Monday, January 31, 2011

Dip toes and then jump!

Ok- I'm in it now! That is my quest for the country life! Last week I made a few calls about signing Princess Bear (PB) up for FFA or 4-H. The closest FFA chapter is about an hour and a half from here so that just isn't going to work. There are several 4-H chapters here in town so we're going with that. The February meeting is distributing Valentine cards at a nursing home but no meeting afterwards so that didn't seem like the best time to take PB. Instead we're waiting for the March meeting. That meeting is taking place at our local Hy Vee which is a fairly new store (it opened last summer) and for whatever reason it is one of PB's favorite places to go. The meeting is a tour of the store and then an actual meeting afterwards. She's looking very forward to it. She'll be in a group called Cloverbuds which is for 5-7 year olds. The leader also told me that 8 years old and up always have to present a project at the County fair every summer. We talked about the possibility that PB might have a difficult time at the fair because of the heat and she said that is no problem whatsoever. Instead PB can go to the local extension office here in Peoria and present her project there. I'm just very glad that PB is getting some more socialization. I originally looked for a Brownies troop but for some reason that just never seems to take off at her school.

Then I decided to take the plunge myself and sign up at Farmers Only which is an online sight to find someone else who is also interested in a country lifestyle. I'd never heard of this site before and then heard about it twice in a pretty small time frame. What the heck- it can't make my social life any less busy!

I also signed up for 2 plots at our community garden. Our garden here at home isn't quite as big as I'd like and there isn't room for any other gardening spots around the house. The plots are 4' x 8' and cost $10 for the summer. So I figure a $20 investment isn't a bad idea for uping my growing space by almost 50%. I'm planning on using one of the plots for tomatoes only. I'm going to be a canning fool I tell you! Think of all the tomato juice, salsa, ketchup, chili and pasta sauce I can put by for the winter! I'm so excited! I'm going to do a lot of beans, peas and carrots in the other space with maybe some beets because PB loves munching on beet stalks with ranch dressing. I was pickig out my blueberry bushes last night. I'm planning on getting somewhere between 6-8 semi sized blueberry bushes. That way they can be grown in containers around the backyard even if I manage to get a swimming pool for PB this summer, G-d willing! I'm also thinking about a couple of dwarf apricot and nectarine trees for the patio. We have 2 apple trees so we're going to have lots of great fruit hopefully. I also really really REALLY want a strawberry pyramid. Have you seen these? They're so cool. Its a circular, tiered strawberry garden that has space for 50 strawberry plants in a 6' circle! You can take a look HERE. You can purchase a netting set to go over it to keep pesky birds out of your garden! Man do I want one of these!!! PB would be so happy being able to pick her own strawberries and blueberries. The only other berry she likes is raspberry & I don't have the space or ability to deal with canes right now.

So, that is what is happening here. Now we're just getting ready to hunker down for the foot of snow that we're supposed to get between now and Wednesday- oh yah! NOT!

Friday, January 28, 2011

4 Questions about me

I read this over at Jen on the Edge yesterday and decided I would give this a spin. Then I found out about winning the Box Imagination Co contest and detoured a bit. Now I'm back front and center! Although I promise I cannot pick one answer for each question!


1) If you could have been best friends with someone in history, who would it be and why?
Well for the homesteading, living a meaningful life part of me I would have to go with Scott and Helen Nearing


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(yes, that is 2 people but really only one choice!)

and then for the crafty side of me Martha Stewart.

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I love Martha! She's so the bomb and she's Polish to boot! My mom says that I'm a mix between Martha and Phoebe from Friends....not so sure if that's good or bad!

2) If you could have dinner with a famous person in current times, who would it be and why?
Ok Jen I know this will have you shaking your heading muttering but I would want to have dinner with Glenn Beck because I adore him! He never wants you to take his word for it. He tells you to question things and to read and make your own decisions!


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and I'd also want to have dinner with Jenny McCarthy- didn't see that one coming did you?


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Its because of her stand on autism. Now in some ways I really hate how much time and money is given to autism but she's a mom who really fought for her child and found things that helped him and I find it really inspirational. Then if you wanted to make me a really happy camper you could throw in a dinner with Max Martini Photobucket
Dwayne Johnson Photobucket
or Howie Long Photobucket

just so I could sit there and drool for awhile. Honestly- these are some seriously hot dudes!!!

