The Masters is On!

Okay, I couldn't give a rip about professional golf. Until I learned about Adam Scott... whoa... Anyhow, what spearheaded this is when I got to work today, they started a pool, and I'm all about the competition. Each of us gets to pick 2 golfers. No one can have Tiger. The one who ends up the highest wins, get this, a soda. I picked Goosen and Garcia. Everyone laughed at me. Whatevs... it's funny. Those Cokes are MINE! ***************** Whoa, this rain sucks. The wind sucks even more. The predicted "wintry mixture" sucks most of all. The funniest is that Mom and Dad are on their way home from the warmth. Murphy's Law. At least I'm not trying to get out of Texas on American Airlines. HA! ***************** Juror #10 got dismissed around 3 p.m. He got to go to the courthouse doors twice and got sent back each time. So close, yet so far away from my dream. He is now free of further obligation for 4 years. This makes him enormously happy.

It's Hump Day...

Holy gloomy day!

I should still be home, on the couch, with hot chocolate in my hand and a crappy movie in the DVD player. Maybe a John Cusack flick or something equally bad. But alas, I am preparing myself to receive my final appraisal results. Beerman gave me this comic strip this morning in preparation: In other funny news, today is Beerman's first day of jury duty. He just shakes my head at my enthusiasm. I wanted to take his "first day of jury duty" picture, but he wouldn't let me. I did learn that if I ever get on jury duty, I can't knit. Apparently the needles are some horrible potential weapon. My cheapo needles almost break everytime I use them, but yeah, weaponry. Anyhow, Beerman's on jury duty, and I'm envious.

ETA: Beerman is officially Juror #10. Oooh, I'm sooo jealous!

In other birthday updates, I'm also in love with everything in this catalog.

Another day closer to the weekend

I am in a complete allergy-induced fog. I had to deliver 3 performance appraisals today, and cannot be held accountable for the things I may have said. Wow. Get this girl some Claritin! In another blog I read, she challenged people to admit what they have been wrong about recently. So here goes... I may have been wrong about my latest knitting project. It's supposed to be a gift, but I think it's going to end up looking like trash. It was the wrong thing to pick for this person, and now I'm completely upset. 60 hours of work (and approximately 2 more weeks to go) to get a crappy result. I'm so not pleased with my decision. But now I'm so far into it, I can't back out. It's like watching a bad movie... you just can't fathom it not getting better... And in case you didn't know, it's now officially my birthday month. Feel free to buy me any of this crap I'd like to have in celebration. Or feel free to think of something on your own. The thing is, I shamelessly covet everything I see, so it's not like I won't like it. Unless it has cats on it. I don't really appreciate things with cats.

Monday Musings

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it. ~George Bernard Shaw

S'more Weekend, Please!

What a busy, wonderiffic weekend. The weather finally matches the calendar. We were outside a ton, getting a lot done, and even had the first s'mores of the season: I had a hot stone massage this morning. Hea-ven. Then I napped with C-man. Delicious. I just need one more day before I have to go back...

Finishing Things

Today is about finishing things, even if incrementally. So, things I've finished today:

1. Another piece of my latest knitting project. No, it's not completely done, since I have to completely re-do the first part I did, but one more part of it got crossed off the list over lunch, so I'm pleased.
2. My daily trivia contest, and as of right now I'm in first place. I finished with everything correct in 32 seconds, so I'm guessing it should stick...
3. The week. I love Fridays. It's when I start to think, "A whole weekend ahead of me, what will I do?" and then remember... I have a massage planned for Sunday! Delicious.
4. Invitations for the baby shower are ordered. And they're quite cute. Who knew how many butt-ugly ones there are out there to wade through. I made the last ones, but who has time for that? Hitting "send" is just so much more practical.
5. A major project at work that was due.
6. My chai latte. Okay, not a great accomplishment, but it makes me happy, so I'm including it.

Here's hoping the Brewers finish San Francisco. The Brewers, the Brewers, they're turning up the heat, YEAH!

Enjoy your weekend. I'm hoping with the 60 degree weather to get outside a bit.

What do you mean you lost my car?!?!?

I took my van in yesterday to get fixed. A few lights were going on, and other stuff happening I didn't like, and I am 3,000 miles from the warranty expiring. So, of course, they found a thousand things wrong they had to fix. When I got there at 5 to pick it up, they couldn't find the keys. But "Your car is right out that door." So I strolled over to see if my keys were inside. Um, yeah, no car there. So I went back in, and said, "No car, no keys." Instant fear in about 3 guys' eyes. Panic. Race around. They lost my friggin' car!!! 25 minutes later, they find it. WHAT?!?! Oh, and Beerman called me this morning on his way to work. "The oil light is still on." Unbelievable. ***************** We've got our anniversary trip booked. We're going with a new place this year: http://www.pinehurstinn.com/room-brownstone.php I still need to get our Wild Rice reservations! I drool just thinking about it. We haven't been on a weekend away in over a year. I'm so excited.

