Hi all,
My lovely sister-in-law and nephew are here visiting. They came in on Saturday and we hung out a bit in the evening. Then yesterday we pretty much just hung out all day playing video games, then in the evening we went to Roxy for dinner. Today was much more eventful. We got up and hate breakfast, then hit the road and drove to Berkeley. Until we got there, we hadn't decided whether to just spend time in Berkeley, going to Telegraph, eating lunch at Slurp, going to Amoeba records, and then maybe seeing the 5th street shops or Dark Carnival books. Those are most of our favorite things to do there. But when we actually got into town, we decided just to BART into San Francisco itself.
Zadie was a riot on the train. She looked around, smiling, and said "How are you today, people?" She's bound to be like a game show host or something. We overshot our stop and had to walk through a seriously sketchy area, but it was less than a mile to Union Square. We went to Kariktur, the Paul Frank store, H&M, Gap Body, Rasputin Records, North Face, Lacoste, and then to King of Thai for lunch. They screwed up my order, but fixed it, and the waitresses loved Zadie.
After we walked around a bit, we went into the Westfield something (it used to be the "San Francisco Shopping Center"). We went into Sanrio, where Zadie got a lipstick and I seriously considered buying a Badtz-Maru bass. Then we went into several other shops, including a stationery store I really liked. Zadie had some Thai coffee at the restaurant, and so she had a complete and total meltdown at the mall. She turned into the Tasmanian Devil, then she just lay on the floor. Auntie ended up cradling her all the way to BART.
All in all it was a lovely day, and we got to use the carpool lane on the way home, whee! Now it's pizza and more video games.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
Christmas in pictures
I'm kicking myself for forgetting the camera earlier in the day on Christmas eve. But here's from about 7pm on.
Hesitant about Santa.
It's okay if Mommy and Daddy are both there.
With Granny.
Asleep in the car with new dolly named "Pepzibah."*
She has probably spent hours pushing this doll stroller around with various creatures in it.
This dolly is named Iris.**
I'm so glad she liked the robe I made.
She enjoyed her Christmas morning pancakes, too.
She was an excited helper.
Otter backpack.
Elmo slippers.
She rarely stops long enough to cuddle, but here she is.
*I was throwing out goofy names, like "Do you want to call her Brunhilda? Esmerelda? Hepzibah?" She misheard Hepzibah, but latched onto it and started calling the dolly Pepzibah.
** I decided to throw out normal names instead, and went through several flower names before Zadie decided on Iris.
Hesitant about Santa.
It's okay if Mommy and Daddy are both there.
With Granny.
Asleep in the car with new dolly named "Pepzibah."*
She has probably spent hours pushing this doll stroller around with various creatures in it.
This dolly is named Iris.**
I'm so glad she liked the robe I made.
She enjoyed her Christmas morning pancakes, too.
She was an excited helper.
Otter backpack.
Elmo slippers.
She rarely stops long enough to cuddle, but here she is.
*I was throwing out goofy names, like "Do you want to call her Brunhilda? Esmerelda? Hepzibah?" She misheard Hepzibah, but latched onto it and started calling the dolly Pepzibah.
** I decided to throw out normal names instead, and went through several flower names before Zadie decided on Iris.
Monday, December 21, 2009
To do list
I'm going to come back and cross things out as I finish them, so you can check back for interactive can-she-beat-the-clock action.
Finish and wrap craft project A.
Make caramels.
(added 8:20pm 12/22)wrap caramels in waxed paper.
Chocolate dip about half the caramels. (Scratched this out because I decided not to do it!)
Make peanut brittle: 1 batch. 2nd batch.
Assemble Z's bike.
Wrap all remaining presents.
Make Z's robe.*
Figure out something to make for my aunt and make it.
(Added 5:30-ish pm 12/21)
Watch Howl's Moving Castle with Zadie.
Make fat noodle soup for dinner.
(Added 9:40pm 12/21)
*The robe had the STUPIDEST instructions ever. For example, step one was "Never press fleece. Finger-press or steam only." Guess what step two is? That's right, "press." So I tried finger pressing. Hey, why don't you see if you can find some fleece and press a crease into it with your fingers. That's okay, I'll wait. Oh, you tried it and found out it's FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE?! Me too. Plus, the same instructions asked me to take an eight-inch piece of fabric and cut it into two six-inch pieces. Now, I only have a very elementary grasp of math, but that seems like a magic trick to me. And they completely forgot to add a step for hemming the sleeves. Are you out there, "See and Sew" patterns? You guys suck.
(Added 1:07 pm 12/22)
Bike assembled, presents wrapped!
(Added 8:20pm 12/22)
Okay, the caramels are done, but it was a nightmare. I used my usual peanut brittle pot, but it was too small, so the stuff boiled over. It ran under the burner, where it caught on fire. All our smoke detectors were beeping, and we had to air out the whole house. Also, after I got the first fire out, it caught fire again. Our stove is encrusted in charred caramel. What a nightmare. And now I still have to wrap all those damn candies. Next year it may just be back to English toffee. I have never had a fire making English toffee. As you can see from the current list, I still have to figure out something for my aunt. I have an idea, but only one day to make it. And my last minute procrastination gifts just arrived, so now I have more wrapping to do, too.
(Added 9:57am 12/23)
I wrapped the caramels, and they are delicious! The almost made me forget the fire. I also made my aunt's gift. I hope they don't look like I got them from a disabled adults art fundraiser. I'm afraid they might. I have a little touch-up painting to do, since the white turned really yellow in the oven. Now I'm just down to the final presents. I have an eyebrow appointment tonight, and while I'm out I might drop off a few goodie bags. But I'm mostly done! I'll update when I've finished wrapping, then this post will rest peacefully and I won't edit it anymore.
(Added 10:52am 12/23)
Presents wrapped. Post retired! Naturally, I have a few things yet to do -- laundry, packing up goodies to take to various places, etc., but nothing more from the big list. Happy holidays!
(added 8:20pm 12/22)
(Added 5:30-ish pm 12/21)
(Added 9:40pm 12/21)
*The robe had the STUPIDEST instructions ever. For example, step one was "Never press fleece. Finger-press or steam only." Guess what step two is? That's right, "press." So I tried finger pressing. Hey, why don't you see if you can find some fleece and press a crease into it with your fingers. That's okay, I'll wait. Oh, you tried it and found out it's FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE?! Me too. Plus, the same instructions asked me to take an eight-inch piece of fabric and cut it into two six-inch pieces. Now, I only have a very elementary grasp of math, but that seems like a magic trick to me. And they completely forgot to add a step for hemming the sleeves. Are you out there, "See and Sew" patterns? You guys suck.
(Added 1:07 pm 12/22)
Bike assembled, presents wrapped!
(Added 8:20pm 12/22)
Okay, the caramels are done, but it was a nightmare. I used my usual peanut brittle pot, but it was too small, so the stuff boiled over. It ran under the burner, where it caught on fire. All our smoke detectors were beeping, and we had to air out the whole house. Also, after I got the first fire out, it caught fire again. Our stove is encrusted in charred caramel. What a nightmare. And now I still have to wrap all those damn candies. Next year it may just be back to English toffee. I have never had a fire making English toffee. As you can see from the current list, I still have to figure out something for my aunt. I have an idea, but only one day to make it. And my last minute procrastination gifts just arrived, so now I have more wrapping to do, too.
(Added 9:57am 12/23)
I wrapped the caramels, and they are delicious! The almost made me forget the fire. I also made my aunt's gift. I hope they don't look like I got them from a disabled adults art fundraiser. I'm afraid they might. I have a little touch-up painting to do, since the white turned really yellow in the oven. Now I'm just down to the final presents. I have an eyebrow appointment tonight, and while I'm out I might drop off a few goodie bags. But I'm mostly done! I'll update when I've finished wrapping, then this post will rest peacefully and I won't edit it anymore.
(Added 10:52am 12/23)
Presents wrapped. Post retired! Naturally, I have a few things yet to do -- laundry, packing up goodies to take to various places, etc., but nothing more from the big list. Happy holidays!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
A few Zadie bits
This morning, she has been dry since she got up (almost 4 hours), so I gave her a cookie I'd just made, then I went back into the kitchen. A moment later, I heard her sobbing. I came back out and found her clutching a crumbled cookie, absolutely bereft. She was sad she'd broken her cookie. I told her it was okay, and that it happens so often there's a saying for it: that's the way the cookie crumbles!
Yesterday I had on green glittery eyeshadow to be festive for our winter event in the morning. Zadie sat on my lap and poked my eye excitedly. "What's that!? What's that!?" I said "My eyeball, quit poking it!" She poked again and said "What's that!?" I remembered and said "Oh, it's glitter eyeshadow." She somewhat wistfully replied "I love you, glitter eyeshadow."
For her birthday, her Grandpa and Grandma Tia got her a light-up, musical flowerpot. From the beginning, we couldn't get it to work. We changed the batteries, looked for a power cord, and nothing. But Z loves it anyway. Sweetie decided to give it another try the other day. As he was unscrewing the battery panel, I said "I just don't think it's going to work." Zadie said "It works. It works. I fix it. It needs batteries. You gotta shake it real hard." (Incidentally, my dad and Tia came over last night and located the well-camoflauged button, so it works now.)
We've been giving one-minute time-outs when she's been really naughty (usually when she's doing something dangerous and won't listen). A couple nights ago, she hauled off and smacked me in the face. I said "Zadie! We don't hit people. If you hit again, you're going to have a time-out." She whacked me again, then slid off my lap and ran to the time-out chair and climbed up, exclaiming "I got a time-out!"
Last night we were having "Enchilada-inspired polenta pie." Sweetie said "I don't think you've been eating, because you don't have a messy face." She dipped her finger into some polenta and dabbed it delicately into her cheek.
During Sweetie's days with her (he was Mr. Mom three days this week), apparently she told him "I love eating." Every time he asked her what she wanted to eat, no matter what meal or snack, she answered "eggs." He made eggs one day and asked her how many olives she wanted. She said "eight."
Okay, I have to wrap it up, because she wants to watch "videos of Zadie."
Yesterday I had on green glittery eyeshadow to be festive for our winter event in the morning. Zadie sat on my lap and poked my eye excitedly. "What's that!? What's that!?" I said "My eyeball, quit poking it!" She poked again and said "What's that!?" I remembered and said "Oh, it's glitter eyeshadow." She somewhat wistfully replied "I love you, glitter eyeshadow."
For her birthday, her Grandpa and Grandma Tia got her a light-up, musical flowerpot. From the beginning, we couldn't get it to work. We changed the batteries, looked for a power cord, and nothing. But Z loves it anyway. Sweetie decided to give it another try the other day. As he was unscrewing the battery panel, I said "I just don't think it's going to work." Zadie said "It works. It works. I fix it. It needs batteries. You gotta shake it real hard." (Incidentally, my dad and Tia came over last night and located the well-camoflauged button, so it works now.)
We've been giving one-minute time-outs when she's been really naughty (usually when she's doing something dangerous and won't listen). A couple nights ago, she hauled off and smacked me in the face. I said "Zadie! We don't hit people. If you hit again, you're going to have a time-out." She whacked me again, then slid off my lap and ran to the time-out chair and climbed up, exclaiming "I got a time-out!"
Last night we were having "Enchilada-inspired polenta pie." Sweetie said "I don't think you've been eating, because you don't have a messy face." She dipped her finger into some polenta and dabbed it delicately into her cheek.
During Sweetie's days with her (he was Mr. Mom three days this week), apparently she told him "I love eating." Every time he asked her what she wanted to eat, no matter what meal or snack, she answered "eggs." He made eggs one day and asked her how many olives she wanted. She said "eight."
Okay, I have to wrap it up, because she wants to watch "videos of Zadie."
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
What a difference a decade makes.
I know I'm a little early, but can you believe the "aughts" are on the way out? Not too long ago, I was thinking about the 90s, because there's a radio station locally that plays all 90s music. It wasn't all my music, but I know a lot of it, so I occasionally listen to the station. And some songs on there remind me of high school, others remind me of my first apartment, and still others make me think of my first marriage breaking up. I just can't freakin' believe I went from freshman in high school to divorcee in a decade!
So guess what? Now another decade has passed and brought with it a slew of amazing changes. In 2000, I was living on Freeport Boulevard in a rental with a roommate (Monkeygirl). We couldn't afford high utility bills, so we kept the heat down low and kept our fingers from freezing by holding them over candles. We had a "formal" at the house where people got crunk and passed out under my desk and on the couch. I started a web site (an early blog, really) called "Your Mama's Scene" and reviewed local shows. I went out to a lot of shows and got to meet some of my music idols, including Kevin Seconds, who was a fan of my site. After MG moved out, I went through a few more roommates, like the thankfully brief Mike and Guitargirl. In fact, it was during that time that we started the band, I bought my first bass, and I taught myself to play. We actually played out a lot and had a following, however small. At this time, I was working on my Master's, but I realized I needed a better-paying job. So I decided to substitute teach. At the interview, the woman (Billie Egolf, a name I can't forget) asked if I'd be interested in an internship to get my teaching credential. Just to be polite and seem agreeable, I said yes. I got the flyer in the mail the same day (in fact, an hour before) the interviews for the internship. I realized when I read it that it was a spectacular opportunity, so I threw myself together and went to the interview. Although I had to wait seemingly forever to hear, I did get in, and that fall (2000) I started teaching.
At the end of my second year, I bought a house. Around the same time, I got my credential. I then went back to finally finish my Master's. I had thought about doing it in Pedagogy, but settled on my true passion, poetry. Towards the end of that program, I met Sweetie. Although he was a librarian at my university, that's not how we met and there wasn't anything untoward about it. In fact, I didn't even meet him at school. I met him through our friend Leif. That same year, my mom retired, and we went on a trip to the Virgin Islands. I lost a toxic friend, but had a wonderful time with mom and loved the Caribbean.
Sweetie and I fell in love pretty quickly, and a little more than a year later, he moved in, on Halloween. In 2005, he asked me to marry him (while I was crying about a bad day at work). I had my great-granny's ring sized and we were engaged. It was a quick wedding, which took place at the county office on July 8, 2005 and only a few people attended -- our dear friend Bryan, who came from Portland, Monkeygirl, and my Mom and Boompah. Later that year, we had a reception once the weather had cooled down enough for people to enjoy it. Seeing all our friends and family together was wonderful.
That spring, I interviewed for a new job. I was sad to leave my old school, a middle school I loved, with a faculty and staff who were supportive and, cliche as it sounds, like a family. But the new job offered an opportunity to teach literature I loved and older kids, and I really wanted to make the move. I got the job and started that fall. I'll never have the same kind of faculty to work with, I'm sure, but I do love the kids and the curriculum. I see myself staying here.
