Thursday Thirteen: Random Observations in the Last 24 Hours

Since everything is still crazy, I'm glad the good ol' Thursday Thirteen meme gives me a reason to resort to list-making. Here are some things I've noticed in the last 24 hours:

1. Hospice nurses are amazing people. I got to Aunt Marguerite's house within an hour of her passing. By the time I got there, the nurse had called in the time of death, arranged for the funeral home to come, and had my auntie bathed, changed, and under her favorite pink quilt. She spoke soothingly to my mother and I and felt like our best friend even though I had only met her once before and we will likely never see her again.
2. I didn't think I would ever want to be in the room with someone after they had died, but I couldn't bring myself to leave my aunt's side and sat next to her in the same spot where I used to sit when I was little and she read me stories. I also had a very hard time letting her go when the funeral home came to get her. 
3. Aunt Marguerite's home is very empty without her, even though she was a tiny woman who weighed less than 100 pounds soaking wet.
4. She had more slips, earrings, and other costume jewelry than any three people needed, but only one of them was short enough to go underneath the dress we chose and only one necklace and set of earrings really matched the outfit. I think she would be pleased with what I chose, but not with what I wore to the funeral home. (The green blouse was OK, but I paired it with jeans and clogs. )
5. She would have been more horrified to know that I wore it to the office this morning now that I have an executive position. Also, she would have been SO PROUD if she had known. But she was quite past those kind of explanations in the last few weeks.
6. At least she enjoyed having Alexis there every day. She usually greeted her with "there's my pretty baby!" I'm going to miss hearing that.
7. I'm going to miss hearing lots of things, even though she hasn't said most of them in the last couple of years.
8. I'm going to miss her, but in some ways, I've been missing her for the last few years.
9. I thought this would be a bigger relief than it actually is. Then again, my lovely Aunt Deb warned me that would be the case when I was last in Seattle. She was right. No surprise there, she usually is.
10. I'm more excited than I should be that most of my out-of-town family will be here for the funeral. But I'm always glad to see them, what can I say?
11. I'm sorry that she had to endure losing her independence through the last few years, but I am glad she survived that bad fall in 2007 that was kind of the beginning of the end for her. It gave all of us involved lots of time to get ready and lots of time to say goodbye.
12. I could write obituaries for a living, but I think I will stick to eulogizing just my loved ones.
13. This is harder than I thought it would be.

Thursday Thirteen: Tender Mercies Edition

It's time once again to focus on those small moments of grace in my life that remind me how much the good in this world still outweighs the bad-no matter what the news says:

1. I subbed in the church nursery in lieu of sitting through a "5th Sunday". At least the little kids like me, right? Somehow, I had forgotten how sweet they are.
2. Having the brains to simplify things like busy schedules and meal plans. If I give myself a few minutes to think about it, it's amazing what a problem-solver I can be.
3. Good friends who don't want to "act their age" any more than I do.
4. Kids at home with a great sense of humor.
5. Kids at work who are well-behaved and smart. (If I have had to teach daily since early October, at least it has been with great kids. It really makes a difference.)
6. A Great-Great Aunt who made it to the big 1-0-0! (Even if I'm not sure she realizes it.)
7. A leisurely hour chatting at the table with my sisters and my aunts who I don't see often enough.
8. A baby with precious little corkscrew curls and a smile that melts everyone who sees her.
9. Milk in the refrigerator, bread on the counter,  and plenty of cereal and snacks in the pantry exactly when we need them to be there.
10. Lunch and conversation with a former co-worker who feels a lot more like an old friend.
11. A growing immunity to cold shoulders, guilt trips, and "thou shalts" from people who can barely take care of themselves much less tell me how to live MY life. I'm supposed to feel humbled and ashamed because YOU don't like what I'm doing? Really?
12. My husband's latest Muppet impersonation: "You are ALL weirdos!" (It's true, we are. But I loved that he channeled "Sam" when he said it.)
13. Successful non-profit events and fundraisers

Thursday Thirteen

I couldn't get the kids to go to stop arguing tonight, so I sent everyone to bed early. This made me extremely unpopular with the 12 and under set in this house. Lacking for any other good topics tonight, here are thirteen other things that make me extremely unpopular around this house:

1. The rule about no one playing Wii or Playstation 3 unless it's a Friday night or Saturday. This has become even more strictly enforced now that I know they play Wii at the after-school program from time-to-time. Although the after-school program does make sure they do their homework first.
2. The strictly enforced 30 minute time limit on the computer unless they are doing verifiable homework assignments. This rule wasn't nearly as taxing when our home Internet was down, but now that we have it again...boy do they dislike that oven timer.
3. The rule about cereal being a BREAKFAST FOOD ONLY.
4. The rule that lets mom have some TV time too.
5. The rule about everyone having a day where they set the table and a day to clear the table.
6. The rule about everyone, not just mom and dad, feeding and brushing the pets. (Since Dave and I are the only ones that drive, we do cover the vet visits.)
7. The phrase "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit."
8. The rule that Mom doesn't move the car until everyone buckles their seat belt, even if it *gasp* makes us late for something.
9. The disclaimer that if you did not put your clothes out the night before, Mom can pick out anything she wants for you to wear the following morning. And that if you did not prepare your backpack, permission slips, your lunch box, or find your shoes; that's not my problem before we leave for school the next morning either.
10. Dad and Mom's statements that they did not mess the house up on her own, and they aren't cleaning it by themselves either followed by the rule that no one with a messy room gets to invite someone over for a visit/sleepover.
11. The words "I don't care who started it! Now EVERYONE has a time-out!"
12. The rule about no one reading ahead in a book we are reading as a family. (I downloaded the last Percy Jackson book straight to my iPhone to ensure that didn't happen.)
13. The phrase "What do you mean YOUR house?! Dad and I bought this house. We just let you live in it."

Thursday Thirteen: Kids Shows That I Really Miss

Now that there is a bay-bee in the house again, it's reminded me of the things my other kids loved when they were little. When Natalie was a baby, she scremed non-stop any time that I put her down until Dave's sister suggested a Barney tape. It was just a lot of songs from many different episodes, but that, a VCR, and her bouncy seat allowed me to load the dishwasher in peace. Fortunately, the big purple dino is still around and hopefully still will be by the time Alexis is old enough to appreciate him. However, there are a lot of shows my older kids enjoyed that are gone now. Hopefully, I can come up with 13 of them:

