There is nothing more satisfying than making a baby laugh for five minutes straight, to the point of tears, by just being silly while you get her ready for bed.
Nothing like seeing your child smile that wide mouth, crinkle-eyed smile and know that she's doing it for you.
On an only slightly less satisfying topic, I'm down 2.5 lbs even after my weekend of eating out. Hopefully Lent will help me pick up the pace. And more walking. Lots more walking.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Fat Thursday
Yeah, Mardi Gras was Tuesday and I did my very best to celebrate in style. Fat Tuesday is the day set aside to clean out your cupboards before the month long Lent. Eat up the "fat" that you couldn't have during the fast. Pancakes are a traditional meal, but I wanted to have a more festive fat dinner...enter the Hanukkah (another holiday dedicated to fat) tradition of deep frying. I made beignets. French style. Pate a choux balls dropped in hot oil and fried until puffy and golden. I was making a dinner dish, so I made savory beignets with black pepper and rosemary. And whole wheat flour, but that's a given because it's the only flour in my house, much to my brother's chagrin.
Can I say oh. my. taste buds. They were wonderful. We had, on the side--because the beignets were the main attraction--blackened salmon, sweet balsamic vegetables and a huge green salad. Oh. Jalapeno mint jelly for the beignets. We had to. Dessert? Naaa...just more pastry.
Even though Lent began on Wednesday, John fried up the last of the batter for breakfast so we could enjoy beignets and coffee. Sprinkled with the merest whisper of powdered sugar they were divine. I will say that the French do many things right when it comes to food, and fried dough has to be at the top of the list.
Although I am not, nor have I ever been Catholic, I do on occasion keep a Lenten fast. I didn't last year because of pregnancy, but am this year. I think a certain amount of sacrifice is good for the soul. Because I am among the food-hedonists, sacrificing a foodie vice gives me time to reflect on just what it is that I eat. And what I should eat. And how certain foods affect me. In any case, I am, again, giving up the refined flour/sugar/empty carbs that seem to draw me in as soon as I come around them. Beer is an exception. I had over a year of sacrifice to teach me the meaning of beer to my life. But I will be giving up butter enriched foods as well...so no whole wheat pie crusts...that's cheating.
I've already broken Lent. But at least I thought about it. I'll do better. Starting now. Has anyone seen Chocolat? The perfect foodie-Lent movie.
What, if anything, are you doing for Lent? It doesn't have to be food related, it's about preparing for the sacrifice of Easter. Or, the sacrifice that leads to Easter, to be more precise. I'd like to know who else believes that a little restraint is good for the soul.
Can I say oh. my. taste buds. They were wonderful. We had, on the side--because the beignets were the main attraction--blackened salmon, sweet balsamic vegetables and a huge green salad. Oh. Jalapeno mint jelly for the beignets. We had to. Dessert? Naaa...just more pastry.
Even though Lent began on Wednesday, John fried up the last of the batter for breakfast so we could enjoy beignets and coffee. Sprinkled with the merest whisper of powdered sugar they were divine. I will say that the French do many things right when it comes to food, and fried dough has to be at the top of the list.
Although I am not, nor have I ever been Catholic, I do on occasion keep a Lenten fast. I didn't last year because of pregnancy, but am this year. I think a certain amount of sacrifice is good for the soul. Because I am among the food-hedonists, sacrificing a foodie vice gives me time to reflect on just what it is that I eat. And what I should eat. And how certain foods affect me. In any case, I am, again, giving up the refined flour/sugar/empty carbs that seem to draw me in as soon as I come around them. Beer is an exception. I had over a year of sacrifice to teach me the meaning of beer to my life. But I will be giving up butter enriched foods as well...so no whole wheat pie crusts...that's cheating.
I've already broken Lent. But at least I thought about it. I'll do better. Starting now. Has anyone seen Chocolat? The perfect foodie-Lent movie.
What, if anything, are you doing for Lent? It doesn't have to be food related, it's about preparing for the sacrifice of Easter. Or, the sacrifice that leads to Easter, to be more precise. I'd like to know who else believes that a little restraint is good for the soul.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Massive Missive
So much for resolutions...this past extended weekend was nuts. John and I had house guests in and out beginning late Wednesday night and extending through Monday night. I could make one of those schedule graphs of the ins and outs but it would only make your head spin. It wasn't just one group coming and staying for that length of time...it was various configurations of very different guests ebbing and flowing through the days and nights.
So...no posting. Not much walking, but lots of activity.
To note: TEETH. Yes, there is a God and He has granted a small reprieve in the teething department. One sharp little pearl popped up Friday, the next was visible by Saturday. Maia doesn't like to show off her new possessions. The grandmas were kind of disappointed in the lack of visual confirmation. But mama is happy 'cause I get to make her crinkle-nose laugh with her tongue up and see those specks of hard-earned white.
John spent the weekend putting in our new dishwasher. It's a beaut. All stainless and shiny. It should have taken an afternoon, including putting in the new water filtration system, but it took two days of hard labor. Bless the previous owner of our house, Contractor Steve, as he decided to install new cabinets and the old dishwasher THEN redo the floors. He added an inch and a half of floor height. This translates to the old dishwasher being literally stuck in its hole. John had to take a saws-all and a circular saw and cut the dang thing in half to get it out. Oy. Our back yard looks very po' white trash at this moment with scattered mangled pieces of dishwasher strewn about. The plan is to chop it up into little bitty scraps and slowly get rid of it in our city garbage can. Instead of paying the high dump fees to get it gone in one fell swoop. I kind of like the sneaky way, you know? We got rid of about a ton of concrete rubble in this manner a couple of years back. Not to mention all the scrap from the summer roofing project.
I'll link to pictures of the destruction after he posts them.
You know your in a new, dare I say Adult, phase of life when these new appliance additions excite you. The last time I got this worked up in love with machinery was when we upgraded the clothes washer. The dishwasher is even better. Last night we got to run it for the first time and I wanted to see how well it actually worked. So, lasagna for dinner. Dinner guests. Six cheesy plates. One saucy cheesy lasagna pan. Oatmeal bowls from breakfast with dried on oatmeal starch. Serving spoons with only the merest splash of rinse water applied to them. All in the dishwasher. Soap. Run. Wait and see.
Opened it up this morning and was floored. Everything was spotless and shiny. The glass lasagna pan sparkled. The silverware gleamed. The oatmeal bowls shone. I swooned. You have to understand that the old washer was a complete POS. I had to scrub dishes before putting them in. With our hard water, we would have to pour in about a cup of vinegar in the middle of each cycle in order to avoid a nasty chalky film coating everything. For the past three weeks I’ve been so fed up, I’ve simply been washing dishes by hand. And let me share a little secret with you…I hate washing dishes. I used to cry when my mom made me do them. I avoid them like plague. I would rather do any other nasty, dirty, chore in the house to not do dishes. And yet, there I was at the end of my rope, washing dishes to avoid the even worse prospect of rewashing dishes.
Come to think of it, I’m kind of glad that crap-trap is in pieces all over the back lawn…and I might be an appliance geek. Lord help you if I begin on the Italian range John and I saw on Monday...rrrrraaaawwwwrrrr.
At this moment, yes, this very 10 PM moment, John is putting the new entertainment unit in place and re-hooking all the cables and boxes, with their little glowing lights, together. Sunday before last, Maia began reaching for one very important glowing light, the on off switch for the box that serves as our total entertainment (plus Internet) brain/hub. It just happens to be at a crawling-poke-my-finger-into-everything level. She missed, because she can’t actually crawl yet, but she then took a small header into the corner of the box. An hour later, we were at IKEA looking for a new TV stand with doors.
