Overdosing on Nostalgia

I Know This Much Is True

2009-05-27T10:54:00.003-06:00

For my whole life I have been me. Good, bad, ugly, weird, I have been me. I never went along with the crowd, I was never easily swayed, I have always been exactly who I am at all times. Until now.

When you enter unfamiliar territory you put on your best face, your most outgoing personality and you may even act a little phony in order to let people get to know you before you let your freak flag fly. When we moved to New Mexico and I was slogging my way through trying to make new friends in a new environment, I may have done this. Now, after a year and a half all bets are off and people are going to have to take me or leave me, loud mouth, swears, opinions, tattoos, piercings and all. Those friends that I have made who like me because of me will still do so, those who don't...won't. I wouldn't want it any other way.

In high school I was considered weird by a lot of people. I dressed differently (think Clarissa from Nickelodeon's 'Clarissa Explains it All'). I had bright pink Doc Martens before they were cool, I wore platform shoes long before the wedge made it's triumphant return. I was me, totally and utterly me and I didn't care who knew it. I had the most amazing group of friends, all who loved me and didn't care what label was on my jeans. I wasn't an outcast or social pariah, and most people never gave me or my clothes a second thought.

We had a student voice mail system at school and each student was allowed to set up a voice mail box where friends or teachers could reach us and leave us messages (this was before the internet folks). One day a girl named Melissa accidentally left a message for her friend in my mail box. I called her back and let her know. We quickly started messaging back and forth and forming a friendship. I knew who she was, a year ahead of me and one of the "popular preppy kids"; she didn't know who I was. One day we were set to meet up and she didn't show. I got home that night and there was a message on my voice mail from her telling me that she saw me waiting where we were going to meet, took one look at my clothes, realized I was a freak and never wanted to talk to me again. Nice, right?

When Melissa only knew me by my voice on a phone she liked me and we were friends. When she saw me she changed her opinion of me based on how I was dressed. It wasn't devastating or anything like that, but it was typical and it was actually what I was expecting from one of the "popular preppy kids" (I guess I had preconceived - and later confirmed - notions too). Anyway, the point is, in this blogosphere, this arena of mommy bloggers, I don't think I am being myself and this blog isn't really the outlet I had hoped it would be because of that.

So, on to bigger and better things. A new blog where I can rant about my opinions on all subjects that are socially taboo: politics, religion, atheism, discrimination, abortion, corporate greed, feminism, and all things sure to alienate, incite and inflame. I may be a mama, but I still wear some outrageous things and Doc Martens every chance I get. Because if I'm not me then who the hell am I?

Thanks for reading...

Meg

The Time of Our Lives

2009-04-02T13:07:00.003-06:00

Today my MOMS Club friends came over for our monthly book club meeting. We were discussing The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer, a book about women who have been out of the work force for about ten years to raise their children and are weighing their usefulness at home now that the kids are in school vs. returning to their dormant careers. The book was horrible and lacked continuity and plot, but the topic was an emotional one for me, and the conversation we had about the book was great.

In high school you think, “this is the time of my life, nothing will ever be greater than this moment, these friends and these memories”. Then you go to college and you think, “now this is it. Living away from my parents, becoming an adult, traveling, learning and meeting people from all walks of life, this is the time of my life.” Then you get married and you think, “this love, this person, this bond, this is the time of my life”. I’ve now come to realize that THIS moment right now, raising my children is truly the time of my life.

To be sure there are major sacrifices to be made when you have kids. Your marriage (at least in my case and that of some of my friends) isn’t the primary focus any more; the kids are. The things you experience with small children in the house is like nothing else on Earth and nothing can prepare you for how miraculous, mystifying, terrifying, stressful, emotional and wonderful it is. Children have a different agenda than adults; their agenda is to have fun, and to be happy. We could learn so much from them. Everything from potty training to learning to ride a bike they learn from you, and it is a chance for you to discover the world all over again.

On top of that you are raising the future of the universe. Will your children grow up to be compassionate, kind, gentle, fierce, angry, content? Will they be a professional athlete, a teacher, a nurse, a senator, a mother, a father, married, single, happy? So much of that depends on you and the job that you do as a parent. This is it folks, your one shot at creating the kind of person you want your child to be and I daresay there is no more important job on Earth.

I know when I am old and gray I will look back on this time as the time of my life. High School was fun, our days as a young married couple were special, but this, this is the time of my life, and I need to remember that and soak it all up. Because, once these days are gone, there is no getting them back, and I know I my only regret in life will be if I don’t do this right and I let it pass me by without enjoying every moment of it. To all you mommies and daddies out there, enjoy the time of your life, because that time is today!

Tumbleweeds Are Real

2009-03-30T10:29:00.004-06:00

When we pulled up to our house upon our arrival in New Mexico I was delighted to find a small tumbleweed in our back yard! I immediately sent out a text to friends and family about what I always thought was little more than a western legend. I thought for sure that tumbleweeds only existed in Bugs Bunny cartoons.

“Do you really have tumbleweeds down there?” is probably the number one question I get asked about New Mexico. I am here to tell you tumbleweeds are very real, and very unpleasant. Spring in New Mexico means day after day of 30+ miles per hour winds, which pull massive tumbleweeds out of the ground and send them spinning through the city. For some reason tumbleweeds love our front porch and after a big storm we are often unable to leave the house through the front door because these prickly, vicious weeds have barricaded us in.
On the other hand, it is pretty cool to see a weed the size of a Volkswagen go tumbling down the street and you really do feel like you are in the wild, wild west. I’ve been thinking of starting a website selling this mythical creature to the curious and uninitiated. Let me know how many I can sign you up for, I’ve got plenty to share!

Comedy of Errors

2009-03-25T18:55:00.003-06:00

Most people over the age of 30 will probably remember when Andrew Dice Clay was one of the filthiest and most controversial comics around. Even I remember him when I was just a little girl and blushing whenever someone said his name because he was supposed to be so dirty. I thought for sure I would get punished just for knowing his name. He’s probably pretty tame by today’s standards, but I digress.

My husband remembers Andrew Dice Clay’s whole “Nursery Rhyme” montage, and for some reason still chuckles about it (look, he grew up in a town of 4,000 people, he didn’t get out much). If you’re not familiar with what I am talking about you can check it out here, but I am warning you to clear the kids from the room before you watch it. Now, you probably have to be an adult to get most of the references, but if a child picks up on one of these lines and starts quoting it in mixed company you won’t be winning any parent of the year awards, which bring me to my point, finally.

My husband, in all his bumpkin good humor thought it would be funny to teach one of these gems to our seven year-old son. Now, as I’ve said before my husband really is a terrific dad and goes above and beyond the call, but sometimes he makes poor judgment calls, and this would be one of them.

The Honeybee has a memory like no other. This kid can watch a TV show once and quote every line from the show the next time it comes on. So, teaching him naughty little nursery rhymes that will quickly get repeated in school is not the most brilliant plan. The one Honeybee glommed onto was this lovely little ditty:

“Jack and Jill went up the hill, each with a buck and a quarter. Jill came down with $2.50. Ohh!”

Honeybee, being the seven year-old that he is, changed the characters in the rhyme to Squidward and SpongeBob, which of course makes it that much funnier. Honeybee has no idea what this means, his teachers, and his friend’s parents of course do. I’m expecting the phone to start ringing any minute now. Oh, and when it does, trust me, Buzzer is going to be answering that one.

Mmmmmmmm Monday: Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache

2009-03-23T16:21:00.005-06:00

This cake is really flavorful and moist. I think it rivals any box mix, is just as easy to make, and doesn't require any "unusual" vegan ingredients like an egg replacer. The vinegar may seem strange to those not versed in vegan baking, but the vinegar combined with the baking soda gives some baked goods the lift and fluff that eggs would provide. I promise the cake won't taste tart or vinegary. The ganache is the perfect light frostingy topping for this cake, not too thick, or too sweet.

Chocolate Cake

The Must Haves:

* 1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose, spelt or whole wheat pastry work best)
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
* 1/3 cup oil
* 1 TBSP vinegar (white distilled or apple cider)
* 1 cup cold water

The Choose It or Lose Its (choose one, two or none!):

* 1 recipe Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)
* Confectioners' Sugar
* Fresh Berries
* Peanut Butter Frosting

How You Do It:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly oil a Bundt pan, set aside.

2. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the vanilla, oil, vinegar and water. Mix until just combined.

3. Pour into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

4. Cool on a wire rack. To remove the cake from the pan, run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake. Cool completely before frosting. For a layer cake, double the recipe and use 9-inch pans.

5. Put on your string of pearls and serve to the family after a big Sunday dinner.

6. Get down with your bad June Cleaver self.

Rich Chocolate Ganache Topping

The Must Haves:

*1/4 cup soy milk
* 4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped (I cheat and use chips)
* 2 TBSP pure maple syrup

How You Do It:

1. Bring the soymilk to a gentle boil in a small sauce pan. Immediately remove from heat and add the chocolate and maple syrup. Use a rubber heatproof spatula to mix the chocolate until it is fully melted and smooth. Set aside at room temperature until ready to use. (Wait until it is just warm to the touch for a drippy, pretty glaze on your cake, it will set up firm once cooled).

Yield: 1 hell of a cake

A Family That Shares Together...

2009-03-22T09:58:00.013-06:00

gets every nasty germ imaginable. My kids love to share. It's true! They like to take turns with toys, share food right out of their mouths with one another, pick up any toothbrush they come across in the bathroom each night, they all cram into one chair together to watch TV, and they love to have sleepovers together. Really, so sweet, right?

No. They are like living, walking petri dishes with all this "sharing", and while I am glad for all the siblingly love here, having something wipe out all three kids at once is not so lovely. Right now, it's pink eye. Dani picked it up from preschool in one eye, today it has moved into the other, and into her brother Jooch's eyes too. The Honeybee decided he needed to do an eye exam on the Dani to see this "pink eye" we kept referring too, so it won't be long now until he is infected too.

I had big plans for next week since the kids are off for spring break. We had MOMS Club events to attend, and well planned mommy and me time spent individually with each kid. Instead it will be off to the doctor to take a look at my children's weeping eyes, and strict quarantine.

Oh, and did I mention Dani woke up with a crusty ear this morning? Apparently she had an ear infection, which she never complained about and we had no clue was going on, until she woke up with a gunk ear. Now the Jooch is complaining his ear hurts too. Thank god the Pediatrician has walk-in hours tomorrow morning. Enjoy your spring break everyone, I am in for some heavy duty spring cleaning and degermifying.

It's The End of the World as We Know It

2009-03-20T10:18:00.004-06:00

The Jooch is approaching two and a half years-old and I am in no way ready to put him in a "big boy bed". He is a monkey; he loves to climb, he is fearless, and he is constantly getting in trouble. I fear that if he was in a big boy bed he would give up his nap and be up wandering the house in the middle of the night. The crib still seems like the safest place for him.

However, the Jooch is making his own rules and has figured out that he can easily scale the side of the bed and wreak havoc on his bedroom when he is supposed to be napping. The funny thing is that he still loves naps and still needs them, which he proved the other day.

I went up the stairs to check on him during his nap and as I crept into his room I noticed that his bed was empty, but he didn't come running to the door. I opened the door further and what should I see but this:

Sounds asleep, curled up in his favorite blanket, on the floor behind the door. While this was so heartwarmingly adorable, it was also the end of the world as we know it. Nap times will be coming to an end soon I fear. I guess I better enjoy every napping moment I can, while they still exist.

Where My Heart Lives

2009-03-19T13:43:00.004-06:00

Since adopting our daughter, Maia Yordanos, from Ethiopia in 2005 our lives, hearts and minds have been forever changed. We think every day about the family she left behind and how they are fairing. We worry about the children there who have no one to feed them, protect them, educate them, and most of all...love them. Sometimes I look into my daughter's eyes and imagine her alone in a severely poverty and disease stricken country and it is more than I can bear. We decided we needed to do something to help those children who we left behind in Ethiopia, but carry in our hearts.

One of the things we do is sponsor a child through our adoption agency. For $420 a year we provide an education, 3 meals a day, school supplies, clean water and visits from a social worker to assist the family. Every penny of the $420 goes to the sponsored child and in cases where the child lives with family, that money helps to support everyone. Sponsored families receive counseling and financial training in the hopes of creating self-sufficiency.

For more details about the program, watch this slide show. I hope you have better success with getting through it without crying than I did.

If $420 isn't in your budget right now, there are many other sponsorship program options to choose from. Check it out.

Mmmmmmmm Monday : Vegan Truffles

2009-03-16T11:29:00.009-06:00

The Must-Haves:

* 3/4 cup raw cashews
* 3/4 cup cold water
* 1 lb bittersweet chocolate
* cocoa powder

The Choose It or Lose Its:

*Nuts
*Coconut
*Sprinkles
*Crushed Peppermint Candies
*Use your imagination!

