Happy Birthday

Welcome to the world, sweet Ava. ****************** Word to the wise... don't go to State Fair at 7 a.m. Whoa. A lot of corndogs, monkey tails, pork sandwiches, caramel apples, and other things can be ingested that probably shouldn't when you start that early. And just one more bit of advice: After eating said things, it's probably best to NOT race down the super slide. On the good side, we collected loads of food for Hunger Taskforce, which really was the reason for it all. ****************** Frickin' Brewers. ****************** I needed a new mascara, and ended up buying this while at the local CVS. It is quite possibly the worst mascara ever made. That's what I get for going cheapo. I need to go buy a different kind before my eyelashes permanently glue shut.

Jesus in Cat Fur

You know how I love these crazy Jesus "sightings". I think this one might be better than the tortilla. Maybe even better than the dirty window. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2008/07/30/stang.holy.cat.wndu

Concerns about Health

First they condone terrorism, and now they're going healthy? What the hell?!

So what's not going healthy? Wisconsin State Fair, baby! T - 1 Day and counting. Tomorrow morning I will be there at 7 a.m. to pack food boxes for Hunger Task Force until noon. And then it's corn dogs, buttery corn, pork sandwiches, monkey tails, and macaroni and cheese on a stick until I drop! (Yes, that's right, mac and cheese on a stick - it's this year's newest entry to the "on a stick" foods) We have our 4 tickets, (purchased in April when the tickets were only $4 each) so after my initial pigout tomorrow, I will have 2 more chances to roll in the pig racing (and swimming this year, apparently), horse pulling, cow auctioning, baby birthing, dancing on the picnic tables 'til I fall off fun.

Campaignin'

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And the Coffee is NOT Helping...

I'm ornery. I mean really ornery. One of my people called in sick this morning, and I was annoyed. What the hell is wrong with me? The poor girl is fricking sick?!?

I'm exhausted in a way sleep doesn't seem to help. This week my body is hurting so bad, even my skin hurts. When I look at everything left undone around me because I just can't do it, I want to give up and cry. But I don't, because when I stop, it's still there. And because then Beerman has to do it all.

Here's hoping for higher pressure and moods. I'm going to go into my corner and sulk now.

Growing Power

Summer Lovin'...

A perfect day with a perfectly wonderful summer dinner eaten outside of to-die-for ribs, fresh farmers' market corn, a beet-goat cheese tower and fresh garden microgreens: In case you missed the beat tower with goat cheese rolled in fresh herbs (thyme, parsley and chives) drizzled with a balsamic reduction sauce on a bed of fresh microgreens from the garden with fresh strawberry viniagrette, here it is close up: (can you tell I did that part?) This was C-man's take on the whole thing:

Say What?

While angry at me for not giving him cheese with his dinner: "You may NOT come to my wedding!" Clearly, my little boy has been playing with too many girls at school.

Bad Commercials

Have you seen the dumb commercial for the HPV vaccine? The one with the tagline "One Less"? As if the vaccine itself weren't garbage enough, with all kinds of ill side-effects now appearing in girls who are getting it, they have to say "One Less" in their commercials? Come on, marketing people. When referring to a number of things in English, we say "Fewer".

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

And don't get me started on the Secret commercial. How many times do we have to look at the chick with the really ugly shirt show her pits? It grosses me out every time. And then she sniffs them. EW!

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

And C-man's response to every Victoria's Secret commercial, "Mommy, why are they naked?"

Amber Stick Alert

Here's my public service message of the day. If you have children, buy an Amber Stick.

It's a simple USB flash drive that costs around $30. (It can be as high as $60, but shop around). It houses the Amber Alert program with space for you to input all the specific data and photos in the order and format the police need it if your kid went missing. You can put children, adults, and even pets on it.

