Some randomnity...
A few days before her birthday, I told Holly about the night she was born. When I got to the part about giving her her name, she frowned and said, "But I didn't want my name to be Holly! I wanted it to be Rapunzel."
I gave Thea the Hunger Games trilogy for Christmas. She read the first book in 24 hours. Then she read the second book in the next 24 hours. I'm so happy to have her reading and being excited about a book, but it seems like kind of a waste if she's going to "use up" this Christmas present in three days.
Tonight I had to deal with a puking incident and a disgustingly clogged sink (not related) at the same time. Kind of an overload of Ick.
My great-grandmother taught me to crochet when I was a kid. I haven't done it in years, but in just the past couple of weeks I've picked it back up again. It is so satisfying to sit with the needle and yarn and a mug of coffee and some music playing. It feels very grounding and at the same time brings back fond memories. So far I've made a bunch of coasters/potholders, and one head wrap with a flower on it that is not very attractive. The coasters are kind of rough but I'm still enjoying using things I made. And I think with the right yarn, the head wrap could be really pretty.
Today there was only one radio station left, that I could find, still playing all Christmas music. (101.9 FM) As much as I wanted to avoid that grating music all of December... today I found myself listening to that station, and actually singing along.
I'm glad that Christmas is over, and look forward to a brand new year, but boy do I dislike the winter. I don't like January or February and thinking of all those gray days stretching ahead of me makes me want to hunker down in bed (in my new flannel sheets -- Christmas presents!)
Pez candy: Nasty. Did I actually like that stuff, as a kid, or was it just fun playing with the dispensers?
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Party aftermath
Labels:
food,
halloween,
pictures,
woohoodammit
Before I forget, here is what went wrong, and what went right, for the girls' party (a long woohoo-dammit, of sorts :) ). Pictures at the bottom of the page.
WRONG: Had to move the party completely indoors thanks to frigid temperatures, drizzle and mud. Most of my games and activities were subsequently cut from the agenda.
RIGHT: Let the kids turn on the Wii and play "Just Dance." That game never fails to entertain. Even boys and parents were dancing.
RIGHT: Ghost cookies -- these were knockoff Nutter Butters dipped in melted white candy chips, with black sprinkles for eyes -- and witch hat cookies -- knockoff Keebler Fudge Stripes, turned upside down, with Hershey Kisses secured to them with a line of orange icing. Kids loved them.
RIGHT: Frozen party-size macaroni and cheese. I only got one of these, on a whim, and when it came down from the oven it disappeared in record time.
WRONG: The mummy dogs -- hot dogs wrapped in strips of refrigerated crescent roll dough -- didn't look like mummies at all.
WRONG: Also baking the first batch of mummy dogs on top of waxed paper was a bad idea since the paper melted and stuck to the dogs. (This was an accident, not something I did on purpose.)
RIGHT: Despite the mummy dogs' disappointing appearance, they were gobbled up -- waxed paper and all.
WRONG: Eyeball sandwiches -- two meatballs on a dinner roll, with sliced olives attached to look like the pupils of the eyeballs -- were a pain to assemble, and didn't really get eaten.
WRONG: "Pin the heart on the skeleton" game wasn't really fair since I attached to the wall a poseable cardboard skeleton and thus the blindfolded kids just had to quickly feel him up to locate where his heart should go. Only the two youngest kids missed by placing their hearts on the elbow and in the pelvis.
WRONG and RIGHT: Bobbing for donuts -- donuts tied with twine to the bottom of the ceiling light fixture -- was messy and wasteful. I ran this in three heats of four each, and the kids had to hold their hands behind their backs and try to be the first to finish eating their donuts without them falling onto the floor. The powdered donuts made a huge mess on faces and the carpet, and most kids' donuts fell onto the floor only half eaten. However, not surprisingly, this game was a huge hit.
RIGHT: Black punch in a plastic cauldron I got at Walmart hours before the party. The punch was two packages of Koolaid (two different colors that would be dark and muddy when mixed together) with the appropriate amount of sugar and water, plus two liters of ginger ale. Tasty.
WRONG: The ice hands floating in the punch did not work well. I froze water in rinsed plastic gloves, and it should have been great, but the fingers kept falling off (one of my floating hands was doing the sign of the devil) and the plastic was difficult to remove. I found a couple small pieces of plastic floating in the punch. I think using a different kind of glove would have worked better.