Is it only Wednesday?

Wow, this has to be the third Wednesday this week. I have to stand up and deliver for 2 straight days. I am going to hu-urt by Friday. So Bobblehead Gableman won. Boo. Crean is a Hoosier. Whatever. But the Brewers are still in first place. Yippee!

April 1st

Yes, today is April Fool's Day. And I have to say, I absolutely HATE April Fool's Day. Last night at 4 p.m., we all got called to an emergency morning budget meeting by my VP. It was an April Fool's joke. Are you effing kidding me? I hustled my kid up out of bed and rushed to work for THAT? And even then I was late. So not cool, I can't even describe it. Anyhow, this is a funny one, as long as it's not to me... The Brewers pulled one out last night. So much for Gagne being worth the cash. I guess when you're off the 'roids, you can't pitch 'em like you used to. I went to Stitch n Bitch last night. It always makes me laugh how much more bitching goes on over stitching. I've been working like a madwoman to get my project done, though, so I was truly multitasking. My latest project has become so tedious, it just needs to be done, already. I'm so close, I can taste victory! American Idol's on tonight. Syesha needs to go. She really annoys me. So does the dread lock kid. Any boy who's prettier than all the girls on the stage needs to go. Plus, those dreads make me want to vomit.

Rain, rain, go away...

Had a decent weekend. I played a lot of baseball. Our first Brewers tickets don't start until June, and it's KILLING C-man. I should get some April tickets for him. Poor thing almost convulses when you tell him we don't have any tickets. We went to IHOP. We're officially regulars, because when we walked in, a server said, "There's my favorite family!" Either that, or we're obviously the only ones who don't live in that neighborhood... Whatever, I love IHOP pancakes. After IHOP, we went to Trader Joe's. Another Sunday tradition at the house, apparently. C-man likes getting the balloon when we check out. Only problem was that they didn't have any this time. We avoided calamity because I had an uninflated one in my purse leftover from the previous weekend with the Easter Bunny. Thank God for small favors. Beerman continued painting the infamous bathroom. We've decided against a texture technique, which I'm okay with, because instead of covering up the crappy, uneven walls, it actually accentuates their crappiness (who knew THAT was possible?). So one flat color it is. It's good to see real progress! We also watched Dan in Real Life. I laughed out loud through a lot of it. Beerman did too. It's been a really long time since I've seen a movie I've really enjoyed. (Or one that didn't have animated characters or talking dogs, for that matter.) Steve Carrell does some really smart stuff. So 4 stars from me. Well, off to enjoy the start to my week. Woo-hoo.

Spring Fever

I spent so much time outside pitching (Mommy, you be Turnbow/Gagne/Sheets/Gallardo) to my little hitter (and I'll be JJ) today, my hands are raw. Where is spring?!? Beerman is re-painting the bathroom. He got a color I didn't like before, and is now redoing it. This color is much nicer. I got C-man some Omega 3 chewables that are strawberry flavored. I spent $23 for a pack because everyone raves about them and C-man doesn't eat anything that has O3 in it. So, true to form, hewon't eat them. When Beerman said, "Jennifer, try one, they taste like strawberries," I said, "Nope, I bet they taste like fish." Well, at least C-man comes by it honestly. Off to go build a "big bad bridge" and watch a move with some popcorn... Enjoy your weekend.

I almost killed spring...

So I'm driving to work today, and there are a bunch of robins flying together. (I don't think I ever noticed them flocking together before, so it might be a conspiracy against me, a la Birds, but whatever). I had to swerve to not hit them. In that instantaneous "blink" as Malcolm Gladwell calls it, I thought "DON'T KILL SPRING!" After I successfully missed them, I laughed all the way to work. I'm such a moron. ************** My bracket is successfully toast. I know that there's a Marquette-Louisville rivalry and that might play into my hatred, but now that they've killed my bracket, I really hate Louisville! **************

Words of Wisdom: C-man was playing the other day, stopped and said, "You know what, Mommy?" "What, C-man?" "Sometimes... you need to look out for sharks." "C-man, you are more profound than you know."

