Today was the day I finally had to unearth the car. After having probably about a foot of snow fall on it, then rain turning that snow into ice, then more snow, I had about six inches of nothing but ice to crack through. It was not a job I was looking forward to, which is why I haven't touched the car for three days.

Three days of cold, wet, snow, and a crazy toddler, and about a billion Christmas things to accomplish still. Three days doesn't sound like much, but since it has been snowing here pretty much nonstop for a week, we have mostly been in each others unrelieved company for that long.

So today, between the desperate need to see a doctor, and the need to physically vent some frustration, I unearthed our car. It took me about 45 minutes. First I attacked it with a broom. Then when plastic pieces of my broom were getting mixed in with the snow, I moved on to a shovel. I have to admit it was kind of fun to watch these huge chunks of ice come sliding off the hood.
It is absolutely crazy out here.

Apparently Salem never sees this much snow. That makes sense, because I haven't seen a single snow plow. In Utah, this kind of snow is expected and wouldn't really be a problem. Here, the world has come to a grinding halt. The post office is finally open today, after no mail since Thursday.

If I owned a snow shovel, I would go out and shovel off our walk. However, I am still hoping it will melt in a couple of weeks.

Lately I have been finding myself day dreaming of the Sahara Desert. I would kill for a blast of dry hot air, with the gritty feeling of sand in my hair.

I also made tons of cookies, planning to send them to deserving friends and family. But I haven't been able to mail them yet. So far I have eaten two box fulls. Mom and Dad, I am trying to make it to the post office today, because your box is next. If you get a couple of gingerbread men with their heads bitten off, that is why.

Sorry if this is not my most creative post. My brain has turned to mush with all this crazy weather.

Bunny Food

I am mostly grouchy this week. Therefore I have not much to say, except to expound upon the soothing power of sugar. Yesterday at exactly 7:16 pm, I realized what I was craving. I had been thinking upon this subject for quite sometime, having not been able to lay my finger upon what it was my body needed. Then, it struck me- carrot cake. No I was not struck by a carrot cake, although that would have been yummy. I realized my life would not be complete unless I had a huge carrot cake with pineapple and coconut and cream cheese frosting sitting in front of me screaming "EAT ME!" Of course this had to be homemade carrot cake. I think I surely must burn more calories if I cook my sugar before I eat it.

Unfortunately I had no pineapple. Or cream cheese. I could have improvised and made a simple carrot cake. But dammit, I wanted pineapple in my carrot cake. Lucky for me I have a husband who likes to make trips to the store for me. What a guy. By 10:30 I had carrot cake, completed and frosted. I had carrot cake for breakfast this morning. And lunch. And every snack in between.

Is it any wonder I am grouchy? By dinner time all I wanted was a salad.

Anyway, one of these days I WILL start to exercise again.

Pocoyo!

I recently discovered the most adorable children's show on Netflix's Watch Now instant viewer. It's called 'Pocoyo.' Has anyone else heard of it? I simply found it by accident and now it is a favorite of our whole family. (Yes, both Jay, and I, and James will all huddle around the laptop watching Pocoyo) It is extremely simple- not much background, just a little boy who looks like Hello Kitty, with his friends, an elephant, duck, dog, and sleepy bird. They play against a white backdrop while a narrator who sounds just like the narrator from Winne The Pooh talks to Pocoyo. It is sooo cute. I know it's not produced in the U.S., but I am not sure if it's English. I think it may have been translated from another language (possibly Spanish?) into English. (Real British English, not American English.) James absolutely loves it- I ask him if he wants to watch Pocoyo, and he runs all the way upstairs to find the laptop, yelling 'poco!' So if little kid shows are your thing check this out. Pocoyo 'Don't Touch'

My Midnight Moral Dilemma

At exactly 12:00 midnight on Tuesday Jay called me to say that our car had overheated and he needed me to pick him up after he dropped it off at the repair shop to be looked at in the morning. He'd been working on it all evening, and finally decided to take it out for a test drive. I wasn't asleep either though. We are both kind of night owls. Next I was faced with the dilemma of
A. Should I leave James sleeping in his crib and lock all the doors? OR

B. Wake him up, and take him with me to the not so nice part of town where the auto shop was located?

On the one hand, if I chose A, I would be risking leaving my child alone in a house at the mercy of possible abduction, fire, earthquake, carnivorous rabid raccoons, etc, etc. However, I would not have to wake him up. That's a big plus to me.

On the other hand, if I go the B route, I risk possible car-hijacking with my son in the back seat, and I would have to wake him up and then put up with a cranky child the next day. But at least we'd be together.
In the end I decided to keep the family unit together and take James with me. The next moral dilemma was even tougher. What is my weapon of choice for driving into Gangsterville at midnight? Here are my options: Jay's hand gun, my bayonet knife, and my pepper spray.
Okay, I don't actually know how to load Jay's gun, and the legality of carrying a loaded weapon in my car is kind of a gray area for me. So the gun stayed home. Knife- too slow and messy. So pepper spray it is!

I have had this fantasy from years past when I first started buying pepper spray (the current canister is number 3 I think). Suppose I were jogging along, with spray in hand, and some thug jumps out in front of me. Here is what I would do- I would yell "Suck Mace!!" spray him in the face, kick him where it counts, and run like hell. The catch phrase "Suck Mace" is especially important to me. I have never had the chance to live out this fantasy.

Anyway back to reality. I scooped up James and deposited him in his car seat, locked all the car doors and put my pepper spray on the hair trigger setting and set it in my lap, and went off to get Jay.

Have I ever mentioned how paranoid I can be?

I pulled up to a stoplight and a couple of hoodlums were eyeing my ride from the corner. I showed them what I was packin' and they decided this was one bad-ass chick they didn't wanna mess with.

Okay that never happened. I have been reading too many Stephanie Plum novels lately.

The pick up went off smoothly. We came back home and I decided whilst standing in the driveway to fire off my spray just to see if it still worked. I held it out at arms length and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. I pressed it again- nothing. It took me a good 5 or 6 tries before I figured out the trick to it. Apparently there is a trick to it. That hair trigger is not as hairy as I thought. This caused me to rethink my fantasy. How potentially embarrassing to yell "Suck Mace!" and then have nothing happen. I have been carrying around this false sense of security for the past three years. Well now I know. So watch out all you perps, because I have mace and NOW I know how to use it!

Wow, Two Posts In Less Than 24 Hours... I Am Doing Good Today

RBK tagged me with a meme (what is a meme? I don't really know) and I thought I had better get to it before the holidays get to me. We are leaving tomorrow evening sometime. Here are the rules, and all five people on my blogging list are getting tagged. You know who you are. I guess technically there are six, but RBK got to Spokesnspin first. I figured I had better get on here quick before Dad wrote his and used all the links I am going to use. He has more contacts than me anyway.

1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Six Random Things About Me,
By Inger-Lis
1. I don't like to eat anything that looks like a person or animal, like gingerbread men, animal cookies, gummy bears, etc. If eating said items are unavoidable, I bite their heads off first so they don't suffer. Oh, but eating food that looks like insects are okay.

2. I. Love. Yarn.

3. When I was working my way through college, I had a job as a janitor in the Biology building. This was by far the creepiest place I ever worked. There were specimens of reptiles, rodents, and insects everywhere, live and dead, and upstairs there were cadavers. ( I didn't have to clean that room thank goodness) I think some specialty cockroaches must have escaped because nearly every day I had to battle nearly three inch long roaches. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww

4. I hate killing spiders and bugs and would prefer instead to simply observe them, and place them outside. I used to own a tarantula and would walk around with him on my shoulder. Mostly just to creep out my family. Does this count as two random things?

5. I make wonderful chocolate gingerbread cookies.

6. I am a plumbing goddess. Yeah, okay that doesn't sound very glamorous, but I have fixed sundry faucets, shower heads, toilets, and leaky sinks using only my own smarts and some wrenches. This is because I don't do a very good damsel in distress either and get tired of waiting for someone else to fix it.

