Dinner solution

I resolved the dinner dilemma.

This morning I realized that take-out would be taking the easy way out, fulfilling the letter of the law but not the spirit.

I did decide on an easy dinner though -- baked spaghetti and meatballs, fresh corn on the cob, garlic bread, and chocolate chip cookies. Since she lives so far away, I decided to assemble the baked spaghetti and let her heat it and melt the cheese. I had debated on making fresh corn casserole that I found through Multitasking Mama, but I had already put the corn on to boil when I looked it up, so alas, that will have to wait.

Personally, I like to make my corn a little different (boiled, then roasted with butter, salt, and a bit of Parmesan cheese), but I wasn't sure it would go over well, so I opted for plain old corn on the cob. I did give her the recipe for how I like it though.

The chocolate chip cookies were a last minute idea, sort of. My friend Michael Ann gave me the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe ages ago, and I've made it so many times that it's almost second nature. Since I went with an easy menu, I thought the cookies would be a nice extra. Who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies? :)

So, at long last, here is the meal I prepared (minus the garlic bread):


Easy, but foods that are liked by most people. She was quite gracious when I delivered it, and even apologized for walking away from me at church yesterday.

Here's hoping this is the beginning of a new path!

Patience? Yeah. She got that from me.

SASS: Are the cookies ready?

ME: Just a couple more minutes. I'll get them out of the oven, we'll let them cool for a couple of minutes, then you can have one!

SASS: Cool? COOL? I don't care about COOL! I just want a cookie!

Good things come to those who surf

My friend Julie knows my affection for Hob Nobs. It's an English oatmeal cookie, but oh so much more. I haven't been able to reliably find them here in the US, although I'm sure they're available. For a few blessed months in 1997, I was able to find them at Sam's Club -- in a mega-pack, of course!

While surfing and clicking around to nowhere in particular, I came across Elizabeth at Frabjous Days, who must also love the sinfully delicious Hob Nobs. She's even written a sonnet in honor of them.

Check it out! And if you ever run across a place that sells Hob Nobs, buy a package. Or a case. And invite me over. :)

Dinner dilemma

Skeeter and I are part of a "care unit" at our church. We are part of a team of people who bring meals, visit ones in the hospital, call members we haven't seen in a while . . . you get the idea.

Tomorrow I'm scheduled to make a meal for a couple who just had a baby. Normally it's not an extraordinary task. But tomorrow's will be, for me.

I'll be taking a meal to one of the members who has shown obvious disdain for me. We had an altercation once. It hasn't really gotten better. Since then I've tried to be the bigger person, but she sends those signals -- you know what I mean -- every time I've spoken to her. Today at church I walked over to her to ask if she had any particular likes or dislikes for her meal, and she looked at me, said, "I've got to feed the baby" and walked off.

So now I'm in a dilemma. Should I get take-out for them (nice take-out, but still, not homemade) or do I spend three hours in the kitchen making something I fear she'll just toss in the trash because it's from me? I think I'd be better with having lost the $25 than three hours. And to make matters slightly more difficult, her house is thirty miles from mine. Nothing I take will still be warm enough to eat.

A friend said, "It's not you. She has hurt others with her words. We need to pray for her."

I agree with that. Wholeheartedly. And I have been praying for her. But I have also been intentionally not putting myself in a position for her to say anything particularly hurtful to me.

So tomorrow will be a test for me -- for my strength and my patience. All over dinner.

Let me direct you to a few good places

Saints and Spinners: I wish that Alkelda the storyteller would move next door to me. Or at least lived in the same state (I'd even take the same region) as our family so we could attend her gigs. She is so talented and clever that I feel a wee bit more clever myself whenever I visit her little corner. Oh, and she's a Blackadder fan. No more needs to be said -- she's brilliant.

Wise Bread: Not quite your typical personal finance blog. Recent entries include "What's the worst thing you ever bought?" and "What to pack for a road trip with Rover?"

Zen Habits: In the same personal finance genre, but with more of a simplicity leaning. Interestingly, I think of it as very Flylady-ish without all of the pink and purple themed merchandise and cutesy sayings.

Home Ec 101: Loads of great homemaking tips. Got a home-related question? Cooking? Cleaning? Laundry? It's all tackled here. And they answer reader questions.

Callapidder Days: Katrina is a book fiend, which is how I found her (through a reading challenge at Jennifer Snapshot). But my favorite part of her blog is her game reviews. We're a game lovin' family, and I've found several new favorites simply because of her reviews.

My Alligator King

"The Alligator King" was one of my favorite songs years ago when I was an avid Sesame Street watcher. Remember it?



I have my own Alligator King. He's not the original in the Sesame Street ditty, but he's close enough to remind me of it. I can't remember how I got him. It seems as if I've had him forever, but I'm sure he must have shown up as part of Spyder's toys.


Spyder has long since outgrown these types of toys, and I've claimed him. He sits on the windowsill in the kitchen.

Every day, usually twice a day or more, I look at him while I'm washing the dishes and sing, "Said the Alligator King to his seven sons . . . ."

The beginning of the end

As of today, I have our school materials for the coming year. I only needed two things to round out our studies, but I've been trying to find them cheap with no success. I found an eBay seller who had both for decent prices and reasonable shipping, so I ordered them last week, and they arrived today.

Let me emphasize my complete nerdiness by saying how excited I am about this year! Spyder and Sass will both be studying etymology, specifically Greek and Latin roots, and my inner nerd is loving it!

Spyder and Sass will also both be studying beginning biology, which I (personally) am more excited about than last year's astronomy. We'll be doing another earth science as well, since Spyder can't get enough of science.

I haven't decided exactly what our history lessons will encompass yet. The three of us decided today that we've had enough of the ancients -- thank heavens! -- and it's time to move on. I'm voting for the end of the Roman Empire to the High Middle Ages, but the children are leaning more toward early America. Either way, I have the materials, so it's just a matter of deciding. I'm betting we'll go with American since it's what they're more interested in studying.

Spyder and I decided that we'll begin at the same time as the regular schools this year, which works for me. That gives me about two weeks to get the schedule worked up and making the rounds at Target for basic supplies. Sounds easy enough, but those school supply aisles just make me giddy. I have to go in with a very specific list, otherwise I come out with all sorts of things that I just loved but don't particularly need.

"A bouquet of newly sharpened pencils" may be ideal for our first day, if only for myself. :)

Alas, poor Grasshopper

I never introduced him here, so none of you knew him. But we did.

Grasshopper was our turtle (specifically a Red Eared Pond Slider), found on Skeeter's construction site in February. He rescued him from sure death by front-end loader and brought him home. By necessity, he taught us quite a lot about turtles during his time with us.

During the cold weather, he lived inside under a warming light. But once warm weather hit, he lived outside. He and the doggies got along most of the time, but Grasshopper would make a try for freedom on occasion, and it would annoy Lucy to no end. It almost always happened in the morning, between 7 and 8. Lucy would start barking like mad and I would know that Grasshopper was making a try for the fence.

