I talked to my friend for over an hour tonight. We don't get to talk to each other very often anymore, both too busy. Her with her career and new relationship, me with my lack of a career and total confusion over what to do with my life and Mommidom and old relationship. Sometimes I envy her a little because she has made it through undergrad and grad school working full time in half the time it has taken me to finish just my undergrad. She sort of throws off my whole I haven't graduated yet because I have always had to work full time excuse. And she has her dream job and lives by the ocean and sleeps in on the weekends and travels. But she is dating a lot and goes to parties to meet people and UGH I hate the beginning of relationships and UGH I hate parties so then I stop envying her for a while.
She listened as I went on about the same things that I always go on about-my job, my husband, my sick kid, social injustices, being fat, no time, no money, no sleep....I asked her if I was complaining about the same stuff and telling pretty much the same stories the last time we talked and she was kind and acted like that was a silly question. "No way" she said, "besides I never get sick of your stories."
She said she sometimes envy's me. When she looks at the Bean blog or when she spends her whole night at a party and goes home feeling tired and lonely. She said sleeping in on Saturday's isn't nearly as fun as rolling around in bed at the break of dawn with a snugly and sweet little boy that is as soft as a teddy bear and smells like heaven. Humph.
And so tonight, up too late and in the face of the enormous pile of unfolded laundry to my left and the stacks of unpacked boxes to my right and with the sound of a coughing and scarily high fevered little boy coming up over the monitor I am going to try to find a few things that I love.
-Like my new vegan cupcake cookbook that is chalked full of scrumptious treats for myself and likely many of Wade's coworkers.
-Like the fact that I can call my Mom and tell her about Henry's fever every 15 minutes, distractedly listen to her advice and then call again a few minutes later to ask her about it again.
-Like the fact that I have three different and totally amazing sisters that accept my every quirk and neurotic tendency.
-Like the look on my little sister's face when she talks about counting down the days until she moves out of our parents house and remembering that glorious feeling of freedom and nervousness.
-Like my super comfy exercise pants that I bought to wear to the gym but have ended up wearing to bed almost every night for the past month and my loving husband who I am certain remembers that said pants were purchased to be worn to the gym but never says a word about it.
-Like the fact that Tylenol can bring a fever down from 102- 99 and my panic level down from totally insane to mildly annoying in under 20 minutes.
-Like the cat sleeping in a tiny ball on the enormous pile of laundry to my left.
-Like the fact that I have an old friend that I may not talk to for months but that will call at just the right moment and give up her Saturday night party for me.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Flowers** Click on it, you won't regret it
Because the flowers on my desk that I bought at the famer's market last Saturday are starting to sag. Because I am up early today and feeling a little grumpy. Because it is almost the weekend. Because everyone deserves to have some flowers on their desk. **I can't take credit for most of these photos. All but three of them were found on Flickr or taken my the artful eye of Ms. Supafly.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
I could be
Today is the 200th day of 2007. That means that I am over half way through the year and I feel like I haven't accomplished really any of the goals I set for myself this year except going back to school. I was supposed to start going to the gym again, organize my papers on my desk, start making weekly grocery lists, work in my art journal more often, take more photos, send monthly packages to my sisters, get my teeth cleaned, and close one of our bank accounts open another. It is also less than one month until school starts (ick) and a short two weeks until I enter my 30th decade on Earth. Time is flying by and I feel as though I am just treading water. I need to find a way to do the crawl stroke or at the very least the back stroke (my personal favorite because it is pretty much like floating and moving just a little, of course I always end up going cock-eyed and bumping my head on the side of the pool) but anyway, what I mean is making a move in some direction rather than just complacently staying in the same spot. I need a plan. I want my 30's to be totally amazing, I've got big plans in the works...more on that later.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
I am seriously not getting anything done today
So drawing some inspiration from some of my favorite blogs and my recent purchase 52 projects I am thinking of stretching my creative muscles and comfort level by posting a weekly self-portrait. This is by no means an original idea, they actually have sites set up just for this purpose but posting on those sites might be too far of a stretch for me at this point. There are no rules and you can take the “self portrait” idea as literally or abstractly as you would like. Anyone else game?
A line up
Have you heard of Little John? I’m probably spelling his name wrong, it’s probably something like Lil’ Jon. He’s a rapper, carries around “crunk juice” in a jewel encrusted goblet, is nearly impossible to understand and coined the phrase “What? Yeah!” Well, if you haven’t heard of him lucky you. Apparently Henry has because last night for I’d say, oh about a half hour he said “What? YEAH! WHHHHat? YEAH!” over and over again. I will be interviewing all possible suspects in the case of “Who taught my son that?” The first person of interest is Aunt Kelly and Rex. Come over here you two and sit under this light….
Or Henry may just be channeling his inner crunk. (I’m sorry if that is offensive, I really have no idea what a crunk is or how it is juiced). I’m imaging him with gold fronts and a bedazzled baby bottle. “Milk? YEAH!”
Or Henry may just be channeling his inner crunk. (I’m sorry if that is offensive, I really have no idea what a crunk is or how it is juiced). I’m imaging him with gold fronts and a bedazzled baby bottle. “Milk? YEAH!”
Meme-aroo
Is it called a meme? I don’t know. But I have been called upon to participate and it sounds like fun so here’s the drill-- 10 quirks or interesting facts about myself. (I can’t promise they’ll be interesting but they will certainly be quirky)
1. I never clean up the little dirt piles I sweep up. Something about the act of walking into the laundry room to get the dust pan, bending over and trying to get all the stuff into the dust pan (which never actually works, there is always an old pea or stray cheerio that rolls back out or pops over the side over and over again) really bugs me. It drives my husband nuts. He says things like “No Henry, don’t eat that pile of dirt and old food that Mama swept up and then left right here in the middle of the kitchen floor.” I claim forgetfulness and he sweeps them up for me.
2. I hate driving. I get bored. And other drivers make me crazy. Not in a road rage sort of way, but in an ugh this is so slow and boring sort of way. I hope they invent teleports in my lifetime.
3. I still wear my maternity underwear…okay, okay…I love my maternity underwear and I wear it, them okay them, I wear them, 3 pairs, first before all others. Laundry day comes, I wash my undies, fold them (yes, they are large enough to fold, shoot they are large enough to hang on a hanger if I felt so inclined) and put them on the top of the stack. I love them. I pull them up to my chin and snuggle in. It’s like a cummerbund with leg holes.
4. I have two reoccurring dreams. One is that my teeth are falling out. At first it just gets a little wiggly and I push on it like “there is no way I just felt my tooth move” and then I decide that my tooth is in fact getting looser every second and try as hard as I can not to touch it with my tongue but in the end it falls out and it’s neighbor starts to wiggle. The other one is that I am in school and have somehow missed weeks of class and lost my schedule and can’t remember where my classroom is and the bell is about to ring and I am in line in the office but the line is so long or sometimes I find my classroom only to walk in late during a test or walk into the wrong classroom, usually a huge lecture hall and sit down in the middle of the room before realizing that I am in the wrong place.
5. I stick raspberries, blackberries and olives on my fingers before I eat them. Henry has picked up the habit and now we call raspberries and blackberries “bingerberries” (translation finger berries”.) I’ll post a photo.
6. I hate flying. I’ll do it because I love to travel but I won’t sleep the night before and my stomach will be in knots the whole time, oh and you’ll have to hold my hand through the entire flight. I don’t care that this is a twelve hour flight and you are a total stranger, put on some hand lotion, do some finger stretching and get ready for hand-holding carpel tunnel.
7. Sometimes, okay this is super embarrassing but we did just talk about my underpants, when I am home alone cooking I will pretend to be on a cooking show. It all started when I was a kid and I would do pretend shampoo ads in the shower--“Johnsons and Johnsons leaves my hair silky and shiny. And it smells fantastic.” Well, I don’t do that anymore…not very often at least…but I can do a fake Rachel Ray like nobodies business. I even pretend to read a teleprompter. I’m turning red, I may have to delete this one.
8. I am fairly certain that grasshoppers are the most disgusting creatures on the planet and considering that fact it seems perfectly acceptable that I will not get within 10 feet of them. They have no jump control and when you startle them they will just jump right at you! One landed on me when I was 6 years old. Easter morning, I was wearing my blue polka-dotted Easter dress and white tights, saw the grasshopper and walked towards it thinking that it would hop away from me like most normal, not totally freakish bugs. It hopped right at me and landed on my leg and pooped on my white tights. I had to wear grasshopper poop stained white tights for the rest of the spring and probably the next spring too, those things are pretty stretchy. Ehh, I just got the chills.
9. I sing everything. EVERYTHING! This is not something that just happened after I had a kid, I have done it as long as I can remember. And I do not have a good singing voice.
10. I asked my husband if he could think of any quirky things about me. I said it sort of like "Can you think of any quirky things about me? Even just one?" He raised his eyebrows, sort of rolled his eyes and said "Are you serious?" So this #10 spot is saved for him. I'll add his comment as soon as he "narrows it down" (as he put it).
Now it's your turn. Come along to Memeville and unleash your inner quirkiness.
1. I never clean up the little dirt piles I sweep up. Something about the act of walking into the laundry room to get the dust pan, bending over and trying to get all the stuff into the dust pan (which never actually works, there is always an old pea or stray cheerio that rolls back out or pops over the side over and over again) really bugs me. It drives my husband nuts. He says things like “No Henry, don’t eat that pile of dirt and old food that Mama swept up and then left right here in the middle of the kitchen floor.” I claim forgetfulness and he sweeps them up for me.
2. I hate driving. I get bored. And other drivers make me crazy. Not in a road rage sort of way, but in an ugh this is so slow and boring sort of way. I hope they invent teleports in my lifetime.
