Positivity is hard to achieve

I spend a lot of my time reminding myself that I need to be positive. Negativity is harmful to relationships as well as the body, it accomplishes nothing. I've been there too often in my life and I don't like myself that way.
There are times where it's so hard to be positive instead. We loaned our car to a neighbor in need last year and when it came time to return it, he asked if he could buy it. We needed to get rid of it anyway, too small for us and we couldn't make payments on the car and a minivan as well. It worked out for all involved, so we agreed. Skimming over the following year - we have not once been paid on time. We kept our payment a month AHEAD and in 6 weeks he destroyed that buffer. We are not rich, never have been and never will be, we can't afford to pay for someone else's car. We tried being nice ... well, Mike has. Once month late and I wanted the car back, pronto. But Mike is a nice guy and I went along with it. Every single month for a year we have gotten stupid, obvious, excuses for why the money is late and sometimes he outright lied his ass off about it. Apparently, his bank is very unprofessional and misses his night deposits every time. He moved and we made a new agreement to get the last of the balance in 3 payments. HA! We have a mortgage and three kids and Mike commutes 30 miles to work and 30 miles back every day, we need to not pay for a car we don't HAVE. The insurance has still not bee switched, he has made us so late on our bills that we've had to sacrifice our grocery and gas budgets to cover everything. Obligations (such as gifts, swaps, contributions) are defaulted on, we can't go out to eat or take anyone else out to celebrate anything. We have to check the bank balance before we can get 1 single cup of coffee... I drink one cup a week. That's it!!
This Ass Hat has claimed boss trouble, job changes, moving, marital issuse, traffic, times of day, month, and week, phone service... he's blamed his wife, his boss, his bank, and still we never ever get the money on time.
He was supposed to give us last months AND this months. He was a week late in giving us last months money and has lied three times already about why he is stiffing us the rest.
We have two options - get the car ourselves or calls the cops. We're stuck because he lives hours away and we don't have his address, but if we call the cops they will stop him at gunpoint and impound the car. We can't pay those fees and as much as I want to see him drop kicked, no one deserves a gun in their face for not paying a bill.

weekends are great

I love winter weekends. Since the cold is intense and the windchill is -4, that may seem a little strange, but hear me out. The house is warm, we have plenty of food and lots to keep ourselves entertained. The van is out of gas so that will be a worry come tomorrow, but in the mean time I get my family altogether in one place for two days at a time.
All summer it felt like we were never together. I know we were, obviously, but the meals we made we fast and usually cold to combat the heat. During the heat of the day the kids would escape by watching cartoons in front off the air conditioner. The long bright summer evenings had the kids playing outside and Mike working late. There were upsides, obviously, but I felt like I never actually SAW them.
When the weather is cold, we all spend time together. The meals are hot and take longer to cook and eat, the kids and Mike help me prepare them. We sit together at the table and talk, play games and all snuggle in one room for our movies and popcorn.
Maybe I'm just being sentimental,maybe it's because it's our first winter in our new house, or the boys getting older... but I love it. These last few days have brought corn snow and graupel, lots of wind and cold, making it seem even homier in here.

A First For Me

I've had a lot of medical oddness in my life. No, I won't explain. However, out of all of them I never had the pleasure of being dropped in my track by pneumonia til now. I started coughing this funny, wheezy, phlemless cough a couple of weeks ago along with my youngest boy. He's two and since he snuggles tons and his bed is in my room, not a surprise that he got sick. Everyone else seemed to have the luck of not being sick. A week into it, Mase started getting better, his cough lessened and he got snotty instead. I got snotty too, but where his was clear, mine was... um.. yuck. And my cough got rattly and up higher in my chest. from the start I thought I was experiencing a mild form of heartburn because I had pressure in my chest. This got worse when the cough got rattly.
Mase is not even coughing anymore, but last night I had a bad attack of coughing, so bad that I couldn't breath in again unless I did so VERY shallowly and talking was out of the question. I haven't had much of a voice but this knocked it out altogether. I felt like the seams between my skull plates were busting apart and my chest felt jammed between a rock and a hard place, the pressure was worse and turning to pain.
Of course, being my husband, Mike got really worried and wanted me to go to Urgent Care. Normally I am not a hysterical sort. I don't go to the doctor often. I actually hesitated, then agreed to go so that worried Mike even more. Good thing I went. I have pneumonia. Never had that before! I'm on a 5 day course of antibiotics the size of horse pills and an emergency inhaler. Never had one of those either.
I should be right as rain in 3-4 more days and thankfully I already feel much improved. I expected the pills to be the part I hated worst, but other than nausea they are being kind to me. The part I hate is the inhaler. It makes me woozy and my heart races and the taste UGH. It also messes with my voice, I sound all "follow the yellow brick road".

Vintage Victuals Giveaway!

A friend shared this yummy Vintage Victuals blog with me and I've been following it for a good while now. The recipes are really great, you should all give it a try! I know my family loves it... I intend to try onion pie next. Looks gooooood. But back to the point.
There is also a Vintage Victuals store on Etsy, where some delicious looking jar-recipes are available for sale like Nutty Fudge Brownies, Gingerbread Girl/Boy Cookies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake, and the most intriguing to me... Buttermilk Spice Cake. I've never had anything like that and it sound warm and spicy and all sorts of good.

Why am I posting this? Vintage Victuals is having a give-away, 3 of those gorgeous jars. Personally, if I get them I'll be making gifts of them to some very special people. This year money isn't growing on trees and being a craft loving woman, my plan is to make this a Hand Made Christmas. Handmade by a vendor on Etsy and won free in a give-away fits my plan like a glove.

You really should go visit her store and blog, not only good recipes, but I like her way of posting, she seems nice. And yes, mom, I do think that counts. lol.

Fall in LaPine

Yesterday at about 3 pm I realized that it had been snowing for the last couple of hours the dogs had been outside. I rushed outside to get them and since I didn't see them right off, I looked out to the road where I expected them to be and yelled as loud as I could with a sore throat. Two lumps of snow jumped up and shook off as they came running. They were already completely covered!



The snow got worse overnight and the kids crammed together in my room on the floor. Mike had fallen asleep on the click-clack and resisted waking up, so I left him there. He woke at 4:30 am and barely stood up before the power went out. It was only out for an hour or so, there was a tree that went down in the snow and knocked out the power to our block. It got CHILLY for a while in the house but our room was toasty with all that body heat.

When we got up, Mike made cream of wheat and toast for the whole crew. It was so nice! I tend to miss him during the week and he has so much to catch up on most weekends that between kids and projects and work, I barely get any time. This weekend has been awesome. He didn't even have to shovel the drive in order to run an errand today because some wonderful neighbor plowed our drive for us anonymously. Still, we had to put on the chains to go check the mail and go to the bank.

Hair and other silly things

Since I've lost a couple sizes I've been excited about clothing again. Shoes too! Oh, to buy a sexy pair of shoes is AWESOME!. Soda is the devil and puffed my feet for years. Stopped drinking it and suddenly I can wear cute shoes. Of course that means a pedicure... which HAS to bring along a manicure.
Cute clothes, nice shoes, shiny nails, mom hair and no make up. Wait, what? Who likes clashing with your own clothing? I have been taking care of my skin since I had Mason. 27 is a little late to start, I know, but I suddenly developed undereye circles and my skin has taken on a look that flashed me back to my mom when I was 5. Not that she wasn't a pretty women, but it makes clear that I am still getting older on the outside even if I feel 24 on the inside.
I have been on a search for the right eyeshadow. Since I didn't wear it for most of my make up wearing years, I looked up colors and styles and brands. I faced that all important question of sparkle or no sparkle? Cream or powder? Shine or matte?
I found it, the perfect eye shadow for me. I brought it home and ripped the plastic off, too excited to care that it was 10 pm and I was headed no-where but bed. I followed the directions I had read so many times and applied my gorgeous new shadow. When I came out of the bathroom I felt something must have gone awry with my technique, it didn't look right. My dear, darling husband laughed at me. I believe the words goth, preteen, and hooker were brought into play.
OK, the makeup needs some work. So I'll start practicing. I was given a link to a video made for a website called Make Up Geek, it was good. I'll let you know how it goes.

Hair - I wanted to look like Sara Rue. I washed my hair and prepared to go get all glammed up. Sadly, Mike accidentally bypassed the salon and then when he made time for it, it was closed. Turns out it was ok to miss the haircut because we went over our grocery budget and my hair was not as important as food. Go figure.
Hey, if you have a suggestion for my hair, let me know! I still have time for deliberation before next payday.