And, it's a little cleaner than the similar advice my mentor always says... "Jennifer, there are MFs everywhere." :-)

They're Baa-ck

Okay, so it's just an exhibition game. But ladies and gentlemen, Miller Park has a game today. Thank God for the roof, or they'd have to shovel out. Unbelievable. Anyhow, Go, Brewers, Go!

*****************

In what I think is absolutely hilarious news, Beerman has to report for jury duty next month. I've never been on jury duty, and actually think he's the luckiest thing around to get called, but whatever. Me showing up at the courthouse proclaiming my deep desire to fulfill a civic responsibility and be a juror is probably going to get me thrown in the nuthouse. So, I'll just make fun of Beerman instead.

*****************

This low pressure system NEEDS to move through. I can barely stand it, it hurts so much. Who knew I'd be praying for snow so bad?

*****************

I used to work for this guy at the Boy Scouts:

http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/15895702.html

C-Man's Growth

C-man went for his 3-year old checkup today. After tearing him away from the 3' tall Bob the Builder toy in the hallway, we discovered that he's completely proportional, and on track to be bigger than both of us. So much for worrying about him not eating his vegetables...

******************

I continue to be so stiff, I can barely type. I've been reading a lot, avoiding some things I need to get done, because I can't stand to type them out. Ugh...

One Day at a Time

I don't know if it's a combination of the 8 hours of driving this weekend, the impending snow of doom (I know, a bit melodramatic, but come on... it's Spring!), or my complete exhaustion, but I hurt. Bad. I have to move constantly to keep from hurting more, but don't want to move because it hurts. So my day has gone something like this: my head: Time to move my body: Screw you At least I'm back on the coffee, so I haven't lost all of my life's joy.

Birthday Wishes

C-man got his first bike for his birthday. Oh, to be 3 again...

Weekend Wrap-up

We spent the weekend in Chippewa Falls. Thankfully we went Thursday night, because 14" of snow dumped on our house Friday. In-between feeding my child (he's GOT to be growing, because about every 30 minutes he says, "My belly is STARVING!") we spent the weekend watching movies and basketball on the 90" screen TV (I'm running 4th in my pool, but with Georgetown gone, that'll change), celebrating C-man's 3rd birthday (note the orange frosting), and visiting what might be the ugliest Easter Bunny ever known. (C-man said, "Well, Easter bunnies are white!): The drive back was brutal on my body, and I'm paying very dearly for it today.

The good news is that despite 14" being dumped on our house, and our dogwalker getting stuck in our driveway (he had to use our snowblower to get himself out), the 43 degree weather melted almost all of it away. Beerman had to clear a little bit out, but didn't snowblow at all! Very nice.

The bad news is C-man now knows about chocolate Easter bunnies, thanks to his Nana, and has learned to eat them properly (before breakfast, starting with the ears). This morning he thought he should do that again. We told him otherwise. The drive to school wasn't a great one...

C-Falls

On my way up nort' for C-man's birthday and Easter. I'm so feverish, I can barely see straight. Happy first day of spring.

Whew

C-man's going through a growth spurt. I have no other way to account for his latest behavior. Happy one second, whiny the next, and in our bed in the middle of the night. I made him eat a baby carrot the other night. It took 30 minutes of arguing over it. 30 minutes later, I asked what he was chewing on, and he said, "Carrot". Oh boy. Add in this weather, and needless to say, I'm exhausted. I'm getting my hair cut tonight. Well, I hope I am. I'm hunting for a new place. Last week I tried to get to a new place, and got stopped for speeding on the way. She wouldn't take me because I was 12 minutes late. Hag. Anyhow, we'll see how "Alan" is at cutting hair, because this bush needs a whackin'.

March Madness

So when I win, you can't say I cheated... I have Tennessee going all the way because when I asked C-man who would win and showed him pictures, he picked the orange guys. And I figured since Pearl used to be our neighbor, it wasn't a bad team to cheer on. All I have to say is, good thing Syracuse isn't in it!

***************

We went to see Horton Hears a Who last night. Wow, a lot of good press for "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant" and "A person is a person no matter how small." Vlad the vulture scared C-man, but other than that, it was fine. I'd say it gets a B, definite rental. ****************

This week will be getting ready for C-man's birthday. A Good Friday birthday, what a drag.

As the Snow Melts...A groundling follow-up

I can't quite explain why this whole groundling thing facinates me, but it does. Sort of like "Secret Lives of Moles": ********

I've been knitting some a lot of different stuff lately. I need to go get some buttons to finish my latest project off, and then it'll be ready to wrap up and give away. I'll post photos after I've given it, but want to wait to not spoil any surprises. Here's a cute one I made a couple of weeks ago that I can show:

********

Horton Hears a Who is on the agenda for the day AFTER we: build a road, dig for treasure, and play golf. Ahh, lfe dictated by C-man.

