fullygoldy | Entries tagged with the boy

October 2013

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This week is already sucking beyond the telling. And most of the telling is way TMI. Suffice to say, DH has been back to the urology clinic 2 days in a row due to complications, and now he's attempting to fall asleep in bed with a new catheter/bag setup that is supposed to stay in until Monday (6 days). When he came home from the initial surgery, he only tolerated that one for 3.5 days. He's already so uncomfortable (for reasons) that I can't imagine this going well.

Also, he's got 2 new meds, and a proposed treatment plan for a 6-wk course of chemo that he can't undertake until he is fully healed from the previous surgery, and at least 3 follow up appointments next week.

In other news, the boy is attempting to buy a new-to-him car. He needs a co-signer of course, which, I guess I'm okay with, seeing as we co-signed for the girl's school loan.

And one truly good thing:
The girl had her 20 week ultrasound last week, and ta-da! Grandbaby is a boy! He's already tall, thanks to daddy, and everything looks good.

Current Mood: stressed
Current Location: home planet

We've been here 3.5 days, and it's only rained twice: the first time for 3 days, and now, half a day so far. UGH

No sunning this time around, although we did have enough dry weather to spend a few minutes in the hammock on Wed.

The Grand Ole Opry and Alison Krauss were great, plus, I was introduced to the musical stylings of Jamey Johnson - wow, loved his "I Fall to Pieces" duet with Alison. It was the 20th anniversary of Alison being inducted into the Opry, so she was having a great evening.

The Opryland Resort is a zoo - there was a 3-hr line to check in on the 4th (thank all the deities we didn't need to do that), even with 12 people running the desk.

Downtown Nashville had a carnival atmosphere, even with the intermittent rainshowers, and we had the ribs at Rippy's and Yazoo Pale (local brew) and DH, the girl and her BFF went in together on a "Buy 1 Pair, Get 2 Pairs Free" deal at Boot Country.

Today is more family things at the resort, tomorrow is the nearly 12-hr drive home, where the boy will finally have to own up to his Worker's Comp injury he got the day we left. The girl reported on him, and he's declined to call or answer the phone since then. He cut his thumb at the base - through the tendon and nerve there, but it sounds like he's going to be okay. Still. 2013 can you let up, PLEASE? What the hell did we ever do to you?

Current Location: Still earth,

They do this thing where I work called a PIP (see title), so if you're not performing well, instead of firing you, they demoralize you first with the pretty much impossible PIP process, but it gives you time to look elsewhere before being let go. Most people see the writing on the wall and bail before they have documented proof the PIP failed.

2013!! Why have you not found employment elsewhere?!?!

( ER visit the first )

( Bad Carma )

( Local Warming? )

( ER visit the 2nd )

( Subaruby is a sad panda )

( ION )

It appears we've hit our out-of pocket max of medical expenses for the whole year in the first quarter. Yay? Now I am eating steamed dumplings and drinking vodka. If I had a hottub or a bath deep enough, I might actually not feel like whining.

Current Mood: exhausted
Current Location: still earth

I need to get some sleep. Fitful rest last night, and out of the house by 0545 this morning. Tomorrow I drive home, hopefully arriving by 1800, in time for the weekly ritual - the deck at Great Dane.

However, before I forget, I have to record what happened last night when Rupert got home from his baseball game (they lost 15-10, poo). He was searching the fridge for edibles, and I was trying to tempt him with leftover salad and spaghetti which I'd saved for him. He wasn't enthusiastic, so I suggested fruit.

"Oh yeah, fruit would be good."
"I bought grapes today."
"O RLY?"

Yes, he pronounced this phrase the way it is spelled, accompanied by raised eyebrows. I looked sideways at him and said, with due solemnity, "SRSLY."

He giggled. My 14.5 yr old son *giggled* at me. Then he said, "Oh, Mom."
"What?" snickering.
"You and your geekness."
"When are you going to stop being surprised?"

Thank you fandom, for exposing me to all the latest lingo, so I actually have a clue when my kids sling their stuff at me. :)

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: planet earth
Current Music: studio 60

My son was pretty surprised when I laughed at his catz, and corrected his catspeak grammar. Of course, he didn't actually change anything. But still, I thought some of these were hysterical.

Current Location: home planet
Current Music: espn

It's been awhile since I've done a food post.

