Brittany on Dateline

So, I Tivo'ed Dateline last night to see the interview with Brittany Spears.

She looked awful! She was falling out of her top, I kept waiting for her boobs to fall out. Her bra was showing on one the entire interview. And her mascara was clumped on her top lashes on one of her eyes, it looked nasty. Her skin tone was all splotchy. It was almost like Dateline was helping foster the image that she is upkept & disorganized. You sould of thought that someone would have told her to tuck her bra in or fixed her makeup. Did they want her to come off bad?

It was pretty annoying that she was so "Poor Me!". She kept dropping names of other stars who had a similar situation and they didn't get harrassed as much as she has. They said she is worth around $100 million, if you are worth that much money and got that by being a public figure, you have to expect that the public is going scrutinize you.

What drives me nuts is that she has contant security around her, doesn't one of them know the carseat is supposed to be rear-facing for the first year and that you don't drive with a baby on your lap? Who are these idiots that she has hired that can't tell her she's f*cking up.

There were so many things she said that could be considered "bad" quotes. I'm not sure that the end result of this interview that she has hoped for will happen.

Poor Larry....

He's just having a bad week. He must have gotten into something, we figure a chewed on a plant he shouldn't have , and has diarrhea & has puked a few times.....This started yesterday. His energy level is just fine.

He has dried poop all over his back side & Andy had to clean him up. It was pretty gross and I don't think either appreciated it.

Anyways, today I had a candle on the counter that he got a little to close too and burned the tip of some of his fur. He didn't get hurt or anything, just scared.

Patch Is Back!

So, Steve "Patch" is back on DOOL. You can read here on the DOOL website all about Steve's history. What I had intended to find out was just how Steve (now calling himself Nick since he doesn't remember his past - funny how that always happens on soap operas) died. It isn't until you get to the last paragraph that you find out how he "died".

This is what it says:
"After learning that Bo was the Riverfront Raider, Steve agreed to help him. Steve spotted a suspicious looking boat and when he investigated, he found a card addressed to Bo from Lawrence Alamain. The boat exploded (an explosion meant for Bo) and Steve was knocked into a coma. He came out of the coma, only to have Lawrence poison his IV. Steve died in Kayla's arms but before he was buried, his coffin was switched with an empty one."

Nursing makes me thirsty

When I nurse Isabel, I get so dehydrated. It's like when she drains me of my milk supply she just sucks all the fluids out of my body. Strange.

Woohoo!

Went for a 2-week post-pregnancy doctor visit (will have another @ 6 weeks) anf hesaid my uterus is almost back to regular size. My BP was good and my weight is 9 lbs. more than my pre-pregnancy weight. I had gained 30 pounds in the pregnancy and I guess normal weightloss from delivery (weight of baby, placenta, amniotic fluid, excess body fluids) is an intial 14 pounds.

So, I am happy that the weight has come off nicely so far. We'll see how long it takes to lose the 9 pounds (since I am not dieting since I am breastfeeding.) I know where that 9 pounds is too -- right on my squishy belly & into my hips, plus some to my breasts as well.

Got the garden planted....

Just planted the garden today. I was hoping to have it done a few days ago already, but oh well, better late than never.

To the left here is my garden layout. All the circles are mounds. I basically left the middle open so that the viney stuff can grow into it.

I bought single pots with 3 plants each of watermelon, green slicing cucumber, & zucchini. The tomatoes I bought plants for to. The rest I just planted seeds. I never planted melons before, so we'll see how it goes. I have had pretty good luck with the rest though.

I actually have green beans that are growing along the chicken wire fence by the canteloupe, & yellow squash. They had re-seeded themselves again. So, I am just going to let them grow in the fencing and I won't have to trellis them.

This year we are doing the lasagna gardening thing. It's work the first year to get it established, but hopefully next year it will be so so simple.

I got some composted alpaca manure (from a woman who picked up stuff we listed on Freecycle). It was nice that she offered to bring some for me. She brought 4 bags (leftover bags from corn feed for the alpacas) for me. So, I put that on the garden as well.

I also have other garden stuff.....in pots by the deck. I have Roma tomatoes (1 plant) & some other smallish type tomato plants (2 plants) and jalepeno peppers (3 plants) in pots. And I have hanging baskets off the deck with green leaf lettuce, turnip green, red leaf lettuce, & spinach (although the spinach has not sprouted - I think the seeds were too old or something, but the other 3 sprouted).

I also have my herb garden. My chives & oregano came back (yeah!) and I planted sage this year (so, hopefully that will come back next year), and I also planted cilantro & purple basil (both annual herbs), and I also have my little strawberry patch. Oh, and we have our 4 apple trees, which had a TON of blossoms on this year and didn't get nipped by a late frost like last year, so hopefully we'll have a lot of apples.

Now, I just have to keep everything watered. It's been pretty hot and we have not been getting any rain. It's only the 1st week in June and already the grass is getting that burnt brown look. Bah!

Why People Hate Me....

I seem to be hearing it a lot these days -- we hate you, I hate you.....but why? Or at least, why now? If they hated me before it was different. They don't really hate me though. Hate is such a strong word isn't it?

Apparently this who labor, delivery, & post-partnum thing I have and am going through is not the same experience that others have.

They hate me because I was only at the hospital for less than 3.5 hours before I had the baby in my arms. They hate me because I only had to push for 16 minutes. Did they have me for morning "all-day" sickness for 18 weeks? I don't think so.

They hate me because I don't look like I just gave birth less than 2 weeks ago. Actually, I am soft & squishy in the middle, but honestly, I do not look like I just gave birth. I was all prepared to still look 5-6 months pregnant. But that just isn't the case. But what I want to know was did they hate me when I was watching my food intake and making sure I had a balanced diet with lots of fruit, veggies, & whole grains? Did they hate me when I was going out for a walk several times a week?

They hate me because only a couple days after delivery we were out taking a short walk with the baby in the stroller. Again, did they hate me when I was walking during pregnancy? Did they hate me when I was practicing my kegels?

I have this suspicion that people didn't hate me when I was was working hard to take care of myself so that now things aren't as bad as they had experienced. Or maybe it is all attitude, maybe they look back and hate certain aspects of their experience and that is what they hate, it's not me, it's their experience that they hate.

The Happy, Exhausted Family

So, here is one picture. Mom's friend Jessi took it when she came to visit us on Sunday. From this angle, you can't quite get the grasp of the bags I have under my eyes. She's such a good, cute baby.

Welcome Isabel Grace!

I just had a baby. So, this blog may get ignored & neglected a bit. Mom & baby both need their rest. My friend Jessi took this picture when she visited us at the hospital on Sunday night. We all acme home on Monday afternoon.

Vinegar & Olive Oil

Nope - not talking about making salad dressing.

I just thought I woul share a little tip for getting white rings off wood furniture. I found a website that listed a who bunch of tricks to getting those nasty white water rings off wood furniture because I had 2 on my dining room table. Many of the tips seemed too abrasive or I did not have the ingredients for or it took quite a bit of time. So, I went with what I had and it worked perfectly.

Just mix small amounts of equal parts of olive oil (I suppose you could use any oil) and white vinegar. Rub into wood with a cloth. Rub off excess oil residue and Ta Da! The white ring is gone and all it took was 30 seconds of your time.

I was impressed.

Kudos for an eBay Seller!

I have made no secret of my addiction to eBay. I have bought several items from Celtic Folk Herbals. I have never given my kudos on my blog before to an eBay seller before, but I am this time. She sells handmade herbal prodcuts. She uses quality ingredients. I have bought from her several different times and just got another shipment today. Before I just bought lip balms and I really like them and each time she has included an additional free one. This time I bought some Mommy Belly Balm to use on my pregnant belly & afterward. I haven't used it yet, as the postwoman just dropped it off, but this time she gave me another free lip balm & a free sample of jamine glycerin soap. I have used the lip balms already and do like them a lot. So, if you want to or likes to use natural products, you should check out her eBay store. Happy Shopping!

Da Vinci Code Movie

If I make it to Friday and do not have a baby, I want to go see The Da Vinci Code. Like a lot of people, I really enjoyed the book and also read the Angels & Demons as well. The movie opens on Friday, although when I looked for showtimes the theater I would probably go to said that due to filmmakers restrictions they can't do a midnight show, so it looks like the earliest I could do would be a noon showing. I do know if I buy tickets for the show that I will end having my baby. I think that could be worth $15 - to tempt fate and have that baby or if not, I get to see a movie.

Hmmmmm....Interesting....

I watched Dr. Know today (2 episodes).

On the first episode, they tested the 5-second rule. They tested shrimp, canteloupe, & a jelly bean in a variety of locations, including: park, sidewalk, mall floor, kitchen floor, & home carpet. They found eColi on the shrimp & canteloupe in ALL locations, but there was more on the inside locations (which they attribute to sunlight, which kills the eColi in the outside locations.) The only place the jelly bean picked up some eColi was in the park, which they attribute to wet grass making the jelly beans suseptible to picking up bacteria, otherwise the other locations the jelly bean remained dry & free of eColi.

