spinning-jennie: Babble archives

Zap! Zap!
Tomorrow is my LASIK consultation. I feel all multiple personality about it: "Oh noes! What if you aren't a candidate?" and "Won't it be a relief if they can't do it? No knife! Woo!"

I was going to go to a practice that offers blade-free IntraLASIK, but their home page also touts "aesthetics" like injectable wrinkle-eating poisons, laser hair removal... that kind of thing. So, obviously, they understand the fact that vision correction is serious, LIFE-ALTERING SURGERY on your EYEBALLS.

Clearly in the same class as skin peels.
04/16/08 11:26 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Some Signs the Day Might Be All Right
-The artisan garlic bread arrives just as you have at the grocery store, all warm and fragrant. Too bad you have to restrain yourself from eating it with your coffee right away!

-The bub is only contrary for the sake of contrariness once or twice before school. Aaaand, it's gorgeous outside, so you know they'll be running off a lot of steam in the park today (woot!).

-Following this Roy Lichtenstein-y tutorial has been pleasant and fun.

-It's not Monday!

ETA: Oh, how could I forget? No horks! We're on Day 4 now!
04/15/08 11:04 AM in Babble , Link  |  Comments


Bugging Out
We're being invaded!

Always, now, I'm seeing one flitting on a wall or ceiling, just out of the corner of an eye. I'm not bug-phobic. Much. But hosting relatively large, uninvited, winged guests en masse does get old after a few days.
04/13/08 11:50 PM in Babble  |  Comments


The Garage Can't Hold a Candle
I miss basements. There are almost none in California, and I know there are reasons -- water table, stringent (read: expensive) building codes, no need because of lack of freeze. But the temps spiked into the high 80's today, and the thought of a cool, dark, maybe damp-ish basement to work and hide in was so appealing. I can almost smell one now -- earth and rock and concrete.

Adding to the subterranean yen: I got a decent workout at the Scandia air hockey table tonight. If we had a basement, a table could live right here. See, a basement would be good for my health.
04/11/08 11:33 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Picking Up the Ball, Dribbling it All Over, Crazy-Like
Whoops. Missed a few days there. It seems as if I blink, and, *pwoof!* a week has passed.

Been in a decidedly more domestic mood. Spring? Finally feeling really well? Don't know. Meal planning and hanging out laundry and organizing, at least. Cleaning... well. And my desk is still trashed, but only because I'm never alone with it long enough during a frenetic-energy period to scrape it all up and start over. Looking at it right now, I find I've got a deep urge to burn it.

Say! I cured my own rotten sinus infection. Without antibiotics. Now, don't go all "That's dangerous! Tsk, tsk!" on me. I did the whole antibiotic thing, ten years ago. Again, and again, and again. Until the rest of my body was a mess, and my nose was in a vicious merry-go-round of wellsickwellsickwellsick. So you'll have to pardon my very last resort policy when it comes to the -cillins and their brethren. Of course, as always, your mileage may vary.

Anyhow, yes. The NeilMed Sinus Rinse is a minor miracle. No wonder there's not a negative review to be found. I've been using it for about, what? a month now? starting with three times a day during the very worst of the infection, and now down to just mornings. And I swear, I can't remember the last time my nose was so CLEAR. Breathing, no yellow gunk. They say that the benefits of consistent use accumulate and really peak after a couple of months, and I have no reason not to believe it. Hooray!

I did some other things, too, during the worst of it. Lots and lots of hot green tea and mineral waters, time-release vitamin C, garlic caps three times per day, vaporizer with eucalyptus at night, and long daily steams with a couple drops of tea tree oil added to the water. I'm still taking the C and garlic -- they certainly can't hurt at all.

I used the Get Prints feature on Flickr for the first time today. I'm curious to see if I like it better than Snapfish. I hope so, because Snapfish is a ginormous pain in the tookus.

My goal this month was to pick up all the little crafty projects I've abandoned, and just finish them already. Not going great so far, which you might have noticed. Doesn't bode well for my Etsy opening in fall. Sigh. Maybe this summer, when I don't have a class.
04/07/08 11:07 PM in Babble  |  Comments


More Random Observations - The Organic Edition
-The sweet gum pods are in full mock, with their tentacles and empty eyes. Whispering, whispering. "Come, step on us. Twist that weak ankle again, you can hardly avoid it, we're everrrrrrrrryyyyywheeeerrrrre."

-At the marsh tonight, there were swans! Lots of them. I've never seen a bird big or brave enough to get aggressive with a Canada goose, but we watched one repeatedly attack what appeared to be a nesting pair. The geese did hold their own. Interesting stuff.

-When I arrived at the preschool this morning for pickup, the class had an uninvited guest zooming around overhead -- a hummingbird. Both outer doors were wide open, so I assume it eventually made it to the outside again.
04/01/08 06:56 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Very Random and Pointless Observations from Today
-When stirring pasta in an oh-so-slightly ridged-bottomed pan, it sounded almost exactly like the TARDIS taking off. It reminded me that there are still a couple seasons to queue up.

-Big. Freaking. Opossum. Huge! On my walk tonight. The only other mammals we've seen in the immediate area are cats, dogs, and mice that the cats have, erm, dispatched, so you might imagine my surpise as it lumbered across the darkened sidewalk in front of me.

-Our DVR has a personal problem with Mansfield Park. The first time the program aired, the machine completely ignored it, no error message, nothing. It did record the re-airing... at least the picture. The sound, it cut out five minutes in.
03/31/08 10:59 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Things That Fly
The wind was perfect and the sun was shining, so Daniel flew his first kite today. Just a Gayla plastic dealie, but it flew really easy, which made it all that much more fun and less potentially exasperating for one who is a little too quick to fuss lately.

We gave him his choice from the small display at our KB outlet. How happy was I that he pooed the licensed character stuff and went for one of the birds (a bald eagle)? Pretty chuffed. It would be nice to get something a little sturdier, eventually; we may have to take a little drive to Bodega Bay (and now that I've seen The Birds, I kind of want to see the schoolhouse, too).

Did you know there's an American Kitefliers Association? I did not.
03/30/08 10:44 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Dorks 'r Us
Ha! Clip on sunglasses. I now have them. So chic, that's me. But they work, and will make driving a hell of a lot safer for the next few weeks.

Maybe I can get these sometime after I get zapped.
03/29/08 09:46 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Dagnabbit
I missed a day! We watched I Am Legend until late last night, and I just completely forgot about posting. Anyone who's still around probably knows my pet genre is postapocalyptic/dystopian, so I may get a little brainhyper when I get my hands on a blockbuster, especially starring someone I love to watch (squee).

Sooooo. I have to make an appointment (haven't quite nailed down my choice of practice yet), but I'm going to get LASIK. Or preferably bladeless IntraLase if that turns out to be not awfully cost-prohibitive. The pain of it currently is that, since I've been using soft contacts for about twenty years, I've got to stop wearing them a few weeks in advance, because they change the corneal shape. Which makes me wish I'd decided to do this in December -- I don't have prescription sunglasses, and driving around during the day HURTS like a mofo now that it's sunny. I'm a temporary vampire.

Luckily temporary vampires can still enjoy garlic.

Before I forget, here are some easy printable dolls for Karyn and co.
03/28/08 08:32 PM in Babble  |  Comments


haikuku
midnight drawing near
eyes burn like one thousand suns
so here is a link
03/25/08 11:35 PM in Babble , Link , Music  |  Comments


Strangeness
It was kind of a weird day.

Around noon, I glanced at my Google Desktop, and it was displaying a temp of 89°. Errr... no. No way. Went outside. 65, tops. Then I checked out Wunderground, and it was reporting 85°. I checked the temp a half hour, maybe hour later, and it was reading back in the 60's where it very clearly belonged. What makes it weirder is that the Wunderground data comes from a Personal Weather Station a few blocks away, and I'm pretty sure Google's doesn't. Just strange.

Then I opened my mailbox to find an issue of Domino. Not that I have anything against it, really, but it's not something I would pay for, even just one issue. At least it didn't remain a mystery long -- I remembered that, aeons ago, I made an Amazon order and was offered a "Free Subscription!" to my choice of one of about five publications. Oh! Duh. I never would've remembered it on my own.

