Sunday, December 30, 2007

Next best thing


I missed all of you terribly, but it was fun chatting on the webcam. The boys miss you all already. They were so excited to talk to everyone! I really liked the Grumpus chants and the belly fight inticings. Nice harmonica playing you guys! And if you needed more proof of how lovely I feel, here is a picture.

Buy stock in Kleenex. I'm single-handedly keeping them in business



Wish I could be there to see you all! We miss and love you! Please come visit us! Tickets are only $100 each way right now!

What's worse?

What's worse than taking sick kids across the country by airplane?

Answer: Not taking sick kids across the country by airplane.

Such a bummer. This is going to be a long post, so feel free to skip it.

After packing and getting ready to go on Thursday, I was mostly ready for the big day on Friday. I packed a few things I had forgotten the night before and then loaded up the shoes. Back home we went. Then off to the bank and the store to pick up medication. I got some OTC stuff for me, since I am completely stuffed too. I'm going to take pictures of my trash can. It is full of kleenex. All of my trash cans are. Sigh.

Finally we were on the road to the airport. C was not enjoying the trip. She whined the entire time. I had given her a banana, juice, and some Apple Jacks for breakfast, but she had refused to eat. kept teasing and kept whining. Then, to add insult to injury, it started to snow. I hate driving in snow. I really really do! It scares me silly. But after praying for awhile, it finally stopped.

I arrived at the airport, and thanks to my lack of foresight, couldn't find the inexpensive parking space. Running low on times and nerves, I settled for the expensive airport parking. I wish I was kidding, but I drove for almost 15 minutes without finding a single parking space. Not one. No where. I drove through the garage to the outdoor parking, but it was not close to the shuttle pick up, which I definitely needed. I had the foresight to get the number from the garage pillars and call for a pick up. It took awhile, but the shuttle finally got there. It was already pretty full, but had just enough seats for me and the boys. Another nice passenger helped me get the kids seatbelts on as I had in my lap.

The shuttle to us to "the place we drop off everyone leaving from this terminal." The problem with that being it wasn't even close to where I needed to get to. The driver tried to find someone to help me get the bags in, but it was so busy, he couldn't find anyone. I was standing there with 3 kids, 2 booster seats and 1 car seat, 2 duffel bags packed full of stuff for 4 people for a week (picture a bag as long as and just as heavy), a backpack, and a small bag with the boys' Leapsters. Yeah, not a good position to be in. The driver finally says that he'll help me. He grabs the 2 massive bags, I have the backpack, carseat and a booster seat, has a booster seat and the small bag and pushes in the stroller.

We start to head up the escalator. Not my choice. The driver was leading the way and I don't think he realized we had a stroller. So, I picked up the stroller to carry it up the escalator. Then someone mentions that we lost a shoe. Sure enough, had gotten one off. I was surprised she had it on so long. Nothing stays on her feet for long. I turned around to pick it up and freaks out that I'm not on the escalator with him. He tries to go back down the escalator. You can imagine that didn't go well. He starts to tumble, I'm stuck as I'm holding a stroller, he's screaming, and some kind soul helps up and takes him up the escalator. Oh, it was such a disaster. The line for Southwest was REALLY long. I was grateful I left so early. I left 4 hours before the flight and I was still cutting it close at this point. We were waiting in line for what felt like ages. The boys kept wanting to wander off. I had to get all the the stuff moved forward every time the line moved. Ugh. The boys were really helpful and wasn't crying anymore. We finally got to the front of the line and got the bags checked and an infant pass for . A nice worker carried my massive bags to the baggage screening place. I was glad they didn't incur a 50 pound fee.

After that fun, it was off to another line. The security line. Ugh. More lines, more waiting. The kids did pretty good, only wandering off a couple of times. I really wish I had those kid straps or something. There were soooo many people there, and it was kinda scary how easy the kids could wander off. When I got to the front, a lady helped me get kids shoes off and everything into bins. I had to take out all of the liquids, of course. Thankfully, I already had them separated into quart bags. I had a lot of them between meds for his nasty ear infection, pain meds in case he hurt too bad, meds in case (who also had a nasty cold) was in pain, and more I can't even remember.