It’s nice. It’s dark which matches the new ceiling fans (Home Depot) and new side table (also from IKEA). But it doesn’t match the old coffee table. That table is slated to be replaced by an ottoman soon. So we’re updating the whole living room in order to baby safe it. Oh well. Had to happen sooner or later. If John’s not careful, I’m going to have the new couch delivered while he’s a work…
Harvey is doing well. We are still in love with him and at least two house guests threatened to take him home with them. That's two more than threatened to take Maia home. Hmmm.
We're trying to change Maia's schedule, and I'm trying to get more sleep so I'm going to wrap this up. Sorry for the poetic waxing on mechanical things and living arrangements...I'll find some keen insights on the human condition for next time.
So...no posting. Not much walking, but lots of activity.
To note: TEETH. Yes, there is a God and He has granted a small reprieve in the teething department. One sharp little pearl popped up Friday, the next was visible by Saturday. Maia doesn't like to show off her new possessions. The grandmas were kind of disappointed in the lack of visual confirmation. But mama is happy 'cause I get to make her crinkle-nose laugh with her tongue up and see those specks of hard-earned white.
John spent the weekend putting in our new dishwasher. It's a beaut. All stainless and shiny. It should have taken an afternoon, including putting in the new water filtration system, but it took two days of hard labor. Bless the previous owner of our house, Contractor Steve, as he decided to install new cabinets and the old dishwasher THEN redo the floors. He added an inch and a half of floor height. This translates to the old dishwasher being literally stuck in its hole. John had to take a saws-all and a circular saw and cut the dang thing in half to get it out. Oy. Our back yard looks very po' white trash at this moment with scattered mangled pieces of dishwasher strewn about. The plan is to chop it up into little bitty scraps and slowly get rid of it in our city garbage can. Instead of paying the high dump fees to get it gone in one fell swoop. I kind of like the sneaky way, you know? We got rid of about a ton of concrete rubble in this manner a couple of years back. Not to mention all the scrap from the summer roofing project.
I'll link to pictures of the destruction after he posts them.
You know your in a new, dare I say Adult, phase of life when these new appliance additions excite you. The last time I got this worked up in love with machinery was when we upgraded the clothes washer. The dishwasher is even better. Last night we got to run it for the first time and I wanted to see how well it actually worked. So, lasagna for dinner. Dinner guests. Six cheesy plates. One saucy cheesy lasagna pan. Oatmeal bowls from breakfast with dried on oatmeal starch. Serving spoons with only the merest splash of rinse water applied to them. All in the dishwasher. Soap. Run. Wait and see.
Opened it up this morning and was floored. Everything was spotless and shiny. The glass lasagna pan sparkled. The silverware gleamed. The oatmeal bowls shone. I swooned. You have to understand that the old washer was a complete POS. I had to scrub dishes before putting them in. With our hard water, we would have to pour in about a cup of vinegar in the middle of each cycle in order to avoid a nasty chalky film coating everything. For the past three weeks I’ve been so fed up, I’ve simply been washing dishes by hand. And let me share a little secret with you…I hate washing dishes. I used to cry when my mom made me do them. I avoid them like plague. I would rather do any other nasty, dirty, chore in the house to not do dishes. And yet, there I was at the end of my rope, washing dishes to avoid the even worse prospect of rewashing dishes.
Come to think of it, I’m kind of glad that crap-trap is in pieces all over the back lawn…and I might be an appliance geek. Lord help you if I begin on the Italian range John and I saw on Monday...rrrrraaaawwwwrrrr.
At this moment, yes, this very 10 PM moment, John is putting the new entertainment unit in place and re-hooking all the cables and boxes, with their little glowing lights, together. Sunday before last, Maia began reaching for one very important glowing light, the on off switch for the box that serves as our total entertainment (plus Internet) brain/hub. It just happens to be at a crawling-poke-my-finger-into-everything level. She missed, because she can’t actually crawl yet, but she then took a small header into the corner of the box. An hour later, we were at IKEA looking for a new TV stand with doors.
It’s nice. It’s dark which matches the new ceiling fans (Home Depot) and new side table (also from IKEA). But it doesn’t match the old coffee table. That table is slated to be replaced by an ottoman soon. So we’re updating the whole living room in order to baby safe it. Oh well. Had to happen sooner or later. If John’s not careful, I’m going to have the new couch delivered while he’s a work…
Harvey is doing well. We are still in love with him and at least two house guests threatened to take him home with them. That's two more than threatened to take Maia home. Hmmm.
We're trying to change Maia's schedule, and I'm trying to get more sleep so I'm going to wrap this up. Sorry for the poetic waxing on mechanical things and living arrangements...I'll find some keen insights on the human condition for next time.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Valentine's Revisited
Yesterday, being Valentine's Day, I went to Costco to buy a...water filtration system. Didn't see that one coming did ya? I had to note the kiss kiss heart day madness. It was about noon and men were streaming out by the dozens holding dozens and dozens of flowers. Mostly red roses, natch. Costco had a HUGE floral display at the front of the store so one could just grab and go. There was even a dedicated cash register for flowers only. I guess it's like this every year, but I've never had the occasion to witness it before.
Two people to make note of:
The woman behind me getting ready for what I can only assume to be a really hot date. She was purchasing a bottle of nice red wine and a bottle of Patron tequila. You go with yo bad self!
The man in the parking lot in front of the store with a big box of long stemmed roses...which he proceeded to angrily throw into the garbage can, then throw the box on the ground and stomp on it before stalking away.
Also of note: The man who came up after the roses were trashed and fished them out of the garbage. Happy Valentine's sweetie!
As for my Valentine and I? We did what we usually do. We stayed in. I made a nice romantic dinner. We had a cheese course to begin and several bite sized decadent desserts to finish. We drank a bottle of our honeymoon Riesling. We passed out on the couch from fatty-food coma. It was grand.
I hope yours was as lovely.
Two people to make note of:
The woman behind me getting ready for what I can only assume to be a really hot date. She was purchasing a bottle of nice red wine and a bottle of Patron tequila. You go with yo bad self!
The man in the parking lot in front of the store with a big box of long stemmed roses...which he proceeded to angrily throw into the garbage can, then throw the box on the ground and stomp on it before stalking away.
Also of note: The man who came up after the roses were trashed and fished them out of the garbage. Happy Valentine's sweetie!
As for my Valentine and I? We did what we usually do. We stayed in. I made a nice romantic dinner. We had a cheese course to begin and several bite sized decadent desserts to finish. We drank a bottle of our honeymoon Riesling. We passed out on the couch from fatty-food coma. It was grand.
I hope yours was as lovely.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The Incredible Maia
The Scene:
A cute little baby girl all in pink and red hearts laying on the bed. In her hand, a tissue. She looks up at her adoring mama and with a primal, animal, guttural ggggrrrraaawwwlllll*, rips the tissue in half.
I couldn't stop laughing.
*I wish I had a way to post her "grawl"...it's just the funniest thing right now and she does it constantly.
A cute little baby girl all in pink and red hearts laying on the bed. In her hand, a tissue. She looks up at her adoring mama and with a primal, animal, guttural ggggrrrraaawwwlllll*, rips the tissue in half.
I couldn't stop laughing.
*I wish I had a way to post her "grawl"...it's just the funniest thing right now and she does it constantly.
It's Natural
Yesterday evening Maia was hanging out with me in her Hip Hammock as I picked up my monthly bulk/natural food order. She'd been pretty cranky all day--from interrupted sleep, no real naps and those darn teeth.
As I went to look over some papayas, a loud, long pppppppbbbbbtttttttttttt issued from the back end of my daughter. She then gave me the biggest smile I've seen in days.
As I went to look over some papayas, a loud, long pppppppbbbbbtttttttttttt issued from the back end of my daughter. She then gave me the biggest smile I've seen in days.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Watch Out, It's Harvey Danger!
Business up front:
No post on Thursday because of massive homework. Yeah, time to get time management happening in my house. No walking either. Rained out.
