Thursday, June 28, 2007
In a time of need
I'm sure you know, there is a huge fire in South Lake Tahoe that is destroying many lives and homes. The victims of the Angora Fire need help in many forms. If you can donate time/money/whatever, here is a good page of resources, and here's another. And of course, there's always the Red Cross. If you can only spare ten bucks or one blanket, don't be embarrassed or feel like it is too insignificant to help. If we all contribute a small amount of money or one small item, we can make a big difference.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Unintended Consequences
During the day on Saturday, a day I don't remember well because I was so sick, I filled the bird feeder. It caused me pain, because I was sick, but I did it anyway. Can't have the birds going hungry now, can we?
Anyway, I watched the birds while being very sick on Saturday, and it was nice. Then on Sunday I was better, and as a result was very busy. We didn't get home from Grandma's until about 9:30, and once I finally got to look outside, I saw that the feeder was EMPTY. I don't believe for a minute it was the birds. It was those squirrels. I put up the Special Squirrel Sauce and how do they thank me? By emptying the feeder in one day. We're going to have to re-think this.
Anyway, I watched the birds while being very sick on Saturday, and it was nice. Then on Sunday I was better, and as a result was very busy. We didn't get home from Grandma's until about 9:30, and once I finally got to look outside, I saw that the feeder was EMPTY. I don't believe for a minute it was the birds. It was those squirrels. I put up the Special Squirrel Sauce and how do they thank me? By emptying the feeder in one day. We're going to have to re-think this.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
It's what's for dinner
About two weeks ago, we realized Abigail is a bit old to still be eating baby food, and really needs to learn how to chew. So I started grinding up fruits for breakfast and veggies for lunch, because they're chunkier that way and will help her learn to chew. We still had plenty of dinner baby foods left, so until yesterday she's had Mom's Mix breakfasts & lunches, and baby foods like Turkey & Veggies and Chicken with Rice for dinner. Well, a couple of days ago she ate her last jar of baby food.
The night before last, we had meatloaf and veggies for dinner. All of us. I cut up Abigail's meatloaf into strips, because it's easier for her to chew on that way (she tries to swallow things that are cut up in chunks). She took a strip of meatloaf in her hand and started sucking on it. Then she stuffed the whole thing in her mouth, and immediately reached for more. If she'd have had her way, Abigail would have stuffed so much into her mouth that it would have sqooshed out of her ears. I think Big People Food Experiment Number One went well.
The night before last, we had meatloaf and veggies for dinner. All of us. I cut up Abigail's meatloaf into strips, because it's easier for her to chew on that way (she tries to swallow things that are cut up in chunks). She took a strip of meatloaf in her hand and started sucking on it. Then she stuffed the whole thing in her mouth, and immediately reached for more. If she'd have had her way, Abigail would have stuffed so much into her mouth that it would have sqooshed out of her ears. I think Big People Food Experiment Number One went well.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
A shaky cease fire
Over the last few days, I have realized that the small black & white cat has abandoned our patio, and the squirrel has limited his activity to the bird feeder. Now that there is no cat to eat the birds, and no fear that the squirrel will give my cats fleas and contaminate my whole patio with squirrel poo, I have decided to put away the Special Squirrel Sauce. Details on the parade currently in the works to follow.
Friday, June 15, 2007
From here to there, here to there, and back again
Abigail is walking. She has officially graduated from crawler to walker. All evening long, and as I hear it all day long too, she was walking. Not to anywhere in particular; just walking from here to there and there to here and here to there and... well, you get the idea.
Far from being scared shitless, I am excited about this new development. Abigail has been ambulatory for many months now, and I've already reconciled myself to that fact. Now I'm excited because she'll be able to walk instead of me having to carry her everywhere, which is good because lately she has picked up the habit of trying to fall out of my arms while I'm carrying her. Most of the time she does this while we're walking over a hard surface that would do permanent damage should she succeed.
