Updates

>> Friday, February 29, 2008

Just following up on:


The Roomba is STILL wonderful; 'she' has become a valued and beloved member of the family.

  We have nearly worked her to death, but Amazon has promised that her replacement brushes are on the way. . . she'll be like new before day's end.   

Her diligence and persistence have inspired me (for now at least), to spend the time I would have spent vacuuming (or fretting over not having vacuumed) cleaning up in other ways.  I've mopped more frequently than ever before; I've even kept the laundry up.  It's weird,  but just having someone help you makes you want to help them.  The two of us make a good team.

'Sweepstaking' - I'm keeping at it.  In December I managed 51 contest / sweepstakes entries; lost steam in January with only 34 entries, but by the end of today,  February's count should be near 50.  This may not be enough to start rolling in  mouse pads and t-shirts, but I'm giving it a few months to find out.

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Peppermint Tea

>> Monday, February 25, 2008


This is one of my new favorite teas since Red Robin has become the preferred place for an indulgent meal out.   The gourmet burger and bottomless fries are my 'usual', but even if I order the incredible chicken-apple-walnut salad, I WILL OVEREAT.  I know I'm overeating, I know I'm satiated, I know I should take half of my meal home......... but I clean my plate anyway.


So I come home feeling full and guilty.  Here comes the peppermint tea!  I really enjoy the taste of the tea, but mostly that it is traditionally used as a digestive aid, and combats that sensation of fullness.  

Then, I can still take on some of  whatever Mary is baking that night. 

(I'm going to locate my self-control soon;  I'm hoping it will start to uncover itself as soon as the weather gets warmer . . .)


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Saturdays With Sharon

>> Saturday, February 23, 2008



Sharon is my next door neighbor and friend. She is always attempting and accomplishing some major project - if she isn't adding a screened-in porch or chopping down trees or rewiring her house, she's at least going to rearrange her furniture in the living room. She almost always asks me to come over and tell her what I think of a new arrangement, and I've taken to saying (like a true friend can), "what difference does it make, it'll be totally different in about three weeks" - but I'll go over for the coffee and the company anyway, any time.




Her current project is a bird cage.....she doesn't have any birds yet but plans to acquire a couple. She had a metal cart, and is adding 'chicken' wire to it with brackets to make the cage. She is cutting branches from her backyard willow tree to set up the 'living' space. She'll get a comfortable, roomy home ready for two little birdies for about $30.



This may not seem unusual or impressive to anyone else, but as I chronicle more of her schemes, you too might notice a pattern of extraordinary capability and cleverness.



I'll keep you posted.









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ORGANIC Nail Polish

>> Wednesday, February 20, 2008




We try to EAT organic whenever we can. I'm trying more and more 'organic' skin care and makeup products......and I've finally given the nail polish a chance.


I had almost given up on regular polish anyway - it was just getting to be too much trouble. I must be extra-hard on my nails, because a manicure (self-inflicted) never held up well, and my fingernails would peel or break or have some other 'problem' that I'd spend too much time and money trying to repair. And when my polish was looking its worse was the time that I least had an opportunity to correct the situation.

Another big consideration is Christopher's sense of smell and sensitivities (allergies). He can detect the odor of regular polish a mile away and I can hear his complaints from as far. And it did make me wonder how something with such a strong odor could really really be okay........and what was being absorbed through my nails.


A couple of random magazine articles and some online research later, I decided to try two different brands of natural nail polish. 

Here's the marketing:


Conventional polish contains around 70% of chemical solvents such as toluene, xylene, acetates and alcohol. When the polish is applied, these solvents evaporate into the air, generating toxic chemical fumes ( and the lovely smell). Regular polishes also contain the harmful and potentially fatal chemical phthalate. This chemical has been proven to interfere with normal hormonal balance, and can cause birth defects and other help problems. It is a low volatile chemical (will not evaporate quickly), and eventually is absorbed by the body.

"Organic" or water based nail polish is free of these chemicals and free of formaldehyde (a carcinogenic).


I purchased polish from two different companies: Mad River Science and Suncoat. Good selections, good colors. They are applied like regular polish, but with instructions to give them longer to dry than conventional polishes. Suncoat instructed that you not 'soak nails in very hot water' within 12 hours of application. 

Good enough, until (12 hours later) I showered. After each 'manicure' with either company's polish, just a shower would  'chip'  the polish.  Again,   even regular nail polish just wasn't soap- opera durable on me, but this stuff does come off so much easier.


So my analysis, for ME, is that organic polish is a great option for a special event or evening, but simply wouldn't hold up for daily wear without several touch-ups. 

I'm updating this post (June 6 '08) to say that I'm using my Go Natural organic polish on my toes and it is holding up as well as regular polish, possibly even better.  Go figure!  I'm loving it! 

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President's Day

>> Monday, February 18, 2008


Must be the "new" Christmas.  

