Hey, look at me - I’m a college student. Again. How weird is that? And at a new school. Now that is not so unusual. In fact, there seems to be a pattern. With every move to a new town comes a new school for me to take a class or two at. God forbid I ever actually get my act together and need to submit all my transcripts. That would be a Herculean task. Chris has one. I, on the other hand, could possibly have dozens! I’m like a connoisseur of colleges. And when you request transcripts they like to know what year/s you attended. That’s funny. I can’t even tell you with any certainty what year I moved to California! That information requires a phone call to the Sain’t.
Anyways, today is the start of my semester. I’ve sharpened my Dixon-Ticonderogas, dusted off the Trapper-Keeper and had my Wheaties…
::crickets::
And I’ve got nowhere to go. And no specific time to be there.
Hmpf. On-line classes are a bit anticlimactic. I guess tonight I’ll log into the system, get my assignment, and participate in the discussion group where everyone will have to introduce themselves. Hmm, lack of public speaking is definitely a plus! On the other hand, I talked Cynthia into taking the class with me. It wasn’t hard. But it’s going to be tricky getting the desk next to her in the back row. How are we going to furtively pass notes to each other and spread rumors about Chad and Susie breaking up?!
p/s I weighed the textbook - its 5 lbs!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Friday, May 09, 2008
Too Cool for School
Not.
In fact I’m going to summer school!
And it’s all Chris’s fault.
He was looking at welding classes at Sierra College one afternoon so I started to peruse the class schedule myself thinking it would be great to take another photography class. I took several photography classes at Ventura College many many years ago and I loved it! Black & White Film – way back when before digital was even a pipe-dream and dinosaurs still roamed the earth. I loved working in the darkroom and experimenting with double exposures, solarizing prints etc. The only reason I stopped taking photography classes was a problem I had with one of the instructors. I won’t bother going into details but I will say that I politely declined to smoke a peace pipe with him at the end of the semester. So, I didn’t take another class with him but took a painting class instead. And now this lovely trip down memory lane has distracted me… where was I? Oh yes, discovering that the Fall Semester photography classes were only one evening a week. That sounded doable. There was even a Saturday morning class. Chris was all for it. So I hopped on-line and applied for admission to Sierra College. But the Fall Semester start until August. I started wondering what classes I could take over the summer. I found a Web Programming I (HTML & CSS) on-line course – hey why not? (Again, Chris said I should do it. He totally supports me going back to school to finish getting my degree. Which is great, but I don’t know how he is going to convince me to finally take that Speech class. Good luck with that buddy.)
So, I signed up. Class starts next Monday. And after buying the text book – which has to weigh at least 20 pounds!! – I’ve now spent 130 dollars to learn the same things I have been teaching myself for the past few months with a library book! Which had an out of pocket cost of $0. No I ask you - is that smart? Maybe I really do need to go back to school.
In fact I’m going to summer school!
And it’s all Chris’s fault.
He was looking at welding classes at Sierra College one afternoon so I started to peruse the class schedule myself thinking it would be great to take another photography class. I took several photography classes at Ventura College many many years ago and I loved it! Black & White Film – way back when before digital was even a pipe-dream and dinosaurs still roamed the earth. I loved working in the darkroom and experimenting with double exposures, solarizing prints etc. The only reason I stopped taking photography classes was a problem I had with one of the instructors. I won’t bother going into details but I will say that I politely declined to smoke a peace pipe with him at the end of the semester. So, I didn’t take another class with him but took a painting class instead. And now this lovely trip down memory lane has distracted me… where was I? Oh yes, discovering that the Fall Semester photography classes were only one evening a week. That sounded doable. There was even a Saturday morning class. Chris was all for it. So I hopped on-line and applied for admission to Sierra College. But the Fall Semester start until August. I started wondering what classes I could take over the summer. I found a Web Programming I (HTML & CSS) on-line course – hey why not? (Again, Chris said I should do it. He totally supports me going back to school to finish getting my degree. Which is great, but I don’t know how he is going to convince me to finally take that Speech class. Good luck with that buddy.)
So, I signed up. Class starts next Monday. And after buying the text book – which has to weigh at least 20 pounds!! – I’ve now spent 130 dollars to learn the same things I have been teaching myself for the past few months with a library book! Which had an out of pocket cost of $0. No I ask you - is that smart? Maybe I really do need to go back to school.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Well it's about time!
What a slacker I am - haven't posted since last Saturday night. Tsk tsk. (and again I find myself fighting the urge to post a Bay City Rollers video!) But today was a day of many fine accomplishments. I finally got my hair done. And believe me when I say that it was long overdue. And as you can see, elfini-land has a new ‘do too! I was not finding the errant line of code that was plaguing my original template, so I finally gave up, loaded a new template (Minima) and started customizing. And I’m not finished yet but it’s a start. What do you think? Do you miss the green grassy field? Will a nice Santa Cruz beach suffice? Chris is just thankful that I hadn’t gotten around to uploading the Stalin poster off my camera yet or this site might have been far more red!
And speaking of commie pinkos – I’m back to reading about the Balkans. Now that is some warm and fuzzy bed-time reading. And I passed A Dirty Job on to Chris, who is suffering his own dirty job this evening. He took Kyle to a River Cat’s (Sacramento’s AAA baseball team) game. Kyle’s school choir and band got to sing the National Anthem before the game and Take Me Out to the Ballgame at the top of the 6th. Which I’m sure was fun for Kyle but he had to miss his own baseball game tonight. And they were playing the Rangers – the only team they have managed to beat this season. I went by the ball field at the end of the game and found out the Giants won! Something like 15-5. I wish I had seen that game.
And speaking of commie pinkos – I’m back to reading about the Balkans. Now that is some warm and fuzzy bed-time reading. And I passed A Dirty Job on to Chris, who is suffering his own dirty job this evening. He took Kyle to a River Cat’s (Sacramento’s AAA baseball team) game. Kyle’s school choir and band got to sing the National Anthem before the game and Take Me Out to the Ballgame at the top of the 6th. Which I’m sure was fun for Kyle but he had to miss his own baseball game tonight. And they were playing the Rangers – the only team they have managed to beat this season. I went by the ball field at the end of the game and found out the Giants won! Something like 15-5. I wish I had seen that game.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
S. A. T U R. D A Y. night!
I've started ready A Dirty Job: A Novel by Christopher Moore. Let's not expect me to get anything else done for awhile. And I'm laughing so hard that I keep putting the book down and wanting to call someone. But you people aren't answering your phone!
Best quote so far: "Fuzz on the toast of Death".
Best quote so far: "Fuzz on the toast of Death".
Friday, April 25, 2008
Party at Elfini's!!
My parents are going out of town and my brother promised to get me a six-pack of Budweiser with his fake i.d.
or...
Kyle is at his dad's this weekend and Chris took Erin to Santa Cruz. Chris gets to dive, the grandparents get their baby fix, and I get to stay up past 9:00pm!
or...
Kyle is at his dad's this weekend and Chris took Erin to Santa Cruz. Chris gets to dive, the grandparents get their baby fix, and I get to stay up past 9:00pm!
Monday, April 21, 2008
B-days a go-go
Wow, April is birthday month. Chris started things off on the 2nd. Erin's was on the 13th. My dad turned 88 on the 19th! 88! On the 19th!! The Sain't had a birthday yesterday on the 21st. And today is Paula's (my mother-in-law) birthday. Happy Birthday P!
Am I forgetting anyone else? Because apparently my day-timer can't be trusted. I had Sain't down on the 19th and my dad on the 21st. And I suspected that I had somehow gotten them mixed-up, but then Sain't called on the 19th complaining that his birthday check from his parents keeps getting smaller every year. I was at a game (were else?!) and told him happy birthday and I would call him later. I left him a message somewhere between the library and the grocery store with more birthday salutations but without any singing - I know how he likes to sock things away for later use. That evening he calls back and admits that his birthday isn’t until the 21st. Bastard. Of course by then it was too late to call my dad on the east-coast. That 3 hour thing is always screwing me up. That and my friends who obviously love and cherish me. Ha.
So, I called my dad on the 21st. In fact I managed to check off everything on yesterday’s to-do list (except start the Christopher Moore book) and I even had time to make this –
Am I forgetting anyone else? Because apparently my day-timer can't be trusted. I had Sain't down on the 19th and my dad on the 21st. And I suspected that I had somehow gotten them mixed-up, but then Sain't called on the 19th complaining that his birthday check from his parents keeps getting smaller every year. I was at a game (were else?!) and told him happy birthday and I would call him later. I left him a message somewhere between the library and the grocery store with more birthday salutations but without any singing - I know how he likes to sock things away for later use. That evening he calls back and admits that his birthday isn’t until the 21st. Bastard. Of course by then it was too late to call my dad on the east-coast. That 3 hour thing is always screwing me up. That and my friends who obviously love and cherish me. Ha.
So, I called my dad on the 21st. In fact I managed to check off everything on yesterday’s to-do list (except start the Christopher Moore book) and I even had time to make this –
- all while being a wife, mother, vital-cog and member-of-society-at-large. Amazing.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Baseball's been bery bery good to me...
Actually baseball has been kicking my ass. Where did my weekend go?!
Friday night there was a game up in Newcastle. The Giants lost. (Although Kyle smacked one to left field for a base run, and then scored) And then they had another game at 12:30 on Saturday. It was looking good for the Giants in the first half but things fell apart when the A's brought in Cecil to pitch. This kid is the best pitcher in the league. We quickly lost our 8-4 lead and ended up losing 9-17. Ouch. (Kyle got walked this time and then scored) And I'm sure that game wasn't really any longer than their night games, but I was exhausted by the time we got home around 4pm. Then I hit the library, the grocery store, we went out to dinner, took a postprandial walk around the neighborhood and then bam - it was Sunday. And besides finally loading the film in the Holga, I didn't do much this afternoon besides the obligatory laundry. Fun for me.
And tomorrow I get to find out if the IT guys managed to get my computer fixed at work. My Microsoft Outlook stopped working last Wednesday and I spent over 2 hours on the phone with them Friday afternoon. I've got to tell you, my expectations are not high.