We managed to make it through without too much drama. And then off to the gate to catch the plane with a little less than an hour to spare. It wasn't easy keeping the kids all together. Ugh. I passed a few gates that said Chicago flights were cancelled. That made me nervous as we were going through Chicago. We got to the gate with about 45 minutes before it was scheduled to take off. The flight at 12:45 to Chicago had been cancelled and there was a line of probably 100 people waiting to get to the counter. Not a good sign. We sat down and the boys ate some PB&J sandwiches I had packed. I had packed them in case there weren't any restaurants in the airport we liked or we didn't have time to stop. I had brought some Toddler Meals for . So we sat and I fed and the boys ate their sandwiches and watched another passenger play on his video game console thingy. He was really nice and talked to the boys and showed them how it worked and stuff. The kids got done eating and we went around to see what was going on.

I asked the people in boarding line and it turned out they were going to Nashville and were already over an hour late to depart. Then I tried to ask the lady boarding the people, but once tried to sneak on the plane (grrrr) she ignored me. I did hear her say they were taking off all of the bags for about 6 transfers. Albuquerque was the last one she said. She said the bags were going back to baggage claim. I was back and forth on the phone with my mom and Brad. We were trying to find another flight, but everything was either cancelled or booked solid. We tried calling the airline, but there was nothing open for days. Many tears were shed and it was decided that it wasn't going to work out. My siblings would start leaving on Monday, and there wasn't a way I could get there by then. I was going to go home instead. So then it was back to baggage claim with 3 crabby kids. grabbed some Doritos from a vendor and said, "Look mom, we don't have these." The vendor was not happy.

The bags were not in. Not that there weren't lots of bags there, none of them were ours. A lot of flights got cancelled, so there were bags everywhere. The bags took a long time to get in. Long enough that got to sleep and the boys played Leapster for awhile. When the luggage finally arrived, I went to get a luggage carrier thing. freaked because I couldn't carry all of the bags at once and left some stuff. Sheesh. I'm not an octopus. I ran back to get the rest and pushed the cart out to the shuttle. The lady picking me up said, "Did you miss your flight? I saw you trying to get in the building earlier." I told her about the cancellation. She was sympathetic. "You went through all of that for nothin'!" Yeah, I did.

The ride home wasn't much better. It was in that the kids fell asleep after a long, exhausting day, but it was snowing and the roads were a mess. Did I mention I hate driving in snow? I was going quite slow. I wasn't the slowest by any means, but people were flying past me too. Crazy drivers. There were so many people that had gone off the road. Lots of tow trucks. I saw one SUV drive off the road, swerve back on, and almost cut off another vehicle. It was scary. I was glad it was a divided highway. I kept going, quite slow. At one point, I had tried to pass the slow people in front of me, but when I changed lanes, I lost control of Odie for a split second and just about peed my pants. I decided I should just stay behind the rest of the slow people. The speeders passing me would fling slush all over Odie and make it really hard to see and drive. Not cool.

Eventually I made it home to get Brad. The main roads in Lansing weren't too bad. We went out to eat at Applebee's and then to the movies to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. That is the last time we will be going to the movies as a family. did not like it one bit. Thankfully, there weren't too many people in the theatre to hate our guts. It was pretty empty. I let her climb up and down the stairs until I got in trouble. It just did not go well.

Sleep wasn't much better. kept coughing and was up from about 4 until 6:30. Therefore, I was up then too. Can't I catch a break?

Brad was on a 24 hour shift today, so I've been home alone with the kids. It has not been fun. The boys spilled the Fruity Pebbles while I was outside trying to scrape up ice off the drive-way. Rather than clean it up, I tried to make them clean it up. Ugh. It would have been so much easier to do myself. They kept stepping in them and spreading them around. Pebbles were everywhere.

I spent the day trying to clean up, administering medication, refereeing the constantly fighting boys, handling the cry baby and doing my best to not completely lose my mind.

I'm not going to church tomorrow. I don't want to take this show on the road. Too many of us are sick. And Brad can't go tomorrow and there is no way I can handle the kids out by myself again. I'm done. Done I tell you! I'm going to spend tomorrow coughing and blowing my nose, if you need me.