We made a trip to Longs before dinner. The bub went up the aisle a bit, out of our sight, and we heard a dull, sickening THUD, and exclamations of surprise/fear/concern. My heart went into my throat for the few seconds it took to find the bub, safe and sound. Apparently an older gentleman, while waiting at the pharmacy, just toppled straight backward with no warning. The paramedics arrived impressively fast, and the fire truck shortly after. I hope he's okay.
03/24/08 09:25 PM in Babble  |  Comments


And Some Things I Have Been Wondering
-Why people here seem to have a thing against sidewalks. We don't have places to walk to, but damn if we haven't got the best sidewalks! Wide, flat, everywhere. So why walk down the middle of the street? Sometimes three abreast, with dogs? For the love of vehicular safety, why???

-Is Jericho coming back? Well, is it?

-Why bring chocolate pudding to school on 3-year-old Picture Day? Hmmm?

-Why "if you write it, they will come" no longer applies. I must be more boring-er. Or I'm consuming too much garlic.

-Why the flak from other hardcore fans? It wasn't that bad. Really.
03/13/08 09:48 AM in Babble  |  Comments


Some Things I Have Been Doing
-Taking garlic caps. They're supposed to be good for sinuses (among other things). Upped the vitamin C for the same reason. Trying to sleep more, and drink more water. Still rinsing nose religiously. Outlook better.

-Swearing in the kitchen. Lesson learned -- never, NEVER use a brand-new recipe when time is of the essence. If you must, have 48 pre-made cookie dough balls on hand just in case. I still can't believe I had to throw away cookies today, they were that bad.

-Revisiting Serenity. We don't get SciFi in Petaluma (WTH?), but no worries, because I have the series on DVD (a rarity for me).

-Walking again, now that I can stand without wobbling. I got bored with my music; a sharp, emotional, but not terribly demanding audiobook is just the motivator I needed.

-Getting the smackdown at Scramble. Clearly this is not my game, but I'm having so much fun playing that I don't really care.
03/12/08 10:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


The Nose Knows
Well, I'm washed out, shaky on my sticks and still hacking, but I've managed to make it since 3 a.m. without drugs or a high fever. And, you know what? My nose has never felt this good at the end of the flu. Never. Usually the secondary sinus infection would be kicking my butt. But I've been faithfully rinsing, three times a day, since Saturday, and I can BREATHE. Through my nose! There's still a little pressure and drainage, but nothing I've needed to drug up to survive through.

And it's not bad to do, the rinsing. I've actually begun to look forward to it, because my passages feel so cool and refreshed after. The NeilMed solution doesn't burn at all, not like my homemade stuff did with the Waterpik adapter.

So I'm almost believing that, as testified time and again, I'll cut down drastically on sinus problems if I'm habitual about rinsing. Woo!

*knock on wood*
03/03/08 08:43 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Cheap Date
It was Parents' Night Out at the preschool. I had two (two! light!) gin & tonics at the local "upscale" "nightclub," and I've been flying almost stupidly high. It seems like I tolerate liquor with less ease the older I get. Sigh!

It sure is nice out tonight, though. Pleasant to wander around a safe downtown, with a big local bookstore to browse, and good pizza to eat, all by the river.
02/22/08 08:44 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Off the Wagon
We went to Sacramento for the long weekend, where I fell off the post wagon. Because the internet connection was crappy, and I didn't bring paper to manually write down posts. I guess I didn't bring enough inclination to overcome that ridiculously small barrier, either. And then I got home yesterday, and found myself completely lacking the will to post.

Will to drink? Check. Will to sleep until about Thursday? Cheeeccck. Will to blog? I must've lost that three counties east. Intent to carry on henceforth? Okay.

So, yeah. We went to the zoo. Old Sac. Spaghetti Factory. Pancake Circus. Ran out of oomph for Ikea (strange, considering all that carb loading). The bub was generally compliant. It was nice to get out of town.

I just wish I weren't so wiped and cranky today. The pollen (or something -- smog?) was getting me over there, and I did constant battle with my sinuses. Sleeping is usually an issue in hotels. And then up early this morning, for preschool. Yaaaaaawn.

Just need a day to recover my noggin. Too bad boys seem to have a spidey sense that hones right in on girl weakness. Hope everyone is caught up on their rabies shots!
02/19/08 10:39 AM in Babble  |  Comments


More at Eleven
I'm making my first quilt. Actually, a crib-sized quilt gone wall hanging for the bub's room, but I'm hand-stitching it and all. It has trains! Just doing the basting now. Pics... when I'm farther along.

We went letterboxing today, a semi-successful second attempt at a hunt which we failed miserably (and I do mean miserably) the first time, in Napa. A couple photos... tomorrow.

Yeah. Dumb young pop stars. Some of them are messed up. Some of them are really messed up. I GET IT. I get it so damned clearly that my tailbone itches at the mention of the name. More compelling -- nay, crucial -- analysis... when my cerebrum falls out.
02/09/08 09:36 PM in Babble  |  Comments


I is ur naybor...
...heerin ur supah bowl partay.

Not a big fan. In fact, I only know that one of the teams playing is the Patriots because I read a blurb on some blog about John Krasinski not dressing "appropriately" in support of "his" Boston team. Such is my obliviousness.

I just got back from my walk, and there've been massive parties in about every other house. Just judging by the uncharacteristically large number of cars I had to circumnavigate. I also learned that our walls are thinner than I've believed for the past three years. Whoops.

You'll let me know if there were any good ads, though, won't you?
02/03/08 08:43 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Drippy Skippy
Yesterday it rained all day. And I don't mean mild, friendly showers. I mean torrential winter rain, the kind that shuts down major highways and forces evacuation of riverside homes. But you wouldn't have known it today; even the gutters were mostly dry by the time we went out at five, and it was so balmy during my walk just now that I had to push up the sleeves on my hoodie to stay comfortable. Of course it started raining again before I could get back, but nothing newsworthy.

So with that, and the crud, we've been trapped all week, and it was nice to get out. Tonight was Parents Night Out at the preschool, and let me just tell you that this may be the best thing since sliced bread. The bub gets to go to a safe, familiar environment for three hours, and have treats and a movie and games. And we get, well, three hours! For an insanely incredible fifteen dollars! And they do this every month! So we went to see J.J. Abrams' latest, more on that tomorrow; won't be posting here, but over there.
01/26/08 09:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Dear Jennie,
Listen, now. I'm not calling you stupid. But sometimes (well, let's be honest, often) your head-in-clouds, scatterbrained (autism spectrum?) forgetfulness makes you appear not exactly the brightest bulb. Not quite... all there. Especially when you're impatient or in a hurry. You know there are certain circumstances under which you can't function without itineraries, routines, or lists, and I implore you not to try.

As a recent example. If you're going to a restaurant with a small person, you know -- yes, you do -- that, not being adult, they're not going to be happy waiting for food without a distraction. Which you seem to have a self-punishing fondness for not remembering to provide. And then the other big person will be irritated with your forgetfulness (again!), and give you that exasperated Look/Tone, and chaos will ensue (as usual), and you'll wonder why it is, exactly, that you repeatedly choose to eat at establishments which don't offer plastic flatware and a playscape. A simple solution would be to just keep things in the purse, and remember to carry it. But then you'd also have to remember to quash the all-too-easily-leading gut feeling of "Ick! Purse!"

Maybe you should be writing this down on paper.

I've spent years doing my best to save you from yourself, but I can only nag so much. I guess I'll see you tomorrow when I prevent that paring knife from slipping out of your hand and into your instep while you daydream about bottlecaps or bread machine recipes (again).

Warm Regards,
The left side of your cerebral cortex
01/25/08 10:28 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Suspended Animation
Bub has the sniffles again, but nothing as bad as before Christmas. Just enough to keep him out of school this morning and without the energy to be too broken up over it.

