From Lisa

TEN FIRSTS

First Best Pal: Melissa
First Hamster: Never had a hamster.
First Piercing: Ears - 13 yrs. old
First Crush: Joey.
First CD: Hootie and the Blowfish
First Car: Mustard yellow plymouth turismo
First Love: Bill.
First Stuffed Animal: cannot remember
First Teacher: Mrs. Fitzgerald
First Watch: again, can't remember

NINE LASTS

Last Beverage: milk
Last Vehicle Ride: Home from the ice rink
Last Movie Seen: Akeelah and the Bee
Last Phone Call: called some hockey parents about a fundraiser
Last CD Played: High School Musical Soundtrack
Last Bubble Bath: far too long ago
Last Time You Cried: sheesh, can't remember
Last Person who gave you a hug: My son
Last Time you rang your mum/dad/guardian: two days ago

EIGHT HAVE YOU EVERS

Have you ever dated one of your best friends: yes
Have you ever been arrested: No
Have you ever skinny dipped: Yes
Have you ever been on TV: Yes
Have you ever kissed someone and then regretted it: Yes
Have you ever had a dream about someone you knew: Yes
Have you ever been in love: Yes.
Have you ever wanted to slap/punch a friend: Yes

SEVEN THINGS YOU'RE WEARING

1 grey shirt
2 jeans
3 grey socks
4 sneakers
5 bra
6 underwear
7 sorry, only wearing six things!

SIX THINGS YOU'VE DONE TODAY (in no particular order)
1. Got my hair colored
2. Went to the zoo
3. Spoke to some people about the playground fundraiser
4. Gritted my teeth after talking to a certain daisy mom
5. Fed the guinea pig
6. made kale soup

FIVE FAVORITE THINGS IN NO ORDER

1. Snow...and lots of it
2. Hugs from the kids
3. Lobster Salad and potato chips by the pool
4. The beach
5. One favorite to be: my new router and wireless card for the laptop. To be opened on Christmas.

THREE CHOICES

1. Eat or drink: Eat
2. Blonde or brunette: Brunette
3. Pink or black: Black

TWO THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE

1. Visit all fifty states
2. Have my grandkids visit me here...in this home.

So, did you get tired of looking at the one word meme yet?

I know I did.




Why doesn't the boy like baseball? Or, really, even soccer. He used to like soccer - was pretty good at it, even. Doesn't he realize that they don't play soccer at the crack of dawn?








Hey, at least I got to catch the sunrise - even if it was in the rear view mirror.





And because, to you guys, the hockey pictures probably all look about the same - here's one from a few weeks ago.

But hey, this game was different - the boy got a shot a playing wing (usually he's on D) and he had three breakaways and he skated faster than he's EVER skated. We were speechless. And we haven't told him but his coach plans on skating him up again this week. Plus his team is 9-1-0 (woohoo for the squirts!)



Then, sometime later.... when the rest of the world was awake...

A christmas tree cutting expedition. Notice the lack of winter jackets and gloves and such? Yeah, well it may be nice weather for picking out a tree but it does not really make me want a tree. At all. How do you folks in California do it?


Turkey pot pie for supper.







Well now, days have passed. The tree is decorated, the pot pie a distant memory. The days fly by...chess club, daisy scouts, work, guinea pig.

Which, by the way, the guinea pig is mine. No longer any doubt (at least in my mind). The thing is such a little bundle of stress he's pulling his hair out. Just like I always threaten to do. He's my kindred spirit.

Blogger has me on a deadline.

I need to go comment on someone's site and all I get where the usually gobbledy gook of word verification letters are is this: Visual Verification. As in that's where the verification SHOULD be. No letters to type. So I can't comment. It. Is. Killing. Me.

In a Word

One Word Meme

Yourself: cooking
Your partner: tired
Your hair: cut
Your Mother: reliable
Your Father: gone
Your Favorite Item: camera
Your dream last night: toys
Your Favorite Drink: coke
Your Dream Car: newer
Your Dream Home: same
The Room You Are In: bed
Your Ex: snowboarder
Your fear: separation
Where you Want to be in Ten Years: here
Who you hung out with last night: kids
What You’re Not: rich
Muffins: blueberry
One of Your Wish List Items: slippers
Time: short
The Last Thing You Did: cleaned
What You Are Wearing: jeans
Your favorite weather: snow
Your Favorite Book: Haruf
Last thing you ate: cracker
Your Life: balanced
Your mood: funkless
Your Best Friends: love
What are you thinking about right now: baking
Your car: favorite
What are you doing at the moment: this
Your summer: lake
Relationship status: comfy
What is on your TV: timer
What is the weather like: grey
When is the last time you laughed: "dust"

Jennifer

I just bought a $29.00 first generation ipod shuffle from the Apple Store.