Hey, there is life out here

Today the baby and I are sick. We've been a couple of weeks in getting there, but yesterday we lost the fight. I now have such a rough voice I could be a man in drag. My house is a mess. The kids are starting to take over and run the house like a lawless little group of Lost Boys.
My weight loss has ceased, but I'm just thankful I haven't GAINED. Not bee watching myself since I started feeling sick. Yeah, bad, I know, but who really wants to dissect a meal when you feel funky? I just want the food hot and on a plate. Mike is doing well, though, he is in a size smaller jeans! Woohoo! I told him it would pay off.
Since holidays are fast upon us, I suppose I should mention them in my little entry here. I was planning to take Thanksgiving to my Nanny and Dandad since they can't really do it themselves this year, but I was asked not to for the sake of peace and calm. Disappointing, to be sure, but at least the plans weren't set in stone and hey, there is always Mike's family, right?
Oh, try again!
My sister had started making plans that involved food. She got it... and now the plans have changed and she is left hanging. Nice of me. I feel good about myself for that. At least I have my in-laws to make a meal for. Oh, except I don't. Mike's parents are having a meal delivered and his sister and her children are going out of town for the holiday. That leaves me and Mike and the raggamuffins. Not awful, by any meals, but I was thinking on a bigger scale and it was sort of a let down to plan for 5 now. Truthfully, it's a relief. I'm not good at cleaning up pans, we would have had to make a bunch of little project deadlines and it's so much less stressful this way.
Christmas was supposed to be low key since we had a big Thanksgiving planned - that's changed too. Now my uncle Rob is coming out to see Nanny and Dandad and there is no way I'm missing that. I haven't seen him in years! Thankfully Mike has arranged for the time off :)
We've had so much cold. Snow and rain. Brrr. I have had to bring the dogs in the house for more than half the day lately and they need to have a water dish with a warmer soon. Thankfully, my stress over the power bill was premature. We have had a really reasonable bill these last two months and that is with temps below 24 degrees. As long as we are careful to shut off the heat and close the doors to rooms we aren't using and shut off lights when we leave a room, we can keep the bill about the same for the next 4 months. time to get the plastic on the windows though, they are a little draughty. The doors already got seals replaced and last night Mike fixed the front porch light - turns out that the people who 'remodeled' not only have vertigo, but they don't believe in grounding wires. Now that he upgraded that little gem of lighting, Mike shouldn't have to replace the bulb every week.

Water problems

We knew that buying a house would raise the stress level because of all of the upkeep, repairs, unexpected problems, etc. Of course, being first time home buyers, we tried to be smart and we took a class on home buying, we kept the book from the course and put it to use. Still, there is a lot we didn't know.
For instance, we don't know anything about pumps and wells. We know the water tests said the water was good. A few months after moving in we have grit in the pipes and a problem with the pressure because of the grit settling in the low spots of the pipes and clogging drains.
We knew the remodeling attempts here were inept, but the deeper we look we realize these morons messed with pipes, fixtures, insulation, and the well pump. No filter, WHO thinks that is ok? fortunately everything that need fixed can be done in steps and won't make the house unlivable.
Mike is getting some good use out of those home improvement books he started collecting a few years ago, lol. There are a few of these things we'll take care of in the next couple of weeks so that the house will be presentable for family we are having over during the holidays.
So - I guess our next sweat equity job is repairing the hole in the ceiling. Woohoo for learning how to hang drywall.
After that, we'll be replacing the fixtures in the downstairs bathroom, hopefully we can find a showerhead to make up for the low pressure.
I still can't get over how great it is to arrange my furniture in MY home and hang pictures or paint to my tastes without asking permission!

Stuff happening!!!

My little sister heard from her doc that she has the first stages of pre-eclampsia and she will be induced on Thursday morning. Luis will be here so soon!I wish Bert wasn't sick and could do this naturally, but at least I know exactly when to be there :)
I'm bringing clothing, my license and a camera. Nanny and Dandad have been sick, in and out of the hospital and on top of that everyone... my sister and her three kids, my mom, Nanny, Dandad, J and Jul and their two.. all of them got the flu. Bad sick.
Bert's chilluns are well enough to go back to school, so I am coming down tomorrow night to make sure they get to school and get picked up while Bert and mom go to the hospital and get Luis on his way. I have a very, very dear friend who knew I was desperate to get the gas money together to be there for Bert and she gave it to me. That was just... she is awesome. You know a friend is a good one when unasked, she is there for you. A lot of friends talk big and then don't back it up when you need them to the most. I have been guilty of it myself. Thank you, so so so very much.
Of course, for the great people you know there has to be a balance. Recently I have been faced with one of those. There really ARE times that what you learn as a kid comes to good use as an adult. In my case, " If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Words can't be taken back you know."
And my favorite, " Be quiet or I'll rip your arms off and bleat you with the ruddy blumps!" Now when ISN'T that useful advice? It's been the inspiration that has gotten me through some hard times. That and the Helen Finger. Of course, that's not easy to explain unless you like Cows That Moo and being loopy on Dramamine.

I digress.
My kids are getting so big and smart, my life is happy and I can't help but smile when I wake up each day.

My kids are getting so big, I stop during my day sometimes and just look t them. I have a hard time finding the tiny infants I brought home, the excited baby, the chubby face crawlers. Even my youngest is getting so independent and individual that I am starting to feel redundant. I suppose my oldest child being 6 and a half and so tall and my youngest weaning himself has made me feel a bit nostalgic.
My sister in law just had a baby boy and he is adorable. My sister is having a little boy as well, in only a handful of weeks. Every so often I call her for updates and yesterday she told me she had decided on a name for her little one. My reaction? I felt like crying. I adore babies... I like kids if they aren't too annoying, but I learned a long time ago I like MY kids, not every kid, but I really love babies. Every last one of them. It makes me proud to see the children my boys are becoming but sad to lose the beautiful round, giggling babies that need me and don't mind cuddling. I didn't realize how much I would feel the loss of the constant touching of newborn til crawling ages.. til they didn't want held anymore. Sadly, I have been holding the kittens tons more than I would have before because they let me cradle them. Pathetic, right?
Sigh. Time's unceasing march forward has been emphasized lately in the form of my grandparents as well. Dandad is barely there sometimes adn he has stopped recognizing me on the phone. I wish I could go see him more but we can't afford it and the weather tends to prohibit travel for a good half the year here.
My grandmother has been going through some hard stuff as well. So many problems, serious ones and she can't get any answers. She is reduced to not walking now, in constant pain, using a walker and a bedside commode and still the doctors can't help her. She has been so negative, talking about not wanting to keep going if this is her life from here on out.I need as much good news as I can get right now.

This is the 17th!!!

I'm so excited, today is the day we get to see Mick on TV. Watch PBS Sprout, the PicMe show. For family who don't get cable, we're recording it WILL find a way to share it with you all.
12 minutes of fame, yippee!

Kittens, kittens!

We have two new members to our household. They are as of yet still un named, but they are adored. My brother and his wife adopted a cat, Talula. She is THE sweetest natured, most loving cat I have ever known and when she was going to have kittens I begged for one. Mike allowed me two, so today I brought home a brother and sister duo. The sealpoint is a girl. She intense and energetic, but somewhat aloof and quiet. The black and white one is a boy, he's JUST like his mother in looks and personality - sweet, cuddly and loud when demanding attention. They have had free run of the house already and have stolen Mike's heart. He actually put down his laptop and the remote to come take the sleeping babies out of my arms... just so he could snuggle them. We've waited 4 years to get another cat because it was never the right time and we wanted to be fair to the feline and give it the attention and stable home it deserved.

We have exciting news!

We love the Sprout channel. I don't have to be careful what the kids see on there because it's a PBS channel for children.... nice and clean and educational.
On the show there is a website address for games and so on, www.sproutonline.com The kids love it, they all three huddle around the computer screen helping each other figure out puzzles, rooting each other on in playing games, and watching their favorite shows.
I received an email yesterday from a PR representative of Sprout, informing me that Mick had been chosen to appear on a show called PicMe. Basically, it's a child's face pictured on an animated story that lasts for about 15 minutes. Mick's story is going to be "Trains with Mick"
We're all so excited! It's airing on September 17th, set your reminders, DVR, or TiVo, Don't miss it!!

So long, summer. I'll miss you.

We live in an area that has amazingly short summers. Spring tends to start in the end of April or middle of May. We've still seen snow in June three years straight, though for the most part it's warmed enough to melt all but the shady spots.
This year was no exception but the weather stayed cool and comfy all the way through til July 20th or so. We then had about three weeks of hot weather, all the way up to 97 degrees for two of those weeks. There was a big ominous build up to thunderstorms that never appeared for days, til it finally culminated and broke in a spectacular display of giant hail, thunder, lightening, and heavy rain.
Since then, it's been cool, even cold. Usually we have til August 25th til we can't go swimming anymore but I think we reached that point already. I feel fall in the air, I can smell it in the soil and leaves. not that I mourn the loss of summer, I enjoyed it greatly while it was here, but I am eager to be snuggled in my new house this winter and actually have enough room for all three kids and our big dogs. We also haven't been able to do anything with the yard this year and I am looking forward to seeing our property covered in snow. Gorgeous and white and forgivingly covering the total lack of plants and landscaping here.

