2006 UFO - Can I Officially Call It Done? Secret #1- Sneaky Peaky!

9-06 - stands for September 2006 - the Official Date this Project was started.

I started this project for Christmas 2006, and promptly set it aside in November that year when there was no way it would be done pre-US-Thanksgiving, my official Christmas mail date. I picked it back up about a month ago and worked on it periodically over the course of a couple weeks......

7-6-08 - The date the project was completed except for the zipper.

Can I call it done now or do I have to really sew in that dreaded zipper?!

Walking In Wonder at Ft. Mtn

One of the things we love to do on a regular basis as a family is walk. We got our shirts from the Canyon Climbers Club (look for the link in the sidebar!) a week or so ago.... nice shirts. We love nature type trails and spend a reasonable amount of time just walking with the girls looking for mushrooms *to look at not to eat*, enjoying the pleasures that Nature has to offer. This is my favourite picture of the girls taken this weekend at Fort Mountain.

We noticed the Blueberries are almost ripe on the side of the mountain and the Raspberries are certainly on the go! So maybe in a few short weeks we'll be able to go berry picking at the local pick your own farms! Yum can't wait!

Our neighbours will truly love us, as we have a wild Blackberry bush sprouting in our Azalea hedge this year and the girls have been pilfering the berries from it! Good job the neighbors put up the fence between our yard and theirs (the only fence in the 20+yr old neighbourhood!) because now we can grow our planned raspberry bushes right up near the fence next year!! HEE HEE! (I'm kidding but it would be nice!)

Happy Independence Day (July 4)

So if you're reading these as I post you'll notice things appearing above and below.... I'm sneakying some posts in as I go! LOL! I was too lazy to post the last few days!

What's the 4th of July without a few firework shots??? Ya they're puny but hey life goes on!

Just a quiet family event with FIL in the midst. M worked on her Wave the Flag badge, by planning the picnic we had for dinner that night. It wasn't all that festive food-wise but it was good and healthy (except the rootbeer! LOL!)

Poor S slept poorly the night before, and didn't nap all day, and crashed in the car on the way home... to the extent that I striped her naked and just left her to sleep in a fresh dipey. LOL!

Raggy Twins

Question - if you're out there, which one do you like better???

So after finishing the majority of the knitting on my Secret Christmas Project #1 (9-06) I took a little detour while sewing it up and weaving the ends and these two little charmers were born on the end of my hook! I used this pattern for dolly#1 on the left but saw some areas that I could personalize, and ended up with dolly#2 on the right. Not sure which one I like better, though dh likes dolly#1's body and #2's head (when pushed to answer! LOL!) The only identical things on the twins are their arms and legs.

They lack clothes, I should get on that... but I'm more tempted to sew dolly clothes than knit them, which seems really weird to me. I feel the need to make 2 more of these dollies because I think I like these ones too much to part with them! I originally was making them for charity!

So anyway, consider this your introduction to the nameless naked twins. (Clothes and faces to follow! LOL!)

Happy Canada Day

It was a quiet Canada Day Tuesday. The girls wore their shirts from Granny and Grandpa, and we hit the park in the late afternoon. It was downright Balmy here for July - and Dry. I managed to finish a pair of red and white shorties for the little one at the end of the day and vowed to make blue pockets with stars on them by the end of the 4th but that never came to fruition. I had to clean for FIL coming!

Anyway.... HAPPY CANADA DAY

She's Off the Needles..... YAY!

2 years in coming but project 08-Christmas Secret #1 (9-06) is finally off the needles! The (9-06) is Sept 2006 when this puppy was started. I'm a changed woman.
A little finishing here and there, a little ends weaving and I'll be on to another project!

This little beauty isn't haunting my UFO box anymore!

Ahh .... relief!

Menu Plan Monday

Did I mention I had a lazy week last week.... and as such when I saw that my menus have run over by a day the last couple weeks because dh decided to have something different one of the nights.... that I noticed there were still 4 things left on the menu and all the groceries were in .... so I decided that Thursday was a play day instead of a shopping day.....???

So this week's menu will be what I was supposed to be eating this week.... So though I cheated....
here it is! :)

Scallops with Snow Peas and Crispy Noodles
Ham w/Scalloped Potatoes Broccoli & Cauli
Ultimate Veggie Chili
Lemon Pepper Chicken
Chop Suey (Vegetarian)

Linguini Vongole

(brought to you by the letters L - A - Z and Y) hee hee!

Jams, Walks and Sleeping Babes

Its been busy around here.

The Strawberry Freezer Jam turned out beautifully! Dh says that it is too sour, but I found it just right, and I'm the one that likes SWEEEEET things! LOL! I've been working away on Christmas Secret #1 and making good progress I must say!! I have been tempted to pick up a 1/2 dozen other projects but I figure I'm going to dig out of my current stash and dig out of UFO stash 2 projects at a time before I go anywhere near a new project. So once #1 and #8 are done and socked away (no that wasn't a hint) I'll work out a new project... I think I deserve it! :)

So after all that work and the yummy strawberry jam, the girls asked me blueberry jam, so that was tonights challenge. But first we had to walk to the store to get some berries. We came home with 2 things of Blackberries, 1 thing of Blueberries, 4 peaches and a thing of Lychee fruit, which we haven't figured out what to do with.... but I'll figure it out! :)

After all that walking.... poor thing the littlest was super tired.... so when we got home, I left her to play for a bit, and was showing M how to make scrapbook pages... and when we looked down here she was curled up under the desk with Stanky Bankie

7 and Smarter Already

My 7 yr old is apparently smarter than me! She just told me how to clear my cache in firefox. *sigh*


***Update***
Not completely smarter though.....
I had to figure out my own cookies!

Back to Scrapping

Its been a while since I did more than a desktop computer calendar with my digi-scrapping. Like everything else life goes in waves. I'm feeling guilty for not having taken more photos of the girls this year, so take this as my aim to take more photos over the next couple months.

Template - June Blue Print Challenge by Monica McGill, Paper and frame - LemonadeKisses Freebie by Kathryn Estry

7th Birthday images

Up to Mischief in the Kitchen!

I've always said I'll try anything once.

