09.28.2006 | 10:30 pm | Memes
Appetizer
What is your favorite herb or spice?
I love fresh basil…yummm.
Soup
Name a song you like but haven’t heard in a long time.
Hmm. Probably something by Jennifer Knapp, because I love most of her songs but I don’t have any converted to mp3s yet! I need to do that sometime soon; I miss her.
Salad
If you were to take just one minute to write down as many things as you can think of that you need (not want) to do, approximately how many things would there be?
300? Really, there would be a lot. Most would be related to remodeling and decorating the house.
Main Course
Tell something interesting about one of your family members (nothing scandalous, please, just something unique).
I can’t really think of anything that interesting; maybe that my dad was mayor of our small town when I was growing up?
Dessert
What’s the latest you’ve ever stayed awake?
Well, being that I’ve had the joy of having a newborn in the house, I can say that I’ve stayed awake for several days in a row. When G was born (early on a Wednesday morning), I stayed awake for over four days straight; I finally got 4 (interrupted) hours of sleep on the following Sunday night. 
I do NOT recommend it. I wanted to die (and I felt like I was going to!).
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09.27.2006 | 10:37 pm | Daily Life, Gray Matters, Reviews
They didn’t show the re-run of the finale! The ABC Lost website said it was going to be on; two hours’ worth. But they just did an hour-long recap show. Oh well. I’m just happy the new season is still starting next Wednesday!
Maybe they nixed the finale re-run because of the 20/20 special with the interview of Terri Irwin. I watched that and just bawled through the entire thing. She is amazing, and IMO, a model woman and mom. So tough and strong, yet still personable and kind. I was also thinking she’s a much better woman than me because she managed not to smack Bawbwa Wawa throughout the entire interview. 
I really, really dislike that woman!
Tonight we told G he was “so cute”, and he added that he’s also “handsome”. I thought that was very sweet and I told him that I agree, yes, he is very handsome! Then he said, “I’m hot, too.” 
I thought I was going to die laughing. He knows “hot” is a compliment because Philip is always saying “Mama’s hot, isn’t she, G?!”
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09.27.2006 | 10:37 am | Daily Life, Reviews
I love the smell of Play-Doh! It’s so nostalgic. When G is playing with it, I just pick up a handful and breathe deeply until I’m high on that funny, salty scent.
Finally, tonight ABC is airing May’s season finale of “Lost” again. And then, next Wednesday…the season premiere! HURRAY! Finally, something good to watch on TV during prime time. I do get a kick out of watching “Wife Swap”, but otherwise, prime TV is a wasteland of brainless crap. “Lost”, however, is the best drama ever. I can hardly contain my excitement and I don’t know how I’ll manage to wait until next Wednesday. I guess I’ve waited all these months since the finale in May, so I can wait till next week.
I need to mow the lawn today! It’s a perfect day because the weather is so unusually cool and dry. The high is only 81 today with humidity of only 37%! I almost look forward to going out to mow. Only about a month left of mowing season. Usually the last mowing is in late October.
I think this one outbores yesterday’s entry, but I’m trying to be more consistent with blogging. 
The truth is, I live a very boring (but happy) existence.
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09.26.2006 | 3:36 pm | Uncategorized, Daily Life, Gray Matters
I’m having a lazy day. I can’t get myself motivated to do all the stuff that needs doing today. I need to get busy though because G’s naptime won’t last much longer and that’s my most productive time!
Yesterday I went to get my hair highlighted & cut. I decided to go low-maintenance, so we chose a dark, reddish blonde that’s more in tune with my natural haircolor (which is dark, ugly blonde). I love it! I love the cut, too. Same thing I’ve had the last few times, but it’s always best when it’s freshly cut.
After my appointment I hung around town to do some early Christmas shopping for G. I always finish my shopping before the crowds hit in November, so this is my time for Christmas shopping. I found a gift set of 5 Thomas trains for nearly half-price at TJ Maxx, so I did really well! We keep his gifts to a limit of three, so there’s one down and two more to go. Woo-hoo! I also found a few little bath toys that will be great stocking stuffers. Ugh, I already dread Christmas because of the obnoxious attitudes we have to deal with regarding excessive gifts. But this year we’re putting our collective foot down. We’re determined to teach G the real meaning of Christmas and to avoid its commercialization from diluting that meaning in his heart. I have more thoughts on this, but not the time to go into it. Later.
