I stole this from Blackbird because it was easy, not one of those 'name your four favorite music memories' memes and in case you hadn't noticed there hasn't been much posting going on over here lately and this was right up my alley.

A - Accent: None. At least none that I hear.
B - Breakfast: usually cereal. usually Frosted Flakes.
C - Chore you hate: the neverending pile of laundry.
D - Dad's name: David
E - Essential everyday item: chapstick, burt's bees preferably.
F - Flavor ice cream: Green Monster Mint
G - Gold or silver?: meh. no real opinion, but i did get these cutesy poo butterfly earrings from the daughter for christmas. See letter P.
H - Hometown: Anchorage, AK.
I - Insomnia: yes. but i kind of enjoy it.
J - Job title: copy girl.
K - Kids: 8 year old boy and 5 year old girl
L - Living arrangements: smallish three bedroom/one bathroom.
M - Mom's birthplace: Saco, Maine
N - Number of significant others: um, just the one.
O - Overnight hospital stays: two, just for the babes.
P - Phobia: Butterflies, spiders and clowns.
Q - Queer?: nope.
R - Religious affiliation: none to speak of.
S - Siblings: mostly an only child, until I was 16 when my mom remarried.
T - Time you wake up: 7ish.
U - unnatural haircolors you've worn: i have no idea but it's been unnatural for quite a few years now, one shade or another.
V - vegetable you refuse to eat: beets. okay, I'm not changing this one. ew.
W - worst habit: procrastinating.
X - x-rays you've had: many, mostly of the lung variety. I used to get bronchitis and pneumonia every year when I was a kid.
Y - yummy: pizza, dark chocolate, homemade bread
Z - zodiac sign: Gemini.

Funny, when the Superbowl teams aren't from New England you'd never even know that there's a game about to happen.

I cannot believe that people would spend even one cent of their money on that damn James Frey book. And they're still buying right up. Fools. If you feel you must read it try the library and that lying jackass won't get a cent from it.

The husband went back to work today. He tried giving me a list of things he got accomplished in these past seven or eight weeks. We laughed when he realized it was a very short list. He claims to have vacuumed 12 times and to have washed, dried and folded 75 loads of laundry. Which would mean he vacuumed at least once, sometimes twice a week and that he averaged more than one load of laundry per day. Hmmm, maybe he should write a memoir too.

Overheard this weekend:

I want to get a big big allowance so i'm going to keep setting the table until i die.
The girlie knows that if she sets the table her brother can't. He's generally okay with that, until she gets a portion of his allowance. She's been setting the table non-stop for 26 hours now.


I don't know if I'm going ice fishing, I hate to ask for time off right away.
Well, you had better ask. Oh and if they say no would you mind spending a few days at your mom's?
I don't think he has any idea how much we look forward to his ice fishing trip. Oh, wait. I 'm sure he has some idea. The girlie actually cried when he said it. I've told the kids that they can go and spend their christmas gift cards that weekend and she thought there was no hope of hitting toys r us with her dad home.

Other weekend highlights:

The girlie learned how to blow a bubble, which has infuriated her brother.

The husband attended a bruins game with his hockey pals on Saturday night. He was more than a little hungover on Sunday morning and I had to take the boy to practice. My revenge? Telling all of the dads exactly what shape the poor guy was in. He's got a game tonight and will be teased mercilessly.

The son was just an all around good kid, with the exception of his walking out of the barber shop after waiting forty minutes. He refused to go back in. Nicely embarassing.

vroom, vroom, vroom

Do you know how many things you can get done while you spend your time not posting to your blog? Do you?

Well, while some of you might be busy being busy I was busy doing what seems like nothing. I've read some, made some invitations and made the beds. Sadly the list stops there and it's been four days. I'm sure I've done more than three things but for the life of me I can't remember.

I blame you all. You and your funny stories and stuff. Quit posting, would ya?