In 2006, we decided to expand our family. We started working on it. At the same time, we wanted to upgrade our home. Mom and I had done a lot of work to my first house, and it was in good shape to sell. The bad news was that we found ourselves trying to sell right as the bottom fell out of the market and it sat on the market for a long time. We also didn't get as much as we hoped for for it. On the other hand, the good news was that we found a house we fell in love with, that screamed "home" to us, and we got it for a fair price.
After more than a year of pretty focused trying, we finally got the good news that the baby was on her way. A few weeks after, I went to BlogHer and got to meet many good (internet) friends, including Suzanne, whom I have been lucky enough to meet on several occasions. Around November, we found out the baby's sex and decided for sure her name was Azadeh. Everyone was thrilled for us. She arrived in March, 2008, and has been enriching our lives ever since. We had a scary birth, then some weight issues that included reflux and a milk allergy, but once all that was resolved, she set about showing us how amazing she was in every way. My mom has been her daily care provider, for which I am unutterably thankful.
Earlier this year our friend Bryan passed, and we miss the hell out of him.
Sweetie got tenure this year, which is very good. If he hadn't, we'd be looking around the country for new jobs and a home. I did get to see other parts of the country, though -- Boone, Iowa and Chicago, Illinois. Mom and Zadie and I visited my grandma and went to BlogHer.
I think we've gotten up to Eugene, Oregon about once a year, and I've gained a whole new wonderful family up there.
That doesn't cover everything, not by a long shot. But it sort of hits the big stuff. When the new decade rolls around, I have a lot to reflect on.
Thanks for reading. Sorry for going on so.
So guess what? Now another decade has passed and brought with it a slew of amazing changes. In 2000, I was living on Freeport Boulevard in a rental with a roommate (Monkeygirl). We couldn't afford high utility bills, so we kept the heat down low and kept our fingers from freezing by holding them over candles. We had a "formal" at the house where people got crunk and passed out under my desk and on the couch. I started a web site (an early blog, really) called "Your Mama's Scene" and reviewed local shows. I went out to a lot of shows and got to meet some of my music idols, including Kevin Seconds, who was a fan of my site. After MG moved out, I went through a few more roommates, like the thankfully brief Mike and Guitargirl. In fact, it was during that time that we started the band, I bought my first bass, and I taught myself to play. We actually played out a lot and had a following, however small. At this time, I was working on my Master's, but I realized I needed a better-paying job. So I decided to substitute teach. At the interview, the woman (Billie Egolf, a name I can't forget) asked if I'd be interested in an internship to get my teaching credential. Just to be polite and seem agreeable, I said yes. I got the flyer in the mail the same day (in fact, an hour before) the interviews for the internship. I realized when I read it that it was a spectacular opportunity, so I threw myself together and went to the interview. Although I had to wait seemingly forever to hear, I did get in, and that fall (2000) I started teaching.
At the end of my second year, I bought a house. Around the same time, I got my credential. I then went back to finally finish my Master's. I had thought about doing it in Pedagogy, but settled on my true passion, poetry. Towards the end of that program, I met Sweetie. Although he was a librarian at my university, that's not how we met and there wasn't anything untoward about it. In fact, I didn't even meet him at school. I met him through our friend Leif. That same year, my mom retired, and we went on a trip to the Virgin Islands. I lost a toxic friend, but had a wonderful time with mom and loved the Caribbean.
Sweetie and I fell in love pretty quickly, and a little more than a year later, he moved in, on Halloween. In 2005, he asked me to marry him (while I was crying about a bad day at work). I had my great-granny's ring sized and we were engaged. It was a quick wedding, which took place at the county office on July 8, 2005 and only a few people attended -- our dear friend Bryan, who came from Portland, Monkeygirl, and my Mom and Boompah. Later that year, we had a reception once the weather had cooled down enough for people to enjoy it. Seeing all our friends and family together was wonderful.
That spring, I interviewed for a new job. I was sad to leave my old school, a middle school I loved, with a faculty and staff who were supportive and, cliche as it sounds, like a family. But the new job offered an opportunity to teach literature I loved and older kids, and I really wanted to make the move. I got the job and started that fall. I'll never have the same kind of faculty to work with, I'm sure, but I do love the kids and the curriculum. I see myself staying here.
In 2006, we decided to expand our family. We started working on it. At the same time, we wanted to upgrade our home. Mom and I had done a lot of work to my first house, and it was in good shape to sell. The bad news was that we found ourselves trying to sell right as the bottom fell out of the market and it sat on the market for a long time. We also didn't get as much as we hoped for for it. On the other hand, the good news was that we found a house we fell in love with, that screamed "home" to us, and we got it for a fair price.
After more than a year of pretty focused trying, we finally got the good news that the baby was on her way. A few weeks after, I went to BlogHer and got to meet many good (internet) friends, including Suzanne, whom I have been lucky enough to meet on several occasions. Around November, we found out the baby's sex and decided for sure her name was Azadeh. Everyone was thrilled for us. She arrived in March, 2008, and has been enriching our lives ever since. We had a scary birth, then some weight issues that included reflux and a milk allergy, but once all that was resolved, she set about showing us how amazing she was in every way. My mom has been her daily care provider, for which I am unutterably thankful.
Earlier this year our friend Bryan passed, and we miss the hell out of him.
Sweetie got tenure this year, which is very good. If he hadn't, we'd be looking around the country for new jobs and a home. I did get to see other parts of the country, though -- Boone, Iowa and Chicago, Illinois. Mom and Zadie and I visited my grandma and went to BlogHer.
I think we've gotten up to Eugene, Oregon about once a year, and I've gained a whole new wonderful family up there.
That doesn't cover everything, not by a long shot. But it sort of hits the big stuff. When the new decade rolls around, I have a lot to reflect on.
Thanks for reading. Sorry for going on so.
Monday, December 14, 2009
At the park
Zadie park
Originally uploaded by countmockula
Sweetie had the day off and watched Zadie all day. They went to the park and he sent me this photo. I just love it. Really shows her character.
The continuing saga
IMG_0812
Originally uploaded by countmockula
of testing the Oil of Olay stuff. I'm on my second bottle, and I think I am happy with it. I'll probably keep using it. I don't think anyone would mistake me for a college kid (even despite my new pink streak), but I don't feel like I have bags or anything either. So there you have it.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
New video -- Potty train and counting in Spanish
Okay, I know it's crossing a blogging line to not only mention the potty training, but to also include a video with a kid actually talking about potty training, but I swear it's cute and brief and there is no mention of any waste except one reference to "pee-pee."
Anyway, right afterwards she counts to five en Español, so that's worth watching.
Anyway, right afterwards she counts to five en Español, so that's worth watching.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Three Zadie notes
First, we've been telling her about what we will do on Christmas. On Christmas eve, we are going to Uncle Mickey's house. Just now she said "We're going to Uncle Mickey's house. He will be funny. I will laugh at him." Pretty likely, actually.
Also, she's really into stories. She likes longer ones with plots now. Not too long ago (I might have already blogged this), we were reading a Frog and Toad story, and at the point where Toad was on his way to rescue Frog, she yelled "Frog, I'm coming to help you!" She also starts her own stories with "Once upon a time." She can recite a fair chunk of "The Owl and the Pussycat." She really likes "Today Was a Terrible Day." At the end, the teacher writes the main character a note saying that the next day is going to be a good day. Zadie now tells me that tomorrow is going to be a "good day. Happy day."
Also, we just might be potty training. I wasn't planning on trying until after Christmas, but on Thursday and Friday, she just happened to be dry every time Mom changed her. Mom asked whether she wanted to use the potty, and most of the time, she has been saying no. But both days, each time, she said yes. Today she wore "big girl panties" all morning until naptime. She's in a diaper now, but I'd say that's real progress!
Also, she's really into stories. She likes longer ones with plots now. Not too long ago (I might have already blogged this), we were reading a Frog and Toad story, and at the point where Toad was on his way to rescue Frog, she yelled "Frog, I'm coming to help you!" She also starts her own stories with "Once upon a time." She can recite a fair chunk of "The Owl and the Pussycat." She really likes "Today Was a Terrible Day." At the end, the teacher writes the main character a note saying that the next day is going to be a good day. Zadie now tells me that tomorrow is going to be a "good day. Happy day."
Also, we just might be potty training. I wasn't planning on trying until after Christmas, but on Thursday and Friday, she just happened to be dry every time Mom changed her. Mom asked whether she wanted to use the potty, and most of the time, she has been saying no. But both days, each time, she said yes. Today she wore "big girl panties" all morning until naptime. She's in a diaper now, but I'd say that's real progress!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Students and running (two things I love that frustrate me) and new bedtime!
At risk of being Dooced, let me talk about work for a minute. I love what I do. But will you understand if I am sometimes frustrated? With third period (juniors), I keep having conversations like this one:
Kid: How long until break?
Me: Two weeks.
Kid: So, like, next week?
Me: No, you go to school next week, then vacation is after that.
Kid: Wait, I thought we had ten days?
Me: Right. Each school week is five days, and there are two weeks left.
Kid: What day do we get out?
Me: The 18th is the last day of school.
Kid: So vacation is next week?
Me: Look, you stay at school today until 3:15, then go home and sleep. Come back tomorrow. Go home and sleep. School. Sleep. School. Sleep. School, then enjoy a nice weekend. Then come back. There are five more days of that, and then vacation.
Or...
Me: Okay, we're on page 40, the "Change of Heart" article. Please turn to page 40.
Kid: What page are we on?
Me: 40.
Another kid: What page?
Me: 40. Everyone please turn to page 40, the "Change of Heart" article. We're going to read the article "A Change of Heart" on page 40.
Kid: Is it two?
Me: Huh?
Kid: Is it, like, two articles?
Me: Let me see what you're looking at. (I look.) No, those are the letters to the editor. We're on page 40.
Anyway, on to running. I have really been enjoying running. I feel like I have a goal, and I am keeping a schedule. I am challenged, but not overwhelmed. I have a really positive feeling about sticking with it, and I feel like I can reach my goal. I have a happy vision of myself back at a healthy weight. I am providing a good example for my baby, who now declares "I'm exercising!" and "I want to run like Mommy!" In short, it is really good for me. Except for one thing -- I think my knees are about to give out. I'm serious. When I get off the treadmill, I have to hold the handles in order to step to the ground, and after I drive home, I can barely make it up the two steps into the house. And they don't just hurt during or immediately after a workout, either. They pretty much hurt all day, every day. If I sit still for a few minutes, then try to walk, I limp and struggle.
I'd love to know why. Is it because I have bad running form and could fix it with a different stride? Is it because I'm just too damn heavy and am putting too much stress on my joints (I'm not insulting myself -- I am genuinely obese)? Am I just prone to bad joints? (I haven't complained about it in a long time, but I have fairly constant joint pain, just not as bad as the knees.)
Sweetie suggested swimming, which is great low-impact exercise, but for some reason, I don't love it. You can't read a book. You can't listen to music. It's just you and the two ends of the pool and the long stretch in the middle. And cold, wet hair before bed.
Lastly, when Z decided to sleep in the big bed, she also wanted to nurse in there. And then she nursed to sleep, and I didn't see the ENORMOUS problem that was going to cause. She ended up wanting to nurse and stay awake longer and longer until I was spending a couple hours in there every night, falling asleep out of exhaustion, and then sneaking back to my own bed, only to go back in to comfort her when she woke up and I wasn't there. Ugh. I never got anything done in the evening, and neither of us was sleeping very well.
So last week, I decided to change that. I re-read the Sleep Lady book, then re-decided it wouldn't work for us. I decided to institute a bedtime routine, then just let her lie in there and go to sleep by herself. For three nights, she cried like the dickens, though less each night. On the fourth night (and fifth through seventh), she has quietly gone to sleep with no crying and slept all night long. So we're both happy -- she's getting more sleep and I'm getting more time to myself.
If you're interested, out bedtime routine is as follows: I change her diaper. I brush her teeth and recount her day (we play a little game where she purses her lips and I poke them to get the toothbrush in, and she laughs). Then we read "I Love You As Much." Then I give her and Sweetpea (her doll) both a hug and kiss. Then I tell her the little rhyme my grandparents used to say to me: "I love you little. I love you big. I love you like a little pig." Finally, I tell her to sleep well and have sweet dreams, and I tuck her in and remind her to help Sweetpea get to sleep.
Kid: How long until break?
Me: Two weeks.
Kid: So, like, next week?
Me: No, you go to school next week, then vacation is after that.
Kid: Wait, I thought we had ten days?
Me: Right. Each school week is five days, and there are two weeks left.
Kid: What day do we get out?
Me: The 18th is the last day of school.
Kid: So vacation is next week?
Me: Look, you stay at school today until 3:15, then go home and sleep. Come back tomorrow. Go home and sleep. School. Sleep. School. Sleep. School, then enjoy a nice weekend. Then come back. There are five more days of that, and then vacation.
Or...
Me: Okay, we're on page 40, the "Change of Heart" article. Please turn to page 40.
Kid: What page are we on?
Me: 40.
Another kid: What page?
Me: 40. Everyone please turn to page 40, the "Change of Heart" article. We're going to read the article "A Change of Heart" on page 40.
Kid: Is it two?
Me: Huh?
Kid: Is it, like, two articles?
Me: Let me see what you're looking at. (I look.) No, those are the letters to the editor. We're on page 40.
Anyway, on to running. I have really been enjoying running. I feel like I have a goal, and I am keeping a schedule. I am challenged, but not overwhelmed. I have a really positive feeling about sticking with it, and I feel like I can reach my goal. I have a happy vision of myself back at a healthy weight. I am providing a good example for my baby, who now declares "I'm exercising!" and "I want to run like Mommy!" In short, it is really good for me. Except for one thing -- I think my knees are about to give out. I'm serious. When I get off the treadmill, I have to hold the handles in order to step to the ground, and after I drive home, I can barely make it up the two steps into the house. And they don't just hurt during or immediately after a workout, either. They pretty much hurt all day, every day. If I sit still for a few minutes, then try to walk, I limp and struggle.
I'd love to know why. Is it because I have bad running form and could fix it with a different stride? Is it because I'm just too damn heavy and am putting too much stress on my joints (I'm not insulting myself -- I am genuinely obese)? Am I just prone to bad joints? (I haven't complained about it in a long time, but I have fairly constant joint pain, just not as bad as the knees.)
Sweetie suggested swimming, which is great low-impact exercise, but for some reason, I don't love it. You can't read a book. You can't listen to music. It's just you and the two ends of the pool and the long stretch in the middle. And cold, wet hair before bed.
Lastly, when Z decided to sleep in the big bed, she also wanted to nurse in there. And then she nursed to sleep, and I didn't see the ENORMOUS problem that was going to cause. She ended up wanting to nurse and stay awake longer and longer until I was spending a couple hours in there every night, falling asleep out of exhaustion, and then sneaking back to my own bed, only to go back in to comfort her when she woke up and I wasn't there. Ugh. I never got anything done in the evening, and neither of us was sleeping very well.