The other thing they tested was whether or not dog's mouths are cleaner than human. What they found was that both human and dogs had loads of bateria in their mouths, but some of that bacteria in the dogs mouth are pathogenic to humans. They also tested whether or not the bacteria had antiseptic properties and they foudn that in both humans and dogs the saliva had a little bit of antiseptic properties.

On the 2nd show the first thing they tested was whether or not listening to loud music @ a concert damages your hearing. If you ask Andy about this one, he will tell you yes. He was a drummer growing up and was in high school band, in bands, and also was in Chop, Inc. After years of exposure to loud sounds, he is left with ringing in his ears. I had to get used to sleeping with a fan on so that he had white noise when we would sleep, otherwise the ringing in his ears would drive him nuts and keep him from sleeping. They found that the people with the $100 earplugs and the 99-cent ear plugs had no hearing loss, but the person with no ear plugs had hearing loss in high frequencies for 2-days, but this could become more permanent if the exposure is continued overtime.

The next thing they tested was whether or not sitting too long in front of the tv is bad for your eyes. They also tested it in front of a computer screen - both for 4 hours. They found that there was no damage to eyes of either person after 4 hours of constant viewing. It can cause eye strain, but not eye damage. They said there is no connection between eye strain & long-term eye damage.

I kinda like the show. It's interesting to see them de-bunk or prove the common myths.

Funny Cats

Andy sent me this link to a video about funny cats. I laughed so hard. We like watching funny animal videos. We watch funny animal videos on Animal Planet whenever we can.

Finally! A Use for all those C Batteries!

For some reason, over the years, I have accumulated a supply of C batteries. But the problem is that we didn't have anything that used them and it never really dawned on me before.

I remember that as a kid most toys or my boombox took C batteries. Now nothing takes C batteries.

But I just bought a travel infant swing off of eBay and received it today and opened the battery area and saw these AA batteries in there that didn't quite fit (and probably didn't work out too well for the previous owners as the AA batteries would slip out of the spaces). I thought to myself - this looks like it shoud fit C batteries. Sure enough - C batteries are the perfect battery.

Hooray! I now have a use for 4 C batteries (although I think I have about 16 more in the battery box.)

Well, That Sucks!

Bah! American Idol has pissed me off. Chris is gone? How could they? I thought he from the beginning and all along would end up being the winner.

Kat should have been kicked off so many times already. And each week that she squeaks through she looks surprised - because she knows she should have gone home.

Now I just don't know who is going to win. I'm not sure I care that much anymore. I do like Taylor, but I don't think he has the image to make it big or the sound. I certainly don't think Elliot has the image or the sound either. Maybe Kat could, but she isn't very consistent in her performances.

I still think that Chris will get a record deal out of this and will be the one fom this season to actually go somewhere.

BTW - I think Chris is hot!, but I like his sound as well.

Growing Up Around Bars

So, today, as I drove to Northfield (read about on baby blog) and I was flipping radio stations I came across "I've Got Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks and it took me back to memories of my 9th grade year and hanging out with some friends at Katie's parents bar and the song playing on the jukebox and everyone singing & playing pool.

It was really not a big deal to be hanging out in the bar, not to anyone.

And then I started to think more about growing up around bars. When we were little we used to scour the house for any money we could find (but we didn't have a lot, so finding any loose change was hard to come by) and walk down the road to the 5 Corners Bar (it's a counry bar). Now, we didn't go in there to hangout or anything. We were pretty much in & out -- but they sold penny candy FOR A PENNY. So, if you managed to earn a dollar you could walk out with this bag of 100 pieces of candy. It was excellent. Even finding 15 cents was worth the walk down to the bar.

Now, in rural WI, most bars also doubled as restaurants and on Friday nights YOU WENT OUT FOR FISH. So, seeing people sitting at the bar getting drunk as you ate your fish with your family at a table was not a big deal. It was just part of everything and you never thought twice about it. And if your tables wasn't ready yet, you were bellied up the bar with your parents. Now, of course we were just having pop & so were my parents (I don't think they ever really had a drink in front of us until I was my freshman year in college.)

The other thing is that I have an aunt (now passed away) & uncle (still owns it) who ran a bar. I can't remember how old I was when they bought it, I'm think junior high sometime......but hanging out in their bar - not a big deal.

The interesting thing is I was never tempted to drink. I probably had a sip of beer when I was little and hated it, but what I hated even more was giving family members hugs who reeked of beer. I just did not like the smell on their breath. And in rural NE WI - you drink beer or old fashioneds. That's it. Go there sometime and you'll see....I would say 90% of the beverages served there are cheap domestic beer or old fashioneds - have you ever seen anyone order an old fashioned anywhere else - maybe you don't even know what one is. If you don't - take a trip north of Green Bay and you'll find out. Don't try ordering a Mojito - they will have know clue what you are talking about, or a Cosmopoliton - they maybe be abe to piece together the ingredients with your guidance, but it sure won't be top shelf. Although one good thing of the bars in NE WI is that they will have some top shelf liqour and they rarely have an upcharge for it, if they do it may just be a quarter.

So, back to drinking. I don't think I tried any alcohol until towards the end of my senior year in high school. I know it's not because my friends didn't drink, they just knew I wasn't interested and didn't even ask. How's that for avoiding peer pressure, they didn't even bother trying as they knew what the answer would be. But in my senior year I worked with some college students at a restaurant and they introduced me to Schnapps......I didn't even know such a thing existed....it was liqour that when added with kool-aid (which is what they did) tasted just like kool-aid. No smelly beer or yucky brandy.....nice fruity stuff. I didn't really do a lot of drinking those last couple of months, I was still too responsible to have more than 1-2 drinks, and I never drove home (one girl lived in that town with her parents and we stayed there.) But my senior prom was a different story - my high school friends were pretty surprised I wanted to drink with them as we partied the night away. I got pretty drunk for the first time and gave the keys to my car to a friend's 15-year old brother with a learner's permit (actually, I think we had several 15-year old's with learners permits at that party. They could come hang out with us as long as they had nothing to drink and drove us back from the cabin in the country to a house in town that we were crashing at.)

So, the moral of the story here is - only expose your kids to crappy smelling & tasting liqours while at the same time teaching them to be responsible if they do drink (actually, I dont think I was ever told to be responsible if I drink - I was just told NOT TO DRINK and told horror stories of people my parents knew or went to high school with that dies or lost body parts because of drinking.) So, let's revise the moral of the story. Only expose your kids to crappy smelling & tasting liquors and scare the hell out of them with stories of death and dismemberment related to alcohol comsumption.

Odd Sighting....

So, I'm driving home and I spy a grandma & grandpa type couple driving red minivan -- ok, nothing odd here because so far I am desccribing my in-laws.

Ok, next I notice (as they are passing me) that they have handicap plates....ok, not all that odd either....but it is the motorcycle dolly with 2-seater Harley (also with handicap plates) that they are pulling that I find odd. The Harley just doesn't fit in the picture.

My in-laws don't have handicap plates or anything, but I just don't see them riding around on a Harley (or even getting all dressed in leather for that matter.) Actually, the image of my MIL dressed in all leather weather a helmet riding bitch makes me laugh.

Gardening Stuff

We put some more layers on the lasagna garden. Before we had leaves & grass layers, now we added layers of ask, wood shreddings, and compost. Topped it all off with water and covered it to let it cook. We'll let it cook for a couple weeks and then it should also be warm enough to start planting vegetables.

Also, weeded my flower beds, planted another rhododendron with purple flowers by the other ones, a new Asiatic lily plant, a new rose bush, and a hydrangea bush.

Andy got the baby's tree, a red maple, planted and also put fertilizer and weed control stuff on the grass.

It's nice to have all that stuff done.

Rainy Weekend

What a rainy weekend!

Friday night the in-laws came over and we had dinner and then went to a play. It was a cute play. Good dinner, which you can see on my food blog.

Saturday - Andy's brother Chris came down and they worked on the project Omni. They actually got it running and drove it around. I never thought I would see the day that things would actually start, let alone drive down the street. I did little projects around the house to get ready for baby, laundry, and more cooking. I like to cook.

Sunday - went to Fleet Farm and bought some seedlings & plants I wanted. I have the seedlings in my little greenhouse thing so that when it is time to plant I have them and I don't have to run out and get them with either baby in tow or a huge belly yet. Then, more laundry - washing everything to get ready for baby. Then we went to Baby Gap and Babies'r'Us in the Cities and finally to service at HOM, and then food from Dominos (which I won't be doing again in the next few weeks.....all that salt made my fingers and toes sweel up to look like overstuffed sausages -- the salt didn't bother me before, just started in the last few days.) and also got ice cream from Coldstone Creamery (Yummy!, Got the "Founder's Favorite" mixture of pecans, fudge topping, carmel topping, & brownie.) Then we came home and watched Tico'ed Sopranos & Entourage. I have to be careful what I watch just before I go to bed, as I sometimes dream about it. Last night I was dreaming I had my own "Entourage" and some was yelling "Who's in charge of her food and menus? Who the fuck let her eat all that salt? Someone better fucking take care of this. Call Artie and take care of this." It kinda made me chuckle that I was dreaming of having my own pregnancy entourage.

