Candied Baklava

(I'll recap Christmas later)

Yesterday, I went over to my friend Jami's house (waving, 'cause I know she reads here) to learn to make baklava from her mom, who was visiting for a week. Mmmm, baklava. And this is Persian baklava. The baklava you get in bakeries is usually Greek baklava, which means it has walnuts & honey. Persian baklava uses almonds and sugar, and I think it has a more delicate flavor. I just found out that Lebanese baklava uses pistacios, and I might have to try that sometime. Although I knew the basics of how baklava works, it's nice to have someone to walk you through it the first time.

When I got there, we had to run out to the store to pick up more almonds and another pastry brush, since we made two pans simultaneously. Also, Jami needed a little breathing room from her mom, which I can totally understand. When we got back, we got down to business.

Each pan of baklava calls for a pound of melted butter. Start layering the phyllo sheets, with butter between each layer. I quickly forgot how many layers I'd put down, because of course I was constantly talking and not paying attention. Margey (Jami, how does your mom spell her name?) works with a charity that is building schools in Afganistan, and one of the fundraisers they did was an Afgani dinner. That is so the kind of fundraiser I could get behind! Luckily, baklava is forgiving of that kind of distraction.

After putting down 8 layers of phyllo, add ¼ of the filling. The filling is four cups of nuts and four cups of sugar. More phyllo, more filling, etc. Total of four layers of filling, five layers of phyllo. Then cut into squares or diamonds (the hardest part!), and bake for about 30 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown. While it's baking, make the syrup, which is a cup of water, two cups of sugar, a couple cinnamon sticks, and a tablespoon of lemon juice.

As she was copying the recipe (from this fabulous old cookbook called The Persian Kitchen), I noticed that she wrote down that the filling calls for TWO cups of sugar. Not four. Two. When I noticed, she said, "Oh, that's right," crossed out the 2 and wrote a 4. But then she went back to the book and realized that indeed, we should have used just two cups of sugar. Well, it was too late to do anything about it, so we decided to just wing it. Once it was done baking (it looked gorgeous!), we pulled it out and poured the hot syrup over it. Then we waited for it to cool. And waited. And waited.

While we were waiting, we snitched samples. The phyllo was wonderfully crisp, yet chewy due to the syrup. The filling was . . . um. Yeah. The filling was sweet. Really sweet. Hence the name "Candied Baklava." I'm going to cut a couple pieces for the kids and take the rest in to work today, and hopefully it'll all get eaten. I do plan to make baklava again, but I think that Candied Baklava is going to be retired. The story will certainly make it into my recipe book, though! ;D

Pity Party

Uuuuurgh.

I feel like crap.

My sinuses are all raw.

I had to pull the car over on the way to work so I could throw up.

Since my morning student didn't show up, I've been taking naps back here. It helps, but then I walk around and feel queasy again.

I really intended to go to the post office and run other errands, but it's not happening.

Bleagh.

Queen Kim the Productive

Yes, I saw Narnia last night; it was great!

My awesome wonderful parents had the girls for a sleepover last night, so I got to run errands this morning all by myself, which totally rocked!

I went to the mall for a present for Jeff and perfume for my SIL. Barnes & Nable for books for my Dad & my brother. Dollar Store for stocking stuffers. Grocery shopping (somehow, I lost a bag of groceries - d'oh!), too. Now I'm tired, but the house is a wreck, and I still have to make dinner. Once the kids are in bed, I'm up for some sewing.

The best things, though, are these: They're birthstone bracelets for my MIL, Sarah, Lauren, and stepmom. Sarah's birthstone is amethyst, and Lauren's is aquamarine. I realized, though, that since they're birthstone bracelets, I really should wait for their birthdays to give them to the girls. I so want to give them to them right away, though! I just hope they fit - I might try them on them while they sleep.

Hee

We went to the Rockettes last night, and had a lot of fun. One of the other moms from Sarah's tap class reserved a block of tickets, so in addition to getting the seats for half price, Sarah got to sit by one of her friends in dance class. I'm glad we got tickets for this instead of the Nutcracker, although that was a tradition when I was growing up and I really love it. But this was a little easier for little kids to get into (Lauren kept asking "Where's Santa?" every time he was off stage). Sarah said her favorite part was the living Nativity at the end. I was glad to see the show end on a non-commercial note.

As we were leaving, it was snowing, and had been for a while (which we'd expected--we have quite a bit of accumulation this morning). As the huge crowd was crowding toward the parking structure, a group of people behind us began singing, "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow." For me, that was the high point of the evening--people taking something that was an inconvenience and having fun with it. It got a laugh out of pretty much everyone else, as well.

As for that last entry, well . . . the beginning of the week was rough. And I still have too much to do, but I'm not stressing about it as much anymore, though I did add "blender and margarita mix" to my Christmas list). Thanks for the good wishes, everyone!

AUGH!

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The Story Behind the Dresses

. . . or, How Kim Almost Got Herself in Way Over Her Head.

When I screwed up cutting out the bodice front piece of Lauren's dress last week, I scrambled to the nearest JoAnn Fabrics. Not the same one where I bought the fabric, but it was closer and I was hopeful. As soon as I walked it, I saw this gorgeous fabric. It looked like velvet with detailed metallic embroidery. Very flowy, graceful, Christmasy. And they had, in addition to deep red with gold stitching, midnight blue with silver stitching (which looks great on blondes) and hunter green with gold stitching (which looks great on redheads).

As soon as I saw it, I fell in love. I seriously considered putting aside the dress I'd already done, as well as the one I'd cut out (and screwed up) in favor of making two entirely new dresses out of this fabric. Did I mention that I did this on Saturday night? And that the pictures were going to be on Tuesday morning? And still I thought, "Yeah, I'd have to sew pretty much non-stop, but I could make it." Luckily for me, a saleslady saw the pattern envelope in my hand and said that the fabric wouldn't work with a gathered skirt. So I was off the hook. For this year.

I wonder if it would go on really deep sale after Christmas . . . I could find a pattern that would work, and buy enough to make the next size up, and be all set to make the dresses in September if I wanted! No rushing next year!!! That would be so awesome!

Um. Yeah. Anyway, THIS year's photo session went very well. Here's what we got (by the way, I don't know how true the color will be, but they're purple shot with some silver, and silver ribbon at the waist and cuffs):

Sewing, part deux

Here are the dresses, finally finished (almost--I still need to put a hook & eye at the tops in back). I think they're cute, but as always, I think they "look homemade." I've never made dresses in matching fabric before, so I also think they're a little "matchy-matchy." But at least they're done, and now I can move on to my next 50 projects.

Bleep

I like sewing, right? So why am I so ticked off right now?

Because, even though I made multiple perfect practice button holes on some test fabric, the top buttonhole on Sarah's dress has not worked three times now. I'm starting to worry about the integrity of the fabric, but I put it away for now. I still have to hem it, and it's too big around, but I can't change that.

Because I wasn't paying attention when I laid out the bodic pieces for Lauren's dress this afternoon and I cut the bodice front right down the center. I don't have enough fabric to cut the front out again, so now I get to go to the fabric store again and try to get a new piece. I am not looking forward to that.

Pictures are Tuesday, did I mention that?

16 days 0 days since Lauren's last accident.

You know, like the signs they have at construction sites?

Although she still frequently wets the bed at night, she hasn't had a daytime accident since November 3rd.

Hey, she needed a bath and hair washing anyway . . .

Scientists say cold noses reduce ability to fight virus attacks

Interesting, but short of a balaclava, how do I keep their noses warm?

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/11/14/cold.chill/index.html

"If they become chilled, this causes a pronounced constriction of the blood vessels in the nose and shuts off the warm blood that supplies the white cells that fight infection. The reduced defences in the nose allow the virus to get stronger and common cold symptoms develop."

Edited to add: I guess a balaclava really wouldn't cut it, since it doesn't cover the nose, as I thought. "Ski mask" probably would have been better, but I don't think they would wear that, either, so I'm back where I started.

Well, that's cleared up

Last night, around quarter after 10, the phone rang, and the caller ID said, "Nevada." Um, I don't know anyone in Nevada, so I didn't answer it. But I checked the voicemail a few minutes later, and apparently, I do know someone in Nevada. It was my brother. My brother that no one has heard from in weeks. When my sister-in-law got a really good job offer in Las Vegas, they couldn't turn it down, so they moved. I told him that I understood that every bit of money they had needed to go to keeping the family afloat, but that I was still pissed that he hadn't let anyone know. He accepts that, and is sincerely sorry. I'm sad that they live so far away now, but glad they're ok.

