I have some things going on at work that has got me pretty down in the dumps. Nothing that is earth-shattering by any means, just things that, for lack of a better word, just plain suck. Needless to say for those that know and love me, I do not deal well with ‘change’.
Rather than dwell on the negative and berate the powers that be for their decisions (I don’t want to get dooced by any means because it isn’t really THAT bad), I decided to come up with just five little things I am fond of that make my life extremely tolerable. This quick list will serve to remind me that life really ain’t all that bad, and I need to grow up, realize that I can’t dwell on and worry about things I can’t control, and just get over it.
#1: TIVO – Oh Tivo, I don’t know how we were able to get by so long without you? You diligently do what you are told and have even exceeded our humble expectations numerous times. You record what we instruct you to in order of our preference and then go the extra mile by selecting a smattering of shows you think we might enjoy. Carissa can watch her Thomas, Mickey Mouse, and now Word World all on demand, and I always have a nice selection of General Hospital, Friends, or Food Network shows to enjoy. As soon as you arrived on our doorstep almost three years ago and were plugged in, you had an impact on our lives. People will occasionally ask me such absurd questions like ‘Have you seen the preview for movie XYZ?’ or ‘Did you see that commercial during Grey’s Anatomy with the dog that was doing that thing?’ I casually respond, ‘No, because I no longer watch commercials.’ I drive my darling husband absolutely crazy during sports games or live TV because I will actually put Tivo on pause for twenty minutes just so I can fast forward through the commercials. Tivo, you are AWESOME!
#2: Aluminum Foil – What a brilliant idea someone had. Foil is far superior to any plastic wrap product. The both serve the same basic purpose, but foil eliminates all the frustration factors that go along with the plastic variety. It doesn’t stick to itself or your fingers, the edge can always be found easily on the roll, and it cuts with ease – no crumpled mess to deal with as you do when trying to cut the plastic. Plus, foil can also be used in the oven. I use it all the time for lining baking sheets to cook on thus eliminating any sticky mess to clean up in the pan – just pull the foil off, crumple it up, and throw it away.
(Aside: Here is another interesting use for foil that was discovered on wiki: “Aluminium foil is also sometimes used in the training of cats, as cats have an inborn dislike of loud noise, like that caused by sheets of aluminum foil, it is possible to prevent cats from jumping on or otherwise damaging furniture by covering its surfaces.” Hmmmm, sounds like another way for Travis to bug Caymen.)
#3: Liquid Downy Fabric Softener: Wow, I bought my first bottle of this stuff about month ago, and it is amazing. Our ancient washing machine does not have an automatic dispenser for softener, nor does it stop for the rinse cycle when you are supposed to put it in, so I never bought fabric softener as a liquid before. But, Downy has this little blue ball that you pour the liquid in, seal it shut by pulling a ring that is attached to an internal gasket, and it will somehow recognize and know when to release the softener into your wash. I’m sure there is some physics law that causes this to happen due to the momentum of the spin cycle or something (hmmm, now there would be interesting science fair project). But all physics aside, take it from me, this stuff is great! Our laundry comes out smelling incredible, is so soft, and has no static cling at all. I would highly recommend you look into this over the dryer sheets that come in a box.
#4: YouTube: I normally don’t spend a lot of time on the computer outside of work so I am definitely behind on the times on discovering the greatness of this website. (I am restricted from accessing the YouTube website at work for fear that something might harm my delicate sensitivities, hence the lack of a link.) But, I have spent the past few evenings on YouTube at home and am just amazed at the stuff on there. I have witnessed the evolution of dance, seen several interpretations of a Panama Canal cruise, and have laughed my head off at the things that kids say (‘Charlie Bit Me’, ‘Buhlood’, and the little girl that is going to kick the monsters ass are a few favorites that come to mind). Plus, you can find snippets of old-school cartoons like Smurfs, He-Man, and Rainbow Brite which bring back fond memories. There are definitely things on You-Tube that I do not like at all (like when morons take an Elmo doll and burn it, or when they take an innocent looking cartoon and record profanity laced dialogue over it), but overall it is a really fun site to play on.
