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February 28, 2005

Serious, and Not So Much
Please take my short and highly un-scientific survey on significant others and blogging, brought about by an email conversation. Results will be shared shortly.

And today is the last day to gname my gnome. Tick-tock.
02/28/05 07:40 PM |  Comments


They Don't Like Mondays
Downtown Petaluma is closed on Sundays. Mostly. Which isn't really a surprise. But when Daniel and I went down there today, pretty much everything was closed again. The bakery with the frog and bunny cookies in the window. The other bakery with the delicious cookies and pastries that we couldn't buy last time because we didn't have enough cash on us (cash???). Boutiques and galleries, closed. Strangeness.

Well, at least Baskin-Robbins and Copperfield's were open. The important stuff. For to get yummy strawberry yogurt smoothie and another great used buy for my collection of women's Western Americana.
02/28/05 06:09 PM |  Comments


February 25, 2005

Big To-Do
It occurred to me while in a nursing half-trance earlier that, while your activities say a lot about who you are, the things that you wish to do, but for whatever reason can't at the moment, may be just as or more telling. Deep, huh?

Here are some of my on-hold interests:

  • Hike at least part of the Appalachian Trail
  • Study wolf and moose ecology with Dr. Peterson some summer
  • Do some modest model railroading
  • Keep a koi pond
  • Build and outfit a realistic minature house (electricity and all)
  • Go to Galapagos! (and I see they're in Egypt right now, certainly wouldn't pass that up)


    • Hum. I think what I've learned from this little exercise is that I need a couple of jobs.
    02/25/05 01:07 PM |  Comments


    February 24, 2005

    Monkey in a Frog Pond
    Sometimes I can't believe how big he is already.

    Rachel, those shoes were such an appropriate choice, since he's Mister Monkeytoes!
    02/24/05 08:27 AM |  Comments


    February 23, 2005

    Gname That Gnome
    Daniel and I were walking around Kmapart this morning, as we are wont to do once weekly, for lack of a Target. We'd just left bathroom organization and were well on our way to shaving supplies (no, not for me, of course I haven't shaved my legs in weeks, silly), when, OhEmGee, you'll never guess what we saw on the endcap, never! Whole shelves of gnomes! Gnomes with books, reclining gnomes, and, sort of frighteningly, gnomes riding frogs. You may remember my period of gnome coveting. Luckily you can't put a price on charm, baby, 'cause these little guys were only seven bucks. I got one with a book for myself (of course), but in honor of our escapades, I may pick up another to brighten/tack up my sister's patio, too. Or car. Whatever works.

    So here's your challenge: my gnome is nomeless. Email your best suggestions (limit three, please). If I pick yours, you get one pound of Kat's Gourmet Flavored Coffee*, your choice of grind, flavor, and caffeine. Please consider his obvious intelligence and that hint of mischevious twinkle in his eye. Creativity counts, and I do enjoy a little obscurity - but not too much! Due by the end of February.

    *Whore Alert! Whore Alert! I'm a consultant, so if you happen to see something you'd like to purchase, my number is #0924. You do want Daniel to go to college, don't you?
    02/23/05 01:40 PM |  Comments


    February 22, 2005

    Crapshoot
    Set up a moblog, of sorts, at Flickr (see right). The quality may be awful, but the likelihood of getting a picture is about fifty times greater with the mobile than with the Canon. Still doing the Visiblog. Eventually. Once I can a) find time to finagle MT into the format I want, or b) find a decent gallery program that lives on our server and doesn't require PHP (hahahahaha, I keel me).
    02/22/05 10:14 PM |  Comments


    Cont'd
    Now, doesn't this look like the perfect place to enjoy some wee pies?
    02/22/05 06:03 PM |  Comments


    Make Mine a Mountain, an Eagle, and the Flag. Yee-Haw!
    What if I told you that I've always been a little obsessed with RVs? Would you chalk it up to my origins in the stickiest sticks, or would you finally realize that I'm actually a 60-year-old grandmother of three?

    Maybe it's the compactness. A moveable house, with tiny appliances, where organization is crucial. Like balm for the Virgoan surrounded by a little too much of her own hoard. And a lifetime appreciation of all things small doesn't hurt.

    Perhaps it speaks of family. My sister and I were friends with the neighbor kids in Escanaba, proud owners of a popup camper. So many games of checkers and Go Fish were won and lost on the little drop-down table. We were always envious of the close family of five, with their silly fights and long rambling vacations, and jocular dad. Camping epitomizes family to me - but maybe that's because we never did it.

    Could be frugality. Why spend sixty bucks a night for a Motel 6 when you can grab a spot beneath the trees for ten?

    Or maybe it's just my envy of those ultra-cool murals you can have painted on the side. That's gotta be it. Erm.
    02/22/05 10:06 AM |  Comments


    February 20, 2005

    Rice Rice Baby
    You know it's time to bring on the Real Food when you're at IHoP, and the bub keeps trying to grab stuff off your fork and plate. We'd planned to start him on cereal anyhow, when things settled down a bit. So last night he got his first solid. If you can call it that - it was more like Cream of Rice Puree Soup, but he loved it regardless. Ended up wearing most of it on his bib, but he couldn't have been more enthusiastic (D had to hold down his hands so he wouldn't grab the spoon and try to ram it into his mouth). Wish we could've clicked a few messy photos, but here's a happy After, at least.
    02/20/05 08:28 AM |  Comments


    February 18, 2005

    Super Bub
    Daniel at six months:

  • Has two teeth
  • Can do pushups with just his hands and toes (!?!)
  • Almost sits up unsupported - "tripods" pretty well
  • Can stealth-scootch around a room so fast, it's almost frightening
  • Doesn't sleep through the night all that well
  • Will try cereal this weekend!
  • Can say "mama," but doesn't know it means anything yet
  • Sometimes mimics facial expressions and hand movements
  • Adores Teletubbies
  • Just enjoyed his first ride in the stroller without the carseat
  • Still hates the car (*sigh*)
  • Is wearing a lot of 12-month clothing
  • Opens his mouth like a baby bird when he sees the medicine dropper
  • Hasn't been sick once!
  • Squirms so much on the changing table, he usually ends up with a crooked diaper
  • Can't keep a pair of socks on for anything
  • Is ticklish beneath the chin
  • Literally squeals when he sees me put on the carrier
  • Sucks his teeny little thumb a lot
  • Is hopefully better at getting portraits taken...

