Empty Elizabeth

Moving Day!

2006-06-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

I am moving, my blog, that is. We have come to no immediate conclusion about the house.
Please update links, etc. See you there!

My Kind of Town

2006-06-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

Oooh, lookit me. Standing near some giant mirrored blob in Chicago. It's amazing, sometimes, what passes for art these days. The Art Institute was much better. We were there all day (just me and T). I got to see all the Impressionists I wanted. A nice abstract Japanese painting of a cat. The Chagall. I recommend that one doesn't spend the entire day there. There is so much to see and even trying to cram it all into one day doesn't quite do everything justice. Plus, you become really really sore afterwards. Which makes it hard to eat dinner since you'd have to walk to a restaurant.
T and I spent 4 days in Chicago. We found an awesome deal for the Hard Rock Hotel on Michigan that we couldn't pass up. Plus, when we checked in, they upgraded us to a king suite! It was very nice. Views of the river were from 2 vantages, being the room was in a corner of the building. Only two other rooms on that floor. Sheets were oh so soft and David Bowie graced the walls by the bed and the bathroom.
It was nice. The weather was pretty good, not too hot, not too cold. The hotel was close for walking and taking the subway. We became adept at using the RedLine and I convinced T to take the El on the way back from the Sears Tower (over-rated). We visited ChinaTown after a WhiteSox game. We caught a Blue Man Group show on the north side. Perused the Lincoln Park Zoo one afternoon. Chilled at some nice restaurants. Visited a nice little shop across the street for snacks and some wine.
That was the beginning of May. I get exhausted talking about it! We were glad to get back home to the kids, but still thankful for our time away, alone. Maybe next time, it will be a beach resort. I need to relax on my next vacation!

Smile Like You Mean It

2006-06-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

Today is a good day. I don't think I've yelled once. That's a pretty nice feeling. SE got dressed all by himself, without me having to tell him to. SM has been so cooperative about diapers and sitting in the cart at the store. I actually remembered what I needed to get at the store. I got it all inside the house and put away. The boys played nicely. They even shared a snack and some milk in the car.
Why can't all days be like this? I would feel so much better.

Living in a Bubble

2006-06-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

Can I live in an apartment? That was the question posed to me today.
Sure, I can live in an apartment. No problem!
I'm pretty sure I can stuff all our things into a 2 bedroom (with a den!) apartment. I know there's no basement, no upstairs and no backyard. But it so helps that the clubhouse has an exercise room with and attached play area where you can watch your kids through and big window whilst exercising. All the more reason to get off your ass, when you know the kids will be occupied. Also, a pool. And a little playground. And it's out in the boonies, so not a lot of traffic.
It is our plan to sell our wonderful house and live in an apartment for 1-2 years, the later part of which to build a house in. The extra money from the house sale will pay off our credit card debts and expenses for the apartment will be hundreds less than the house (with the added bonus of an attached 2-car garage).
I've already gotten berated by someone who thinks renting is throwing money away. Who, by the way, is renting. So whatever. But think: if the extra money from the equity we have and the higher price than what we paid will completely erase our debt, how is that not a good thing? We will also be able to save more money since we will not be spending so much on fixing up the house so it looks nice, because, let's face it, the house is pretty old (75 years) and things need to be fixed.
We will also be in a position to freely build a house and move into it without having to worry about a bridge loan or whether or not someone wants to buy our house at that time. We will have time to be choosy about where and what we build.
I also hear the school district is quite nice.
I will miss our house, but everything I love will be coming with me, so in time, I won't miss it anymore.

Solemn Vow

2006-06-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

I swear that I will not cut my hair again! Really. Don't you believe me? C'mon, I swear. I swear! I just know that my hair will be beautiful if and when it gets past my shoulders. I meant WHEN! There is no "IF". Because I swore. Remember? Up there, a couple of sentences ago.

What I've been up to:

I was inspired to make some aprons. So I found a pattern and made 2. I have plans to make a 3rd with some gorgeous red Japanese fabric with flowers outlined in gold.
I got a pattern for children's coloring bags. It's cute. They have handles and little pockets on the outside for each fat crayon. I know, crayons in and out of little pockets, disaster! But! BUT! It's all cotton and of course, you get the washable crayons and you can just throw the whole thing in the wash. I made two with the sock monkey fabric I got the other weekend.
I went a little tiny bit crazy (or bipolar, if you've seen that magazine ad) and bought another blanket for our bed. Hey, it was 22$! Matlasse! And pretty blue! Also, 400 thread count sheets for 29$. That's for the whole set, people! So very soft. And two big feathery pillows with blue stitching on them. That whole thing inspired me to make a pillow out of some fabric that I have that I do not know what the heck to do with that happens to match the aforementioned blanket and pillows. The pattern is in a book my mother-in-law gave me for my birthday. It's almost done, I think I'll finish it when I get home tonight. Pictures to follow.
I don't have a 4, but I like the way it looks.

Again, to reiterate: I will not cut my hair!! I'm staging and intervention, on myself!

I will have to hide all scissors when I get home.

Meme-land

2006-06-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

Found this over at Mrs. Kennedy's.

Find your own pose!

I seriously do not know why it's called the Colon, but I think it is pretty accurate.

Things that go Vvrroooommmm

2006-06-01T15:33:00.000-07:00

I do not know when a boy's fascination with cars begins. It could start just after they are born: we cart them around to all places in the car. It could start when they start learning words: cars are everywhere and many different colors making them an easy teaching tool (red, yellow, slow, fast, big, small). When my dad played with SE when he was a lot younger, he wondered how he knew which was the front of the car, for they always had to go down the ramp forward. I dont' know, I don't think I had taught him that. What I do know: the boy loves his cars.

Ever since the fascination started, everyone else contributes to it. Cars for Christmas, birthdays, Easter, whatever. The one in the picture he got from my brother Joe's "mommy"(girlfriend). We speculate that SE calls her "his mommy" because all the women we get together with regularly are with men, and usually married with kids, making them and mommy and a daddy. Though I cannot tell you why he doesn't call my sister's boyfriend "her daddy". (It could be because he's know him longer, but what do I know).

Another thing I know, is that I love my two little boys.

Slippery Subjective Significance

2006-05-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

Is eugenics impending? The slippery, or maybe just slightly wet, slope leading there is discussed in a Slate.com article.
PGD stands for preimplantion genetic diagnosis. Simply put, it means that embryos for IVF(in-vitro fertilization) are screened for certain genes before they are implanted into the uterus. If an embryo has a specific gene (usually one associated with a type of cancer), the embryo is discarded or frozen. In other words, it's not used. The article goes on to try and define the "line". Where is the line drawn over what is screened for and what is not? Where is the line drawn for what is a significant risk of early- or late-onset disease? It further delves into treatability.
Regardless of most of these parameters, the significance of a certain disease and it's risk factors is dependent on the mother, or parents, of said embryo. Even though there may be "lines" drawn, the significance of any disease is subjective to the recipient. As Saletan writes, "if significance is subjective and anxiety is sufficient, won't some parents feel that severe asthma meets that standard?" One more step down the slope. Where does line finally get drawn?

As for Leather's assurance that PGD "can still only be used for a minority of
people if there is a clear history of cancer across generations of a family,"
why should anyone respect that line? Once genetic testing becomes cheap and
universal, why shouldn't anyone who finds out she has a cancer gene be able to
test her embryos for it?

This is why I can't bring myself to read much anymore, let alone drag myself off the couch. One article leads to another. Do I really want to know these things are going on in my world? Do I want to squander my time pondering the future in this world? I'd rather be watching "Mad About You". The problems never stretched far beyond the walls of Paul and Jamie's apartment.

Message From Mom

2006-05-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

My parents recently babysat for 4 whole days. The next week, my mom sent me a little email with an observation I had to share:

"You know you've been around your grandkids too long when you go to take off your tennis shoes and realize you double tied the laces."

Thank you, Mom (and Dad), for watching the kids! We appreciate it so much!

Are there Limits?

