Wednesday, April 30, 2008

oh, the places we can go

Tonight, we had an awesome dinner with friends (thanks Ms J and Mr M!). The meal was very picture-worthy, but I didn't have my camera with me so I don't have a picture (although Ms J did offer to break out her camera, take a picture and send it to me). We had lamb, couscous, vegetables, pita bread with hummus and strawberries. The couscous was conveniently sitting near me on the table, so I just kept eating it.

Along with dinner, we got ideas for places to go in the coming months and I'm very excited and already day-dreaming. There's a music festival that apparently resembles something like Burning Man sans the drug culture that comes with that and the Exploratorium. I'm pretty sure that Poke has told me about this place before (because Poke and Mr Poke go to the most fun places). I'm looking forward to checking these places out. We already have meek little summer plans, but believe you me, anything should be better than last summer.

This summer, we're hoping to got to Apple Hill for all kinds of good summer fruits. Before or after that, we're not sure yet which, we're hoping to make a real quick stop in San Francisco to buy children's book in Italian at Cavalli Italian Book Store. Then, if Nana V has recovered enough from surgery, we're hoping to set up camp in Lake Isabella. It's been two years since our first (and last) family camping trip and we're anxious to get back.

I needed all of these good things to fantasize about because I've been a bit floudering lately. As the semester closes, I've been feeling that nothing semester-wise is as good as it should be. And, today, I was reminded just how sucky my academic writing is (I wasn't reminded in a bad way -- 'sucky' is totally my word -- and my writing really, really does need some major work). It's sometimes just hard to understand how I've gotten this far and still writing the way I do.

Okay, so, let's kill the sour note. We have tiramisu left over from last night and I think I'm going to go talk Cardo into sharing it with me right now.

Oh, and how could I forget, I also have Seattle to look forward to. Friends and I will be presenting papers at RSA, and Ms A and I are determined to see a bit of the sights.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

updated wish list

So, I did one wish list on my Other blog and I have since bought both the Mimi the Sardine lunchbags and the Chico Bags. I haven't yet bought a house. :( I can't remember what else was on that list. Here're the top five things for now.


















































NO MORE EARTHQUAKES

And, oh yeah, world peace. (Or some of the rosemary, garlic flatbread from Silver Peak.)

P.S. I get a $.03 refund if I bring reusable bags to Safeway (sometimes) and a $.06 refund if I use them at Winco.
P.P.S. I'm off to do Pilates on the living room floor while listening to Josh Groban croon inside and the wind torment the crap out of my house outside.

Monday, April 28, 2008

...and more

Two more earthquakes in the last hour, around 3.somethings (low 3's). About 310 in the last three days. If the semester weren't still in, we'd be out of town by now because I am on the verge of all-out panic. (Like I might have mentioned a time or two, earthquakes make me irrational.)

Here's the newest e-mail we were sent (yes, I'm sharing it...please don't take back my TAship, and, no, I don't know what is up with all of the weird Ss. I've included the whole e-mail, even the disclaimer at the bottom).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Reno area has experienced a noticeable increase in seismic activity since late February 2008. While the possibility of an earthquake of major significance is unlikely, the following important information is for you to review and share with others:

–ššššššššš A Town Hall meeting to discuss the recent seismic activity will take place on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 5:00 P.M. at the Jot Travis Student Union in the new “Lake” classroom. Presenters will include John Anderson, Director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory, Jon Price, State Geologist and Director of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Craig DePolo, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Ed Atwell, Emergency Management Coordinator for the University of Nevada, Reno.



–ššššššššš Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to remove heavy objects from walls and file cabinets. This includes televisions, large pictures, mirrors, etc. You are also encouraged to strap down computer monitors, books shelves and other large objects. Voluntary safety audits will take place in dorms and other buildings on campus to advise students and staff on the appropriateness of items which may hurt you if not removed.



