It's 9:42 am.
Toa of Boy sits at the kitchen table tracing Genesis 1:27 in his copy book.
Sweetling sits at the kitchen table simplifying polymomial expressions and putting them in standard form.
I stand leaning on one of the chairs and finishing the cup of hot chocolate I've been nursing since 8:30 this morning. (And just to toot my own horn, so far this morning I've gotten a shower, done some weeding out front, had breakfast and my morning devotions, whined on Facebook, chatted with Mango, loaded breakfast dishes into the dishwasher and washed last nights pots and pans.)
Toa of Boy closes his copy book. "Wait," I say, "you aren't finished."
Toa of Boy opens his copy book and finds the page he was working on. "What?" he asks. I stay silent and let him find it. He grabs his highlighter marker and puts a period at the end of the sentence.
"Thank you!" I sing.
"Thank you!" sings Toa of Boy.
"Stop copying her," says Sweetling.
"Stop copying her," says Toa of Boy.
Sweetling gives me a look. I shrug and say, "It's like trying to hold back the tides, little girl."
("Like tying hold back tides, girl," says Toa of Boy.")
"Hmmmm..." murmurs Sweetling. "I wonder," she says, glaring accusingly at me, "where he gets that from."
("Wonder where he get tat from," says Toa of Boy.)
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Toa of Boy's Fifth Year
Things Toa of Boy accomplished this year:
--is learning to read
--completed K math and moved on to first grade math
--participated and had a great time at co-op
--memorized a few scripture verses
--started working through "Leading Little Ones to God"
--mastered Club Penguin
--can work the media center guide enough to find several channels he's allowed to watch and can read what show is currently playing
--kicks butt in Super Smash Bros
--charms the socks off every member of the female gender, regardless of her age, who interacts with him
--always wants to make sure, if we have something special for dinner or dessert, that a portion of it gets saved for any family member not present
--saved up enough money, combined with some b-day cash, to get his own DS
--can do some double digit addition and subtraction and is beginning to grasp place value
--is learning how to tell time
--can count by fives
--can count by twos
--went sledding and loved wiping out the best
--likes being helpful
--loves big slides
--has made a "secret lair" behind the living room arm chair
--can put together seriously complex lego sets or bionicles by following step-by-step diagrams in the assembly booklet
--continues to make great use out of the trampoline that lives in our living room. (The Jedi says, "Christopher Robin was wise.")
--delights in tickling games and wrestling matches with the Jedi
--likes playing Webkinz games with Sweetling. Has learned that not every game needs to be "death or doom", but can compromise and give and take during the imaginary play.
--counts down the days till his next speech appointment cause he loves those sessions so much
--can usually identify the seven continents
--quickly grasped the colored temperature representations of the oceans during "Science on a Sphere"
--loves fresh fruit for breakfast
--loves homemade guacamole and can make it himself, after Mommy has cut open the avocado
--is rigorous in completing his morning and afternoon chore lists. Loves to count his dots to win the prize of his choice of a family activity at the end of the week.
--keeps his room clean
--wears through the knees of a pair of pants faster than a steam driven sand belt
--was the grand prize winner at our local branch library's end of summer drawing for a brand new bike
--is almost big enough to ride his brand new bike
--is a great climber
--delights in being silly
--prayed for wind for kite flying and received hurricane Ike
--prayed for snow and received a winter storm that nearly shut down the city
--likes to water the pumpkins and the vegetable garden
--loves blueberries and wants his own blueberry bush
--likes bubble baths and rubber ducks
--is unhappily resigned to being put back in a booster carseat for the next two years
--is learning to read
--completed K math and moved on to first grade math
--participated and had a great time at co-op
--memorized a few scripture verses
--started working through "Leading Little Ones to God"
--mastered Club Penguin
--can work the media center guide enough to find several channels he's allowed to watch and can read what show is currently playing
--kicks butt in Super Smash Bros
--charms the socks off every member of the female gender, regardless of her age, who interacts with him
--always wants to make sure, if we have something special for dinner or dessert, that a portion of it gets saved for any family member not present
--saved up enough money, combined with some b-day cash, to get his own DS
--can do some double digit addition and subtraction and is beginning to grasp place value
--is learning how to tell time
--can count by fives
--can count by twos
--went sledding and loved wiping out the best
--likes being helpful
--loves big slides
--has made a "secret lair" behind the living room arm chair
--can put together seriously complex lego sets or bionicles by following step-by-step diagrams in the assembly booklet
--continues to make great use out of the trampoline that lives in our living room. (The Jedi says, "Christopher Robin was wise.")
--delights in tickling games and wrestling matches with the Jedi
--likes playing Webkinz games with Sweetling. Has learned that not every game needs to be "death or doom", but can compromise and give and take during the imaginary play.
--counts down the days till his next speech appointment cause he loves those sessions so much
--can usually identify the seven continents
--quickly grasped the colored temperature representations of the oceans during "Science on a Sphere"
--loves fresh fruit for breakfast
--loves homemade guacamole and can make it himself, after Mommy has cut open the avocado
--is rigorous in completing his morning and afternoon chore lists. Loves to count his dots to win the prize of his choice of a family activity at the end of the week.
--keeps his room clean
--wears through the knees of a pair of pants faster than a steam driven sand belt
--was the grand prize winner at our local branch library's end of summer drawing for a brand new bike
--is almost big enough to ride his brand new bike
--is a great climber
--delights in being silly
--prayed for wind for kite flying and received hurricane Ike
--prayed for snow and received a winter storm that nearly shut down the city
--likes to water the pumpkins and the vegetable garden
--loves blueberries and wants his own blueberry bush
--likes bubble baths and rubber ducks
--is unhappily resigned to being put back in a booster carseat for the next two years
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Sweetling's 10th Year
Today my Sweetling is eleven. Last night we talked about all the things she did when she was 10.
Last year, on her birthday, we had a rehearsal for Pirates of the I-Don't-Care-ibean. Mommy was in charge and we took cupcakes to share at the end of the rehearsal. Last year, Susan had a cool science birthday party that we held in the big kitchen at church.
In June--
--the I-Don't-Care-ibean performance on Father's Day.
--a trip to Sharon Woods to witness the 17 year cicadas out in droves.
--a trip to Canton for Great-Grandma Rita's birthday and a visit with Uncle Tornado --where trampoline play happened and a game of horseshoes was played.
--the beginning of our home "space camp" and a list of what we wanted to do that summer (most of which got done and so did some cool things that weren't on the list, "like pet an alligator," says Susan.)
--a trip to Young's Dairy Farm where Toa feed a pig and Mommy petted a cow and Sweetling fed goats.
--a dance at church where Sweetling was one of three lovely angels.
--a trip to the sculpture park with Tia Missy. "Look kids, art."
swimming with Pinky and Christopher Robin and assorted families.
In July--
--swimming with Mango and Violet and family.
--the annual picnic for the TKD school.
--musuem trip with Tia Missy and Neta.
--rock hunting trip to a little park along the Miami River.
--VBS of God's Big Backyard. Pinkie came.
--Hamilton County Fair where we watched Violet's horse show (she wound up with the blue ribbon for the all-around Jr Equestrian). We had snow cones and bought ride wrist bands, cause they were only five dollars per child!