Dude, are you mad at ME?!?

Remember this? When I said, "eventually, we got to an ER," what I didn't say is that we went to an urgent care facility first, waited for half an hour, and then when we finally got up to fill out the paperwork, someone came out and said that the X-ray machine was broken, and that since it was a head injury, she'd probably need a CAT scan, anyway (which they don't have), so we should head down to the ER a couple miles away. I was pissed, especially at having to wait for nothing, but left. Happily, the ER was great, and everything was fine.

Today, when I checked voicemail this afternoon, I had a call from the doc in charge at the Urgent Care facility first, wanting to know why I'd left without getting Sarah checked out. I called him back and explained what had happened. He talked about how she should have been checked out there first, and then done an official transfer. If something had happened to her on the way to the ER, the UC facility would have been liable. He said that he wanted to make sure his staff knew that what happened shouldn't have happened, and wanted to know if I remembered who had told me about the X-ray, what that person looked like, etc. Well, I didn't remember; I barely remembered what time we'd been in.

So then he got this tone in his voice, and said that they rarely do CAT scans on children anymore unless a concussion is indicated, and got all snotty. You know, I appreciate that your staff screwed up, and you want to make sure it doesn't happen again. But don't take it out on me.

Doing a little better

I've been really crabby all week. No suprise there, I know. But I talked to my mom last night, and at least now I know the plan. She's going to take some meds, then start chemo probably on Monday, and have three or four courses of that. Then the double mastectomy probably in January, then more chemo. Sounds horrible, but she's in good spirits. I asked her if she'd get medical marijuana, and get to be a big ol' pothead, but she laughed and said no. I'll probably go down there sometime in January to help out. I really want to thank everyone for all the good wishes--it really does make a difference.

I think I'm going to crawl into a hole

Or maybe crawl into bed. My grandfather died this morning. I am totally at a loss.

Edited to add: Apparently, the pictures I took back in June are the last ones of him.

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween! We had a good time - the rain held off, except for a drop or two, and it wasn't too cold. I can't believe how nice it's been the past three years on Halloween--we've really lucked out.

We went to our neighbor's house first, and since the three girls play together often, we all went around the neighborhood together. We only stayed out for about an hour, but they still got plenty of candy, of course.

The most memorable part of the night was when we went to a house with a person sitting outside. The person was dressed up as a witch or scarecrow or something, and sitting very still. Sarah & Sammy hung back--they could tell something was up. Lauren didn't even seem to notice and walked right past him/her. When the person moved, she kind of did a double take ("Wow, that's a real person!") but then asked for candy right away. It never even occurred to her to be scared. We went to another house that was intentionally scary, that the two big girls wouldn't go near--that person was walking around, and wearing a very scary mask, but again, nothing was going to keep Lauren from the candy.

It Never Fails

When I go out shopping with little or no money, I find so many things I want. When I go out with money burning a hole in my pocket, I find nothing. This is doubly so if I'm shopping for myself.

I was going to make these dresses for the girls for Christmas, until I realized that the skirts are taffeta, which is dry clean only.

So even though I love the pattern, it's not going to happen (a bonus is that I don't have to make piping, which I have a feeling would be a pain). I'm frustrated that there aren't more moderately fancy winter dress patterns out there.

For now, I'm making the dresses for which I already have patterns and fabric, and looking for holiday sweaters. For Christmas, I might use the same pattern I did last year, but different fabric and no collar. I don't know yet, but I'm a little frustrated.

Happily, I found out that My Photographer now gets your pictures back to you the same day, instead of having to wait three weeks! I was so happy about that, but I was a little overwhelmed to realize that I have almost a month to find something for the kids to wear, instead of barely two weeks!

Kinda Tired

When I got home from grocery shopping this morning, all set to make Calico Beans for the church potluck and Pecan Tartlets for the Baking Contest (because I didn't have time to make my Torte, even though I think it's more impressive), and Jeff mentioned that Sarah had fallen a little earlier, and hit her head.

We didn't think anything of it until she started throwing up. Eventually she and I made it to the ER and she got a CT scan (was terrified at the thought of an X-ray) and was pronounced ok. At home, Jeff made the beans, which came out yummy as always. The tartlets never got started - oh well! - and Sarah is asleep right now. I think I might go take a nap, too.

Spoke too soon

Remember this? Yeah, well. Not so much.

As it turns out, my mom does have some variety of inflammatory breast cancer. She meets with the oncologist next Wednesday (which infuriates me that she didn't see him/her the same damn day, but has to wait a fucking week), and they'll give her the course of action, but a double mastectomy is a given. Before they can do that, though, she has to have chemo to reduce the size of her breasts, so that they have enough skin left to cover things up. They also have to see if it's metastasized.

I've spent a lot of the past day and a half swearing and crying. My mom, however, is in very good spirits. She is very comfortable leaving it up to God (though of course she's getting treatment), and has joked about finally being able to wear cute little bras, and getting a blue & yellow striped mohawk wig. She feels that she's going to come through fine. I should mention that she's been cancer free for over nine years.

I'm also incredibly pissed off and frustrated at my brother, who has apparently dropped off the face of the earth. He doesn't really have a relationship with my mom, and she's said that I shouldn't feel obligated to tell him about this, but it's making me even crazier that I can't get ahold of him.

Picture of the day

I'm running to get ready for work this morning, but couldn't resist putting up this picture from yesterday. Feel free to suggest a caption!

Extravagant

I went in to get my hair cut & colored yesterday morning. I had to miss my last haircut, so I just skipped it altogether. "Mistake. Big mistake. Huge." (a cookie for the first person to get that quote)

Also, I think I've been watching too much What Not to Wear, because I got a sudden urge for color. I've had blonde highlights before, but I've also been auburn, which looks nice, and highlights cost too dang much.

I got there about 10 minutes late (I hate having to get cash for the tip - I live for the debit card!), and since there was another woman coming in, two other people than my regular stylist put the goop on my hair. As long as Danielle (regular stylist for 8 1/2 years now) gave them the color formula, I didn't care who put it on me.

As for that color, I wanted a change, but nothing too drastic, so we went with a red/brown mix. Sadly, I realized that I couldn't get my hair to Lauren's color without serious work.

After they get it all on my hair (with a pause to mix some more, because nobody ever seems to get just how much hair I have), they washed it and I sat with some magazines to try to figure out a cut. When my hair gets too long and unruly, I get utterly sick of it and say, "Shave it all off for all I care. Just fix it so it doesn't drive me crazy anymore." Eventually, I came up with two choices. A longer cut, still down to around my shoulders, that flips up on the ends (it took me a long time to deal with the flippiness of my hair, though it is considered stylish now), or a considerably shorter 'do. I've had very short hair before, and like it, but longer hair gives me more options, and is easier to deal with, except for time involved in getting it dry. Besides, I can always go shorter later if I feel like it.

Cut, cut, cut. Haul out the hairdryer. "How does the color look?" "It's great, very rich looking." Once it's all done, I look at it. Huh. It looks almost the same color as it was when I walked in. We go outside to get some natural light. There, I can see the red undertones, but really, it still just looks brown. "You know, I was really looking for the red to 'pop' a little more." Thinking: I'm not spending $$ for color to not see any difference!

We head back in, and Danielle decides to use a demi permanent color, true red, the most intense demi color they have. She tells me that my hair just didn't pick up the red before, so we're not going to mess around. They mix this up, and the same two people apply it, again needing to mix more. What, you guys didn't learn earlier?

After they wash it out, again with the blowdryer. This time, I can tell it's red, but it's a pretty dark red. I like it. After four hours (I'm so glad Grammy came over to babysit instead of someone I had to pay!), I was done.

Later, Jeff & I were talking about the charm (a gingerbread cookie) I want for my bracelet . It's pricey (almost $100), and I said, "Maybe that should be a Christmas present instead of a birthday present. My hair can be my birthday present!" He looked suprised. "How much was your hair?" "Heh, more than the charm." He was suprised, so I broke it down. $30 for the cut, $50 for the color, and $13 each for a bottle of shampoo & conditioner, $20 for the tip. The product is the truly extravagant part, I think. I generally go for the cheapest stuff around, and it doesn't make a bit of difference to my hair. But when chemicals are involved, I splurge a little and go for the good stuff. But still, eeek at that much for two bottles! So I spent more than a week's worth of groceries in a few hours, just on myself! That's an odd feeling - I'm generally very frugal.

