ay que vida!

{February}

2012-02-17T03:11:00.002-08:00

I have said this before, and I will say it again, ...February is my least favorite month.
It just seems to drag on forever!
We try to do things, and stay busy so that it will not drag on...
but seriously...
Isn't February over Yet??
Yesterday I thought it was going to be halfway warm outside so
I did not wear my heavy coat...and then all day long it was raining, and
the rain was a cold cold rain--that chills you to the bone.
I have had a cold for about 10 days...and I think the only thing that will make
the cold go away, is
March!

I like...

2012-02-15T18:16:00.000-08:00

Oysters...and Barbeque, and pickles, and steak cooked medium rare, and olives...and raw veggies...
This is Elena by the way..who likes --well, what she likes and sometimes it amazes me. She also likes egg rolls and egg drop soup..and well the list goes on...mostly topped by BUTTER!!
That is Eva's matted hair there. :) We had just bathed and her hair had not been {attacked} combed yet.
But this past Saturday night we all had oysters, and I will say that Elena wanted every one I would give her.
Since becoming a nurse, Andy is extra careful about cooking oysters and we grilled these and then steamed them...I hope all the sh*t germs were cooked away, but I will say they were DELICIOUS! They are the filters of the sea, you know.. of course you do! Despite the fact that I tell Elena this, she still loves them, and dip one in butter...she will claim it! :) She will NOT eat MC --{anything}
Victor and Eva...not so much.
What I do find perplexing is that not one child of mine will eat Macaroni and cheese, or Chef Boyardee...
WITW???
I do not spend much time making those {and begging} anymore, or wondering...i just grab a jar of olives...and chill out! :)

I want one!!!

2012-02-15T03:07:00.000-08:00

This picture was on my homepage this morning and here is the link so you can read about this teeny tiny little chameleon.
I have always wanted a chameleon...and have blogged about it here--back in 2009 probably. :)
This morning I found this article about a newly discovered species of teeny tine chameleons that live in Madagascar--OMG!! They are very very cute, and well, I want one. :)

So, if you want to read the article here is the link

Tiny Chameleon Article

Happy Wednesday....Mine is going to be...I am going to daydream about tiny Chameleons all day long, I just know it!

I do...and {we} did...

2012-02-14T18:17:00.001-08:00

celebrate Valentine's day!
I have picture evidence, however, it is trapped in the camera--and will be for days.
:)
My biggest Valentine's day surprise was....
A dessert spread in the workroom at school!!
I mean full of yummy, beautiful treats made by school moms for us!
How sweet?!
I ate til my stomach was full and my sweet tooth content.
There were perfectly decorated sugar cookies...the ever-trendy whoopie pies --chocolate with pink icing...
there were pound cakes and all kinds of cookies....
The table was just gorgeous!
We all enjoyed it.

Thanks PTA moms!
Thanks thoughtful people.
I love a sweet surprise, and from the smiling faces around school,
I think nearly everyone did.

Pink, Red, White, Chocolate, Sugar, fun clothes, hearts, kisses....
I mean what's not to love?

My Town Monday {Jardines parte dos}

2012-02-13T17:43:00.001-08:00

So these are pictures of {another} garden.

This one is at a very fancy house...wrought iron fence--

They have a gardener--I have seen him...

The pictures do not do this place justice--The picture in the middle--I tried to zoom in a bit

b/c in the backyard there are fountains..and all kinds of beautiful plants.

And I got a good shot of the palm tree--don't know when those started growing here...

but apparently sometime in the years we were {gone from here} it became a big trend to plant these, and they live--Maybe thanks to {global warming}??

Anyway, there is a world of difference b/t this and the plastic garden from last week, but they are both

certainly beautiful. :)

I bet the lady who does her own {enjoys} hers more....

I think I do too, and her neighbor even came out to {speak}. :)

Today I did not get shots of the backyard b/c I was too tired to walk around the corner...I just

sort of did a drive by photo sesh...

Okay--I am off to visit with Andy for a bit...

Happy Monday..

and

Happy Valentine's day tomorrow!

Big days {update!} :)

2012-02-11T18:26:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow will be a BIG day for us.
We are cooking 500 chicken plates... yes. 500 of them, all to benefit a beloved family.
When I say we I mean the circle at church..the one that I am the {leader} of.
Now...I know I just ended a sentence with a preposition, and yes it bothers me...but it
is the truth.
I am the leader of a circle at church.
Leader.
The chicken dinner was not my idea...I do not think {big}.
My idea was to do a donation or something to remember our friend Juliana each month for
13 months of grieving..but
one of my fellow circle members is a big thinker.
She said to me, "why don't we do a benefit dinner...??? we could raise lots of money to help
{this family}."
I am nothing if not {brutally honest}.
I said "ughh..okay..we could do this, but I have to warn you, I do not do
well on the grand scale.."
Luckily...she said..with all her guts, "I do."
I agreed we should and now we are...
Well, tomorrow we will be dishing up 500 chicken plates!!
yep..so here we go!
The plates will have a sweet potato, a roll, some seasoned green beans, and
a quarter of a chicken--barbequed to yummy perfection!
I am not even nervous.
:)
The chicken that the men at church make is the yummiest!!
All 500 plates are sold....

Go us!
Go us?
Go us!

Go Patrick and children and grandmas...

We did it!!
We all worked and worked, and cooked and waited and dipped...and smiled and handed out plates
and in the end we did something, together, that will mean so much to this grieving family. All the comments that I heard were very positive--most people commented on how well planned the whole thing was.
There was a little confusion with tickets and making sure we had enough food. ...that was a bit hard.

Sweethearts

2012-02-11T04:45:00.000-08:00

You know, these candies, made by Necco are some of my favorite treats, each Valentine's day I sure eat my share!
Here is a link with the story of these, of course, I did not write this article, so see the by line for who did --we do have to give credit where credit is due! :)
The story

I give these out to my students too.
The first graders have a good time reading them.
I have a good time giving them out.
Yesterday we ate some big ones--inside the purple ones--was blue!
A {mystery} for sure...we all laughed--the students and I.
Look at the messages..."text me"! and "tweet me"!

Now, there are whole boxes of Chocolate Necco hearts...talk about yummy!
and there are whole boxes of sour ones...yummy too!

Have a great Saturday!

Things I miss...

2012-02-10T17:49:00.000-08:00

I miss sushi at Akai Hana in Carrboro

I miss Spiced Chai ice storms from the cafe outside of Nordstrom--heaven in a plastic cup--all for four dollars!

I miss hiking at the Eno river--hills and a creek...and rocks, and clear river water

I miss Wavelengths hair salon on Ninth St. in Durham..and my favorite girl, Kate!! Haven't seen her in a year and a half--and it shows, trust me. :(

I miss the Whole Foods in Durham that was just a zip away from our house...a zip--and nothing cures PMS like some expensive, rare, exotic organic veggies...I mean really..

I miss Lara Bars--would you believe, you cannot buy these in Beaufort County...there are barely any in the big college town of Greenville either..I mean there are some, but there are two flavors to choose from.

I miss bubble teas from my favorite little Vietnamese restaurant in Durham, that is probably closed now.
:(
I miss all of these so badly...and really --we do not have money or time for me to zip to Durham to satisfy my cravings...

Would I leave Washington and living at home for all of these?
Of course not!
But let me tell you, this place is not big on variety of consumer goods...You better like the stuff here b/c it takes time and gas and money to go elsewhere to get different stuff...
And there is not a lot to choose from here...
I mean they have even changed our Dairy Queen to some other weird ice cream place--that is really not appealing to me...Not that Dairy Queen really was either...

Announcing!!!

2012-02-09T18:11:00.000-08:00

Well, anything and everything that
has to do with the five senses.
Yep! Eva is the family announcer.
"Mommy ur bref stinksssss." (Eva does not have a lisp, and /l/ and /s/ are her favorite sounds to really enunciate.
"Dicter (victor) pooted. OOOHHH Dicter ur stinky ur need a baf."
"Elena burped, ha ha ha, elena burped, Mommy."
"Daddy pooted, uuuu , ur butt stinks daddy, you pooted daddy ha ha ha ha!!"
"Mommy you feel soft, ur pretty mommy."
"I don't like dat hamburger, it is bery stinky, Mommy, it stinks, I not like it."
"Spot pooted, he needs a baf, mommy, he stinky."

She is very observant, and she also announces everything...don't even think you are
going to sneak anything by her...nope! She is particularly keen on announcing bodily functions, and she is particularly turned off by them...so she won't be ur friend for a while if you are making noises, or if you are stinky...

80's flashback

2012-02-09T03:21:00.000-08:00

To me fashion designers take the easy way out when they
re-visit an older decade and just re-do what was happening then.
The fashions deciders of the world have been trying to
bring back the 80's looks for about five years now it seems like to me....
But finally it is like there is a {BLAST} of 80's style, and the
copying is so obvious it is like someone opened a trunk of clothes I wore
in the fifth grade!!
Here is a pair of pants I have seen on my internet shopping trips
two times lately...these just keep popping out at me!!

They are not popping out at me b/c I want them...
Oh no! People with Beyoncee{esque} legs like mine generally do not adorn
them with gigantic blooms, nor do we wrap them in day glo yellow denim...
EEEKKK!!
But I will say --I had a pair of jean shorts from CATO when I was in the fifth grade--there looked
almost exactly like this pair of pants!!! no kidding. That was 1989.
So there.
Right now it seems like the trend makers are a bit confused...they also love to squeeze in 70's looks, and have been for a while now.... are the 70's gone {again}? Oh. No. They are not, b/c I have seen the flare leg (bell bottom) jeans with the high waist on many jeans web sites....
Those are a direct contrast to the jegging, or the skinny bottom tight rolled jeans of the 80's ...so
maybe they are trying to tell us to just go ahead and wear what we like.
I am a fan of many styles of jeans--as long as my entire rear fits in the rear compartment, and they are not what I call {ass} pants--b/c they were designed by and A$$. :)

The ones up there are from Citizens of Humanity. This is a brand of pants that I generally cannot and do not afford, but I have friend who do, and occasionally I shop with them, also they are from my favorite store--and website to shop on...

Right this minute...{updated}

2012-02-06T17:05:00.000-08:00

I am on the phone in a town hall meeting with Rep. Walter B. Jones.
He is from Farmville, NC
He is my representative, I reckon...
This is very interesting.

He does not seem like a {bad guy} on the phone.
As a matter of fact, we probably agree on most things...

I am noticing that they are predominately asking men to ask questions...
and I am wondering if they can hear me eating in the phone.

hmmm...
Let's see what else this guy has to say.

I liked what he said about oil drilling...
Very {smooth} answer politically...
He said, "The states need to decide about
any kind of oil exploration within their states."
To me..this means..ugh..no...we do not want to drill off of OUR beaches..
b/c, to be honest, I really do not think we should...
I think he agrees with me, b/c he did not agree with the
{question} asker--who stated, "Don't you think we ought to
just drill, frack, frick, and drill and drill some more here and there and
everywhere....Don't you think we should do that/??"
From what I could tell...he said, "no."
He said it in a politically astute way.

Okay...
Then I listened more..
I listened for about 40 minutes total.
It was interesting ---
He is very all about the border with Mexico, and making sure people do not cross it
without the proper paperwork.
He also told someone he has a number they can call, and have
someone deported???
Has anyone else heard of this?? sounds a bit...Oh, I don't know..
like the {inquisition} to me...
oohh... I am gonna call that number on you!!
{strange}.
People are still thinking that all the Mexicans are coming here and taking our jobs..
STILL.
I happen to be reading a book on that very topic right now...
so, you know, I feel like an expert and all. ;).
ha!

Finally Andy said to me, "are you still listening to that, Susan?? Hang up!"
You see, he had just gotten off work, and the kiddies were still running around the house.
Soooooo I had to hang up and help out my tired hubby!
Goodnight Mr. Congressman.

My Town Monday {gardens}

2012-02-06T02:10:00.000-08:00

When I go to work/school from my Mama and Daddy's house, or when I leave work and go to my Mama's, this house is on the way. Right across from the school there is a large section of {projects} or low income gov't housing, and they have been there for a long time. One might even call it an established neighborhood, if these ever went up for sale. They are well-maintained, and really don't look bad. One little lady in this neighborhood takes her yard work very seriously, as you can see!
She has so many plastic flowers out there--it looks like a fairy wonderland!!
When I pulled up to take these pictures the girls were in the backseat oooohing and aaaahing and telling how beautiful it was, and then the neighbor came out and told me--"oh yes, that is Ms. Sarah's yard, she really takes that work seriously, she loves her yard, and works so hard in it...if only she could get some grass to grow!" :)--this made me smile all over.
See the little fences, and the white, plastic geese? Her lot is a corner lot--so she lots of room to work...
and she takes it all!
We talked a bit more about the grass, and the reason it won't grow is b/c of all of those giant trees! yay trees! I bet Ms. Sara appreciates that shade too, lest her plastic flowers fade too fast, and have to be replaced constantly.
As I drove away I was just picturing a little old lady at the dollar general, and the dollar tree picking through the plastic flowers admiring them, and planning where to put them in her yard!
Isn't it beautiful!

Super {what?}

2012-02-05T17:38:00.000-08:00

I am not even watching that thing...
Nope.
We had a whole {lazy} Sunday of eating...lazing, we did some
crafts, and watched Tangled together.
Now, we= Me, Elena, Victor, and Eva--oh, and Spot--Andy
had to work.

He is home now, and I think he is watching it.
Madonna for half time...
I hope she covers up those chicken legs of hers...the
last time I saw her dancing around in a leotard and leg warmers,
I just felt sorry for her,
1. That she does not realize that she looks geriatric, and
2. that she has no {friends} who will tell her she should really go with
yoga pants at this point...
Fine to dance--but those gams...look like Gram's.

Now, I will go and read a book...
See? I really could not care less about the
Super...{what?}...

Does this freak anyone else out???

2012-02-04T05:33:00.001-08:00

Whenever I see her on T.V--
I just sort of wince..
I mean that helmet...and that super-pointy face (which I know she can't help)
There is no balance there...
Hard hair, hard/pointy face...

EEeEEEk!!

Run around....

2012-02-04T05:18:00.000-08:00

So, this morning, Andy is mad!
Andy really does not get mad that often...and when he does--well, it is impressive b/c
he is usually very calm.
The reason:
oh...think back to the auto accident I recently had.
Now, think of the most convoluted process you can {POSSIBLY IMAGINE}.
Then, know that that is what I am dealing with.
We have always used the same insurance company.
We have never had to deal with anyone from there with a wreck situation.
So there.
Now we have, and let's just say...we are {not} in good hands. ;).

