Holiday Fun

OMG--has it really been 7 weeks since I posted? Wow...


I think you knew I went to Phoenix for business. I left late Sunday afternoon. Monday morning my dad called. My aunt (who lives in Denver) is dying and my mom and dad are coming to Denver. Can they stay with me. "Sure!" I tell him, "Except that I'm in Phoenix." I owe my husband BIG time for that one. Not only did he host my folks while I was gone, but he had to give them our bed because our spare bed furniture was in the garage. I got back to Denver Friday night and my folks were around through the weekend. It is always so good to have them. I just love it.


November just flew by. I don't know what happened to November. I do know that Thanksgiving Day was a pajama day at my house. We watched movies and napped and ate turkey all day. It was GREAT! So great, in fact, that we stayed in our pajamas practically all weekend. And like icing on the cake, the weather was even crappy, so I didn't feel guilty about it!


So December is almost gone. My co-worker just hollered "Christmas is NEXT WEEK!" I choked on my tea. I always think I'm ready, but I'm never really ready.


Saturday was the carriage parade in Parker. It was an incredibly beautiful day with highs near 60, so I planned to take my daughter. I called V's mom and asked if V could come with us. Meanwhile D came over to play, then L. They both wanted to go, too! How do I get myself into these situations?


Oh well--we got an excellent, sunny spot to watch the parade with the wind at our backs...POI-FECT! Only I soon realized it was maybe too perfect...like not-even-on-the-parade-route-perfect.

So we moved to a spot in front of the speakers. While we waited for the parade to start, the girls entertained themselves (and all those around us) by dancing jigs...

The parade was full of horses of all shapes and sizes, but our favorite were the miniatures. This little fella's name is "Tiny". We love "Tiny" so much, in fact, that we got into a fight over who "called" Tiny first.

And then there was "Buster". Buster is anything but tiny! Can you see that Buster has antlers on his head?
Well, of course he wore antlers...he was pulling none other than the big guy himself! The girls were SO excited because, "Did you see that? Mrs. Clause WAVED to ME!" "I know, I know" another one screamed, "She waved to ME, TOO!"

I agreed to treat the girls to ice cream, so on our way to the ice cream parlor, we found a saddle and a step stool next to the horse statue. How could I say no?? Each girl got to climb aboard for her picture. This little one is mine.

And then we stopped to pet the reindeer.

By the time we got ice cream, I was totally over it all. The girls wined and complained the whole time, "How come I got my ice cream last?" "Why does M get to hold your hand?" "I wanted to sit on the top step!" "How come SHE got a bowl and a spoon?" Over and over and over they cried, "That's not fair!"

I always say "I'm never doing THAT again!" But I will. I always do.

Miscellaneous

(Deep sigh) Is it Friday yet?

Saturday was cold and wet in Denver. So was Sunday. And Monday. Tuesday started out nice enough (cold, but sunny), but now it's yucky again. This weather just makes me want to curl up in a soft, dark, quiet place.

I've been testing out some lace patterns. I think I mentioned that I found a website that suggested I begin knitting lace washcloths. The first one was feather and fan and it turned out nicely. Well, except for the fact that three quarters of the way through, I knit one row twice and it reversed the pattern. It still looks nice and really--it's a washcloth.

Based on my success at the feather and fan, I opted to skip "level two" and dive into the snowflake pattern. I knit the 5th row six times before I got it right. I'm still only 10 rows into it, but I'm not sure I like it. I figure I need to repeat at least three times before I judge.

Meanwhile, I dropped by the library last night and picked up a book about lace, one about cables (hats and scarves), one about knitting two socks at a time, and a couple cookbooks.

I'm still dieting. It sucks, but it's working. I topped out at 184 at the end of August and have managed to whittle myself down to 172. It has not been easy--under any stretch of the imagination. I get up at 4:45AM so I can workout for 40 minutes before work. In case any of you were wondering...it is REALLY dark at 4:45AM...and cold. Cold and dark.

I've started eating more whole grains. More specifically, flax seed meal. I add it to my oatmeal and it's dee-lish! It says you can use it to replace eggs in recipes. I decided to try it out last weekend by replacing one of the three eggs in a muffin recipe. I soaked the flax meal as instructed, then cracked the other two eggs into the batter, then realized that the recipe only called for two eggs. Oh well--we'll try again this weekend.

I also bought some wheat germ and wheat bulgur. You're supposed to be able to replace 25% of flour in a recipe with wheat germ. That's why I bought it, but I haven't tried it yet. My dad used to put wheat germ on damn-near everything he ate. It tastes great on cold cereal, yogurt, peanut butter sandwiches, blah, blah, blah. As for the bulgur--It's one of the main ingredients in the cabbage rolls I'm making for dinner tonight. Don't tell my husband.

FOs and WIPs

Okay--the fact that I started these in April, I think, only makes this FO that much sweeter. I just finished these beauties on Monday. I'm not sure if they fit my daughter's feet anymore, but I wasn't ambitious enough to make them any larger than I did. Behold my first ever pair of socks! I also crocheted a hat and blanket for my stepson's mother, who is expecting a baby in November. I started this project in August and finished it the day of the baby shower (September 13).

And I crocheted this hat in August for the baby's Christmas gift--matching boots to follow.
This furry stuff on the hat was a joke. I couldn't see squat, so I just kinda made it up and put "stitches" where I thought they should be. To the non-crocheter/knitter, it looks fantastic. People who know...know it's jacked up. Fortunately, I'm a "good enough" kind of person and I think it's great.

I'm working on this scarf for my daughter. I think it's too wide, but am not bothered by it enough to rip it out. I think it will be just fine. I also expect to make her a hat to match.

Meanwhile, I'm working on the traveling scarves as they arrive. I have to say, these scarves are starting to look pretty crazy! It's getting more and more challenging to find colors to "match".

I expect to cast on a pair of socks for my mother, but am nervous about getting them finished in time for Christmas. At the speed I knit, I'll be lucky to get those socks finished by Christmas 2009. So I thought maybe I'd knit her a lacy shawl instead. Based on the reaction this statement has gotten from some experienced knitters, that ain't gonna happen either.

I'm slow and I'm really very green (meaning inexperienced). The only thing I have going for me is that I'm fearless...and I'm a "good enough" kind of person. I don't care if I screw up, it's not like anything will be ruined...Just take it out, right? What could go wrong? But my mom is a life-long knitter, so I want her gift to be perfect. I think I can do it. I've got 2 and a half months...I think I can do it.

Please Advise

My daughter has become good friends with a child we’ll call A. A is delightful, well mannered little girl with a vivid imagination. She is well dressed, clean, and healthy little girl. On Sunday, we took this child on a hike with us. Her father sent her over with a hoodie (in case it got cold), a bottle of water, an apple, and a banana all carefully placed in a backpack. A also handed me a piece of paper with her father’s cell phone number, “in case of an emergency.”