Making Lemonade

The bright spots of the cancellation of the class I was supposed to start today:

• Since the class I'm getting instead will only be two days a week, I won't have to pay for any babysitting.
• Since I can pick up an extra class over two Saturdays, I won't be losing much money (the total is almost the same amount, just over five weeks instead of three).
• On the days I do work, I'll be home by 1:30 instead of 4:30, so it'll be lots easier to do schoolwork and whatever else is going on around here.

Cross your fingers

Overheard yesterday at my house:
Mom: There's a hockey game tonight - do you guys want to go?
Sarah & Lauren (jumping in the air): Yeah! Hockey!
Mom: OK, Lauren, if you want to go, you have to poop on the potty first.
Lauren: (runs to bathroom)

Eventually, a few hours later, after multiple potty breaks and a few false positive reports, we had results! Yes! So this morning, Lauren got to watch TV after breakfast and will get to sing with the choir at church. And last night, she got to cheer at the hockey game (minor league) and eat popcorn and a hot dog--the real reason for her excitement, I think.

The whole night, we kept telling her that now she could use the potty all the time and wouldn't go in her pants anymore, because she's such a big girl. Oh, how I hope . . .

I knew it was coming

I knew 80's fashion would eventually reappear. Cringe. I mean, I really bring the whole big hair look, but I'm not looking forward to shiny fabric and linebacker shoulder pads.

(seen at http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/)

The Plan

The plan for today:

Call work and get the mistake with my check worked out. Part of it is my fault for not checking the contracts more closely before I signed them. If they don't want me to cash this check and make up the difference, but wait for a new one, I will sweetly offer to go and pick up a new check TODAY. No, I don't want to wait for three days, thanks.

Work on Lauren's Halloween costume. That is, start Lauren's Halloween costume.

Continue to look for the mask to Sarah's costume, which I found out was lost on Friday. I'm still pissed off about that.

Read The Strong Willed Child. Lauren's potty training is still not moving forward; to make a crude and obvious pun, she just doesn't give a shit. Even though I've told her that only big girls get to sing in the choir at church and have sleepovers, and she wants those things, she obviously doesn't want them enough. Last night, I started "only big girls get desserts." If I don't see some progress soon, I'm going to be ready for "only big girls get to watch TV." Jeff suggested that one a while ago, but I thought it too severe. HA!

Scale Mount Laundry, and try to get it down to a foothill.

Wow, that was a good movie

Crash.

See it.

One of the user comments on the www.imdb.com site reads, "in one absolutely brilliant moment I was literally sobbing at the expectation of horror unfolding, only to be cathartically released in a most unexpected way." That is exactly the way I felt.

And I can't say any more, because I have to get ready for work tomorrow, which includes getting everything ready for the babysitter.

World's Shortest Personality Test

Your Personality Profile

You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Color Blind, or Just Blind?

When Kanye West said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people," I agreed, but thought it would have been more accurate to say, "George Bush doesn't care about poor people."

I feel fairly certain that our president is just as happy to take money from black people as from white, and to advance their interests, as long as those interests coincide with those of other wealthy people. It's about money, not race.

But. That's what most white people think. Most black people disagree. Why is this?

There's talk of putting a WalMart Super Center fairly near the current Wal Mart in our area, on the site of a deserted mall in Livonia. I knew people were up in arms about it, because Wal Mart is notorious for killing surrounding small businesses. Maybe people don't like it, I thought, but something there is better than a big empty nothing.

I couldn't believe it this morning when I read an article in the local paper that said, "Bypassing the common practice of using code words or euphemisms when speaking critically of African Americans, some white residents expressed fears about people from mostly black Detroit coming to mostly white Livonia to shop and work, and suggested that Livonia would become a ghetto."

HUH? Where did that come from? And how is it that I keep forgetting that so many people feel this way? When I hear about local hate crimes, I feel sad, but know that it's the work of lone hateful idiots. Normal, rational people don't feel this way, right?

During the first mayoral debate, standing mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said, "In Birmingham, in Bloomfield Hills and all these places they do more meth, they do more ecstasy and they do more acid than all the schools in the city of Detroit put together." No one disputes that drugs are everywhere, but the comment was unsubstantiated and looked like he was trying to shift blame. (For the record, I am not a fan of Kwame Kilpatrick, and I hope Freeman Hendricks kicks his ass in the election.)

Still, some people aprove of his remarks and feel that he stands up for them. I think there are some who think that Freeman Hendricks is a puppet of the suburbs.

Another controversy is that Grosse Pointe school districts have recently required its students to reregister in order to prove they live within district boundaries. I understand that many feel this is a "keep the blacks out" move, but I see it as a sincere attempt to relieve overcrowding. My aunt used to use my grandmother's GP Woods address so that her daughter could go to a Grosse Pointe school. It bugged me then. If I'm paying higher taxes so my kid can go to a better school, I don't want 5 extra kids in the class from families who aren't contributing, and that includes white kids from St. Clair Shores as well as black kids from Harper Woods.

Several years ago in college, one of my friends posed the hypothetical question, "If you were walking down the street, and saw a black man walking toward you, would you cross the street?" I told her that I was too shallow to deal with skin color, and would probably look at what they were wearing first. "If I saw a bunch of rowdy white guys with tattoos & motorcycle gear on one side, and one black guy wearing a sweatshirt and carrying a backpack, I'd probably stick to the side with the black guy."

Maybe I just don't get it. I grew up in white bread Grosse Pointe (though I did go to school in Detroit for kindergarten & 1st grade). I graduated high school in ultra white bread Idaho. I currently live in a multi-racial neighborhood, but most of our immediate neighbors are white. Sarah had a couple black girls in her dance class over the summer, but I can't remember if any of them are in her current class. A few of our neighbors are elderly, and I'm curious about what kind of new neighbors we'll get when they move. I'm more concerned about "will they have kids the same age as my kids" than "will they be black or Middle Eastern or whatever."

Confession: one time, I told one of my friends that over the summer, she'd gotten brown as a "nigger." I still can't believe I said that, but I wanted to see what kind of reaction I'd get. Neither of my friends said anything about it, then or ever, though I saw them exchange a shocked look. That's a hard (embarassing, shameful) confession to make, and it's hard for me not to delete this paragraph.

There's no real point to this entry. I just don't understand why this is still an issue. I know that it's natural to see similarities and differences when you first meet people, and to try to categorize them, but doing that is getting in the way of living and prospering. Sadly, I don't see things turning around on a large scale. At this point, I don't think my kids notice skin color. I hope I can keep it that way.

Thanks, Everyone!

I talked to my mom a few minutes ago, and while her problem is not mastitis, neither is it inflammatory breast cancer. The docs that she spoke with feel that it is a long term side effect of the radiation treatment she recieved a few years ago. They'll follow up with a mammogram, but everything looks ok.

I really appreciate all the good wishes from everyone - it helped a lot.

Calendar Juggling

I'm teaching a day class next week and the week after that. I took it because, even though it's all day, every day (except the first Friday), it's very good money and only two weeks. I even thought, "Heck, maybe I'll do these once in a while as a semi-regular thing."

Then I looked at the calendar.

All my evening classes are getting pushed back by two weeks, because there's no way I'm teaching all day, coming home, and leaving again to teach at night. This works out for the best, though, because now they have time to get the word out to more people, and we should have a better turnout for those evening classes when they do start.

Lauren's dance classes will be ending right about the time I get home. I think on the first week, I'll be able to cut out an hour early, which will get me home in time. The second week, either my Dad will take her (I hope he can come over those days); we'll switch to the other day and Grammy can take her; or she'll miss it.

Story time is in the mornings, but I could switch her to a different day in the evenings. She could just miss it, but she really likes it.

Add to this the babysitter issues, critical meal planning and school planning that I'll need to do, and this "Working Mom" stuff is for the birds. I briefly thought about taking the next full time class as well, but I think I'll pass. I do hope they can get the Monday/Wednesday classes rolling, because two days a week is a very happy medium.

Today, I have a dentist appointment, I have to call the ped for Lauren, who sounds like a frog right now, I need to call my Dad back, I have a class tonight, and my mom is going to see a doc this morning.

I'm off to update my Outlook calendar!

Yeah, that was fun

Yesterday, a guy came to our front door saying that he'd been in the neighborhood trimming trees, and wanted to know if we wanted the dead one in the back taken down. "Sure, come give us an estimate." He suggested $400, which was about what I'd heard before. If not for the brakes on the car a while back, it would have been a done deal. He offered $200 to take off the big branches, leaving just the trunk. OK, that's not too bad, and then the major hazard will be gone, and we can get rid of the trunk next year.

