The Lemonade Stand

This is only a test...

2011-03-10T13:35:00.003-06:00

Spring break - the sky is cloudy, the temp is below 40-degrees, and I can't keep up with the mess that the children continue to create as I do everything in my power to clean.

It is days like today that I am reminded how grateful I am to be a working mother. I'm sorry if that sounds crass or unappreciative... But, not even a week into our two-week break, I'm about ready to beg to go back...

Excuse me - I have to go put the almost-3-year-old back in bed for his nap.

....Now where was I?

Ah, yes... Patience. Or lack thereof.

I love my children. More than life itself. But this ...

Hang on - infant playing with fireplace poker.

Cool. Soot all over her hands and shirt. Awesome.

Tell me again how I'm supposed to do dishes/laundry/make dinner with only a single hand or being interrupted every 36 seconds? I had great plans for everything I was going to do over break. So far, I think I've gone backward. And if the older one refuses to nap, how will I ever get anything crossed off the list?

And whoever decided that 1:30 p.m. was a perfect time to set off the sirens for the state-wide tornado drill, thanks for that. Because Sparky was almost asleep, but... no longer.

Daddy and Dandelions

2010-04-18T12:29:00.002-05:00

Thoughts on Pregnancy...

2010-04-09T10:16:00.004-05:00

As my second pregnancy comes to a close, I find myself taking notice of issues relating to the "miracle of life" and how nobody really tells you ahead of time what it is all about.

For example -

Did you know that catching a cold during the final weeks of your pregnancy can be like playing an ongoing game of Russian Roulette? Every cough or sneeze is a gamble, depending on when your last trip to the bathroom or how much water you've had to drink recently. (Allergy season can be just as bad!)

Why must mothers sacrifice their bodies in order to have a baby? Everyone knows about how hard it can be to lose "the baby weight," but that is just the beginning! At least baby weight is something relatively controllable with diet and exercise after the baby is born. There are worse fates than baby weight! I was lucky - I survived my first pregnancy unscathed by stretch marks and counted myself lucky. This time, however, purply little spider veins are beginning to protrude on my lower right leg. Gross! Call me vain, but I'd prefer the stretch marks on my belly that nobody will ever see to a road map stretching over my legs that is visible if I wear capris!

I don't care what people say - maternity clothes are not "fashionable" and pregnant women are not "cute." There is nothing like wearing a tent to make somebody bitter when some skinny bitch condescends with some type of comment like, "Oh - you look sooo adorable!" Yeah, well, if I weren't already out of breath from walking up that flight of stairs, I'd show you exactly how adorable pregnant women can be!

But, you know, I have to say that even though this post doesn't sound like it, I love being pregnant. Yes, I miss my lounging on the patio with a margarita. And, yes, I look forward to being able to wear pants with a fly. But, it is cool to feel that little girl wriggling around inside of me and knowing that in a few short weeks, she'll be joining us and we'll get to know this wholly new little person!

Besides - I hear that laser surgery can take care of those spider veins. And I'm doing Kegel's right now for the roulette issue!

Gold

2010-04-01T19:29:00.003-05:00

I was a Girl Scout for longer than I generally care to admit. One of my favorite activities was building a fire and singing around the campfire on our camping trips. One song that most anyone who was ever a Girl Scout will remember goes something like this:

Make new friends,

But keep the old.

One is silver,

And the other gold.

I had the opportunity recently to reconnect with two friends who were members of my Girl Scout troop through to the very end. Not only were we Girl Scouts together, but I would freely describe them as my two best friends from elementary school through high school. For many years, the three of us were inseparable.

They endured my impulsive antics with a tempered patience, half waiting to see what would come next, half hoping that whatever it was would not cause too much trouble. Together, we discussed the boys in our class that we liked (with code names to ensure ultimate secrecy), and employed primitive three-way calling to conduct subterfuge operations when on the phone with aforementioned boys (aka - one person listening in on another line in another room).

I was often overly sensitive and competitive as a kid and would get my feelings hurt over things that most kids my age wouldn't think about twice about. The fact that these two girls managed to stay friends with me for as long as they did says a lot about their character.

Once we entered high school, we began to find separate paths. Differing lunch schedules and dissimilar schedules caused the logistics of our daily communication to wane. They both became involved in band; I began participating on the swim team, in theatre, and on the newspaper staff. As our interests expanded, so did our circle of friends. I remember experiencing a level of jealousy about the new friends who seemed to take up so much of their time; however, I can't claim that I kept my schedule available for them all the time, either.

Ultimately, though, we remained friends. I would still refer to them as my best friends throughout the high school years.

College was different, though. We all went different ways. I became involved in a relationship with a man who didn't have time for my friends; therefore, I didn't have time for them. The emails grew fewer and fewer.

I once imagined that these two women would be in my wedding. By the time I finally got married, I hadn't spoken to either of them in almost ten years, other than the perfunctory conversations at each of the other's weddings.

About a month ago, I got a note card from one of them. She invited the two of us to get together for lunch and even set a date and time. We met and had a nice time catching up with each other.

I have to admit that I was kind of nervous about the meeting. I knew that we'd grown apart and had very separate lives over the past ten years. The person that I am now is very different from the person I was then. I was worried that we wouldn't have enough to talk about.

I know that on one level, our conversation wasn't the same as what it used to be. I can't say that we fell right into talking about old times, as though no time had passed at all. But, at the same time, it was wonderful to see my old friends and catch up on what had been going on in their lives. And, we set another date to get together for lunch again. I hope that we can work to rebuild and rekindle our friendships, because these two women have known me longer than anyone, and I miss having them in my life.

There is something to be said about cherishing old friends... I'm grateful to have a second chance to keep ahold of mine.

Thankful

2009-11-24T17:26:00.003-06:00

...for Warmth...

sitting by the fire.
a stranger's smile.
unsolicited help.
a cup of steaming tea.
wrapped in a fuzzy blanket.
my son's palm in mine.

...for Change...

being challenged.
always learning.
a new house.
adding to our family.

...for Love...

giving.
receiving.
friends.
family.
all.

2009-11-22T13:49:00.003-06:00

I remember when I used to blog.

Blogging brought my husband and me together. Our first interactions were some mildly inappropriate blog comments; we were linked through some mutual friends' blogs. Very few of those friends blog anymore... Dave and I barely do, either.

Blogging also triggered the me to leave one job and begin another. At the time, this was painful and I must admit that there are still some hard feelings associated with the departure. However, it was ultimately a "net good" experience, given the people and experiences I've had since then due to the new environment.

I used to crave the acknowledgement of being added to somebody's link list. It took so much more effort to be recognized as a blogger worthy of interest than it does to add somebody as a Facebook friend. I was also a comment-collector, feeling vindicated when I would reach a high number of comments on a single post. Or, I'd watch my Sitemeter climb and find new heights for daily number of hits, feeling valued.

Inspiration slowed when the baby was born. The time needed to create a worthy blog entry was a ever-dwindling commodity. Facebook siphoned the motivation to take the time to compose a blog entry. Now, my only entries are when I have something that is weighing on my mind and I need a place to vent with relative anonymity and safety.

I don't usually watch Oprah, but last week I did happen to catch the interview with Stephenie Meyer. Did you know that before "Twilight" she had never really written or been published? Inspiration struck her and she went for it, unsure that anything would ever culminate from her efforts.

I find myself with ideas and stories and thoughts rattling through my mind on a daily basis. Occasionally, they keep me awake at night, screaming to be recognized, heard. I'll jot down a couple of notes in case I ever find the time to write about them.

But, come on. I can't even find time to post a thought on this blog regularly. I am working full-time, caring for a toddler, expecting another baby this spring, and working on a second master's degree. Oh, yeah - and we're moving in a week. (I am taking a lunch break from packing at the moment.) How could I ever find time to do something as selfish as blogging with that type of schedule, let alone time to try to write something fictional?

Writing has been a part of my life since before I could form the letters with my small hands; I used to dictate stories to my mother and illustrate them after she'd written out the words. In third grade, I created a class newspaper by hand and photocopied it at my dad's office. I've always been a verbal person and I process my thoughts through language, often preferring to write out my thoughts in a letter or email than try to explain them out loud.

I guess the bottom line is that I miss blogging. I need to do it for myself. For release. For a form of meditation. For a way to connect, not only with other people in the cyberworld, but with myself. When things get crazy, instead of frantically scrolling through lazy Facebook postings, I should take the time to sit down and think about something "real" to write about. Not for comments or site hits... but for me.

Venting...

2009-09-03T16:35:00.003-05:00

Today was a frustrating day.

(Disclaimer: This blog has ceased to become much more than a place for me to occasionally write a post about something that strikes me as worth pondering. No longer do I post to solicit admiration, provide entertainment, or collect comments. If you happen to be one of the few who still checks my blog, feel free to commiserate... Just fair warning that my "audience" when I am writing has slowly changed in the last year or so...)

When I opened my work email box, the first thing that I saw was a short email from an administrator regarding President Obama's upcoming speech. Next week, President Obama is planning on making a short 2-minute speech to the nation's students on the topic of staying motivated and excelling in school. A nice gesture, right?

Apparently not. The political opposition to Obama is so fierce, that our schools are receiving requests from parents to excuse their children from the two-minute cheerleading session from our nation's leader.

Do they think that he is going to address the controversial topic of healthcare to the young minds of America? Are they worried that his charm might brainwash their children into believing that he is actually somebody that students could see as a role model? Maybe he's going to, in one hundred and twenty seconds, turn them in mini-Socialists!!! (*Gasp*)

I'm sorry, but I don't understand. While there has never been any question which side of the aisle that my political ideals gravitate towards, I feel like I have an open mind. If President Bush had wanted to make a short speech to the nation's students, I would have welcomed the opportunity for my son to be exposed to the political leader of the free world. I would have encouraged him to think critically about what was said and to form his own opinions about it, whether they differed from mine or not.

When something as trivial as this becomes a politically charged issue, it makes me feel sad about the state of our nation. I cherish the right to freedom of speech and I am glad that parents have the right to choose what their children are exposed to and what they are not. What saddens me is that people are so entrenched in their political ideals that they can't see the value in anything that has to do with the "opponent" and will dig their heels in if that is what the idealogues tell them that they should do.

I wonder how this country has managed to become so divided. I worry that we will never be able to make progress in any way if both sides refuse to work together to set some common goals. And I wish that we could find some common ground. However, if when one side reaches out a hand and the other simply slaps it away, how is progress to be made?

Let's Have Some Bubbly...

2009-06-10T21:18:00.005-05:00

Mom felt guilty after retrieving Sparky from Grambeana's house after the weeklong honeymoon to Jamaica. So, yesterday, I purchased a Bubble Machine for Sparky. We broke it out this morning, and had the time of our lives chasing after these small globes of soap floating across our driveway.

Visiting the Gardens

2009-05-19T17:57:00.004-05:00

Grayson and I had the pleasure today of taking a trip to the Missouri Botanical Gardens with some of the other children and moms involved in our playgroup. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to make the trip. I really appreciated the time, knowing that I'll be going back to work sooner than expected; the school where I was hired (yesterday!) is on cycles and I'll be going back at the beginning of July. I've also been inspired to try to use our nice camera to capture some great photos of our little Sparkster... Here are some from our trip today.

Goodbye

2009-05-18T11:30:00.004-05:00

Last night, we watched a show on the Discovery channel talking about those seventeen-year cicadas. The cicadas' evolutionary trait of "predatory satiation" allows for most of the cicadas to survive the advances of predators based on sheer numbers; there are always enough survivors to ensure procreation. After seventeen years of development as nymphs underground, the surviving adult cicadas only live several weeks... When they die, their bodies decompose and become a part of the soil, providing nutrients for the plants that will then sustain the nymphs who will live underground until the next seventeen-year cycle is complete.

I couldn't avoid making the connection of this circle of life to our pup, Regis. Right now, Regis is laying on the floor near my feet as I type this. I can hear Dave getting his keys now in order to bring him to the veterinarian. This time, it isn't for the chemotherapy that was helping him battle the lymphoma that he was diagnosed with three months ago; that treatment quit working weeks ago. Today, we will say goodbye to Regis.

We knew yesterday that it was time. Regis' lymph nodes were swollen so badly that it looked like he had golf balls stuck in his mouth and cheeks. He had two accidents, unable to make it overnight or let us know during the day that he had to go outside. His food bowl has remained at the same level over the past four days. Instead of bounding down the stairs, following us, he stood at the top, tentatively trying to make the first step, then backing up, knowing that the effort might be too much.

But, knowing that it is time doesn't make it any easier.

This morning, I had an interview. I tried to keep the entire thing out of my mind in order to stay focused. On the way home from the interview, I was torn between wanting to get home to see Regis and spend time with him or driving around for as long as possible, knowing that when I got home, Dave was going to take him to the vet. I kept thinking... "In three hours, in two hours, in one hour..." I saw the blanket in the back seat of the car, used for Regis when we would go "bye-bye." What do we do with the blanket now? Or his leash? Or the goodies that we never had the chance to give him?

When we first found out that Regis had lymphoma three months ago, we decided to have him cremated... We'll keep his ashes and when we move to our 'forever house,' we'll plant a tree and place his ashes beneath it. It seemed like the best way to tribute our friend. Allowing his ashes to become part of a living thing that would be a reminder in our daily lives of the best dog that anyone could ever wish to have.

And I know that the hurt that we have now is only a tiny payoff for the immense love, fun, and comfort that we've shared with Regis over the past years.

Will Work for Paycheck

2009-05-05T17:34:00.003-05:00

Searching for a job is extremely humbling. In economic times like these, it is even more so.

Over the past ten years, I've felt confident in my ability to always be able to find a job anywhere I would choose to move. There will always be kids and schools will always need teachers. I have a variety of certifications: Elementary, grades 1-6; Language Arts, grades 5-9; and Gifted Education, grades K-12. Taking a year off to stay home with my son seemed like no big deal when I resigned from my teaching position last May.

Then, the economy tanked.

This spring, I've been sent into a flurry of job applications and resumes. The uncertainty of the future has made Dave and me feel like it would be best for me to go back to work, just in case things get worse before they get better. I spend hours searching school district websites, looking for positions that aren't posted on the clearinghouse site. Every time the phone rings, I hope that it is a district calling to set up an interview. Mostly, I'm disappointed.

