Random Thoughts Tuesday 12-28-10

Hey All.  I'm playing random along with Keely today.  Link up and play along!

Why is it that every year I say I'm not going to make any resolutions, yet in my own head I've made at least 10 of them?  I'm just lying to myself (and everyone else) out loud and only telling the truth inside.  I think it may be because I don't want anyone to see my total failure. :)

How to I let the kids talk me into buying them more stuff right after Christmas?  I mean, they did spend their own money, mostly, but still.  Do they really need one more $70 lego set?  G-ma only gave them $50 to spend (well, she really gave them $100, but I'm putting the other $50 in their savings accts), so they had to dig into their allowance.

I went across the street today to talk to a neighbor.  She invited me in.  She is so sweet and I like her a lot.  I just wouldn't want her to come to my house and hope to be invited in.  It's always a disaster while hers is always immaculate.  True her kids are grown mostly and mine are little (yells to kids "get those legos picked up in the living room!  and don't leave all those plastic bags on the floor!").  But I'm sure it's mostly because she is a good housekeeper and I am not.

We'll be trying the whole foods thing again this January (see last year's post about it here).  The kids are really excited about it. NOT!  We have got to get these kids eating real food once in a while.  I'm ashamed at the number of chemicals I feed those kids every day.  And these last two weeks it has been even worse.

Well, go see Keely and visit some of the other randomness available.  Thanks for stopping by!
Barb

Sassy Sunday on a Monday and Macro Monday 12-27-10

Hi Everyone, Sassy here.  I'm a day late on my post and Barb is sneaking in here with a Macro Monday photo too.
Here's Barb's photo.  Something called a Gingerbread House that the youngest human worked on very hard the other day.  You can find other Macro Monday shots here!

We had snow for Christmas!

Doesn't my black coat look lovely in the white snow?  That's what Barb says, anyway.  Ginger and Chili enjoyed the snow as well.

We've been spending a lot of time in the house by the fire.  I like the snow for a few minutes, but then it gets cold and wet on my feet and I'm ready to come in.

Chili found the warmest spot next to the fire the other day.  Right in Daddy's lap.  Don't they look cute?

We had Aunt Bambi and her brood here for Christmas dinner.  It was apparently really good, although all I got was a tiny taste of the ham.  That's ok.  I'm trying to keep my girlish figure, so I happily ate my diet dog food.  Santa left us new toys and chew bones in our stocking.  That was great!

Anyway, thanks for stopping by today.  Best wishes for the new year!
Sassy

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is a home.  Thank you.

Bonsai

Navy

Scruffy Girl

Soldier

Minnie

Mrs. Roper (Janet's mom)

Janet

These and other homeless pets can be seen at www.hoperescues.com or on petfinder.com

Random Thoughts Tuesday 12-21-10

Hey all!  I'm playing along with Keely over at the UnMom today.  Link up and play along, if you dare!

What has your child learned at school today?  Well, I'm so proud of my ninth-grader!  He's learned that if you get a pack of smarties and smash them up into powder, you can suck the power in through the end of the wrapper and blow it out like smoke.

Had a kid home sick for several days.  He ran a fever 5 days in a row.  Doc said it was just a virus and we'd have to wait it out.  If I get it, and if I run a fever for 5 days, I want to be waited on hand-and-foot and be allowed to lay around and whine the whole time.  Not that any of MY kids would do that.

The doc lives just down the street from us.  I try not to ever bother him at home.  But I was ready to let him have my feverish kid for a day or two over the weekend!

We also have an emergency room doc and an OBGYN in our neighborhood.  And a dentist.  No vet, though.  Hmmm.

I have got to get my Christmas shopping and wrapping done!  I'm not even sure what I have anymore.  That's one thing about having kids at Christmas.  They count presents.  And it doesn't matter if one kid gets a present worth more than a Rolex, while another one gets the Blue Light Special.  It's all about the numbers.  But I know how to get around that.  Just wrap two things together if you need to reduce the pile of one kid to match the piles of the others.  Or divide.  Wrap each sock separately.  :)

Speaking of socks, my oldest said, in his most disgusted tone, "Mom, don't be a geek and give us socks and underwear for Christmas again."  So guess what I got at Old Navy yesterday.  Yup.  You're so smart!

