She's a funny lady

Ooh, I found a contest I MUST enter. She's funny that way day is evidently approaching -- who knew? -- and so we are supposed to nominate our favorite funny ladies' blogs by tomorrow night. Woot! I have a nominee.

You'll never guess her name: Jennifer. Hahahahaha. Of course you guessed that. The poor kajillion Jennifers of this world. But don't feel sorry for her! She's got it good! To wit:

• Her very own pool-boy boyfriend;
• Her home in awesome Seattle, complete with gay neighbors;
• A pretty cool tween? teen? son, even though she calls him Turd-face, or Turd-head, or something eighth grade like that... she actually makes me fear that age a little less, if you get to act all silly with them like she does;
• The fun-est packs-a-punch blog title this side of Hawaii, which is simply, and elegantly, Piehole.

How Jennifer manages to create full laugh-out-loud, wet-the-screen-with-Starbuck's stories within the space of, sometimes, 4 lines of type, is beyond amazing to me, and more than JUST her use of the word "A-$-$." My blog? Has looong-winded entries and is not that funny. Also, her design is precious.

I nominate thee, Jennifer Piehole!

Taming the Food Lion

A bit of an interesting discussion is happening between me (so far) and my buddy Krissypoopyhands about weight loss and healthy food choices and getting into that mentality. For the last four or five days, I've been saying to myself, over and over, "I need to be putting healthy things into my body." And sometimes it moves me to actually do that; like now, when I'm having a whole wheat mini-bagel, light cream cheese (1 tbsp, not two or three like I'd prefer), and a few slices of tomato. I get all proud of myself for not having a Pop Tart. And then in the next breath I pour my second cup of full-strength coffee. I use Splenda and fat-free cream, so it can't be all bad, fat and calorie-wise. But still? Caffeine doesn't really fit into the "healthy things" realm, and I know this. So I'm caught in a balancing act between what I want (the coffee, yum) and what I know I should not have. I've gotten very slack about it lately. As in, last night when I came home from choir? Chips and cheese dip. Yeah.

My tactic is usually to count calories, and the way I ration them out is backwards from what most of the "experts" suggest -- I eat smaller, healthier breakfasts and lunches (when I'm being good and eating breakfasts), which are generally by myself so no one else has to suffer through the whole wheat or the bland veggies. I save my "points" or calories for dinnertime with my family, when I just make a regular casserole or whatever, which might have cheese or (gasp!) actual pasta. That's a Weight Watchers behavior, I guess, since they say you can eat what you want, when you want, as long as you're within your points. I can deal with that. It means if I want to have a buffalo wing with bleu cheese, all I have to do is save up. (A friend of mine, just after we got out of college, did that once. We were all gathered for beers, wings, and team trivia, and she was sooo excited about her ONE little measly wing that she had saved up for. I was proud of her and I've never forgotten it.)

Anyway, I need to do better with what I put in, as well as, you've heard me say this before, my output of energy. Yesterday I walked to lunch with 2 coworkers, and had a salad. Albeit a creamy-dressing-tortilla-strips-topping one. But still, I WANTED a regular Chicken sammy and waffle fries, so I count that as a victory. Yay, me! Here are my Standard Operating Procedures when I'm au regime; maybe some of these will be useful to you, if you're also on this body-image, weight-loss roller coaster that seems to be womanhood, for most of us:

• Log foods eaten and exercise done at Fitday.com. This is easy for me, since I'm at a computer most days already.
• Visit the WebMD Dieting Club for camraderie and accountability. I've been on that board since 2003 and have made a couple of really good online frieinds, one of whom I met in person (hi, Stacie!) last year. If you're into online communities, this is a great one.
• Workout. Three times a week is the goal; anything more is a bonus. (At least, 3x a week is the goal when I start out. And I'm usually... always... "starting out." Heh.)
• Swear off regular Coke. So hard!! Sometimes I allow *one,* if I have plenty of cals leftover. But Coke is really a big problem for me. Diet Coke? Meh. It's like room temperature water to me. No flavor, no refreshment. I suffer through it.
• Still pay attention, but take a break from the numbers on weekends. Partly because I don't really get online on the weekends, but also because ya gotta relax, once in a while.

That's it. Those are my strategies. They're very basic. But I believe it's a lifelong journey -- it's not a three-week marathon -- so I don't want too many rules. Of course, I'm lucky, I don't have any other food issues, like allergies or intestinal conditions. At my (non-pregnant) heaviest several years ago, I was 148 lbs, 5'1". Which is not pretty. Since 2003, I've come down to much closer to my "ideal" weight of about 130. I'm at 134 right now. What I need is to Tone the F Up. (With that exact adverb.) So today, Pilates/Yoga and a cardio workout.

Countdown to Beach Week: 12 weeks. Long enough for a visible difference, if I do this right.

P.S. It's interesting to me that for the first time, really, I'm determined but not desperate. I feel pretty calm about getting back "on the wagon." Wonder why that is?