This now also means she's going to be getting into a whole lot more, as in "everything". There will be nothing the kid doesn't get into, and we're going to have to rethink our whole lives to make sure she doesn't ingest things that could kill her, like small cat toys and Jason's extensive wire nut collection. In light of this, we are currently accepting donations of any kind of closed cabinet/drawer thing where we can put stuff and our t.v., as well as valium. Because there will probably be times where we will need it in order to not go crazy from saying "No Abigail!" and fishing small cat toys and wire nuts out of her mouth, for the millionth time.
Far from being scared shitless, I am excited about this new development. Abigail has been ambulatory for many months now, and I've already reconciled myself to that fact. Now I'm excited because she'll be able to walk instead of me having to carry her everywhere, which is good because lately she has picked up the habit of trying to fall out of my arms while I'm carrying her. Most of the time she does this while we're walking over a hard surface that would do permanent damage should she succeed.
This now also means she's going to be getting into a whole lot more, as in "everything". There will be nothing the kid doesn't get into, and we're going to have to rethink our whole lives to make sure she doesn't ingest things that could kill her, like small cat toys and Jason's extensive wire nut collection. In light of this, we are currently accepting donations of any kind of closed cabinet/drawer thing where we can put stuff and our t.v., as well as valium. Because there will probably be times where we will need it in order to not go crazy from saying "No Abigail!" and fishing small cat toys and wire nuts out of her mouth, for the millionth time.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
I'm okay with Tuesday
After this weekend, I find myself feeling happier than I've been in a while. Not that I'm all Pippy Longstockings or anything, I've still got a ways to go before I get there, but definitely better.
We arrived at Bodega Bay mid-day Saturday. We putzed around a bit, walked on the sand (or should I say, in the sand), and then headed over to the "camp" site. I put quotation marks there because there was only one other couple in a tent, and the rest (meaning a friggin boatload of people) were in campers. For my birthday, I want a camper. A big one. And a driver, because my husband made it *crystal* clear that he will not be driving one of those, ever.
The camp site was a sheep pasture nestled between a few hills, and absolutely covered in sheep poo. At first, when I saw that whole families had come for the event, I was sorry we'd left Abigail behind. When I discovered all that sheep poo, though, I was extremely happy we'd kept her in Grandma's care. She'd have ingested that poo within five minutes of arriving.
Anyway, we had a good old time playing games, talking with an incredibly large number of people, and getting drunk. We youngsters took a midnight walk up the hill, blindly following Jason, because he was just about the only one who could see anything. We passed around a cup of Jamison's and talked about being dragged into the woods by monsters. It was quite exhilarating.
The next morning I woke up with a doozy of a hangover, and had to sit perfectly still for about two hours in order to not hurl all over the place. I do not hold my alcohol well, apparently. Thankfully PJ's mom, Becky, was cooking and chatting with Jaime, so I was able to sit in their camper and pretend to talk while trying desperately to calm my guts. That sweet woman cooked us all breakfast, and that did the trick.
It's always such a pleasure to get together with PJs family, because they unhesitatingly welcome us into the family when we come around. Sometimes I feel like I gained several families when I married Jason... I realized this fully when Becky started in on me for not bringing the baby around more. Becky, I promise that the next time we're in Woodland we'll stop by. You can even keep her for a couple of hours, if you like, while we go do... whatever.
Anyway, we wrapped up the trip in style. Jason played a game called washerboard (it's a bit shuffleboard, a bit basketball, and a lot unique) for several hours, and I sat with Jaime watching. While I was sitting and watching, I got a horrific sunburn. The sunburn's not even the worst part, though. The worst part is that about halfway through Jaime offered sunblock, and I said no. Sometimes I can be really, really stupid.
All in all, sunburn notwithstanding, we had a fabulous time. The Gordons are a big, welcoming, friendly, and slightly odd family that are just delightful to spend time with.
We arrived at Bodega Bay mid-day Saturday. We putzed around a bit, walked on the sand (or should I say, in the sand), and then headed over to the "camp" site. I put quotation marks there because there was only one other couple in a tent, and the rest (meaning a friggin boatload of people) were in campers. For my birthday, I want a camper. A big one. And a driver, because my husband made it *crystal* clear that he will not be driving one of those, ever.