Are you a "theme" tree decorator?  My sister has a lovely tree at her house.  Huge, but lovely.  It has a theme of sorts.  Our tree, though very festive, has no theme.  It's mostly covered with ornaments the kids have made over the last few years, with a few from our childhood thrown in.  Maybe when the kids are grown I'll do a theme tree.  But for now the kids' ornaments are just fine.  And they are proud of them.

K.  That's enough random.  And I've got to get those boxers out of the car and get them wrapped up before any of the boys get home!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sassy Sunday - (12-19-10)

Chili and me with Santa

"Oh, the weather outside if frightful".  It's cold.  And there's new snow today on top of what's left of the ice from last week.  Just a dusting, but enough to hide the ice so I slip and slide out there.  But that's ok.  I'm an inside dog.  I'd rather be on the couch snoozin' anyway.  Unless there's a squirrel in the bird feeder.

The three of us, Ginger, Chili, and I, went to see Santa.  See someone missing in the pic?  Yup.  Ginger.  She would have nothing to do with getting her picture taken with Santa.  You see, Santa has a Y chromosome.  That makes him a man.  And Ginger doesn't like those Y-chromosome people until she's had a chance to warm up to them and make sure they are ok.  She's always been that way.  Even though she's been in this pack since she was 7 weeks old.  She did come with a wound on her leg that is now a scar.  So maybe a man was mean to her way back then.  Who knows.

We've got the house back to ourselves at the moment.  We had a bunch of company last week.  I couldn't tell you about it before because it was a surprise.  You see, my Aunt Bambi is about to turn 40.  (I won't make it that long)  So the family planned her a surprise party.  People that are kin to our pack came from all over!  One came from Ohio, two from Chicago, two from Michigan, and three from Nevada!  It was great fun to have all these people in the house to love on.  

Here I am listening to Uncle Joe tell me how wonderful I am.

And here's Aunt Bambi.  She was soooo surprised!

Well, the kids are all excited about Christmas coming this week.  And I have to say I've enjoyed all the hustle and bustle.  But now it's time for a nap.  Thanks for stopping by!
Sassy

22 Years Ago

22 years ago I was 22.
22 years ago I had finished my first semester of grad school.
22 years ago I was living in Reno.
22 years ago both my grandparents were alive and living in Reno too.
22 years ago I'd go to my grandparents' apartment every evening for happy hour (gin and pineapple juice).
22 years ago I'd go to my grandparents' apartment every evening to fix dinner.
22 years ago I had to blend grandma's food because of her esophageal cancer.
22 years ago I thought I was so grown up.

22 years ago I went to dress fittings.
22 years ago I talked with my mom and Jan about arrangements.
22 years ago I missed my bridal shower in Tennessee but my fiance went for me.
22 years ago I was excited about the new chapter in my life that was about to begin.

22 years ago today that chapter started.
And for 22 years I've been blessed with a wonderful husband, best friend, partner and soul-mate.

Happy Anniversary Hubby.
I love you.

Final exam

I'm giving my final exam today.  It started at 2:00.  It's 2:22 and a student has just turned hers in.  She's a good student.  And I'm sure she'll get an A.
There's one student I don't recognize at all.  I'm curious to see who she is.  With close to 50 students in each section (there are two sections), I can't expect to know all of the students.  And I know there are some that only come on exam day.  But at least I recognize them all.  Except for her.  Hmmm.

I have one student who came to the exam today.  He was supposed to take it Tuesday but didn't show.  Then I got an email from him saying that he thought the exam was Wednesday.  So I let him take it today.  He's a good kid and I believe he just made a mistake.  When I was in college most of my professors would have said "too bad.  you screwed up.  it's not my fault.  you lose."  But, well, I just can't be that mean.  It would be different if he wanted to take it next week or something.

There's another one that was supposed to take it Tuesday but had a big anatomy final the same day.  So I said she could take it today.  But I wonder what she is doing in an anatomy class.  This bio class if for non-science majors.

Now about half the class has finished.  It's 2:31.  They have an hour and 40 minutes.  And there are 100 multiple choice questions on the final.  So 31 minutes means they spent about 3 minutes on each question.  I guess that's about right.  You either know it or you don't.  I have 7 students left in here.  I know one of them will take a bit longer than the others.

The mystery girl has turned hers in.  She is in this class!  She only took 2 of the 4 exams.  And missed 6 of the 8 quizzes.  And hasn't turned in any of the assignments.  But she's here for the final?  Hmmmm.  I'm not thinking she'll pass.  But I'll wait until the finals are graded to see.

