Hey - where ya been?

I've been missing you! More later... Things are good - new gig is good. Snowdays however, bad.... very very bad!

It's a good day

Last Day at the Old Job.

big fat smiley assed face.

My best laid plans...

Have gone astray once again... If the weather warms up anymore I won't be able to use my table on the deck as an extension of my fridge on Thanksgiving. You know - what with the old one CATCHING FIRE and all...

Seriously - I'm so excited about Turkey Day. My boys love it - I think it is probably their second favorite holiday... Or maybe third. (Halloween and their birthdays may take the lead - but they are ALL OVER this one.)

My parents are coming! To Illinois! For a major holiday!

I get to cook. I Loves Me Some Cooking. Been planning for weeks.

Add all that to the fact that I will be unemployed for the holiday and I am like a little pig in you-know-what.

Hooray!

Gobble Gobble.

S

WHEN???

When Oh When Is It Going To Stop RAINING?

What I would rather be doing....

It is raining.

It is cold.

Maya has gymnastics.

This is likely the last time I personally get to (have to) take her.

De-light-ful.

A cold drafty gymnasium. Sitting on cold bleachers.

Then there is the little boy who obsessively throws a tennis ball up in the air and catches it. I almost had to be restrained from him once.

Then there are the multiple pop machines with which they are both obsessed. Already made sure I have my crisp dollar bills.

Then there is the freaky looking mom who I have a hard time not staring at for a solid hour. Bad Manners Much?!

Then there are the little little kids with Leappads. Nothing like dueling Disney Princess leappad books to brighten your afternoon.

Seth loves gymnastics. There is an older boy there who apparently doesn't have a gameboy and likes to watch Seth play Pokemon. Makes Seth feel like a rock star... Sometimes if he is feeling particularly benevolent, he lets him PLAY it.

What would I like to be doing? Sitting on my fanny on the couch watching me some Judge Judy and drinking cheap Pinot Grigio from the grocery store.

3 things

Starting the new gig the Monday after Thanksgiving. I know things happen for a reason and this just confirms it, yet again, for me.

I'm going shopping in Indy tomorrow with: Monica, Nita, Mona & Sharon. Should be a total blast. It always is! The lawyer just doesn't understand. It's fun to watch him try to puzzle it out.

My parents are coming for Thanksgiving. I'm making this salad:


Apple Raspberry Salad
Serves: 8 person(s)
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Extra Time: 2 hrs (for refrigeration)
Yield: 8 x 1/2 cup servings

Suggested apples to use include Empire, Ida Red, Jonathan, McIntosh, Red Delicious and Rome.
Ingredients:
1 package (3 oz) raspberry flavored gelatin *
1 cup boiling water
1 package (10 oz) frozen raspberries or 1 cup fresh raspberries
1 1/2 cup chopped unpeeled apples
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup broken pecan pieces
1/2 cup sliced celery

Directions:
In a 2-quart mixing bowl dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add frozen raspberries and stir gently until raspberries are thawed. Stir in apples, applesauce, pecans and celery. Pour into serving dish or mold.
Refrigerate about 2 hours or until mixture is set.

Other than that - the menu is all traditional - for the Holcombs... Oyster stuffing, mashed and sweets, pumpkin and pecan pie, brocolli, 7 layer salad, etc. etc. etc.

What are YOUR Thanksgiving traditional foods?

Peace in my soul

Here is the quote from this week's Hobby Lobby ad:


What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Emerson

This is exactly the feeling I am going for today and this week. I was in such turmoil on Friday. Reacting to events instead of trusting myself to move forward. I think I am over it.

Sorry to be so cryptic - don't wanna to get dooced.

S

PS - Emerson also said "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" another favorite quote.

PPS - Hobby Lobby rocks.

Sneaky and underhanded is no way to go through life...

grrrrr...

neither is stupid AND a bitch.

'nuff said - at least here on the internet.

S

This'll cure what ails ya'!

Susan's Minestrone

Easy and freezes well. Add some Italian sausage or chicken if you like meat. I don't measure. sorry!

Carrots – 2-3 large
Onion – 1 large
Celery – as much as you have carrots
Olive Oil (2 T??)
Garlic – 2-3 cloves
Italian seasoning (1 T??)

Chop the veggies. Brown in oil. Add in the garlic last so it doesn’t burn. Saute until onions are cooked through.

Add: (without draining)

2-3 cans crushed tomatoes (or whole tomatoes crushed up, or diced. Whatever you have on hand will work)
1-2 cans white beans (navy or canellini)
2 cans chicken stock

Rinse the tomato cans with water or wine to add more liquid and get all the tomato bits into the soup. Add more water or chicken stock if soup seems too thick. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for at least 1 hour. At the end of the cooking process add:

1 block frozen chopped spinach. Still frozen is fine.