Rupert announced he had become a vegetarian about 2 months ago. He's not even eating ramen anymore, because we only found one flavor (mushroom) that is inoffensive. It's been tough finding ways to keep him full. He really dislikes the vegetarian options in the school cafeteria, so I tried keeping stuff at home he could make and take, but he's rarely motivated to pack a lunch. I'm also keeping some grab and go stuff on hand for breakfasts - milk chugs and strawberry Boost, breakfast bars, powerbars, snack packs of peanuts or almonds or trail mix, yogurt and a full fruit bowl. We weren't quite ready to jump nearly full time back into the veg diet, so we asked if he'd be willing to eat fishy things. Yes he is, but we only do that 1-2 times per week. We're doing full veg things 3-4 times and the rest of the time, we cook meat and give him a substitute - chix patties, boca stuff, "steak" strips. His reason for turning veg is the poor treatment of "food" animals. He doesn't want to condone that. I believe he is currently thinking through his position on organically raised animals. He's asked us some questions about organic practices. Before B had to go on such a limited and meat based diet, we were doing organic meats only and veggie stuff the rest of the time, because organic meat is so much more expensive. I wouldn't mind going back to that diet, but I'm not sure B is ready for that yet.

( Mouthwatering recipes )

I haven't decided today's meals yet. It's brunch day, but the girl works until 1:00. Rupert is still sleeping and B is still sick, so his appetite is spotty. I've got grapefruit, and a box of strawberries, and frozen blueberries, and there are eggs. I don't know if I feel up to producing waffles, but a crispy cornmeal waffle with fruit sounds pretty good right now.

Next sunday's dinner is in the fridge - a small boneless leg of lamb. It will be the centerpiece of our traditional mediterranean-based spring feast. With lots of chocolate for dessert. There will of course be hummus and baba ghanoush, marinated veggies, dates, pita bread, etc.

For the week, I've got on hand: Ham steak with sweet potatoes and broccoli; homemade chinese - veggie pot stickers, spicy eggplant, and possibly lacquered tofu with haricots vert; there's always something mexican or southwestern on the menu; tilapia - in rice bowls or just broiled and served with lemon caper butter; I think I've got everything I need to try out the new "meatloaf" recipe in Vegetarian Times, or I can do a meatless shepard's pie. We usually get one meal out and we usually have one "pick up" meal. Since I'll be out of town Monday night and Mavis will have her class on Tuesday night, those are the most likely nights we'll fall back on "easy."

Current Location: breezy earth
Current Music: hungry

Mavis's wonderful adventures in MLW.
Wicked - the audiobook (unabridged) - what a weird-ass book.
Found! Luzon Jumilla back on the shelves at Woodmans!
It's not Pneumonia, but it still required 2 trips to the Dr. this week.
The care and feeding of a 14-yr old vegetarian.
Hot showers, Yay!
The new PM, the new project, and loads of work to do.
Kitschy salt & pepper set (photo)
Crocuses!

Current Location: third rock
Current Music: news

I haven't had the emotional energy to post much lately, mainly because most of what I've been thinking about posting has been a long string of whining. Or whinging, if you're on the other side of the ocean.

( Let me 'splain: )

No, it will take too long. Let me sum up: I think I need to get laid. Preferably in a tropical paradise.
At least tonight they'll be giving us the 2007 Dream Home in CO ::g:: Well, if they know what's good for them, they'll be awarding it to us.

Current Mood: aggravated
Current Location: home planet

The other night at dinner, the girl was being particularly silly. This isn't a rare occurence by any stretch, but she was certainly doing her best blonde impersonation. Finally, I couldn't take it any more, and I asked, "what are you on?"

the girl: Um. The chair?
me: ::boggle:: Oh. Nice!
the boy: Hey, I want some of that chair.
all: LOL
the boy: Seriously, move over! As he slides off his chair and half onto hers.

Of course by then, we were all laughing so hard that the rest of the meal devolved into a silliness competition.

Today, I am "babysitting" for the girl. She has brought a "Baby Think It Over" home for the weekend, but she works from 7-11 am today. Supposedly, I'm being paid for this job, but not in cash. :) We've dubbed the little boy "Peanut." He's very sensitive to having his head un-supported - any time you let his head tilt back at all, he wails hysterically for 30-45 seconds. I don't think that's terribly realistic, but the sleep, diaper, eat, burp, diaper, coo, sleep cycle seems familiar.

Current Location: home planet
Current Music: quiet

Looking back, I see that I have failed to mention that Rupert is now the tallest person living in our house. He is also the youngest person. Somehow, that doesn't seem fair. OTOH, I have no problem calling him into the kitchen to reach stuff for me whenever I need it.

Rupert and Mavis are going off to do teen stuff after school today, so after DH & I do the weekly Dr checkup at 5:00 (what Dr schedules appts at 5 pm on a Friday?), we can go off and do something like a normal adult couple. But we'll probably just end up at the Dane again, LOL.

I know a lot of people are wondering where the heck winter is, but this is totally the type of winter I can deal with. I like not having to wear 3 layers of clothes. It's too bad we didn't get this winter last year. It would have totally saved my library project schedule.

The PM I'm helping down in Arlington Heights called me this morning at 6:50! He needed a schedule update for a 9:00 meeting. However, I do get to duck out of work at 3 for the aforementioned appt.