2006-05-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

My husband and I were watching TV the other day and I happened across Austin City Limits. The Killers were playing. Then a band called Spoon came on. I enjoyed them very much.
I haven't been "into" music for a long time. Time. That is what keeps from it. I no longer have time to listen and search and discuss music. I used to be a fountain of useless facts about bands that I loved. I could tell you that Shawn Smith from Satchel played on this certain Afghan Whigs song and that he, together with Greg Dulli from the Whigs now (and also at that time) are in a band called the Twilight Singers. And on and on. Only other people that liked these bands cared. It's sort of like "name-dropping". But, it kept me sane, I think.

Back to Spoon. Together with the wonderful custom sound adjustment on our TV set and the HD broadcast of ACL, it made for a nice experience. Not every band can put together a song that you can rock along to. Sure, all songs have a beat, but not all can make you move. It made me think about how, never before, has there been a song exactly like the one this band is playing right now.
Is music truly infinite? Are there a finite number of notes, or does the scale continue on: ascending and descending into infinity? If so, there is an infinite combination of notes and instruments possible, never producing the same song twice. It is true, people are influenced by other musicians and music, and you may hear that in the song. But still, that song is truly original.
Just like people, I suppose.

My Mother's Day

2006-05-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

I got up early (since I went to bed early) with SE and SM.

I made the boys pankcakes.

I got dressed for church.

I changed my pants.

I changed my shirt.

I changed my pants.

We went to church (I love large liberal churches).

I got 2 carnations and a rose.

We went to the mall and ate lunch (easiest for picky eaters like me).

Shopped a bit.

Shopped a bit by myself (thank you dearest hubby!).

Purchased new jeans, 3 tops, comfy J. Crew flip-flops and some smelly stuff from the Body Shop.

Got a white rose from the lovely people at J. Crew. How sweet of them. (I was dragging SM with me at that store).

We went to Sam's Club to load up on groceries.

Went home.

Ate.

Watched Grey's Anatomy. WOW.

Also, nothing says Happy Mother's Day like that thing that means you're not a mother again.

Random Thoughts... or The Beauty of Gray

2006-04-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

this is not a black and white world / to be alive i say the
colors must swirl / and i believethat maybe today / we will all get to
appreciate /
the beauty of gray
Today, a nice little list:
Got new work shoes. They're a half size to small, but I could not find anything in my size, nor in the color that I wanted in any other shoe! Grrr... Kohls.
Finally printed out pictures from my trip to Kentucky back in November. I even set up the printer all by myself. FB must be proud.
SE has been "super" difficult yesterday and today. Just crazy nuts, not listening, being crabby, whiney, rude and mean.
Got Bodukon via Netflix. T and I did it once the other day. 20 minutes of yoga and then about 10 of the karate-type stuff. I liked it, but we haven't really felt like exercising since. SE's attitude takes a lot out of one.
Watched Elizabethtown over Easter weekend, since I was by myself. Not what I was expecting! I liked it. That is all I remember.
Watched Proof the other night with T. It was good. Reminded me a little of what I was like before going on the medicine. Though, I don't think I was ever that bad. I would like to watch it again. Gwyneth Paltrow did a really good job playing her character. And Jake Gyllenhal wasn't so bad, though I don't see why people think he is hot, or whatever. Anthony Hopkins also did a good job. Not once did I think of Silence of the Lambs. And that, Clarice, is a good thing.

Bette Davis Eyes

2006-04-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post a link to My Heritage that I found via Rockstar Mommy last week or something. Then I was visiting Mary Beth's site, and she had done it too (check it out! she has pictures). So that prompted me to actually try it out and do the post I've been planning on.
I've done it 3 times so far (you can keep uploading new photos of yourself), but the second time, I wasn't pleased with the results. Anyhow, the point of it is: to see which celebrities you resemble using their sophisitcated "face-recognition" software. It even gives percentages. Memorable celebrities from the first picture I used were Gwyneth Paltrow and Tom Petty! The most recent time I got a 74% for Bette Davis. It must be the eyes. (It also came up with Judy Garland, Mira Sorvino, Mary Kate Olsen and Marylin Manson on that same one).
Regardless, it was fun. I have to go through some more pictures and see what it comes up with.

It's A Miracle!

2006-04-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

Will wonders ever cease? I finished the stack'n'wack top today. Behold: It needs to be squared and then bordered. My sewing is atrocious (everything is cut on the bias, which makes it extremely stretchy), but you can't tell that from the picture. There is no turning back now, I must finish it!

Man Cannot Live on Bread Alone

2006-04-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

But one can live on dark chocolate whipped creme eggs.

A Cat for all Seasons

2006-04-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty good day. I think I did too much television watching, though. But, to my credit, I stopped watching before Mad About You came on at 12:30. (I love Mad About You).

After lunch, SM was snoozing peacefully in the playpen and SE was in his bed. After SE had "rested" for a bit (he wouldn't take a nap), he came out in the living room and read a little bit by me. When reading got to be too much for him, he decided to check on the birdfeeder outside the living room window. Usually, many different birds have come for a snack, but lately, I've noticed a pair that seems to have claimed the feeder as their own. There is also an errant squirrel that seems to think we put out food in the window feeder for him alone, despite having moved it higher on the glass. It must be the bricks he has been climbing. Occasionally, when my husband is in the kitchen, he will come running out to loud shouts from SE. He is only trying to scare that squirrel away! Well, today, instead of birds, there was a medium-sized calico cat peering at the feeder. SE was excited and I came to the window to look. The cat seemed to be looking at us, for there were no birds at the feeder. She would also look at us when we said something. I left the window for a moment and when I came back, the cat had crept closer to SE in the window. Now she was in the pachysandra.
This made me think of how we got our first cat when I was little: The house where we lived had an enclosed screen porch with a door to the other half of the porch. You had to turn the knob and pull the door to get in there, and the door was always kept closed. One night, while my mom was getting dinner for my sister, brother and me, she looked out the window onto that porch and there was a black cat staring back. My mom thought it odd, since that door had to be opened, that a cat would be on our porch. After a while, she decided to bring the cat in. She had gotten a box from the basement and had a little bowl which she put some milk and bread into. I think she coaxed it into the house with the milk. I don't remember much of what happened after that. I do remember her calling one of my aunts and asking her some questions. I don't remember what my dad said when he got home, but we ended up keeping the cat. I named her Muffin. Soon after we got another cat, which my sister named Katie, after her friend.
Remembering this, I decided to go out the front door and see what the cat would do. What was I thinking? I don't really know. What if the cat came over by me? I don't think T would have let us keep it. I don't know if I would want to keep it. It's another thing to care for! I already have 2 kids and a husband, and myself! But, the idea sounds nice. So nice that a while ago I had taken the kids to the Humane Society to look at cats. I even put down a deposit to hold one (the nicest, sweetest orange tabby ever) so we could come back the next day with Daddy and see what he thought. But then you get so close to actually bringing the cat home, and it all seems overwhelming. Needless to say, we didn't bring Sugar home.
We do have another cat, who lives now with my in-laws. They're retired and they like the company, though the birds they got from someone else don't like the terrorizing they receive. There have been talks to give him back to us, but there has been a breakdown in communication, so I don't think they're up to letting him go. Just as we are not quite up to taking him back.
Still, once in a while, SE will say he wants a kitty (and the other day he wanted a dog and a cat). I think eventually we might get one. Or one might get us.

I've been all over the internet and all I found was this silly meme

2006-03-31T15:45:00.001-08:00

I've been across the internet and back and I've found this "meme" (whatever that is... oh, wait. click on the title and find out. wow.) everywhere. This one I actually got by email from my friend Amanda (Hi Amanda!). Enjoy.

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Reference Page at the local library
2. Circulation and Stacks employee at college library
3. Soil, plant, water and feed tester (I don't think I had a title there) at a little lab in Oshkosh
4. MT at a large hospital

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. When a Man Loves a Woman
2. Emma (with Gwyneth Paltrow
3. Jurassic Park (it's Knee Socks!)
4. White Christmas

Four places you have lived:
1. Fond du Lac
2. Oshkosh
3. Waukesha
4. New Berlin

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Grays' Anatomy
2. What I Like About You
3. NOVA Science Now (in HD!)
4. TOH

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Mexico, in high school
2. Cinncinnati, OH (3EB, baby!)
3. Key West
4. Fort Knox, KY, to see my little (ha! he's 22) brother graduate from basic

Four places you WOULD LIKE TO GO on vacation someday:
1. Italy
2. Canada
3. Boston
4. Maldives

Four websites I visit daily
1. Go Fug Yourself
2. various blogs (see list on your left)
3. work intranet (woo, exciting)
4. yahoo!

