Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Bored?

Lookin to kill some time? Check out Jay Is Games. They are running another game design competition right now, with some really cool little games!




click the picture above to play a simple little puzzle game. When you complete it, you will be magically transported to the Jay Is Games website. have fun!

Monday, February 26, 2007

these things really are addictive....

You Are a Yellow Flower

A yellow flower tends to represent joy, friendship, and playfulness.
At times, you are childlike, as a buttercup is.
And at other times, you are fickle, like a dahlia.
And more than you wish, you tend to feel bittersweet, like a marigold.


just one more, I can't help it!
Your Brain's Pattern

Your mind is an incubator for good ideas, it just takes a while for them to develop.
But when you think of something, watch out!
Your thoughts tend to be huge, and they come on quickly - like an explosion.
You tend to be quiet around others, unless you're inspired by your next big idea.

the year I was born

In 1969 (the year you were born)

Richard Nixon becomes president of the US

Mary Jo Kopechne is killed when Senator Edward Kennedy veers off a narrow bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, crashing into a pond

US astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to set foot on the moon while commanding the Apollo 11 mission

Breathtaking pictures of Mars are transmitted to earth from NASA's Mariner 7 as it passes within 2,200 miles of the Red Planet

Woodstock music festival begins in upstate NY, featuring performances by Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and many more artists

250,000 Vietnam War protestors gather in Washington for the largest anti-war rally in US history

The first draft lottery since WWII is held in New York City

The Beatles' performance in public for the last time, on the roof of Apple Records

The Stonewall riots mark the start of the modern gay rights movement in the US

Marilyn Manson, Jennifer Aniston, Renee Zellweger, Edward Norton, Christian Slater, and Linus Torvalds are born

New York Mets win the World Series

New York Jets win Superbowl III

Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup

Sesame Street premieres

Midnight Cowboy wins the Oscar for best picture

David Bowie's debut single, "Space Oddity", becomes a huge hit - in part due to the US landing on the moon

Sharon Tate & the LaBiancas are found murdered by Charles Manson & "family"

What type of weather are you?

Well, their quizzes were totally wrong about who I was in highschool (said I was a popular kid, couldn't be more wrong than that!!) or what job fits me best...

You Are Lightning

Beautiful yet dangerous
People will stop and watch you when you appear
Even though you're capable of random violence

You are best known for: your power

Your dominant state: performing

Sunday, February 25, 2007

hmph

tomorrow I turn 38. My oldest child informed me that I absolutely have to have a party. Sensing my reluctance, she said I need to at least invite a few friends over for coffee. I want to make some brownies, but my body is still out of whack from the sugar consumed last weekend. Might do it anyway, I'm already a crampy mess. My dafodils are starting to bust open, just barely, but there's some bright yellow poking out of the tops of their buds. One or two of the dwarf dafs are blooming already! And what little scraggely forsythia that I haven't been able to completely remove from my backyard is also starting to bloom. For me, my birthday has always symbolized the end of winter and the beginning of spring. I hate winter. The year we lived in Connecticut when I was little, all I wanted for my birthday was for the snow to melt, and it did, well, at least it finally started to melt in places anyway. It had been a terribly cold winter that year (1976, I think it was), record lows, the blizzard of the century, talk of another ice age because up in Buffalo the previous year's snow hadn't completely melted before it started snowing again. New Haven was a very interesting place, though, and I'm glad I got that experience. There was the smell of old books everywhere. There I saw my first Pollack painting and my first Picasso. The Pollack was a really big deal, and our 2nd grade class went to see it. I think Yale had just acquired it, and it seems they hung it in the library. I couldn't take my eyes off it, and when the teacher asked me what I thought of it, I remember saying "I like it, that's the sort of painting I could do!" LOL

Monday, February 19, 2007

not again!

