Bah Humbug and the evil of premade cookies

Bah Humbug…yeah you heard me.  I’m having a very hard time getting into the holiday spirit.  If I could get away with it, I would cancel it.  I know that the holiday isn’t about material things.  But it’s expensive no matter what.  As mentioned in a prior posting, everybody is pretty much getting whatever I can knit.  It’s saving money but it is still not cheap.  You also need to know that it’s baking season and that costs money as well.  Our heat is electric and we discovered last year the hard way that is very, very expensive.  Every time I hear the heat come on, I sneak around and turn it off.  The outflow of money is exceeding the inflow of money and I’m almost at my breaking point.  Work has me so stressed out with the need to make my numbers and then some that I’m pretty close to a breakdown.  It’s the end of the year and everybody is trying to return products that they didn’t use and it is making my numbers go backwards and my heart rate go upwards.  What to do?  I need to make Christmas happen for the kiddo, this will be his first that he starts to “get” Christmas and the concept of Santa.  The tree needs decorating, I can’t seem to get that done, the tree has been up since the day after Thanksgiving and I’ve plugged in the lights and put one crystal on.  I’m trying, I really am.  But, I’m scared of what will happen if I fail at work and that’s probably what has put the biggest damper on the holiday.  It’s starting to keep me up at nights.  Either I can’t fall asleep or I do fall asleep but wake up at 3:00 am and just lie there thinking in the dark.  Hopefully things are as bad I think they might be.  I am a worry wart after all.

Also shouldn’t people be nicer and more accepting at this time of year.  Last few years my experience has been the opposite.  People are grumpy (present company included) and demanding.  In our world of instant gratification people refuse to accept that things take time.  Processes have to be followed on all fronts.  In part, I blame the pre-made cookie dough for the deterioration of our society.  Because of this little wonder of science, people and children expect things to just appear as soon as they think of them.  Want cookies?  Take the preformed dough out of its little package, place on a baking sheet and voila! You have cookies.  What’s wrong with the ritual of baking cookies from scratch?  It shows children that things don’t instantly appear out of thin air.  It forces you to think about what goes into the cookies, the time, the ingredients and the caring that someone puts into each batch.  Only on rare cookie emergencies are the “fake and bake” cookies allowed in my house.  I just can't do it.

Sorry for the rambling, I just needed to get this out to the universe.  Wish me luck, send me good thoughts and I’ll reciprocate.  If you are extremely wealthy send me money…j/k.  Sort of.  Don’t worry I’ll keep trying to build the Christmas spirit and hopefully by Christmas Eve I’ll be overflowing with spirit or cookies.  Perhaps both. 

Talk to you soon.

 

I'm back

So I've been away for a while.  I don't have a good reason except that I haven't been motivated to write for a while.  Work has been extremely busy and we have had an episode of strep and an infected toe to be dealt with.  Because of that there was the Halloween that wasn't as we stayed home and handed out candy.  My poor son hasn't had a Halloween costume in 2 years due to illness.  Next year buddy, next year is your year. 

That brings us to November where I have been busy trying to knit scarves for Christmas, since I'm so slow at knitting that leaves little time to post.  But I'm making progress.  See...I think I'm improving.

I think I'm improving the hardest part is staying on task.  It's very easy to get lured in to all the pretty colors and ideas.  I have to fight to finish each and every project.  Otherwise I will end up with at bunch of half finished projects of various colors and styles.  I keep telling myself that after Christmas I can actually work on something for myself.  I have a ton of things that I want to work on.  Of course I live in Texas and by the time that I finish my projects for myself it will be summer and I'll either have to turn A/C way down or wait patiently for cooler weather in sometime in December.  Well back to knitting.  I have a scarf I want to finish by the end of the weekend.

Wish me luck.

Oh and I promise I'll be posting more often.

Talk to you very soon.

Sometime's mommy wants a beer.

Friday was a rough day.  Work and stress had me in tears by 9:00 am.  By the time the work day was over my only thought was to get home and be with my family and to have…a beer.  I’m not a big drinker.  I have nothing against it, it just doesn’t work out very often that I’m in a position to just sit relax and enjoy a beer.  The hubby buys me a 6 pack of Corona light about once every 6 months or so and usually I’ll end up drinking maybe half of them before I figure they go bad.  (if you get grossed out you might want to skip the next few paragraphs)

Friday night, we finished dinner, the dishes were done.  Jacob was in his room playing quietly.  Now was my chance.  I retrieved a bottle from the fridge, poured it into a glass and sliced up a lime for it.  Took one look at my drink and started to take a drink.  Before the glass got to my lips I hear “Honey the cat yucked up in our bathroom, would you clean it up?”  (I have less of a gag reflex for this stuff than he does).  So I head towards the bedroom and Jacob comes running down the hall.  It took a second to recognize that he was covered in poop.  He hadn’t had a BM in a couple of days and I was expecting a big one.  What I wasn’t expecting was a total nuclear BOOTY BOMB.  It was everywhere. He had pants on and it was inside and outside.  It went completely down both legs.  At some point he had stepped in it and was making little foot prints on the floor.  The hubby decided to take the floor and I took the boy.  He was stripped and placed in the tub where he was so freaked out he cried the whole time.  The pants where thrown away.  Once he was clean, I checked the floor and found more that was missed, I followed the trail to his room and found a lot more.  Sheets were stripped, comforter was washed, and floor was cleaned some more. 

After all this occurred, I went back to my original plan of cleaning up the cat yuck.  Located the original and some additional of that as well.  Cleaned it up and found some more of “The horror”.  Cleaned up some more.

So and hour and a half had passed and I suddenly had the thought.  “Didn’t I have a beer?”  I went back to the kitchen to get my beer and it wasn’t there.  So I searched the house to see if I left it somewhere else.  (I often put things down and forget where they are).  After about 15 minutes of searching I went and asked the hubby “Have you seen my beer?  I can’t remember where I left it.”  “I put it in the freezer for you so it wouldn't get warm”   A very sweet gesture.  So I headed to the kitchen and was waylaid by the kiddo to come play, so off to his room we traipsed and had a grand time for about 20 minutes. 

