This year has gone by so fast! It seems the older I get – the faster it flies by! I blame it on Flo. She keeps having all these birthdays – and drags me along with her.
This year has seen a lot of changes. Some good, some bad, some happy, some sad. Oh lookie!!I rhymed!
My OS and FDIL moved into their own place this year and have been setting up housekeeping to their likes. They recently added to their little family – they got a puppy!
MS joined the Marines, graduated from boot camp and is in training now.
This was a year of firsts for DD. She attended her first prom, got her driver’s permit (finally), and started her first job. Her last year of high school has started – and we’ve been busy picking out Senior pictures, ordering cap and gown, etc, etc.
SD graduated high school also and is attending college here in KC.
YS kept me busy this spring and fall with baseball and football. (Is lawn-chair butt permanent?)
Hubby has had some hard losses this year with the passing of his best friend and then another close friend. Both were sudden and difficult to deal with. He also learned his boss has cancer, so poor hubby has been looking at his life and making some good choices. He’s cut back on his work load and spends more time at home. (Not that that’s always a good thing!!) He’s been able to do some things that he’s always put off thinking there’s time to do, so some positive things have come about.Been a busy year for nephews! I had two nephews get married this year. One has moved to Canada to attend school there. The other lives with wife and baby down the hi-way a wee-bit. Another nephew graduated high school and is attending college here in the home state.
And me you ask? Well, I started what was to be a simple, quick remodel job in my house. So what if it took 11 months and a few more dollars to complete? It’s done and looks great. I’ve joined two volunteer organizations this year. Both help our soldiers overseas. I have had a wonderful time with these two groups and find it so fulfilling and it keeps me busy and off the streets as they say! I had surgery on my foot early this summer and that has been and still is quite troublesome. I did manage to find shoes that I could wear before the snow storm hit so I’m grateful. I was beginning to think I’d have to wear my flip flops year-round!
I also took some nice little mini-vacations this year. My family went camping over Memorial weekend. We left a few days early to have extra time at the lake and just really enjoyed ourselves. We also took a canoe troop over hubby’s birthday. We went with OS, FDIL, and her parents and it was a blast! Gonna make it an annual thing now! I also went to San Diego with OS to see MS graduate from boot camp. We went a day early so we could go to Sea World and see Shamu! Awesome trip!
Our extended families have had some major health issues this year, but we’re so grateful that everyone is still here with us and we were able to celebrate the holidays together.
It was a wild and crazy year – and I’m looking forward to next year!
May you all enjoy the happiest and safest New Year!
Thursday, December 28, 2006
part 2
I awoke Christmas morning at 5 AM. Had to get the ham on, breakfast ready and a zillion other things before YS and DD got up and OS and FDIL showed up. I managed to stay ahead of schedule and even had time to read a few blogs before the day just snow balled!
I tell you, it just doesn’t get any better than watching a young child open their gifts on Christmas morning! The excitement is contagious and Santa must have decided we were all very good this year! Everyone was surprised and very happy!
After the opening of the gifts I began in earnest preparations for the big dinner. DD moaned because she always gets stuck peeling potatoes. I offered to trade her places but she declined so her rights to moan and groan ceased to exist and she had to muddle through – and she did well I might add.
Dinner was a half an hour late to the table due to late arrivals (hmmmm….flo?), a deep fried turkey that was taking unusually long, and all around craziness, but it was well worth the wait. The spiral ham turned out beautifully and the green beans were awesome. YS said the blessing and it was every man for himself. There was so much food that if anyone left hungry – they had no one to blame but themselves!
After dinner we got the chance to really visit and that was nice. Everyone was gone by 6:30 and the our family gathered to watch the movie “Cars”. It was a great movie and a nice way to end a nice day.
I tell you, it just doesn’t get any better than watching a young child open their gifts on Christmas morning! The excitement is contagious and Santa must have decided we were all very good this year! Everyone was surprised and very happy!
After the opening of the gifts I began in earnest preparations for the big dinner. DD moaned because she always gets stuck peeling potatoes. I offered to trade her places but she declined so her rights to moan and groan ceased to exist and she had to muddle through – and she did well I might add.
Dinner was a half an hour late to the table due to late arrivals (hmmmm….flo?), a deep fried turkey that was taking unusually long, and all around craziness, but it was well worth the wait. The spiral ham turned out beautifully and the green beans were awesome. YS said the blessing and it was every man for himself. There was so much food that if anyone left hungry – they had no one to blame but themselves!
After dinner we got the chance to really visit and that was nice. Everyone was gone by 6:30 and the our family gathered to watch the movie “Cars”. It was a great movie and a nice way to end a nice day.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Naughty or Nice?
And how was YOUR Christmas?!?!?
Was Santa good to all of you? Let me tell you about my holiday weekend!
Friday started off with a frantic phone call to the dr. It seems that YS had developed an ear infection. I wasn’t sure what was up with him – just that something was. So it was either I beg the office manager to find time in their double-booked schedule for him – or I knew an ER visit was coming. I admit I groveled but I got him in! A z-pack later he’s on his way to full recovery.
DD and I ventured to the mall (yuck!) and finished up the shopping that we had to do there – made good time so I couldn’t complain too much. Hit all the stores I needed for gift cards and loved the in and out way of shopping! I felt like I had accomplished so much that way! I even managed to stop and pick up some great throw pillows for my couch…I’m really pleased at that point and head to the local grocery in that town hoping to find me a whole spiral ham. I can find half-spiraled hams all over the place. Finding a whole one is a different story. I had already shopped at all the markets between home and this town so it was this or I’d end up with 2 halves. Not my first choice but will pork in a pinch. I found one and soon DD and I were home with our goodies! Then it’s was hubby’s turn to take off and get a haircut and finish some shopping that he wanted to do without little eyes around (which is good news for me!) so DD, YS and I started watching Ice Age 2 and all three of us ended up taking an afternoon siesta!
After we woke up we checked our list (we made a daily list up until Xmas of things to do so we wouldn’t get behind) and found out that we were behind now! We doubled-timed it and got everything taken care of and even managed to watch the movie we had slept through. It was a great movie! I do question the rating though. I’m not a prude by any means but this movie is rated PG and I’d have to say it should have been PG-13, but that could be another topic!
Saturday rolled around and it was time to prepare for the next days festivities. I started making the cookies for Santa – and all the little “elves”, the fruit salad (love the foods I can make ahead if time!), made some deviled eggs and generally got things lined out. A friend of mine stopped by for a few and it was nice to be able to give her a Christmas hug and wish her happy holidays. Hubby finished his shopping and YS was feeling well enough to go with him and get that special present for Mom. The evening brought a casual-ness to it with frozen pizzas for dinner and another shot at watching Ice Age 2 – which we all managed to stay awake for.
Christmas Eve started early for me. I was up and had pies in the oven by 7 AM. I baked pies all day, boiled more eggs for the next day and readied myself and YS for the evening. We went to Sis’s house (Flo’s) for the evening and had dinner with the step-family. We were given a tour of their new house (almost completed!) and just fell in love with the architecture. I’m looking forward to seeing it completed and Flo getting all her things out of storage and into the house – as I’m sure she is too! It’s a beautiful home, well worth the wait and well earned by her whole family. Their family has worked hard, done without when needed and been through two deployments and heartfeltly deserve everything going their way. Moving on, the evening was nice and I enjoyed seeing everyone but Santa was n his way, so we had to move on home and get YS into bed, and all that was accomplished by 10:30. We had gone onto bed about 12:30 and about 1:30 – hubby got up to fine YS watching the discovery channel on TV. He said he couldn’t sleep and oh yeah….Santa had been there already – can he open his presents now? Hubby explained how that just wasn’t gonna happen and helped YS back to bed where he sleep peacefully until Christmas morning…
To be continued
Was Santa good to all of you? Let me tell you about my holiday weekend!