–ššššššššš If an earthquakes strikes, DROP, COVER, AND HOLD ON! Take cover under a piece of furniture or against an inside wall. Stay indoors until the shaking stops and you're sure it's safe to exit. Stay away from windows. In a high-rise building, expect the fire alarms and sprinklers to go off during a quake.

–ššš ššššš If you are in bed, hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow.

–šš šššššš If you are outdoors, find a clear spot away from buildings, trees, and power lines. Drop to the ground.

–ššššššššš If you are in a car, slow down and drive to a clear place (as described above). Stay in the car until the shaking stops. Other recommendations which are contrary to the DROP, COVER and HOLD ON ššššare not recommended. Research has shown that most injuries in U.S. earthquakes occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave. Quickly seeking a place of safety, such as under a sturdy table or desk, and moving as short a distance as possible to that place of safety, is recommended based on research.

–ššššššššš In research facilities, ensure that chemicals are properly secured, and after an event, caution is advised when opening hazardous materials storage cabinets and upright refrigerators and freezers since internal containers may have been knocked over or may fall out upon opening of the container door. Please assess your laboratory and office space for items that may be prone to tipping or falling during an earthquake. Hazardous chemicals should be stored in cabinets according to hazard class so that incompatible chemicals are not in close proximity, and secondary containment is recommended. Flammable liquids are of special concern since a release can easily result in fire, especially when these chemicals are stored near heat and spark sources. All compressed gas cylinders should be secured to prevent tipping since a sudden release of internal pressure can cause serious injury and facility damage, and the release of toxic and flammable gases present obvious additional concerns. Please contact Ben Owens (327-5196) or Mike Kivistik (784-4981) with the EH&S Department if you have questions or need assistance. The EH&S 24-hour emergency number is 327-5040.

–ššššššššš Information on counseling for students is available at http://www.unr.edu/stsv/cs/

–šššš Detailed information on home and office earthquake planning and preparedness, elimination of hazards, and other information is available at http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_583_,00.html

–ššššššššš Additional information specific to Nevada earthquake preparedness, survival and recovery can be obtained from the handbook “Living With Earthquakes in Nevada” available at http://www.seismo.unr.edu/ep/nvguide/nvguide.pdf

Please contact me or UNR Emergency Management Coordinator Ed Atwell at (775) 682-7247 if you have any questions.


Adam Garcia

Director

University of Nevada

Police Services



PUBLIC SERVICE IS A TRUST GIVEN IN FAITH AND ACCEPTED IN HONOR



The material in this e-mail is intended only for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is confidential, privileged, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that the unauthorized use, disclosure,duplication, distribution, or the taking of any action in reliance on this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by return email and then delete it immediately from your system. Please note that neither the University of Nevada, Reno Police Services nor the sender accepts any responsibility for viruses and it is your responsibility to scan attachments

Saturday, April 26, 2008

...and more

I don't really want to write about it, but here's the link to a story about what's been going on here seismologically (I might have made that word up). It hasn't been fun. I might be making middle-of-the-night phone calls again tonight.

Friday, April 25, 2008

i don't drink so it must be an earthquake

Is it okay that I'm thinking of getting Pic up and inviting her to a slumber party under the dining room table?

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I am not a rational woman when it comes to earthquakes. Earlier this afternoon, during the second bigger earthquake (I know, I know, people in Japan and California and Alaska and Mexico and EVERYWHERE else are laughing at me because I'm using "big" to describe what we've been experiencing here), I grabbed Pic and pulled her under the dining room table with me. She started crying, not because of the earthquake, but because she didn't want to sit under the table, she wanted to watch the previously-mentioned My Little Ponies.

I'm predicting a long night of no sleep here because, really, earthquakes freak me out and my first instinct is to stand where I am and cry (thanks a whole freakin' ton, instincts). And, I have to stand in the middle of the living room, alone, crying my wonderfully irrational tears because Pic is sleeping amazingly soundly in her room (I just checked) and Cardo is sleeping soundly on the couch. In fact, my dearly beloved doesn't even feel these earthquakes. Earlier today, he came in from working on his car in the garage and told me, "I could see everything shaking, but I didn't feel anything." And, Pic was convinced earlier that Papi was outside doing something (what?) to make the house shake. So, I'm really just freaked out here on my own, thank you ever so much.