Sounds responsible, yes? I certainly thought so. Which is why I was so surprised to hear my daughter’s answer to my question, “Are A’s mother and father home?” My daughter tells me that A “…doesn’t have a mother. Her mother is in jail.”

WTF?!? JAIL??? “What (in my head: in the *$@%*&$@ name of all that is good and holy) is her mother in jail for? My daughter tells me she doesn’t know, “She (A) doesn’t like to talk about it because it makes her sad.”

Wow. My daughter’s friend’s mother is in jail. That makes me uncomfortable.

Fast forward two days. I’m walking my daughter to school this morning and she says, “A is excited because her brother got out of jail yesterday.”

I screamed so loud, only the dogs could hear it: BROTHER????? Then in a normal tone I say to my child, “I didn’t know A had a brother.” My child tells me, “Yup…and he just got out of jail.” Then, before I could regain my senses, she continues, “You know what is weird?” I’m thinking I could write a book on weird right now, but decide to humor her. “What’s weird?” She tells me, “A’s mom is in jail and J’s (I haven’t met “J”, but apparently he is A’s next door neighbor.) dad is in jail.

O-M-G--WHAT KIND OF NEIGHBORHOOD AN I LIVING IN?!?!

Folks—I could go on about this for a really long time, but let’s cut to the chase…Do I have a right to know why A’s mom is in jail? Can I just walk down there and ask Dad, “Why is Mom in jail?” And what about Brother? I’m even more concerned about Brother because he’s OUT!” Is he living with them?

Help me. What do I say? What do I do?

Parenting 101

My daughter has not been feeling well (she has a cold). When she isn't happy, she makes DAMN sure everyone around her is as unhappy as she is. I swear, it was about the longest weekend of my life. She gave me a hard time from the minute she woke up Saturday morning, to the minute she fell asleep Sunday night.

I finally got her into the bath tub at 7:30 Sunday night. This is good news for me because bath time means we are only 3 steps away from bed time. She wasn't even in the tub for 5 minutes before the door bell rings. My daughter hears the door bell and yells from the tub, "WHO IS IT?" I told her, "Veronica and Devon."

My daughter starts to scream and cry, "I WANTED TO PLAY WITH THEM!!" Never mind that she's been playing with them since 11AM. Never mind Devon JUST left our house not 20 minutes earlier. My child starts thrashing and screaming and carrying on. I had to pull her out of the tub because #1, she was flooding my bathroom, #2, she's going to drown, and #3, it was Sunday night and I had had ENOUGH!

I wish I had video taped it. As angry as I was with her, I can't help but see the humor in it (NOW--after the fact). You know how slippery kids are when they're wet, right? My daughter weighs 75 pounds and she did NOT want to get out of the tub ('cause she KNEW she was in trouble). It was like wrestling a 300-pound tuna out of the tub and up two flights of stairs. Consider too that the bathroom floor is wet and I am barefoot. Now just close your eyes and use your imagination.

Uh huh...That little confrontation damn-near killed me.

Lesson learned: Next time, just drain the tub.

6 Random things

Ruth tagged me with the "6 Random Things" meme.

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

Alright, here we go...

1. I prefer to drink lukewarm water (as opposed to cold). If I'm at a restaurant, I order water without ice. At the water cooler, I top off every refill with a splash of scalding hot water.

2. I've had the same cell phone for two years and I still don't know the number.


3. My sneezes come out like machine gun fire. The most I've ever sneezed in one "fit" is 13, but my average 5-7.


4. I LOVE to mix up my food. I stir my corn into my mashed potatoes, then dip my pork chops into it. I crumble pastries and add them to my cereal. I mix potato salad with baked beans and spoon it onto my hamburgers. I rip up grilled cheese sandwiches and float them in my tomato soup. I even line my peanut butter sandwiches with potato chips. In fact, I had a fajita salad for lunch to day. First thing I did was dump the black beans on top, then added a couple heaping spoonfuls of salsa and a dollop of sour cream. Then I stirred it all up. I LOVE to mix up my food!


5. I don't wear antiperspirant. I think there is too much unknown about what that stuff does to a person. And besides, it's just not natural to stop your body from sweating. However, for the sake of those around me (including myself!), I DO wear deodorant.


6. I can't stand to have my hands wet. I HATE to have my hands wet. I can't stay in the swimming pool for more than 15 minutes before I start to panic.

Now, the rules say that I'm supposed to "tag" six people, but I'm going to skip that part. However, if you choose to play along, let me know.

Ouch!

My daughter fell out of bed Wednesday night. She sleeps in a regular twin bed, so it wasn't that bad of a fall...not like falling out of the top bunk of a triple bunk bed (and I would know). Thursday morning, we told her what happened and she had no recollection of it at all. But we had proof... OUCH!! That had to hurt. How can she not remember it?

It started raining about 7:30 last night and it hasn't stopped. It's the really nice, soft rain that makes you want to stay up all night and listen. Today is very gray and wet. It's the kind of day that makes me want to stay in bed with a book. I just (last night) finished Seven Days to the Sea: An Epic Novel of the Exodus by Rebecca Kohn. I don't think I liked it. Ms. Kohn made Yehveh (God) a very angry and unforgiving God. Moses was not "blessed", but rather punished by being chosen, almost to the point where one might consider it torture. It is unfortunate that she made Him so aweful, but the real story was about the relationship between Moses' sister (Miryam) and his wife (Tzipporah). That aspect of the story was really very lovely.

Up next, Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire. I've read several of Gregory Maguire's books: Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is the story of Cinderella as told by one of the wicked stepsisters and Wicked is the story of the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. (I also read Son of a Witch, but that one just confused me.) Mirror Mirror is, of course, the story of Snow White. I'm excited to get started on the book. Gregory Maguire is, in my opinion, a brilliant author.

I'm one of THEM!

OMG--I did it. Last night, at 11:32 PM, I crossed the line. I became one of "THEM"...one of "those moms". The kind of mom that stirs the pot...throws fuel on the fire. The kind of mom whose name makes teachers and principals moan and twitch. And I didn't even know what I was doing until I was done.

I emailed the principal of my daughter's elementary school at 11:32 PM to demand an investigation of another mother's actions. (I can't believe I'm saying this out loud.) It gets worse...I emailed the mother of whom I am demanding an investigation at 6:28AM and asked that she explain her actions. Then I forwarded her reply to the principal. At 9:50AM, the principal called me at work and said, "I am in receipt of all three of your emails."

I'm a trouble maker...a snitch...a whistle blower...I'm a--a--a--a tattle tale.

Here's what happened. The PTO meeting ends and four of us moms pull to the side and are scrambling to finalize some last minute details regarding the Fall Festival before one mom leaves town. The offender is standing at the edge of our circle saying, "Call me before you buy candy. I have gift cards. Make sure you call me first. You can use my gift cards. I have gift cards that you can use to buy the candy. Make sure you call me. Promise you'll call me." After several minutes of this, we recognized that the offender is not falling for the "ignore her and she'll go away" tactic, so I turn to her and say, "What gift cards? What are you talking about?"