So why would someone do this? Because if something horrible were to happen, they estimate this little doohickey gets the search out 2 hours faster than if you didn't have it. I'm not an overly paranoid parent, but every time I see the Amber Alert warnings on the electronic highway boards, my stomach rises into my throat and my heart stops. It makes $30 seem like a no-brainer. So stop reading, and go buy it!

Do I Just Look Stoopid?

I have 38,000 miles on my Dodge Grand Caravan that I didn't want to buy in the first place. At 35,000 miles, a bunch of bells, whistles and lights went off on it. So I took it in. I'm quite positive the dealer replaced WAY more than necessary because it was paid for, but I didn't care, because, well, it was paid for. So at 38,000 miles, another light comes on - Check Engine. And we experience a periodic chugging - similar to a car tire going flat. So, I took it in. And this is the call I get: Tanya "Jennifer, this is Tanya. Your car has a faulty EGR valve, which is an emissions valve that is sucking in too much gas. (And got replaced at 36,000 miles in my car too!) It's caused by the type of gas we have in this area. (I tend to believe it's also caused by a crappy supplier part to Chrysler, but that's a different issue.) I can call Chrysler to see about replacing it, but need to guarantee that you've properly maintained your vehicle. So for $180, I can do a completely unnecessary cleaning of your vehicle and then call them to guarantee that you've been maintaining your vehicle." Me "How about you just call Chrysler, tell them that these lights were going off before the warranty expired and you didn't fix them then." Tanya "Our experience has been that calling them without any record of your maintenance will not work." Me "Well, just call them, and I'll hear back with you when they agree to do it." Do I look that stoopid? Maybe if I hadn't worked for Chrysler for 5 years, I wouldn't be so understanding of their warranty policies. But really? Do they really get people to do this crap? Bottom line, I have to pay labor, which I totally expected, and they're covering the valve, and I'm going to tell Tanya to go to hell. Now isn't that nice. The good news? With a brand new EGR valve, my mileage will go up! Woo-hoo!

Thoughts on Thursday

"Mommy, I dreamed about baseball, farms, and Super Why!" What a way to wake up. And yes, that baseball glove was on all night long.

Reactions

So it's funny how people react to things. It never fails... when someone dies, someone gets certifiable crazy at the funeral. When there's a wedding, someone has to act up to steal the show. And I've just learned that when you get promoted, you learn quite a bit about those around you. While some are truly and genuinely happy (like Beerman who declared "first one to 100 wins!"), some get jealous. Since I hadn't counted on the promotion actually coming through, I wasn't prepared for it. And now that it's here, I have a lot of feelings from other people to deal with. It has taught me, once again, the importance of grace regardless of the situation. But on the amazing side, it's also shown me who is on my side. Always a good thing to know. ****************** I have personal training tonight. It's always interesting to see the amazing ways Trainer Chris has devised since the previous week how to torture me. ****************** My hair was such a wreck, I called and made an appointment with a random woman yesterday. Wow, do I feel better now!

I Got Options

Lots and lots of stock options. And bonus. And salary increase. Woo-hoo, this girl just got a promotion! Dare I say it -- 2008 is starting to go my way... ************* Happy Birthday R-Man!

I Don't Want You to Wear Pants!

C-man woke up with a smile on his face that lasted for about 2 seconds. He then looked at me and cried, "I don't want you to wear pants! I don't want it to be Monday!" My sentiments exactly, bucko. ************** It's cherry season. I love cherries, in spite of the fact that Beerman can't eat them due to his weird allergy to all fruits with pits. Anyhow, C-man and I have been eating them like they're going out of style. And I've been getting stained fingers and fingernails that nothing but time seems to take care of. Yes, that's pretty professional, by the way. Let me shake your hand. But don't look at my hands, because they look like I've been changing car oil all weekend. So yesterday, I made a quick stop at B B and Beyond after grocery shopping at got this. Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! For a family who has an asparagus peeler, 6 colanders and 2 salad spinners, you'd think we'd have had one already. Oh well...

