Cool Quote

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.


-Yiddish proverb


That thought made me smile. So, here's a laugh to cleanse your soul...


"Whatever you give a woman, she's going to multiply. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So - if you give her any crap, you will receive a ton of shit."

Love and appreciate all the women in your life… or else!

Full Swing!

Fall is in full spring around here. Everyone has stuff going on.

18 got his classes and today is his first day of class. 16 is doing well in his classes (I almost didn't want to write that to not jinx it) and he's very excited because he may be able to run in some upcoming Xcountry meets. It depends on how many kids they can enter etc. but apparently he's got a chance and he's very excited. This Saturday FIL is coming over to do some odd jobs around the house. Hubby isn't thrilled because that's not his best event but his dad's available so I snagged him.
He's coming to fix one of the hurricane shutters for our back door (important), my front doors are double doors and the stationary door lick thingy that goes into the floor needs to be fixed (important!), the light in my kitchen is only turning on when it wants to (necessary!), the microwave didn't work this morning - a recurring theme that I think has to do with how much power it's not getting, weather stripping on the front door- I already bought it and I can probably do that. Hmmm there was something else and I can't think of it now.
Believe it or not I already started thinking about my Christmas list. I have a few homemade items that I'm going to start working on in the evenings. I bought some more material to make a jumper for my niece. It's absolutely adorable. This pattern actually requires interfacing and a zipper! So, this is a big deal for me. We'll see how it comes out.
I'm getting bored with my cooking, I've got to sit and think of something new that 16 will eat. I started working on his high school scrapbook. I actually did 3 pages the other day. This weekend I will work on the cover titling.
Lots to do, everyone is busy. I love it!

It's a beautiful thing!

Sleep.
Since I wasn't feeling well, I left work early and laid down for a few minutes before I changed and 2 hours later I woke up hungry. I felt rejuvenated. Sleep is a wonderful thing!
After dinner, I watched a bit of the game with hubby and 16, 18 sending text messages to 16 throughout. After the first quarter, I said good night and went back to bed. I put the CMA Festival on thinking I'll watch that for a while. I have no idea who performed. I fell asleep almost instantly. Sleep is a beautiful thing.
I feel very rested today. I hope it lasts.

'Tis the season...

I am still sick. Yesterday I actually felt better and did a few things around the house and later that evening I felt like I had run a marathon and was beaten with a bat along the way!
This morning it was SO hard to get up.
In case you are one of those who has no idea what sport season is in. It's football. It started this past Thursday. 16 & hubby have watched +6 football games since Thursday. They saw the Thursday night game, I organized my sewing things in 18s room. On Friday they went to the local high school game, I stayed home cleaned out my email all cuddled up in bed watching reruns. On Saturday, they watched a college football game in the afternoon, I saw pieces of it as I was in the kitchen making myself chicken soup. That evening we went to a friends house to watch the Miami Hurricane game, I sat in the kitchen with some of the other moms, chatting and drinking my soup. On Sunday, I would say they watched 2 more games but in reality it was pieces of all the games since we have the NFL Ticket and they get them all. Every time I went by there was a different game on. I did 4 scrapbook pages, fixed my lunch for today and laid in bed watching old movies and snoozing.
Last Wed. 16 moves a sign that I have in the kitchen and hung it on the front door like a wreath. It says. "We interrupt this family for football season."
18 did send some text messages asking what time certain games were on over the weekend and
and to say that he missed HD.
I don't fight it anymore....I tried to once....I just use that time to do my things uninterrupted and they all lived happily ever after....
Tonight the Packers (16s FAV team) and playing the Vikings (hubby's FAV team). I have sought and been granted asylum and refuge at a friend's house because I fear the competition and therefore their noise level may be too much for me in my frail condition.

Life imitating art?

I had quite a chuckle yesterday when 18 called and said "Boy!, Did I think of you today! You will love what happened to me!"

He's been in NY for a while now and finally did his first load of laundry, actually it was 2 loads because according to him the machines there are smaller than the one at home. So fine, he separated his loads and started 2 machines with nary a care because there was no one else there. He leaves, goes up to the cafeteria for a snack and some tv watching. He's not in a hurry because again, there was no one there waiting for a machines or anything. He goes back 45 minutes later and freezes at the doorway. His mouth drops and he thinks OH CRAP! What did I do?! There was soapy water all over the floor, a machine sounded horrible and was spewing water and bubbles. Bubbles were everywhere! He thought he was walking into a cartoon. Freaking out and thinking OMG how did I break a machine? What did I do? He waded over to the bubbling machine and opened it to make it stop and was deliriously happy to realize that it wasn't his machine. He didn't break it. He's not an idiot. His clothes was fine. It was another machine that was broken.

Relieved. He found someone to clean up the mess and said he couldn't wait to tell me. Naturally I laughed hyterically and have told everyone.

Yuck!

I have been sick in bed for 2 days! Today I dragged myself to work...

If I could be granted 3 wishes right now they would be:
* To be able to breathe
- through my nose
- with my mouth closed
- and not have it hurt

First Impressions

I will refer back to this trip in future posts but let me get some firsts out of the way.
First Impression of:

The town: This place is a dump. Where the heck am I leaving my kid? Why did he want to come here? ** Apparently, we drove into town through the poorest parts of town and to boot our hotel had an ick factor to it also.
The college campus: WOW, this is nice. Big enough and yet cozy in that small town way. ** We walked the whole thing - it's doable yet spacious.
The people on campus: made me smile and feel this is the right place for him. ** As we walked around we 'bumped' into a tour and I eaves dropped a bit. The former student spoke so well and with such pride and highlighted aspects that I thought described my son to a T.
The Coaches: made me want to stay and play football. ** We met 3 and they were all super personable. One recognized 18 as we walked over the the check-in area, stopped us, introduced himself and welcomed us very warmly and chatted with 18 for a few minutes. The head coach sat us down in his office and despite having I am sure 60 gallion things to do this 1st day checking everyone in spent a good 15 minutes chatting with us. During that visit 18s position coach walked in and introduced himself, remembering that he had spoken to me on the phone. All very nice.
The students: This feels right. ** As we made the trek up to the 4th floor by stair (no elevator) in his temporary dorm you could hear boys yelling at each other and welcoming each other back. All very nice. Then you hear a few expletives as a couple of them exchange greetings and the ones that crossed us on the stairs yell back "Language! Language! Parents in the house! Moms in the house!" and he apologized to me for the strong language saying '...sometime we get carried away' and then I hear a yell from the floor ahead 'Sorry mom! Sorry parents!' For whatever reason, that touched me. It hit me the right way. They obviously are close to each other and yet know there's a line of respect that shouldn't be crossed. I liked that. It made me think of my sons and their friends.
The people in town: I could live here if it weren't so friggin' cold most of the year. ** Everywhere we went everyone was so nice and friendly. EVERYONE! EVERYWHERE!

In the end I could understand the attraction to the school, the people and the place. He seemed happy, I was happy. It was all good.

A fresh start

We changed hotels. It was a stealth operation. Yes, I lied and got out of the original reservations without paying for the extra night. Sorry, but it had to be done. Things are much better now. PLUS this Holiday Inn gives us a discount that equals the other hotel we were staying at. SO, same price better hotel!

We walked around campus today and saw some of the buildings, I took pictures and properly embarrassed my son. I made him stand by the Union College entrance sign for a picture - oh the horror!

We also got all of his dorm stuff AND we found out that we may get his dorm key for his permanent room and be able to move his stuff in before we leave. That would be awesome!
Still lots to do but it's all good.

The longest day ever!

What were you doing at 4 this morning? I was rolling out of bed and into the shower to wash off the sleep and hit the road. And now I have just showered again to wash off the travel of driving in the dark to the airport, 3 hours on a plane after the ordeal of getting checked-in (don't talk to me about the whole bag situation), drag your bags and tired azz to the car rental and drive the wrong way for an hour to only turn around drive back to the airport and start over again the right way. I'm a little tired. But enough about the trip because talking about that will only irritate me.
I got excited when I saw the signs fro Schenectady. The route we took to the college itself isn't the nicest part of town and made quite an impression - I'm leaving my baby here?! Then we get to the college. WOW! It's so pretty. Everything so manicured, the neat old style buildings, the historic buildings. All we did was drive around a bit before we went to the hotel to stretch out and then we drove around an explored the area a bit. So many rolling hills, real hills not the central Florida ones I've written about before. We found downtown, we saw gorgeous churches, some of which I want to go in to see later, we drove around to some neighboring towns. This is really a nice place!
I have taken a handful of pictures. From the car I actually got the picture of the Welcome to New York sign, a couple of shots the mountains as we drove, and my first sighting of the Nott Memorial (I think that's what its called) at the center of the college.
We are ready for bed, watching the Olympics, chillin', looking forward to tomorrow. I want to walk around the campus and see what we see.