    • 02/18/05 08:18 AM |  Comments


    February 17, 2005

    Insert Rodney Dangerfield Quip Here
    It's difficult to hear comments like this and not slip into mild feelings of inferiority, even though my brain calls bullshit. There are times I want to go back to work just so I won't feel as if I'm constantly under veiled contempt and misplaced envy.
    02/17/05 11:19 AM |  Comments


    February 16, 2005

    My, What a Cute Little Head Tumor Factory You Have!
    Yay! for cute little flip phones with cameras. Now we can be all hip, too. Boo! for charging $50 for the software to download the photos.
    02/16/05 04:25 PM |  Comments


    February 15, 2005

    Friends
    Elmo is the only cat that will, on occasion, actively seek out Daniel's abuses. It looks like he's being nice here, but seconds later the ear-pulling will begin.
    02/15/05 08:49 AM |  Comments


    February 14, 2005

    Channel Your Inner Ho-stess
    Kitch 'n Glam has swell aprons. I like this one, myself. Apologies if this has been over-posted; I have a serious sense of deja vu when visiting.
    02/14/05 09:10 AM |  Comments


    February 13, 2005

    Six Months!
    Somebody turned six months old today. No, we can't believe it, either.
    02/13/05 01:17 PM |  Comments


    How to Cut
    I need to spend some time with these clearly illustrated fruit-cutting instructions. Of course, that would mean I'd also actually have to eat more fruit. I mean besides bananas and grapes, which of course my boundlessly lazy ass loves. Via Tim.
    02/13/05 08:59 AM |  Comments


    February 09, 2005

    Curses
    Just when I needed something new for the walls.
    02/09/05 07:23 AM |  Comments


    February 08, 2005

    The Last WalMart-less City in America
    It's weird, returning once again to a relatively small and slow-paced town. How long, I wonder, will it take to slip back into the drawling rhythm, where strangers stop and talk to you for no apparent reason? And you know the names of your neighbors in a matter of days? And those of their dogs? D., having spent far less time in this kind of environment (two years as a boy, maybe?) will probably have a tougher time acclimating.

    Too bad it won't stay that way long. Already the commuters are throwing up their $500K paper clones everywhere. Soon I'll bet we see them encroaching upon the gorgeous hills and plains, just like in Sacramento.

    The trees in our small back "yard" are fantastic; I can't wait for all the leaves to appear. Birds will love tormenting the cats from the branches.
    02/08/05 01:56 PM |  Comments


    February 05, 2005

    Here I Yam (Or, Not Dead Yet)
    So the gang's all here, with our ten thousand bags and fifteen million boxes of stuff. Stuff sucks. We seriously need to reconsider our stance on stuff, specifically the having of stuff. More specifically, the having of SO MUCH DAMNED STUFF. If you move a bunch of your own stuff in three trips out with the RAV and a small UHaul, and it still costs almost 1K to move the rest - it's probably time to do some serious Craigslisting.

    The kitchen is grody. And I mean that in a "our dishes and foodstuffs are no way, no how touching those cabinets" way. Layers of greasy, sticky Contact. Yee-uck. I don't even want to speculate on how things get to that point. D. is going to coat them in sealant. Yesterday I spent a good half an hour scraping crud off the stovetop. Work cut out.

    Extended basic doesn't include the SciFi channel here. We're seriously pissed. <sarcasm>But at least we have the Hallmark Channel now. Lovely.</sarcasm>

    If you ignore the kitchen, this place is good for our health, at least. The mirrors are not flattering in the least (very motivating!), and the stairs are killer. We haven't lived in a two-story in nearly five years, so the calves and thighs are getting a real workout. And Daniel is having a better time on wall-to-wall carpeting than the old hardwood.
    02/05/05 01:34 PM |  Comments


    February 02, 2005

    Off the Air/In My Head/From My Stats
    This will probably be my last post before the servers come down. We're supposed to at least have 'net again on Friday, but, given our long, sordid history with Comcrap, I do have my sincere reservations.

    Over the coming months, look for:
  • The return of Visiblog, new and far improved
  • The return of Reusablog (maybe with some new talent, hmm...?)
  • A small SAHM business venture filled with yummylicious goodies


    • If you're in Sacramento, and a blogger, go join Sactobloggers. I just handed over the reins to a new manager and moderator, so there's a promise of actual real live conversation. Finally.

    Note to Pervs: stop looking for boobs. There aren't any here. I mean, they're here, but they only get mentioned in passing, and I'm not showing them to you. Freaks.
    02/02/05 09:49 AM |  Comments


    February 01, 2005

    Because You Don't Want Me to Write About Packing
    Well, I guess that explains the inception of the Jif Baking Sticks. If not explaining why I only realized they existed when I happened to bump into them on their sticky WalM*rt shelf as I narrowly saved my toes from being crushed by some crazy cart or other.
    02/01/05 07:22 AM |  Comments