02-16T12:03:00.001-05:00

There are one or more folks who choose to comment anonomously to certain posts of mine LOOOOOOOONG after I've made the post. This person or persons choose to slam me for things I say in the heat of the moment or when I'm feeling especially tired/frustrated/cranky. And frankly I'm getting tired of it.

I wouldn't mind so much if the person would comment with his/her username, but to post anonomously is cowaradice and rude. Since I moderate all my comments to avoid spam, I can choose whether or not to let these comments go through. To this point I've just let them go through, figuring everyone has a right to his/her opinion. But I'm pretty much done with this pettiness. Since I don't really get many comments anyway, I'm considering closing commenting options altogether.

Living with a mental illness, raising a child, and struggling day to day to make ends meet is difficult enough, but to be ridiculed for things I say in my personal journal is honestly more than I am willing to deal with at this point of my life. I have better things to concentrate on.

So....Anonomous Commenter, go find someone else to pick on. I'm weary of it all.

It Shouldn't Bother Me....

2008-02-15T10:49:00.002-05:00

but it does.

For his birthday, W's parents give him $100 or more.

For TJ's 3rd birthday, W's parents gave him 5 $25 and up toys, an entire wardrobe for the fall, and a large kid size picnic set.

For my birthday, W's parents gave me a 99 cent card - a month late. (Last year I did get a blouse with the $3 clearance sticker sitll on on it. The year before that I didn't get anything).

It really isn't the "stuff". I'm trying hard to "de-stuff" my life anyway. The gesture, or lack thereof, just makes me feel as though I'm being pushed further and further out of the family.

Mommy Lesson #101

2008-02-14T23:23:00.003-05:00

If you tell your 3 year old he can chose ANY toothbrush on the "kid's toothbrush" shelf at the grocery store, be prepared to buy the $6 rotating head Spiderman toothbrush. I.e. the most expensive one on the shelf.

I'm consoling myself with the fact that at least he didn't choose the $6 Barbie toothbrush. Not that there would be anything wrong with that.

Of Probability and Pregnancy

2008-02-11T23:03:00.000-05:00

W commented to me over the weekend that my breasts looked bigger. Then this morning, whilst in the shower, he said my nipples were changing color. I told him that wasn't a good sign; the last time those two things happened at the same time we ended up with TJ. Since I've got an IUD and have 2 years before it needs replaced, I didn't worry too much.

But...this morning after dropping TJ off at school I bought a HPT anyway. Took it at Jen's house later. It was negative. I was (am) relieved.

This Really Burned Me

2008-02-08T21:33:00.000-05:00

This evening was Free Friday at the local science museum. It's in the same "center" as the art museum and the history museum. So the art museum offered free admission for a few hours too.

Jen, Sarah and I took the boys to the science museum and on the way out decided to take them down to the art museum for a few moments. It's a small gallery, but they had a new exhibit featuring photos of country music stars. Seeing as how I lived in Nashville for 11 years, I was especially interested.

So we got to the art museum and the boys were a little hyped up. They ran into the lobby of the museum and found the first glass door thinking it was the door to go through. It was instead the administrative offices. But the lady who was still there working was friendly and even gave the boys some chocolate bars left over from a fundraiser. We let the boys have their treat in the lobby while we explained to them that they could not touch anything and they needed to calm down before we could go into the gallery.

And they did calm down. They really were trying hard to behave. But Mark saw a computer screen and touched it. Then TJ poked it. After all, they had been allowed to poke computer screens in the science museum 10 minutes ago. And those computer screens rewarded them by playing a video or showing some interesting pictures. This one didn't. It was a digital photo on display.

(And while this post isn't about the digital photo the boys touched, can I just say: Who the hell decided that putting a piece of digital art at the eye level of a preschooler was a good idea anyway????)

As soon as TJ poked the computer screen/digital art I grabbed his hands and firmly reminded him "No touching. No touching anything. This is a piece of art." Thomas' actions prompted the security gaurd to approach us, quite rudely. "Ladies, we have rules in this museum. (Yes, that's exactly what he said verbatim). You and your boys cannot touch the exhibits and we have to ask you to be quiet. If you can't follow our rules, you'll have to leave."

Okay, so the boys were loud in the lobby of the museum - well away from the gallery itself. And two of them touched an piece of art. I GET IT. But we were not being irresponsible parents and letting the boys run rampant through the place like a bunch of wild horses. We were reminding our boys of the "rules" as the gaurd approached us. In fact I was still telling TJ "no touch," and still holding his hands when the gaurd walked up.

And what REALLY peeves me is that Sarah's mother-in-law donates a significant amount of money to that museum. Significant. As in, if she wants to visit the museum after hours, she gets to, no questions asked.

Sarah and Jen left the museum about 5 minutes before TJ and I did because I did have to pull TJ aside and remind him to keep his voice down and stay with me. He really wasn't making that much of a scene. He was trying to get Mark to follow him, but the security gaurd glared at me and started to approach again. After Sarah and Jen left the security gaurd basically stalked TJ and me. By this point I had picked TJ up and was carrying him anyway so he could see the photos. When I put TJ down for a few moments to look at a very low sculpture, the gaurd resortd to following me about 10 feet behind until we left the museum.

I've had experiences with security gaurds in museums before that have been embarassing, but significantly more pleasant. While at the Cleveland Museum of Art (highly recommended), I was looking at Andy Warhol's Marilyn a bit too closely and stepped on the security strip in the floor. The embarassing thing was, I was trying hard to be aware of how close I was to the art, but forgot to mind the security strip. The gaurd there approached me (and rightly so) but was exceedingly pleasant. And never bothered me again the rest of my 3 hour visit.

This has really gotten me so peeved and upset I'm toying with the idea of writing the administrator. I'm sure if I mention my companions I would get a formal appology. If the museum is going to offer free admission on the same day that the hands on science museum is, the employees need to be more prepared to welcome small children into the gallery. (And for God's sake, move the digital art out of the reach of a curious preschooler!)

A Note to People Using My Kitchen

2008-01-17T19:49:00.000-05:00

While generally I appreciate help around the house, the kitchen is my domain. If you must use it, please mind the following things.

1) The trash can is in plain sight for a reason. Please don't leave trash scattered around on the kitchen counters.

2) There are also dish towels hanging everywhere around the kitchen for a reason. There is no reason to use a paper towel to dry your fingertips 6 times a day.

3) Steak knives are for steak, pork, chicken eaten at the table. Please do not use them to slice tomatoes, spread mayo, cut sandwiches, etc. There are plenty of knifes in the same knife block for those purposes.

4) And while we're at it, for the love of goddess, PLEASE do NOT put my expensive wooden handled knives in the sink. The water ruins the handles.

Two Years in Review - ABC Style

2007-12-18T08:59:00.002-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

In honor of our toddler/preschooler Thomas, we thought we’d do something different this year with the annual Christmas/holiday letter. Since we did not manage to get greetings out to you last year, some of our news will encompass 2006 as well.

A – Wade and Laura celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary in July. Thomas is learning his alphabet. He understands what words and letters are. He knows that “T” is for Thomas and “W” is for Wade. He can also almost sing the alphabet song all the way through.

B – Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my! Visiting the zoo continues to be Laura and Thomas’ favorite summer morning activity. They often attend with their friends Jennifer and Mark. Mark is 3 weeks younger than Thomas and the two of them are best buddies.

C – Laura’s brother Joe and family came to visit in July. While Alex and Kirsche (Joe’s son and daughter) are older than Thomas, he became enthralled by his cousins. The three of them played quite happily and peacefully most of the day together. We are all looking forward to another visit with them during the holidays.

D – Dinosaurs ROAR! Thomas and Laura made a trip in October to Washington, DC to visit the Museum of Natural History for the sole purpose of seeing “dinosaur bones.” Thomas’ interest in dinosaurs hasn’t waned much over the last two years. They also visited “Aunt Holly” (Laura’s college housemate) and the Air and Space Museum.

E – Thomas is still showing signs of becoming an engineer as an adult (or zookeeper – See Z). Laura fully expects to discover a completely dismantled DVD player by the time Thomas is 4 years old.

F – The Latham family’s pet – a female beta fish named Mavis – is still a live and kicking, much to Wade’s surprise. He was certain Laura would kill it within the first few weeks. She lives on the kitchen counter and when she’s really lucky she gets fed and clean water. Mavis, named for a Thomas the Tank Engine train, has been with us since July 2006.

G – Both sets of grandparents insist on visiting as much as possible. We are truly blessed to have them both living within 2 hours.

H – Our 1926 four square house is still keeping us warm and dry – most of the time. Older homes have their quirks for certain. None of the doors latch correctly, save the bathroom door and the basement door. The windows and outside doors are drafty. And occasionally if we get too much rain (which hasn’t been a problem this year) it rains down the chimney and the wall in the sunroom. But it’s our home and we love living here, for all its ups and downs.

I – We are happy to report that Laura’s brother Joe has returned from his second tour in Iraq late 2006. Joe is now a drill sergeant at Ft. Benning, GA.

J – On the job front, Laura went to work at Hancock Fabrics in March 2006 a few days a week to get out among adults and to supplement the household income. The store she was working in closed in May 2007. She is now staying home full time with Thomas again and establishing an online business sewing toys and children’s accessories on etsy.com. Wade left his position at Sears Home Improvement in April 2006. He is working for himself doing contract work with sign companies in Nashville, under the business name Latham Solutions. He travels a lot, but if we’re really lucky, he comes home on the weekends.

K – Wade’s travels the last two years took him to many states, United Kingdom, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Unfortunately Laura and Thomas have yet to go on a trip with Wade.

L – On a sad note, we lost a good friend and neighbor, Sam, this year to throat cancer. It was rather sudden and quite a shock to his family and friends. His wife Linda, still lives beside us and fortunately has no immediate plans to move.

M – On a happier note, we are still friends with Jennifer, Mike, and their son Mark. Thomas and Mark adore each other, and Jennifer makes a great Mom friend to Laura. (see B).

N – Numbers, numbers everywhere! Our budding preschooler is recognizing numbers and using them frequently. He’s a bit obsessed with them, especially “five.” Thomas can count to 11 – why 11, we’re not sure – and can recognize several of his numbers, including 1, 3, and 5.

O – For those of you wondering, Wade and Laura have decided – at least for now – that one child is enough. Perhaps if we weren’t older parents, we would consider another, but we think Thomas will be an only.

P – Thomas is potty trained! He’s such a heavy sleeper, his body doesn’t often tell him to wake up. He still wears pull-ups at night. But he often stays dry through the night or wakes one of the parental type figures to help him with a bathroom trip. We are all grateful to have Thomas out of diapers during the day, though.

Q – All in all we are leading a fairly quiet, simple life these days. It doesn’t seem like it on a day to day basis, but as we reflect on the last two years, there hasn’t been too much extra excitement.

R – Reduce, reuse, recycle, has become our new mantra, especially Laura’s. She tends to make Wade and Thomas a little crazy with her zeal. “Reading” is one of Thomas’ favorite pastimes. He consumes books. In a 6 week period this summer, Thomas was read over 50 new books, at his request.

S – Laura has taken up sewing, a side effect of working at a fabric store. Her mother bought her a sewing machine summer 2006.

T – Thomas, of course. He is truly the light of the lives around him, especially his parents and grandparents. While a very active boy, he is also studious, inquisitive and loving.

U – The Latham Family has been attending the Unitarian Universalist Church of Roanoke off and on now for the last two years. Laura and Thomas are starting to become more involved. With Wade’s travel schedule, it’s more difficult for him to attend and be involved on a regular basis.

V – We are also still friends with Sarah, Chris and 4.5 year old Vedant, who adores Thomas just as much as Thomas adores him.

W – Thomas’ held off walking just long enough not to be able to report it in our 2005 Christmas letter. By New Year’s weekend 2006, he was making a few attempted steps. Three days later, he stood up, started walking, and hasn’t slowed down since. Our friends call him an escape artist because if you let him loose anywhere, you can rest assured, he will find and use the exit.

X – Once again, we escaped the year without X-Rays or any major illnesses. At the rate Thomas goes, though, I expect we won’t be able to report an injury free year much longer. He keeps Wade and Laura on their toes!

Y – If Laura hears one more why question, she may very well scream. Ahhh…life with a 3 year old. It’s just one annoying phase or habit to a next.

Z – Thomas was a zookeeper for Halloween this year. A very fitting choice, as it wouldn’t surprise his parents he ended up working with animals later in life. Aside from dinosaurs (see D), Thomas’ other obsession is animals. His current favorite animal is a giraffe.

Wanton Consumerism - Blog Action Day

2007-10-21T13:08:00.001-04:00

Last Monday was Blog Action Day to raise awareness for our earth's depleting resources. I was on a trip to DC to show the little guy, TJ, dinosaur bones and wasn't able to get on a computer to post. So...a week late, here is my view on going green, the environment and our resources.

Today I shuffled summer clothes out of TJ's closet and shuffled fall/winter clothes in. The child has more clothes than any human should reasonably have. In fact I would call his wardrobe excessive. And he's 3 years old! Before I even put new clothes in his closet, I was sorting them into keepers and give aways.

Now granted many, many of these clothes are second hand purchases and hand-me-downs. After he grew out of baby shower gifts, his wardrobe has consistently comprised of second hand items. I am not ashamed to put him in used clothes, and since labels that are traditionally a bit more pricey (OshKosh, in particular) tend to fit him better, I would rather find in good condition used clothing than spend a fortune on new with tags clothing. In addition to saving me money on clothes that will only be worn a season or two before they are outgrown or destroyed (the boy is very rough on clothes), I'm also helping to save our earth's depleting resources and saving children from working in undersirable and dangerous sweat-shop conditions.

But the sheer volumns of clothing currently sitting in the middle of my guest room to give away before TJ even gets a chance to wear them leaves me re-evaluating consumerism. Is it enough to simply buy second-hand, whether it be from yard sales, consignment shops or thrift stores? Consumerism is consumerism and an overabundance of anything, first hand or second hand, doesn't serve to help anyone. Buying 25 shirts for a toddler, no matter where they came from is excessive.

Thrift stores still need to ship clothing from store to store and some even ship to underdeveloped countries. Shipping increases carbon dixoide emissions into the atmosphere. Every store I've been in to, thrift and consignment, offers plastic bags to their customers. Plastic bags create off-gassing and polute our land and oceans. (How many of you have seen a plastic bag fluttering in a tree or wrapped around a electric wire). Then there's the overhead stores need to operate - electricity, fixtures, water, paper, etc. All items coming from primarily non-renewable resources.

I'm not to the point of boycotting second-hand shops altogether, but I am at the point of re-evaluating how and when I choose to shop for TJ. I think the first step in this process is to inventory clothing items (and, for that matter, toy items, which I also purchase primarily second-hand) so I know what I have for him for upcoming seasons, rather than just guess. Then when I go to a shop, I can say to myself "TJ has x number of size x pants. He doesn't need any more." Or, "TJ only has x number of size x shirts. He could stand x number more."

My efforts are only a drop in the bucket, but if we had everyone making baby steps, off-gassing, carbon dioxide emissions, and pollution would drop considerably. Then, maybe, just maybe, saving a dying planet might not feel so overwhelming.

101 Things Update - #98

2007-10-11T20:09:00.000-04:00

#98-Try one new recipe from each cookbook I own.

Made my 3rd recipe today. It turned out fairly well, but I think W and TJ liked it better than I did. From the cookbook, Crockery Dinners I made Bean and Rice Stuffed Peppers. It's a 5 ingredient recipe, which was nice. And I was able to use fresh green peppers that TJ and I picked at my friend Jennifer's family farm on Tuesday.

Bean and Rice Stuffed Peppers

4 medium green, red or yellow bell peppers
1 cup cooked rice
1 15 ounce can chili beans with chili gravy (think Bush's Beans for Chili)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 15 ounce can chunky tomato sauce with onion, celery and green pepper (I think this is supposed to be Rotel)

Remove tops, membranes and seeds from peppers. Stir together cooked rice, beans, and 1/2 cup cheese. Spoon into peppers. Pour tomato sauce into the bottom of a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker. Place peppers, filled side up, in cooker.

Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6 to 6.5 hours or on high heat for 3 to 3.5 hours. Transfer peppers to serving plate. Spoon tomato sauce over peppers and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

My notes: I didn't have Rotel or any other canned tomatoes with peppers and onion in them, so I used a can of plain tomato sauce and about 1/4 cup of salsa. I really liked this combination. I misread the recipe and used a cup of uncooked rice. You need to use a cup of cooked rice. I have a lot of rice mixture leftover. LOL

All in all this cookbook will be a keeper, as there are several other recipes in it that I'd like to try as well. This recipe was chosen today because I had all the ingredients on hand or could substitute something else and it didn't require a trip to the grocery store.

A Tough Question to Answer

2007-09-16T19:16:00.000-04:00

I took TJ to Pride in the Park this evening for a few hours. While there we listened to a bit of Doria Roberts' concert. (Which was quite good). Doria told us that she recently did the Vagina Monologues and did the "Moan Piece."