1. Nick Jr's Blue's Clues with Steve-Once he "went to college" the show was never the same. I never dreamed about kissing Joe.
2. Disney Channel's Stanley-Cute little kid and lots of animals, such a fun show! Nothing they've come up with recently has come even close to it.
3. Disney Channel's Out of the Box-True my sister and I called it "out of the closet" and mocked it the entire time it was on, but Juliet, Natalie, and Victoria loved it. Not that any of the 'trauma teens' would admit that now.
4. Disney Channel's Bear in the Big Blue House-It was made by the Jim Henson Company. 'Nuff said.
5. Animal Jam-Ditto to the above, but I can't remember what network carried it and it seems like they only made about 3 episodes. We danced and danced to that one.
6. Nick Jr.'s Maisy-OK, the giant mouse and her weird animal friends kind of annoyed me. But it was the first show Natalie asked to watch and she was about 2. Who can resist that?
7. Nickelodeon's Rugrats-I didn't care for the animation at first, but the "little sprouts" grew on me. I remember Selena and I taking Natalie and Tristan to the movie while Dave was deployed and I think we wanted to see it more than they did.
8. Nickelodeon's The Wild Thornberries-If I liked the Rugrats, I LOVED this one. Tim Curry voiced Nigel Thornberry. Good stuff.
9. Disney Channel's Kim Possible-I adored this show. I watched it without the kids. I still would if it was still on TV.
10. The Original Electric Company-When Noggin was brand new, it ran old episodes of Sesame Street and Electric Company. I didn't appreciate it fully as a kid, but I really liked it the second time around. The new one is OK, but it will never compare.
11. The Muppet Show-I mean the original series here, but the new one from the 90's would be OK too. Pretty much anything with Kermit...which sadly excludes the current epsiodes of Sesame Street.
12. Bob the Builder-This may still be on air, but Tristan quit loving it years ago and Caroline and Elisa didn't care for it. I wonder if Bob and Wendy ever got together?
13. Eureka's Castle-This was shown in reruns in the early days of Noggin. It was pretty much the cast of Bear in the Big Blue House BEFORE Bear in the Big Blue House. Natalie and Tristan loved it and I would sit there queasily pregnant with Caroline and enjoy the stillness for 20 minutes.

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Thursday Thirteen: Confessions

I remember when I used to post my TT lists at midnight on Wednesday. Technically, this isn't even going up on a Thursday. But, I'm posting it anyway because I've been writing it and re-writing in my head all day and I'm determined to see it in print, or at least on-screen.

Sometimes I get a kick out of telling readers more than they need to know about myself here on this blog, but lately I've been keeping all kinds of secrets. They say confession is good for the soul...and my soul could use some good.

So...13 truths about my life right now:

1. The first two weeks of school, I dropped the kids off, drove home, and went straight back to bed where I would alternately nap and nurse the baby (and change diapers) until it was time to get up and pick everyone up again. The second week of school, Caroline needed to come home. I was so out of it that I didn't answer my phone and my younger sister (who lives 5 minutes away as opposed to my 10-15) was called instead. She called me and I still had to send her to the school because I was so groggy I knew I wouldn't be able to pull myself together in less than 30 minutes. Just a reminder that I was exclusively nursing a 3 week-old baby lest you think me too irresponsible. But definitely not one of my finer moments.
2. Even though I gave up napping during the school day a few weeks ago, Alexis and I napped again this morning. What can I say? We were tired.
3. I'm not finished with Season 5's DVD's yet, but I'm totally watching Season 6 West Wing episodes as they air on Bravo each morning. When I'm not napping that is...
4. She's just barely 2 months old and I've already done the 'stick the baby in the swing so I can take a shower' trick. I thought I wanted to spend every last one of her waking moments with her, but sometimes I also want to wash spit-up out of my hair and smell nice.
5. After watching the West Wing episode where CJ becomes Chief of Staff with my sick and home from school 11 year-old, I let her watch the Bravo-edited version of Grease which wasn't as edited as I'd hoped it would be. Even worse? I would have let her watch Grease 2 that followed it, but she declared it "stupid" and turned off the TV. (All the Grease innuendo was lost on her, just as it was on me at her age. But still...) It was funny how she didn't recognize Stockard Channing as Abbey Bartlett even though she watches West Wing with me all the time.
6. My parents came by on Monday to give my kids their Jog-A-Thon money. Mom also gave me a bunch of cash "to buy the kids' some snacks." I had a pantry full of good kid snacks already, so I hit the clearance racks at Old Navy instead.
7. I forgot to buy dog food at the grocery store earlier this evening, but told Dave that I did and that it's in the car. I'm going to have to go back to the store as soon as I drop the kids off so my poor dog doesn't starve tomorrow.
8. There is no medical reason that I'm not exercising and rejoining Weight Watchers. I've had clearance from Dr. P to do both for almost a month. I just don't feel like doing more than going on walks with the kids nor am I in the mood to count points when nursing makes me so hungry. My weight hasn't dropped in about 3 weeks, so it IS time. I just don't wanna. I like to eat. There, I said it.
9. I didn't listen to the OU/Tulsa game on the radio a few weeks ago. But I told my grandma that I did to avoid a 'discussion' about my level of committment to the Sooners.
10. Sometimes I don't even watch the whole game when it's televised if I have more pressing things to get done on a Saturday.
11. I don't feel like checking my email lately. I still like blogging though. (I do too much important communication via email to ignore it entirely, but I want to.)
12. All my 'thank you' cards are done, and sitting in the same 'to be mailed' stack I made on Sunday night.
13. Even though I think it was pushing it to have 5, I look at sweet little Alexis and desperately want to have "just one more" baby. Which I know would be completely selfish, but it makes me very sad to think she's "the end." (I was very happy about that with child #4, so I'm not sure where this is coming from.)

Thursday Thirteen

So...it's been awhile since I had a baby. In that time, they've come out with some pretty cool products. AND because I was gainfully employed throughout most of my pregnancy, I bought some things I would have liked to have when the other kids were little. This is my list of 13 things that I didn't know I loved until Alexis came along:

1. Medela Pump-In-Style-All my kids nursed for at least the first year of their lives. Two would not take bottles ever, one took bottles only from me, and one (Tristan) drank whatever, whenever which was wonderful. Since I had my babies, my friend Wendy has been having her babies. She breastfed AND worked full-time for her oldest two kids. I was amazed. Pumping didn't seem to take her 45 minutes (like it did with my Avent Isis, if I wanted enough for a whole bottle) and she had a little more freedom. Or so it seemed to me. Her secret? A good breastpump. So this time, I bought one too. I just started using it this week. Pumping will never be my favorite activity, but in less than 10 minutes, I have a bottle ready and a little more time to run errands or even perhaps to see a movie or eat at a grown-up restaurant. The possibilities may not be endless, but our Civic Center season tickets seem very do-able now. How did I manage without this for four other kids?
2. Medela Microsteam bags-Once your are done with the pumping and the bottle, there is always the clean-up. And with these bags that clean-up consists of  placing the rinsed pump parts and bottle in a ziploc-style bag with 2 oz. of water and zapping them in the microwave for about 90 seconds. Even better, you can reuse these bags up to 20 times. Wendy gave me her leftover bags. I love her. Almost as much as I love these bags. Just kidding, Wendy. Mostly.
3. My Brest Friend pillow-OK, this nursing pillow has a bad name, but it is the best nursing pillow ever-and I've owned most of them. I saw it on Martha Stewart's Baby show. I mocked the $500 stroller and the $20 teething toy (though it's a giraffe, and I LOVE those), but I loved the pillow and my mom bought me one as a shower gift. Perhaps the Boppy's lack of back support was no big deal when I was having babies at 25 but now...I need it and My Brest Friend has it. It supports the back, it holds the baby at just the right level, and it even has raised areas on the pillow to prop your elbows while you hold the baby. I won't nurse without this thing and I forgive it for its stupid name.
4. Speaking of strollers, I love my Quinny Zapp stroller! One of my friend's at church had them for her triplets. I jokingly told her that I was going to have another baby just so I could buy one of those strollers. I should have kept my mouth shut. But seriously, this is the nicest stroller I've ever owned. She handed down one of her car seats which snaps into the car seat frame. As the child gets older, there is a canvas seat that zips into the frame. It's not really why I had another baby, but it's a very nice perk.
5. Maternity jeans with pockets-I don't need them anymore, but most of my pants had pockets this time around! It was a very welcome change since I like to keep my keys in my pocket instead of my purse.
6. Baby bathtub with battery-operated shower sprayer-Rinsing baby off after a sponge bath is so much easier with this. We had the earlier model where you squeezed the sprayer really hard and air-pumped the water out of it, but there is really no comparison. This one is much better.
7. Soft, fluffy baby towels-They are so much nicer than the ones we had before, I guess they decided babies needed comfy towels too.
8. Multi-purpose gadgets-We have a swing that moves front/back or side to side, has an iPod dock, and plays a whole other host of pre-programmed sounds AND a bassinet that rocks itself, vibrates, and also plays good music (both borrowed from my sister, of course-she's much cooler than I am). And what does baby love? The bouncy seat. Oh well. I still think this stuff is cool, though so far I've avoided subjecting baby to all my Broadway soundtracks...Yet.
9. Newborn diapers with cord cut-outs-She is all healed up now and into size 1's, but how nice was it not to have to creatively fold the front of the diaper? Pretty nice. (They may have had these with Elisa, but I don't remember any such convenience.)
10. Baby legs-How many of you had tiny baby girls in oversized saggy tights? Baby legs are like leg-warmers so I can indulge my '80's obsession AND keep baby's legs warm as the weather cools. Honestly? I haven't bought any yet, but I saw some at Target this afternoon and they WILL be mine. (Uh, I mean, Alexis', of course.)
11. Bumbo baby seat-Again, we haven't used ours yet, but it was so cool I knew that I had to have one before I even had the baby and I picked one up at last spring's kids' consignment sale. I can't wait for her to use it.
12. Sleepywrap Baby Sling-Again, my girlfriend Wendy hooked me up with this. It's a lot like a Moby wrap and enables me to go in and out of stores without carrying the huge carseat, not to mention that Alexis loves feeling like she's back in mom's tummy. Also, it's a lot harder for people to touch her when she's tied to my front. I prefer this to my trusty Baby Bjorn from babies past. I also found a nice Maya Wrap at another consignment store for when she gets older. I'm pretty sure I'm going to love that too!
13. Snuggle Nest-I like to co-sleep until my babies sleep through the night, but I'm older now and sleep a lot harder than I used to. I worried about the little gal getting in my way or getting hurt. So, I bought this little travel bed that goes between Dave and I. She sleeps with us, but is protected from us. It also comes in handy for diaper changes in the car and will go with me in lieu of the bigger Pack-n-Play if I do any traveling.

I'm sure I will discover even more neat little gadgets (like the fold-up travel swing, though I don't need one at the moment) as she gets older. But for now, I can't believe I had four other kids without this stuff. For more Thursday Thirteens, click here! (And no, I received no compensation for plugging any of the aforementioned items. I just really like them.)

Thursday 13: My Summer Movies

Last night my usual bout of pregnancy insomnia kept me up until sometime around 1 a.m. (Believe it or not, I prefer this to falling asleep at 10ish, then waking up at 4 a.m. which was the pattern up until last night.) As I was finally ready for bed, I noticed the opening credits for Al Pacino's Author, Author starting up on HBO. I had no desire to stay up and watch it, but I had to smile because I remember watching it countless times during countless summer breaks growing up and I think it's kind of cute that they still play it. There are several other movies that also remind me of summers past either because they were released at that time or because that's when HBO decided to play them non-stop during the late afternoon when it was just too hot to be outside. So here are 13 movies that just say "summer" to me:

1. Six Pack-Does anyone else remember this one? It starred Kenny Rogers and young 'uns Diane Lane and Anthony Michael Hall. HBO played this many a hot afternoon and me and the rest of the neighborhood kids watched it so much we could repeat the dialogue word for word. It was on a few times this summer on the country music channel. Dave and I watched it for nostalgia's sake, but my kids weren't too impressed by it. Natalie did recognize Ms. Lane though, and thought it was pretty cool that she is still working. I think so too.
2. If You Could See What I Hear-Mark Singer before V playing Tom Sullivan. I was probably WAY too young to watch this movie, but what can I say? As long as I was in the house, my mom wasn't big on supervision. I haven't seen this in ages, but I know it would remind me of childhood summers if I did. (Before the days of VCR's, I had this one, Six Pack, and The Muppet Movie on audiotape to listen to in the car on road trips. Did other families do this or was it just my Dad?)
3. Grease 2-Another HBO constant-and an all-time favorite movie of mine even though I recognize it for the sub-par sequel that it actually is. Sometimes, nostalgia trumps reliable discernment over what is and what isn't quality filmmaking. (Not to mention quality acting...)
4. Peter Pan-One of my all-time Disney favorites! They showed this at the Norman Public Library every summer and we never missed it. While I understand why showing movies at the library would no longer be the big deal it was when I was a kid, I wish they still did it. My family used to go to Andrew's Park at around 10 a.m., play until it was time for a picnic lunch, then spend the afternoon cooling off in the big room at the library watching a movie. (Peter Pan was a popular one, but I also remember frequent showings of Oklahoma, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Hobbit, and Free to Be You and Me, and one about some family in the backwoods that tries to hide the fact that they are orphans-saw it several times, but the title escapes me right now.)
5. Houseboat-This came from a later era in my life when the 4th of July weekend meant going to Canadian, TX with my friend Lanie. Because entertainment there was limited, Lanie's mom made us bring lots of movies-many of them taped off the Disney channel. This one came on the other day and only Natalie wanted to watch it with me. Close enough. Other movies from the Canadian, TX era include:
6. Dangerous When Wet-How can you go wrong with Esther Williams, Fernando Llamas, and Uncle Charlie from My Three Sons? Not to mention an inexplicable cameo from Tom and Jerry?
7. Three Little Words-Fred Astaire at the end of his career and Vera Ellen at the start of hers. I still love this movie.
8. Summer Magic-There was always someone we could paint as "Cousin Margaret" when we watched this. This is one I would love to see again. I'm not sure how Tristan would feel about it, but the girls would love it. I should probably pay closer attention to the Disney channel to see if it's going to air before the end of next month.
9. Return of the Jedi-This opened at the Satellite Twin theatre in Stubbeman Village on OU's campus just after I finished the 5th grade. I wasn't there for opening night, but I lived within walking distance of that place and walked over there every time I had enough money saved up for another ticket to see it. I think I managed four screenings that summer. I might have seen more, but there was an arcade right next to the theatre and that's usually where my leftover quarters went. I didn't have Pac-Man fever, but I loved to play Ms. Pac-Man, Q-Bert, and that cheesy Star Wars game quite a lot back then. I know summer is when they released all the other Star Wars movies as well, but I remember that ROTJ summer the most fondly.
10. Star Trek: The Search for Spock-Because I'm not really a very good Trekkie, I'm not sure which number this one was, but it did play opposite Return of the Jedi in that same theatre for most of that summer, and I had to see it too. That was one good summer.
11. Harry Potter-The movies aren't always released in the summer, but a summer vacation in 2000 was when I discovered the books (as audios on vacation), it's when the new books were released, and the three movies that have been released in the summer have prompted trips to our favorite drive-in theatre (The Chief in Chickasha). So for me Harry Potter and summer are synonymous, even if they really aren't.
12. Dirty Dancing-"Nobody puts Baby in a corner." Need I say more?
13. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves-Though I would just as likely slice my own palm with a knife than sit through this again, it was all we could watch, quote, or listen to the soundtrack from during THE Summer of '91 and I never see it while flipping channels (or listening to the radio) without remembering those days fondly. So, it makes the list even though it's not one I would watch again by choice. (Though, sadly, my kids love it now-so it occasionally makes an appearance in my living room.)

