My computer crapped out a while back, and even though Chris got me a new one the same day, he had to get everything back on. Unfortunately, that didn't include the photo editing program I was familiar with, so I had to learn a new one. Chris can tell you I don't like new programs on my computer. So it took me a while to have him show me what to do, then I forgot and had to learn again. I think I've got it now. And I like this program better, which often happens, even though I do my best to resist change.

First, though, I promised Malcolm a book fair story a few weeks back.

It's the last day of the book fair, first thing in the morning, when it's at its craziest with tons of kids thrusting money and merchandise at the volunteers and me. In the middle of this, I hear some woman talking loudly to one of the parent volunteers, and he looked like a deer caught in headlights, so I ask what the problem is. She starts going off on me that I overcharged her precious by $3.00 for a poster. OK, I checked it out, and he was overcharged - by accident. Every poster we sell is $4.50, EXCEPT that one that had a tiny sticker in the corner that said $1.00. Scholastic didn't mention this one single poster was on sale, and we sell like 25 different posters. I apologized, took the difference out of the cash box and went to hand it to her. "HAND IT TO HIM, HE TOOK HIS OWN MONEY OUT OF HIS PIGGY BANK AND YOU RIPPED HIM OFF!!!". Whoa. I responded it was an honest mistake, and she said "I DON'T THINK IT WAS. I THINK YOU RIPPED HIM OFF AND TOOK ADVANTAGE OF HIM. AND YOU SHOULD BE WRITING OUT RECEIPTS FOR EVERY CHILD THAT BUYS SOMETHING!" This is not feasible. If someone pays with credit card, they get a receipt. Otherwise, since we know almost every child in the school, if someone has a dispute, we don't question it and do what we can to make it right. AS I WAS DOING.

At this point, I'm really pissed. But since I am a book fair chairperson and a PTA co-president, I couldn't let loose. So I just clenched my teeth in a poor imitation of a smile and said "You are welcome to attend a PTA meeting and give your suggestions. Otherwise, we are done here." She huffs off, and I'm left pissed and shaking. Fortunately, there were many witnesses - teachers and staff who had had run-ins with this woman themselves. Apparently, I am now a member of a not-so-exclusive club. And not only did this woman get in my face, SHE TOLD ON ME to the Assistant Principal! And then that night, at our Family Dance, she was STILL telling everyone who didn't run away from her how I ripped off her kid. What a freak. I could go on and on about this woman and the things so many people told me about her that day, but suffice it to say that EVERYBODY HATES HER, and she's a miserable person. And that's good enough for me.

OK, onto the pictures. I met a friend for lunch last week. She and I went to high school together, and are still good friends after almost 30 FREAKING YEARS. We met Freshman year, 1979. And now Lauren is starting high school in 2009. Ugh. Anyway, here we are (with her little girl Emily, who is too adorable for words):



Crappy picture of me, but there you go.

And here's a not-so-crappy picture of me, taken by Lauren at Harper's Ferry a few weeks ago:



( More this way... )

Some 8th grade stuff in the next post!

I haven't posted in three weeks. Know why? Because there is NOTHING GOING ON. Winter doesn't want to let go for the most part. We really haven't gone anywhere special, or taken pictures of anything. There are only so many pictures of leafless trees and brown fields you can take.

We were supposed to go on vacation next week for spring break, but it turns out the weather where we were going is going to be a nasty bust. Temps in the 30s/40s, some snow, rain, wind. One day where it was supposedly going to be 60 and sunny. Screw that. So we're going in June instead. Still, things are starting to look up. It was rainy today, but warm, and there were periods of sun. I had lunch with a friend at a new place in town that turned out really nice. It's windy now; sounds like a hurricane, but it's supposed to be warm and sunny on Sunday and we're hoping to go somewhere and enjoy it.

Chris and I celebrated 16 years of marriage today. Well, we really didn't celebrate today; yesterday Chris took the afternoon off (after MONTHS of long hours and overtime) and we went out to lunch and saw a movie. We haven't seen a movie in the theater together since Cloverfield in January 2008! We saw Knowing, which was a fantastic movie. Depressing and sad at the end, though.

I got my Mother's Day gift early - an iPod Touch, which I decided I coveted after my friend Michelle kept talking up hers. LOVE IT.

I've gotten in touch with friends I haven't seen or heard from in 20-30 years on Facebook. Even my very first best friend when we were four. Facebook is amazing, not to mention very addictive. I'm usually there, if I'm not here.