So it's cold and damp, and we're inside. I've been reading some thick and trashy chick lit (for which I get a strange hankering every year or so), watching fascinating/depressing stuff, and marinating pork. Hopefully the rain will hold off so I can walk later, and then do a bit of studying. Not an exciting day, but I'm not complaining.
01/22/08 04:47 PM in Babble  |  Comments


The Not-Fun Part
Tonight is the night we head down to the Castro. If you've been around for awhile, you may remember that we do not, as a rule, do well driving in the city. Nooope.

But, as we've no choice (and with a spendy sitting schedule leaving no room to quickly learn and deal with public transportation), maybe you have a nice Castro Theatre parking tip or two to share with a hapless, hopeless Midwestern hick? I would beg with a Yoopish twang, but I hope it won't come to that.
01/17/08 08:22 AM in Babble  |  Comments


Slipping Already?
Sheesh. Almost called it a day without writing. I'm just so exhausted today, like I haven't been since I was sick. It's not lack of sleep (well, no more than usual); I scored about six hours last night. Come to think, I'm pretty sure that not a drop of coffee passed my lips today...

Anyhow. I started my new online class today (InDesign I). It's something that I've always been interested in, moreso than web/graphic design, and I'm thinking about doing the whole three-course run, and taking the ACE exam. We'll see if I can stay in one county long enough to pull it off!
01/14/08 08:28 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Powerless
Along with about a million other California homes and businesses, we lost our power yesterday. It looks like the whole east side of town was down with us, from about three p.m. yesterday until 5 a.m. this morning.

Our whole house still reeks of wood smoke -- we tried to have a nice fire, but now we're certain the chimney hasn't been cleaned in ages. There was some draw, but not enough. I'm just waiting for my sinuses to chime in.

On the bright side, the night sky was fantastic. I don't think I've seen that many stars in years! After a decade away from Upper Michigan, it's easy to forget just how dark it gets with no moon or light pollution.

There were a lot of downed branches (small ones), but I haven't seen any real damage yet. It looks like the Bay proper, and areas to the south and east, bore the brunt of the wind; 70 MPH on the Golden Gate, and upwards of 100 on some mountain peaks! Nothing like that here.

I had bread in the machine when we shut down, with no idea how much time was left. It must've had only minutes to go, because it's a fine loaf (new recipe for me, it's really quite good for a plain bread).

There was more wind and rain and even thunder this morning, during which the lights flickered ominously. So if the site goes again, you'll know why.
01/05/08 01:12 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Blah Blah
We've all had a turn being sick here, hence the long silence. It started with D. (bad cold), and then Daniel (bad cold, one day of wellness, and then an ear infection). I was certain I'd escaped, but no -- the most horrible, flu-like sinus infection I've had in years... and then the bad cold. Daniel and I are both still a little gunky, but I think everyone should be okay by Christmas (phew).

I have to say, there aren't too many things that will make you despise nature, the universe, and Your Deity of Choice more than being fresh off a bad sick, and being awake all night with a fever-sick child. Especially if you're not exactly a spring chicken anymore. It does, however, renew the appreciation of fanatical handwashing.

Oh, it's time for the Mayfly Project again. Let's see:

Inlaw, family, playing tourist. Moving AGAIN? No. Adjusting to close quarters. Mild summer, fall. More inlaws. Reading, reading, reading. Bub in "school." 2008 calls.
Now I'm going to sleep, and hope that my throat doesn't feel so raw in the morning. After all, tomorrow is "Fetch the ham and rolls, and make devilled eggs" day.
12/23/07 09:55 PM in Babble , Link  |  Comments


More on Decorating
Last night, we drove around our side of town a bit, searching out the more fantastic holiday displays. We weren't let down -- one cul-de-sac had teamed up with whole-house displays, music, a garage made to look like a giant department store window, house-to-house light ropes, and even decorated lightpoles. In a home just around the corner, part of one of the rooms was divided off with red fabric, making another "storefront" display with animated figures. Novel and charming!

I was hoping that at least one or two of the folks living on Hogwarts Circle would have done the fanatical thing and indulged in a bit of magical theme decorating, but no such luck.

The people who live across the street (not our circle street, but the main street past our back "yard") have decorated their roof with cutouts of about a dozen characters from South Park and Beavis and Butt-Head and the like. Odd choice.

When we go walking near the airport park, there's a large front window that never fails to make me jump in my coat a little, even if I'm mentally prepared for it. It features a nice average tree, and then, to either side, life-sized, costumed Santa and Grinch figures. The Santa is very convincing!

I'll have to get photos of our decorations up. I'd like to finish one more house for my village before I do, though. Soon.
12/09/07 01:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


*shudder*
Am I the only one who gets slightly uncomfortable around the daytime deaths of holiday yard inflatables? They remind me of this television episode that I had nightmares about as a kid -- I think it was a Sid & Marty Krofft production.

Goodness, but they're gaining popularity, at least in our neighborhood.
12/05/07 08:40 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Doh!
So I make it through twenty-nine of thirty days... and then miss the last one by half an hour. Thanks, extra-long Harry Potter RiffTrax.

Sigh. Guess there's always next year!
12/01/07 12:33 AM in Babble  |  Comments


Still Here Plugging Away Inside My Vacuum
So today I made another batch of paneer, but with a double boiler. Oh, the perfect snow-pure curds! I'm going to make mattar sauce for it tomorrow, assuming I can find a recipe I like (and have the right spices for). I only hope the paneer will last that long, it's so squeaky and tempting to nibble it all away.

I also purchased and put up outdoor lights to string around our doorway. This after taking down the previous set, which went half out after being oh-so-carefully tacked into place. And, woo, if the new string didn't pull the same. exact. stunt. So we're thinking it's a problem at the source (a light socket with a plug adapter inserted), though a similar setup at the very front of the house works just fine. Bah.

Aaaand I made a point of getting a box of Trader Joe's frozen chocolate chip cookie dough. You know, for, uh, science.
11/28/07 10:50 PM in Babble , Food  |  Comments


Brown Owl
So I'm sitting here, gearing up to write another "UPS, blah blah BLAH" post, because it's almost eleven PM, and my package had been "out for delivery" since 6:48 AM. In fact, this is the very last thing I'm doing today; face is washed, teeth are brushed, I fell asleep during a RiffTrax and I'm phoning it in again. But just as I logged into MT, the unmistakeable brown behemoth pulled up outside.

And so this is officially the latest in the day that I've ever received a package. Though it's still not marked as such on the tracking page.
11/26/07 10:46 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Gobble Gobble
Well, I had salmon. And a pumpkin bread pudding that was... ummm. It was like autumn, on my plate. If autumn were smothered in vanilla ice cream and drenched in caramel sauce.

We ate at the same restaurant as last year, but enjoyed something new and definitely not on the menu -- tantrums. Even though the meal was a full hour shorter. D. had to remove him from the building for ten minutes just to get him to stop screaming. So I'm officially submitting this as Exhibit B in the case of Terrible Two vs. Terrorizing Three. Now pass me that Advil, there's a dear.

Goodness, but he looked the charmer, though. Photos up on Flickr tomorrow.
11/22/07 07:47 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Deer Island
Today we hiked around Deer Island in Marin.

I was determined, in the beginning, to make at least borderline substantial posts every day, but tonight this is all I've got in me. I have some kind of chest/throat thing going on, and am very much not into the thought of... thinking.
11/17/07 08:43 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Shoppery
Cuties are back in our stores! Hoorah! I had two for dinner. They're the perfect thing for a scratchy-throated malaise. Which, unfortunately, isn't the best time to wander around the supermarket, finding clementines. Ugh.

Before the grocery, we hit Staples to find bulldog clips. You know, the traditional scary things that could pinch the skin of your finger off right down to muscle. I need twenty-four of them for a project, but they only sold them in packages of three, and at about four bucks a pop, there was just no way. It looks as if Awful Despot isn't much better. Maybe a traditional office supply shop will carry them in bulk. Or any other suggestions would be appreciated, too, keeping in mind that I really need them yesterday!

