Walk MS
I have this amazing friend. Let’s call her “Amy.” Okay, that’s her real name, but whatever. ;)
She is one of those people you see everywhere, usually volunteering for something. She serves on boards and committees, helping out at school, at church, throughout the town. She always delivers the prettiest cookies for the bake sale, and makes a homemade meal for her family every night. She accomplishes more in one day than any other 5 women I know put together.
She the kind of woman you might look at and want to hate because how does she do it all? She makes the rest of us look bad!! But you can’t hate her, because she so darn nice. She will do anything for you, for any one of her circle of friends and family, and most especially for her kids. You have to love her, just because she is Amy.
She is strong, and beautiful, and funny, and always smiling. And she has Multiple Sclerosis.
Since this is MS Awareness Week, it’s a perfect time to let you all know I am participating in Walk MS on April 18 with Amy and the rest of her team and we would really appreciate your support. It’s super easy to donate online. If you want to donate but aren’t comfortable doing it online, send me an email (catnip35@gmail.com) and we’ll work it out.
If you have any questions about Walk MS check their FAQ page.
xo
Annette
snippets
I’m going to tell you one little fact that speaks volumes about my life right now; I just *now* (as in this morning) took the Christmas lights down off of my front porch.
~ahem~
Of course, the 5 strings of lights are now wadded up in a ball on my kitchen table and I hope to do something about that before the week day is over. That something will probably be be to stuff the whole thing in a Target bag and throw it in the garage to deal with next November! (At which time I will curse at myself, and go buy new ones.)
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I’m sitting at my desk surrounded by paperwork, books, and Legos. I can’t move from my chair for the amount of work hanging over my head. And when I have a moment to stand up and stretch I step on Bionicles and bruise the poor soles of my feet. Sheesh. I’m on a tight deadline with one rush project, and have two more looming. Work is good to have, but well, yeah. Their vacation was not my vacation. I cannot tell you how glad I am that our so-called vacation is over!
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On Tuesdays I volunteer at the school library. Mostly I put away books, hundreds of pounds of books. I’m also the checkout girl, making sure they’ve brought back their overdue books before they get another, that sort of thing. Sometimes they ask me to help them find just the perfect book. And once I got to read to a first grade class. (They even listened!)
Some of the fourth graders laugh at me because I’m terrible with names. They try to make me guess who they are. I see the same kids over and over, every Tuesday, bright, smiling faces of kids who want to be in the library, who clearly love to read, who get as many books as they can every week. I love it there, even if their names escape me, their happiness doesn’t.
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Today is Tuesday! I get to ignore the pings of emails, silence the ringer on my cell, and forget about the Christmas lights on my kitchen table. I get to go to the library.
how many ways can you say sick
S: Slimy, sniffly, slow, sticky, sleepy, snot, stuffy, sore, sneezing.
I: Icky, infirm, irritable, ill, idle, infectious.
C: Contagious, clammy, cranky, cold, chapped, coughing, crusty, commiserate, contaminated.
K: Kleenex.
We all have it. All I can say is, it’s a good thing we didn’t have big plans for school vacation week.
ribbit
I made these on Friday as a baby gift for a friend that recently had twins. They were so easy and I’m really happy with how they came out!
the swing
The wide wooden seat, it’s smooth board worn from use, called to me with it’s welcoming song of solitude. The thick old ropes reached high and wound around the sturdy branch above. The small patch of earth beneath, grooved from years and countless shoes dragged across it, was often muddy, and no grass could grow there.
It was my spot, though shared with a sister, I remember it being a retreat, where I could play and dream undisturbed.
In the spring you could look up through the dark branches and reach for the endless blue sky. Your toes would touch the clouds as you swooped higher and higher. Your nose filled with the scent of new white blossoms.
When summer came, a canopy of green would shade you from the heat of mid-day and create a theater for your songs.
Autumn would bring bright red fruit to snack on while you read your books. Winter would bury it in snow, the tree and the swing together in waiting.
Oh, the daily dramas it housed and bore witness to! It’s role was the mast of pirate ship, a surfboard on crashing waves, a tall mountain’s peak, or the tower above a medieval castle. It could carry the weight of two when asked, spider-like, or standing. But it was really meant for one, to carry one high, and, jump! That momentary feel of flying.
