I love sushi. I'm alone in this in my family. Oh well. More for me. But, I saw THIS on Facebook and thought I would share with the world. After all, who doesn't love Peeps? I think Andy and I will make these on Friday to share with the neighbors.
Wah -- for years now Jack Bauer has been a Monday night staple. The first few seasons of 24 were surprising and fun. The next couple of seasons were less surprising but still totally fun. And, now, we've defunded fighting fictional terrorists. We're relishing the last season . . . I'm going to miss my Jack Bauer fix when this season ends. Dammit, Chloe.
The garden has been de-weeded and planted. I'm old. I cannot believe how tired and sore I am this evening. I spent about six hours today planting: eggplants, 2000 tomatoes (not really, it just felt like 2000 plants), black beans, snap peas, green beans, another version of green beans, corn, bell peppers, banana peppers, hot peppers, regular cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, zucchini, lots of sunflowers, basil, rosemary, chives, thyme, cilantro and something else . . .
I still have a lot more I want to do in the garden, but it's mostly cosmetic stuff. Now, to keep it weeded and see what grows and thrives. Maybe it's getting older and developing some patience, but I am surprised at how much I'm enjoying gardening (talk to me in July/August lol). I'm finding it to be the greatest escape. No one else wants to dig in the garden or weed and I have hours of rarely interrupted time to listen to an audiobook or to just to listen to nothing. I really, really love it.
Now, the true test will come tomorrow. Will I be able to walk and move my limbs in the morning? ;) Cross your fingers!
Andy and I ran to the grocery store this evening. He has a birthday party this weekend and (we suck) we needed a gift card. I also needed milk,eggs, you know, the stuff you run out of on a regular basis. Andy was excited to shop with me because Dan was working at the store where we were shopping. I'm an oldest child, so I find the fascination Andy has with his older brothers interesting. Andy was crushed when I told him we could not go through Dan's line (store rule). Andy is a funny little-ish person. He'd prepared and packed 2 quarters into his pockets before we left the house. He ran over and got two gum balls while I was checking out and paying for our groceries. As we headed out, he wanted to know if it was OK for him to go up to Dan to give him a gum ball. I said sure.
Waaahhhh ... talk about mom moments. Dan smiled at Andy, thanked him and cuffed him on the head. Andy was over the moon. Dan has no clue what an impact he had, but I'm thrilled he was so nice in the face of a huge line of customers. Yep. It's the little things.
As we pushed the cart out into the parking lot, I asked Andy where I had parked the car - who needs GPS, just have kids is my motto (though I'm seeing flaws in this thinking lately). Andy pointed me to the car. We started loading the Suburban with groceries when Andy fell down laughing.
Ooops. Dan had driven the Suburban to work. Andy and I arrived at the grocery store in Mike's truck. Imagine if we had taken the Suburban home! It was dark and Mike would not have noticed the missing truck. Andy and I have been laughing since.
Just thinking here . . .
I don't get sick very often. If I do get sick enough to actually stop doing what I normally do, I'm pretty sick. While I was dying (really, I was dying and not one person here cared) on the couch I thought about Mike's old job at a famous restaurant. This restaurant used to have "floating" managers who would step in when a regular manger was too sick to work.
Well, I think moms might think about pooling their resources. For me, I just need a substitute mom to come in once, maybe twice, a day to berate my family for leaving waist-high piles of laundry while their figurehead (aka mom) was dying not only from strep throat, but dehydration as no one had offered her food or drink in the past 18 hours.
I'd pay into that pool. If you have younger kids, you might pay for someone to get you through the worst times of day with your short people while you take a nap. If you have school-aged kids, the pseudo-mom might pop in to make lunches, drive kids to school, sign homework or whatever else needs done. BUT, before she took off with the kids, she'd put clean sheets on your bed, make sure you showered and had clean jammies and she'd tuck you in and call you "Poor Bunny."
Tell me you would not pay into this? All along I've been saying I need a wife. Now here's a plan to get one - if only when I get the flu. What do you think?
Strep throat sucks. I'd forgotten how much it sucks. If the school attendance laws of today existed when I was in elementary school, I'd still BE in elementary school! That's how often I was sick, really sick, and almost always with strep throat. I did get to spend many quality hours with my mom, watching The Guiding Light through the crossbars of the ironing board. Not all bad. To this day, I love the smell of spray starch and/or Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup. While sick this week, Andy and I bonded over Wife Swap reruns. Gah! What a crazy show. Today we both woke up feeling human and ready to head outside - anything but the couch and terrible television!We did do school.It's always painful to go back to work after a break. Today was a stellar illustration of this. We muddled through. Funny how a kid can focus when he really wants to be outside! I worked with the older boys on their projects, did the dishes, started a load of laundry and hit the garden!
Really. Compost is the best thing ever. Finally our weather has broken and I was able to get into the big vegetable garden today. Lots and lots of weeding and digging to do before I can plant. I worked through about 1/3 of the big garden. Sending Andy back (repeatedly) to the compost heap for buckets of compost makes me insanely happy. All winter long, all of our non-meat, non-fat garbage has been going into the compost heap - we've been composting for years, but we've never had such a long stretch of cold weather where the compost just sat there. This year's batch is the best ever! The kids HATE when it's their turn to flip the garbage in the backyard, but it's all paying off now.