Offender: "I have gift cards at Wal-Mart that you can use to buy candy and stuff."
Me: "Where did you get the gift card?"
Offender: "I asked for it. I go to stores and give them a letter asking for donations and they give me gift cards. It's what I do, Rachel. I raise money."

I turned away and continued to ignore her. The woman would not leave us alone. In fact, she walking out with us.

I was so fired up after I got home that I couldn't sleep. The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. Under whose authority was this woman soliciting funds? Who is keeping tabs on her? How much money has she collected on "behalf of" the school? And what is she spending the money on? Does the principal of the school even know what she's doing? So I fire off an email to the principal and ask, in short, "WTF?"

At 6:30 this morning, I'm just as upset as I was last night, so I fire off another email, this time I send the email to the offender and cc the principal. I ask the offender, on whose behalf is she collecting the money (school or school organization)? I ask for a copy of the letter used, for a list of organizations from whom offender has solicited funds, a list of who has donated, how much was donated, for what purpose were the funds solicited, and what has been purchased with the funds? I tell her that what I want to see is a checks and balance system. I want to know that someone (besides the offender) is monitoring those efforts. Then I say, "I'm concerned that there are are ethical and legal ramifications to what you are doing." Ka-POW-yow!

Okay, in all fairness, I really don't think this lady would do anything unethical with the money she collects on behalf of the school. But at this point, I'm not sure that she could prove that she hasn't. And I just can't believe that no one is monitoring her! You can't just go willy-nilly around town asking for donations to an organization without that organization's blessing. The school is responsible for every penny this woman collects and NO ONE IS WATCHING HER!!

...at least not until now. Like I said at the top, I threw fuel on the fire. I was told by the principal that he had a meeting with Ms. Offender in his office in 10 minutes. He is going to "reign her in" and get a full account of all activities up to this point, and will monitor her moving forward.

Yes, my friends, we can chalk this up as another victory for Team Justice. My work here is done.



You know what the ugliest part about it all is? By retelling this story, I've become one of the gossip moms, too. Every time I tell the story, I contribute to the "drama" of PTO. I further strengthen the perception that PTO is a bunch of gossipy, catty, moms. THAT's the part that makes me the most uncomfortable. The entire time I type this up, I have this mental image of a glass house haunting me. I think this little episode will force me to take a closer look at myself, at what I say and how I behave.

Umm...FOOD

I took this idea from Rocks Waves Beach. I think of myself as an adventurous eater. There are few things I don't like and I've never been offered a food I won't try, so I was surprised at how poorly I "scored" on this exercise.

The list is from Very Good Taste on the 100 foods any self respecting omnivore should try at least once. Like to play along?
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here athttp://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results. The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
(note that items with an * indicate foods that I had to look up.)
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea (no, but my daughter got "stung" by nettles once)
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding* (at first, I thought it meant chocolate-it means 'blood' pudding)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush* (but based on what I read, I think I'd like it!)
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi *
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns * (but based on what I read, I think I'd like it!)
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese (I would probably have a hard time eating this if I knew what it was)
26. Raw Scotch bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche* (but based on what I read, I think I'd like it!)
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda * (but based on what I read, I think I'd like it!)
31. Wasabi peas (LOVE 'EM!!)
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi*
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea * (but based on what I read, I think I'd like it!)
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (I really think I'd have a hard time with this.)
43. Phaal*
44. Goat’s milk (but I like goat cheese)
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (oh, baby!)
46. Fugu*
47. Chicken Tikka Masala * (but based on what I read, I think I'd like it!)
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi *
53. Abalone
54. Paneer * (based on the amount of Indian food I eat, surely I've eaten this, but I can't be positive)
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine *
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin* (I looked this up and it's clay. Do you think it means those clay pancakes that people in really poor countries eat when they don't have food?)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian * (um--based on what I read, I'm not sure I could get passed the smell)
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette * (ewwwwww!!!)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe (I just read an article about this in the paper a few weeks ago and it's apparently making a come back.)
74. Gjetost, or brunost * (sounds good!)
75. Roadkill (Whether I ever eat it would depend on what it was and how long ago it was killed)
76. Baijiu *
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong *
80. Bellini * (sounds fantastic!!)
81. Tom yum (or as I like to call it, "Tom yum yum yum")
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky *
84. Tasting menu at a 3-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (I just don't see it ever happening)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa *
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor * (sounds fantastic!!)
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Pranksters raise pranksters

I love a good prank and this prank was GOOD!

My brother leaves for work just about the same time the sun comes up. So, night before last, after he went to bed, his 17-year-old son, J and a few of J's buddies brought "Buffalo Billy" over and got him all sat up in the passenger seat of my brother's van.

Rumor has it Ol' Buffalo Billy startled my brother right good. My brother is a good sport and this is what he had to say about it:

"My first instinct was to protect the family. I dove head first into the van, couple quick chops to its neck to stun him, then drug him out in the yard where I could really go to work on him. Actually, he gave me a pretty good start. Doctor said the burns from the coffee I spilled on my hand should heal nicely with little to no scarring. I gotta admit, I got a little teary when I found out J**** was behind it. Makes a Dad proud to see his son pull one off like that!"

I couldn't agree with you more, bro...I couldn't agree with you more.

My daughter scared me the other day. I went to daycare to pick her up and she was in the bathroom. I hid against the wall and was going to scare her when she came out of the bathroom. Little did I know, she knew I was there and she was on the other side of the wall waiting to scare me. She poked her little head around the corner and very softly said, "Boo".

I almost wet my pants. I screamed out loud and did what I like to call my hallelujah dance--I fall to my knees with my arms waving in the air. I do this dance more than I care to admit, but on this particular day, I did the dance in front of about 30 elementary school children, half a dozen parents and teachers, including the childcare director--who was on the phone.

She got me GOOD! I was so proud.

Oh no she din-nt!

I home today with a new plumber. This one comes very highly recommended by a man that my husband has worked with for a dozen years. He just showed up a few minutes ago and I like him already.

So the plumber is down in the crawl space dinkering around with the hot water heater. I make myself comfortable on the couch and cozy up with my traveling scarf. As I start to knit, my needles keep snagging on the yarn...what the hell? I can't knit. The damn yarn keeps sticking--yes, sticking--to the bamboo needles. Upon closer inspection, it appears that someone--I assume it was a 6-and-three-quarters-year-old girl, but I'm just guessing--tried to "sharpen" my bamboo knitting needles with the pencil sharpener.

I'm not real sure how I feel about that yet. I must admit that I am ever so slightly amused. (Think eensy weensy teeny tiny amusement.)

Anyone else had their needles sharpened for them?

