WTF Wednesday - Bringing the Jersey Shore Home for the Holidays

Welcome to What The Fuck Wednesday, where we read about products, items and events that make your head snap around and your mouth utter "What the fuck is that?"  This meme comes to you from Kristin over at the Dragondreamer's Lair.
As we enter the holiday season, thoughts turn to post-Thanksgiving activities. In my house, that means erecting the Christmas tree. Yes, erecting, because we have a fake tree. I have a horrible track record of keeping live plants...well... living. Then there's the matter of those little needles, my cats clawing the bark on the tree and....I digress.
On a stop today at Walgreens, my husband and I perused the freshly-stocked shelves of their holiday wares, one must have ornament stood out. The Jersey Shore Collection. For only $5, you too can have Pauly D, The Situation and Snooki hanging from your tree! There may be others, but those were the ones available at that particular store. The only thing that could make this palatable for me is if I can redo the hanger to act like a noose around it's neck and hang it that way. And just for your reference, they were right next to the KISS ornaments featuring Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Which, I have to point out, my husband bought one of each. Perhaps though, for better product placement, our Jersey Shore gems should have been placed next to the chapstick or hair products.

Yes, Internet Friends Are Real.

I can tell you the exact moment I knew we'd be forever friends.

After yet another heartbreaking loss, Kristin was in dire need of some uplift. Pam, our other partner in crime, and I decided to pack up and visit. There wasn't really a plan, just to surround her in love and perhaps get her to laugh a little.

I was first to arrive, with my 2 and 1 year olds in tow. Divine wandered inside, whipped down her shorts, took off her diaper and crapped on the brand. new. carpet. In Kristin's Brand. New. House. 

I was MORTIFIED.

We had spoken on the phone many times, and had only met briefly once before at an ill-fated barbeque with other internet friends that can only be described as disastrous.  But here she was, without missing a beat Kristin was picking up my child's shit and reassuring me that it really was okay.  I thought she was just being polite. To this day, she couldn't believe I didn't believe her, and to this day I can't believe she was that cool about it.

But yeah, she really is that way.

Not many people would open their home to 4 more people for an undefined period of time like she and her family have to us after we were hit by a major flood.  It's a major commitment, and they've been very gracious about it. 

I know some of you have met Kristin at Blogher, maybe spoke on the phone, thru email, Twitter, what have you.  We meet people from the internet, they seem cool, but you wonder what they're like in real life.  I met Kristin on the internet 10 years ago.  She is honest, loyal, kind, caring, and every bit the friend on the internet as she is in real life. 

Commercial Break

It's like the commercial break before returning to the show.  You're deep into this intense drama, the screen cuts out and the next thing on your screen is a commercial that does a 180 on your emotional scale.  But it's such a welcome break.  Plus you have to pee, and maybe get a little snack and drink before it's over.  But you can't take your eyes off the screen, because it's just that cool.  I don't even know what it advertises, but it's so damn cute I don't care.

Going Home and Leaving Again

This photo was posted on  PennLive.com September 9th, two days after we evacuated.  Notice the clothesline in the photo, it will give you an idea as to how deep the water actually is.  The back door of the blue house has a set of stairs going up to it.  These are my neighbors houses.  My house is actually on the other side of the white house you see on the left.

My husband went up the next day, after the flood waters had receded enough and the creek was back in its banks.  We had water on the first floor of our house approximately 4 inches deep.  Obviously, returning home wasn't an option.  At this point, 3 days in the hotel plus meals was eating through our money.  A friend offered to watch our children for the day so I could go and survey the damage for myself, as well as grab what I could for myself and the children.

I don't know if it will ever be livable again.

Needless to say, there are a lot of swirling questions and not a whole lot of answers right now.  The foundation looks compromised.  My husband battles the mold daily and its winning.  My children miss their Daddy and their things.  We have to wait for FEMA and see what they say.  Meanwhile my husband has to stay at that toxic dump because there is nowhere for him to go and we're out of money for the time being.  He has to work, and when he's there he spends his time packing up what he can.