Yesterday? Well...walked 4.43 mi in the rain to and from class. Did no walking with Maia. Again, rain. No post? Lazy, and I had my monthly waxing appointment that went kind of late then the baby needed to be coddled to bed and then I made an ambitious stir-fry dinner that, for once, didn't involve frozen vegetables. But it wasn't done until after 9 pm. Then we watched a movie. A not so good movie, but it was an actual movie. Then bed. After sleeping on the couch for a couple of hours. It was one of those nights.
*note* I like sleeping on the couch. It's comfortable for a few hours and different and I don't get to sleep there often. John kind of gets annoyed by this habit of mine, but I sleep on the couch when he's late on the computer or doing other stuff late at night that doesn't involve sleeping in the bed with me.
Anyway, the real news for this post are the events of today. Drum roll please...We Have a KITTEN!
We welcomed our newest little guy into the family this afternoon. He came to us with the name Cary Grant...but he's now known as Harvey. I love old fashioned names, especially on animals. We kind of name animals in random ways. John and I just toss names about until one sticks. This time it was Harvey. We were going over our grandfather's names. I hope my dad doesn't mind, it's his dad's name. On our side, my last boy was named after a band and so is Harvey. The Harvey Danger kitty...'cause boy's have that danger streak in them, you know?
He is as sweet as hoped for. Our rescue worker brought him over in a cat carrier and he didn't have such a good ride over. He seemed a touch out of it after he arrived, so we put him in the bathroom with his litter box to get acquainted with the most important feature in the house.
As soon as we let him out he began the hunt for love. He found it in John's lap for a moment. Then he found my hand and kept his little head butting into it. Then he discovered little Maia's outstretched hand...and Maia discovered his very fluffy tail. What could have been a bad meeting turned out just fine, Harvey kind of looked disgusted and as soon as he could be free he moved few feet out of her range. No hissing or scratching. I think we're off to a good start.
We'll have pictures posted soon at: http://foobert.com/gal/main.php
It was also the much fun pizza night over here. Brother and I made six pizzas for five people. We're all in starchy-fat comas now. Harvey is awake and well and running around...somewhere. Maia is asleep and I'm tired. Two late nights in a row do that to me...and it's looking like a third. Sigh. John and siblings cleaned the kitchen so at least that's done and there is talk of going to breakfast in the morning. Yum. And if there's no rain, we'll hit the farmer's market and get some super fresh veggies for next week's snacking pleasure.
I'm going to find that cat for a last pet session and head off to sleep. My house is full of siblings and my dear husband and our sweet little daughter and now our adorable fur ball. It's full of love and so is my heart right now.
No post on Thursday because of massive homework. Yeah, time to get time management happening in my house. No walking either. Rained out.
Yesterday? Well...walked 4.43 mi in the rain to and from class. Did no walking with Maia. Again, rain. No post? Lazy, and I had my monthly waxing appointment that went kind of late then the baby needed to be coddled to bed and then I made an ambitious stir-fry dinner that, for once, didn't involve frozen vegetables. But it wasn't done until after 9 pm. Then we watched a movie. A not so good movie, but it was an actual movie. Then bed. After sleeping on the couch for a couple of hours. It was one of those nights.
*note* I like sleeping on the couch. It's comfortable for a few hours and different and I don't get to sleep there often. John kind of gets annoyed by this habit of mine, but I sleep on the couch when he's late on the computer or doing other stuff late at night that doesn't involve sleeping in the bed with me.
Anyway, the real news for this post are the events of today. Drum roll please...We Have a KITTEN!
We welcomed our newest little guy into the family this afternoon. He came to us with the name Cary Grant...but he's now known as Harvey. I love old fashioned names, especially on animals. We kind of name animals in random ways. John and I just toss names about until one sticks. This time it was Harvey. We were going over our grandfather's names. I hope my dad doesn't mind, it's his dad's name. On our side, my last boy was named after a band and so is Harvey. The Harvey Danger kitty...'cause boy's have that danger streak in them, you know?
He is as sweet as hoped for. Our rescue worker brought him over in a cat carrier and he didn't have such a good ride over. He seemed a touch out of it after he arrived, so we put him in the bathroom with his litter box to get acquainted with the most important feature in the house.
As soon as we let him out he began the hunt for love. He found it in John's lap for a moment. Then he found my hand and kept his little head butting into it. Then he discovered little Maia's outstretched hand...and Maia discovered his very fluffy tail. What could have been a bad meeting turned out just fine, Harvey kind of looked disgusted and as soon as he could be free he moved few feet out of her range. No hissing or scratching. I think we're off to a good start.
We'll have pictures posted soon at: http://foobert.com/gal/main.php
It was also the much fun pizza night over here. Brother and I made six pizzas for five people. We're all in starchy-fat comas now. Harvey is awake and well and running around...somewhere. Maia is asleep and I'm tired. Two late nights in a row do that to me...and it's looking like a third. Sigh. John and siblings cleaned the kitchen so at least that's done and there is talk of going to breakfast in the morning. Yum. And if there's no rain, we'll hit the farmer's market and get some super fresh veggies for next week's snacking pleasure.
I'm going to find that cat for a last pet session and head off to sleep. My house is full of siblings and my dear husband and our sweet little daughter and now our adorable fur ball. It's full of love and so is my heart right now.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
I Haven't Been this Tired...
...since I was pregnant. Hmmm....is my body telling me something? I think not. Unless I like the less than 1% chance. If I am it's time for Vegas, baby.
What it is probably telling me is I need to drink more water and less beer. Whatever. I'm adjusting to my new food intake program well. I actually measure food and today I turned down eat-out food in favor of making myself lunch. Yeah me. I bought a new light cookbook; that makes two in the house so I should not run out of dinner ideas. Of course, tonight is out of my own little head: spicy salmon, twice baked sweet potatoes and salad. I think I'm hungry. I like waiting to eat with hubby but sometimes it gets hard to wait when he's so busy/late. Oh well. It's worth it to me. It's good family time, even if it's a bit late.
No walking today. That might cure my fatigue. Or if Maia would push those teeth out and my sleep wasn't so disturbed. Tonight I drugged her up and she still went down hard. Sigh. I just have to remember it bugs her more than it bugs us, poor thing, and she doesn't know what's going on. She just knows she hurts.
My lack of energy is affecting my house work plans. I haven't been keeping up at all. The dishes are done, but we're getting low on underwear. And I haven't shaken hands with the vacuum in a while. I'm getting together with mommy friends tomorrow and we were deciding where to meet...my place or hers. Yeah, I opted for the non-cleaning option. So we'll be traveling the five miles to avoid the vacuum for one more day.
Until tomorrow...I'll try to do something of interest or merit by then.
What it is probably telling me is I need to drink more water and less beer. Whatever. I'm adjusting to my new food intake program well. I actually measure food and today I turned down eat-out food in favor of making myself lunch. Yeah me. I bought a new light cookbook; that makes two in the house so I should not run out of dinner ideas. Of course, tonight is out of my own little head: spicy salmon, twice baked sweet potatoes and salad. I think I'm hungry. I like waiting to eat with hubby but sometimes it gets hard to wait when he's so busy/late. Oh well. It's worth it to me. It's good family time, even if it's a bit late.
No walking today. That might cure my fatigue. Or if Maia would push those teeth out and my sleep wasn't so disturbed. Tonight I drugged her up and she still went down hard. Sigh. I just have to remember it bugs her more than it bugs us, poor thing, and she doesn't know what's going on. She just knows she hurts.
My lack of energy is affecting my house work plans. I haven't been keeping up at all. The dishes are done, but we're getting low on underwear. And I haven't shaken hands with the vacuum in a while. I'm getting together with mommy friends tomorrow and we were deciding where to meet...my place or hers. Yeah, I opted for the non-cleaning option. So we'll be traveling the five miles to avoid the vacuum for one more day.