The girlie had a follow up eye appointment. Her vision was starting to get sucky in her left eye so we've been patching the right one for two hours a day. We're down to an hour a day for six more weeks and then six weeks of nothing before the next recheck. I'm not entirely sure if it's making a difference...her depth perception is still screwy and she tilts her head sometimes to get a better view. The doctor told me that after the patching is all said and done she'll reevaluate her and see where she stands.

And in fashion news...the girlie has just discovered the poncho my mom gave her for christmas a few years ago. It's still too big and quite frankly, I hate ponchos, so there's that too. I cringe when I look at her. Not a good thing.

My flat panel monitor has a funky thing going on...the middle four inches of the screen make everything darker and kind of boldish looking. WTF. Oh and my printer that I prayed thought was dead has come back to life. I love my flat screen and am considering sending a sacrifice to the computer gods. Do you think they like ponchos?

And this...I found this quiz ovah in Maine and thought...hmmm, what else do I have to do (certainly not anything tangible, not these past few days, anyway) and so I clicked

I'm a Mazda RX-8!

You're sporty, yet practical, and you have a style of your own. You like to have fun, and you like to bring friends along for the ride, but when it comes time for everyday chores, you're willing to do your part.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

At first I was a little indignant, I mean...a mazda? Why not a ferrari? Oh, yeah. Because I'm so NOT a ferrari. I am embracing my inner mazdaishness. Except for the everyday chores part.

And you are?

The weekend that felt as if it would never end has, in fact, just about ended.

There were two round trips out of state for the funeral service and wake. The wake was rather lighthearted with much reminiscing and hugging but I always experience anxiety at the end of the night, when everyone leaves for the evening. To leave the one you love there, at the funeral home, it breaks my heart.

And the funeral, with bagpipes playing. That, too, was a blow.

We got home late Saturday and I just about fell into bed. And was so rudely awakened this morning by the clumping of the hockey bag coming upstairs. And today was all about hockey. The boy played in two games and then we stayed to watch the semi-pro team play.

There is something about watching your son (or daughter) just get it. Whatever it happens to be. For some it's music, for others art. For my boy, right now, it happens to be hockey. He played one of his best games ever today. Skating and dekeing like he'd been born to do it. Perfect positioning, on the tape passes, poke checks...it still amazes me.

And the second game, a scrimmage on the Providence Bruins' ice. His absolute highlight? Hearing them say "Goal scored by Number 11, *Jenny's Son's name here*" over the loudspeaker. My highlight? The look on his face for the rest of the afternoon.

And then, he caught one of those T-shirts they throw out to the crowd in between periods. Which made him ridiculously happy. Seriously, I should've had him buy a lottery ticket or something, today was just his day.

Firteen on Friday - The Grand Finale including the Show and Tell

1. Yesterday was the last official day of the Thirteen. I'll miss it. I've been totally slacking on updating the linkage at the bottom for the last few weeks though...it got to be too much.

2. Still, thanks Leanne* and MommaK*....it's been great.

3. I cannot believe that I actually like Dancing With the Stars. And I don't just like it...I love it.

4. Sometimes TV should just be easy and brainless. Keeping up with Lost and 24 is a commitment and I tend to lose focus halfway through the season.

5. My daughter's latest favorite toy in the world is those Littlest Pet Shop creatures. Those are some seriously ugly pets.

6. Like Tom Brady, I'm hoping that both AFC teams lose in the Championship game this weekend. I know it's not possible but screaming rubberlips Bill Cowher in the Super Bowl? yuck.

7. I just read the book I was thinking about for book club (Last Days of Dogtown) and while I liked it, meh. Not sure if it would make a good choice. And really, I should have this info to pass on....by tonight. So, if you have any suggestions send them my way...

8. My husband has to take a retraining seminar for unemployment even though he's going to be hired back by his company. It makes no sense and is a waste of time and Commonwealth money but still I laughed at him. In a nice way. heh.

9. Because I am pressed for time I will include Blackbird's* Show and Tell with my Thirteen. Favorite hats. I love baseball hats in general but this isn't one I wear often because I'm afraid to get it dirty or smudgy
I posted a pic of this last year after the Super Bowl. It's signed by Deion Branch, last year's MVP. It was a long, cold wait to welcome the men home and worth every tooth chattering second.