In August--
--walk along the Parcours trail with Pinkie and Mango and her family. Sweetling demonstrated her ninja skills for us all.
--school did NOT start as planned due to a serious delay in shipping.
--the Wii came and changed our lives. For two weeks there was a continuous Wii party at our house, which was fine since there was no curriculum for school.
In September--
--still no school at the beginning of September.
--fairy houses were constructed deep in Winton Woods.
--materials finally arrive and the first day of co-op was attended.
--kite flying was attempted at the beginning of the wind front that we later learned was hurricane Ike. Kite-flying was quickly abandoned as we fled for the shelter of home. Power went out and a camp out commenced in the living room. Sweetling and Toa of Boy helped with the immense yard clean up the next day. We got our power back that evening....but many families were without power for a week.
--first day of co-op classes was cancelled because of power outages.
In October
--Ren Fest where Sweetling learned how to wield a pike and march in formation with a pike unit.
--pumpkin patch outing is on a Saturday this year. We ride the church bus up to the pumpkin patch and Daddy is able to join us. Corn maze, little train ride, and straw fight are the highlights. Plus the straw maze and the farmer's market.
--Sweetling is HammerBro for Halloween and Toa is Yoshi. At the trunk and treat in the church parking lot, we decorate the back of our van like a donkey kong jungle.
--zoo trip cause Nora gave us some free passes
to be continued. Right now, we have to get ready to go to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery for Susan's birthday outing.
Last year, on her birthday, we had a rehearsal for Pirates of the I-Don't-Care-ibean. Mommy was in charge and we took cupcakes to share at the end of the rehearsal. Last year, Susan had a cool science birthday party that we held in the big kitchen at church.
In June--
--the I-Don't-Care-ibean performance on Father's Day.
--a trip to Sharon Woods to witness the 17 year cicadas out in droves.
--a trip to Canton for Great-Grandma Rita's birthday and a visit with Uncle Tornado --where trampoline play happened and a game of horseshoes was played.
--the beginning of our home "space camp" and a list of what we wanted to do that summer (most of which got done and so did some cool things that weren't on the list, "like pet an alligator," says Susan.)
--a trip to Young's Dairy Farm where Toa feed a pig and Mommy petted a cow and Sweetling fed goats.
--a dance at church where Sweetling was one of three lovely angels.
--a trip to the sculpture park with Tia Missy. "Look kids, art."
swimming with Pinky and Christopher Robin and assorted families.
In July--
--swimming with Mango and Violet and family.
--the annual picnic for the TKD school.
--musuem trip with Tia Missy and Neta.
--rock hunting trip to a little park along the Miami River.
--VBS of God's Big Backyard. Pinkie came.
--Hamilton County Fair where we watched Violet's horse show (she wound up with the blue ribbon for the all-around Jr Equestrian). We had snow cones and bought ride wrist bands, cause they were only five dollars per child!
In August--
--walk along the Parcours trail with Pinkie and Mango and her family. Sweetling demonstrated her ninja skills for us all.
--school did NOT start as planned due to a serious delay in shipping.
--the Wii came and changed our lives. For two weeks there was a continuous Wii party at our house, which was fine since there was no curriculum for school.
In September--
--still no school at the beginning of September.
--fairy houses were constructed deep in Winton Woods.
--materials finally arrive and the first day of co-op was attended.
--kite flying was attempted at the beginning of the wind front that we later learned was hurricane Ike. Kite-flying was quickly abandoned as we fled for the shelter of home. Power went out and a camp out commenced in the living room. Sweetling and Toa of Boy helped with the immense yard clean up the next day. We got our power back that evening....but many families were without power for a week.
--first day of co-op classes was cancelled because of power outages.
In October
--Ren Fest where Sweetling learned how to wield a pike and march in formation with a pike unit.
--pumpkin patch outing is on a Saturday this year. We ride the church bus up to the pumpkin patch and Daddy is able to join us. Corn maze, little train ride, and straw fight are the highlights. Plus the straw maze and the farmer's market.
--Sweetling is HammerBro for Halloween and Toa is Yoshi. At the trunk and treat in the church parking lot, we decorate the back of our van like a donkey kong jungle.
--zoo trip cause Nora gave us some free passes
to be continued. Right now, we have to get ready to go to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery for Susan's birthday outing.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
More Webkinz
Yeah, this is only here cause I can't get my home server to recognize me. Computers love me that way. I need somewhere to post a pic so I can post a pic on Webkinz insider. Chicken and the egg baby.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Daybook, May 18th
Outside my window...the ants have made the mother of all ant colonies under the green welcome mat by the patio door. The strawberries have completely covered the little stepping stone path. The sandbox and hopscotch path desperately need weeded. And the square foot garden sproutlings are tiny, tiny, tiny little green dots surrounded by dirt and cypress mulch.
I am thinking...most children get grounded and sent to their rooms. Sweetling is going to be grounded *from* her room tomorrow after an afternoon on little lesson progress while in her room.
I am thankful for...the opportunity to homeschool, even if I've been whining a lot lately. It is a huge blessing. We aren't going to be done by the end of May, which is really difficult for me to take, but the opportunity to homeschool is still a blessing, and I want to keep that in mind during the first two weeks of June.
From the learning rooms...Toa of Boy read his own word problems today in math. He needed help with a few words, like "does", but his actually reading!!!
From the kitchen...I got squat. We had hamburgers and french fries for dinner. The Jedi made rice krispie treats on Saturday. I wanted to make Mama a caramel pecan cheesecake, but the rice krispie treats are now in the pan I need. Keep reading, I promise the other parts will be more interesting.
I am wearing...I lied. This isn't interesting. Jeans with cool pink embroidery and a pink blouse with white socks and green and blue plaid shoes. It works. I swear it does. Even the shoes.
I am creating...a blog for a fantasy character. This is my character from the game the Jedi runs.
I am going...to Canton this weekend! Sweetling's birthday is on Thursday and Toa of Boy's birthday is on Friday. So, we're driving up to Canton and having a birthday party for them on Saturday with cousins and friends of the family at Pump it Up.
I am reading...The Little House Reader, a collection of writings from other members of Laura Ingalls Wilder's family as well as pieces Laura published before the Little House books.
I am hoping...for the courage to begin working through past issues (again). I make progress, then take a little break from the heavy stuff. Now its time to start processing again.
I am hearing...the hum of the computers, occasional trampoline bouncing from the living room where Toa of Boy is jumping and playing Wii, clicking of the keyboards, and I'm talking on the phone to Telephone.
Around the house...the laundry is all washed and dried, I'll start folding it soon. Coupons from the past few weeks are all cut and half filed. Have I mentioned I want a house cleaning fairy? Ria has offered to come over and help me clean out closets, again. I might take her up on that when we're finished with school.
From the garden....I can grow things! woo hoo! I have half an hour of weeding to do, but the areas I've focused on are doing really well. I've seen a couple of ripe strawberries and I think I'll send Toa of Boy out to pick them tomorrow. my daisies aren't anywhere close to blooming though, maybe they bloom at the end of June.
