Glamour Girl

As it turns out, Molly makes a better photography model than the boys. Maybe because she wasn't amped up on jelly beans. It also seems that Molly isn't as afraid of my new smaller camera. Hopefully, someday I'll get a shot of her with her ears up in an alert position so you can see her in all of her "Dane-ness".

My New Toy

This past Saturday my Sweetie, Mr. A, and my father went to a photo seminar. My Sweetie came home with an EARLY birthday present / rod & screw present. He bought me a Nikon D40 digital SLR camera. He just loves saying that he bought me a D40 for my 40th. Which, by the way, is still six months away!

He also told the salesperson that he would like to be able to find his D70 when he looks for it in his camera bag. Apparently, he thinks I've been using it more than him lately. I have no idea what he's talking about.

I spent all day Sunday playing with my new toy. Since it rained practically the entire day, my test subjects were the boys. As soon as the camera came out, they started hamming it up. This is what I got to start with...

Chris P. Bacon

Bond, James Bond

Two-thirds of the male population in my house.

Slowly they came down off the jelly bean buzz and calmed down... a tad bit...

Ahhh... a bowl full of love.

The children I claim as my own.

Finally, the rain stopped and we were able to walk through the nature park at the end of the day. This is how I finished my first day with my first "grown-up" camera...

G-Man as his true self.

Question of the Day

How can a household that is 75% male use so much toilet paper?

Happy No. 5

Yesterday my Sweetie and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. (I'll explain the math in some other blog).

Originally, my Sweetie planned a special surprise evening out for just the two of us. But after my food poisoning incident I was reluctant to go out to eat no matter how many stars the restaurant had.

We decided to leave work early, go grocery shopping, and cook our own dinner for a quiet evening at home. S made pan-seared scallops (he makes the best scallops I've ever had!) and roasted veggies and I grilled a filet for him and a ribeye for me. We also had rosemary & sea salt dinner rolls and some execellent wine. S enjoys red so he had a 2002 Merlot from Sonoma County that we bought on our honeymoon. I prefer white so I had a 2007 white Bordeaux. Excellent, excellent, excellent!!!!

We has also had two other special treats. The boys had a sleepover at the grandparents' house. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. And my folks bought us a wonderful cake from my favorite pastry shop. I apologize for the below photo. I was too excited to find out what kind of cake it was that I didn't take a photo of it while it was still intact.

Befuddled by Rice

Cooking is very enjoyable, creative and relaxing. Baking, on the other hand, is chemistry. You have to follow the recipe to a T. One slip-up and it's over. Too much pressure. That's why I prefer starting with a box.

I would like to think that I'm a good cook. My family seems satisfied enough. I have a hard time cooking from a recipe though. I always have to change something... to make it healthier, to suit my tastes, or to accommodate whatever I might have in the pantry.

I'd like to think that I could cook just about anything. But there are a few things that I just haven't mastered such as: my great-grandmother's fried chicken, my grandfather's brisket, and rice. That's right, RICE.

My Sweetie can cook rice perfectly in a pot on the stove. It must be from those years living in Japan. Whenever I cook rice it's either overdone and stuck to the pot or still crunchy.

So I bit the bullet and bought a rice cooker. I thought to myself, this is idiot-proof! I made my best batch of rice ever! Which really isn't saying much because it was all brown on the bottom. Apparently, I didn't read the directions that well and didn't add enough water. That's my problem... I had to follow a recipe. Maybe cooking rice should really come under "baking".

Brown-Eyed Girl

Molly the Great Dane is the most remarkable dog I have even known.

We met her for the first time at the Great Dane Rescue. I instantly fell in love with her when she looked me squarely in the eye and licked my face. My comment was, "Yep, she's a keeper". G-Man was doing a school project on the Titantic at the time and wanted to name her after the Unsinkable Molly Brown since she had been through so much. The name was a perfect fit.

Molly came home to us on Columbus Day in October 2004. She was a timid, easily startled, very sick girl. Our vet estimated that she was barely a year old. She weighed only about 90 pounds. I could fit two fingers in the sunken voids between her ribs. She had whip worms, heart worms, a fungal infection on her skin and missing patches of fur, she was covered in ant bites, her toenail beds were infected from standing in feces, she had (still has) a scar around her neck from a rope, and the pads on her paws were burned so bad that they were (still are) completely smooth.