Oh, and the informative e-mail sent out through my school didn't do much to allay my panicking. (I would share said e-mail, especially considering it says that the information given is important for me to share, but this same e-mail is concluded with a warning that I may not copy any part of the e-mail or my fingers will be cut off (okay, so not really, but it does say that I can't copy the e-mail, because the campus police can't seem to make up their minds).) Let's just say, I'm having premonitions of dragging Pic under her tiny table in her bedroom, me screaming, "DROP! COVER! HOLD ON!"

Thursday, April 24, 2008

the many woes

Today, Pic was watching a My Little Ponies movie (total karmic payback, I know) when I told Cardo that we needed to go to Costco and see if they had any discs so we could save our pictures on them (because we have a digital camera and the stereotypical hundreds of pictures that we might never again look at and I hate slogging through five hundred and thirty-two pictures trying to find the one I'm looking for). Pic's whole self, that was just miliseconds before wholly enrapt in My Little Ponies, perked up. "I want to go to Costco!" I'm not sure why it's so alluring, but at least she was agreeable about the trip she'd have to take whether she wanted to or not (I just don't know that Snuggles and Lucky are up to the task of pouring her juice and watercoloring with her).

About two minutes into the drive, Cardo says, "I hope this is enough gas to get us to Costco." I looked at the meter and he had about an ounce of gas left in the car. About two minutes after he said this, the warning light came on. We had to stop at a Shell station and put one gallon of gas in the car to tide us over until we got to Costco. When we arrived, every line for a pump at the Costco gas station had at least four cars in it. We were all waiting to pay almost four dollars a gallon. And I thought of high school when gas was $.97 a gallon. Yes, that decimal point is in the right place. Sure, this price didn't last long, but gas was at least two dollars a gallon cheaper. And I thought of conversations, several years ago, about the rising prices of gas and reassurances that, "At least we're not paying four dollars a gallon like some countries' citizens." Really, America, that is not the kind of competition we need to live up to.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

resolutions

Learn this dance.



Notes to self:

visit LA's Marriott
buy suit
buy tap shoes
learn to fly

plants!

Pic, today, laying on the kitchen floor, “This plant is making me crazy. Papí, get it! Get the plant!”

Now that it is getting warm outside, the “plants” are moving in. (In case you haven’t guessed it yet, “plant” is Pic’s word for “ant.”) Of course, I have a “no squishing the plant/other living creature” rule so Papi didn't "get" the "plant."

Happy Earth Day! Don’t squish the plants.

Monday, April 21, 2008

a dinner bert would love

Tonight, we had oatmeal for dinner. Not fancy, I know, but I didn't feel like making anything so the fact that I made non-instant, non-microwaved oatmeal (we don't eat either of those, except once when I made myself some oatmeal at school and never brought my bowl back so I could make it again) is saying something.

I made old-fashioned oats. I added diced apples when I added the oats. After it cooked, I added dried blueberries, Trader Joe's Lowfat Mixed Berry Granola and a bit of maple syrup. It was very filling but not all that colorful. (I really wanted to add parsley to liven up the color...old habit from the OG. I resisted.)



Cardo is working a wonderful open-to-close tonight. I have a million pages left of The Faerie Queene to read and I still have more annotations to write. Thanks be that this semester is ending soon.

Only six more days until we go to the booksale!

wondering

Is it weird that one of the requisites for home-buying for me is that there be a Trader Joe's within reasonable distance?