It really makes me wonder--what is the point of having a local guy be
an insurance agent.
What is the point of his lovely little brick building up on 15th st.?
Since this wreck happened he has NOT DONE ONE THING!!!
Andy had to take my car to a different little brick building IN GREENVILLE to have it inspected.
Last Saturday a lady called me FROM RALEIGH, to record a statement, and then
my {claims agent} --also in RALEIGH has not even listened to the recorded
statement--nor has she bothered to get the police report.
So, ask yourself--did she have her ducks in a row yesterday when
I talked to her and she informed me that the girl who hit me
does in fact have insurance..and they say that the wreck was {my fault}...and
"do I want to just go ahead and accept liability?"--even though
they have not heard my recorded statement--nor have they
solicited the wreck report from the Greenville P.D?????

ARE YOU KIDDING ME PEOPLE????
THIS HAS TO BE A FREAKING JOKE!!!

Now, I did call our local girl up yesterday...oh, ,yeah...
a little Morgan sneaked out too..
I told her--I am so mad right now, I can hardly get a good breath...
and then I told her...I am just wondering why I have had to talk to four different people
--none of whom work in your office, and why THIS IS SO CONVOLUTED!!

Andy is really upset...yeah..
But I told him..you know what--the truth is the truth...
She came out of her lane--and sideswiped my car..SHE HIT ME!!
So, it was her fault--
And you know what else--people lie--and they get out of stuff..
So, you know what..it is Saturday, and we are not going to worry about this today.

We will think about this again on Monday--
When {I think} he is going to go in the lovely brick building on 15th st.
and give them the what for.
AND--when Andy has to do that--I love it...It works so much better when
he does it!! {Yippie}!

See a change???

2012-02-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

So this is very interesting.

A while ago--as in last summer--in a bout of curiosity
I signed up for an acct. to put ads on my blog.

I filled in all the spaces, and then I clicked--"go for it"
or whatever...
Well, I guess it did not work then...but it is now???
That is fine with me.
You know, I do talk about stuff I like on here...and
if there are ads..well, they are everywhere else too.
Supposedly I might earn a little jingle in the process...and
I am sure this means..
LITTLE--and I am sure it will be mostly--change. :)
That is fine too...I am just going to see how it goes.

just in case you were wondering...
I am--sort of..???

A breakfast conversation

2012-02-02T17:58:00.001-08:00

Yesterday morning Victor came out of the dining room into the kitchen and said:
"Mama? Don't our brains tell us everything to do, isn't our brain what does our thinking?
Mama? Right, Mama?"
I said, "Yes. Victor, that is right, our brain is what tells our bodies what to do, our brain
is what we think with, it is what we use for thinking..."
Then he said, "Well, Mama, can you please go and tell Elena that, because she keeps saying that
our heart is what tells us what to do, and we think with our hearts..., so can you please go
and tell her...???"

These things...that children say!!
So, of course..you know I had to correct myself---and my son...
"Well, you know, Elena is right too, and our hearts actually do think a lot
and help us make decisions..so Elena is right too."

He didn't say anything back--he was probably off to his next something to do. :)

MRI {news}

2012-02-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

So, this morning my father in law went with me to the Dr.'s appt.
He is a Dr.
He was also available to go with me--Andy had to work.
In this situation, I thought it might be really ideal to have another set
of ears listening when the ENT doc. was telling me the
what's up.
Well...
There is nothing growing in my head!! :)
Yay!
This means that the sudden loss of hearing that I experienced was a medical mystery.
This really does happen to people--and no one knows why.
So, I was just really glad about this--namely b/c I really
did not want there to be anything growing in there on my auditory nerve
or anywhere else for that matter! :)

Okay-- I am off to read kiddie books to kids--and have them read to me.

A yummy salad

2012-02-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

Here it is:

Arugula --or if you don't like that kind, green leaf lettuce
Beets
Oranges
Pistachio nuts
Goat cheese

Dressing:
Olive oil
lemon juice
kosher salt
pepper
a bit of minced garlic

ommm...
Y'all this is the yummiest thing ever.

I saw some version of this recipe in a magazine yesterday when I took Elena
for her allergy shot. I memorized the recipe--the best I could.
Last night after a meeting I could not resist--I went to Food Lion and bought
fresh beets--a first--
I bought pistachio nuts in a jar already shelled--9.00...{pricey}.
This AM---I put the beets in the oven while I got ready and they cooked until soft.
Then I put them in cold water, the peelings came off all by themselves
and I diced the beets--so they would be ready this afternoon.

This afternoon all I had to do was whip out the beets--
Make the dressing--which had a bit of beet juice in it, so it was pink (hello Valentine's day recipe)
Then I cut up an orange, and put all the salad ingredients together.
I chose green leaf lettuce b/c really, arugula--it is just too bitter for my taste buds..
I don't like for my lettuce bites to make me wince.

I am just saying--this is a WONDERFUL SALAD--and it is also
BEAUTIFUL.
I took pictures {of course} but they are in the camera and the battery is charging right now.

Beets are beautiful!
Also, they have a good dirt taste that I crave sometimes--like a raw peanut has...
sort of --well, like dirt..

yum!!

No guilt

2012-01-31T18:28:00.000-08:00

So... just posting that this A.M. led me to my photo opportunity...just across the street from my school.
But since I am a rules girl..you will have to wait to see the my town pictures.
It did lead to an exciting interaction with a cute little lady. :)
She did wonder, of course, why I was stopping, and standing in the middle of the road to take
pictures of her neighbor's yard...{of course}.
I told her and we talked a bit.

Then it was off to my Mama's house to pick up my home-made veggie soup and sausage biscuits.
She cooks for us, y'all.
She does this all the time...and
I LOVE IT.
My only true worry is that I will forget how to cook.
We don't cook with recipes...it is a common sense thing..you cook, say a roast, or
a chicken..and some stuff to go with it..just cooking..pots, peas, rice etc.
No recipes.
I used to be able to...I am really out of practice.
Do I feel guilty?...sometimes.
My children are not watching me cook, like I did my Mama...
but then...NO!
I let it go!
We have healthy, yummy food--we know Grandmama made it...and
IT IS GOOD!

Then I got home and my house was spotless...b/c thanks to another
LETTING GO OF GUILT
I have had someone coming to clean every other week...and
let's just say..the weeks fly by!!
It is absolutely worth every freaking penny to come home and have one's home
looking like a hotel room.
EVERY Penny!!
You see, if you have a Type A personality...and you want things to be straight and clean
then having to be around dirtiness--it is maddening.
If you do not have this Type A thing..then God Bless you!
But type A cannot be helped.
Having a dirty house makes me ill.
For a long time I really struggled with paying someone to wipe pee of the toilets...
{EMBARRASSING}
But then...in a moment of weakness I caved..and
man I am glad I did.
When both adults work full time, it is really unreasonable to think that
the house will get cleaned up, and stay clean.
We do not spend our time {off} cleaning...
Or, really--I would try to, and then have VBIs all the time.

So, this day was made do-able by the fact that supper was cooked.
Sheets were washed and changed.
Floors were swept and mopped.
Bathrooms were scrubbed.
And I did none of it!
What DID I do?
Speech therapy with 22 children, take Elena for her allergy shots,
Read to my children and dip their plates, brush their teeth, tuck them in , go to a meeting,
Oh, and I also had to wash the rugs and towels etc. and fold them up, and
put some fresh ones in there...some reason Elena does not do this...I am not sure why.
Also, I have to remake the bottoms of the beds with hospital corners..which I guess
she does not know how to do..b/c if one knows how to do the hospital
corner...there is no substitute..

Okay--good night! I am off to comfy clean sheets. :)--guilt free!

What happened??

2012-01-31T03:01:00.000-08:00

Let's see...
I am thinking that a regular Monday post is just something I set
up for myself to rebel against...
Isn't that so funny?
It is a {great} idea...
BUT--I am not feeling the inspiration at the time
I need to feel it in order to make the post happen.

For example, yesterday I took my camera with me.
I was going to take a couple pictures..
and the...nope!
Didn't do it..
Talked myself right out of it..

If you know me, you know that I have ideas...
They are all flowing and bouncing around in my head right now.
BUT--to take the camera, and take the pictures, and then post too...
It just does not all line up for some reason.

I am going to make a list of my ideas here...then you can be on the lookout for
the post...
*The {not so secret} garden/contrasted with a more {traditional} one.
**Fall aparty little houses--contrasted with some of the biggies and grandies...
*I already did big, beautiful river--compared to the creeky part--and I was not too pleased with the result of that attempt to let you see how it really looks...I might keep trying.
**Places to buy seafood--this is a fun one
*A story that someone told at Juliana's funeral about people here

So see, that is four weeks of Mondays--I missed this one...so I will not post my garden post on
a different day. I will stick to Monday--no reason...just b/c I started out that way. :)

Island update

2012-01-29T03:11:00.000-08:00

So we have been using the Island...See? It has grout. See? The blue tape has been ever-so-delicately removed to reveal the beautiful Mahogany stain!! See? hee hee...

It is a {VERY BLUE} island.

I am also in the process of having my sofa recovered to be--denim--so our house is becoming more and more shades of blue/blue green/aqua--I am thinking I will back off at any time...maybe some beige curtains for the living room??? --The stools that will go here are counter height bar chairs--they have backs, and they swivel (have fun kids). We are just waiting on those, and then that little {back breaker} table back there...It is a goner--from the kitchen at least. :)

So long...

2012-01-28T03:20:00.000-08:00

Y'all!!!

Something bad is going down here this weekend.
The Blockbuster is CLOSING!!!
This is really bad.
I like to go into the movie store and browse.
I LOVE to go into the movie store and get 99Cent family movies for my children to watch.

Now...all we have is the red box --all over town.
I know, I know--welcome to the second decade of the 2,000sands...
BUT--This is just sad to me.
Now, that is going to be an empty building.
The guy who worked in there was THE PERFECT MOVIE STORE GUY.
He always cracked corny jokes etc.
Now he says he is, "leaving the company."
:(

So. Sad.

Yes. I am fully aware that the way to get a movie these days is to
order it piped from Netflix or wherever directly into your t.v.--I have
even seen this done!
But that is just not the same to me...
I guess I had better get on finding out how to do it. :)
I think that might involve buying some machine--
wii? x-box?? something...
or, I can just go to redbox--like everyone else..

So long B-buster! We will miss you!!

Mama! Mama!

2012-01-26T16:50:00.000-08:00

We need the camera!!

We found a bird's nest!!
I am not sure where in the yard this little cutie is...
I am sure it is old..not time for new nests yet, but I just loved the excitement in their voices when they
came in to tell me that they wanted to go and take this picture.
Of course, I let them take the camera outside and take the picture.

When I had Elena someone told me, Always remember, "Every age is the best age."
That way you will not pine away over some lost aspect of your children growing up.
They are so fun to watch all along.
I am loving their technological sophistication.
They want I-pods, they work my camera, they play on Starfall...
FUN!

I think that advice was the best piece I ever got.

Ear update...

2012-01-25T16:37:00.000-08:00

So, yes.
I have to update!
I am on day five of steroids and my hearing has improved!
It is very interesting.
When you check the hearing you consider two factors...
The pitch of the sound (frequency--measured in Herz)
Then, the sound level that the person can hear at any given
frequency--the dB-or decibel level.

So when my hearing was out last week--I was fine until 2000 hz.
At that frequency I could not hear until the sound level was at 45 dB.
Now my threshold--the lowest sound you need to really be able to hear--
is back at 20--for that frequency.

Now, at 4,000 hz it was terrible--my old threshold was at 65 dB
Now, it is down to 40.

I am thinking this is good.

I noticed after one day of steroids that my ear felt less...
heavy?
I am not sure--it just felt different.
Then I began to notice that when it was ringing--
it was ringing at a lower frequency.

So there...I have six days of steroids left...
Then an MRI--I am thinking they still want to double
check and make sure there is nothing weird
on my auditory nerve or in my cochlea! :)

Something {fun} to try!

2012-01-25T15:58:00.000-08:00

I have been looking at BB creams--a new make-up/skin care trend for a while.

I have been shopping/browsing online.

Clinique has one, so I went to Belk (shop locally) to get some--or at least try a sample.

Well, the Clinique counter did not have any yet, but Estee Lauder did.

I LOVE BB CREAM!

You put it on before your powder.

It has moisturizer, SPF, and anti-aging.

Very cool.

It is a cream with a bit of tint in it, and there are only two shades right now.

For my pink/red undertones I needed the shade number one.

This is the coolest idea..and very {fun} to me.

Can make-up be fun...well, yes. When I buy something that makes me happy when I

get to put it on my face in the AM before a long day of work... I think that is very worth it.

You know, too, when you buy from Clinique or Estee Lauder counters--if

you don't like the stuff, you just take it back--so really no harm in trying it.

They did not pay me to write this...but man I wish they would! :)

What an easy way to {be happy} in 2012-go get you some! :)

My Town Monday

2012-01-23T14:53:00.000-08:00

Right in the middle of town...the river is little it is in big ditches. This is behind the dry cleaners, the building in the background is a seafood market--where the dry cleaners used to be..hmm.hmm..yeah, we don't go to that one. :)

This is a creek--right beside the river--Jack's creek, it has been dammed up and the ducks and geese love it.--See how all the trash gets backed up here? In the summer time this entire creek gets covered over with green goop! I am not sure if they skim it off eventually, or if it goes away on its own with the tides etc.

Then, here is my visitor's scene taken by my own camera. Over in the trees sticking out is the prettiest neighborhood in our town, to me--Washington Park...I will take some pictures there too...see how wide the river is there? When the sun is sparkling on it --it is beautiful!

This is the pier that is at the park--from that same parking lot....
It was cloudy here today.