For being turtle, Grasshopper could really book it when it had a purpose. And oddly, he'd always head toward the gate, as if he could just open it and walk out.

Grasshopper made his last bid for freedom while we were on vacation.

Brenda had agreed to stop by and feed the dogs and turtle while we were gone, and poor Grasshopper was missing that first evening when she came to feed everyone. She looked for an hour and a half, but no Grasshopper. She looked every day, and we looked and looked when we got back.

I just hope that he made it safely to the pond across the road.

So, in memoriam, our Grasshopper:

Post-vacation recovery

So why is it that the post-vacation house is far messier than any other time? I've been making huge strides at getting rid of stuff and keeping the clutter down. Now I feel like I'm back at the beginning.

I sit among piles of laundry. Well, there are always piles of laundry, but these are far bigger and far more annoying piles. Plus there's all of the stuff that acted as stowaways for the ride home.

I still haven't cleaned out the car. Well, all of the stuff is out, but I haven't vacuumed it and such. The oppressive heat we've had for the last few days zaps me the moment I walk outside. I'm considering just taking it to the car wash/detail place. At this point, I'd happily pay them the $40 to clean it just so I don't have to be outside.

On a happy note, my friend Carla came by today to use the computer to enter her stuff for the consignment sale next weekend. I got my things out to enter, and she ended up taking all but two items, so I'm not going to bother with the sale. Wheeeee! My cedar wardrobe is cleaned out except for Skeeter's long sleeved shirts and a couple of Halloween costumes!

Oh, and Sass declared that she will be a pumpkin for Halloween this year. Works for me. There is a pumpkin costume in the closet, and it fits!

More on the vacation and its aftereffect

PezMama hit it straight on -- swimming, swimming and a bit more swimming, briefly interrupted by a trip to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.

digression

When I was in high school, The Michael and I were good friends with one of the exchange students, Stephan, from Germany. One of his choice expressions was "believe it or don't." Because of that, I always want to say or write Ripley's Believe It or Don't Museum. I actually did say it once, to Spyder, and he just looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

/digresssion

Having thought about all that swimming, I've decided to join the local YMCA. We have several throughout the city, and two of them are within 10 miles of my house. And luckily, a membership to one of them is good for any of them.

We spent loads of time at my friend Britt's pool last year, but this year poor Britt is hugely pregnant. She's due at the beginning of August, and I have such sympathy for her plight.

It's the south. It's the summer. It's the end of pregnancy. Poor, poor Britt. She emailed me last week and apologized for not having us over to swim. My response: "No apologies necessary! Not a bit, not at all! I know what you're thinking. 'It's hot; I'm as big as a moose and grumpy, and it's best if I stay away from everyone.'"

But not being able to go to Britt's this year made me realize that my urchins do love to swim, so the $65 a month for a membership to the Y is probably worth it.

Sound bites

"I'm just gettin' out my inner swing."

-- Spyder, while listening to his MP3 player and dancing in the back seat of the car

"Oh, Mama. Hug me and we'll think of happier times."

-- Sass, while watching me have watery eyes and sniffles during a sad part of the latest Harry Potter book

What we did on summer vacation

The rest of the story

When I was writing my previous post, I was sitting on the floor of the hotel room using my sister's computer and listening to my children and their cousins playing in the little gathering area outside of our room. I think that it was determined that I should be finished whether I truly was or not. I was happily typing away when all of a sudden I got the "your blog has successfully published" message. I suppose it's lucky that I was at the end of a sentence when it happened.

So, picking up where we left off . . .

Lisa, Jason, and I went shopping. Jason said, "I'll leave you off here. I'm going to the Black & Decker store." So Lisa and I went to a variety of places and ended up spending loads of time at Old Navy. I found loads of things for the children and Skeeter. Lisa and Sass got identical pairs of shoes, which Sass thought was just wonderful. Skeeter got a number of shirts and boxer shorts. I bought myself a new pair of tennis shoes at a different store because, well, my old ones were looking old.

But my favorite purchase is THESE:


These were bought the following day, when Skeeter and I had gone back to the outlet mall. I wasn't even really looking for shoes for myself on that trip. Skeeter wanted tennis shoes, so we had gone for him. I went wandering, and I just fell in love with these! I've been told by just about everyone that they're amazingly ugly. But hey, you just go on thinking they're ugly. They're comfortable and I like them. I have a feeling I'll be wearing them quite a lot.

After I bought them, I was told by my sister and my 15-year-old cousin that they're a popular brand at the moment, which I think it quite a riot. I'm never "in fashion."

For being in a place known for stuff to do and see, we did surprisingly little. In fact, the only place we went was the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. We're already talking about going back though.

The children spent this morning in the pool, for as long as they possibly could. We finally got on the road around 11 am today, and we got back home around 6 pm.

Everyone is tired and pleased to be home, but it was a lovely vacation!

A brief recap of recent days

I managed to make it to our vacation destination with little trouble.

I set off early on Friday morn, and even after stopping at my aunt's store to pick out some Crocs for Sass, I got to my Memaw's house early.

Memaw was ready, with a ton of stuff, but it was all in small packages. She took a look at my car, already packed full of our own stuff, and said, "I don't see how you're going to get all this stuff in."

I said, "Memaw, give me 5 minutes and step back."

Sure enough, I moved stuff around, and I was able to get absolutely everything in. The children were a little bit crowded (Spyder had three cases of sodas at his feet), but it was all in.

The drive wasn't bad actually. Long, but not bad. Memaw and children didn't get on each other's nerves too much. Quite a feat!

Got to my sister's house around 4 pm on Friday. She has a cute, cute little house in the middle of a cow pasture. I love it! Well, not the flies that come with the cows, but I still love the area.

Later, my sister and her boyfriend took Spyder and Sass fishing in the pond behind the house. They had loads of fun! I didn't join in because, well, it required climbing over a barbed wire fence on a makeshift ladder. I don't do ladders in the best of circumstances, so there was no way I was climbing that one. Oh, and we stopped to pick blackberries on the way back. Prickly, sticky, and wonderful.

That night we had a late dinner at a Mexican place around the corner that was yummy, yummy! In a strange twist, my Sass got a hot dog there. My child who can eat hot salsa with a spoon ate a hot dog. Everyone had a grand time making fun of my vegetarian fajitas (which were quite yummy).

Spyder and I went to the Harry Potter release party that night. I wanted to leave immediately, and let me tell you -- it was an ultimate act of parental love that we didn't. We stayed the whole time, and we finally got our audio book at around 12:45.

Slow start to Saturday since I'd been up so late, but we finally ended up at our hotel around 4 pm. Saturday night was spent around the hotel pool mostly. I think my children would like to be fish.

Sunday was more out-and-about. Went out for brunch, then Skeeter, Spyder, and Sass went back to the hotel to swim. My sister, her boyfriend and I went shopping. Shopping! :)

The Nag-O-Meter

I just got off the phone with my mom, finalizing plans for vacation. Despite that I was telling her exactly what she wanted to hear (I've made plans to transport that cooler; I'm picking up Memaw early Friday morning; I'm not going to bother her with coming down there a day early), but still she felt it was necessary to tell me how important these things were -- over and over again.