We can only speculate on her history. We think she was tied up outside. She was obviously neglected and/or abused. She must have gotten loose during one of the many hurricanes we had the summer of 2004 and then roamed the streets for a month or so. Molly was picked up with a tea cup poodle. What a strange pair they must of made. We would have adopted the poodle too but he already found a home.

Molly has come a long way in 4.5 years. She's very healthy and weighs 120 pounds - which is still very petite for a Great Dane. She's the quietest dog you'll ever meet. She rarely barks and even then it's not a real bark. The rope around the neck must have done some permanent damage. She still has quirks from being starved and left outside. She drinks fresh water right away but hoards food. Floors still mystify her as she tries to "dig in the dirt". At some point she must have had things thrown at her because she cowers when you raise an object - but not as much anymore. That's why it's so difficult to get a photo of her. She is literally afraid of the camera.

But don't let any of that fool you. Molly has become quite the princess. She doesn't like wet grass - it tickles her tush. She will physically come and get me when the cushion on her bed needs to be straightened out. Then when the car keys come out, she better be going for a car ride.

The thing I love best about Molly is her empathy. I believe all dogs have that innate quality but in Molly it's her defining characteristic. She always knows when to give my hand a little nudge or put her head in my lap. Then there are her eyes. Who ever says that dogs don't have souls has never met Molly. From day one until now, whenever I look in Molly's brown eyes I don't see a victim of abuse. I see a survivor.

No TV for You

TV isn’t all that important to me. When I was little, we were required to check the TV schedule before turning on the TV. No channel surfing allowed! Of course, that was in the pre-cable era when there were only four channels. Definitely no TVs in the bedrooms. There was always music playing in the house so I’m used to that as sensory background rather than the irritating noise of the boob-tube.

Before my Sweetie and I were married, I could go all week without turning on the TV. In my universe, the television is a means of watching DVDs. I get my news and weather online. I don’t follow any particular TV series. We don’t have Tivo or a DVR… at least I think we don’t.

Sure, from time to time I watch the Food Network or HGTV. I know that Stacy and Clinton are the hosts of What Not To Wear and Cesar Millan is the Dog Whisperer. There was even that ONE season of Project Runway and the NCIS marathon on USA a few weeks ago.

But when everyone was blogging about the Bachelor finale, I was clueless. That pretty much sums up my TV exposure.

My Sweetie ordered the premium Fios channel package so that he could get the Golf Channel. Yea, watching golf re-runs is about exciting as watching C-SPAN. I’m perfectly content to sit on the sofa next to my Sweetie and read my book.

This past weekend my Sweetie finally agreed that “we” have been watching too much TV. The boys have been blowing off their chores and procrastinating on their homework. My Sweetie has also been procrastinating about studying for an upcoming professional certification test. Plus he’s been snacking too much while sitting idle in front of the idiot box. Not to mention that G-Man has this annoying talent for memorizing and reciting TV commercials. Argh!

Solution? I suggested one week without the TV except for family movie night on Saturday. So far it’s working. The important tasks are being accomplished, everyone is finding alternative forms of entertainment (last night included my stories of shopping at a market in a third world country), and I’m relishing in the blissful serenity.

Did I mention that my Sweetie has partial hearing loss from years in the Navy and listens to the TV REALLY LOUD????

Would you be able to go a week without TV? And yes, watching your program online the next day is considered cheating!

Monday Again?

I woke up in the wee hours this morning thinking that it was Sunday... aaah. Then My Sweetie's alarm went off at 5:30 am bursting my small bubble of disillusionment.

I thought to myself this morning, "Where did the weekend go?" Well, here's my answer:

One soccer game, a trip to the mall to get Mr. A fitted for a tux, a futile shopping trip to find the elusive birthday present, two trips to the grocery store, one trip to Target, clean the floors, lots of laundry (I don't mind the washing and drying - I just wish I had a house elf to do the folding), scrub the shower, search the internet for a recipe for a dish I had on vacation about 20 years ago, make up my own recipe for a dish I had on vacation about 20 years ago, prepare for Sunday night's dinner on Saturday, cook dinner on Saturday, cook dinner on Sunday, and finally hang art on the wall in the "Bard Room" (more on that in a later post).