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Dark chocolate
2. Home-made macaroni and cheese
3. Tomato soup and grilled cheese
4. Green beans

Four of my favorite drinks:
1. Good Earth Original tea
2. Black cherry vanilla Coke(diet)
3. White Reisling
4. Water

Four pets you have had or want to have someday:
1. Muffin Marie (cat)
2. Alex/Ally (cat)
3. Rocket (fish who was eventually eaten by one of my sister's fish)
4. Baxter (cat)

Four Friends that I have tagged that I think will respond
1. Hmmm...
2. Could
3. Be
4. Anyone!

I'm killing time, killing time, I think it's killing me

2006-03-30T18:20:00.000-08:00

I've been quite busy the past couple of years... only to find out recently that one of my favorite bands had broken up in 2001! Woe is me.
AND! I can't find Amphetamines & Coffee on Yahoo! Unlimited.
Shoot, I just remebered that they did an awesome cover of TLC's Creep. I have to rush home to find my cds.

The DMB Effect**

2006-03-29T17:34:00.000-08:00

I sort of liked Dave Matthews band way back in high school (94-96) when their debut album was released. It was something new, something catchy, something to hang your hat on.
Then the frat boys got a hold of them.
I don't know what it is about DMB, but it seems to me like that is the band to listen to if you're in the greek system. Part of pledge-week hazing, possibly. They make you memorize all the lyrics and sing them while doing keg stands*. Or immortalize the lyrics on a nice little wooden picture frame along with your call letters*.
I did some searching, and DMB (as the cool people call them, and have on their bumpers) are still going strong, coming to an amphitheater near me, or you. There are certain to be large groups of them, wearing their greek letters and proudly acting out the lyrics in front of unsuspecting normal people*** who would simply like to hear some good live music from some middle-aged men.

Fraternization and sororitization aside, it is my theory that Coldplay are the new DMB. Discuss.

*Clearly speculation on my part, but it could be true: aren't they sworn to secrecy?
**Patent Pending
***Not to say that "greeks" aren't normal. But who's to say, really?

Didn't You Know?

2006-03-28T12:50:00.000-08:00

I started out this week thinking I was going to break down and get my hair cut by a professional. The last time I did this, it was October 2004. Well, yesterday, I read this post, and it got me thinking: hey! I cut my own hair all the time(aka: clipe les cheveaux). (I also read this post last month*). I think I really know what I'm doing this time. It also helps that I have curly hair: little mistakes are easy to disguise.

So, for your enjoyment, this is what i started the week looking like:

Sexy. Yes, no**? Sorry, my hair kinda blends into the living room there.

Anyhow, since it is National Cut Your Own Hair Month/Year***, I've taken matter into my own hands (and saved beaucoup des dollars). Viola, internet, behold:

Oh wait, it's dry now (and some makeup):

And some cuteness, just in case: SM looking worried you're cutting it again, mom?

*She does a nice job. Yes, no?

**I had a virology professor in college that said this after practically every question she asked.

***Heck, when is it not time to cut your own hair?!

F.Y.I. for nurses

2006-03-24T18:55:00.000-08:00

Using endearing words like honey, sweetie, dear while you are demanding that I do something immediately because YOU have to go home and God forbid, I have to call the call-center (as is policy anyhow) does not make it sound like you are being any less of a bitch.
Also? I don't think that giving your lab specimens to the security guard to put on the (wrong) dumbwaiter since you are too busy on Saturdays to do it yourself is kosher according to H.I.P.P.A.
And one last thing: please use your name when answering the phone (as is also policy) so that I know who's name to put on the form when I write you up! (or maybe on the "pat-on-the-back" form, if you were nice) *smile*
Love,
Your friendly neighborhood MT

Sunday Driver, Baby

2006-03-16T15:47:00.000-08:00

Story teller, maybe..

One of my all time favorite bands is coming back to town after a 4-year hiatus.
Ten years ago, a group of friends and I saw them at a tiny club on the east side. Now, they are coming back to that club, to celebrate the recording of their first new album in over six years.

too bad it's SOLD OUT and I can't go

I Need More...

2006-03-15T17:54:00.000-08:00

cowbell!!!

Found this over at Supafine.

An Open Letter to "Work-Clippers"

2006-03-15T16:07:00.000-08:00

Now, I work in a clinical lab. We get our fair share of "gross things". Along with the blood and urine, we get occasional stools, nail clippings, skin scrapings, swabs from all over the body and ginormous amounts of fluid from places where there should be none. Albeit, not as much "gross things" as one would see in a hospital (eg, dead bodies, amputated limbs and all matter of odd injuries through the ED)... but our share.
Ew.
At least I get paid.

Dear Clippin' Co-worker;
I don't think that the fact that we work in a lab, where all matter of "gross things" can be seen is a good excuse to clip your own nails here. Right over in the next area, where I can still hear it despite the noise of this confoundedly loud centrifuge.
I guess I can see the necessity if you chipped one of your nails, but HELLO! you're over there working in pee-land, directly behind 5, count them! FIVE bathrooms. One of which would work perfectly well for clipping your injured nail, in private. Where I can not hear it!

Thank you that is all,
Your unapreciative co-worker

Project Update

2006-03-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

I'm currently working on a tote bag. Neat, huh? Maybe I'm really a little old lady.
Whatever, it looks like it's going to be cool. I used some of the fabrics I picked up at the FFFQF way back when. I mean, once you buy all the stuff, you eventually have to make something out of it!
I beaded a few bracelets last month, too.

In other worlds, today was a relatively good kid day. SE was doing more talking than I was yelling. That is always a good day in my book. He explains things to me and embellishes things to his liking. Or he sees some fish on TV and launches into his "aquarium" spiel... it always ends up with "and Auntie Becky was at the aquarium."
SM is growing up fast. At 21 months, he is becoming aware of his bodily functions. He will tell me when he pooped his diaper. And yesterday, he said "potty" and took me to the bathroom, where I put him on the toilet and he peed. He also did this for daddy once. This is quite a change from SE whom we didn't really start potty-training until he was around 3.
The house, with it's 3 boys is holding up well, all I have to do is convince daddy to watch them so I have more time to work on all my projects!

The Impression That I Get

2006-03-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

The boys and I did a little painting today: finger painting. Well, SE and I used brushes and SM actually did the finger painting. I think they use the impressionist style. I prefer pseudo-realism when I paint.

SM was excited and jumped right in by scooping blobs of paint onto his paper. The end result was quite nice, like a big reddish-brown rainbow with spots of blue and yellow. This was the first time he has ever finger painted (I'm scared of the mess) and it was quite messy. Despite having a towel tied around his neck and tucked tightly around his mid-section, he managed to get paint all the way up his arms and onto his sleeves, on his face, all over the table and on his booster seat. He didn't mind it one bit. I tossed him in the shower when we were done, shirt and all.

SE demanded the use of a brush. This is the third time he has ever painted (again, the mess). He did pretty good. He was painting waterfalls, with pipes and spots where the pipes went "sploosh" (burst open, I imagine). The brush created nice texture to the paint. He was quite pleased. And SM being the neater of the two, would wipe his fingers on his smock whenever he got a little bit of paint on them. This helped a little with the cleanup, except that he demanded to be put in the shower too. This entails SM taking of his clothes and telling you to help him into the tub. So, there are 2 wet shirts on the bathroom rug (somehow, SM got paint on the back of his shirt).

I'm sure the two of them will be excited to show daddy their artwork when they wake up from their naps. (I already showed him my painting before I left for work: large flowers).