3) What is your favorite book/books and why?
OK- for a book with substance and meaning I have to go with Golda by Elinor Burkett (a biography of Golda Meir)
For laugh out loud funny I love the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich, for fun mysteries with great recipes the Hannah Swenson books by Joanne Fluke are great, I'm loving the Virgin River series by Robyn Carr and my old stand bys are Debbie Macomber, Fern Michaels and Nora Roberts. I love Fern Michaels Sisterhood series because the premise of extracting your own justice is something I think every woman wishes she could do at one time or another. Lastly, the book He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt is an awesome look into the guy mind.
Go ahead, wonder on over to Amazon and read about them- bet you'll find something in my list that works for you!

4) What is your favorite smell and why?
OK- what time of year is it?
I love lavender, vanilla and clove and various spices if we're going with natural scents.


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Unfortunately when I smell that I really, really, REALLY want one of these!


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Not a good thing!

If we're talking about perfume scents my all time favorite is LouLou

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which isn't even sold in the US anymore (anybody going to Europe soon????) and my backups are Casmir and Hypnotic Poison


So any shockers here? Let me know if I surprised you!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

WooHoo!

Ok- I have to confess something, ok? I LOVE WINNING THINGS!!!!!!!!!!! It puts me in a really good mood!!! I did lots of contest links on my other blog but that has gone by the wayside. I hope to pick it up again. I was feeling a bit down one day so I entered some blog giveaways just for fun. Well, Glitterful Felt Stories had an Imagination Box Castle Tower giveaway & I just found out I won!!!!!!!! WOOHOO! WOOHOO! WOOHOO! Even better is how excited Princess Bear (PB) is going to be when she receives this!!! I'm excited for her! She's really, really, really into the whole princess thing right now so this comes at a perfect time!

Man, don't you love it when life hands you a pick up? Things have just been kind of blah. Winter ick outside, my ankle injury and just generally blah. I'm so stoked!!!!

Now I'm going to go curl up on the couch and read for a bit & maybe even grab a quick nap before I go grab PB from school. I helped my sister @ the peditricians this morning & had to ditch the crutches. I have decided that we're renaming Luke to Brian though! He is literally off the growth charts for weight & head circumference and 80% for height (weird since my bil is 6'9") and he reminds me of a mini Brian Urlacher (I look at the man & always feel bad for his mom when I see how big his head is! Click HERE to see what I mean!)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Another trip to Chicago done and over

Wow- I've got to say that I've made more Dr's trips to Chicago with Princess Bear (PB) than I can count at this point. What still amazes me is how absolutely exhausting this trips are. My mom & dad went with us since I'm still not clear to drive long distances let alone stop & go traffic in Chicago. The day started waking up at 5am. Now I'm not under ANY circumstances a morning person. Hell- if I'm up at 5am its because I haven't gone to bed yet! So up at 5 and in the car & on the road by 6:05am. My parents borrowed my brother in laws car under the theory that I'd have more room to stretch out my leg. Well that meant putting my foot on the arm rest of the front seat and that didn't fly. PB & I fell asleep about an hour into the trip since there wasn't much to do. An hour and a half later my mom decided to wake us up FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER!!!!!! Ugh! I made good use of my time by putting on some make-up. I really need to do that more often! I look better & feel better! So we finally arrived at Shriners and as always its sit, wait, wait some more and then see someone for 5 minutes and what a lot longer. The medical photographer took new pics of PB and then we were put in a room to see the plastic surgeon. We weren't planning on seeing him and my dad had some questions for him so that worked out well. Unfortunately, the questions my dad had were questions I previously asked and my mom & dad didn't think I had my information correct when relaying it to them- guess what- I DID! I know y'all are surprised! The developmental psychologist, the sole reason for our visit, popped in the room while were were waiting and asked a few questions including if I'd brought a copy of PB's report card. She'd never asked for this before so I didn't have it with me. Shortly after that the plastic surgeon came in the room and spent all of 5 minutes with us. He gave us absolutely no idea when PB's next surgery will be. That means we can't plan the surgery to straighten PB's eyes. Since the dawn of Obamacare is upon us I'm really nervous about all of these up in the air procedures. We went back to the waiting area and I started filling out the paperwork the developmental pyschologist game me (one set was 4 pages and the other was 10) and wondered why they don't send this to my house ahead of time for me to fill out and then bring back all ready to go. My dad apparently had his panties in a bunch "and wanted to throttle me because I'm my usual irresponsible self and wasn't prepared for the visit" because I didn't have a copy of the report card the psychologist asked about. I tried explaining it hadn't been asked for so why in the heck would I bring it? Not good enough. It led to a huge fight with my parents and my mom telling me she thought that PB & I needed to move out because I'm never going to grow up while living here. WTF? The collective irrational thinking is astounding! The developmental pyschologist decided that she wanted PB to see the speech pathologist which I thought was already happening. Since her speech path here is useless I was fine with that. I got some great feedback from both of them which was nice. They both think PB has some problems with recall and memory which has me concerned but hopefully that can be overcome. I'm not looking forward to reading the report from the developmental psychologist since they tend to be quite harsh. We finally left Shriners around 3:15 (after arriving at 9:40!) so we managed to hit the road right as rush time was starting. That part of being around Chicago I do not miss in the slightest!!! Considering the slow start we made good time getting home and got back here by 6:45pm. It was a night of early bed times all around. Now my ankle is swollen more than twice the size it was when the trip started so I'm a bit worried about that but just glad that I have a nice quiet day by myself! I'm going to curl up with my copy of Urban Farm and read for a bit!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Some days it just isn't worth chewing through the restraints!

