Years go by. Things change.
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Monday, November 07, 2011
The worst day of the year.
Tomorrow is election day and so, of course, Muffin Man will be staying overnight tonight with a babysitter so that Mr. Spock and I can be at our volunteer posts at 0530 in the cold, dark morning.
We'll be at our posts all day (with a short break to go to our own polling place to vote), and then we'll go to a watch party and, depending on how long it takes, we'll probably be home after MM's bedtime (his sitter will bring him to our house after his holiday camp's field trip tomorrow, and stay there with him until we get home).
This is the part of being involved in elections I hate. Not seeing my son for two whole days (though I'm volunteering at the sitter's polling place, so I'll actually see him when she comes to vote).
There's no doubt in my mind that what I'm doing is worth it, that this is how a democracy continues, that I'm teaching my son how much I value our system. But I'm not going to lie to you, Monday before an election when there's a chance I may not see that sweet boy until Wednesday morning? It's the worst day of the year.
We'll be at our posts all day (with a short break to go to our own polling place to vote), and then we'll go to a watch party and, depending on how long it takes, we'll probably be home after MM's bedtime (his sitter will bring him to our house after his holiday camp's field trip tomorrow, and stay there with him until we get home).
This is the part of being involved in elections I hate. Not seeing my son for two whole days (though I'm volunteering at the sitter's polling place, so I'll actually see him when she comes to vote).
There's no doubt in my mind that what I'm doing is worth it, that this is how a democracy continues, that I'm teaching my son how much I value our system. But I'm not going to lie to you, Monday before an election when there's a chance I may not see that sweet boy until Wednesday morning? It's the worst day of the year.
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Anyone have a reliable pedometer for the iPhone?
I can't get the Nike one to calibrate, and Footsteps paused after 2 miles.
In related news, I need better non-sandal walking shoes.
In related news, I need better non-sandal walking shoes.
Friday, November 04, 2011
More cheap, non-crafty costumes: Some purchase required edition
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| Muffin Man as Captain Feather Sword. Character copyright Disney |
He is also wearing a red quilted vest we already had, black pants and white dress shirt we already had, and a Wiggles logo we printed off their website.
Thursday, November 03, 2011
More cheap, non-crafty costumes: grown-up edition
Three years ago, Muffin Man was Anakin Skywalker for Halloween (alas, a purchased costume).
And me, being me? I was a Princess.
Ingredients: White poet shirt (bought in, I am not joking, 1989. From Victoria's Secret. I know.) over a white turtleneck and cinched with a black belt. Beige pants, white sneakers. Iconic hairstyle.
I look bulkier than usual because there is a sweatshirt underneath the turtleneck.
Not a perfect match, by any means, but I got the flavor right. Everyone knew immediately who I was supposed to be, and MM loved that I was playing his character's daughter.
The only item purchased new for this costume were the hairpins.
And me, being me? I was a Princess.
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| Mystery Mommy as Princess Leia Morgana. Character copyright George Lucas |
Ingredients: White poet shirt (bought in, I am not joking, 1989. From Victoria's Secret. I know.) over a white turtleneck and cinched with a black belt. Beige pants, white sneakers. Iconic hairstyle.
I look bulkier than usual because there is a sweatshirt underneath the turtleneck.
Not a perfect match, by any means, but I got the flavor right. Everyone knew immediately who I was supposed to be, and MM loved that I was playing his character's daughter.
The only item purchased new for this costume were the hairpins.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
The cheap, non-crafty parent's guide to making costumes.
Muffin Man is nothing if not a stickler for verisimilitude. The boy shaved his head for last year's costume.
I am cheap and, beyond knitting, am not at all crafty.
I do not like buying costumes that will be used once. I especially do not like paying more for a costume than I would pay for real clothes. Particularly since those costumes are severely lacking in verisimilitude.
That being the case, the Miller Household puts our heads together to come up with costumes that incorporate items we already have, or that can be reused in everyday life and that also capture the spirit of the character. I think we're pretty successful! What do you think?
Side-by-side pictures of MM's last two Halloween costumes and their inspirations.
Both costumes are home-made, (ingredients here and here) and involved no sewing or other crafty skill whatsoever (although MS made a terrific traffic cone, which ended up not getting used in favor of the real much heavier one from Home Depot).