So last week, I decided to change that. I re-read the Sleep Lady book, then re-decided it wouldn't work for us. I decided to institute a bedtime routine, then just let her lie in there and go to sleep by herself. For three nights, she cried like the dickens, though less each night. On the fourth night (and fifth through seventh), she has quietly gone to sleep with no crying and slept all night long. So we're both happy -- she's getting more sleep and I'm getting more time to myself.
If you're interested, out bedtime routine is as follows: I change her diaper. I brush her teeth and recount her day (we play a little game where she purses her lips and I poke them to get the toothbrush in, and she laughs). Then we read "I Love You As Much." Then I give her and Sweetpea (her doll) both a hug and kiss. Then I tell her the little rhyme my grandparents used to say to me: "I love you little. I love you big. I love you like a little pig." Finally, I tell her to sleep well and have sweet dreams, and I tuck her in and remind her to help Sweetpea get to sleep.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Fun weekend!
Friday: Work, then Christmas home tour, then Chinese food, then home.
Yesterday: breakfast at Orphan*, Costco run, Santa's Toy Shop stop**, Mixed Bag,*** Art Beast, home, nap, jog/walk****, snacks, cleaning, grocery run, made lasagna, Jenny came over, we got 1/2 our Christmas stuff up, played some Guitar Hero, drank cocoa.
Today: made waffles, put other 1/2 of Christmas stuff up, Trader Joe's and Co-op run, Z's nap, then later, dinner with Mom. Whew!
*Our favorite server, Amy, wasn't there. Zadie called "Aaaaamyyyyy, where aaaarreee youuuuuu?"
** She wasn't into having Santa read her a story, but she did want to run around the "shop" and play hide and seek. Santa was game.
***I finally found an ornament I liked for Mom, but I was holding one of the other contenders, and Zadie REALLY liked it. She insisted Grandma needed a "red one." So we got both.
**** I have completed week one of "Couch to 5k."
One of the cutest displays on the home tour.
Digging in at Orphan -- she had already eaten eggs and bacon, and I gave her potatoes and bread from my plate.
I failed my restraint roll at Costco (only gamers will likely get that).
Santa chasing Zadie.
They gave her a juice box, which was probably the highlight of her week.
In the play kitchen at Artbeast.
Coloring.
Decorating.
More decorating.
All done!
P.S.
This year with the wooden bead garland.
Last year with the wooden bead garland.
Yesterday: breakfast at Orphan*, Costco run, Santa's Toy Shop stop**, Mixed Bag,*** Art Beast, home, nap, jog/walk****, snacks, cleaning, grocery run, made lasagna, Jenny came over, we got 1/2 our Christmas stuff up, played some Guitar Hero, drank cocoa.
Today: made waffles, put other 1/2 of Christmas stuff up, Trader Joe's and Co-op run, Z's nap, then later, dinner with Mom. Whew!
*Our favorite server, Amy, wasn't there. Zadie called "Aaaaamyyyyy, where aaaarreee youuuuuu?"
** She wasn't into having Santa read her a story, but she did want to run around the "shop" and play hide and seek. Santa was game.
***I finally found an ornament I liked for Mom, but I was holding one of the other contenders, and Zadie REALLY liked it. She insisted Grandma needed a "red one." So we got both.
**** I have completed week one of "Couch to 5k."
One of the cutest displays on the home tour.
Digging in at Orphan -- she had already eaten eggs and bacon, and I gave her potatoes and bread from my plate.
I failed my restraint roll at Costco (only gamers will likely get that).
Santa chasing Zadie.
They gave her a juice box, which was probably the highlight of her week.
In the play kitchen at Artbeast.
Coloring.
Decorating.
More decorating.
All done!
P.S.
This year with the wooden bead garland.
Last year with the wooden bead garland.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Curse you, Yudu!!
I had this great idea for holiday crafts. I found the Yudu screenprinting machine on sale. I would make loads of things! I would make four different prints for Mom, another for Boompah, one for Jenny, one each for Althea and Skye. Until I finally got my package open tonight.
I learned how to make a screen to print a design. And I learned that you can re-use the screen to make another design. Using... the emulsion remover, which is sold separately. Oh yes, and for each new design you want to make, you need a new sheet of emulsion. The machine comes with two. Additional two-packs are $15.95. The emulsion remover is $11. The transparencies are $5.95. It's not clear how many come in a pack (although I believe it's five). The ink comes in three-packs ranging from $16 to $20. At best, each time I want to make a single design, I am shelling out about $10. Obviously the thing to do is use the same design over and over again, but that wasn't really what I wanted. I wanted to make personalized designs for each of my friends.
I guess I should have researched a little better, but all I saw online were raves about how easy it was to use, how you could re-use the screen, how you could do multi-color prints, blah blah blah. No one mentioned the enormous expense you're pouring into this thing!
Bah, humbug.
I learned how to make a screen to print a design. And I learned that you can re-use the screen to make another design. Using... the emulsion remover, which is sold separately. Oh yes, and for each new design you want to make, you need a new sheet of emulsion. The machine comes with two. Additional two-packs are $15.95. The emulsion remover is $11. The transparencies are $5.95. It's not clear how many come in a pack (although I believe it's five). The ink comes in three-packs ranging from $16 to $20. At best, each time I want to make a single design, I am shelling out about $10. Obviously the thing to do is use the same design over and over again, but that wasn't really what I wanted. I wanted to make personalized designs for each of my friends.
I guess I should have researched a little better, but all I saw online were raves about how easy it was to use, how you could re-use the screen, how you could do multi-color prints, blah blah blah. No one mentioned the enormous expense you're pouring into this thing!
Bah, humbug.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Nutcracker Sweetie
This one's a bit long, but it's worth watching until the end for the flashdance and robot dance.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Giving Thanks
Brevity is the soul of wit. Also, it is something I am not good at. I'll do my best.
I am thankful foremost for my family. Without them, nothing else would be worth anything. And not just my beautiful daughter and loving husband, but my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws (who have become as much my blood as anyone born into my family), and all those second cousins and once-removeds whom I call cousins.... I love you all.
In hard economic times, I am thankful for my job. Not only does it pay the bills, but it gives me ample discretionary funds and great benefits. And blessings upon blessings, I actually do what I love.
I am thankful for the possessions that make my life so comfortable, like my home and car.
I am thankful for the beautiful art that fills my home, almost all of it made by friends and family.
I am thankful for the neighborhood I live in, with kind neighbors and many conveniences. I love the colors the trees are turning here -- it looks like a stained-glass interpretation of fire.
I am thankful for any good fortune that comes to my friends and family. In specific, I am happy to welcome to earth my friends Matt and CJ's new baby, and the 8-week gestation fava bean that will soon be a baby for my other friends who have been hoping for one for a long time. What joy!
I am thankful for change. Here's a special shout-out to two friends undergoing lots of change this year. MG -- I know you were hoping for a different outcome. But every change in plans leads you closer to the bright future I know is in store for you. Noodle, I know you, too, struggled with unexpected change this year. But look how much closer you have come to your true self and finding out what your dreams really are. I know you will achieve them.
I am thankful for good health.
I am thankful for food, music, books, and the other treasures that enhance our lives.
I just got up from nursing my baby to sleep, and I was thinking how grateful I am that those nearest and dearest to me have been respectful of my parenting decisions. I know of people who get constantly questioned and harangued and advised, and I am spectacularly lucky to have people in my life who trust me to make the best decisions for my kid.
I am thankful for having so many people to love me. I love you right back.
And just in case I missed anything specific, I know that I am unusually blessed. I look around at my life and I see an embarrassment of riches. I know it, and I appreciate it, and I am thankful for it all.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
I am thankful foremost for my family. Without them, nothing else would be worth anything. And not just my beautiful daughter and loving husband, but my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws (who have become as much my blood as anyone born into my family), and all those second cousins and once-removeds whom I call cousins.... I love you all.
In hard economic times, I am thankful for my job. Not only does it pay the bills, but it gives me ample discretionary funds and great benefits. And blessings upon blessings, I actually do what I love.
I am thankful for the possessions that make my life so comfortable, like my home and car.
I am thankful for the beautiful art that fills my home, almost all of it made by friends and family.
I am thankful for the neighborhood I live in, with kind neighbors and many conveniences. I love the colors the trees are turning here -- it looks like a stained-glass interpretation of fire.
I am thankful for any good fortune that comes to my friends and family. In specific, I am happy to welcome to earth my friends Matt and CJ's new baby, and the 8-week gestation fava bean that will soon be a baby for my other friends who have been hoping for one for a long time. What joy!
I am thankful for change. Here's a special shout-out to two friends undergoing lots of change this year. MG -- I know you were hoping for a different outcome. But every change in plans leads you closer to the bright future I know is in store for you. Noodle, I know you, too, struggled with unexpected change this year. But look how much closer you have come to your true self and finding out what your dreams really are. I know you will achieve them.
I am thankful for good health.
I am thankful for food, music, books, and the other treasures that enhance our lives.
I just got up from nursing my baby to sleep, and I was thinking how grateful I am that those nearest and dearest to me have been respectful of my parenting decisions. I know of people who get constantly questioned and harangued and advised, and I am spectacularly lucky to have people in my life who trust me to make the best decisions for my kid.
I am thankful for having so many people to love me. I love you right back.
And just in case I missed anything specific, I know that I am unusually blessed. I look around at my life and I see an embarrassment of riches. I know it, and I appreciate it, and I am thankful for it all.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Ahhh, a holiday
How's it going, everyone?
The responses I got to my crafty vent were of the positive variety, and I have just finished one round of crafting and begun another. I enjoy it, really.
I am off for the Thanksgiving holiday, and I have five free days! Yay! We have plans on Thursday and Friday (and Saturday morning), but they are happy plans filled with friends and family and food, so I am looking forward to them.
The baby has been hysterical lately. We saw the neighbors in the driveway on Sunday, and instead of some more traditional greeting, like "Hi,' Zadie waved and announced "I'm beautiful!"
I'm going to have to stop counting words in her sentences: she had a nine word sentence today with a subordinate clause. (For the record, it was "Zadie read the book while I change your diaper." So she doesn't have a grip on pronouns yet, but whatever.)
Last night I was knitting* a hat for my great-nephew, who will make his appearance this spring. Zadie kept asking "What are you doing, Mama?" I would answer "I'm making a hat for baby Aidan." She answered "He won't like it." She repeated this several times, and finally I said "Zadie, you're kind of hurting my feelings. I really hope that baby Aidan likes it." I held it out so she could touch it and said "here, it's soft. Touch it." She stroked it for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "He will like it."
We went to a birthday party on Sunday for my cousin and Zadie had a blast. It was at an indoor bounce house-o-rama thing. I've never seen such bouncing. There were whole bouncy obstacle courses and bouncy slides. Zadie really wanted to go on the bouncy slides, but as far as I'm concerned, they're not really made for overweight adults. I climbed up four of five of them and was exhausted! Picture this: you're on an inflatable slope of about 70 degrees. On it, there are several "steps" made out of something like a PVC tube encased in slippery vinyl. Guess what happens? Your weight pushes the "step" into the slope, and the vinyl causes you to lose your footing and slip down (you have to wear socks). And of course, I was trying to navigate these things with a toddler under one arm who refused to be perched on top without me. But the plain old bouncy house was great fun. We bounced a lot. And then there was cake, and cake is awesome.
Hope you're all well. I'll do my traditional annual Thanksgiving post in a day or two. As always, I have a great deal to be Thankful for.
*I can't actually knit, but I have a Knifty Knitter loom, upon which I can make hats.
The responses I got to my crafty vent were of the positive variety, and I have just finished one round of crafting and begun another. I enjoy it, really.
I am off for the Thanksgiving holiday, and I have five free days! Yay! We have plans on Thursday and Friday (and Saturday morning), but they are happy plans filled with friends and family and food, so I am looking forward to them.
The baby has been hysterical lately. We saw the neighbors in the driveway on Sunday, and instead of some more traditional greeting, like "Hi,' Zadie waved and announced "I'm beautiful!"
I'm going to have to stop counting words in her sentences: she had a nine word sentence today with a subordinate clause. (For the record, it was "Zadie read the book while I change your diaper." So she doesn't have a grip on pronouns yet, but whatever.)
Last night I was knitting* a hat for my great-nephew, who will make his appearance this spring. Zadie kept asking "What are you doing, Mama?" I would answer "I'm making a hat for baby Aidan." She answered "He won't like it." She repeated this several times, and finally I said "Zadie, you're kind of hurting my feelings. I really hope that baby Aidan likes it." I held it out so she could touch it and said "here, it's soft. Touch it." She stroked it for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "He will like it."
We went to a birthday party on Sunday for my cousin and Zadie had a blast. It was at an indoor bounce house-o-rama thing. I've never seen such bouncing. There were whole bouncy obstacle courses and bouncy slides. Zadie really wanted to go on the bouncy slides, but as far as I'm concerned, they're not really made for overweight adults. I climbed up four of five of them and was exhausted! Picture this: you're on an inflatable slope of about 70 degrees. On it, there are several "steps" made out of something like a PVC tube encased in slippery vinyl. Guess what happens? Your weight pushes the "step" into the slope, and the vinyl causes you to lose your footing and slip down (you have to wear socks). And of course, I was trying to navigate these things with a toddler under one arm who refused to be perched on top without me. But the plain old bouncy house was great fun. We bounced a lot. And then there was cake, and cake is awesome.
Hope you're all well. I'll do my traditional annual Thanksgiving post in a day or two. As always, I have a great deal to be Thankful for.
*I can't actually knit, but I have a Knifty Knitter loom, upon which I can make hats.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
She's crafty
I'm questioning the wisdom of all the crafting I do for Christmas. In past years, I've made purses, tote bags, scarves, fridge magnets, soaps, candles, bath fizzies, bath scrubs and more.
With rare exception (like my mommy, who tries to spare my feelings) I never see anyone using this stuff. No one has ever come back a few months later and said "you know that bath scrub? That smelled great!" I've never seen a candle on display in someone's house or apartment. I've never seen a soap out in the bathroom.
And I admit -- some of the stuff I make sucks and doesn't come out as intended. Like the fridge magnets -- the pictures got so distorted you couldn't tell what they were (Mom displayed them anyway). But not all of it -- the soaps were good. The purses were (I thought) cute.
Every year I spend hours and hours (I don't even know how many) making this stuff and usually hundreds of dollars on the fabric, etc., and I wonder if I mightn't be better off just giving everyone a gift card somewhere.
I mean, I enjoy crafting, and theoretically it's the thought that counts. I typically put a lot of thought into things. Like, I chose the colors for one of my crafting materials this year based on what would look best with people's wardrobes and eyes and such. But if people receive this stuff, think "Oh, another piece of crap from Mockula," and promptly trash it, then it's not really serving them or me.