********

This was yesterday's fun after we cleaned him up from dumping paint everywhere:

Dream

If only... http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/12/world.bikers.irpt/index.html

Dr. Death Goes to Washington

Seriously? What's his slogan... Joe Black for Congress? Or how about "Death and Taxes, now I can make them both worse!" http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

Where is Thumbkin?

C-man keeps singing that song, and I can't get it out of my head. But it got me thinking. "How are you today, sir?" Does anyone ever care? I mean, "How are you?" shouldn't be a rhetorical question, yet when someone answers truthfully, you sit there and think, "Come on, just answer 'fine' already!" I've noticed this most recently when people ask me, because I have absolutely NOT been fine. But nobody wants to hear that crap. So how do you tell someone your life's been sucking wind when nobody really cares anyway? In most of Eastern Asia, the greeting is, "Have you had your rice yet?" I'd love to translate that to our culture. "Hey, eaten your donut, McDonalds and pizza yet?" HA! ***************** One Mississippi, two Mississippi... Come on give us 33 Mississippi! ***************** I had my Stitch n Bitch group last night. It's so nice to get out with different people. Because there's usually more bitching than stitching going on, I started a pair of mindless baby booties. In 2 hours, I only got one done! So I now currently have 3 projects going, and was coveting a new sweater pattern beforehand. Thankfully, the teensy-weensy yarn store on my way to the SNB didn't have enough skeins to do the sweater, or I totally would have started a 4th project. So I vow to finish the other bootie, and one of the other projects before starting on a new one. Thank God I have a birthday coming up, because I'm so asking for these.

This makes me giggle...

What doesn't make me giggle? Re-dos in Florida and Michigan. If they do that, I'm through with this whole thing.

Dorky Things I've Learned

So I'm starting to embrace my dorkhood. This morning while listening to NPR (can you hear the dorkometer buzzing?) a horticulturalist was discussing the effects of the snow on perennials. He said that the enormous amount of snow is great because it will have kept the roots unfrozen and healthy. However, the enormous amount of snow helps the groundlings. What's that, you ask? Groundlings are mice, moles, rodents, etc. And get this, they live under the snow. There is a layer that melts just above the ground from the warmth of the ground. So they're fat and happy down there, eating our perennials, and not getting eaten by the hawks because they have such tremendous snow cover. Now maybe you know these things, but I didn't. And for some reason, it never occurred to me that rodents lived anywhere other than some nest in my garage during the winter. So, I'll put that in my "what I learned today" book. Another dorky thing I've learned is that silk makes great yarn to knit with. I'm doing a fabulous little pattern right now that is SO cute. Maybe I'll post it when I'm done. I've been quite a knitting machine lately, referring to it as my therapy. Hey, we all have to have something to prove we're not crazy. Right now, mine just happens to be in the forms of knits, purls and yarnovers.

Winners, Losers, and Retirements

I get that the press wants to have something to report, but really? Hillary got 6 total delegates closer to Obama. Hardly a "sweep" if you know what I mean. Anyhow, this is kind of fun: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/29/delegate.counter/index.html *************************** Brett Favre retired. I get it. But the man isn't dead. Can we please just move on now? After all, it's baseball season! *************************** 5 hours of training to go yet today. 5 hours on my feet. Ugh. I'm going to sleep early tonight. Well, not that it's that unusual these days, but I think this is going to suck.