At this rate, the full garden should be planted by Friday. I'm totally enjoying the mild temperatures for now. I'm trying to be organized and do as much work as I can before we're back in the 90's++ again. If anyone has a good audio book to recommend, I'm all ears (get it? ears/audio?) Right now, I'm listening to "The Shining" by Stephen King. I read it years and years ago and I love the movie (nothing like Jack!) but I'm almost done and am looking for something new and interesting.
I used to keep a working thermometer in the house. I used to keep all kinds of things. As the boys got older and got sick less often I let things slide. But, as the boys got older, I also figured out how to tell a fever by kissing a forehead or how to tell they were getting sick by their funky eyes or bad breath. Andy was oogy most of the day. Finally, I got the flashlight and looked into his throat. Sure enough, it was disgusting. We headed to The Little Clinic at Publix (in the midst of a monster thunderstorm no less) and he tested positive for strep. I managed to keep him up late enough to get a full does of the abx into him and I think he'll be feeling MUCH better in the morning. (Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE the Little Clinic for this kind of thing? Well, I do!)
Me? Uh ... not so much. My head hurts, I have a giant swollen gland on my neck that hurts, though my throat doesn't hurt. Ugh ... I don't have time for this. I just took one of Andy's abx and will go tomorrow to get my own. I just stuck Andy in his own bed for tonight. I'm going to make up the couch for myself (Mike can't get sick too) ... Cross your fingers that this is the end of it. Everyone else seemed healthy enough when they went to bed.
Quick! Everyone spray their screens with Lysol and go on with your day.
Mike's back is nearly back to normal. But, don't worry, the couch won't be empty! Andy woke up with a 103 fever this morning, sore throat, stomach issues and all over miserable. Unlike when I talk about Mike, Andy really is a poor bunny. Once again I had to make the round of visits and phone calls to let other parents know they and their kids had been exposed! It's so weird, we've never had so much of this stuff in the past. So far, everyone we've been in touch with is still healthy. Andy finally passed out on the couch and I'm staying up until his next dose of Tylenol is due in two hours (I'm getting WAY too old for this!). His stomach seems to be ok if we can keep the fever down.
Today was spent disinfecting the house, yet again. Andy got a good nap this afternoon and I took the chance to enjoy an amazingly beautiful spring day. Planted our herb garden and flowers around the mailbox too. It was so nice to be outside and not cold and/or wet. And, my friend, pollen, and I were able to get reacquainted as well. Funny, I haven't missed pollen so much.
In other exciting news, we recently switched from Direct TV to Dish Network. Aside from their ever-increasing rates, we enjoyed Direct TV for the past 10 or so years. But, the rates! We're low maintenance TV-watchers here. We don't care about hi-definition or having 8000 channels. Finally, I cancelled - it was like trying to leave AOL back when everyone still had dial-up internet. Dish came out and installed the new satellite, hooked up not only the living room tv but my tiny kitchen tv! Woohoo! For the first time EVER, I can record and watch what I want in my own space. In the past we've only ever had one tv with satellite or cable. AND, Dish is doing it for less than half of what we were paying before! Amazing stuff. It's so awesome to be able to watch what I like without heckling from the boys or without staying up until crazy hours so I could watch alone. Now I can do other things when I'm up at crazy hours. To illustrate how much I like this new set up, I'll share my insanity.
Friday morning, I had a couple of bags out for the AmVet truck to pick up. Usually they pick up and just leave a card stuck in the front door. This Friday, the driver knocked on the door - at 8 am no less! I answered with my bed head and in my fluffy new hideous flannel pj's (bright red, covered in snowflakes, $4 on the overstock rack at Goodwill - from Target originally - NWT! They're ugly, but comfy!) He said his wife had been asking about switching to Dish TV but they didn't know anyone that had it and what did I think? So, I'm standing outside, waving my neighbors off to work, looking as scary as a person can, trying to explain it to the guy. Finally, I told him to just come in and see for himself. By then, all the boys were up and we took him on a tour of the wonders of DVR and the savings of Dish TV. It was a riot - he was calling his wife from our living room telling her to go ahead and switch. So, THAT's how happy I am about this.
And, because I'm happy about it, I'll keep rambling. Last night, Mike and the boys were all tied up in March Madness (kill me now) and I simply grabbed an adult beverage, sat down at the kitchen table, watched the last three episodes of Project Runway (courtesy of my kitchen dvr capabilities!) and mapped out the herb and the vegetable gardens. I even broke out the colored pencils! It's kind of pathetic, but that, for me, was the ideal Friday night! Yes, I even took a picture of my garden map. Once Andy is better, he and I will attack the vegetable garden.