I love TJ's. My current favorites from the store: the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (I know my older sister can get behind this) and the tangerine sugar scrub I sometimes use to exfoliate my face. ('Yes, woman from the Estee Lauder counter, I am now regularly exfoliating my face, and, no, it isn't costing me $50/container of cleanser.') This scrub smells so freaking good, I could eat it. But, I won't, because the jar tells me not to. I, do, however like to sneak occassional whiffs from the jar...talk about cheap aromatherapy. Maybe I should carry the stuff with me to get me through these next few weeks of my end-of-semester-meltdown-and-cry-in-my-committee-chair's-office phase.

blog etiquette

Okay, so I'm very deep within the archives of one of my favorite blogs and I'm starting to think in terms of how this woman writes. One of her features is "Thinking" where she'll share a quick thought on whatever. Lately, I've felt compelled to share my random thoughts with you (whoever you may be) also. My influence: dooce.

I do have an etiquette question, so please do respond. Should I get permission before adding a site to my blog roll?

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Earth Day...Festival

Okay, so yes, when I'm not completely sleep deprived, I realize that Earth Day is always April 22nd...duh.

So, we went to the festival today, had a blast, took some pictures and bought my red and Earth Chico Bags!!



Pic and Cardo waiting for the train.










Pic and the rock she made.










Pic and me, on the train.











Pic and her MASSIVE caramel/mini m&m apple.





Pic and the pig, gettin' down!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

reusable bags (and, of course, dinner)

I am somewhat in love with my reusable bags. I have the standard totes from Trader Joe's and Winco, but I also have some that are more fun. We have an insulated bag we bought at Costco (actually, we bought two of these...the first one was eaten by squirrels on our first family camping trip -- this year we'll keep a better watch on the thing). This one is great, but it's also a bit huge so we often forget to bring it with us.

My second favorite (penfavorite? like penultimate?) resubale bags are Pic's and my lunch bags. We got these from the mimi the sardine website. They are machine washable and super cute. I have the mouse design and Pic has the ladybug design. (I was hoping she'd pick the mouse one, considering it's pink and she loves pink. Then I could have the ladybug one, which is very red and green, two of my three favorite colors. They're both cute, though).

My very favorite reusable bags are the chico bags I just got. These bags are $5/bag, but you get one free after you order four (of course, you have to pay shipping, but shipping's less than $5). Each bag has an attached pouch, so you can just roll the bag up and stuff it back into the pouch. Also, each has a carabineer attached so I just hook my bags onto my purse and I don't forget to bring them with me. I've only had the bags for a couple of weeks, but I've already used them a bunch. Yea, less plastic bag use! These bags are, I'm pretty sure, the same size as plastic grocery bags (maybe a tiny bit bigger) and they hold up to 20 pounds. You can machine wash these bags also.

Speaking of all of this reusableness, tomorrow is Earth Day! We plan on attending the festivities at Idlewild tomorrow, if the whole of Reno isn't blown away in the middle of the night because of this crazy wind. Earth Day always makes me think of my grammie, who taught me to recycle and thrift shop (or 'vintage' shop as Stacy and Clinton were referring to it on What Not to Wear last night...although I'm sure the second-hand clothes the woman bought in New York were waaay more expensive than what I get at Goodwill and Savers). Also, my grammie's birthday was April 22nd and Earth Day occasionally falls on this day. Although I'm don't have the whole religion thing figured out, I do like the idea of guardian angels and I like to think that my grammie is watching over Pic. Happy Birthday/Earth Day Grammie!

Finally: dinner. Tonight I tried a recipe from one of my Cooking Light cookbooks (I am constantly searching Goodwill's shelves for these). I made something described as an english muffin sandwich in my cookbook, although it reminded me more of sopes than a sandwich and we used forks and knives to eat our 'sandwiches.' I added chopped spinach and I think that next time I'll make them with garlic instead of shallots. (By the way, can anyone use a bunch of shallots? Safeway only sold them by the bag and I doubt that I'll be able to use them all up.) I also used whole wheat (where the first ingredient is actually whole wheat) english muffins and reduced-fat provolone cheese.

