Something I forgot to mention was that I didn't reach my goal (set back in Nov. here) of finishing my novel the same day my husband finished his tax season.
Yeah. What can I say. I have been a single mom.
On the bright side though, I will now have a very hands on spouse so I can really get down to business!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Holy lemons Batman!.....
If you have read this post, you will know that I love lemons. The taste, the smell, the color, it all has a positive affect on me.
Today I discovered the power of lemons!
My son, that I adore in every way, is almost always very helpful. However, there is one request of mine that he just can't seem to follow through on. It is using the squeegee in the shower. Because of this, the glass doors on his shower have been coated with hard water spots that have been a thorn in my side. I kept telling myself that I shouldn't make a big deal about it, he won't live with me forever, but today I just couldn't stand it anymore. I have tried things in the past to get the nasty spots off, but until now and short of using the sort of chemicals that would require a hazmat suit, nothing has really done the trick. I googled about my dilemma and found a suggestion to scrub the glass with a lemon that has been cut in half. To make it extra powerful, sprinkle some salt on the cut surface of lemon.
I decided to give it a try.
I went strait for the good stuff and used the salt combo from the get go. After I finished scrubbing, I let it sit for a few minutes, gave it a once over again and then rinsed.
"Out damn'd spot! Out I say!"
Voila! They were gone.
It was magical.
I love lemons.
Today I discovered the power of lemons!
My son, that I adore in every way, is almost always very helpful. However, there is one request of mine that he just can't seem to follow through on. It is using the squeegee in the shower. Because of this, the glass doors on his shower have been coated with hard water spots that have been a thorn in my side. I kept telling myself that I shouldn't make a big deal about it, he won't live with me forever, but today I just couldn't stand it anymore. I have tried things in the past to get the nasty spots off, but until now and short of using the sort of chemicals that would require a hazmat suit, nothing has really done the trick. I googled about my dilemma and found a suggestion to scrub the glass with a lemon that has been cut in half. To make it extra powerful, sprinkle some salt on the cut surface of lemon.
I decided to give it a try.
I went strait for the good stuff and used the salt combo from the get go. After I finished scrubbing, I let it sit for a few minutes, gave it a once over again and then rinsed.
"Out damn'd spot! Out I say!"
Voila! They were gone.
It was magical.
I love lemons.
A little rant.....
Today in the Associated Press there is an article that you can read here.
The article is about the books that are the most complained about by parents. Stephenie Meyer's Twilight is number 5 on the list. The other books on the list were Catcher In The Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Color Purple, IM (I have not read), etc. (See article for complete list)
Here is how I feel about it:
First, make sure that whatever book your child/teen is reading is age appropriate. Some books simply have too mature a theme for the advanced younger readers. There are books out there that will challenge them, but are still appropriate. Seek them out and be a big part of talking to them about the content.
Second, I say kudos to Stephenie Meyer. Though her books are not literary masterpieces, she sparked a whole new love of reading in people who otherwise would not have picked up a book for pure enjoyment purposes. I have 2 friends who had not read a book on purpose since high school, but after being convinced to read Twilight they are now book nerds, constantly reading anything they can get their hands on. Would I let my 8 and 12 year old daughters read this book? Not yet, but when they are older, absolutely. (I tend to try for innocence as long as possible)
Third, see my first point! Educate yourself about the content of books. Read with your kids. My daughter and I are constantly reading the same books. Usually I read the book first and then make my decision. My son who is older comes to me about every other week looking for something that I would suggest. He has read Tom Sawyer, The Count Of Monte Cristo, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Golden Compass series, Les Miserable and so on, all on my recommendation. Help your child find something you think is appropriate. But remember that what you think is appropriate may or may not coincide with another parents view on the same book. There is nothing wrong with that!
I just had to get that off my chest.