So, our 20th anniversary wasn't celebrated with a cruise or anything like that. We had corned beef, cabbbage and buttery potatoes. Mike picked up some good beer on his way home. Mike, with the injured back, sat at the head of the table with his heating pad and we all ate dinner. And, it was my most favorite anniversary ever.To sit and eat and talk with my own family, usually we have extra kids and/or are missing one of our own kids, is a rare thing these days. We had so much fun last night. It ended up being a 2 1/2 hour dinner. Andy told horrible jokes and when he ran out of those he started making jokes up, causing Danny to choke. What's a dinner without some drama? It was ordinary, but it was exceptional too. For both of us it was a real testament to what we started in a shamrock-glittery reception 20 years ago. Who knew?
We could not have asked for a better anniversary.
UPDATE: I was wrong, prom tickets were $75 each, not $70. Gah.
Today, Mike and I have been married for TWENTY years! Isn't that insane? In April, we'll mark the 25th anniversary of our first date!!!!!! How did we get so old? Or lucky? In a bizillion years I would never have guessed our lives would be like they are now? Homeschooling? "That's for crazy people!" Twins? "We're smarter than that. (Really, I think I said that once, OUT LOUD no less. Hit me with the stoopid stick.)" Teenagers? "You just have to know how to talk to them. (um yeah, that's it)" And the list goes on and on and on ... and I guess it will continue to go on and on and on - at least I think it will. You just never know, huh?
We are lucky indeed. But it's not all luck. We've worked pretty hard at this marriage thing. It's been worth it!
That's, strangely, one of the first questions people are asked when they start homeschooling their kids. It's kind of a joke - like all moms who homeschool wear denim jumpers. Now, ten years down the road, we're facing our first prom. Danny's friend-that-is-a-girl is a senior this year and it's prom time.
I don't know how to set up a poll, but am I alone in thinking that $70 EACH per prom ticket is excessive? This does not include dinner and, obviously, it doesn't include alcohol. WHY THE FACE? What are these kids getting for $70 EACH? And, that's just the beginning, there are dress costs, tuxedo rentals, dinner out, food after, flowers and on and on.
Have I officially turned into the Early-Bird-Blue-Plate-Special old person? I think a $70 ticket is a steep price. Danny's willing to cough it up, but that represents a lot of working hours for him.
Just curious about others' prom experiences.
My friend, Janet, introduced me to the phrase "poor bunny" as a term of sympathy years ago. It has always cracked me up. But, I have to say, Mike with his twisted back is a true "poor bunny." In fact, he's a poor, sad, pathetic bunny. Mike has many great qualities and that's why I married him. However, he's pathetic when it comes to pain and/or being still. Deep down in his soul, the man is a Puritan of the move-and-do-something-useful-or-be-stricken-dead persuasion. I count myself lucky that he doesn't insist we all wear big buckles on our shoes.
His back is improving, but it's slowing down his normal pace. On a regular day Mike gets up at 5 and goes to the Y to swim or push weights around (and, yes, this person is married to me - it's a conundrum). Today, Mike managed to get out of bed, get dressed and ease himself into the truck to drive to work. Fortunately, he was my brother's problem for the rest of the day.
When Mike got home, I was actively thinking about making dinner. OK, I was leaning on the kitchen counter and listening to my I-pod, same difference! I started talking to him about the day and blabbing on and on about history with Andy when I finally noticed that my husband was semi-laying on the kitchen counter and trying to pay attention.
Ooops. I set up some cushions and a heating pad on the couch, gave him some ibuprofen and the remote and shut-the-hell-up and *wow* much happier husband! I drugged him and sent him to bed early . . . cross your fingers he's feeling MUCH better in the morning or this is going to get ugly.
I hate the time change. HATE IT. Yes, I understand that the extra hour of daylight is nice and all of that, but I HATE the "spring forward" time change. By the time I finally adjust, it's time to fall back. Why do we do this? It makes no sense, pick a time and stay with it.Whoever made this time change thing a rule did not/does not have kids. I am dreading the next week filled with the kids' observations that "last week we would have been eating lunch at 12 o' clock instead of 1 o' clock." Really, just kill me now.
In other news, Mike, after the boys' Scout troop's first annual mulch sale learned the hard way that he is no longer 25. He did something to his back and is fully out of business for the next few days, at least. Send muscle relaxants.
Okay, I'm off to bed and begrudging all you early risers your extra hour of daylight.
I drag you all through every November where I write a really bad novel. Now, NaNo is doing a 100-page screenplay challenge for the month of April. I need something to spur me into action . . . I'm turning into a big fat blob lately. So, maybe writing a screenplay is the answer? We'll see. What to write about, though?
In the meantime, my lethargy is such that because of storms and tornado watches and the fact that Dan and Ian were doing a scout project and gone all day, today was kind of an unschooling day. Andy and Tim made a movie, designed a cartoon strip and did a lot of reading. I thought a lot about laundry, doing the dishes and making dinner, but did none of those things until crunch time. I hate feeling like this, it comes and goes. It'll pass.
Tomorrow is full of doctor appointments for Dan with some strategic grocery shopping tossed into the mix. Woohoo! ;)
Sometimes a day that starts badly ends up being the best day ever. Today, we all overslept. We were just getting going on school when my mom called to see if it was a good time to check out Ian's new teeth and Andy's WWII map. Well, it's always a good time for Bing to visit. We scrambled to pick up the worst of our debris before Bing arrived.