Any thoughts? And I'm not just looking for ego strokes. Be honest about whether this is worth my time.
With rare exception (like my mommy, who tries to spare my feelings) I never see anyone using this stuff. No one has ever come back a few months later and said "you know that bath scrub? That smelled great!" I've never seen a candle on display in someone's house or apartment. I've never seen a soap out in the bathroom.
And I admit -- some of the stuff I make sucks and doesn't come out as intended. Like the fridge magnets -- the pictures got so distorted you couldn't tell what they were (Mom displayed them anyway). But not all of it -- the soaps were good. The purses were (I thought) cute.
Every year I spend hours and hours (I don't even know how many) making this stuff and usually hundreds of dollars on the fabric, etc., and I wonder if I mightn't be better off just giving everyone a gift card somewhere.
I mean, I enjoy crafting, and theoretically it's the thought that counts. I typically put a lot of thought into things. Like, I chose the colors for one of my crafting materials this year based on what would look best with people's wardrobes and eyes and such. But if people receive this stuff, think "Oh, another piece of crap from Mockula," and promptly trash it, then it's not really serving them or me.
Any thoughts? And I'm not just looking for ego strokes. Be honest about whether this is worth my time.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Notes on risotto
I'm taking a vegetarian entree to Thanksgiving. I decided I'd test-run the recipe to make sure it was good. I searched a bit and found this one and made it tonight.
Pumpkin risotto.
Now, I don't know why it's called "pumpkin risotto" when there's no pumpkin in it, but whatever. What bothered me about it were two things.
First, Puck obviously loves having a staff of fucking people washing his dishes. For this recipe, you needed a cutting board and knife, optionally a vegetable peeler, three pots for the stove, a roasting pan, a food processor or immersion blender and bowl, a grater, a measuring cup, a ladle, a spoon... I think that might be it, but sheesh!
Second, the recipe asked for several steps I would not normally do in making risotto (and I have been making it pretty regularly for about 15 years). For example, half the butternut squash had to be diced and sauteed, and the other half had to be roasted and pureed. Normally, whatever veggies I put in, I just stir them in raw towards the end of the cooking time and they cook in the risotto. At the very least, why wouldn't he just sautee all the damned squash and puree half? There's no particularly amazing subtle flavor you get out of roasting the squash as opposed to sauteeing it.
The result? It was good, although not much better than my usual stuff. On Thursday, I might go ahead and take some liberties with the recipe. Oh, also, I used reduced-sodium broth and it really needed a bit of salt at the end.
By the way, Zadie just said "Mama is freakin' awesome." Yes, yes I am.
Pumpkin risotto.
Now, I don't know why it's called "pumpkin risotto" when there's no pumpkin in it, but whatever. What bothered me about it were two things.
First, Puck obviously loves having a staff of fucking people washing his dishes. For this recipe, you needed a cutting board and knife, optionally a vegetable peeler, three pots for the stove, a roasting pan, a food processor or immersion blender and bowl, a grater, a measuring cup, a ladle, a spoon... I think that might be it, but sheesh!
Second, the recipe asked for several steps I would not normally do in making risotto (and I have been making it pretty regularly for about 15 years). For example, half the butternut squash had to be diced and sauteed, and the other half had to be roasted and pureed. Normally, whatever veggies I put in, I just stir them in raw towards the end of the cooking time and they cook in the risotto. At the very least, why wouldn't he just sautee all the damned squash and puree half? There's no particularly amazing subtle flavor you get out of roasting the squash as opposed to sauteeing it.
The result? It was good, although not much better than my usual stuff. On Thursday, I might go ahead and take some liberties with the recipe. Oh, also, I used reduced-sodium broth and it really needed a bit of salt at the end.
By the way, Zadie just said "Mama is freakin' awesome." Yes, yes I am.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Two cute Zadie-isms
Today I heard a thump as Zadie was walking around the living room messing with things. I said "What are you doing?" She replied "I'm doing stuff." I said "are you doing good stuff or bad stuff?" She said "bad stuff."
Tonight I was trying to get her to sleep (incidentally, it's 9:08 and she's STILL not asleep) and I started telling her the story of how Sweetie and I met. I began "Once upon a time, Mommy and Daddy didn't even know each other." She interrupted, yelling "get married!" I told her that was at the end, and went on. I got to the part where we went on our first date, and she said "I'm getting married." I said "Oh? To whom?" She said "Daddy. I love Daddy, too."
Tonight I was trying to get her to sleep (incidentally, it's 9:08 and she's STILL not asleep) and I started telling her the story of how Sweetie and I met. I began "Once upon a time, Mommy and Daddy didn't even know each other." She interrupted, yelling "get married!" I told her that was at the end, and went on. I got to the part where we went on our first date, and she said "I'm getting married." I said "Oh? To whom?" She said "Daddy. I love Daddy, too."
Sunday, November 15, 2009
She's asleep early - I can blog (while avoiding other tasks).
There's nothing monumental to write about, but I thought as long as I had a few minutes (and have schoolwork to avoid), I'd pop in here.
Z and I went to the Co-op this morning, and the plan was to go to Avid Reader afterwards. Her naptime varies, but she often doesn't go to sleep until 12:30 or so. I was cutting it close, but thought I could get her home in time. Nope -- she fell asleep pretty much as soon as we left the Co-op parking lot, but I went to Avid Reader anyway. There, I got her out of the car and settled into the sling with as little jostling as possible, and she pretty much stayed asleep. I got our book, walked around, ate a sandwich, and went to the record store before she woke up.
At home, she had a little lunch, then we went to the neighbor's birthday party. I was a little concerned she'd be overwhelmed by all the bigger kids and the noise, but she was perfectly happy. She found a doll-size stroller and pushed it around for about two hours. They had several sit-in-a-circle kind of games that she was uninterested in, so I kind of just kept an eye on her as she pushed the stroller, looked at the koi pond, shoved grapes into her mouth, etc. During "musical cushions," the kids were REALLY slow at finding a cushion to sit on, and the mom was encouraging them to "find a cushion to sit on, find a cushion!" So Zadie climbed back up the steps to the patio, walked by all the kids, and plopped on an empty cushion. She got to have a juice box at the party, so she was THRILLED. In fact, she didn't even seem to care about the cake.
Just the other day, my dad and I were talking about Zadie's "jumping" skills. She says "I'm jumping," bends her knees, and pops up, but rarely gets any air, or only lifts one foot off the ground. So I was surprised today when she started successfully jumping and continued to do so for several minutes.
Also this evening, she grabbed a pencil and Sweetie gave her some paper. She scribbled happily for a while, then said "I'm drawing Mama." A minute later, she turned the page, scribbled intently, and said "I writed! I writed my name!" Then she pointed to the scribble and read "Zadie."
I've been slacking on grading papers because I have so little quiet time to myself at night and I have several craft projects I really want to do. I made a hat for my teenage nephew, but when I finished it and asked Sweetie to try it on, I realized that that one is going to have to go to my little nephew and I have to start another, bigger one for the first nephew. Also, Sweetie's birthday is this week, and he's asked for no presents, so I'm trying to craft a little something he'll like, but my first version didn't work, so I only have a few chances to get that done, too. Plus, I'm excited about some of my other Christmas crafts (not to be described here, as some of my readers will be receiving them as gifts) and I want to get started on those.
Okay, off to (most likely) find more ways to procrastinate!
Take care,
CM
Z and I went to the Co-op this morning, and the plan was to go to Avid Reader afterwards. Her naptime varies, but she often doesn't go to sleep until 12:30 or so. I was cutting it close, but thought I could get her home in time. Nope -- she fell asleep pretty much as soon as we left the Co-op parking lot, but I went to Avid Reader anyway. There, I got her out of the car and settled into the sling with as little jostling as possible, and she pretty much stayed asleep. I got our book, walked around, ate a sandwich, and went to the record store before she woke up.
At home, she had a little lunch, then we went to the neighbor's birthday party. I was a little concerned she'd be overwhelmed by all the bigger kids and the noise, but she was perfectly happy. She found a doll-size stroller and pushed it around for about two hours. They had several sit-in-a-circle kind of games that she was uninterested in, so I kind of just kept an eye on her as she pushed the stroller, looked at the koi pond, shoved grapes into her mouth, etc. During "musical cushions," the kids were REALLY slow at finding a cushion to sit on, and the mom was encouraging them to "find a cushion to sit on, find a cushion!" So Zadie climbed back up the steps to the patio, walked by all the kids, and plopped on an empty cushion. She got to have a juice box at the party, so she was THRILLED. In fact, she didn't even seem to care about the cake.
Just the other day, my dad and I were talking about Zadie's "jumping" skills. She says "I'm jumping," bends her knees, and pops up, but rarely gets any air, or only lifts one foot off the ground. So I was surprised today when she started successfully jumping and continued to do so for several minutes.
Also this evening, she grabbed a pencil and Sweetie gave her some paper. She scribbled happily for a while, then said "I'm drawing Mama." A minute later, she turned the page, scribbled intently, and said "I writed! I writed my name!" Then she pointed to the scribble and read "Zadie."
I've been slacking on grading papers because I have so little quiet time to myself at night and I have several craft projects I really want to do. I made a hat for my teenage nephew, but when I finished it and asked Sweetie to try it on, I realized that that one is going to have to go to my little nephew and I have to start another, bigger one for the first nephew. Also, Sweetie's birthday is this week, and he's asked for no presents, so I'm trying to craft a little something he'll like, but my first version didn't work, so I only have a few chances to get that done, too. Plus, I'm excited about some of my other Christmas crafts (not to be described here, as some of my readers will be receiving them as gifts) and I want to get started on those.
Okay, off to (most likely) find more ways to procrastinate!
Take care,
CM
Saturday, November 14, 2009
So proud of my little genius
Okay, maybe "genius" is taking it a bit far, but watch her sing Frere Jacques! Check her out as she recognizes shapes! Gaze upon her as she tells you what the doctor said when mama called the doctor!
I'm just crazy for this little girl.
Oh, incidentally, we are still nursing, and she regularly tells me "I need booby time." But I've been trying to not offer it to her and only give it to her when she asks. Two nights ago, I was wearing jammies with a zipper and I laid down with her in bed. I said "Do you want to cuddle?" She said yes. I was internally congratulating myself on not automatically offering the breast, thinking that I might just cuddle her to sleep, when I heard "zzzziiipp" and she helped herself to mama's booby buffet.
I'm just crazy for this little girl.
Oh, incidentally, we are still nursing, and she regularly tells me "I need booby time." But I've been trying to not offer it to her and only give it to her when she asks. Two nights ago, I was wearing jammies with a zipper and I laid down with her in bed. I said "Do you want to cuddle?" She said yes. I was internally congratulating myself on not automatically offering the breast, thinking that I might just cuddle her to sleep, when I heard "zzzziiipp" and she helped herself to mama's booby buffet.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Today I...
Got up with the baby, sang songs, read books, started to make coffee, played on the internet, emailed auntie Maryam, asked Sweetie if he wanted to go out to breakfast (he didn't), started to toast a bagel, took a phone call from Jenny, who wanted to go to breakfast, and took the baby to breakfast with Jenny.
Then we...
Went to Trader Joe's, got a balloon, came home, tidied up, read the paper, nursed the baby to sleep, watched an online episode of "Community," played on Facebook, tried to lay the baby down and accidentally woke her up, fed her lunch, then packed a bag.
Then we...
Went to the park, went down the slide, picked up garbage, talked to our neighbors, swung on the swings, pointed at chalk drawings, admired a pink bag, admired a pink bike, talked to a baby extensively, then Zadie pushed the baby, so she said sorry, but then she kicked the baby, so we both said sorry and left the park, went to Corti's for sandwiches, stopped at Save-Mart for bagels, and came home.
Then we...
Read some books, snuggled, watered the plants with Daddy, stomped in puddles, changed out of our wet clothes, ate sandwiches, read a blog about Madeline Spohr that made me cry, watched Abby Cadabby videos, ate half a cookie, and picked out a few books and snacks to take to Grandpa's tomorrow.
Now I'm...
Trying to blog while Zadie crawls all over me insisting "No do things!" Luckily, she has gotten distracted by "riding the bicycle" (the arm of the couch).
Happy Veteran's Day. I know I have such a wonderful life in part because of all the brave men and women who've fought for it.
Then we...
Went to Trader Joe's, got a balloon, came home, tidied up, read the paper, nursed the baby to sleep, watched an online episode of "Community," played on Facebook, tried to lay the baby down and accidentally woke her up, fed her lunch, then packed a bag.
Then we...
Went to the park, went down the slide, picked up garbage, talked to our neighbors, swung on the swings, pointed at chalk drawings, admired a pink bag, admired a pink bike, talked to a baby extensively, then Zadie pushed the baby, so she said sorry, but then she kicked the baby, so we both said sorry and left the park, went to Corti's for sandwiches, stopped at Save-Mart for bagels, and came home.
Then we...
Read some books, snuggled, watered the plants with Daddy, stomped in puddles, changed out of our wet clothes, ate sandwiches, read a blog about Madeline Spohr that made me cry, watched Abby Cadabby videos, ate half a cookie, and picked out a few books and snacks to take to Grandpa's tomorrow.
Now I'm...
Trying to blog while Zadie crawls all over me insisting "No do things!" Luckily, she has gotten distracted by "riding the bicycle" (the arm of the couch).
Happy Veteran's Day. I know I have such a wonderful life in part because of all the brave men and women who've fought for it.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Otra vez, en Español
Mom's been taking Zadie to Spanish classes. I think they've gone for three weeks. Apparently, she mostly wanders around the room and sits in all the other mothers' laps. Unlike the older kids, she has no concept of sitting down and listening to a teacher. So Mom was thinking, well, maybe she's too young, and we'll try again later. That same day, Zadie referred to her head as her "cabeza," mentioned a "calabaza" (pumpkin) and counted "uno, dos, tres." So she's getting something by osmosis, I guess.
She's so much fun right now that it's hard to imagine any period later on being better than this one. She is imaginative, talkative, cuddly... She told me "I'm a lady dancer" the other day, and has also informed me that she loves booby time. She wanted me to nurse her Sweetpea doll, and when I did, she looked at me like I was obviously missing something and said "Mama, pat her!"
She tells us "I'm helping" and "I'm doing stuff" and "I'm busy."
She has got SUCH an ear for music. I sing her a wide variety of songs, but there are obviously some I know more of the words to and thus sing more often. Among those is Joni Mitchell's "California." Today I had just gotten to the end of the first verse when she sang "Ooooooh, lonely..." (The chorus begins "oh, it gets so lonely.") Last night I was humming (not singing) Paul Simon's "Saint Judy's Comet," when she said "Little girl." (Although the lyrics are actually "little boy, won't you lay your body down," I have always sung it "little girl" for obvious reasons.)
