For the birds

Yesterday, my son and I decided to enjoy the glorious weather and go for a rollerblade/bike ride. The roads aren't too busy on Sundays and it is a perfect time to practice our bike safety rules, hand signs, etc. To get him motivated, I mentioned a nearby playground that he had not had the opportunity to visit since before this he would not ride his bike. So, off to the playground we go, me on my blades and him on his bike.
We arrive safely at the park, where he gets to play on the swingset while I explore the "tricycle" path that this development uses as a selling point for perspective new home owners. I start along the path that is adjoined to the playset. It's relatively smooth, with a few ups and downs so you can easily pick up some speed. Then there is a rather steep hill that leads up to a bridge that overlooks the playset. Oh look, there is the little monkey. "Hi sweetie, mommy is going to go down the hill, come watch" I'm ignored, but that is ok, since I've just now looked down the other side of the hill. It is not a straightaway, but an "s" curve with a severe hairpin curve at the bottom. This is a tricycle path, I'm sure it was designed with the little children's safety in mind.
Here I go. Made the first curve, lets put a little break on..whoa whoa, I'm not going to make that turn, I'm going to skid out...oh oh oh..crash.
I actually didn't skid out, but managed to launch myself over the earth berm at the edge of the hairpin curve. Luckily, the ground must have been watered recently since there was some give upon impact. After finding my glasses, which had flown off my face with my less than graceful landing, I was able to do a visual survey to see no real damage was done. The impact on my knee was on the scar from my last rollerblading accident, so that skin was already toughened up; my wrist seems to be moving ok and the shoulder I landed on just had a few more creaks and pops to add to the ones it already had from the first time I had separated it many years ago.
By this time, my son had wandered over and decided that it would be cool for him to give it a whirl (how Mommy on the ground, groaning in pain, is an incentive, I don't know). He with all the recklessness and invincibility of a 7 year old, went down that hill at Mach 3, missed the turn, did a jump in the air and managed to land safely on the grass some distance away. Was he afraid to go again after missing the turn and almost crashing? Of course not. Off he went again, to go faster around that curve, to prove that he could do it. And he did.

Fall is here

Ah, fall weather has finally arrived here in Texas. We have dry air with temps in the low 70's. I love this time of year. Even though our foliage does not change, it still is a fantastic time to get outside and enjoy life. It makes me want to bike, to run, to rollerblade everywhere. Which means, my blog suffers terribly. So, when you wonder why I haven't post, even though I do have things to say, it is because I'm out living life.

3am wake up call

3 a.m. and this is what I hear:
Knock, knock, knock,knock,knock, knock
plick, plick (stones against a window)
Knock,knock, knock,
plick, plick

What the #@&%?
I get out of bed and look out my bedroom window which faces the street. I don't see anything. I'll go back to bed.

Beebaw ,beebaw, honk, honk, beep beep.

A car alarm now? A rouse myself completely from the vestiges of sleep, puting my glasses on this time. (Without them I really am blind, there was no way I could see anything the first time I looked out the window, but I was still clinging to the thought that I would be able to go back to sleep.)It's my neighbor, the new ones who are renting the house on the corner. The kid sets the alarm off a few more times, knocks on the door and throws some more rocks. It's obvious he has managed to lock himself out of his home. It is not so obvious why he has chosen to not call his home to wake whomever is there to open the door.

I hear my son rustling in his sleep in the other room. Oh no, we are not waking him tonight, he is already short on sleep and I will not deal with a cranky kid in the morning. Hubby woke up too, but he has worked all night and really needs his sleep. Time for me to throw on some clothes. I storm downstairs, grab my phone and stomp over to the kid's car. Is he still in the car, I can't tell ...yes there, he's unrolling the window.
Me: Hi, what do you think you are doing?
Him: Oh hey lady, I locked myself out.
ME: I understand you are locked out, um hm, but you are waking up me and my husband and my 7 year old - cut it out!
Him: I'm trying to wake my Dad up, his bedroom is right there and must be jet lagged 'cause he doesn't hear me.
Me: Did you try to call him?
Him: Oh, no, my phone isn't working
Me: Hear (thrust phone into to his face). Call him.

The kid trys to call, but Dad doesn't wake up. He decides to try to call his brother on my phone, which appears to be long distance, and chats for a bit with him about how his father doesn't hear anything....I'm still standing there, waiting for my phone and the to go back to my cozy bed. The kid apologizes for waking me, gives back my phone, and says he will sleep in his car until his Dad wakes up. Good idea. It's a lovely night out for that, not to hot, not to cold. I head home, crawl back into bed, and stare wide-eyed at the ceiling for awhile. Guess who is the cranky one this morning?