The boy will be stunned. And I have just checked his 'big gift' off my list! Hoo-yeah.

I'm not much with wanting to celebrate Thanksgiving this year...I feel like I'm just doing what's expected of me, going through the motions. Which is a shame. I won't let the kids catch on but honestly I'd rather stay home and do something ourselves.

Maybe it's the fact that my husband is still working at his parents. We see him almost not at all and I'm feeling a bit disconnected. Like part of what belongs here is missing.

Today's the first day it's been even marginally cold. I've got my christmas shopping well over halfway done but I'm having trouble computing that THIS is the weekend we buy our tree.

Must. Snap. Out. Of. It.

Funny, because when I was just reading last year's November archives it seems I was in the same sort of funk.

So.

Anyways, here is my own private hideout the shed. It's almost done, the trim needs painting, and the husband is unhappy with his windows (that he spent hours making) and there's some talk of redoing them. My guess is, they're in...they'll stay. And shutters...it needs shutters. And some landscaping too.
favorite part of the shed...the handle. It's the center of a 4"x 4" piece of oak. They age and crack in the heat of the cellar when the woodstove is on for awhile and in the middle is this round, solid piece of wood.The sides and roof of the shed sort of extend back to create a little outdoor storage area for the bikes and lawnmower and ice fishing sled. I'm thinking it might be time to deflate the tubes.

The procrastination meme - AKA I should be in the shower but instead I'm here

Explain what ended your last relationship?
the fact that a relationship is exactly what i didn't want.

When was the last time you shaved?
yesterday.

What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.?
filling out the hockey picture order form.

What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
making the beds.

Are you any good at math?
uh, no.

Your prom night, what do you remember about it?
jr prom? biggest memory - stopping back at my house to pick up a pair of sneakers and finding my dad and his wife having had way too much to drink and his wife - who hated me -fawning all over me. i still feel bad about leaving her ten year old daughter there with them that night.

senior prom? - my boyfriend getting two left shoes from the rental place, celebrating last minute approval for a post prom stay in Ogunquit and having a great time, even though I was sure I wouldn't.

Do you have any famous ancestors?
no. my grampy was a small time criminal but he wasn't famous. Well, maybe for a short time he was a little famous, one time - to the bigger time criminals that were looking for him when something went awry.

Have you had to take a loan out for school?
No.

Last thing received in the mail?
So many catalogs. And two anxiously awaited netflix flix. third disc of deadwood - season two and the first disc of entourage - season two.

How many different beverages have you had today?
zero. but it'll be one just as soon as i'm done here.

Do you ever leave messages on people’s answering machine?
well, yeah.

Who did you lose your CONCERT virginity to?
The Hooters.

Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?
My name? no. The kids' though.

What’s the most painful dental procedure you’ve had?
the removal of impacted wisdom teeth.

What is out your back door?
Our deck, tons of wet leaves and pine needles and the remnants of a squirrel chewed pumpkin.

Any plans for Friday night?
Yes, remember those netflix movies?

Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?
Not particularly but we generally go for a swim in the lake when we get home.

Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns?
yep, the kids enjoyed it for a day or two and then we dumped it in favor of storing something or other in it.

Have you ever been to a planetarium?

I went alot as a kid, my junior high had one so it was a field trip destination even when i wasn't in that school.

Do you re-use towels after you shower?
I do the laundry OF COURSE I reuse the towels.

Some things you are excited about?
My boy's writing, upcoming christmas season, italian sub stoup

What is your favorite flavor of JELL-O?
jell-o? red. only. want to hear something gross? something that could turn you off jell-o forever? my inlaws and husband eat it mixed with milk and sugar. just picturing it make me gagish.

Describe your keychain(s)?
two keys with a pewterish looking MAINE and a moose on it.