Taking off!

I haven't been blogging because it's been a little busy. As you know I have been packing, organizing life here for the child I am leaving behind and making sure everything is ready for him while we are gone. Of course, TS Fay had to try and cause some chaos and skewed 16s first days of school and so we haven't bought him the supplies he needs and that will butt right up with all of the other last minute things but WHATEVER!
Tomorrow is it. We are getting on the plane to take 18 to college! Whatever is not packed or hasn't been bought I have informed my family that he is not going to Timbuktu only upstate NY, it can be bought there.
I am looking forward to the trip. I hope that the campus is open enough for me to walk around and see things. His classes don't start until after Labor Day. The only people reporting now are athletes for their various workout camps.
18 has spent the past few days saying good bye to people. You would think that he is going off into the wild blue yonder never to be seen again! He's enjoying himself. It's all good. Don't know if I'll have time to write while I'm gone. We'll see.
I'm leaving on a jet plane.....

Apple picking

I have been thinking a lot lately about the parents of my moms best friend in life. Honestly, I only saw these people maybe a couple of dozen times in my life but they made an impact. Thinking now I am sad to say that most of these people have passed on (my mom, her BFF & BFF's dad not sure about the mom, I have spoken to BFFs kids in a while.)

Anyway, he was one of those full of life people. He had such a zest for life it was contagious. He shared his laugh, smiles and verve with everyone around him especially his wife. She shall we say doesn't have the same zest for life that he did. She's not a warm and fuzzy one she has some rougher edges but you appreciate her too. She tends to complain a bit more than he did and she always has those little barbs that she tosses out all the time about everything that make you think she's not happy. But deep down I think she is, it's just her way. So, they were an interesting couple to watch in action; always counterbalancing each other. Almost as if she just couldn't handle his overbubbliness and had to be stick in the muddish. Like they were made for each other because he made her get out and go and enjoy and maybe her being they way she is made him all the bubblier. Who knows.

They lived in Tampa and I grew up in N. VA. I remember one fall when they were driving through to PA and stopped at out house for a couple of nights. They were probably in their mid 50s. Our house had 2 beautiful apple trees (one green and one red) on the side. The lawn was covered with apples and leaves of every color. It was really picturesque. He wanted a picture of them and the apple trees. Most people would just stand there, maybe put their arm around each other smile, say cheese and snap- there's your picture. Not good enough. Pretend we're picking apples! He yells out. She simply explains there are no apples they can reach, they are all rotting on the ground besides everyone will know that we didn't really pick them. As if he didn't hear her, like a little kid he exclaimed, We can reach these! as he picked one off the ground, dusted it off on the back of his pant leg, turned it so the bruised part wasn't showing, held it up to the branch as if it were hanging. With her hand in one hand and holding the apple in to the branch he yelled at me Take it Now! with the biggest smile you can imagine. After I took the picture he told us he picked the red apple because it was her favorite type. She said something about that it was old and dying. I remember him leaning over and giving her a peck on the cheek saying it was crabby just like her but he loved them both and he actually took a bite out of the 'clean' side of the apple! I screamed in shock that it was rotting and gross. He showed it to me and said it was fine. Things may look old and crabby on the outside but inside they are sweet and fine. I was dumbfounded as I followed them laughing inside.

I think of that moment a lot. It taught me a lot. We have to make our own fun, our own moments in life. We have to take the time to see the good stuff inside. There's always something we can appreciate and crabby people can help us appreciate the sweetness of life even more because we need to help them see it. Plus, you never know the impact any little thing can have on a person. I mean look at what snapping that picture some 27 years ago did for me.
I wonder where that picture is? I need to call his grandkids and keep in touch with them. I hope everyone's alright.

Packing pains

You may be tired of reading about clothes and packing but you can't be as tired as I am actually dealing with the clothes and the packing. And so I continue to blog about it.

Based on the amount of clothes that 18 wants to take to college I was under the impression that he thinks he's moving into a mini-mansion with mega-closets. This lead us into a conversation which others may call an animated discussion including huffing, puffing, deep breathing, and eye rolling by both parties - yes I can act like I'm 18 too. He has always been very vain about what he wears and how he looks. For a while there he had more hair product that the other 3 people in the house combined until he found what works for him.

He finally enlightened me that he is fully aware that his dorm is going to be miniature in size and probably shared by 2 people. His plan is anything that doesn't fit in the closet or stacked on the "desk" or in the suitcase which he expects to fit under the bed will be neatly stacked on the floor around his bed. WELL! Lovely, as long as we have a plan!

I will let you know if any of this clothes comes back to Miami.

Then we had a 30 minutes discussion on how to pack the football cleats without "messing them up". Naturally, I hadn't realized that they were fragile because 1) they go on your feet 2) you play football with them and I hear that's a contact sport. They are going in the shoe part of the garment bag. He's taking 2 pairs. I had to put a pair IN the compartment to show him that they actually fit because apparently I have no clue how to handle cleats. Whatever! (best read with a rolling of the eyes)

Meanwhile recently 16 went to Cocoa Beach for a few days with some friends. He says that when they picked him up and he walked out with a backpack and a beach towel under his arm. They all asked him if that was ALL he was taking. Was he sure he had everything? He said yes and off they went. When they got to the hotel, they all compared what they took. He took the least amount of clothes. He did forget his running shoes to workout but he had others so he used those. The other boys questioned why he was bothering to put his clothes in the drawer. He told him because it's clean, as I wear it, I put it back in the bag and when we leave all my clothes should be back in the bag. They all did the same thing. He says that on Sunday when they were leaving, he only had one outfit that had not been worn which he took as an extra because you never know. They also teased him when they were talking about how they packed when he told them that his socks and underwear were in the pockets of each pair of shorts that he was going to wear to save space. That explains why he took a backpack and the others each had 2 bags and too much clothes.

So, at least one of them knows how to pack! I'll work on the other one. Gimme patience!

It's multiplying!

There are piles of clothes all over my house. I insist that the clothes is multiplying overnight and creating it's own piles under our very noses.

There are the customary piles of laundry that needs to be washed and the one of the sofa that needs to be folded and put away and then there's the pile of socks on the coffee table from previous sofa piles that need to be matched and distributed. Add to that the pile of old school uniforms waiting for someone to tell me they need them so I can unload them. I'm giving them another week and they are disappearing if nobody wants them. And the pile of dress clothes that needs to go to the dry cleaners and return before 18 leaves so he can take it with him. And the piles of clothes that doesn't fit my boys that grows daily and it to be handed down to the nephews. And the piles of clothes that doesn't fit my boys that is to be donated. And the piles of clothes to be packed and the pile of suitcases. And the pile of clothes that needs mending - a button, a hem, a patch. I think the hangers miss the clothes that they used to hold in the closet because those are turning up all over the place too. I was collecting the trash last night and in the guest bathroom there was a hanger hanging on an extra roll of toilet paper that was on the towel rack! HUH? I didn't ask because I was a little but scared of the answer. I just put it all away.
Since I didn't have enough of a mess of clothes all over the place last night I brought down the big Rubbermaid containers with winter clothes in them that were in the top of the closet to pull out gloves and hats for 18. So the containers are out too because I couldn't get them back up by myself and everyone else was ahem, sleeping.
May your clothes be nicely and neatly contained in your drawers and closets. And if it is, come help me get mine under control will ya?

Packing for college. And so it begins...

As the two of you know, 18 will be off to college soon. We are leaving the 21st to be exact and so we have limited time to complete his winter wardrobe. To that end I suggested that he bring out the winter clothes, pile it on the coffee table so that we could review it while packing and make note of what if needed so that we may spend fun filled weekends running around Miami in the dead of summer scouring the stores for winter clothes on a budget.