The article is about the books that are the most complained about by parents. Stephenie Meyer's Twilight is number 5 on the list. The other books on the list were Catcher In The Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Color Purple, IM (I have not read), etc. (See article for complete list)
Here is how I feel about it:
First, make sure that whatever book your child/teen is reading is age appropriate. Some books simply have too mature a theme for the advanced younger readers. There are books out there that will challenge them, but are still appropriate. Seek them out and be a big part of talking to them about the content.
Second, I say kudos to Stephenie Meyer. Though her books are not literary masterpieces, she sparked a whole new love of reading in people who otherwise would not have picked up a book for pure enjoyment purposes. I have 2 friends who had not read a book on purpose since high school, but after being convinced to read Twilight they are now book nerds, constantly reading anything they can get their hands on. Would I let my 8 and 12 year old daughters read this book? Not yet, but when they are older, absolutely. (I tend to try for innocence as long as possible)
Third, see my first point! Educate yourself about the content of books. Read with your kids. My daughter and I are constantly reading the same books. Usually I read the book first and then make my decision. My son who is older comes to me about every other week looking for something that I would suggest. He has read Tom Sawyer, The Count Of Monte Cristo, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Golden Compass series, Les Miserable and so on, all on my recommendation. Help your child find something you think is appropriate. But remember that what you think is appropriate may or may not coincide with another parents view on the same book. There is nothing wrong with that!
I just had to get that off my chest.
Favorite days...
I love April 15th!
For me it is one of the most anticipated days of the year. I am serious! It comes not too far behind Christmas, Halloween and April Fools day.
Why?
I get my husband back every year on April 15th!
He is a tax accountant and come January of every year we see less and less of him. He is gone from 6 in the morning until 11 or 12 at night and often until the wee hours of the morning. He even spends the night on occasion. This happens Monday through Saturday and sometimes Sunday. My kids don't see him unless they happen to wake up in the middle of the night. The older kids know that he comes home at night but my younger two have asked where he flew to.
Oh happy day!
For me it is one of the most anticipated days of the year. I am serious! It comes not too far behind Christmas, Halloween and April Fools day.
Why?
I get my husband back every year on April 15th!
He is a tax accountant and come January of every year we see less and less of him. He is gone from 6 in the morning until 11 or 12 at night and often until the wee hours of the morning. He even spends the night on occasion. This happens Monday through Saturday and sometimes Sunday. My kids don't see him unless they happen to wake up in the middle of the night. The older kids know that he comes home at night but my younger two have asked where he flew to.
Oh happy day!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Broken Hearts.....
I wasn't going to share this part of the First Kiss story, but I changed my mind. I have been the cause and the recipient of many a broken heart. Of the two, it feels so much worse to be the one getting your heart broken.
That darling young man who treated me so well and gave me a first kiss to remember, well.....I broke his heart. What can I say? I was only 15. We spent part of a school year and most of a summer falling in love. Only for him it meant so much more than it ever did for me. My first love didn't come until later, (that is another story for another time and I definitely got my heart broken!) but I am fairly certain that he thought I was his.
He was so thoughtful. Sometimes he would show up with a delicate gold necklace and other times with a single flower. He opened my doors, cheered me on with pride in my adventures and was very respectful in the way he spoke to me.
The problem was, he graduated and I didn't. He left and I was still 15 turning 16.
He wrote letters expressing his love and future plans he had for us. I pulled back. He called and talked of "when". I pulled back even more. After a while of this I received a package in the mail from him. Every photo of me or us together, every token, ticket stub, gift, letter and note that I had ever given him was in that package. There was no written message from him, but the message was very clear. I broke his heart and he needed to rid himself of every reminder of me. Thinking back I really respect him for the way he handled it. He never tried to beg me back or say mean hurtful things which I probably deserved. He just bowed out like the gentleman he had always been. I felt bad then, but I feel worse now when I think about it because I could have given him much more respect than I did. I could have told him that I was too young for the kinds of promises he wanted from me.
Instead I pulled back.