Oh! Before the never-ending call to the Help Desk? I was at the doctors seeking help for my rib-cracking-cough-that-just-won't-quit! And I was sent away with a prescription for Advair. Which is a asthma inhaler! ?? I don't know why - but at least it seems to be helping.
Tomorrow's to-do list:
Friday night there was a game up in Newcastle. The Giants lost. (Although Kyle smacked one to left field for a base run, and then scored) And then they had another game at 12:30 on Saturday. It was looking good for the Giants in the first half but things fell apart when the A's brought in Cecil to pitch. This kid is the best pitcher in the league. We quickly lost our 8-4 lead and ended up losing 9-17. Ouch. (Kyle got walked this time and then scored) And I'm sure that game wasn't really any longer than their night games, but I was exhausted by the time we got home around 4pm. Then I hit the library, the grocery store, we went out to dinner, took a postprandial walk around the neighborhood and then bam - it was Sunday. And besides finally loading the film in the Holga, I didn't do much this afternoon besides the obligatory laundry. Fun for me.
And tomorrow I get to find out if the IT guys managed to get my computer fixed at work. My Microsoft Outlook stopped working last Wednesday and I spent over 2 hours on the phone with them Friday afternoon. I've got to tell you, my expectations are not high.
Oh! Before the never-ending call to the Help Desk? I was at the doctors seeking help for my rib-cracking-cough-that-just-won't-quit! And I was sent away with a prescription for Advair. Which is a asthma inhaler! ?? I don't know why - but at least it seems to be helping.
Tomorrow's to-do list:
- Call my dad and wish him a happy 88th birthday! Apologize for not calling on the 19th. The Sain't does not get another call.
- Call Katie and reschedule coffee.
- Shoot some more of the roll of film in the Holga!!
- Start reading new books; Balkan Ghosts and A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore.
- more laundry. It really never ends.
At least there isn't another game until Wednesday.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Typical. A day late and 24 cupcakes short.
April 13, 2007
One year later...
One year later...
Can you believe it?! Erin’s 1st birthday was yesterday; although we celebrated on Saturday. This whole leap year thing made it easy to claim both days as appropriate for celebrations. We had the cake and presents on Saturday and the much anticipated flipping of the car-seat ceremony on Sunday the 13th. Ok, it wasn’t much of a ceremony; Erin and I were inside while Chris re-installed the car-seat to its new forward-facing position. Yay. Of course now I can barely operate the straps because everything is backwards! Parenting is fun.
So, the big party? Not so big, it was just the 4 of us and Chris’s folks. But that was ok – more cake for us! And of course I made the cake because that is what I do. I am most mom-like when it comes to birthdays. I will bake for you! You want a cake? Great - what color? Need 31 cupcakes for you class? No problem. And this time, since Cook’s Illustrated just happened to have a recipe for chocolate frosting, I made the frosting for my cake (still from a box) from scratch! (Yes, that particular CI had a cake recipe too but it was yellow and we are chocolate cake people) And may I just say, that frosting? Way too chocolaty!!! I know, many of you can’t comprehend such a thing, but dude, it was rich. And I have a ton left over! And according to Chris throwing away frosting is some sort of cardinal sin! Gads. He was more than ready for me to make a batch of cupcakes to put under all that frosting. Like we really need 2 dozen cupcakes hanging around the house. I think I’ll just throw that tub-o-frosting in the freezer. Someone has to show some restraint around here!
I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that Erin is 1. Too fast! We bought Erin her first doll house and quickly declared the Little People Dad a nerd because of his sweater-vest. She also got one of these ride-on contraptions from Grandma and Grandpa. She is all over pushing those buttons* but not that interested in riding on it. Yet. And they also bought her one of those Corn Poppers! That is not nice!! And of course Kyle is having great fun playing with all her new toys. Goober.
I would like to say that I’ll finish sorting through the gazillion photos this evening, but Kyle has a baseball game**. You just might have to wait until Tuesday night to see more of Erin in all her one year old, toothy, chocolate covered, party dress wearin’ glory. But I can guarantee you that it will be well worth the wait!
* Buttons. Really, that is all that little girl wants to do – push buttons. Eventually she'll find mine! But for now, her favorites are the ones on the tv and dvd players. Great.
** The Giants are 0-5 or is it 6? Either way, they are having a rough go of things so far. But Kyle is doing really well for his first season playing. He needs to gain confidence at the plate and get more aggressive, but he is doing fine when out in the field. He caught a pop fly to right field last week in the first inning. I have vowed never be late for a game again! And when I did get there he was playing 3rd base! The coach has said he was going to be starting him from now on because he's worked really hard and nothing gets by him. Way to go Kyle!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Love Thursday - the Floral Edition
I came downstairs this afternoon and discovered that someone had left me flowers! And just in time for Shutter Sister's Love Thursday!
And who is my secret admirer? Well, I'm not going to name names, but he is awefully cute and as you can see surprisingly sweet.
Don't tell anyone because I've got a reputation to uphold, but I love him to pieces!
This post brought to you by the letter V and Dupont "Better Living through Chemistry"
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
The Root of all Evil
If you have been following my Twitter* updates there on the right, you probably already know that I ended up having a root canal yesterday afternoon. Those endodontists are a sneaking bunch - "Oh my, that tooth is bad and needs a root canal - and since you're already here in my chair why don't you just put on these not-so-stylish sunglasses and lay back..." And an hour or so later, your jaws sore from being wedged open for so long (oh yes - a wedge!), you're writing out a check for some un-godly sum but you don't care -it's so worth it because that pain the big huge please make it stop pain - it's gone! And this morning, even though my jaw is still a bit sore, I feel 1000% better. Which is amazing because this last month has been rough to put it mildly.
Of course now I need to make another appointment with my dentist to get a crown for this reformed bad tooth. But again, feeling good is still a novelty so I don't care. Happy happy joy joy. But I do wonder about my dentist... did he really not know what he was seeing on the x-ray? That slight clouding that was so mysterious to him? He mumbled something about possible resorbtion - rare - only sees 1-2 cases a year - treatable if caught early - I'll refer you to - maybe they'll know... ??? Did he not know I was heading for a root canal? or was he just chicken -didn't want to be the one to give me that bad news?
Either way, they have rebuilt me. And now I am better than before! Like the bionic woman. Hey it would be really cool if I could get pod-casts on my new and improved tooth. Or maybe blue-tooth capabilities! Viva la borg.
*I don't know what it is but I know I like it!
I started seeing Twitter updates on other blogs awhile ago. I even created my own Twitter account but never posted. And then a week or so ago I received an email that someone was following me on Twitter. What? A stalker of my very own?! How exciting! So I started posting and added the link to my sidebar. But when a couple people asked me what Twitter is, I discovered that I can't answer them. I'm just not sure how to describe it. And apparently I'm not the only one because this guy made this handy little video to help explain Twitter to the masses. So click play and then you too will know and love Twitter. You just won't be able to explain it to anyone.
Of course now I need to make another appointment with my dentist to get a crown for this reformed bad tooth. But again, feeling good is still a novelty so I don't care. Happy happy joy joy. But I do wonder about my dentist... did he really not know what he was seeing on the x-ray? That slight clouding that was so mysterious to him? He mumbled something about possible resorbtion - rare - only sees 1-2 cases a year - treatable if caught early - I'll refer you to - maybe they'll know... ??? Did he not know I was heading for a root canal? or was he just chicken -didn't want to be the one to give me that bad news?
Either way, they have rebuilt me. And now I am better than before! Like the bionic woman. Hey it would be really cool if I could get pod-casts on my new and improved tooth. Or maybe blue-tooth capabilities! Viva la borg.
*I don't know what it is but I know I like it!
I started seeing Twitter updates on other blogs awhile ago. I even created my own Twitter account but never posted. And then a week or so ago I received an email that someone was following me on Twitter. What? A stalker of my very own?! How exciting! So I started posting and added the link to my sidebar. But when a couple people asked me what Twitter is, I discovered that I can't answer them. I'm just not sure how to describe it. And apparently I'm not the only one because this guy made this handy little video to help explain Twitter to the masses. So click play and then you too will know and love Twitter. You just won't be able to explain it to anyone.
Monday, April 07, 2008
I've got nothin'
Wow. Monday already. This cold has been kickin’ my ass. As a result not much has been going on.
Let’s see…what can I tell you...
- I'm almost finished reading Comrades!: A History of World Communism.
- I have put Sain’t Christopher’s banner project on hold while he re-thinks his tag-line.
- Haven’t opened that CSS code book all week. I carry it around with me though. Learning by osmosis – it could happen!
- Picked up a new scanner on Saturday and am very pleased that it will scan 120 negatives! Now I just need to load the Holga and start taking some pictures.
- Have been sitting with Kyle every afternoon making him practice his bass. The boy is this-close to getting kicked out of band. I don’t want to talk about it.
- And Erin will be 1 next Sunday. Which means I'll be baking a cake. Come on over.
So now that you are caught up, I think its time for another dose of Emergen-C. And then it’s off to Jen’s to pick up Erin and find out what happened when the bullet meant for Sonny ricocheted off the shelf and hit Michael! Carly is going to be so pissed.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
But what if I want to see Jesus?
Hey - today is Chris's birthday! But enough about him. I would like to state for the record that I like NyQuil. Even better - his generic cousin in the nice easy-to-swallow gel-caps!
I've had a cold since last week and the headaches have been bad lately. I couldn't afford to wake up in the middle of the night with another headache. (I've only got 1 Maxalt left and 2 weeks to go before I can get another refill!) I needed to get a good nights sleep. So I asked the medicine-man (yeah, Chris had the cold first and at the first sign of a scratchy throat Cptn. Pharmacy springs into action) what we've got. And now I ask you - who would bother with sipping night-time TheraFlu when you have NyQuil in a pill?! Nighty-night rabbit.
But getting up this morning was not so easy. I was having dreams with French sub-titles. Awesome! Snooze #1 = normal. Snooze #2 = I shouldn't but ok just this once. # 3 = got up, turned off the alarm, got back into bed. I figured I would get up in time to drive Kyle to school, drop off Erin, and then come back home and shower and go to work. Yes, I was ready to be late.