Test Patterns

2006-03-01T16:28:00.000-08:00

In a fit of violent creativity and insanity, I bought the trappings for a cushion for our window seat. Along with that, I bought some stuff for the making of chair-pads/cushions for the dining room table. Not only did it cost way too much for a DIY-type thing, but it took WAY TOO LONG in the store.
Oddly, during the week, in the afternoon, is the worst time to go shopping at the fabric store. Not only are the old ladies out and about, but so is everyone else.... including me: complete with 2 tired kids, one of whom has to go "pee on the potty!!!" every 15 minutes. I think I was there over an hour.
I found the foam... and waited at least 10 minutes to get it cut (only to length, they won't cut it any other way!). Then I found some fabric that I liked and had to roam around the store while I tried to figure out how much yardage I would need. This was a gigantic feat unto itself. You try doing abstract math in your head while your 20-month-old throws things out of the cart and you are interupted for yet another potty break by the 3 1/2 year old. I finally decided how much I needed, and had to take another number. This wait was as long, if not longer, than the first wait. The "cutter" was neither friendly nor socialble.
To top it off, I almost stole 4 chair pads.

Cut to Saturday night. I think the thing that slipped my mind (my harried, crazy, busy, over-worked mind) at the fabric store was to get a pattern. That would have made my life much simpler. Instead, I decided I could wing-it. I guess the chair pad turned out OK. But I am less than thrilled and am now trying to decide if I should look for a pattern (which would most likely entail buying yet more fabric), or just scrap the whole project.

Or, I could spend the rest of my free time coming up with cute craft puns.

A Really Useful Crew

2006-02-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

Minding my own business, holding down the work fort on a Sunday (and no, you can NOT bring your 5-day-old baby in for bilirubin testing, we've reached our baby quota for the day), the darn Thomas the Train song pops into my head. Shunt this, Thomas!

No Peaches for You!

2006-02-16T19:46:00.000-08:00

An open letter to our peach-loving next door neighbor who killed her own peach tree and loves to eat peaches from our much larger, glorious peach tree from Kmart:

From this day forward, there will be no having of our peaches for your breakfast when the weather is hot and the sun is shining through your windows due to certain lapses in snow removal discussions which have left ours the only sidewalk unplowed and three others nice and snow-free. Along with this decree comes certain articles, as follows:

There will be no negotiating for said peaches.
There will be no reinstatement of snow-blowing agreement after this date to gain back the peaches.
There will be no tying-up of our peach tree this year so as to make like you have had some sort of impact on the peach crop.
And you can have your peach-tying ropes back for use in other fruitless tree stringing.

Love,

Your next door/city neighbors, one of whom does not like peaches, but will gladly take them to work instead of letting you pick them in the dewy summer mornings.

RE: Ubersexual Men

2006-02-16T15:32:00.000-08:00

In response to the question "are you an ubersexual man?", the wonderful, if not pious, Stephan Jenkins had this to say:

"It seems like a marketing ploy," he said by phone last week. "I don't think men need a 'sexual' put next to their names. ... What kind of sexual is the Dalai Lama? I want to be that."

Forcast: Boring

2006-02-16T14:51:00.000-08:00

The weather was quite nasty this morning. It was dark. First it was snowing, then raining, then more snow. And to my suprise, thunder! The kids liked it.
I still had to go into work, though. Blah.

Furious Rose

2006-02-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

I love Lisa Loeb. I could totally look like her if I had longer hair. Wouldn't that be nice?
Anyhow... I'm in the market for new glasses. All because of Lisa. I love her glasses. I just have to make an appointment with my eye doctor.
I wonder if Lisa is touring? You'd think I could look that up, wouldn't you? Well, today I don't have time. I am swamped at work... 2 fluids, a stat retic and countless coag and heme samples. All I have left is the second fluid count (it's horrible! I had to dilute it 100X, I hope it's enough!), both fluid diffs and 2 morphs. And to rack all my crap and be sure there isn't anything left pending. If my doctor thought I had fluid in my joint and all he got was 3 drops of very bloody gunk, I'd be furious. And then I'd feel sorry for the poor MT that has to do counts and diffs on it because she's going to be furious!

WTF?

2006-02-15T08:47:00.000-08:00

If I could find the cord, I'd show you the picture of the pile of cords, of which none is the cord for my camera.

What Exactly Was the Question?

2006-02-14T16:06:00.000-08:00

To move, or not to move. It's something I think about almost every day. I like my house. I don't want to leave it. We've made it look pretty nice. It feels like HOME when I walk in. My kids like to run around the chimney upstairs.
Crime is getting worse the closer you get to the city. We're not that far out, though we are right on the edge (1 foot west of our garage is the next city)... but these things seem too close to home.

Where do we go? Where do we live? Where can SE go to school?

We like our church. That is where we looked into sending SE to school. He had such a fun time while we chatted with the teacher. Even SM loved it. Actually, he can go to school the following year.

It's hard to up and leave work, too. It's like I'd be letting them down.. even though I shouldn't worry about it. They will eventually find someone else to take my place and things will go on as if I wasn't there. (sad isn't it?)

I guess everything will be ok. Wherever we go, there is always one thing that will stay the same: my family.

You, too, can get syphilis through the mail!

2006-02-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

Syphilis is so cute! I'm in love.

Over Herd

2006-01-29T10:26:00.000-08:00

SE love dinosaurs. Fueling the habit was dinosaurs from Auntie Abbey and Grandpa P for Christmas. It's ok, we don't mind. It's amazing how much he knows. He know all their names.. and when you get it wrong, he says "no, Mommy, that's a Dilophosaurus."
Actually, I think I started his habit. I took him to our museum on free-Mondays. They don't have a spectacular dinosaur exhibit. I don't think it has changed since I was there in the 4th grade (about 17 years ago). But they do have an actual Torosaur skeleton. Also, there are large replicas of a Stegosaurus and a T-Rex eating a Triceratops (appetizing).
Both SE and SM love to set up the dinosaurs. Usually they are all facing the same direction on the "grass" that Grandpa made for their little table. Other times they are eating leaves off of some artificial plants (I tend to kill plants). It's nice to see them both play quietly together once in a while.
Today we got a couple of new dinosaur books from the bookstore. We have already read them once in the short time we were home between shopping and me leaving for work. Even if they're the ones with lots of words, SE is usually happy if I name the dinosaurs after he points and says "that one", "and that one", "and that one, Mommy", "what's that one". Sometimes I have him tell me the names of dinosaurs.

That's all I can think of about that. Sorry that the paragraph structure is crap, I'm tired.

In quilt news.... I machine quilted the whole thing over the weekend. That was scary and fun. Scary because I just decided to do a random looping over the entire thing (sort of like stippling, but with loops) and once you start, it's a little hard to start over. I was going to do a "regular" pattern where I'd draw what I wanted with chalk pencil and then stitch over it, but I tested that on a sample and I didn't like the way it looked. After testing the tension on the sample I made, I decided to just go for it. Some parts are a little shaky and the stitch length is very inconsistent, but I think it turned out nice. There are only a couple of places where the fabric got puckered. I can live with that. I even made a couple of hearts and the word "love" twice. Now I'm working on stitching the binding around to the back by hand. Then I will be done! I'll try to take some close-ups of the stitching and post them soon.

Might I just add: the spell check on this thing is lame. It doesn't highlight the word it's checking so you have no idea if you should replace it or not!

In Which Pictures Appear

2006-01-26T10:26:00.000-08:00

I finally took a picture of quilt top! I am slow. {Also, our old computer died (or something), and my husband, being the computer geek that he is, had to buy parts and build a new one.} Voila! Quilt top:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stack-n-wack: after some intricate stacking of many layers of fabric, you cut it up and get 8-9 stacks of 8 identical triangles. Then you fan them out and sew them together for the blocks. I have 5 yet to sew together (I started this one in November).