It soon became clear that the sheets and comforter weren’t going to be dry in time for bedtime.  So we decided to take him for a ride to see if he would drift off.  Well, we didn’t take into account that it’s allergy season and he’s coughing, so after driving for about 45 minutes we decide to head back to the house and give him a breathing treatment.  After that he was worn out from all the excitement, so we let him drift off to a Spiderman DVD in our bed.  At that point I remembered.  “I had a beer”.  So off to the freezer, I opened the door, took my drink out of the freezer and went to see the hubby in the “man cave”.

“Hi honey, look I have a beercicle.”

I never did get that beer.

Talk to you later.

Jacob's Birthday Party

Jacob's birthday party was on Saturday and it was a hit.  It had been raining for several days prior and was windy and at 55 degrees much colder than the 72 that the weather man had predicted.  So there weren't as many people as expected but that didn't matter.  Everybody had a great time at the farm.  I would recommend Owens Spring Creek Farm to anybody who want's to have an reasonably priced party.  There was a hay ride (we didn't get to it), feeding pen, hot dogs, a pumpkin patch, horses of all sizes, donkeys and chickens.


At the end of the party the kids got to pick out their very own pumpkin.  My friends son had no trouble locating a pumpkin.  He just wanted the biggest.  My niece helped Jacob pick out his pumpkin.  His main criteria seem to be to find the cleanest pumpkin.  He'd pick up a pumpkin by the stem, see the grass and dirt stuck to it and say "It's dirty" then he'd replace the pumpkin and start the process over again.  Eventually a pumpkin was located that was deemed clean.  

Me stressing out about how great the party needed to be was a non issue.  Everyone had a great time.  I don't think that Jacob even realized that the whole thing was for his birthday.  Though he has got the concept of birthday cake.  Every night since the party he wants birthday cake.  Keeping him out of it has been a chore.  Well that's it for the moment.
Talk to you later.

 

The Fair Workout.

On Friday we went to the Texas State Fair.  Both the hubby and I were very excited, we figured that this would be the year the Jacob would really start to get the fair.  We had visions of corndogs and funnel cakes, rides and just plain fun.  So Friday morning we got up early and got ready to go.  Both of us independently made a decision not to take the wagon.  We figured it didn't work out last year, so this year we would skip it.  That's a decision we came to regret. 

We had to run a few errands before we actually headed to the fair but we got there soon after it opened.  Our first stop was the petting zoo.  That was a huge hit.  Jacob was totally in his element checking out all the cool animals.  So it was onward to other side of the fair to get the holy grail of corndogs.  Fletcher's corndogs, the original.  Right away Jacob decided he didn't want to walk.  He wanted "mommy to carry you".  So mommy picked him up and we were off on our quest.  Daddy kept trying to carry him but he wasn't having it. 

So we demolished out corndogs and headed off to find more fun.  Big Tex and the trains were a hit.  But then we started back towards the rides and mommy had carry him again.  And again daddy tried and met the brick wall of preschooler reluctance.  It was just one of those days that he wanted mommy.  We did get to ride one ride.  Some little whale ride that was a little overwhelming for the exhausted one.  I did have a small reprieve after that, for a whole 10 minutes daddy got to carry him.  But then Jacob realized that I was still there and back to mommy he came. 

At that point we decided to start heading toward the car.  I wanted a funnel cake but unfortunately none were to be had in the section we were.  I guess I have to wait till next year for that yummy goodness.  We'll also take the wagon and perhaps wait until after naptime.  Also hubby and I will try to sneak off to the fair alone so we can actually see the boring stuff mommy and daddies like.

The next day I realized just how out of shape I am.  My arms and legs hurt, that was a heck of a work out.

Talk to you later.

Birthday Pressure

So next month my baby boy turns three.  Hard to believe it's been three years.  So of course we are planning his birthday party.  This is always a stressful chore.  What should be fun becomes my nightmare.  If it was left up to me I would have the whole thing planned and ready to go, on a date that I selected.  But I happen to have the mythical beast rarely seen.  In my house lives the husband who is "involved".  I originally planned for the party to be on the 24th which is the week before Jacob's birthday (I have to work the following Saturday).  But since we finally have chosen the location, a local farm with petting zoo and hayrides, he now has decided that the third week in October is be too dicey with the weather.  So now the date has been pushed up two weeks.  That gives me 12 days to get this party together.  I will have to get invitations, figure out the theme, bake a cake, two actually (allergies),  make sure there are sufficient things to entertain, put togeter goody bags, etc.  Did I mention that I work full time?  Hopefully people will be able to attend, since I've been prepping people for the later date.  What my darling hubby doesn't understand is that a lot of people plan ahead especially this time of year. 

If we had decided on the location earlier this might not be such an issue but he likes to have "input" this usually leads to procrastination and last minute decisions, because most places are deemed insuffiecient, this forces us to throw things together.  For example the last two birthdays, our wedding (which turned out beautifully).  I figured this year we were on top of things.  It's a almost a whole month in advance, until the date was jumped up 2 weeks. 

So, I think we are going to go with Disney's Cars theme even though we are going to be at farm.  Well keep your fingers crossed that people will attend and that the weather will hold.  All I really want is for Jacob to have a great time.  I think the location will be a lot of fun, Jacob loves animals and anything outside is always a winning situation.
Well I've got to go.  I need to figure out the cake situation.
Talk to you later.

Age is a state of mind,

Every so often I start to feel my age.  I'm not saying I'm old.  Though tonight with my wrist bugging me coupled with the new pain in my right shoulder that showed up today I'm feeling every bit of 37.  Most of the time there is no conscious thought to my age.  As a matter of fact I only gave up comics a little over three years ago and that was a purely financial decision not an age related one. 

I was having a conversation last night with one of my very best friends and realized that we have been friends for 22 years.  Thanks to Facebook, I'm in contact with people from even further back in my past.  The oldest friendship dates back to the late 70's.  It doesn't seem possible that its been that long even though the math is right.  It's true what the grown-ups told me as a child that time goes faster as you age.  I remember waiting for holidays to arrive, thinking that they were never going to arrive.  Now I can't believe how fast they arrive. 

Most of the time I don't even feel like a qualified grown-up.  So when is it that a person becomes old?  I've seen people younger than me with old decrepit personalities, and older people with way more youth and energy than you would imagine possible.  I do truly believe that age is a state of mind.  So why is it the body has to remind the mind about my age?  Well that's enough pondering tonight.  This somewhat old lady has knitting to do.
 