3. I still wear my maternity underwear…okay, okay…I love my maternity underwear and I wear it, them okay them, I wear them, 3 pairs, first before all others. Laundry day comes, I wash my undies, fold them (yes, they are large enough to fold, shoot they are large enough to hang on a hanger if I felt so inclined) and put them on the top of the stack. I love them. I pull them up to my chin and snuggle in. It’s like a cummerbund with leg holes.
4. I have two reoccurring dreams. One is that my teeth are falling out. At first it just gets a little wiggly and I push on it like “there is no way I just felt my tooth move” and then I decide that my tooth is in fact getting looser every second and try as hard as I can not to touch it with my tongue but in the end it falls out and it’s neighbor starts to wiggle. The other one is that I am in school and have somehow missed weeks of class and lost my schedule and can’t remember where my classroom is and the bell is about to ring and I am in line in the office but the line is so long or sometimes I find my classroom only to walk in late during a test or walk into the wrong classroom, usually a huge lecture hall and sit down in the middle of the room before realizing that I am in the wrong place.
5. I stick raspberries, blackberries and olives on my fingers before I eat them. Henry has picked up the habit and now we call raspberries and blackberries “bingerberries” (translation finger berries”.) I’ll post a photo.
6. I hate flying. I’ll do it because I love to travel but I won’t sleep the night before and my stomach will be in knots the whole time, oh and you’ll have to hold my hand through the entire flight. I don’t care that this is a twelve hour flight and you are a total stranger, put on some hand lotion, do some finger stretching and get ready for hand-holding carpel tunnel.
7. Sometimes, okay this is super embarrassing but we did just talk about my underpants, when I am home alone cooking I will pretend to be on a cooking show. It all started when I was a kid and I would do pretend shampoo ads in the shower--“Johnsons and Johnsons leaves my hair silky and shiny. And it smells fantastic.” Well, I don’t do that anymore…not very often at least…but I can do a fake Rachel Ray like nobodies business. I even pretend to read a teleprompter. I’m turning red, I may have to delete this one.
8. I am fairly certain that grasshoppers are the most disgusting creatures on the planet and considering that fact it seems perfectly acceptable that I will not get within 10 feet of them. They have no jump control and when you startle them they will just jump right at you! One landed on me when I was 6 years old. Easter morning, I was wearing my blue polka-dotted Easter dress and white tights, saw the grasshopper and walked towards it thinking that it would hop away from me like most normal, not totally freakish bugs. It hopped right at me and landed on my leg and pooped on my white tights. I had to wear grasshopper poop stained white tights for the rest of the spring and probably the next spring too, those things are pretty stretchy. Ehh, I just got the chills.
9. I sing everything. EVERYTHING! This is not something that just happened after I had a kid, I have done it as long as I can remember. And I do not have a good singing voice.
10. I asked my husband if he could think of any quirky things about me. I said it sort of like "Can you think of any quirky things about me? Even just one?" He raised his eyebrows, sort of rolled his eyes and said "Are you serious?" So this #10 spot is saved for him. I'll add his comment as soon as he "narrows it down" (as he put it).
Now it's your turn. Come along to Memeville and unleash your inner quirkiness.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Too good to be true
Yay! For months now I have been thinking about buying/making address cards for our new house and for months now I have pretty much come up empty on ideas. Then this afternoon my husband delivered this cute little package to my work. 
Inside was without a doubt the cutest address cards I have ever seen. By far cuter then anything I could have come up with. They are from our friend Mary who happens to be a very talented stationery & invitation designer. I love that they are orange and brown and polka-doted and I love that she included Henry. Thank you so much Mary! They are adorable and perfect and I love them!
Inside was without a doubt the cutest address cards I have ever seen. By far cuter then anything I could have come up with. They are from our friend Mary who happens to be a very talented stationery & invitation designer. I love that they are orange and brown and polka-doted and I love that she included Henry. Thank you so much Mary! They are adorable and perfect and I love them!
Monday, July 16, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Sugar
For years I have been struggling with what to do with myself after I graduate and then last week it came to me....pastry chief school. I love sweets and I love making sweets for other people. This weekend we are going to go to the strawberry patch to pick strawberries. When we get home I am going to make those strawberry pops up there and we are going to sit in the sun and eat them while they run down our arms and then, when we are full of strawberries and nice-and-sticky, we are going to run out into the yard and play in the sprinkler.
Sweetness
I know that the same people that look at this blog probably look at the Bean's blog, but I could resist posting this picture. It is one of my favorite ones we have taken thus far. I love that he still has his chubby baby cheeks but he is starting to get a neck and look like a little boy.
I love being a Mama. I've yet to find anything that compares. Last night I was trying to sleep and started to miss Henry. In his baby monitor I could hear his sleepy little baby coos. I got up and tip-toed into his room, rubbed his little round tummy and stuck my finger in his hand. Until he was about 3 months old he had a grab reflex so every time I would give him my finger he would squeeze it and hold it tightly in his little hand. He still does that when he is sleeping.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Happy 4th
I love the 4th of July. I love the smell of it-fireworks, outdoor grilling and sunscreen. I love the flag cake that we eat every year. I love my memories of the 4th as a kid-grass stained knees, red white and blue outfits, sparklers, staying up late, going to pick out fireworks with my Dad and sisters, mid-afternoon snakes and parachutes, lighting a firecracker and running for my life, putting our lawn chairs in the driveway and cheering on the neighbors, listening to pops as I fell asleep...
It’s still light outside when Henry goes to bed so we didn’t do much in the way of fireworks this year. We ate flag cake and set off a few poppers. Next year is going to be more fun, I’m sure. This is one of my favorite parts of being a parent, getting to help create those special childhood memories for Henry. I want for him to be a Papa and tell his kids about the flag cake that his grandma made or shooting off fireworks with his Papa or, he may be like Wade and his favorite 4th of July memory could be shooting roman candles at his friends…whatever it is, I am just excited to be a part of it.
It’s still light outside when Henry goes to bed so we didn’t do much in the way of fireworks this year. We ate flag cake and set off a few poppers. Next year is going to be more fun, I’m sure. This is one of my favorite parts of being a parent, getting to help create those special childhood memories for Henry. I want for him to be a Papa and tell his kids about the flag cake that his grandma made or shooting off fireworks with his Papa or, he may be like Wade and his favorite 4th of July memory could be shooting roman candles at his friends…whatever it is, I am just excited to be a part of it.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
EAT
Here is my kitchen. I had some reservations about putting a picture of it on my blog, it needs work. I want to replace the cabinets but that is not going to happen. So, I'm thinking of painting them white and getting new hardware (I think do the green knob from an earlier post). The fluorescent light has got to go and the counter tops are pretty outdated, I want to replace them with concrete counter tops and put some white subway tiles on the wall. But, all of that is going to have to happen gradually, for now I want to put an antique sign behind the stove. That space is really blah. Something about food. I love the EAT sign at Local Burger. I've been looking for a while now and not found anything even close. Anyone have any suggestions of good places to find antique signs?Right brained
I’ve been bad today. Really bad. I think it is a procrastination thing. I’ve learned how far I can push it and I am pushing it today, for sure. I have so much work to do, my inbox is overflowing and all I want to do it find photos on flickr, make lists and listen to music. I am going to really hate life when I have to work all weekend to catch up for my slacking.
But what fun I have had this morning. I found a new blog to read full of creative ideas. It’s amazing what a comfort it is for me to find other women who are Mom’s and creative people. It tells me that it can be done, it is possible to maintain your creative spirit and still be a Mom at the same time! In fact, children really seem to thrive in that kind of environment (not surprising really, but I tend to get caught up in Mommy duties and forget sometimes).
I also spent some time on Amazon this morning. I have wanted to order this Anne Lamott book about the first year of her life with her son. My husband heard her on one of his talk radio shows and emailed me to tell me that he thought I would really like her books. The next day I decided to listen to my favorite This American Life episodes and realized that she was reading my favorite story. In the processing of ordering her book I also found two other books about mixed media art and journaling. I am really excited for that package to arrive.
I also started a list of things I want to do in my 30th year. I tend to make lists and then never look at them again. This is my stack of lists on my desk here at work.
But what fun I have had this morning. I found a new blog to read full of creative ideas. It’s amazing what a comfort it is for me to find other women who are Mom’s and creative people. It tells me that it can be done, it is possible to maintain your creative spirit and still be a Mom at the same time! In fact, children really seem to thrive in that kind of environment (not surprising really, but I tend to get caught up in Mommy duties and forget sometimes).
I also spent some time on Amazon this morning. I have wanted to order this Anne Lamott book about the first year of her life with her son. My husband heard her on one of his talk radio shows and emailed me to tell me that he thought I would really like her books. The next day I decided to listen to my favorite This American Life episodes and realized that she was reading my favorite story. In the processing of ordering her book I also found two other books about mixed media art and journaling. I am really excited for that package to arrive.
I also started a list of things I want to do in my 30th year. I tend to make lists and then never look at them again. This is my stack of lists on my desk here at work.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Stuck
I've spent 3 hours total trying to figure out today's SUDOKU in the paper and I am about to erase it and start again for the 10th time. I need to clean the kitchen and get ready for bed, but I can't resist....ugh, I have no self control.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
An old picture of Henry and I that I just found
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Typical Henry, he is more interested in what my fingers are doing then looking at the camera. In the works
So, I'm feel really stagnate lately. Not that I don't have a lot going on, or that I am even really staying still, we just bought our first house and moved, I am in school, I have a one year old so I never really get to slow down...I think it mostly stems around my job. Ugh, my job. I wish that I could find a job that combines making money and doing something creative. Although, lately I don't really feel like I am doing much to nurture my creative spirit. I feel very disconnected with that part of me. Like an old friend that you have lost contact with and keep asking everyone you know how to get a hold of her and searching for her on the Internet and you hear little snippets about her but no one really knows how you can get in touch. The only way I know that get back in touch with that part of me is to just jump right in, despite my insecurities. So, I am working on a few projects and one that I am super duper excited about is a painting for the outside of our house. When Wade graduated he was cleaning out his studio at KU and found all of these old canvases and masonite boards that people were just throwing out which is so silly because you just paint that sucker white and you have a brand new canvas. So, he picked up this enormous masonite board that has ledges on the back and is ready to be hung up, except that the painting on it looks like a smeared dinosaur turd. So, we are going to paint over it together and then hang it up outside our side door. It is the door that most people come in and out of at our house because we are on the corner so to get into our front door you have to walk all the way around the house and go through the gate. I can't wait to put that one up. The other one I am excited about is putting doors on our laundry room. Right now when you walk in our side door you are pretty much in our laundry room. I want to make some sliding door to go in front of the washer and dryer out of paper and wood frames, sort of like those Asian paper screens. I would love to do a screen print on the paper so that right when you walk it you see these lovely doors like look like art. Then there is the dining room chairs and table. My littlest sister, who happens to be very hip is going to help me pick out some fabric this weekend for those chairs and then I just need to set up my sewing machine and I'm in business. I also want to do something interesting with our house numbers but I don't really have any ideas for that yet.