One of my favorite things...Heggy's hot fudge! I finished off my Christmas supply last week eating it like fondue on strawberries. It is, hands down, the yummiest hot fudge in the world and the only place to get it is Heggy's Ice Cream Parlor in Canton, Ohio. Guess what we'll be picking up this weekend?
A few plans for the rest of the week:
Monday--laundry, coupons, watch Enterprise with the Jedi
Tuesday--school, grocery shopping, Tae Kwon Do
Wednesday--school, help Telephone finish her scrapbook for her soon-to-be grad
Thursday--Sweetling's birthday. An outing picked by Sweetling (TBD) and spaghetti dinner.
Friday--Toa's birthday. An outing (also tbd) picked by Toa, pack for Canton, chicken alfredo for dinner, then drive to Canton.
I am thinking...most children get grounded and sent to their rooms. Sweetling is going to be grounded *from* her room tomorrow after an afternoon on little lesson progress while in her room.
I am thankful for...the opportunity to homeschool, even if I've been whining a lot lately. It is a huge blessing. We aren't going to be done by the end of May, which is really difficult for me to take, but the opportunity to homeschool is still a blessing, and I want to keep that in mind during the first two weeks of June.
From the learning rooms...Toa of Boy read his own word problems today in math. He needed help with a few words, like "does", but his actually reading!!!
From the kitchen...I got squat. We had hamburgers and french fries for dinner. The Jedi made rice krispie treats on Saturday. I wanted to make Mama a caramel pecan cheesecake, but the rice krispie treats are now in the pan I need. Keep reading, I promise the other parts will be more interesting.
I am wearing...I lied. This isn't interesting. Jeans with cool pink embroidery and a pink blouse with white socks and green and blue plaid shoes. It works. I swear it does. Even the shoes.
I am creating...a blog for a fantasy character. This is my character from the game the Jedi runs.
I am going...to Canton this weekend! Sweetling's birthday is on Thursday and Toa of Boy's birthday is on Friday. So, we're driving up to Canton and having a birthday party for them on Saturday with cousins and friends of the family at Pump it Up.
I am reading...The Little House Reader, a collection of writings from other members of Laura Ingalls Wilder's family as well as pieces Laura published before the Little House books.
I am hoping...for the courage to begin working through past issues (again). I make progress, then take a little break from the heavy stuff. Now its time to start processing again.
I am hearing...the hum of the computers, occasional trampoline bouncing from the living room where Toa of Boy is jumping and playing Wii, clicking of the keyboards, and I'm talking on the phone to Telephone.
Around the house...the laundry is all washed and dried, I'll start folding it soon. Coupons from the past few weeks are all cut and half filed. Have I mentioned I want a house cleaning fairy? Ria has offered to come over and help me clean out closets, again. I might take her up on that when we're finished with school.
From the garden....I can grow things! woo hoo! I have half an hour of weeding to do, but the areas I've focused on are doing really well. I've seen a couple of ripe strawberries and I think I'll send Toa of Boy out to pick them tomorrow. my daisies aren't anywhere close to blooming though, maybe they bloom at the end of June.
One of my favorite things...Heggy's hot fudge! I finished off my Christmas supply last week eating it like fondue on strawberries. It is, hands down, the yummiest hot fudge in the world and the only place to get it is Heggy's Ice Cream Parlor in Canton, Ohio. Guess what we'll be picking up this weekend?
A few plans for the rest of the week:
Monday--laundry, coupons, watch Enterprise with the Jedi
Tuesday--school, grocery shopping, Tae Kwon Do
Wednesday--school, help Telephone finish her scrapbook for her soon-to-be grad
Thursday--Sweetling's birthday. An outing picked by Sweetling (TBD) and spaghetti dinner.
Friday--Toa's birthday. An outing (also tbd) picked by Toa, pack for Canton, chicken alfredo for dinner, then drive to Canton.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
ABC's of me (cause the third times the charm)
You can blame this one on Facebook. I am. I blame Facebook for a lot of things. Like, everyone else's profile seems to have a customized left hand column with flair or other fun stuff. Mine doesn't. Surely this is Facebook's fault. I've tried to figure out how to fix that, but can't. This is also Facebook's fault.
Anyway, I've been tagged several times about another ABC thing. I've done two already, one here and one here. (Three if you count this one, which isn't really about me, but I wrote it, and its ABCs and it popped up in a search. So nyah.)
But, since I'm so delightfully popular, I shall do another ABC list. I am, of course, totally disregarding the standard list for this.
A-Age--As Smurf will cheerfully point out, I am "rounding up on 40". I know I must be middle aged, cause recently no one has asked me which high school I go to.
B-Bed--King-sized water bed. Sadly, they don't make mattresses with different temperature settings...which means the Jedi and I have compromised on a mattress temperature which is too warm for him to be comfortable and just a tiny bit cooler than what I would like. Also, since apparently waterbeds went out with the 70s, lava lamps, and black light posters, finding new sheet sets specifically for the water bed mattress is an adventure in Googling.
C-Cats--No. I have no furry felines. Both the Jedi and Mama are allergic to them, so no cats. The last cat I had was Grendel, who was a unusually small, black, sleek, chaotic-evil creature with glowing eyes. She liked to ride around the apartment on my shoulder, like a good familiar should.
D-Dogs--No dogs. Again, allergies. The last dog we had was Sheeba, an 80 pound lawful good German Shepherd, who let infant Sweetling mangle her ears, and who would literally froth at the mouth while growling, barring teeth, and being the image of visciousness at anything that seemed the remotest threat to me or Sweetling. In short, she was exactly what a good watch-dog should be.
E-Essential start your day item. Hot chocolate. No question.
F-Favorite color---yellow. This is the only "favorite" anything that doesn't change.
G-Gold or silver. Silver. Why? I don't know. Gold is a bit 70s. And I already have a waterbed to fill that function in my life.
H-Height--5'3". Happy? Laugh now. But the girls at Dayspring all know about the chocolate tax. When they get taller than Ms Xuan, they must bring me chocolate to console me. Its a good system and its working well for me.
I-Instruments you play. None. But I dance, I think this bears mentioning. I have no rhythm, but I dance anyway. Last dance Traci had to choreograph a separate section in the middle of the dance for those individuals (me) who are "handi-clapped".
J-Job title. Homeschooling Mom. A title I am both extremely proud of and greatly satisfied with. Even though I've just ended that sentence on a compound preposition.
K-Kids. Three, even though Vaya is no longer a kid. I still get to dance on her kitchen table when I'm an old woman, so there you have it.
L-Living arrangements. (See, I'm tempted to change this one to something more interesting, but now Sweetling is here to fuss at me for breaking the rules. Wooo hooo! My corruption of my daughter is complete! She wouldn't let me serve doughnuts for dinner, but she's agreeing that she'd change this one too!) Lifestyle if you were rich and famous? (Sweetling snickered and said she guessed I could do that one.)
L-Lifestyle if you were rich and famous. A castle. A small castle is a must, complete with a maid, a chef, and a gardener. I could design the gardens, and then someone else could do the hard work of planting and tending them. A nice monthly clothing allowance. Delicious chocolate goes without saying. Maybe an RV for cross country trips to national parks, monuments, and historical sites. A treehouse schoolroom.