So he's up in the tree like a squirrel, lopping off branches. Sure enough, one fell on the power lines, and ZAP! ripped it right out of the power pole behind the house. Jeff had asked him if was insured, and he said he was, but! - he didn't have his card with him. As we were getting information, it turns out he didn't have a driver's license, either. As I'm fuming that I don't want to give him a thin dime, Jeff wrote him a $75 check and said good bye. I couldn't even talk to him - I was afraid of what I might say.

I called Edison, and they said someone would be out "between now and 2." Alrighty! We borrowed our neighbor's generator, Jeff stayed home from his Bible study, and we kind of winged it for the rest of the night. Sarah got to break in her Incredibles flashlight a little earlier than planned, though. After the girls were in bed, Jeff & I watched Suspect Zero on his laptop, plugged in to the extension cord. He went to bed, but I stayed up reading/dozing on the couch to see when the guys got here.

They didn't come. I called Edison at 8, and they had no ETA for the repairmen, but "a crew has been assigned, so they should be on their way, if they're not there now."

At noon, I called Edison back. "Did they get lost?" The lady I talked to was very nice, and I realized that they thought we needed tree trimming first. Nooooo, that's what got us into this problem in the first place! The tree is absolutely not the issue! About 20 minutes after that, the tree trimmer guy showed up. Too bad they can't contact these guys, huh? He ripped some vines off the power pole, then left.

FINALLY, at about quarter after four, the Edison truck showed up. We have power again, and I can get my computer fix.

On the bright side, the guy didn't fall out of the tree and break his neck. He didn't drop a log through the roof of the garage. The wire came out of the pole, not the house, so it wasn't hot. We didn't get charged for the Edison call. (I still have to call the phone company, because that wire is sagging in a big way.)

We have an agreement to find (or make!) a No Soliciting Sign ASAP.

Frustrated

Although my mom tells me that my frustration energy would be better put toward prayers, I'm still pissed off on her behalf.

She's been jumping through hoops to get in to see a doc, and hasn't gotten anywhere. She's had financial appointments (yes, plural), only to discover that their income is too high by $1oo/week to qualify. So next she's calling the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, and will hopefully get an appointment there soon.

The issue? One of her breasts is red, painful and swollen. At this point, the most likely culprits are a) mastitis (due to previous radiation therapy) or b) inflammatory breast cancer. Luckily, mastitis is MUCH more likely, because inflammatory breast cancer is some nasty shit. Of course, if it isn't mastitis, and she needs chemotherapy, etc., these few weeks could make a very large difference.

She's been taking colloidal silver (a natural antibiotic) for a while, and the redness & swelling have diminished, which is good news, but the only way to rule out cancer is a) a fine needle biopsy, b) a regular surgical biopsy, c) an ultrasound, or d) an MRI.

So I'm pissed at the health care system (she was actually suprised at how "insurance-driven" it all is) and concerned, but hoping for the best.

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH BALSAMIC-CRANBERRY SAUCE

For the original recipe, which involved roasting a pork tenderloin inthe oven: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/100314?id=100314&kw=&action=filtersearch&QueryZip=%28%28cranberry%29+%3CIN%3E+%28CNContent%2Ctitle%29%29&Filter=recipe%2Dfilter%2Ehts&ResultTemplate=recipe%2Dresults%2Ehts&QueryText=%28%28cranberry%29+%3CIN%3E+%28CNContent%2Ctitle%29%29&Collection=Recipes&ResultStart=151&ResultCount=15&BrowseLink=%3CA+HREF%3D%22%22%3EQuick+Search%3C%2FA%3E+%26gt%3B+keyword%3A+cranberry

PORK TENDERLOIN MEDALLIONS WITH BALSAMIC-CRANBERRY SAUCE

salt & pepper
1 8- to 10-ounce pork tenderloin
1 ½ Tablespoons butter
½ cup chopped onion
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
½ cup canned low-salt chicken broth
1/3 cup canned whole berry cranberry sauce
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Slice pork into 1 inch wide medallions. Season with salt & pepper. Saute pork in a large frying pan. Don't over cook - the meat should still have some resiliency when you push on it. Remove from pan to a plate, and cover with tin foil.

Melt butter in the same pan, and scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom. Saute the onion & rosemary until the onion is soft & translucent. Add the broth, cranberry sauce, and balsamic vinegar and whisk until the cranberry sauce is melted. Add any juice from the pork chops to the sauce. Boil the sauce until it has reduced enough to coat a spoon (according to the original recipe, about six minutes).

These amounts are supposed to serve two, so I always double it, and the sauce takes considerably longer to reduce. Of course, I also use vegetable broth instead of chicken. If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll make spaetzle to go with it, but noodles would be just fine. It's very tasty - I really like many pork/fruit combinations - and very impressive.

But of course!

Which Food Network chef are you?
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Proud of herself

We took the training wheels off Sarah's bike yesterday, and she was off! It only took about 15 minutes for her to get the hang of balancing and steering, as long as Jeff gave her a push to get started. Getting herself started was another story--she kept braking--and led to a lot of frustration, so we'll go back to it another day, after more practice.

Funny how things work out

So, we had to pay big bucks for getting the brakes fixed on the car. And our summer taxes (which were raised by a few hunderd dolalrs) are due shortly. And we're planning on having the lawn ripped out and sod put in at the end of the month.

So, our finances are a little tighter right now than we'd like them to be. We're not going to cancel our cable modem or DVR or Blockbuster subscriptions, but the wooden swingset has been put on hold, and we're skipping the baseball game Monday.

So, I called the landscape guy this afternoon, to see if we could do hydroseed instead of sod. He said that would be no problem, but that it would still be about $1800, because he'll still have to rip out the old lawn, and the roots, and such. Well, $1800 is a WHOLE lot better than $3000, so we jumped on it, though we won't have InstaLawn.

So, by incurring these extra expenses, we ended up saving money. We thought about going to the ritziest restaurant we could find to celebrate, but decided not to. ;D

August Homeschool Review

So, August. The first three weeks of school. Here's how it went.

Me:

I didn't do as well as I'd hoped with getting through certain lessons. Though we did hit Reading, Math and Spelling almost every day, Art, Science, Writing and German kind of fell by the wayside. I'm going to start doing more extensive lesson planning on the weekend, and printing out the worksheets we'll need in advance.

I'm also going to revive my old Learning Connection personality. When I first started working at a reading clinic while I was in college, I was pretty shy with people I didn't know well. The woman training me explained that quiet reserve would not help me with bored nine-year-olds. Then she said the Words That Changed My Life: "Act," she said, "like a game show host." A light bulb went off in my head, my inner goofball slipped her leash, and I started having a really good time. The Game Show Host needs to show up around here for school time, too.

Sarah: academically, I'm satisified so far.

She does ok with her reading. We're working through a lot of the Amelia Bedelia, Henry & Mudge, and Rookie Read-About Science series. Young Cam Jansen books are more challenging, and she doesn't like them as well, but I think that will start to change in a few months.

We're working through a 1st grade spelling list I found, set up for 32 weeks. The first week was so easy that I thought we could double up on the weeks, but that proved to be too much, so we're back to one set a week. Besides writing the words on the board, on the computer, etc, we're also working on alphabetizing.

Math is also ok, now that I'm not so worried about her using her fingers or a number line or some other manipulative to get to the answer. We do addition & subtraction flashcards, worksheets I print out, and a few online games. We're also doing some work on telling time, and will start on money soon.

Her attitude frequently leaves something to be desired, but I think a better attitude on my part will go a long way to help that.

Lauren: not much to report there. Too often, I have to ask her to stop yelling/talking or play in her room while I'm working with Sarah. The other day, we did some three letter word cards (a picture divided into three parts, with one letter from the word on each part; once you put the picture together, you can "read" the word.) She had fun and did ok with them--not reading, but identifying the letters. There are also some good online games for her.

This month, tap lessons, story time at the library, and (hopefully) Girl Scouts will start up. My stepsis and I want to start getting together every other week again for Cousin School, too. I'm also slated to start working two days a week, but that isn't until the end of the month.

Gibson

I found out today that they're planning to open next week, for at least a semester. They're still hoping for an endowment to continue. But since they didn't say anything about needing a computer teacher, I guess it isn't in their budget. I totally understand, though I am disappointed. I'm glad I have the other classes lined up!

Catching Up

What's going on around here these days:

• The final decision on Gibson is supposed to come today. If they haven't been able to confirm they'll be back yet, I don't have a lot of confidence that they will at all. It's sad, but I'm glad I have a backup day job, even though it won't start for a few weeks.
• We had to have the brakes in the Toyota fixed on Tuesday, to the tune of $600+. I'm really glad I was able to work even a few nights a week over the summer!
• I'm taking the girls to register for tap this morning. Earlier, Sarah said she didn't want to take tap anymore. I told her that was ok, but I was still signing Lauren up, because I knew she really wanted to take it. Mysteriously, Sarah changed her mind . . .
• We have another critter in the attic. Jeff is going to fix the hole in the soffit or gutter or whatever this weekend.

