I'm still swooning

Someone in my house made samosas from scratch this weekend. And it wasn't me.

These samosas were the best I've ever eaten. Crispy outside, lovely flavorful spicy filling inside (who would have guessed that the crisp outer coat comes from a generous dose of butter?).

I ate too much, but oh! it was worth it.

Mmmmmm...samosas. My man can cook.

Two sides

PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM NOT PREGNANT NOR AM I TRYING TO BECOME PREGNANT.


Danigirl has a post up which led to this post.


Eighteen years ago I peed on a stick. "One line, one line, one line." I prayed.
Six years ago I peed on a stick. "Two lines, two lines, two lines." I prayed.

Dani, I hope next time you get the answer you hope for.

Censoring myself

I censor myself. I do not say what I really feel. I know that saying the words that boil inside me will render my argument meaningless, that others will hear only the bile and not the truth behind it.

I censor myself. I type a rant and delete all but three sentences. I make personal remarks and backspace over them. I bite my tongue.

Hold that thought

Follow-up mammogram and ultrasound have been postponed for a week, because the doctor couldn't come into the office today.

I see this as a good sign and a confirmation that there is no reason to panic. If there were anything at all to worry about, they'd be much more aggressive about getting these films ASAP. Right?





And thank you all for your good wishes. I do feel less nervous because of them!

Absolutely, positively, completely, totally calm

I have fibrous breasts. I've known this for years. I have magically appearing and disappearing lumps and bumps that are as predicable as a solar eclipse. The ninth day after my period, my right breast will have a small lump two inches down from the birthmark below my armpit, the next day it will have moved about an inch forward and then it will disappear.

This means that when I got my mammogram a couple of weeks ago, I was pretty sure they'd have to call me back for another look, and indeed, that is what they've done. I'm going back tomorrow for another more squishy mammogram and an ultrasound of that there right breast.

I am not freaking out about this. This was completely expected and predicted by me. I am pretty fireplacing sure that I do not have cancer.






But I'm still posting this because I'm just a tad wee smidge nervous that I'm wrong.

Three things I do do that many other people don't for whatever reason

1. Get my eyebrows waxed (though not while I'm not earning money). and just eyebrows people, that hurts so much I wouldn't like to try it elsewhere.
2. Bite my cuticles. and beyond, to be honest. It looks awful and I really need to stop.
3. Wear white socks with black hightops. And I'm truly, truly sorry. I know you hate it. But the white socks are so comfy. If I'm not stopping biting my cuticles, I'm certainly not stopping this.




And re: the post below. Except for smoking, which I try to convince everyone who does it to stop...I mean, it can kill you, the fact that I don't do it doesn't mean I think others shouldn't, it just means it's not for me. I like my grey. I'm wishy-washy about my look (although I've worn the same brand of black hightop for over 20 years), my ear piercings always got infected when I first got them so I can't imagine what that would be like on a place more intimate, etc.

I'm loving your lists!

Three (No! Four!) things I have never done or wanted to do that other people do.

1. Smoke cigarettes. Family history. Plus they're stinky.
2. Get a tattoo. Yeah. Right. You know me. Long hair, short hair, long hair, short hair, glasses, contacts, glasses, contacts, makeup, no makeup. I would get sick of a tattoo within a year.
3. Get anything other than my earlobes pierced. And I hardly ever even wear those.
4. Dye my hair. Perms, yes (but never again). Dyes, no.

What about you?

Amazingly, I'm not going to mention the "D" word

Question #2: what was the most significant event in your childhood?

Again, not mentioning the "d" word, though that was pretty fireplacing significant. But it was so significant and happened so early that there's no way I can cover it here. My whole life would be different. I'd have half the family I do now. I can't even imagine it.

Instead, I'm going to talk about Grandma Sylvia. Did I ever tell you about my Grandma Sylvia? My step-mother's mother (I wouldn't have known her if not for the "d" word!)

She had beautiful long silver hair that she kept up in a bun. She taught me to play "The Bear Went Over the Mountain" on her piano. She baked the most wonderful chocolate cakes. She taught me to braid hair and let me do hers. I loved staying with her in her little house in New Jersey. I would eat windmill cookies and drink weak tea in her kitchen. My cousin and I would white wash her basement (such fun!). I would cozy up in her recliner. She was so playful and charming and fun to be with.

One weekend...near my birthday...she and I were staying at her sister's (Aunt SoLittleAndCute) apartment as a special birthday treat. I went next door to the neighbor's apartment to practice the piano. When I came back, Grandma Sylvia was sitting stiffly on the couch. Unconscious. Aunt SoLittleAndCute had just finished calling the ambulance. Grandma had had a stroke. A neighbor came and sat with me while Aunt SoLittleAndCute went to the hospital with Grandma. I remember spending some time in the waiting room with my step-mother (Grandma was her mother) and my father. I never saw my grandma again. She died a few days later. It was the first time I'd ever seen someone so close to death. The first time death really touched me, though my grandma Hilda (of the bosoms) and my Grandpa Jack (step-mother's father) both had died a few years before I wasn't as close to them and, also, I was younger and didn't really get it. For years my memory was that she had died that day, that very day, it was only later that I really remembered that she hadn't.

I still miss her.

Last quick note on Virginia Tech.

I don't attend Virginia Tech. My school is in the northern, more urban part of the state, just a few miles from the heart of Washington, DC. But...

So many people I know either went there or know someone who went there or have kids there or have siblings there or taught there or know someone who teaches there.

Thank you to those of you who thought of me when you heard about it, knowing I attend a Virginia school. I hugged those thoughts to myself and then sent them, along with my own, downstate.

Eva says I'm a blog thinker.

Actually, she said it over a month ago (thank you, Eva, I really did and do appreciate it - I feel all verklempt about it actually) and I've sat here and done nothing about telling you about 5 people who I think are blog thinkers in turn.

This is mostly because I already have a list of people who I think are blog thinkers and they're listed here to the right --> along with a few others like Snickolet, who just lost her husband to cancer, is taking care of infant twins, and is still blogging with such evocative language and real beauty that I'm ashamed of my everyday pettiness. And Leggy (whom I won't link to due to her wish for privacy), who blogs about ca.nce.r, 1nfert1l1ty and 1nlaws. And some others who don't blog regularly. How do I pick just 5? Many have already been picked, too.

Here's the thing, all of you - Each and Every One - is a blog thinker. Each of you makes me think something new everyday. Each of you teaches me, reaches me, informs me, makes me laugh, and cry (sometimes in the same post) and get angry. I can't pick just five. And if I were to link to each post that I've read that made me think, well, I'd never be done.

I can't thank you all enough for being out there. Writing your lives. You make me feel like part of something big. A huge community of loving, caring, intelligent individuals who are all looking out for one another, sharing pain and joy and outrage and faith that somehow the world can be a better place.

Angry

Seriously angry.

I agree with Phantom. Cecily should be the go-to blogger on this subject.

YT's questions (one at a time)

YT has sent me some great questions, which I'm going to answer one post per question so as to fit it into my studying/paper writing/parenting/class-going/interning schedule.

Question #1:

If you were to choose right now the perfect profession for Muffin Man in 25 years, what would it be?

Well, he loves to color...so maybe an artist or graphic designer? He loves playing with his knights and horses...so maybe a F&SF writer? He loves swimming and running and riding his bike...so maybe he'll be a triathelete? He loves to eat sushi and pho and ice cream and shrimp and beet greens (along with the usual beige, white, and yellow foods 5-year-olds adore)...so maybe he'll be a famous food critic or a chef. He loves putting together puzzles, playing on the computer, learning new things at school...so maybe he'll be a scientist or an academic. He loves "reading" and being read to. He loves writing. Maybe he'll be a blogger!

He's somewhat bossy...so maybe he'll be a CEO. He's VERY silly...so maybe he'll be a stand-up comic. He's kind and loving...so I know he'll be a good man. Please, God, let him grow up to be a good man.

I'd love for him to become the first Jewish (ish) President. I'd love for him to become the first person on Mars.

I'd love for him to just be happy - raising a family, doing something he loves to do.

33

I did my own hair!

