wondering when it will snap.

Stayed home yesterday and took care of both kids who were pretty sick. C with the flu and K with a nasty cold & fever. K woke up this morning still sniffling but much better. C - not so much. So I took C to my motherinlaw's house as I already missed work yesterday and have tomorrow booked off, due to there being a PA day. K was more than happy to go back to school - he had "things to hand in and people to see, mom".

I'm feeling pretty cold which is unusual for me but lately seems to be becoming the norm. I don't like it, not one bit.

I'm sorely tempted to introduce cable back into our lives. Can I get any cons to doing so? We literally have not had cable in 4 years. Whatever channels we watch are on the little tv with bunny ears, and even then, not much. But lately I'm thinking "hmm. I really miss tv" likely because there are actual shows I would watch now. Broadcasting has been disappointing me more often than not lately (good god I HATE most reality shows. Stop putting them out there already!) but when stellar shows come up they are like little jewels you just want to tuck under a floorboard and keep safe.

The reason for the temptation is I have received an offer from our provider for free installation and reduced billings for the first 6 months. In the end I'd be saving myself about $150. That seems like good enough reason for me. The reason I am balking is because... well... I kind of like the fact that the kids aren't exposed to all that crap, you know? I don't know. I have a few more days to think on it. (Chances are I will totally cave and then regret it about 3 months down the road. Anyone willing to place bets on this?)

My kids gave me early Valentines. K got me a little wooden thing that spells out "love" with a heart for the O and it's all sequins around it and the O acts like a picture frame. He says he got the frame but I have to get the picture. That's his way of hinting that he wants us all to get into a photo booth to take a picture. The last time we did it was pretty fun... C got me a heart pillow that says "I Love You" on it. She says I can take it to bed and maybe it will help me sleep more and better.

Why oh why can't it be summer already? I hate all this white stuff... I think it's in the blood, being Portuguese and all. Can't stand the cold weather.

Time to bundle myself up and get things ready before work. Hmmm. Cable.

A few items on the agenda this weekend.

S ended up calling in to work and taking the night off. The kids were at my in-laws' as seems to be the trend on Fridays lately. S got me to go to the beer store for him while I was out running errands, anndddddddddd I got carded again. I find this hilarious every damn time it happens. And they always apologize up and down and are all "oh I'm sorry I hope you aren't insulted you just don't look your age" and I'm thinking how the hell is it an insult that you think I look under 19 and I'm 30? The man behind me was pretty amused to say the least and patted me on the shoulder and said good for me and what was my secret so he could tell his wife. And I said the secret was my husband treated me nice and kept me happy. Ha!

So then I got home and S & I watched back episodes of Dexter that he threw on a disc for me. I have to say... I really like the show. I had my reservations, but they pull the premise off marvelously and you really do end up liking the guy, in spite of his er, tendency to kill people.

On Saturday my parents were supposed to come over for dinner, so of course I cleaned the house like a madwoman. Then my Mom called & that plan was tossed as it turns out my Dad is pretty darn sick. I mean he's all laid up in bed and everything - and this is a man who lives by the philosophy "I'll sleep when I'm dead" so you know he's really sick when he's willing to just rest. So instead yesterday I made us all a Portuguese roast (hurray for still having chorico in the freezer!) and we just did nothing things. The kids and I played Frustration (or Trouble, or whatever. The game with little pegs and the pop-up dice thing, ymmv). We watched School of Rock (K is on a big rock and roll kick, it's pretty fun actually).

This morning my mom called and wanted me to drop off the kids so she could take them out to breakfast. So I did and checked in on Dad who still looked pretty rough. We rescheduled our bbq for next weekend so all is well. He said he felt really bad and didn't want me to think he didn't want to go - um, hello? You're sick. I'm not stupid you know. So after dropping off the kids, I picked up my sister-in-law so we could go to a yoga class. I have been wanting to try it for sometime now, and this opportunity came up for a Sunday 10:30 class, so I took it. I'm glad I did. It was like a good workout minus the workout and the weird leotarded toothpick shouting out orders. I felt pretty peaceful afterward actually. Then my sisinlaw and I went out for brunch. I took my knitting with me which got amused glances from some people but some were intrigued and mentioned it had been a long time since they knit anything and now they were thinking they might want to again. Fun stuff.

