The Slightly Mad Housewife Rides Again!

Fun With Everyday Math Games

2006-11-16T12:14:00.000-05:00

As part of their studies, Rascal and Zipper learn math based on the Everyday Math curriculum. A major part of the teaching style of this curriculum are the math games. They do them at school, in both paper and computer versions, but they are also available online.

Which means that every single time that I've turned on the computer in the last couple weeks, I've had a small boy standing next to me, asking:

"Mommy, can I play math games?"

I swear. I had to put my foot down just so I could put up a post or two here. It's great that they like the games so much, but it's starting to drive me nuts. After 2 or 3 games, it's really boring for an adult to watch.

But school wants them to do it, and I guess it must be helping them somehow, so I guess it's game time!

A Short Treatise on Tae Kwon Do, Part 2

2006-11-08T21:25:00.000-05:00

Ok, so you want to know what happened at last year's tournament then?

I brought the family with, and we arrived about 30 min. before the adults were supposed to kick off. The kids ran long (which I guess shouldn't have been surprising) so the adults started about an hour late.

There was only one other woman in my division in the forms competition. We were both newly minted blue stripes, and after a quick discussion, we came to the agreement that we would both do the new form. Well, I lost, but no big deal, it was a good try.

But then... we go up to the awards tables, and they say that I got first place, not the other woman. Well, neither of us was overly concerned, but they were nice enough to just give us both a gold medal.

So after this I'm feeling pretty cocky, and decide that my board break is going to be a spinning backfist (which I had done already at Health Kick, but not since). This was a big mistake. I had done *no* particular tournament training (they just didn't do it for the adults at least at Amherst), so I was playing things by ear. The other competitors did fair axe kicks, but I just had to be different, didn't I?

I lined up my break badly and came across the upper edge of the board solid on the middle of the back of my hand, splitting it open a bit (not bad), but the hand hurt terribly. I did break the board quite nicely with that badly botched attempt though, so I have that to console me. After the competition I went and got bandaged up and got an ice pack at the head judge's request. I wasn't going to - not showing weakness and crap like that - but it was good that I did, because there was still sparring to go.

At that point I didn't really suspect that the hand was broken - I came to the conclusion on my own several weeks later based on how much it still hurt and the funny give of a bone in my hand when I pressed gently on it. I never had it looked at officially, but considering that it was almost 3 months before it was fully recovered, and I can still feel an indentation in the bone there, and if I strike the back of my hand with even a moderate force the pain is extreme...well, I'm pretty confident in my layman's diagnosis.

But back to sparring. Now, I'm not much of a sparrer. I freely admit it. Come on, compared to most of the competitors, I'm fat, slow, and old. But I had attended some sparring classes for a while (alas no more, when Amherst changed it from Fri. to Thurs. that was it for me), and I thought it was fun, so why not?

Because of all the earlier delays, my court (the same one I had been on all evening btw) kicked off last for the sparring competition. And guess who was slated in the last division of the night on that court? Yeah. So my husband and kids were of course tired and antsy and bored. I wouldn't put them through that again.

So the evening's winding down, and there's two courts still active. The other court has a black belt final with one of my classmates in it. The two instructors from Amherst (Master Chong and Miss Perkins) still here are at that match. And over on my court, I'm facing one of the two Cortland college students in the division. Which means that the whole Cortland team is right there to cheer her on. Well, my family is still there, the good troopers that they are, but no Amherst students to cheer me on, and no coach in my corner.

The match begins, and I don't remember, I think it was two rounds of two minutes (doesn't matter). I was doing ok, not great, down one point at the end of the first round. About halfway through the second round I clobbered my opponent in the jaw with a closing kick and she literally scrambled crawling off the court. I had not put a lot behind the kick, but it was enough.

Now I'm standing in the middle of the court, not knowing what to do, with no coach in my corner to guide me, and I'm terrified that I hurt this girl. She's examined and comforted and cheered on by her 40 or 50 Cortland companions, while the one judge from Amherst finally catches my eye and motions me to my chair to await the result of the blow. I sit down, so very, very alone.

My opponent returns to the court perhaps 3 minutes later. Thankfully she seems unhurt. But now she's angry and motivated and has a whole crowd of supporters behind her, and I'm just mentally shattered. I honestly can't tell you how the rest of the match played out, except that I was very tentative. Hell, I don't even know if I scored a point or lost a penalty point from the head kick. Anyway, she wonthe match, and lost the final to the other Cortland student - gee, match up two mid-30's SAHMs of no particular athletic talent against two college kids and figure out who's going to come out better in the end.

I was unreasonably upset. Not at losing the match, which I had expected anyway, but because I had failed myself psychologically, and because I felt abandoned. Now, to the credit of the Cortland kids, a couple of them had some positive words for me. Master P (who was the head judge at the court) even consoled me, which was both appreciated and a cause for embarassment to me (since I shouldn't need bucking up like a 10-year-old kid). He said that the match was close. He might have just been saying that, but I really don't know.

Thankfully I did manage to mostly protect the injured hand during the match - I think I took one blow on it that made it smart, but no big deal, and she didn't go out of her way to attack the hand.

But I was so angry. I marched out of there with barely a glance at my instructors as I passed by, and I was not entirely able to control my vitriol in front of my children (who were of course very tired and cranky by now, since it's past their bedtime). It reflects badly on me as a person, I know, but if nothing else I am brutally honest with myself. If that means admitting to a lapse of maturity, then so be it.

I'm glad to have told the story, because I kept most of it under wraps. Nobody seemed to want to hear about it at school, and I was certainly reluctant to expound upon my own failings there. And I had put my husband through enough hell with my ranting over a 24-hour period that I didn't want to burden anyone else with it.

A Short Treatise on Those Damned Messes

2006-11-08T21:21:00.000-05:00

I should just give up on the cleaning, I really should. Every time I walk into another room it's a disaster zone. Nothing I do actually matters. Uh, housework-wise, that is. Blasted kids.

A Short Treatise on Tae Kwon Do

2006-11-08T15:28:00.000-05:00

I'm not in the tournament this Saturday. Two and a half reasons:

1) I just don't have the money. Plain and simple. And $60 for 3 minutes of competition (although the medals are really, really nice and everyone gets one) is an awful lot.

2) There was that bad, bad experience at the tourney last year. Maybe I should expand on it - let me know if you want to hear the tale. I might have blogged about it before; I don't know. But that experience alone wasn't the deciding factor in not participating - it's the combination of factors here.

2.5) I tripped the other day and smashed my oft-injured right hand into a doorknob, taking the brunt of the damage over where the hand was broken last year (*ahem* see reason 2). The back of my hand is still a little swollen, and I expect it will hurt for at least another week. But no worries, mate.

But I still plan on going to the tournament to watch for a couple hours if my schedule allows. I missed the demo team competition last year, so I really want to see if Amherst can retain the title. Go Amherst!

A Short Treatise on Business Travel

2006-11-08T15:20:00.000-05:00

Why is Ironwolf so damned lucky? He got to go to Vegas without me a few weeks ago (something I've already blogged about) and this week he is in beautiful (although apparently not sunny) Orlando, FL to visit Disney. The Disney folks even gave Ironwolf and his coworkers Magic Kingdom tickets for yesterday. Lucky bastard.

But then again, he does have to actually work on these trips - there's really not much time for fun and games. But I could never understand why Ironwolf dislikes the business travel so much. I mean, look at it - free nights away from home, nice restaurant meals, get to see different places, in the winter get away from the crappy Buffalo weather. The only drawback is not getting to see the family (and oh yeah friends too) for a couple days or weeks, which IMHO is not exactly a drawback - I would kill (ok, just maim) for a couple days away all alone *sigh*. And maybe the actual travel part itself *shrug*.

A Short Treatise on Ironing

2006-11-08T10:27:00.000-05:00

'Cause that's what I'm doing right now. Ok, not right right now, when I'm blogging. That would be dangerous.

I hate ironing! If you wanted to torture me, all you would have to do is put me in a room with a couple thousand shirts and tell me that I couldn't leave until I had ironed all of them.

I don't just hate ironing, I'm really bad at it too. I'm far better at pressing wrinkles into shirt sleeves than removing them. Let's just say it's one of my special talents.

I'm probably so bad at it because no one ever taught me the right way to do it. Good grief, I'm 34 years old and I can't properly press a shirt! (Or put on eyeliner either, but that's for another day). Maybe if I look on the Internet I can find an Ironing for Stupid Idiots site.

A Short Treatise on Stupidity

2006-11-08T10:19:00.000-05:00

Someone will read this one, anyway!

Several days ago I'm driving up Eggert Rd. near home in the TOT. It's a smaller sort of major road, and the speed limit is 30 mph there. I'm in the left lane doing my usual 33-34 mph, and a guy in the right lane nearby who is probably topping 40. A town cop comes up behind me, and goes around me on the right. All three of us end up stopped at a traffic light - me in the left lane, the other guy in the right lane, and the police car behind him.

The light goes green and that guy in the right hand lane takes off like a shot. About 3 seconds later, police lights flashing. Ha ha you dunderhead, didn't you see him right behind you? The cop even gave you a second chance to redeem yourself because he could have pulled you over a minute before!

Oh, that just made my day!

An Array of Short Subjects

2006-11-08T10:09:00.000-05:00

I really, really need to get back into the swing of things. So today I have decided to leave the computer on and put up posts throughout the day (in between loads of laundry and the like), each focusing on a particular topic so y'all won't get too bored and so you can skip the ones you don't want to read.

It's like one of those blogathon things, except there's no charity involved, just my own overinflated ego that makes me think that you want to read this stuff.

Where's ShadowAngel?

2006-11-03T09:29:00.000-05:00

I am here to assure you, dear readers, that I was not struck down by a falling tree limb (which sadly did happen to an area gentleman post-storm), nor was I huddling in a dark, cold house for 3 weeks. In fact, the power came back on at hour 170, that is, 7 days 2 hours after the lights went out.

So (once again) I feel I owe an apology for my reticence, lack of communication, whatever. About half my readers are local friends, so they haven't needed to worry, but I fear that some of the rest of you may have been worrying about me and my family. (Or maybe you didn't worry, that's ok too.)

I figure you could use an explanation of why I haven't been blogging (for that matter, I haven't even turned on the computer - you should see the number of backed-up emails ugh!). So, without further ado...(drum roll) Jen's Excuses!

1. You know, once the power came back on, I didn't feel the desperate need to communicate with someone anymore. In fact, all I wanted to do was to be cuddled up under a (preferably electric) blanket and bask in the warm glow of artificial light. Even so, I owed you at least a quick message letting you know that things were ok.

2. Much of last week was consumed preparing for my annual Halloween party. I put way too much time and effort into it. Also you should hear about the parties, etc. that I took my kids to in the last week. More in an upcoming Halloween post.

3. It's been terribly difficult to get back into the swing of things. I suppose it probably wasn't so bad for all those folks that had to trudge off to work every day, because their routines reached a semblance of normality pretty quickly, but I was home with the kids for seven school days, and Ironwolf was out of town for several of those. I still don't quite have the sense of reality back, and it's been three weeks since the storm.

4. I'm just plain ol' depressed again. Oh, it's not that bad, really, I'm a lot better at coping than I used to be. It also helps, btw, that I can't really isolate myself like I used to do back in the day - after all, the dh and kiddos still need me! So brush that aside, but if you see a lot of "Everything in the World Sucks" posts in the next couple weeks, that's just my diseased mind talking.

5. My husband is horrified by this - I've started several craft projects at once. Why the horror? Because all too often I leave projects unfinished, and I definitely leave my crafting crap all over the place when I'm working on these projects. Yes, I have a place for all my stuff, but it's in the basement, where it's cold and dank and not much fun. Most of the projects are XMas gift-related because I'm trying to keep costs down a bit this year. Somehow I suspect that I'm going to fail in that.

6. I've been too drunk every night to see straight. No, no, no just kidding! :-) But I will admit that the three bottles of creme liquors now sitting open in my fridge (from the Halloween party) do pose quite a temptation in the evenings.

I'll try to pull a few posts together (in nice digestible bites) over the next couple days about what's been going on here. Thanks for your concern for me.

Hour 168

2006-10-19T18:45:00.000-04:00

Exactly 7 days 0 hours since the lights went out - approx. 54,000 customers still without power in the Buffalo area. Including yours truly - but there are now street lights on literally 1 1/2 blocks away. I'm optimtistic that this will be the last night without electricity.

Let's rewind the clock back a bit to Wed. night. Ironwolf got off on his trip to Detroit just fine, albeit a little late due to weather issues in Detroit. We managed just fine here without him.

But at 3 AM that night, I woke up feeling really ill. After taking a minute to clear the grogginess from my head, I realized what kind of ill it was - I was nauseous. So here I'm thinking, oh great, food poisoning, or the flu, this is not what I need now... I stumble off to the bathroom in the pitch black and sit on the edge of the bathtub for a bit. I come to the realization that I am not in immediate danger of throwing up, so I visit the kids for a few minutes and wander downstairs, eventually falling asleep semi-upright on the couch. Around 4:15 I awaken to Drake's cries and dash upstairs, again in the pitch black. He had a bad bloody nose. With that rectified, and my stomach settled (who knows why I felt so sick before) it was back to bed for everyone.

Now yesterday early in the morning came a pickup truck carrying about 10 people, some armed with chainsaws. I figured out pretty quick that they were from the town (or contracted by the town). They moved all the tree branches and the like off the curbs and onto one side of the street, then loaded everything up into a truck to haul it away. Yay!

But then comes the strange part. About an hour later, a bucket truck pulls up in front of my house from a company I'd never heard of - and there's a guy up one of my trees in the back yard cutting off limbs. He proceeds to go through the other yards on the street doing the same thing. So I'm assuming he was also contracted by the town to help with the problem of cracked and split limbs still in the trees. I'm grateful, of course, since it was going to be a terribly expensive prospect if we had to take care of the problem ourselves (as would normally be the case, and even with the assistance we may have to call someone in later). But now my yard is littered with tree limbs all over again, and worse, I had to pluck large logs lodged in the branches of the trees and wedged onto the chain-link fence in the back of the yard.

Now, wouldn't it have made more sense to send that guy through first and then a day or two later send the workers to clean up the debris?