About two weeks ago, all of a sudden, my application seemed to make it into the hands of some people who make decisions. Within a single day, I had three interviews set up. Confidence washed over me and I thought that maybe I would have a teaching contract before the wedding.

I have a pretty good ability to assess how the interviews go once I leave. The phone interview went well, but was very brief, and I'm still waiting for follow-up. The interview for an elementary position was pretty tough; they asked a lot of very specific questions about teaching techniques that I haven't implemented because I haven't spent the last six years in the general education classroom. The third interview went extremely well; I quickly got a call for a second interview which I attended last week. With each passing hour, though, I knew that my chances of getting that job offer diminished. By the time the administrator called this afternoon to let me know that they'd chosen another candidate, I was completely unsurprised. Bummer.

There are other opportunities out there and I'm confident that something will work out. I keep telling myself that it isn't so much about me not performing well in the interviews as much as being compared to the interviewees, who may have more experience or expertise in a specific area than I do. It seems that there are a lot of people in similar situations to mine; they've been out of the education field for a while and are now trying to get back into it because they've lost their other jobs or their family needs the additional income. School districts, on the other hand, aren't adding any positions and are filling any openings with people already in the district and cutting those additional jobs.

I'm hopeful that things will work out, hopefully sooner rather than later. But the past three and a half months spent on this job search seem to be dragging on and on into eternity. And it becomes harder and harder to stay optimistic.

The Abandoned Blog

2009-05-03T21:23:00.002-05:00

Dear Blog...

I have to apologize for my neglectful nature over the past four months. Although, of course, this neglect didn't just occur overnight. Over the past year or more, I must feel that we've slowly grown more distant. You were needy, I felt too much pressure, and so I began to withdraw. I found other newer and flashier things to occupy my precious computer time... I know that it is a touchy subject, but Facebook and the ability to post in a single sentence seemed so much more efficient.

Then, tonight, I felt a wave of nostalgia. The familiar picture at the top of the page brought a smile to my face. I scanned through post after post, laughing at some, becoming wistful after others, and loving the photos and stories that I was able to share through you. I realized that I missed taking the time to create a post to share with my friends and the opportunity to actually write about something, anything, whether mundane or life-changing.

I must admit that you are often on my mind. Often, I have a quick thought - "Oh, that would make a great blog post!" But, by the time I have a chance to take a seat at my computer, I'm consumed with writing a paper for class or scoping the net for a new job. Not to add into the fact that little Sparky is no longer extremely keen on allowing Mommy to have computer time.

But, no more excuses. While I can't promise to be here everyday, I'm going to take the time nurture you back to health. A regular post now and then, with an update about Sparky or some nuance that I have to share will be good. I like to memorialize events here... It was a nice time to look back through the older posts and remember the good times. I hope that we can continue where we left off.

-Violet

Guaranteed to make you smile!!!

2009-01-03T15:47:00.001-06:00

And I'm not just saying that because he's my son!

Guilt

2008-12-19T20:35:00.003-06:00

Other than my rather unhealthy addiciton to American Idol, I try to stay away from reality television as a general rule. I watched the first season of Survivor (remember Richard Hatch?) and season two of America's Next Top Model. Other than that, though, I've stayed away.

Until tonight.

Dave's out enjoying a "Guys' Night Out." Sparky is sleeping soundly in his crib. I'm eating leftover tuna casserole, scrolling through the channel guide since nothing is on the DVR because all the shows are in reruns for the holidays. And, I come across this:

Momma's Boys on NBC *

I watched the entire thing. And, I set it to record the entire series.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that I just finished a class on Family Systems Theory and the dynamics of watching three young men try to find a romantic partner while their helicopter mothers monitor their every move is intriguing to me. (Enmeshment much? Thanks, Minuchin.)

Maybe it has to do with the one mother who overtly came out and said that she does not approve of any Black, Jewish, Muslim, or Asian girl for her son. Only a White, Catholic girl from an undivorced family will do. (And people like to say that racism no longer exists in our country!)

Or maybe it's the guilty pleasure of wanting to watch the cat fights as 32 young women fight over 3 men.

Don't tell anyone, okay?

*You'll never guess who is the exec producer, though...

Embracing my inner dork...

2008-12-18T19:33:00.004-06:00

As a new Facebook junkie (thanks a lot, Paula), I've recently come into contact with a lot of people from my past. The experience has definitely caused some introspection.

When I think back on high school or the potential high school reunion, I tend to cringe. There were a lot of people there that didn't "get me." And, for that matter, I didn't "get them," either. Society had taught me that I should be able discern what to wear, what music to like, what to say, and how to act in order to fit in with this particular crowd. But, I was always really too consumed with my own world to figure out what those things were and always seemed to be baffled by the fact that I couldn't quite put all the pieces together.

At this point in my life, I'm secure enough to admit some things that, in my earlier years, I would have been mortified to share. Quirky things that some people may not expect, but I am no longer ashamed to put out there, because, well, they're just "me."

For example - The magazines I subscribe to are: Psychology Today, Gifted Child Today, Cooking Light, The Journal of Counseling and Development, and Scrapbooks, Etc. (No gossip magazines or current events... Although, I used to get Entertainment Weekly and Time.) I get excited when I see them in my mailbox and love to relax in the bathtub, reading an article about current trends in counseling or scrapbooking techniques.

One of my favorite genres of music is Broadway. Along those sides, I love musical theatre. There is something about the integration of music and plot that somehow transcends a simple play or movie. Plus, the thrill of a live performance sends chills down my spine.

I love going to school. I like writing papers. I enjoy the challenge of studying for a test. I thrive on the stress of waiting for grades to be posted. After I finish my master's degree that I am working on now (my second, for the record), I hope to earn my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology.

Interesting how once I write these things down, they really seem like no big deal. But, I'll be honest - these are things that I sometimes worry about sharing with people. Like, I'm not really as "cool" as I try to act. You'd think that ten years out of high school, I would no longer worry about what other people think of me... But, like everyone else (I hope), I do. I'm proud of the fact that I'm willing to put those things out there for all those people from my past, dorky or not.

Not even lying...

2008-11-30T09:13:00.003-06:00

As I went to post an ad on Craigslist this morning, here is a picture of my word verification:

It's a bird... It's a plane... No - It's the Caped Polygamist! Curious about special powers? Just use your imagination.... Haha... Does anyone else find this funny but me?

**********

We watched the Mizzou vs. Kansas game yesterday. What a heartbreaker. I always feel so bad for those kids - basically, because that's what they are: kids. They go out there and there is so much pressure on them. For the Mizzou team, within the first weeks of the season, the expectation was set for them to go undefeated. I just imagine what it must feel like for these young guys the day after a game they were "supposed" to win. Must be really hard on them.

**********

Christmas is showing around our house. We got both trees up over the weekend and hopefully will be able to keep Sparky out of them. So far, it hasn't been too bad.

And - as an new precedent, Dave & I got up on "Black Friday" and went shopping. We figured since we are up before seven o'clock on a normal day anyway, it couldn't hurt to see if we could catch a few deals. We were successful in getting a few things bought and were home before ten a.m. Can't beat that!

Your Political Compass

2008-11-07T10:42:00.005-06:00

What's this? Two posts in a single day? Yeah, that's right...

In case anybody hadn't noticed, I have some pretty well-developed ideas about politics and society. The Comeback Kid posted this on his blog and I thought it was pretty cool. It is called The Political Compass. It rates you based on your economic views and also your view of the role of government in society.

Violet's political compass:
Economic Left/Right: -6.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.54

It then compares you to other historical political figures like George W. Bush, Pope Benedict XVI, and Hitler.

Mine placed me in the same vicinity of this guy.

Check it out if you get the chance.

Wanna come over for dinner?

2008-11-07T07:58:00.005-06:00

Our chapter of Chi Sigma Iota up at school is doing a holiday food drive, so yesterday I began rummaging through the pantry for things to donate. I won't go through all of the fun things I discovered during my search, but here's something I thought was worth sharing:

One innocent box of Tuna Noodle Helper*...

Not just expired....

But, so old that even the Box Tops for Education are too old to salvage.

Damn.

To reframe this in a more positive light, I guess this just means that I am such a wonderful cook, I don't need to use tuna casserole from a box. Right???

BTW - I did not donate the expired Tuna Noodle Helper to the food drive. That just wouldn't be right, would it?

And, for those of you who only visit the site for news of Sparky, here's a little clip to keep you happy.

*"I don't know why they call it Hamburger Helper... It does just fine by itself."
**What is my obsession with expired food? I guess I just find it funny... As evidenced here, and here. Although, there may be more posts that I couldn't find right away. I can't quite be sure.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T18:23:00.002-05:00

True.

2008-10-25T14:11:00.002-05:00

Watch this one first, to refresh your memory:

How things have changed!

Taking another look...

2008-10-19T17:05:00.003-05:00

Thank you, General Powell, for putting it all back into perspective. My favorite quote from the actual interview on the show was when he addressed the question people are asking about Obama and whether or not he is Muslim:

"I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America."

This is a clip from a short interview he gave after finishing on "Meet the Press." It is only about two minutes long. Take a look:

Click here for the entire transript of the "Meet the Press" interview.

Who am I kidding?

2008-10-11T23:08:00.002-05:00

We're up in Mystic, Connecticut right now... My cousin, Amy, is getting married tomorrow. While it rained both days that we were driving up here, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous while we have been in town. I actually should have brought some clothes better suited for warm weather; I thought it would be much cooler while we were here!

My family is loving their first chance to meet Sparky. He's been slightly fussy lately, which is kind of unusual for him. Then, this morning, what should appear but a tiny little tooth poking through his bottom gum! I would be cranky, too! One day after his sixth-month birthday, Sparky sprouted his first little tooth...

I had efficiently procrastinated doing some schoolwork before leaving town for a few reasons. Reason #1 was that I was so freaking busy getting everything ready for our trip that I simply didn't have time. Reason #2 was that I rationalized that I would have some down time on the road and here in the hotel between events to get some stuff done. Haha! Riiiiiiight....

In addition to the test that I have to make up on Thursday and the client notes that I have to finish before my supervision on Thursday morning, I got a nice email from one of my professors reminding us of a paper that is due in class on Wednesday night. Son of a... While the paper won't take that much time to throw together and the notes aren't a huge time burden, I'm really stressing about finding time to study sufficiently for the test, especially considering how far behind on the reading I am in that class.

Anyway, I guess I could be using this time to study or work on the paper or on my notes, but it is 12:15 a.m. Eastern time and I think it will just have to wait until we begin the drive home on Monday...

Don't Vote

2008-10-03T20:52:00.002-05:00

The deadline for registration for the upcoming election is October 8 in the state of Missouri. I know that I have made my views pretty clear on this blog in recent months, but I strongly encourage everyone to vote, whether you agree with me or not. Preferably, if you agree with me, but you know... :o)

BTW - The video has some funny parts, if you have a couple minutes. Sarah Silverman is pretty good.

Now, if I could just get this thing out of reverse...

2008-09-30T15:43:00.006-05:00

Not-so-little Sparky is growing faster than I'd ever imagined possible. At 5 1/2 months, he is almost out of his 6-9 month size clothes. Here is a picture of the five bags of baby clothes I packed up to hand-down to his cousin, Ethan, who will be born in a few weeks. While five grocery bags of clothes might not look like a lot of clothing, you have to remember that baby clothes are little. This is probably the equivalent of 5 or 6 huge trash bags stuffed full of adult clothes.

We did choose a few things to keep: The first little onesies that Mike & Paula gave us when we found out we were pregnant, the sleeper he wore in the hospital, the Daddy's team baseball outfit he wore in his three-month photos and one or two others. It breaks my heart to give any of his clothes away... When I asked Dave if there was anything specific he wanted to keep, he said, "All of it." He's just growing up so fast!

Part of growing up is becoming mobile. The Sparkster is now pushing up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. While this is not the best video of his skills, you get the picture. I asked a few moms that I know about how long their babies took to get from rocking to crawling. They said only a few weeks! It is possible that Sparky will be crawling by Halloween! Yikes! Slow down, baby!

On the topic of growing up too fast, I found the sweetest book today titled Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury. Written in rhyme, it talks about how we sometimes focus on a child's "firsts" and miss the "lasts" - the last bottle we give a baby, the last time he falls asleep in your arms, the last hit in a Little League game. I teared up in the store while I was reading it and am tearing up again now. I love my little boy and want him to grow into an independent, intelligent, loyal young man... but, it is bittersweet, because I don't quite want my baby to grow up.

Vapid much?*

2008-09-25T21:55:00.002-05:00

Anybody else notice the similarities?

Watch this video, whether you are Republican, Democrat, or whatever and tell me that this is the person that you want to be the next V.P. of the U.S.

Ummm... Sarah? Honey? Have you ever met with one of the leaders of those countries? What about the states that border Mexico? And when Putin enters your "airspace," just what do you propose to do about it?

Listen, I'm all about feminism and electing a woman to the highest office in the land. But to elect a woman simply because she has a va-jay-jay? Don't think so!

And, by the way, McCain? Grow some balls and freakin' show up to the debate.

A coke, with a side of Midol, please!

2008-09-25T11:16:00.007-05:00

Notice the label for this post: TMI!

But, for those moms out there, you'll understand... I haven't had cramps like this since June of '07! (Well, not counting labor pains, but you know what I mean.)

I've got the major lower back pain and the caffeine cravings and even had a slight bit of the typical irritability within the past couple of days. (Can you tell I was feeling a little fiesty with my most recent blog post?)

With all the pregnancy and breastmilk production, I've officially gone fifteen months without Aunt Flo visiting. I'll admit - It has been kinda nice.

I guess I've got a couple of potential solutions:

Get pregnant again.
Enter menopause.
Stock up on Midol.
Blog about it.

I guess I'm going with the last two options for now.

Oh, and just for Dave's sake: "Mucous plug!"

"Drill, Drill, Drill"

2008-09-24T09:46:00.002-05:00

A letter from Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues." I checked the validity of this on Snopes.com before posting it.

I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.

But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.

I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country choose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.

Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."

Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.

She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.

Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.

Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.

Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.

I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.

If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.

Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?

Amen, sister!

Happy Pirate Day!

2008-09-19T19:01:00.002-05:00

Avast! Check out the cutie scrog! It be his first "Talk Like a Pirate Day!"

A more detailed post....

2008-09-18T06:33:00.006-05:00

So, it is 6:30 a.m. I've been up for the past hour and a half. "Why?" you ask. Well, it isn't because the baby has been awake. Sparky has typically been sleeping to about 8 or 8:30 in the mornings, which is a beautiful thing. (As a matter of fact, we've cut out the "dreamfeed" and sometimes we'll hear him wake up, talk to himself a bit, then go back to sleep on his own!)

However, this morning, I woke up at 5 a.m. and my mind has been racing ever since. Since I have to wake up in about an hour, I decided to just give up...

I can't believe how stressful things have been around here lately. The classes that I'm taking are completely and totally kicking my @$$. I guess I underestimated how much work I would really have to do and how much time taking care of the baby would take. I thought that if I wasn't working, taking a full load of classes would be no biggie. Wrong!

One of the biggest stressors is the practicum class that I am taking. I have to actually see several clients and video-record the sessions. Then, I have to watch the sessions back and make my notes about the session. Finally, I have to meet with my supervisor weekly to go over the videos and notes. It is time-intensive, to say the least. What caused me to wake up this morning is the fact that I have to meet with my supervisor at 9 a.m. and last night when I got home from class (at 9 p.m.) and tried to watch the video from my session earlier that afternoon, only the first 4 minutes and 9 seconds were on the flash drive. There have been some technical difficulties at the center, to say the least, but I'm freaking out about having to go to supervision unprepared. I did my best to do the notes accurately without having the video, but... *Sigh*

I have a paper due tonight... but, it is already done! Having Sparky around has increased my time management skills exponentially. I'm so worried that he is going to be fussy or something that I won't have time to get something done at the last minute. The paper was a major stressor this week; I have another paper due next Wednesday that I'll be starting within the next day or so.

I'm hosting a Pirate Playdate at the park on Friday, which I committed to way before I knew what this week was really going to be like. (Friday is "International Talk Like a Pirate Day;" one of my favorite secular holidays of the year!) I have a few more things to get ready today, like folding the pirate hats that the kids are going to decorate and making the frozen chocolate-covered banana pirate ships.

On top of everything else, my sister's baby shower is on Sunday. I'm in charge of games and decorations. I've gotten most everything done for this, too: the prizes for the games, ordered the balloons, created the game pages, etc. I still have to run to Kinko's and get copies of the games made, which I think I'll be able to do tomorrow.

The house is a freakin' mess. I can't keep on top of it. If the laundry is finally done, there are dishes piled up. If I've gotten the clean dishes put away, there is mail and junk all over the kitchen table and counter. If the counter is cleared off, the living room is a disaster.

Dave has been a total trooper, making arrangements with his work schedule to be able to take care of Sparky every time I have to be at school earlier or for something new. I worry that he is going to get frustrated, but so far it has been working out okay.

So, there you have it and there you are. I knew going into it that this semester was going to be killer, but hopefully, it will only last for about another 8 weeks before things settle down. And, for those of you who only really come to this blog to check out the pics of my adorable son (and don't think that I don't know who you are), here you go:

2008-09-09T11:53:00.004-05:00

Hey, everyone. I haven't had much time to sit at the computer lately, which means even less time to think of a topic and create a blog post. We are just beginning our fourth week of classes for the semester at UMSL and already I am about two weeks behind in the reading I'm to have completed. As a matter of fact, I should be doing that right now, but, well, here I am.

Sparky is going to be 5 months old tomorrow. He is such a sweetie. (Well, except for when he is fussing in his swing, like now.) He has completely mastered the whole rolling over thing and has begun to roll from one side of the room to the other if you aren't looking. He can also push himself up on his arms and get his legs underneath him with his tummy completely off the floor. He's also getting better at passing things from one hand to the other - that is, when he isn't busy sucking on his toes. To show that I am not completely biased, though, I will say that we haven't really moved past making vowel sounds. I'm sure the "dadada" and "mamama" will come soon enough.

Well, I'm going to go ahead and log off now with that boring update. The only topics I have left to discuss are weather and weight loss, and I know nobody is really interested in hearing about either of those. I'll post again when I have more to say. Time to hit the books, for now!

P.S. - 10 days and counting until "International Talk Like a Pirate Day!"

Dave tasted what?!?

2008-08-22T09:07:00.005-05:00

We've started Sparky on some rice cereal this week. He's already practically a pro, although sometimes he prefers to play with his bib instead of eating.

Last night, Daddy was feeding the Sparkster while I was at class. He told me this morning that he tasted the rice cereal that he was feeding the baby and that it didn't taste too bad.

I asked: "Did you make the cereal with breastmilk?"

Then, I watched as Dave had a moment of clarity. His eyes got wide as he realized that he had, indeed, ingested breastmilk mixed with the cereal.

Dave tasted breastmilk! Dave tasted breastmilk!

I haven't given him too much trouble about it. But, I'll be sure to hang onto this one, in case I need ammunition in the future.

On another note, watch the video below to watch Sparky hanging out in his Exersaucer. He is just getting so good at exploring everything. It is amazing to see him make visible progress every single day. Plus, he is just damn cute!

Boycott!

2008-08-20T21:29:00.002-05:00

Have you seen these gas prices?

$3.39 a gallon? Are they serious? What kind of quality are we getting if we are paying less than $4.00 a gallon for gas?

I'm calling on everyone to go and fill up your tanks tomorrow! If everyone in the whole country does this, then the gas companies will know that we need gas, we need the good stuff, and we refuse to pay any less than top dollar for it!

Take that, Exxon Mobil!

Olympic Junkie

2008-08-16T14:04:00.002-05:00

Hi, my name is Violet, and I'm addicted to the Olympics.

It all started in 1996, I was 16 years old and watched in amazement as Kerri Strug completed that momentous vault and helped her team with the Women's Gymnastics gold medal. Then, four years ago, I was captivated by Michael Phelps and the Swimming events. I used to be a swimmer, so I don't mind watching even the distance events; it is all exciting to me.

Yesterday, I watched the men's Archery finals. I hit my bottom when I realized I was sitting on the couch this afternoon watching the qualifying rounds of the Olympic Trampoline event. I didn't even know that Trampoline jumping (and flipping, apparently) was an Olympic sport.

It doesn't matter what country wins - when I see the flag being raised and the anthem being played and the athlete stands on the podium looking so proud, tears well up in my eyes.

Even the commercials set off the waterworks. Have you seen this one?

I guess the only good things about my addiction is that I'm only afflicted every other year for about two weeks. Dave can't stand it. But, it could be worse. I could be addicted to WWE Wrestling or soap operas. Those never end!

The price is wrong, Bob!

2008-08-14T15:35:00.007-05:00

Three classes.

Six total textbooks.

Four hundred sixty-seven dollars and fifty-five cents.

Oh, wait... And one free student planner!

Defining a Dive Bar

2008-08-10T20:42:00.007-05:00

Let me just begin by saying this: I love dive bars. I would much rather go to a dive bar than some packed club or trendy (a.k.a. expensive) bar. I like the kind of place where I can wear jeans, Batman t-shirt, and a ponytail and still be one of the best-dressed people there.

Sometimes, when first visiting a bar, it can be hard to tell if you are for sure in a "dive bar" or not. Of course, there are your dive bars that are recognizable from a couple of blocks down the street. But there are also some that are borderline dive bars. If you visit these bars during off-peak hours, it may be hard to distinguish if it is indeed a dive bar.

I have found that the best way to clearly tag a dive bar is by examining the restroom. I have an advantage because women's restrooms either "ARE" or "ARE NOT" dive bar bathrooms. There is no in-between.

So... Here are some photos to help you indicate whether or not you are in a dive bar by only checking out the women's restroom.

Number One: No soap dispenser; just a bar of soap resting on a papertowel on the side of the cigarette-stained sink. (Although the fact that there is soap at all means that you are in a higher-class dive bar.)

Number Two: Toilet seat that is not attached to the toilet itself. (Lucky that in a dive bar, women usually "hover" anyway.)

Number Three: Religious message scrawled on the wall, complete with witty retort quipped beneath.

I hope this helps you to identify the next dive bar you visit. Be sure to have a PBR (preferably in a can) for me!

Thunder Thighs

2008-08-07T12:34:00.003-05:00

Bastards.*

2008-08-06T21:26:00.006-05:00

So, I went looking through my archives to find a picture that I knew I had posted a couple of years ago. Apparently, when I switched my blog over from the original Blogger to the "new and improved" Blogger, I lost the paragraphs of my previous posts. So, now, if you want to read any old posts of my blog, it ends up just looking like one huge blob of a story with no breaks.

I am a big fan of paragraphs. It pisses me right off that all my hard work in creating eloquent and well-crafted paragraphs are now just a big jumble of words.

I'm also a big fan of using "...". I think this is because I write the way that I speak... And usually, I try not to pause long enough to let another person get a word in edgewise, because otherwise I won't be able to finish everything that I want to say... So, I just trail each sentence off, as though I still have something to say, take a breath and keep going.

Serious writers hate ellipsis. (That's what the dot-dot-dot punctuation is called. Did you know that? Grammar lesson of the day.)

I also like using semi-colons. I think they make my writing look like I am smarter than I actually am. However, semi-colons are another piece of punctuation that not all people appreciate. Kurt Vonnegut wrote about hating semi-colons. He called the "hermaphrodite transvestites." Figure that one out, if you can.

And to end this entry: I said to myself, "I'll to try to use every piece of punctuation in only a few sentences; perhaps I'll succeed." Eh... ?&*#$ it!

*Apparently, this post means nothing, because I just discovered it was a setting I accidently changed earlier today that caused the paragraphs to disappear. Sorry, Blogger... I take it back. Duh...

"Thanks, Old Dude"

2008-08-06T08:24:00.007-05:00

My opinion of Paris Hilton has just increased ten-fold in a matter of a 1-minute and 50-second "Funny or Die" clip. I wonder what Britney will come up with.

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

BTW - Did you know that Paris' parents are contributors to the McCain campaign? How's that for pissing in your Wheaties?

Cutting Costs

2008-08-03T10:37:00.003-05:00

As Dave and I work to plan our small wedding, we are amazed at how the estimated cost of our event keeps growing exponentially from what we first anticipated.

Therefore, we will be instituting the following cost cutting measures:

All invitations will be issued by Evite.
RSVP's must be received within one week of the Evite being sent. If you have not responded, you will be removed from the guest list. No exceptions.
We'll be asking my friend, Mike B., to perform the ceremony. He was ordained through the Internets.
We will be using Chris's karaoke machine and CD's for entertainment at the reception.
Which will be held in the parking lot at the new White Castles in Troy, MO. (Mmmmm... Crave Case...)
BYOB.
And, if you want to be able to sit down, a lawn chair.
Please include a gift receipt with all gifts. And pay cash when you buy them. Then, we can return the gifts and get the money to pay the bill at the White Castles.
We'll be using a check from a closed account at the Aldi to pay for floral arrangements.
Honeymoon? One word: Branson!

Be sure to check your e-mail for the Evite... It is going to be a beatiful ceremony!

My Last Chance

2008-08-01T09:17:00.003-05:00

August 8, 2008.

Kansas City, Missouri.

American Idol Auditions!

Auditions are open to: Men and women 16-28 years old as of July 15, 2008.

It is my last chance. It is now or never... *Sigh*

I do have a bonus this year, though: If you have a baby, and you can get that baby into the audition room with Randy, Paula, and Simon, you are almost guaranteed a spot to Hollywood.

What would I sing, though? One of my karaoke signature songs?

Hmmmm.... Worth some consideration...

Or maybe not.

Oh, well.

The Race Card?

2008-08-01T08:46:00.004-05:00

Apparently, John McCain is accusing Barack Obama of "pulling the race card" in his campaign. (He is referring to comments that Obama has made regarding the fact that he doesn't "look like the presidents on the $1 bill or $5 bill.")

John McCain is the epitomy of White Privilege. It is a fantasy to think that racism does not exist in American society. We are not all the same ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, or religion. To pretend otherwise is simply to hinder the growth of a society striving to accept people for their differences.

For Obama not to acknowledge the fact that he is African-American would be silly. He needs to directly address it, which he has done. For McCain to insinuate that Obama is using this for political gain is simply a microaggression brought about by being raised in a racist society. Whether or not America is ready for a non-White president is a topic being discussed by every voter in America.

I am sure that McCain is not an overtly racist man; however, expecting Obama to go through this campaign pretending to be White is a subtle form of racism. Saying that Obama is trying to make political gains by somehow "cashing in" on his race is ridiculous. Is McCain really afraid that White America is going to support Obama because he somehow will use his race to his advantage? There is a reason that they don't call it "Black Privilege."

2008-07-24T20:53:00.005-05:00

Ronda is harassing me for a new post, so I'll humor her and put one up...

I found this other other day when I was cleaning out a gift bag of stuff I got around Christmas time:

CHOCOLATE!!! Score!!!

Chocolate should still be good seven months later, right? I went ahead and took off the snowman's head and pulled out a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. After removing the wrapper and checking out the enclosed candy, I decided it looked edible. I popped it into my mouth.

Unfortunately, the person who gave this to me included mint-flavored Hershey's Kisses in the mix. I am not a big fan of mint-flavored anything and the mint Kisses had infected all of the surrounding chocolates. Something about the combination of chocolate + peanut butter + mint that didn't quite seem right to me.

It is hard to admit my level of disappointment.

I tossed the candy but kept the snowman... It is something else that Dave and I can eventually put into our storage unit.

Update

2008-07-18T14:25:00.001-05:00

For those of you who are interested, I've finally gotten around to updating Sparky's website. You can visit it here.

I'll have a real post within the next day or two. Promise.

A Day at the Zoo...

2008-07-10T18:07:00.006-05:00

Time has been flying this summer. I'm only taking one class, but that is plenty to keep me busy in the time that I am not running errands, washing bottles, or changing Sparky's diaper.

Today, however, we found time to take a trip to the zoo with my friends, Carrie and Susan, and their twin babies, Harper and Jackson. It was the first trip to the zoo for all three of the babies.