Friday started off with a frantic phone call to the dr. It seems that YS had developed an ear infection. I wasn’t sure what was up with him – just that something was. So it was either I beg the office manager to find time in their double-booked schedule for him – or I knew an ER visit was coming. I admit I groveled but I got him in! A z-pack later he’s on his way to full recovery.
DD and I ventured to the mall (yuck!) and finished up the shopping that we had to do there – made good time so I couldn’t complain too much. Hit all the stores I needed for gift cards and loved the in and out way of shopping! I felt like I had accomplished so much that way! I even managed to stop and pick up some great throw pillows for my couch…I’m really pleased at that point and head to the local grocery in that town hoping to find me a whole spiral ham. I can find half-spiraled hams all over the place. Finding a whole one is a different story. I had already shopped at all the markets between home and this town so it was this or I’d end up with 2 halves. Not my first choice but will pork in a pinch. I found one and soon DD and I were home with our goodies! Then it’s was hubby’s turn to take off and get a haircut and finish some shopping that he wanted to do without little eyes around (which is good news for me!) so DD, YS and I started watching Ice Age 2 and all three of us ended up taking an afternoon siesta!
After we woke up we checked our list (we made a daily list up until Xmas of things to do so we wouldn’t get behind) and found out that we were behind now! We doubled-timed it and got everything taken care of and even managed to watch the movie we had slept through. It was a great movie! I do question the rating though. I’m not a prude by any means but this movie is rated PG and I’d have to say it should have been PG-13, but that could be another topic!
Saturday rolled around and it was time to prepare for the next days festivities. I started making the cookies for Santa – and all the little “elves”, the fruit salad (love the foods I can make ahead if time!), made some deviled eggs and generally got things lined out. A friend of mine stopped by for a few and it was nice to be able to give her a Christmas hug and wish her happy holidays. Hubby finished his shopping and YS was feeling well enough to go with him and get that special present for Mom. The evening brought a casual-ness to it with frozen pizzas for dinner and another shot at watching Ice Age 2 – which we all managed to stay awake for.
Christmas Eve started early for me. I was up and had pies in the oven by 7 AM. I baked pies all day, boiled more eggs for the next day and readied myself and YS for the evening. We went to Sis’s house (Flo’s) for the evening and had dinner with the step-family. We were given a tour of their new house (almost completed!) and just fell in love with the architecture. I’m looking forward to seeing it completed and Flo getting all her things out of storage and into the house – as I’m sure she is too! It’s a beautiful home, well worth the wait and well earned by her whole family. Their family has worked hard, done without when needed and been through two deployments and heartfeltly deserve everything going their way. Moving on, the evening was nice and I enjoyed seeing everyone but Santa was n his way, so we had to move on home and get YS into bed, and all that was accomplished by 10:30. We had gone onto bed about 12:30 and about 1:30 – hubby got up to fine YS watching the discovery channel on TV. He said he couldn’t sleep and oh yeah….Santa had been there already – can he open his presents now? Hubby explained how that just wasn’t gonna happen and helped YS back to bed where he sleep peacefully until Christmas morning…
To be continued
Thursday, December 21, 2006
To Be or Not To Be
I attended YS’s class Christmas party at school. I’ve been to many of these over the year. I kept saying to myself that someday I’ll be done. I’ll never have to do another one of these and then I realized that I only have 2 more. YS will be in middle school – and they don’t have parties in that school..
Anywho, this party was well organized and went as smooth as butter! The kids cooperated nicely and were very well mannered.
My job was to take Polaroid pictures of each kid standing next to Santa and then the kids decorated greeting cards (that the pictures went into) while they waited for the pictures to develop. One boy told me that he had seen a camera like the one I had in a really, really, really old movie that him and his mom watched. He thought his mom told him that the movie was made in the 80’s. It was time to change the subject.
The party was moving along and all the kids and I got into quite the discussion on whether or not Santa really exists. There was a wide gambit of opinions, and feelings ran high on this subject. Very passionate these kids were, on both sides of the “issue” and the whole time I was thinking “gee – wouldn’t it be nice if this was your only concern in life!” I did have to step in once and remind them that everyone has an opinion and everyone has a right to that opinion and that kept things under semi-control.
It got me to thinking of when we were kids and the lengths that my parents went to in order for us kids “to believe”. I remember one year – and I was about YS’s age, when the thought of just who Santa really is and does he really exist was a troublesome question for me. We went to midnight mass and when we got home our presents from Santa were all laid out. Now both of our parents attended church with us – all four of us kids kept on eye on them! So if it was dad and it wasn’t mother…who was it? Well it just HAD to be Santa! My beliefs were good for another two years! Seriously though, my parents did go to a lot of trouble for all of us. Christmas was a magical day for us. I hope my kids look back on their childhood Christmas memories just as fondly as I do.
May each of you have a safe and wonderous holiday season! Spend your time with those you love, think of those you can't be with, and have a hug on me!
Merry Christmas!!!
Anywho, this party was well organized and went as smooth as butter! The kids cooperated nicely and were very well mannered.
My job was to take Polaroid pictures of each kid standing next to Santa and then the kids decorated greeting cards (that the pictures went into) while they waited for the pictures to develop. One boy told me that he had seen a camera like the one I had in a really, really, really old movie that him and his mom watched. He thought his mom told him that the movie was made in the 80’s. It was time to change the subject.
The party was moving along and all the kids and I got into quite the discussion on whether or not Santa really exists. There was a wide gambit of opinions, and feelings ran high on this subject. Very passionate these kids were, on both sides of the “issue” and the whole time I was thinking “gee – wouldn’t it be nice if this was your only concern in life!” I did have to step in once and remind them that everyone has an opinion and everyone has a right to that opinion and that kept things under semi-control.
It got me to thinking of when we were kids and the lengths that my parents went to in order for us kids “to believe”. I remember one year – and I was about YS’s age, when the thought of just who Santa really is and does he really exist was a troublesome question for me. We went to midnight mass and when we got home our presents from Santa were all laid out. Now both of our parents attended church with us – all four of us kids kept on eye on them! So if it was dad and it wasn’t mother…who was it? Well it just HAD to be Santa! My beliefs were good for another two years! Seriously though, my parents did go to a lot of trouble for all of us. Christmas was a magical day for us. I hope my kids look back on their childhood Christmas memories just as fondly as I do.
May each of you have a safe and wonderous holiday season! Spend your time with those you love, think of those you can't be with, and have a hug on me!
Merry Christmas!!!
A Stinky Situation
Years ago, I took my Girl Scout troop camping. We went to a camp down by Warsaw. Beautiful camp, absolutely gorgeous. Wonderful place to take hikes, rappel off a cliff, watch the wildlife, learn archery, study creatures in the lake water. Just an incredible amount of opportunities for the girls to learn something and have fun doing it
We stayed in a site that had perma-tents. One had electricity but the girls didn’t know it and I wasn’t telling. That perma-tent was left empty.
We had the usual fire ring – the ranger (a good friend of mine) had brought us a stack of firewood. Only the big stuff, the girls had to find their kindling. We were still learning different camping techniques so this was a compromise.
Our latrine wasn’t bad. It was a cement block building of sorts; long sink with spouts on one side, and three stalls on the other side (with porta-potty type toilets) with cement floor in between and open on both ends. There was one light bulb that was on 24/7 hanging in the middle of the building. Roughing here was not bad. I’ve been worse places for sure!
We had a great first night there. The girls were in a good mood and cooperative. We sang songs around the campfire and ate smores – it was girlie – and it was fun!
The next day we kept the girls busy with KP duty, and as many fun activities as we could squeeze into the weekend. All the while we were working on badgework. The theme for the weekend was “direction” so we learned to use a compass and played games to enforce it. The archery instructor even showed the girls how important it was to know which direction the wind was blowing. It was a great fall day and the girls worked hard and played hard, so it didn’t take much convincing to get them to bed down for the night.
We spread the adults out amongst the girl in different tents. They were still a little young and a few got nervous and so it wasn’t a problem. We did our nightly checks – no food in the tents. (It’s amazing how many times you tell apparent – do not pack food…or at least tell me that you’ve packed food so I know to remove it at bedtime. There isn’t anything worse than a pissed off raccoon who wants that food!)
