What a strange show.  The editing was really weird, since they didn’t really know if it was ever going to air at the time, and knowing that made the canned cheering a little creepy.

Anyway, so Irina wins - big shocker.  Yes, her collection was mostly black, but as much as I hate to say it, it was the strongest of the three.

I still wanted Carol Hannah to win.  Oh well.  Hopefully next season will be better.  MUCH better.

Discuss.

So, I’ve never heard of this bocuse thing.  Obviously that means I’m not a chef.  The fact that my split pea soup last night burnt in the crock pot and made the whole kitchen smell like a dirty diaper would also attest to that fact. (more…)

Four letter words are offensive and overused. 

But I was never more shocked and stunned by the 4 letter word I heard come out of the principal’s office when I picked up my daughter from school this morning:  “Mrs. Mc., A. has LICE.”

I nearly dropped to the floor.

I think I would have preferred to hear the F bomb. (more…)

Come chat about gold medals with me over at Segullah.

4:30 pm

J runs in the house after he and Little Sister and Maggie the dog were playing with the neighbors, and says, “Phew! I’m thirsty! It’s hot!” He pulls out a bottle of Powerade, and unscrews the cap. For reasons unfathomable, he then takes that exact opportunity to take off his shoes and socks.

Little Sister sees the bright bottle of “juice”, and starts keening for it, in a voice that only dogs and irritated mothers can hear. (more…)

New task force recommends mammograms starting at age 50 instead of age 40 to reduce the amount of “false positives.”  Discuss.

(P.S. My personal opinion is that it’s mainly to reduce costs, even though they swear that’s not it.  I’m still getting a mammogram at age 40. Call me old fashioned.)

Also, they are not teaching formal self examination anymore, rather, general “breast awareness”, meaning, basically, feel for lumps, know your breasts, but there’s no “one right way” to do it.  Discuss.

P.S. Be nice.

My FIL leaves in 15hours and 35 minutes.

He has been here since Thursday evening.

In that time he has dumped newspapers all over the floor, and expected me to pick them up.

He expected a vehicle for transportation while both my DH and I were at work.  However, when it was time for him to pick me up, my 6 year old told me, “Papa didn’t buckle Baby Brother (3yrs old) in his car seat.”  This is my precious boy who barely survived open heart surgery – I would really appreciate it if he didn’t DIE in a car accident because his grandfather didn’t find it necessary to use his car seat!

He criticized the aforementioned vehicle because it is has 140K miles.  “It’s paid for, “I replied, “we are driving it until the wheels fall off.”

He complains that my DH is overweight and he really should do something about his health. 

I am overflowing with bile and resentment and I really want him to go home!

How do you deal with your in-laws?

13.1 miles.  If you don’t hear from me for a while, assume I’m sleeping for a week. 

Tim in an apron was pretty sweet, though.

I tell you, leaving for a couple of weeks really got me out of the P.R. groove. I missed Top Chef, and watched all the ones I taped as soon as I could, but getting back into Project Runway just didn’t seem all that interesting.  Where’s Christian when you need him? (more…)

First of all, I wanted to eat every single one of those breakfast in bed dishes (I’m a huge egg/breakfast fan), with the possible exception of Robin’s.  Jen’s, too, mosly because she described it as s**t on a shingle, which does not bode well for the anticipation of the dish. (more…)

 I just finished this book, and I want to talk about it.   So, I’m reviewing it.  I thought about reviewing it at Segullah, or even The Red Brick store, as these are the mormon literary blogs I write for, and this is, after all, Mormon literature.  I mean, it should be classified as that, right, because she’s Mormon and she wrote a book, right?  Well, it’s Mormon literature in the sense that it was written by a Mormon, but after reading it, I wasn’t sure it it qualified as Mormon literature, and then trying to figure out what exactly DOES qualify as Mormon literature just made my brain hurt.  So, here we are. (more…)

Sue over at Navel Gazing At Its Finest (am I supposed to capitalize all of those words? I never know–there’s a reason I’m not a copyeditor) is helping out some cold kids this winter. And if you are a part of the solution and have a bit of luck, you have a shot at winning $25 at Amazon. Go check out the virtual coat giveaway. Thanks, and stay warm!

I’m wearing red today. I’m wearing red to show my support for the men and women who serve our country in the armed forces.  I’m wearing red to to say “thank you” to the countless veterans who have sacrificed their time, talents and lives, for me and my family.  It’s the least I can do.