Today I have a Dr. appt, then will go pick up the tree & accessories we have for that (we're planting a tree for the baby). Tomorrow we sign the purchase agreement to get new windows put in the nursery & kitchen (freaking expensive, but necessary) and I am getting maternity photos taken tomorrow afternoon (supposed to be a nice, warm, sunny day). Wednesday is my last day teaching my class for the community college, time to get their final papers and give out final grades. I think this Sunday we are going to go to St. Paul to the Living Green Expo and then we'll go to HOM.

Earth Day (Weekend)

I decided that for Earth Day I need to make food at home all day, and now I decided to carry that over to Earth Weekend. We did go out & get Subway on Friday, so I guess I am only counting Saturday & Sunday.

Yesterday for Breakfast I made these Sticky Cinnamon Nut Rolls and Bacon, Mushroom, & Onion Souffle (still not sure how bacon will sit with me, so I used Turkey Bacon and that was fine). The Sticky Buns were absolutly fantastic, but now I understand why people buy them, because they are time-consuming to make (at least this recipe was a bit.) I got both these recipes from the James McNair Breakfast's. I only changed the rolls recipe slightly (different nuts) and I did change stuff in the soufflle recipe. Andy thought breakfast was really good but asked me, "Do you think there is ever a recipe that you won't change?" My response was that a few years ago I didn't change much, but now I don't think so. Honestly, I like to change the recipes and see how it turns out - it could be even better. Usually I change things to make them healthier and I would much rather have healthier and take the time to change things.
Well, actually breakfast was more of a brunch......so there was no lunch.....but for dinner Andy's brother Tony was over (helping work on the project car) and I made a nice salad, and made pork steaks with potatoes and sauer kraut in the crockpot, and then later for dessert we had angel food cake with strawberry sauce (bought 4 lbs of strawberries the other day) and whipped cream. Yummy.

Right now I have Andy's Scones cooking in the oven. I had to alter it a bit, as I didn't have any craisins, so I used fresh strawberries, but otherwise it is basically the same recipe. Someday I will try altering it and use WW flour to make it a little healthier (& maybe get rid of the white choclate chips.) Mmmmm....I'm eating one right now, fresh from the oven with a cup of Costa Rican Coffee that I bought for Andy for his b-day (since we couldn't get there this year due to inability to fly because I am with child, we both decided to acquire some of our favorites from there for each other's birthdays.) I think I like it better with the fresh strawberries.
And not sure what else I will make today. I was thinking of a Red Lentil Soup for lunch and for supper it will be something with chicken (I got chicken out of the freezer.) I'll have to let you know what I decide on.

The other part of my Earth Day Weekend was to do something in the garden. So, yesterday I transplanted strawberries in my starwberry patch (from my neighbor's garden, they are tearing out the veggie garden and putting in a flower garden) and hopefully I'll be able to transplant some rhubarb from their garden as well (have to wait & see what the other neighbor says and she got first dibs on that and I'm not sure how much of it she is taking.) And I worked on the first layer of my Lasagna Garden. Today I want to get the some more stuff for my layers, possibly buy some bushes (lilac) and a tree (we want to plant a tree for the baby, that way someday we can say "we planted that tree for you when you were born". We're thinking of a red maple of some sorts, as we would like the different colored leaves for the fall than waht we already have.

Ahhhh! How Cute! They Are Touching.

Here are the two rascals. They NEVER sleep touching, actually it's rare that you see them sleeping even in the same room. But here they are, in the nursery. They have both taken a liking to the toy box my parents made for the baby & the placement of it in the room. They love sleeping by windows. We had to cover the pillow top with a towel since they decided to claim it and we didn't want it all full of cat hair before the baby is here. The pillow top is cute, it has Seasame Street characters on it and is these fun colors. I don't mind them sleeping there (or the rocking chair in the room, which Lucy claims from time to time as her own) as they always move peacefully when we need them too. They haven't had any interest in the crib, so that I am happy about. I think it's just because it would be too hard to get into and out of.

No Classes to Teach in the Fall

For the past 4 years I have taught classes at the local community college; one of the classes I have taught for the last 3 years.

Well, I noticed last night that someone was teaching MY class in the fall and I was quite upset by it. I called the dean I work under and left her a message asking to clear things up for me (like was this person a FT person & I got bumped or what.)

Well, turns out that the college had to cut out classes for the fall because of low enrollment numbers and with cutting out those classes it means that FT faculty (who pick first) can bump out people, then there are the PT people, and finally the adjunct faculty (which is where I fall). Within each of these groups there are seniority lists and the higher up you are the more choices you have. So, FT people are bumping lower seniority FT, PT & adjunct, PT are bumping lower seniority PT and adjunct, and higher seniority adjunct are bumping lower seniority adjunct.

So, somewhere in this domino effect I ended up getting bumped from my class. If enrollment goes up and they add more classes, things could shift again, or maybe someone won't want to teach it in the spring. Guess we'll see in at the end of September when final spring assignments are made.

I'm kinda bummed because I really liked teaching my night classes, although the time for my night class was moved up and we were uncertain how daycare would play out. I am also bummed because the money I earned from teaching went to pay for any vacations we took. So, now we have to look at everything (including the extra added expenses of having a baby) in our budget and we might not really be traveling too much at all, which makes me sad. Not that we travel a whole ton (we would have liked to have done more than we have), but traveling out of the country, like to Costa Rica, might not be as feasible next year for spring break.

Happy Easter Weekend.

No work on Friday, so I went to the Meditation Center, then the Co-op, and then Target. Then I cleaned the 3-season porch and we put up curtain rods and curtains in there (looks nice.) Then we ordered pizza for delivery (so nice to have a place to finally deliver to our little town) and sat on the porch eating pizza, "good" chocolate from the Co-op (not Hershey's, just can't eat Hershey's much anymore after you start indulging in really good stuff) and Andy having beers & me having Diet Sierra Mist & chatting & listening to music....for 3 hours.....it was so nice (the weather & the company!)

Saturday we did more stuff around the house.....I was doing stuff in the garden (previous post)....Andy worked on spring tune-up to the lawnmower & began thatching and bagging.....then we went to pick up some fresh Mexican food from La Tapatia and ate that with the guacamole I made and some fresh salsa...and sat on the porch again.....I made fresh starwberry daquiri's (mine was NA) with fresh strawberries (yummy!).....

Yesterday was Easter lunch @ Andy's parents.....

That's about it.

Gardening Things I Learned Today

I was out today getting rid of the dead leaves and stems from a variety of flowers I have planted in our flower beds, strawberry patch, herb garden. Actually, I think the only place I didn't touch was the vegetable garden.

But I learned a few things today.

Oregano is a perennial herb. I didn't know that. So, in my herb garden right now I have chives & oregano. I bought some sage & rosemary seeds (other herbs that are perennials & I think I will pick up some thyme seeds as well, and make my herb garden a little more self-sustaining. Now, if I could only get my vegetable garden to be self-seeding (although last year the beans that grew came from plants that re-seeded them selves, and I had a couple tomato plants that did the same thing.) I think the only herb I will plant in my herb garden that I really would like to have fresh in the garden is cilantro.

Strawberries & Rhubarb should be transplanted in April or September. The neighbor behind us saw me outside cleaning up my strawberry patch (just as I was thinking I wanted to get a few more plants as some plants didn't come back this year - planted them last year, I think they were squuezed out my my pumpkins & squash vines taking over the strawberry patch.) Anyways, she came out & told me that they are not doing a vegetable garden and are pulling out the strawberries & rhubarb and I was welcome to what I wanted. Yeah! I don't have to go buy strawberry plants anymore. I am happy about the rhubarb as well, because the stuff I planted in my garden is green rhubarb and they have red rhubarb and it will be nice to have both varieties, especially if she is getting rid of hers and I wouldn't be able to grab some of theirs. Although, I don't think she realizes that rhubarb is pretty hard to completly get rid of, the roots go pretty deep. I had to look up the transplanting times online.

Hummingbirds arrive in Minnesota in May. The same neighbors put out all their bird feeders and filled them, including the hummingbird feeders. I had out hummingbird feeders last year and got several hummingbirds, which was nice. But I have never seen hummingbirds this early, but I didn't know if that was because they aren't here yet or I just never got my feeders out until later. Well, after a search on the internet I found out that they don't arrive in Minnesota until May. A good rule of thumb of when to put your hummingbird feeders out is the same time you would plant your vegetable garden in MN.

Rabbits like tulips. Bah! They never bother the ones by the house near the carport, but the ones i have planted in that area I landscaped area are being eaten. In my vegetable garden I just put up a chicken wire fench to keep out the rabbits (& dog) and planted marigolds around the perimeter, but it's too early right now for marigolds. So, I looked up some other stuff I could do. I don't want to kill them or trap & release. I wanted a humane way to deter them that I can do in April. I could plant garlic or onion bulbs near them. Apparently they hate the smell of them. Or I can spread human hair around, which I don't have access to enough, or use hote pepper spray on the leaves (which I do have - but I read this awful post about someone who watched a squirrel who touched the leaves then their face and was basically tortured by the hot pepper in the eyes, so I don't think I want to do that) or spread bloodmeal around the plant (don't have that) or make a spray out of garlic & oil & spray the leaves (again, the hate the smell and will go away.) I think I will try the garlic thing.

