I feel so BAD

Shhhh.... I bought a book today at the grocery store. I won't tell you which one - don't want to get them in trouble. The newest Nora Roberts. The third in her newest trilogy. It's not supposed to be released until tomorrow. I feel giddy, sneaky... a bit dirty. I'll be reading this book tonight. It's staring at me as I type. There it is, on the shelf with some of the rest of my extensive Nora Robert collection.



Go ahead... click on the link. You can't buy it - only Pre Order it! tee hee...

I love Nora. I really don't want to get the grocery chain in trouble though. I have the feeling that the dear Ms Roberts could kick your ass without chipping a nail or breaking a sweat... I'll let you know how wonderful it is later, if I can get my nose out of it long enough to post!

I got paid!

I found a photo marketing template I wanted to buy over the weekend, and lo and behold, there was money in my paypal account for me to spend! Woo hoo!! I (blush) have been doing some selective whoring marketing for PayPerPost. I was dubious at first. Would they really pay? Was I wasting my time? Was I going to annoy my readers? Well... I have answers.

YES, I really got paid for my posts. They came through. It was not a scam. Yippee. So that also answers the next question - Nope, I was not wasting my time. Now, as for the last... I don't know. I really try to limit my "paid" posts to subjects that I would talk about anyway - things that are real. My cousin really was looking for that new Elmo, and her Mom found one... I really am dying to go back to London... our crossing guard did break his hip, and it was replaced - he's now graduated to a cane and is doing really well. (I did hold my breath the other morning as I drove up to the bus stop and saw him bending over to pick up his stop sign. I was sure he was going to fall over, but he did it!!)

There are a lot of people who have made a lot using PayPerPost. I think my earning will be slower, but that's OK... they're steady - and a whole lot more than for AdSense!! So, hooray for PayPerPost!!

Halloween preview

Did a little photoshoot of the kiddos so I'd have good pictures to send Grandparents, etc of the girly-girls in their halloween costumes.


L's lion costume is the one I've written about before - the recycled costume from when C was 2. I swear, I only went into the fabric store to get orange fabric to make tiger pants, but that faux fur grabbed me and forced me to make that darned lion. The mane, etc. are all ribbons, folded in half and hot glued on to the costume. I still have nightmares about the burns I had from that project - but it was worth it!

C decided to be a "Vampire Princess" this year. We made a cape, too, out of black fleece so she can be toasty warm... she's going to resist wearing a coat, but it's cold here. She's going to have to do something! She went to her first halloween party where parents didn't hang around. She was thrilled to be dropped off and left for hours at a party. (Girl Scout friend.) She met a boy - gasp - who is 10. She told us she thought he's cute, but couldn't remember his name. An older man... (rolling eyes!!) She blushed when she told us. I didn't give her a hard time - maybe she'll keep telling me stuff. (yeah yeah yeah... I can dream, right?)

C is pretty annoyed that I might not be home in time for Trick or Treat. I travel to the office on Tues., and I don't know if I'll get home by 6. We T or T on Halloween in this town. In other places I've lived, it's been on a Friday or Sat. night, and it was always a pain to figure out what night was The Night. Here, there's no doubt, even though it's a school night. Oh well, can't win 'em all... When do you trick or treat?

She's "connected"

C's bus was in an accident yesterday. It was minor - no injuries. Apparently right in front of the school. I only know about it because B heard it on the scanner at work. He "chirped" (ya know - that annoying Nextel direct connect sound that makes every man in Home Depot grab for their hip) me in a panic. They called it by bus number, and he wanted to confirm his fears that it was her bus.

"Yes, hon. She's on bus 14, but not today. She has chorus today. I'll be picking her up at the school in an hour."

All the tension vanished from his voice. He ended the conversation as he was insanely busy, but glad to know his girl was fine.

I told C about it when I picked her up from school, and it was discussed again at dinner. (Yes, we're one of those freakish families that has dinner together at the dining room table and actually discusses the day's events.) She said she would get the details from the other kids that had been on the bus.

Fast fwd to this morning. It's cold, so I'm dropping her off at the bus stop.

C: I'll find out what happened, Mom.
Me: Ok
C: Is it OK if I tell the kids that Dad is a cop?
Me: I'd rather you didn't.*
C: Ok. I'll just tell them I have connections.



*B prefers that she doesn't tell people for safety reasons, and because other kids might treat her differently. We saw it last year at the GS end of the year ceremony. He was working, and took an hour off during his shift to come see her get her Try-Its, and the mood of the room changed when he arrived in uniform. He's dying to get her this t-shirt, but...