You may not know this about me, considering the photo over there --> but I stopped cutting my hair when I started school. I want an updo at graduation, y'know? My hair's now just a bit below my shoulders, just long enough all around to put up in a pony-tail and not have to use barrettes to keep it all tidy.

So we were going to this black-tie shindig and I went to the hairdresser's to make an appointment to get my hair put up. And they wanted forty-five dollars. (gulp). And we're going to another event in 2 weeks. Ain't no way I wanna pay a hundred bucks on just putting up my hair for a few hours.

Anyhow, I had to go to the mall to pick up my new skirt from Nordstrom's (they'd hemmed it for me), and to buy an evening purse and a shawl. I figured, while I'm there, why don't I look around for something with which to do my own hair?

After looking here and there, I found a shop called "Pretty Pretty" that was selling hair accessories of all sorts (including wigs), and they had some beautiful crystal pins for $9.50 each. "How do these work?" I asked. She showed me. I watched. Then I undid what she did and redid it myself. It worked. I bought them. "You'll need hairspray to keep it together," she said. "Come on back in if you need help."

Fast forward to evening. I'm getting ready. I dampen my hair. I pull it back, I twist it. I shape it into a bun. I put the pins in. I let go. It all falls apart. I curse. I get my hair a little wetter. Pull back. Twist. Shape. This time I put in the first pin at 9:00. The next pin goes in at 3:00. The next at 1:00. At 11:00. The last goes in at 6:00. I let go. Everything stays. I check the mirror. It looks mahvelous. I call MS in to spray the bejesus out of my hair. He does.

I put on my makeup. The hair stays put.
I put on my clothes. The hair stays put.

I put on my shawl. Kiss Muffin Man. Say goodbye to the sitter. Gather up MS and drive to the ball. Hair. Stays. Put.

Come home several hours later. Cannot believe that my hair has stayed put.

Total for the evening (not counting shoes and jewelry which I already owned):

Fancy top: $47.50 (love it!)
Skirt: $55.00 (+ $15 for alterations 'cause it was on sale)
Bra: $75.00 (GAH!)
Shawl: $17.00 (JC Penney, beautiful and WARM)
Evening bag: $7.50 (Sears! Plain black faux silk)
Crystal hair pins (5 large): $50.00
Hose: $4.00
Hairspray: $5.00
-----------------------
Total: $276.00

And I get to use it all again in just two weeks which comes to $138.00 per evening. Not bad for an emergency get-up for a black-tie affair.

I'll get MS to take a picture of me from the back next time.

Things I'd Rather Do Than Go to the Dentist's.

1. Go for my annual gynocological exam
2. Get a mammogram.

I just got my first mammogram, and it was surprisingly not unpleasant. I didn't get much more mushed than I often do to myself just sleeping on my stomach or side and it was over quickly (this visit and the gyno visit together took less time than a dental cleaning).

So, if you've been putting it off because you're afraid it'll hurt or be horribly unpleasant (like I was), just go do it.

Oh! And I found a new bra yesterday, one that doesn't make me feel like a cow! In this brand I'm an FF, not a G. I also found a Wacoal that fit (G), but didn't work under a top that was the whole point of the shopping expedition. I'll go back to buy some of those next month as a Mother's Day present to myself.*

I'm wearing the top to a black-tie event this Saturday night. Never been to one before, very exciting!

*Reminder for you bra-wearing folk: different brands have slightly different ideas about what constitutes a 34 or a G. If you aren't finding a bra that fits, try different combinations of band and cup-sizes that are one up or down from what you're measuring. I tried on a total of 43 bras to find 2 that fit, and 5 that almost fit (one of which would have fit in a size that they were out of).

G whiz.

Thank you, thank you Grandma Hilda.

I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow I feel like a cow

Butter

There's an album...quite a good album...by The Four Bitchin' Babes. On that album is a song...quite a good song...called "Butter".

"Butter" (by Megon McDonough) is a country-western love-song style ode to all things we're told not to eat. Those luscious, delectable, sinful, gloriously seductive treats we'd rather not share with anyone else thankyouverymuch. She sings lovingly of butter, of pasta, of coffee ice cream from Haagen Daz, and of chocolate - sweet, sweet chocolate.

And that, my dear Magpie, is why all my chocolate posts are labelled Butter.

Her version on the Four Bitchin' Babes album is better than the one on her solo album, IMO.

Lindt Excellence Extra Fine Dark Chocolate (70% Cocoa): A Review

Whoa nellie! That is some bitter after taste!

Darn! I missed it!

Yesterday was my two-year blogiversary and I missed it.

But I have a good excuse!

We went to the circus! With tigers! And elephants! And house cats! And dogs! And a high-wire artist! And clowns! And Acrobats! And jugglers! And acrobats who juggle other acrobats!

And then we walked around Nearby University's campus and played tag. And I introduced MM and MS to my Abnormal Psychology prof. ("What is she, twelve?") who gets embarrassed by my calling her Professor since she's at least 1o years younger than me and knows it.

And then we came home and I crashed into bed and woke up for dinner and found out I had a fever and crashed again and now I'm all better and there you go.

Thank you all for being here for me and for letting me ramble on at you.

Mwah!!

donor

Moreena just reminded me that April is National Organ Donation month. I'm an organ donor.

My husband knows I'm an organ donor. My mother knows I'm an organ donor. My father knows I'm an organ donor. My step-father knows. My step-mother knows. My sister knows. My sister-in-law knows. My doctors know. Heck, my 5-year-old son knows!

If you are not an organ donor, please sign up to be one right now. It just takes a minute and could save 7 lives. And once you've signed up, tell everyone you know. And get them to sign up too.

But I'll let Moreena tell you more, okay?

Bullets of a deadline-intensive week

• Monday: Computer shuts itself down without warning while I'm in the middle of writing a paper due yesterday. I finish paper on one of MS's numerous computers.
• Tuesday: Pig practical originally supposed to be on real pigs done with photos in a regular classroom due to unhealthfully high levels of formaldahyde in labs.
• MS fixes computer (dust blocking fan and all the lubricant has dried up).
• I have to study for an exam I'm taking tomorrow.
• MM had a 3-mile Island sort of day, I'm hoping tomorrow is better.
• I ate all the dark chocolate last week and I really, really could use some. RIGHT NOW.

On clutter and space

I just read Phantom's post (which is, btw, brilliant), and was inspired to write about this:

Yesterday I went to look at a model home in a new development near my house (the development is called Moreland Estates, which I think is to try to get people to not notice that they can pass a cup of sugar out the windows of their palatial homes to their neighbor's windows).

In any case, I visited and looked around. This particular model features 5! bedrooms and 4 baths on the top floor. The master bedroom has a living room in it (called an "owner's retreat"), one of the possible bedrooms was open to the hall and was made into a living room, the main floor has 2 living rooms ("family room" and "formal"), and the finished basement had yet another living room.

All that space for sitting around on couches and yet...very little storage space (if you don't count the closets in the master bedroom).

Basements in these homes are always finished*...where are the root cellars and box rooms of the past? Where are the butler's pantries? Where, for that matter, are the medicine cabinets?

The answer I got from the sales lady? Butler's pantries don't sell. Well, I'd buy one.

We live in increasingly bigger and bigger houses with less and less room to put the supplies of living. Is it any wonder that we end up using the unused third living room (or in my case the dining room) as a storage shed?



*Our basement is not finished and we are using it for storage, but we also have a HUGE number of large tools down there. The table saw alone takes up a kitchen's worth of space.

Internship by the numbers

Hours I've done so far: 119

Hours I needed to do: 135

Weeks I have left to do the remaining 16: 4.85

Calls I've entered into the database: 102

Double-side, hole-punched copies I've made: 4 Billion.

People I've personally made feel better because I was where I was: 3

It's all been worthwhile, people.

Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share

I've done some redecorating over in the links--->

I've added quite a few folks and want to give them all a shout out.

I've also removed some folks and put them into my favorites folder on my computer. The folks I removed haven't posted in over a month or let their sites go defunct. I miss you all. Let me know if I've removed you in error.

Dark Chocolate

I just ate a piece. Slowly. Letting it melt in my mouth and coat my tongue. Noting the sensation of sweet and bitter, feeling the silken texture. I've wrapped up the rest and hidden it, my own hoarded treasure.*


*While my husband hates dark chocolate, MM would expect me to share.