*BONUS* I can't believe I forgot to list HBO's other 80's favorite: The Pirate Movie! I loved that one. Still do on the rare occasion that it shows up on TV. Sadly, I can still sing along with it too.

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Thursday 13: What I Learned This Summer

Since I hope to soon be so busy with the new baby that I completely lose sight of this blog for a little while, I thought I would post my usual summer re-cap a little bit early. (Hey, they're already posting school supply lists and having sales so my timing isn't THAT soon.) As has been blogged to death here, I left my job at the beginning of June and re-entered the world of the SAHM. It wasn't an unfamiliar one, I did it for 9 years before completing my Masters. Nor, did I think, was the adjustment going to be that big since I only worked part-time. Hmm...was I right about that? We'll see...

1. Aldi's is a huge saving on groceries, but you do have to pick and choose what you buy there. So far, I've been happy with the meat, the produce is hit or miss but I like most of it, I like the 4-packs of toilet paper, but won't be buying another economy-sized package soon (just ask my friend Christy about the importance of good t.p.), the canned goods and crackers/chips are all right too; but the kids don't like their brand of 100% juice. Still, it's worth the drive to me to do most of my shopping. The one closest to my house is also close to a Wal-Mart, so I just hit both on shopping day.
2. A good friend whose kids have a much wider age range than mine told me that while it seems like being home with the kids as babies is more important, that's really more about making sure the little ones don't hurt themselves. According to her, the teen years are really when they need more supervision, even though they are deemed "old enough" to be by themselves by society at that point. My oldest is only 11, but after almost two months, I think she has a point about that. (Which doesn't mean my kids will never babysit or be left home alone as they get older. But it is good food for thought.)
3. Whether you work or not, there still isn't enough time to do everything you want. On the flip side, there is a little more time for doing money-saving things like hanging laundry, fixing more meals from scratch, or shopping at two stores on grocery day. (Perhaps some of you can do that AND work, but I couldn't ever juggle it all.)
4. Hanging laundry is not so bad.
5. Neither is homemade bread (according to me and the kids-DH is still not a big fan.)
6. Programming the thermostat for a little warmer and playing outside in swimsuits when it gets hot is also effective.
7. And even more effective when Dad doesn't lower it behind my back and think I won't notice. (I'm not sure what his allergy to saving money is, but it's annoying.)
8. I have a lot more time on my hands to notice who is getting away with what behind my back. It's been a rough summer for BOTH my boys.
9. Tristan's issues with school are a lot more easily solved than his teacher of last year led me to believe. Basically, he shuts down when given a task he can't do perfectly. And, once bored because he doesn't know how to do it and has no other desk work, he gets into mischief. Annoying and difficult? Yes. Manageable now that I know what the problem is? Also yes. Having said that, he really wants to give their new school a try, so I'm going to let him and see what happens.
10. My girls LOVE to perform and Natalie is really good at it. I know everyone likes to see their kid on stage, but seriously...WOW!
11. Acting classes have been good for Tristan too. His teachers are always GLAD to see him and he comes home talking happily about everything he did while he was there. It's such a nice change from last school year's nasty notes every day.
12. Being pregnant in July is every bit as bad as people said it would be, but we are almost done-thank goodness.
13. My kids are a joy to be with and a lot more capable than I realized. It's been a good summer and I'm sorry to see it end.

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Thursday 13: "Slimy, yet satisfying"

"Slimy, yet satisfying." That's what Timon and Pumbaa teach young Simba about eating bugs instead of fresh meat when they find him in The Lion King. (Not to be confused with The Lion King 2 or The Lion King 1 1/2, though I'm sure we own them all if you need to borrow them for clarification.) Anyway, while going about my day yesterday, I found myself reviewing things that I do as part of my routine that I also find oddly satisfying. (Though eating bugs in lieu of meat will definitely NOT be one of them.)

1. Hanging out the laundry-Maybe it is because as a very small child I used to do this with my great-great Grandma and Aunt M or because Anne and I spent several of our adolescent summers in Tucson doing likewise, but I really enjoy what I'm sure most would find to be a really unpleasant task. I try to drag Natalie out there with me as much as possible to keep me company, so far she doesn't find nearly as therapeutic as I do.
2. Kneading Bread-While I usually do use a breadmaker for such a task, I brought one recipe home from Italy that not only is unadaptable to the breadmaker, but also requires ten full minutes of kneading. I don't make it often, but when I do I understand better why pioneer women probably didn't need as much Prozac. (I also understood this when I used to demo rug-beating at work.)
3. Decluttering-I'm trying to get the house down to a more acceptable level of chaos before the baby comes and life as I know it stops altogether for about 6 weeks and turns into a sleep-deprived blur. (During which time the older kids go back to school and the whole taxi driving routine begins again. Yikes!) Anyway, I've gone back to my Flylady roots and spend as many days as I can getting rid of as much as possible. Every day, I dread doing it and procrastinate a lot before getting started. And then, without fail, it is nearly impossible for me to stop myself once I get going.
4. Overpaying on things like car payments, credit cards, and the mortgage-I think my husband and I will always be at odds over this one, but I love paying more than I need to on all of the above. One of the things I'm doing as part of the 'bail our rear-ends out of debt yet again' financial plan is reviewing our various debts and seeing what can be paid off with the liquid assets from my money market acct. (set up by my Dad and I in lieu of a retirement package when it became obvious I wouldn't re-enter the workforce until my mid-30's) We really needed to pay off Dave's car, so much that I was willing to cash out some things at a loss if needed. BUT, it turned out that we owed far less on it than we realized and will be able to pay it off without a problem by the end of the week. That is one piece of good news I really needed this week.
5. Filling my pantry as cheaply and healthily as possible-I'll spare you the minute details, but let's just say I love the fact that there is an Aldi's and a Wal-Mart within a block of each other about 15 minutes north of my house. The thrill is in saving my receipts and then trying to go under the total from the week before last.
6. Fixing something myself-The longer it sits on DH's 'to-do' list without getting done, the more satisfied I am when I do it without him. My most recent accomplishment has been hanging up the rest of the clothesline. He was "pretty sure" we were still saving money only hanging up half of the laundry and just putting the other half load in the dryer. I wasn't. I love my new clotheslines, and I love even more that they can be taken down and put up easily so we don't accidentally hang ourselves when we are in the backyard. Anyone want to help me replace the Master Bathroom toilet? Or finishing the halfway set-up crib. That's up next, but I'm not sure all the bending over and lifting at 38 weeks pregnant will be all that easy by myself. (The crib is actually my fault, last night he realized he was missing a bolt and used the words "rig up something else" in conjunction with finishing my baby's bed. I said to just wait and buy the right bolt on the way home from work today and therefore do it right. I'm so picky sometimes.)
7. Exercising-Much like decluttering, I can come up with every excuse in the world NOT to get started. But then I always feel so great and am so gratified by the results. Of course, just getting through my day with four kids and a very pregnant body feels like a workout lately, but I can't wait to start reclaiming myself once this baby decides to show up.
8. Bringing something good to read to my Dr. appointments-While all the other pregnant mommies are jockeying for the two newest copies of whatever Dr. P has out  in the waiting room, I'm enjoying my copy of Home Comforts or Anne Lamott essays without bothering to look up until my name is called. I'll admit it's a little silly, but having my own book that I don't have to share makes me happy.
9. Dropping off recycling or clothes/items to their proper bins in town-We are great about boxing and sorting here, and terrible about remembering to drop it off. So, as annoying as it is to drive into town with our loads o'junk, driving away from the drop-off spots feels great!
10. Using my own shopping bags-Little old ladies in Italy discovered this LONG before it became the trendy and green thing to do here in the USA. But I'm glad it's finally caught on here too.
11. Giving my opinion on matters other than homemaking and child-rearing-Shortly before leaving my job, I attended a museum round table discussion about issues concerning...welll...museums (and libraries). Over the summer, I was invited to be a part of a museum focus group evaluating public perception, I have also taught a couple of lessons in Relief Society that focused on church doctrine in the last few months. It's not that I don't embrace my role as a mother, but there is more to me than that and it is nice to tap into those places from time-to-time as well.
12. Finishing a shopping or to-do list-I'm very good at making these, but when it comes to completing them...THAT'S when I find the joy in them.
13. Making a menu for the week and sticking to it-When I do this, the kids know what we're eating, the shopping budget stays on track, and life just goes a lot more smoothly. It may not be as spontaneous as other families, but it works much better for me than guesswork every day at noon and 4 p.m.