Extreme! Girl Stuff Ahead: I'm trying out this. There are pros (environmental soundness and better health obviously at the top of the list) and cons (I won't gross you out, but), and I'm hoping to find that I can live happily with the latter. I got mine for $20 at LuckyVitamin.com, which means it pays for itself in about three months, but should last for years.
11/16/07 09:09 PM in Babble  |  Comments


Merry (and Bright)
Oooh. The mail was like early Christmas today:

  • My super-sweet new holiday knits stamps
  • Three Paperbackswap books (one of vintage ornaments)
  • Some reuse crafting supplies from Etsy
  • Freebie Spanx from a promotion that I'd long forgotten (just in time for "dress" pants at Thanksgiving)
  • The same Chutes and Ladders game that we had as kids -- still in the original wrapping! -- for just a couple dollars more than what a new (far less charming) game would cost


    • Hooray! Now, only if it hadn't been hot in a t-shirt and long pants at the playground this morning, I'd really be in the holiday spirit.
    11/13/07 02:54 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Things That Seemed Like Good Ideas at the Time
  • Going to Chuck E. Cheese on a Saturday. A rainy Saturday.
  • Thinking that All Free & Clear in a spouted bulk container would not just be an incredibly heavy, drippy, sticky mess.
  • Not bringing extra kid pants to Chuck E. Cheese.
  • Leaving a pile of to-do sewing on top of the dryer. Next to the big honking jug of All.

    • 11/11/07 07:25 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Friday
    The upswing in posting is me warming up for NaBloPoMo. I'm not certain there'll be any official organized thing this year, but it's still a good goal. (ETA: Oh! New shmancy site and everything.)

    Daniel woke up with a little cold yesterday. I sure wish I could bounce back from stuff as quickly as he does! The silver lining is that he sleeps in for two or three hours.

    It's been raining, and the oven is getting a workout. Baked wild pears, banana cornmeal muffins, acorn squash... More chickpeas and maybe iced pumpkin cookies over the weekend.

    We were planning on the pumpkin patch this weekend, but, if Daniel is up to it (and it's not raining in Vallejo) we may go to Discovery Kingdom instead. The lower temperatures will scare off the natives, and it won't yet be too chilly to enjoy it.
    10/12/07 10:48 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Psychiatric Help, 5 Cents - The Doctor is In
    I took the Autism Spectrum Quotient yesterday, and scored 30. Apparently the average for women is 15, and scores above 32 have been shown to correlate strongly with autism spectrum disorders. Scores below 26 generally indicate normality.

    So, interesting. I mean, I won't be falling over myself to see a psychiatrist anytime soon, but there are some components of Asperger syndrome that did strike a deep chord. Especially this bit:

    People with AS may analyze and distill their observation of social interaction into rigid behavioral guidelines and apply these rules in awkward ways—such as forced eye contact—resulting in demeanor that appears rigid or socially naive.
    My motor skills have always been well below average (ask every one of my gymbeastresses; at the time, I would've given my own teeth to even be slightly competent on the balance beam). I can drop the same object several times in the span of a few seconds; it needn't be slippery or necessarily difficult to hold. If there's a way to bruise an elbow, shin, or knee, I guarantee I'll find it (I'm nursing a deep and nasty one on my kneecap from last week). Tripping on nothing is my special speciality.

    And then there are the vocal issues -- pitch, volume, rhythm, etc. I've seen and heard the footage, so don't try to deny it! Ha.

    To sum, yes -- I am a blast at parties. And I book fast, so call now! ;-)
    10/11/07 08:36 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Now We Are Seven
    The blog is seven today (at least, that's the first official Blogger-blogged date -- there was a site and entries well before that). So I figured I should make an appearance, anyhow.

    I'm probably happier than I should be that the fall season officially starts tonight. Family Guy a la Star Wars, woot! The Office starts again on Thursday, and I'm a little more manic/Jim-swoony about that. I've heard that Target is featuring tons of awesome Office office supplies -- mugs, notepads, stickies, pens, mousepads -- in their schmancy dollar bins, so hurry and check that out if you're a rabid, swag-craving fan.

    I've very recently started playing some Scrabble on Scrabulous, which you can access via Facebook or email. It's not only fantastic, it's free! so if you want to play either way, drop me a comment or email and I'll start up a game with you. I still love the PixiePit, but most folks would rather not pay to play.

    I made cream of tomato soup today, from scratch. Soup is something I very rarely make. Almost never, actually. I eat canned soups a lot. But it's fall and homemade soup seemed a good way to mark that. Turned out a little heavier on the milk than I'dve liked, but it's still soothing. Too bad I'm the only one that will eat it (well, maybe that's for the best).

    We walked at Helen Putnam Park again this evening, where we met a man with two dogs (on leashes) and one goat (not). He told us that she "thinks she's a dog." Sure enough, we watched her trot complacently after him, his setter, and a chihuahua. I think he called her Duchess. And, now, damned if I don't want a well-trained goat to take on hikes, too. I'd name it Severus.
    09/23/07 08:27 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Loser!
    Down a painstakingly slooooow 15.5 pounds since March -- but three of those in just the past week. I'm beginning to think that getting up early might be good for more than just motivation and sanity.

    In other news, the bub woke up pretty much as early as I did today, he was even more tantrumy and talkbackish than normal, and this morning's behavior at the library has scared me off taking him there again for some time. Clearly quite tired, but no nap. Needless to say it's been an incredibly long day. I've been hiding behind my borrowed copy of The Road (just, wow) and counting the minutes until (early!) bedtime.
    08/28/07 06:21 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Fall Semester Again
    So class started back up last week, and, for lack of any Adobe courses that I want/need, I'm taking something a little bit meatier -- JavaScript. Haven't taken a lick of programming since *cough* 1990 *cough*, so it should be interesting. My brain can use the workout, and my site the adrenaline.

    Because goodness knows it's not seeing much in the way of writing these days. You can blame that on 1) boredom, 2) a bit of grumpiness, because of 3) complete stoppage of naps, and also 4) dealing with the mental fallout from tantrumy refusals, much of the live-long day. I'm not really sure where studying is going to come into play, and then all my crafty plans, and exercise. I've been trying to get up very early now, and tomorrow it'll be six (coffee machine timer at the ready!), so I hope to at least get my assignments squared away, bit by bit, in the peaceful times before anyone else is up.

    Several times now, I've read that rising early can ward off depression, too -- and I think I can definitely use a little of that, in any case.
    08/27/07 09:03 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Playing Girl
    Sometimes, when I get in a staying-at-home rut, I like to dress up a little bit for errands -- you know, pretend I won't spend the rest of the day scrubbing up cat puke and "washable" stamp ink (another story for another day). Which for me just means pairing my usual plain tee with a skirt instead of jeans or short pants, and wearing sandals nicer than my aging Timberlands.

    I guess I don't do it enough. Because this morning, after I'd put on my long linen skirt (courtesy Old Navy c2006), the bub pointed and said "What's THAT?"
    08/21/07 09:50 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Out
    Did I mention that we went out last week? As in, adults only? I don't blame you if you don't believe me; I hardly believe it myself.

    In a place with no social or family network, finding a sitter is a daunting (if not terrifying) task, reasons for which I'm sure you can imagine. Over a period of months, I watched Craigslist, passing up hundreds of ads, most of them more than reliable, I'm sure. But paranoia won out. Then, in a cartoon-style lightbulb moment, it occurred to me that I could look on the local college job boards, instead, where students who needed experience for their child development degrees would surely be abundant.

    They were, and I started making calls to bright, promising, and presumably motivated students. To my disappointment, then frustration, and then fury, a string of no-shows commenced. Doing nothing to bolster my faith in younger Gen Y-ers, and demolishing my resolve for another half year.

    Last month, as our fifth anniversary, D's 35th birthday, the bub's third, and The Simpsons Movie were about to converge, I resummoned my pluck and tried again. And success! This time 'round, someone more our own age, someone with a degree, and stellar references, and a day job.

    Unfortunately, that job may or may not have her relocating soon, and so back to square zero for us. But it was nice while it lasted.
    08/11/07 10:00 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Hum Dee Dum
    Here we are, in the mood to go some distance for a drive-in, and the only bub thing playing is Ratatouille. Which, according to other moms of young children, doesn't hold their interest long at all. I almost don't care -- it's double-featuring with HPatOotP (which I've already seen, but, hey, free), and he'd fall asleep before then, hopefully.