When I got off the phone, Skeeter said, "I think the Nag-O-Meter is on high right now. She sounded like the teacher from Charlie Brown."

Yep. That Nag-O-Meter is on full volume. She's going to drive me crazy before we leave.

Let me tell you

It may be a "Tear and Share" package, but there was no sharing involved. Not one bit.

Today was better

I'm back to normal after my big ol' pity party yesterday.

The children got along normally today. We played Huntsville together (I think I like this game just as much as Spyder does!), got a few things at Target, and went to the library -- pretty much a normal day. We had a nice day, and as a bonus, there was no wailing or gnashing of teeth during afternoon clean up time.

My dad came out of surgery just fine, but we don't know how long he'll have to stay in the hospital. He thinks he'll get out on Thursday.

I started packing today, and I've gotten most of the children's things settled. Now I just have to do mine and Skeeter's. Tomorrow will be all laundry, all day because I surely don't want to have to do it when I get back. One good thing came out of my pity party yesterday though. The kitchen is clean. And I'm not doing any big cooking between now and time to leave. :)

The children are so excited they can't stand it. Spyder is going fishing with my sister's boyfriend on Friday before we all head out for the rest of the vacation, and he can't decide whether he's more excited about the fishing or going to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.

I have a Plan. So far no one has thrown more things into the Plan, and all is well.

Pity Party

This is a rant/vent/pity party. Read on at your own peril.

Today was just a rotten day. It was one of those days where you think, "Good heavens. I just need to go back to bed and try again tomorrow."

Generally, I like Mondays. I'm strange that way, but I do. I like the way that it starts our routine again, since we always get off schedule on the weekends. Mondays always feel fresh to me, like a new beginning. I usually start out feeling excited and hopeful, a little like the first day of school. Today was just sour from the start.

And really, it wasn't any one great incident that set the tone for the day. Just one little thing after another. And another. And another.

-- The children couldn't get along. At all. All day.

-- My mom informed me that I'm going to be transporting far more than I planned when we leave for vacation later this week. In my new not-so-big car. I feel like I shouldn't complain, but at the moment, I'm wondering if I'm going to have room for any of my luggage.

-- I was slighted by a friend. This actually happened a couple of months ago, but I've been incessantly reminded of it for the past week or so. I've just about had it, and I can't figure out how to tell the person who keeps reminding me because I don't think she's doing it intentionally.

-- Skeeter dropped unhappy news on me. Well, more problematic than unhappy, but still, it's yet another thing to deal with.

-- I'm feeling overwhelmed by everything I have to do before we leave for vacation, and my schedule has been moved up a day due to circumstances beyond anyone's control.

-- I'm feeling guilty for feeling overwhelmed because my mom has far more going on than I do, and I feel like I should give her all of the support I can.

And the list could go on, but I'll spare you. By early evening, I wanted to lock myself in the bathroom and have a good cry. But instead, I did what I always do when I'm upset but still "on duty" -- I sat on the floor of the kitchen and scrubbed the cabinets, teary-eyed but quiet.

I hope tomorrow is better, but my dad is having heart surgery in the morning, and I already know that I'll start off the day fretting and worrying.

"Good manners don't cost a thing."

Yesterday I closed out our post office box. We've had the box for years, since just before we moved to this area.

We haven't lived in that part of the city for almost five years, but we kept the box for a number of reasons. We still went to that part of the city relatively often, and it was easy to pop by and check the mail.

A couple of years ago, the post office started locking the doors during non-working hours. That made it much more difficult, since Skeeter and I weren't often there until evenings or weekends. Still, we didn't have much of our mail sent there. Mostly I used it for my eBay sales so I wouldn't have to give out our home address. I was lucky to get there once a month, and usually only if I was expecting a letter or package.

But this week I decided it was time to close it. And even after all of the inconvenience and such, I really closed it because of one of the clerk, a rude and hateful woman who started working there about two years after we got the box. Most of the time I didn't have to deal with her because, hey, I was just there to get the mail. It was always a 1-in-4 chance of getting her when I picked up a package, so it wasn't too bad.

All that changed last year, when she was put in charge of the boxes. Because I don't get there often, and sometimes less than once a month, I didn't get last year's box notice the month that it was due. When I came in a couple of weeks after it was due, she informed me that the post office wasn't in the business of letting people have the boxes for free. She had sent back all of my mail and changed the locks. And she told me all of that in her oh-so-haughty manner.

At the time, I wasn't considering changing and I was still selling on eBay pretty regularly, so I paid the changed-lock fee, renewed the box for another year, and moved along. But this year, as the time approached, I thought about it before I renewed. I don't sell on eBay as much any more, and there was really no need to have the box. I didn't renew it when it was due at the end of May.

Yesterday I happened to be in the area during post office hours, so I stopped by to officially close the box, set the forwarding order, and turn in the key. Haughty Hateful Clerk was there, but thankfully, she wasn't the one who waited on me. The woman who did wait on me has been there for longer than we have been customers, and she's always so nice. Not overly, grandmotherly nice, but pleasant and efficient, which is all the better in my opinion.

When I told Nice Clerk that I was there to get any mail that might be there and set the forwarding order, Haughty Hateful Clerk must have been eavesdropping. Haughty Hateful Clerk turned from her customer and called out from two stations over, "Your box has been closed. You don't have any mail."

I turned to Nice Clerk and said, "I understand if the mail has been sent back, but I do want to set a forwarding order." I told her the box number, and Nice Clerk said, "Wait a minute. You're [last name], right? There's a stack back there for you." Nice Clerk immediately went to look and came back a couple of minutes later with a stack of mail (mostly junk) and a small package that I had forgotten about.

I have a sneaky feeling that if Haughty Hateful Clerk had been the one to wait on me, there's no way she would have given me the mail. And now that makes me wonder about the last time. Last time I was there 17 days after the box was closed. This time, it was 45 days. If they had it this time, surely they had it last time as well.

But, interestingly enough, Nice Clerk and the clerk who stands next to her (another very nice woman who is more of the grandmotherly type) were having a discussion about manners while I filled out my forms. I can't remember how the discussion began, but they were talking in very vague terms about manners, specifically good and bad manners between a clerk and customer. I think that one of them must have had a bad experience earlier that day, although neither one of them said that.

Nice Clerk came out with the sentence I was expecting as soon as the manners topic came up. "Good manners don't cost a thing."

I hope that Haughty Hateful Clerk was eavesdropping then too.

Because I have nary an original thought in my head

I can't decide if I have absolutely nothing to say or if I have too much. Too many things are rattling around, so rather than sort them out, I'll entertain you all with yet another meme -- the "what's in your purse" meme.