Oh, and in happy news, I have discovered the power of cookies. We gave cookies to the trash collector for Christmas. Ever since, he brings our trash can back up the drive way for us. Isn't that thoughtful? I sure appreciate it.

That is about it. It took me forever to write this. The boys were fighting was whining, and the Patriots were making NFL history. I thought the Giants had them for awhile. I was torn. I don't like Brady. At all. I just think it isn't right to dump your pregnant girlfriend for a super model. Yes, I know that isn't fair of me. I know he was already dating Gisele when he found out about the baby, but it still really bugs me. A lot. On the other hand, it is cool to set a new record. Okay, now I need to go to bed. It's 1:30 am now.






Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas!

Well, after our big snow storm, I thought for sure we'd have a white Christmas. But NoooOOooo. We had to have a rain storm that came and melted all of the snow. Not to mention it did wonders on the leak in our roof. Sigh.

How 'bout them Cougars in the bowl game? My family all went. I can't believe the Cougars pulled it off like that!

In D news, the Primary was asked up to sing a song for Christmas. J went willingly, but D didn't want to. But then a minute later, he decided to go up. He went and stood by J. After the song, the kids all filed back down. Except for D. He went and had a seat by the Stake President. Made himself comfy. I was standing in the back signaling him to come back down by waving my arms. There were laughs all over the place. We live to amuse people.

We had Christmas yesterday since Brad was working today. It was lots of fun. The kids were all completely spoiled. They love all of their presents. I got some video and pictures, but haven't made it to up load them yet.

Monday, December 17, 2007

8 yrs ago today




Just some pictures of our wedding. We got married in Denver, CO. I included the picture with my sister because it shows the snow and how cold it was.

I love you, Bradley. Thank you for an amazing 8 years. I'm so grateful to be married to you. I look forward to a wonderful future with you.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Ferber

Okay, it has been a long time since I've been in so much snow. OK was more of an ice thing. Not much in the way of fluffy, powdery snow. The 8 inches we got today felt more like 18. Brad worked last night and had to drive home in it this morning. He said it was pretty rough. Since he was going to be home, I left the kids with him and went to church so I could teach. But then they sent everyone home after sacrament to get home before the storm got worse. I guess my lesson is ready for next week!

While Brad and C slept, I shoveled the driveway. I love shoveling snow. I don't think I'll let Brad do it. It took me 2 hours. I think it would have taken me half that time if Brad and I hadn't driven on it already. It was the compact snow that was hard to shovel. The rest of it was cake. I learned that lesson last snow storm, but not well enough. I thought if I got it before it had a chance to melt and refreeze into ice, it wouldn't be too bad. And indeed, it was a lot better than last time, but still harder than if it hadn't been driven on. The boys tried to help me after awhile. J said, "Mom, this looks hard so we wanted to help you." What sweet boys. It looked so funny after they got done. None of their lines were straight. It looked like a drunk person was shoveling the driveway.

I agreed to let Brad Ferberize C. She has been screaming for an hour. I have never heard her so mad. Wow. I told him he has to check on her every few minutes, as per Ferber's recommendations and not just leave her to cry. He has been checking on her, but this still stinks. I hate hearing her cry. But I'm really desperate to get her sleeping through the night. She is already a year old and needs to get it down. We are playing classical music for her so she isn't such a light sleeper. She is a REALLY light sleeper. The slightest noise wakes her up. We are trying to break her of that.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Megan

I finally found a babysitter here. I'm so excited! Brad and I got to go out on a date. Alone! Our anniversary is on Monday. 8 years. Wow, that went fast! We had a wonderful time out on our own. I can't wait to go again!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Sheesh

How did I get so far behind? Oh yes, I remember. Life happens.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We enjoyed having Brad's family here. It was fun seeing C and Aeryn together again.

I'm enjoying the snow here, much to my surprise. I feel pretty bad for OK though. That sounds like a pretty bad storm. I'll bet the trees in our old yard are down. They wouldn't have made it through that storm. And so many of our friends are without power. Still. Days later. I'm glad we don't have to deal with that. Yet. I'm sure MI has plenty of nasty weather in store for us.

The frozen rain we enjoyed on Tues caused our skylight to start leaking. Oh, the joys. The hallway to the upstairs is now a danger zone. At anytime you could be hit with falling spackle. Oh the joys. There is always something to be fixed on houses, huh. Houses and cars.