Next payday is supposed to be a good time to go visit family and I am really looking forward to seeing my grandparents and mom and sister again. With my grandparents health failing, I want to see them as much as I can while the weather is good. Once the first snow hits, we might not get to see them for as much as 6 months. My sister is having a baby soon, too, and I am planning the shower for the first weekend of September. I am so happy to give her a shower, I've attempted to every time but it has never worked out. This time will be different.

bored

Mom and Erick left. I cleaned the house. Now I have nothing to do. The kids are quietly eating a banana and watching Noggin, there is nothing requiring my attention. All I could really do is bake or wash the dogs and I hate washing the dogs. They run away. I get muddy and wet. Baking sounds better and better.

I love eBay

My mom is surfing around looking for a very specific yarn and stumbles onto an auction on eBay. The description is great so I had to share. No, really, it was a compulsion.


"The alpaca fiber contains microscopic air bags, which does possible to create slight articles of weight and with great thermal power, he is unusually strong and resistant. The force of her does not fall with the refinement, doing it ideal for the industrial process, is smooth and delicate to the tact. Its cellular structure produces an unequalled smooth tact by other specialized fibers. "

Damn, that's an impressive yarn. Forceful, powerful, strong, resistant and yet refined, smooth delicate, and tactful. As well as a hermaphrodite.
Now with air bags.

Home Owners Insurance? We have a problem.

UPDATE!~ We found out what it was. It was a box made from heating duct material. There are no ducts in our house, there is never been. Since we were warned that the people who lived here as renters a few years ago were arrested for growing and selling pot and the house had to be remodeled after they were kicked out. We're thinking someone didn't think to fix the random metal stash box, but instead nailed some ends of wood together to frame the inside of the box and carpeted over it. Our bed frame was directly on the box so the pressure of us on the bed was breaking through the ceiling.

















We noticed a slight bulge in the plaster on the ceiling in the living room a couple of weeks ago and best we could figure, we had missed seeing it when we were so excited about home owning and moving in... even though I was certain there was nothing wrong.
Right before we left for our trip 6 days ago, I thought I saw a crack on the edge of the bulge, but I couldn't be for sure.
This morning I came downstairs for my cup of coffee and while chatting to my mom I noticed that the bulge must have indeed had a crack... because it was now busted open and a chunk was hanging free.


This spot is about the size of my hand and directly under my bed upstairs. It's not on the supporting wall, it's not wet, it's not been touched so I was mystified as to what could have caused buckling of this magnitude.






I told Mike about it immediately... I guess I was hoping for a miracle and he would simply say " OH, no problem! I know exactly how to fix that, it won't cost a penny and it'll be done in an hour."
I never said it was an intelligent hope, I just wanted it to be true. Instead, while we examined it closer we noticed a piece of wood coming through the hole. This house has had extensive remodeling in a somewhat .... unprofessional fashion. This board that didn't appear to be attached to anything suddenly poking through the ceiling under my bed worried me a tad.
So what did we do? We pulled it out. It was penny-nailed to another board. Which was also penny-nailed to a third board. All had shiny, pretty finishes on them and were attached to nothing but each other. They came out of a hole that is lined with metal and the mottled sponge-rubber carpet lining is clearly visible.





Two of the boards came out, obviously having bent the soft little nails out of a right angle into a flat plane to do so. (they bent like warm butter)
The third dropped off inside the ceiling/floor somewhere and is no longer within reach, but here's the first one. The hole is just above Mike's green leather recliner so that is where it landed for the picture. He's not a happy homeowner.




I have never dealt with this problem before, not as a renter and definitely not as a home owner so I am a little unclear on the progression of event from here. I suggested we call the insurance company and I was told "tomorrow we'll call". I don't know how that'll work since it will be a Sunday, I just know I'm freaked out by BOARDS in between the floors of my house coming free. WTH went on during that remodel?

Cravings, we meet again!

I have been doing so well on making better choices for my food and being more active. I even scouted a new route for walking. Sometimes, however, there are times when the cravings just make one think "Screw health and weight loss, I need (your poison here)NOW!"
I don't let those take over more than once every couple of months anymore and I am still moderate (most of the time. What, I'm just being honest. I still get oinky every blue moon)
Tonight the cravings were screaming for eclairs. What was a girl to do but make them? I made the cream puff dough and while it was baking I mixed up one of the pudding singles packs, then mixed that with a little whipped topping to lighten it up. I cooled and cut the pastry and tried not to salivate near them, then spooned in 2 Tbs of the pudding mix and topped it with a drizzled of melted chocolate.
Oh, joy, thy name is eclair!

I did make a full batch which is 12 pastries, but the rest are going unstuffed into the freezers for a later date. See, still some semblance of self control. :)

A couple of days ago, I woke to run to the little girl's room at 4:30 am and the sight out my bathroom window was lovely. Fog rises nearly every day at 4-4:30 and I sit and watch it complete with the sunrise for beauty. It takes my breath away.
So of course, I threw on a robe, found my camera and took pictures from all around the house. I mean, who wouldn't? It got too cold for me during the last pic or there would be millions more. Enjoy!

Ah, the things one finds surfing the web

I love Fail Blog. I was checking it out today and found a submission from my birth city, Ashland Oregon. I am so very proud.


see more Fail Blog

Who doesn't love a good B flick?

I am not claiming to be a B movie buff, not by a long shot, but I do love them so. Like anyone, I have my favorites such as Empire of the Ants in which scam artist Joan Collins dooms herself and her customers to being attacked by giant ants

Night of the Lepus wherein rabbits are injected with hormones to control population but instead creates giant carnivorous bunnies who are fought of by the townspeople including DeForest Kelley and Janet Leigh
























The Wasp Woman, a cosmetics queen who volunteers to be a test subject for youth-and-beauty restoring injections derived from wasp jelly when her beauty fades. In what film would that end well?


















The ORIGINAL Day the Earth Stood Still, a film with Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal. This is one of those 'and the moral of the story is...' movies, but it doesn't detract from the impact of the tank melting scenes. Klaatu is a simple space-man here to share a message and a gift with the people of Earth, but things go haywire when a soldier gets a bit twitchy and shoots him.



















And of course, well known B flicks like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, where(I love this phrasing)"a wave of reports of mysterious attacks involving people and pets being eaten by the traditionally docile fruit" and the saviors of the day are an unlikely bunch for sure. Besides, oversize angry food is always good entertainment.


















and The Birds, the story of a rich city girl who follows her soon-to-be boyfriend to Bodega Bay where she stays just long enough to be trapped when birds of all shapes and sizes form vicious flocks of violent predators. That's what you get for being aggressive, Missy. Don't you know the man is supposed to make the first move?






















Oh, the wonderful, joy infused memories I treasure. Nights spent sitting on the couch with my best friends, eating junk snacks that should have given us coronaries within two bites, and letting Elvira and her gravity defying bosoms in painted on clothing take us down terrible, frighting, unbelievable paths of adventure with a moral thrown in once in a while for good measure.





















I will never forget the shock and dismay I felt when two years ago, I made a reference to Night of the Lepus and my husband stared blankly at me. HORROR! Who did I marry? Further questioning revealed the sad state of his education on the matter. He'd never read Hitch Hiker's Guide.... or any of the other works of Douglas Adams. Please don't feel the need to correct me, I DO know it's a book and not a B-flick (or wasn't at the time) but it's one of my favorite books of all time.


























At an appropriate moment in conversation on day I said "Klaatu barada nikto" and he said "huh?" because he'd never watched The Day the Earth Stood Still. He also had no idea why the 50 foot woman was so tall.
I could have cried.
Tonight was another reminder of how little he has really experienced. I was watching the 1980 version of Flash Gordon and the man had NEVER HEARD OF IT. Now, I ask you, WHO hasn't heard of Flash Gordon? Max von Sydow, Topol, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, and Richard O'Brien. Seriously, how could you have missed it?
































We'll work through it, we have a good marriage and love each other and love conquers many things. He's even made an effort to watch some flicks and has developed a love of Bruce Campbell's acting. There's hope!!!!!

