...And So It Goes...

Stolen post

2011-09-02T12:55:00.003-04:00

I stole this picture from Sweetney. What I really want to know is what the heck does Sasha do for a living???

Not that I'll win but...

2011-06-09T19:36:00.004-04:00

I'm gonna enter a contest; I'm gonna enter a contest... And you can too! Yes, you too can win an iPad. Just go to Iambossy.com and leave a comment. That's it! Leave a comment maybe win an iPad. It's offered by Brad's Deals (which kinda sounds like a cool thing anyway).

I want an iPad.

(They (Iambossy & Brad's Deals) don't know me from Adam...I could drop off the face of the earth today (or tomorrow) and they wouldn't know or care. I just wanna win an iPad...not that I will but...)

At eight

2011-05-16T15:03:00.003-04:00

I finally made a video for E's eighth birthday. Take a look at it and let me know what you think.

(This one is bigger)

Skin care

2011-04-21T16:26:00.004-04:00

Saw an ad that consisted of the following text:

Skincare Miracle

Age specific skincare is a revolutionary breakthrough in beauty. Click on the link below to learn more about skincare solutions made just for you:

I'm in my 20s

I'm in my 30s

I'm in my 40s

I'm 50 or older

This is kinda bugging me. Every 10 years (according to this ad) you should change your skin regime. Am I wrong that I interpret this ad thusly?

I'm in my 20s - my skin is young and firm and you all envy me...admit it.

I'm in my 30s - I'm still fabulous and young and perky (wait...was that a gray hair?)

I'm in my 40s - I'm a little grayer with a few character lines (no, not wrinkles)

I'm 50 or older - I'm nearly dead...who the fuck cares?

Can you tell I have entered the 'over-50 no-man's land'?

I love my hometown but...

2011-04-08T09:56:00.000-04:00

WTF, Seattle???

Happy Birthday

2011-01-22T07:54:00.001-05:00

Happy birthday to me. Today is my birthday. How old am I? I had my first child at age 47. He just turned 8. Do the math.

Yes, I am old. My crow's feet have crow's feet. Mostly I am okay with it. I like myself. I like my family.

Friday Favorites - Roads to Moscow

2011-01-07T07:45:00.007-05:00

I. Love. This. Song.

This is probably one of the best songs ever written. Al Stewart is a poet and a storyteller as well as a fine musician. This song has some of the most intricate acoustic guitar you will find outside of the classical guitar style. I think the studio version is more haunting but I also love this live version (the only studio version I could find on Youtube adds some funky sound effects esp. at the beginning that don't add anything and, in fact, detract from the music).

I first heard this song in 1973 or 1974. My first thought was I needed to figure who this musician is. Then I heard another song "Nostradamus"... another great song. Whose song is it? Al Stewart. I became a fan immediately. I have seen him in concert about 3 times back when I lived in Seattle. The first time was a mostly acoustic concert. The next had much more orchestral backing and the last time was in a very intimate setting (he is going to be in Edmonds the end of January...wish I still lived in Seattle).

Here is "Roads to Moscow." It is the story of a Russian soldier in WWII. The words are haunting and the guitar evokes images of smoke and snow and desolate landscapes.

The following is one of his more recent songs, "Hanno the Navigator". Older, grayer, but he is still sounds great, is still writing songs that have real words that mean something and that tell a story. I still love him.

2010 in One Word

2010-12-31T12:41:00.000-05:00

Since some bloggers are trying to sum up the year 2010 using one word, I thought I would try this as well. It is hard to think of a single word though so I am going with a hyphenated 'not-horrible.'

It started out pretty well. My manager came through just after the first of the year and asked if I was still interested in getting on as a permanent employee. So that was good. Then I didn't hear for a long time and asked my manager why I hadn't heard anything. They were didn't want to pay me what I am worth. That was bad. Then I got a great job offer where I could work from home, got great pay with full benefits. That was great! Then the contract I was hired to work on was cancelled (after a single week). That was bad. Fortunately I hadn't quit my original company yet. That was good. Then that company changed the direction of their business model and let me go. That was very bad. Then I got my current job (great pay and full benefits). That was good.

We got to finish out second grade for E in Pennsylvania. That was good. He started third grade with the same kids as last year. That was good too. During the year he played soccer, football and hockey. That was good. We had to leave PA before he got to finish his football season. That was bad. We got to go to our nice Florida house. That was good. We got to play in the pool and play in the park and ride bikes around the trails. That was good. E got to ride his bike to school. That was good. We had to leave after only a month. That was bad. I was employed. That was very good.

So, we had to move 3 times last year. That was very bad. I was employed almost the whole year with just a bit over a month break between positions. That was very good.

That is why the year 2010 gets rated 'not-horrible.'

2010 Wrap-Up

2010-12-30T12:48:00.012-05:00

I am copying Linda over at All & Sundry. I took her list from last year and edited it a bit.

So here is my 2010 wrap-up:

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
There must be something but I guess it was so unremarkable that I can't remember it.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I'm not a big new year's resolution kind of person. This always seems to imply that if you want to fix something you need to wait for a special date to begin the process. That just seems dumb. If it needs fixing, then fix it!

With that being said, I want to lose some weight and get my hip fixed.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes! My neice had her beautiful baby, Ava Danielle, in July.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thank god.

5. What ~~countries~~ places did you visit?
We met B's brother, SIL & their kids at Hershey Park and had a very pleasant day there. We went to Washington, DC and got to be all touristy-like. We moved back to Florida and then came to Indiana. Really exciting. I had a few interview trips (Houston, TX, Iowa, North Carolina) nothing special.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
A bicycle; a hip replacement so I can say goodbye to constant pain.

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

March 8th – horrible car accident
November 8th – started new job

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I got a new job with great pay and great benefits.

9. What was your biggest failure?
This really isn't my failure...but the work-at-home job didn't work out unfortunately (the contract I was going to work on didn't get won by the company). I also didn't get a permanent offer from the company I was working for (they didn't want to pay me what I was worth, twits!).

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Other than the chronic hip pain, no. I broke my elbow just at the end of 2009 so that doesn't count. E broke his ankle in May. I got bad seatbelt contusions and B broke his finger in our horrible car accident in March (we soooo could have been killed then).

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Hmmm...this is difficult. I am cheap and don't spend a lot of money...well, we bought a new car (see above for why we needed a new car).

12. Where did most of your money go?
Stupid mortgage on a house we can't live in.

13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The job that fell through. It would have been perfect...great pay, great benefits, work from our house...*sigh*

14. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Song?

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier
b) thinner or fatter? About the same...maybe a tiny bit thinner (maybe only in my mind).
c) richer or poorer? Just a bit richer

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Relaxing. Doing fun family things.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Quarrelling with B.

18. How did you spend Christmas?
Quiet Christmas at home.

19. What was your favorite TV program?
Eh...don't really watch TV... I've been watching Lost on Netflix

20. What was the best book you read?
I have really read a lot this year but there is nothing really memorable. I just finished Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster...I love her books.

21. What was your favorite film of this year?
That would presuppose that I went to see current films.

22. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Nothing. I am 35...no, wait...I am 50-something. I am old.

23. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
To be able to actually live in one of the houses that we own or to sell the house in Idaho (I can almost physically feel this as a weight around my neck).

24. Who did you miss?
I miss my family. We will be travelling back to Seattle in March for my nephew's wedding. I am looking forward to seeing everyone then.

Wordless Wednesday - Tall

2010-09-22T22:52:00.000-04:00

...is what my boy is...

Wordless Wednesday - the Start of Football Season

2010-09-15T17:44:00.002-04:00

Wordless Wednesday (on Thursday...)