What are you lookin' at?

I'm not sure if I ever told you, but I had a New Year's Resolution, supplied by my husband. He suggested that I try to stop seeing everything he does and says as negative. Exhibit A:

Him: Hm, I guess we need to hold the cord of the vacuum up, so it doesn't keep getting frayed by the brushes.

Me: Honey, you've said that before and I DO lift it up. Sorry, gees. Grrr.

Him: I didn't mean YOU! I'm the one who vacuumed last.


Exhibit B:

Him: (watching me as I tie a scarf around my waist)

Me: WHAT. Does this look stupid or something?

Him: Honey, I was just watching you do that. I didn't know you knew how to tie that knot. Relax.


Exhibit C:

Me: I'm sorry this dinner isn't very creative; I know you don't like Kraft Mac-n-Cheese but I just couldn't come up with....

Him: Why do you always assume I'm criticizing you in my head? This dinner is JUST FINE. I know you're busy. You do a great job.


So I really owe him an apology about this. Three months in to 2006 and I'm still doing it. I don't know if it stems from previous relationships I've had, where the guy was always out to tease me -- two different guys I dated did this, in fact -- but I always presume that I'm being made fun of (in the scarf example), or picked on. And the fact is, my dear husband is so kind and treats me so carefully, that he would NEVER be that way. I KNOW this... but still, I let that weird bit of low self-esteem get me every so often. Especially when I'm tired.

And there's your glimpse into the shadows of my psyche for today!

Words speak louder, actually

I'm sitting in my car, in the parking lot of my tax guy's office, waiting for them to open at 8:30 a.m. How cool is it that I found a wireless signal and am using the Internet? Pretty cool. I almost went back into the house, before I left, to get a book, but then I figured, No, there's a library right close by the tax place... maybe there'll be a signal and I can just read my blogs and check email while I wait. Brilliant, no? It's funny, though. Folks keep arriving to their workplaces (it's a strip-mall kind of office building) and peeking sideways at my car, wondering what I'm up to in here.

I left early to avoid traffic, in case you were wondering. After 8 a.m., you might as well just stay home rather than try to drive anywhere south of my house.

So anyway, I have this whole 23 minutes left before they open (when I will play Over-Enthusiastic Customer and knock on their door RIGHT at 8:30; I'm sure they won't roll their eyes behind my back, haha!), so I thought hey! What better time to blog?

We are in a new era at home -- the no more cursing era. DH, bless his heart, is not doing very well with it so far. He came in last night and started telling me about his workday. "It was all going just fine until M. came in, and then as usual, the Shit really hit the fan..." He stopped. Took a breath. "I mean, the Shoot hit the fan." Heh. It IS time for us to curb our enthusiasm with the curse words -- AJ is a Repeat-A-Word Monkey these days. (If I had said that out loud just now, he would have said, "Mon-ee.") So, Shoot hitting the fan. It doesn't even make sense. But it's funnier! I do applaud DH's valiant effort.

Not five minutes later, however, he said it again when his Blackberry beeped. "Shit," he said, and sighed as the nightly barage of emails from our company's China location began. Luckily AJ was still in the middle of saying "Beep," which he does every time it "rings" (so cute). I think it's going to be quite an effort in our daily language. Not that we're potty mouths, by any means. But you know how it is. The other day I was driving AJ home from daycare and some jerk-wad cut me right off. I was all, "Go right ahead, DUDE." and then I heard from the backseat, my little Echo: "Head, doo!" Hmmm. Better watch that. And some of my favorite words are not such nice ones: stupid (insert noun here)... Damn!... Ah, crap... Those are the main three, really. And when I go banging my kneecap with the fast-moving car door (like I did yesterday, OW), I'm going to have to supress the natural tendancy and say, "Fffffff-ooey" under my breath instead of the alternative. I even started thinking, we ought not to tell the dog, "Move!" quite so often. AJ's going to think it's appropriate to say that to people instead of "Excuse me."

Projects

Seems like every time we DO projects around the house, we come up with a longer list of items that still NEED to be done. Like so:

--We planted the rest of the spring plants yesterday, and DH laid some stepping stones along the backyard pathway. Check. Meanwhile, we discovered that the yard is sinking around a big tree root that's close to the surface. Basically a Danger Pit in our child's playground. We've known we wanted to get some fill dirt, but now I think we NEED to, asap before one of us breaks a neck.

--We turned over a large rock while cleaning out one of the flower beds (Check), and discovered what look like (OMG) baby termites. Gah. I will be dialing Terminix in a few short minutes.

--When we replaced the siding on the front of the house (Big Check), we had to remove the window boxes under our garage windows. I'd like to place them on the back deck, and obviously plant something in them, but it'd be better if we built a little stand for them. And while we're buildling, how about a bench to sit on, as well? So there's that.

Houses. They're so much trouble.