Well, not only did Bing arrive, she arrived with two dozen assorted donuts! Yummy donuts! We visited and got caught up on things. I think Bing and Andy had an extra good time talking about the WWII map Andy made last week. My mom (Bing) is awesome at appreciating the small stuff and Andy loves to talk about small stuff. 
I love watching my mom and the older boys too. They have their own language and they have so much fun together. I loved both of my grandmas and I love that my kids have so much fun with my own mom. Actually, they have more fun (minus the Carol Burnett Show). Truth be told, my mom could walk into my house and I could go crawl into bed and sleep for two hours and she and the boys would have a great time. As my mom was leaving, the boys and I all were commenting on how warm and nice it was outside. Andy suggested we go to the beach. At first, I ignored him and then thought, why not? So we headed out to the beach in our balmy 75 weather!
Days like today are why I love homeschooling. Andy stopped his Latin mid-lesson when Bing showed up. We visited and had a great time. Latin is still in the middle of the kitchen table. The beach was awesome! Cold, cold, cold, but awesome. Danny surfed. Andy actually swam for an hour or so. I sat like a big fat wimp huddled in my sweater and a beach towel. Ian and Tim took off walking and were perfectly happy. Still, though, today was great. I spent the whole day with all my boys and part of the day with my awesome mom. We did fun things and sometimes that's the best way to go. I will remember today a million times more than I would if we had just stayed home and plowed through Latin.
Today will go down as one of those "perfect" days.
I don't know who you are and it certainly takes me long enough to find your comments, but really, why? Can't you just join us and talk?
Yes, I'm pretty conservative. Yes, I drive a gigantic car. Give me an affordable alternative that will reasonably hold 4 6'+ men, their 5' brother and mother and all their gear + a couple of additional scouts and their gear. Yeah, it's not a mini-van. This is a season-of-life vehicle. As much as we enjoy filling up the monster gas tank, we will eventually move to smaller, more efficient vehicles as the boys move out of the house. In the meantime, we're sucking it up and I suggest you do the same.
But . . . we also buy 60% of our stuff "recycled." We compost. We garden. We encourage bees. We cook from scratch 90% of the time. If Mike had his way, we'd be making our own beer and wine. And we do this because it makes sense, not because someone told us to do it or, worse, forced us to do it.
We are responsible people. Period. We are responsible for our kids and their behavior, their education and their general well-being. We are responsible for ourselves and our behavior and we do not knowingly ever do anything to hurt someone else. We're even responsible for our planet in a way that makes sense for a family of six with ties to their community.
What are you doing Anonymous? Why in the world are you visiting my blog? I have a hard time believing we have anything in common. I might be wrong. Are you and your four children traveling your city (Orlando, Houston, Montgomery) via public transportation? How are you getting those groceries home? How is the scouting program working out for you? Are you chipping in for the parents driving your kids to the activities you cannot - in their minivans or SUV's? Or are you offering rebates to the parents who allow their kids to ride in your car?
I do not mind you posting dissenting opinions here, but please be a real person. Really, even when you are disagreeing, you are welcome here. The anonymous thing is so lame, though. If you're not interested in joining us, move on. There are lots of places where you'll find good environmental and/or political discussions. Here are two to get you started - I read them both every morning:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
http://www.drudgereport.com/
Whew! It was in the low 70's today and this evening it is in the low 50's. I will cease all complaining now.
While we still have cool weather, the older boys have taught Andy and his friends the joys of the Cincinnati Fire Kite. (If you don't know what a fire kite is, you need Backyard Ballistics.) It's a very cool book - though, by all means avoid steroid-izing the potato cannon. Trust me.
I tried and tried and tried to get good pictures of our own fire kites, but to no avail. I'll leave you with this video. The fire kite is the first project in the video. I just love the father/son team working on this!
So, I've been thinking about my last post. I feel like I should make a few things clear. One, I don't think the company Dan is working for is nefarious in any way. I think, like many homeschoolers, I tend to forget that most people have never considered homeschooling one way or another. It's a foreign concept and most people have no frame of reference. It was probably unfair of me to write about all of this without considering this.
After 10 years of homeschooling, I'm focused on getting my kids educated and started on productive lives. I've lost that evangelical zeal about the subject that I had when we first started. I am happy to talk about homeschooling with anyone who has a real interest, but not so much interested in spreading the "word" with people who have no interest. Still, it's easy to forget that what we take as an integral part of our lives is absolutely bizarre to most people.
OK, just had to get this off of my chest. My other concerns remain, but I wanted to be fair.
(get it? MOM-dar like Radar?) Anyone else have it? I think all moms have it. I'm not a hyper-vigilant mom. I'm not completely lax either. I'm just kind of in the middle. There are so very many things to worry about, I hate to limit myself to just the kids all day and everyday. Thus far, it's worked out ok - the kids are alive and not noticeably traumatized (That's a whole new post - Good Lord! That they don't kill me in my sleep is a wonder some nights!)