2010-09-02T05:32:00.001-04:00

Exercise Hurts

2010-09-01T14:21:00.003-04:00

A conversation with my 7-year old son this morning:

On waking him to go to school:

E: "Mommy, my stomach hurts!"
Me: "E, it's just the second day of school!" Bending over (being somewhat paranoid of such things as appendicitis...), "where does it hurt?"
E: "All over..."
Me: Reaching down to press on his stomach, "Here? Here?"
E miserably: "Yes..."
Me thinking, "Ummmm...did you do a lot of leg lifts at football yesterday?"
E: "Yes."
Me straightening, "Well, honey, I think you've got good old muscle soreness. Nothing you can do about it. It will get better on its own."
E whining, "But it hurts!"
Me: "I know, sweetheart. Feel the burn."

I love this poem

2010-05-19T16:15:00.001-04:00

Warning
by Jenny Joseph

WHEN I AM AN OLD WOMAN I SHALL WEAR PURPLE
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Craft Update

2010-04-08T10:53:00.005-04:00

Yep. Still being crafty. First I will update on the Christmas stocking I am making for E. This is where I was last month. And this is where I am now. Good progress being made, I think. I have finished Santa and have started working on the bag of toys.

And I finished the quilt I was making for E. Here it is:

It isn't perfect. I didn't square up the squares as well as I should have and the binding is only s0-s0 but this is really the first real quilt I have ever made. I call it a quilt but it was really designed to be a wall hanging. Doesn't matter. E likes it. Next time I might tackle a full-size quilt.

I have also finished the top for a fleecy quilt/blanket for my niece's baby. I think it came out really nice. It is similar to a blanket/quilt I made before except this one I personalized with the baby's name. I just need to put the backing on it, quilt it and bind the edges.

I am also crocheting a blanket and a little dress for the baby. The blanket will match the dress which matches some booties I have already made. This is what the dress will look like except I am not using pink. I am using a really pretty variegated yarn. I haven't decided if I am going to make the hat & booties either (and that's not the blanket I am making either...just the dress...maybe the booties & hat). I have a pair of booties already made using the variegated yarn so if I make these I may just make them in pink & white. This pattern is a 6 month pattern so if I make it it should fit little Ava in December. Perfect, I think. Booties & baby hats don't take very long to make anyway. I can whip them out in an evening or two.

I hope to finish all the baby things by the end of this month so I can get them mailed to her by May sometime. Baby is due in June.

A few minutes in my life...

2010-04-07T12:56:00.000-04:00

So today it felt like I had…something…in my eye. So I take out my mirror and start poking my fingers in my eye trying to pry the elusive hair off of my cornea. Then I notice a great big scratch on my eye. AGHGHGHGHG!!! A giant scratch on my eye! Wait a minute…why doesn’t it hurt more?

Then I notice the exact. Same. Scratch. On my other eye. AHGHGHGH!! Wait. Oh yeah. Reflection of the lights.

Am an idiot.

But at least the hair is gone.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

2010-04-06T10:44:00.005-04:00

Okay. Now I think this is funny. Please tell me that I am not the only one. I don't think I would mind having him in the seat next to me. Here are my reasons:

He wouldn't hog the armrest
I could steal his airline meal (if they still served these)
I could steal his peanuts
I could order extra drinks for him (and then drink them myself)
...and charge his credit card
He wouldn't talk to me when I wanted to read/sleep/space out

...seems like the perfect seatmate to me.

Wordless Wednesday: I got nothin...

2010-02-24T18:56:00.001-05:00

A picture of a cute kid is always appropriate...

So Cool

2010-02-22T17:50:00.004-05:00

Well, folks, it looks like very soon I am going to be very, very wealthy. Yes I have been invited to go into the oil business with a company doing business in venezuela. I will be a 'patner' with Ms. Briggs and look forward to dumping buckets of money into my bank account.

My name is Mel Diana Briggs, an engineer/geologist. I own Rocket OilServices, a support company to Shell Petroleum Dev Company. My company doesoil prospecting, oil site reading and shallow exploration for shell. I amcurrently in Venezuela where i have had the opportunity to do oil deals with
a few sister company explorers, and a few indigenous oil rig engineers.
Together, we engage in oil deals which involve bunkerring and quick syphoning of crude oil through specially rented barges to Mexico and Chile.
Proceeds from the oil sales are paid for in Dollars and eventually wired through the Venezuellan banks to banks in England. Payments are made this
way due to the hard-line policies of Hugo Chavez(venezuelan president) whohas launched an animosity against america and some of their allies. By way of rigorous transfer of funds, i lose so much of my share of the proceeds from sales because this is a secret deal which Shell is not aware of.
Already, proceeds made from sales amount to $80million. And due to local restrictions in Venezuela, i cannot invest these monies here because of my
imigration status. As such, i need a patner whom i can work with for the movement and investment of these monies. I need someone i can trust as a
patner, who will assist me in moving this money, and whose company name we are going to use in investing the money into more lucrative businesses.
For your participation: you shall get 20% of the $80million before the investment proper. And if you wish to be part of the lucrative investments
mentioned above, we shall talk better terms. Please do let me know your position on this proposal so that we can proceed.

I am preparing to quit my job and have put money down on a new Porche. See you all in the Swiss Alps.

Craftiness

2010-02-19T10:14:00.005-05:00

It seems I am always working on some crafty thing or other. For instance this past Christmas when I should have been working on this:

...and I was working on this instead:

I haven't quite decided what to do with that little birth announcement thingy. I initially started it for E (since he is now seven years old I thought it might be time to finish one of these for him), but I found another one in my stash that I might make for him. I might put this up on Etsy (yes, I have a shop there tho' I haven't put anything up for sale there or anything...) but I am sure I can't get out of it the effort I put in to it (I'll bet there are a couple of hundred of hours of work in that). Even if I charged a hundred dollars for it (would someone pay a hundred dollars for that??), I am making way less than a buck an hour. Not exactly a get rich quick scheme.

After I finished the birth thingy I went back to the Christmas stocking (obviously didn't finish it in time for Christmas but I will for this year). Anyway...then I found out that my niece was going to have a baby, so I made this:

(yes, I ran out of blue ONE ROW before finishing; I think it looks good this way too...)

I made a little pair of booties too (I can finish a pair of those in an evening) and am trying to decide what I want to make next for her.

Oh, yeah...E decided he wanted me to make a quilt for him. I have the top almost all done (no pic yet...maybe next week). It is a pattern called 'radiating squares' and looks pretty cool.

Well, that is some of what I do in my spare time.

PG-rated swear words

2010-02-18T15:58:00.000-05:00

Was thinking the other day about swear words (obviously I have too much time on my hands). I have a child now and although I was never a real big cusser (it still makes me uncomfortable to actually say the 'f' word...although I can write it: fuck - see?), I think that I have to stop saying at least the Big Ones: shit, damn and hell. And the 'f' word, of course, fuck (heh...that probably upped my hit count...).

I should probably also cut out fart and bitch. I use them way too much. Someone once said that adding a yummy food group after a derogatory makes it less dirty. Terms such as:

twatwaffle
cuntpickle
skankmuffin
whorecracker

are funnier than they are dirty.

The word 'douche', while itself not really a dirty word becomes funny/demeaning/dirty when different beginnings or endings are added:

douchewizzle
douchebag
douche canoe
douchefish
flaming douchebag
douche-a-rooney

Adding 'knocker' after words makes them funny/dirty:

fartknocker
bitchknocker
doucheknocker

The word 'crap' (which I would not consider particularly dirty seems to have made some list at my 7-year old's school as he chastised me for using it the other day) lends itself to adding an interesting ending as in:

craptastic
crapalicious
crappity crap crap

I have always loved "smarmy bastard." It just seems to roll off the tongue (e.g. "...he was such a smarmy bastard I simply wanted to hurl..."). Lately "batshit crazy" has been a favorite of mine as well.

These are not really swear words, but they are funny:

dillweed
dorkfish

Okay, now I have shared some of my favorites, I wanna hear some more...anyone?