TJ turned to me and said "Mommy, what's the moanpiece?" I feigned deaf. "What, honey. Mommy didn't hear you." "Mooooooooommmmmmyyyy, WHAT'S THE MOANPIECE?"

*sigh* I told him that the Moan Piece was part of a play that Doria Roberts performed in and that it was a play for older boys and girls and adults. He seemed to be satisfied with that answer - for now. But I had to do some swift thinking to explain it so that TJ would understand and I didn't give more information than necessary.

As W told me, the questions are only going to get harder from here on out, but for a first really difficult question, this one was a doozy.

Life in the Fast Lane

2007-09-07T19:18:00.000-04:00

Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry

This pretty much sums up one of the major reasons I want to simplify and cut way back on our consumerism in this household.

Just Because....

2007-09-05T14:37:00.000-04:00

Our neighbor gave us some peaches and a watermellon in a big white basket as a thank you for cat-sitting over the weekend while she spent some time at the beach. It was completely unnecessary for her to give us a gift. However, I had to take a few pictures of the fruit simply because I think the green of the watermellon with the red and yellow of the peaches, trimmed with the white of the basket is just too pretty to let the opportunity to pass me by. I'm not a great photographer and don't claim to be, but here is my offering....

101 Things Update - Purge My Clothes

2007-08-29T20:41:00.000-04:00

This was in progress months ago, but had been abandoned. I was in a mood the other day and had time, as TJ was at his grandparents', so I purged. And purge, I did. By the time it was all said and done I had two full lawn and leaf bags of cast off clothing. There could have been more, but I am still too emotionally attached to some of the items and there may be a possibility I will be going back to work full time sometime soon. I didn't want to purge too many dress things until I knew what I'd be doing on the work front.

As soon as I got all the clothing gathered up I immediately posted them on Freecycle. While bagging them up I gave myself two "saves." One was a pair of pants that I pulled by mistake, thinking they were a pair that were badly stained. (I couldn't find the stained ones, so I must have already rid myself of them). The other "save" was a dress I really like and had pulled in the progress months ago. I had only purged it earlier because I had an over-abundance of dress clothes. With the idea I might go back to work, I kept it and discarded an iffy blouse in return.

101 Things Update - Macaroni and Cheese

2007-08-29T20:26:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I drug out a few cookbooks the other night and perused them looking for good recipes to try. One of them I've been through 3 times prior without success, so I finally put it in the garage sale pile. Of the other two, I found several possibilities in one and a couple in the other. Tonight TJ and I made Macaroni and Cheese from Classic American: Food Without Fuss. I know, mac and cheese. How boring. Well, yeah, sort of, but since it's just TJ and me I wanted to find something that he could help me with and something I felt strongly he would eat.

This turned out to be a very nice comforting dish that wasn't too creamy and wasn't too dry. It had just enough of a spark due to the dry mustard and the fact I added about a half a cup of pepper jack cheese to it. Rather than using sharp cheddar, I used a mix of colby and monterey jack. I also used small shell pasta, as I didn't have any elbow macaroni on hand. TJ has not eaten much today, but he certainly ate a decent portion of this (and two helpings of green beans, which doesn't surprise me in the least.)

Macaroni and Cheese

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
1 tablespoon butter
1 large egg, beaten
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon hot water
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350*.

Boil macaroni in salted water until just tender, according to package directions. Drain thoroughly and put the macaroni in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the butter, egg and pepper. Mix the salt, mustard and hot water and stir into macaroni. Add the cheese, holding back enough to sprinkle over the top (about a half a cup).

Pour the macaroni and cheese into a buttered casserole, sprinkle with reserved cheese and pour milk over everything. Bake for 45 minutes or until top is crusty.

Going Green and Living Simply

2007-08-27T15:00:00.000-04:00

Two things that have been the driving force behind my life for the last several months. For me, it's tied into spirituality. I see a real connection between the earth and my personal spirituality. It's something I'm finding difficult to explain, but I look up at the trees or down at the tiny flowers in the yard and I am filled spiritually. Putting food scraps in the trash hurts me emotionally and mentally. These things don't belong in a plastic bag to languish for infinity. They are meant to be returned to the earth - from whence they came. Dragging home plastic bag after plastic bag from the grocery store seems blasphemous and paper bags, well....that's just so wrong on so many levels, it pains me.

The other side of this is a drive toward reducing my consumption. I love to shop. I love the thrill of the hunt. I love to come home and brag about my bargins. I love everything there is about shopping. But very very little I manage to bring home are true needs. And even less that I bring home are things that get much use at all in the grand scheme of things. Add another factor in the mix, W and I are quite simply going broke. We literally have enough in the bank to pay the bills this month and that's it. After that, we have no idea what we're going to do. So even splurging on a "good deal" could mean the difference between being able to pay the electric bill or not. So I am trying very hard to not buy new and avoid thrift stores unless I feel there is something I "need." I did go thrifting the other day, most looking for fabric, but also for castoffs that could be refashioned into something else. It was a frivilous venture and probably my last hurrah before I begin to police myself quite strongly.

As part of my desire to severely reduce my consumption, I also purged my clothes yesterday and today. I have 2 full lawn and leaf bags of clothing posted on Freecycle right now. Some clothes still have the tags on them! (Although most of those are items from my MIL that I truly HATE and out of guilt felt I should keep). Even after my purge, my closet barely looks any emptier and my drawers are still brimming full. I suspect there will be another purge in the future, but I gave up as much as I could emotionally handle for now.

101 Things Update

2007-08-27T14:32:00.000-04:00

It's been a very very long time since I updated the 101 Things list. In fact for a while I sort of abandoned the list. I was living my life around it rather than letting it live around my life. (If that makes any sense at all). But it's always been in the back of my mind. So yesterday I sat down with the list and made some updates. There were some things I had done and some things I was able to cross off as completed. And there were some things I had completely forgotten about.

I was glad to see how many things on the list pertained to living a greener lifestyle and how many things were on the list that pertained to a simpler lifestyle. Living greener and simpler have been ideas I've been moving toward in the last few months, so I'm glad my ideas and goals 21 months ago were already reflecting that.

Some of the ideas on my list I'd like to update here:

The Friends and Family section has been about halfway completed. There were some things I'd forgotten about like calling cousin Mary and invite grandmotherly type lady to lunch. But there were some things that even if I had forgotten about, I still would have done like take TJ to the park (although I can't say I've done it once a week for a month. It's a little more sporadic than that), host playdates, and have a Mommy/Daddy weekend away.

Under Parenthood, we're working on potty training at the moment. I'm so glad to get TJ out of diapers. The expense to me and the enviroment, not to mention the chasing TJ all over the house to get a diaper changed were starting to wear on me a great deal. TJ only uses as diaper at naptime and at night now, although I'm starting to learn that he pees in his diaper at naptime just before he gets out of his crib. I'm going to rethink giving him one at naptime and see if he can wait until I get him to the bathroom to go. I have not finalized my will and at this point I'm not anxious to do so for one reason. W and I decided a long time ago to grant the out-laws guardianship of TJ in the event of our death. The more MIL is around TJ, the less I'm okay with that idea. She loves TJ to be sure, but she is overbearing, too unwilling to discipline and overprotective. Also there are a few items in this section that need rethinking as our lives have changed to make these items moot.

The items under Body, Mind and Spirit are the least of the items completed or even started. A rude reminder I need to spend more time taking care of myself. Of course some of these things require money we just don't have, although I did try hard earlier this year to get my cavities filled, to no avail.

A lot of the items under Home and Garden are in progress or will be soon. I've been waiting for W to help me out with some of these and have decided that I really don't need to wait. I should just do them on my own. W is either working/traveling or paralyzed with depression. Waiting for him will result in these items never getting done. (Although I must admit that the idea of using a chain saw to cut down those holly bushes terrifies me to no end!)

Again, in Record, several items are in progress or will be soon. I had to put off burning CD's, as both CD burners we own were on the fritz for a while. We've recently purchased a DVD/CD burner so I can get those items out of the way now.

Believe it or not, I forgot about many of the items in Social Action. Too wrapped up in my own life, I guess. But there are some I can begin working on shortly. And there are items that may need to be altered to reflect the fact we are a month away from bankruptcy.

I've been making good progress on Experience, thank goodness. Most of these have included TJ, which has been wonderful. I gave up on the cookbook challenge, as the next cookbook I was going to use produced no interesting recipes. So I think I'm going to alter this to say if I can't find a good recipe, out the cookbook goes. (Which frankly was part of the thought process behind this one anyway). I'm pondering whether or not I'm brave enough to take TJ tent camping by myself. Mmmmm...

And that brings us to Money and Tangibles. Removing an item for an item that comes into the house has proven to be difficult as I tend to purge in spurts, rather than on an individual basis. However, I'm challenging myself to try this one again. Starting a savings account for TJ can't happen until we have a bit of flexibility in our money matters, but it's something I continue to think about.

The complete 101 Things list is here, in addition to notes on many of the items.

Reflection on Using Cloth Shopping Bags

2007-08-26T13:59:00.000-04:00

If you give a bundle of cloth shopping bags to a cashier (especially a teenage boy cashier) be sure he understands he is to put your groceries IN the bags.

Today in the grocery store, I handed my odd collection of shopping bags to the cashier and he promptly shoved them in a plastic grocery bag. He then proceeded to bag my groceries in more plastic grocery bags. I had to explain to him what to do. His response: "I thought you were handing me a bunch of clothes." I grinned as politely as I could.

Would Someone Please Turn Off the Effing Heat?

2007-08-10T14:12:00.000-04:00

I don't mean to complain, but this is the 4th day in a row the temps have been over 100* and the heat index has been over 110*. While I generally like warm weather to cold weather, my central heat and air system nor my sweat glands can take much more of this. And TJ is getting awfully stir crazy. He does not understand why we won't let him go outside.

Meme, Meme, Meme

2007-07-16T14:29:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm currently too lazy to type a real post.

Are you taller than your mom?
No. She and I are the same height.

What color is your shower curtain?
The liner is clear. The curtain is white.

What is the closest thing to you right now that is red?
RED??? Why red? Looking...okay, W's St. Louis Cardinals hat hanging off his desk lamp.

What is your ring tone?
Eye of the Tiger.

Does anything hurt on your body right now?
My back, as usual, although I'm actually having a pretty good back day.

What color is your favorite pillow?
Well the pillow itself is white, but the pillowcase is pink.

What is your favorite video game?
I don't do video games.

Had a nap today?
Not yet. Will probably attempt one after I finish puttering.

Gold or Silver?
Depends on the context.

Is there an animal that creeps you out?
Snakes, rats, crickets.

Who was the last person you rode an elevator with?
TJ.

Did you go ice skating as a kid?
A few times. I never really enjoyed it much, as I don't like to be cold.

Ever have stitches?
Yep. At my c-section incision.

Favorite non-alcoholic drink?
Lemonade

How long ago did you hug someone?
About 30 minutes ago, upon putting TJ down for his nap.

What's something you want to do before you die?
Write a book.

Have you ever caught something on fire?
Nearly caught my room on fire in college when I lived in the house. I knocked a candle over on accident. I was so embarrassed I didn't tell my housemates.

Have you ever seen a ghost?
I think so. I do believe the former resident of this house hangs around occasionally.

Have you ever seen northern lights?
Nope.

Do you know how to use chop sticks?
Yes.

Name something good that happened today?
While rocking TJ for his nap, he looked at me and lovingly put his hand on my cheek. That is enough to make a momma's heart melt.

What room are you in?
Study/office/sunroom. Whatever you want to call it.

Are you worried about something you can't control?
Lots of things.

Do you take daily medications?
Yes. Celexa, vitamin E, glucosamine

Are you wearing nail polish?
LOL I haven't worn nail polish in 2 years.

What time is it?
2:38p.m.

Innie or Outie?
Innie.

Ever used a Ouija board?
Yes.

Sweet or Sour?
Sweet.

Sun or Moon?
Moon.

Favorite eye color of the opposite sex?
Green

Time of day you were born?
11:55p.m. I've heard the story often.

Do you know your blood type?
A- The Red Cross loves me.

Do you know how to kill a zombie?
Shoot it in the head. (I've watched way too many zombie movies with W.)

What would you spend 5,000 dollars on right now?
I'd repay my parents most of the 6K we owe them.

Name something annoying to you.
Whiney 2.5 year olds.

Which animal(s) remind you of yourself?
Cats

Whats your background on your computer?
TJ looking down on Beaver Creek along the Creeper Trail.

Did you grow up in the city or country?
Country.

Would you ever consider going on a reality tv show if offered a large sum of money?
I'd love to be on Amazing Race or the defunct The Mole.

Have you flown in your dreams?
Yes, I used to fly often in my dreams. Not so much any more.

What's one thing you're really good at cooking?
My mommy friends say I make a mean quiche.

Kisses or hugs?
Hugs.

You have 10 dollars to spend in the dollar store... what do you get?
Playdoh, balls, sand toys and a few gift bags.

Slurpee flavor?
Raspberry Ice.

Some sewing projects

2007-06-03T16:32:00.000-04:00

I've been considering making some baby items like taggy blankets, bibs, burp rags and wipes to sell online or at a local shop as a little WAHM business. I've also talked to my former boss at Hancock Fabrics briefly about attending some craft shows with her. That being said, I took some pics of some of the things I've recently finished to put online and to have incase I need to provide some pics of my work for anyone interested in selling my items on commission. So, here are a few of my finished pieces. (Clicky on the pic for more.)

Sewing projects

It's Not Easy Being Green

2007-06-02T23:21:00.001-04:00

Your Life is 64% Green

You live a very green life, and you're aware of how your actions help the earth.

Of course, it's hard to be totally green. But when you make a tradeoff, you know why you're making it.

How Green Is Your Life?

Paris, really?

2007-06-02T23:10:00.000-04:00

You Belong in Paris

You enjoy all that life has to offer, and you can appreciate the fine tastes and sites of Paris.

You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe.

What European City Do You Belong In?

High School Meme

2007-06-02T21:42:00.001-04:00

While I'm in the meme mood....

Stolen from Monkey, who stole it from Lee, who stole it from someone I don't know.

1. Who was your best friend? I had three. We were a "gang." Becky, Kathy and Tonja. Tonja and I had a falling out years ago; Becky has dropped off the face of the earth. Kathy and I still speak occasionally.

2. What sports did you play? HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!

3. What kind of car did you drive? I didn't get my drivers license until two days before I graduated, so therefore I didn't have a car to drive.

4. It’s Friday night, where were you? During football season I was in the stands with the rest of the marching band. Otherwise I was either cruising with a boyfriend or at home.

5. Were you a party animal? No. I didn't hit the party scene until college.

6. Were you considered a flirt? I don't think so.

7. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Yes. I was a band geek.

8. Were you a nerd? Yes, I was probably considered a nerd. Shame it wasn't cool to be a nerd then, huh?

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? Gods no. My mother would have killed me. I got after school suspension once and managed to finagle it so she didn't know.

10. Can you sing the fight song? Surprisingly no.

11. Who was your favorite teacher? Mrs. Barrett - 9th and 12th grade English.

12. What was your school’s full name? Yeah, not putting it here. Initials JCHS.

13. School mascot? Longhorns

14. Did you go to Prom? Yep.

15. If you could go back and do it over, would you? Hell no.

16. What do you remember most about graduation? I'd recently had my falling out with Tonja and was sad about that. Believe it or not I was also sad about graduating, even though I'd been in countdown mode for over two months prior.

17. Where were you on senior skip day? At my boyfriend's house losing my virginity. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

18. Did you have a job your senior year? No. I worked during the summers, but not during the school year.

19. Where did you go most often for lunch? The cafeteria. We only had 25 minutes and that was not long enough to sneak into town for Hardees.

20. Have you gained weight since then? Yes, about 30 pounds. But then again I had weight to gain.

21. What did you do after graduation? Went to dinner and a movie with my parents. I had been disinvited to Tonja's graduation party.

22. When did you graduate? 1987

23. Who was your Senior prom date? An ex, who I was still friends with. I had broken up with boyfriend I was with on senior skip day. My ex was a perfect date and I'm very glad I took him over anyone else. (I wonder what ever happened to him).

24. Are you going to your 10 year reunion? I did, yes, and had a blast! My 20th is supposed to be coming up this year, but I haven't heard anything about one yet.

25. Who was your home room teacher? We had a different one each year. I remember the room the first year, but not the teacher. No clue about the second year. Miss Bilheimer the third year and Mrs. McCraw the last year. Miss Bilheimer was fresh out of college and I adored her. She was cool and trendy and kind to the little band geek (me). I loved her; I think she felt sorry for me. However she was a suck teacher (I had her for English) and I learned later slept with several of her male students. She only lasted that one year.

8 Things Meme

2007-06-02T20:44:00.000-04:00

Em tagged me. And I haven't posted lately, so I thought I'd post.

