Pixar references

I just found this article on mentalfloss.com. Cute!

Womens’ Christmas Brunch

Our church recently had a womens’ Christmas brunch, an annual affair that has church ladies dusting off the fine china and men waiting tables. The outreach event includes food and entertainment, and each of the 24 tables is hosted by a different lady (or group of ladies) at our church – and boy, do we go all-out to make everything look nice. It really turned out to be a lot of fun.

I was accosted …. uh, I mean, approached, by a lady in our church, who started the table-hosting conversation with, “so I hear your spiritual gift* is hospitality.”

After hearing about the table-hosting (in this case, hostesses decorate the tables and supply the china, napkins, stemware and flatware) opportunity, I countered that I have no china, no silver and no linen napkins. And I certainly have no crystal. “No problem!” She beamed – “you can use my extra set!”

I tried several times to politely extricate myself, but it was not to be. I wound up being matched with a woman who had all the china – but no ideas on how to decorate the table. Well, I might not have fine china, but I can usually squeeze some creativity out in a pinch.

I went to Michael’s arts-and-crafts store and spent about $22 making an arrangement that probably would’ve cost me $50 or more if they had made it … yay for having that floral-shop background, huh?

Pictures of our table:

So, the day came, and the other lady came in and carefully arranged her beautiful china and I plopped my centerpiece in the middle of the table. Not much of a contribution! Hopefully I can find some Christmas china on sale before next years’ event so I can do a table myself.

The day after I decorated, we had the brunch. I was pleasantly surprised to find out the ladies seated at my table were the ones in my often-neglected-but-lovely playgroup. I’m sure the person in charge of seating had something to do with that. It was great fun catching up with everyone, and the food, skits and music was very nice.

Here are some photos of some of the other tables at the brunch:

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* for those of you not up on Christian-ese, the Bible says that there are different spiritual gifts (I Cor. 12:1, 4-6), and then goes on through the rest of the chapter to outline different types of gifts, talking about how each of the members of the church function as if they were different members of one physical body – there need to be hands, eyes, feet, etc. – all this to say, God has given each of us roles we excel at, some mundane, some in the limelight – but all integral for accomplishing the church’s role of spreading Christ’s message and caring for our neighbors.

Feels like a raise!

Along with the economy, the price of oil – and therefore, gasoline – has tanked. (yes, pun intended.)

Look at how much it’s fallen here in TX just in the last 6 months:

For how much we drive – and especially Jay, who drives about 500 miles a week – this has made a HUGE difference. A full tank of gas for him has gone from about $54 to about $26.

I hate that the economy is doing bad – but the silver lining for us is that the gas price drop is really helping us out. Is it wrong to be happy about that?

My latest acquisition

So I’ve got a small collection of older Fisher Price toys going on … and I found a new one today. It’s an old wind-up toy radio that plays “Hickory Dickory Dock.” It’s not in the best condition, but considering I found it at Goodwill for 59 cents, I’ll live with it! It’s still decent enough to evoke the warm retro-toy fuzzies. {Photo for reference only; this is not a picture of mine}

So this brings my vintage Fisher Price toy collection to 4 items. I also have a happy apple, an airplane pull-toy and a wind-up music box record player. My sister got me the happy apple at a yard sale and sent it to me on my 30th birthday. I swear, it was one of my favorite presents! I guess that means I’m still a big kid. The other two items I found at yard sales.

I haven’t had the budget to explore this hobby in earnest, but I know what I’ve got my sights set on next: a vintage “little people” collection. Oh, how I loved my Fisher Price little people as a child. I don’t know why I never kept any of that stuff. I went through a period in my tweens/early teen years where I wanted nothing more than to be a grownup; I wanted nothing to do with anything left over from my childhood, so I passed all of it on to my sister’s kids (her oldest is only 8 years younger than me).

I am going to hold some of my kids’ toys back in case they ever get sentimental as adults and want to see them again. I already know I’m keeping Gabriel’s Fisher Price (apparently I love that brand) castle and possibly his Fisher Price pirate ship. He’s played many, many hours with both and still loves them dearly.

VBS going well / update

The event I’m hosting at my house this week is going pretty well. The church I go to is having these Vacation Bible School-type things all over the Austin metro this week … each one hosted by individual members of our church, at their homes. It’s targeted to kids and it’s led by members of the church youth group. It’s mostly fun and games, with a short Bible lesson geared to their age level. We’ve been holding it in my front yard, and we’ve been getting a lot of walk-bys that are interested. We had a crowd last night, and I was so excited! Although I almost ran out of snacks to feed them! I made a grocery run last night so that won’t happen again today.