OK- in our household we're in mourning. Yesterday was the NFC playoff between our beloved Chicago Bears & the Green Bay Packers. I know that those who read my blog aren't big NFL fans but you know I am so sorry for the post! The Bears vs Packers rivalry is an old deep rivalry. I HATE THE GREEN BAY PACKERS!!! Can't stand them! Yesterday was not a swell day in our household anyway since my mom felt the need to have a meltdown over the state of the basement when she went to do the laundry. Anyway we all settled down to watch the game. I was very sore because I did a few trips up & down the stairs. Anyway the living room couch and I were one yesterday for the game and Princess Bear (PB) didn't even ask to change the channels. She's liked watching football since she was an infant- I think it was the colors and action on the TV screen at that point but whatever works right??? :) Anyhoo- I was evidently a lot more worn out that I thought because I crashed HARD during the game. Now I'll be the first to admit that I'm usually the first one lining up for a Sunday afternoon nap but not while an important game is on! My mom called me & realized I was asleep & got very worried- that's how out of character it is for me. Anyway, during my nap was the portion of the game that Jay Cutler (Chicago's quarterback) was supposedly hurt. I remember seeing Collins play and thinking "what the heck" and then drifting back to sleep and waking up when Hanie was playing. Now Chicago is a team that is known for its quarterback issues. They're also known for not paying their athletes a lot and keeping coaches long after they should be kicked to the curb. Here are a few links for some of the "controversy" stirring around about Jay Cutlers injury.
HERE

HERE

HERE
Now I'm not Jay Cutler, a Dr or a trainer but I do know that if I hurt myself badly enough to pull out of whatever activity I'm in that I'm not going to be standing up on the sidelines. Just me but if I'm in pain my happy a#s is sitting down! Now you might be saying that its not fair that Cutler is catching all this flack for an alleged injury. Well the problem is that Cutler is a damn princess! Its actually the reason the Bears acquired him! We didn't get him because he was such a great QB- and G-d only knows the Bears really needed that! Now we got Cutler because the Bronco's had given up on him. The story is that Cutler supposedly got upset that the coach didn't say hello to him. Huh? What grade are you in? So we have a quarterback that is marginally better than what we had but not such a big deal that we should have been dancing in the streets which unfortunately happened to an extent because the Bears quarterback situation had been SO dismal. Now there is one more down side to this story- the Bears had a pretty good season overall so in all probability Lovie Smiths job is safe. NO NO NO!!!! If the Bears would have had a bad year I'm pretty sure Lovie would be out the door since there were rooms to that extent before the beginning of the season. Now I'm sure management is going to give him some more time. I really wish that the Chicago Bears management would do a few things: 1)actually spend a decent amount of money on some key players- most importantly a quarterback. (they should also get rid of Collins and put some time into Hanie because he showed some promise) 2) send Lovie Smith packing. Yes in the 7 seasons he's had 4 winning seasons but I just don't see him being a positive thing for the team anymore. Here is a breakdown of the Bears season record since Smith was hired:
2004 5W 11L
2005 11W 5L
2006 13W 3L
2007 7W 9L
2008 9W 7L
2009 7W 9L
2010 11W 5L

As you can see our really last great season was 2006 when we went to the Super Bowl against Indianapolis. We lost but since Indy's my backup team and Tony Dungy was the Colts coach at the time and is arguably one of the best coaches ever I can deal with the loss.