RIGHT: The three fog machines excited the kids and would have been very cool if we could have kept them running on their intermittent timers, but...
WRONG: The fog set off my smoke alarm twice, which is wired into the alarm system at the house and so the potential for the fire department showing up was high. So we had to set the fog machines on manual and an adult had to go flick them on from time to time.
WRONG and RIGHT: I forgot to set out the Goldfish crackers and the cheese cubes and crackers that I had gotten. However we had so freaking much food left over, it was just as well.
RIGHT and WRONG: We made these adorable Tootsie Pop spiders to be party favors. Then I forgot them in a box in my room until after all the kids had gone home.
WRONG: Had to move the party completely indoors thanks to frigid temperatures, drizzle and mud. Most of my games and activities were subsequently cut from the agenda.
RIGHT: Let the kids turn on the Wii and play "Just Dance." That game never fails to entertain. Even boys and parents were dancing.
RIGHT: Ghost cookies -- these were knockoff Nutter Butters dipped in melted white candy chips, with black sprinkles for eyes -- and witch hat cookies -- knockoff Keebler Fudge Stripes, turned upside down, with Hershey Kisses secured to them with a line of orange icing. Kids loved them.
RIGHT: Frozen party-size macaroni and cheese. I only got one of these, on a whim, and when it came down from the oven it disappeared in record time.
WRONG: The mummy dogs -- hot dogs wrapped in strips of refrigerated crescent roll dough -- didn't look like mummies at all.
WRONG: Also baking the first batch of mummy dogs on top of waxed paper was a bad idea since the paper melted and stuck to the dogs. (This was an accident, not something I did on purpose.)
RIGHT: Despite the mummy dogs' disappointing appearance, they were gobbled up -- waxed paper and all.
WRONG: Eyeball sandwiches -- two meatballs on a dinner roll, with sliced olives attached to look like the pupils of the eyeballs -- were a pain to assemble, and didn't really get eaten.
WRONG: "Pin the heart on the skeleton" game wasn't really fair since I attached to the wall a poseable cardboard skeleton and thus the blindfolded kids just had to quickly feel him up to locate where his heart should go. Only the two youngest kids missed by placing their hearts on the elbow and in the pelvis.
WRONG and RIGHT: Bobbing for donuts -- donuts tied with twine to the bottom of the ceiling light fixture -- was messy and wasteful. I ran this in three heats of four each, and the kids had to hold their hands behind their backs and try to be the first to finish eating their donuts without them falling onto the floor. The powdered donuts made a huge mess on faces and the carpet, and most kids' donuts fell onto the floor only half eaten. However, not surprisingly, this game was a huge hit.
RIGHT: Black punch in a plastic cauldron I got at Walmart hours before the party. The punch was two packages of Koolaid (two different colors that would be dark and muddy when mixed together) with the appropriate amount of sugar and water, plus two liters of ginger ale. Tasty.
WRONG: The ice hands floating in the punch did not work well. I froze water in rinsed plastic gloves, and it should have been great, but the fingers kept falling off (one of my floating hands was doing the sign of the devil) and the plastic was difficult to remove. I found a couple small pieces of plastic floating in the punch. I think using a different kind of glove would have worked better.
RIGHT: The three fog machines excited the kids and would have been very cool if we could have kept them running on their intermittent timers, but...
WRONG: The fog set off my smoke alarm twice, which is wired into the alarm system at the house and so the potential for the fire department showing up was high. So we had to set the fog machines on manual and an adult had to go flick them on from time to time.
WRONG and RIGHT: I forgot to set out the Goldfish crackers and the cheese cubes and crackers that I had gotten. However we had so freaking much food left over, it was just as well.
RIGHT and WRONG: We made these adorable Tootsie Pop spiders to be party favors. Then I forgot them in a box in my room until after all the kids had gone home.
 |
| Tootsie Pop spiders |
 |
| Ghost cookies |
 |
| Witch hat cookies |
 |
| Cupcakes decorated by the birthday girls |
 |
| Me and my daughter's "BFF" |
 |
| The "haunted hallway". Fog came out of the skull's mouth. |
 |
| I explain the rules of bobbing for donuts. |
 |
| And they're off! |
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| Pretty fun to watch! |
 | |
| Thea opening presents |
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| The last lonely ghost cookie left on the plate. |
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| Partying! |
Friday, October 28, 2011
Party time, excellent
Labels:
fall,
halloween,
house,
kids,
woohoodammit
Woohoo, the temperatures have been in the 60s and the 70s all month, which was great because I was planning a bunch of outdoor activities for the girls' birthday/Halloween party tomorrow night. Well guess what? Tomorrow, temperatures are not even supposed to reach 50 degrees. There is a 100% chance of rain during the day. At night, temperatures will dip into the 30s, and there is a 70% chance of SNOW. Dammit!!!