Andy is thatching right now and then we are going to toss that on the garden to mulch & probably try to get the compost out of my compost bin and throw that on the garden too, & spread out the grass clippings from last fall that we threw on the garden. I want to try that Lasagna Gardening I wrote about in a post this winter, but we need to start getting the layers going. We'll start with the clippings & compost, and we're going to add ash from the firepit (good way to empty some of that) and I'll also go buy a couple straw bales from the feedmill & we'll get some peat moss & maybe some manure to out on the garden next week. We'll the layers a good soaking so that they start to decompose together and then by time it's time to plant we'll have our lasagna garden ready. I'll let you know how it turns out....this type of gardening is supposed to be very easy to maintain and doesn't require weeding, digging (you just pull back the layers and insert plants and seeds) or any fertilizers....next year I just throw some more layers on (but I probably won't have to go buy anything since the base will already by started).

The 30th Birthday Surprise Geekfest

This was really the highlight of last weekend, as I had been planning it for so long. Here is a pictuer of the guest of honor. He was pretty surprised. I betcha he didn't realize his wife was so sneaky. I think he had a great time. I think all the guys had a good time. It was Andy & 10 other guys that played their war-type games and shot each other in the head.

Andy is wearing a t-shirt that I had made with his screen name and image that a co-worker drew of his screen name.










Here is a picture of one of the guys. I'm not posting pictures of all of them. This is one of the rooms they were playing in. They split into 2 teams and are in separate rooms. Here is Brandon in the "fancy" room. We set up 2 banquet tables in this room. I think they end up with having moer room to spread out with this set up.













Here are Jared & Alex in the "fancy room". As you can see, one of the benefits to playing in this room is that they can grab one of the wingback chairs to sit in. Talk about getting comfortable. Don't the guys look like they are pretty into their games.









And here is Dave & Jason. They are in the other room, the dinig room. We have a rather large dining room table (to fit in our rather large house) and then we throw a card table on the end. Dave doesn't look like he wanted his picture taken.

Those not pictured include Chris, Raoul, Wade, Kyle, & John.

I was very happy with how cooperative the guys were with getting there on time to set up. I am even more pleased with how everything turned out. And I am sure they were all happy to come & drink beer, play video games, and eat all the food I provided. I'm really not sure if there will be any more geekfests to be had at our house. I think this may have been the 5th one (could have been the 4th), but they have all been at our house. But with the baby coming, I am just not sure if we will want to do it anymore. Maybe someone else will have to step up and do one, or maybe the guys won't be able to get together and shoot each other in the head. I guess time will tell.

Feline Herpes

So, Larry has had feline herpes ever since he was a kitten. Feline herpes is not passed to humans at all and it is something that they will have for the rest of their lives. Like in most cats with FH they have this black stuff that coats their eyelids and pools this crusty black stuff in the corner of their eyes.

We had these eye drops for him before that had steriods in them that we got from one vet, but then we swtiched vets and the information never got over there. So, when he got it again we just used the old stuff we had left over as they wanted us to bring him back in (which is a very painful ride, he hates riding in cars) because they didn't have any documentation of the diagnosis and I really didn't to pay for a vet visit for them to tell me what I already knew and they could have found out fromthe other vet (across the street) if the information would ever get there. When I had to take him in for his annual shots he was fine and there was nothing to show and they told me I could just rinse his eyes out with saline solution and that would help clear it up because the tear ducts were not working properly to flush them out because they were crudded up with that stuff.

So, anyways, I did some research online about the saline thing and also found out that many vet optamologists recommend the saline flush and l-lysine (amino acid supplement that you can buy in the human section of vitamins and crush up) put into their food.

So, for the past couple days Larry has been getting a 500mg crushed tablet of L-lysine split into 2 servings of tuna. He has certainly been enjoying getting tuna twice a day and I notice that his eye seems to be clearing up. We are also doing the saline flushes. So, hopefully this will continue to work and help the big guy. If not, I guess I'll just have to bring him in and get the diagnosis & get the drops, or get that other vet to get that info to the other one.

April Redbox Codes

Free night's rental!!!

4/9-4/13 : DICK
4/16-4/20: IRISH
4/23-4/27: POINT

Have fun movie-watching!

The Weekend

Oh! What a fun weekend! Seriously.

My mom, sisters, & BIL Jason came in on Friday night and we had dinner, talked & went to bed. Saturday was going to be a big day.

Saturday came & I made us a nice big breakfast and then the wait came......waiting for the game to begin. I had been planning this Surprise 30th B-day Party for Andy for 6 months. Well, I started planning it 6 months ago. It was a surprise Geekfest, which you probably have read about on previous blogs. I got 10 of Andy's friends to come over while his brother Chris helped me get him out of the house by lying to him. As soon as he was gone, we starting setting up. He had no clue. It was great. He was very happy, very surprised, & very appreciative. They played until about midnight. I bought & made all the food & beverages. A good time was had by all.

That day was also my baby shower, which you can read about on the baby blog. (Once I write about it, that is.)

Sunday I made another big breakfast, I showed Andy all the gifts, he played with the toys. Did some clean in & out of the house and then that evening drove to HOM for the service & a soup supper they were doing. It was a pretty good time. They have such a community feeling and we really like going there. We really appreciate that they remember us from 5 years ago. It just feels good to go there. We actually listen to the sermons, which I don't even remember a sermon ever, except the one from our wedding (but that was a different minister & wasn't Catholic.) And then we came home and watched the Tivo'ed Sopranos.

Lack of Comments

People are reading this blog and the baby blog. They are just not commenting......I wonder what people think.....I like comments......Where have they gone?

Spring Break Re-Cap

Well, for me it was spring break last week. Although, it wasn’t really the spring break I would have wanted. I was 1 (ONE!) week too far along in my pregnancy to be able to fly. So, that meant I was staying home. Bah!

 

I did get together with some people. Had lunch & took the dogs for a walk with Carrie. Went out to breakfast w/ Rebecca & her kids. Went out to lunch w/ Kate. Yup, I think that was it for me being social. In a previous post I told you about getting those moles frozen & they are starting to heal nicely. We had a couple people come out to look at giving us quotes on putting in ductless (mini-splits) A/C and also a quote on remodeling the master bath (we want to make it a tub & shower & possibly put laundry in the closet right next to it.) So, those people came over, but we are still waiting to receive the quotes. We decided on our daycare provider and signed that paperwork and then Andy called the others we had interviewed and told them we made our decision. I basically did a lot of cooking, cleaning, laundry, tv watching, & internet surfing over the course of the week.

 

Sunday I went to the Meditation Center and then to the Co-op, came home, sat around, took a nap, then we went to HOM for their service. They invited us to come for a New Comers Soup Supper next week, which was very nice and appreciated. The minister that gave us the invite told us it was nice to have us back again and wanted to invites us to is and that they are so impressed that we are willing to drive to far to come to the service. So, we plan on going to that next Sunday. After the service this week, Andy & I went out to eat at Da Afghan (I blogged about that about a year ago.) Great food. I highly recommend going to that place. It’s in Bloomington.

 

So, nothing really exciting to report on. This Friday, my mom, 2 sisters, & 1 BIL come to visit. It’s my baby shower on Saturday. We’re doing a dessert buffet thing. Mmmmmm! Dessert! So, between them visiting, the shower, & going to the HOM service & soup supper we’ll be pretty booked this coming weekend. And then the following weekend is Easter & we will go to my in-laws on Easter Sunday. I just realized today that I have off of work next Friday for Easter Break. That’s excellent. That really put a smile on my face.

My Husband is the Sweetest

See that bottle to the right. It is just not any bottle of hot sauce. It is just the most fantastic hot sauce, well, at least in my opinion.

So, where can you buy it? Not here in the US. You need to go to Costa Rica. We have brought some of this back with us both times we went. And I always run out before we can get back there. Honestly, it's worth the trip to Costa Rica for us to just go there to eat the food (& buy some to bring home) and drink their coffee (which we have run out of too, but that is easier to get here in the US.)

Anyways - about a month ago I ran out of this delectable hot sauce.

My wonderul husband had been looking online for places to buy since before xmas, but it was always being shipping from Costa Rica and the shipping was awful. For the price of shipping a few bottle you may as well have bought a plane ticket and bought it yourself. And we would have went to Costa Rica this year for vacation if it were not that our spring break for the school district happened ONE WEEK TOO LATE for me to fly with my being pregnant. Damn it!

So, what does this smart man do? He put an ad on Craigslist asking for someone's help -- if they are going to Costa Rica, would they mind picking up some for us.

So, yesterday he sends me an email (after I asked about dinner) asking me to make some Pinto de Gallo (I more or less make this recipe, but on a smaller scale, and top it with my Chilero) because he was craving it. Well, I had been too and had just bought cilantro so that I could make it, but it would have been the first tie I have eaten it without my hot sauce and I am not sure I would like it as well (I emailed him that.) He was just eating it up, because some chilero was dropped off by people to him at work that day. So, he said I could not have had a more perfect response. He was so excited about his surprise.