I think there might be more but I can't really remember. What happened to "free time" or "recreational time"???

I wasn't the only busy one... my Sweetie and G-Man painted the hallway by the boys' rooms. It looks so much better now. Why we didn't use eggshell finish the first time I'll never know. Little-boy-fingerprints get everywhere! Sweetie and G-Man also managed to fit in a half round of golf and some manly stuff in the woodshop.

Then there was homework all-around for the menfolk. I was only one without homework and felt a little left out since I already finished my book for book club. That's why the shower got scrubbed with an actual scrub brush! Maybe I should go back to school to give me something to do in my "spare time". LOL!

Anyway, I decided to face Monday with a smile. I put on my knock-off Lilly Pulitzer sweater that I got from Target last spring and headed off to work. I feel rather pretty and that's enough reason to have a good day... even a Monday.

What Happened to My Karma?

Last Friday was a crummy day at work. I felt that I went above and beyond. At home I whined to My Sweetie that I felt that someone else did not. We were both too tired to cook so we grabbed the boys and went out to dinner. A few hours later I realized that I had food poisoning.

I was miserable for three days. While sick and miserable I thought about other times I’ve recently been sick and miserable (just like everyone else does when sick and miserable). This winter I had bronchitis twice and now pood foisoning (as my son calls it).

Is the universe trying to tell me something? Have I strayed too far from my self-imposed Lenten task? I know I’ve definitely strayed from my New Year’s resolutions. I haven’t seen the pool at the YMCA since bronchitis case #1.

All of me still feels some what yucky. My co-worker bought me a bag of “Karma Puffs” to help get my Karma back on track. Any other suggestions?

Sweet Nectar of Life

My simple pleasure this morning was finding enough money in my wallet to buy a Coca-Cola from the vending machine downstairs. Plus I had one nickel and six pennies to spare!

Not So Tweet

At work we’re still trying to figure out which avenue of social marketing would work best for us. Way too much stuff out there! Who knows what will be a big hit and which one will be a flash in the pan? In my opinion, we should just sit back and wait to find out who wins “The Twitter Wars” (for lack of a better term). Think about it… YouTube has totally replaced podcasts!

Personally, I love blogging and reading blogs. Facebook isn’t for me. Plinky creeped my out. I signed up and canceled my account within 24 hours. I had “Followers” and didn’t even know the folks. Too stalker-ish for me. This rather lengthy article gives you a good perspective on Twitter. But the quote below from the article sums up my feelings:

“Twitter provides the closest thing most people will ever get to their very own paparazzi or reality show, a trail of imagined eyes on their every move, thought and taste.”
- Alexander Zaitchik

Lunch with a View

Yesterday I had the most wonderful lunch hour. I walked down to the bay and sat under a Banyan tree (apparently one of the few trees on God's green earth that I'm NOT allergic) to eat my PB&J and read my book.

The temp was in the low 70's but with the breeze and sitting in the shade I put my sweater on. The breeze off the water made it easier for me to breath too. I relaxed so much that I actually laughed out loud while reading my book.

By the time I needed to return to the office, I set off with a spring in my step. I'm so lucky to live in Florida and work where I do. Of course, the walk through the dry grass field and under the live oaks had me sneezing and wheezing by the time I got back to the office. Ok, so it wasn't perfect. But who else has a lunch break with a view like this in early March?

Trying Too Hard?

Let's face it, I essentially live with three men. It's not as bad as it sounds. My Sweetie is very considerate and we're trying to raise very considerate young men. But there are times when I blow a gasket over things that should be simple.

We lived in our house for over ten years before anyone besides me knew the trash and recycling collection days. Lately, I've been trying to impress upon the boys not to put empty containers back in the frig, refill items that need to be refilled, and let me know when they use the last of something.

Apparently, the message is starting to sink in. One of the boys, I don't know which one, used the last napkin and actually refilled the napkin holder. The scene below made me laugh. I'm just not sure if the excessiveness of the action is suppose to convey a message back to me.

The Playlist

I mentioned that I already complied the playlist of music for my "milestone" birthday party. I may add a few songs between down and then. But at this point I have 4.5 hours of music spanning four decades (ouch). Most of the music is from the 80's. Hey! Please don't judge - those were my formative years in HS and college.