10. And this one. My dad always had a fishing type of hat, purchased on the cheap at Caldor for probably a buck or two. I always used to swipe them from him. They've all since disappeared but this lone hat remains. It's torn and a little dirty because I'm afraid to wash it and tear it some more. And I don't sew, making it a vicious circle.
11. There are more hats lying around...a 1978 Red Sox hat, A World War II helmet of some sort, many fleecy Patriots things but those are my favorites.

12. On the heels of sad news I can always count on you all to add sunshiney goodness to my day. The carnage over at Kate's* house cracked me right up. I luuuuuve that Monty :).

13. And more goodness... my friend, after waiting patiently for nine years...is having a baby. Her third. I am so, so happy for her. And to be honest, even happier that it's not me. Mwah, C. Best. News.


*sorry for the lack of proper linkage*

My stepfather's dad passed away yesterday at the age of 75. He was a such a kind man & a great father to his three boys. Sad times, here.

Four

I got this one from Jennifer

Four jobs you've had in your life
1~ Camp Counselor
2~ Account Representative
3~ Swim Teacher
4~ Happy Meal Box Popper-outer. I was demoted to this after one day on the Mcjob. I lasted two more days.

Four movies you'd watch over and over
1~Jaws
2~Lord of the Rings
3~Love Actually
4~Moulin Rouge

Four places you have lived
1~ Anchorage, Alaska
2~ Gales Ferry, Connecticut
3~ Las Colinas, Texas
4~ Massachusetts

Four TV shows you love to watch
1~Survivor
2~Deadwood
3~Entourage
4~Dancing With the Stars

Four places you have been on vacation
1~Cozumel, Mexico
2~Maine
3~Port St.Lucie, Florida
4~San Antonio, Texas

Four websites you visit daily
The blogroll
Google
Son’s Hockey Website, because they change the practices WAY too much.
Maybe some newsish website


Four of your favorite foods
1~pizza
2~lobster
3~corn on the cob
4~blueberries

Four places you'd rather be right now
1~ In front of a nice warm fireplace with a book
2~ Playing a game with the family.
3~ swinging in a hammock on a beach ~ this one was Jennifer’s and it stays.
4~ making dinner for my husband after his long day AT WORK.

This has gone around for awhile now but if you have nothing to post today and want to be tagged....consider it done.

I spent most of today driving. First to a hockey game (12-2-2) and then to Connecticut for a somber visit.

My stepdad's father was diagnosed with lung cancer this past spring. Yesterday he was given days to live. I went today, to spend some time. One doctor came in the room, in the midst of things and stated that all the other doctors are wrong...there will be weeks, maybe a month or two.

I'm not sure how someone who has never even laid eyes on this man would be qualified to make such a statement, especially when it flies in the face of all of the other medical opinions. If the suffering is minimal I hope he is correct.

This is My Third Post Today....

I guess it's feast or famine over here people.

Anyway, I'm fairly certain I have no lurkers. BUT. If I do...this one's for you:

C'mon...you know you want to. And if I have no lurkers, well then could someone leave me a comment so I don't look like such a comment whore? or wait. Does that request actually make me a comment whore?

Show and Tell

So it's Friday. Pardon me while I pat myself on the back for posting the Show and Tell on the actual day OF the show and tell.

This one was harder than most. A favorite room? I mean, we've redone this house, with the exception of our bedroom, completely over. We used to spend hours mulling over ideas. I'd draw something up at work and stick it in my purse to show him later. We'd walk through Home Depot and then Lowe's...filing away fixtures and knobs in the back of our minds. The only contractor we've ever hired was a plasterer. He was terrible, but he was cheap and while my husband didn't have the time or the energy to plaster the interior walls, he could fix the mistakes and clean up a messy job. Oh, we had a guy come in and install rugs too, so two contractors, I guess.