So have you had enough rambling about football for now? Sorry but its a big deal in my house as is baseball. Anyway I'll move on! Yesterday I noticed that 2 of the toes on the foot I hurt and twisted my ankle on were going numb. Ok- could be a problem. Also I'm still in a hot of pain even though the indicated that I should be feeling a lot better by now. So this morning I had an appointment with my Dr. He is considering an MRI at this point to see if there is any damage to the ligament at least more that just stretching it. He told me he wants me on crutches for 2 more weeks and then a cane. I also can't drive long distances and have to be very cautious because if I break too hard with my foot and could damage the ligament big time. Man- when I hurt myself I go all out! My mom isn't too happy and assured me that I still need to have my room done to her satisfaction by my surgery next month. All of this also means that when we go to Chicago for PB's appointment at Shriners tomorrow that I can't drive up there or back. My Dr. about had a fit when I mentioned driving to Chicago. So both of my parents are going up there. This is my dad's first time at Shriners so I'm kind of glad about that because he'll get a better idea of why I don't want any of PB's surgeries there. Tomorrows appointment isn't going to be too much of a big deal. PB is meeting with the Developmental Psychologist and Speech Path that have followed her since she was a few months old. Its a bit nerve wracking because the psychologist tried telling me before PB was even 3 years old that PB would never finish high school or achieve an real dependence for herself. Fortunately her opinion has changed. We might see the surgeon for just a minute but most likely he won't have time. I'm ok with that because his non committal attitude completely stresses me out. The only reason I want to see him is so we can discuss starting PBs orthodontic care. She's lost several teeth and our dentist told me that she might not have all of her adult teeth and that since her mouth is so crowded that might not be a bad thing. I'd really like for my baby to have all of her teeth and not have to spend years enduring dental work but it doesn't look like that one is in the cards.

The only other notable thing going on is that I got to see my nephews on Saturday when they came for dinner. Not seeing them for over a week is tough at this point! When they got here my brother in law gave me the baby and a bottle so I could do some bonding with him. That baby is so happy its just not even funny! Then my oldest nephew got really worried when he saw my foot and got out PB's stethoscope and "listened" to my ankle. The kid is so cute and too smart. He was so excited to see dessert with whipped cream on it. My dad gave it to him and his response was this awesome "Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!" He only ate the whipped cream and was pretty upset he couldn't score more. I don't know why not! Such mean parents!!! Just kidding so that has been my life in the past few days. I'll hopefully post about PB's Shriners visit on Wednesday.

Friday, January 21, 2011

TGIF!

Man- I've done a whole lot of nothing this week! I've slept, read, slept, planned my garden and slept some more! I must say the sleep is really welcome! Especially since my insomnia had been pretty out of control. There is one slight problem- my days & nights are TOTALLY reversed! I've always been a night owl but its back in force! So much for 11pm bedtimes! :) Gotta get back to that! I've done a huge amount of trash reading which is kind of fun. My sister & I both read a small Christmas novella by Robyn Carr- part of her Virgin River series. She's a really fun trash book author! So of course my sister & I had to go back & start at the beginning of the Virgin River Series. If you want to check out Robyn Carr go HERE. Nothing about reading about manly men, small town life & the women the love! lol Yes I am a trash romance junkie- just a way to live vicariously!

I've also been doing some heavy duty planning on my garden. Yes, I admit it, I'm obsessed! I've actually graphed it out on graph paper. I really want the garden I WANT this year! I've been pouring over seed catalogs and reading my gardening books. I'm going for a very intensively planned square foot succession garden plan. Most of my seeds are coming from Sand Hill Preservation Center. They are just a hop, skip and a jump away being located in Iowa so I figure what they have good luck with I should as well. In addition this man is really dedicated to the genetic preservation of open pollenation seeds. This is important for so many reasons up to and including being able to save seeds for future gardens. The other 2 places I'm getting seeds from are Bountiful Gardens and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I would SO love to take a roadtrip to visit Baker Creek Seeds!!!!!!!!!!

Other than that I've been trying to do some cleaning while not hurting my ankle. Fun and games I tell you!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

I'm seriously accident prone!

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And you read it here first! On Sunday I was with Princess Bear at Sunday School. Class was over and I went to stand up even though my leg was asleep- very asleep. Next thing I know I'm on the floor and have mega swelling immediately. My parents of course claim I did this on purpose (I know it truly boggles the mind!) I wanted to go to prompt care but my parents for whatever reason thought that ER was a better option. As it turned out that was better because I was on the low end of the priority list & the room had a TV in it. The Bears were playing to advance in the playoffs so I was really glad to have the TV in there! The gave me a painkiller & ice and basically left me alone for a few hours (although the resident & tech kept coming in to check the score! lol) The attending said that in sprains like this there is a 50-50 chance of the ligament pulling a piece of bone off so I had to wait for x-rays. Thankfully there was no bone damage! I'm on crutches for 2 weeks and can't drive for that long as well. This is a pic I took last night- sorry for the cruddy quality. I took it with my phone since I really didn't want to get up to get my camera.