Trees from Our GS Hike

Cooking with Fire

Girl Scout camp training was amazing. We had a wonderful trainer, a small group, and managed to not freeze our arses off inspite of cold weather, no heat except for a wood burner, and no dry wood. Everything we ate was cooked over the fire outside, and we had NO hotdogs - chili; chicken & veggies cooked in foil; S'Mores; Banana boats (drool...yum!); and egg sandwiches on english muffins similar to those sold by a major chain cooked in empty tuna cans!

We went on a hike, tied knots (which I ended up teaching - thanks to years of sailing with my grandfather), and learned lots of great stuff! [more later... gotta go!]

Morals? We don't need no stinkin' morals...

One of our city councilmen has resigned in a swarm of adultery rumors. He is claiming it is because he "wants to get out of public life." He is also on "extended sick leave" from his job as high school principal. The rumor that has caused all this is that the married principal is having a "relationship" with the female vice principal. Apparently, there is talk of little else in the school by parents and students alike.

"...last week Mr. M took a sick leave from his job as principal at S High School after district officials learned he had a personal relationship with a subordinate.

M R, the former assistant principal at S High, was transferred to N I School after the relationship came to light."

I feel that adultery is wrong. As the saying goes, shit happens, but society is different today. It's easy and acceptable to end a marriage. So you want to be with someone else - decide. Either don't do it, or get out of the relationship you're already in first. That said, I have to say that one of the more disturbing things about this whole story is the reason they have cited for transferring MR out of SHS.

"While School Board member X stopped short of characterizing the relationship between Ms. R and Mr. M, he confirmed it was the reason she was transferred last week.

Earlier this week, X said Ms. R'’s transfer stemmed from the district'’s anti-nepotism policy.

A former board president, X said he believed the district had a strong policy — separate from the nepotism statute that bars one partner in a marital or "“significant-other-type"” relationship from having a supervisory role over the other."

So... what they're saying is that it's ok for the married principal to be f***ing the vice principal, but hey, now that the relationship is out there in the open, we have to transfer the v.p. because it' s not OK to have your mistress be your subordinate. Is this the lesson we want to teach our kids?

Not me. Not my kids. While we may not be church-going religious, we do hold ourselves to a moral standard. We teach our kids right from wrong. Guess there will be some discussion about this fiasco.

I KNEW it!

Thanks to Becky's blog, I have seen the evidence - there are faries! You should really check out the photos of the Fairy Doors in Ann Arbor. Lovely and magical!

We watched a movie once, FairyTale, based on a true story about two girls in England that claimed to have seen and photographed faries. It was a lovely movie, even if the girls did admit to faking the photos of the Cottingley Faries. (What self-respecting fairy would allow such a thing anyway?) The girls and I will have to be on the lookout for signs in our wooded yard. I hope we didn't displace them when we put the house up...

Strollers

We've been cleaning out the attic to convert the remaining storage area into a bedroom (it's a Cape... it was meant to be living space rather than a catch-all for the stuff we didn't feel like unpacking). The poor garbagemen have been busy! We got rid of the old stroller/carseat combo we had for the kids. We used it a lot more for C than for L. I loved it with C, because we could move her from the car to the stoller without waking her up.

I don't know what I'd choose if I was buying one now. There's a lot of information here: Pushchair Guide, to help evaluate what you need. It's full of great info! They cover different types and discuss how each fits with a family/baby's needs. Great for first-time parents, and for those adding to their families. Gotta send the link to my pg Cuz (ultrasound indicates a boy, by the way!). My sis-in-law lives by her strollers. She has several. A big one that often carries everything BUT the child, on down to the umbrella strollers that are great for trips to the zoo.

C & L both ditched the stroller by a year and a half. Miss Independent 1 & 2! With L, I used the sling a whole lot more than the stroller. My MIL used it to walk her around the neighborhood, but if I was going out, I found the sling was much better for my needs with a baby and a kid. The sling ensured that L was right with me, and I had two hands for chasing C. BUT... when we'd go anywhere (zoo, boardwalk, amusement park) with the inlaws, we always ended up borrowing one of their strollers. I'm just glad we're past that stage and it's out of the house.

Preparing for Camp

Got the letter in the mail yesterday about GS Camp training. I have to pillage C's stuff - seeing that most of the stuff was mine to begin with - she pillaged my gear for summer camp. Sleeping bag, mess kit, dunking bag (bringing back memories, GS ladies?), Sit-Upon, Hip Flask (kidding!), flashlight... Gotta see if B will let me borrow his work flashlight. It's a nice, big Cop flashlight that puts out that bluish-white light - like those new headlights that I always want to smash when they come up behind me on the turnpike and blind me.

I also have to pretend that I'm taking my troop camping - make a kaper chart, and come up with a song and game to teach (I'm gonna assume for around a campfire) that's appropriate for kids, outdoors, and might be new to others. Sigh. Crap. New. Any ideas, folks? Google, here I come! Leave the iPod, take the empty tuna can.