Sarah Incredible

I am so glad I didn't try making this. The boot covers, the gloves, the mask, the logo--it would all have driven me totally batty. The whole thing is a little baggy, but it should be fine with long underwear underneath, and if it looks like it'll be really cold, I'll make a fleece cape to go over it. By the way, this is her "force field pose."

Lauren keeps going back and forth between Pirate Captain Dora and "a princess." I'm going to get a few pictures together, and have her choose, and that will be the end of it.

Attitude Adjustment

No word yesterday about Gibson. But I realized that I'm really lucky, and am making too much of this. I have a job that I like that I can go back to, and if it doesn't work out, I have another potential job that I would also like. So instead of stressing, I'm glad that I have a good backup, and will wait and see what happens.

Today, it's swimming with Grammy, so I'm off to get everything ready! Thanks for the good thoughts, everyone!

Anxious

So I think I'm a little stressed out. Yesterday, I took Lauren to the ped to talk about potty training, and I started crying. Not big sobs, but a steady stream of waterworks. (Note: I'm a very emotional person, and cry easily at stuff on tv or in books) I got embarrassed and said I didn't know why I was so upset. Luckily, she totally understood. "It's stressful!" She had a reluctant potty trainer, too, at just about this age. She worked on potty training for a year and a half. Dear God, can you imagine? I'm going crazy after two months. Anyway, I got some good tips, and will start trying them soon - we have a busy weekend, so we might wait to start in earnest next week. Or not.

My big stressor right now is work. I should find out today if Gibson (the school I worked at last year) will be back this year or not. Apparently, their whole future hung on one person who could give them an endowment that would keep them going for another year or not. The meeting was Monday night, and my friend who works at the Professor PC office (Professor PC is the company I work for - they send me out to the various teaching jobs) is going to find out today. Could I call Gibson myself and ask what happened? Sure, but I don't want to.

I'm torn about going back to Gibson. There are a lot of good reasons to go back:

• I enjoy working with the kids (it was so sweet, a couple of the middle-schoolers signed my yearbook last spring with "please come back next year!")
• it sounds like they got the TV monitor working, so teaching would be a lot easier
• it's very close to home
• it's six hours a day, twice a week
• it's guaranteed work through June.

Unfortunately, Gibson is also a lot of stress. In addition to having to come up with my own lessons (don't get me wrong - I like writing my own lessons, but it is a lot more work), dealing with kids is more stressful than teaching adults.

And since it looks like Professor PC is going to start having day classes again, that could be a good alternative. Working with adults, from a textbook, requires considerably less effort. But the office is farther away, I'd only get four and a half hours a day (also twice a week), and once a session is over after a month, it's not a guarantee that we'll have more people sign up, though it looks good right now.

So if Gibson didn't get the endowment, the decision is taken out of my hands, and I don't have to feel guilty about maybe wanting to do something else. I do want them to get the endowment, of course. I want the kids to have the school they need, and the teachers to have their jobs. I'm just not sure what I want for me.

At this point, I'm hoping I can go back to Gibson. Of course, if I do that, then I have to make the decision about working nights. Working two days and two (or sometimes three) nights a week doesn't sound like a lot, but it exhausts me.

But I'm not going to think about that today. I need to take this one day at a time, and stop borrowing stress. The interest rate is too damn high.

When Jeff comes home from work . . .

he'd better have either a large bottle of liquor, a large bottle of pills, or a large box of chocolate.

I can't wait to go to work tonight.

Just a comparison

The pictures in the top row are from last year’s State Fair. Riding the Dragon Coaster, and catching fish at the DNR pond. The bottom row shows pictures from yesterday, doing the same activities.

If you click on the picture, it should take you to a larger version.

As promised, here is Sarah's first major sewing project. We made a drawstring bag for Sarah’s dance shoes this afternoon (of course, Lauren already wants to know where hers is, too—I told her that once she gets dance shoes, she’ll get a bag). It took about an hour, and Sarah sewed the bottom and side seams by herself, although I serged them after that. She also did about half the casing seam. She did a really good job, and really enjoyed it. Now I just need to figure out future projects, hmmmm . . .

Is that another gray hair I see?

I think I'm going to write a book called The Continuing Adventures of DangerGirl.

In our backyard, we have a child-sized table. Plastic top, metal legs, about 15 inches tall. Coincidentally, our concrete patio is also about 15 inches off the ground. Funny how no one ever noticed that before.

Today, Lauren noticed. While the girls were out playing, I heard a crash and a scream, and went running to the back door. Lauren came running to me, crying. She had set up the table right next to the patio so she could walk onto it. Isn't my girl just the cleverest little thing?

I'm sure falling hurt, but I didn't see any blood, and she seemed more scared than hurt (and upset that the table broke), so I cuddled her for a while, then made lunch. It was during lunch that I saw a huge scrape/road rash on her inner upper arm. I don't know what exactly she scraped it on, but it's relatively ugly. I washed it off, and she got some Kid's Tylenol & went to bed.

I'm hoping that she's learned from this. Yeah, I know - not likely.

We went up to a nature center today for the girls to have their pictures taken. Lots of cute poses, and I'll definitely take them back when the leaves turn to do my own shots. I got a few "preview" shots, which the photgrapher didn't seem to mind. Well he shouldn't, because I know mine won't turn out nearly as well as his. I still have a really hard time getting them both to look nice in the same picture, and had a lot of trouble with the exposure.

This sundress pattern is McCall's 4761, and I'm never making it again. It was something of a pain to put together, and the girls can't put them on without assistance. They were really cheap, though - $10 for the pattern & fabric, and $6 for the trim on the bottom (I'm probably the only one who will ever notice that trim, but I do love it).

Sewing on the Brain

Butterick 6659 + Purple, blue, green and white seersucker = totally the easiest thing I've ever made.

I'm going to get my Serger rethreaded today, so I'll be able to polish off the seams and they'll be all tidy. Both girls said they didn't like them yesterday morning, but both wanted to wear them last night. Good thing, because they're so big, I figure they'll be wearing them for the next five years or so!

I'm already thinking about Hallowe'en costumes, Christmas jammies (flannel backed satin, I think) and Christmas dresses (Daisy Kingdom makes some sweet patterns {4511 & 4901}, but even the smaller sizes take about 7 yards of fabric, eek!).

And in the true spirit of overachieving idiocy, the girls are getting their pictures taken at a nature center next Saturday. Wouldn't little eyelet sundresses be cute in an outdoor setting like that?

In spite of this "thinking ahead," I know I'll probably still be working on anything and everything at the last minute.

VBS

Vacation Bible School started today. I have two confessions.

1) If I'd realized how much "sit down on the carpet, get up to sing, sit down, get up, sit on the grass, get up, sit down, get up . . ." I don't think I would have volunteered to be a Crew Leader.

2) As we were driving up this morning, we went past my favorite cross stitch store and a Starbucks, and I wistfully thought of all the time I could have, alone, without thinking about all the things I should be doing. Over two hours a morning, every day for a week.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be helping out. I'm glad to be involved. But I'm also a little selfish, and would like to have that time for myself, too.

Covetousness

I forgot to mention that, in addition to the new puppy, we got to see another new venture of my brother & SIL (insert shameless plug here): http://www.potterymill.com/ She doesn't have pictures of my favorite stuff, here:

Honestly, I walked around thinking things like, "I want this, and that, and ooooh! an inkwell would make the perfect vase for violets in the spring! I'd love some more serving bowls, and a platter, a pitcher, and a cookie jar, and I have to remember to bring the girls out in the fall so we can make Christmas ornaments . . ."

I also really liked watching her work the clay into a bowl, even a basic one. She's not doing as many classes now, but I'd love a chance at the kick wheel. Yeah, because I need another hobby!

The Power of the Puppy

We were out visiting my brother and his wife tonight - check out the cute new puppy they got yesterday! He is so cute and sweet, and he loves my brother to death. All night long, his favorite place to be was asleep on Chris' foot. The kitchen floor, under the dining room table - if Chris' foot was still, Rufus was on it. He's a very mellow dog; he just hangs around and sleeps a lot, and lets you know "I'm a houn' dawg."

I have to say, the Power of the Puppy is really strong; he's so cute! Luckily, Jeff is immune to tPotP and there are no puppies in our immediate future.