I would like to thank our local volunteer fire company.  They stuck around during the flood for as long as they could and have been actively helping everyone in the aftermath.  I would also like to Amish community who arrived en force, helping to rip out flooring and a variety of other nasty jobs my husband would otherwise have to do himself.  Some others have offered hot meals, showers and laundry service.  Shockingly, the Red Cross was 'too busy' in other areas to bother coming to our town. I wonder if that's much of a consolation to the people who've been out of power for the past week; a hot cup of coffee and a silly donut can go a long way even after you've just learned your house has been condemned.  That's happened to two houses so far.

As for me and the kids, we are staying with friends.  That's a separate post, with a much happier aura.

Evacuation/Going Home

It's 4 a.m.  Hotel beds are generally shitty places to sleep.

On Wednesday I had 30 minutes to pack for 5 people in one bag and leave my house.  It had been raining so hard for so long my yard was its own little lake, and the creek in front of our house hadn't even breached its banks yet.

But it was getting close.

My neighbor came down in his ATV and took the kids up to his house, while I stuffed clothes in plastic bags, then into a duffel to suffice for who-knows-how-long.  I expected a day or two.  It's now day 3.

It's a lot to remember, to pack all the stuff you need in such a short time.  I got into the ATV and met up with the kids.  We didn't know where we were going, but we had to leave.  NOW.

Roads were washing out and closing all over the place.  One route into our town had already been covered over by the rushing water, which left one way out.  As I drove out of town, the water was rushing toward the road's edge.

We were some of the last people able to leave.

We managed to make it to a McDs, to get our bearings and get the kids some lunch.  My husband managed to get a reservation out of harm's way for us, so we drove down and attempted to settle in.

The road we took to get there is now impassable too, along with many other roads around here.

We've been through a number of floods since living here, most of which the water comes into the basement, recedes and then we go on with our merry lives with just a mid-sized inconvenience.  Any flood is a pain in the ass, but we never felt as though our lives were in danger.  It meant hosing off our already prepared basement then washing the walls and floors with bleach so mold couldn't set in.  We never had to leave our house, the kids could still have all their comforts, and we rarely lost power.  And if we did, it was never for that long.

The problem is that we had become complacent.

The creek was very low, and could handle the rain that was forecast.  But the forecast changed.  Overnight.   And we were now in that ominously darkly shaded area.

We arrived at the hotel like drowned rats and attempted to settle in.  The kids were thrilled, they've always wanted to stay in a hotel and loved all the perfectly packaged little cups, soaps and shampoos.  They took long baths and marveled at all the newness around them.  Because it was different, you know.  We called our friends and family to let them know we'd left and were okay.

My husband's work cell started ringing off the hook.  The fire company was trying to get a head count, who was where and from what house.  They needed to know who they needed to pull out in boats.  The town had been cut off by water on both sides.  There was a mandatory evacuation, to at least bring anyone left to higher ground.

The water had completely filled the basements and had started rising on the first floor.  It had gone from 'no  big deal' to 'record setting'.  We kept a close eye on the National Water Information System website, which gauges data for waterways across the U.S.  If you live near one, I strongly suggest you bookmark it.

The water levels are starting to recede, and this morning my husband decided to attempt going back to see how our house faired.  I don't even know if he'll make it with all the road closures.  The kids are now sick of the hotel and can't wait to go home.  But even if we could, there's no point until we can ensure their safety.  So I guess we remain sitting...and waiting.

Not knowing really sucks.

Divine Puberty - Video Game Edition

Divine is in the early stages of puberty. Now everything is my fault, or puberty. But mostly, it's her sister's fault. Just ask her.

Divine: Did you know that estrogen is the happy gland? And do you know why I haven't been happy since I was 7 years old? It's because you breastfed me.

Ah yes, hormones. It's like experiencing an altered state of reality.