So, I guess we'll see how I feel when I come out on the other side of this. If after all these projects I still feel stagnate then I suppose I will need to do some real work to figure out how to overcome this. Thanks for listening. What do you do to stay in touch with your creative side?
So, I guess we'll see how I feel when I come out on the other side of this. If after all these projects I still feel stagnate then I suppose I will need to do some real work to figure out how to overcome this. Thanks for listening. What do you do to stay in touch with your creative side?
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Summer reading
What are you folks reading right now? I just finished Devil in the White City. It chronicles the building of the World's Fair in Chicago and a sneaky serial killer that lived in Chicago during that time. It was great, but I also have a special place in my heart for Chicago so that could be part of it.
I need to buy a new book, I think. I want to get the Anne Lamott book about her life with her son which I think I'll pop over to Amazon for right now (shopping while bored is a serious problem for me) but I need other suggestions. Post them or email me if you don't have a blog. That means you Tracy, Heather and Sarah! ;)
I need to buy a new book, I think. I want to get the Anne Lamott book about her life with her son which I think I'll pop over to Amazon for right now (shopping while bored is a serious problem for me) but I need other suggestions. Post them or email me if you don't have a blog. That means you Tracy, Heather and Sarah! ;)
Sounds from over the cubical wall
I just realized that a new episode of Top Chef is on tonight. It is the only television show I can stand these days. I got so excited that I snorted. I am sure everyone in the room heard it, it's like a frickin library in here.
Goodish day
So I am super bored at my job right now. Not because I don't have work to do, quite the opposite actually we are approaching our second quarter billing so I really should be get caught up on everything to prepare for it, but I can't seem to get focused. So, I changed my template on my blog a little, added a few photos and did some surfing.
But, despite my boredom I am not having a bad day. My stomach is feeling pretty normal (I had a stomach flu all weekend) and I had a salad for lunch so I don't have that awful post-lunch stuffed feeling. And I am up to my ears in great things to listen to. I am always a little behind the times when it comes to technology. I discovered the joy of blogs just a few months ago and now I have 20 blogs in my favorites that I have to check every day. Well, just recently I discovered the joy of podcasting. Over the past few weeks I have listened to super funny podcasts, political podcasts, crafting podcasts, music podcasts and NPR podcasts and it has been great. Today I discovered a podcast for vegan cooking. The woman does more than just giving you cooking ideas she also talks about some of the struggles with being vegetarian in our society and gives a supportive and inspiring nudge to keep you on track. I know that sounds kind of strange but people can be real a-holes about vegetarianism. My little sister became vegetarian in 9th grade and the kids really picked on her for it. And adults do the same thing, like my not eating meat is a personal attack on them. Anyway, it was great. I listened to her podcasts all day today. My husband also made me a mixed cd that I have been enjoying. He is so good at finding great new music. He keeps throwing the idea around of doing a music podcast and I am all for that. But he also has a full-time job, side design work that he is doing, is the music editor for the Lawrencian, plays his own music, has a rambunctious one year old to keep up with and I require a little attention now and then, so he is a busy guy.
On another note. I mentioned in an earlier post that I painted the dining room table. So, I did a 5th coat last night and started looking at the chairs. They are nasty! Ugly wood, ugly upholstery, ugly wicker cut out....ugly everything. I am committed to making them as cute as their newly painted table they go with. So I tackled painting just one of them white last night. I need to do another 50 coats to hide the monstrosity of ugliness but I also took off the seat and am going to go this weekend to find some fabric. Because they have that nasty wicker cut out on the back I think I am probably going to have to slipcover the top of it, which will be an adventure since I have never reupholstered or slipcovered anything. I think I can figure it out though. I would love to find a fabric like this one:
because for some reason I have been super into yellow lately. Which is weird because I am usually all about orange. I think that chair is responsible. It is just yummy. I just want to curl up in it on a stormy day with some tea and a good book. Anyway....I'll post some pictures of the before and after chair project. Hopefully the "after" will be an improvement.
But, despite my boredom I am not having a bad day. My stomach is feeling pretty normal (I had a stomach flu all weekend) and I had a salad for lunch so I don't have that awful post-lunch stuffed feeling. And I am up to my ears in great things to listen to. I am always a little behind the times when it comes to technology. I discovered the joy of blogs just a few months ago and now I have 20 blogs in my favorites that I have to check every day. Well, just recently I discovered the joy of podcasting. Over the past few weeks I have listened to super funny podcasts, political podcasts, crafting podcasts, music podcasts and NPR podcasts and it has been great. Today I discovered a podcast for vegan cooking. The woman does more than just giving you cooking ideas she also talks about some of the struggles with being vegetarian in our society and gives a supportive and inspiring nudge to keep you on track. I know that sounds kind of strange but people can be real a-holes about vegetarianism. My little sister became vegetarian in 9th grade and the kids really picked on her for it. And adults do the same thing, like my not eating meat is a personal attack on them. Anyway, it was great. I listened to her podcasts all day today. My husband also made me a mixed cd that I have been enjoying. He is so good at finding great new music. He keeps throwing the idea around of doing a music podcast and I am all for that. But he also has a full-time job, side design work that he is doing, is the music editor for the Lawrencian, plays his own music, has a rambunctious one year old to keep up with and I require a little attention now and then, so he is a busy guy.
On another note. I mentioned in an earlier post that I painted the dining room table. So, I did a 5th coat last night and started looking at the chairs. They are nasty! Ugly wood, ugly upholstery, ugly wicker cut out....ugly everything. I am committed to making them as cute as their newly painted table they go with. So I tackled painting just one of them white last night. I need to do another 50 coats to hide the monstrosity of ugliness but I also took off the seat and am going to go this weekend to find some fabric. Because they have that nasty wicker cut out on the back I think I am probably going to have to slipcover the top of it, which will be an adventure since I have never reupholstered or slipcovered anything. I think I can figure it out though. I would love to find a fabric like this one:
because for some reason I have been super into yellow lately. Which is weird because I am usually all about orange. I think that chair is responsible. It is just yummy. I just want to curl up in it on a stormy day with some tea and a good book. Anyway....I'll post some pictures of the before and after chair project. Hopefully the "after" will be an improvement.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Okay, so I am midway though this weeks This American Life and I have to talk about it. It's about the 3 kinds of deception-basically some people are born to deceive, some achieve deception, and some have deception thrust upon them. The last story, that I haven't gotten to yet is David Sedaris whom I LOVE so I had to get over the second story to be able to move on to his story. The second story, the one I have to get over, is about a Harvard educated black man (a lawyer) who wants to have the experience of being part of a private club. Under most circumstances you would think that he would have the money and the credentials to be part of the club but this club really only accepts white people (although they will not openly admit it). So, to see what it is all about he applies to be a waiter. After 3 phone interviews they hire him as a waiter but once he arrives and they realize he is black they move to him a bus boy. The hard part for me to listen to was, well the whole thing, but the worst part was how condescending the members were to him and how openly they would make racial comments right in his face and then snap at him to come over and refill their luke warm coffee. In the end he quit, of course, and I wish he would sue the pants off of them but I think since it is a private club he really can't do that. Larry (the bus boy/lawyer) told Ira (the host) that he didn't think that the people making all those awful comments, including use of the N word--which is totally disgusting and, for me, a deal breaker--when I hear someone say that word or if I know that they associate with someone that uses that word they immediately loose my respect. But that is a whole different post..like I was saying, those people making those comments did not think that they were racist. How ignorant is that? I mean you have to be super ignorant to make those comments in the first place, I don't care how much money you have, but then to claim you're not racist! It's insane. And I got the impression that there are a lot of clubs out there like this one which totally shocked me. I had no idea.
This weekend we had a run in with a woman who would probably claim to not be racist but we certainly thought she was. Here's the scenario. Wade, Henry and I are out at breakfast eating on the patio. A couple comes and wants to sit outside so rather than waiting inside where everyone else waits they stand over us and comment on our moves--"Oh, this table here just got their ticket, they'll be leaving soon" "Well, they are just sitting there drinking their coffee, they should have given up their table by now..." It was funny because there were 4 tables on the patio and we all sat there probably longer than we normally would have because these people were being so rude. In the end Henry got antsy so we had to leave. They took our seats before we walked away from the table. I'm not kidding, the guy sat down while I was cleaning Henry's face and he started wiping off our crumbs with our used napkins with a totally disgusted look on his face. The woman, middle aged, Tammy Fae makeup, perfume so strong you could smell it over the bacon said to me "Oh what a cute child. Look at that curly blond hair!" I started to say thanks but she kept going "BLOND hair! So cute. Is he your son then?" And she glanced at Wade. I said "Yes, he is our son" and walked away thinking--she was standing over us for a half hour, she heard us say Mama and Papa at least a dozen times. She had to have heard Henry call Wade Papa several times...give me a break. Now that dumb-ass lady probably wouldn't have considered herself a racist but you know there are the folks at the all white club using the N word who are unarguably racist and then there are those people who are just painfully aware of the race of other people and in my book they are racist too. That lady really got to me. And as the day went on and I continued to stew over it I got to thinking, what on earth made her think that it was any of her business anyway! I didn't ask her if that was her husband, or if she sued the salon that stuck those enormous pieces of plastic on her finger nails. And so I decided that I am going to come up with a canned response for those comments (we get them all the time). Either something like No he's not my son but don't tell anyone or He is actually a love child from a secret affair with your husband or that is none of your fucking business.