How You Do It:

1.Put cashews and cold water in a blender and blend at high speed for 1-2 minutes (yes a long time).

2. Scrape the sides down and blend again until the mixture is the consistency of heavy cream.

3. Meanwhile, in a double boiler heat the chocolate until it's all melted.

4. Cool the chocolate until it's comfortable to work with and fold in the cashew cream (making sure not to stir too fast or you'll create bubbles).

5. Cool in the fridge for 2 hours (to set).

6. Take out a small ball, roll in cocoa powder, or topping of your choice and store in fridge/freezer. I like to melt a little extra chocolate and put a dollop of it in the palm of my hand, then I roll the truffle in it, and dunk it in the cocoa powder. This creates a little shell of harder chocolate on the soft truffle center. I also like to bury a toasted hazelnut in the middle of each truffle.

7. Repeat until done.

8. Give as gifts to your friend or sweetheart, or bring them along to a girl’s nights out for a little naughty indulgence.

Yields: about 50 truffles, plenty to share!

Knitting Knoobie Giveaway!

2009-03-13T13:33:00.003-06:00

My very best friend, Susie, is having a knitty giveaway on her blog. Susie began as a knitting knoobie but has quickly moved on to a knitting knot-so-knoobie.

Check out her blog for really cute knitty crafts and of course, her very first giveaway! She will be giving away two skeins of yarn and a book of knitting themed short stories to one lucky winner. As a native New Yorker Susie wants to know what you would do if you took a trip to the city.

Go, comment, win!

Barf, Barf Go Away

2009-03-12T10:05:00.003-06:00

This morning my husband comes home from taking The Honeybee to school and announces that Honeybee is probably going to bring home another stomach bug tomorrow. Now, we have had a problem all winter with a stomach bug that keeps making the rounds in the house. We have Clorox wiped everything in the house and avoided some contact with the outside world hoping that intestinal goodies would leave us alone. It hasn’t worked. At least twice a month we are dealing with someone being sick all over again.

Today the parent’s of my son’s deskmate thought it a brilliant idea to send her to school, even though this child announced to the whole class that she was vomiting last night and this morning. She still wasn’t feeling well, her face pale and ashy, but her mom had somewhere to be this morning and needed her to go to school. We were assured her mom was going to come back and get her after her appointment. Lovely.

This is how it happens. Sending your kids to school when they have been vomiting in the last 24 hours is a huge no-no in the public health rulebook. This child was practically lying on her desk she was feeling so ill. But, hey, mom has somewhere to be so, fuck it, who cares if she makes the whole class sick, which in turn makes everyone in every houseshold sick.

I swear, if The Honeybee is vomiting tomorrow, or a stomach bug chooses to makes it’s home in our intestines again because of this, I will be mailing this mom our snotty Kleenex from our next bout of colds and runny noses.

The Trouble With Two

2009-03-09T22:01:00.011-06:00

Some days two-years-old is the greatest age that ever was. When The Jooch wakes up in a good mood and everything makes him smile and giggle, life is good. On those days he loves to give kisses, play together and listen to me read book after book while he snuggles on my lap.

Other days two is trouble. I won't say terrible, because that's a bit strong, but it's trouble for sure. Some days my two-year-old wakes up on the wrong side of the crib and the waterworks start before his tiny feet ever even hit the floor. On those days it seems nothing makes him happy, everything is worth crying over and we are both counting the minutes until nap time.

Either way though, I try to remember every moment, good and bad, because this is the last time I will have a two-year-old to enjoy. He is still experiencing new things every day, and this is the last time I will get to share this wonderment with one of my children. Pretty soon we will be done with diapers, temper tantrums, and strollers, and as strange as it seems, I know I will miss every bit of it. Diapers and all.

Crunchy Granola

2009-03-05T15:05:00.003-07:00

My gal pal Katie is hosting another giveaway that even a vegan like me can get down with, crunchy granola! How perfect.

Check out Katie's blog and sign up for this make your own granola mix giveaway. Get to crunchin' yo!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

2009-03-02T11:39:00.005-07:00

A week or so ago my real-life friend, and fellow blogger, Katie, told me about a blog at The Kitchn about ten favorite things from your kitchen. The author wrote about her ten favorite things and then asked readers to submit photos of their favorites from their own kitchens and they would choose several to feature over the next few weeks.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a girl who LOVES a retro inspired kitchen. Anything for the kitchen from 1920 - 1950 is right up my alley. I scour eBay and antique stores for vintage kitchen treasure. So, I snapped a few shots of some of my favorite things, and surprise, surprise, my kitchen is featured on The Kitchn today!

Go check out my kitchy kitchen. Thanks to Katie for the great tip!

It's A Hard-Knock Life, Or Is It?

2009-03-01T19:05:00.006-07:00

I don’t know about you, but I have always thought that the universe gives you back what you put out. If you are the kind of person who sees the positive in life and doesn’t complain too much about the little things, good things come your way. On the other hand, if you are the kind of person who feels like every sniffly nose, hectic day and poopy diaper is something to gnash your teeth and shake your fist at the heavens about, well, a lot more snot and shit will be coming your way.

I am a glass half-full kind of person, despite my sometimes prickly personality. I really do feel like things work themselves out in the end. I also keep a lot of my life’s little annoyances to myself, because we all have them and I don’t see the point of airing them to all and sundry, knowing full well they are going through the same things as me. Sometimes life is about sucking it up.

Recently my son lost the new Nintendo DS that “Santa” brought him for Christmas. Or, more accurately, my husband lost my son's Nintendo DS. At first I was annoyed that a $129 and $29 game were lost , but that passed in a second when I remembered that in the last year we had found two iPods whose owners could not be located and that my husband and son have since put to their personal use. So, their loss was our gain, and our loss someone else’s. It’s the balance of the universe.

I have been thinking more and more about this recently as a member of Facebook and formerly MySpace. Anyone who frequents these social “networking” sites knows that often times they are more of a social bitchfest. I am getting really sick and tired of reading about every runny nose, minor disappointment, and less-than-perfect spouse in passive-aggressive status updates.

It is at the point that for the sake of my good mood and positive outlook I want to block status updates from ever being posted on my page. It’s enough to make you depressed to read about every small misery day in and day out from hundreds of people. It seems that the posts that are fun, lighthearted and genuinely happy are few and far between. It's not like you get a choice about reading these posts either, because they just randomly show up on your page. It's not like a personal blog, which is like a diary, in my opinion, and something that someone has to make the choice to find and read.

In an effort to balance the universe I am making it my goal to only post updates that are positive and happy, unless of course something major happens. Otherwise, life is too short to let the mundane crud of life get you down.

If all else fails, I will start singing Annie, because noting should make you quit your bitchin’ faster than a an orphan who can still find the silver lining in every cloud. Who’s with me?

Dye Hard

2009-02-27T08:27:00.002-07:00

I gave in. I always said I would go gray gracefully and just accept my new wiry silver hairs as a new milestone in my journey to the grave. Happy, right? Well, shit, you try and be happy about gray hair and tell me how that works out for ya.

Ok, anyway, so I was going gray gracefully, all was well, as long as my hair was short. When my hair was little more than short spikes the gray was fine. There were a few little salts in my pepper but because my hair was so short they didn’t really show up that much and they rarely bothered me. Now, however, I am growing that very short hair cut out to something a little longer and the gray is really, really bothering me. Like it’s not enough that my hair is going through all these hideously awkward stages as it grows out, now I have to have gray pipe cleaners poking out of my head too. I am making good use of lots of headbands, trying to contain the funk going on up there these days. A headband, apparently, shows off all the gray hiding underneath all the gray on top. It’s not cute.

So, off to the store today to bite the bullet and wash that gray right outta my hair. The gray is gone, a coppery brown is in and I can finally stop daydreaming about shaving every last hair, gray or otherwise, off my head.

Check Her Out

2009-02-17T09:36:00.003-07:00

My real life friend Katie has a gorgeous food blog that is like foodie porn. Everything sounds and looks so delicious I want to lick my computer screen. I recently made her orange chocolate muffins and they were so good I had to make a second batch just a few days later.

Katie is hosting her first blog giveaway and the lucky winner will win their choice of two bags of Al Dente brand pasta and a jar of sauce. Go check her out and throw your hat in the giveaway ring! I bet she becomes one of your favorite bloggers for recipes and new dinner ideas.

Forget-Me-Not

2009-02-15T14:03:00.006-07:00

I have a memory like an elephant and there is not much that I forget. This is both a blessing and a curse. I remember things like the birthdays of many friends from high school that I haven’t seen in years and I almost never forget a name. However, I also remember just about every embarrassing, stupid or terrible thing I have done. And, those memories aren’t dulled by time, oh no, they are still just as vivid as the day they happened and still have the ability to make my face burn. There are a even few foot in mouth moments that I am still beating myself up over, 10 years later!

The one that does make me laugh after all these years though is probably the most embarrassing. Growing up we lived in a house on the main street of our town. The street was the busiest street in town as it was lined with schools and businesses and was the route that most school buses and commuters took through town. My sophomore year of high school I walked to school down this main street, then through a side street to get to school. I would walk around to the side of the building and wait for my best friend’s bus to drop her off each morning.

One warm spring morning, dressed in a skirt and no coat, I made my way down the main drag to school. Suddenly a car zoomed by and some kids hung out the window whistling at me! Next a car drove by and honked it’s horn. On and on it went during my 10 minute walk through the middle of town. Horns were honking, people were whistling and cat calling. I guessed I must have looked pretty darn hot in that outfit, or else people were just being really strange that morning. I made my way to school and around the side of the building to wait.

A female janitor was outside the building cleaning up some litter and said to me, “Oh honey, the back of your skirt is a little ruffled.” I felt where the back of my skirt should have been and felt…only underwear! I had walked all the way to school, by dozens of passing buses and cars with my the back of my skirt COMPLETELY tucked into my underwear. Not a corner, not a smidge, the entire back crammed into my underwear.
Now, as bad as it was (and it was bad, I floated through the day feeling very dizzy) it could have been worse. I didn’t see any other students on campus that morning, and the janitor caught my error before any of the buses offloaded. I could have been standing there with my ass hanging out for all of the school to see if she hadn’t been there to help. God bless that janitor wherever she is!

Now when I wear a skirt I check and double check the back of it before I leave the house or bathroom. One good thing about being embarrassed, you rarely make the same embarrassing mistake twice. I can only hope that the people who saw me in all my glory that day don't have a memory as good as mine!

I See Nice People

2009-02-12T14:26:00.003-07:00

I am a northerner. I was born and raised in Massachusetts, and for the last nine years I lived in Michigan. I am used to being crotchety, snarky, bitter, curmudgeonly, uptight and sometimes down right bitchy. So, imagine my surprise upon moving to New Mexico that everyone here is sweetness and light. You would be hard pressed to find one nasty old soul here. It is disturbing.

I was in the grocery store shortly after we moved here and another shopper looked at me and smiled. WTF?? Then she says, "Hi, how are you today?" Well, it took me a few minutes to choke back my, "What are you looking at?", rearrange my sneer into a smile and politely respond, "Fine thanks, and you?".

These New Mexico folks seem down right chipper. It creeps me out. I have not heard a single horn honk, and believe me, I was driving like an idiot for a bit there until I got to know my way around. The people just sat politely and waited for me to do a 12-point u-turn across three lanes of traffic, like they don't have a care in the world. If I pulled that same crap in Boston people would be driving up on the sidewalk and mowing down pedestrians to get around me, all the while laying on the horn, screaming out the window and having their kids give me the finger. I kinda miss that.

I guess it is going to take some getting used to. I just hope this sunshine, lollipops and rainbows attitude doesn't rub off on my impressionable young. They wouldn't want to break their rude old mama's heart, now would they?

Mmmmmmmm Monday: Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-02-09T09:36:00.005-07:00

As a chocolate lover and avid baker I am always searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Chocolate chip cookies are one of those things that everyone has an opinion about. Some like them thin and crispy with little chip hills in them, other like them cakey, like a muffin top and others, like me, are looking for a super soft and chewy cookie. I tried this recipe and I have to say, right out of the oven they were the MOST delicious chocolate chip cookie I had ever had. Soft, chewy and very gooey. As they cooled they retained their chewiness, but they were quite firm and didn't stay as soft as I would have liked them. A few seconds in the microwave, however, transformed them back into fresh from the oven drool inducing goodness. One tip though, take them out before they seem done and before the bottom browns for the ultimate in soft baked loveliness.

What you need:
* 1 1/4 cups sugar
* 1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
* 1 1/4 cups margarine or butter, softened
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 3 eggs or egg replacer
* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 (12-24 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips

What you do:

- Heat oven to 375*F.

- In large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar and margarine until light and fluffy.

- Add vanilla and eggs; blend well.

- Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix well.

- Stir in chocolate chips.

- Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

- Bake at 375*F for 5 to 7 minutes or until light golden brown.

I made mini cookies, little bite size goodies. Stored in a pink depression glass cookie jar they were the perfect little retro treat. Enjoy!

Living in the Moment

2009-02-08T18:38:00.006-07:00

Did you ever read something, or hear about something that made you really take stock of what you have and be thankful, oh so very thankful? This was one of those weeks. It seemed it was a week of sad stories, and it made me realize just how much I have and that I should really quit my bitching, because you know what, life is good!

Things that made me happy with my life this week:

- My MOMS Club friends. We got out to a few events last week and I have to say, those ladies really make me smile and laugh. Sometimes I need to be in a room full of fun women, and they are just that.

- My Jooch and his willingness to kiss me square on the lips at least ten times a day. I also appreciate the way he greets me like a hero every time I come home from even the smallest errand. His little legs pumping as he runs to the door yelling, "Ohhhh, Mommy!" and hurls himself at my legs.

- Honeybee and Dani's love for one another kills me. They have to do everything together, and nothing is enjoyed quite as well when done solo. Every Saturday they beg for a sleepover together and Honeybee reads bedtime stories, they wish on stars they see out the windows over his bed, then fall asleep face to face, arms and legs entwined. I dare you to witness it and not get choked up. We can't.

- My husband. Oh my husband. Dammit if he isn't the most wonderful and lovely man around. I sometimes forget just how much he does and how much he loves us. He has been home for almost two weeks straight and it has made me not want to leave the house because I just love being in the same vicinity as him. To know he is in the next room is so safe and comforting, and...sexy. I still love him like we are newlyweds instead of 14 years in. Oh, and he has done all the dishes, laundry and trips to the park the two weeks he was unexpectedly home. I, on the other hand, barely lifted a finger.

- Susie, who loves me grumpy, happy, silly, or sad. I know I can call her any time (well, anytime before 8:30pm!) and she will talk me down off whatever ledge I am currently perched on.

- My mother, who sent me HUGE Fiestaware mugs this week. She knows just what a retro girl needs.

- That all of my family is happy, healthy, no matter how far away they live, or how many messes they make. I'm glad they can make messes without a care in the world. Long live the mess makers.

- Pikes Place coffee from Starbucks.

I think I need to sit and do a post like this every time I get a little cabin fever because one can never be too grateful or have too many good things come their way, can they?

If I Only Knew Then What I NO Now

2009-02-06T20:28:00.002-07:00

Have you ever had a problem just saying NO? I try to be a people pleaser (I know, you may not have gotten that vibe from my previous posts!), but I think sometimes in my efforts to please I turn into a doormat.

I think that if I say yes to everything and am a giver it will make people like me and want to be my friend because I am a good and kind person. In reality, it makes people see me as vulnerable and it makes it easy for them to take advantage of me. Really, it isn’t winning me any popularity contests and I am getting gray hair and ulcers in the meantime from wrestling with my conscience so damn often. I like helping people, I like saying yes, I like to be generous, but there comes a point in some relationships when the give far surpasses the take and you have to have the courage to create some boundaries.

So, I am trying on some big girl panties and practicing saying no with a smile in the mirror. I figure I have no problem telling my kids no, or my husband no, so telling others no shouldn’t be that much of a biggie right? And, if someone only wants to be my friend because of what I can give them instead of what I have to offer, well that’s not really a friendship I want to have, is it?

Hell NO!

Dream Date

2009-02-02T17:44:00.002-07:00

Since February is all about Valentine’s Day a friend recently asked us to describe our perfect Valentine’s date. Mine wouldn’t be a date so much as a long weekend. A long weekend spent with just my husband; no kids, phones, televisions, computers or technology of any kind (other than electricity and running water of course) allowed. We would spend time talking, reading, walking, napping and just reconnecting and rediscovering who we were before we had kids. I dream about this long weekend so often I can practically taste it.

But, along with the dream of the perfect romantic get away weekend comes the nightmare of having to leave my kids in someone else’s care. I have never been good with that for even a night at the movies with my husband, never mind an entire three-day weekend! I know that in reality I would have a very difficult time enjoying myself while my kids were somewhere else without me. I would be a nervous wreck, and most likely beg my husband to bring me home early.

So, okay, romance may not be as easy to come by now with three young children at home. But, I have learned over the years that it also doesn’t need to be a day designated once a year for me to want to celebrate my sweetheart. I try to remember every day what I love about my husband and what it is that made me marry him. We try and set aside time once a week to have an in-house date. Even if it spent just watching silly reality shows on the couch together, it is our time and children are not welcome for those few moments we get to spend together.

Whatever your dream date, I hope you find the time to reconnect with your partner and take a break, for a few minutes, from being mom. We all deserve the opportunity to forget for just a moment who we have become and remember who we used to be.

All Aboard the Fail Train

2009-01-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

I'm It - White Trash Danish

2009-01-09T14:29:00.006-07:00

I was tagged by Tiffany at Lattes and Life for this blog challenge. Here are the rules:

1.Go to your documents

2. Go to your 6th file.

3.Go to your 6th picture.

4. Blog about it.

5. Tag 6 friends to do the same.

So, here is my picture:

Which was convenient because I took this picture to blog this recipe anyway.

White Trash Cheese Danish
I am usually a fan of making everything from scratch, and somehow the idea of a tube of dinner rolls used as pastry seems trashy to me. However, this is a really, really yummy trashy, so whatever.

The must haves:
2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated place and bake round crescent rolls
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, diced
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons sour cream

The choose it or lose its:
Jams of any favor, we tried raspberry and blueberry
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon butter, softened

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper

2. Separate the rolls into 8 individual rolls. Using your thumb, flatten the center of the roll, making a large indentation for the filling. Place each roll about 4 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheet.

3. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, white sugar, flour, lemon juice, vanilla extract and sour cream. If using the jams, spread a thin layer of jam in the middle of each roll. Spread cream cheese filling on top of rolls. Put a small dollop of jam on top of the filling so you can identify them when they are done baking.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on these and don’t let the bottoms get too dark.

5. In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar, milk and butter. After Danish has cooled, drizzle with icing. Or, you can skip the icing and just sprinkle them with confectioners' sugar, which is what I chose to do.

*The filling makes a lot, you could probably make 2 or 3 dozen Danish with the filling, so you may want to buy more crescent rolls. Great for brunches, or lazy weekend breakfasts and a crossword puzzle.

Here's who I'm tagging:

1. Susie at Knitting Knoobie
2. Sharon at As Seen on the Bathroom Wall
3. Christina at Hippie Liberal Mom Chronicle
4. Kerri at Desperately Seeking Sanity
5. Katie at The Good Life
6. Colette at Jamerican Spice

Out With the Old, In With the New

2009-01-03T09:26:00.013-07:00

I hope that you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to the new year ahead. Each year on January 1st I wake up and wonder if I can do it all over again. The year stretching out ahead seems so long and daunting and fraught with so many possibilities, not all of them good, I can’t help but worry what the year will bring. Then I realize that a year is such an arbitrary time frame and life really is just one day at a time.

I thought it would be fun to look back on some of the one day at a time highlights of 2008.

Things I Don’t Want to Forget:

Jooch's first haircut

Honeybee losing his first tooth

Our first trip to Disneyland, with Gramma and Bub

Honeybee’s “graduation” and skipping a grade

My trip to NYC to visit my best pal Susie

Maia's first day of preschool

Our trip to Colorado

Gramma and Bub's visit in October

Buzzer running the La Luz and the Duke City Marathon

The election of Barack Obama

My Fiestaware Christmas

Other Stuff I Loved:
Honeybee’s note about his best friend Abbey
The way Jooch says his S’s
The way Dani says, “Darn It!”
Dani’s love of Princesses
Honeybee’s agendas and lists
Jooch’s little voice and big belly laughs

There are lots of things about 2008 I don’t want to remember as well (Sarah Palin anyone?), but I am going to focus on the good things and look forward to another year. Let’s hope this one is full of only good memories and happy times. Happy New Year!

Fiestaware is a Retro Girl's Best Friend

2009-01-01T19:52:00.002-07:00

I want to make sure I remember every detail of this Christmas, as I may not experience another one like it in this lifetime. I may not ever be as touched and blown away by another gift as long as I live. I may not cry big, fat, ploppy tears of heartfelt joy any Christmas Day ever again.

The kids were done opening their gifts and my husband told me it was my turn. We exchanged the few gifts we had for each other. He got jeans, I got slippers, he got gloves, so did I, he got a book, I got one too, he got some movies, I got a hat and scarf and some body butter. By my standards, this is a pretty good Christmas!

My husband is not a good gift giver. He pretty much hates Christmas, he pretty much does no shopping for me and there have been years I have swallowed the huge lump in my throat at his miserable attempts to buy me gifts. There was the Christmas that my main presents were a 4-pack of Virgil’s Rootbeer and a box of pretzel cookies (cookies shaped like pretzels). True story. So, I have come to expect to be majorly disappointed, or to not expect anything at all. He grew up in a home where birthdays and Christmas were no big deal, I did not. Even after 13 years together it has been hard to get him on board with my school of thought, not for lack of tears or trying though.

So, yay, I am actually pleasantly surprised with my thoughtful and well chosen gifts. They are nothing fancy, but sweet nonetheless, and really quite good considering Christmases past. I think we are done when he gives me two large, identically shaped wrapped boxes. He has a huge grin on his face and I am so worried it is something like 40lbs. of sugar. But no, it is Fiestaware dinnerware! One box in Scarlet and one in Tangerine. I am just thinking to myself how thoughtful he is that he started my Fiestaware collection for me, when he drags in two huge Macy’s bags containing 6 more place settings! A whole cabinet’s worth of Fiestaware for me!?! No cookies? No soda? No biography of Dick Cheney (I kid you not)? No financial planning book by Suze Orman? Surely this must be a mistake.

I can’t help it, I cried. I sobbed like he asked me to marry him and presented me with a huge rock to go with that proposal. Anyone who knows me knows I would prefer Fiestaware to a diamond any day, but still, for the husband to know that and actually make it happen is momentous. Then he tells me I can take back some and exchange for different colors if I want, he just wanted to make sure he got 8 for me to open. So now I have 4 beautiful colors of Fiestaware in my kitchen cabinet: Tangerine, Scarlet, Turquoise and Peacock. It is Fiesta heaven.

My only fear is now the standard has been set so high that he can not possibly surprise and delight me in such a way ever again. Although, any year I don’t get a case of soda will still be a pretty good year to me.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

2008-12-20T09:12:00.004-07:00

Christmas Eve has been a bit of a conundrum for me. Growing up my family knew the night before Christmas was spent at my grandparents’ house. Aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and family would gather at the family home and celebrate with gifts and good food. Pa would be standing at the stove all night cooking up the linguica. Nana would make sure there was a present for everyone under the tree, even just those who were passing through our lives, something for everyone. We would wait for Uncle Moneybags to show up before the gifts could be doled. He liked to make a grand entrance and have all of us wait on pins and needles for him to arrive before the wrapping paper could start flying. My brothers and I would take turns standing with our arm around Aunt Bobblehead to see if this was the year we would finally be taller than all 4ft. 7in. of her, without her catching on (she always did). Yes, it was a night of magic, a tradition grander than all others and one that I miss each and every year.

So, oh yeah, the conundrum. Well, I had sort of hoped that the tradition might live long enough for my children to experience it. But, alas, Pa is cooking linguica with the big guy upstairs, we don’t keep in touch much with the aunts, uncles and cousins, and we live (sometimes blissfully) 2400 miles away from the cast that made up those nights of infamy. What do we do when we have no family to spend December 24th with? What do we do to build up the excitement the night before the biggest day of the year? How can I make sure that my kids have a tradition, a grounding, that they will remember fondly for years to come? What’s a girl who misses her family to do?

We make our own party. We get party foods, we put on party clothes, we dance to party music, we make the night before Christmas as good a time as we can with only the 5 of us, two of whom are too little to really understand why Mommy is acting nuts. Sometime during the festivities the Honeybee will get a phone call from Santa (really Bub, his grandpa) that makes him shake with excitement. I really couldn’t say if I do it for them, or me. It is something that is a part of me, and a hole I feel in my heart now that those days from my childhood are over. Christmas Eve has to be more than just a regular night. It is supposed to be festive and loud and fancy. It is supposed to push your excitement level into overdrive so that little sleep will come as you lie anticipating the thrills to be had in the morning.

After our “party” the kids get new Christmas pajamas. We load them up in the car with a warm drink and a few cookies and we drive around the neighborhood looking at all the Christmas lights. When we get home everyone is mellow and ready for bed. We put out the cookies for Santa and hang his “magic key” on the doorknob, since we have no chimney. The kids go to bed and the magic begins. Playing Santa is my favorite thing in the world. I love setting up the stockings and the presents just so, to maximize wonderment on Christmas morning.