So I've always wanted to make jam. But lacked both the tools and know how to do it. (Add that to one of the many crafts out there that I have yet to try! LOL!) So on one blog, I followed a link to another blog, and as always happens I blog hopped my way to someone's blog where they had recently made some freezer jam, based on a really simple recipe here. My first attempt, so I have no clue how it will turn out.... but hey it was fun making it. I asked the girls if they were interested in helping but both declined, though I'm sure if it works out they'll be glad to sample the merchandise! LOL!

I'll keep ya posted on how it turns out and how it tastes too! :)

****************
AmyDe.... the item in the previous post that has begun its second life is a Starfrit manual food processor. I discovered the attachments that went with it and discovered that it had a mandolin that attaches to the top of the bowl.... with funky little slicers to go with it...

Back to Cleaning

So we spent a couple hours in the basement yesterday. As visitors would visit things got stuffed in boxes and shoved into the basement. Dh had completed a couple projects down there but left things like the plastic sheet when he finished painting. So there was no rhyme or reason to the mish mash of stuff down there, well now there sort of is.

I have a ton of decluttering to do still but slowly I'm working my way to getting rid of stuff.

I found a ton of gift bags - Birthday, Christmas and misc - which have been organized into a manageable collection. I found a ton of craft stuff which needs organized... and after 3 hours I found almost 2 garbage bags worth of trash (well you know odds and ends and papers) and at least 1/2 a dozen 'now' emptied boxes. The girls have room to play with their "stuff" and I have room to work.

So in the process of that, I found an item that I received as a wedding present almost 10 years ago... and while I loved the item at the time, it got squirreled away because it was a pain to clean... but with getting back to the home cooking stuff.... I found a feature on this little contraption that I had no idea existed... so it has now become useful and extremely cool again!

Woohoo!

More cleaning now means less cleaning when we have to move (did I forget the IF we ever move part!) ... so I'm all for it. Not only that it makes the house more manageable.

Menu Planning Monday

I've been doing much better about planning our menus over the last couple weeks. We do have some troubles sticking to it, but at least we have a guideline to follow.... So for this week here is what we plan...

Scallops with Snow Peas and Crispy Noodles
Ham w/Scalloped Potatoes Broccoli & Cauli
Ultimate Veggie Chili
Lemon Pepper Chicken
Chop Suey (Vegetarian)

Linguini Vongole


With that all done I have freed up my day on Wed/Thurs from planning! (hee hee!)

Feeling Productive

Of the 12 Christmas items on my in Progress list I've been working (along with other projects) hard and have just picked up a project that I abandoned in 2006 when it was too late to make it for the Christmas run! With any luck I'll get it done this year along with a few other things! :)

So far I've managed to complete 5 projects on that list... so I'm almost there, with #6 fast on its way to completion and #7 at least on the radar screen! I'm loving it.

Its never too soon to start your handmade Christmas list!

Earth Hour: Part 4 - the Haunting

Ha, yes folks, its been a month since DH has had to do a SHOUT OUT to the power company. Now it is time to call the PSC, in all its insanity.

8 - 9 pm Earth Hour - Mar 30 - Family survives 40 minutes
7 ish pm April 3 - 4.5 hours - No logical reason
4 ish pm May 11th - 6.5 hours - 1 hour post thunderstorms
7 ish pm June 9th - 1 min blip! - post rain
7:20 pm June 11th - 2.5 hours. - 1 hour post thunderstorms.

K, so when I said that we would revisit Earth Hour weekly for 1 hour each week, I had no idea that we would visit Earth Hour monthly for several hours at a time instead and make up our quota in one sitting! We're still ahead in terms of hour usage! I think what irks me most is that the control would be totally out of my hands. I mean if I had control, we wouldn't be cooking dinner by candlelight - thank goodness for the gas cooktop! It seems that our little corner of our subdivision (which isn't a corner at all) has been afflicted with a bad transformer (or two, me thinks!) - so the worker says. Me thinks, there is a slight water problem right along with that evil transformer as noting the weather after each session it has been almost an hour to the minute after a rain shower! (thank goodness I have documented each outage HERE! - ammo for the PSC!)

The neighbors are rightly cranky! And rightly so, I'd say. We gave it 20 minutes after the lights went out and then dh called. We've made the decision to be pests - and call every 30 minutes until power is restored, ordinarily we wouldn't do this but with monthly outages its time they heard us - its not like the bills are piling up unpaid. *sigh*

So this is one instance where pre-planning the meals worked in our favour - as our electric oven was useless for cooking pizza last night - so instead we had a pre-planned Spanish Omelette (turned scrambled egg! LOL!)

I made it 5 hrs

"I'm barricading myself away from the fabric stores unless I have an immediate need for something that isn't in my current stash!"

Did I really say that??? I made it 5 hrs....
I visited a site... I fell in love....
I bought fabric.... 1 lbs bag to be exact.
*Sigh*
I'm hopeless. Must remember to barricade myself from the online fabric stores too! *sigh*
So many dangers... A little white padded room would be my best bet! LOL!

Deep Cleaning and Declutter

I'm tired of it.... I'm tired of all the clutter, I'm tired of all the junk, I'm tired of not being able to stay on top of things. I'm tired of having to scramble everytime someone comes to visit to make the place look somewhat tidy. I'm tired of living out of boxes and having to dig through things to find what I'm looking for. So my goal is reclaim my house from the clutter monster and then make it a little more cozy and comfy.

I can't handle the FlyLady emails, despite of how effective they are, so I'm back to peaking at the website to work on the house one room at a time very slowly. The girls are my top priority so I do what I can and then go back and forth as time permits.

Its kinda funny how my ideas waffle back and forth over time. What today is sentimental clutter, tomorrow is trash, and in 2 days I just won't be able to part with it. So I'm aiming for more "Tomorrow" days than "today" or "future days!" LOL! in other words the more clutter I can get rid of the happier I am.

I was thrilled to discover in the past week that my Garbage company has resumed accepting glass and cardboard, which they weren't for a while (5 yrs to be exact!) To that line up they've added more types of paper, and more plastics, which is a good thing. At least now I won't feel so guilty decluttering!