Anywho, as my luck would have it, nature called in the middle of the night. I quickly dressed, grabbed my flashlight, and dashed off to the latrine (the girls’ would’ve had buddies).I’m almost there when I hear a noise. I look towards the picnic area and there sat the fattest raccoon I’d ever seen in my life. The summer camp kids were good to this guy let me tell you. His cholesterol had to be over 300 for sure. But, that wasn’t the noise I was hearing either so I stopped just short of walking into the open area of the latrine. The light of course was burning and luckily so, because in front of me was momma and baby skunk! I froze, didn’t so much as blink while momma got between me and baby. I’m thinking “oh sh*t”. Real Girl Scout-like isn't it? I stood like that – and blinking only when necessary for 22 minutes. I cannot think of a time when 22 minutes went any slower. That baby was all over the place exploring and momma had her eye on me the whole time. Kept between me and the little one – she was a good mommie. I tried to back away once and I saw the tail rise up. I froze. I didn’t know how far she could shoot that stuff! So I froze – and I stayed frozen. Now you know I waited until the very last minute to get out of my bunk to pee in the middle of the night so after 22 minutes of waiting, I’m about to the point of crying. Baby finally decides to head off in the other direction and momma happily followed. As soon as they were out of sight, I hear “Are they gone yet?” I about lost it! Scared me to death! My assistant leader was in the middle stall (it had a door with slats on it)! I had no idea she was in there! I mentally thanked my OBGYN for telling me about the benefits of the Kegal exercises and swore upon my flashlight that I’d do them faithfully for the rest of my life. Told her not to go anywhere till I got out and went to do my business.
When I was recovered, she explained that she was just about to leave when she thought she heard something. She looked out the slat on the door and saw the baby skunk and knew momma wasn’t far away so she just stood there watching me. She was afraid to say anything to me for fear it would scare momma and she’d shoot with her stuck in that stall! We both got to laughing.
Course the girls were bummed since they didn’t get to see the baby but we had seen enough!
We stayed in a site that had perma-tents. One had electricity but the girls didn’t know it and I wasn’t telling. That perma-tent was left empty.
We had the usual fire ring – the ranger (a good friend of mine) had brought us a stack of firewood. Only the big stuff, the girls had to find their kindling. We were still learning different camping techniques so this was a compromise.
Our latrine wasn’t bad. It was a cement block building of sorts; long sink with spouts on one side, and three stalls on the other side (with porta-potty type toilets) with cement floor in between and open on both ends. There was one light bulb that was on 24/7 hanging in the middle of the building. Roughing here was not bad. I’ve been worse places for sure!
We had a great first night there. The girls were in a good mood and cooperative. We sang songs around the campfire and ate smores – it was girlie – and it was fun!
The next day we kept the girls busy with KP duty, and as many fun activities as we could squeeze into the weekend. All the while we were working on badgework. The theme for the weekend was “direction” so we learned to use a compass and played games to enforce it. The archery instructor even showed the girls how important it was to know which direction the wind was blowing. It was a great fall day and the girls worked hard and played hard, so it didn’t take much convincing to get them to bed down for the night.
We spread the adults out amongst the girl in different tents. They were still a little young and a few got nervous and so it wasn’t a problem. We did our nightly checks – no food in the tents. (It’s amazing how many times you tell apparent – do not pack food…or at least tell me that you’ve packed food so I know to remove it at bedtime. There isn’t anything worse than a pissed off raccoon who wants that food!)
Anywho, as my luck would have it, nature called in the middle of the night. I quickly dressed, grabbed my flashlight, and dashed off to the latrine (the girls’ would’ve had buddies).I’m almost there when I hear a noise. I look towards the picnic area and there sat the fattest raccoon I’d ever seen in my life. The summer camp kids were good to this guy let me tell you. His cholesterol had to be over 300 for sure. But, that wasn’t the noise I was hearing either so I stopped just short of walking into the open area of the latrine. The light of course was burning and luckily so, because in front of me was momma and baby skunk! I froze, didn’t so much as blink while momma got between me and baby. I’m thinking “oh sh*t”. Real Girl Scout-like isn't it? I stood like that – and blinking only when necessary for 22 minutes. I cannot think of a time when 22 minutes went any slower. That baby was all over the place exploring and momma had her eye on me the whole time. Kept between me and the little one – she was a good mommie. I tried to back away once and I saw the tail rise up. I froze. I didn’t know how far she could shoot that stuff! So I froze – and I stayed frozen. Now you know I waited until the very last minute to get out of my bunk to pee in the middle of the night so after 22 minutes of waiting, I’m about to the point of crying. Baby finally decides to head off in the other direction and momma happily followed. As soon as they were out of sight, I hear “Are they gone yet?” I about lost it! Scared me to death! My assistant leader was in the middle stall (it had a door with slats on it)! I had no idea she was in there! I mentally thanked my OBGYN for telling me about the benefits of the Kegal exercises and swore upon my flashlight that I’d do them faithfully for the rest of my life. Told her not to go anywhere till I got out and went to do my business.
When I was recovered, she explained that she was just about to leave when she thought she heard something. She looked out the slat on the door and saw the baby skunk and knew momma wasn’t far away so she just stood there watching me. She was afraid to say anything to me for fear it would scare momma and she’d shoot with her stuck in that stall! We both got to laughing.
Course the girls were bummed since they didn’t get to see the baby but we had seen enough!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Better
Man! It is amazing what 24 hours of antibiotics will do for a person! That Keflex is some good stuff! Anyway, I'm feeling better but still not up to snuff so maybe I'll write more later - but it might be tomorrow. Gonna get the YS off to school and head back to bed. You all have a great day!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Blog
Due to the fact that I have a severe (not a mild one - they said severe - I just know it's painful ) sinus infection and a general feeling of poo...there will be no blog today :(
Monday, December 18, 2006
Holiday Eating Tips
I wouldn't normall pressume to tell anyone how, who or what to eat but with Christmas only a week away and office parties, dinner parties and the like keeping everyone busy this week; I just thought I'd pass these tips along
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. it's rare. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. it's rare. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
Friday, December 15, 2006
Dinner for Two
MY DD and I decided to do some Christmas shopping last night.
We left as soon as Hubby got home, leaving him and YS to fend for themselves when it came to dinner.
Now my Hubby is not a bad cook by any means. His menus might be limited but he’s more than capable of fixing a well balanced meal for the two of them. If all else fails – he can read the back of a box and turn out one of those “helper” meals or slap together a mean PB & J. So I left giving neither one of them (nor their stomachs) a second thought.
DD and I trudged through shop after shop, store after store and managed to knock out 90% of my list. I was thinking everyone on my list will be pleased with the results and my feet were killing me – so it was time to head home for sure.
We arrived home and were lucky enough to get all of the sacks and bigger items into my spare room (to be wrapped at a later time) before hubby made it off of the couch. YS had been to bed a couple of hours already and DD headed to her room to do the same. I regaled hubby with stories of our shopping adventures and, when done, asked him about his evening with YS.
Things went well he said. They had dinner, watched some TV, and had gotten their showers taken. All in all a pretty quite night. I asked him what he fixed for dinner and he answered (oh, you’re gonna LOVE this), “frozen pizza and scrambled eggs”! I busted out laughing! It was just so M-A-L-E! I’m trying to explain this to him (still laughing) and he’s totally confused by my thinking (and laughing). He saw nothing wrong with the meal plan at all! I explained that it isn’t necessarily wrong – just different. Male. Very bachelor-like. No female (or at least one I know) would put together that particular combination of foods. He still didn’t get it! I told him to never mind – it didn’t matter. It was funny to me and provided my blog for the day!
We left as soon as Hubby got home, leaving him and YS to fend for themselves when it came to dinner.