Backstory: I went to the campus bookstore last week to buy a chocolate bar, but all they had were milk chocolate and fruit-flavored which is so not what I wanted. Filled with sadness, I bought a cheap-o candy bar from the convenience store. Two minutes after I'd eaten it, I saw that there was a theater-arts guy selling candy bars to raise money for some theater-arts club or other. And he had dark chocolate. But I'd already eaten an inferior bar. But it was for a good cause! But...

Anyway, I bought the bar of solid dark chocolate-y goodness and I put it in my backpack and went home and...forgot about it.

Which makes me an idiot, because I got my period the next day and I could have used it. And I only rediscovered it tonight.

I Feel Like Crap Or Explaining to a Five Year Old Why Mommy Doesn't Need a Bandaid

Even though there is blood all over the place.

Me: "Do you remember how I said that babies come from inside of mommies? Well, part of what makes a baby is an egg that is inside of a mommy. And if the egg isn't made into a baby, it comes out -"

MM: "With some blood?"

Me: "With some blood."

MM: "Does it hurt?"

Me: "Not like a boo-boo, no."

MM: "Okay, but your pajamas look really gross."

Me: "I know. I hope it washes out."

I'd have left my head there if it weren't attached

Went to the mall today to buy socks and underwear for Muffin Man, and to return some items I bought online from Land's End last week (did you know you can return stuff from Land's End to Sears?). So, we return the items at Sears, and we head into the mall on the lower level to see if there is any chance we can get MM's hair cut at Cartoon Cuts (right next door to Sears). No chance, the line is out the door. So we head on over to Penney's and on our way we pass a watch repair place. Now, my watch and MM's watch are both in need of new batteries and, miracle of miracles, I actually had both watches with me. I KNOW! THAT NEVER HAPPENS! So we leave the watches and promise to come back on our way out to pick them up.

Finally, we get to Penney's, we buy the socks and underpants (Superman, if you're curious), and we make an attempt at buying flip-flops for him too. They don't have his size, so we decide to hit Old Navy (on the upper level) on our way back to Sears. We do so, we find flip-flops that fit and are Five! Dollars! Less! than at Penney's (which makes me think we shoulda bought the socks and undies there too, but c'est la vie), and we go back out to the car through Sears.

Two hours later, I look at my wrist and think, "I AM SUCH A DOUCHEBAG!"

At that point, MS is on his way to a meeting, so MM and I hop back into the car to go back to the mall to pick up the watches. We get them (and get a couple of extra holes punched in his wrist band while we're at it), and head on back towards the car but we pass Cartoon Cuts and notice that this time there is no line, in fact the place is pretty empty, so we get MM a haircut. So it wasn't a total waste of time after all.

Nevermind

It looks crappy in the yarn I'm using (grey and blue twist). I'm going to rip it out and start again using a solid color (probably white). But...do I have any white sock-weight yarn? No.

Can I justify buying white sock weight yarn when I have a whole blooming box in the closet including some excellent silk wool begging (for more than a decade) to be knitted into something pretty for me? Mmmmm...probably not. But I want to knit these socks! I don't know what I want to do with the silk wool yet - it's a beautiful brown-grey tweedy flecky slubby soft wool - probably needs to be a vest (due to the fact that I don't have enough for a sweater), but will a vest look good on me? It wants to have cables, but do I want the bulk of cables added to the bulk of the bodacious tatas?

Decisions, decisions.

Please stand by

I am knitting the March sock from "...And a Time to Knit Stockings". Many cables. Much CNB and CNF and reading small print while knitting. And many droppings of double-pointed needles when knitting from the cable needle with only two stitches left on the main needle.

I'll be back soon if I don't strangle myself with yarn.

So, enough of me shouting. Let's turn up the volume in a totally different way, shall we?

Felted slippers. Knitted 10 years ago (or more) and felted this past week (7 times in the washer, small load setting, hot water, mild detergent). Yes, it's that yarn again. The button holes disappeared in the felting process, so the buttons are just for show. I'm going to sew velcro closures on.

They are for my sister, but are a bit wide. She'll need to wear thick socks with them.

GAHHHHHH!!!! BLOGGER ATE HALF MY LAST POST!!!

And shoved one paragraph up with another so I didn't notice. GAH!!!

I will now edit the offending post and make it read like I wanted it to.

GAH!

Thanks, guys! I'm blushing! Plus random items EDITED TO MAKE UP FOR HAVING BEEN FIREPLACED

Truly, thank you all for the birthday wishes!

We went out tonight to see Mr. Stinky Feet at our local library. He was tons of fun and is going to be performing Saturday at Jammin' Java. Hint? Hint? Anyone local want to go see him and have a playdate (coughAPLcoughGenevievecough)?

I've been tagged by Eva (thank you!) and will have something responsive to that by the weekend.

Anyone in this area know where the heck VCU is? Their website says they have classes in Northern Virginia as well as their campus in Richmond, but they don't seem to say where. (THANKS GENEVIEVE!!!)

Thirty-eight. Special!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Books and teacups and mushrooms, oh my!

And a special gift of childcare from my SIL, who took MM overnight last night.

And chocolate cake.

And a gc from Land's End (already spent).

Lovely.

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...

So, the answers.

1. True. I am older than three of my professors (Abnormal Psych, Western Civ., and Biology Lab) and am just 4 years younger than my Biology lecture prof.

2. False (eva wins!). I actually sleep under a down comforter folded in half and a hand-made king-sized quilt folded in quarters. I think I'm channeling Giles Corey.

3. True. I love keeping the actual edition (and especially the actual book) I first read a book in.

4. True! Ha ha! Got a few of you! The winner of our category was truly amazing. She won several other awards as well. Our second-place finisher was phenomenal too. Really impressive. Both of them had great science, good research methods, and had really thought about what they were testing for.

5. True. But not as true as when I did the meme, since I cleaned out my closet today.

Thanks for playing!

The bullet-proof sweater

You remember how I said I knit a tight gauge? Here's what I'm talking about:

This sweater, which I knit while working at Murder Ink, formerly the world's oldest mystery bookstore (now defunct), is water-proof, wind-proof, and indestructable.

The picture above shows the sweater being stretched over a hard-cover text on using Visual Basic.

Here's a picture of the yoke, and a smidgen of the cuff. That yarn keeps showing up! The sweater was knit in Lamb's Pride turquoise, black, grey, and fuscia.

Five Things Meme

Four are true, one is false. Which is the lie?

1. I am older than two of my professors this semester.

2. I can't sleep under heavy blankets, no matter how cold. I currently sleep under a just a flannel sheet.

3. If I somehow get a duplicate copy of a book I already have, I MUST keep the older copy, even if the cover is falling off and the pages are crumbling. The new one is given away or sold.

4. I judged a regional science fair this week. I was on the side of the Scientific Method and against the proponents of Creativity.

5. I will happily spend hours organizing a master copy of a book of group handouts for my internship, but cannot get to the back of my closet because the floor in there is such a mess.

The beautiful and completely useless sweater

A long, long time ago I knitted a sweater for my niece. She was, what?, three? at the time. My sister had given me a huge bag of gorgeous hand-spun and -dyed yarns from the sheep farm nearby her house and I decided that the perfect use for that wool was to knit a sweater for her smart beautiful daughter. I used a pattern from a book of Norweigan sweaters, and the yarn that my sister had given me, plus a bit of the yarn my son is so enamored of. Plus some other Lamb's Pride (black and purple).

Now, this yarn is all dense to begin with. None of your wimpy worsteds here! Also, the wool is kinda itchy. In the way that a mild case of poison ivy is kinda itchy. And I knit a very tight gauge. So the sweater ended up weighing in at three pounds.

Let's sum up this work of art:

• three pounds


• starchy stiff


• irritatingly itchy


• For a pre-schooler.

But, Lord, it was beautiful. Don't you agree?

Crafty Meme

As seen at Quinn the Brain's

March is National Craft Month.