Soap Box--intro to 2012

2012-01-22T03:09:00.000-08:00

It is a bit early...and I am a bit off balance--with all of this ear trouble...
but here goes...i promised. :)

I have had an idea over the past several months--
When it is time to vote again, on your legislators--for the U.S. house and senate--
and the N.C. one for that matter--look at who the incumbent {idiot} is, and
DO NOT VOTE FOR THEM.
I cannot believe these people get paid all of the money they make and cannot do any
better of a job getting together and getting something done--than what they have been doing.
Do you know how much money they make?--I bet it's over double what I make...if all
I did was go to work and argue and act like a disagreeable fool--I would get
marched--
They all need to go--Democrat/Republicans--all of em!!
Just vote for the other person on the ballot--no matter who in the hell it is..
I am betting they will get more/better done than what these clowns are accomplishing.
Who cares if women have a right to choose--when our country is going so broke
and everything is falling apart so badly that we are not even going to have a stable
secure infrastructure--hell! We won't even have public health depts. at this rate!
Who cares if gay people get married??? I mean really--is this the issue to be focused on?
Medicare and Social security are going broke--loved any old people lately?
AND--Our freaking post office--THE MAIL DELIVERY is barely making it, and the
gov't is saying they can't even help that dept...
What in the world--I mean do we live in third world country?
We're gonna soon...
We need to just switch every single one of them out...for some
other people.
Sure they will be from the same silver spoon/idiot stock--but at least this will send a message:
We are not apathetic.
We know who you are? (do you know who your elected idiots are?)
We will fire you if you do not get your ass up there and make
some grown up decisions. :)
Thank you very much.

**And just in case you are wondering..I do not think this is Obama's fault.
I think he is a very rational person, who inherited a lot of debt--from and "idiot dauphin" to quote someone I recently read--and has had a very hard time fixing ANYTHING when he is dealing with a bunch of punk a**holes.

Back to N.C.--
We cannot have a republican controlled legislature here.
It does not work.
We have not had one since shortly after the civil war...and we should never have one again.
Let's face it folks--we are a Democrat state.
You can get on your moral high horse all you want...but ask yourself these questions:
Do your children go to public schools?
Do your grandchildren go to public schools?
Does anyone in your family work for public schools?
In my county the public schools is one of the biggest employers.
We have a very poor economy here.
ummm.....
Republicans DO NOT CARE ABOUT PUBLIC SCHOOLS AT ALL
Wanna know why?
Their children go to the private ones, dear people.
In my county--NO ONE GOES TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS--THE ONES HERE ARE ALL
AT CHURCHES AND TAUGHT BY PREACHERS WIVES--MANY OF WHOM DID NOT GO TO COLLEGE. mmmm kay???
The legislators have actually referred to public education as a business!!
A business!!
umm...last I checked, the public education system is a public pursuit.
It is a system set up to achieve a goal, called an educated populace.
While I know that many in our legislature cannot believe this...
We all want our children educated!! NEWSFLASH!!
Next year, in my county...they have cut money so much--and the county is supposed to come up with more..and we have zero money for the maintenance budget--zero. No money to maintain the school buildings.
They are going to get rid of all the assistants.
and...just recently the legislature added five calendar days to the school year--and did not fund
the five days!!
Have you ever?
Meanwhile--the counties are supposed to pay for the five days...and the counties have no money...

This is piss poor decision making folks..
Piss poor.

I could say even uglier stuff...but I say--we all find out the names of all of our legislative dumbos and kick them to the curb (figuratively of course).

Now I am climbing down--that felt SO GOOD!!

Going on a picnik

2012-01-21T13:39:00.000-08:00

I have been on a bloggy roll today!

These are posts I have been meaning to do, and have not had the time.

Elena designed the one for spot--caption and all.

I'm in love with an island...

2012-01-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

Luis came yesterday and put the tile on my island! There is no grout yet. Isn't it the best!?? :)
It still lacks the three stools I picked out to go with it--those are being paid for in installments.
hmm hmm... :) I have one more left to pay, and then I can pick them up. Stools are expensive btw..
Never knew this until I took my trip to the furniture store to pick some out. If you want to buy some that are made in China of particle board--they might not be that much. If you want the ones made in Amerka and finished in N.C.--they are pricier. I am sort of a "you get what you pay for" person..and also will probably keep the same stools forever (I am my mama's child).

So last night Mr. Luis came to put the tile on my island!
Yippie!!!
My children--and Andy were enthralled. It is fun to watch someone who knows what they are doing.
I asked Luis if this makes him nervous..he said--nah! So Luis had to do a bit of creative placement to avoid having to cut of 1/16 of an inch from both sides of the tile--he and Andy figured a way to avoid that cutting.
So this meant careful and meticulous placement of the tile...
I kept saying to him, "I don't care Luis--it is fine, trust me, it is fine...I am not picky--" I could not find the word for picky in Spanish, so I asked him how to say it...He did not know either! He is a Spanglish speaker, and picky works for him now.
I thought...particular (my mom uses that..."don't be so particular"--they are cognates...then I thought..fastidiosa--that means bothered/bothersome--bothered might work...I could not come up with a good word..I will have to ask Camelia--I bet she will say, "picky."

Ears, tears, fears, and {i need a beers}

2012-01-21T04:00:00.000-08:00

So this is a long(ish) post about an interesting week.

Since the end of Dec. I have had a hearing loss in my left ear.
When I realized that my ear was not working --some little voice in my head said, "if you
ever have a sudden hearing loss--or hear tell of one--go to the ENT IMMEDIATELY--or tell
the person who is having this loss--to go there" That voice was the voice of my anatomy professor
from graduate school.
Did I listen to the voice?
Well, you will find out.
So I waited and...and in waiting..I tried to pop my ears...that was not the issue.
I considered congestion might be the problem--I have not had congestion--but I took
some sudafed anyway..just in case.
Then I went to the fam. practioner--I wanted a tympanogram so that I could know if
my eardrum was moving or not--I could not tell b/c my ear feels so funny.
My eardrum was working and there were no signs of infection--so he gave me
Flonase...That was a week ago Monday
So on Thursday AM--I finally got the sense to call the ENT and ask advice..
The advice was, "um, m'am..this is considered to be an emergency, and we will see you at 9:30."
So off I went.
The dx.?--I have a sensorineural hearing loss--that might or might not be fixed by taking
steroids for twelve days--the dr. leaned toward NOT. He was not very optimistic--b/c I waited too long.
Cue little voice in head--Cue feelings of disgust with myself for not being smarter about this.
So, for Morgan--in my left hear--at 2,000 Hz and up--my threshold goes from 40dB to 65 db!!
I cannot hear!! In the lower frequencies my threshold is fine, and in the right ear I can still hear perfectly.
Oh, and my left ear is also ringing--at a pitch--that supposedly I cannot hear well..the pitch of the ringing
is probably about 4,000Hz.

So basically pray that these steroids work for me--and then in two weeks I go for an MRI--to make sure there are not tumors or cysts back there on my auditory nerve or my cochlea--one of which is failing me now.--please pray that I do not have cysts or tumors!! I mean really!

Then I leave the ENT--in a daze of confusion and disappointment in myself--and I go to get a bagel.
So then I pull out of the bagel shop parking lot into the turn lane--and someone hits my car!!
I was {crushed}--like the pun?? oh yeah!!
We both get out, and hang out in the turn lane for a little while until the police get there.
The girl who hit me has a very sketchy insurance situation going on, --dmv says she has none, she says she does...whatever! We both get tickets (turns out one should not turn out of a driveway into the turn lane--the turn lane is only for continuous traffic on the road that has the turn lane--to use--so it was fine to turn into the bagel shop via that lane--but not to exit the shop and merge into traffic using that lane--has anyone else ever heard of this???) The wreck was her fault--and the police said so, but who really cares when she had no insurance. So then the police pull off and I try to start my car, and the battery is dead.
Picture this: I am sitting --trying to start my car--and cannot..and
chica who hit me is in her car crying her head off b/c her license plate just got removed from her car and she cannot go anywhere.--yuck!!
So the guys from a nearby store came and jumped my car--how sweet! and then I gave chica a ride home...she was sort of pitiful--no family here--they are all in brooklyn and Va.--poor her, too.

So, when I got home on Thursday--after going back to work--I broke out in fever and chills--
I knew I should have asked the ENT to swab my throat!! knew it!! I had a tickle in there--always either a cold, or strep throat for me.
Then on Friday morning my fever was 102--a fun thing about your husband being a nurse--he becomes
the official temperature taker--:) so sweet! So yesterday I had to go to Urgent care and as soon as the FNP looked in my throat she said--"oh god! i am not even going to swab this! goodness!"

ugh..y'all
And just a little add in--when i went to the family doctor--a substitute doc. at my regular office--
he told me that he thought, "you just know too much"--I am not sure what he meant by this...
I mean--his machine (audiometer) confirmed that my left ear was not working--just like I said
when i went in...I am just not sure what he meant--but if any doc. ever says something like this to you...
immediately go to someone else--

Another add in--the last thing in the world I need right now is beer--that just rhymed well. :)

So now, I am taking antibiotics, steroids..and just looking forward to another round of car fixing, and points on my insurance...{FREAKING YIPPIE!!}.
But really if my ear starts working again.. the other stuff--well, it's called life, I reckon. :)

Something fun to make!

2012-01-21T03:30:00.000-08:00

Orange-aids!
That is most certainly not spelled correctly--but I like it that way. :)
Okay--so all you need is an orange squeezer like the one below.
Some simple syrup--which you make by putting water in a measuring cup and putting one teaspoon of sugar per ounce of water and microwaving for the pre-set amnt. of time called, "beverage."
So you squeeze some oranges...however many {andy} wants to squeeze--he really loves doing this btw!
This gadget is one of his favorites--so I never do the orange squeezing.

So, a big part of the yumminess of a an orange-aid is the shaved or finely crushed ice. Luckily enough--Santa brought us a SNOOPY SNOW CONE MAKER!! Oh, yes he did! --That Santa--so nostalgic.
If you have ever had one of these--and this is my second one..you know that the stickers and little woodstock juice squirter need not fool you...oh no! This is a tool for Mama only--there is no way that a kid can put ice into that chute and crank that handle--no way!! So time for kids to watch--BACK AWAY from the ice shaver!!! (I really did say this), and Mama to turn the handle on the ice shaver about five hundred times and make some shaved ice--it is really worth it in the end. :)

See? You turn and you turn and you turn, and then MAGIC! PRESTO! you have four wonderful ounces of shaved ice....Thank you Mama! :)

Can you see why my children really wanted to do some ice shaving?? how adorable is this?
So then you have to cool the simple syrup in the refrigerator --lest ye melt all of that precious shaved ice you just got a blister over--so cool down the syrup--trust me!

Then you mix the syrup and orange juice that you squeezed--or your version of Andy squeezed--and then you pour it over ice--and trust me--it could make your Saturday morning. {Trust me}

I do recommend setting out the ice to soften--then it shaves easier.

You could also go somewhere there is an ice machine that has the soft little pieces and get some...

Sonic sells it.

In my old age--I would like to have my very own crushed ice machine--the little balls of ice

that are soft...

yeah...

That is what I would like!

A visitor

2012-01-17T03:02:00.000-08:00

After many years of not living here Andy and I were driving into town one time and I realized how beautiful a particular view was to me.
I was seeing this view for the first time from the eyes of a visitor.
Throughout my years of growing up here I had driven on this road going home probably a thousand times and I had never even appreciated how breath taking a scene it truly is.

Well, the image was
something like this. :)
I had to {borrow} this one from the internet --it is of our river and the train tressel, however, my camera
was not cooperating yesterday, so I did a little borrowing.

What I saw was something for the first time, really. When you drive into a town that you have never been to and it just looks like a story book town or something...it is not your town, and you are a stranger.

When we drove by the river that day, the sun was sparkling on the water and glistening--and it was just gorgeous. It looked like this on this past Sunday too, sparkly, like diamonds--but I did not have my camera.

This will be a lesson to me!! Take the camera everywhere.

So back to the river etc. The river here is very wide, and it is brackish water. It is not like the Eno in Durham...a smallish trickle, or a rushing over rocks, clearwater stream. Nope--it is huge!
There is a particular spot that you drive by--going over a bridge into Washington Park (a neighborhood) that is just so beautiful!!
When I took my own picture of this spot yesterday the camera battery was busy dying on me. :)

Fresh Ideas..

2012-01-15T05:12:00.000-08:00

To be honest, every time I have a soap box post to put up here...I talk
myself right out of it.
I am feeling very humble right now, not on any kind of high horse...
You need that high horse chutzpah to really jump up on the
soap box with gusto...you know?

So here is an idea I had.
I am going to call the idea, "My town Monday"
I am going to take you all on a tour of my town.
Not just the pretty parts either.
We will go to some of the most decrepit and run down places...and
we will visit some of the most beautiful, breath taking ones.

It will be fun...and I like to have {weekly} commitments during the winter time.
My other weekly commitments include..
teaching sunday school for January and February (Juliana was my partner last year)
and coaching Elena's cheerleading --which is very fun btw
It is amazing to me how someone who couldn't care less about sports
can just love to coach cheerleading.
To me, it is not about team spirit...it is about
well...getting to wear a cute outfit!! :)
I am trying to instill this in all of the girls (just kidding)
My co-coach has all the team spirit anyone could ever ask for! :)

In the morning

2012-01-11T17:13:00.000-08:00

Each day I wake up at 5:30.
When I think about that it seems like a really dumb thing to do.
Who in the world wants to get up that early?
But, now that my children are a little bigger, and I am nursing them
or comforting the in the night...I can sleep {some} nights
all night long.
So my motivation for getting up before
dawn even cracks is to have time to myself.
I get up and surf the internet, and drink coffee, and then I run
on the treadmill, while I watch some shows on PBS--there are three that come
on in rotation.
It is so relaxing to exercise and watch these shows.
One is The Desert Speaks (all about deserts), another is the Burt Wolf show, and he
goes all around travelling, and the other is Joseph Rosendo.
I travel all around every morning. I like Joseph Rosendo, he is a sweet, nerdy guy.
--or at least he seems to be--
I do not watch any morning shows, as I think they all suck, and so do the commercials
that come on in 5 minute segments for every 7 minutes of programming.
Then, after a workout, my children wake up and I start to take care of them
feed them etc.
So, before I start working at 8:00--I have already had a lot going on.
But really, that is the part of my day that energizes me!

Now...if I could just figure out the part from 3:45 until 7:00...

WOW!