Now my Hubby is not a bad cook by any means. His menus might be limited but he’s more than capable of fixing a well balanced meal for the two of them. If all else fails – he can read the back of a box and turn out one of those “helper” meals or slap together a mean PB & J. So I left giving neither one of them (nor their stomachs) a second thought.
DD and I trudged through shop after shop, store after store and managed to knock out 90% of my list. I was thinking everyone on my list will be pleased with the results and my feet were killing me – so it was time to head home for sure.
We arrived home and were lucky enough to get all of the sacks and bigger items into my spare room (to be wrapped at a later time) before hubby made it off of the couch. YS had been to bed a couple of hours already and DD headed to her room to do the same. I regaled hubby with stories of our shopping adventures and, when done, asked him about his evening with YS.
Things went well he said. They had dinner, watched some TV, and had gotten their showers taken. All in all a pretty quite night. I asked him what he fixed for dinner and he answered (oh, you’re gonna LOVE this), “frozen pizza and scrambled eggs”! I busted out laughing! It was just so M-A-L-E! I’m trying to explain this to him (still laughing) and he’s totally confused by my thinking (and laughing). He saw nothing wrong with the meal plan at all! I explained that it isn’t necessarily wrong – just different. Male. Very bachelor-like. No female (or at least one I know) would put together that particular combination of foods. He still didn’t get it! I told him to never mind – it didn’t matter. It was funny to me and provided my blog for the day!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Dancing Drama
Recently I had the pleasure (really – someday I’ll actually think of this day as pleasurable) of attending the Nutcracker with my son’s 2nd grade class. I have been on many a field trip with children this age and groups this size, so I knew exactly what I was getting into. Or thought I did. I suppose it’s kind of like childbirth – once it’s over – you forget all about the pain preceding that point.
Now I am a firm believer that children should be exposed to the fine arts – at an early age even. However, I believe it should be done age appropriately. Having an entire school of 2nd graders sit for 2 hours without moving, talking, kicking, farting, picking their noses, picking their neighbors noses, yawning or humming is unrealistic. It’s just gonna happen.
The first act is not my favorite by any means, however, I really did want to see the ballet – or most of it anyway. I spent the entire first act patting the knee of “the kicker”, giving the “look” at “the Mexican jumping bean”, shaking my head no at “the tattler” and “ssshhhing”(finger over lips – not actually saying it) at “the talker”. I looked around the auditorium and noticed that there were several age groups represented there. We were not the youngest there but they were in the balcony so I wasn’t able to watch them. On the main floor was our age group up to middle school (say 6th grade?). First I was pleased to see that it wasn’t only my little group (all parents had 4 kids they were responsible for) that couldn’t sit still. It was the entire school – which explains why we were all seated in the back (the older kids were seated up front). The groups directly in front of us were 3rd maybe 4th graders. They sat in their seats quietly, not moving for the most part. I watched and wondered if they were better behaved than our school or if their little lives were threatened if they moved.
I don’t believe it was either. I spent a great deal of time observing “our” kids. They were really well behaved kids. There was the one or two that needed special “attention” (every group has them) but for the most part – they were really good. The kids in front of us were good also. I jus think they were older, more mature and could sit for a longer period of time.
I asked our classroom teacher who chose the field trip. Is it teachers collaborating or music teachers or administration? The particular trip was spear-headed by the music teachers. Which explains a lot. The senior teacher – is just that. She ready to retire. Very nice woman, don’t get me wrong, very, very nice woman. Good with kids but a little out of touch with today’s kids. The other music teacher shouldn’t be allowed around small children. Her maturity level is that of a 3rd grader. (I don’t like her – can’t you tell?) I mean really, who wears a form-fitting see-through mini dress to a second grade field trip to the city?
Anywho, as I said before, age appropriate exposure is the name of the game. Instead of being delighted by the dance, the costumes and the story, these children will not be giving ballet a second thought. On the bus on the way back to the school, we talked about our favorite parts (processing is what they call it now). I, for one, am not a huge fan of ballet but I can appreciate the beauty of the dance as well as the work and stamina needed to do the dance. The children couldn’t name anything off the tops of their heads that they liked about the ballet. Oh, the bathrooms were cool and had lots of toilet paper, and the lines weren’t too bad, there wasn’t any candy or pop or any refreshments, the balcony would’ve been fun to sit in. But for the actual ballet, the only one to say anything (and yes, it had to my YS), he liked the sword fight where the mouse died cuz’ he’s an action kind of guy and not a “dancing drama” kind of guy. How sad for these kids. Hopefully, these kids will be exposed to this dancing art at another time when they can appreciate it a little better.
Me? I came home, took 4 advil and a 15 minute power nap. When I got up, I emailed the teacher thanking her and volunteering to go on the next trip.
Now I am a firm believer that children should be exposed to the fine arts – at an early age even. However, I believe it should be done age appropriately. Having an entire school of 2nd graders sit for 2 hours without moving, talking, kicking, farting, picking their noses, picking their neighbors noses, yawning or humming is unrealistic. It’s just gonna happen.
The first act is not my favorite by any means, however, I really did want to see the ballet – or most of it anyway. I spent the entire first act patting the knee of “the kicker”, giving the “look” at “the Mexican jumping bean”, shaking my head no at “the tattler” and “ssshhhing”(finger over lips – not actually saying it) at “the talker”. I looked around the auditorium and noticed that there were several age groups represented there. We were not the youngest there but they were in the balcony so I wasn’t able to watch them. On the main floor was our age group up to middle school (say 6th grade?). First I was pleased to see that it wasn’t only my little group (all parents had 4 kids they were responsible for) that couldn’t sit still. It was the entire school – which explains why we were all seated in the back (the older kids were seated up front). The groups directly in front of us were 3rd maybe 4th graders. They sat in their seats quietly, not moving for the most part. I watched and wondered if they were better behaved than our school or if their little lives were threatened if they moved.
I don’t believe it was either. I spent a great deal of time observing “our” kids. They were really well behaved kids. There was the one or two that needed special “attention” (every group has them) but for the most part – they were really good. The kids in front of us were good also. I jus think they were older, more mature and could sit for a longer period of time.
I asked our classroom teacher who chose the field trip. Is it teachers collaborating or music teachers or administration? The particular trip was spear-headed by the music teachers. Which explains a lot. The senior teacher – is just that. She ready to retire. Very nice woman, don’t get me wrong, very, very nice woman. Good with kids but a little out of touch with today’s kids. The other music teacher shouldn’t be allowed around small children. Her maturity level is that of a 3rd grader. (I don’t like her – can’t you tell?) I mean really, who wears a form-fitting see-through mini dress to a second grade field trip to the city?
Anywho, as I said before, age appropriate exposure is the name of the game. Instead of being delighted by the dance, the costumes and the story, these children will not be giving ballet a second thought. On the bus on the way back to the school, we talked about our favorite parts (processing is what they call it now). I, for one, am not a huge fan of ballet but I can appreciate the beauty of the dance as well as the work and stamina needed to do the dance. The children couldn’t name anything off the tops of their heads that they liked about the ballet. Oh, the bathrooms were cool and had lots of toilet paper, and the lines weren’t too bad, there wasn’t any candy or pop or any refreshments, the balcony would’ve been fun to sit in. But for the actual ballet, the only one to say anything (and yes, it had to my YS), he liked the sword fight where the mouse died cuz’ he’s an action kind of guy and not a “dancing drama” kind of guy. How sad for these kids. Hopefully, these kids will be exposed to this dancing art at another time when they can appreciate it a little better.
Me? I came home, took 4 advil and a 15 minute power nap. When I got up, I emailed the teacher thanking her and volunteering to go on the next trip.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Update
I’m happy to report that all of the parties involved with the mid-term grade issue met and resolved any and all questions
DD – 1, rotten apple - 0
DD – 1, rotten apple - 0
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
The Haircut
It’s a new day. It was Friday and I awoke knowing I had a list of things to do that day. I needed to get them done so I’d be free for the weekend, forgetting all about the week’s child-rearing frustrations.