Now I just need to find places to accept my donate-able clothes, and kids toys. Slowly, slowly I will master this clutter instead of vice versa!

I'm following AmyDe's lead on the hobby stash - ie yarn and fabric stash - and working to have no stash, except the project that I'm working on. It's gonna take some time to burn through what I have but I'll get there eventually! I've done good, in that I don't think I've bought yarn (wool, cotton or acrylic.) Now the fabric is more difficult - for me at least, I'm barricading myself away from the fabric stores unless I have an immediate need for something that isn't in my current stash! And then I'll need to quiet that little stash-devil that whispers in my ear when I'm there - do you think ear plugs would work??

So there ya go. If I'm not around I'm decluttering.
3 of 15 rooms done.

Cellphones - Popcorn - Musings

Its rather funny. Our family owns only one cell phone.
I've been reading a novel that bounces back and forth between today and the Early 1900s. Its a quilting book but I'm fascinated with the differing attitudes for the children then, the children when I grew up and the children of today. Its rather startling differences.

So we headed out to the HD today to replace the 14 gauge wire that I trimmed yesterday with the hedge trimmer, cut clean through the wire if you must know! (and that was being ultra careful!) The technology that made me angry 5 yrs ago probably saved my life last night, but I digress. So anyway, back to technology, in the car beside us was a kid about 10yo, with his cell plugged into his ear while his parents drove the Prius. I mused to myself how generations differed, how kids today can be reached at the drop of a hat, unless their batteries die or they conveniently lose their phone. How they always know who is calling even before they answer their phones, when back in 1991 Caller ID was just coming to home phone, and cell phones were a new fangled device! LOL! I marvelled at how much I enjoy being unreachable, but I also distinctly remember the day I longed to have a cell phone when I needed it most.

So with that thought in mind :
http://freepage.twoday.net/stories/4969270/
I found this disturbing and long to get 3 friends together with 6 phones and see what damage we can do to a couple kernels! LOL!

Leads to the logical question. If a cell phone can do that to popcorn, if you let the cell phone ring in your pocket long enough what else can it make explode??

Just idle musings!

Tadpoles, Frogs and Smelly Tanks

What? I can't believe I didn't post our Tadpole adventures here.

On May 21st our little Grow-A-Frog Tadpole arrived in the mailbox. I was totally unprepared. I thought it would take a little longer than a week to get here but low and behold Little "Tad" arrived. I just assumed she'd be a boy! But here SHE is at 7 days. Just 2 days after she sprouted her front legs. I have learned that a tadpole's gender can't be identified until they are grow into frogs. From the research I have done... this tad has the nub of a tail (for laying eggs) and she is spotted with no dark patches - though that doesn't mean she won't grow some later. I'll have to watch and hopefully prevent spawning - I don't think I could handle another frog for the next 17-25yrs!

If I'm not mistaken she will grow into an African Claw Frog /Toad. Not the prettiest of frogs in my opinion but I guess it serves me right for not doing enough research. Beggars can't be choosers. Given a choice, I think I'd opt for a red-eyed tree frog, a bull frog or maybe even a Fire Bellied Toad. Oh well! Life goes on! Maybe some day we'll go there but for now we'll stick with this frog!

A few days after Tad grew her front legs, I requested the Stage 2 Habitat from Three Rivers (the Grow-a-Frog) Company and OOPS if it didn't arrive with another Froglet. *sigh* Froglet has now been called "Lily."

So now we are a 2 frog family!

Over the last couple days I've noticed the water is horribly cloudy with stringing things growing in the stinky water despite the fact that I've been following the instructions to a T. So today I sought a new temporary container so that I could clean out the nutri-sand from Tad's tad pool and Lily's pond. I've decided not to put the nutri-sand back just because its a pain to keep clean and I'm a total novice .... all the gunge hides down there and when the water is all gone, you still can't get the sand clean! :( So BYE BYE SAND. My reading suggests that it was for our benefit anyway, and didn't really offer much to the pools.

The adventure today has both Tad and Lily in the same pool now, so less maintenance - I just hope neither is too aggressive to the other. I suspect Lily would be the aggressor if it came down to anything so we'll keep our fingers crossed. I think I'm going to abandon our Three Rivers Habitats in favor of a bigger temporary home for the little ones. What I picked up was a Mini Critter Tote but I think I'll go for a bigger one and put the two Three River things away - just in case we decide to get a different tad in the future.

Happy Birthday

7 Wonderful years ago, this little was born. It seems just like yesterday, I can hardly believe it.

Today she turned 7.

Not Observant Silliness

If you go to the kitchen take a look at the Aluminum foil box and the plastic/Saran Wrap box. Did you know there was a little tab that you can push in on the end to prevent the rolls from jumping out of the box??

Things you learn on homeschooling websites - when you're planning to shut down your computer but must look at one more thing.

Stinging Nettle - Canyon Climbers Conclusion (for us)

The joys of hiking with a toddler, which is almost as good as hiking with a dog, invariably the child will get into something or other on each hike. I've taken to toting a few bandaids and QuickClean wipes in my fanny pack when we are hiking, just because we can't hike without S getting a cut a scrape or something. This time we ventured down into Cloudland Canyon in NW GA, where we saw a beautiful water fall, too many steps to count, and a 2nd waterfall that wasn't nearly as nice as the first.

Before the hike began little S was running to catch up to daddy, tripped and scrapped her knee and wrist. But if that wasn't bad enough, at the end of the hike on the way back up the myriad of steps she insisted on getting on my back (our form of transporting her when she is tired) she missed me and fell backward into a bush of unknown description at the time. I didn't think much about it until she was up on my back and complaining and rubbing the dickens out of her arm. We couldn't stay where we were because we were surrounded by the stuff and we were ready to leave anyway so I hiked her up on my back.... climbed up a bunch of steps and when she was still rubbing them I asked dh to take a quick peek. He said he didn't see anything, but I knew there had to be something so at the next platform, I set her down and found this. \/ (pic below) Now I'm no naturalist, but my first guess was Stinging Nettles.