A Stitch in Time

2006-01-25T17:28:00.000-08:00

Rachel wanted to know "how long does a quilt take to make from start to finish". This is a tricky question, so I thought I'd do a post about it.
The time it takes to make a quilt varies greatly. It depends on many things : size, intricacy of the pattern, special cutting ("fussy" cutting), how fast you can sew, and of course, how much time you have! Some people can finish one in a weekend. That is especially easy if you go on a retreat (yes, they have retreats for quilts, my mom is going on one soon).
That being said, my quilts take a while to do. I have 2 kids and only one of them takes naps. And today, I actually did 3 loads of wash, remade the bed, vacuumed and worked on cleaning up the general mess that is our house. So squeeking in an hour and a half to do a little quilting (with a break to set up train tracks) was quite nice.
Here's how mine went:
My first quilt took me about 5 months to complete. That included hauling my 18 month old to the quilt store, while pregnant. Oh, and the baby was born a month before I finished it. I think that if you have a deadline, you pace yourself more to get it done on time. With this one, my mother-in-law was staying with us after the baby was born, so I did a lot of it then.
I have a second one in the works. It is all sandwiched and pinned. I decided that I was going to quilt it by hand with needle and thread. For a while, I had a good clip going, but I haven't touched in quite a while. I think it's in the dining room. Lately I haven't had much time to just sit. Every time I do sit, there is a kid who immediately clamors on top of me.
The one I'm working on now I had started during the summer (2005) sometime. I did one row, because you had to cut the pieces as you went. That's what gives it the "scrappy" look. (Lucky for me, I bought all my fabric to complete it back in September because they don't carry my fabrics anymore.) So just last week I started working on it again. Today I finished the borders, that means the top is complete. I cut the binding strips and I cut some more strips and sewed pieces of all my fabrics together for a strip detail on the back. My mom has done this sort of thing before (put some blocks or stripping on the back instead of an entire piece of fabric) and I like the little bit of interest it adds. Normally, you would just have to cut the back fabric to fit your quilt, but I have a little bit of piecing to do. It shouldn't take long. So far, this quilt has taken me about 6 months.
So there you have it: a long winded answer that not really an answer at all!
Let's just say: it varies.

Quilt Update

2006-01-24T09:28:00.000-08:00

One good thing today: I have a quilt update. I finished piecing the top of my "Aunt Mae's Scrappy Quilt"(name edited). Though I had to trim quite a bit because my measuring skills were quite off on Sunday. It looks good. I already put on the first of bottom and top borders. I'm excited to finish.
That is all.

Blah

2006-01-24T09:25:00.000-08:00

Today is not going so well. SE is being very difficult. It's really wearing on me. Grinding me to a halt. I don't know what to do with myself.
I tried to add my yahoo avatar to my blog. That didn't work. I tried 7 different ways. I thought, hey! I'll actually get to use it for something, since I never chat. But nevermind.
*sigh*

Ch-Ch-Cha-Changes

2006-01-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

I have always mostly liked my job. I like my hours. I like my coworkers. I like what I do. Those people that I don't really like work on first shift. And basically they all, even the ones I don't particularly like, are pretty nice.
The first change was a good one: we went from 1 in 3 weekends to 1 in 4, and then to 1 in 5. Even doing 1 in 3 wasn't so bad because it was only Saturday from 8-1:00 and every fifth one you worked was 8:30-5:00. I could handle that. It was even better with 1 in 5, though every 4th Saturday, you had to work long. That still wasn't very often.
Well, out of the blue, the woman that worked Saturday and Sunday (which was the reason for the sweet weekend schedule) quit. No reasons. No two week notice. Since then, our whole schedule was moved around to include Sunday.
Now, every other month, we have to work the entire weekend. That's 8-5 on Saturday and 8-5 on Sunday. That's quite a cramp from what we were used to.
It can only get better. Right?
One girl I work with is pregnant. She's due in February. This is wonderful. Except that fact that rumor has it her husband got a job in Florida. Soon, she will be gone.
There is another coworker who has been on FMLA since mid-December. Rumor on him is that if he doesn't come back by February 1st, he's not coming back at all.
These two people throw quite a big monkey wrench into the work environment here. Not only does it make our first shift have to work short and use pool employees (that get paid more per hour than a regular tech), it really makes the weekend schedule feel the pinch.

I can only hope that all goes well and nothing worse than our current situation will come to pass. If it does, I might have to make some changes of my own. Job changes, that is.

Your Two Cents

2006-01-13T16:38:00.000-08:00

Today is that last day (or maybe you have tomorrow, too) of International De-Lurking Week. Just drop a comment to say "hi".
That's all.
No pressure.

Plain Jane

2006-01-11T18:05:00.000-08:00

I came across this article while reading MUBAR today. Like Jen, I would like to comment. If I only had some time to think about it a bit! Yea it has been a twelvemonth since I had the pleasure to pass the time thinking of such issues.
Which reminds me, I am almost done with "Pride and Predjudice". I saw the commercial for the movie a while back and decided I must read the book. Rachel gives a thoughtful and educated deconstruction/comparison of the book to the movie... I have yet to finish reading all her posts on the subject (look under 11-6, 11-12, & 11-16).
I will post my thoughts on the book later, but I have one observation to post now, since I have been thinking it today and if I don't post it, it will be long gone when I need it:

I am currently reading "Pride and Predjudice" by Jane Austen. The last book I read was "Marker" by Robin Cook. The later was an excellent book: gripping, fast-reading, and could possible have been non-fiction. He's also one of my favorite writers in the medical-thriller genre. Now that I'm reading "P&P", I am reflecting on how this novel is also so gripping, I would love nolthing more than to sit down and read it cover to cover. This book has no dead bodies, morgues, killer nurses and corrupt insurance companies. It has women, men, dancing and lots of conversation. How is it that a book written almost 200 years ago has more appeal to me than most novels written this past year?

..more to come.

Maybe say maybe

2006-01-11T17:24:00.000-08:00

It's been a long day.

Despite medication, I'm feeling not quite right. I don't have enough energy. I'd rather sit around in my pajamas and read than play with the kids. It's hard to get off the couch to make lunch... let alone decide what to make. The odd thing is: I've been exercising! Last week, I did three days, plus something on a fourth, and we walked around the home expo on Sunday. Monday, I did four miles on our recumbent bike and little arm lifting. I thought exercising was supposed to make you feel good, give you energy, endorphins, ward of the depression. Maybe there's a break-in period. Who's to say? Well, I'm still slouchy and indifferent. Hopefully I can keep up the exercising, as it was part of my "New Year's Resolutions".

I think this is the first year in a long time that I've made "resoultions"... but I think they should be goals. Especially things that you can actually accomplish without a TON of extra effort. When people set their goals too high, the whole process can backfire and cause distress when the goals aren't met. Anyhow, here's my list:

Exercise 3-5 times a week (biking, stretching, weights and yoga)
Eat more healthy foods (e.g. limit sugar, eat more whole fruits and vegetables)
Organize clothes and house-- and keep them that-a-way!
Add dishwasher and pantry to kitchen

I think they are pretty attainable goals:

The exercising should be good, as long as I can keep up the motivation. My husband helps with that, even though I usually tell him to "stuff it" when he does try to get me to exercise. Gotta work and that too, I suppose. Maybe next year!

Based upon analysis of my horrible diet of blizzards and cheesburgers, and most recently chocolates and all manner of christmas cookies, I thought that I could try to eat better this year. Once all those cookies are gone, we should be ok. As long as I keep good fruits and vegetables in the house, I'm more apt to eat them.

Organizing the clothes shouldn't be too hard. I started some of that last year (a couple of months ago now), but once it's done, it will be heaven. Heaven! Also, I organized the kids "crafty cupboard" in the dining room. With labels and everything. I also tried to make a dent in my box of photos and empty photo albums. I started moving our wedding proofs to an album that was a wedding gift. It has space to write about the picture. So that project has been dented. Hopefully it will be completed this year. Maybe I should just do one at a time, that way it will be like accomplishing something each time. Wheras lumping them all together will take a long time, it will become disheartening.

The last one, about the kitchen, is on there so we actually do it. Not just talk about it! We don't have a dishwasher, so we seem to have a big problem actually doing the dishes. I told my in-laws to let us know if they were coming to visit so we could quarantine the kitchen, since it's been declared a disaster and we're still waiting on FEMA. Periodically, my husband goes nuts (in a good way) and cleans the whole thing. Sadly, it is short-lived. Putting in a dishwasher, which my dad suggested, and said he could do himself, would make our lives easierd. The pantry, which my mom suggested during the same conversation, would be awesome. I would have all my extra items and food items easily accessible. Plus, it would have a door. So as to keep out little children who like to empty out cabinets and recylcing bins. SM would say "but mo-om! The weatlth of treasure they may hold is to great to keep from modern society! I MUST pull everything out until I am sure there is nothing left of value."... if he could talk, that is.