Well , I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of clothes he brought out. I didn't realize we had bought that much and that he was SO ready to go. I great calm and sense of relief came over me. As he brought things out, I was taking them off the hangers and folding them in piles. Then I start realizing some of this stuff is old. I don't mean hand me down old, I don't mean out of style old. I mean I bought this for our 2 days of cold in Miami, I don't even remember when. When he plopped himself back on the sofa, I asked "Does this fit?" "Ahhh, no." he answers nonchalantly. "And this?" "nope", "What about this?" "Nah". Do you see a pattern here? A good third of all that clothes he brought out to pack was too small on him! Now, I realize everyone has their own packing style but I presume we all pack clothes that you know - FITS!.

So, I take a deep breath or 32 and calmly ask him to go through the clothes so we can figure out what we still need to buy. "Now?", he asks incredulously. "Yes, right now." "But why now? I'm not leaving yet." I take another deep breath. "Because there aren't enough last minutes to get everything done at the last minute. So you choose. If you want me to be a part of the clothes buying and packing then now. If you want me out of the process, then whenever." At his point it would be beneficial for you to know that I haven't packed for either of my children since they were old enough to drag a rolling bag, which is quite young. I would tell them what they needed (3 underwear & socks, 3 shorts & t-shirts, pajamas, bathing suit etc), they would pull it out, pack it in their own bags that they were responsible for during the trip. Children can do this from very young if you are not particular about the matching aspects of their ensembles; which I wasn't. So, 18 bolted to an upright position and declared "You're going to pack for me?" "If you want me to and you go through the clothes now, I will." "Hell yeah!" he cheered as he popped off the sofa and sorted the clothes. 16 and hubby laughed and he says "After all these years of telling them to do it, now you are going to pack for him?"
I matter-of-factly explain, I was teaching them to think, to plan, to organize and to be responsible. He already knows how to do that, now I can do it for him. They all laughed but 18 sorted the clothes and has one bag packed and ready to go by his mama.

Only Fun

It's Monday again and since I didn't win the lotto over the weekend I had to drag my butt out of bed and go to work which totally interrupts the flow of fun I had all weekend. That list of things to do I posted is pretty much still intact. I only did the social/fun stuff.

I went to game night and we played Cranium. It was fun. I had a great time and saw some girlfriends that I swear I don't think I had seen in a year. My dad came over and taught us how to make a traditional Cuban picadillo. It was much better than mine. I don't like mine at all. I am going to try to duplicate this on Wednesday for dinner. The recipe should by up soon on the Cuban Food blog. So, check it out when you can. Then we went to my in-laws house for dinner and to look at vacation photos. My FIL took 1600 photos! That is not a typo. They had a great trip to I don't even remember how many parks and canyons and mountain ridges and ranges. It was his favorite vacation ever. 1600 to prove it. News flash: our grass is as green as it is over there. It was nice to see him so enthusiastic about something. Truly. Then the weekend came to a lazy close with me sewing ALL day. I made a poncho out of this great pink flowers fleece for my niece. It's got a hood and fringe. It came out super cute. I did make a couple of mistakes which I now understand but I think a 5 year old can totally wear it. A girlfriend came over and we made a pillow with tassel in each corner. That came out great too even though one tassel isn't in the corner. It gives the pillow character! She's had this material in her closet for 2 years and found it cleaning things out and voila we made a decorative pillow. I also mended a blouse and a pair of pants. After dinner we all watched the movie 23. It was weird but good.
A terrific weekend that could only have been topped had I actually won the lotto and been able to continue the fun and not have to interrupt it with you know, work.

Getting my ducks in a row

So, let's see here. How much progress, if any, have we made on things? and what's the plan of attack for the weekend?

Things collegiate:
* Well , the loan was approved. We have nothing else to do on that front. The bank and the school coordinate amongst themselves to confirm payment etc. So, Check.
* With the help of a friend, found a clinic through Walgreens that will give 18 the immunizations he needs and (more importantly) takes our insurance. He WILL do that this weekend. So, half-check.
* Still need a backpack.
* Want hubby to pull out suitcases this weekend so, we can start packing and see what we are still missing.
* Still waiting for the housing details and can't get the dorm stuff until we have that.

High School:
* 16 needs his uniform shoes.
* Also needs practice for driving test which is next Friday. OMG!
* Check for PE uniforms

House:
* Thanks to 18 the pool may actually be usable this weekend. Nice. So, Check.
* We bought a piece of weather stripping for the front door and just need to install it. So, half-check.
* I need to get new storage containers. I threw a bunch of mine out because they were old and nasty!
*Need to finish posting things for sale on Ebay & Half.com. So, half-check.

Social/Fun:
* Friday- Game night at a girlfriend's and I don't know what I'm taking yet.
* Cuban Cooking class at my house Saturday! Picadillo time.
* Another girlfriend coming over to sew; she's making a pillow; I want to cut out and maybe if there's time make a Poncho for my niece.
* Scrap and make cards.

Responsible Adult stuff:
* Need to update online bill payments.
* Need to bathe the dog.
* Put together the clothes that the boys have outgrown and take it for donation.
* Need to order a new charger for 16s computer because his died and the boys are sharing and ya know one of them is leaving soon.
* Laundry
* Groceries
* I have to get blood work done this weekend

GREAT! Not too many checks on that list! Lots to do and I'm sure I left stuff off. Whatever. Taking a deep breath...here we go! Oh, yeah, I forgot. I'm still at work. A couple more hours to go. Oh, well. Here's hopin' half of this gets done. Gimme patience.

So, I'm freaking out a little

School is about to start. 16 starts in 2 1/2 weeks and there are only 3 weekends left before we take off for NY to take 18 to college. The summer is like over. What happened? Where'd it go? That is so little time to do all that I want to do. How'd that happen? I don't know!
So, I sent 18 to the store today with credit card in hand (yikes!) and a spending limit to get himself a backpack, underwear and some undershirts. He's also cleaning the pool because he wants to use it before he leaves. I figure by the time he has it clean, it will be time to go. I mean the thing is a science experiment waiting to be graded for an A+, it's so green.

Of course part of my freakout is because I have other things scheduled in my life. Tomorrow night I'm going to an Open House of sorts for this place where you make ahead and freeze your meals, Friday I have game night at a girlfriend's house, Saturday I have Cuban cooking lessons at my house which needs to get picked up before the people arrive, and Sunday another girlfriend is coming over to use my sewing machine and 16 will be back from the beach and we'll have loads and loads of laundry to do.

I know that MIL wants to have a big family party to send 18 off, he wants to be out with his friends. Last night they went to the Marlins baseball game and he has plans to go out on a friends boat the Saturday before he leaves. He has an appt to have his wisdom teeth pulled, he got an eye doc appt, 16 has his Driver's licence appt and we have to go buy his school shoes. PLUS we haven't finished the school loan stuff. That sounds like a lot of stuff in not so much time. OMG! How's it gonna get done? I need to win the lotto, so I don't have to work, so I have all day to do all this stuff! Gimme patience! lots of patience!

My baby

15 is no longer 15. He turned 16 this past Saturday. Our gift to him was 2 tickets to go see Jerry Seinfeld live. He was in town on Saturday and we thought it would be a perfect gift. It was. He went with 18 which I also think was special for the 2 of them to do something special and fun together and they had a blast.

We have scheduled his driving test for 2 weeks from now because he made the grades that we set as a goal and so he will get his license. He's leaving tomorrow to go to Cocoa Beach with some friends and will be back on Sunday. I think overall he's having a good summer.

This is my easy going child. I can't look at him and not smile. It's like a reflex. The bad stuff just rolls off of him. He takes it all in stride and has one of the best outlooks on life I've ever seen. I wish I could take all the credit for this and say that my nurturing made him this fabulous person but alas he has taught me probably as much as I have tried to impart on him. He quietly shakes his head at things and lets it all slide because "mom, does it really matter?" "Is that really a big deal in life?" It's like he read all those self-help books like "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff" and "The Power of Positive Thinking" in the womb and just came out living all those ideals. Don't get me wrong, he's not perfect- who is?- but he's darn happy with who he is and let me tell you, so am I.

