Archives for July 2008

1. I am a total iTunes whore this week. Oh yeah. I have been bingeing on new music big time. I have been especially loving that Candlebox has a new album out, though I’ve only downloaded two songs – I’m really loving “Miss You”.

2. Tomorrow night, the fourth book in the Twlight series goes on sale at 12:01 a.m. (Guess that’s Saturday morning, heh). Guess where I’ll be tomorrow night? That’s right – hanging at Barnes & Noble. Sucha nerd.

3. The mother’s helper let The Princess do a kitchen experiement after I specifically made a NO KITCHEN EXPERIMENT rule. I came out of my office this afternoon to find a mixing bowl filled with about three cups of milk, four tablespoons of peanut butter, a handful of cheez-its, a scattering of those itty-bitty pretzel sticks, and about a quarter cup of cocktail peanuts. Gross. And you know what? I made her eat some of it. I have flashbacks to being a kid and mixing orange juice and chocolate milk together at breakfast and my mom saying, “You have to drink it – no wasting it!” (Hm… Now that I think about it, it was Ovaltine, maybe?). She ate a few bites and said it was “really good”. Then left it sitting on the counter until the pretzels dissolved.

4. Ovaltine. God, I haven’t had Ovaltine in ages.

5. I need a haircut again. I am always so chicken when I need a haircut.

6. A week or so ago, I bought my very own copy of “Juno” and haven’t found the time to watch it since. I love that movie so much… Need to find some time.

7. I’ve kind of started a secondary blog project, though I’m not sure yet how frequently I’ll be updating. It was inspired by my time at Rothbury, seeing all these guys with their saggy pants. So, check out I SEE LONDON if you wish. If you have pictures of saggy bottomed guys or any other hilarious fashion faux-pas, well, you should email it to me.

8. I just had to proofread a press release for my husband. Let me say this: writing press releases isn’t exactly easy. And no disrespect, but… it wasn’t exactly wonderful. I’m sure he’s going to be upset that I changed nearly every word. Yikes.

9. So, Project Runway has been on for a few weeks now, but I don’t have an obvious favorite yet. Hearing Tim Gunn say “Holler at your boy” cracked me up though. I really hate Blayne-licious.

10. I will never be able to describe something that is good by saying “That was SICK!” without looking like a total moron. I’m just sayin’.

First things first – the pig cake? It actually turned out kind of cute (blogger wants to flip it on its side despite the fact that the image itself should be landscape not horizontal and I’m frustrated but have too big of a headache to deal with it right now). There’s the pig.

Dear Pumpkin,

Today you are three, and it boggles my mind that this morning, three years ago, I was holding you – you were this tiny bit of a thing. You sounded like a cat when you cried – and you snorted! Oh, you snorted (and you still do, baby doll, you still do). This morning, I am making you a cake – you want one that looks like a pig. I am trying, I really am, but it looks like some serious ugly. It’ll taste good – mommy knows how to make a yummy cake – but my god, it’s ugly. I’m sorry.

You have accomplished a lot this year – officially leaving babyhood behind and you are full-fledged into preschool land. The biggest news by far is that you are potty trained. I was worried – didn’t know if I knew how to potty train you – but we pulled if off. You are even starting to take care of your stinky business on the potty too, and for that I am thankful. I don’t miss changing the diapers, and I love how proud of yourself you are when you pull on your big girl panties.

You laugh a lot. When I touch your back, when I make funny faces, when daddy tells you a story. “You’re funny!” you tell us (which is nice – your sister reminds us how un-funny we are – she tells us repeatedly). So, we’re loving the praise and will enjoy it while it lasts before you realize that we’re old and unfunny. Hope that’s another ten years, but I’m a realistic kind of mom.

You still love animals – more than anything else. Barbies, eh. Princesses, eh. Animals get the big resounding “YAY!” Dad took you to ride a pony at the fair a few weeks ago and you loved it (that the pony had the same name as you was a happy coincidence). You ooh’ed and aah’ed over the baby pigs, and you came home asking if we could buy a pet bunny. You are also in love with our neighbor’s dog (the one two doors down, and not the mean ones who live next door that howl all the time – you love to go on the back deck and tell those howling dogs: “Shut your yappers!”). You ask dad all the time what it is that baby pigs eat (he’s apparently the pig expert), and you like to pretend to be a baby puppy. Friday, you did tricks so your sister would reward you with mandarin oranges (A little disconcerting to see you sit, beg, and shake… I think she even got you to roll over).

You cuddle up with me often, and sometimes after I brush my teeth, you lean in real close and smell me. You ask me, “What do you smell like?” I tell you that I smell like cinnamon toothpaste and you say, “Yay! I like spicy toothpaste!” You love to give kisses – and when you give them after you eat, you tell me, “That was a peanut butter kiss!” or “That was a blueberry kiss!”

You love to take showers instead of baths because your big sister does, and you cried when I didn’t let you stay up with your sister to watch Hannah Montana last night. You forget you are only three – you want to be big like your sis. Someday, you will be. Don’t grow up too fast, though.