I am cheap and, beyond knitting, am not at all crafty.
I do not like buying costumes that will be used once. I especially do not like paying more for a costume than I would pay for real clothes. Particularly since those costumes are severely lacking in verisimilitude.
That being the case, the Miller Household puts our heads together to come up with costumes that incorporate items we already have, or that can be reused in everyday life and that also capture the spirit of the character. I think we're pretty successful! What do you think?
Side-by-side pictures of MM's last two Halloween costumes and their inspirations.
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| Cone Head Zombie from Plants vs. Zombies. Character copyright PopCap Games. |
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| Aang, the Avatar from the cartoon, The Avatar (not to be confused with the movie Avatar, or the character from the movie version, called The Last Airbender). |
Both costumes are home-made, (ingredients here and here) and involved no sewing or other crafty skill whatsoever (although MS made a terrific traffic cone, which ended up not getting used in favor of the real much heavier one from Home Depot).
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
There's a zombie on my lawn
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| Muffin Man as a Cone Head Zombie from Plants vs. Zombies |
Road Cone ($8.00) from Home Depot. Ripped jeans (skull on back pocket), bought last year at Target, and worn to shreds. Shirt from Target via my closet. Brown blazer from Target via my closet. Tie from J.C. Penney, came free with a suit two years ago.
Make-up from Ulta. I did a base coat of beige foundation cream. Then I applied a thick top-coat of a matte-green eye-shadow all over his face. Then I accented his eyes with a thick coat of black eye-shadow, and brushed a bit more black and grey eye-shadow here and there for effect.
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| The inspiration. I think we captured the spirit quite well. |
I am sporting a GMU sweatshirt turned inside-out, with pictures of the sunflower and pea-shooter taped onto it. Pictures from worthplaying.com.
(This post inspired by real-life friends of my youth, Eclectic Mom and The Unfocused Life)
Monday, October 24, 2011
Where have I been?
I've been posting at Doorbell Queen, I've been working, and I've been on hold with several folks.
A couple weeks ago, I got a mammogram here at work. CONVENIENT! But, because they did your basic mammogram (2 pictures per breast), I got the call I always get when I get a basic mammogram...which is that they saw something weird and would I go get more thoroughly checked?
And here's where it's less convenient, because normally, I'd just go back to where I went to get the basic, but they're a traveling group, so I can't.
So I've been on the phone with my doctor, and a specialist, and the traveling folks in NJ. And the upshot is that they're going to FedEx the films to the specialist and I'll have an appointment a week from tomorrow (and I'll bring the films from 2 years ago), and lesson learned. From now on, I get all my mammograms from the local radiologists.
As always, this shit makes me a little anxious, but since every. single. time. I get a mammogram, I have to go for follow-up and they haven't found anything yet - I'm just large and fibrous - I'm not as anxious as you'd expect.
A couple weeks ago, I got a mammogram here at work. CONVENIENT! But, because they did your basic mammogram (2 pictures per breast), I got the call I always get when I get a basic mammogram...which is that they saw something weird and would I go get more thoroughly checked?
And here's where it's less convenient, because normally, I'd just go back to where I went to get the basic, but they're a traveling group, so I can't.
So I've been on the phone with my doctor, and a specialist, and the traveling folks in NJ. And the upshot is that they're going to FedEx the films to the specialist and I'll have an appointment a week from tomorrow (and I'll bring the films from 2 years ago), and lesson learned. From now on, I get all my mammograms from the local radiologists.
As always, this shit makes me a little anxious, but since every. single. time. I get a mammogram, I have to go for follow-up and they haven't found anything yet - I'm just large and fibrous - I'm not as anxious as you'd expect.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A Perfect Day for Banana Cake
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| Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, all from scratch. |
Mr. Spock turned 53 last week, so this past weekend I made (at his request) a Banana Cake with Cream Cheese frosting. Recipe from the Fanny Farmer Baking Book.
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| Banana cake, sliced |
I had some for breakfast this morning. What? It's fruit!
(Extra credit for the first person to say where the title comes from. Mr. Spock is not eligible for this credit).
Monday, October 03, 2011
Yes, we have no banana bread. But we do have beef stew.