Normally I credit the blog from which a meme was lifted, but there's not a particular person this time, so we'll just say it's been shamelessly copied from various sources. :)

I'm kind of a purse hound. Probably more than "kind of." I love purses. I have several that I change out regularly. Most recently, I was using a little navy blue woven Sak purse that my sister gave me. I loved it (still do, really) but it was just a little smaller than I needed, mostly because of my big fat tiger striped wallet that I've had for years (and also love).

When my mom gave me birthday money this year, I decided to go for something completely different. I had had my eye on the little Vera Bradley quilted purses, so I decided to use my birthday money for one of those.

So, without further prattle, my current purse:


Cute, roomy, and I love it. I'm not a "pink" kind of person, so I'm rather surprised at myself that this is the one I chose. Particularly since the interior is one of the things I like most about the design.


Don't you just love that pink and black design? LOVE it! Oh, and it has loads of pockets inside -- a total of six in various sizes -- as well as one on the outside. You can see three of the inside pockets in the above picture.

And I have now tossed my ages-old tiger striped wallet for this:


See that cute little identification wallet? That's what I used to replace that huge wallet. The other side has a clear plastic window for my drivers license (and no, I ain't showin' it). It also has a partition for my cash, debit card, and library card. Oh, and it attaches to the purse. Is that the best thing ever!?! All of those other cards that I feel like I must keep go in one of those little interior pockets.

So now for the nosy, fun part. This is what it looked like when I dumped it out on the table to clean it out this morning. I have to clean it out about once a week because otherwise I'd be overtaken by all of the receipts and candy.


Also included are some of the coin wrappers I got at the bank yesterday, Sass's drawing book, straws (that Sass decided to grab just as I was taking the photo), gum, etc., etc., etc.

After I took out all of the extra stuff, here's what was left -- necessities for my purse.


If you're looking carefully, you'll notice that there are three different types of lip balm. Obviously, I'm quite serious about healthy lips. And I am never without a tin of Altoids. The brush is in there for Sass because her hair is so fine that it looks icky about three minutes after it's brushed. Hand lotion is a must, and I find that we need the Neosporin often enough to warrant inclusion in the purse.

You'll also notice that there's not a wallet in the lot. That's because that little case never leaves the purse, thus, it never gets misplaced. (Very important.) This little rule has worked out astonishingly well.

Of all of the papers I took out, only two of them made it back into the purse -- my ticket to pick up the dry cleaning and the Chick-Fil-A coupon for a free sandwich. Oh, and a voucher from the local book traders, but that's in the "wallet."

Two important things aren't pictured though -- my Axim (aka, life in a little electronic gizmo) and cell phone -- since both of those were on their respective chargers.

So, you've seen a little snippet of mine . . . . Now, what's in your purse? :)

And so it begins

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is being released to theatres tomorrow. My local theatre has midnight showings, and I'm sitting here wondering if I should go.

As far as the books go, Phoenix is my least favorite of the series so far. Thematically, I understand why it had to be written, and I actually liked it better on the second read. But really, it's at the bottom of my list.

The trailer for the new movie looks so good though. I'm sorely tempted to leave Skeeter a note in case he wakes up and scoot myself over to the theatre.

I won't. But I really want to.

Shameless bragging

I got a new car this weekend! It's a Nissan Versa, and I lovelovelove it!


To fully understand how awesome this is, let me give a little background.

Two years ago, well, more specifically, two years and seven weeks ago, Skeeter wrecked my car. It was a good little car, a Nissan Altima. But he wrecked it pretty badly. The good part is that it was still completely road-worthy. It drove just fine. The bad part is that it looked awful. Beyond awful. The front grille was missing entirely, the hood was crumpled, and the windshield was cracked.

Awful.

But the estimates for repair were more than the car was worth. Since Skeeter was in an unfortunate period of unemployment (to borrow a phrase from The Michael), getting a new car was out of the question.

Still, I liked the car. It had a great ride, and it was easy to handle. I liked it much, much more than our Honda Passport, despite the whole wreck thing, so I was reluctant to get rid of it. It's been having more and more troubles though. My dad and my sister's boyfriend completely overhauled it this past Christmas, not to mention the new belt and alternator that it needed more recently.

In short, it was time to move on. We had decided this about a month ago, and we had been window shopping for a new vehicle since then. I decided early on that I wanted a car rather than an SUV. I drove the new Altima, but I didn't really like it. It felt too cramped or something. Strangely, the car that I got is actually smaller than the Altima, but it didn't feel like it. The interior feels like the car is bigger than it actually is. Plus, it's a 6-speed manual transmission. I haven't had a manual transmission in years, and I've missed it.

As a bonus, Skeeter found out (in a completely offhand conversation) that as an employee of his new company, he gets a discount at Nissan. I had already decided that's what I wanted, so that little perk completely rocks, and it saved us about $2500 with no effort at all.

There are a few little things that I've found that I don't like (it doesn't have map lights, there's not a mirror on the driver's side visor), but those are easily remedied. Overall, it's exactly what I wanted.

Summer goodness

I had to go to Aldi today, just to pick up a couple of things to make dinner (chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce). I ended up coming out of there with more, as usual. But my best purchase was a cantaloupe for 69 cents.


It was, quite possibly, the best cantaloupe I've ever had. Sweet enough to eat almost down to the rind, but a little bit tangy in the middle. If I had known it would be this good, I would have bought more.

Perhaps it's good that I didn't know though. I'd have been tempted to eat them all.

Cracking up!

My children are so funny! Tonight it's Spyder's turn to entertain me (unintentional though it is).

He's sitting beside me, playing Scooby Doo on the GameCube and singing.

Oh, Santa Claus, Santa Claus! Won't you stay here with the dog?
You're not the only one who has to work.

Mrs. Claus, oh Mrs. Claus! I can't stay here with the dog!
I have to bring joy to the world
to all the little boys and girls!

Tonight's reads

Sass chose her three most favorite-est books for this evening: Harry the Dirty Dog, The Foot Book, and Zip! Pop! Hop! And Other Fun Words to Say.

Harry the Dirty Dog is unquestionably her #1 favorite. She loves it, and she can recite it word for word. I think she empathizes with poor old Harry, since getting muddy is one of her favorite things too.

The Foot Book was inherited from Spyder. It was one of his favorites too. Dr. Seuss is always a winner with them, but they both gravitated to this book more than most of his others.

Zip! Hop! Pop! is also an inheritance from Spyder. It originally came from my friend Julie though, and my two children have enjoyed it just as much as her son did.

Sass and I usually read a "big girl book" at bedtime (right now it's Pippi Longstocking), but tonight she asked for these instead, and I just couldn't say no. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that she's still my little girl.

Good old Southern food

Last night I made a veritable feast of Southern foods -- rotel chicken, fried green tomatoes, fried zucchini, homemade macaroni and cheese. It probably sounds disgusting to anyone who hasn't actually tried all of them, but . . . . mere words cannot describe the yummy goodness.

Michael came for dinner too. Considering the way that he kept going back to the rotel chicken, I think that might have been his favorite. I offered to send the rest of it home with him, but he declined. "I'll just eat it if you do."