I've come to accept that everything will be my fault for the next few years. Or probably the next decade. So I'm thinking there should be a video game about this. The pre-teen is the protagonist, with a vast variety of stages and enemies to defeat.

The first stage is in the home:

"Clean Your Room!" Attack - player is inserted into their 'room', but the walls become like a jail. In order to break free, they must blast away the mess on their floor. It's timed, and all the mess must be gone before the timer runs out. Or they have to start again.

"Naggy Younger Sibling" - Follows player around saying things like "Whatcha doin?" "Can we play?" The player is especially prone to this attack while school friends are over. In order to defeat this enemy, the player must address the sibling. A popup menu will offer a variety of phrases, like "GO AWAY!" or "I'm sorry sweetie, but I can't play right now. Can we play later?" The nice answer lowers the hit points of the sibling, nasty answers hurt the player. It takes several 'hits' to destroy this enemy.

"The Chore" - intermittently the player will be asked by 'mom' to complete a chore, such as doing dishes, mowing the grass or taking out the garbage. The faster the player addresses it, the less there will be. The dishes or garbage bags multiply the longer they fail to do it. "Reminders" pop up until it's done, and the player can't leave the premises until 'the chore' is completed. The longer they wait, the more constant the reminders. This could earn them an allowance to spend in another part of the game. The faster they do it, the more money they can make.

"Homework" - occasionally the player will have to do 'homework' (in game it will be little and goofy). Failure to do so will result in being sent to a tutor, who will give the player game tips.

Because this is a video game, there has to be fun elements to it. One is through mini games on the video game console in the living room. The player can choose between many 'titles'. Intermittently, various things can happen, like "do your homework", (player has to stop to do something like scribble on a paper), or the naggy younger sibling takes over the TV by changing the station to a little kid show. Then the player has to resort to the pop-up response screen for naggy younger sibling. Or the doorbell can ring and friends will come over and play sports or something.

I'm thinking about adding a 'School' level. What would you add to your pre-teen's game?

Don't even THINK about looking at this without your Kleenex.

Welcomehomeblog is a site with a daily video of soldiers returning home to their loved ones.  Many are surprises, some are just plain cute, and some are a wee bit goofy.  ALL of them require a box of tissues.  This one is my favorite, as a Navy Commander is welcomed home by his family in Hartford, CT.  Everyone in the vicinity broke out in spontaneous applause at the beautiful moment unfolding in front of them.

It's all her fault, she made me do it.

In January I made all this New Year's resolution about paying more attention to my blog.  Looking back, it was probably the kiss of death to my efforts.  Because you know as soon as you say something like that, its like a guarantee that it won't happen.  The cosmos will align themselves just to make an ass out of you.

Divine has been on my case about not blogging in awhile.  I think it's because she likes to read about herself, and somehow it's like peering into mommy's diary.  Except it's not hidden in a nondescript drawer somewhere, but blatantly on the internet.  Which, you would think, would take that whole 'peering' part out of it.  As I type, she sits at the screen staring repeating every word I write.  I wish she paid that much attention when I was actually speaking to her, like when I'm giving directions.

*Lightbulb pops*

Divine, go clean your room!

(Laughter, followed by crickets.)

Divine will probably be a future blogger.  She's the one who waits until everyone is in bed, turns on her light, then writes all night.  She has reams of stories and diary entries she keeps in her little Password Journal she begged me for a few years ago.  See, she *thinks* I don't know.  But staying in bed until 10 the next morning kinda gives her away.  What I see though, is a budding writer.  All the pencils down to the nubs hidden under her mattress testify to her need for expression.  THAT is awesome.

What Divine doesn't realize is that as much as I love writing, time is a finite thing.  When I enrolled my children in cyber school, I also became their teacher.  Their education means more to me than anything in the world.  My house may suffer, but it'll be a cold day in hell before I stand in the way of any doors of opportunity for their future.  But Divine has taught me something precious...that I needed her to give me a swift kick in the ass to realize that blogging also sets an example, that life isn't just about them.  There's a world outside of these walls they need to function in, that won't cater to their every need.  There is also a need for some self-expression and fulfillment.  So today I promised Divine I'd write a post. She smiled so wide I saw her molars.