Took Ruby to the shop on Wed afternoon for her 105k miles maintenance. It turns out that the high-pitched squealing noise was the rear brakes after all. So, all the normal maintenance (except the recommended timing belt replacement) plus the rear brake pads & newly machined rotors for $251. In another couple of months, I might go ahead and let them do the timing belt, but first I'll check the records I have to see if it has ever been replaced before.

Next week, I'll spend 2.5 days down in Arlington Heights trying to help out on 3 different projects. Hopefully shortly after that, I'll get to start up one of my own - as Owner Rep for the Houston County Courthouse in MN (right across the river from LaCrosse). I am so ready to be fully involved in a project again. The post mortem I'm doing isn't as complete as I thought - I found out yesterday that the PM is still holding onto a good portion of the files, so any conclusions I've drawn so far are likely to be worthless once I get to look at the rest of the stuff. ::sigh::

I feel really out of the poly loop. I've quit reading the posts in the yahoo lists I belong to, because the people whose posts I enjoyed most seem to have drifted away. I realize a big part of my disassociation has to do with the issues of the past year. I didn't need to add any drama to the year, but it's the beginning of a new year and I'm looking around, going, "huh. what's next?"

I think I'm ready to verbalize a resolution for 2007 also: I'm going to strengthen my friendships with my women friends. Actually talk to them on the phone and go do stuff with them that doesn't involve all of our partners and children. I realized that the only time I seem to see most of my friends anymore is at parties. I think that's kind of weird.

Well, less than 3 hours left in the workweek :) Maybe this weekend, I'll update my journal theme too. If I'm not too busy undecorating the house.

Current Mood: restless
Current Location: still this planet
Current Music: cube farm

Wow, I can't believe it's been a year since we started worrying about B's health. I can't believe it's only Dec. first either, because it feels like we're much deeper into the holiday season than the calendar says, even though we don't really have any holiday plans to speak of. I also can't believe I totally blanked on sending best wishes to all my November birthday friends. Happy belated birthday, November-heads! I love you! There are a couple of December birthdays coming up too, and hopefully I'll do a little better with the timing for them ;)

I'm still loving the new kitchen, even more now that the floor outlets are wired, and my goal is to get the cabinet doors painted this weekend. Maybe they'll get hung back up too... A good christmas present to myself would be to get the remaining kitchen work finished. It's all finishing details now. Paint and paneling and finding the right baskets for the cubbies, stuff like that.

Currently, I'm sitting here worrying about Mavis, because she's driving herself to school in the snow. The plows haven't been to our neighborhood yet, because it's still snowing, so it's going to be a bit trickier than she is used to. We had a chat about being careful and taking it slower, and steering through slides before she left. She's got to learn to do it sometime, right? And this is why we got Subaruby, that all-wheel drive is supposed to make these lessons go a bit more smoothly than they would in some other car. But I wish I had thought to say "call me when you get there." I don't want to call her and distract her from driving if she isn't there yet, but I want to know she's okay. ::sigh:: Rupert chose to ride the bus this morning - he prefers being able to hang with his buds before school, so I know he's probably safe and warm by now.

Current Location: snowy planet

Rupert hasn't really decided what he wants to do for a kid-type celebration, but we did the family tradition tonight. Since DH was discharged from the hospital yesterday, he was present for the birthday dinner, but we were not able to go to "the restaurant of choice" so we had to create a birthday dinner here. We did the same thing for Mavis last Feb, and she enjoyed hers, so we figured it would go okay for Rupert too.

After a few days of contemplation, he finally decided this morning that he wanted "crab! Lots of crab!" for dinner. And soup to go with. We discussed the merits of various soups, and settled on a corn chowder (the recipe actually called for crab to be added at the last minute). We decided to make the chowder sans crab, because we'd be serving the crab as the main dish. The chowder consists of onion, garlic and frozen corn kernels sauteed in EVOO, but I added a healthy dollop of bacon grease for the flavor on Rupert's suggestion. Then chicken broth is added and the pot boils about 10 minutes, and then a cup of heavy cream is added and it simmers while another pot of diced potatoes, frozen corn and red peppers boils. Then the creamy pot is blended smooth, and the chunky pot is drained and stirred into the creamy broth. At this point, you may or may not garnish with crab, red pepper strips, cracked black pepper... you choose. It's rich but mild and very yuummy.

For the crab, I got 3 King Crab legs (one for each of us eating - DH can't have crustaceans right now, and his tummy wouldn't let him anyway), plus a Snow Crab cluster for each of us. I roasted it in the oven over a pan of crab boil because the King Crab was too big for steaming over a pot.

Rupert made me a lemon martini, Mavis had "green tea wine," Rupert had egg nog, and DH had an orange gatorade "martini." DH's plate consisted of baked tilapia (thumbs down tonight), orange jello, and corn chowder (both thumbs up).

It was a lovely, lingering meal with lots of conversation, and very reminiscent of our best family meals. What a great beginning to DH's homecoming. Rupert also seems pleased with the portable DVD player he scored as a bday present. Next weekend, he'll take a couple of friends to Ultra Zone or to a movie,a nd that will be that.