Wordless Wednesday: WTF, Amazon?

2010-02-17T08:15:00.003-05:00

Was this really the best choice of box for shipping this item??

Battle of the Sexes

2010-02-16T09:51:00.004-05:00

She: "Gigolo"

He: "Cougar"

She: "He says that like it's a bad thing"

Nerdiness

2010-02-12T08:13:00.002-05:00

I finally got around to downloading some pics from my camera the other day (okay, it was yesterday) and guess what? I found some Christmas pictures! Guess what I was doing on Christmas morning?

Yes. I am a nerd. Yes. I am the one who puts this crap together. Yes. I am insane.

But at least I am coordinated:

We got some snow...

2010-02-11T11:22:00.009-05:00

Yes, we did. The first winter blast of snow last weekend was a cake walk compared to what we got hit with on Wednesday. First of all, it was a Saturday. I had to convince B that there would be no hockey on that day but other than that, we had plenty of food, never lost power and we got along just fine and dandy.

When it started to come down on Tuesday, after B picked me up from work we needed to make an emergency grocery stop (milk and forgawdssake TOILET PAPER). It didn’t really snow too much that evening and when I went to bed about 11 we had gotten maybe an inch? Maybe? Nah, this storm ain’t nothin’. Hah! I say to you, storm! You are beneath me!! Mother Nature, I fart in your general direction.

Well, she must have heard me and Mother Nature, she is a bitch. On Wednesday morning, we had been blessed with about another foot of snow. And still it was snowing.

You know, sometimes I don’t think that B has the sense God gave a duck. “Get ready for work! Get E ready for school!”

Me (logging onto the computer SINCE WE DON’T HAVE A TV AND CAN’T WATCH THE NEWS): “Ummm…school is cancelled today. I don’t think it’s a good idea to go out in this.”

“Nonsense! I will go dig the car out. Look! A snowplow just came by!”

“Ooookay…”

And still it was snowing.

I get to work. There were maybe 10 people there. We all congratulated each other on our ~~stupidity~~ pluck and determination. And still it was snowing.

The VP came around at 9:45 and said, “We are closing in 10 minutes. Go home. Drive carefully. May God have mercy on your souls” (okay, he didn't say that last but he should have). I asked if we get a special prize (I did. I'm just that way...). I call B to come and pick me up.

(An aside: while waiting to be picked up I saw no less than 6 snowplows drive by - NONE OF THEM PLOWING. What's up with that? Are they all running back to their snowplow diner to smile and laugh at the the morons who were stupid enough to be out in this insane weather?)

The trip home was pretty dicey. The roads really sucked. Visibility was near zero at some times. I think that B was driving using sheer instinct and prayer. Me? I was hanging on to the door frame and pushing my invisible brakes through the floorboards. I was screaming in my head OHMYGAWD, OHMYGAWD, I CAN’T SEE THE ROAD! OHMYGAWD, OHMYGAWD while calmly saying to E, “Please don’t disturb daddy, sweetie. These are really bad road conditions.” OHMYGAWD!!!!! WE’RE GONNA DIIIIEEEE!

Well, we didn’t die. We didn’t crash. We made it home fine. And this morning we found…

This is our car. AFTER B had shoveled the car out. There is a tiny path just the width of a single snow shovel from our door to the parking lot.

This is (one of) the giant piles of snow where the snow plows dumped it.

This is the giant pile of snow in front of our building. Yesterday we couldn't even open the front door.This is our patio. The snow hits E about hip level, making it something over 2 feet (I am guessing something like 2.5).

So much for global warming...

Very Effective

2010-02-08T10:47:00.002-05:00

This is a very effective commercial. Yeah. I wish everyone saw me like my dog does.

Yeah...it snowed...

2010-02-06T09:11:00.000-05:00

Find a New Line of Work...

2010-01-27T15:10:00.007-05:00

Seriously.

Stupid criminals such as the guy who wrote his note on his own pay stub. Or the one who showed the teller his ID. And, uh, (seriously this should be obvious), don't log into Facebook from a computer in the house you are in the midst of burgling.

Another tip. Try to find a better disguise than writing on your face. It didn't fool your mother when you were a kid and it ain't fooling anyone now. Oh, and duct tape? Not a good disguise either.

And, please...don't disguise yourself as trees. Talk about something straight from Monty Python (although the fellas probably said to themselves...naaah, this is too crazy even for us...). It was funny on Get Smart, but just really pathetic in real life.

They left something out of the last line of that article:

Manchester cops described the man as a white male, between 45 and 50 years old, wearing glasses and a blue shirt...

...and foliage.

I Love Zappos

2010-01-22T10:24:00.002-05:00

Mmmmm....shoes...

Happy birthday to me.

Friday Favorites - Song

2010-01-15T10:18:00.004-05:00

I am not sure if this is my absolute favorite song but I do love it. It almost always makes me cry.

The Love of My Life by Jim Brickman/Sung by Donny Osmond

I know. I know. Donny Osmond. But, hey, he does have a good voice and it does have Jim Brickman. I love me some Jim Brickman. He is the piano man and I love a good pianist.

Hockey Rocks!!

2010-01-08T16:55:00.005-05:00

Vote for Evan!! Go to the Reebok site, register (you don't have to receive any junk in your email account...I understand...I get more spam than anything), and VOTE FOR EVAN!!

Every Vote Is Appreciated

Here's how to VOTE:

Go to the Reebok site
Click "Register" in the upper right corner.
Register
Go to Evan's video
Click the "Vote for this video" link in red right under the video.

If you already registered, click "My Account" in the upper right corner to login and vote each day.

After you have registered, every day you log in you will find a link right at the top saying "Vote again today" and it will take you to Evan's video and then just click the link and you will have voted.

Okay...I totally don't get hockey...unless I could have a few hot toddies while watching, but, hey, the boy loves it.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T14:05:00.003-05:00

I am totally stealing this idea for a Christmas post (and posting it belatedly and back-dating it...cause I can cheat like that).

This is a collection of songs that just say Christmas to me. The first is a novelty tune from many years ago that I haven't heard on the radio for ages. Thank you YouTube for existing so that I can listen to this song at Christmas.

Snoopy vs. The Red Baron

And it just ain't Christmas without a little Bing. The first one, The Little Drummer Boy, was from the last Christmas special he ever made, with a very young David Bowie.

The next one, White Christmas, of course, is from the movie Holiday Inn, made at the height of his popularity back in 1942.

I find it hard to listen to the next song without getting all teary. Probably because John Lennon died way too young and the song is so beautiful.

Happy Christmas/War Is Over

This last one I seldom hear because I don't live in the Pacific Northwest anymore. It is a really cheesy song and this version I found has some strange noises on the soundtrack but I love the pictures of Mt. Rainier, the Bon Marche star and the rain-slick Seattle streets. For me snow doesn't really mean Christmas. For me, it's not really Christmas unless it's raining.

Christmas in the Northwest by Brenda White

Merry Christmas to my family back in Seattle. I love you all and miss you always.

Happy Birthday, my beautiful boy

2009-12-12T13:34:00.002-05:00

Seven years ago, I was in the hospital, but I was happy.

Happy birthday,my son.

Happy Birthday, Beautiful Boy from itsjustme on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving Day Gorge Fest

2009-11-25T15:26:00.009-05:00

Okay, everyone is posting about their Thanksgiving dinner plans. So, just to help me get organized I will outline my T-day menu too.

1) We will start out the day with a breakfast of my Easy-Peasy Cinnamon Rolls because I like them and if anyone else doesn’t, they can kiss my lily-white…

2) Turkey – well, turkey breast. B went to the store to redeem our free turkey (grocery store-speak for ‘thanks for buying so much crap at our store…here’s your ten dollar turkey, sucker!’) and came home with a turkey BREAST (must have been mesmerized by the word ‘breast’). No problem for me…I just eat the white meat anyway, but B will have no drumsticks. I am trying a dry-brine this year. I have done the wet brine and it is really good but I thought I would try it another way this year.