2012-01-09T03:23:00.000-08:00

Andy and I went to Juliana's funeral yesterday afternoon.
The funeral was at 2:00. Here if a wedding or funeral starts at 2:00--you get there at 1:30.
People mostly start things on time.
I do not know what I was expecting--as honestly I have been floored by Juliana's death, but
this service was absolutely beautiful!
The first five rows of seats were filled with people from around the country, whose homeland
is Zimbabwe.
These were Juliana's and Patrick's home away from home friends.
We said the 23rd Psalm in English, and they echoed in the language of Zimbabwe (a word that
I cannot say b/c the phonemes do not even really register in my brain). The language is called
Shona, and it is spoken by many people--9 million or so, in Zimbabwe. (Thanks Go00gle and WIk1)

We all shared two hours of time honoring Juliana and what a beautiful person she
was.
Two hours.
When it was over, I wanted to rewind it all and watch it again.
We had the opportunity to listen to songs sung by all of her friends
and family in the language of Zimbabwe.
Her dear, best friend read a poem to her and for us.
Here is a link to read the poem, She is gone
Her mother-in-law, and her husband spoke to us.

It was so very touching!
She really was a special person.

Now, they will travel to Zimbabwe to bury Juliana.

and now..

2012-01-04T18:28:00.000-08:00

She has passed away..
to look over us all, and her beautiful children, and her best friend, her husband, Patrick...
To watch them as they live their days on earth.
This is incredibly sad for Andy and for me.
It all makes me think and wonder so much...
Too much to tell.

Andy was at work today, so he called me to tell me that
he went to find Patrick--and Patrick was with Juliana, in her room...
and we are all (our community) here thinking all of the thoughts
that seem so cliche to the people who are not a part of this
{passing}.
All of a sudden, the thoughts are not so cliche anymore, but
real...
When was the last time I saw her?
She looked so beautiful! She was in her chair, recovering, and smiling and laughing
with friends!
Replay her voice (a sweet one with English spoken in a way obviously influenced by
her own language)...
Replay the beautiful things she said...
Replay again...
Mourn.

There is a mother...

2012-01-03T18:23:00.000-08:00

who is laying in the bed at PCMH tonight.
She is my friend.
She is a dear person.
This morning, she had a massive {stroke?} and things are looking
really bad--this is the same mother who recently had a heart transplant.
The surgeon told her husband that he would operate as a last effort, but
he really did not think that an operation would do much at this point...
Please pray for Juliana tonight.
I cannot imagine the pain she and her family are feeling right now.
I cannot even begin to imagine how much she is missing her boys...
Give your babies extra kisses and say a prayer for my friend, please...
She needs a miracle!

A movie review

2011-12-31T05:40:00.000-08:00

When Andy works at night, sometimes, I think we are going to watch movies.
My kids like to watch movies, and it is winter--so it is dark way early.

Last night I rented "A Dolphin Tail/Tale?"

This movie was SOOOOO GOOD.
It had all the elements that touch my heart strings...
*kids
**animals
*special needs kids
**special needs animals
*people helping eachother
** wise,old hippie man grandad who lives on boat
*frustrated kids who find an interest

etc. etc. the list goes on...oh!

*tropical water and weather
**animal rescue...

The whole movie was well told etc.
I loved it, and so did my children.
When it was over I had cried a lot...
You know, when the little tears seep out--and you try to hide them?
My children did not cry any???
(what does this mean, I ask myself??)
I guess it might mean that I am way hormonal all the time or something..
Ay que emotion!!
http://www.seewinter.com/
If you click the link up there, it takes you to Winter's website.
Now if you surf around in the web site (do people still say that?/ surf?)
You can see that you could also stay in this place

http://www.tommysonthebeach.com/north-unit/

You could stay there (look up) :)
Look at that white sand...
That beautiful water...

Wouldn't this be a fun family vacation??
If you look on the map, this place is in a cool spot of Florida.
On the Western coast, and sort of on its own little bay...

Man!
Spring break?
I got so excited last night looking at all of this.
Then I realized
Oh!
But this all costs MONEY. !!

Maybe another year...

looking back...

2011-12-30T18:57:00.000-08:00

I have just been entertaining myself by going back and reading my own blog...

ugh...
I USED TO BE WAY WAY FUNNIER!!

So, for the new year...I am saying that this blog needs...more interaction with
other bloggers...you out there Jen in your {world}?

and also...
More SOAPBOXES!!

I'm gonna bring it...
yep!

Sorry for the slackness in the personality dept.
Some find it funny,
others might find it annoying, but I will say
that in older posts, my personality came out a lot more...

eekk!!

Marble run

2011-12-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

This is one of the new toys we got for Christmas.
When I was little there was one of these at my Grandma's house.
The one there was colorful and plastic.
Ours is made of wooden blocks--and you have to really think about what to
do to make cool marble runs.
It is VERY FUN!
Andy and I have just as much fun with it as the kids do. :)
I think the look on Victor's face is a good indication of how fun
they think it is.
When the marbles go through, they make the coolest sound, like a
rain stick.
plink, plink, plink...

Let's get Married {11 years}

2011-12-30T05:39:00.000-08:00

This was the song that was very popular when Andy and I got married--11 years ago. ;).

FUN!

I never thought a wedding would be fun at all when I watched all of my cousins get married.
I planned a quick little ditty...not too much--b/c I had dreaded that moment for most of my life..
being a spectacle in a big, puffy white dress...eek!!
In front of all of my family...eekk!!

But it was a very fun day...love all around--from family and friends, and to top it all off...
a bit of snow!

Now if this daggone link thing would just work!!
<object width="853" height="480"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/yKIV9HXZIHY?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/yKIV9HXZIHY?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="853" height="480" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Now I will try a link

link--click here

A vision{ary}

2011-12-29T19:12:00.000-08:00

ha!
That is what I call myself whenever Andy reminds me that I always have some plan or
other up my sleeve....
some {improvement} or {innovation}...
My mind does work on this pretty constantly.

Here is my latest {plan}:
See the big brown thing in the middle of the kitchen floor?
All the kids are on it? see? Were they remembering their babyhood??
Who knows! BUT--this used to be the changing table--it had a little mattress
on the top that say in the recessed part--where the kids are.
My Daddy made it for me when I was pregnant with Elena.
It is the exact right height for me--hits right at my hip--for working and not bending over.
So...
Now it is going to be a kitchen island! :)
It is going to have a counter top on it, and baskets on the shelves for pans etc.
The color will stay stained dark.
I have thought of painting it, but that would take away the beautiful stain!
AND I like it when things are not just perfect, but they are {perfect}.
The room could look {perfect} with all white counters etc., but I would certainly mourn the loss of the
stain, and that would make it--eek!! not perfect for me.
i.e.--this is the color this piece of furniture has always been, and it wants to stay that way. ;).
Ay que emotion!!

So my mother in law was the smart lady who suggested that I just go ahead and set it in the kitchen.
This will get the ball rolling for a counter top... ;).
Maybe so, I say!
So there it is...
I have the tile picked out that I want on the counter top.
It is gorgeous!
The question is, is it functional enough for a countertop??
I say, "yes!"
others...say...no way!!
We will see--
Whose vision is this anyway??

It's a small, small...

2011-12-27T15:07:00.000-08:00

World!!
So, I have just gotten home from delivering a meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, and lots of salad to a friend who has had a HEART TRANSPLANT!!
She is not much older than I am. Her other heart was just wearing out.
She is tall, and very beautiful, and she and her husband go to our church, along with their twin boys,
Anashe and Tidiwa.
They are from Zimbabwe, the mom and dad.
The boys are from here. ;).
So, I just love my friend, and I have been praying for her recovery for months.
When I arrived at their home her mother in law opened the door, and greeted me, Ms. Ruth.
Her mother would also be there, I knew---she came from Zimbabwe when her daughter went
to Duke to have the transplant.
What I did not plan was that there would be a house full of people!!
They were Juliana's friends--FROM ZIMBABWE as well.
They now live in California, and Richmond Va.
Can you imagine?
This girl is in her house in Little Washington, NC
hanging out with her friends and relatives from other parts of the U.S, but
also from Zimbabwe.
All of this is amazing to me.
Needless to say, I did not make enough food for 20 people.
With all of the children, the grandmothers, and the children--maybe six of them??--
there is definitely NOT enough food.
But I was excited for Juliana--to have a reunion of old school friends in her home.
I would love to sit for a while and listen to them speak THEIR language...

It's a world of laughter, a world of tears, it's a world of hopes and a world of fears, with so
much that we share it is time we're aware....

;).

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T17:50:00.000-08:00

I will start from the very beginning (every time I say that, I think of Julie Andrews singing!). Victor was Joseph in his pre-K pageant!! Be still my heart! :)

On Wed. when we got out of school early, I brought Yineth, Collin, and Suzie home and we played and cooked for a couple of hours.

Friday night my Sister and her family were at our house and we ate yummy steaks that Andy grilled.
This is Lara's husband picking on her.

This is a bunch of wild kiddies and their tongues after eating candy canes!--They cracked up about this picture.

This is Christmas Eve night before we went to church.

And this picture shows this AM with my parents and our WONDERFUL Christmas day breakfast of country ham on biscuits, scrambled eggs, grits, and for my mama and me {mimosas}. ;)

Merry Christmas bloggy friends.

I am off to read one of my new books! {yippie}

i {know} now

2011-12-20T03:05:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I went to a class all about how to use your I-Pad in speech therapy.
How to make this tool useful in my job--that was the class's premise.
Mind you, I do not have an I-Pad.
There are a couple people at my work who do, and one of them let me take hers for the day.
It was not her personal one, rather it was one that our county bought.
So off I traipsed to G-boro.
I was really hoping, somewhere in my subconscious, that this class would finally tip the scales...convince me that this was a gadget I could not live without.
That is how I felt when I was first presented with a nook. I knew--I just knew that this was something I would love--have all kinds of books..but not have to physically have the book! get any book i could think of via the air any ole time!! SIGN ME UP I thought to myself...and I have been loving my Nook ever since...
So I thought...when I am convinced about the I-Pad...
Then, I could begin my lobbying to get one--at work. I was dreaming of typing out IEPs on it, writing reports in front of the TV--instead of on the {back den} where I now sit, typing away.

After six hours of a little class.
I remain unconvinced.
I-Pads--well, they are expensive--and this is all relative, I know, but our county has ZERO MONEY.
WE can barely afford to keep people employed...so should we be buying I-pads?
My answer would be an emphatic "NO!"
Technology over people--not in "These hard economic times"--Is anyone else so sick of that phrase? Who coined that one?--Talk about over-using something to death!!

Okay back to my point.
All the stuff that the I-Pad was doing in that class..was VERY COOL. I was ooohing and ahhing...
But then, when I put on my critical thinking cap, I realized...ummm--you can do all that for free
with some paper and a pencil and all of the books that the county has bought alreday...
for free!!
Now, one part of the class was valuable.
The person teaching was from G-boro (or thereabouts) and she was telling us that many children with Autism or more involved communication needs have begun bringing their own I-Pad to school.
Their mama and daddy watched 60 mins...and they were convinced!! I-Pad technology--IT IS!!
So now the people at the school are using them, to facilitate the parents in attempts to draw out communication.
I won't agree or disagree with that, it is what it is. I would oblige as well...

Sometimes I wonder is anyone stopping to think about the POINT of most of this mobile technology.
I do.
Lots.
Andy and I still only have the one little, wee little trac phone.
No plan, no data plan, no fancy {droid} or I--do hickey...and to be honest...
all of it seems pointless to me.
When I stop and think, critically about it, --nah...don't want it...
Do I love a gadget..um YES!!
I love them..but do I want to be CONSTANTLY ACCESSIBLE...
no.
Having a cell phone that could summon me whenever anyone felt like it, seems like
how some part of hell might end up being...

So, unless the rich folks at Apple want to send me a free one, or one falls out of the sky, or
I win one from the Pioneer Lady (who am I kidding--those odds are terrible! :)}--then I will not be getting and I-pad...

If you are still reading this, then God Bless you! hah! this has been very rambly, and I am still half asleep!
:)

If you've got the money, honey....

2011-12-15T13:36:00.001-08:00

there is a GREAT DEAL to go to Spain on AAirlines right now.
I just saw it--
leave day after Christmas--2 adults three children
come back whenever after--and the tickets--all together for everyone?
around 850.00.

Problem?
We have no money...
other problem...
We also don't have the time--ha!
Andy has to work that whole week.

Un Rato {time}

2011-12-14T03:21:00.000-08:00

In Spanish to say, "a little while" you say, "un rato" (oon rrrrahtoe)
Bueno, and this word can be changed all kinds of ways.
Un ratito (just a minute)
Well, maybe that's just one...but last night I was on the
phone with Elena (who might be coming to clean my house from time to time, also an acquaintance)
and she told me "un rato" and then I said it back to her--see you en un ratito...then I thought of a
comedy sketch with this word...it is a funny word to me.
What would "un ratote" be?
A big little while?
I bet some people do say that in Spanish...
{ote} on the end of the word makes it bigger..and a rato is inherently small...
es un rato.

Then it dawned on me last night, I was going in to brush my teeth yesterday, after
a very long day, I realized what a ratote could be...
It could be a week--each day takes a long time, I wake up at 5:30 and
fix everybody's everything (lunch etc.), then I go to work and work my {bleep}
off, then I come home, we eat, bathe, and then every day for the past two weeks
we have all gone out to do some other thing--practice singing,
help with some meal at church--something--a party (even a party can seem like a chore
sometimes)--So, for example, yesterday at night, (on Tuesday) I felt like I had
lived a whole week in two days. I felt like I had done a week's worth of stuff.
Then, here's the kicker...
The week actually zooms by, and another Monday rolls around--in the blink of an eye!
So, the days go by in big slow chunks, and then all together in my mind...
the entire week, it's such a little while--nah mas es un rato...

Big weekend

2011-12-11T18:04:00.000-08:00

Do you ever just get bitten by the organize and straighten bug?

This weekend I did!

I finally got the emotional guts up to take the crib down. Before its final exit, we had to take a picture of all it has hosted over the past seven years! :) :( :)--Wow! such a mixture of emotions.
This evening I cleaned out the baby closet--a cool little armoire that has teeny drawers that are perfect for baby clothes.
Not sure where we will store it yet. The high chair and booster are in the attic.

Mama and Daddy went out to a party! When Eva saw me fixed up (I even polished my shoes) her eyes lit up and she immediately took off her night gown and declared her intentions to put on her sparkle dress and come out with us!

This is V-man with the tiny grape he found....Is the love of all things tiny genetic? I think it is...and I have passed it on to my son. Left handednes...no one else got it!! love of tiny stuff...check!

Okay I am off to read a good book and finish watching the Amazing Race

Let me declare {officially}

2011-12-07T03:13:00.001-08:00

my complete and utter dislike for:

ACRYLIC SWEATERS!!