She didn't seem to get it too bad, but it was enough to make her uncomfortable. I had for some really stupid reason an alcohol prep pad in my fanny pack. so I used it to quickly dab the spots and she seemed good with that. She carried the pad up the hill and kept dabbing them. By the time we got to the top they were gone. I've asked her a few times how her arm feels and she hasn't complained at all. Thank goodness. I think M was more scarred by whole incident than S was as M has added Nettles, to the list of things to fear.... like Poison Ivy, Black Widow Spiders, and scorpions!

And with that little mishap... we completed the 4 State parks and are sending in for our OfficialCanyon Climbers Club T-shirt.

More on the Subway Issue

If the letter that one mom received back from Scholastic reads right, the situation is as I figured and the reason they EXCLUDED Home Schools is because of the $5,000 Athletic Equipment for the Winning Child's school.

The thing is they could have put a request asking a Homeschooled child to donate it to any place where they take classes, or the local school or even a local charity that was in need.

It doesn't make it any better though... to blatantly exclude "Home Schools" is no different than putting a sign in the window saying "Blacks need not apply." Or "Irish Need not apply." The apology was nice enough but it doesn't make me feel any better.

Disappointment in SUBWAY and SCHOLASTIC

So the latest buzz on the homeschool groups is how SUBWAY is snubbing homeschoolers.
Subway and Scholastic books are running a story writing contest. Details of which you can find

http://www.subwayfreshbuzz.com/kids/contest.aspx


Our communities are filled with homeschooled kids. Sadly, they have chosen to exclude our children from this contest! While I don't jump on the bandwagon of Boycotting, this is an outright shot at our children for the choice that isn't their own!

Disclaimer:
Contest is open only to legal US residents, over the age of 18 with children in either elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted.

I have sent my note to them already telling them how I feel. I'm beyond disappointed, M is very disappointed as well. As of today we will not be frequenting our local SUBWAY.... and frankly I think I may have to pull my purchases away from Scholastic books too!

Got Myself some Wheels

Those of you that know me, know that I've had RollerBlades for years, and before my cars, my method of transportation was bicycle. Well after almost 15 yrs without a bicycle, I finally got me a bike today! :) Will post pics when I get her cleaned up! :)

YAY! Now to just get fit! :)

Post Pneumonia - Tzietze Syndrome

So the fun begins, you mention to the PA (nurse) that since the onset of the this bout of pneumonia you've had this wicked chest pain, that starts at the sternum and on one side runs all the way round your back to the middle, and that on the other side it is localized to the sternum and runs about an inch to the right, and they think OMG she's having heart attack in the office! he he!

I told them it was related to the pneumonia, but the nurse insisted on an in office EKG. Protocal - Fine. They were worried the BP is high (uh ya) and then embarked on the whole - well you need a complete physical so we can get ya fixed up right - yada yada yada more on that later! The EKG Freaked M out and S just hid under the exam table. Kids, LOL! S would have been find if M hadn't said anything freaky!

The old ticker is tocking properly, so no worries there. (You can't get rid of me that easily!) ... yes I probably have swollen cartilage from the hacking, for which she could recommend a strongish anti-inflammatory, but I turned that down, it doesn't sit well with the Crohns' part of the anatomy, ya know! I told her I was happy with just the diagnosis and knowing that if push came to shove and I hurt bad tomorrow I could take some advil or ibuprofin, in the smallest possible amount with a hunk of food! (pretty picture isn't it!)

So then we got on to the well you need a full physical with a walk on the treadmill so that we can get a baseline on everything and get you in tip top shape. This is probably the push that I've needed get moving on the weightloss front, as I know it will bring everything down if I could just loose that 10 % (and then some!) The only problem as I see it is my cholesterol will be quite high as I've just finished nursing the youngest and based on the info that I've research that will throw the cholesterol levels off. I've told the Mr. that I will do said physical but only if he does his too... not the same day but I get to schedule both of them! No point in me living forever if he isn't here too is there?! So off we ride into the sunset in our matching gowns ready for an upcoming the physical! (scary picture that! LOL!)

Oz and the Wicked Witch

It was somewhat of a coincidence that I started reading The Wizard of Oz to the girls around the same time I started reading Wicked. It was fascinating to read them simultaneously as you could pick out the paralells between them as I think the author of Wicked intended ! Let me just say that Mr. Maguire spins a good yarn based on some of the original characters in the original story!

I'd get into discussing it but I don't want to spoil it for others, so I will have to suffice it by saying that the character development was good, and I like the way the story is spun the other way. It kind of lead credence to the way the movie presented Oz, to really be a terrible man.

Anyway good book if you haven't read it, though it takes a while to slog through the beginning parts it was worth taking it out from the library 3 times! LOL!

And, of course, every little girl must have a pair of sparkly red shoes, my kids just happen to be on the 2nd and 4th pair! LOL! The question is are the shoes really enchanted??!

Breathing is Highly Overrated!

Its been 3 weeks.

Hack Hack.

I have pneumonia again.

I sound like I have smoker's cough.... unfortunately I've never smoked!

Gotta love spring!

Earth Hour the Revisit.... HAPPY MOTHER's DAY

A nice long luxurious week at the beach.
A nice long drive home. (of course I got some knitting done! - but no reading!)

Home for a day, still wheezing and hacking... will visit the doc on Tuesday or Wednesday I think. My chest hurts today - so I guess I'm in for another round of drugs :(

We went for a breezy walk this afternoon with wind gust between 15-30 mph. Arrived home at 4:30 to find the power off. When I hit the garage door button half a dozen times and it didn't open, then dh tried... 'twas my first thought. 6.5 hours NO Electricity.

I could understand if the whole neighborhood was out... or if the power outages were spotty in the neighbourhood. But it wasn't. I could understand if there were downed lines... nearby. Well maybe I couldn't because our lines are underground. I could understand if it wasn't an exact replication of the April 2 outage. Just our 2 streets. DH was okay at first but as the night got long and the crabbies set in.... the girls got fractious, dh got grumpier, he loves to talk about feedback loops, well this became one. A call at 5:30, 6:30, 8:30 and then 10:25. The lights came on a few minutes after that last call. Like all they had to do was flip a switch.

Now I know that is not what it took and that someone had to physically drive and that the lights were off in many places around the city... but still 6.5 hours???