We finally got our indoor Christmas decorations put up this week. We are still waiting for Brad to be home during the daylight hours to put up our outdoor lights. I'm so glad we moved. It forced us to reorganize and for the first time in many Christmases, I actually found all of our Christmas stuff. Yeah! The kids favorites have been decorating our little 3 ft artificial tree, playing with the advent calendars, and most especially, the Little People Nativity, Shepard, Drummer Boy, and Thanksgiving set. They just love them.

We got a new china cabinet. Well, it isn't new. We got it for a steal on Craigslist. It is so beautiful. Just getting it here was a long story though. We were having company for dinner, which Brad missed, because of the problems with the cabinet. Let's just say the van was out of gas, it was the middle of no where, the cabinet wouldn’t fit in the van, he had to by straps and a tarp to put in ON TOP of the van, the guy was drunk, it was raining, he had to drive super slowly because of the rain and the cabinet, etc. And J ran into a wall and got a nasty gash under his eye. It could have used stitches, but we didn't take him. It healed fine though.

And C had her first birthday. Very cute pictures to come. She is such a doll. She is still only walking 5-10 steps at the most. She got in 4 molars. Unbelievable. She had 12 teeth before she was 1. Ugh. At her 1 yr appointment, we found that she hasn't gained even an ounce since her 9 mo. At least she isn't losing weight. She is still exactly 21 lb 15 oz. She dropped from the 92% to the 64%. She has grown almost 2 inches in height.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but this is a good start, right? I hope to get pictures and videos up soon. I have a lot of them accumulating on my camera.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Look who is walking!

6 things about me

The rules of the game should be posted at the beginning of the post. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Okay, let's see what I can come up with here...

1. I broke my ankle playing volleyball in March. I went up to spike a gorgeous set and came down sideways and snapped off the end of my fibula. Ouch.

2. I don't like riding bikes. Really really don't like riding bikes. I have no idea why...

3. I have close to 90 first cousins. I'm not sure how many. I lost count. I couldn't even name them all. My mom's family has 12 kids and my dad's has 11. You should see our reunions... I'm older than 2 of my aunts and 1 uncle. (My gpa got remarried after my gma died.)

4. I graduated from BYU in 3 years. I love BYU football. (Let me know if you want to borrow my copy of last year's UofU game.) :) Actually, I love all college football.

5. Brad and I lived in France for 5 months. We went on the sewer tour in Paris, believe it or not.

6. At 5 ft 8 in, I'm the shortest person in my immediate family. I'm the oldest of 6 and they are all 6 ft tall or taller, including my parents. We are all sports nuts. Football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, raquetball, and track and some of our favorites.

I'm new to this blogging circle, so I'm not really sure who has already done this. So, if I tag you, and you've already done it, let me know when you did it so I can read it and learn more about you. :)

I'll tag: Elaine, Jeannette, Jenny, Philip, Aubrey, Brooke (and Jill if you haven't done it. :))

Monday, November 5, 2007

Do I look different?

Yeah! I'm officially no longer 30. 3-1 here I come! When you're 30 people are always asking if it feels weird to be 30. I don't think they ask people that when you are 31. I could be wrong though.

Brad got me an amazing gift that I begged him for for months now. What a guy. I have felt very loved and spoiled. Thanks everyone for the emails, cards, calls, gifts, and well wishes. I'll try to get back to you individually tomorrow, since today was a little crazy.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Pictures

Here are the Halloween pictures. There are tons. And you can also check out some videos on the link, but be warned, they are pretty boring.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Halloween

We had a lot of fun on Halloween. There was Trunk or Treat. Pumpkin carving. School parade and parties. And then Trick or Treating in the rain. I have tons of pictures and lots videos that I hope to get uploaded soon.

Friday, October 26, 2007

ER trip

Okay, perhaps that is a bit too dramatic. We didn't actually go in the ER. We met Brad outside the ER. And he removed yet another 'popcorn weed' from D's nose. Grrr. At 10:30 pm. Grrr. Yeah, hope to post something soon...

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Birthdays!