M-Mom's name. Changing this one to. This is pushing Sweetling comfort level. Mom's name--Debbie.
M-Mother's Day Gift--A lovely yellow box from Sweetling with an orange x on the lid, handmade, cause I can never find things with an X or my name on them, holding two bath beads. A potted flower and a card from Toa of Boy. Apples to Apples from my mother, even though the Jedi pointed out that this was totally backward. And, a day spent doing whatever I wanted from the Jedi.
N-Nicknames. We can do nicknames. Sunny, Mrs Crazy Teacher Lady, Mommy.
O-Overnight hospital--just the C-section
P-Penguins. I don't even have to check, Sweetling. P is obviously for penguins.
P-Pet Peeve. Electronic devices which seek to sabotage my day.
Q-Quote. "Cute and cuddly boys, cute and cuddly."
R-Right or left handed? Who cares? I'm typing. The keyboard certainly doesn't care.
S-Siblings--Tommy the Tornado, Smurf, Cool Dude. I am the oldest, and therefore the wisest.
T-Time you wake up. In theory? 6:30. In reality? 7, 7:20.
U-Underwear-Bikini briefs from the little girls department cause they fit me.
V-Vegetable you dislike. Lima beans. Do lima beans count as a vegetable? They are green and nasty, so I bet they do.
W-Workout style. Tae Kwon Do.
X-Xrays. Dental. A ton of these cause over half of my adult teeth buds didn't form. Wrist when I fell from a playground at Winton Woods in the second grade. Mammaw made me a yellow sling with mice and ric rac. Elbow when I fell trying to leap over a stone wall in a mad dash to the swingset. Urinary tract (Sweetling says this is TMI) when I had several infections in a row during the course of a year.
Y-Yesterdays best momments. We went to a school-choice rally in Columbus. Four thousand people turned out for it. The rain held off all day, and one of the Representative's aids was handing out lollipops for the kids when they visited the offices.
Z-Zoo favorite- Penguins and red pandas and otters.
Anyway, I've been tagged several times about another ABC thing. I've done two already, one here and one here. (Three if you count this one, which isn't really about me, but I wrote it, and its ABCs and it popped up in a search. So nyah.)
But, since I'm so delightfully popular, I shall do another ABC list. I am, of course, totally disregarding the standard list for this.
A-Age--As Smurf will cheerfully point out, I am "rounding up on 40". I know I must be middle aged, cause recently no one has asked me which high school I go to.
B-Bed--King-sized water bed. Sadly, they don't make mattresses with different temperature settings...which means the Jedi and I have compromised on a mattress temperature which is too warm for him to be comfortable and just a tiny bit cooler than what I would like. Also, since apparently waterbeds went out with the 70s, lava lamps, and black light posters, finding new sheet sets specifically for the water bed mattress is an adventure in Googling.
C-Cats--No. I have no furry felines. Both the Jedi and Mama are allergic to them, so no cats. The last cat I had was Grendel, who was a unusually small, black, sleek, chaotic-evil creature with glowing eyes. She liked to ride around the apartment on my shoulder, like a good familiar should.
D-Dogs--No dogs. Again, allergies. The last dog we had was Sheeba, an 80 pound lawful good German Shepherd, who let infant Sweetling mangle her ears, and who would literally froth at the mouth while growling, barring teeth, and being the image of visciousness at anything that seemed the remotest threat to me or Sweetling. In short, she was exactly what a good watch-dog should be. E-Essential start your day item. Hot chocolate. No question.
F-Favorite color---yellow. This is the only "favorite" anything that doesn't change.
G-Gold or silver. Silver. Why? I don't know. Gold is a bit 70s. And I already have a waterbed to fill that function in my life.
H-Height--5'3". Happy? Laugh now. But the girls at Dayspring all know about the chocolate tax. When they get taller than Ms Xuan, they must bring me chocolate to console me. Its a good system and its working well for me.
I-Instruments you play. None. But I dance, I think this bears mentioning. I have no rhythm, but I dance anyway. Last dance Traci had to choreograph a separate section in the middle of the dance for those individuals (me) who are "handi-clapped".
J-Job title. Homeschooling Mom. A title I am both extremely proud of and greatly satisfied with. Even though I've just ended that sentence on a compound preposition.
K-Kids. Three, even though Vaya is no longer a kid. I still get to dance on her kitchen table when I'm an old woman, so there you have it.
L-Living arrangements. (See, I'm tempted to change this one to something more interesting, but now Sweetling is here to fuss at me for breaking the rules. Wooo hooo! My corruption of my daughter is complete! She wouldn't let me serve doughnuts for dinner, but she's agreeing that she'd change this one too!) Lifestyle if you were rich and famous? (Sweetling snickered and said she guessed I could do that one.)
L-Lifestyle if you were rich and famous. A castle. A small castle is a must, complete with a maid, a chef, and a gardener. I could design the gardens, and then someone else could do the hard work of planting and tending them. A nice monthly clothing allowance. Delicious chocolate goes without saying. Maybe an RV for cross country trips to national parks, monuments, and historical sites. A treehouse schoolroom.
M-Mom's name. Changing this one to. This is pushing Sweetling comfort level. Mom's name--Debbie.
M-Mother's Day Gift--A lovely yellow box from Sweetling with an orange x on the lid, handmade, cause I can never find things with an X or my name on them, holding two bath beads. A potted flower and a card from Toa of Boy. Apples to Apples from my mother, even though the Jedi pointed out that this was totally backward. And, a day spent doing whatever I wanted from the Jedi.
N-Nicknames. We can do nicknames. Sunny, Mrs Crazy Teacher Lady, Mommy.
O-Overnight hospital--just the C-section
P-Penguins. I don't even have to check, Sweetling. P is obviously for penguins.
P-Pet Peeve. Electronic devices which seek to sabotage my day.
Q-Quote. "Cute and cuddly boys, cute and cuddly."
R-Right or left handed? Who cares? I'm typing. The keyboard certainly doesn't care.
S-Siblings--Tommy the Tornado, Smurf, Cool Dude. I am the oldest, and therefore the wisest.
T-Time you wake up. In theory? 6:30. In reality? 7, 7:20.
U-Underwear-Bikini briefs from the little girls department cause they fit me.
V-Vegetable you dislike. Lima beans. Do lima beans count as a vegetable? They are green and nasty, so I bet they do.
W-Workout style. Tae Kwon Do.
X-Xrays. Dental. A ton of these cause over half of my adult teeth buds didn't form. Wrist when I fell from a playground at Winton Woods in the second grade. Mammaw made me a yellow sling with mice and ric rac. Elbow when I fell trying to leap over a stone wall in a mad dash to the swingset. Urinary tract (Sweetling says this is TMI) when I had several infections in a row during the course of a year.
Y-Yesterdays best momments. We went to a school-choice rally in Columbus. Four thousand people turned out for it. The rain held off all day, and one of the Representative's aids was handing out lollipops for the kids when they visited the offices.
Z-Zoo favorite- Penguins and red pandas and otters.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Top 10 Reasons to Procrastinate
Top Ten Reasons to Procrastinate
1.
This is why I procrastinate. Here's my to-do list.