I am really impressed with the maturity of the youth who are leading VBS. They are really great at telling the Bible stories and interacting with the kids during game time. I’m not officially doing a whole lot in my role as hostess … just registration, making name tags, making snacks and taking pictures (so the church can use it to promote next years’ event). But at the same time, I’ve been super-busy this week. I guess most of it is from trying to keep my house clean in case people come in to use the restroom. I had one 6-year-old who came in last night who made a mad dash for my kids’ room after he used the restroom. He wanted to play with their toys. I had to shoo him back outside.

The first night, Jay took the kids to town so I wouldn’t have to deal with them along with everything else – but last night, they were all here. I tried to get Gabriel to play along with the games, but he wasn’t interested. He allowed himself to be coerced into limbo, although he didn’t really understand the rules. I think he may have been intimidated because most of the kids were so much bigger. Maybe he’ll get over his skittishness this next year in preschool.

Speaking of preschool, it occurred to me yesterday how fast the school year is approaching. I have some severely mixed feelings about sending my baby off to a public school, especially since I have planned to homeschool, but I feel like this is the right choice for this moment. He needs to get over his social awkwardness, and the younger he can, the better. I hope I’m not just trying to justify this to myself … but honestly, it’s not a black-and-white decision, especially based on his special needs. I could beat myself up either way I went … but I’m going to try to make the best decision I can given the knowledge I have right now, and focus on the positive things that’s going to come of it. I think a lot of it is going to depend on his teacher. I plan on getting to know her as well as possible. If I don’t get a good feeling, I’ll just make other arrangements.

Let’s see … what else? I am trying desperately to sell my minivan so I can buy a car with AC and better gas mileage. (want a van?) I have someone who was interested and supposed to call me today, but I haven’t heard from him. Argh. I’ve spent all day scrubbing the interior with baby wipes … from the dashboard to the stained carpet. It’s in need of a detailing, but I don’t want to pay for it. I’m not even sure I could afford it … how much is that kind of thing, anyway?

Must-Read Article

A recent article outlines what plastics are safe for use in the kitchen and which ones potentially leech cancer-causing toxins.

Interesting

Recent poll of where our nation stands on moral issues.

Earth day birthday

Today is earth day. Today is also my 30th birthday. (And I have about 10 gray hairs to prove it!)

I have always thought it was interesting that I was born on this day, and have felt like I should probably be more in touch with my “green” side. I am not into earth-worship, but I do believe that God expects us to be good stewards of what He entrusts us with, including the earth. What really draws me to the concept of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ is the sheer thriftiness of it, though.

Maybe we should, as a society, try to make a new-year’s-type resolution each earth day to commit to do one thing that would be good for the earth. Like switching all our light-bulbs to flourescent or LEDs.

Interested in reducing your carbon footprint? Buying local is one of the biggest ways to make an impact. If everyone bought local as much as they possibly could, think of how many fewer trucks would be on the road, and how much less gas they would be burning up. I like the concept of buying local because it promotes a healthy local economy and supports keeping jobs in the United States!

You don’t have to do much more than a google search to find plenty of conservation ideas. How about you, readers? Are you doing anything “green”?

I’ve moved!!

I switched my blog to another host, so from now on visit me at:

http://copaceticblog.com/

See you there!

Update

I’ve been neglecting this blog lately and I’m sorry! I feel like I haven’t quite recovered from my road trip with the kids. Maybe some psychotherapy would help….

Some random bits and pieces:

• Mikaela slid down the slide into her kiddie pool (did I mention we hit 91 here in Austin a few days ago?) for the first time, landing in the water and saying, “This is AWESOME, man!” Incidentally, not even a week earlier, the kids were in Knoxville, TN playing in the snow.
• Gabriel isn’t testing me quite as much lately … thank GOD.
• Jay and I are working on planting a veggie/herb garden in our backyard. Well, it’s really his garden, but I’m helping some.
• Mikaela is speaking much more clearly the last few weeks. She has a pretty large vocabulary and surprises me every single day by something she says.
• Jay’s sister Tracy, her husband Glen and their 10-month-old, Lucy, are in town all week. We’re so excited to see them!
• I am embarking on my first diet/lifestyle change in a year. Please pray that I would have the willpower to stick with it for the long-haul. I’m doing the ’5 to 6 small meals a day’ diet. It supposedly keeps your blood sugar at an even keel, which is something I’ve always struggled with. I often eat because I’m dizzy/shaky, not hungry. But that’s another post altogether.
• Last but certainly not least, I have been feeling an even stronger calling to home-school my children. I am more than a little scared, but if God really is calling me, I know He will equip me with the ‘tools’ I need to succeed. Aside from my trepidation (which mainly centers around wanting to do a really good job at homeschooling our kids, and also being able to make ends meet financially), I am really excited. I walk into teachers’ supply stores and get giddy. I’m slowly building up a pretty good collection of teaching materials and resources, from books to educational games. I am already trying to work with them somewhat, but I want to start something more formal soon.

Summary of my TX-to-TN-to-AL back to TX roadtrip

1. Got a wild idea last Wednesday morning to drive to TN to surprise my sister for her birthday. Packed, washed, stuffed Jay’s car and left that same afternoon at 6 pm. Yes, I took the kids with me.

2. Drove and then drove and then when I finished that? I drove some more. Through the dark. With no radio. So I sang every song I knew and then made up a few. I drove 10 hours straight and finally had to stop in Jackson, TN around 4 am. Stayed at the lovely Motel 6. Felt itchy all night and wondered if it was my imagination or bedbugs. Ick.

3. Woke up from my sleep (more like a nap) last Thursday a.m. and loaded back up in the car. The car was riding like one of my tires was square. Turned out to be flat. Drove to a nearby auto shop and got it fixed. An hour later, I was back on the road to Nashville.

4. Stopped in Nashville to see my brother-in-law and 9-month-old niece. Also stopped by work, since I was in the neighborhood.

5. Drove to Knoxville and called my sister from her doorstep on Thursday evening. I told her I had conspired with some people to make a special delivery for her birthday. She opened the door to find Gabriel and Mikaela on her porch (I was a few feet behind them) with chocolates and flowers. She was very surprised and had the greatest reaction. I loved it!

6. Had a great visit with my sister and her family, and my parents when they drove up.

7. Loaded up Tuesday morning and drove to B’ham, to my parents’ house, where I spent the night.

8. Got up this morning (well, technically, yesterday) at 6:30 am and drove 800 miles from Birmingham to Austin. I had to stop multiple times for the kids. It was so much easier the first time, when I drove overnight while they slept. Anyway, I didn’t get home until 10:30 pm. What a long day.

9. I’m going to go sleep now! I’ll write more details soon!!

Sonic-style ice

I love Sonic ice. I just went on a search to see who makes their ice makers and if there’s anything similar on a smaller scale for home consumers. So far, it doesn’t look like it.

I did find out that the Sonic type of cylindrical ice is called “nugget” ice. The manufacturer is Manitowoc.

Hm. Well, maybe if I can’t buy a Sonic ice maker of my own, I can just go by some ice from them? I’m sure they’d think I was nuts.

Any other nugget ice lovers out there?

Augh! Fire!

We’re under a red flag warning today, meaning it’s really windy and dry, which can lead fires to start and grow out of control quickly. I smelled smoke for hours tonight and kept going out back (our house backs to a very large open space) to make sure there were no flames. I even called the local police department, who hadn’t heard or seen anything. I went about my evening as usual, except I kept looking out back to make sure the smoke smell hadn’t turned into something more. I looked out around 11 pm, and saw a bright line of fire about a mile or so away, advancing our direction with the wind. I screamed for Jay to wake up and I scurried around the house throwing photo albums, important videos (wedding, the kids, etc.), clothes and etc. into our laundry baskets so we could get ready to leave if evacuated (or sooner). The flames have died down but it’s still really smoky out, and the wind is unrelenting. I am afraid to go to sleep now .. I feel like I have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t sneak back up on us. I’m hoping they would evacuate us, but this is an awfully small town, so I don’t know …

Search engine terms

I am consistently intrigued/bewildered/amused by the things people search for to get to this blog. (If you’re not familiar with what I’m talking about, a lot of people find this blog by doing a search on a search engine like Google. I’m talking about the key words they enter in the search box.)

So, I thought I’d attempt to answer some of these pressing questions and/or comment on the things you’re searching for.

You searched for: When does Austin rush hour end?