How do I get those 2 hours of my life back?

C-man got invited to a friend's birthday party. And they never served the adults. Not.Anything. We were in the disgusting humidity during the hottest 2 hours of the day. There was no food. No water. No soda. No nothing. Well, there were 2 dads there, and they both got offered beers. But the moms - nothing. The kids got some food and juice, but not even water or milk. Then they had the 3 year old girl open her presents at the end of the party. In case you didn't catch that, it was a party of 3 year olds... and she was opening her gifts in front of them while they were expected to sit on a blanket in front of her. Who out there thinks THAT is a good idea? If it hadn't been in the exact middle of the day, I wouldn't have resented it so much... but wow! So I raced home, starving, ornery and hot. Thank God I'm over it now.

Got some oil for those creaks?

Wow, I woke up about 3 a.m. and knew this was going to be a doozy of a day. We made it to the farmers' market, albeit in the rain. We played some baseball with the neighbor kid... in the rain. We watched 2 movies today (Waitress, which gets an A- from me and Valiant, which was terrible, but C-man liked it) to stay out of the rain. You get the picture of our day? ************ Our minivan hit 38,000 miles this week. The engine light came on and now it's making this awful clunking noise. Awesome... 2000 miles past the warranty going out. Just what I need is one more piece of shit costing me too much time and money in my life. ARGGHHH! ************ Tomorrow a kid in C-man's class is having a birthday party. I ended up getting her this based on what some friends with girls suggested.

Babies and Stuff

So a friend is in labor. And I find myself totally thrilled for her. It's absolutely what she wants. Well, the baby, not the labor. However, every time someone goes through this, I find a pit in my own stomach as I re-live my own experience. C-man's at the age that people who do and don't know me now feel it's appropriate to begin asking one of the most personal questions possible - "When are you going to have another?" or just as bad, "Are you going to have another?" I then find myself in an awful quandry. Do I explain my year? Do I detail my personal health history? Do I try to tell them how awful it is to be confronted with the decision between trying to save my own health or create the life of a new one? Do I explain the fear of it going like the last one did - with me being sick, alone, and supportless, yet this time with a toddler? Do I talk about Beerman's impending job loss? Because if I do say any of this, I get an opinion. Like, "It won't be like that this time," or "Just feed him formula," or "Then you shouldn't have another," or "People make it on less than what you make every day." All pretty helpful, by the way. Sigh... I truly am happy when others find their joy in their new little bundles. I just need to find a way to not let it take me down the path of bad thoughts every time. So only good thoughts out to her and all the others who go her way...

Favorite Things

Wrinkle Eraser On a whim during a day that I was looking particularly sleep-deprived and haggard (yes, even more than my usual self), I bought this. I had an $8 coupon, so justified it with that. And I've got to say, as long as you don't mind the thick feel of it, or rub after you've applied it (because I might have discovered that makes you look like you're molting), it does the trick pretty well. It plumps up the ol' wrinkles without all the Botox needles or orangeness. And at night, you just wash it all away. Brilliant. ******************** Blog For those foodies out there, this is one of my favorite food blogs. Yes, he's talking about food in Paris, but he makes it sound so perfect, I feel like I want to go. ******************** Joke My favorite joke of the day, courtesy of the Borowitz Report: A Christian, a Jew and Barack Obama are in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean. Barack Obama says, "This joke isn't going to work because there's no Muslim in this boat." ******************** Book The Alchemist is one of my all-time favorite books. It was given to me as a going-away gift from a good friend when I left my year as an exchange student, and I read it on the plane ride home. I've since read it in English too, and it translates pretty well. (Although not perfectly. Then again does anything ever?) Coelho is a Brazilian, and I actually got to meet him once. Funny, since at the time, I had no idea he was a complete literary genius, and just thought he was one more crackpot coming to speak at my school. Ahhh, young foolishness. ******************** TV Show(s) I'm completely addicted to So You Think You Can Dance! It's way better than those other call-in shows. And the best part is that C-man loves it when Nigel speaks. Although, I was pained that they allowed Comfort to come back because Jessica was hurt. Then again, the hip-hop routine with Twitch was pretty cool. Not that any of it matters. Will's a shoe-in to win it all. PS, I'm also a Mole addict, much to Beerman's chagrin. The fat guy is TOTALLY the mole. Either that, or the woman. But my money's on Fattie. ******************** Something to do with your life How awesome is this guy! http://www.vimeo.com/1211060

Happy Birthday, Beautiful!