Does chewing on one's hoodie string help one to think?  I guess so.  We'll see.

I've really enjoyed this semester.  It's my first one back after a long, hard, grueling stint as a stay-at-home mom.  Don't get me wrong, I love my kids.  But it's hard work!  I'm not sure I'm cut out for it.  You'd probably think the same thing if you knew my kids!

And I guess I've done alright.  They've asked me back to teach next semester.  I'm just an adjunct.  Bottom of the heap.  And they only give me a semester by semester contract.  But I'm cool with that.  I'm not ready to jump back in full time.  My kids are unhappy that I'm working again.  They (the two little ones, anyway) want me to work at Subway if I'm going to work at all.  Otherwise, they want me at home.  Funny since my classes occur while they are in school.  So why would they care?  I don't teach at night or on the weekends?  Funny devils.

Well, I'm down to one student.  She's been the only one for about 10 minutes.  She still has 40 minutes until her time is up.  But I hope she doesn't take the whole time.  I'm ready to get these dropped off at testing services to be graded and get home.  The kids are there today.  It's a snow day.  And they (the two younger ones) hate it when I leave them with their big brother.  And they are staying with him tonight since hubby and I are going out.
Brotherly love.

Hope you are all having a great day!  And if you are a student, good luck on exams!

Firefighters, paramedics rescue dogs from St. Charles house fire

Yeah for Firefighters and Paramedics!  click the link to read the story.


Firefighters, paramedics rescue dogs from St. Charles house fire

Random Thoughts Tuesday 12-7-10

Hey Everyone!  Just gonna do a quickie random today 'cause I gotta write a final exam, go to physical therapy, take a friend to Sam's, figure out what's for dinner, plan a review for tomorrow, and try to meditate this headache away since the ibuprofen isn't touching it.
Oh, and I need to do some laundry and get the house cleaned up.  The dog walking will have to wait.
For more awesome Random Tuesday, check out the unmom!  

So I was gonna get rid of this one-eyed bear.  But the kids can't bear the thought of it (heehee, I made a funny) and Chili loves to sleep on it.  So I stuck him in the corner.  

Had a friend do the lecture in my class today.  It was the human reproduction and development lecture.  He's an OB/GYN.  So when he said he'd like to do a lecture, I gave him the sex one.  That way I didn't have to say penis and vagina in front of 100 undergraduates.  But they were all very well behaved.  Even asked questions!

Did I mention my head hurts?  I mentioned it to my loving hubby.  He told me he was tired of my bitching.  So I told him to go to hell.  Hope there weren't any students around.  'Cause we were totally joking around with each other.  At least he was. :)

The dogs keep messing with the Christmas tree skirt.  I guess I should check it for wet spots.  Chili will pee on any blanket, jacket, shirt, etc. that is left on the floor.  

Don't you hate it when you start to clean something like the blinds, then you start seeing all kinds of dust in the curtains, on the windowsill, etc., that has probably been there a long time but you never noticed?  So now you have to spend twice as much time trying to get all that dust than you meant to?  And you're supposed to be picking up so you can do the real cleaning later?  Me too.

Did I mention my head hurts.  OK.  I'll stop my bitching.  And I won't even tell you to go to hell.

I hope everyone has a great Tuesday.  Check out Keely at theunmom.com, link up and play along!

Macro Monday 12/6/10

One of my favorite Christmas ornaments

Hi All!  I'm playing along with Macro Monday today.  Check out Lisa's Chaos and play along!

Sassy Sunday - (12-05-10)

Hello, Everyone.  Welcome to another addition of Sassy Sunday!  Sorry I didn't post last week.  Barb was using her computer a lot and I just didn't get the chance!

So.  The humans have put a tree in the hearth room.  They do this from time to time.  It's annoying because they put it right in front of one of the doors I use to go in and out of the house.  I know there are plenty of other doors, but it is the principle of the thing.  The tree has a little piece of cloth around the bottom.  Chili thinks it's for her to chew on or sleep on.  (Uh-oh, if she thinks it's ok to sleep there, well, if you know Chili you know what I mean!)

Barb started to put some toys for us under the tree, then changed her mind and gave them to us.  Little skunks.  But with no stuffing!  She made some comment about how they would be a little less messy than our normal toys.  Doesn't she understand that the stuffing HAS to come out of the toys?  That's where the evil lurks.  That's why I do it.  First, I shake the critter to make sure it's dead.  Then I carefully make a hole and pull out all the stuffing and toss it around the room.  That way all the evil can dissipate into the air and float out of the house.  I'm only trying to protect my family.  And it doesn't take her that long to clean it all up.  Seems little to ask for the protection I'm providing.  Maybe some day I'll be appreciated.