Um … how’s “never” work for ya?

You searched for: Picture of (Censored)

Sorry, not on this blog, buster. You might try looking here, though.

You searched for: My babies

I don’t understand this search. Did you misplace them?

You searched for: pj family for sleeping

So, you want PJs for the entire family? Or PJs big enough to fit the whole family in?

You searched for: Witty headline

Well, you obviously came to the right place.

You searched for: Baby with runny nose

I’ve got two of ‘em. Seriously, there’s not much you can do about it, if it’s a cold or allergies. As long as it’s clear, no worries, just keep the Kleenex (or aspirator) handy.

You searched for: s artic therapy

South Arctic therapy? I’ll pass.

Southeast tornadoes

I just read on cnn.com that cities across the southeast have been hit by tornadoes, killing and injuring over 100. My prayers go out to them.

One city that I noticed in cnn’s list of cities with tornado damage – Jackson, Tenn. – has been hit by tornadoes at least twice before (that I remember) in the last 15 years. That’s kind of odd that it seems to almost be a tornado magnet. I wonder if something somehow causes that, or whether it’s pure coincidence?

Random stuff

Sorry I’ve been blogging about nothing but Gabriel and his issues lately. I’m actually getting a lot of web hits on these issues, and I feel good about potentially helping people out. I’ve considered launching a separate blog for all of that, but I’m not sure yet.

Sigh.

So, I finally got around to watching Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 in the last couple of days. My husband and son are way into these movies and have probably watched the first two movies in the trilogy dozens of times. Gabriel pointed to a Johnny Depp (in pirate garb) cutout the other day in a store and screamed “Cap’n Jack!”

Anyway, it’s taken me so long to watch the movies because I’m so ADD, it’s very rarely I can manage to sit still to watch a whole movie at home. But Orlando Bloom was my motivation.

I liked the movies. They were infused with more humor than I’d thought. I’m going to have to go back and watch the third one with the captions turned on, though … I had a hard time understanding Calypso.

Finished bed

Jay moved the bed he just finished building into our bedroom tonight. I love it!!!! (click on picture to see all of it)

Rhetorical question of the day

I wonder which is more obnoxious: the person who sends out copious amounts of inane e-mail forwards to all of their friends, or the person who feels that it is their obligation to check out everything at snopes.com, and then “reply all” to the entire forwarder’s list of email recipients with the results of their snopes search?

Work in progress

Jay has built us a bed. He did everything, from the design to the building and now to the sanding, staining and finishing. I can’t wait to see how it looks in our bedroom!

The blog about nothing

I’m bored and out-of-sorts so I thought I’d blog. I’m sure that really makes for some stellar writing.

 I went to bed at 8 pm, and Mikaela joined me at some point. Her nose is stuffy and her manic sniffling woke me about 10:30. I’ve been up ever since. Now Jay’s asleep, she’s asleep, and I’m wide awake.

I love Sam’s Club (hey, the blog category is “random”). I went there yesterday and bought very large quantities of things we use often. There are some things that our family just blows through – like Pop Tarts (for the kids), chips, milk, bottled water, Dr. Pepper, juice … so it’s nice to buy some of those things in larger quantities so we don’t have to run to the grocery store every other day.

I’d really actually like to get a deep freeze and one of those vacuum food sealer-thingies (what are those called?) and only grocery shop once a month. I could buy the huge packages of beef and chicken, divide them up and seal them into meal-sized portions, and then freeze them. I feel like if I purchase a deep freeze, I need a generator to run it in case of power failure. I mean, who wants to spend hundreds of dollars on food and then have the power go out and it all spoil? Yeah, I know – I’m always thinking worst-case scenario. I get that from my mother.

Speaking of my parents, they’re about to dry up and blow away in Birmingham, AL. They’re in the worst drought that they’ve seen in some time. Some places in the southeast have actually run out of water. I can’t imagine. I guess the southeast needs a good tropical storm to come and park itself over the region for a few days. That might not solve their problems, but I’m sure it would help.

We here in central Texas have had a pretty lame year storm-wise. I love the big thunderstorms we get here, especially since you can see so much horizon, and you can see them rolling in from the distance. But we haven’t had a whole lot this summer/fall. Well, fall is still relatively just getting started here, so maybe we still have a chance of storms when another cold front comes through.