Came home to find hubby had emptied out the dishwasher for me and did a load of laundry or two. (See? I wasn't fibbing about what I told the old man in line at the beer store.) He just came home a short while ago with fixings for bbq since we decided to have that for supper anyway, and he even got my favorite kind of bread even though it's hella expensive, and all my favorite things. Later he's going to draw me a bath. (And no, this isn't a set-up to a major purchase or anything. He's just being nice.)

Ok time to cut up tomatoes and things. Just wanted to jot all this down so there's an actual update of sorts.

I really, really love Sam Roberts.

So Friday finally came, after a long lost week.

I've been having strange dreams about my childhood that have left me waking up more than a little confused and sad. You know how things you haven't thought of in literally years just suddenly creep up out of nowhere? Yeah, that.

One day I'm really going to write a book about everything I've experienced. Nobody in their right mind would publish it, but I have a lot of stories to tell and boy howdy some of them are doozies.

I can't recall the last time I coined the term "doozies". Hell, I don't even really know how to spell that one.

The winter sunk its claws in and is sticking around after all. The kids are deliriously happy as this provides ample opportunities for flinging themselves down hills on plastic discs. I love that something that only cost me 3 bucks each can give them literally hours of entertainment. Take THAT, consumerism!

Partial confession of recent feelings. Warning: only half the story being told here. Don't draw too many conclusions. Something that's occurred to me more than once in recent time is the fact that most of my friends are only just starting their families, whereas mine is pretty much established and my eldest is nigh on the road to adolescence while their elder fry are only just getting potty trained. While on the one hand it's nice that they are on the same priority train as I am now, and can maybe understand why I would flake out on fun adult outings because K or C was sick etc, on the other hand we're still miles apart in some ways you know?

And then there's the realization that I'm probably one of the youngest parents in my kids' classrooms. Mind you this is something I came to terms with when C started school. There are all these little bonding cliques of the parent/kid teams in the classes and sad to say were it not for Hammer & to some degree Grrr I'd be completely out of any sort of social loop that most of these parents find themselves in. For the most part, and if I'm honest with myself, I truly don't care. But sometimes I do because I think "hmm... is this lack of any sort of attempt to relate to people (some of whom are old enough to be MY parents) stymying any sort of social agenda for my children?". And then I think "but I have tried, and they just have these little horse-blinders on, and I'm just a kid to them so of course they can't relate." Bah. The hilarious part is it's not like I was fifteen when I had C or anything - I was 22 for God's sake. Shows you how the parental agenda has most definitely taken a back seat in recent decades to allow for people to actually establish their lives & careers or whatever first. When I am most honest with myself, the truth is I would have waited before having kids as well. God's plans were just not in tune with my own selfish agenda that's all.

So that's a small part of a bigger problem (that has nothing to do with what I just spoke about) that has been rolling around in my head these days. There is much, so much more to it than that but the problem with the rest of it is: This is a public form of digesting my thoughts. While it is cathartic in a sense, it leads to the issue that some people reading this could possibly be offended by what else I'd have to say on what's going on. My feelings are just that - my feelings, but when expressing them in electronic form it could cause some misunderstandings that truly just aren't worth it. I read somewhere that people misinterpret about 89% of their email communications - I imagine the same holds for blogs. But some of this had to come out somewhere, so why not. What I've written about is no big secret or surprise, but is definitely something that's becoming more and more apparent in my life.

Enough diatribe for one post. Time to go toss together a marinade for tomorrow's meal.

PS: Hammer: marinade - mix some red or white wine (red gets better results, but some people prefer the flavor a rose gives. I don't know, about a cup or so? I just sort of pour some in a bowl), thinly sliced garlic, onion slices (I just quarter the onion down the ring so that it's for long pieces when you dice it up hope that makes sense), salt & pepper (pepper mill gets best results for flavor), 2-3 tablespoons (again, I guess the measurement, just add to taste) of that pepper sauce I gave you, and a little paprika. Some people get ambitious and slice up mushrooms too. Mix it all up. Toss the meat in. Let sit, oh, if you are short on time a half hr to an hr or so, if you have lots of time do it the night before even if you can. THen just cook the meat however you like to.

Soooooo tasty.