A well, at least I know how to entertain myself when I need to... the trick is finding a way to entertain the rest of the family as well.

A Post Full of Sand

So dh brought his laptop and pathetic me has to type on my blog while away! LOL! Actually it was my excuse to get my dh away from the darn thing.

As the little one gets older, travelling with her gets easier and easier. Our first time down with her 7 hrs in the car was a struggle, but this time around she did so much better. When we arrived both the girls were ready to hit the beach, but the adult in dh and I required that we pick up food for dinner and breakfast lunch and dinner. When we got back we hit the beach.

Again as they both age, they get better about accepting the beach! LOL! The first time around M wouldn't even stick her finger in the sand, while S wouldn't put her big toe in. Next time around M was significantly older, and had no qualms about the surf, while little S was petrified if the water touched her. This time around, the girls remind me of the little sandpipers skirting the edge of the water looking for a decent catch.

S is in love with the big shells, while M is in love with the pretty shells.

We managed to acquire an umbrella today. Hopefully it mean the I can hang out on the beach a little longer.

As of now, I think I've also managed to stave off a bout of pneumonia. I got sick Monday before we left, after a lovely visit to the Botanical gardens (mental note, avoid Botanical gardens in the height of pollen season - idiot) today I'm hacking but a whole lot less than I was yesterday. It can only get better from her.

L and N. This trip to the beach has yielded much better weather than the visit we all took together. It is supposed to be 80 degrees all week. The girls have a mild burn in spite of suncream. I can't look at the hot tub without giggling over our conversations down there. Found out they have a Sauna here too.

Anyway.... dh has failed to build a sandcastle yet. And pathetic me, I haven't taken any pics yet, despite M's delight in taking pictures of everything including the toilet... and S's love of the floors!

Vile, Disgusting and Just Obscene (RANT)

Instances that you wouldn't get to experience if you didn't have children.

A nice evening dinner. A quick drive home. A quick stop at a gas station because a child has to pee. A quick drive home hastened by the gross out factor and the sheer ick factor. (not for the squeamish or faint of heart.) OMG is all I can say.

The first thing a parent does when a kid says they need to pee is ask... can you hold it? (well maybe you don't but I do!) Assuming they are old enough to hold it, of course. When the resounding answer of "NO" reverberates around the car from the back seat, the next thing the parent does is hastily stop at the nearest convenience store, gas station or fast food restaurant to avoid the accident. So that is what we did.

We happened upon a gas station. (mistake #1) Went in and asked the idiot man behind the desk the way to the facilities. He points and verbally directs us that way. We get there and there is a sign on the door "Out of Order." Puzzled why he didn't say that before sending us off in that direction I turn to go back and he has followed us....

"It's okay I've taken care of it - you can go in."

Assuming (mistake #2) the usual plumbing problem that could be fixed by plunging, we open the door and are instantly hit by a smell, a quick glance at the floor reveals a 'splattering' of liquid substance on the floor. Not fecal (in case you're wondering.) My brain is in slow-mo today. The toilet is filled with said substance. Okay the toilet exploded, maybe. "She really has to pee" is still running through my head.

"EEEWWWW" is all she can say.

I flush the toilet. I'm disgusted but she has to pee. I don't swear but F*** I can't stay here.

"Mum? I AM NOT peeing here!"
"OUT! OUT! GET OUT! Go.... goooo..... gooo..... you'll have to pee at home... Hold it, I don't care, you aren't going here." I say as I shove her quickly out the door..... OMG.

There was vomit all over the toilet, the floor. His idea of cleaning it up .... shove an entire roll of toilet paper in it and clear a path from the door to the toilet. He didn't even try to clean it up.

All that is running through my head is I've just exposed my child to the stomach bug. She "EEEWWW'ed" all the way home... We Pine Sol'd our shoes... and disinfected our hands...

12 yrs Same Email and Now.....

ggggrrrr... is this a threat to scare me off the internet? Or just something to finally get my booty in gear and make the changes I've wanted to for a while.

IRKED doesn't begin to describe how I feel. In an hour on the net this afternoon I deleted over 100 emails from the inbox that I can't send out of stating undeliverable mail because I was spamming or spoofing. I had a little fit and requested that dh change my address and block the old one but it will be in the spoofing cues for a while I'm sure. I'm sad, have had that address for over 12 years - will eventually go back to it maybe - it seemed like a simple change, but I think I was more frustrated over the spoofing/spamming emails.... :(

So if you don't have one of my 3 addy's post here and I'll reply back! :)

Uncultured

I'm feeling a little uncultured today so I thought I'd post the 100 Greatests! (yes new word!)

100 Greatest books (according to Nicholas Whyte in 2003 - his take on the BBC Big Read)

legend: black=Read, red = not read, green=on my book shelf!

1. The Lord Of The Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride And Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (read 1 of 3)
   
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie-the-Pooh, AA Milne
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch 22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier
15. The Catcher In The Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind In The Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War And Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling (12/09)
    
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
28. Middlemarch, George Eliot
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Auste
39. Dune, Frank Herbert (hated this one... tried 3 times)
    
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (loved this one!)
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
85. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
86. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
87. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E. Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer (hated this one .... tried 3 times)
    
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

Woohoo - only 80 books left to read! LOL!