The next 9 days will be filled with GS activities. Tonight, Brownie meeting, tomorrow evening - CPR cert. training, Sat/Sun - Camp training, next Wed., Brownie halloween party and nut sale orders due, next Thurs - 1st Aid cert training, next Fri - Nut sale orders due to council... Oh, and I have to take care of the family and do a full time job, too! ROFLMFAO.

That's OK. I love GS. With all the negative influence out there these days, there needs to be something positive for kids. My dear brother is an Eagle Scout. (I don't care that he's in his 30s and earned it as a teen - once an ES, always an ES!) He's now a VT grad and an engineer with a great job, super wife and an Audi TT. Successful and happy. I raise my coffee mug to him. Not enough people know that there is a GS equivalent - the Gold Award. There's a TON of work that goes into the Gold Award. C is indicating that she wants to stay in GS for the long haul. Guess I just have to work my arse off to keep it fun.

Well, back to the song/game search!

C made dinner

C made chili tonight. She loves chili. She'll order it in a restaurant, get it at the buffet and at Wendy's. We don't have it much at home, 'cause I really can't/don't eat spicy food like that. But, the weather change made me think that we should have something hot and homey for dinner, since B was pulling a whole day of OT covering for someone, and would be tired and hungry when he got home.

We bought the ingredients, and I guided C through it. She browned the ground beef (I drained the grease - no taking chances like that with her - she's only 8!) and mixed all the tomatos and beans, then combined it all and stirred and watched over it. She did a great job! L wanted seconds! No greater compliment than a 3 yr old wanting more. She was so proud. I should have taken a picture, but I was busy with that embroidery machine. Dumb ass mom... oh well. We'll cook again and I'll get her then.

Elmo

I had to check out what all the fuss was about over this elmo tmx doll that my Cuz's daughter has to have. Cuz says she's going to do her best to track one down, since K rarely asks for anything. I've seen a video of Elmo. It's pretty funny. Seems to do more than the old elmo tmx. According to the video I've seen, this elmo tmx starts in a standing position, then starts laughing, slapping his knee, then ends up falling over. It's cute.

I'm not sure it's worth $40, but then, I'm a parent talking. Seems more like a grandparent gift to me. (Any toy that makes noise is ususally given by someone other than the parent!!) My inlaws got C the Tickle Me Cookie doll when that was out - what - 5 years ago? It still works, and now L plays with it. C had more fun with it than L does.

I hope she tracks it down for her. When one of my kids doesn't ask for stuff, then suddenly really wants something, I do my best to find it.

Too Many Hobbies

I really don't have time for a job. Really. Between the cooking and baking and photography and web design and sewing and quilting and now this embroidery machine... oh... and the kids. (Don't forget the kiddos - but they're not a hobby - they're love!)

I'm putting leaves and a monogram on tea towels for my mom this morning - a gift for that new kitchen of hers. They won't exactly match - but they're fall colors with fall leaves. I may do a t-shirt for me with the leaves on it if it comes out well. I made B and his (former) partner each a set of t-shirts to wear to work under their uniforms. He wears them depending upon his mood. A white one that says "Good Cop" and a black one that says "Bad Cop". Funny... he's never worn the white one... (folks who aren't in law enforcement, or who don't know anyone in the field might not find it as funny as we do. It's not meant to be offensive!)

I used to bake cakes and sell them. I've only done one since we moved. Kind of odd, since I have a better oven now. Since the weather has changed, I'm itching to bake some bread.

The weather might also get my poor brother's wedding quilt done. Sigh. I wasn't even pg with L when they got married. Ok. I was pg with L when I got the top to work on. It's a combined effort between myself and my dear auntie. I remember laying it out (king size) on our living room floor to pin and baste the layers together. The little hard bump that was L was just beginning to be in the way. What a lovely memory. I'm still pieceing the top to my BIL's quilt. I was pg with L when they got married.

Sigh. Too many hobbies.

Coupons

I love coupons. I love the Sunday paper for the manufacturer's coupons for groceries. B and his brothers used to give their mom a hard time about using them, but they clearly had no idea how much money she saved. Now when I come home with a grocery receipt where I've saved $20+ in coupons, he realizes the value of clipping them.

I've been looking for online coupons lately. I've gotten free stuff, and I'll be getting 20% off prints from Photoworks, and I'm thinking of making some photobooks for Grandparents for Christmas. I can get a free one with this coupon! I love that. This site has just added a coupon to Linens and Things. How cool. We don't have one near us, so I'll be checking them out. 'tis the season to switch to the flannel sheets!