Maybe I've come up with a good plan, an "attainable" one, anexecutable one. Maybe it will all wait until next year.

Midweek

2006-01-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

This week is National De-Lurking Week. Where-in all those people who visit this site just to read, but don't comment, should! It is also where I am trying hard to comment on all the blogs that I read pretty much daily (and the list is a lot longer than what I've had time to post along the sidebar).
Good thing it's a whole week this year.
For a little history, De-Lurking Day was started last year by Sheryl over at Paper Napkin.

Quinks (quilting links)

2005-12-30T14:50:00.000-08:00

I'm browsing fabric. Once I've been to a shop, the mind really starts going with all the colors and patters and all the possibilities! Many "quinks" to click:

This is a nice one.
These are pretty.
Wow.
Cute houses. I like it, but don't know if I'd use it. I would look good with denim.
Nice bright fabric. Or "breit".
Awww... looks cozy.
I love the sunflowers in this set of batiks.
I've never seen repros from this the 19th century.
This would make a neat stack 'n' wack. (i was looking for "stack and wack" on the internet, and my blog came up. crazy.)
I love the way blue and yellow look together.
I also love asian prints. Especially those with gold accents in them.

I think I might try this mystery quilt. Since I have so many fat quarters now... why not!
I like some of the patterns here, I'll have to look around.

Or, if you want to cut your own fats.

Well, I'm a bit quinked out for now. Off to do some work.

Fat Quarter Friday

2005-12-30T14:21:00.000-08:00

Today was a wonderful day for errands:

Dropped wedding band off at a jeweler's to have the prongs tightened.
Stopped by store to use 15$ off coupon. Sweet!
Took SM to the doctor for his 18 month check-up. He is big, tall and healthy. He has always been on the top of the charts since he was a baby, but his weight is now down in the 45th percentile (25 lbs.). His height is still up there at 33 3/4 inches (90th percentile). Bad part was: he had two shots. SE was there, and comforted him by saying sweet words.
Went to my favorite quilt shop to take advantage of their "Fifth Friday Fat Quarter Frenzy". All fat quarters were 1$ (as opposed to 2.25$ normally). You had to buy them in lots of 10, so I found 20 that I liked. I'm totally going next time they do this sale because all their fabrics are the excellent quality ones. They usually run from about 8.25$ a yard and up, so this was quite the excellent deal.
After that, we hit the grocery store since we are in dire need of food. Milk was top of the list and then came fruit. I went to the nice little Sendiks near our house. They had the best produce. I was able to find raspberries, cherries, blackberries, and great-looking grapes. I also picked up some champagne, because tomorrow is New Year's Eve (in case you forgot!).
After we got home, I cleaned up the joint a little. At least the living room is clean now!
Was excited to see my shoes and sandals had arrived. The shoes were a half size too big, but I am send them back to whence I got them for a free exchange.
Then I drove to work in the crummy rain/sleet.
Ahh, now I am here. And between D-Dimers and protimes, I told the other Beth about that darn jeweler charging me an arm and leg to tighten the prongs on my ring! More like straight to the wallet.
At least I still have my 4 yards of 20 different fabrics at home to think about!

BTW... last post's quilt has not yet been realized

"I Feel A ~Quilt~ Coming On!"

2005-12-15T16:31:00.000-08:00

Hey, I have tons of old jeans! This is going to be a cool quilt.

Little may you know, I like to sew. So far, in my short quilting career, I've completed one quilt and started 3 more.

The first was a wedding gift for my sister-in-law. I was furiously trying to finish after SM

was born, while my mother-in-law was at our house helping out. The second one, I'm in the middle of hand-quilting the entire thing - this could be a futile project, but I've already started, so there's no turning back. The third I have all the fabric for and one row completed. This one takes a little time, since all the pieces are cut and sewn together as you go. But I do have all the fabric for that one, so there are no worries of any of the patterns being discontinued!
The fourth I started very recently. It is a stack 'n' wack.

My mom and I took a class at a quilt shop in Oakfield. I completed 3 blocks. The rest of the blocks are all cut, they just need to be pieced. I also purchased the fabric for the rest of the quilt (again with the disconinuation issues, since it takes me so long to finish a quilt).

In other sewing project news, I found simple directions for draft stoppers. I picked out fabrics that I think people in my family would like and I sewed them all in very little time. Right now, they are all sewn, tongues and eyes added, waiting to be filled. I'm using rice. I have one partially filled and I like the way the rice feels and weighs. I'll post a picture when they're all finished. Presently, they have taken up residence on the back of the living room chair. The boys like to play with them, too.

Well, I'm off to search for more projects!

Snowflakes Gently Falling

2005-12-14T14:52:00.000-08:00

Click the title and make your own snowflakes online. I made 4 all in the same evening. It's addictive.

Yeah, well...

2005-12-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a long time. Really long. I don't have any excuses. No reasons. Just busy, I guess.
Wait! That was an excuse. Sorry.

It's a Saturday. T is out cleaning the mess in the garage. Stuff seems to have made it's way out there while it was warm and we were building the fence. We need to work on the basement so all that stuff has a permanent home. As for the garage, I would just like to park the car in there. That is all. Thank you!

All that mess in the garage has warrented another trip to the dump. A place that SE finds interesting. Especially the giant pile of computers. I have to see this for myself.

Well, it says I don't have a conncetion to blogger. Yet, my signal strength on our network is "very good".

I must go and clean the playdo out of the rug and SM's fingernails.

Slack Away

2005-11-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

I have been really slacking off lately. It is hard to get in the mood to 'blog after a day of little kids and then work. Sometimes, I find my inspiration goes away once I get to work... but it is extremely difficult to 'blog at home. If it's not one kid, it's the other. And SM loves to come pound on the keyboard and climb on your lap if you happen to be at the computer.

In related excuses, I'm sick. The sore throat, thankfully, has passed, but now I'm coughing and feeling slightly dizzy here and there. SE is sick with a runny nose and cough. I think he started it all. Then SM got a stupendously snotty nose. And now, me!

Anyhow, that's all for now, I need to finish up some work things before I go home.

Unseasoned

2005-11-05T18:40:00.000-08:00

As you may well know, it is November 5th. Here in Wisconsin, autumn is upon us. For the past few weeks, it's been slowly getting cooler (and then a little warmer) and cooler. Just last week, many trees were still green and the temperatures neared 70 degrees.
As this week draws to a close, the majority of the trees around have changed. The move from crisp greens to bright yellows. Dark auburn maples turn to orange. Bright green bushes turn to burning reds. All around the world is ablaze with color.
Our yard boasts a tall, spindley white birch tree. Its leaves aren't too big and aren't too small. They are green in the summer and bright yellow in the fall. Those bright yellow leaves have been gently falling past our living room windows all week long. Today, the birch gave up the rest of its leaves to the ground. A pretty yellow blanket for the still green grass.
Being it was still relatively nice out, the four of us (me, T, SE and SM) went out to rake. SE helped a bit, but had the most fun running through the nice piles of leaves we were making. He also helped put leaves in the piles. SM was content for a few moments to sit in the piles, but he had the most fun trying his skill at the porch stairs.
We got a good deal of raking done and put on the storm window for the screen door. The kids went down for naps and we rested on the couch, content with getting something done this weekend.
The afternoon turned dark around 2 o'clock, letting loose a few sprinkles of rain. Later, while we headed out to do our weekend shopping, lightening abounded. A strange sight for November. It rained and rained. On the return trip, the clouds let loose all their rain at once and a huge downpour. Thunder this time! We made it home ok and sat in the car until the rain let up enough to make a dash for the house.
Now the night is quiet. SM and SE are tucked into bed. The only sounds I hear are an occassionaly peep from SE, T talking in the basement and the winter winds blowing into the city.