I am not sure now what I am going to do with nearly 20 kids stuck in my house.
I have a "haunted hallway" getting set up with black lights and fog machines. I have glow-in-the-dark bugs to put all over, and I found this cool idea online and did it -- printed out antique-looking photos and touched them up with a yellow highlighter to look creepier under the black light. For future reference, the best photos were the ones that had a lot of white space on them to begin with, as that glows better and the yellow highlighter shows up extremely well. The darker photos make it harder to see my embellishments. The best photo of all was this one --
it printed out pretty creepy-looking on its own. I colored in the guy's eyes with the highlighter and he is impressive.
I have a bunch of food I have to make tomorrow, mostly ideas I collected on Pinterest -- Nutter Butter ghosts, decorated cupcakes and brownies, witch hat cookies, mummy hot dogs, eyeball (meatball) sandwiches, and a veggie tray with dip that is coming out of a sick-looking jack o'lantern's mouth. Hehehe. Oh and a black punch with a floating ice hand in it. Can't wait to see how that turns out!
I was going to play pin-the-heart-on-the-skeleton outside, as well as have a balloon stomp (balloons tied with a length of yarn to the kids' feet -- the object is to stomp on other people's balloons while protecting your own), a balloon-ghost popping relay race, and a treat hunt through the yard. Those ideas are all way up in the air now. I don't have a room large enough for 20 kids stomping on balloons, or a room long enough for a relay race. Maybe I can still pull off the skeleton. More likely the kids will just run wild through the house. Or worse, sit around bored!
I am not sure now what I am going to do with nearly 20 kids stuck in my house.
I have a "haunted hallway" getting set up with black lights and fog machines. I have glow-in-the-dark bugs to put all over, and I found this cool idea online and did it -- printed out antique-looking photos and touched them up with a yellow highlighter to look creepier under the black light. For future reference, the best photos were the ones that had a lot of white space on them to begin with, as that glows better and the yellow highlighter shows up extremely well. The darker photos make it harder to see my embellishments. The best photo of all was this one --
I have a bunch of food I have to make tomorrow, mostly ideas I collected on Pinterest -- Nutter Butter ghosts, decorated cupcakes and brownies, witch hat cookies, mummy hot dogs, eyeball (meatball) sandwiches, and a veggie tray with dip that is coming out of a sick-looking jack o'lantern's mouth. Hehehe. Oh and a black punch with a floating ice hand in it. Can't wait to see how that turns out!
I was going to play pin-the-heart-on-the-skeleton outside, as well as have a balloon stomp (balloons tied with a length of yarn to the kids' feet -- the object is to stomp on other people's balloons while protecting your own), a balloon-ghost popping relay race, and a treat hunt through the yard. Those ideas are all way up in the air now. I don't have a room large enough for 20 kids stomping on balloons, or a room long enough for a relay race. Maybe I can still pull off the skeleton. More likely the kids will just run wild through the house. Or worse, sit around bored!
Monday, October 17, 2011
I come back here from time to time
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| picture from http://rebeccasower.typepad.com/ |
October... It's my absolute favorite time of year. Colors, warmth and chill, orange sunshine, the smell of wet earth and leaves.
On Saturday, after showering and dressing, I stood out on the back porch and let the sun and the wind dry my hair. Being as that I live in the middle of the city, I'm sure there were traffic noises and train whistles, but I didn't hear any of that. I heard birds, and I heard the wind in the trees, and I remembered other October days when I thought to myself, "This is my absolute favorite time of year."
It was one of those quiet wistful moments in time that you feel like you might remember forever, but you know it'll more likely be forgotten in a matter of days. If you're lucky, though, the elusive feeling will return to you in another time and place.
This was the song playing through my head on Saturday, and it captures that wistful, warm feeling of October sun and childhood memories. Gosh, I love this band.
Scattered Black and Whites by Elbow...