This is going to be a great place to go, now that the holiday season is creeping up on us. My Cuz is already talking about finding one of those new Elmo dolls for her daughter. Apparently not so easy to find. I have no idea what we're going to get for the girls this year. The rest of the family is getting home-made things. Before you roll your eyes, I'll mention that B makes these wonderful mirrors with hooks to hang near one's front door. I'll have to find a pic.

Ah well, back to my coupon shopping! I do love to save money!

It's Fall

We had to turn the heat on today. Blech. I love fall, but I really hate the heating bills. It's currently 36 degrees out. I guess I shouldn't complain since we made it midway through October before having to turn it on...

The leaves have peaked, and are now coming down. Last weekend was so beautiful. It was nice out today - blue sky... but windy and cold. At least we aren't in Buffalo, NY. All that snow. I love snow, but I'd like to get past Thanksgiving before the snow flies. Ha. I'd be happy to get past my upcoming Girl Scout camp training weekend without snow. I'm not a wimp, but...

Back to Sleep

Isn't it funny how trends change. When I was a baby, my parents were told to put me to bed on my belly. That way, if I spit up, I wouldn't choke on it, etc. Now, studies have found that putting your baby to bed on their backs reduces the chances of SIDS. Interestingly enough, around the time L was born, dh was going through the section of the police academy where they talked about not leaving a cuffed person on the ground on their stomachs as it might interfere with their breathing. Hmmm.

C did fine on her back. We had these little foam blocks that we called her "chocks" (yep - 'cause they looked like airplane wheel chocks and they kept her from rolling!) L... not so much. L only wanted Mama. We'd rock her to sleep (nurse her into a sleepy stupor) and put her down in her cradle right next to my side of the bed. She's sleep for 5 minutes tops, then wake up screaming. For the first 3 weeks of her life, the only way she slept was if she was plastered to my chest - belly to belly! Then one night, I slid her off me onto the be between us (on her belly) and we all slept. A lot of people have no problem with a family bed. B wants his bed to just be our bed. OK. So then I started putting her down on her belly and she would sleep. Sigh. We were all to the point of desparation. NO ONE in the house was sleeping.

There's a new product out there, NightForm, that I'm considering as a baby gift for my cousin. It's kind of like the "chocks" but it appears to be more like a curved mattress. Seems that this not only keeps baby safe on their back, but also cradles them, making them feel more safe. Also, you can position them in different ways along the curve so their head isn't laying the same way every night. There are so many babies out there now with flat heads, or bald spots on the back of their heads from sleeping one way on their backs.

I think the NightForm might have worked for poor L. I sure would have tried it! She needed to feel snuggled - and swaddling didn't do it. She wanted those arms out! She was a champion sleeper when she was in the MayaWrap (but that's another subject!!), it was just at night that we had a problem. I'll have to have Cuz check out their site and see what she thinks.

Quill Awards

Two of my favorite authors won Quill awards! Nora Roberts and Diana Gabaldon. The lovely Ms. Roberts won for Blue Smoke, and the amazing Ms. Gabaldon won for A Breath of Smoke and Ashes. I highly recommend you check them out!

Blue Smoke is the tale of a girl who watched her family's restaurant go up in smoke as a child, and becomes an arson investigator. (Waaaay over simplified... but it's super story.)

A Breath of Smoke and Ashes is the continuing saga of Claire and Jamie. While I'm sure it stands on its own, it's best read as the sixth book of the Outlander series. If you haven't read them, RUN!! don't walk to the bookstore or library and find Outlander! Claire is a woman from 1945 England who ends up in 1743 Scotland. (Again... amazingly over simplified, but worth reading all 6 books. You'll be set for reading material this season!)

Thinking of getting another Epson

Actually had to go to Sam's Club and get some photos printed so C could take pics of the implosion to school. I'd forgotten that I have to order more ink for my Epson. I'm pretty particular about my printers. I've done the research, and used other brands at work, and I have decided that I'd rather not use anything but Epson inkjet printers. We've even switched our work printers. The office staff has them, and the engineering dept has one for printing 11 x 17 CAD drawings. I sneak down and use it to print proofs of brochures.

I'm only on my second printer here at home... and that's since... hmmm... B got me that for Christmas the year I got him his guitar. Has to be at least 7 years ago or more. That one died a few years ago, and #2 is going strong. I actually discovered them when I worked at a print shop back around 1995. We got it for doing color proofs.

I'm thinking of getting another one to do photos and print on CD/DVDs. As the photo biz takes off (let's hope!!) people might want slide shows of their photos, and I'd really rather print on the DVD than do a paper lable. Of course, I'll choose an Epson. I've tried others, and just haven't been happy with the color quality, or the ink replacement cost. There are cheap printers out there, but you more than pay for it in new ink! Yech. Give me my Epson any day!