Home repairs

I can't believe I didn't tell you about my Independence Day water woes. Long story short, my "PRV" went out. For those of you not hip on your plumbing lingo...PRV is a pressure release valve. It controls the amount of water pressure in your home. Normal home water pressure is 40. Code maximum is 70. The water pressure in my house on July 4 was 170. It was the same pressure as one would find on the fire hydrant that sits in my front yard. That kind of pressure can blow all the pipes in your house. Fortunately, we learned what a PRV was BEFORE the pipes blew and it "only" cost us $400.

Saturday morning my husband, through chattering teeth, reports that we have no hot water. Normally, this wouldn't be such a big deal. I mean, as far as home improvements go, a new water heater isn't THAT big of a deal...what are they? $300 maybe $400? I tell my husband, "You installed a new 220-volt outlet, you can install a water heater."

Our water heater is in the crawl space and it can't be more than 3 feet tall. Guess what...apparently they don't make 3-foot, 40-gallon gas water heaters anymore. What I want to know is, "WHY THE HELL NOT?!?!" Suddenly our $400 new water heater has turned into a potentially $3,000 ordeal (looks like we might have to go tankless). We've got a guy coming over today to see what can be done.

On a side note, my husband and I are both fortunate in that we have shower facilities in our office buildings. So this morning, we got up and packed gym bags with soap, shampoo, wash cloths, rubber flip flops, deodorant, blah blah blah. I found out this morning that my office building doesn't have hot water either.

I guess I should be thankful that it's July and not January. I should also be thankful that we have the money saved to take care of it. The down side to spending all that money on a new water heater is that it's one of those home repairs that we won't really notice. It's not like getting new windows or new carpet or new appliances. Oh well---hold me in good thoughts and I'll keep you posted.

Recipe--YUM!

So, Udi the Sandwich maker is a bit of a legend around here. The guy makes the most incredible sandwiches--I personally think they are sprinkled with magic dust or crack cocaine or something. But ANYWAY...the Denver Post (with Udi's permission) published his recipe for Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette. It is to die for! I served it on a spinach and grilled salmon salad and since I was home, I licked my plate. Udi also recommends it over chicken and mango.

(Makes 6 cups)
2 cups frozen orange juice concentrate (do not dilute), thawed
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup (scant) sugar
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 1/2 cups canola oil
In blender, combine all ingredients expect for the oil; blend well. On lowest speed, slowly add the oil while blending to emulsify. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Strings and Books

Howdy. Have you guys checked out Ruth's Massive DeStash yet? Do that, then come back.

And I am excited to be included in Sophanne's traveling scarf project. I'm almost ready to pass my first section along...Ain't it purdy?

I've been struggling with my summer reading. I grabbed a couple of NPR picks and wasn't impressed with either one. I couldn't even get through the first 30 pages of the first one (Too Close to the Sun). It is a biography of Denys Finch Hitton (the guy Robert Redford played in Out of Africa). The story was painfully slow. The second book from NPR's pick list was The Thin Place. I finished that one, but it was really weird. I'm still not even sure what the book was about.

I've been thinking about reacquainting myself with some classic Greek mythology. I put a hold on a book from my local library and stopped in last night to pick it up. It was a kids book. I was in a terrible hurry, so I ditched the kid book and grabbed Homer's Iliad instead. Holy crap. What the hell was I thinking? I'll be lucky if I make it through the introduction!! Maybe that kid book wasn't such a bad idea after all.

What are you reading? Got any good suggestions for me?

It really does take a village to raise a child.

Over the last 6 years, my family has become the neighborhood house sitters. And that’s cool with me. I have no problem watering your plants, picking up your paper, collecting mail, feeding and walking dogs, shoveling snow, or mowing lawns. We always have keys to at least 2 of our neighbor’s houses hanging in our garage and have watched up to 4 houses at a time. I really don’t mind. In fact, I’m honored that they all trust us.

My husband and I want to start teaching our daughter about money, so we recently announced our retirement from the house sitting business. However, our six-(almost 7) year-old daughter is more than happy to take over the family business…for a small fee. She charges fifty cents a day (a dollar a day if you leave the dog at home).

Her first customers were out of town for 7 days. This lady has the most incredible wave petunias I have ever seen and they require watering twice a day when it’s hot. My daughter got up early every day so she could take in the newspaper and water the plants before school. After school, she watered again and carried in the mail. On trash day, she dragged TWO trash cans and TWO recycle bins to the curb, then toted them back later that afternoon. The child did an outstanding job and was rewarded with TEN dollars…more than twice her fee.

Thursday, B and J went out of town again. And they (B and J) had been watching J and J’s house. So now, my daughter needed to water B and J’s flowers AND J and J’s flowers. J and J would be home on Sunday.

This morning, J and J saw my daughter watering the flowers at B and J’s house and came over with a thank you card. When my daughter opened the thank you card, there was a $20 in it. I really wish I had known that was coming. I never would have allowed it.

I’m sure that B and J told J and J that my daughter would be taking over watering the plants for a couple days and that my daughter is earning money for Disney World. I’m sure that J and J thought that was cute and wanted to help my daughter earn money. Maybe $20 wasn’t that big of a deal to them. But it defeats the purpose of our money lesson.

How can my child learn the value of the dollar when she gets $20 for splashing water on a couple plants for a few days? Even the $10 that she got a few weeks ago is too much. They only owed her $3.50. Five dollars would have been acceptable, but $10 is too much.

I this is a great example of why “It takes a village to raise a child”. I need my “village” to help me teach my daughter about earning money. Money is not free—you have to work for it. And sometimes that work is hard, dirty, smelly (Mike Rowe), and sometimes we’d rather go play with our friends. But if you don’t work, you can’t have that cute little stuffed polar bear from Kohls.

Catch up

I found THIS on the outside of my office window today.

Crazy bug was 7 stories up and missing a leg! After I downloaded the picture, I found two months worth of snapshots on the camera--most of them had completely slipped my mind. Like this one...

We went to Fort Collins back in May to meet my sister-in-law. She and her husband were about to move from Wyoming to Tennessee, so we met them "half-way" at a city owned and operated park called "The Farm". Very very cool place...highly recommended. They have chickens, ducks, pigs, cows, horses, sheep, and goats. We spent $2 on a bag of oats and let my daughter feed the animals. She was petting one goat and a second one snuck up and ripped that bag of oats right out of her hand. Fortunately, she thought it was hilarious and laughed until her face turned blue.

I also found these pictures:

This year's Parker Country Festival was on Father's Day weekend. I think it was the 23 or 28th year and it just keeps getting better. They block of "downtown" and set up a carnival (rides, food, games, arts, crafts, beer, and bands). It is SO much fun. And this year, my daughter's girl scout troop was invited to participate in the parade. They were "Scouts on Scooters". What a blast. My daughter is the one sporting the "firecracker hat"!

What a nice surprise...finding all those pictures.

Truth Hurts

I’m sure I’ve mentioned that I work in a very small office (two people, including me). I usually wear jeans or even shorts to work, but Monday we had a visitor from corporate, so I had to dress up. I wasn’t sure if that visitor was going to be in our office today, too, so I figured I'd better dress up again, just in case.