--clip coupons, sort, file
--grocery list for co-op picnic and baby shower on saturday
--laundry
--print and iron on co-op logos for 3 t-shirts
--clean. doesn't matter what. you name it, it needs cleaned.
--google directions for making a diaper cake
--figure out how to buy everything I need for the shower and still buy, you know, groceries
--find recipes for individual cheese cakes, or give up on that idea and make one big strawberry cheesecake
--enter last weeks receipts into the budget spreadsheet. this step involves creative accounting
--party invitations for 2 children's b-day parties
And for the next two weeks, here's my schedule:
Tuesday--school, grocery shopping, extended dance
Wednesday--school, something important that I'm forgetting--oh yes--make bday party invites, early dance, pass out bday party invites at church, cook pasta for co-op
Thursday--last day of co-op picnic, library, Tae Kwon Do
Friday--school, clean like crazy, bake for baby shower, assemble diaper cake
Saturday--morning dance practice, keep Mama sane, keep me sane, and finish "loose ends" for baby shower, baby shower
Sunday--dance in morning service, realize I've not planned anything special for Mama for mother's day cause I was busy with baby shower stuff,
Monday--school, start the paper mache for Toa of Boy's "Kirby" pinata
Tuesday--put one more layer on the pinata, school, Toa of Boy's speech appointment, grocery shopping, Tae Kwon Do, prep for columbus
Wednesday--rally in Columbus for e charter schools, get home, eat i don't even want to know what for dinner, decorate pinata, pack lunches for zoo field trip
Thursday--zoo field trip for international migratory bird days, and I'm predicted Sweetling will be too tired for Tae Kwon Do which is too bad cause she has a belt test on Saturday
Friday--bake and decorate cakes for two birthday parties, buy pinata stuffers and big bottles of bubble solutions and party favors, host Sweetling's Mario/Wii Slumber Party--which needs rescheduled cause I just realized I double booked that weekend
Saturday--Sweetling tests for her red belt...so now I need to go back and reschedule when her slumber party will be, Toa of Boy's Kirby Party at a Park
And in response to all of this, I'm blog surfing.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Homemade Tortillas
By popular request, I am posting a how-to article on making homemade tortillas. Before I begin with the nitty gritty, let me say a few things.
1) I really, really wish I had taken some pictures. When I was making them, I was thinking, wow, I wish I had some pictures of what the steps should look like. But, I had no idea that this experiment would actually work, so I saw no need to document what I thought was going to be a failure.
2) At each and every step of the process, I thought the whole thing was going to be a miserable failure. So, if you've never made tortillas from scratch before, don't get discouraged during the process. It will at many points seem desperately wrong. Keep working through the recipe and an amazing, nearly miraculous transformation will happen.
2a) Miraculous isn't not at all too strong a word. These things are delicious. Like, among the best things I have ever had sort of delicious. I don't understand how that is possible, given the little that goes in them, and how very wrong they seem at so many steps of the process. But they are amazing. Try them once, you'll see that I'm right.
3) You know I can't just write a straight-forward informative article without making my little comments. I think I'm funny, and so you all have to put up with me. (Or do your own google search on homemade tortillas.)
4) I didn't, surprise surprise, follow the directions on the recipes I found exactly as written. Here is the recipe I primarily drew from. It's called Tortillas I and I found it on allrecipes.com. However, I also read the comments following the Authentic Mexican Tortillas recipe and incorporated a tip I found there.
That being said, let me tell you why I went crazy yesterday afternoon and decided to try this. A few weeks ago, I really wanted burritos. I picked up all the ingredients I needed from the store during my weekly grocery trip. I got home and realized I had forgotten ground beef. Not to be undone, later that week I made chicken and rice quesadillas. Last week, ground beef was on sale, and I picked up a few pounds of it. Monday I thought, I really want burritos. But, Tuesday was the Jedi's birthday, and he wanted manwich for dinner. (Apparently nothing says happy birthday like manwich.) And I didn't want ground beef dinners two night in a row, so no burritos Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Thursday was coop, which makes it a leftover night for dinner...certainly not a cooking night. So on Monday I decided that Friday was absolutely definitely burrito night. Every night that week as I was making dinner, I reminded myself that Friday was burrito night. Yummy burritos. Burritos for you, burritos for me, burritos, burritos, burritos.
On Friday afternoon I realized that in my mad burrito fix, I had neglected to get in tortillas from the store at any time that week. No burritos. Sadness ensued. To cheer myself up, I emailed the Jedi asking him what he wanted for dinner. I thought, if I can't make myself happy, I can at least make someone else happy. See how loving and selfless I am? The Jedi didn't care what was for dinner.
And then, this notion hit me. Didn't people use to make their own tortillas? And, if I'm remember my social studies correctly, didn't the Native Americans make tortillas on stones? (And I'm part Cherokee, so I can write a question like that and not be considered insensitive or politically incorrect, can't I?) Surely I could hop on the internet and find some directions for making my own tortillas. How hard could it be? Ok, ok, I know making homemade pasta is insane, but tortillas? This could even be a great family learning project with the kids.
The more I thought about it, the more pumped I became.
I told the kids my grand plans. I was super excited about this notion. I thought I did a remarkable job of delivering my pitch to them. They both stared at me blankly. Sweetling, who has experienced many Mommy projects and the results of the same, very, very, very politely let me know that this might not be a good idea. Not to be deterred, I figured I could sway my impressionable five-year old to my side. Toa of Boy was just as suspicious about this endeavor.
However, not being one to let common sense keep me from a plan, I hopped on allrecipes and started my search. I did careful reading. I disregarded recipes that had the dough rest for an hour. Who had an hour? I invited the kids to join me once again. Sweetling said she really needed to clean her room. I said, she could take a break from cleaning her room for this really fun project. But cleaning her room was preferable to the chaos she sensed would be occurring in the kitchen. I told Toa of Boy he could help mix and stir. That sold him. So, with on co-conspirator (is that a redundant word?), we started.
This is the recipe we used. It made just barely enough for 5 people. But one of those five was Sweetling. Next time I make it, I'll increase the recipe amounts, and take pictures for my blog.
FIRST
Measure out 2 and 1/2 cups flour into a large bowl. (If a small boy is doing the measuring, be sure to help him with the leveling.)
Add 1 tsp baking powder.
Add 1/8 tsp salt.
Let the boy stir it all together. (While the boy is stirring, put some water in a pan to boil.)
SECOND
Add 1 tablespoon shortening. With your hands, crumble the shortening and the flour together. Try to convince the small boy to keep the flour in the bowl. Make sure his sleeves are pushed up, cause he somehow manages to get flour up to his elbows.
Decide the single tablespoon of shortening that the recipe calls for did diddly.
Add a second tablespoon of shortening. Crumble in as before. Convince your assistant not to slam his hand into the bowl.
By this time....the recipe I almost followed said that your mixture should resemble cornmeal. Mine didn't. I thought, well, this is obviously a failure. BUT, one comment I read on another recipe said that the tortillas were more flakey then pie crust. I know how to make pie crust from scratch, thanks to Mammaw. So, I squeezed a squeezed some of the mixture together in my fist. When I opened my hand, the mixture almost stayed together, but still crumbled apart a bit. (See how useful a photo would be here?) I decided that this would make it a little more flaky than a good pie crust dough would be, so I proceeded to the next step.