We also had chopped spinach, apple and tomato salad. It sounds just like what it is. I made dressing, but I'm not sure that balsamic vinegar is ever supposed to be used when making a vinaigrette. If anyone knows how to make easy vinaigrettes, please share. I didn't put any dressing on my salad, but Cardo braved it and said he liked it (but he also often says that he'll eat anything).




P.S. I just added my links and the Chico Bag store just redesigned their site and added new bags. Is it lame that I really want to order new bags now? I want at least a red one and an Earth one. If anyone else (in Reno, Carson, Sparks) wants to order three, let me know and we can order all five at the same time. Otherwise, I'll just order five more and give my totes away.

Friday, April 18, 2008

selfishness

Wednesday evening, we had a "picmic" in Cardo's car. After I got home from class, we went to pick up the car from Audio Express on the opposite end of town (Cardo had just had a new alarm installed because a couple of weeks ago, his car was broken into while he was working). Pic and Cardo rode in his car and I followed in mine. A couple of moments down the road, I watched as Cardo's radio antenna lowered and then rose again. We turned left and it happened again. The emergency flashers clicked on. Cardo got out and pushed his car into the empty parking lot of a restaurant that serves only breakfast and lunch. Apparently, the car had died twice and Cardo was convinced that the people who had installed the alarm had screwed up (as the wonderful people at Best Buy did when he had the first alarm installed). We called the insurance and, after the operator was sure that we were in a safe place and that there were no injuries or medical problems, we were told that a tow truck would arrive within an hour. Cardo was barely containing his anger (he was seriously pissed off) and I didn't want to sit in the car for an hour, so Pic and I walked over to the nearby Quizno's to get sandwiches. I told Pic we were going to have a picnic in the car, and we did.

The car was towed back to Audio Express, where it stayed overnight. We picked it up Thursday and it died a couple more times so we dropped it off at a garage where it stayed overnight. This morning was a frantic rush of getting the three of us ready and dropping everyone off where we needed to be. I was somewhat okay with all of this, until this afternoon.

A little background is needed here. During high school and the first year of college, I had a group of friends to "shop" with. I write "shop" because we rarely bought anything, but we had a blast trying on clothes...especially when we chose the ugliest outfits we could find and tried those on (ah, Poke, those were the days!). Skip forward about six somewhat-friendless* years of college (I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but I don't make friends easily) and I now have a group of friends I'd feel comfortable going shopping with. Clothes shopping with Cardo is okay, yes, but we don't try on clothes together and I hate feeling like he could be doing better things with his time (although he assures me he doesn't mind shopping with me -- and, shopping with him is kind of great because he so wonderfully naively asks questions like "You're a size six, right?").

Back to this afternoon. I had the opportunity to go shopping with friends, but I'm a mamma and a wife. Yes, I chose these...identities, and I love being a mamma and a wife, but sometimes I get so hung up on what I have to give up in order to be these things. Instead of shopping (for much-needed new bras among other items), I had to go pick up the beauty-baby and then go pick up Cardo from work so that we could go shell out $421 and pick up his car.

Cardo would drive to Oklahoma to pick me up, if I needed him to (although what I'd be doing in Oklahoma, I have no idea...perhaps visiting the home where the Hansens grew up???**), but when he needs me to drive 20 minutes to pick him up, all I want to do is whine about how I'm missing out on a chance to hang out with the ladies. I didn't whine, but, really, how did I get to be so selfish? Is this normal? Is it even okay for me to feel this way, considering I do have family obligations that I chose to embrace? I think so, but I also think that I just need to get over it already. There will be bras to be tried on and bought other days.

Thank you for letting me vent (not as if you, whoever you are, had any choice...hahaha (that's a wry laugh, not a hilariously-amused laugh)).

* when I say friendless, I just mean that I didn't have close friends who lived close to me. I have an abfab group of friends who have been a part of my life for years now (friends I met anywhere from elementary school through college).