Oooh la la... Posing prettily: Walking tall...

I don't know what's bigger: my glasses or your hair. Hello 1992!

Is it Friday yet?

C-man took his Corey Hart poster from Sunday's Brewers game to school yesterday. Everywhere he went, he had to put it up. It was on the windows, on the fridge, in his hands... I took a picture to show how beat up it is, but the photo doesn't do it justice. What a funny little kid. *********** I had personal training last night. Trainer Chris is going to kill me. I'm certain of it. I'm actually paying a man to kill me. At one point he said, "I'm going to push you until you're ready to quit tonight." While I didn't vocalize it (because that would have meant a most certain death) I thought, 'How 'bout now?' Anyhow, my legs were still wobbly when I went to bed last night. I'm great today though, which means tomorrow's going to kill me! *********** And Brett Favre... you are dead to me.

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities

Brewers 3, Reds 2

Happy at the game:And this is my parents. It's about as close as we got, since they called when they got here, and then when we showed up over an HOUR before the game to meet them where we were told they'd be, they were ALREADY IN THEIR SEATS!Singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame": We decided today that he'd try running the bases after the game with absolutely NO help from Mom or Dad (and I thought I'd ignore the punkass 15 year olds who tried to stop me from taking photos as my proud kid crossed the finish line, hence the poor finish to the video as I'm beeing shooed away from the field): Proudly crossing home plate: Anyone you know stand like this?

Who needs a new cookbook?

I have loads of cookbooks. Jacques Pepin, Lydia Bastianovich, Rick Bayless, Culinary Institute, Look and Cook... but there are a few of my old faithfuls when it comes to "home cookin'". Fanny May is one of those. As I brought it out today to make one of the last strawberry shortcakes of the season (my farmers market lady told me it was the very end), I realized that the book is dead ready for retirement.

Hockey Chants?

So yesterday, C-man came home chanting "We want a goalie-goalie, not a roly-poly!" Nice to know that my child is now using his expensive daycare time to learn chants to taunt the hockey goalies in the upcoming season. *************** I've decided if we're in a mental recession, I want to be mentally rich with a mentally enormous house and a mentally exciting well-traveled life without any mental chances of Beerman's job loss at the end of the month or any of my own mental promotions not happening because of the shitass economy. What a moron... *************** So my kid officially has a better social life than I do. He just got an invite to his 3rd birthday party within a month. I thought we had at least one more year before all this started. *************** I was all proud of myself for not writhing in pain yesterday after Wednesday night's brutal training session. Whatever. My ass hurts so much today, even sitting on my ball chair is painful. Trainer Chris is going to be the death of me. *************** Tomorrow's the farmers market. Sunday's the Brewers game with CC pitching. Bring on the weekend, baby!