I thought we were about to get another foster dog the other day.  Thank goodness she was just lost.  The neighbor asked Barb if she'd ever seen the little old dog that was wandering in circles around our cul-de-sac.  She hadn't so she went up to the little dog and saw that she had a collar with a tag (good humans! a tag is the best way for us to get home when we are lost!).  So Barb called the owners and they came right away and picked her up.  Poor old thing.  She's about deaf and apparently getting a bit confused sometimes.  K.  I don't want to think about that.  I'm only 5 or so.  

I guess that's all the bitching (well, I am a female and a dog) I'll do for today.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sassy

Can You Tell Who This Is?

Can you tell?

Look closely.  These creatures are made out of Yu-Gi-Oh (or are they Pokemon?) cards.  A guy and his pet.  Give up?  He lives in a pineapple under the sea.  Got it now?  Yup.  My younger two kids made SpongeBob and Gary out of cards.  Pretty darn creative, huh?  And I'd say they did a pretty good job, too.
Here's a pic of the proud artists.

They were told to find something to do other than watch TV or play video games.  Does it count that they made TV characters out of the cards?  It's funny how they moan and cry and insist they have nothing to do if they can't watch TV.  Then when they are faced with the reality that they can't watch TV, they find something to do.
Recently, they were told they couldn't watch TV until their rooms were clean.  They were horrified.  But did they get up there and clean their rooms?  No.  They got out the nerf guns and had an epic battle in the upstairs hallway.  The battle scene included barricades made from pillows and blankets.  Even their big brother got into it.
So.  Is there a lesson here for me?  Oh, yeah.  If I don't let my kids veg in front of the TV, they will make a mess.  So I guess TV must be good for them!  As we speak (well, as I write and you read) they are watching SpongeBob.  They are not using their imaginations to make a mess out of the house.  They are not playing with the $40 nerf guns they insisted they had to have.  They are not riding their bikes or scooter outside (well, it's dark and cold out there at the moment. )  They are asking for ice cream (watching TV makes you fat?  whoever heard of such crazy talk).  Hmmm.

Well, I guess I'd better run up to Motomart after some ice cream.  Otherwise, they may get bored and decide to go clean up their rooms!

Random Thoughts Tuesday 11-23-10

Hey Everyone!  I'm playing along with Keely today over at The UnMom.  Wanna play?  Come on!

Why to some dogs stick their tongues out?  Chili does it.  All the time.  Apparently, she's not the only pug that does it.  I guess maybe their tongues are too big for their mouths.  Or, more likely with Chili, it's an attitude thing.  Here are some pics to show you what I mean.

Chili loves to sleep on the big bear.  With her tongue sticking out.

Chili

Side view

Ginger coming over to tell Chili her tongue is sticking out.

I was planning to get rid of that bear.  Chili pooped on it.  I cleaned it with carpet cleaner.  The kind for pet stains.  The kids don't want me to throw it away.  And it looks fine.  Chili loves to sleep on it.  Ergo, she shouldn't want to poop on it.  Obviously there is something not quite right about her.  She doesn't have that "I won't poop where I sleep" thing that most dogs do.  She spent the first 5 months of her life in a trailer with 46 other dogs.  I don't know exactly what went on there, but I assume she had to poop where she slept.  We are still trying to get her housebroken.  We've had her since February!  She's mostly there.

So Thanksgiving is this week.  I love Thanksgiving.  But it's not right this year.  My fahter-in-law, whom we were planning to go get tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving for us, is in the hospital.  He's had a hemorrhagic stroke.  At least that's what I think you call it.  MRI says lots of bleeding in the brain.  The most tragic part is that he doesn't recognize my husband or brother-in-law.  It's so painful for them to see their dad this way.  He's physically stable at the moment.  They are planning to move him out of the ICU today.  But mentally, he's very confused.
I wish I could be there for my husband.  He's about 3 hours away with his Dad.  But we've got 3 boys.  The younger two really don't need to see him like this.  And although the oldest one could handle it, and wants to go, it's probably not good for him to see Grandpa like this either.

