Chunky Bling and Masterpieces

Rick made it home on time last night. He was booked on the last flight into Abilene and that flight regularly get delayed or canceled. We were on the greener side of the fence yesterday.

Tonight when Rick left the house to go to our pump house on North Lake Anson he found a turtle on our sidewalk. I got him some spinach leaves and Rick painted a white "X" on the top of his shell. It's the Kirschner way of tagging a wild animal. Highly scientific, no?!

Today Katie and I spent the morning decorating terra cotta pots. The other day we were in Wal-Mart and they already had potted plants in the greenhouse. I picked out two fuchia cyclamen and Katie picked out a yellow primrose. Along with the pots, we purchased scrapbook paper and Mod Podge. We cut out various shapes from the paper and glued them on with the Mod Podge. We also painted a coat of Mod Podge on the completed pots to ensure our hard work stays on the pot for a few summers. We still have one more pot to go. Perhaps tomorrow. I like doing art projects with Katie. The fact that she likes doing artsy things really warms my heart. I am thankful that my artist talent that I got from my father also resides in Katie. An added bonus is that Katie is a good artist and shows advanced talent for her age. Katie gets so excited about doing art with Mum-Mum. Her little steel trap of a mind won't let go of the project. Friday, she continuously asked me when we were going to decorate our pots. It was like a broken record player. I will take a picture when we replant the plants in their fancy schmancy pots. Another masterpiece that Katie created yesterday was a card for me. The pictures that she drew were detailed and very creative. She even drew Spongebob, which looked like him, and his friends. She also drew hearts. That is the first time I have seen her do that..

Last week I entered a contest sponsored by Chunky Bling which entailed me suggesting a name for a new ring. I got an email yesterday informing me that I was a runner up and my prize is a free ring. I don't often win contests so I am feeling pretty special. I believe that they run contests quite often, so check their site out at www.chunkybling.com

Well, that is the low down on the excitement at Corinth West. I know, I know. How do we keep up the chaotic, busy schedule? (Yeah, right.) Good night reader(s). We will talk again soon . . . or rather I will
talk at you . . . or rather I will type to you. Whatever. It is late.

Rick's Wednesday Picture

I woke up this morning with a headache, which is so out of the ordinary . . .NOT. It lasted until 4:30 pm and was not as bad as the last one, but still puts me out of commission and makes me feel useless.

It was a beautiful day today. Katie and I retrieved the garbage can from the curb and I was surprised how warm and humid it was outside. Matter of fact, it was warmer outside than in the house. This evening Katie got dressed in all of her bicycling protective gear and rode up and down and down and up the driveway and to the shop. I don't know what it is, but the sight of Katie on her bike with that helmet on just cracks me up. I have included one of the numerous pictures that I took. Actually Katie asked that I take numerous pictures. She would strike a pose and tell me "Take the picture." and then change her pose and tell me "Take a picture."  When you view one picture after another it is like a flip book movie. That girl loves to model.

While outside today in the fairy garden, I saw this round rock on the ground. Upon further investigation, I believe it is a wasp or bee hive of some sort. I have included a picture more for Rick's sake than the other readers, well . . . other than THE reader.

That might explain the bee and wasp problem we had last summer.

Week Wrap Up

Me: I'm baaaack!
You: Sooooo whaaaaat!

Back in black, yes I am. Of course I have been busy, not that I have to answer to you. Rick and I took on a major project: reorganizing and cleaning the office. We have been here five years and haven't touched it. Matter of fact, the office hasn't been touched since Rick moved here in 1998. Our office is large so unfortunately we had space to put a large amount of stuff. It had become our "don't know what to do with it, so I will stick it in the office" room. The office has two workstations that are set up in a "T" with the vertical part being a work counter between the two. The oodles and oodles of shelves and file cabinets were full as were several spots on the floor. Rick used to own his own company when he lived in California and he brought all of those files here when he moved. To top it off, Rick does not like to throw any paperwork out. There is no two year rule here nor even a 10 year rule. It's the always-keep rule. Anyway, Rick hung some more shelves, built a new bookcase and hung our certificates of accomplishments. I went through ALL of the files and back-stocked the old ones. I don't recall exactly how many, but I think I ended up with 15+ file toters put in deep storage. I still have a small stack of papers to sort and then I am done with that part. We have purchased some organizers that will help with the office supplies. You know how Rick has to have a back up of everything. Let's just say I will not have to buy a box of staples for the rest of my life. Anyway, my goal is to have the office done by next Monday. Rick is traveling out tomorrow and will not be home until Friday, so Project Reorganize The Office will be on hold for a few days.