Divine was recently diagnosed as ADHD.  We started therapy last month, and it has really helped her with a lot of issues.  One of them is valuing herself as an individual.  Perhaps one of the best ways to do that is exemplify it.

Humbling

Sometimes something bigger than your silly problems occurs and you remember how lucky you actually are. While we pumped out our basement today, fretted over not having heat and watched the floodwater rise, this morning's news brought the bleak horrors of what was happening to the people of Japan. They were hit with a triple whammy of natural disasters today, killing countless people. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. They've gone through things in one day most will never see in their lifetime. From a tremendous earthquake, to a tsunami, the massive whirlpool just off their shore, resulting in the subsequent fires and now a nuclear scare...they are a nation in severe grief. I can't even begin to fathom what they are going through.

I took pictures of the flood and will post them after I can download them off my camera. The power of nature is a fascinating thing. It can also be a deadly thing, as I was reminded as I watched the news early this morning. May the people of Japan be comforted during this most awful time.

A River Runs Through It (aka The Saga of My Basement)

The thing about living near water is that every once in while, mother nature plays havoc with you. Which, when you think about it, is true about anywhere. Anywhere you live, at some point mother nature is going to send a few hazards in your direction. With the astronomical rainfall we've had this week, along with snowmelt, our creek will yet again overflow its banks. We've done all the preparing that can be done, so now it's just a waiting game. Because the creek has decided to wait until night time, we end up staying up a good chunk of the night making sure our furnace doesn't flood and short out. So we sit...and wait...drink some coffee...you get the idea. It's worrisome and boring all at the same time. So we decided to kick back and watch a few flicks in the meantime. Invite the neighbors, pop some corn...

Here's our movie list. Wanna come over and hang out?

1. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
2. A River Runs Through It (the story of my basement)
3. Titanic
4. 2012
5. The Poseidon Adventure
6. Watership Down
7. Dickey Moe - Remember this Tom & Jerry classic? My favorite part is when the harpoon rope wraps around the whale with Tom attached.
8. Jaws
9. A few episodes of River Monsters

The Fire Department was just by to inform us that the fire house will be staffed all night if we need to evacuate. Since that's right behind my house (and up the hill), I should still be able to catch my connection if the power is still on. Maybe I'll stream (buh-dum-dum) some movies off my Netflix account up there. Because everybody needs uplifting television, right?

I'll post some pics of the aftermath.

She's Got Brass Balls

And now, the first winner of our Brass Balls award has one to show it off to the world.  This award recognizes "an exemplary post that took an amazing amount of guts to not only type out but put out there for the world to see".   When we introduced this award I wrote "There are plenty of people looking for attention through drama...but you can sense real from a mile off."  It actually smacks you across the face and leaves you stunned.  You feel the person's experience seep into you and it leaves you changed.

The first recipient is this post on Band Back Together titled "That Which is Left Behind, That Which Must be Said" by Guilty Squid. In her post she discusses the devastating loss of father's suicide, the isolation she felt because of it, and the taboo nature of suicide: 

"Suicide is a topic that no one wants to be connected to. People don’t want to talk about it. They can’t hear about it. They don’t want to comfort you because they don’t know how. It’s not something that they want to believe can happen to you. They don’t know what to say. They don’t have the answers either, and that makes it difficult for them."

Honest and raw, Guilty Squid confronts her past and a subject very few will discuss.  I encourage you to read the post in its entirety, as the point was to not only help others who have been in this situation, but to encourage those who may be on the brink to get help. 

Guilty Squid, this award is given to you for the touching, honest and helpful way your piece was written.  May it help others the way you intended.

Steeler Nation

Divine and Little Man's cooking class wraps up this week, so I spent the day helping them make all the recipes they hadn't yet.  Then taking pictures to record it.  Helped Divine complete her final project, which is to make an entire meal with recipes from the class.  She did a great job, but the piles of dishes loomed high after dinner. 