The last thing I do before falling into bed on December 24th is go out in the driveway with a set of sleigh bells and jingle them and “Ho! Ho! Ho!” under the children’s bedroom windows (yes, I realize you are probably laughing at me right about now). Then I make a bit of a racket coming in the front door, eat the cookies and eggnog that has been left and take one last look at the gifts under the tree and know that Santa did good this year.

What is your family tradition on Christmas Eve? Care to share, leave a comment!

Silent Night

2008-12-19T15:07:00.006-07:00

When we lived in Michigan each holiday season we would wait for hours in a line of traffic to view the magnificent Wayne County Lightfest. HUGE blinking, animated, jaw- dropping light displays lined the long and winding road through a state park. (The picture at left is a snapshot of a part of the Santa's Flight School display). We would bundle the kids, bring Christmas cookies and a thermos of cocoa and would play our favorite Christmas songs on the radio. It was one of the highlights of the holiday season for us.

Last year we decided to attend New Mexico’s equivalent of our Michigan tradition. The big difference was that the light display here is held at the botanical gardens, which means leaving your warm car and being forced to walk around in the bitter cold along the Rio Grande, fighting crowds and dragging whining, cold children. Jude screamed for two hours straight. Not going to become our annual tradition any time soon.

This year we decided to try something new, a luminaria festival held at a park very close to our home. It is a much smaller affair and if the kids were fussy we were just a few minutes from home and it was free, so no worry about money lost if we needed to cut out early. Of course, I wasn’t expecting too much because really, how can paper bags weighted down with sand and a lit votive compare to the holiday lights we were used to?

Imagine my surprise that this will probably go down as one of my favorite holiday memories and I hope it becomes a family tradition for years to come. We walked into the park and there were thousands and thousands of luminaria lining the walkways. There were luminarias on the lawn spelling out “Happy Holidays” and “Feliz Navidad”; over 12,000 luminaria in all. We walked through the winding paths and heard choral groups signing carols and ran into friends. It was such a lovely night. But what I remember most was the peaceful, tranquil feeling of it all. Right off a major highway, hundreds of people and you could practically hear a pin drop. It was such a beautiful, mellow way of commemorating the season and we all left feeling awed and delighted.

I would love to hear what places you visit each year as part of your holiday traditions. These last few days leading up to Christmas will be all about our family traditions, and yours if you choose to share them with me. Leave a comment; I would love to hear how you mark the season.

Peace.

On the Other Side of the World

2008-12-11T13:14:00.010-07:00

On the other side of the world lives an 11 year-old boy named Yehune Solomon. I have never met Yehune, but he lives in my heart and he is a connection to the world my daughter left behind.

We "met" Yehune 3 years ago through our adoption agency. We had just recently brought home our daughter from Ethiopia, and in our hearts we struggled with the fact that she was just one of millions and millions who needed a family. It was difficult to try and get through each day without feeling absolute sorrow for the children that we left behind, children who were 6 or 7 years old raising themselves as both parents and sometimes older siblings had vanished. Just a few months after our daughter made her American debut our agency began a sponsorship program in her birth country to support those little ones we thought about so often.

Without hesitation I told my husband we would be sponsoring a child. Our $400 American dollars would mean clothes, food, housing, a social worker and school for a child living in the Ethiopian countryside. Shortly after signing up we received a letter from Ethiopia and attached was the picture of a tiny 8 year-old boy, Yehune. Like more than 5 million other children in Ethiopia, Yehune has no parents. The reality is that an entire generation of people is missing from the Ethiopian population, most succumbed to AIDS, some to war and famine. There are children, and there are adults in their 40s and 50s with almost no other age groups in-between.

For the last 3 years our measly $400 has allowed Yehune to have a childhood. He does well in school, he plays football (soccer), he writes us letters and Christmas cards. He is living life and we are the better for it. Seeing Yehune grow and learn and play and thrive has given new meaning to the value of money. $400 is less than half our grocery bill for the month. I probably spend $400 a year at Starbucks. In Ethiopia all it takes is $400 to save a life, to preserve a future, to offer hope to a child who has seen everything he once had slip away.

I entered this amazing contest and the winner will receive too many HP goodies to name. In the spirit of giving and all that is good with the world if I won I would love to be able to donate a few of the computers and some of the other items to the foster home run by my adoption agency in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They have recently renovated and finally have an internet connection. With more than 30 children living there at one time I can only imagine how much use they would get out of it. They could learn English, they could have web cam chats with friends in America who have found forever families, they could have access to email to keep in touch, they could learn about the world around them, other than just what they see in their walled off backyard and the nannies and staff who cared for these children as their own could see how well they are growing. The possibilities are endless and makes my hair stand on end at the exciting prospect of it. The only thing we would keep would be a laptop, for my pilot husband who travels...a lot.

I hope this season you will find a way to share the spirit and do something, no matter how big or small, for someone who needs it. I have much to be thankful for and I find there is no better way to appreciate all I have then to share.

Wishing you peace and good tidings this holiday season. Merry Christmas to Yehune too, as always.

Christmas Sinner

2008-12-09T15:21:00.005-07:00

I know it is a sin to covet and while I usually don’t care what kind of house you live in, what kind of care you drive, or what the label says in the waist of your jeans, I do care what kind of Christmas decorations you have, and often, I covet them.

This year, I am coveting an advent calendar. I remember an advent calendar as being one of those little cardboard things with a chocolate behind every window that you bought at the grocery store for $1.99. Because my kids are vegan they can’t have the kind of calendar I remember as a kid, so I had to come up with something else to do for them to carry on one of my favorite holiday traditions.

When the Honeybee was a year old I bought a wooden advent calendar. I found it on eBay and for $20 it was cute and would serve it’s purpose. It is pretty much the epitome of the three C’s (cheap Chinese crap) but the kids love it. It has an ornament to hang on the door for each day and enough room for me to stash three little treats for my three little beasts.

Being cheap Chinese crap this advent calendar hasn’t held up well to the test of time. Some of the doors are falling off, and some of them won’t stay closed under the weight of the tiny ornaments. I decided that after the holiday I would begin the search for a new calendar that might be worthy of being handed down to the grandkids I see celebrating Christmases with in the future.

Then, I found this:

I mean, COME ON! What are you trying to do here, kill me? I mean this…this makes me…drooooooollllll.

This is out of my price range at the moment, so I have been sitting at the computer each day checking on this little morsel of lovely and coveting until my jealous heart can covet no longer.

Santa, if you're listening, well ummm, please, pretty, pretty please. Love you! Also, I realize this seems very, very pathetic to those of you without a Christmas fetish, but I am fully aware of my problem and I don't need you to make me feel any worse, k?

Eating Inside the Box

2008-12-08T09:34:00.004-07:00

Recently my MOMS Club read the book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver, and while I had some issues with the book, the idea of eating locally and organically certainly appealed to my vegan sensibilities.

One of the moms in my chapter mentioned a local organic farm co-op that offered memberships to the public and each week of your membership you would receive a box of delicious, in-season, organic, locally grown veggies. We had a similar thing available to us in Michigan, but in order to participate you had to work 15 hours a month at the farm and it was difficult for us to fit it in with Buzzer’s work schedule. This though, this sounded perfect, we would definitely have to give it a try.

I went to their website and signed us up for a 10-week membership with a box to be delivered every other week. It just so happened that I got us signed up in time to receive our first box on the week of Thanksgiving.

I was so excited to head down to the local health food store where the boxes are delivered and to see just what luscious treats awaited us. I had to run to the grocery store to get the rest of the ingredients for our Thanksgiving feast, but I wanted to wait and see what was in the box first since it might save me a trip and some money.

I was so pleasantly surprised. We received 5 lbs. of organic russet potatoes, 2 lbs. of sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, apples, oranges, broccoli, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, a cheddar cauliflower, and a bag of mixed baby salad greens. I was in vegan heaven.

With our box o’goodness we made: mashed potatoes, stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes with caramelized apples, stir-fry, mac and cheese with cauliflower, salad and pasta sauce. We even have a few herbs and potatoes left.

We get our next box tomorrow. I might not be able to sleep tonight in anticipation of the treats that await us tomorrow morning.

Vegan Thanksgiving

2008-12-07T11:38:00.003-07:00

Ok, so I am way late with this post, but after Thanksgiving I switch into Christmas mode full-throttle and I haven’t had much of a chance to sit butt in chair and put thoughts to paper.

Once people find out you are a vegan there are many, many questions (don’t you DARE ask where I get my protein or I may have to smack ya) and one of the most common is, “What do you eat on Thanksgiving?”

While everyone else is enjoying their turkey, we usually partake in TOFUrky (toe-fur-key) with all the usual fixings that you would find on any holiday spread, ours are just veganized.

This year we had company for Thanksgiving, Buzzer’s brother, we’ll call him Uncle Funzy. It is rare for us to have company for the holidays and even more rare to have company at Thanksgiving because the traditional foods are such a huge part of the day no one is really willing to come have a turkey-less Turkey Day. Because Uncle Funzy was coming to town I made the holiday roast I had planned on making and a Tofurky too since I thought he might prefer that.

Our menu:

No Turkey Holiday Roast
Tofurky
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Caramalized Apples
Maple Glazed Carrots
Mashed Potatoes
Peas
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Cranberry and Wild Rice Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
Tofurky Mushroom Giblet Gravy

Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Peanut Butter Pie

Ok, so it was way too much food for 3 adults and 3 little people, but it was really fun to make it all, and what are the holidays good for besides excess?

Anyway, I hope you had as nice a Thanksgiving as we did. I am glad it is over thought because it means the Christmas season is in full swing and for that I couldn’t be more thankful.

Mmmmmmmm Monday: Buckeyes

2008-11-24T10:36:00.007-07:00

This is a great treat to make at Christmas time. They make a nice gift when you need to give just a little something. But, they are delicious anytime. As a vegan I really miss a good Reese's Peanut Butter Cup every now and then and these are an easy way to get my piggy fix.

Here's what ya need:

2 cups all-natural peanut butter
1 cup margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ½ cups sifted confectioners' sugar
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Here's what ya do:

1. In a large bowl, mix, mix, mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. (I prefer to use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Otherwise, I would recommend using an electric hand mixer. Mix the heck out of it until it is nice and smooth.)

2. Press a toothpick into the top of each ball (to be used later as the handle for dipping) and chill in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.

3. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until smooth.

4. Dip frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate holding onto the toothpick. Leave a small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like Buckeyes. Put back on the cookie sheet and refrigerate until serving.

This recipe makes a ton. Eat them all by yourself, share with friends, or save them for a particularly PMSy day.

*These candies get their name from their resemblance to the nut of the buckeye tree, which is related to the horse chestnut.

Here Comes My Baby

2008-11-21T14:18:00.005-07:00

I was recently reminded that November is National Adoption Month. Adoption is a topic that is near and dear to my heart, it is something that touches me on a daily basis.

Three and a half years ago our daughter, Maia Yordanos (a.k.a. The Dani) joined our family. She traveled half way around the world from her birthplace in Ethiopia to be our daughter, The Honeybee’s little sister and best friend and big sister to The Jooch. Every day I look into her beautiful little face and wonder what I did to deserve her. I think about her birth mother all the time and wonder if her heart aches over the choice she made for our daughter or if she has made peace with her decision and knows she did the best she could for the child we share.

There are a lot of things I will have to teach Maia. She will have to learn about her heritage, the food, clothes and language of where she was born. She will need to know about the family that remains in Ethiopia without her. She will need to learn and always know in her heart that adoption isn’t second best and that she is loved just as much as her brothers. She will need to learn how to take care of her hair, and then maybe she can teach me! But, most of all, she will need to know who she is and how to be confident in her own skin, no matter what color it is.

Enjoy some pictures of Maia's homecoming and our joyful family reunion at Detroit Metro Airport on April 11, 2005. (I can't get through it without bawling like a baby.)

I love you Yordanos Mengistu, always.

Left of Center

2008-11-20T09:02:00.004-07:00

Lately I have been feeling like the kid who showed up late to the ball field. The teams have already been picked and all I can do is just sit on the bench and watch the other kids play.

I have always been on the wrong side of the curve as far as friends go. I got married at 19, something my high school friends couldn’t fathom. We soon went our separate ways, them to college, me to a full-time job to help support my new marriage.

When we moved to Michigan I had been married for two years. All the friends I made weren’t married yet. When I met my very best group of friends in Michigan they were all in college, I was buying a house and trying to get knocked up.

Once I had my first baby my girlfriends were just graduating from college, still hitting the clubs every weekend and embarking on their new careers. The most we got together was once a month for dinner, when I could get out of the house without kids.