Early on in the the Iraq War, I read somewhere that we should all wear red on Fridays to show support for the troops.  I have been doing just that ever since.  But today is a day honoring veterans and even though it’s Wednesday, I’m wearing red.  Join me.

I’m not sure I do anything right as a mother:  I yell too much, I criticize too much, I don’t cook well enough, I don’t craft at all – OK let’s stop there because I’m depressing myself.

But I’ve done one thing right in the past month that I’m really proud of – I’ve started a mother/daughter book club for my daughter and her third grade friends and their mothers.

We met for the second time tonight and can I tell you what I saw in her face?  Joy!  Unadulterated Joy!  (I would describe what she looked like the first time we met, but she was home, on the couch, with 104 fever and presumably, H1N1, so she didn’t go).

We started reading the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace.  Admittedly, I thought this would be a little old fashioned for my Disney Channel-raised daughter, but she loved it.  And the group loved it!  They talked energetically about the book, they asked questions, they discussed characters, they talked about likes and dislikes, they even argued about what character they wanted to be!  And the mothers loved it too.

So tonight, I’m glowing in my daughter’s bliss, and realizing that occasionally, I can do something right.

“There’s no place like home.”

Man, that was a long 2+ weeks.  I am so glad to be home, it’s unbelievable.  Like, you wouldn’t believe it.  Just unbelievable. (Sorry, inside joke. One pool salesman just kept saying that to us over and over.  He really needed a thesauraus, or at least ONE synonym for “unbelievable”.) (more…)

Just a quick note that I’ve uploaded a bunch of patterns to my Etsy Store- and if anyone is a quilter, you might like some of them… I write them clearly and take great care that the directions are easy to follow and accurate. All my patterns have been tested by other quilters, and all the design, writing, illustration and product is from my hands.  Thanks for taking a second to look, if you are so inclined.

This weekend was not supposed to go this way. I was not supposed to be here, at home, typing away while my kids snore upstairs and the wind whips the trees around like a mad toddler in my backyard. But the realities of being a suddenly-single parent hit home on Friday, and it was a crushing lesson.

My bags were packed. Sitting by the back door, as a matter of fact. My ticket and boarding pass were printed and laying atop the bags. The laundry was done and folded, the medical releases were signed and copied, the friends were lined up to take the kids, carpool was taken care of, rides to and from the airport were arranged, food was bought for the friends’ house and kid-sitting- all my ducks were in a row. Except that I’m a mom. And I am now a mama without a husband, without second fiddle to back up my occasionally thready alto. It’s all me, all the time. (more…)

Dear Insurance Adjuster dude-guy,

Thanks for your recent correspondence regarding my husband’s life insurance. It was especially helpful that you noted that my husband has had an “age change” since he took out the policy 3 years ago. I appreciate the reminder that we are getting old.

Yours,
Geezer-wife
(more…)

I have very vivid memories of trick or treating as a kid. I remember one time, I saw that the woman had to leave the TV to answer the door. There was another person on the couch, and the two of them were obviously watching a movie. I could not possibly have been older than 8, and I distinctly remember thinking, “Those poor people. Watching a movie on Halloween! How boring! Too bad they can’t have fun, like I’m having.” (more…)

Every morning, I get to sit here and ponder life while experimental drugs drip into my veins.  I am a very deep thinker.  At least, I used to be.  Then I learned everything, (around age 19, I believe) and, well, once you know everything,  it’s all downhill from there.

Halloween is an excellent night to go out to dinner with friends.  The restaurants are empty.  Everybody’s partying or trick or treating, and all that fine food in the restaurants has to be eaten be somebody.  Tasty.

It’s cold here.  There was snow and everything, which made me very bitter.  The leaves are pretty, though. Still, I long for the cactus and the sun.

I am getting a lot of reading done.  I forgot how much I like Chaim Potok.

The rash is developing nicely.  Sigh.  They even took off the adhesive after 24 hours, and have been doing dressing changes and applying Benadryl cream.  Still, the rash persists.

My husband has informed me we have 8 different types of cheese in the fridge.  9 if you count cream cheese.  Is cream cheese a ‘cheese’?  Where does it fall in the world of food classification?  I’m curious.  How many cheeses do you buy?

I miss my family so much it’s hard to breathe sometimes.