Anyway . . . Dan has started his job. It's going well and we're all relieved. It's good for everyone that he's working and saving and taking part in the finances of his life now before he's out on his own. About two weeks ago Dan mentioned to me that I would need to sign something saying it was OK for him (a high school junior) to work during traditional school hours. This was fine by me as he does most of his school work in the evenings. It's all about how you divide your 24 hours, right?
This morning he handed me some papers to sign. These were not permission for him to work during the school day forms. These were government forms declaring him to be a "Disconnected Youth." Huh? Poor Danny. What he thought was going to be a one minute encounter turned into a whole big hairy deal.
I googled Disconnected Youth and discovered that it is defined as a young person 16-24 who has not regularly attended school or been employed for the past six months. Dan's manager apparently sees homeschooling as "no school." Other definitions of "disconnected youth" I found mentioned "at risk," "neglected," "unsupported," and "lacking direction" youths - did I mention "gangs?" GAH! That's not my son. That's NOT my family. If you've read here for any length of time, I think that's obvious, please don't call Child/Family Services!
Attached to the forms were things for Dan to sign (without my knowledge) reaffirming that he was a disconnected youth and that his employer can then submit to the government in exchange for a tax credit subsidized by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (aka Stimulus). And, I'm sure there are similar programs under other modern presidents, my research time was limited today.
I wrote a succinct note to the store manager explaining our homeschool status and Dan's status as a full-time student. I also explained that he had his father's and my permission to work during "traditional" school hours as needed. I further explained that I could not in good conscience sign the attached forms, nor could I allow my son to sign one.
To Danny's horror (I remember being 17, too.) The response to my note involved calls to regional offices and a terse call to me explaining that everything had been worked out. She said they were just surprised because everyone signed those forms.
We'll see. I have a feeling if the store has any cutbacks, Dan will be the first to go.
Am I nuts or is this incredibly disturbing on a number of levels? One, corporations encouraging YOUNG employees to sign forms they don't read or understand to get a tax credit. Two, the government collecting names of "disconnected youth" around the country. Three, I saw nothing in the paperwork to account for how long a "disconnected youth" was to be employed - do they get cut when the program ends? is the employer penalized if they lose a "disconnected youth?" Even if it's a 23 year-old heading of to grad school?
I wonder how misconstrued the numbers will be when the government starts pushing for a new education or service program? I'm all for targeting KIDS (those under 18) who need a chance. I'm even all for employers getting a credit for taking those kids under their wing. But, those numbers need to be real numbers. Danny, I promise is/never has been at risk for joining a gang, dropping out of school, living on the streets, dealing drugs or even going more than a week with fingernails I deem too long!
I worry that 16-24 year olds are being lumped into one category. They are NOT remotely close. 16-17 and even 18 - high school aged kids are not all cut out to go to college. Why not give employers an incentive to teach the kids who cannot manage school a trade or simply gainfully employ them? Lots of people hate high school and turn things around once they have a chance to grow up. Lots of people hate high school and go on to start their own businesses and do very well for themselves. Lots of people hate high school and just work hard and manage very well, thank you.
18 and up? 18 is an adult right? Why is it anyone's business if they're going to school or not? 18-24? When did this turn into "youths" someone needs to track? Sure, they're young and they're all going to do incredibly stoopid things, but that's the great part of being a new adult, isn't it? Those are the years where you really grow up. Or, imo, those are the years you really HAVE to grow up.
But, now we can call them 'disconnected youths?' Really? Unless you are the most exceptional kid on the planet, being 16-18 makes you a 'disconnected youth' and that can mean a lot of things. In one family it might mean a 16 year-old questioning going to church with the family or it might mean curfew fights. But, generally, 16-18 are the years where kids question EVERYTHING. If you're 19-24, ummm not so much ... you're NOT a kid. The curve should be moving UP at this point. And, when the curve slopes down, it's your fault, not your parents or your upbringing or your whatever ... it's all you and you have the means to turn things around.
Ugh ... it all left me feeling paranoid and unsettled
Here is Andy's map of WWII based on his last year's map of the world's topography (site owner not responsible for loss and/or gain of glaciers, Earth's axis shrinking or approximate realism). The map is not close to scale, but what did you do when you were nine? WWII, not easy with a 10-year-old, but I think we found a good mix.
The map is accurate to a 10-year-old scale, and, yes, he even knows we glued the Eiffel Tower to Spain, but when we tried to fix it, Spain ripped right off of the map. So, it remains in Spain with a pencil arrow pointing to France.
THE WORLD
THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
EUROPE - sort of 19390-1949
Some of Asia 1939-1949
Kangaroo Jack because Australia looked so nekkid.
It is now March 7 and I am STILL freezing. I have no desire to live in Miami, but it's looking like a possibility. Around 8 pm we went to the neighbors to sing happy birthday and eat cake (mostly to eat cake, we're not a musical family) and it was fuh-reezing. Happy 9th Birthday Miss Katie!