So, there you go....I got it of my chest. Now I can have some good laughs with Mr. Sedaris. Oh, and if you haven't listened to TAL for this week the link is in my Daily Dose column below...check it out.
This weekend we had a run in with a woman who would probably claim to not be racist but we certainly thought she was. Here's the scenario. Wade, Henry and I are out at breakfast eating on the patio. A couple comes and wants to sit outside so rather than waiting inside where everyone else waits they stand over us and comment on our moves--"Oh, this table here just got their ticket, they'll be leaving soon" "Well, they are just sitting there drinking their coffee, they should have given up their table by now..." It was funny because there were 4 tables on the patio and we all sat there probably longer than we normally would have because these people were being so rude. In the end Henry got antsy so we had to leave. They took our seats before we walked away from the table. I'm not kidding, the guy sat down while I was cleaning Henry's face and he started wiping off our crumbs with our used napkins with a totally disgusted look on his face. The woman, middle aged, Tammy Fae makeup, perfume so strong you could smell it over the bacon said to me "Oh what a cute child. Look at that curly blond hair!" I started to say thanks but she kept going "BLOND hair! So cute. Is he your son then?" And she glanced at Wade. I said "Yes, he is our son" and walked away thinking--she was standing over us for a half hour, she heard us say Mama and Papa at least a dozen times. She had to have heard Henry call Wade Papa several times...give me a break. Now that dumb-ass lady probably wouldn't have considered herself a racist but you know there are the folks at the all white club using the N word who are unarguably racist and then there are those people who are just painfully aware of the race of other people and in my book they are racist too. That lady really got to me. And as the day went on and I continued to stew over it I got to thinking, what on earth made her think that it was any of her business anyway! I didn't ask her if that was her husband, or if she sued the salon that stuck those enormous pieces of plastic on her finger nails. And so I decided that I am going to come up with a canned response for those comments (we get them all the time). Either something like No he's not my son but don't tell anyone or He is actually a love child from a secret affair with your husband or that is none of your fucking business.
So, there you go....I got it of my chest. Now I can have some good laughs with Mr. Sedaris. Oh, and if you haven't listened to TAL for this week the link is in my Daily Dose column below...check it out.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Be sure to bring your toothbrush
I made a super rich cake for my Dad this father's day and had some left over so I sent it with my husband to work. A coworker asked for the recipe, so here it is. Enjoy.
German chocolate cake mix
1 cup of mini chocolate chips
1/2 jar of caramel topping
1/2 jar of fudge topping
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
1 package of crushed chocolate covered toffee chips
Whipped topping
Make cake as directed on box but add chocolate chips. After the cake has cooled poke holes in it with a large fork or the handle of a small fork. Pour the milk, caramel and fudge topping on top of the cake, waiting in between to allow the topping to soak into the cake. Sprinkle half of the toffee chips on top. Frost the cake with whipped topping and sprinkle on the rest of the toffee.
I have made this as a two layer round (9x9) cake and as a flat (9x13) cake and I think it actually works best as a one layer cake. Stacking it up is tasty because you get to put some of the goodies in the middle but when you poke the cake and pour in all the goodies it gets pretty crumbly so leaving it in the 9x13 pan helps it stay together. Also, the last time I made this I didn't add the sweetened condensed milk and it didn't seem to make a difference. So I would say you can omit that step (and those calories....but with this cake I would suggest not counting the calories).
German chocolate cake mix
1 cup of mini chocolate chips
1/2 jar of caramel topping
1/2 jar of fudge topping
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
1 package of crushed chocolate covered toffee chips
Whipped topping
Make cake as directed on box but add chocolate chips. After the cake has cooled poke holes in it with a large fork or the handle of a small fork. Pour the milk, caramel and fudge topping on top of the cake, waiting in between to allow the topping to soak into the cake. Sprinkle half of the toffee chips on top. Frost the cake with whipped topping and sprinkle on the rest of the toffee.
I have made this as a two layer round (9x9) cake and as a flat (9x13) cake and I think it actually works best as a one layer cake. Stacking it up is tasty because you get to put some of the goodies in the middle but when you poke the cake and pour in all the goodies it gets pretty crumbly so leaving it in the 9x13 pan helps it stay together. Also, the last time I made this I didn't add the sweetened condensed milk and it didn't seem to make a difference. So I would say you can omit that step (and those calories....but with this cake I would suggest not counting the calories).
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Stress-transference
It's after midnight and I just threw a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins in the oven. I must be stressed....I'm stress-baking. It's genetic. My Mom is the queen of stress-baking. I am fortunate that I don't have the gene for depression-baking (although I do have the depression-eating gene, which is actually much worse).
*Update: 12:32 am. The muffins are burnt. I hate new ovens. This has not been a successful stress-bake.
*Update: 12:32 am. The muffins are burnt. I hate new ovens. This has not been a successful stress-bake.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Neighbor update
It appears that peep show provided by our neighbor to the south doesn't stop with the wife. Late yesterday morning the husband came out in his knickers to clean the car. He remembered to bring the Windex, or whatever spray he was using, and a cloth but apparently for got to throw on some shorts. If the fact that he was in his skivvies in public at 10 am wasn't enough to draw a bit of attention, he sealed the deal by blasting R&B music from his car.
Our neighbors to the east still haven't talked to us but I did spot him doing a photo shoot of his boat on Sunday. And, he gave his son the day off, with it being Father's Day and all. So, now this is day 2 of not mowing and that grass is really growing....slackers!
Our neighbors to the east still haven't talked to us but I did spot him doing a photo shoot of his boat on Sunday. And, he gave his son the day off, with it being Father's Day and all. So, now this is day 2 of not mowing and that grass is really growing....slackers!
Monday Mosaic
Two of the pictures are from my friend Tracy's recent visit to France. I'm so jealous. Two of them are from my Aunt Sherry's blog, she takes amazing photos of flowers. I love the photo she took of the magnolia blossom. It looks edible.
One is Wade's feet, from one of his art pieces and one is my top 10 favorite photos of Henry as a baby. One is part of a painting I started years ago. The others I just found poking around online or took myself.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Won't ya be my neighbor
So, I am getting to know our neighbors and little and finding that home ownership is more than just the occasional panic attack about the air conditioner breaking.
So far our neighbors to the west have been pretty friendly. The woman is really chatty with Wade and he is cracking me up. He'll go outside to mow and then come back in and say, "So Janet, three houses down, no kids, never been married. She takes care of her lawn like nobody's business." Can you imagine, Wade filling me in on the neighborhood gossip??....it's hysterical. I am not as chummy with our neighbor because I get a different vibe from her then Wade does. The first time I met her she was with her husband and I could totally tell he was not thrilled about his new neighbors. Maybe it was the ugly van in our driveway, maybe it was the fact that Wade loaded into our house enough band equipment to amp up the half time show at the Superbowl or maybe it was the interracial thing (I hate to go there but of course, I always do) but I could tell he wasn't sure about us. What the hell man? We are super cool neighbors. At my last apartment we basically fed two of our upstairs neighbors dinner every other night. We always had leftovers and they were just single folks and I know how much it sucks to try to cook for one person, so we would just throw a Tupperware dish their way in the evening. Whatevs....I'm not stressing over it. Oh, and I am pretty sure they are religious, which now-a-days automatically puts a bad taste in my mouth. The other day she told me "During the last tornado we were scared as all get out (huh?) and then I found out it wasn't even a tornado, just a microburst. I asked my husband "What the H E double hockey sticks?"" How can I possibly be expected to be neighborly with someone that won't use the word hell? My priest in grade school used the word hell...give me a break! Besides, cussing is mandatory for all my friends. I have a one F-bomb a week minimum. (Plus I'm pretty sure I saw a Bush sticker (sickos) on their SUV (double sickos). )
Our neighbor to the north, super nice, keeps to himself, came over and introduced himself.
Our neighbor to the east hasn't said a word to us. This is what I have gathered so far--drives a truck with a decal of a smiley face flipping you off, makes his slightly overweight 10 year old son mow his lawn everyday, goes out on his fishing boat or stays in his garage most of the time, watches us through his lace living room curtains, doesn't realize that he is back-lit by his kitchen window so we can see him watching us through his living room curtains, not smart (that last one is really more of a judgement call than an observation).
Our neighbors to the south are a biracial couple (yay!). The Dad is obsessed with his lawn and when we mowed our lawn which happens to be 90% weeds he went around with the Round Up immediately after we went inside. Seriously, what is it with middle aged men and their lawns? It's insane. The wife apparently thinks that she has a quiet voice and that no one is up before 9 am because she likes to walk back and forth on her driveway in the mornings and gossip about her friends and family in her skimpy nightgowns. Last Tuesday I swear I saw a nipple as I watched her through my lace curtains...just kidding, I don't own lace curtains (but I can see through my cotton ones quite nicely).
Oh, and on a different note, my friends Tracy assures me that my attraction to the royals is perfectly normal and not creepy at all. Of course I am pretty sure he has deflowered most of the young men in Korea so I am not sure if his opinion can be trusted.
**By the way, I don't actually say "whatevs" in real life. I just read it on one of my favorite blogs and thought it was funny so I use it here. I thought I better mention that, my husband was concerned when he read it. And I really don't dislike all religious people, just the judgemental pushy ones that come to my door when I am having dinner and ask if I go to church.