The joys of a new home

I have been making my new home actually LOOK like a home, little by little. Furniture being placed, getting pictures out to hang on the walls, houseplants, etc. this has involved me running up and down the stairs between 10 and 20 times a day.
Those stairs have given me a whole new reason to love living here... I've lost an inch around my middle as well as more than half the 'muffin top' look I was sporting, my backside has lifted about 2 inches and my thighs are slimming down. Sure, the flat butt made my silhouette appear slimmer, but the lifted and tightened backside looks sexier. Even if it means I have a big ol bedonkey-donk back there again. I don't see that side of me often, I can deal.
I have been working on making permanent healthy changes to my diet for the past few months and I lost about 8 pounds. More water, less soda, getting a salad instead of fries, having a healthier breakfast, you get the gist. I am now looking good in a 24 and this means my next big goal is to get to a size 22. About 10 pounds. I need to give a little more effort, I think, so I am using weakling dumbells (because I'm a wuss now) and making sure to take the stairs more often. I should be there in the next 3-4 weeks if I am a good girl. Which in reality means 4 weeks or more, lol.
I feel so very good about myself and the way I look now, even though I am nowhere near my ultimate goal of a size 16. I decided to not use the scale, but to use clothing sizes instead. I feel prettier, I look better, I feel so inspired to keep it up, like I really will be able to achieve my goals.

Wish me luck!

Wait, what IS that?

I think... I could be wrong now, but I think.... is it stillness?

Mike and I are so very very thankful for all the help, love, support, and free childcare that our families gave us during the move and for a time thereafter. I enjoyed my sister and her kids so much, I loved having Elizabeth here for a week and change. It was a life-saver that there were people to either help lift heavy things or to watch the kids while WE lifted heavy things.

However, that gratitude and love doesn't stop me from sitting upstairs, soaking in the knowledge that this is the first time since our move that it's just me and the boys. When Mike gets home, it'll be the whole family and no-one extra. I'm caught between giddy excitement and peaceful contentment. We're not unpacked (I'd say about halfway) we have tons of laundry to do, we need curtains and curtain rods, the pictures are all still packed away, we don't even have hangers up yet. The upstairs toilet seal leaks, the downstairs showerhead is partially blocked and dribbles, the dishwasher needs L brackets to stabilize it and the heater in the downstairs bedroom is stuck on and has no knob.
We also have tons of sunlight from all the windows, the downstairs seems to always be cool and comfortable, there is so much room here that we can play hide and seek and it's actually a challenge. The yard is sooo big and since there is no landscaping yet, I can do nearly anything I want. Our neighbors seem nice.
I'm really happy.
The PLAN - enjoy unpacking, getting the house made into a home and checking off items on the Honey Do list while we have time alone here. Mike made plans months ago for a weekend in Seattle this July. The kids get to see a few attractions we know they'll love and Mike has secret plans for at least one night out for the two of us.
When we get back from the family weekend, my mom is supposed to be coming back up to visit. We got so little mother-daughter time while she WAS here that I am really looking forward to her visiting for no other reason than to drink coffee, hit the yarn shops and thrift stores, have our knit sessions, and talk talk talk. I miss my mom.
I wonder when my dad is gonna come see the place? I wish Nanny and Dandad could come up, but I don't know that it will ever happen.
My brother's cat Lula had kittens and from what I hear they are adorable. Mike suggested I get a cat and I can't wait to see them! I don't know which are spoken for already, but I don't mind. I just don't want a male who'll pee on my stuff. I went through that once before and it was enough.

OH, that reminds me! I get to see my Chris and Kirsten on the way up to Seattle!!!! It's been far too long. Chris spoke last night of some sheep who are endangered. Hand-pluck, no shearing, petting zoo size. This interests me, I would love to have sheep around... we'd just have to fence the place and plant grass first. We're doing that in the spring anyway, this might mean we won't need a mower :) ( I believe that is what he said, but I was tired and he might not have spoken of sheep at all)
I have a couple of boxes to unpack for my quota today, but after that I'm gonna kick back and forget it all. Ahhhhhhh. Good times.

This happened day before yesterday and I have been too busy to remember to come here and update... I did write about it on my favorite boards though, so here is a cut&paste.

Foxy got lost.
She and D'Oji have done so well here at the new place that we let them out for a while to do their business alone. Foxy is mostly blind and mostly deaf, has arthritis in her hips and legs and is 18 years old this December so I didn't expect her to wander off. She wandered to the end of the street last winter and someone picked her up and took her home, but this time I was sure it wasn't the same misguided Good Samaritan notion.
We called the animal shelter on Friday because she went missing that morning, but they had no calls about dogs matching that description and were closed til Monday. We drove around for miles, talked to perfect strangers, heck, we even stopped kids on the street to ask them if they'd seen her. We got a call last night.

A man was kayaking down the Deschutes river and found her in Tetherow Log Jam, 15 miles down river. She is home now, doing ok. The best we can figure is that our new street dead ends in the state park service entrance (blocked only by a yellow swinging gate) about 2 miles north of here and she must have followed our road straight into the park. Then she must have tried to get a drink or simply tripped and fell into the river... after her bought of doggy vertigo 2 years ago her balance is off and her legs are stiff enough from the arthritis that she wouldn't have been able to recover fast enough to not fall in.
What saved her during that 15 mile stretch is that the Deschutes is 85 miles of smooth, slow, gentle river. The class 5 rapids are further south and she missed them altogether.
The man was kayaking and saw her stuck half in, half out of the water on the Tetherow Log Jam and managed to get her out of the river and up the bank, then got her back to his car and drover her home before calling us to come get her.
She was barely moving, not responding to anything. We got her home, gave her something for any pain and I checked her over good... not one scratch. No yelps of twitches from pain, no breaks, just exhausted.
We stopped and tempted her with a hamburger patty on the way home to see if she would eat and man, was she hungry. She doesn't have any rattle or wheeze to her breathing, her lungs are clear. This morning she woke me up and had more to eat and drink then begged to go out. She wandered the yard slowly and with sore looking legs, but did her business and then stood in the sun for a while. I brought her back up to my room to sleep some more. She has been sniffling and sneezing a bunch but since her lungs are clear I think she got some up her nose.


I have had her for so long, she has been apart from me once, when I lived in a place that wasn't pet friendly. I was so scared, so worried, I would have been broken-hearted if she hadn't made it. I am still checking on her every few minutes to make sure she is breathing, happy, comfortable... as Mike said to the wonderful people who rescued her, "Foxy predates me". I love my husband and kids, folks, so don't get bent out of shape, but Foxy was my pillow when I cried myself through loneliness and anger in my teen years, she was my warm fuzzy foot stool when I was pregnant for the first time. She is the one that broke in our new puppy to the house rules :) She and I are forever, know what I'm saying?
Today she is doing really well, lounging in the sun and enjoying a gorgeous 74 degree day. She made it up and down the stairs, eating and drinking, no apparent respiratory discomfort, still going to the bathroom regularly.

We're Funded!

We signed the papers at 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon. We were told we had table funding, but no... so it had to be signed and sent back. This would take 24 hours.

Thursday we are told it was 48, not 24 hours so we'll be getting the keys Friday instead. It was reviewed, approved, and funded on Friday, but because it was turned in 30 minutes too late we don't get the keys til Monday.

Now we're waiting til Monday. Bert and the kids came up a week ago the same day as mom, we're all going grocery shopping today. Since I don't think I've gone food shopping with 6 kids in at least two years..... it should be interesting. As a side note, I never thought about how much food it takes to feed 10 people just for breakfast. 14 eggs, 8 potatoes, a double batch of biscuits, a 12 cup pot of coffee and 2 pints of juice. No left overs. I just kept thinking WOW.

My poor rose is holding on, but only has a couple of leaves left. The other is still dead, no miracle resurrections for me. Sad, huh?

We all had a laugh day before yesterday at my expense. Being the paranoid woman I am, I am 4 days late on my period and though I am nearly certain it's just stress I wanted to test anyway. Which is ALSO silly since I don't get a positive test til 8-9 weeks along even if I AM pregnant. We were at Wikiup Junction (a discount store here in La Pine) and I picked up pregnancy tests. I took one that night and got two lines instantly, same shade same width. PANIC.


As I frantically tried to read the box again to make sure of things, I realized the box said Ovulation Tests, and the result I got meant I was ovulating. So Bert took one, too, and apparently she is ovulating even more than I am. Her test line was MUCH darker than the control line. LMAO... it was great. But really, who ovulates the day after a missed period? I think the tests might be off slightly.

Laughed so hard I nearly peed.

Time again for the worlds most uninteresting updates!

My Peace rose is still holding on, the leaves are droopy and thin but the stems look healthy and the leaves are still green so I am pretending there is nothing wrong.
My other rose is still black and lifeless though, so I might have to face reality and let it Rest in Peace instead of continuing to try and force life into it.



Thank goodness the rest of my houseplants have been making me feel better about the dubious color of my thumb. They are growing really well and greening up nicely. Over the winter I was sure I would lose a couple of them, but no, they live!