We seem to be done with the crib and have completely moved to the big girl bed. It's been since last Sunday, anyway, and she's been sleeping really well and telling me "no crib!" At night, I have started laying with her in the big girl bed and cuddling her to sleep, then getting up. Well, if I don't fall asleep myself, that is. Several nights this week, I did, and I had like a 30 minutes nap before getting up again. I initially cursed the time that I lost, thinking of all the cleaning, baking, food preparation, essay grading, gym-going and whatnot I could be doing instead. But then I thought of how soon it would be before she didn't want me to cuddle her to sleep anymore, and how after that, for the rest of both our natural lives, I won't be cuddling her to sleep, and I decided that all that other stuff can wait.
Here's a video of Zadie, as she would say, "doing stuff."
She's so much fun right now that it's hard to imagine any period later on being better than this one. She is imaginative, talkative, cuddly... She told me "I'm a lady dancer" the other day, and has also informed me that she loves booby time. She wanted me to nurse her Sweetpea doll, and when I did, she looked at me like I was obviously missing something and said "Mama, pat her!"
She tells us "I'm helping" and "I'm doing stuff" and "I'm busy."
She has got SUCH an ear for music. I sing her a wide variety of songs, but there are obviously some I know more of the words to and thus sing more often. Among those is Joni Mitchell's "California." Today I had just gotten to the end of the first verse when she sang "Ooooooh, lonely..." (The chorus begins "oh, it gets so lonely.") Last night I was humming (not singing) Paul Simon's "Saint Judy's Comet," when she said "Little girl." (Although the lyrics are actually "little boy, won't you lay your body down," I have always sung it "little girl" for obvious reasons.)
We seem to be done with the crib and have completely moved to the big girl bed. It's been since last Sunday, anyway, and she's been sleeping really well and telling me "no crib!" At night, I have started laying with her in the big girl bed and cuddling her to sleep, then getting up. Well, if I don't fall asleep myself, that is. Several nights this week, I did, and I had like a 30 minutes nap before getting up again. I initially cursed the time that I lost, thinking of all the cleaning, baking, food preparation, essay grading, gym-going and whatnot I could be doing instead. But then I thought of how soon it would be before she didn't want me to cuddle her to sleep anymore, and how after that, for the rest of both our natural lives, I won't be cuddling her to sleep, and I decided that all that other stuff can wait.
Here's a video of Zadie, as she would say, "doing stuff."
Friday, November 06, 2009
Random venting about work
Feel free to ignore.
A kid emailed me about a paper that was due today. They've known about it for ten days, but I heard them talking this morning about who was up latest last night writing. Anyway, among his lengthy, polite request for an extension, was this gem: "Do you have your own personal reasons why you absolutely have to have them typed and on paper when class starts tomorrow?" My reply should have been "Why, thanks for asking. Indeed I do: it's the motherfucking due date."
When one organizes a field trip, there are four documents one has to turn in. But there doesn't appear to be a place in the entire world where it is written down which forms you need. My method, thus far, has been to approach the keeper-of-all-knowledge (i.e., the vice-principal's secretary) and attempt to submit part of the paperwork, only to be turned down. Once you can find out what forms are needed, some of them are available on the district's web site. Another of them appears to be, but the links are broken. Luckily, I have half a brain, because I was able to search the web site and find it anyway. Today I created myself a little folder with a checklist and all the forms. Do you suppose there's a reason that information wasn't available elsewhere?
I don't hate the 9th grade curriculum as much as I used to. I miss teaching literature, but I can see the benefit of teaching stuff the kids are into. But the dude who created them is long out of the classroom, and I think he forgets useful stuff. For example, the kids were given a timeline with blanks (5 pages) and a sheet of text that could fill in the blanks, listed by number. The kids are supposed to fill in the numbers on the timeline. But then the teacher's copy of the correct answers has the text all filled in, not the numbers. So if a kid says "hey, could you check this for me?" (which happens approximately twenty-thousand times), you have to see what number they have, see where it is on their timeline, look at your own timeline to see where the blank was, then look at the words (not the number), then consult ANOTHER paper to see if those words match the number. You have to have seven pages in your hand and flip back and forth between them. In a fit of pique, I edited it on the shared computer drive to include the correct numbers.
Another example? There's a thing called a "make and break," where kids get a piece of text, out of order, and have to put it in order. If the chunks were out of order on the original copy, you could simply hand the kids a pair of scissors, say "get going," and it would take them about two minutes to cut them out before they re-organized them. But that would be simple. Instead, they are in order, which means you, the teacher, have to cut them all out, organize tiny strips of paper into 26 separate piles (one per kid), and mix them up so the kids don't have them in order. But wait! If you cut them just once, the kids can match up the cut-marks and throw it together in about 20 seconds like the world's easiest puzzle. So instead, I cut each one TWICE so that they can't match them up. Two minutes of the kids cutting versus approximately 30 minutes of my time. STUPID.
We have a new grading program. It has several positive features, which I like, so I am using it instead of sticking with the old program. But it has several intensely annoying flaws. First, you can't "weight" a grade. In my old program, I could give a quiz with 7 questions, call it worth 50 points, and the computer would do the math for me. This new one won't.
Even worse, when you're entering grades, unless you view it one assignment at a time, you can't tell what assignment you're grading. If I try to grade several assignments at a time (like a packet of work), the only thing the spreadsheet will show me is the due date of the assignment and a little caret. If I want to know the name of the assignment, I have to scroll up to the caret and let my cursor rest there, and even then it won't tell me how many points it was worth or anything. I can't tell you how annoying that is.
And finally, if a kid transfers out of my class, I no longer have any record of their grades. Twice, someone has transferred out and another teacher has asked me for their grade or whether they have a deficiency notice, and I have absolutely no idea and no way to access it.
Furthermore, are there fixes? Ways to change those settings? Ways to work around it? Ways to retrieve the information on a transferred student? Who knows, because although I've tried both the phone number and the email address set up to assist us, I've gotten no reply.
And I think this is the last thing -- our district has banned certain web sites from our internet. Fine. Of course you wouldn't want students to be able to access porn, or those cheating "free essays" web sites or whatever. Or games. But they've also outlawed all blogs (even educational ones), YouTube, and Netflix. Well, last year I used Netflix several times to show movies that related to my content. For example, we were learning about Mount Everest and I showed "Everest: Beyond the Limit." As a Netflix subscriber, I can play it right on my computer, which hooks up to the TV in my room. But not anymore. Now if I want to show it, I'll have to remember to request it, send back whatever movie I've got at home, make sure I am prepared about five days in advance of when I want to show it, and not have a movie of my own to watch if I want at home. I know several other teachers used Netflix for the same reason. Why should that be banned? It's for fricking educational purposes! So I decided to do something. On the "blocked" page that popped up, there was an email link, in case you wanted to talk to someone who could unblock the site. I clicked it. Guess what came up? "mailto:insertemailhere." So they'd never even updated the page with the correct person's information. I emailed two other people, one on campus and one at the district office, to try to figure out who was the correct person to talk to about it. No one ever contacted me back.
On the brighter side, as I always say, 90% of my job takes place in the classroom with my kids, and that is the best part of my job. And I know that in this economy, I should be happy to even have a job. So my vent is officially over. But man, I had to get it out!
A kid emailed me about a paper that was due today. They've known about it for ten days, but I heard them talking this morning about who was up latest last night writing. Anyway, among his lengthy, polite request for an extension, was this gem: "Do you have your own personal reasons why you absolutely have to have them typed and on paper when class starts tomorrow?" My reply should have been "Why, thanks for asking. Indeed I do: it's the motherfucking due date."
When one organizes a field trip, there are four documents one has to turn in. But there doesn't appear to be a place in the entire world where it is written down which forms you need. My method, thus far, has been to approach the keeper-of-all-knowledge (i.e., the vice-principal's secretary) and attempt to submit part of the paperwork, only to be turned down. Once you can find out what forms are needed, some of them are available on the district's web site. Another of them appears to be, but the links are broken. Luckily, I have half a brain, because I was able to search the web site and find it anyway. Today I created myself a little folder with a checklist and all the forms. Do you suppose there's a reason that information wasn't available elsewhere?
I don't hate the 9th grade curriculum as much as I used to. I miss teaching literature, but I can see the benefit of teaching stuff the kids are into. But the dude who created them is long out of the classroom, and I think he forgets useful stuff. For example, the kids were given a timeline with blanks (5 pages) and a sheet of text that could fill in the blanks, listed by number. The kids are supposed to fill in the numbers on the timeline. But then the teacher's copy of the correct answers has the text all filled in, not the numbers. So if a kid says "hey, could you check this for me?" (which happens approximately twenty-thousand times), you have to see what number they have, see where it is on their timeline, look at your own timeline to see where the blank was, then look at the words (not the number), then consult ANOTHER paper to see if those words match the number. You have to have seven pages in your hand and flip back and forth between them. In a fit of pique, I edited it on the shared computer drive to include the correct numbers.
Another example? There's a thing called a "make and break," where kids get a piece of text, out of order, and have to put it in order. If the chunks were out of order on the original copy, you could simply hand the kids a pair of scissors, say "get going," and it would take them about two minutes to cut them out before they re-organized them. But that would be simple. Instead, they are in order, which means you, the teacher, have to cut them all out, organize tiny strips of paper into 26 separate piles (one per kid), and mix them up so the kids don't have them in order. But wait! If you cut them just once, the kids can match up the cut-marks and throw it together in about 20 seconds like the world's easiest puzzle. So instead, I cut each one TWICE so that they can't match them up. Two minutes of the kids cutting versus approximately 30 minutes of my time. STUPID.
We have a new grading program. It has several positive features, which I like, so I am using it instead of sticking with the old program. But it has several intensely annoying flaws. First, you can't "weight" a grade. In my old program, I could give a quiz with 7 questions, call it worth 50 points, and the computer would do the math for me. This new one won't.
Even worse, when you're entering grades, unless you view it one assignment at a time, you can't tell what assignment you're grading. If I try to grade several assignments at a time (like a packet of work), the only thing the spreadsheet will show me is the due date of the assignment and a little caret. If I want to know the name of the assignment, I have to scroll up to the caret and let my cursor rest there, and even then it won't tell me how many points it was worth or anything. I can't tell you how annoying that is.
And finally, if a kid transfers out of my class, I no longer have any record of their grades. Twice, someone has transferred out and another teacher has asked me for their grade or whether they have a deficiency notice, and I have absolutely no idea and no way to access it.
Furthermore, are there fixes? Ways to change those settings? Ways to work around it? Ways to retrieve the information on a transferred student? Who knows, because although I've tried both the phone number and the email address set up to assist us, I've gotten no reply.
And I think this is the last thing -- our district has banned certain web sites from our internet. Fine. Of course you wouldn't want students to be able to access porn, or those cheating "free essays" web sites or whatever. Or games. But they've also outlawed all blogs (even educational ones), YouTube, and Netflix. Well, last year I used Netflix several times to show movies that related to my content. For example, we were learning about Mount Everest and I showed "Everest: Beyond the Limit." As a Netflix subscriber, I can play it right on my computer, which hooks up to the TV in my room. But not anymore. Now if I want to show it, I'll have to remember to request it, send back whatever movie I've got at home, make sure I am prepared about five days in advance of when I want to show it, and not have a movie of my own to watch if I want at home. I know several other teachers used Netflix for the same reason. Why should that be banned? It's for fricking educational purposes! So I decided to do something. On the "blocked" page that popped up, there was an email link, in case you wanted to talk to someone who could unblock the site. I clicked it. Guess what came up? "mailto:insertemailhere." So they'd never even updated the page with the correct person's information. I emailed two other people, one on campus and one at the district office, to try to figure out who was the correct person to talk to about it. No one ever contacted me back.
On the brighter side, as I always say, 90% of my job takes place in the classroom with my kids, and that is the best part of my job. And I know that in this economy, I should be happy to even have a job. So my vent is officially over. But man, I had to get it out!
Monday, November 02, 2009
Zadie plays a spelling game
Just to orient you, she is sitting next to me using a game on my iPhone.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Dear "Cheftestants;"
I just watched this week's Top Chef, and I am so disappointed. The contestants were asked to create a "fine dining" meal for Natalie Portman, who's a vegetarian. They were given an absolute boatload of possible ingredients to use. Here's what they came up with -- some boiled leeks, some rolled-up eggplant, a couple bites of artichoke with fennel puree, a couple bites of eggplant, some mushrooms with kale, an asparagus salad with banana polenta, and a random mixture of vegetables including thinly sliced beets and a few fresh chickpeas.
They don't all sound like they'd taste bad, but my god, I'd be so hungry afterward! And did they forget about ingredients besides vegetables? I mean, I love veggies as much as (probably more than) the next guy, but fer chrissakes, I would like a carb or a legume, too! One of the judges asked the losing contestant what his protein was. He replied that the leeks were, like, simulating a protein. Huh?
So for the benefit of the chefs who were completely thrown by the vegetarian challenge, here are some ideas for you based on my favorite local dishes.
At Tower Cafe, they serve a chile relleno that is completely elevated by a couple things. First, instead of just cheese, they add currants and pine nuts to the filling. Second, they use a fresh pasilla chile instead of canned, and it retains its texture. Finally, they bread it with something like panko and deep fry it so that it remains whole and toothsome instead of a soggy eggy mess.
At Maalouf's Taste of Lebanon, they make a fantastic falafel sandwich. Fresh, steaming balls of falafel are stuffed in a pita with lettuce, tomato, and pickle spears and doused in tahini sauce. Maybe it's not fine dining, but try adding some fresh herbs, make your own pita bread (easy), and maybe play with the pickles and tahini... The show frequently asks contestants to make street food into fine dining. Why not try it with falafel?
At 33rd Street Bistro, they make a panini with roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers and cambozola cheese. It's a great combo.
At Paesano's, they have a penne pasta with kalamata olives, whole cloves of roasted garlic, and crumbled feta. I know pasta is the "easy out" when it comes to vegetarian food, but it can be sublime.
At Celestin's, they have a creole vegetable stew served with black beans and rice. On the side you can also get tomato-avocado salade, tostones, sweet potato fries, or corn cakes.
At the Sacramento Brewing Company (I haven't been in a while, but they used to have this) there's an eggplant napoleon with pesto, goat cheese, and a tomato sauce.
At any Indian restaurant (we go to Kathmandu Kitchen) you can get a samosa stuffed with potatoes and peas and served with a tamarind or mint sauce. Or what about a curry and rice?
At Tres Hermanas I get a big platter of fajitas. Again, perhaps fajitas don't lend themselves to fine dining, but think of how you could tweak it so they could. I know that at Mustard's Grill in Napa, I always get the corn tamales.