I'm the idea girl, he's the 'git-it-done' guy and somehow we did, we got it done. From reframing all of the exterior walls because they were not entirely able to hold the windows and doors in; to driving to Maine for log siding. From replacing each and every window, especially the ones held in by two nails; to replacing all of the plumbing and wiring. From knocking down walls to reinsulating the place...all of it. With no official plans besides what we drew on scrap wood and graph paper, my husband did it. A labor of love, really.

There are parts of each room that I love...



The way the morning light shines in her room. That and my first and only attempt at stenciling. This is late afternoon, overcast light....just not the same.






The details of this took awhile to figure out, from the trim on the edge of the bookshelves to the stair balusters. But from the start I knew this would be a wall of shelves and I love it.




The only room I can take full credit for is my son's and while it was alot of work and I was totally impressed with myself for doing it while my husband and the son were gone away fishing, it's not my favorite.

It's the kitchen.



My father in law made all of the cabinetry by hand. Every time we visited them he would show me the progress, which piece was giving him a hard time, how he would fabricate the tip out drawers in front of the sink, the lazy susan latches. It was hard work but they're beautiful.







This is the faucet I HAD to have. No negotiations. It's copper and it's tall. And it splatters all over the counters (the counters that show every drop of everything) due to the too low sink. I love it and the counters nonetheless. Oh, and the wood blinds. I love them too.




The corner bench. Again, made by the husband (not the table and chairs, just the bench). I love beadboard (wainscoting) and again HAD to have it in the kitchen and hallway. And because our house is teeny, the built in was the way to go. The seats lift up for storage and there's a heating duct at the bottom of one of the sections...the section where we keep all the hats, mittens and scarves, so it's all toasty warm.



The bowl on the table is handmade from cherry. I'm also kinda partial to the fake fruit. It looks real enough that the son's friend tried to bite it. Which, maybe he's just not very bright. There are some cutely coordinated pillows hiding in the corner too.




So there it is. My poorly lit kitchen. That's the one bad spot, the lighting. Well, the installed lighting is okay but the natural light Stinks. Capital S. But as those in Tuvalu might say...Say La Vee.

Wow, I'm done. And with almost seven hours of Friday still left. Woot!

Thirteen on Thursday or Friday....Let's not be too picky

Thirteen Things about Jenny 1. I had no idea it was Thursday until ten minutes ago. *And now it's Friday* 2. I am decrapifying my house this week. I couldn't wait for the official Jan. 30th date. 3. That doesn't mean the job will be finished by the 30th though. 4. My daughter is in her glory hanging around with her daddy all the time. She's learned to play chess and is presently wearing a flannel shirt and doing yard work. 5. Have you ever confronted a teacher because your son's grade appeared to be too high for the work he's turned in? 6. Do you ever get all of the christmas decorations put away on the first try? Every year there are at least two or three things that have snuck their way past me and only after all of the boxes are organized and stuffed put back neatly into the eaves do these little candleholders and ornaments make their appearance. 7. I think my printer has officially kicked the bucket, which both excites and depresses me. On one hand...HURAAAAAYYYY, New Printer!!! On the other hand, new printer = $$$. 8. I want a decent color printer/scanner. Printing photos would be nice but not a necessity. Any suggestions? 9. I love Saturday Night Football. And I will SO be rooting for MommaK's Redskins against those Seahawks that afternoon. 10. I can't believe I'm going to admit to this...but I'll be cheering for *scrunchesupnose* Indy (unless hell actually freezes over and the Broncos pull off a win) on Sunday. Because once we beat Denver we're going to seal the deal in the dome in Indianapolis. It wouldn't be the same otherwise. 11. Two things I want to get done this winter....organize all the loose recipes I've got hanging around & learn to cross over when I'm making a corner on iceskates. I can do it, but barely. 12. I also have a growing list of books that I want to read. 13. I'm off to take a picture of my favorite room for the Friday Show and Tell. Which I am DETERMINED to post today. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)


Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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I know someone who works for 3M and tried to get some free product off him or like a written apology to compensate for my loss of plaster. No dice. He said it sounded like user error. USER ERROR. Can you imagine?

