Well, I've not been able to comment on a bunch of blogger blogs, plus I really want to be able to use the strike through option for all my hilarity.
For all one of you who read this (and don't worry, I'd keep writing if it were just you. All once a month I manage to write) I've moved.
Come visit. (or I'll start counting. 1 . . . 2 . . .)
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Don't ever lose your keys again
Have you seen one of these before?
It's called a caribiner and mountain climbers used them to make the ropes keep them on the mountain. I use mine to stop my stomach from plummetting to my feet when I reach my car door with a cart full of groceries and can't find my keys.
This little baby has a ring on one side and then a mountain climbing clip on the other side that opens on a spring and attaches easily to pretty much anything. Voila--your keys stay put. I clip my caribiner onto the strap of my diaper bag. or my stroller, or even my belt loop. Fashionable, I know, but I'd much rather look like a dork than be locked out of my house. (And just because it happened once doesn't mean my WFMW isn't valid. Today was a fluke, people.)
Updated to add: I got mine at DollarTree.
I'm flighty and decided to start blogging again
I'm not going to bore you with the details of "we went here and did this" for the last months of my life that I haven't been writing about. Well, that I have been writing about, but not posting about because all the writing seems to be in my head and I can't seem to get things down to my fingers and onto the computer screen.
Suffice it to say that we've moved out of our in laws house again with the solemn promise that We. Will. Never. Move. Back. In. (And you all are in charge of holding me to that promise when I'm facing a studio apartment with a 900 dollar a month price tag).
And I locked all three of us out of the house for the first time since I was thirteen. Luckily we were all together and it was a beautiful day. So the girls and I wandered through neighborhood, waving at neighbors who remember us but (and I do think this is rude) continued to have their own lives while we were gone. And (now this is the really rude part) most of them kind of forgot about us. Which hurts.
I thought that moving back would solve all my problems. But things are about the same. And I still have most of the songs from Charlotte's Web running through my mind on constant repeat. But, at least Tim could come home and unlock the front door for me. And my mother-in-law doesn't have to give me the look that says "Are you really old enough to have children, dear? Keys are so easy to keep track of."
Suffice it to say that we've moved out of our in laws house again with the solemn promise that We. Will. Never. Move. Back. In. (And you all are in charge of holding me to that promise when I'm facing a studio apartment with a 900 dollar a month price tag).
And I locked all three of us out of the house for the first time since I was thirteen. Luckily we were all together and it was a beautiful day. So the girls and I wandered through neighborhood, waving at neighbors who remember us but (and I do think this is rude) continued to have their own lives while we were gone. And (now this is the really rude part) most of them kind of forgot about us. Which hurts.
I thought that moving back would solve all my problems. But things are about the same. And I still have most of the songs from Charlotte's Web running through my mind on constant repeat. But, at least Tim could come home and unlock the front door for me. And my mother-in-law doesn't have to give me the look that says "Are you really old enough to have children, dear? Keys are so easy to keep track of."
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Books of 2007
I've misrepresented myself. I love to read. And not only as a way to put myself to sleep.
I wanted to compile a list of everything I've read with reviews and links and all that stuff, but that's proven to be WAAAAAY too much work. So here's the list haphazard as it may be. If you want more info about anything, leave a comment and I'll be more verbose.
Here's what I can remember reading so far in 2007:
1. Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection (*****): Fascinating read.
2. Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen (NF-Memoir ****): Blogging and french cooking. You must have the ability to stomach A LOT of strong language to get through this book.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (*****) This book gets better every time I read it.
4. Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie (NF ****)
5. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Historical Fiction ***)6. Mary: A Novel (Historical Fiction ****)
7. The Girls: Lori Lansens (*****) Craniopagus siamese twin girls convince you they've lived a normal life. Beautiful writing.
8. Dave Barry's Guide to Money (HUMOR **) that's not the real name, but I'm too lazy to look it up. We "read" this book on CD while we drove cross country. It's Dave Barry. And he's funny. That's it.
9. Bridge to Terabithia (****)
10. The Bell Jar: Sylvia Plath (**) I really wanted to like this book.
11. The Radioactive Boyscout (*)
12. The Lightening Theif, Rick Riordan (J Fiction *****) This is the first in a really funny series that sets characters from Greek Myths in modern days. Highly recommend.
13. Good Wives (NF ****) This book is a good read, but it's much more scholarly (and not in a good way) than her A Midwife's Tale that I read and was inspired by in 2006.
14. A Drowned Maiden's Hair (YA ***)
15. The Memory Keeper's Daughter (*) O.Press.Ive. I had such a hard time with this dark, dark book.
16. The Secrets of A Fire King (Short Stories) This book is also by Kim Edwards who wrote #15. She has a real talent for holding an image in your mind, so I thought I might like her short stories better. And I did.