In other project news, we need to figure out an anniversary celebration worthy of our five years. (Infinitely more fun than yard projects!) I was thinking we'd just go downtown, have dinner at an expensive restaurant and stay the night in a swanky hotel. Cheap, close-by, easy. We even have a coupon for the restaurant. But Husband suggested, actually, that we find a B&B somewhere and do a whole weekend getaway. I was surprised! :) I have a couple of places in mind, but we'd better get on it, as our anniversary is 31 days from now!

A collection of random

Someone... I'm not saying who... woke up on the Wrong side of the crib this morning! He usually sits there waiting for one of us to come get him. Well, today he was standing; he might as well have been tapping his foot and had his arms crossed. When I got there, he TURNED HIS BACK TO ME and stared at the wall for a good 2 minutes! Hmph! Little does he know I grinned about it from behind him. Thinks he can out-pout Mama! Foolish little boy. It went downhill from there, especially when he realized he had to go to daycare today and it wasn't Saturday. On that, I felt for him. I wanted it to be Saturday, too.

Our Awesome TV life: Last night's Atlanta Thrashers game (which we won in overtime to hold our #8 spot in the playoffs)! The Office. Blow Out. And we still have Scrubs and Amazing Race taped from Tuesday! Tonight's another fun-filled date on the couch, Woo hoo!

DH isn't so keen on my birdwatching plan. He said, "Seeds bring rodents, and rodents bring snakes." So he suggested we put the feeder WAY out in the middle of the yard WHERE I CAN'T SEE THE BIRDS. Hmph. We'll have to see about that.

Shout-out to Sis and her Hubby, who're on the last day of their honeymoon in St. Kitts today! Woo hoo for lovin' and umbrella drinks! I hope you got a safe tan and did little else besides eat and rub lotion on! (They are so smart, being from Minnesota, to have postponed their honeymoon until the dead of winter.)

I have THIRTY ONE earned vacation days that may, or may not, be taken away if I don't use them. Can you say, "Me Time?" I need to get those weekly manicures and hair appointments scheduled, stat!

For the birds

The coolest thing just happened, re: my little chickadee friend! I went back to all about birds and started playing the mp3... and the little guy outside came flying back, and starting calling the same call to see if he could find what bird was talking to him! He heard me through the window! So cute!

Outside my window

Today's my regular work-from-home day. I've got a load of laundry in the washer, a load of dishes in their washer, and my kitchen window open so I can watch all the finches and robins and cardinals play in my yard. I've come to really LOVE the little birdies. In fact, if someone wanted to get me one of these, or maybe these, for my birthday or mother's day or my anniversary (My Personal Present Triumverate, DH calls it) --- ooh! there's a little gray Chickadee now! Look at him, sitting on the little birdhouse wishing there was food inside. The previous owners had hung this itty bitty birdhouse, and it's cute, but it's useless because I can't reach it to put food in there. But oh!! He is a sweetie! Staying a long time. He just hopped around to look in my window... hello Chickadee! Oh... okay, well, goodbye. ---

Those of you who've known me in real life for a long time are likely giggling now because I linked to Birdseed Boy's old stomping grounds. Birdseed Boy being my college boyfriend. Ah, yes, I did spend a week in CT with him, helping to set up his parents' very own WBU franchise. What a miserable endeavor that was. We don't need to rehash details of my past -- and it wasn't miserable because of Connecticut (I loved Connect-I-cut) or because of WBU (they're a great company, I think). Suffice to say we broke up shortly thereafter and that is the end of that. But I still check their "feeder cam" every so often, and having all these birds in my yard makes me think of BB and his family, actually with fondness. Maybe they could send me something for free? Heh.

Anyway, in the span of writing this, I've seen a big, fat male cardinal, a big fat (ugly) robin redbreast (sorry, I just don't like the robins), and that little gray dude. Here, links to learn more, since I'd like to. I've been dreaming about becoming a birdwatcher ever since we moved here. Perhaps a new little hobby is presenting itself to me? The Cornell site is really cool -- it has mp3s for each bird's sound! Tweet, tweet!

http://wbu.com/edu/chickadee.htm
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Northern_Cardinal.html
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Robin.html

I see your "worst mom" award, and I raise you one

We're all so desperate to claim rights to the "Worst Mommy of the Year" title. Stories like the following are my MOST embarrassing -- I shudder to admit they've even happened. But we all do it -- we put 'em on out there, in the hopes that someone will say, "You're NOT terrible or neglectful. We WON'T call Family & Child Services. It happens to everyone."

I've submitted previous runs at the award, once when AJ fell off the bed at THREE MONTHS OLD, while I was holding him (and fell asleep)!!!, and another time, when he took a spill down the stairs So here's my latest entry. I guess I'm due for one.

Yesterday I kept him home with me in an official "sick day" because he woke up with an eye that looked like Rocky Balboa circa 1985. Like he'd been punched by his teddy bear while he slept. He seemed to feel fine all day, by the way, and the doc said it's just a sty. But I knew daycare wouldn't take him without a note, looking like he looked.