Barely a month ago, when we first got to Florida, Sarah didn't want to put her face in the water, and wouldn't go to a depth where she couldn't touch.

Today, she kept going underwater, found a penny on the bottom of the pool (shallow end), swam almost the length of the deep end, and did a few underwater somersaults. I am astonished at how far she's come, just from three Fridays worth of swimming!

Lauren likes tiptoeing around the shallow end, but she greatly prefers the inflatable ring. For a while, she was jumping in all by herself, but by the end of the day, she only wanted to jump if someone was there to catch her or kind of "slither" into the water.

I can't wait to see what they're doing next week!

Shoulda seen that coming.

When we went to the library yesterday, I noticed a flyer that our Community Center is doing summer dance classes. There's no recital, it's just to get a kind of head start on the fall. I asked Sarah if she wanted to do dance or a sport like t-ball or soccer again, and she immediately said, "Dance!" Ballet was full, and she wanted tap over jazz, which works better with our schedule anyway.

Classes started last week, but the instructor said it was ok for her to start up anyway. We got there just before class started, and luckily the instructor had some tap shoes available (she took orders last week, so Sarah will get new ones in September).

When Lauren saw the shoes, and the class, she got so excited. I'd been telling her that she would take classes when she's older (she can start in September with the regular class), but she still thought she would be able to get out on the floor and dance with everyone else. She danced at the Chuck E. Cheese birthday party last month, she dances at home all the time, so why should this be any different?

Well, it is different. As I took her out of the classroom, she was sobbing. She'll play the boo hoo sometimes, but it's obviously fake. This was sincerely confused and heartbroken, poor thing. We went to pay for the class and get a drink of water, and when we came back, she was glued in the open doorway, swinging her feet to do the "shuffle step" along with the big girls, and kept asking for her princess shoes (they have hard soles, so make noise when you walk).

There are six more classes, and luckily there is a very nice playground on the other side of the parking lot, so Lauren & I will spend our time there while Sarah's in class, because it's too pathetic otherwise.

Three more steps

This morning after breakfast, I waited until Dora the Explorer was ready to start, set it to record, and told Lauren it was time to sit on the potty. She could watch Dora when she was done. I listened to some complaints, read a few stories, and CHEERED when (38 minutes later) she peed again!

Before lunch, I took her in again, and it only took 5 or 10 minutes for her to go. After her nap, she went almost immediately. So I think we really are making some progress!

One step forward . . .

So Lauren used the toilet this morning (and got HUGE amounts of praise, from everybody - I even considered telling the FedEx guy), but then wet her pants and pooped in yet another pair within the hour tonight while I was at work. It's a good first step, though! Tomorrow morning, I'm going to encourage her to drink a LOT of juice, then sit with her in the bathroom for however long it takes.

When did that happen?

One day while we were swimming in the pool in Florida, Lauren said, "Take me to the three, momma!" I looked around, and sure enough, there was the number three on the side of the pool. Hm. "Lauren, come here - what's this number?" "Five!" What about this one?" "One!" Holy crap, she recognizes numbers up to ten. When we went back in the house, I got out a coloring/number worksheet I'd brought for her to do while Sarah did school work, and sure enough, she circled the right number most of the time.

Today, we went to the drugstore. "I see the number (something) and the number (something) {I wasn't paying close attention at that moment} and the number S!" Yeah, we were at CVS. So tonight, I wrote out the alphabet, one at a time, on the white board, to see how she would do, and she got about two thirds of them. Once in a while she'd say a number instead, but overall it was pretty good.

With some nervousness, I wrote the word "BUS" on the board. She spelled it out, but didn't get that it was a word. Frankly, I was relieved. She'll sit and "read" books all the time, but it's not real reading, it's more like reciting something she's heard a million times. And it's not like she's picking up on Sarah's schooling, because most of the time she's such a chatterbox that she has to go play in her room so Sarah can concentrate while she's working.

So now I'm not quite sure what to do with her, other than keep reading to her and to say, "Way to go, Cookie!"

More Florida Pictures

You know, I noticed more that one gas station had a sign on the pumps that if you drive off without paying for your gas, you can lose your license. And yet, people who drive drunk keep on driving . . .

Edit: I forgot to mention the most memorable line of the whole vacation, from Lauren: "Can I drive?" Three times, she asked, like it was the most natural thing in the world!



This is my current favorite picture from our vacation. We were at Sanibel Island to look for shells. And yes, there are TONS of shells there! Most of them are bivalves instead of the uber-gorgeous spirals, but still really pretty, and of course Sarah collected quite a few. Lauren was more interested in throwing shells back INTO the Gulf. Yeah, big suprise there . . .








Jeff's Uncle Dale (who is only five years older than Jeff himself) took us to Universal Studios - he works in the accounting department, so gets deals on tickets. We started a little slowly: Sarah freaked out at the thought of going on the ET ride once we got in there. It was dark and kind of creepy looking, so I wasn't really suprised.





Later, we went on the Woody Woodpecker rollercoaster. Even though it was in the kiddie section, it was a pretty substantial coaster! The girls liked it so much we went on it a second time.
We also did the Shrek 4D movie, which Sarah had to be talked into a little. I told her that if she got scared, she could take the glasses off. I think she had them off for most of the show, but at least she sat through it, and said she enjoyed it when it was over.

I have pictures from the waterproof camera to develop & scan, so I'll post those later. It was really interested that when we got to the pool at my mom's place, Sarah wasn't interested in going in the deep end. Then some other kids showed up and started frolicking around, and suddenly she wanted to be out there with them. "Not until you can swim on your own." "OK, I'll learn to swim today." And she really put a lot of effort into it, and made a huge amount of progress. She still isn't allowed in the deep end, but she swam the width of the pool (16 feet, I think) in Orlando a few days after that.

Our drive home had a very sad, stressfull incident. As we were heading into Atlanta, I was driving, and told Jeff I wanted to take the bypass, because I hate downtown Atlanta. There are too many lane changes, and since it was after three, I thought there would be a lot of traffic. He mentioned a few times that it went way out of the way, but I said that as long as we didn't get bumper solid traffic the entire way, I'd consider it coming out ahead.

We got on the bypass, and he admitted we were moving along really well. Within five minutes of saying that, we ran into terrible traffic. Slowed way down, until we came up pretty close to the scene of an accident. I could see a little white car that looked pretty crunched up, and a small semi in the left side of the road. There were concrete dividers, so nothing had gone into the oncoming lanes, but it still looked pretty bad.

The police showed up, and no one else got through after that. They put the yellow tape up, and when Jeff got out to look around, he saw there there were also cars on the other side of the road, maybe seven vehicles in all. We couldn't leave the car running, so the girls were getting pretty hot & crabby (Sarah really was a trouper, but it was too much for Lauren). We let them sit together in the front seat so they didn't have the sun directly on them. I was talking to some people who said they were still trying to get people out of the vehicles, and there were at least three dead people that they hadn't even tried to get out yet.

Eventually, the police started turning cars around so we were facing the other direction. I noticed that even once everyone was turned around, we still weren't going anywhere. What's the point, I thought. But we finally started moving, and got within sight of the on ramp where we'd be exiting. Then I noticed that some cars were headed back past us again. Within 50 yards of freedom, they turned us around again!!! The police officer said that it was easier now that they'd opened a lane to go back that way than to deal with a detour. At that point, I was so angry and frustrated that I could barely speak. And again, once we were turned around, we didn't move for a good 20 minutes.

Finally we got back up to the accident and got through. All the vehicles were still there, and I got a better look at the white car. Dear God, it looked like it had been stomped on by Godzilla. The entire back was gone. I couldn't help it, I cried then and I'm crying now thinking about it. Any people in the back (that's where carseats go) never had a chance.

Jeff found an article in the Atlanta Journal. We didn't sign up to read the whole article, but the blurb reads, "The truck driver involved in an I-285 accident that killed three people and injured seven on Friday was driving under the influence, DeKalb County police said Saturday.
Ephantus Gathuru, 49, of Woodstock was charged Saturday with three counts of vehicular homicide and one count each of reckless driving and driving under the influence, according to Officer Cory Hughes. Gathuru was being held in the DeKalb County Jail without bond."

We were there for over 2 1/2 hours, so instead of spending the night in Knoxville, we slept in Marietta. The next morning, we woke up early, and made up our lost time, getting home by 6.

We did have a great time in Florida, but the way home was so exhausting, and I'm really glad to be back. I'll keep posting more pictures, and no more sad stories.