Hubby is off to work, the older kids off to school, YS is fed, clothed for the day and coloring with his new crayons in his new book that Santa had given him the week before. I ran around putting a load of laundry in, gather up the bills to be paid, ran the vacuum, laid out a pound of hamburger for dinner and straightened up the bathrooms.
I looked at the clock and Lo and Behold!!! It was SESAME STREET TIME!!!!!
I went into the family room and turned on the TV to PBS and the show was just beginning. YS came around and sat down in front of the TV (and NO – it’s NOT a babysitter) and began to watch his show. I picked up the crayons and book and set them aside. I told YS that I was going to do the dishes but he was so engrossed in the show he didn’t even hear me.
I was putting the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher and in my haste, I spilled a bowl of half-eaten cereal all down the front of me. I quickly cleaned up my mess – I didn’t have time to doddle that day – and I finished the kitchen. Sesame Street was only half over so I had time for a quick shower. I checked on YS – who still didn’t know anything existed outside of his show and I ran take a 10 minute shower. I was dressed and ready to go in that 10 minutes too, mind you. I had mentally made my list of things I still needed to do and had put them in order. Top on my list was YS’s hair cut.
I had grabbed his jacket and walked into the family room when I saw it. YS was sitting in front of the TV, watching it, the way I had left him. Only now there was this orange crayon scribble all over the front door, TV and paneling.
It was ugly. I sat YS down and told him all of the reasons why we color ONLY on the coloring books. I explain that punishment will come later when I had calmed down and that unfortunately for him, Santa had seen the whole thing. What was Santa going to do? I spent the next hour cleaning that mess up, half crying, half talking to myself (about different forms of birth control).
We’re finally on our way to our first stop which is the barber shop. Hubby had insisted that his son go to a barber shop – not a beauty shop (that was then - now it’s up to whoever takes him).
We entered the shop and took our seats. YS patiently sat there and took the whole scene in. There are several old time farmers in having their hair cut, reading the paper and catching up on the week’s gossip. He watched as each man got up for his turn, sat in the chair, told the barber what kind of cut and then proceeded with the gossip. (As God is my witness – men are worse than women when it comes to gossip.). YS still sat there quietly, waiting for his turn. I was so proud. And relieved.
Finally his wait was over. He got up, climbed onto the seat and waited while the barber adjusted the booster seat. He waited while the barber draped the cloth around him and then told him to give him a “little boys’ hair cut”. I thought that this was one cute kid. And then it happened.
YS proceeded to tell this barber and all the little old men (all of them stayed) what kind of week he had. How he ate momma’s chocolates. How he then tried to hide them – several times. How he then colored the walls and TV orange. How Momma was gonna have to beat his butt later cause she was to mad to do it then and how (heavy sigh) Santa was not going to come cuz’ he messed up big time.
Now to his credit (and all the old men), the barber never said a word during this heartbreaking confession. He nodded and grunted at the appropriate time, tsking here and there and expressing his sorrow over the troubles that had occurred. YS was very serious about everything and the barber understood that. As I was sitting in the chair, mortified; the barber was biting the insides of his cheeks so that he didn’t laugh out loud and all the old men were looking down to their laps, shoulders jerking.
The barber finished the haircut and told YS that he’d give me the bubble gum (he gives to all kids) to hold until I deemed his behavior good enough to receive it. YS hung his head and agreed that this would be a good idea. We solemnly walked out of the shop and I closed the door – only to hear that entire group bust out laughing, saying they couldn’t wait until the following week when he came in for a trim to find out what happened! I started laughing myself (and at myself) and all was right in my world again.
Hubby is off to work, the older kids off to school, YS is fed, clothed for the day and coloring with his new crayons in his new book that Santa had given him the week before. I ran around putting a load of laundry in, gather up the bills to be paid, ran the vacuum, laid out a pound of hamburger for dinner and straightened up the bathrooms.
I looked at the clock and Lo and Behold!!! It was SESAME STREET TIME!!!!!
I went into the family room and turned on the TV to PBS and the show was just beginning. YS came around and sat down in front of the TV (and NO – it’s NOT a babysitter) and began to watch his show. I picked up the crayons and book and set them aside. I told YS that I was going to do the dishes but he was so engrossed in the show he didn’t even hear me.
I was putting the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher and in my haste, I spilled a bowl of half-eaten cereal all down the front of me. I quickly cleaned up my mess – I didn’t have time to doddle that day – and I finished the kitchen. Sesame Street was only half over so I had time for a quick shower. I checked on YS – who still didn’t know anything existed outside of his show and I ran take a 10 minute shower. I was dressed and ready to go in that 10 minutes too, mind you. I had mentally made my list of things I still needed to do and had put them in order. Top on my list was YS’s hair cut.
I had grabbed his jacket and walked into the family room when I saw it. YS was sitting in front of the TV, watching it, the way I had left him. Only now there was this orange crayon scribble all over the front door, TV and paneling.
It was ugly. I sat YS down and told him all of the reasons why we color ONLY on the coloring books. I explain that punishment will come later when I had calmed down and that unfortunately for him, Santa had seen the whole thing. What was Santa going to do? I spent the next hour cleaning that mess up, half crying, half talking to myself (about different forms of birth control).
We’re finally on our way to our first stop which is the barber shop. Hubby had insisted that his son go to a barber shop – not a beauty shop (that was then - now it’s up to whoever takes him).
We entered the shop and took our seats. YS patiently sat there and took the whole scene in. There are several old time farmers in having their hair cut, reading the paper and catching up on the week’s gossip. He watched as each man got up for his turn, sat in the chair, told the barber what kind of cut and then proceeded with the gossip. (As God is my witness – men are worse than women when it comes to gossip.). YS still sat there quietly, waiting for his turn. I was so proud. And relieved.
Finally his wait was over. He got up, climbed onto the seat and waited while the barber adjusted the booster seat. He waited while the barber draped the cloth around him and then told him to give him a “little boys’ hair cut”. I thought that this was one cute kid. And then it happened.
YS proceeded to tell this barber and all the little old men (all of them stayed) what kind of week he had. How he ate momma’s chocolates. How he then tried to hide them – several times. How he then colored the walls and TV orange. How Momma was gonna have to beat his butt later cause she was to mad to do it then and how (heavy sigh) Santa was not going to come cuz’ he messed up big time.
Now to his credit (and all the old men), the barber never said a word during this heartbreaking confession. He nodded and grunted at the appropriate time, tsking here and there and expressing his sorrow over the troubles that had occurred. YS was very serious about everything and the barber understood that. As I was sitting in the chair, mortified; the barber was biting the insides of his cheeks so that he didn’t laugh out loud and all the old men were looking down to their laps, shoulders jerking.
The barber finished the haircut and told YS that he’d give me the bubble gum (he gives to all kids) to hold until I deemed his behavior good enough to receive it. YS hung his head and agreed that this would be a good idea. We solemnly walked out of the shop and I closed the door – only to hear that entire group bust out laughing, saying they couldn’t wait until the following week when he came in for a trim to find out what happened! I started laughing myself (and at myself) and all was right in my world again.
Monday, December 11, 2006
The Candy Dish
I had a couple of requests for more of YS stories so here’s another one:
At Christmas time I always put out a decorated jar that I fill with chocolates (wrapped in holiday colored foil). One day, while cleaning the house, I came upon a pile of wrappers sitting on the floor next to the jar. Since I was the only one home with YS and know that I didn’t eat them and they weren’t there that morning – it was pretty easy to figure out who ate them. So I called for my 3-year-old (at the time) and asked him about the candies. He looks at me totally confused with the biggest brown eyes, wide with innocence, and asked me how I knew it was him. I explained to him first – you don’t eat the candy without asking for it and second – how I figured out it was him and third, (I jokingly told him) that if you’re gonna try and hide something… don’t leave it in the middle of floor for me to find. In my holiday euphoria I forgot who I was dealing with and I never gave the situation another thought.
