Monthly Archive for October, 2007

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Master Bathroom Project – almost ready for pictures!

Published on Tuesday, October 9, 2007 in Home Improvement and Home Improvement - Master Bath. 1 Comment

I am happy to report that we are *almost* officially done with the Master Bathroom Project!!  You can check out all the posts regarding this project in the Home Improvement – Master Bath category, or by clicking here.

This last weekend, we rocked out and finished up Phase One.  All we have left to do is clean it up so that we can utilize all the facilities and take pictures of the final product!  (If you’ve ever done a remodeling project, you know how daunting the clean-up can be.)  This means we’re so close to being able to use our shower again!!  We were able to use the toilet this weekend, and I nearly fainted from excitement.  In fact, on Saturday night, I forgot it was even available and used the one in the main bathroom down the hall.  Silly me.  :)

Phase Two, a side-project we’d intended on waiting to accomplish, involves installing the new countertop/sinks and refinishing the cabinet.  After all we’ve done, that will be a piece of cake.  We’ll start Phase Two in a couple weeks.  Phase One was the big boy of the project, and I’m so glad the end is in sight.

So, stay tuned for pictures of the final reveal!

Move it! Move it!

Published on Monday, October 8, 2007 in Claire, Language, Milestones, Music, Parenting 101 and Video. 1 Comment

Okay, one of my friends posted a song on her blog a while ago. I listened to it with Claire, and she was hooked. This song brought back all kinds of fun memories from my clubbin’ days, so I did some poking around and found the original (by Reel 2 Real) on youtube.

Thankfully, this song has added a welcomed break to our Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’ routine. It hasn’t replaced it, but it has at least added some variety to my day. :)

So, Claire will ask for whichever song she wants. It’s really cute, actually. She’ll either say, “Momma, Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin!!” or she’ll say, “Momma, I like ta MOVE IT. Move it? Move it? Move it?” As her personal DJ it is then my duty to drop everything and make the song play RIGHT NOW.

So, this post is going to serve as a universal bookmark, of sorts. This is so that regardless of which computer I’m near, I can pull up the blog, click on the “video” category and have whichever song Her Highness requests playing within mere moments of her request.

I aim to please. ;)

So, here it is. The video quality is what it is, but just like the Rollin’ song, we don’t watch the video. We just click, minimize and dance around the room.

Addictions get such a bad rap

Published on Sunday, October 7, 2007 in Fun, Games and Random Thoughts. 3 Comments

Years ago I was hooked on a little online game called Bejeweled. I stumbled upon it one day and would play in my free time. I played online, but I never set up an account to keep my scores and always just played the free version.

One day, I branched out, wandered away from the game for a moment and accidentally fell into a game of Hexic. Bejeweled was fun, but this new game was mesmerizing. I quickly became an addict, but I only played the free version online, and again, I only played incognito.

Years went by, and my life got even busier, so the silly little online computer games took a back burner and eventually my desire (or time available) to play them at all dwindled.

Fast forward to the present…

A few weeks ago, my hubby got a new television and Xbox. Imagine my surprise when we discovered that Hexic was one of the fully-loaded games included!

Now, I’m not known as a gamer, and I really have no desire to play the “games” found on the Xbox or PlayStation, etc. I make a great spectator, but every time I’ve been forced to play, hilarity ensues, and my friends wonder if I have any motor skills at all. I can tie my shoes, and I can play a killer game of ping pong. You put a gaming controller in my hand, and I become totally inept.

So, it’s no surprise that when my hubby told me Hexic was on the gaming console, my first instinct was to run away. I totally suck at learning moves. Like I need something else to learn? It’s not like the computer version. How can you effectively play with no mouse? Learning all these buttons is making me feel stupid. Yet, I was oddly attracted to playing again.

And then it happened. The addiction came back, and for once, I felt empowered. No one was yelling at me or laughing at me because I was going the wrong way on some ridiculous track, or because I had my guy stuck in some weird sand pit. I was reaching new levels like I’d written the game. I beat the 50 level game the first try. I felt awesome.