I am proud of myself about one thing though. I never told him I loved him. That sounds strange, I know, but there is only one man that I have ever said those words to besides my dad and I married him. Now don't get me wrong, I liked him, a lot, and I told him that. I just didn't feel that I could say that I loved him. I've never used that phrase frivolously, partly because I've always had a hard time expressing myself and partly because to me it is something so special that it can't be used just anywhere. So, know that if you ever hear me say "I love you", I really mean it.
That darling young man who treated me so well and gave me a first kiss to remember, well.....I broke his heart. What can I say? I was only 15. We spent part of a school year and most of a summer falling in love. Only for him it meant so much more than it ever did for me. My first love didn't come until later, (that is another story for another time and I definitely got my heart broken!) but I am fairly certain that he thought I was his.
He was so thoughtful. Sometimes he would show up with a delicate gold necklace and other times with a single flower. He opened my doors, cheered me on with pride in my adventures and was very respectful in the way he spoke to me.
The problem was, he graduated and I didn't. He left and I was still 15 turning 16.
He wrote letters expressing his love and future plans he had for us. I pulled back. He called and talked of "when". I pulled back even more. After a while of this I received a package in the mail from him. Every photo of me or us together, every token, ticket stub, gift, letter and note that I had ever given him was in that package. There was no written message from him, but the message was very clear. I broke his heart and he needed to rid himself of every reminder of me. Thinking back I really respect him for the way he handled it. He never tried to beg me back or say mean hurtful things which I probably deserved. He just bowed out like the gentleman he had always been. I felt bad then, but I feel worse now when I think about it because I could have given him much more respect than I did. I could have told him that I was too young for the kinds of promises he wanted from me.
Instead I pulled back.
I am proud of myself about one thing though. I never told him I loved him. That sounds strange, I know, but there is only one man that I have ever said those words to besides my dad and I married him. Now don't get me wrong, I liked him, a lot, and I told him that. I just didn't feel that I could say that I loved him. I've never used that phrase frivolously, partly because I've always had a hard time expressing myself and partly because to me it is something so special that it can't be used just anywhere. So, know that if you ever hear me say "I love you", I really mean it.
Friday, April 9, 2010
First Kiss....
On the way home from the gym this morning, my friend and I ended up talking about first kisses. This, because my son has been asking me about kissing girls, when he should and what to expect. (I love that he will talk to me about it!)
My friend told me about her tragic first kiss. She was at a dance and her boyfriends friends planned the whole thing. They had arranged for a car to be in the parking lot and sent her out to meet him in the car. Awkard!!! She said it all felt forced, embarrassing and not at all nice to remember.
I felt bad for her because mine *sigh* was out of this world.
I was a 15 year old Sophomore and he was an 18 year old senior.
(That makes for the best combination ever if you ask me! He knew what he was doing and I was glad!)
He had been a good friend of my brother's so I had known him for several years. Which means he had known me as a really tall, skinny eleven year old with teeth too big for my face, elbows and knees that were everywhere and a few band-aids here and there.
I was quite the ugly duckling growing up, but something magical happened the summer before my sophomore year. The braces came off, my hair had grown down my back from the gross perm that forced me to cut it very short, the acne was gone and I no longer tripped over myself everywhere I went. The boys started to notice me, but I was still oblivious to it. The attention I mean, not the boys. I had had a crush on this boy or that since fifth grade, but they never noticed me back until that wonderful year, so I didn't really know what it was that they were all doing until someone pointed it out to me.
I got asked to homecoming by a boy that I didn't know at all, but I was thrilled. My dress was pink and I couldn't wait to wear it. I was in the bathroom in a t-shirt and cut off shorts, getting ready for the big night. My hair was up in hot rollers all over my head and while standing tip toed I applied the finishing touches to my lipgloss. That was when my brother and his friends came rushing in to start getting ready for their dates. One of his friends in particular started to tease me about the rollers and chased me around a bit trying to get a rise out of me. I didn't really care that they saw me like that, I had known them all so long.