We've got a little bit of gutter damage, but insurance should cover that. No big deal. Hell, there's some people with holes in their houses, and others (including a friend of mine) had basement flooding so bad that they will have to replace their furnace and hot water tank.

We went over to my SIL's today to do some laundry because I couldn't get our dryer started again without overloading the generator. I don't know, we managed it before, but just couldn't get it to work this time.

The kids have been bothering me literally every two minutes writing this, so I'll go tend to their needs now. More pics tomorrow.

Hour 160

2006-10-19T10:54:00.000-04:00

There are utility crews just a couple blocks away! Oooh, maybe power by nightfall!

Got lots to tell but I'm off to the SIL's right now.

Hour 123

2006-10-17T21:16:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I took the kids to the playground, taking photos of mangled trees around the school. These are just a few examples. There's an estimated 30,000 trees in my town alone that suffered damage from the storm. It's really quite sad - there were a lot of beautiful old trees in the area. Some of them will be gone entirely, and many of them won't return to their former glory for a decade or two.

As of this morning there was still 150,000 customers without power. (I think it's closer to 100,000 tonight). School is cancelled through tomorrow, but chances are it's going to be the whole week, as we are still slated for Sunday for power restoration. It looks like at least six school districts are going to be out of snow days, and so they are negotiating with the state to see if they can get their mandatory school year length reduced. After all, winter hasn't even started yet. It's more likely though that the state will force the districts to use vacation days instead, so there goes spring break. Well, we shall see.

Ironwolf is away now. He'll be back tomorrow night. Too bad the poor baby had to miss the Sabres game. 9-1 over the Flyers! Holy hand grenades, Batman! Ah, life is good...

But Ironwolf's grandmother (also without power) had a nasty fall down the stairs and broke her shoulder joint. She's doing as well as can be expected, and she is staying with one of Ironwolf's aunts (one *with* power, of course). The poor dear has already had a major shoulder injury a few years ago - I'm rather hoping that this is the same shoulder, or she is going to have terrible difficulties.

Let's see, what else...

Random had us over for dinner last night. It was wonderful! I didn't realize how badly I needed to get away from the house and out with other people. I'd had some other invitations before from people, but I wasn't really ready to leave the house yet. And the pasta dinner was perfect - let me tell you, it is tough to make pasta with my limited cooking options. Thank you!

On Sunday I headed off to my cold, dark church. Nobody said that church was cancelled, and I had promised the choir director that I was going to be there this week (before the storm) because lots of choir members were scheduled to be away. Amazingly, about 40 people still showed up! We set up chairs in the narthex where we could get some sunshine, Pastor Kay put the kettles on the gas stove so there was hot drinks, the folks providing treats for the coffee hour showed up, we pulled out the port-a-altar and the battery pack for the portable keyboard, and there ya go! Good service - glad they decided to abandon the scheduled Job sermon for something a little lighter.

Today I trekked out to the grocery stores with the kids. It was very busy, but not the ridiculous busy that it had been in earlier days. I'm still being very cautious about the perishables that I buy because I'm only running the fridge a couple hours a day. Plus there's still the issue of being able to cook the food that I bought. So, for the first time in a couple years, Chef Boyardee is gracing my household. But since I noticed that Ying's (the combination Chinese/pizza/every other cuisine you can think of all under one roof joint) is open maybe I'll buy dinner for the kids there tomorrow. They are close, and they are just inside the town line, so I know their water is safe without boiling. Come to think of it, I don't know if the water advisories are still in effect.

I know I've babbled on for quite a bit, so I'd better go - don't want to waste more gasoline that I have to. I'm probably not going to do much blog reading while the power's still down. And maybe someday I'll actually be able to get to all those posts that I said that I was going to do before the storm hit! Ok, more likely they'll all fall by the wayside...

Hour 89

2006-10-16T11:47:00.000-04:00

For those of you getting this through RSS, my apologies. It seems that I am incapable of doing simple addition in my head. I'm an idiot, but what else is new?

89 hours without power other than that provided by the generator. Counting my blessings. Hell, I'm even able to do laundry - I'm just limited to running one major appliance at a time. Still can't cook though because it draws too much power. So cooking is done on the grill or over my fondue pot's alcohol burner.

Some people still don't have hot water, or clean water. I think that because my town is one of the few places outside the city that has a reliable source of clean water that this is the reason that we are slated to be among the last communities for power restoration - now estimated for Sunday.

Half the neighborhood's abandoned. We cleaned up our own tree limbs and helped out a bit with the next-door neighbor's, plus Ironwolf has been hauling the generator to relatives' houses so they can get their homes a little warmer and get their basements pumped out.

Ironwolf had to work today (despite the fact that Amherst still has a driving ban), leaving us alone for the first time, but we are doing fine. Unfortunately, it looks like he will have to fly off to Michigan tomorrow evening, but it should just be for about a day. I'll just have to know how to get the generator running plus the specifics of the funky wiring job we've got going to support this.

So still doing ok, but it's going to be a long time before things get back to normal. I'll try to have some pics up tomorrow.

After the Storm

2006-10-14T10:47:00.000-04:00

Most of you probably already know what has happened here in the Buffalo area. The locals are obviously living it, and the rest of you have probably seen it on the national news.

There is quite a lot of damage out here. Trees and power lines down everywhere, with over 300,000 customers without power. We are also without power, but we have a generator going now which provides enough to keep us warm, the basement dry, to try to save the contents of our freezer, and to whip off a quick message to everyone out there (oh, and to watch the hockey game - Go Sabres!).

It may be as much as a week before we have power again, so don't expect to hear much from me. But do not worry about us - unlike many, many people out here, we are warm, relatively dry, have water, and have enough food and gasoline to get us through the next couple days.

Here are a couple pics for your "enjoyment"

The view into my next-door neighbor's back yard

An oblique view down the street early Fri. morning

Down the street (late morning) - note neighbor's car with branch atop

Note To Self: Ask Readers If Blog Looks Sucky

2006-10-12T19:13:00.000-04:00

My blog layout looks much different in Mozilla than it does at home with IE, mostly having to do with the color scheme. Is anyone out there having difficulty reading because of the colors on the blog?

Blizzard!

2006-10-12T18:55:00.000-04:00

The snow has finally come, and with what a bang! It's blizzardy nightmare out there folks, and tonight I am out there.

I went to choir practice as usual, but the power was out so it was canceled. I am now at the library, since I had books due today, so I figured I'd stay in for a bit and take advantage of the lovely high-speed Internet capabilities available here. While Mom's away (i.e. without the kids), she will play!

There's tree branches down everywhere, and even a small tree down in one of the neighbor's yards. I will admit serious trepidation about driving under some of those heavily snow-laden limbs bent precariously over the road. Scary stuff. Thankfully it's a short drive home from here.

But to go back a couple hours in time - when I went to pick up Rascal from school this afternoon I experienced one of the strangest weather phenomena I have ever witnessed. It was sunny, with mixed rain, snow, and hail, and there was thunder not-so-distant. Really weird. Only in Buffalo...

The Week That Was

2006-10-11T11:45:00.000-04:00

Yeah, yeah, it's been a week since I've posted. Nobody's been waiting with bated breath.

So let's recap:

Most important on the ol' list is my 34th birthday! Yay for me! More to come on that in a bit, I've got a lot to say.

Ironwolf got back from Vegas just fine, albeit several hours late because of flight delays (so that he finally got back home at 4 AM - ugh!). Sadly, he did not win a million dollars.

To go back a little farther than a week, the whole clan went to the Great Pumpkin Farm in Clarence for loads of family fun! More on that in a bit too; I'm just getting the pictures off my camera now.

Go Sabres! Go Sabres! Go Sabres! Woooooo!!!!! 3-0, rock and roll, baby! But somebody get me a defibrillator for Christmas if every game is going to be this exciting!

Zipper was very proud to be Star Student of the Day yesterday in his class. Which really just means that he's the one that gets to bring in something for show-and-tell and he gets to bring the "Daily News" page home.

I've made up with that Tae Kwon Do instructor that I was having issues with last month. I'm having some struggles right now in TKD, but I'll save that for another post too (that's three auxiliary posts already!).

My solo in church went really well as expected. I have to admit though, I feel a little weird accepting compliments from the congregation. It just doesn't seem like something that I should be congratulated about, especially in church. Know what I'm saying?

I really need to get my butt moving on my annual Halloween party. I haven't even sent out invitations yet. Well, local yokels, it will be Sat. Oct. 28, 6 PM at my place. This year's movie will be the Hong Kong kung-fu vampire hit, Mr. Vampire. As always, bring the kids, costumes optional.

I'm sure I've bored you all enough by now. TTFN!

Wisdom Check!

2006-10-04T16:14:00.000-04:00

I really need to lay off the nerdy Dungeons and Dragons catchphrases. Wouldn't want anyone to think that I was uncool! LOL

Wisdom check made: While shopping at BJ's (the wholesale club) today I successfully resisted buying the 12 lb. bag of baking soda! Yes, I need baking soda, but not a couple years' supply...

Wisdom check failed: I scrubbed my upstairs bathroom top to bottom today (a horrible, tedious, 4-hour process, literally ceiling to floor). And since my shower curtains were nasty, I threw them into the washing machine. Uh, yeah, it didn't work out well. My nice downstairs shower curtain came through with a rip of a few inches in it. My cheapola upstairs shower curtain was shredded.

Shredded!

No kidding! The washing machine literally tore it into strips, which were all tangled and knotted with each other. Now I'll have to go buy a new one (duh). Stupid stupid stupid...

A Day For Nothing In Particular

2006-10-03T11:42:00.000-04:00

So, nobody's going to read about it. But here's the news of the day anyway:

1. Ironwolf has not yet won a million dollars in Vegas.

2. Zipper keeps getting nosebleeds in school. Ugh, they are going to wonder what's wrong with the kid. But I already know:"The doctor says I wouldn't get so many nosebleeds if I'd just keep my darned finger out of there." - Ralphie Wiggum (Crap, I think I quoted that a couple weeks ago when I was talking about Zipper's nosebleeds.)

3. The Sabres' season starts tomorrow! (ooh, hockey hockey hockey hockey hockey...)

4. I really wanted to do some gardening today but it's been raining all day. Damn forecast said it wasn't going to rain until afternoon...

5. Oooh, yay! I get to do my gospel solo in church this Sunday! And may I say with all modesty that I totally rock! (My blog, I can brag if I want to!)

6. When Ironwolf went on his trip he took my new Enigma CD in the car with him! I haven't even listened to it yet! So if I want it I'd have to get it from his car at the airport. Not worth it.

7. I am now a member of the Crazy Hip Blog Mamas ring! I figure with a name like that you can't go wrong!

8. Yesterday was my parents' 35th anniversary! Hooray for matrimonial bliss! They celebrated the anniversary and my mom's new job by buying a PT Cruiser convertable.

I promise, I'll have more interesting stuff tomorrow. Maybe some stuff about the kids, maybe some dish on the relatives, we'll see...

Aw, Why Can't I Go To Vegas Too?

2006-10-02T09:20:00.000-04:00

Ironwolf will be zipping off to Las Vegas today for a few days for a conference.

I wanna go too! *whine*

Actually, we knew that this was coming up for a while, and I had intended on going with him, but my mother-in-law finally found a job not long ago, depriving us of the necessary child care.

*sigh* It's better that my MIL has a job than that I get to go to Vegas.

Of course, that doesn't mean that I'm not jealous (on top of all the usual worrying I do when Ironwolf is traveling)!

Oh, well, I guess it's fair play, since I got to go to Vegas last time without him. But I was traveling with my mother-in-law, which means {begin sarcasm} lots of wild and crazy fun {end sarcasm}.

C is for Celery

2006-09-29T20:02:00.000-04:00

That's right folks, I'm posting about celery. My life is a thrill a minute.

This year I planted some vegetables in my modest garden. The tomatoes did really, really well; the bunnies ate the lettuce and the eggplant; the peppers didn't really do that well.

But the celery was a bit of an enigma. I didn't really know what to expect - as the summer progressed the plants got larger, but they never looked like the big celery stalks that you buy in the grocery stores.

So with the chilly season fast approaching, I decided that it was time to harvest the celery no matter what its condition.

Well, here's the thing: it's nice, fresh, abundant celery, but it's really bitter (nay, 'tis the essence of celery itself) and tough and stringy. Sure, I know how to string celery, but the stalks are so thin and numerous that the task is both very difficult and very time-consuming.

Therefore I have a big bowl of celery, and I don't really know what to do with it. I'm going to see what it will be like after cooking, but I'm open to any suggestions you may have

Ooh! Ooh! New albums!

2006-09-28T15:58:00.000-04:00

[ShadowAngel bounces up and down excitedly]

Not only does this week feature the release of Weird Al Yankovic's new album, but also Enigma's new album "A Posteriori" and Scissor Sisters new album "Ta-Dah" and next week is the release of Evanescence's new album (forgot the name, too lazy now) too!

Damn! I need my allowance money (yes, I get a personal allowance, kinda sad but it works well) right now!

Master Swapping

2006-09-28T14:38:00.000-04:00

It's a sad, sad day for those of us at the Amherst location of Master Chong's World Class Tae Kwon Do.

Master Chong (the younger, not the grandmaster of course) is being permanently transferred to East Amherst. In return we will be receiving Master Moon (whom I've never met) and Master Yoo (who has been teaching here for a few weeks now).

This came as no surprise to me at all, actually. I've had the sense for a couple months that Master Chong was being pulled away from teaching duties here for other responsibilities, and when they did that "temporary" shifting around of the masters due to Master Moon's vacation, along with very little discussion regarding what was happening...well, it seemed very clear to me as to what to expect.

So, how do I feel about all this? (Not that it matters, of course...)

Well, to a certain extent I'm devestated. Devastated, I say! *snif* :-) Master Chong has great talent as a teacher. Most significantly, he has the ability to know what a given student needs to hear at that time - whether they need a kind word of encouragement, a new insight into a technique, (rarely) a disapproving glare, or a seemingly casual discussion about a topic that turns out to be very important later.

Oh, not to mention that Master Chong is totally hot. *ahem*

But it is a great opportunity for him, and I expect that he is being groomed to someday take over the business in 10-15 years from now (or whatever). But I'm only speculating. In any case I wish him the best of luck.