100 Greatest movies that I haven't seen (stolen from AmyDe in one of her Februarywho stole it from someone else! LOL!)

legend:
black=seen, red = never seen

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. The Godfather (1972)
3. Casablanca (1942)
4. Raging Bull (1980)
5. Singin' In The Rain (1952)
6. Gone With The Wind (1939)
7. Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
8. Schindler's List (1993)
9. Vertigo (1958)
10. The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
11. City Lights (1931)
12. The Searchers (1956)
13. Star Wars (1977)
14. Psycho (1960)
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
16. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
17. The Graduate (1967)
18. The General (1927)
19. On The Waterfront (1954)
20. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
21. Chinatown (1974)
22. Some Like It Hot (1959)
23. The Grapes Of Wrath (1940)
24. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
25. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
26. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
27. High Noon (1952)
28. All About Eve (1950)
29. Double Indemnity (1944)
30. Apocalypse Now (1979)
31. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
32. The Godfather Part II (1974)
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
34. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
35. Annie Hall (1977)
36. The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
37. The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
38. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948)
39. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
40. The Sound Of Music (1965)
41. King Kong (1933)
42. Bonnie And Clyde (1967)
43. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
44. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
45. Shane (1953)
46. It Happened One Night (1934)
47. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
48. Rear Window (1954)
49. Intolerance (1916)
50. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)
51. West Side Story (1961)
52. Taxi Driver (1976)
53. The Deer Hunter (1978)
54. M*A*S*H (1970)
55. North By Northwest (1959)
56. Jaws (1975)
57. Rocky (1976)
58. The Gold Rush (1925)
59. Nashville (1975)
60. Duck Soup (1933)
61. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
62. American Graffiti (1973)
63. Cabaret (1972)
64. Network (1976)
65. The African Queen (1951)
66. Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)
67. Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
68. Unforgiven (1992)
69. Tootsie (1982)
70. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
71. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
72. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
73. Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
74. The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
75. In The Heat Of The Night (1967)
76. Forrest Gump (1994)
77. All The President's Men (1976)
78. Modern Times (1936)
79. The Wild Bunch (1969)
80. The Apartment (1960)
81. Spartacus (1960)
82. Sunrise (1927)
83. Titanic (1997)
84. Easy Rider (1969)
85. A Night At The Opera (1935)
86. Platoon (1986)
87. 12 Angry Men (1957)
88. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
89. The Sixth Sense (1999)
90. Swing Time (1936)
91. Sophie's Choice (1982)
92. Goodfellas (1990)
93. The French Connection (1971)
94. Pulp Fiction (1994)
95. The Last Picture Show (1971)
96. Do The Right Thing (1989)
97. Blade Runner (1982)
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
99. Toy Story (1995)
100. Ben-Hur (1959)

Woohoo - only 87 movies left to see! LOL!

Crafty Friends Have Ideas?

Alrighy my crafty friends.... I beg your assistance.

I have 3 swatches of material fabric, they are all a light weight cotton blend.

1. The first is a single yard of cutesy fabric bright red that needs to turn into something useful... 1 yd.... I can add a lining fabric or additional fabric as necessary but I need a jumping off point, a diving board so to speak for this cute fabric. My limitations.... it needs to be something for an adult, it can be an inside or outside fabric... it can be one item or a couple.... got ideas??

2. The next two are fat quarters (18" x 21") ... one is black, one is white. Again I can add co-ordinating fabric or lining or anything. This one is for a "teacher" (so to speak) - who is leaving us this year but has been working with M for 2 yrs now and become a friend of mine... we will still chat but she won't be working with M in the same capacity. I'd like to make her something nice... I was thinking a tissue holder and something to match... but haven't a clue where to go with this! LOL!

Welcome to the 21st Century - where Internet Service Providers SUCK! :(

The saga of the sucky internet returns!

A mere month after ditching the old ISP due to several outages in a one month span, the new ISP went down from Fri to late Tuesday afternoon with no word, no assistance nothing ... just went DARK. A trip to the local office (walking distance) yielded an answer but NO HELP - all circuits were busy during the entire outage (both locally and in their head office) - at least even the old ISP was reachable by phone even if they weren't helpful! Maybe I expect too much - but at the very least I'd like to be able to reach a customer "No Service Rep" because at least I'd feel like someone had a clue and the place didn't just tank overnight.

So no computer school stuff got done, no internet, no nothing.... (M says not even a piece of Webkinz World - but she did get a few hours of Sims2 time.) So we ditched ISP #2 in favour of #3... making 3 ISPs is less than 2 months. I expect some repercussions due to the shortened length of our service contract but such is life... I'm ticked... what can I say! :( If it happens again in less than a month I'm boycotting residential service forever! :(

It sucks, it really sucks. Thank goodness for "no computer hobbies!" I got some knitting and crocheting done! :) I even got some cleaning done and feel a computer and hobby move is in the future - though not until some much needed household repairs occur, but its at least on the horizon and the 10 yrs of accumulated kiddy junk is being shifted at long last.

Earth Hour.... Revenge of Earth Hour.... Projects

March 29th we celebrated Earth Hour 2008 by turning out the lights. Nice candle light dinner if I do say so myself! :) The girls were thrilled. M turned the lights out just before 8 as we sat down to eat... she was terribly afraid of missing it. I was sad that none of the neighbours turned their lights out though. Oh well, life is like that. After about 40 minutes the girls and dh sadly had had enough so on went the lights and the "Scary Mummy Monster" came out. I was all agrump because it was supposed to be fun and something I really wanted to do. So I've threatened them with doing it once a week for the next year! Hee hee! So here is a photo!
So I could only laugh as last night took care of our Earth Hours for a month! LOL! Just after we fired up dinner last night.... the oven heated, the fish in for about a minute or so, the noodles on, the broccoli and cauli totally unthought of .... out went the lights, but not in the usual way.... with a really loud fizzling sound. So I dug up the chicken timer and we left the fish in the oven as it was HOT enough... the gas stove came in handy for the noodles... and we just ate the veggies raw! I dug out the candles... lit them when it got dark... and we had yet another candle light dinner. Just as we were sitting down the big electric company truck came down the road.... "Now that can't be good." The neighbors congregated by the green box... and the electric company truck drove away - still no lights. We finished up dinner and by that time the lights had been out for over an hour. Took the girls out for a walk with a flashlight, and it turns out only our street and the neighbouring one were affected. The rest of the subdivision had lights. 2 more visits from the big electric company truck.... and the neighbours gradually faded into the darkened abyss that was their home. At the 2 hour mark I went to hunt down my hubby and the children as they went up to follow the electric company truck and instead I ran into the truck, the guy popped out of the truck and told me it would be quite a few hours before the lights came back on as 2 wires had "gone bad" the first caused the main outage... and the 2nd when they tried to tie 2 wires together to get us more juice! The lights were out for almost 4.5 hours, and the poor electric crew were soooo grumpy! Dh the girls and I enjoyed a nice non-electric evening staring at the stars and wandering in the dark. My Earth hour(s) was given to me after all! :) I think we'll still do it monthly!