#5: AllRecipes: This is probably the website that I visit the most. It is a community based website where members upload their recipes to their database to share with others. What I really like about it is the ‘Ingredient Search’ feature. Say you have some chicken, rice, onion, bell pepper, and celery that need to get used up. You just type in these ingredients and AllRecipes will generate a list of selections for you that contain these items. You can also create a personal recipe box and review/rate existing recipes in the database. These reviews are crucial to me because it lets you know what others really think of it (too much liquid, needs more chili powder, try adding in some garlic, too bland, etc) and helps you to make those tiny modifications to better suit your tastes. The site will also calculate the measurements if you need to reduce or increase the number of servings which is also a nice feature. Just from the top of my head, here are five favorites of ours that came off this site: Shrimp Linguini, Chili Dog Casserole, Broccoli and Rice, Bananas Foster, and Chicken Spaghetti. Try the site, but beware because you will get hooked.
Well, there you have it. Five things that make my life pretty darn cush…. But I still think I am going to have to whine about my work issue for at least a few more weeks.
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On Friday, I chopped off all my hair. Carissa came up to the salon during my appointment so she could see that it really doesn’t hurt to get your haircut. It still didn’t work too well, but she did sit in my lap and screamed through a hair cut, which is far better than her trashing about trying her best to get her ear snipped. Her bangs are a little uneven, but at least they are out of her eyes. My new bangs on the other hand are now driving me nuts because they won’t fit behind my ears as I like them to and keep falling into my face. Please be sure to compliment Carissa on her haircut though and what a big girl she was to let Ms. Marilyn trim it.
After our hair appointments, I promised Carissa a trip to Target if she had her hair done. We parked and walked up to the door and Carissa planted her feet and said ‘No, Momma, I don’t want to.’ Eh? Did I hear you correctly, my little precious wonder? You don’t want to go to Target? ‘I want to go over THERE.’ Where is THERE, you ask? Next door is Toys R Us.
We went over and she selected her prize from Toys R Us which was a Mater truck and some Mickey Mouse dominos. But, on the way back across the parking lot, ‘Ohhhhh, Target! I wanna go inside… peas?’ Now, who could resist that? In we go as we needed some diapers anyway. Her choice was Blues Clues again this time although she did eye the Cars Pull-Ups pretty carefully and was very disappointed when I had to explain that those were for little boys.
On Saturday, we had a four-year-old princess birthday party to go to. Carissa really enjoyed the purple castle bounce house and the bubble machines. So much in fact that her daddy went to Walmart after the party to get her one of own. I do think though that this purchase was probably more for him than for her since he now does not have to physically blow the bubbles for her anymore, just flip a switch! He and Carissa played with their new bubble machine that evening on the driveway, while I went to Mindy’s housewarming party with Dee. (Which was amazing and probably the most posh party I have ever been to – no Doritos in plastic bowls at this party!)
Sunday, we were pretty lazy. We watched cartoons in bed, cleaned, did some laundry, that type of thing. We went outside in the afternoon and played with sidewalk chalk and the bubble machine. The ice-cream man came around, and Carissa picked out a bubble-gum sherbet bar. ($2 for this ice-cream bar! Eesh, inflation!)
Beth came home that evening after a visit down in Angleton, and she and I watched Stardust. Pretty good flick – I would recommend it. She leaves tomorrow for Germany. We are very sad to see her go live and work so far away, but excited at the same time.
I really think her leaving is going to hit Carissa the hardest – when Mike and Veronica were getting ready to leave last night, she was adamant that ‘My Aunt Bif stay right here’. Yeah, she is pretty darn cute.
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Welcome back. Travis has advised that we are good to go for posting since we successfully transferred the site to a new hosting entity. I have no clue what this all means, but it makes Travis happy and that is always a very cool thing indeed.
We have been pretty busy as usual the past few weeks. Earlier in the month, I had a business trip to California to visit with some of my stations and came back with an awful sinus infection. I had to fly home with my sinuses clogged up so I lived with an ear that wouldn’t pop for a week. After a bottle of Day- and Ni-Quil, it was finally knocked out.
Veronica celebrates her birthday in April. She and Beth went shopping and to lunch while I sat on the couch in my snotty-misery. Since Carissa was spending the day at her Grammy’s and Travis was providing Odie with some grunt-labor in East Texas, I enjoyed some much needed ‘me-time’ and started a Godfather marathon in the movie room. When the ladies returned, Beth brought out a strawberry filled cake, and she insisted that Veronica have a candle to blow out. All we had available was Carissa’s big number 2 candle but it served its purpose. We sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and Veronica blew out her candle. I hope her wish came true!