The Rules: Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I have chronic back pain. It continually gets worse and it's starting to really scare me. There are days (like today) the pain is so bad I can hardly walk. Visits to the chiropractor are becoming futile attempts to keep the pain at bay. I fear more drastic measures may have to be considered soon. I try not to reveal how bad the pain is and I haven't discussed my fears about it with anyone - yet.

2. My real life friends don't know about this blog, although I'm going to make my debut with this meme and tag one of my real life friends with this meme.

3. I love to cook, but I hate to clean up afterward. I confess I often don't and leave the kitchen a disaster in the hopes someone else will clean up for me.

4. I'm terrified of crickets.

5. I'm teaching myself how to sew and want to start sewing baby items to sell as a little WAHM business.

6. About 3 years ago I donated 10 inches of my hair to Locks of Love. It took me about 2 years to grow my hair long enough for the donation. The only reason I didn't let it grow longer is once I got pregnant my hair got very dry and unmanageable. It was beginning to get rather damaged. So I cut it about 6 months sooner than I planned.

7. I am a bleeding heart liberal in a family of ultra-conservative Republicans. (My RL friend I'm tagging can relate).

8. I hide chocolate all over the house so W and TJ won't find it and I can have it to myself. Currently there is a box of Godiva chocolates and Godiva chocolate covered rasberries in my desk drawer and a box of Hershey's dark chocolate truffles in my nightstand drawer. I'm also pillfering at will TJ's massive M&M collection from Easter, which I've hidden on top of one of the kitchen cabinets.

I'm tagging the Monkey, who frankly has probably already been tagged and my RL friend Holly. If you're reading, didn't get tagged and want to play, feel free. :-)

Salad Days

2007-05-27T21:42:00.000-04:00

Gads, it's hot. Mid-nineties yesterday and upper eighties today. And I was outside most of the day both days. When I get hot like I have been the last two days, all I want to eat are cool salads. So I've been preparing up a storm for both the family and for our next door neighbor whose husband died Wednesday.

Here are two of the offerings headed next door and staying home tomorrow:

Tomato Peach Salad

4 medium tomatoes, diced (can use any variety...tonight I used a pint of grape tomatoes instead)
2 medium peaches, diced
3 tablespoons "fruity" olive oil
1 tablespoon torn or shredded fresh basil leaves
Dash of salt and pepper

Mix all together in a bowl and refridgerate several hours to let the flavors meld.

I have in the past made this with the addition of a tablespoon or so of raspberry vinegar with good results. My vinegar is not so much on the fresh side currently, so I omitted it tonight. Also the original recipe calls for some diced green onions, which I dislike raw. As a result, I have never added them.

Mom's Cucumber Salad

1 good sized cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons mayo

Liberally salt and pepper the cucumbers. Combine with the vinegar and mayo in a small bowl. Let refridgerate for several hours to let the flavors meld.

I personally like the dressing to this salad to be runny, hence the liberal salt. Mom always used apple cider vinegar, but I prefer the white wine vinegar instead. Also we always ate this salad as a relish of sorts (as we Southerners are so fond of), so this amount served 3-4 people. If you want to serve it more as a side dish, I would double the recipe.

I think I may try to make up a batch of Mock Chicken Salad for my neighbors and our house too before the heat wave has ended. That, however, requires a trip to the grocery store, so it may not happen before Tuesday or Wednesday.

Stupid Question Time

2007-05-13T20:53:00.000-04:00

I have 12 whole bannanas in my freezer that I would love to do something with. Aside from the obvious bannana bread, does anyone have any good ideas? Please post in the comments, or if you can't (Karen), email me. Thanks!!!!

Mind-numbing Repetition

2007-04-26T20:38:00.000-04:00

Conversations with a 2 year old are often mind-numbing. At least conversations with MY 2 year old are often mind-numbing. While we can have some wonderful conversations - he astounded me today by describing in detail a hotel stay we had in Novemeber - we can also have some conversations that I'm beginning to believe are designed to slowly drive me INSANE.
Examples:

TJ: Did you see that school bus?
Me: Yes, honey I did.
TJ: Did you see that school bus?
Me: Yes, I did. It was yellow.
TJ: Did you see that school bus?
Me: Yes, honey. I saw the school bus?
TJ: Did you see that school bus?
Me: Yes, I saw the school bus?
TJ: Did you see....
Me: Look, TJ! An airplane!
TJ: Did you see that airplane?

********************************

TJ: I want to see the lobbers (lobsters).
Me: Okay. Let's go see the lobsters.
TJ: I want to see the lobbers.
Me: We're going right now to see the lobsters.
TJ: I want to see the lobbers.
Me: Here are the lobsters right here. (After 5 minutes of telling me the same damn thing 700 times about the lobsters while I mentally calculate how long I have before we both melt down in the grocery store) Tell the lobsters bye-bye.
TJ: Bye-bye lobbers.
TJ: I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers. I want to see the lobbers.
Me: Enough already! We're not going to go back and see the lobsters.
TJ: I want to see the lobbers.
Me: Don't even mention lobsters again. Mommy's patience is wearing very thin.
TJ: I want to see the lobbers.
Me: Say lobsters one more time and we aren't going to buy any ice cream.
TJ: I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream. I want ice cream.
Me: HUSH NOW!

Blogging and Journalism

2007-04-18T21:22:00.000-04:00

I am generally opposed to blogging as journalism. I believe it smacks of unprofessionalism and worry about misreporting that can come of such hasty means of "reporting the news", not to mention the idea that "news" can be sent across cyber-space unedited and not fact checked. However, in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy, I have come to appreciate the idea of blogging in the journalism world in certain circumstances. The Roanoke Times has a running feed of events on their website blogstyle. There are glaring typo errors in places and some of the information seemed to be released a bit prematurely, but overall The Roanoke Times did a good job using modern technology in a manner that suited this kind of news event well.

"We are Virginia Tech"

2007-04-17T23:28:00.000-04:00

I have not yet blogged about the Virginia Tech tragedy as I haven't found the words to express the utter horrified grief I feel. And I may never find the words. I haven't felt this way since September 11, 2001. While comparing the two might seem inadequet, my emotions run the same.

I live 45 minutes from Virginia Tech. I can see one of the hospitals that is currently treating victims from the window I'm looking out of as I type this. I watched Air Force One fly overhead this afternoon on it's way to Blacksburg. I contine to pray for a freshman there who has babysat TJ in the past and will pray long after I hear whether or not she is one of the victims. I worry for my friend who lost a professor.

But there still no words from my own heart I can commit to paper or computer screen. So instead I share Nikki Giovanni's words spoken at today's memorial convocation:

“We are Virginia Tech.

We are sad today and we will be sad for quite awhile. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are strong enough to know when to cry and sad enough to know we must laugh again.

We are Virginia Tech.

We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did not deserve it but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, but neither do the invisible children walking the night to avoid being captured by a rogue army. Neither does the baby elephant watching his community be devastated for ivory; neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy.

We are Virginia Tech.

The Hokie Nation embraces our own with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid. We are better than we think, not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imagination and the possibility we will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears, through all this sadness.

We are the Hokies.

We will prevail, we will prevail.

We are Virginia Tech."

Movie Meme

2007-04-13T21:24:00.000-04:00

Found this on a RL friend's blog and thought it was interesting. And was shocked that she hasn't seen some of the "classics." But then again, she really isn't the kind of person to appreciate "Airplane."

As for me, I have watched 80 movies on the list. Although I will say that there are movies on this list I would have never watched had I not seen them with W. Noteably the Spiderman and X-Men movies and anything in the horror genre. I also didn't count anything I'd only seen partially.

If you want to play, copy this to your own blog and put and X beside each movie you've seen.

( ) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
( ) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
(X) Airplane
(X) The Princess Bride
( ) AnchorMan
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
(X) White Oleander
( ) Anger Management
(X) 50 First Dates
(X) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
(X) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(X) American Pie
(X) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(X) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(X) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
(X) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(X) Signs
( ) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30
(X) I, Robot
( ) Robots
( )Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(X) Along Came Polly
(X) Deep Impact
(X) KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
(X) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
( ) King Kong
( ) A Cinderella Story
(X) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(X)Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
(X) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
( ) Flubber
(X) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
(X) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
() The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(X) Ocean’s Eleven
( ) Ocean’s Twelve
( ) Bourne Identity
( ) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
() Ice Age
() Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
(X) Curious George
(X) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(X) E.T.
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
( ) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(X) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She’s All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
( ) Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
(X) The Terminator
(X) The Terminator 2
(X) The Terminator 3
(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
( ) X3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(X) Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday (The original, but not the remake)
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
() Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
(X) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf’s Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin
(X) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(X) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
( ) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
(X) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
() Hook
( ) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
(X) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(X) Waterworld
(X) Kill Bill Vol. 1
(X) Kill Bill Vol. 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix: Reloaded
(X) The Matrix: Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal

Embarassing Moment #135

2007-03-09T15:16:00.000-05:00

The very conservative grandmotherly type lady across the street came to sit with TJ today while I went to work for a few hours. When I got home, I realized I had left a bright yellow vibe and a huge bottle of lube sitting out on the corner of my desk for all the world to see.

My Brother is Home

2006-11-02T23:51:00.000-05:00

My brother has been stationed in Iraq for the last year (for the second time in 3 years). He finished is tour this week and we have been anxiously been awaiting his return safely to the States. My parents called a couple hours ago to tell us that he's HOME safe and sound.

We'll get to see him for Thanksgiving and then again for Christmas, if all goes as planned. But for now I'm just breathing a sigh of relief that he made it through his second Iraqi deployment safely.

Shutting Down

2006-10-04T23:10:00.000-04:00

I'm finding myself shutting down this week and at the worst possible time. I'm expecting 20 guests for TJ's 2nd birthday party on Saturday and I don't have anyone here to help me do the things I need to do to get ready.

I need my husband home and I need him home now - for more reasons than TJ's birthday party.

Rocky Road Trail Mix

2006-10-02T15:57:00.000-04:00

...or party food ramble.

TJ is having a Bob the Builder birthday party on Saturday. I'm just serving snacks and drinks rather than a full meal. So to get into the theme of things I made up my own trail mix.

1 cup chocolate chips or mini M&M's
1 cup mini marshmellos
1 cup lightly salted peanuts
1 cup raisins (I used golden to keep the mix from looking so brown)

Mix all together in a gallon sized ziplock bag.

To top it off, I'm serving the trail mix in a small tin paint bucket. The other trail mix I'm serving is Harvest Fun Trail Mix, which I'm renaming Sunflower Valley Trail Mix. (For those of you without tots, Bob the Builder lives in Sunflower Valley). I added some raisins to this mix in addition to the dried cherries because I didn't buy enough dried cherries to double the recipe. (Slight duh on my part, but it did give me the opportunity to use up the handful of raisins I had left over from the Rocky Road Mix).

Other food choices will be cheese and crackers, fruit kabobs, a veggie platter, and of course, cake and ice cream. I'll be making the cake myself and creating a Bob the Builder construction scene on the top. I've been collecting miniature vehicles, traffic cones, highway signs and Bob figures for months. I also bought some small trees at a hobby shop and have some rocks from TJ's dinosaur collection. The road will be made of crushed Oreos, and I'm still debating if I should put colored green coconut on for grass.

At any rate the trail mixes are done and I will bake the cake Thursday to decorate Friday. All the perishable stuff will be purchased and assembled on Friday.

Ferrick in Concert

2006-09-18T23:25:00.000-04:00

The concert was good. Would have been better had TJ not been anxious to wander rather than sit nicely and listen to music, but I didn't expect much less from him. He is, after all, not quite 2. While I really enjoyed the show, and I was really proud to be able to take TJ to Pride (no pun intended) there is a part of me that wishes I could have gone without TJ so I could have put my full concentration into the show. W was fantastic in keeping up with TJ to let me enjoy myself, but TJ really wanted and needed Momma a lot Sunday evening, which led to him sitting on my lap only to wander off a few moments later. Also we couldn't find a decent spot, even in the very back of the crowd, where TJ didn't complain about how loud the music was.

Melissa started with an oldie, which I've now forgotten. Not "Particular Place to Be," which is my favorite, but one that sounded like it, and if someone were to tell me the name of it, I'd immediately remember. If both of the CD's I own of hers weren't in the truck, I'd go get them both and look at the playlists. Then she sang a song off her new album, being released in a few weeks. It was called "Inside," and I loved it. Very raw and truthful, which is what I like about Melissa best. I related a lot to this song. Both of these were sung with just guitar. Afterward, the band came out and played the rest of the set with her. Everything else she did were new songs and then she ended with "Drive." Apparently someone from the audience requested "Drive" early in the show, to which she responded "Come on. 'Drive' early in the set. You don't blow your wad in the first 5 minutes." Got a great laugh. Aside from "Inside," I particularly liked the song she wrote about a relationship with a girl 10 years younger than her. (The flugahorn chick, perhaps?) I got the impression the relationship was over. I think the name of the song was "10 Years."

Melissa did look like she'd gained some weight based on photos I've seen Denise post recently. The last photos I saw of Denise's, Melissa looked positively ill. But Sunday night, she looked fairly healthy. She also thanked us for letting her come on a few minutes late so she could eat a cheeseburger before performing. (Her scheduled stage time was 5:00p.m. I think she started around 5:30p.m.) I should mention Dayna Kurtz opened for Melissa and was quite good, what I heard of her. I was busy trying to convince TJ to wear a rainbow bracelet I'd made for him and to come back to our blanket to listen to Melissa when she came on stage.

After the first song with the band, Melissa spotted a little boy about TJ's age wandering around near the stage. (In the top pic, check out the white space in front of all the lights and speakers). She looked down to him and said something to the effect of "Hey, little fella. Want to play the drums?" Well the next thing you know that little guy took it as his cue to join Melissa and Daren on stage. He crawled up and ran straight over to Daren and the drum set. Daren picked up the little guy, put him on his lap and gave the tot a set of drum sticks. (If you look closely, you can see the little fella on Daren's lap in the pic above). He then helped the boy play a bit, held him up to the crowd and then sent him on his way back to his momma. Melissa told Daren she didn't think she'd ever seen him with a child in his lap at the drums before. She was quite amused by the whole ordeal, as was everyone else in the crowd.
(Edited to add two more pics and correct some typos. Check TJ's blog for more photos of him - and me - at the concert.)

Concert Tonight

2006-09-17T13:53:00.000-04:00

I'm finally going to get to see Melissa Ferrick in concert tonight at Roanoke Pride! It's only going to be an hour long concert, but it's early enough that I will take TJ to the concert too. It'll be my first Pride festival, surprisingly. I never managed to make it to Pride in Nashville.

It's 8:30. Do you know where your car is?

2006-09-09T20:37:00.000-04:00

LOL W has been taking my Saturn, Lena, on his trips and leaving me with his yet to be named Explorer because Lena gets better gas milege. He joked with me yesterday that Lena had been on a ferry yesterday morning and would be again yesterday evening - a first for the ol' girl. So I awoke this morning to pics of Lake Champlain and Lena on the ferry crossing Lake Champlain.

Isn't that sunset beautiful?

Godiva-worthy?

2006-09-03T16:10:00.000-04:00

Remember the Seinfeld episode when Elaine discovers the Today Sponge has been taken off the market and she buys several cases of them to stockpile. But then she can't decide if a date is "sponge-worthy" or not.

Well I buy seasonal Godiva chocolates at The Fresh Market once the holiday is over and they are marked to half price. Then for the rest of the year I debate with myself whether or not a bad day is "Godiva-worthy." Today is one of those days. It hasn't been a particularly bad day, but my depression is hitting hard again (back to school time is always difficult for me). I've been sitting here for two hours deciding if I really want to waste a Godiva chocolate on a day when I'm so depressed or if because I'm depressed, a Godvia chocolate would be a nice treat.

Perhaps I should just eat one and get it over with, then chase it with a second Celexa.

Edited to say that I decided today was indeed Godiva-worhty. I dug out my stash of Godiva to discover I only had the white chocolate shell left, which contains hazelnut/chocolate cream. And it's the BEST and my debate with myself was about to begin again when I then discovered half a Dagoba chocolate bar hiding in the same drawer. I ate it instead and savored every bite. :-)

And If That Weren't Enough....

2006-08-28T00:06:00.000-04:00

I've lost my keys - Explorer, including the only clicker we have; house and my parents' house. I have searched the house over and turned up nothing. I'm starting to think they got left at Applebee's last night. Am planning on calling them in the morning.

Silent Explosion

2006-08-27T23:54:00.000-04:00

What I would really like to do right now is go out on my deck and spontaniously combust. I'm frustrated enough to. The only thing stopping me is the fact that the sirens would surely wake TJ who has lost quiet enough sleep this week already without his mother bursting into flames out of frustration under his bedroom window.