Now comes the hard part, creating links...
Jay- Okay this is problematic already. Jay's blog is private, so if you are already a member you can read it. If not send him a request. He's a pretty nice guy. I wouldn't have married him if he wasn't...
Tommy and Sheryl Apparently everyone I know has a private blog except for me. Tom is the brother I had all my adventures with as a kid, (and as a big kid too). Sheryl is his lovely wife, and they share a lot of similar interests of my own. Such as too many hobbies, the natural world, and setting off really loud fireworks.
Liz and Matt Liz, my older sister and her husband Matt who just moved to Vegas. Yea! Now I have somewhere new to travel to visit family!
Sarah My long-lost best friend growing up. I got in even more trouble with her than I did with Tommy.
Amy I suppose she is my cousin-in-law? I always enjoy reading her blog and views on the world. She thinks about things quite a bit the same way I do.

Now I am not sure which of all these blogs are private and which are not, but I am looking forward to seeing what they all have to say. They are all very interesting people and can come up with six fascinating random things I am sure.

It's Chocolate and Hives For Me

I went to the store today. I went because I was out of dish soap. I came home with dish soap, popcorn, a can of frosting, powdered sugar to make more frosting, dutch chocolate snack pies, and a mocha frappuccino. Ahhhh, chocolate. I don't even want to know the calorie count on any of these... I have had a serious case of 'the munchies' as I call them for the past week. Carbs, chocolate, and sugary sweets seem to be calling to me even when I sleep. I was beginning to wonder if I have developed an addiction to chocolate, when I realized the root cause of my bingeing- stress. Ok, I am always stressed out. It's kind of second nature to me to worry about anything and everything even when I can't change it. It's when stress goes up a notch that I start to have problems. I also get insanely itchy when I am stressed and worried. Itchy to the point of hives. I had to take benadryl last night to get to sleep. So what the heck am I losing sleep over and probably on the point of gaining ten pounds for? I think it's Thanksgiving. Jay's parents are picking us up tomorrow evening and we are spending the holidays at Jay's sister's house. It's not that I don't like my in-laws. In fact, I really like all of Jay's family. If it was just me and Jay, I think I would be fine. The stress is the complication of throwing a toddler into the mix. I love seeing family, but I hate having a toddler over at a house where none of the stuff is mine. Because then I spend most of my time ensuring nothing priceless is broken. Oh, yes, I also have to make sure my child doesn't go vampire on any of his cousins and bite a chunk out of their respective skins. And then of course there is the issue of manners. I don't expect much in the way of manners from a two-year-old, but it is embarrassing nonetheless when he throws his entire plateful of food on the floor, or tries to hit me in the face. (No, I don't condone either behavior at home.) I don't expect perfection, but it would be nice if James made me look like a good mommy.

Jay has admitted he doesn't like going places with me and James. He likes going places with me, or James, but not us both together because I am bossy and harried, and James is impossible. He is right. But it seems everytime I relax, James does something outrageous, so I have to bounce back in 'Gestapo Mommy' mode. *Sigh* I just want this weekend to be over already.

My strategy for Thursday and Friday is to find a quiet place every so often and do my typing training. I can't afford to lose many days on that and when I make myself scarce James' behavior improves dramatically. Oh yes, and quietly repeat to myself every so often 'I'm a good mother, I'm a good mother, I'm a good mother..." (Did I mention I can be neurotically insecure at times?)

On A Happier Note...

I am having sooo much fun with my laptop! I can sit in my late grandmother's rocking couch, relax, look out the window, and blog or play mahjong to my heart's content. Anyone out there a mahjong addict as well? I haven't played in years, but it's my favorite computer game (the only game I actually play) and IT CAME INSTALLED ON MY LAPTOP! Needless to say, when I discovered that, I was just over-the-top excited. As far as James and the laptop are concerned... mostly I just take it out when he is in bed. I don't know how this child became such a smart-aleck, but he has discovered that obnoxious kid habit of when I say 'Don't touch!' he very slowly reaches out and just barely touches my screen or keyboard and whispers 'touch'. He is two. Where did he learn this?

The whole point of this laptop was because of the job I will start in January. I will be transcribing lectures at a high school for a Deaf student in the class and we have to provide our own laptops. I am really excited about this job. In fact, it's probably the first job I have been truly excited about since I was laid off in May. It pays extremely well ($17 an hour, ok so maybe I shouldn't brag about that, but I have never made that much money before) and its just during school hours. I got it because I have mad typing skills and a college education. Hooray! I just knew all those years of school had to pay off eventually. Finally, my fast little fingers will be making me money. (Thank you to my grandma Lois and my parents for funding my piano lessons. I am convinced piano playing in my youth made me a fast typist.)

Currently I am training to learn their system of typing shorthand. Basically I have to learn one letter symbols for a whole bunch of different words, and then specialized software turns the symbols into words for the student reading on the other laptop. It's a pretty cool system. So I have until January to learn the method.

So between training, tutoring at a middle school, and serving banquets into the wee hours of the night, I will be a pretty busy person. Oh, and of course I have to squeeze some mahjong playing time in there somewhere too...

Life just isn't fair

Today I am pondering the mysteries of life. This gets heavy, and possibly depressing. You have been warned.
A woman I barely knew passed away earlier this week. I only met her once, but I know a lot about her through my neighbor, whom she knew through a very convoluted relationship. Even though I only knew of her, I have been thinking about her and the family she leaves behind all week long. She was a good person, but had a very hard life and died young (46) leaving behind three teenagers, ages 12 and 13 (twins and one son). Their father is in jail. Mostly I have been thinking about her children and the life they are going to lead. I sincerely hope they turn out okay. They seem like good kids, but unfortunately I don't think they have very many adults who are really concerned for their well-being. I doubt their mother had very many people in her childhood to help her along and give her encouragement. Thus continues the cycle.

Most people think you get one shot at life and that's it. Some religions believe in reincarnation, but some do not. This is it as far as quite a few people are concerned. I have a really hard time accepting that idea, because so many people's lives just really aren't all that great. Some people may only know happiness once or not even at all in a lifetime. Others constantly live in a state of war and violence, or famine, or disease.

This brings me to the idea of God. I am not really sure what my views on the topic are. I think I have come to the conclusion that there may be a higher intelligence out there, but he or she seems to take a laissez-faire type of approach to us earthlings. I just cannot accept the fact that a loving God could allow such inequality among humankind. If he can, then I have a serious bone to pick with him.

I was taught that all people are born with the power to make their own choices, with something called free-agency. But I don't think very many people have the luxury of such choices. Consider a child raised in an inner city. The chances of that child getting into drugs, gangs, and dropping out of high school are pretty high. You could argue that it is still a choice, but I don't think it is much of a choice if you are raised to see illegal drugs as a normal way of making money and joining a gang a necessary way to survive. Or consider the family I was talking about earlier. How many choices did the mother really have in her life? Probably not very many that she could see or thought she was capable.

We like to boast that America is the land of opportunity, but I only see opportunities for those who are born into or above the middle class, or who have an extraordinary amount of drive, intelligence, and luck. The mediocre do not get anywhere. If they did, who would perform the menial labor the extraordinary citizens eschew?

People get pigeon-holed at a very young age. I saw this all the time when I worked in daycares. I hated that I thought this, but I could pretty much tell which children were going to succeed, and which ones were going to be arrested, on drugs, or pregnant before 17. It didn't have to do with temperament, it had to do with parenting, economic status, and how other people perceived them. Some kids were perhaps a little neglected, and tended to act up a bit. These children were quickly labelled as 'trouble-makers' by the teachers, a label that would of course follow them through different teachers as well. Other children weren't quite as cute, or cuddly, or bright as some others. They also tended to slip through the cracks. Unless something changes for these kids they will grow up with very low expectations of themselves and their abilities. They will continue to make bad choices, because they think those are the only choices they are capable of making. It makes my heart hurt just thinking about it.