Ok... gotta go order some ink...

This morning was a blast!

Nothing like waking up to the chirp of the Nextel first thing in the morning. For a cop on his day off, that usually means nothing good. But today, it was his brother (a city cop) calling to see if we were going to the implosion. We all threw clothes on and rushed downtown with the kids and cameras.
There's one little photo. If you want to see the implosion from start to finish (still shots), click here.

L informed us that she does not want to see any more of those buildings falling down - that 3 is just too little. Not to worry - the girls had ear protection.

We did both!

I just couldn't let a day like this go to waste. We hit the 2:40 movie, then went to the State Park for some running around time. We got there just in time to see this:



What a treat! The girls were amazed. It was a beautiful day for it, and not long after this one went up, another was filled and went up.

More photos later - gotta get dinner on the table.

Moving Stinks

I love my house. I don't want to move. But if we ever have to move again, I don't want to have to do a darned thing. I don't want to pack, or load a truck, or make a zillion trips up and down the turnpike with a loaded pickup truck like last time. We were lucky that we were "close" (if you call a 90 minute drive close, which I guess it is) to our new home. We moved ourselves. Never again.

My BIL has a thing for moving. He seems to get restless after a few years in one house, so he switches jobs and moves. Lucky for him, he's made money on all the houses he's sold in the process. He's making noise about doing it again. And I don't know why. He has a great house. Maybe he'll stay because he has two kids now.

A friend of mine just moved from PA to TN. She said she used this site Self Storage Directory - Moving.bz to help her find movers. She's recently separated from her husand, and has 4 kids (under 8!). I can't imagine pulling off a move like that without some kind of help. This site even helped her find cheap boxes. Sure beats scouring the liquor store for sturdy boxes that won't fall apart.

My house is actually a modular home. It was so cool to watch them bring it in and crane it onto our foundation in two pieces. I joke that if we have to move, I'll just tape everything down, drop the roof, split the house and go... but it's not really possible. I will, however, insist on movers if nothing else. We're past the "pay our friends with pizza and beer" stage of life. We're on to the "pay these guys to get it done". I hope I won't need them, but it's nice to know this kind of website is out there.

Perfect Fall Day

Today is the perfect fall day. The sky is blue, no clouds, the air has the crisp feel and you can smell the leaves. We promised the kids the movie Open Season today, or we'd be off doing something outside. We should anyway, but they're so hyped up about it, that we just can't switch gears now.

I shot this photo during my family photo shoot last week. If I owned that property, I'd never leave. Ok... for groceries... but it's so beautiful there. Today, the sky is bluer, and I'm sure all the leaves around the lake have changed. I think maybe I'll throw the camera (ok, not throw... place my dearest Nikon gently) in the back of the truck and make B take the long way home. Maybe check out the ski mountain. Who knows. If I come home with great leaf shots, I'll post some! I don't know if I could ever live anywhere besides the Northeast (ok... you know I'm obsessed with London, or parts around there... but realistically...) the seasons are so wonderful. We have seasons. It is clearly fall. Soon, it will clearly be winter. People may look down at me for driving a 4wd Blazer, but I'd challenge them to get out of my driveway and neighborhood without it in the winter. There are times when the city plow doesn't even make it to us. There are days when the mail truck won't brave the hill. Well... I'm going to go enjoy this perfect day!

I want to go back to London

I know. I'm obsessed with going back to London. I found this site on working in the UK and it's really got me thinking. I know, I have a hubby and kids. I can't go. But boy, if I could... this site helps you configure your resume (CV) and find a job, or work for their company. They give you help with getting a bank account, help you learn about the culture, clue you in to the cost of living...

I really don't know what it is about London. I would move there in a heartbeat, inspite of the expense. Sure, vacation is different than "reality" but there was something about it that just felt like home. My cousin has a British boyfriend. I think he's trying to move here. I would want to move there! I understand it's really hard to get a job there as an American. It's not that I don't like it here. America is great. Our family has been here for a while too, we've traced back to 1630 for sure, and possibly the Mayflower (not confirmed). But then, we also have family that still lived in London as close as my GreatGrandparents. Who knows. I just know I want to go back, and soon.

3rd grade growth spurt

C got her new ghillies today. Size 6.5. Her old ones, that fit until mid summer were a size 4. Granted, they were stretched, I'm sure, but I was not the only mom dragging out her check book to buy new ghillies this fall. Seems a lot of the girls C's age had similar spurts over the summer and went up more than one shoe size. Her teacher just bought her son new sneakers, running shoes and track cleats, and he's complaining about them being too small...

Then I remembered that I was my adult shoe size in 5th grade, which is only a year older than C is now (I started at 4 instead of 5). So I guess it's not that abnormal... just expensive!