The girls and I are sick. Not bad sick, but enough to make us all fussy and whiney. Started out as a little bit of tummy distress Saturday evening after the party, turned into full-blown poopage and even an itchy rash on younger DD's and my skin last night. It's got to be diet-related, but there's no way of knowing what exactly did it to us. There was the one family *accidentally* brought McDonald's crap into my kitchen and it may have caused a gluten cross-contamination issue at the party. The teff flour I decided to try recently might not agree with us. It might just be from eating way more sugar than our bodies are used to eating. DH thinks it's the juice, but I didn't have any. Sugar... it could be candida, but that rarely bothers my older child. Or maybe it's something else altogether, something new, or something we have been eating without issue all along that has just now decided to bother us because we ate more of it lately than usual. Hm... it could even be the vegan cheese (yuck!) I decided to try recently in an attempt to cut back on how much dairy we consume. Life was so much simpler before I started recognizing food sensitivities in myself and in my children. I could eat whatever I wanted and not feel any sicker than I always felt. It's not fair how getting healthier makes you notice when you aren't feeling well, when before it didn't bother me at all because I always felt bad. If it weren't for the major behavioral consequences of those food sensitivities in my oldest child, we'd still be eating anything and everything we want. UGH

Sunday, February 18, 2007

whew!

Well, that was fun. My best guess is that about thirty people showed up to our party yesterday (that includes grown-ups), which was just about right. Any more would have been too many for our house especially since weather made going outside not an option. It was nice to see Daddies there with the Moms and kids, I'm sure my husband would agree. I also think we had the right combination of people here, too. We'll do it again next month, just not at my house. :)

But I'm not finished decluttering just yet!! I still have to empty out the junk room and get a king-sized bed to go in there (when we get our tax refund, should be real soon now), and set up my sewing and craft stuff. Which means I have to go through the mountain of stuff to figure out what little is staying and haul the rest to the basement, if not all the way to the dump or thrift store. So I can't sew anything until I get that done, which is incentive enough to keep me on the job. Weeeellll, I could always set up my sewing machine on the kitchen table, seeing as how it's all cleaned off and has stayed that way for some time now... LOL but I won't do it, that would be cheating.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

hospital woes

so my baby will be going into the hospital to have her front teeth capped under general anesthesia in about a month and a half. I hate that she needs it done, but I'd hate more what would happen if we didn't do it. That gives me a little time to get accustomed to the idea of it all, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terrified for her, for myself, and I have to hold it all together so my fears don't make it a much worse experience for her. *sob*

as for myself, I guess it was just too much to ask for two pain-free menstrual cycles in a row. Whatever I did the month before last, I need to do again and keep doing or else I'll be back in the hospital for another surgery, too. I'm certain the problem is that I haven't been keeping up with my exercise/yoga lately, just finding way too many excuses not to go.... At least I know it is possible to have a period without pain, without surgery!! Now, to only make that happen as the rule rather than the exception.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

panic

it must be time to panic now. the party is Saturday. the house is not anywhere close to where I want it to be, but the kitchen is presentable and not such a mess that I would freak and feel uncomfortable if someone dropped by unexpectedly today. I keep finding new things to do that guests wouldn't ever see or know about, like replacing old shelf paper and such. Plus, I'm still on that mission to declutter (and still making slow progress)! I had a rather disturbing dream last night that the queen bee of the homeschool group changed the date of their party so everyone would have to choose which one to attend, and only like two people showed up. Not that I'd mind if only two people showed up, I'd probably like that a bit better in reality than a house full of guests, but it upset me greatly in the dream. If this goes off well, we plan to do it again next month, just not at my house. Probably at the railroad museum. I just need to call and ask them about parties and group rates, because it's not on their website anymore since they changed servers. Hoping the omission is not because they don't offer those things anymore. I just checked again, and they do have school field trips, maybe we could qualify for that if I knew how many people to expect.

