July 18, 2007
· Filed under Food, Works for Me!
Okay, so if I were the perfect mom I’d always have a freshly-shredded turkey wrap made with my own hummus and finely grated carrots fresh from my garden for my kids’ lunches when we were out in town. Complete the meal with fresh melon balls and a small ziploc baggie of home-made whole wheat oatmeal cookies and I’d be mom of the year. Which I’m not.
So on our little last minute road trip (and honestly, there’s nothing little about a last-minute 9 hour drive with 2 toddlers) we found ourselves in southern Georgia needing food. And just in the nick of time (meaning nano-seconds before both kids’ meltdown pushed their mama off the edge of sanity) we saw a KFC, complete with buffet.
Public Service Announcement: Do not ever, ever – even in times of near starvation – subject yourself or anyone you care about to the KFC in Valdosta, GA. It is the 7th circle of hell. If you are the owner of any food establishment worldwide, please note the following: If the food you serve is unable to swim in the grease you’ve left it to drown in, perhaps buffet style dining isn’t the right choice for you. If all your entrees are indistinguishable from one another because they’re all obscured by the entire pig you’ve thrown on them in the form of bacon, maybe you should consider something other than a buffet. If your doors, walls, tables, and virtually every other surface are coated in dirt thick enough to peel off, it’s better to ask your staff to either clean it properly or not clean it at all so that the diners in your fine establishment won’t be able to trace where the single cleaning swipe left its trail through the thickly accumulated gunk. Finally, if you have to keep the lights dimmed throughout the ‘restaurant’ (I use that term loosely) so that your clientele won’t see the multitude of things that stick to the soles of their shoes, it might be a good time to douse the entire building in bleach and let it steep for 2-3 months.
That said, a good friend of mine, D., is in the industry. Apparently those in-the-know about fast food consider Chick-Fil-A as the most trusted bastion of nutrition on the road (And no, D. doesn’t work for Chick-Fil-A). So when we’re out and about, we look for Chick-Fil-A if I haven’t packed a fresh turkey wrap complete with garden-fresh veggies and home made cookies (which, let’s face it, I just don’t do). 20/20 hindsight, right? If only I’d known that in Valdosta, Georgia.
Head over to Shannon’s place at Rocks in My Dryer to get more helpful tips!
July 17, 2007
· Filed under Home
Well, perhaps famous isn’t the right word. But Money Magazine just named Suwanee, Georgia (aka, home sweet home) one of the top 10 places to live. Me so proud!
July 15, 2007
· Filed under Shopping, Trivialities
And it just happens to be the coolest language in the universe! Well, to be honest, it’s not a traditional language. See, I have a new Mac. I’ve always been a PC-kind of girl. Partial to Sonys in fact. Hubby became a traitor switched over to Macs a few months ago and I was resentful for a little while. I mean, how were we going to share files? How could a Mac exist in the house with my precious PC? But then I saw how cool it was. And denial set in.
In spite of the coolness factor, my PC was better. It might not have the functionality. It might not have a built-in camera or quick-release power chord. It might not have super cool slide shows built in and the ability to run the entire planet from one machine. But it was a PC. And PCs are must more better. they just are. Just because. (Was he the only person in the universe who didn’t understand my rock solid logic?)
And now I’m a traitor too I’ve seen the light. The graphic rendering and website rendering are out of this world, the ease of use is incredible (to install a program, I just click it and drag it to my Applications folder. done.), Macs are truly the best example of design genius ever created. In fact, they’re so good I think God has a preference for Mac users in his Kingdom. (Okay, stretching it a bit now). But the fact is, I’ve found the most perfect thing ever created. (other than, say, the heavens and the earth – God himself did a pretty good job there.)
July 14, 2007
· Filed under Family
So, what do you think? Do I frame it or not? Maybe in one of those gilded, Baroque style frames above the fireplace? Everyday Mommy posted the link, and now I’ll pass it on to you.