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So this pic is 3 days in- lovely isn't? I'm telling you when I do something I do it all the way!

Now I can say that I'm getting some rest but not as much as I thought and I'm doing a ton of reading. So that is the story on this side!

Friday, January 14, 2011

A really nice read

OK- honestly I'd wanted this book for awhile & bought it for myself for my birthday (back in September!) so why I didn't read it until last week I have no idea! It was a really nice, easy, inspiring read. So are you wanting to know what I read???? Or should I tease you some more???? That's so not nice so I'll just tell you what I read. Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Woginrich. You can wonder on over to Amazon and find it HERE. You all know that I've been reading more & more on homesteading & living a more organic self sustaining lifestyle. Princess Bear (PB) loves looking through my issues of Countryside & Small Stock Journal and Hobby Farms magazine and telling me what kind of animals she wants when we finally have our own place. Jenna does an incredible job of detailing her life as an urban homesteader in Made from Scratch. She even details her mistakes so you can learn from them. I love that! I love when people are honest enough to say "yep, blew it on this one". I wish I got get my dad to read this book- then I might be able to talk him into getting a few chickens and a bee hive. My parents are completely scared of having a hive because of PB and think chickens are a disaster waiting to happen. Today (I think) PB and I are going to be making homemade butter as detailed in Made from Scratch. I've read other accounts on making homemade butter and have been curious but never enough to actually take that step. Well, I found a marble the other day when I was cleaning my room so it just seemed like a sign! I have to go to the health food store to get PB some vitamins so we'll buy some cream while we're there and make some butter today. If that goes well I'm sure you'll be reading about my bread making endeavors soon! Jenna also has a blog called Cold Antler Farm which you can find HERE. Its also on my blog list. If this kind of thing interests you check out my blog list next week as I've been scoping out some homesteading & urban homesteading blogs that I want to follow. I'll be adding them to my blog list next week sometime.

Well its PB's first day off school and we're going to do some errands, clean, take mommy to the Dr for her reoccurring sinus infection and then make butter. Does it sound like a fun day or what???? Actually first I have to peal the child off the ceiling because she overheard my sister & I talking about taking the kids to the Imagination Movers tour! Have a great weekend!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Sometimes parents need to be slapped

Ok- I'll be the first to admit that I find it fascinating to watch Toddlers & Tiaras. Frankly Princess Bear is the kind of child that would LOVE to participate in pageants and part of me would love it too! I just know that the world is cruel and although I think my daughters gorgeous the rest of the world is not always kind. Anyway I digress. Last night I was cleaning and puttering around & I watched Toddlers & Tiaras. (no need for an intervention its not on my usual viewing schedule just an every once in awhile weird guilty pleasure). Last night was about 3 little girls named SamiJo, Jacklynn and Alexis. I'm going to focus on SamiJo's mom. This woman is so out of touch with reality it isn't even funny. SamiJo is her 4th child and evidently its a really good thing SamiJo was a girl (the other 3 are boys) because otherwise mommy might have been locked up on the metal ward because she so desperately wanted a girl. She wanted a girl so she could have her participate in pageants! She actually wanted to name the child "America" so she could go by Miss America. Yes the woman was apparently serious! I don't remember exactly how old SamiJo is but she was participating in the 12-23 month category. The mom's goal was Grand Supreme (don't quote me here but I think thats the title she was vying for). She actually had this baby spray tanned!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me repeat that for those of you who didn't get it or don't believe it- a child under 2 years of age was spray tanned for a beauty pageant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OK- now I can go into the fact that our skin is our biggest organ and at least 60% of what we put on our skin is absorbed and this idiotic mother is possibly signing her child up for a lifetime of problems that might include cancer but I won't even go there. I just am in disbelief that the woman did that! Now I get that in pagents there is makeup but there are some really incredible organic options so ok. I get that hair is a big deal & this moms use extensions & wiglets. Its part of the crazy of it. You want the world you know that there are some things that just go along with it! Alexis' mom dragged her to the salon to get her unibrow waxed and the child was hysterical (hey mom- have you ever heard of threading? Lots less painful and equally effective!) I just don't get this mom's that are dragging this kids around and a)compromising their wellbeing or b) making them crazy with the prep work needed. How can you say your child loves being in pageants when the prep work leaves them in tears or might possibly have them in chemo &/or radiation later????