I’ve beaten that level and others many times since, and the thrill is still there. The bing-bonging of the game is so soothing. It speaks to me. It makes me feel calm and excited all at the same time.

My hubby is shocked that I have such Hexic skills, and he is happy that I am enjoying the Xbox, but he is concerned about the beast he’d unleashed. He has to share his new toy. He hadn’t figured that into his master plan.

Admitting I have a problem would be the first step back, so I’ll be doing no such thing. I won’t be telling anyone that I play the game in my free time or that when I’m not playing the game how much I think about how long it will be until I can play the game.

I’ll continue paying until the thrill is gone, and you can’t stop me.

I have set boundaries, so I should be fine. I don’t play during the workday, and I can actually pause the game and attend to Claire’s needs or more domestic chores. Remember that one day when I forced myself to fold the laundry before I started playing a new level? See? I don’t have a problem. An addict wouldn’t have that kind of willpower. Granted, you’ve never seen someone fold underwear so fast in your life. ;)

Change is in the air

Published on Saturday, October 6, 2007 in Blog Business, Custom Image Header, Photos and Shadow Portraits. 1 Comment Tags: .

Well, I’ve been working on a site redesign for a while. My hubby graciously set up a testing site for me, and I’ve been poking around and playing around with different themes. I think I’ve settled on one, and we’ll try it out for a while!

Please be patient while I work out any bugs!

Shadow Portrait in the sand

The current header (seen above) is a dual-self-portrait taken by my husband while we were exploring The Great Sand Dunes National Park a few years ago. You can’t tell from the picture, but Fall was just around the corner, and we were at the top of one of the dunes. We’ve taken self-portraits like these in many locations and will continue to do so. Don’t be surprised if you see more like this in the future!

Photo Friday – That’s stinky!

Published on Friday, October 5, 2007 in Claire, Language and Photos. 2 Comments

Okay, I kinda cheated…the photo is from last night, but I’m sure it was Friday *somewhere*…  ;)  

We grilled brats and had sauerkraut last night for dinner.  As the sauerkraut was cooking on the stove, Claire started saying, “That’s stinky!  That’s stinky, Momma!  Daddy, that’s stinky!” and holding her nose.  How funny!  :)

That’s stinky!

Needless to say, she doesn’t like the way it tastes either.  It’s too bad I didn’t have the camera handy to capture that face.  ;)

We’ll keep trying, and she may like sauerkraut eventually.  If not, that’s okay…there’ll just be more for us!  :)

P.S.  Look at the bow in her hair!  We’ve been getting better and better at keeping it in place!  I haven’t had to cut her bangs yet!

You can reach me at my cell

Published on Thursday, October 4, 2007 in Random Thoughts. 3 Comments

I love my cell phone.  It’s nothing special, and I actually opted for a version that doesn’t have the Internet or a camera.  I know!  I didn’t realize they still made those kind either.  Seriously, I don’t need all the fancy gadgets, and I don’t have a huge ‘plan,’ but I have free nights and weekends and enough minutes to use during the day that it’s really pretty inexpensive.  (Before you start thinking I’m some technophobe, I do have a Palm Pilot, and I have an IV of the Internet hooked up to my arm 24-hours a day.)  I just need the peace of mind that comes with a way to communicate with someone in case of an emergency…or whenever I feel like it…wherever I feel like it.  ;)

I used to talk to people on my cell while driving.  I have a headset, so I felt that made it better.  I used to spend a lot of time in my car, and I felt like the multi-tasking was a necessary evil.  I will admit though, that I have *never* answered or made a call while driving with Claire in the car.  It’s just too dangerous, and seeing how all the people drive who have cell phones attached to the sides of their heads made me re-think my choices.  To me, it’s not worth it with Claire in the car.  I don’t spend a lot of time in the car anymore, and I will actually pull over into a parking lot to make a call if I really need to.  The few extra minutes are worth it to me.