Current Mood: pleased
Current Location: earth again
Current Music: sga - instinct

Saturday afternoon, I was getting ready for the party and Rupert knocked on my bedroom door. "Mom, would it be okay for my friend, Allie to come tonight?"
"I guess so."
"Okay. Well, her mom is going to drop her off, and she wants to talk to you then."
"Oh." Her mom? Rupert's never invited a girl from outside the neighborhood over before.

Later, Allie's mom comes in the door around 6:00 and looks at all the people gathered in the great room and out the back door. Of course, we've all got beers in our hands, but there's a pack of kids in the front yard, and they're not drinking. So I tell her that we do this every year, and that all the kids from infant to 18 play with each other, and it really is a family party. She says, "it looks like a pretty nice gathering. What time do you want me to pick her up?"
"Well, we'll start winding down around 12, so whatever time you're comfortable with will be fine."
"Oh, I already told her 10."
"Okay. That's Rupert's normal curfew too."
"Well, I guess I could just come sometime between 10 & 12." (She settled on 11)

After mom leaves, I look out the front window to see this mystery girl, and my jaw went immediately to my knees. She's a willowy brunette with long hair and is every bit as beautiful as Mavis. They're standing next to each other in a circle of kids,a nd they've got the lean-toward-each-other-without-leaning thing down pat. She's not just his friend, she's his DATE! This is the first girl we've ever seen him show any interest in that didn't involve racing their bicycles around the block. I point her out to DH, and his jaw brushes the windowsill. After that, we warn Mavis not to tease him about it during the party. Being the pretty-nice sister she is, she agrees.

Around 9 pm, Rupert's two guy friends in attendance ask me where he is. "We can't find him anywhere." Hmmm. Allie's not with you, so I expect they're off together somewhere. Another mind-boggling revelation, I tell ya. A little while after that, I run into Rupert & Allie at the dessert table. "The boys are looking for you."
"I know."
"Did they find you?"
"No." ::nonchalance::
"Oh. Well, where were you?"
"Down at the park." Just as I suspected.

On Sunday, we still managed to refrain from the teasing, but I'm telling you, he's not getting a permanent by on this. Eventually, he's going to have to endure one of the famous dinner conversations with his date by his side.

Current Mood: surprised
Current Location: earth
Current Music: rain on metal roof

I guess LJ is feeling guilty after eating my last post. Since then, every time I've started a new post, it's asked if I want to retrieve my "last saved draft." I always hit yes just to see what it's got, and it's my rant about the autosave not working! LOL

Last weekend we had an out of town guest, K from SC. It was a lovely long weekend, with way too much food and drink, and some nice snuggling and also too much heat and humidity. It was very relaxing, and barley52 is working on tempting K up here permanently ::g:: Of course I chimed in with at least $.05 about potential places of employment.

On Saturday, Rupert accompanied us to the Farmers Market and brunch, because afterwards, we were heading to State Street, and he's been dying for a new pair of Chuck Taylors. He wanted purple plaid, but we couldn't find them anywhere on the internet. There's a great shoe place on State Street that always has Chucks in the window. Well, they had a problem with sizes - lots of cool models in really large sizes, but not in Rupert's fairly standard size. So he ended up with Vans instead. They're a kelly-green and white houndstooth. I think they're way cool, and he looks so teen-aged in them :) What a shock it was to realize in the past couple of weeks that Rupert is now taller than Mavis. Not by much, but there is a 3-yr age gap. So I'm back to being the shortest person in the house.

Sunday, we stopped by the Monona Farmers Market to see Farmer John, and K picked up some lovely things to take home. Then we went for breakfast at the Bourbon Street Grille, which is the two-story restaurant overlooking the Yahara. Great food, great dining porch. We're definitely going back some evening for the rooftop music & bar. Heaven!

Well, we're off for the weekly poking. See ya later.

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: earth
Current Music: quiet

On Thursday, my friend, S, from work, asked me to take her saltwater fish, because her husband didn't want to maintain the tank any longer and she couldn't bear the thought of outright killing the fish. I am an easy target, so I said OK. I also believed that DH had previous experience with a saltwater tank, so I thought it would be no big deal. Also, we have a neighbor whose hobby is fish, so at the very least, we could gift him with the setup. Ah, rationalizations, what would we do without you?

So I brought home a small aquarium with a small, bright blue fish in it. S assures me the aquarium could house 2-3 more fish of a similar size, but this fish is mean, and has killed every other fish they ever tried to put in with it. Of course, on Thursday, we were running off to little league and didn't have much time for conversation about fishy things, so it was Friday before I learned that DH had not actually dealt with the saltwater variety before.