Miscellaneous

We're on our way to Orlando today, so less internet access. :(

We're hoping to catch up with Evil Amy & her bunch, but not sure when, due to still being kind of up in the air with our plans regarding seeing my grandparents in Tampa.

We went to a Jacksonville Suns baseball game last night. They played the "Biscuits." Who comes up with these names? The girls lasted through their typical three innings, and Jeff got to see three more innings from the outfield playground while the girls played.

I got a mini Serger lesson yesterday. I've had my mom's machine for about a year now, but have been too busy/intimidated to do anything with it. Mom showed me the basics last night, and now I think I'm even more intimidated! For now, I'm leaving it at the generic settings she has set, and will use it strictly for straight seams. I really should take a class, which is what she suggested in the first place.

We went to St. Augustine on Wednesday, which was kind of a bust. We didn't get out of here early enough, so we were there in the middle of the day. The kids got really hot - Sarah's face was so flushed, she looked like she had major burns, even though I knew it was just from the heat. We'll go back again sometime, but plan better.

The Tick is back! Jeff & I were watching Cartoon Network late last night and when I saw that The Tick was on, I practically fell out of my chair with happiness. I adored that cartoon in the early nineties, which was loads better than the live action show. As soon as we get home, I'm DVR-ing every single episode. I have to tell my brother about this.

Ah, that's better

We went to the beach today. Yay for the beach! You know, when you go to the ocean, even if you plan to go in "just up to your knees," you will get soaked, because the tide coming in means waves. And if you want to get those adorable pictures of your children, you will get in the water. And your denim shorts will get thoroughly drenched and take forever to dry, and your husband will laugh at you for not wearing a bathing suit because you thought you could stay dry. Yeah.

Also, Sarah finally pulled her incredibly loose font tooth this morning. Hey, that reminds me - I have to go hit Jeff up for a buck . . .

Got the car fixed yesterday. Apparently the steel belts on the front tires broke. And the alignment got a little whacked, but it was mostly the tires. Cost about $250 to fix, but at least we got two new front tires out of the deal. And the car no longer feels like an unbalanced washing machine!

Sarah made huge strides (or should I say "strokes") in swimming tonight. It's amazing what watching a bunch of other kids frolicking around will do for her motivation. Lauren was trying, too, but never willing let go of the death grip on my shirt. I hate to think what she was grabbing onto when Jeff had her.

The 27-exposure waterproof camera that was supposed to last us the whole trip has two exposures left on it. Digital has really spoiled me - I hated not knowing if I got the shot I was trying for or not! I'll know sooner than I'd planned, I guess!

Oy

Wow, that was a drag.

The first day of driving went smooth as silk. The second day of driving was the same, until about 1PM, south of Atlanta, where we ran into a traffic jam, presumably due to an accident. But we kept moving at a pretty good clip, so it wasn't too bad.

Then about 90 miles south of Atlanta, we came to a dead stop. Found out that there was a bad accident about 5 miles up, and they were waiting for the helicopter, which is never a good sign. Sarah got to pee in the woods for the first time, too, when she announced she had to go NOW.

We also got torrential downpours at least 5 or 6 times, which I'm sure contributed to the traffic.

When we stopped to get gas in Valdosta, we noticed that the alignment on the car was wonky - at lower speeds, it felt like driving a washing machine with an unbalanced spin cycle.

Then there was a third tie-up/accident just over the Florida line. Then there were not one but two accidents on Florida Highway 10. We finally got to my mom's house after 9PM.

But we're here now; none of those accidents involved us, and Jeff & my stepdad are out getting the car looked at. Hopefully, the worst of vacation is out of the way.

"What make me crazy," in three parts

Part One:
It makes me crazy when the program I'm teaching is not only NOT the version I know, it is NOT the version for which I have a book. This not only makes it harder for the students to learn the program, it makes me feel utterly incompetent. This is worse still when it happens not once, but twice. So far.

Part Two:
It makes me crazy when I leave a voicemail for someone, asking for information for a third party (pricing on the yearbooks), and that person calls the third party to work it out with them. Hey, I'm thrilled to be eliminated as the middleman, but it would be nice if someone thought to tell me about it. You know, keep me in the loop.

Part Three:
It makes me crazy when my own words come back to haunt me. "Always have someone proofread your work," I tell my students. "They will always catch something you missed." Last night, as I was on my way out to teach in the evening, I got a call from the principal, telling me there were some typos in the yearbook. "Which pages?" I asked with alarm. "Too many to mention." So this morning, instead of taking Sarah to the library to get her library card, I get to go back to school to find my errors, fix them, resave them, and resend them.

On a good note, I talked to the woman who is printing the yearbook last night, and she is totally on top of things, so although we're going to have to forgo the color proof due to time constraints, we should get all the books by Tuesday. I am really nervous about this, though, worrying that she won't have the most recent version of all the pages. I'm tempted to resend all 48 pages, just to be sure, but that would truly take forever and a day, especially if I have to do it from the school's old, slow machine.

Unfortunately, this also makes Jeff crazy. "Why do they have a substitute doing all this? You bite off too much." Agreeing with him doesn't really help the situation.

Exhale

It's done. The Gibson yearbook is finally done. Well, my part of it is done. Well, all the pages are done. I do still need to contact some people about the assembly and timing and ordering, etc, but at least all the pages are out of my hands. I am so relieved!

Shhhh . . .

Listen. Do you hear that? That lack of sound? That, my friends, is the sound of my children at a sleepover. I have awesome in-laws, I really do.

So how am I going to celebrate my freedom tonight? I'm going to work. :/ And tomorrow, I'm going into work early and staying late so we can hopefully make some progress on the yearbook.

Spanglish

Wow, what a great movie. Adam Sandler - who knew idiot boy could act?

Not your typical fantasy

Every time I go to teach at the gifted school, I think about sending Sarah there. I love homeschooling her, but I still think about what it would be like if she could go there. They really address a lot of the reasons I homeschool (small classes, child led learning, etc). Never mind that I have no idea how we would pay the $9K/year, or even if she's eligible. It's something I think about, in a kind of daydreamy way.

If we were parents of a child in this school, we'd be doing some volunteer work to help out. For instance, I'd redo their website immediately (it's embarassing, frankly). Right now, I'd like to redo the site, but I'm not going to devote a lot of time for something I'm not going to get paid for. I'd like to do it, but I don't have the time right now.

Here's where the "fantasy" comes in:
If I were teaching there and Sarah were a student, I could drag Jeff in to work on the computers (he just replaced the power supply on our PC tonight) as his volunteer stuff. As it is, about 40% of the computers aren't working at any one time (they're older models, donated, and could use some new parts). It would be so nice if I had my own personal IT guy at school/work!

Huff

When they built the new library last year, I was so glad to see a separate children's wing. The old building was very open, so it was easy for Lauren to "escape," and the noise must have been disturbing to the other patrons.

Now, since the new library does have a children's wing, well apart from most of the rest of the building, complete with blocks to make a town and a puppet theater, wouldn't it make sense that kids can use it and be kids? I don't mean be hooligans, I mean talk in regular voices.

When we got there today, there was one other little boy about Lauren's age with an older man I'd guess was his grandpa. I didn't see any other adults at all while walking back to the kids' area, though I didn't look to the other half of the building.

While I was looking for books for Sarah to read to me this week, the three kids were talking and playing with the blocks. Not yelling, but not whispering either. The kid's desk librarian came over and told them they had to keep it down. She wasn't mean about it, but I thought it was a bit excessive. True, Lauren has a hard time with volume control, but I really thought she was doing ok. After that, I kept shushing her and reminding her that she had to be even more quiet.

When they're waiting to start story time, most of the kids get a little loud and sometimes rowdy, and nobody bats an eye. I'm sorry to see that preserving the perfect sanctity of silence in the library is more important than enjoying it.

/rant

On a good note, Sarah is very excited to start the summer reading program! Prizes for reading books? Wow!

Finally!

I wish I knew the trick to getting good, sharp pictures of close up objects like this.

The sad part is, it sat on my dresser for two years, untouched. When I finally picked it up again, it took a week to complete.

The text below their names (my brother & SIL) says, "A wedding lasts but a day. A marriage lasts a lifetime." The original text on the pattern was about new beginnings, adding to the circle of the family, etc. In addition to not fitting their lives, there wasn't any room for their names or the date.

Now I can start working on the projects for my most recent neice and nephew, and Lauren!

Oh, my - decadence

We went to Jeff's cousin Kristi's graduation yesterday. After the ceremony, we went to The Holly Hotel for dinner. I've never had a seven course meal, delivered one tiny course at a time, and I was so relieved that our babysitter could stay later than we'd planned, since it all went very slowly.