So. This was my first day trying to work from home *mit AJ* in a while. I needed to check email real quick, so I snuck into the laundry room, just one room away, and pulled the door closed while he feasted on Baby Einstein's latest serving of weirdness and puppetry. A few eensy minutes later, I heard Napleon bark at something outside, and then heard AJ -- from far away in another room -- start crying, and saying "Mama? Mama?" I raced out of there -- how long was I hidden? -- and found him at the top of the stairs! Polie had just startled him; he was asking for "mama, mama," repeatedly, as if he'd been doing it for a while. He had gone LOOKING FOR ME. He'd obviously been in all 3 bedrooms upstairs, because I saw the Baby Van Gogh video case, which he holds when he watches the video, lying on the floor outside my bedroom. Which means he'd carried it up the stairs. Now, he's GOOD, but still a bit wobbly on the stairs, especially when he's carrying something. :( :( :( So many sad faces! My little boy thought I'd left him all alone, and he was scared to pieces.

And then he climbed all the way up the stairs unsupervised. (He's so advanced and courageous!) But! Mustn't do that. Stairs + alone = a no-no.

See, I used to put the GATE UP, when I did this gig regularly. But even if I'd done that, the fact that he was so scared makes me feel obligated to resign my Mommy card and be declared "unfit." That's the kind of guilt these experiences induce. Instead, I guess I will just THANK MY LUCKY STARS and my guardian angels, and his, that they were watching over him.

It was a nice weekend

At 6:15 am, I went in to wake up AJ. He scooted around in his blankets for a minute, pushed up his little head, blinked his eyes, and said, plain as day, "'Morning, Mama."

"'Morning!" With the final "g!" It sounded so grown up. I just can't believe how big he's getting.

He slept well because of all the excitement from last night -- we went out for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and the mariachi band was there! They are the best, mariachi bands. Nothing can sound so lively and comedic, while also sounding romantic. :) They played "Old MacDonald" at my request, and AJ and all the other kids loved it. Well, let me rephrase that, the older kids and the adults loved it. AJ made a beeline for Daddy's lap, and stared in wonderment and a little bit of fear at how LOUD the band was, and I can't say I blame him. They were LOUD. The trumpter made a "horse," a "rooster," and a "cow" with his horn. Pretty impressive! I love the cute way they sing the 2nd and 3rd verses: "Old MacDonald had another farm..." After they finished, everyone cheered and I handed them my two dollars. And when that died down, AJ clapped and gave a solo "Yaaaayy!" with a big, big smile. And then everyone in the whole restaurant clapped for AJ! :) Because he was so PRECIOUS! I don't know that I've ever been happier. I imagine it's a taste of the feeling you get when your kid wins first place, or graduates high school. It felt a little like "bursting." :)

Before that, we'd taken him to Toys R Us. One of the hardest things about being a parent, I think, is RESISTING the urge to buy them every single item that will make them happy. I got in there, and man! did I want to purchase a lot of things. There was a cool spiral-y car-racing track, and a Little People Airplane, and a trike, and my eyes got really wide at the thought of all those fun! things! But my husband is the good and sensible one. He said, "I'm sure the day is not far when AJ will be ASKING us for toys upon toys. Now? While he's content? Let's just leave it at that." And he's so right. So we got him a soccer ball, and this cool Thomas book, and a box of sidewalk chalk, and he was pretty thrilled with those small things. I made mental notes for his Easter basket.*

Saturday, we bought the forsythia I wanted, as well as some gorgeous red pansies. AJ "helped" me plant them. His job was putting "mo duht" (more dirt) into the pots. Mo duht? Mo duht? Mo duht? It never gets old. :) We put one little pansy in a pot by itself and that is AJ's flower. Of course, now the cold front is going to come through and I don't know whether to bring the pansies into the garage or let them tough it out. I heard they're pretty tough.... but I'd hate to lose them. I was also dumb to not take the camera with me while we planted them. He was a little mud-pie!

*P.S. I just re-read, and am thinking how funny I am, saying "we are virtuous and didn't buy him anything," and then listing out the 3 things we DID buy him. LOL. I am funny. And actually we bought him 4 things, but I conscientiously didn't list the fourth, the Bear in the Big Blue House Potty Stories DVD. But but but... they were inexpensive things, so they count for less on the accumulation scale. No, really.

Recipe review, and other notions

The Chicken recipe was delicious. Tender and juicy. Creamy and rich. I give it an A+, although I have to admit, after all that, I didn't have Golden Mushroom soup so I had to substitute Cream of Chicken + 1/3 cup water. Husband liked it, even AJ liked it, and that's saying something. We've got 2 lunch portions in the fridge and a whole 'nother meal in the freezer. Hello, efficient!

I was SO productive yesterday it kills me. Work was very quiet, so I:

• checked email as often as I could
• washed, dried, and folded 3 loads of laundry
• did the crock-pot dinner thing
• saved 2 dying bananas by making the best banana bread I've ever made
• paid bills through March 28
• made ump-teen calls to credit card companies and my bank, looking for 3 checks that seem to have gotten lost in the mail (eek)
• and went to Walgreen's for lotion and soap and Sudafed and an Rx.