At Kamon sushi, they have several beautiful vegetarian rolls. My favorite isn't on the menu -- it's called the Mary roll, and it includes tenpura sweet potato and avocado.
At Ravenous Cafe, I had a terrific risotto with mushrooms.
Cafe Bernardo makes a grilled polenta with marinara sauce that's a great standby if I'm not getting a sandwich or pizza.
And that short list is leaving off things like Moroccan couscous with vegetables, various Asian foods like pad thai or "Buddha's Delight" or pho, Greek foods like spanikopita, tiropitas, and dolmas, and a bajillion more ethnic cuisines. I know I'm not a chef and as a home cook, I'm not under the same pressure that the potential Top Chefs are. No one's going to vote me out of the kitchen. But I manage to come up with filling, healthy tasty vegetarian meals about five nights a week. And I guarantee it's not going to be two chunks of boiled leek.
They don't all sound like they'd taste bad, but my god, I'd be so hungry afterward! And did they forget about ingredients besides vegetables? I mean, I love veggies as much as (probably more than) the next guy, but fer chrissakes, I would like a carb or a legume, too! One of the judges asked the losing contestant what his protein was. He replied that the leeks were, like, simulating a protein. Huh?
So for the benefit of the chefs who were completely thrown by the vegetarian challenge, here are some ideas for you based on my favorite local dishes.
At Tower Cafe, they serve a chile relleno that is completely elevated by a couple things. First, instead of just cheese, they add currants and pine nuts to the filling. Second, they use a fresh pasilla chile instead of canned, and it retains its texture. Finally, they bread it with something like panko and deep fry it so that it remains whole and toothsome instead of a soggy eggy mess.
At Maalouf's Taste of Lebanon, they make a fantastic falafel sandwich. Fresh, steaming balls of falafel are stuffed in a pita with lettuce, tomato, and pickle spears and doused in tahini sauce. Maybe it's not fine dining, but try adding some fresh herbs, make your own pita bread (easy), and maybe play with the pickles and tahini... The show frequently asks contestants to make street food into fine dining. Why not try it with falafel?
At 33rd Street Bistro, they make a panini with roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers and cambozola cheese. It's a great combo.
At Paesano's, they have a penne pasta with kalamata olives, whole cloves of roasted garlic, and crumbled feta. I know pasta is the "easy out" when it comes to vegetarian food, but it can be sublime.
At Celestin's, they have a creole vegetable stew served with black beans and rice. On the side you can also get tomato-avocado salade, tostones, sweet potato fries, or corn cakes.
At the Sacramento Brewing Company (I haven't been in a while, but they used to have this) there's an eggplant napoleon with pesto, goat cheese, and a tomato sauce.
At any Indian restaurant (we go to Kathmandu Kitchen) you can get a samosa stuffed with potatoes and peas and served with a tamarind or mint sauce. Or what about a curry and rice?
At Tres Hermanas I get a big platter of fajitas. Again, perhaps fajitas don't lend themselves to fine dining, but think of how you could tweak it so they could. I know that at Mustard's Grill in Napa, I always get the corn tamales.
At Kamon sushi, they have several beautiful vegetarian rolls. My favorite isn't on the menu -- it's called the Mary roll, and it includes tenpura sweet potato and avocado.
At Ravenous Cafe, I had a terrific risotto with mushrooms.
Cafe Bernardo makes a grilled polenta with marinara sauce that's a great standby if I'm not getting a sandwich or pizza.
And that short list is leaving off things like Moroccan couscous with vegetables, various Asian foods like pad thai or "Buddha's Delight" or pho, Greek foods like spanikopita, tiropitas, and dolmas, and a bajillion more ethnic cuisines. I know I'm not a chef and as a home cook, I'm not under the same pressure that the potential Top Chefs are. No one's going to vote me out of the kitchen. But I manage to come up with filling, healthy tasty vegetarian meals about five nights a week. And I guarantee it's not going to be two chunks of boiled leek.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Ahem, just an eensy bit not over it.
So... I had these really great ideas about Z's birth before it happened. I was sure it was going to go smoothly and sure I wouldn't need pain medication. I was also sure I was making the right choice for both of us.
LONG story short, everything went cockeyed and I did end up needing the drugs and she was in the special care nursery getting oxygen for several days.
But, you know, she's here and she's amazing and she's so much more than I ever imagined, and I'm so lucky. So most of the time, I don't even think about the fact that I didn't get the perfect birth, you know?
And there's this web site I visit that's about breastfeeding, but the topic of births comes up and some of these women, seriously, are like majorly traumatized that they didn't get the perfect birth and cry and need therapy and want to try it again and switch doctors three times to get one who will (they think) give them exactly the birth they want. And they're really upset about it. And I think "Well I had a sucky birth experience too, but I'm over it. I have an awesome, healthy kid."
And then today I read this article in "Mothering" magazine. It was about how drug-free births are totally a bazillion times better for the kid, and really, the pain is just like a "stretching" or a "stinging" and anyway, you have long pain-free breaks in between, so you should totally be able to manage a drug-free birth.
And it... okay, it touched a nerve. It's not even entirely about the drugs -- I needed the drugs -- but it's about a lot of stuff. Not getting to hold her right away. Not getting to room in with her. Not getting to walk around and breathe and meditate and use my guided meditation on my iPod and not getting to take a bath or shower at home and not getting to decide when I went to the hospital after laboring at home. Instead, I was told by my doctor to go straight to the hospital, where they gave me Pitocin to induce labor. After it kicked in, and until I got the epidural, I more or less sat on a chair and lowed.
The doctors and nurses and midwives (with one notable exception) did all the right things and made all the right decisions. They initially induced labor to reduce the risk of infection, and in the long run, they probably saved her life. So it was a great outcome. But it was definitely one of those things that did not go as I expected and that I won't get a do-over for. And it grates a little to hear about how wonderful and painless natural labor can be. I didn't have that option. (Well, I could have homebirthed, but then I probably wouldn't have Zadie at all.)
At a recent baby shower, lots of women were telling their birth stories, but I didn't. I don't think it's right to scare expectant mothers. But that also means I don't really get to talk about one of the most important nights of my life. And I admit it... there's still a little bit of pain there.
LONG story short, everything went cockeyed and I did end up needing the drugs and she was in the special care nursery getting oxygen for several days.
But, you know, she's here and she's amazing and she's so much more than I ever imagined, and I'm so lucky. So most of the time, I don't even think about the fact that I didn't get the perfect birth, you know?
And there's this web site I visit that's about breastfeeding, but the topic of births comes up and some of these women, seriously, are like majorly traumatized that they didn't get the perfect birth and cry and need therapy and want to try it again and switch doctors three times to get one who will (they think) give them exactly the birth they want. And they're really upset about it. And I think "Well I had a sucky birth experience too, but I'm over it. I have an awesome, healthy kid."
And then today I read this article in "Mothering" magazine. It was about how drug-free births are totally a bazillion times better for the kid, and really, the pain is just like a "stretching" or a "stinging" and anyway, you have long pain-free breaks in between, so you should totally be able to manage a drug-free birth.
And it... okay, it touched a nerve. It's not even entirely about the drugs -- I needed the drugs -- but it's about a lot of stuff. Not getting to hold her right away. Not getting to room in with her. Not getting to walk around and breathe and meditate and use my guided meditation on my iPod and not getting to take a bath or shower at home and not getting to decide when I went to the hospital after laboring at home. Instead, I was told by my doctor to go straight to the hospital, where they gave me Pitocin to induce labor. After it kicked in, and until I got the epidural, I more or less sat on a chair and lowed.
The doctors and nurses and midwives (with one notable exception) did all the right things and made all the right decisions. They initially induced labor to reduce the risk of infection, and in the long run, they probably saved her life. So it was a great outcome. But it was definitely one of those things that did not go as I expected and that I won't get a do-over for. And it grates a little to hear about how wonderful and painless natural labor can be. I didn't have that option. (Well, I could have homebirthed, but then I probably wouldn't have Zadie at all.)
At a recent baby shower, lots of women were telling their birth stories, but I didn't. I don't think it's right to scare expectant mothers. But that also means I don't really get to talk about one of the most important nights of my life. And I admit it... there's still a little bit of pain there.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Bon Joviation
I try not to share my dreams, because I know they're a very had-to-be-there kind of thing, but this one was good.
I dreamed that there was a new form of court-ordered mediation. You could opt for the Bon Jovi method. The complainant is referred to as "the Bon" and the answerer is called "the Jovi." You state the issue, then call up a magic 8 ball-type Bon Jovi lyrics randomizer.
"We're halfway there" might mean to split the assets evenly in half.
"You promise me heaven, then put me through hell" might mean "you broke the contract."
"Your love is like bad medicine" might be pharmaceutical-related.
You know, you have to do some interpretation. But I think it's an interesting idea.
I dreamed that there was a new form of court-ordered mediation. You could opt for the Bon Jovi method. The complainant is referred to as "the Bon" and the answerer is called "the Jovi." You state the issue, then call up a magic 8 ball-type Bon Jovi lyrics randomizer.
"We're halfway there" might mean to split the assets evenly in half.
"You promise me heaven, then put me through hell" might mean "you broke the contract."
"Your love is like bad medicine" might be pharmaceutical-related.
You know, you have to do some interpretation. But I think it's an interesting idea.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Love Shack!
I got her singing "Love Shack." Unfortunately, I pressed the stop button right as she was in the middle of saying "Tin roof... rusted."
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Baby branding
I was reading an article in Children's Health magazine about how to protect children from the effects of marketing. It was astounding how many ads children are exposed to, and how few chances we really get to counter that. One sidebar to the article suggested things like not buying products with TV characters on them. I was proud of myself, because earlier in the day, Zadie had seen and asked for some soup with Dora the Explorer on it. I told her no, that we were getting the organic brand. But then I remembered. In a day or two, the UPS truck will deliver the training bike I found online -- with Elmo's head on it.
It's hard to protect kids from the influence of marketing. Zadie saw Elmo one time and was in love. She started saying his name, asking to see his videos, wanting us to sing the song. At least Elmo isn't all over the macaroni and cheese boxes. Dora is another story. As far as I know, Zadie has seen "Dora the Explorer" exactly once. In fact, she thinks Dora is the one who says "Ni hao." But I bought Dora swim diapers this summer, as they were the only ones in her size. Now she begs to wear her Dora diapers. And she wanted Dora fleece fabric at the craft store this morning. And Dora soup while grocery shopping. I don't even know what is it that appeals to her so much about Dora, but the cartoon is EVERYWHERE and I was just shocked to see that she, at 18 months, is already asking for brands at the supermarket based on their advertising. It's kind of disgusting.
Anyway, I'm going to take the advice of the article, doing things like telling her that advertisements are trying to get your money and countering the messages in other ways. But I can see it being an uphill battle.
It's hard to protect kids from the influence of marketing. Zadie saw Elmo one time and was in love. She started saying his name, asking to see his videos, wanting us to sing the song. At least Elmo isn't all over the macaroni and cheese boxes. Dora is another story. As far as I know, Zadie has seen "Dora the Explorer" exactly once. In fact, she thinks Dora is the one who says "Ni hao." But I bought Dora swim diapers this summer, as they were the only ones in her size. Now she begs to wear her Dora diapers. And she wanted Dora fleece fabric at the craft store this morning. And Dora soup while grocery shopping. I don't even know what is it that appeals to her so much about Dora, but the cartoon is EVERYWHERE and I was just shocked to see that she, at 18 months, is already asking for brands at the supermarket based on their advertising. It's kind of disgusting.
Anyway, I'm going to take the advice of the article, doing things like telling her that advertisements are trying to get your money and countering the messages in other ways. But I can see it being an uphill battle.
What's up
Zadie helped me decorate sugar cookies today.
We went to ArtBeast, and although we had fun, she did have one thing she HATED. We took the "early art" class, and for part of it, the teacher put out trays with shaving foam. All the other kids were having a good time putting their hands in it and playing. Zadie did not want to touch it. I put her hand out to show her it was fine, and she freaked!
After that, she didn't even want to go back to the table, although she eventually agreed to let me hold her while I drew letters in the foam.
It's been a fun weekend. We went to Fox and Goose yesterday for breakfast, then did some cleaning and grocery shopping, then had stir-fry for dinner and went to the playground. She initially was mad when another boy came to play, but then I helped him onto the airplane behind her, and the whole way home (and last night, and today...) she kept saying "We shared!"
Today we went to ArtBeast and stayed for about two hours, then we came home for a nap. Then we made our cookies. (Zadie really decorated all of them. I held the sprinkles and told her to put them on the ghosts, and she did. I did help her shake the orange sugar on, though). We got pizza from La Trattoria Bohemia for dinner (so awesome), then went to Gynagirl's and Drummergirl's place. They are always so accommodating of her, even when she's bossy ("Shoes on!"). She has a great time over there. I should really visit more often.
Finally we stopped by Sideshow Studio, where they were having a Halloween party. We said hello to our friends but didn't stay long. Then I suggested she say goodbye. One of the employees (a very nice woman named Sandra) was dressed as a sort of fancy French courtesan, or one of the women from the movie "The Duchess." It was ruffly, pink, short, and she had a pink ringletty wig on. Zadie said goodbye to Cy, then we went to Sandra and Zadie raised her eyebrows in obvious awe and half-whispered "Bye-bye, Bo Peep!"
I have two more blog posts in me this weekend, if I can get the time, one over on Count Momula (she'll be 19 months tomorrow, and I still try to update that blog once a month) and one here about consumerism. Keep an eye out, and thanks for reading.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Voracious Z
Swinging at the park with Daddy.
Bundled up for a snack.
In the garden.
Daddy's southwest scramble.
Seriously though, this kid can eat. Apparently today she ate oatmeal, trail mix, scrambled egg with cheese, olives, spaghetti (two servings), then rotini (and seconds), yogurt, animal crackers, dried cherries and a fig cereal bar. (Normally I probably wouldn't give her pasta twice, but I was feeling lazy and wanted a quick dinner tonight.)
Bundled up for a snack.
In the garden.
Daddy's southwest scramble.
Seriously though, this kid can eat. Apparently today she ate oatmeal, trail mix, scrambled egg with cheese, olives, spaghetti (two servings), then rotini (and seconds), yogurt, animal crackers, dried cherries and a fig cereal bar. (Normally I probably wouldn't give her pasta twice, but I was feeling lazy and wanted a quick dinner tonight.)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Whirlwind weekend!
Wowza, have I been busy (and I'm not done yet)! On Friday, I knew we had a busy Saturday planned, so I got take-out (from Thai Palace, which is only decent, but has the benefit of being close). We had pad thai, fried rice, spring rolls, and tom kha (which was excellent). Then I did my usual Saturday morning cleaning (which is mostly just putting my own and the baby's crap away, but also involves laundry). Next, I made a shopping list and went grocery shopping. I got home and put the baby to bed, then started getting food ready for the next day's activities. I got a recipe out of the paper for a sweet potato salad that sounded good, and I made it, and I also marinated some tofu. Finally, I hit the sack.