Beach

We spent a lovely Sunday at the beach with friends. Lots of sunscreen was used but I basically look like this:

Clermont and me

Well, Nablopomo was a flop but it got me motivated and I've posted lots more than I had been. So, I'm thinking it worked for me.

Over the weekend I went to Clermont, FL. Hubby office was having a golf tournament. WE left the house at 4AM and were back home by8:30ish PM. Yep, we did it in one day. We didn't want to spend the $ on a hotel for the night. We split the gas and tolls with another couple that we picked up on the way. It was nice. First off the other couple was really nice and I enjoyed having someone to chat with on the ride because hubby isn't much of a talker. Plus I know a lot about hubby already and I just met this couple so we talked about growing up, our families, they just did some remodeling etc. etc. etc. She was going to play in the tournament too. Me, not a chance. I was going sightseeing. Yes, sightseeing. Even in Clermont. I am of the opinion that everyplace has something to see. Of course, in a pinch I had the address of the local library. I figured I could always hang out there for a few hours but it really wasn't necessary.

First place I went to was the The Citrus Tower . Honestly, I don't understand why they originally built it but whatever. It was there. I saw it, I went up it and I have pictures to prove it. I spent more of my time chatting with Susan, the 83 year old woman running the gift shop and she directed me to the Vineyard. Before heading over to the vineyard I peered int the windows of the The Hall of Presidents. It's a cheesy wax museum that had replicas of the Statue of Liberty, Lincoln's memorial and the faces of Mt. Rushmore on it and just peering in the windows was a hoot. I wish it would have been open. I am sure it would have been a barrel of laughs. From there I went to the The Lakeridge Winery. I had never been to a winery and the tour was nice and of course, they had a tasting. To be honest I only liked one of their wines that was a hybrid not a full muscadine (the only grape native to FL) grape wine. The people were VERY friendly and informative, especially Doug our guide. I truly learned a lot. I bought one bottle for home. We'll see if I really liked it when I try it at home. I also just did a lot of driving around because it was so pretty! I honestly had no clue that there were hills in FL. Hills and lakes. Duh. It's Lake County but I really haven't been to many places in FL. So, this was a nice treat. I drove around some of the lakes and up and down hills and went into a few open houses. Some from new developments and some were resales. I had a really good time just relaxing with no plans except to get back to the Golf Resort for lunch with hubby and his coworkers.
I truly must get out and see more of FL. Heck I need to travel period with minimum plans. Just time to browse along. I need to be independently wealthy because work keeps getting in the way of these plans. Hmm...reminds me, I didn't check my lottery ticket.

Cool Quote

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found.
~Calvin Trillin

I thought that was a funny one. I've met people who say they don't eat leftovers. It's only fresh food for them. I always tell them with a laugh then you shouldn't eat at my house. To this day hubby's cousin doesn't know if I'm joking or not.

I pretty much save all leftovers. Most everything can be used again if not the same way I originally made it then chopped up and added to something else and they'll never be the wiser.

Breakfast

I was scanning through things and I found a folder that I have with drafts of posts. It seems that I worked on some and never posted them. I will begin to do so. If they are repeats oh well, so sorry.

A while back I had breakfast at a neighborhood bakery. The novelty here was that it wasn't my neighborhood and it was on 8th street and 7th avenue in Miami near the car dealership where I took my car for service. Anyone who knows this area knows that it's in a very colorful neighborhood- Little Havana. My descriptions here won't do it justice but here goes nothing.


From the sidewalk when you look through the windows it just looks like a busy bakery selling morning pastries and coffees some for here and some to go as you hear the bells on the door jingle as it swings open letting customers come and go. The other thing you hear with the jingling which gets you going are clips of music. Music more suiting of a bar at 5:00 than a bakery at 9 in the morning. Salsa, Regeton. Fast paced, swing your hips music. I venture in. The music swallows me up and I realize that I am not just listening to the CD but to the waitresses singing. It's like I walked onto the set of a live musical but there are no props, it's all real.


There were all sorts of people sitting at the tables or at the counter eating everything from pastries and coffee, scrambled eggs and french fries to rice and beans. The 50-something year old Cuban man with his oversized beer belly, dockers that settle right under his paunch with a paisley dress shirt unbuttoned half way down to show his graying chest casually waiting for meat pastries and a cafe con leche at the counter. The couple in their 70's who were dressed in their Sunday best having obviously come from church. He held her chair to seat her and she held her pinky in the air as she drank her cortadito. The tired mom holding her head up with her hand leaning into the counter with maybe her sister or BF sitting at the counter with the 3 kids testing the spinablity of every stool. The old man nicely dressed out of style with his stately mother who walked in as if she were the Queen of Sheba. Her son actually dusted off the chair with -wait for it - his handkerchief before she sat down. The young guys coming in to get a days worth of food to put in the styrofoam cooler to go fishing and moi. I walked in with a book in my hand thinking I'd have a quite cafe con leche and read for a while. Right. There were people standing in "line" three deep at the counter and at the register. She took my order from 3 people back and told me to go ahead and sit, she'd bring it out. I found a seat at a table full of the plastic red baskets but no people so I piled them up, put them in a corner of the table and sat. The were men next to me that were arguing about sports, the stool testing kids were begging their mom for cookies, the waitresses were singing and here comes my Cafe con leche and there goes the pile of plastic baskets. The man asks me if I'm having breakfast, the "revoltillo" is the best in town. As far as I know Revoltillo is scrambled eggs, how good can it be. I smile and tell him maybe I'll try it. The waitress still singing and dancing as she comes over brings them a cafecito and he tells her I want to order food. I nod, order the scrambled eggs with bacon, potatoes and toast. Other waitress are sashaying by with pastries and coffees etc. Enter a group of teens looking like they haven't slept. Seemingly neighborhood kids that don't always pay/tip well. None of the waitress wanted to take their order and they all tried to pawn them off on each other. In comes a man with a belly like Santa and shirt 72 sizes too small and a toddler with the chubbiest face you can imagine. He sets the child down in front of the cookie display and the child begins to dance. The entire place stopped. You know those Visa checkcard commercials where everyone is busing along and then they stop cuz someone paid with a check. Well, this kid was the guy with the check. EVERYONE stopped to watch and he reveled in the spotlight. First boppin up and down then the head from side to side. When the largest of the waitresses comes out and gets on her knees and starts shimmying her shoulders towards him he does too. It was a hoot! The entire place started laughing. The song changed, people started hooting and hollering and applauding and the kids started giggling and life in the bakery resumed at its original pace. I got my order with ham not bacon, she apologized and asked if she had to change it. I told her not to bother. It was scrambled eggs with ham in it, a side of shoestring french fries a generous helping of Cuban bread slathered with butter and squashed to the thinness of my plate. The man was apparently waiting for me to try it. It was good. I told him. He smiled and left. It really was good. I asked her what they put in it. Butter. wow. I can't begin to tell you all the people that came into the place, the orders that were placed, that were gotten wrong and forgiven and eaten as it was. The kids got their cookies on the house and you could see mom was grateful as she counted out change to pay for the cafe con leche everyone had for breakfast. I paid for my breakfast and left a $20 tip for a $3.50 breakfast. The show was worth every penny. I had a blast.

Collegiate things

We have been getting mailings from 18s college all summer. It's been a mish mosh of things from computer info, registering for classes, workout schedule for the football team, sign up for Orientation, the tuition bill (we are NOT discussing that today!) and my favorite item so far has been from the dinning and meal planning department.

They are actually asking for home recipes! Is that cool or what. They want people to send in their kids favorite food items. They will attempt to recreate them to help remind them of home. If your recipe gets used, your child is advised what dinning area will feature it and what day. They will also post credit of the dish for all the students to learn were it came from. At the end of the year they sell a cookbook with a compilation of these recipes.

I thought this was the neatest thing and even better was when my son jumped ALL over it. Telling me to send this in and that in and this in etc. He was all like they could make a whole cookbook out of just your recipes. I thought that was so sweet of him.

So, what am I going to send well: a link to the Cuban cooking blog, along with Flan, jambalaya and brownies for starters. This is my project for next week because first we have to student loan shop to deal with that other thing they sent in the mail that I am NOT discussing today.

Menu planning

I'm not good at menu planning. I realize that I am the mom and that in many cultures I am supposed to be good at this but I'm not - Deal with it.