The dance was fine but I didn't ever go out with that boy again. Let's just say that this friend of my brother's took over very quickly after that night in the bathroom.
He was so good to me.
After a couple of dates he walked me to my door, smiled, tilted his head down and kissed me. Simply that. No awkward pause, no awkward where do I put my hands and arms type of thing. He just bent down, kissed me and said good night. Oh was I on cloud nine!!!
But wait! It gets better!
A few weeks later we were at a friends house in the basement trying to figure out a show to watch when our friends ran upstairs to make popcorn leaving us alone. We talked for a bit when he got a phone call. He ran upstairs to take it, but returned just a minute later. He came into the room, smiled at me, put one hand on my cheek, lifted my chin and kissed me gently. Then his lips parted, my heart pounded and I tasted the sweetness of watermelon. That beautiful boy! I don't know if he planned it or not, but he ate the most wonderful watermelon before coming down the stairs and to me it was the syrup of the gods! There was no slurping or slopping, just soft and gentle kisses standing in the basement. Our friends came running down the stairs and rather that jumping away embarrassed he put his arm around my shoulders, gave me a squeeze and we spent the rest of the night doing who knows what! I don't remember the rest because I could think of nothing else!
I consider myself very fortunate that my first kisses were like the ones only dreamt about before they ever happened. You know the ones. They were the kind that happened in the movies and all of the girls went home at night and envisioned her first kiss to be just like the one that Blane gave Andie in Pretty In Pink or when Keith finally kisses Watts in Some Kind Of Wonderful.
Some girls have all the luck!
(Should I tell my son about the watermelon?)
My friend told me about her tragic first kiss. She was at a dance and her boyfriends friends planned the whole thing. They had arranged for a car to be in the parking lot and sent her out to meet him in the car. Awkard!!! She said it all felt forced, embarrassing and not at all nice to remember.
I felt bad for her because mine *sigh* was out of this world.
I was a 15 year old Sophomore and he was an 18 year old senior.
(That makes for the best combination ever if you ask me! He knew what he was doing and I was glad!)
He had been a good friend of my brother's so I had known him for several years. Which means he had known me as a really tall, skinny eleven year old with teeth too big for my face, elbows and knees that were everywhere and a few band-aids here and there.
I was quite the ugly duckling growing up, but something magical happened the summer before my sophomore year. The braces came off, my hair had grown down my back from the gross perm that forced me to cut it very short, the acne was gone and I no longer tripped over myself everywhere I went. The boys started to notice me, but I was still oblivious to it. The attention I mean, not the boys. I had had a crush on this boy or that since fifth grade, but they never noticed me back until that wonderful year, so I didn't really know what it was that they were all doing until someone pointed it out to me.
I got asked to homecoming by a boy that I didn't know at all, but I was thrilled. My dress was pink and I couldn't wait to wear it. I was in the bathroom in a t-shirt and cut off shorts, getting ready for the big night. My hair was up in hot rollers all over my head and while standing tip toed I applied the finishing touches to my lipgloss. That was when my brother and his friends came rushing in to start getting ready for their dates. One of his friends in particular started to tease me about the rollers and chased me around a bit trying to get a rise out of me. I didn't really care that they saw me like that, I had known them all so long.
The dance was fine but I didn't ever go out with that boy again. Let's just say that this friend of my brother's took over very quickly after that night in the bathroom.
He was so good to me.
After a couple of dates he walked me to my door, smiled, tilted his head down and kissed me. Simply that. No awkward pause, no awkward where do I put my hands and arms type of thing. He just bent down, kissed me and said good night. Oh was I on cloud nine!!!
But wait! It gets better!