We saw the chimpanzees:

And the bears:

And, finally, we took a ride on the train. (That is friend Nurse Chris in the picture with us. Yes, the Sparkster is trying to sleep.)

While on a lunch break, we compared baby foot sizes. Harper was born on Valentine's Day of this year, so she is two months older than Sparky. However, he weighs more than either of the twins and as this pic shows, he also has much larger feet.

There's something to be proud of!

One year ago...

2008-06-26T10:39:00.002-05:00

Last year at this time, I was sitting on a beach, sipping a Dirty Monkey, and enjoying the last full day of a week-long vacation in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Two years ago, I was working at the pool, getting ready to start a new job in a new school district in the fall.

Three years ago, I was working on my application to meet the July 2 deadline for a job as an Aquatics Coordinator in Breckenridge, CO.

Five years ago, I was finishing my practicum for a master's degree in gifted education.

Ten years ago, I had just graduated from high school and was planning on leaving for the Air Force in September to be a crytologic linguist.

Today, I am sitting on the couch, watching Sparky snoozing in his swing. The closest thing to a vacation in the near future is a road trip in the new mini-van to my cousin's wedding in Connecticut this September. I am currently unemployed and working on yet another master's degree.

This is not a lament. Just an observation of the way that life meanders. I wonder where I'll end up in another ten years.

Surprise!

2008-06-14T19:56:00.004-05:00

So, for the second time in two weeks, I've been to a surprise party. One for my friend Sarah's 30th birthday bash; today to Karen's 60th.

Both times, I've missed the "SURPRISE" part of the party.

Last time, I was "rolling the dice," when Sarah arrived at her party and was so shocked and happy that she started crying. ("Rolling the dice" is our euphemism for using one of these, if you care to know.) Today, I was inside dealing with a fussy Sparky, who seemed to be unhappy about being outside in the hot weather, when Karen realized the party was not for her granddaughter but actually for her.

Oh, well... All in the name of motherhood, right?

An Unexpected Snack

2008-06-13T10:30:00.002-05:00

As I unloaded the groceries the other day, I came upon an item that was individually wrapped in a small plastic grocery bag. I racked my brain, trying to determine what it is that I had bought that would warrant its own individual bag...

"Nothing breakable," I thought. "Nothing leaky, sticky, or poisonous."

I opened the bag to find a small cardboard tray from the meat section of the store carrying some type of fried food. This was definitely something that got put into my cart by mistake. Carefully, I turned over the item to see the UPC code sticker on the bottom:

FRIED CHICKEN GIZZARDS

Bonus! The checker must've forgotten to put these tasty morsels in the cart of the person who checked out before me (who bore an uncanny resemblance to Methuselah) and then put it into my bags instead. They were even still warm from the heat lamp they'd most likely been sitting under for approximately 5 to 7 days! Luckeeee...

I wasn't going to drive back to the store for $1.50-worth of chicken innards, so I asked Dave if he wanted one. He looked at them, considering, and tentatively tried to take a bite of one of the fried rubber pucks. He gave up and put it back in the tray.

I went ahead and promptly brought them out into the garage and threw them in the trash.

Numb what?!?

2008-06-12T11:46:00.000-05:00

From the 2008 National Scripps Spelling Bee... Go ahead and watch it! You'll be happy that you did.

Life is good...

2008-06-08T20:22:00.005-05:00

Hard to believe that it has been over a month since I last blogged. I can't believe that the entire month of May has gone by and I haven't posted a single thing. Well, life has been busy, to say the least. Sorry for the inconsistency.

That's for those of you who are keeping score. I know you're out there.

How life has changed since that last post. The biggest change since then is that Dave and I have decided that I will not go back to teaching next year. Instead, I will stay home with Sparky during the days and attend classes at UMSL towards my master's in Counseling and Family Therapy during the evenings. When it came down to the few days I had to go back to work this school year, I just knew that I didn't want to go. So, we sat down and looked at our budget:

If you take the cost of daycare
+ Gas for me to drive to & from work
+ The money we'd save by selling my car
+ A few other ways to save here and there
= Breaking even.

It ended up being way more worth it for me to stay home and take care of our son instead of working full time.

However, it ended up being a rather bittersweet decision. As thrilled as I am at the prospect of being able to stay home with Sparky and accelerate my degree program, I was very sad to leave my job. The teaching position that I've held for the last two years has been the most fulfilling job that I've ever had. In addition to truly loving what I teach, I've had more fun with my co-workers than any other teaching position that I've ever held. They are truly dedicated to their jobs and I look up to each and every one of them as people who go the extra mile for their students. Our daily lunch conversations are freakin' hilarious and I will miss them. Luckily, I will have the opportunity to substitute teach and I know that I will make the effort to stay in touch with all of them. I sincerely hope that we don't lose touch.

It is weird to be on "summer vacation" while knowing that I don't have to go back to work this fall. Last summer was the first summer that I haven't worked full time at the pools as a lifeguard or manager since I was 16. This summer I'm not even helping to fill in.

If you would've told me two years ago that I would be taking time off working to stay home with a baby, I would've looked at you like you were crazy. And while I have loved every minute of my life up until this point, I wouldn't change a single thing.

As the title of this post says... Life is good. :o)

Edit: I just noticed that I ended my last post with the same three words. I guess it must be true.

Life as we know it...

2008-04-28T18:47:00.002-05:00

Things certainly have changed around here in the past two and a half weeks. Although it seems like Sparky has been here much longer than only eighteen days. I guess when your day is split into three hour (or less) segments, each day seems much longer!

I've never been somebody who felt that I needed to be a mother in order to have my life fulfilled. When Dave and I began seeing each other, we were both of the mindset that we did not want to have children. But, when I hold my little baby and rock him and he curls up and falls asleep on my chest, I think that I can't imagine having gone through life without experiencing this.

Life is good.

Happy Birthday to... Us

2008-04-09T17:04:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is my birthday, and although I normally wouldn't post a birthday greeting to myself, it will also be Sparky's real birth day!

Since I am post-due, the doctor went ahead and scheduled us for an induction tomorrow morning. Dave and I will arrive at the hospital at 6 a.m. and they will start me on Pitosin to get labor going. If all goes well, Sparky should be here sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening.

My birthday is 04.10.80.

Sparky's will be 4.10.08.

Wish us luck!

Barefoot, Still Pregnant, and In the Kitchen...

2008-04-07T15:32:00.003-05:00

....wearing nothing but an apron.

Okay, well, that part may not be true. But, you know, it isn't a bad idea! It is about a million freakin' degrees in here! (Then again, I feel like it is a million degrees most anywhere in any level of clothing these days...)

Sparky's due date has come and gone and we still do not have our little guy with us. He's totally content just hanging around in utero with no rush to come out here into this big, bright, scary world.

I am no longer working. I was sure that I would have a baby by now, so I arranged to have last Friday to be my last day of work. Since I have no work and no baby, I had to find something to keep myself busy. Call it nesting. I went to the store this morning and have spent all afternoon preparing some dishes that I can freeze and we can cook up once the baby gets here. I finished four of the six dishes. I had to take a break for a while and will finish the last couple either tonight or tomorrow morning.

What's on the menu?

Chicken Caesar Tetrazzini
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Zucchini and Chicken Pasta Bake
Meatloaf
Baked Cavatelli
Chicken Normandy Style

Paula and I went to the local "Let's Dish" place a couple weeks ago, so I am merely supplementing what we've already got stocked up in the freezer. Let's Dish, in case you haven't heard of it, is one of those places that you go and prepare a bunch of meals that you can freeze and then easily defrost and cook at home. It was a great experience! For me and Dave, the cost was reasonable and the best part was that everything is there ready for you to assemble and there is no clean-up! Can't beat that!

Dave mentioned that I must really mistrust his cooking to go to these lengths...

No comment.

T minus 1 Day

2008-04-05T15:59:00.005-05:00

So, Sparky's official due date is tomorrow. So much for everybody who thought he'd arrive early, huh? (I was among them! How foolish of me!)

Last night, I was having major back pain and some pretty severe Braxton Hicks contractions; they were the strongest that I've experienced so far. I was sure that since the doctor "stripped my membranes" at our Thursday appointment that things were finally really moving and labor was imminent. (Sorry for the extraneous details there; you know that you wanted to know!)

But, Sparky just stayed put.

Dave and I woke up this morning and went to the park to take a walk to kind of jostle things around a little bit. Then we walked around Kohl's. Then we walked around Linens 'n' Things. Then we walked around Schnucks. All this walking indeed helped to get my back good and sore. But, I don't seem to be any closer to giving birth than I did this morning.

It is a beautiful day. Dave and I have been able to get outside and enjoy it. Hopefully, we'll be outside even more during this afternoon and evening. No matter what, this will be our last weekend without Sparky. We have another doctor appointment set up for Wednesday in case we haven't had Sparky at that time; in that case, they will set us up to induce on either Thursday or Friday. Hopefully, he'll join us sooner than that.

We'll keep you posted with any new developments.

Peace, love, and babies!

Catchin' Up...

2008-03-20T16:50:00.008-05:00

Wow... It has actually been a full month since I've blogged. I'm such a slacker. BUT, to my own credit, at least I recognize the fact that I am a blogging slacker and I have accepted it.

Let's see... What's been happening around here? Why don't I give you short photo tour.

At the end of February, we had a "Leap Year" party.

Dr. Mike brought "Leaf Beer."

Mikey brought a "Leek." (He brought some "Peeps," too, but I didn't get a photo of those. Also, is Megan's face not priceless in this pic??)

And who said that men don't listen?

We've gotten the nursery all finished. It looks awesome. If you want to see more photos, you can go to the baby's website.

For our St. Patty's Day feast on Sunday, I made an Irish Creme Bundt Cake. It actually had Bailey's Irish Creme both in the cake itself and in the glaze on top.

It was pretty tasty. Dave even enjoyed the batter!

Ella was visiting the other day and Paula had the bright idea to put her in a box. It was pretty freakin' funny. At least I thought so at the time. As you can tell by my narrative from behind the camera. (Hey, in my defense, I've got a baby pushing down on my bladder, so most things make me feel like I'm going to pee my pants!)

My spring break is almost over and I am not looking forward to going back to work on Tuesday. My mindset is completely focused on the arrival of Sparky (17 days and counting!) and after this week off, I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to easily get back in the swing of things. However, I've been feeling pretty good and have no real excuse for "bed rest," so I guess I'll have to suck it up and work until the little munchkin decides that it is time to arrive. Probably better than sitting around, I guess.

I mean, what would I do with all my time if I didn't go back to work? Blog???

Surprise Snow Day!

2008-02-21T14:38:00.007-06:00

My alarm had already gone off and I was in bed, thinking about how I really didn't feel like getting up when the phone rang. The phone only rings that early in the morning at our house for one reason: Snow Day!!

Based on the weather reports last night, the freezing rain/sleet/snow wasn't supposed to hit 'til this afternoon. I was dreading the drive home today and halfway hoping that they'd call school off for tomorrow. Today, though, was a snow day that occurred without me actually NOT having to do the traditional "Snow Day Dance."

Unfortunately, the motions of "Snow Day Dance" are a secret, carefully guarded by a few teachers across the world, so I can't really divulge what that would look like. You'd be amazed at how similar it is to the "Rain Dance" that lifeguards often perform on cloudy days.

Anyway, after watching the news to verify that my district was indeed among the closed, I rolled over and went back to sleep. I am currently in the process of baking chocolate chip cookies, except I'm using M&M's because Walgreens doesn't carry chocolate chips. Bastards.

I did get to use my fancy-schmancy Kitchenaid Bowl Mixer for the first time to mix the dough; I got it for Christmas and haven't had the time/energy/motivation to bake anything that I would need it for until today. Let me just tell you: That mixer freakin' rocks.

Plans for the rest of the day include doing some scrapbooking, playing some Guitar Hero, taking a nap, getting take-out from Chevy's for dinner, and watching American Idol.

Life is good.

A Little of This, A Little of That

2008-02-08T13:49:00.000-06:00

While at work today, the conversation turned, as it often does, to the subject of cake. And the virtues of Butter Cream vs. Whipped Cream frosting.

Don't ask. I work with a bunch of women. Two of us are pregnant and I'm sure that at least one of us is PMS-ing at any given time.

The specific cake that was being discussed today was the type of cake that would be ordered for the shower that they are throwing for me. I think that they are getting me a marble cake. With butter cream frosting, of course.

I remember discovering marble cake when I was a kid. We cut into the cake, and, lo and behold, it was not just a single flavor! I thought that this was probably the best culinary invention since sliced bread! Can't decide if you want chocolate or white cake? Have both! What a wonderful world it is that we live in!

I am also a big fan of Neapolitan ice cream, for much of the same reason. Strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate ice cream, all in one fell swoop. Does life get any better than that? Plus, when it gets a little melty, you can totally stir up all the flavors and get a totally new choco-nill-berry flavor that you won't find anywhere else.

And, of course, when getting soft-serve ice cream, I always go for the swirl. I mean, let's be honest. Does anyone really know how they get the ice cream to swirl together like that? How freakin' amazing!

When eating my Skittles or Sweetarts, I always mix the flavors. My favorite combos? One green and one purple Skittle or One blue and one purple Sweetart. Try it sometime. You won't be disappointed.

I have an admission to make, though. I don't really care for frosting at all. I usually just scrape it off and eat only the cake. But, if butter cream frosting is what makes people happy, that's what we'll have!

Groundhog Day Party

2008-02-03T13:43:00.000-06:00

Life around here has been pretty uneventful lately. Well, that is, if you discount all of the chaos surrounding the upcoming arrival of the baby... But, other than that, it has been pretty uneventful.

As was exhibited by our thrilling Saturday night, a la Groundhog Day Style.

I actually felt up to cooking, since I hadn't done much of anything all day long. Mike, Paula, and Ella came over to join us for some Mexican Lasagna.

It was pretty good. Won't be a staple in our diets, but for a change, it was nice. It is basically lasagna with chicken, but you use tortillas instead of lasagna noodles and chili powder and cumin instead of the traditional Italian seasonings in lasagna.

Then, we had a bit of "Independent Study Time," as Paula put it.