Tag! you’re it! Create your own at the Simpsons Movie website. Let me know when yours is up!
July 14, 2007
· Filed under Home
This Friday, the 20th, Owlhaven is hosting a pretty cool blog carnival. Write about your childhood home and sign her Mr. Linky (on Friday people, not today).
I’ve already written my post. It turned out pretty nice – I don’t think I’ve written a post that good in a long while. It made me think about my childhood in a way I haven’t before, and then led to thinking about the types of things I’m providing for my kids – are my provisions transient? Or lasting? Are the things I’m giving them developing their character? Hmmm…
Anyhow, there will be a nice post here on Friday (and hopefully a few decent posts in the meantime) and I encourage you play along. Tell the blogosphere all about where you grew up. It’s fun!
July 14, 2007
· Filed under Trivialities
I’m currently navigating the murky waters of techie-land. And sure, the territory may have been charted by those before me. But it seems that those who have charted the territory chose to keep the map to themselves. And they wrote it in Sanskrit just in case one of us non-techies got our hands on it.
My business blog, which normally would be at Broom Huggers, was experiencing problems with the hosting site. So I did what anyone would do. I switched to another host. Unfortunately that involves downloading the site (and databases too?) and then uploading it to the new host, while simultaneously changing the name servers. I think it’d be easier for me if I knew what my site was. And just to make matters a little more complicated, I just switched from a PC to a Mac. I love the Mac. But it speaks a different language. So here I am learning Mac, hosting, databases, and all sorts of other things that are out of my comfort zone.
I thought I could do it myself, but now I’m hip to the fact that the techies out there are all a part of some big conspiracy to complicate hosting and make us non-techies totally dependent on their specialized knowledge.
I thought I’d done everything right. I called tech support, oh, a gagillion times. I downloaded the software they recommended. I followed their instructions (even when they were sending me on a wild goose chase and turning me into the butt of their jokes because I didn’t give them enough information). But now the website doesn’t work.
So I’m on my gagillionth and oneth phone call to tech support. I’m very close to handing this over to someone else (and paying them to fix what I’ve screwed up). In the meantime, I’m sitting on a prime piece of cyber real estate that’s doing exactly squat for me.
July 12, 2007
· Filed under Family, Home
We were going through pictures today. Hubby went to the Georgia Aquarium last week (or the week before?) with our houseguests. It was his 3rd time there, and he mentioned that he’d love to go back sometime without a camera so that he can actually see things.
That’s kind of my position on blogging lately. I’ve been in the thick of it. Life, that is. And while I usually relish a little bit of quiet time to process the days’ events by writing about them to the worldwide internet community full of complete strangers and a few friends and regular ‘conversants,’ lately I’ve been too busy living it to write about it. You know those times you go through when you barely have time to breathe? That’s where I am now.
Home repairs. Board member of Home Owners Association. Little Man’s seizures. A crowded house. Bean vomiting blood. Significant home repairs. Starting a business. More house guests. Brother home from Afghanistan. Road trip. Add to that all the usual things, like kids’ birthday parties, oodles of laundry, errands to run, gardening to be done, painting to be done, knitting projects, and on and on. I’m hoping to get some of this madness dealt with so I can return to the lifestyle I’m used to. Having time to breathe. Having friends over for dinner. Going to playdates. Being me.
Until then, please don’t write me off as another blog lost to the wind. I’m still here, and I certainly plan on returning. When I have something decent to say, and enough time to think about something coherent.
July 11, 2007
· Filed under Parenting, Works for Me!
Bean has had nightmares since she was a couple hours old. At least that’s what I think. So now at age 3 when she wakes up, oh, 4-5 times a night (almost every night) I’m ready to pull my hair out.
For a while prayer worked. We’d pray together at bedtime, and then when she had a nightmare we’d ask Jesus to make it go away. But after a while it stopped working for her – I doubt Jesus stopped answering, but I’ll never understand the complexities of the 3-yr-old psyche and how prayer affects it.