3) Mashed potatoes – Pioneer Woman’s creamy mashed potatoes. God they are good. Bonus, they can be made a day in advance. Win-win.

4) Sausage-cornbread Dressing – I like it this way and if anyone complains, well then there is more for me.

5) Gravy – I make kick-ass gravy. Pour gravy over the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, a piece of bread, spilled it on my shoe. God it’s good.

6) Homemade dinner rolls – again PW’s No-Knead Rolls – they look really easy and, again, make in advance…

7) Glorified rice – a modification of my MIL’s recipe – it has cream cheese, maraschino cherries, pineapple and whipped cream – what’s not to like?

8) Pumpkin pie – okay, this is kinda boring but I will make the boring kind of pumpkin pie that B likes instead of my kick-ass pumpkin chiffon pie…obviously my family ain’t here.

9) Pumpkin Leche Flan – it’s flan…that’s all I needed to hear…

10) B’s family's creamed corn crap – obviously not a favorite of mine.

11) That ghastly green bean casserole – see #10.

12) Broccoli-Cauliflower Gratin – it’s cauliflower…and CHEESE…sounds good to me.

And, of course, wine...delicious, delicious wine.

There…you think that’s enough food for three people (the smallest of whom will probably pick and complain, eat the mashed potatoes and gravy and say that he doesn't like turkey...)?

Happy Thanksgiving and Bon Appetit!

The Magician

2009-11-11T10:18:00.004-05:00

I did not post much about what we did this past Halloween. We had a pretty busy day, though. We started out at O'Dark thirty with a hockey game. Then we went to a local library which had a magician performing. E volunteered and I got this tasty video:

E and the Magician from itsjustme on Vimeo.

We ended the day Trick-or-Treating with one of my co-workers and her grandson in their neighborhood. The day was (only slightly) marred by the downpour that occurred (fortunately) at the end of our Trick-or-Treating outing. We went back to Ginny's house and E & D played downstairs while our clothes dried in the dryer and she & I sipped hot coffee and chatted. A pretty good day.

Too Close

2009-10-21T17:28:00.002-04:00

My god...this made shivers go up and down my spine. This is just a few miles from our house in Orange Park, FL. Evan rode his bike to and from school. My hands are shaking.

My heart goes out to this little girl's mother.

Animals Attack

2009-10-10T05:25:00.003-04:00

Racoons and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

Really??

2009-10-09T13:19:00.002-04:00

You know, I like our President. I think he is a good man and will try his best to make a better world, but the Nobel Peace Prize? Really? Now? For what?

Other sitting presidents have gotten it but they actually did something. TR brokered peace between Russia and Japan. Wilson worked on ending WWI and created the League of Nations. Carter got one after leaving office for “decades of work seeking peaceful solutions and promoting social and economic justice”.

I guess they are giving Obama a Nobel in hopes that he will do something.

Okay. Someone give me $2 million in hopes that I will win the lottery.

Greatest Gift

2009-09-29T16:35:00.001-04:00

Don't have much to say today, but I want to post this because I love this song. This is another one that I wind up blubbering through. Enjoy.

Second Grade

2009-09-28T16:02:00.001-04:00

E was tested today by a private school and is being accepted into second grade. I am kind of two minds about it. He was clearly not being challenged at all in first grade. I am just amazed at how easy the work has been so far. I can understand maybe taking a couple of days in the first week to go over things they may have forgotten from the year previous but we are a month in and I would have thought that everything they are doing was learned in kindergarten (or preschool). How much review are they going to do?

"Nat sat on the mat.
The cat sat on the mat.
Nat sat on the mat with the cat."

That’s first grade work? Adding together numbers less than ten? I look at the reading list for first grade and these books are all too easy for him. He is adding and subtracting, carrying and borrowing. He is learning his multiplication tables and is beginning division (I work with him a lot on math). We read a lot of books together. He has shown great interest in books on science and geography. I want him to be excited about school and learning. Right now he is not learning anything at school. And looking at the curriculum I don’t think he would learn much in first grade at all.

But it is a great social place. He makes friends easily and gets along with everyone. I hate that this will be the third school he will attend this year. He will be younger than everyone in second grade. He won’t turn seven until December.

He is still young and will adjust. I worry about kids teasing him because he is younger than they are. It is good that he is tall and looks older than he is. He is so tall. He already looks like a second or third grader (or fourth grader). Maybe he won’t be the tallest kid in class anymore.

I’m sure it will all turn out. But I will worry.

That is what mothers are for.

Myths and Distractions

2009-09-25T13:32:00.002-04:00

So, my son lost another tooth yesterday. His top four front teeth have been wiggling for months but one of them was wigglier (is that a word?). He has been sitting and playing with it now for over a month and yesterday at school it finally decided to take the leap and came out in his hand. His teacher, the sainted woman, had a little ‘tooth box’ just big enough for him to carry it home in.

Naturally the trip home consisted of talk of the Tooth Fairy.

“What will she bring me, mommy?”

“I don’t know, sweetie. We will have to wait and see.”

We got home and I took a picture of the hole left by his errant tooth. He called his grandpa and told him, “Mommy took a picture to send to you. Give it to grandma to make her smile” (bad mommy – it is still in the camera).

And sporadically throughout the evening he speculated on what the Tooth Fairy would bring him.

Bedtime (blessed bedtime) and ~~bad~~ mommy watched a movie and forgot about the tooth fairy.

*early this morning* “Why didn’t the tooth fairy come, mommy?”

*still asleep* “Unngghhh…” - crap – stupid tooth fairy, “I think she was real busy last night, sweetheart.”

Memo – keep small, cheap pieces of crap around house feed tooth fairy myth. Bitch.

Oh, Those Awards Shows

2009-09-21T11:37:00.007-04:00

I don’t watch awards shows. The Emmys, Oscars, Grammys, Tonys, whatever. A bunch of the so-called rich and famous patting themselves on the back just makes me want to puke. And there are so many of them. Sheesh, every time I turn around there is another stupid awards show: Golden Globes, People’s Choice, SAG awards, Latin awards, NAACP awards, Dogs Chasing Stagecoach awards, Blonde Receptionist awards, ad nauseum.

Maybe one reason I just can’t get into these things is that I so seldom see the shows that are nominated. Until I took my son to the new Star Trek movie this summer I hadn’t been to a movie since before he was born (he turns 7 in two months, people – thank god for Netflix). Right now we don’t even have a working TV. We have so far not opted to connect the cable and our TV is so old (and we never got a converter box) that it can’t pick up the HDTV signals. Fred Flintstone has better electronics than we do.

I do read the recaps, don’t ask me why, I don’t know. And I need to see the fashions that are worn. Some of the dresses are nice, some are what-the-fuck-was-she-thinking. Then I notice the actresses. And realize what most of them need is a sandwich, not a statue. I don’t know who this woman is or what show she is on but I just want to dangle a brownie in front of her face and watch her gag. Good god, she is so skinny I can almost see right through her.

So what's my point? Well, how about a list?

Awards shows are stupid.
Actresses are (mostly) too skinny.
Some of the dresses are laugh-out-loud funny.
I need a new TV. And cable. And to get out more.
There is no way to end this post so I will ju

To All the Skinny Girls...

2009-09-18T13:42:00.001-04:00

Take that, tall skinny-legged girls...

Who knew that my fat thighs were good for my heart?

RIP, Mary Travers

2009-09-17T12:05:00.006-04:00

Mary Travers died yesterday. She was one-third of Peter, Paul and Mary, the folk trio who gained fame in the 60s with protest songs and anthems. I have always favored songs with good lyrics, melodies and harmonies, so I have always loved PP&M.

