Vanilla Icing

Less Wonkier by the Inch

Or Something like that. What am I talking about? I'll be right there in a minute....or um, a paragraph or three.

Here's two not so great photos from the weekend. I say not so great because you can't quite see what the sign says. I'll help out a bit:

This is Tristyn's Flower Shop he made. His sign says "The Flower Depo 5 cents for a flower." I particularly like the way he turned the o's into flowers. He didn't seem to have any flowers for sale, however. I think that 'Mad Florist' look might have contributed to his lack of stock.

Maia's Flower Shop was fully stocked...but closed. Something fishy was going on. I was even more sure of it when I came away 50 cents poorer and only 4 flowers richer. Methinks the shop owners were not entirely honest! (Or rather played dumb about the process of giving change!)

The office was a drag. It's gotten to the point where mostly all of my time is occupied, though certainly not with anything intellectually taxing. Which isn't a bad thing per se; it's mostly just a boring thing.

I often feel very tense while I'm there, too. I think it's due to the one person being very tempermental. You never know what mood they are going to be in--from one set of five minutes to the next. I find that to be very stressful and wearing because I am very sensitive to other peoples' moods. Probably too much.

Someone else's bad mood can drag me down in minutes and then oftentimes I'll end up being stuck with their bad mood! Also, I can't help but noticing people's body language and wishing I could say/do something to cheer them up but I'm terrible with speaking words. =( Then, there is the part of me that actually enjoys observing other people, carefully cataloging away various expressions, gestures etc. To entertain myself I'll often 'write' in my head something I've just seen someone do, trying to get the words just exactly right. For example this is the process(similar anyhow) I'll think in my head:

She walked by quickly with her head ducked. <---ducked is a crappy word
She sped <---UGH SPED ???
She walked rapidly quickly, keeping her head lowered and her shoulders hunched to block inquistive stares. <----don't like blocked.. need better word
She quickly walked by with her head lowered and her shoulders hunched to blockavoid inquistive stareslooks. <---block and stares to me are too 'harsh' of words--they indicate each party (the woman walking by and the potential people looking) to be too 'aggressive.'
She quickly walked by with her head lowered and her shoulders hunched to avoid inquistive looks. <---still not feeling hunched. It's such an ugly word but can't quite come up with a word that I like

All that passed through my head in about 2 seconds. Loads quicker than it took to type it out just now. I will then proceed to DWELL on that d**n sentence for the next 45 minutes trying to figure out what word I prefer to hunched.

Several hours later will STILL be thinking of that word. And how much I don't like it and how it does not quite describe what I saw correctly. GRRRR.

Missy and I had lunch together today--OUTSIDE of the office which was nice. When I left to get the kids from school it was really snowing. I had some time to kill before they were dismissed so I pulled out my knitting I've been working on waaaay too long:

This is what I meant by less wonkier by the inch. It's not great...it's not even good. But it's much better than the last bit of knitting I tried to do. You can kind of see that it's getting a bit better as I go. Eventually, maybe it will be a scarf. A scarf that is very funky at one end and halfway decent at the other!

7 Random Things

.. I was tagged by Laura...

1. When someone tells me his or her name it is very important for me to know how to spell it.  Why? Because when I think of that person, speak to them; of them I ‘see’ the name spelled out in my head.  That’s just one way that words are so important to me.

2. I passed out yesterday and cracked my head and shoulder on the doorjamb.  Rick and I have currently been watching the Sopranos…(season 1 and now 2)…so I was able to joke afterwards that I felt like Tony Soprano.

3. I have an obsession with my cell phone.  Especially the texting part.  Because of this I have a very hard time being far from my phone.  It’s gotten to the point where I’d rather text than talk on the phone.  I think it’s because a text is much more to the point—because it has to be---only 160 characters allowed per text!

4. I just signed up for an Italian class.  I’m very excited.  Though—I know I’m going to compare it to how classes were at the Defense Language Institute when I was in the Air Force.

5. Speaking of the Air Force, it makes me think of politics.  Which leads me to this:  It really really REALLY annoys me when people criticize our president.  Whoever he may be at the time.  Whatever his party affiliation.  It’s not like he’s trying to f*** things up.  He’s just a human, trying to do his best (even if his idea of ‘best’ is or is not skewed).  JUST LIKE EACH AND EVERY PRESIDENT BEFORE HIM AND EACH AND EVERY PRESIDENT THAT WILL COME AFTER HIM. 