Things I've actually done

So I look at my giant wish list, and think, well, what HAVE you done? So here are 10 of my "I've actually done that!" moments (in no particular order):

1. Camped in a tent in below 0 weather
2. Walked up to a stranger's house, asked if I could take a shower, and then did.
3. Went to Botswana for no reason other than to get some pottery. (All while Beerman sported his "Don't be an Ass" t-shirt as we crossed the border with me who was 7 months pregnant)
4. Ran naked on a beach on a dare
5. Hang glided
6. Went on a road trip to New York and successfully got every meal for free, simply because I asked.
7. Lived for 30 days with only a backpack of items
8. Swam in the Indian Ocean
9. Had a kid
10. Crashed a winery open house party in Nova Scotia

Wishful Wednesday

As my favorite saying goes, you can wish in one hand and... Anyhow, a few things I wish to do:

• Throw a snowball on Mt. Kilimanjaro
• Watch the running of the bulls (not actually participate, mind you. Have you see these crazies get trampled?
• See a penguin in Antartica
• Attend Saint Week in Rome
• Sail the Greek Isles (or Turkey, I'm not really that picky)
• Find 100 geocaches

Only one way to go

When your day starts by stepping in dogshit while you go to compost a pineapple that you discovered in the dungeon of the fridge that's so old it's actually grown a personality, it can only get better from here... Then again, the front hasn't moved and the rain is coming again...

You get unlimited votes

#1 on his jersey, #1 in our Hart!!! You get unlimited votes, and need to do it by Thursday. So get on it!

I get it now

So the sky turned to night, and we've been getting blasted with rain. THAT'S why I've been immobile for 2 frickin' days. Maybe I should start checking noaa.gov a bit more often instead of looking at my barometer perplexed. ******************************** In sporting news, how cool is this? I got the fever, baby!

Do I have to?

Sundays after a long weekend stink. Groceries, laundry, vacuuming... none of that's any fun. It'd be easier if I could frickin' move my hands, neck or back. I don't understand what's going on, since it's not raining or threatening to. I guess some days just aren't mine. Sigh... at least the weekend was fun.

Just getting funner...

I don't know what's the best about today... bacon and pancake breakfast? Farmers market churro (C-man) and strawberries (me)? Playground fun? Loads of fresh herb garden tarragon on our chicken salad lunch? Slipping and sliding? We have plans for a steak dinner and s'more fire later on... This day's just getting "funner". I love summer.

The Bombs Bursting in Air...

Happy 4th!

Day's Report Card

Nail Tech Tanya: A FYI: Orange nails are in, and she was sooo right. I love them. Sex and the City: B- I think I yawned at least twice, and not once did I cry or even feel a lump in my throat despite everyone telling me I would 10 times. Spooking the baby robins out of their nests: F- I feel so terrible. They could fly, so I'm hoping the crows I saw in the yard were there on some crow convention, and not for my baby robins. I accidentally moved the grapevine, and they freaked out. New Slip and Slide: A While this might be better in theory than reality, I can't wait until we can use it tomorrow. Seeing a mouse scurry to my basement: F Ew, ew, ew! What the hell are these dogs for anyhow? (See previous post for answer) C-man pooping on the potty at school AGAIN today: A+ Not having to work today: A+ No explanation necessary.

Thursday Thought

Why lie on the floor when there's a couch?

Rock the Vote

If you haven't hit Ryan Braun the mandatory 25 times, today's your last chance... He's neck and neck with the Cubs. Boo Cubs. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2008/ballot_pop.html?partnerId=emilbn07022008 ****************** I have the day off tomorrow. Delicious. I'm scheduled for a manicure and pedicure in the AM. I'm hoping to get to Sex and the City for a matinee. And maybe take a nap. Last night Beerman had the gall to say, "You're going to the village hall for a couple of hours to get our blueprints, right?" Ugh. I don't see him taking a vacation day for this. Anyhow, that's how my day's shaking out. And I can't wait. Well, except for the village hall part. That'll be a drag. But the rest is looking to be fabulous. I hope it is, because I've been pretty depressed lately, and need a little pick-me-up.

2008... You're Mine!

So 2008, you're half-over. And I'm taking no more shit from you. No bad medical stuff. No more natural disasters that affect my roof or basement. No more threats of lost jobs or lack of promotions due to the economy or mergers. 2008, I've taken quite enough of you. No more crap. Period. It's time you bucked up and gave me something good. Because you're officially on notice.