Another item on my to-do list was to find a breeder of White German Shepherd Dogs.  After tossing the idea around for a while, I started researching breeders online. I found one with whom I was comfortable and as an added bonus they are located here in Texas. We want two brothers like we previously had. When I first contacted the breeder, she had one boy, but we dilly dallied over one or two and the boy puppy went to another home. Two of her females just came out of heat and it is too early to determine pregnancy.  If her WGSD is pregnant, then the litter will be all white and we hope it will contain two males.  If not, we will wait. Rick waited two years for Eric and Max so it could be a long wait. In any case, I am so looking forward to two puppies becoming members of our family. Rick is a little more reluctant because the loss of Eric and Max cuts deeper for him. Anyway, I'll keep you updated.

Katie is getting back into the swing of taekwondo. The instructor that she is convinced does not like her has not taught a class that Katie has attended. I hope that instructor does teach Katie's class again. It is important to have Katie attend a class with that teacher so she can face her fear and to understand that she will not always like her teachers but to not let it affect her love of the subject. I did have a conversation with one of the owners of the studio regarding Katie's reluctance to attend class. I didn't intend to, put I had called the studio to see who was teaching a particular day and the owner questioned why I wanted to know. She also said that she cannot remedy the situation if she doesn't know what it is. Of course I was assured that Katie must have misunderstood the teacher. However, I believe Katie because it would not have been the first time the instructor said something condescending and threatening to Katie. It was a learning experience for me because I got to see first hand what some of my friends have experienced. In a educational setting or medical setting, you need to "fight" for your child because no one else will. I have a friend who has had to fight with doctors and insurance companies to get the best medical care for her child. Why does it need to be a fight? Somewhere along the way, the medical industry and educational industry lost sight of their purpose. (Stepping off of my soapbox now.)

Katie is still absorbing the world around her. Some words that she says I am clueless from where she got them. A current favorite saying is "For Pete's sake." Not something we use here. She has also tried "For Jesus' sake." but I nipped that in the bud. We do not say that in our home and I am pretty sure it is not said in MOPPETS, so it is either taekwondo or ballet. She is also doing better with the watered down versions of adult words. Oh, I guess I didn't tell you. A few months ago, Katie started saying "Damn it" and "Shit". We had to drum into her head "Darn it" and "Shoot". Our friend had an interesting approach to "naughty" words. He allowed his daughter to use such words, but only in their home. I rather agree with that. It teaches the child and the future adult not to swear in public. However, there are some words that I do not want to hear come out of her mouth, such as the n-word. Speaking of race, Katie is oblivious to white and black. She has never questioned why some people are darker than other people. Matter of fact when we were in the grocery store last week she was chatting with her friend. (Her friend is a stock person that works in the store and since Kate was an itty-bitty he would always talk to her. They also make sounds back and forth. Now when I walk in the store, the first thing Katie does is screech to let her friend know that she is there. Usually an identical screech will come from the depths of the store.) Back to the topic at hand. Katie was talking to her friend when another shopper came by to ask him a question. The shopper was an older white lady with stark white, cotton ball hair. Katie immediately inquired, "Is that your mother?" I sincerely believe that if we were in a room full of white mothers and their children and one black mother and her child, Katie would not know who was the black child's mother. I know it is possible it could be one of the white mothers; however, most people's first guess would be the black woman. Not Katie. Color of skin doesn't register with her. Now how do I keep her that way? Undoubtedly she will be introduced to prejudices in school.