Update: One of the sons used the "car alarm as key" trick again this morning.

Job update

I decided to stay with my old job instead of taking advantage of the fabulous new opportunities that were presented to me. "Why stay in a job you obviously dislike?" you ask. Simply put, my son. I asked him what he thought about going to daycare for a few hours a week and he did not want to go. He told me that he goes in the summer and that is enough, the kids are mean, it is noisy and they don't get to play outside.
Now, I am not a parent that caves in to my child's every whim, however when it may impact his development and progress in areas that he is already struggling with (ie. school)I do listen. Would my ADHD son have been able to do his school work in that chaos? What about when we got home at night, would it be too stressful, what with having to make dinner and do studying he was unable to do while in daycare? When would he be able to just play? When would fun time with us be? I couldn't do that to him. Being a parent does mean having to sacrifice and this is one of those occasions.

Job opportunity

I have a dilemma. I've been offered a permanent job from my sometimes weekend position of house sales assistant. That would mean leaving my current position, where I just received a promotion and there is plenty of room for advancement if I want it. The pro's the new job would have are a 50% pay raise with bonuses, I would work three days a week instead of 4, and I would be away from my current boss. The cons to this new job - it can be very boring, days of no customers coming in, I would be working until 6 pm which would mean my son would have to go to daycare after school. I asked him if he would like to do daycare after school, to see his friends and play. He said "no way". Hmmm. Plus, because it is in house sales, I would not be close to home forever - eventually all the houses would sell and we would move to a new location. I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

Ant bite

Here in Texas everything is bigger, which seems to include insect bites. We have fire ant season, which last approximately 10 months out of the year. If you'll notice, the stuff that you buy at Home Depot to kill these ants says that it lasts a season. I guess it refers to a typical length season since my fire ants, having been gone for the spring and summer, have come back with a vengence and they are seeking revenge.
One teeny, tiny, little ant bit me between the big toe and second toe of my right foot. I can barely move that foot today, it is so swollen. I'm even contemplating calling into work, since it will be difficult to stand on it all day and I'm not sure if I can even get a shoe to fit on my foot. I probably still go in, I have to be really sick not to show up for work. But my foot really hurts and it itches like the devil too!

100 things about me, part II

51. I once stepped on a priceless kaolin pipe that I had discovered earlier in the day.
52. I've always wanted to shave my head
53. and pierce my nose
54. and get a face tattoo
55. Saner folks have convinced me not to do any of those things.
56. I lived in 6 states and two countries
57. I've visited at least 15 states and 7 countries.
58. When I was younger, my sister and I tried to get into the Guiness Book of World Records by see-sawing. We lasted all of an hour. We didn't get in the book.
59. I'm an introvert.
60. I've been told my twin and I had our own language as children.
61. I've always wanted superpowers.
62. Maple walnut fudge is my favorite type of fudge
63. Mowing the lawn and weeding my flower garden is very carthargic for me.
64. Baking brings me joy as well.
65. I am a "swamp yankee" at heart
66. living in a good ol' boy state.
67. Every temp. position I've had has resulted in an offer of a full time position
68. I have "failed" at only one thing in my life, everything else is still in progress.
69. Honda CRX hatchback; my first car, my favorite car
70. My guilty pleasure is to watch UPN "America's Next Top Model"
71. and am embarrassed to admit that
72. I am not a patient person when it comes to ignorant people
73. In emergencies I act, I don't just stand there.
74. I attempted to stop a ring of shoplifters once
75. I was not 100% successful
76. I saw my husband about 3 months out of 12 the first year of our marriage
77. The herb "lemon verbena" is incredibly aromatic and invigorating
78. I went an entire New England winter without once wearing a winter coat (it was cold, I was stubborn)
79. My childhood nickname was "Rocky"
80. My high school nickname was "Foof"
81. My college nickname was Snail
82. Deep forest green and brown are my favorite colors to wear
83. I am a morning person
84. I stay up too late most nights
85. I need one cup of coffee to get me going in the morning.
86. I will not lie to you if you ask me a direct question.
87. I will circumvent the truth and use "lawyerese" if I don't want to tell the truth
88. Seeing my son unconscious after surgery, not waking up easily, was one of the most painful moments of my life. My heart literally hurt.
89. I wore a MIA bracelet until the soldiers body was recovered and I had contacted his family. It was part of my wedding jewelry.
90. I am physically stronger than I look.
91. When I get an idea in my head, I want it done now, not in 5 minutes.
92. My friends are my family
93. I like to think the weatherpixie on my blog looks like me
94. She doesn't really
95. My soul mate thinks I am the smartest person he ever met (I was fishing for something to add to the list)
96. Bad grammar makes me cringe, but I totally understand bad spelling.
97. I like to buy gifts for people for no reason, but will hold on to them until a holiday comes up.
98. I must have a well stocked pantry - at least 3 types of sugar, 5 vinegars, numerous extracts; you get the picture.
99. I refused to change my maiden name when I got married(and it is a doozy to spell)
100. I don't mind strangers reading my blog; but if I know you I have to trust you completely to let you read it. Don't ask me why, it is a complicated thing.