    We've got a chart and star stickers taped to our downstairs bathroom mirror, a seat "permanently" installed in the toilet. So far, things aren't... well, going. I wouldn't push, but I'm thinking he'd really, really benefit from a handful of preschool hours per week (and honestly, so would I), but he needs to be out of diapers for that. Plus, it just feels like it's more than time.

    You'd swear it was fall this week. Fall, in the middle of August. I've been wearing jeans for days! Rock.
    08/08/07 08:58 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    At This Very Moment
    Bloglines was down all night. Unannounced, unacknowledged. I think I "lost" a bunch of updates. Bah. ETA: looks as if the lost updates are trickling in now.

    It's our fifth (?!?) anniversary. The traditional gift (which I just now looked up) is wood. My naughty mind can't help but wonder how many innuendoed "gifts" have been attempted by men over the years.

    Going through yet another contact-hating phase of fascination with the bladeless IntraLASIK procedure. It's readily available all around us, now.

    Been mooning a bit over Harry Potter. Silly, being a supposed adult, and all. But I always have been apt to get a little too attached to my literature. I'm going back and watching each film to string at least the major plotlines together in my head. Here there be some of Rowling's epilogue commentary, if you're done reading and curious.
    08/01/07 09:27 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Resurfacing
    Momentarily emerging from my funk to say howdy. The brightness and long days and insomnia are keeping me cranky. Last week (I think it was? or maybe the week before) we had one blessed day of fog and clouds and cool, it was lovely. And it even rained another night -- a real gift, when there are watering restrictions. I can't complain too much about the heat, since temps have been tons more liveable than last summer.

    We had a garage sale on Saturday. Didn't quite hit $100, which is pathetic, but it was only three hours long (and a nice enough day), and we got rid of a bunch of clutter, so not really a waste of time. Though it did a) remind me why I tend to the antisocial (ugh) and, b) reinforce "one man's junk, another man's treasure;" the stuff I think will never sell always goes first, and vice versa.

    Of course I'm reading HPVII; had it delivered on Saturday. My time with it is limited, but I've managed to make it to the 600's. I'm torn between dying to find out what happens, and not wanting it to end. I'll be catching up with my email when I'm finished, which will, hopefully, be tomorrow.

    Ellen tagged me, and, in the interest of content... Though I get the feeling I may have done this one before.

    Players start with eight random facts about themselves.

    People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

    1. John Krasinski is slowly overshadowing my Zach Braff love. Sorry, JD!
    2. My serger still terrifies me. After four years. Stupid, huh? Luckily I bought it for a song. I wish I'dve saved the posts from Sew Wrong, because that's where I wrote about it first. And the Wayback Machine is down. Oh, well.
    3. My upper arms are made of nothing but tissue and raw nerves, I swear. It's annoying, painful, and slightly embarrassing.
    4. Suddenly I'm nostalgic for this 1974 Playskool set:

    .

    I hear there was a Holiday Inn set, too.
    5. A big part of what's hindering my weight loss is not having anything to walk to. In Antelope, there were useful stores a half-mile away, close enough to be sane, far enough to matter. And so I ended up doing the bulk of my grocering by foot, several times a week. I still walk, but lack of a concrete destination just isn't as attractive to me (and I mean the routine, same-neighborhood kind of walking, not hiking in wild yonder). Deep suburbia often pisses me off -- I mean really, really pisses me off -- and leaves me feeling trapped, in that regard.
    6. I will watch almost any Little House rerun, almost anytime. During which it is almost assured that I will a) cry, and/or b) be able to recite a scary percentage of the dialogue in my head. I am also aware of most of the timeline and character discrepancies.
    7. I really need to get a home business plan going... like now.
    8. I hardly enjoy magazines anymore. Not even good ones. Maybe it's because I've been more or less forced to choose between them, and books. In any case, I'm taking a hiatus.

    So many people I read have done this already, and I can't remember who, so I'm not tagging. If you do it, feel free to comment and let everyone else know.
    07/24/07 07:28 PM in Babble , Meme  |  Comments


    Retroactive Regrets
    Things I've discovered or learned to appreciate recently that I wish I'd done long before:

  • Maple syrup. I remember tasting it once as a kid (Laura Ingalls Wilder liked it, after all, why shouldn't I? Of course she also enjoyed headcheese...), and hating it. After decades of "pancake syrup," I tried it again (I think it was called for in a recipe), and now it's all I eat in my yogurt.
  • Which has also just recently become only local plain yogurt, preferably Pavel's Russian Style 2%. Mmm.
  • BBC's Dr. Who. Kind of cheesy. Good for summers. Too bad Christopher Eccleston doesn't make it past the first season, nor Billie Piper the second, though (says she with the inadvisable fangirl crushes).
  • Crochet. It's about a hundred times less painful than knitting. Which is the major reason you rarely see me doing that. And easy! Why didn't I know?
  • Having a cup of hot chai tea, and then using the bag to brew another cup for the fridge, to enjoy iced the next day. I reuse one of those tall lidded POM glasses for that.
  • Helen Putnam Park. Especially just before dusk. Man...
    • 06/24/07 04:51 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Notes
    If you've been watching the Flickr stream, you'll know that, really, things haven't been as boring around here as the lack of posts would have you believe. I'm just not feeling real writerly.

    Some things:

  • The Swimsuit '07 Search is off. Hoorah!
  • Numi flowering teas -- official grade of Awesome. Fascinating to watch open, especially for little ones. I can't stop thinking about the Golden Jasmine...
  • All my favorite shows -- Lost, Scrubs, The Office, Ugly Betty -- are done for the season after today, and another (Jericho) is gone forever (unless these people somehow get their way...). But at least The 4400 starts its fourth season June 17th.
  • Sundance darling Waitress is coming to town. Our little downtown theatre has had an increasingly difficult time attracting licensing for indie/indie-esque films, so I hope to support this one if I can. And, yes, seeing Nathan Fillion does add a big scoop of delicious motivation.
  • Our local (but reasonably-sized) hospital has never offered reliable epidural availability for birthing mothers. Terrifying much? Luckily last month it joined the 21st century.

    • 05/23/07 08:34 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Me Oh My Oh
    I'm still here. Not here as in writing, or taking pictures (there goes 365, whoops), but here. Alive. Semi-dieting. Giving myself shin splints. Watching and still thoroughly in love with RiffTrax. And Lost, and Heroes, and The Office, and Jericho, of course. Also:

    Been spending time poring over the confessions over yonder. Almost like anonymous group therapy on a large scale.

    Gearing up for our third (!!!) year down there this weekend.

    Thinking about getting schooled right where I sit over the summer (no classes that apply to my certs, may as well have some "fun").

    Hacking away at the overgrowth out back. I've already filled five lawn bags with dead vines, branches, errant shrubbery, and English Ivy (oi), armed with shears and a lovely wicked little folding handsaw from OSH (they had a machete -- don't think I wasn't tempted). And I'm not finished yet! D. said today that I should've taken a before picture, and I do believe he's right.

    And the family P. arrives from afar next week, so we'll be occupied for the near future. We haven't seen my quasi-twin in three years, which I think is a record, and also unbelievable.
    04/25/07 08:00 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Do You Ever...
    ...have days (weeks, months?) where it feels like you've got both real-life and virtual spinach stuck in your teeth? Or you forgot to put on deodorant? No matter where you go?

    Yeah. Um. Me neither.
    04/13/07 07:48 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Up To
    Not much of anything exciting, really. Waiting. And:

    - Scavenging boxes. There's just enough of being sneaky to make this fun for an uptight rule-follower like me. But I'm still damning Murphy -- there are always tons of ads giving away free moving boxes... until the very moment I start collecting them. We pass our good ones on after we move (even when we've purchased them), so I'm waiting for even just a little bit of that karma to come back.

    - Trying to do moving math for every single possession -- the cost of replacement vs. pain in the ass/cost of moving it. And making the subsequent mental piles for a rummage sale this weekend.

    - Playing lots and lots of Super Scrabble. It's addictive, especially when scores up in the 700's are easily achievable. Nice little ego stroke, that.