My personal favorite was, as always, the fried green tomatoes. They don't look beautiful, but trust me, they were good!


Sass and Spyder don't like them though, so the adults got to finish them all. Sass decided early on that she did like the zucchini though, and (with a bit of help from Skeeter and Michael, I think) I made it to the table with about half of my original plateful.

Today though, I think I'll lay off the fried foods and processed cheese.

Meme

Shamelessly lifted from PezMama.

What were you doing ten years ago?

I had just gotten back from visiting my dad in the hospital. He had his second heart attack, and he ended up having triple bypass (I think it was triple) surgery and got a pacemaker.

What were you doing one year ago?

Skeeter had just finished his first year working for the state. We had finished our homeschool year and were deciding what to do next.

Five Snacks You Enjoy:

1. Peanut butter and chocolate ice cream.
2. Apples.
3. All Bran crackers with Laughing Cow cheese.
4. M&Ms.
5. Coffee.

Five songs you know all the lyrics to:

1. Schoolhouse Rock (all of them)
2. Upside Down by Jack Johnson
3. Spanish Nights by Blackmore's Night
4. Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight (from Dr Demento)
5. No Ordinary Love by tobyMac

Things you would do if you were a millionaire:

1. Pay off everything.
2. Travel.
3. Travel a lot.
4. Put the rest away for college for the urchins.
5. Start saving for more travel.

Five Bad Habits:

1. Reading late at night when I should be sleeping.
2. Folding the laundry, then leaving it in the basket.
3. Snacking when the urchins are in bed.
4. Worrying about things I can't change.
5. Buying more books that I have room for in the bookshelves.

Five things you like to do:

1. Sing.
2. Make soap.
3. Cook.
4. Wander around thrift shops.
5. Play with the children.

Five things you will never wear again:

1. A perm.
2. Big earrings.
3. Anything in the style of Little House on the Prairie.
4. Bell bottoms.
5. Polyester.

Five Favorite Toys:

1. GameCube.
2. Computer.
3. Backgammon board.
4. Cards.
5. Skeeter.

Where will I be in ten years?

Somewhere with Skeeter. Spyder will have just finished his first year in college. Sass will be near the end of her high school years.

If you want to join in on the meme, please do. Leave a comment so I know to check out your answers.

Fireworks!

From the church celebration on Sunday night, where we sat in the drizzling rain to watch. And had a blast!

It's too bad that no one got a photo of Brenda's garbage bag toga. :)

Weekend recap

On Friday afternoon Brenda and Carla came over with their children. I absolutely love getting all three of our families together. All of the children play beautifully! Everyone has a friend, and no one feels left out. Usually they divide themselves (two older boys, two younger boys, and all the girls), but lately all four boys have been playing together.

They came for a late lunch, around 1, and I had pizza for everyone. Brenda brought two new games for the GameCube that the boys could play, and Carla brought a yummy Chex Mix thing for dessert.

Friday night we went to the church, where they were showing One Night with the King. Spyder ended up playing in the nursery wing, but Sass wanted to stay with us. She finally decided about halfway through the film that she was bored, so she went to play with Spyder.

Friday was also Skeeter's last day at his job, and he had to turn in the keys, company truck, etc. He starts the new one tomorrow, so he'll get the new truck then. The intern is picking him up at 7 tomorrow, so he gets to sleep in a bit. :)

Saturday night we hosted our monthly game night, but Brenda and family were the only ones who came. Last time we had about 30 people here, and it was really too many, so this time we only invited a handful of people. But The Michael is out of town, and there was an activity at church for the Sunday School class, so most people couldn't make it. I'd never admit it to most people, but I was rather glad that it was just Brenda and family. I wouldn't have minded The Michael or Carla and family, but I was just tired and I wasn't all that enthusiastic about entertaining, so it was nice to have people over and not feel like I was "entertaining."

Tonight was the big July 4 celebration at church -- BBQ, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, the praise band, and a huge fireworks display. Sass and Olivia had a huge spat over . . . who knows what. The best that Brenda and I could get out of them was that Sass had turned around while Olivia was talking, and Olivia said she wasn't Sass's friend any more. Oh, the drama! As Skeeter said, "Melrose Place has nothing on these girls." They made up pretty quickly though, and the girls were inseparable the rest of the night. They even sat together (in the same chair) in the drizzle while watching the fireworks. After every display Olivia would ask, "Is it oooooover?" in a sad little heartbroken voice.

The fireworks lasted about 25 minutes, and I think everyone was tired and ready to go once it was over. Sass didn't even fuss about leaving, getting in the bath, or settling down afterward. I let her watch Strawberry Shortcake after bath while everyone else was getting ready for bed, and I don't think she ever moved from her spot.

All in all, a very satisfying weekend!

In preparation

SASS: Mama, can you help me make a snowman?

ME: Well, yes, but it has to snow first. (thinking: It's 92 degrees out today.)

SASS: I know. I'm just getting ready.

Dark days no more

The air conditioner is working beautifully!

The a/c guy added freon and cleaned the coils, and I love him dearly. If I had been able to bake without suffocating from the heat, he would have gotten chocolate chip cookies. I love him that much. I think I'm going to give him a gift card to Starbucks instead though.

My bookstore and Harry Potter

As always, my bookstore is having a release party for the newest (and last) Harry Potter book. And I can't work it!

I love working events like that. Love it! But that weekend, my family is heading off to a mini-reunion, and I won't even be in town. Most people at the store are trying to not work that night because it will be insanely busy, and I'm disappointed that I can't work it. I've been looking forward to it for months, and I didn't realize that vacation and Harry were the same weekend until this week.

Maybe it's because I spent almost 5 years working in a comedy club (not on stage, but pretty much everything else), but I love the crazy-busy times. And the comedy club -- almost 200 people to seat, serve, and make happy in a two hour window, twice a night on the weekends -- yeah, busy. It's transferred to the bookstore for me, and I love working release parties, book signings, Christmas . . . .

I have a strange sort of employment status anyway. I don't have regular hours. I'm not on the schedule. I'm the person they call when someone calls in sick or when they just need an extra person. The last time I worked was April 12 for inventory. They've been saving hours so that they'll have extra for the Harry release and back-to-school, so I should be working a little more in the next couple of months.

It's a strange thing to be good at -- selling books -- but I'm really good at it. I think it's more that I'm good at recommending books though. The selling part is just secondary. My reading is so incredibly varied that I can recommend in almost any genre, and I can usually tell after a couple of minutes what kind to recommend.

We're doing a Clifford event in mid-July, and I'm working that, but I'm still disappointed that I'll miss the Harry release.

Pantry Challenge -- The Basics

PezMama had asked for more information about my Pantry Challenge not long ago. I had intended to wait to answer, as possibly an introduction to my next one. But tonight I realized that it might be best to give the basics in advance, just in case anyone wants to join me.