100 things about me, part 1

1. I am an identical twin
2. I used to be an archaeologist
3. and an EMT
4. and a postal worker
5. and a substitute teacher
6. and a medical assistant
7. I want to win a Nobel Prize, I don't care in what subject
8. I have written a children's book; it wasn't published, but not for lack of trying
9. I would like to have some of my short stories published
10. I have broken my arm/hand/elbow three times
11. I am a klutz
12. I love Elvis movies
13. I have one son
14. I don't want any more children
15. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up
16. I finished college in three years
17. I wish I was still in college
18. I met and married my soulmate
19. I love to read
20. If I don't do some sort of physical exercise every day I get cranky
21. I don't exercise everyday, so I am not a nice person to be around
22. If I am your friend, you can count on me to help you as long as you ask for help
23. I don't ask for help
24. I have no regrets in my life, every experience has made me stronger in one way
or another
25. I don't like birthdays
26. I expect everyone to work as hard as I do and am often disappointed
27. I can waste a whole day reading other people's blogs
28. Autumn is my favorite season
29. I've never taken any illegal substances
30. I've been stalked by two different men
31. I always can see the other person's side
32. I believe you are only given as much as you can handle
33. I've been in an art show (literally, I was one of the subjects)
34. My sister used to threaten to kill me when we were kids. She was serious.
35. I have a brother who I don't talk to and I don't know why.
36. I love to gamble with other people's money
37. I was on my college crew team
38. I own a dwarf rabbit
39. I am not living up to my potential
40. My favorite non-alcholic drink besides water is coffee milk shakes
41. I craved crab rangoons when I was pregnant
42. I have yet to find a hobby that I am good at
43. I'm 5'2"
44. I enjoy jobs that require some form of physical exertion
45. I love to rollerblade but have not been able to master stopping
46. Bike riding is also a passion, but only when I lived in New England.
47. I collect fountain pens
48. and cruets
49. I'm growing my hair for "Locks for Love"
50. I procrastinate

doughnut search

"Hey mom, Ive got an idea."
"what?"
"Let's go get doughnuts for breakfast!"
"Yeah, that sound yummy. Let's go. We'll go to Shipley's down the street."

No we won't. Even though our area was spared from any devastation from the storm, we are still in a "recovery zone" and supply trucks have not made it here yet. So business have not reopened. If you forgot to stock up on gas, meds or food, you are out of luck. Our local Randall's grocery store was open, but all dairy and meats were being removed from the shelves and shoppers were not allowed to buy any of it. The bakery had no food, there was no bread. The only thing you could find easily were fresh fruits (no one stocks up on those for a storm).
From a food safety point I do understand why it was done, but it certainly was an odd sight to see. This obviously is what happens all over when a disaster stikes. It was so weird not being able to just go to the store to get my doughnuts and gallon of milk.
We haven't had basic services like mail either. Again, I'm glad our local government took precautions, but it seems weird trying to explain to outertowners why we haven't received letters sent. I never thought of this side of disaster recovery. It makes you realize that victims of storms continue to suffer for weeks afterwards, that they are not even able to get their small pleasures.It is something to remember that next time nature strikes hard.

We made it

I know you are wondering how we faired through Hurricane Rita. Here you go:

Windows intact - check
Trees still standing - check
Power on - check
Backyard lake retaining its banks - check
Roof secure - check. Well I didn't really check since there are still wind gusts of 50 mph and I didn't think it would be a good idea to climb the ladder to look for loose shingles.
Cabin fever - check and double check

There could still be some flooding as the days go by if she stalls, but it looks like we made it through unscathed. Hopefully this will help alleviate some of my son's fears of storms. He can now realize that all hurricanes are not Hurricane Katrina.