But a tall, blonde woman and two goatee’d men (all three aging) with two guitars singing of civil rights and protesting a war that is only known in history books do not sell records anymore. You only heard of PP&M when they went on a reunion tour or had a special on PBS. Last year I watched a PBS re-run of one of their ‘reunion’ tours. I sat and sang along, mostly with tears in my eyes. My son saw me and asked, “why are you crying, mommy?”

“Because this song is so beautiful, sweetie.”

“Don’t cry, mommy.”

They were playing Puff, the Magic Dragon. I wasn’t thinking of a dragon but of a battered yellow fish and a pink and green bear, both a bit ragged as the softness has been loved off of them. I looked at my sweet boy and knew that soon these two little stuffed animals will wind up stuffed in a box somewhere just as Jackie Paper’s dragon was. E won’t want to sleep with a bear and a fish anymore and I will lovingly store them in a box somewhere awaiting a time when perhaps my son’s child will need some comfort as he sleeps.

“Yes, my sweet, this song makes mommy cry.”

And it probably always will.

A dragon lives forever, but not so little girls. Rest in peace, indeed, Mary Travers.

Of Fire Ants and Hummingbirds

2009-08-21T12:25:00.008-04:00

One thing that I did not miss about living in the southern regions of the country is fire ants. They certainly belong in one of the lower circles of hell. If you have not lived in the south then you have not been introduced to these nasty little devils. These are not the innocuous little black ants of my youth in the northwest. These little mites lay in wait and jump out to lay their torture on unsuspecting bare or sandled feet and ankles.

This is the south, y'all. Sandals are part of the uniform (and no wisecracks about the pedicure or I'm gonna have to hurt you).

Yesterday as I, all unsuspectingly, was retrieving my groceries from my trunk I felt at first a little burning, then more then more. It feels like someone is sticking pins in your feet, little devils. I got four bites in one toe alone. They must have thought it was a smorgasbord.

God I hate them.

Speaking of southern wildlife, there has been a hummingbird snacking on the bottlebrush trees outside my window. I am still trying to get a decent picture of the little guy. I probably shouldn't be calling it a 'guy'. I think it's a female since she isn't all adorned and all.

Anyway, this is the best I have so far.

Here's hoping your day brings more hummingbirds than fire ants.

Quack? Or not...

2009-08-14T16:59:00.004-04:00

The day after E was born a nurse called me and said, "Is your little boy going to have a circumcision today?" I informed her that my husband and I had decided against that procedure.

The next morning I got another phone call from the nurse who asked "Is your little boy going to have a circumcision today?" Once again I informed her that we had decided to leave E intact.

Sunday (yes, I spent 3 days in the hospital following a vaginal birth...they were watching my blood pressure and if it hadn't behaved on that day they were going to send E home and keep me!!) I again recevied a call from the nurse asking "Is your little boy going to have a circumcision today?" Sighing and suppressing my urge to scream, "didn't anybody read (or write in) his chart!!!", I told her 'no'.

Yesterday I took E to his pediatrician for his school checkup. He did not see an actual MD. He saw a board certified pediatric nurse practitioner with the same office we went to when we were last in Florida. The reason I am questioning her is that she mentioned 'phimosis' and said I should schedule an appointment with a urologist. She asked me if we have been stretching his foreskin. I said no.

Now I am kind of confused. Everything that I have read says that it is normal for a little boy's foreskin to still not retract at age 6 and not to worry about it. They also say not to manipulate it if it doesn't easily retract. You could hurt him and cause damage. One website said that by age 10, 80% of little boys retract and by 18 it's about 98%. I think age 6 is too early to diagnose phimosis.

My question, dear internets, should I call a urologist and waste a $40 copay or should I listen to the American Academy of Pediatrics, WebMD and Dr. Google and say that this ARNP is a quack? I know that intact little boys in this country are a bit on the rare side but she is board certified. Shouldn't she know this?

Found

2009-07-29T20:22:00.007-04:00

The hotel called this morning. They found Freckles still in our room. WTF??!!!! Where in hell was that cat?? We lifted the bed off of its frame and looked under it. I opened the hide-a-bed...THREE TIMES, I lifted the heavy bloody thing up twice. I looked behind the stupid TV. B looked behind the stupid TV. I looked behind the drapes. I looked behind the bloody drapes again. I looked behind the GOD DAMNED drapes AGAIN.

WHERE IN BLOODY HELL WAS THAT STUPID CAT?

He's here now. I guess that is all that matters.

Stupid pets. I just hate them.

Missing

2009-07-27T11:24:00.000-04:00

Our cat went missing today. When we got ready to check out of our hotel we couldn't find him. We looked everywhere in our room, down the hall, down the stairs and outside the door. No Freckles.

E is devastated.

Stupid cat. Please show up,

Wordless Wednesday - Why I get no work done...

2009-07-15T13:20:00.004-04:00

Stupid cat...

Put the camera down and get to work, bitch. Yo.

(Stupid pets...should skin 'em both and make tiny throw rugs out of them...)

Foot Stamping Temper Tantrum Continues

2009-06-25T17:30:00.001-04:00

Yep. Last day. God I hate this. I just want to scream. I want to throw a big-ass temper tantrum. I don't know how I am supposed to 'finish up my tasks' when all I want to do is yell and stamp my feet.

We are in a worse place financially than when we came here. Now, in addition to a completely More Than We Can Afford On Unemployment Mortgage, we have a Rent That Is More Than We Can Afford On Unemployment.

I have been blaming the democrats but I don't know if a Republican administration would have been any better. We were told at our meeting today that this is probably only temporary; that they will probably be spinning up again. My manager (a generally nice guy) said he couldn't promise anything though nor do they know how long the hiatus may be. My (somewhat limited) understanding of this is that this is a gap in funding. FCS is cancelled. Period. As of this week. They just haven't determined the follow-on yet so for now there is nothing to charge to. That seems pretty stupid to me. Why didn't they get the follow-on at the same time as the termination so there would be no LOSS OF JOBS.

So much for creating jobs. Thanks, Mr. President.

I'm just sayin'.

For once I had hoped I was wrong...

2009-06-25T09:41:00.001-04:00

Yep, today's my last day.

THANKS, DEMOCRATS!!!!

Random thoughts

2009-06-24T13:47:00.001-04:00

When I came in to work this morning my coffee cup was gone. My first thought was, 'Who would steal a coffee cup? It's not like it was lined in gold or had diamonds and jewels encrusting it. It is a goddamned freaking COFFEE CUP!!"

Okay...that's not really the first thought I had. My first thought was, "Was I such a lame-o dumbass ignoramus that I left my stupid dumb coffee cup in the bathroom?"

Which, of course, I had.

***

Boy-boy had t-ball last night. What's cuter than watching a bunch of 5 & 6-year olds play baseball? Twirling around in the outfield; digging in the infield dirt; looking for worms; watching the planes fly overhead...

How cute...swinging a bat at every pitch no matter how badly thrown; dropping easy fly balls; balls thrown way off the mark; crappy fielding.

Wait. That last bit was how I play baseball.

***

Okay, now the DoD (Department of Defense) has cancelled FCS (Future Combat Systems). This burns my ass. I have to have the worst freaking timing of ANYONE in the entire WORLD!!!! I get back into defense work when we elect a freaking Democrat for president. Great.

They have an All-Hands-Meeting today. Which we (contractors) weren't invited to. They have a special 'contractors' meeting tomorrow. This is Not. Good.

I hope I still have a job next week.