That's the thing about us being in our 40's.  Our parents are getting older or dying.  We lost my mother-in-law about 10 years ago (she died on 9/11, one year before 9/11).  I wasn't there with my husband that day either.  Little boy at home.
My dad died about 5 years ago.  We were living in Alabama.  My parents had driven from Nevada to my sister's house for Easter.  Then they drove down to our house in Alabama.  My dad was running a fever when he got there.  He went to the doc.  Pneumonia.  Doc gave him antibiotics but said not to start driving back unless his fever was gone.  A couple days later we took him to the ER and he was admitted.  He never left.

Chili just came prancing in from upstairs.  I bet she pooped.

Today I have parent-conferences.  This will be a new thing for me with the oldest.  He's in high school.  Apparently, you go to the school.  Stop by the rooms of the teachers you want to visit.  Sign up for an available spot.  Then wait.  Hmm.  I hope it doesn't take the whole 7 hours the teachers are supposed to be available.  Especially since I have two other schools to visit.  At least the oldest can stay with his brothers so I don't have to drag them with me. :)

If you've been following me for over a year (if so, I love you!), you may have seen my post about Tommy.  Well, an author in California heard his story and was moved to write a children's book about him.  Here's the cover.  She will be in town next month for a book signing!  And Tommy will be there too.  He'll be doing paw-tograhs for a small donation to Hope Rescues (just $4).
If that weren't exciting enough, a famous baseball player will be there too!  Yup, Mark Buehlre from the Chicago White Sox will be there.  He and his wife are big supporters of Hope Rescues and have attended several functions.  I've been there at the same time.  Jealous?  Well, he and his wife are super nice people.
If you live in the St. Louis area, check out Hope's website for details.

Well, dear readers.  I hope you will visit the UnMom for some other RTT.  Until next time, I thank you very much for stopping by.  I hope you have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving (for the US people!).

Sassy Sunday - (11-21-10)

Hello, Everyone.  Thanks for stopping by today for our (mostly) weekly Sassy Sunday.  Today I'm thinking about thankfulness.  Having and attitude of gratitude.  There's a lot for me to be thankful for.

1. A roof over my head.  Seems a bit cliche maybe.  But I am grateful to have a home.  We've had a few homeless dogs in our house over the last year or so.  They were all foster dogs from one rescue organization, Hope Rescues.  They've got a full house.  They always have a full house!  But at least these dogs all have a chance of finding a home.  We don't have a foster dog right now.  I guess I'm thankful about that.  We usually get the ones that annoy me.

2. Food.  Ok.  So it's not always the food I'd like to have.  Barb says she buys us the "good stuff" and mentions to us once in a while that it's expensive so we should be happy to eat it.  But it is dog food.  And right now she's feeding us DIET dog food.  I guess she thinks Ginger and Chili need to lose weight. But speaking of food, I'm particularly grateful for fresh fruits and veggies.  I love 'em!  If Barb gets the cutting board out, I'm there.  For some reason she won't give me grapes or onion or garlic.  But I love carrots, celery, turnips, brussels sprouts (really!), apples, pears, etc.

3. A yard.  Someone needs to tell Chili that if she'd poop in the yard (instead of the closet) she'd make all the humans happy.  But I'm glad to have a yard.  We've got an invisible fence so we can go out without a leash (except for Ginger, she had to be leashed lately 'cause she barks at people).  I love to run and chase stuff.

4. Blankets.  Especially fleece blankets.  These are the ones I love to chew on as I go to sleep.  I knead them like dough while I'm chewing.  It's very relaxing.  Sometimes Barb makes comments about them when she's cleaning up in the yard.  How rude.  But I'm thankful for them.

5. Couches.  I heard a crazy thing once.  Some dogs are not allowed on the couch.  How crazy is that.  I pretty much spend my days on the couch.

6. Ginger and Chili.  And all the humans in my life.  And my cousins Juneau, Kodi and Jenny.  Juneau and Kodi are American Eskimos.  They have these beautiful white coats.  Jenny is like me, a mix with a beautiful black coat.

I've got lots more to be thankful for.  But I don't want to bore you!  Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Sassy

Theme Thursday 11-18-10

Hi All.  Thanks for stopping by today!  I'm playing along with Theme Thursday.  You can find others participating here.  Come on!  Play along.  It's an easy way to get a theme for your blog post today.

So the theme today is Food.