So we moved Bean into her little brother’s room. Yes, he’s 18 months old. And apparently he’s super-baby, because he can protect her from all the nightmares in the world! Nothing scary can get past Little Man with 3 binkies in his crib. I don’t know what it is, but when she sleeps in his room she sleeps through the night. No nightmares.
Now, what to do if you’re a MOO? I sadly have no advice for you. But if you wish to dish, please leave your comments in my … (what rhymes with dish and wish?) You get the idea… For more works for me tips, head over to Rocks in my Dryer.
July 9, 2007
· Filed under Trivialities
Alas. I’m leaving for a long weekend on Thursday. I managed to push it to 6 weeks between hair cuts and I’m desperately due for one now (with short hair I can’t go long between cuts). So I called my stylist (who, I have to say, it took me 2 1/2 years of bad cuts to find a good stylist) and she’s off until after I leave! I could scream. My hair is so bad I’ve taken to wearing hats. And i only have one. It’s my husband’s old baseball cap. So I’ve started knitting more hats. But they’re not ready, and I need one now, now now!
On the flip side, I just called the salon and they graciously set me up with an appointment tonight with another stylist. I feel like a hair hooker – every time I have someone else do my hair I feel like I’m cheating on my stylist. And I’m afraid she’ll actually be there when I show up at her salon. (Secretly I’m relishing the idea of an evening appointment – I get to let hubby put the kids to bed while I sneak off to have my head shampooed and massaged, and have some mysterious new stylist – who must be good because she works at my stylist’s salon – lend her artistic genius to my mane.) On one hand I hope she’s even better than the woman who does such a wonderful job on my hair, but if she does it would be awful! I can’t leave my stylist! Especially for someone in the neighboring chair!
July 9, 2007
· Filed under Shopping
Is there anything worse than shopping for a swimsuit? Wait. Let me rephrase. Is there anything worse than shopping for a swimsuit with 2 toddlers in tow? I’ve had the same (maternity) swimsuit since my first pregnancy. I’ve been wearing in and out of pregnancies. Nursing. And beyond. It’s one of those ’swim dresses’ that’s great when you’re sunning but awful when it gets wet because there’s a plethora of fabric that takes eons to dry. Now that I’ve lost a considerable amount of weight (and am not pregnant) you could fit me and my oldest child into it together. Fitting, seeing as how I bought and wore it when I was pregnant with her.
Over the past 3 years I’ve eyed swimsuits at summer time. I’ve considered trying one on now and again. But I never had the guts to shed my clothes and squeeze myself into a skimpy non-maternity suit that would show off all the things I’d like to keep hidden. There have been a handful of times that I actually talked myself into trying some on and actually ’shopping’ for a new suit. That usually lasts through the first suit I try on, then I give up, mortified, defeated, and shamed into returning home to my maternity swim dress.
Last month I found a swimsuit that was a good fit and, if nothing else, hid my tummy well and didn’t reveal baby-nursing cleavage to innocent bystanders. (We won’t talk about what my legs, tushie, and hips looked like though). But it was $78. And let’s face it. $80 for a garment that barely covers my unmentionables and makes me feel like a big brown Bessie is not my definition of a wise purchase. Well, I was at the mall today (which, by the way, if you haven’t read it, check out Mella’s recent post on that fine product of suburbia, the Mall) and I found that suit on sale for 50% off. So now, when I head down to visit my parents in Florida this weekend, I may look like big brown Bessie, but at least I didn’t break the bank for it! (And no, that’s not me in the picture. In fact, I look nothing like that in the suit.)
I’m sure the day will come when I’m not traumatized by swimsuit shopping. Either I’ll be svelte and tall and curvy in all the right places without any cottage-cheesey areas (oh, wait, I’m not tall… I guess that would be someone else), or I’ll just have learned that beauty is really on the inside and there’s no reason to worry about what’s on the outside. Yeah, right. Probably around my 80th birthday.