THIRD
Take your boiling water off the heat. Carefully measure 3/4 cup boiling water. Be sure it has stopped boiling, (like no more bubbles breaking the surface while its in the measuring cup.) Pour some of your water into the bowl. WARN YOUR ASSISTANT THAT IT IS WAY TO HOT TO TOUCH. Warn him off this often. Stir the water in with a wooden spoon. Add a little more hot water. Warn your assistant. Stir with spoon.
Now, the recipe I was sort of following said you might not need all your water. I used all of mine, but I'm just letting you know what the woman who knows better than I do said.
This was the step at which I thought, once again, this can't possibly work. After I had, in a mad, rash act of frustration, dumped all the hot water into the bowl and stirred with a wooden spoon, I had nothing resembling any kind of dough. This is the point at which the Jedi came into the kitchen. I told him what a miserable failure this was looking to be. The Jedi, wisely, said nothing, but gave me a kiss and went back out of the kitchen.
Though the dough was still hot, it had cooled past the point of scalding. I discarded the spoon and started kneading it with my hands in the bowl. Now, the original recipe said to knead it on a lightly floured surface, but the last thing I needed was more flour. So, the next step is...
FOURTH
Knead dough by hand as soon as it is cool enough to touch. Knead it, squeeze it, convince it to hold together by sheer force of will. When it has cooled a little more, let the boy help. Roll the dough around and pick up all the crumbs in the bottom of the bowl. Squish them in. By now the dough is resembling dried out playdough. But, as you knead it, it begins to look more and more like dough.
FIFTH
As soon as it holds its shape, use a pastry brush to let the boy coat the surface with vegetable oil. It might still look like a deformed and mutant excuse for a ball of dough, but that's ok. So did mine. Cover the ball with a dish towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
(While it rested, I browned my ground beef and added the low-sodium taco seasoning packet and water and let it simmer. I also opened the can of refried beans, which I don't like but the Jedi and Sweetling and Toa of Boy do, and put them on to warm.)
SIXTH
On a very, very, very lightly floured surface, begin to roll out sections of your dough. Now, let me say two things. One, this stuff is already super dry. You don't need nearly as much flour as you think. I put flour on my surface and then used my hand to wipe almost all of it off. Two, this stuff is already super dry. Air is your enemy. Keep your main dough ball covered while you roll out your individual tortillas.
The recipe, which I kept reading even though I hadn't quite followed it, said to pull out golf ball sized pieces of dough to roll. I did that. I got a little thing smaller than a saucer. The Jedi would have taken one look at it and asked if it was a joke. Like, the thing could have fit in an EasyBake oven. So, I went with hackey-sack pieces. I was worried that I wasn't going to have enough dough to make enough tortillas for my family, so I rolled mine out a little too thin. They need to be much thicker than the store bought tortillas. Really, they resemble soft tacos much more than tortillas. (Again, air is your enemy, keep them covered after you roll them.)
They don't roll out into perfect circles. At least, they don't when its me rolling them. And I can make a pretty mean pie crust, so I think its them and not me. Maybe there's a trick to it, but I got really, um, organic shapes with frayed edges when I did them. Once again, I thought this was a sign that I had done something seriously wrong. Don't get discouraged by how they look right now.
SEVENTH
While the Jedi cleans off the table and sets it, fry your tortillas over medium high heat in a heavy skillet. One tip I read said be carefull to have your skillet hot enough. It said if you cook them to long over lower heat, you loose too much moisture. In fact, I didn't let my pan heat up enough before throwing the first tortilla on, and the first one was really really crumbly.
So, when your skillet is hot, put your tortilla on. It only needs to cook for a minute or so on each side. The good ones, when I got the pan to the right temperature, started puffing a little with steam almost as soon as they hit the skillet. Flip them as soon as there undersides have a few little brown marks on them. (Which happens almost as soon as they get puffy.) Really, this is a quick process.
Put each tortilla in a warmer with a lid as soon as it cooks. Again, air is the enemy.
LAST
I cannot stress enough how delicious and wonderful homemade tortillas are. I always thought of tortillas as a boring wrap meant to just hold the yummy filling together. These homemade ones were nearly melt in your mouth good. I don't understand how that is, given that they are almost nothing but flour, but they were wonderful. Be warned, after having tasted the real thing, I don't think I can ever go back to the store bought variety. I think I'm forever stuck making my own tortillas every time I want to have tacos again. And quesadillas too for that matter.
1) I really, really wish I had taken some pictures. When I was making them, I was thinking, wow, I wish I had some pictures of what the steps should look like. But, I had no idea that this experiment would actually work, so I saw no need to document what I thought was going to be a failure.
2) At each and every step of the process, I thought the whole thing was going to be a miserable failure. So, if you've never made tortillas from scratch before, don't get discouraged during the process. It will at many points seem desperately wrong. Keep working through the recipe and an amazing, nearly miraculous transformation will happen.
2a) Miraculous isn't not at all too strong a word. These things are delicious. Like, among the best things I have ever had sort of delicious. I don't understand how that is possible, given the little that goes in them, and how very wrong they seem at so many steps of the process. But they are amazing. Try them once, you'll see that I'm right.
3) You know I can't just write a straight-forward informative article without making my little comments. I think I'm funny, and so you all have to put up with me. (Or do your own google search on homemade tortillas.)
4) I didn't, surprise surprise, follow the directions on the recipes I found exactly as written. Here is the recipe I primarily drew from. It's called Tortillas I and I found it on allrecipes.com. However, I also read the comments following the Authentic Mexican Tortillas recipe and incorporated a tip I found there.
That being said, let me tell you why I went crazy yesterday afternoon and decided to try this. A few weeks ago, I really wanted burritos. I picked up all the ingredients I needed from the store during my weekly grocery trip. I got home and realized I had forgotten ground beef. Not to be undone, later that week I made chicken and rice quesadillas. Last week, ground beef was on sale, and I picked up a few pounds of it. Monday I thought, I really want burritos. But, Tuesday was the Jedi's birthday, and he wanted manwich for dinner. (Apparently nothing says happy birthday like manwich.) And I didn't want ground beef dinners two night in a row, so no burritos Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Thursday was coop, which makes it a leftover night for dinner...certainly not a cooking night. So on Monday I decided that Friday was absolutely definitely burrito night. Every night that week as I was making dinner, I reminded myself that Friday was burrito night. Yummy burritos. Burritos for you, burritos for me, burritos, burritos, burritos.
On Friday afternoon I realized that in my mad burrito fix, I had neglected to get in tortillas from the store at any time that week. No burritos. Sadness ensued. To cheer myself up, I emailed the Jedi asking him what he wanted for dinner. I thought, if I can't make myself happy, I can at least make someone else happy. See how loving and selfless I am? The Jedi didn't care what was for dinner.
And then, this notion hit me. Didn't people use to make their own tortillas? And, if I'm remember my social studies correctly, didn't the Native Americans make tortillas on stones? (And I'm part Cherokee, so I can write a question like that and not be considered insensitive or politically incorrect, can't I?) Surely I could hop on the internet and find some directions for making my own tortillas. How hard could it be? Ok, ok, I know making homemade pasta is insane, but tortillas? This could even be a great family learning project with the kids.