We've got some windows to unboard and some sleep to catch up on, so I had best go now.

Hurricane Rita update

It looks like the storm is now a category 5, and we expect to see winds of 120 MPH hitting our home with strong possibility of tornadoes. Luck seems to be with us in that the storm surge should not reach us, although the wind will probably do damage.

Hurricane Rita

I just wanted to let you know that there is a good chance that I will not be posting for a bit. It looks like my area will be hit by Hurricane Rita, which means power will be out. My poor son is panicking at the thought of a hurricane hitting us. He keeps mumbling under his breath "why do we have to get hit by a hurricane, why does there have to be bad weather, it's not fair". We have close friends who lost everything they own during Hurricane Katrina and now he thinks the same will happen to us. I keep trying to explain to him that hurricanes can be "fun".

When I was growing up, I went through a few hurricanes. What I remember most is playing board games by candlelight and sitting outside as the eye of the storm passed over us. The clean-up afterwards was not always fun, especially since it seemed to include a severe case of poison ivy. We had tons of poison ivy around us, in bushes, trees, etc and it would blow down with the storm winds.Inevitably, you would end up picking some up without protection on your hands and *poof* an itchy rash would appear. That part wasn't fun, but it certainly was not the worst thing that could happen.

I do have to admit that I am a little nervous, since it is now forcasted to be a Cat. 4 hurricane. We're just going to stock up on supplies and tough it out.

Cardshark in the making

Today my dear son asked if we would like to play a game of "Sorry" with him, which we agreed to do after dinner was done. As we are prepping dinner we hear shouts from upstairs "I'm setting up the board" "What color do you want to be" and "I've mixed the cards around so don't touch them". "Fine, super, whatever you say dear" are our responses back to him. Yet he keeps going on about how he has shuffled the cards, how they are all set and that we should not touch them. OK, I'm getting a wee bit suspicious. Then we hear him call down "I got a twelve, I'm moving" "Dad, you have an 11, who do you want to switch with?" At this point we call up to him that we are not playing yet, wait to after dinner, then we will play. Oh yes, and put the cards he pulled onto the bottom of the pile. He insists that he can't do this, that he'll just keep them pulled and we can use them when the game starts. Hmm.

We have dinner and are cleaning up with prodding from him to "come and play". Luckily a call from Grandma distracts him for a bit, so we can clean up. Since he is still on the phone with Grandma, I sneak upstairs and shuffle those cards. He finished his phone call and we go play. 12 for him to start with, 11 for Dad, and a 3 for me.
We go another few rounds and he stops and says "hey, what happened to the cards?"
I ask innocently, "Whatever do you mean dear?"
"They are not the same, you're supposed to have the low cards, dad and I get the high cards so we can move faster."
Aha! "So you cheated?"
"No, I just arranged the cards so Daddy and I could win. That isn't cheating. How did you know?"
"Sweetie, I'm your mom, I always know"

Later my husband asks how did I know, since he had no clue. "Come on now," I say, "when someone is intent on you not rearranging cards in a game you know something is up." Dear hubbie looks me in the eye, pause a moment and says simply, "He gets that from your side of the family". True, oh so true. In fact, though I hate to admit it, I felt a little misplaced pride in my son's first attempt at a con job.

Popcorn time

It's that time of year - the leaves are changing, there is a nip in the air, and if you take a deep breath you can smell...popcorn. Yup, popcorn sales have started for the cub scouts in our area and my son is overjoyed about it. Not because he can raise money to support his troup, not because he can earn a patch for his uniform, not because he can display his salesmanship skills; no because he has the chance to earn prizes. Prizes that we could buy in the store at about a tenth of the amount of money that is needed to be raised in order to earn them.
At our pack meeting last night, as the popcorn sale was announced it was my son alone who jumped up, punched his hand into the air and yelled "yahoo". He is bound and determined to earn the lego sets that have in the prize catalogue. What is his goal? To sell $1350 worth of popcorn. This might be possible if we were a family where both parents worked for big companies and brought the order form into work and pushed our fellow employees to buy, buy, buy. We are not that type of family. Hubby and I firmly believe that if he is to learn anything from this experience he must do the selling. Luckily the boy is more than willing to go to all our neighbors and ask if they would like to support the boy scouts. In fact, he is planning on spending "family fun night" going door to door. I don't know how much fun it will be, but it's his choice and we will support him.