The next day, I found a pile of wrappers behind the fish tank. Frustrated now, I called my YS and asked for an explanation (thinking the whole time – “does he not learn?”). He tells me that yes he had eaten them, but they weren’t in the middle of the floor so how did I find them? I showed him how the tank sits out from the wall and anyone walking by can see behind it. He’s put into time out again.
The next day I’m cleaning the room. I pull off the cushions to the couch and what did I find? Yep. Candy wrappers. Once again I called my YS and ask for an explanation. He tells me yes he ate them, and yes, he knew it was wrong, and did I clean under the cushions everyday? AAAACCK!
These are the kinds of days that I meet my hubby in the driveway when he gets home - with child in tow. My hair all messed up, my eyes bugged-out, my shirt untucked and wearing two different shoes. I smile that smile and hand the man-child over.
I went to my room, locked the door and waited for the next day. The only problem was – the next day I had to take him to get a hair cut. THAT is tomorrow’s story.
At Christmas time I always put out a decorated jar that I fill with chocolates (wrapped in holiday colored foil). One day, while cleaning the house, I came upon a pile of wrappers sitting on the floor next to the jar. Since I was the only one home with YS and know that I didn’t eat them and they weren’t there that morning – it was pretty easy to figure out who ate them. So I called for my 3-year-old (at the time) and asked him about the candies. He looks at me totally confused with the biggest brown eyes, wide with innocence, and asked me how I knew it was him. I explained to him first – you don’t eat the candy without asking for it and second – how I figured out it was him and third, (I jokingly told him) that if you’re gonna try and hide something… don’t leave it in the middle of floor for me to find. In my holiday euphoria I forgot who I was dealing with and I never gave the situation another thought.
The next day, I found a pile of wrappers behind the fish tank. Frustrated now, I called my YS and asked for an explanation (thinking the whole time – “does he not learn?”). He tells me that yes he had eaten them, but they weren’t in the middle of the floor so how did I find them? I showed him how the tank sits out from the wall and anyone walking by can see behind it. He’s put into time out again.
The next day I’m cleaning the room. I pull off the cushions to the couch and what did I find? Yep. Candy wrappers. Once again I called my YS and ask for an explanation. He tells me yes he ate them, and yes, he knew it was wrong, and did I clean under the cushions everyday? AAAACCK!
These are the kinds of days that I meet my hubby in the driveway when he gets home - with child in tow. My hair all messed up, my eyes bugged-out, my shirt untucked and wearing two different shoes. I smile that smile and hand the man-child over.
I went to my room, locked the door and waited for the next day. The only problem was – the next day I had to take him to get a hair cut. THAT is tomorrow’s story.
Friday, December 8, 2006
S-M-A-R-T?
Every parent believes that their child is smarter than every other child the same age. They believe that because their child teethes first, walks first, says their first word before another that that somehow makes them better. It’s their right as a parent to think so. To argue would be futile. Accept it and go on.
Shortly after the birth of my last son, I realized that my youngest child wasn’t necessarily smarter than other kids – but he was quicker. Worse yet, he was quicker than ME. I had to learn to stay on my toes with this one.
His vocabulary was well beyond what any normal 2-3 year old should have. I had become one of those parents. My child was S-M-A-R-T. At 2, he was all but negotiating discipline contracts with me. By the age of 3, he found loop holes in everything I said and exploited them. I’m thinking, “Surely this isn’t one of MY kids. He had to have been switched at birth!” I quickly became an expert at picking and choosing my words for my own protection.
One day after coming home from a particularly exhausting trip to my favorite discount store, I’m walking up to the door with my arms loaded with sacks. My youngest beats me into the house and thought it would be cute to push against the door so that I couldn’t open it. I played along with him for a few minutes but the sacks I was holding grew heavy. Much to his chagrin, I told him enough was enough and proceeded to push the door (along with him on the other side) open and walked through. I barely made it through the door when WHAM! The door slams shut. I turn around ready to shoot bear. I was furious! Slamming the door in a fit of anger - I don’t think so! There stands my 3 year old, backed up to the door with eyes the size of silver dollars and all the innocence he could muster, “Whew! Is it ever windy out there!”
Yep. He’s S-M-A-R-T
Shortly after the birth of my last son, I realized that my youngest child wasn’t necessarily smarter than other kids – but he was quicker. Worse yet, he was quicker than ME. I had to learn to stay on my toes with this one.
His vocabulary was well beyond what any normal 2-3 year old should have. I had become one of those parents. My child was S-M-A-R-T. At 2, he was all but negotiating discipline contracts with me. By the age of 3, he found loop holes in everything I said and exploited them. I’m thinking, “Surely this isn’t one of MY kids. He had to have been switched at birth!” I quickly became an expert at picking and choosing my words for my own protection.
One day after coming home from a particularly exhausting trip to my favorite discount store, I’m walking up to the door with my arms loaded with sacks. My youngest beats me into the house and thought it would be cute to push against the door so that I couldn’t open it. I played along with him for a few minutes but the sacks I was holding grew heavy. Much to his chagrin, I told him enough was enough and proceeded to push the door (along with him on the other side) open and walked through. I barely made it through the door when WHAM! The door slams shut. I turn around ready to shoot bear. I was furious! Slamming the door in a fit of anger - I don’t think so! There stands my 3 year old, backed up to the door with eyes the size of silver dollars and all the innocence he could muster, “Whew! Is it ever windy out there!”
Yep. He’s S-M-A-R-T
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Part 2
Jump forward 8 years.
With a family of 4, laundry is pretty much a daily thing. If you do laundry once a week then expect most of the day to be gone once you put the last bed sheet back on. Now since I’m one of the lucky ones who can stay home with my children then a load of laundry a day worked well for me. Until a year ago.
I only had another week left at my job. I was trying to be responsible and get everything I could in order for the next supervisor so that the transition would hopefully be a smooth one. I was concerned about the people who worked under me since I was leaving at the busiest time of the year. I only had 5 more days to go through all of my files and make my notes, deposits, etc. Needless to say, laundry was not a priority that week. My last day came and went. I sighed a heavy sigh and went about the task of putting my personal life in order. Priority number one was laundry. I got up early Saturday morning, sorted all the different colors and started my first load. I got half way into the 2nd load when kaput! The motor went out on the washer. Great. Just peachy. Now, my husband is mechanically inclined (yes!!!!) and he was able to replace the motor himself with only a hundred dollar bill and some grumblings (yes, he does that a lot). A few short months later, my dryer quits working. My husband tears it down, finds the problem and gives me the name of the part and model number of the dryer. I’m to call and get a new part. Well, I called. Then I called DB back. It’s cheaper in the long run to buy a new dryer. A few more grumblings later we’re on our way back to Kenmore Manor. Did I want a new set, he asks me? Nope. The washer is fine and nobody sees it but me. It doesn’t mean a hill of beans to me if it matches. I just want one that works. So, I get a new dryer and DB thinks I’m thrifty.
A few short months ago, my refrigerator/freezer (side by side) doesn’t make ice anymore. I call a repairman. He comes out, blows out the back of the refrigerator (says it’s dirty and needs to be done once a year), claims victory over the machine and leaves. It works fine for a few short weeks and then poof! It quits making ice again and our frozen food is thawed. I call the repairman back out. This time it’s a young man who went to school with my middle son. He tells me he has good news and bad news – which did I want? Give me the good news first I tell him. He starts off telling me I’m getting a new refrigerator! That’s the good news! The bad news is the compressor is going out so I HAVE to buy a new refrigerator. Wonderful. A new compressor for this would have cost $689 but, he says, it does come with a 30 day warranty. I showed him the door.
Back to Kenmore Manor again. We had bought our refrigerator on clearance and it had all the bells and whistles. Almost 9 years later I’ve learned I liked those bells and whistles and wow! We got a good deal 9 years ago! So our salesman (or stalker – whatever adjective you like to give them) asks us what we have now and then starts us off going down the aisle where not one refrigerator has a price tag of less than $2000. I stopped and told him that there was no way in hell I was spending that much money on a disposable refrigerator. Disposable he asks? If I have to buy a new appliance every 8-10 years then it’s disposable. Parts to fix the appliances are so expensive; it’s cheaper to replace the appliance than fix it. That makes it disposable. Oh, he grunts. He shows us the cheapest models he has, the ingrate. We ended up with all the bells and one whistle for a price we considered reasonable. Now my dishwasher soap dispenser is not working properly. We’re back to the dilemma of to fix or not to fix? DB says the stove is safe since it has to be USED in order to break down.