Who in the world had this idea that, gradually, all of my favorite shops would resort to making
all of their clothes out of itchy, and yucky feeling plastic stuff?????

Please stop!!

Has anyone else realized, yet that the sweaters still cost the same amount of money??

Give me back my cotton, please!
I go on my favorite websites, click the sweater I like, and then it hits me!!
It is made of acrylic.
I go to the little bazaar in the civic center--not so little really, and the chica has decided to
make all of her scarfltetts out of what??? Acrylic!!

oh stop it...this trend needs to go--just like the pre-pubescent boy ass crack pants...they both need to go
AWAY!!

And after all that...

2011-12-05T14:02:00.001-08:00

Our house was attacked by the throw up virus!!
uck!
It started with Victor in the middle of the night on Saturday night, and then I had it all day yesterday, and today, then in the middle of the night last night, Eva started to throw up.
Can you imagine the cleaning up that has to go on?
All of the kids are under seven.
So that means the first time, all the vomit is in the bed.
Everything has to be washed.
Two of them can aim for a trash can after the first time.
I was up all last night with Eva last night, giving her the trash can.
This is all very graphic, no?

This is probably my worst blog post ever!!
Who wants to read about throw ups?
I will say this, if there is ever a vomit cleaning olympics--we could win
hands down.
Andy and I have the routine down pat.

This does not make it any easier, though.

Then, as soon as I felt better today, I had to clean the whole house up!--could not stand
the thought of yucky vomit germs hanging out everywhere...you know?

Done, and DONE! and Done...

2011-12-03T12:40:00.001-08:00

Today has been marvelous!
Checklist, Checklist, Checklist--sprinkled with fun.
Andy has been off. :)
We went to the Christmas parade, and it was great!
Then, we came home to eat lunch, and I
CLEANED OUT MY CAR!! yippie! (I love for my car to be clean)
Then I
MADE A CHRISTMAS CARD AND SENT IT OUT!!
Done!
What a sense of accomplishment!
You know some days you can be excited about all of that, and think
it is all going to get done, but then...
well, it just does not happen.

I used the Hallmark website btw, and they will address and send all of the cards for you...
I did have to put in all the addresses of course, THIS TIME.
Next year...it is gonna be so easy!
They save your address book for you...how cool is that?

very cool

2011-11-29T15:19:00.001-08:00

www.everydayhealth.com

go to this website.

it is cool

calorie counter

calorie goal setter for weight loss, based on height, weight, avg. activity level etc

go there.

it's fun.

it's free.

For Morgan

2011-11-27T13:50:00.001-08:00

This was Eva yesterday
in the afternoon after we discovered that her our clips from Ms. Morgan had
arrived in the mail, and
before she decided to wear at least three more at one time.
I bought them for Eva and Elena, however, Eva is still learning about the
sharing...so she did so reluctantly, and I would not bet that Elena got
to have her choice...
Morgan's clips are gorgeous!!
We lub dese pincess hayah tips!
We really do!
Here is a link to her etsy shop....
do y'all think I can linky link???
cutecupcakepclippieshttp://www.etsy.com/shop/CuteCupcakeClippies?ref=pr_shop_more
Let me see if this works...
hee hee
Okay, now these clips are great--they are not home-madey looking.
Very cute!!

Thanks Morgan, I am going to order more.
Elena likes them too. :)

Deciding

2011-11-26T06:26:00.001-08:00

I am having a hard time deciding about a Christmas card this year...
I think these are cute pictures..
Maybe today I will use these and make a card...
Maybe.
Has anyone skipped years?
We send out a card every year.
I think people would be disappointed if we did not send one out this year....
hmmm
I am just not feeling cardy..

Wonderful Christmas craft {idea}

2011-11-26T06:20:00.001-08:00

Well, it started out just great!
We discovered Hershey's peppermint kisses.
They are made of white chocolate (you know there is no such a thing, right?) and peppermint bits.
They are just delicious.
That is why we have all been eating them serially, and why we had a collection of wrappers. :)
So we began to keep the wrappers, b/c they are pretty.
Then I had the great idea that we would wrap styrofoam balls in these wrappers and make
some really pretty, shiny ornaments.
Doesn't that just sound fun?
Well, here is photographic proof that the foil wrapper from a Hershey's kiss will not stick to a styrofoam ball.
Modge Podge glue, nor masking tape will make this magic combination work...
It just was not happening.
So today we go to the store for glitter.
I know glitter will work. :)
Just roll the ball around in it, no?

Some fotos

2011-11-24T06:20:00.001-08:00

Food Choices {explained}

2011-11-23T03:53:00.001-08:00

I am not positive about this, but I think this picture was taken of the sign at King Chicken here in my town.
That is where people go to buy their collards.
They also have lots of other yummy stuff there...
I must say, however, I have never tried
Chitterlings, and even if I have eaten a neck bone..I did not specifically order
some neck bone from the menu! :)

I think this sign is very interesting.
Have you ever tried any of these?
Do you know what Chitterlings are?
They are the washed out innards of a pig--that's right...all the poop gets washed out, and
the tube gets fried up! YUM! (not)
My mama has told me that it is disgusting and that is all the
advice about chitterlings that I could ever need.

Happy Thanksgiving!

FOOD choices

2011-11-23T03:52:00.001-08:00

There's nothing wrong with {Johnny}

2011-11-21T14:30:00.001-08:00

I had the cutest experience at work the other day.
We had a referral from the Peds. office on a Hispanic child, so this meant I was the one
to call the family and just kind of get their take on their son {Johnny}.
I usually ask to speak to moms, and I did this time as well.
Johnny's dad answered the phone, and he said to me, this is
Johnny's dad, how can I help you?
I told him about our referral and that it was based on the answers that
his wife gave at the peds. office on a developmental questionnaire.
What followed was the funniest thing ever...
"Oh! Yes. That! Well, that was three or four months ago. Johnny is actually just fine.
Johnny is the baby of the family. We had to figure out that he was not doing any of the things he {should be} doing b/c we were not making him."
he followed with..
"Since then, Johnny has begun sleeping in his bed, we finally kicked him out of ours. I know you won't believe this, but Johnny can work the DVD player, and he says, the words in English. Yes. There is nothing wrong with Johnny..he was just very spoiled."
and more..
"you know he is potty trained, sometimes he even buttons his own pants! When he wants to, Johnny
can really do a lot. You know his sisters always know what he wants, they anticipate what he is going
to want and they just do it. He tugs their hand, and they know to go and play with him."
I was cracking up at this point.
The baby!
I told him, "ahhhh, yes...I know all about the baby...I am the baby, and I have a {baby}. Mine even let's every one know that she is the baby"
Oh, yes he said, "my younger sister was just like Johnny is now, and so was my wife's brother. They are both {the baby}."
We had a whole conversation about this {special place} in the family.
ha!
So then he said, "oh yes, senyora, I love my son very much. If there is ever anything wrong, I will call a specialist, in this case--there is nothing wrong with Johnny."

LOVE IT!!

The King's Speech

2011-11-19T20:05:00.001-08:00

That movie was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.
If you read my blog, and you have not seen it,
GO RENT THIS MOVIE!!
I was entralled the entire time.
If you have not seen it, you might stop reading here....don't wanna spoil it...

*I was so sad to hear the king talk about how terribly he was treated as a child...
can you imagine? his nanny tried to starve him??!!
**Isn't it also strange to think that he was paraded in front of his parents daily for a sort of check-up..
can you imagine having children and having them be nothing more that what you "check" on?
What a pity!
*all of the actors in that movie did a phenomenal job.
**i went directly to google to look all of those people up
*If you are an SLP--did it strike you as interesting that he played music
into the duke's ears while the duke spoke during the first speech session?
This is very much like delayed or altered auditory feedback, which is used in therapy now.
**I loved the affection that he and his wife showed to one another. It was so tender and sweet.
You could tell she was his biggest fan, and he knew it!

I guess that is all I can say for now, I am so tired...
This movie watching weekend has been fun.
yay for 52 cent movies at the b-buster!

{I} Wishes...

2011-11-19T04:47:00.001-08:00

Something has piqued my interest...
Namely, {I} things...
You know, I Pod, I Pad, I touch etc.
We have an I Pod, and recently I signed up to take a class
about using the I Pad in speech therapy, and ways to do this etc.
I am going to an all day class!!
So then, my boss has said that and I Pad for work is a
definite possibility (talk about an oxymoron).
So then my wheels started to turn...
and turn..
I am having these {I} wishes..like,
"If I like it, I might get myself one too, or ask my mama and daddy for one for
my birthday..."
Just things like that.
Mind you, we hardly ever touch the I-Pod--but really,
I have a feeling the I pad is much different.
Maybe?

Oh! And was anyone able to listen to the music--by venturing off alone to
try to figure out what in the world I was trying to present on this blog in the
first place...
Did anyone?
It was good music.
That Friday night song is sooooo funny to me!

Happy Weekend!

Fun/Cute video (yay sick day find!)

2011-11-17T16:42:00.001-08:00

I CANNOT GET THE VIDEOS TO PUT THEMSELVES UP HERE.
PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINKS. :)
<object width="853" height="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IOu0DuxFAT0?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IOu0DuxFAT0?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="853" height="480" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

And a link...
http://youtu.be/IOu0DuxFAT0

I hope one of these works. :)

I really like this song!

Here is another one that my sister and I laugh so hard at!!
FUNNY!!

http://youtu.be/KlyXNRrsk4A

Please go and watch these!!
So worth it

Katy Perry--last friday night
<object width="853" height="480"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/KlyXNRrsk4A?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/KlyXNRrsk4A?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="853" height="480" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
and
Kina Grannis--In your arms??

Have fun!!

VBI--the term I have coined

2011-11-16T18:02:00.001-08:00

for when we {overworked mothers and wives}have
Very Bad Incidents.
I will give you an example of a Very Bad Incident:
Ummm..
Let's just say someone has a kid who ...--well..maybe I should not give that one..
Let's just say that something like the car place incident happened to {a person}
feel free to fill in your mommy name there, and well, you went off..
Let's say it was really inappropriate what you did...
I did not do that btw--I did not have a VBI--that day. :)
I did have one today.
So here is today's example:
Elena had her allergy shot appt. that she has every three weeks.
I took her to the doctor--waited 30 minutes and got back to the shot room.
I knew beforehand that there would be a new nurse...I knew this
What I did not know is that she would be the ding bat mousey mouse lady
who feels perfectly comfortable acting insecure and clueless at her job. :)
I did not know that...nope..
Until the lady had the personality of an emery board!!!
And she kept looking at me, and looking back at her
three ring binder, and looking at me..and back at the binder..
(That binder is not going to give this damn shot woman) ;).
Then she asked Elena what she had for lunch.
People who get these shots are not supposed to eat certain things
on shot day.--It can get a bit ridiculous--
So, Elena said, "Zebra cakes" in her wee little Elena voice...
and the woman goes...
OHHHHH....ZEBRA CAKES--THOSE HAVE CHOCOLATE..MOM, MOM
{DEATH STARE} DID YOU KNOW? YOU DID SIGN THE SHEET--{more flipping of the book} YOU AGREED NOT TO GIVE CHOCOLATE (more staring)...
uggh...
So, I am sure you all know what I did--what any totally confused person would do..
First I told her--That is a drizzle of chocolate, have you even seen it? it is probably not really even chocolate ...Look of confusion, and "you gotta be kidding me..!!
So then I asked her, "Are you saying to me that you are not giving her the shot today?"
"Yes!" she says--no voices were ever raised--these were two ladies in the Dr.s office..OKAY!!??
Then the VBI occurred...
I grabbed Elena off the exam table and said, "Come on! This is crazy! We are certainly not going to be doing THIS AGAIN. Elena from now on if they ask that, just tell em you ate saltines and water!!"--
Yep, I am embarrassed to say--that is what I did.
I know what it looks like when people do this--every now and then, someone does it to me..
But when the VBI occurs--well, there is no caring--nope!
Then I went over to Andy's dad's office--got Elena started there--with paperwork and all, and
that is where our good ole--common sense --nurse is--and boo yah! problem solved..
EXCEPT- I still had to go back to the peds office and get the vials of serum and the allergy shot
protocol sheets from dingbat lady.
whew...
Total and utter VBI walk of shame...
My Mama DEFINITELY taught me better than that!
She is the queen of a temper tantrum--but NEVAH!! EVAH!! IN PUBLIC.
EVAH!.
;)
I mean I am sure that lady knows me somehow.
But in that moment all I could think is --I am so tired.
I have waited--this is on my checkoff list, and you are an
obstacle in my freakin path lady--mousey ding bat head--over
a DRIZZLE of FAKE CHOCOLATE on a (bleepity bleep!!) Zebra cake!!!
blahh!!!
So there you go.

Bethany has explained the tendency to have the VBI--I think
old men and about to get oldish ladies are extra prone to these.
There is science behind it...
go check out Dr. Oz. :)

Half a mind...

2011-11-15T09:09:00.001-08:00

At one time last year I had half a mind to go and buy a pair of {designer} jeans.
There are many labels of these {D} jeans...if you go to a high end dept. store website you can find these jeans.
My husband, and lack of money, always made me pause.
Also, I tried them on several times and they never fit me well.
Most of them had teeny tiny hind ends--so to help you picture this, when I tried them on, exactly 1/2 of
my derriere was sticking out over the top of the waistband of the jeans--ughh..disgusting.
The sales girls have always been reassuring, "This is just not your style, there are more to try."
Thanks but no thanks, I think--I will keep on keeping on with the wonder jeans I have been wearing for four
winters.
There.
But the temptation to purchase crept into my mind from time to time, all the way until summer arrived.
What if they are on sale? I would ask myself--on sale for 100.00.
DUMB.
Since then, I have wisened up.
I discovered my local Belk--on a recently stocked day.
Hit the {sale}, and got a fresh pair of jeans for about 30.00.
They are Levi's, and my entire rear fits into the rear compartment.
AMAZING!
Also, there are Lee, and Wrangler jeans (made in the U.S.A btw) that
are all reasonably priced a many times under 1/2 of the designer brands.
I would love to know what in my brain thought I would need a pair

of 120.00jeans...OMGoodness!!
I included pictures of the non-designer jeans.
Something in me does not want to post the others up here, but if you would go to the high end dept.
store websites and check those others out...I but you would find that there is little to no difference, except
the price.
There was one thing I was going to add to this: A good friend of mine gave me a pair of her Joe's jeans.
She did not really like them much and thought they should be put to good use.
I wore them all winter last winter, and then I drank beer and ate cheeseburgers all summer, so this fall...
{sausage casings}--so I gave them to my sister.
Designer jeans and I were never meant to pair up, it seems!