Junior-Almost-But-Not-Quite-Super Tuesday

At least Huckabee will be done, right? Then again, he did say, "I have nothing else to do." Come on Obama... ______________________ Since I'm one of the grammar militants at work, I almost fell off my chair with this one: To The Coca-Cola Company, The slogan for Dasani mineral water contains an egregious error. The tag line is “Treat yourself well. Everyday.” The word “everyday” is an adjective that is used to describe things that are routine or ordinary. “Everyday concerns” or “everyday life” would be two examples. Your slogan should read: “Treat yourself well. Every day.” In this case “every” is an adjective modifying the noun “day.” This is a popular construction which is also used in such phrases as “every week,” “every time,” “every breath I take,” etc. [… ] Respectfully submitted, David Armstrong Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company, Mr. Armstrong. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns regarding our new slogan for DASANI, “Treat yourself well. Everyday.” Advertising slogans aren’t always constrained by the traditional conventions of formal writing; compromises are quite often made to develop a more effective message. When forming the new slogan for DASANI, we considered both “Everyday” and “Every day.” After subjecting both versions to testing, we decided to use the more impactful adjective form, rather than the adjective-noun phrase. […] Joy Industry and Consumer Affairs The Coca-Cola Company Dear Joy, Thank you for your prompt and informative response to my email message. I do appreciate you taking the time. I must confess, however, that I am not completely satisfied with your answer. I fail to see how the adjective “everyday,” which has a completely different meaning than the phrase “every day,” is more “impactful.” (By the way, “impactful” is not listed as a word in any dictionary that I am aware of. Was this neologism spawned by the person who hatched your Dasani slogan?) You say you chose the “adjective form,” as if you were choosing between two versions of the same thing – but the similarity is purely superficial. Your slogan may as well read “Treat yourself well. Ordinary,” or “Treat yourself well. Commonplace,” because that is what it means, given the error. [… ] Are we then to assume that poor grammar and abuse of the English language make for more effective marketing? If this is the case I have a couple of suggestions for future slogans you may wish to consider: “Coke. Its the real thing.”“All ways Coca-Cola.”“Coke add’s life.” [… ] Best regards, David Armstrong Thank you for your reply. We truly appreciate your feedback regarding our slogan for DASANI, and I will share it with the appropriate management. As for the word “impactful,” this is simply the noun form of “impact” with the suffix “-ful” added to the end in order for it to be used as an adjective. Words with suffixes are typically not in the dictionary. Rich Robinson Advertising Specialist The Coca-Cola Company Dear Rich, It has been a few days since our email exchange and I have yet to hear from your executives. [… ] Your fine and reputable firm needs to act swiftly to repair this grievous attack on the English language, one which I have now seen plastered on the sides of buses, on billboards, and in numerous other public locations. Have you considered the effect of your nonsensical “Treat yourself well. Everyday” campaign on the nation’s schoolchildren? [… ] In closing, although I appreciate the creativity of your comments that “Words without suffixes are typically not in the dictionary,” I believe that if you research this further you will find that many words with suffixes are in fact in the dictionary, and that words that are not words are not. Warm regards, David Armstrong

Spring Training Fever

Still Sick...

I spent yesterday in the fetal position for about 7 hours. I'm at work for the morning today, back into the doctor, and then going home for some more fetal position napping or hopefully some low-key knitting. At this rate, my sweater is never going to get done. The roof is leaking again. Now it's the dining room, bedroom AND living room. So Beerman has been trying to shovel a roof full of rock-hard snow when it's below zero out. I made him take his cellphone last night in case he fell off. He's now getting estimates to get rid of our flat roof. I didn't want to use our house-upgrade savings for a new kitchen and floors anyhow. I can't find a boarding facility for our dogs over Easter. I guess that little holiday called "spring break" means more than just us are gone. Ugh. Hopefully our dogwalker can sit with them. TGIF.

Go Brewers Go!

By some miracle, C-man slept last night. And by a bigger miracle, so did I. Wow, I can't remember the last time I woke up willingly at 5:30 a.m. The big news around our house is that pitchers and catchers reported. Even bigger, is that C-man REALLY wanted to have hitters report too. Well, he got his wish... We love our Brewers. The Maryvale clubhouse got a whole lot more crowded on Monday. None of the Brewers projected positional starters were there on Saturday, the day pitchers and catchers were required to report, but they were all there early Monday. The group included the entire infield of first baseman Prince Fielder, second baseman Rickie Weeks, shortstop Hardy and third baseman Bill Hall, plus left fielder Ryan Braun, center fielder Mike Cameron and right fielder Corey Hart. Cameron barely made it. He originally was scheduled to arrive from Atlanta early Sunday afternoon, but a series of flight delays meant he did not land in the Valley until early Monday morning. Cameron finally arrived at 4 a.m. MT, then had to wake up at 8 a.m. for his physical at Maryvale Baseball Park. When Cameron arrived and saw so many hitters already in camp, he decided to take part in the workout. "I figured I would do it while my adrenaline was still going," he said. "The whole team was here! I even checked my calendar to make sure I had the [report] dates right." Cameron won't be available on Opening Day because of a suspension but is expected to get the majority of starts in center field. All three of the leading candidates to man that position in April -- Gabe Gross, Tony Gwynn, Jr. and Gabe Kapler -- are also in camp already. Position players are not required to report until Friday. Veteran infielder Craig Counsell and Minor League infielders Ozzie Chavez and Alcides Escobar have yet to arrive. The team is waiting for paperwork from the U.S. government for Chavez and Escobar.