I guess I am really a socialist at heart. Socialism has gotten a bad rap in the U.S. but its really not such a bad thing, when not taken to the extreme. I think everyone, regardless of ability should have the right to a successful, happy life. We castigate certain countries for having caste systems, but we have a caste system of our own here. Perhaps it is not legally in place, but it is in place in the minds of people very rigidly.

I want life to be fair. Maybe it is harder for me to enjoy my happiness knowing that there is suffering in the world. Knowing how fortunate I am doesn't necessarily make me grateful, it more often makes me mad that others will never know the kind of life I am living. And people, let me tell you, my life isn't all that great when compared to some others, but I am pretty darned happy with it. Lately I have really begun to appreciate the idea of reincarnation. I like to think that perhaps if someone gets the short end of the stick this time around, there is always next time.

I sit and look out upon all the sorrows of the world, and upon all
oppression and shame,
I hear secret convulsive sobs from young men at anguish with
themselves, remorseful after deeds done,
I see in low life the mother misused by her children, dying,
neglected, gaunt, desperate,
I see the wife misused by her husband, I see the treacherous seducer
of young women,
I mark the ranklings of jealousy and unrequited love attempted to be
hid, I see these sights on the earth,
I see the workings of battle, pestilence, tyranny, I see martyrs and prisoners,
I observe a famine at sea, I observe the sailors casting lots who
shall be kill'd to preserve the lives of the rest,

I observe the slights and degradations cast by arrogant persons upon
laborers, the poor, and upon negroes, and the like;
All these-all the meanness and agony without end I sitting look out upon,
See, hear, and am silent.

Walt Whitman

Top Ten Reasons Why I Love Oregon

I may not be in a bloggy mood lately, but I am in a listy mood. I also like to make up words like listy and bloggy. We have been loving Oregon even before we moved here, and today I just added yet another reason. So for all you folks who think we should move, consider these goodies we get out here in the rainy Willamette Valley...

10. Just found out today there is no safety inspection required to get cars registered! Hooray! My car is falling apart and I can delay fixing it for another few weeks!!! ( The plates also expired in October, yeah, we are a little behind.)

9. No sales tax. On anything. Which is a huge deal when you've lived in Utah, where they tax everything.

8. The ocean is only an hour away.

7. The casino is only 15 minutes away ;)

6. Everything grows out here, even dead sticks sprout occasionally.

5. The fall color is un-be-liev-able right now.

4. The rain. I can't quite explain just how cozy and calming pouring rain makes me feel, but its been raining steady for three days now and I am happy as a clam.

3. Trees. Trees. And more trees.

2. The sound the forest behind my house makes when the wind is blowing. It sounds just like the ocean.

1. The best thing of all -- NO SNOW!! Not only is there no snow (well hardly any snow) but the winters are mild and so are the summers. To me, that is perfection right there.


Oh, and just a side note here, I voted last week through the mail.

What I've Been Up To

I haven't been feeling very bloggy lately. Too much stuff going on to be creatively writing. But just to clue you in on my goings on, here is what I have been up to lately-

Today- Made oatmeal bread ( I love making bread, its like playing with playdough with a purpose), and printed off a muffin recipe collection. I have been a little obsessed with muffins lately. I found recipes for gingerbread muffins, peanut butter muffins, carrot muffins, and a few more. I'll update this later if any turn out to be really good. (Minor tidbit about my rampant nerdiness- I read recipe books like novels, and love love love to look up recipes online.)

Yesterday- Recovered from halloween, and sent my child to a sugar detox facility. BOUGHT A LAPTOP!!! Why did I buy a laptop? Because I landed an awesome job that requires my own laptop!! Its green, really green. I have been in love with the spring green dell laptop for at least a year now.

I have also been thinking lately about all the things I want to do in life, before I die. Or before I get too old and decrepit to want to do any of them.
1. SKYDIVING! Yes I really do want to go skydiving. Just once.
2. Fight for a cause- go to a rally, or a strike, or burn my bra...
3. Surf
4. Learn how to swim
5. Find a career I love and make a difference in the world
6. Learn Spanish and use it.
7. Live abroad
8. Grow goats and sheep, and spin their wool into yarn, and then dye said wool using natural ingredients, then weave or knit wool into something gorgeous.
9. Write a novel
10. Be a spunky feisty old lady

Am I Baby Hungry?

Everyone (and by everyone I mean maybe 3 or 4 people, my social circle is small) has been telling me lately that when your child turns two, you usually start thinking about another one. And then I get asked if I have any plans for that. Mostly I scoff at these comments because they couldn't be further from the truth. After James was born, I swore I was done for the next five years. Yes you heard me right. Five years. Not only do I want my first child potty-trained, I want him out of the house. At least for three hours a day.

There is a new baby at James' daycare. I love this little guy. He is maybe barely 3 months old, and little, and squishy, and warm. And I get to hold him sometimes. I get my baby fix off of him. At least I thought I did. Yesterday I did something I never thought I would do. I made Anne Geddes' sleeping babies theme my google motif. Generally I think babies sleeping in teacups is strange and kinky, but as I was browsing for a new theme I saw the babies sleeping on lily flowers and did that little 'aahhh' thing women are so prone to. It was cute. And now its on my home page and I still think its cute.

So, if I am being completely honest with myself, then yes, I do crave to hold little babies again. I even kind of want to be pregnant again, just to see if its really as miserable as I remember it. The last time I was pregnant I was working and going to school full time, and pretty much clueless as to what I was doing. I also puked every day for nine months. Not fun. James is still cuddly, but he is definitely outgrowing the baby stage. I can see why this is the time when many families choose to have another child.

That said, whenever I think about having another baby, what comes to my mind are these hard truths:
1. The sleepless nights - beginning when I am too pregnant to sleep comfortably,
2. The depression, - note to self, I will never be pregnant or have another baby without prozac again.
3. The raging hormones (any slight hormonal change in me completely. screws. me.up.)
4. Being fat - I just lost 20 pounds, and am looking forward to losing 20 more, and I want to flaunt this new skinnier bod just a little bit longer. Ah vanity, vanity!
5. I want Money. Even though I have graduated from college, I have yet to start a career. And I really want one. Or at least the beginnings of one. Or at least get some student loans paid off.


The end of result of this discussion with myself is that while we do intend on having maybe just one more child, I think its still a few years off. Of course if I were to wait until James was about five or so, that would only be three years away. Wow, that's not so far off after all. So while I am definitely not ready to actually have another child yet, I am looking to see if there are any newborns for rent...

Anne Geddes Starting To Lose It...
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/34766

Two Women Running On A Beach, by Picasso

I love this picture. I love the complete freedom in the women's movements. My inner child would love to run half naked on a beach too. But that will probably never be, (unless I make a trip to the south of France) so instead I look at this picture and pretend it is me.

My whosit and a whatsit now??

They've been called mental lapses, old-timers, brain farts, and many other terms I know I have heard of, if only I could recall. Or as my sister puts it "Have you seen my this? It goes with my that, and it was just over there."
Today I learned that psychologists call it a 'prospective lapse.' I learned this while reading a very interesting article on CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/10/24/o.midlife.memory.meltdown/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

This article describes me to a T. Except for one small detail. The author is describing adults in their 40s and 50s. I am 27. So what is my problem? I call it being absent- minded. Or just having too many random facts, ideas, opinions, and tasks crammed into my brain. Either way it is a serious problem for me.

Like today. I had a job interview this morning. I have known about it for two weeks. I have waited and waited for an interview with the school district. Finally they called! Oh hooray hooray they called at last! My interview was this morning at 10:45. Or so I thought. That is what I had been thinking all week as I anticipated it. At 10:00 am sharp, all dressed to kill, James at the ready to go to daycare, I retrieved the paper I wrote the directions and time on only to discover my interview was. at. 9:30. am. Oh. Shit.