Ds birthday is on Saturday, so I made cupcakes for his class tomorrow. But I can't just make cupcakes. No, that would be to easy. Granted, they are regular, boring cupcakes from a box and no decoration other than sprinkles, but also thought I might as well juggle laundry, a furnace repair man, a crying baby, a whiny 5 yr old, and making dinner all at once. Why not? Oh, what a day...

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Popcorn weeds

Yes, I know they are seeds and not weeds, but D stuck one up his nose a few months ago, and said he had a weed in his nose. Oh, the drama. I have popcorn on the brain today. Here is a picture from the excitement back in July. Thank goodness that Brad has so many cool medical tools at home. It would have been embarrassing to go to the ER or something for that! Today I got to help out the PTA with their popcorn sales. I wasn't sure how useful I would be having C with me, but she did really good. She got so many ohhs and ahhs and she just ate up the attention. It was lots of fun seeing the boys at school. I got to deliver popcorn to J's class. He was so excited to see us. And I passed D about 5 times in the halls as they were going to gym and potty break. That was lots of fun.

No, she didn't actually eat any, if you are curious

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

I'm taking requests

Okay, so not really, but since Philip asked so eloquently, how could I refuse?

Oh, I know how! I got to bed at 1, but then C kept me up until 2. I finally got to sleep at 2, and she woke me up again at 6:20 (yes, Jill, I should have just stayed up). I finally got her back to sleep at 8, just in time to get J to school and clean the house for my amazing "kidsitter" as D refuses to have a babysitter. Now it is nearly midnight and I'm functioning on a little over 4 hours of sleep.

So, there's your post, Mr. Down-with-the-Yankees! ;)

For the record, I'm a Rockies fan because I actually lived in CO, if but for a short time. NM doesn't have any professional teams, and as such my allegiances aren't very strong.

I'll see if I can manage a real post tomorrow. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Go Cougars!

Oh, what busy, busy days.

Brad was in a trauma life saving class this weekend, so we didn't see much of him. I kept busy yesterday preparing for our new renter who arrived in the afternoon. It unfortunately left me little time to prepare a dessert for the social. And then I needed to prepare a lesson for Gospel Doctrine. I decided to forgo the social so I wouldn't be up until midnight working on the lesson. I was sad I missed it, but very grateful for the leftovers. I hope I can make it to the next activity. I need to get out of the house with some women and no children asking me for this, that or the other. It was such a wonderful broadcast! I couldn't take notes fast enough. I kept wanting to tell them to talk slower. I can't wait for the Ensign.

Church is always interesting when you go by yourself with 3 kids. Thanks to lots of people who saw me struggling and offered a helping hand, I managed to make it through. I hope my lesson didn't show the stress from the weekend too much.

Did anyone watch the BYU/UNM game last night? I'm borrowing the Jones' recording. My parents are in the audience. I'm so jealous. Not that they were on TV, which I would detest, but that they got to go to a football game. I miss going to football games.

The memories...

This quote is from my sister's blog. She is so hilarious. I just wanted to add it to mine so I could remember it.

"We work hard for the money, so hard for it honey
That song always reminds me of doing manual labor on Christmas and changing the words to say "We work hard for our mommy!". Good times :)"

Just a little stroll down memory lane I wanted to add.

Mother's Day card

Minus the bad language in the middle, if I close my eyes and listen, this could have been recorded by my family.


Friday, September 28, 2007

Braggin'

Can't help it. He is awesome!

http://www.okhighered.org/newsletter/stories/06-07-osuchs-grad.html

Saturday, September 22, 2007

What kind of VT are you?

My friend from OK sent this. Too funny.

http://www.blip.tv/file/255494/

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup

prep:25 min cook:20 min
1 c dry lentils rinsed and drained
1 c chopped green pepper
1 c sliced carrots (2 medium)
1/2 c chopped onion (1 medium)
2 t instant chicken bouillon granules
1/2 t dried sage, crushed
1/8 t ground red pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz fully cooked smoked sausage links quartered and sliced

Directions: In a large pot mix all but sausage and add 5 cups of water. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20-25 minutes until veggies and lentils are tender. Stir in sausage and heat through.