Where do you keep your change?
At the bottom of my purse.

When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people?
I cannot even remember. Small groups - weekly.

What kind of winter coat do you own?
Some sort of chunky polar fleece number.

What was the weather like on your graduation day?
Sunny and warm.

Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed?
No door - it's a loft.

Here...piggie piggie

Gretsky

I pretty much bungled the whole NaBloPoMo thing. Not posting for a week will do that to you. Oh well, classic underachiever. I've been doing other things, though.

this recipe for instance?





Delicious.

And so easy I was convinced I was doing it all wrong.

I can't quit you

I thought about quitting, I did. Well, not writing anymore, anyway...I don't know if I could ever stop reading. But I'm a chatterbox. And my husband has been claiming to hear less and less of what I'm saying (oh, yes...I did too tell you I had a book club meeting this Friday) so it has to come out.

My poor friend SP bore the brunt my conversation monopolizing last Thursday. She fared well. And compared me (favorably too, I might add) to her lovely, if vociferous, baby. I cry less. Score one for me!

Last week my husband worked on my inlaws septic system. This has been a non stop clusterf*uck for the past two weeks with messed up communication on inspections and permits (with my work, no less) and sneaky, crappy installers. Okay, and it wasn't just last week because they still have a ton of work to do over there but at least the stress of fines and cleaning up someone else's headache is behind us.

Looks nice, no? It's a mess. Their yard is a mess now and instead of waiting to do the work when they sold their home they've decided to do the work and take the house off the market. So that my deadbeat brother in law and his wife and their baby could all live there. Oh, plus two cockapoo dogs. That my father in law hates. AND there's some rumor about my BIL buying the house at a STEEPLY discounted price in two years. I wish I could find a quick way to illustrate how this information entered my husbands ass in the horizontal position. Suffice it to say, he's pissed. And hurt. I told a friend of mine that our status in that family is just one notch above the drug addicted (and currently imprisoned) brother that stole his parent's car last Christmas Day. Totally true.

The rest of the weekend was spent watching some hockey. No, not some. Alot. He skated in Providence on the big guy's ice which is always fun. And we hung out with the parents, which, this year is not so much fun as it was in the past. *sigh*

Plus we got a guinea pig. Which, hell-o....cutest little fella...ever. He's the boy's. He's been hounding us for his own pet for a few years. The 85 lb. black lab that sleeps with him every night is the family's. Not his. Just ask him, he'll tell you. Until your ears bleed.

So we discussed, and discussed the whole responsibility thing. He did well and is doing well. He has his moments, but don't we all. Anyway, he did want a lizard or frog or some other pet. Veto. Well, no so much with the veto as with the extensive "they're mostly for looking, not for touching" type of pet conversations. And then I showed him a picture of a guinea pig. He was hooked. He bought himself a book, we've been to stores pricing out all the cages and food dishes and such. He's spent hours on line checking out guinea pig information and looking at pictures (see how I ramble, how could I NOT blog?) .

And so, on Friday, a Freecycle email came through. One guinea pig, with all accessories, free to a good home. They were hoping it would go to a child that would take good care of it.

*Bingo*

I emailed her right back and found out her daughter was allergic so he had to go as soon as possible. We picked him up Saturday and the boy renamed him.

Gretsky.

I'll try to get a picture tonight.

Whatever you believe or don't believe, god wise, you might find this interesting.

I can't stop reading it.

Don't be scared...really, it's not some over the top crazy talk...

want to post more...but I can't...Lost is calling me.

gah!

10 p.m. and my e-z post ain't happenin.

blogger's not letting me post pictures.

tomorrow, then.

The silicone bakeware: A recap.

I cannot make cookies. At all. I'm not a huge fan of baking cookies anyway, I find it tedious. But my attitude is this:

If I want to make cookies and can follow directions, the cookies should end up being edible.

They weren't.

No amount of new baking powder, cookie sheets, baking soda or even oven thermometers helped. And I threw hundreds of cookies away. Hundreds. Because, while we love hockey, we don't generally eat the pucks and that all these cookies were good for.

So, I bought some red floppy baking sheet liners and figured I'd give it another try.

They. Are. Miraculous.

The cookies are perfectly textured, golden brown and slide right off the silicone. Plus they roll up and you can tuck them in a corner of your cabinets.