So far our neighbors to the west have been pretty friendly. The woman is really chatty with Wade and he is cracking me up. He'll go outside to mow and then come back in and say, "So Janet, three houses down, no kids, never been married. She takes care of her lawn like nobody's business." Can you imagine, Wade filling me in on the neighborhood gossip??....it's hysterical. I am not as chummy with our neighbor because I get a different vibe from her then Wade does. The first time I met her she was with her husband and I could totally tell he was not thrilled about his new neighbors. Maybe it was the ugly van in our driveway, maybe it was the fact that Wade loaded into our house enough band equipment to amp up the half time show at the Superbowl or maybe it was the interracial thing (I hate to go there but of course, I always do) but I could tell he wasn't sure about us. What the hell man? We are super cool neighbors. At my last apartment we basically fed two of our upstairs neighbors dinner every other night. We always had leftovers and they were just single folks and I know how much it sucks to try to cook for one person, so we would just throw a Tupperware dish their way in the evening. Whatevs....I'm not stressing over it. Oh, and I am pretty sure they are religious, which now-a-days automatically puts a bad taste in my mouth. The other day she told me "During the last tornado we were scared as all get out (huh?) and then I found out it wasn't even a tornado, just a microburst. I asked my husband "What the H E double hockey sticks?"" How can I possibly be expected to be neighborly with someone that won't use the word hell? My priest in grade school used the word hell...give me a break! Besides, cussing is mandatory for all my friends. I have a one F-bomb a week minimum. (Plus I'm pretty sure I saw a Bush sticker (sickos) on their SUV (double sickos). )
Our neighbor to the north, super nice, keeps to himself, came over and introduced himself.
Our neighbor to the east hasn't said a word to us. This is what I have gathered so far--drives a truck with a decal of a smiley face flipping you off, makes his slightly overweight 10 year old son mow his lawn everyday, goes out on his fishing boat or stays in his garage most of the time, watches us through his lace living room curtains, doesn't realize that he is back-lit by his kitchen window so we can see him watching us through his living room curtains, not smart (that last one is really more of a judgement call than an observation).
Our neighbors to the south are a biracial couple (yay!). The Dad is obsessed with his lawn and when we mowed our lawn which happens to be 90% weeds he went around with the Round Up immediately after we went inside. Seriously, what is it with middle aged men and their lawns? It's insane. The wife apparently thinks that she has a quiet voice and that no one is up before 9 am because she likes to walk back and forth on her driveway in the mornings and gossip about her friends and family in her skimpy nightgowns. Last Tuesday I swear I saw a nipple as I watched her through my lace curtains...just kidding, I don't own lace curtains (but I can see through my cotton ones quite nicely).
Oh, and on a different note, my friends Tracy assures me that my attraction to the royals is perfectly normal and not creepy at all. Of course I am pretty sure he has deflowered most of the young men in Korea so I am not sure if his opinion can be trusted.
**By the way, I don't actually say "whatevs" in real life. I just read it on one of my favorite blogs and thought it was funny so I use it here. I thought I better mention that, my husband was concerned when he read it. And I really don't dislike all religious people, just the judgemental pushy ones that come to my door when I am having dinner and ask if I go to church.
Deee-lish!
Could they be any cuter? Seriously! And those accents....yummy!I don't mean to be one of those gross people that pines over the youngsters....like the 40 year old men that were counting down Mary Kate and Ashley's 18th birthday...but they are in their twenties and so am I so that doesn't seem too creepy...right? Whatevs....call me creepy, I don't care. They make me giggle.... :)
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Random thoughts
There are some days that I very heavily feel the burden of having so many options. I am not ungrateful or unaware of the number of people who have very few options, but just occasionally feel bogged down by all that is available to me. I am simultaneously empathetic, grateful and overwhelmed.
I hate comments and jokes about gay people. Get over it.
I think I might start sending letters and packages to my sisters and friends that live far away once a month. I have three sisters I could send packages to, one mother-in-law that would enjoy receiving a package, a friend in Korea and a friend in Florida who would both love receiving packages. So that’s 6 people and I could send one a month, so two packages for each person a year. I think I am going to start picking up little goodies for these people. Maybe I’ll start sending the crafts I make also. How fun!
I am almost 30 years old.
I hate comments and jokes about gay people. Get over it.
I think I might start sending letters and packages to my sisters and friends that live far away once a month. I have three sisters I could send packages to, one mother-in-law that would enjoy receiving a package, a friend in Korea and a friend in Florida who would both love receiving packages. So that’s 6 people and I could send one a month, so two packages for each person a year. I think I am going to start picking up little goodies for these people. Maybe I’ll start sending the crafts I make also. How fun!
I am almost 30 years old.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Cute or obnoxious?
I have a thing for interesting door or cabinet knobs, especially old glass ones. One of these days I would like to replace all the knobs in our house but if I am going to do that I should probably replace all the doors too, that's a project for another time... Anyway, so one of our first home remodels is going to be our kitchen. We can't afford to do anything major, like new cabinets, so I think we are going to paint the old ones white and distress them a little. So, I was planning on just doing plain old nickel knobs but then this afternoon I thought-- why do just plain old anything? It's my house!--So I went on a search for cute knobs and found more choices than I bargained for. I have whittled it down to one style that I like, now I just need to pick the color. I have always been drawn to limey-yellowy chartreuse which many people find obnoxious but I love. Probably because it is the color of my birthstone, peridot. I also really like the teal color and thought that the peach matched nicely. SO, the question is-white cabinets with different colored knobs or is that too much and I should pick one and run with it OR bail on the whole thing that go back to nickel basics?
Speaking of lime-green deliciousness, look at this gorgeous chandelier that I found on my new favorite blog? I am thinking of copying her idea fo
r my dining room. SO CUTE!
r my dining room. SO CUTE!Never very good at saving
Is $20.00 too much to pay for measuring spoons? What about if you have perfectly good ones at home?
What about $18.00 for a dishtowel?
What about $18.00 for a dishtowel?
Oh well, I can't help myself.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
I have been really hitting the world of blogging pretty hard this past week. I know, I know, I am about 2 years behind, blogs are probably on the way out now but man, I am sure enjoying my time here. I actually feel little schizophrenic about the whole thing. First I am inspired by the number of people doing creative things with their lives-well established or just getting their feet wet. It is really important for me to see that those people are out there. And to know that I am not the only one that will buy stacks of paper just because they like the color or the feel of it. Or mountains of ribbon or fabric only to lay on a table and look at. I thought I was weird to have taken photographs of stacks of fabric at the fabric store for no reason other than I liked the look of it. Was I living under a rock? Apparently! My problem is I listened to my Dad when he said “Art school? Photography class? Paper Source again? Knitting? Guess you better get used to asking “Would you like fries with that?”” It stings to admit it but I completely fell for it and moved in a totally different direction with my life (and look where it got me, in a cubical surrounded by people that make me batty 95% of the time). The hurdle for me now is to turn back on the creative faucet that I shut off 10 years ago in pursuit of more lucrative ventures (like um….working in accounting office….ew). But I have gotten off track-the other part of my schizophrenia, the slightly jealous, self-doubting and inadequate feelings that come up when I read what these other people are doing. It’s there, for sure, but I am trying to ignore it. I figure if I could ignore my creative side for 10 years I can find a way to ignore the self-doubting side as well. I am hopeful that all these creative people out there will keep up there blogs for a little while longer to continue to provide inspiration and build confidence for us behind-the-times-self-doubters. And, kudos to you on being true to yourself and taking risks. It isn’t an easy thing to do but in the end it is a truly admirable endeavor.
Monday mosaic
a day late.
I love making mosaics. I found this idea on a blog I just recently discovered and decided to do the same thing. These are pictures I took or found on the web this week.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Exciting Saturday Night
I painted our dining room table white last night. It's like a brand new piece of furniture. 
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Back in the saddle
The thrill of yard sale shopping....I love it! As my hubby says, "you just can beat the deals you get at yard sales." My favorite part is finding things that you could never find in a store and then paying hardly any money for them. I have been on yard sale hiatus after a disappointing shopping experience last summer. We drove past this yard sale with a gorgeous chest of drawers and when Wade spotted it we turned back around immediately. We ran out of our car and got there just in time to hear the old man in front of us say "Here's fifty bucks for the dresser. I think it is from the blah blah blah period. Probably worth $700." OUCH! This morning we found a few goodies at the yard sale for a frame shop. They had tons of frames for $5-10 plus a line up of old wood chairs in need of a little TLC. I found this curved arm and back oak chair that I will use at my new desk. I wanted to buy more chairs, I have been throwing around the idea of getting all different chairs to go around our dining room table. I thought that would be kind of interesting and funky. The problem is that I am sure I would want to paint them and these wood chairs were really too nice to paint. So the search for sturdy dining room chairs that I can paint and not feel bad about it continues...if you know if any that need a new home, ring me up.
We were also able to feed my husbands addiction for shelving. Face it honey, your obsessed with shelves. I think one of these days, when we are able to have our dream house, my husband will have a room of just shelves. Like a library but with shelving for books, cd's, and canvases, plus cubbies for art supplies, music supplies and nick-knacks of all sizes.
We were also able to feed my husbands addiction for shelving. Face it honey, your obsessed with shelves. I think one of these days, when we are able to have our dream house, my husband will have a room of just shelves. Like a library but with shelving for books, cd's, and canvases, plus cubbies for art supplies, music supplies and nick-knacks of all sizes.
Friday, June 8, 2007
I wanted to get my sister something really unique for her birthday this year and I found this website (http://www.ecoist.com/) with these bags. They are made out of overstock or misprint candy packaging and they are FANTASTIC. I ordered one for her and one for me, which I got today, and I think I might order one for my other sisters as well. They also plant a tree with every order. _z.jpg)
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This one is made out of the tabs from cans. Not so much my style but a really neat idea.