Dr. Mike worked on creating his apparel for the Super Bowl Hot Wing contest. Gotta love a guy who isn't afraid to wear a puffy painted sweatshirt, right? Especially one featuring a chicken with his wings on fire.

Dave finally set up the Wii that "Santa" brought him for Christmas. You know, for someone who bitched and moaned about not being "allowed" to get a Wii, it sure did take a long time to get the game system set up.

And Paula and I ate ice cream. (Hey, we're pregnant. Otherwise, we'd have been doing tequila shots.)

Once everyone reconvened, we messed around with the Wii a little bit. I think Kramer got more enjoyment out of the whole experience than everyone else. I don't think I've ever seen him so excited.

And everyone was home and in bed well before midnight, because, as everyone knows, if you aren't, the Groundhog Fairy will turn you into a pumpkin.

Or something like that.

Everyone Needs a Mini-Me...

2008-01-25T21:07:00.000-06:00

Throughout the baby-item-registering ordeal, Dave and I found the perfect little outfit that we knew Sparky would just have to have. Dave's typical spring/summer uniform is some type of variation of the following:

I think Dave is thrilled at the prospect of having a little clone. Like father, like son. Soon, we are going to have a little miniature Dave running around here. Only, hopefully, he will drink less scotch.

**********

We've also had the joy of attending childbirth classes over the last couple of weeks. Between watching videos of births from the late-80's and early-90's (who knew giving birth could be such a hairy and squishy ordeal?) and practicing breathing throughout imaginary contractions (hee-hee-hoo), Dave tried on The Empathy Belly.

Doesn't he look maternal?

**********

On another note, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this is the second time that I've posted within two weeks - an infrequent feat for me these days. (No applause needed... No seriously... Oh, you're too much!)

I happened to look back through some of my old blog posts today and found myself laughing. I really enjoy blogging and hope to try to set aside some more time in the near future to do it. I miss reading everyone's humorous or thought-provoking or petulant postings.

While I can't promise that a lot of them won't revolve around the upcoming birth of our son, I do intend to at least post more often. If nothing else, it is nice to be able to look back and remember what I was thinking/feeling/doing at a previous time in my life.

"Life Was Happening Here"*

2008-01-16T11:16:00.000-06:00

How time flies...

With Sparky getting bigger and bigger each day, Dave and I are reminded that in only a few short months, our lives are going to change dramatically. We watch him kick and jab from the inside of my tummy and think about what the future holds.

Mentally, I am excited and ready for him to arrive. Physically, we still have so much to do. We spent last weekend "registering" at our local Baby Store... I about had a meltdown within the first fifteen minutes. There are just so many decisions to make. I have no idea what type of bottle to buy or what "travel system" I want. Five hours later, we called it a day. We spent several more hours on Sunday looking at furniture and have also spent considerable time the past two days revising and changing the registry online.

Work has been spent getting ready for my extended absence once Sparky arrives. Preparing copies and lesson plans for an eight week block is somewhat time consuming and has drastically affected my ability to waste a few minutes here or there surfing the net.

I'm glad that the holidays are over; they were more stressful this year than anything else. We were able to visit family on the East Coast, many of whom I haven't seen in several years. It was nice to visit with everyone, but also nice to get home and relax before going back to work on the 7th.

I think that Dave and I have made the decision that next year, I will stay home with Sparky and continue working on my master's in Counseling and Family Therapy, instead of working full time. I am not taking any classes this semester (what, do you think I'm completely crazy?) but will enroll again for the summer semester. It is very strange for me to think about not working... Although with being enrolled in classes full time and taking care of the Sparkmeister, I know it isn't like I'll be bored. I'll probably also try to pick up some students to tutor to make a little extra cash here and there.

Anyway, I know that is a pretty boring blog update, but c'est la vie. You're invited to check out Sparky's website, if you'd like. The most recent pictures of his ultrasound are really pretty freakin' cool.

*A quote from the play "Up The Down Staircase," adapted from the novel by Bel Kaufman.

Seriously?*

2007-12-06T09:15:00.000-06:00

Did you hear that the traditional nativity scene that is usually displayed at the Capitol will not be displayed this Christmas season? The Supreme Court has actually ruled that there cannot be a nativity scene this year and in the future!

Apparently, they can't find three wise men and a virgin anywhere within the D.C. area.

There was, however, no shortage of asses to fill the stable!

(Bah-dum-bum-ching!)

Thank you! Thank you very much!

*Sorry for the cheap blog entry... But you have to admit it is slightly humorous. My mom sent me this joke via e-mail and when I first started reading it, I was like, "Why is she sending me this bullsh!t political crap?" As I read further, I kind of smiled to myself and decided to share it with all of you...

Umm... My eyes are up here!

2007-11-20T11:42:00.000-06:00

You know, women always complain about men who stare at their chests when trying to have a conversation and I'll be honest ~ I've had my share of men (and women, for that matter) who are distracted from my wit and intelligence by my bust.

Now, being pregnant, I'm faced with a different problem. I've been left with even more generous cleavage than before, but for whatever reason people are way more interested in my growing stomach than my boobs.

I can't get a person to look me straight in the eyes when they are talking to me!

I'll be walking down the hall at work and I see people taking a sidelong glance at my tummy to see if Sparky is making his presence known yet. Discriminating judgements are made, I'm sure to compare my progress to the other woman at work who is expecting, although she is a month ahead of me and expecting twins. People comment that I'm not "showing" too much, but compared to her, I hope I'm not!

I've noticed that this is somewhat contagious. At the mall yesterday, I found myself inspecting almost every woman's waistline, even those not obviously pregnant. I'm amazed at the number of young women with protruding tummies, which probably wouldn't be too noticeable, except for the teeny shirts that they wear with accompanying muffin tops.

I've decided that those people who know that I'm pregnant can obviously tell a difference, but the general stranger on the street probably just dismisses me at this point as a woman who needs to cut back on the Cheetos and do a few extra sit-ups. At 20 weeks pregnant, Sparky is halfway done cooking, and I know that being able to hide the fact that I am pregnant is quickly going to evaporate.

C'est la vie. :o)

Lucky...

2007-11-06T13:34:00.000-06:00

A nine-year-old came up to me this morning in tears. We distributed progress reports a few weeks ago and she still didn't have hers signed and returned to me, which meant a loss of game time during home room.

She told me about how her family is now living in a hotel room. They had been staying with some friends, but a neighbor reported that there were too many people residing there, so they had to leave. Her mother and mom's boyfriend and their combined four kids are now staying in a single hotel room.

This nine-year-old explained to me how her mother spends her father's child support payments on rent and cigarettes, but they never have money for new clothes. The last new shoes that she had were bought by her paternal grandmother. She told me that she thinks that she would be more responsible with the child support payments than her mom is.

She is concerned about her five-year-old sister's teeth. She said that her mom doesn't make her sister brush her teeth and she thinks they might be decaying from all the juice boxes. Her mom only buys mint-flavored toothpaste and her little sis doesn't like that kind, so her teeth go unbrushed.

The baby sister has asthma, but that doesn't stop mom and boyfriend from smoking in the house. Now, the whole crew is in a single room. Not a lot of circulation for that cigarette smoke.

She's already decided that when she turns 14, she is going to move in with her dad. She told dad that they are staying in a hotel room and he is going to talk to an attorney... He talked to the attorney the last time they were homeless, but, for some reason, was unable to do anything about it. Her mom's boyfriend has said that he will live in a paper box before he lets her and her sister move in with their dad.

It broke my heart to hear her story. I think about how lucky Dave and I are... No matter what happens between us, our child will never have to go without new clothing or a place to call home.

I'm going to stop at Walgreens this afternoon to pick up some bubblegum flavored toothpaste. I'm not really quite sure what else there is to do.

A "Sparky" by any other name....??

2007-10-27T13:43:00.000-05:00

Dave and I have been searching and searching for the perfect name for our baby, and in order to help us with the search, I bought a book of baby names. The book has everything: All types of names, the origins of the names, the meaning, and notable celebrities (both famous and infamous) who have the name.

Plus, every few pages they have a list of names of varying topics, such as popular names in other countries or names that were the most common in different decades over the last 200 years. However, some of the categories are a bit far-fetched, at least to me...

For example, "Notable Names from the Music Industry":

Now, it takes a brave person to name a child Axl, Elvis, or Bjork. But our personal favorite from the list (which has now become a top contender in our baby name search) is P. Diddy!

Another favorite list of ours, being the drunks that we are, is the "Baby Bottoms Up" list, which of course features names based on types of liquors.

We think that naming our baby Glenfiddich or Merlot might be seen as a little "uppity" (if you know what I mean), but we are seriously considering Bud (middle name of Light).

And finally, for the parent who believes that a troubled youth builds character, I bring you the "Pharmaceutical Names" list:

Yeah, because any child named Cialis or Viagra is destined to become a serial killer. Or a porn star...

Who knows? "Sparky" may just end up sticking in the end. Considering that if the baby was born right now, his (or her) name would probably be P. Diddy Hermes Morris.

Maybe Dave and I need to take this name thing a bit more seriously.

Rebuilding...

2007-10-23T13:01:00.000-05:00

I haven't had the opportunity to visit NYC since I was in my early teenage years. But, the memory of seeing the WTC buildings as part of the skyline is etched into my memory. The memory of seeing them come down is seared there, too.

I have a lot of family that lives on the East Coast and I am proud to say that I have a connection with the work that is currently being done at the WTC site. Two of my uncles and one of my cousins works for a company whose purpose (as I understand it) is to prepare construction sites with the underground infrastructure needed to support the buildings that are going to be built there.

I know that there has been a lot of criticism of the fact that nothing has been built on the site since 9/11... However, they've definitely put the pressure on the contractors now - the contractors are being fined $300K per day for everyday that they are not finished after January 1, 2008!

My uncle John recently posted a bunch of pictures of the job site on our family website. I thought I would share them here with you.

From left to right: Uncle John, a friend, Cousin Max, and Uncle Pierre.

A cross made out of steel beams from the original WTC. I like the NYPD car in the foreground.

One of the original signs for the PATH train station at the WTC. Apparently, a lot of these types of items are still being stored at the site. Definitely has a sobering effect.

This truck was so loaded down with scrap iron, I-beams, re-bar, and sheet metal that it got stuck in the mud and had to have a little help from a friend to get out. I thought this was kind of symbolic.

Dave and I are going up east in the week between Christmas and New Year's this year. We may have time to take a day or two down in NYC; it would be very cool to have the opportunity to see this site... We'll see what happens.

Can't Believe We Missed It!!

2007-10-04T17:32:00.000-05:00

Being (the self-named) Queen of all holidays that shouldn't probably really be holidays, I bring you:

National Alpaca Day

Yeah, that's right! Although it should be National Alpaca Weekend, since it falls on September 29th and 30th. Two whole days! To celebrate alpacas!

I can't wait 'til next year! I'm going to make everyone a National Alpaca Day Advent Calendar, so you can count down the days with me!!

Football Fun

2007-09-18T19:30:00.001-05:00

The weekend began with a road trip along with the fam to Columbia, Missouri to watch the Mizzou Tigers take on Western Michigan. My little bro is a frosh up there. Notice his first college injury...

That Guitar Hero game is a bitch.

Here's a pic of me, doing what I do. Don't mind the tiger ears...

This was the first time that I'd been to a Mizzou football game and the energy made it a really exciting experience. The weather was absolutely beautiful and it was so cool to see practically an entire city converge to support their team. The stadium, of course, was packed.

We drove back Sunday night, crashed for not-quite-a-full-night's sleep, and woke up at the crack of dawn to meet and tailgate with friends for the St. Louis Rams' game.

Nothin' like chili at 8:30 in the mornin' to get you goin'... Well, that and some Bud Light.

Diana, chillin' by the tunes on the tailgate.

Don't ask what is happening here.

Or here, for that matter.

Our seats were definitely in the nosebleed section, but there really isn't a bad seat in the dome. We were able to see all the action! The game was a nailbiter 'til the very end.

Not that everyone in our group would know that it was a nailbiter, though... Some (unnamed) members of the group left the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter because the stadium stops selling beer at that time. They ditched out and went back to the cars to drink... I have to admit, I was disappointed...

But, maybe I just take my football a bit too seriously. :o)

Once we made it back home, Dave and I hung out with Paula at the house for a while until Miss Ella arrived home. Paula decided to take a little nap in Ella's playhouse... Maybe that had a bit to do with the leaving the football game early, if you know what I mean. Love you, Paula!!

Photo Essay... Because I've Got Nuthin' Much to Say

2007-09-13T17:29:00.000-05:00

Mmmm.... I made this peach pie with a real homemade crust for the Labor Day weekend festivities. It was the first time I've made a pie from scratch and it was gooo-ooood, if I do say so myself.

Dave and I saw this car on the highway. The back window says, "Be jealous, I'm a MILF." Now I hope that I can be as hot of a mama as Paula, but if anyone freakin' proclaims this on the back of my car after I have the baby, I'm kickin' their ass!

That ain't no little smokie! It is a mutant! Aaahhhhh!!!!!

FYI - Next Wednesday is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, and the mania is spreading. This weekend begins the Second Annual St. Louis Pirate Festival... Argh!

Tell me the logic of this: The Gap Rewards program used to give you 1 reward point per dollar spent. After earning 200 points, you recieve a $10 coupon to use on your next purchase. The new program gives you 5 reward points per dollar spent and after earning 1000 points, you recieve a $10 coupon to use on your next purchase.

Now, I'm no mathematician, so could somebody please explain to me how this is a benefit?

Dave and I will be embarking on an all football weekend... Mizzou game on Saturday, Rams game on Sunday. I'll be sure to update you next week!

Shop 'til I Drop

2007-09-06T12:07:00.000-05:00

I'm not a huge fan of going to the malls. I don't like running around to stores and having to get in and out of the car when the weather is extremely hot/cold/rainy. I hate trying on clothes... I'm never really happy with the way the clothes fit and it just (in general) pisses me off.

But...

I loooove catalog shopping. If I get a catalog in the mail, I love flipping through it and ear-marking the pages of items that I like. For me, it is often like window shopping... Most often, I don't order things, but I can look through a catalog a good three times before I get tired of it cluttering up my house and I have to throw it away. I just remembered a catalog that my mom used to get that I love, so I just went onto the website and requested a catalog to be sent to me. Now I'll forever be on their mailing list, and I love it.