Daddy Dearest

2005-11-04T16:31:00.000-08:00

Today, SE and SM and I went to visit daddy for lunch. We do this about twice a week. It's fun, and I get to get out of the house. Today, we picked up lunch and stopped by his office. SM is starting to recognize the place and will say "da da" while we wait outside. SE, on the other hand, is very smart and knows when I'm not going to "right way" to daddy's.
Such as today, I had to swing by the bank first, which is not on our normal route.
"Hey! Daddy is not this way. He is lost and we have to find him, the other way."

SE says lots of other funny things, since he is at that cute-3-year-old-say-whatever-is-in-his-head stage.
The other day, the three of us were coloring and he said:
"The crayons keep hitting on me!"

And last night, my husband was conducting and interview of SE (which I will transcribe here next week, since it is cute and funny). One of the "questions" was "A long time ago, you were this big (make small hand gesture here) and you were inside mommy."
To which SE replied:
"And then I came out and said BOO to daddy!"

Good Day

2005-10-31T17:53:00.000-08:00

Well, now I know I have at least one friend. She was just barfing and dehydrated for the last 7 weeks, so she didn't email me back. But she finally did and now I'm not so sad anymore. I thought everyone hated me!

Congratulations to her, she is due on May 4th, 2006.

Great, Just Great

2005-10-31T16:33:00.000-08:00

Lately, SE has been whiney, floppy, mumbley, stubborn, rude and all around disobedient. He wrinkles his nose, squinches up his eyes and loudly says "no way!" He throws little tantrums for no reason flopping onto the floor when I ask him to come into his room. I think that now, at age 3 and 2 months, he is coming into his "terrible twos".
This sort of things I exect from SM, who is 16 months old. He gets angry when I take away the toothbrush, or when I won't let him have it.
My husband and I are stretched to the very ends of our fragile little ropes. Lack of sleep and free time grate on our nerves.
We try reasoning, explaining, cajoling, yelling and punishing (on the steps for 3 mintues! quietly!)him. Today, we threaten to stay home from the museum (this means no dinosaurs!) or put him back in bed. I use some sort of distraction, enough to get us out the door and on our way. But by that time, T is all stressed out and in a bad mood himself. That leaves one more person to cheer up. Lucky for them, I was in a good mood.
I think it all worked out well, we had fun at the museum, we saw some dinosaurs, got very close to some butterflies and I got to see the exhibit about tombs and things, with it's one paltry mummy. Oh yes, and the mummified falcon and an Ibis. Can't forget those! We're lucky those Egyptians mummified animals so our museum at least got something for us to look at. (I'm being sarcastic here, thank you!)

We had a wonderful weekend, complete with a trip to the park and the zoo. The beautiful weather and sun and colorful leaves, and good behavoir, outshined the rocky start to Sunday.
A dissident preist's homily about "becoming great" that included a long reference to a 9/11 chaplain who was a recovering alcoholic and homosexual and did mass wherever he felt like it that week, who was killed while giving last rights to a fallen firefighter, and who was honored with a memorial at an Anglican church and everyone came, because he helped lots of people and went to AA and this and that. Basically, this chaplain was a "nice guy". Basically, we left mass after that. It's hard to find a church the way it is, and then there are priests at these churches who preach about becoming great, but not becoming Catholic. A thing that is so lacking at mass these days, it is hard to think that there are any real Caholics left. It is hard for many to know the truth and often, Sunday mass is the only chatechesis they get... so what is the flock to do? I'm lucky, and happy, that I have people around me that know a lot about Catholicism, and of course, the internet (reputable sources only!) has a wealth of information. But still, it is a struggle for us and everyone else. "Becoming great" is more than what you do that other people see. Becoming really, truely great, starts in your heart and soul, guided by the Holy Spirit, and works out from there. Once your inside is "great", the rest will follow. And for that, we are lucky that God loves us so much to give us all the chance to be great... and to raise great little kids, once they get past the tantrums.

A Tote for All Seasons

2005-10-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

You've seen them at Target... right now, there are orange and black ones. At Christmas, they are appropriately red and green. The rest of the year, they are shades of blue or clear or white. For children, there are primary-colored ones and pink/purple ones. Most of ours are blue and gray. Do they need to be color-coded for the seasons? Or for the user? And, for the love of all that is good and holy: do we need so many of them?!

While I was on my way out the door to go to work, my husband (T) informed me that his brother was driving up from the Chicago-area this evening. OK?

"To bring those totes up."

"OK," I guess he'll be staying the night.

"And then he's driving back tonight."

"OK," with an eye roll.

I do not understand what is up with all the rough totes(R) that we have and/or need. I agree that a few are useful for keeping things in the basement packed up and dry, or to store my maternity clothes. But I don't think we need well over 20. Now we're getting some more, which the BIL bought and used for moving and now has no space whatsoever to put them. If I had my way, they'd have to return them. I don't want my house to be the rent-free storage facility for things that other people don't have space for!

The ultimatum: If T starts using these "stored" totes for things, out they go! Back to whence they came from, or the trash. Seriously!

Click for a Cure

2005-10-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Many people may know that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many people have had their lives touched by breast cancer. It may be you who is the fighter. It may be someone close to you, friend or relative. It may be further removed than that, friend-of-a-friend. It may be someone famous, like Deanna Favre, who has used their own fight with breast cancer to bring awareness.
For myself, it was my sister's godmother. She was a longtime friend of my mom's. I remember going to visit her when her kids were small. She survived breast cancer once and went into remission for many years. Last year it came back and she didn't beat it that time. Her kids are now in high school. I wish I had a picture to show, but I cannot find one. But I remember her in my heart, and so does everyone else whom she touched.

In leiu of a studious research paper, I have found some great links for you to check out:

The Breast Cancer Site (be sure to click to donate a mammogram)

Check out the shop

for 1 cent shipping and to donate 1% of a mammogram per item purchased!

The best medical information about breast cancer

Research makes all the difference

New research on adding MRIs to the breast cancer detection arsenal.

Currently, there are 62 new drugs in the pipeline for treating breast cancer.

Feel free to leave comments about how breast cancer has touched

your lives... and enter in the names of your

loved ones.

Them Teefs

2005-10-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

Mystery solved : SM is getting more teeth. The big molars. This makes him very crabby and clingy. It also inhibits napping.

Status Symbols

2005-10-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

I like to think my kids will be unpretentious. That they will be proud of who they are and who their family is, regardless of what kind of car I drive (a Kia minivan, no less) or whether or not I bought SE tiny Nikes when he was 2 months old. When they see old pictures, I hope they remember how much fun they had, how much they loved that toy, or "gee, my mom used to be so pretty, what happened?". I agree with SJ, who says all of this and more, much more sarcastically.
My stroller is a Graco for two. I got a pattern I like. I've seen other people with it. That doesn't make me want to go out and one of those other strollers that are going to cost me 400$. There are other things that cost an arm and a leg that you don't need, or could buy for a lot less. I won't get started in on these things, but I'm sure most of you know what they are. Strollers, baby carriers, car seats... no parent is exempt from the bombardment. All I can say is : try to resist! All your baby needs is a safe home, nourishment, and lots of LOVE.

....
On a related note: I recently won a Peanut Shell courtesy of Celebrity Baby Blog. Nice and cozy, easy to use (no metal rings, straps or zippers), and well under 80$. I think I might buy another one soon!

Writing: Just OK

2005-10-18T17:23:00.000-07:00

A shirt from Mrs. Kennedy is at the top of my christmas list.
I think I will have enough time between now and then to shape up in the writing department.

The crying game

2005-10-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

SM has been very unagreable today. Crying and crying and crying. I think he needs a nap, but, also, he won't eat very much. Right now, he is pulling the drawstring out of my pajama pants, whilst crying. Poor guy.

....

We are having such wonderful weather around here! The high is supposed to be 70 degrees. I'm excited because my husband might be taking the afternoon off work. That way, we can all go to the zoo together. It is a rare thing, since I work evenings.
I enjoy working at night. I'm greatful to have found a part-time job in my field being they are so rare. I only work 25 hours a week. I'm home by 9:30. My children don't need to go to daycare (not that there's something wrong with that) and they get to spend quality time with their dad, who gets the added benefit of taking care of them by himself. Seeing the father as a care-taker is very good for children.