Talk to you later.

The alpaca farm fantasy

I recently started to knit.  So far I’ve finished two scarves and am about 2/3^rds of the way through the one that I started for the hubby.  Not too bad.  The afghan I started for my father-in-law is at a standstill, I’m rethinking the project.  I’ll most likely start fresh.  In the meantime I’m trying to teach myself new things, like how to read knitting patterns and how to knit a cable pattern.  Learning to crochet has been put on the back burner, but an attempt is made at least once a week. 

One of the reasons that I started knitting is that it relaxes me, a few people have mentioned that I seem much calmer when knitting.  I find that it gives me time to empty my brain of the everyday minutia that clogs it up.  So recently, I also started a new mystery series by Maggie Sefton, the central theme is knitting.  I often find a series that coincides with something that interests me.  The stories are entertaining and have inspired a new fantasy for me.  I’m fantasizing about winning the lottery again, this time to move the family to Colorado to raise Alpacas.  That way I could learn to spin and weave.  I love the idea of doing something creative.  Crazy huh?  Especially since I've never even been to Colorado.  It’s okay, crazy’s good as long as you don’t act on it.  Crazy is what can keep you sane at times.  Crazy is what gives you new ideas and sometimes solutions to the problems that are troubling you.  As long as I have my little internal dreams, the outside world is manageable.  I recommend to everyone to escape into a fantasy world for a little bit every day.    Well I'm off to the mountains to hang with the alpaca.

Talk to you later.

Sometimes you see a darker side to humanity. The retail perspective.

In the course of my job periodically, I have to deal with the public.  For those of you who work in retail you will understand when I say that you meet the best and worst of humanity.  The best customers will make you want to move heaven and earth to help them achieve their goals.  Then there are the other customers that you wish would disappear.  In the last 15 years of dealing with the general public I've had the following occur. 

I've been at Denny's at 3:00 am after a night at the clubs when a customer came up to me wanting to discuss her ceiling fan order.  I sobered up enough to tell her we could discuss this on Monday morning.

Had several cranky old men come up to me and ask to speak to a man.  This is when I worked at a lumber yard/hardware store.  This was my cue to go locate Buddy, not the sharpest crayon in the box.  They just said a man, they never specified intelligence.  I would then assist Buddy with whatever needed to be accomplished.

Upon arrival at work there would often be customers who would meet me at my car before I even had a chance to get out and start questioning me about their orders.  I'm a bit of a crank and need a little time to myself before I can start dealing with others.

I had one customer who informed me that he was the owner's wife's Dr. and he expected special treatment.  Truth was that at one time he did take care of her but that she hadn't seen him in several years because she couldn't stand him. 

Along the same lines are the ladies who would expect preferential treatment based on their marriages, ie. "Don't you know who my husband is?"  Usually those were Dr's wives.  Apparently entitlement were included in the marriage vows.  Small towns are so much fun.

One time I greeted a couple of people with a cheerful "Hi there!  What are you guys doing here?"  The response was a snide "Paying your salary."  Since they were using another salesperson I informed them that unfortunately that wasn't exactly true.  That was a family member who made that remark and I pretty much stopped speaking to them.

This weekend I had a couple of people who arrived 20 minutes to closing and informed me that I was "going to have to work."  After looking around for 30 minutes they decided to purchase a clearance fixture.  The wife had told me she was a designer and wanted a discount on the already marked way down fixture.  The husband went to pay, when the total was stated he balked and said it was supposed to be another price.  When informed the difference was the tax he grumbled that he didn't want to pay the tax.  Finally he paid then told us that he and his wife received $60,000 back on taxes this year.  I felt that it was in bad taste to say something like that.  Am I wrong?  

I think the part that upset me the most is that they knew we were closed and decided to just wander around even after they had purchased the product.  He especially found it funny that he was holding us up.  The thing is that I will give my all during the work hours.  But after work I have things to do and places to be and people who rely on me.  I don't understand why people feel the need to treat others without respect.  He didn't just keep me from leaving others were affected, the receptionist/cashier, the manager who had to close up the store, someone in the warehouse who might be needed to pack up the fixture.   

Now for the record there are some fantastic customers who everytime I see or think about them I smile.  Most of the clients I work with are really neat people.

Well I've talked way too much tonight, I'll stop babbling.
Talk to you later.

Toxic Kitty

Our much beleaguered cat Jimi, has been sick lately.  The poor cat has lost a lot of weight and had some “intestinal issues”.   Having lost our cat, Luther, a few months ago I wasn’t prepared to deal with Jimi illness and the monstrous vet bills that come with it.  Luther cost us around $1200 of which $500 could have been avoided, if I hadn’t let the well meaning vet run yet another panel of tests to try determine what was causing his illness.  But that’s another much sadder story that I’m not wishing to get into today.  Today’s story is about Jimi. 

I’ve been foolishly thinking that Jimi issues were from stress.  He’s got a preschooler who terrifies him and worries about cat food on the floor.  But after coming to the realization that Jimi is not getting better on his own, I took him to the vet on Wednesday.   Vet bills are crazy outrageous and this particular vet is excellent and the prices reflect it.  So I corralled Jimi into the kitty carrier and packed him into the Saturn.  I made sure to turn it facing me so that I could reassure him that would be alright.  The poor baby looked at me pitifully and proceeded to poop in the carrier, then having nowhere else to go, he sat in it.  Now we all know that poop stinks.  Well this particular cat’s droppings are beyond anything you might have smelled before.  We are actually able to identify which poop is his by just how bad and pervasive it is.  He can clear a room in 30 seconds.  Within moments the smelled invaded the car.  I call my husband to say my farewells, because I was sure, I was going to die.  I rolled down the windows hoping it would help, it did some but I failed to mention that it was raining.  So I had to decided death by poop or dealing with wet interior and grumpy hubby.  I chose death.  The next 10 minutes were some of the longest in my life.  Arriving at the vet, I cheerfully with a green face told them that we had brought our own stool sample and were hoping it would help temper the costs.  I warned them that it was toxic, I think they thought I was kidding.  The first assistant turned a little green herself when she caught a whiff.  They were very nice about it though, they cleaned up the carrier and the cause itself. 