Somehow I got here 15 minutes early. WTF? Really, how does that make sense?! I don't even think I noticed that I was driving the huge man-van and not my nice mid-sized Highlander. And during our ritual morning phone call, Chris made the observation the NyQuil seems to agree with me*. Can't argue with that! Although the boss-man might disagree as I'm trying to put together his expense reports right now!
*Although on our second call - as I laughed wildly at nothing - he seems to have reversed his position and declared me a danger to myself and the office supplies.
I've had a cold since last week and the headaches have been bad lately. I couldn't afford to wake up in the middle of the night with another headache. (I've only got 1 Maxalt left and 2 weeks to go before I can get another refill!) I needed to get a good nights sleep. So I asked the medicine-man (yeah, Chris had the cold first and at the first sign of a scratchy throat Cptn. Pharmacy springs into action) what we've got. And now I ask you - who would bother with sipping night-time TheraFlu when you have NyQuil in a pill?! Nighty-night rabbit.
But getting up this morning was not so easy. I was having dreams with French sub-titles. Awesome! Snooze #1 = normal. Snooze #2 = I shouldn't but ok just this once. # 3 = got up, turned off the alarm, got back into bed. I figured I would get up in time to drive Kyle to school, drop off Erin, and then come back home and shower and go to work. Yes, I was ready to be late.
Somehow I got here 15 minutes early. WTF? Really, how does that make sense?! I don't even think I noticed that I was driving the huge man-van and not my nice mid-sized Highlander. And during our ritual morning phone call, Chris made the observation the NyQuil seems to agree with me*. Can't argue with that! Although the boss-man might disagree as I'm trying to put together his expense reports right now!
*Although on our second call - as I laughed wildly at nothing - he seems to have reversed his position and declared me a danger to myself and the office supplies.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
The gift that keeps on giving
Look at what I got!
A Holga!* A present from the ever lovely Julie T for the work I did on her Bad Home Cooking banner. I am so excited about this! And do you see that little white box to the left of the camera? That is film** baby! Yup, it's a cheap plastic 120 medium format film camera. Oh the fun I will have!
But not today. Cause I'm sick. The baby started it with her running nose. Chris went down suddenly Thursday night. And when I woke this morning I was not my usual sunny self. I've just been a slug all day; reading a book on typography and glancing at the CSS book without the energy to actually pick it up. I'm hoping I will have more pep tomorrow because I want to finish up the work I've started on Sain't Christopher's project. Now that the ethical dilemma has been resolved (he asked, she said yes), I can proceed with a clear conscience. And when it is done and has been declared "Glorious!" maybe the Sain't will send me more film (wink wink nudge nudge).
* Because how was she going to ship a hoagie?!
** I've read that Ilford's film has a minty flavor. Sweet!
A Holga!* A present from the ever lovely Julie T for the work I did on her Bad Home Cooking banner. I am so excited about this! And do you see that little white box to the left of the camera? That is film** baby! Yup, it's a cheap plastic 120 medium format film camera. Oh the fun I will have!
But not today. Cause I'm sick. The baby started it with her running nose. Chris went down suddenly Thursday night. And when I woke this morning I was not my usual sunny self. I've just been a slug all day; reading a book on typography and glancing at the CSS book without the energy to actually pick it up. I'm hoping I will have more pep tomorrow because I want to finish up the work I've started on Sain't Christopher's project. Now that the ethical dilemma has been resolved (he asked, she said yes), I can proceed with a clear conscience. And when it is done and has been declared "Glorious!" maybe the Sain't will send me more film (wink wink nudge nudge).
* Because how was she going to ship a hoagie?!
** I've read that Ilford's film has a minty flavor. Sweet!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
An overnight sensation
Rome might not have been built in a day but what about a toddler?
We went to Santa Cruz this past weekend. We left Friday morning with a cute little 11 month old girl who crawls like a speed demon but could be contained by setting her in the grass. Such a sweet little baby. By the time we put her to bed – all that had changed. She was still sweet but life as we knew it was over.
Friday afternoon Paul came by. After awhile, Chris, Paul, Kyle and I went out front leaving Grandma to watch the baby. And who should come crawling out the front door and down the sidewalk? The baby. (Doing quite a number on the knees of her pajamas I might add) Thinking we can keep an easy eye on her, we set her in the dreaded grass. And Paul (who will soon go home and not have to spend the rest of his day keeping track of the baby) starts to lure Erin across the lawn. Pulling up grass and sprinkling it in front of her – waving leaves in her face – and BAM! Erin’s fear of crawling on grass is conquered. I suppose that’s not too awful. But after she started crawling down the sidewalk towards Portola Drive we went back inside.
Later, after our guard has been let back down because we were inside - where it’s safe - someone asks “Where’s Erin?” Not seeing her anywhere on the floor where she should be, we find her on the stairs. Not in front of the stairs but on. the. stairs. She’s crawled up the first step and we stand there, watching in horror as she continues up the stairs! So not good. We bought a gate Saturday morning.
And because these things like to come in 3's – she finished off the day by perfecting the stand and scoot - fine let’s call a spade a spade – the stand and walk around the furniture routine. Good gravy, if this is what that fresh sea air will do to you next time we'll go to LA!
I’m sure other things happened this weekend but until the PTBWSD* subsides I’ll be damned if I can remember any of it!
*Post Traumatic Baby Walking Stress Disorder
Since we’ve been home we have removed the bumper from her crib (rendering it a bleak prison cell – I have vowed to buy prettier sheets!).
And now we need to re-baby-proof everything that 2-3 feet off the ground. Oh the joy.
How was your weekend?
p.s. – I just wanted to mention that I could have gone with the whole ‘She has risen’ Easter theme but I didn’t. There might be a hint of regret.
We went to Santa Cruz this past weekend. We left Friday morning with a cute little 11 month old girl who crawls like a speed demon but could be contained by setting her in the grass. Such a sweet little baby. By the time we put her to bed – all that had changed. She was still sweet but life as we knew it was over.
Friday afternoon Paul came by. After awhile, Chris, Paul, Kyle and I went out front leaving Grandma to watch the baby. And who should come crawling out the front door and down the sidewalk? The baby. (Doing quite a number on the knees of her pajamas I might add) Thinking we can keep an easy eye on her, we set her in the dreaded grass. And Paul (who will soon go home and not have to spend the rest of his day keeping track of the baby) starts to lure Erin across the lawn. Pulling up grass and sprinkling it in front of her – waving leaves in her face – and BAM! Erin’s fear of crawling on grass is conquered. I suppose that’s not too awful. But after she started crawling down the sidewalk towards Portola Drive we went back inside.
Later, after our guard has been let back down because we were inside - where it’s safe - someone asks “Where’s Erin?” Not seeing her anywhere on the floor where she should be, we find her on the stairs. Not in front of the stairs but on. the. stairs. She’s crawled up the first step and we stand there, watching in horror as she continues up the stairs! So not good. We bought a gate Saturday morning.
And because these things like to come in 3's – she finished off the day by perfecting the stand and scoot - fine let’s call a spade a spade – the stand and walk around the furniture routine. Good gravy, if this is what that fresh sea air will do to you next time we'll go to LA!
I’m sure other things happened this weekend but until the PTBWSD* subsides I’ll be damned if I can remember any of it!
*Post Traumatic Baby Walking Stress Disorder
Since we’ve been home we have removed the bumper from her crib (rendering it a bleak prison cell – I have vowed to buy prettier sheets!).
And now we need to re-baby-proof everything that 2-3 feet off the ground. Oh the joy.
How was your weekend?
p.s. – I just wanted to mention that I could have gone with the whole ‘She has risen’ Easter theme but I didn’t. There might be a hint of regret.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Neither horseshoes nor hand-grenades
I’m so close...
So, I’ve been muckin’ around knee-deep in code all week, determined to get this blog in shape. And last night I found it – the chunk of code that will contain this beast. And as you can see Elfini-land is now 800px wide and will stay that way until I say otherwise! That is how great my powers are.
Unfortunately there is still a slight problem. When I am editing my template and hit ‘preview’, the site looks perfect! It floats in the center of the window as it has been instructed to do. Yet when I open the page on its own, I find it snuggled up tight to the left. Refusing to budge even a little bit. What the hell?! It’s making me a bit claustrophobic and I have not yet been able to figure out what it causing this blatant disobedience. But I will. It might take me another half dozen chapters but I will emerge victorious!
And after that - who knows? Maybe a line delineating the side bar. A colored background? Or maybe some blinky lights pointing to the comments link!
The world is my css oyster!
So, I’ve been muckin’ around knee-deep in code all week, determined to get this blog in shape. And last night I found it – the chunk of code that will contain this beast. And as you can see Elfini-land is now 800px wide and will stay that way until I say otherwise! That is how great my powers are.
Unfortunately there is still a slight problem. When I am editing my template and hit ‘preview’, the site looks perfect! It floats in the center of the window as it has been instructed to do. Yet when I open the page on its own, I find it snuggled up tight to the left. Refusing to budge even a little bit. What the hell?! It’s making me a bit claustrophobic and I have not yet been able to figure out what it causing this blatant disobedience. But I will. It might take me another half dozen chapters but I will emerge victorious!
And after that - who knows? Maybe a line delineating the side bar. A colored background? Or maybe some blinky lights pointing to the comments link!
The world is my css oyster!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
I’ve got mad skittles!
Skidlios
Skills
I’ve got mad skills. That’s talent. Man, don’t you have an 11 year old? (Want one?)
After much prompting (read: begging, flattery, although not nearly enough bribery) I put down the bon-bons and made Julie her new blog banner. After many hours of my patented ‘learn as you go’ Photoshop methods and several phone calls, I think we have a winner. Well, she hasn’t taken it down in 2 days so I’m going to claim it a success.
So, go check it out- Bad Home Cooking and tell us what you think.
Now I really have to fix my own blog. After getting my new monitor, I discovered my template is not a fixed width but all free floating. Now I’m all for “willy-nilly” and “go-with-the-flow” but not when it comes to recipes or blog design! So, I am once again reading books on html and css looking for that one line of code that will fix everything. I really don’t want to have to start from scratch.
And Sain’t Christopher – I haven’t forgotten about your banner. In fact I have a couple ideas. But first I need to learn how to use Illustrator. Don’t worry; I’ve got a book for that too.