I also got to go to the natural foods co-op and hang out for a while. While there, I actually saw a nursing mother! Wow! Around here, you rarely see that outside the LLL meetings. I was thrilled and fought off the urge to go tell her how awesome I thought she was. I guess it’s probably a pretty normal thing to see at that particular store, though. It’s probably pretty normal for that part of town, too; I just don’t hang out down there often enough. I wish it were a normal thing to see around this little town, but alas, there are just bottles everywhere. I know there are some breastfeeding moms, but they tend to hide because of all the ignorance regarding NIP. Maybe things will change eventually.
We’ve found the car seat we need, and it’s very expensive. He’s exactly 40 inches now, which is the limit for his current one. Unfortunately, we don’t have the money for the new one yet, so hopefully we won’t get in a wreck and if we do, I’m praying this one is still going to be safe. I’m sure it will be, at least if he doesn’t grow anymore until we can afford the new one. It’s so hard to have such a big boy. It seems unfair that everything is made so small!
Sunday he had his 4th week of Sunday school, and he did much better. He’s improving each week. He cried on and off, but they said he was distractible up until the very end—which is when he became inconsolable. But he’s come a long way since his first week so I think it’s going to be okay after a few more weeks. Those ladies are very, very patient!
Sunday afternoon I did more plant re-potting. I really love to do that, and it’s been so long since I’ve been able to just do it and enjoy it. It was nice! Before G, I had lots of plants and they did really well. Since G, I’ve barely had time to take care of myself, much less remember to water or care for my plants. So, unfortunately, only four have survived the past 2.5 years of neglect. Luckily, after repotting them, they seem like they’re all going to do just fine. Hopefully I’ll keep remembering to water them.
This has got to be the most boring entry ever. I’m boring!
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09.22.2006 | 10:15 am | Memes
It’s been a strange week. I figured I’d do Friday’s Feast since I’ve been slacking for a while.
Appetizer
Measured in minutes or hours, how much exercise have you had in the last week?
I’m too lazy to add it up. 45 min — 1 hr each day since Monday (I was sick over the weekend). But not on Wednesday because we weren’t home.
Soup
If you had to change your blog title to something else, what would it be?
Ms. Misanthropist. I almost did name it that, but I didn’t want to appear that I dislike ALL people. Just most people in general. See, it would’ve come off way too cynical. 
Salad
Name one television show you watched when you were 9-12 years old.
Oh, the Smurfs! I lived for the Smurfs. I wanted to be a Smurf. I’d count down the days each week until I could see them on Saturday mornings…I did this up through the 8th grade.
Main Course
If someone gave you $50 to spend with the one condition that it had to be educational, what would you purchase?
Lots of books for G, a couple of books for me, and a subscription to Mothering.
Dessert
Do you tend to prefer dark colors, neutral shades, or lighter/pastel hues?
Darks and neutrals.
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09.21.2006 | 9:25 am | Uncategorized
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09.19.2006 | 10:15 am | Uncategorized
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09.16.2006 | 10:47 pm | Uncategorized, Daily Life, Gray Matters
Phew, what a week we’ve had.
G picked up a cold at his gymnastics class last week (I am so, SO angry at the mom who brought her sick toddler…GRRRR). So ever since last Sunday, we’ve had lots of misery going on. This was a big learning experience for me, because it’s his first real cold—the first time he’s ever really been sick! He’s got a really tough immune system. The only other time he’s been sick was a very mild cold a little over a year ago, but it was nothing compared to this one, which was a doozie. A nasty cough, lots of snot and stuffiness and misery. He ran a consistent 102-103 fever for a couple of days.
I don’t treat fevers, so I just monitored it to make sure it didn’t go above 103, and tried to make him as comfortable as possible. I spent most every day sitting next to him as he lay on the loveseat, breaking all the house rules and watching TV all day. Bad, bad mama. We watched tons of Spongebob! Philip rented him the S-Bob movie, and it was a huge hit. It was pretty funny, actually. I’m a little twitchy from having to watch it 10 times in a row, but it really made him feel better to have something to watch that he loves.
One thing I loved was he kept asking me periodically to rock him. So we did lots of rocking together while watching all that mind-numbing TV. 
He had a puking incident Tuesday afternoon after his nap; he woke up coughing and threw up on his bed. This was worst-case scenario for me, being quite the puke-a-phobe. I handled it pretty well, since I didn’t want to upset him…but let me say that I could ONLY DO THIS FOR MY OWN CHILD. LOL! He was totally fine afterward, and there were no repeats, but I was gun-shy for the entire rest of the week! 
The worst part was the night times. He had coughing fits every night, all night long. Then Tuesday night, he just wouldn’t stop coughing, despite two doses of cough medicine. It kept waking him up and he was miserable. He’d cough, and then moan, drift back to sleep, and cough again…moan…drift back to sleep…cough again…moan…and so on.