***
Such is my day. At this point I've been fed, watered, well, beer'd, and Veronica Mars'd. Now I'm thinking I'm tired because I go to bed so late. Bottle washing duty calls then warm flannel sheets. Hopefully we'll all get some slumber tonight. Darn teeth withstanding.Until tomorrow...I'll try to do something of interest or merit by then.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Monday, February 5, 2007
Fluff Ball
OK, business first: No walking today. Sorry. We had Music Together in the morning...only the most fun you can have with a small child in one hour...then we had an important appointment, which is the topic of the post, and then nap time in the car and a shopping trip to Trader Joe's. $167.00 worth of a shopping trip (if you know TJ's, you know that's a high bill...rarely do I bust $100) with no nibbles and only some wine. Yeah. We were out of food.
Our appointment was to see if we would be adding a member to our happy family. As you may or may not know, we lost our dear fuzzballs James and Violet in an evil, violent way over the summer. No desire to rehash. It's been five months and while that seems like a short time to replace our guys, I have been itching for a kitten for the past month. One reason is Maia, she's getting ready to crawl, so I feel it's now or wait another year before introducing a pet. I want a cat to be able to know the lay of the land, so to speak, before being chased by an infant.
I found a rescue group to work with. The woman who runs it is wonderful. While there were some hoops that John found kind of over the top--like the adoption application--we're getting a cat that is going to suit our needs: boy, playful, friendly, not skittish, able to self entertain and willing to be a house cat.
I met Cary, for Cary Grant, and fell in love. He's got a square face, fluffy ears, a puffy tail and a sweet playful demeanor. He loves cat toys. He loves to play. And he loves to be loved. At one point he flopped down on his kitty bed and as I began to pet his head his purr motor kicked in to high gear. I was hooked.
Maia made her animal "huh huh huh" noise and really wanted his tail. We'll be "house training" two babies I fear. He's getting fixed today, including shots and a microchip and he gets to come home to us this weekend. I'm so excited! I need to run to the pet store and pick up food and kitty litter. He's going to be an indoor guy but that will be just fine. I'll need to keep up on my vacuuming but hey, I need to do that anyway.
I think this is a good thing. I've missed our guys, especially James. While a new cat is not a replacement, he will fill a hole in the house. I love having cats around. I think the rest of the family will too.
Our appointment was to see if we would be adding a member to our happy family. As you may or may not know, we lost our dear fuzzballs James and Violet in an evil, violent way over the summer. No desire to rehash. It's been five months and while that seems like a short time to replace our guys, I have been itching for a kitten for the past month. One reason is Maia, she's getting ready to crawl, so I feel it's now or wait another year before introducing a pet. I want a cat to be able to know the lay of the land, so to speak, before being chased by an infant.
I found a rescue group to work with. The woman who runs it is wonderful. While there were some hoops that John found kind of over the top--like the adoption application--we're getting a cat that is going to suit our needs: boy, playful, friendly, not skittish, able to self entertain and willing to be a house cat.
I met Cary, for Cary Grant, and fell in love. He's got a square face, fluffy ears, a puffy tail and a sweet playful demeanor. He loves cat toys. He loves to play. And he loves to be loved. At one point he flopped down on his kitty bed and as I began to pet his head his purr motor kicked in to high gear. I was hooked.
Maia made her animal "huh huh huh" noise and really wanted his tail. We'll be "house training" two babies I fear. He's getting fixed today, including shots and a microchip and he gets to come home to us this weekend. I'm so excited! I need to run to the pet store and pick up food and kitty litter. He's going to be an indoor guy but that will be just fine. I'll need to keep up on my vacuuming but hey, I need to do that anyway.
I think this is a good thing. I've missed our guys, especially James. While a new cat is not a replacement, he will fill a hole in the house. I love having cats around. I think the rest of the family will too.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Quickie
While it's still Saturday I'll make a note:
Spent most of the evening writing time goofing with new blogger templates. I'm feeling old. I need a new look--for myself as well. I'm dying to cut my hair, I just have to figure out where to go, how much to spend and what, exactly, I want.
Sigh. If only switching up the hair was as easy as switching up the blog.
No walking today. Lots of family visits though. We had a middling to poor breakfast in Turlock. Cool diner, but the food tasted as old as the formica counter tops. Dinner at the always good Aqui. Plus three desserts. Not all for me! We shared around.
Maia is having a bad bad night, so I really should get some sleep. I have the awful suspicion I'll be getting up many times for comfort tonight. If those darn teeth would come through already. We'd all be happier campers.
Spent most of the evening writing time goofing with new blogger templates. I'm feeling old. I need a new look--for myself as well. I'm dying to cut my hair, I just have to figure out where to go, how much to spend and what, exactly, I want.
Sigh. If only switching up the hair was as easy as switching up the blog.
No walking today. Lots of family visits though. We had a middling to poor breakfast in Turlock. Cool diner, but the food tasted as old as the formica counter tops. Dinner at the always good Aqui. Plus three desserts. Not all for me! We shared around.
Maia is having a bad bad night, so I really should get some sleep. I have the awful suspicion I'll be getting up many times for comfort tonight. If those darn teeth would come through already. We'd all be happier campers.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Time Flies
I thought this evening's post was going to be all about my brilliant nine-month-old daughter. How she's getting ready to crawl, how she still doesn't have any teeth but I'm sure that four are going to pop in at once on the bottom, how she doesn't eat solids yet and that worries me but no one else so I suck it up and keep trying.
Yes, I have spent the past week thinking about Maia being nine months and what a milestone it is. I've been excitedly telling people about it today. Nine months. Wow. Where have the past three months gone?
Yeah. Maia is eight months old today. Somehow my brain farted away an entire month. Between two weeks ago and today, she has aged an extra month in my head.
Ooops.
So let me tell you about my brilliant eight-month-old daughter...
No teeth. None. Big gummy grin...she grins a lot and laughs so that her eyes crinkle up and her nose scrunches delightfully. She does this when she bounces. She loves to bounce. We took her on a completely unplanned trip to San Diego last month. While there we visited with John's uncle and aunt who "snow bird" there. We were with them in their super-deluxe RV for a little over an hour and except when I fed and changed her, Maia bounced on my knee the whole time. If you stop, she'll pump herself up and down until you begin to bounce her again. Literally hours of fun for her.
No teeth. I swear I see the tiny white heads of her four bottom teeth ready to burst into being at any moment. Four bottom teeth. I don't see any signs of top teeth, and man, if this is her teething pattern we're in trouble. Because she's been mouthy and cranky for two months now. It's getting old. For all of us, poor dear.
No teeth...and she hates having her mouth toyed with. This is the reason I think she just isn't into solids yet. She doesn't like having things pushed on her and she doesn't want you messing about with her mouth. I've had some luck with these mesh-bag-ring-pop-looking feeding tools, but they are messy messy messy. Especially with banana. Which she likes. Sort of.
She's been getting up on one knee lately and reaching for toys out of her grasp and becoming quite the wiggle worm. Again. I remember--because it was oh so long ago--when she first really wanted to sit up instead of just laying about...this new movement is like that only she's headed for crawling. So many moms are put off by crawling. I'm really looking forward to it. I think she'll have a grand ol' time scooting about. Really. Our house is so small, I'll always know where she is. No stairs to worry about. Just some cabinets to sort out and some TV/stereo/computer equipment to secure away from her and hey....she can crawl all she wants. As it is now, I sit on the floor and read or surf the 'net while she plays and she bounces in her Exersaucer when I need to pick up the kitchen or cook. I don't see crawling as interfering with the chi of our day.
Speaking of the chi of our day: 2.5 miles walked this morning to and from class. Plus a nice hour long, with a pause to check out the new hair salon, 2.4 mile nap walk. That's a total of almost 5 miles today. Woo-hoo.