He's right - I pulled the tab incorrectly. Those damn things are too strong for their own good. Damn tabs.

And SQ, she wants to wager knitted pet mittens on a possible New England vs. Pittsburg game. At first the thought panicked me...learning to knit in two short weeks and pet mittens to boot (ahahahah to boot...get it? no? nevermind) but then it hit me. I would only have to pay up if the Patriots lose. To the Steelers. In the AFC Championship game. Ain't happenin'.

But then, there is the very slim chance that the black and yellow pull off a win (two wins to be exact) and then I'd have to pay up. And the very thought of learning to knit and then having to actually knit something for someone else to see and wear (even if it is a chariot riding doggie) well, it's got me kind of in a tizzy. Tizziness is something that comes quite easy to me. Calm and zenish isn't my style, unfortunately. I'm not a raging lunatic. A quiet lunatic, yes. Raging, no.

So Hap-py To-Gether

I can't see me lovin' nobody but you
For all my life
When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue
For all my life


Um. Yeah.

So the weather's being unseasonably warm, which by the way is in NO way related to global warming but to the amount of steam leaving my ears when my husband says things like "Why can't you still make their lunches? You used to HAVE to make their lunches. What did you do while I was working???"

Okay then, so it's warm. And his company called him back in. Almost. The construction coordinator guy called yesterday to say that he might start back today, tomorrow or maybe next week. I've never met this guy, but when he called again to say probably Wednesday for the work, was it wrong of me to tell him, in a voice of mock horror, "you're killing me over here"?

And then he called again today to say maybe next week.

I was taking a poster down and guess what...those 3M sticky tabs...they ripped the fucking paint and plaster right off my son's wall. Down to 40 year old cardboardy drywall.

At least my husband has plenty of time to fix it. Because there IS a bright side to all of this togetherness and dammit I'll find it even if it kills me. And it just might.

Really it's not all bad. There was a low point after Christmas that was pretty damn low. There was, and is, some bad crap happening with one of his brothers and my husband is the go-to guy for his parents. It was weighing very heavily but the load is lightening as the days pass. For that I'm very thankful. But for the neverending questions like "Where are the lunch boxes?" and "How do you pack milk?" and "Why is the new size 4 underwear smaller than the size 3T?" and "Can you get out of the clicker path?" (the path the remote control signal takes to tell the TV what to do) Yeah. Not so thankful for those.

Show and Tell Whenever

Crafty I am not.

Here's my knitting. From last year. I find that by sticking the needles into the ball of yarn and placing them in a basket in the corner of my bedroom it gives the appearance of a knit work in progress. The balls of yarn are dusty. Enough said.



I cannot sew unless you count bad stitching done by hand.

Someday I will learn both of these skills, I want to make mittens and curtains. Those are my goals. Lofty, eh? Well they sure do seem it when I'm starting from scratch, that's for sure.

I've tried my hand at making cards recently and because it's like second grade arts and crafts with the cutting and gluing, it's just my speed. I like paper in general, but apart from Christmas, Birthdays and Babies...I don't generally send cards. So we'll see where that goes.

The kids have guests, the dog is barking, there is lunch to be made and the husband is helping friends with a couch. Happy Saturday, all.

A welcome sight.

After a bonus snowless snow day school vacation has finally ended. Tomorrow we are going for the medical daily double with an early morning dentist appointment for the son and a late morning 5 year old check up for the girlie. I'm hoping the husband will take dentist duty as my son is not exactly brave in that department and only just last year stopped trying to HIDE when she takes out the grape flouride. The polisher, sucker and picks are okay....but perish the thought of brushing kool-aid flavored goo all over your teeth. RUN FOR COVER BOY....SHE'S OUT TO GET YOU!

In the past twenty four hours I've received three phone calls from parents of kids in my son's class. Two for spelling words and one for the lunch menu. When did I become the responsible one? Truly, it's a little frightening. Do they not know that I am continually cursing the school web site for lack of lunch menu updates ten minutes before the boy is supposed to leave and praying that I didn't throw out the one song/poem/sentence/extended homework sheet that he needs to memorize?