I spent the whole day feeling SO grateful for the work-at-home gig. So. Grateful. For my life in general, really. It was the complete opposite of how I often feel, which is wishing for more, wanting a "better" situation. But I've really got it very good. Of course, when DH got home he said, "If you'd taken out all the trash, as well, then I'd be impressed..." but he was only kidding, and it was mildly funny.

I want to do Sheryl's "this day in the life" exercise regularly, but I especially want to do it on days like yesterday where I'm proud of what I accomplished! :)

- - -


Forsythia is on sale this weekend at Home Depot Landscaping for 12 bucks. I want one. It's Atlanta's herald of springtime. It, and the cherry trees and bradford pears. But that yellow... I love it. Everything's starting to bloom around here and the days are getting much longer. Hooray! I love spring!

- - -

I had said I wasn't going to talk about my uncle because it was too sacred a time, but in all honesty? ...it's still too raw. I'm still hurting about the whole tragic thing. And I don't feel that I even have the right to be hurting -- his daughters and his wife, and my dad (his brother), are grappling with much more difficult grief than I, who saw him only sporadically in the summers. But.... I don't know, I guess since my memories of him go back to forever -- when we were young, we all lived in the same town -- that's a lot of him to be missing, now that he's gone. So much of my daily life, even, is somehow relative to him. Yesterday I got out a small yellow plate to put in the microwave and soften some butter on. I got that plate when I was single and moving into my first apartment. Unearthed it from a box of my mother's old things. She had received it in the '70s as a gift from Brenda, my uncle's first wife. So it actually made me think of him. I wear a ring from Aunt Brenda's jewelry shop -- wear it every day. So it makes me think of him, too. We live near a private airfield, so any propellor airplane goes by? Think of him. And then I turn on the radio and Brad Paisley sings "When I get where I'm going," which they played twice at the funeral, which makes me cry more than a little bit, again. I ache to think that happy, friendly Uncle B isn't in the world anymore. That I'll never hear him say my name again (he did it with such charm, and such a big smile). That his little baby granddaughters won't get to be tossed in the air by those farm-toughened, loving hands. That no one's around who can fly his antique planes anymore. Bah. It's too much to think about it. I don't want to, and yet, I do. I keep doing. I heard on the news this morning that 4 fishermen in North Carolina were dead as their boat capsized in the Atlantic yesterday, and I thought about those families who are now feeling those same, unexpected feelings of emptiness and loss that my family felt last week.

- - -

Last night I had all kinds of things I wanted to include in this post, but this morning I can't remember them. Guess I'll go.

This is a form of CPR

Y'all.

Blogging for Books is not feeling so pretty good. She is listless, and losing strength. My job is to help revive her by making sure (all 6 of) my readers know that the contest is LIVE. We don't want B4B to disappear!

It's an essay contest. It's fun. You don't even have to be a blogger to enter. And real-live authors, of BOOKS, are the contest judges. It's exposure! It's community! It's competition! It's... a topic I'm not that interested in, this month. But YOU might be (larry. paige.)...AHEM!

So if you want to win a free book and have lots of people saying how nice your essay about the MILITARY is, Go! Write!

blip ..... blip ..... blip ..... we're about to need a CBC and a Chem-seven over here. (ER taught me that)....

I FOUND IT!!

Angel Chicken

You would not believe how I've obsessed about finding this recipe. Imagine three days of me furiously turning the same pages of the same magazines and cookbooks, thinking, I KNOW I saw that damn recipe! I remember reading it and saying OUT LOUD, "I'm going to have to try that one." I've been Lady MacBeth, rubbing and rubbing to exhaustion and no avail. It just ticked me off that I could remember the ingredients, even the cooking time (4 hours on low), but not the exact amounts. I am usually very bad at remembering things. To be *that close* but not quite have it was driving me mmmmmmmmmmad.

Well, thank Jesus for already-clicked-links and thank Firefox for saving recently visited addresses. This morning I started typing in w-w-w-.-b-a-b-y-c-e-n-t....(to look up pinkeye symptoms, uh-oh) and before I could finish -e-r-.-c-o-m, I saw the word "Mealtime Secrets" in my location bar, and then.... the light dawned, angels sang and the heavens opened and I followed the path of clicked links to

ANGEL CHICKEN

In the words of Clark Griswold, "Hallelujah!! Holy Shit!! Where's the Tylenol?"

It better be dee-freaking-licious, is all I have to say.

Which one of you stole my recipe?

I am combing my cookbooks in vain. Last week I read a recipe that sounded delicious and easy. It was for the crock-pot, and with chicken. Two of my favorite recipe details. I went so far as to buy ingredients for it last time I made a quick trip to Publix.

I did not bookmark the recipe in any way, shape, or fashion.

And now I cannot find it!!