Then we chatted and played with the neighbors for an hour. M has an adorable two-month-old boy...also M. She let Maia (another M...hmmmm) try out the Jumperoo. Miss Maia didn't want to get out. She rocked the Jumperoo, as expected. Nice visit, with plans to go for a walk on Tuesday, but all this was to the detriment of kitchen cleaning and diaper folding and Maia room cleaning. I've not really been doing housework this week. Naughty naughty wifey. Next week I'll have to be better. Plus, it's nine o'clock and I have no idea what to do for dinner. I'm thinking about skipping it altogether. Or just eating sausage.
Get your head out of the gutter. I'm here alone.
That's it for this evening. Tomorrow brings us breakfast in the Central Valley with Grandma NorDelle and Grandpa Jack. Then dinner with Grandpa Gene and Grandma Susan. At least tomorrow I don't have to worry about what I'm going to cook.
Yes, I have spent the past week thinking about Maia being nine months and what a milestone it is. I've been excitedly telling people about it today. Nine months. Wow. Where have the past three months gone?
Yeah. Maia is eight months old today. Somehow my brain farted away an entire month. Between two weeks ago and today, she has aged an extra month in my head.
Ooops.
So let me tell you about my brilliant eight-month-old daughter...
No teeth. None. Big gummy grin...she grins a lot and laughs so that her eyes crinkle up and her nose scrunches delightfully. She does this when she bounces. She loves to bounce. We took her on a completely unplanned trip to San Diego last month. While there we visited with John's uncle and aunt who "snow bird" there. We were with them in their super-deluxe RV for a little over an hour and except when I fed and changed her, Maia bounced on my knee the whole time. If you stop, she'll pump herself up and down until you begin to bounce her again. Literally hours of fun for her.
No teeth. I swear I see the tiny white heads of her four bottom teeth ready to burst into being at any moment. Four bottom teeth. I don't see any signs of top teeth, and man, if this is her teething pattern we're in trouble. Because she's been mouthy and cranky for two months now. It's getting old. For all of us, poor dear.
No teeth...and she hates having her mouth toyed with. This is the reason I think she just isn't into solids yet. She doesn't like having things pushed on her and she doesn't want you messing about with her mouth. I've had some luck with these mesh-bag-ring-pop-looking feeding tools, but they are messy messy messy. Especially with banana. Which she likes. Sort of.
She's been getting up on one knee lately and reaching for toys out of her grasp and becoming quite the wiggle worm. Again. I remember--because it was oh so long ago--when she first really wanted to sit up instead of just laying about...this new movement is like that only she's headed for crawling. So many moms are put off by crawling. I'm really looking forward to it. I think she'll have a grand ol' time scooting about. Really. Our house is so small, I'll always know where she is. No stairs to worry about. Just some cabinets to sort out and some TV/stereo/computer equipment to secure away from her and hey....she can crawl all she wants. As it is now, I sit on the floor and read or surf the 'net while she plays and she bounces in her Exersaucer when I need to pick up the kitchen or cook. I don't see crawling as interfering with the chi of our day.
Speaking of the chi of our day: 2.5 miles walked this morning to and from class. Plus a nice hour long, with a pause to check out the new hair salon, 2.4 mile nap walk. That's a total of almost 5 miles today. Woo-hoo.
Then we chatted and played with the neighbors for an hour. M has an adorable two-month-old boy...also M. She let Maia (another M...hmmmm) try out the Jumperoo. Miss Maia didn't want to get out. She rocked the Jumperoo, as expected. Nice visit, with plans to go for a walk on Tuesday, but all this was to the detriment of kitchen cleaning and diaper folding and Maia room cleaning. I've not really been doing housework this week. Naughty naughty wifey. Next week I'll have to be better. Plus, it's nine o'clock and I have no idea what to do for dinner. I'm thinking about skipping it altogether. Or just eating sausage.
Get your head out of the gutter. I'm here alone.
That's it for this evening. Tomorrow brings us breakfast in the Central Valley with Grandma NorDelle and Grandpa Jack. Then dinner with Grandpa Gene and Grandma Susan. At least tomorrow I don't have to worry about what I'm going to cook.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Is It Too Late?
I'm wondering if it's too late for a New Year's Resolution. It's February after all. I'm hoping the year is still new enough.
In any case, I am vowing to write every day. Even if it's just a "Hi" and how far I walked. My other goal is to walk every day. Today: 2.3 miles. Short walk downtown. Don't ask for the time, because snacks were had.
Weather: Gloomy.
Daughter: Fine. More on her tomorrow.
Homework is done....yes I am back in school. I'm taking technical writing because I am a glutton for punishment. Just to do things right, I jumped into the hardest class for my degree after my lovely (new mommy-ing) semester off. John takes Maia on Friday mornings so that I might go. It's a perfect set up and I'm lucky to have it.
I need to print and initial my memo before brother dear comes home and the printer becomes out of reach until noon tomorrow. So many things to say...and I am making the time to tell it. Later.
In any case, I am vowing to write every day. Even if it's just a "Hi" and how far I walked. My other goal is to walk every day. Today: 2.3 miles. Short walk downtown. Don't ask for the time, because snacks were had.
Weather: Gloomy.
Daughter: Fine. More on her tomorrow.
Homework is done....yes I am back in school. I'm taking technical writing because I am a glutton for punishment. Just to do things right, I jumped into the hardest class for my degree after my lovely (new mommy-ing) semester off. John takes Maia on Friday mornings so that I might go. It's a perfect set up and I'm lucky to have it.
I need to print and initial my memo before brother dear comes home and the printer becomes out of reach until noon tomorrow. So many things to say...and I am making the time to tell it. Later.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Happy Birthday Love!
We celebrated John's birthday this evening. It's kind of strange, as all of the friends we celebrate have children now...the day's of showing up early and drinking all day until dinner are over. Now it's eat between nap and bedtime! Our friends from over the hill came over with their one-year-old. They have a hard time traveling, the little one doesn't like to sit in the car seat. I was so glad that they were able to come over today. Our other friends form down the way were a bit late because of nap time...but all in all it was such a nice time.
We made smoked prime rib and garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus and spinach apple salad for dinner...with mushroom gravy. Yum. The prime rib was wonderful, no matter what my husband may say about its overdoneness. I had a blast making the sides plus rolls and my favorite (also hubby's) chocolate cake. Brandy, cherries and chocolate all come together in a most excelent combination of flavors.
It was really nice to have a family evening. No one minded a fussy baby. No one minded a fussy one year old. No one minded a fussy almost three year old. Our friends have all been there and we will be soon. It was nice to just kind of be and drink wine and eat food and play with babies and be friends. It has seemed that the last few times we've been together it's been BIG parties and it's nice to connect with small groups on occasion.
We also killed a bottle of Zin...a bottle of port...a bottle of Bouteille Call from = Bonny Doon Vineyard. Don't ask. It's simply wonderful. My head is slightly spinning from the before wine as well. Oh well. It's December. Time to get spun.
Maia is six months now and I Have to write about that. But for now, I must ignore spell check and have another glass of wine before I tackle cleaning the kitchen.
We made smoked prime rib and garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus and spinach apple salad for dinner...with mushroom gravy. Yum. The prime rib was wonderful, no matter what my husband may say about its overdoneness. I had a blast making the sides plus rolls and my favorite (also hubby's) chocolate cake. Brandy, cherries and chocolate all come together in a most excelent combination of flavors.
It was really nice to have a family evening. No one minded a fussy baby. No one minded a fussy one year old. No one minded a fussy almost three year old. Our friends have all been there and we will be soon. It was nice to just kind of be and drink wine and eat food and play with babies and be friends. It has seemed that the last few times we've been together it's been BIG parties and it's nice to connect with small groups on occasion.
We also killed a bottle of Zin...a bottle of port...a bottle of Bouteille Call from = Bonny Doon Vineyard. Don't ask. It's simply wonderful. My head is slightly spinning from the before wine as well. Oh well. It's December. Time to get spun.
Maia is six months now and I Have to write about that. But for now, I must ignore spell check and have another glass of wine before I tackle cleaning the kitchen.