Then he gets home and I tell him a package came in the mail for him. He tells me it's the rest of my b-day present and I should open it. And what's inside but two bottles (1 large, 1 small) of Chilero and 2 bottles of Banquete Salsa de Tomato Ketchup (Andy loves this stuff, it's ketchup, but with just the right amount of kick, it's actually made by Heinz, but they only make & sell it in Costa Rica.) Anyways, I was just giddy and said, "Oh, so this is why you wanted the pinto de gallo, WAIT! I didn't tell you before you got home that you got a package, how did you know?" Then he walk into the kitchen and come back wth a bag with 4 small bottles of Chilero (one guy bought 3 and another bought him 1) and said they were dropped off today and my response over email was perfect.

So, now I have 1 L bottle and 5 S bottles of Chilero. I am having pinto de gallo all the time. I also love it on eggs. I might even try it on other things. I always had to ration it before so that I didn't run out before we got back to Costa Rica, so I only at it on my scrambled eggs and my pinto de gallo (or any other Costa Rican dish I made.) I might even allow other to try it. And Andy has his salsa ketchup now (I like it too, but it was a favorite of his.)

I did happen to notice that the expiration date on these items was the month I get spring break next year. Maybe we'll have to take the baby to Costa Rica. Momma needs her Chilero!

Freebies

I could be cleaning or reading, but I decided to surf for freebies instead (at least it keeps me away from ebay.)

Here's the list:

Baby Stuff
Organic Baby Food
Beechnut Bowl
Gerber Promise Pin
Oxiclean Baby
Ensure Healthy Mom Drink
Earth's Best Organic Baby Rice Cereal
Diaper Bag Tag
Developmental Guide
Mustela Gift
DVD: 'BabyTalk Presents You and Your Baby'
Growth Chart



Fitness/Health/Diet
Magazine Subscription to Smart Moves
Nike Dance DVD

Beauty/Health
Advil Allergy Sinus
Sore No More! Natural Pain Relieving Gel
Vitabath Gelee
Dove Energy Glow
Vital Radiance
Poise Pads (need this stuff after I have the baby)
Rimmel Lipstick
Vitabath Shimmering Body Lotion
Dove Advanced Color Care (for lightened hair)
GUM Proxabrush
Maybelline Makeup
Degree Deodorant


Food/Beverage
Lipton/Tazo/Bigelow Tea
Costa Rican Coffee (Glad to see this one. We like our Costa Rican coffee, I just can't find it aywhere.)
Nescafe (14-single serve samples)
Teaology Tea
Dentyne Gum
Krispy Kreme Donut (New flavor - Creamy Caramel)

Home/Garden
Vegetable Seed Packet
Reynold's Slow Cooker Liners
Wildflower Seed Guide
Charmin Extender



There are plenty more things out there, I just posted the things I signed up for and seemed interesting to me. These were all valid as of 3/29/06. I don't guarantee how long they will be good for.

New Microbrewery in the Twin Cities

Just thought I would check out the website to the newest microbrewery in the Twin Cities, Surly Brewing Company. It's in Brooklyn Center. I read about in the RAKE. The hubby & I will have to go check it out after the baby is born and they are ready to give tours. Or maybe he'll go check it out with his brothers.

CLR is Amazing!

I just have to give some praise to CLR. See, we have this old house and even with all the plumbing problems we've had that made it so we had to replace much of the pipes over the years, there are still these really old pipes in places. One of these places goes into our main bathroom on the the second floor. The problem with these old pipes is they are rusted inside and when water runs through them the rust residue settles on our white bathroom sink and white bathtub. How annoying! Until now, I could (at best!) fade the rust residue be using a bleach cleaner on the white stuff, but getting it off the drain in the sink has just note happened. But I used this CLR today on it and it is COMPLETLY off the white in the sink and mostly off the silver drain (still goning to scrub a little more on that.) But I just had to tell you that this stuff is great. Now to go tackle the tub.

The Weekend.

Friday - Folded LOTS of laundry. Andy doesn't believe in folding his own laundry -- just lives out of baskets. So I think I folded about 9 baskets of laundry, 2 of which were mine that I just washed that day. Sad. Did A LOT of cleaning upstairs. Picked up some groceries.

Saturday - Andy worked on the Omni w/ Chris. I baked an apple pie & rhubarb (had rhubarb frozen) coffeecake muffins, cleaned & did laundry (again, although now I am just washing stuff for spring cleaning).

Sunday - Went to th Meditation Center, ran to Menards, Hy-Vee, & Big Lots. Went to a surprise b-day party for David (Happy 34th!). Came home, then left and made multiple trips trying to find a grill to buy; bought a grill (see post below.) Now, waiting for the Sopranos & Big Love (although I think I will just Tivo Big Love, as the other 2 nights I watched it it gave me wild dreams and kept me from getting really good sleep - maybe I'll just watch it tomorrow morning.)

This Coming Week - Not doing a damn thing. It's spring break and the doctor said I am 1 week too far along to fly (Oh, but he tells me he's going to Disney World with his kids - thanks for telling me that fucker! My family doc told me he was gone on vacation this week too, but he's going skiing in Colorado with his family -- that I don't care much about. It was the sun I wanted.) So, what am I going to do on spring break. Probably just clean, cook, watch movies, & read, maybe try to get together for lunch with a couple people, but not much else. I picked up 3 books & 3 movies from the library.

Grill-Envy

Not sure if it's like penis-envy or not. But anyways - we needed a new grill. The one we have did the job just fine for 6 1/2 years, but now it was getting to the point that we going to need to invest some money in it to fix it up, which we would not have minded doing, but we just couldn't find the size of grill racks we needed to replace. You can see that our top grill rack had worn through (the stones are on top because Andy as cleaning below, he also thought we would probably need a new burner before the year ends anways.) So, above is the old grill. One of the big things we were looking for in a new grill was that the racks were thick & sturdy, which these are. This new grill is made by Brinkman. The picture to the right is of the new grill from their website; it currently sits in the box in the garage. But my! Isn't it a nice looking grill.....it is a HUGE MONSTROSITY! We might have to do a little rearranging on the back deck to fit this baby there. It has 6 burners (WOW!), 60,000 BTU, 800+ Sq. In. of cooking space, a side burner (which has a cover so it can be a side table to match the other side), The bottom is all enclosed & everything (hence the doors.) It's pretty impressive. The box says it weighs 211 pounds. That's crazy. Guess we'll be doing a lot of grilling! Glad I bought all that hamburger & steaks. Who's ready for a picnic?

Can You Grapple This?

If there is some new fruit at the supermarket, I am all about trying it. Last night I picked up a 4-pack of Grapple (long a). Actually what it is, is a Fuji Apple somehow infused with artificial grape flavor & water. Not too bad, a little expensive. Was worth it to try it, but I'll probably just stick to real grapes and plain Fuji apples.

Holy Moley!

I had an appt. today with my Family Doc to have him check out these moles that developed last summer. One is particularly bothersome because it is raised quite a bit and gets knicked when I shave. So, he checked them out and said they looked benign & gave me some long fancy name for the type of moles they are and an explanation that they probably developed because of some trauma to that area (bug bite, puncture of some kind, etc.) So, he froze them (which feels like little bee stings) and said the area should dry up and flake off within 3-4 weeks, with no scars or anything. If they don't go away from that, then I can come back in and they will do outpatient surgery and carve them out (but I'd have a scar from that) and they would send them to pathology. But he said if they are what he thinks they are (whatever that long name was) then this should work just fine.

Remembering a Funny Story

Today, on my way up to the Cities for a conference I drove by this semi that was pulled over to help someone change a flat tire and it made me remember a funny little story that happened to me (about 10 years ago now - man, am I getting old).

I was 19 years old and was making the 5 hour drive across WI with my 18 year old friend Jeni to go back to my hometown for a visit. We left very early in the morning or late at night (whatever you want to call it) and started our journey. It had to be about 6:30 in the morning when all of a sudden I heard a loud sound and the car started driving funny; Jeni was sleeping. I pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned on my hazards. Jeni woke up and asked what was going on & I told her I think we had a flat. Upon inspection, we discovered that we indeed had a flat. Shit! We're about 10 miles from the next town and about an hour left to my parents house. Dammit! Neither one of us ever changed a tire before, but we knew we could do it. So, here we are, 2 teenagers sitting along the side of the road looking like blond idiots trying to figure out what we were going to do next. (I had AAA, but what good was that going to do me w/o a cell phone. Now things are different.) Then, all of a sudden this semi pulls off the side of the road behind us. Nothing is scarier than seeing a semi coming straight for you. They had 2 adult guys & seemed to be one guy our age in that semi and they got out and asked if they could help. Wow! This had the makings of a horror movie already. We said we were fine & were just going to put on the small donut spare and be on our way. They insisted that they do it for us. We were nervous, but let them. Hell! We sure didn't know what we were doing. They go to pick up the cover over the spare, and what do you know -- several bottles of booze & cans of beer are stashed there. I wonder how those got there. Hmmmm....considering we were going back and my friend Mike & I were throwing a party at his parents house while they were gone, well, it couldn't have been mine. Shit. Yes it was. Of course, we felt this urge to explain, but didn't. We just offered them a beer @ 6:30am. The young guy took a beer and watched while the older two replaced the tire and also he sat & flirted with Jeni. She found him kinda cute. The older guys finished & I offered them the only money I had in my wallet (which for some reason I remember my dad telling me to keep some emergency money, in case of an emergency, like paying someone to change my tire.) They didn't take it. We drove to the nearest town, all the time wondering what would have happened if Jeni would have exchanged numbers with that guy. We fantasized about going on Oprah and telling the story how she met her husband @ 6:30am when these guys stopped to change our tire and we offered them a beer. Crazy girls.