Skills
I’ve got mad skills. That’s talent. Man, don’t you have an 11 year old? (Want one?)
After much prompting (read: begging, flattery, although not nearly enough bribery) I put down the bon-bons and made Julie her new blog banner. After many hours of my patented ‘learn as you go’ Photoshop methods and several phone calls, I think we have a winner. Well, she hasn’t taken it down in 2 days so I’m going to claim it a success.
So, go check it out- Bad Home Cooking and tell us what you think.
Now I really have to fix my own blog. After getting my new monitor, I discovered my template is not a fixed width but all free floating. Now I’m all for “willy-nilly” and “go-with-the-flow” but not when it comes to recipes or blog design! So, I am once again reading books on html and css looking for that one line of code that will fix everything. I really don’t want to have to start from scratch.
And Sain’t Christopher – I haven’t forgotten about your banner. In fact I have a couple ideas. But first I need to learn how to use Illustrator. Don’t worry; I’ve got a book for that too.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Dear kwall1000
Whoa, I just signed an email 'Mom'.
I actually paused - that has got to be the strangest thing I've ever typed. Mom. Three little letters have never felt so surreal.
I actually paused - that has got to be the strangest thing I've ever typed. Mom. Three little letters have never felt so surreal.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Schadenfreude
You should call me. Right now. I just got back from the dentist and half my face is sliding down to my shoulder. No, I’m pretty sure it is, but I’m not going to risk looking in a mirror for confirmation. Anyways, if you were to call me I would talk funny. And the odds are good that I would also bite my tongue. And then you would laugh - cause that’s how my friends roll. I know – I hand picked you for our matching evil streaks.
I had a very small cavity and spent more time getting shot full of Novocain that actually being drilled on. I’m not complaining about that at all. But I did miss my favorite part of getting a filling. Yes, I have a favorite part. Are you surprised? Well you shouldn’t be. It’s all a part of my rosy half-glass-full outlook on life that I somehow managed to get. (Now that surprises even me!)
Anyways. The part I like is actually a sound. And you won’t get this unless you too have lived at some point in a part of the land that has real winters – complete with snow and air you can’t breath. The sound of a filling being packed is the same sound as walking on crisp snow. I love that sound! Can you hear it? Well, today’s filling was so small there was no sound. So here I sit with a head full of Novocain, a suspected fat lip and no upside other than getting to lay back in a comfy chair for a half hour instead of sitting here at my desk.
On second thought - forget it. I’m letting all calls go to voicemail.
I had a very small cavity and spent more time getting shot full of Novocain that actually being drilled on. I’m not complaining about that at all. But I did miss my favorite part of getting a filling. Yes, I have a favorite part. Are you surprised? Well you shouldn’t be. It’s all a part of my rosy half-glass-full outlook on life that I somehow managed to get. (Now that surprises even me!)
Anyways. The part I like is actually a sound. And you won’t get this unless you too have lived at some point in a part of the land that has real winters – complete with snow and air you can’t breath. The sound of a filling being packed is the same sound as walking on crisp snow. I love that sound! Can you hear it? Well, today’s filling was so small there was no sound. So here I sit with a head full of Novocain, a suspected fat lip and no upside other than getting to lay back in a comfy chair for a half hour instead of sitting here at my desk.
On second thought - forget it. I’m letting all calls go to voicemail.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Yankee Doodle Daddy
John S. Reiff 6 years ago my folks moved from my childhood home in Redford to Northville, Michigan. A railroad track runs through their new community and the two halves are connected by a bridge. My dad lives just over the bridge. And apparently he has been decorating!
This sight did not surprise me as we drove up to his house last September. My dad is all about the Flag. I'm pretty sure I knew how to fold a flag before I knew how to tie my shoes.And it seems that my dad's patriotic display has been getting him all kinds of attention. Last summer, there was an article written about him in the local paper. I don't think we were in the door 5 minutes before he was showing me a copy. I would have put a nice link here for you but apparently the South Lyon Newspaper only has a 14 day archive. So carpel-tunnel be damned - here is the article:
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Veteran's flags fly proud at Crossing by Margaret Fogelsonger
From the time he was a boy, World War II veteran John Reiff has had a love affair with the American Flag. Reiff, who served in the 302nd Combat Engineers Company in the Pacific Theater, recalls walking to school through a small business neighborhood and watching as shopkeepers put out the flag for display. They did this daily. He also recalls that on Flag Day, his neighborhood was a riot of color with American Flags on display at all homes. In his classroom, the Pledge of Allegiance was not just a routine occurrence, but was explained by the teacher as to why they recited this pledge each and every day. From these experiences, Reiff internalized a love for the flag and an enduring appreciation for what our flag represents. He continues that dedication and appreciation to this day.
Fondly referred to as “The Flag Man” by residents of Northville Crossing Manufactured Home Community, where he has lived for five years, Reiff’s respect for the flag, and what it represents, is obvious. Adorning the bridge that connects the two sections of the community are more than 150 American Flags: one for each Michigan soldier that has died in the Middle East conflicts. Reiff explained that each month, the VFW in Redford sends him the names of Michigan soldiers killed in conflict. For each one, an American Flag is displayed. He said the best months are the ones where no names are sent to him.
Reiff began his active work on behalf of Old Glory one Flag Day many years ago. His daughter had a friend visiting who asked him why so many flags were being flown in his neighborhood. He realized that the young lady had no knowledge of Flag Day and what it represents. He decided to change that. He put together a presentation about Flag Day and the American Flag and over a period of time, visited every school in Redford explaining to students how our flag came to be and what Flag Day represents.
Reiff’s friends and neighbors often contribute money to help purchase his flags. Recently, one resident presented him with 5 dozen flags to help in his effort. And his display of flags on the bridge sometimes receives unique acknowledgement. This memorial day, four restored World War II planes that had done a fly over in Milford, flew over his house. Reiff’s wife Virginia watched as they flew over, slowly turned and came back low over the bridge. As they passed, all four tipped their wings in salute to the flags. She said it was one of the most amazing things she had ever seen.
When asked what the flag really means to him, Reiff replied, “It’s just a piece of cloth, but it has represented our Country for over 200 years. The flag remind me of the freedom, opportunity and privilege we all enjoy living in the United States. I believe that each and every one of us should revere the Flag and look at it with the highest respect.” Reiff shows his respect by taking the flags down every 10 days and inspecting them to assure they are still in good condition.
As he said, the flags must never be displayed in a manner that restricts their furl. For this reason, all of his flags fly freely and proudly as a symbol of one man’s dedication and respect for the Red, White and Blue.
While I don't remember the incident with my friend but I do remember him coming to my school and giving a presentation on the flag every year. He was so proud of this article and told me that teachers in the area were reading it in classrooms. A copy was sent to my Aunt Ellen in Sacramento and it started making the rounds in California too!
I went out with him a couple days later as he took the flags down for the winter. A week later my parents left for Florida. I'm sure a copy of the article went with them.
Pain, sweet sweet pain…
Yesterday morning, after dropping Kyle at baseball practice and putting Erin down for her nap, I did something wonderful – a full hour of yoga! This really shouldn’t be news. But the reality is that I haven’t done any yoga-proper since I became pregnant over a year ago. Oh yes, I am ashamed. But it’s not like I never did any yoga – I would stretch many evenings before bed – forward folds, gentle twists, a much modified child’s pose. But yesterday was the whole enchilada . Beginning, middle, end. Standing poses, balancing poses, twists, and a long Shavasana. It was glorious.
Today – I can’t move. And I couldn’t be happier.
Today – I can’t move. And I couldn’t be happier.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
It is what it is
Controlled Burn
Where have I been? In hell baby. Sure, a slight exaggeration – but last week kinda sucked. And it’s taken me this long to recover. You see, I was not built to be a stay-at-home mom. And what’s worse? Being a work-from-home mom.
Hey all you SAHMs – I’M. NOT. WORTHY!
Yes, Wayne’s World was on cable last weekend. Why do you ask?
Jen’s family was sick with the flu last week, so I had Erin with me all week. I would bring her to the office with me every morning for an hour or so and then work from home the rest of the day. Damn, I don’t know how you ladies do it. I suppose if that is your normal gig it would be ok, but it’s not mine. And by the end of the week I was a wreck. And Saturday morning while Kyle was having a small fit due to lack of food, I was hearing that little voice telling me to run away…run away…
So I did. In a round-trip kind of way. I sped down the freeway as fast as I could while listening to Soundgarden at an unhealthy volume. I eventually turned around, switched to the Pixies, and came home feeling much better. Then we ate cake.
She’s a 10!
…month old. It's true, Erin is now 10 months old. Crazy. She’s got 4 teeth on the bottom and the upper teeth are just starting to break though. She’s not walking yet – thank goodness. But I’m sure this is just the calm before the storm. She was pulling herself up to standing last month, but she seems to have given that up for Lent and I haven’t seen her do it in awhile. Other than that one time I looked at the baby monitor and saw her standing in her crib. Then she let go, fell backwards and bumped her head on the other side of the crib*. Yeah, that’ll teach her. If you’re not going to hold on – stay on your butt where it’s safe!
But she crawls like a little speed demon - her little tushie waving side to side. Quite funny. And when she really gets going, she swings her head side to side too! Which often results in her banging her head into something. Apparently it’s hard to see where you’re going what with the head motion blur coupled with your hair hanging in your eyes. Time to invest in more barrettes – it’s what a good parent would do eh?
*Girl's gonna be tall. She will sleep sideways in her crib, her head pressed against the bumper and her feet sticking through the rails on the other side. And yet at her 9 month check-up the Dr said she was only in the 70-75 percentiles for weight and height! How can that be? But her head circumference – in the 80th percentile. Ha! I knew that little pumpkin had a big head! So, when she starts whipping that melon around, watch out!
Next up to bat…
Kyle - who turned 11 on the 1st! And now he’s a man. Well, a mini-man. Ok, he’s still just a boy – skinny as a pencil and with hair like a girl. But he did something that can only be described as "manly" on the eve of his birthday. He removed his own stitches! (Yes, I know – it was only one stitch but ‘stitches’ just sounds better.) I was dreading having to spend another million and a half hours at the urgent care to take out that stitch, so I offered Kyle the $20 I would have spent on the co-pay if he let Chris remove it instead. Well, after first saying no, the allure of cold hard cash won and upstairs they went. And armed with a Swiss Army knife and some alcohol, Kyle performed his first medical procedure! I was impressed to say the least. Now we have a doctor in the family. Yes we do! Shut up!!