To Disney or not to Disney

...that is the question.
The kids are 8 and 3. Do we do Disney anytime soon, do we wait, do we skip it? If we go now, will L be too young to enjoy it? If we wait, will C be too old to enjoy it? I'm just not sure about the whole idea of Florida Holidays with kids as young as L.

I went to Florida when I was 10. I had a great time, but we didn't do Disney. We went to Busch Gardens with my older cousin. We were visiting my Grandparents who wintered in Florida. I don't remember ever having a driving desire to visit the Mouse.

My BIL just took his family to Disney. His older boy is not yet 3, and his baby, is well, a baby - he's 6 months old! I can't imagine going to a smaller park with a baby that size, let alone a huge, crowded park like Disney. I've looked at the prices and packages. I can't believe the admission price... and you have to get a few days to make it worth the trip. I guess I'd just rather go on a "regular" vacation. If I'm going to spend a couple thousand dollars, I'd rather go overseas for a week than be stuck in the family fun park. Happily, B, who went to Disney as a kid, agrees. Anyone had good experiences with Disney with kids the ages of mine?

fabric queen helps halloween

How sad and pathetic am I? I was IMing with my cuz last night, and she mentioned that she was considering making a scarecrow costume for her dd for Halloween this year. She was going to go look for some fall-ish fabric patches to sew on some overalls or something. "Oh," I say type. "I have some. I'll send 'em to you." And you know what? I did. I shoved some cool oranges, yellows, and reds into a 5x7 envelope, slapped some stamps on it, and away it went to the middle of nowhere in the middle of the country.

I am going to try to recycle C's costume from when she was 2. She was a big 2, and as of last month, it fit L. We didn't know where it was last year, or we've used it then. It's a great costume. I'd had a nice, orange top for C, and I was JUST going into the fabric store to get orange fabric to make pants and a tail, then I was going paint black stripes on it and voila... a tiger. But then the faux fur attacked me in the store, and dragged me to the patterns and I ended up spending a week on a wonderful, faux fur lion costume. I think I burned ever finger on my left hand hot-gluing ribbons around the opening of the hood for a mane. It's a great costume, but sheesh... do you have any idea how hard it is to cut that darned faux fur? The "fur" is attached to a thick, fabric backing, and to cut it without destroying the fur, you have to get your scissors under the fur and clip in little, tiny bites. I tried a razor blade, x-acto knife, my quilting rotary cutter... the darned clipity-clip with the shears was all that worked. It really is a great costume, though.

My mind is full of useless information

Ok... not competely useless. I know stuff about subjects I never thought I would just being married to B... things about contracting, drywall, power tools, profiling serial killers, police code. For example, did you know that in PA, it is illegal to tamper with the udders of a cow for purposes of sale? It is. It's on the books. I know this because he (oh so romantically) used to read crime code to me at night in bed when he was in the academy. Back off, Ladies. He's all mine! LOL

So I found this trivia site. They have a whole article about "women behaving badly" talking about female pirates, spies and assassins. There's info on the origins of zippers and ear muffs. I am going to bookmark this site and play "stump the know-it-all husband"! It's cool. They have lists of alternate uses for hair spray, and info about nail polish. Did you know...

Painted nails were not always culturally accepted in some regions of the U.S. in the 1950’s, bright colored polishes such as red were considered promiscuous and all nail polish must be removed on Sundays before religious worship. Article here.

Shaving cream... it wasn't marketed to women until 1986. Check out the site... there's a ton of cool stuff... amaze your friends with your knowledge of, well, useless stuff! It's fun!

stripes

Pardon me while I brag about my dh and his recent promotion. I'm just so proud of him. He didn't go thorough the police academy until he was 36, and he kicked the butts of the 20 year olds, academically, behind the wheel, on the range, and thanks to the extra training received from my mom's hubby (a retired Ranger and martial arts teacher), physically.

So now, 4 yrs later, he has stripes. yippee.

it's London, Baby...

A cousin of mine has a British boyfriend. She has spent a lot of time in England lately. It makes me itchy to travel again. I can hear my passport calling me from the safe. And the deals that are offered this time of year for a few days in London don't help. B is not up for trans-atlantic flight... not until we go to Scotland in a year or so. But maybe I could get away with taking C on a short trip. She's as much of a history geek as B & I.

I have a feeling C would LOVE seeing places like The Tower and other London "tourist attractions". I could have spent the whole day at The Tower. The place is steeped in history. Where else can you walk where Kings and Queens lived and died. I think people today think of it as a prison, but it was a royal palace, too. We stood on Tower Green, feet from where Anne Boleyn lost her head. A little creepy, but completely amazing. Don't forget the Crown Jewels... a trip to the Tower would not be complete without seeing them. Oh, and the ravens. There is a legend that if the ravens ever leave the Tower, that will be the end of the monarchy.