Where did 10:45 come from? How could that possibly have been confused with 9:30? I don't know. All I know is that there was only one thing left to do. Grovel. Profusely. Which I did, and fortunately for me went in and interviewed at 11:00. And despite my mental lapse, the interview went well. Although if I were the interviewer and my interviewee forgot and then went later, I would be pretty skeptical of her employability potential. I hope they can forgive me.

This happens more and more frequently now. I am a compulsive list-maker, because I know the only way to remember anything is to write it down. I have a notebook that hangs out in my kitchen, where I write down everything in my head that I need to remember. Grocery lists, to-d0 lists, ideas for my yard, recipes, pretty much anything that comes to my mind that I am afraid I will forget. I really am just as likely to find my TV remote in the vegetable bin of my refrigerator as I am to find it in the seat of my couch. And there was a phase a few years back where I locked my keys in my car at least once a month. I am not kidding. Once I locked my keys in the front of the car, and Jay's keys in the trunk of the car. He wouldn't speak to me for the rest of the day.

Here is what I can remember:

Every song I ever learned as a child.

A poem about a flying cow I recited at a contest in third grade.

The botanic and common name of over two hundred different species of plant.

Most of The Pledge of Allegiance in Latin "Fidem meum obligo, vexillo civitateum..." is how it starts.

I can also spell just about anything.

Wow, that is all really useful stuff.

I like to joke that having a kid has turned my brain to mush. That's only partly true. I was pretty bad before I had him, but my absent-mindedness has gotten much worse since. I really need a personal secretary (or one of those nomenclator thingys that article mentions) to follow me around and basically run my life for me. I can't wait to see what my memory is like 20 years from now.

I'm gettin' my knit on

Ok, this blog is about my prowess as a knitter. So if you care nothing for yarn, fibers, or my hobbies, you may want to stop reading. No really, its okay. My feelings won't be hurt. Its kind of like me not reading a blog about scrapbooking. (No offense to any scrapbookers out there, but given the choice between a colonoscopy and scrapbooking, I'd choose the former any day.)

Hooray for me, I finally finished my first sock!! I learned how to knit about three years ago (December 2005) and I am finally onto socks. It was fun. I think I like knitting socks. I may knit a whole passel of socks. Granted one sock isn't much use, unless you are like me and are just so proud of your sock that you wear it while you are knitting its mate. I think its my new lucky sock. Here is a picture of it.



I am a big fan of bright colors, can you tell?

The yarn I used is called "Flat Feet". Its quite a neat idea because it doesn't come in a ball of yarn, it is actually woven into a flat piece of fabric that has been tie-dyed. You unravel it as you go and watch the design turn into a multi-colored sock. Yes it's a new-fangled gimmick to get people like to me to impulsively buy yarn. It works well.
Its made of merino wool (which is my favorite of wools because it is sooo soft) with just a little bit of nylon for stretch.
I am especially proud of this sock because I had to start over on various parts of it at least four times. Mostly this was due to me leaving my knitting out for a certain curious toddler to find.
I started on its little socky mate yesterday, and hope to have a complete pair soon.

What'd You Do This Weekend?

My Friday night... one toddler. who won't keep his diaper on. also happens to have the runs.

I am sure we all heard about Joe the plumber by now. This line from Joe Biden though absolutely cracked me up. Thursday morning, Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, said plumbers would not be affected by the Democrat's tax policies. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/16/joe.plumber/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
So all you plumbers out there can rest easy.

The Great Pumpkin

Despite what the title suggests, this post is not about Charlie Brown, it's about how I got to go on my very first field trip as a parent! Last summer, twice a week I took between 16 and 20 preschoolers all over the Salt Lake Valley on public transportation. Words cannot describe my experiences. I think I have tried to block much of it out of my mind.
Today however I got to go with my son's daycare to the pumpkin patch down the road. And I was a parent. Not a teacher. It was still completely crazy. It started out crazy and it ended with us very nearly forgetting the baby in the pumpkin patch. Poor James' teacher. Having been in her shoes many times before, I really felt for her. James was also a complete pill and refused to walk most of the way, which meant I spent a lot of my time say 'ok, see ya later' and walking away. Ha ha, that works really well right now. But I suspect he is going to wise up any day now. I think he was more interested in the rocks in the gravel parking lot than he was in picking pumpkins.
Anyway, here are some pictures. I wish I had more, but it is so hard to get a shot of James' face outside because he is always walking or running ahead of me. He is a very busy boy.

(One disclaimer to the following pictures, I have a really hard time posting pictures, so these are squished together, and don't even think about asking for captions. These are open to interpretation.)

Isn't he just adorable? Being a parent is a funny thing I have noticed. As crazy as James can make me (and he is not even a teenager yet) I still think he is the greatest thing ever. I am completely smitten by him. I could look at these pictures all day.

Thanks for all the crepe suggestions folks! We made them last night and they were superb. We also splurged and got some nutella. Mmmmmm.

I know Jay will laugh at me if I post this. I think I am allowed a premade post once in awhile. I shortened it though, so the numbers are wrong. My creativity is lacking lately. Thank you to my SIL Sheryl for inspiring me;)
One word answers to the following questions:

1. Where is your cell phone? Toddler

2. Your significant other? Sexy

3. Your hair? Dyed

6. Your favorite thing? Plants

7. Your dream last night? Bunnies

8. Your favorite drink? Chai

9. Your dream/goal? Satisfaction

11. Your ex? Jail

12. Your fear? Drowning

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Rich

15. What you’re not? Patient

17. One of your wish list items? Tattoo

19. The last thing you did? Kissed

22. Your pets? Fleas

24. Your life? Variable

25. Your mood? Content

28. Something you’re not wearing? ......Bra

32. Your favorite color? Red

33. When is the last time you laughed? Recently

34. Last time you cried? Recently

40. Vacation activity? Beach

42. Pet peeves? Fleas

43. Cookies? Chocolate Gingerbread

45. Favorite thing to do on a rainy day? Listen

46. Your biggest strength? Stubborness

48. Most awesome gift received? Baby

50. What do you collect? Yarn

51. Oldest kept item from childhood? Memories

52. Greatest indulgence? Pedicures

The Socialists Are Taking Over!! Run For Your Lives!

I read this article on CNN news about 'rage on the McCain campaign trail' http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/10/mccain.crowd/index.html?iref=mpstoryview. All I could think about was how unintelligent most of the comments were that the enraged people were making. Kind of funny though. They are mad at McCain for losing.
It seems that the McCain campaign is really going down the toilet lately. The majority of people polled said Obama won the last debate, Obama is in the lead in the polls, and Palin was officially found guilty of violating state ethics laws. I absolutely love what the McCain campagin spokeswoman said in regards to that verdict "Gov. Palin was cleared of the allegation of an improper firing, which is what this investigation was approved to look into... [however] the Legislature exceeded its mandate in finding an ethics violation."
Oh good, so since the Legislature exceeded its mandate, we will just pretend an ethics violation never happened.
Its still a close election, and I won't breathe easy until Obama is sworn into office, but it seems he is getting closer.

Crepes, anyone?

I saw my crepe pan today behind the fridge (which tells you how much I use it) and now I want to make crepes sometime in the next week or so. Anyone out there have some favorite crepe filling ideas? All I know how to do is fill them with fruit and whipped cream. I am thinking scrambled eggs and sausage perhaps, or something with beef. So I pose the question to my readers: What would you like in a crepe?

Hey Mom and Dad, I Betch Ya Never Heard This Story!