Now we just need to keep said doctor from prescribing himself steroids. Cause the boy is playing baseball! He started Little League last weekend and is very excited about it*. And apparently he’s pretty good even though he’s had no formal training. (Isn’t my child wonderful?) Coach says he’s fast and has good foot-work. I knew all that dancing around was a good thing. (I’m looking at you Chris!)
* His favorite thing seems to be his new 'cup'. Boys are weird.
Well it is an election year...
I guess I need to change my tag line. I can’t write in my man Zbigniew on my Presidential election ballot. And not because I can’t spell his name! He was born in Poland. So, until Ah-nold gets the constitution amended I’m S.O.L.
But you can do your patriotic duty and vote for me! Yes, in a fleeting (and probably foolish) moment of hopefulness, I have submitted another photo for inclusion in JPG magazine. See, over there on the right – click the picture and vote "Yeah'. If you vote for my photo and it is published, the sheer number of copies of the magazine that I will buy will single-handedly revitalize our economy. Vote for me! Don’t let the terrorist win.
Too far?
Where have I been? In hell baby. Sure, a slight exaggeration – but last week kinda sucked. And it’s taken me this long to recover. You see, I was not built to be a stay-at-home mom. And what’s worse? Being a work-from-home mom.
Hey all you SAHMs – I’M. NOT. WORTHY!
Yes, Wayne’s World was on cable last weekend. Why do you ask?
Jen’s family was sick with the flu last week, so I had Erin with me all week. I would bring her to the office with me every morning for an hour or so and then work from home the rest of the day. Damn, I don’t know how you ladies do it. I suppose if that is your normal gig it would be ok, but it’s not mine. And by the end of the week I was a wreck. And Saturday morning while Kyle was having a small fit due to lack of food, I was hearing that little voice telling me to run away…run away…
So I did. In a round-trip kind of way. I sped down the freeway as fast as I could while listening to Soundgarden at an unhealthy volume. I eventually turned around, switched to the Pixies, and came home feeling much better. Then we ate cake.
She’s a 10!
…month old. It's true, Erin is now 10 months old. Crazy. She’s got 4 teeth on the bottom and the upper teeth are just starting to break though. She’s not walking yet – thank goodness. But I’m sure this is just the calm before the storm. She was pulling herself up to standing last month, but she seems to have given that up for Lent and I haven’t seen her do it in awhile. Other than that one time I looked at the baby monitor and saw her standing in her crib. Then she let go, fell backwards and bumped her head on the other side of the crib*. Yeah, that’ll teach her. If you’re not going to hold on – stay on your butt where it’s safe!
But she crawls like a little speed demon - her little tushie waving side to side. Quite funny. And when she really gets going, she swings her head side to side too! Which often results in her banging her head into something. Apparently it’s hard to see where you’re going what with the head motion blur coupled with your hair hanging in your eyes. Time to invest in more barrettes – it’s what a good parent would do eh?
*Girl's gonna be tall. She will sleep sideways in her crib, her head pressed against the bumper and her feet sticking through the rails on the other side. And yet at her 9 month check-up the Dr said she was only in the 70-75 percentiles for weight and height! How can that be? But her head circumference – in the 80th percentile. Ha! I knew that little pumpkin had a big head! So, when she starts whipping that melon around, watch out!
Next up to bat…
Kyle - who turned 11 on the 1st! And now he’s a man. Well, a mini-man. Ok, he’s still just a boy – skinny as a pencil and with hair like a girl. But he did something that can only be described as "manly" on the eve of his birthday. He removed his own stitches! (Yes, I know – it was only one stitch but ‘stitches’ just sounds better.) I was dreading having to spend another million and a half hours at the urgent care to take out that stitch, so I offered Kyle the $20 I would have spent on the co-pay if he let Chris remove it instead. Well, after first saying no, the allure of cold hard cash won and upstairs they went. And armed with a Swiss Army knife and some alcohol, Kyle performed his first medical procedure! I was impressed to say the least. Now we have a doctor in the family. Yes we do! Shut up!!
Now we just need to keep said doctor from prescribing himself steroids. Cause the boy is playing baseball! He started Little League last weekend and is very excited about it*. And apparently he’s pretty good even though he’s had no formal training. (Isn’t my child wonderful?) Coach says he’s fast and has good foot-work. I knew all that dancing around was a good thing. (I’m looking at you Chris!)
* His favorite thing seems to be his new 'cup'. Boys are weird.
Well it is an election year...
I guess I need to change my tag line. I can’t write in my man Zbigniew on my Presidential election ballot. And not because I can’t spell his name! He was born in Poland. So, until Ah-nold gets the constitution amended I’m S.O.L.
But you can do your patriotic duty and vote for me! Yes, in a fleeting (and probably foolish) moment of hopefulness, I have submitted another photo for inclusion in JPG magazine. See, over there on the right – click the picture and vote "Yeah'. If you vote for my photo and it is published, the sheer number of copies of the magazine that I will buy will single-handedly revitalize our economy. Vote for me! Don’t let the terrorist win.
Too far?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Flour and Water... Doh!
When I was a kid my favorite dinner was ‘Beans and Dumplings’. Not only did I love eating it, I have fond memories of my mom making it. Sorting thought the beans, rolling out the dough for the dumpling – flour everywhere – cutting the dough into strips and then squares.
Beans and dumplings = happiness in a bowl.
I don’t remember my dad making Beans & Dumplings during my teens. I moved out (an act not directly related to the lack of Beans & Dumplings that I am consciously aware of). And then I took off to California. But whenever I went home to visit I would ask (more like beg and plead) for Dad to make them for me. And he would. But the dumplings were different. He didn’t roll them out into flat noodle-like squares. He would just add drop biscuits on top of the soup (yep, it’s really just white bean and ham soup, who knew?). And don’t get me wrong – it was still yummy in my book. But I really wanted those dumplings. I would ask him to tell me how to make them and he would say that he couldn’t remember. Ugh. Would I never have my childhood favorite again?!
And then - a kitchen miracle. I made Beans and Dumpling. With flat rolled dumplings!!! All because we left Santa Cruz a day early.
P had bought a ham to make for dinner on New Years Day. But when we decided to go home on New Years Eve she sent the ham home with us. Well. That ham sat in the fridge for another week while I would occasionally mutter something about having to cook that ham. Thankfully there was an entry for Holiday Ham in the 2007 edition of Cook’s Illustrated that Chris got for Xmas. And again Cook's Illustrated held my hand through the scary process of essentially re-heating our pre-cooked spiral cut ham. Cook's Illustrated told me to ‘throw away the pack of glaze that comes with your ham’ and provided me with a delicious glaze of maple syrup, orange marmalade, Dijon mustard, pepper etc. It sounds crazy but it worked! The ham was good. But damn there was a lot left over.
What’s a girl to do with all that ham?! I called my dad. "Dad, I have ham. How do I make Beans and Dumplings?" And do you know what he told me? My dumplings? Just flour and water. All those years and he couldn’t remember flour and water?!! Oh-kay then. Let’s not dwell on that. I was on a mission. He quickly ran through the process of making everything while I scribbled notes. I bought a rolling pin. And that Saturday I was as ready as I was going to get. Now you know that I only want to cook something when I have very specific directions and measurements. None of this "fly by the seat of your pants" "add a smidge" "to taste" "what ever I had in the pantry" kind of crap for me! So I was relieved to see that the directions for Bean Soup on the bag of beans pretty much matched the instructions my dad had given me. I just might be ok.
So, you’ll need a bag of Great Northern Beans (the grocery store only had 'Small White Beans'. I tried to be brave). No need to soak them overnight – just sort though them, throwing out any bean that's not up to snuff or that might be a rock, and rinse them thoroughly.
Beans and dumplings = happiness in a bowl.
I don’t remember my dad making Beans & Dumplings during my teens. I moved out (an act not directly related to the lack of Beans & Dumplings that I am consciously aware of). And then I took off to California. But whenever I went home to visit I would ask (more like beg and plead) for Dad to make them for me. And he would. But the dumplings were different. He didn’t roll them out into flat noodle-like squares. He would just add drop biscuits on top of the soup (yep, it’s really just white bean and ham soup, who knew?). And don’t get me wrong – it was still yummy in my book. But I really wanted those dumplings. I would ask him to tell me how to make them and he would say that he couldn’t remember. Ugh. Would I never have my childhood favorite again?!
And then - a kitchen miracle. I made Beans and Dumpling. With flat rolled dumplings!!! All because we left Santa Cruz a day early.
P had bought a ham to make for dinner on New Years Day. But when we decided to go home on New Years Eve she sent the ham home with us. Well. That ham sat in the fridge for another week while I would occasionally mutter something about having to cook that ham. Thankfully there was an entry for Holiday Ham in the 2007 edition of Cook’s Illustrated that Chris got for Xmas. And again Cook's Illustrated held my hand through the scary process of essentially re-heating our pre-cooked spiral cut ham. Cook's Illustrated told me to ‘throw away the pack of glaze that comes with your ham’ and provided me with a delicious glaze of maple syrup, orange marmalade, Dijon mustard, pepper etc. It sounds crazy but it worked! The ham was good. But damn there was a lot left over.
What’s a girl to do with all that ham?! I called my dad. "Dad, I have ham. How do I make Beans and Dumplings?" And do you know what he told me? My dumplings? Just flour and water. All those years and he couldn’t remember flour and water?!! Oh-kay then. Let’s not dwell on that. I was on a mission. He quickly ran through the process of making everything while I scribbled notes. I bought a rolling pin. And that Saturday I was as ready as I was going to get. Now you know that I only want to cook something when I have very specific directions and measurements. None of this "fly by the seat of your pants" "add a smidge" "to taste" "what ever I had in the pantry" kind of crap for me! So I was relieved to see that the directions for Bean Soup on the bag of beans pretty much matched the instructions my dad had given me. I just might be ok.