Unfortunately for Jimi and my pocket book our “sample” was free from parasites and he had to have the dreaded blood work.  Is it bad I was hoping for parasites?  The somewhat good news is, he appears to have a bacterial infection that is affecting his liver.  So we are on a course of antibiotics and a new diet.  So keep your fingers crossed and let’s hope he gets better soon.

Talk to you later.

So it's been a interesting and nice weekend.  Here's the run down.  Saturday, Jacob got a haircut, looks great, still has his curls.  Got into a minor car accident, everyones ok, Jacob keeps mentioning that Daddy's truck got bonked in the head.  Spent the rest of the afternoon, dealing with insurance companies, good news not our fault so we shouldn't be out anything.  Whether or not that actually occurs we shall see.  Spent the rest of the day just hanging out inside the house due to a very rainy weekend.  Today, got up early and started straightening the house.  The first Cowboy game of the season, and hubby was having company.  Baked from scratch Chocolate Chip cookies, (my personal favorite).  The hubby tricked up a couple of frozen pizza's and I managed to forget to take the second one out of the oven on time, so it was a little crispy but salvageable.  Took the kid for a ride so I could get some rest, it worked! he fell asleep.  Then knitting and goofing off for a couple of hours.  After the nap was over it was quality time playing with his trains.  Now I'm hoping he'll fall asleep and I will finish the laundry that has piled up all weekend.  Well wish me luck.
Talk to you later.

Are you ready for some football? I am.

NFL football starts today and I'm so ready for it to be here.  I cheer for the Cowboys, I live in North Texas after all and am married to a rabid Cowboy fan.  I hate certain teams, redskins, eagles, and the steelers (see didn't even capitalize them, not worthy of a Cowboys fan's respect).  And living in Southeast Texas when I was very little, I have a soft spot for the Oilers from back in the 70's with Bum Phillips and Earl Campbell, Love Ya Blue.  And yes I know they don't exist anymore.  That's why the hubby thinks it's okay for me to have been a fan.

All that being said, I don't really care for football itself.  If I'm going to sit down to watch a game it is more likely to be baseball or basketball.  But football's arrival is always a welcome one.  For one, it gives my husband a chance to relax, something he rarely does.  But the big reason I like football...it truly is the start of Fall.  My favorite season.  That means in the next few months we'll have better weather, my anniversary, Jacob's birthday, the Texas State Fair and the big three holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas.  Days will rush by, there is always a feeling in the air of excitement, of what's coming next.  People seem to be nicer to each other during the fall as well, I figure they start realizing that the Big Guy is watching (Santa) and they had better straighten up and fly right.

Football's here!  Let the festivities begin.  Oh, and don't forget GO COWBOYS!
Talk to you later.

Real men eat quiche

I have started making quiche’s (really Bisquick’s impossible pie) a while back.  I wanted to have something for breakfast that wasn’t Whataburger.  I’ve enjoyed them immensely.  It is such a pleasure to have something ready to go in the mornings.  Plus, it saves me around $25 a week by not going to Whataburger.  But try as I might I could never get hubby to try it.  He just couldn't find it appealing.  I know it’s a cliché, but I think the name is part of what was putting him off.  Well for some reason today was the day he took a couple of pieces to work, and actually tried it.  I'm happy to say I think he liked it.  Of course he could be humoring me, since I've been pestering the dooky out of him, he might be trying to shut me up.  Mission accomplished, now on to the boy.  Here's where the ideas that my mother used on me go to work on the boy.  It's no longer quiche, it's now ham and cheese pie.  So far it hasn't worked with the boy.  But I'm hopeful.  I figure once he's decided it's not yucky blah, then it will possible to hide extra veggies like bell peppers in it.  Wish me luck.

Talk to you later.

Mr. Marbles

There was a Seinfeld episode that mentioned a character named Mr. Marbles.  I don’t remember much except for the last scene.  Jerry is in bed and all of sudden he hears a noise and then the pitter patter of little feet.  You then seen the shadow of something small running across the room  “Mr. Marbles?” he said.

Well, we have our own version of Mr. Marbles.  Jacob has started coming into our bed in the middle of the night.  We’ll be lying in bed and hear the door down the hall open, then shut.  Then there is the pitter pat of bare feet on a hard floor.  Our door will open, then shut and he’ll come all the way around to my side of the bed and crawl in with his puppy.  Ten seconds later he’s out.  I don’t get the sense that he’s scared I think he just misses us.  Now, before anyone berates me for not taking him back to his own room I will admit I’m not a perfect parent.  I am a parent who wants as much sleep as possible and I choose to let him remain with us for the hour or two we have before I have to get up.  And I have to admit as a working mom who doesn't get to spend enough time with her son, I enjoy it a little.

Last night didn’t go as smoothly as normal.  Around 4:00 am I heard the door to his room open and shut.  I heard the feet.  And then I  heard him in the living room gathering up his motorcade of matchbox cars.  I also heard him drop them, about three times.  Hubby was kind enough to go to the living room to help.  “Jacob come to bed” he said.  Jacob’s reply was “I dropped it.”  “I know buddy, here I’ll help.”  Then they both came back to bed.  Jacob climbed into bed with his cars.  Daddy decided to stay up a while longer and started to leave the room.  In the dark the kid somehow realized that he was missing two cars that daddy had picked up.  “My cars!”  Daddy returned to bed and gave him the cars.  Ten seconds later the kid was out.  I’m actually impressed that he can think that coherently in the middle of the night.  

According to my mother I did the same thing when I was his age.  I apparently would make several trips back and forth bringing all my stuffed animals and baby blanket.  I guess I should be happy he only brings puppy and a few cars.

Eventually we'll have to put a stop to the trips but I'm going to enjoy it for a while.

Talk to you later.

The color of towels.

Every once in a while, the hubby and I will be having a conversation that goes something like this.
Me: "Hi honey, I'm just heading home from work."
Him: "Great! What do you want for dinner?"
Me: "Anything is good, oh wow I just saw some mallard ducks with their beautiful green heads!"
Silence.
Him: "What do you mean green heads!?  They have black heads!"
Me: "No dear their heads are green"
Him: "You're crazy!  They are clearly black.  You have no idea what you are talking about."