My “dress-up” wardrobe is almost non-existent. I dug out a really cute 8-year-old sundress to wear on Monday. This morning, I was digging through my closet and could only find one other outfit that fit me—and it is tight! I said to my husband, “I look like a stuffed sausage!” My husband (being the well-trained husband that he is) replied, “No you don’t, hun, you look nice.” At which point my daughter chimes in, “Well—yeah, mom, you kinda do look like a stuffed sausage.”

I’ve never met a 6-year-old who lies about the way you look, so I squeezed into a girdle and committed to a day of discomfort. It’s 1:00 and my face is turning blue.

No...corporate didn't show up. My coworker is in jeans.

Priorities

It's been a long time since I've posted because I really don't have anything to talk about. Same shit, different day. But then today, on the way to work I heard a news story that threw me over the edge. I have to express my disgust...

The "news" was that a syndicated radio talk show host's contract was renewed for $400 million dollars. FOUR. HUNDRED. MILLION. DOLLARS. I immediately turned to my husband (we car pool now) and asked, "What the hell is WRONG with us?" FOUR? HUNDRED? MILLION? DOLLARS?

What kind of society is willing to pay a pompous jackass $400 million dollars to flap his trap and piss people off when there are millions in our country going hungry? We have citizens that can't afford to pay for life-saving medications and thousands of schools that are literally falling down while student share outdated text books. Our military personnel are fighting a war while their spouses stand in line for food stamps. And this son-of-a-bitch is making $400 million dollars. NO ONE, I don't care who you are, NO one needs $400 million dollars. Not even over an entire lifetime.

And this is only one example. Don't even get me started on the "stars" (sports, movie, or otherwise).

It makes me sad.

Newton's Law

Newton's third law of motion states: "To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." I find this statement proves true every time its tested. And it is curiously similar to the law of karma, yes?

All this nonsense has to do with the fact that I got a new bra. And may I say, "Holy crap...I feel like a new woman!" I'm walking taller and I feel beautiful. But I can't smile.

Same day I get my new bra (yesterday), I get a piece of lettuce stuck under my gum. Of course it's a piece of red-tipped lettuce and it's the red tip that got stuck. I tried to dig it out last night and managed only to push it down deeper. I mean to tell you that I have never seen anything like this in my life. This lettuce is WAY under my gum...front and center (of course). It looks disgusting and it's starting to swell. I'm afraid I'll need some DDS intervention on this one.

Today is my eight year wedding anniversary. We aren't exchanging gifts this year because we've booked a Disney World vacation for August. I know that it's sweltering hot and miserable, but with my daughter on year-round school, our options were limited. AND we'll be there for my daughter's 7th birthday. I'm so excited I can't stand it. We leave in 52 days.

Is it just me?

Seems lately that every time I turn around, I find a super hot guy.

A month ago I asked building management to install a fire alarm strobe light in my office (because we didn’t have one and we missed the last two fire drills). Yesterday this incredibly sexy man comes to my office to do the work. My office has this supervisor window, so I can see the entire office from my desk (I remind you that there are only two of us in this office and I supervise no-one). The guy is up on his ladder RIGHT outside my window A-L-L day. And he is OH-MY-GOD hot.

Today, ANOTHER hot guy shows up to work on my AC. Are you kidding me? This one is even better looking than the one yesterday. Where do these men come from and where can I get one?

And you’ve heard about my neighbors, yes? No? Well let me tell you…they are Greek gods. These 20-something brothers are about 6-foot, 4-inches tall with 6-pack abs, blond hair and blue eyes. They like to mow the grass with their shirts off. As a matter of fact--I like them to mow the lawn with their shirts off, too. I call them the “hot neighbors”. They probably call me the “creepy neighbor.” I’m damn-near old enough to be these boys’ mother.

I was reading a book with my daughter a couple nights ago about the importance of taking care of your skin (keep it clean, wear sunscreen, use lotion, blah blah blah). We got to the part in the book where they talk about why people’s hair color is different and why older people have gray hair. My daughter says to me, “Well, you’re old and your hair isn’t gray.” It was late and I was tired so despite the three thousand rebuttals that flooded my brain, I opted to leave that one alone.

Q is for Quiet--please!

The only times in my life that I have ever had trouble sleeping was late in my pregnancy and the first few weeks after I quit smoking. Aside from that—not a problem. I can sleep through a hurricane and, in fact, I have—Hurricane Hugo in September 1989. I can not imagine how frustrating it must be for people (my husband) who suffer insomnia. HOWEVER—waking ME up at 2:30 in the morning to tell me that you can’t sleep isn’t going to help you OR me. And don’t wake me up to tell me that you’re sick unless there is something I can do to help you. Like, “I’m sick, could you please get me a cold rag.” Or “I’m sick, would you get me a bucket.” Or even, “I’m sick, will you please call 9-1-1.” Don’t wake me up and say, “By the way…I’m sick.” What the hell are you telling me for?

Now that I’ve met that damn alphabet requirement, I have something important I want to say... WARNING--It’s a sales pitch.

As a BzzAgent, I get to sample products for free in exchange for spreading the word about said products. A few weeks ago, they sent me a sample of “Aveeno Positively Ageless lifting and firming night cream”…OH-MY-GOD! This stuff is incredible! Seriously, I noticed a difference immediately. The lotion smells great, it absorbs quickly, and leaves no greasy residue. Within a week, my skin was noticeably smoother. I’m not saying I had fewer wrinkles (I’m only 35), just that my skin was smoother. I checked out the entire line of facial products and none of them cost more than $20. AND…if you go to the Aveeno Website, you can sign up for a free sample and coupon.

My sales pitch sounds so corny. I wish you all knew me better so that you knew how serious I am. Some of you will figure, “What the hell” and you’ll go buy it. Then you’ll be all, “Dag—That Rachel girl was spot on!” Uh huh…just wait. You’ll see.

P is for Piss on the Alphabet!

I am SO over this alphabet crap.

Last weekend (May 9 to be exact) I went with my daughter's Brownie Scout troop to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. It was VERY cool. They let you feed the giraffes. No shit--check it out...

My daughter is in the green sweatshirt. She's laughing so hard because the giraffes kept sticking their tongues out. Those tongues are SO long...and dripping slobber. Yuck!

How cool is that? These two shots were taken inside at night. The outside display is huge and has this elevated bridge so you can walk through the enclosure. The giraffes walk right up to you and let you pet them. It is SO SO SO cool. If you ever find yourself in the neighborhood, remember--Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. Don't forget your camera.

What else...Oh--Mother's Day. My daughter was super excited to fix me frozen waffles, a bowl of Cheerios, and fresh squeezed OJ for breakfast. She fixed the whole meal all by herself (I cut the oranges in half so she could squeeze them)--even poured the milk. It was one of the best meals I've ever eaten. She also presented me with a hand painted pot holder. It was the perfect gift from the perfect child on a perfect day.

That's all I have for today. Except that Ruth tagged me.