After a few hours of this, I finally thought of Vick’s VapoRub. I took off his shirt and rubbed his chest and throat down with it. Then I laid in bed with him and held him on top of me while he breathed it in…it was like a miracle drug! He coughed for a few minutes but after that, he stopped, and he fell asleep soundly. I snuck out of his bed and finally got some sleep, myself. He was quiet for a few hours, and it had to be repeated then, but it was a life-saver each time. We did the Vick’s thing for the next two nights, a few times a night, with the same wonderful results. I highly recommend it. It’s good for a few good hours of no coughing AND good sleep for everyone. This was the full-strength kind, not the baby kind (that’s probably why it worked well). What can I say; I’m just a rebel!
He finally had an easier night last night, and was feeling better today. Still coughing, but no more fever and he’s back to his usual rambunctiousness. And since he’s such a sweet little boy, he gave his cold to me! Awww! (NOT.) I’ve been sick since Wednesday, but I’m feeling better today, too. And Philip? Did he get it? OF COURSE NOT!! My husband has an immune system of titanium, I swear. He often jokes that he’s unbreakable.
So it’s been a crappy, sleep-deprived, sicky week in our house. I got nothing done and it got pretty messy. Just a lot of sitting and laying around, trying to nurse my boy and myself back to health.
On Thursday evening, I was feeling very stir-crazy, so I took Reagan and went for a walk. Passing through the wooded/marshy area, I was walking on the right side of the road, where the pavement meets the grass. I looked down just in time to see a water moccasin creeping out from the grass toward the road…just a foot or so ahead of me…and I didn’t have time to react soon enough, so my foot struck down RIGHT by its head. YIKES!
It pulled its head back and made a freaky puffy sound at me (I could’ve imagined that, but I really did hear something like a puff of air…do they hiss?). I was terrified, actually, and I jumped in the air and bolted as far to the left and ahead as I could, and then ran uphill for about 50 yards before stopping to look behind me. Thank goodness it didn’t follow (moccasins will do that sometimes). My adrenaline was pumping and I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest! I was thanking God for getting me out of that one unscathed, because I was sooo close to it. Aaargh, it can be dangerous around here sometimes.
I think that’s enough re-capping for now! What an exciting week!
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09.14.2006 | 12:26 pm | Uncategorized
Back when 9-11 happened, we lived in NY, in the suburbs 20 miles from NYC. Philip was the designer for the Northeastern territory branch of the Salvation Army. Because of him working for the SA, we were given an opportunity to go down to Ground Zero to help in the relief efforts immediately after the disaster. I was hesitant at first, because I was still recovering from my surgery in which I’d found out I had breast cancer, but it was easy to make the decision to go anyway. We had a unique opportunity that most people didn’t get, and I was honored to get to go help.
We went on Friday, 9-14-01, the same day that President Bush visited ground zero and gave his historic speech that united the country. We were there when that happened, just a few blocks away, waiting to be let into the restricted area. We had to wait until the President left before anyone got let in. We couldn’t hear him speaking, but we could definitely hear the roar of cheers from the rescue workers, as they reacted to what he said.
I dug around in our old files and found where we had some pictures scanned from that experience. I’m sharing them here for anyone who may be interested. I meant to share them last year, but I never did get to post them. I am sure some may find this offensive, but you have the option not to look. :p
Here is President Bush’s vehicle passing by where we stood waiting to get in the restricted area. We couldn’t see him in the vehicle; he was on the left side. Mayor Giuliani was sitting next to him on the right side of the vehicle, and we did see him inside. I’m sure they were just laughing it up over the fact that Bush pulled off the destruction of the towers. 
While waiting, we were across from a veterinary triage station; this is where the search dogs were being brought to be treated for all the injuries they sustained in the search for survivors. It was heartbreaking to hear them yelping as their raw, bleeding, and burnt paws were treated. What heroes!
We got to Ground Zero by walking many blocks, with a view that was sickeningly breathtaking. The smell was very acrid and it’s one of the things I’ll always remember, along with the thick muck of gray ash that was everywhere.
This one of both me and Philip was taken by a SA photographer that went down with our group.
More street scenes as we approached. The devastation was unbelievable.
Our assignment was to help at the massive staging area which was set up in one of the World Financial Center buildings, which stood across the street from where the towers had been. A restaurant and the lobby on the ground floor was where meals were being served to the rescue workers, and it was a mess. It was littered with empty water bottles and food containers, not to mention the pervasive gray sludge that covered everything. We spent a few hours cleaning up the tables so that the next group of rescue workers would have clear tables on which to eat their meals. In between, when groups of workers would come in for their breaks, we’d hand out water. This is Philip cleaning up tables. The next picture is a lone mask someone left behind.
