Fat Tuesday

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday- truthfully, all Tuesdays are Fat for me.  Today is the first day of Lent, but I'm postponing until Friday because the "fast" is sugar.  The goal is to avoid the most sugar I can.  When I tracked my calories I realized how much sugar I have each day- ALOT and that's without deserts and candy.  There's just sugar or high fructose corn syrup in almost everything!  So avoid as much as possible . . . after Valentine's Day. :)

Pinterest groupies

I'm not really sure why, but suddenly I get about 12 hits a day on my Pinterest food board.  I don't know how it got into a mainstream, but it looks like lots of peeps love it.  Maybe it's the vegetarians.

Most of my boards have 41 followers.  I suppose those are the people who just followed because Facebook asked them too.  (Some people are such followers, like me!)  Yesterday I had 51 food board followers.  Today I have 71 food board followers . . .  weird.

The good part is that when someone pins a recipe I am reminded that I did want to cook that . . . so I printed out a few of my recipes to cook tonight.

Like this one: http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2006/10/egg-muffins-revisited-again.html

Egg Muffins Revisited 
(Makes 12 muffins, recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from The South Beach Diet book.

Ingredients:
15 eggs (for silicone muffin pans, use 12 eggs for metal muffin tins or individual silicone cups. You can use less egg yolks and more egg white if you prefer.)
1-2 tsp. Spike Seasoning (optional, if you have food allergies or don't have Spike, use any type of seasoning blend that's good with eggs.)
1-2 cups grated low fat cheese (I like sharp cheddar or a blend of cheddar/Jack cheese, use less cheese if using meat)
Optional, but highly recommended, 3 green onions diced small.
Optional: chopped veggies such as blanched broccoli, red pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, etc. (Using veggies will reduce the fat content)
Optional: diced Canadian bacon, lean ham, or crumbled cooked turkey sausage

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Use regular or silicone muffin pan, 12 muffin size. If using silicone pan, spray with nonstick spray. If using regular muffin pan, put two paper liners into each slot, then spray liner with nonstick spray.

In the bottom of the muffin cups layer diced meat, if using, vegetables, if using, cheese and green onions. You want the muffin cups to be about 2/3 full, with just enough room to pour a little egg around the other ingredients. Break eggs into large measuring bowl with pour spout, add Spike, and beat well. (I used to add a bit of half and half or milk, but lately I like the way they turn out without it.) Pour egg into each muffin cup until it is 3/4 full. I like to stir slightly with a fork. Bake 25-35 minutes until muffins have risen and are slightly browned and set.

Muffins will keep more than a week in the refrigerator. Egg muffins can be frozen and reheated, but I like them best when they are just refrigerated. For best results, thaw in refrigerator before reheating. Microwave on high about 1-2 minutes to reheat.

skater girl wannabe

I try not to regret things.  If it has already past, let it go.  One thing I do regret though is not learning how to skateboard when I was a kid. Every time I see a skateboarder I think, that looks like fun, easy transportation.  Not that I would have wanted to be a skater chick- just utilitarian.  You don't have to strap on anything, you can carry it with you and it looks fun.  Now when I look at young people skateboarding  it looks hard to balance and turn and not fall off and faceplant. 

I admit I wouldn't be overly sad if it were 70 degrees  and sunny outside tomorrow.

Adventures in housewifery- that's a real word.  I looked it up.  The baby has precariously placed a mug on a stepping stool near the dog bowl so that she can push it over onto an unsuspecting, eating dog.  I see she just missed her chance.

The kitchen smells like vinegar  sheep, and cherry Kool-Aid.  This will teach me to buy superwash wool in the future. Ugh.

I'm dying yarn.  I do it every once in a while just to see what will happen.  This is my 7th attempt.   Some turn out better than others.  I'm making a baby sweater out of one of my creations.  I gave one ball away on a yarn swap.  I redyed one today because it didn't please me the first time.  The new one today . . . well I'm just not sure how that's going to turn out.