I am getting tired of criminal background checks. I have been through at least three of them in the past couple of months whilst looking for a job. It is kind of insulting after awhile. I mean really, come on, I am the squarest of the square law-abiding citizens. I don't look like the bank robber, or child molesting type. So is this all really necessary?
I was feeling pretty picked on this week after having to be fingerprinted yet again. Then a couple of bittersweet and kinda funny memories flashed through my head. Yes I am a pretty square person but... I have been threatened with arrest (for valid reasons) twice in my life. My family can probably remember the first time. But I don't think anybody knows about the second time. To fill in those readers not familiar with my childhood, I got in a fight my senior year in high school. Not my finest moment, and I regret it every time I think about it, so we are not going to dwell on that here. But that was possible arrest numero uno.
The second time is a little more random. It was for vandalism at a National Park. I think I should add here that I have the highest respect for State and National Parks and don't even pick the flowers when visiting. This vandalism was somewhat unintentional, or rather I just didn't think it was a bad thing at the time.
A short time after dropping out of college at the ripe old age of 18, I moved down to Bryce Canyon National Park to work as a groundskeeper for the summer. There I met an interesting young man who would later become my first boyfriend. I was really into camouflage, Aerosmith, and survivalist skills at the time and he was a former Army Ranger and quite skilled at martial arts. Wow. One day after work he decided to teach me how to throw knives. I have always wanted to know how to throw knives. (Although I did learn, I have since forgotten and so will be unable to pass the skill on to my child. Too bad.) We used the post holding up my cabin porch as a target. It was large, soft-wooded and made a nice thunk when you hit it. It never even occurred to us that we might get in trouble for making large gouge marks in it.
A couple days later we were separately called in to the head boss's office. I got a nice 'talk' about the seriousness of what I had done, and then he started talking about how I could be arrested for it. Blah blah blah was about all I heard though. I did however have to sign an warning stating that I understood what had happened and if it happened again I would be fired and arrested.
It was so worth it.
And that is how I was threatened with arrest, twice in one year, actually. Looking back I wonder if the administration was maybe more afraid of the idea that we were throwing knives around a fairly populated place, rather than that we had vandalised a government owned wooden post.
I have since bequeathed my camo jacket to Andrew, who very much appreciated it, and most of my knives to other brothers. But I still have my twelve inch bayonet knife. Its my favorite. I use it to open boxes.

Friday Foto Fiesta

I finally jumped on the bandwagon and yearbooked myself... or rather I made Jay jump on the bandwagon for me since he is the one who did all the work.

Me in 1976...

I have a job. I HAVE A JOB. I have a job !!!! Admittedly it's much easier to add inflection and excitement to my voice rather than to my typing, but I have a J-O-B that will pay me in actual dollars. Technically I have two jobs that add up to forty hours a week, and they both will hopefully start in the next two weeks. So while my house may be dirtier from now on, my bank account will be a lot healthier, as will my outlook on life. Depression and unemployment are ugly things and make an even worse combination and I have been coping with both for two months now.
It's been an emotional roller coaster ride for me this week. First I was absolutely frustrated out of my mind because I just couldn't seem to find anything jobwise out here in podunk Salem Oregon. Then I interviewed on Tuesday for a position as an in-home care provider for a really sweet lady in a wheelchair. It would work out perfect with my afternoon tutoring gig and be a low-stress job which is really what I need right now. Yesterday I received the call that I was hired! Oh hooray, hooray! Words cannot describe my relief at having a full-time job again. All I had to do was jump through all the Oregon Department of Disabilities hoops to become registered and hopefully start on Monday.
I went down to accomplish that today and after waiting around for a good half an hour to see a caseworker, learned that I couldn't start working until I had cleared a background check. Which could potentially take up to a month. You have got to be kidding me. The current caregiver was planning on leaving next week at which point I was to take over and I just learned it is anywhere from two weeks to a month to pass a background check. At that point, my heart just fell into my shoes. I drove home in a semi-comatose state, and fortunately arrived there in one piece. I was terrified that with this news my employers would just hire the second person on their list because they needed someone now. Sudden bad news usually triggers anxiety and/or panic attacks in me, and my reaction this time was no different.
I pulled myself together however to let my employer (the woman's daughter) know this new situation. Her reply was 'that was ok, the family had picked me to take care of her mom and they would wait.' Wow, I really liked how she said the family picked me. Not just her, or her mom, but the entire family. Ooooh they like me.
So to recap, Monday and Tuesday I was hugely upset, frustrated, mad, etc, etc. Wednesday I was absolutely elated. Then this morning (it is Thursday right?) I went for panicked and devastated (I also very nearly got killed by a driver running a red light). So what is for tomorrow? I would personally prefer calm, cool, and serene. Ha ha, yeah right. That is not in my nature.

Dear Ms. Palin

Dear Ms. Palin
You have taken something of mine and made it your own. I am here to say I want it back. Don't deny it, you know what I'm talking about. Yes, that's right, you stole my look. You know, that look, the one where your hair is swept up, yet still falling across your face in a careless 'let's get this out of my way 'cause I am busy here' kind of attitude. Ok, yes a lot of women do that with their hair. But that is not all you are guilty of, because you then went out and bought square wire-rimmed glasses. And now everybody thinks you are the original. But I know the truth. You just wanted to look like me. And since it is your face that has been plastered all over the media, whenever I wear my glasses and put up my dark brown hair in a messy ponytail, I feel like a Palin wannabe. And people are noticing.
Just to set the record straight, when I first heard you were McCain's running mate, I respected you. I would never have voted for you because I don't believe there is a single issue we agree on. But I respected the fact that you were the governor of Alaska, and I didn't mind sharing a common look. Then you opened your mouth, and I started minding. Then you began speaking unscripted and I am now seriously considering going blonde or shaving my head.
I can't style my hair, Ms Palin. This messy upswept look is actually due to a complete lack of any styling ability. You on the other hand are a former beauty queen, hair spray is like your best friend. Why you can't you be a little more Clintonesque, or go for the coiffed Laura Bush look?
Just think about it,
Inger-Lis

Forget Mondays, Tuesdays are the crappiest

I am having kind of a hard day today. I think it started when the woman I interviewed with yesterday swore up and down she was going to call that night to let me know her decision. By 10:00 pm no call. I am not necessarily mad at her, things happen, I understand that. I will probably give her a call tonight. It was just such a promising position and I am thoroughly tired of being unemployed.
This morning I spent 45 minutes looking for my car keys. I am not kidding. 45 minutes no car keys. Ok, so what, its a nice day, I figured I could walk James down to daycare, save gas, get exercise, love the environment. Only the tire on his stroller was as flat as could be, and after ten minutes I realized that my air pump was not just slightly broken, but completely useless, and his other stroller was locked. in. the. car. FINE! I didn't really need to go anywhere today. I'm not afraid to stay at home with James. (Sometimes I am, but not always.) So I called his sitter and informed her no car keys, no stroller, staying home, unless said keys show up in the next half an hour. 20 minutes later, whilst I was upstairs cruising the internet for more job possibilities, James suddenly showed up in the hallway with my car keys in hand, and attempted to insert them into the electrical outlet. Don't think I hadn't asked him several times already where they were. I knew he was the last one who had them.
James went off to daycare, and I went off to the hardware store to make key copies and buy more electrical outlet plugs. I was feeling just a little frazzled when I came home and Jay called. Jay, as you could probably tell I was pissed off by the events of that morning and my overall unemployed state. I wanted to yell at someone, lucky you. I didn't yell, and I only acted a little bit immature thank you very much.
I spent some time killing fleas on the cats. Killing things can be very satisfying when one is mad. Then I went to wait by the phone because I had an appointment from Western Government College to call at 1:00 about their teacher certification program. I surfed the internet for jobs, and waited. I played around with Pandora Radio and waited. 1:10 came and went, no call. I wondered if WGU recruiters like to be fashionably ten minutes late for their phone calls. 1:20, no call. I went to my email to double check the appointment. It was for Wednesday, and it just so happens that today is Tuesday. I AM LOSIN' MY FREAKIN' MIND TODAY.
But seriously folks, could I just have a job... please?