** No, I have never been a Hansen fan, but because one of my abfab friends was, at one time, a Hansen fan, I STILL associate Oklahoma with Hansen...just as I associate license plates with the letters JRT with Justin Randall Timberlake.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

happiness is...



Mmm...ice cream. I love both ice cream and the color of this ice cream (green tea ice cream from Cold Stone, obviously).





Pic in the sunglasses she picked out.

give me a break

I'm currently reading a year-old issue of Redbook. (The NW Library lends out back issues of magazines and I, having never read Redbook before, thought I'd check this one out.) There is a small feature called "Star Stories" and the topic for the month (4/2007) was "What the nicest thing you've done for someone else?" Ben Affleck's response: "I took care of [my daughter] Violet by myself for a whole day, feeding her and changing her. My wife [Jennifer Garner] wasn't sure I could do it!"

First of all, the excessive use of exclamation points I've come across is seriously annoying!

Second, hello, that's the nicest thing he's done for someone? Watch his own child for a whole day? I'm sure it was nice and all, but I hate this weird notion that, of course, moms just naturally care for their babies while dads "babysit."

I have nothing against Affleck, and I definitely shouldn't judge anyone by such a small snippet of quote, but how is it so nice that he did his job as a dad?

book sale





Pic, Cardo and I are planning on going the last Sunday (because I'm really cheap and I love $6-Day). The parking usually sucks, so we get there at about 9:45, when a line is already forming. Also, people sometimes tend to be unnecessarily pushy (seriously, if someone wants the book that badly, all they have to do is ask me). I'm not trying to deter anyone, I just want to properly inform everyone.

Happy book hunting!


If you're having trouble with the small image, here's a link to the booksale site. booksale

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

catharsis

Recently, a friend and I were discussing massages. I don't remember how we got on the topic, but I mentioned that I had never had a professional massage. My friend told me that, while she enjoys the actual massage, it is always a very emotional experience for her and it's a bit embarrassing to cry during the session. I've heard similar stories before, from other people.

I think I've found something more embarrassing and more weirdly emotional. I get why having the tension kneaded out of you can lead to tears. I don't get, however, how drum music at the library beat tears from me.

This morning, Pic and I went to the library for storytime, as usual, and Ms. Judy announced that tonight's program was going to be a Taiko drum performance put on by Tsurunokai. I was mildly interested, but Pic was enticed by the fact that Ms. Judy told her she could wear her pajamas to the program (usually we go for the Pajama Night activities).

After the library, Pic and I went to House of Bread, of course, and then came home to rest. Pic slept for three hours. I had planned to read a good chunk of The Shepherd's Calendar, but instead I slept for two hours myself (after freaking out a tiny bit about the two earthquakes I felt around 2:30). When I woke up, I was groggy, incoherent and uncomfortable. I just wanted to sit at home, but I mentioned the program to Pic anyway. She was beyond stoked at the idea of going to see/hear the drums, so Cardo, Pic and I piled in the car.

I wish I had brought my video camera, but I don't think that that would have even come close to recording the Taiko performance. There were two Taiko drums (the woman leading the program had made them from wine barrels and cow hide...not bat skin as one of the children guessed) and some smaller drums. The music was so wonderfully loud that it reverberated in my chest. I was afraid, at first, that Pic would want to leave, but soon enough, her entire body was swaying to the music. Okay, so swaying doesn't even begin to describe her very soulful movements (again, I wish I had brought my camera). At the end of the performance, half of the kids got up to play the drums and the other half got up to dance (actually, we all got in on the dancing part). After the program, Pic got to play one of the drums also and one of the performers complimented her on her dancing.

This all sounds well and good, no? However, about twelve seconds into the performance, I was crying. What is that about? I was just so weirdly overcome with emotion and the tremendous volume and the rhythm were strangely cathartic for me. I was sitting in the back of the room, trying to quietly wipe tears from my streaming eyes and hold it together. Talk about embarrassing.