So tonight, we set our clocks back (did you forget?). I’ve been dreading this day. It always depresses me. Why do we even fool with changing daylight savings time back and forth? How ’bout we just spring forward and then leave it? Oh, and you know what all the safety wonks say – check your smoke detectors today (doing it twice a year when you change your clocks is supposed to help you remember). Okay, so, go do it. I’ll wait.

To take this blog post in another random direction, I saw an interesting video on CNN.com tonight – Larry King is interviewing Jerry Seinfeld, and Larry asks him if Seinfeld was cancelled. In response, Jerry got really defensive and was kind of an ass about it. I think he should have just laughed it off. Touchy, touchy Jerry!

Okay, I’m going to stop writing and go attempt to sleep. G’night!

10-20-30 meme

Karen at Only Sometimes Clever recently did a post about what she was doing 10, 20 and 30 years ago. I don’t know why, but memes always appeal to me, so I’ll do this one.

Say a prayer

My brother-in-law, Glen, is currently in Peru on a missions trip with his church. I hear he’s come down with some kind of virus. Please say a prayer that he will make a speedy recovery and that the missions trip will go very well.

Thanks!!!

An admission

I have something to admit. I have a little crush on a TV character.

This is really strange for me, because I don’t normally waste brain cells on crushes (either celebrity or ‘real-life’), but this one just snuck up on me.

Who is it, you might ask? Jim on The Office? Dr. House in House? Nope.

It’s Steve Burns. Doesn’t ring a bell? How about Blue’s Clues?

OK, for you readers who don’t have preschoolers (or kids who have been preschoolers within the last 10 years), Blue’s Clues is a TV show on Nickelodeon aimed at the toddler set. It stars animated animals and objects, and a few “real” humans. Steve Burns was the first human character starring on that show, and I think he remained on the show from 1996-2002.

Anyway, we have multiple Blues Clues videos with Steve in them. After seeing his smiling face on my TV for the 1,326,034th time, I got curious about who he was and Googled him. And wouldn’t you know it, now he’s a musician? And his band is actually, shockingly - good. You can see some of his band’s videos and other multimedia on this page.

Well, I can’t be the only one who’s had this “problem” – Yes, Dear even did a show on it.

I also found that Steve has his on Web site. I had to laugh at his FAQs - you can tell he’s really quirky but funny.

All right, enough of that. Don’t tell me you’ve never had any ‘strange’ crushes. Oh, and Jay – I don’t think you have anything to worry about.

This is the kind of mood I’ve been in today

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

We’re entering my favorite time of the year – from the first nip of fall to Christmas Day, I can’t help but be cheery. Our leaves aren’t changing yet, but it’s starting to get cool at night. I’m burning wonderful apple, vanilla, and pumpkin-scented candles, and it’s really helping to set the “fall” mood.

For some reason, I never think about fall/winter wardrobes until it starts to get a little chilly in mid-to-late October (hey, this is Texas, where I wore flip-flops until December last year). So, yesterday, I took inventory and realized that Mikaela had almost nothing to wear when the weather gets chilly. Two thrift stores and one Wal-mart trip later, she’s all set. I did really well at the local thrift stores – one of my favorite finds is an adorable pair of brown Gymboree pants for $1.99. Between her and Gabriel, I think I spent less than $200 for all the season’s clothes. And I’m not buying a bunch of faded, stained crap … I’m buying name-brand, cute stuff. I guess I could have done better, but the PJ’s and jeans were more expensive than I had planned for. I went in a consignment shop yesterday and they had their used – USED! – Levi’s 2T jeans on for $12. Call me cheap, but that’s ridiculous. I finally found some jeans at Goodwill that was more what I was wanting to pay.

Speaking of shopping, I’m done with my Christmas shopping already and I couldn’t be more proud about that! I usually wait until late in the season, but I wanted to get it out of the way this year. Glad to have that behind me.

Back on the topic of fall – anyone got any good “fall-ish” recipes to share? I’ll post them here on my blog.

Internet!

So, we finally have internet hooked up out here. The satellite guy came out yesterday and set it up. I feel like I’ve been in a black hole for a month. I never realized how much I rely on the internet on a daily – no, more like hourly – basis. It’s where I do my work, where I read my devotions, it’s my dictionary, my phone book, my encyclopedia, my newspaper, my weather forecaster, my atlas, my medical reference book, my cookbook, my way to keep up with friends… not to mention my diary!

Anyway, I’ve missed it. And you.