On Saturday, Rupert announced that the fish's name is Phyllis. Mavis exclaimed, "no! I named him George! Hi, Georgie!" And then DH later addressed it as "PhyllisGeorge." So there you have it. Our household has become quite taken with the bright blue fish with the bad attitude, named for a mostly forgotten actress. Rupert calls her Phyllis. Mavis calls him George. The 'rents call it by it's full name. The fish in question swims in clockwise circles almost exclusively. It causes quite the commotion whenever anyone notices it varying it's path. And the commotion tends to drive PG right into hiding. LOL

Current Mood: content
Current Location: still the earth
Current Music: Funniest Home Videos

Some of this stuff is a repeat for regular readers here, but this is the update I sent out to my family's yahoogroup today:

Well, as you can see below, Wayne has gently kicked me in the butt to get me to post an update about

barley52 (thanks, Wayne). The real kicker is, Aunt Jean had to call this weekend and ask for an update to get me to sit down and type. Sorry about that.

( long, repetitious update of the past month )

For my part, I've been on the receiving end of such kindness from so many people from strangers to dear friends, that I find myself attempting to be more patient with other people, and more giving of warmth, affection and kindness. I'm finding a lot of wisdom in the motto "love shared is love multiplied." Today was the first work day after the time change, and it was truly a delight to be able to take a walk after dinner (after 7 pm), with the sun above the horizon the entire time. Mavis joined B and me for the 'short block,' ~ half a mile, which we had to do at B's reduced pace, but that just means we had more time in the sun :) We talked baseball strategy for most of the way (the new season is now underway), because B and Rupert are co-managing a fantasy league team. B used to do this yearly, back in SC, but had dropped it. He got back into it this season at my urging. I figure if you've got to be cooped up in the house, you might as well have something fun to pass the time with. Baseball is his favorite pastime, so.... brilliant, right?

Ok, I guess that's a month's worth. I'll try to do better in the future, but no guarantees. After all, I'm related to people who take 3 yrs to write a letter, then give it up for a phone call <wicked grin>. /family post

I've got stacks of old holiday cards that have handwritten messages in them, but never got addressed and stamped. You'd think that would be the easy part! LOL So, LJ pals, you can see that this format has actually improved my communication skills. OR at least it has increased the frequency of communications, FWIW.

Current Mood: rejuvenated
Current Music: SG-1

We've had a week (not really) of meals out because DH had jumped up out of the neutropenic phase again, starting last Monday.

( Casa de Lara )

On Thursday, DH needed a transfusion of whole blood and platelets (1 unit each) that took a full 5 hours to get done. We left the hospital at 8:00 pm. It's a good thing none of the good shows were playing that night (The Big Dance wa pre-empting everything).

Friday morning I went with DH to his Dr. appointment. Dr. Hei is happy with the way DH is responding to the blood growth meds and he's also happy that we've started the donor search. He wore a mask to come talk to us because he had a cold. Very thoughtful. We met his nurse practitioner too (Karen) and she seemed very capable and nice. In fact, everyon in that office has been terrific.

( The Old-Fashioned )

After dropping DH back at the house for his phone interview, I went to the office and put in 4 hours. I had only planned on 2, but stuff happened, and I had to address it before I could leave. On the way home, I beeped DH and he said he was bored, so I said, "let's go out." Hey, it was payday, and we might not get to go out next week...

( Casa de Lara Again )

After seeing BC lose to Nova (yay for Miss Katie's alma mater), we stopped in at the Great Dane to say 'hey' and have a beer with the crew there. Matt , Justin & Rory were working the first floor bar, the lovely and sweet Jen was hostessing, and Sara was waitressing in the upstairs bar. We each had an IPA (hand pulled) and then DH also had an APA. We were home by 11:00, and hit the bed shortly after Mavis got home at 11:30. Rupert made himself a pizza for dinner, and was it was a little underdone on the bottom and overdone on top he said. So that's another thing he's learning to make that will take some tweaking.

( Eno Vino )

Now that I'm done with the food report, it's time to go make brunch. We (meaning I) have decided to start a new family tradition of Sunday Brunch. We started 3 weeks ago with the Arrogant Bastards' brunch, and have managed to keep it going all month. Today will be waffles with fresh strawberries and sausage. Last week we had baked 'toad in the hole' with a salad that had an orange-dijon vinaigrette. And today I'll be working in the kitchen with my brand new faucet courtesy of Rupert and DH. Rupert helped me pick it out last weekend, and DH coached him through the installation. It took him a bit longer than he expected, but he did a fine job.

Current Mood: impressed
Current Music: windham hill

Rupert went to school today wearing the top to DH's old navy uniform!

It fit almost perfectly by my standards. the sleeves were a tad long, but the shirt wasn't baggy. The deep navy wool contrasted nicely with his golden brown hair. He had a white tee underneath, and his nicest, darkest jeans on too.

I wore the entire uniform a few years ago as a halloween costume. It fit me really well then, which was about 10 lbs ago.
Anyway, Rupert looked super-handsome going out the door. He said, "this is so cool! I'm never going to buy my own clothes again!" LOL He's been having a lot of fun raiding our closet full of out-grown stuff.