What do you do? I knit.
Who taught you? My sister's sister-in-law (UsesDifferentCommonNickNameForOurMutual FirstName).
What was your first project? I think I knitted a scarf first (there's a picture of that scarf somewhere around - I knitted it while on vacation in Mexico with my family).
What are you working on now? I'm making a pig for Muffin Man. He found some yarn in my stash that he wanted me to knit into something for him. I was willing to use it to make stripes or polka dots along with other colors, but he remembered he hates wearing scarves or sweaters. So, a pig.
Future plans? Make something pretty for myself, and a hat for MS to match the scarf.

Note to self

MM needs to eat an afternoon snack. I may not get hungry mid-afternoon, but boy howdy, he sure does.

Blogging the scarf

5 feet long, knit up of Schaefer Yarns hand painted Celia (99% Merino Wool, 1% nylon - totally not itchy). Started Tuesday night* and finished a half-hour ago.

*Actually I bought the wool over ten years ago to make a sweater for the hubband. I knit on that sweater while my dad was getting and recovering from a triple bypass. When he was fully recovered, I stopped knitting. I only knit sporadically after that, mostly on baby hats. When MS lost a scarf recently, I picked up the sweater, ripped it out and started on a WAAAAY too big scarf - really more of a shawl. Tuesday night I ripped that out too and knit this instead. MS is completely thrilled and I think it makes a much better scarf than it did a sweater. I still have tons of yarn left. Perhaps I'll make a hat and then...who knows?

Hang on...I'll be back soon

Craziness...exams...internship...reflection paper...more internship...and knitting. I'll post the fruits of my labor when it's done. Until then...much lurking, little posting. Hard to type and knit at the same time, alas.

A recipe for take out

In a small bowl mix:
1 5-year-old check-up
A dash each of goofiness and showing off
2 immunizations
1 TB test
1 finger stick for a blood lipids test

Add:
4 minutes of wailing

Stir until combined.

Add:
Stickers

Put into a sunny, friendly daycare to simmer for 6 hours.

Meanwhile, mix one Daddy with a late-afternoon coffee meeting and one Mommy with a Biology class and an internship. Set on a crowded highway for at least half-an-hour.

Serve hot.

Muffin Man earns some money

Chores done by my 5-year-old:

Putting one load of laundry into the washer and another into the dryer (with help from mommy). He really wanted to do it all himself, but he couldn't reach the clothes on the bottom of the washer. And I wouldn't let him touch the detergent.

Putting his own clean clothes away (no help from anyone). "NO! I CAN DO IT!"

Choosing an item for dinner, and helping to load groceries into the cart.

Choosing the cookies being sold by the cute Brownies outside the grocery store and paying for them.

Carrying some of the groceries into the house and putting away the items in his bag o' groceries.

Helping to put together a new headboard for the parental bedstead (handing out hardware and tools as needed).

Total: 75 cents.

His opinion? "I have a lot of money, don't I Mama?"

On the school front, things are good, but I'm exhausted. Another (brief) paper due tomorrow. Bio Lab midterm Tuesday.

See you all on the other side.

Grunt*

*No sleep. Write paper. Go to class. Write paper. Go to lab. Write paper. Paper done. Hand in paper. Sleep now.

POP! PoppoppopPOPPITYpoppoppop!

This morning I dreamed I was making popcorn. I heard the popcorn popping, but I couldn't smell it and I knew something was wrong with that picture so I gradually rose to consciousness and realized...

Ice storm.

Which changed to sleet to heavy snow (over 4 inches so far) and is now back to ice or freezing rain, judging by the skitter, skitter on the roof.

So, no babysitter to sit with MM while I try to write a five-page paper due Tuesday. Gah.

And before you ask, MS has a ton of work to do too. We're taking turns today.

Wow...The Force is....hypnotic

The Scene: The big-screen tv room at Microcenter.

The characters: MM and I.

MM: Is that Darth Vader?

Me: Yes.

MM: Who's that with the hair?

Me: Princess Leia. You remember Miss Beautiful Hawaiian Teacher was her for Halloween.

MM: Oh yeah.

(stands watching)

MM: Who's the furry guy?

Me: Chewbacca.

MM: Why'd that planet blow up? Why're they all cheering? Why did the princess change her hair? Why aren't they saying anything? Why didn't the furry guy get a prize? Why didn't Darth Vader win?

Me: Do you want to see the movie from the beginning sometime? We have it at our house.

MM: No. It's not very interesting.

Me: (thinking) Well, for not being interested, you sure asked alot of questions!

Helsinki is my favorite

The Complaints Choirs = Awesome. Pittsburgh is looking for more singers.

I am ashamed. And horrified. And angry.

I read it yesterday and didn't speak up. And I'm ashamed of that too.

What happens to our wounded soldiers after they come home?

Is it Wednesday yet?

Took my Biology exam this morning. Feel pretty good about it. Got back to my car and was stuck in the snow. Couldn't move. Gah!

After about 45 minutes of alternately digging, putting my floormats under the wheels and trying to gently rock the car out, some very nice gentlemen came along and pushed me out.



In other news, I took MM to a birthday party yesterday afternoon where I met a cute 8-month-old who is, I'm not kidding, wearing 2T. I talked with his parents for a while and they said that they are having HUGE problems with people asking them what's wrong with their toddler? Why isn't he walking, talking, growing teeth? I couldn't help but think of Andrea and Frances. I must admit that it was entirely due to Andrea that I the first thing I said was "What a beautiful baby! How old is he?" rather than just assuming. I got my baby jones taken care of at the party, holding the 8-month-old and letting him eat my nose, and also holding a 1-month-old who slept through the whole party.

Why is it that I loved pinatas as a kid and now think, "What, are they crazy?" Pre-schoolers, bats, and a fight for candy...great combination!

Ten ways to tell if your 5 year old could use a nap

1. He's rubbing his eyes
2. He's playing pirates with only one eye open - the one NOT covered by the eye-patch.
3. He's whining.
4. He's complaining.
5. He's snivelling.
6. He's not in the mooooooood to play.
7. He's wants to watch Sponge Bob, no! Tutenstein, no! Spongebob!
8. He's growing fangs, horns, claws, and a forked tail.
9. He throws a face-down, full-volume, red-faced, nuclear melt-down.
10. He's not tiiiiired and he doesn't neeeeeed a naaaaaap.

Why does he save up the melt-downs for when we have a childless guest over? First one in weeks, I swear.

Relaxed.

Snow day yesterday, late opening today. That means I didn't have a Bio exam yesterday and my abnormal psych class this morning was cancelled. So all I had to go to school for today was an essay exam in Cognitive Psych. I think I did pretty well. And because county schools are closed today, my internship placement is also closed for the day (they link to the county schedule for ease of notification).

So I'm home early. Feeling pretty good and rested. Probably should do some chores around the house, but not at all in the mood.

I'm disappointed that we didn't have our Bio exam yesterday...'cause it means that we're taking it Monday instead, which means I won't be able to bring MM to school with me like I planned (teacher development day at Posh Place). Oh well.

Coolest term/concept from today's Cog. Psych. Exam: Agnostia.

Feel free to point at me and laugh.

So I'm watching this show and there's an 87-year-old man and he's a grandfather and a chess player and he owns a dog and spends quality time with his grandson and at the end of the show, he dies. And I'm crying my eyes out. Which is fine except it was a Discovery Health episode on old age that my fantastic Biology professor played for us yesterday.

Skitter, skitter

Little ice pellets are hitting the sky lights above me. They come in gusts and then have a steady beat for a while and then another gust. When the wind blows them hard enough, they sound louder on the windows than on the roof.

I had to stay at my Biology lab until we were all done with our activity, since part of the sheet we filled out required an average of all our scores, but I made it home before the weather got really icy in our neck of the woods. Even so, it took me over an hour and a half to get home, rather than the usual 40 minutes. Ours was the last class of the day, all later classes were cancelled.

Now I'm obsessively checking the website to see if they've cancelled tomorrow's classes. I have an exam scheduled for tomorrow, and I'm prepped for it, but if it's icy out here and they don't cancel classes, I'm going to end up with a zero on that exam. Fortunately, I can drop my lowest test score in that class, but I'm really hoping I won't have to do that.

I hope you are all safe, warm, and cozy.

Squeeeeee!!!!

Ohmigod, I am still so in love with The Police.

Sorry so silent

It's been a busy week (14 hours at internship, not to mention classes, and a non-bloggable event yesterday, plus regular life stuff).