17. Framed (J Fiction *****) this one is pure fun about how great works of art bring life and joy to a tiny English town.
18. A Dance for Three by Louise Plummer (**)
19. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (*****) I thought it was the right ending for the series and it kept me reading and reading and reading and reading
20. The Botany of Desire (NF ***) This was ok. I feel a little guilty that my favorite part was learning how to cultivate marijuana
21. The Thirteenth Tale (*****) Couldn't put this one down
22. The Ladies Auxiliary (*****) Led the discussion in my book group for this gem. The women in this book are Jewish in Memphis Tennessee, but the totally sound like an LDS Relief Society. Poignant and funny at the same time.
23. Middlesex (*****) Strange that this one is right after the more churchy book and I gave this one 5 stars, too. Because it's about a hermaphrodite. And it is brilliant. The strange anatomy is downplayed because truly it's a book about finding connections with other humans. Read this book.
24. Parallel Play (**)
25. Stormbreaker (YA Graphic Novel **)
26. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (***) I think I like her name the best, but this book is good, too.
27. The Road by Cormac McCarthy (***) This is soooooo different than his other books in a good way. Post apoctalyptic isn't usually my favorite, but this one's ok.
28. The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems (*) yeah right
29. The #1 Ladies Detective Agency (***) couldn't get over the structure. But it's fun.
30. My Sister's Keeper (****) Probably my favorite Jodi Picoult book
31. Welcome to Higby (*) Same author as Ella Minnow Pea, less original.
And some books I didn't make it through:
The 10th Circle
The Folded World
The Corrections
Uglies
The Loud Silence of Francene Green
The Beach House
The Alchymist's Journal
Plus some that I'm excited for:
Lottery
Austenland
Wicked (I'm on page 3)
March
And of course, picture books that we've liked this year:
Grumpy Bird
Not a Box
Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend
The Perfect Nest
Hunches in Bunches
Sleeping Ugly
I wanted to compile a list of everything I've read with reviews and links and all that stuff, but that's proven to be WAAAAAY too much work. So here's the list haphazard as it may be. If you want more info about anything, leave a comment and I'll be more verbose.
Here's what I can remember reading so far in 2007:
1. Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection (*****): Fascinating read.
2. Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen (NF-Memoir ****): Blogging and french cooking. You must have the ability to stomach A LOT of strong language to get through this book.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (*****) This book gets better every time I read it.
4. Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie (NF ****)
5. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Historical Fiction ***)6. Mary: A Novel (Historical Fiction ****)
7. The Girls: Lori Lansens (*****) Craniopagus siamese twin girls convince you they've lived a normal life. Beautiful writing.
8. Dave Barry's Guide to Money (HUMOR **) that's not the real name, but I'm too lazy to look it up. We "read" this book on CD while we drove cross country. It's Dave Barry. And he's funny. That's it.
9. Bridge to Terabithia (****)
10. The Bell Jar: Sylvia Plath (**) I really wanted to like this book.
11. The Radioactive Boyscout (*)
12. The Lightening Theif, Rick Riordan (J Fiction *****) This is the first in a really funny series that sets characters from Greek Myths in modern days. Highly recommend.
13. Good Wives (NF ****) This book is a good read, but it's much more scholarly (and not in a good way) than her A Midwife's Tale that I read and was inspired by in 2006.
14. A Drowned Maiden's Hair (YA ***)
15. The Memory Keeper's Daughter (*) O.Press.Ive. I had such a hard time with this dark, dark book.
16. The Secrets of A Fire King (Short Stories) This book is also by Kim Edwards who wrote #15. She has a real talent for holding an image in your mind, so I thought I might like her short stories better. And I did.
17. Framed (J Fiction *****) this one is pure fun about how great works of art bring life and joy to a tiny English town.
18. A Dance for Three by Louise Plummer (**)
19. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (*****) I thought it was the right ending for the series and it kept me reading and reading and reading and reading
20. The Botany of Desire (NF ***) This was ok. I feel a little guilty that my favorite part was learning how to cultivate marijuana
21. The Thirteenth Tale (*****) Couldn't put this one down
22. The Ladies Auxiliary (*****) Led the discussion in my book group for this gem. The women in this book are Jewish in Memphis Tennessee, but the totally sound like an LDS Relief Society. Poignant and funny at the same time.
23. Middlesex (*****) Strange that this one is right after the more churchy book and I gave this one 5 stars, too. Because it's about a hermaphrodite. And it is brilliant. The strange anatomy is downplayed because truly it's a book about finding connections with other humans. Read this book.
24. Parallel Play (**)
25. Stormbreaker (YA Graphic Novel **)
26. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (***) I think I like her name the best, but this book is good, too.
27. The Road by Cormac McCarthy (***) This is soooooo different than his other books in a good way. Post apoctalyptic isn't usually my favorite, but this one's ok.