Yes.  My husband is color blind.  I first discovered this when one day he showed me his new "khaki" shorts.  I had to break the news to them they were pistachio green.  Another time we were discussing our siamese cats and the fact that they are tan and black came up.  He looked so confused by that and to this day he swears they are gray and black.  He even took one of them outside in the sunlight to check.  This scenario gets played out often in my house.  When it happens I am always wrong until I get either one of his friends or a complete stranger to agree with me. 

He (the color blind one) has decided that we need new towels and he's been picking them up a few at a time when he goes to the store.  I personally was hoping he'd pick up white towels but I'm not allowed to have an opinion on this and he thinks white is boring (for the record I have a degree in interior design but he thinks I have no taste.)  Well here's a picture of his latest aquisitions.

Orange.  And let me tell you it's not a normal orange.  It's neon, I'm pretty sure it glows in the dark.  I'm concerned about the amount of radiation it might give off.  It doesn't match the sandy color we have on the walls, (but then again what would I know, I'm not color blind.)  Since this is his project I haven't said anything to him about the selection.  I know that white towels are boring, but they don't cause seizures either.  Well I have to go.
Talk to you later.

Get a grip.

It’s funny how people react differently to stress.  I’m definitely not the best with stress myself.  I have my moments where you will actually think my head is spinning.  I work with some people that don’t let it get to them (or if it does they handle it with grace, I’m not one of them mind you).  Then there are the others…  The ones that fly off the handle at the slightest bump in the road.  That act as if you are personally responsible for all the ills of the world.  Apparently they drink the yellow milk in their corn flakes.  For the record, I do try to see things from other peoples point of view.  I understand that something that might not be a big deal for me, might just be the straw that puts the camel in traction, and vice versa.  I do know that we are all dealing with personal stress and work stress especially nowadays.  That doesn't excuse personal attacks when people are just trying to get their job done.  What I really want to say to these people and never will is GET A GRIP AND GROW UP!  We aren't all out to wreck your little world. 

I must be nuts

Last week I decided to start knitting and make the hubby a scarf for Christmas.  So far it's going pretty good, I've been able to work on it during lunches at work.  I think I have a pretty good chance of finishing it and perhaps making Jacob a matching one as well.  Since things seem to be going well knittingwise, I apparently decided to press my luck.  I'm now contemplating making an afghan for my father-in-law.  What I really wanted to do is to crochet the afghan.  That means I need to teach myself how to crochet.   I've spent part of the day today trying to do just that.  I suck at it.  The few practice pieces that have been created look like giant knots.  I'm going to keep trying but in the mean time I am going back to trying to knit the afghan as a matter of fact I've actually started it.  I'm an idiot. 

I've never made anything besides a scarf and now I'm attempting two projects at a time and one is huge.  What on earth made me think that I can accomplish all this in my spare time?  I'm either an idiot or nuts, perhaps both.  But yet I feel compelled to do this.  The desire to create things has been great lately and this seems to be a good outlet.  

Well that's it for now.
Talk you later.  

An Independent MInd

We started the day with a full blown temper tantrum.  Someone didn't want to get in the car seat.  So mommy had to play the bad guy and force the issue.  Once he was in the car seat he cried and called out for Daddy the entire way to daycare.  Then he didn't want to go into daycare, so mommy picked him up and carried him into day care crying.  I'm pretty sure that Angela, our childcare provider and regular godsend thought I had tortured him.  He's usually a pretty easy going kid.  But lately he has been trying to exert a lot independence.  As a matter of fact it's 9:18 and he's sitting next to me in the chair playing with his cars.  Where he is supposed to be, is in bed.  When I tell him to do something he doesn't want to do my reply is "I'm not nay nay no more moooommmm." I'm trying to get a grip on this whole idea that the kid has a mind of his own concept.  I understand it in theory but the actual practice is stressful.  How do you convince a child to do something they have no intention to do?  Take bedtime.  How do you keep a child in bed without using duct tape?  After every escape attempt, I put him right back in bed.  He keeps trying to escape.  This will last until he finally passes out usually around 10:30.
I want him to be independent and creative, but I want control as well.  Its a bit of an issue.  Hopefully I'll figure it out.
Talk to you later.

Library night, again

Well, tonight was library night.  The last three weeks have been kind of crazy and I didn't manage to read all the books that I checked out, so this time I resolved to only check out a few books at a time.  Maybe 6 or 7, after all I started the scarf I'm knitting for the hubby's Christmas gift and won't be able to read during lunch time as much.  That was the plan anyway.  Somehow that plan went awry I managed to check out 13 books.  That means I have a little over a day and a half to read each book.  It's possible, but not likely.  I can't seem to stop myself when I'm at the library.  I just wander around browsing through the stacks and 30 minutes later I look at my bag and it's full.  That's usually my cue to go.  The pile is so tall that I'm almost embarrased to check out.  Hopefully they understand.  Well, I've got a lot of reading to do I better go.  Talk to you later. 

Sunday night, and it's quiet.

It's Sunday night, 8:00 and I have the rare occurence of my son being asleep.  My husband has a friend over and they are hanging out in the mancave (garage) and I've locked the cats out of the bedroom.  I have time to myself...it's nice.  This means I can watch tv, read, hang out on the computer and just do what ever I want without distraction.  Freedom.  It's funny I use to spend a lot of time by myself and enjoyed it immensely.  Nowadays I cannot honestly tell you the last time I went to the bathroom by myself.  I usually am leading a parade of kid and pets and even sometimes the hubby.  It's amazing how once a woman becomes a mother, she also becomes a magnet.  I wouldn't change it for anything.  But I am enjoying the quiet tonight.  

If I had known this was going to occur, I would have gone to the store and picked up some yarn.  I've had a hankering to create something.  I retaught myself how to knit a few years ago.  Real Simple (one of my favorite magazines) had an article on how to knit a scarf.  So I did.  I love my scarf it's way too big, taller than me (I'm 5'1"), but its the only thing I've every knitted.  I'm very proud of it.  I want to make one for the hubby but I never seem to be anywhere close to pick up yarn.  I also need to locate my needles.  So I am going to make a concentrated effort to pick up the materials and work on a Christmas gift for the hubby.  He's color blind, so I'm trying to figure out a pleasing color option that he can see.  I like blue and his favorite color is orange so I might do something in those colors.  He'd definitely be able to see it. Oh well, I'll figure it out.  Now I just have to start it and hopefully be finished by Christmas.  Plus, I'll have to figure out how to hide it from him...I guess I'll be knitting during lunch instead of reading. 