The camp site was a sheep pasture nestled between a few hills, and absolutely covered in sheep poo. At first, when I saw that whole families had come for the event, I was sorry we'd left Abigail behind. When I discovered all that sheep poo, though, I was extremely happy we'd kept her in Grandma's care. She'd have ingested that poo within five minutes of arriving.
Anyway, we had a good old time playing games, talking with an incredibly large number of people, and getting drunk. We youngsters took a midnight walk up the hill, blindly following Jason, because he was just about the only one who could see anything. We passed around a cup of Jamison's and talked about being dragged into the woods by monsters. It was quite exhilarating.
The next morning I woke up with a doozy of a hangover, and had to sit perfectly still for about two hours in order to not hurl all over the place. I do not hold my alcohol well, apparently. Thankfully PJ's mom, Becky, was cooking and chatting with Jaime, so I was able to sit in their camper and pretend to talk while trying desperately to calm my guts. That sweet woman cooked us all breakfast, and that did the trick.
It's always such a pleasure to get together with PJs family, because they unhesitatingly welcome us into the family when we come around. Sometimes I feel like I gained several families when I married Jason... I realized this fully when Becky started in on me for not bringing the baby around more. Becky, I promise that the next time we're in Woodland we'll stop by. You can even keep her for a couple of hours, if you like, while we go do... whatever.
Anyway, we wrapped up the trip in style. Jason played a game called washerboard (it's a bit shuffleboard, a bit basketball, and a lot unique) for several hours, and I sat with Jaime watching. While I was sitting and watching, I got a horrific sunburn. The sunburn's not even the worst part, though. The worst part is that about halfway through Jaime offered sunblock, and I said no. Sometimes I can be really, really stupid.
All in all, sunburn notwithstanding, we had a fabulous time. The Gordons are a big, welcoming, friendly, and slightly odd family that are just delightful to spend time with.
Friday, June 8, 2007
I CAN take heat, thank you very much
Right now it is 80 degrees outside. Later it will be around 85 degrees. I am not worried because as we speak my car's air conditioning is being fixed. For just above four hundred dollars, I am getting a new fan motor. The irony here is that Abigail, the main reason I was so adamant about fixing it, is home with Jason today getting ready for our trip this weekend.
Speaking of that trip, I am very excited to get away for almost two whole days. I'm not excited to be away from Abigail, except in the sense that I'll finally get to sit down and relax without either running after a quick toddler or shushing myself and others for fear of waking said toddler. Abigail, I love you but you sure are a lot of work AND MAMA NEEDS A BREAK.
However, I am not thrilled about leaving the plants and bird feeder unguarded. It's bad enough that we have those pooping, fleabag squirrels visiting our feeder, but I think that small black and white cat has actually been eating the birds. I watched him as he lay under the feeder the other day, and he nearly got one. When we set up this bird feeder we didn't realize we'd be giving food to the birds as well as making food of them! As a result, I've decided to booby trap the feeder. I plan on staying up all night to study the ways of that Master Booby-Trapper, Wile E. Coyote. Wish me luck!
Speaking of that trip, I am very excited to get away for almost two whole days. I'm not excited to be away from Abigail, except in the sense that I'll finally get to sit down and relax without either running after a quick toddler or shushing myself and others for fear of waking said toddler. Abigail, I love you but you sure are a lot of work AND MAMA NEEDS A BREAK.
However, I am not thrilled about leaving the plants and bird feeder unguarded. It's bad enough that we have those pooping, fleabag squirrels visiting our feeder, but I think that small black and white cat has actually been eating the birds. I watched him as he lay under the feeder the other day, and he nearly got one. When we set up this bird feeder we didn't realize we'd be giving food to the birds as well as making food of them! As a result, I've decided to booby trap the feeder. I plan on staying up all night to study the ways of that Master Booby-Trapper, Wile E. Coyote. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Might signal the apocalypse
On Friday, between the hours of 1:00 and 5:00, we are going to get cable installed. Not just any cable, but Digital cable. We are going to have tens of channels, which might not sound like a lot to you but sounds like a whole lot to us, who currently have no channels at all.
