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April 30, 2005

Jaunt-y
Feeling better, we went up to Healdsburg today to hunt down the Quartet (though at the moment really a Triplet, since #3 is missing). Led us on a nice walking tour of the town, where we drooled over the little cottages and bungalows. Very cool place.

Very much need to update our personal stamp. Aside from acheiving just a little more skill since carving it, obviously our location has changed (don't know if it's worth adding it anymore, we may just be moving again...). Think I'd like to change theme entirely, too - just can't seem to come up with anything simple and meaningful.
04/30/05 10:45 PM |  Comments


April 28, 2005

Yumma
Making baklava. It's easy, and fun! I'm using this recipe. Little trouble getting the almonds ground up fine enough with the big food processor, but took out my cute little endlessly versatile Ergo chopper, and, as usual, it was no problem. Kinda makes you think you should visit my house, too, hmmmmmm?
04/28/05 10:39 PM |  Comments


April 27, 2005

Frustrating Fun
Guess the Google. In which you're given twenty images from Google, and you have to guess the keyword used to find them. Not always as easy as you'd think. Via hey, freak!
04/27/05 05:02 PM |  Comments


mmmph.
So now I have Daniel's cold, too. It's not really very bad - just enough to make my nose and throat miserable. We bought a vaporizer yesterday, but it didn't seem to do much good last night.

Serenity trailer!

I got a "ticket" this morning for parking in our own driveway overnight. The HOA's policy is no parking in driveways past midnight, to keep people from storing their trashy vehicles there, and getting the concrete all oily. Yesterday I had lots of groceries and stuff, and of course the bub, so I parked there and left it. And forgot to move it to guest parking in the evening. There are very, very few babies here (I've seen only one other), so I guess they could really care less about how very difficult it is to get even the simplest of things done with one. While I understand the reasons, I can't help but despise the rule.
04/27/05 10:41 AM |  Comments


April 25, 2005

My Devil Cat
meow! meow!

meeeooooowww!!!

Where is that coming from? I check the closets - usual culprit in cases of trapped kitties. The sound is so very faint, desperate, and girly... Elli. Not in the bathroom. Not in the dining room cabinet I just had open. Front... door? Nah. But there she is, on the porch, tail all bushed out.

?!?

I can only assume that she escaped when Daniel and I were putting the recycling bins out. Less likely: she hopped out the patio door when I was trying to shoo out a giant black fly, squeezed beneath the fence, and somehow miraculously found her way around the property back to the front. Given that she's never been outside (here), it's kind of strange that she knew well enough to come to our front door in any case.
04/25/05 05:23 PM |  Comments


Poor Bub
Daniel has his first cold. I'm grateful it's held off so long. But, man. No one slept last night, because I foolishly didn't have any cold medicines stocked for him. Tonight will be different.

Off for some steam and, hopefully, a nap.
04/25/05 09:24 AM |  Comments


April 24, 2005

Pick-Me-Upper
Have you tried the Mint Mocha Frappuccino? So good. Unfortunately, because I love it so, it's a "Limited Edition." Bah.
04/24/05 09:11 AM |  Comments


April 23, 2005

I Love A Parade
Butter and Egg Days here in Petaluma, to celebrate the city's udderly eggcellent history (boo, me). Two of my favorite things, besides parades. Today's was tall on quantity and a little short on quality, but Daniel (who wore cows in honor of the occasion) still enjoyed it, and that's all that matters. He did some dancing to the marching bands, hung out with Dad, and got some shiny-shiny beads to finger.
04/23/05 04:32 PM |  Comments


April 22, 2005

Yes, Yes, I Know I'm a Consumer Whore...
...and traffic is already a snarly little mess at that spot. But booyah! all the same.
04/22/05 12:04 PM |  Comments


Still Hasn't Learned That it Won't Work on Cats, Though
The first thing I've been able to teach my son is not how to wave, or say "Mama," or give dumb fancy car cell phone ladies the finger. Nope.

Apparently, I've taught him how to zerbert. He'll find your stomach (or arm, or leg), pucker his lips, and blow. I'm not totally not kidding. It makes me laugh so hard, I cry.
04/22/05 08:32 AM |  Comments


April 21, 2005

One Leetle Wish
Flickr is great for moblogs. I'd be hard pressed to reach my monthly upload limit with the cell.