After this week of travel, all I wanted to do today was thaw out some chicken breasts, put the stuff on top, and set it to simmer all day on Low. Voila, dinner. But I can't find that stinking recipe! I've searched the Ingredient-o-lator on allrecipes.com, my slow-cooker cookbook, the 3 new Southern Livings I got last week (3 months in one week? weird subscription error)... everywhere I can think of. It has disappeared.

The ingredients as I remember them were:
6 chicken breasts
cream of chicken soup
onion soup mix
onion & chive cream cheese (4 oz?)
rice (Uncle Ben's? white long grain? I know not)
seems like there was something else...

If anyone can complete the puzzle for me, I will invite you over to eat the fabulous concoction with us. :)

When I get where I'm going...

We spent the last 4 days in, and on our way to and from, Oklahoma, to bid goodbye to my uncle who passed away very unexpectedly in an accident. I'm not going to talk about it because I think that feelings about the death of a loved one are precious, and several of my loved ones read this blog. I want to preserve their emotions and memories, as well as my own, and keep them sacred. At least for right now. We shared our grief together, as well as the happiness that comes when families are gathered -- even for a sad occassion -- and it's time to continue our lives now, knowing we've grieved well and celebrated his full, rich, exceptional life.

The trip, itself, was an interesting adventure. :) My DH likes to take long road trips. He and his best friend drove from Georgia to Denver in 1998, a couple of years before they each met their respective future wives, and they still talk about those long nights running on nothing but Spree and Mountain Dew, with the fondest of memories. They drove across the huge, open prairies and vast nothingness that seems to be the center of our country, at least from the Interstate Highway view. We did a lot of that this week. ...Of course it's a whole lot different with a toddler in the backseat. AJ was very good for the most part, and got his brain sufficiently fried with the 6 DVDs that he owns, times 60 apiece. Needless to say we are now on a TV-free week at our house. The DVD-in-the-car debate has already been done. I used to think, disdainfully, "Well, when we walked uphill both ways to school were little, WE read books and played Twenty Questions on road trips; kids don't need TVs in the car, they're just spoiled rotten." Now I just wonder how anyone gets along without one in this carseat era, for car trips, mind you, not for an afternoon of errands.

So, fifteen hours out there and two day-trips of 7 hours apiece on the way home. Whew. My poor car is dusty and road-weary. And next time, I think I'll buy an atlas. We managed to go 2,020 miles on jotted-down Mapquest notes. (We got lost once or four times.) We bought a lot of petrol.

We are glad to be home.


P.S. Driving through Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Tennessee, and being with my relatives and friends from Small-Town, Texas definitely got me thinking, a lot, and again, about small-town life. I hope to find time/inclination to research and write more about that.

Updates

In 2 days, AJ will be 20 months old. I simply cannot believe this. That's nearly TWO!! Lordymercy, where does the time go??? I really, really can't believe it. Did I say that already?

He is doing the most marvelous things. He's putting sentences together now. Little ones, like "Read, Mama." or "Barney, nay?" which means, "Barney next?" One of my favorites, and I think his first, was "Move, Mama." He says that all the time to the dog. "Move, Buddy." It's so cute. Also, "Hey, Dada." (never "hi"). "Tank Ooo." and of course, "La-loo." We bought a recording device to use with the iPod and I hope to have snippets to post here soon. I can't tell you how fun I think the tapes of me and Sis are, that my Dad recorded on cassette lo these many years ago. Video is great, and we're doing those too, but only having the audio? Requires you to imagine and remember.

Yesterday for the first time, after seeing his 2-year-old friend Kelsey do it, AJ tried jumping. His feet aren't leaving the ground yet, but I was thrilled that he tried. :) "Jump! Jump!" he said. It was like he was commanding his feet how to do it.

As for other motor skillz, AJ is ON IT. He can now climb onto the couch without aid of his little red stool, and even though he sometimes teeters right on the edge as he gets up to STAND on the couch, making my heart race with the anticipation of a Nestea plunge onto the hardwood, he ususally makes it just fine and then runs from one side to the other, perfectly balanced and FINE even though the surface is lumpy. When we're outside, he's figured out that it's fun to RUN downhill. Again, I wince when he does it and prepare myself for a trip to the ER, but the joy on his face almost makes up for the heart attacks. His immediate request, when he falls, is for me to kiss it (although, no matter what hurts, he offers his LIPS to get kissed), and then he asks for "Ice?" Ahhhh, I love it. I always remind him that I will ALWAYS & FOREVER kiss his booboos.

He's stepping down the stairs now. Step. Step. Step. He recites it as he goes. Sometimes he wants to hold my hand, and sometimes both hands: "Bohf, Hay, Mama." And sometimes he wants to do it all by himself.