Westminster. Another day-long trip! Amazing building. What struck me right off were the marble steps leading into Westmister. They are so worn. The centuries of people using those steps is apparent in the amount of marble that has been worn away. To see the coronation chair (we were there in 2000) was beyond words.

We stayed in a very tourist grade hotel, but that was fine, we spent so little time in the hotel - it was really just a bed and bath! The Underground system is amazing. By the 3rd day I barely used the map anymore. Mind the Gap.

Covent Garden was wonderful. My cousin got a pair of 'available in the UK only' Doc Martins there... a lovely irodescent green snakeskin. Sigh... I wanna go back. Whine whine whine.

Harry Potter Evil?

There is a woman in Atlanta who thinks that Harry Potter should be banned. Article Here.

Laura Mallory, a mother of four, told a hearing officer for the Gwinnett County Board of Education on Tuesday that the popular fiction series is an "evil" attempt to indoctrinate children in the Wicca religion.

Clearly, she hasn't even lifted the cover of any of the books, let alone read them. I have read them. All of them. Multiple times. Not once is Wicca, or any religion for that matter, mentioned. The way I see it, Hogwarts is more a "trade" school. Kids who are witches, or show aptitude or skill are sent there to hone those skills, rather like someone who is good at fixing cars, or cooking.

What's even funnier is the "live vote" on MSN. I know that those things are skewed and unreliable and "not scientific", but it's currently showing 11% for "Yes, his character induces children to consider witchcraft" Pardon me, but DUH... OF COURSE those books make kids consider witchcraft. They consider how they could use it to get out of homework, eating broccoli, and for getting that video game their parents won't let them have. Hogwarts is such a fanciful, ah, magical place that who wouldn't consider witchcraft after reading one of those books - not as a religion, but as part of fantasy.

Just asked my 8yr old, who has read all of them cover to cover.

M: Does reading Harry Potter make you think of witchcraft?
C: Yes
M: What does it make you think?
C: Of flying - how cool it would be to fly on a broom like Harry.

It doesn't make her think of evil, or using power for bad things. She just thinks it would be cool to fly. The HP series is a wonderful example of the classic battle between good and evil. How wonderful that the lessons are so enjoyable that kids line up to read the books. What other books are causing children all over the world to line up at their local book store (after having reserved a copy months in advance) to stand in line for a midnight release of a book. A BOOK. Not a movie, or video game. A book. HP is helping our children become literate. They read. Not little tiny paperbacks, but huge, heavy $30 hard cover books. Yes, they line up for the movie adaptations, too, but the majority of them have alread read the books, and realize that the books are better.

[Oh, and Harry is SO cute. In our house, Harry is pronounced with a long, wistful sigh.]

Just for the record, Wicca is not "evil"... check it out for yourself. I did. Oh, ok. Now I get it. No blaming someone else... no wonder people want to portray it as evil. They wouldn't be able to wipe the slate of their actions clean just by going to confession or something.

Witchcraft is a spiritual system that fosters the free thought and will of the individual, encourages learning and an understanding of the earth and nature thereby affirming the divinity in all living things. Most importantly however, it teaches responsibility. We accept responsibility for our actions and deeds as clearly a result of the choices we make. We do not blame an exterior entity or being for our shortcomings, weaknesses or mistakes. If we mess up or do something that brings harm to another, we have no one but ourselves to blame and we must face the consequences resulting from those actions. No ifs, ands or buts and no whining...

And shall we get on the subject of parental responsibility? The kids that are reading these books are at an age where their materials should be monitored. By all means, know what your kids are reading. If you don't agree - don't let them read it - but don't ask for it to be banned. Hey Mrs. Mallory... that's your job as a parent. Shut up and do your job instead of spouting nonsense in the media. Take a few hours and read the first book. You tell me where it mentions Wicca. You show me how it tries to convert children to evil. Well... I'm waiting....

GS starts tonight

GS starts tonight. The big question is whether we will be able to get into our meeting place. We meet in the cafeteria of a local school. We had enough trouble last year... seems they could never remember to unlock the doors for us. Sadly, we could often sneak in through an unlocked door on the other side of the building. I heard that the school is now on "lockdown" due to Monday's sad, sad events in Lancaster. The other leader's hubby is active with the PTA, so he'll be calling the principal to ensure someone is there to unlock. Yeah. We'll see.