Bed Wars

2009-06-23T11:56:00.001-04:00

One of the best perks of going away on business trips and/or interview trips is that I get a big bed to sleep in ALL BY MYSELF. I just love to lay crosswise on the bed or to sleep right in the middle. If it is a hotel with room service? I am in heaven. I order dinner, get into my comfy jammies and happily pig out on the big big bed watching crappy TV with my laptop on the bed next to me (yay for WiFi!!!) dribbling crumbs on the bedspread. And no one tries to steal the remote from me. Ahhhh…

I remember when I was young(er) and stupid(er) and used to lay in my love’s arms all curled up, our bodies intertwined like vines. Now? Yeah, not so much. My dear B, we have been together for nearly 25 years and if you would kindly sleep in the next room please. Yeah, you. First of all you snore, you really do. You rattle roofs and set off car alarms. I have seen the cat jump six feet on hearing one of your MMFT ROAHHR FFTMMMPPP. The dog growls and Boy-boy whimpers. You also steal the covers and roll yourself up in them leaving me shivering in the dark vainly trying to pull the covers from under your body.

And, you, my sweet darling son, you know I love you more than my luggage, but we are so going to get you your own bed as soon as humanly possible. You are all knees, elbows and sharp corners. You steal the blankets worse than your father and though you are less than one third my weight you shove me to the edge of the bed so I cower on the edge of the bed teetering on a precipice (okay, so it is only six inches)..

So now we have a ‘family bed’. Do I like this arrangement? Ummm, no. Why are we doing this, you ask. Well, we had to leave E’s bed back in Idaho as we didn’t have room in the trailer. He hated the mattress anyway and I promised I would buy him a new bed. We also left the box spring to my & B’s bed (in Idaho, that is). So what are we sleeping on: one queen size mattress and an air mattress that is invariably deflated just enough so that my fat ass rests on the floor the next morning. We usually try to con Boy-boy into sleeping on that but he has gotten wise to us and even if he gets put down on the air mattress he usually moves over to the other by the time I get into bed and B & I race each other to try to claim the mattress.

B wins. My ass cries for a new bed.

Boys

2009-06-19T10:25:00.001-04:00

What is it with little boys and holes in the knees of their pants? I swear my boy just has to <i>look</i> at a new pair of pants and there will be a gaping hole in the knee before the week is out. Does he have laser beams in his knees or something?

We have only been in Minnesota a little over a month and the jeans I bought the week after we got here have a hole in the knee.

Maybe if I bought them with holes they would grow closed in a month.

Would that work?

What...no?

2009-06-15T17:03:00.001-04:00

Amalah (www.amalah.com) is so funny today I thought I was gonna pee my pants! This is so something that B would do. And naturally I would be the moron who forgot the appointment.

Back again

2009-06-09T23:17:00.004-04:00

Oh. Yeah. We moved in to our new townhouse last week and got cable/internet yesterday. Yay!! I can finally post here and access my email without having to go to the library.

I thank B's sister. She put up with us for almost three (3!!) months. She is almost a saint. But she doesn't have internet access at her house!!! My god! How very 20th century!!

Well, we are still in Minnesota. It isn't snowing. And I am still employed. I yam a happy woman.

And now, since anyone who may have actually been reading this has moved on, I am really looking forward to posting regularly again. Tomorrow. For it is late. And I want a bath. And some wine.

2009-05-18T14:40:00.001-04:00

Is the new Star Trek movie okay for a six year old to see. I want to get him indoctrinated as soon as possible.

Over the Rainbow

2009-05-15T13:30:00.002-04:00

Yesterday on our long, long, LOOOONG drive home we passed through patches of sun intermingled with rain showers. When we exited the freeway and started the drive to my SIL's place I saw the arc of a rainbow in the distance.

"Look, E, a rainbow!"

"I don't see it..."

"Right over there, between the..."

"Oh! There is is...do you see the end of it?"

"It's over there behind those trees."

"Can we drive to the end of the rainbow?"

I paused for a few moments. Do I talk about optics and prisms and that from a different angle it will disappear? Do I tell him that there is no 'end' of the rainbow, no pot of gold, no dream to reach for?

"We don't have enough gas, sweetie."

"Oh."

It made me a bit sad though. I am sad that I no longer believe in searching for the end of the rainbow, tilting at windmills or chasing unicorns. Santa is just a guy in a red costume, after all.

When is it that we lose the whimsy and playfullness of children? I don't know. I do know that I wish we had had enough gas to go chasing that rainbow.

Damn you cookies...

2009-04-20T20:10:00.001-04:00

Mmmmm...you had me at 'Hello'... (gratuitous movie reference...)

I just can't quit you...(even more obvious movie reference...)

Just piling on...

2009-04-18T15:44:00.003-04:00

Everyone else is doing it so I will too...

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent
Uploaded by dwarthy

Rock on, sister...

So much for Spring

2009-04-05T08:46:00.000-04:00

This is what we woke up to this morning. This is Spring?!!

(sent from my mobile device)

Still Alive, Still in MN, Very Thankful

2009-03-28T13:39:00.003-04:00

Well...I am still in Minnesota. I have to give thanks to some great people:

First of all to Don & Sandy who wired me some money to get me through probably one of the darkest times of my life. Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou...

To my SIL who gave us a place to stay. We are an awful handful to take in (two adults, one child, a dog and a cat) and it has been well over three days. It is an awfully long commute but until we get our feet more underneath us (i.e. I get a few more paychecks and can pay off some big-ass bills), it is great.

To anyone who reads this thank you for thinking of me. I only have spotty access to the internet so posting will be very lax until we can get our own place, but know I will be back.

...and, Marie? I think I love you...

Someone Lost a Tooth

2009-03-22T11:14:00.006-04:00

Sad...and Broke...but Employed, Sort Of...

2009-03-02T21:40:00.005-05:00

I am so broke right now that I don't know what to do. I am almost at the point of deciding between food and shelter.

The good new is I was offered employment. It is contract not permanent, but employment nonetheless. And after almost six months of not-a-lot-of-anything, I accepted. The bad news is it is 1500 miles from Idaho...in Minnesota. So we packed up the house and set off East, young woman. B had to stay behind, so it is me, E, our dog Ellie and our cat, Freckles. We are now in Minnesota.

The bad news is that this position requires that I have a birth certificate or passport as proof of citizenship. I was told that this was necessary today when I showed up for my first day of work (rather than before I left Idaho when I could have ordered the damn thing and had it waiting for me here in MN). My passport and my birth certificate are in a box that inadvertently got left in Florida. They sent me home.

Even if I could have started today I won't get a paycheck for two weeks.

We have enough money in the bank for 3 more days in a hotel. I can't get hold of any money in my 401ks or my remaining IRA for 15 calendar days.

We may wind up living in the car.

This is not good.

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning

2009-02-06T12:48:00.004-05:00

The view from my front porch on an early winter morning:

Prelude to Impressions

2009-01-21T23:30:00.003-05:00

I am working on a post about my impressions from yesterday's inauguration. One of those impressions is that Mr. Obama is the first president that is younger than I am, making me feel kind of old. So for all you young whippersnappers out there I want to post this here video of one of the pioneers of standup comedy, Shelley Berman.

Enjoy.

Mr. President

2009-01-20T16:38:00.002-05:00

God bless you, Mr. President.

You just can't make this stuff up...

2009-01-06T11:45:00.000-05:00

Moms, don't let your sons grow up to be IDIOTS!!!

...or marry crazy ladies...

...or be stupid criminals.

Lotsa stupidity around.

Idiots

2008-12-17T09:52:00.001-05:00

What were these parents thinking? What total idiots. They were obviously trying to make some stupid 'statement' without regard for their son. Before giving their child this stupid name they should have thought of how he will be treated growing up. This is an adorable child. He will have a hard time growing up until he changes his name (which he probably will).

These parents should be horsewhipped.

Happy Birthday

2008-12-12T17:08:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday, my sweet little boy. I can't believe you are 6 years old today. I so well remember your birth day. I thank God every day for you. I will love you forever and ever, my son.