We did have our party and we were even more crazy then. Most of the people there didn't leave the area by too far or went to schools in small cities, I was the only one who actually went to a big city, so they were pretty shocked when Jeni & I were dancing provacitively with one another. We loved doing that, because it pushed people's boundaries & shocked them (which was fun to do.) I was mad at this one guy I was friends with because he was dating my middle sister (he was a freshmen in college, she a freshmen in high school) and Jeni was going to do all she could to help me out with that. It first started with me yelling at him through Jeni -- see, I wasn't talking to him & didn't want to look at him. And when you're drunk you get bright ideas like having one person make the motions & wave their hands like idiots while the other person stands behind them and does the yelling. I couldn't possibly look at him & yell at him, so she had to do one. The logic of a drunk college girl isn't always the greatest. She took it one step further (all on her own accord) and decided to make out with him and leave some hickeys on his neck (he couldn't possibly go out with my sister with hickeys from another girl.) It was pretty funny & she thought she was funny for doing it.

It was a weekend full of stories. The next time she came back to my hometown with me didn't start off too different. That one started with being pulled over for speeding (which I never got warnings for, always tickets), but I'll save that story for another day.

I just felt like sharing the story as I remembered it today. I had a chuckle from remembering it.

Uneventful Weekend

It was a pretty uneventful weekend. Friday we just ran to Taco Bell & picked up some stuff, then attempted to get a DVD from Redbox, but it was broken. So, we watched a movie we had at home we hadn't see, The Pledge.

Yesterday was our 2nd of 2 baby classes (which you can read about on the baby blog.) We were home in the evening & watched Spanglish on cable and Andy had commented on that the egg sandwich he made looked good (you know, the one where the yolk spills out & he had a beer there to drink), and I had to agree and had to make some. Also tried a different variation on making the homemade yogurt, which turned out better this time and made some Cabbage & Rice soup, which was pretty good.

Today, I went to the Meditation Center and then some grocery shopping at the co-op. I finally decided to joing the co-op so that I could take advantage of the member-only specials. Oh, and I slept like crap (which you can also read about on the baby blog) and have been sleepy all day. Now, I just need to go make this portabella mushroom & gruyere cheese tortellini I bought and long with some toasted french bread & watch some Sopranos.

Another Light Fixture Replaced

So, we replaced another light fixture in the house. The new one gives us so much more light. We really like it. It is the the stairwell going from the main level to the 2nd floor (kinda on that landing before you decide which whay you want to go up tot he 2nd floor areas) and gives us some much needed light there. I am holding the old fixture (as Andy took it down before I got a picture of it.) and the new fixture is lit up nicely.

Another Snow Day

How nice. Another snow day.

I got up and looked out the window and was disappointed there wasn't much snow. Checked the school district website and sure enough - school was delayed 2 hours. Go figure.

I was a little confused, so I turned on the TV and watched the weather and they said that areas south of the metro got 1-2 inches and then even 5 miles away they got 5-6 inches because there were these pockets in the storm system. So, a pocket must have been over our house because the school district we live in also closed, although many of the kids in our school district live in the country, which makes bussing hard and school closes more easily here.

Anyways - I've been waiting for the district I work in to close and just a few minutes ago it was announced closed. Now to work on some more projects around the house. There are some more ugly light fixtures we want to replace (bought some new fixtures @ Lowe's the other day.) So, we'll see.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yes, today is my birthday. I have to work, which is always a bummer to work on your birthday. But I get to go to the doctor and listen to my baby girl's heartbeat this afternoon, so that's cool.

Andy gave me my birthday presents. I got the Fit Mama Post-Natal Workout (I asked for this; I have the pre-natal one and like it, although I haven't used it very often to be honest.) If you notice, the DVD is separated into 2 sections of 6; the first section is for you to do by yourself and the second section is for you to do with the baby. I did a bunch of research online abuot the videos marketed out there towards moms and all the feedback was that you either needed short segments to try to get a 10-15 minute workout in, or get a video that allows you to workout with the baby. This has both.

And he bought me the Logitech - mm22 Portable Speakers. It's marketed towards the iPod, but it has 3 different sized holders to put the mp3 player in, so my Rio Carbon fits great. He thought I might like to use it to bring to the hospital so I can listen to my own music there. It can be plugged in or run off batteries, and comes in a nice carrying case, so we can take it with us when we travel. I really like it.

And finally, he got me a "Hot Mama" maternity t-shirt. I was trying to stay away from that stuff, but you know Andy, he's a funny guy. He saw someone at our baby class last weekend wearing one and thought I should have a maternity shirt with something silly on it. He wanted to find one with something really clever on it, like these here, but this is what he found. I can't find a picture of the actual shirt online. Basically it's a dark,bright pink shirt with white writing that says "Hot Mama". I will have to wear it and get a picture taken for the baby blog. Later though.

And tonight, the plan is to go to dinner @ Timberlodge. I signed up part of Timberldoge's b-day club, so I got a $10 coupon emailed to me. We have done this for both of our birthdays for the last few years. Last weekend I got a free blizzard (BOGO) compliments of Dairy Queen for my birthday for signing up for their Blizzard Fan Club. Coupon comes in your email. We both got a pecan cluster blizzard -yummy! I also got a coupon emailed to me from Buca di Beppo for joining their Buca eClub. Their coupon is for a free dessert. Not sure if we'll get to use that one. And finally (actually, there could always be more coming in my email today, who knows, I don't know what I all signed up for.) I got a coupon from Cold Stone Creamery for joining their b-day club. You get a free cone, but it expires 5 days from your birthday and I am not sure that we'll get to one. But we'll see.

Are You Ugli?

Well, I am. I'm into the Ugli Fruit. It's supposed to be a hybrid tangelo from Jamaica. And it sure is ugly(i), but it tastes great. I think it's like a cross between a grapefruit & a tangelo & orange. I eat it just like I eat a grapefruit. I had bought one when I went grocery shopping this weekend and Andy & I each ate half. They were so good I went back today after work and bought some more and just finished eating one. I highly suggest trying this fruit. So tasty.

Straight River Days?

Straight River Days is our town festival, which lasts a weekend. It is usually the last weekend of June, and events are started to be posted that lead me to believe it will once again be the last weeked in June.

The Women's Club Parade (they sponsor it) is on Friday, June 23rd @ 7pm. There will be a dance in the park following the parade. The White Sidewalls will be playing. If I remember, they are pretty good. There is also food served, a beer tent (well, beer pavilion), some small rides, traditional carnival trinkets for sale.

The other thing annouced is that there will be a street dance at the Muni on Satuday, June 24th. The band is Janie in Wonderland. We went to that street dance w/ same performers last year and had a great time (lots of music from 80's, 90's, & today).

The other things that happen that weekend is: City-wide rummage sales all weekend (the last few years I usually hit around 50-60 sales, it's crazy!), baseball tournament, volleyball tournament, kiddie tractor pulls, Mud Races (these are fun to watch!), & various other events.

Woohoo! Snow Day!

Excellent! School is closed - no work for me! I got up and it was 2 hours late and so I just surfed the internet, as I couldn't get back to sleep. But now I see we are closed. Yea!

My Weekend.

Friday we went out to eat at the Peppermill. I also made some Refrigerator Bran Muffins.

Saturday consisted of 6 hours of baby classes, made some homemade yogurt in the yogurt maker I just got, made some LF Chewy Oatmeal & Fruit Muffins, & went to a Ladies' Night @ my friend Jessi's house.

Sunday was a lot of sitting around surfing ebay. I ran to the Wal-Mart Super Center & picked up groceries, a new ironing board (somehow the frame on the old one I have had for about 9 year collasped), & new shower curtain stuff (I read a tip somwhere, I think in a baby magazine, to try to fit in a shower while still keeping an eye on an awake baby, to put up a second shower curtain that is a clear plastic & rod behind your decorative cloth one so that you can see out it at the baby you have sitting in an exercauser or bouncy seat -- I thought it sounded like a good idea, and for $12 it's a pretty easy thing to do), neighbor Cindy came over to visit for a while, and now I'm waiting for the season 6 premiere of The Sopranos to air, at which time I will cook some cheese ravioli, french bread, & salad for supper. Andy & I like to dine on Italian food while we watch it. It's out thing. Right now Andy is installing the rear speakers (which involve mounting & running wire) for the surround system (which we've had for over a year now - until now we just used the other speakers.)