So far things have been going well with Master Yoo. His difficulties with English aren't as much of a problem for me as for some of the other students - after all, I studied science at UB (inside joke). I think that it's good that I'll have the opportunity to study under two more experienced teachers - as it is I usually have to have 5 or 6 different people show me a move before I start to get it. I'm trying to keep my outlook cheerful, and I'll try to be patient while the transition occurs.

100th Post Celebration!

2006-09-27T09:10:00.000-04:00

As a special treat, here's an audioblog post (872K, right-click to download) for you!

More Template Madness!

2006-09-26T10:11:00.000-04:00

OK, I gave in and put up an inadequate version of the new template.

My blog crashed the browser three times in a row, so I figured I shouldn't wait because people simply might not be able to read the blog if I didn't do it.

Not that I have all that many readers, of course. *wink*

So rest assured that this is far from the finished product, and bear with me if things look strange over the next few days.

Template Madness!

2006-09-26T09:46:00.000-04:00

So instead of posting I've been working on a new template for the last couple days. Foolishly I decided to make the jump to Blogger Beta, and I'm kind of regretting it, because the good folks at Blogger have changed the fundement of their blog template. Which, of course, immediately starting causing my old-style, third-party template to go crash on an unpredictable basis.

Therefore a brand-spankin'-new template is in order, and, never being satisfied with the canned offerings provided by Blogger, I'm trying to build my own from scratch. Ok, not quite from scratch, it is indeed modified from a Blogger canned template (I'm not good enough to do otherwise).

But it's coming along nicely, and I should get a basic version of it up here today or tomorrow. I'm still experimenting and seeing if I can get some cool goodies working, but since it's largely trial-and-error, we'll have to see what happens.

Ouch, That Must Hurt!

2006-09-22T15:35:00.000-04:00

OMG, I can't tell this with a straight face, but I swear to you it happened just like this:

I was restringing my bass guitar yesterday, and I was having a bitch of a time with it. I'd never done it before, and I am sure that Smite is probably going to have a little chat with me this weekend about the proper way to do it.

Anyway, I wasn't paying close enough attention to what I was doing when I was replacing the highest string and (I bet Smite's already guessed the punchline)...

I overstretched my G-string and it snapped!

HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

I told my church choir exactly that at last night's rehearsal and they were ROFL!

Poor Ironwolf's Interminable Church Meeting

2006-09-21T09:13:00.000-04:00

My hubby Ironwolf went out to dinner with the guys last night and when I came home from my children's choir practice there they were at my house.

Sheesh, thanks for telling me we were going to have guests tonight. I'd made a turkey breast and mashed potatoes for dinner, which was still yummy *without* DH there to share it at the table. Ppppttthh!!!

That's ok though. They played hockey outside with the boys for a while, which was really sweet. It was one of the things that Jon (my dear friend visiting from out-of-town that I mentioned several posts ago) wanted to do while he's here. He's really missed seeing the boys, and 2 1/2 years brings a lot of changes when there's little kids involved.

Eventually the guys head down to the basement for this evening's board gaming adventure. Then comes...the phone call.

It's Kay. As in, Pastor Kay from church. And guess who was missing an important committee meeting currently in progress? Well, duh, read the subject line! And they really, really wanted Ironwolf there because he had the minutes from the last meeting (back in June). With a heavy sigh Ironwolf rushes off to the stupid church meeting.

Which of course leaves his three friends in the lurch in the basement. Well, no problem, they'll just pick out a different board game to play until he comes back. I can't really be a good hostess because my primary job is to keep the kids out of their hair while they are playing, and getting the kids to bed of course.

So they finish their game, and one of the guys leaves, and still no Ironwolf. I come downstairs from putting the kids to bed and folding a couple loads of laundry at about 9:45 and the two remaining friends are sitting in my dark living room talking. I join them, and poor Ironwolf drags himself in at 10:15, making the total meeting time almost 3 hours.

You know, if I was him I just wouldn't put up with it anymore. There's no reason why these monthly church meetings should take more than 1 to 1 1/2 hours. There's too much socializing, and too much digressing. I suggested that next year Ironwolf should offer to be chair of the committee, because then he could run the meetings the way he wanted to. He's seriously considering it.

Now I've Gone and Done It!

2006-09-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

In my foolish haste last night I gave the blog address out to a couple people from Tae Kwon Do. ;-)

Hi, ladies! The posts you are looking for are "A Little Sweetness, A Little Rage" from 9/6, and "Rampant Capitalism 101" from 8/23. But of course feel free to peruse the rest of the blog as you like, and I would be thrilled to read your comments.

Not to sound like a suck-up, but it is so much fun hanging out with you guys outside after class! I hope Chelsea didn't get into too much trouble though... :-( Maybe I'll talk with her father and see if he'll reconsider (gosh, makes me sound a like teenager myself there). After all, what am I going to do without Chelsea to drag me through the curriculum on Tuesday night? I'd take twice as long at every belt rank! LOL

Definitely we should go out sometime. Sorry I can't do Thursdays at Fridays though! It's my choir practice night, and I'm in the handbell choir too, so if I don't show up nobody plays my notes.

I also recommend Rambled Musings to you, written by a fellow TKD student. You should read about what they talk about after class there!

Fixin' Up My Messes

2006-09-19T10:46:00.000-04:00

It's about time that I went and fixed up that mess I made with my column widths due the 2996 9/11 tribute. Whee. Yay for me.

Unfortunately I had to delete a couple lines from the "credits" of that post, so if the authors of those two sites come looking (highly unlikely)- I did not intend to steal your content unacknowledged, and if you want me to I can come up with something.

There. That should cover my ass.

Speaking of fixin' up my messes, I really, really should do some major cleaning. Ugh. A couple of the blogs that I read are hosted by major neat freaks. I wish I was like that, I really do. I mean, I'm not a slob (although I used to be, ask anyone who saw my sophomore-year dorm room - two major slobs should *not* live together LOL) but I just don't find any inspiration from scrubbing and decluttering and the like. In short, it's just no fun. Despite helpful advice from Disney to "whistle while you work" and that "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down".

I'd better get to work. *sigh*

I [Heart] VOC's

2006-09-18T15:58:00.000-04:00

That is, Volatile Organic Compounds, for those of you who had the brains to avoid studying chemistry (unlike me, who got through 3/4 of the chemistry curriculum in college and ended up dropping it - but that's a long and moderately painful story, not to mention totally irrelevant to the discussion - oh, I'm sorry, did I go a little off tangent?).

Mostly of the nasty stinky stuff you find in cleaners, paints, varnishes, and the like (including coffee, but let's not go there) are VOC's. And most of them are bad for you. Won't give you a lecture here about it.

Anyway, the point is, I'm suffering from overexposure right now. Yesterday I vaccuumed out my car, Febrezed it, cleaned the interior with some good shit (like Armor All but actually good for the actual cleaning part too), washed it, and waxed it.

The DH informed me this morning that he had left his keys in my car's ignition all night last night and that he ended up draining the battery. And then, of course, he left for work without giving me a jump start first. Thanks, Ironwolf! [ShadowAngel rolls eyes]

So this morning (btw the first morning I've actually had to myself since school started) I decided to finish up the car cleaning by Windexing the windows and mirrors and then applying Rain-X. Rain-X is one of the best substances ever invented for cars. It causes the water to bead up and roll off your exterior glass so that it's *much* easier to see in the rain. And the "interior" version of Rain-X is an anti-fogging agent, with is very useful when the kids are blowing on the windows in the winter.

But they both stink to high heaven! And of course I can't get my car out of the garage for more ventilation, but I really wanted to get this done. The exterior went fine, but then I went inside the car.

I'm in an enclosed space where I have used three different cleaners plus the Rain-X.

So anybody want to make a guess how I was starting to feel?

Oh, yeah, all the good stuff: dizzy, light-headed, headachy, nauseous.

I finished, and I'm ok, but here I am, almost 6 hours later, still not feeling so good.

Somebody tell me not to do stupid things like that anymore!

Zipper, Cake, and the Rain

2006-09-14T18:12:00.000-04:00

First of all, I must say, I feel awful. Not sick exactly, but rundown, tired, and headachy. But Mom can't just laze around in bed - she still has to function when she's ill.

But that doesn't mean I can't spin a quick amusing tale or two, does it?

Zipper's brithday party was fine, just family, and between the 4 kids there was so much noise that you would have thought there was 15 kids there.

Of course with school days comes the requisite celebration of the birthday in class. But there's a bit of a problem - if I want to bring in a treat, it has to be egg-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, and soy-free due to the allergies in the class. Oh, joy.

But I'm always up for a challenge! So off to the Internet I go to find a cake and frosting recipe suitable for the class. After just a few minutes I find a lovely recipe at Food Allergy Cookbook for both the cake and frosting.

But there's a bit of a problem. Hmmm. The recipe calls for vegetable oil, but that's part soybean oil. Ok, so buy canola oil then, no big deal. Uh, oh. The frosting recipe calls for dairy-free margarine. I would have thought that somewhere out there someone would make a margarine that doesn't contain soy. Wrong, wrong, wrong, no such animal (or plant) could I find. But one last desperate spin through the organic section turns up Spectrum Naturals Organic Shortening made from 100% palm oil. It'll do! Mind you, it cost me $5.49, but I would not be defeated by this challenge!

So I put it all together, and actually it came out pretty darn well. The frosting tasted a little weird, but I think it was from too much powdered sugar and not enough chocolate. Oh, and one cake recipe makes many, many, many mini cupcakes!

Ok, one more quick story. It's been pouring rain today, and Zipper obliged by splashing in all the puddles on the walk home, soaking his shoes. So when it came time to pick up Rascal a couple hours later, Zipper insisted on wearing his brother's snow boots. O-Kay....

We are crossing the street, and a car is coming, so I'm trying to hurry Zipper. He stumbles, and a boot comes off. So quickly I snatched him and the boot up and finished crossing. There's a beep from the car, which has stopped in the street. Wouldn't you know it, the other boot came off in the middle of the street.

Put the kid down on the wet sidewalk, go get the boot from the road, put them both back on the kid's now soaked feet... *sigh*

Happy 4th Birthday Zipper!

2006-09-13T00:01:00.000-04:00

Zipper, I can't believe how independent you've become during the last year. You aren't bothered one bit by going off by yourself to pre-K. "Bye, Mom! See you later!" Almost every day I see you mastering a new task or accomplishing something that you couldn't do before. And you are always doing it with a smile! I've never known a child as happy as you.

Please, keep asking me for hugs whenever you want them, because I know that in just a few short years you won't want them so much anymore. You are still my little boy, but not for much longer.

Have a fun day today! I know you are looking forward to celebrating with your class, and then later at home with your family. I'll be sure to have everything you wanted for your party - balloons, streamers, cake, ice cream, presents, and the happy birthday song.

I love you so much! Happy birthday!

Everything from Nosebleeds to Sacred Vows

2006-09-12T16:03:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit - things have been *really* busy, and this is the first opportunity I've had in days.

First of all, my thanks and appreciation go out to all the fellow 2,996 bloggers out there for their heartfelt tributes celebrating the lives of the victims of September 11th.

Next, in 5 days of pre-K, Zipper has already been to the nurse's office twice for nosebleeds! In the immortal words of Ralphie Wiggum: "My doctor says I wouldn't have so many nosebleeds if I would keep my darned finger out of there!" LOL

My mother is in town again and is staying with us for the week (except tonight). But, you may ask, wasn't she just here? Yes, she was, dear reader! The day after my parents arrived back home (two weeks ago now) my mother received a phone call asking her to come interview for a job up here. D'oh! So she's here, and if she gets the job who knows what's going to happen.

Lastly, and most happily, the man I thought would never tie the knot finally did! Congratulations to Rachael and Tim on their wedding! It was really a very lovely ceremony, neo-pagan in nature [neo-pagan silliness, Smite? *sheesh* well I cried anyway so there (btw he carries much better description and pictures of the wedding at his site)], with about 20 friends attending, and conducted in the splendor of Letchworth State Park.

Here's the lovely couple (sadly, the best picture of them I have):

I *so* want to wear a tiara like that (what girl doesn't want to weat a tiara?)!

The happy occasion has the added benefit of bringing my good friend Jon back into town from the West Coast with his best girl Jen. After all, Jon was the best man at the wedding - he couldn't exactly miss that! He'll be in town for about 2 weeks, and one would hope that he won't stay away for 2 1/2 years like the last time! Well, I expect we will be going to his wedding before that long...*hint hint*

Here's a good picture of the gang, my peeps. Yo, yo how's it hangin' boyz!

Good friends, good food, beautiful day, new beginnings - what more could anyone ask for?

2,996 Tribute to Marian Hrycak

2006-09-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

This entry is part of the 2,996 Tribute Project to remember the victims of the September 11th, 2001 terror attacks on the fifth anniversary of those attacks. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims of this tragedy.

Each of the bloggers involved with this project has been assigned one of the victims of 9/11. I did not know Marian "Marty" Hrycak personally, nor did I directly know any of the other victims of 9/11 or their families. Still, as I got to know more about this man while putting together this scrapbook page tribute, I began to feel a connection with him. He reminds me so much of my father: quiet, hard-working, passionate about his collections, and devoted to his family.

Marty Hrycak, we remember you:

(click on the picture to open in a larger size)

As I have researched this tribute, I have found more than 800 web sites dedicated to the 9/11 attacks with Marian Hrycek's name within. It has been heartbreaking, and yet uplifting, to read the messages from his family, friends, and acquaintances - he is truly missed by many, many people. It has been my honor to work on this tribute.

Some other tributes to Marian Hrycak:

http://www.legacy.com/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=131691

http://www.9-11heroes.us/v/Marian_Hrycak.php

http://www.legacy.com/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=131691

Other web sites researched for this tribute:

http://cf.newsday.com/911/victimsearch.cfm?id=1243

http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/memorial/people/4077.html

http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/2001/500124.shtml

http://stage.aflcio.org:4664/aboutunions/sept11/victims.cfm

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/world/la-101601tales,0,6927471.story?page=2

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3067497

To Kill an American....

2006-09-09T09:09:00.000-04:00

Also swiped shamelessly from Three Headed Dragon, but this was so important that it had to be shared right away.