6. Further on 5—I find it funny that the people who tend to complain the loudest (I’m thinking of personal examples I know—NOT generalizing here) about our government, our president, etc. are usually the ones that have pretty messed up lives.  If you are so good at criticizing the government, the president, etc.  one would think that they should have their own lives running at top notch!

      7. Quality is more important that quantity.  I find this to be true in just about everything.  It has   

           become quite an important matter to me as item after item seems to be built to break after a 

           pre-determined time.  Problem is---it is hard to find quality anymore!  You can buy the best

           brand—but it’s really bells & whistles one is paying for—NOT QUALITY.  This frustrates

           me daily.

I have a few people that comment here ...you should join in and post 7 random things on your blog!  I won't put you on the spot but that's mainly because I'm at work and don't have access to your exact blog addresses on my work computer!

Flickr is having a Massage

um...what was that? Apparently flickr (the photo service I use) is currently down due to some upgrades and it's main page states it's having a massage. Flickr is kinda quirky...that's one of the things I like about it. So while it's taking a well-earned break, my post today will be picture-less.

I had a fantastic evening last night. Why? Because I finally got a good start on my next novel!!! I managed to fight through my natural inclination to completely finish one project before starting another mainly due to Rick. He kept reminding me and reminding me that many authors don't get published until their second, third or even fourth novel. *Gulp* I hope it doesn't take me that long!

With that firmly in mind, Little Mac and I went to Barnes & Noble to get some writing done. It's easier for me to write there than at home because there are fewer distractions. I put on my headphones, switch on some music and pull up Word. A big BLANK document staring at you is a good way to pressure yourself to get started. Or it might be the person at the next table sneaking peeks at you and wondering why you've yet to type anything. Perhaps it's a combination. I don't know. Doesn't matter. It works.

Here's my only gripe about it. If (okay, okay WHEN) I have to go to the bathroom I have to pack up everything to go. There is absolutely no way I'm going to leave Little Mac unattended. Once you are packed up, it's really hard to come back, unpack and get started again. Not to mention that it's likely someone stole your table in the meantime. I keep bugging Rick to let me have a small space in the corner of the (work) office where I can just write but he just looks at me funny. I don't think he realizes I write best if I get out of the house because of the no distraction thing. And at the office I could leave Little Mac safely when I needed to take a quick break. I think I'm going to bug him again right after I finish typing this. Maybe he'll let me write one of the days during the week instead of doing secretary stuff.

Yeah, I can dream. Right?

Today was major catch-up on chores day. I woke up, had a quick breakfast and 30 minute session on the treadmill. Then I leaped in headfirst with the housework. I set the dishwasher to run and then went downstairs. Cleaned the basement. Did the laundry. Then to the top of the house. Cleaned the 3rd floor. the second floor and the first floor. Then disaster struck. I was vacuuming from top to bottom and got a little more than halfway down the steps to about the first landing. The vacuum turned off! Completely off. No strange sounds, smoke (that was just the ONE time), nothing. Does anyone have any clue how irritating it is for a person like me to be able to finish a task? I stalked off and took a long hot bubble bath to calm down. It helped.

Rick and I had promised the children dinner at Pizza Hut and after a false start we finally made it there. It was very crowded and not the greatest atmosphere but Tristyn and Maia enjoyed it and that's all that mattered. Plus, twisted Frostys from Wendy's made us forget poor service, a chilly dining room and so-so pizza. =) We arrived back home with Maia half asleep. Rick took them inside and got them comfortably arranged to watch Happy Feet and fall asleep in the living room. For a reason known to children only, it is much better to sleep in the living room then your own bedroom. I went directly to the grocery store to get everything we have been in need of the last few days plus a few other things.

Of course I got home completely confident I had remembered everything and then when I looked in the cupboard I saw that I should have got dog food as there was next to none left. Isn't that how that always goes?

Two Penguins

This afternoon was not very exciting but it was a good one. Sometimes I think that type is even better than exciting ones. Part of my New Year's Resolution is really and truly taking time to enjoy the simple things and make the most out of everyday.

Today, Tristyn and I had a good talk after school. Then, Maia joined us for two games of Wii bowling. Maia and listened to Tristyn practice one last time before we set off to his piano lesson. He played 'Oh When the Saints go Marching On' and 'Brother John' for us.