28. The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems (*) yeah right
29. The #1 Ladies Detective Agency (***) couldn't get over the structure. But it's fun.
30. My Sister's Keeper (****) Probably my favorite Jodi Picoult book
31. Welcome to Higby (*) Same author as Ella Minnow Pea, less original.
And some books I didn't make it through:
The 10th Circle
The Folded World
The Corrections
Uglies
The Loud Silence of Francene Green
The Beach House
The Alchymist's Journal
Plus some that I'm excited for:
Lottery
Austenland
Wicked (I'm on page 3)
March
And of course, picture books that we've liked this year:
Grumpy Bird
Not a Box
Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend
The Perfect Nest
Hunches in Bunches
Sleeping Ugly
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Somewhere in the world there is a woman with a cute wash and wear hairstyle and I want it
Whoever said that short hair is easier to maintain is wrong.
And whoever said that it's just hair and it will grow back was also wrong.
I want my ponytail back and I want it now. I do not want this cute A-line Katie Holmes-esque bob that is the fifth cut on the road from Natalie Portman back to the mom whose-long-hair-although-not-very-clean-is-at least-up-in-a-ponytail-out-of-her-eyes. With this blog as my witness, I will never copy cat a celebrity hairstyle again.
I'm cranky (even with all the nice comments everyone left me for WFMW) because my mother-in-law is out of town and that means I'm that in addition to herding kids away from the least sharp edges of a very un-kidfriendly house, keeping breakables intact, cleaning around other people's stuff, and cooking for my family as well as my father-in-law and sister-in-law: both of whom can't make a sandwhich.
And because I'm living a lie. See, I started this blog to "keep up with technology" and I've been so proud of my links and my blogroll. But today it took me 15 minutes to reprogram the clock on the microwave. Then Deirdre crawled over, pounded on the laptop once, and taught me there's a button on the keyboard that brings up the calculator on the computer screen. Genius. I had no idea.
So I'm a phoney. With really bad hair.
And whoever said that it's just hair and it will grow back was also wrong.
I want my ponytail back and I want it now. I do not want this cute A-line Katie Holmes-esque bob that is the fifth cut on the road from Natalie Portman back to the mom whose-long-hair-although-not-very-clean-is-at least-up-in-a-ponytail-out-of-her-eyes. With this blog as my witness, I will never copy cat a celebrity hairstyle again.
I'm cranky (even with all the nice comments everyone left me for WFMW) because my mother-in-law is out of town and that means I'm that in addition to herding kids away from the least sharp edges of a very un-kidfriendly house, keeping breakables intact, cleaning around other people's stuff, and cooking for my family as well as my father-in-law and sister-in-law: both of whom can't make a sandwhich.
And because I'm living a lie. See, I started this blog to "keep up with technology" and I've been so proud of my links and my blogroll. But today it took me 15 minutes to reprogram the clock on the microwave. Then Deirdre crawled over, pounded on the laptop once, and taught me there's a button on the keyboard that brings up the calculator on the computer screen. Genius. I had no idea.
So I'm a phoney. With really bad hair.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Works for Me Wednesday: Count Down to Bedtime
Every single night, sneak into your sleeping children's rooms and marvel at their tiny hands, their peaceful faces, and their fragile but capable bodies. Take a minute to be glad they aren't jumping off the arm of the couch, rubbing peaches into their scalp, or pouring water out of the bathtub one cup at a time. Enjoy how innocent they look, and laugh a little bit, because that SO isn't like them.
But after that minute, lean in close and kiss their foreheads. Remember that if it weren't for you they wouldn't exist. You would never have met this unique, exasperating, glorious human that lives right in your own house and who is going to wake up elated to see you in just a few short hours. Let yourself be a little frightened and completely awed by that thought. Kiss them again if you need to.
And then stand up and look around the room and ENJOY this tranquil moment with your child safe and asleep in your house. It won't last as long as you think. And no matter what this book says, if you drive across town, climb in a window, and rock your sleeping, grown-up son, the police think that's breaking and entering.
But after that minute, lean in close and kiss their foreheads. Remember that if it weren't for you they wouldn't exist. You would never have met this unique, exasperating, glorious human that lives right in your own house and who is going to wake up elated to see you in just a few short hours. Let yourself be a little frightened and completely awed by that thought. Kiss them again if you need to.
And then stand up and look around the room and ENJOY this tranquil moment with your child safe and asleep in your house. It won't last as long as you think. And no matter what this book says, if you drive across town, climb in a window, and rock your sleeping, grown-up son, the police think that's breaking and entering.
Blanket, anyone?
Right now the house is decorated in Contemporary American Blanket. A "swimming pool" at the bottom of the stairs, a nest on the couch, a picnic, two lily pads, a pirate ship and two girls cuddled up fast asleep with theirs.
I'm going to find one of my own.
I'm going to find one of my own.
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