Makes about 7 cups (5 main dish servings)

267 calories per serving, 11 g total fat

My thoughts: I prefer using ground sausage. I just brown it after I get the soup going and then add it when it is browned for the remainder of the time. It just seems to go farther since the pieces are smaller. I'd rather get a lot of bites with a little sausage than a few with a lot of sausage. And some ground sausage varieties have great seasoning too. I don't put in the pepper because my boys don't like spice, but I put red pepper flakes in my own bowl. And if you really want the flavor to pop, don't be afraid to add a tiny bit of salt and lots of pepper. :)

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Lake Mons-ter

So, we had a huge storm that brought a lot of rain. Our basement actually flooded. Fun, huh. Here are pictures!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

School pictures

Better late than never. Here are school pictures!

school starts!

Yeah! I am so excited. So the remainder of last night was good. We started our new bedtime routine with the kids. Start getting ready for bed at 8, lights out by 9. They had their Father's Blessings for the first day of school. Then I have from 9-10 to get my stuff done so I can be asleep by 10, awake by 6. Yeah. That didn't happen. More like asleep at midnight. I just lay there in bed thinking and couldn't sleep. Anyway, I didn't wake up at 6. I woke up at 7:30, the boys' new wake-up time. I got them up and going on their new morning routine. It went pretty well, but it is new, so they needed a little more time. Plus, we ran out of toothpaste. And I had to take lots of pictures. So, I didn't have time to walk them to school, so we drove. It wasn't a ton of fun waiting for D's class to start. I guess they won't let me in the library after all. I went to the Principals office to see if they have a solution. The other lady said to sit in the car for 1/2 hr. I asked if that is what she does. "No, that is what my nanny does." I'm thinking, I'd sit in a car too for 1/2 hr if I was getting paid. Anyway, I'm supposed to hear some kind of solution later this week. The childcare option isn't good. It is $6 from 7 am -9 am. Even if I don't drop him off until 8:30, it is still $6. Yeah, no thanks.I spent my time today doing Craigslist emails and updates since I don't do it on Sundays. I didn't do my chores today either, but I am very close to caught up on My Money. I should be, I literally spent hours on it today. Ugh. Neglect something too long and it turns into a beast. Brad is on call, but this month it is in-house on call, so he is sleeping at the hospital. At least he gets home early the next day. I also made dentist appointments. That's about it. It was productive, but I feel bad I didn't do my chores. Or exercise. Oh well. Lots to do, I should get some rest.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Recipe

Here is the Slow-Cooked Taco Meat Loaf recipe. It is from Lacey Kirsch in the Mar/Apr 07 Simple & Delicious magazine. It is SOOO easy!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups crushed tortilla chips
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
1 envelope taco seasoning
2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce

DIRECTIONSIn a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture; mix well. Shape into a round loaf.Cut three 20-in. x 3-in. strips of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Crisscross the strips so they resemble the spokes of a wheel. Place meat loaf in the center; pull the strips up and bend the edges to form handles. Grasp the foil handles to transfer loaf to a 3-qt. slow cooker. (Leave the foil in during cooking.)Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until no pink remains and a meat thermometer reads 160°. Combine the ketchup, brown sugar and hot sauce; pour over meat loaf during the last hour of cooking. Let stand for 10 minutes. Use foil strips to lift loaf out of slow cooker. Yield: 8 servings.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Garbage gone wild

This lady cracks me up. I can't help but laugh out loud. Such a hoot. If you have time, run to Reader's Digest and read her articles. They are short, fast, and hilarious.

Garbage Gone WildWhen did garbage disposal become so high-tech?
From Reader's DigestAugust 2007