Well that's what's in my head tonight. 
Talk to you later.

Tyrannical Threes

My son will be three in October. This brings with it the excitement that he will now be ready for a lot of the toys you see at the store. It also seems to be bringing the added joy of the Tyrannical Threes. They've started showing themselves and I have friends who tell me the Terrible Twos were just the beginning. I went to pick him from daycare on Tuesday and it took me 25 minutes to get him in the car seat and head home. He screamed and cried the entire way home. Once there my little boy returned. Yesterday we had another tantrum where he cried, screamed, kicked and hit for about 30 minutes. My crime? Trying to put clothes on him. My husband, bless him, was able to finally do the deed and we were on our way out the door when, (and this is totally not his fault) he slipped on a spot in the floor and came up all wet. Promptly we got him back into the room to change clothes and the tantrum started all over again. I finally managed to get him in the car...in only a diaper.
I was able get him dressed outside the front of the house where he stays. After that he was his normal rambunctious self. So it seems we are heading toward a much bigger roller coaster than we were on previously. All I can say is we better buckle up tight.
Talk to you later.

Just say no to the brass and glass.

The boy was wild tonight so we decided to load him up in the car to put him to sleep. I know, I know not the best way but sometimes the most effective way to get some rest. While we were driving around our fair town, I got to participate in one of my favorite little pastimes. I like to look in peoples houses. I like to glimpse other lives and to see what they've done to decorate. Now, I've been called a lighting snob, and that might be true. But I was appalled to count 4 brass and glass foyer fixtures (it was a small neighborhood) a lot of lights were turned off but you know there were more. You've seen them they everywhere, glass fixtures bound together with brass. Your typical builder selected fixtures. I know times are tough, believe me I know. These fixtures must go, they are hideous and do nothing to welcome a person to a house. If you own one of these, immediately go directly to a lighting showroom near you and select a new more updated fixture. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors and price ranges, it's a way to express your individuality. Please help the mommies of the world who can't get their kids to sleep. Change your fixture. I like to look at pretty things.

Talk to you later.

Bad day?

The day didn't start out well. I was driving innocently enough minding my own business, just trying to psych myself up for the week. Then CRACK a rock hit the windshield. Immediately it traveled 3 inches up and 1 in down. By the time I got home the crack had developed into a large S curve halfway up the windshield. Last thing I really need or want is to spend $200 on a windshield.

Arriving at work I then proceeded to spill hot tea on my hand. Then 2 seconds after that happened I rammed my sizable booty into the handle of the oven, the pointy corner of the handle. So by 8:15 after having all this happen I had a choice to make, do I let these minor mishaps ruin my day? or do I just accept that I had a bit of bad luck and continue forward with the day? Well, I sulked for a little bit and then the hubby called. Apparently he's been buying lotto tickets and keeping them in the garage since May. Good news! We won approximately $250. There's my new windshield. After getting a glass company to honor their online quote, they are scheduled to arrive tomorrow between 9-10. Plus I'm back at my regular desk at work and actually have voicemail this week, and had a semi productive day. So i guess it wasn't a bad day after all.

Talk to you later.

I was a bad friend

I joined Facebook back in December, my motivation was that I was feeling disconnected from friends and family. For the last few years my world has been work and my hubby, then the kiddo joined us and it was Jacob, hubby and work. I had lost track of my friends and a bit of myself. So I joined, the first friend I found was one of my best friends from childhood. It had been over 20 years since we had contact, I was very excited. The reception was a bit tepid. I really wanted to get back in contact with her especially after checking out her page and getting a glimpse of her life. She had such the cool life. Husband, kids, friends, a positive outlook on life.

After the tepid response, I reached out tentatively a couple more times. And it was the same. So in order to not be a pest I've contented myself to watch her life from a far via Facebook. I realize that I can never make up for what a turd I was too her. But I'm so very happy for the terrific life she has and the person that she has become.

I started thinking about our friendship when we were kids and I understand the response. I was a crappy friend. I'm pretty sure I didn't treat her very well and underestimated her abilities in my own vain effort to build myself up. It makes me think about the person I was, as a kid growing up and I realize that I didn't like myself very much. This extended into high school as well. I was so concerned with myself that I didn't see the people around me as people. I had no empathy for them. I'm very lucky that two of my very best friends are friends from high school, I'm not sure how they managed to put up with me for so long, but I'm grateful that they have.

I hope that I become a better friend over the years. I'm not too sure that I have but I do realize a few things.

1. Never tear someone else down to build yourself up. It's a false house your are building and will never last.

2. If you can't say something nice, try your hardest to say nothing at all. I know it's cliche but that doesn't make it true. It's also something I have to work very hard at and not always successfully.

3. Try to see and realize that everyone else has their own lives and drama's. They are not characters in a play that you control.

4. Be a cheerleader for your friends and they will be one for you.

5. Just be a friend.

Friends are very important. They are the family that you choose for yourself.

Talk to you later.

Mommy must be tired.

For the last two days I've taken my almost 3 year old to day care with his shoes on the wrong feet. I'd like to tell you that Jacob has decided to start putting his own shoes on in the morning and he hasn't figured out his right shoe from his left shoe yet. That's what I want to tell you. But unfortunately, if the truth be told it was mommy. How sad is that? Mommy hasn't been sleeping much and apparently it's manifesting itself.

My reasons for not sleeping vary. For instance last night I wasn't able to get to sleep until about 11:30, the hubby came to be around 12:30. I know I looked at the clock. At 2:35 the kiddo showed up in bed, and yes I let him stay, because mommy is trying to sleep and if I got up and took him back to his room there would be a discussion and mommy wouldn't get back to bed for at least 30 minutes. At 4:00 on of the cats started howling looking for either someone to play or feed him. At 5:30 the alarm went off telling me it's time to get up. Snooze was employed a couple of times, I did finally get up at 5:50.

Now in my defense, it is usually dark at the time that I'm putting his shoes on. The good news is that he hasn't notice that mommy seems to be right/left deficient at the moment. Hopefully I will get some sleep tonight and accomplish the goal of dressing my child without minor mishaps.
Well I'm about to crash. Wish me luck.
Talk to you later.