1 year anniversary

I just realized I forgot to celebrate my one year anniversary of blogging. I remember when I first started, so young, so innocent. I actually thought that I would faithfully blog everyday and would have a legion of readers following the trevails of my life story. I soon realized (1) My life is not that exciting, and (2) I have to learn how to post pictures to really draw the crowds in. Since I don't have a digital camera, the crowds will have to stay away and I will just enjoy the company of my faithful blogger family. I've also come to the realization that I'd rather read about what is going on in my fellow bloggers lives than come up with something in my own life of which to write. Luckily for you (or not so lucky, depending on how you view it), Wally has pushed me to write more often so I continue to blather on, even when there is absolutely nothing to talk about. I do try to post at least once a week and have on occasion posted several times in one day.

Now I will make the request that I seem to see on all one year anniversary posts. What would you like me to write about?I promise I will give each request careful consideration before deleting it to the trash can. I'm kidding. If you ask, I will write.

Wednesday

I told my boss that he needed to post for the accounting job I've been doing (along with my own by) by this Wednesday or I was quitting. He told me this morning that he posted it, which made me feel a little appreciated. Come to find out, it was my district manager who did it, not him, most likely from the strong suggestions of another manager who actually listens. It is OK, at least it was done. I don't know why I would expect my manager to get the work done - he doesn't listen most of the time anyway. I told him flat out "I do not know how to do this job". His response, "don't be silly, you are muddling through fine". "Muddling through" in an accounting position usually means trouble and audits. This is not something that should be acceptable.
I don't run the place, it is not my responsibility.

Flooding in

I just got back from volunteering at my son's school (I do it every Friday that I have off). There was a flood of refugee families coming in to register their children for school. The district has waived most of the normal requirements needed to register for school, ie. shot records, copy of the last physical, school records, etc., since someone with common sense realized that these people were not thinking about school when they fled their homes. Half of them probably thought that they would be returning in 3 days, not in the months to a year that it might actually take before they are able to go home again.

Most of the parents look worn and tired, with a few showing some stress and frustration, but under control. The children just look shell-shocked. Many of them have a blank look to their eyes, like they are in a dream state. As one child was being led to his new class, he looked around with a panic-stricken face and broke into tears. His mother was barely able to hold herself together as he was led away. Luckily, we have a very good staff of counselors and one of them was able to distract him and get him smiling again.

Some of my relatives up north can't understand why the children are being made to go to school so soon after this tragedy happened. It for the simple reason that these families need a routine, something to cling to, something that is part of a "normal" life. If they are allowed to sit in a hotel room, an overcrowded shelter, or a converted stadium; despair sets in. Giving them something to focus on gives the children purpose.

Rebuilding

So now that New Orleans has been pretty much wiped off the map; when they rebuild can they truck in some dirt so that it is above sea level? Every time a hurricane or tropical storm is predicted for New Orleans, the threat of flooding is real since it is 10 feet (about 3.2 m) below sea level. I know in the past they would not make it level because buildings had been there for centuries and you couldn't build up one section of the city while leaving another part of the city to collect the run off into its section. Now there is no excuse. Yes, it will add to the expense of rebuilding but wouldn't it make sense to rebuild with the idea of not setting yourself up to have to rebuild againthe next time a hurricane hits?

Selfish being

Over the past few weeks I've complained about my job and how I'm underappreciated and about school hassles. The last few days have woken me to how selfish I am. Obviously with the events of the past few days, my little problems mean nothing. We live in Texas along the gulf coast - the refugees from the hurricane are coming to our state. Tens of thousands of individuals are being relocated from the Superdome stadium to the Astrodome, where they will spend months living. Living with no privacy, no private baths, and no possesions. My son may very well have new classmates this next week, because those who have been displaced have to make Texas their home for the next year, at the very least.
On a more personal level, a friend's daughter has been rediagnosed with brain cancer. She is only 4 and has already been through surgeries and chemo from the last occurance of cancer. Her survival chances are not good. Her parents have to decide whether or not to give her treatment and possibly extend her suffering and she still might not survive or let things just take their own course.
It certainly makes me put things into perspective.

Power outages

Well, I had a very long post going about my baking fiasco from the baby shower (I opted to make everything), which if I do say myself, was quite humorous; then one of the worst things that could possible happen in a bloggers life happened. The power went out. *Sigh*. So frustrating. So now you get this lackluster post. Blame mother nature, she's the one who opted to host a three hour lightening storm outside my door, which made it very difficult for any of us to sleep. Our poor little retention lakes even flooded their banks.*Sigh* So this all you get. Good Sunday to you all.