I've been working on a photo caption editing contract for the last 3 weeks. It's paying...well, but not fantastic. But still paying well enough to accept the contract and eat the few expenses involved. My deadline is tomorrow, which meant I should have FedEx'd the photos (4G worth) back to the company in Nashville yesterday. That might have happened if I could have gotten at least ONE of the three CD burners in the house to actually burn a fucking CD. Since yesterday at lunch time I've probably put in 14 hours trying to burn 6 or so CD's. I've actually managed to burn 2 that I think are okay. I burned another one, that due to my frustration level, contained unedited files. And there are another 6 CD's in my trash can that none of the computers in the house are willing to read.

I am absolutely at my wit's end. I have an external hard drive on order at Best Buy to pick up tomorrow once the store opens. I do not have the patience, time or energy to attempt burning one more CD. It will be worth it to me to eat another $100 in expenses to get this project off my desk!

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!

What's This Thing Doing in My House Monday?

2006-08-21T01:43:00.000-04:00

No, it's not just a sewing machine box. It's a box with a sewing machine in it. This is a gift from my mother. I told her my boss offered this machine to me at $10 below cost (about 60% off)because they are being discontinued. I.don't.sew. I haven't even sat down at a sewing machine since I took home ec my freshman year in high school with the alcoholic teacher. (You quickly learned not to drink the fruit punch in the fridge; it wasn't just fruit punch.)

Not only did I drag home a sewing machine the other day I also drug home fabric. I brought home fleece to make TJ a blanket for his birthday:

Flannel to make TJ a...uhm...any ideas on what to make with 3/4 yard of footprint flannel that I thought was too cute to pass up?

And rich brown cotton with silver geometrics to make myself a pair of drawstring pants:

Coolest Freebies EVER

2006-08-17T21:32:00.000-04:00

I got home this evening from a very long trip to my parents' to celebrate my dad's birthday. I was tired and frustrated when I got to the door with a half asleep tot who, praise be to God, went back to sleep as soon as his little body hit the crib. I went back out to the porch to gather the mail and discovered a package from Amazon.com.

Now, I have the Fisher Price Little People Ramps Around Garage on order from Amazon.com, but the last time I checked, it wasn't ready to be shipped yet. I'm on a waiting list. Plus this box was a bit smaller than I expected the garage to be. So I haul the box and a week's worth of junk mail inside and begin tearing open the box. It turns out to be a box of free samples from Amazon.com's new grocery site. A NICE box of free samples. The enclosed letter says it's because I'm "one of Amazon.com's best customers." I guess buying $50 worth of diapers from them every month for the last year has paid off!

In side the box are:

6 Breathe Right strips
5 ounce package of Chocolate Turtle Chex Mix (I think I'm going to hide this from W and TJ)
A small Rayovac flashlight and two AA batteries
One sample box each of Frosted Mini-Wheats, Special K and Honey Nut Cheerios
One Kleenex "moist cloth"
Small pack of Yogos, "yogurty-covered fruit dots"
Small pack of Emerald Chocolate Brownie Glazed Walnuts
3 packs of Oreo 100 calorie packs (although one of them is open along the seam and I'm pitching it)
One small pack of Kellogs Cinnamania Cinamon Bun flavored graham snacks. (TJ will probably love these)
A full size Tide to Go pen
A full size Betty Crocker Warm Delights microwave brownie mix
A small pack of Ritz toasted chips
A full size PowerBar
A pack of Kashi Honey Toasted Oat Cereal (looks like Cheerios)
A pack of Kashi Instant Oatmeal
A pack of Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal (looks like granola)
A full size box of Annie's mac and cheese
A full size box of Carr's Assorted crackers
A South Beach Diet cereal bar
Decent sized sample of both Purpose Cleansing Wash and Moisture Lotion (I'm not sure about this one)
An AirHeads Sours Candy (seems to be some sort of taffy. This will definitely go to W).
A full roll of Mentos
A Go-Tart (like a Pop Tart)
A Nerds Candy "Rope" (This will probably go to W too - or possibly to my brother)
4 Caramoo Caramel Crumbles (I've never heard of these, but they look delicious!)
A sample pack of Milstone Columbian Supremo coffee (will probably go in the next care package to my brother)
A small pack of Wild Oats Cranberry Moon trail mix (Oooo...no sugar. TJ and I might split this one afternoon for snack)
A Country Time Lemonade On the Go pack (Will probably also go in the next care package to my brother)
2 sample packs of Tylenol and one of Motrin (These will go in the diaper bag for Momma pains)
A full size container of microwave Progresso Chicken Noodle soup
A 11 ounce can of Yuban Dark Roast coffee (will probably also go in the next care package to my brother)

I'm guessing this is probably a $30 - $50 freebie. And it's nice stuff too. There isn't much in here that either I, W, TJ or my brother won't use. And what I don't think we will use I will send to Brother to put in the community box in his unit or I'll give to one of the other mommas in my playgroup.

It was a nice surprise after my long and frustrating trip.

Bad Mommy of the Year Award

2006-08-05T21:30:00.000-04:00

Well if there is such a thing, I won it today. Let's just say I learned the HARD way that the clicker to unlock W's Explorer does not work when the engine is running.

Because of the unbearable heat, TJ and I have barely been out of the house the end of this week to do anything but go to work (me) and to the babysitter (him). So after nap today I decided to take him to McDonald's Playland for supper and some play time. Got to the shopping center where McDonalds is and remembered I didn't have any cash. So...I drove around to the walk in ATM, parked the car but kept the engine and AC running, and lest anyone steal the car or my baby, locked the car so I could use the ATM but keep TJ in the car. I parked the car right against the ATM. He was about 5 feet away from me the whole time. I dutifully took the clicker to unlock the car with me.

Once I got my money, I clicked the clicker to unlock the car. Nothing. Clicked it again. Nothing. Again. Again. Again. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. I tried all the doors and the rear window. Everything was locked and the clicker.would.not.work. I started to panic. I tried to remain calm. I realized the cell phone was in the car. I started to panic again. Finally I decided the best course of action was to go across the parking lot to the closest open business - a pizza place - to use the phone. This meant having to leave my running car and my TJ a gazzilion miles away. I made faces at TJ and told him I'd be right back. He grinned and made faces back at me.

The owner of the pizza place called 911 as soon as I told him what had happened. Thank GOD rescue workers were on the way by the time I made it back to the car. (The closest fire station is about 2 miles from where this happened). I don't think I could have stood there making faces at TJ for very long because I was.not.calm. I was FAR from calm, and I was trying my hardest to appear calm to TJ who suddenly decided that Momma on the outside of the car and TJ on the inside of the car was NOT a Good Thing. The sirens (yes, they ran the sirens) coming toward us distracted him, and the off duty fireman who heard the call and was in the parking lot already distracted me. They sent out a fire truck, an ambulance and about 10 rescue workers. If I had been less panicked I would have been mortified! When TJ saw the fire truck pull up next to the car I saw him sign "BIG!"

The door was opened in about 5 minutes and I talked the EMT out of taking TJ to the hospital. They were worried about heat exhaustion being locked in the car, but his legs were chilly from the AC blowing on him, so I knew he was fine. The EMT needed to take ME to the hospital or at least give me some oxygen and a prozac. I was really teared up and shaking and I do NOT get teared up and shakey very easily. All TJ could say all the way over to McDonalds was "BIG!" and when I told him to tell the lady in MickeyD's about he fire truck, that's what he said.

All is well now, but I won't be forgetting this one for a long, long time. Nor will I be telling my MIL!!!!!!

Uses for Cloth Breast Pads?

2006-08-03T19:22:00.000-04:00

Anyone have ideas for uses for my old, cloth breast pads? I have four of the really nice Lanisnoh ones and six of the smaller, thinner Gerber ones. All have been used for their intended purpose, but have been well cleaned since. I hate to throw them away, but I just don't know what to do with them. I tried to resell them with no takers. (I guess since they are used....)

What I'll Do to Avoid Doing Dishes

2006-07-13T21:00:00.000-04:00

This looked fun and the dishes in the sink do not.

GRUB-OLOGY
What is your salad dressing of choice? Peppercorn Ranch

What is your favorite fast food restaurant? Schlotzski's (which we do not have here)

What is your favorite sit down restaurant? All time favorite...Berns Steakhouse in Tampa, FL

On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant? If I'm with TJ, 20% or more because he usually makes a freaking mess. If I'm not with TJ, 15% unless the service is exceptionally good.

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of it? fruit

Name three foods you detest above all others. brussell sprouts, oysters Rockafeller, raw oysters

What is your favorite dish to order in a Chinese restaurant? I usually hit the buffett and get a bit of everything.

What are your pizza toppings of choice? feta, tomatoes and spinach

What do you like to put on your toast? butter

What is your favorite type of gum? Doublemint

TECH-OLOGY

Number of contacts in your cell phone? Probably about 50

Number of contacts in your email address book? Again, probably about 50

What is the wallpaper on your computer? A picture of TJ picking blueberries

What is your screensaver on your computer? The Windows ball thingie exploding

Are there naked pictures saved on your computer? Yup...of W and me.

How many landline phones do you have in your home? 2 that work

How many televisions are in your home? 2

What kitchen appliance do you use the least? blender

What is the format of the radio station you listen to most? country because TJ likes it and I really am not in the car without him very often.

How many sex toys do you own that require batteries? 3, I think, maybe 4

BI-OLOGY

What do you consider to be your best physical attribute? eyes

Are you right handed or left handed? left

Have you had anything removed from your body? some suspicious looking moles

Would you like to? Yes, a pesky mole in my arm pit

Do you prefer to read when you go to the bathroom? no

Which of your five senses do you think is keenest? touch

When was the last time you had a cavity? I have at least 3 right now that need filled.

What is the heaviest item you lift regularly? TJ

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? No

MISC-OLOGY

If it were possible, would you like to know the day you're going to die? Mmmm...I don't know.

If you could change your first name, what would you change it to? I don't really want to change my first name.

How do you express your artistic side? Needle work and beading

What color do you think you look best in? sage green

How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison? Jeez...I hope I never have to find out. If I didn't have to interact with anyone else, probably a month.

Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? I don't think so.

If we weren’t bound by society’s conventions, do you have a relative you would make a pass at? Yup, based on just looks, my first cousin. Technically there is no blood relation because he's adopted anyway.

How often do you go to church? Lately it's been every few months. I'm trying to get back into an every few weeks routine.

Have you ever saved someone’s life? Not that I'm aware of.

Has someone ever saved yours? The kind doctor who prescribed me Celexa.

DARE-OLOGY
For this last section, if you would do it for less or more money, indicate how much.

Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000? No, I think I'd have to ask for about a million.

Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? I'd do this for free. It's kissing a member of the opposite sex I'd ask to be paid for. (Aside from W, of course)

Would you have sex with a member of the same sex for $10,000? Again, I do it for free, but I'd do it with the opposite sex for $10K.

Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? Uh...no, sorry. I want to keep my fingers and toes.

Would you never blog again for $50,000? Yeah, sure. As long as I can blog about the $ before I give up the blog. LOL

Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? Make it a million and you've got a deal.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? Not enough money for me to drink an entire bottle of hot sauce. YUCK!

Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000? Abosolutely not.

Would you shave your head and get your entire body waxed for $5,000? Oh, sure, if you want to pay me for it.

Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000? Ummm...maybe.

BravoTV.com SUCKS

2006-07-11T22:50:00.000-04:00

I love Bravo. It's one of the channels I flip to when "there's nothing on." I have become addicted, especially, to Project Runway and Top Chef. (Oh brother, I have officially become a reality show junkie.) The third season of Project Runway starts tomorrow night and I am eagerly awaiting it. So...tonight I went to BravoTV.com to check out the new designers on this season. It's one of the things I do when a reality show starts; I read up on all the cast members. It's how, in part, I choose who I want to win.

Well I have to say that BravoTV.com is one of the most poorly designed websites I've been to in a while. The graphics are either too large or too small, many of them move and there are way too many of them overall. The pages as a whole are too busy and there is a giant Saturn ad in the middle of every page. I like Saturn and even own one I wouldn't trade for anything, but I do not need to see this Saturn ad looming at me larger than the picture of the entire Project Runway cast. And let's talk about how to find the bios of the cast. I have to mouse over the picture of the cast where a name will pop up over each cast member. That's all well and good, but I can't SEE the fucking picture well enough to tell who I'm mousing over to begin with. The ads for things other than the show take up significantly more space than the information on the show do. (Although I was glad to see the ad for Daniel V's blog - one of my favorite designers from season 2).

The whole site is like this too, even the blogs. And Daniel V does not have his blog set up to read the whole thing in bloglines, which I suppose Bravo may have insisted he do to get more clicks to the site, but it's annoying because the site is annoying.

And WHAT IS with that lite blue? Surely SOMEONE told the folks at Bravo that lite blue is a very difficult color to read, not to mention a rather boring color on a website at that.

I'm still going to watch the Project Runway, but note to the folks at Bravo: I seriously doubt you'll catch me hanging out at your website past tonight. It's just too difficult on the eyes and the brain power.

Sippy Cup Update

2006-07-11T22:44:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I know most of you really don't care and frankly it really isn't important. But.....

I boxed up all the sippies that leak and put them in the truck to take to Goodwill first chance I get. Thursday, perhaps? I saved two of the best ones "for emergencies." Then I went to Kroger and bought three more of the Munchkin sippies that honestly don't leak. Okay, one leaked after I left it on the kitchen table for 6 hours with the sun shining through the window on it, but that's just physics, people. Warm a cold liquid with a straw placed inside it and the liquid is going to rise up out of the straw. I am soooo happy with TJ's new sippies I told my friend Jen about them and insisted she run, not walk, to Kroger to get her son Mark some too. Knowing Jen, she walk, not run, but by the end of the month she'll have some of the same kind.

You just can't imagine how much anxiety has been relieved by this little purge and purchase. Leaking sippy cups have cause no end of silent cursing on my part in the last 6 months.

What Are These Things Doing in My House Monday

2006-07-10T09:18:00.000-04:00

Sippy cups have become the bane of my existance. Either TJ won't use them, he can get the lid off surprisingly easy or they leak uncontrollably, usually in my purse. This is just a portion of the unused sippy cups in my house.

The blue one in the front leaks in such rediculous amounts you can leave it on the counter for a few minutes and return to a puddle of milk.

The cups on the left are regular cups. The red one in the background is from NYC and is personalized. We actually do use it from time to time. I thought TJ would love the sports bottles, but he just chews on the caps. The bug straw cups are only used outside and rarely at that.

I did this weekend, however, finally find what I think might be a solution to our leakage problems. The Munchkin Cupcicle (ours doesn't have the handles) so far does not leak and TJ can't get the lid off. My only complaint so far is TJ has a difficult time opening the little straw cover. But I think once he figures it out, he'll be fine with it. Now I should really invest in more of these and throw the rest of these poor excuses for leak-proof cups away.

What's This Thing Doing in My House Monday

2006-07-03T11:02:00.000-04:00

It's just such a rare event to have W home these days..... LOL

What's This Thing Doing in My House Monday

2006-06-26T20:48:00.000-04:00

I haven't played in a while because work and the kidlet keep me busy and with W home 3 days and gone 10 for work, there is rarely anyone here to help me pick up the slack. But I managed to get TJ in bed a few minutes early and I managed to take a nap this afternoon so I'm not completely exhausted. So I thought I'd dig up a few old pics of one of the nicest baby shower gifts I got.

It's an old wash basin used to bath now four generations of babies on my dad's side of the family - my granddaddy, my dad and his brothers, my brother and me, and now TJ. The above picture is me at my baby shower reading the note my dad included in the package with the tub. Yes, I'm weeping uncontrollably and trying to read the note aloud.

Here's a pic of TJ getting one of his first baths in the tub. He was bathed in this tub until he was about 8 months old. We switched to the big tub when he decided to start pulling himself out of the tub.

Currently it's being stored in the small closet in our bathroom. I really should take it to the basement now that we've stopped using it. I'm just hoping it will hold up for the next 2o+ years so TJ can use it for his children.

PS to the MIL...

2006-06-26T20:31:00.000-04:00

Thank you for letting me sleep in once again on Sunday and for pushing me out of the house before you left to go grocery shopping without having to drag the tot with me.

Thank You Notes to My MIL

2006-06-24T21:16:00.000-04:00

Thank you for driving up by yourself again to babysit TJ while I go to work. I know you enjoy caring for him and he adores you, but I also know it's a BIG DEAL for you to drive two hours by yourself.
Thank you for being the kind of grandmother that TJ can adore. As nutso as I can get about stuff you do, it means a lot to me that he has a good relationship with you.
A million thank you's for letting me sleep late this morning. I needed it; I haven't gotten too many of those mornings in the last 20 months.
Thank you for washing my dishes (twice), cleaning my disgusting microwave, cleaning the bathtub and sweeping my porch. It was not necessary for you to do any of those things, but I greatly appreciate you doing them anyway.
Uhm...thank you for the 10 pound bag of potatoes, I think.
Thank you for the toys, clothes, and books you've bought TJ over the last 20 months. If it weren't for you, the boy would have gone naked or I would have gone broke trying to clothe him.
Thank you for not trying so damn hard this trip. Honestly I'd like you MUCH better if you'd be this calm most of the time.