Truth be told, we'd made 6 recipes for the class.  I was dead tired. 

For those who don't follow sports, it's NFL football playoffs.  We're a Steeler house, which means my husband and Little Man were glued to the TV.  After I'd finished the mountain of dishes strewn about my kitchen, I flopped into my chair in the living room.  As is par for the course, Little T runs in seconds after my ass hits the cushion.

"Mom, can we have dessert?"

I told her to give me a few minutes.  Steelers score a touchdown.  A few plays later, they score again.  Tie game. Awesome.

My husband pops up to get dessert for the kids.  I get up to help him and he booms,

"SIT DOWN!"

He must've noted the confused look on my face.

"DON'T MOVE!!  I'll get the kids dessert."

He's all emphatic about it too, pointing to my chair with authority and all that.  Wow, it's nice to have someone step in to help out after you've had a hard day!  Insisting I take a break?  Cool!  I know how much watching the Steelers in a playoff game means to him, so this must say a lot about how much he cares about me, right?

"The Steelers have been playing like shit the entire first half of the game.  You sit down and they start winning.  YOU CAN'T MOVE UNTIL THE GAME IS OVER!!!" (Arms waving, pointing to chair, arms waving some more.)

You take it where you can get it, right?  The Steelers won too.  Maybe I'll start bargaining for what I can get out of next week's game.

Luma/Patrick Star Cake

I'm not really good at frosting cakes.  So when my kids ask for a type of cake for their birthday, I get kinda nervous.  Because what's in their mind's eye isn't in my 'mad skillz'.  So when Little T asked for a Mario-themed cake, I was glad when she didn't give specifics.  The Yoshi-head we attempted to pull off last year almost looked like he was turning into dracula.  I'm still not sure how that happened; but it would have been cool if it had been Halloween.  Which it wasn't.

But anyway.

One of our favorite games in our house is Mario Galaxy, so I decided a Luma would be perfect for our little star.  Lumas are little 'baby stars' with cute little pot bellies.  It was surprisingly easy, and the template can double for use as Patrick Star from Spongebob Squarepants.  But (SHHHH!) don't tell my son because that's the cake he's getting for his birthday.  He just doesn't know it yet.  

I made the template for use with a 9" round and  an 9" square pan.  The 9" round stays completely intact.  The square is what you'll create the head, arms and legs with. 

Since Lumas have a pot belly, you don't have to trim the round when it comes out of the oven.  I arranged my template on the square cake so the parts that connect to the body somewhat match the girth of the round at the connecting points, although you may have to trim these a little. 

Lumas have very large dark eyes.  They generally don't have a mouth, but do when they're sucking in the star bits in the game.  Now black frosting is an option, but chocolate seemed so much easier.  To make these, I used an oval template my husband had in his drafting materials and traced them on wax paper.  Next re-trace your ovals with a black marker and let dry.  Flip the wax paper over.  Have a toothpick handy and melt some chocolate chips in a ziplock baggie, making sure as much air is removed as possible.  Put it in the microwave at 15 second intervals until chocolate is just melted.  Snip the corner of the bag and slowly squeeze onto your template, using the toothpick to get the chocolate to the edges of your ovals.  For the star bits we used some 'flower' shaped sprinkles and placed them on the mouth.  Stick in the freezer for a few minutes.  When they come out they should easily peel off the wax paper.

Voila...your cake is ready to frost.  Lumas are different colors, so it's suitable for a wide range of kids.  And they're darn cute.  After it's frosted place the eyes & mouth right on.

Panpakes

'Panpakes' are Little T's favorite food.  She still calls them 'panpakes' even though she's 7 and knows better.  It just is and it's damn cute. 

Today's post started out as a joke when I found The Batter Blaster.  Because 'organic' pancakes should never come out of a whipped cream aerosol can.  Somehow it seems more natural when I actually go through the process of putting ingredients in a bowl and mixing it together.  I'd probably go through about a dozen of these babies just to feed my kids.