I read that white wool makes bright colors and grey/light brown wool will make deeper jewel tones.  I bought this wool yarn the other day in light brown imagining a deep/rich wine color with shades of ruby and deep pink intermixed.  What I think I'll end up with is a molten mess of mauve.  Not to worry I can always redye.

I washed the dishes today, which was about as far as my housewifery went.

I should have folded and put the laundry away, put in another load, vacuumed and organized one of the many projects I have to organize.  Pooh.

I didn't even get up til noon.  I blame the cold and flu meds.

A whole lotta WHAT!!!!?

I just found this in my comments:

Anonymous said...

Story about global warming again on the news.
The gods have the freedom to rapidly accelerate global warming because of unregulated Chinese industrialization. And they are using it.
Whereas US industrial regulation combined with automotive smog devices had contained emmissions, the shameful emmissions at the hand of the Italians which allocated the financing of chinese growth will ultimately kill our planet
The gods must abjectly hate the Italians:::They ruined our cultures, eliminating Old Worlds around the globe, they destroyed our societies and now they will be used to ruin the planet.
Intelligent design:::Everything the gods do has purpose. There was purpose in the Italian boot, the Scandanavian penis, the sheep of Europe and the SFBA Beast. Chinese/Asian slanted eyes is yet another. Designed to make them/some look evil, they are a warning to other races. What is occurring with enviornmental degredation is living proof and may be the reason why they have this appearance.
Never forget the shameful experience we each had in 2008 when the Chinese desperately tried to clean up the envionment in Beijing.

Recall the $5 trillion Republican scam where W set up the evil Democrats to sign the credit card receipt.
Expect some portion of the $5 trillion stolen from the United States creatively went to the Catholic Church, positioned to bitterly complain they lost their affluent white parishoners for poor Latinos and the US is all their doing anyways.
I always suspected there has been a skim on the US General Fund (1/3) all along. And the gods are using these clone host fakes to kill Planet Earth::::The puppeteer pulling the strings, ironically.

Jesus is a false god.
There is no Satan. The world around us is all the god's doing:::You have to be tested with temptation.
Christianity is a test.
Muslim misery? The gods claim they are trying to "help you". The gods control everything, choreograph all that we see, including Isreal's relationship with Palestine, an "obligation" for their money-grubbing acceptance of the Evil Empire's billions. They also control the Italians, victims of the Moorish invasion/rape of their women, positioned in charge of this false reality through Christianity.
The gods created all this to position this reality you experience today.
"Earning" is temptation. It is a lie leading people into Damnation. Any hope of the Muslim world regaining the power they once had is long since over and it will never, ever return. Their acts 0f terrorism are only hurting them in the eyes of the gods.
The gods claim they are trying to "help you", but they also stoked your pride with your regional superpower status of centuries ago, rendering their efforts today merely destructive, a very bad sign. This means the gods have major problems with your people.
Never forget:::The gods work in mysterious ways. A mortal trying to understand may envoke their wrath. You shouldn't need to.

I believe the gods relocated the Jews to another planet before the Holocaust began to give them additional time before Earth fell into the social decay Christianity and the United States is responsible for. I suspect this favor included some/many of the Native America peoples as well.
Unfortunately for Muslims you didn't have the favor necessary to be allowed such generosity. I believe it is due to your mysogyny, your belief women are inferior to the men. This does not include veiling, which is a positive for the people and helps maintain decency within your society.
Orthodoxy is always the best course of action because, as I have repeated, old is mostly good and a little evil, while new is mostly evil and a little good. This applies to Islam as well.

ART

I would like to have time to learn how to draw and paint.

A few years ago an friend and I decided we wanted to paint.  So we bought our (water color) paints, brushes and paper and set off on an adventure.  We went to Austin to paint the capital.  We went to San Antonio to paint the Alamo.  We were terrible.  Really- really terrible.

We decided maybe we should learn how to draw, then we'd paint what we could draw.

I know some people think that activities like drawing and painting are  talents, either you have them or you don't.  However, I think they can be learned.  Some people are obviously more adept at learning these skills than others, just like some people are better at learning languages, or math, or music.