Sunday, November 5, 2006
Month Five...and Still Counting
I have not written, directly, about the babe in a while so let me fix that right now. Miss M turned five months old two days ago and the last week has been amazing! She is becoming so physical. She has mastered rolling over from her stomach to her back...at least from right to left. She favors her right arm as her pushing arm and hasn't quite gotten the fact that she could push with her left arm and go over the other way. If she's blocked on the left side she still just gets kind of mad at the situation. But it is so cute to watch her flip over and smile as though she were saying: "See what I just did".
She is about to become a real sitter. Last Sunday John put her in the sitting position and let go and she stayed. This week she has just gotten stronger. She still mostly sits "froggy style" with her body hunched over, but she's begun to pull her torso up. She also reaches for her toys form this position and is so happy when she gets them. She's giggling and has even laughed out loud at Daddy a few times.
Being physical is more than her development. I remember, well, it was only a couple of months ago, when we were so careful with her. I was ginger and gentle with every touch and tried to limit rough play. She couldn't move very well...and I didn't like to mess with her. As she's grown my fear has subsided and now one of our favorite games involves tossing her up and down while singing The Grand Old Duke of York We tickle and dance around and jostle to William Tells Ride.... you know...ba-rump-bada-rump-bada-rump-rump-rump-rump...John will toss and swing her and she just loves it. She loves to move, to be moved, to be tickled and touched. She reaches up when she wants to be held and responds to touch in distinct ways. It is so different from even a month ago when it seemed that she just kind of put up with us. Now she knows we can be fun too.
Speaking of fun, we had a family adventure this afternoon. We took Maia up for her first ride in the Mooney. We were planning to fly over to Paso Robles in central California for lunch. It's about an hour flight with a solid destination and food! We are thinking of flying to Idaho for Christmas and need to make sure Maia can tolerate it before we embark on a three and a half hour trip.
Maia has ear gear. Ear protection is paramount when flying in a small plane. I found soft silicone earplugs, actually they're called "pillows" and cover the outer ear. They help with the pressure change as well as provide decibel buffering. She also has her small earmuffs...powder blue and oh-so-cute! I thought she was set. Well, the ear pillows have a learning curve as to how they go in best and the muffs didn't hold them in her tiny ears as I had hoped. She became uncomfortable and started to cry soon after take off. I went into stress mode trying to calm her down, the bottle wasn't helping and I couldn't pick her up and darn if that girl will still not take a pacifier. We decided to head back for the airport and not push it; after all, we want her to enjoy plane trips. As we were being directed back to the airport, Maia stopped crying and took her pacifier, alleviating some of the discomfort. We decided to toodle around for a bit...she was fine and beginning to nod off. We thought we'd head over to Half Moon Bay, a short fifteen-minute distance. While we didn't want to push our luck, we weren't ready to give up altogether. She fell asleep during the approach. Halleluiah.
Half Moon Bay was nice. We had lunch at the brewery that could have been better, but we'll just go somewhere else next time I think. We wandered by the fishing pier and had tea in an odd little cafe near the airport. Then it was time to head back home.
This time I got smart with the silicone ear pillows. I had purchased a neoprene headband designed to keep earplugs in while swimming. I really smoothed in the pillows, wrapped the headband across Maia's ears and placed the earmuffs over that. There is no such thing as too much protection for tiny ears. She seemed kind of frustrated with so much stuff on her head...but quickly settled down. I had a bottle ready to go for takeoff and she was asleep before we had leveled off. Good girl! John chose to take to scenic route home. We followed the coastline down to Santa Cruz then popped over the hills into the valley. Maia did wake up for the last part of the trip but was a happy camper...finishing her bottle and playing with her toys.
I think we're going to fly for Christmas. We're going to do a little more altitude flying with her in preparation for going over the Sierras but now that the ear/pressure kinks have been worked out I think we'll be fine. It's a great thing to be able to make these trips together. John and I love adventures and I really want our kids to be able to experience them too. And hopefully love them as well. Maia looks like she's off to a good start.
She is about to become a real sitter. Last Sunday John put her in the sitting position and let go and she stayed. This week she has just gotten stronger. She still mostly sits "froggy style" with her body hunched over, but she's begun to pull her torso up. She also reaches for her toys form this position and is so happy when she gets them. She's giggling and has even laughed out loud at Daddy a few times.
Being physical is more than her development. I remember, well, it was only a couple of months ago, when we were so careful with her. I was ginger and gentle with every touch and tried to limit rough play. She couldn't move very well...and I didn't like to mess with her. As she's grown my fear has subsided and now one of our favorite games involves tossing her up and down while singing The Grand Old Duke of York We tickle and dance around and jostle to William Tells Ride.... you know...ba-rump-bada-rump-bada-rump-rump-rump-rump...John will toss and swing her and she just loves it. She loves to move, to be moved, to be tickled and touched. She reaches up when she wants to be held and responds to touch in distinct ways. It is so different from even a month ago when it seemed that she just kind of put up with us. Now she knows we can be fun too.
Speaking of fun, we had a family adventure this afternoon. We took Maia up for her first ride in the Mooney. We were planning to fly over to Paso Robles in central California for lunch. It's about an hour flight with a solid destination and food! We are thinking of flying to Idaho for Christmas and need to make sure Maia can tolerate it before we embark on a three and a half hour trip.
Maia has ear gear. Ear protection is paramount when flying in a small plane. I found soft silicone earplugs, actually they're called "pillows" and cover the outer ear. They help with the pressure change as well as provide decibel buffering. She also has her small earmuffs...powder blue and oh-so-cute! I thought she was set. Well, the ear pillows have a learning curve as to how they go in best and the muffs didn't hold them in her tiny ears as I had hoped. She became uncomfortable and started to cry soon after take off. I went into stress mode trying to calm her down, the bottle wasn't helping and I couldn't pick her up and darn if that girl will still not take a pacifier. We decided to head back for the airport and not push it; after all, we want her to enjoy plane trips. As we were being directed back to the airport, Maia stopped crying and took her pacifier, alleviating some of the discomfort. We decided to toodle around for a bit...she was fine and beginning to nod off. We thought we'd head over to Half Moon Bay, a short fifteen-minute distance. While we didn't want to push our luck, we weren't ready to give up altogether. She fell asleep during the approach. Halleluiah.
Half Moon Bay was nice. We had lunch at the brewery that could have been better, but we'll just go somewhere else next time I think. We wandered by the fishing pier and had tea in an odd little cafe near the airport. Then it was time to head back home.
This time I got smart with the silicone ear pillows. I had purchased a neoprene headband designed to keep earplugs in while swimming. I really smoothed in the pillows, wrapped the headband across Maia's ears and placed the earmuffs over that. There is no such thing as too much protection for tiny ears. She seemed kind of frustrated with so much stuff on her head...but quickly settled down. I had a bottle ready to go for takeoff and she was asleep before we had leveled off. Good girl! John chose to take to scenic route home. We followed the coastline down to Santa Cruz then popped over the hills into the valley. Maia did wake up for the last part of the trip but was a happy camper...finishing her bottle and playing with her toys.
I think we're going to fly for Christmas. We're going to do a little more altitude flying with her in preparation for going over the Sierras but now that the ear/pressure kinks have been worked out I think we'll be fine. It's a great thing to be able to make these trips together. John and I love adventures and I really want our kids to be able to experience them too. And hopefully love them as well. Maia looks like she's off to a good start.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Housewifery
It's time for the annual Jell-O brain mold for my friend's Halloween party. This is the party where--6 years ago--John and I first met. It is very much tradition at this point.
I'm making a giant Jell-O shot this year. A Pina Colada brain stuffed with marichino cherries and garnished with crushed pineapple. Coconut rum will be substituted for some of the water and there will be a "two slice limit". I had my Jell-O flavors all picked out to mimic the drink: pineapple Jell-O stirred with whipped cream and the coconut rum for the right kick of tropical goodness. I went to the store to pick up the items and what should I see lingering on the shelf past its summertime run? Pina Colada flavored Jell-O.