I can't remember exactly where or when I got the idea of the Pantry Challenge. I've been doing it off and on for quite a while. Most recently, I've been talking about it in (and being inspired by) a Flylady offshoot yahoogroup.

The Pantry Challenge is quite simple -- eat only what's in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, without making extra trips to the grocery store. All of us have things that just tend to sit in the pantry, somehow never getting used.

Those black beans that you've been meaning to use.
The six cans of diced tomatoes.
The Rice-A-Roni that's not your favorite, so you avoid it.
The canned chicken that makes you wonder why you bought it in the first place.

Or worse, the things in the refrigerator or freezer that can't stay there indefinitely.

The Pantry Challenge is meant to clean out and use up what you have to make room for the new things. I do it about once every 4 to 6 weeks, just so that I don't end up with a house full of things, still feeling like there's nothing to eat. And for me, it's fun in a strange sort of way. Once I'm a few days into the Challenge, I have to be more creative about what I make and how I make it. During the Challenge, I do get things like milk (we go through over 1/2 gallon a day), eggs, bread, and the like. But with most things, I just manage with what I have already.

Most of the time I set a certain time period, usually about a week, but the last time I just decided to keep going until I was really and truly out of options. It took 15 days, but that did include our usual eating out twice a week -- Fazoli's on Tuesday night, and pizza on Friday.

This last time ended up being more fun for me! I had to juggle and move things around a bit more than usual to see how far I could stretch it. I think I'll do my Challenges that way from now on -- use it until I can't any more!

So those are the basics. Anyone up for joining me in a couple of weeks? :)

Dark days are upon us

I think our air conditioner is on the blink. This is bad. So very, very bad.

One cannot live through a summer in the south without a seriously healthy appreciation for air conditioning.

Sass and I made a Target run after dinner tonight. We needed a few necessaries, and we wandered for a bit (only spending $12 though!), so we were gone for just over an hour. When we got back home, it was HOT in the house. Not hot as in "I need to turn the air up" but hot as in "Good heavens, did someone turn the air OFF?"

It hasn't gotten much better since then. It's 84 degrees in here, at almost 11:30 at night! We've hit the reset button, changed the filter, and checked the fuses. Almost no change.

I'm calling the air conditioner guy in the morning (who happens to be a friend, thankfully!) to see what's going on. I'm praying that it's something quick and easy . . . and inexpensive!

Peer Pressure, dinner edition

My friend Brenda called today.

"GIRL, my kids are bored. What are you doin' today?"

"Not a thing. Bring 'em on over."

So she did. They came and played and laughed for about two hours, during which I was making my not-so-famous, but quite yummy, chicken salad.

Brenda and I had already had a food discussion earlier. She was planning to make chicken and dumplings for dinner and had planned to use (gasp!) bullion cubes for her "stock." Oh, no. No. No. No. That's not right.

I had cooked my chicken in the crock pot overnight, and I was only planning to freeze the stock, so I offered it to Brenda instead. (It's one of those crazy things I do, but yes Michael, I do use it.)

So when Brenda got to my house, conversation naturally turned to food preparation. One of the first things I asked was, "When is your mama's garden going to start producing!?!" (I've had a craving for fried green tomatoes.) Sadly, not yet, but hopefully soon. I love those fried green tomatoes, and I haven't had any since last year, when Mrs Vira's garden got going. We talked tomatoes and squash and snap beans and sugar snap peas and more.

And we talked chicken salad, since I was in the middle of making it. I gave her the rundown of the recipe, which is really just more of a guide, like all of my made-up recipes.

Tonight I called her to see how the dumplings turned out, since she was using my stock.

"Oh, please. I gave up on the dumpling idea. You'll never guess what I made instead. Chicken salad. And potato salad and sugar snap peas. All of that talk made me do it! The dumplings can wait for another time."

Little bits of today

Sass, on finding a penny:

I found it on the ground, all alone, with no one to care for it.

Spyder, on The Battle for the Castle:

I'm not all that crazy about this book. (pause) I'm not going to finish it. Why do I feel like I need to finish it? Life's too short for me to spend it reading books I don't like.

Sass, after being told to pick up the popsicle wrapper she left on the floor:


There are too many rules around here! I'm leaving town. Where's my purse?

Spyder, on the comments people say to him and Sass:

So why do people always say that I'm smart and she's cute? Why can't I be the cute one sometimes?

He makes me laugh

SKEETER: How do you spell "luncheon"?

ME: L-u-n-c-h-e-o-n

SKEETER: You're sure? I was going to spell it l-u-n-c-h-i-n.

ME: (laughing) Yes, I'm sure.

SKEETER: Oh, I guess my version is just the redneck spelling.

This and that

Things have been so busy lately, and I can't seem to settle my mind into a decent post, so I'm all for bullet points at the moment. A smattering of is currently rumbling in my brain:

• I'm going to have to buy another car. I detest the thought of it, but I think I'm at a loss. My poor old car has had its share of woes recently. Our SUV is having transmission issues (again) and the sedan is simply old and decrepit. What's worse is that we need to get a decent vehicle before our vacation at the end of July.

• Spyder is rereading the Harry Potter series, and (unlike before) I let him continue with book 5, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We've had long conversations about the emotional overtones, and he knew what to expect, but we're continued with our discussions as he read because it IS such a dark story. He's about midway through book 6 now, and he'll probably be finished with that by Monday.

• Spyder has taken a small break with Harry Potter this evening, and he started recording books using his Readio software. He did Dinosaurs Before Dark tonight, and he wanted to do The Knight at Dawn, but it was too late at that point. I'm sure he'll be up and recording before church tomorrow though. We've had it for a couple of months, and I never could get him interested in it. Today he went into it full-force. Typical Spyder behavior.
  

• Skeeter is starting a new job at the beginning of July. It's not really a new job though. He's been a contract employee for the past 7 months, and the company has decided to hire him directly. It's been a strange transition, but he's pleased with it. It will require us to move in a couple of years though, and I'm a bit sad about that.

• The new job will give us dental insurance once again. Sweet blessings! Spyder is roaring toward orthodontia, and I wasn't looking forward to it.
  

• The pantry is very close to being empty. I bought a few things tonight, and I should be able to last next week with those few items and what we have now. After that, it will be time to scrub out the refrigerator, then shop.

• Skeeter played in a golf scramble today, as part of a company team, and he won a "Roadside Assistance Kit." Considering the car woes, I laughed loud and long over that. It actually a very nice kit though, complete with jumper cables and the like.

• Skeeter and I completely emptied Sass's room tonight. So far, I've got two boxes and three bags for the thrift store in the trunk of the car. And that doesn't include the four bags I took earlier today. It's taking me a lot longer to put things back into her room than I anticipated, but I think it's because I'm culling things. I'm being pretty thorough with it, and I'm only putting back what I know she plays with.
  

• My homeschool group had a curriculum sale today, and I didn't go. You can't imagine how I had to restrain myself. But really, we have what we need for next year, with two exceptions, and I asked a friend if she'd look for those two things. I knew that if I went, I'd find loads of things that I want but don't really need. So I avoided the temptation. It was harder than I expected.
  