Yesterday morning, after breakfast, I hauled out of the fridge several pounds of beef cubes, a sheaf of golden beets, a bunch of young carrots, a bag of red potatoes, a package of chopped crimini mushrooms, a leek, a large onion, and a quarter of a stick of butter.
Mr. Spock and I chopped up the beets and the carrots and put them and the beef and potatoes into our large slow cooker.
We chopped the leek and onion, peeled and squished a large clove of garlic, and added them and the butter to a large pan with some kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and sauteed them until they were soft. Then we scraped the whole mess into the slow cooker.
By that time, MS had poured a half a cup of wine and a half a cup of water and added them to the mix. I popped a bay leaf into the pot and then I went walking for Cliff Keirce (and Jennifer Wexton, and Mike Kondratick).
I was able to get one development done before it started raining in earnest, so I went back home, had a cup of tea to take the chill off, and tasted the stew broth. I added rosemary, thyme, sage, more salt, more pepper, and three more cloves of garlic.
And then I looked at the five really ripe bananas that were in the fridge. I got out the Fanny Farmer Baking Book and realized that we're all out of walnuts. So I put the bananas in the freezer for next week.
Then we all played an escape game together, while the aroma of stew wafted through the house.
Dinner was pronounced a success, though we all agreed that the potatoes should have been cut up, the beets could have been left out, and more garlic was needed.
What did you do this weekend?
Mr. Spock and I chopped up the beets and the carrots and put them and the beef and potatoes into our large slow cooker.
We chopped the leek and onion, peeled and squished a large clove of garlic, and added them and the butter to a large pan with some kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and sauteed them until they were soft. Then we scraped the whole mess into the slow cooker.
By that time, MS had poured a half a cup of wine and a half a cup of water and added them to the mix. I popped a bay leaf into the pot and then I went walking for Cliff Keirce (and Jennifer Wexton, and Mike Kondratick).
I was able to get one development done before it started raining in earnest, so I went back home, had a cup of tea to take the chill off, and tasted the stew broth. I added rosemary, thyme, sage, more salt, more pepper, and three more cloves of garlic.
And then I looked at the five really ripe bananas that were in the fridge. I got out the Fanny Farmer Baking Book and realized that we're all out of walnuts. So I put the bananas in the freezer for next week.
Then we all played an escape game together, while the aroma of stew wafted through the house.
Dinner was pronounced a success, though we all agreed that the potatoes should have been cut up, the beets could have been left out, and more garlic was needed.
What did you do this weekend?
Monday, September 26, 2011
Random bullets of a busy weekend
- QuiltsALot and TellsDonaldDuckStories were in for the weekend, much eating and talking was done
- And sorting through boxes of photos and organizing them, and throwing away the blurriest of them. And the one of an ex-boyfriend's dog.
- Yeah, I don't get why I had that one either.
- Muffin Man introduced TellsDonaldDuckStories to the crack that is Plants vs. Zombies.
- Muffin Man stayed with them at their hotel, and went swimming.
- Did I mention the eating?
- And the talking?
- And then we ate more.
- The End.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Are you an organ donor?
I am registered to be an organ donor. I was even before I saw this video on Nick News (link courtesy of Moreena).
[Video is 22 minutes long, and requires that you have a box of tissues nearby.]
Make sure everyone in your family knows you want to donate your organs and ask them how they feel about donating theirs. Each organ donor can save 7 lives.
And don't forget that living donations are possible with kidneys, liver, and bone marrow.
[Video is 22 minutes long, and requires that you have a box of tissues nearby.]
Make sure everyone in your family knows you want to donate your organs and ask them how they feel about donating theirs. Each organ donor can save 7 lives.
And don't forget that living donations are possible with kidneys, liver, and bone marrow.
Monday, September 12, 2011
9/12
Yesterday I was full of thoughts of 10 years ago, as I guess we all were. I've posted about that beautiful blue day many times. Today, I'm just going to post links to those past ones, to a few from the past few days by blogging friends of mine, and to the sermon from the services I went to yesterday.
What I wrote:
What others said:
May peace be with you.
What I wrote:
- Lorisa Ceylon Taylor, age 31. Died 9/11/2001
- Out of a Clear Blue Sky (and 3 more exactly like this one)
- The Mourning Sky
- Vanessa Lynn Kolpak, age 21. Died 9/11/2001
What others said:
May peace be with you.