You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.

So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is . So they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!!!)

"An American is English, or Canadian, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.

An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return. Warren Buffet just gave over 30 BILLION to world relief.

When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!

As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan. Americans welcome the best of everything...the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services. But they also welcome the least.

The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America.

Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

Please keep this going. Pass this around the World and then pass it around again. It says it all, for all of us!

Hillbilly Logic

2006-09-09T09:02:00.000-04:00

Swiped fresh from Three Headed Dragon right to you!

Three Hillbillies are sitting on a porch shootin' the breeze.

1st Hillbilly: "My blonde wife sure is stupid... she bought an air conditioner!"

2nd Hillbilly: "Why is that stupid?"

1st Hillbilly: "We ain't got no 'lectricity!"

2nd Hillbilly: "That's nothin'! My blonde wife is so stupid, she
bought one of them new fangled warshin' machines!"

1st Hillbilly: "Why is that so stupid?"

2nd Hillbilly: "Cause we ain't got no plummin'!"

3rd Hillbilly : "That ain't nuthin'! My redhead wife is dumber than both yer wifes put together! I was going through her purse the other day lookin' fer some change, and I found 6 condoms in there."

1st and 2nd Hillbillies: "Well what's so dumb about that?"

3rd Hillbilly: "She ain't got no pecker!!!"

Muckin' Up the Layout

2006-09-08T14:27:00.000-04:00

As you have already seen, I've got the post up for the 2996 Tribute Project. Unfortunately it's mucked up my column widths so my sidebar's been pushed down and things look a little weird. I don't really have time to fix it up now, so you'll just have to deal with it for a few days.

I know, you were just holding your breath wondering where the JenDoll of the Week went!

A Little Sweetness, A Little Rage

2006-09-06T22:05:00.000-04:00

The boys are doing fine in school, and the schedule is starting to fall into place (although I hate getting up in the morning - one of my mantras is "Nothing in the world should happen before 10 AM.")

Ironwolf is on vacation this week. I hate to admit it, but it's been nice having him around!

My mom has a job interview sometime next week up here. As in, not in South Carolina. She (and my dad) has been really unhappy down in SC away from the rest of the family. The question is: what happens if she gets the job? Is she going to move back here and leave my father down there?

OK, now for the rage part. It reflects badly upon my character, I'm afraid, but one of the purposes of this blog is to provide a place to be a whiny bitch! LOL

Most of you know that I just received my red belt in tae kwon do. My partner, Chelsea, and I were working together on the red belt curriculum for the first time this evening, and were being taught self-defense by one of the junior instructors. And the instructor was really *criticizing* everything I did, basically going: "you're almost a black belt, you should be able to do this already!"

In the meantime, Chelsea has been picking things up very quickly, but that's partly because she's been working with one of the red belts for several weeks already.

The instructor did this to me last week before testing too. Now, I really like this guy, but he's getting me very angry. So here's my internal response to all this, which I try very hard to keep off the training floor:

First of all, I'm not almost a black belt. According to my plan, I'm still 21 months away from my black belt promotion. I've been there 20 months so far. Therefore I am only halfway there.

Second, who are you comparing me to? Chelsea? Excuse me, but Chelsea is 15 years old, in good physical condition, is able to get to class 5 or 6 times a week (I'm only able to make 2-3), and is almost a foot taller than me (unimportant except for this - she doesn't even have to try if she wants to kick me in the head, I have to strain to reach her). I'm 33 years old, 40 lbs. overweight, I can't be here every day of the week, I'm not very flexible, and my athletic talents are limited at best! You should be comparing me to me , and that's it.

Third, are you seriously expecting me to simply be able to do this the first time around? Maybe you haven't realized it because you've been breezing through on your natural athletic ability and the fact that you are here every day teaching, but I do not find any of this easy. I have to break every piece down to its components and drill and drill and drill some more until it becomes ingrained. Maybe I don't meet your standards of what a red belt should be capable of. I shouldn't have to meet your standards at all - the only things that are important are my standards and my master's standards. You can judge me when you have a few more years under your not-yet-black belt.

OK, all done. I had this need to be petty and angry and to vent it all in the direction of my unsuspecting readers. Really I'm going to let this whole incident slide unless it becomes a regular feature of my instruction with this gentleman. As I said, I do like him a lot, and he really does have great potential as an instructor. I will simply write it off for now as inexperience and the incapability to realize the negative effects of his well-meaning criticism.

Summer, Where Art Thou?

2006-09-04T10:23:00.001-04:00

I'm very, very tired and headachy, but happy to say that I officially survived the weekend. It was nice getting together with the family and friends, but I am still amazed at how exhausted one can get from having a good time.

No, I take that back. Pretty During the last four days there have been 4-5 small children (including my own of course) in constant run-and-yell mode pretty much wherever I've been. No wonder I still have a headache! LOL

Today's partly a day to get my crap back together, but there won't be much time for that even because the guys are coming for Dungeons & Dragons. I always look forward to the game, but some days (meaning today) I'd rather just be asleep on the couch. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to muster the righteous wrath demanded of my character today.

First day of school tomorrow! [ShadowAngel does her Happy Dance] What am I going to do with TWO WHOLE HOURS to myself five days per week?

Long Weekend of Chaos

2006-09-01T15:11:00.000-04:00

Forgive me for my frazzled post yesterday. Complicating matters that day was that my lovely little monster Zipper drew all over my living room rug with markers (wish I'd taken a picture for you). I was able to get most of it out between the carpet cleaner and a good shampooing, but you can still see faint marker spots all over the rug. I am NOT a happy Mommy.

Still, it's not like there wasn't spots on the rug before. I swear to you, I will NEVER buy another solid color rug again - nothin' but annoying intricate patterns from now on!

I talked to my folks yesterday while the storm was hitting them (they are far enough inland that all they tend to get during these storms is a lot of heavy rain) and they insisted that they would be fine driving tomorrow. They left about 8 hours ago from SC so they are probably in WV now - most of the time they should have been far enough west of the storm but they may have intersected it at some point. I do worry when they are traveling. I'll have to call them because they haven't called me yet.

My brother and one of my sisters called my parents too to express their concerns about them driving here today, so at least I'm not alone in my paranoia.

My tae kwon do test went surprisingly well yesterday! No, it wasn't perfect (it never is), but I gave my best effort, and Master Chong seemed pleased with me. I swear, sometimes I'm just like a little kid seeking validation.

I was particularly surprised by my spinning kick board break. On my first try I realized halfway through that I was *much* too close. So I pulled in some and came around, and much to my shock, there's the board in two pieces. I never even felt the contact. I asked a couple people and they said that it looked ok. Well, alright then!

OK, so for all intensive purposes let's make yesterday the start of the Long Weekend of Chaos, because the chaos begins then and doesn't end until Sunday night. So here's the schedule, including yesterday:

Thursday afternoon: go to library (because books are due), write up tkd testing form
Thursday evening: TKD testing
Friday morning/afternoon: Playdate with niece and nephew at my house
Friday late afternoon: take Rascal to tkd class
Friday evening: date with hubby yay!
Saturday morning: tkd class, shopping, panicked cleaning and cooking
Saturday afternoon/evening: host relatives at my house
Sunday morning/early afternoon: host friends (and their kids) visiting from NYC
Sunday mid afternoon/evening: travel to aunt's house for party with my extended family

Now, for a little added fun and excitement, Sunday is also Ironwolf's brithday. And I don't have a present for him yet. And school starts Tuesday, so somewhere in there (ok, probably Monday) I have to pick up the last of the school supplies and get things organized. I figure that by Tuesday I'm going to be ready to collapse!

Worry All Around

2006-08-31T13:06:00.000-04:00

Worry 1: My parents and my nephew are driving up here tomorrow from SC. Ernesto is scheduled to hit them in a couple hours, and their driving path, unless they change it drastically, will take them north along the projected path of the storm. I need to call them now.

Worry 2: (far more minor) Tae Kwon Do testing is just 6 hours away, and, with little to distract me, I am a wreck. It's mostly because I had a really bad class yesterday - nothing was going right. I know: confidence, focus, and all that.

Die Popups Die!

2006-08-30T15:16:00.000-04:00

Well, I figured it out. My tagboard was causing the popups. So that's gone for good, and as a side benefit my HD is looking a lot cleaner and happier now. It just took a couple hours to do it.

Because of this change I decided that I would open up comments on this blog to all rather than limiting it to Blogger accounts only.

Oh, it's just a thrill a minute at The Slightly Mad Housewife Rides Again!

Goin' on a Wild Spyware Hunt

2006-08-30T14:50:00.000-04:00

I'm not scared,
Got my gun,
My slingshot,
My rubber band,
And my bubble gum.

Uh-oh, do you see what I see?

SPYWARE.
Evil spyware.
Computer-wreckin' spyware.

Can't go over it,
Can't go under it,
Can't go 'round it,
Gotta go through it!

(if you didn't get the above it just means you didn't spend enough time away at summer camp as a kid, so don't worry LOL)

As per the previous post I decided to go spyware hunting to see if I could get rid of those nasty pop-ups that come up with my page, courtesy of my long-time nemesis ValueClick. So far I've run Ad-Aware, Spybot-Search and Destroy, and Ewido (in that order). Each of them came up with about 50 items, which I immediately dispatched, including ValueClick stuff from the latter two programs, but to no avail. I'm absolutely stumped.

Grrr. Back to the digging...

A Message Primarily Directed To But Not About AZJade

2006-08-29T13:23:00.000-04:00

Hi babe! Normally I'd do this through emaiil, but it's got some info that other readers might want to see. Come visit more often - I miss you! (Curse those busy real and virtual lives you have LOL).

OK. Blogger Beta is the latest and greatest blog management and editing tools for Blogger. The thing is, it states explicitly that if you switch to using the beta the change is permanent. And it's a *beta*, not a finished product, which means:

Ooooh! Cool new features! Ooooh. New bugs.

Sometimes these things are worth the bother, sometimes not.

Now about those damned pop-ups. Yes, I know. Ugh. I have to keep my pop-up blocker on all the time or it's just maddening. I clear out my system about once a month with Ad-Aware, but it's not picking up everything, or I'm picking up the script over and over again from someplace in my usual Internet rounds. I suppose I should try digging it out again, but I'm happy to take suggestions. Please, oh God please, help me out here people!

Victory!!!

2006-08-29T13:08:00.000-04:00

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

I got a pre-K slot for Zipper at Rascal's school! So *ahem* it bears saying again:

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

We had to take a morning slot, so it's not ideal, but it's a lot better than the shenanigans that I would have had to go through to make things work at the other school.

Unfortunately, it means getting up 20 minutes earlier, because pre-K starts before the elementary classes, and for the same reason, I have a very minor dilemma because the elementary students are not allowed in the building until 15 minutes after pre-K starts. So I'm not sure what I'm going to be able to do with Rascal in the interim. You can be sure that we do not want to be standing outside the school every morning once the weather starts turning to typical Buffalo wintry crap.

But I'll take it! Oh, that is such a load off my mind...

Guest blogging

2006-08-29T01:39:00.000-04:00

Apparently one of the biggest issues all creative activities suffer from is the eventual diminishment of the creative muse when repeated deadlines are required.

Thus, I bring you the guest blogger.

So, this is Ironwolf here, guest blogger.

I'm going to blog about something so esoteric, that perhaps I will never have to endure the agony of compositional writing again. After all, I write all day at work. Why would I want to guest blog? Because my sweet S.M.H. asked me to, that's why.

So...topic...electrical consumer product technical compliance service providers. (esoteric, no?)

In my business, we are a priovider of technical consulting and compliance services. We manufacture nothing. We (supposedly) get paid by providing consulting, and independant evaluation.

No one wants to pay to have people tell them things. The internet makes it all free. To paraphrase Billy Idol's Cyberpunk "All information should be free;it is not".

Anyhow party A may hire us to see if party B did everything they need to have to have legal compliance. Party B trys to fake their way through things saying ..."oh yes, we have everything, just could you tell us if this particular line in our instruction manual would be acceptable as requred by the federal regulations for unintentional radiating Class B digital devices." Well of course I can...but I won't. This isn't a charity. The real problem is Party B never did their compliance homework, and they're looking to have us help them out (by giving answers one at a time in the emial. If you did your compliance work, you'd have the answers already. Or to sum up with the punchline:

One would expect one's certification lab to provide one one's needed compliance information completely. And if one's certification lab does not so provide, one would suggest they change compliance providers.

Hire us...a la Jerry McGuire "Show me the money!"

Rant over. I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog. (Poor S.M.H. - Husband's job can get dreadfully dry sometimes !)

Verizon Please Come Visit

2006-08-28T19:00:00.000-04:00

it seems like everywhere I am bombarded with ads for Verizon DSL. And yet every time I visit their web page I see it's not available in my area yet. Please, please stop the full page ads, you're only taunting me!

I am *so* desperate for high-speed internet, but I do not want to pay the atrocious amount for a cable modem through Time-Warner (formerly Adelphia). Help please!

BTW, has anyone tried Blogger beta yet? Is it worthwhile to switch?

Random Thoughts of the Day

2006-08-25T19:29:00.000-04:00

I went to Jester's Cap, a gaming store in Lancaster, last night with the family. It may surprise some of you, but I haven't been in a gaming store in 10 years. It felt like...home. And they seemed to like having the kids there, which is doubleplusgood (or maybe it would be more appropriately geeky to type it as ++good) in my book. So I indulged my current metal fetish and bought some more Sisters Repentia for my Warhammer 40K army-in-progress and a mini with a vague resemblance to my current D&D character. Ironwolf, for his part, couldn't resist picking up a set of brass dice. Oooooh....shiny....

*******************

It's more fun to drink tea from those little Chinese teacups that only hold 1-2 oz. rather than regular teacups, and it's way more fun to drink sake from the little sake cups, and it's more fun to eat mini marshmallows than regular ones (except roasted, of course). Why is smaller more fun?

*******************

Does Tori Amos get weirder and weirder with every album she puts out? Doesn't matter, of course - I like weird!

*******************

It seems weird to me that while I'm trying (not very hard) to lose some weight, that I own 35 cookbooks.