Just a little helpful hint

If you're the type of person who likes to talk with your hands, maybe a Bluetooth isn't really for you. Especially when you're walking around the grocery store. When other people are nearby.

Just a suggestion.

Sincerely,

The person you hit -- twice -- tonight during your riveting, gesture-filled conversation about James Bond.

PS: Don't worry about the milk. The nice person working in the dairy section let me get a different container.

Green and white, again

Tonight's dinner was mostly green and white as well, although slightly prettier. :)

Today I made a pasta salad using chicken, cucumber, sugar snap peas, and cheddar cheese. Oh, and of course, pasta. I served it on a bed of baby spinach. Normally I use olives and sweet red pepper, but I'm out of both at the moment, and a Pantry Challenge is all about making it work with what you have on hand.

I did go to the store tonight to buy a few necessities -- milk and eggs and ice cream. Oh, I know the ice cream isn't really a necessity, but we'll pretend it is for today. :)

Dinner tonight: green and white

I'm in the midst of a Pantry Challenge -- cooking from what I already have stocked in the pantry or freezer.

Tonight was (not surprisingly) stir-fry! Normally, I try to make the dish a bit more colorful, but in working with only what I had already, that's how it ended up -- green. Broccoli, sugar snap peas, and sweet peas from the freezer; bell pepper from the fridge. I didn't even have any brown rice to go with it, so I had to use the white.


And let me give you a little secret to making really good Asian stir-fry at home -- toasted sesame oil. Good stuff! The flavor is like no other oil, and it gives the stir fry a great taste. If you think that your Asian dishes just don't taste quite right, try using the sesame oil in place of whatever you usually use. It's expensive but definitely worth it. I use it for all of my homemade Chinese and Thai dishes.

And I'm pretty sure that stir-fry isn't normally served with mini corn muffins, but hey, I'm a week and a half into it, and I'm feeling the challenge. :)

You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown

Last night Skeeter and I took the children to see You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. They LOVED it!

We have the soundtrack, and the children absolutely love it, especially the song "My New Philosophy." What's even better about that particular song is that it's sung by Sally and Schroeder, giving it a girl and a boy part -- perfect! They sang the whole scene along with the performers, although (thankfully) they just mouthed the words rather than belting it out like they usually do.

Snoopy came into the audience during his "Rabbit Chasing" number and sniffed Sass, who thought it was just the funniest thing ever. Even today, her favorite part was when Snoopy sniffed at her. :)

I've mentioned in passing that it's important to me to be able to give my children opportunities to see live performances, and it seems that each time we attend one that desire becomes even stronger. I'm happy to report that both children sat through the two hour performance with no wiggling and no talking, aside from the occasional "Oooh, that's on the CD!" or "He's funny!"

Now I'm on the search for the next one to attend!

I'm so not ready for this

Welcome



to


summer.


Yay.

Sass as Clifford

My Sass is quite a creative little one. She made this Clifford (the Big Red Dog) mask for herself before bed a few days ago. I only knew she had done it when she came out to model.


How cute is she?!?

What's on your list?

Jules at Everyday Mommy has posted what's at the top of her Netflix queue. Since we're movie hounds (see the two previous posts!), I'm following her lead. We have 397 titles in our queue -- no I'm not exaggerating -- but I'll only list the first 10.

You're welcome.

We have the 5 at a time plan (one is specifically for Sass & Spyder's queue though). We currently have at home:

The Journey of Natty Gann. I saw it when I was a teen. Loved it then, loved it when we watched it this weekend. It got sent back today.

The History Boys. Skeeter and I saw the trailer for it a while ago, and it seems like one we'd like.

The Recruit.

Jeeves and Wooster. Based on the PG Wodehouse novels, Hugh Laurie (currently of House fame) and Stephen Fry star. Very English, but incredibly funny, mostly relating to the idea of "society" and "class."

The next ones in our queue are as follows:

Rivers and Tides.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company.

English Punctuation: The Standard Deviants.

The Heart of the Game.

Tell Me Why: Americana & Beginnings.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

This week is Vacation Bible School at church though, so I doubt that we'll have much movie-watching time.

Easily amused, updated

After an hour and twenty minutes of browsing, Skeeter decided to watch Strange Brew, which was (unsurprisingly) one of the first ones he discovered.

In an interesting bit of irony, it's also one we have on video in the other room.

Easily amused

I've introduced Skeeter to the "Watch It Now" feature in Netflix. I wonder if this was a wise decision on my part.

He's spent the last hour browsing the movies that are available to watch RIGHT NOW! ON THE COMPUTER! NOW! WITHOUT WAITING!

I've been listening to the commentary he's giving (unintentionally) as he's reading the titles. He's an absolute riot, and I think he has more fun reading the titles than actually watching the movie.

I keep hearing:

SUPERFLY!! Badass!

Oooh, Good Boy. Cute movie. We liked that, didn't we?

The Chamber. Don't think I've seen that.

Hmmm.

Even Dwarfs Started Small. Interesting name for a movie.

Last Temptation of Christ.

Modern Marvels! There are several of those.

Hey! The Natural History of the Chicken. Oh, never mind. How bizarre. Someone is going to spend an hour watching a documentary on the chicken?

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas? I wonder what that's about?

Blackula! Oooh, how cool!

He Died with a Falafel in His Hand. What's a falafel?

Hey, what are you doing? You're writing everything I'm saying?!? Freak! Stop making making fun. I'm the only husband you've got. Hey, Pagemaster.

Oops, I've been discovered, but at least he's easily distracted by more titles.

Preconceived notions

I just love Hathor. I don't always agree with her, but she makes me challenge some conventional wisdom and decide whether her view is right for us.

The above cartoon, however, is absolutely spot on for me as a homeschooling parent. When someone (a stranger, a family member, a friend, doesn't really matter) finds out that Sass and Spyder are homeschooled, the first question almost always is "What about socialization?"

The snarky part of me that Hathor shows always groans and thinks, "Not again!" I have to assume, however, that the person asking is truly curious to know how children who don't go to a traditional, mainstream school "socialize," so I always answer honestly and politely. But considering how often we're asked about it, I wonder if people really do believe that we homeschoolers live in a box.

Let me preface this by mentioning that every family is different. Every person you ask will have a different answer. As for us, we have many, many opportunities to "socialize" with others.

Perhaps it's hard to imagine for someone who isn't a homeschooler, but "socializing" isn't a problem. My standard answer is, "We attend church. We are part of a group of homeschooling families that meets regularly, and Spyder is in Scouts." If the conversation continues, I mention the specifics.

We attend a relatively large church -- about 500 members or so -- and we participate fully. The children attend junior worship or regular service, as well as the Awana program. They both have several friends from church. With one exception, all of Spyder's church friends go to school, either public or private. When time permits, we have regular social activities with these friends.

Additionally, Spyder is in Cub Scouts, and he regularly attends meetings and social activities. Sass is beginning Brownies this summer, and we'll have similar meetings and activities for her as well.