And speaking of children... SM is back, and crying. One cracker can do only so much.

Fairly stylish godmother

2005-10-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

Well, all the stuff I ordered came today, via UPS. It took a long time. And I don't like any of it. Except for the black satin sequined shoes. They're cute, I'm keeping them. When I will wear them, I don't know. I will never understand the short sweater over a long top craze. It doesn't look good. All it does is show off your lumpy mid-section.

Since I was so anxious to get something new to wear, I did go the mall on Thursday. I spent an ungodly amount of money at Ann Taylor Loft. They have cute clothes that don't make you look like a whore, or a high-schooler, take your pick. I got a pair of brown pants, a cotton shirt in green, and a "twin-set". I use the term "twin-set" loosely. I'm not a 40-year-old. It's a pink sleeveless shell and a matching cropped cardigan, more like a bolero. It's hard to describe... well, it's called a shrug. Check it out here: http://www.anntaylorloft.com/atlLMProductPage.process?RestartFlow=t&Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=19&Product_Id=55610 . (I have to figure out how to do those links better, I give up for today)
Quite different than the previous thing I was talking about. I thought it looked wonderful on me, especially with the brown pants. I'm going to wear it to the previously mentioned baby's baptism. Fitting outfit for the godmother, don't you think?

Behaviour

2005-10-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

Since I'm going to a baby shower this weekend, I feel I need something new to wear. Why? I do not know.

So I bought an entire outfit online. It's my favorite way to shop. My credit card info is saved for easy check-out, some sites have nifty parts where they tell you what would look good with those pants or that shirt. And some, like I found today, have entire outfits planned, so you just picks sizes and change the colors if you like... and voila! outfit. The only thing bad was that they didn't have priority shipping available today. So I have to deal with standard and hope it arrives friday or saturday before we leave. Oy. It could get here before that. I ordered today, it might get packed tonight and shipped tomorrow, and usually shipping is pretty fast, even though it says 4-7 business days.
I better think about back-up outfits tomorrow.

FYI, I have tons of clothes. A lot are very old. And some do not fit me any longer. It is hard for me to get rid of them, and it is hard for me to resist buying new things. All the possibilities!

I think the only reason I succumbed today is that there was a sale in progress. The only thing I that wasn't on sale tremendously was the pair of ballet flats. I also purchased SE a new winter jacket, hat and mittens. The jacket was on sale ($20). So I just have to find him some boots and snow pants and he's all set. SM should fit into an old jacket and snow pants we have and the boots will be a little big, but we'll make due.
All in all, it was a pretty good bargain: shoes, purse, pants, tank, sweater, jacket, hat and mittens for $110. I got free shipping too!

And.. I can always return some things!

There's a first time for everything

2005-10-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I had my first patient fainting tonight. Scary stuff.

I've been a certified MT for 5 and a half years. I learned to draw blood beginning about 8 months before that, while I was a student. Drawing blood is not too bad, once you get over any fears you might have.
Me, I was very nervous and would get all sweaty. I would DREAD waking up, knowing I would have to go and draw blood on at least 5 patients when I got in to the hospital. Though I'm not the most nervous student my coordinator has had. He told us of one student that took showers in the locker room every morning after she was done with her draws because she would sweat THAT much.
Regardless of nervousness, once you learn technique and are proficent at finding veins on healthy people, drawing blood goes well. The more practice you get, the better you get.

Back to the fainting...
The reason this is my first fainting in 5 odd years is that I drew patients in a large hospital. This means all the patients I saw were in beds of some sort. The arms are easliy positioned, there are plenty of nurses around in case you need them, and anyone you couldn't get, well, they'd send someone really good up, or make the doc do it. It was also good practice because most of these people were ill, which sometimes made for a challenging veinipuncture.
I was actually employed by said hospital for 3 months. Then I had SE... and quit. After 6 months I started looking for a job and I found this one. Great hours (4-9pm), I work 1 in 4 Saturdays 8am to 1pm (once ever 4 of my Saturdays I work 8-5), I don't need daycare for the boys, and it's a more relaxed environment compared to the hospital. Don't get me wrong, we have our share of craziness and busy-ness! The facility I work at is a large clinic with many specialties and many doctors and a walk-in clinic. We have plebotomists that draw blood all day until 6:30pm. Once they go home, whoever is scheduled in the Hematology department answers the phones and draws blood if our walk-in clinic needs it. Today, that is me.
Now that I'm writing about it, the fainting doesn't seem all that bad. It was still scary, but I think I did well. The patient even told me he was feeling light-headed and I took the tourniquet off and we telling him to put his head between his knees, but by then he couldn't really hear me. We have a nice system where you just hit the button on the wall and an alarm sounds in the lab. There are 3 other people here today (some days, just 2 others), and when they hear the alarm, someone comes running out to help. The patient was already coming-to when someone came out to help. It seemed like forever after I hit the buzzer, but she did come out right away.

It's back to work now, it's almost 8:00pm and walk-in hasn't called yet to let us know they're done. I hope I don't have a second time any time soon.

Guest Cleaning

2005-10-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

My parents are coming today and we've been furiously cleaning the house. It seems that's the only time we work at it! It's hard to run after 2 kids, get yourself ready and everyone fed plus get those household things done.
SM is unloading the desk as I type. And now he figures he wants to be on my lap, probably to wreak havoc on the keyboard.
Well, so far so good... I've got the bathroom cleaned, the 2nd load of wash is almost done, the junk has been moved off the guest bed, SE is napping and I have found some spare time to blog!
Now, once the hubby gets up from HIS nap.... things will really get moving.

Anatomy & Physiology

2005-09-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

My medication somehow makes it hard for me to fall asleep at night. My husband, on the other hand, falls asleep mid-conversation... after complaining for a while about how he should have been in bed 2 hours ago. He needs his beauty rest, you know *wink*.
While is was lying there, flipping over and over and over, I came up with all these great things to blog about. I was composing them in my head. I'm very eloquent while I lie awake at night. But alas, now it is evening the next day and I have hardly a memory of what the heck I was thinking about!

Lucky for me (and anyone else who happens to be reading this), I thought of another idea when I got to work earlier: Grey's Anatomy. I think it's the single best new show (well, second season now) on tv. I like the characters. Ellen Pompeo is great as Meredith Grey: she's pretty in the interesting kind of way, great facial expressions, her voice that's ever so slightly grating, a little gruff, but easy to listen to. Sandra Oh is hilarious and rude as Christina Yang; it broke my heart last week when she was finally ready to tell Dr. Burke (Isaiah Washington) about the baby and he just flat out dumped her. So sad! And of course, Patrick Dempsey. As Derek Shepherd, he is tough and soft all at the same time. Easy on the eyes, too. Before I get into that, my husband likes this show, too. The opening theme song is catchy and different and we love the way it transitions between pictures of intimate momments and doctor momments. The stories are great, covering an extensive array of emotions. I like how each show has a theme and Meredith narrates at the beginning and end.
Back to Patrick Dempsey... it's the HAIR. I love the hair. It doesn't hurt that he's ruggedly handsome, with clear blue eyes that twinkle mischeviously. The hair! Longish and styled to look like it's not styled. Perfect hair if you're a doctor who could be up for many hours at a time and might have to leap out of bed to answer and emergency page, or course. The hair does it for me!

Shhhh! Don't tell my husband! He might look even better with hair like that...

Monkey See

2005-09-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been reading so many blogs, I don't know where to start. I get is in my head that I have to be clever, like so and so... I have to be witty, and interesting, and talk about this and that and everything else. What is with me? I can be myself, can't I.
Today, I took SE and SM to the zoo. The weather was nice: cool, cloudy, a little breezy. We took the umbrella stroller and SE pushed for a bit. Since SM is only 3 pounds lighter than SE, I took over after a while. We had a great time, except for the bonobo scare. They're both afraid of dogs and now they're both afraid of bonobos. I'll write about it another day since I'm short on time right now. Also, if I have more time, they story will sound better. I have to be on par with all those other bloggers *wink*!