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This one is made out of the tabs from cans. Not so much my style but a really neat idea.Thursday, June 7, 2007
Is it healthy? Probably not. But I love everything Brad and Angelina. It's like my dream life, having and adopting babies all over the world, traveling and speaking out for a good cause, with all the money I could ever want...seriously? It's not fair. These are a few pictures of them I found on my computer this afternoon.
Where have I been, you ask? Well, moving and other drama has taken me away from the computer for a few weeks. Plus, I was beginning to wonder if I could write a post that wasn't super grumpy complaniness. I have a long one sitting here right now, waiting for me to push "Publish" but I don't know if I will. It's a funny thing, you start a blog to talk about things that are on your mind and then you tell people about it and then you have to start watching what you say. I stumbled onto a blog the other day that was one of three for this girl and this particular one was a no-apologies-I-am-going-to-complain-maybe-offend kind of blog set up just for that reason. She had a disclaimer, I am going to write how I feel, uncensored, you have been warned. I wondered, should I do one of those, but I can hardly handle the two blogs I do already.
I am a bit of a grump today. Just feeling really taken advantage of. I have a lot of people in my life right now who very rarely show any concern or interest in my endeavours but expect me to listen to their lives, stories, thoughts, concerns, interruptions, self-doubts...I feel exhausted. So maybe I will post that complaining blog and you can read it if you want, if not then whatever....I won't know any better.
On a more positive note though, I am getting excited about painting our house. We are painting the door orange this weekend.
One of my blog friends posted these a while back and I am going to make some this weekend. They are pushpins for the bulletin board that I really could care less if I "need" or not, I am going to get...if only for the pins. Look at the sublime cuteness...
I am a bit of a grump today. Just feeling really taken advantage of. I have a lot of people in my life right now who very rarely show any concern or interest in my endeavours but expect me to listen to their lives, stories, thoughts, concerns, interruptions, self-doubts...I feel exhausted. So maybe I will post that complaining blog and you can read it if you want, if not then whatever....I won't know any better.
On a more positive note though, I am getting excited about painting our house. We are painting the door orange this weekend.
One of my blog friends posted these a while back and I am going to make some this weekend. They are pushpins for the bulletin board that I really could care less if I "need" or not, I am going to get...if only for the pins. Look at the sublime cuteness...
Monday, May 21, 2007
This weekend was a wash. I didn't do a thing...well as much as you can not do a thing when you have a kid so you are always doing something. But, after Henry went to bed I relaxed...a lot! Every night, all weekend, it was just me, some fudge pops and Sex and the City. The post-finals recovery weekend, ah, it's the best!
I love summer in Lawrence. Sure, it's insanely hot and there are days that I don't want to even walk outside, but that doesn't even matter when you get in your car and see that there is no traffic. No students! Hurrah! Right now I am sitting at my desk, in my apartment that faces Mass St. and there is no sound...no cars driving by, no sirens, no people yelling. Today I drove from one side of town to the other in 5 minutes. Impossible by school year standards. It's fabulous.
So, I told myself that I wouldn't post any more on this blog until I could get my grumpy ass up out of this funk. I said "No one wants to read your complaints. No one wants to listen to you whine. Lighten it up or go home." So, I'm trying. The fact of the matter is that I am still feeling like a bit of a grump. I think the whole moving thing has got to me a bit. Especially since we haven't really seemed to want to spend much time with the whole packing thing. The last time we moved we were literally packing the boxes as we carried them out the door, we can't do that this time. So, we need to get in gear. I can't wait to be in our new house. I have so many ideas for decorating. I am dreaming about what I am going to do to that kitchen. I am thinking white subway tiles and white cabinets and concrete counter tops. Last weekend we bought our first fridge. I think that officially makes us grown-ups. I used to think having a kid made you a grown up but I have since learned that some of the least grown up people have kids.
Okay, now I am getting a back scratchy. Gotta run. Ah.....
I love summer in Lawrence. Sure, it's insanely hot and there are days that I don't want to even walk outside, but that doesn't even matter when you get in your car and see that there is no traffic. No students! Hurrah! Right now I am sitting at my desk, in my apartment that faces Mass St. and there is no sound...no cars driving by, no sirens, no people yelling. Today I drove from one side of town to the other in 5 minutes. Impossible by school year standards. It's fabulous.
So, I told myself that I wouldn't post any more on this blog until I could get my grumpy ass up out of this funk. I said "No one wants to read your complaints. No one wants to listen to you whine. Lighten it up or go home." So, I'm trying. The fact of the matter is that I am still feeling like a bit of a grump. I think the whole moving thing has got to me a bit. Especially since we haven't really seemed to want to spend much time with the whole packing thing. The last time we moved we were literally packing the boxes as we carried them out the door, we can't do that this time. So, we need to get in gear. I can't wait to be in our new house. I have so many ideas for decorating. I am dreaming about what I am going to do to that kitchen. I am thinking white subway tiles and white cabinets and concrete counter tops. Last weekend we bought our first fridge. I think that officially makes us grown-ups. I used to think having a kid made you a grown up but I have since learned that some of the least grown up people have kids.
Okay, now I am getting a back scratchy. Gotta run. Ah.....
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Today was totally hectic. This weekend has been insane. I have been puked on every day, sometimes twice, for three days. I have also been pooped on once and had a tiny person sneeze in my mouth more times than I can count. Ah, the glamorous life of a mom. Henry is sick. He may have a cold, he may have allergies, he may have a rash or he may just be getting hot, sticky and sweaty that is causing bumps. He is definitely teething, two more molars coming in on the bottoms. Plus he bonked his head again this morning. The bruise from the last bonk is still there, it's a double bonk.
It's a funny thing to have a kid. I remember sitting in the hospital room the day after Henry was born and feeling this uneasy feeling. It was the moment I realized that I would never again relax like I did before he was born. My Mom says that over time you worry less and less but right now that is hard for me to believe. I have a final I should be studying for but all I can do is worry about his rash, his cough, is he getting enough to eat?
I really feel like I should say, after my previous post, that my parents try so hard. In a way they try almost too hard. They love their children and they show us that every day. Today my Mom said to me "You are the light of my life". She's never said anything like that to me. It was nice. I guess all you can do in this journey is try to accept people for who they are, including your parents. We're all just doing the best we can do.
It's a funny thing to have a kid. I remember sitting in the hospital room the day after Henry was born and feeling this uneasy feeling. It was the moment I realized that I would never again relax like I did before he was born. My Mom says that over time you worry less and less but right now that is hard for me to believe. I have a final I should be studying for but all I can do is worry about his rash, his cough, is he getting enough to eat?
I really feel like I should say, after my previous post, that my parents try so hard. In a way they try almost too hard. They love their children and they show us that every day. Today my Mom said to me "You are the light of my life". She's never said anything like that to me. It was nice. I guess all you can do in this journey is try to accept people for who they are, including your parents. We're all just doing the best we can do.
Friday, May 11, 2007
I've been struggling with some family stuff lately, which explains my previous blog. My parents are good people, they really are, but some of their conflict resolution tactics are downright dreadful. They are upset with my little sister right now for planning to move out of their house after she graduates and are applying their standard techniques to manipulate the decisions of their children. My father is doing his ignore technique. You know, like when you were mad in grade school so you stopped talking or even acknowledging whoever you were mad at. When I moved out of my parents house after high school my Dad not speak to me for an entire year...365 days. He didn't say "hi" or "bye" or "Merry Christmas"....nothing. My Mom's way of handling it is to basically instill fear into my little sister, making her doubt her abilities to do something so much that she will loose her confidence in it and give up. They did this to me for years and still do. For example, buying a house. My parents didn't think we should buy a house. The never came out and just told me that, but they never do that because being direct is rude... So, they do the ignore it technique...
Laura -"Hey, we met with our bank this morning and got preapproved for our loan."
Dad- "Ginny would you pass me that salad dressing. Man this is good lettuce."
Mom-"Oh yeah it's from the merc."
Laura- "Hey, we made an offer on a house last week."
Mom- "Is that right? Well, I was going to tell you that I looked though the classified ads and there is a nice house for rent over on Prairie Road."
Laura- "We don't want to rent a house Mom."
Mom- "Don, would you pass the salad dressing, man this lettuce is good. It's from the Merc."
Then when the ignore technique doesn't work they do the fear tacktic. ..
Mom- "I read in the paper today that foreclosures are at an all time high right now."
Dad- "When you girls were little I had to work 3 jobs just to pay the bills. I missed out on everything because of all the time I spent at work."
Fear isn't working...next step, appear to be supportive while offering solutions they are more comfortable with...
Mom- "Laurie there is a house down the street that is for sale."
Laura- "Mom that house is way out of our price range."
Mom- "Oh really? It's small."
Laura- "I'm sure it's 4 bedrooms and your neighborhood is expensive. Besides, you know we like to be on the other side of town, close to downtown and KU and our jobs."
The next day-
Mom- "Wade did you see that place down the street."
Wade- "Yeah, it's too expensive."
Mom- "Oh, really? It's pretty small though."
Wade- "Yup, out of our price range."
The next day-
Dad- "Laurie did you see that house down the street?"
Mom- "Don, Wade says that house is out of their price range."
Dad- "Oh really? Huh. Seems small. Sure would nice to have Henry so close."
About two weeks after we made the offer on our house my Mom decided to let me show her the details of the house on-line. 2 weeks later we drove by. She was not that impressed and I was pretty sure she had already checked it out herself. That house fell through and the next one we made an offer on they liked even less- bad side of town, may have to get flood insurance, such a far drive to get to their house.... I am not sure if they think that we are going to not be able to pay the mortgage (the bank is generally pretty particular about who they give hundreds of thousands of dollars to but hey, what do they know?) or that something is going to break and they are going to have to bail us out, which has NEVER happened before and I will probably never know. Unless something does break and I have to ask them for help when I will certainly hear a very polite "I told you so".