*******************

I've been daydreaming about the upcoming NHL season for about six weeks. But I am not looking forward to that nasty new diseased slug Sabres logo, and you can be darn sure I'm not going to buy any piece of merchandise with that logo upon it!

*******************

My favorite part of Star Wars: Battlefront II for the XBox is the Instant Action mission where you get to hunt Gungans (it's even more satisfying than hunting Ewoks).

"Meesa gonna die!"

That's right you bastard Jar-Jar clone, eat hot blaster fire!

Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight?

2006-08-24T16:19:00.000-04:00

I'm 92% bred, born, raised, and still livin' here by choice Buffaloian!

You know you're from Buffalo (or surrounding area) when:
[X] I call them "chicken wings" not "Buffalo wings."
[X] I drink Labatt Blue or Molson Canadian
[X] To me, Jack Kemp is a quarterback not a VP candidate.
[X] I eat Mighty Taco not Taco Bell.
[X] Its snow, I don't freak out the second I see white flakes.
[X] I enjoy Ted's Hot Dogs, Aunt Rosie's Loganberry, Bison Chip Dip and Chiavetta's Chicken. Sponge Candy, Orange Chocolate, Sahlens Hot Dogs, and Weber Mustard.
[X] I know how to pronounce SCAJAQUADA, CHEEKTOWAGA and DEPEW.
[X] I call it pop, not soda.
[X] I drive over 70 mph on the Thruway and pass on the right.
[X] I like to order beef on "weck", and are always surprised when someone doesn't know what "weck" is.
[X] Its a sucker-not a lollipop.
[X] I call them sneakers not tennis shoes or running shoes.
[X] 4am is an early night out.
[X] I lived through Wide Right, , No Goal & The Forward Lateral
[X] I live in the 2nd largest city in NY.
[X] We have around 3 months of true summer, 2 months of spring, 2 months of fall, and 5 months of winter (part of oct, nov, dec, jan, feb, part of mar)
[ ] I still have last year's ski tickets hanging from your jacket
[X] You are amazed when people are excited to go see Niagara Falls
[X] Lake Effect snow means you will still have class, you will just be waiting a little longer at the bus stop
[X]I am proud the Bills are New York State's only football team
[X] I hate the Miami Dolphins.
[X] I call them subs not hoagies or heroes or bombers!
[X] We dont valet park unless there is absolutely no other choice.
[X] I have been threatened to be sent to Father Bakers if I dont behave.
[X] You can pronounce Weinstein correctly on the first try.
[ ] Its the Hamburg Fair not the Erie County Fair. [ShadowAngel's side note: it's definitely the EC Fair, not that stupid "America's Fair" thing!]
[X]You consider J.C. Penney to be a relatively upscale department store.
[X] Its UB - not SUNY at Buffalo, Amherst
[X] I think nothing of crossing an international border for Chinese Food.
[X] I have a favorite Greek restaurant.
[X] I no longer like Dominik Hasek
[X] I know which pizzeria is a reputed Mafia front.
[X] I bake with "soda" and drink "pop".
[X] I have gotten into fights over Anchor Bar vs Duff's (chicken wings) and Tops vs Wegmans (supermarkets)
[X] Not only do I know what it is but I look forward to "Dingus Day
[X] The rest of the country is snowbound in the worst blizzard but I still have to go to school.
[X] I have gotten frost bite and sunburn in the same weekend.
[ ] I watch Canadian television, just so I can see United States network shows an hour or two earlier.
[X] I go to Niagara Falls for the outlet shopping, not the world wonder.
[X] I slam on the brakes and slow to a crawl whenever I see the "Village of Kenmore" sign.
[X] When speaking, "the" precedes the number or name of any highway (The Scajaquada, The 33, The 290)
[X] I live in a town where there is some kind of FEST somewhere, every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
[X] You can hold an entire conversation on the best place to go for wings, a fishfry or pizza.
[X] You not only know what the terms "snowbelt" and "lake effect" mean - you use in everyday conversations.
[ ] You live within 1 mile of a bowling alley.
[X] When you stop and ask for directions ... you expect to get them.
[ ] You keep the snowplow on the front of the truck year round.
[ ] You can compute a wind chill "factor"
[X] You have not been on the "Maid of the Mist" - unless you had out of town company.
[X] You call them "Pilot Field" and the "Aud" - no matter what the signs say.

multiply by 2.
thats your percentage

Hurry, Fix Your Science Textbooks!

2006-08-24T15:03:00.000-04:00

Pluto is no longer officially a planet under the definintion of "planet" adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). See the full story here.

Initially on Aug. 16 there was proposed a broader definition of the word "planet" which would have raised three more satellites to the status of planet (including Pluto's moon, Charon), but after much debate the new proposal was adopted.

Too bad my Science News magazine came yesterday with an article about the original proposal and arrived at my home about 3 hours after I heard about the final decision...

ShadowAngel Tries the Back Door to Fixing The Pre-K Situation

2006-08-24T14:48:00.000-04:00

I've come up with an idea on how to resolve Zipper's Pre-K schedule problem. Pre-K orientation is next week. Zipper's orientation is a few days after the orientation at Rascal's school, so I'm going to show up at the orientation at Rascal's school to try and make a trade directly with the parents there (or at least I'll and enlist the teacher's help).

I figure that with 40 kids between the two classes at Rascal's school I should be able to find somebody in a position where they would be happy to switch with me. Wish me luck, ok?

Rampant Capitalism 101

2006-08-23T02:50:00.000-04:00

After tkd today (I got my last tip, and Master Chong was really happy with my form yay!) a few of us were hanging out in the parking lot talking. Good times, UNTIL the topic changed to finances.

There was one gentleman in the group, a white belt, who proceeds to lecture the three women present about his big money-making plans selling this IPod-related software that he wrote (never mind that the software is probably illegal from his description), and how he's making several hundred dollars per week selling video games on EBay, and how he's done stuff like buying sunglassses super-cheap from China and reselling them for a nice profit here. He tells us about his savings account with over $100K in it (just plain rude, if you ask me), and how he's going to buy land in Nevada because there's oil and gold there (whatever).

Well, I'm ok with most of this, even encouraging some of the discussion, but I was starting to get really angry with him. At one point I go over to one of the other students, who is a college student, and reassuringly tell her that this guy isn't really trying to dissuade her from going to college. Which, then, he immediately proceeds to do. Excuse me? Since I'm still trying to be nice, I make a little joke about how he shouldn't be trying to indoctrinate her, but he's still going on and on.

I put up with it for a couple more minutes, but sensing that this monologue was never going to end I broke up the little group for the evening.

Sheesh. Let me tell you, I would have been ok listening to this for a few minutes, nodding politely, and everybody goes on their merry way, but he was so damned *insistent* upon foistering his value system off on everyone else present.

HELLO!!! LIFE'S NOT ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY YOU CAN ACCUMULATE BEFORE YOU DIE!!!

As soon as I get the opportunity I'm going to talk to the college girl about it, reassure her that the path she has chosen is legitimate and all that. Honestly, she shouldn't have to put up with someone ramming their philosophy down her throat before she's had the time to build up a proper cynicism and a secure sense of self.

You Mean It Didn't Go "Smash"?

2006-08-22T12:36:00.000-04:00

In the category of lucky things that happened to ShadowAngel...

I knocked over my wine glass yesterday as I was going to wash it - from the counter...into the bottom rack of the dishwasher. Eeek! The glass landed securely between the prongs of the lower rack, entirely unharmed.

I am thanking my lucky stars for that one, because it would have been awful cleaning out broken glass from the dishwasher.

btw, I know I've been remiss in my blog reading in the past week - my apologies, but things had been crazy with VBS and the picnicky weekend and my mom in town. Got to get back into the swing of things...

Stupid Music Files, or Why the Heck Don't I Leave Well Enough Alone?

2006-08-21T17:29:00.000-04:00

I've found that my ITunes library is an absolute mess, with incomplete song information, lots of duplicate songs, and the like. This is partially because I have music spread in different places on my hard drive, and also because a certain percentage of my music was obtained not quite legally or as independent artists (such as goofballs like me making music on the side) without album info (and sometimes even without artist names). The latter mess is only about 10-15% of my entire collection.

So I've been cleaning up directories, and consolidating files, and importing some of my CDs that didn't make it into ITunes before. It's all such a mess. I don't know why I'm bothering with this. After three hours of fiddling and fussing I still have about 250 songs that I don't quite know what to do with yet. Some of them are from compilation albums, some are strays that I don't know where they came from, a few are duplicates I haven't weeded out yet, plus a lot of simply badly labeled files that I have to sort out artists and titles and albums. it's going to take a couple more hours to process them and then rebuild the ITunes database.

And all this because I want my file structure to look pretty. Honestly, if I put as much effort into cleaning my house I'd have a much neater domicile than I do.

A Beaver Island Weekend

2006-08-21T17:15:00.000-04:00

My family and I pretty much spent the entire weekend over at Beaver Island State Park in nearby Grand Island. Both Master Chong's (my tkd school) and Ironwolf's employer had their picnics in the same park on the same weekend. Heck, I was surprised they weren't in the same shelter!

I didn't go to Master Chong's picnic last year, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well-run their event is, particularly since it brings over 1000 students, family, and friends. There was staff supervision for parking and at the playground, plus an ambulance on-site. We didn't stay long enough for the games (due to the chilly, rainy day) so I can't tell you much about that. But I can say I've never seen so much food in one place in my life! mmmm...Korean beef...

The next day was my husband's company picnic. They always do a nice job with it, with lots of activities for the kids and lots of door prizes. We spent about half our time there out on the beach building in the sandcastle building contest. It was a coooool castle (by my inexpert castle-building standards, anyway). Too bad the only picture we have is a cell phone pic that Ironwolf won't send to me. :-( Thankfully the rain held off but it was cold again.

But tell me, what is it about these sort of gatherings that is so exhausting? I'm absolutely drained (partially because I feel a sinus infection coming on) by this weekend of goofing off!

Yet Another VBS-Related Post

2006-08-18T00:48:00.000-04:00

I assume you're sick of these by now, but it's basically a full-time job for the week, and I'm too tired to do much else following.

BTW my shoulder is doing much better though I'm still trying to be gentle with it during the two classes I've gone to this week.

Once again I'm annoyed with my coteacher. I asked her to prepare one thing for today - the introductory material for the day, which fills about 10 minutes. Just before the start of the day she comes to me whining that she doesn't understand what she's supposed to do, or what sections from the teacher's guide to pull the material from.

*If* she had asked me beforehand - a couple weeks ago when she got the materials, or even the day before, *or* if she had actually paid attention to me when I was doing the introductions, she would have known what to do. But no, can't ask the questions until 10 minutes until showtime, can't pay attention to what I've done to get an idea of what to do...

I asked her to do ONE BLASTED THING.

But no, I ended up having to do it on the fly. *sigh*

Maybe I'm being un-Christian, but I'm really starting to not like this woman anymore.

Oh, as far as the sheep thing goes... well, most of the kids got the idea, and actually ended up making something that vaguely looked like sheep, although a couple just turned their pages into a solid mass of cotton balls with googly eyes glued on them.

They're really good kids - though let me tell you, they are HIGH ENERGY! I've been conking out every afternoon.

So tomorrow's the last day, but immediately following I'm hosting most of my (more immediate) extended family at my house because my mother is up from SC for a couple days. So tonight along with all the VBS stuff I have to get ready, I also have to clean my house and get some food prepared. It's gonna be a long night...(thank goodness I bought some Monster energy drink (lo-carb of course) to get me through tomorrow (caffeine junkie that I am))...

Why Am I Surrounded By Yahoos?

2006-08-16T23:08:00.000-04:00

So instead of reading that horrible understatement of the year (see last post), I decided to ask the kids how they think the Jews would have felt. Their response?

"SAD!"

Oh, man.... LOL

OK, regarding the subject line: So today in class I had the kids making hand sheep. Here's a representative sample made by me this evening, and never mind my lack of artistic skill:

I gave my co-teacher the task of making the children's handprints (by painting their hands and pressing on a piece of paper) while I was in charge of washing up the painted children down the hall.

As I'm leaving the room, I notice that my coteacher is making the hand prints with the fingers all together. No... spread the fingers apart, it's supposed to be 4 legs and a head....

A little later when I'm almost done washing up little hands my teenage assistant comes to me with one of the sheep with cotton balls glued on.... one at the end of each finger. No.... umm...sheep's bodies are fuzzy, not their noses and feet...

Ugh. [ShadowAngel looks skyward] Maybe it's my fault for not being more specific.

Most of the kids couldn't finish them today anyway because the paint was still wet. Therefore, my example piece shown above. I made an example of tomorrow's project too because I can't trust my co-teacher to be able to figure it out.

I Can't Do It, I Just CAN'T!

2006-08-16T00:41:00.000-04:00

Please don't make me read this to the children tomorrow during the Bible story:

*ahem*

"The Jewish people were sad when they heard that it was the law for all of them to die."

Hello! Can you say "understatement of the millenium"! They were sad. How watered-down can your theology get? LOL

2 Days Down, 3 To Go

2006-08-15T21:55:00.000-04:00

VBS is in full swing. My class went from 12 kids to 16 to the final count of 18. I swear to you, I do not know how teachers do it!

Things are going ok, I guess. My co-teacher couldn't be there Monday and she'll miss part of tomorrow because of other commitments, and, to be quite honest, she was pretty darn useless today. I'll cut her some slack for being 7 months pregnant and never having done VBS here before, but honestly, my teenage helper did a lot more than she did.

*sigh* That's ok. I figured that I would have to shoulder almost all of the load this year.

I was a little unhappy that at the end of Monday I was informed that the director managed to secure a guest speaker after all, and that she would take up a block of time today. Two little problems with that:

1) We have our schedule blocked out in 20 min. increments, and she put the speaker into a spot crossing but not wholly encompassing 2 of those time blocks, which left me with two 10 minute periods to fill for which I didn't really have plans.

2) Because of the late notice on the speaker, I had to cancel my existing lesson plan for the day almost entirely. I spend money (a little) and time (a lot) planning and preparing for these things, and I hate it when all my effort is wasted like that. I'm going to push one of the activities to tomorrow, but that means I'll be out of sync with the lesson of the day.