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Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen seems to have a new hub here, so I'm going to make a list today. I escaped from my house last night long enough to take my birthday gift card to Barnes & Noble and finally spend it. Even when I don't actually buy books, there is something therapeutic for me in browsing the shelves there or any other book store, really. Last night, my mind seem to dwell a lot on things I wish I had done or, at least, had done differently during my younger years. Some were sad, most were funny. This blog has already done sad this week, so here are 13 fun things I wish I had done, or done more often, when I was younger (though it's probably better that I didn't):

1. Somehow, someway smuggled in an anonymous gift-wrapped copy of Sex For Dummies to my church boyfriend's wedding reception. Needless to say, Dave and I were NOT invited; but we knew many people who were and I think we could have managed it. I really wanted to at the time, but I didn't. Had I known how ugly and awkward he was going to make my first summer back in Oklahoma when we were all in the same family ward, I totally would have. Of course, I DID come to really like his wife as time went on...but I can't imagine she would have done anything but thank me for it later. (The boy had a super-high IQ and a perfect ACT score, he needed a little humbling.)
2. Gone toilet-papering or played hotel tag with John and the rest of the boys. While John, Chris, and I had many fun adventures; for some reason we were always excluded from those two activities. The only time I ever TP'd a house was for a friend's birthday and her mom knew in advance we were going to do it. Where is the thrill in that?
3. Let myself get auctioned off as a "virgin" (someone who has never seen the show before) the first time I went to Rocky Horror. I've regretted it so much I thought about lying when we all went to see the show last Halloween, but since I was all dressed up and buying a prop bag when they asked me; I don't think I would have gotten away with it.
4. Along those lines, I also wish I had (just once) dressed up in character and acted out the show up front while it was going on-we didn't really go often enough in my youth to justify that, but I still wish I had done it.
5. Two words: Cloud-busting, or is that one word? (See the movie The Fisher King for reference)
6. Gone to OU/Texas or even OU/OSU games while I was at OU. Granted we didn't have the best team during my years in school, but what was I thinking missing those? I worked at the stadium or used the days off from classes, which were often cancelled on Fri. around those games, for other road trips. Those were fun too, but still...I missed out.
7. Eloped to Florida and honeymooned at Disney World. Dave and I were so worried about stepping on everyone else's toes when we planned our wedding that I don't think either one of us really got what we wanted out of our parents' (and by "our parents," I mean "my mother's") plans. Not to mention my church Branch President's-if I had it to do over again...but it's probably for the best anyway since I might find myself pulling a Jamie Buckman (Mad About You's last season) if I did.
8. Gone out dancing/gone to more parties with my sorority sisters. Sometimes I did, but not nearly as often as I could have. This doesn't mean I wish I had done more drinking and acting stupid, but I should have done more dancing and socializing.
9. More impromptu road trips-I still laugh about our middle of the night jaunt to Muskogee
10. OK, now I'm running out of funny things to write here. Umm...tried harder to get my driver's license since it turned out to be such an easy thing when I actually did? (Not that it sounds fun, but neither was needing everyone else to give me rides all the time.)
11. Gone to a Blazer's hockey game or the races Remington Park back when they were new, exciting things to do. I did see a Blazer's game last year (which is good since they are leaving here now), but you could tell it was no longer THE thing to do in Bricktown. (Thanks OKC Thunder) So I'm afraid that Remington Park would be just as underwhelming for a girl who spent her childhood watching Seattle Slew race on TV sitting next to her Uncle Johnny. Maybe I should see a Thunder game while that's still fun-though I think it will be for at least a few more years. (Ironic that the word "Seattle" comes up in an entry about the OKC Thunder? I think so too, and it absolutely was not on purpose.)
12. Gone to the Tumbleweed in Stillwater, just once...it was always on the to-do list. It just never happened. But I'm sure I would have loved it.
13. And finally...I really wish I had told one of my other ex-boyfriends EXACTLY what his shortcomings were. He dated me when he was a senior in high school and I was a freshman in college. He was overweight, awkward, and had a very bad haircut. I was an adorable college freshman honor's student looking better than I ever would again in my life. But, he was a talented artist and had beautiful eyes so I gave him a chance making HIM the lucky one, right? Apparently not because 6 months later he told me I was "getting chubby" (which was rich coming from him) and that his mom really didn't like me and neither did his friends in Missouri (he had just taken me there to introduce me to them) AND that he never had really liked any of my friends (even though we met because he was trying to get one of them to date him). There were a lot of things about him that were disappointing as well (am I being ladylike enough in the way I put that?) and I never, ever got enough nerve to tell him. I SO wish that I had. He had no problem ripping me to shreds and unceremoniously dumping me. Why oh why did I have to just sit there on the other end of the line (yes, he did all of this BY PHONE-classy!) and take it? So...Sean Walkup, you were a JERK when you were 19!! There, I said it. I feel better now.