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Halloween fixins
Work continues on the girls' Halloween costumes. My time frame has been cut short by the fact that they want to wear these costumes to a party at Thea's old school, this weekend. So I have two whole less weeks than originally thought.
At the moment Faith's is closest to being done, followed by Holly's. Thea's costume... I don't know what I'll do about it.
Updated costs:
But at least tonight we finished up the invitations to their Halloween/birthday party. The girls did most of the work themselves -- Thea made the ribbon bats, while Faith cut all the paper and glued it together. I had to come along behind them and re-glue the eyes on the bats and the bats to the invitations, since the "Tacky Glue" that Thea had used was failing to hold very well. I ended up using hot glue. They turned out pretty cute!
Updated costs:
| Faith | Thea | Holly |
| Gown: 3.99 Turtleneck: 2.49 Earmuffs: 1.99 Gun: 0.99 Belt: 2.90 |
Boots: 7.90 Gloves: 2.99 Skirt: 1.99 Wings: 1.99 Sheer material: 8.39 Pleather: 3.37 Tulle: .23 |
Orange felt: 2.99 Other felt: 1.50 T-shirt: 1.99 |
| $12.36 | $26.86 | $6.48 |
But at least tonight we finished up the invitations to their Halloween/birthday party. The girls did most of the work themselves -- Thea made the ribbon bats, while Faith cut all the paper and glued it together. I had to come along behind them and re-glue the eyes on the bats and the bats to the invitations, since the "Tacky Glue" that Thea had used was failing to hold very well. I ended up using hot glue. They turned out pretty cute!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Spam and Fall
Have you ever noticed that when you visit your Gmail spam folder, the Google-generated ads that appear at the top of the screen usually involve recipes using Spam? Is Google just trying to be funny? Because they're supposed to know all about me, and that makes me think their algorithms are crap. I already know that Facebook doesn't really know me.
Faith's and Holly's Halloween costumes will be done soon and I'll post pictures.
Check out this flashback. Seven years ago this weekend, a friend and I took our girls camping. Thea was 5, Faith was 3, and Paige, my friend's daughter, was 4. It was a very cold and rainy weekend, and would have been miserable except for the fact that we allowed ourselves to gripe and laugh about the situation and in turn be more patient with the unhappy kids. In particular I remember that we said "oh well" and let the girls play on a drenched playground in the rain, not worrying about the fact that they were getting soaked.
Anyway, we visited that same park this past weekend, and took a picture of the same three girls along a trail. Now ages 12, 10 and 11, my how they have changed!
In October 2004
In October 2011
Faith's and Holly's Halloween costumes will be done soon and I'll post pictures.
Check out this flashback. Seven years ago this weekend, a friend and I took our girls camping. Thea was 5, Faith was 3, and Paige, my friend's daughter, was 4. It was a very cold and rainy weekend, and would have been miserable except for the fact that we allowed ourselves to gripe and laugh about the situation and in turn be more patient with the unhappy kids. In particular I remember that we said "oh well" and let the girls play on a drenched playground in the rain, not worrying about the fact that they were getting soaked.
Anyway, we visited that same park this past weekend, and took a picture of the same three girls along a trail. Now ages 12, 10 and 11, my how they have changed!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Weekend wrapup
House News
We had no landline phone service for two days, and no one would have noticed except that the alarm system control panel started beeping because it recognized it had no connection to the alarm company. The problem was somewhere between the main road and the telephone pole across the street from my house, meaning it was NOT MY FAULT and I didn't have to pay Verizon to fix it. HA. Actually now my phone line sounds better than it has in years. It was so staticky that you couldn't really talk to anyone. Maybe now I'll actually answer the phone when someone calls. Yeah.... probably not.
It was chilly in the house today so I turned on the heat, mainly just as a test to make sure it was going to come on when I REALLY needed it. The boiler lit right up. I am glad.
Neighbor News
Apparently one of the neighbor ladies has a live-in boyfriend. Well, HAD, because tonight Dan heard her yelling at him and telling him he had to move out. What? I never saw this guy before this weekend. How long did he live there, 24 hours?
Halloween Costumes Update
My friend Carrie went shopping with me this weekend and we knocked out most of Faith's costume. We have a few pieces of Thea's costume, although she is much more difficult because she is trying to exactly match a picture of a costume she found on the internet. We have zero pieces of Holly's costume.