So, you’ll need a bag of Great Northern Beans (the grocery store only had 'Small White Beans'. I tried to be brave). No need to soak them overnight – just sort though them, throwing out any bean that's not up to snuff or that might be a rock, and rinse them thoroughly.
Put the beans in a large pot and cover with water. Water should be around 2-3 inches over the beans. Boil for 5-10 minutes and then turn off for an hour. Easy enough right?
While your beans are sitting there stewing in their own juices, chop up your ham – as much as your want – ugh! Chop up a yellow onion. And get ready to make a mess on your counter-top its dumpling time.
Hey - check out my new mandoline:
Flour the surface you are working on and make a ball of dough with you guessed it: flour and water. Dad said that I wouldn’t need to add any salt because of the ham – but in hindsight I would add a bit of salt to the mix. And no, I don't know how much a 'bit' is! Now roll out the dough dusting the ball, rolling pin and counter with flour as you go. Don’t forget to roll the dough on a nice layer of flour of your dumpling will stick. Roll roll roll (you're adding more flour as you go right?) until about 1/8 inch thick. Pull out your pizza cutter (or a knife) and cut dough into squares. Mine were about 1 1/2 inch squartangles (because of that sticking I mentioned).
When the hour is up – throw everything into the pot! Turn the stove back on and season to taste. Dad recommends garlic, pepper, thyme and maybe even some oregano. Again he was vague. Oh and you might need to add more water. Maybe.
My notes say to cook for another hour. Only when we receive the phone bill will I know how many times I called my dad that afternoon. But, it was all so worth it in the end!
Ta-da! The perfect comfort food:
Thursday, January 24, 2008
a stitch in time
We interupt this blog with urgent news from Urgent Care...
That's where Kyle and I ended up this afternoon.
I was at the office happily working on a new post (I was on my break of course) when I got a call from the school nurse. Kyle got hit with a purse on the playground and his lip is cut. She thinks he might need a stitch or two. There is a pretty big chunk of flesh missing. Ok then. Did she say purse? Who has a purse on the playground during recess? Did a teacher wallop my child? I must have misunderstood. Not panicing (hey- it's my story and I'll tell it like I want to), I save my work, leave the clean up for the morning, put the FedEx shipment in the hall and drive to the school. Call Chris on the way so that he can pick up Erin from Jen's. Call Jen who reminds me that Chris will need a carseat for Erin. Alrighty, we need to switch cars at some point. And hey - did you know that they closed the Urgent Care at the hospital? Me neither. So back to the car in the parking lot 2 time zones away and off we go to find the Med7 Clinic. One stitch is not worth the $100 emergency room co-pay. We are both very brave. And 4 hours later we are home with a stitch in Kyle's lip because some girl likes to carry bricks in a purse that is bigger than mine that she then swings around until it lands against my poor baby's face.
Oh I double dog dare you to click on that photo!
That's where Kyle and I ended up this afternoon.
I was at the office happily working on a new post (I was on my break of course) when I got a call from the school nurse. Kyle got hit with a purse on the playground and his lip is cut. She thinks he might need a stitch or two. There is a pretty big chunk of flesh missing. Ok then. Did she say purse? Who has a purse on the playground during recess? Did a teacher wallop my child? I must have misunderstood. Not panicing (hey- it's my story and I'll tell it like I want to), I save my work, leave the clean up for the morning, put the FedEx shipment in the hall and drive to the school. Call Chris on the way so that he can pick up Erin from Jen's. Call Jen who reminds me that Chris will need a carseat for Erin. Alrighty, we need to switch cars at some point. And hey - did you know that they closed the Urgent Care at the hospital? Me neither. So back to the car in the parking lot 2 time zones away and off we go to find the Med7 Clinic. One stitch is not worth the $100 emergency room co-pay. We are both very brave. And 4 hours later we are home with a stitch in Kyle's lip because some girl likes to carry bricks in a purse that is bigger than mine that she then swings around until it lands against my poor baby's face.
Oh I double dog dare you to click on that photo!
Friday, January 18, 2008
All by myself
Everybody sing! “Don’t wanna be all by myself anymore…”
Oh wait. Yes I do! And I will be! Starting this evening, for roughly 24 hours! Completely and utterly alone. Hmm. I’m missing them already. Well, some of them.
Kyle is at his dad’s this weekend. And after his behavior the last couple weeks, it’s a much needed break for all of us. Chris was trying to plan one of his speed-runs to the coast to dive on Saturday. The only snag was that I have an appointment to get me hair done on Saturday afternoon and all our usual babysitters had previous engagements. Hmpf. I suggest Chris goes on Sunday. Well, that would be ok for him but he wants to go with Victor who can only go Saturday. Ok then. So, we are pondering how to make this work – do I call Kyle’s 12 yr old cousin Sandy to watch Erin? The highly recommended babysitters from the next block who I don’t really know? …hmm…what to do, what to do…
Then Chris casually mentions that he talked to his mom earlier and she was lamenting the fact that she hasn’t seen the baby in weeks and doesn’t know when we’ll be coming back down to Santa Cruz…
Ding! (insert light bulb going on here)
Chris can take Erin with him! He was planning on driving down to Carmel Friday evening, spending the night at Trents’s and then diving all day Saturday before coming home around 6pm. So, now he drives down to Santa Cruz, spends the night at his folks place, leaves the baby with Grandma and goes to Carmel to dive all day Saturday. Rip the baby from Grandma’s arm – I mean pick Erin up- and drive home as planned. Win win win!
A couple phone calls later and everyone is happy and I am declared a genius! Well, it’s about time.
Oh wait. Yes I do! And I will be! Starting this evening, for roughly 24 hours! Completely and utterly alone. Hmm. I’m missing them already. Well, some of them.
Kyle is at his dad’s this weekend. And after his behavior the last couple weeks, it’s a much needed break for all of us. Chris was trying to plan one of his speed-runs to the coast to dive on Saturday. The only snag was that I have an appointment to get me hair done on Saturday afternoon and all our usual babysitters had previous engagements. Hmpf. I suggest Chris goes on Sunday. Well, that would be ok for him but he wants to go with Victor who can only go Saturday. Ok then. So, we are pondering how to make this work – do I call Kyle’s 12 yr old cousin Sandy to watch Erin? The highly recommended babysitters from the next block who I don’t really know? …hmm…what to do, what to do…
Then Chris casually mentions that he talked to his mom earlier and she was lamenting the fact that she hasn’t seen the baby in weeks and doesn’t know when we’ll be coming back down to Santa Cruz…
Ding! (insert light bulb going on here)
Chris can take Erin with him! He was planning on driving down to Carmel Friday evening, spending the night at Trents’s and then diving all day Saturday before coming home around 6pm. So, now he drives down to Santa Cruz, spends the night at his folks place, leaves the baby with Grandma and goes to Carmel to dive all day Saturday. Rip the baby from Grandma’s arm – I mean pick Erin up- and drive home as planned. Win win win!
A couple phone calls later and everyone is happy and I am declared a genius! Well, it’s about time.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Do you want to know a secret?
I don't like keeping secrets from you. But "you", my readers, can be counted on one hand and 2 of those fingers are my in-laws. And I bet they are my most devoted lurkers - slinkin' by day after day looking for that grandbaby fix.
Anyways, when you are planning a gift for said in-laws you find yourself having to watch what you say. And censor what you add to your flickr account. Not an easy task. But now that the holidays are over and it is no longer all "hush-hush don't ruin the surprise" I can tell you (if there is actually anyone else out there besides Chris and his parents) that I published a book!
Published. Is that correct? Should I say self-published? Made? Created with down-loaded software and then paid to have copies printed?
Either way, here it is!
And then there was Bean... - a Christmas present for the grandparents. Check it out and then buy 2 or 3 copies.
Edited to add: I don't know why the 2 badges are not showing up properly. I'll look into it later. Right now the boss-man is sending me out in the rain to buy oatmeal. I really do love my job.
Anyways, when you are planning a gift for said in-laws you find yourself having to watch what you say. And censor what you add to your flickr account. Not an easy task. But now that the holidays are over and it is no longer all "hush-hush don't ruin the surprise" I can tell you (if there is actually anyone else out there besides Chris and his parents) that I published a book!
Published. Is that correct? Should I say self-published? Made? Created with down-loaded software and then paid to have copies printed?
Either way, here it is!
And then there was Bean... - a Christmas present for the grandparents. Check it out and then buy 2 or 3 copies.
Edited to add: I don't know why the 2 badges are not showing up properly. I'll look into it later. Right now the boss-man is sending me out in the rain to buy oatmeal. I really do love my job.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Because I Can
Yes, it's another bouncy baby video. Now with more screeching.
Question: Can I get in trouble if the Shaken Baby Syndrome is self-inflicted?
Question: Can I get in trouble if the Shaken Baby Syndrome is self-inflicted?
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Happy New Year
Wow. We had weather. Real weather. And I’ve had a headache. For 3 days. That is so not good. By the third evening you mind goes to bad places. Lucky for you I can’t even begin to think about typing during a migraine. I think Chris worries enough what with my frequent requests for an ice pick. If you suffer from migraines too you’ll get that. And my sincere sympathies.
But today I feel better. And not a moment too soon because tonight we have tickets to go see Walking with Dinosaurs at Arco Arena. And yes, the tickets are through Chris’s company so we will be sitting center stage in the private box again. To quote Kyle: “Awesome”.
And the last 3 days weren’t a total waste – Chris got a lot done! He was in baby-proofing mode and finished cleaning up all the wiring in the office and installed those annoying latches on the cabinets under the kitchen sink. That baby is everywhere and into everything!
Oh dear – it’s after 3. I have less than an hour to get everyone ready to go. Fun for me. I just need to remain calm. No tension. No more headache! Wish me luck.
But today I feel better. And not a moment too soon because tonight we have tickets to go see Walking with Dinosaurs at Arco Arena. And yes, the tickets are through Chris’s company so we will be sitting center stage in the private box again. To quote Kyle: “Awesome”.
And the last 3 days weren’t a total waste – Chris got a lot done! He was in baby-proofing mode and finished cleaning up all the wiring in the office and installed those annoying latches on the cabinets under the kitchen sink. That baby is everywhere and into everything!