But one thing drives me batty. Why, when uploading photos, can't they go to some kind of purgatory, first? It may be silly, but I hate it when they sit there publicly for the few minutes it takes to title/describe/tag/annotate them. Am I the only one? Is it different for Pro users, I wonder?
04/21/05 10:56 AM |  Comments


April 20, 2005

Bub-terior Design
Needed curtains for Daniel's room, preferably a springy green. As you know, we've got, well, KMart, and I've been feeling too lazy to drive up to Target. They have lots of neat cafe curtains, and pretty patterned sheers, and neutral linens, but not anything nearly fun enough for a bub room (aside from some splashy Joe Boxer stuff aimed at teens - girls, mostly). And I would've paid about twenty-five bucks for two panels.

So I found a twin sheet I liked, light green with a darker green box pattern. I could only get it in a set, but, still - that was only thirteen dollars. The flat is enough for two perfect panels and then some; just a rod pocket for each, a couple of side hems, and vi-ola. He can use the fitted sheet and pillowcase on his first real bed.

Now I just have to lug the Pfaff in from the garage and finish them.
04/20/05 10:25 AM |  Comments


April 19, 2005

Deflowering
I've had my car since December 2003. Not being an aggressive driver, I haven't used the horn once (well, aside from checking the sound).

Yesterday dumb fancy car cell-phone lady turned right on my left, without a glance my way. Even after I laid on the horn. Inches from collision. So, so very angry. Ten thousand times worse with a baby in the back. I certainly hope that conversation was worth risking our lives.
04/19/05 11:07 AM |  Comments


April 18, 2005

Monday, Monday, Can't Trust That Day
Doctor's offices, argharghargh! How can I stay on permahold when the bub takes very limited naps? After half an hour this morning, I finally had to throw in the towel. I'll try later, I guess (Teletubbies???). Failing that, I'll just drive over there tomorrow. Nice thing about this town is that it, like everything, is just up the street.

I highly recommend Boca Italian "sausages." Just had one for lunch in a whole wheat tortilla. Yu-um.

The cats are in full-on puke mode again. It's mostly Elmo - he eats carpet fibers, and anything else that happens to make its way down to paw level. And I suppose they're starting to shed harder, too, which doesn't help. We just moved in, and already I feel it's time to pull out the carpet steamer.

Speaking of Elmo... It's impossible to find anything Sesame Street without his high-pitched little yap all over it. For a Cookie Monster cake pan (doing a little advanced planning for Daniel's birthday, too), it'll be off to the eBay machine. I'm not even going to dignify the recent atrocities inflicted on C.M. with a response. "Sometimes food," my ass.

Spring has volunteered to throw herself on the pyre of insomniac psychosis with me one night this summer. Rawk.
04/18/05 12:10 PM |  Comments


April 17, 2005

I Admit...
...I downloaded Scholastic's interactive desktop Harry Potter VI countdown. I pre-ordered from Amazon a few months back - sadly, receiving it is the only bright spot on my literary horizon.
04/17/05 04:49 PM |  Comments


That's Better.
A good solid nine hours of sleep and a shower later - I feel like a whole new person. Whew. Let's not do yesterday again anytime soon, shall we?

At least until Blogathon, which is alarmingly near. I've got a plan - but do I have the stamina and the time to do what I'd like? Which is to retool and resurrect Reusablog, on that night, in support of 4-H. With 24 projects and links, and they have to be stellar. I've thought up about... oh, three. Better if I had a partner... You think you've gots the goods?

Wow. Mental rebirth makes me so optimistic.
04/17/05 10:43 AM |  Comments


April 16, 2005

Yes, So, Now - About That Benadryl.
Longest day ever. Cranky bub, because of the tiredness (imagine that!). Went to bed about the normal time tonight, awake screaming less than an hour later. D. at work all day, no rest for the wicked. I should probably be sleeping while I can, but perversely now I'm wired, from trying to stay awake all day. If we're headed for a repeat of last night/today, the Borg may just as well take me now.
04/16/05 07:37 PM |  Comments


So, Benadryl, You Say.
Four-thirty. Awake. Actually, awake at three-thirty, but didn't believe he'd insist on being up. I mean, really up. For no good reason. Same naps. Same bedtime. Same food. No teething. No sugar. The blasted damned fucking control for my side of the bed was wedged between the wall and the "mattress," and when I rolled over, it started to shriek and I couldn't get it to stop, and he started crying. Though he was quite awake before that, so pretty sure that wasn't what did it.