(This is the fifties housewifery part)
I got giddy over the Jell-O. Giddy that there was MY FLAVOR. Ready-made goodness. I now know how our grandmothers felt about convience food and why they remain so popular. One box and your dinner or dessert creation comes to life. It's Better Living Through Science at its finest.
I'm making a giant Jell-O shot this year. A Pina Colada brain stuffed with marichino cherries and garnished with crushed pineapple. Coconut rum will be substituted for some of the water and there will be a "two slice limit". I had my Jell-O flavors all picked out to mimic the drink: pineapple Jell-O stirred with whipped cream and the coconut rum for the right kick of tropical goodness. I went to the store to pick up the items and what should I see lingering on the shelf past its summertime run? Pina Colada flavored Jell-O.
(This is the fifties housewifery part)
I got giddy over the Jell-O. Giddy that there was MY FLAVOR. Ready-made goodness. I now know how our grandmothers felt about convience food and why they remain so popular. One box and your dinner or dessert creation comes to life. It's Better Living Through Science at its finest.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Suburban Rant
I went shopping, as I often do, at Costco the other day. The store was crowded with moms, kids and retired couples...the staple shoppers of mid-weekday afternoons. We were just fine in the store thanks to our newest and most favoritest carrier the hip hammock. Love it.
The problem occurred after leaving the store and centers on lazy, inconsiderate people, i.e.: most of the parking lot population. Here I am strolling down the street on the way to my car to off load my bulky purchases, and I get to watch as some woman ditches her GIANT DOUBLE WIDE Costco shopping cart right next to the front driver's side door of my car. WTF? The cart stand is maybe 50 ft away from her parking spot and she blocks my door (which was parked across from her car so she did have to walk across the driveway and pick that spot) instead of taking her cart to the appropriate place. This just pisses me off. I came this close[-] to yelling at her...something along the line of "What do you think you're doing with that cart!!??" Unfortunately, I am not comfortable with confrontation. I just stewed.
I also, after unloading my groceries, had to push two double wide carts and balance a small child the oh-so-grueling 50 ft to the cart stand. This woman had another woman with her and two children old enough to sit in the car without special seats. There was one grown up to sit with the--older than my baby--children and one woman to take back the cart. If I had merely left her cart I would have most likely scratched my door trying to get on or completely screwed the car next to me. Granted, it was a bright yellow H2, but I like to think I'm better than that. So, I took the carts to the right place.
It seems trivial, and it is, but it is the small courtesies that make civilized life. It's letting pedestrians cross at unlighted intersections. It's holding a door for a stranger with full hands (or a stroller). It's putting shopping carts away. These are the actions that make living in a population dense area bearable.
I may not be perfect in everything, but I try to watch the small things. Small things matter, if they didn't the larger would fall away as well.
The problem occurred after leaving the store and centers on lazy, inconsiderate people, i.e.: most of the parking lot population. Here I am strolling down the street on the way to my car to off load my bulky purchases, and I get to watch as some woman ditches her GIANT DOUBLE WIDE Costco shopping cart right next to the front driver's side door of my car. WTF? The cart stand is maybe 50 ft away from her parking spot and she blocks my door (which was parked across from her car so she did have to walk across the driveway and pick that spot) instead of taking her cart to the appropriate place. This just pisses me off. I came this close[-] to yelling at her...something along the line of "What do you think you're doing with that cart!!??" Unfortunately, I am not comfortable with confrontation. I just stewed.
I also, after unloading my groceries, had to push two double wide carts and balance a small child the oh-so-grueling 50 ft to the cart stand. This woman had another woman with her and two children old enough to sit in the car without special seats. There was one grown up to sit with the--older than my baby--children and one woman to take back the cart. If I had merely left her cart I would have most likely scratched my door trying to get on or completely screwed the car next to me. Granted, it was a bright yellow H2, but I like to think I'm better than that. So, I took the carts to the right place.
It seems trivial, and it is, but it is the small courtesies that make civilized life. It's letting pedestrians cross at unlighted intersections. It's holding a door for a stranger with full hands (or a stroller). It's putting shopping carts away. These are the actions that make living in a population dense area bearable.
I may not be perfect in everything, but I try to watch the small things. Small things matter, if they didn't the larger would fall away as well.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Traffic
It's funny the thoughts that find their way into your head while sitting in traffic. I was in Half Moon Bay this morning for the annual Pumpkin Festival. Traffic on the way home is always awful...a two-lane street winds through the hills to dump hundreds of cars onto the freeways. Estimated time to travel 10 miles: 62 minutes.
I found myself thinking...spinning thoughts...my mind sparked by landmarks from my teenage days. I spent many days in and around the beaches of the area. I was facing the Rite Aid, used to be a Thrifty Drug, where my friend and I bought ice cream and the cute spider tattooed boy behind the counter said I looked like a girl he knew and weeks later he remembered me outside of the punk club in Berkeley.
I was drunk. He was straight edge. He gave me a quote for the article my mom was writing on the club scene. I was researching that night. Usually I was drunk with no purpose.
I thought of Captain Morgan and the senior trip three of us skipped to play at San Gregorio State Beach. Our own "senior moment" before we were old. We jumped off of low cliffs (or high rocks) onto the wet sand and huddled in a cave that was only exposed during very low tide cycles to smoke the green goddess.
Somehow my mind came around to the car behind whose wheel I was now sitting. I drive John's car now. I didn't always. I was staring at the rear end of a relative of my beloved car...which John now drives. Babies confuse many things, cars and drivers among them.
When John and I first began dating we were a little wild. We were having fun, we still are, but not in the same ways. After we had been dating for--oh--about a month I took him to meet my family. And I mean MEET my family. When my parents were still together we would all go Christmas caroling sometime in December. It was tradition. I took John. He must have been really into me to have gone to meet my family (brother and sisters included) and SING with them after only knowing me for a month. I had to marry him, and now you know why.
We were driving back to San Jose kind of late at night. Eleven or midnight. We decided to race home. Race. Each other. Over the freeway we sped. I was pushing 100 mph at one point and we were moving across lanes just racing for the sheer love of speed and the fun and, yes, even the danger. It was glorious.
It all came down to the last stretch of the race. We were going to my house for the night. I zigged and he zagged and he made it around the corner and snagged the parking spot first. I gambled and lost. He told me he always had it in the bag, his engine is bigger than mine. I didn't care. I just like to race.
Now I drive that same car with the bigger engine, but I wouldn't, couldn't, race it. We once read a story about a couple that was into illegal street racing. Only, they carried their very small children in the back seat. I couldn't do that. Now I have the car that won and I won't race it.
And Half Moon Bay looks different and the drug store is changed and I'm sure the place where I bought the purple shorts because my jeans were soaked is gone...I drove there without my license because no one cared if I did at that moment...I have the license now. And the car. And I was sitting in traffic letting my mind spin fine webs of memory.
I found myself thinking...spinning thoughts...my mind sparked by landmarks from my teenage days. I spent many days in and around the beaches of the area. I was facing the Rite Aid, used to be a Thrifty Drug, where my friend and I bought ice cream and the cute spider tattooed boy behind the counter said I looked like a girl he knew and weeks later he remembered me outside of the punk club in Berkeley.
I was drunk. He was straight edge. He gave me a quote for the article my mom was writing on the club scene. I was researching that night. Usually I was drunk with no purpose.
I thought of Captain Morgan and the senior trip three of us skipped to play at San Gregorio State Beach. Our own "senior moment" before we were old. We jumped off of low cliffs (or high rocks) onto the wet sand and huddled in a cave that was only exposed during very low tide cycles to smoke the green goddess.