So, if I don't shop in the stores and I only fantasize about items I find in catalogs, where do I shop? I admit it: My downfall is Internet shopping.

I have my credit card and debit card numbers, expiration dates, and validation codes memorized. I can point and click my way into thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. (Well, that is, if I had thousands of dollars to spend on merchandise.)

I love getting home from work a seeing a package of new merchandise sitting on my front porch, waiting for me to peel back the lid of the box and find the treasure inside. I love the convenience of it. Nevermind that if something doesn't fit and I never return it; I probably wouldn't return it even if I'd bought it directly from the store.

Amazon.com is my vice. And Gap.com. And Victoria's Secret.com. And most of all... E-Bay. E-Bay can get me into trouble.

What about you? What is your favorite mode of spending money??

Public Service Announcement

2007-09-04T09:19:00.000-05:00

As a teacher of gifted students, I see the kids that get "left behind" by the euphemistic "No Child Left Behind" act. This is what happens when politicians get to make educational policy ~ they create something that sounds good for a sound bite without really understanding all the true effects that will occur down the line.

Read on...

********************
From the San Diego Union-Tribune, Wednesday, August 29, 2007. See http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070829/news_lz1e29goodkin.html
********************

Gifted children are being left behind

By Susan Goodkin and David G. Gold

With reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act high on the agenda as Congress returns from its recess, lawmakers must confront the fact that the law is causing many concerned parents to abandon public schools that are not failing.

These parents are fleeing public schools not only because, as documented by a recent University of Chicago study, the act pushes teachers to ignore high-ability students through its exclusive focus on bringing students to minimum proficiency. Worse than this benign neglect, No Child forces a fundamental educational approach so inappropriate for high-ability students that it destroys their interest in learning, as school becomes an endless chain of basic lessons aimed at low-performing students.

These predictable problems were reported as early as 2003, when The Wall Street Journal warned that schools were shifting their focus overwhelmingly toward low achievers. Expressions of concern from distressed parents and educators of gifted children have come in increasing numbers ever since.

No Child is particularly destructive to bright young math students. Faced with a mandate to bring every last student to proficiency, schools emphasize incessant drilling of rudimentary facts and teach that there is one "right" way to solve even higher-order problems. Yet one of the clearest markers of a nimble math mind is the ability to see novel approaches and shortcuts to attacking such problems.

This creativity is what makes math interesting and fun for those students. Schools should encourage this higher-order thinking, but high-ability students are instead admonished for solving problems the wrong way, despite getting the right answers. Frustrated, and bored by simplistic drills, many come to hate math.

Talented writers fare no better in language arts education. Recently, a noted children's author recounted her dismay when fifth-graders attending one of her workshops balked at a creative writing exercise. She was shocked to learn that the reluctant writers were gifted. The children, however, had spent years completing mundane worksheets designed for struggling classmates and thus rebelled at an exercise they assumed would be yet another tedious worksheet.

One suggested revision to address these concerns is "growth modeling," which tracks the progress of all students, including those already scoring above proficiency. But as long as No Child requires that every student reach proficiency by 2014 and it continues to focus only on grade-level material, teachers will lack incentives to appropriately educate students who can master their grade's curriculum well before spring testing. Nor will growth modeling prompt schools to provide an enriching curriculum that goes beyond the basics.

The response of many parents to this situation was summed up succinctly by one of our numerous friends, colleagues and family members who have pulled their children from neighborhood schools: "We've learned that the real solution is called 'private school.'

"Perhaps if more policy-makers sent their children to public schools, they would address these unintended but disastrous consequences of No Child. Rather than trying to rectify this situation, however, many politicians advocate a voucher program that would only encourage more parents to desert public education.

Some politicians justify vouchers with the Orwellian claim that taking money from public schools to pay private tuition will improve the public schools by forcing them to compete for students. This claim is absurd given the uneven playing field between public and private schools.

Most obviously, private schools can reject any student who would require extra time from teachers. Thus it is left to public schools to handle children with behavior problems or severe learning impairments, and non-English speakers. Until private schools receiving vouchers are required to accept all applicants, vouchers simply allow them to cherry-pick public school students, giving them an insurmountable competitive edge.

Ironically, the private schools to which President Bush and his allies are so anxious to hand public funds are also exempt from the standardized testing these politicians declare to be the critical measure of educational success. Private schools need not impose upon their students the drudgery of preparing for and taking weeks of standardized tests and can offer an enriching curriculum beyond the basics without worrying about No Child sanctions. Given these one-sided constraints, no one could honestly claim that vouchers do anything but drain resources from the public schools this act was supposed to improve.

In adopting the No Child law, Congress finally addressed the shameful neglect of students in failing schools, particularly inner-city schools. Now it must address the fact that the requirements it imposed are driving away many of the concerned and involved parents critical to our ailing public school system.

----------------------------
Goodkin is executive director of the California Learning Strategies Center, a Ventura-based education think tank. Gold is a lecturer and consultant on strategic issues in negotiation.
*********************************************

Another great article on this topic: Time Magazine's Are We Failing Our Geniuses?

Is it bad that I laughed?*

2007-08-22T15:21:00.000-05:00

This morning, I was presenting information to third grade students about the Chess class that I am teaching this semester.

Towards the end of my little talk, one child raised his hand with a comment:

"My dad was a national Chess champion. We have all sorts of trophies and awards."

"Great!" I replied. "Maybe he can come and be a speaker in our class one day."

"Oh, no..." he said. "My dad died when I was three."

Oh. Uh.... Okay... Well, then I guess he wouldn't be able to make it into our class to speak to us, would he?

I mean, what do you say to that with over one hundred third graders staring at you...???

*I didn't laugh at that moment... But afterwards, a couple of the other teachers and I did have a good giggle... and not at the expense of the kid... Just at the fact that the situation happened at all... I mean, what are the chances??

Does anyone have any Pepto?

2007-08-17T22:57:00.001-05:00

When I found out I was pregnant, I thought I was pretty much aware of all the dietary restrictions I would have to abide by for the next nine months or so.

I immediately voluntarily quit drinking caffeinated beverages and suffered slight withdrawal headaches for a couple of days, but, hey... this is for the baby, right?

I also gave up on steak with any tint of pink in it; the first time I ordered a steak, it wasn't cooked enough, so I politely asked for the waitress to have the cook throw it back on the grill for a few more minutes. When the steak was returned to me, it had the distinct rubbery taste of having been nuked in the microwave. Yum...

Then at the first doctor appointment, the nurse practioner suggested that I stay away from all fish. Not just the fish like shark, albacore tuna, or tilefish that contain high mercury content, but every type of fish - you know, just to be safe.

(She did, however, give me a prescription for a fish oil supplement, since DHA is good for a developing embryo/fetus... How's that for irony?)

I was then admonished at work for eating a roast beef sandwich for lunch. Apparently, lunch meat has nitrates, which are bad for the baby.

At the most recent doctor appointment, I was instructed to avoid any foods that have partially-hydrogenated oils. This includes most peanut butter and microwave popcorn.

Lucky for me, though, I don't really feel like I'm being restricted from much of anything, because although the food that I'm "allowed" to eat is an ever-dwindling list, none of it is appetizing, anyway. Or, if I do find something that is approved by the pregnancy diet, I eat it and then barf it up. Just thinking of eggs or ice cream makes me feel swirly.

I'm glad Mac & Cheese is on the approved list, because that is about the only thing that sounds digestable to me these days...

One fun side note, though - - I am experimenting with the various flavors of Freezoni's and Smoothies at the local QuikTrip. They make the whole vomiting experience lots more exciting, to see what those bright colors (pink, lime green, purple) make the rest of the food look like on the way up!!!

Go on... Click the "Play Button"

2007-08-13T20:42:00.001-05:00

You'll be glad that you did...

Thanks, Aly... Priceless!

Goodbye, Harry...

2007-08-11T10:13:00.000-05:00

I finished reading the final book in the Harry Potter series yesterday...

I bought it about a week after it came out and was too busy to start it until about a week ago, but once I opened it I couldn't put it down. Plus, I had to finish it before the students get back to school because they are not good about keeping secrets about the ending.

All I have to say is... "Brilliant!"

I've loved every page of every book. I'm not really into fantasy, but, I've always enjoyed great children's literature. One of my favorite authors of all time is Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time. But let's be honest: This series was never just for children.

I love how the characters really grow throughout the series. Instead of a series where the characters are a static age in time, never changing, you watch Harry, Ron, and Hermione experience life from pre-adolescents to young adults. They are real characters with flaws that change throughout, as are the other secondary characters in the series.

But, the part that amazes me the most is that J. K. Rowling was able to arc a wonderful, detailed, intricate story over seven novels. Details that seemed insignificant in Book 3 come back in the epic's close to tie together a wonderful tale of adventure and mystery and love.

I read my little brother's copies of the first five books and own the hardcover first edition prints of numbers six and seven. I am now on an EBay mission to find the others to add to my own collection. I can't wait to share these new classics with my own child...

Mama always said...

2007-08-09T16:13:00.000-05:00

Direct quotes from my mother:

"I love my kids, but if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have any."

"Don't have grandkids on account of me."

"I'm almost free!" (referring to the fact that my youngest brother will enter college this fall)

"After you have kids, your relationship will change... Everything will be different."

And with these words of wisdom from my mother, my mind begins to race. What have Dave and I gotten ourselves into? What if our relationship does change, similar to how my parents' did, losing focus on each other and growing distant? What if I end up feeling trapped by the baby, unable to pursue my own goals, because I can't find a sitter? How will I watch my child suffer through the growing pains of life, forced to stand idly by, unable to do much other than offer my feeble advice?

I know that these are selfish concerns and that becoming a loving parent is ultimately an altruistic act. I assume that other mothers-to-be excitedly anticipate the arrival of their babies, spending their days decorating the nursery and buying toys and clothing... But perhaps, some of them have some of the same worries and concerns...?

Here's a basic breakdown of my feelings about having a baby:

50% excited about starting a family with Dave
20% worried about something going wrong with the pregnancy/baby
20% unsurity of whether I have what it takes to be a good mother
10% concerned about whether the food I ate at my last meal is on the approved pre-natal food list

And, I'll be honest... Although my mother has been very supportive, I wouldn't say that she is "thrilled" at the aspect of me having a baby. She has called to see how I'm feeling and make sure that I'm doing all right... She even bought me a copy of the "What to Expect" book. But, I can hear her voice echoing in my mind all the time - and I worry... what if she is right?

I Can't Promise Anything...

2007-08-01T11:21:00.000-05:00

...but I will try not to become a complete and total "Mommy Blogger."

I won't titillate you with tales from the ob/gyn and I swear I won't share every little sh!t (I mean, poop) that Baby Morris makes.

I'll reserve those stories for my friends in person (ahem, Dr. Mike and Paula, since we've heard our share of your stories) and I'll keep them on my baby's website. (Speaking of which, if you'd like to read all about the first week of pregnancy, please feel free to click here and read all about it.)

But I have to tell you, I'm pretty excited. As somebody whose never felt the "need" for a child to complete my life, the prospect of becoming a parent with somebody who I love as much as I do Dave is pretty thrilling. (Scary, too... Okay, terrifying... But thrilling.)

In the meantime, though, please participate in the poll on the right sidebar: Do you think that Baby Morris will be a girl or a boy?

Some New bLiNg... and more!!!

2007-07-30T09:07:00.000-05:00

THE OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

TELLING MIKE AND PAULA:

Even those of you who officially don't watch clips on people's blogs should click on these, especially the first one... What an exciting time this is going to be!!

And, yes, I've already begun a website... Click here.

Traveling the World

2007-07-14T02:27:00.000-05:00

Okay... Well, maybe not the world, but having just returned from Mexico, we are now (at 2:40 a.m., and well into our second bottle of wine) visiting a good friend of Dave's (also named Dave, only the last name is Steele) in beautiful Youngstown (okay, Poland) Ohio...

God, can I just tell you that hanging with two voiceover guys is freakin' the time of my life!!!! Dave Steele is now playing samples of his voiceover work for (my) Dave... And examples of his outtakes, which, I have to admit, are pretty funny.

(Hang on, I need to refill my glass of wine. We quickly went through a bottle of Marquee Shiraz and I'm now finishing off the last bit of Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin... After the eight hour drive, not counting the time change, wine is a welcome relief.)

So, I apologize for not keeping up on commenting on other blogs and updating my own. Summer has been a wonderful experience so far, and I have been spoiled. Instead of reading blogs and the Internet, I've been gardening and reading. Since we left for Mexico, I've finished Middlesex (recommended by Blogarita), The Starter Wife, and The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Next on the list: The Devil Wears Prada. All of these are compliments of (my new addiction) to Bookmooch.com.

Okay, the boys are now listening to the narration of Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (in which I narrated the part of Cindy Lou Who) that Dave and I made for Ella (Dr. Mike and Paula's baby) and Dave Steele just opened an $800 bottle of Grand Marnier that he told us was for his (now 5-year-old daughter's) wedding. Goind to be a fun (and rather intoxicated) weekend. Beautiful.

Thinking of you all now... I promise I will be around over the next couple of days to read and catch up on everyone's blogs.

Word... To your motha...

Loving Summer...

2007-07-04T10:33:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July...

Since we've been back from vacation, I have stayed in vacation mode. Lackadaisical and unconcerned, I went the entire day yesterday doing "stuff," yet still managing to be almost entirely unproductive. Don't you love those days?

I'm messing around with trying to make a DVD for everyone of our photos from Mexico... Anyone have any experience with the Studio Ten Pinnacle program? Progress is slow going for me because my tolerance for frustration is pretty low. (Plus, I'm a procrastinator.) I'm not sure if I'm having a direct problem with the computer, the program, or the way the program installed itself on the computer.

Other big news... I've been accepted to go back to school to earn (a second) master's degree in Counseling and Family Therapy. After this master's, I'll be able to work as a licensed professional counselor with kids and their families plus I'll be halfway to earning my doctorate and being able to call myself an actual "psychologist." Hopefully, I'll be able to open my own practice one day. How cool would that be? I'll be starting classes in the fall and can't wait. I'll be taking classes and still working full time, so I'll be having a pretty busy schedule.**

Other than that, not much is going on. I'm going to try to make the rounds to everyone's blogs to catch up on what all has been happening lately.