A few weeks later we were at a friends house in the basement trying to figure out a show to watch when our friends ran upstairs to make popcorn leaving us alone. We talked for a bit when he got a phone call. He ran upstairs to take it, but returned just a minute later. He came into the room, smiled at me, put one hand on my cheek, lifted my chin and kissed me gently. Then his lips parted, my heart pounded and I tasted the sweetness of watermelon. That beautiful boy! I don't know if he planned it or not, but he ate the most wonderful watermelon before coming down the stairs and to me it was the syrup of the gods! There was no slurping or slopping, just soft and gentle kisses standing in the basement. Our friends came running down the stairs and rather that jumping away embarrassed he put his arm around my shoulders, gave me a squeeze and we spent the rest of the night doing who knows what! I don't remember the rest because I could think of nothing else!
I consider myself very fortunate that my first kisses were like the ones only dreamt about before they ever happened. You know the ones. They were the kind that happened in the movies and all of the girls went home at night and envisioned her first kiss to be just like the one that Blane gave Andie in Pretty In Pink or when Keith finally kisses Watts in Some Kind Of Wonderful.
Some girls have all the luck!
(Should I tell my son about the watermelon?)
Monday, April 5, 2010
Wonder Woman!
This week my kids are home from school. Spring break is here and that means I will have a house full of kids all week long. I think I might have to pick one of the days to be a no friends in the house at all day just to keep myself sane. Because when I say a house full of kids I mean at any given time there are anywhere between 10 to 20 kids at my house. I am not complaining, I love it, really I do! It's just that too much of a good thing is never a good thing ya know!
Anyway, I am quite proud today because I fixed my dryer all by myself!
It went out yesterday and when it happened I knew exactly what the problem was because about a month ago my sister called me and told me about her dryer woes. I was so impressed because she had taken her whole dryer apart, starting with the backside, 3 times trying to get at the belt which was the problem. When it happened I knew it was the belt, it had to be.
Murphy's law is real! (Back to my story)
I skipped taking off the backside after remembering my sisters story and went for the front. I removed the door, the front panel and took out the drum. What a dusty mess!!!! After vacuuming the whole thing, calling my sister twice, and printing out the page from the manual I needed, I fixed the belt! Ta Da!!! It was so easy!
Then came the hard part.
Putting the darn thing back together was the challenge. I will admit that I grunted a few times, said Dammit once, and probably had plumbers butt here and there. But, I got it back together just in time to put a load of wet laundry in. And guess what! It works beautifully!
There is one thing I have to confess about this though. I have two screws leftover that I found after I got the whole thing put back together. I took the door and the front back off to check and make sure all of the holes that needed screws had them and they did. I could not for the life of me see where they needed to go. I just told myself that they probably came from under the dryer in all of the dust. My husband says that if the dryer falls apart we will know where they were supposed to go.
Anyway, how was your day?
Anyway, I am quite proud today because I fixed my dryer all by myself!
It went out yesterday and when it happened I knew exactly what the problem was because about a month ago my sister called me and told me about her dryer woes. I was so impressed because she had taken her whole dryer apart, starting with the backside, 3 times trying to get at the belt which was the problem. When it happened I knew it was the belt, it had to be.
Murphy's law is real! (Back to my story)
I skipped taking off the backside after remembering my sisters story and went for the front. I removed the door, the front panel and took out the drum. What a dusty mess!!!! After vacuuming the whole thing, calling my sister twice, and printing out the page from the manual I needed, I fixed the belt! Ta Da!!! It was so easy!
Then came the hard part.
Putting the darn thing back together was the challenge. I will admit that I grunted a few times, said Dammit once, and probably had plumbers butt here and there. But, I got it back together just in time to put a load of wet laundry in. And guess what! It works beautifully!
There is one thing I have to confess about this though. I have two screws leftover that I found after I got the whole thing put back together. I took the door and the front back off to check and make sure all of the holes that needed screws had them and they did. I could not for the life of me see where they needed to go. I just told myself that they probably came from under the dryer in all of the dust. My husband says that if the dryer falls apart we will know where they were supposed to go.
Anyway, how was your day?
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