No new recipes lately. I start getting lazy this time of year. I'm sick of my "winter" recipes, but it's too soon for "summer" recipes. I want to start grilling, but we have to time it right with the weather changing constantly. Most of the meals I've been making have already been posted here. It can get hard to get creative with meals sometimes. Once local produce is available, and it's nicer out, meals start getting fun and creative again. Only six to eight more weeks until strawberry picking time!

The girls are doing fine in school, which is why I'm still letting them take off Monday and Tuesday before spring break (which starts Wednesday) as if we were still going to Tennessee. Chris is still taking off too, so it'll be a nice, relaxing week.

( I have taken some pictures of the pets lately, so check them out this way... )

And finally, my favorite. Yeah, I always have dog hair on my clothes, but who could resist this?

Becca celebrated her 11th birthday last week (sob!). She has been coveting Lauren's iPod since Lauren got hers last summer for her 13th birthday. We told Becca we'd be happy to get her one for her 13th birthday, but she COULD NOT WAIT. So we gave her an option - skip having a birthday party, and we would give her $100 towards an iPod (approximately the amount we'd spend on a party), since she had enough in Best Buy gift cards from Christmas to make up the difference. She went for it, of course. She got her iPod and I didn't have to plan a party. Win/win!

But Chris and I still wanted to get her an actual gift from us. I asked her several times what she wanted, but she couldn't think of anything - except a hamster. I had promised her one at the end of the school year for consistent good grades. Then she asked if she could re-arrange her room instead and put her bed by her window. Well, Chris didn't want her sleeping near the windows while it's still so cold, so we nixed that idea. So Chris and I talked and decided to get the hamster now and let her re-arrange her room at the end of the school year.

So after the Read-a-Thon, Lauren and I stopped by PetSmart and picked out a cute hamster and all its paraphernalia.

*Proud Mom Moment*

First we went to Target, because Lauren wanted to buy Becca a birthday gift using her OWN money. I thought she'd pick up some little trinket, but she actually bought a Sims 2 Expansion Pack for $20, and insisted she didn't mind spending that much on Becca.

Anyway, we happily surprised Becca when we got home. She was thrilled and excited. We got the hamster set up in his new home, and were glad when we realized the pets had no interest in it. Becca named him Charlie. This is what the little guy looked like:



However, it became very apparent after a few days that this is what he really was:



He hissed a few times, was very anti-social and aggressive, trying to bite Becca whenever she went to feed him, and succeeded once, drawing copious amounts of blood. I could tell Becca was very unhappy and hurt. The hamster came with a two-week guarantee, so I offered to let her exchange him for another hamster that would be nice.

( More of the story... )

Get it?

It's been a week since I've updated. I've been both very busy and sluggish. It's possible to be both at once. Seasonal depression takes away my energy, but knowing that I must pull it together for the kids gets me moving. That and making lists. LOTS of lists. Lists keep me somewhat sane and feeling less pressure.

We hosted both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which may sound like a lot (and it is), but I prefer to stay home and have everyone come here. I do like making lots of food for people, plus I hated leaving my house on Christmas Day when I was a kid, so I don't make my kids go anywhere. Although there's a lot of cooking, baking, cleaning and other prep beforehand, being in my own home makes me feel a little less stressed (and every little bit helps).

So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were busy, but Friday through today was nothing but hanging out. Friday was actually a jammies and ponytail day (I did shower, though!).

Monday I spent doing last-minute shopping and my grocery shopping. Although it was cold and windy, the sun was out for a change, so that helped a lot. There were idiots on the road, but the stores were actually pretty stress-free. And I'm one of the those crazy freaks who loves grocery shopping. It's somewhat relaxing.

Tuesday was spent baking. Becca had two requests - the peanut-butter cookie with the Hershey kiss in the middle, and fudge. But she decided on mocha fudge, so after making that, she decided she didn't like it. I'm not sure I did either. I need to try it again before I decide to just throw it out.

Here are the girls starting our marathon baking session:



( Lots more this way... )

So another Christmas done. All of our Christmas decorations, including tree, are down as of today. Actually, I got the most wonderful gift of all today - Chris let me sleep in and when I came downstairs, everything, including the vacuuming, was done. He and the girls did it all while I snoozed peacefully and obliviously. Now THAT is a Christmas miracle!