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was doing administrative work as a permanent employee of a temporary staffing agency, living in sin with my boyfriend (now husband) and his (then) 10-year-old son.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Write the strengths and recommendations for the PIPs section of a technical report, post this blog, cook dinner, finish potting my flowers, put daughter to bed.

3) Snacks I enjoy:
almond stuffed dried apricots and wasabi peas, but as I write this, I'm munching on a bag of cherries.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Host an expense paid family reunion on a Caribbean island (I have a HUGE family and it would cost damn-near a billion dollars to pull it off!)

5) Places I have lived:
Charlotte, NC; Fort Worth, TX; Huston, TX; Gastonia, NC; Wilmington, NC; Aurora, CO; Englewood, CO; and Parker, CO

6) Jobs I have had:
Target, fabric/craft store, waitress, bartender, receptionist, admin assistant

7) 6 peeps I wanna know more about:
I don’t know very many bloggers and most of those I do know have already participated, so I extend an invite to anyone else who wants to play.

O is for OH. MY. GOODNESS.

How many times have you read or been told that if you peel a banana from the bottom, you won't get those strings? Well, you know what? I call bullshit! I eat a banana every day and this week, I went against my gut instinct and made a special point of peeling my bananas from the bottom. Guess what...STRINGS!

You know what I heard on the news this morning? "We all know that carrying around a few extra pounds is bad for our health, but a recent study shows that being obese can also contribute to global warming." The local CBS affiliate went on to report that more fuel is needed to transport people who are overweight, people who are overweight eat more, and people who are overweight walk less. And that all three of these factors are contributing to global warming. My coffee almost came out of my nose. Are you shittin' me? I think someone just crossed a line.

I'm all for doing my part to reduce global warming. I reduce, reuse, AND I recycle. Know what I did on Mother's Day? I mounted baskets on my and my daughter's bicycles so we have something in which to carry our goods when we pedal to the farmers market. I use cloth rags instead of paper towels. I wear my jeans two, three, sometimes even FOUR days before I wash them AND I wash all my laundry in cold water. I even rinse out my cardboard ice cream containers and put them in the recycle bin with my cereal boxes and newspapers.

So, Mr. CBS Affiliate, don't you DARE give me crap about my few extra pounds. Enough is enough!

(I should have saved this for "R is for Rampage!")

N is for Nature.

This post would also be appropriately named, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. But I’m locked into this damn alphabet thing and determined to see it to the end. So I’m going with “N is for Nature”.

Look here…
This is the trail I walk my daughter to school on. We often see wildlife and no matter how often we see it, we always get excited. The coolest thing we ever saw was a fox…with dinner (squirrel? rabbit?) hanging from it’s mouth. It was running straight towards us, then crossed the street 10 yards before it ran between our legs. We just stopped and starred at it. Sometimes we see snakes, ducks, squirrels, rollie pollies, worms (especially after a good rain), beetles, grasshoppers, and always lots of birds.

Our favorite thing to spot is these…
I know the picture sucks. It was 8PM and I was on my way home from the HOA meeting last night. There were cars behind me, so I had to shoot fast. You should be able to see three deer, but there were 8 of them on the side of the road last night. There are a couple pretty healthy herds that live in Parker. The most we’ve ever counted in one gathering is 23. I have lived in my house for 6 years and I still get SO excited when I see these deer. I just love them!

As for the bad and the ugly…THIS, my friends, is what a couple of squirrels will do to your home, if left unattended:
Those bastards must die. Not really—we’re going to use live traps and sink ‘em in the river…I mean feed ‘em to the coyotes…I mean SET THEM FREE!! …in the woods. Set them free in the woods, WAY out in the country where they have big squirrel cities and all the nuts they ever wanted. Gourmet nuts, even. And they have big squirrel carnivals and parties every Saturday night. It’s a great place…these little rascals are gonna love it!

M is for Miscellaneous

This weekend, my husband and I dug up our front yard (we moved existing and added a few new sprinkler heads). I woke up Monday morning with every joint in my body screaming. He says, “Well, I’m not sore.” I replied, “apparently you didn’t work as hard as I did.” My knuckles hurt when I bend my fingers. My ankles hurt, my toes hurt (would you believe I stomped my own foot?), my elbows, my knees, my hips...even my ears hurt (Note: ears need sunscreen too)!

We also spent the weekend waging war on the squirrel(s) living in the walls of our house. If you wonder how I know its squirrels, I encourage you to read Attack Critters. (It's an amusing story.) Those little bastards have chewed a hole 3 inches high by 8 inches long in the side of my house. Do you know how much it costs to get a “Critter Control” company out? Five HUNDRED dollars. I give my husband a week. One week from today he’ll not only want to pay the $500, he’ll be ready to sell his soul to the devil in exchange for the extermination of those critters.

Saturday night, I let my daughter give me a French manicure. I took a couple pictures of it, but you couldn’t see anything in the pictures. Bless her heart, the little gal did the best she could, but I have to say that my cat could have done as good a job—only she wouldn’t have put as much love into it.

I screwed up last week when I said the sock class was “tomorrow” (wrong Tuesday). The class is “today”. I’m really very excited. Know what else I’m excited about? THIS I emailed the link to Ruth with the subject line, “I’ll drive”. Of course she’s going with me.
And no kids allowed!! (Well...my kids and Ruth's kids aren't allowed, but you could take yours if you wanted.)

L is for LOOK!!!

IT'S A HAT! Hell yeah, I made it! My very first knitted hat eh-ver. Can you see the cables? Damn skippy I did cables! I'm lucky to still have both eyes. Isn't it lovely? I might burst with joy.

And since we're looking...I thought I'd throw out this picture taken earlier today from my office window. Remember when I said that if it weren't snowing, you could see the mountains? Told ya so.
And then there's my daughter high upon a mountain in Boulder a couple weeks ago.

We went on a hike with one of my sisters. It became apparent immediately that (1) My daughter is out of shape and (2) my sister doesn't have children. My daughter whined and cried the entire afternoon, "my legs hurt" and "I'm tired" and "can we rest?" The little thing is lucky her Auntie didn't throw her off the side of the mountain!

And by the way--it really wasn't cold enough to justify the winter parka. She insisted on wearing that coat, but would have been fine with wind breaker.

K is for...

I haven’t blogged in what…a week?!?! ‘cause I’m all hung up on this stupid alphabet. The obvious answer for K is knit, but I had just posted the picture of the hat I am working on, and sadly, I’m not much further along than I was when I took that picture. But as I’m typing my to-hell-with-the-alphabet post, I remember that Ruth signed us up for a sock knitting class I guess they’re going to teach us how to knit two socks at a time. This oughta be good seein’ as I don’t even know how to decrease or increase yet. That teacher’s go her work cut out for her!

Hell, I don’t even have yarn yet and I guess Monday is to yarn stores what Sunday is to liquor stores. I found that out last week after I made my daughter ride her bicycle to the yarn store with me BEFORE dinner. Have I mentioned that the yarn store (like everything else in Parker) is downhill…as in the way home is always UP hill. It took us 4 minutes to get there and 45 minutes to get home.