    - Dropping my latest class. I was already having a difficult (almost impossible) time concentrating, and now there'll be a move smack in the middle, without connectivity and a decent machine that can handle CS2 for ??? days, weeks? Better to cut my losses than fail it. Hopefully my existing credits will transfer into a similar program elsewhere.

    - Watching Flickr turn into my blog.

    Yesterday as the bub and I brushed our teeth, I was once again repeating "brush stays in the MOUTH! brush stays in the MOUTH!" (as opposed to scrubbing the walls, sink drain, carpet...). And I realized I sounded almost exactly like a faceless Peanuts adult.
    03/19/07 10:10 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Note to Self: Buy Pepto.
    Wow. I'm really slacking, eh? Let's catch up.

    Super Scrabble. With Quad Word Score. Pixie Pit was always well worth the $10 annual fee, but this just sweetens the pot.

    The oatmeal returned to our TJ's! much to my glee. I found it again on Wednesday night. Maybe it was just a very lengthy supply blip. Anyhow. It's back! I'll probably still keep making my own fruited version, though, for some occasional variety.

    Dear Green Waste: why oh why didn't you unload our bin this week? It was properly placed. It wasn't over-filled. You took all our neighbors' stuff. And we forgot to put it out last week, so now we're swimming in three weeks worth of recyclables.

    My sincere apologies to Wyoming and Indiana.

    Things are likely to change in these parts again in a bit, as they seem so apt to do. I don't know what to say about it, really (other than pass me another bag of chips. And a half-gallon of ice cream. No, not that low-fat crap -- that doesn't scream self-destructive crisis eating! Gosh!). Nothing that you haven't already heard here before.

    At least Lost is back. Though I'm one of probably a dozen people nationwide that didn't make the Danielle/Alex connection on her own. Duh.
    03/02/07 11:23 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    February... In Like a Hyena?
    I made it through January pretty much unscathed, but then February comes, and bites me in the ass right off the bat.

    I'm just bitter because my PC bit it yesterday. The one that I use for classwork. And stuff. And as much as I adore and worship my laptop for what it is, the one thing it's not is CS2-worthy, nope. So D. is valiantly trying to restore my desktop just enough to limp along until a new setup can be ordered and received, but it looks bad right now. I should be grateful that this week's homework didn't include any designing, just blahblahblah reading and a virtual worksheet.

    I've been using Pixenate to do some quick-and-dirty photo editing via browser, and recommend it highly if you can't/don't want to mess with downloading software.

    To ease through what's left of our "winter," I made this crockpot oatmeal yesterday (see), and froze it in single-serve plastics (generic, six for $1.50). I admit, I was a bit worried about the texture, but it had a hearty bite, probably helped along some by the walnuts. It was even good enough for the bub, and he's a very discriminating customer. The only thing I'd change is the cooking time -- four hours might have been plenty. But then, YMMV, because my "low" setting has always seemed a little fast.

    I had a bit of retail therapy tonight. We were in desperate need of another set of sheets, but I've been spoiled by the cool sateen sheen of our current set (the red and white ones you're tired of seeing in my photos), and didn't feel like settling for less, but didn't want to think of them as an investment, either. So back to Ross, where I picked up a lovely Nine West beige-y floral number, retail value $120, for just $30. Nothing to perk up the old adrenaline like a good bargain.
    02/07/07 09:21 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Catchup
    Not that I regret participating in NaBloPoMo or the less-famous but still-effective DecBloPooPoo, but now I've got a case of blog burnout (BloBu?). Plus, much of my sparse winter creative juice is flowing into Flickr.

    I'm thinking about LASIK again, and this time, seriously. I've been done nursing for months, so no worries about hormones and eye pressure fluctuations. And I just learned that, instead of a mechanical blade, a laser can now be used to make the flap, presumably with greater accuracy (plus, the thought of a metal blade SAWING INTO MY EYEBALL really gives me the heebies; see, I'm visibly shuddering again). I'm sick of glasses that are never clean, and contacts that irk during allergy season. And I'd be trusting a pioneer in the industry, so that helps allay some of my fears. Well. We'll see (ha).

    Type A question of the day: do you organize items in your grocery cart by type, and then try to put them up in the order they should rightfully be bagged, too? Cold dairy, frozen boxes, cans, health, etc., with crushables at the tail end. Most baggers realize that you don't put Borax and bread together (the alliteration notwithstanding), but some don't, so I figure every little bit helps.

    A friend of my sister suffered terrible loss last year -- both her parents in the span of a few months. Even so, she was kind enough to offer up her mother's classroom collection of books (she was a first grade teacher), and we received a large boxful. Truly a fantastic treasure. I've catalogued (albeit very basically) them all here.
    01/16/07 09:34 AM in Babble , Books  |  Comments


    Beat.
    It's been a busy, busy few days -- D's mom has been staying with us, and we've been doing the tourist thing (which we'll repeat, to a lesser extent, with my family again in May!). It was fun, but, damn, am I tired. Lots of catching up to do. For now, you can look at my Flickr stream, if you haven't already.
    01/07/07 09:40 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    New Year
    Hey, look. I can type when I'm drunk! Whee.

    Happy 2007. If you're having fun where you are, maybe you could save a little for me.
    12/31/06 11:17 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Eve Day
    I'm not sure what to write today.

    If I were to be completely honest, none of it would be particularly cheery (a bit of homesickness) or very PC (a whole little naggedy storm has been brewing in my head all season re: Christmas vs. Holiday blah blah, more annoying because I can't pick a "side" and stick with it) or sensical (just a dusting of snow might be nice!) or grateful, or patient, or, or, or. Maybe it'll be better as the bub gets older, and I can pass on at least some of the traditions.

    We did drive around a bit, looking at lights. It was strange: the beautiful old Victorians, the ones you'd think would be most likely to show off their gingerbread with tasteful light displays, were undecorated. We were hoping to find a neighborhood like the one we used to visit in Sacramento, where everyone got together and really put together something special as a group.

    I am, though, looking forward to morning, hoping the bub will be excited to see what Santa's left him around the tree. And then, of course, is the ham.

    I hope you're enjoying a peaceful evening.
    12/24/06 10:17 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Mega Happy Cleaning Fun Party Time
    Okay, having two hours before the holiday alone in the house is one of the best presents ever, when I'm on a cleaning tear. And I'm not saying this because I'm high on Doc Bronner's Eucalyptus, no I'm not. I washed all the downstairs floors (this is scrubbing every inch on hands and knees), vacuumed, washed the livingroom mirrors, shook out the rugs, and wiped down/decluttered the corner of the kitchen where the paper junk monster grows.

    So blissful not to have anyone underfoot, or have to worry about how much noise I was making.
    12/23/06 08:57 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Another Christmas Miracle?
    I had the best DMV trip ever this morning. I don't know if it's because everyone is at the mall, or what. But the (nice!) woman at the entry desk told us not to even bother sitting down, it would be that fast. And it was! And the woman who served us was nice, too.

    And it was all clean and sparkly and open, not crammed and skankified like the Sacramento offices I've had the pleasure of visiting. Rawk.
    12/19/06 12:16 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Rather Mysteriously...
    ...the package showed up on our porch while we were eating dinner today.

    My faith in humanity, if not FedEx, has been restored for the moment.
    12/18/06 10:19 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    There Will Be Much Baking of Cookies and Drinking of Nog
    Ugh. This final project is kicking my ass. It's not making a whole lot of sense to me at the moment, but then I've only been staring at the screen non-stop for three hours, and look what time it is, so that doesn't help. Rasterizeclippingmask-adjustmentlayercowheadonfishbodyunderwaterbaseball-whowhatwhatnow?

    I almost forgot to post, even. That's how mushified my poor brain is.

    Thank goodness it will all be over by Sunday. Then I can enjoy the holiday in peace. Well, you know. At least more than now.
    12/14/06 11:40 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Ooga Booga.
    I'm so tired tonight. Why am I not in bed?

    Oh, yeah. Because I'm here, trying to force myself to post. Why am I doing this again?

    Oh, yeah. All the adoration and money.