On Saturday, we woke up at 6:30, made a pot of coffee, and started getting ready for a multi-family yard sale. Almost all we had to sell were books, but in the first hour or so of the sale, we were the only ones who sold anything. In fact, we'd made fifty bucks by about 9, when everyone else hadn't made anything! Z and I walked to the store and bought bagels and cream cheese and set up the toaster in our front yard, so everyone else came over and ate bagels with us. Sales slowed down after that, but there was one guy who bought a TON of Sweetie's gaming books. I personally exercised restraint in not purchasing chaps or a wetsuit from my neighbors.
Then at 11:30, I got the baby set to go to Grandma's and we left. I dropped Z off and went to Deeda salon to get my hair cut and colored. I loved (no, I mean LOVED) my old stylist, but she was sort of slow, so I'm getting used to my new stylist, and I appreciate getting out in two hours. Anyway, I went a little lighter and feel a LOT better, like my skin looks brighter and everything. I like other colors on me, and I know my natural color is somewhere on the brown scale, but I still feel blonde.
When we got back, everyone had cleaned up the yard sale offerings and we were on to the "block party" part of the day. My neighbors had set up several tables and chairs and a grill in their yard, and we all commenced to take food over. We ate sausages (Tofurkey for me), tofu, homemade bread, spinach dip, chips and salsa and guacamole, several kinds of salad (my sweet potato salad won accolades), and finally cookies. We also caught up on the neighborhood gossip, the most interesting piece of which was (for me) that our crazy-lawn-lady neighbor who defaulted on her mortgage has been LIVING NEXT DOOR to her old house the entire time! The woman we used to see outside every morning obsessing over her yard has been parking in the garage and coming and going on the sly. Weird. Really weird.
At about 5:30, I went inside to change clothes and change the baby (who was covered in watermelon juice), and shortly thereafter Monkeygirl came by so we could go to poker night together. We loaded up our jalapeno poppers (so hot i could barely eat them!), stopped and bought a pie, then headed to D and S's house. Two or three times a year, we go over there to play poker (none of us are very good, but at least S remembers the rules and etiquette -- the rest of us have to consult cheat sheets to determine whether a straight is better than a full house). We always have great food and great conversations and games, but we have sometimes complained about the musical selections, as our tastes cal be very different. To alleviate this and make a game of it, S sent us all an email asking for our "Desert Island Discs," and he made a playlist of them. Then he created a spreadsheet so we could guess whose song was whose and keep track. It ended up being SO fun! I got two of my own wrong, unbelievably (I put "Redemption Song" as Sweetie's, when it was mine, and thought the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" was mine, when it was actually Monkeygirl's!). We also had some hints, such as when someone mentioned a Linda Ronstadt song on the list and D said "It's the most beautiful song in the WORLD!" We also intentionally confused each other, as when three of us all sang along to a song none of us had chosen. The tricky ones were ones like Joni Mitchell -- S and I are both huge fans. And there were two Nirvanas and two Talking Heads. How do you choose whether someone is more "And She Was" or more ''Take Me to the River?"
D is the sweetest hostess: she bought a set of blocks so Zadie would have something to play with at her house that was different than her toys at home. How thoughtful, right?
Today I'm taking it easy -- finishing laundry, making lunches, and not much else. I haven't even read the paper.
Z can really communicate now. On Friday I got home and she ran to the door to meet me. "Mama! Broke! I broke it!" "What did you break, honey?" "Necklace." I walked with her into the living room and asked Sweetie "Did she really break a necklace of mine?" He pointed to a plastic bracelet, its beads sitting unstrung on the coffee table. I turned back to her. "That's okay Sweetie. Mommy doesn't mind. Thank you for telling me." She said "I'm sorry."
According to my mom, they went to their first Spanish for toddlers class on Thursday. Zadie was wandering around, not paying much attention, but then the teacher started using props. Here's Mom's email: "Zadie did crack everyone up repeatedly because she kept shouting out instructions to Jackie, the teacher. When she got out an illustrated board and held it up, Zadie yelled out "put it down." Then when she brought a bin filled with things, Zadie shouted "open it." She pretty much did it every time Jackie brought anything new out. Then during "Itsy Bitsy Spider," Z walked over and plopped down in Jackie's lap."
Right now, she's on amoxicillin for an ear infection. I asked Mom to take Z to the doctor if she heard more wheezing (which Sweetie and I noticed in the middle of the night one night). She did, so they got in to the doctor on Wednesday. The doctor found the ear infection (which I hadn't even suspected) and gave her an inhaler for the wheezing, which Zadie was not doing at the appointment. She also hasn't wheezed since then, so I think it's no big deal, but I'm glad we have the inhaler now just in case.
Okay, Z is asleep on my lap, so I'm going to check on my sweet potatoes and probably lay down myself.
On Saturday, we woke up at 6:30, made a pot of coffee, and started getting ready for a multi-family yard sale. Almost all we had to sell were books, but in the first hour or so of the sale, we were the only ones who sold anything. In fact, we'd made fifty bucks by about 9, when everyone else hadn't made anything! Z and I walked to the store and bought bagels and cream cheese and set up the toaster in our front yard, so everyone else came over and ate bagels with us. Sales slowed down after that, but there was one guy who bought a TON of Sweetie's gaming books. I personally exercised restraint in not purchasing chaps or a wetsuit from my neighbors.
Then at 11:30, I got the baby set to go to Grandma's and we left. I dropped Z off and went to Deeda salon to get my hair cut and colored. I loved (no, I mean LOVED) my old stylist, but she was sort of slow, so I'm getting used to my new stylist, and I appreciate getting out in two hours. Anyway, I went a little lighter and feel a LOT better, like my skin looks brighter and everything. I like other colors on me, and I know my natural color is somewhere on the brown scale, but I still feel blonde.
When we got back, everyone had cleaned up the yard sale offerings and we were on to the "block party" part of the day. My neighbors had set up several tables and chairs and a grill in their yard, and we all commenced to take food over. We ate sausages (Tofurkey for me), tofu, homemade bread, spinach dip, chips and salsa and guacamole, several kinds of salad (my sweet potato salad won accolades), and finally cookies. We also caught up on the neighborhood gossip, the most interesting piece of which was (for me) that our crazy-lawn-lady neighbor who defaulted on her mortgage has been LIVING NEXT DOOR to her old house the entire time! The woman we used to see outside every morning obsessing over her yard has been parking in the garage and coming and going on the sly. Weird. Really weird.
At about 5:30, I went inside to change clothes and change the baby (who was covered in watermelon juice), and shortly thereafter Monkeygirl came by so we could go to poker night together. We loaded up our jalapeno poppers (so hot i could barely eat them!), stopped and bought a pie, then headed to D and S's house. Two or three times a year, we go over there to play poker (none of us are very good, but at least S remembers the rules and etiquette -- the rest of us have to consult cheat sheets to determine whether a straight is better than a full house). We always have great food and great conversations and games, but we have sometimes complained about the musical selections, as our tastes cal be very different. To alleviate this and make a game of it, S sent us all an email asking for our "Desert Island Discs," and he made a playlist of them. Then he created a spreadsheet so we could guess whose song was whose and keep track. It ended up being SO fun! I got two of my own wrong, unbelievably (I put "Redemption Song" as Sweetie's, when it was mine, and thought the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" was mine, when it was actually Monkeygirl's!). We also had some hints, such as when someone mentioned a Linda Ronstadt song on the list and D said "It's the most beautiful song in the WORLD!" We also intentionally confused each other, as when three of us all sang along to a song none of us had chosen. The tricky ones were ones like Joni Mitchell -- S and I are both huge fans. And there were two Nirvanas and two Talking Heads. How do you choose whether someone is more "And She Was" or more ''Take Me to the River?"
D is the sweetest hostess: she bought a set of blocks so Zadie would have something to play with at her house that was different than her toys at home. How thoughtful, right?
Today I'm taking it easy -- finishing laundry, making lunches, and not much else. I haven't even read the paper.
Z can really communicate now. On Friday I got home and she ran to the door to meet me. "Mama! Broke! I broke it!" "What did you break, honey?" "Necklace." I walked with her into the living room and asked Sweetie "Did she really break a necklace of mine?" He pointed to a plastic bracelet, its beads sitting unstrung on the coffee table. I turned back to her. "That's okay Sweetie. Mommy doesn't mind. Thank you for telling me." She said "I'm sorry."
According to my mom, they went to their first Spanish for toddlers class on Thursday. Zadie was wandering around, not paying much attention, but then the teacher started using props. Here's Mom's email: "Zadie did crack everyone up repeatedly because she kept shouting out instructions to Jackie, the teacher. When she got out an illustrated board and held it up, Zadie yelled out "put it down." Then when she brought a bin filled with things, Zadie shouted "open it." She pretty much did it every time Jackie brought anything new out. Then during "Itsy Bitsy Spider," Z walked over and plopped down in Jackie's lap."
Right now, she's on amoxicillin for an ear infection. I asked Mom to take Z to the doctor if she heard more wheezing (which Sweetie and I noticed in the middle of the night one night). She did, so they got in to the doctor on Wednesday. The doctor found the ear infection (which I hadn't even suspected) and gave her an inhaler for the wheezing, which Zadie was not doing at the appointment. She also hasn't wheezed since then, so I think it's no big deal, but I'm glad we have the inhaler now just in case.
Okay, Z is asleep on my lap, so I'm going to check on my sweet potatoes and probably lay down myself.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
School, second Saturday, stuff
There's not too much to report. School is going well. The IB classes are apparently quite freaked out about how hard my class is, which is odd, I think. But I guess they're having grade freak-outs. I have one girl who's never had a B before, and she keeps asking me how she could improve it and get it to an A. Well, I've given her some hints, but the truth is, an A is very difficult to achieve in such a class -- there's no coasting anymore. And colleges appreciate that IB classes are rigorous and know that a B here equals an A in another class. In fact, they even factor it into your GPA. But some students would rather get an easy A in a class that doesn't challenge them. I like these kids, but I don't like that attitude.
We went to Second Saturday last night. I love taking Zadie -- we got to see about five live bands, a performance by members of the Sacramento ballet, several art galleries, and a parade. There's an area where crafters gather, and I took Zadie over and was fussing over some pretty jewelry. The woman whose table it was said "I have children's bracelets." They were only a dollar, and I wanted one for Zadie, but didn't have any cash. I told her I didn't, and that I'd even given my change away this week (my kids were selling papers to benefit Shriner's hospital, and they were also collecting funds for Unicef, so while I'd usually have a buck in change, I didn't). I also asked whether she'd be there next month. But Zadie had been flirting with her, and she insisted we take one. So we got a free bracelet! Which totally made up for being called an asshole when a guy turned left in front of me without signaling (and no, I'm not sure how that makes ME the asshole).
Zadie's feeling better than she was earlier in the week, although she still has a stuffy/runny nose. My favorite moment this week was when I used the snot-sucker (bulb aspirator) on her. She HATED it, and was crying. I said to her imploringly "But Zadie, we got lots of yucky snot out of your nose." She replied very firmly, "Put it back!"
Oddly, last night all of a sudden I wasn't feeling well. I rarely get sick, but I definitely knew something was off in the gastrointestinal department. I waited with a magazine for something bad to happen, then finally threw up. I hate throwing up, so I was initially still a little crabby and grossed out, but I went to bed, and when I woke up a few hours later, I took stock and discovered that I felt just fine -- 100 percent better in fact. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have eaten the hummus that sat out at a potluck for several hours. I think my body just decided to get rid of that, though, and then everything was fine.
Sunday mornings are lovely. Sweetie made coffee and I made waffles. Z got covered in jam. I am reading the paper and she has fallen asleep nursing after taking a shower with her daddy. Later, we'll plant our winter veggie garden (I picked up broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and onions at Tallini's nursery). Then it's dinner with Mom.
By the way, I don't usually talk about TV on here, but there are a few shows I follow. I recently caught the first episode of "Community" and I laughed so hard I was afraid I'd wake the baby. Since then, I haven't seen it on TV (it's apparently on Thursday nights), but they have full episodes on the NBC web site. I've watched every one so far, and I still keep cracking up. The last episode makes fun of a hacky-sack-playing hippie who'll take his shirt of at the drop of a hat, and there's a part where a woman gets him to take his shirt off so she can make fun of his tiny nipples... maybe you had to be there. Anyway, if you're looking for a new show, I highly recommend it.
We went to Second Saturday last night. I love taking Zadie -- we got to see about five live bands, a performance by members of the Sacramento ballet, several art galleries, and a parade. There's an area where crafters gather, and I took Zadie over and was fussing over some pretty jewelry. The woman whose table it was said "I have children's bracelets." They were only a dollar, and I wanted one for Zadie, but didn't have any cash. I told her I didn't, and that I'd even given my change away this week (my kids were selling papers to benefit Shriner's hospital, and they were also collecting funds for Unicef, so while I'd usually have a buck in change, I didn't). I also asked whether she'd be there next month. But Zadie had been flirting with her, and she insisted we take one. So we got a free bracelet! Which totally made up for being called an asshole when a guy turned left in front of me without signaling (and no, I'm not sure how that makes ME the asshole).
Zadie's feeling better than she was earlier in the week, although she still has a stuffy/runny nose. My favorite moment this week was when I used the snot-sucker (bulb aspirator) on her. She HATED it, and was crying. I said to her imploringly "But Zadie, we got lots of yucky snot out of your nose." She replied very firmly, "Put it back!"
Oddly, last night all of a sudden I wasn't feeling well. I rarely get sick, but I definitely knew something was off in the gastrointestinal department. I waited with a magazine for something bad to happen, then finally threw up. I hate throwing up, so I was initially still a little crabby and grossed out, but I went to bed, and when I woke up a few hours later, I took stock and discovered that I felt just fine -- 100 percent better in fact. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have eaten the hummus that sat out at a potluck for several hours. I think my body just decided to get rid of that, though, and then everything was fine.
Sunday mornings are lovely. Sweetie made coffee and I made waffles. Z got covered in jam. I am reading the paper and she has fallen asleep nursing after taking a shower with her daddy. Later, we'll plant our winter veggie garden (I picked up broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and onions at Tallini's nursery). Then it's dinner with Mom.
By the way, I don't usually talk about TV on here, but there are a few shows I follow. I recently caught the first episode of "Community" and I laughed so hard I was afraid I'd wake the baby. Since then, I haven't seen it on TV (it's apparently on Thursday nights), but they have full episodes on the NBC web site. I've watched every one so far, and I still keep cracking up. The last episode makes fun of a hacky-sack-playing hippie who'll take his shirt of at the drop of a hat, and there's a part where a woman gets him to take his shirt off so she can make fun of his tiny nipples... maybe you had to be there. Anyway, if you're looking for a new show, I highly recommend it.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
I hear... the secrets that you keep. When you're talking in your sleep.