I'll take a picture of the lunch box the next time I pack it up, but in the meantime, here's a link to the website, and here's one to Phantom's post about LG's lunchbox.

Muffin Man and his daddy spent the afternoon doing chemistry experiments (MM got a cool lab set for his b-day), and MM learned about acids and bases, solids and liquids, what dissolves in water, and looked salt under the microscope. He was really excited and learned alot!!! His one question though is: "Is sand a solid or a liquid?" "Cause, y'know, it doesn't hold its shape like a solid, does it? And yet...it's dry. He is really a very clever little boy. He also put together a giant space puzzle all by himself (thanks for the present, Angry Boy!) and could tell his daddy and me which planet was which.

He's also an incredibly good and patient boy. We've done an enormous number of grown-up activities (meaning ones that lots of grown-ups were attending and very few kids) this weekend and he held it together very well and was just a peach.

On another front, I'm really enjoying my internship. I'm pretty sure that I won't be working in that exact field later on, but it's very interesting and the organization is doing immensely good and important work. I'm doing a big mix of things from answering phones, to interacting (under supervision) with clients, to entering data into a state-wide database, to cutting out shapes for crafts, to babysitting, to cleaning out the media cabinet.

Now I've got to hit the books...talk to you all later!!

Bringing my lunch!!!

PB & J, carrots, cheese and crackers, Kisses, and a cloth napkin. All in my new Laptop Lunchbox that my mom got for me (available near her and not near me.) Thanks mom! And thanks PS, for telling me about it!

Words of one syllable

scrounged


10 letters9 letters (thanks APL!). Can you come up with one that's longer?

Muffin Man's Party

Was at The Little Gym. Damn, people, they put on one heck of a party. They got the kids hot and tired, served up the pizza and cake (I had Vocelli deliver the pizza, we brought the cake from Wegman's), bundled up the presents for us to take out to the car and cleaned up after.

A party for 14 was MUCH easier to do than a party for 4 at home last year. Yowza. AND a romance may have started btwn two attending parents. They were quite smitten. AND it was pretty obvious to one and all that MM has an admirer. Which is fine since they got married last summer. One of MM's three brides. He's very popular because he's happy to play dress-up and be the Daddy and stay home and vacuum while his wife goes to work with her cell phone.

Seriously fun!

And MM LOOOOOVES his presents. We played with most of them this afternoon.

Five

At 9:07 pm February 1, 2002, (just the day before yesterday! really!), he was 5 minutes old and he looked like this:

Now, he's a big boy:

Writing, almost reading, having adventures, painting, swimming, trying to skate, helping me cook, riding his bike, making jokes, eating like there's no tomorrow, wiping his own butt, playing computer games, dancing, using his words, jumping, laughing, whining, being silly, having (strong) opinions, snuggling, being his own special, loving and loveable, self.

It all goes so fast. Zoom! And then he's five.

Happy birthday, sweet boy. I love you so much. You make me very happy.

Bragging (corrected)

Muffin Man has been spending some of his free time at school working on worksheets that his teacher printed out and has for kids to use like a coloring book if they want. Today's sheet has 4 pictures on it. Muffin Man has labelled each picture. At some point, I will scan the whole sheet, but I'm having issues with the scanner tonight.

The first picture is of a household appliance. It is labelled, "FREJ".
The next is of a thermos and a box with a handle on it. The label says, "LUSH".
The third is of a partly opened dresser. He has clearly written "TROR". Correction: he wrote, "JROR".
The last is of an item commonly found in grocery stores. He calls it a "KORT".

His teacher swears he asked for no help and she only knew about it when he asked her to put it in his folder when he was done.

I'm so proud!

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is all




Sorry to not give more information, but it's not my secret.

School report

Thank you all so much for your recipes! Keep 'em coming!

School looks good this semester. I've got an interview today with my service placement, and that will wrap up this introductory week.

I'm going to have a ton of work to do, so my blogging may be light, but I'll be visiting and commenting at your sites. And I will definitely be whining. Oh, how I will be whining. "My baaaackpaaaack is sooooooo heavy" snivel. whine. moan.

Asking for some help

Dear bloggy friends,

My schedule this semester is somewhat crazy. Tuesdays and Thursdays I'll be out of the house early and coming home during rush hour. Mondays and Wednesdays and all day Fridays, I'll probably be doing work at a community service organization nearby (for my Psychology in the Community class, I have to do 10 hours of service a week.) I've got some food frozen and ready to go, but I'm pretty sure that won't last the whole semester.

So...I need ideas. Do any of you have crockpot recipes that will take no more than 10 - 15 minutes in the morning and can cook all day? Howsabout lunches that don't need refridgeration? Favorite quick-and-easy meals that go beyond hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and mac-and-cheese?

Thank you!

Cue the Twilight Zone music!

Y'all remember my sister, right? Lives in the Frozen North? Well, she doesn't have satellite and she can't get cable and there's a big tall mountain between her and the television station, so she gets no reception either. So for presents, I send her son (10-year-old LovesScienceFiction) and daughter (13-year-old BeautifulNieceWhoLooksLikeHerMotherOnlyTaller) DVDs of shows I think they'll like. Some we record (the Olympics and whatnot) and some we buy (like the first season of Joan of Arcadia and The Gilmore Girls). Well, the Gilmore Girls was a big hit with the whole family, so we sent the second season, and the third.

Today BigSister called me. They couldn't wait for BNWLLHMOT's birthday, so they started renting the fourth season and the rental guy told them a piece of "what a small world" trivia....

They live in the town that is featured in the opening montage!

Ch-ch-changes

You remember how I said that we had some of my low white bookshelves in the guest room because my desk was where they used to be?



Not anymore!



Here are my bookshelves all together again. MS had the truly inspired idea of putting my desk in the middle of the bump-out under the sky-lights. Sooooo much better!

And I just figured out who my Mystery Gifter was...

It's Citizen Beta! Thanks so much! And mazel tov again on the birth of your baby!

Number one!

Google has me as the number one search result for:

"life is pain anyone who says otherwise" and "Aggggghhh"

Very, very odd.

My bookshelves

It might surprise you to know that I have a lot of books. One might say I really have a lot of books. Although, I have less than I did and will occasionally cull out (less worthy books) or loan out or give away one or two favorites of mine, just so that I can introduce old friends to new friends, as it were.

Downstairs in the barrister bookshelves are the nice books, the ones that look good together and the first editions (mostly signed).

Up in the guest room is one full bookcase of short story collections (so that guests have something to read, but don't need to make a commitment). Also in the guest room are two small bookshelves filled with paperbacks, sorted alphabetically by author (A through Heyer).

Heyer continues in the bookshelves that surround me as I type this (the desk I use displaced the two bookshelves that are now in the guest room), and then goes through to Margaret Yorke. Over near the bed are more hard covers and some assorted goodies that really should be put back in their proper places.

Except for the barrister bookshelves and the short story shelves, all the bookcases are over stuffed. Books are lined up, spines out and then there are piles on top of those books, in front of those books and on top of the shelves themselves.

Most of the books are mysteries, quite a few are science-fiction/fantasy/alternate Earth (generally w/ vampires), and a growing contingent are in the Heyer dimension going towards Chick Lit.

I love books, not just the words in them - though that's huge - but the smell of them. The feel of the covers, that paper-y sensation when I turn the pages, the quiet shwush of the paper rubbing against itself and my fingertips. The wonderful anticipation of starting a new book, a new chapter, a new page. The mingled satisfaction and sadness of finishing a really good one - knowing I can re-read it.

The rationale behind what I gave my giftee for WHOYCBE (Winter Holiday of Your Choice Blog Extravaganza)

My giftee was Art Sweet, whom I was very glad to get to know. Now that this is over, I can link to her - Hi Art Sweet!!!

Art Sweet is a diabetic. She's adopting a baby from Guatemala. She likes chocolate, coffee, vanilla scents, flannel sheets and clothes warm from the dryer. She loves to sit in front of the fire. She like children's books and beautiful, useful handmade things. Hates hot pink, GWB and his cronies, won't eat cashews. She is a photographer, and is finally owning up to it.