Please understand that I'm not bashing the pageants themselves. If its your idea of fun go with it but when its an all consuming, health wrecking, hysteria producing hobby maybe its time to reconsider?

Also before someone jumps my case that there is no proof that spray on tanning is a bad thing can I also remind you that there was no conclusive proof that tanning bed tanning was dangerous until recently. I'm also the first to say that the idea just royally pisses me off. I LOVE tanning. I was willing to take the risk when tanning was truly one of the only things that relaxed me and helped with my SAD. Now when you tell me that there is no doubt that it can is cancer causing I'm just pissed.

Now back to crazy moms- I just want to know if these moms watch this episodes of Toddlers & Tiaras and if so what they think. Better yet- have you seen it? What do you think?

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Fear sucks

I took Princess Bear (PB) to the Dr yesterday. Something has been just "off" for about a week. She'd been complaining of headaches and her legs hurting. She's always bruised easily and the Dr has just said its her body. Well yesterday he wasn't too worried about her headaches but was worried about her bruising and pain. He ordered a TON of bloodwork. PB is absolutely terrified of needles and I can't say that I blame her considering all that she's been through. Some of the things the Dr. ordered where a CBC with diff, metabolic rate, sedementation rate, protime, epstein barr virus, and monospot amoung others. He was basically checking everything he could and checking clotting rates in addition. To say that I've been a mess for the last 24 hours is a mild understatement. I've been walking around with tears in my eyes. The Dr's office finally called back- everything is fine except for the fact that she's dehydrated. I've got a water bottle at school for her but I'm willing to bet the teacher hasn't been using it so I've got to talk to her. Other than that I'm going to be pushing lots of water! I'm so happy & relieved I feel like I could cry! Thank G-d my baby is ok!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Ok- its just getting scary

Ok- this is going to be a political rant so please be forwarned! For anyone who reads my blog there are a couple of things I'll put out there before I start this rant and leave it up to you if you want to read on. I'm just posting this because if nothing else it is a way for me to work through things.
-I used to be very liberal thinking in my politics and am now very conservative
-I think Barak Obama is a HUGE mistake for this country. I cannot stand the man or most of the things he stands for.
-I love Glenn Beck. This does not mean I believe everything he says because I don't. That said I do believe and share many of the same thoughts he does. The thing I really love about Glenn Beck is that he never wants people to just take them at his word. He tells you where he read or found "X" fact and lets you decide for yourself. I personally think he's one of the most honest people in the media and doesn't treat people like an idiot- thank you very much Mr. Beck!

Now on for todays rant. We all know what happened in AZ over the weekend and anyone who wants to rub 2 brain cells together knows its an awful thing. NO ONE should ever lose their life or become endangered because of someone else beliefs, sane or not. It is truly the definition of tragedy. Now the part that I have a HUGE problem with is the media and some politicians and authorities trying to blame this act of atrocity on those who want to see America going back to its roots. Less big government. The tea party being accused of being violent just boggles the mind. Also the idiots spouting this are probably the same people that are whole heartedly Obama supporters. You know the same guy who says things like "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun" For the entire quote you can go HERE or google it. (nothing like bringing football fans into Obama- another irk especially since I think the Eagles are a low down backstabbing organization for the way they treated McNabb but thats another post right?) Know isn't it grand that we have a President that is so young and hip that he wants to quote The Untouchables? Wow President Obama you're so cool! Unfortunately there really are those who think he's a man of the people because he can relate to them. They like the same movies,music etc. (Yeah did anyone hear about Obama liking NAS and admitting his daughters turned him on to NAS. What are your kids doing listening to him? Apparently its ok for NAS to say nigger but not for that word to appear in Mark Twain writings so Twain is going to be edited. Again another post right?) One of the big people that were blaming the conservative media and tea party movement was the Tucson sheriff. He used a tragedy to deal with topics that a)had no bearing or proof to back it up and b)a platform for the illegial alien dispute. Frankly if the Tea Party movement was a violent movement I think someone would have made sure that idiotic bastard pay through the nose for such ludicrous statements. I can't stand that when someone or a group doesn't agree with the popular opinion that they are the first to be strung up and always portrayed as violent with absolutely no basis. So that is my rant today.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Are you serious?