Still not up

Well, I just found out today that the sattelite internet guy can’t come out to do an install until 10/10. I tried to bribe him with a tank of gas, to no avail. I am getting really antsy, since I have freelance work rolling in and no internet to work on!

So … hopefully, I’ll be back and blogging on the 10th. See you then!

Four Things Meme

Four jobs that I have had in my life:

1. Various positions in grocery stores in high school and college (cashier, florist, deli worker)
2. Associate Editor at a national magazine publisher (I still freelance for them) 
3. Pre-Press Night Shift Lead (at our regional newspaper here in Austin, TX) 
4. Web designer (snort)

Four places that I have lived:

1. Birmingham, AL
2. Chattanooga, TN area 
3. Nashville, TN area
4. Austin, TX area

Four Countries that I have been to on vacation:

1. U.S.A. 
2. Mexico 
3. Uh, that’s it. If I could pick two more: New Zealand and Ireland

Four of my favorite foods:

1. My husband’s incredible enchiladas or tortilla soup. (It’s a travesty that he’s never opened his own restaurant.)
2. Southern Fare (meat n’ three)
3. Japanese or Greek
4. Outback’s Queensland Salad

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. In TN to visit my new niece, Lucy. 
2. Visiting someplace a little cooler.
3. Moved into our new home already.
4. On vacation somewhere, with my parents watching the kids!

Randomness

Things are much better with my boss. I think she realized she was being an arse.

I actually had a great day at the store today … I stayed in the back room and let the kids play with the toys back there while I sorted through customers’ stuff. I got a lot accomplished, which always makes me feel good.

I have noticed one thing, though. I am having a really hard time focusing and concentrating. I’ve been off my prozac for about a month now (I don’t really know why I keep stopping … and yes, I know I really shouldn’t do that.) . I feel mostly fine emotionally – no wild mood swings like I’ve had before. Maybe it was just post-partum depression? Anyway, as I was saying, the one thing I noticed that’s come back with a vengence is my forgetfulness/lack of focus. I’ve always been that way to an extent, but it seemed like it’s gotten really bad in the last few years. The prozac definitely helped with that, though. Maybe I need some form of ADD medicine instead? Anyway, the lack-of-focus thing is really annoying at work. I’ll walk into the back room and by the time I get there, I’ve forgotten what I went for. That happens constantly. My boss joked that I suffer from CRS.

Seriously, I mean, it’s not just your run-of-the-mill forgetfulness, it’s kind of scary. If it hadn’t gone away when I was on anti-depressants, I would’ve thought I had Alzheimer’s. You know one other funny thing I’ve noticed? I feel like I’m much more creative when I’m off the meds. I guess prozac makes you even-tempered and dull.

Shifting gears COMPLETELY, Jay and I were talking this evening and we’ve both noticed a change in Mikalea recently. I can’t quite explain it, but I think her voice is starting to sound less baby-ish and more mature. Plus, she’s definitely grown.

She cracked me up yesterday. She came into the kitchen and held her beloved stuffed doggie up and said, “Mama, Doggie wants a banana and some Appa-Bits (alpha-bits).”

The older Mikaela gets, the more I want another baby. Working at the consignment store is NOT helping. Customers come in all day with cute babies. It gives my heart a pang. My kids are at a wonderful age … it’s not that I’m tired of them or anything. But I think God puts a desire in (well, at least some) women’s hearts to have children. I don’t know what our future holds, but I hope we can have at least one more baby.

One more kid story: today while in the store, I walked by the play-room just as Mikaela had entered it after her nap. Gabriel saw her and ran over and hugged her, saying “I love you, Mikaela!” That just made me melt.

I look ridiculous

I have a mummified right arm, which is making typing not so easy. My lymphedema has flared up really bad and I’m trying to get it under control. Always something.

We’ve been Simpson-ized

I’ve been tagged!