So, since I couldn't evict GWB from the White House, here's how I shopped for Art Sweet:

First, I picked up MM from school. We went to the mall and he claimed he was hungry, so we stopped and had some pizza. Then I offered him a deal. No whining or complaining while I shopped, and I'd get him a present too.

First off, chocolate. We went down to Godiva's and got a little box with 2 truffles in it for a tiny bit of indulgence without having to check blood sugars too much.

Next, vanilla. We went to the body shop, but I didn't find anything there that really sang to me, so we went to a candle shop and found a vanilla cupcake candle with a lovely triangle candle holder.

Coffee? We went hunting for good coffee and a pretty cup, but it was no dice.

Pretty, useful, homemade? I had intended to knit a pair of mittens and time got away from me. I really regret that. Art Sweet, honey, IOU a pair of mittens, okay?

Photographer...photographer...Picture frame? I hunted but couldn't find just the right thing for when she brings Guatebaby home with her.

Flannel sheets...didn't fit the budget, but I found an oversized fleece throw that was like buttuh. Sooooo cozy and soft.

Children's books. Now, as you know. I'm a fan of children's books. I'm a big, big fan of Frances Hodgsen Burnett (y'know, A Secret Garden. A Little Princess. Little Lord Fauntleroy). Not so well known is the fact that FHB also wrote books for adults, some of which have only just now come back into print. I sent along The Making of a Marchioness.

So the box I sent is a recipe for a cozy night by the fire: A box of chocolates, a vanilla candle, a fleecy throw, and a good book. I hope that it helps occupy your time until Guatebaby arrives, Art Sweet!!!

How to find a new author

1. Buy tickets on Amtrak for the 1020 AM train to NYC.
2. Deliberately decide NOT to pack a book for the train ride as your active almost 5-year-old will need entertaining.
3. Arrive at Union Station at 1015. Miss the train. Change the tickets for the 1125.
4. Mail a package to Syracuse from the station's post office.
5. Buy snacks and beverages at Au Bon Pain. Eat.
6. Get in line for the train.
7. Get on board early (passengers travelling with children! Sweet!)
8. Listen to your nearly 5-year-old son when he points out that someone has left a book on a nearby seat.
9. Note that this is the first stop for this train and that you are the first passengers in this car.
10. Decide that the book is abandoned and needs a good home.
11. When your not-quite-five-year-old son decides he doesn't want you to watch him color, because you're "breathing on him", start reading the book.
12. Continue reading the book whenever your son who's just a smidge less than five is not wanting you to play "Simon Says" with him.
13. Get off the train in Penn Station in NYC.
14. Find parents who have graciously offered a ride to their home in Brooklyn.
15. Talk with parents while your son plays with Lego.
16. Go to your grandparent's house for dinner (chinese food), show off Hula skills.
17. Return to parents' home.
18. Read book while son is tucked into bed by his grandma.
19. Talk with parents.
20. Go to bed, read book by nightlight.
21. Finish book.

WHOYCBE!!! Flowers and candy and a valentine...plus lovely school supplies!

Here is the note that I got from my Secret Santa...still a secret! Who can it be?

Look at what she gave me! Flowers (on a diary, a calendar and a lovely little mirror) and candy (two kinds of chocolate!) and a valentine (hand painted on canvas!) and brand-new pencils and a darling eensy hole punch and a sweet little stapler and multi-colored paperclips and pretty post-it page markers and snowy tissues.

Here's the valentine.

The chocolates are milk chocolate Droste pastilles and this wonderful chocolate bar:

Isn't that the greatest?

I love my presents, thank you so, so, so much!!!!!!!! I can't wait to use the school supplies (I love having new school supplies for the new semester) and I'm eating a pastille as we speak...mmm...

Thanks again!

I'm not posting the gift I gave yet, since she hasn't actually received it (but it's at her local post office! I checked! It arrived yesterday.) In any case, the pictures I took were fuzzy (a certain young person left a big fingerprint on the lens, so I'll just be talking rationale.

World's Worst Mother

We went to NYC for the weekend, just MM and me. I packed toys and coloring books and crayons and magic markers and shirts and socks and pants and toiletries and presents for people we were visiting and


forgot to pack any underwear for my son. I packed them for me, but not for him.

Consequently, he now has Lightning McQueen on his butt.


True fact: if you want to buy underwear for a 4-year-old boy in Park Slope, Brooklyn, you are SOL. We had to head over to Burlington Coat Factiory in Chelsea.

Mmmm...better not.

Mrs. Coulter is doing another round of 123. So I picked up the nearest book, flipped to page 123 and re-read sentences 5 - 7.

The book is Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K. Hamilton.

I'm a bad, bad blogger

Not much to write about, I've been working on a database. MM had a nuclear meltdown tonight over swedish meatballs. He was so exhausted, poor guy. But he hit MS on the way to bed, and so he lost story-time.

I'm hopeful that he will wake up in a better mood tomorrow.

Meanwhile, why don't y'all put in requests for something for me to write about? I'm about out of ideas at the moment.

Things I learned today

• Rented ice skates are truly ugly.
• Once around an ice rink is an extraordinarily long distance when you are trying to teach someone how to ice skate.
• I am NOT qualified to teach anyone how to ice skate.
• Despite the fact that I suck as a teacher, Muffin Man thinks ice skating is a hoot, and wants to go again. He fell several times but laughed each time and was able to get back up again pretty quickly.

I ache all over. Mom, I'm so grateful to you for teaching me how to skate. Now, could you teach me how to teach MM?

Tales of a sunny Saturday

Muffin Man and I went on an excursion this morning on our neighborhood bike path, enjoying the weather (sunny, 68 degrees F). Him on his bicycle, me walking. Him in his pjs (at first I told him "no", but then I thought "WWMD?*" and I let him). Me in ripped jeans and an aloha shirt. We went in a direction we seldom go, away from the closest of the several playgrounds.

On our way out he rode s l o w l y. I kept saying, "I'm walking! You're riding! You should be way ahead of me! Pedal! Pedal! Pedal!" He kept saying, "I'm going too fast, Mama!"

As we moseyed along, we said hello to everyone we met and he pet every dog he saw (with permission of the owners). He complained it was "too hard" to pedal and wanted me to push. I told him he was welcome to walk, but he'd have to push his bicycle, so he just kept pedaling s l o w l y. And then we got to the first of the further-away playgrounds. SWINGS! SLIDES! RUNNING!

"Do you want to go to the next playground?" Zoom! On to his bicycle! Helmet on! Pedalling!

At the next playground, there was a worshipful 2-year-old named Max who though MM was a god. He mimicked MM's every move, and MM was really really very nice to him, slowing down for him and being very gentle. When Max left, MM ran around furiously for a few minutes and then...zoom! on to his bicycle! helmet on! pedalling for home.

I had to run to catch up the all the way home.

And MM stayed in his pyjamas the whole day.


I hope it's as warm and sunny tomorrow.

*What Would Moxie Do?

If you resolve to put away the laundry...

Ala Jo(e), If you resolve to put away the laundry...you might find you have to clear out your dresser first. And the closet. Which is full of stuff that doesn't belong in closets.

I have summer clothes, and winter clothes, and business clothes, and clothes that need to go to the dry cleaners, and clothes that need ironing, and clothes that I last wore before I was a mommy.

I have sandals, and boots, and shoes that need repairing, and shoes that I last wore before I was a mommy.

I have boxes of wool and cotton yarns and knitting needles I haven't touched since before I was a mommy.

I have birthday presents, and toy prizes, and toys and cozy baby blankets that are beyond repair (but which can't be thrown out while MM is around or he'll throw a hissy fit) which never would have been in my closet before I was a mommy.

I need to borrow your daughter, Jo(e). I'm never gonna be able to keep this resolution without her.

last lines of '06

As seen at Quinn's, the last sentence of the last post of each month of 2006 (with a bit of cheating if the last sentence was too dull to put up there on it's own). Some of these make no sense out of context, I mean take a peek at July:

January: And the winner is....

February: And, like Phantom, there's at least one state out there I'm never going to visit.

March: Does anyone else have the theme song from "Little Einsteins" stuck in their heads? I'm trying to get it out by humming the theme from "Higgly Town Heroes" but it's not working.Well, that's it. See you all later!

April: And now APL and AB are off back home and MM is having quiet time.