This main staging area was also where the bodies of firefighters were first brought in upon recovery. They had a drill where a notification was sounded (whistle, etc.), signaling everyone to stop whatever they were doing. The lobby would go completely quiet. Then the body would be carried in (in a bag) by firefighters to a specific spot. A chaplain would pray, and then they’d take the body outside to one of the many waiting ambulances, to be taken away. This happened several times during the night we were there. It’s the part I’ll always remember the most; I still think about it a lot.
After a few hours of cleaning up inside, I was asked to help outside. Shipments of jeans had arrived, and each pair of jeans needed to be separated and laid out by size in the massive supply area outside. When rescue workers digging through the rubble busted holes in their current jeans (it happened just about immediately, they said), they would come over to the supply tables to find a new pair. I set up a system where I put up signs for each size, and stacked the corresponding size of jeans up behind each sign. They were very happy to find that they no longer had to rifle through big boxes full of random jean sizes. I got to meet and talk to so may workers and firemen that night; they were all so forlorn and exhausted, but it seemed that smiling at them and saying kind words to them, as well as giving them fresh new jeans, helped to pep them up a bit.
Philip got put to work unloading the massive amounts of donated supplies from the barges that were arriving constantly. I didn’t see him the rest of the night.
When we finally got a break, we were allowed to go out onto the deck and view the recovery operation up-close that the rest of the world was seeing on their TVs. I won’t ever forget that, either. I’ve tried to describe to people how much bigger it all was in person, but I can’t even express it. Television, and even pictures, did it no justice.
The first picture is me and one of the girls that was in our group, standing there taking it in.
We did a little more work that night, and finally got to go home sometime after midnight. We woke up the next day with sore throats and aching chests, and coughing. The ash and that general smoldering smell had really affected our bodies. We both felt achey and were coughing for almost a week afterward. It makes me worry for those who were out there day in and day out, for way longer than we were out there!
Lastly, here are the shoes we wore. The gray muck wouldn’t wash off so I left them outside our front door. I still have my shoes, and they still have the gray stuff embedded in the grooves. I won’t get rid or them, but nor will I wear them, because I feel like what’s there is likely the sacred remains of the hundreds of people who were never even recovered.
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09.11.2006 | 10:09 pm | Uncategorized, Ranting
I pretty much don’t have anything new to say about it, but I just felt it needed to be spoken of. I, by my nature, observed people’s (apparent) non-observance of the day. I wonder why in certain circles, not a word is said about what day it is. It seems that some Americans have either forgotten, or have become so obsessed with their hatred of President Bush that they can’t muster the decency to honor the memory of the ones who died and the ones left behind, as well as the ones who worked so valiantly & selflessly to rescue anyone they could.
Leave it to liberals to let their misdirected hatred of the President take over basic human compassion and decency. No matter what your political views—even if you’re one of the coocoos who thinks President Bush had the towers blown up (yes, there are people who really think that ), this is a day to unite as Americans and mourn the loss of that day five years ago, and to support the families left behind, as well as support the people who are still affected by the events, even today. Shame on people who couldn’t muster that today.
Last night I watched the outstanding documentary, 9-11, on CBS. It’s the one filmed by the two French brothers who just happened to be filming a documentary on a rookie firefighter from Ladder 1, near the WTC. When the events occurred that morning, they were there filming, first in the firehouse, and later, in the lobby of tower 1 when tower 2 collapsed, and then on the street as tower 1 collapsed. They were right beside the firefighters for the whole thing, and therefore give a front-row seat to the events as they unfolded. The scenes are uncut and very raw; some are extremely hard to watch, but I wish every American would watch this doc. Our country needs to see examples of true heroism, after the events of last year in New Orleans, where we saw the some of the most decadent examples of just how selfish and evil people can be.
As we watched, I asked Philip why he thought the reactions of New Yorkers (from the firefighters, to the leaders of the city, to the people on the street) to the disaster was so vastly different than the reactions of New Orleaners to the recent disaster in their city. (Of course, this refers only to the New Orleaners who stayed around for the disaster, not the majority of New Orleaners, most of whom are decent people.)
And I asked why, after the 9/11 disaster, did New Yorkers come together immediately and start trying to rescue and help anyone they could—yet after the Katrina disaster, the remaining New Orleaners immediately began destroying anything they could—property… EACH OTHER!?
Philip summed it up in one poignant sentence:
“Because the people in New York had a sense of duty (to their city, to their fellow man). Those particular people in New Orleans have a sense of entitlement.”
Wow. He’s absolutely right.
Be sure to visit GoodDeed.org. (Pssst…I don’t think liberals like this organization, either.)
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