Both tree and swing are long gone now, a stump still there to remind of their place in the world. Blossoms still on nearby trees, where apples fall in autumn. Good climbing they are, low branches giving joy to other kids. None quite right for a summer swing, though, none could ever be as perfect.
In my mind’s eye I can picture it, still there, swaying in the breeze, beckoning me with a lullaby of childhood.
just give me something to blog about
(Disclaimer; If you aren’t blogger, most of this won’t make any sense to you. So don’t even bother!)
Somehow it’s been two weeks since I last blogged. As so kindly pointed out not only by the lovely folks behind the BlogHer ads, and by a real life friend who I didn’t even know was reading here but apparently is tired of looking at my last soup post. ~ahem~ So this one is for you Jen, such as it is. ;)
Anyway, two weeks. There was a time, for a long time, when I couldn’t go two days without writing, much less two weeks. Heck, there were days when I posted twice! I know! What happened that I no longer feel like posting the exciting events minutiae of my day, every day??
Those were the days when I obsessively checked my stats, hoping for more than a handful of hits. I lived and died by how many comments I got in a day. I pimped my posts on twitter and commented like crazy on every blog in my expansive feed reader.
I got my own domain, and a unique design. I thought hard about branding, and niches. I got ads!! (A year and a half and $45 later…) I even started a second blog! Because one was not enough?!!
I envied those going to all the conferences and meeting each other in person. So I went to a conference, and I hugged people I never thought I would meet. I made real-life completely awesome friends. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,* and I loved every minute of it.
But my life got busier in so many ways, and twitter got boring and celebri-fied. I stopped checking Feedburner, and forgot my password to Google Analytics. I stopped using Stumble or Digg, forgot about Technorati, and I haven’t looked at my Page Rank in forever. Heck, I even forgot how to check my Page Rank. And Alexa, wha?
It’s the typical evolution of a blogger. I’m sure you’ve heard it before. (And don’t we all just love these posts?) I know I have, but I never thought it would happen to me! D’oh. and? Duh.
My kid is growing up, and doesn’t really want me telling stories about him here. Posting family pictures in public is getting awkward. One can only blog about a cat so often. (Unless I become the Crazy Cat Lady, and frankly there are too many doing it better.) Weight loss? Heh. Only if it was happening! I have no idea what to blog about. Or even if I want to bother figuring it out. Meh.
And yet, I’m not thinking about shutting it down. I haven’t lost the will to write, just the impetus; that driving force that can turn the smallest moment of the day into a great post. I’d like to be able to do that again.
* Yes, once-in-a-lifetime. I’m not going to BlogHer ‘10. As much as I would love to go, I just can’t justify the expense. Sorry peeps. :(
Filed Under blogging, writing Tagged blogging, blogging about blogging, meta
spicy leek and potato soup
As you know one of my favorite things in the world is soup. One of my newest faves is an easy spin on leek and potato soup. I’m working on adding more veggies to my diet and having meatless meals more often, and this soup does both with making me feel deprived. It’s not really low calorie, but any broth based soup that fills you up is going to be lower calorie than most meaty meals anyway.
This one is super easy, and it’s a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. If you don’t want to make mashed potatoes just for this, you can use a small package of instant. Keep in mind I’m not so perfect with the measurements. More or less any of these ingredients won’t make much difference. Sweat your onions, not the small stuff.
- 3 medium leeks, cleaned and julienned
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- about 1 cup mashed potatoes, or use equivalent instant
- 36-48 oz can chicken broth (less if you use real mashed potatoes, more if you use instant)
- 2 tbsp butter or olive oil
- Salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup any cream (optional)
I like my onions pretty well cooked (crunchy onions in soup = ewww!) so start sweating your onions in the butter or olive oil first. Don’t brown them, just make them translucent.
While those cook you can prep your leeks. I like to split them down the middle and finely julienne them so I have fairly small pieces. Then I put them in a big pot of water to soak. The leeks will float and the dirt that is always caught in them will fall to the bottom. Once they are clean just skim the leeks right off the surface of the water and put them in with your onions to cook down.
When the leeks and onions are both translucent you can add your broth, potatoes, and spices. If you like your soup a little creamier you can add some half and half or whatever you have on hand. Simmer for a few minutes, and it’s ready.