I am particularly happy about my pink peony surviving. The youngest child has dug it up with a kitchen spoon three times now. THREE! Why does he persist? It's not yummy, it's not pretty, I can't even think it's much fun since he gets in trouble every time.



They aren't the only things growing like weeds. Say HI! The youngest is missing because he's down sleeping for the moment. I might post a picture of him later.



We're supposed to be signing papers either tomorrow or (more likely) Monday. We're leaving tomorrow after work to go get my mom. If we sign the papers tomorrow, we'll get her and rush back, but if we don't sign til Monday then we'll stay the whole weekend and visit everyone. Mike talked to the landlord and he's agreed to let us pay for another week here so that we have time to move.









While I'm looking forward to being in the new house, I'm already missing the vast green lawns and many beds of flowering plants here. The kids will have to make do with sandy soil and native sparse grasses for this summer. Next spring brings plans and planting, but there really isn't much I can do right away.
I'm still not excited, not even really hopeful yet. I know it annoys Mike, he has called me Eeyore and done that frustrated, annoyed snorty-huff thing a few times already. He just doesn't get it, I CAN'T be hopeful. That's putting too much of my heart on the line when I have already done that and every time it gets bruised up more. I can't take any more.
BUT, since it means a lot to him I am attempting to present a more optimistic face. I'm counting on it eventually working it's way to being real hope and happiness, but I just don't feel it.My happiness is based in my mom coming to stay with us. YAY!

OK, I believe it's summer.

I was thinking just yesterday that we didn't have spring. A few weeks ago we were still battling snow. In fact, we were dog-sitting for my sister in law and her husband and it snowed overnight. We know this very well because despite the fact that he was born in Wyoming, this chocolate lab seemed to thing lumps of snow falling from the pine trees in our front yard were violent and potentially deadly enemies he needed to protect us from. From his vast arsenal of doggy weaponry he used Super Loud Barking ability. All night.
Now we are fighting the heat. I meant it literally, we are sitting in the shade and turning on the AC and still panting a little by 3pm. Mick was in the sun on Sunday for about 30 minutes at a garage sale and busted out in the most adorable farm boyish freckles across hi cheeks and nose. Mack got a sunburn. Mike melted. Big ole Mike puddle right there on the blacktop.
I had lofty planting goals this year, but kept putting it off til we moved to the new place so I wouldn't damage the delicate things when we moved. Delay after delay with the underwriters led to no new plants. I finally got a rose bush, a Red Blaze, because the last two I got died. This one did to. Croaked right over, shriveled and turned black and brown. Funny thing though... it sprouted when I neglected it, but as soon as I gave it attention it died. So I did what anyone would do... I left it in the pot and watered it faithfully in the deluded hopes that submerging myself in complete denial would bring it back to life. I think of plants as plants, but feeling in my heart that they are living things and therefore crying when they die.... can't change that. Goodness knows I would if I could.
In the end, Mike bought me a replacement to cheer me up. It's the same species as the one Nanny and Dandad have in the front yard, a Peace rose.

Their bush is well over 7 feet tall and the roses are the size of soup bowls and smell heavenly. I miss them so VERY much and he knew this would make me feel the littlest bit closer to them when I can't be there. Strangely enough, the Peace rose seems to be thriving after I potted it. (I'm still tending the dead one, though. I said complete denial didn't I?)Feeling like I was on a good streak, I planted strawberries and salvaged some moss from the back yard where the dog tore it up in pursuit of a mole/vole/rock chuck... who knows what it is. My houseplants are finally thriving, but I haven't planted more seeds after the mass suicide of my indoor herb garden. I have the seeds... I just haven't had the heart. OH, I planted my peony root, too! I adored my mom's pretty red peony in the back yard. Every year I would wait for it to bud and bloom and I was always too tempted and could never keep myself from petting the blossoms. I was hoping for the same vibrant red, but my Mack helped me pick it and he wanted the pink one.


So that's what we got. If I can make this one live, I might try for the red one next!
We still haven't heard back about the house. We are told 'no news is good news' as far as the underwriting is concerned, but it's been so long and there have been so many delays. I'm not really holding any hope. That's too sad, so I am smiling and saying positive, hopeful things in the attempt to make myself feel that way again. Here's one.... I managed to get he house ready for a few showings and someone put a deposit down on the house. Our lease is paid through the 30th and we are supposed to close escrow on the 25th-27th. That gives us almost three days to move.

Hmm. May need to work on my hope-and positivity approach. Kinda gloomy.

In the meantime I am enjoying the overflow of life in our yard. We have birds in all of the bird houses as well as the family of finches that nested in our eaves last summer. They returned after the big wind storm a couple weeks ago and threw out the old nest, built a new one. I'm so excited to hear cheep-cheep-cheeping babies again soon. The tulips are blooming red and purple and yellow, right next to the candy tuft and johnny-jump-ups. So far, only one dandelion in the whole acre, woohoo!!
We have weeded the beds, started up the sprinkler system, and bought sunscreen to protect our super paleness from sunlight (hiss) Oh, sorry about the vampiric reaction, it's kind of automatic.
Let's see, anything else?

Yeah, I forgot! last night I was dying for Almond Joy but the store was closed and it was not really high on the list of things we needed to spend money on, so no chocolate for me. Instead, I found a recipe and tried it out. Let me say YUM. There were two kinds of basic recipes for the candy and I chose the less intensive one. Someone mentioned in the reviews of the recipe that hers were soupy... I made sure to let the Karo boil for a minute, just til it was thicker, not til it got color. I also packed the coconut a touch.
I was out of almonds, the almond extract made up for it fairly well. I had walnuts, but I figured there must be a reason it was Almond Joy and not Walnut Joy so I didn't try them. I did however, get a big laugh out of Walnut Joy. What can I say, it was late. This made about 8 bars in a size similar to the store bought ones.
This morning I made an imitation of the bottled Starbucks Mocha Frapp that Mike loves so much. I just added some condensed milk, regular milk, vanilla, and chocolate syrup to a pot of coffee. He liked it well enough that he took a bottle of it to work, as well as the last of the Almondless Joy.

Lego are dangerous

My kids love them, as I am sure many many thousands of children and young-at-heart adults the world over do. That doesn't mean they are any less dangerous. They come in pieces so small they can be inhaled. They come in pieces so giant that you can trip and fall while trying to get over them in the floor.
They are sharp on the corners and smooth on the sides. A child can give himself or his fellow playmates a bloody nose just trying to get the stubborn things APART.
Most recently, my youngest boy was sitting on a folding chair above a towering Lego boat my oldest had built and abandon. Instead of kicking it as he usually would or even turning onto his belly on the chair before sliding off, he launched himself into the air in a style that I could only think of as "Snow Angel in Flight" . he landed forehead first onto the pile and bounced off. As I comforted the poor thing, I tried to look for the signs of where the pain was inflicted and nothing was obvious. His crying and refusal to breath might have helped mask it a little. After a few minutes, bright purple circles showed up on his forehead.He hit so hard and so precisely that it left two and a half perfect purple outlines of circles above his right eyebrow.

I can't get a good picture, but I've never seen the like. He's balanced at least. He now has something to offset the pretty little purple-pink birthmark on the left side of his forehead. This is why I crochet them toys.

RAK for everyone!

Well, not everyone. If I could I would, don't get me wrong, but I really can't. I'm not as Super as I make myself out to be.

I joined two groups on Ravelry today. Handmade RAK and RAKs. Considering I've been a member for forever but have 5 posts to my name, this is kind of a big jump. I am SO looking forward to it, it's been a while and I like the way it's operated, making it easier to get/make something you can be relatively certain the receiver will like.
I am still trying to decide on what to make or give, but I only joined the groups an hour or so ago so I think I can be forgiven for not have made a choice already, lol.
In keeping with today's national theme, I want to say I LOVE MY MOM. And her mom. And my little sister. And every mom out there who knows what it's like to wake up with a child crying at full volume while sitting on your sleepy head in a diaper wet enough to be in the Guinness Book of World Records. Or to shower without privacy.... for years and years. Or know the feeling of eating your meal in snatches and nibbles in between meeting the needs of various children.

You're all AWESOME.

They must be born that way.

You know the saying that 'kids don't come with instructions'? I think that's wrong. They DO come with instructions, just not for us as parents. They come with instructions on how to drive us batty, how to make every day a tribute to the art of patience while keeping us on the edge of insanity.

I don't own any duct tape.

That may have seemed a little out in left field considering the subject, but there is a real and direct connection. If I had it, the kids would be quiet. They would be in the spot I told them to be. They wouldn't get into the cupboards. I would know where my phone is.

I don't own duct tape, therefore my kids are loud beyond reason, they never stay put, the contents of my kitchen and bathroom cupboards makes a daily (sometimes twice daily) debut in a trail between my bedroom and the living room. And most importantly, I have no idea where my phone is.