Can I go home yet?

I’m tired. Despite being home with C-man all day yesterday, and C-man complaining that he couldn’t eat because it hurt too much, and despite C-man constantly sticking his finger in his mouth and complaining of the pain, it took until I got home to stick a flashlight in the kid’s mouth to realize he needed to go to the doctor. Urgicare #1 had an hour and a half wait. We went to urgicare #2. Got in and out, and raced to the pharmacy 5 minutes before it closed. Then we went home, wrestled an overtired C-man to the ground to get his antibiotics (which Walgreens couldn’t get me registered for my insurance for, so I had to pay $40 for) into him, and then try to calm him down enough to go to sleep. That was about 11:00 p.m. Ugh. I’m tired. On the up-side, I voted this morning. Beerman and I took C-man with us to the polls and let him put the ballots into the machine. Then we got stickers. I love voting. I went again with my co-worker. I didn’t vote, of course, but liked it anyhow. Go Huckabee!

Monday Madness

For Grandma P:

Beerman stayed home with C-man today. I went to work. Happy Monday.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

Okay, so much for our 12" of snow. It's freaking raining out! Okay, it's supposed to freeze and turn to sleet and then snow later tonight. But Mark clearly didn't say it was going to be like THIS. Yesterday we did our fun outdoor stint. Well, we came home and C-man wanted to sleep on Beerman's lap. He woke up with a raging fever. I said more than a few inappropriate swears. Clearly, he had a bug brewing, but I surely didn't help it by dragging him outside to go sledding. So the Bad Mom award goes to me. Nice going, eh? Today's the Daytona 500. Boogety-boogety-boogety-Redneck Heaven!

The Sun is Shining!!!

The sun is shining, my nose doesn't freeze upon impact with outdoors, my body feels pretty darned good (well, except for the cold, but that's minor)... WOW! After going to breakfast, we all went to the playground to play.

Cough cough

This cold sucks. I'm sneezing, coughing, wheezing, and generally just infecting others with this crap. Ugh. And of course, tonight is the one night a quarter C-man's daycare is open late so Beerman and I can go out. I, of course, am still going out. After all, dinner and beer is still dinner and beer! Enjoy your weekend. Sunday will officially put us in the top 5 snowiest Milwaukee winters ever. I can't wait.

Happy Day of Love

Woo-hoo Wednesday

Another 2 - 4 inches of snow today. It's to the point that I don't ask whether it is going to snow, just if it's going to be so much that I need to stay home from work.

Beerman finished my SAD lamp last night. I'll take a picture of me in front of it and post it when I use it tonight. It's pretty slick. I didn't even ask how late he stayed up finishing it, the sweet thing. But I'm going to get HAPPY!

Valentines Day is tomorrow. That's cool. Since I've put the family on a budget, we aren't doing big stuff. No giant bouquets of flowers. Sniff. And it's MY FAULT! Sniff. I've got Valentines to go to C-man's friends at school. His daycare is doing one of its late nights on Friday, so Beerman and I will go out to eat and have a beer, which I'm excited about.

Another really exciting thing is it's Day 2 of C-man being in Pull-Ups and telling us and his teachers when he has to go. He has been doing it at home, but hates to go at school. So I am almost scared to say anything in case he reverts back to refusing to go on the potty entirely like he has been the last month. But he is choosing to do this, after having always refused to even put any Pull-Ups on, and getting excited about doing this. So I'm crossing my fingers and hoping it's just the right time for him. Just trying to find the line between pushing him too hard so he reverts and just enough so we keep going. Oh, the joys...

And finally, C-man won the picture of the month on The Morning Blend last month. It's all framed up, and they're going to show it during the first segment on the air tomorrow. So if you're local, be sure to watch at 9 a.m.

************

I know I'm a left-leaning liberal, but even I'm annoyed by Huckabee's decision to stay in the race. I mean, really? How can you call yourself a member of a party when all you're doing is continuing to divide it? And who is still voting for this joker? Don't get me wrong, I find it spit my tea out funny that the Republicans are looking like the Democrats these days, but he's still annoying nonetheless.

SAD Day

I've decided I want a SAD light. This sunlessness is killing me. Beerman has decided he can build one better and cheaper. Well, so far, we're at about the same price, he's been gone for 2/12 hours in addition to the hour we went to get the stuff this morning, and it's not built yet. Sigh... I just want sunlight.

Snow Day

10" - 14" of the goodness means C-man and I are staying put. No school, no work, no ash service... just movies, knitting, and games. Well, all that in-between cleaning up Rileydog's barf sessions. The moron found and ate a lighbulb last night!