Since I wasn't able to get to sleep until nearly midnight, I'm so very not in good shape right now. My hip hurts like a mofo, Daniel's trying to eat the cords beneath my desk, and my glasses are smudged. At six I guess I'll salvage what I can of my hair and we'll go get a buttload of donuts.

And a vat of coffee.

Update: Wait... Albertson's is open now. Sugarrrrrcarbbbbsfatfatfat. I didn't know they're open 24 hours (files for future use in similar situations).

Update two: Very little ticks me off more than businesses publishing incorrect info on their websites. Albertson's is not open 24 hours. But Safeway is. Which worked out well, because they've got a Starbucks. And really - when was the last time I allowed myself to have a Caramel Macchiato? Did some light shopping (no better time), drooling throughout the store as the smell of fresh pastries wafted down the aisles. Unfortunately, the donuts weren't ready yet! So I had to make do with cinnamon rolls of uncertain birthdate. Drove around a bit with my coffee love afterwards, thinking it'd put Daniel out (it did, but only until we got in the door). It's also been awhile since I've been outside for a dawn, and that, and the mist over the eastern hills, and the dimness-spooked adobe may have almost made up for the early hour.
04/16/05 04:25 AM |  Comments


April 14, 2005

That's Why They Call Him The Streak
Eight months old yesterday, yikes. Here's a small Snapfish gallery; only a couple have been posted here on the site.
04/14/05 03:04 PM |  Comments


April 13, 2005

In Lurve
This guy surely outshines the great majority of attempts at photographically documenting new motherhood (warning: not all for nudeophobes/the prudish). Luckily he's been fairly productive, because I find myself always wanting more.
04/13/05 11:28 AM |  Comments


April 10, 2005

Down in the Valley
Yesterday we went letterboxing again, in Sonoma. Definitely be returning lots - so much charm, and Traintown (!!!), and tons of historical sites. Lachryma Montis was a beautiful spot, I'll post a gallery soon. For now, here's my favorite shot from the trip.
04/10/05 03:16 PM |  Comments


Oh! What Fun it Is to Ride
Amazing, truly. How the retail environment changes so drastically a mere ten miles up 101. Daniel and I went to Michael's yesterday Thursday for some beads and other small things, and I can honestly say that it was the worst Michael's experience I've ever had. Nothing I wanted was stocked, and the cashiering was painfully abominable (luckily, at least, Daniel has become a good sport about lines as long as there are interesting people to look at - and the friendly grizzled gay bikers in front of us made for a good diversion). Doesn't help that I've been spoiled by shops in our relatively friendly hamlet.

We opted out of the traffic on the highway for Petaluma Hill Road. Oh, what gorgeousness there! The hills, sheep and cows, stately roadside trees, rusty barns, breathtaking Victorian mansions, and all the bumper-room you could want. Hard to be homesick for the Midwestern countryside when it's all just a stone's throw away.
04/10/05 01:29 PM |  Comments


April 06, 2005

Meme of One
I couldn't really participate in the whole What's in your bag? meme, because I don't carry one anymore. Unless you want to see the diaper bag. I'd wager not.

So I've done What's in your garage? Because we've got one, and there's stuff in it. When the door is open, people driving past peer inside. Now lucky you can too.
04/06/05 11:11 AM |  Comments


April 03, 2005

Blocked Duct and All
Drove down to Novato to catch a letterbox at the Marin French Cheese Factory, and then to Petco. The Petco was nowhere to be found, but we did at least find the box. What nice picnic areas they've got there, beneath the blooming apple trees. And you can buy a little bottle of wine and some sandwiches inside (though I'll warn the shop is small and crowded and none too stroller friendly), and eat them next to the pond. Not that we did; it was far too windy and cold yesterday.
04/03/05 11:13 AM |  Comments