I picked songs that in general just make me feel good or that I remember fondly for one reason or another. I did have to take into consideration that I would like people to carry on conversations at the party so I had to leave off a few artists such as: The Sex Pistols, Pink, and AC/DC (sorry marcia). Here are the artists I did select:

ABBA, Ace of Base, The Ataris, Barenaked Ladies, The Beatles, Berlin, Captain & Tennille, The Carpenters, Cheap Trick, Coldplay, The Cranberries, Damn Yankees, David Bowie, Dexy's Midnight Runners (remember, no judging!), Duran Duran, Elton John, Finger Eleven, Foreigner, The Fray, George Harrison, George Michael, Gloria Gaynor, Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, Hoobastank, Hot Chocolate, Huey Lewis & The News, Ingrid Michaelson, Jason Mraz, Kelly Clarkson, Lifehouse, Madness, Matchbox Twenty, Michelle Branch, Natalie Imbruglia, Natasha Bedingfield, No Doubt, Olivia Newton-John, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, The Police, Prince, The Proclaimers, Queen, Rick Springfield, Snow Patrol, Spandau Ballet (still no judging!), Squeeze, Steve Winwood, Sting, T'Pau, Talking Heads, The Thompson Twins, U2 (of course), Wallflowers, Whitesnake, and Whitney Houston.

Isn't iTunes wonderful???

I just have two questions for Phil Collins... Who is this Sussudio girl? And how did she get such and unusual name?

The "F" Word

Forty. There I said it. Well, at least typed it.

They say the road to recovery first starts with admitting that you have a problem.

Hello, my name is Pines Lake Redhead and I will be FORTY in September. My problem? I don’t want to be 40! I’ve spent the last nine years trying to get used to the idea of being 30. At this rate I’ll never catch-up!

I don’t FEEL 40. I feel young! I still get carded when I buy wine or spray paint. I’ve been mistaken for my son’s older sister - not the other way around ‘cause there is a difference. But at the same time, my oldest son has already short-listed his choice of colleges and my “baby” will officially be a teenager in 3 months. Buying an SAT Prep book for Mr. A brought me to tears! Where has the time gone? I want more time!

I made my decision a long time ago to have all my children before I turned 30. I wanted to be a young mom with them. My best friend, who lives too far away, is the only friend I have that is close to my age and her son is the same age as Mr. A. Most of my friends and co-workers didn’t even start families until they were 40 or almost 40.

All morning long I’ve been trying to think of a word to describe how I feel or at least describe my situation. It’s down to two words: paradox or dichotomy. Now I owe Gibbs $6 (that NCIS reference is for the boys).

With only 6 months to go the only coping technique I’ve come up with is planning my own birthday party. Something I’ve never done before. My older brother and his friends always planned the activities for my childhood birthday parties (imagine 6-year-olds playing musical chairs to Led Zeppelin).

But now it’s my turn and I want it to be a celebration. No black crepe paper, tombstones, or bottles of Geritol. I just have a brain block on everything… food, cake, decorations, etc… Suggestions?

Music hasn’t been a problem. I have my playlist all set! Four decades *gasp* of music. But which should I choose for my theme song??? “40” by U2 or “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day?

Only After Lunch

This past weekend Mr. A and I went to Uber-Target for a few school items and other stuff.

It’s a chilly, windy day so I ask him if he wants a hot chocolate from Starbucks. He says no thanks that he’d rather have an Icee. What? My child that doesn’t like sweets wants an Icee? Okay.

We meet up after we purchase our respective drinks and Mr. A has the biggest, reddest Icee I have ever seen. He slurps on this thing all the way through the store, out to the car, in the car, and on the ride to the next store. Outside the store I stop at the trash can and wait for him to finish so we can go inside. He works so hard to get every last drop that I’m afraid that his head might implode.

Honey, it’s empty. Let it go.

As Mr. A tosses the jumbo cup and straw into the trash, he tells me that he had to get every last bit because Icees are full of good memories.

What?

He then proceeds to tell me that one of his favorite childhood memories was going to Target with G-Man and me. If it was after lunch and the boys behaved, they could get Icees. He totally caught me off guard and made me cry.