Car Scandal

2011-11-12T18:05:00.001-08:00

So, back in June I traded in my car.
I did this b/c I needed a bigger car.
{needed}.
Needed?
That is what I ask myself now.
My Daddy and Andy {begged} me not to do this.
They still love me any way.
BUT they both thought it was a dumb thing to do.
Now, in my family my Daddy has always been the car buyer.
He buys it, you drive it.
My Mama has never cared. I never cared either--he has bought me several.
He finds ones that you just pay for out right. {smart}
One might think that I would have more sense--don't ever think that...just don't
So now I have myself in a real car {pickle}.
This car that I bought has several issues and I will lay them out here, b/c I need
to vent, and my family is not really wanting to hear it...
1. It only came with one {key}--and I use the word key, very loosely...it is more like
a magic wand. When I traded the other car in I was asked if I had both keys to the car.
One would think that if that is a question asked for the trade in by this dealership, that the
the dealership would also issue two keys with cars it sells.
Ooopsy...I signed the papers..and went out with my one {key} in hand.
I asked, and the finance guy, who had traded in this car said, "It is at my MOL's house, I will
get it on Tuesday."--he said this for four months..over and over.
So I called the (big) boss--the one whose name is on the dealership sign,
and he quickly agreed that I should have two keys.
I went to get the key--the key costs....get ready....
440 dollars and some change...
Can you believe this???
A KEY. The simplest concept in the world has become a bit of plastic, a micro-chip and some
hearing aid batteries...and it is EXPENSIVE to boot.
2. The car is possessed. It does things automatically that drive me crazy.
I really don't want my car to do stuff automatically. I want to deliberately do things like
lock the doors, roll down the windows..etc. Really, the alarm--it is just unnecessary.
Well, whoever hooked this ride up with automatic features--really did a bang up job!!
I get out of the car, count to five, and the windows roll down--that's fun when it's raining..really fun.

So, here is the kicker--last weekend I went to ask about the problems at another dealership (the Mazda one). And I had the key ordered. I took the P.O. to big boss man--and he sent me a check.
I went back today to get the key...and the
FREAKING CROOK at the Mazda place asked me, "so how much did he say it would cost last week?" I said, "well, I want to know why you are asking me that question."
He looked a bit baffled and then told me that today's price was {actually} going to be 100.00 more.
That's right--a 530.00 key. No kidding.
Well, you all know I did not do this.
I told him no way...
I will leave the key here.
No way...I have the copy of the PO --LOOK AT THIS!!
That was after he had argued with me and questioned me???--did the estimate he gave
you include--programming, re-chiping--blah blah, and taxes, and labor??? --you get the picture...
So then I took out the P.O. (purchase order)
and he goes "oh"...yeah....oh..
So then he calls the {magic} number that all the car crooks call and all-of-a-sudden!!
The key price--total--was 432.00--so the magic phone call saved me 8.00.

Lessons I have learned:
Never deal with car people when this is finished. :)--
If I absolutely MUST deal with a car people--go to CARMAX! (for sure!!)
and people are so dishonest..it is really disgusting...
I mean how many different prices can a damn car key have all within one month.
???

If you are still reading...I love you!! You let me vent!! :)
If you are a guy--you probably do not feel sorry for me--Andy and my Daddy sure don't
If you are a woman--you probably know this exact feeling...
If you are Morgan..I would love to know what you would have said!! ha! I really do almost always think of this in these kinds of situations.. You would have been proud today.

Kids are so....{scrambly}

2011-11-11T05:08:00.001-08:00

From the time we wake up, until the time we put them in the bed, and sometimes
{after that}, they just scramble all around everywhere.
They remind me of a set of crabs on the beach...scurrying around beneath my feet.
They run and giggle and run and giggle, and {repeat}.
It amazes me that they have all this energy for scambling.
They could scramble all day long--and some days they do!
This AM Andy and I are both at home with them.
We are eating pancakes and drinking coffee, and they are
scrambling around the house.
They remind me of the little rascals.
Every 45 seconds or so I hear, "Hey mama!" "Hey Mama?"
{repeat}
Wait,
oh there it goes again...
"Hey Mama!!??"
So I have just issued a challenge,
Let's see who can go the longest without saying, "hey, mama"
Elena quickly said, "Okay, we can say, "Hey Daddy!!" then"
ha!
Sounds good to me.
:)

Depression--from atop the Taco box

2011-11-09T14:48:00.000-08:00

This is what I think our economy is in.
Granted --I have no degree in economics, and granted
I never went to the {B} school...
BUT--this economy is in a depression. On the news I watch they keep saying...
double dip recession or something...when did we ever go out of the {dip}?
Today at school they told us that in the coming year our county,
which is a poor county by any stretch of the word, faces a
1.8 million dollar shortfall in the coming year.
Want to know the clever acronym that solves the budget problem?
RIF --Reduction in Force
That means that in order to balance the budget next year
it is looking like they will have to get rid of positions--not
through the means of attrition, sino, by telling
actively employed people that they no longer have a
job.
:(.
Where would 1.8 million dollars even come from?
Well, let's see...88% of our children eat breakfast and lunch for
{free} everyday.
Now, we all know there is no such thing as free lunch.
So what if parents were responsible for sending their children
to school with some food to eat??? Hell that would not work!!
I forgot, unless they eat at school--many of the children at my school do not get fed.
We have to send them home with backpacks of food that they can make themselves
so they will eat over the weekend--no joke..
What about all of the {free} --government paid for--cell
phones you see ads for??
What if those were cut?
Cell phones are not a necessity...
They simply are not.
I could think of many more, but I would go on and on...
Instead of standing on the soap box tonight I stood on my taco
box to get all political..and it is starting to cave in.
So, I guess i am finished, however, I will see that the state of the economy, combined
with the people I work with each day--how very terribly they treat the product of sexual intercourse--
AKA {their children},
can get pretty depressing...I am pretty sure the U.S. .or (Amerka) as everyone so proudly calls it now..
is going to end up like a place...say Haiti...That is what I see all around me...broke as hell, uneducated people, who really don't care, as long as they can get their nails did, hair did, and f*c@. Did I really just type that???
Sure wish I could think of some wonderful plastic item I could hawk, and make millions...
or maybe we should all go out and buy lots of lottery tickets!!
That could solve all the problems at once, no?

Some good Pictures...and a story?

2011-11-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

These pictures are not really related to one another.
One is of the hayride that we took the other weekend when we ventured out of town
to visit friends in Alamance County (where we used to live).
The other is of one day when Elena said to me, "mama, i want to cut some Zinnias for you, can i?"
SO SWEET!!!
The other is of the day when Elena got to read to her class as student of the week.
Her teacher this year is the old timey kind.
I am just loving this year, first grade. Things are so different. She can read!!!
She enjoys reading!! She is very quiet, and shy. They had to really work so that she would read out loud to her classmates. You could have heard a pin drop in that room. The children were so respectful of her time, and I was very proud. Elena's teacher's assistant is a true gem as well. She really loves her students, and she is affectionate with all of them. According to her, Elena has really opened up, and she just has a great day each day. She talks, and shares... This makes me happy for Elena, and for her teachers too.
I have always said, about {shy} people, the ones who really get to know them, are the lucky ones...
they only open up for some people..I know this first hand...;).
Today I was in car hell.
Yes. That's right. We spent the A.M. in the car place trying to get mine fixed.
ughh..
Then we (Elena and I) went to a birthday party of a little girl in her class.
Then we (the whole bunch of us) went to an oyster roast--the first one of the season!!
Full day, now I wish for a calm tomorrow. :)

Good night!

Trick or Treat

2011-11-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

And this is our Halloween

in fotos...

A party with hot dogs

a minnie mouse, quickly recovered from the throw-ups,

two little boys--scary! :)

A first grade girl with her teacher, who is also her Nana's neighbor,

Candy,

Neighbors,

Costumes....

FUN!

That was our Halloween

2011

19 years ago...

2011-11-01T03:15:00.000-07:00

Andy and I had just gone on our first date!
We went trick or treating...
That was the guise to get us out of the house and walking around in the dark between our two
neighborhoods for a while.
Were we {too old} to trick or treat?
Maybe, but we chose the houses carefully.
At one house, we must have looked really old, b/c the person
gave us each a beer! :)
It is hard to believe that that was 19 years ago!!
The only kisses I got that night were the Hershey's kind. ;).
Andy lived in the neighborhood right beside mine, so we could
just cut through a yard, and hang out any ole time...

Baby Snuggles

2011-10-28T03:04:00.000-07:00

This is my snuggle bug.
There is still a little bit of baby there, but it is fading fast! :(
I try to pretend that she is still a baby--I mean, her hands are still chubby on the tops...
BUT,
She can also, pour her milk into her cereal (from a small cup),
She can pee the potty,
She can feed herself--and look for snacks,
She can {read} da book--and care for her own {baby}.
She can say ASPARAGUS! for goodness sakes, and help me break it when we cook.
:)
She totally gets it when I tell her that "I cannot hold you right now I have to ___ {fill in this with whatever}"
She weighs close to 30 lbs...

She will always be my baby...
That's the thing with the {baby} I suppose.
She knows it too...

Just in case....

2011-10-25T17:20:00.001-07:00

You have not read the blog in the sidebar called, "A beer for the shower"
Go read it!!
The one today is soooo funny!!
It is called, "White people problems"
You WILL laugh out loud.

What Victor said...

2011-10-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes children say things that are so smart!
They are just doing their kiddie noticing...but the things they say, are brilliant.
Here is one that V-man said:
"Mama, the double u (W) should actually be called the double (V) b/c when
you write it it actually looks like two (Vs)."
Man!
He is right.
"You know what?," I said to him, "In Spanish it is called a double (V) and not a
double (U)."
That is in Spain they say it that way.
I have heard other people--Spanish speakers here in the U.S.
say "Doble U"--not "doble uve"
His eyes twinkled when I told him that, he got it....
He said we should say it that way in English too, mama.

Now, if only he could understand the dirty socks/clean socks cycle.
Bethany, your post cracked me up!!
V-man squirrels his dirty socks away--so he can save them up so he will have a pair.
ugh...we do laundry every day!!
But then, his socks are no in with the other dirty clothes.
I got so angry over this--and I do mean angry--I began to holler
about it.
I wonder if he will get the point???
I sure hope he does, his stinky feet are SO EMBARRASSING!

I was really gonna post about carving the pumpkin, and the yearly fit my kids throw when we
do this...maybe it's the time of day??
But, I cannot find the pictures.
They have disappeared themselves from the computer. :)

Please let me outta here {a driving story}

2011-10-18T03:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, so having lived elsewhere, and now, mostly just staying right here, I have
noticed the driving differences that occur here in my little
{heaven} that is {home}.
Many people here 1. are here 2. are from here 3. have never left here 4.are never gonna...
so it could be called --hmmm I am word -searching
Well, let's just say that when there is a population of people who all stay in the
same place a whole lot--well, a {culture} starts to form.
Part of this {culture} could be --driving habits.
Here are a couple of them that I think are funny.
Every where else that I have lived when someone is pulling out of a parking spot they
sort of ease it on out there...ease, easy...then the people coming STOP and let the person
out, maybe that is b/c the people coming want that spot...
Maybe the people coming know that the backer outer cannot see a thing
Who knows...
Here when someone is easing--easy easy out of the spot people tend to say
"Look at this person, I reckon he is going to just pull right out in front of me!!"
They don't tend to let out the person backing.
So be careful if you ever have to back out of the parking spot here.
Another funny is this:
When the light is green---people approach it SLOWLY....
Easy there...that light might change up on you at any second...and turn
YELLOW!! ha!
Then when the light is actually giving the warning--ten cars fly through.
This is so freaking crazy to me..
Okay--other places when the light is green the traffic goes, goes, goes...
getting through the light is the mission, no?
Now I do remember something briefly being mentioned in Driver's ed
about approaching the intersection slowly, but--
My mama--she almost STOPS at the intersection.
These two driving
{differences} make driving around here pretty interesting.

Drunk and Strangled...a linguistics story

2011-10-13T18:14:00.001-07:00

I could not resist the title of this post.
I know it might generate some {unwelcomed} readers who might g00gle these words
as part of some deranged ideas..bueno, ones that I would find deranged.
BUT these are words that have different meanings to some {older} people.
People who are, say, my dad's age.
For example, when a child spins around and around..to me they might get dizzy.
To my dad, well, you need to be careful spinning that way sweet heart, you might
get drunk, and fall down, and hit your head on the cabinet.
When a child takes a big bite, I might warn that they might choke,and they need
to take a smaller bite.
For my dad, they might just get strangled.
I think this is an interesting change in word meanings.
I love to listen to the way people in different generations use words,
and how words change, it is just what they do.
So, as part of my job, I do a mass screening of all of the kindergarten
students at my school.
As part of the screening they have to complete analogies,
"Don't touch the stove, it is very hot, it's as hot as....."
{a girl?}
{a lady?}
{a dress?}
No sweetheart, I am talking about HOT.
It might burn you.
Tell me something that could burn you if you touch it...

Happy Friday!

So {exciting}

2011-10-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

First graders are fun!
Elena gets school now.
She is having a blast this year.
When they read books, they earn AR {dollars} to put in their wallets and buy stuff
at the AR store on Fridays.
Say what you want....I know many who would have plenty to say..
BUT--Elena LOVES IT!!
It is really motivating to her to be able to buy cute stuff at the AR store.
Kudos to her two wonderful teachers for keeping it fun and {real?}--that is how we work, no?

okay so on to part two of this post...
On Monday she came to me and said, "mama, if we lose a tooth at school we get to
get a cute little box to take our tooth home, so we won't lose it."
She was really enamored of this little box....(boy! genes are strong!)
She so reminds me of me...
So, anyway she has a {really loose tooth}.
On Tuesday the note I put in her lunch box was on two paper towels.
It said, "can you get your tooth out? "
So, on Tues. afternoon, she ran into my room, just BEAMING!!
She lost her tooth, and got that LITTLE BOX.
My heart skipped a beat.
I remember little things like that from my childhood, from first
grade, and wanting little things or trinkets, and the excitement I felt when,
from time to time, I got lucky!!
My mama was JUST AS EXCITED!!
I knew she would be.
Here is a picture of that cute little box...