    I'm going to drag the bub to storytime tomorrow again. Let's hope he doesn't break into a voluminous rendition of that old Bon Jovi classic like he did today in Target. We've created a monster!
    12/07/06 10:49 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Things That are Making Me Happy Today
  • Packages
  • Another PBS book request, whee
  • Kati Kim and daughters found, alive
  • Cookies far more inspired than mine
  • The return of commenty goodness
  • Getting the hugest ever unsolicited bub hug in Albertson's parking lot
  • Pumpkin Spice Coffee-Mate
  • Kashmiri Chai
  • Everwood reruns. Yes, I'm just that sappy. Especially at the holidays.

    • 12/04/06 04:37 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Fin.
    They're hinting that tonight we might break record lows set in the 30's. Curious, I went and looked up just what that would mean.

    27°, in 1936.

    Now that I've stopped laughing...

    I know, I know. I know. And I shouldn't get annoyed when neighbors talk about how "bitter" it is at 40°, either. I shouldn't. But... holy mighty, that adjective irks here. The temperature range is so, so narrow. About 70 degrees? I won't go into the whole "I walked to school in -30 windchill both ways" spiel, but, gah.

    Anyhow. November is done! I definitely got the quantity down, perhaps a little shaky on the quality. I've decided to string it out another month, see what happens. I might even go a whole year. Run, run while you can!
    11/30/06 11:59 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    This is Day 27.
    Oooh, just getting under the wire on this one. I can't help but wonder how many of the original ??? NBPM participants end up sticking it out the whole month. Percentages would be interesting!

    I finally found a use for the little warming crock that came with the big slow cooker. Chopped up some peels from the half-dozen clementines consumed today, tossed those in with a few whole cloves and a little water, simmered all afternoon, and, voila! the kitchen smells all citrus-spicy. Big improvement over burrito-leftovery.

    Somehow I suffered a fairly deep, sore scratch on my forearm, and don't remember how. I've sustained many bruises that way, which I believe is fairly common, but mysterious flesh wounds are new for me. Senility, or toddler-induced dementia? Who can tell.

    I've been using the library a lot more now that the bub will sit still for stories at night (usually). Because, damn, those picture books are shorter than I remember, and we go through them like water. And I'm not big on close repetition. I also didn't remember hating the ending to the first Curious George book. Huh.

    The tree is now decorated. We'll see how long the branches lower than four feet stay that way.

    11/27/06 11:57 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Babbly
    Clementines! Thank goodness they're here again. Because it's awfully nice to be addicted to something that's, well, good for me. I wish I felt this way about broccoli. Or any fruit would do. Or at least that clementines weren't so temporary.

    IE 7. Not feeling the love yet. Can't get a new tab to open. Feeling like an idiot. Grumble. Yes, I should probably just RtFM, but that sounds too much like work at the moment.

    Elli is getting more mellow towards the bub, which is nothing short of astounding. He can, every now and again, even manage to pet her before she streaks off to hide beneath a heavy piece of furniture.

    You people need to stop having such cute little squishies, it inflicts side effects on the surrounding poor unwitting uteri!
    11/21/06 10:13 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Daisypoops
    Okay, enough with the snarfing. In an effort to allay my seething crank, I will make a list of things that are recently or currently cheery or amusing to me.

  • When the bub leans over and demands a "kees!"
  • Joel McHale
  • The thought of Elmo riding in one of these
  • Cool, partly cloudy days
  • Lost being gone until February Oops, sorry -- wrong list
  • Puuuuuuummmmpkin Pie shakes at Jaaaaaaacccckk, mmmmmmmm
  • Pumpkin ale
  • Pumpkin pie that I don't have to bake
  • Secret gifties arriving all week
  • Living in a neighborhood fairly buried in golden leaves
  • Anticipating the first Netflixed CD of Sesame Street Old School arriving tomorrow
  • Finding new blog comments on my newsreader
  • Engagement news from old friends
  • The day after a cold is finally, really gone
  • The bub recognizing letters of the alphabet
  • John Krasinski
  • Hazelnut coffee
  • Getting my way on at least half the propositions and measures
  • Roasting my own chicken for the first time (yup!)


    • And wasn't that cathartic?
    11/14/06 09:19 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Now With 100% More Miscellany!
    After about a month of asking and poking around, I finally found a casual, inexpensive restaurant for Thanksgiving with decent reviews, right down the highway in Marin, and I'm stoked. The only problem will be choosing my entree -- traditional turkey, ham, prime rib, salmon, pork, or vegetarian pie. How about a sampler plate? Mmm.

    The bub and I went to our second library storytime this morning. They were setting up for the library book sales (whee!) in the meeting room, so we had to cram into a corner of the children's area. And the bub was just too distracted by all the stuff to listen (or let anyone else listen, for that matter). So we lasted all of ten minutes. You can tell he really wasn't having any fun -- he didn't put up even a tiny bit of fuss when I took his hand and led him out.

    I began to have technical difficulties with my putz house (re: sugar snow glitter) and got discouraged. Hopefully I'll finish off my test house this weekend. Dammit, I knew I forgot something at Michael's yesterday -- spray adhesive.

    I am now offering a finder's fee for a reliable date night babysitter. Yes -- just that desperate. Did you know that there are 16-year-olds out there who expect $18 an hour (not a typo)? 16-year-olds who, it would seem, don't realize that some "old" mother would/could use an email address to look up their MySpace page, and rule them out by virtue of their partial nudity/lapdancing, drinking, and hoochieguttermouth? Yeah. Sometimes this alone drives me to the verge of packing it up and moving back to the Upper Peninsula.

    Breakfast for dinner can be the best palliative, no? So tonight it was baked French toast with Vermont maple syrup, vegetarian sausage patties, and fruit salad (entirely off-the-cuff, with some media crema I'd picked up to try on a whim, and a dash of amaretto syrup).
    11/10/06 08:17 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Am I Boring You Yet? How About Now?
    Yeah. Material has been a bit, well, thin lately. Or classified.

    October is nice, aside from all the election detritus. It's a peeve -- mailbox stuffed with flyers, signs littering every available bit of real estate, porch and doorknob attacked by literature. As if it's not enough the candidates and propositions are constantly on radio and television, and plastered all over the editorials.

    The brush roller on our vacuum died. FedUp not getting me the replacement anywhere near fast enough + two cats + one child = complete and total shame and embarassment over the current state of our carpeting. This is yet another good reason to shear my hair off, but I figure I only have another ten years before all the curl grays right out, and I only have one real vanity, so. We're just going to continue consuming vacuum parts and Drano like they're going out of style.

    It would seem our stay in this townhome will be more permanent than you'd expect of us. So (naturally?) I'm beginning to balk at not fixing things. Don't think for a moment I'm not scrutinizing you, crappy industrial flat paint job, or you, nasty linoleum, or even you, God-awful vanities. You've been saved only by our volatility, and perhaps lack of guests.

    The bub has a cold, so I look forward to catching that any minute now. I should've known something was up when he refused to eat peanut butter toast.

    I made some Swedish Rye Halloween cutouts. They had a unique, hearty flavor, and I'll make them again at some point, rolled thinner and baked longer.

    I've finally begun the putz village I've been wanting to create for years. My first attempt has been experimental, and hardly elaborate, but very rewarding. As the building materials are happily all recycled, I'll have a few details up on RB soon -- I intend it to be my personal best project ever, if more for nostalgia than anything else!
    10/17/06 03:55 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    I Swear They Look Exactly Alike
    Generally, my dealings with the police have not been pleasant. A strange thing, when you consider none of these run-ins have been for the truly illegal activities of long-gone college days, and I always just looked the person least likely to cause trouble. No, it's pretty much been classifiable as harassment/power tripping/unneccessary unpleasantness. And yes, I'm lumping the ten-over first offense $300 speeding/non-current address ticket in with that, too.

    So it might be stupid, but I still tend to get nervous when there's an officer around. There were two at the grocery yesterday, in produce, and when one walked up to me... it's amazing I kept my Bartletts in check.

    So how did it melt my cold, black heart then, when he grinned large and said "Ma'am? Does your son like stickers?" And handed us a little yellow badge?