Holly Art
Holly drew some surprisingly recognizable pictures tonight.
This is a dog.
This is a cat. It is either in tall grass or in a cage... I'm not sure which.
Photo Alert
New pictures up, from our recent trip to Rehoboth Beach. See them here!
We had no landline phone service for two days, and no one would have noticed except that the alarm system control panel started beeping because it recognized it had no connection to the alarm company. The problem was somewhere between the main road and the telephone pole across the street from my house, meaning it was NOT MY FAULT and I didn't have to pay Verizon to fix it. HA. Actually now my phone line sounds better than it has in years. It was so staticky that you couldn't really talk to anyone. Maybe now I'll actually answer the phone when someone calls. Yeah.... probably not.
It was chilly in the house today so I turned on the heat, mainly just as a test to make sure it was going to come on when I REALLY needed it. The boiler lit right up. I am glad.
Neighbor News
Apparently one of the neighbor ladies has a live-in boyfriend. Well, HAD, because tonight Dan heard her yelling at him and telling him he had to move out. What? I never saw this guy before this weekend. How long did he live there, 24 hours?
Halloween Costumes Update
My friend Carrie went shopping with me this weekend and we knocked out most of Faith's costume. We have a few pieces of Thea's costume, although she is much more difficult because she is trying to exactly match a picture of a costume she found on the internet. We have zero pieces of Holly's costume.
| Faith | Thea | Holly |
| Gown: 3.99 Turtleneck: 2.49 Earmuffs: 1.99 Gun: 0.99 Belt: 2.90 |
Boots: 7.90 Gloves: 2.99 Skirt: 1.99 Wings: 1.99 |
|
| $12.36 | $14.87 |
Holly Art
Holly drew some surprisingly recognizable pictures tonight.
This is a dog.
This is a cat. It is either in tall grass or in a cage... I'm not sure which.
Photo Alert
New pictures up, from our recent trip to Rehoboth Beach. See them here!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Hollyisms
This pleasant exchange took place at dinner:
Holly: There are bad people in the world.
Me: But I'm not a bad person, right?
Holly: You're fat.
Thea busts out laughing, so Holly looks to her.
Holly, to Thea: And you're lazy.
Me: And what is Faith?
Holly thinks for a minute.
Holly: A crybaby.
Thea: And what about Dan?
Holly: He's a fart machine.
Unfortunately she probably nailed all of us...
Another night we were having tortellini for dinner, and Holly gushed, "I love tortellini! But I hate Tokyo!" It took me a few minutes to realize that the last time we had tortellini for dinner, we also had gnocchi. Not Tokyo.
Holly: There are bad people in the world.
Me: But I'm not a bad person, right?
Holly: You're fat.
Thea busts out laughing, so Holly looks to her.
Holly, to Thea: And you're lazy.
Me: And what is Faith?
Holly thinks for a minute.
Holly: A crybaby.
Thea: And what about Dan?
Holly: He's a fart machine.
Unfortunately she probably nailed all of us...
Another night we were having tortellini for dinner, and Holly gushed, "I love tortellini! But I hate Tokyo!" It took me a few minutes to realize that the last time we had tortellini for dinner, we also had gnocchi. Not Tokyo.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sometimes you feel like a nut
In honor of National Coffee Day I am having a cup at 8:30 pm. In it I put my new favorite creamer:
International Delight Almond Joy. Yeee-umm!
Going to try to post more regularly in October, practice using my words in anticipation of NaNoWriMo in November. Although I have hardly been writing, I have been reading a lot this year, 31 books so far.
International Delight Almond Joy. Yeee-umm!
Going to try to post more regularly in October, practice using my words in anticipation of NaNoWriMo in November. Although I have hardly been writing, I have been reading a lot this year, 31 books so far.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Random pictures
Trying to organize and archive some old pictures I took with my phone, two or three phones ago.
(Did I mention I got a new phone? I moved into the Technology Age in July with a bona fide smart phone, the Samsung Gravity. As hard as I resisted, I have to say, I really love this phone.)
So as I was saying, here are a few pictures I took with previous phones for various reasons:
May 2010 -- label-making fail, at the library of all places
April 2010 -- Holly having some private time
April 2010 -- My Explorer hit a milestone. It lasted almost another year before the transmission went kaput and I had to say goodbye.
More pictures later...