Friend Chemistry

2011-10-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

We all know this exists.
Sometimes we meet people and something just clicks.
That, is when we become friends.
Click.
Chemistry.
Very interesting to me.
It is interesting to watch my children in their friend-making.
I always love to see who they {click} with.
ughh..I just realized this post was sounding clickish!!
That is not what I am meaning to deliver.
I meant --the special thing, friend chemistry.
There honestly is no rhyme or reason to friend chemistry I think.
Here is V-man's buddy, Rei.
Rei's parents are from Singapore, and so is she.
She was at Preschool with V-man, and is on his soccer team.
They are true buddies!
It is so cute to watch them.
You can tell, by watching them play, that they have
friend chemistry.

Rei and her family are moving to Australia.
She has already had her last day at pre-school.
I guess she might be at soccer tonight???
BUT the other day, on a Saturday, her dad put our address into his GPS, and brought
Rei over for an impromptu play date while her parents packed up their stuff and cleaned
their rental house out.
They had a blast!
It is sort of sad to me that she has to move away.
What an adventure! for her family.

I {heart} ice

2011-10-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

So can you see them?
The heart ices in the hamburger helper?
We have a little ice tray--it is made out of rubbery plasticy stuff and it is pink.
The ice shape is a {heart}.
They are tiny and cute, and when my children's food is too hot, well,
I put a heart ice in it.
Last night I even put one in Andy's food, his was too hot too. ;).
Eva will not eat hamburger helper, but she will exclaim, "hey, you
not take my picture, mommy, hey! mommy! you not take my picture!!"
So there she is! :)

Old Pictures

2011-10-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

i marked the passage of time
today by cleaning out the closet{s}.
Since the addition of the bathroom, I have been able to unstuff the other closets and re-organize
so that things are not so junky. ;).
I was feeling really emotional as I did my cleaning.
I found two pairs of Cars crocs that have housed V-man's feet for many many days...I guess
that was last year, or the year before.
They, along with a 2 pairs of Garanimals pants, were in the WAY BACK of the TOP of my closet.
For some reason certain clothes really hold memories for me.
So, they go into the {memory clothes} box...you know the pajama pants you wore
at the hospital when you first snuggled your babies...
the little pajamas that V-man wore and I can still see him, squeezed into those soft pajamas
like a little sausage--boy was he a snuggly baby! (those are in the tub too...)
I got all that stuff out of the closet down here, and put it into the attic.
Then, I switched out my clothes--which, once I get started, is actually really fun.
I get excited to take out my (other) season clothes, and wear some different stuff.
It is fun to put away the (other--outgoing) season, and kiss it goodbye.
The other thing I did was:
Clean off Andy's dresser. This should have been a blog post unto itself, however
I have no {before} picture so you would have to imagine a dresser...
FULL to the BRIM with dust and lots of manstuff...screws..compasses,
cards, cards, mail, mail, screws, golf balls, camping gear, kiddie stuff, change...
nurse stuff...
It was really full.
So I organized it all, sorted through it, and put all the manpapers into the file that says
{andy} . ;)
Then I dusted. It looks really nice now.
I took Elena to show her, and then I showed her the closet with
her Daddy's stuff looking really neat, and she squeeled she was so delighted.
:)
So the pictures up there are two years old, they are from 2009. It is hard to believe how
time flies. That really seems like it was no time ago, at all!
It seems like a blink ago in some ways...
A lot of days squished together into one blink...yep!

Have a great week!
I am really craving a trip outside of the BoCo--so be careful bloggy readers,
I might just show up at one of your houses! :)

GRITS

2011-09-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

This is a popular t-shirt, bumper sticker {whatever else} around here..
Girls Raised in the South..
Cute..
But this post is about food.
Grits...
I love em...can't get enough of em.
So tonight Andy and I went out and the menu
had Pimento Cheese grits... HELLO!!
That is a girl's dream,
I never met a pimento cheese I did not like..even the ones that are so bad they are without actual cheese!!
I never met a grit I did not like--even the dried out ones at restaurants..
I am sitting here now enjoying leftovers.
I am convinced...
every {smart} culture has their own version of grits...
for sure.
Hominy
whatever else...
and some corn bread too.
My mama fries it..
Camelia and her family {love it}.
Fried corn bread, I have decided has to be very near and dear
to their hearts as they have corn tortillas every day all day..and it is a
variation on the same theme.
My children love it too, and on Sundays they have their own plate
of mini cornbreads.
Andy's dad likes it...he is not {from here}.
He asked me: "now, does your mother have a mold she makes these from?"
No sir, I said...just a {masa} batter, and a tablespoon...
Good ole corn meal...nothing like it! :)
Happy weekend.

You're {invited}

2011-09-30T04:35:00.000-07:00

to the wedding of
SPOT!
Yep, according to my children,
Spot is getting {married}.
He has a girlfriend--she lives three doors down
in the little brown house that always has pretty decorations.
She is a little black furry chihuahua/poodle mix.

Ummm..according to her owner--who I just met yesterday--she
is a very good listener, always comes to the back door when called, and
is about one year old.

To do:
Call and make that appt. to get spot fixed.
:)

The good side of this:
I met my neighbor yesterday AM when I had to go and round Spot up from his galavanting.

Have a great Friday!

SHOCKED! {updated}

2011-09-28T02:53:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone,

I was just packing my lunch.
I was about to open a little cardboard wrapper of some diced
peaches in a little plastic cup when I saw it...!!!

Product of China

What in the world??? This cannot and does not make sense to me.
It's not b/c I am being some kind of nationalist who will only eat merkin peaches either.
It is b/c of how absolutely {stupid} it is to me that the grocery store
based in freakin
Salsbury NC is importing a fruit that
GROWS RIGHT IN THE STATE UNDERNEATH US!!!
This drives me bonkers.

I will not eat them.
They will go back on the shelf, and I will complain to the
people at the store--the manager, and
the ones in Salsbury.

I guess while I'm at it I could also complain that all their seafood comes from
Thailand or somewhere too...and ummm...
We are surrounded by salty water that is absolutely full of fish...
Yeah, maybe I will!
:)

No peaches for Elena today....

So when I went into Food Lion the girl there, the manager, readily gave me my money back for the Chinese peaches...
I headed back to the packaged fruit aisle to get a replacement and....
wait for it...
wait for it...
try to guess..
THERE WAS NOT A REPLACEMENT.
All the companies that sell the cute little packaged fruit are getting the peaches
from China, oh, and the pears, they are from Thailand.
Man, that pear tree down the road is looking more and more vital every day!
The manager was very nice, but she acted like I had lost my marbles, and then
the cashier, well, she wanted to blame the government.
I said to her, "actually, greedy people, who run these companies love to buy the cheapest fruit, and then they can make the most profits, and since these peaches and pears come from somewhere where the farmers {probably have to follow} zero environmental rules or regulations...well, I bet those were some cheap pears and peaches..."
I also said--I am sure she wanted me to shut the hell up--
that if we all stopped putting up with it...AKA don''t buy the Chinese fruit
well, the companies would stop putting it out there...

Then the manager said, "well, I don't eat no fruit anyway, I am allergic to all of it..."
Well, there you go, I thought to myself, I thanked her kindly and walked out, with my

BAG OF WHITEHOUSE BRAND APPLESAUCE IN THE LITTLE PLASTIC CUPS...WHICH
IS A PRODUCT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND PACKAGED HERE TOO!!
I guess we will be getting our {sauce} on this Winter..
:)

V-Man

2011-09-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

V-man is really into the
sticker chart thing.
He has been on a {helping spree} lately.
:)
I love it! Yesterday morning he cleaned off the whole dining room table, and today
Nana reported that today, while Eva napped, V-man was cleaning everything up,
"boy, he really deserves some stars"
Well, two is all one can earn in one day.
So there.
But it's all good, I am trying to teach them that
they need to clean up...
I mean really.
That is not a joke.
I don't like sloppy, and sloppy makes me ill.
So we all have to do our part, b/c I am not a maid...
okay...this {sweet little post} is turning into a rant.
Love you bloggy readers!! :)

Thought for the day...

2011-09-26T03:22:00.000-07:00

I wonder if all of the NC teachers and assistants who have lost their jobs are now buying up
lottery tickets as fast as they can in hopes of either
1. buying back their jobs, or
2. getting {richer} {quicker} than they could have ever as a teacher or assistant.
oh no!!
I {forgot} that money is going to
1. buy fancy ad campaigns to sell the tickets and
2. run the problem gambling hotline

ha!! Now there's a laugh, or a cry...depending on who you are...

I can't think of a better tax on the poor than
{false hope}

Update

2011-09-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

Well,
despite all of the anxiety,
it all went off without a hitch!
We went to the shower, {fun}.
I got to see two girls who I have not seen
since we graduated from High School!!
Let's see, and then
I took V-man to the birthday party--which was quick and efficient...
one hour (that's the kind I like)
We broke a pinyata the guero way--which is really damn funny once
you see how other people do it... namely Mexicans--who I {think/assume}
invented this.
All of the kiddies sat on the rug and waited their turn.
every adult in the room watched--hoping like hell that
no one got hit in the head with a foam bat--
And I do not make fun in saying this a bit...
I am a guera--btw.;)

So then I ran by the newest boutique on main st.
For Reals...we have two of them!!
no lie..full of shit you cannot afford.
(I need to blog about my recent trip to Belk btw)
So, any way, V-man and I went to get the girls after our
boutique shopping exp. --He was playing with his buddy...
taking pics with the DSI
so then...
It was off to Sissy's house to disturb her Saturday afternoon peace.
I was sorry, but as she would be quick to point out, not sorry enough
to not show up, without calling in the pouring rain, and send my kids
around to the back glass door, where I knew Collin would see them
and open the door. ;)
Nice visit...
I do owe her one!
I did promise to not do that again for six months...
It is not nice to have the Sat. afternoon super snuggle football watching peace disturbed.
I know this, but I was desperate!

Okay, so so far--I have survived..
now to get these kiddies in bed..

{my} Saturday

2011-09-24T04:36:00.000-07:00

EEK!! Y'all!!!
This is the kind of Saturday I really do not like.
Andy is at work--see ya at 9:30 tonight!!
We have
1.Soccer at 9:00--be there at 8:30
2.Soccer pictures at 9:30--for the other kid who {does not want to play}
--taken care of...she isn't playing anymore as of 7:30 this AM--called the coach
3.Allow 20 minutes for V-man to go crazy b/c of all the crap he has to wear on his feet.
4.leave for a bridal shower at 10:00--did I get ready?--do I get ready?--have to go to G-ville
5.Get home and go to a b-day party
wtf?
I mean I just worked all week, and now I get the pleasure of being a circus ring master.
This is where {nana} comes in. ;)...
Let me say THANK GOD FOR NANAS AND GRANDMAS!!!
Nana is cool as a cucumber...oh, just bring them all to my house, or
no biggie, Susan, I will just zip by and pick them up at 8:30...no biggie...
She is not worried about the {rest of the day}--not one bit.
I worried about it all night, and got up at 5:30.
I like free time to be free time.
I want to organize my closets.
But you know, there is also to celebrate my friend's marriage, and
there is also to play sports...right?
Oh and btw..I do know that it is a poor reflection on parents when
their children quit..and I don't even care.
I mean, when there are three children and two full time jobs...
free time should not include tears over not wanting to engage in the {fun}
I mean if you cannot {change your mind} about playing rec. league soccer when you
are freaking six....then when could you ever, no?
--this post is chock full of guilt...so if you are feeling guilty this morning about stuff too,
just send it my way...
Happy {free} day folks!!

By any other name...

2011-09-23T03:27:00.000-07:00

In this month's Marie Claire, the name Elena appears three times...in one issue!!
I am pretty much amazed at this.
Elena is not, by any means, a new name.
I really don't see it much, however, living here.
So when I saw three different articles in the same magazine
with my baby's name in them, I was amazed.

Elena's teacher calls her, Eleena.
I mean the teacher's assistant.
I do not correct her, I am just sure to say it the way
I want it said a whole lot of times in any given exchange.
Surely she will catch on.

If only the Marie Claire could talk.
Read itself aloud.
I would take her this issue, and she could
hear it in three different articles,
saying itself.

:)! I think people here who have the same name spell it
asi: Alaina. Which is fine too.
When I was pregnant, though, I just thought that version
did not look right.
Something about the way it looks, written down, I do not like it.
:)

Okay, I have to go and make some rolls--I mean watch them
in the oven.

Mission Completion {almost}

2011-09-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

You can see,
This is our new bathroom!!! Yippie!!
See today the plumber came and hooked up the toilet, shower, and spigot at the sink.
This means that the bathroom is, for all intents and purposes --finished!
The knobs are on the cabinet (thank you Andy) this means I can put my stuff in the drawers.
The children are enjoying a bath --V-man was cashed out on the couch.
A couple of cosmetic (paint) issues had to be fixed before we bathe in there.
We still need a 3/4 inch round at the bottom of the wall...(moulding).
Also, the mirror I selected at Low3's was broken around the framed edge..gonna
get a new one.
So, we are almost finished with this wonderful addition to the house.
and I LOVE IT!! It is truly going to be exciting to organize the closets, drawers, and to hang the shower curtain.
Cannot wait! :)

This is so political {might get erased}

2011-09-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

but...here goes, let me get out my soapbox {too}..
The debate over an amendment to the Const. of NC has been raging on f-book.
It is a local debate, with people from my town weighing in.
Very interesting.
I am proud to say that there are people on both sides of this fence.
But really, when any given person is against {something} they
should just not engage in the something.
How simple is that..??
Tis a gift to be simple, no?
If you are against (Ab0rt0!n)--then don't have one.
How easy, no?
If you are against gAy MArrr!age...then don't get gAy Marri#d.
So simple.
Mind your own business..I am sure we all have enough to mind,
without amending government documents...
now, come on!

**in case you are wondering, dear reader, why all the mis-spellings..
I am not interested in long strings of comments with everyone's opinion on them.
So if any of the {hot} words get googled, i am hoping my post does not come up, so
that everyone who h@tes my opinion will find my blog as a hot bed for their
dissent.**

Furthermore, it is outrageous to me that our politicians manage to find the time...with
the sinking economy, and the firing of teachers, and the canceling of Pre-K, to debate this
matter at all...