Apparently his friends thought it was cool too. And Mavis agreed that he looked really handsome too. I just wonder what all the middle school girls thought of the guy in uniform. ::g::

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: csi

After last weekend's drama, I announced a new family policy. And the family seems to have accepted it gladly. I decided that everytime someone comes home, they get hugged by everyone in the house.

So Monday, I asked for my hug from DH and got it. Rupert wasn't around at the time, so I let it slide. Mavis wasn't home til much later, and when I went to give her the hug, she was all "what's going on?"
"New policy. Everyone gets hugged when they come home."
"Why?"
"Because sometimes you just need a hug when you come home, and you shouldn't have to ask for it."
"I totally agree with this policy."

All week, we reminded each other to give/get the hugs. Rupert won't ask for his, but when I offer one or ask for one, he wraps his newly-lanky adolescent arms around me, and he doesn't let go. Honest. He hugs longer than anyone else in the house. I figure he needs the hugs more than I ever suspected. And I'm glad he's getting them. I just need to remember for him until he's comfortable enough to do the reminding. Or until it's just a habit. Whatever it takes.

Mavis asks for hers before she even gets her coat off. They're nice and warm, and I'm glad she's on board with this. DH and I are just about equal in asking for or offering to each other, and it's a new dimension to our greeting ritual. We've always kissed goodbye and hello, but now we have full body contact on the hello. It's a good thing.

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Luge

Earlier today, I was tempted to write this:

"Hangover. That is all."

Last night I learned that if you don't stay in training for heavy duty partying, you can't party like you normally would. These past couple months of cutting my alcohol intake by at least half seem to have left me a bit of a lightweight. Because before the diet? Those 2 tequilas and 1 beer with dinner, then the 2 beers, 2 pints water, 2 vodkas and the last tequila shooter (over the course of ~6 hours) would have left me quite tipsy and playful, and hungry for hash browns in the morning. Instead, after getting home, I spent half the night praying to various catch basins, tearfully apologizing for ruining the fun by being sick, and forgetting several quite interesting verbal forays, one of which apparently started with "I am a slut and I want you to...." you get the picture. I don't even remember much of my Bday spanking!

I finally recovered around 5 and put on clothes and finally took the fam to the mall for our annual xmas trek. We actually avoided most of the traffic by going at that time, and while the mall was still full of shoppers, in most of the stores we had minimal waits to check out.

Also, if I keep off the weight I lost last night till Monday, I will have lost 10 lbs!! Yay me! And Mavis is pleased for me, but also weirded out, because I will be only 5 lbs heavier than her. But she is all muscle because she's 15 and works out almost every day, so even if we weigh the same, I won't be able to wear any of her clothes! But I will be wearing the blue sequins. So there.

Rupert has decided to go to school each friday dressed in a different musical genre. The first friday he had Mavis help him put together and "emo" look. Yesterday was the second foray. He went to school dressed in blue jeans, chuck taylors, a lavender dress shirt with a black silk tie (it wasn't actually skinny enough, but it was all he had), black eyeliner and his hair gelled into a mohawk. It was totally "Sex Pistols" early punk. Next week I believe "acid rock" is on the schedule. After he left, it occured to me that we'll be going through an all new round of girls calling the house to speak to the boy. He had just gotten them to quit, LOL. When he got home, I asked how his outfit went over. He turned pink and said, "I think I was pretty sexy. I had two people ask to lick my head." After I stopped choking, I warned him to be ready for the phone calls.

Current Mood: hungover
Current Music: football

I'm home alone with Rupert today, and I said "I've got these medium portabellos I thought I'd make for dinner tonight, since Mavis won't be here (she thinks she's allergic to all 'shrooms because of her morel allergy so refuses to eat any), but I can't decide what to do with them. What do you think?" With barely taking the time to draw breath, he replies, "stuff them. With cheese. And breadcrumbs. And yummy things." Ah, just so. How could I not have known this on my own, young grasshopper?
I glance over from washing the last of yesterday's dishes to see Rupert preparing his lunch. Campbell's tomato soup made with milk. He's grated some cheddar to stir into it, and he's got this delightfully kicky green salsa sitting on the counter, waiting to be stirred in. I see that he's planning on serving it in a cobalt blue latte' cup.

It's the little clues that mean so much....

ETA: However, I just sent him to bed after helping him finish his geography homework. It took us 36 min, using a map we found from Google. Mind that a full 2 hours earlier, I asked him if it was done and he said "no." I said, "get it done." I checked on him 40 min ago, and he had nothing done. Zero. Because he had looked at the first question, and didn't know the answer. and he claims he read all the questions and didn't know any of the answers, and it was going to be impossible for him to do because he didn't have a map. So he was just not going to do it. He couldn't possibly ask for help. Because I am the meanest mom in the world and would have called him stupid and not helped him at all. And don't even get me started on the whole "Paraguay" portion of the argument. I am no longer amused.