Fantasy Garden

I have a not so secret desire to have a working vegetable garden. Trouble is I never seem to get to the point where I can get stuff ready in time. So this year I have a couple of small herb gardens. I basically have the tried and true herbs rosemary, oregano, parsley, chives, dill, thyme, tarragon, and the king of my garden basil. Most of the plants are doing pretty well, I don't think english thyme is meant for the Texas summer. Gardening is a learning experience for me. This year I've learned to give basil LOTS of room. The poor tarragon has been overwhelmed by the basil, but he's hanging in there.

I have been having fantasies of adding lots more herbs, like cilantro. I can't believe I live in Texas and didn't plant cilantro. They might revoke my Texan citizenship if too many people find out. After all you can't have a good pico de gallo without cilantro. But I also think i want to try some different varieties of basil and maybe mint. That's just the herb garden. I haven't even gotten to the fantasy vegetable garden. I have a feeling I won't have enough yard, my fantasy garden has already grown beyond the reality. Does anybody else have these fantasies? I imagine myself out in the garden harvesting my beautiful tomatoes, the vibrant peppers, deeply hued eggplants (in my dreams my husband will eat eggplant). Perhaps next year. Of course in my imagination there is no concern of drought, heat or bugs. Sometimes reality might not measure up to the dream. But then again all that fresh food, I bet it might be better.

Next year is the year.

Talk to you later.

Bad Day

So some days just suck! There is no way to get around it. At my place of employment there has been a lot of upheaval and change. I don't deal with change the best and my personality suffers because of it. So it was brought to my attention to basically shape up and tow the company line with relish or go home. I've decided to tow the company line. I'm going to be the ultimate company girl. The thing is I'm frustrated and scared. I'm scared that I can't handle the work load. I'm frustrated because I expect myself to be able to handle it without letting people know how stressed I am. I'm failing at that by the way. Today was a crappy day, and I basically had a mini meltdown. Hopefully, it won't affect my being employed. Because I'm pretty sure I got it out of my system and I will go back to being the somewhat normal person that I want to be.
Or at least I can fake it.
Talk to you later.

The Boy Hates to Sleep

I have a son that hates to go to sleep and today was no exception. Weekends are the worst. Today he went without a nap. Let me tell you an almost three year old who hasn't had a nap can be a terrifying opponent. Today alone we've had hyperactivity, manifesting itself as a one man Tonka truck race through the house. We've had him crying at the drop of the hat, especially when mommy takes away the "toys" he shouldn't be playing with, like my box of books on tape. I'll have to resort all of them, something I'm not looking forward to. To just plain stubbornness, of course that part is probably normal. If this had been a normal night I would have started the bedtime ritual around 8:00 and usually he would finally crash around 10:00. Tonight we took the easy way out and took him for a ride to go to bed early and he was out by 8:00. I don't advocate this but once in awhile a momma needs her sleep.

Run Jimi Run

There was a major power shift in our home almost 3 years ago. Three years ago our home was ruled by the fur people that we served. But of course that changed when we had the kiddo. I feel for the animals. We have 3 cats (Jimi, Snoopy, Ginger) and 1 dog (Zsa Zsa). As often happens, when children are born the pets usually become secondary concerns, we still feed them and love them but their concerns aren't as pressing as they once were. What's worse is that Jacob loves, loves, loves the cats. So much that I'm scared that he will love them to death if we don't keep an eye on him. Jimi seems to be the main recipient of this overly zealous affection. Jimi is an former pet shop cat who is exceptionally sweet tempered who has never hurt a fly.
The other cats will scatter the second they hear Jacob heading in their direction. JImi gets this dear in the headlights look and becomes a statue. It's as if he's thinking if I don't move, he won't see me. Unfortunately, there is nothing wrong with the boy's eyes. He sees Jimi and is like a magnet to steel. There have been a couple of instances when I'm in one room and I hear something being dragged across the floor (we have no carpet in the house), when I go to investigate I find poor Jimi being dragged across the floor by the tail. I can't figure out why he won't run. When we see Jacob lock on to the poor cat, we try to get Jimi to run and if that doesn't work we are trying to teach Jacob to be gentle and it works for a while. But then he gets excited and wants to hug Jimi or have him sit in his lap and the poor cat just sits there waiting for his torture to end.
Hopefully this torture will end soon for Jimi.

John Hughes

I was saddened to hear about the passing of John Hughes today. His movies helped to define my generation. I think most kids growing up in the 80's could identify with one or more of his characters. While my favorite of his movies was Sixteen Candles, I most identified with Ally Sheedy's character in the Breakfast Club. Often, I felt like the outsider who was overlooked and at times unpleasant, who was jealous of the others. I couldn't see that the people I was jealous of were often very similar to myself. I'm happy to say that I've matured since then and perhaps John Hughes is partly to thank for that.

Maybe I'll pick up a copy of Sixteen Candles this weekend.

Talk to you later.

Library Night!!!!

I'm a big reader and I've started to go to the library every three weeks to get a bunch of books to hopefully be able to finish by the time the cycle is up.

I love the library, it's one of my favorite places to go, my sanctuary. It's probably the only time I get 40 minutes to an hour all to myself. Nobody want's anything from me at this time, except for my library card. My excitement is usually palpable during the day, waiting for 5:00 so that I can go straight to the library from work. It makes me happy, and even better it is FREE!

When I say that it's a bunch of books, I mean that I usually get around 11 - 13 books. Depending on the book and my preference at the time I can usually get through most of the books. I'm a fairly fast reader and usually read during lunch and before bed at night.

As far as the genre of books that I read, I'll read just about anything but tend to lean towards series mysteries. I like to get to know the characters. I also enjoy books that make me laugh, humor is very important to me.

So here are the selections from this trip to library:

Hex Marks the Spot
Madelyn Alt

A Charmed Death
Madelyn Alt

Curing the Blues with a New Pair of Shoes
Dixie Cash - New author to me

Good Luck
Whitney Gaskell

Pushing 30
Whitney Gaskell

Murder of a Royal Pain
Denise Swanson - I really enjoy this series. I love small town mysteries. You get to know everybody.