Notes to My MIL

2006-06-15T23:52:00.000-04:00

The TV show Power Rangers is not appropriate for twenty month old children, especially 20 minutes before bedtime. And especially for children who normally only watch about 30 minutes of preschool oriented TV every other day or so. Shows like Bob the Builder, It's a Big, Big World and Sesame Street are appropriate. In a pinch, Animal Planet is usually fairly calm and well-received.
If you insist on convincing your son NOT to use cloth diapers on his chlorine sensitive infant, please do not turn around a year later and give his wife a gignormous bag full of cloth diapers.
And on that note, it is not necessary to "save" cloth diapers you used on your infant son 37 years ago. sheesh.... You just won the pack rat award.
Gravy biscuts might taste good, but do not contain much nutritional value and are packed with empty calories. If you choose to feed them to your 20 month old grandson, please offer a side of something that actually has some kind of nutrients to it. Like grapes, a banana or blueberries.
Spend $25 and buy a damn queen sized blanket for the queen sized bed in your guest room. I'm fucking tired of trying to figure out how to make the damned twin sized blanket you offer fit on the bed! And while we're at it spend another $5 on a fucking bathmat for the guest bathroom. That ceramic tile floor is cold on my feet after getting out of the shower.
When babysitting a child, even if his mother says he shouldn't need a diaper change while she's gone, please change his diaper if he has a poop and/or the diaper is leaking out onto his clothes. It's very frustrating for said mother to come home to a cranky child who has sat in a poopy diaper half the morning and has pee-pee running out his diaper, down his leg.
Please keep in mind I'm trying damned hard to be a good mother. I think I know what's best for my son, although I do occassionally fuck it up. But he's my son to raise and when I set a "rule," it would be appreciated if you'd back me up, at least in front of the child.
And by the way, my son doesn't have a stomach ache EVERY time he whimpers or has a little trouble going to sleep. Sometimes he's overtired, overstimulated, teething, or just generally in an off mood. Please for the LOVE OF GOD stop suggesting to me 100 times a day he has a stomache ache. If you suggest it one more fucking time I'm going to stab you.
While we're on the subject of knives, where the fuck is the $20 knife I bought you for Christmas because you only own cheap-ass 4 for $1 dollar store knifes that are 3 inches long and don't cut soft butter? It's insulting to me that I spend money I don't have to give you something nice and you can't even bother to take it out of the fucking package.

(edited to clean up a little, but not much, of the language.)

Have You Ever...?

2006-06-04T15:35:00.000-04:00

Have you ever been flipping through your blog rolls, reading a blog thinking it belongs to one person but in reality belongs to someone else (because you weren't paying attention) and wondering as you read the blog entry what the FUCK they were talking about? I just did this and I'm sitting here thinking "Who in the HELL is this person??? She has never been mentioned before. And WHEN did you get married for Christ sake???"

sheesh......

Toddler Eyes and Sunscreen Don't Mix

2006-06-04T15:33:00.000-04:00

Yesterday evening we planned to meet Jennifer and her family at the carnival in town. Just as we were leaving, I slathered TJ up with sunscreen. Well, I apparently got it too close to his eye and he started rubbing his eye with his hand that had sunscreen on it that hadn't been rubbed in yet. And he rubbed. And he rubbed. I kept telling him not to or he'd get sunscreen in his eyes, but I think it was too late. About five minutes from the house, his eyes were red and swollen and he was starting to get hives on his face.

We stopped at a fast food place so I could get a cup of plain water and try to get the sunscreen off his hands and out of his eyes. We had a little sucess with that, but he wouldn't stop rubbing. Thinking that this would subside quickly we went on to the carnival anyway. TJ was a disaster!!!!!! He was crying and rubbing his eyes and was obviously extremely light sensitive. Every time we got to a place that the sun was in his eyes, he'd start crying again. Fortunately, the rides distracted him some and he agreed to go on a few with his little buddy. That seemed to make things somewhat better.

Well, after an hour, TJ's eyes had not cleared up at all and he was getting distraught again, so we took him home. We bought some Benedryl on the way home, which we gave him as soon as we got there, and I took him straight to the bathtub to get as much of the sunscreen off of him as possible. He LOVED the bath (as usual - can't drag him out of the bathtub on a good day). Once out of the bath, though, he was cranky and miserable again. Even with the dose of Benedryl, it still took him almost an hour to get to sleep, and that was in bed with me. After an hour of sleep, he woke up SCREAMING and didn't stop for 30 minutes, where he literally just zonked out mid-scream. I rocked him for about 20 minutes before putting him in his crib. This was about 11:00p.m. so we'd been dealing with this since about 4:30p.m. at that point.

This morning I can tell TJ's eyes are still a little red and irritated, but he seems to be leaving them alone so far. *knock on wood* He is clingy to momma and not his usual self, but not tooooooo cranky. I'm still debating whether or not I should take him to the doctor tomorrow during regular hours.

Let me tell you, you do NOT EVER want to get sunscreen in your child's eyes. I can honestly tell you I think a sunburn would have been easier to deal with. I think sunscreen is still important to use, but we will be extra cautious about putting it on TJ's face from here on out.

Orange Vanilla Water

2006-06-04T15:28:00.000-04:00

My friend Jennifer's mother-in-law Mary made this for her Memorial Day cookout. It was so good we all raved about it most of the day and Mary sent me home with the directions for making it myself.

1 medium orange (use a good sweet variety)
1 vanilla bean
1/2 gallon of room temperature or cold water

Slice orange into 1/4 inch slices. Cut slices in half. Place in bottom of half gallon pitcher. Split vanilla bean and place in pitcher. Pour water over oranges and vanilla. Chill in refridgerator 4 hours or longer.

Do NOT try to substitute the vanilla bean for vanilla extract. You won't get the same results. I'm currently trying this with some almond extract instead of vanilla bean (because I forgot to buy a vanilla bean). I think it will meld nicely. You can also use some lightly crushed fresh sage, basil or mint.

Small Splurge

2006-05-06T20:20:00.000-04:00

Okay, I really wanted to wait until my boobs decided what size they were going to be now that I've stopped breastfeeding. It can take up to a year for the fat to reform around the milk ducts once a woman stops breastfeeding and until then I didn't want to buy new bras. But the elastic is shot on the one bra that fits me the best. The remainder of my bras are either too tight or too loose. (34B and 38B respectively). I'm not even really a size B and with the exception of the years I was on Ortho-Tricyclin never have been. I'm more like an A/B.

So today I went out to WalMart and splurged on a cheap bra. I ended up with a light blue $10 Playtex bra (non-underwire, thank you) in a size 36 "nearly B." The A cup was too small and the B cup was too big, but this particular line actually had half size cups, which was rather nice. While I didn't get fitted properly (and once I'm ready to really splurge on bras, I will; I promise, Karen), I did try on several several bras to find the one that was the most comfortable and the most well fitting. I also tried to find some loose fitting sports bras, but nothing seemed to feel right on me and TJ was getting impatient. I hope this particular bra works out as well as it seems it will. It's probably going to get a lot of use.

As a side note I also splurged on a $7 tan and brown V-neck knit shirt with beading around the neckline that looks rather nice on me if I do say so myself. I can justify it as a "work shirt," although I'm going to wear it tomorrow to church with a brown broomstick skirt that I haven't really ever had anything to go with.

The Ones Who Came Before - Dogs

2006-04-29T09:49:00.000-04:00

After posting about Shag last night I started thinking about all the other animals in my life. Until I married Wade, there was never a time that I didn't have a pet. So here are the ones who came before Shag. This does not include the dogs who we fostered until we either found their rightful owners or until we found them good homes. Those dogs include Bootsie, Feather, Christopher, Ginger and Cinnamon (sisters), and Princess (boy was her owner glad to have her back).

Queenie: The dog my mother brought into her marriage with Dad. I barely remember her, although my mom speaks of her often, even 35 years later. I have no idea of the origins of Queenie. And I don't remember when she passed, although I believe it was probably in 1971 or 72.

Snitzie: Short for Weiner Schnitzel. The dog my father brought into his marriage with Mom. She was a cockapoo. Loyal to the end. Her one fault was she was aggressive with food and strangers. Nearly bit a policeman who tried to take Mom's drivers license during a routine road block. Died in her sleep in January 1977. Dad used a pick ax to dig a hole in the frozen ground for her on some property they own across the road from the house. Thus began the tradition of burying lost pets on that property. Pet funerals in my house were serious business.

Stag: My dog Mom and Dad gave me as a present for my 5th birthday in 1974. I got to pick him out of the liter. He crawled up in my lap and went to sleep and I fell in love. Stag never really was MY dog, though. He pretty much ended up being Mom's dog. Supposedly half terrior, half poodle. He looked like a large black rat. Excellent mouser. Loyal, but could be snippy. Died in 1989 as a result of a bad fall down and embankment. He broke the tradition by being buried next to the house rather than on the empty lot across the road. My father decided he had been with us so long, he needed to be buried closer.

Pickles and Spooky: They came to us about the same time in 1977 or 1978. My brother wanted a dog badly and Pickles was a stray who hung around the elementary school where my mother taught. He got his name because he would eat anything us kids took out to him, including pickles. My brother was soooooo excited to get him he couldn't stand himself. Sweet, sweet dog, but a runner. Spooky was rescued from a neighbor who moved and left him. She was a black lab. Got pregnant shortly after we took her in, unbeknownst to us kids. Mom took her to have her "fixed," but I later found out it was to have the pups aborted. I overheard the vet telling my mother there were 13 pups. There is no way we could have cared for 13 pups and I have never faulted my mother for her decision. Pickles and Spooky ran away together the day Spooky got her stitches out.

Tippy: I am responsible for rescuing Tippy. I went outside for some reason not long after Pickles and Spooky ran away. Tippy ran up to me and jumped all over me, ruining my best (but much hated) dress. I went back inside and told Mom what happened. She opened the door to see this mysterious dog and in ran Tippy. Mom agreed we could keep her until we found her owner. She died in 1990 after having spent 12 years with us trying to find her owner. Tippy is up there with Shag as one of the best. She was sweet, loyal, smart, gentle. All she wanted to do was play, be loved and get snuck doggie bones by us kids when Mom wasn't looking. She was part Boston Terrier and part one night stand. Because of her, I wouldn't hesitate to own a Boston, given the chance.

Spoodles: One of the few dogs my father rescued. A man from one of the worst (i.e. most criminal and violent) families in the county came into the store where Dad worked with this dalmation puppy. Dad could tell it had had a rough life already and paid the man $20 for him. Spoodles turned out to be mean and rather unmanagable while inside and spent most of his life locked in my parents' bedroom. If he was outside, he would protect us kids to the end. Chased anything that moved. He once treed a groundhog who, in self-defense, tore off half the dog's ear. My mother waivered between loving the dog and hating the dog and swears never to own another dalmation as long as she lives.

Blue: Black standard poodle who had bounced around between one home and another for about 5 years. He was currently being owned by friends of my mother's when Mom took him in. We knew him from visiting there and knew he was ready to be cast aside again. Was AKC registered with the official name Mackie's Blue Boy. Another of the of the best. I would own a standard poodle in a heartbeat too. Blue and Spoodles had the misfortune of living in the house at the same time. They nearly killed each other on more than one occasion. I think the only reason why my parents ultimately kept both of them was because Spoodles was unadoptable and Blue was too good a dog to get rid of. Blue and Tippy died on the same day and were buried with Stag near the house. Since the two got along so well and died within 12 hours of each other, they were buried in the same hole.

Brooke: After Blue and Tippy died, there was about a 8 month span in which our household had no dogs for the first time in my life. It was a very strange feeling. Then I nearly hit a dog on the road coming home from work. It was a deserted stretch of road, so I stopped to see if the dog had tags. She did not and the story goes when I opened the car door, she jumped in. In truth, she ran to the car, but I had to push her in. (Shhhh...don't tell my mother). I stopped at the first stretch of homes after coming out of the deserted area. The local forrest ranger lived there and I asked him if he had seen the dog before. She wasn't familiar to him so I took her home to find her rightful owner. Until the day Brooke died my mother referred to her as "That old thing LJ drug home," but after W and I married, every time I offered to take Brooke to live with us, my mother strongly refused. Brooke was half beagle and at one time a good hunting dog. It was obvious in her manner. We never found her owner, although I tried hard to do so because my mother insisted Brooke was NOT going to stay. Like Tippy, after 11 good years of trying to find her owner, Brooke passed in my mother's loving arms.

Which leads us to Shaq.

Tuffy: This is the newest of the brood. Tuffy was rescued much the same way Shag was and after my mother brought home a tiny ball of fluff she realized he was blind. Tuffy is now 3 years old, has hip dysplasia and diabetes on top of his blindness. He is part blue healer and part German Shepard, but thinks he's a toy poodle. He loves to be loved and get so excited when someone he knows (like W, TJ and me) comes to visit. TJ is a major curiosity to Tuffy because sometimes TJ has a scent on the floor like the grownups and sometimes he doesn't. As big and active as Tuffy is, when he is allowed to be on the same side of the baby gate as TJ (which isn't often) he is as gentle as a lamb with TJ. I suspect that Tuffy will not enjoy the longevity of life as the rest of my parents' animals due to his illnesses and I dread the day I get the call he has crossed the rainbow bridge. All in all he's a good dog, but difficult to handle because of his blindness and his need to burn off so much energy.

One of the Best...

2006-04-28T21:36:00.000-04:00

W says my mother is saving the world one stray animal at a time. He has no idea how true that statement really is. My mother has rescued countless dogs and cats, two horses and a hedgehog. That doesn't include the three hamsters and the chincilla my brother has dragged home. (Yeah, okay, so technically I'm responsible for two of the dogs and three of the cats).

The dog that stands out the most for me is the only one I have never actually lived with. My mother rescued her shortly after W and I got married. Mom was taking an afternoon walk along the country road she and my dad live on when she heard something in the tall grass on the side of the road that sounded like an injured goose. Upon investigating further, she discovered a tiny, fuzzy, black puppy. It was fall and cold and we've already determined that she'll rescue any living animal in distress, so she brought this little bundle home with her. She said that the puppy barely fit into the palm of her hand.

Shortly after, the puppy became known as Shaggy and soon after that, Shag. The medical records say Shag. Shag turned out to to be a briard, although there is some speculation as to whether or not she was a full bred briard or mixed with something else. She did have all the briard traits except the extra dew claw on her back paws. She was the most intelligent dog I have ever met. If you wanted her to stay at the top of the steps and wait for you all you had to do was tell her so, just as if you were talking to a human adult. She herded anything and everything, just as her nature told her to. She was unfailingly gentle and loving, but reserved and very shy around strangers.

W and I were two of the only "strangers" Shag came to love. She took longer to warm up to W than to me, but W knew he was finally in when she would come to him and lay her head in his lap while he was relaxing in the chair she thought was "hers." As for me, her favorite thing to do was to come wake me up in the morning. Shag would bound down the hall to the guest room every morning I stayed overnight at my parents' and wait for my mother to allow her into the room. Then she'd jump on the bed, nuzzle me awake and beg for a tummy rub. Oh woe the days that I had to get up before she had a chance to wake me up. On those mornings I would go back to bed just so she could perform her duties. Once up, I then had to give her doggie bones, which she would show me by nosing the container. Shag was quite spoiled on doggie bones during my visits.

Although she never really approved of TJ entering her life, she quietly tolerated him and even gaurded him when she felt she needed to. He was, after all, attached to me, and somehow that made him okay by her. Shag was even more accepting after this tiny person was able to move around and did something other than cry, which distressed her a great deal. After we taught TJ to feed her treats, she even deigned to spend time with him, so long as she'd get rewarded with a doggie bone or some yummy table scraps.

This week, Shag stopped eating and drinking and she pretty much refused to come out of her "hole," a cozy corner behind one of the living room chairs. Mom and Dad took her to the vet yesterday. The vet found an "enormous" cancerous tumor on Shag's spleen. The tumor was so large, it had taken up pretty much all the space her stomach needed, hence the lack of appetite. The vet said that even if she survived surgery to remove the tumor, Shag's best chance would be to survive another 6 months. Without removing the tumor, Shag probably wouldn't last another 2 weeks and it would likely be a painful 2 weeks. My parents decided that the best thing to do would be to let Shag slip quietly into that good night by way of hypodermic needle. I don't really blame them. Shag lived a long good 13 years with people who loved her and had little better to do than devote most of their attention to her and her two animal housemates, also both rescued animals. She enjoyed frequent visits from W, TJ and me, all of whom fed her way too many doggie bones and table scraps and spent lots of time loving her.

All in all she couldn't have asked for a much better life and we couldn't have asked for a much better dog. Of all the animals my mother, er, family, has rescued over the years, Shag has certainly been one of the best. Rest in peace, little girl, and thank you for the pleasure you have given us.