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Oh my god, this video is just...it's Perfect
via Swistle
It's Steve, from Blues Clues, talking about being Steve, from Blues Clues, and a...big fan. And it's wonderful. It's also 17 minutes long, just so you know.
It's Steve, from Blues Clues, talking about being Steve, from Blues Clues, and a...big fan. And it's wonderful. It's also 17 minutes long, just so you know.
Friday, September 02, 2011
iPhone vs. Droid: The Views of a Reluctant Adopter, one day later.
So, 11 days ago, I got a Droid X2 to replace my Droid Eris, which died an ignoble death (dropped from a height onto uneven pavement. Smash).
So I went and got the Droid X2, and a serious protector for it.
The Droid X2 has a lot to recommend it. Large screen. Fast everything. On the down-side, it's big and heavy and doesn't easily fit into any pockets I own. But, since I generally carry around a purse anyway, that wasn't a deal breaker. I was really very happy with the Droid X2 - when it was working.
And therein was the rub. Five times in the ten days I owned that phone, it crashed. Needed a hard-reset type of crashed. To perform a hard reset on the Droid X2, you need to remove and replace the battery. Which was covered by the serious protector, that was so serious it was nigh unto impossible to remove. Now maybe you don't think five major crashes in ten days is a lot, but I do. So back to the store I went. And this time I got an iPhone 4. (I had considered getting a different Droid, but I'm starting to have doubts about their quality control).
So let's talk about the iPhone 4. There is a lot I like about it, but I'm having a bit of trouble adjusting to other parts of it. How do you download music from Amazon's cloud onto to it? How do you set your In Case of Emergency numbers? How do you import contacts from, say, Facebook, without sending contacts TO Facebook? Can you set the current weather to be visible at all times on your main screen? How do you teach it to be quicker to suggest words (like your email address) when you're typing?
These things were easy in the Droid.
Things I like better in the iPhone: speed, screen sensitivity, camera, the phone itself. I'm sure that as I learn to do the other things I want to do, I'll stop wishing it would do things like the Droid did, but I hate the learning curve.
First world problems, much? What's new in your life?
So I went and got the Droid X2, and a serious protector for it.
The Droid X2 has a lot to recommend it. Large screen. Fast everything. On the down-side, it's big and heavy and doesn't easily fit into any pockets I own. But, since I generally carry around a purse anyway, that wasn't a deal breaker. I was really very happy with the Droid X2 - when it was working.
And therein was the rub. Five times in the ten days I owned that phone, it crashed. Needed a hard-reset type of crashed. To perform a hard reset on the Droid X2, you need to remove and replace the battery. Which was covered by the serious protector, that was so serious it was nigh unto impossible to remove. Now maybe you don't think five major crashes in ten days is a lot, but I do. So back to the store I went. And this time I got an iPhone 4. (I had considered getting a different Droid, but I'm starting to have doubts about their quality control).
So let's talk about the iPhone 4. There is a lot I like about it, but I'm having a bit of trouble adjusting to other parts of it. How do you download music from Amazon's cloud onto to it? How do you set your In Case of Emergency numbers? How do you import contacts from, say, Facebook, without sending contacts TO Facebook? Can you set the current weather to be visible at all times on your main screen? How do you teach it to be quicker to suggest words (like your email address) when you're typing?
These things were easy in the Droid.
Things I like better in the iPhone: speed, screen sensitivity, camera, the phone itself. I'm sure that as I learn to do the other things I want to do, I'll stop wishing it would do things like the Droid did, but I hate the learning curve.
First world problems, much? What's new in your life?
Monday, August 29, 2011
Muffin Man Goes to Fourth Grade
It seems like just yesterday he was going to Kindergarten, and First, and Second, and Third Grade...
His hair hasn't seen a scissors since last Halloween. Excuse me, I think I have some dust in my eye.
His hair hasn't seen a scissors since last Halloween. Excuse me, I think I have some dust in my eye.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Earthquake!
I was outside my son's school, looking at his class list when the ground started undulating. We all looked around for the delivery truck and it slowly dawned on us that it had been a seismic event.
Wow. Earthquakes in Virginia.
Wow. Earthquakes in Virginia.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
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