So as we perused images of T's precious panpakes, we found this precious Etsy shop with various patterns for sale.  Definitely worth the look!

Then I found this very cute pancake bag...not for sale, but the person who made these did very fine work!

Did you know that Yankee Candle makes Maple Syrup Pancake candles?  Little T tried to dig into her piggy bank for this one. 

But this little stuffy has to be the cutest things I've ever seen:

Wishing you all a happy Monday morning.  How about some pancakes?

Dysfunctional Jeans

Some things defy explanation. 

This is an actual pair of jeans my daughters received as gifts for Christmas.  Yes, I was lucky to get two pairs of these.  You may be thinking "Geez, Rys!  KWITCHERBITCHIN!"

What's that?  Let's see what that little tag says:

In case you couldn't read it, it says "THE DYES IN THIS GARMENT COULD RUB OFF ESPECIALLY WHEN WET.  CARE SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PREVENT THIS GARMENT FROM COMING INTO CONTACT WITH LIGHT FABRICS OR UPHOLSTERY"

You know, shirts, chairs, couches, car seats?

They came with a disclaimer.

This has got to be the most rediculous thing I've seen in a very long time.

The beauty of jeans is that everything matches with it.  They've effectively eliminated whites, yellows, and about half the color wheel.  It's guaranteed disaster.  Because little girls don't think of this stuff when they're yanking clothes out of their dressers.  Nope, I'm lucky if they match.  Am I really supposed to tell them "No honey, you can't sit on that tan couch"?  By the time the words came out of my mouth they would have plopped their ass on it, probably leaving an indelible blue butt print.  And you know it would have been, say, GRANDMA'S couch.  It wouldn't be mine, because it's you-can't-stain-me-dark-brown, to go along with my marbly-brown-carpet-that-hides-everything-but-lime-green-play-doh.  And yes, that's been proven. It's the kind of rug I could lose my cat in:

See?  If it wasn't for that neon toy, Betty might be a pancake.  But with kids, they'd never ever spill a drink on that rug.  Oh no.  It would be a big ol' glass on Mrs. Smith's sterile white rug, as the dye from the jeans left droplets of blue everywhere that make Stainmaster sorry they ever had guarantees. 

Because that is reality. Which is why I returned them.  With the tag prominently displayed.

Brass Balls and Brass Tacks

Putting yourself out there for global view on the internet is a scary thing.  Because even if you use a pseudonym, you still wrote it.  You feel the words from the comments seep into you.  Every piece you write is a part of you, whether it's a story or a fictional piece.  It's your life or your creation on display for the world to see...like stepping onstage naked.  Will the curtain rise to crickets chirping?  An audience who laughs at you in ridicule or the way you intend? 

For some writing comes very easy.  They can entertain with their vignettes of playfully strung words.  For others it's a difficult process as they agonize over topics and word choices.  It takes brass balls to put yourself out there in any creative outlet, but in blogging we put our lives on display with every post.

That being said, before BlogHer last year I had this idea for a Brass Balls award.  I bounced it off of Kristin, and the ideas just sprung to life.  Bouncing back and forth we came up with a plan.  Happily, that plan is about to come to fruition.  

The Brass Balls Award itself had to have merit.  Not just a pair of friends choosing from on high.  We attempted to create a system to it.  To achieve this, we enlisted the help of Aunt Becky from Mommy Wants Vodka to figure out how to get this off the ground right.  Kristin and I decided it needed a physical award too...a momento that recognizes, in its small way, that their courageous contribution was appreciated.  So I collected some supplies and placed them into Kristin's magically crafty hands.

The recipient had to be an exemplary post that took an amazing amount of guts to not only type out but put out there for the world to see.  As bloggers we virtually meet a lot of you through your blogs and comments; we travel with you through your trials and leap with you in your joys.  But you can feel it when someone has really gone the distance and emotionally trudged themselves out.  It took a set of brass balls to post it...to expose and share something about their life that's so close in such a bare and raw way.  There are plenty of people looking for attention through drama...but you can sense real from a mile off. 