OK- now I realize that my mom has some problems & apparently my dad is right there along side her. On Friday night my dad made dinner. Instead of cleaning up he left the olive oil on the main counter near the edge. Yesterday my parents were leaving for my mom's work party. Now Princess Bear (PB) had tried helping and got out the bean salsa/salad my mom was taking. Well the counter was cluttered and the bowl was big & heavy. PB wound up spilling some on the floor. Ok- I wasn't pleased but such is life. It cleaned up fairly well.

I was back in my room. Mucking it out as a friend says. Ugh! Too much stuff and too little space! Anyway next thing I hear is a loud crash, breaking glass & yelling. My dad starts screaming my name so I go see what happened. The whole thing of olive oil had broken in a million pieces. So there is glass & olive oil everywhere. My parents have to leave for my mom's party. My mom does try to play it nice and apologize for leaving me with a mess. If she would have left it at that it would have been ok. Instead she added "but the counter is a mess & I told you that". All my life I've listened to my mom spout off about how you never add a "but..." to an apology because it negates the apology. THEN SHE DOES IT!!!!!!!!!!! At that point I was way not happy. I start cleaning up the mess and cut my big toe. Not awful- I pulled the glass out and went about cleaning. Well, evidently it was worse than I thought because I realized I was tracking blood. Then the phone rings. I knew it was my mom so I let it go to the machine. My mom is screaming like a deranged lunatic for me to pic up the phone. So I pick it up. What was so all important that I HAD TO PICK UP THE PHONE RIGHT NOW???? She had to tell me to check the cabinets to make sure they didn't have oil on them. Hello- that you couldn't a) leave on the machine or b) wait until you get home????? WTF??????????

So I proceed to clean up glass and oil. I went through copious amounts of paper towel. Then I vacuumed and sprayed Alice's Wonder Cleaner on it (this stuff is the bomb of homemade cleaning supplies!). Then vacuumed again. Then I proceed to spot spray again & vacuum the entire kitchen to make sure there wasn't any stray glass. Sure enough there was. So I go through and vacuum it again and really get underneath the cabinets and in all the nooks & crannies. Then I mop the floor with Alice's Wonder spray and then spray it down with a vinegar rinse. Where the oil spilled I did this 3 times. I really wanted to make sure no one was going to slip and fall on their butts!

At that point I was seriously pissy. I also had to go to my uncle's house to let the dogs out & feed them dinner. Now if I had agreed to that I would have been fine but my parents accepted this errand for me. So I'd spent more than an hour cleaning up the kitchen & then I had to go to my uncle's. PB didn't eat dinner until after 7pm.

The rest of the evening was a bit better & I got PB down for bed and was settling down to watch the Jets vs Colts game (the Colts are my backup team). My parents come home, proceed to wake up PB and feed her some cake. Hello????????? Then they hold her and my mom & dad proceed to tell me how its my fault that my dad didn't put the oil away. I was doing dishes & he couldn't get over to where it belongs. Um, first of all he never has a problem telling me to move over. Then theres the fact that he could have still put it in a safer place and put it away anytime in the 24 hours it was there. So my parents are completely and sincere in placing the blame on me. It takes a special kind of fucked up, doesn't it????

So my parents are holding PB and I'm trying to watch the end of the football game. Colts were down and there was 2 minutes on the game clock. Yes I understand that that really means more like 4-7 minutes depending on commercials, time outs and whatnot. My mom starts screaming that PB needs to go to bed NOW!!! I tell her that I'm watching the end of the game & then I'll put her down. They didn't care when they woke her up. Nope my mom has a complete shit fit & insists that I put her down ASAP. So I turn on the game in my room & watch it with PB. The Colts kicked a field goal and were up by 2. WOOHOO!!! Then in the last 4 seconds of the game the Jets did the same thing & won. Ugh! It was a perfect ending to a crap night.
Oh wait- I forgot the best part- after busting my butt to clean my dad told my mom to be careful because I probably did a shitty job cleaning up. Love that vote of confidence!

I'm still just amazed that my mom did the apology but thing and that they honestly think the whole mess was my fault. Oh I also got the "Almost all of our fights are about you" lecture. Yeah- then you have problems but it isn't me! So that is the story around here for now! Thanks for letting me vent!

Sarah

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Man- what have I done this week????

I know I've been busy and haven't been sleeping because my insomnia is really kicking my butt at the moment but I have NO idea what the heck I have been doing!