So in an act that was equal parts procrastination and insanity, I organized my gmail inbox. There were 3000 messages in there (literally!) and most of them unread because they were either forwards from friends I never talk to, or junk mail from places I signed up for because of forwards from friends I never talk to, or mail from newsgroups that I only sometimes skim, etc.

It's pretty bad when you're organizing your inbox to procrastinate from something else, no? Makes you wonder how bad the project/required activity is.

I got an email from a friend yesterday announcing his wife's pregnancy - with twins. Since he himself is a twin it hardly comes as a surprise, but it sure shocked them! I don't think they anticipated their second foray into parenthood to be a double whammy. My little fingers are going to be tired from all the baby blankets. I'm thinking I might make them caps instead.

S ended up getting the WoW expansion... so basically I have the next month or so to listen to him whoot at the screen or grumble, or both at the same time. It doesn't bother me as much as it did back in the day - I have my own things to do, and don't need to be entertained by S every damn minute of the day. However, I've made it abundantly clear that the degree of momma's happiness is an influence everyone else's (read: his). The minute I get sass when I ask him to stop playing in order to participate in family activity, is the minute the disc goes into the bin. He's pretty aware of this, and conscientious in that matter.

There's two girls at work who are pregnant. I think there's something in the water here. Honestly.

This weekend my parents are coming over for dinner. It's also Winterfest in our little city - unsure whether or not I'll be taking the kids to anything. I think it'll depend on the weather to be honest. Plus, there's that whole preparing for my parents coming over for dinner thing.

I feel sluggish, a sign I need caffeine.

I considered deleting my last post, but I'm not going to. Nor am I going to elaborate. Not here.

Friday night ended up being pretty quiet for me, which I probably needed more than I realized. I watched some crap movies that you totally forgive for being campy because Owen Wilson is in them (for example "You me & Dupree" - which was ok, and kind of funny in a hokey sort of way, but nothing to write to grandma about) and knit a bit and ate nothing things and drank tea. Long hot bath, long hot cry, long nap on the couch. S came home and dragged me up to bed so I could sleep a decent sleep.

Saturday consisted of me feeling rather wretched all day.

Sunday we went out for breakfast with my parents, then went to their place to look at photos of their trip to Portugal. Gorgeous. S commented he could practically smell the bread in the photo of the outdoor bakery.

We renewed our mortgage recently and it's nice to know that we'll probably be done paying the house off in about 8 years. Our goal after that is to do some traveling. He knows how much I love travel and he himself would like to go somewhere with just me, but we'd rather wait till the house is paid off - be much, much easier to save up for pricier trips then, you know? Of course, in about 8 years C will almost be ready for college... sigh.

I have a lot to say, but the strands of thought are all over the place right now. Have a good Monday.

.

I used up all my clever this morning in an email correspondence with a friend, so this paltry entry will have to do for now.

IT'S FRIDAY! HURRAH! Not even the warning of flurries can put a damper on the fact that it's Friday.

S cleaned the garage of the wood he was storing for basement-building purposes so I could park the car in it again. DOUBLE HURRAH FOR NOT HAVING TO CLEAN OFF SNOW!

K was a little under the weather last night, but felt well enough this morning to go to school. He was desperate to go today because he got to read something over the announcements. That's a big deal when you're six, you know.

C is all a-flutter because her friend Z is having a slumber party for her birthday. It's actually pretty funny, as C has been bugging me to have one for her since her last birthday. We'll see how this one goes, and if she still thinks it's a good idea. This whole slumber party business just reminds me that she's growing, dammit.

Kids are staying over at the in-laws' tonight, and S is going out for chicken wings. All will be quiet in our house. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. Suggestions?

So I re-vamped again. It was past due. I do love Hepburn but the mean reds were getting to me.

Supposed to go over to ME's this weekend with the kids. Her son was asking for C the other day - pretty much begging for a play day. Her two younger sons are right around C & K's age, so it goes without saying that K will be coming along too. S is likely also to tag along as JG lives there now, so he'll have someone to chum around with.

I'm almost done ME's blanket, hurrah!

I'm running short on time. So this mini-post will have to do. Isn't the new color spiffy though?

Tum ti tum.

I love getting correspondence out of the blue. Just sayin'.