When we moved to New Mexico I was so excited to find a local moms group in our town. I thought finally I would be on the same page as these other women. We are all stay-at-home mothers who live in the same town and have a common need for support and friendship.

I am the type of person to just jump in with both feet and figure out group dynamics later. Everyone was so welcoming and kind and I never felt like it was cliquey. It was nice to have some kind of “built in” friends who had to accept me as long as I paid my dues. It was also a perfect fit because I could bring the kids to every event we have! I had always struggled with finding things to do for myself because Buzzer travels so much and I have the three kids to myself a lot. To be able to attend a book club meeting and be able to bring the kids too was like a miracle.

I had been a member for about 5 months when they asked me to run for club President. I can’t lie, I was flattered. I also thought it would give me ample opportunity to get to know the members of the club better and hopefully to make some of the same friendships I had seen the other woman cultivate.

In July I took over as President and while it has been much more work than I expected and sometimes stressful and taxing, overall it has been a lot of fun. What it hasn’t meant though is immediate and intimate friendship with the other women.

I think I just expect too much from things. When I try something new I have to be good at it right away or I give up. I can’t be bothered to practice and fumble my way along until I get it right. I guess I approach friendships much the same way. I want to be able to slip into a new friendship the way I would an old pair of slippers. I expect to just have someone choose me as their friend right away with all the benefits that includes; lengthy phone calls, impromptu get togethers, shoulders to cry on, etc.

Instead I am on the sidelines looking longingly at the close friendships I see and feel an ache in my chest where my best friend should reside. It seems like everyone has already been paired off with their BFF. I do have a best friend, but she lives on the other side of the country and so I have to be content with emails, instant messages and phone calls. Lots and lots of phone calls. She is totally the bee’s knees and I know I can call her about anything and everything. But it just isn’t the same as having a local buddy to lean on.

I guess I am just going to have to give it more time and not expect that adult life will be the same as childhood on the school playground. I hope that something lasting and meaningful will come out of the acquaintances I have made. If not, and all I get out of it is what I get right now, laughter, adult conversation and a social calendar, I think that will be okay too.

My First Time

2008-11-16T13:02:00.008-07:00

Get your head outta the gutter, I am talking about my first time receiving a blog award!

AND, I was nominated TWICE!! My best gal pal Susie Kabloozie over at Knitting Knoobie bestowed the honor, as did Sharon, the snarky island dweller at As Seen On The Bathroom Wall.

The only requirement is that I post a list of six things that make me happy, so here ya go, get yo' grin on:

1. A working oven: My oven has been on the fritz for the last two weeks and completely inoperative for the last few days. Don't you know that now I am just itching to bake a million things and my cookbooks and pantry are just beckoning me to bake, and I can't! The repair parts should be here tomorrow for Buzzer to get us up and running again. By then of course the urge is sure to have passed.

2. Iced tea: I am literally lost without a big jug of iced tea ready to go in the fridge. I would rather go thirsty than have anything else to drink.

3. Being pregnant: Probably the happiest times of my life were when I was pregnant. There is just something about being pregnant that makes me feel special. It helps that I had two really wonderful, easy pregnancies. Plus, I think (and the husband agrees) that I look adorable pregnant.

4. Christmas: What, you didn't read my blog all about how much I adore Christmas? Get to steppin' yo.

5. My kids: Three very little, but very big reasons to get out of bed every day. I don't know what I love more, how much they love me, or how much I love them.

6. My husband: He is the reason for my life. He is like oxygen and water. He is just...I don't know what, but it is something better than words can describe.

Now, I am to bestow the honor on four other bloggers. I'm not sure I even know four who know me back, but I'll give it a shot!

Feathermaye - Check her out for a good time. She's gives good read.

Lattes and Life - Tiffany is a hoot and a liberal, even though she lives in Georgia. A true enigma!

Good Life - This is my real life friend Katie, another mom in the trenches. She does awesome webdesign, bakes a mean scone (from the rumors I've heard) and is into being green. She is also a foodie and has to find ways to enjoy all that is delicious in the world without it being contaminated with peanuts due to her son's severe peanut allergy. Katie is cool. Check out her other blog at: {goodLife} eats.

Alright, those are all the people I could think of. I'm off to my vegan potluck. Thanks for the nominations friends, you light up my life!

Addiction

2008-11-13T20:25:00.007-07:00

For just about my whole adult life I have battled an addiction. Every year I promise myself it will be different and every year always ends up the same way; resentment, overindulgence and guilt. My name is Megan, and I am a Christmasaholic.

This year I promised myself we would have a low-key, thrifty Christmas. I have a list from the Honeybee and have decided on a few gifts for the Dani and Jooch that won’t break the bank. I told Buzzer there would be a $50 spending limit on gifts for each other this year, and all seemed well. Until today.

Today I had to run to the store that shan’t be named (Wal-mart) for some items for a craft I was planning on doing with the kids. While I was there I thought I would pick up a gift box for a little something I had picked up for my mom. I promised myself I would just pop down to the holiday section, get the box I needed and get out. Just the idea of heading to the holiday section made my heart rate start to quicken slightly.
In my head I was repeating to myself, “I am just buying a box. I am just buying a box. I am just buying a box” to try and keep myself on task and budget. But, when I rounded the corner and saw aisles after aisle of all that is good and spendy about Christmas, I wasn’t sure I would get out of there for less than $100 and a divorce lawyer.

Some people complain that Christmas comes earlier and earlier in retail land each year. I am not one of those people. As far as I am concerned Christmas decorations should go up right around Labor Day. White shoes may be a no-no, but fur(faux)-lined boots, yes sir!

The only problem is I don’t want to blow my wad before I have had a chance to peruse every store’s holiday offerings. As I walked down the aisles loaded with cards, wrapping paper, gift bags and home décor my palms were sweating, my heart was racing and I could feel goosebumps rising on my legs. I am always so tempted to jump at the first beautiful Christmas card I see and then later find one I like better and I need to buy that one too. And another, and another. I must have 30 rolls of wrapping paper in my garage, but I can’t resist buying one (or four) roll more each year. I literally cannot help myself. If I had the money and the drive my house would be the crazy Christmas house.

This year though I am determined to curb by enthusiasm and maybe even use some of that wrapping paper in the garage. I was successful in my mission this afternoon and left the Christmas section with only the box I went in for. Well, and some tissue paper and gift tags. What?!? I told you I have a problem!

Mommy's Little Guest Blogger

2008-11-08T11:42:00.005-07:00

My 7 year-old son, The Honeybee, was so inspired by the election that he sat down and wrote his thoughts. I thought they were perfect to share. Enjoy.

"Barack Obama Won the Election

Well, now the election is over, and all the votes have been counted. Now we should move on throughout these days and look forward to new things.

Our new President, Barack Obama, has gone through a day where people count the votes and call out who the new President will be. So far, Barack Obama has 349 votes, and John McCain only got 176. The 44th President, Barack Obama, has now gone into the Oval Office and now the White House is his.

I think Barack Obama will take good care of the country. His health plan is going to help our country and help our citizens. I think that our new President Barack Obama, is the best President ever. We hope the new President, Barack Obama, and our Vice President Joe Biden, will take good care of our citizens and our country. Hopefully, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will be President and Vice President for 2 years. We hope that nothing will wrong and everything will be the way it always was."

By, The Honeybee

This boy makes me proud to be his mama.

Still Flying High

2008-11-07T12:05:00.004-07:00

I know it's over, but I am still just flying high about Obama's win. I want to let go of my annoyance with the Republican party and conservatives everywhere who are being salty about it. But, I saw this for the first time this morning and it brought tears to my eyes once again so I had to share it. Seriously, I have not been able to stop crying for the last three days.

Then I saw this and it made me crack up, and then cry again.

This Moment

2008-11-05T16:43:00.003-07:00

I think my friend Billy said it best when he said that today we were waking up to a brave new world. It does feel like that, doesn’t it? For eight long years I have felt the absence of respect, dignity and hope and the death of the American Dream. We forgot the lessons of 9/11 and the camaraderie and unifying sadness we felt on that day. We have wasted 8 years being feared, hated, and mocked. The last eight years have pitted friend against friend, colleague against colleague and sister against sister. It was a dark and lonely time in America’s history. It seemed all was lost and nothing and no one would be able to restore our faith in America.

Today, I feel a freedom and a sense of peace I have never felt in my adult life. The joy I am experiencing is unimaginable, an unbridled euphoria. I am walking through my day and my feet aren’t touching the ground and no one and nothing can spoil what will undoubtedly go down as one of the happiest days of my life. The tears of joy will not stop flowing and I am absolutely blown away that I could ever feel this strongly about a Presidential election.

My children will always remember President Obama, and will never know the idea that a black man would not be allowed to vote, never mind hold the highest office in the land. My adopted black daughter is going to grow up watching a black First Lady make diplomatic inroads abroad and little black girls make their home in the White House. My son will always be able to remember watching President Obama’s election night speech and casting his own vote for Obama in his school election.

I am not expecting miracles; I am being realistic and cautiously optimistic. I know that the world will not change overnight and there may be a lot of things that he just isn’t able to accomplish. However, there is hope. Hope that things can change. Hope that America can regain trust overseas. Hope that racism is finally going to die a lonely death. Hope that every man, woman and child will have access to healthcare, education and fairness.

I feel badly for those that aren’t able to feel the bliss I am experiencing today. There are those that will waste this moment feeling bitter and angry. To those people I say, life is too short, and this moment too powerful to squander. Lift up your heart and your voice in gleeful celebration of this moment in history, in America and the significance and wonder of it all. This is a brilliant day, as one American Dream has been realized. In the immortal words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal”. Rest in peace Dr. King, your dream lives on…

And So It Was Done...

2008-11-04T22:43:00.006-07:00

I am ready for an inspiring First Family in the White House. What a wonderful night. Sleep well, America, the real work is about to begin.

I'm Lazy, are You?

2008-10-30T09:06:00.004-06:00

There are people out there who don’t like the idea of “spreading the wealth”. Those people are what we call elitist rich fucks. Yes, ELITIST, and notice I did not say LIBERAL ELITIST. Say it ain’t so Joe.

Take a look at this cartoon that Republicans across the country are having a hearty chortle about this week:

Oh ho ho, hee hee hee, that is funny stuff right there. So, those of us who make less than $250,000 a year are now lazy? Forget that some of us work 2 or three jobs, or 15-hour days, just to make ends meet. And, that Republicans have a reputation for voting against minimum wage increases and the like.

As has been pointed out time and time again, the tax code in America has always been that the more you make, the higher your tax bracket. Now, this does not mean you pay more taxes than your lazy, liberal, elitist anti-America counterpart. What it means is, you pay taxes commensurate with your income. There seems to be some sort of misinterpretation by the Joe Six-Pack $250,000+ bread winners that the more money they make, the less they will take home because they will be paying so much more in taxes.

I know without all the fancy college edumication booklearnin’ of the liberal elite at your disposal this might be a difficult concept to grasp. You will not make more, pay more, and take home less. Come on, surely even the regular Joe the Plumbers and Tito the Builders out there can understand that that is a bunch of hooey.

As a matter of fact, as reported by Salon.com in this article, if you make $280,000 a year, you will pay exactly $257 more per year in taxes under Obama than McCain. $257. Basically, less than your latte tab for the year. (BTW, if you make $280,000 a year your take home after taxes is approximately $19,000 a month. Weep for them.)

On top of that, only 5% of Americans make more than $250,000 a year. The rest of us are living in the middle or lower classes and rely on public schools, welfare, and public health clinics. Is it really so wrong to expect those who make more to contribute to the national good? Let’s face it, all of those services benefit ALL American’s. There is no such thing as a self-made person in this country any more.

Look at it this way: You are a business owner, making $280,000 a year. You have a staff of employees. Your employees were probably taught in public schools, they (and you!) drove on county roads to get to work, or used public transportation. If you don’t provide health care because it is too expensive, they probably have none and rely on public clinics for their care so they don’t miss a day of work. If your business burned down the public fire department would come put out the fire. If it were broken into, the public police department would be on the scene.

Let’s be honest here people, it’s not like the lower and middle classes are going to come into some sort of spreading the wealth inheritance. We may get a small tax cut, and you may see a minor tax increase. All I have to say is, it’s a long time coming and quit your bitchin’.

I Voted

2008-10-29T13:47:00.004-06:00

And gawd is it always feels exhilarating. In February Buzzer (a.k.a. the Hubs) and I each spent four hours in line just to vote for our girl Hillary in the primary. Four hours. It really sucked, but still was so worth doing and felt really incredible to be a part of something that made people turn out in record numbers.

This year we had talked about doing a mail-in ballot, but we are a battle ground state this year and we didn’t want our absentee ballots to be counted weeks after November 4th. Fortunately, or so you would think, we are in a state that is offering early voting.