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: crazy-ass wind

I've been trying to do something physical at least every other day. This currently translates to "walk the dog." We get in 1.5 to 2.5 miles each time out. I've managed 5 times this week, which is better than expected.
I imagine that when the weather gets yucky, I might be motivated to go back to yoga regularly. I love yoga, but I haven't been in the right frame of mind for it. I like it early in the morning, while the house is quiet. But to get that, I have to be doing it at 5 am or 530 at the latest. I'm not so crazy about this time slot. Yes, yes, I could do it after everyone leaves the house, but then it wouldn't be early and meditative. It would seem more like exercise than balance-seeking. Does this seem dumb? It seems dumb to me, but I can't seem to break the mindset.
I also fantasize that I'll be motivated to walk/run the stairs in the house a few times a week. This is plausible because we have 3 sets of stairs in the house, so it would be a decent circuit, if somewhat boring.
As for calorie control, I've come to the conclusion that the only place I can really ditch calories is in the alcohol department. I'm really quite the lush. I like a beer in the afternoon. Or at least while I'm cooking dinner. Unless I'm cooking with wine, which means I'll want a glass of that. If I'm making something that's going to be accompanied by vodka, I want wine while I'm cooking that too. If I have a martini with dinner, I'm going to want at least one more after dinner. If there's a liqueur in the house, I'll want it for dessert. I don't usually eat dessert, but I can almost always be convinced (like it takes any effort) to have a nightcap/dessert drink. After two martinis, I tend to lose judgement about how many more I should have. So really, one drink per day should be my limit. And if I manage to do that think of how many calories I won't be consuming! Because really, if I drink something besides alcohol, its water. Maybe herbal tea. I might have some juice on Sunday morning, or a glass of silk or milk instead of a snack, but that's pretty much it. No sodas, no coffee. Oh. Eggnog in the winter, but that usually replaces a snack or dessert or alcoholic drink. Sheesh, I forgot eggnog season was upon us. When we go out to eat, we 99.9% of the time go where there is a good bar of some kind. No Perkins for us, LOL.
Most of our friends know we eat pretty healthy stuff. I don't snack much, we don't keep a lot of traditional snack food in the house. Tortilla chips, cause we're all addicted to salsa. Popcorn. Some crackers. We all eat way too much cheese, but we also eat more veggies than most people, and lots of fruit. Whole grains, not a lot of meat, and we try to go with fresh and home-made as much as possible. We don't do a lot of cream sauces, but we're hitting the season for scalloped potatoes & pork chops. That dish is a serious downfall. We're pretty low fat all the time except for cheese and winter dishes that require milk and cheese. So it's the alcohol I have to cut back on. Oy.
I have successfully navigated the first Epic "hurdle." This is the first time they've asked me for more info. It's actually less info than was on the on-line application, but it's a hard-copy form I have to fill out and send in. Maybe they want to analyze my handwriting? Maybe they want to see how quickly I'll respond to the request? Who knows. I think it will be interesting to speak to them about the job even if I don't end up with it.
I'm trying to get the MAPC website posted for review, but I am too much of a dummie I guess. I'm positive that it's something relatively minor, and all it would take is someone who has published a web before to come over and point and say, "hey, you do it this way, ya big dummie." Any takers? Come on... you know you want to abuse me. ::bwg::
Mavis announced yesterday that she passed her test to get her temporary driver's license. EEEEK!
Rupert is 13 on Friday (11/4) and his big brother is 30 the same day. More EEeek!

Current Mood: guilty
Current Music: emergency siren test

I'm not really looking a gift horse in the mouth. I'm not. I just have to wonder what the heck is going on.

On Sunday, C was over for dinner, and she needed to have a private talk with DH and I, so we left the dinner dishes on the table. When we came back in the room (just past 8), the table was clear, the kitchen was pretty well clean and the kids were both in bed with the lights off. Now I totally understand them needing to fall asleep early, as it was Oktoberfest weekend and we all needed to recover, but Mavis voluntarily cleaned up from dinner. It wasn't even her night!! So of course I said "thank you" and she just said, "Oh, yeah. You're welcome." Like it was no big deal.

On Monday, Rupert remembered to say "may I be excused?" when he was done eating. He also complimented the meal, but that's not terribly unusual. "Thank you for remembering" says I. The girl had to be reminded to do the kitchen, and even though I repeatedly discussed the recyclables, trash and compost she left hanging out in the kitchen, and even though she said she'd take care of it, she did not. And Rupert came down after going to bed asking me to wash a load of clothes, because, as is his wont, he didn't really bring me all of his dirty laundry on Sat. and he wore the last of his clean clothes earlier in the day. So, kinda normal there.