(Did I mention I got a new phone? I moved into the Technology Age in July with a bona fide smart phone, the Samsung Gravity. As hard as I resisted, I have to say, I really love this phone.)
So as I was saying, here are a few pictures I took with previous phones for various reasons:
May 2010 -- label-making fail, at the library of all places
April 2010 -- Holly having some private time
April 2010 -- My Explorer hit a milestone. It lasted almost another year before the transmission went kaput and I had to say goodbye.
More pictures later...
Monday, July 25, 2011
Office mates
Faith, in my office at work: Mom, who had this office before you?
Me: I don't remember.
Faith: I think it was someone named Herman Miller.
Me: I don't remember.
Faith: I think it was someone named Herman Miller.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Pinktastic!
If you are disturbed or annoyed by large amounts of pink, don't look at these pictures of Holly's room re-do.
For many months now Holly has been saying she wants a pink room. More often than not she uses it in her arsenal of sleep-avoiding tactics -- "I can't sleep in a room that isn't pink!" Well, when she gets home, she won't have that excuse anymore.
First some before pictures:
^ The wall by the door, her cluttered-up dresser, her bed pushed into the corner.
The wall to the left of the door, with a gross stain on the floor that was hidden by a toy chest we had already moved before taking this picture.
^ Furniture moved to the center of the room, walls primed!
^ The first coat of pink is on and drying.
^ And this is the finished product!
^ I wanted to paint the toy chest white and get some pink cushions for it, but I didn't get around to that. Maybe later.
^ Love this cute pink tree! It is a removable static-cling type wall decoration. It came in about 105 pieces. I'm wondering how long before Holly picks at it and starts peeling it off.
^ Window and radiator. I didn't get new curtains, but I painted the cornice and hung the little wooden "H".
^ Her bed, with Faith's old comforter and her own collection of pillows.
^ And the crowning piece, a 3 ft by 4 ft mirror for her to dance and preen in front of!
^ With rope lighting! How cool is that!
^ Pretty fun nighttime effect. The rope lights are LED so they won't waste a lot of energy.
I think the little girl is going to be pretty excited!!
By the way, Thea, if you read this, don't you dare tell her!
For many months now Holly has been saying she wants a pink room. More often than not she uses it in her arsenal of sleep-avoiding tactics -- "I can't sleep in a room that isn't pink!" Well, when she gets home, she won't have that excuse anymore.
First some before pictures:
^ The wall by the door, her cluttered-up dresser, her bed pushed into the corner.
The wall to the left of the door, with a gross stain on the floor that was hidden by a toy chest we had already moved before taking this picture.
^ Furniture moved to the center of the room, walls primed!
^ The first coat of pink is on and drying.
^ And this is the finished product!
^ I wanted to paint the toy chest white and get some pink cushions for it, but I didn't get around to that. Maybe later.
^ Love this cute pink tree! It is a removable static-cling type wall decoration. It came in about 105 pieces. I'm wondering how long before Holly picks at it and starts peeling it off.
^ Window and radiator. I didn't get new curtains, but I painted the cornice and hung the little wooden "H".
^ Her bed, with Faith's old comforter and her own collection of pillows.
^ And the crowning piece, a 3 ft by 4 ft mirror for her to dance and preen in front of!
^ With rope lighting! How cool is that!
^ Pretty fun nighttime effect. The rope lights are LED so they won't waste a lot of energy.
I think the little girl is going to be pretty excited!!
By the way, Thea, if you read this, don't you dare tell her!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Summer
Faith comes home tomorrow from spending five weeks with her dad. I can't wait to see my sweet girl get off the plane. Just under two weeks to go and I will get my other girls back as well!
If you didn't even realize they were gone, it's because I meant to post here about a hundred times and never did. I had lots of other stuff to talk about... my gardening, our new cat, redoing Holly's room, the U2 concert I went to, etc etc. But even though the day-to-day responsibility of three kids was removed, somehow I filled up the time with other stuff and squeezed out time for just goofing off, reading or updating this journal. Not sure how I managed that exactly.
If you didn't even realize they were gone, it's because I meant to post here about a hundred times and never did. I had lots of other stuff to talk about... my gardening, our new cat, redoing Holly's room, the U2 concert I went to, etc etc. But even though the day-to-day responsibility of three kids was removed, somehow I filled up the time with other stuff and squeezed out time for just goofing off, reading or updating this journal. Not sure how I managed that exactly.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Dig - Incubus
Labels:
music
This song is several years old but I have recently rediscovered it. Previously "Wish You Were Here" had been my favorite Incubus song, but I think it has just lost its title, as I can't stop playing and replaying "Dig".