My friend Raymond tagged me to write 8 facts about myself. Here goes …

1. Since I grew up in the deep south (Birmingham, AL), I love southern food. BUT, Tex-Mex is a very close second. Thank goodness … my husband is a great cook and Tex-Mex is his specialty.
2. My husband and I only dated for 10 months before we were married. We’ve been together for eight years now, and married for seven.
3. Rock and alternative music are my favorites, but I get a hankerin’ for some good blues every so often. I also listen to some Christian music, which I should really listen to more often in the car. It cuts down on my road rage.
4. I have a college degree in journalism, but I like editing much more than I like writing. It’s not that I don’t like writing, it’s the process that’s a pain in the behind. Mostly contacts that won’t return your phone calls … that’s the worst.
5. I am a SAHM/WAHM (for the uninitated, that’s Stay-at-home-mom/Work-at-home mom). I am seriously considering becoming a home-schooling mom – I’ve been doing some research into it. I was surprised to find out that you really only need to spend a couple/few hours a day doing it (at least when they’re really young) … I guess one-on-one interaction makes for more focused learning.
6. I never get tired of looking at sunsets. My husband and I are also big weather buffs. I would love to be a trained storm spotter someday…
7. I love thinking out of the box and dreaming up grand ideas. I’ve always been the one who’s likely to try something crazy. Too bad my voices of reason (my husband and my mom, mostly) talk me out of most of them.
8. I’ve recently discovered an author that I really love – Donald Miller. My favorite book of his (so far) is Blue Like Jazz, about his journey to faith in Christ. It’s no fluffy Christian self-help book … it’s real and poingant, and the story is told from a former cynic’s point of view. Donald has some beautiful ideas about taking Christ out of the “box” we put him in. You’ll just have to read it to find out what I mean.

I’m currently in phone purgatory

“Please hold for the next available representative.” (Do I have a choice?)

15 seconds of elevator jazz

“Please hold for the next available representative.”

Repeat indefinitely.

UPDATE: this call-waiting routine actually lasted for 31 minutes until I hung up. Thanks, Bank of America.

Things that go boom in the night

It should be some kind of law of nature that shampoo bottles aren’t allowed to randomly fall down in the tub in the middle of the night.

I think I’m going to go lay down and have a heart attack now. Have a nice day.

Oh, my gosh.

Have you seen the video clip of Tammy Faye Messner (Formerly Tammy Faye Bakker) on cnn.com? She looks like a skeleton with makeup on. It’s disturbing.

No matter how you feel about her, it’s sad to see anyone looking like they’re in such bad shape.

Old photo

As you can see, Jay has always been adorable.

You do it to yourself, you do, and that’s what really hurts …

I’m counting the minutes until nap time.

For all three of us.

I drank something with caffiene in it way too late last night and as a result, I was up until 5 am. Mikaela woke me at 7:10. 2 hours and 10 minutes of sleep. I haven’t been this tired since having a newborn.

1 o’clock can’t get here fast enough.

Jello legs

I’m still shaky after what I watched happen earlier in the day.

I was pumping gas at one gas station near my house, staring off in the general direction of a gas station across the street. All of a sudden, a small car collided with a kid on a bike. He went up on the hood, and the car ran over the bike. By the time I started across the street, the kid had come back off the hood and was standing up, bent half-over.

I reached him, and he was shaking badly and had a nasty bruise coming up on his leg, but seemed otherwise OK. He said he was 15 and declined my offer to buy him some water or soda. Meanwhile, the car’s driver and her passenger – two middle-Eastern-looking women – were looking very alarmed and asking if there was anything they could do for him.

The kid used the driver’s cell phone to call his dad. His first words out of his mouth: “dad, I’ve just been hit by a car.” If I heard those words out of my child’s mouth, I’d probably die of a heart attack straightaway.

Anyway, the dad arrived and I typed my name and number into his blackberry. I wonder if he’s going to sue the driver. I honestly couldn’t tell whose fault it was. I would guess they both weren’t paying attention where they were going.

Thank God my kids are still young and I don’t have to worry about stuff like this yet!

The Lizard Returns

The baby lizard I saw in the kitchen the other day just made an appearance. Gabriel screamed, Mikaela froze like a deer in headlights, and Jay calmly picked it up and carried it outside. Thank goodness one person in this family isn’t a weenie. 

Random thoughts for the day

1. We’ve already gotten our rain quota here in TX … for the ENTIRE YEAR! And that’s pretty much just been in the last few weeks. Okay, it can stop raining now …

2. This makes me want someone to hold me …

3. I’m starting to think we’re never going to own a home. The annual property taxes on homes in our price range average $2000-$3000 … and even more. That’s a big add-on to your monthly payment. I don’t know where all these people living in these huge houses are getting the money … but can I have some?