The fact that I appear to have it all together might have me start believing that, in fact, I DO have it all together. Because it's all about appearances. Or no, that's not the right one....How about Looks Are Deceiving. I think that one's a closer match.

Where babies come from

I love bedtime. My kids bedtime. Not only for the obvious, now they're in bed and I am no longer on active duty reason, but because I get to hear my daughter say little gems like "I can't wait to be a mommy and lay a baby."

Maybe it was the big yellow baby duck that was born on sesame street this morning or maybe this is the only logical explanation to the whole baby thing when you're five. Whichever. If she wants to think babies come out of eggs for a little while longer I'm so okay with it.

I tried to spot Kate in the gazillion people crowd at the Fiesta Bowl yesterday, no luck. The game though, is like amateur hour. I know they're college, ehem, students but there were missed extra points and crazy runs and Instant Replay? for a college game? That I didn't get, but whatevah. It was a great game and Ohio State has quite the quarterback. I can see how you might get sucked in...

My husband is still unemployed. He needs a hobby. Like vacuuming. Or laundry.


Or if you'd rather read this post translated...you can. By clicking here. Because really, it sounds just like me, Dawg. J-E-Double Nizzy? You better believe it.

I have no strong resolution feelings either way...do I ususally make them? yes. but more as a general guideline than a strict Iwillnotfail mandate.

Last year's resolution to yell less was a fair success lasting until April. And nagging at me throughout the other eight months. Not sure why I'm considering four out of twelve months a success. Don't judge, math was never my strong point.

So I'm repeating my resolution...resisting the urge to raise my voice.

And there's another. Simplify & organize and quit with the procrastinating already. Okay...so those are three (remember the previously mentioned math suckage) but you get the idea. I feel as if I'm treading water over here sometimes, that even the simplest tasks are huge projects because well, A. I procrastinate because it's part of who I am. B. There seems to be just too much. of everything. C. I hate that I'm cluttery by nature and maybe if there was less it would be easier to take care of.

We shall see.

Jenny's Rockin New Year's Eve

Where New Year's Eve last year was a quiet affair, an evening with friends in their new home - this year was anything but.

Some of us met for a little prefestivities dinner and much to the surprise of our hostess her grill hadn't been repaired so we had a quick lesson in broiler using. We took the kiddos to see the Festival of Lights


See doesn't this look festive? Okay, so that was a bust.
Onto questionable destination number two.





A party. Where the only people I knew were those we arrived with. Guys (and their families) my husband plays hockey with. Nice people, much food. When I asked where my son how his sister was doing he says "Oh, she's downstairs in a closet with M." Um, hel-low. Scarily enough, M. is probably going to someday be the man of her dreams but for now they just bat each other with Hulk Hands

And here they are in a closet. A closet the size of the girlie's bedroom. And no, M. is not giving us a lesson in 'driver communication' but holding up a pretzel. But the fun of hanging out with complete strangers soon wore thin and besides we had one last stop to make.


A party my husband invited himself to. Yeah. Not an actual "hey we're all coming to your new house." More like, "Hey, P. said you're having a big party for New Year's." which of course was followed up by an invite by the host. Maybe it's just me but I questioned whether an invite made after a statement like that was a TRUE invite or not. So, wearing my anxiety on my sleeve...we all went over.



There was a grape and brownie catching exhibition. Much to P.'s wife's chagrin.






And this? This is what happens when someone inadvertently starts singing that song..."if you wanna ride, ride the white pony"











Much laughter.




And because these our friends we've met through hockey, friends with loud trumpets purchased at the dollar store there was a video.




We fell into bed in the wee hours. I made a big breakfast this morning, trying my hand at homefries. They were delicious. Which means next time I try to duplicate the recipe, they'll stink. Such is life. Today we are planning games. Playing and watching, as the Patriots take the field this afternoon. Slippers will be worn.

Wishing you and yours a very happy new year.