Friday Foto Fiesta

Oooh, what a cute little stinker up there. Do my parents reading this recognize this picture? Yes that's yours truly;) I recently received some of my baby pictures from my grandma last week and was pleasantly surprised to find out that hey James looks a little like me! And all this time I thought I had just spit out another LeVitre male two years ago. Not that there is anything wrong with that. (They are a pretty handsome bunch.) It just makes me a bit smug to know that James looks a little like me (minus my vicious temper and stubborn streak).

Friday Foto Fiesta

I am a shameless copycat and really liked my dad's Friday Foto Fiesta, so I have adopted it as my own tradition as well. Today's picture is actually a painting that I have as wallpaper on my computer. It is probably my favorite painting of all time. I saw it in the Smithsonian when I was in high school and fell in love instantly. It is called Flaming June by Frederic Lord Leighton. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_June is the link for more info on the picture. By the way, if anyone is interested in Christmas ideas for me, I would be absolutely ecstatic if I received a poster of this ;)

I am not sure just how many more moments of utter panic I can take...

It's been a very busy weekend for us. Friday morning I woke up bright and early intending to take James to the park, maybe drive down to Eugene, la-di-da, have a good day. That was until Jay got the call. You see lately we have noticed little dried flakes of blood everywhere the cats have been. Those who have been through this before know where this is headed. I didn't know what they were, I thought maybe one of our cats had bloody sneezes or stepped on something. The cause of the nasty flakes was far more heinous. Jay had taken a sample of our problem to his job at the Willamette Humane Society for them to take a look at, and they called him back Friday just before he left for work. Fleas. Apparently little dried flakes of blood are actually flea poop. I. HATE. FLEAS. In the past two years I have calmly taken care of box elder beetles, strawberry root weevils, and many ant infestations. I have a favorite spider who lives behind our toilet. So mostly I am not bothered by insects. However if you happen to be a flea, bedbug or germ, take heed, I will find you and I will destroy you.
Friday morning plans were changed quite suddenly to total flea annihilation. I began making plans to burn down our house, until I learned that soapy water can be quite effective too. With the help of a giant cup of coffee with extra espresso added, I descended upon the flea population with a vengeance. I tore the house apart and single-handedly managed to wash, spray, and/or vacuum every inch of carpet, furniture and bedding in our duplex all before Jay came home from work. Caffeine keeps me very motivated. So does fear of fleas.
Later that evening Jay began to steam clean the carpets, while I washed, shampooed and combed our itchy kitties. Ewwwwww. We finally got to bed around 1 am in what I like to think is a flea free bedroom. But I am still quite itchy.
Sunday we decided we needed a break after our maniacal cleaning spree and the state fair was in town. I love state fairs and thought it was about time James learned where beef comes from. We had a lot of fun watching some clown shows, eating funnel cakes, and saying moo to all the animals. We also decided to let James try some kiddie rides. I went with him on the carousel, which went okay, but he did not want to sit still and so yelled at me the entire time. Then Jay went to take him on a little car that goes around a small track. Oooh how cute they are going to look, I thought riding around in a little car. Then I noticed Jay coming out of the gate, one child short. This was my reaction, and yes I really was speaking in all capital letters. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY AREN'T YOU WITH JAMES??? HE MUST BE SO FREAKED OUT! ARE YOU COMPLETELY INSANE??!! HE CAN'T RIDE BY HIMSELF! OH THE HUMANITY!!"
Jay merely rolled his eyes, told me to cut the apron strings and that James was just fine. He then pried my fingernails loose from the gate and the ride commenced. To his credit, James was fine. While he wasn't exactly laughing and smiling, he wasn't crying, and seemed to be sort of enjoying himself. I think kids should be at least 18 before going on a carnival ride by themselves. At least that was my intention with James.

In a few short weeks school will be starting up again for children and teachers everywhere. By the time that happens I hope to be employed with the school district in either a full time or substitute capacity. I have been thinking a lot about my career options lately and it seems that what I am best at and what I usually enjoy is teaching. So the next logical step to me would be to get hired on with the school district in some type of aide capacity while I seriously think about getting my teaching license.
This career change would be the third this year, and the fourth job I have had in a year. Not that my job right now is all that great, I am a customer service representative for TMobile. Yep, I am one of those voices on the other end whom you will end up loving or hating depending whether or not you get what you want. And no I don't take sadistic pleasure in telling people they really do owe 500$ on their telephone bill... well maybe sometimes.
The job at TMobile was really the last resort after getting laid off from the job I landed after graduating from college, the job that got us to Oregon in a somewhat podunk town with not a lot of career opportunities. So I told Jay last week that I had applied for a job with the school district. What he said was that I was somewhat flighty about my career. What I am sure he wanted to say was probably something like "Will you just try and keep a job already?"
I can agree that when it comes to careers and jobs (which are not necessarily the same thing) I do change my mind frequently. To be perfectly honest, I don't believe I have ever held a job for more than a year. I get bored, grass is greener, school schedules change, I move, whatever the reason, I go through jobs pretty fast.
Here is a sampling of some of the more interesting jobs I have held: grounds keeper (aka garbage truck driver) at Bryce Canyon National Park, caretaker for two elderly mentally handicapped gentlemen who liked to run around naked and set things on fire, cow milker (3 am, five days a week, about 200 hundred head of cattle), middle school substitute teacher, pizza deliverer, dishwasher, janitor, and preschool teacher more than once.
My goal now has been to find and keep an at least sort of enjoyable job long enough to establish some kind of tenure. I really do want to find a job that I enjoy enough to stay at longer than a year. It would be kind of fun to break my record. I think the chances are better if I could have summer vacation again.

I just finished reading Solstice Wood, by Patricia McKillip, who btw is undoubtedly one of my favorite authors. I absolutely love how she mixes the everyday with fantasy and enchantment in a very poetic prose. There was a lot of food mentioned in this book, specifically chocolate cherry cookies, sooo after finishing the last few pages, I immediately thought of the wonderful Martha Stewart cookbook I received for my birthday which had a very similar recipe in it. About thirty dollars (haha Jay did you know how much I spent on ingredients???) , two hours, and one big freaking mess later (I am one messy cook) I had the most heavenly batch of double chocolate cherry cookies I had every seen. The tops were perfectly cracked, the inside was completely chocolately and gooey with just the right amount of sour cherry flavor. Wow. James helped of course, he cleaned off the beaters for me, and even squished his very own stick of butter between his hot little fingers for a good minute before I caught him.
I have gotten into the trend of making and freezing cookie dough lately so I can enjoy cookies at a moments notice (or maybe just get a quick dough fix). Since my parents are gracing me with a visit next week, I thought I would thaw out the dough and share. If any other family members would like to come down and visit us, the cookies are on me;)

Thank Heaven For Little Boys

James and I had a very serious talk at the breakfast table this morning. At least it was as serious as a talk with a toddler can be. Lately I have been starting to let him eat snacks at the table with the big guys. He thinks he is the bee's knees when he gets to sit in a chair and eat food at the table. This morning however he began to sweep all of his cereal onto our newly vacuumed floor. So I very nicely told him that if he wanted to eat breakfast at the table with me instead of in his highchair he had to leave his food on the table, otherwise I would put him back in his highchair. Oddly enough he was actually listening to me during all of this and when I was finished he very slowly got down, picked up all the cereal on the floor and put it back on the table. YEA!!!!! I must have done something right.
James is now at the age where he likes to imitate EVERYTHING he sees us doing. It's kind of a telling moment to see how a little child perceives you. He very expressively plays the piano and sings like he sees Daddy do, and he opens my books and stares at them and then finds kleenex and blows his nose. Anyone who has lived with me knows how accurate that impression is.

Just to continue Jay's post of So Long TV...