Rick and I are contemplating the idea of taking a Disney vacation. We want to go to Disney World in Orlando around Katie's birthday and before she starts school. Once again I have done a ton of research and we have a portion of our adventure mapped out. Katie will be so excited especially when we take her to the Bippity Boppity Boutique for a princess make over and then have dinner with Cinderella in her castle. It is hard to get a grip on the fact that I will be going to Magic Kingdom, a park that I avoided like the plague in my single years. In general Disney is more fun when you have a little sprout holding your hand. Which brings up one of my fears: losing Katie in a Disney park. Let's not think about that.

Valentine's Day was memorable.  Rick got me a vase of long-stem red roses and he got Katie a vase of short-stem pink roses. Katie was so proud of her flowers. She carried them in her room when it was bedtime and brought them out the next day when she woke up. We each also got mounds of chocolates. I think Rick bought me six boxes of candy. I still have three left, chocolates not boxes.

On a sad note, my sister had to put down her cat. The Little Man, as she would call him, had cancer. With cats it always seems like one day they are great and then the next you find out they have a major illness and you have to put them down. Anyway, Seriozha's passing is extremely difficult for her. He had been her companion for 11 years and she has those split second moments that she forgets that he is gone like I did with Eric and Max. I mailed to her a book that I borrowed from a friend about coping with the loss of an animal when Eric died. When I was done with it, I tried to return it to the owner but she said to pass it on. My sister said that she would do the same thing. The same sister is contemplating moving to Texas and relatively close to us. I so want Katie to have a relative close to her. I recall sleeping over at my Aunt Eva's. It was always such an exciting adventure. Right now Katie sleeps over at "Auntie" Geri and "Uncle" Don's who are neighbors and friends of ours. I am thankful for that, but she is truly at a disadvantage not being surrounded by family like I was. So we try to create a "family" for her with our friends.

Here is a true fact that I learned from an old high school friend who is on Facebook. It is incorrect to use two spaces after the period of the sentence. It is proper to use only one. The reason two spaces were the norm is because of typesetting and not all letters taking up the same space. Two spaces made it easier to read. However, now with electronic typing and modern fonts, one space is correct. That fact just flummoxes me. I think of my high school teacher who taught typing and shorthand. She lied to me. I have been trying to type that way and let me tell you it is so difficult to not double click between sentences.

So that is the short version of the past week. I leave you with a picture of Katie. She is signing her name on her Valentine's cards that she brought to MOPS. Other than her name, Katie can also write mommy, daddy, to and from. She still doesn't show any burning desire to read. Her version of reading is looking at the pictures and making up her own story. And from past experience I have learned that Katie works on her own timetable. If you try to push her to learn something new, she sometimes becomes stubborn (where does she get that from?!) and refuses to play along. To use that trait to my advantage, I have to make it seem like the new activity was her idea. Potty training is a good example. We tried every recommended trick in the toddler book and she refused to use the potty. I recall one time we had her sitting on the potty for almost an hour and she just held her pee. So, after no success, we stopped trying to train her. Then one day a few months later, she up and used the potty by herself and has been doing so ever since with only two accidents. Anyhoodles, "speak" at you later. (Have you noticed how I like quotes and the word "anyway"? Yes? Good job for paying attention.)

No Pay

While driving back from Abilene today, Kate and I got onto the subject of jobs.  I asked her how she was going to make money when she was big, big girl.  "I'll get it from Daddy." was her response.  I had to explain that we won't always be giving her money.  I asked the question again and she responded, "I'm going to be a momma."  So I had to explain to her that one didn't get paid for being a momma.  She was surprised.  Apparently she thinks that all of the things that I do for her should be rewarded with monetary compensation.  Who is actually to pay me, she didn't have an answer for that one.

Oh The Pain

Oh the pain, oh the pain.  I was down and out yesterday with one of my headaches.  It was one of the more severe ones if not the worse.  Throwing up was excruciating.  I am surprised that the pressure on my head from that didn't cause my head to explode.  I literally stayed in bed all day and slept on and off.  I still had the headache when I went to sleep for the night and today I can feel it hanging around the edges.  To top it off, the day after I have one of those headaches, I feel exhausted as if it took all my strength to make it through the previous day.  Thankfully Rick is home and took care of Katie yesterday.  I could not have done so.  He also ran her to taekwondo today.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Husband for stepping up.