I had to go to Barnes and Noble to pick up a Spanish Reader the kids were supposed to have TODAY - they'd mentioned it after Spanish class last week, but failed to REMIND me.  So, instead of ordering on Amazon as I'd prefer, I was in the store.  It's Monday.  Just a little after 1pm.  It was PACKED.  There were long lines for everything:  information, check-out, and even coffee.  I thought they must be hosting a give-away or something until I realized it was President's Day and people were off work.
But I was in the store a week or so before Christmas, and it was nothing like this.  Apparently these people read, just not the newspapers:  don't they know the economy is bad and consumers have quit consuming??. . . . . 

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This One



is 17 today!

Seems like only yesterday . . .



HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTOPHER

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Bad Hair Days

>> Saturday, February 16, 2008


They happen.

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21st Century Babies...

>> Friday, February 15, 2008

...love the electronics. Charlotte has long been infatuated with remotes, cell phones, and computers.




She would LOVE for her Uncle Brandon to buy her an Apple laptop - that is her VERY favorite thing. She likes the tiny mouse, but likes the specific Apple features as well. She will scroll the mouse over the icons, and if she isn't 'lucky' on her own, she'll lean into the computer and say "cheeeeeese", and wait for us to open Photo Booth. She can then be entertained for the longest time watching herself on the screen.

She's also a gamer; and let me recommend these: for mouse play, there's nothing better than jacksonpollock. Just go crazy with the mouse, and left-click to change colors. (Print the masterpiece, and there's somebody's Christmas present. . .)

For 'banging' on the keyboard , our favorite is here, but there are a ton more at babygamer.

But she's not addicted... if she can't get any computer time, or Grandpa takes away the remotes, she's just as happy finding a secret spot to empty a box of tissues!

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Flowers and Candy

>> Thursday, February 14, 2008






I actually got those for Valentine's Day! A single red rose, and a heart-shaped box of candy (hey, he's come a l o n g way). But still, the sweetest gift came from Mary.


A homemade card, with cash in it - to buy the kind of flowers I like (- she knows that daffodils are my favorite, and we had seen some beautiful arrangements with them at Kroger).
She stayed up too late Valentine Eve working on the card; I'll declare that it was worth it!












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'Picking Up' for the Maid

>> Wednesday, February 13, 2008

I can't believe I get to be one of 'those' people: the maid is coming, so everybody pick up!



Well, only kinda sorta. Our maid is our new Roomba. It's on a schedule; at 8:30 every morning it beep beep beeps to let us know it's getting ready to go to work. . . . we grab our shoes, dog toys, etc. out of its path.



We've only had it for TWO days! but so far, so very very good. The only "complaint" I could muster is that it sometimes has trouble finding its dock.



It has picked up sooooooooo much dirt / hair / lint. I love that it will keep the 'hidden' places nasty-free: under the couch, under the cabinet, etc. Those are the places that Charlotte is often innocently sticking her hands into to retrieve some toy or animal, so now we won't all cringe and hold our breath when she does.



Now that I have one, I am close to advising that this gadget isn't really quite the extravagant luxury that it seemed; it may be as fundamental a need as a broom, mop, or washing machine!

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Dance Dance

>> Monday, February 11, 2008

This is long (five-ish minutes), but I think it is funny!  ( Maybe it is best appreciated by those of us who witnessed, participated in, or just lived through these dance phases. . . )

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Charlie Bit Me

>> Sunday, February 10, 2008

I love Charlie and his brother!

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Fifth Sunday




'Everybody' came to our house today for lunch after church. (Chili and cornbread).



We played a new game that Jessica and Matt had played before; they didn't have a "real" name for it, so we decided to call it Fifth Sunday. That is the kind of name we'll remember, because it was a Sunday of course, and because it begins with five 'things'. . .




There were six of us playing, we had three teams of two. Each person writes down 5 things on individual pieces of paper. They can be just about anything: a name of a person, place, thing, or an activity , a book, a movie, a color, a type of fabric, etc. The only rule regarding this is that at least one other person in the group can verify that what you wrote is indeed a real book, person, quote, etc. One thing that makes this so much fun is that you can list something that is meaningful in your family or friends circle - someone's favorite hobby, a quote from a crazy aunt, a very specific vacation spot or past home site, and so on.





Some examples from our game: (Matt's:) Luxor, Wolfchase Galleria (one of our local malls), Firefox, Linksys, The Bourne Identity. (Jessica's:) Daniel Faraday, Bozo the Clown, etc. (Mary's:) Harriet the Spy, Eva Gabor, etc. (Christopher's:) Osaka Japan, Islets of Langerhans, Fidel Castro, etc. (Danny's:) The Monkees, Doc Holiday, Jed Clampett, etc. (Mine:) velvet, Better Homes and Gardens, etc.







FIRST, you throw all the pieces of folded paper into a box , bowl, whatever. Then it's like taboo or password: A partner gives their teammate

clues to the item they drew randomly...... they are timed (a minute) and each correct guess is worth one point. That team keeps the 'pieces of papers' that they get right.