It was an ice cream cake and, because we live in Florida, no one thought to thaw the cake first, because usually with an ice cream cake you end up screaming for people to eat it before it dissolves into a pool of goo. Tonight, it took all but a chain saw to slice the cake. No one broke a tooth, but it was up in the air for a few minutes.
There was a fire pit outside where it was gloriously warm and comfortable. But, the minute you were outside of the 2' radius, :::BRRRRRRR::: What was really crazy was that everyone there was wearing the same clothes they wore on Christmas and New Year's. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but the refusal to buy new sweaters, hats, etc is a distinctly Florida thing. Who knows? It might be 10 years until we need it again. And, we've all been patting each others' backs saying, it's going to warm up sometime.
OK - I'm ready for sometime. I'm grumpy, cold and tired of it. I would not complain if I lived somewhere where it's supposed to snow and be cold. But, this is Florida - CENTRAL Florida. Other people come here in the middle of winter because it's WARM. Well, it's not and I'm tired of it. Fix it. Someone just fix it. Now.
Thing is, we'll most likely go from every freezing to everyone sweating to death and we're going to miss the whole awesome winter thing that IS Florida. I want to kick a grapefruit tree or something. The awesome winter thing is what makes Florida so awesome and the May-November summer bearable. I've been cheated. I want my weather back.
Okay, we've established, I've been spending too much time in my house. Too much time in comfy sweatshirts and yoga pants and Mike's fluffy, old cast-off socks. I've been making tea and jello and mashed potatoes and applesauce for the flu victim. In effect, I've turned into a mushy pile of bland goo. What's really sad is how quickly I fell into this and how quickly I embraced it.Today, when Mike got home, I put on a pair of real jeans - with a zipper and button. Foundation garments. A shirt and jacket I wouldn't be embarrassed to give to Goodwill. And, I even added mascara and some gel in an attempt to tame my hair. Fan-cee! Yesiree Bob, I was headed to the WalMart.
I had a fairly short list - just some staples. I was also alone, which rarely happens, so I took the time to browse storage containers and I picked up a giant box of the snap-lid stuff I've come to love - all those nice boxes stacked in the drawer or the fridge. Next, I browsed through cards and gift cards for something for our niece who is getting married sometime soon. Finally, I went completely nuts and bought a new shower curtain for Mike's and my bedroom. I know, reckless spending at its ugliest.
The whole time I was in the store I kept running into a young-ish couple (early/mid-20's). They were horrible on so many levels I just don't have words for it. It's WalMart, sigh. But no matter how random my shopping patterns were, they were at every turn. It wasn't just me. Even the weirdest of the weird folks shopping were actively avoiding this couple. ::::shudder::::
I finally opted to skip frozen foods and produce rather than deal with the pair any longer. Guess who showed up in front of me in the longest line in the store? Yup. As soon as I got into the line and saw them I tried to back up but there were two other happy WalMart shoppers behind me. There was no point leaving.
I endured them discussing every single item they placed on the conveyor belt. They seriously were putting on a show for the rest of us. It was bizarre in the strongest sense of the word. The poor woman working at the cash register was subjected to more of their nonsense. When it came time to pay, they each ran an EBT card through the scanner and together they came up short. There ensued a huge mess about them going home to get money and could Walmart hold the cart and they were adamant about not just taking a few things from the cart . . .
Honestly, I wasn't paying attention to much of this until I had unloaded my entire cart onto the conveyor belt. But, then they left and the cashier was confused and suddenly there were managers trying to figure out what to do. I was not in a hurry and I've had enough jobs like that to know that none of the mess was the fault of the WalMart folks. But, when they announced that they had to freeze my lane and open up a new one, I nearly ripped open my jar of olives and started chomping on them furiously to show my anger. (Does anyone else remember the PMS med commercial where the lady wanted to ram her shopping cart into innocent people? That's about where I was. Yes, we needed food, but mostly I was at WalMart because I NEEDED olives!) I had a LOT of groceries and now I was going to have to put them back in my cart and get in line again - behind all the people in line behind me who had much less loaded carts (which were still loaded in the carts)? And, then unload my cart again?
My hat is off to the manager handling the situation. She caught my eye and said "Do not touch anything on the lane - I'll get people here to move your stuff." And she did and I went through the new line quickly.
But, I left the store, struggling to push my cart and open my jar of olives at the same time, feeling conflicted. I was/am at the height of PMS, so I'm sure that's coloring my feelings. But, gah! This obnoxious couple was comprised of two able-bodied 20-somethings who, at least from listening to them for the full hour I was in WalMart, are not overly educated (they should not be holding out for "management"). They were intent on spending the max on each of their cards (I looked it up. Yes, I am that pissy.). 5 4-packs of Frappuccino something. Really? You maintain that muffin-top and eat nothing? And, thank heavens for that debit card, otherwise you might have to give up your fancy, qwerty cell phone or the pedicures.
I support food stamps for people who are out of work and for people who have kids. I support giving those people the freedom to buy whatever they want with those food stamps. I've been really poor and sometimes, you just need a box of Twinkies or whatever. And, when you're working, you're paying taxes to support this program. I know lots of people who have used Food Stamps responsibly and as a last resort.