Friends

2008-12-10T13:18:00.000-05:00

Watching this video makes me wish I had more close friends. I do know I'm gonna buy her book.

One word - Part Deux

2008-11-30T12:25:00.000-05:00

Hey! These are fun!!

What wakes you: Son
Your initial look in the mirror reveals: Foofy
You usually first put on: Slippers
Your closet: Big
Your mood before 11am: Cross-eyed
The first thing you look at online after email: News
Something you tend to snack on: Crackers
What you see out your front door: Mountains
Your takeout menus: None
Number of boxes of tissue out in your home right now: Three?
The way you sneeze would read: AHHHH-shooooo!
Number of times a day you probably brush your hair: One
The most predominant thing in your pantry: Cans
A smell commonly coming from your kitchen: Mmmmm!
How you sort your books: Sort?
The way you keep your place in a book: Fold
Something you hide when people come over: Clutter
Number of people normally at your table during dinner: Three
Something you put on your nightstand before bed: Book
How high you pull the covers when you go to sleep: Chin

For Black Friday

2008-11-28T21:31:00.000-05:00

Umm...yeah. Please...not a gift I want for Christmas.

Am a Geek

2008-11-27T20:10:00.000-05:00

Am such a geek. After cooking a delishus feast for my family today, I spent the remainder of the day turning this:

into this:

all while consuming copious amounts of this:

mmmmm...delicious, delicious wine...

Funny Pants

2008-11-25T22:22:00.001-05:00

Heh...Julie's got some pretty funny pants stories going on. If you've ever had a funny/embarrassing/humiliating incident with your pants, take a look.

It'll make you feel better. Or at least laugh.

Amazing

2008-11-23T21:37:00.001-05:00

Amazed: that we are destitute enough that E's school sent us a food basket for Thanksgiving.

Proud: Not too proud to accept it.

Observation

2008-11-22T14:21:00.003-05:00

Just marking time...

Your Observation Skills Get An A

Hardly anything gets by you...

You have a great memory and eagle eyes

How Observant Are You?

Out of town

2008-11-21T15:13:00.000-05:00

I am in Virginia interviewing for a job. I can't decide if I want it to go well or not.

God I don't want to move...

One Word

2008-11-20T10:14:00.001-05:00

A meme:
Single word answers only.

Where is your cell phone? Table
Where is your significant other? Bed
Your hair color? Blonde
Your mother? Dead
Your father? Also
Your favorite thing? Boy
Your dream last night? Eh?
Your dream/goal? Happiness
The room you’re in? Living
Your hobby? Crafting
Your fear? Sadness
Where do you want to be in six years? Content
Where were you last night? Sofa
What you’re not? Thin
One of your wish list items? Car
Where you grew up? Seattle
The last thing you did? Email
What are you wearing? Comfy
Your T.V.? Old
Your pet? Snuggly
Your computer? Warm
Your mood? Stressed
Missing someone? Yes
Your car? Overworked
Something you’re not wearing? Make-up
Favorite store? Not
Your Summer? Unsatisfying
Love someone? Family
Your favorite color? Coral
When is the last time you laughed? Laughed?
Last time you cried? Earlier

Wordless Wednesday - Despair

2008-11-19T11:32:00.001-05:00

Not my photo, but somehow so appropriate...

Keep It Going

2008-11-18T09:36:00.000-05:00

Meaningless drivel to keep up with the "Post Every Day" crap...

Yeah, it involved alcohol...

What's going on Down Under this week...?

And, finally..."The squirrel is my savior, I shall not want..."

I'm Goooood!

2008-11-17T23:00:00.001-05:00

You Have Very Healthy Relationships

You are an amazing friend, partner, and family member.

You always take other people's feelings into account, and you're never selfish.

Your relationships are based on mutual respect.

You respect the people you love, and you only love people who respect you in return.

Do You Have Healthy Relationships?

Dumb questions

2008-11-16T16:09:00.001-05:00

I am sitting here on a nice Sunday afternoon looking out at some golfers on the golf course while filling out my unemployment (stupid) quetionnaire and thinking to myself, "Why do these stupid dumb ass ridiculous recruiters/HR people/whatever ask such stupid questions? The one that is particularly bugging me is:

"What are you looking for in your next job?"

Dumb, dumb question to ask someone who is unemployed.

My answer? A paycheck, dumshit.

Chicken Stir-Fry

2008-11-15T08:05:00.004-05:00

I made the best dinner last night. I wish I had taken a picture of it so I could post it here but I hadn't planned on blogging about it so I didn't. Oh well. I'm gonna blog it anyway.

It was kind of a stir-fried chicken but it had just the right amount of 'heat' (for me anyway) to make it really yummy. I think it was just at the edge of E's 'heat' index...if it had been any spicier I don't think he would have liked it, but he said he liked this. I'm gonna make it again.

I kind of took a couple of recipes and put them together and then I substituted stuff because I didn't have what the recipe called for on hand and had to improvise.

1 pound chicken (I had a 20 oz package of chicken tenders so I froze half and used half)
8 oz angel hair pasta (I didn't have any angel hair so I used regular spaghetti)
2 c. fresh broccoli
1/2 c. Kraft Asian salad dressing (okay...I didn't have any of this stuff but I had Soy Vey teriyaki sauce...and I used almost 1/2 c. of that and a splash or two of Newman's Own salad dressing)
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. ground ginger (didn't have any so I skipped this)
1/4 t. red pepper flakes (this was just enough for me...if you need more heat, bump it up)
1/3 c. dry roasted peanuts (didn't have any of these so I toasted some slivered almonds instead)
a couple of green onions, sliced

First I put the water on to boil for the pasta. While I was waiting for that to come to a boil I used my wok to dry-toast the almonds. When they started to brown I poured them into a bowl. Then I cut up the chicken. E doesn't chew meat (or something...I don't understand it...) so I cut the chicken up very small. When the water was boiling, I broke the pasta in half, tossed it in and gave it a little stir. Then I cleaned the brocolli (how do you spell that???) and cut it into flowerettes.

Then I started to stir fry the chicken. I dribbled a little of the Newman's Own into the wok while I cooked the chicken thinking it might add some flavor (I couldn't tell if it made a difference). For the last 3 minutes or so of cooking the pasta I tossed the broccolli (that doesn't look right...) into the pot.

Combine the dressing(s) and spices. After the chicken is done, pour the dressing mixture over the chicken and let it cook for a minute or so. Drain the pasta (and that unspellable green vegetable) and then dump it in the wok with the chicken. Stir it all up a bit. I thought the sauce looked a little soupy so I took a tablespoon of cornstarch, mixed it with a little water and dumped that in. Then let it cook for a minute or so.

You can then put this yummy concoction on a pretty platter. I just put the wok on the table. Sprinkle the ~~peanuts~~ almonds and green onion over the top.

The Movie of my Life

2008-11-14T12:57:00.000-05:00

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Black Comedy

In your life, things are so twisted that you just have to laugh.

You may end up insane, but you'll have fun on the way to the asylum.

Your best movie matches: Being John Malkovich, The Royal Tenenbaums, American Psycho

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Just Junk

2008-11-13T17:48:00.002-05:00

The goody bags at children's parties. Who invented these? It must have been some psycho nutjob who had no kids. They are always filled with various pieces of junk. And if your kid's room looks anything like my kid's room, junk ain't exactly needed there (disinfectant and an industrial-strength vacuum cleaner, maybe, but more junk? I think not...).

But the thing is, kids love junk. I realized this as I stood with my kid in front of one of those banks of candy/junk machines you find where ever young children congregate. You know the junk machines...where there are little pieces of junk toys folded up into a little plastic egg? Yeah, those.

Well last weekend I was the desperate mother trying to talk a recalcitrant child into getting more sugar , more sugar, more psychodelic-colored sugar as he pressed his little nose to the bank of junk machines.