There has been quite a lot of improvement in the last few months--I think he would be doing even better had he a real piano to practice on. Right now he is using a keyboard that is more of the toy variety than 'real' variety. He can only press two keys down at a time before it doesn't play a sound. Which to a boy playing a song that required three keys to be pressed at the same time poses a bit of a problem. =(

Anyways here is what Maia and I did while Tristyn was having his lesson:

In case you find them unrecognizable, they are penguins. We drew several pages worth for the Penguin Book she is making but both of us agreed that these were our best two. (Rick later helped her write the title on the cover page.)

On the way home from the lesson, we had to stop and pick Rick up from the office as he and I carpool on Thursday. The kids did their homework while I made dinner. Dinner was very simple--as it tends to be on Thursdays (Wednesdays too as that's dance day)--but enjoyable. Then everyone moved upstairs. Tristyn and Maia played together in Tristyn's room while Rick and I watched the season two opener of Sopranos (and I used the treadmill.) Bedtime routines for the kids came next and here I am now having a cup of tea with Bob lying next to me and Rick playing a game on the other side of Bob.

=)

When Little Mac gets Left Behind...

....the level of boredom I will experience is so high that I will resort to playing with my son's toys. And no, I don't mean WITH him. There is no shame in playing WITH HIM. But in this case, I was playing all by myself as Tristyn was fully occupied.

Yoda isn't worried about the carrier full of Stormtroopers. He's already taken out the big 'un.

Chewey and Hans discuss the gluttony of the person who sucked down the raspberry mocha. (See? I told you Tristyn wasn't paying attention to me!) That's okay...I have plans to take out their little robot friend in retaliation for hearing them refer to me as a greedy girl.

Mum! WHAT ARE YOU DOING????

!!!!! Oh no! I've been caught red-handed!

Survival

We did it! Missy and I survived!

And I think we managed it quite well! Our first Daisy Scout meeting can officially be called a success. Sure, there are a few areas that will need a bit of tweaking now that we've got our first meeting under our belts. For example, it's a little difficult to plan out the hour when you aren't sure how fast (or smooth) various things will go with a roomful of very excited 5 and 6 year olds. And we had 11 of them. That's two short of what our full total will be. Luckily, Amanda has already agreed to help--and that's a good thing because we desperately need her with the additional three girls. (I believe the policy is 5 girls to 1 adult so having Amanda with us will bring us up to speed)

I must say the whole endeavor was quite exhausting. Not so much the meeting itself but moreso all of the time leading up to it. I was very nervous about how things would go and spent probably far too much time thinking, stressing, worrying, OBSESSING over if we would do a good job. It'll be very nice ironing out the final details of the next meeting now that we've got an idea of what works well and what needs a bit of re-working.

I think I've said that already. It must be the exhaustion.

Everyone else is making these things so I thought I'd give it a go too. Almost impossible to photograph--at least if you are a camera novice like I am. I'm sure there must be some trick to getting rid of the shine and gleam of the glass.

I wanted to keep going and make some more but then I caught site of Maia's poor coat. Somehow, her red wool winter coat cannot keep a button on it for more than a week at a time. Before Christmas it seemed I was re-sewing one of the buttons on every week. Now--I just spent a fair portion of time sewing buttons back on----this time it was 4 out of the 5 that are on the coat! Seeing as how they are big bright cherry red buttons they are very easy to spot when they go flying off of her coat.

Tomorrow is shaping up to be a busy day and it hasn't even begun. The kids have school, of course, and I will be going into the office---but only for a few hours! I get to take the kids out of school early because they have dentist appointments. And how pitiful is this: I deliberately scheduled their appointments during school hours so they would have the fun of getting out of school early. I'm terrible not-so-very-good-mom, I know, but I couldn't resist. I can remember very clearly the excitement of getting an early dismissal even if it was to go somewhere lame.

So. Because their new dentist happens to be in Shadyside (deliberateness again) which is practically next door to Maia's dance class we'll be hopping from one to the other. Perhaps with a hot cocoa stop in between.

Wait. That's probably awful of me too. The going to get hot cocoa just after a dentist's visit and freshly- scrubbed-by-the-dentist-himself-teeth. Sugar and all. Maybe we'll just go BEFORE then. There's plenty of time to go for hot cocoa between the early dismissal and the dentist appointment. How?

Well maybe I just scheduled that early dismissal a little extra early because I enjoy having a reason to leave the office early too! Shhh! Don't tell Rick my husband my boss that.

Daisy Scouts Tonight!

I promise our newsletter isn't crooked!  My scanner at work has a very annoying tendency to suck in pages crookedly.  Wish me luck tonight!