So not a lot to jibber about.  I am glad to be somewhat functioning today. Perhaps tomorrow I will feel more my normal self.

Wednesday Morning Ramblings

"Be quiet.  Be wery, wery quiet.  We are hunting bunny rabbits." said Elmer Fudd.  Why the Saturday morning cartoon quote?  Well, Rick is giving a presentation on a conference call to India and even with the office door closed, we have to be wery, wery quiet.  "Ssssh" is my much repeated word this morning.  I have to say that important calls are the hardest part of a having husband who works from home.  No loud activities allowed, such as vacuuming, singing or making smoothies--GASP!! (Even though I have a new blender, it is rather loud.)  When Katie was younger and didn't understand, "Daddy is on the phone."it was challenging to keep her content.  Now, she is so much better, but I am still working on her to not to talk to me when I am on the phone, which is a pet peeve of mine.  Not just Katie talking to me, but anyone talking to me when I am on the phone.  Slip me a note, but don't try to engage me in a conversation.  Despite being very multi-task-able, I cannot carry on two conversations at once.  But you know what is my number one pet peeve?  It grates on me worse than nails on a chalkboard?  It is people eating while you talk to them on the phone.  While gainfully employed, I used to have to put the person on hold because I feared I'd scream out in utter disgust.

On to more pertinent things.  Last night Katie had a rather freak accident.  We have a bookcase for the office that we need to build.  The dissembled boards were in the hallway and Katie hit one with her toes, which caused a cut at the base of her second toe.  Katie freaks out when she hurts herself, especially when she sees blood.  By freaking out I mean she cries uncontrollably and I worry that she is going to hyperventilate.  I try to get her to do the mind over matter bit by herself, but she is not very successful.  Last night I started reading Tangled and that did the trick.  This morning she is limping around, so no taekwondo.  She has missed so much of her class due to illness and weather that she is forgetting what she has learned.  I believe our best option is to get her private lessons so nobody threatens to take a stripe away from her for regression.  I have asked her if she wants to quit taekwondo, and she definitely does not want to.  It appears that she just doesn't want to go everyday, which I can understand; however, it is necessary for her do so to retain the difficult new information.  What to do, what to do.

Yesterday we were under a winter storm warning.  The temperature quickly dropped from a warm 58 degrees F to below freezing.  We did get a dusting of snow overnight and the wind chill is -9, but no school cancellations.  I am tired of winter already.  Snow is more miserable for me here than in Michigan.  One factor, as I previously discussed, is that the area shuts down for days when it snows; however, I think it also has to do with the fact that it is not supposed to snow here.  I am in Texas for Pete's sake.  In Michigan you defeatedly resign yourself to winter storms and snow because it is a feature of the area; it's a fact of life.  Here it seems like such a punishment.

Anyhoodles, that is about it for Wednesday morning.  I have so much to do and little motivation to do it.

Smoothie Nation

On Mondays Katie and I spend the day in Abilene.  I usually have some type of MOPS meeting in the morning and not wanting to drive home and then come back for taekwondo, we stay in Abilene and piddle away the time.  Our standard itinerary has us going to McDonald's after MOPS to eat lunch and for Katie to play in the play area.

I was not raised on McDonald's or any fast food for that matter.  When I eat any type of McDonald's I typically feel like crap for the rest of the day.  This occurs even when I get one of their salads, which are so loaded with preservatives that the lettuce doesn't take anything like a green leafy vegetable.  And forget about the little green apple slices that come with a Happy Meal.  I don't know what they sprinkle on those slices to keep them from browning, but whatever it is has a horrible bitter, chemical taste.  But I digress.  The one item I do like at Mickey D's is strawberry banana yogurt smoothies.  I like them enough that sometimes I crave them and since Ronald is not around the corner from our home, I have become smoothie making obsessed.  I am slowly perfecting my recipe and one tip that I found online is to throw a handful of spinach leaves in the blender to add all of the goodness that spinach holds.  Let me tell you that you cannot taste the spinach once you puree it.  I also like blueberries for their antioxidants.  I use soy milk since I am allergic to cow's milk.  I also add yogurt, a tablespoon of frozen juice concentrate for sweetness and a few ice cubes.  I must say that I am enjoying being a member of Smoothie Nation.