Oh dear – it’s after 3. I have less than an hour to get everyone ready to go. Fun for me. I just need to remain calm. No tension. No more headache! Wish me luck.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Ho Ho Ho
I am not a slacker mom. I braved the mall on Christmas Eve and was duly rewarded.
I hope Santa was good to you too! We are stretching out the holiday like a Stretch Armstrong doll of old. Chris opened his presents on Christmas morning. But the rest(Kyle and Erin)waited until Wednesday evening when Kyle came home from his holiday with his Dad. And tomorrow we head down to Santa Cruz for an extended weekend and Christmas with the in-laws.
And look here - another gift for you. There should be more matching outfits in 2008! Enjoy.
I hope Santa was good to you too! We are stretching out the holiday like a Stretch Armstrong doll of old. Chris opened his presents on Christmas morning. But the rest(Kyle and Erin)waited until Wednesday evening when Kyle came home from his holiday with his Dad. And tomorrow we head down to Santa Cruz for an extended weekend and Christmas with the in-laws.And look here - another gift for you. There should be more matching outfits in 2008! Enjoy.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Merry Christmas! Do you have a tissue?
I don't know when it started but there are certain Christmas carols that I can't sing along with without crying. Silver Bells, White Christmas and Little Drummer Boy come to mind. And Little Drummer Boy is the worst - that one has been working me since I was a little kid. I'm not sure what it is, but about half way through my voice starts to crack and the next thing you know the tears are rolling down my cheeks. Kyle of course finds this highly amusing. It's the only time he will actually encourage me to sing. And I am that person who puts on the All Christmas Carols All The Time radio station in the car. Kyle would complain but he knows the alternative is NPR and he would endure an endless loop of the High School Musical CD if he didn't have to listen to the stupid news every day. He really does suffer. And no, we don't have that CD, but I've threatened. And that kid doesn't know how good he's got it. I don't sing loudly in public. But my dad did. All year long.
And when I was a kid, lo so many years ago, we watched the Bing Crosby Christmas Special every year. And I remember seeing this duet with Bing and David Bowie in '77 - loved it then and love it now. Enjoy!
And sing along. At the top of your lungs! Until the kids promise to clean their rooms just to get you to stop! Ho Ho Ho. Good times.
And a Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Dawn - Santa's favorite elf (where do you think the name elfini came from?!)
p.s. Remind me next year to ask Santa for some water-proof mascara in my stocking.
And when I was a kid, lo so many years ago, we watched the Bing Crosby Christmas Special every year. And I remember seeing this duet with Bing and David Bowie in '77 - loved it then and love it now. Enjoy!
And sing along. At the top of your lungs! Until the kids promise to clean their rooms just to get you to stop! Ho Ho Ho. Good times.
And a Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Dawn - Santa's favorite elf (where do you think the name elfini came from?!)
p.s. Remind me next year to ask Santa for some water-proof mascara in my stocking.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Christmas came early this year
Last month Chris remodeled of our home office. He got rid of his desk and built a 2 person desk the length of the far wall. My printer and cabinet of drawers divide the space into His and Hers. And with the man on a mission, I got my Christmas presents early!
We have been promising Kyle that we would set up his computer downstairs on the homework desk for ages now. (“His” computer meaning my old Dell from the time before Chris) We also needed to get me a computer of my own as I was hogging Chris’s machine, affectionately called "our" computer, with all my photo work. And not only was I hogging all the computer time, I was bitching about said computer. Loudly. To anyone who would listen. Because Chris’s computer is old and slow and just couldn’t handle my photo editing software or the amount of photos I was storing on the hard drive. The computer would constantly lock up causing much cursing. It would take me forever just to edit a few pictures. There was much unhappiness. And there was talk of a laptop and monitor. But then in one of those manna from heaven moments – we were sent home from Santa Cruz with one of the in-law’s extra computers. (The move of their permanent residence to Santa Cruz where they already had the weekend place produced a lot of ‘we have 2 of these now – take this home.’ Ask me about all my new kitchen gear!) And suddenly we had enough machines for everyone. And without the cost of a laptop to worry about, Chris splurged on my new monitor!
Behold! The Samsung SyncMaster 245BW.
Oh yes, it is the Maserati of monitors and I couldn’t be happier!
And to bring the computer up to speed, Chris ordered a new video card, added a gig of memory and a second extra large hard drive. And my computer goes vroom. I can now get through a batch of photos in no time! Life is good!
I think Chris would put it this way:
New monitor and graphics card… $$$.$$
Chair, floor mat and mouse… $$$.$$
Getting her off my computer… Priceless
Friday, December 14, 2007
Catch up on your reading
...at the movies.
I finished reading Charlie Wilson’s War a couple months ago. And now it’s going to be a movie. I feel so hip and happening, wow and now.
I first heard about the movie on Thanksgiving Day when Chris saw a preview on TV. He said Tom Hanks was in it. Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson?? At first I just couldn’t see it. But slowing I started to warm to the idea. And then I watched the preview online and yes - Tom Hanks as Charlie. It works. And Julia Roberts as Joanne, the Texas Socialite? Well that works too. I’m still not completely sold on Philip Seymour Hoffman as CIA-man Gust but I’m keeping an open mind.
And this morning on NPR's Fresh Air, they aired a previously recorded interview with the author George Crile (he passed away last year) and another one with Charlie Wilson from ’03. Take a listen – very interesting stuff.
Strange, I just googled Charlie Wilson’s War so I could create some links for you, and I found this quote from The Chicago Sun-Times regarding the Golden Globe nominations:
"Charlie Wilson's War,'' the much-hyped satire starring Oscar winners Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts (opening next Friday), led the pack in comedy/musical categories -- snaring five nominations, including a nod for best actor to Hanks and supporting actress to Roberts."
Comedy/Musical category? Really?! Will we see the mujahedeen form a chorus line and start singing the praises of Allah and the Oerlikon while congress does the Can-Can?
God I hope so.
I finished reading Charlie Wilson’s War a couple months ago. And now it’s going to be a movie. I feel so hip and happening, wow and now.
I first heard about the movie on Thanksgiving Day when Chris saw a preview on TV. He said Tom Hanks was in it. Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson?? At first I just couldn’t see it. But slowing I started to warm to the idea. And then I watched the preview online and yes - Tom Hanks as Charlie. It works. And Julia Roberts as Joanne, the Texas Socialite? Well that works too. I’m still not completely sold on Philip Seymour Hoffman as CIA-man Gust but I’m keeping an open mind.
And this morning on NPR's Fresh Air, they aired a previously recorded interview with the author George Crile (he passed away last year) and another one with Charlie Wilson from ’03. Take a listen – very interesting stuff.
Strange, I just googled Charlie Wilson’s War so I could create some links for you, and I found this quote from The Chicago Sun-Times regarding the Golden Globe nominations:
"Charlie Wilson's War,'' the much-hyped satire starring Oscar winners Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts (opening next Friday), led the pack in comedy/musical categories -- snaring five nominations, including a nod for best actor to Hanks and supporting actress to Roberts."
Comedy/Musical category? Really?! Will we see the mujahedeen form a chorus line and start singing the praises of Allah and the Oerlikon while congress does the Can-Can?
God I hope so.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
In Local News~
When your baby needs a Christmas stocking where do you turn? Local artisan Katie Jean! I saw her Celebration Stockings on her new blog and knew I had to have one for Erin. So, I went over to Katie’s house and pawed through her fabrics, finally made a choice (she's lucky I had a time limit and had to go pick up Kyle), and a few days later, voilà! Erin’s stocking!
A closer view of the fabric:
Too cute!
I met Katie while she was vending at Kyle’s school’s Harvest Festival – where I saw this lap blanket: 
How could I resist?! I couldn’t. And Erin has been chewing on it - I mean loving it - ever since. And it turns out that Katie lives on the street behind me. Howdy neighbor! And she invited me to the open house she had in October, where I met more neighbors. And I scored an invitation to the neighborhood cookie exchange party. Have cookies will party. So I was suddenly faced with baking cookies. 6 dozen cookies. And it was Cook’s Illustrated’s Holiday Baking issue to the rescue. The weekend before the party we were in Santa Cruz so I enlisted P (mother-in-law most extraordinaire) to help me make some sample batches. So we baked.
We made Sugar Cookies: 
And Italian Almond Macaroons:
So I felt relatively prepared to tackle this whole baking thing solo the next Saturday. In fact, I felt so confident in my abilities (ok, all my bravado was hinged on my trust in Cook’s Illustrated to get me through it) that I decided to make a variation on the Italian Almond Macaroons. So without a net but with my apron on, I made 3 batches of Fudge Almond Macaroons!
And they were good. And the party was fun. And I now have a container FULL (ok, half full) of 14 different kinds of cookies in the freezer. Come on over. Bring milk.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Elfini lives!!!
Elfini. It's not just a name - it's an adventure.
Click here because it's damn funny! And turn your speakers on.
Hey - you see the tall one? Second from the left? She's 8 months old today.
Click here because it's damn funny! And turn your speakers on.
Hey - you see the tall one? Second from the left? She's 8 months old today.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
'tis the season
...to be busy. I'm printing photos for Christmas cards, deckin' the tree, doing laundry (always doing laundry), and the baby is going to be waking up any time now. So for now just a quick hello and a little gift. Something to help you get in the mood.
Julie gave us her version of the holiday spirit. Well Little Miss Bad Home Cooking, I'll see your Bourbon Balls and raise you these!
Classic. Christmas just wouldn't be the same without 'em.
Julie gave us her version of the holiday spirit. Well Little Miss Bad Home Cooking, I'll see your Bourbon Balls and raise you these!
Classic. Christmas just wouldn't be the same without 'em.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Yippy!
After a long hectic week at work, full of meetings that meant schmoozing, 8 hour days, and high elevation shoes, I had a stressful meeting of my own last Friday afternoon. A woman from the Library Art Committee came by the house to look at my photographs. Thankfully I had been too busy worrying about falling off my shoes all week to stress about it too much. I had hoped to put a presentation of some sort together, but I never had a chance. So after laying Erin down for her nap, I pulled a few of my photos of the walls as examples of my matting and framing. And I laid out some of the photographs I already had printed. And even though I felt completely unprepared, the meeting went well. We talked and she looked through my prints and ended up choosing photos from the original set I had submitted for consideration. So, all that to say that I am going to have 2 photographs hanging in the Twelve Bridges Lincoln Public Library! And they will be part of the library's permanent art collection. How cool is that?!!!