Pretties of Spring

2006-04-13T22:50:00.000-04:00

My next door neighbor told me I could cut some of her lilacs for my house. They are so pretty and they smell even prettier. I have them gracing my dining room table and am seriously debating taking them with me when we go see the inlaws tomorrow.

These cover my back yard. I love them dearly. They drive Wade CRAZY. I think they are wild violets but another neighbor told me they weren't. *shrug* Who cares. I'm getting great enjoyment out of them.

No More Num-nums

2006-04-08T09:58:00.000-04:00

Hum...a cross post between here and TJ's blog....

Thomas and I had our last nursing session today. It's been a long and interesting road. I just feel like I "got" nursing the last 6 months and now it's over. But it was time. We've been down to just the morning session for 5 months now and the last few weeks it's been a struggle to get Thomas to slow down enough to even nurse then. Once he's latched on, he nurses great most days, but asking him to stop moving long enough to get to that point has not been one of his favored moments of the day.

Observations on Returning to the Work Force

2006-04-07T16:06:00.000-04:00

My boss is really really cool and thanks me every day for what I do.
Apathy is contagious and most of my coworkers seem to have caught it.
People can be stupid, mean and selfish. Egads, I forgot how trying it can be to work with the public at times.
People do interesting things with fabric, yarn and embroidery.
Four year old shoplifters never forget the person they are forced to confess to, but if treated kindly the next time they are in the store, do eventually warm up to that person.
It still sucks, but being away from TJ for a whole day isn't as difficult as I thought it would be.
It takes me a half hour's worth of work to pay for a gallon of milk. We go through 2.5 gallons of milk a week.
Creative juices once lying dormant in me have bubbled up to the surface again. Unfinished cross stitch projects and weaving projects might be completed after all.
Chasing a toddler all day does not prepare a person to stand on cement floors for 8 hours a day.
TJ is a better alarm clock than a buzzer on a clock next to my head.

What's This Thing Doing in My House Monday, er, Tuesday

2006-04-04T15:05:00.000-04:00

The thing I really wanted to share this week is in the attic, the door is VEEEERRRRY sticky and the occupant of the room next door to the attic is sleeping peacefully under his new Bob the Builder quilt from Grandma. So that item will just have to wait until I can get up in the attic to take a picture of it. Instead, I offer this:

Yes, it's a planter full of clothes pins. Both the planter and the clothes pins came with the house. No, we don't have a clothes line or even poles that indicated there was ever a clothes line. But I can't bring myself to get rid of these clothes pins. The planter is kind of cool and the clothes pins feel part of the aura of the house. So they stay on the shelf in the "garden room" in the basement. Perhaps one day I'll put up a clothes line and use them. (Yes, the shelf and the wall behind are painted silver. I'm thinking it was a reflective paint used to help with regulating the house's temperature. But I'm not sure).

What's This Thing Doing in My House Monday

2006-03-25T22:40:00.000-05:00

Lee posted hers early, so I figured I would too while I have time and a little energy left tonight.

I bought this thing for TJ when he was about 9 months old. I thought he'd like some busy beads and this seemed to be simple enough for him at the time. I found it at Goodwill for $1.45. When I picked it up to look at it, TJ had a freaking FIT until I let him hold it. Then he wouldn't let it go, even for the cashier to check the price to ring it up. He played with it all the way home, to my great joy. As soon as we got into the house he dropped it and hasn't touched it since.

Literally I bet he's only played with the damn thing a total of 5 minutes in the last 8 months. I've tried to eBay it and, it's currently been listed on http://www.mykidscloset.com/ for almost a month. Not only does TJ not want it, no one else does either. I'm ready to take it back to Goodwill and send the curse of the misfit toy on to someone else.

Job Update

2006-03-24T22:07:00.000-05:00

I'm too fucking tired to come up with a clever entry title. I've been on my feet measuring fabric for 8.5 hours a day the last two days and I have one more day to go. I totally forgot how hard it is on a body to stand for so long. Today I went armed with my trusty knee brace and some Advil.

HOWEVER, the manager came to me today and said "I understand you're interested in a permanent possition with us." (Something I'd only said to one person there!!!) "Yes," I said. "I'd really appreciate that." So she showed me next week's schedule and had me on it already for Sunday, Monday and Friday. WoooHooo. I officially have a permanent job. It doesn't pay as much as I'd like, although the manager said she'd try to get me more $$$ if I worked out. Hancock is not really my first choice, but I NEED a job, so I'm not going to turn it down unless someone makes me a better offer in the next two days. And the women who work there are mostly really nice. It's a fairly low stress atmosphere and the manager seems easy to work with.
Now to find someone to keep TJ every other Friday while Wade is at work. I'm taking this thing one step at a time. Wade is off this Friday, so I've got a week to figure it out.

Bringing Home the Bacon

2006-03-22T21:03:00.000-05:00

Well I found a job for the next three days at least. Hancock Fabric has hired me for Thursday, Friday and Saturday to help them with inventory. When I talked to one of the cashiers today she said that they were also hiring for permanent part-time cashiers as well. And one of the cashiers can only work Monday through Thursday, which is great because I can only work Friday, Sunday and Monday. Might be a perfect fit. Hancock is not my first choice, but I really can't afford to be too picky right now. I'm going to talk to the manager about the possiblity of staying on permanently after this little stint is up. *fingers crossed*

What's This Thing Doing in My House Monday

2006-03-18T14:00:00.000-05:00

Lee has created her own meme - What's This Thing Doing in My House. Here's my first shot at it. Took me a couple weeks to think of the "perfect" first post.

This is one of the items in W's collection I would love to get rid of. Thing is, so would he. This is one of those rare items that I won't let him get rid of. I don't really like it; in fact it annoys the hell out of me. But....my father, about a month before his stroke, walked into a little shop in Lynchburg, TN, walked out with this proudly tucked under his arm and ceramoniously presented it to W.

You see, W mentioned to my father in passing while touring the Jack Daniels Distillery earlier that day that he would like to have a bottle of Jack and two nice shot glasses to put on display in our kitchen. My father, trying to be a good father-in-law, decided this would make a good addition to that display and took his first opportunity to purchase it for W.

It's heniously ugly, doesn't match anything we own, and smacks of hillbillies and rednecks, but I keep it displayed proudly as an act of love my father showed my husband. So that's what it's doing in my house. :-)

A Bright Spot

2006-03-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

The neighbors across the street (not the nice grandparent type couple) are moving to Kentucky in a month. They are cleaning out a bunch of stuff. The other day she mentioned to me that she should have offered me some of her 5 year old son's things she took to Once Upon A Child. I told her that was okay, but if she had anything else to get rid of and OUAC wouldn't take it I would love to have the opportunity to go through the leftovers. Well today W, TJ and I were out walking and she called to us. She asked if we'd like their old jog stroller. She said it was dirty and had some rust on the wheels, but if we were willing to clean it up, we could have it for nothing. AND it's similar to this one I've had my eye on for over a year now - just an older model. :-)

The stroller does need some cleaning - it's mostly dusty - and needs a tire reinflated. The rust on the wheel is minor and I will probably not worry about cleaning that up. We took Thomas for a short spin down to the end of the block and back. He seemed to be quite comfortable in it, aside from the fact the straps need to be adjusted for his size and I need to put the back more upright.

I was glad for the nice hand-me-down today. I needed a little bright spot today.

Shhhh...Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet. I'm Hunting Jobs

2006-03-16T14:12:00.000-05:00

*sigh*

W informed me last night that we are out of money. We have basically been living on our savings account in the last 8 months and have totally depleted it. We have about one month's worth of money left. W is desperately looking for a job that actually PAYS something and doesn't eat up what little he makes in gas.

I think he was happy to hear me say I would go back to work at least part time. So this morning I took TJ to my friend J's house to play with her and his buddy M and I went job hunting. I applied at several retail locations and probably would have gotten hired at one on the spot but they want someone who can work Saturday. Since W does work on Saturday, currently I could only if I find outside child care for TJ. That's not totally out of the question, but I'd prefer not to eat up my pay check on child care.

I'm not really too upset about having to return to work. Not nearly as much as I thought I'd be. But I am totally freaked out about being basically flat broke.

*sigh*

Lists of Four

2006-03-14T20:18:00.000-05:00

(Only appropriate coming from the Four Square, don't you think?)

My friend AM tagged me with this via email. I figured I'd toss it up here too. Play or don't play; I'm not tagging anyone.

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. dishwasher at a summer camp
2. nanny
3. sales rep for radio station
4. sales assistant for insurance company

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Casablanca
2. Prelude to a Kiss
3. The Natural
4.

Four places you have lived:
1. Palm Springs, FL (1969-1976)
2. Laurel Bloomery, TN (1976-1993)
3. Nashville, TN (1993-2004)
4. Roanoke, VA (2004-present)

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. LOST
2. M*A*S*H
3. Most anything on HGTV
4. Most anything on FoodNetwork

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. New Orleans
2. Okeechobee, FL
3. Myrtle Beach, SC
4. Gatlinburg, TN

Four websites I visit daily: (Okay, not daily, but these are the most frequent)
1. iVillage.com
2. Bloglines Feeds
3. Amazon.com
4. allrecipes.com

Four of my favorite foods:
1. My mother's meatloaf
2. most fresh fruit (gee, and I wonder why Thomas eats so much of it)
3. ditto AM's answer: cinnamon chip scone from Daily Grind in Harrisonburg, VA
4. cheese

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Anywhere that didn't include dealing with a whiney toddler (Thomas has been a real pill today)
2. On a hammock at a beach resort with a mild breeze blowing and a hunky cabanna boy bringing me a frou-frou cocktail every hour
3. The mountains of Western North Carolina
4. In bed!

In Every Season

2006-03-10T20:48:00.000-05:00

I have two personal ways of marking the passing of winter. I get my sandals out of storage and begin to wear them almost exclusively for the next several months. I dig my toe ring out of the depths of my jewelry box and wear it until I stop wearing my sandals. Today I found sandals and toe ring and put both on. I'm very happy.

Mommy Angst

2006-02-28T20:32:00.000-05:00

TJ has croup. By my calculations he's probably been sick since Thursday. I finally took him to the doctor today. Why? Because:

1) For the most part he hasn't ACTED sick even though he's had a runny nose and some chest congestion. Most of which has been managable with a dose or two of Sudafed and Robetussin during the day.

2) Until yesterday, it was just a runny nose and some chest congestion, which I figured was just a minor cold or sinus infection.

3) We are STILL uninsured and I didn't want to face a $80 doctor visit out of pocket for the doctor to tell me the same thing I suspected.

Well, yesterday his cough turned into a bark and I started to get concerned. And scared. He napped in my arms yesterday afternoon because that's the only place he would nap. And he coughed/barked through at least half of his 2.5 hour nap. It was scary to watch and hear. So today I took him to the doctor to get the croup diagnosis. (I suppose in a way I should be relieved. I was fearing pneumonia). So now I feel badly that I didn't take him sooner. And I feel badly that I've allowed him to spend time - lots of time - with his playmates since Thursday. I'm really hoping none of them come down with croup, especially our newest friend Vedant, who was just recently adopted by a very sweet couple. They do not need to deal with an illness two months into parenthood.

I think this is the worst I've felt for dropping the parental ball since TJ was born. Every time TJ coughs/barks I wish for a magic wand to make the illness disappear. *sigh*

Grocery Shopping (Sort of a 101 Things Update)

2006-02-22T14:35:00.000-05:00

We were down to half dozen shrimp, a pound of precooked bulk sausage and one chicken breast in the freezer; various condiments and some veggies in the fridge; and some canned goods and staples in the cabinets. Kroger had several items that I wanted to buy to restock the provisions on sale for 10 for $10, so I decided that today would be a good day to go grocery shopping. (Mental note: Wednesdays are BAD day to go Krogering. Not only is it senior citizen day, it's also apparently stock the shelves day).

I spent $149, after instore sales and coupons, on mostly basics. There were a couple splurges, like Goldfish crackers, corned beef for St. Patrick's Day, the special toothpaste I like, and boxed flavored pasta. (Boxed mixes of rice and pasta are sooooo high in sodium, have preservatives that cause W to have even worse tummy troubles and are more expensive per serving. Thus, I tend not to buy them very often.) I think most of the money went toward meat. The freezer has looked so empty for so long I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of meat in there now. Four pounds of ground beef, a roast, round steak, corned beef, pork chops, some brats I found on sale, two ham steaks and six chicken breasts. I shouldn't have to buy meat for at least month or more. I also bought a bunch of veggie burgers, faux chicken and some nifty looking cheese and veggie poppers (for TJ in the hopes he will like them enough he won't care they have broccoli in them.) I bought a dozen eggs (for the first time in six months or more. My mother has been giving me eggs from her friend who raises free range chickens.) And since cheese was on sale, I stocked up on four bricks of cheese and two packages of sliced cheese. We go through a lot of it, since TJ's favorite food is cheese. In terms of pantry items we are now stocked with organice diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce to last us quite a while, canned and dried beans, canned veggies, peanut butter, and pasta.

I sort of feel rich today. LOL It's amazing how having a full pantry can make a me feel a little more secure about a situation that has often been frightening the last few months.

And as an aside, TJ kept saying "booooooon, booooooon, booooooon, boooooooon" over and over and over again while we were near the flower shop. The very nice young woman who was working there heard him and apparently interpreted "boooooon" correctly as "balloon" because she brought him a Kroger balloon saying he sounded so excited at seeing them. It was very sweet and TJ rewarded her with one of his million dollar smiles.

Totally Laughable

2006-02-22T14:32:00.000-05:00

This morning during a visit to my chiropractor he determined I have a mild case of tennis elbow. This is laughable because I have absolutely zero interest in playing sports of any kind. (Okay, so there was a brief stint back in the early 90's in which I thought racketball might be fun.) Seems that tennis elbow is also common among computer users. Now THAT explains a lot.

I got a nifty little brace thingy to wear that looks like it wouldn't do a thing, but in actuality seems to be helping quite a bit.

Scrabble

2006-02-06T14:09:00.000-05:00

I love Scrabble. Unfortunately I don't get to play if very often because my game playing partner does not like Scrabble at all. Comes from too many years of playing it with his uneducated (meaning she didn't finish high school) mother, who is oddly a terrific Scrabble player, and kicked his ass way too many times. (I came really close to beating his mother once, but she nailed me on a triple word score in the last round).

101 Things Update - #96 Use down all the food in the house before buying more

2006-02-02T14:14:00.000-05:00

I claim I started this a couple weeks ago, but in reality I'm not sure how well I'm doing. On one hand we are eating a lot more of food that has been hiding out in back of the cabinets, fridge and freezer for a while. On the other, I don't see where I'm buying any less food. I think I'm just buying different things. I'll open the freezer and think "Mmmm...I can fix that, but I don't have any pasta to go with it." So off to the store I go. Or I'll be at the store and find something I think TJ would eat so I buy it. I'm also a sucker for a "really good sale." (Although we go through cheese so fast that when it's on sale for 5/$5 it really is worth it to stock up). I'm trying to justify what I buy as a staple and sometimes it is, but sometimes it's really not.

The other challenge I have is that W isn't totally behind this task. And of course it doesn't help that he cannot eat food in moderation (which is why he's about 60 pounds overweight, but that's a post for a different day). So nearly every week he asks me to buy Town House crackers, peanut butter, chips, tortilla chips and salsa. He can and does sit down with a box of crackers and peanut butter and finish off half of both at one sitting. Or a third of the jumbo bag of tortilla chips and half a jar of salsa. Whereas, I can make a bag of chips last 2 weeks or longer. He doesn't understand why I'm not too keen on buying him these things on a weekly basis. W is also annoyed that currently the only meat in the freezer is about 12 hamburger patties, some veggie crumbles, precooked bulk sausage, about 4 ounces of scallops, and half a package of bacon and I refuse to buy more. He's starting to get tired of me saying "We could have hamburgers for supper."

Now mind you I don't really CARE that he's annoyed since at least he doesn't go to bed hungry every night so his child doesn't have to. *I* go to bed hungry nearly every night so he and TJ can eat all they want. After all we have to save money around here somewhere and if I'm spending it all on chips and salsa, that means I have to go without somewhere else.

So...I'm going to count this round as complete when we've depleted the meat and canned goods supply. But the next round we do, I'm going to be a little more conscious about what I buy during that time and a little more firm about what we don't buy.

He Who Finishes with the Most Toys Does NOT Win

2006-01-25T14:46:00.000-05:00

W is a packrat. He will not admit he is and he is disgusted by the fact his parents are packrats, but he's a packrat. When I suggest getting rid of something, a look of panic crosses his face and he makes ten thousand excuses why we can't possibly part with said item. This set of furniture is a prime example and a huge bone of contention around our house:

This is W's childhood furniture. (Quilt rack at the end of the bed notwithstanding). We adopted it when we got married, and I will admit it served us well for a few years until we purchased a nice bedroom suite together. It's actually a nice set by Lane and was probably worth a pretty penny when it was purchased. But it's HUGE. You can't tell by this picture, but that dresser you see the corner of is nearly 6 feet long. It takes up that entire wall and creates such a small passage way between it and the end of the bed, one must almost turn sideways to get through. The chest of drawers is 6 feet tall. I have to stand on a step ladder to dust the top of it. The headboard for the bed is a queen sized headboard, but has been altered and always used as a double. Hence, the headboard is 4 inches wider than the rest of the bed.