This realness is what I think draws people to blogging.  Real people discussing real life.  We paint pictures with words...but it's the brass tacks that hold the canvas in place before the pretty frame hides it and hangs it on the wall.   Soon we'll be revealing the first recipient and unveiling the prize we've created to go along with it.

Caffeine Addict

Lately, Divine's thing is to make the coffee.  It makes her feel big, and since she was doing it anyway (which led to many, many post-cleanups), I taught her how to do it right.  This way she could feel big, and having us 'ask' her to do it was better than getting spontaneous pots of coffee in the middle of the day.  You ever get the shakes because you've just had way too much caffeine in your system?  My eyeballs shoot in all kinds of weird directions. It's a scary thing to behold.

Anyway, this week my husband has been back to work.  This means he gets up obnoxiously early, like around 4 in the morning.  So when Divine was moping around looking for something to do, I asked her if she wanted to make a pot of decaf.  I explicitly told her it was in the green container.  She got all excited and skipped into the kitchen.

You think you know where this is going, don't you?  Oh no, it couldn't be that simple.  It's far worse than that.

Kristin from Dragondreamer's Lair sent me a link a few weeks ago for Kahlua-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies.  You seriously need to check out this link...don't they look scrumptious?  I combed two food stores for the Espresso powder needed to make them.  I found a small jar tucked away on some unrelated shelf at the grocery store (NOT in the coffee section, where one would think it would be).  I bought a small jar and put it on the very top shelf of the cabinet.  Like one shelf higher than my regular cans of coffee are, as in, children would require a tall chair or ladder to reach it.

So I went in to pour my husband and I a cup of Divine's coffee.  She was sitting at the table, beaming with pride as she announced that she used the special coffee called espresso.  An 'oh shit' look poured over me as I peeked under the coffee maker lid in horror to see that it was indeed empty.  (Espresso powder is instant granules).  Judging by the jar, she used about 1/3 cup. 

Oh yeah, we're wired.

And while I could have dumped the whole thing out and remade a pot of decaf, Divine would have been crushed.  She saw look on my face and launched into apologies.  She thought she was doing this really cool thing.  She had no clue that Espresso was a fancy term for 'you'll be up all night' in a 12 cup pot.

Divine's mission is to revamp herself this year, and criticizes herself harshly.  She was so disappointed when what she thought was so cool actually wasn't.  Really it was just a learning bump in the road, and the last thing we wanted to do was crush her enthusiasm.  

So we drank it. 

With darting eyeballs, I can say that it tasted pretty good.  Divine judged the amount perfectly.

New Year's Resolutions

This year my kids decided they were old enough to ring in the new year...at midnight.  I'm waiting for the crankies to set in, but they are convinced they should stay up out of sheer determination.  It's T's first New Year's celebration and she's already thrown up her drink...of water.  Her New Year's snack is Pepto Bismol.
Today they decided to try their hand at creating lyrics.  They found a tune on one of their video games and created and started singing. 

"It's complicated, Global Warming...
"It's something big...very confusing"

Those were the only lyrics, sung over and over again.  The precious part?  The tune they were singing to was called 'Cold Wind'.

Ah yes...since it's the time to write out those resolutions, this might be a good time for it:

1. So obviously my first New Year's resolution is to teach my kids to write lyrics about things they understand.
2. After two years, I'll finish stitching Tree of Life.  I'm motivated because there's another piece I wanted to start but promised myself I wouldn't until I finished this one.
3. I'll pay more attention to the Clutter Queen.  I've always wanted to spruce this little piece of online real estate...improve the design to something that's more 'me'.  And certainly something more interesting.  I'm striving for more time to actually write; because while the desire is there, the time usually isn't. 

Wishing all of you a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.  May 2011 be easy to remember on your checks...because I always forget and write the previous year until like June...and then little scribbles on them crossing it out.  Tipping my glass to you all!