The more I thought about it, the more pumped I became.
I told the kids my grand plans. I was super excited about this notion. I thought I did a remarkable job of delivering my pitch to them. They both stared at me blankly. Sweetling, who has experienced many Mommy projects and the results of the same, very, very, very politely let me know that this might not be a good idea. Not to be deterred, I figured I could sway my impressionable five-year old to my side. Toa of Boy was just as suspicious about this endeavor.
However, not being one to let common sense keep me from a plan, I hopped on allrecipes and started my search. I did careful reading. I disregarded recipes that had the dough rest for an hour. Who had an hour? I invited the kids to join me once again. Sweetling said she really needed to clean her room. I said, she could take a break from cleaning her room for this really fun project. But cleaning her room was preferable to the chaos she sensed would be occurring in the kitchen. I told Toa of Boy he could help mix and stir. That sold him. So, with on co-conspirator (is that a redundant word?), we started.
This is the recipe we used. It made just barely enough for 5 people. But one of those five was Sweetling. Next time I make it, I'll increase the recipe amounts, and take pictures for my blog.
FIRST
Measure out 2 and 1/2 cups flour into a large bowl. (If a small boy is doing the measuring, be sure to help him with the leveling.)
Add 1 tsp baking powder.
Add 1/8 tsp salt.
Let the boy stir it all together. (While the boy is stirring, put some water in a pan to boil.)
SECOND
Add 1 tablespoon shortening. With your hands, crumble the shortening and the flour together. Try to convince the small boy to keep the flour in the bowl. Make sure his sleeves are pushed up, cause he somehow manages to get flour up to his elbows.
Decide the single tablespoon of shortening that the recipe calls for did diddly.
Add a second tablespoon of shortening. Crumble in as before. Convince your assistant not to slam his hand into the bowl.
By this time....the recipe I almost followed said that your mixture should resemble cornmeal. Mine didn't. I thought, well, this is obviously a failure. BUT, one comment I read on another recipe said that the tortillas were more flakey then pie crust. I know how to make pie crust from scratch, thanks to Mammaw. So, I squeezed a squeezed some of the mixture together in my fist. When I opened my hand, the mixture almost stayed together, but still crumbled apart a bit. (See how useful a photo would be here?) I decided that this would make it a little more flaky than a good pie crust dough would be, so I proceeded to the next step.
THIRD
Take your boiling water off the heat. Carefully measure 3/4 cup boiling water. Be sure it has stopped boiling, (like no more bubbles breaking the surface while its in the measuring cup.) Pour some of your water into the bowl. WARN YOUR ASSISTANT THAT IT IS WAY TO HOT TO TOUCH. Warn him off this often. Stir the water in with a wooden spoon. Add a little more hot water. Warn your assistant. Stir with spoon.
Now, the recipe I was sort of following said you might not need all your water. I used all of mine, but I'm just letting you know what the woman who knows better than I do said.
This was the step at which I thought, once again, this can't possibly work. After I had, in a mad, rash act of frustration, dumped all the hot water into the bowl and stirred with a wooden spoon, I had nothing resembling any kind of dough. This is the point at which the Jedi came into the kitchen. I told him what a miserable failure this was looking to be. The Jedi, wisely, said nothing, but gave me a kiss and went back out of the kitchen.
Though the dough was still hot, it had cooled past the point of scalding. I discarded the spoon and started kneading it with my hands in the bowl. Now, the original recipe said to knead it on a lightly floured surface, but the last thing I needed was more flour. So, the next step is...
FOURTH
Knead dough by hand as soon as it is cool enough to touch. Knead it, squeeze it, convince it to hold together by sheer force of will. When it has cooled a little more, let the boy help. Roll the dough around and pick up all the crumbs in the bottom of the bowl. Squish them in. By now the dough is resembling dried out playdough. But, as you knead it, it begins to look more and more like dough.
FIFTH
As soon as it holds its shape, use a pastry brush to let the boy coat the surface with vegetable oil. It might still look like a deformed and mutant excuse for a ball of dough, but that's ok. So did mine. Cover the ball with a dish towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
(While it rested, I browned my ground beef and added the low-sodium taco seasoning packet and water and let it simmer. I also opened the can of refried beans, which I don't like but the Jedi and Sweetling and Toa of Boy do, and put them on to warm.)
SIXTH
On a very, very, very lightly floured surface, begin to roll out sections of your dough. Now, let me say two things. One, this stuff is already super dry. You don't need nearly as much flour as you think. I put flour on my surface and then used my hand to wipe almost all of it off. Two, this stuff is already super dry. Air is your enemy. Keep your main dough ball covered while you roll out your individual tortillas.
The recipe, which I kept reading even though I hadn't quite followed it, said to pull out golf ball sized pieces of dough to roll. I did that. I got a little thing smaller than a saucer. The Jedi would have taken one look at it and asked if it was a joke. Like, the thing could have fit in an EasyBake oven. So, I went with hackey-sack pieces. I was worried that I wasn't going to have enough dough to make enough tortillas for my family, so I rolled mine out a little too thin. They need to be much thicker than the store bought tortillas. Really, they resemble soft tacos much more than tortillas. (Again, air is your enemy, keep them covered after you roll them.)
They don't roll out into perfect circles. At least, they don't when its me rolling them. And I can make a pretty mean pie crust, so I think its them and not me. Maybe there's a trick to it, but I got really, um, organic shapes with frayed edges when I did them. Once again, I thought this was a sign that I had done something seriously wrong. Don't get discouraged by how they look right now.
SEVENTH
While the Jedi cleans off the table and sets it, fry your tortillas over medium high heat in a heavy skillet. One tip I read said be carefull to have your skillet hot enough. It said if you cook them to long over lower heat, you loose too much moisture. In fact, I didn't let my pan heat up enough before throwing the first tortilla on, and the first one was really really crumbly.
So, when your skillet is hot, put your tortilla on. It only needs to cook for a minute or so on each side. The good ones, when I got the pan to the right temperature, started puffing a little with steam almost as soon as they hit the skillet. Flip them as soon as there undersides have a few little brown marks on them. (Which happens almost as soon as they get puffy.) Really, this is a quick process.
Put each tortilla in a warmer with a lid as soon as it cooks. Again, air is the enemy.
LAST
I cannot stress enough how delicious and wonderful homemade tortillas are. I always thought of tortillas as a boring wrap meant to just hold the yummy filling together. These homemade ones were nearly melt in your mouth good. I don't understand how that is, given that they are almost nothing but flour, but they were wonderful. Be warned, after having tasted the real thing, I don't think I can ever go back to the store bought variety. I think I'm forever stuck making my own tortillas every time I want to have tacos again. And quesadillas too for that matter.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Friday Fill Ins
Because I just did math with Honey Bunny.
And...here we go!
(Copy and paste into your own note, then fill in the blanks. My answers are below.)
1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is _____.
2. _____ clams.
3. When I think of carnivals I think of _____.
4. _____ my favorite spring flower.