Note: I like my soup pretty spicy so I add about 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne, but you can skip that if you don’t want it hot.
Let me know if you try it! I’m going to have my leftovers right now…
on raising a geek*
Geeks rule the world.
If you’re reading this blog, then chances are you’re a geek* too, so you know what I’m talking about. And you get why I’m actively striving to raise a geek. But not just in an I-<3-scifi kind of way. In a I-love-to-read and question-the-universe and take-things-apart-just-to-rebuild-them-all-day-long kind of way.
I don’t talk about Josh’s brains much here because it can get awkward and braggy sounding and I don’t want to be ~that~ mom. But, it’s something I need to talk about sometimes because omg the kid makes me crazy with the smarts. I’m a little bit afraid.
For example. He’s now reading The Hobbit. (Not an abridged version.) I was looking for something to read TO him that would challenge his listening skills. After I finished reading a few pages and Damon finished reading a few pages he took it to bed with him and read it for another half an hour alone.
Of course, reading alone in bed is a nightly event and highly encouraged, but The Hobbit? Really? Surely he didn’t understand any of it? Right? Hmmm. So after the second time he read some of it alone, we questioned him, and he was perfectly able to recount the whole chapter to us. To be completely honest, I am floored.
Remember, he is still 6. Six. First grade.
Anyway, we are encouraging the geek in him:
- He goes to a second grade classroom for reading group twice a week. (Not my idea, but I’m really happy they found a way to challenge him! His reading level seems to be somewhere around the 4th grade.)
- Damon rebuilt a computer and gave it to Josh for Christmas so he could learn how to email and navigate. For extra geekiness it’s running a linux based operating system, just for fun. All extremely supervised by me of course. Cause, seriously, he’s six. (He like to email puns and knock-knock jokes to his grandmother.)
- Next month he starts an 8 week First Lego League session. Cause it’s never too soon to learn robotics. Heh. (And this is where the “I’m a little scared” part comes in. Just what kind of robot is he going to think up?)
Last Friday I asked him if he wanted me to get him anything from the library since I was going while he was in school. He thought for a moment and said “can you get me some good non-fiction?” Um. Yeah. I’ll get right on that.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s definitely a six year old in so many ways. We don’t even push him to do any of this, it’s happening spontaneously, and I’m left stunned by the things he says and does. So I throw as many geeky** things his way, and we’ll see what sticks. If you have any ideas what I should throw at him next, I’m all ears.
*It’s important to note that around here geek is a good word, nay, a great word. We pride ourselves on our geekdom.
**Including some scifi. Ahem.
resolve
So it’s the first week in January. That means we’re all blogging about trying to lose weight right? Yep, me too. If you were bored with all of my “exercise this” and “diet that” posts last year you might as well just go away now, because I’m starting it all over again.
Yeah, wicked boring, I know. But truly, writing about it helped me stay on track, accountable.
So my goal this year is not a particular number. Just for the number to be less than it is now. The goal is to eat right, and exercise as often as possible. That’s it. No tricks. That’s how I did it before and that’s what I will do again.
I started by going to the gym this morning. I also picked my food diary back up, and, you know, actually wrote in it.
ps. The Loser Moms are starting a second round of their online Biggest Loser contest if anyone wants to join us!
dregs
Dudes. My blog is depressing. Maybe that’s why I don’t come here so often anymore.
I seem to go to a lot of funerals. Another one of my Aunts died this week, another of my father’s siblings. And another funeral to attend this coming Tuesday.
I’ve seen so many people do this great “best of 2009″ round up posts so to cheer myself up I thought I would take a look at my archives and see what I could link to as my “best of.” Except all I can find are “not the worst of 2009″ posts.
I wrote far too much about trying to lose weight. I posted far too many pictures of my cat. I became a quintessential mommyblogger, (even though I hate that term.)
My one shining moment of true hilarity was cause I was doped up on pain meds. Honestly, I haven’t written anything humorous since them because I just can’t compete with myself. Ooooo, I last saw my funny at the hospital!! Maybe it’s at the lost and found! ~sigh~
See? My best posts are the pathetic dregs of the blogosphere.
Dear 2010,
Bring back the funny.
xo
Annette
ps. Rest in peace Aunt Lee.
Filed Under blogging Tagged blerg, blogging, blogging about blogging, death, life