Serve with cooked pasta (if you want) and (absolutely) parmesan cheese!

Life is fast and furious

Things are nutty lately.

Went to California... (F*A*B*U*L*O*U*S)
Came back sorta sick (stinkin' airplanes).
Busy busy busy week in the life of a mom last week.
I got sick for real Thursday
Maya spent a day puking Friday (as only Maya can)
Halloween party Saturday.
Suit shopping and general mommy-ness Sunday.
GLAD to be able to sit down today!

More nuttiness to follow this week. Stay posted for details.

wish this was more funny or interesting... Unfortunately - it's just my life!

Californ I A

I'm off on Sunday for Palm Springs. Oh my...

Will be interesting there and in Illinois to see how the beasts and the lawyer do without me...

Back on Wednesday late.

Another List

Things I love (in no particular order)

The Weather Channel
WXRT Radio Chicago streaming
Making cards with Maya
Watching Jon Stewart with Scott
Vince Vaughn
Andy Garcia (for totally different reasons)
Lame Disney Halloween movies
Pictures of my friends' kids
Kettle Korn
Hearing Seth & Maya do the "twenty-five" scene from Spongebob and cracking themselves up
Snuggling
Lighting Hannukah candles and listening to the kids sing the prayer

What do you love?

Micro....

Microdermabrasion
Microphone
Microplane
Microcephalus
Micronesia
Microscope
Microprocessor
Micromini
Microbiology
Microeconomics

Kathy's thoughts on friends...

um. Sorry Kath - this was too funny not to share.

"I am glad that I still meet the criteria to be your friend and share similar 'issues' even if we never actually talk and I live in a 3rd world country. I totally agree with your criteria, but beg to differ with the happy hour hour. Down here in Mex-eee-coh, any time after noon is acceptable for starting happy hour, and there is not specific end time required. And, PAH-Lease, if you want to bi*ch about not fitting in with the women who live near you, you have hit the jack pot with me. Try to be an over-5-foot-tall blond person with an actual education and job who does not paint her fingernails with pictures of little flowers or believe that a child's diet should be made up in equal parts by candy, pop, cheese, and chili powder and live in MY neighborhood. Oh, yeah, I totally blend in..."

More thoughts on friends....

Someone who would take a picture of a dead plant - JUST TO PROVE A POINT.
Someone who e-mails me to check up on me. And knows I do the same for them.
Someone who e-mails me a reaction to something - the same exact time I am e-mailing them the same thing. Jinx! Buy me a coke! (uh... Linda? Mags? Monica?? I'm talking to YOU girls!!!)
Someone who knows it's funny when someone else falls. Even if it's me falling.

This is not about work

In an effort NOT to write about work (don't ask) - here are some thoughts.

Why does it seem that my long distance girlfriends (and I) have problems finding other women like them close by? Similar age, kid status, interest, work status, etc. I've long thought that there MUST some woman in my sub-division or close by who could be my friend. But short of going door-to-door begging for a friend in the neighborhood, I'm at a loss to figure out how to find her. There needs to be a "dating service" for moms...

I can only imagine that this is harder for SAHMs. At least at work - I get out - meet people and have internet access all day long. Many of my friends here in Champaign I met or got closer to because we all sent our kids to the hospital daycare.

My requirements for a friend:
Someone who has sent their 7 year old to school with a peanut butter and KIWI jelly sandwich - hoping he doesn't look inside to see the green goo...
Someone who has dosed up a kid with tylenol, sent them to school and prayed for the best.
Someone whose floors are worse off than mine (although that is a tall order).
Someone who loves their husband, even likes them too, but is continually exasperated by them.
Someone whose DIY home improvement projects take way longer than on HG TV.
Someone who would rather read a good book (or People magazine) than clean.
Someone who thinks cocktail hour starts at 4.
Someone who thinks PTA is not the end-all and be-all of life.

So - that's it. But I *am* flexible!

What are your requirements (uh- Linda? Since you are the only one who reads my blog!)

Almost there in the dining room

The little things...

It's my mom's birthday - now a very bittersweet day. Just one more little thing that has changed in the last 5 years.

Happy Birthday Mom. You are the best.

Hit me now

Just in the last 2 weeks:

the dishwasher broke
the washing machine broke, right after
the toilet flooded the basement
the downstairs fridge caught on fire (WTF??)
we ran into a $325 hitch with the dining room hardwood floors

what else? really - hit me now - I'm numb.

Now I think I'm Cool

hee hee...