This song is awesome -- all the instruments have strong and interweaving parts (listen for the bass, it's stirring), and Brandon Boyd's emotional vocals elevate it to something really moving. I love the lyrics, which suggest to me a commitment to remember and look for a friend's or lover's true person, underneath the changes and facades that we all go through or take on over time.
"If I turn into another, dig me out from under what is covering the better part of me..."
This song is awesome -- all the instruments have strong and interweaving parts (listen for the bass, it's stirring), and Brandon Boyd's emotional vocals elevate it to something really moving. I love the lyrics, which suggest to me a commitment to remember and look for a friend's or lover's true person, underneath the changes and facades that we all go through or take on over time.
"If I turn into another, dig me out from under what is covering the better part of me..."
Monday, May 16, 2011
Spacey
I don't have a "bucket list" or anything, but one of the things I always wanted to do was see a space shuttle launch in person. From the first launch I watched on TV as a child to the one I just watched a few minutes ago (Endeavour), I have been excited and moved by the power and the spectacle of lift-off every time.
I guess I never considered that one day the shuttles would be retired, or maybe I didn't realize that so much time had actually passed. With the last shuttle launch taking place next month, turns out I'll never get to cross that item off my mental to-do list.
I'm not crying about it or anything, but just now I found myself thinking about what this means. There are plenty of other things that I intend to get around to doing someday -- some long-term goals, but also things that I could easily do today that I just put off -- and for each of these things there will come a day when it's too late. It will sneak up on me, just like the final space shuttle launch did, whether it takes a day or two weeks or (unbelievable!) 30 years.
Turns out I need to get busy living!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tea for Two?
I still remember my mom waking me up super early to watch the Royal Wedding in 1981. I remember that she told me to nap during the "boring" parts and that she would wake me up in time to see Diana arrive in her carriage -- and she did. I can remember laying on the couch watching the wedding on our tiny television set.
I intend to watch the upcoming Royal Wedding as well, but for a while my daughters have been saying they don't want to be woken up to watch with me. Finally just this morning Thea said I can wake her up, and Holly immediately said she wants to watch too. Waiting on Faith...
I was only 7 in 1981. I don't expect Holly to remember this but I hope it will be a fun memory for Thea. I think I'll get some cinnamon rolls to have with tea or coffee -- I think that scones would be a more proper food but let's stick to what I know everyone will like.
By the way, I love T-Mobile's "Royal Wedding Dance" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kav0FEhtLug
I intend to watch the upcoming Royal Wedding as well, but for a while my daughters have been saying they don't want to be woken up to watch with me. Finally just this morning Thea said I can wake her up, and Holly immediately said she wants to watch too. Waiting on Faith...
I was only 7 in 1981. I don't expect Holly to remember this but I hope it will be a fun memory for Thea. I think I'll get some cinnamon rolls to have with tea or coffee -- I think that scones would be a more proper food but let's stick to what I know everyone will like.
By the way, I love T-Mobile's "Royal Wedding Dance" -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kav0FEhtLug
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Decaffeinated
Labels:
random
Ah Diet Pepsi, how I miss you. I've been on a crusade to reduce my intake of diet sodas (sodas in general) and increase my intake of water. In the past week, I have had two cans of Diet Pepsi and one fountain drink of Diet Mountain Dew -- this is quite a feat!
I haven't noticed any physical effects except that I seem to be thirstier now that I'm drinking water, thus having to pee more. It's more the psychological. I like to sit at my desk with a fizzing can of Diet Pepsi in front of me. It just FEELS right.
I'm not saying I'm giving up sodas all together, but if drinking more water becomes a new norm, that can only be good.
I haven't noticed any physical effects except that I seem to be thirstier now that I'm drinking water, thus having to pee more. It's more the psychological. I like to sit at my desk with a fizzing can of Diet Pepsi in front of me. It just FEELS right.
I'm not saying I'm giving up sodas all together, but if drinking more water becomes a new norm, that can only be good.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Slow
It does not inspire confidence in Verizon, my internet service provider, that the Verizon website is the slowest website I ever have to access.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Inquiring Minds
Faith would like to know: Why is there a light in the refrigerator, but no light in the freezer?