**Dave is the greatest guy in the whole world! He has been so encouraging and positive about the whole idea of me going back to school and the application process... How lucky am I??

Back to the real world...

2007-06-29T11:09:00.000-05:00

So, the vay-kay was a blast... And now we're back, to somewhat gloomy, although equally as hot and humid, weather. While we only saw a few drops of rain in Playa del Carmen, it poured for much of the day yesterday and is still looking like rain today.

And because I know that everyone really loves to look at other peoples' vacation pictures, here's a little photo essay of our trip

The waiting shots of tequila!

Parts of the beach outside our hotel weren't exactly the greatest for swimming... Ouch!

The view from one of the upstairs bars we stopped at in downtown Playa del Carmen.

Did you know that the second largest barrier reef in the world is located off the coast of Mexico? It is great for snorkeling...

Every night at the 24-hour beach bar, we were greeted by these Mexican racoons. They had no fear of humans.

The trip was a success... We actually made it through with no injuries while we were out of the country! That isn't to say that we didn't try... And so we return, tanner (or redder) to our normal lives.

I can't wait to do it again!

Please Leave a Message After the Tone...

2007-06-18T18:01:00.001-05:00

Wednesday is the departure day for our trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

One full week of our toes in the sand and cocktails in our hands.
One full week of friends. (I'm sure I'll know more about them than I ever wanted to by the time we return home.)
One full week of no cell phone, no working, no laundry.

Life is beautiful.

**********

Last night, Dave, Dr. Mike, Paula and I figured that there probably wouldn't be any good Chinese down in Mexico, so we opted for take out for dinner. Dave performed his ritual of assigning the fortune cookies, using his mystical powers.

The cookie that he gave to me HAD DOUBLE FORTUNES!! Two little pieces of paper were stuck to each other inside the same fortune cookie - I'd never seen that before!

Here they are:

I don't think I've ever had a fortune that was as accurate as those!

**********

Sorry if I don't blog while I'm gone, but I'll fill you in on all the details once we get back. (Although Dave is insisting on bringing his laptop, so there may be a posting here or there to keep you updated on our progress.)

Here are the lyrics to Kenny Chesney's "Beer in Mexico" - - the anthem for our trip. This song has been going through my head consistently for the last three weeks.

Starin' out into the wild blue yonder
So many thoughts to sit and ponder
'Bout life and love and lack of
And this emptiness in my heart

Too old to be wild and free still
Too young to be over the hill
Should I try to grow up
But who knows where to start

So I just ...
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Do my best to waste another day
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Let the warm air melt these blues away

Sun comes up and sun sinks down
And I seen 'em both in this tourist town
Up for days in a rage
Just tryin' to search my soul

From the answers and the reasons why
I'm at these crossroads in my life
And I really don't know
Which way to go

So I just ...
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Do my best to waste another day
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Let the warm air melt these blues away

Maybe I'll settle down, get married
Or stay single and stay free
Which road I travel
Is still a mystery to me

So I'll just ...
Sit right here, have another beer in Mexico
Do my best to waste another day
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Let the warm air melt these blues away

Down in Mexico ...

How'd They Find Me??

2007-06-15T09:21:00.000-05:00

I admit that I blog is more tame than others. I don't use a lot of foul language and most of my stories are PG-13 at their worst.

So, why am I getting searches on my blog for:

Eat Dung Stickers?

and Cause of Masochistic Infatuation?

These are the most recent of strange searches and (after a long night of margaritas and tequila shots in preparation for our trip to Mexico) I can't remember any of the other funny searches that have shown up on my Sitemeter.

Any odd ones for you recently?

My Newest Internet Obsession

2007-06-13T08:48:00.001-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read. I will devour most any type of book and once I get started reading, it is hard for me to force myself to quit reading to do any of the other things that daily life requires.

I am also a book collector. I prefer to buy my books than go to the library to borrow them. I like having my bookshelves crammed full of Stephen King and Wally Lamb, J. D. Salenger and Madeleine L'Engle. Plus, going to the library often costs me more than just buying the book in the first place; I've actually been known to have library fines totally over $83 - no joke!

Enter BookMooch.com. Brought to my attention by fellow blogger Caroline Bender, I am totally hooked. This site allows me to post books that I am willing to give away to fellow bibliophiles, while "mooching" books that I am interested in reading from them. For each book that I post in my inventory and each book that somebody mooches from me, I am awarded points. I, in turn, use these points to get the books that I want to read.

The only cost is postage. The person who is giving away the book pays for postage, but I figure the couple of bucks spent there is recouped by the money that I don't have to spend on shipping and handling from buying the book off eBay or buying the book new at the store. Plus, if it is a book I love, I can add it to my collection instead of having to return it at the end of two weeks.

I've already sent off five of my own books and am awaiting the first two that I've requested. I'm excited to have some new summer reading... Anyone have any recommendations of great books that I should mooch??

Exciting News...

2007-06-12T10:02:00.000-05:00

....and of course, by exciting, I mean the news isn't exciting at all. As a matter of fact, I don't even really have any news to share. I just put that posting title up there to try to convince you (and my ego) that my life isn't as boring as this post is going to make it seem.

*********

Summer ends up being the time for me to catch up on all the chores that have gone undone throughout the rest of the year. The first project that I tackled last week was to clean out and reorganize the laundry room:

Our laundry room ends up being the "catch-all" for stuff that we aren't quite sure where it should go. Or, if it is too cold to bring something out into the garage, it ends up in there.

Just so you know, although the cabinets are closed in the "after" picture, they are clean. Practically bare. But, the difference looks more dramatic between the two pictures with them closed.

I think I feel pretty successful about the whole thing.

**********

Today's project is that I have to go to my mom's house and go through all the stuff that I've collected there throughout the years and decide what is worth keeping and what I need to throw away. Mom is putting the house where I grew up on the market and she needs all extraneous materials out. I chose today to do this project since Mom is out of town and she won't be there to harass me about what I'm keeping and what I'm not.

Honestly, though, I'm a little bit resentful of the fact that I have to do this chore at all. I feel... strange... that the house that I've lived in since I was five years old is no longer going to be the house that we go to for family dinners and holidays.

Am I crazy to feel this way? I feel sad and somewhat angry and... I don't know. Just pissy in general about the whole thing. Do your parents still live in the house you grew up in? Did you feel the same way when they sold it?

I guess I'm just not really a fan of change.

**********

So, I guess that's all I got. The next post will be more exciting. And, I promise not to post pictures about cleaning out my mom's basement, all right? I was just pleased with the whole laundry room thing, so lay off, okay?

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2007-06-09T07:14:00.001-05:00

Ahhh, baseball. Getting out of work on a Friday afternoon, heading down to the stadium, and tailgating (in the hot sun!) with some beer and burgers before heading in to watch the World Champion Cardinals play the Los Angeles Angels. Could life be any more perfect?

Look at this cool grill that friends Mike and Diana brought for the cooking of said tailgating food stuffs. Thanks, Dr. Mike, for this find. It did a damn good job of grilling up the burgers and dogs!

Speaking of hot dogs... (Photoshop, anyone?)

This is my dream job! Every time these guys run out onto the field, I'm like, "Man, I could totally do that job!" Hang out at the stadium, schmooze with the players, watch the games, and have the all-important job of smoothing out the infield dirt.

Do you think that these are the same people that get to drag out the tarp for rainouts? Does anyone have any connections at the stadium that might be able to get me this job?

Another one of the highlights of baseball for me is the search for the freakish triple peanut. Dave found the only one of the bag last night. Luckeeeee!

Although we lost the game, we scored runs in each of the first four innings and were up 4-0 going into the fifth. Duncan, Pujols, and Stinnett each hit homers; each time, we were jumping up and down cheering, and the bald guy in front of us (who reminded me of Bill, in more ways than just his haircut) gave high-fives all around. I love that!

Just so you know, I do actually pay attention to the game. Kip Wells had a respectable start, but when you rip through half of your bullpen in a single inning and still give up six runs, it is kind of hard to win a ballgame. Oh, well. As you can tell, we had a good time anyway!

Tag, I'm "IT"

2007-06-07T12:40:00.000-05:00

Sista Smiff tagged me to complete this meme. I'm not sure how or why she picked me, but I'm willing to take the opportunity to have somebody provide a blog topic to me...

Rules of the game: Quickly write 8 random facts/habits about myself. Then, tag eight more people to play.

Sista Smiff was talking about her acrylic nails and that she had to get rid of them for nursing school. I also have acrylic nails and have consistently had them for about six or seven years. I started getting them while I was waiting tables; my nail polish would chip and my brittle nails would break and peel. The acrylics are way more durable. However, I always have them very short and people often ask me if they are my real nails or not. I'm not a fan of having daggers off the ends of my fingers. My favorite nail color: OPI's "I'm Not Really a Waitress."
I looooove Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Mmmmm.... Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
However, I'm trying to lose a few pounds right now and I can't even remember when the last time I indulged in some Mac & Cheese. As a matter of fact, right now I have an unopened box of Samoa Girl Scout Cookies in the pantry. They've been there for months; normally those won't last longer than 24 hours around me. Dumb diet.
I always said that I wasn't really interested in getting married and/or having kids. But, then I met Dave... I am amazed at how simply finding the right person can completely change your mind about such a big decision. I think we would be great parents together...
My mom is in the process of selling the house where I grew up. The whole thing is very strange to me. We built and moved into the house when I was five years old. Where will my mom live? How will we have family barbeques in a backyard that isn't the one where my sister and I played hide and seek? My little brother was born when we lived in that house... I'll be honest: I am not a fan of her selling that house. But, life must go on, I guess.
I like to take naps. As a matter of fact, I'm feeling a bit sleepy right now. I plan on taking a nap at least five of seven days a week throughout this summer. *YAWN*
I am addicted to my Webkinz pet, Daisy.
In exactly two weeks, I will be on the beach in Mexico, cocktail in hand, feet in the sand. Life is beautiful.

I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you need a blog topic, feel free to take this one. I always enjoy learning random things about my blogging friends!

Greatest Culinary Invention Since "Sliced Bread"

2007-06-06T19:17:00.000-05:00

How many times have you had the fabulous idea of roasting marshmallows and making s'mores?

Simple enough, right? The problem comes when you are trying to manage two pieces of the graham cracker, the chunk of chocolate, and the gooey marshmallow. You have to smoosh them all together into one tidy little sammich. Doesn't always work that way. More than once, I've ended up with burnt fingers and a 'mallow on my foot.

Problem solved! In an ingenious solution to this age old problem, a friend figured out a way to combine the graham and the chocolate:

FUDGE STRIPED COOKIES!

Easy, breezy, beautiful! Just as tasty, with hardly any muss or fuss! I love it! I highly recommend that you try it the next time you're at a bonfire....

We're Having a Baby...

2007-06-04T20:03:00.000-05:00

.... a baby tomato, that is!!! (Scared ya, didn't I?)

Isn't it cute? Kind of like the first ultrasound, here is the first photo of our baby tomato plant. We also have a couple of red and green pepper plants, but they weren't being very photogenic today. They take after their mother...

**********

Dave and I had fun this last weekend at a fabulous party for our good friend, Dr. Mike. It was a western theme, so everyone was dressed as cowboys and cowgirls.

Except me. Always having to be different, I went and found a Sacajawea/Pocahontas costume. I stuck a yellow feather in my hair and was ready to party. It was a great time.

**********

The past month has been crazy, and eliminating blogging was one of the easiest ways to cut down on my self-imposed stress. But, now it is summer, and I'm going to have more free time over the next two months than I've had since before I was in high school. The time will be spent blogging, cleaning, reading, and sitting around at the pool.

It is a beautiful thing. I'm already glad to be back!

Crack is Whack...

2007-05-14T15:29:00.000-05:00

No, this is not me, but it is my cousin with her daughter. No photo shopping needed for this funny shot... Gotta love my family for posting this on our family website. With family like ours....

Blogging Blahs....

2007-05-02T11:59:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.

I've been making sure to stay away from the computer while I'm at work... Amazing how it cuts down on my productivity when I'm obsessed with posting on my blog and reading and commenting on everyone else's. Then, when I've been getting home, the last thing I've been feeling like doing is taking the time to sit down at the computer and write a post.

Plus, I've had a complete and total drought of any potential topics to write about. Except for American Idol - I could blog about that, except for the vow that I made that my blog wouldn't turn into a weekly Idol update.

I'll try to come up with something interesting to post by Friday. In the meantime, hang tight.

Musical Montage

2007-04-27T10:28:00.000-05:00

When I was in seventh grade, the only thing I wanted for Christmas was a CD player/boombox. Sixth grade had been the year of the coveted I.O.U. sweatshirts... Seventh grade, however, I needed a CD player. Everybody else had one and my life would probably end if "Santa" didn't deliver.

Santa did deliver, though. I got my CD player. Santa apparently also spoke to my Aunt Janette, who sent me my very first CD's.

Mariah Carey's Unplugged
Toad the Wet Sprocket Walk on the Ocean single
Gloria Estefan's Greatest Hits

I listened to those three CD's over and over and over, until I saved enough money to buy myself a CD: Blind Melon's CD, featuring No Rain.

God, life was good.

I still can sing all the words to Gloria Estefan's Rythym is Gonna Get You and Aunt J is the only reason I know that Mariah Carey's version of I'll Be There was originally done by the Jackson 5. I heard that Toad the Wet Sprocket song on the radio yesterday, which is what reminded me of the first CD's I ever owned.

Do you think the music that a person owns says a lot about that person? I'm not sure what this says about me...

**********

Happy, happy birthday to my love, Dave... He's the greatest person in my life and I can't wait to spend the rest of our birthdays together! 'Appy Bert-day, dere, ah, Bab... Oh, I mean, uh, Dave!

What's Wrong with this Picture?

2007-04-24T10:47:00.000-05:00

While out for our birthday co-celebration this weekend, we saw this sign on the table...

Is it just me or isn't a PINT equal to 16 OUNCES?

Basically, they want to charge you $5 for 18 ounces of beer. Gee, but, uh, I think I'll pass on this steal of a deal!