What I saw tonight was not a last resort. It was a lifestyle. And, the more I think about it the madder I get. I am constantly telling my kids "No." No, I will not buy this or that simply because you can heat it in a microwave. No, we do not have the money to buy this or that. Always, always, always, I feel like I'm saying "No." Mostly, my no's are justified and have nothing to do with how much money we have. But, the times that my no's are about money are harder. Not heartbreaking, but harder.
And, then I go to the store and have two exhibitionists buying up every "No" in my book, behaving badly in public and then not hesitating to hold up a long line of regular people and just being such horrible examples of humanity.
While I've never used it as a big punishment, I wonder, IS THERE NO SHAME?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
art,
nekkid,
snow
8
comments
Like I said, I've been in my house for too long.
I dunno, what do you guys think? If I woke up and saw this in my neighbors' yard, I would probably be packing the kids into the car to get the hell out of Dodge. Florida does not ever get enough snow to make a snowman. If the folks across the street had that much snow, we'd be running for our lives.But . . . if I lived somewhere, in this case, New Jersey, I'd be might impressed that my neighbors had the good taste to make a Venus de Milo rather than, I don't know, a nasty Dolly Parton (for the record, I love Dolly Parton but she does lend herself to some serious snow-making endeavors) type of snowman. I cannot, however, imagine calling city officials and complaining!
The Venus-crafters complied with city officials and covered Venus. You tell me, I think she looks much better nekkid. The clothing totally changes the proportions of her armless little body. Makes you think, doesn't it? Skip the Spanx and go au naturel? Let nature's lines fall where they're supposed to rather than impose more lines with clothing?
That said, there will be no time soon that I'll become a clothing optional person. I'm just thinking aloud. If you want the feeling of nekkid, get some overalls and a tank top. Comfy and you won't get a nasty sunburn and your neighbors won't call the police when you head out to collect your mail.
I'm curious - what would you do if you woke up to a snow-Venus across the street?
1) Call the police?
2) Congratulate the neighbors on a job well-done?
3) Say nothing but take a picture to email to your friends?
4) Get some fall leaves, currently being pressed in your unabridged dictionary and cover Venus' naught bits?
5) Take action and knock Venus down with a pick axe?
Tim is definitely 'round the bend. He's still kind of pathetic, but he's on the right track. I'm pathetic because I haven't been sleeping enough (surprise) for checking on Tim (and everyone else, but only while they're sleeping - how close am I getting to that creepy book Love You Forever? Let me know if I need to back off.)
Strangely, Tim being sick has freed up a lot of my time. I simply stopped teaching the subjects he and Ian do together and Ian spent his free time reading. I had a ton of extra time with Andy for school. Dan has had college classes and has been working and I've been trying to keep as many of our germs as possible in the house, so we've been housebound for the past five or so days.
Andy and I have done a lot of reading. If you're studying modern history with a 10 year old, I highly recommend Fireflies in the Dark and Cat with the Yellow Star. Andy and I read these together and I think they were a serious, but not terrifying introduction to the Holocaust. We've spent a lot of time talking about things from these books and I'm grateful for the time we had, that we normally would not have had, to talk.
Additionally, Andy and I decided to 're-purpose' the salt map he made of the earth's terrain last year and make a WWII map. I've only covered World Wars with older kids. World War II is head-exploding stuff. I concentrated on things that I thought would stick in a 10-year-olds brain without giving him everlasting nightmares. The map is going well.
The slow week has helped. We've had so much time to talk and stop and look things up and think about it all as we repainted the map (so not to scale it's not even worth talking about!). Next we started on some clay projects to attach to the map. The older boys joined in. I was going to take some pre-pictures, but the camera has gone missing - I'll edit if I find it. We'll see what the final project looks like. If nothing else, I think Andy will remember much of what we've read and talked about and that's the point, right?
So far, Tim is still the only sick person in the house. And, as of 10 minutes ago, it appears his monstrously high fever has broken! Yay! He's exhausted and threatening to hack up a lung, but I'll sleep better tonight knowing his brain won't fry.
Keep your fingers crossed that the rest of us stay healthy, please?!
In other news, it's official. Watching television with Mike and any combination of my sons is simply not worth it. The constant dialog, bickering and actual physical altercations make even the tamest show unpleasant. Honestly, I tried watching American Idol with them tonight and finally left the room because my eye was twitching.
My hope is that things will warm up here soon and I can just move to the screened-in porch and listen to my audiobook and shut the menfolk out. If it doesn't warm up soon, I may just check in to the fat farm because all I can think to do (besides laundry and it's cold out there) is to cook and bake. Delicious, but not really something I want to pursue long-term.
Hope you all are warm and healthy and have secret tv's somewhere in your house.