Somehow my mind came around to the car behind whose wheel I was now sitting. I drive John's car now. I didn't always. I was staring at the rear end of a relative of my beloved car...which John now drives. Babies confuse many things, cars and drivers among them.
When John and I first began dating we were a little wild. We were having fun, we still are, but not in the same ways. After we had been dating for--oh--about a month I took him to meet my family. And I mean MEET my family. When my parents were still together we would all go Christmas caroling sometime in December. It was tradition. I took John. He must have been really into me to have gone to meet my family (brother and sisters included) and SING with them after only knowing me for a month. I had to marry him, and now you know why.
We were driving back to San Jose kind of late at night. Eleven or midnight. We decided to race home. Race. Each other. Over the freeway we sped. I was pushing 100 mph at one point and we were moving across lanes just racing for the sheer love of speed and the fun and, yes, even the danger. It was glorious.
It all came down to the last stretch of the race. We were going to my house for the night. I zigged and he zagged and he made it around the corner and snagged the parking spot first. I gambled and lost. He told me he always had it in the bag, his engine is bigger than mine. I didn't care. I just like to race.
Now I drive that same car with the bigger engine, but I wouldn't, couldn't, race it. We once read a story about a couple that was into illegal street racing. Only, they carried their very small children in the back seat. I couldn't do that. Now I have the car that won and I won't race it.
And Half Moon Bay looks different and the drug store is changed and I'm sure the place where I bought the purple shorts because my jeans were soaked is gone...I drove there without my license because no one cared if I did at that moment...I have the license now. And the car. And I was sitting in traffic letting my mind spin fine webs of memory.
Sunday, October 8, 2006
Got 'Em!
I got Maia her* Baby Legs. Pink and brown stripe. Too cute! She deserved a treat after her four month check-up, complete with shots and an unexpected blood draw--from the arm and everything. Ouch!
She's fine, she just has some dark spots under the skin on her legs that the Dr. couldn't recognize off the bat...so we did a platelet count to make sure it wasn't anything to worry about. It isn't.
She's a cool baby and far more trendily dressed than I.
*...You know that, except for the very basics, baby clothes are for the parents and by parents I mean moms...because how many dads would buy leg warmers for infants?
She's fine, she just has some dark spots under the skin on her legs that the Dr. couldn't recognize off the bat...so we did a platelet count to make sure it wasn't anything to worry about. It isn't.
She's a cool baby and far more trendily dressed than I.
*...You know that, except for the very basics, baby clothes are for the parents and by parents I mean moms...because how many dads would buy leg warmers for infants?
Sunday, October 1, 2006
Bye-Bye Summer
Even though the weather has been chilling down and the mornings have been blessed with fog, I haven't been able to say good-bye to summer. After all, the afternoons have still been freakin' hot.
Until today.
This morning started out just like yesterday, cloudy and cool, but unlike yesterday it never cleared up. Yes folks, we had our first rain of the season and Maia and I got a small taste of days to come. I went to the farmer's market in the Cats...that would be three days running visiting the snobby older sister of my neighborhood...for my weekly fruit and veggie run. Then headed to the posh baby store looking for these for Maia. Not in yet, but they'll give me a call when they are. Why don't I order them on line? I will. But I want to hold them first, and buy the first pair with king cash. Then go crazy on the Internet.
Still cloudy and cool weather-wise, which was weird considering it was almost 2 PM at this point. The clouds kept getting angrier looking as I drove to TJ's to finish shopping. Side note: I HATE TJ's on the weekend. It's a small store to begin with and on weekends everyone couple shops (except me...but I have Maia, natch) and makes it even smaller. And with the rain it was even worse...ah yes. Here is the point. We had our first rain this afternoon. I am officially saying goodbye to summer. Yeah, I know it's October. I should have said good-bye weeks ago. But here we are and here comes fall for real.
So Maia experienced her first rain shower this afternoon. Good thing she had on her thick hoodie. Her little almost-bald head was covered as we dashed for the store. I was not so lucky. No hood, no jacket, just a sweater and too long jeans. I wasn't expecting this at all. Good thing I did opt for a sweater at least. This first rain was a heavy wet rain. A good rain, not just a tease of things to come. There was an accident on the freeway, no surprise there. John enjoyed the day for different reasons. He stood outside in the wet watching rain sheet off of HIS roof. A testament to his skill as a roofer. He's been waiting for this moment. But it came none too soon as John finished the garage roof only last weekend. John even climbed into the attic to make sure there were no leaks. There weren't. He may have a new career ahead of him. I joke. It was a job well done as today proved, though.
Also on the list of firsts for the season: Maia ROLLED OVER on her own and I MISSED IT!! She rolled over for Daddy and wouldn't do it again. Little stinker. I'll try and get her to do it for me sometime this week. But we'll be able to report it to her doctor and that will be fun. She's getting big but staying cute so we still like her. *wink*. And rolling over. Geeze. What's next? Sitting up? I'm hoping she'll at least do that for me first, since we spend so much time sitting together.
It's chilly this evening and I have a new book to snuggle up to. That's a comfort and one of the best parts of the season. Tomorrow I'll make my weekly library run...another season of West Wing to acquire. Maybe they'll have Grey's Anatomy or Lost to check out. I always run seasons behind on TV, but this way I get to watch with no commercials. It's a trade off I can live with. With that last thought I’ll bid you good night my friends and “Happy Fall”.
Until today.
This morning started out just like yesterday, cloudy and cool, but unlike yesterday it never cleared up. Yes folks, we had our first rain of the season and Maia and I got a small taste of days to come. I went to the farmer's market in the Cats...that would be three days running visiting the snobby older sister of my neighborhood...for my weekly fruit and veggie run. Then headed to the posh baby store looking for these for Maia. Not in yet, but they'll give me a call when they are. Why don't I order them on line? I will. But I want to hold them first, and buy the first pair with king cash. Then go crazy on the Internet.
Still cloudy and cool weather-wise, which was weird considering it was almost 2 PM at this point. The clouds kept getting angrier looking as I drove to TJ's to finish shopping. Side note: I HATE TJ's on the weekend. It's a small store to begin with and on weekends everyone couple shops (except me...but I have Maia, natch) and makes it even smaller. And with the rain it was even worse...ah yes. Here is the point. We had our first rain this afternoon. I am officially saying goodbye to summer. Yeah, I know it's October. I should have said good-bye weeks ago. But here we are and here comes fall for real.
So Maia experienced her first rain shower this afternoon. Good thing she had on her thick hoodie. Her little almost-bald head was covered as we dashed for the store. I was not so lucky. No hood, no jacket, just a sweater and too long jeans. I wasn't expecting this at all. Good thing I did opt for a sweater at least. This first rain was a heavy wet rain. A good rain, not just a tease of things to come. There was an accident on the freeway, no surprise there. John enjoyed the day for different reasons. He stood outside in the wet watching rain sheet off of HIS roof. A testament to his skill as a roofer. He's been waiting for this moment. But it came none too soon as John finished the garage roof only last weekend. John even climbed into the attic to make sure there were no leaks. There weren't. He may have a new career ahead of him. I joke. It was a job well done as today proved, though.
Also on the list of firsts for the season: Maia ROLLED OVER on her own and I MISSED IT!! She rolled over for Daddy and wouldn't do it again. Little stinker. I'll try and get her to do it for me sometime this week. But we'll be able to report it to her doctor and that will be fun. She's getting big but staying cute so we still like her. *wink*. And rolling over. Geeze. What's next? Sitting up? I'm hoping she'll at least do that for me first, since we spend so much time sitting together.
It's chilly this evening and I have a new book to snuggle up to. That's a comfort and one of the best parts of the season. Tomorrow I'll make my weekly library run...another season of West Wing to acquire. Maybe they'll have Grey's Anatomy or Lost to check out. I always run seasons behind on TV, but this way I get to watch with no commercials. It's a trade off I can live with. With that last thought I’ll bid you good night my friends and “Happy Fall”.
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