So, the crap that they are pulling on Kelly right now is really upsetting for me because it is the same stuff that they did to me and it left me with some pretty serious emotional wounds that I am still trying to heal. Kelly is bright, beautiful, talented, kind, free spirited, open, loving, a great person and she deserves to have people in her life that have faith in her not manipulate her decisions so that they are the most like their decisions. My parents told me "If you major in textile design you will have no support from us whatsoever. We will take your car, not call you or talk to you, not help you with school, nothing." My Dad said "Get used to asking "Would you like fries with that?"" So, I floundered and tried to find a place for myself outside of what I really wanted. They are doing the same thing to Kelly. She is way more talented than I have ever been and it breaks my heart that they have this bright light here just needing a little guidance and support but they won't give it to her because it isn't the choices they would have made. It is so interesting, raise your children to think independently, appreciate art and music and strive for the best and then they turn into adults and you freak out, try to stifle them and fill their heads with doubt and insecurity. My Dad loves music but I married a musician, ehh gad, we'll be in the poor house for sure. Wade is such a committed father. He pays the bills AND he is there for Henry. He isn't missing it. My Dad is retired and he is still missing it.
I would love to know my parents and I would love for them to know me. I just don't know if they want that.
Laura -"Hey, we met with our bank this morning and got preapproved for our loan."
Dad- "Ginny would you pass me that salad dressing. Man this is good lettuce."
Mom-"Oh yeah it's from the merc."
Laura- "Hey, we made an offer on a house last week."
Mom- "Is that right? Well, I was going to tell you that I looked though the classified ads and there is a nice house for rent over on Prairie Road."
Laura- "We don't want to rent a house Mom."
Mom- "Don, would you pass the salad dressing, man this lettuce is good. It's from the Merc."
Then when the ignore technique doesn't work they do the fear tacktic. ..
Mom- "I read in the paper today that foreclosures are at an all time high right now."
Dad- "When you girls were little I had to work 3 jobs just to pay the bills. I missed out on everything because of all the time I spent at work."
Fear isn't working...next step, appear to be supportive while offering solutions they are more comfortable with...
Mom- "Laurie there is a house down the street that is for sale."
Laura- "Mom that house is way out of our price range."
Mom- "Oh really? It's small."
Laura- "I'm sure it's 4 bedrooms and your neighborhood is expensive. Besides, you know we like to be on the other side of town, close to downtown and KU and our jobs."
The next day-
Mom- "Wade did you see that place down the street."
Wade- "Yeah, it's too expensive."
Mom- "Oh, really? It's pretty small though."
Wade- "Yup, out of our price range."
The next day-
Dad- "Laurie did you see that house down the street?"
Mom- "Don, Wade says that house is out of their price range."
Dad- "Oh really? Huh. Seems small. Sure would nice to have Henry so close."
About two weeks after we made the offer on our house my Mom decided to let me show her the details of the house on-line. 2 weeks later we drove by. She was not that impressed and I was pretty sure she had already checked it out herself. That house fell through and the next one we made an offer on they liked even less- bad side of town, may have to get flood insurance, such a far drive to get to their house.... I am not sure if they think that we are going to not be able to pay the mortgage (the bank is generally pretty particular about who they give hundreds of thousands of dollars to but hey, what do they know?) or that something is going to break and they are going to have to bail us out, which has NEVER happened before and I will probably never know. Unless something does break and I have to ask them for help when I will certainly hear a very polite "I told you so".
So, the crap that they are pulling on Kelly right now is really upsetting for me because it is the same stuff that they did to me and it left me with some pretty serious emotional wounds that I am still trying to heal. Kelly is bright, beautiful, talented, kind, free spirited, open, loving, a great person and she deserves to have people in her life that have faith in her not manipulate her decisions so that they are the most like their decisions. My parents told me "If you major in textile design you will have no support from us whatsoever. We will take your car, not call you or talk to you, not help you with school, nothing." My Dad said "Get used to asking "Would you like fries with that?"" So, I floundered and tried to find a place for myself outside of what I really wanted. They are doing the same thing to Kelly. She is way more talented than I have ever been and it breaks my heart that they have this bright light here just needing a little guidance and support but they won't give it to her because it isn't the choices they would have made. It is so interesting, raise your children to think independently, appreciate art and music and strive for the best and then they turn into adults and you freak out, try to stifle them and fill their heads with doubt and insecurity. My Dad loves music but I married a musician, ehh gad, we'll be in the poor house for sure. Wade is such a committed father. He pays the bills AND he is there for Henry. He isn't missing it. My Dad is retired and he is still missing it.
I would love to know my parents and I would love for them to know me. I just don't know if they want that.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Am I in yet?
I think that something went wrong when I was a kid where I think that other people they just accept that they are in, they accept that this other person likes them and that they don’t have to keep proving themselves were as for me it is entirely temporal, like I’m constantly judging the whole thing moment by moment and it could always fall apart, for me it never ends.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
It's for the kid, I swear
It's silly, I know, but I have grown very fond of the Wonder Pets. I had a guinea pig when I was little, named Romeo, and that could be a factor, or it could be that they have little kids do the voices and it is insanely cute or that they sing everything which I do CONSTANTLY. I think that they try to make the songs sound like they were made up by kids because the rhyming isn't always the best, which is exactly how my songs go too. Plus it's like half cartoon half cut out pictures, I am a a big fan of that mismatched, collage looking style. Love them. Worth checking out even if you do not have a 17 month old to blame it on.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Please confirm
I love relaying conversations I have to other people. It drives my husband nuts, and understandably so, it’s pretty boring to hear “She said this so I said that and then she said this…can you believe it?” But I have four sisters, I was raised in a house where someone was always talking, resolutions were reached by conversation and a situation was not deemed “shocking” until it was relayed and responded to by another person. I require confirmation that if a comment someone made was nuts to me, it was also, in fact, nuts to someone else. And, one must also consider my current employment situation. The people I work seem so completely insane that anyone would feel the need to purge themselves at the end of the day. So, that is where a blog becomes useful. I am hoping that my instinctive urge to verbally relive my day can be redirected to an urge to write about it. I did this for years in my super secret diary, why not on a blog? And the beauty of it is that if someone else finds my stories as mind-blowingly boring as my hubby then they can go read someone else’s blog and I will never be the wiser.
Here are a few conversations I have had today that are worth revisiting.
I told my “friend” today that I had awful car sickness this morning. She asked, “Could you be pregnant?” Before I could answer she smiled and said “do you even do that? I mean you have a kid and all….ha ha ha”. –This is not funny. Frankly, her problem is that she is 35 and has not had children because she takes horrible care of herself AND she has totally unrealistic expectations which destroy every relationship that she has ever been in. She claims to desperately want to have a family but cannot find the time. Right….I bet 10 bucks I am getting more than she is.
I told that same friend that people were giving us strange looks at the park this weekend. She told me that she would stare at him too because he has a huge bruise on his forehead and people probably think we are beating him up. I said “Not if they have a toddler…and if they are at the park you would think that if they don’t currently have a toddler that they must have had one a few years ago or they are just weirdos at the park without and kids and in that case I really couldn’t give two shits about what they think about me.” Why am I still talking to this person you may ask…well you’ll really wonder that after this story…
Same friend oh about 2 years ago Laura -"I'm pregnant!" Friend-“Well Laura now you are going to have to be prepared for the possibility that one of Henry’s friends parents is going to see that Wade is black and they are not going to want their kid to play with Henry anymore.” I said nothing. She said “I’m serious, it will happen.” “Well,” I said “I suppose if Henry had a friend with parents like that I would prefer that Henry not play with that child anyway…gotta run…bye.”
We have had many comments about our multi-racial union since the moment Wade and I started dating. They seem to grow in frequency during major milestones in our life together.
Us- “We’re getting married….” Someone else-“Well what are you going to teach your children?”
Us- "We’re having a baby….” Someone else- “Oh, he will be so cute. What are you going to teach him?”
After a while…..
Us- “We’re having a baby…and we already know what we are going to teach him.” Someone else- “Oh good, I am glad you thought of that. So, what are you going to teach him?”
Us- “Here is a picture of our baby…” Someone else-“Oh he is so pale.” Someone else-“He doesn’t look a thing like Wade.” Someone else, trying to be more subtle-“Wow look at that blond hair. I thought blue eyes were recessive. Interesting (glace and friends)”. Me-“Wade is biracial you idiot and his Dad has bright blue eyes and all his brothers are sisters had blond hair.” You can kiss it!
More conversations to come…stay tuned.
Here are a few conversations I have had today that are worth revisiting.
I told my “friend” today that I had awful car sickness this morning. She asked, “Could you be pregnant?” Before I could answer she smiled and said “do you even do that? I mean you have a kid and all….ha ha ha”. –This is not funny. Frankly, her problem is that she is 35 and has not had children because she takes horrible care of herself AND she has totally unrealistic expectations which destroy every relationship that she has ever been in. She claims to desperately want to have a family but cannot find the time. Right….I bet 10 bucks I am getting more than she is.
I told that same friend that people were giving us strange looks at the park this weekend. She told me that she would stare at him too because he has a huge bruise on his forehead and people probably think we are beating him up. I said “Not if they have a toddler…and if they are at the park you would think that if they don’t currently have a toddler that they must have had one a few years ago or they are just weirdos at the park without and kids and in that case I really couldn’t give two shits about what they think about me.” Why am I still talking to this person you may ask…well you’ll really wonder that after this story…
Same friend oh about 2 years ago Laura -"I'm pregnant!" Friend-“Well Laura now you are going to have to be prepared for the possibility that one of Henry’s friends parents is going to see that Wade is black and they are not going to want their kid to play with Henry anymore.” I said nothing. She said “I’m serious, it will happen.” “Well,” I said “I suppose if Henry had a friend with parents like that I would prefer that Henry not play with that child anyway…gotta run…bye.”
We have had many comments about our multi-racial union since the moment Wade and I started dating. They seem to grow in frequency during major milestones in our life together.
Us- “We’re getting married….” Someone else-“Well what are you going to teach your children?”