He’s a funny little man.
With a family of 4, laundry is pretty much a daily thing. If you do laundry once a week then expect most of the day to be gone once you put the last bed sheet back on. Now since I’m one of the lucky ones who can stay home with my children then a load of laundry a day worked well for me. Until a year ago.
I only had another week left at my job. I was trying to be responsible and get everything I could in order for the next supervisor so that the transition would hopefully be a smooth one. I was concerned about the people who worked under me since I was leaving at the busiest time of the year. I only had 5 more days to go through all of my files and make my notes, deposits, etc. Needless to say, laundry was not a priority that week. My last day came and went. I sighed a heavy sigh and went about the task of putting my personal life in order. Priority number one was laundry. I got up early Saturday morning, sorted all the different colors and started my first load. I got half way into the 2nd load when kaput! The motor went out on the washer. Great. Just peachy. Now, my husband is mechanically inclined (yes!!!!) and he was able to replace the motor himself with only a hundred dollar bill and some grumblings (yes, he does that a lot). A few short months later, my dryer quits working. My husband tears it down, finds the problem and gives me the name of the part and model number of the dryer. I’m to call and get a new part. Well, I called. Then I called DB back. It’s cheaper in the long run to buy a new dryer. A few more grumblings later we’re on our way back to Kenmore Manor. Did I want a new set, he asks me? Nope. The washer is fine and nobody sees it but me. It doesn’t mean a hill of beans to me if it matches. I just want one that works. So, I get a new dryer and DB thinks I’m thrifty.
A few short months ago, my refrigerator/freezer (side by side) doesn’t make ice anymore. I call a repairman. He comes out, blows out the back of the refrigerator (says it’s dirty and needs to be done once a year), claims victory over the machine and leaves. It works fine for a few short weeks and then poof! It quits making ice again and our frozen food is thawed. I call the repairman back out. This time it’s a young man who went to school with my middle son. He tells me he has good news and bad news – which did I want? Give me the good news first I tell him. He starts off telling me I’m getting a new refrigerator! That’s the good news! The bad news is the compressor is going out so I HAVE to buy a new refrigerator. Wonderful. A new compressor for this would have cost $689 but, he says, it does come with a 30 day warranty. I showed him the door.
Back to Kenmore Manor again. We had bought our refrigerator on clearance and it had all the bells and whistles. Almost 9 years later I’ve learned I liked those bells and whistles and wow! We got a good deal 9 years ago! So our salesman (or stalker – whatever adjective you like to give them) asks us what we have now and then starts us off going down the aisle where not one refrigerator has a price tag of less than $2000. I stopped and told him that there was no way in hell I was spending that much money on a disposable refrigerator. Disposable he asks? If I have to buy a new appliance every 8-10 years then it’s disposable. Parts to fix the appliances are so expensive; it’s cheaper to replace the appliance than fix it. That makes it disposable. Oh, he grunts. He shows us the cheapest models he has, the ingrate. We ended up with all the bells and one whistle for a price we considered reasonable. Now my dishwasher soap dispenser is not working properly. We’re back to the dilemma of to fix or not to fix? DB says the stove is safe since it has to be USED in order to break down.
He’s a funny little man.
Disposable Appliances
Most women would be ecstatic at the thought of getting a new appliance. Not me. It’s like punishment.
About 9 years ago my stove went out. So we get a new one – right? No big deal. All we needed was a basic stove – not a fancy one. I’m not Martha Stewart. I’m not a baker. I cook – not bake, so a basic 4 burner (electric) with oven would work great for me. We headed for the nearest Kenmore dealer to pick it out.
White – it goes with everything and never goes out of style. Right? Well, white with a black finish across the top back (knob thingy part) anyway. We bring it home, install it and it works great. A few days later I’m looking at my dishwasher and thinking that the front has interchangeable panels in it. So, I unplug it (it has a HUGE sign across it that says unplug before servicing) and I proceed to tear it apart only to discover that it doesn’t have the interchangeable front panels. Well I put it back together and only ended up with a few extra parts. Needless to say – it didn’t work. And I now had to tell my husband (DB) what I had done. Shortly after he got home I confessed my dirty little sin. He mumbled a bit (loud enough for my benefit), grabbed his flashlight and took a looksey at what I had done. Three days later (and a LOT of mumbling now) my husband declared the dishwasher officially broken. Now I had been doing the dishes by hand (gawd help me) for three days. That’s my penance. I accepted that. But indefinitely? No way. I’ve heard those stories about how my parents walked 6 miles uphill (both ways) to school. It was rough on them. I don’t care. I’m spoiled and I like it.
DB tells me that we’re going to have to buy a NEW dishwasher. Oh darn it, I remember thinking. Well, the next day I happen to be putting away some trash bags under the sink when I noticed that the dishwasher was STILL unplugged. DB had never plugged it back in. What to do? Do I tell him and not get my new dishwasher? Hmmmm…..
Well, he came home from work and solved my little dilemma for me. He took one more looksey at the dishwasher and then noticed it unplugged. I had my shoes on and my purse in hand, standing by the door. I was ready to go and that’s when he notices?!? (insert heavy sigh).
Well, as luck would have it, DB decided to go ahead and look at new dishwashers. He picked one out that has the stainless steel tub and a garbage disposal in it that would eat small children. Yippeeee! (New dishwasher – not eating children). Anywho…when walking out of the store a refrigerator on clearance catches his eye. This is too good to be true. I must have been a very good girl ‘cuz I got me a new stove, dishwasher, AND refrigerator.
All this and only a few short months after getting my new washer and dryer set. Yes indeedy, I must have been a good girl.
Little did I know that the damn things are disposable.
To be continued.....
About 9 years ago my stove went out. So we get a new one – right? No big deal. All we needed was a basic stove – not a fancy one. I’m not Martha Stewart. I’m not a baker. I cook – not bake, so a basic 4 burner (electric) with oven would work great for me. We headed for the nearest Kenmore dealer to pick it out.
White – it goes with everything and never goes out of style. Right? Well, white with a black finish across the top back (knob thingy part) anyway. We bring it home, install it and it works great. A few days later I’m looking at my dishwasher and thinking that the front has interchangeable panels in it. So, I unplug it (it has a HUGE sign across it that says unplug before servicing) and I proceed to tear it apart only to discover that it doesn’t have the interchangeable front panels. Well I put it back together and only ended up with a few extra parts. Needless to say – it didn’t work. And I now had to tell my husband (DB) what I had done. Shortly after he got home I confessed my dirty little sin. He mumbled a bit (loud enough for my benefit), grabbed his flashlight and took a looksey at what I had done. Three days later (and a LOT of mumbling now) my husband declared the dishwasher officially broken. Now I had been doing the dishes by hand (gawd help me) for three days. That’s my penance. I accepted that. But indefinitely? No way. I’ve heard those stories about how my parents walked 6 miles uphill (both ways) to school. It was rough on them. I don’t care. I’m spoiled and I like it.
DB tells me that we’re going to have to buy a NEW dishwasher. Oh darn it, I remember thinking. Well, the next day I happen to be putting away some trash bags under the sink when I noticed that the dishwasher was STILL unplugged. DB had never plugged it back in. What to do? Do I tell him and not get my new dishwasher? Hmmmm…..
Well, he came home from work and solved my little dilemma for me. He took one more looksey at the dishwasher and then noticed it unplugged. I had my shoes on and my purse in hand, standing by the door. I was ready to go and that’s when he notices?!? (insert heavy sigh).