Actually, I think I used to be better at it. I like experimenting. I think that's my problem. When I hit the mom years of having to have dinner on the table in 30/40 minutes after an 8 hour workday and 2 hour commute all of your, at least my, creative juices were dried up. We started eating the same ol' same ol' over and over again. Add to that 2 picky eaters (hubby and 15) and I think I just gave up and when I found 10 meals that all four of us ate they just became the staple menu items.

Sure once in a while I would get bored and break out and make something exotic like a stuffed shells or jambalaya but only half of us would enjoy it. The other half usually ended up filling themselves with a bowl of cereal after dinner. I have tons of cookbooks. I heart cookbooks! and then there's the internet which has limitless amounts of recipes. I read through them and think -they won't eat that and get frustrated. That explains why I experiment so much when company is coming or when I have to take a dish to someone else's house.

Hilda loaned me one of The Barefoot Contessa's cookbooks the other day. It has some very basic recipes in there. I will of course eat any and all of them. It makes me want to make something new. So, I handed the book to hubby and told him to find something he'd eat. He found 2 whole recipes in the whole friggin book! and neither of them is new! One is for chicken wings and the other is for a breaded boneless chicken breast one of the coatings is Parmesan cheese - I've done that before. So, yeah fine, I didn't use her precise combination of spices for the chicken wings but they are basically BBQ wings which I've done both fried and in the oven. I guess I'll make them again soon just to change things up cuz it has been a while.

I wonder do most people plan menus for the week?

Check it out!

I made that card! It's the first card I've ever made and I actually entered it in a contest. I don't expect to win but it was fun and it motivated me and inspired me to make the card. I will be making more, that is for sure.

OK, this has nothing to do with the food theme. Oh, yes it does! The ladies are having an ice cream! Work with me people.

Cool Quote

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

-Mother Teresa

Simple and to the point. It reminds us that one makes a difference and I believe that. How we treat one person at any time has an everlasting effect, like the ripples caused by a pebble thrown in the water.

It remind me of Mitch Albom's book "The Five People You Meet In Heaven". Some of the people he meets he barely remembers because they played a minor role in his life yet his action played a major role in theirs and he never knew it. It's the same lesson as in the Mother Teresa quote; every action no matter how small matters. It's not easy to live our lives that way but I think it's a good to be reminded.

Positively fabulous

That title is my lame attempt at thinking positive and creating positive energy fro today. I woke up with the same back ache that I went to sleep with. I barely slept because every time I moved a spear was stabbed into my lower back and I winced in pain. Grinning and bearing my back I was up at 5:30 am to take 15 to the park for his cross country practice. After all that morning glory, I went to the dentist for a deep cleaning. Yipee! My gums are so sore that my entire face and head are hurting right now. Once I was back home I bathed Max, our dog. He has a growth on this back that he's scratched at and is now an open wound. 18 and I are convinced that he scratches at it because it bothers him in the heat. The other day 18 cut away at the hair around it and we have been spraying it with Bactine. Yes, we could take him to the vet but years ago when he had a similar growth sans the open wound, it cost a few thousand dollars to have it removed and I don't have that kinds money for the dog right now. So, a bottle of Bactine, a bath with Selsun Blue to help the skin irritation, a topical cortisone cream for the itching and he can stay inside to be more comfortable and not fuss with it is going to have to do.l So sorry Max. That brings us to dinner. I am making boliche and right now I'm not sure I will be able to chew it. I better not over cook it and it better be super soft. Going to take some meds now so that my mouth can get ready for dinner. Wish me luck cuz I'm hungry!

Simple fare

Tonight dinner will be simple but tasty. Hubby and 16 are in Tallahassee so it's just 18 and I. I am making a rice dish with the kitchen sink in it. Think Jambalaya/Dirty rice with all kinds of stuff in it. Of course this is something that the other 2 wouldn't eat because of all the stuff.

I've got lots of yummy things to put in it: chorizo, ham, shrimp, carrots, yellow squash, mushrooms, grape tomatoes and who knows what else. So the rice and a salad will be plenty.

Simple and yummy. Good for a Friday.

Rice Krispy Treats

15 doesn't eat well, or I should just say that he's a picky eater. The list of what he doesn't eat is longer than the one of what he does eat. I hope he falls in love with a girl who teaches him to eat but I digress.

One of his favorite snacks is Rice Krispy Treats. I have been making it a lot this summer. The recipe is on the side of the box but here it goes.

Melt 3 Tbsp of butter in a pot, melt 1 bag of marshmallows, remove from heat and add 6 cups of rice krispies. Mix thoroughly. Pour and press into a cake pan. Allow to cool and cut them up. Of course, we love to eat one warn and gooey. So, we don't wait for it to cool to dig in.
Obviously, you can make them as thick or thin as you want depending on the pan that you use.
Tip: I save the butter wrapper and use that to press the mixture into the pan. Since it's 'greased' the mix doesn't stick to it and keeps my fingers clean.

This one one of my mom's specialties, cooking was never her forte, so this one takes me back to happy memories.

Let's do lunch

If you are a regular reader then both of you know that not that long ago I took 18 out to dinner to the Melting Pot. It was very nice to have one on one time with him and a nice meal that we can't really afford to do all 4 of us. That, plus the fact that the other 2 members of the foursome wouldn't like fondue. Anyway, I suggested to hubby that he take 18 to lunch to Christy’s. Again, it's pricey so not a place we'd go with the kids. But they were having a Sneak Peek Miami Spice Menu and it was really a deal. Dinner was I think $35 and lunch was $22 per person. So, on his Friday off hubby and 18 went to lunch at Christy's. They had a great time. Hubby shared his favorite Miami restaurant with him and they chatted about all sorts of things and spent some good quality one on one time before 18 takes off for college. I'm glad they took advantage of the opportunity.

spork...knork

You've heard of and learned to hate the spork. That plastic spoon with mini fork tines at the end that makes this adult feel like she's 3 again! But what about a knork? How cool are they!? They would have really come in handy on the 4th of July. A combination of the fork and knife. Now THAT's handy.
http://www.knork.net/

I just have one stinking question. Why can't I think of something like that?

Failed Flan

I like to experiment and I often do so when company is coming over. I don't know why. Anyway, I have made flan numerous times but never in my pressure cooker. I was told that I could do this with one of THESE. It was given to me specifically for that reason. I was told that it could be done in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes vs. 45 minutes in the oven. That sounded good to me. Who wants to have the oven on in the summer?! So, I ventured to make my tried and true flan recipe in the pressure cooker. Now I need to ask the giver of the mold, 'How the heck and I supposed to get the mold out of the pressure cooker when it's done?" It's hot, it's a tight fit. Hubby and I tried we really did. We pulled out numerous utensils (and I have a lot) and tried to hook them under the top somehow and pull it up. All to no avail. Then we thought why don't we add more water and it will float up. HMmm. OK, of course as we do this the mold is wobbling back and forth and we both say out loud almost simultaneously, "Do you think the top will keep the water out? I guess we'll find out. " We kept trying to pull it out and finally we did. I popped the top off and the flan was flooded. We laughed. So, I dumped the water and flipped the flan anyway because I wanted to cut into and check the consistency in the middle and see if the 20 minutes was enough. I was a perfect consistency. So, the guests didn't get flan for dessert instead they got a story about it and some left over pound cake and ice cream. I'll get it right eventually with enough patience.

Sunday Dinner

It's Sunday and if you show up at my house for dinner 9.99 times out of 10 you will have Sunday Chicken for dinner. There's really nothing fancy about it. It's just baked chicken breast with some veggies and white rice. It turned into Sunday Chicken because since we used to get home so late during the week with all of the kid's activities there was never enough time to make it for a weekday dinner and so we would have it on Sundays.

It is VERY simple. Cut up whatever vegetables you like and are in season. I always put garlic cloves, onions cut in half and then whatever I have carrots, sweet potato, turnips etc. Lay the chicken breasts skin side up on the veggies. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil sometimes I switch it up and add red pepper flakes or paprika. I put a half a stick of butter on each chicken breast and bake it at 400 for 1/2 hour. Then I add lemon juice and some white wine or vermouth or whatever cooking wine you use. I pour it them over the chicken breasts and it enough to keep the veggies moist and not cook all out so that I have a sauce. I cook for another 1/2 or until the skin is crispy. I serve it with white rice and salad.
That's our Sunday chicken and it's what I'm serving up today to some friends today for dinner. I hope they like it.