That being said, most of the kids are very sweet, and most of them are well behaved, and I've only had to comfort about 5 or 6 crying kids per day. :-D It really is fun.

I did have the unfortunate experience of bringing my class down to the craft area as the 3 - 4 -year-olds were readying to leave to find that Zipper had an accident and left a big ol' puddle on the chair one of my class's kids was about to sit on. Of course I don't have extra clothes for Zipper, and of course I have to clean up my kid's mess (I suppose it's only fair). *sigh*

It's still not as bad as the famous "bean up the nose incident"! LOL

Almost Time For That VBS Fun

2006-08-13T23:30:00.000-04:00

Yup, Vacation Bible School starts tomorrow. I'm fairly well prepared, but I'm not so sure that anyone else is! I was at church for four hours today decorating and getting things ready, but nobody else has any decorations or anything in their rooms. OK, whatever then...

My co-teacher showed up and dropped a couple things off, but she was obviously very upset. She didn't want to talk about it and left almost immediately. I'm worried about her - she's 7 months pregnant, just lost her job, and I understand she's having some marital problems.

Even so, the show must go on. In the last couple days the number of students in my class (4- and 5-year-olds) has gone from 12 to 16. Oh joy. So, despite the fact that I switched grades this year, I, once again, for the 6th year in a row, have the largest class of all the VBS teachers. Except that they're all younger this time.

Needless to say, any posts that I put up in the next five days are going to be filled with exhaustion-derived madness.

On a side note, I've had to take most of the last week off from tae kwon do because I pulled a shoulder muscle. I really, really hope that it gets better soon because I feel the calendar ticking off the days until testing day on the 31st. And I could really use some practice.

Got the Pre-K Blues

2006-08-11T15:30:00.000-04:00

I've been avoiding blogging about this in hopes that I could get the situation changed, but at this point there's not much hope. Also please forgive any irrational outbursts that may occur - I found myself thinking about this situation this morning and getting really angry about it.

Zipper was lucky enough to get a spot in the school district's Pre-K program this fall. (Sadly, Rascal lost out on the Pre-K lottery two years ago, but never mind that now.) I was particularly grateful because there were a particularly large number of applicants this year, due to the 9/11 baby boom (I hope all you elementary schools are ready for what's coming next fall!), and resulting in a waiting list of >60 kids.

I was even happier to hear that the district managed to get the additional funding so that they could have a pre-K class in my son's elementary school (as opposed to having to go to one of the other schools in the district).

So imagine my dismay to find that Zipper was assigned not to his elementary school (which I can see from my front door), and not to the second closest school (still within reasonable walking distance for the little guy, although across two major roads), but to the third closest school.
Which I will have to drive to - it's too far away and across a highway.

OK, now this wouldn't even be a problem except that Zipper is let out at 3:00 PM, and Rascal is let out at 3:05 PM. What the hell am I supposed to do? I have to drive to get Zipper, because the district doesn't provide transportation for pre-K, and it's ridiculous for Rascal to take the bus because the bus stop is farther from home than the school is!

Now, hear me out, I've thought of some of the possibilities of how to work this out:

1) Rascal walks home from school. It's not far, obviously. But I can only trust him to cross the street safely about 90% of the time, and he has to cross two streets with no crossing guard. Traffic is heavy for our neighborhood at that time because of school dismissal. So I have to trust that all those drivers are paying attention all the time for when my son is not. Yeah, right. Paranoid mom estimated chance of Rascal being hit by a car sometime during the school year: 10% (No, there's no scientific basis, leave me alone!)

In addition, of the approximately 60 children that "walk" home from school (about 40 of them get chauffered by mommy or daddy), there are only 5 or 6 kids that walk home by themselves, by my best estimate, with half of them living directly across the street from school, and all but one being 9 or 10 years old (the single younger child walking with his older brother).

I'm not stupid, I'm not crazy - I've observed these trends. And my son is *6*. And do you know what I see? A 6-year-old, walking by himself, mostly along a road where lots of other kids are being picked up by parents, and to an unlocked house without an adult within view makes him the number one and perhaps only reasonable target for someone to pick him up, heaven forbid.

Sure, the chance is small. But I know there are at least 25 registered sex offenders in my town, and my son would be easy pickings. No, this is not an option.

2) I get Zipper from school early, thereby disrupting the pre-K class's end-f-day preparations, and then rush over to Rascal's school to get him. (most likely option) Now, Zipper's school lets out at 3:05 as well, so in order to fight for a parking spot among the throng there (and to get out again!) I'm going to have to be *very* early getting him. And then I'm either going to have to fight for a parking spot at Rascal's school, which is downright silly because I'm going to have to park almost as far away as my house, (or farther! remember, there's gong to be an extra 20 or so pre-K kids that need to get home that weren't there last year!) or I will have to go home, drag Zipper out of the car, and walk to Rascal's school to meet him. Oh, joy. Especially in the winter.

This is just nuts. If Zipper had been assigned to Rascal's school, I'd walk out the door at 2:55 PM, get Zipper, wait outside for a couple minutes for Rascal, and be home by 3:10. But no, I'm going to have to leave the house at 2:25 so I can get Zipper back home by 2:55 and to Rascal's school by 3:05 (Zipper's little legs take longer to get there). Nice, huh?

So the question is, why wasn't Zipper assigned to the pre-K class in his brother's school? Well, pretty simple actually, there's more kids living in that neghborhood looking for a pre-K slot than there are slots available. The district told me that priority was indeed to keep pre-K students with their older siblings if possible. Since there were too many kids asking for spots at both our first and second-choice schools, Zipper was bumped to the third-choice school (oh, which, btw is in one of the worse sections of town [not that bad though really]).

OK, so they have the priortization to match up siblings, but they don't seem to have a second order corresponding to the age or grade level of these siblings. Look, this wouldn't be much of a problem if Rascal was in 4th or 5th grade. By then he should be able to pretty much handle himself.

Heaven help the district here if my assumptions are wrong - I'm *assuming* that the district has placed the pre-K classes based pretty much on where they are needed (and where they have enough space, of course), and that my child is one of the few that gets screwed by the process. As it is I'm angry because one of the other moms in my church had her child at about 25th on the waiting list, and she finally ended up with a slot at either her first or second choice school (I forget which), which, btw, are the two schools that was my first or second choice. Yeah.

I'm inclined to complain to the district, but it's not likely to help my kid. I'd also need to be sure to get all my facts straight before I criticize their process - and maybe there isn't a good solution to the problems generated by this system. As it is, Zipper's on a waiting list to transfer to one of the other schools, but it's extremely unlikely at this point.

So a big congrats to the Ken-Ton school district! Two children, two bad pre-K experiences. A great way to start off a long relationship, if you ask me.

Nothin' Like Being Dumped on Your Butt Over and Over Again

2006-08-08T01:10:00.000-04:00

First of all, big hello to Erik and Jason! Hope you enjoy your visits to SMHland!

BTW Mr. Mann (I can't help but give proper respect), yes, I'm under contract, and I'm over 30, but I'm pretty happy with my dojang and my overall experience there. Maybe I'll go into it in a little detail at some point if you are interested. I fully support your martial arts philosophy though - your ideas are unique and well-considered. Now you can jump all over the rest of this post. LOL

I got my third tip (for self-defense) in tae kwon do class Saturday, so it looks like I will definitely test for red belt at the end of this month. Actually, I haven't had much doubt that I was going to test, but I thought it was a little strange to get my tip Saturday because I didn't feel like I was quite ready yet. Make no mistake, I'm almost there, but usually Master Chong (the younger, not the Grandmaster) isn't the type to rush the promotions.

Through practice I am starting to get used to having my legs swept, and most of the time I'm falling more-or-less correctly, but on Saturday I was working with a fellow red stripe who used to be a black belt at a different school. At one point in the drill he grabbed my upper arm near the underarm and dug in really hard as he swept me. It left one hell of a bruise. So I repaid him by dumping him hard on the mat on my turn. :-)

Hey, it's not any fun if you don't get bumps and bruises once in a while!

Now if I could only get that spinning kick down (back to the barre again for me)...

It's That Time of Year Again...

2006-08-08T00:49:00.000-04:00

{mood: sad 'cause I lost my Ebay auction *shrug*}
{listening to: a goofy little mix I made on www.ctcmix.com (give it a spin)}

Heaven help me, you are all going to think that this site is nothing but a "mommy" blog. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that there is decidedly limited appeal to reading about someone's children exclusively. Unless you're Grandma, of course.

So, yes, it's that time of year again... Vacation Bible School time!

whee.

This is my 8th year teaching, so I must get something out of it!

I'm stepping away from my usual post of 1st- and 2nd- grade teacher to take the 4- and 5-year-old class, and thereby avoiding having either Rascal or Zipper in my class (it's worked out badly in the past). But I'll have my niece in my class (almost as bad) VBS is a week away, and we are woefully unprepared. WOEFULLY.

We've got a new person directing VBS - totally and utterly green, and we've changed the publisher of our curriculum (for cost reasons, I assume). And they got a late start on things this year - the director was writing out the daily schedule on the fly at the meeting today, which is something that should have been nailed down weeks ago. I haven't been able to schedule activities because I've been waiting on this. Oh, and I found out today that I have a co-teacher. That's good, but she hasn't seen any of the materials yet. We're meeting tomorrow to hammer it all out.

*sigh* It'll all be fine. *gripe gripe gripe*

Zipper Starring As...

2006-08-05T23:31:00.000-04:00

Cowboy Vader! I figured it was a nice complement to the "gay" Darth Vader a couple posts ago...

Please note Rascal in the background, climbing up on the entertainment center again...grrr...

Up, Up, and Away!

2006-08-05T23:16:00.000-04:00

You know that county invitational track meet that Rascal barely qualified for? Well, he won second place in the long jump! He jumped 5'4",a good improvement over the previous meet. I am proud of my little guy, but he was unhappy because he thought he could have done better.

Now, for full disclosure, Rascal got second place because, of the four competitors in his division, one didn't show, one fouled out, and the winner jumped two feet farther than Rascal. But, you know, sometimes life *is* about showing up!

Fun For Kids (and Grownups Too)

2006-08-03T13:48:00.000-04:00

A couple of my favorite recipes from The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions by John E. Thomas and Danita Pagel:

Gooey Gunk

Solution A:

1 cup water

1 cup white glue

2 Tbsp. liquid tempera paint or 7-10 drops food coloring

Solution B:

1 1/3 cups warm water

4 tsp. borax laundry booster

1. Mix ingredients in solution A together in a medium bowl.
2. In a second medium bowl, mix the ingredients of solution B until completely dissolved.
3. Slowly pour solution A into solution B. Do not mix!
4. Roll solution A around in solution B 4-5 times.
5. Lift solution A out of solution B and knead for 2-3 minutes.
6. Store Gunk in an airtight container or plastic zip bag.

Super Sidewalk Paint

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
6-8 drops food coloring

1. Mix cornstarch and cold water together in a small plastic bowl.
2. Add food coloring and stir.
3. Repeat to create different colors of paint. Paint can be easily washed away with water.

Hoo Hoo Hoo!

2006-08-03T12:46:00.000-04:00

Random told me about this, but I was so happy to see it for myself at Three Headed Dragon:

Watch What You Name Your Site!

2006-08-02T06:52:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of Kristin's Krib, with thanks to Mike at Rambled Musings...
And a big hello to Kristin! Thank you - this is hilarious!

The top 10 unintentionally worst company URLs
Attn: EntrepreneursEveryone knows that if you are going to operate a business in today’s world you need a domain name. It is advisable to look at the domain name selected as other see it and not just as you think it looks. Failure to do this may result in situations such as the following (legitimate) companies who deal in everyday humdrum products and services but clearly didn’t give their domain names enough consideration:

1. A site called ‘Who Represents‘ where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity. Their domain name… wait for it… is www.whorepresents.com

2. Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at www.expertsexchange.com

3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at www.penisland.net

4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at www.therapistfinder.com

5. Then of course, there’s the Italian Power Generator company…www.powergenitalia.com

6. And now, we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales: www.molestationnursery.com

7. If you’re looking for computer software, there’s always www.ipanywhere.com

8. Welcome to the First Cumming Methodist Church. Their website is www.cummingfirst.com

9. Then, of course, there’s these brainless art designers, and their whacky website: www.speedofart.com

10. Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their brochure website at www.gotahoe.com

Tae Kwon Do Update

2006-08-02T06:32:00.000-04:00

I'm happy to report that I did get my second tip last week, and that I think I'm still on schedule to test at the end of this month.

I was sparring with one of my beltmates last week, a 14-year-old boy. Apparently he needed a reminder to wear his athletic support while sparring. Oops - sorry about that.

My friend Laura (yeah, the one you met last summer guys) was awarded Student of the Month today. I'm really happy for her - she's got some medical issues that have made tae kwon do challenging for her, but she works hard and never gives up.

And With a Small Leap of Embarassment...

2006-08-02T06:25:00.000-04:00

Much to my surprise on Sunday we received a phone call from the coach of the Ken-Ton town summer track program that my boys had been doing this summer. Apparently last week we left the meet too soon, because Rascal captured the fourth place spot in long jump in his division, which means that he qualifies for the big county invitational today.

Doh! I feel bad now because we should have been there for him to get his award. As it is I'll have to see if I can get his 4th-place ribbon from last week.

So for the last couple days he's been practicing his jumps in earnest, which is much easier now because he doesn't have to wait in line with 100 other kids to get a turn to jump. With some suggestions and practice he's already improved his best jump by over a foot. (from 4'11" at last week's meet to 6'2" today). It's not really enough to be competitive, but you never know, he could surprise. In any case I'm proud of him for working so hard on it.

From the Edge of Exhaustion

2006-08-02T06:16:00.000-04:00

Another night, another night without air conditioning. I'm tired of being blow-dried by the ceiling fan every night. I'm tired of gettting no sleep until 5 or 6 AM.

And I have a migraine, so I'm cranky, but never mind that.

At least it's a good time to catch up on the blogging.

Minis Mania

2006-07-29T18:27:00.000-04:00

Some years ago Ironwolf gave me the game Warhammer 40,000 as a gift. It's a miniatures-based tactical combat table game set in the far future. So I started collecting an army to play the game, but it's very expensive and I didn't really have anyone to play with.