I guess if you're drinking enough, you wouldn't realize the discrepancy.

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet...

2007-04-19T20:27:00.000-05:00

A new era is beginning in my life...

I am retiring my old Mizuno running shoes, which have served me well for the past two years and a couple months. They have been well worn and, love them as I have, they should have been replaced about a year ago. After working out the other day and hurting my knee, I am blaming the running shoes (and not my own klutziness) for the injury. This motivated me to go to the local Sports Authority and find these fancy new shoes...

Yes, that's right: They are silver. The purpose of the silver is that, when running, they give the appearance of being a blur... Everybody knows that you run faster in new shoes. But, with the additional factor that my new Nikes are silver, I'll be leaving everybody in the dust.

I haven't worn Nikes for running since high school. I've had a couple pairs of New Balance shoes and, like I said, Mizunos were my most recent pair. I tried to find some Mizunos tonight, but they didn't have any that I liked in my size... These Nikes felt great, though, when I tried them on, and I probably would have bought them even if they weren't silver.

I'll let you know how the treadmill goes tomorrow morning. There's a 5K that I'm signed up to run on May 12... Hopefully, with the silver shoes, I'll be ready.

Quick Observation

2007-04-18T15:01:00.000-05:00

Life has been very busy lately... I haven't had any time to even think about blogging, but I will give you this little gem that I realized the other day at the doctor's office...

I was nervous about getting a mammogram done. I mean, I just turned 27 years old! I had heard that it was a painful procedure, but overall, I didn't think it hurt very much at all. The technician even warned me that it would probably be more painful than most because I'm younger than most of the women who have the procedure done.

Here's the realization I came to: You know how when somebody pinches the large, thick part of your arm, it doesn't usually hurt too much? But, if they take just a tiny piece of skin and squeeze it between their fingers, it hurts like a bitch?

Yep... That's right. I was saved from the pain of the mammogram by my (slightly-larger-than-the-average-woman's and REAL) boobs.

I knew you wanted to know that.

*By the way, the mammogram and the ultra-sound of the axillary area were fine. There is some dense tissue that they want me to go to have looked at again in 6 months, but they are assuming it is benign at this point in time. They'll see if there are any changes later.

Don't "House, MD" Me!

2007-04-12T09:54:00.000-05:00

Since last Thursday, I've been feeling a little under the weather. Swollen glands in my throat and underarms, which led to nasal congestion, followed by a bit of a cough. What prompted me to finally call the doctor yesterday was the fact that I started to feel that I may be getting the beginning of an ear infection. I can tough it out through the rest of those things; I'm a total baby about ear infections.

When I left the doctor yesterday:

I had been tested for strep throat: Negative.
Tested for mononucleosis: Negative.
Been given a PPD for Tuberculosis: Will go back Friday to have results read.
Had to pee in a cup for a: Urinalysis.
Was sent to the lab for extensive blood work, including: Hepatitis A, B, and C, HIV and a whole lot of other "checkmarks" that meant nothing to me.
Was asked to schedule a: Mammogram, Chest X-Ray, and Axillary something-or-other to check out the glands in my armpits.
And finally, referred to a surgeon, who is going to see if they need to: Do a bioposy on the glands in my throat.
Oh, yeah... And a prescription for: Amoxicillin.

Now, the reason for alarm, I assume, is that since last June (when I did have strep throat), I've been sick with this same thing approximately four times. Chronic infections, she wrote on my chart.

I scheduled a few of the other tests, but I think I'm going to cancel them. We'll get the blood work back and the antibiotics will work their magic... But I don't really need somebody playing "Dr. House" on me!

Another birthday...

2007-04-10T12:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to Me!

For the next two weeks, Dave and I will only be fifteen years apart in age...

I guess it is possible that it never really goes away, but I feel like I am at a crossroads in my life right now. I am happy at my current job but faced with some difficult decisions... Do I pursue further education and a possible career shift in order to make more money and have (hopefully) more career satisfaction? Do I take a leap and try my hand at a something that I've dreamed of doing since I was a child... even though it could be wildly successful or could fizzle after I've put my heart, soul, and life into it? Do I put both of these on hold for the opportunity to start a family? Do I try to do it all?

It is hard to talk about these things, especially in specifics, because I admit that I have a lot of pride and I would hate to talk about these goals and then fall on my face trying to achieve them. But, I feel that in a lot of ways, it is "now or never..."

I guess introspection is the result of the increasing number of years each birthday brings...

Saturday Morning Skeptic... and Stuff

2007-04-07T08:42:00.000-05:00

I admit it: I read junk mail. I look through the catalogs and coupons that are sent in the mail on a daily basis. Occasionally, one will stand out to me, and I'll pull it out thinking, "Ooohh, I could use this." However, I never end up using them and they all end up in the trash eventually.

This morning, I was looking through these little cards, each with an offer, when I came across this one:

"Everyone deserves a smile they can be proud of!" it touts, above a before and after picture of somebody with really nasty teeth, apparently fixed by the the teeth straightening and whitening process advertised on the back of the card.

Maybe it is just me, but somehow I don't think that the "before" teeth were simply straightened and whitened in order to get the "after" teeth. If it is the same person (which the appearance of similar facial hair seems to indicate) there was other major dental work performed in order to reach point A to point B. I have a feeling that it isn't even the same person in both photos, though.

But, I may just be too much of a skeptic.

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Several of you requested information about the Citrus Shrimp and Penne Pasta meal that I cooked last week. After seeing that post, Blogarita was so impressed with my culinary skills, that she asked me to be an author on her kitchen blog! I made my first post over there yesterday, so if you are interested in it (or other delicious recipes that Blogarita posts) click on over and check it out.

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Speaking of other blogs, I have posted the discussion questions for "Fall On Your Knees" by Ann-Marie MacDonald on the Check This Out book club blog. Those of you who read it along with us and those of you who've read it before, please go on over and add your two cents to the conversation.

Our next book that we'll be reading is "Running with Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs. It was recently made into a movie with Alec Baldwin and Annette Benning. I've already started reading it and it is a pretty quick read, so please join our discussion at our book club. The more, the merrier!

(After this book, we'll be choosing something lighter, from a chick lit line, per the request of Paula and Jen, so stay tuned!)

S'rimp Gumbo, S'rimp Salad, S'rimp Cocktail*

2007-04-04T11:54:00.000-05:00

I made this concoction for dinner last night: Citrus Shrimp(s) with Penne Pasta.

See all of those little shrimps? I was too cheap to buy the already peeled and deveined shimp and I didn't have time to wait for the frozen ones to defrost, so I peeled 1.67 pounds worth of shrimp myself. Lots of different things run through your mind while you are doing a task such as that. For example:

- It would totally bite to have to work in a factory as a shrimp peeler. You would spend each day peeling and getting the little leg-things stuck under your fingernails and you would go home each day reeking of seafood. Dave tried to give me a positive way to look at it, saying that I would be the best shrimp peeler in the factory, but really, if the highlight of your life is winning the "Employee of the Month" award at the shrimp peeling factory, wouldn't you want to go jump off a bridge? I probably would.

- In 50 years, it is possible that Dave and I will be at the grocery store and reminisce about the time that I complained about peeling shrimp for this meal. We will lament the fact that we can no longer buy shrimp for dinner since the oceans have been completely fished to the point of emptiness. Ah, the things we take for granted.

- Why am I such a cheapskate that I wouldn't buy the already peeled shrimp for $12.99 a pound instead of the $8.99 a pound? Probably because I had to spend $6.50 for a bottle of toasted sesame oil that the recipe also needed. Next time, I buying the expensive stuff, though.

The meal was a success. It started out as being cooked for only four people, but by the time the meal was served, it had doubled to eight. Luckily, my mother taught me to always be paranoid that there wouldn't be enough food, so I had bought enough to double the recipe. (There was this whole Thanksgiving-mashed potatoes-issue that is seared into my childhood memories...)

I won't bore you with the entire recipe, but just know that it was delicious! I was afraid that the citrus would be too much (it is made of orange juice and corn starch), but it was just enough flavor for the shrimp and not overpowering at all!

(* She said "cock"...)

It's Off To Work I Go...

2007-04-02T09:05:00.000-05:00

I have about a 35 to 40 minute drive to work each way, depending on traffic. It gives me a lot of time to think. One of my favorite topics is blog ideas. Most mornings, I come up with some really fun and creative ideas... but forget them by the time I sit at my computer to write them down.

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My radio station of choice during drive time is 89.1 The Wood, which is the local university's 'educational' station. They play some eclectic music, mostly adult contemporary, bordering on punk, which I like. They also have no commercials, which is perfect.

The only problem is listening to the college students fumble over their words and the controls, learning-by-doing. Luckily, they don't have too much to do - only the occasional news and weather update. One particular student reads the weather and, if it isn't raining, instructs the listener to go outside and "enjoy the weather." It doesn't matter if the high temperature is below freezing... If it looks pretty through the window, he doesn't have anything else to say!

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When I get ready to leave in the morning, I listen to the traffic on another radio station and try to prepare myself for the numerous @$$holes that will be on the road that morning. Nothing pisses me off more than people who don't believe in waiting their turn. An exit only lane is not an invitation for you to speed past everyone else who is waiting in traffic and then cut somebody off to get back into the mainstream traffic; vice versa, if there is a mile-long line of people waiting in an exit only lane to get off the highway, you may not speed past in another lane and then slide into the exit only lane at the last minute.

People feel protected in their cars. If they did this at the grocery store or the license bureau, they get the sh!t smacked out of them. And they would deserve it.

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My morning commute also involves a stop at the convenience store to get a hot tea. I don't drink coffee, but I do like a bit of a caffeine kick in the morning. I have a specific routine for getting my tea:

Get 24 oz. styrofoam coffee cup.
Put 5 to 8 pieces of crushed ice in the cup, in order to cool the super hot water so I don't burn my face off when I try to drink it.
Open a Lipton tea packet and place it in the cup.
Fill cup with hot water.
Put 2 Splenda packets in the tea.
Dunk the tea bag a couple of times.
Get a stirrer and stir the sweetener into the tea. Wonder how many other people have touched the stirrers before I put it into my cup. Rationalize that the temperature of the water will kill any germs that are on it.
2 more Splenda packets.
Stir, dunk, throw away tea bag and stirrer.
Try to find the one lid that hasn't been handled by the last 43 people that made coffee.
Pay with my debit card for the $1.24 for a large hot tea. Wonder why it costs more for a large hot tea than a small hot tea, since I'm still only using one tea bag, just a little extra water. Think to myself that maybe I'll ask next time.

I don't actually drink any of the tea until I drive the last five minutes to work. I am highly opposed to hot tea being too hot.

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My goal is to someday have a job that I can do from home. I don't think I'd miss the commute.

I'm Sooo Vain...

2007-03-29T09:04:00.000-05:00

I probably think this song is about me...

Carly Simon's been going through my head all morning long, probably because of a conversation my sister and I had last night. But, nonetheless, if makes me think of the things that I've done in my life for the name of vanity.

For example, the countless diets I've tried in my life. I know that I've never been to the point of really needing to lose weight, but I really am vain enough to subscribe to the whole "Hot Or Not" mentality.

Also, I always feel guilty about some of the reasons that I've decided to break up or not date certain people. For example, there was a certain guy that I went on a date or two with... I had to quit calling him because his teeth were way too much for me to handle. It wasn't that they were crooked or mangled... It was that they were the color of butter. I couldn't imagine the idea of having those teeth so close to my mouth. Or the thought of other people thinking that I would be willing to have those teeth close to my mouth. Bleck...

I guess the only way I really can rationalize this is by thinking that everybody has some similar type of vanity hang up... Right?

Let's Give 'Em Somethin' to Blog About...

2007-03-27T11:19:00.000-05:00

Uhmmmm.... I got nothin'.

I know that isn't a surprise to most of you, but I thought I'd be honest about it and just kind of put it out there.

And you know, when there is a lack of resources available to thrive (as in New Orleans, which has just become the murder capital of the nation) people resort to thievery and other criminal acts.

Therefore, I'm stealing this idea for my blog.

Your job: Post a question in the comment section. The next person answers your question and then poses their own question for the next commenter. I'll go first!

The Lemonade Stand

This is only a test...

Daddy and Dandelions

Thoughts on Pregnancy...

Gold

Thankful

Venting...

Let's Have Some Bubbly...

Visiting the Gardens

Goodbye

Will Work for Paycheck

The Abandoned Blog

Guaranteed to make you smile!!!

Guilt

Embracing my inner dork...

Not even lying...

Your Political Compass

Wanna come over for dinner?

Happy Halloween!

True.

Taking another look...

Who am I kidding?

Don't Vote

Now, if I could just get this thing out of reverse...

Vapid much?*

A coke, with a side of Midol, please!

"Drill, Drill, Drill"

Happy Pirate Day!

A more detailed post....

Dave tasted what?!?

Boycott!

Olympic Junkie

The price is wrong, Bob!

Defining a Dive Bar

Thunder Thighs

Bastards.*

"Thanks, Old Dude"

Cutting Costs

My Last Chance

The Race Card?

Update

A Day at the Zoo...

One year ago...

Surprise!

An Unexpected Snack

Numb what?!?

Life is good...

Life as we know it...

Happy Birthday to... Us

Barefoot, Still Pregnant, and In the Kitchen...

T minus 1 Day

Catchin' Up...

Surprise Snow Day!

A Little of This, A Little of That

Groundhog Day Party

Everyone Needs a Mini-Me...

"Life Was Happening Here"*

Seriously?*

Umm... My eyes are up here!

Lucky...

A "Sparky" by any other name....??

Rebuilding...

Can't Believe We Missed It!!

Football Fun

Photo Essay... Because I've Got Nuthin' Much to Say

Shop 'til I Drop

Public Service Announcement

Is it bad that I laughed?*

Does anyone have any Pepto?

Go on... Click the "Play Button"

Goodbye, Harry...

Mama always said...

I Can't Promise Anything...

Some New *bLiNg*... and more!!!

Traveling the World

Loving Summer...

Back to the real world...

Please Leave a Message After the Tone...

How'd They Find Me??

My Newest Internet Obsession

Some New bLiNg... and more!!!