Friday, February 9, 2007

informal opinion poll

So, tell me, what is your favorite flavor/variety/brand of tea? Hot, cold, herbal, green, black, whatever. I've lately taken to drinking herbal tea and am looking for ideas and inspiration. No, I have most certainly not stopped drinking coffee, but got hooked on the more expensive stuff and about gagged when I purchased some Folgers a couple weeks ago, it just does not compare, so I have cut back on how much coffee I drink because of how much money I would otherwise be spending on it.

Anyway, leave your comments, PLEASE!!! And do tell what brand you like best, I've noticed a huge difference between supposedly the same tea that comes from different sources. For instance, Twinings makes the best chamomile, IMO, while Celestial Seasonings version is just gross, and the loose herb is totally different than either.

Oh, and to answer my own question, I'm really into Pau D'arco herbal tea by Traditional Medicinals. I don't like most of the flavored stuff, but all Bigelow teas are on sale at Food Lion and I got their Orange Spice and Earl Grey which I pretty much like. I've had better Earl Grey just can't remember what brand it was. :)

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

and to balance out all that negativity...

I did make a lovely spinny skirt for my littlest one last night. Used some of the tie-dyed fabric I had intended to make babyslings out of. Finished it in record time, before she was even done throwing a big fit. DH is now working first shift again, which once we get adjusted, is so much better for everyone (so he was on tantrum duty while I made the skirt last night). Now I need to make older sis something, too, just can't get my head in the right place to do it. When I make something I don't feel like making, it turns out all wrong. But I promised. I still need to get batteries for the digital camera, which explains why I have no new photos to share.

I ordered magazine subscriptions for the girls yesterday. Ranger Rick for DD1, and National Geographic for Little Kids for DD2. I had gotten special offers in the mail recently, so got a better price than what they offer online. They are growing up so fast, and learning so many new things. Such amazing little people. I see hope for the world when I look in their eyes. Things can't be that bad as long as there are people like them around.

and I don't generally forward email jokes, but I will share this one with anyone still reading my blog...

Is yer Pa home?" the farmer asked. "No sir, he ain't," the boy replied. "He went into town."
.
"Well", said the farmer, "is yer Ma here?" "No, sir, she ain't here neither. She went into town with Pa. " "How about your brother, Howard? Is he here?" "He went with Ma and Pa. '
.
The farmer stood there for a few minutes, shfting from one foot to the other and mumbling to himself.
.
"Is there anything I can do fer ya?" the boy asked politely. "I knows where all the tools are, if you want to borry one. Or maybe I could take a message fer Pa. "
.
"Well," said the farmer uncomfortably, "I really wanted to talk to yer Pa. It's about your brother Howard getting my daughter, Pearly Mae, prgnant."
.
The boy considered for a moment. "You would have to talk to Pa about that," he finally conceded. "If it helps you any, I know that Pa charges $50 for the bull and $25 for the hog, but, I really don't know how much he gets for Howard."

blech

I hate February. It's my least favorite month of the entire year. It's cold. It's really really cold, at least for this part of the country, right now. I'm tired. I'm sniffly and my throat is scratchy, again. My daffodils are trying to bloom, though. Hope next week's predicted "wintry mix" doesn't kill the flower buds that have already formed. I transplanted about 200 dafodils from my backyard to the front, on either side of the driveway. If the flowers don't get too frozen, I'll have lots of pretty yellow flowers when our guests arrive for the party. Maybe they won't notice the paint peeling off the front of the house, but I kinda doubt that. The front faces south, where the sun bakes the paint off in no time flat. The rest of the exterior is fine, just the front needs a new coat of paint. DH won't pay anyone to do a job he can do himself, but when is he gonna do it? That is the question of the day, rather the year. The living room hasn't been painted since before we moved in seven years ago, though we bought the paint for it a couple years back. I started painting the wood paneling in the den last spring with a white glaze so the wood would still show through, didn't even finish two coats on one wall before I decided I hated it and never finished. The 50 year old linoleum in the den and kitchen looks... well, it looks like ugly 50-year old linoleum. Maybe I wouldn't hate this house so much if I hadn't grown up here and had such a miserable childhood. But it would still be in suburbia, my least favorite sort of place on Earth. I'd much rather live out in the country, in a tiny home with lots of land. My second choice would be in the city, downtown where I could walk anywhere I needed to go or jump on a bus. *sigh* 20 days until my 38th birthday, and I still haven't gotten my life in order. Maybe it's just not in me to ever grow up. I dyed my hair purple (again) yesterday, in hopes it would raise my spirits a little. I'm such a dork.