I finished a cute little preemie sweater which I finished up and gave to my friend the other day... stupid me I was in such a rush I forgot to take a photo of it. :( But I have another identical sweater on the needles and will hopefully get a pic of it after the weekend. Its supposed to be rainy tomorrow and Saturday so maybe I can make some rapid progress on it, the 2nd and 3rd will go to charity.

So that's been our fun here!

Officially Spring - Gardening Yet?

So its officially spring, does that mean I can start planting yet???

Apparently not, I got another alert this morning that there is another frost warning in effect. One of the Brownie Leaders had some new irises, that she put in last week, hope they survive the 2 frosts we've had.... I hope it's over soon!

I've got some seedlings started, and should probably get some seeds out in the pots. Novice gardener this year, I'm trying to get a salad out of my pots out back.... assuming Señor Deadmeat doesn't rear his ugly head again - my children have been warned the squirrel is not our friend. We have tomatoes, he bites them and discards them!

Dh has given me the okay to get a top hat blueberry bush when we get back from the beach. Can't wait, I've put it in my email folder to email me when we get back and if I put it in here I might remember as well! :)

I think this year will be my year of serious novice experimentation with dirt and veggies! :)

Wish me luck! :)

Project Spectrum

I found something that appealed to me in a simplistic way today. "The idea of Project Spectrum is simply a celebration of the colors around us, and taking the time to notice them."

I'm pleased to say that I have already done my project for March for it. I don't use much red, but funny I found lots of red in the things happening yesterday. This is one of the grocery bags I've been sewing though this one isn't for me... The red fabric was just too fun to work and play with, it very pretty. It has an Asian flare - the black is actually silhouettes of possibly Asian woment. The fabric shopping bags are based on a "T" store shopping bag and I followed the directions here. The grocery bags are deliciously simple to make and in under 2 weeks of use have drastically cut down on our plastic grocery bag consumption, which is a bonus!




It strikes me as a little odd that my 2 yr old little girl is madly in love with the image of Spiderman, but hey they're only young once... she has no clue who or what Spiderman is as she's never seen the "real deal" on tv or in the movies.... but this just fits with the perfection of RED this month! :) Complete outfit here. Spidey Shoes, and Spidey Jammies. And for the record... the spiders themselves are really Charlotte (from Charlotte's Web - the story) or so she tells me! *GRIN* I don't know who the man is beyond creepy! :)

I'm Here, I think!

Our internet is finally straightened out. I think!!

I'm still having issues with email, but until I can put a finger on the problem, I'll have to let the dust settle a little.

Flaky at Best *sigh*

I've been internet-less since Thursday at 1:30 pm - that's when I received my last email, and my last page hit. Our ISP didn't give a darn. After at least 5 calls to them in 3 days, with the latter calls being rapid dial sheer frustration, dh got us back up... and the sad thing is ISP wouldn't couldn't tell us what was up other than there was an outage in our area and we were the first to report it (ya right - dh reported it Friday evening, and I don't believe that I'm the only internet addled idiot with this ISP suffering withdrawl! .... sadly this ISP is the one months ago that was saying on TV - "Your problem is our problem" and "You'll have a team of specialist behind you to get you and keep you running." YA right.

Your best fluffy flaky pastry recipe is probably less flaky than our ISP. GRRRR

Oh well, gave me time to clean, sew and knit. I probably would have baked too but I had a hankering for things I don't have recipes stored for and would have had to SURF then net for *sigh.* If mum can't come unplugged how can you expect the kids to?

Completed:


7 shopping bags








2/3 preemie outfits

all when I wasn't being yelled at by a recovering 2 yr old flu victim.

Yes, Mission control, We have the FLU

The panting a wheezing stopped when she stopped getting mad because she wasn't in my arms. Ya know a mom has to make lunch, a potty and all those things, and its kinda hard with a 2 yr old in your arms... but anyway... we waited til this morning to visit the Ped, and yes she has the FLU. We were offered Tami-Flu because it has been underway for less than 48 hours. Sadly if I can't even get her to take Tylenol, the Tami-Flu won't be of much use to us. Hopefully M & I don't get a re-occurance which is common with this Year's strain, and most of all hopefully dh won't get it PERIOD.

So here we sit at home catching up on our sleep and being lazy and trying to keep her temps below 102!! While poor little S recovers - oh well off to teach M and then knit some!

Visit - the "Plague Flu"

Afternoon all, your bad blogger popping in for duty today.

Things have been quietly busy here. M's been taking classes which are now over, I've been knitting for a friend's new preemie baby, sewing shopping bags for my new Green motto, contemplating produce bags for said motto, getting our Brownies (Girl Scouts) ready for Thinking Day (Feb 22) with the girl scouts, plus trying to keep everyone well for our visit to see H. Its been just one thing after another, but finally things have slowed down. * come to a screeching halt.*

We visited with baby H - who is no longer a baby - and here (left) is the picture to prove it! LOL! She's grown so much. She's an amazing little girl. And doing very well. Our visit was fabulous! H signs more than 100 signs, is about to start K work, getting more physically mobile... all positive changes. I'm glad that we can keep in touch, it warms my heart every time we see her.

Poor little S though. We were home less than 2 hours when she spiked a temp - to guess about 100, and is now up to 102. She has all the symptoms of the flu plague M and I had in January, which sucks. 2 more minutes and I can call the ped... in under 12 hours in has navigated its way to the upper chest, and she is already panting, hacking and wheezing, not a good sign for bronchial family! :(

Late Night Visitor - Signs of Spring

Spring must be around the corner.