Oddly enough, I refuse to leave the house without my cell phone.  The thought of something happening and having no way to communicate with anyone nearly gives me hives.  I’m just really leery about driving when my head is stuck inside my cell phone call.

I watched a Mythbusters (my Inner Scientist loves that show!) episode that pitted cell phone drivers against drunk drivers, and you know what they found?  Cell phone drivers were no better!  How scary is that?  But, I digress…do what you want while driving, just stay out of my way….and please pay attention.  ;)

My hubby has successfully avoided having a cell phone.  Ever.  I’ve had mine since 1999.  I got it when my commute jumped to incredible lengths and the thought of sitting out on the side of the road, relying on everyone else having a cell phone was daunting.  The first phone I got was HUGE.  I could have used it as a weapon, so that in itself made me feel better.   ;)   The one I have now is quite dainty in comparison.  You’d have to poke someone in the eye just right to do any damage.  :)

Anyway, my hubby hates cell phones and always has.  He keeps one of my old deactivated ones in his car (along with a charger) just in case he needs to make a 911 call, but that’s it.  Even when I was pregnant with Claire he refused to carry one.  My doula had one, so I felt no need to panic.  My hubby is surrounded by technology all day in his life (he does have a one-way pager, but it has a mind of its own), and knowing I can’t reach him at the drop of a hat actually forces me to think for myself and always have a Plan B ready.  And, honestly, I’m okay with that.

I’ve mentioned before that I make a ton of calls every day for my job.  How quickly I can finish things up is dependent on how quickly I can reach people.  More times than not, the call isn’t clear because the person holding the cell phone is on the move.  The technology required to make cell phones work is fascinating, so I understand how difficult it must be to keep a call clear as it’s jumping from one cell tower to the next, but still.  It’s frustrating.

To be honest, I’m glad I can reach people at various times of day, but it would be nice to have a nice, clear conversation that didn’t sound like one of us was using a walky-talky.  I’m sorry?  Over.  I didn’t catch that.  Over.  Are you still there? Over.  Can you hear me now? Over.  I can kind of hear you. Over.  Just repeat that last part. Over.  But, at least I’m able to get that call checked off my list and move on to the next one.  Oh, I hope this one is a land-line.

Is this what it’s come to?  I’m glad to have the option of talking to the people I need to during the day, but when does this become ridiculous?  I think we’ve willingly handed over our desire for crisp clear calls in exchange for being able to reach anyone, anywhere.  Is this really acceptable?

I remember when the quality of a phone call was important.  I remember when a certain phone company had the “pin drop” as part of who they were and it signified the quality of their calls.  Oddly enough, you don’t hear that claim touted anymore.  Now, the big thing is dropped calls and which services offer the most stable network.  Well, maybe it’s just me, but it seems like no one cares about the actually quality of those calls that haven’t been dropped but are hanging on for dear life.  Yes, you’re still there, but I can barely hear you.  Over.

Don’t get me wrong.  Dropped calls are another of my pet peeves.  Sometimes, they are especially annoying to me.  I’m beginning to wonder if I have latent abandonment issues or an attachment disorder.  ARE YOU STILL THERE?  I CAN’T HEAR YOU!  Oh good.  Ithoughtyouleftme. Over.

So, what’s the answer?  Being able to make or take a call is a reassuring option, especially in an emergency.  (Actually doing so in a polite manner is another blog post in and of itself.)  Being able to hear your loved ones just as clearly as if they were sitting next to you on the couch would be awesome.  Being able to understand a colleague as though they were sitting in your office would be a welcomed treat.

In the meantime, if I’m not here, you can reach me at my cell.  You know, it’s the padded one at the end of the hall.  ;)

A new way made my day

Published on Wednesday, October 3, 2007 in Claire and Parenting 101. 1 Comment

Yes, the title rhymes.  I couldn’t resist.  ;)

So, I wrote on the blog the other day about how Claire was telling me to “Be nice!” when trying to wipe her face, thus implying that my brutal attack of her delicate features with a washcloth is unacceptable.