I need a stiff drink and a full time babysitter. Or a soundproof room with a handle-less door that latches only on the outside. Or possibly someday a kid-collar based on the bark collars sold in pet stores will become legal.

I love my kids, but sometimes I feel like the entire world is screaming in my ears and I'm tipping sideways. Reality is, the world is not moving in any way different from the beginning of time and I am sure the population of the planet are NOT conspiring to yell til a mom in a tiny town in Oregon goes crazy and ends up dancing on the top of city hall without a stitch of clothing on yelling about conspiracies.

Update about the house

Bad news first. We got a call on the 24th about the house. Mike got it, to be accurate. He was sitting at lunch with his parents when he heard back that the stupid fuss over the two year old PAID bill had lowered our credit score and when they re-ran it, we no longer qualified for the loan. This was devastating by itself, but then we realized two of the three home inspection costs were worked into the 30 year mortgage and since we no longer had the loan, we would have to pay those back. Several hundred dollars. Insult to injury, as far as I was concerned.
We have turned in our notice and broken the lease, heck we've even SHOWN the house to prospective buyers. The price of the home we're in currently living in has dropped significantly but it's still too high to allow us to buy just the land.
The mortgage broker told us that with our new lower credit score, we still qualified for a loan, but it is a different one, through FHA and not USDA and it requires $6225 down. We have nowhere near that amount available to us, we know no-one who would. Fortunately we had signed an agreement to extend escrow to the 29th, so we had 5 days to find the money/funding.
A co worker asked Mike how the house stuff was going and with a short explanation he got them up to speed. Then he joked "If anyone knows a way of making $6225 in 5 days, be sure to let me know."
His boss, leaving very soon for a business trip that would keep him away two days past our time limit, took him aside and wrote him a check.


Yes, I'm serious.

We never would have thought to ask him. Even if we had, if would have occurred to us later that night or the next morning - after the boss was gone. I was so happy that Mike said it was best for all of us that the boss was already leaving town, lol. I might have attacked him in joy.

SO ..... Mike called our mortgage broker right away to tell her to apply for the FHA loan ASAP because we had the money. At this stage all we can do is wait and try not to think about it falling apart at the last second again. Good and bad news all in one - we only have to wait til the 29th to know for sure. After that, our agreement is no longer valid.

Waiting can kill

I've been told so many times that "XYZ never hurt anyone". the XYZ has been everything from love, to hard work, to a single drink.... but it's not true. I don't know how people can say it when it can't possibly be true.
In my latest situation, it's most commonly been XYZ= waiting/patience. Again, not true, it depends on many factors such as what you are waiting FOR, how long you wait, and if you have any influences on your health that might make the stress a negative in the equation.
And yes, patience IS a virtue, but sitting twiddling ones thumbs is not.
PERSPECTIVE people! Don't bandy around such pat sayings unless you can either back them up with proof or do something to improve the situation.

Quick back story - we got a loan, we found the house, we put in an offer and counter offer on said house, it was accepted, all inspections went well and we were supposed to be IN the house by the 15th of this month. The underwriters got wiggy about a bill that was late by a month and then paid in full TWO YEARS AGO. So of course they held up the works on the very last step.
We needed to get the paper work to prove all was well, but the people who could send it were vacationing. When they got back on Monday they sent the letter and by Friday it was still not at the mortgage brokers office and not here at our house. Now it's Tuesday and still no sign of the darn letter and no calls from anyone to update us.
The strain of trying to wait patiently is starting to hurt. I found myself staring into the bathroom mirror yesterday thinking that we could call every day to see if the letter is there yet. That might get irritating to the broker, I thought to myself, then bristled at the objection the imaginary broker in my head made to my my imaginary daily phone calls for updates and argued with her on the imaginary phone in my head that it only takes 15 seconds and she didn't even have to put herself to the work of dialing and to her this might be paperwork but to me it's a home.
I found myself glaring at my own reflection, all tight in the chest and indignant over the argument.
See? Waiting can hurt, even if it's only my sanity.
I need to MOVE already!!!!!

Crepes are going to be the death of me

I found a wonderful crepe dessert recipe and OOOOOH so good. I made them twice the first week and twice again the second week, three if you count making them for my in-laws as well.
The recipe is at Cooks.com, one of my favorite recipe places EVER. Yes, you have to sift a little to find a recipe that's generally correct but the sheer variety of amazing and sometimes hard to find recipes makes up for such a minor inconvenience.

I love it so much because I lowered the amount of sugar in the filling to taste and it doesn't really make a difference in the outcome other than to make it a little more friendly to the sugar-conscious. For the topping I simply opened a can of Oregon berries or thawed frozen raspberries, though the berry sauce recipe is wonderful... I just like it simple.

One tip- if you want super smooth filling, be sure to beat the daylights out of the cottage cheese before adding the cream cheese - it never quite went smooth for me til I did that. It's just as yummy with a few tiny lumps so I don't let it bother me, lol.

Being a novice to crepe making, I was sure I would mess it up. Nearly impossible to mess this one up! Using an 8 inch non stick pan with a slightly rounded bottom, I left the heat on medium the whole time. I only used the tiniest bit of butter to lightly coat the bottom of the pan for the first crepe, no more after that because it's too greasy. I put in my two tablespoons and swirled it around gently to coat ONLY the bottom of the pan, not up the sides at all (makes the edges too thin and burns easily) then I left it the heck alone til the surface no longer looked wet or shiny. Then I tipped the pan sideways over a plate and used a silicone spatula with a thin edge to break the seal around the top edge and it slid right out. Lay it flat and make another. If it's cooked through, it won't stick. I did make a couple of crepes too brown, but they softened right up if I let them sit a few minutes before using and they are still soooo good. Three crepes each was more than enough and we're big people and love our food. This recipe really does make 12 crepes as it claims and I like that the filling is also the exact amount for the crepes.
Enjoy!!

STRAWBERRY AND CREAM CHEESE CREPES

CREPE BATTER:

2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
2 tbsp. water
4 tbsp. flour
1/8 tsp. salt

FILLING:

3 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 tbsp. cottage cheese
1/4 c. sugar

SAUCE:

2 c. fresh strawberries Or frozen unsweetened & thawed
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/3 c. sugar

Batter: Beat eggs, milk and water. Add flour and salt, beat just until smooth. Lightly oil a crepe pan or medium skillet. Heat pan over medium heat. When pan is hot spoon 2 tablespoons batter into pan and rotate pan to spread evenly. When edges of crepe are browned, turn crepe onto a plate.

Filling: Place cream cheese, cottage cheese and sugar in mixer. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

Sauce: Coarsely chop strawberries. Add lemon juice and sugar. Toss lightly. When ready to serve spoon 2 tablespoons filling into each crepe and roll. Arrange crepes seam side down on plate. Serve immediately with fresh fruit sauce.

Makes 12 servings, 1 crepe each.

T3 Product Giveaway

I am a subscriber to the review blog, Jamie's Precious Peas. I have entered a few give-aways but this has to be in the top 5 of my Most Wanted. I have really curly hair... like finger sized spirals. I love my hair, but sometimes I want it to look straight and elegant instead so bouncy. I get frustrated that my hair is weaker due to the very nature of the curl and it gets fried easily by low priced irons and I simply can't afford the better ones.
T3 is giving away a product and I am crossing my fingers both that it's a straightening iron (my favorite on the site is the Pro Straightener) and that I win it. I've heard such good things about that brand!

Horray for Garage Sales!