A couple weeks ago I pulled out the minis again with an inexplicable desire to make them into a formidable fighting force, i.e. to paint them and make them look pretty, at least. I've gotten through my first batch and I wanted to show one off:

This is a Seraphim Sister Superior from the Witchhunters' Sisters of Battle Army.

For the real-life friends, this is a re-do of an old paint job. Did some touchups, painted a face (something I'm still terrible at), added hair highlights and robe lowlights, and redid the base.

I wish I wasn't so heavy-handed - sometimes I end up obscuring the details of the mini with too many layers of paint (because I mess up so much).

It's a hack job. If you really want to see nicely painted minis you can check out "Cool Mini or Not?"

Still, the painting is fun, and I'll put up a pic of the whole force in a couple months when I finish it (if I finish it). Mind you, I still won't have anyone to play with...

Kill the Slug!

2006-07-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

The new Sabres logo is ATROCIOUS. It's a diseased slug! No resemblance at all to a Buffalo or a sabre. *retch* So join the more than 20,000 good souls who have signed a petition protesting this icon of evil!

Go to the Fix The Logo petition today! And tell your friends! Please!

One Disappearing Rascal

2006-07-28T12:50:00.000-04:00

OMG I can't believe that I forgot to post this earlier!

A few days ago I was in here on the computer being a bad parent while the boys were watching TV. After a while I finish up and go into the living room. I ask Zipper, "Where's Rascal?" He shrugs, so I go look upstairs.

No Rascal.

I look outside. No Rascal!

As utter panic begins to set in, my BIL comes walking up to my door with Rascal in tow. Thank goodness!

Apparently my darling little 6-year-old, without telling me, decided to walk to his grandmother's house half a mile away.

Dear readers, take heart in the fact that I did not strangle my boy on the spot! It's not even that I don't trust Rascal (to cross streets safely, and to not get lost on the way) but that I don't trust the rest of the world.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2006-07-28T12:42:00.000-04:00

No, maybe I'd rather have the rain. In some ways it's better than that darned heat.

Yesterday the boys and I joined my SIL and her kids at the Clearfield pool in Amherst. Wow, they had such a nice kiddie pool there! It featured one of those big water playground structures with slides, waterfalls, spouts and the like. Rascal loved it! Zipper was afraid of all the splashing and excitement but had fun anyway along the edges with the other little kids.

Sadly, the thunderstorms rolled in after about 2 hours, so they closed the pool. Particularly sad because we had to pay $5 each to get in! LOL Oh, well.

Nice place, tents for shade, well supervised - we'll be back.

EMail is Weird

2006-07-27T13:08:00.000-04:00

Let me reproduce for you an email I received today. What the hell is this? Is this the new thing, assaulting random people with random fiction?

From: Hope Benitez
Sent:
7/27/2006 12:34:17 AM
Subject: Fwd: Help

I understand all your questions. The first two infant deaths had not aroused suspicion — a story on one had mentioned severe birth defects.

For the last time, he hoped. Her rejection of what he had written would be easier to bear if he could blame it on the pain, but the truth was that the pain had finally begun to subside a little. Because the crucial plot-twist of Fast Cars concerned Tony Bonasaros near-fatal crack-up in his last desperate effort to escape the police (and this led to the epilogue, which consisted of the bruising interrogation conducted by the late Lieutenant Grays partner in Tonys hospital room), Paul had interviewed a number of crash victims. In the kitchen, tall hugged Misery tightly to him, feeling his soul live and die and then live again in the sweet smell of her warm skin.

"Suddenly she kicked the front bumper of Mr Rancho Grandes car, kicked it hard enough to knock packed chunks of snow out of the wheel-wells. The whole thing was meaningless.

He could not tell her because it would hurt her badly, and in spite of all the pain she had afforded him, he found he could not hurt her in that way. Martian death-machines. He looked toward the barbecue pot, expecting it to look like a barbecue pot in the morning light: a barbecue pot and nothing else.

No Living Out My Dreams of Glory Through My Children for Me

2006-07-27T12:51:00.000-04:00

LOL I wasn't planning on doing that anyway!

The town track meet was yesterday - the culmination of weeks of hard work by the kiddies in the town summer track program (including my kiddies of course). It was surprisingly well run, considering the number of participants and the number of events (> 60 with all the age divisions). And I learned (although I knew this already)...

that my boys are probably not cut out to be sprinters. At least, not right now. Rascal and Zipper finished last in their heats of all their races - the 50M for Rascal and 50M and 100M for Zipper (who admittedly was competing against 7-year-olds in the longer race). Oh, well. Cheer them on, be supportive, maybe they'll be marathon runners someday instead. :-)

Rascal also did long jump. He fouled the first two jumps but got off a nice one on the last try. Not very far, but impressive form (which has to count for something). Both boys did the softball throw as well (a kiddie version of shotput). Not very impressive, but they were both so cute and they like to do it so much that you can't help but be happy about it.

So in the end I can honestly say that the track program was worthwhile and fun. The kids enjoyed it, and I think we'll be back next year. Now only 6 more long weeks of summer to go...

Damn Dick's!

2006-07-23T16:55:00.000-04:00

I ended up gettting that UnderArmour sports bra at Dick's after all. I went over to the Galleria Mall to go to Galyan's for it. When the heck did Dick's buy out Galyan's? I don't remember reading anything about it!

Grrrr... I hate giving Dick's my money... at least the service at the mall location was better.

Oooh, oooh, it sounds like the high school guys are playing rugby in the elementary school field next to my house. Oh, boy, hot teenage guys to check out! See ya later!

Flauting on the Fly

2006-07-23T16:50:00.000-04:00

On Thursday evening my church's choir director called me. She was frantically looking for someone do to some music this Sunday for service because she was on vacation. She had a guest organist already and asked me to do a couple flute pieces with her. (Apparently the director was *really* having trouble finding someone willing to work with this organist.) So I agreed, and with 20 minutes of rehearsal this morning we managed to pull things together. It came out better than I expected.

Let Today's Meeting of the Mutual Appreciation Society Begin!

2006-07-21T17:58:00.000-04:00

Some of you may have noticed that I was named Girlz Blog of the Day yesterday on Blog Of The Day! Hey, go check it out - it's a good site and I found some interesting stuff out there in blogland! It's a lot better than hunting randomly for a good blog (trust me, I know).

In that vein (vane? oh, whatever), let me direct you to a hilarious story by Trebuchet at Legwarmers. I think she has instantly become worthy of my blogroll with the tale: "My Best Friend Pooped Her Bikini: A True Story and the Birth of a Nickname".

As long as I'm here, I also may as well direct you to Jade's post on the 2996 9/11 rememberance project. I've already signed up myself, and I hope you do too.

Oooh, oooh, one more! You have to check out the story of One Red Paperclip, brought to my attention by Three Headed Dragon.

Lonely Little ShadowAngel!

2006-07-20T18:40:00.000-04:00

Awwww!!! Pity party for me!!! :-)

This blog has been pretty darn quiet in the comments department for a while, so I can only assume that I'm unpopular. What else is new?

No, no, it's ok. I'm well aware that some of my readers are lurkers, and that some readers simply haven't been online much lately.

I suppose I'll have to face reality - that I'm not going to be some net goddess unless I get out there and start reading other blogs and all that other networking sort of nonsense.

The question is, is that what I want to do? That's what got me in the morass that caused me to abandon my first blog. It's too darn easy to spend too much time online (especially with stupid dialup). But at the same time it would be nice to know that someone's actually listening and that I'm not just screaming out into the void.

Dick's Can Suck My...

2006-07-20T18:30:00.000-04:00

Wait, it's not that kind of a blog!

Today I went searching for a new sports bra (the zipper went on my old one), with kids in tow. That's a bad way to start things off right there.

First I went to Target, where I had gotten my previous sports bras. I was saddened to find that they no longer carried the Jogbras that I liked so well. Tried on a bunch of crappy Hanes and Champion styles and hated them all. *sigh* Well, I was able to pick up some school supplies at Target anyway.

Since I was close, I went to Dick's. After some hunting I found a nice UnderArmour bra that met my stringent requirements (hey, you have to have stringent requirement when you have a chest like mine - I have no desire to look like a woman out of National Geographic, if you know what I mean). I wasn't happy to be spending twice as much as I wanted, but I can deal with that.

So I hauled the kids, who have been behaving quite badly, to the register. There's one guy in front of me who is being helped by 3 staffers. After a couple minutes one of them suggests that I go to the customer service desk to check out. There's a nice long line of about 10 people there. Oh.

Kids are fussing, and I'm watching the cashier, who has this sour look on her face, as she sllllloooowwwwllllyyy folds up a pair of shorts and puts it into a bag. Oh, God, at this rate we're going to be in this line for 45 minutes. Forget it, not worth it. Bye-bye Dick's - next time maybe you'll actually *want* my business!

I should know better by now - I've had a few bad experiences there already.

You Know What Annoys Me? (part 1 of a many, many part miniseries)

2006-07-19T16:16:00.000-04:00

Stupid idiots on the road.

While everyone has *far* too many examples to list, let me tell you about incidents during the last 24 hours.

1. Driving up Colvin Blvd. yesterday morning in the right-hand lane I find myself behind a big honkin' van. At the last moment the driver swerves into the left lane to avoid a parked car. Which leaves me immediately behind rapidly approached said parked car that I had not been able to see before the van moved - thanks, how nice of you!

2. Same stupid van, a minute later. We both turned onto a side street, and he just stops in the middle of the road. After a few moments I figure out that he wants to parallel park - nice signal, jerk!

3. On Colvin Blvd at Sheridan Dr. (a very large intersection) on the way home. I'm sitting behind a truck at a red light. The turn arrow turns green... and he blasts straight through the intersection into incoming turning traffic - what the hell are you thinking?

4. That night, in the mostly unlit back tae kwon do school, I barely manage to see 3 teenage guys dressed all in black crossing the lot - good way to get killed, you yahoos!

Buzzy Tonic!

2006-07-17T15:14:00.000-04:00

My good friend Martin and his brother have come out with an excellent CD, and I have to share the love with you, dear readers. Have a listen for yourselves at CDBaby, and if you like it, buy a copy and tell a friend!

[Shoutout to MSzinger: Martin, I wish I had 1/4 of your talent, but since I don't, I should at least do what I can to get your music heard!]

Welcome to Fantasy Island!

2006-07-17T15:03:00.000-04:00

{mood: toasty}

Zipper threw up all over me this morning, and a little later on the living room rug (oh, joy), but he seems to be doing better now (good thing I decided to skip track today).

Well, maybe I do remember *something* from the last week. Thank goodness - I was getting worried there for a second.

My parents were in town for the wedding, so they decided to take all 5 grandkids (including the 6-month-old) to Fantasy Island (a local amusement park - not a lot of big thrills, but good for the kiddies). My SIL and I came along too, mostly for herd control.

The kids were pretty good, actually. Not too much whining or running off in different directions. I was pretty impressed, considering it was a very hot day (about 90 F - pretty good for around here). But let me tell you - it is HARD to keep track of four kids in a packed kiddie pool!

We had an incident while at the kiddie pool. My sister's 6-year-old was running and ended up clocking heads with my SIL's 3-year-old. It opened up a earlier cut above the 6-year-old's eye (which wasn't bad) and left a GREAT BIG goose egg on the 3-year-old's forehead. My parents were tending to the kids but the SIL is freaking out, hyperventilating, continually asking if her boy should go to the hospital and worrying that her husband (my bro) was going to be angry. So while my parents are helping the 3-year-old, I'm left to tend to my SIL while trying to round up the other boys, who are now unsupervised in the kiddie pool.

Ugh. Honestly. Look, I was like that with Rascal for about his first 15 months or so - freaking out if anything happened and the like, but after a while, you just have to accept that sometimes kids are going to get their bumps and bruises. Her son was going to be fine - I told her so, my parents (both with extensive EMS experience) told her so...

Well, never mind all that. The kids were fine and back to running around in a few minutes. I ended up taking the older boys off on my own for a while and left the other 3 kids with the other adults. We saw the end of a show that seemed to be this mishmash of Pirates of the Carribean, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings. The kids thought it was really cool. Ummm...I didn't.

I went on a few rides with the boys, and was not feeling so well after one too many spins on the Tilt-A-Whirl (that is, 2 spins), so we went back to find the others. They were pretty worn out too so we called it a day. It was a lot of fun though - I'm glad my parents suggested it.

Now all I need is someone to go out with me (and not the kids) to an amusement park, since I am a big coaster fan, and I've been on a grand total of one since Rascal was born. :-( Too bad Ironwolf has *major* motion sickness issues...

Where Has The Week Gone?

2006-07-16T15:16:00.000-04:00

I have no idea. Really. If you ask me what I've done all week, I can honestly say that I don't remember too much. Alzheimer's must be setting in early. *sigh*

Yesterday was the wedding of a family friend (the one whose shower I went to not so long ago). It was a very nice ceremony (i.e. short), although it was funny - a couple minutes before the ceremony the couple's youngest child (1 1/2 yrs.) started bawling inconsolably in the church. When the bride Mommy processed in, oh my, did that little girl start howling! She was removed pretty promptly though.

The reception was at the fire hall in my old hometown. My parents were volunteer firefighters for many years, and I spent much of my childhood in that fire hall, so it really brought back memories. The folks were particularly happy that they were allowed in to show their grandsons the fire trucks. All in all, a good time. Hope my sister (the matron of honor) managed to get through the evening without throwing up - I've honestly never seen her so smashed! (Don't fear, her hubby was there to drive her home).

Well, I gotta run - got some Dungeons & Dragons to play this afternoon (I am *so* not prepared, but they'll forgive me)!

Nose Buried in a Book

2006-07-11T02:40:00.000-04:00

[**boring post alert**]

The locals know that there were major cutbacks in the county library system over the last couple years, leading to the closing of a number of library branches.

Now back last summer Ironwolf and I were talking with the parents of a friend about the impending closing of the branch nearest our home. Well, more like arguing than talking, but that's ok. *grin*

This couple was steadfastly opposing the closing of this branch, which was a very small library but it saw a fair bit of usage due to its being next to the high school. So they asked us if we opposed it as well.