Me: E don't put your money in that. That is just junk. Here, look at the pretty fluorescent colors on all this sugary crap.
E (pointing to junk in junk machine): I want this.
Me: E, it is just junk. Here, don't you want to spoil your lunch?
E (lower lip starting to quiver): I want this.
Me: *sigh*

Ten minutes after we get home, he comes to me and asks if I can fix the toy that he got.

Junk. What a load of crap.

Wordless Wednesday - Out my window

2008-11-12T22:06:00.001-05:00

Weekly Word Challenge - Hands & Feet

2008-11-11T21:38:00.000-05:00

This week's words for Weekly Word Challenge were, well, too hard for me so I am digging back to last week and going for Hands and Feet.

Hands:

Feet:

Sunday Funnies...on Monday

2008-11-10T12:02:00.000-05:00

What Obama really meant by change...

hehehe...

Not Proud

2008-11-09T20:26:00.000-05:00

I am not proud of my country electing a black man as our next president. I know it is very historic. It is stupid that it took so long.

I am glad that the people in my country voted their conscience and did not factor the color of our new president's skin into the equation. That is the true meaning of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

For that I am proud.

Saturday 9 - The Best of What's Around

2008-11-08T23:43:00.001-05:00

1. What's the best new website you've found?
Hmmm...I've been ~~wasting~~ spending a a lot of time on Sudoku.

2. What's the best movie you've seen?
This is hard to answer a I love many movies. A real variety too. I love "Mame" (the one with Lucille Ball and Beatrice Arthur), "Chicago", "Casablanca", "Gone With the Wind" and "The Shawshank Redemption". Also "Madascar", "Happy Feet", "The Incredibles", and "Ratatouille".

3. What's the best quote you know?
The poor man is not he who is without a cent but he who is without a dream.

4. What's the best book you've read?
This is hard. I would say "The Time Traveler's Wife" simply because that is the only really good book I have read lately. I also like "The Kite Runner".

5. What's the best thing someone's done for you?
Probably the surprise baby shower I was given by some of my co-workers. It was a total surprise. I had no clue.

6. What's the best thing about your job?
Heh...getting paid. What I wouldn't give for that right now.

7. What’s the best CD you own?
Unplugged Eric Clapton

8. What’s the best new TV show you watch?
Eh...don't watch much 'new' TV. I just discovered "Jericho" which is, I think cancelled but is really really good. I also really like "Burn Notice" and "The Starter Wife" both on USA network.

9. What’s the best car you’ve owned?
My favorite car would be my bright red 1990 Toyota Celica, standard transmission. I loved that car.

Three Beautiful Things

2008-11-07T22:24:00.000-05:00

To combat the Friday Funk, I am gonna post 3 things that made me happy today.

1) The smile on my son's face as I tickled him awake this morning.

2) The sound of my cat's purring as he sleeps next to me.

3) The scent of the air freshener that I put out today.

Weekly Word Challenge - Then & Now

2008-11-06T23:52:00.001-05:00

The words for this week were Hands & Feet. I don't wanna do them this week so I am going to reach back a couple of weeks and do Then & Now.

Then: Here is my beautiful little boy at about 7 months old.

Now: Here he is a week ago after he fell asleep in our bed.

Wondering...

2008-11-05T09:35:00.000-05:00

Since black (men) were given the vote in 1865 and women were given the vote in 1920, does that mean it will be 55 years before there is a woman president?

It's Over

2008-11-04T21:34:00.001-05:00

Well McCain just gave his concession speach so I guess this long, long campaign is finally over. I think I am a bit torn. Though I did vote for Obama, I still did like McCain. There were just too many things in the Republican platform that I couldn't support. I liked Obama's economic plan better, but I just don't see how he can do it.

I have many doubts about his ability to carry out his campaign promises though. I wish him all the luck in the world and I sure as hell hope this country can get out of this economic funk, but I am really sceptical.

All I can say is God bless America. And God bless this big blue ball of ours.

Back to whining, bitching and moaning tomorrow.

Bad Blogger

2008-11-03T23:55:00.000-05:00

I find it exceptionally hard to blog when things are going badly. That somehow seems counterintuitive, that the act of writing here should be an unburdening. Some people whose blogs I read are in a very bad place emotionally and they write very often, sometimes more than once a day, but me? No.

I guess because I try to keep this a rather lighthearted place. Though really looking back on some of my older posts, the times when I was down were really some of my better stuff. Oh, well.

Right now things are going very badly. I am going to have to close out an IRA to pay my mortgage this month. I haven't had a good interview in over a week.

And B and I are fighting quite a bit. Loudly. In front of E.

I am in a very bad place right now.

Weekly Word Challenge - Plain & Adorned

2008-11-02T22:17:00.001-05:00

In an attempt to use the photos that I took for the WWC and yet in my stupidity and laziness failed to post, I shall attempt to catch up using my somewhat halfhearted attempt at participating in NaBloPoMo again this year.

The words were Plain and Adorned.

Dog, Plain and simple.

Dog, Adorned and unhappy. No, your dog really does not want to wear this.

Pleeze git dis off me. I iz not happy now.

Absolutely the last Halloween post....

2008-11-01T10:28:00.004-04:00

...will be a wussy mostly-pictures-post-because-I-am-too-lazy-to-try-to-think-up-actual-words-and-shit.

Here is the beginning of our pumpkin-carving activity:

And, yes, here is the eventual product of said pumpkin-carving activity.

Shut up! I was just glad to get it done with all of my fingers intact and no eyeballs dripping blood.

The Requisite Mommy-blogger Halloween Post

2008-10-31T22:00:00.002-04:00

Well, another Halloween has come and gone. My son will soon pass out from his sugar-induced eating orgy and I, well, am still unemployed. Oh, joy.

But, now, this is not about me and my ~~paranoia~~ ~~dementia~~ depression. This is about sending innocent little cherubs out ~~to beg for candy~~ for some innocent childhood fun. This is probably the first year he has truly understood what was happening. He has been asking about his costume for a week. Being the lazy slaggard that I am, I naturally put off finishing it until this morning. He has been a wizard for the past two years; a costume I made thinking ahead to when he would be sick of being a wizard and I could foist off the Grim Reaper on him (hey, scary, different, not a wizard! ). I could use the robe from the wizard costume, add a hood, paint his face white, hand him a scythe (okay, a hockey stick), and voila! Grim Reaper.

Here is my son as the Grim Reaper. Originally I was going to make some white face paint (simply made from shortening mixed with cornstarch) and then paint some black around his eyes and mouth with eyeshadow (boy, ain't I creative?). We had to eat dinner before heading out (boy I have never seen a 5-year old scarf down supper so fast). He was finished almost before I sat down. He didn't want to wait for me to paint his face. I guess he was worried all the candy would be gone before he got to it.

He needn't have worried:

Things you don't wanna hear...

2008-10-07T12:07:00.000-04:00

I missed the fun over at Jennsylvania and she has closed the comments but I really want to put this story out there. The topic was, "Things You Don't Wanna Hear..."

It was 1992. I was going on a scuba diving trip to Belize with 8 of my friends (the woman who trained me; two people who were in my class; their two children; an exchange student staying with them; and another couple who are friends of us all). We needed to fly from Belize City to Dandriga to catch the boat which would take us to the resort we were all staying at, the Blue Marlin Lodge.

Just as a reminder...we were going scuba diving, meaning scuba gear. For nine people. For seven days. That is a lot of gear.

This was a small plane; a ten-seater, with the tenth seat being that of the pilot. We were just beginning to board the plane; most of my friends were already standing at the door getting ready to climb aboard. I was back just a bit, near the tail taking a picture of the plane. I heard the pilot speaking to the guy loading the gear,

"Did you weigh all this stuff?"

...And So It Goes...

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