Thursday Thirteen #55

I've mentioned that I'm reading up on nutrition, encouraging my kids to exercise, and trying to have an overall healthier lifestyle. Here are 13 things I'm doing right now to further those goals:

1. Buying and serving more fresh produce, organic when I can because it was recommended in my book AND because it tastes better (to me, anyway).
2. Organic milk too (fairly painless now that Wal-Mart carries it)
3. Eliminating white flour whenever possible (also recommended for coping with ADD which all of us seem to have to a certain degree) and using more gluten-free products too. Still working on the white sugar...
4. Making bread instead of buying it as much as possible. I learned to do this in Italy by hand, and got a breadmaker as a wedding present. There is no reason for me to buy as much bread as I do.
5. Meat dishes are served no more frequently than every other day IF that. (It's been nice on the food budget too.)
6. Wearing a pedometer and making sure I jump on the elliptical trainer for a bit at the end of the day if it's below a certain number.
7. Baking with ingredients like applesauce and pumpkin puree instead of lots of eggs, sugar, and cooking oil.
8. Walking at work after lunch (OK, we started this today...but we plan to keep it up)
9. Joining a weight loss pool at work (started yesterday)
10. Enrolling my kids in after-school classes that include physical activity (Musical theatre classes, they have to dance. They all love it. Even my son. He says the girls like it. Smart boy! We do.)
11. Encouraging my own interests while forgiving myself for not being perfect at them. (e.g. I like to hike even though a "real" hike would probably kill me. I'm doing Race for the Cure on Saturday even though I'm sure my finish time will be one of the last on the list.)
12. Going to bed when my body tells me to rather than guzzling caffeine to stay up even later. This means that sometimes I miss some of the news and haven't seen SNL since last summer. Probably not a big loss. Thank goodness for YouTube and The Weather Channel. (Which isn't to say I've given up my Diet Coke, just not after 5 p.m.)
13. Can't think of a number 13. What would you all suggest?

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Thursday Thirteen #54

When I was a Freshman in college, I spent my spring semester dating a high school senior (we joked that we were May/December, but only because those were our respective birth months) He unceremoniously dumped me (jerk!) the same month he graduated high school. I consoled myself by making out one night with his sister's 17 year-old prom date (the prom was the month before and they were NOT a couple, but I knew he would tell her and she would tell the ex). This landed me quite the undeserved 'Mrs. Robinson' reputation among my friends, and laughing about it lately has also given me my inspiration for this week's Thursday 13 list:

Thirteen of my Inappropriate Celebrity Crushes

My daughter and I sing along to this album together. Granted, he is about 18 and my daughter is 6.

Zac Efron-Oh please, do you know how many times I've seen some version of High School Musical or Hairspray? It was bound to happen.

Jason Mraz-We've discussed this one before, I think he might actually be over 20.

Lee Adama and Kara Thrace-OK, they might be legal, but my crush is on both of them. Hey! I labeled the list as inappropriate right up there at the top.

Initially, this was just Sean Cameron, some kid on Degrassi who liked Emma. But when he came back a couple of seasons ago-I became a dirty old lady. You might also recognize him as the football player from Juno.

OK, he may not be too young, but there is the whole gay, convicted felon thing to contend with, but I still love him! Always have, always will-especially when he sings "Faith."
(Speaking of gay men, did you know Clay Aiken was gay? I know, shocking. What a big secret. Glad he got the cover of People for that newsflash.)

As he has been dead since I was 5, I would definitely call this crush inappropriate. But VERY real, just the same.

I watched his parents' wedding, I remember when he was born. Definitely not appropriate.

Josh Heupel in 2000-Not coincidentally, this was the year my sisters and I finally got excited about OU football. I guess our age gap isn't super huge, but when he was a star QB and I had two kids under the age of 3, it sure felt like it.

Speaking of star football players-we won't tell my dad about my thing for Vince Young will we? He would never forgive me loving a Texas player, but how could I help myself?

OK, the crush is actually not on Robert Pattison, but Edward Cullen. Definitely inappropriate because he is perpetually 17, in love with Bella, AND a fictional book character. But he is easy on the eyes, no?

He's my age and I've loved him since we were about 13. But, he's happily married with children. Then again, so am I.
Hope you enjoyed my list! For other Thursday Thirteens click here.

Thursday Thirteen #52

#52 eh? I guess I've been at this for a year now. Or that I've posted a year's worth of them-some weeks I skip it. Anyway, I've got a Stake YW Presidency meeting tonight and those can take awhile, so I'm posting early. I took a ton of pictures at the St. Louis Zoo last weekend. So here are 13 of my favorites:

See look! There is a bear in one of my posts. Nothing more dangerous than a sleepy grizzly

Penguins! (It was COLD in that exhibit!)

More bears (still sleepy ones, though)!

Giraffes are still my favorite

Why did this make me want to sing the Veggie Tales Cebu' song?

Sea Lion show

Golden Pheasant-even with the wires, I HAD to get a picture.

Possibly my favorite picture of the day!


Rhino crossing (loved the habitat)

Zaboo?

The lioness wasn't very sleepy...

How did that wild animal get here? (We brought him home. Don't tell the zoo.)

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Thursday Thirteen #51

It has been pointed out to me lately that this blog does not contain enough drama. Perhaps that's because this is a Mommy blog. Maybe Bear Gryllis has one that would be more exciting? And so, in a desperate attempt to keep my 5 readers, tonight's Thursday Thirteen will be a strictly tongue-in-cheek look at the 13 Most Dramatic Moments of this past week. Try to stay calm while you're reading them, OK?

1. On Monday morning, I was one of the first to arrive at work. Together with a co-worker, we put the key in the front door, turned the knob and...we were promptly hit by a blast of hot air that told us immediately there was something wrong with the AC. Indeed there was. It's been out since then. Today's inside office temp? 92 degrees. It's supposed to get fixed next Wednesday.
2. On Monday afternoon, after a day of  unending heat at work and annoying conflict in the car pool, I dropped those kids off and went to pick up my youngest at her school. Before I went inside, I opened the back of my car to pull out her super-huge car seat and LATCH it into place. But first...I dropped it on my big toe. I wanted to say #$%^&*, because when you drop a car seat of that size onto your big toe, such things are acceptable. BUT, in the presence of my three older children, I held my tongue.
3. On Monday evening, I posted something that garnered 18 Comments-about 18 more than I usually get for anything that I post. Yea me!
4. On Tuesday evening, I went to Ross and Kohl's. I found a pair of pants for less that $7 and I needed a smaller size than what I first tried on! And then...I went to the shoe section. While I saw many beloved pairs of white leather Keds in my size and on sale, I listened to my inner Lanie and bought my first pair of casual shoes in years that doesn't belong on the tennis court! (Black Mary Jane's a la Anne or Libby) Now if one of my more style conscious friends would tell me what to wear them with, I might actually put them to good use. I saw the Keds and I just said no. Amazing! (No really, it is.)
5. On Wednesday afternoon, a co-worker and I got to leave the steam bath work early for a grant writing class.It was held at OSU/OKC where they train police officers and fire fighters. There were lots of cute men in uniform all over the place. They called me "Ma'am." It made me smile. I was wearing my new $7 pants.
6. My husband picked up the kids after-school on Wednesday so I could finish my class! (That gets its own number!)
7. When I came home from my class and walked through the front door, all four of my children spontaneously melted down about what bad days they were having. They were also all in the midst of doing cleaning chores that their Dad had given them after he brought them home from school. Coincidence? I think not.
8. On Wednesday evening, I went to get a Food Handler's permit for PTA. At my age, I really thought that was a rite of passage I just might have permanently missed out on-but apparently, you're never too old for a Power Point followed by a Scantron quiz with a #2 pencil.
9. This morning, I got up early enough to toss dinner into the crockpot start laundry AND load the dishwasher before leaving the house!
10. And THEN, there was not one fender bender on I-35 North for the first time this week which means that I was also on time for work for the first time this week!
11. But wait! There's more! I left work early enough to come to the house first and...move the laundry from the washer to the dryer, start the dishwasher, AND check the crockpot and add more liquid. This means I came home with the kids to find dinner ready, clean dishes in the washer, and clean clothes in the dryer. You all may think "bo-ring!" But I'm thinking..."SCORE!"
12. When I got to the school this afternoon, I couldn't find the PTA mom to whom I needed to deliver a big stack of papers and, as I dropped off the car pool, guessed I would have to try and find her house. Not fun. But then, I backed out of the last kid's driveway and THERE SHE WAS driving right in front of me! I called her cell, we pulled over, and all was taken care of before 3 p.m.! Again "SCORE!"
13. But sadly, with those two triumphs, the powers-that-be evened the score by having me drop my barely-touched cherry Diet Coke from Sonic right into the driveway as I unloaded the car this afternoon. Alas...it just wasn't meant to be a perfect day. I think I had managed about two sips of it before I covered my drive in Sonic ice and diet cherry syrup goodness. Oh well...I'll get over it eventually.