At 11:00pm this evening we had a nosy visitor hanging out on our window. Needless to say I called down our resident 6.5 yr old herpetologist. She doesn't even get close enough to see it and says it is a Spring Peeper because it is spring-like here and that is when they come out. Dh hadn't heard that and he suggested the same. Well of course, being late I sent M back to bed and told her I'd find out what I could about it, and promptly went on a hunt for a flashlight. Dang it if the kid isn't right. The markings are perfect... it is darker than the one pictured on the right here... dark brown... but it is the cutest little thing. I swear M ain't sleeping tonight! She's a herpetologist in the making, I tell ya. (image borrowed from Wiki)

Dh on the other hand is a pickle head. He dragged us out to 2 stores this afternoon, in search of pickling cucumbers.... he finally found them and brought home 5 lbs. Equivalent of 2 full Jars of pickles (Ya know the humongous ones in the gallon pickle jars.) I've informed him he needs - a few moderate sized pots and a couple trellis' to go with them... and a couple packages of pickling cucumber seeds for spring. His contribution to our starter veggie garden. I told him that if he grew his own cukes they would taste so much better than the store bought ones and he'd feel so much better about feeding them to the kids! LOL! He didn't buy it but told me to go ahead! LOL! So guess we'll be adding some pickling cukes to the garden attempt this year! :)

The Neighbors.... Chapter 2.

ETA: Dh has asked me put in this little disclaimer. If you are a co-worker of my dh and he has tried to successfully talk you into buying the house.... don't listen to a word you read here *GRIN* they're wonderful neighbors, really! I just love to make up stories! he he!

I assume, I'd be one of those neighbors you'd like to have. I don't meddle, I don't go out of my way to snoop... I don't complain when you block my driveway monthly, bi-monthly or whenever you have a party. There aren't people coming and going at all times of the day or night - in fact we rarely have visitors. I keep to myself, I respect your privacy, and I respect your property. If I have a beef, I will let it stew for a while and eventually come up with a way to politely ask you for your help to solve the problem.

I have 2 rules. If you come to my house - you and anyone who chooses to enter my house with you cannot be rude in my house or you will be asked to leave.... it is my house and I make the rules. You don't snoop through my stuff, in fact the master bedroom is off limits and the door closed when people come over. Its the kind or rules I expect you'll find in most houses (of course if I'm wrong someone tell me... please!)

Dh has informed me this evening that the neighbor, whose friend backed into our car, is mad at us. Are they mad because they backed into our car and friend's insurance is paying up? Or are they mad because I hit a sensitive spot with their 6 yr old granddaughter when she was rude in my house and I asked her to leave, except that her mom arrived at the door right after I asked that! So she left with tears - for which I'm sorry but she broke rule number 1, which I believe is a rule in most people's houses.

I feel like I'm back in highschool with one difference, these people don't matter to me, they aren't crucial to how I see myself - and while yes I care, because that is my nature, I don't care if that makes sense! :)

Be Mine Twinkie!

Months ago after reading the Vegan Lunch Box blog I bought a real live Hostess Twinkie pan from a local store... can't see green cheese but my mouth would water, as my mum would say! LOL! Well I made the Vegan version of the twinkies and they were good. So I decided to branch out and try something different this time. So for Valentine's day tomorrow we'll be having homemade strawberry Twinkies with the cream fill or jam inside - the jury is still out at the moment on the filling! LOL!

M wants to celebrate Lillian's 1st birthday tomorrow since she is the first frog she bought, and of course she got her for Valentine's Day last year! So I suspect we'll be having a little party for Lillian tomorrow. Complete with Twinkie cakes (or cupcakes from the left over batter!) I need to dig out the streamers from the basement, M has been begging for them for almost a month now and I just keep forgetting! We're also gonna try to make some WW Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge, but that will have to wait til tomorrow. I will try to take pics if they last long enough! :)

Should be an interesting day here! :) Now I just have to find something yummy to feed my hubby and we'll be all set. The first Valentine's day that we actually celebrate in style!

Driveway, Identity, and Neighbors.

Just a little rant - so you've been forewarned!

You know much of this weekend I've been struggling with "Who I am." Which is odd. I'm comfortable with myself for the most part but there are just days when I question myself, whether there is something wrong with me socially etc. Where did this start?

A few weeks ago I had read a magazine article about a woman finding some long lost friends on the internet via facebook. They touched base, they met up and conversed... and one of the questions that was asked was...

"Do you think your teenage self would like who you are today?"

Now for me I can't say. I was never really all the flighty, I was never really all that self absorbed, I think as a teen I was a pretty responsible kid and pretty darn trustworthy too with a decent head on my shoulders! I haven't really changed all that much. I wasn't a party-er... and I'm still not, though I do get out much more than I used to! Oddly I am doing what I wanted to do when I was a teen, and that is be a stay at home mom. So ya I'm doing okay by my teenage self's views for the most part.

But venture a little further and I'm finding myself socially in conflict with neighbors. I'm not gossipy, I'm not a "keepin' up with the Joneses" person, and I say I don't care what other people think of me, but I think I really do. I think my aim in life is to not have people hate me or think I'm a weirdo but I think my outward approach is such that I do come across as very different. I'm not out to inconvenience people and I'm not trying to tick people off but apparently my need for a new driveway is causing the neighbors no end of grief. No offense people but TUFF.

For brief moment on Friday, I worried that somehow my neighbor could sue us for her friend backing into my husband's car. I think there is some shady business going on and they might try to get something out of us or prevent us from claiming the insurance - or maybe they're covering their rear end just in case but there is something a muck. The neighbor, Real Estate agent or not, was busily out there taking pictures of the damage, taking pictures of his house in relation to where dh's car was parked etc. He generally doesn't take pictures of his house even on bright sunny days. So I spent a fair amount of time being ticked off with them, and ticked for dh that his 17 yr old car got damaged in such a careless and stupid way!

Add this to a few quiet insults I've been getting from a so-called "friend" and it amounted to an OMG what have I done wrong kinda day. What the heck is wrong with me?! Turns out I'm caring too much and far to sensitive. So I'm working on it.... along with my secret Christmas stuff I'm working on it!

Gosh I'm So MAD

Its 8:30, been up since 7:30 getting the driveway done. It has to be concrete. Live in the circle of a cul-de-sac. Where to put the cars... on the opposite side of the street. The truck arrived this morning to dig out the old concrete. He is parked paralell to the street perpendicular to the end of the street. Neighbor's friend backed into the little toy car. Neighbor says she couldn't have backed out of her own driveway - in a sense, she looked to me like it was my fault.... thing is there was at least 4 feet between friend's car, and the truck as opposed to the 2 inches between the toy car and her bumper. Now I understand that accidents happen, but I can't believe my neighbor blames my car for her friend hitting... how stupid!