May: It was a big hit.

June: He's starting to READ!

July: A change purse.

August: He didn't want his blanket to cover them (but we tucked him up anyway after he'd gone to sleep).

September: She was born somewhat prematurely on Wednesday and, though her prognosis is good (weighing in at 6 lb 3 oz), she's in the NICU while her lungs mature.

October: Please go take a look.

November: Also, not to forget, The Barenaked Ladies have an excellent holiday CD with an original Hanukah song on it.

December: My New Year's Resolution: To put away the laundry. (Chest of) Drawers! What are they good for? Absolutely nothing. I said drawers! Huh, good God y'all.
May you all have a happy, healthy, peaceful, and prosperous New Year.


Quick update on some of this: My little cousin is doing well and I've just realized I've still not met her. And I have a Jo(e)esque post coming up about my New Year's resolution. MM is pretty much at the same point he was in June on the reading front.

This post brought to you by El Nino and a cancellation

My sister is in town! She arrived Tuesday evening for a 4-day conference and meeting extravaganza. "No time for a visit this time," she said glumly when I spoke to her New Year's Day.
"Call me if you get a cancellation," I said. "It's flu season, surely one of your appointments will cancel."
"That's right! You're on vacation!"
"Yep! I can come into town at a moment's notice!"

And that's exactly what happened. By 9:00 this morning, she knew she had a couple of hours free at 3:30. I hopped into the car, drove to the metro, and ran right to her.

We ate outdoors. With our coats off. In short-sleeved shirts. In January. The weather monkeys say it's not global warming, just El Nino and the jet stream and enjoy it while it lasts. Well, we enjoyed every last bit of it. Especially BigSister, who lives in the frozen north. Up a steep dirt road. That is covered in snow 5 months of the year and mud 2 months. (Hey! Do you know what they do in the frozen north for the summer? No, what? If it falls on a weekend, they have a picnic!) But they sure do have purty leaves.

And after we talked and ate and talked some more and admired the weather and commented on the machine gun-wielding secret service agents in the motorcade that had gone by while BigSister was waiting for me, I popped her into a taxi and sent her off to her next appointment.

And then I bought a book for the train ride back. The latest in the Deborah Knott series. It's excellent. I nearly missed my stop!

And then played with MM and I ate some excellent beef stroganoff (MS made it using the last of the leftover prime rib) and then it was MM's bedtime. And then I finished the book. I'm not gonna give the plot away, y'all, but you really must read Margaret Maron if you haven't read her already. I know I've talked to you about her before. Here's a good place to start. Or here. Or here.

So truly an excellent day.

Tomorrow MM starts in Jr. Kindegarten!! He just got promoted from Pre-K. He's going to have a locker and everything. He's pretty psyched.

Muffin Man...

...Picked up his stool, carried it to the cabinet near the sink, climbed up, opened the cabinet that holds the drinking glasses, got one of his plastic tumblers, closed the cabinet door, climbed down, carried his tumbler to the fridge, opened the fridge, got out the jug of filtered water (only 1/3 full), handed his tumbler to me, said, "Would you please hold this while I pour?", poured the water, put the jug away in the fridge, returned his stool to its home, retrieved his glass of water from me, drank it, and put the tumbler in the sink.


...Put out dessert plates for everyone after dinner tonight, brought out the cake, went and got a butter knife and started to cut the cake (we stopped him, but excellent try, kiddo!)

Where the heck has my baby gone?


(Said as he's running by at the speed of light)"...I want more cake!" (running by again) "I love sweet, sugary things!" (The grown-ups laugh and I remark, doing my best Slim Pickins, "I think you've had enough.")

How I spent the last day of 2006.

1. I made coffee cake (delicious).
2. We ate lunch out. Muffin Man ate two kids meals and was still hungry.
3. We went to a new grocery store (weird, antiseptic, looked like the Jetson's maid would show up any minute.)
4. Muffin Man and I baked Ginger Bread Cookies. The dough was delicious, and the cookies were like flat, teddy-bear-shaped, rocks. Sigh.
5. I made Spicy Ginger Peanut Chicken (my own recipe). Delicious.

Tomorrow my SIL and her husband will come for dinner (that's what the prime rib is for). Prime rib, mashed potatoes, and braised brussels sprouts. She's bringing the dessert.

My New Year's Resolution: To put away the laundry. (Chest of) Drawers! What are they good for? Absolutely nothing. I said drawers! Huh, good God y'all.

May you all have a happy, healthy, peaceful, and prosperous New Year.

How to make prime rib

First, buy yourself a prime rib roast from Wegman's. DON'T FORGET TO PUT IT IN THE FRIDGE!

Next, use this recipe. I use my dutch oven instead of a terra cotta planter.

Serve. Accept applause.

Shoot me. Shoot me now.

I am an idiot.

A complete and total idiot.

I am unworthy to be considered Homo Sapiens sapiens.







I bought $91.00 worth of prime rib for a New Year's feast. And then I forgot to put it in the refridgerator.
Gah. I'm so angry with myself.

Is there anything cuter than a small child in jammies, teddy-bear slippers, and a bathrobe?

Yes.

100 small children in jammies, animal face slippers, and bathrobes.

Happy Pajama Day from Posh New Place!!!

Muffin Man on Split Pea Soup: Disgusting

Ah, well. More for me.

Murder Ink is closing

I can't believe it.

I met Mr. Spock there. I was introduced to so many authors I'd never heard of, and introduced others to them in my turn. Even now, shopping in a bookstore, I can't resist making recommendations to fellow shoppers. "Oh! You like Agatha Christie? You'll love Josephine Tey!"

By the end of this week, they'll be gone.

Two years ago... (EDITED)

Over 200,000 people died. Today www.washingtonpost.com has only one mention of the event on its front page, and that's an oped piece by Bill Clinton. Doing a search brings up more, but they're all AP or Reuters wire stories. The NY Times is no better.

Did you know there was another tsunami there today? Over 100 people died. Today. No mention on the front page. No mention on the World page.

Over 200,000 dead. More dead today. And barely a whisper...But never fear, there is a big headline about how fashion designers can make a buck selling their designs in virtual reality.


EDITED TO ADD: Okay, now they've added a front-page headline about the observances marking the day and the tsunamis that occurred this morning.

Merry Christmas!!!

I was so not the good jew today. Not only did we celebrate Christmas, we celebrated it with ham.

Yup.

I got so many books for Christmas, I didn't know where to start. But I went with Charlaine Harris's "Shakespeare's Champion", followed by "Shakespeare's Christmas". (Having already read "Shakespeare's Landlord" and "Shakespeare's Trollop") I love me some Charlaine Harris.

MM got me some beautiful jewelry (necklace and earrings), that MS swears were not expensive.

And I played with MM and all his new toys, and he and MS did lots of crafts together (MM got tons of crafts stuff!)

Now MM is in bed, tucked up tight. And I'm checking in with all you folks. Merry Christmas. Peace on earth. Good will to men. And less than 13 months until Bush is out of office.

Santa, Presents, and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Muffin Man and I made chocolate chip cookies today, and tonight he carefully picked two of them, and placed them on a plate. We left a glass of milk out and MM wrote a note ("I love you, Santa!) and put his school picture in the envelope with the card.

Then he brushed his teeth again (having eaten a cookie while leaving two out for Santa) and went to bed.

Then Santa's helpers rolled into action, wrapping the last few gifts and setting everything out under the tree (some stuff was already there, but now there are loads -- mostly from grandparents and mostly for MM as it should be).

Now there is only the wait for the morning. Good night everybody!

Year in Review

As seen everywhere, but seen first at APL's.

1. Resolutions: My sister-in-law and her husband gave us gift certificates to a movie theatre and a promise of free baby-sitting when we go to the movies. Thus one of my resolutions for the year is to see at least one non-G-rated film before it comes out on DVD.
2. Dr. Four Eyes tagged me for this last week.
3. Muffin Man woke me 4 times last night.
4. Yesterday, after my Statistics study group was over, I drove to our nearby Wegman's. Inside, I bought:
5. The term paper, she is done. Not just done, but delivered.
6. & yet can come into the middle of a song and sing every word in perfect time:
7. Watermelon
8. Proof: life is not fair;
9. My thighs and my back hurt. Who knew that keeping your knees bent while stepping back and forth in a smooth lateral motion and swaying your hips would be so hard?
10. She's off the respirator and being treated for jaundice. Expected to go home sometime this week.
11. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have less than a week until election day. This year, it's more important than ever that you get out there and vote.
12. As started by Annika and Moreena, here's Muffin Man's Fancy Day celebration. Please note that he is wearing not just an "itchy"(pima cotten and ramie, soft as soft can be) sweater, but also a tie.