I have broached the subject of selling this furniture and buying something smaller and more suited to our tastes for years. W doesn't necessarily seem sentimentally attached to this furniture, but as soon as I mention getting rid of it, an argument ensues. He finally agreed last year that we could sell this furniture "as long as we buy something with the same number of pieces and the same size." The argument was that we're using both the dresser and the chest of drawers for storage. Storage we wouldn't need, by the way, if W would agree to letting go of at least some of the 14 afghans and 8 quilts we seem to own.

Last week I worked long and hard to reorganize some things and purge other things so we could get rid of this damn furniture once and for all. When I showed W the now empty chest of drawers his response was "Wow! Look at all that great storage space. Now we can pull some things out of the yard sale pile in the basement and keep them here!" *sigh* These are things that have been in that pile for 1.5 years and we haven't missed once. I mentioned to him that I emptied the chest so we could work toward selling this furniture in lieu of a suite we might like better and might fit better in the room. Panic set in. Stuttering began. Frantic manuevers to counter this newest development ensued. He said the room was plenty big enough to fit all this furniture. He said he LIKED the bed so close to the wall that it was difficult to move between the bed and the wall. Maybe he does, but I DO NOT.

You know I would be more understanding about this if this were a family heirloom or something that W held as a "memory item" (to use Vanda's phrase). I would respect his desire to keep this suite if he felt a strong sentimental attachment to it. I might even give if this were the only thing he held tightly to. But his motiviation is solely that he cannot let go of "stuff." W worships "things." And this panic driven desire in him to finish with the most toys stings down to my core. There are days, like Tuesday when we had this conversation, that I want to scream at him that I wished he loved me half as much as he loves his furniture, Star Wars books, discount store art work, mega stereo speakers, worn out clothing and outdated computer components. And there are days that I want to throw all that shit out onto the front lawn along with a sleeping bag and tell him he can come in only if the leaves the crap behind.

It seems the more I try to purge myself of "things" the more tightly W holds on to them....

101 Things Update - #64 The Rocking Chair

2006-01-23T20:52:00.000-05:00

Figuring out what to do with my maternal grandmother's Bentwood rocker has been, so far, the item on my list that has caused me the most heartache. I love the rocker, but keeping it has meant either tripping over it or getting rid of other furniture that is ultimately not mine to give away. So the decision had been to ask the inlaws if they would store it in their occasionally used and sparsely furnished basement den. It was not a decision I really relished, but the best option we could come up with. Other options included "loaning" it to my best friend, who declined the loan; and giving it back to my mother, who would end up either tripping over it or storing it in her very damp basement.

Well, at Christmas we rearranged the living room, leaving the corner near the steps oddly bare. I dressed it up a bit last week, using a table destined to a future yard sale covered with a neglected fabric remnant, a scarf and a lamp also destined to the same future yard sale. (The lamp is sadly out of place, but I'm going to shuffle it with a nicer lamp currently residing in the guest room). The corner looked better, but was still missing something. So after much debate and a little conversation with W, I moved the Bentwood rocker to that corner as well. We're a little worried TJ is going to bang it into the wall countless times a day, but for now W and I are both pleased with the look. And I'm overjoyed that this might mean I do not have to foster my beloved rocking chair.
Although I would still like to get rid of that damn furniture in the guest room. But that's an entry for another day. For now I'm tenatively marking #64 as "done."

(Edited to add photo of rocking chair, table and overstuffed chair in corner by stairs).

Life Imitates Art

2006-01-17T23:30:00.000-05:00

TJ has this cloth book, teether type thingy that W and I bought him before he was born. It was one of the very few "toys" we bought TJ in the first 6-8 months. (If I had batteries in my digital camera, I'd take a pic of it for you). TJ has had a love hate relationship with this book. Some days he loves the book and requests it be "read" to him (it has pictures of animals in it) several times a day. Some days he hates the book and expresses such distain for it, he will actually fling it across the room.

For the last few days this book has been re-enacting the scenes from "Mr. Mom." Remember the ubiqutous shirt that keeps appearing but no one ever wears it?

This book keeps appearing, but I never see TJ with it. I don't see him playing with it, flinging it, carrying it. He hasn't requested it read to him in days. But two mornings ago it was in the middle of the living room floor where W and I tripped over it for several hours before I put it away. Later I discovered it near the steps. Yesterday morning I found it on the kitchen counter next to the toaster oven. Today it was next to the dining room table. And most recently I stumbled over it in back in the kitchen next to the sink. It's also made appearances by the back door, a kitchen cabinet, and the downstairs bathroom.

I swear if the damn thing escapes the the book box tomorrow, I'm throwing it away! LOL

Ye Olde Rocking Chair

2006-01-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

AM does not want my grandmother's Bentwood rocker. She was my best hope of finding it a good home with someone who would truly appreciate it. *sigh* W said he would talk to his parents about storing it in their basement until we have room for it either here or at another house in the future.

I love this rocking chair. I don't just love it because it's my grandmother's (although that is part of the reasoning). I love it because it's comfortable and beautiful and reminds me of "the good old days." It brings out the romantic in me. No, not the romantic as in hearts and flowers, the romantic as in things were better 100 years ago than they are now. It calls me to stive for a simpler life free from all this shit (better known as clutter) taking up space in my house and soul. And it sort of irritates me that it's because of this clutter, I need to find a new, albeit temporary, home for my rocking chair.

101 Things Update - #95 Try one new recipe from each cookbook I own

2006-01-09T20:17:00.000-05:00

I made my first recipe tonight - Easy Cassoulet (sausage and beans) from the Betty Crocker's Cookbook, 40th Anniversary Edition.

It turned out nicely and may even end up in my repetoir with a few modifications. I think this could even be convered into a meatless meal as long as something was substituted to add the smokiness the sausage provides. Some liquid smoke might even do the trick. (Note to Denise, this might be a good recipe for your meal planning and budgeting. I didn't figure out the cost per serving, but it doesn't call for anything terribly expensive, especially if you go meatless).

Easy Cassoulet

1 pound Polish or smoked sausage, sliced
1 can great northern beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can tomato sauce
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
2 small onions, diced
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 cup dry red wine or beef broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375*. Mix all ingredients in ungreased 3-quart casserole. Cover and bake 50 - 60 minutes or until hot and bubbly and carrots are tender. 8 servings.

I halved this, omiting the kidney beans and halving all remaining ingredients. Even then, it made a lot. I used shredded carrots rather than whole carrots sliced, as that's what I had on hand. I also forgot the brown sugar (and am glad I did) and used vegetable broth intead of beef broth because I like the taste of veggie broth. All in all I was pleased with my modifications other than the carrots. It would have been much better with larger pieces of carrot. I think this might also be good with other vegetables. Parsnips come to mind as well as zucchini or a winter squash. Needed just a touch more thyme than 3/4 teaspoon of dried. A good dish using basic kitchen staples.

101 Things Update - De-clutter, Purge and Hang

2006-01-07T09:54:00.000-05:00

All TJ wanted to do last night was walk. Walk into the bedroom, walk out. Walk into the guest room, walk out. Walk into the bathroom, walk out. So I figured if he wasn't going to sit still there wasn't much point in me just sitting on the floor trying to get him to play. I got up and started on the guest room. (#48 - De-clutter guest room).

I got the baby clothes covering most of the dresser boxed up. I put the baby clothes in the corner waiting to be sold consolidated into one large bag and taken downstairs. I found a curtain rod still in package in the corner that I've also brought downstairs, but may try to return to Target. I also brought the light fixture W bought last spring and never installed downstairs. I'm damn tired of moving that thing around the guest room everytime I try to de-clutter. I regoranized some of the baby clothes TJ will be ready to wear in the spring. And after TJ opened a drawer and pulled out some of my clothes I've had in storage, I started purging my old clothes I don't want or need. (#50). (Since I'll be using the guest room as a staging area while purging my clothes, I really can't say I've de-cluttered the guest room until I'm done with that project).

After all that was said and done, I found the framed Hemmingway poster that is to be hung in the guest room and decided on a place to hang it. If all goes well, I'll get that hung today along with the clock my mother made us as a wedding gift. The clock needs new works, but since no one actually uses that clock to check the time, that can wait. (#60 - Hang artwork in guest room). Unfortunately, I can't completely cross that item off my list until I get the "Literary Map of Florida" poster framed. We'll have to wait until our financial situation has improved to do that, but I have made a decent start.

And after all that was achieved last night, I emailed AM to see if she wanted to "borrow" my Bentwood rocker until further notice. (#64 - Figure out what to do with Bentwood rocker). Of course tripping over it in the corner of the guest room the whole evening was good motivation to try to start that item on the list too.

101 things update - #21 Make homemade playdough

2006-01-06T16:30:00.000-05:00

This is the first item I can cross off my list, although admittedly one of the easiest. I dug up a recipe that didn't require saucepans or cream of tarter. It was an extremely simple process even for a woman who does not like food on her hands. TJ was interested and really got into playing with the playdough once I showed him how to use a cookie cutter to cut shapes. Pressing the cookie cutter in the playdough was loads of fun! Poking it after it'd been transformed into a diamond shape was even more fun. Eating it while Mommy made "yucky" faces (it's terribly salty) was the most fun of all. (So let me get this straight - very salty playdough, yes; green beans, not so much).

Homemade Playdough

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups salt
1 cup water
3 tablespoons oil (I used vegetable - this is really just to prevent the playdough from sticking to your hands).

Mix well.

I cut the recipe in half, as a full recipe makes a LOT of playdough. I took out a small portion for R and M each and we still only played with about a third of what was left.

101 Things in 1001 Days

2006-01-03T16:17:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I'm intrigued. Intrigued enough I think to even attempt this. The idea came from my friend Denise, who in turn found it here.

The premise is to create a list of 101 specific, measureable items that I wish to complete in 1001 days (that's roughly 2.75 years). Since I tend to keep "someday" lists, I believe I can transfer my "someday" list to this list and actually accomplish those items I keep saying I will do "someday." My due date is October 1, 2008. (For my reference, TJ will be a few days shy of 4 years old.)

Friends and Family

1) Have Mommy and Daddy night out x12. (Done 6 times.)
2) Have Mommy and Daddy weekend away x2. (Done 1 time. Technically we stayed home and TJ went away, but I'm counting it.)
3) Host playdate with Jennifer and Kara x12. (Done 12+ times. Kara has dropped out of our playgroup, so I'm hosting playdates with Jen and other mommies instead.)
4) Visit AM and M x5. Well, AM and I barely speak these days, so this one's been pretty much out for a while.
5) Visit L, J and the kids x2. (Since J is in Iraq, permissible to visit L and the kids without him being present.) (Done 1 time. Second opportunity never showed itself).
6) Take TJ for walk every day for a month x4. (Mall walks on rainy days allowed). (This has proved to be a difficult task, as now that TJ is walking and more active he would prefer to play outside than just walk. I'm rethinking this goal as to how I can restructure it to get TJ outside time with Mommy.)
7) Take TJ to park once a week for a month x4. (Done 1 time, although we go to the park frequently, I'm not sure I can say we went once a week for a month).
~~8) Take TJ to water park x4.~~ (Done.)
9) Invite grandmotherly lady who babysits for free out to lunch x4. (Not done at all, although I have had opportunity to repay her kindness in other ways.)
10) Invite A and J to dinner or movies x10. (Done 1 time.).
11) Visit H and D x2. (Done October 2007.)
12) Rekindle friendship with cousin Kevin. (*Sigh* Sadly not done.)
13) Call cousin Mary for no reason x5. (Also sadly not done.)
~~14) Send care package to J in Iraq x6.~~ (Done 2 times. J is home from Iraq. This goal is done, even if I didn't make the 6 times).
15) Send care package to mentally ill cousin in group home x2. (Not done.)
~~16) Allow TJ to spend a night with Nana and Papaw.~~ (Done, repeatedly.)
17) ~~Allow TJ to spend a night with Grandma and Papa.~~ (Done)

Parenthood

18) Teach TJ his alphabet and ~~numbers~~. (TJ knows how to count to 11 or 12. He knows the alphabet song and recognizes most of his letters. He confuses E for F and K for R. But otherwise he's doing pretty good.)
19) Potty train TJ. (Done.)
20) Enroll TJ in parents day out or preschool program 1 - 2 times/week. (Done. I'm co-op homeschooling.)
~~21) Make TJ homemade playdough.~~ DONE! 1/6/06
22) ~~Transition TJ to "big boy bed."~~ (Moved him to a toddler bed September 2007. Move to twin bed August 2008)
~~23) Teach TJ how to hold his own (damn) sippy cup (already).~~ DONE - sort of. 1/10/06 I gave TJ a straw cup from Santa and he managed to figure out how to use it. He's been holding it on his own, so I've put away the sippies for now.
24) Finalize my will. (Not done!)
25) Go one month without cursing in front of TJ x24. (He's getting old enough to pick it up!) (Done 24+ times).

Body, Mind, and Spirit

26) Read 12 books. (Done 7 times, unless you count parenting books. If so, I've completed this goal).
27) Aside from above, read biography on Martin Luther King, Jr. (Started, but never finished.)
28) Write 12 poems. (Hahaha)
29) Participate in poetry reading. (Hahaha)
30) Write children's book. (Hahaha)
~~31) Find church or fellowship and attend 3 times/month x24.~~ (Started 2/19/06. Still attending same fellowship, and am planning on joining as soon as W can take new member classes. However, I have not been attending 3 times/month.)
32) Do yoga once a day for a month x4. (Not done.)
33) Lie on the hammock doing absolutely nothing for an hour x5. (Might have gotten one of these in.)
34) Drink one extra glass of water (or water equivalent) a day for a month x6. (Not even close to being done. I'm still living life as a camel.)
35) Complete 5 unfinished cross stitch projects. (Done 1 time.)
36) Start one new cross stitch project. (Probably won't do, as I'm currently more interested in sewing.)
37) Start one new weaving project. (Probably won't do, as I'm currently more interested in sewing.)
38) Go to the dentist for a cleaning x4. (Done 1 time.)
39) Get those four pesky cavities filled. (Got one done. The others are in wisdom teeth and the dentist and I have both agreed it's best just to pull them.)
40) Spend 24 hours with the computer turned off x30. (Yeah, unless you count the times that I didn't have access to a computer, this didn't get done.)
41) Get at least a chair massage x5. (Done 2 times).
42) Go to the chiropractor once a month x30. (Done 30+ times).

Home and Garden

~~43) Plant and maintain herb garden.~~ (Done.)
44) Landscape front yard. (Not done, as W and I can't agree on what to do.)
45) Cut down holly bushes beside driveway. (Not done, although it got started before Mom got sick this spring)
46) Build fence so TJ has a play yard free from dog shit. (Not done. Don't know if it ever will get done.)
47) Buy or create and hang artwork for living room. (Not done, although we've been shopping for artwork several times.)
~~48) De-clutter guest room.~~ (Done several times. Needs done again.)
49) Clean Sweep basement. (Thanks to Wade, this is done. He did a fantastic job.)
50) Purge clothes I no longer wear and sell/donate. (Done.)
51) Hold yard sale to remove unwanted items from home. (Halfway done. We put some things in our neighbor's yard sale.)
52) Donate or Freecycle what doesn't sell in yard sale. (Not done, as we haven't tried to sell all the items we want to sell.)
53) Create a better recycling system than what is currently in place. (Not done, although I have looked on several occasions for something that would work.)
54) Buy and hang curtains in guest room. (Not done.)
55) Buy and hang curtains in bedroom. (Not done. Have fabric to make these.)
56) Buy and hang curtains in dining/play room. (Not done. Have fabric to make these.)
57) Paint dining/play room. (Not done.)
58) Redecorate TJ's room. (Not done, because he doesn't want it repainted. We have hung different curtains.)
59) Frame Florida poster. (Not done.)
~~60) Hang artwork in guest room.~~ (Done, sans Florida poster)
61) Buy and hang a shelf with hooks in kitchen by back door for coats, hats, scarves.
~~62) Put TJ's baby things we do want to keep in storage at inlaws' house.~~ (DONE! These items actually ended up being sold in a yard sale instead and earned us nearly $100.)
~~63) Put green couch in storage at inlaws' house.~~ (This item will not be done. We've decided to leave the couches here.)
64) ~~Figure out what to do with Bentwood rocker (donate, return to Mom, "loan" to AM, put in storage?)~~ (DONE!)