When we got home I asked G-Man if he remembered getting Icees at Target.

Yep, only if it was after lunch and we behaved.

Waiting for Easter

This year for Lent I decided rather than self-denial I would do my best to be kind to others and try to find the beauty in each day’s simple pleasures.

I started off okay with an act of kindness. At work I gave the last parking spot to a co-worker and drove out to no-man’s land to park and walked back to the office building. To put this in perspective, parking at work is like a cut-throat demolition derby. No one wants to park out in the field. This thoughtfulness was acknowledged and appreciated by my co-worker (even though she was a little confused by my motives).

But ever since then I have hit a brick wall. It finally dawned on me this morning while driving to work that I have some pent up issues that I need to let out. Hopefully, after I vent I will be able to get back to the task at hand.

Here I go:

1. Canadian drivers need to realize that in the US the speed limits are posted in MILES per hour – not KM per hour. On a Canadian car, MPH are the small numbers on the speedometer.

2. The entrance to I-75 SOUTH is on the south side of the interchange. The entrance to I-75 NORTH is on the north side of the interchange. Why is this so hard to figure out??? Just follow the signs! The DOT even put great big decals on the road!

3. Why does someone driving the WRONG way down a one-way aisle in a parking lot give ME the finger?

4. Teachers should NOT drive the wrong way through the drop-off loop at school just because it’s the shortest route to their assigned parking spot.

5. Please don’t line jump at the pharmacy pick-up window because you think your transaction may not take as long as mine… I might let my sick kid sneeze on you.

6. If you decide to write a check at said pharmacy window, please start to fill out the check before the cashier is finished ringing up your order.

7. If you still insist on writing checks for your purchases, please carry a pen with you.

8. If I loan you my Cross pen to help speed things along in the check-writing fiasco, please don’t reply with, “This is a nice pen. Do you mind if I keep it?”

I understand that tourism is a huge part of our local economy but this year I can relate with the bumper stickers that read, “Why do they call it Tourist Season, if we can’t shoot them?”. Please let Easter come quickly this year!

Shopping for Baby

No jumping to conclusions! I'm not pregnant... just shopping for a shower gift.

Recently, I attended a baby shower for a co-worker. A few of us decided to go in together on a gift of the basics... diapers, wipes, toiletries, etc. Before baby arrives all of the diapers and wipes seem a bit excessive. After baby arrives, you worry that you won't have enough to last you the first week!

If you're like me and haven't had a baby in at least 5 years, you want to wander the aisles of the baby section in Target rather than heading straight for what you need. It's an emotional journey and for me it goes something like this:

1. The Onesies and Sock aisle - If you're susceptible to baby fever, it starts here. You'll "ooh and aah" over all the cute baby clothes and wonder how your child's foot ever fit in the newborn socks. In my case, my boys' feet never did fit in the newborn socks.

2. The Feeding and Bath Aisle - The brilliant colors will dazzle you. You'll play with all the bath toys. You'll be amazed by the wide variety of sippy cups. Then you'll wonder why they didn't make all these cool gadgets when you had babies.

3. The Toiletry Aisle - The scent of Johnson's Baby Powder and Dreft are a comfort to me and still make me smile. Zinc oxide cream is the best treatment for diaper rash if your baby is ever unfortunate enough to get it. "Back in the day" Balmex was the only brand of diaper ointment that contained zinc oxide. Now there are many brands including one called "Butt Paste". It seems to be very popular simply because the name makes people giggle. I still prefer Balmex because it sounds calming. At this point in the journey, you'll need to make a mental note to tell the first-time-parents not to use baby powder & diaper ointment in the same diaper change. You'll only end up with a Spackle-like compound on baby's bottom that will require a bath to remove. Which baby won't mind because he/she will have cool toys to play with.

4. The Diaper Aisle aka The Dreaded Diaper Aisle - Despite the plastic packaging, new, fresh, disposable diapers have a unique smell. This scent reminds me of all the poopy diapers I have changed over the past 18 years and I have had more than my share. I have 2 sons, 3 nieces & 1 nephew on my side of the family. Other than my mother, I'm the only person to have changed ALL of their diapers. Here ends my journey in the baby department and any spark of baby fever is GONE!