Polling places around our county are open October 18 – November 1 for those who would like to vote early. After the experience back in February, we planned to participate in early voting. Honeybee was at school; we dropped off the Dani at preschool, packed up the Jooch and hit the polling place ½ an hour after it opened. Still, the line was incredibly long and parking was very scarce.

Two hours and a good sunburn later (who knew you should pack sunblock to vote), we were able to cast our ballot for the first black President of the United States. My black daughter is never going to be able to remember a time when black men were not welcome in the White House.

It’s such a relief to think about having a nice guy in the White House. It gives me hope for my children and their future, which is something I haven’t had the luxury of enjoying since they were born.

It is a new dawn people; you don’t want to miss it. Get out there and vote!

Black Cat Pie

2008-10-28T08:38:00.004-06:00

I have never been a fan of pecan pie, until now! Regular pecan pie with it's sugary goo is just too damn much. This pie is soft, just sweet enough, and has chocolate. Obviously it is superior. Once again, this is a vegan recipe, but feel free to cow it up with "regular" ingredients if you are an omnivore.

½ cup water
¼ cup soy margarine
2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup vegan chocolate chips
1/3 cup flour
1 cup raw sugar
pinch of salt
½ cup soymilk
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
1 unbaked 9-in vegan pie crust
2 tsp. soymilk

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil, and remove from heat.

Whisk in margarine, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips until melted.

Add flour, sugar, salt, ½ cup milk, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.

Stir in pecans and pour into prepared pie crust. Bake 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean.

Remove from oven and immediately brush 2 tsp. of milk evenly over the top of the pie.

Let cool to room temperature before serving.

Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or as is. Share with your favorite hottie. This is a very sexy pie.

A Little Friendly Competition

2008-10-27T14:22:00.008-06:00

You know with all the talk about the Presidential contest (which thank gawd will finally be over next week, and us Obama fans will be celebrating in the streets) it's nice to take a break and talk about contests that are fun!

I have been a contest entering fool this morning, and while it is self-serving to that end, I am also finding some great blogs and having a lot of good laughs. Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival is here and fine bloggers around the country are offering wonderful goodies to people who check out their blog and comment. One of my favorites is this little cutie courtesy of the snarky Obama mama, Scary Mommy.

So get out there and see what special little nuggets of goodness you might be able to snag for yourself. But, lay off Scary Mommy's basket, that sucker is mine!

Survival of the Tiredest

2008-10-26T15:44:00.010-06:00

The birthdays are over, the leftover cake is on it’s way to the city dump, my parents have vacated my bedroom and we are all back to sleeping in our own beds. We really had a terrific visit with my parents and the kids were all in tears to see them fly back to the other side of the country. I also realized a lot this time around.

Here is what I know:
• It’s okay if the kids exist on a diet of French fries, cake and lollipops when Gramma and Bub are here because it is only a week or two a year.

• The kids don’t need big parties and lots of events, they are happiest when we are enjoying a dinner of munchies and snacks at home, or a leisurely trip to the zoo.

• It’s not all about the presents, as the wrapping paper or a pen and paper are often more interesting than the new toys.

• Next year we need a lot less cake, a LOT less!

• Call my gal Tracye again next year, her cakes were beautiful and no work for me!

• Christmas is going to be about time, quality, food, and togetherness. The presents will just be icing on the cake.

• No more big blow-out parties with all the friends, neighbors and classmates. Dinner and cake with family is the best way to go.

• Having three kid’s birthdays three days in a row feels an awful lot like the movie “Groundhog Day”. There are only so many days one can feel normal waking up and singing “Happy Birthday” to someone, again!

• Thank gawd all three kids chose to be born on three consecutive days, because once a year is plenty for this!

• Every bit of it was worth it see their smiling faces and feel their joy.

All in all things were a rousing success and I don’t have any new gray hairs or ulcers. The kids had a great time, I had a great time, and we are over the hump. Now it’s time to set my sights on Christmas!

Happy birthday babies, thank you for making me your mommy.

Nailin' Palin: a video blog

2008-10-25T08:25:00.003-06:00

Have you heard about the rumored Sarah Palin porn spoof? I know you are just dying to see it, and I am here to scratch your itch. Here is a clip of Thandie Newton and Ricky Gervais (very funny) performing a bit of the script. Notice the Brits are doing this on national television because a good Christian nation like ours couldn't possibly allow such debauchery. Enjoy!

Kill Him, Kill Him!

2008-10-12T09:39:00.004-06:00

Barack Obama a terrorist? Chants of kill him, kill him? What is the McCain/Palin campaign coming to? Read this article, it's really worth your time.

Lend Me Some Sugar

2008-10-11T23:06:00.002-06:00

This made my day, I hope it makes yours too!

I'm Gonna Need a Nap

2008-10-08T05:26:00.008-06:00

We are entering my family's busy season this week and for the next week and a half, I am going to be lucky to find time to go to the bathroom, never mind blog. I guess it's a good thing I am a stay-at-home mom, because I have no idea how I would get everything done that I need to get done and go to work too.

Today I am taking the kids to the pumpkin patch. The Honeybee has a break from school for the next three days, but the husband has a Doctor's appointment, so, he won't be joining us. Me and three small children taking a trip through a corn maze, partaking in a hay ride and picking pumpkins, what could be more relaxing! Tomorrow I will be baking, baking, baking for my MOMS Club annual bake-off, on top of getting my daughter off to school in the afternoon, and then a trip to Balloon Fiesta in the evening for the Special Shapes Glowdeo and fireworks. Friday morning I will be up bright and early for more baking and then off to the bake-off by 9:45. Saturday morning it will be rise and shine for the whole family at 4:00am so we can catch the shuttle back down to Balloon Fiesta for the final mass ascension of the year. I am already tired just thinking about it, but wait, there's more!

Monday as President of my MOMS Club chapter we are hosting a new member luncheon, so I have lots to do to prepare food for the event. Tuesday I am hosting the board meeting at my house, which means I have to find time to clean, then take the Dani to school, and hopefully the husband will be home so I can meet up with my chapter again for a night out at the movies. Wednesday my parents fly in to town for a week long visit and birthday celebrations for the kids.

Oh, did I mention all three of my children have birthdays next week? YEAH, all three. So, Thursday I will be volunteering in the Dani's preschool classroom and providing her 20 or so classmates with their afternoon sugar rush with some princess cupcakes, which I have to make, as we are vegan, don't you know. Ha ha Duncan Hines, no handy box mixes for us! Friday the Honeybee will need 24 cupcakes for his class, with a pirate theme thank you very much. Friday is the Bee's birthday so a cake is in order for Friday night, which I am sure he will want decorated with peanut butter frosting, and also a meal of his choosing. Saturday is the Dani's actual birthday, and the kids' big birthday party at the local jump house. Three cakes made to order for three separate children please, again made by my very own vegan hands. Saturday night we will celebrate the Dani's day with more cake, food and presents which, oh shit, I have to find time to wrap! Sunday, you guessed it, is the Jooch's birthday (yes, this really is their actual birthdays on their actual birth certificates, I couldn't have planned it this way if I tried!), oh and the husband might run a marathon that day and will need a ride to the starting line at 5:00am. Another evening of cake and presents for the baby Jooch.

And still, nope, not done. Monday the 20th my daughter's preschool is having a fall festival and I will need to make 20 more vegan cupcakes to donate. My MOMS Club is also going to be hosting a booth at the fair, so we will need to make a display board and I need to redo and reprint some of our brochures. Then it's off to the fair to enjoy the chaos of 150 preschoolers, their siblings and their parents in a confined space.

IF I survive all that, the husband and I might ditch the folks and the kids on Tuesday night for a movie date, and then Wednesday, it's back to the airport so the parents can wing it on home.

So, hopefully I will still be alive in a week and a half or so and can update you with lots of pictures and reports of good times had by all (because so help me gawd if anyone dares complain, I will kill them). Wish me (and them) luck!

Nostalgia Alert: We're Just Tryin' To Be Friendly

2008-10-07T16:11:00.005-06:00

So, I was born a decade or two too late to really be a true blue Monkees fan, but my younger brother and I used to watch reruns of The Monkees on the UHF channels during summer vacation. The morning line-up included reruns of "I Dream of Jeannie", "Bewitched", and "The Monkees". Like any warm-blooded preteen girl, I found Davy Jones to be dreamy and the show to be sweet and hilarious.

Ok, to be totally honest, my younger brother, Ian, and I would often have crying, screaming matches with our older brother, who claimed that The Beatles were much better than The Monkees. Yeah, no. C'mon, The Monkees have their own TV show!!! Hello! We would not be swayed, until we were much, much older and our old knob and rabbit ears TV set would be replaced with push-button and cable. By that time, The Monkees reruns were no where to be found on the 100+ channels now at our disposal, and we had bigger fish to fry like what was funnier, "Clarrisa Explains it All" or "Pete & Pete" (tie, btw).

Just recently, The Monkees came to mind and I had an insatiable urge to see Davy, Micky, Mike and Peter again. Thank you YouTube, thank you. I think it is virtually impossible to watch the intro to their show and not smile. And, I think no lovelier line was ever written in a song than, "We're just tryin' to be friendly". They sure do seem like a friendly bunch, if only I had been born early enough to have been a true fan. I wonder what Peter Tork is up to these days. Sigh...

Sarah Palin Prepares for the Debate: A video blog

2008-10-03T09:29:00.002-06:00

My gal Grace is back with some inside footage of Palin preparing for the debate.

The Beasts are Beauties

2008-10-01T09:01:00.002-06:00

You know, I don’t give my children enough credit. When it is just the 5 of us at home it seems like the kids are maniacs, into everything, being loud and boisterous. You know, being kids.

But, and I bet this has happened to you too, you get them around other people’s kids and suddenly you are the most blessed parents in the universe. My kids don’t hit, don’t bite, don’t push, don’t shove, don’t bully, don’t wrestle, they just…don’t. They read, they play together, they share, they are patient with one another, and they miss each other when they are in school. They run to greet each other when they come in the door, they love nothing more than being together, they want to have sleepovers and secret clubs. And really, they aren’t very loud; in fact, they might be some of the quietest kids we know. In short, my kids are a miracle.

The Honeybee reads his sister bedtime stories. The Jooch cries when we pull out of the school parking lot, leaving The Dani or The Honeybee behind. I have never heard a jealous word from any of them. One of them cries; the other two comfort. A little one needs help; a big one is the helper. They share a birthday week and no one complains about having a joint party, they look forward to it. The little one likes to be monkey in the middle and the big ones never tell him no. Everyone is included, everyone is important and everyone is loved.

I think I need to remember and acknowledge all the great and wonderful little things they do and not sweat the small stuff quite so much. And, we need to hang around other kids more often, so that I am constantly reminded just how great mine really are.

Mmmmmmm Monday: Baked Apple Donuts

2008-09-29T08:38:00.004-06:00

These are basically muffins that taste like donuts. Take them out of the oven when they still seem a little soft and are not yet crusty on top for the best, most delicious results. You can coat them in cinnamon sugar or serve them plain. Once again, these are vegan, but feel free to use the "real" ingredients as you see fit.

The must-haves:

1/2 cup raw sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup shortening

1 Ener-G-Egg replacer “egg”, beaten
1/4 cup soymilk
1 cup grated fresh apple
1 tsp. vanilla extract

The choose it, or lose its:

Topping:
1/2 cup melted margarine
1/3 cup raw sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl.

Cut in shortening with 2 forks as you would as if you were making a pastry.
In another small bowl, whisk together the apple, milk, egg and vanilla.

Add the apple mixture to the flour mixture and mix all together quickly and thoroughly.

Let the dough sit for about 30 minutes and preheat your oven to 350.

Grease muffin tins or use paper cupcake liners and fill each muffin tin approximately 2/3 full with dough. (Use a mini muffin pan for donut holes!)

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden on top.

When the donuts (muffins) are done, remove from oven and melt the butter for the topping.

Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.

Roll each muffin in melted butter and then dip each one in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until completely coated.

The most deliciousness is achieved when they are served still warm. Enjoy these with a cup of tea or hot cider and some peace and quiet on a crisp autumn morning.

Nostalgia Alert: If My Husband Were a Woman

2008-09-28T08:44:00.005-06:00

Today is the day my husband look at one another and say, "Yes, I do, all over again". This is for him:

If my husband were a woman, he would make other women jealous with his lightning fast metabolism and slender thighs. He would be despised.

If my husband were a woman, I am quite certain that Calvin and Jude would have been breastfed for as long as they liked. He never would have complained about cracked nipples, sleepless nights or leaky boobs. He instead would have basked in the motherly bond.

If my husband were a woman, he would never spend time or money on getting a manicure or pedicure. He would never consider dyeing or highlighting his hair. There would be no waxing of eyebrows, no makeup or conditioner. He would be a natural woman.

