Mouths of Babes

So, as I mentioned before ... Emily went camping with the Brownies last weekend. When I got back from the Philly Phantoms hockey game (with Joe and Matthew), I checked the messages. As you can imagine, I just about burst into tears when I heard this.

And then (on a much happier note) while I was making dinner tonight, Emily was flying Matthew's Optimus Prime all around the kitchen. "I am the leader of all the Transformables! (sic) I have many powers ... I can fly, I'm very strong ... and I have my own restaurant!"

At this I looked up, "What? Is Optimus Prime part hot dog stand?"

"No," she replied without pausing from zooming around, "Optimus Prime Pizzeriaaaaaa!!!!"

I almost spit in the Stove Top stuffing.

--End--

Very Funny Lady

Just have to put a quick link out here. This is my friend Josette. She and I met online on a Pregnancy Board dedicated to women having babies in June 2001 (and coincidentally we also each had a baby in March 1999 ... I did not, however, join her in having a baby last August).

She is a seriously wonderful writer, and incidentally a fantastic actress, as well. Hilarious, heartfelt and wonderful. Please, if you have any time (if there are, in fact, any of "you" out there at all), go read Josette's blog. Time utterly well spent, I promise you.

--End--

Oh Dear...

As if I don't already have enough negative body image issues. Now they go and develop one of these.

--End--

Busy-ish Weekend

So Emily leaves tonight for a weekend of cabin camping with the Brownies. One of the Juniors troops nearby is going to teach the younger girls how to make a Buddy Burner, cook in a box stove, etc.

And, Matthew is going with the Cub Scouts (and Joe) to the Philadelphia Phantoms game tonight. It's Teddy Bear Toss night. When the Phantoms score their first goal, everyone's supposed to toss a new teddy bear or stuffed animal onto the ice for donation to local children's charities.

Added after the game -- I decided to go to the game and it was a really great time. We cracked up numerous times as handfuls of stuffed critters were flung onto the ice when the opposing team scored their first two goals. The poor announcer, "Please refrain from throwing bears at this time. The Phantoms may be penalized if this continues. Please refrain at this time." Finally with 25 seconds left in the game the Phantoms nearly scored (the closest they came all night). Out came the bears ... like a blizzard of them. The announcer started again, "Please, ladies and gentlemen ... er ... I have word from the officials, go ahead and throw your bears." Wheeeeee!!!! (Can I mention how hard it is to loft a small fluffy toy from the mid-300 level of the Spectrum all the way to the ice?)

Then for the rest of the weekend they're going to perfect his "Pinewood Herbie." Joe took it to the Post Office this morning for a weigh-in and it's apparently 4+ ounces too heavy. Eek! So, there's some drilling and gouging in Herbie's future.

As for me ... I haven't decided if I'm going to go to the movies by myself tonight and relish my solitude. Or, maybe I'll get bored and lonely and I'd rather take some friends up on their offer of a spare ticket to the Phantoms game tonight. Haven't really decided yet, actually.

Mostly I'd rather be going to the movies with Joe.

--End--

Tweet, Tweet

So my contribution to the Great Backyard Bird Count is 1 hairy woodpecker, 8 juncos, 2 house sparrows, 6 tufted titmice, 3 chickadees, 2 cardinals (both female), 1 nuthatch, 1 downy woodpecker, and 1 wren.

We're leaving in about an hour, so I only spent about half an hour sitting and watching and counting. So I don't think that's too shabby for a couple of feeders of sunflower seeds.

Hey ... does anyone have a trick for keeping thistle seed fresh in a goldfinch feeder? Mine always gets damp and moldy at the bottom and then the finches stop coming.

--End--

Aurora Voldemortealis

This recent aurora pic from SpaceWeather seems more like a Dark Mark from The Goblet of Fire than any naturally occuring phenomenon.

Oooooh ... spooky!

--End--


ps. Off to the Poconos for the weekend of snow tubing, see ya Monday!

Inside Joke

Guess what I made for Joe for Valentine's Day?
(hint: we already have a tan van ...)

Snow Geese

In other news, I see a scene just like this most days on my way either to or from work.

Crabby Whiny Rant

First of all, forgive me.

I know I should be thankful to have a job. Even half a job. But it's just not enough of a job.

Our washing machine died ... there's 700 bucks. Our TV is dying / dead ... replacing it will be around a thousand bucks. Our sofa and loveseat are stained, ratty, falling apart ... ??? (reupholstering or replacing would run another thousand or so?)

Our credit card balance is higher than it was a year ago.

I just want to feel like we're moving ahead instead of sitting still, or worse yet ... moving backwards.

And then I feel guilty for feeling bummed. I mean, we're all healthy, we're warm and fed and clothed.

Anyway ...

--End--

Wanna Help?

Emily is working toward selling 400 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. She really wants the incentive for that level -- the lovely and fluffy Blossom Bunny from Build-a-Bear workshop. She's up to 350-some boxes sold already.

So ... anyone want some Thin Mints?

--End--

Super Ads

So we're thinking we'll watch the Super Bowl on a delay tonight. Not to skip the commercials and time-outs and penalty pauses, like we did for the whole rest of the football season (you can watch a 4-hour football broadcast in about and hour and a half and still get everything you'd really want).

Rather, we may just skip the football and watch the commercials and half-time show. Hee!

--End--

ps. Making nachos, Italian sausage sandwiches, and Rice Krispies treats!

Laundering ... on a Jet Plane

So our washer recently died a rather thorough death. We bravely disassembled it hoping something would have a Post-It flag stuck to it, "Fix this part, it's only $12.95." But alas ... dismantling the broken washing machine only led to it appearing even more, well ... broken. After a phone call to Dad and a couple more to the Kenmore Repair folks, we decided investing significant amounts of money in a new washer made more sense than investing slightly less significant amounts of money on the old one.

So ... now we own our first Front Loading Washer. What a difference. I've already run 4 loads in the thing, and it's quieter, using less detergent and fascinating the children for entire minutes on end. "Look, there's Bun-Bun!" Then ... the thing kicks into high gear. The clothes are quickly plastered to the sides of the drum like we were in the old Gravitron ride at Conneaut Lake Park. "Wow," Joe commented, "OK, now I'm impressed."

But, that's not all! Starting to whine like an F-16 warming up, the washer really kicks it up a notch. VOOMP! All the clothes are reduced to a grey smooshed blur all around the sides of the drum. What appeared to be a generously full load of clothes mere moments before is now flattened so that it nearly seems to be spinning entirely empty. The water just streams across the glass (way more of it than I'd though would still be in the clothes after spinning for 5 minutes at a more moderate pace). Soon it winds down and the almost-dry-feeling clothes are ready for the (greatly diminished) time in the dryer.

Go, Frigidaire! Who knew you made such nifty non-refrigerating appliances?

--End--