We went shopping again.  We happily bought pencils, erasers, paper, more pencils, those little smudgy things, how to books etc.

I think we may have been more enamored with shopping for supplies than we were with the actual activity.

We went to parks and coffee shops and restaurants.  We drew trees and fruit and fence posts.  We were getting better.  We signed up for drawing class.  We were the only ones in there with no art back ground or ambition.

Our "not so bad" in the park was again terrible in the class.

We got busy and fell out of our drawing/painting habits. One day I asked her if she wanted to get together for drawing and she said "No. I'm not good at that.  I don't do it any more."

Oh.

What I think it really meant was, "I don't want to be your friend because I've decided other things and people are more important to me now."

It could have meant,"I have found other things I'm good and and would rather do, without you."

I wanted to say, "Can I have your art supplies?"  But I thought that might be rude.

I have often wondered what combination of events caused her to decide she didn't want to be my friend.  I know some of the elements.  I did some things wrong, but there must have been more.  Some poor council from people in bad situations, bad advice from people who didn't have the whole story.  Pride.

I tried a few times to get together.  Each time she politely excused herself.

I read an article a long time ago.  The idea of the article was that you should go ahead and do things that you know you aren't good at.  Keep doing them.  When you continue to practice doing things you aren't good at you will either eventually get good at it, or build humility and/or character as you come to understand how other people feel when they have to do things they aren't good at (maybe for their work or family obligations.)  If we always only do things we are good at we can get a sense of false pride, as though we were good at everything.  But we don't do everything, only the things we're good at.

I'm good at knitting, crocheting, sewing, embroidery, needle point.
I'm good at reading and writing.
I'm good at teaching and creating materials for the classroom.

I'm not good at drawing, painting, photography, design, or color work.
I'm not good at math or science.
I'm not good at sales, fund raising or pressuring people to change.

I'm good at some things.  Excellence . . . well excellence is something to keep working on.

My brother was an artist.  He was Excellent. He had a natural talent to look at a thing and recreate it.  When he got older he could look at a style and make his own creations in that style.  Later he learned many styles.  But he died young and I wonder where all that potential would have taken him.

Google

I think Google just read my mind.  It's creepy, how can a question about a banana lead to the condemnation of Google?

Like this:

Me: (to myself) Ummm . . .  banana for breakfast.  I wonder how man calories are in a banana.  I'll Google it.  (typing) C a l
Google: (predictive search) calories in a banana
Me: What!  How could Google know that was my question!? Do that many people want to know about calories in bananas?  Is Google Big Brother?  Is Google the Anti-Christ?  Oh NO!  Google I love you!  Please don't be evil!
Google: showing websites
Me: clicking first link
Site: "If you would like to find out how many calories are in a banana, then bingo, you have come to the best page online to get the answer to your question."
Me: Wow Google, you're awesome.

FYI small banana (6-7") = 90 calories
banana site

in the garden

EJ and I are out in the garden.  By "garden" I mean one dandylion, a pepper plant long considering making a pepper, a tomato plant trying it's hardest to produce two tiny tomatoes after a decidedly unfruitful summer, and my houseplants.  We like it anyway.  The weather if perfect for our fuzzy socks and hoodies.  She's already kicked one of her fuzzy socks off.


Monday I decided to go for a walk.  I put on my neglected Sketchers and set out.  I wasn't being too ambitious.  The plan was to walk for 15 minutes out
and turn around.  A 30 minute walk in the sunshine with my headphones, all alone (which doesn't happen often.)  First thing was no signal on my phone.  I was trying to listen to internet radio, but alas it was not to be.  I kept going. My shoes were rubbing a little, but no biggie.  13 minutes in the bubble burst. Sketchers put the B in blister.  A raw one.  I hobbled home.

That's one way to start an exercise program.  I pulled the bandage off last night.  It looked raw, but I figured some air would help.  This morning it was tight and quite painful.  So I'm back to my Birks and fuzzy socks, and I don't even care.  I know how tacky it is, but don't knock it until you try it.  It is, as a matter of fact, awesome.  Awesome like sitting in the "garden" with my baby girl.