Today, I got an email from a good friend of mine.  She said that she’d read of my woes on the blog, and she had a wonderfully simple idea.  She told me that she takes her daughter over to the sink after a particularly messy meal and wipes her face there.  She lets her daughter play in the stream of water, and it works like a charm.

Why didn’t I think of that??  All of a sudden, it’s as though my brain split open and all these new ideas fell out.

Of course the change of scenery should disarm Claire.  Of course she loves playing in the water.  Why was I stuck in such a rut??  I’d forgotten one of the key elements of parenting…and of life, really:  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.  (That is a paraphrase of one of my favorite quotes by Ben Franklin.  I mean, he’s not known for his anthologies on parenting and toddler behavior, but he did deal with politicians on a daily basis.)  ;)
 
So, armed with this completely new way of looking at things, I gave Claire her breakfast, and when we were done, I took off her bib, and we headed over to the sink.  She was thrilled with putting the washcloth under the running water, and it was like she didn’t even realize I was wiping her face!!  Success!! 

Well, at least it worked today…I need to remind myself to be ninja-like in my reflexes and not get stuck in the same old routine.  Just because it always used to work doesn’t mean always will, and I need to be aware of when that shift happens.  In the meantime, it’s great that I have such good friends to give me ideas. 

I know it may seem silly, and before I had a child I never realized how something so simple could totally make my day.

So, what is NaBloPoMo?

Published on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 in Blog Business and NaBloPoMo 2007. 7 Comments

You may have noticed a new badge on the sidebar of my blog. November is National Blog Posting Month, or NaBloPoMo for short. You can check it out here: http://nablopomo.ning.com/

I tend to be a little obsessive compulsive about things. Trained professionals (and/or people like my hubby) would argue that there’s no such thing as being a “little” obsessive compulsive. Details, details… ;) Anyway, call it what you will, but I’ve posted nearly every day on this blog since it was born in July. (Yes, it’s only been around since July 22, 2007, but I postdated a lot of content, so it looks like it’s been around a lot longer than that). I took a break from posting while on vacation in Santa Fe, but I have posted at least once a day, including weekends, since August 9th. Not that I’m counting. :)

Well, NaBloPoMo is for bloggers who want to take up the challenge to post every day for the month of November. There may be random prizes, but I signed up because I want to see if I can do it, and I love reading other people’s blogs, too. I posted every day in September, and my goal is to do it in October. If I don’t succeed, that’s fine, because November is the month that “counts.” The idea is that it gets you into the habit of blogging. Personally, I started blogging to unleash my Inner Writer, and I think it’s working so far.

NaBloPoMo is free to join, should be fun to do, and it will be my excuse to blog every day in November. See? I’m not obsessive-compulsive; I’m in a contest! ;) (Did that sound convincing?)

I thought about doing a theme for every day of November, but I haven’t decided, yet. I may do something special or it may be business as usual around here. Every time I happen to think silently to myself, “So, I wonder what I should post on the blog today?” something always presents itself. Life with a toddler is certainly rampant with content ideas; that’s for sure. ;)

So…if you’re a blogger and you’re up to the challenge, sign up! Go to the website and check it out.

The odds are still in my favor

Published on Monday, October 1, 2007 in Claire and It's a paycheck. 0 Comments

Well, Monday just started, and I’m already feeling behind.  How is that possible?  Well, I got a little behind last week (extra files + a rambunctious toddler = quite a challenge),  and I stuck to my vow of Not Working on the Weekends.  So, there ya have it.  Monday’s productivity is already a day late and a dollar short.  I’ll either be able to catch up, or I won’t.  I’m in the process of reminding myself that it’s just a job. 

In other news, Claire is happy and healthy.  (Knock on wood…)  ;)  So, out of my daily goals, two out of three are lookin’ pretty good…and, as we all know, two out of three ain’t bad.  ;)