This little sock experiment is pretty symbolic of how I approach life. I have little fear of failure. I just set sail and figure it out as I go along. Sometimes my ship sinks, but mostly I manage to get myself to shore. Here’s hoping I make it to shore this time! Regardless of where my boat lands, I’ll have a great story to tell!

J is for Jeopardous

I was all ready to give up on the alphabet thing, then a quick search of the thesaurus gave me the word, "jeopardous". This a perfect word to describe my would-be commute this morning. Fortunately, my husband took mercy on me and drove me to work in his truck. Why was the commute jeopardous? Are you serious? Have you looked outside lately? See for yourself just how jeopardous it is...Okay. So that picture isn't really a good example of the jeopardous driving conditions, however, it IS a good example of just how YUCK it is today. If it were a nice day, this top picture would be a fantastic view of the Rocky Mountains. Seriously. But it's not nice. It's snowing like mad in Denver Metro. Just look at the parking lot...damn near empty. I guess these people must all be "working from home". Must be nice.

The good news is that instead of risking my life driving my squirrelly car in these jeopardous conditions, I got to KNIT! It was so cool. The other good news is that thanks to my daughter, I have a lovely reminder that all will work out in the end...

I is for Initiation

Well, ladies...I was officially initiated into the knitting world on Friday. Not only did I have FRONT row seats to hear the almighty Stephanie Pearl McPhee... Check it out...there were more than 200 hundred people who came to hear her.
I have to be honest and say that my first thought was, "Wow...she has a really deep voice!" I can add that I found some comfort in that because I have a deep voice. I laughed so hard. I like what she had to say, but wished it had been less scripted. She is so funny, it would have been fun to just listen to her go. This is me with the Queen Bee herself...

Everyone was fantastic! I kept cracking up at all the ooooohhhh and aaahhhh uttered while petting all the various projects, "May I touch it? ...ooohhhhh that is sooooooooo NICE!" Ruth and I arrived at 3:00 for the 7:30 signing and were number 6 and 7 in line. The place filled up really quickly and I was grateful that Ruth thought to bring chairs!

Afterwards a group of us went to dinner, then another group joined us. The night was loud and rowdy and full of mutual admiration and respect. I was honored to spend my afternoon and evening surrounded by so many wonderful women.


...I also learned to knit in the round with double points...and there are cables in this!

Holy Schnikies is right! I'm lucky I still have both eyes (but the project is still young). The first few rows were so awful, I almost cried. I kept thinking, "how can anyone think this is fun?" It was just awful. But I'm sticking with it. I owe it to myself to give it an earnest attempt and I can honestly say that it is getting easier. I knit continental style (with the yarn in my left hand), so that purl stitch is a booger for me. I haven't figure out a way that works for me yet, but I'm getting closer.

And how about all these pictures? I can hardly believe it's me!

H is for Humor

I don't think I could make it to lunch time without a bit of humor. One of my husband's most endearing qualities is his outstanding sense of humor. And my daughter is quite a card herself. So naturally we wanted to celebrate April Fools Day with couple of good, old fashioned pranks.



I wake my daughter up every weekday with a cup of warm pink (strawberry) milk. She drinks her milk while I sing the "Good morning to you" song. On April 1, I woke my daughter with a cup of warm BLUE milk. I guess it was a little too early in the morning, because she didn't think it was funny...Until I said, "APRIL FOOLS!" She immediately started plotting a prank on Daddy!



We put her 36-inch doll in her bed and fluffed the covers to make it look like it was my daughter, then she hid behind the bedroom door and called for Daddy to come cuddle with her. Daddy climbed into her bed and snuggled up to her doll, then said, "What...what the? Hey...this isn't...!" At which point, my daughter leaps from behind the bedroom door and screams, "APRIL FOOLS!"



Daddy is a really good sport.


But the most fun prank came later that night, my daughter helped me make "cupcakes" for dinner.These are meatloaf muffins with mashed potato frosting. Of course my husband new he wasn't eating a cupcake, but he totally played into it. I thought my daughter was going to wet her pants when she saw the look on his face after he took the first bite. She laughed so hard, I was afraid she'd choke! It was a good day.

Ruth is always really good for a laugh. She has this great big laugh, and she throws head back and just surrenders to it. It feels so good to laugh. I love to be with people who make me laugh.

I have a co-worker in the Phoenix office that calls me sometimes and just says, "Make me laugh." Within two or three minutes we'll both be hee-haw snort laughing. At the end of the conversation, as we wipe away tears and start to settle down, one of always says, "Damn...THAT was good exercise!"

G is for Giddy

What makes children giddy? Well, okay...there are thousands of things that can make children giddy. Spring was the answer I was looking for. Spring makes children giddy (and adults, too).

In my neighborhood, Spring is unofficially official when they flush the fire hydrants. Ruth's children came down to take part in the Spring ritual. Only those boys didn't know what was happening.

What's this lady doing?

Ewwww...

Hummm....

Not bad, I tell ya...not bad at all!

Hey...he's right...this is pretty cool!

Ya-HOOOO!!! I'm a kid and I can't feel the cold!

They opened the first hydrant at 7:30 AM. They didn't open this one until 2:00. My daughter changed her clothes FOUR times on Saturday.


And in case anyone is wondering, we pulled a bucket for each child and made them scoop the water onto the lawn.



Don't look at me like that...my husband and I helped.

F is for Fruit of my labor!

My labor and my daughter's. I mentioned in my Monday post that my daughter and I got books from the library on painting rocks and making friendship bracelets. We made the bracelets Saturday night. My daughter is 6 and impatient, so it was looking like the bracelet thing wasn't going to work. Then we found the instructions for the twister bracelets. You cut 24-inch lengths, knot one end, then twist like crazy. Once you've twisted the entire length, you fold the length in half and let it twist itself in half. She LOVED it. It was so easy and the results look fancy. After the first one, she decided she wanted to make one for everyone in her class...and all her cousins...and everyone in the neighborhood...and maybe she could sell them at a garage sale.

We spent some time on Sunday painting rocks. We have a landscape supply company in town that sells rocks by the pound. They weigh your car/truck on the way in, you fill it up, then weigh again. They have these great river rocks that are just perfect and they cost like $0.10 a pound or something. We usually get a couple dozen rocks for between $3 and $5. Anyway, I have painted rocks all around my yard. Most are just painted one solid color and we have a few rainbows, smiley faces, and polka-dots. This book we found at the library (Painting on Rocks for Kids) has step-by-step instructions on painting cars, bugs, dinosaurs, lizards, fish, etc. It was great!

Pretty cool, huh?