He loves to jump and seat-drop and generally participate in what our grandmothers called HORSE-PLAY, on any mattress-like surface he can find. DH throws him like a sack of potatoes into our pile-up of pillows. And AJ loves it. I think boys and their Daddies should wrestle and rough-house like that. It's so fun to watch. I'm hoping that our indulgence of AJ's frequent "Bed?" request won't result in him thinking Beds Are For Jumping On, but.... hey, I jumped on beds 'til I was too big for it (which I determined wasn't until approximately age 14). After I'd been in gymnastics for a couple years, I figured it was good for me to practice the back handsprings I'd learned... on my Sealy Posturpedic trampoline. (Sorry, Mom.) Thankfully, I never broke a bone.

I just read some archive posts from March of last year. I have to say that I'm very thankful we haven't been sick this winter. I told DH last night, after a quick Clorox wipes ad, "We can't get sick. Don't get sick. We have to use Clorox wipes." He looked at me like I was crazy. I can't blame him, we had been talking about oh, I don't know, ice cream before I went on the tangent.

We have a new favorite show -- Jay Jay the Jet Plane. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing but I gotta tell you, those planes are creepy looking IMHO. And on the TV-watching, I'm getting frustrated with the constant arguments I have to have when AJ wants it ON and I want it OFF. This is why people get rid of their TVs -- it's much easier to just not have one. But I'm remaining determined -- ONE show per day after school. That is it. No more questions, young man.

That's it on the update. AJ, I love you love you love you. I wish I wrote more eloquent love letters like all the other mommy-bloggers but, meh. Not every month.

Home-caring update: I got a new comforter for my guest room! Yippie! It wasn't expensive, and probably won't last long, but it looks infinitely better than the more-than-10-years-old Laura Ashley duvet cover that Napoleon's been sleeping on these 5 years! Ewww! And I threw out the down comforter, too. It was nastomatic. When Mom and Dad come to visit this weekend, they will have brand-new sheets to sleep between. Also need a lamp and a mirror, then that room will make me happy.

...Except its closet, which houses all my Lenox wedding china in storage bags. I saw them there this morning, so sad and packed-away, and it make me want a china cabinet REAL BAD. I just can't find the right thing in the right price range. Hmph. Might have to do some online shopping here in a minute. (yeah, ahem, working)

Monday's Wash Day! Therefore, Red Beans and Rice for dinner tonight. Yum. Hooray for Cajun heritage!

More frivolity

Why am I so addicted to these things lately??

This is a good one. :) From Arwen's archives.

1. Your name spelled backwards.
Eel. Isn't that lovely.

2. Where were your parents born?
Mom, Dallas TX, Dad, Oklahoma City, OK.

3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?
A .gif that's work-related -- sample of a masthead/banner for one of my clients.

4. What is your favorite restaurant?
Of all time? It's much too hard to pick! You could take me any time, any day to Taqueria del Sol, or Mick's. Those probably are the top two. But Altanta's full of fantastic restaurants.

5. Last time you swam in a pool?
Gosh, I don't even know! Probably sometime in July or August '05, at our friend J's house.

6. Have you ever been in a school play?
One school play in high school (3 one-acts, actually), something from our Lit. book in the 6th grade (about martians finding a book of Mother Goose poems -- I was a green martian with a paper maiche head!), and probably some Christmas pageants. I did lots of community theater, too!

7. How many kids do you want?
Two. (Don't want to be outnumbered!) Although I'd kinda like to be pregnant more times than that, based on my first experience. I LOVED being pregnant.

8. Type of music you dislike most?
Gangsta rap.

9. Are you registered to vote?
Yes. But I don't like voting. I do it because as an educated, intelligent person -- well, heck, even if I was stupid, just as a citizen -- I feel obligated to.

10. Do you have cable?
Heck, yes. We love basic cable and DVR. We don't have premium channels, though, like HBO or Showtime. Which makes us very virtuous indeed.

11. Have you ever ridden on a moped?
Don't think so.

12. Ever prank call anybody?
Yeah, when we were little. 11 and under, I think.

13. Ever get a parking ticket?
Yes, on Tybee Island once.

14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?
Sky diving if it's a choice. Neither one if that's how the question is posed.

15. Farthest place you ever traveled.
Japan, I already said that the other day. We went to visit larry and family!

16. Do you have a garden?
I can barely keep houseplants alive.

17. Whats your favorite comic strip?
The late, still-mourned "Calvin & Hobbes."

18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem?
Yes, of course. Verse 1, I mean. Are there any other verses?

19. Best movie you've seen in the past month?
Movie? What's that?

20. Favorite pizza topping?
Pepperoni & pineapple. Or basil and tomato. Too hard to pick one.

21. Chips or popcorn?
Chips. Chips, chips, chips!

22. What color lipstick do you usually wear?
It's called "mocha freeze."

23. Have you ever smoked peanut shells?
Whahuh?

24. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant?
"IT'S A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM!" Heh, heh. Junior Miss. When I was in h.s. It was fun, admittedly. Mostly because there was no swimsuit competition.

25. Orange Juice or apple?
I'd have to say orange. That's the Florida in me.

26. Who was the last person you went out to dinner with and where did you dine?
DH and AJ. We went to Applebee's last Sunday night and used a gift card we'd gotten for Xmas.