I just realized that it took me two paragraphs and countless words to say, "I make smoothies and like them."  Geez, must be a slow, blog worthy news day.

Snow Ice Cream

I still don't understand snow ice cream.  For those not in the know like I was, snow ice cream is made out of freshly fallen snow, a little milk and a dash of vanilla extract.  And yes, you actually eat it.  I am not sure if it just a Texas thing or a southern thing or a brown-haired, hazel-eyed thing, but as many of you are aware I was born and raised in snow country and in my long years in said snow, I nor anyone I knew ever made or heard of snow ice cream.  Perhaps because snow is rather rare in my adopted neck of the woods it is viewed as so awesome that you have to celebrate such as in the scenario below:

Child:  Mommy, it snowed!  It snowed!  It snowed!  Yipeeee!!
Mom:  Great!  Let's go outside and eat it!

The concept of using snow to make a dessert. . . .just can't get my head wrapped around it.  My question is this, if snow ice cream is such a treat why isn't anybody raving about rainwater lemonade on Facebook?

Quarantined and Snowbound

Whoa!  Have we been ill.  It started with Katie late Sunday evening.  I was in the living room and she came down the hallway mumbling something.  I couldn't quite hear her, but the then an odor made it to me before she did.  She had thrown up.  Boy, had she thrown up.  Her sheets, pillows, blankets, bed skirt, bed frame and floor were covered.  Rick started cleaning up while I tried to get Katie to the bathroom but she opted to throw up a few more times on the carpet.  Finally she had a reprieve so I popped her in the shower; however, she started throwing up again once out of the shower.  She sat on the floor in the corner of the bathroom for about an hour with a garbage can by her side.  She actually fell asleep sitting up.  We finally got her tucked back into bed only to have her throw up again.  She missed the garbage can, so we were changing her bed linens, blankets and pillows out again.  The rest of the night was vomitless, but the next day it started coming out of the other end.  Tuesday evening was my turn to sit in the bathroom and Wednesday morning Rick stepped up to the plate and took his turn.  Thank goodness we staggered our episodes or we would have been in trouble.

Needless to say, we haven't been anywhere since Monday, but then again we couldn't go if we wanted to.  We got ice and snow Monday evening.  The temperatures dropped and we have not been above freezing since then, which means the snow and ice will not go away.  Of course salt trucks are nonexistent in the Abilene area, well in the Texas area for that matter, so the Big Country has shut down.  The schools have been closed for the third day now.  Like all Northerners I shake my head and marvel how the past few days remind me of a nice winter day in the U.P. (part of Michigan for those not in the know).  While growing up, even with the worst storm, I don't recall school being closed for more than two days and that was extremely rare.  We just persevered.   We had sisu.


Because this storm was predicted, many people descended on Wal-Mart and other stores the night before the storm to stock up.  It is times like that that I am thankful that Rick believes in buying multiples and has convinced me to do the same.  Twenty-four cans of chicken noodle soup?  Six cans of shaving cream?  Three weed wackers?  We rarely run out of anything, including heating and AC units.

So I don't have any other news unless you want me to go into details of the worst stomach virus I have ever had.  (Rick agrees that it has been his worse also.  The poor guy passed out at one point.)  I did finally dump the pictures from my camera, so I will share a few.

 

Katie modeling her newly purchased taekwondo gear.  She's trying to be fierce, but notice the placement of the feet.  Very model like.

  Yipee!

Tuesday.  After Katie was sick and before I was ill.  I think it is the last year for her snow pants.  You'll note that I appear to be taking the picture from above.  I was in the house taking the picture through the front door's window.

Katie mid-jump. . .

"A flight of fancy on a windswept field

Standing alone my senses reeled"

"There's no sensation to compare with this

Suspended animation, a state of bliss"

(Courtesy of Pink Floyd "Learning to Fly")