Us- "We’re having a baby….” Someone else- “Oh, he will be so cute. What are you going to teach him?”
After a while…..
Us- “We’re having a baby…and we already know what we are going to teach him.” Someone else- “Oh good, I am glad you thought of that. So, what are you going to teach him?”
Us- “Here is a picture of our baby…” Someone else-“Oh he is so pale.” Someone else-“He doesn’t look a thing like Wade.” Someone else, trying to be more subtle-“Wow look at that blond hair. I thought blue eyes were recessive. Interesting (glace and friends)”. Me-“Wade is biracial you idiot and his Dad has bright blue eyes and all his brothers are sisters had blond hair.” You can kiss it!
Us-"Wade graduated from KU" Someone else-"Good, it is important for minorities to get higher education. Are you going move now because you really should think about where you are going to move...you know what I mean?"
Us- “We’re buying a house…” Someone else- “Where are you buying it? Because you guys need to pick your neighborhood carefully…you know what I mean?”
More conversations to come…stay tuned.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Stepping on toes
This morning my friend M said to me “I love talking to you Laura. You are just open and honest and I feel like I can really be myself around you.” This made me so happy. If there is any one thing that I could want for people to feel around me it is that I accept them for who they are. I really feel like that is what people ultimately want, to just be loved and accepted with no strings attached. It has not always been easy for me to do this though because while I really want to be an accepting person I am also super opinionated, very political and stubborn, and I have zero patience for intolerant people. Last night I inadvertently stumbled upon a comment blog on MSN.com for an article about Bush vetoing a bill defining crimes against gay people as hate crimes. Some of the comments on that blog actually made me sick to my stomach. Then I did something I never do, I got so upset that I actually posted a comment. After about an hour going back and forth with a person who may have actually been the most ignorant, indigent and hateful person I have ever been in contact with, my hands were shaking and my heart was racing…I had to walk away from the computer. So I have come to this conclusion, I am going to continue to try to be as tolerant of people as I can be, accepting their quirks and our indifferences, BUT I am not only not going to accept people with deliberate and hateful prejudices, I am also not going to even give them the time of day because it is certainly not getting my blood boiling over or wasting an hour of my precious family time debating with an asshole.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Dear Sir/Madam
This is a letter I received at work today. It made me chuckle.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am in possession of a cheque to pay you for something. Since I am informed that Her Royal Majesty's Royal Mail (who would otherwise deliver it next day) would have to pass the letter to the american mail service I am advised to use a courier company. The courier companies we use insist that we do not use PO Boxes on the address. A google search on your web-site shows it as unobtainable-so I could not get a telephone number in order to call you and clarify your address. When I contacted Bristish Telecom’s International Directory Enquiries they informed me that there was no listing for you. You are an exceedingly difficult organization to communicate with.
For this reason I am writing to you, entrusting my letter to the excellent next day services of Her Royal Majesty’s Royal Mail. Of course upon arrival in america, I expect that the letter will be passed on to the american mail services and I have no idea how long it will take to arrive at your secretive location.
When it does please could you write to me giving me your proper postal address, that is-one that gives an actual road and No. of your building and not a PO Box. I will then be able to send you the, quite considerable, cheque that I have for you.
Yours in great expectation,
Dr. M H
(Perhaps the choices your countrymen made in 1779 were overhasty(!))
Of course, I noticed that this guy has not capitalized America once and he is clearly not a big fan of the ole US of A, and that sort of sucks. I feel like telling him that we are not all so bad, but my guess is that he is old and crusty and not worth the effort. Also, he did not give me any contact information other than his mailing address, if he wanted for me to get in touch with him so badly why not give me an email address or phone number? Whatever, I'll write him back today and try to find some sneaky way to slip in that he is a jerk.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am in possession of a cheque to pay you for something. Since I am informed that Her Royal Majesty's Royal Mail (who would otherwise deliver it next day) would have to pass the letter to the american mail service I am advised to use a courier company. The courier companies we use insist that we do not use PO Boxes on the address. A google search on your web-site shows it as unobtainable-so I could not get a telephone number in order to call you and clarify your address. When I contacted Bristish Telecom’s International Directory Enquiries they informed me that there was no listing for you. You are an exceedingly difficult organization to communicate with.
For this reason I am writing to you, entrusting my letter to the excellent next day services of Her Royal Majesty’s Royal Mail. Of course upon arrival in america, I expect that the letter will be passed on to the american mail services and I have no idea how long it will take to arrive at your secretive location.
When it does please could you write to me giving me your proper postal address, that is-one that gives an actual road and No. of your building and not a PO Box. I will then be able to send you the, quite considerable, cheque that I have for you.
Yours in great expectation,
Dr. M H
(Perhaps the choices your countrymen made in 1779 were overhasty(!))
Of course, I noticed that this guy has not capitalized America once and he is clearly not a big fan of the ole US of A, and that sort of sucks. I feel like telling him that we are not all so bad, but my guess is that he is old and crusty and not worth the effort. Also, he did not give me any contact information other than his mailing address, if he wanted for me to get in touch with him so badly why not give me an email address or phone number? Whatever, I'll write him back today and try to find some sneaky way to slip in that he is a jerk.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Take backs
My husband is sick and I am not being very sympathetic. I never am. When I am sick Wade buys me magazines, rents movies, brings me OJ and rubs my feet. So far tonight I have yelled at him, called him a jerk, told him back to work and stomped off.
I just called him to say that I am an ass hole.
He laughed.
He's a good guy...
but he really was being a jerk. ;)
I just called him to say that I am an ass hole.
He laughed.
He's a good guy...
but he really was being a jerk. ;)
Bloom
May 1st is nearly over and I almost missed it. I love May Day. When I was a kid we would make baskets out of construction paper, fill them with flowers and candies and leave them on the front steps of our friends houses. I remember ringing the doorbell and then running as fast as I could to the car. It was so fun. I think I am going to do baskets next May Day. 
$21.50 per class
KU is a freaking joke. Seriously, give me a time machine and let me do my college career over again, please! I guarantee that you would not find me on that campus. In my, ehh, 10 years as a student there (well, 7 if you count the years I took off, which I think we should for my own mental health) I had maybe 3 teachers that actually cared how I did in their class. I have been weeded out more times than I could count on two hands. I have gotten different advice from my advisors, sending me in different directions that I have had to spend a semester making up for. I have paid thousands of dollars to be bored, ignored, sent on wild goose chases, and jump through bureaucratic BS. JUST LET ME GRADUATE, THAT IS ALL I ASK! THEN WE WILL BE OUT OF EACH OTHER'S HAIR.
My freshman year I had an English teacher that did not like me, maybe it was because I could pass his exams and write his “challenge essay assignments” without attending class, whatever the reason he failed me. I tried to make an appointment to meet with him about my grade after I got my grade card but he wouldn’t answer his phone. I contacted the department and made an appointment to speak with one of the head office folks in the English department. I came in with my papers and exams and my calculation of my grade, an 89%. The woman told me that my teacher, his name was Vincent, had decided half way though the semester that too many people were skipping class and so he told the class that he was going to start taking off a half a letter grade for each absence. “You must have missed that day” she said. I saw Vincent on campus the following year and he ran from me...I am not kidding, he ran from me!
This semester I had a teacher berate me on an essay question on my first exam. She wrote things like “What are you talking about?” “You really should have taken genetics class before this class” (genetics is not a prerequisite for my class, by the way) and “I don’t even know what you are thinking”. But by far and away the most egregious department on the campus is the parking department. This year it cost 85 dollars a semester to park at the University of Kansas. Well, actually, it is $85.00 a semester just to be given the opportunity to look for a parking spot at the University of Kansas. $85.00 to practice your slow-driving-while-following-students-walking-through-the-parking-lot skills. Since I am only taking one class a semester I figured I would bypass the parking pass nightmare and use the meters. I figured it is $1.50 for an hour and a half, class is an hour and 15 minutes twice a week for 15 weeks that’s….$45.00, what a deal! Well, today, I got a ticket. My teacher lectured for an extra two minutes, according to the clock in her classroom. I scrambled down the hill as fast as my slippery flip-flops would carry me and I missed the parking lady by 4 cars. This is the second time this has happened to me this semester. That’s $40.00.
I should have gotten a parking sticker.
My freshman year I had an English teacher that did not like me, maybe it was because I could pass his exams and write his “challenge essay assignments” without attending class, whatever the reason he failed me. I tried to make an appointment to meet with him about my grade after I got my grade card but he wouldn’t answer his phone. I contacted the department and made an appointment to speak with one of the head office folks in the English department. I came in with my papers and exams and my calculation of my grade, an 89%. The woman told me that my teacher, his name was Vincent, had decided half way though the semester that too many people were skipping class and so he told the class that he was going to start taking off a half a letter grade for each absence. “You must have missed that day” she said. I saw Vincent on campus the following year and he ran from me...I am not kidding, he ran from me!
This semester I had a teacher berate me on an essay question on my first exam. She wrote things like “What are you talking about?” “You really should have taken genetics class before this class” (genetics is not a prerequisite for my class, by the way) and “I don’t even know what you are thinking”. But by far and away the most egregious department on the campus is the parking department. This year it cost 85 dollars a semester to park at the University of Kansas. Well, actually, it is $85.00 a semester just to be given the opportunity to look for a parking spot at the University of Kansas. $85.00 to practice your slow-driving-while-following-students-walking-through-the-parking-lot skills. Since I am only taking one class a semester I figured I would bypass the parking pass nightmare and use the meters. I figured it is $1.50 for an hour and a half, class is an hour and 15 minutes twice a week for 15 weeks that’s….$45.00, what a deal! Well, today, I got a ticket. My teacher lectured for an extra two minutes, according to the clock in her classroom. I scrambled down the hill as fast as my slippery flip-flops would carry me and I missed the parking lady by 4 cars. This is the second time this has happened to me this semester. That’s $40.00.
I should have gotten a parking sticker.
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