Traffic posting

Of course there's traffic on the day I leave late.  I have so many ideas i can't wait till i get to a computer.

The other day I was driving through town when I saw two shiney black Crown Vics- blacked out police cars.  I knew they were police cars because of the grill guard, the robust antena and the black on black paint that said "POLICE"  down the length of the cars. It was like saying, "We are police, and we are letting you know, but we don't want you to know."

It reminded me of a time I saw a similar thing, except the cars weren't completely blacked out, the windows weren't tinted, so when we looked inside we saw five large men wearing ski masks.  It was disconcerning, but then one of them leaned forward so that we could see the POLICE badge across his back;I felt we might not die that day.

It also reminded me of the "G-car" conversations I used to have with T many years ago. The conversations generally went something like this:

T: (Pointing out a car) G-car.
Me: It's just a Buick.
T: G-car.
Me: How do you know it's not just some granny who drives a Buick?
T: G-car.
Me: How do you know?!
T: Look at it!  It's a G-car, driven by a G-man.
Me: I don't believe you.
T: I know a G-car when I see one.
Me: Whatever.

Two hours later-
T: (Pointing out a car) G-car.
Me: It is not!
T: That's a G-car if I ever saw one.
Me: Stop it!
T: G-car.
Me: (glaring)
T: G-car.

Is that really a conversation? 

That reminded me of other declarations he would make which were ahead of thier time.

We are sitting in a movie theater waiting for the show to start:

"Do you see those Exits?"
"Yes"
"If someone comes in to kill us they will come from the left."
"What, Why?!"
"So you will need to try to get to the right."
"What are you talking about?!"
"There's no light behind that door.  Don't try to go through the lobby, they might try to block it, but that door on the right exits to the parking lot. It's lit."
"Why would someone come in to kill us?"
"I'm not saying they will."
"You just said if they come in I should go to the right exit."
"You should, if they do."
"WHY would anybody DO that?"
"I don't know!  Maybe they are crazy! I'm not crazy, I don't know why crazy people do crazy things!"

Yeah, that sounded absured until  the Aurora, CO situation. Sadly, context has been given.

Planning a flight:

"Oh- I don't like those planes."
"Why not?"
"Look where the exits are.  Do you know how easy it would be to highjack that flight, and hold this whole section hostage?  They would only need a few highjackers, and just one gun really."
"So, I shouldn't take this plane?"
"No, you can take this plane, it's fine- you should sit here because you can see everything clearly, and you can respond."
"Respond to what?"
"The threat."
"What threat? You think there's going to be a threat on this plane?"
"No."
"What's wrong with you?!"
"You should wear shoes with good soles."
"What are you talking about?"
"In case you crash, and need to hike out."
"Stop talking."

Thinking about those conversations made me wonder what kind of stuff he came up with post 9/11/01.

9/11 made me think about Crazy Betty, but there's not time for that now.

We watched "The Book of Eli" last week.  It made me wonder about an uncertain future without books. It doesn't have to be  Fahrenheit 451.  It could just be the end of the love of books in paper form.  I was at the bookstore yesterday.  I was there to work, but of course I took a few minutes to brows the shelves.  I Love Books. I like how they look, I like how they smell.  I like how they feel heavy in my hands.  I like what's in them (mostly.)

The problem is that I've given in the the convenience of the digital book.  I also love my Kindle.  (Little "l" love.) I love that I can carry a library in my bag.  I love that I can read War and Peace or Les Miserables (or more likely Harry Potter) and my hand won't go numb trying to hold up the volume.  I like the built in dictionary and I really like the idea of many of the other features that I never use.  I love that many titles are cheaper than (or free)  the paper version.  There's a lot to love about e-readers.

But I still love books, Beautiful picture books and substantial leather bound, gold leaf books.   I've been working on the same (paper) book for about 8 months now.  It's not the most interesting book, but it's not bad.  Reading for work, life and laziness keep me from it, from many books that I really want to read!