Conflict

So Andrea over at Beanie Baby has a post about the nuclear family and I was going to post a long comment over there about it, but decided to make it a post of my own.

When it comes to the nuclear family, the level of conflict determines how the kids do in terms of aggressiveness, success at school, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. The following is a section of a report I did on joint custody for a class at Nearby U.:

Bauserman (2002) and Thwaite, et al. (1998) show that children in any joint custody arrangement (either physical or legal) have outcomes that are significantly better than children in sole maternal custody and that there is no significant difference between children in joint custody arrangements and those in intact happy (where happy means that the level of conflict is low) families (Bauserman, 2002, pp. 95-98; Thwaite, et al., 1998, pp. 49-50)....

Thwaite, et al. (1998) show that interparental conflict is harmful (p.24-25) and that parental conflict is “related negatively to children’s post divorce adjustment” (p. 251), but studies of children from both intact and divorced families show “that it might actually be the level of parental conflict that predicts poor psychosocial outcomes among children rather than the divorce itself” (p. 251). In other words, divorce is better for children notwithstanding the common practice of staying together for the sake of the kids. Both the Gunnoe & Braver (2001) and the Bauserman (2002) studies agree that, contrary to the belief that shared custody continues pre-divorce conflict, there is no increase in parental conflict in joint custody situations. Indeed, Bauserman (2002) reports significantly less conflict between parents in joint custody: “in fact, it was the sole-custody parents who reported higher levels of current conflict” (p. 97).

In other words, parents who stay together "for the sake of the kids" are worsening their children's chances of success. Sometimes, divorce is better for the kids. This is assuming that there is a high level of conflict due to marital unhappiness.

References:

Bauserman, R. (2002). Child adjustment in joint-custody versus sole-custody arrangements: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Family Psychology, 16(1), 91-102. Retrieved March 1, 2006, from EBSCOhost database.

Gunnoe, M., & Braver, S. (2001). The effects of joint legal custody on mothers, fathers, and children controlling for factors that predispose a sole maternal versus joint legal award. Law and Human Behavior, 25(1), 25-43. Retrieved March 1, 2006, from JSTOR database.

Thwaite, J., Silitsky, D, & Luchow, A. (1998). Children of divorce: Adjustment, parental conflict, custody, remarriage, and recommendations for clinicians. New York: Jason Aronson, Inc.

Hanukah

Muffin Man is all about the Hanukah. His favorite part was lighting the menorah. He liked that part so much, he wanted to do it again first thing this morning. But he was cool with it when I told him he had to wait for sundown. He also liked his chocolate star-of-David lollipop.

Tomorrow I'm gonna see if he's up for making some latkes with me.

Done, done, done, done, DONE!

And may I say a hearty yahoo?

YAHOOOOOO!

A whole month of doing nothing but working on a database, cleaning the house, replenishing our larder, cooking meals to freeze, celebrating holidays, and taking MM to swimming lessons. Booya!

Maybe I'll bake some bread, just to mix things up a bit.

Oh! And I've got to get those AP people to find my fireplacing scores.

But no more classes until January 22nd. Yay!

I think I may cry...

WGMS, our local classical music station, which has been on the air for almost 60 years, may get sold to the Redskins so that they can have yet another sports-talk outlet.

Read the story here.

What we've done so far this weekend:

We made bread dough figures...


...and decorated the tree. Here's the view from the living room...
...and here's the view from the dining room.

The angel on top is from Muffin Man's first Christmas. Her wings are his hand-prints. There are hand-prints from each year all over the tree. Muffin Man did most of the decorating this year. As you can see, we're not a terribly match-y household. Most items on the tree are homemade by us or some one who loves us. Dani, if you look carefully, you can see the ornaments and the bell!

Random Bullets of Things I Learned This Semester

• Sea weed is a form of algae.
• Daddy Long Legs are not spiders. They're insects.
• Sponges are not plants, they're animals.
• Octopi or octopodes? The debate rages on.
• Anti-bacterial soap is counter-productive. It creates resistent bacteria. Bleach is better for killing germs on countertops. Plain old soap and hot water is best for washing hands.
• Widow's peaks and dimples are dominant traits.
• Biology is a LOT more interesting now than I thought it was 20 years ago.
• The Merrie Monarch Festival is a hula competition that is held in honor of King David Kawika Kalakaua. He brought back the hula after decades of suppression by the missionaries.
• Serious hula dancers make their own costumes, instruments, and accessories. Right down to collecting the materials to make the dyes and paints.
• Hula dancing is both more difficult and more fun than I thought it would be. I'm sad the class has ended.
• The world's religions are fascinating. I wish that people who claim to practice the ones we studied this semester would actually heed their teachings as most of them require people to live in peace with one another. Sigh.
• If I were a character in a Harry Potter book, I'd be Hermione. I am definitely an insufferable know-it-all. Always with my hand up. Always with some item to contribute that I've heard in the news, read in a book, or learned from one of you guys.
• Research methods and statistical analysis in psychology is both more and less interesting than I thought it would be. It's the one class I'm a little worried about in terms of my grade. It's 7 credits and I'm afraid I'll be getting a C. Gonna have to study hard for the final.
• If you're going to be in a class in any of the buildings on the east side of campus, park in lot A. The walk's much shorter from there, but it's not as pretty.
• The third floor bathroom in the huge central building will always have T@mp@x even when all the other bathrooms are sold-out.
• The computer lab in the farthest south-east building is closed on Fridays. Which really frosts my cookies, let me tell you.
• The bookstore has a good selection of text books, but a poor selection of everything else. Seriously...what bookstore has a mystery section that has not even ONE Agatha Christie title? But their general fiction section has everything David B@ldacci ever wrote. Feh.
• We have a synchronized swimming team. Truly. We do.

Bullets of Two Down, Three to Go

• Vote for Phantom, 'cause you know you wanna. She deserves the award. And it'd be a huge dose of affirmation just when it's needed most.

• Biology Lab final? Done and done well.
• Hawaiian Dance final? I kaholo'd and kahea'd my @ss off.
• Psychology Lab Paper? Meh. But I rocked the presentation.
• Next week? Three more finals. Psychology on Tuesday, Religion on Wednesday, and Biology lecture on Thursday. Thank goodness the hardest one is first.
• This weekend? Studying and sleeping and playing with the Muffin Man.

0600

We instituted a rule recently that MM could NOT come for morning snuggles until 6 AM. Everytime he poked his nose into our room before then, we'd haul his tushy back into his own room. Not to be mean, but I'm not a good Mommy if I don't have my sleep. And he's really not a pleasant boy if he hasn't had his. And we don't sleep well jammed three in the bed, when one (cough Muffin Man cough) is not only a blanket stealer, but likes to sleep cross-wise.

Yesterday (and again today) he made his first appearance at 0600 sharp. "I read the clock, Mama!!! it's Snuggle Time!"

A laundry victory!!!

Here at the Mystery house we sometime encounter a stubborn stain or two. My general rule is to just treat it with stain stick or something like that and send it back through the wash. But we had one or two items that weren't cooperating with that formula and I was kind of at a standstill. Too cheap to throw out a perfectly good item, too lazy to do any stain research.

To make it more complicated, the stains were on dark colors. In my mind, that ruled out bleach. But did it? What if I put just a splash of bleach into the washer along with my beloved Dreft (no dyes! no perfumes!) and ran the water awhile and THEN put in the dark wash?

And so I tried it. And it worked! The stains are gone, the colors still look good and nothing smells chlorine-y.

And how sad is it that I'm excited about this?

The Fancy Day Meme

As started by Annika and Moreena, here's Muffin Man's Fancy Day celebration. Please note that he is wearing not just an "itchy"(pima cotten and ramie, soft as soft can be) sweater, but also a tie.