5. Things on my desk include _____.
6. _____ makes me wanna _____.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _____, tomorrow my plans include _____ and Sunday, I want to _____!
1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is _pretending to be normal. (Actually, I've never worked in an office, but if I did, I bet I would have to pretend to be normal.
2. __Among the slimiest things in the universe are___ clams.
3. When I think of carnivals I think of _popcorn, rubber duckie ponds, little goldfish in a bowl, and sticky cotton candy_.
4. _Daffodils are definately__ my favorite spring flower.
5. Things on my desk include _ha ha ha! Are they serious? Serious? Starting from the right edge, on my desk is a red Swingline stapler that was a gift to the Jedi that I confiscated cause I lost mine; my computer, on top of which is my cool flatscreen monitor, a red stone apple with "Miss Xuan engraved on it, a porcelan panda, a jump-roping panda made of blue and yellow model magic, a valentine with a melted crayon heart and the words "you color my world," a third grade school photo of me, a glass slipper with a pearl inside, three cool rocks, two AHG swap pens, a rice filled lizard, a wooden mouse, three erasers, a paper and feather napkin holder from Thanksgiving years ago, a painted glass vase with a pipe cleaner and paper flower. And that's just on the first 15 inches. (Plus my keyboard, a squishy wrist pad, a mouse pad with Monet's water lilies, and my mouse.) Shall I go on? Oh yes, its like a train wreck...its too horrible to look away now. Right up against my computer is a plastic tube of mini M&Ms, a pez dispenser, another plastic glass slipper...this one full of M&Ms and kept neatly tied in a clear plastic bag with a little purple ribbon bow, and a star made from plastic iron beeds. Then a Digital Blue microscope and a red plastic cup full of pens and pencils. That brings us even with the edge of my keyboard. Here's where it gets funny. At the back middle of my desk is a clear plastic desk organizer so crammed full and overflowing of things it is nigh on impossible to discern what i might be holding. In front of that useful feature is a Walgreens receipt that needs saved for the Easy Saver rewards program, a clear plastic ruler with indiscernable markings, a yellow post-it pad, a a metal box which holds one magnetic stress ball...the other one is long lost by Toa of Boy. In what should be a clear work space is a yellow cup half full of cool water--yes, yes, its totally half full; a fushia flushable wipes container which now holds Toa of Boys sight word cards; a pink twelve sided dice; two mechanical pencils, one yellow, one orange; _an index card with a hand-drawn squirrel; Honey Bunny, who is laying down for a nap after her math lesson; an Elmer's glue bottle; and a empty plastic sleeve from a Webkinz tag. In the actual space left for work is Toa of Boy's phonics workbook, open to the page he is working on, a pair of scissors, and a blue tupperware sandwhich container which holds his pens. On the far left corner of the desk...which is as close to no-man's land as one can get...is an Easy button, a mangled foil wrapper holding two petrified Rolos, a blue rubber band, a wooden box with a sunflower on top, an open box of Wanka Fun Dip, a chami cloth, and a stack of April art still waiting to get displayed on the school door (but of course, March's art is still up there). And that, dear reader, is what is on the surface of my desk.
6. _The thought of summer vacation_ makes me wanna _dance for joy_.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _gaming, even though Christopher Robin and the Bear can't make it. Boo hoo. Tomorrow my plans include _a bunny party with Sweetling and then clothes shopping with Sweetling. And Sunday, I want to _either clean out the fridge...there are really nasty science experiments growing in there...OR...declutter some of the hall closet...I'm tired of being attacked everytime I open the door!
And...here we go!
(Copy and paste into your own note, then fill in the blanks. My answers are below.)
1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is _____.
2. _____ clams.
3. When I think of carnivals I think of _____.
4. _____ my favorite spring flower.
5. Things on my desk include _____.
6. _____ makes me wanna _____.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _____, tomorrow my plans include _____ and Sunday, I want to _____!
1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is _pretending to be normal. (Actually, I've never worked in an office, but if I did, I bet I would have to pretend to be normal.
2. __Among the slimiest things in the universe are___ clams.
3. When I think of carnivals I think of _popcorn, rubber duckie ponds, little goldfish in a bowl, and sticky cotton candy_.
4. _Daffodils are definately__ my favorite spring flower.
5. Things on my desk include _ha ha ha! Are they serious? Serious? Starting from the right edge, on my desk is a red Swingline stapler that was a gift to the Jedi that I confiscated cause I lost mine; my computer, on top of which is my cool flatscreen monitor, a red stone apple with "Miss Xuan engraved on it, a porcelan panda, a jump-roping panda made of blue and yellow model magic, a valentine with a melted crayon heart and the words "you color my world," a third grade school photo of me, a glass slipper with a pearl inside, three cool rocks, two AHG swap pens, a rice filled lizard, a wooden mouse, three erasers, a paper and feather napkin holder from Thanksgiving years ago, a painted glass vase with a pipe cleaner and paper flower. And that's just on the first 15 inches. (Plus my keyboard, a squishy wrist pad, a mouse pad with Monet's water lilies, and my mouse.) Shall I go on? Oh yes, its like a train wreck...its too horrible to look away now. Right up against my computer is a plastic tube of mini M&Ms, a pez dispenser, another plastic glass slipper...this one full of M&Ms and kept neatly tied in a clear plastic bag with a little purple ribbon bow, and a star made from plastic iron beeds. Then a Digital Blue microscope and a red plastic cup full of pens and pencils. That brings us even with the edge of my keyboard. Here's where it gets funny. At the back middle of my desk is a clear plastic desk organizer so crammed full and overflowing of things it is nigh on impossible to discern what i might be holding. In front of that useful feature is a Walgreens receipt that needs saved for the Easy Saver rewards program, a clear plastic ruler with indiscernable markings, a yellow post-it pad, a a metal box which holds one magnetic stress ball...the other one is long lost by Toa of Boy. In what should be a clear work space is a yellow cup half full of cool water--yes, yes, its totally half full; a fushia flushable wipes container which now holds Toa of Boys sight word cards; a pink twelve sided dice; two mechanical pencils, one yellow, one orange; _an index card with a hand-drawn squirrel; Honey Bunny, who is laying down for a nap after her math lesson; an Elmer's glue bottle; and a empty plastic sleeve from a Webkinz tag. In the actual space left for work is Toa of Boy's phonics workbook, open to the page he is working on, a pair of scissors, and a blue tupperware sandwhich container which holds his pens. On the far left corner of the desk...which is as close to no-man's land as one can get...is an Easy button, a mangled foil wrapper holding two petrified Rolos, a blue rubber band, a wooden box with a sunflower on top, an open box of Wanka Fun Dip, a chami cloth, and a stack of April art still waiting to get displayed on the school door (but of course, March's art is still up there). And that, dear reader, is what is on the surface of my desk.
6. _The thought of summer vacation_ makes me wanna _dance for joy_.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _gaming, even though Christopher Robin and the Bear can't make it. Boo hoo. Tomorrow my plans include _a bunny party with Sweetling and then clothes shopping with Sweetling. And Sunday, I want to _either clean out the fridge...there are really nasty science experiments growing in there...OR...declutter some of the hall closet...I'm tired of being attacked everytime I open the door!
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