And some of you think my life is dull...

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Thursday Thirteen #50: Or Why It's a Wonderful Life, After All (inspired by Maria's comment)

To keep this blog from being re-named "But I Whine Too Much" (or even "But I Re-gress?" Sorry, couldn't resist!), today's list will be a happy one. As I generally do after a day or two of feeling mad, I spent today counting good things. Let's see if I came up with thirteen of them...

1. I didn't hear my alarm go off, BUT still woke up within ten minutes of the actual wake-up time instinctively. (Not normal for me by a long stretch) So even though I technically overslept, we were not late and we were not panicked this morning. That was nice.
2. While I am still quite heart-broken that there will now never be a time that all four of my kids are in school together, Elisa was re-admitted to her pre-school and into their Pre-K program. She started today. What a relief! (Also, Aunt M is paying for it. Like the lady in Steel Magnolias, she has more money than God, so it doesn't bother me as much as it would if it were Mom. Am I properly ashamed that I can't pay for my own child care. Yes. But I'll still take the money. As she said 'Either I spend it now or the government gets it when I die. And it's not theirs yet!)
3. I was the first one at work today! (That hasn't happened since school let out last May.)
4. My co-workers brought me a Jamocha shake at lunch! They are a rare indulgence for me. I had half this afternoon and will enjoy the other half tomorrow morning when I arrive. I think I just might even be on time again!
5. I had a calm, enjoyable day at work. I found the original accession record for five of my "stray" artifacts, the IMLS Book Collection that I applied for last Spring and was told we had been awarded two weeks ago arrived via UPS and we got to start looking at them today. AND I got the 160 pictures that I took the day before yesterday all edited and re-sized so I can upload them to their written accession records in the File Maker Pro database. (Boring to most of you, I know-but very exciting to me because it's tedious work and I'm always much happier when it's DONE.) And I mentioned the Jamocha shake, right?
6. I emailed my buddy John and heard right back from him! (Chris will appreciate that one.) Granted it was one-sentence correspondence on both sides, but still-immediate response from John. (Good thing it's recorded on my blog for posterity.)
7. I finally got to watch Into the Wild (I know my sidebar says Waitress has been here forever, but it was actually Into the Wild). Very, very good-even if it did make me cry. (What doesn't make me cry?) It was worth the wait. Now I'm going to read the book (even though I usually do that in the opposite order.)
8. I also finished up the end of the last season of Degrassi that I have any interest in watching. (It will go forward from here, but with new cast members who don't interest me.) Emma, Manny, Toby, Liberty, Spinner, and Jimmy all graduated and it was all good.
9. I got to Twitter with some of my favorite FREDDIES this afternoon.
10. On the way home from work, my friend Wendy called me with a Stephenie Meyer emergency (she had just finished Eclipse) and I was able to drive right over to her house with Breaking Dawn. Why? Because SHE LIVES FIVE MINUTES FROM MY HOUSE! You know how when you are teenagers you plan on getting married and living close so your kids can play? We actually get to do that now!!
11. I got to drive the carpool for the first time today. For all my whining, I really do love all of those kids. We sat in the C's driveway for at least five minutes longer than necessary because they all had to tell me about their summers and their new classes and teachers. I forgot how much I missed them over the summer and it was good to have them all back in my car again. (Yes, I'm certifiable.)
12. I got to play at making real Italian food at dinner tonight. Admittedly, I didn't like the end result (too spicy), but Dave did. The kids ate mac and cheese. I also remembered that I have a bread maker and pulled it out and used it today. Yum! The kids had no memory of me ever using it before which means it had been WAY TOO LONG. Maybe I'll make the homemade Swiss bread this weekend. I don't think I've made that since Natalie was a baby. (Nothing is open on Sundays in Italy, if you want bread-you make bread. I'm so sad I've gotten out of the habit of doing it.)
13. I have 6 round-trip tickets to Seattle! I'm finally taking the kids to visit favorite Uncle Bob and to see as many of the places that their mom loved as a kid as I can cram into the long weekend we have there. We'll try not to stand out as Okies. ;>)

*BONUS* Tomorrow is Friday!

Did you notice how much I had to cram into each item to limit the list to 13? Life is good. It really is. For more Thursday Thirteens, click here.

Thursday Thirteen #48

The fact that it was Thursday all day today has gone completely unnoticed by me until just now. So, time for a quick 13 before I go to bed.

Tonight, I threw together a quick dinner of chicken quesadillas, made easy by a lot of leftover grilled chicken, chopped onions, and shredded cheese. The real fun of making them, in Dave's opinion, was that I got to plug in my big ol' quesadilla maker that he thought I would just "love" several Mother's Days ago. I think I've used it about 5 times since then including tonight. As far as appliances go, it's OK to have-but not my favorite. However, I do have some favorite things floating around this house that I really can't live without. So, here they are in no particular order:

1. My DVR-How else would I ever get to watch TV now that we own a Wii?
2. My Crocs-They are ugly, but also my favorite shoes ever, ever!
3. My down mattress topper-Until I can afford a real pillow-top, this is heaven and worth every penny I spent on it.
4. An organized pantry/laundry room-I know Flylady says it's the kitchen that is the key to a clean house, but all I know is that I really FLY when the pantry is clean and the laundry stays sorted.
5. My iPod-It's green like Kermit, holds all my favorite music, and will even hold a movie or two to keep me distracted on the flight to and from Reno coming up at the end of this month. (I thought it would be great on our youth conference trip too, but the youth aren't supposed to bring theirs and I suppose I should set a good example for them. Bummer.)
6. My Studio in a Box-OK, this actually belongs to my place of employment, but having the all-in-one camera stand and backdrop makes taking pictures of the artifacts so much easier and it all sets up and folds up amazingly quickly. Since my time at work is pretty evenly split between teaching and archiving, I need all the time-savers I can get.
7. My laptop-Although right now it's not playing CD's or DVD's for me. (This is likely a user's error as we've long established what a technophobe I am.)
8. The fence that my father-in-law FINALLY put up around the yard for me. (He even acknowledged while doing it that his son just *might* be a bit of a procrastinator who doesn't always do what people ask him to do.)
9. My new desk-I still need to decide the best way to organize it, but I love it! (If you have a Sam's Club card, it's the one with the folding top that they've been selling the past few months.)
10. Google Reader-By far my favorite feed reader-I liked it so much, I replaced my blogroll with it in my sidebar (and it was smart enough to let me pick and choose which feeds to make public when I did)
11. My Cabrio washer and dryer-I can't believe it took me so long to upgrade to large capacity. These really get the job done, and I'm not constantly doing laundry every day.
12. FlyLady-I may mock her from time to time, but she gives my easily overwhelmed brain a jumping off point any time I look around my messy house and say "I just don't know where to start."
13. Mary Kay products-I love the Timewise skin care products and the tinted moisturizer because I'm not a big fan of heavy liquid foundation. These may be some of the few toiletries that I don't skimp on when I'm buying make-up.

Thursday Thirteen #47

Thirteen Things Accomplished Today Sometimes I feel like I'm accomplishing nothing. So I'm making a list of 13 things I did manage to cross-off of today's to-do list: 1. Ran the dishwasher twice (typical for this family). 2. Cleaned up the pantry. 3. Washed a load of towels. 4. Straightened up the living room, dining area, and kitchen. 5. Threw away all the junk accumulated in two of my storage ottomans. 6. Took a shower and put on clean clothes. (And so far this list is pretty much in chronological order...sadly.) 7. Made a good dinner. 8. Made sure the table was completely cleaned and all leftovers stored in their appropriate Tupperware containers (and as a former consultant, I've pretty much got one of everything). 9. Fixed and stored a lunch to take to work tomorrow. (Already-as opposed to 5 minutes after we should have left the house, like I usually do.) 10. Turned the dining room table around so that both the pedestal storage drawers are accessible-one had been shoved up against the wall previously. 11. Designated one of those drawers for party items (paper plates, napkins, decorations, etc...) and the other for leftover school supplies. 12. Watched the first Sesame Street Old School DVD (it's all about priorities) 13. Timed all my kids' computer turns so that no one spent hours playing on there today. *Bonus List of Things I Hoped to Accomplish This Week* 1. Organize Master Bedroom 2. Move old desk to girls' room 3. Put my things away properly in my new desk (I've had it for a month now) 4. Deep clean downstairs bathroom 5. Put away and organize books and other items stored on 2nd floor landing 6. Clean out mudroom now that we have kitties using litter box in the garage instead 7. Sort and toss toys and outgrown clothes in the kids' rooms 8. Make strawberry jam (yes, I actually enjoy doing this) 9. Get packed for girls' camp next week. (Realistically, I can't do this until Saturday, but it would be nice to have it all done right now.) 10. Clean out my car. 11. Buy niece's birthday present (party is Saturday) 12. Enjoy new fire pit that Dave dug at random last night. 13. Shop at Atwoods and Ross because I have a little money right now. I guess it's not too late for some of that! What have you accomplished this week? Leave me a comment and tell me all about it.

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Thursday Thirteen #47

Thirteen of My Favorite Kitchen Accessories:



I've made very little secret here that I can't cook very well (unless it's Italian cuisine). That doesn't mean that I don't try. Over the years, I've accumulated a few gadgets that I haven't used twice, but even more that I absolutely love and use constantly. So, here are 13 must-haves for my kitchen:

I bought a small one from the sales bin at Fry's during my first attempt at grad school many years ago. I didn't do so well at getting my Master's in Classical Archeology, but dang did I make some good pasta sauce. And it was much quicker to prepare once I didn't have to chop onions, carrots, and whatever else I felt like throwing in there by hand. I still have my clearance sale treasure many years later-and now I have a Master's too.


I don't mean to make this blog entry one continual ad for Pampered Chef or Tupperware, but they will both have lots of products on display tonight. This one here is my favorite PC purchase ever. It's not one of their pricier products, but I have used the one I have for about 10 years for innumerable snack times without ever needing to replace it. (I do like the fanicier apple peeler/corer as well, and I even have one. But I only use it for pies. I like my kids to eat their apple peels.)



Switching over to Tupperware now-I'm not sure how badly I needed these to organize my pantry, but the larger ones hold the contents of a full foil pouch food storage container which has been very convenient any time I've opened one. My pantry used to be pretty messy before I discovered these. (What? Not everyone stores a year's supply of food in foil pouches and cans? You think I'm weird for doing that? Hey, it's come in handy between paychecks more than a few times, my friends. And I am weird.)



Back to Pampered Chef for a moment. I bought and broke every other brand of wire whisk for several years before I broke down and went for quality over cheap price (not something I do easily). In this case, quality wins. I've had this about four years now and it still looks brand-new.



This doesn't look like Tupperware, but it is! I have no idea what scary price these go for in the catalog, but I earned them back when I sold Tupperware to pay for grad school. They are the nicest pots and pans I have ever owned. The lids do that draining/steaming thing, they are very sturdy, and they aren't kidding when they call them non-stick. (Which is good for the gal who still burns green beans.)


I'll never forget when Chris and I first spotted this on an informercial after watching a week's worth of taped All My Children episodes. I fell in love, and when it hit retail shelves a few years later; Chris bought me one for my birthday. We spent that summer at my apartment in Post Oak melting many an interesting combination with it. The tortillas didn't work so well, but I still use it to make my pancakes with some 15 years later. (It used to be the only way I could make them without burning them-as many of my poor mission companions would discover.) This one has been replaced once because the original was a little too well uh...seasoned after several years use. Still a favorite, and still something that I use often-even though I can make pancakes without burning them no matter how I cook them now.


But if I DO burn something, I sure love these Pampered Chef scrapers for clean-up. I order a set at any party I attend. They are inexpensive, the only thing to use on Pampered Chef stoneware, and the also are invaluable cleaning tools. I use them more for cleaning my floor and flat-range stove-top than I do for their actual purpose and I love them.


And I don't think it's possible to burn these. Did you know that you can use the rubber spatulas on the stove-top. I use them to scramble eggs and not once have they even looked like they broke a sweat. This is yet another example of paying for quality, and of course, they are made by Tupperware. (And yes, I earned them rather than paying for them.)



I got a set of these as a wedding gift and have used them pretty much every day since then.


Rarely do I fix Sunday dinner anywhere, but in one of these. I've had to buy a bigger one in the last few years, but it was worth the money.

And if you cook in a Crock-pot regularly, you've just gotta have these too!

My grandmother bought me a baking dish similar to this back when the Frankoma pottery company was still up and running. Sadly, it wound up being my only piece of Frankoma before they closed up shop. I use it about once a week.

And finally, if I'm going to cook and make a mess; I need something good to clean with-this is my favorite!

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