On Tuesday I had an appointment with the Dr to reschedule my carpal & cubital tunnel surgery. To say I am freaked out about this surgery is an understatement. I have this huge fear of something happening to me and Princess Bear (PB) being left with my parents. My friend Suzy spent my waiting room time assuring me via text that I had to do this & I'd be fine. Well, I left there with the surgery scheduled for Feb 18. The recovery time is 6-8 weeks with no driving for a couple of weeks (its longer than traditional carpal tunnel surgery because they have to do my elbow as well). I left there feeling ok about everything and 18 is a lucky number to boot! Well PB asked me what I'd done that day so I told her which brought up my upcoming surgery. My daughter FLIPPED OUT! She started crying and told me to fire the Dr. Then when I assured her I'd be fine she demanded to be allowed to go to the hospital with me. I told her we'd spring her early from school that day.

Yesterday my parents had their new recliners delivered and the delivery men were just leaving as I brought PB home from school. She was MAD! She was ready to come in the house & yell at the delivery men to get out of her house & leave her furniture alone. Yeah- think she has a problem with change?

I'm reading a great book that I'll tell you more about when I'm done and I also received a copy of the Glenn Beck/ Dr. Keith Ablow book that I can't wait to read! Well that is life here. Back to digging out my room and rearranging once again!

Sarah

Monday, January 3, 2011

PB goes back to school tomorrow

Princess Bear (PB) returns to school tomorrow. For some reason I'm dreading this. I think it could be because she seems a bit off and I'd rather have her at home where I can keep a close eye on her. She's been sleeping in and is rather pale and just not quite herself. We've had a pretty enjoyable vacation so I'm not chomping at the bit to send her back tomorrow. Then again I haven't accomplished much while she was home and I need to unbury my room by this weekend. I just hope things go well at school.

As for me I'm doing alright. I have an appointment with the Dr. tomorrow to reschedule my carpal tunnel surgery. I'm supposedly back down to 2 days a week at my sisters so I'm working on getting my life back. I've been making lists of things I want to sell at the salon and possibly online. I've been scouring gardening catalogs and making lists. I'm also reading more on homesteading and simplifying. I'm feeling pretty good about things. The fact that the scrabble tile necklaces did well have certainly done a lot to bolster my mood and made me plan on making more items to sell. Also I want to have some stock built up before I have my surgery. For whatever reason this surgery is scaring the bloody hell out of me. I've had surgery many times before. Had both knees scoped, sinus surgery (basically its having your face roto-rootered), my tonsils removed when I was 21 or 22 and then an emergency C section. I've never had any real complications from surgery. Some minor issues from coming out of anesthesia because of my asthma but nothing big. For whatever reason this surgery is terrifying me. Don't get me wrong- I want to have the surgery because I can't keep on living with this pain but its also got me really freaked out and I can't figure out why.

Other than that I'm going to be unburying my room this week. My parents have decided they're going in on Sunday morning to check things out and see if its "clean" enough. Yes, I completely understand how ludicrous this is. Then again my room is a major pit at the moment (compared to the slightly cluttered mess that my mom freaks out about) so I'm not adverse to doing a major cleaning. I just hate that its on my parents timetable. Such is life I suppose.

The only other tidbit of news is that I'm looking into the paralegal program at the local community college here. Its certified by the ABA and since I have a degree already its a 1 year program plus an internship. The money is nice and would be enough for PB and I to move the heck out of my parents place and not have to worry constantly. That is really important to me because once I leave here there is no coming back so I want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row so PB and I can live a life that isn't filled with a mommy constantly freaking out about how to pay X or Y. This certainly is a job that will be soul satisfying but I figure I can work on that when we're out on our own.

So that is the news on this side!

Sarah

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Another year- what oh what shall I do with it?

Well, things have been rather rocky here but that seems to be par for the course. I've done a lot of thinking and some soul searching lately & have been making plans. I don't usually do New Years Resolutions because I think its one more way to fail. That said I think I'm going to change my way of thinking about them this year and make a list of things I'd like to do in 2011 and take it as a challenge but not to beat myself up if I don't get everything done. I think this will be a very healthy thing actually. So without further ado here we go!

In 2011 I want to do:
-get my scrabble images special order book finalized.
-get my room cleaned in a way that it can be kept up easily.
-blog at least 3 times a week. I feel better when I do so I should work at it, right?
-work towards losing 1 pound a week.
-exercise 3 times a week.
-work on my meditation at least 3 times a week.
-write one real letter twice a month.
-get a stock of flip flops made so I can start selling them in April or May.
-put 3 hours a week into working on my barrette stock.
-get Sarah Simplifies going again.
-to start standing up for myself especially with my family.
-have a garden that I want this summer.
-learn to can.

Well, that is all I can think of right now. I'll add more if I think of it. Well here's to a happy, healthy and motivated 2011!

Sarah