The children also attend art class on Wednesdays, which started out as being only art class, but it's turned into a wonderful class/playdate with the other students. Sass's class is from 2-3. Spyder's class is from 4-5. But the classes are held about 30 minutes away from our home, so we simply stay for the hour in between. Most other parents do this as well, so we generally have anywhere from 10-14 children playing before or after his or her class.

We're also members of a wonderful homeschool group which meets every other Friday for a playdate. Moms chat, and children play. It's a fantastic time, for the moms and the children.

Sass is a member of an American Girl club within our homeschool group, which is a kind of history club based on the American Girl books. We meet once a month to discuss one of the characters, her books, and her historical context. Occasionally, we have a field trip. The next one is to a plantation.

Sass and Spyder both take a class for homeschoolers once a month at the science and history museum, which they absolutely love. We also go to the children's museum regularly, and they make fast friends there every time. We also have field trips at least twice a month. Just this past week we went to a paint-your-own pottery studio with our homeschool group.

We have a couple of close friends within our homeschool group, and we have impromptu playtimes with them at least a few times a month. We also attend a variety of live theater and music performances, as well as wandering around the botanic gardens and art museums.

Sometimes our schedule gets so full that we have to pull back from some of these activities, simply so that we can spend a bit more time at home, doing what we need to do. It's not unusual for us to have 4 or 5 outside activities per week, and it's easy for Spyder (in particular) to feel like we're doing too much.

But really, aren't many of these the same kind of activities that all children have? Scouts, playdates, zoos, museums, and the like aren't exclusive to homeschoolers, nor are they only found within traditional school activities. It seems that both groups tend to forget that.

Skeeter got his first taste of answering the "socialization" question during Space Camp. When they found out that Spyder was homeschooled, it was the first thing they asked. Considering where they were and what they were doing, that really surprised me. The other campers were with Spyder. They ate together; they took classes together; they even slept in the same bunkhouse! That's socializing to me. If the person who asked had taken a moment to think about it, he could have answered his own question.

The more I think about it, the more I believe that we all live in boxes -- boxes that are defined by our notions of who we should be. We all have a tendency to place our personal boxes around others, and they don't always fit.

Quote

Always be happy. When people are in a bad mood, the last thing they want to do is hang around with happy people.

-- Kermit the Frog, from "Before You Leap"

The urchins and the mud

Today's main activity:

Music Meme

I seem to be in a meme mood lately.

Shamelessly lifted from Kaleigh at Musings From Yet Another Working Mom on her 200th post!

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool ...

Opening Credits
Samain Night -- Loreena McKennitt

Waking Up
French People Suck -- Meatmen

First Day at School
Token Celtic Drinking Song -- The Pogues

Falling in Love
Get Out the Map -- Indigo Girls

Fight Song
Synchronicity II -- The Police

Breaking Up
Subdivisions -- Rush

Prom
E=mc2 -- Big Audio Dynamite

Life is Good
Masochism Tango -- Tom Lehrer

Mental Breakdown
Harajuku Girls -- Gwen Stefani

Driving
Games without Frontiers -- Peter Gabriel

Flashback
Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby -- Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss & Emmylou Harris

Getting Back Together
Girlfriend -- Matthew Sweet

Wedding
Just Like You -- Keb Mo'

Paying the Dues
Under a Violet Moon -- Blackmore's Night

The Night Before the War
Mountain Dew -- Caprizzio

Final Battle
Sinister Minister -- Bela Fleck & the Flecktones

Moment of Triumph
Million Pieces -- Newsboys

Death Scene
Goody Two Shoes -- Adam Ant

Funeral Song
Brothers and Sisters of Azania -- Manfred Mann's Earth Band

End Credits
Boomin' -- tobyMac

I think this proves it. I'm sooooo not cool.

Movie Meme

Shamelessly lifted from A Happy Childhood Lasts Forever.

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times. The Princess Bride

2. Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the theater. National Treasure

3. Name an actor who would make you more inclined to see a movie. Rowan Atkinson

4. Name an actor who would make you less likely to see a movie. Nick Nolte

5. Name a movie that you can quote from. Star Wars

6. Name a movie musical that you know all the lyrics to all the songs. Mary Poppins

7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with. Music and Lyrics

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see. Little Secrets

9. Name a movie that you own. Accepted

10. Name an actor who launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops. Ice Cube

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? Yes

12. Ever made out in a movie? Not in the theatre

13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t gotten around to it. Catch and Release

14. Ever walked out of a movie? Yes

15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater. Charlotte's Web

16. Popcorn? Usually. Lately I'm partial to Dibs though.

17. How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)? Pretty often. It's more difficult to watch a non-child movie at home, so I generally see them at the theatre.

18. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater? Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

19. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie? Comedy

20. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater? The Blob

21. What movie do you wish you had never seen? Nacho Libre

22. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed? Most recently, Blades of Glory

23. What is the scariest movie you’ve seen? The Blob (I was really, really little when my cousin took me, and it scared me like nothing else in my young life.)

24. What is the funniest movie you’ve seen? Real Genius

Complete Sass-ness

Because every girl should have a pair of gold wedge peep toe heels.

The Dangerous Book for Boys

Today, Spyder and I were wandering in the book section of Sam's Club when I found The Dangerous Book for Boys. I had heard about it a while ago, but I was never able to find a copy in the bookstore to see if it was really something I wanted to buy.

I thumbed through it there at the store, and it didn't take me long to figure out that it was a must-buy. Definitely.

At the risk of stating the obvious, Spyder is (as my mom would say) "All Boy." He likes anything that has to do with weaponry, mess-making, building . . . . The list could go on for hours.

Spyder noticed the book in the cart, and he picked it up immediately. (I think the "dangerous" part had him intrigued.) He started reading it there in the store, and he didn't put it down for the rest of the day.


It covers a range of topics, from history lessons to how to build the perfect paper airplane to talking to girls. (At age 9, Spyder is both intrigued and disgusted by the idea of talking to girls "that way," although the list of dos and don'ts are really just common sense.)

He spent the first part of the day folding that perfect paper airplane, and I have to admit, it's a pretty good design. He was able to get it to fly almost to the end of the yard -- much, much further than he has ever done before.


Last night he told me about the Battle of Waterloo. Today he taught himself how to tie three or four different types of knots. Both subjects came from this book.

The list price is $24.95 (kind of high) but we paid $15 at Sam's, and Amazon currently has it for that price. It's well worth it. The design is perfect for my boy, a stiff cloth hardcover with no dusjacket. It's illustrated throughout, occasionally with color drawings, sometimes with simple sketches.

I almost fussed at him for taking it outside and putting it on the damp grass. But really, it's the type of book that I want him to carry around, to use enough to get fingerprints on the pages and wear the corners of the cover. So instead of fussing, I just picked it up, wiped it off, and moved it to a dry spot.

The Dangerous Book for Boys gets my highest recommendation.