The odd punctuation there is because that's a song lyric from a song that's been stuck in my head for nigh on 25 years.
Anyway, Z-girl is sick. She slept poorly last night, was tired all day, then wanted to do nothing but nurse and cuddle all afternoon and evening. Normally she asks to read books, go outdoors, watch Yo Gabba Gabba, etc. Finally, right around her bedtime, it occurred to me that she was really hot. I took her temperature and it was 102.7, which is just shy of "call the doctor." We gave her Tylenol, then, on Mom's advice, a lukewarm bath. Her temperature went down to 101.1. She still wasn't ready for me to put her to bed, so we cuddled until she fell fast asleep at nine.
I also thought I'd tell you that she's been really funny in the middle of the night. She talks in her sleep -- mostly babbles, but some words. But last night she was wide awake when she woke up at 3:30. I went in and she said "Mommy wake up." I said "Mommy woke up." She repeated "Mommy woke up." Then she went on. "Mommy naked. Mommy cute. Mommy is cute. Mommy's a woman. Booby time!" (For the record, I usually do sleep naked, but it was cold last night, so I had jammies on.)
During our cool bath tonight she played with a GI Joe. "Joe swimming. Joe splashing. Joe sit." Then she leaned over to drink the water. I offered to get her a cup of water. "Do you want some nice clean water in a cup?" "No." Sweetie then asked "Do you want to drink yucky poo-water?" "Uh huh."
Oh, I'm so tired I can't think of a conclusion. All last night as I lay with her, I would just drift off and she'd start talking again. I appreciated the flattery, though.
Anyway, Z-girl is sick. She slept poorly last night, was tired all day, then wanted to do nothing but nurse and cuddle all afternoon and evening. Normally she asks to read books, go outdoors, watch Yo Gabba Gabba, etc. Finally, right around her bedtime, it occurred to me that she was really hot. I took her temperature and it was 102.7, which is just shy of "call the doctor." We gave her Tylenol, then, on Mom's advice, a lukewarm bath. Her temperature went down to 101.1. She still wasn't ready for me to put her to bed, so we cuddled until she fell fast asleep at nine.
I also thought I'd tell you that she's been really funny in the middle of the night. She talks in her sleep -- mostly babbles, but some words. But last night she was wide awake when she woke up at 3:30. I went in and she said "Mommy wake up." I said "Mommy woke up." She repeated "Mommy woke up." Then she went on. "Mommy naked. Mommy cute. Mommy is cute. Mommy's a woman. Booby time!" (For the record, I usually do sleep naked, but it was cold last night, so I had jammies on.)
During our cool bath tonight she played with a GI Joe. "Joe swimming. Joe splashing. Joe sit." Then she leaned over to drink the water. I offered to get her a cup of water. "Do you want some nice clean water in a cup?" "No." Sweetie then asked "Do you want to drink yucky poo-water?" "Uh huh."
Oh, I'm so tired I can't think of a conclusion. All last night as I lay with her, I would just drift off and she'd start talking again. I appreciated the flattery, though.
Monday, October 05, 2009
She's cute, huh?
IMG_0612
Originally uploaded by countmockula
Tonight she was digging in the cat food and came out with a handful. I said "Zadie, you know you're not supposed to play with the cat food." She replied, "Mina want it! I give!" Already coming up with excuses...
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Saturday, October 03, 2009
More of the awesome kid.
Last night Zadie said "Mommy, hang out with you?"
She often will trade off counting to ten with us. Today Sweetie tried to start it by saying "One" and she answered "twothreefourfivesixseven!"
I think six words is her longest sentence. That was "Mommy, sing 'oh the water' song." (That would be Van Morrison's "And it Stoned Me."
She sang along with the Talking Heads today. I couldn't be more proud. It was "Take me to the river."
Today she pointed at the name on our neighbors' Volvo and pointed at the first two letters, saying "V-O, V-O." (I had told her it was an O, but she apparently recognized the V.)
Last night at Maalouf's, she was really at her most charming, and she tried to say everything we or the Maaloufs asked her to, including "Habibi." (I have no idea what that means.) But for some reason, she got stuck on telling everyone that "Mommy's a woman." In fact, for a while, it was all she would say, and she wasn't using her indoor voice, either. "MOMMY'S A WOMAN!"
I hope Grandma doesn't mind me telling this story, but I got the biggest laugh out of it (and a lesson, to boot). I guess they were at the park, and Zadie wandered away from where all the people were. Grandma, suffering the same affliction I do (terrible gas), used the opportunity to let one go. Whereupon Zadie ran back to where all the people were yelling "Grandma toot! Grandma TOOOOOOT!!"
Also, I emailed this to myself the other day since I can no longer blog at work:
Zadie has crossed some invisible line between "very verbal" and total chatterbox. This morning from the time she woke up until we settled on the couch to nurse, she was having a conversation with me.
"Change diaper. Pee-pee. Jammies off. I'm cold. Clothes on. Shirt on. Daddy cold?"
We went into the kitchen and she saw the fridge magnets.
"Who's that?"
"The Mad Hatter."
"Hold it! Baby carry. He's upside-down. Who's that?"
"It's the Mad Hatter. Alice in Wonderland goes to his party and they drink tea."
"Iced tea? Baby drink tea. Mommy sing Alice song. Yay!"
I start preparing breakfast.
"Baby drink coffee. Baby eat oatmeal. Raisins."
We go to the couch.
"More booby! Other one!"
I'm sure in a few years it'll drive me crazy, but for now, I just love hearing her get to know her world.
She often will trade off counting to ten with us. Today Sweetie tried to start it by saying "One" and she answered "twothreefourfivesixseven!"
I think six words is her longest sentence. That was "Mommy, sing 'oh the water' song." (That would be Van Morrison's "And it Stoned Me."
She sang along with the Talking Heads today. I couldn't be more proud. It was "Take me to the river."
Today she pointed at the name on our neighbors' Volvo and pointed at the first two letters, saying "V-O, V-O." (I had told her it was an O, but she apparently recognized the V.)
Last night at Maalouf's, she was really at her most charming, and she tried to say everything we or the Maaloufs asked her to, including "Habibi." (I have no idea what that means.) But for some reason, she got stuck on telling everyone that "Mommy's a woman." In fact, for a while, it was all she would say, and she wasn't using her indoor voice, either. "MOMMY'S A WOMAN!"
I hope Grandma doesn't mind me telling this story, but I got the biggest laugh out of it (and a lesson, to boot). I guess they were at the park, and Zadie wandered away from where all the people were. Grandma, suffering the same affliction I do (terrible gas), used the opportunity to let one go. Whereupon Zadie ran back to where all the people were yelling "Grandma toot! Grandma TOOOOOOT!!"
Also, I emailed this to myself the other day since I can no longer blog at work:
Zadie has crossed some invisible line between "very verbal" and total chatterbox. This morning from the time she woke up until we settled on the couch to nurse, she was having a conversation with me.
"Change diaper. Pee-pee. Jammies off. I'm cold. Clothes on. Shirt on. Daddy cold?"
We went into the kitchen and she saw the fridge magnets.
"Who's that?"
"The Mad Hatter."
"Hold it! Baby carry. He's upside-down. Who's that?"
"It's the Mad Hatter. Alice in Wonderland goes to his party and they drink tea."
"Iced tea? Baby drink tea. Mommy sing Alice song. Yay!"
I start preparing breakfast.
"Baby drink coffee. Baby eat oatmeal. Raisins."
We go to the couch.
"More booby! Other one!"
I'm sure in a few years it'll drive me crazy, but for now, I just love hearing her get to know her world.
Random Z pics and a lovely dinner
She requested a bath the other night and afterward I wrapped her in this towel. I don't know why she's mean-mugging.
Inside Daddy's shirt.
Sleeping family.
In their Arsenal gear.
I think she looks like a Hollywood starlet avoiding the paparazzi.
The bad news. Zadie has had really bad hives for over a week. I asked her doctor about it, and she said if they don't seem to bother Zadie, we should just leave well enough alone. She doesn't seem to notice them, but they look awful!
I roasted these, added garlic and rosemary, a little salt, water, and rosemary. I pureed it all and served it with basil and parmesan. Yum.
Inside Daddy's shirt.
Sleeping family.
In their Arsenal gear.
I think she looks like a Hollywood starlet avoiding the paparazzi.
The bad news. Zadie has had really bad hives for over a week. I asked her doctor about it, and she said if they don't seem to bother Zadie, we should just leave well enough alone. She doesn't seem to notice them, but they look awful!
I roasted these, added garlic and rosemary, a little salt, water, and rosemary. I pureed it all and served it with basil and parmesan. Yum.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Talk about exciting!
Zadie and I went to the shopping center by our house to buy a lottery ticket (blame Sweetie) and get an ice cream cone each. I finished mine and decided we would walk home while Zadie finished hers. Just as we were leaving the parking lot, Zadie said "siren." I said, "Oh you hear sirens? Mama hears them too. Do you also hear the helicopter?"
I wasn't really thinking anything was amiss, even as the sirens got closer and closer. Sirens go down Folsom Boulevard by our house all the time. And there's a freeway very nearby -- helicopters circle that regularly. So even as they got almost to us, I still thought nothing of it.
But then I heard an engine running curiously high. I looked behind me and saw a sporty blue Ford going about 80 down the street towards us. I pulled Zadie's stroller up onto the lawn we were next to on instinct, then watched as the Ford tried to turn the corner in front of us. And failed. We heard a huge crash, and almost instantly, about twenty cop cars pulled up, slammed on the brakes, and cops started getting out and running into people's backyards. I saw a K9 unit get the dog out. Then nothing much happened for a few minutes. I thought it might be safe to get a little closer.
Then every cop on the street shouldered a shotgun. I backed off two houses and got behind a car. More cops came, including two undercovers and two more K9s. From where we were, we couldn't figure out what was going on. After everything seemed to die down a bit, I finally went the long way around back to our house.
I checked back in with Sweetie, who had just come from the other side of the scene, and decided to check it out from there, too. From there, I saw what had happened -- the car had crashed into a house. Luckily, the owner wasn't home. My neighbor is friends with him and said he frequently sits on the porch and has a glass of wine.
I also found out (all hearsay) that they took the guy away in an ambulance with his leg all bound up, that the police found a big bag of money, and that he initially jumped one fence, only to find that in the backyard was a cinderblock noise wall about twelve feet high. So he jumped the fence into the neighbors' backyard and ran into their house. The people inside ran out front and yelled "he's in here, he's in here!" That's where the police got him. The suspicion is that his leg wound was from the K9 unit.
One funny-ish thing was that I was watching as the people in the house next to the corner (the one the guy went into) were getting a Schwan's delivery (groceries). They were talking to the Schwan's guy when the Ford came roaring around the corner and the Schwan's guy got out of the way FAST.
Another funny-ish thing was the woman who pulled up after a few minutes. She got out of her car and started marching toward the scene. Someone asked what she was doing, and she said "he almost hit me on Watt Avenue* and I followed the chase all the way here!" We asked why. She said "Because I'm pissed! And I'm nosy!" and she kept marching.
Two news cameras showed up after a few minutes, but I don't think anyone realized I was an eyewitness, so I just hung back and didn't say anything. Almost everyone else had just wandered over after hearing the commotion. I thought about talking to the cops, but I didn't think I had anything useful to add. "You were chasing him, and he crashed!" I mean, duh.
So that was our big adventure tonight.
I wasn't really thinking anything was amiss, even as the sirens got closer and closer. Sirens go down Folsom Boulevard by our house all the time. And there's a freeway very nearby -- helicopters circle that regularly. So even as they got almost to us, I still thought nothing of it.
But then I heard an engine running curiously high. I looked behind me and saw a sporty blue Ford going about 80 down the street towards us. I pulled Zadie's stroller up onto the lawn we were next to on instinct, then watched as the Ford tried to turn the corner in front of us. And failed. We heard a huge crash, and almost instantly, about twenty cop cars pulled up, slammed on the brakes, and cops started getting out and running into people's backyards. I saw a K9 unit get the dog out. Then nothing much happened for a few minutes. I thought it might be safe to get a little closer.
Then every cop on the street shouldered a shotgun. I backed off two houses and got behind a car. More cops came, including two undercovers and two more K9s. From where we were, we couldn't figure out what was going on. After everything seemed to die down a bit, I finally went the long way around back to our house.
I checked back in with Sweetie, who had just come from the other side of the scene, and decided to check it out from there, too. From there, I saw what had happened -- the car had crashed into a house. Luckily, the owner wasn't home. My neighbor is friends with him and said he frequently sits on the porch and has a glass of wine.
I also found out (all hearsay) that they took the guy away in an ambulance with his leg all bound up, that the police found a big bag of money, and that he initially jumped one fence, only to find that in the backyard was a cinderblock noise wall about twelve feet high. So he jumped the fence into the neighbors' backyard and ran into their house. The people inside ran out front and yelled "he's in here, he's in here!" That's where the police got him. The suspicion is that his leg wound was from the K9 unit.
One funny-ish thing was that I was watching as the people in the house next to the corner (the one the guy went into) were getting a Schwan's delivery (groceries). They were talking to the Schwan's guy when the Ford came roaring around the corner and the Schwan's guy got out of the way FAST.
Another funny-ish thing was the woman who pulled up after a few minutes. She got out of her car and started marching toward the scene. Someone asked what she was doing, and she said "he almost hit me on Watt Avenue* and I followed the chase all the way here!" We asked why. She said "Because I'm pissed! And I'm nosy!" and she kept marching.
Two news cameras showed up after a few minutes, but I don't think anyone realized I was an eyewitness, so I just hung back and didn't say anything. Almost everyone else had just wandered over after hearing the commotion. I thought about talking to the cops, but I didn't think I had anything useful to add. "You were chasing him, and he crashed!" I mean, duh.
So that was our big adventure tonight.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Fall fashion
Z has almost no Fall/Winter clothes, so I bought her just a few last weekend. I finally got around to washing them, so we had a fashion show this morning.
Probable Thanksgiving dress:
Autumn colors:
A little mod.
Just a cute close-up.
Sweetie took this of her watching Yo Gabba Gabba. Look how rapt she is!
I made her a new winter hat. I'm going to secure the flower better so it's not so goofy-looking.
Probable Thanksgiving dress:
Autumn colors:
A little mod.
Just a cute close-up.
Sweetie took this of her watching Yo Gabba Gabba. Look how rapt she is!
I made her a new winter hat. I'm going to secure the flower better so it's not so goofy-looking.
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