If my husband were a woman, he would not be obsessed with cute shoes or sassy handbags. He would still only need about two pairs of shoes and a multi-purpose diaper bag. He would not be the kind of woman who cared that brown shoes don't go with black pants. He would be confident enough in himself not to be a slave to fashion. He would be comfortable.

If my husband were a woman, he would be a stay-at-home mom and love every minute of it. The house would be clean, the laundry would be folded and put away regularly. The house would smell of delicious and nutricious home cooked meals every night. He would be a nurturer.

If my husband were a woman, he would wear the baby in a sling and commune with nature on a daily basis. He would be a crunchy Disney princess, a friend to animals and nature, without all the makeup and fancy dresses and shoes. He would be an earth mother.

If my husband were a woman, he would never complain about needing time by himself. He would never take issue with being home with small children all day. He would make the most of every day and take pleasure in all of the small and amazing things the children discover every day. He would never cry or yell or scream, or mark the days until Girls' Night Out. He would be satisfied.

If my husband were a woman, I would wish to be more like him.

Matt, thank you for the best 12 years of my life. You are the only one, forever. I love you.

Nostalgia Alert: To All the (Gay) Boys I've Loved Before...

2008-09-25T14:01:00.005-06:00

In light of the turmoil The Claymates are experiencing right now, I thought I would post something dedicated to them.

I used to have a habit of falling in love with gay boys. This one's for them.

The first gay boy I ever had a crush on was Jason. We met at an infamous Dan party when I was 15, and I was smitten. We danced all night long and I had butterflies in my belly when he asked me to walk him to his car to say goodnight. He gave me his phone number and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I think I grinned for the entire three days following. Then, he dropped the bomb. Or rather, my friends dropped the bomb on me (baby). Jay went to a different school, but word quickly got around that the boy I was dreaming was going to be my boyfriend was a homosexual. A homophobic girl in pink corduroys told me, "stay away from him. His lifestyle is gross." He was 16, how much of a "lifestyle" could he have cultivated? I ignored the bigots (see I was a dissenter even then) and accepted Jason and his friendship, always holding out hope that he would decide he loved boobs (and I had a great rack by all accounts) and wanted to have me for his girlfriend. It didn't work out that way. I took him to my sophomore semi-formal and he showed up in a suit the EXACT same color of teal as my dress (hey it was the early 90s). Things quickly went downhill from there and we gradually stopped spending time together. The last time I ran into him was at an AIDS dance-a-thon benefit, he was with his boyfriend. Sigh...

The next boy on the list, was actually a boy who fell for me, sorta. He is my friend Ali and we had been friends for a while, when out of the blue he asked that same homophobic girl in pink corduroys to ask me out. Now, I think he was either a junior or senior at the time and it struck me funny that we had a go between to do the asking. Now, I loved Ali, but there was no denying he was gay. I never had a crush on him because I knew going in, "This boy is gay." He didn't realize it at the time, but I think we all knew. I told him no, and we remained amazing friends. I regret that he asked me to his senior prom and I turned him down and made him ask another girl who he had a "crush" on, who ended up ruining his night. I couldn't get past the fact that he had once had a crush on me and I didn't want to lead him on. God, I was an idiot! When I moved to Michigan 9 years ago, Ali told me he had some news he needed to share with me before he left. We got together and he solemnly told me he had just discovered he was gay! At the time he was 21 and I had known him for about 9 years and in all the time I had never suspected anything else. When I told him that I already knew, it didn't go over well. He eventually moved to NY and leads the life he has always wanted. He is a success as a gay man, in a way he could never be in the closet. He is amazing and I am so proud of him for facing himself and choosing to be happy. He spends hours with his friends dissecting figure skating in great detail and developing his own cabaret shows (and he is much cooler than that statement makes him sound).

The last one, is the one that was the most painful, because I was in LOVE with this boy. We were the stars in our senior musical and Andy and I hit it off right away, despite never having said a word to each other before. From the first day of rehearsal I felt like this boy was destine to be in my life. I was flirting and blushing and being saucy and he played right along. One night we slept over at the home of a mutual friend and we ended up sharing a room alone that night. Whispering in the dark he told me he was gay. I felt my heart drop to my toes and I was so thankful that he couldn't see the tears slip down my cheeks in the dark. He told me he knew how I felt and he was sorry, which really didn't help me much, but the sentiment was nice. I mean can a teenage girl get a fucking break here or what?? Like your ego isn't minute enough as a teenager, exactly what you need is to keep falling in love with boys who only want to fall in love with boys!! I was in a miserable funk for weeks and finally knew what in meant to have a broken heart. My friend Rachael, who is the most wonderful shit, sent me the most fantastic note that I still remember to this...

"I know it hurts. You really need a girly night. We will go to Denny's, smoke and then come back to my house and get drunk and cry."

Yup, exactly what the doctor ordered. It was one of the best girl bonding nights I ever had and it really did help me get over my crush. We remained friends and continued to be perverted and immature and I never felt an ounce of attraction after that. I did however begin to think I was only ever going to like gay boys and was going to be a life long hag.

Lucky for me, the same summer all of my friends, gay and straight (there were a few) were planning their college careers I met the man who would become my husband. We are 13 years in and he hasn't come out yet. I am holding out hope that this one might last.

This Week's Blonde Moment

2008-09-23T14:56:00.005-06:00

I am the president of my local chapter of MOMS Club International. Last year our chapter decided to assemble a cookbook for our annual fundraiser. We still have about 30 cookbooks leftover, and I am pushing these things on all the membership to try and get them off my hands and out of my garage.

Recently at our monthly business meeting one of our moms bought a cookbook, which costs $10. She handed me a $20 and asked for change, so I gave her $10 change from my wallet. Now, for the last week it has bothered me to no end that I gave her $10, and I would have to deposit the $10 she paid for the cookbook to the treasury, so in my mind, I was out $10! I mean, I gave her $10, and I would have to give the treasury $10, so I was losing money, right?

My husband kindly talked me down off the ledge, explained that when she gave me the $10, I now had $30, so I gave $10 to her, I keep $10, and the treasury gets $10. He needed to use his fingers as a visual aid. And, he did all this without laughing once. I, however, was crying I was laughing so hard at my own stupidity.

Tina Fey, Move Over - a video blog

2008-09-20T15:27:00.004-06:00

I have been laughing at this before Tina Fey did her bit on SNL last weekend. While Tina Fey's impersonation is much more realistic, I love the over-the-top zaniness of this! Enjoy.

Someone, Somewhere

2008-09-19T11:33:00.006-06:00

Is probably watching our election coverage, and seeing the American people fall for the McCain/Palin ruse and thinking to themselves: Karma!

The Beginning of the End

2008-09-18T09:55:00.009-06:00

It’s happening already. My daughter, who isn’t even 4 yet, already hates the way she looks. She already hates her hair, and that it is “different” from everyone else’s.

As I got her ready for preschool the other day I gave her a shower, and took a long time combing out each and every tiny ringlet that crowns her head. I painstakingly untangled every knot, and when I was finished her hair was glistening, bouncy and healthy. Rather than pull it up in her signature style (pigtails), I thought she should wear it down. Before I was even finished with her hair she started melting down.

“I want to wear my hair up Mommy”, she wailed.

“No Dani, I think we should wear it down today and give your scalp a rest. Okay?”, I coaxed.

Then the water works started in earnest, “No Mommy, everyone will stare at me because my hair looks silly. I don’t want people to see it.”

Now I wanted to cry! She is 3!! How can she already be feeling like her appearance isn’t good enough, that somehow people will laugh at her because of her hair? Why is this happening so young?

My daughter is probably going to have a life filled with explaining why she looks different from her parents and her brothers. She is never going to have a curtain of satiny hair that she can toss over her shoulder. She might never feel like she fits in, at home or at school. I guess it’s good, in a way, that this is starting early, so that by the time she is in middle school, and girls get cliquey and mean, she might already be armed with a self-esteem that is impenetrable.

I sat her in front of a mirror and told her how beautiful she is. I told her that her hair makes her special, it might be different than her classmates, and that is a good thing. I told her if people stare, it is because her hair is so different, they are going to want to know what if feels like, why is curls the way it does, and they are going to wish they had her hair too.

My daughter is beautiful there is no denying this. Her hair is a billion little black corkscrews, her eyes are so black you can almost not see a pupil, her skin is like silky chocolate, her eyes are enormous and beautiful, framed by perfectly curled eyelashes that you normally only see on a doe. She has a smile that lights up a room, she has the kind of empathy that can’t be taught, she is a natural nurturer, she is the kind of girl who find a bug inside the house and she gently scoops it up and returns it to it’s home in the outdoors. When her younger brother hurts her and he is crying after I reprimand him, it is Dani that goes and comforts him and makes him laugh again. No one taught her these things, they are instinctual, I can only hope that she will learn that these are what matter, and not her hair or the color of her skin, or whether she has X or Y chromosomes.

She has everything else she needs to be successful this will be the only thing I will need to teach her for her to make it in this world, and it is the biggest lesson of them all. Pray for me.

I am sooooooo fucking Matt Damon

2008-09-15T16:50:00.004-06:00

Palin divisive, even among her BFFs

2008-09-15T11:06:00.005-06:00

How bad must Sarah Palin really be that 3 out of 4 of her BFFs will not publicly endorse her? I guess McCain missed the mark when he chose her thinking anything with a vagina was going to be swayed, huh? Although, one BFF says that Sarah is, "as honest as the day is long." Well, that is really saying something, in ALASKA. I think some people are going to be asked to turn in their friendship rings.

The Last Eight Years

2008-09-13T09:20:00.005-06:00

Apparently, I have pissed off a few of my friends for posting my political views in public. To which I say...

Unless you have walked in my shoes for the last eight years, please don’t tell me to keep my opinions on the upcoming elections to myself.

Unless you stood with me, 8 months pregnant, in my living room on September 11, 2001 and watched the Twin Towers fall, and a President ignore all the warnings so he could vacation and rubbed your belly wondering what the hell kind of world you were bringing a child into.

Unless you had to move out of state to stay ahead of the looming layoffs at your husband’s job, leaving behind the only home your children had ever known, and friends that had become family.

Unless you had to juggle two mortgages, and take huge losses every month on a home that you couldn’t sell because of a terribly mismanaged housing market.

Unless you watched your son struggle to get the attention he deserves as an exceptionally gifted student because the schools are grossly underfunded and simply focus on meeting No Child Left Behind standards.

Unless you have cried because your daughter was so behind in speech development, but were told she didn’t qualify for therapy services because the funding for services is so limited only the very, very delayed qualify.

Unless you have watched charter school after charter school open in the richest parts of town, on the tax-payer dime, under the guise of being open to the public, only to find out that no busing, and no free lunch programs are available, and shook your head in disgust at just another publicly funded private school for the wealthy, while your children's public school continues to flounder without appropriate funding.

Unless you have watched your husband’s company all but close it’s doors, keeping a small skeleton crew, and wondered when the other shoe was going to drop and he was going to join the ranks of the unemployed, and you have three small children, and two houses that you can’t offload thanks to the growing mortgage and housing crisis, and you just watched 200 of your friends and co-workers lose their jobs.

Unless you have lived in my shoes, and been kept up nights with fear, please, allow me to have my say, and ignore it if you choose. THIS is what makes America great, the ability to have a say and an opinion, and I refuse to let that be one more thing this government will take from me.

I am one of the lucky ones. I can’t imagine walking in the shoes of those who have no job, have no home, and don’t know where their children’s next meal is coming from. Or the young woman who finds herself pregnant and is so frightened of how she is going to finish college and care for a baby.

Things are very, very bad in this country, and we just cannot take another year, another month, another day, another hour, another minute of leaders who care nothing about those of us living in the middle and low income tax brackets of America, which is MOST of us. I am very fearful of what another 4 years of a Republican administration would do to my family and yours. So, forgive me if I just can’t keep my mouth shut.

Republicans, What The Hell is Wrong With Them? Discuss.

2008-09-11T13:13:00.004-06:00

I cannot for the life of me fathom why anyone would vote for them, or buy an ounce of their bullshit. THIS is a perfect example of who they are, what they believe, and their war on the middle and lower classes. Their greed and deregulation of the industry caused the mortgage crisis in the first place, and allowed huge corporations to prey on consumers. Stay classy, Republicans.

One

2008-09-11T09:48:00.005-06:00

As the soot and dirt and ash rained down,
We became one color.
As we carried each other down the stairs of the burning building,
We became one class.
As we lit candles of waiting and hope,
We became one generation.
As the firefighters and police officers fought their way into the inferno,
We became one gender.
As we fell to our knees in prayer for strength,
We became one faith.
As we whispered or shouted words of encouragement,
We spoke one language.
As we gave our blood in lines a mile long,
We became one body.
As we mourned together the great loss,
We became one family.
As we cried tears of grief and loss,
We became one soul.
As we retell with pride of the sacrifice of heroes,
We become one people.