I've been kicking this cold in the buttocks. The only issue is waking up and feeling like a herd of rampaging cattle ran over me. I stuff a contact c and some ginger down my throat and the day goes pretty well.

I think I'd tolerate it much more if I didn't have to talk on the phone all day at work. It's actually pretty comical; personally I hate talking on the phone, and would rather talk to someone in person. So doing it all day can be grating at times. Especially when half the people calling are looking to cause a fight. The problem is, when one will not, two cannot quarrel. Which just makes them madder sometimes. I like the calls from managers - they're all "we need to reassess the gravity of this situation" and "so and so was told xyz thing". And then they're surprised when, what do you know, what we told them? Was RIGHT. Don't shoot the messenger dude.

Numbers numbers numbers. I see and type and say and think a million numbers a day.

And then I voluntarily also produce numbers (aka treasury) for the kids' school council.

Yes, I'm crazy.

The numbers on this machine say it's 8:57 or so. Time to go do pre-work type things.

I had forgotten how much I love Beta Band.

The freezing rain finally stopped, and yesterday was work day from heck as I was feeling pretty poorly (good hint to this is wearing my jacket inside all damn day and shivering, even though the heat was on and even the coldest girl in the office was sweating). Tiger Direct keeps taunting me with 500 dollar laptops and damnit, I want one. So, so, so, so, bad.

But there are things like bills and groceries and the needs of my children to consider.

I'm feeling much better today. Sometimes a little rest is all one needs. I have managed to kick most colds and flu bugs in the ass well before they establish a hold on me lately. Hooray for that! Score one more point for NOT getting the damn flu injection.

I had forgotten how much birth control sucks when it comes to water retention et al. Bleh. I've been trying to negotiate a new body but it just ain't happening.

It kind of makes me sad that the auto spell check thinger allows for the word ain't.

Ok time to go do things. And then go to work. Or somesuch.

So woke up to a frozen wasteland out there. Checked the news and yup, school is still open, but busses are cancelled. Brrrr. So I started chipping away at the ice around my car shortly after 8 am. I managed to get the kids to school by 9:15 - late, but at least they made it. Then I get a call an hr later from the principal asking if the kids are there. Um, yes, I brought them myself. Apparently there were communication lines crossed - the attendance was handed in shortly before they showed up, the lady manning the desk temporarily said they didn't have to fill in the late form, and he presumed I didn't bring them in. A double-check confirmed they were there.

Hey, I didn't know Leonard Nimoy was a photographer. Huh. Interesting.

Ok I'm freezing and I haven't even forayed outside yet for my own drive to work. I'm leaving for work early today - it's slippery as all hell. So this blog = cut short. Ta.

So Lola just left for home about an hour ago. She showed up for breakfast yesterday, and we spent the day just hanging out and whatever. We went to her favorite store to visit - Giant Tiger, and then everyone's favorite store - the Dollar Giant. My kids could spend hours there, and frankly so could I. There are just way too many options in a dollar store. I picked up some small kitchen utensils to use for my Dalek. It's a long story.

Over the course of the weekend I managed to teach Lola how to knit. She is mad-crazy in love with it now, and already signed up for the LB newsletter etc, and asked me to email her links to different knitting sites. I can't say I can blame her, loving the craft myself. There's something almost soothing about having to focus on nothing but the stitching in front of you. I'm sure there are those out there that get the same feeling when sewing, or scrapbooking, or whatever else they do. It's actually what brought about my previous post, as the last segment of the article so pointedly remarks that we feel more sense of accomplishment when physically doing something that produces tangible results.

As for my love of knitting, I find it soothing because I can't really have the ten thousand inner conversations going on in my brain while doing it. I have to focus so I don't mess up, you know? And that's so very, very nice. Because I have a really busy mind, and when I am sewing or scrapbooking or any of those other crafty things, there's a lot going on up there. I'm still thinking about whatever stressed me out or whatever I'm worried about or whatever I was planning to do after I'm done doing what I'm doing. I don't really do that when I knit. Which has a big appeal.

Lola also managed to get wrangled into playing Clue Junior with me and the kids. C won which made her happy as a kitten full of milk. K got really close which also made him happy. Lola only really caught on to what she had to do when the game was nearly over - Clue Junior is sort of like the original Clue, but there are quite a few different variables that Milton Bradley changed to make the problem solving simpler for kids.