We are going to have The History Channel (I've always giggled a bit at that particular channel's acronym), The Science Channel, The National Geographic Channel, The Discovery Channel and many, many more. Including ESPN. Several channels worth of ESPN, at that.
There are very few likely outcomes here. One, we turn into zombie t.v. addicts. Two, we kill eachother while fighting over the remote. Three, we enjoy it a lot but ultimately decide it's too expensive and downgrade to basic cable (as in 13 channels) in around three months. Yeah, I'm going with that one, too.
We are going to have The History Channel (I've always giggled a bit at that particular channel's acronym), The Science Channel, The National Geographic Channel, The Discovery Channel and many, many more. Including ESPN. Several channels worth of ESPN, at that.
There are very few likely outcomes here. One, we turn into zombie t.v. addicts. Two, we kill eachother while fighting over the remote. Three, we enjoy it a lot but ultimately decide it's too expensive and downgrade to basic cable (as in 13 channels) in around three months. Yeah, I'm going with that one, too.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Monday, Monday
Well, Happy Monday everyone! :op
I've had this bad feeling that I just can't shake all day long. I think it's just that blech Monday feeling that pervades the beginnings of some weeks, though. In the interest of getting happy again, let's go over some good things:
Today is both my brother-in-law's birthday and my Dad's. Happy Birthday, you guys!
Next month, if Jason and I are careful - not even "very" careful, only "somewhat" careful - we're going to have our Chapter 13 bankruptcy paid off and done. After three years of paying that, and being completely non-existent to (and sometimes even reviled by) all lenders & financiers, we're going to be done. That's a good thing because that car that was given to us a year ago is getting more and more expensive to keep operational. Also because we won't be in bankruptcy anymore. That all by itself is quite satisfying.
Next weekend Jason and I are going camping, while Abigail stays with Grandma. I haven't gone anywhere in a long, long time and I'm completely thrilled with the prospect.
Friday, we're getting the AC fixed in the aforementioned car. It's going to cost $415, but in Sacramento, with a baby, not having AC isn't really an option.
What's not good, you ask? SQUIRRELS, THAT'S WHAT. Squirrels and small black and white cats are haunting my dreams, emptying my bird feeder and pooping everywhere. I didn't see them much this weekend, but that's because I was busier than hell. Jason dutifully reported to me that he was going after them with the Special Squirrel Sauce all Saturday morning, though. I'm seriously considering getting one of these.
I've had this bad feeling that I just can't shake all day long. I think it's just that blech Monday feeling that pervades the beginnings of some weeks, though. In the interest of getting happy again, let's go over some good things:
Today is both my brother-in-law's birthday and my Dad's. Happy Birthday, you guys!
Next month, if Jason and I are careful - not even "very" careful, only "somewhat" careful - we're going to have our Chapter 13 bankruptcy paid off and done. After three years of paying that, and being completely non-existent to (and sometimes even reviled by) all lenders & financiers, we're going to be done. That's a good thing because that car that was given to us a year ago is getting more and more expensive to keep operational. Also because we won't be in bankruptcy anymore. That all by itself is quite satisfying.
Next weekend Jason and I are going camping, while Abigail stays with Grandma. I haven't gone anywhere in a long, long time and I'm completely thrilled with the prospect.
Friday, we're getting the AC fixed in the aforementioned car. It's going to cost $415, but in Sacramento, with a baby, not having AC isn't really an option.
What's not good, you ask? SQUIRRELS, THAT'S WHAT. Squirrels and small black and white cats are haunting my dreams, emptying my bird feeder and pooping everywhere. I didn't see them much this weekend, but that's because I was busier than hell. Jason dutifully reported to me that he was going after them with the Special Squirrel Sauce all Saturday morning, though. I'm seriously considering getting one of these.
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