Post-4th

It feels like Sunday but it's only Saturday. I love it!
We ate so many yummy things on the 4th at the BBQ. We had burger (of course), bratwursts - 2 different kinds; I think smoked and not smoked, homemade empanadas - 2 kinds, one stuffed with chicken the other beef, chorizo made on the grill that was sooo good, my pasta salad, lovely wines, a baked cheese ziti, and the appetizers were chips of course, a cheddar cheese ball, a cream cheese, spam concoction that had something else on top I don't remember what. Then for dessert was the Red Velvet Cake and mini cupcakes. I had one of everything but I had no chips and no bread. I ate all of my meats without bread. I was very proud of myself.

I commented that we are getting old because the get-togethers are now more adults than kids. We used to be out numbered. Now the kids are moving on and the adults are left to only fend for themselves. There were a handful of kids there compared to what we used to have basically because half of those kids are 18 now and living their own lives as they should. The kids that were there did set off their own fireworks in front of the house. I watched the TV specials and saw fireworks in DC and Boston. They were really nice. A good evening and I still have the weekend ahead of me. Nice.

4th of July

So what's going on for the 4th. My dad's in Marco Island, some of hubby's family is in the Keys, 18 went to Bimini with some friends. This evening I am going to some friends house to BBQ and hang out and 15 and his friends will throw some firecrackers. My food contribution is an orzo pasta salad and a red velvet cake. The cake is at hubby's request. He really loves it and I haven't made it in maybe a year. The salad was super easy. Anyone can make it. I watch a lot of Food Network and quite a few pasta salads were made in the past few days. The one I made was inspired by both Sandra Lee and Paula Deen. Paula for the veggies that I chose to put in it plus the idea of using orzo instead of a rotini and Sandra for the dressing.

Easy Orzo Pasta Salad
Boil a box of orzo. Don't forget to salt and oil the water. While that drained, I tossed in 2 bags of frozen vegetable medleys (carrots, snap peas, broccoli and water chestnut) to the same water salting again and let that cook up for a few minutes. I chopped 1/2 can of water chestnuts and tossed it into a bowl. Added the orzo. When the veggies were done I drained and tossed them in too. I picked out the large pieces of broccoli and carrots and cut them up into smaller pieces. I poured 1/2 a bottle of creamy Caesar salad dressing (I like Newman's) and mixed it all up. I added a little more dressing to get it to the wetness that I like and put it in the fridge to chill. It's that simple.

You can pick whatever pasta you like and whatever veggies you like and I have done it in the past with an Italian vinaigrette dressing and that's yummy too.

The Red Velvet Cake recipe is adapted from the Wall Street Journal back in Feb 2007 and they adapted it from "The Confetti Cakes Cookbook" and the icing was adapted from "The Waldorf Astoria Cookbook".

It's a 3 layer cake so butter and flour 3 round cake pans and preheat the oven to 350.

Ingredients:
31/2 cups flour (I used all purpose, they say cake flour)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process, I used Ghiradelli)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups oil (I used veg., they say canola)
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
6 tbsp. (3 oz.) red food coloring (it comes out to one little bottle)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla (I used 1 heaping tsp of Dbl strength Madagascar vanilla cuz it's strong stuff)
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 tsp. white vinegar

Whisk flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl & set aside. Place oil & sugar in bowl & beat at med speed until well blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. With machine on low, very slowly add food coloring (be careful, it may splatter). Add vanilla. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternating in 2 batches. Scrape down bowl and continue to beat just long enough to blend. (over mixing makes for a tougher batter). Place baking soda in a small dish & stir in vinegar add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds to incorporate. Divide batter into 3 pans and bake for 40/45 minutes until tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 20 minutes, flip and cool completely before icing.

Icing
2 cups heavy cream
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temp.
12 oz. mascarpone
1/2 tsp. vanilla (I use less of the dbl strength stuff)
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

Whip cream, cover in bowl and refrigerate. Blend cream cheese & mascarpone until smooth. Add vanilla and add sugar. Blend well. Fold in whipped cream and refrigerate until needed.

This is a very traditional old southern cake that recently became popular again. It's quite yummy. I hope you try it.

Hope that everyone has a safe 4th of July.

Harold and Kumar go to White Castle

I saw this over the weekend. Why did I like this movie? I have no idea but I thought it was funny. I actually laughed out loud! Fine. The 2 of you who know me are thinking that's not hard she'll laugh at anything. But see I don't laugh at these types of things. I don't but I did. Let's try this again. You know all those dumb TV shows out there like....I survived a Japanese game show. I can't handle that stuff. A few years back I commented to my family that if I owned a TV station I'd call it IBS for Idiot Broadcasting System and it would show all those dumb 'reality' shows. Remember Anna Nicole's show, I couldn't run that prime time because of content but it would certainly be a money maker. So the running joke when we see a commercial for one of these programs and I repeated get stunned that this makes for TV programming, they simply say "prime time for IBS!" I can't laugh at it. I just think it's too stupid. Anyway, the Harold & Kumar movie would for sure be a regular movie of the weekon IBS but the thing is I laughed. A Lot. I thought parts of it were downright hysterical. I mean come on when Doogie Howser steals the car, I was in tears laughing. And when Kumar shocks the Dean who's interviewing him with the phone conversation he's overhearing. I'm telling you, it's a hoot. Now I totally didn't get Napoleon Dynamite but Harold and Kumar are my kinds so stupid its funny.
What does this all have to do with food? Well, White Castle of course. I've never had a White Castle burger. Have you?

Cuban Cooking

As you know I have been getting together about monthly to learn how to make Cuban dishes. This past Sunday I learned to make Frijoles Colorados . YUM!

It's one of my favorites and I was taught by my MIL and its one of her best dishes. It's really not that complicated. It's just a long process even with the pressure cooker. We had a wonderful time. Be sure to click on the link there and check out the recipe.

Of course, I took some home for 18. He loves them and is very pleased to hear that I "know" how to make them now. Of course, I will give it a try soon and we'll see how they come out when I make them.

Book Review

I'm behind on my reviews so here's an old one....

The Thirteenth Tale
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It took me back to the books I fell in love with in high school. All those Gothic romance novels. There's more than one story here and they are well weaved together. I loved trying to solve the mysteries as I read a long, the plot twists, how we only got bits and pieces at a time, different parts of the puzzles. It was a fun read.

NoBloPoMo July

The theme is FOOD. I can't resist. I have to give it a try.

So, let's see if I can post 31 days in a row about food. I will link to other's recipes, write out some of my own, tell you about my tried and true and my new adventures in food. It's part of every day so theoretically there should be enough to write about. We shall see. Wish me luck.

I need to work on getting a button up for it or something. Hmmm...that technical stuff ALWAYS gets in the way.

Halfway there....

The year is half over! Can you believe it? I can't. So this would be the time of year that I take a look back and see what I've done and set my mind to a few more before the end of the year. I think about the resolutions I made and where I am with that.

So, I don't remember my resolutions. I looked back at my end of year and beginning of year entries because you would think that I would have blogged about it but didn't see any. So, we'll move on to what I have done. I fixed myself. That its I found a Doc, a DOM (Dr of Oriental Medicine) who has fixed me. I'm not in pain anymore. That's a biggie. Of course, i still have to loose weight so I am starting to walk. Haven't blogged about it because I didn't want to jinx it. But I am going to try to walk and reduce my intake. I'm already eating better because of my DOM but the problem now is quantity...proportions. My head knows the right ones but the serving hand, mouth and stomach aren't listening to the brain. I need to work on that.

I have been doing more of my hobbies which I am enjoying tremendously. I am scrapping, cooking, embroidering, crocheting and even starting to sew. It's lots of fun. I need to organize my self better and clean out closets and drawers to make space. I need to keep working on that.

So, looking ahead....I see walking....more crafting.....de-cluttering and organizing my surroundings...

Cool Quote

"Every action of our lives touches some chord that will vibrate in eternity."

-Edwin Hubbel Chapin

WOW! huh?! Think about that one for a while!

Just Imagine....