This keeps going until all the pieces are gone - and if it comes around to a team a second time, you switch clue-giver / guesser.

Write the score for this round of the game.


NEXT, all the pieces of paper back in the pot, another team goes first, and THIS time, one team member acts out (charades) the item listed. This is funnier and maybe easier, because you've heard all the items at least once, and players may act out something based on the previous clues given during the first part of the game. (example: something may act out ' Elvis ' because the clue for "velvet" was a painting / portrait of Elvis on black - ). Again, score one point for each correct answer when all of the paper is gone.

FINALLY: Last team goes first: they must pull out a piece of paper and give a ONE word clue. ONE word - nothing else. This is not as hard as it seems, either, because by now everyone technically knows all the "answers" - it just tests memory and creativity.


Just can't tell you how much fun I had playing even though MY team LOST. . .; the problem is that I was teamed with MattBabb. This (losing) doesn't really bother me (like it probably does him), even though it was entirely his fault. He would blame me FOR SURE, but we lost because when he is doing charades I am so entertained and laughing so hard that there is very little chance that I can think and come up with a correct answer. We were really doing well except for that portion of the game.





Jessica and Mary won by a landslide. . . and Danny and

Christopher took second. . . but I'm ready for a rematch!!







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Steel Cut Oats

>> Monday, February 4, 2008

I love oatmeal.  I can eat it like a normal person these days, but when I was young, the only way I wanted it was each-spoonful-on-a-bite-of-toast.  If the toast was crispy enough, it could serve as the 'spoon'.  When I ran out of toast, I ran out of breakfast - no matter how much delicious (added milk, butter, little bit of sugar) oatmeal was still in the bowl.


(I had a similar eating style with eggs and bacon:  toast with butter and jelly, scrambled eggs spread over the surface, and bacon strips topping that.  Tall and a little messy, but it was so good that it was an event. . . .)

Now I can eat oatmeal ALL BY ITSELF, if I have to.  And now I have even gone so far as to try steel-cut oats.  (Organic, of course).  I had no idea what the difference was, but on the VERY DAY I was giving the oats a try, there was an article in our newspaper describing the differences.


The gist of it is:  rolled oats (Quaker Oats brand style)  are flattened flakes, and the ground (Scottish style) or steel-cut (Irish-style) oats look like grains or pellets.  Because the Irish / Scottish style oats  have not been steamed or heated and rolled, they retain more flavor and texture than the rolled oats.


I tried Archer Farms Organic 100% whole grain Steel Cut Oats.  They were very tasty and filling, but I will most likely be reaching for the 'regular' oats on a 'regular' basis. . . I wasn't SO impressed that I am willing to wait the 30 minutes it took to cook these.  They do offer directions to prepare ahead by soaking overnight; but you basically do half of the cooking the night before, and the second half the morning of.   Besides, my Bob's Red Mill Rolled Oats have more fiber and protein, and it's the look and taste I'm used to.

That's all.

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AND THE WINNER IS . . .

>> Sunday, February 3, 2008



RENNA 
from a small town in Texas. . . 
I thank every one for entering;  I wish I had a gift to send to all 413 of my entries!  I love love love your comments, appreciate all those who took the time to read my few posts :), and I am slowly getting around to visiting those with blogs.  
I'll definitely be participating during the next bloggy giveaway, so hopefully I'll 'see' some of you again!

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A Productive Day! Yea!!

>> Saturday, February 2, 2008


We cleaned out the fridge, the pantry, the spice 
cabinet.  Returned something to Target and picked up some little organizing dividers and cleaned out the utensil drawer. 
Washed vegs and fruits;  chopped up onions, celery, carrots.


 Cooked two whole chickens in the crock pot (separately)  pulled the meat, and froze 2-cup size servings.  Strained and froze the broth - except what we used to boil potatoes in for dinner.  
Loaded and emptied the dishwasher twice.

Vacuumed and mopped the atrium and kitchen; put away laundry.



Whew!  This is such a good tired!
And my reward:  I'm listening to the CD Christopher just burned for me:  a LOST soundtrack.  I am particularly hooked right now on the music playing when Hurley tells Claire about Charlie.  Sob!


Gonna go start one more load of laundry and call it a night.


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Baby Day

>> Friday, February 1, 2008

For at least a month, Charlotte's visits have been photographically undocumented. She showed up with scratches or tiny bruises or a perpetually runny nose. And if that wasn't the case, she would have a really bad hair day - I'm not kidding - a toddler only, but already. . .

Today would have been a go for an entire camera card of cuteness, except that she entered the house on turbo speed and never stopped. I hope I lost a few pounds chasing her with a camera.


Can I call you back after I finish my cookie?

Yo Gabba Gabba, MUNO on a stick.





Tried the outdoors, but the sun was too bright.

It wasn't a total waste of time, because wait til Mom gets a gander of the multiple stains from this plop on the wet, muddy grass!



A LEFTY for sure!! Lucky girl; taking after me and Mary!

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