Someone I used to work with decided after she had depleted a LONG maternity leave-vacation-sick days that she couldn't bare to go back to work full time so she quit.  Not, however, before she made a big mess of her job, which greatly effected other's jobs, including mine in a negative way.

Several people questioned her, asking if she was sure that was the right choice for her, "oh yes, yes it is the best choice, how could I leave my precious little one in the hands of a stranger?  She's only 9 months old!"  Yes, 9 months, that's how long the part time- maternity leave-vacation-sick days went on.

One well intentioned person even told her not to do it.  She warned she had done it herself and found not everyone is cut out to be a stay at home mom.  She was told the choice had been made.  Others were told that "That woman should mind her own business."

Two weeks later she called the director asking for work.  That was two weeks into interviews to replace her.  She said she and her husband had already arranged their schedules so that she could come back as a full time (9-1) instructor. (That's my job.)  Did she know that if she simply "came back" that either my co-worker or I would lose our jobs? Did she care?

I would have been mortified to come back asking for a job, on principle considering how strongly she insisted she was making the right choice.  More so in that she left the place in a shambles.

I wonder if she even realized what she had done.

I thought before that she was a very self centered person.  The kind of person who tells everyone else how it is, but when someone speaks their mind back, she got of the defense.     I thought when she left that she had never seemed to be the stay at home type.  But I also thought that I didn't know her so well, so figuring she knew herself I didn't say anything.

I think I know myself pretty well.  I've been working part time since May.  I love it.  I think it's perfect really.  I get some time to spend with the baby, I get some time to spend with adults.

I think I could be happy as a stay at home mom.  I have so many things to fill my time.  The time that is that is not filled with the baby.  She leaned to stand, cruise and make funny sniffy noises last week.  She got her first tooth.  She loves her high chair and I love to watch her eat Cheerios. She concentrates so hard to get that little "o" between her finger and her thumb, then while it is still as far away from her mouth as her little arm can reach, she opens her mouth and slowly brings her treasure to her tongue.

I'll be going back full time in January.  It will be hard.

Here's what's happened in the last few days.  Sweet Pea has learned how to go from a crawling position to a sitting position, and she's learned how to pull herself up.  I told D. I thought she was a little a head on the crawling.  The baby sites say she may start crawling by 7 months.  So, she was a month early, so what.  This pulling up thing though- I don't remember reading about that yet.  It's great, but it means a lot of things have to change and quick.  The crib mattress needs to be lowered, so she won't fall out.  Everything needs be put up higher, because now she can reach everything on the sofa, the first and second shelves, the foot stool and the chairs.

She's sleeping on the floor now.  When I put her in the crib for a nap she sat up and looked at me like, "I think I can get out of here."

I also learned what "cruising" means in baby vocabulary.  That's when they move around a room going place to place holding on to something to help them balance.  She's also cruising.

I often dream of running, not from anything, just running to get places or for fun.  I wish that were really in my temperament.

I've declared Mondays for me. The  baby is with Noni and I'm going to try to sign up for a class.  The first class is Hula Hoop for the young at heart. (That means old people, ie me!)  It only meets four times. After that I'll start something new- or maybe dedicate that time to finishing something old.

Monday evenings I will attend a woman's Bible study on Esther.

Other Monday activities will include school work and house work.  Blah.

I've discovered I can't really use my office more than on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I never know when Steve will be there.
It should be only a few months until Steve will move over to the "adjunct office" and I will be labeled "core faculty."
It will be hard to leave my baby everyday!

EJ got up on her hands and knees yesterday and started rocking.  When I put her down she's no longer in that same place when I come back.  She's not crawling yet, but she's scooting around on the floor and rolling until she finds herself someplace interesting.  She can sit up by herself now.  She'll still fall over, but she doesn't seem to mind when she does, because that gives her a chance to scoot and roll.  

Time to baby proof.

Susa the unfinished stocking stuffer.

This poor girl has been left undone for, well who knows how long, she has a sister even less put together.  I've got to get these two girls going!  I'm in a mood to pull my sewing machine out. The more I think about it the more convinced I am that I could easily be a stay at home mom and never run out of (fun) things to do.