She also tried out the Wii. We let her make her own Mii which tickled her pink, and then we played bowling, and K taught her how to box, and C taught her how to play tennis. She was pretty darn impressed, and worked up a sweat to boot! Chances are she'll be bugging JC for one now, heee.

My friend V is online at home now, and actually tried to get hold of me last night but I was helping Lola learn to knit so I didn't get to talk much with her. It's going to be nice to have the option to speak in the evenings though, as we only usually got a minute or two in the mornings before I went off to work and while she was on break at her work. Silly time zone crap.

Ok I'm off to work more on that baby blanket - got a little side-tracked from it (quel surprise I know!) but I'm back on.

So this is actually a really interesting article, titled "7 Reasons the 21st Century is Making You Miserable", and the guy makes some very valid points. He has some other really good articles on the site as well, worth looking into. Warning though, it's a time-trap and will suck up your spare time so only go there if you've got some moments to spare. Also warning- some links are clearly marked "adult post only" as he does go on tangents about the pornography industry, suicide, et al. It's not that they show ultra-revealing shots of things, it's just that the content is just that - meant for adult reading, as it features an adult/potentially upsetting subject. Because of the titles it may make things potentially NSFW.

I've got things to say about my good weekend but I dare not post it under something titled sweet misery. You know. So. Onward!

So I'm on row 102 of 414 for the baby blanket. For those of you who didn't want to bother signing up for lion brand free patterns, here's how it goes:

Use a US size 8 circular needle for this, higher gauge = bigger results if that's your fancy. You'll need about 1lb yarn with the size 8 circulars. the circular is being used to hold all the damn stitches - 207 across adds up you know!

Cast on 5 sts
Row 1: knit
Row 2: k3, yo, k2
Row 3: k3, yo, k3
Row 4: k3, yo, k to end
repeat until you have 207 sts on
Next: k2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, k to end of row.
repeat until 5 sts remain.
bind off, weave in ends.

If you don't know what the jargon means, go here and scroll down to the part that says "knitty standard book of british birds" and it will give you the lowdown.

It basically works diagonally instead of lengthwise, and the yarnover (yo) bits makes for a nice edging. It's pretty!

YAY LOLA IS COMING SOON

I caved and told the kids, but only because they are super-sleuths (aka eavesdroppers) who deducted from clues that it was her coming. I wouldn't say when though so they'll be surprised by that at least! Insert smiley face here.

Bleh, I don't wanna go to work.

Woke up to the Rolling Stones which reminded me how much I actually like them.

Scary, I know.

I put the Dalek aside for a bit as I have to buy some stuffing for it and then set to work on its appendages and closing up the bottom part. Since some of you asked, a Dalek is a mutant race on Dr. Who, merciless and hell-bent on universal domination and destruction. They are encased in a tank-like structure. Here's an example. Read about them at Wikipedia. Conversely, I don't like to use Wikipedia as an online resource too often. As Steve Colbert once deftly pointed out on a show, there are too many hands in the pie and a great opportunity for mischief. But in this case, it gives a pretty comprehensive explanation on Daleks and the Dr. Whoniverse.

So anyway. I started on ME's baby blanket, and it's a pretty pattern, and pretty darn easy too. I figure a week I'll be pretty much done, if I don't get sidetracked (wishful thinking I know. I'm a mom- it's practically my job to get sidetracked).

So I've lost 4 lbs, hurrah. I'm not a scale-user, which will probably be the biggest change in this whole WW thing. The obsessive-compulsive numbering of foods I can handle. The stepping on a scale I don't particularly envision as being as important - the more important goal here is tracking dietary intake to help with some other inner stuff.

Getting 5 vegetable servings in one day has been challenging. There are only so many carrots and broccoli one can choke down. I know I know there is a cornucopia of vegetative delights out there, but we are a budgeted home here so excuse me if I can't keep up with produce. Time to start going back to the farmer's market, methinks. You save a bundle and help out the locals. (I have this thing about supporting the independants).

There's a nasty flu going around work again. I am fighting it away tooth and nail. Nothing I hate more than someone complaining about how sick they were while standing right up to you. KEEP YOUR GERMS TO YOURSELVES.