Our answer was pretty much "Hell, no!". In the ensuing discussion we defended our position by noting that it was known that there would be a major library budget crunch several years in advance, and that we supported the consolidation of these small libraries into larger, more comprehensive libraries with up-to-date facilities (resulting in less overhead and salary costs) - and in fact, a couple years earlier, there was state funding available to do just that in our town, and for some reason the town refused.

The point is, as much as we loved our neighborhood libraries, reality does indeed rear its ugly head at times, and you have to make some considered decisions.

Well, after the attempts of my friends' parents and others to keep the library open failed, they decided to start up a non-profit corporation to run the building as an independent reading room. After much negotiation with the county, town, etc. they succeeded and the new reading room, Brighton Place, opened about six weeks ago.

I figured, good for them to try to make something useful out of this mess. So we joined, which costs the family $35/year, but I figure it's for a worthy cause. They did a nice job sprucing up the place and getting the wireless hotspot in, and I've already taken the kids to a couple different programs.

I am happy to report that I am actually using this membership (unlike some other things I've signed up for in the past) and that it means that I'm actually reading books again. A few of you may recall my endeavor to read some of the classics (which I posted about in my old blog). Well, that didn't go so well. LOL Oh, I got a few things read, but I found that reading novels on the PC was a pain in the butt.

Well, right now I'm not doing the classics, although maybe I'll get back to that - but I do have a couple recommendations for you in the young adult/fantasy realm:

Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce: a compilation of four books (First Test, Page, Squire, and Lady Knight) featuring the tale of the first girl in the kingdom who trains to become a knight. I could not put it down - yeah, it's girl-oriented, but it's got a great set of characters a la Harry Potter.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini: you've probably heard of this novel written by a 15-year-old wunderkind. It's actually a nice, solid fantasy tale (esp. if you like McCaffery), although it does rely on a lot of fantasy stereotypes. It also seemed like most of the main characters were unconscious half the time! *chuckle* I'll pick up the sequel if it comes into the reading room.

I'm not quite sure why I rambled on like that just to give you a couple half-baked book recommendations, but there you go. Enjoy.

Would You Believe...

2006-07-11T02:10:00.000-04:00

what I found at Wegmans (a local grocery store chain) tonight? There in a bin in the produce section was...

TRUFFLES!

That's right, honest to goodness, dug out of the ground by trained pigs truffles. Selling at the low, low price of...

$399.99/lb.

No kidding.

I was soooooo tempted to toss one into a produce bag and weigh it just to see how much one tuffle costs. I bet it's something like 20 bucks.

Holy cow, these things were accessible! If I had them in my store, I'd at least lock them up inside a display case or something!

'Cause All My Friends Are Doing It...

2006-07-09T00:36:00.000-04:00

What Dungeons & Dragons Character Are You?

I Am A: Chaotic Good Elf Monk Bard

Alignment:
Chaotic Good characters are independent types with a strong belief in the value of goodness. They have little use for governments and other forces of order, and will generally do their own things, without heed to such groups.

Race:
Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.

Primary Class:
Monks are strange and generally not understood by the world at large. They live apart from people, and follow strict codes that restrain their behavior and lifestyle. They have an exceptionally calm outlook on life, and generally do not resort to violence unless absolutely necessary. Even when they do, their code of conduct forbids the use of all weapons - except their hands. As such, monks are extremely skilled at hand-to-hand combat, and no other style.

Secondary Class:
Bards are the entertainers. They sing, dance, and play instruments to make other people happy, and, frequently, make money. They also tend to dabble in magic a bit.

Deity:
Tymora is the Chaotic Good goddess of luck and good fortune. She is also known as Lady Luck, and also Tyche's fair-tressed daughter. Followers of Tymora believe in the tenent that, 'Fortune Favors the Bold,' and will throw caution to the wind and trust to luck to work things out for the best. Tymora's symbol is an unmarked silver disk.

Detailed Results:

Alignment:
Lawful Good ----- XXXXXXX (7)
Neutral Good ---- XXXXXX (6)
Chaotic Good ---- XXXXXXXX (8)
Lawful Neutral -- XXX
(3)True Neutral ---- XXX (3)
Chaotic Neutral - XXX (3)
Lawful Evil ----- (-1)
Neutral Evil ---- (-2)
Chaotic Evil ---- (-2)

Race:
Human ---- XXX (3)
Half-Elf - XXXXXXX (7)
Elf ------ XXXXXXXXX (9)
Halfling - (-3)
Dwarf ---- (-3)
Half-Orc - X (1)
Gnome ---- XXXXXXX (7)

Class:
Fighter - (-1)
Ranger -- XXX (3)
Paladin - X (1)
Cleric -- XXXX (4)
Mage ---- XXX (3)
Druid --- X (1)
Thief --- X (1)
Bard ---- XXXXX (5)
Monk ---- XXXXXX (6)

Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy ofNeppyMan (e-mail)

Memeilicious!

2006-07-06T02:18:00.000-04:00

{mood: chilly (brrrr stupid Buffalo)}

I do what my friends tell me to do. *meep*

So, courtesy of Jade, here's a fun little exercise for you:

Instructions:
1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. In the Search box, type your birth month and day (but not year).
3. List three events that happened on your birthday.
4. List two important birthdays and one interesting death.
5. One holiday or observance (if any).

My birthday: October 9 (don't you forget)

Events:

1871 The Great Chicago Fire was brought under control

1888 The Washington Monument officially opens to the general public.

1992 A 13 kilogram (est.) meteorite lands in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family's 1980 Chevrolet Malibu.

Births: (now here's some perspective for you)

1940 John Lennon, British musician and songwriter (The Beatles) (d. 1980)

1941 Trent Lott, American politician

Death:

1967 Che Guevara, Argentine revolutionary and guerilla leader (executed) (b. 1928)

Holiday:

Leif Erikson Day - in United States, Iceland and Norway: celebrating the first European landing in North America (holy cow, SpongeBob wasn't making it up!)

Da SMH, Doin' Her Part Ta Stop Da Scammin', Yeah!

2006-07-05T19:49:00.000-04:00

Back about a week ago I was hitting random blogs (a terrible waste of time, btw) when I come across one entitled PayPal Profits. I didn't notice the title at first, otherwise I would have skipped right by it.

It featured a photo of a woman of about my age who also claimed to have two small children - at first glance a "mommy" blog like mine. One post, just put up, acting all innocent about a PayPal pyramid scheme and saying that she usually didn't go for things like this, but maybe this one would be worth a try.

So I put up a comment, in which I said that I would give her the benefit of the doubt, although I probably shouldn't, and directed her and other readers to a website about such schemes (very good, btw).

My next line was: "Yes, kiddies, fraud is indeed illegal." And then I wrote that I would be watching to see if the author deleted the comment and that I would be slamming them if they did. Well, I checked today, and the whole blog was down.

I'm a little disappointed because I should have hit her profile to see what other blogs she had. I expect she turns out quite a few.

I hate scams, I hate scammers, and I *especially* hate scammers that intentionally try to disguise their scamming.

Catching My Breath

2006-07-05T19:30:00.000-04:00

Whew! I survived! All the boys were good, and the baby mostly slept through the night - I woke him up in the middle of the night because I happened to be awake, and then he slept until 7 AM (yay!).

Random, you were right btw. I was doing pretty well on the caffeine thing, limiting it to two beverages/day until yesterday. With the four boys there I needed every bit of chemically-based stimulation to keep up with them! But I'm back on track today.

But now I'm absolutely drained from the events of the past week. I'm not complaining - parties and family gatherings and the like are great, but I'm *tired*! Zipper was up early but Rascal slept until 10, and I conked out on the couch for most of the morning. Needless to say, I didn't get the boys to track today, and I honestly couldn't care less. I am determined to do nothing today. *sigh* Well, maybe I'll go to tae kwon do.

Tomorrow we are going to my SIL's campsite in Canada for the day. Hopefully that will be relaxing, but I doubt it. There's talk of going to the Geneseo Air Show this weekend, but we aren't sure yet. Then the craziness starts up again late next week with the family back in town for a wedding.

It's probably best that I hide my head under the blankets for a day or two...

Mmmm...Big Chocolate...

2006-07-05T19:14:00.000-04:00

One of the lovely things about Ironwolf's job in consumer product testing is that on occasion he brings me home something good. After products are tested there are often leftovers, and anything that is safe is given away to employees or charity rather than just being thrown away. Some of the more valuable products are raffled off instead, with proceeds going to charity, and this big ol' YUMMY chocolate bar was one of them, and we won!

I cannot help but to gloat, so here's a picture of my 10 lb. chocolate, with an ordinary Hershey bar on top for comparison!

Gloat, gloat, mmmm...

How Busy (and partied out) Can One Woman Be?

2006-07-03T20:54:00.000-04:00

{mood: tired, and about to become *much* more tired}

The answer is: pretty darn busy (and pretty darn partied out too).

Saturday was the annual summer party that my aunt hosts. It's partly birthday party (for my grandparents), partly family reunion (I mean everybody, even the great-aunts I don't particularly care for *grin*), and partly just a big ol' summer bash (all their friends and neighbors too).

They have such an awesome place for a party - an elevated deck, big inground pool, large backyard. They really go all out with these parties - they hire a band and everything. It was really a lot of fun, although I did have to spend most of the time looking after the kids in the pool.

Of course the folks came up from SC for the party, so the next evening the whole immediate extended family went out to a nearby beach club. As usual, the gathering involved much loud music and beer (don't worry, we keep good track of all the kiddies). Thankfully the weather held out, but we decided to abandon ship after a few hours since we could see the thunderstorm rolling in across Lake Erie.

Now today (and yesterday during the day), I've been cleaning like a madwoman, because my parents are coming for dinner in a few minutes and they are bringing my sister's two boys, 6 yrs. old, and 6 mo. old, over to spend the night and then I will watch them during the day tomorrow. And *then*, my sister and her husband will come over for dinner and we'll go out for fireworks.

And *then*...

I'm going to collapse, and not do anything for at least 24 hours.

Somebody Hand Me a Jolt, Right Now!

2006-06-29T20:20:00.000-04:00

{mood: cranky}
{listening to: Peter Gunn by The Art of Noise}

Somehow I've once again developed this horrible caffeine addiction. I think it started when I switched over to diet sodas. Since it has gotten to the point where I can't function without it, I'm trying to seriously cut back. Gosh, I'd better not ever get addicted to anything more serious than this, because I feel like crap!

I gave myself the luxury of a nap because I was so wiped out this afternoon. I'm always a little uneasy about doing that because someday I'm gong to wake up and the house is going to be on fire or something. Little boys will put that kind of fear into you.

I've heard that it only takes a few days to kick caffeine though, so I think I will get through it ok.

Now for some shoutouts:

[Shoutout to mfhy2k: 1) Yeah, I don't know why Buffalo schools can't seem to get their act together. That whole thing about the attendance policy was really goofy too. 2) I'm not that concerned about not getting tips. it's just that I've started falling off the pace and I'm finally seeing people coming up from behind me. That's to be expected - I'm not an energetic (and skinny) teenager anymore. But I do have a rough timetable in my head, and right now I'm not meeting it. Ha! Maybe I'll get 3 tips in a week - I've done that twice already!]

[Shoutout to AZJade: It would be great if you got back to the poetry (when you are inspired to do so, of course). Pretty much all my stuff is crap LOL but yours was always good, and I'd love to see more.]

[Shoutout to Oni: Now you buddy, *have* to put up some of your poetry, because I know you are still doing it, and it's good, and what good is the Internet if you can't foist your personal thoughts and feelings off on the rest of the world? *grin*]

[Shoutout to Wendy: Hi Wendy! Didn't want you to feel left out! Hey, I put that sunset pic from you back up as my desktop wallpaper again. Makes me feel like I'm someplace other than here...:-)]

Blasted Internet Explorer!

2006-06-28T23:00:00.000-04:00

[mood: annoyed]

I had almost finished up a lovely lengthy post of no particular consequence and Explorer freakin' crashed on me and ate the whole thing. Dammit.

Now I'm in no mood to post. Maybe later.

Woo Hoo, I'm Not An Idiot!

2006-06-27T23:15:00.000-04:00

After much, much hassle, I finally got a slightly new look for the site. Yeah, it's still a boring old Blogger template, but at least it's not one of the standards, so I get to have a little bit of individuality.

I've still got a little tweaking to do, including getting the proper credit for the code, but I'm pretty happy right now.

I ended up having to move around large blocks of code to finally get a happy result. Once I even caused this funky loop that made infinite sidebars pop up offset from each other (I wisely closed that browser window).

Actually, it was very educational. I'm afraid my experience is pretty much limited to your basic hard-coded HTML, so it was good to go through the template line by line to try to figure out what everything was.

Let me tell you, if I had just been smarter about things and really pursued web page design while I was still at the cutting edge (yeah, about 15 years ago - scary)... well...ummm...actually, I'd probably be a stay-at-home mom, just like I am now. But just think of the possibilities!

Post #4 O'The Day

2006-06-27T13:40:00.000-04:00

Well, I got my nearly 3 hours of sleep after all, so I'm functional. But today's plans got a little mucked up.

Track starts at 10 AM, and we have to leave by 9:45. At 9:00 AM, it started to rain heavily. OK, no track then. By 9:30 it was down to a sprinkle. OK, we'll go to track. Oh, crap, how could I have done all that laundry and Zipper *still* has no shorts to wear. OK, find *something*. Come on, come on, let's get the raincoats and umbrella and move, move, we're going to be late! Arrive right at 10:00 AM - hmmm...not many kids here, rain must have scared them off. Walk to the track from the car...flash! boom! Oh, crap, thunderstorm's coming in. No track, time to go home.

Ugh.

Arrrggh!!! OK! I'm still up!

2006-06-27T08:10:00.000-04:00

I've reached one of those funky altered states of conciousness now.

Here's a (very) little something inspired by Oni:

3:22 AM

I awoke, and thought of you.
And rain.
And poetry.

Hey, I said it was very little.

Besides, it was the only one I could remember off the top of my head. I wrote some stuff a few months ago. Maybe I'll put it up if I can find it again.

This would seem to me like a good time to sit and write some poetry, but I think instead I'll make my wisdom check and shut down the computer. Really. Because if I'm not asleep within 30 minutes, I'll have to seriously consider staying up. Bad things, man.