E is for an Exultant Evening

Last night was school night at Red Robin Burgers and we were told that 10% of the proceeds would be donated to my daughter’s school. My family doesn’t eat out very often, and when we do, it’s lunch on Saturday. We almost never eat out during the week…but we did last night and we had SO much fun! The restaurant was packed with students and faculty (we got there at 6:30 and had a 45 minute wait).Every time we turned around, we saw someone we knew. We were all laughing and waving and “Hey there! I’m so happy to see you…isn’t this a great turnout!” People stopped by our table to say hello or to tell a joke or comment on the status of their bracket. The staff did an outstanding job keeping every one watered and feed. I made a special point to tell the manager on my way out how impressed I was that his staff pulled it off. It was SO COOL!

I love where I live. I am privileged to be part of such an outstanding community. Get this…about a year ago I my daughter and I had stopped on our way from somewhere to visit a friend who lives about 1/4 of a mile from my home. When it was time to leave, my daughter wanted to run home, but I couldn’t run with her because I had my car. So I drove real slow while she jogged on the side walk. A couple driving by thought it was a strange sight, so they TURNED around and asked me if everything was okay. I smiled and said yes, so they asked my daughter, “Are you okay? Is she bothering you?” They thought I was a bad guy trying to pick up her up and that she was running away from me. And they made it their business to confirm that all was okay.

We have the best neighbors and spend many an evening visiting with one or more. We watch each other’s children and borrow milk and eggs and recipes and dishwasher detergent. We shovel each other’s driveways and sidewalks and borrow air compressors and chain saws. When someone’s wash machine breaks mid cycle, we haul the laundry next door.

…and when the school does a fund raiser, I am reminded of just how great my community is.

D is for Dork

Boy do I feel like a Dork. I gave blood today. It was great! I threw up AND passed out. I reckon I've given whole blood two dozen times in my life and I lived two years off the money I earned from giving plasma. I NEVER passed out OR threw up...until today. I don't know what happened. Maybe one of the 8 to 10 people in the room could tell you.

Speaking of sick...My daughter and I were out running around on Saturday. We stopped at the library to exchange some books and picked up a few craft books for children. One was about painting rocks and the other how to make friendship bracelets. The craft store is right across the street, so we stopped there next to buy some paint and embroidery floss.

We're in the check out line for 10 minutes when she decides she has to go to the bathroom NOW! And the bathroom is, of course, at the back of the store. The child locks herself in the stall, then starts wailing and crying, "PLEASE HELP ME!" I said, "Unlock the door." She says, "I CAN'T! HELP ME!!" After a desperate 10 second search of the bathroom, I'm convinced there is nothing there to save me from the inevitable. I turn the the mom next to me (who was wise enough to hold the door closed for her daughter) and say, "The things we do for our children." I then proceed to get down and belly crawl--across a public restroom floor--under the door. Now I have to burn the clothes I was wearing.

C is for Crocus

I know I already did C, but I noticed this morning that my crocus aren't just coming up, by jolly, those rascals have BLOOMED! Good googly-moogly, Spring has Sprung! And just in time for Easter (which I should save for Sunday's post). It's dark and hard to see, but it was really early in the morning when I took this picture.

You're checking at my toadstools, aren't you. I saw that idea in a Family Fun Magazine (LOVE Family Fun) and had to have them! My neighbor cut down her dead aspen trees, I ran right over and asked if I could have them. I have some in my back yard, too.

Enough about the toadstools...we're here to talk about C. C is also for "Community". I organized my neighborhood's egg hunt last weekend. We had a great time. It took about 6 woman hours and close to two dozen shots to fill two THOUSAND eggs. Then it took another 8 children and 4 adults 30 minutes to distribute the eggs. We held those children back as long as we could. The whole thing was over within in 20 minutes of the word, "GO!"

"Short and sweet and plenty to go around." was the best comment I heard. It was a blast and I can't wait until next year.

C is also for "Camera" and I've learned how to use mine--Yippee!!

C is for Chair

My husband is part facilities manager (part HR) at a very large, very lucrative engineering firm. That firm recently replaced ALL the chairs in the office with new, ergonomic, matching chairs. The old ones were up for grabs. Employees were invited to take them, then everything left over would be given to charity (this company gives so much stuff to charity--it is AWESOME).

So...hubby asks me if I think my daughter's school might be interested in some chairs. "I imagine they would...I'll ask!" And I did. I even sent a picture of the chairs to the principal and, "You want any of these?" A few days later he replies that he would very much like to have 4 of the chairs. Great...Honey...bring me 4 chairs!

Honey: Woops...um...er...chairs are gone.
Me: Excuse me?
Honey: I forgot that I told SuzieQ to get rid of the chairs and she found a charity that wanted them.

Son of a bitch. Now I have to go back to the principal and tell him no dice. It takes me 3 days to buck up enough courage to tell this guy the chairs are gone. I felt like a total boob, but I did it. I emailed yesterday and said there was a misunderstanding and I am sorry, but the chairs are gone.

My honey just called to say he has 4 chairs, does the school still want them.

B is for Basketball

Ugh...if it ain't one kinda ball, then it's another. I got home from work last night and my husband was watching a basketball game. I said, "Are you kidding me? Is it March ALREADY?!?!" There goes any chance I had of watching anything besides basketball until this stupid tournament stuff is over. I was going to say that the only thing worse than college football bowl games is the March Madness tournament...but then I changed my mind. There is NO-thing worse than March Madness.

Once, I won $5 because every team I chose to win the first bracket, lost.

Seriously, I have been going crazy trying to come up with something "B" to blog about today. I almost blew it off, but I really want that LYS gift certificate Ruth is giving away!

A is for Anne of Green Gables

I just started reading Anne of Green Gables. I was in the kiddie section of the library with my daughter on Sunday and the book was displayed on top of a shelf with a piece of paper sticking out of it that said something like, “Emily thinks this book rocks!”

I have not read the book, but I watched the series on PBS with my mom when I was in high school. I don’t remember anything about the story. What I do remember is that my mom and I had about 6 hours invested into this series that my dad recorded for us. It was the last episode and my mom and I stayed up late to watch the end. We were both on the edge of our seats, sobbing like babies when the tape ended. Ants…snow…static…call it what you will, all I know is that I never saw the end of the movie. Mom and I just sat there, stunned. We looked at each other with this shocked, what-the-hell-just-happened, stare. We looked back at the TV…then at each other…TV…each other. That’s the only time I ever proposed to my mother that we attack my father.

I love to read. When I was a child, we lived about 1/2 mile from the public library. In the summer, we’d go to the library (because it was so well air conditioned) and read for hours. I would bring home stacks of paperbacks and would often stay up until 2 or 3 AM to finish a book. I could read 5 to 6 books a week. I can’t do that anymore. Most obviously because I don’t have the time, but also because I need time to digest what I just read. I need to explore what those words meant to me and how I’m going to allow them to fit into my life.

I most recently finished two books by Gregory Maguire: Confessions of an Ugly Step-sister and Wicked. Both books blew—my—mind. So much so, that I can’t even get into it now. I don’t even know where to start.

You read any good books lately?