Out with the Old, In with the New

Friday we went and bought new ceiling fan, since the light fixtue on the old one (shown here with Andy starting to take it down) went kaput. It was ugly -- something from the early 80's. So, it had to go. But it just never made it to the top of our priority list until now.

We wanted a new fan & light fixture installed before the baby came, and we're starting to get down to the wire now.






Here's the new fan. It wasn't too bad of an install. It helps if you read the directions first rather than just look at the pictures. We might have gotten it done a little quicker. But we certainly didn't have the trouble putting this up like we did with the one in the hallway.

Anyways - isn't this one so much prettier?

I like the shape of the blades and the brushed nickel. We were pretty particular about the light fixture. I didn't want anything that bugs could easily crawl into & die. How gross is that to look up and see dead bugs in the light fixture? So, the lights had to either be completly enclosed ot hang down (not up to collect dead bugs - gross!). And with those stupid Asian beetles that come out in the fall (although this year their presence was not has prevalent as in years past), I was not going to provide them with any final resting place.

A-OK from the Dentist

I went in for my 6-month cleaning yesterday afternoon and all is good in my mouth. What just cracks me up, is we've been going to this dentist for about 4.5 years now and he says my tiny old fillings I got when way back when - we're talking elementary & junior high here are still holding up just fine and we don't need to replace them. But the dentist we went to 5 years ago, before we moved & before this guy, what to take them all out and replace them. She said they needed to come out and were not going to last. Bah!

I think someone needed to make a fancy house & car payment. I'm glad we swicthed when we moevd. She was kinda rough on our mouths too. She also kep trying to convince me to get my teeth lasered to whiten them, my teeth don't look very discolored - not more than any other normal person. Boy, she must have needed a lot of money.

Yummy Weekend

I thought the weekend was filled with lots of good food; I did a lot of cooking, with the exception of Friday night. Friday night we went to McD's and got Filet'o'Fish sandwiches (I was feeling in the mood for fish, which has not happened at all in 7 months) and sundaes. We also ran to Lowe's and picked out a ceiling fan for our bedroom since the current one went kaput a while back and I want a new light & fan put up before the baby is born. So, now it's bought and hopefully we'll get that put up before April.

Saturday I spent the day cleaning, doing laundry, doing dishes, and cooking in preparation for the Fondue (cheese) party we had. It was a good party. Lots of good food. Had 3 other couples over for that and had some fun.

Today I went to the Meditation Center and did a 30-minute sit and then they had Rita Gross there for a Dharma talk in place of the second sitting. That was interesting, gave me stuff to think about. Then went to the co-op for some groceries. Came home and made up some lasagna & apple cake (a recipe I had made when we had the B&B that was liked) for dinner. I usually make 2 small pans, eat one & freeze one. Andy's brother Chris is here to help him work on the project car, so I made one pan with no veggies. Chris isn't exactly fond of the healthy food I keep in the house or how I stick veggies in everything, so in order to not scare him off one final time I decided to make food he would approve of (& picked up some Mt. Dew for him too.)

Next weekend we start our baby classes for 2 full Saturdays. I know Andy would rather not have to spend all day Saturday (getting there at 8:30) doing anything but sleeping in, which his days are numbered for that. Saturday night I'm going to go to Jessi's for a ladies' night and Sunday we are going to service @ HOM and to their Love Feast afterward.

500th Post

Woohoo! This is officially my 500th post to this blog. Congrats to me!

Days of Our Lives

After reading about Tim tracking stuff through Tracksys, I decided to do it as well. It's interesting to see how people come across your site and what they seach for theat brings them to it.

Someone was looking up what will happen between Shawn & Mimi, and I thought I do have thoughts on it.

What I think will happen is that Mimi will find out she is pregnant with Shawn's baby. She thought she couldn't have children, but it turns out Lexie was wrong. I can't decide if it would make a better story for her to find out before or after Shawn finds out Claire is his. I could see her keeping it a secret so that she can have her won family with Shawn, but then I can see DOOL re-creating the Claire/Zack storyline and making some complications for Shawn & Mimi's baby where it would need a blood transfusion, and for some reason Shawn won't be able to donate and Mimi will say that Claire is a match. Bonnie will try to say it's because Shawn matched Claire before, but Mimi will finally screw up and spill the beans. Then Shawn will be left to choose which woman/mother he wants to be with: The one he has always loved (Belle) or the one he grew closer to and has a sick child with (Mimi). And to make the storyline even more complicated so that it is not an easy choice for Shawn, Belle will really be pregnant with Phillip's baby.

This is just my prediction, by no means do I have any real idea what will really happen. Guess we'll see.

Maurices is Coming to the Outlet

I ran over to the outlet mall to pick up something for this weekend and saw that there is a big Maurices sign outside one of the storefront. It's on the S side, same side as Old Navy, Pac Sun, Big Dogs, & Rue 21. That side is turning into clothes for teens, whereas the other side is more geared towards adults.

Trying the Email Post

I thought I would try this out again and email my post. If I remember from last time I tried this, it took a while (like several hours) for this to be loaded on the blog.

 

I am so sick of it being grey out. I think I detest the grey-ness this year even more than other years. Not sure why.

 

I don’t have really anything interesting to say.

A Daddy Post

Andy finally posted again on the baby blog. He's such a sweet guy. I feel bad about posting anything on there in a while since I would like people to read what he wrote. I don't want it to get lost in all my posts on there.

Blogger Banned!

Bah! Blogger is banned @ work as a "Non-Productive Site". What this means for me is that I can't get in to type a post or leave comments anywhere. I can however still view blogs. Apparently they have identified blogger.com as a site (which is how we type blog entries and type blog comments), but blogspot.com (which is how we view a blog) is not identified.

Another Redbox Code (#2)

This is from an email they sent out:

Go to your favorite redbox and use the code: APE to obtain a free onenight’s rental on any film. Good Sunday through Thursday, February 27 -March 23.

A Weekend in WI

The drive to & from WI wasn't too bad. We had to stop twice on the way there and three times on the way back (although that 3rd time was for Andy.) It only made out 5.5 hour trip about 15-20 minutes longer having to stop more than once.

Friday night we had birthday cake for a delayed 50th birthday for my mom (her birthday was in January) and Saturday was my dad's 50th birthday party. We had this western murder mystery party theme going on for it. Both he & my mom seemed to have enjoyed themselves, so that was nice. Everyone really got into dressing up in costume. There were some really good ones. The funniest part was at the end when we were cleaning up and my sister Steph noticed that my dad was wearing her FBI sweatshirt. Here's how the conversation went (or at least close enough):
S: Dad, why are you wearing my FBI sweatshirt?
D: I thought I was supposed to. It was sitting there with all the rest of the clothes your mother laid out for me.
S: Didn't you see my pajama pants sitting there too?
D: **Teehee! Ha! Ha!** I'm wearing those too. (And proceeds to take down his jeans and show us the pajama pants he is wearing underneath.)

OMG! It was just the funniest thing. I was laughing so hard that my eyes started to water. So funny.

After the party we came back to my parents' house and took naps, then I talked to my sister Stepg for several hours.

Today - got up, got ready to leave, left at noon and began our trek back to MN and I sit here now watching the Simpsons.

Sitting here @ Blue Monday

I decided after the 9am sitting at the Meditation Center that I would come over to Blue Monday, grab a coffee and blog a little. There is something a little different about blogging in a coffee shop than sitting at home on the couch with a laptop. No bad or good necessarily, just different.

I ordered this Guatemala decaf.......it's ok, but I don't think I would order it again. I am not sure how dark of a roast this coffee is, but my preference is towards a light or medium roast & not dark.

So, anyways, the weekend.
* Friday - nothing. We stayed home and that was about it.
* Saturday - picked up the Tahoe, ventilation all fixed now. Went to eat at 43rd street grill, made a huge-amount of chocolate chip cookies (I would like to say the baby wanted them, but mom wanted them too.) And then waited for someone to show up to pick up some stuff we were getting rid of on Freecycle. Goodbye boxes & bags of flowers & swags from B&B days.
* Sunday (today) - well, like I said I went to the Meditation Center, am now at Blue Monday, am going to go pick up some stuff @ Just Food Co-op, and then hopefully someone else will show up from Freecycle to pick up some other stuff (purdge, purgde, purdge), and then up to the Cities for dinner @ Molly's. April & Jason (& Kallen too I imagine) will be with us. April is due about a month before me, so it will be interesting to see what I should look like in a month.

Next weekend we head to WI for my dad's birthday party. Should be fun having to stop every hour of our 5.5 hour trip to have to pee. I wonder how long it will take us to get home. Tomorrow is President's Day - so no work for me. Yeah!

Snow Day!

I got up @ 5:30, hoping to see that school was closed, even though there is maybe an inch out there. Nope - on schedule. Well, I still had some time to sleep before I *really* had to get up to get ready. So, an hour later I get up, warm the shower and check the school website. Schools are closed! Woohoo! Turn off the shower and go back to bed.