Last week was the end of the season at our CSA garden.  What a great harvest.  The baby beets were delicious.  There's a ton of salad greens - our farmers, Crystal and Eric, planted a bunch of really interesting salad greens.  There are spicy ones and mild ones, red ones and green ones.  It makes salad eating fun.  Some of them look like nothing I'd consider putting in a salad but they are wonderful.

We tried kolrabi for the first time.  That was interesting. And I used the basil to make a great pasta and shrimp dish.  (the kids, who all love shrimp, were a little turned off by the green sauce.  Pearls before swine....)

I loved the produce we got this season.  The unusually hot and dry summer made for a challenging season for our farmers.  But they did a great job.  And it's there first year.  I think they've got more of a feel for what people are gonna want next year and I'm looking forward to it.  Hopefully, I get a few more fresh fruits and veggies and a few fewer chemicals into the kids.  That's the goal.  

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great Thursday.

Sassy Sunday - on a Monday (11-15-10)

Good morning everyone!  Thanks for stopping by.  First, I'm sorry to be a day late on my post.  The thing is, I don't have my own computer and Barb spent a good part of the day working on hers.  She had to make up an exam for her students then she made up a game to play in class.  It's a Jeopardy game with questions from the chapters on the exam.  The students love it.  After she did it the first time, the students begged her to do it again.

Then before I could get on the computer, the other dogs and I got to take a trip to the dog park.  I've never been there when there were so many other dogs!  It was great.  We ran.  We played.  We sniffed.  It was great.  Here are some pics.

Chili running like a maniac

Look at all the dogs!

Ginger by the agility equipment.  We need Ace to show us how it's done.

Doesn't it look like we had a great time?  The only problem with this dog park, which is the closest to our house, is that it is about 15 miles away.   We need one in our town.

There's a bit of a struggle going on in our house right now.  The parents are telling the kids that they watch too much TV and play video games more than they should.  So yesterday Dad told the kids to turn off the TV at noon (they'd been up only a couple of hours but had done nothing but sit around in their pj's and watch TV) and they couldn't turn it back on until dinner-time.  (Not during dinner, mind you.  They turned it on while Mom was cooking.)

You should have heard the complaints out of those boys!  They had NOTHING to do.  But somehow they managed.  They played outside with the neighbor kids.  (Although the youngest tried to come in and get a Wii game to take over to the neighbor's house to play.  Saying the neighbor kid insisted.  It didn't work).  The played in the basement with their legos.   They have been working on a battle scene down there for months.  Their newest creation: a zip line.  Check it out.

They've got a great mix down there of toys.  Legos from several sets (Star Wars and Indiana Jones pieces in this pic).  They've got dinosaurs.  They've got ninjas.  They've got boxing robots.  And they've got a ton of plastic soldiers.  Kind of fun.  And they put it all together without the TV!  Amazing.

Well, speaking of those kids, it's getting on about 7 so it's time to get their lazy butts out of bed.  Chili usually helps with that.  Barb puts her up in their beds (a top bunk and a loft bed) and she tells them to get up.  I'd help but I can't jump that high and Barb says she can't pick me up.  Hmmp.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Love,

Sassy

Random Tuesday

Hey All.  Thanks for stopping by.  I thought I'd join Keely in a little randomness.  I haven't been playing much lately.  Go check her out, she's always worth a visit!

I hate bulging!  Especially when it involves the disks in my neck.  There is pain.  And maybe worse than the pain (or maybe not) is the crunching sound.  Bone on bone crunching coming from the inside.  and very near by ears.  Yuck.  I hate that sound.

Pain can be a real downer.  Not that it's excrutiating, super bad, but it's bad enough.  So the doc has referred me to the pain doc.  And he can see me.  IN TWO WEEKS.  So I called the doc back and he gave me some pain meds.  Alot of good that does me.  I have to get up in front of a class of undergrads every day and talk about biology.  Wouldn't be a pretty picture if I was high on tramadol.  So I can only take it at night.

On a good note, I picked up some nice veggies from the "hippie farm" (as my kids call it.  it's a co op).  But now what do I do with the kolrabi?  And there's only one small eggplant this week.  What does one do with one tiny eggplant?  My favorite is the spicy salad mix.  Some of the whimpier share holders complained it was too spicy.  It's got like mustard greens and some other stuff that has a bit of a bite to it.  So now it's separate from the non-spicy salad mix.  That's fine.  I just mix it together.
This was our last pick-up of the season.  I'm gonna buy another share for next year.  (if I can get hubby to agree)  It's worth the 20 miles every other week to get organic "hippy-grown" produce.  (they aren't really hippies.  just have that long hair, non-arm-pit-shaving, tree-hugging air about them.  but they are really nice people.)  Plus, I've tried some new produce this year.  Have you ever eaten ground cherries?

maybe I'll take a pain pill while I'm eating my hippy-farm food tonight!