These are the 2 she selected:
The first one is a tile shop in Rosarito, Mexico. The second photo is the side door at The Buttery in Santa Cruz. Not a bad way to start the weekend eh? But because the universe is always seeking harmony, my joy was short lived.
These are the 2 she selected:
The first one is a tile shop in Rosarito, Mexico. The second photo is the side door at The Buttery in Santa Cruz. Not a bad way to start the weekend eh? But because the universe is always seeking harmony, my joy was short lived.Yesterday evening I made a startling discovery. Aries are bad! I know, I was surprised too. After all Aries are a fellow Fire Sign – very compatible with Leos. I’ve always had good experiences with Aries. Hell, I married one. But these encounters have all been with adult Aries. Apparently the Aries baby is an altogether different beast.
First you’ve got a baby. Babies have no self-control, are just beginning to learn about cause and effect, don’t yet understand that their little razor teeth can rend flesh from bones. Then you have Aries. The Ram. What do rams do besides scamper about the narrow ledges on a mountain face? (Hi Chris!) They butt heads!
And apparently our baby Erin is the uber-Aries Baby.
Check out exhibit A: 
That is some forehead. And Erin’s first and preferred method of showing affection is the forehead to forehead press. Which can be quite sweet when you see her coming and she’s moving slow. But if she catches you off guard – watch out! I’ve already gotten a split lip. And last night she caught me on the bridge of the nose. She didn’t even hit me that hard, but damn… I was seeing stars. I now understand what it means to have ‘your bell rung’. I must say, I don’t like it. I was still dazed when I went to bed.
So, consider this fair warning to all you little head butters –if you give your mommy a concussion, good luck keeping your name off the black market baby listings.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Chowchilla revisited
Ok, so I have not actually visited Chowchilla. But we have to drive through it on our way to Fresno. And Fresno is where we had Thanksgiving dinner.
Behold!
As always, Thanksgiving at Rita’s was wonderful. The table looked fabulous and the food was even better. I have got to get her recipe for Onion Soup – it is worth a 3 hour drive any day! There was the traditional game of Bocce Ball before dinner. Kyle won and it turns out he is not very humble. I think I heard him telling Chris that he ‘creamed’ us. Nice. We spent the night in Fresno and then drove to Santa Cruz for the rest of the weekend. More pictures too follow. And tales of baking!
Behold!
As always, Thanksgiving at Rita’s was wonderful. The table looked fabulous and the food was even better. I have got to get her recipe for Onion Soup – it is worth a 3 hour drive any day! There was the traditional game of Bocce Ball before dinner. Kyle won and it turns out he is not very humble. I think I heard him telling Chris that he ‘creamed’ us. Nice. We spent the night in Fresno and then drove to Santa Cruz for the rest of the weekend. More pictures too follow. And tales of baking!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
And we're outta here
Can't talk now - clowns will eat me. I mean - busy packing. Yes, it's the same old song and dance, the pre-weekend in Santa Cruz stress-fess. You would think that this packing thing would be a breeze by now and in some ways it is. I know what needs to go and how to pack it, but it still makes me a bit stressed out. But I bet I’m not the only one who’s twitching – the grandparents haven’t seen the Bean in … how long has it been? Let’s see the last set of photos from Santa Cruz (which I still haven’t gotten around to editing) were from a month ago! Oh my, here – quick! A new picture of Erin that Kyle took.
Whew, that was close. And now I’ve really got to get back to it. Those clowns aren’t going to pack themselves.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Whew, that was close. And now I’ve really got to get back to it. Those clowns aren’t going to pack themselves.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
This is not a Food Blog*
I've been making things. Besides trouble, whoopee, and faces behind your back.
For Julie~
An Artichoke Frittata:
My favorite Bad Home Cook took a stab at the Artichoke Fritatta recipe I sent her (read all about it here!) so the last time I made one I took some photos. Kyle thought it very strange that I was taking pictures of my food.
This is not a Knit Blog Ver 2.0
For Julie~
An Artichoke Frittata:
My favorite Bad Home Cook took a stab at the Artichoke Fritatta recipe I sent her (read all about it here!) so the last time I made one I took some photos. Kyle thought it very strange that I was taking pictures of my food.This is not a Knit Blog Ver 2.0
A Umbilical Cord Hat~
And what all the fashion forward babies are wearing this season:
There are more photo's of Grandpa's Little Model on Flickr here. And I'll try to get a picture of the aforementioned tooth. Actually - teeth! I noticed the second one poking through this morning.
*Heh - Kyle, who is too nosey for his own good and reading over my shoulder, just started singing "(This is Not a) Love Song" He gets it! I'm so proud.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Slow down! What's the hurry?
Question – do you find your head moving while you watch that video? Do you end up feeling a bit queasy? Maybe it’s just me.
The bouncy baby Bean is 7 months old today! 7 months old. Damn. And she’s starting to show her age. She no longer wants to lay back and chill in her bouncy chair. No, she sits straight up in it. And the swing – not so much any more. Either the batteries have died or she is just too heavy for that poor little motor. And speaking of heavy – guess who is just 2 ½ pounds shy of the weight limit for her infant car seat? And then try to guess who got a new car seat last weekend. And don’t even get me started on that little tooth that she has been biting me with!
And we’ve moved up to the next size diapers. She was wearing Pampers Swaddlers 2-3s. Yeah, I had wondered what was up with the 2-3 combo size - are they for the indecisive parent? For the parent in denial? There are no other combo diapers sizes so why the 2-3 overlap? Well, now I know. Pampers size 3 diapers are not a part of the Swaddler family. They belong in the Cruisers camp. Cruisers! Yeah – that implies a baby on the move. I do not want to be giving my baby any green lights in regards to her impending mobility. Swaddlers = good. A nice wrapped up baby isn’t going anywhere. But Cruisers? With the pictures of the babies crawling and toddling around right on the box? Bad Pampers! Stop giving my impressionable baby ideas!
So yes - that answer is Parents in Denial.
Luckily Erin hasn’t started crawling yet. But hey – the day is still young. And even without the crawling proper, that girl manages to get around. There is the forearm drag and the ever popular roll. Last night she rolled right out of the room.
So yeah, its time to start the baby-proofing. We’ve already lower the crib mattress. Next is gate shopping. Hey – that reminds me of the best Halloween costume idea I saw this year. Small kid was dressed up as a doggie and the mommy had that doggie on a leash!
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Baby's First YouTube Video
We bought Erin a doorway jumper a couple weekends ago and she love love loves it. And we laugh laugh laugh. Because the bouncing Bean is funny. And last night Chris finally broke out the video camera. He set it up on the tripod because his camera is old school - big and heavy. I complain bitterly about it every chance I get. I know, hard to imagine right? Not only does this video camera want to break your arm, it records onto tape. Tape that I can do nothing with. But I'm not the only one who suffers - so do you! And I think we've already established that I care. I'm a giver. So I grabbed Kyle's camera and viola! The Bean for your viewing pleasure.
Monday, November 05, 2007
It was FA-BU-LOUS!
Not only did we survive our Friday night adventure with every screaming little girl in the greater Sacramento area - I think I can safely say that we enjoyed ourselves. Disney puts on a good show. And when you are viewing it from the comforts of a center court suite, well what is there to complain about?! Oh wait, I have got a complaint – I’m sore! You try holding a bouncing 18 pound 6 month old for 2+ hours. Whereas Kyle sat staring with apt attention through out the show, Erin was all about the dancing! That girl was into it! And by the end of the night my neck and shoulders were not happy. Chris held her as much as she would allow and his biceps aren’t letting him forget that night either. So, two thumbs up for High School Musical on Ice. Now take those thumbs and apply to my shoulders and commence rubbing!
And if you are like me and have no clue as to what High School Musical is about - think Grease, but without all the sexual innuendo. And no Sha-Na-Na.
I teased Kyle that I would buy the soundtrack so we could listen to it to and from school and he didn’t even protest. Scary. Actually I think he would put up with just about anything if it meant he didn’t have to listen to NPR everyday.
Speaking of the news - what happened in Pakistan over the weekend?! I tune out for 2 days and this morning I have no idea what is going on. Hmm, I think I’ll keep it that way for a little longer. I need to keep my head clear for this evening’s romp thought our Flex Spending Account projections for next year. Big fun.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Today is the day. (or - I mock because I love)
Halloween was 2 days ago. Here is the timeline: take the pictures Wednesday night, process them on Thursday, and post ‘em on Friday. All across the blog-o-sphere those cute princesses and pirates are popping up to a swelling refrain of “Aaahhh how adorable!”
And today, like a dead fish, I will go with the flow.
And today, like a dead fish, I will go with the flow.
Man, Halloween totally snuck up on me this year. We didn’t even get a pumpkin! I’m not sure how that happened. But there we were the day before Halloween – no pumpkin and no candy. So the decision was made – keep the house dark, lock the door and the 4 of us will go Trick or Treating. And even thought I only let Kyle carry a standard issue plastic pumpkin, we still ended up with a bulging grocery bag full of candy! And Kyle hasn’t been allowed to eat any of it! Yup. That is how mean a mom I am.
Ok, I do have a soft squishy caramel center (hence the diet) and I will let Kyle pick a handful of his favorite candy before I donate the rest to…. Hey little reader – want some candy?!
Another holiday celebration I am going to have to miss again is Dia de los Muertos! And why can't I go to this afternoon’s festivities? Because we are going to see Disney’s High School Musical on Ice! That’s right – on Ice. Tonight. At Arco Arena. Can you sense my excitement?
Luckily we only found out about this thrilling opportunity yesterday afternoon. I mean really, just imagine the state I would be in if I had had weeks to look forward to this! As it is I still might put in an emergency call to Stacy. For moral support of course.
But this is a Chris work function thing where clients will be schmoozed. A company higher-up moved/relocated/or some such thing to Chris’s office and brought an Arco Arena box with him. Or should I say private suite complete with catering and a hostess! So, all that is making my first ice show a bit more palatable. It also means that we will probably have many more opportunities to attend events in the future. I’m crossing my fingers for the monster trucks!
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