On Tuesday, Rupert thanks me for washing his clothes in time for school. Then they get home from school together (no cheer practice), Mavis takes the trashy stuff out and sits down to work on an essay about breast cancer for health and one on MS for biology. She discusses her research, and has me beta sentences out loud while I'm cooking dinner (WTF?). Rupert announces after putting his stuff up in his room that he has math homework, and can't take Cosmo for a run until it is done. "It'll take 30 minutes. 45 max." And it does, and he does, with no nagging. And again with the "may I be excused?" Then I mention to Mavis that it's her night for the kitchen again, and leave to pick up DH from work. When we get back, the kitchen is even more neatly cleaned than I was expecting, and she's finished with homework. I interrupted her phone chat to thank her for the nice job, which she sort of waved off with an, "Oh, sure."

I'm not complaining. I'm just not used to it. It's the kind of thing you always hear about, and wish that just once, your little angels would do for you, ya know? So I got my wish and I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Current Mood: touched
Current Music: DH making coffee

Last night, we were going to a dinner gathering at our friends' house, in honor of the visiting Canadians. (And those are some cute Canadians!). We were all getting ready, and I was putting on sparkly eyeshadow to match my sparkly dress, the girl had deigned to wear her white and pink sundress, the DH was looking pretty spiffy, and it had only taken the boy three trips to his closet to find something clean to wear. Really, I'm low-maintenance. All I usually ask for is clean.

The boy shows up in my bathroom while I'm adding eyeliner, and says "I wish I could wear eyeliner."

Okaaaay. He is going through his rock star stage, so I say, "alright, have a seat." He sits, I tell him to look at the ceiling, and I line his lower lids. Then I get him to close his eyes, and do the outer half of the upper lids. This is exactly the way I wear mine. He's blond, he's gorgeous, he's tan, and now he's got chocolate brown eyeliner on. The effect is rather disturbing. He is also wearing black chinos, a white polo with a bright blue and black stripe at chest level, and his bright blue Converse high-tops. The boy has always had style.

The girl notices immediately, squealing "are you wearing eyeliner?!" but then she says, "I totally have a thing for 'emo' guys." Which she then has to define for me, and I get a mental image of Jai from QE. And I didn't tell them that their dad used to regularly wear colored mascara to parties (it was the 80's!!).

We go to the dinner, and at some point in the evening, the amazing resemblance between me and the boy becomes the topic of conversation. It's apparently all in the eyes. LOL

So how weird is it for me to be teaching the 12-yr-old how to wear eyeliner (I guess it wouldn't be if he were a she)? I'm not totally married to gender roles - <snort> I've been in construction for 20 yrs! I like girls. I like boys. I like boys who go glam. I like helping my girly-girl enhance her princess image. It's not too weird for me to help my boy-boy look like a young David Bowie is it? I'm not going to scar him for life? He looked amazing again this morning, when he applied it himself to go to the community baseball tourney. I was a bit nervous about that, but apparently, the other boys are boy enough to not have noticed.

I have a feeling I'm going to be buying him his own eyeliner the next time I'm in Walgreen's. <sigh>

Current Mood: worried
Current Music: baseball again

I was setting up my friend list, and I realized that I was friending people who don't know me. If this is you, then you are most likely a (slash) writer that I have been following for awhile. I've friended you in the hope that I'll get early updates on the good stuff. I hope you don't mind, because I'm thinking I'm finally going to be able to send decent feedback, now that I have been assimilated into LJ. Plus, I'll be pimping your stories even harder than I already do. (I make my DH listen to excerpts all the time!)

I write very sporadically, but I am a voracious reader. I can't believe how addictive slash is. I've been reading it for at least 5 years, all thanks to a friend of a friend, who is now a personal friend, albeit one I don't see often enough. I will also beta occasionally in my favorite fandoms. I have been known to beg writers to finish WIPs or to produce more stories, but I try to be sweet about it.

I have a DH and 2 kids, the girl (15) and the boy (12). They've also been known to go by Mavis and Rupert. It has to do with them having been born in SC. Every kid in our family has a southern nickname. The girl is a cheerleader and the boy is in a Led Zep cover band. We're very into music at our house.

I recently quit my job. I'm officially freelancing in Construction Management, Water Damage Restoration, Mold Remediation, Technical Training, Event Planning & Coordination, and Catering (with my DH). DH has been very supportive of this choice, and I'm trying mightily to get some steady work going so we don't drain the savings account. I've just about finished setting up my office in the basement. It's very brightly multi-colored and should be a fun place to work, even when the girl is playing "Fallout Boy."

Another reason I decided to get on LJ is that I've been seeing a bunch of interesting memes, so you should expect to see me working my way through several of them in the next few weeks. Other than that, I expect most of what you'll see here is story recs, updates on my progress as an independent contractor, and lots of stuff about food and feasting. Oh yeah, and my weird take on relationships.

Thanks for checking in!

Current Music: CSI:Miami

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October 2013

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Oh My God, 2013, REALLY?

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