This past weekend Travis and I continued to do our best to sufficiently brainwash Carissa in her choice of colleges by joining my mom and dad at the Maroon and White game in College Station. Ask Carissa what the Aggies say and she will answer with an enthusiastic WHOOP. (We are very proud parents.) They had activities and vendor booths and such set up outside Kyle Field for the festivities. She really liked the ice cream, getting her hand painted with the aTm (in blue with white polka dots per her request), watching the football game, singing the fight song, eating the popcorn, stomping on the popcorn kernels that fell, drinking the coke, and she even surprisingly enjoyed the fireworks that followed the game. We stayed the night in Carlos at my great-grandmother’s old house, and, judging from the extensive hunt for lizards and squirrels that transpired in the morning, I have a feeling that Carissa and her Pa will enjoy many more adventures there.
We also celebrated Odie’s birthday this Sunday. Poor thing was sick as a dog (literally since a Sonic hot-dog is the suspected culprit), but he still managed to entertain a house full of family. We had an amazing chicken dinner with all the fixins, including Pat’s famous banana pudding which is a favorite of all of ours. Odie’s German Chocolate cake resembled a bonfire, but he successfully blew out all the candles in one blow (with some help from all the kiddos). The sidewalk chalk and new sandbox were a big hit with Carissa and the other kids.
I don’t know where the time goes – May is next week already!
PS – Be sure to check out www.mypicsof.us occasionally for new pictures. Travis has set up this site to upload random pictures taken with his I-Phone. Since I can’t figure out how to do pictures on this site, it is the next best thing. There are some really cute ones!
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Dear Target,
In the spirit of open and honest communication that is essential in any mutually beneficial relationship, I have a few things to confess. As you can see, I also provided a justification so you can hopefully understand that I truly mean you no harm.
Confession #1: Yes, it was me who left a Thomas DVD, a Mickey Mouse puzzle, a Percy engine, a toy microphone, and three bottles of nail polish haphazardly throughout your store.
Justification #1: We do not need any of the above items at our house, and it is easier to avoid a temper-fit and just let Carissa stack them in the cart and have me sneak them out later. I give enough in this relationship to expect a little extra clean-up every now and then.
Confession #2: Yes, that was my daughter sprawled in the middle of the toy aisle playing with not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR Thomas the Train ‘laptops’ for over fifteen minutes.
Justification #2: It was either this or you would have also found four Thomas laptops around the store (see Confession #1).
Confession #3: Yes, it was my child that spilled half a bag of popcorn on the floor of the chip and cracker aisle. And, yes, it was me that just left it there.
Justification #3: Well, I did kind of kick it out of the way, but please also see last sentence of Justification #1.
Please don't hold these confessions against me Target. I will be by later this afternoon to to make it up to you.
Your loyal customer,
Carissa's Mom
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We have a surprise guest at our house for the next few weeks! Beth is in between homes due to on-going relocation issues, and so she is staying with us. Woohoo! Carissa couldn’t be more excited to have her ‘Aunt Bif’ stay at Mama’s house. She has eagerly shown Beth her train set, made her some ketchup in her little kitchen, showed off with her pink stroller that had been delivered from Pops and Grandma Ronnie’s house, and introduced the latest favorite movie – Cars (fast forwarded to Mater of course).
We had an idea to make this stay a surprise to other members of the family. The best ‘reveal’ was when we met up with Pat, Odie, Granny, and Pawpaw at Sam’s Boat on Monday. Beth, Carissa, and I walked into the restaurant together, and Pat only had eyes for Carissa. She rushed right past Beth, picked Carissa up to a big hug, and walked by Beth again! Literally right past, like within arms reach practically rubbing shoulders. It was hilarious! But also very sweet when Pat realized what had happened. (Also funny was Granny’s reaction, but I won’t share that here for general reading! Heeheehee…)
Having Beth stay with us is truly a treat. (And not just because she will fold our laundry, wash the dishes, and cook us gourmet feasts!) She is kind and courteous, a great sounding board, and she is especially generous with giving her time, love, and patience to Carissa.
She will be missed when she goes on her next adventure to Germany, but hopefully she will be able to cash in some of those frequent-flyer miles for the occasional trip back home to her family in Texas.
(Hint-hint-hint.)
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