The Touchless Trashcan

One day last year, our progressive California city distributed small green plastic compost bins designed to collect kitchen scraps and create marital disharmony. While I was eager to contribute to the municipal composting effort, my husband, being the hygienic sort, was less so. He ignored the little green bin, which was not, after a while, easy to do. Owing to my failure to empty the little bin into its bigger counterpart each Monday when the trashmen came, what was going on inside was not composting, but garden-variety rotting and stinking. Ed banished the bin to the deck. Now that I couldn't smell it, I would forget about it for weeks on end. The city was not so much composting as creating subsidized housing for molds and flies and their little squirming children. One day I saw Ed coming up the driveway holding, at arm's length, what we had come to call the maggot zoo. He was approaching the trio of wheeled garbage, recycling and compost toter bins lined up alongside our house. "Which bin do you use for bins?" he said. So we went back to our old ways: Ed using the in-sink Disposall, and me, having heard this was bad for our waterways, scraping the plates into the kitchen trash. Then we came upon a product called the Touchless Trashcan. Its lid had an "infrared sensor eye" that enabled it to sense your approaching hand and automatically open for you. "It is convenient to use, and it is very hygienic," said the packaging. We succumbed. The Touchless Trashcan came in three pieces and included a four-page user manual. One piece, the enigmatic Smart Retainer Ring, required eight steps to install and took up an entire page of the manual. The page was captioned "How Does Smart Retainer Ring Work?" The first thing to hit the bottom of our new can was the user manual. "I refuse," said Ed, "to read a garbage can instruction manual." Back to Basics The Retainer Ring, we finally figured out, had nothing to do with the automatic lid opener. Its purpose was to prevent the top of the bag from sticking out in an unsightly manner. And also to turn the task of changing the garbage bag into a ten-minute ordeal involving, quoting Ed, "an engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic." Ed stuck a bag into the can, folded its top over the edge in the usual way and dangled the Smart Retainer Ring over the can. "Oops. I inadvertently threw the Smart Retainer Ring away." We lowered the automated top onto the bin and switched on the infrared sensor eye. For three or four minutes, throwing things away was a delightful novelty. Like many infatuations, that of a touchless trash can and its owners soon sours. For us, it happened that night after dinner. The sensor eye couldn't see very far, and so the lid tended to pop open at the last second, knocking garbage out of your hand and to the floor. I understood why this was happening, but it came across as impertinence. Also, since the eye didn't sense garbage per se but rather the heat of your hand, it ignored things like platters and dustpans. Ed came in one day to see me moving the dustpan over the lid in a series of slow, priestly motions, a ritual that became known as "the blessing of the refuse." Some weeks later, the touchless can took to intermittently popping open its lid when one of us passed by. Sometimes I'd catch Ed standing there, staring at it. "What does it want?" he'd say. I had a different interpretation. "It's trying to imply that you and I are garbage." Ed didn't believe this. "Maybe it just wants to be touched." Owing to the number of times it had slapped fish heads or yogurt lids out of my hand, its top and sides were spattered with food yuck, and neither of us was willing to test Ed's theory and embrace Touchless Trashcan. In the end, the automated touchless trash can was replaced by the old-fashioned kind of touchless trash can -- the kind that opens with a foot pedal. It requires no batteries, and if it has an opinion about its owners, it keeps it to itself.

Monday, July 23, 2007

I love Harry

I got to Barnes and Noble at a quarter until midnight. I had gotten my wrist band earlier, so I was in group B. When I got there, they were handing out reserved tickets for letters O and P. I don't know what letter they were on for non-reserved which was a different colored band. I felt lonely and awkward there by myself. Oh the things I'll do for Harry Potter. But the buying process went fast and I was out of there by 12:15. I tried to make a mad dash home, but got stuck behind a lady in the parking garage who didn't have any money or something because she sat there for about 5 minutes talking to the guy. I should have started reading then. Anyway, I got home about 12:45 and went straight for the book. I read until 4:30 and then realized that I was reading the same passages over and over and I should get some sleep. I slept until 9:30 and hit the book again. Brad had the boys under control, and I had C most of the time. I just left her on my bed with me and some toys. She did pretty good, though she tried to eat my book. That tooth of hers is through. It's hard to see, but man can you feel it!I read most of the day, except for a forever long trip to Lowe's (and a few quick meals Brad made - MRE's - yuck. I admire soldiers eating like that for so long). I hated doing it in the middle of the book, but alas, it had to be done and I'm glad I went to Lowe's. There was some stuff we really needed before the renter arrives on Wednesday. I finished the book at 3 am. Yeah. Sweet relief. I know how it ends. And it was awesome. AaaaaaaToday was fine. Typical Sunday. But I caught up on some emails, though I still have a lot more to work on (ie respond or delete). I'm pretty tired so I'm off to bed.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Why not...

Just wanting a blog to keep people posted. Let's see how faithful I am at this...