    And how much did I rescind that warmth when, looking at the sticker at home, it said "Jr. Firefighter?"
    10/10/06 01:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    That's Better.
    The garage is now overhauled. I think we still need at least a Craigslisted loveseat out there, but D thinks there's not enough room.

    And there were "before" shots, from move-in time. Pretty nasty, huh?

    The cobwebs have been removed, the walls have been painted, utility carpets (and the area rug from our old place) have been put down, the gap beneath the garage door sealed (with foam pipe insulation), shelves and workspaces have been installed, and general reorganization has been completed. Aside from drumming and recording and pounding, makes a great open space for a bub to play with his trucks, too!
    10/01/06 02:37 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Wreck Room
    We are converting the double garage into hobby space (though D. is by far doing more of the work). For drumming, and pounding, painting, assembling, sawing... We didn't take a "before" pic, so this "in progress" one will have to do.

    The disgusting popcorn ceiling (WTF were they thinking? In a garage? Really?) drives us a bit mad, but trying to paint it only results in ceiling crumbs everywhere, and we're not quite motivated enough to rent a sprayer.
    09/21/06 01:13 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Indulge Me.
    I caught the bub's cold, so be nice to the sniffly woman with the raw throat and low-grade fever!

    I'm curious about you -- what's your Myers-Briggs personality type? Not that short, free tests are necessarily the best, but if you've no idea, they're okay, and there happens to be a decent one here.

    *taps foot, waits...*
    09/07/06 09:42 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Spreading the Lurve
    I've got five more Vox invites, if anyone that doesn't have one yet happens to be reading.

    I really like having a dedicated place for my little book/movie blurbs -- it's a great way to keep track of my habits.
    08/25/06 04:36 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Domesticity
    I've really been on a domestic/re-organizing tear lately (noticed?). Other people do spring cleaning, but these days I find myself more motivated in the fall.

    I was so lucky to find a Jerker-like desk (only wider!) with a hutch right here in town for $50, so out with my crippled (read: moved one too many times) corner tower. I love that I'll have room for my computer and a little crafting space, too. I plan on mounting tasklights inside the hutch.

    Today, during the bub's nap, I moved my small bookshelf from the office into the pantry, and completely reorganized the foodstuffs and table linens. Tonight I'll be streamlining the contents of my desk, culling out things for AmVets curbside pickup on Tuesday, and starting on the craft/linen and office closets. I have to milk this drive for all it's worth!
    08/19/06 03:35 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Nuts! Oh, and Wackos.
    I understand how you came to be at my site. But, dude. It's prostate, 'kay?
    08/12/06 04:00 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Acrobatically-Challenged
    I just turned in my last assignments, and A-minused the last quiz. Hoorah.

    I wish the story I could tell you went like this:
    Jennie harbored a tiny bit of resentment against all things PDF. She admitted (grudgingly) that this attitude might be ever-so-slightly unfounded, and even possibly only due to the fact that Acrobat has a nasty habit of wreaking havoc on her otherwise-robust computer. This was not aided at all by the fact that a course covering just that was required for her certificate.

    After a few weeks of intense study, she found that Acrobat is really a lovely, powerful platform for document sharing. An October wedding is planned.

    The End.


    But it went more like this:

    Jennie harbored a tiny bit of resentment against all things PDF. She admitted (grudgingly) that this attitude might be ever-so-slightly unfounded, and even possibly only due to the fact that Acrobat has a nasty habit of wreaking havoc on her otherwise-robust computer. This was not aided at all by the fact that a course covering just that was required for her certificate.

    She halfheartedly limped through the summer course (which felt much longer than eight weeks), all the while wishing she could be reading fluffy chick-lit while pretending she'd ever go on vacation, instead. She learned a few tricks, and may even be more inclined to create her own PDFs in the future. But still, she finds herself hitting "View as HTML" when given the choice in a Google search result. The product of their ill-advised union, named A Minus, will be attending boarding school in England in the fall.

    The End.
    08/11/06 03:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    An Ode to Changing the Subject
    Petaluma, you are one cruel siren.

    I'm in neck-deep. You knew you'd snag me, sometime, with your hills and history and misty dawn. Vestiges of farm-town sensibilities and chicken days. Rallying around the broken bits, even.

    But I don't see how this relationship is ever going to work in the end. If we want a home, you'll work us until our fingers bleed. We'll prostrate ourselves, all the while forced to ignore the bay breezes... or give up. And then you'll just find some other silly Midwesterners to torture.

    Geographic codependency -- who'dve thunk?
    08/06/06 10:28 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Recovered
    I think I'm caught up on sleep, and back on a normal schedule already. And, bonus -- every time I even so much as look at a can of soda, I get slightly nauseous.

    I'm swearing up and down to you, dear readers, that this was my very last 'thon (that's your cue to breathe a collective sigh of relief, right there). It was physically more torturous than years past, and it's more difficult to get support, with blogging not being quite the priority it once was, so mentally it was a strain, too. I will look forward to being an enthusiastic spectator next year.
    07/31/06 12:49 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    And Now, Back to Our Regularly-Scheduled 80's
    It's back! Our beloved marine layer came back! It never hit 90 today, and, when I went out this evening in sandals and short pants, my tootsies got cold. Cold! And the hills were all misty, and the breeze was blowing, and I just now had to close the kitchen window because I was chilled. Huzzah!

    Just in time for Blogathon. Which is this weekend. Just in case you forgot. I've got snacks, the webcam is at the ready, and there's a new drive-thru Starbucks up the street.
    07/26/06 10:25 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Eh!
    I apologize for boring you. Hell, I'm boring me. But it's been kind of meh -- meh happenings, meh class, bubbins tantruming left and right all the live long day. Potential CL'ed Saturday sitters all falling through, no fun there. No exciting plans of any kind in the forseeable future. No projects -- no energy for them. Suffice it to say that homemaking is biting my butt just a wee bit at the moment, and not in a kinky way.

    I'm walking every night, though. Two weeks now, without fail, regardless of any walking I've done during the day. Hard, fast, walks, at least two miles each. Already it's easier, and sometimes I feel I should fly into a run. But I know I'm not ready for that again yet, not nearly.

    A couple of nights ago I met a toad on the trail, and he didn't even hop away.
    06/27/06 09:49 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Cool.
    Of course it would figure that, as soon as we put in the A/C, the forecast would almost immediately change down by at least ten degrees all week. I actually woke up cold this morning. Not that I'm complaining! It's just typical, is all.

    The next time a real hot streak threatens, I'll go out and buy a kiddie pool.
    06/18/06 10:31 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    Ta Duh
    Okay, so here's the "new" design (it's been in the works since I was pregnant, eesh). Yup, some things are broken, and the comments template needs tweaking, but it'll get there. And I promise that my archives won't be unreadable anymore, past, oh, next week sometime?
    06/15/06 10:21 AM in Babble  |  Comments


    June... Gloom?
    I know that June Gloom is supposed to be an L.A. thing, but I swear we're getting our share of it up here, too. All-day clouds, cool breezes.

    No overwhelming desire to stab my sun-scorched eyeballs out or hide in the fridge (not that it's been as bad in Petaluma! because it's soooooo not even nearly comparable to that other valley).

    Nothing gloomy about it. I hope it lasts until July!
    06/13/06 12:52 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    What Would We Do Without the Internets?
    The previous owner of my car went REALLY heavy on the wax. Enough so that it clogged my driver-side windshield washer sprayer. I managed to remove what was visible, and it works if I leave it out in direct sunlight for an hour or two, but not otherwise. I figured, well, it's wax -- eventually it'll all be washed right out of the nozzle by washer fluid, right? But no. After two years, no.

    Why, yes. This is a perfect example of just how well I can procrastinate.

    I haven't tried canned air yet, but I'm going to, very shortly.
    06/06/06 12:19 PM in Babble  |  Comments


    Where is the Time Going?
    I just checked my Photoshop I grade -- an A! And I was sure I was getting a B, after that final exam. I'm stoked to take Photoshop II in the fall. This summer I'll be taking a short Acrobat course (eh); at least I'll have that out of the way.

    I took photos (albeit not great ones) of a little easy "art" project I did last month. Just two el cheapo art canvases