You are fast asleep. You vaguely hear some noise in the background but manage to ignore it and continue sleeping for you don’t know how long because well, you’re sleeping. You hear these words in your head “Good morning. What time do you pick up 15?” It’s a dream right, you don’t have to answer maybe you make a noise that sounds like a response, you wouldn’t know because well, YOU’RE SLEEPING. There it is again, “Hey Sweets, What time do you pick up 15?” So you answer out loud in probably an Exorcist type voice 7:15. Then you hear more voices and start realizing that this is not a dream this is your life early in the morning. You hear the Exorcist voice interrupt the voice, “What?!” You realize that Exorcist voice may be you. You clear your throat and start to open your eyes as you come out of your sleep fog and think that voice must be my husband. You are still hearing it. It’s another question, it’s about dropping the car off when you pick up 15. “What?” -that sounded like you- What time am I getting up? You are asked, “What time do you normally get up?” 7, you answer. Now you know it’s your husband who is telling you, “OK, I will go pick up 15 and when I come back we’ll take the car when I take you to work.” You’re only response is “What time is it now?” 6:32. So, you lay there for a minute and try to think. It’s 6:32, I have to get up when? To go to what before I g….” You feel yourself drifting off into that fog again. Noise you need noise. Where’s the remote. Turn on the TV for stimulation. It’s on, good. Focus on the noise. What are they saying…knit, perl, bind off…it’s a knitting show... concentrate! OK, what time is it now, click info on the TV, it’s 6:44…you’ve got to get going because even though you are unclear as to the whats, wheres and whens, things need to get done. You’re up, dressed, ready to go and he’s not there. Fine, he’s picking up 15. So, have your breakfast. 15s practice is over at 7:30, you have plenty of time to eat. The second you sit to eat, they’re back. WOW, how’d they do that? 15s never done that early when you pick him up. Hubby takes off to the room, you are still having your breakfast, and you are watching one of your favorite channels in an attempt to smooth out your rocky start. Hubby appears and sits next to you while you break fast and announces he was having stomach issues. OK, shows over, breakfast is done, what’s left of your coffee is cold. You take it all to the kitchen and ask, “Are you ready to go?” As you both head out the door, you check “Are we taking the car?” YES, he snaps back. You take the car and go to work and start bickering in the car about the time, lack of communication, the coordinating of the morning and getting to work. He naturally doesn’t understand because according to him he figured it all out with you this morning. He doesn’t understand that you were frickin frackin sleeping! WTF! If you did it to him, it wouldn’t work because you have learned over the years to NOT speak to him in the morning otherwise you mess up his routine. He thought you were different from him that he could talk to you in the morning. Yes, I’m different you can talk to me but preferably when I am maybe AWAKE! You get to work at 8:50. You had committed to having some reports delivered via email to someone by 9am. They are going to be late. Life’s a bitch. This was my morning…and hubby’s…we didn’t start off on the right foot….he doesn’t understand…he gets to go home and pace his day how he wants, he’s got the day off. I have to deal with deadlines and work demands and a buttload of work. Gimme patience! My MIL tells me that she doesn’t take returns or exchanges since I lost the receipt for him!

Coin toss

At game night the other night we were talking about odds and probability and other math stuff like that. I will be honest and tell you I don't remember how the conversation started but I know that we got into whether it was 50/50 chance of a coin toss being heads or tails. My stance was it's 50/50. Hubby and others took the position that it wasn't that it depended on the number of rotations, the number of times you toss it etc. Guess who was right? Before I tell you, sit down. I don't want you to fall over when you find out. All safe and secure now? Moi! I was right. HERE are the actual reasons why.

Any other mathematical problems you would like me to ponder and resolve (read: research online)? Just so ya know, hubby still doesn't believe me. I realize it's hard for him to imagine that I get something associated with numbers right. Go figure! :)

Stayed in all weekend!

The weekend was spent mostly in the kitchen. I cooked a lot. I made brownies Friday night for game night. I made 2 meat pies using this pastry recipe. I made a strawberry pie again, from memory because I lost the recipe and it was too wet, tasty but wet. I made a strawberry rhubarb pie. I've never had one but it intrigued me. I made this one. I made waffles for Sunday breakfast as per usual. Hmmm....when I write it out it doesn't sound like a lot. Basically, I made 4 pies, brownies and waffles. I guess it felt like a lot because the pies are like 2 parts each since I made the crust and the fillings.
I also watched a bunch of movies while I was cooking. I saw Searching for Bobby Fisher, which I had never seen and thoroughly enjoyed. I saw RV, which was really dumb but funny because I like Robin Williams. I saw Goodfellas - again- because we had recorded it for the boys since they had never seen it so, we say it because it was there. I saw Disturbia, which was good. I can't imagine seeing it in the theater, they would have thrown me out because of all my screaming. It wasn't gory but it was jump out at you scary.
All in all a good weekend even though the weather alternated between utterly too hot and torrential downpour.

Cool Quote

I stumbled across this quote and it made me laugh out loud.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - Robert A. Heinlein, "Lazarus Long"

That's a lot to ask for from any human being Mr. Heinlein! Let's see I can: change a diaper -check, take orders-check, give orders (so I am told)-check, cooperate (IMHO)-check, pitch manure (I'm guessing here)-check and cook a tasty meal-check. 6 out of 21. I guess I'll be here for a while if I have to complete that list. LOL! :)

Today is my brother's birthday. He's 41! Let's see what he can do off the list. He can change a diaper, balance accounts (I think), take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, I dunno about the equations and problems, pitch manure (again I'm thinking most of can do that), and cook a tasty meal for sure. Let's see he got 8 out of 21. Pretty good bro! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Wish I was there or you were here!

The more things change, the more they stay the same

That saying occurred to me this morning as I was driving 15 to his Cross Country practice. Last night I had a wonderful time and well needed laughs coupled with the fun of meeting new friends. Just what I needed after this week.

Pheasantly Fascinating, Mrs. Phez, The Scribbler's Nook - who I insist I know from somewhere. He looks so familiar! I truly hope it comes to me!- , The Mind Wobbles and her hubby all got together at Chez Phez to play Cranium. It was tons of fun. As we were leaving TroyBoy said they had little kids that wake them up at 5am. Well, mine may not be as little as his anymore and you may think much has changed but lets see. I'm thinking Baby Phez probably woke them up a little after 5, my alarm rang at 5:20. Mrs. Phez and I both got up. She got the baby, changed his diaper and got a bottle. I woke up 15 and got dressed. She probably took the baby to their bed to feed him and trying to get him to doze off so they can squeeze in another 20/30 minutes of sleep. I drove to the park, parked the car. lowered the windows, reclined the seat and slept for an hour while 15 ran. It's now 7am. They've given up on sleeping in. Lil' Phez is probably up by now wanting breakfast, they start the day for real this time. I am sure coffee is in play. I sit up and watch them finish up their practice, stretch and at 7:30 we leave the park and go home. He showers and I start laundry and have my coffee.
So, 15 years have gone by and my grandfathers words when I told him I was pregnant ring true. "You will never sleep the same again."
I just met the Phez' and I don't know their morning routine. I am really winging it assuming they do close to what we did when the boys were that young. But as you can see we are all up because of the boys, taking care of the boys. The upside here Phez' is eventually you don't have to change their diaper. :)
Thanks Phez' for inviting us! It was lots of fun!

Dots of the in-between stuff

In between work, hospital and regular home stuff I have managed to do some other things (not sure how) and here they are:

* Made a strawberry pie. It was low on strawberries because I didn't realize it called for so many and the kids have been picking at the pints in the fridge but it was still good, quite tasty. I want to make another one this weekend with the bajillion strawberries it calls for.

* I finished one book (The Geography of Bliss) and started another (The Last Lecture). Reviews will follow.

* I made a dress for my niece. She's 5. It's a sun dress. Don't think wow! now she can sew or anything. Frankly it was 2 seams. One up the side and the other the hem. BUT the hem came out real nice I doubled it over so there wouldn't be any fraying edge. It was good practice and helped me get familiar with my machine. I should take a picture and post it. Hmmm...maybe this weekend.

* I saw a few movies from NetFlix...Rent and La Vie En Rose. LOVED both of them. Hubby actually sat through both of them with me and didn't hate them. He didn't love them but he got through them. Yes, that was 2 movies in a row that were basically for me but remember it's June and June is mine.