Monday, February 5, 2007

one weekend down...

the rest of my life to go! I no longer spend half my day thinking about faceless strangers' problems, or what they have said to or about me online. I no longer suddenly think of something I just have to reply, and turn on the computer just to share my wisdom [sic] with the internet, then get sucked in for half an hour (or more).

I am most decidedly NOT getting more housecleaning and decluttering accomplished, though, which was my hope. I can't blame my slack in that area on the computer, it's my own problem, a different problem entirely. Sure, one fed off the other, but it's no excuse. I am still making the same slow plodding progress as before, which is sorta okay. At least I'm not losing ground in the battle against clutter. I have been mostly staying on top of the dirty dishes and laundry, which is a major acheivement for me. But it is rather draining to have to constantly work on washing dishes and dirty clothes all day every day. At least I know that it won't be too much longer before my little one is no longer wearing diapers that need to be laundered! The floor becomes cluttered with art projects and supplies and toys not two hours after I get it completely cleaned up. Now I remember why I never used to want to be a housewife, but that was way back when I didn't ever want to have any children. Kids change everything. I just need to find a routine that works for me. The kids are helping more than they used to do, seeing me cleaning encourages them to do the same, and we make it fun most of the time. It takes longer with their help, but it wouldn't get done at all without their help. The house is nowhere near ready for that party we're hosting on the 17th. It's not time to panic just yet...

Thursday, February 1, 2007

addiction

Hi, my name is Stacy and I am an internet addict. AS OF TODAY I am no longer reading nor posting messages at online forums, I'll just spew all my pent up words here instead. If you have followed me here from any one of various forums and message boards I used to frequent, that's cool, but I can't go back, so don't try to talk me into it. I have deleted the links from my favorites, and the cookies as well, to make it that much more difficult for me to fall off the wagon. It's really sucking up too much of my time and I have other things I need to do. I will continue reading email and posting here on my blog, and updating my etsy shop, but that's it. Seems all the drama in my life stems from online message forums and email lists, and I need to get a handle on this very real, very big problem of mine. It's not just draining an extraordinarily large amount of time, it's also draining energy that would be better spent elsewhere. Anyone reading this that knows me in real life, just give me a call instead, we're always open to playdates and fun outings as long as nobody is sick.

and to update everyone on my declutter/organize mission, I have today gotten rid of yet another big bag of clothes and two boxes of other things, as well as thrown away a frighteningly huge amount of art projects, broken toys, and all sorts of unwanted clutter. (okay, so I do still need to throw it all in the back of DH's truck and haul it off.) The art shelves are functional, but I still need to throw away old used-up crayons and markers and things that can be easily enough replace with new. Now we are getting down to clutter that one or another family member may want to keep, it's gonna be a bit harder from here on out!

snow!

okay, not much snow, maybe three inches, but more than my children have ever seen before. I take it back, it snowed a little when my oldest daughter was barely toddling around but she doesn't remember it anymore. Woke the kids up so they could go out and play in it before it all melted away. They made snow angels and had a few minutes of fun before deciding it was just too cold and wet and wanted to go back inside.

And I mailed our tax return today. I refuse to pay extra to file online, and last year my refund got here within a week of when my friends who filed online got theirs, so phtblbblthphtpthtt :P