10 a.m.

2:30 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

This picture is taken about 30 minutes after Beerman arrived home with the 1999 Dodge Avenger, which has about 6" of clearance, and attempted to drive into the driveway. Um, no.

Super Fat Radar-Watching Tuesday

Today, I will be eating my paczkis while watching the weather radar bring in up to 14" of snow while checking cnn.com for the latest exit poll results. What a day. Tomorrow, I will be giving up coffee and chocolate. Yikes!

Super Monday

Wow, Monday already. Where does it go? We had a pretty good weekend. Saturday was about hanging out. I got my hair cut, met with a friend for breakfast, and had a pretty decent day. I started knitting a new project – a sweater for me. It might take me until next winter to finish, but whatever. I’m learning to cable. Sunday we went to our cooking class. It was great fun. When isn’t it great when the bottle of red wine opens at 10:30 a.m. and keeps flowing until 3 p.m.? We made shrimp-leek soup, deviled curry, sea bass tangine with cauliflower puree, and white chocolate pepper cake with crème fraiche and Moroccan Lemons. After the class, we rested our bellies, and then went to our neighbor’s house for the SuperBowl. Beerman won a couple of quarters, which worked out pretty well. He doesn’t need his allowance this week. :-) So, it’s Monday again. I refuse to let Mother Nature get me down, although she is pretty bone-crushingly good at it today. I'm headed to the Marquette v. Louisville game tonight. Hopefully Marquette can turn around it's slump and pull one out. So Ring out a Hoya! Enjoy your week!

The sweater I have to bribe my child to wear...

It's nowhere near perfection, has a wide neck designed to be worn with a button-down collared shirt, and he's wearing it lopsidedly for the photos. but here are photos of my first official sweater and the sobbing child who is supposed to happily wear it. No, I had to bribe him with a sucker to put it on, because he "doesn't like fuzzies!"

I'm agreeing with Rush?

Rush Limbaugh said Wednesday McCain's rise was the product of a 'fractured' conservative base and an "uninspiring" GOP presidential field. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually agree with Rush Limbaugh! I think I'm going to start saying some prayers, because the apocolypse is here. ******************* I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow. God, I love that. The head massage is the best. ******************* Beerman and I are taking a cooking class on Sunday - Flavors of the Spice Route. I really hope it's a good time.

You're On Notice

A Moment of Silence, please...

Hopefully, we'll see you as Obama's VP choice. Anything less would break my heart. ************************ As if -4 weren't enough, it's another extreme day of pain. This weather pattern needs to move on, and soon!

This Day Sucks More Than A Blackhole

So accuweather.com has a few indices outside of the weather. One happens to be the arthritis index. This is today’s, just in case last night’s 1 a.m. – 4:30 a.m. I’m-going-out-of-my-mind-because-I-feel-like-my-bones-are-crushing-in-on-themselves horror wasn’t enough for me: Another appropriate depiction of how I feel would be this: ******************** In other news, there's a rumor going around that NKOTB will have a reunion tour. Some are complaining it won't be official because Danny won't be there. All I've got to say is... Danny Who? So I think I will pass, with my dignity intact and my pants unrolled at my ankles.

Happy Birthday Harry!

For 42, he sure is spry...

Pink Eyes of Elephants

C-man is home today with pink eye. So between trying to work (this is the craziest week of work - one day off is killing me), putting drops in his eyes every 2 hours (which makes him giggle hysterically, so he closes his eyes, making the task impossible and even more hysterical) and making Play-doh elephants, I'm putting the term "multitasking" to its test. On the good side, I'm able to get a bunch of laundry done I wasn't able to get to this weekend. I know, lame, but it makes me happy to have it done. I think if his eyes clear up enough so he doesn't look like a drug addict, I might take him to Lowes so he can run around a bit and burn off this energy.

This Hurts

C-man blessedly slept in until 8 a.m. today. Too bad he didn't feel like sleeping from 1 a.m. - 4 a.m. Gee, that would have been swell. But apparently I ask for too much these days, so I am going with the "take what I can get" theory. Did I mention that despite going to Urgicare 2 days ago because he was getting an ear infection and being turned away, he woke up with gunky eyes and ears today? Ugh... Beerman is on his way to the game. I'm very happy he's going, because it's something he loves to do. But selfishly, I keep thinking "Oh God, any day but today". I have been left behind in my own puddle of pity and pain while my 2 year old does the "Mom-Mom-Mommy-look at this Mommy-Come here Mommy-You can be Princess Presto and I'll be Super Why-Let me sit on your lap Mommy-Mommy-Mom-Mom-Mommy-Let's play backhoes-Where's my smoothie rock-Let's play baseball-Mommy you can be Bandit and I'll be Spirit..." So I am putting myself back in the running for Parent of the Year and letting him watch not just 20 minutes of Super Why, but an hour, while I somehow try to get some laundry clean for the week. I don't even feel like I've got a rope left to hang on to anymore. Go Pack Go!