Well, as luck would have it, DB decided to go ahead and look at new dishwashers. He picked one out that has the stainless steel tub and a garbage disposal in it that would eat small children. Yippeeee! (New dishwasher – not eating children). Anywho…when walking out of the store a refrigerator on clearance catches his eye. This is too good to be true. I must have been a very good girl ‘cuz I got me a new stove, dishwasher, AND refrigerator.
All this and only a few short months after getting my new washer and dryer set. Yes indeedy, I must have been a good girl.
Little did I know that the damn things are disposable.
To be continued.....
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Tagged
I’ve been “blogger” tagged! So here goes:
1. Three things that scare me:
losing a member of my family again
critters (snakes, spiders, ALL them ickie things)
driving on ice covered roads
my kids
Jeff
Robert
3. Three things that I love
A good book
Snowed in
My house
4. Three things that I hate
mean people
slow people in the fast lane
asparagus
5. Three things that I don’t understand
html
cars
Republicans
6. Three things on my desk
coffee cup
mechanical pencil
my glasses
7. Three things I’m doing right now
drinking coffee
waiting on the dogs to finish their business
answering this silly thing
8. Three things I want to do before I die
Visit South Dakota
Get the garage cleaned out
Win the Lottery
9. Three things I can do
crochet
organize huge events successfully
be a good friend
10. Three things I can’t do
travel in a car for long periods of time
the Sunday paper crossword puzzle
knit
11. Three people you should listen to
your spouse
your boss
your doctor
12. Three people you should never listen to
phone solicitors
A fortune teller
A drunk
13. Three things I would like to learn
how to solve the rubic cube
how to establish world peace
why men can't put the seat down
14. Three of my favorite foods
steak
taters
all of the above
15. Three beverages I drink regularly
coffee
diet pepsi
water
16. Three TV shows/books I watched/read as a child
The Waltons
Hee Haw (my dad made me)
Speed Racer
Monday, December 4, 2006
Who's Laughing?
It’s done. Completed. Finito. My 8 week remodeling project is finished. Ok, so what if it took 11 months to complete - the point is that it’s totally done as of 11:30 Friday night.
I have been remodeling 2 rooms (and a hallway) in my house. I have had all of the major work done and the rooms have been functional for several weeks now, it’s just been the odds and ends, those final details, which I have been slowly working on.
The last thing that needed to be done was to assemble the entertainment center. I’ve had it for a couple of weeks now but a few pieces were broken and I was waiting for the replacement parts to arrive to fully assemble it. Well, the last part arrived Friday. I had until noon on Saturday to call and report any damage or other missing parts. Not a problem I thought.
As you know from my earlier post, hubby was out pushing snow. Delightful daughter (DD) was working hard making sure that all Friday night pizza lovers had the best dining experience possible, so that left me and little britches, the youngest son (YS), to hold down the fort. And put together the entertainment center. Yeah, like that was gonna happen. I suck at those kind of things. Since hubby was gonna be gone all night, I decided to call in back up.
My oldest son (OS) was kind enough to spend his Friday night here along with FDIL (future daughter in law). FDIL and I supervised OS putting together this center – after he’s put in a day at work and after his car breaks down on the hi-way and had to be towed. I’m so lucky, I have such nice kiddies and I really enjoyed the evening. YS was busy playing games on OS’s phone and ordering gawd-knows-what from T-Zones, I got to visit with FDIL and DD made it home well before they left so she had time to visit also. As always, when she gets off of work, she loves to share her stories of the day so she entertained us with her tales. I found myself stopping a few times and just watching my kiddies, just enjoying them being here, talking, laughing, teasing. Just us. It doesn’t happen very often so when it does I try to remember to stop and just live the moment, just enjoy being. I truly treasure these times. Course, I figure I better enjoy them since they are all the time threatening to throw my old wrinkly butt in a home when the time comes and I’m gonna need something to remind me that they are good kiddies. The last laugh’s on them though. In 6th grade, the Ouija Board (remember them?) told me I’m gonna live till I’m 86. I’m supposed to go into the “home” at 84….so they have 40 MORE years of me left!
I have been remodeling 2 rooms (and a hallway) in my house. I have had all of the major work done and the rooms have been functional for several weeks now, it’s just been the odds and ends, those final details, which I have been slowly working on.
The last thing that needed to be done was to assemble the entertainment center. I’ve had it for a couple of weeks now but a few pieces were broken and I was waiting for the replacement parts to arrive to fully assemble it. Well, the last part arrived Friday. I had until noon on Saturday to call and report any damage or other missing parts. Not a problem I thought.
As you know from my earlier post, hubby was out pushing snow. Delightful daughter (DD) was working hard making sure that all Friday night pizza lovers had the best dining experience possible, so that left me and little britches, the youngest son (YS), to hold down the fort. And put together the entertainment center. Yeah, like that was gonna happen. I suck at those kind of things. Since hubby was gonna be gone all night, I decided to call in back up.
My oldest son (OS) was kind enough to spend his Friday night here along with FDIL (future daughter in law). FDIL and I supervised OS putting together this center – after he’s put in a day at work and after his car breaks down on the hi-way and had to be towed. I’m so lucky, I have such nice kiddies and I really enjoyed the evening. YS was busy playing games on OS’s phone and ordering gawd-knows-what from T-Zones, I got to visit with FDIL and DD made it home well before they left so she had time to visit also. As always, when she gets off of work, she loves to share her stories of the day so she entertained us with her tales. I found myself stopping a few times and just watching my kiddies, just enjoying them being here, talking, laughing, teasing. Just us. It doesn’t happen very often so when it does I try to remember to stop and just live the moment, just enjoy being. I truly treasure these times. Course, I figure I better enjoy them since they are all the time threatening to throw my old wrinkly butt in a home when the time comes and I’m gonna need something to remind me that they are good kiddies. The last laugh’s on them though. In 6th grade, the Ouija Board (remember them?) told me I’m gonna live till I’m 86. I’m supposed to go into the “home” at 84….so they have 40 MORE years of me left!
Friday, December 1, 2006
Oh the weather outside is....
AWESOME! We ended up with about 10 inches of snow!!!! Just finished breakfast and hubby is on his way out to start up the snowblower (that way I don't have to walk through the snow to get to our sled). It's days like today that remind me of how much I enjoy being home and being with my family.
I do plan on being outside with the kids later on today when it warms up to 15 degrees or so but for now I' going to work on my little project I have going.
My eldest son and his girlfriend (whom I adore) moved into a place of their own last Feb. She has been busy making a home for them and every holiday brings new challenges. Both families have helped with contributions to home decor for Christmas since it just adds up so fast when starting from scratch. My son has decided that there isn't any reason to decorate the outside however, since no one but the people across the street can see it . Now, anyone who has seen my house during the Christmas season knows how I feel about outside decorations. If I knew how to posts pictures - and I will learn soon - I'd post a picture of my house with the lights lit up.
Anyway, I am making an outside sign for their place. It's a personalized snowman and the mrs. wishing all a happy holiday. It's turning out really cute and will look great next to their front step. I have a bow left over from the wreath that I made for their front door so maybe I can incorporate that into the sign - if not - no big deal.
Have a great day!
I do plan on being outside with the kids later on today when it warms up to 15 degrees or so but for now I' going to work on my little project I have going.
My eldest son and his girlfriend (whom I adore) moved into a place of their own last Feb. She has been busy making a home for them and every holiday brings new challenges. Both families have helped with contributions to home decor for Christmas since it just adds up so fast when starting from scratch. My son has decided that there isn't any reason to decorate the outside however, since no one but the people across the street can see it . Now, anyone who has seen my house during the Christmas season knows how I feel about outside decorations. If I knew how to posts pictures - and I will learn soon - I'd post a picture of my house with the lights lit up.
Anyway, I am making an outside sign for their place. It's a personalized snowman and the mrs. wishing all a happy holiday. It's turning out really cute and will look great next to their front step. I have a bow left over from the wreath that I made for their front door so maybe I can incorporate that into the sign - if not - no big deal.
Have a great day!
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