Mexican jumping beans.  My 2 younger boys are begging for them.  And the youngest one doesn't even know what they are.  He just wants them.  But these two are always at each other's throats.  Fighting and whining and yelling and complaining.  So I told them if they could go a week without fighting, I'd buy them.  We have started our week over every day since then.  Boys.

I wonder if pugs are known for emptying their anal glands at odd and inopportune moments?  If you've ever been around anal gland juice, you know what I'm talking about.  I mean, yes.  If you scare a dog or get them really upset, it might happen.  But it just comes out of Chili's butt sometimes for no reason.  Geesh that stuff smells bad.

K.  Well.  My neck hurts, I have produce to put away (wonder what I should do with my tomatillos?), the dishwasher needs to be emptied and refilled, the washer and dryer both need to be emptied and filled, (kid just walked in and asked for a snowboard?).  So thanks so much for stopping by!!
Barb

Sassy Sunday 11/7/10

Happy Sunday, Everyone.  This is Sassy.  See what I put up with?  Those little boys were having such a great time covering me up with the blanket.  I was annoyed.  But I love them, so I let them.  As long as they aren't trying to look in my ears or cut my nails, I'm ok.  But I draw the line at ears and nails!  Barb says I'm a drama queen.  I say I'm just The Queen.

I got to see Jackie from Hope Rescues yesterday.  I heard her tell Barb I was pretty.  And that my face reminded her of a seal's face.  I think seals are cute.  I happen to think I'm cute too. :)

Barb wrote a question on the message board this week for everyone to answer.  It says to list one thing you are thankful for.  One of the kids, the middle one, wrote "my dogs".  I love that little kid!!

It's starting to get cold here.  I'm not sure when the big people are going to finally turn on the heat.  I hear them tell the kids to put on a sweater.  Luckily, I've got fur.  And the occasional blanket thrown on by the kids.  By the way, if the kids leave the blanket on the floor, Chili pees on it.  That's true for jackets and any type of laundry.

Well, I don't have much else to tell you about.  I hope you have a great Sunday!
Love,
Sassy

Their Mom is a Geek

Well, I took the time to take pictures of our Halloween feast.  So I might as well show them off.  I try to do fun stuff for holidays.  I think these are things people remember from their childhood.  Like at April Fools Day when we made "fakon and eggs" out of candy and "cupcakes" out of meatloaf and colored mashed potatoes.

So here it is:

Our Sea Monster Sandwich

Monster biscuits to go with our soup

Watermelon creature

Ghost witches and spiders for dessert

 Not too heavy a meal.  Just right to fuel up the kids for trick-or-treating.  Now it's time to get all those decorations down.  I don't mind decorating.  It's de-decorating that I hate.  Especially getting the fake spider webs out of the thorny bushes.  Off to find some gardening gloves.

Have a great day!

Macro Monday

Pumpkin Guts

Here's my contribution to Macro Monday.  See some other great pics here!  (By saying "other great pics" I wasn't trying to claim mine was great. :) But I think it turned out ok.)

Sassy Sunday 10/31/10

Happy Halloween!

Hey Everyone.  Sassy here. :)

Happy Halloween.  In our town, trick-or-treating happens the night before Halloween.  Sound weird?  I thought so too.  But the reason is that there is a hugely popular parade in our town on Halloween.  Everyone goes.  There are tons of floats.  Contests for the best ones.  Candy is flung to the huge crowd.  There's a huge traffic jam trying to get to and from the parade.  It's "the thing" to do on Halloween.

So yesterday the family carved pumpkins with the next-door neighbors.  Here are some of the pics.

Youngest child's jack-o-lantern and oldest child's jack-o-lantern

Middle child's jack-o-lantern (puking)

Artsy-fartsy picture of pumpkin guts

Both of our trick-or-treaters chose to wear a blood-filled mask.  Pretty cool, with the blood streaming through the mask.

Ginger and I had to stay up in the bedroom during the peak trick-or-treat hours.  Seems the family gets annoyed when we tell them someone is at the door.  Ingrates.

Well, that's it for today's episode of Sassy Sunday.  Thanks for stopping by!

Sassy