The cable on our TV is officially disconnected now. So long Scrubs, Reno 911, and VH1 top 100 videos, hello worthwhile activities and quality family time. Or so you think. But we still get the Discovery Channel, so now I can let my mind quietly stagnate to the tune of 'educational' television.
Today I learned how buses are made. This could be useful information to me since gas is like a trillion dollars a gallon and I will probably soon be riding a bus to work. Buses actually have wood paneling in the sides that are covered with fiber glass, and there are air compression tanks in the ceiling. I didn't know there was anything in the ceiling except more fiber glass. When I think of buses, the movie Speed comes to mind. So here is a snapshot of the thoughts in my head whilst watching this show
"air compression tanks in the ceiling eh? So now if I am riding a bus, and suddenly a mad bomber gets on a cell phone and says 'Hey I hid bombs in the air compression tanks, and no one knows where that is, hahaha you are all gonna die' I can say 'oh yes, they are in the ceiling' and save the day, hooray for me"
Useful information I tell ya. Thank God for the Discovery Channel, without it I might actually clean my kitchen.

I recently read two blogs about the fun of getting up early in the morning and taking bike rides or runs, or just being alive first thing in the morning when all is quiet. It made me wonder what happened to me. I used to be an early riser. This was many many years ago when I was a child, but I would easily wake up at 6:30 even on weekends just to be outside and listen to the birds. Sometimes I would take walks early in the morning with my dad. Fast forward to four years of a combination early morning seminary and newspaper route, and I don't think I have voluntarily been out of bed before 8 am since. Sure I have had early morning jobs where I had to be at work by 5:30 am or some other unholy hour, and in those cases I got up and made it to work on time. But other than that nothing.
Mostly this is fine, because I discovered that just as your parents say nothing good ever happens after midnight, nothing good ever happens before 10 am. No stores are open, no one is awake to talk to, and I sure as hell am not getting up early just to clean the house. However lately I am finding out that mornings before work may be about the only real time I have to go running.
So for the past week or so I have been attempting to get out of bed at 6:30 to go for a quick jog. Here is what happens: I wake up, (sort of) I realize what time it is and think I could get out of bed and go running, OR I could lay here where it is warm and cozy and sleep for a little longer. At 6:30 am sleep always wins. I am not the most rational person when I am half-asleep (Jay and anyone who has shared a room with me can attest to this) and I just can't think why I should get out of bed. My body is very cranky first thing in the morning and even the thought of physical exertion makes it feel ill. But the truth is if I just got up, dressed and had a small bite to eat I would feel fine, but try convincing me of that when I am cozy under my covers.
I REALLY do want to get a schedule of running/biking in- I still want to run a 5k in September, and mostly I just want to lose some weight. Evenings just don't work on a regular basis. I have also heard that getting exercise first thing in the morning boosts your metabolism for the rest of the day.
So how does everyone else manage to get up first thing in the morning just to get exercise? I think I have a real mental block about getting up early, I have a feeling that if I could just do it for a couple of weeks I would see that I do enjoy it and would continue. Any suggestions from all you early birds out there would be appreciated.

What I am up to lately

Apparently the pictures I was going to upload are still on the camera, and as the camera is who knows where, you will have to make do with my thoughts instead. I started my new job as a T-Mobile employee last week. I am in training for 4 weeks before they actually trust me to answer phones. I feel like I am in high school again, only this time I am a good 6 or 7 years older than everyone present. I am feeling rather bitter about the whole thing simply because this is the end result of thousands of dollars on a college education- in horticulture no less. Oh well, T-Mobile has some pretty killer benefits including incredibly cheap healthcare with vision and dental included, a daycare stipend and a kickass phone plan.
In case anybody is wondering, I haven't been running in at least a month, I made cream cheese walnut cookies last night that are 200 calories apiece (thank you Martha Stewart), and have been eating an ice cream bar a day. Damn, I am on a roll...

Wow this photo thing is harder than I thought...

What A Slacker I Am

I have gotten several nudges lately about not blogging. My argument is lack of inspiration and time (this is a pretty hard case to make though when one has been unemployed). But since I do feel like I have fallen of the blog-wagon (hahaha) here are some cute pics we took lately of James our future musician. I keep trying to take pictures of him as toga boy, but they are turning out blurry. In an effort to retain his modesty in front of his mommy, he now clutches his towel around his waist after bathtime and goes toddling through the house looking like a little Roman senator.

I tried the great experiment of counting calories this weekend. I have tried this experiment in years past but usually quit after a couple of days. (Yes I do lack follow-through.) Taking a cue from my dad, this time I tried to use an excel spreadsheet. I was resolved to count calories, then do the calories from fat/protein/carbs ratio. I spent copious amounts of time yesterday figuring out exactly what I had eaten, more time looking up the calorie count and even more time trying to get all my functions on excel to work correctly. After all this work, I tried computing my info only to realize that I had not done my work correctly and my ratios were completely wrong. Needless to say I quit in disgust. I told Jay who was looking on with some amusement that this was the reason I could never be a numbers cruncher.
So calorie counting is just not going to work. I have too many other things to do like cooking healthy food and getting exercise and I can't afford to have somebody else do the meal-planning and calorie counting for me. Overall I think the biggest lesson I learned from all this was to stay away from the butter.

Cemeteries Make Great Arboretums

Cemeteries make great arboretums. I learned that the other day at work. Apparently it is quite common to find new varieties of trees and shrubs growing at cemeteries, such as a variegated Ginkgo biloba to name one. The reason for these unique specimens? Embalming chemicals. All the embalming chemicals from ones used in days past, to the varnish used in coffins today eventually leach into the soil causing genetic mutations in plants, and incidentally higher cancer rates among nearby residents. Now just to make sure this claim was true I did a little research. Sure enough the University of Toledo in Toledo Ohio did a study on the topic and concluded that cemeteries have high levels of heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, and zinc due to embalming chemicals and coffin varnish in the soil and the groundwater.
So to all out there who may have a hand in my funeral when the time comes, let it be known: Iwould like to be cremated. I rather like the idea of going out in a blaze of glory anyway. As fun as it may be to know that my remains could be the basis of a new tree specimen, I would prefer to forgo the honor.

A Bunch of Random Things That Have Been On My Mind

Here are a few thoughts that have been rambling through my mind this weekend while I have been at death's door with Montezuma's Revenge. I feel obligated to respond to Jay's comment about on me in his 'Crazy Cat Lady' blog. Yes, I did really say that "they aren't people, they're cats". Callous? Possibly. Yet I find it interesting how much we like to humanize our pets. Need an example? Look at any fancy feast commercial. While I do think it is sad that some animals have to be put down, I also think that's life, tough cookies for them. I find it amusing that some bleeding heart animal advocates talk about how cruel it is to do that to an cat/dog, and then go eat a Big Mac. I am more morally outraged by the treatment of livestock then by kitties who get three square meals, and then get to sleep the big sleep. Believe me, its a lot easier way to go. You want to hear an even more callous remark from me? I told Jay the cat who has been boarding with us for awhile needed to go and he asked "so which cat do you want to have put down so there is room for him?" My reply " I don't care, whichever one is at the bottom of the totem pole."
As I was lying around on the couch bemoaning my state on Saturday, Jay took to cleaning the entire house. This surprised me. He said he was going to clean the entire house, but I guess I figured he would quite once the downstairs was clean. I would have. I lack the attention span needed to do a full day's cleaning. Anyway, whilst cleaning up kitty stuff, he discovered ants in the utility closet where we keep the kitty food. Jay was properly horrified and kind of panicky cause the ants were crawling on him. I am over the whole "ants everywhere" scene since living in California. Occasionally we would wake up to find the counters in our kitchen absolutely black with ants. Then would proceed a day of spraying ammonia and cleaning up little dead ant bodies and chucking whatever food they got into. Once after such a day, I found a bag of raisins on the counter. Thinking nothing of it, and having the munchies I grabbed a handful and popped them in my mouth. It was after the fact that I saw ants all over my hand and the raisin bag. Apparently Mom had intended to throw the bag away but hadn't gotten around to it yet. I couldn't eat raisins for many years after that.
After an experience like that I hardly blinked an eye at the ants in our house. I merely brushed the ants off my feet and grabbed the ammonia.