We set out this morning to clean the living room in anticipation of Mike's parents coming over at 1 pm so that his dad can work on the truck and the boys and girls can play together. We get a call near 11 am to let us know Mike's nieces are with their parents and Mike's dad isn't feeling well so they aren't coming over. Instead, they invite us over. It's an hours drive, but now that we don't need to clean the living room all morning, we have the time free to go to the Saturday Market that runs only the first two Saturdays of the month from 11 am to 3 pm. 11 am we get there, fresh signs out and we have the right place... no cars and no vendors. We go by again later... still no one. Dead empty. Did someone not tell the person in charge of the signs, balloons, and Craigslist ads that the vendors had taken off Easter weekend?
color me peeved. We've tried three times to get there this year and so far, we've missed it because of an appointment, fell asleep and missed it, and chose the wrong day altogether. Now we get there on time, the right day, right place, with cash and there is NO ONE. Not a soul, just the balloons and brightly colored signs. It was angering and yet creepy in an Andromeda Strain sort of way.
On the drive back to home so I can get my pills and a present I made for Mike's mom, I offer the info that there was a big garage/estate sale near our house. It was an address nearer the road (sometimes they are a few miles away off the road they say they are on, lol) it was listed recently, too.
We stopped and found for sale a giant collection of miniature tea sets. I am obsessively attracted to miniatures and Mike's mom adores tea sets. They were cheap, abundant, and had two sets of porcelain and china, in cream and gold with pink roses. I got those for Donna and a small heavy silver set for myself. Then I got 4 framed prints - two prints of fruit in vivid colors and a primitive style, black frames. So nice. Then two prints of an old stone building with a door and flower boxes and flower pots. All in creamy soft tones, gorgeous detail, distressed wood frames painted with a cream/tan color.
I also got a set of glass canisters with wooden stoppers in a set of wooden shelves - 6 canisters, two large, two medium, two small in two shelves. One set of shelves for all four medium and small, then a set for the two large ones.
I was interested in a pile of about 12 cloth napkins and handkerchiefs mixed. nothing matching. I wasn't sure about it, so she gave those to me for free, wrapped around the tea set pieces. I was so distracted that I forgot my pill and Donna's present even though I stopped by the house.
I suppose it helped my feeling of victory and self satisfaction after being at the garage sale that the women running it referred to me as "the girl with the pretty hair" between each other, but they also dropped the price of the prints down to $1 a piece (they are 2 feet tall each, the frames alone are worth much more) the canister set to $5 for all, the tea sets down from $10 and $5 to $8 and $2, the napkins/hankys free.
Sweet deals.
Then we had yummy dinner that I didn't have to cook and pineapple upside down cake. It's been so long and MMMMM, my love hasn't waned.

Memorial was tonight

The boys, not being used to any sort of silence expected of them, stayed home with Daddy. Who cited his beard as a reason for not going. I guess he feels a little odd being bearded in a place where the men don't have beards as a rule. Like everyone knows he's not part of the group... I can understand that. No one likes to be an obvious odd-man-out.
It took longer to get ready to go that I thought it would because I had to change my clothes once (it's hard to remember that I put on 20 pounds over the last 6 months and I've only taken off 6 of it so far, so nothing fit) and then i was ready to head out only to not find my purse. By the time I got there 15 minutes late, the parking lot was full and there was a space and a half to park. One space - mud. Did I mention it was raining? The other was a half spot because someone owned a very large truck and didn't have the ability to park it in only one space.
I hadn't been to this hall before even thought I have been called on by a couple that attend there and since they are the ones that left a reminder tract in my door about the time and date of the Memorial, I thought they would be there. I stuck around afterward to say hello and thank them, but I didn't see them anywhere. And strangely enough, not one person struck up conversation. Usually I get swept up in a flood of people wanting to introduce themselves and chat, but I guess the 279 in attendance tonight left me as a stranger among strangers. I am going back on the 26th so maybe I'll get to say hello then.

how does one spell anal?

U-n-d-e-r-w-r-i-t-e-r-s.
The darn underwriters refused to believe us that we had paid a bill to a cable company 2 years ago. they also refused our final bill marked paid as proof that we actually paid.
We write to the cable company requesting the proof in a copy of our final bill marked paid AND a written letter from the company to our underwriters assuring them we haven't left them unpaid and are not in collections for the matter.
That paper was supposed to be the end of it, but no, that would be too easy, right?
Our cable company sent us to collections 2 YEARS AGO over a bill and we took care of it as soon as we got the first notice.
Now the underwriters are freaked out and want the collection agency to sign off as well. The collection agency refused to talk to our mortgage broker, so Mike had to call. It seems the people we would talk to about it are gone for Easter and it take a couple of days to process our request when they come back... then they mail it. they don't FAX. After the underwriters get it, it'll be two more days - one for signing, one for getting the keys.
So I called my mom to put off the day I come to get her.
All of this over a bill we paid two years ago. Why are they so weirded out over it? I am told the collections agency can out a lien against the house. For a bill with a balance of ZERO. It's marked paid and already deleted, but the notice of deletion is still a mark on the credit that won't disappear for 30 days hence.
Why am *I* so weirded out? Because even if the collections agency sees our request and takes into consideration we sent that request Thursday, seeing that as the 2 days to process it and sends it by Monday, AND sends it fax instead of snail mail, then we get to sign the papers Tuesday and get the keys Wednesday..... which is all very unlikely.... Wednesday is that last day of the extension we signed. Even if it all goes smoothly from this moment on, the seller would have the right to change his mind and consider us in violation of the agreement, send us our Earnest money and sell to someone else.
THAT worries me.

My teeth the day after

I won't post any pictures since all are unpleasant in one way or another. When I fell asleep, my face was still numb in the same area, but the tingling about-to-wake-up feeling got intense around the edges. I had to pile as many pillows as I could behind me and sleep upright since every time I lay down I bled a bit and I am too freaked by the description of dry socket to want to risk dislodging the cloth that formed.
I was sleepy, but I have to be falling down tired to sleep upright so I ended up staying awake til 5 am. When I woke at 9, I felt great. I mean, I really felt great. There was no bleeding, no numbness and best of all, the aching throbbing constant pain I had endured for two years was gone. Even the ache from the extraction, the soreness from my jaw cramping after such a long and difficult dentist appointment, the spot where I had been injected so often they formed a swollen collage of tiny holes and a couple of slices.... none of it hurt as bad as the pain of those bad teeth for so long.
I considered crying because of the freedom from pain, but decided quickly that it would only give me puffy eyes and a red and snotty nose. That wouldn't help anything. So instead, I smiled and had a calm happy day despite the plan my children had to make me crazy.
Three more days of steroid pills and 600mg of ibuprofen a day. A couple of weeks til I can eat normally. The NEXT DAY I had nearly no pain. this is something I don't say about run-in's with dental professionals, so mark this day....

It was worth it. Forcing myself past the fear, enduring the pain, sitting in that chair for half a day and living on squishable foods. Worth it.

Today I ate solid food for the first time in 30 hours. Leftover chili with a dollop of sour cream. I was so excited that I ate the donut that taunted me... that was slightly more involved since I had to tear it to small bits, put it in the right side of my mouth manually and then take a sip of milk to soak into it and make it mushy. I got bold and tried a pb&j... too much. I ended up making a duck egg omlette and topped it with olives and cheddar. It was too much to eat, but it was gooooood. Lots of water and a cup of coffee rounded out my day. I am digging the idea of something interesting to eat, but since it has to be soft, I think I'll make raspberry cream cheese crepes with a little sprinkle of nutmeg.
I am dieting but no fears, this is still within my limits and it's working. I have lost two more pounds!! That's a total of 6 pounds in as many weeks. Sigh, it's slow, but working. I'm changing my approach to food instead of planning special meals.

YUM!!!

I love cooking, I hate standing over a stove or being tied to a timer. I love my crockpot for those reasons but it's hard to find a good recipe. Samma, from my Granola Chicks group, shared this and I think I found my new favorite go-to recipe source. It helps that Stephanie has possibly the cutest personality ever, but the recipes, OH, the recipes!
Mom, I know you're gonna love this blog, so take a look around. We'll have to compare once we've made a few dishes :)
A Year of Crockpotting
I think my first recipe will be the Crockpot Chicken Makhani.

updates, even you don't want to know!

We heard back, we are definitely closing escrow on the 10th, possibly getting the keys that day but more likely, since it's a Friday, we'll be getting them on the following Monday. Mom is supposed to come up on the 10th, Erin is supposed to be here the 11th, and Mase has a dentist appointment on the 14th.
Man, everything in my life these days seems to be either directly related to or orbiting the subjects of dentists and home ownership.
Mack's teeth are paid for in two more payments of $250 THANK GOD! Mase's teeth are getting preventative care (brushing and flossing several times a day and a professional cleaning every two months) to stave off the same prob Mack had and I am hopeful.
Mick has great teeth and his single cavity was fast and easily treated with no trauma at all. Lucky punk.
Today was my big appointment.
Mike needs to get two cavities filled, which his insurances covers, so in 1-2 more appointments, he'll be gravvy.