I assumed it has to do with the frequency with which you would open the refrigerator in the dark as opposed to the freezer. But really... does anyone know?
I assumed it has to do with the frequency with which you would open the refrigerator in the dark as opposed to the freezer. But really... does anyone know?
Monday, February 7, 2011
Mirrorball
Labels:
music
I was so hypnotized by this song on the radio yesterday afternoon as I was driving that I nearly missed my exit.
Give it a few listens and then check out this live orchestral version. It brought tears to my eyes, which I know sounds cheesy, but it's the truth. How can you not sigh over these lines of how love transforms and enriches the ordinary:
You make the moon our mirrorball
The street's an empty stage
The city's sirens, violins
Everything has changed
(the song is "Mirrorball" by Elbow -- all the lyrics are beautiful)
Give it a few listens and then check out this live orchestral version. It brought tears to my eyes, which I know sounds cheesy, but it's the truth. How can you not sigh over these lines of how love transforms and enriches the ordinary:
You make the moon our mirrorball
The street's an empty stage
The city's sirens, violins
Everything has changed
(the song is "Mirrorball" by Elbow -- all the lyrics are beautiful)
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Just Voicing Her Opinion...
Holly, watching Christina Aguilera sing the National Anthem at the Superbowl: "That singing is not beautiful."
Monday, January 31, 2011
Microwave Cake
I am eating one of those "5 Minute Mug Chocolate Cakes", made from this recipe: http://i.imgur.com/6edYs.png. The texture is gummy and dense, very eggy, maybe because there's an entire egg in it. I cringed as I mixed the ingredients.
It tastes OK. Very mild. Nicely chocolatey where the chocolate chips are, only vaguely chocolatey elsewhere. I drank a lot of milk with it and I can't finish the last 1/4 or so of the cake, so the dog will probably get it.
I suppose it hit the spot.
It tastes OK. Very mild. Nicely chocolatey where the chocolate chips are, only vaguely chocolatey elsewhere. I drank a lot of milk with it and I can't finish the last 1/4 or so of the cake, so the dog will probably get it.
I suppose it hit the spot.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Pests
Labels:
cats
I am pleased to report that spricket sightings have dropped dramatically since we added Emily the cat to our family. I don't know exactly what she did to make such a difference -- I wouldn't think that one little kitty could take down that population. But maybe she knocked out the breeders and then the older sprickets just died off? Whatever she did, she's worth her weight in Meow Mix. Augie and Spot, the elderly man cats, just didn't care about hunting.
Something very disconcerting, though, is that from time to time I discover little mouse droppings in the kitchen cabinets. I haven't actually SEEN a mouse in years, and Emily The Huntress is never interested in prowling the kitchen (except in search of people food), so if they're in there, she doesn't hear or smell them.
Something very disconcerting, though, is that from time to time I discover little mouse droppings in the kitchen cabinets. I haven't actually SEEN a mouse in years, and Emily The Huntress is never interested in prowling the kitchen (except in search of people food), so if they're in there, she doesn't hear or smell them.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A Whole New Year
Happy New Year a bit late! I intended to do some resolutions/goals in the first week, but apparently I can't even maintain weekly goals. Oh well! My goals for 2011 are pretty much the same as always -- watch my weight, maybe lose some; enjoy time with my family and loved ones; simplify my life. Oh and keep on top of my voicemail messages. My home voicemail was rejecting new messages for two months because I couldn't bring myself to listen to the 30-some odd messages that had filled the box up.
Since I have nothing more to say on that, here are some super flattering pictures that my ex-cellphone took. It was already well-used (read: beat up) when I got it, and I never really figured it out. Somehow the camera would turn on, and then while I was trying to figure out how to turn the camera off to do something useful like make a call, it would snap a picture of me. I think it may have been hacked into and programmed to do this. Maybe by the government.
So for your viewing pleasure:
Since I have nothing more to say on that, here are some super flattering pictures that my ex-cellphone took. It was already well-used (read: beat up) when I got it, and I never really figured it out. Somehow the camera would turn on, and then while I was trying to figure out how to turn the camera off to do something useful like make a call, it would snap a picture of me. I think it may have been hacked into and programmed to do this. Maybe by the government.
So for your viewing pleasure:
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