I made some baby food today.  I don't know why I decided to buy all orange food again.  Carrots, sweet potatoes, mangos and peaches.  I realized the orangeness after the carrots and the sweet potatoes . . .  so I gave my little monkey some bananas.  She wasn't impressed with my effort.  Little stinker.

She was eating food really well, then she started getting distracted by EVERYTHING and doing crazy little interpretive dances in her chair.  I've been using a Bumbo to sit her in while she eats.  I need a high chair so I can put her there and leave her until she's ready for the next bite, some times it takes quite a while to come around.

I just put a pot pie in the oven, the packaging told me that the paper tray the pie was in was "ovenable." I question the wordability of "ovenable."

I can't find Susa's sister, but I did find her hair, and few naked cousins.

Big day for me and Sweet Pea.  I had a plan of things to do, I did the fun things, and just as I was starting the less fun things I got a call.  There is a new outlet mall and it opened today.  Of course I Had to check it out right?  I mean, even though I don't need anything, I should know what's available for when I do need something.

SP slept in late, the only problem with that is the over-wet diaper.  I think I can deal with a few extra things to wash in trade for extra hours of sleep.

I had breakfast and got some crocheting and listening to Bible done this morning before she got up.  After she ate we went adventuring.  We walked up to the church on the corner and found a mini geocache.

PK got me involved in her new hobby.  Of course I want to look for treasure!  With a map! It's pretty great.  I got a cute little pathtag, which is a trackable coin people have made so they can see who will find their treasures, and what stories they have to tell about finding them.

Of course as this was only my third geocaching adventure, this was my first pathtag and now I know I need to collect them.  And more importantly, I need to convince my director that we need to have them made for TCU IEP, for students and other geocachers to find them and write notes for us.

There are several caches within walking distance of the house, so SP and I have lots of other adventures to try before we need to branch out.

Sweet Pea and I have already had a full  day, and she's been napping for an hour.

I decided to try cloth diapers . . . it seemed like a good idea a the time.  It might still be a good idea when I don't use them at night.  When she woke up she was wet head to toes.  Her clothes, swaddler, blanket, sheet, and mattress pad were wet too, not to mention the cloth diaper and cover.

So, lesson learned, not at night.

I changed her, thought about giving her a bath and decided that I'd just wiper her down, feed her and then strip her bed.

I stripped the bed and put everything in the washer.

She ate 2.5 ounces of oatmeal, then 7 oz. of formula.  When I insisted on a burp, I got one, and ALL the cereal and formula too.  I'm not exaggerating.  ALL.  ALL over me.  I was soaked. I thought about giving us both a bath, but I decided to just change my clothes.

I took the first load out of the washer to start the second load, which included my wet clothes.

So, maybe she's not feeling good.  I mean she did smile at me as as soon as the she was finished throwing up on me. It wasn't even that gross considering it had only been in her for about 3 minutes.

I went to change her pants and it was dirty.  It was dirty up to her armpits. Again, I'm not even exaggerating.  It wasn't diarrhea, just a good healthy BM.

I gave up and we both got in the bath.

We both got dressed.  She ate 5 oz. of formula and went back to sleep by 10:30.

Making baby messes is hard work.

I had a dream the other night.

I dreamed I was relocated to a vineyard along with a large group of Christians.  It was like a prison camp.  We were instructed to pick the grapes, but we were not allowed to eat them.The grapes were large and beautiful, heavy with juices and each fruit was as big as a walnut.  The Christians were hungry.  Many of them ate the forbidden fruit until their mouths were purpled with the juices. Others ate in secret, furtively looking to see if they were being watched.  Others tried to resist, but they were so hungry they were surprised to find the fruit in their mouths and gone before they understood what they had done. They asked among themselves, "Did I eat that?"

It was a dream of hypocrisy. 

We live among the temptations of the world, and some of us gorge.  Some of us pretend we are not taking what we should not have, we hide our actions.  Some of us wish to do right, but before we know it we have taken what we should never have taken.

Is there a Christian among us who really could resist unto death the temptations of this world?

I know who I am, and it is shameful.