Not much as really accumulated out there, but I guess the bulk of it is supposed to happen this afternoon/evening. Wind speeds are supposed to be around 30mph, and temperatures are in the single digits (& supposed to stay there through the weekend).

So, I think I'll try to get some stuff done around the house, make some crepes with berry sauce for breakfast (another great recipe for the crepes -- LC, LF, & WW worthy). Maybe we'll get the crib put together today.

Then I'll have to work tomorrow, but Monday is a school holiday. Yeah! Another day off and that day I won't have to stalk the district website to see if we are in session, I can just keep sleeping.

Valentine's Day

We had a pretty nice Valentine's Day. I got up a little early to work on breakfast, since we were going to sit down and eat breakfast together, but I also ended up going on a little scavenger hunt. When I went into the bathroom there was a card & some chocolates and a little note in the card that said that one card would not do and there were other cards throughout the house. He had 30 of those valentines with personalized messages on them through the house & my car. I have to count them, but I think I am still missing 2. Also, some more chocolate in my purse.

Breakfast was started the night before, it was a slow-cooker apple-cinnamon oatmeal. Fabulous! If anyone wants the recipe it's great! Low-cal, low-fat, high fiber, low WW points, high on flavor and very filling. I made some 'chocolate caramel brownie' coffee and bowls mixed with minneolas and blood oranges, some oj & sparking water (served over ice in our wine goblets). Oh! And we topped the oatmeal with a little whip cream. So Good. It's definitly one for the recipe book. I got out our nice silverware and the china to eat on, the cloth napkins, lit the candles on the tables, and put the roses I picked up on the table. Very nice.

In the evening we rented a movie, Broken Flowers , to watch together as we cuddled on the couch. It was a decent movie, but no conclusive ending. So, if you like conclusive endings, you do not want to watch this movie. And I made a nice dinner of toasted whole wheat french bread, salad (w/ romaine, spinach, carrots, cucumber, tomato, & green onion), spaghetti w/ homemade sauce (tomatoes, spinach, mushcrooms, onions, in a sauce & my own seasonings) & meatballs, and some sparkling water. Again, candles, flowers, china, nice silverware, wine goblets. A nice dinner -- which will make nice lunch leftovers today.

And then Andy gave me some candy hearts -- my favorite. I prefer them over chocolate any day, but chocolate is nice too.

Another One Bites the Dust

Weekends that is......

Our weekend was pretty low-key.
* Friday night we stayed home and I made supper and we watched tv.
* Saturday morning I had my half-day meditation retreat (started @ 7:30). It was a pretty good retreat, mde me think. Our yoga instructor had a mental breakdown (seriously, she had to be taken to the ER from the Meditation Center) so instead of doing yoga we listened to her rant and ramble for that time. The rest of the retreat was pretty smooth and I leared a lot more about Buddhist rituals, which was kinda neat. Then we ran some errands and I made dinner at home and fell asleep to the Olympics, only to have Andy send me to bed which ended up waking me up and then surfed for a long-ass time.
* Sunday (today) consisted of grocery shopping, buying & delivering roses (40 of them to Andy's parents for their 40th wedding anniversary, we brought them to the restaurant they were dining at as a surprise, going to HOM, and finally we went out to eat to Boca Chica (beware, the salsa is pretty spicy and I normally like things pretty spicy). The service there was really good and we received our food quite fast. We've been enjoying going back to HOM. It kinda sucks that it's an hour drive each way to go, but we have never found any other place like it and we enjoy going. We signed up to go to their Love Feast (we did this once before - met some strange people that just did not get Andy's sarcastic sense of humor) for their 2nd meal in March. So, it will give us a chance to meet some other people who go there. HOM is very much not your "traditional" religious community, and we like that aspect about it. I don't think either of us ever "enjoyed" going to church, ever, until we were introduced to HOM by Kendra & Tim. So, anyways, it's nice to be going there again.

Valentine's Day Plans -- I'm going to make a spaghetti & meatballs dinner and we'll sit down at the dining room table (we don't actually eat a lot of meals at the table, usually just weekend breakfasts and the occasional dinner, many dinners are spent in front of the tv) and rent a movie and snuggle. We don't need to do anything fancy to show each other that we love each other & want to spend time with each other. Really, the only thing we are doing differently is renting a movie, otherwise we always eat dinner together (just not always at the table). Movie rentals are usually a weekend thing.

Living in a Grey World

Yuck! Won't the sun come out? Winter in MN is so Blah. I feel like I am living in a grey world. The sky is grey, the tree trunks are grey and the branches are empty, the grass is brown, my car looks grey from the road salt residue. Yicky. I just want the sun to come out.

My Weekend.

Started out Friday night with dinner @ A&W. Mmmmmm.......deluxe cheesebuegers, cheese fries and root beer floats. Then popcorn & a movie. We saw Grandma's Boy. It was pretty funny.

Saturday AM we had to drive to one of the community college campuses to drop off the Tahoe. One of the perks of teaching for the community college is that periodically you get services done for free/reduced. At Christmas, all staff can get either a free manicure, pedicure, or makeover. I have done this twice in 4 years teaching for them, both times I got a pedicure. And they also will send out an email letting yourknow they are accepting vehicles for repair. They let you what kinds of things they are teaching that semester and then you submit your request and they let you know if they can get to it and if it fits within their parameters. Last year I wasn't picked, but this year I was. So, they are going to check out the ventilation (not blowing air out the defrost area) and the check engine light is on.

We stopped and had brunch at the Lakeside Creamery & Cafe, nice little place. Then came home and vegged out for the rest of the day.

Sunday I went on a cleaning rampage -- Andy was happy about that, as we are getting rid of excess clutter. Then he went to his brother's for a SB party and I went to Carrie & Kyle for a SB party (it was Carrie's b-day.)

Soap Gripes

So, I tivo (is it really a verb?) Day of Our Lives and Passions daily. Pretty soon the winter olympics will start on NBC and I won't be able to watch it, but for now I have some comments.

DOOL:
Ok - Chelsey is such a BITCH! I want her to get locked away. She's so selfish and a backstabber and just plain ole mean.
We all know eventually everyone will find out that Shawn is Claire's father, so yes Mimi, you are right, you should tell him. Because he will find out you knew and didn't tell him. But you know what I think will happen -- when she tells Shawn, he & Belle will hook up even though she is still married to Phillp, and then we'll find out that Mimi is pregnant (they make too big a deal out of that she can't get pregnant again for her not to wind up pregnant) from that night her & Shawn spent together. And then he'll have to decide between the married woman who he has a kid but has always loved with or his fiance who is pregnant with his child.
I never really liked Carrie. She was always too goody-goody (until she hooked up with Mike), but she's back to being goody-goody and that's just boring.
With all the schemeing that Lucas is doing, he is no better than Sami. I still think they will end up together.
Who the hell is Alex North? I HATED him in the beginning, and then he was beng all ushy-gushy with Marlena and that was annoying (thank god for tivo to quickly get through that). I didn't like that they were turning him into a good guy. I'm glad they made him bad again. He may be more interesting to watch now.

Passions:
I just love that Theresa is in control. This will be so much fun to watch. I hope she makes Gwen pay for everything. I can't stand Gwen. Although I don't want her to end up with Ethan. He's a pansy-ass and she deserves someone with a backbone and some balls.
Sheridan drives me nuts. I just can't watch her. And Chris is even more annoying.
What is with these strong women on Passions who like pansy-ass guys. I mean - come on Pilar. He's never going to love just you. Katherine drives me nuts too. I kinda like Rachael. She's tired of all the shit that went down and is doing something about it.
I wonder what type of excuse Kay will give Fox for turning down his proposal. I like those 2 together and I hope she makes Ivy and Vanessa pay for being meddling bitches. I am glad they stopped showing Chad and Whitney - their song & dance was annoying. We'll find out in a few years, or maybe after she becomes a full-fledged nun that they really aren't related. Noah is turning out to be a pansy-ass just like his father. I thought maybe he would be differnt, but nope.

Wild Grape Jam

I am devoting a whole post to talk about Wild Grape Jam.

My mom gave us kids a variety of homemade jams at Christmas. One of mine was Wild Grape Jam. It's been a long time since I had WGJ and I missed it. I forgot that I missed it. I opened that jar today and it was so delicious. There is just something different about WGJ that you can't get in regular ole grape jelly. You miss that tangy wild flavor.

I made my Natural Ovens Bakery Whole Grain bagel (if you have never tried their bagels, you are missing out, you can find them in the natural foods section or store) and topped it with the WGJ. Don't bother addng butter, it takes away from the natural tanginess of the jam. I wish I had made 2 bagels, as I really want another bagel with WGJ.

I am not sure if Andy likes WGJ, but that doesn't matter. I don't think he experienced WGJ growing up and might like the sweetness of plain 'ole grape jelly. There will be more for me if he doesn't.

So - great job on the Wild Grape Jam mom! Gifts of WGJ are welcome anytime. I've had the peach jam too and that is good. The pear has not been opened. Mmmmmmm.