A cool job

2011-09-17T05:46:00.000-07:00

The past two days I have been playing an "I spy" game with my kids at school.
They have to spy the stuff, and then ding a little bell.
I am not sure how many of my bloggy friends have seen official, "I Spy"
stuff, but it is fun to look for all of the teeny tiny objects mixed in together.
I sort of spaced out for a minute, and it dawned on me...
Someone, some lucky person, has the job of arranging all of that
stuff, and then taking pictures!!
How cool would that job be?? !!
It would be fun to round up all of the little bitty stuff (I sort of love little bitty stuff).
I would like to meet a person who has that job, and you know what,
It cannot be a computer, I don't think, b/c the way all of
the "I spy" pictures are, they are objects--not computer generated
stuff....
Lucky dog!

3000 points!

2011-09-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

That's all you need at our house to get a trampoline!!
Sometimes ideas hit me over the head like a ray of freakin sunshine!!
So, here's the deal,
Tonight I asked:
"Whose socks are these? On the rug, by the dining room table?, Elena! come and pick them up!"
Then I realized, no, they are V-man's socks...
So, Elena jumps up and runs to put them in the dirty clothes basket.
V-man, well, he barely batted an eye, continued to suck his thumb, and rolled
his eyes at me...
So then I said, "OHHHHH, Elena gets 10 pts. for that! She just jumped right up to help! and do the
right thing!!"
V-man instantly started to cry like crazy..anything with points, and him not getting the points...
well, it basically drives him crazy.
So, then it hit me...in all of my tiredness...
That's it!
A trampoline chart!!
There you go.
So for 3000 points they get a trampoline.
That is 1000 points apiece.
Or in any combination.
So, when they do good stuff--yet to be determined--they will
get 10 points.
The {stuff} so far is:
pick up your stuff, and put it where it belongs (or Daddy's boots, socks etc.)
Put yourself in the bed and STAY THERE. ;).

Look for a new chart on the fridge...coming soon.
Then, when they get the Trampoline, they will have earned it.
No, Santa's elves don't make those, and Mama and Daddy have to
pay for it.

{Yippie!} There's nothing like a sense of accomplishment. ;)

Carvin 07

2011-09-14T03:22:00.000-07:00

This folder stares at me every morning lately, when I am looking at the computer screen, in a blur waiting for
my internets to open...
I knew what what in it, but this morning I treated myself to a slideshow...
Check out my Sweet, Sweet, child when she was but a wee lass...two, to be exact.
At this point she was used to her baby brother, she was already, no longer the baby...
But looking back, she still looked like one!

Man! I miss our house in Graham too! I loved that house!! :)

Nicknames

2011-09-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

I do not even know how to say Nick name in Spanish, but I {have one}!!
This makes me very excited.
It makes me feel welcome!
It makes me feel at home.
One of {the gang}.
Okay, maybe that is a stretch..
BUT
Here is the scoop.
The other day at Yineth's (Jeanette's) seventh birthday party
the people who I have seen at every one of her
birthday parties since she turned four...well,
They called me guera (gwera). They were not referring to me in the
third person, sino they were saying, "hey gwera!" This means that 1. They cannot remember my name
from year to year, so they just picked something about me that would
distinguish me and make me look, and they called me that.
Gwera means "white girl, or white lady"
That is my nickname among Camelia's people.
So this is what Padrina said (I can never remember her name either,
but she is Yineth's god mother, so I call her "madrina")
"You are very skinny White girl"
bah ha ha ha!!
That is a very literal translation....
paired with knowing Madrina, and being in the moment, you
might translate it, ...
"My, My you are getting very skinny, white girl"
Not so different, huh?
So then we had a whole conversation about "skinny" etc.

I will say, that in all of my experiences among all of the different
Spanish speaking people, they give nick names very much more readily than {we} do.
I guess {we} is the run of mill white people...b/c I think black people give some
nick names too...I mean just off the top of my head, I can recall, Muffin, Nique Nique, Tu
Tu--and I still see them every week! :)

Back to the party...
I heard
Little fat girl--Imagine the stuff this chubster will be saying on the couch--she is going to
be a United statesian after all!!--She will be on the {couch} --
I think "little fat girl" might not be so bad among the Mexicans...
It is all interesting to me.
Here are some other interesting tid bits...

*They do not sing {"Happy Birthday"} or "Feliz Cumpleanyos" --nope
they have a whole nother song...
**The Pinyata song is priceless...
Dale Dale Dale, no tiene sentido, ...some more stuff...
*"cookie" seems to love the drink--no matter what the culture, and his kid will be
in V-man's grade..cookie kept sending his kid over to fetch him beers--very funny!
**Does everyone --every family--have the AUNT the one who knows how it all has to be done?
My family has one...and so does Camelia's--she calls the shots..I held her 8 week old baby (and was thrilled to do so) and she led the festivities...when to sing, when to break pinyata, when to eat cake etc.
Aunt Elena btw...she knows the deal--so don't worry if you are clueless...

So these parties are so growing on me, and btw a {small } party for Camelia--who is expecting again, and
is tired, is 40 people or so...
ughh...
:)
SWEET!
There is more... so, I am not sure why I numbered #1 up there...but
At all of these parties I have noticed how all of the children just run around and around
into the night, and at 8:00 when Jacinto noticed my nervousness he said to me, "Susana, you know, in Mexico when we have a birthday party, the children just run around until they fall out...
it could be 11 o'clock or 2..just depends on the kid.."
I was just about to leave, and I did a bit later...but I thought that was
interesting too.
He knows my gwera hang-ups,
Watching my children with their kids, is always a treat!
Whenever there is a pinyata around children go nuts.
The one who get the stick (and I do mean a stick--a big one, one time it was a metal rod)
just swings and swings.
So, there I am, with that nervous stomachy feeling thinking, "um, someone is going
to get their head busted open."
and V-man says, "I think we should all get in a line!"
bah ha ha ha --all over again..
No line was ever formed, the kids all knew --little children first, and then the big kids
(who actually break the thing).
At Mexican parties, the Pinyata moves {itself} Se mueve-if you will.
Mean trick to the gwera girl, but more fun to everyone else.
Also, the longer I am here I am realizing all of these connections.
Sanchez, the cook, works with/for Danny (Salt's husband).
He is a wonderful welder, and Danny loves him!
Sanchez's brother, well, he is the baker who made the cake and owns
a wonderful business downtown.
What a small world!
And to think...it is a world away for me, but just a quarter of a mile up the road.
Ay Que Suerte!

So this is how you make it...

2011-09-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

Beer Margaritas,
And Morgan THIS IS FOR YOU!! :)
Get a frozen limeade from the concentrated frozen juices, dump into pitcher,
fill the limeade can with tequila, then dump four beers into the mix.
Sound gross?
It's WONDERFUL!
We are enjoying them now, after five couples came to eat..with all their children.
So there were ten adults, and 11 children...lots of food, and a double recipe of
Beer Margaritas. The beer
margaritas were served in this:
You can find one on Classic Hostess dot
Com....I just bought one for myself! :)

Go make some soon! :)

Soapbox {again}

2011-09-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

This post, well, it might really trip some triggers, but here goes...
Today I was asking my co-worker about seeing the movie, "the help"
She said that she was really eager to see the movie, she had not seen it yet, and she was
just amazed that it was even showing here.
I asked her, "Why?"
--you need to know, dear reader, that she is not {from here}.
Nor is she Southern.
She was assuming that a movie with racial social commentary might not be well
received {in these here parts}.
Well, I took my five minutes to {school her a bit}, and to be honest, after having lived here
a while, I am surprised she needed schooling.
The place where I live, up until now, has been mostly half white and half black people.
The white people here do not go around saying where their ancestors are from either..
We are just white people who have been here (Eastern NC) a long time.
The black people have been here a long time too...
Enough said.
So I said to her, "It is surprising to me that you would think that this movie would be offensive,
or touch a nerve. This is {our story}."
Now this movie is not the story of everyone.
BUT every old white lady I have talked to remembers that time, the hair
the social strata and the mistreatment of half of the population b/c of the color of their skin.
Yes. They remember it.
I did have to confirm with my mother that people actually did their hair that way...
Since I left home after high school even until now, I am always amazed by
the assumptions that people who are {not from here} make about racism, about
how Southerners interact and treat one another.
When I have actually asked these people questions..well, I have been schooled on
what {theoretical} means.
Not being racist is theoretical for them...as most of them never even went to school with a
black person--there were no black people at their school in (you pick it)--New Hampshire,
Wisconsin etc.
There were none.
So then, when I can say to them, well, you see...
A black lady really did raise my mother.
I went to school, and grew up with (fill in the blank's) mother, and aunt
and cousins...and I have known them all my life. My principals, and teachers and the
valedictorian of my graduating class were all black people....
When I can say that relating to people of another race is built into my life and has been
for generations...then I can honestly say, and believe that I am not racist.
I really do care about the education of all these kids, and I have a vested interest in them...
I know their mama! :) (They all love it when I tell them this, no matter what shade of skin they have!)
Meanwhile, some of the most racist remarks I ever hear come from people who have moved to the South
from the North or Mid West, and they realize that --ugh..We all go to the SAME WAlH3ll HERE!
Yep...there ain't two em...
You are gonna see lot of black people all around--b/c that is how it is!
And how Not Racist do you feel when you actually have to live around, and educate, and shop with
people who are not just like you?
It is not theoretical...so check yourself, and do not assume anything about me..

Buckshot

2011-09-07T03:21:00.000-07:00

Hello again!
I cannot believe I went a week and did not post!
Well, there was that one...{it was terrible}--the one I deleted.
:)
Here are some nice bullets for you this morning.
Nothing in my mind is very cohesive right now.
It is all there.
It is all fine...just not well planned. :)
**yesterday was the first day ever that all of my children went to school! very cool! Eva is going to the
two year old pre-school class, even though Elena and Victor did not. Her personality really lends itself to the school at two concept..in my mind, at least--but what do I know? She came home with a little crown that said, "I survived my first day of school" So funny really, b/c I guess that is what two year olds do. She just clung to me the day of greeting teachers, which kind of made me second guess my choice to send her (and pay for it!)
*This past weekend Andy and I took the kids to Sonic and to play at Sonic --in g-ville (there is
not a Sonic in Washington), and then we all went bowling! It was a hoot! Big Mama won at
bowling too...hmm hmm...Victor was determined to get that ball rolling as hard as he could, so he threw it something like how track people throw the shot put! CUTE! Eva in bowling shoes...CUTE!
**We have been adding a bathroom on to the back of our house, and our little gem of a shitter is almost finished! :) yeah! That was a crude way to put that, but I could not resist. We have had one bathroom for three years now, and my Daddy decided to help us remedy this one teensy problem with our otherwise perfect house.
*My mama and I went to see the Help on Monday--same day as bowling--that was a full day! We loved the movie! The book was great and they did an excellent job making that movie. It sure made me cry a lot.
If you have not read this book, read it. For real. It is an excellent book.
**Melissa, I love your pretty paint!
*Speaking of paint, I also spent a portion of last weekend painting in the bathroom, and it is still not finished.
So this evening Andy and I will be painting again.
It has been fun to pick stuff out for the bathroom, but it really makes you realize how expensive everything is!
Good lord....So, we have the cheap stuff, and that is fine.

And, I guess that is it! More later...I have some pictures etc.
Just no time. :)

So long!

2011-08-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

Gone...

This house was in Nags Head on the sound.
It was called the Stinson Ranch.
I have always loved this house, ever since I discovered it one time when I was out
rambling, sometime in high school.
This house sat out on the sound from 1898 until 2011.
Man! Too bad...
The sunset view from the rocks around this house is beautiful, and I imagine
that since 1898 many people have enjoyed the sunset from that porch.
If you want to read more about it, this foto was borrowed from the
Our State magazine.
One of their photographers took it, not me...
check out an article in Our State if you are curious..

I am off to enjoy some spam and cheese toast...
yippie! :)
We do love spam around here, and by {we} I mean --well, me. :)

Not to be forgotten!

2011-08-30T05:03:00.000-07:00

So, this was our first day back to school together! Our classic picture by the door spot has all
brown, I am thinking of a better spot to pick, but that is our back door...
Elena has her two front teeth out, she can untangle her own hair, and put on all her own clothes,
she can make a big part of her own breakfast.
I make her lunch. :)
She picked out her backpack and her lunch box, which has a matching water thermos. :)
We are very excited about first grade. She has several friends and a cousin in her class, and my favorite first grade teacher is her teacher!
This year my goal is not to eat lunch with her every day--I did last year...yep!
So we had one and one half days of school, and then we are not gonna go again for a while.
No biggie, we will hit the ground running whenever we are able. :)

Oh, Bethany, we got power again yesterday (Monday) at 2:45, and the phone was not working again
until last night --{see the tree in the road}

huirse (ooh ear say)

2011-08-30T04:55:00.000-07:00

Escape--from Irene--that is what we did.
Andy was at the hospital working, and we were
safely tucked away at my Mama and Daddy's house.
We started to hear the hurricane on Friday during the night.
By Saturday morning first thing, Elena had already learned
the pattern of strong wind (squall) and then calm...she told me,
"Mama, I have been listening to it all night!"
The lights went out at 6:30 AM--but thanks to my mom
we had coffee from an insulated canteen that she made just
in the nick of time.
Children played all day in the dark with their flashlights...
It was, by the way, a {very long day}!! It really
went by slowly.... very, very slowly....
Saturday evening the storm raged on--it really lasted
a long time!! My Daddy hooked up the generator...which
would run the freezer, the stove, and The Lion King on T.V.!
So the kids watched a movie before we drifted off--
nah...we actually just wallered around in the hot night air
and tried to sleep with a battery powered fan.
I did rest.
Sunday morning, we came home again, to clean the yard.
So, there are pictures of the huge trees down.
One across the road and on in the neighbors yard.
Eerily enough, none of ours fell, and neither did the swingset, and
neither did the TV antenna on top of the house....
ugh...that was strange, but fortunate!
I spent the duration of the storm at my mom's worried that
the two big pine trees in front of my house, would be laying in the roof (my
house would be a total loss if this were to happen)
Alas! They stood strong (thank you trees)
The pictures of the children playing in the water are of Andy's Mama's
house. There was sort of a lake from the rainwater on the street side of the house.
On the other side is the river (which had seven foot waves in it)

Now, we are waiting for school to start back.
Two schools in our county--I have heard--had the roof blown off.
One was flooded really bad.
Who knows when we will go back!!
So all of the kids who went to school last week for a couple of days...
probably will have forgotten all that before they get a chance to go back again.
;).
No biggie...as I told my children each time they bemoaned not having TV--
at least we are not under tents with flies in our eyes...
All is well here in the L Dubs :)