You are a sweet, amazing and wonderful blessing in my life. My life is better with you in it. I love you with my whole heart.

Love, Mommy

Yeah.

That.

This medication for my little colonial thing I’ve got going on? Must be taken on an empty stomach. Cannot be taken with my medicine for my hypothyroid which must also be taken on an empty stomach. Must be taken at the same time daily. What a pain in the butt.

My thryoid pill I take first thing in the morning. I don’t know that I can go two and a half hours in the day without eating (seriously, I graze. You’d think I wouldn’t be able to fit through doorways, but I’m really – despite my grumbling about the size of my thighs – not that huge). So, after dinner it is. I eat, wait two hours, take my pill (with Coke. Regular Coke. For some reason, it needs the acidity and I’d rather drink Coke than grapefruit juice), then in about 30 minutes, I can eat again if I wish (and I soooooooo wish).

Tonight, I went to a surprise party for a girlfriend and it was held at a local Italian joint. Timing wise, I figured I better eat dinner first so that I could get home after two hours of not eating and take the medicine. Yeah. That was two hours of sniffing scrumptious Italian food that I couldn’t have, and watching people drink yummy grownup drinks that I couldn’t have (and seriously, on an empty stomach? Not a smart move for me anyway). Sigh. I survived, but it wasn’t pretty. I left as they cut the cake so I didn’t have to explain one more time why I wasn’t eating anything. When you’re average to smallish, when you aren’t eating, people seem to want to sit on you and force feed you. It happens less now that I am average rather than small, but still – several people gave me the tilted head look then, “Aren’t you eating anything?” Would it have been rude to tell them I was trying to get an eating disorder so I’d have to pass on the pizza, thanks for asking?

Ah well. I’ll make it up in spades tomorrow with the ice cream sundaes (and Hubby did pick up the 3D glasses for the Hannah movie – THANKS FARMWIFE!) and Sunday with the cake and ice cream for Pumpkin’s birthday. Annnnnnnd, we’re in the Coldstone Creamery birthday club so I’ll have to take Pumpkin for her free ice cream, also but I should be able to resist that temptation.

1. A few weeks ago, I bought a new foundation. I usually use Clinique – this time I bought some Almay Smart Shade at Target. Within days, I had a funny bunch of bumps on my face. I figured I was allergic to the foundation (which was a bummer – even though it was cheap, it was light and yet had great coverage) and promptly stopped using it. Three plus weeks later, I still had the bumps, so I went to visit the dermatologist today thinking, “Oh my hell, I have got some strange colony of pimples!” (Because that’s what it looked like – little itty bitty pimples – ugh!). But, no. It’s not. He said it was caused by the heat and is some sort of folliculitis (and no, I’m not googling it – and if you google it don’t tell me because it will be some gross disgusting thing that will make me want to be sick) and prescribed something I have to take for a few days and it will clear it all up. Thank god.

2. You know when’s a fun day to sit next to your high school boyfriend’s wife at your kids’ story time? Yeah, the day you go to the dermatologist for the rashy bumpy colony. Ugh. The bright side is that her dress was tremendously unflattering.

3. Pumpkin will be 3 on Sunday. I have to make a cake that looks like a pig.

4. Song I’m liking: “Mercy” by Duffy.

5. My husband has hit his midlife crisis earlier than I think he should be allowed. He wants a motorcycle. I’m not sure why every man wants a motorcycle, but regardless: his life insurance is in order and he’s signed the organ donor release on his driver’s license.

6. Twitter is having tremendous issues today. Their status blog says they are working on fixing it – reattaching the contacts to our profiles (since my following and followers are drastically zapped). If you were following me on Twitter and lost me, go ahead and follow me again. My link is over there on the right. —>

7. Hubby agreed to let the The Princess have a sleepover with two of her friends on Saturday night. I plan on running away from home. I am not looking forward to having three screeching girls (four, if you include Pumpkin who can screech with the best of them) avoiding going to sleep. The bright side: we’re making ice cream sundaes for dessert. I figure that oughta perk me up. I’ll just hide in the office eating whipped cream straight from the can with my iPod on.

8. Did I mention it’s Project Runway season again? Last night’s “auf’d” designer was one I figured would be around a bit longer – but his dress was some serious ugly.

9. As we were leaving “The Dark Knight” last weekend, Hubby said to me (no joke): “Which one was Heath Ledger?” I need to take a picture of the rock my husband lives under to post it for y’all. I couldn’t believe it – seriously, and I’ve been dying to tell someone all week!

10. Most importantly – my grandmother is home and doing well. It turned out not to be a stroke and all of her tests came back clear, including the CT of her head. Whew. Definitely a relief. We’re very grateful.

I know it’s not fair of me to ask anything of you wonderful folks that keep coming back here to read even though I haven’t had much to say lately, but…

I just received word that my grandmother is in the hospital – they believe she’s had a small stroke. So far, her tests are coming back good, and she’s about to go get a CT scan, as she couldn’t see when she woke up this morning, on top of the other stuff.