The menu:

Amuse Bouche

Pickled Chef Creek Oysters, Hiyashi Salad, Cucumber Cappellini

Soup

Roasted Chicken Broth

Salad

Mizuna Salad, Bluefin Crab Timbale, Passionfruit Vinaigrette

Foie

Roasted Foie Gras, Caramelized Pears, Pumpkin Seed Oil, Duck Sauce

Fish

Blue Nose Snapper, Poached Leeks, Seabeans, Sauce American

Sorbet

Iced Pink Champagne

Entree

Roasted Squab, Baby Morels, Ramps, Glazed Beets, Black Fig Molasses

Cheese

Delice de Bourgogne and Garrotxa

Gingerbread Crackers, Thyme Caramel, Yellow Watermelon

Dessert

Chocolate Zabaglione Parfait, Bitter Orange Chocolate Sauce, Poppyseed Florentina

The cheese was a bit too rich for me after everything else, but the rest of it was heavenly! They already knew about Jeff's poultry allergy, so they substituted beef dishes (very nice tender roulade for his entree). A lot of people didn't really get into it - Jeff's mom hates fish, so she didn't eat much - but I thought it was really cool. Not something I'd want to do often, but a big time treat for me!

Movies

The two most recent movies we've seen have been Donnie Darko and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. They're kind of odd movies, but Jeff & I both really enjoyed them. The rabbit in Donnie Darko freaked me out at first, so much that I wouldn't even look at the screen if I thought I would see it. By the end of the movie, once I realized what was going on, it didn't bother me so much. They're both good, thought-provoking movies. Anyone have any other suggestions for good movies out there?

Fun afternoon

Yummy!

When I started making this, I figured that - as usual - Sarah would eat her required one bite and fill up on plain pasta and raw vegetables. Instead, she had seconds and said, "Can you make this for dinner every night?" Jeff and Lauren thought it was OK, so it's being added to the regular line up.

Shrimp & Green Beans

4 tsp canola oil
1 1/2 lb shrimp
4 garlic cloves
1 1/2 Tbs fresh ginger
1/2 pound fresh green beans
8 oz pineapple chunks
1/3 c. chicken broth
2 Tbs teriyaki sauce
1/4 tsp salt
3 scallions

The basic recipe is to saute the shrimp, take them out of the pan, saute the garlic & ginger, add the other ingredients (except scallions), cook for a bit, add the shrimp back, and top with the scallions.

Since Meijer had "buy one, get two free" on frozen pre-cooked shrimp, I skipped the first step. I hate peeling raw shrimp, so it worked out better anyway. I also cooked up some pasta and threw that in (putting the shrimp in the colander before pouring the pasta & hot water over it goes a long way to thaw it quickly) to make it a complete meal.

I have GOT to get a No Soliciting Sign

I mean, really. No, I am not going to let you come in my house and demonstrate a vaccum cleaner. I'm sure you're on the level (I can see other guys dressed similarly walking around the neighborhood), but I'm not letting a stranger into my house.

Simultaneously Embarrassed & Proud

We've been looking for a church to attend, which means going to new churches to try them out. Last week it was a Lutheran version that didn't really do it for me, yesterday it was a United Church of Christ. I've seen the UCC commercials that stress acceptance of everyone (the "controversial" ones, that dare to show two women together), and this is a church that our neighbors have gone to and we went to once a few years ago for a Christmas service.

Lauren stayed in the nursery, but Sarah sat with us for about 20 minutes of the service. Then the pastor/minister/reverend called all the kids up to the steps, where they sat and talked. Sarah had never really seen him or any of the other kids before, never experienced anything like this before. And yet . . . guess which kid had the most answers and spoke with the loudest voice? Yeah. Hey, it was a good conversation starter with the other members of the congregation after the service! And it's not like she's the only kid to ever act that way.

When Jeff & I talked about it later, we realized that we both felt the same way: at the same time kind of embarassed that she was dominating the conversation, but also proud that she was self-confident enough to hold her own with an adult. That's our girl!

Dress up

Lauren got her birthday present from my mom & stepdad yesterday, so we let her open it last night. Oh my god, it is too cute/hilarious. Colorful is probably the best way to describe it.

Wow!

Yesterday, when Jeff got home from work (like over an hour early) we all met him at the door and he told me he had something for me.

"Drugs?" I asked hopefully (it had been a really long day).

He laughed and shook his head and told me to close my eyes. At that point I figured it was flowers, because once in a while he'll do that.

Then I felt a plastic container in my hands. It was an MP3 player! "Oh my God! What is this for?"

He said that he felt really bad that we didn't get my charm bracelet fixed and new "Lauren" charm for Christmas, and one of his work buddies brought his MP3 in, so he went out and bought one!

He knew I've been wanting one for when I walk or work out, and we'll also be able to take it with us to Florida, so we won't have to have 500 CDs in the car for music variety.

Then he told me I was absolutely not allowed to ask how much it cost. Uh-oh, that means it was really expensive. But I promised not to peek at the bank statement, or look it up on the website to find out how much it was.

Now I need to go figure out how to play with my new toy! Woo hoo!

Things I Miss

I realized that there are a few things that I used to have or do that have "gone away" due to my recent change in direction of my habits.

I miss:

• being able to run through the parking lot into a store when it's cold
• crossing my legs at the knee instead of putting an ankle up on the opposite knee (I can still do this, but don't)
• all those great new clothes I got for my birthday (tweed pants, why have I forsaken you?)
• feeling like I look pretty good/enjoying having my picture taken (a reporter came to work last week to take pictures of the computer lab, and I wasn't happy about it)
• my winter coat being way too big
• that happy feeling I got from eating right, getting exercise, and generally taking care of myself (this is the biggest one - why would I stop doing stuff that I know makes me happy?)

So I'm going to start taking care of myself again. I don't know if I'll get on the scale - I usually need that reinforcement in order to stick to it - but just for today, I'm going to stay out of the leftover cake and candy from the party yesterday. I'm going to get some kind of exercise. I'm going to make a good choice for lunch when our friend Rob comes over and we all go out. Right now, I'm going to go make some oatmeal. I think I'm finally tired of fried eggs & toast. Thank God.

sniff . . .

My big girl!

OK, Everybody - Repeat After Me

If you say you'll bring cookies to your sister's Valentine's Tea Party Saturday, and you realize you're coming down with a cold and are a little overwhelmed at life in general, and you try to decide if you should make them or go out and buy them . . . GO OUT AND BUY THEM.

I made a very nice, butter/cream cheese dough, cut out a bunch of hearts, even did a "windowpane" for a few (smashing Dum Dums suckers to pieces is harder than you might think), colored some with red food coloring, left some white, etc. Oh so pleased with myself. Until I started cleaning up and putting everything away. It wasn't until I put away the measuring spoon that I realized I didn't use it. I forgot the baking soda. They still taste fine, they just didn't rise very much and I think the texture is a little off. Still, it's a keeper recipe, and I didn't have to leave the house to get them.

What a week

This week has been too busy, too crazy, too stressful. I'm wondering if I should start working all this much, but I think it's just the getting everything together all at once timing that's bad.

The rundown:

Monday - Drive Jeff to work so I can meet with the Home Economist at Hancock to talk about a sewing class. I found out what I need to make up for flyers, but can't get my printer to work, so I have to find a way to get to Kinko's.

Tuesday - Grammy came to babysit while I take in the controlled chaos at the school. I also get to be the yearbook advisor, fun! There are fewer than 60 kids there, so I suggested using www.mypublisher.com. I'm going to take in a hardcover and a pocket book when I go back in next Friday to see if they think that would work and parents would be willing to pay for it. The thought of putting Sarah into a "regular" school is crossing my mind. Also went to tutor PowerPoint in the evening.

Wednesday - Drive Jeff to work so Lauren can go to story time. She loves story time - asked the story lady at least 5 times in the 20 minutes we were there eary when it was going to start - but won't sit still during the reading. I made it to the gym, but only for half an hour on the elliptical. Katrina came over to babysit, bringing her snowboard, which both girls thought was the bomb. Pictures below. Pizza for dinner! Thought about going to Kinko's, but was too tired, desperate to watch Lost (the one episode I missed), and endured about half of the State of the Union Address. I swear, if they would limit the standing ovations to an even dozen, the could have had time to show Alias.

Thursday - oh, that's today! Got to the gym by 6:30, half an hour on the elliptical. Still eating too much. Took the girls sledding. Made banana muffins, with assistance. Did some school work (first time this week, bad homeschool mommy!) Going to get ready for work tonight (part deux of PowerPoint) in about half an hour.