* I have been delivering Orchids and Bromiliads that 15s Cross Country team is selling as a fundraiser. I thought it was clever. Would have been nice to do it before Mother's Day we could have sold a ton on Orchids then. As it is we've done very well. We are hoping that it will defray the costs of a trip they want to take this summer.

Can't think of anything else. I want to work on pictures this weekend. I want to put some on a CD for my brother and mail it along with the dress. If I do that, make the pie and get some rest in between GM's drama it will be a good weekend.

And in case you are interested, the sun is out and the headache is gone!

Weather...pressure!!!

I have the headache from hell. Yes, I am at work. Why, well because if I were to stay at home I'd feel guilty that I should be at the hospital and if I'm at work I can't be at the hospital so I'm at work. Back to the headache. It has been raining and yucky out for like 3 days. I have had the headache for like 3 days. It's because of the weather. I don't want to get technical on you (as if I could) but it has to do with atmospheric pressure and my head. Suffice it to say that other that drilling a hole right above my temples and over my eyes on my forehead and maybe on the top left of my head to relieve the pressure I will have no relief until this frickin' frackin' front passes. Naturally when I am in this state I should try to refrain from stressful situations, therefore I am at work and not at the hospital, guiltily ignoring the white elephant in the room and calling in to talk to docs and nurses and GM instead of dealing with them all in person.
But let me take a moment to rethink how I am (not) handling this....
I am grateful and blessed for:
*my GM who is reminding me loud and clear to appreciate life and that we are always in control of our life unless we give that control away
*my family who is being so patient with me, my GM and being helpful around the house
*my friends who are constantly fonts of prayer, love and support
*the rain that we so badly needed in this area
*my job that lets me forget about life stresses and yet gives me time to deal with them when needed
*for the strawberry pie I made last night because I couldn't sleep because of this horrid headache
Whatever....my head hurts...gimme patience!

Defying the odds

Yesterday's post was cut short because I was urgently called back to the hospital for my grandmother. I had left her an hour earlier with the docs orders for meds and tests having been given and a wait and see how she reacts. I went home to shower, change have dinner, connect with my family and do something a little mindless and recharge myself after a few hours in the ER.

I was called because now she was refusing treatment and they didn't want to take responsibility if something should happen. The Doc told me she wouldn't make it through the night...(heart rate in the 160s and BP 68/40)...she was arguing and physically fighting off Drs and nurses most of the night refusing treatment saying she wanted and was ready to die. We all tried to talk her into treatment. Every logic was used. Every ruse was used. Doc still claimed that she was coherent enough to make her own decisions. Finally at 3am ... I tried a different route...
ME: "Why the heck did you come to the hospital? You should have just stayed home and not wasted the bed and everyone's time and died there!"
GM: "That's what you want -for me to die! Well, I'm not going to! Nurse give me everything immediately to prove to her that she can't make me die!" Success. It hurt but it worked.
This morning she is awaiting a room to be admitted basically because they don't understand how she came back and her vitals are now stable. It's been a long night....

Nice day for me!

I had a lovely birthday weekend sharing it with the dads.

Friday, I watched Pride & Prejudice for the umpteenth time as the Oxygen channel was so kind to play it for me. It wasn't the Colin Firth as Darcy version but I still enjoyed it because I love P&P in any incarnation.

Saturday, my birthday! Yeah me! I ran a couple of quick errands and promptly came home to play with my sewing machine. I had ordered an outfit online and when I received the tunic length top it was apparently made for someone who is 7 feet tall because on me it could have been a dress. It went down to the top of my knees. So, why not just keep it as a dress? Well, frankly because I'm gave up my street-walker outfit days. The material is Acetate and Spandex. So, yes it stretches and would be a bit too form fitting for my rear for me to wear in public and not possibly be arrested. So, I was going to attempt to alter it. Sounds simple right? A hem. How hard can it be? Come on this is basic stuff. If I can't do a hem, I have no business owning a sewing machine. So, a little over an hour later, ta-da! The top is hemmed to a respectable tunic length for 5'4" me. I put it on. Aw, crap! The hem is like wavy. It's not that the seam isn't straight it's straight. It's just that since the material had stretch to it, I guess I was stretching it along as I was sewing and there's a wave thing going on. Oh, but look! It's wavy in the back too. Oh, it's like that all the way around. Cool. It looks like an effect. I finish getting dressed and walk out to model it for hubby.
Me: "How do you like it? It's the top I just hemmed. "
Hubby: Squinting to get a good look, "Not bad! That's pretty good! I like the design you gave it."
Me: "What design?"
Hubby: Squints some more and in a tone not as confident as before, "Well, the way it goes up and down kind of wavy. You did that on purpose, right?"
Me: "Not really. But it looks like it, so that's the story. I did it on purpose!"

And with that we were off to dinner at Carabas with my dad and his girlfriend (review later). After an early dinner back home to make the fixings for Father's Day breakfast. It was a lovely day...very relaxing....family....food...and crafting...what more could I want. Nothing.

Technically...NOT

As I have mentioned before, I am not technically inclined. So, I laugh as I take stock in my techness.

I can write on 3 separate blogs, I am on MySpace, I am on Facebook and I am on Goodreads. I think that's a lot! Granted I never used the MySpace or the Facebook previously except to check up on my kids and their friends. Now I have started actually using Facebook. I'm learning...slowly.

Hmmm...I wonder can I link my blog(s) and Goodreads to the Facebook? I will have to play with that later.

Another thing I just learned how to do is how to transfer pictures from my computer to CDs. I made some for the dads for Father's Day. WooHoo!

I will take this moment to send a THANKS to The Mind Wobbles! She is the one who takes the time to deal with all of my tech-questions and has the patience to walk me through things like the little linky thing up there to her.
So, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks and I'm getting a little technical.....

Musical cards

You know that commercial that is playing now for Hallmark Father's Day cards. You know the one with the musical card that plays Can't Touch That by MC Hammer and the kids give it to the dad and he sees himself in Hammer's video. My household loves that commercial. It makes us laugh. So last night 15 asked us what song we would want in our card. The first song that popped into my head was Celebrate by Kool and the Gang. Remember that one?! It took hubby a while but he thinks he'd want something by the Bee Gees and the Staying Alive album.

What song would you want in a card celebrating you?

Mine!

It's June and in case you didn't know, it's mine. Yes. The month of June is mine. My birthday is smack dab in the middle and I claim more than that day, I take the month to celebrate my birthday. I live large that way. I spend the entire month saying I want stuff and if the family whines, I say but it's for my birthday. I win. :) I enjoy celebrating things. Anything. So, I stretch my birthday out. I realize I have to give some time to the dads fro Father's Day (heck sometimes my bday falls on Father's Day) and my brother's bday is in June too and I am sure there are other things that are not me-centric that happen in June. But that works for me because I like sharing. So it's still mine. June is mine and I will celebrate it as I want but I'll share too because I like sharing. Just don't ask me to do something I don't' want because I wont' because it's my birthday month and so there you aren't the boss of me and can't make me do it.
So far this June is going just fine!

Kiss the ground

Saturday we went to hubby's aunt's house to see the MIL and give her the bday present we forgot to take to the Keys. 15 drove. He drove with all 4 of us in the car. for the first time. all 4 of us.

18 and I were sitting in the back. I try to just sit there and breath and tend to close my eyes. Hubby was instructing (read: quietly watching) shot gun. 18 says he doesn't want to do that again! He says now he understands how I was in the car with him. Mind you 15 is doing fine. But when you are in the car with a new driver you feel very out of control and you don't have the sense that they will stop when and how you want them too or that they know when and how to use the gas and brake pedal like you do. It can be very unnerving to say the least. When we got out of the car at aunt's house. 18 made a production of getting out of the car and throwing himself to the ground and kissing it. 15 just rolled his eyes and laughed saying "you're not home yet!". 18 got up put his arm around 15 and told him he did fine, he just doesn't want to test his heart that way again. They laughed there way into the house. It was nice to watch. Then 18 put his arm around me and said "I don't know how you did it for me and now you are doing it again. It must be hard." I told him it's the hardest thing you do as a parent; handing you kid the keys to the car and letting them go out into that crazy world. Yes, I am doing it again. What choice do we have? It must be done. Gimme patience.