Go. Buy Some.

So, maybe there's nothing to this steroid thing...

He must have one hell of a workout ethic. That's all I'm sayin'.

For Amy

She wanted me to leave out some cookies. And here they are. In all their silicone cookie sheet liner perfectness. Now, if only she lived close enough to come over for the game Sunday night, because The Patriots vs. The Colts is fun best shared.

Friday Updates

Daisy Scouts:
The actual act of being the daisy scout leader probably won't kill me. It will the be the moms. OR the mom. There is this one. The other leader and I've decided to institute an aggravation surcharge to be billed monthly.

for example: yesterday she actually reported a grown man to the librarian for using the children's room computers because she thought he looked drunk and homeless...and he looked at her strangely. She actually said this...in front of all the girls and other moms. She then proceeded to make a comment about him maybe being 'a perv'.

The best part of this?

I got to tell her, in my most upbeat passive agressive tone, that "Hey, I know him." As I did - his son is friends with my boy. He was in the library with his kids, helping them find a book or two, and he had just gotten out of work - hence the Carhartt jacket and woolie cap - that were dirty and i guess those dirty laboring types do tend to look homeless. My husband is one of those dirty laboring types and he is certainly in rough shape come 4 p.m. but c'mon... And maybe this guy is a perv, because who really knows, but he was probably just staring back at this lady who was giving him the hairy eyeball because he didn't meet the dress code. And no, he wasn't drunk.


Survivor:
Now, ususally I would pronounce Pavarti as Pahv-ARE-tee and not Poverty. And maybe I have my pronunciation key all wrong...but whatever. Jeff says Poverty. And if that is how you pronounce it? One more reason for her to lose. Her name would be meaningless if she were a million dollars richer.

I kind of liked Flicka.

The guy who rocks at puzzles should've took a minute to realize that if the rest of the group has alot of trouble swimming that there won't even be a chance to DO the puzzle.

They seem to have alot of food. Remember the good old days, when Colby looked like a walking skeleton? Now THAT was Survivor.

Not really Lost...But Found Anyway...

courtesy of google and too much diet coke after 9 p.m. :

an ex-long distance high school romance fella with a poetry blogspot blog.

and

this:


another long ago boyfriend. Now, a professional snowboarder.

Both guys doing what they dreamed of.

Impressive.

On the whole crazy playdate thing: While I could have taken the confrontational route...I did not. I could not. 1.) I was kind of taken aback; 2.) It was a bratz doll, not a joint; 3.) I didn't find out the details of the day until we were on our way home and 4.) There's no need to have the girlie blacklisted by the gestapo mom brigade in town. We can quietly decline future playdate invites or just keep them to a minimum - same result, less drama.

Take Note. I'm Posting Every Day This Month. I swear. Now, put the gun down.

A mom of one of the girlie's classmates invited her over for a few hours the week before last. She offered to pick her up after school and I'd pick her up at their house a few hours later. Not a problem. I know of the family, the kids are nice, etc. - while we aren't really past the 'mom stays too' playdate when it comes to new friends, we know enough people in this small town that now, with child #2, I'm running into the families that have kids my son's age.

Anyway.

When I get there to pick up the girlie, my daughter says that they haven't even had a chance to play. I'm thinking it's just an excuse because she doesn't want to leave yet. Turns out, they weren't home. At all. They went out to lunch, then did an errand or two, then went to Target. Where, after my girlie said that I won't buy her Bratz dolls because they wear too much makeup, the mom buys her a Bratz doll.

Is that normal? To not tell me that she had a few things to do and was going to take them to lunch? And then buy her a toy that even she says isn't something her mom would allow. The mom said she bought her a toy because it was her (my girl's) birthday and her own daughter wanted one. And so, there was no playing on their playdate.

Why can't this whole dealing with other parents thing be easy? I won't be saying anything to the mom and will probably end up inviting the daughter to our house but really...am I way off base here?

And okay, so maybe I'm crazy but I'm not a fan of Bratz dolls - it's the name, slutty attire AND makeup. Not just the makeup. That being said, she's right - I won't buy her one but if she got one as a gift I'd wouldn't go all commando and not let her use it. But I am sort of enjoying the fact that it's sitting under her bed, forgotton.