Pink Posies

Not too much going on this weekend. A few nice dinners out and we saw 'The Kite Runner.' I recommend it. The book, of course, was better but the movie was very good too. I have something different to share today. Instead of pictures of baked goods....

I had a few thank you notes to write after the holidays and this is the one I created for Arlene, my mother-in-laws friend. I ended up liking it so much I made a set to put up on Etsy. Who knows, I may get lucky...if not I'm sure I'll find reasons to use them myself. =)

Of course they come with coordinating envelopes. And do you know, cards might just be one of the most difficult things to photograph!

These cards get a few extra touches on the inside.

A closeup of the paper. I do have a mild obsession with paper. It's hard to control myself when walking down the aisle of different papers at the craft store. Just one large sheet is only 89 cents but I've learned just how fast it can add up! Paper. I love it. The look, the feel, the smell! Why? Because it reminds me of books. Which leads to reading. And writing. Two of my most favorite things to do. =)

Scraps

Maia did not have dance yesterday. We drove all the way to Bloomfield before we found this out. Literally realized it was closed when we saw the big 'CLOSED' signs in front of our noses. Sigh. It wasn't a complete waste of time because....

Little Mac is back. For those that missed it, on Sunday I had to take him to the Apple store because the cd/dvd drive was making that high pitched whining 'it's going to blow!' sound. They replaced the optical drive. Seems to be good as new. After I got him back, the kids and I stopped for hot cocoa before coming home.

Yesterday was a 2hr snow delay. For the first time ever, Maia didn't want to go out and play in the snow I think because she was still too tired from New Year's Eve.

Eventually they had to go to school which meant I had to go to work. I found that I didn't miss it. At all. The novelty of dressing up in work clothes has even dwindled. I think the job I do is nearly all busywork. Except for the answering phones part (which if everyone occasionally answered it no one would be doing it too much) I feel like I'm just killing time. What I find amusing is this: by the time someone comes to me and tells me what they want me to do they could have already finished it themselves. Not that I'm complaining about being given stuff to do, all I'm saying is that I don't really think I'm needed. Even this scanning and posting stuff to the server business--if they just had two bins, one commercial and one personal, then all of these 'news' items could just be placed in that bin and the individual could spend 10 to 30 seconds rifling through them and be done with it. You could try to argue --but on the server one could go back and look at it again and again. Yeah, well none of the paper copies get thrown out either. They get filed away so one could just go look them up there too.

I'm having a major creative funk. Everyday seems to pass in much the same manner. It's starting to annoy me. Or maybe it's just the weather. I despise the cold and common lack of sunshine.

It's hardly winter and spring just can't come soon enough!

New Year's Eve

We had friends over for New Year's Eve.  So far this is the closest Rick and I have gotten to be able to 'celebrate' New Year's together.  Finding a babysitter on that day just isn't easy.  Of course in my recent mixing frenzy I've been trying out new recipes.  To go with the lasagna and green bean almondine dinner that night I made:

Tada!  Foccacia!  Disregard that wee bit I cut off because I just had to taste it right away.

Here it is all cut up.  The dark green thingys are from the herbed olive oil I had to make in advance to put on the top.  For the olive oil I used sea salt, coarsely ground pepper, a tad of garlic, sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano and basil.  All from fresh herbs.  Good thing was that there was plenty left for dipping in later.

(As a side note, this bread does NOT hold up well on day 2.  I brought a leftover plate that had been well wrapped over my mother-in-laws on N.Y.Day to go with dinner and it was so dry when we went to eat it that I was quite embarrassed.  I brought the extra olive oil too, but only Rick and I used it while the others tried --probably desperately--to choke it down. =(  I think as a Day 2 reincarnation it would be best to finish drying it up and use it as croutons.)

Also, because it really bothered me I just want to mention that Lamagna ricotta cheese is NOT good.  The taste of it is good but it is excessively crumbly--even when combined with various other ingredients including 3 cheeses.

 

The girls spent a large chunk of the evening pretending to be kitties.  They made ears and tails out of construction paper.  And...they drew whiskers--yikes!  (Luckily, the whiskers washed off pretty well)

Tail view.

Four of the five children made it to midnight.  But only 3 went out to bang pots and pans.

Tristyn wanted to be near the street and brought a full arsenal of pots and pans to be his drum set. 

The girls stuck to the porch and weren't even phased that some old pine boughs we had left on the porch were sharing the stage with them.