4. I’m going to a much-needed girls’ night out tomorrow night (Friday). I am excited – I feel like I’ve been working 2 months straight with no break (oh, wait – I have). I’m kidding. Sort of. Having freelance work to do is a good thing, but it can be overwhelming at times … Anyway, someone call Jay tomorrow night and make sure he’s not feeding the kids junk and letting them stay up late.

5. My daughter’s impersonation of a fish is the cutest thing in the entire world.

6. I should really be working.

7. Gabriel can finally say the letter “W” semi-correctly. Instead of ‘double-you,’ he pronounces it ’dunna-bew.’ Close enough.

8. A few days ago, I was in the van with the kids. They were singing a praise and worship song, and my heart was welling with joy … until they started screaming “NO! I DO IT!” – fighting over whose turn it was to sing. Sigh.

9. Today, Gabriel ran into the wooden leg of the couch with his foot, cracking his toenail pretty bad. He was whimpering and limping around, and Mikaela reassured him: “you be OK, Gay-bul.”

 10. I might have a car. More details if it pans out …

Weekend

We did a lot of driving around this weekend, looking at potential houses. We went to an open house today of one that we liked. It’s small and older, but it has good potential and a nice view from the back (it’s backed up to a farm). The realtor is working with our financial person to qualify us for bond money to get our closing costs covered and a good interest rate … we shall see how this all pans out. I’m not getting my hopes up any more.

I was excited at a good deal I found this weekend – a Fisher-Price dollhouse for Mikaela, complete with family and furniture, for $25. Seeing as though the same thing new would’ve probably been about $100, I was pretty thrilled. It’s as tall as she is. She’s had a blast playing with it this weekend. I had to laugh at her today – she took the doll house’s plastic cat and attacked the father figurine. After Peter did that to Jay, I guess she thinks that’s normal!

Jay only has to work 2 days this week. Yay. I hope I can get enough work done in the next couple of days that we can actually enjoy the 4th. We’re going to watch the local parade, attend a picnic with friends and watch the city’s fireworks show that night … I just hope it doesn’t rain like it did last year!

On our ugly comforter

I realize everyone who has seen our ugly comforter in the background of our photos must think “what were they THINKING when they bought that?”

I was thinking: we’re poor and we need a new comforter. This entire king-sized set is on sale for $15! I’m going to buy it.’

It was either that or a granny-floral print.

Just in case you wondered.

What a drag

Jay and I finally got around to watching For Your Consideration tonight, a Christopher Guest movie. Jay and I are huge fans of Christopher Guest’s “mockumentary”-style movies, including Waiting for Guffmann, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.

But, For Your Consideration was a big disappointment. Just not very funny or interesting at all. Not that it’s terrible. It’s just … hollow.

Before you run out and rent any of these, a word: if your favorite genre is chick flicks or slapstick comedy, you’re not going to appreciate these.

Yes. A movie snob. I am one.

Cars, Weather

We sold the car. Not for as much as I wanted, but at least it’s gone.

The NOAA weather radio sitting about two feet away just went off for yet another flash flood warning. I think they’re a little over-zealous with flood warnings. They issue one almost every time it rains. I’ve lived here 2 years and I’ve yet to see a flash flood.

Wish me luck

Someone’s coming to look at my “broken” car today. I hope I can get $1000 out of it.

I’ve been working most of the day vacuuming it out, dusting all the surfaces, steam-cleaning the carpets and seats, and washing the exterior. I am officially old and out of shape. I think I might not be able to move tomorrow.

Anyway, hope the guy buys it for what I want to sell it for …

Confession

I read Reader’s Digest. I have since I was a child, back when I’d read “Laughter, the Best Medicine” and puzzle at the punchlines (because, you know, they’re so deep).

I guess I’m in denial, though, because I can’t bring myself to get a subscription. Yet, every time I see the new issue on the magazine stand, I think “ooh!” like a kid in a candy store.

Okay, I’m officially old and boring.

Seen above my back door

Cry for help

I’ve had an obscene amount of Dr Pepper today. Let me count … 99 ounces. Seriously.

I feel sick and my heart is fluttering. WHY do I do this to myself?

I need an intervention or something.

Evil

Yesterday we got about a dozen calls on our digital phone. We get nothing but sales calls on that line, since I haven’t given that number out to anyone.

So the last time that phone rang, I picked the phone up and handed it directly to Mikaela. She jabbered happily while the exasperated sales person asked her to give the phone to her mommy.

I think I’m going to let Mikaela answer all my sales calls from now on. Let’s see how fast they stop calling.