The Fourth Bear
Jasper Fforde - I've read the first in the series The Big Over Easy, this definitely fits into the mystery/humor category

Thursday Next in Lost in a Good Book
Jasper Fforde

This Charming Man
Marian Keyes - She is a great Irish author who infuses a lot of humor into her books. Her books on the Walsh girls are really good.

The Other Queen
Philippa Gregory - Historical fiction, a friend of mine has turned me on to some historical novels lately, a bit of departure for me, but I've really enjoyed them.

Between the Bridge and the River
Craig Ferguson - I love Late Late Show when I'm able to stay awake. When I saw this I just had to check it out.

To Say Nothing of the Dog
Connie Willis - Same friend that turned me on to historical fiction inspired this selection. She's reading Doomsday book, but my library didn't have it.

Compulsion: An Alex Delaware novel
Jonathan Kellerman - I really enjoy his writing, both he and his wife Faye Kellerman are a couple of my favorite authors.

If anybody has any suggestions on authors or books, I'll be happy to check them out (pardon the pun). Hopefully I've inspired you to pick up a book or two. Maybe even you've discovered a new author, that would be cool.

Well off to read a book.
Talk to you later.

Question of the day.

So the question of the day is...How much wood can a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Yes, that's right...I have no clue what to right about, so I've decided to have a question of the day instead. Actually I'm tired of being depressing so I've decided to lighten the mood just a bit. Did it work? Did you at least crack a smile? A tiny one? Okay if that didn't work here is a joke.

What did the meatball say to the spaghetti?


Wait for it...


Nothing meatballs don't talk.

So on that note.
Talk to you later.

Sundays

Sundays are interesting days. Sometimes they are the only day I have off so it's a tiny refuge in a sea of working days. I can usually relax most of the of the day. In the evenings I watch WKRP and now Barney Miller. But as the economy shows more signs of sucking, my Sundays are becoming anxiety ridden, I either can't eat or eat too much. My brain starts thinking about work and the changes that are happening, layoffs, job re allocations, taking on more work when it's already impossible to keep up...you get the idea. My brain also starts up about money or rather the lack of...what bills to pay, can we put one off for a few day? Where is the money going to come from? I don't sleep very well anymore most days but Sunday night are the worst. Usually its around 2 before I pass out and then I have to wake up at 5:30 to start the cycle of work, home, work, home all over again. I'm just plain scared of whats to come. I don't see that its getting better no matter what the news says. So far in my industry it is getting worse. Lighting is one of the last things to go into a home, so we are one of the last to feel the pinch and will be one of the last to recover. So here's to hoping that I can hang on till then...wish me luck. And good luck to you as well.
Talk to you later.

My new obsession

I have an obsession. I am on Facebook and at first I avoided the games, I'm 37 years old and figured it's time to stop the games, I haven't pulled out my gamecube for years. But then I saw several of my friends were doing it. Obviously, if I wanted to be cool and be part of the in crown I should at least take a look at it...right? So I signed on to play Farmville. At first I wasn't so sure. But see, I didn't get the garden I wanted this year so I've have this itching to grow something and that itch has slowly taken over and now I'm one big chicken pox. I'm a Farmville farmer and I am constantly checking on my crops. What's worse I have also signed on to FarmTown as well. I now have two farms to manage. But see they are something that I can control. If I'm stressed out I can go check on my crops and there they are waiting for me to take care of them with very little effort, just a few clicks of a mouse and they are ready to go. No surprises...no snakes, bugs, 105 degree heat, humidity. The only drawback I see at the moment is I don't get to revel in my harvest. No tomatoes for my salad, no squash for my quiche, no eggplant to frighten the hubby and child away from the table. But for now it's seems to be enough.
I have a friend who has also fallen prey to the temptations of FarmTown, it seems to be good therapy for her. I only hope it can help her get through this tough time. She was one of the ones let go yesterday at work and it just sucks. But she is a very neat individual who will survive and I'm hoping that she'll find something that will nurture her creative side. I think that is part of what she gets from FarmTown. A way to create something that is an expression of her.
Well I have to get back to my crops...the rice will be ready to harvest any minute..
Talk to you later.

Work stress

So work is becoming even more stressful than ever. There were three terminations today. It's a small company and we had already had layoffs prior and I figured we were already bare bones but unfortunately the economy has finally really started to hit the lighting industry. I'm fortunate to have attached myself to a vital outside salesman. Our motto is that "We will do anything" which seems to work so far. But I do see that there is less business out there. I hate that people have been laid off but I'm grateful that it wasn't me. So I've been trying to figure out alternate sources of income and think I might have come up with a couple of ideas but I'm pretty sure it's not enough, diversification seems to be the key. I'll keep working on it and perhaps I'll come up with million dollar idea, or even a few thousand dollar idea. Anything to keep the dream rolling along. Talk to you more later.

The Second Blog

Well it turns out the second post might be the hardest one...I have been struggling for days trying to figure out what I should post. I've started several posts only to reject them for being verbose and self important. I suspect that this will become easier over time. Perhaps one day someone else besides me will read them. Of coure for that to happen I might have to tell people that I'm doing this. Until then this is my little secret...

The first blog...

And so it begins. Perhaps I should begin with a little bit about myself. My name is Rachel and I am a married, 37 year old mom to a 2 3/4 year old boy Jacob, who sometimes channels Mussolini. I work full time as project manager for a lighting company in Dallas...which is just a fancy way of saying that I sell lighting and associated products, you know light bulbs, dimmers, yada, yada, yada.

Working full time I find I don't have a lot of time to connect with people outside of work and home. My commute is about an hour each way so by the time I'm home it's time for dinner then bedtime for my boy. Living in the metroplex my friends are scattered and busy with their own families. I figure there are tons of people who are similar to me. After being a loner for many years I find myself wanting connections.

Well, what else can I tell you? I love to read, mostly mysteries but I've been expanding my repertoire since rediscovering the joy of free books from the library. I love to hang out with my son and husband. I harbor fantasies of a large vegetable/herb garden, I have a small herb garden this year, and I'm currently cultivating a decent Farmville Farm on Facebook. I enjoy television but seem to have little time for it. I do try to catch my favorites like Top Chef when I can.

I guess that's an okay start to my blog. Granted it's nothing stellar but you have to start somewhere right?