Lo is coming this weekend, hurrah! I haven't told the kids. Well I sort of did. I told them they were having a surprise guest. C immediately said "Lo and J?" and I said no. Because technically, it's only Lo, so I'm not really lying, hah! K guessed it was V, and I had to explain that she went back to the UK, and we probably wouldn't be seeing her for a whole year again. K being the great geographer said he'd draw me a map with a shortcut.

My finger still hurts. And under the nail it's all purple and bruised. Charming, I know.

Ok probably time to go and wrestle my hair into complacency. It's a bad hair day for sure.

See you later alligator. (to which K always replies, "Real soon Racoon!" hee.)

My Dalek prototype has proved problematic and not looking as I wanted it to, but I know where to make adjustments on the next one so it's all good. On my list of projects (which seems to be ever growing) I also have a hat for my sisterinlaw, a GIR (which my sisterinlaw has also already called dibs on), and a baby blanket for my friend ME who is having - a baby. I know what she's having but I won't say. As it is I found out by accident - she showed me a card she was giving her parents to tell them and then realized after that its color and wording gave away the details. I would have been happy to be suprised but knowing what color yarn to buy is fine as well.

My parents are back from Portugal - mom came home with a doozy of a cold - hurray for spreading new European germs! They got us tons of stuff as they usually do when they go on trips including getting me an awesome shawl with these sleeve-type things so it doesn't go all chaotic on me. It's warm and nice.

Went over to sisterinlaw's on Saturday night for board games & fun. It was a good night and I laughed myself silly, similar to the previous gathering at her place had with brotherinlaw as well and our respective spouses for our "let's gather instead of exchange gifts" Christmas thing. At the Christmas gathering we played my Cranium Turbo game which is just hilarious. At Saturday night's gathering we played Simpsons Clue and Urban Myth, which is also hilarious.

Kids are back to school today - much to their chagrin and my relief. They need to get back into their routines before they drive everyone including themselves nuts. K said it felt like a million years since school but he also kinda missed his teacher, but not his friends because he got to see T over the holiday. He insisted on wearing his Ronaldo shirt that my parents got him, in spite of the fact that chances are none of the kids in his class know who that is.

I smashed my finger into a cupboard yesterday and it smacked the nail back. Hurts like a bugger, especially if doused in hot water, which made washing dishes fun let me tell you.

S and JG continued construction downstairs on Saturday. Now we just need to get his friend CS and go shopping for wiring and lighting and such - thank god we have an electrician friend. This makes things much, much, MUCH easier. Dad was pretty impressed with what the boys have done so far, but I think he feels a little left out too - he loves home improvement type things, and since his own home is impossible to improve any more he has been eyeing ours up as an opportunity. S said not to worry, Dad could come help drywall as that job is a pain in the ass and many hands make light work. The kids are dying to have the basement done because more or less it'll be "their" room. Our plan is to throw all their toys etc down there and leave the main floor & bedrooms free from all that jazz. Part and parcel with basement building will come a project room for me, hurrah! Finally a place to put my stuff that's mine! It's funny saying that since the house is mine, but really there's nowhere to store my various project type things. I suppose it's the curse of the jack-of-all-trades - if I stuck to just one thing there'd be less to store - but I like all the things I do, and I do all the things I do, and I won't change that.

Blah blah blah. I sure can yap when I want to.

What's new with everyone else?

Stupid alarm radio.

Hold on to your bootstraps, this is going to be a long one.

Last night I took down all the ornaments from the tree, in order to wrestle it down into a box this morning. Only a few things are left to take down from the whole holiday thing. Considering what a slacker I was last year (I waited till two weekends after Epiphany, for Pete's sake) This is pretty good. I would have been more than happy to take it all down between Christmas and the New Year like I usually (with the exception of last year) do, but with all the construction and stuff going on in the basement the house was a little too chaotic for it. Everything is almost restored to order, just in time for the kids to head back to school.

S went back to work this week from a nice long holiday, on afternoon shift which worked perfectly with babysitting arrangements. My parents come home from Portugal tomorrow - the kids can't wait and frankly neither can my parents. Kids are probably going to end up having a "sleepover" this weekend as my parents will want their full time and attention. I tried to talk my mom out of it - I mean come on, they'll be jet-lagged and just come home, they don't need my rugrats underfoot - but there's no talking sense to a stubborn Portuguese woman once her mind is made up.