27. Favorite type chocolate bar?
Whatchamacalit. Or Reeces.

28. When was the last time you voted at the polls?
November 2, 2004.

29. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato?
No idea.

30. Have you ever won a trophy?
Yes.

31. Are you a good cook?
I'm pretty decent. I make a mess when I cook, which makes me SEEM much better than I am! Last night I made shrimp fra diavolo, for the first time, and it was Awesome. I am very proud of myself.

32. Do you know how to pump your own gas?
Who doesn't?

33. Ever order an article from an infomercial?
Good heavens, no.

34. Sprite or 7-up?
Sprite.

35. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work?
Nope.

36. Last thing you bought at a pharmacy?
DH's meds.

37. Ever throw up in public?
Unfortunately, a couple times, yes. I'd prefer to forget that.

38. Would you prefer being a millionaire or find true love?
That is a stupid question. Love wins. Love conquers all. Would a little cash be nice? Yeeeeesssss.

39. Do you believe in love at first sight?
Mmm, kinda.

40. Ever call a 1-900 number?
No.

41. Can exes be friends?
Some people can. I'm not very good at that. Not because I can't forgive, I just always feel the need to make a clean break and move on.

42. Who was the last person you visited in a hospital?
Myself? I guess before that it was April, when she had Oliver. I didn't get to visit my Dad when he had his heart surgery. :( Guilt, guilt, guilt!

43. Did you have a lot of hair when you were a baby?
Just the usual amount. (why? Are we asking this?)

44. What message is on your answering machine?
"You have reached 7xx-xxx-xxxx. We can't take your call now but leave a message and we'll call you right back."

45. What's your all time favorite Saturday Night Live Character?
The Gap girls. Chris and Adam and David -- it doesn’t get any better than that.

46. What was the name of your first pet?
Missy. (cat)

47. What is in your purse?
A whole bunch of crap. Even though I cleaned it out yesterday! Wallet, lipsticks (2), chapsticks (2), powder, essentials, business cards, photos, keys, phone, a spa gift certificate, palm pilot, gum, a check I need to deposit…

48. Favorite thing to do before bedtime?
Eat ice cream. :)

49. What is one thing you are grateful for today?
Oh, it's too hard to pick one, but I'm grateful for a lunch invite from my friend, A. Yippie!

A Small Study in HCI

That's Human-Computer Interaction, for those of us without engineering degrees

I've discovered an interesting thing. Yahoo! mail, as many email clients, separates obvious spam into a "bulk mail" folder so that I don't have to see the words p*n-s or bo0b!es in my holy personal Inbox. I appreciate that from Yahoo!.

However, I also can't STAND to have unread mail, sitting there in bold type looking at me expectantly. So I often go into the bulk mail folder to clean it out. What I realized this morning is that I have a real aversion to "touching" the yucky pervy (or otherwise spammy) emails, even with the arrow that my mouse controls! Instead, I'd rather hit "Check all" and let the program do the touching, even if there's only ONE message, so I won't have to get germs from the possible virus that the unknown sender is trying to send me. !! Isn't that funny?! And I work on a Mac! We don't even GET viruses!

Where's my Lysol?

A Challenge!

Gerah recently revealed that she likes Play-Doh as much as I do. The smell delights her, despite her being more hormonally prone to smell-induced nausea than usual, these days. It delights me, too. I don't think we ever had Play-Doh at our house (smart woman, my mother), but at play-school, which is what we called it instead of preschool, we had TONS of the stuff. The sweet smell takes me right back to First United Methodist, and the green walls and sunny windows of our little classroom. (I was only 3 or 4 but I actually do remember that place very vividly. Interesting.)

ANYWAY -- Gerah said she makes a pretty mean play-doh elephant, and I want to see it. Because I have become especially adept at making elephants for AJ. When he calls for his playdoh, Little Lord Fauntleroy says "elephant" in the same breath. So I get busy making squatty elephant legs First Thing and I have to tell you, Girl Has Got a Talent.

I do not mean this as any sort of real Contest (being shy and non-confrontational and non-competitive, as I am), BUT! If Gerah is so great at elephants, it is time for an Elephant-Off! Let's see the goods, lady. Tee hee.

Here is mine, complete with tail. I only wish I could get him to hold his head up. Sit up straight, elephant! Don't slouch! This is your big moment:



Ha ha. Just kidding. For reals this time:




What do y'all think??

Edited to add: And if anyone else wants to play, get out your doh! Post a link in comments. Fun!

Lent stuff

Ooh, today's psalm is a good one. At least, for me it is. I think Lent may be just what I need right now. I could use several of these phrases:

Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt ...(my guilt over being/working away from home isn't quite what the psalmist means I'm sure, but I'd like to be washed of it)
and of my sin cleanse me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense, ...(self-centered-ness, self-focus)
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me. ...yes, please!
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.


Also, I'm giving up Starbuck's. I KNOW. Ouch. :)