Two thoughts: I need more sleep/less stress and I appear to have the stereotypical hormonal make-up of a pregnant woman (and my body just last week informed me that, thank everything holy and not, I am not a pregnant woman).

I really need to go get on that reading now, but I do have two very exciting (to me) plans for the next couple of weekends. This coming weekend is the Earth Day celebration at Idlewild. Last year I didn't go because Cardo was working and I got entirely too overwhelmed by the volume of people there and realized that I couldn't handle taking Pic by myself. I'm really looking forward to this year (Cardo will be attending with us). The following Sunday is $6-Day at the Friends of the Washoe County Library warehouse sale! Yippie-chi! (Yes, I know, I don't really need more books, but really, I need more books...it's an addiction and it could be worse so I'll keep it.) Last year, I got about 90 'new' books (the books are all used) for $18 (kids' books are small). I can hardly wait.

Oh, one last thing. I couldn't possibly sign off without including a picture of dinner. (As I told Cardo tonight, 'It wouldn't be dinner without a picture.' Of course the freaking camera battery was dead, so I had to take the picture with the computer camera, so it looks a little strange.) The flatbread and the chicken gorgonzola are from Trader Joe's. I made the polenta salad. I baked thin slices of pre-made polenta and added it to the rest of the salad. The rest of the salad was chopped spinach, chopped tomatoes, dried basil (we don't have any fresh basil in the house right now), sauteed minced garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. (I have to say that the color of my salad is beautiful and vibrant!)


resolutions

Never ever again purchase and bring into the house Ben and Jerry's low-fat frozen yogurt in those incredibly convenient pint containers.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

a little tap

If I ever again in my life take tap lessons, I vow that I will learn a routine to this song.


I, Grover

It's "I, Grover." Someone help me to figure out how to get the actual link to show up here, please.


I have the whole song, in case anyone really wants to hear it, but for now, you'll just have to listen to the snippet here.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

the what per what?

Okay, so, yes, I understand that my title is in fact in Italian. It's just that my first title was too long, it felt too clunky. And, 'the duck pond,' 'duck pond' and 'duck's pond' were all taken. So,....

I dealt with a raging headache ALL. FREAKING. DAY. Sorry, I don't mean to yell. I kept myself hydrated ('hydrated' has been part of Pic's vocabulary for quite some time...Mamma's a bit obsessed with hydration), so it wasn't that. I'm thinking it was all of the lemon poppyseed bread and the apple pizza and the lack of a significant amount of non-bread foods. Oh, and the lack of fresh air and sunshine...I just felt so crappy that I didn't want to leave the house and get fresh air and sunshine. Finally, when Cardo got home, we got out a bit...we went to Home Depot for grass seed/mulch/fertilizer (it's an all-in-one product) and rakes (one grown-up-sized one for Cardo and me to share and one kid-sized one for Pic. Tomorrow, we conquer the dead dead lawns. Or something like that.

Right now, I'm contemplating putting in a movie (I've never before heard of either of the movies I just rented and I can't remember the name of either) and actually pulling the stability ball out of the closet and working off a tiny fraction of the calories from the burrito I ate for dinner. But first...

I must, of course, include a picture of lunch, even though it'll take twenty-five minutes for my camera and my computer to get along well enough for me to upload the picture. I bought whole wheat pizza dough at Trader Joe's the other day and I've been dreaming of making apple pizza ever since. I brushed olive oil on the dough, added about a cup of part-skim shredded mozzarella and some thinly-sliced green apple. I liked it, Pic ate only a bit.


Thursday, April 10, 2008

in medias res

I've never really understood the whole taboo of the 13th floor in hotels. I've decided that if I ever own a hotel (which would have to be run by Indie, of course), I'll name it The Thirteenth Floor. I'm not saying it's original, but I just feel so bad for the poor 13th floor. And, anyway, the 14th floor really is the 13th anyway, so do really superstitious people avoid the 14th floor?