Tim has the flu. The boy is an absolute, pathetic mess. He seemed a little better this morning, so I told Dan to go ahead and take the car for his classes and to run some errands for me as Tim and I were up most of the night. Around 10 am, Tim crashed and burned. He spent most of today dead asleep in our bedroom (the only quiet place in the house) only waking for me to dump fluids down his throat. Finally, around 6 pm, Tim woke up for longer than two minutes. I stuffed him into the car with a big fluffy blanket and took him to the doc-in-a-box at our local grocery store. Once again, I must gush about how much I love these places. Fast, thorough and I've only dealt with extraordinarily nice people. The nurse practitioner that took care of Tim tonight was really wonderful. I don't have a working thermometer in the house, but I knew his fever was high - 103 WITH ibuprofen at the doc-in-the-box!
So, we now have Tim quarantined in his bedroom, Ian is on the couch (he chose that over sharing Dan and Andy's room) and Tim has full reign of the boys' bathroom. So far no one else is sick. We have Tim on tamiflu, some good cough medicine, an ibuprofen/acetaminephine (sp?) regimen and a lovely-dissolve-on-your-tongue pill to quell queasiness.
I've alerted the neighbors, though I'm pretty sure Tim was not in contact with any of Andy's friends between Thursday and Sunday. (At this rate, we're going to get kicked out of the neighborhood - we nearly killed the whole street on Superbowl Sunday with our freaky stomach virus!)
All day long, Ian, Andy, Dan and I have been eating cups and cups of the garlic soup I mentioned last night. Weird, you cannot taste the garlic at all. It's actually kind of addicting. I think it's a recipe I will keep.
In addition the house has been scrubbed from top to bottom. All clean sheets and blankets. New toothbrushes. We've moved to disposable eating/drinking stuff (but we're still composting, so it should even out environmentally, right?).
My plan is to have our pediatrician give us prescriptions for Tami-Flu for the healthy tomorrow. I didn't think to ask for it this evening as by the time the NP was writing out prescriptions for Tim, he was sprawled over three chairs in her office and drooling on the floor. Nothing sadder than a six foot tall baby.
I feel fine right now - finishing up some laundry before I go to bed. Just in case, I wrote out instructions for alternating Motrin/Tylenol and some of the finer points of keeping sick folks alive in case I crash. I made Ian (since he's on the couch and was awake anyway) read my instructions and then explain them back to me. Now, I just have to catch Mike before he leaves in the morning and do the same with him. No point surviving the flu if you need a liver transplant when it's all over. (Not that I future-trip or anything like that.)
Everyone cross your fingers that Tim is the only casualty and that our neighborhood doesn't decide to shun us if he's not.
In theory I like change. But, when I think about it, I really only like change I can control (seems to be a recurring theme here lately). I love painting walls crazy new colors or ripping out a wall when possible. I love homeschooling because if something is truly not working, I can change it. I'm growing to love gardening for the same reason. Actually, most things I love, I love because I can control change. (I'm not including people in that 'things I love category' because that gets creepy.)
However, I have issues with change I cannot control. Here, today, those things would be the weather (why the hell is it STILL cold in Florida on March 1?) and the fact that Tim is sick. Not just under the weather, Tim is sick, sick, sick with a high fever (though he has only ever had high fevers - no moderation in the child's body - it's 103+ or nothing, baby), cough, sore throat, chills and those horrible bloodshot eyes.
I blame the uncharacteristic cold weather! We rarely get sick here and I think, in large part, it's due to the fact that we're not shut in anywhere for any long stretch of time. But the past two months have changed all that. Heck, we might as well be in North Carolina or somewhere equally bitter. (I joke - I meant to say Dallas.) I usually enjoy a good cold snap - a week or two, anyway. But, I'm all done. Whoever is in charge of this (or if you know who is in charge, call them) needs to make a phone call and end it.
But, now, as I type while spraying my screen with Lysol - so as not to infect you all - I'm wondering who is going down next? How long will this last? To be perfectly stupid about it, we do not have the time to be sick. I've been pushing the OJ and added a ton of garlic to tonight's dinner. I have plans to make (and feed copious quantities of it to everyone in the house) this recipe from another mom - she swears by the whole head of garlic, so I'm going to give it a shot - at the very least, the boys will not be meeting a lot of new friends over the next couple days!
Garlic Chicken Soup (Remedy for Cold and Flu Season)
makes 4 1-cup servings
4 cups chicken stock (or add 1 packet gelatin to 4 cups broth)
1 head of Garlic (about 15 cloves, CRUSHED and peeled)
1 medium Red Onion, quartered
1/2 to 1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 1/2 tsp. minced parsley and cilantro
1 tsp. minced basil and mint leaves
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste
Allow garlic to sit about 15 minutes after crushing before beginning cooking. Saute garlic in a bit of olive oil until nicely softened and caramelized. Add all other ingredients except lemon juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add lemon juice and salt to taste. You may inhale the therapeutic fumes. Take 1 to 2 cupfuls everyday until you are well.
Note: all of the herbs are medicinal, not just the garlic.
As I type, I'm watching the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics - well done, Canada! As a country, you're way funnier than I ever gave you credit for! I'm thinking I would kill for one of those hideous down mini-skirts the Olympic minions are wearing. Flattering? No. But I'm sure it's warmer than my clothes. When did I become such a wimp?
Off to make soup and contemplate my weaknesses. Hope everyone reading is healthy and warm.
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