Record

65) Sort and organize film photos in photo boxes. (In progress.)
66) Burn CD's of digital photos. (In progress.)
67) Update and maintain genealogy. (not done.)
68) Transfer files from eMachines computer to Dell laptop. (not done.)
69) Back up all computer files to CD. (In progress.)
70) Update and maintain TJ's baby book and journal. (In progress)
71) Have TJ's professional photo taken x4. (Done 4 times. MIL did it three times for me.)
72) Have family photo taken x2.
73) Figure out how to upload digital video to computer. (Not done.)
74) Buy DVD burner. (Done.)
75) Edit videos of TJ's life to share with grandparents. (Not done. See #73)
76) Clean out email x10. (Done 10+ times).

Social Action

77) Write letter to President concerning war in Iraq x2. (not done)
78) Donate staples to food bank x5. (Done 3 times).
79) Participate in Angel Tree program x2. (Not done.)
80) Donate money to Samaritans Purse x2. (Done 1 time).
81) Teach TJ about Martin Luter King, Jr. (Done.)
~~82) Help TJ donate his old toys to Goodwill or other worthwhile organization.~~ (Done. We altered this to clothing, coats and shoes.)
83) Prepare meal using only organic/locally grown foods once a week for a month x2. (Done 2 time. Prepared several meals using organic/locally grown foods, just not once a week for a month.)
84) Celebrate Christmas by giving each person on list a gift that gives back to the global community (e.g. something from 100,000 Villages or SERRV, fair trade coffee, or charitible contribution to non-profit organization) x2. (Done 1 time. I altered this to include handmade items by me or another artist.)
85) Start and maintain compost pile. (not done.)
86) Donate blood x2. (Not done. My general overall health is not where I'd like it to be to donate blood.)

Experience

~~87) Take TJ to Science Museum.~~ (Done)
88) ~~Visit Western Virginia History Museum.~~ (Done. We've also been to the the art museum and found that TJ likes it better.)
89) Spend weekend in DC visiting Smithsonian Institution museums (particularly Air and Space, Art and American History). (Done October 2007).
90) Go tent camping x2. (Done one time.)
91) Go hiking along the Blue Ridge Parkway x3. (Done 3 times.)
92) Take a walk in the rain x3. (Done 3 times.)
~~93) Take TJ sleding x2.~~ (Done one time.) (Done 2 times.)
~~94) Have diner by candlelight just because x3.~~ (Done 3 times. TJ loves to have dinner by candle light, as long as he can blow out the candle after)
95) Try one new recipe from each cookbook I own. (Done 4 times. 24 to go).

Money and Tangibles

96) Use down all the food in the house before buying more x3. (Perishables and staples may be purchased). (Done 2 time).
97) Start a savings account for TJ. (Done.)
98) Remove one item from the house for each item that enters the house x24. (e.g. If I buy a shirt, I must donate or sell a clothing item.) (Done 3 times. This one is difficult because I tend to purge in lumps, not on individual basis. Overall I've probably achieved this, just not as written).
~~99) Freecycle, donate or sell TJ's baby things we don't want to keep.~~ (Done)
100) Turn down heat by one degree for a week x3. (Done 1 time. Our house is just too drafty and I'm too cold natured to manage any more than one time).
~~101) Turn up AC by one degree for a week x4.~~ (Done 1 time and it stayed there! We are on about week 8, so I'm counting this as done.)

Our Christmas Tree

2005-12-27T14:25:00.000-05:00

Is this just an LJ thing? I take pictures of our Christmas tree every year, even the years we use the artificial tree. Here is the best of this year's offering. It's unfortunately not very good.

All the gifts you see are for TJ. This was taken after Santa came on Christmas Eve. I forgot to take another picture after my parents brought their van-load of gifts for TJ.

I do like this pic of our stockings (the one in the middle is TJ's) and part of the tree. My grandmother made the angel ornament in the foreground.

Quirky Meme

2005-12-26T10:32:00.000-05:00

Jeesh...I've got to start reading my comments more regularly. I just today noticed Denise tagged me for this meme. *eyeroll* And this meme is right up my alley because I have LOTS of quirks, many of them food related.

1) I hate, hate, hate to have food on my hands, especially sticky or slimy food. I cannot even scoop ice cream for myself because ice cream is both sticky and slimy. So when I want a bowl of ice cream I wait until W is available to scoop it for me.

2) I do not like white shoes, pants, or skirts, but white shorts and in some cases white tennis shoes are okay. I own one pair of white shoes - flip flops that I bought while pregnant. I was desperate for something that fit. I've only worn them since TJ came along because my feet didn't go back to anything resembling "normal" size until late summer.

3) I stir my food constantly while eating it. A meal for me goes something like this: bite, stir, bite, stir, stir, bite, stir, bite, stir, stir, bite, stir...... This particular quirk drives my best friend CRAZY.

4) Hot food must be HOT and cold food must be COLD. And by hot, I mean if I don't burn my tongue on the first bite, it's not hot enough. I spend much of my life with a burned tongue. It's a wonder I have any taste buds left.

5) W thinks this is really weird: I hold the handle of my toothbrush between my teeth while putting the toothpaste on the brush. And I didn't even think this was a quirk until a few years ago when W pointed it out. I thought everyone did it that way.

Not tagging anyone because I think pretty much everyone I know has been tagged.

2005 - A to Z style

2005-12-23T17:12:00.000-05:00

A - Advance Auto Parts brought us to Star City with a promise of a long career for W as sign manager. They fired him in May, but agreed to let him stay on until June while he looked for another job. (See S).

B - TJ celebrated his first birthday in October with a NASCAR themed party. Both sets of grandparents and some close family friends attended.

C - Raising a high need infant, keeping up with basic housework and working 10 hours a week as web coordinator proved to be too much of a challenge. I resigned as web coordinator in October and should have done so sooner. Also for Celexa, which I went back on and also should have done sooner.

D - W's grandmother died in January, starting year off on a sad note, but gave me much needed appreciation for what W's family does for each other.

E - My most favorite form of entertainment shifts from watching tv or reading a book to watching TJ take straws out of a box, put them in a box, take them out of a box, put them in a box.....

F - TJ is totally fearless, resulting in falls or near misses off beds, steps, the bakers rack and slides. Also I made two mommy friends this year who helped me get through some loneliness and give me a well needed sounding board.

G - Both sets of grandparents insist on visiting at least once a month, resulting in me seeing my parents and inlaws more in 2005 than I have in several years prior combined. The jury is still out as to whether or not that's a good thing.

H - Our new house is beginning to finally feel like a home.

I - Brother was deployed to Iraq in November for the second time in 3 years. President Bush remains to be sadly blinded by his own drive than the best interest of the country, thus putting hundreds of thousands of our country's sons and daughters in jeopardy.

J - My new mommy friend Jennifer (see F).

K - My new mommy friend Kara (see F).

L - (Cheese alert): TJ has taught me exactly how much love a person could hold in her heart. And it's a whole lot more than I ever imagined.

M - Still waiting for the day TJ says Mamma, and I'm for certain it's not just babble.

N - Late afternoon naps become the thing I look forward to all day, both for TJ and for me. A momma's got to have a little time to herself!

O - Maybe it's just me, but I find as a mother I can't stop obsessing: Is TJ getting enough sleep? Is his fever too high? How do I get rid of this rash? Is he eating enough? Should he be eating more veggies?

P - I've changed more poopy diapers in the last year than I ever thought was possible. And for the most part they don't phase me. (See W).

Q - Sometimes, when I'm really lucky, I have the house completely to myself and there is an odd quiet that settles over it. I relish in it, but after a few hours, it's a little unsettling.

R - We battled a horrible diaper rash for 3.5 months. Turns out TJ has a chlorine sensitivity so we now use Seventh Generation diapers and cloth wipes. (I wanted to go with cloth diapers as well, but got outvoted by the CFO).

S - When W left Advance, he took a job with Sears Home Improvement as an HVAC sales rep. He likes the work, but it's long hours and little pay. (See A). We're financially struggling now as a result. W is looking for another job.

T - TJ has cut 11 teeth in 2005. By the time the year is officially over, it might be 12. There is one that is going to pop just any day. I've decided I'd rather have a late teether than one who gets his/her first tooth at 5.5 months.

U - We spent half of 2005 uninsured. I've been holding my breath hoping no one gets seriously ill. And paying for those damn well baby visits out of pocket haven't been pleasant either.

V - A vacation to see Brother, SIL and the kids turned disasterous and resulted in them not speaking to me for several months. The relationship is still strained.

W - I'm learning not to ask "What did I feed you?" while changing a diaper. I really don't want to know the answer. Nor do I ask any question that begins with "Why is there....?" The answer almost always starts with "Well TJ...."

X - Xmas is currently on hold while TJ recovers from a "viral infection" and we feel he's well enough to travel to the grandparents'.

Y - Occasionally I yearn for a day off just to myself with nothing to do and no one to be responsible for. And then I wake from my nap to a baby and realize life is way better now.

Z - I could cheap out and say we went to the zoo, which we did, but surely there is something else that starts with z. I'm losing zzzz's this year and don't care (most of the time)? I'm reduced to reading books with one word per page, like "zebra?" Feh...that's as good as it gets for now. Supper is ready and there is a baby waking upstairs.

My brother, the solider

2005-11-23T13:54:00.000-05:00

My brother is a career Army man. He was just deployed to Iraq for the second time since early 2003. My sister-in-law sent me this picture of him and his unit(?).

Brother is the second from the right in the top row.

And Some New Parents Are Just Annoying

2005-11-14T12:42:00.000-05:00

My friend K has a friend (S) who is in baby music class with TJ and me. She actually has only been to about 3 classes so far out of about 10. Of that I am very glad because I find her truly annoying. I've tried to get along with her since she is a friend of K's and has been invited to join our playgroup. But I just cannot.

The first time I met her was at playgroup. She got all flipped out because one of the other boys sort of plowed down her (at the time) 9 month old daughter. The daughter was fine and in fact rather unfazed she had just been bulldozed. Not only that but the daughter didn't even attempt to move out of the way of the boy. That led me to ask if she could crawl yet, thinking that might be the reason she didn't get out of the way and why S was so upset about the incident. S snapped at me, "Yes, but she can't crawl that fast!" and didn't speak another word to me the rest of the playdate. And by the way her daughter was crawling a lot faster than TJ was at the time.

The second time I met her at our first music class, she and K were talking about fearless babies. I said that I totally understood; I couldn't put TJ up on the bed anymore to sit for the 60 seconds it took me to get on the bed with him to nurse at night. All he wanted to do was fling himself off the bed. S looked at me like I was abusing my child and said "I've never put (her daughter) on the bed!!!" (Okay so how do you have a 10 month old who has never been on the bed? Where do you change the child when you're at someone else's house? Have you never laid down with a fussy sleepless child? Have you never nursed laying down?)

After that class, she didn't speak to me the third and fourth times I met her. Today she and I were in class but K was not. I suppose we both thought K would show up and sat next to each other. (Actually she sat next to me; I had been there for a few minutes). She immediately snapped to no one in particular that we would have to spread out some more because the circle was too tight for everyone to fit in. She then gave me a couple of "you're a horrible mother" looks because I was letting TJ wander around the room, while she kept her daughter on her lap and refused to let her wander, even though the girl wanted to. Out of about 10 of us, she was the only parent who wasn't letting her baby wander. And then she discovered this faint red area on her daughter's head. And FLIPPED out! I suggested that it might be a little rub from the car seat, which is honestly what it looked like. She said "Or maybe the daycare let her FALL AND DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT IT." S then proceeded to grow louder and louder about her dismay until nearly every parent and both teachers had looked at the baby's head. Every person who looked at it suggested the same thing I did. But noooooooo, daycare let her fall!!! She stewed about that the rest of class.

During class she continued to be a nightmare. Her daughter wasn't allowed to leave her side, even though most of the babies wander around during certain points of class, especially when the play parachute comes out. She got upset if the baby used the wrong toy at the wrong time and immediately snatched the "right" toy away once the song was done. The final straw was when the baby picked up the lid from TJ's and my bubble container and licked it. Oh. My. God. I got yelled at for letting the baby lick the lid. The baby got yelled at for licking the lid. She wiped the baby's tongue off and pouted the rest of the class that "Just because bubbles say they are non-toxic doesn't mean they aren't bad for her." (Newsflash, you stupid hag. It's JUST SOAP!!!! Baby might have a runny poop but that'll be it.)

Of course S didn't talk to me again the rest of the class and tried to leave before it was over, but decided to stay. She didn't even tell anyone goodbye until she got to the parking lot, where she did tell one mommy goodbye and then deigned to ask me if I'd heard from K. I will be very suprised if S and baby will be back to music class. It's just as well; if she behaves like that again I'll be too tempted to tell her to shut the eff up.

Oy! Foodie Disaster!

2005-11-13T23:39:00.000-05:00

So I wanted to make some of my mom's meatballs to freeze for future meals. Since TJ doesn't do beef, the plan was to make a batch of beef and a batch with veggie crumbles.

First the veggie crumbles did not stick together, even after adding two eggs for binding rather than the traditional one. I think it's because they don't have enough fat. So I made stuffed peppers with half the mixture and packed the other half into individual custard cups and baked them in the oven.

Second, I put the above in the oven and took TJ for what I thought was going to be a quick walk around the block. An hour and 30 minutes later..... Yup...veggie crumble char is what I ended up with.

Third (and this is not so much a disaster as just frustrating), I chopped way too many onions for the beef meatballs. It was difficult to form them into balls because the onions sort of pushed back out of them. I ended up having to pick through the balls to get out some of the onion and toss it.

Not my best day in the kitchen. *sigh*

Mother's Meatballs

Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
1 egg
1/2 cup rice, uncooked (mother's recipe says "rice until it looks good")
salt, pepper, Tobbasco sauce and Italian Seasoning to taste (I used about 10 drops of Tobbasco and 1/2 tablespoon Italian Seasoning)

Sauce
1 can tomato paste
3 cans water
salt, pepper, Tobbasco sauce and Italian Seasoning to taste (I used about 10 drops of Tobbasco and 1/2 tablespoon Italian Seasoning)

Mix ground beef, onion, egg, rice and seasonings. Form into balls about the size of golf balls. Smaller if you want to serve on top of pasta. Prepare sauce in crockpot. Place meatballs into sauce. Cook on low 4-6 hours or until rice is done and meat is tender. Can also stuff meat mixture into bell peppers before cooking.

White Knight to the Rescue?

2005-11-11T14:11:00.000-05:00

My car broke down today outside music class. It wouldn't start and it sounded very much like a drained battery when I tried to turn it over. Yes, I know what it sounds like when the battery on a car is drained. My father made sure I could reasonably identify common car problems, could describe them to someone else fairly intelligently (which has lead to me being refused service a couple repair shops in the past because they knew they couldn't rip me off), change a flat tire, and most importantly to jump start a car.

So when my car wouldn't start, I marched TJ and me right back up to the music school and asked one of the teachers if they would help me jump start the car. I told them I had the cables and knew how to do it. I just needed another car. One of the teachers who also reasonably well knew what she was doing offered to help. (She also had fairly new and very nice jumper cables. If there is a such thing as having envy over a roadside emergency accessory, I have it).

We trekked back down to my car and got started. One man walking past offered to help, but I politely declined his offer. Another man walking past barged right in. Ahhh....the obligatory White Knight determined to save the stupid young women from their plight.....

I kept telling White Knight I knew what I was doing, but asked him a question about my sealed battery that I wasn't quite sure about. (Unfortunately when my father taught me how to jump start a car, sealed batteries weren't very common). White Knight continued to barge in and completely took over, despite my polite refusals.

Once he got the teacher's car hooked up and started, White Knight immediately told me to start my car. Now I know better than this. One must wait at least a minute or two before attempting to start the car with the dead battery. I tried, once again, to tell him this, but he insisted. When my car didn't start right away, White Knight jerked the jumper cables off, and declared it wasn't the battery after all. He then informed me I needed to go across the street to an auto repair shop and ask them to have me towed over there. Then White Knight walked off having done his good deed for the day, polishing his armor as he went. Much eyerolling insued on my part.

I asked the teacher if she wouldn't mind trying again because when I attempted my false start the White Knight insisted on, the car did start dinging it's warning signals that the door was open. This was more than I had gotten before. (Which, yes, I attempted to tell White Knight. He ignored me once again.) She agreed.

We hooked everything back up...correctly...the first time. Duh...for such stupid women I'm surprised we're not still out there. More eyerolling. We waited about minute after she started her car before starting mine. Viola! The car started! I smirked. The teacher laughed at me and said "I guess your father taught you pretty well!" To which I said, "Men like our 'friend' are exactly why my father taught me what he did."

(The rest of the story: At W's prompting I went to Advance Auto to get my battery tested. It's bad, according to them. My father told me the same thing when I described the incident to him. I'm going to call Saturn to see if it's under warrenty, but I suspect I'll be buying a new battery later today. In the mean time, I canceled TJ's doctor's appointment and my meeting with a Freecycler because I do not want to be stuck out again and have to jump start the car again).