Not sure yet if she’ll be admitted or if they will release her today.

Please send your happy thoughts, if you are so inclined, towards my grandmother’s health and recovery.

1. It’s nearly 90 degrees today. That’s too hot. Perfect is about 15 – 20 degrees cooler. This hot hot weather? NOT FOR ME.

2. The coolest free app for the iPhone is Shazam. If you’re driving down the road, hear a song and don’t know what it is or who sings it, you can open the Shazam app, press the “Tag Now” button and hold the phone near the music. It’ll “listen” and pretty quickly it’ll come up with the name of the song and artist. (You can also link to buy it on iTunes. Sneaky folks there, eh?). Anyway, it’s pretty cool, and this week, I’ve been tagging things like crazy while I’m in the car.

3. I love my sister’s trade discount for hair products. I got two gigantic monster bottles of Redken product today and didn’t even spend $20. We’re talking the huge liter bottles. I won’t be buying shampoo for a loooooooong time.

4. I have been on a painting frenzy. All that’s left is my dining room and kitchen. I plan to paint them during Hubby’s Saturday night poker party. I won’t be able to sleep with all those loud guys laughing in my garage! Might as well be productive.

5. My husband ordered some Mix 1 protein drinks. Full of protein and antioxidants they are about 200 calories each with 3 servings of fruit/vegetables. I had a mixed berry drink for lunch today (plus some left over cuban black beans – no, it wasn’t the best combo, but it was filling, for sure!). That was pretty tasty. I had Lime flavored last week – that was better. The Mango that Hubby and I split with dinner last night (I made waffles, I needed something redeeming nutritionally to go with the meal) was sort of gross. There’s two other flavors I haven’t tried yet, but they’re definitely worth giving a shot.

6. I’m so glad the new season of Project Runway has started!

7. New songs I’m grooving to lately: “Bartender” by Rehab, “Bittersweet” by Sick of Sarah (Yes, I bought it because of the band name, but I like it anyway), and “Where’d You Go”by Fort Minor.

8. As I type, The Princess is playing in a friend’s sprinkler and Pumpkin is passed out sleeping on the couch next to me. She fell asleep in the stroller walking home from story time today.

9. Pumpkin has figured out the potty training. She still waits til she has her bedtime diaper on every night to go #2. Annoying, yes, but I don’t want to make a big deal about it and give her issues.

10. Tomorrow, I have a day that is almost all full of fun stuff and I can’t wait to leave Hubby home with the girls while I gallivant all over the place doing things with no purpose. Yay.

Yes, we can reasonably establish that blogging, along with any other hobbies and personal interests that I have this summer are falling by the wayside, and no, I’m not happy with it. I’m also not happy with the fact that it’s well over 80 degrees right now, Pumpkin is in her room hollering (clearly, she’s attempting a nap boycott today and it’s going to become a battle of wills). I have to say, though, today my will is likely stronger.

I went to bed with a headache last night, and I couldn’t find my Tylenol PM. This is because my genius Hubby, who never puts anything away occasionally gets a bug up his butt to “clean” which involves moving things around to places that have no relation to the place where said things actually belong. Yeah, honey. Thanks. My Tylenol PM was MIA and I just decided to cross my fingers, hit the hay and hope that I would wake up refreshed, headache free and all of that good stuff.

I fell asleep hard, and had extremely strange dreams about running from the law with my sister’s ex-boyfriend. I have had very odd dreams lately – so odd that a friend suggested perhaps I inhaled too much second-hand pot smoke at Rothbury (could it be? I have no idea). I woke up at five a.m. with my head pounding so hard I was in tears. I stumbled bleary eyed to the bathroom desperate for any method of pain relief.

All I could find was Pamprin.

I squint at the bottle. Okay, it’s got acetominephin. That ought to do it (meanwhile, I was half thinking, “Great, the one time I’m not retaining water, and I take this – I’ll probably have to get up twelve times to pee in the next hour.”). I stumble back to bed where I lay down and the pain engulfed me. I started whimpering, so Hubby volunteered to get me ibuprofen from downstairs. No fool, I said, “Yes please!” and while he was gone, all I could think about was that maybe I was having a stroke.

You see, I read too much. You all know about my magazine addiction, how I read about 104 magazines monthly. Last month, I read something about a woman who had a stroke the day she had her hair done because she constricted her vertebra or some such while tilting her head back for a shampoo at the salon. Since yesterday I went to get my highlights touched up (thank you little sis) and I spent quite a bit of time tipped back into that sink, I got a little panicky. Oh my god, I’m having a stroke. I’m not going to wake up. I’m going to die in these ugly pajamas.

I never said I wasn’t a drama mama.

I woke up 90 minutes later to the sound of The Princess bringing me breakfast in bed. My headache was gone and I was able to sit up and chow on my lone piece of toast smeared with just a teeny tiny bit of PB (I ate breakfast #2 out of her line of sight 20 minutes later – I was still so hungry!). Relieved to have the headache gone and to not have died with the sound of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice in my head.

Hey look- it’s Dave.