We are
One color
One class
One generation
One gender
One faith
One language
One body
One family
One soul
One people

We are The Power of One.
We are United.
We are America.

by, Cheryl Sawyer

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-09T11:33:00.003-06:00

Hold your head up

2008-09-09T11:22:00.004-06:00

I an Op-Ed in the New York Times and thought it was fantastic. It seems that liberals can't get any credit when election time rolls around and we are fantastically maligned and abhored by conservatives. This proves that liberals, especially liberals in government have offered significant contributions to society. So liberals, hold your head up, we have a history to be proud of.

Nostalgia alert: Closets

2008-09-09T08:18:00.007-06:00

We bought our new house last July, so I figured it was finally time that I settled into organizing our bedroom closet this weekend. It was time to unpack the boxes, sort out the items ready for donation to Goodwill, and to finally make room to walk, in the walk-in closet.

I put on my iPod, the husband had the kids outside playing and I got into a groove. As I was folding, hanging and sorting, some of my most treasured and beloved items of clothing surfaced. My beat-up, second hand, tattered and worn leather jacket, a pair of size 4 (!!!) jeans, and a concert t-shirt from my first birthday spent with my husband, my 18th. 12 years later, I can't part with any of these things. I haven't been able to fit into any of them in over 6 years now, but Goodwill will never get their mitts on these. I hung them together to make an outfit, and hung the ensemble on the highest rod of my closet, facing outward where I will get to see them every time I open that closet door. I started to feel a little nostaligic for that time before we had kids, when it was just us, the romance was new, we were still finding our bearings, and we couldn't stop smiling. Those were the days when we still felt nervous around one another, we were always trying to be silly, or witty, and I was falling in love. That one outfit brought back so many long forgotten memories, that get overlooked in the muck and the mire of every day life. And, the woman, or girl really, I used to be, the girl who wanted nothing more than to go to a rock show at a club for her birthday, the girl who took chances, and who thought nothing of wearing a very ugly, and very beat-up leather jacket everywhere she went.

Under a tangle of sweaters, I caught a peek of a brown piece of material that I couldn't place. After unearthing it, I found it to be my favorite maternity shirt from my last pregnancy, over a year ago now. Under the shirt was my favorite pair of pregnancy jeans, clam diggers on anyone else, capris on my 5'1" frame. I could feel the tears welling up as I thought about that shirt pulled taut across my belly, the waist of the jeans resting below the pregnancy swell. I felt gorgeous in that outfit. In that outfit it didn't matter that I would never see a size 4 again, it didn't matter that I had stretch marks that wouldn't fade, it didn't matter that my skin was experiencing a pregnancy breakout. I felt alive, sassy, cute, and happier than I remembered being with the first baby. Perhaps because this pregnancy was an unexpected surprise, perhaps because the other two kids were here to enjoy it and see a new baby brought to our family, perhaps because I just loved being pregnant. Whatever the reason, that outfit held some of the warmest and loveliest memories of motherhood. That outfit too is hanging in the closet, next the other, where I can see it and remember those times. And, that baby, nestled snug and warm inside me, squirming and wriggling, to remind me I was never alone. That baby just turned 1 year-old last week, and like every birthday, it was bittersweet. Funny how a simple piece of cloth can make me feel and remember the joy I experienced during that pregnancy.

Maybe there is some merit to the childhood fear of Boogey-men living in closets. For me, clothes hold very specific and often dear memories. Some that haunt me, some that bring me back and make me wistful, and some that make me ache for times long gone. It is always with a heavy heart that I sort through the kids dressers, or bring a box to Goodwill, because while for some it is just clothes, for me it is another stitch in the fabric of time that I am giving away. I hope whoever wears these clothes when we are done with them will have good times and fond memories in them too. Is it just a coincidence that in literature closets are often the place of magic lands, secrets and great adventure? I don't think so.

Mmmmmmm Monday: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2008-09-07T09:17:00.010-06:00

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. Since we are vegan, I have taken a "regular" recipe and veganized it. If you want to make it the regular way, just use the "real" ingredients instead of the vegan versions. I also give a you a few optional ways of making this, but use your imagination and get creative with this yummy, moist, melt-in-your-mouth cake!

The must haves

1 cup vegan margarine (I prefer Earth Balance)
1 cup of sugar
2 Ener-G-Egg Replacer "eggs"
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (or spelt, or whole wheat PASTRY for a more nutritional cake)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
8 oz. tofutti brand sour cream

The chose it or lose its

Optional filling:

1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Optional crumb topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cold margarine, cubed
1/2 cup flour
cinnamon to taste (optional)
chopped nuts (optional)

Optional deliciousness:

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Optional glaze:

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
4 tsp. water
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

The Rules

1. Preheat your oven to 375F, and grease a 10-inch Bundt-pan, or springform pan. I have also made this cake into muffcakes(muffins/cupcakes), using a muffin pan and cupcake liners.

2. If you are using a filling, or crumb topping, combine those ingredients now and set aside. For the filling, just mix the ingredients well until the sugar is coated with the cinnamon. For the crumb topping, cut the cold margarine pieces into the sugar, flour,cinnamon and nuts, as you would a pastry dough, until you have small pea size pieces.

3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream margarine, gradually adding sugar, beating until fluffy.

4. Add eggs, beat well. Add vanilla, beat to combine.

5. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and soda. Slowly add this to the creamed mixture, alternating with dollops of the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix gently until all ingredients are wet, do not over mix. Now would also be the time to add chocolate chips, if you are using them.

6. If you are using the filling: spoon half the batter into the pan, sprinkle the sugar/pecan mixture over the batter, spread rest of batter over filling.

7. If you are using the crumb topping, I suggest a spring form pan, or muffcakes. Pour all batter into pan, sprinkle crumb topping over batter.

8. Bake at 375F for 35-40 minutes, or until cake tests done.

9. Cool 5 minutes in pan, on a wire rack. If using Bundt pan, turn cake onto wire rack and allow to cool. If using springform pan, you can allow the cake to cool right in the pan.

10. Allow cake to cool, you can glaze it while it is still slightly warm.

11. For glaze, combine all ingredients, whisking well to make a smooth glaze. Add more water as necessary to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

12. Enjoy with tea, hot chocolate, homemade iced coffee, a good book or a girlfriend and some gossip! Store leftovers, if there are any, in an airtight container. Will keep for about a week.

Flip-Flopping, a video blog

2008-09-06T10:46:00.007-06:00

Yes, Sarah Palin sucks, but...

2008-09-06T09:22:00.007-06:00

Now, I admit there are plenty of reasons to dislike this broad. Her position on drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, her support of abstinence-only programs (which apparently don't even work in her own home, never mind in schools across the nation!), her cozy relationship to indicted Senator Ted Stevens, which she now denies. Her support of the “bridge to nowhere”, which she conveniently supported until the $398 million were sent to her state for the project, and then were not returned to the federal government when the deal fell through. As a small town mayor her first act was to go to the local library and ask how she would go about banning books. She vehemently opposes the addition of polar bears to the endangered species list, because it might interfere with a $35 million oil pipeline she wants built, and that pesky Endangered Species Act means that the oil industry must limit the production of greenhouse gases where endangered species make their habitat. Fucking obnoxious polar bears. So anyway, Sarah Palin sucks.

HOWEVER, I resent he implication that Sarah Palin is not capable of being VP, SIMPLY because she has a newborn baby. Now, I can agree that she is an inexperienced tool bag, and I hate her stance on ALL issues and clearly she is woefully, inadequately equipped to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. But I do not agree that because she is a mother of young children she is unable, or should not attempt to run for a powerful office. There are plenty of other reasons to dislike her, this should not be one of them.

Not only do I feel like this is a bad commentary on the archaic view society still has of women, but it disgusts me that people still think that men are incapable of rearing children just as well as, or even better than, a woman. I know my husband got up with kids at night, sat up with sick kids, he does laundry, he does dishes, he changes diapers. And, let's face it, the VP is going to have a lot of staff at her disposal, so laundry, dishes and mealtime aren't really going to be on her daily to-do-list.

When I look at men like Joe Biden, who was a widower and almost turned down his Senatorial seat to care for his young boys, and Obama, who has young girls, I see men who seem to be able to balance both. By all accounts, Clinton was a very involved father, attending dance recitals and parent/teacher conferences. I do not think these men are incredible by today's standards. Maybe, just maybe, more men would be encouraged to be the primary caregiver and more involved parents if they see examples of powerful men balancing work and family.

I think it is a sad double standard in our nation that we expect women to give up careers for the sake of kids, or that we think that men who care for children somehow become more feminine and less manly. On the flip side, when a woman is strong, or powerful, we call her manly, or a bitch. Why can't it be up to a woman, her husband and their family to decide what is best for them and how the duties will fall?

Oh and in case you haven’t heard, “Bitches get stuff done”. – Tina Fey
(We just may not like exactly what this bitch gets done, just saying.)

The Beasts

2008-09-05T10:27:00.013-06:00

This is the oldest and the Grand Poobah of the beasties, The Honeybee. He is 6 going on 60, a wise old soul with a fantastic sense of humor, and the vocabulary and reading skills of a college student. The funniest thing the Bee ever said?:

While staying with my in-laws my son noticed a photo of his grandparents taken 15 years earlier. He picked it up and said to my mother-in-law, "This is like a before picture and now you are the after."

This one over here ----->
is The Dani. She is almost 4, and is showing off her big girl school clothes on her first day of preschool. She is the mother hen to her younger brother, and the best friend and play mate of The Honeybee. The Dani, I am almost certain, is going to be a star athlete, and loves to be active and any sport involving a ball. What has she said that made me belly laugh?:

The Dani hates dinner. She is a picky, picky eater. A few months ago I was making macaroni and "cheese" and Dani asked what we were having. I said, "Macaroni and cheese, you like that, right?" And she replied, "Well, I hope so!"

This sweet baby boy is The Jooch. Soon to be 2, The Jooch is the house mischief maker and all-around naughty guy. Despite that, he is gorgeous, hilarious, and gives a darn good smooch (or mooch, as he calls it). The Jooch is a total mama's boy, and this mama wouldn't have it any other way. Not to be outdone by his very vibrant siblings, The Jooch has a funny bone too:

The other day I took The Jooch's diaper off for his bath, he reached down, grabbed his penis and yelled, "TAIL!". As I was re-diapering him, he was still grabbing his "tail", and I explained that it is called a penis. He started to fuss when the diaper went on, yelling, "I want penis!"

And, the beast that started it all The Buzz, is this fine man right here. He is a father, a husband, a best friend, a big brother, a pilot, a runner, a cyclist, an athlete, a vegan, an
activist, a gentleman, and he doesn't half-ass any of them. The Buzz is my hero, my voice of reason, and my world. With him, all things are possible. The biggest chill pill dosage The Buzz ever gave me?:

"Now, I'm just gonna throw this out there before you lose it completely; It's. Only. Play-doh."

These are my beasts, and no, you can not have them!

Desperately Seeking Friendship

2008-09-04T22:03:00.002-06:00

I made a friend. I made a wonderful, special, very dear-to-me friend. She makes me laugh and she has made me cry. She gives me advice when I ask for it, and sometimes when I don't. She has given me a dose of tough love once or twice, because she knew I needed it, and she was right. I call her about everything, even before I call my mother. She has become so important to my life, and I met her on-line. I figure if people can marry someone they met on-line, I can make a best gal pal on-line, and not have to justify it to anyone.

Last month, my darling hubs stayed home with the three beasts while I traveled to the big city to "meet" my girlfriend for the first time! We had been friends for a year and a half, and talk 5 or 6 times a day, so I wasn't scared that she was going to really turn out to be a 45 year-old 600lb. man who lives in the basement with his mother and was luring me to the other side of the country to lock me in his dungeon and use me as his sex slave. Rather, it felt like I was making a commitment and saying that this was a true friendship. Some of my "real life" friends gave me strange looks, and told me to call them to let them know I was safe. I couldn't help but laugh, because I KNOW this woman. I know her like I have known her my whole life.

It was only a long weekend that I spent with her and her adorable family, but it was wonderful. We walked around the city, we shopped, and ate, and ate and shopped. We talked and visited, I met her sister and her brother-in-law. Her husband cooked a delicious meal just for me. It was perfect, and I left there with the proof that our friendship was real, and that we would be friends for a long time to come.

There are a lot of phonies out there, there is a lot of internet fraud. There are a lot of nasty, conniving, evil, vindictive people who are so miserable in their lives that their only outlet is to harass and abuse people on-line. I have met some of those people in my internet travels, but for everyone of them, there is a gem to be found amongst the rubble. I found my gem. I call her Susie, and her friendship is as precious to me as any diamond. I would once again suffer fools gladly just to have met her.

Susie, you really are a star, your birth certificate does not lie! Thank you, I love you much!