We got all of our ducks in a row, T's signed, I's dotted, affairs in order, and many other time honored cliches of a similar bent. Basically, alllll good. We passed all our inspections, the full price plus all the little add-ons and such is still within our loan limit and our monthly budget, we turned in notice with our landlord, we have arranged help for the house moving AND kid watching (thank you MOM!) Mike heard from our mortgage broker that we had been approved 1 day before the acceptable credit score was raised ... to a score above Mike's median by 10. BUT we got it just in time. Phew!
Back to my teeth.... I know, you SO want to hear this. I had gone to the dentist for a cleaning and assessment. I would have said 'check up' but that implied that I had no idea anything could be wrong and it was simply to make sure all was still hunky dory in my mouth. I KNEW it wasn't. I had broken my #18 tooth. Lower left side, last molar. I broke it the Christmas before I got pregnant with my now-17 month old. Since I never saw a dentist, it understandably got worse. At my assessment, the dentist told me I needed a root canal on a tooth that didn't hurt at all (#16), no damage to be seen, and that the broken tooth needed pulled. Extracted. Like it was that simple. Bah. Oh, and 17 fillings, plus a possible second root canal (#3, upper right hand second in from the back) depending on how bad it looked once I was under anesthesia.
Right about then was when Mack had seen a pediatric dentist and we both turned out to need thousands of dollars in care. Mine could be fixed later, Mack's were more important. Still, it took months to get things in order and in the end, Mack got 4 upper center teeth pulled and every single tooth in his head got a crown. All of them. Tiny, shiny, silver crowns all around except for his eye teeth, which are large white things. He calls them his Super Teeth.
Once that was taken care of, I was supposed to go to the dentist. Being scared as I am, I put it off a couple of weeks. Two weeks too long. The root canal that didn't hurt got sore, like I had a popcorn skin stuck not in the gum, but UNDER the tooth. Then one day while flossing, it snapped off a chunk of tooth between it and the molar behind it. The next day I noticed swelling, tenderness... then dark purple color streaking from it... then white spots on top of that. Crap. Abscess. Well, at least it explained why I had been sick to my stomach after eating for so long. I used oil pulling to clear it up, which worked in about three days. I figured I would let it heal completely because all they would do is put me on antibiotics and wait 10 days anyhow.
Another mistake. I was eating one night and my second possible root canal broke. A chunk of tooth and a giant filling. I was pissed, but the next morning when my attempt to eat a banana put me spasms of pain, I realized I had a big problem.
Mike made my appointment that day, but they only had an appointment for two weeks later. I dealt, I ate mush and drank meal replacement shakes and avoided soda because it invariably cause throbbing pain everywhere.
And the appointment? Scary as hell and I hope I never have to do it again. The dentist, while congenial and talented was easily distracted and a little slow to warn me he was about to do something that "might pinch a little". If by pinching, you mean less like a Aunty grabbing my cheek and more like Aunty slapping me silly, then yes, it pinched a bit.
Let me go back and start at the beginning. Good place, right? I know, I am brilliant. At the appointment Mike made, they looked me over, painlessly poked around and gave me the verdict of two root canals and extraction. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I was quoted a price that, combined with my pain (emotional and physical) had me crying like a big moron. It would max my dental coverage for a YEAR as well as cost me $609 out of pocket. Upon the tears falling, the hygienist recommended Care Credit. I could get a loan for $1000 over the phone and take care of my teeth plus some, then pay it back at $83 a month for the next 12 months. If I screwed up at all, the charges and fees applied would be outrageous, but if I stuck to the agreement I was saved. Of course did the only thing I could. I called Care Credit and put myself into debt. I had been making the call outside the office, got approval and went straight back in only to be told I couldn't have an appointment for another 8 days. Instead, they called me last night with a cancellation. I took it, scared out of my wits.
I went in this morning at 10:40 and left the kids with Mike to go to the park. The dentist and hygienist reviewed the plan with me again and I was surprised to find it included both root canals, but not the extraction, which pained me most. I added it on because saving a tooth is $1100 but pulling one was only $125.
They numbed me with a weird new tool - a normal looking syringe with a wicked long thin needle, but instead of a plunger, it was attached by hose to a machine that pumped the right amount of anesthesia. It talked and whirred while it worked and freaked me out at first. Two deep shots to the lower left where the extraction and abscessed tooth were. This left my face numb up to the corner of my eye. The same thing on the upper right. It was painful, but I was way too scared in response to something so simple. I was getting so tense that my muscles were twitching and shaking like crazy. I was asked many times if I was ok.

Why would they ask that? Did I look ok?

I had been through an emergency root canal once 6 years ago and I remember the pain being a single zing of an electric shock through the center of my tooth. That happened with the first root canal today. It would have been bearable, but the fine, tiny, mosquito-like drill was replaced with a larger, eyeball shaking, pavement cutter inspired thing. Right about the time the dentist let it wind down while touching tooth then whirred the RPMs back up, I felt the tell-tale tingling waterfall from my crown to my toes. I was shaking so bad no one noticed the sudden and unexplainable rush of large goosebumps all over my body so I had to wave my hand frantically. NO NO NO I cannot have a seizure with a drill in my mouth!!!
The two looked at me in concern and pulled the instruments away just in time for me to do my impression of a floppy fish dying, the hygienist asking urgently if I had a foul taste. How would I know? I've never tasted me thanks, and promptly pass out.
I woke to see the dentist comforting the 25 year old hygienist and telling her he thought it was a petit mal and it should be fine now. He went on as if I hadn't moments ago caused him to hold a drill behind his head. Maybe I'm being presumptuous, but I would believe he hasn't had much call to do that before.
She, on the other hand... she was pissed. I got that "you scared me bad, jerk!" look for a few minutes while they finished my tooth. I also got several comments about seizures not being in my medical history.
I was silly enough to believe they wanted to know about seizures because of the meds I would be taking. Since I was un-diagnosed with something between a petit mal and epilepsy, they never gave me meds. Thus I didn't mention it, besides, the seizures are uncommon enough I never thought I would have one. Thankfully, I was spaced and zombie-like after, relaxing to the point of Limpnoodlyness and my lack of muscle tone and response prompted them to ask again, repeatedly if I was ok.
Moving on to root canal number two! Yippee! This felt numb til they drilled it. I then screamed and bucked and kicked. He asked calmly 'did you feel something?'
As if to make sure I wasn't being dramatic, he poked the exposed and mangled but live nerve with a sharp metal thing. Same response. The cure? Jab it again with anesthesia. Twice he did this and the third time still it hurt I closed my eyes and thought of my happy place and pretended to feel no pain so it would be over. The hygienist said over and over "that's a LIVE tooth" After all, once the nerve was out, shouldn't the pain stop? It did til he "tested the depth of the dentine" It was an acceptable level of 19, whatever that means, and it hurt like fire. As with the first tooth, he screwed in a pin that on x-rays looked wood screw eating accident and covered it up with an amalgam that was cured with a black light looking device.
Next came the fastest and least painful procedure, the extraction.
WRONG.
He had numbed the nerve in my jaw a few extra times for the 2nd root canal and assumed it would hold back the pain from the extraction. Nope. It was as if there was no anesthesia. He had wrenched on it a few times when he realized I was softly squealing in pain.
Another local directly into my inflamed and abused tooth involved first drilling the center away. Oh, such pain. It still didn't work, so another local as well as another long acting anesthetic. Then after one more failed attempt to deaden the fire, he gave me another long acting dose and left for a while. While he was gone, I noticed no difference and steeled myself for the inevitable. Sure enough, with a sympathetic look and a firm hand on my shoulder, he literally muscled that sucker out through my pain. Every touch, every tweak felt like an electric shock in the center of my tooth. Like a weed-burner fence, the pain was stronger each shock til with an anticlimactic ending, the tooth came free. Near complete cessation of pain, no more shock, no noise or sensation to indicate it was free of my jaw. After this, the woman had the ... let's use the word 'gall' because she obviously didn't have the anatomy that came to mind as a descriptive and let's face it, my Mom reads this once in a while) to turn to me and say that sometimes pressure was interpreted as pain... to which I yelled " Holy Crap! I couldn't feel my FACE but I felt that tooth, like a shock in the core every time it was touched"
Oh. she says, that does sound like nerve pain.

You THINK!?!
By this time I had stopped twice to pee, the dentist had seen three other patients and it was 2pm. I had been through three births and never wanted pain killers, but when the Dr mentioned a RX, I said Bring it on! only to find that once I got to the pharmacy, it was for steroids. Not pain relief. Cus I needs to be bulkier, hairier and have a smidge more mean attitude. What about my pian?!?!
Take 600 mg ibuprofen he says.
It's now 3:26 am and I am still numb. I am unable to feel my left eye, left ear and the scalp for about two inches around said ear. I cannot feel my lower lip or any of the teeth in my lower left jaw. If I cannot feel, I cannot eat. It's now been 24 hours and I have had the total of 1 cup milk and half a cup water. I want to wake up with feeling but I also dread the ache. At least most of the grossly swollen cheek is down. Now I am worrying about dry socket ratios and the fact that women get twice as many occurrences. Once I had the used of my right side and half of my tongue, I talked to my mom and she was sure I wasn't ok, even before I told her about my day. She is a font of deep sympathy and unquestionable sincerity... she called me Nancy (sewing with Nancy)

Mike bought me a donut and a warm, not hot, coffee to make me feel better. The coffee was do-able if I was paying close attention, but the solid food was not. Now that donut sits taunting me. Damn pastries. it feels a little like the grave yard hallucination scene from the movie Young Sherlock. I'm Watson. The donut is the cream filled cruller. And the zombies... well, does a van of sleeping kids count?