He's a total arse-bite! (my favorite new insult from A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabladon. If you haven't read the Outlander series, run, RUN to the bookstore and buy Outlander and read it.) The principal is, not the co-leader's hubby! By the 3rd day of school dh'd already been "toe-to-toe" with him via phone. I know not all school administrators are evil, but this one is so full of himself... I suspect that he's so used to being the authority figure with the kids that he treats the parents in the same manner, expecting us to cower at his feet. Ha. Good luck with that. Then he runs up against dh the cop, who is also used to being the authority figure... I'll get into that fight another time.

GS tonight... it's going to be interesting. A lot of new girls. A lot. Of the 14 that registered, 6 are 1st graders. We need to recruit for next year. We plan to move up with our girls to Juniors. I'm taking Camp training this fall so that I can take the girls camping. What's GS w/o camping? Ghost stories, songs and S'mores around a campfire... (rain, wet, soggy, homesick girls... yeah, I know the realities too!)

the house

My mother has renovated her kitchen. It really needed it. She has counter space now. Not more counter space... counters. Period. Something where there was nothing. New flooring, new pristine, white cabinets, a shiny new black stove... fresh paint on the freshly plastered walls.

She lives in an historic row home, and the kitchen appears to be located in an addition to the back of the original house. Teeny tiny. I would have passed on the house based on the kitchen! When B&I did our home improvement project 12 (gasp - was it that long ago?) years ago, the kitchen was my baby! Ok.. to say "home improvement" is really not accurate. We gutted a row home to the brick and rebuilt it, keeping the feel of an 1870s Federal row home. Ah, but the kitchen. It measured 11' x 19'. I had acres (it seemed) of counters in addition to an island and a corner cabinet that backed up to the pass-through to the dining room. I loved that kitchen.

Now I live in a lovely little Cape. It's a modular home. Modulars ROCK. They are NOT trailers!!! Our house is better constructed than many "stick built" homes out there. I have Corian counters! B is planning to build all new cabinets for the kitchen. The house was a model, so it's a bit more up scale. We splurged and replaced the ratty (well, it was a model) living room carpet with a lovely Cinnamon colored hard wood. I LOVE it. It helps that he was a contractor, and does the work himself. He's in the process of milling (is that the proper term? he's using his router) all new trim for the doors and windows to match the floor. We're going to an Arts & Crafts style.

The next project is another bathroom for upstairs for the girly-girls. Three women, one man and one bathroom just isn't cutting it! L is going on 4, and C 9... peace will not reign for long. I would love to put in a big 'ole whirlpool tub, but I get over-ruled on that one - he says they take too long to fill and people just don't use them like they think they will. Sigh. I guess he's right. But I still have the garden tub fantasy - the one in the perfect bathroom with the candles all around it, music, wine... oh well. Someday.

Mr. L is back!

There he was this morning, standing at his assigned post, clutching his walker for balance with one hand and his stop sign with the other. He's moving remarkably well for a guy who broke his hip less than a month ago. Is it his generation, his character, or a combination? My grandfather was the same way. Nothing got in his way. He was harder to schedule time with after he retired... Tues. was Blood Run day for the Red Cross, Wed., the Meerwald Schooner Project in south Jersey, Thurs. was the Boy Scout camp. All other activities between April and November had to be scheduled around the tides so that they could squeeze in the maximum amount of sailing on their 22' boat.

That Camp group was probably the most remarkable thing of all. Every Thursday he and a bunch of other retirees from the same large company (all engineers) gathered at "their" Boy Scout camp to work on what ever project was needed. They did this for 20 odd years, and as far as I know the "Thursday Group" is still functioning.

I guess it was from my Grandparents that I learned that if something is important, you get involved and volunteer. My Grandmother was very involved in the DAR and local histoical society. She served as docent at the historical society, the Ann Whitall house, and also sometimes a the school house in Cherry Hill, which is maintained (?) by the Colonial Dames. I know this because I often went with her as a child and by the end of the day, I would be leading tours. As a kid - 6/7/8 years old, it was "great fun" to do those things. It was wonderful to have such involved grandparents. We (my brother and two cousins) would go and spend weeks at a time with them and do all sorts of things. We went into Philly in 1976 (my cuz and I) dressed in period costume... I canoed on the Delaware (again, in costume) during a Washington Crossing the Delaware re-enactment. Grandma took my cuz and I to DC (at 8) and we tromped around DAR HQ, visiting our state rooms, then met my cuz's state rep at the capital and got a pretty exclusive tour. I sure do miss them!

The Lake House

Finally got to see The Lake House. I'd wanted to see it when it was out, but of course, didn't get to - we never get to go out to do "grown-up" things. The last movie we saw in the theater was Cars. Great movie, but...

So.. the Lake House. I really liked it. B was bored for the first half, but sat through it with me, and by the second half, he was asking me to pause the DVD during bathroom breaks. (the true sign of interest!) I won't say how it ended, good or bad, but I will say that it involved tissues...