Da-da-duh-da-da-duh-duh-Go-Pack-Go!

Go Pack Go!

I love Ryan Grant.

Beerman will be at the game tomorrow. C-man has been sobbing because he wants to go too. I told him, with -15 windchill, we'll have a much better seat at home with popcorn. He's not entirely convinced, although the mention of popcorn pushed the sobs to whimpers. Meanwhile, Beerman is pulling out all his hunting clothes, trying to figure out which combination of layers will make him warm. I told him, "none of them".

I need to get groceries tomorrow because we're out of fresh stuff. It's so cold, I just might have to not do that, though. Brrr!

I watched the Namesake today. The book is so fabulous, I've read it numerous times. It's always hard to make something that good on paper something worthwhile in film. I think Beerman got tired of me explaining "what they missed".

Beerman is heading to South Carolina later this week. At least he'll be warm.

Stay warm!

P.S. I'm pretty sure I'm in love with Ryan Grant.

Grrrr... Car Seats

C-man is 38 lbs. Yes, this puts him in the 90th percentile for weight. (He's 88th percentile for height, so it's at least right both ways). That makes him 2 lbs. from being at the limit of every reasonable car seat. So what are our options?

A) Put him in a booster seat 1 full year before it's legal.

B) Keep him in his current seat and just be over the limit.

C) Purchase an overpriced Britax car seat that goes to 65 lbs.

We chose option C: Does this look like $300 to you? Now really, $300 for a damned car seat?!? You've got to be frickin' kidding me!! So for drills, I looked at what a 40 lb. 4 year old (the age at which you can legally, and supposedly safely, go into a booster seat) comes out in the percentiles. It's the 70th percentile. So yes, an above-average big kid, even at 4. However, that means 30% of boys are over the limit of almost every single car seat out there. So ridiculous, I can't even express myself.

Political Musings

As far as I'm concerned, the Republicans can continue to duke it out over who is better... Jesus or Joe Smith. Because I, for one, am solidly in love with John Edwards. And my favorite moment to date occured 3:33 into the interview with George today. Go John Go!

Jennifer's Picks

Yes, I know, I'm not Oprah. But I figure if she can pick her top things she likes from the previous month, so can I.

Kiss My Face Lavender Lotion

Paraben-free, good smelling, and works really well

Super Why!

C-mans favorite show. It makes him LOVE books. We have to record it because it's on at 9 a.m. on PBS, but that's okay. Last night he even ate dinner because we said it was the only way he could watch it. Now THAT'S something!

Silver Palate Cookbook

If you don't have this one in your arsenal, get it yesterday. It's fabulous.

Simply Vera Vera Wang pajamas

So comfy, you'll never get out of them

Homedics Back Massager with Heat

My back has been killing me. This is the only way I can sit up straight at night.

TGIF

C-man's picture won the photo of the month award. So we get his picture professionally framed. That's pretty cool. My back is beyond killing me. I haven't slept more than 1 hour at a time in a week. If my back doesn't kill me, the lack of sleep sure is. But, it's the weekend. And we have no plans. That is the only thing that's going to save me. I am so excited, I can hardly contain myself.

Happy 2008!

Last night, C-man had his first official, traditional New Years Eve fondue. It was a giant hit. Well, the cheese or hotdogs being dipped. The broccoli... not so much:

And of course, I'm not one of those people to say, "I don't make resolutions". I LOVE New Years resolutions. So here are my top 3:

• CREATE A HOUSEHOLD BUDGET. (I know, I know, we should HAVE one already. But that's precisely the problem! I hate the finances. Beerman hates the finances. So we're just lucky enough to have enough to not worry about it. But with an impending job loss this year, this is beyond foolish. So I'm creating a budget we can live with and stick to.)
• LEARN THE GUITAR. (I've wanted to do this for years. So 2008 is the year that I get on it and learn how to play.)
• SECRET. (Yes, I shouldn't have a blog and have secrets too. But trust me, I've got a third resolution that I can't publicize. Maybe someday I'll let you in on it. Then again, maybe not. But it's my 3rd one, and I'll do it.)