Pagan Origins

Easter, a Christian festival, embodies many pre-Christian traditions. The origin of its name is unknown. Scholars, however, accepting the derivation proposed by the 8th-century English scholar St. Bede, believe it probably comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a month corresponding to April. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.

Such festivals, and the stories and legends that explain their origin, were common in ancient religions. A Greek legend tells of the return of Persephone, daughter of Demeter, goddess of the earth, from the underworld to the light of day; her return symbolized to the ancient Greeks the resurrection of life in the spring after the desolation of winter. Many ancient peoples shared similar legends. The Phrygians believed that their omnipotent deity went to sleep at the time of the winter solstice, and they performed ceremonies with music and dancing at the spring equinox

You Are Jelly Beans

For you, Easter is all about fun and sweet treats. None of that Jesus dying on a cross stuff!

What Easter Candy Are You?

I Make a Very Wet Souffle

I made a souffle today for the first time ever. Actual it was probably also the first time I had ever eaten one as well. Every time I hear the word souffle Carol Burnett comes to mind and the song she sings on the musical Annie where she says "I make a very dry martini, I make a very wet souffle." I think I have my father to thank for my ability to remember song lyrics appropriate for any occasion. Anyway back to souffle making. I think it turned out well. It was like eating cheese flavored air. Since souffles are supposed to be light and fluffy I think that is a good sign. It was also an important lesson in patience. When one is cooking a souffle the most important thing to remember is NOT TO OPEN THE OVEN. Easy enough huh? Not for Miss Impatient. I open the oven for everything I cook at least half a dozen times. I caught myself in the act at least twice this time. Finally I went upstairs and just ignored it. Overall I liked it, James didn't, which was surprising and the verdict is still out for Jay. Of course since he didn't come home until an hour after it came out of the oven I am not sure his opinion counts.
I love experimenting with food, especially the stuff that no one really ever cooks. I taught myself how to bake bread in college. I had a friend of Hispanic heritage teach me how to make tamales. I have dabbled in Moroccan cuisine, Vietnamese, Thai, and Indian. Having recently reentered the carnivorous scene, I am pretty darned good at cooking tofu too. I think most people enjoy my cooking although there have been some doozies in the past. It occurred to me a week or two ago that I had never tried to make a souffle before. Obviously my curiosity had to be satisfied. I called up my cooking guru Nancy and asked for the lowdown on souffle making. (I think Nancy could make some good money giving cooking lessons).
I can confidently say I am a good cook. The only thing that has been giving me fits lately is my baking skills. I am not terribly good at baking. Most cakes and brownies for me come from a box. Some of you reading this may remember a certain Easter cake a few years ago. I blame that mistake on being pregnant at the time. I think the problem comes from being impatient. Cooking is a little more instant gratification. Baking takes longer, involves more pans usually, and makes me feel fat. But lately I have been craving the perfect cookie. The one that tastes good, and is soft and gooey on the inside. Mine have been less than sweet and terribly crunchy or just plain burned. I guess I will keep working on that.
I think my next cooking experiment will be chocolate molaise. For those who don't know, molaise is a type of Mexican sauce used for enchiladas and other dishes and sometimes it is made with cocoa. That is my kind of meal.

What's Wrong With This Picture

Yesterday we took James to the Urgent Care Center for a sinus infection. It was a not a trip we were looking forward to, seeing as how we don't have any health insurance. Here is what happened: We went in, filled out a few forms and proceeded to then wait for 1 1/2 hours. During this time, James of course became very tired, bored, frustrated and began to scream. I told Jay maybe it was better if he screamed because they might get so sick of us maybe we would get a room sooner. Sensing that we had been cooling our heels long enough the staff showed us into a room where we waited for another hour. FINALLY a doctor showed up, looked at James for five minutes and spent most of that time telling us to put vaseline on the rash on his face. (DUH!) But we did get the prescription we needed. This whole process cost us about $100.
The point of this story is to illustrate the massive problems in our healthcare system. Our evening was very typical, especially for those who do not have healthcare. The real kicker is, James doesn't even have a regular doctor I could make an appointment with because I can't find a doctor who will take kids without health insurance. The health care system in this country makes me so mad I just want to kick and scream. Our family and millions of other families in America are in this situation. Fortunately for us we do not have to choose between going to the doctor and paying the heating bill or putting food on the table. Even so, we couldn't really afford it. Yet another bill on the credit card.
I just can't believe people pay that kind of money to talk to a doctor for FIVE MINUTES!! Especially since I knew what was wrong with him, and I knew exactly what would be prescribed. Jay seemed especially irritated by the doctor's diamond watch ;)
All the Republicans seem to think that the idea of free-enterprise medicine is what makes this country great and medicine so innovative. Republican politicians also by and large come from wealthy patrician families and have never gone a day in their lives without healthcare. I could not believe Bush vetoed the bill to extend Medicaid to more children, claiming it was a step toward socialized medicine. Boo to socialized medicine!!! (Incidentally I think the socialized medicine is a great idea) James could have health insurance right now if that bill had passed.
Ok, I realize this blog is a little rambling, but I am just venting my frustration on how out of touch with reality Republican politicians are and how totally f**cked up the healthcare system is. Pardon the language but aren't you glad I edited it?
(Pardon to the doctors out there reading this. No, I don't hate doctors specifically and I don't think they are grossly overpaid, (maybe just a little overpaid) I really blame the insurance and pharmaceutical companies and general corporate greed)

Today is binky weaning day and that is a not a good day. James has run around with a bright red moustache for the better part of two months now and it is due to teething and excessive binky use. Thus far we have only given the obnoxious germy thing to him at bedtime, but with no improvement in his skin. So finally, today I took his binky, cut it up so it was 'broken' and let him play with it. Kind of heartbreaking to watch his tearful reaction whenever he looked at it, but such is life. So now Jay and I are in various parts of the house with head phones on so we cannot hear him crying. I am giving him two hours. Its already been 1 and 1/2 and he is still going strong. But as many family members can attest to, he's got nothing on me and my ability to scream as a child...

A Bit About Me To Get Started

All the mad bloggers in my family have inspired me to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard... or whatever. I suppose it is a good way to keep in touch, and a way of venting my strange and sometimes radical thoughts.
I think the Beatles had it right when they sang "All You Need Is Love." A little more love and understanding in people's hearts could go a long long way to solving some of the world's biggest problems. But more on that later...
Just a few random tidbits about me to get us started. My ultimate dream in life is to someday go surfing. More than once would even be better. I have heard its similar to snowboarding which is wicked fun, but surfing would not be as cold nor would I hit the ground on my backside if I fell. (Its also a helluvalot cheaper;) Unfortunately my worst fear is deep water and drowning. So I think I have a long way to go towards accomplishing that goal, but I do plan on surfing before I die. I love trees, spiders, apple juice, and driving through really big puddles. I don't like Jay's cold feet in bed, vacuuming, and cooked button mushrooms- ewwwww. I have no patience with slow computers, bigotry in all its disguises, and bad drivers.
My goal for this year is to lose a good portion of this baby weight I have been dragging around since James came along. I have started running again and hope to complete a 5K race in September without coming in last. Now for those of you who can knock off a 5k without even breaking a sweat keep in mind I am REALLY out of shape.
I am fairly liberal in my political leanings, and a feminist to the core but I don't believe one should push one's beliefs on someone else.. I am sure I will talk more about that later as well.
So that's me in a nutshell. I hope my readers find this blog at least mildly entertaining and informative!