C has another playday with Z, as does K & T. C is going to go watch Z play her violin - this will give C a little more exposure to it, which will help in the decision-making process on whether or not to put her into lessons. She'll get to meet her potential teacher as well, which is a bonus.

I'm thinking of setting up a food schedule, cafeteria style, to try and maintain some order with both my groceries and my tendency to hem and haw in front of the fridge for twenty minutes each evening. It would have to be flexible in some ways. Maybe a bunch of cards I can just draw like from a deck, and for that week/weeks I've got menu figured out, it's just a matter of pulling whatever for that day and that's the luck of the draw. I don't know. This requires more thought as I don't want it to turn into a "aw man, meat loaf night again. I'm going to eat at so-and-so's" because that really sucks. And I don't want to be the one saying it, hahaha.

We got that 100 dollar deal from the butcher again - 5 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts, 8 lbs burger meat, 5 lbs sausage (whatever kind you like - we normally get honey garlic and damn it's good), 5 lbs roast (we have them split into two 2.5 lb roasts), 5 lbs smoked pork chops, and uh, I think that's it. Usually it's 3 lbs bacon and 5 lbs burger meat but they let you substitute things for other things - it's really nice. That may not seem like much, but if it doesn't, you aren't paying attention at the grocery store. That's a TON of meat for 100 dollars, tax included. It comes in big box. It generally lasts us 2-3 weeks. Not bad, considering I married a barbarian of a man and have a bottomless pit for a son. Also, it's fresh meat and supporting a local business.

I feel like I'm hungover or something, but I haven't had a drop. I hope I'm not coming down with something. Knock wood, we've all been pretty healthy lately. I attribute that to the kids actually using the damn waterless hand cleaner I put in their bags, and my more vigorous attitude toward wiping down the light switches and door knobs twice a week. Thank you Mr. Clean magic wipe thingies. (They're also excellent for taking out crayon!) Well, the fact that I've now grown accustomed to all the new germs coming into the office probably helps too. I managed to completely bypass the last round of influenza that went through before Christmas - I partially attribute this to my absolute refusal to get the flu shot this year. My kids didn't get it either. Last year we all got the shot and we all got really, really sick. So this year I said to hell with it and skipped getting it done. Call me crazy but it seems to have worked in my favor, so you naysayers can go jump in a lake.

I'm almost finished knitting my Dalek. My sister-in-law has already called dibs on it, but since it was a prototype model anyway, I'm fine for that. I need to get a decent grey yarn to knit another one in... hmm... this may require a trip out of town as there is nowhere decent to get yarn here anymore. Had I any sort of brain for business, I'd open up a Stitch N' Bitch shop, where you could buy yarn/sewing supplies, but there'd also be an area for ladies to come in and drink coffee/tea and nibble on biscotti while bitchin to each other and creating things. With a little play area in the corner if they have kids. Ah, well, a girl can dream right? Maybe some day.

The doctor convinced me to try the whole weight watchers thing, as it would probably help along the damn pills I have to start taking again to take care of some issues I've been having - and no, not mental issues, har har. I'm at a point where I'm not really caring all that much about my weight - I mean, I'm used to it, right? And I don't want to go into this obsessive downward spiral again where I stop eating or whatever, or overexercise and hurt myself in the process. I don't know, this whole points thing is a bit funny. I tried to explain it to C & K and then they were all "How many points is my cookie? How many points is my milk?" like it's a game and they're trying to see who gets the better score. Which is really funny, actually. I explained to them that they don't need to worry about points, and all that, because I make sure they get healthy meals, and don't eat too much; I have been neglecting myself, I have made some mistakes regarding health when I was younger, and I am trying to fix that, and this is one way to do it. (Sorry for the run-on sentences.) K very sagely nodded and said "You're too big for your mommy to take care of you, so you have to take care of yourself mom". I didn't really feel like getting into the self-prescribed martyrdom that all mothers go through - making sure everything/one else is ok before looking after themselves. I just agreed with him.

Ok I guess it's time to go. Maybe later I'll talk about what really happened over the Christmas break. I'm just too tired right now.

Wowsers, it's 2007! Where the hell did a year go?