Yesterday I posted that the day after Thanksgiving is our lazy day. Here are the pictures to prove it - all of them were taken from my recliner, and the brown plaid blanket at the end of some of the pictures is on my legs! No pictures of Lauren because her idea of a lazy day is spending it on the kids' computer in the other room.

Becca in her jammies; we had on a Spongebob marathon all day. Luckily, I do like Spongebob. However, I don't think Squidward approves of our sloth.



She also watched TV in this position; she only turned her head towards me because I called her name to get the picture. How can you watch TV upside down?



( More laziness this way... )

And that was pretty much our day. We did get out today to run some errands; Becca got a new coat, Lauren got a new Twilight t-shirt and a book and I actually bought a Christmas gift for Becca, but I was so Ninja-stealthy she didn't know it.

Tomorrow night's a school night and that sucks; I've enjoyed our break. But only three weeks until Christmas break!

These were taken by Chris, but I wanted to post them as well.

( The girls... )

Every year, Sandy, Jack and Misty (my in-law's dog) gather around Pap while he carves the bird, hoping for some to fall on the floor.



Of course, they do get a few bites. Who could resist them?

No real theme to this post; just some pictures and stuff I didn't get to post last week while book fair was going on.

One thing that's hard about book fair week is putting dinner together when I get home. I'm usually pretty tired and don't feel like doing anything elaborate. Monday night I had a roast in the crockpot, so that worked well. Tuesday I made some meatball subs - and they were DELICIOUS.

Behold:



Extremely easy recipe - I just heated up frozen meatballs in the oven according to package directions. I had Market Day Italian meatballs on-hand (very yummy), and used four for each of us. While those were in the oven, I heated up some jarred marinara sauce, then I spread butter on some sub rolls and sprinkled garlic powder and dried parsley on top. I stuck those in with the meatballs for about 10 minutes. Fill the rolls with the meatballs, top with marinara and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan.

( Some other stuff... )

Oh, and Chris now has his own blog. It'll mostly be photography; he takes great pictures, so check it out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We were fortunate to have a beautiful day for Halloween - sunny and warm. Today was dreary and cold. I barely moved out of my chair! No cooking tonight; we got pizza. But that's what Sundays are for.

The girls seem to have recuperated from all the excitement on Friday. They were exhausted yesterday, but much perkier today. It helps that there is no school tomorrow and Tuesday.

It was pumpkin carving time when the kids got home from school on Friday. Chris finished work early since this is something the three of them do together. He used to do all the carving when they were little, but this year they did most of it themselves.



( More )

And finally, it wouldn't be Halloween without a black cat, would it? How about a possessed black cat?



( The pets like Halloween, too... )

Can you believe Thanksgiving is only a little more than three weeks away?

Look! It's the kitty!



( More badness... )

The stand-off ended as usual, with a chase upstairs.

But Jack isn't the only bad dog! Sandy is a booger when it comes to rawhide bones. There are always two, but she NEVER lets Jack have one. She has him so well cowed and trained, that he will not even go near them. But if she thinks he might, she growls and snarls and gathers them around her. Obviously, guarding those bones is hard work.

Magic likes to sun herself on the nightstand sometimes while I make the bed. Today, however, she wasn't able to enjoy it for very long.



( More badness this way... )

The last time I posted about Jack, he was neurotically chewing his tail and had just been put on Prozac. Well, he's calmed down a lot since then. We figured he was more than likely suffering from separation anxiety, so we let him start sleeping in our room at night with us like Sandy does. We had hesitated previously, because we were worried he'd try to get Sandy to play and keep us up half the night. But he actually settled in just fine. We do occasionally wake up to licks on the nose or some "please get up!" whining, but mostly we all sleep through the night. It's a relief not to have to wipe up blood off the walls all the time, although occasionally I do find some I missed. We were able to take him off the Prozac with no problem.

So now he's settled back into a routine. And even though he's calmer, we DO NOT deviate from the routine. There can be extra surprises thrown into the day, but nothing must be eliminated, or else it's chaos and anarchy with hell to pay.

( This way to see Jack's routine... )

This is what takes place in our house every night. It's usually after they've had their dinner and gone out. After they come back in, they're wound up and crazy. We usually don't see the cat around this time of day.



( One more ferocious dog picture this way... )

I post a lot of pictures of the dogs and mention their quirks at times, but Jack warrants his own post.

We love Jack. We really do. He also drives us completely insane. He is loud, obnoxious, annoying, in-your-face, clumsy, and completely anxiety-ridden. He's George Costanza in canine form.

His anxiety takes different forms. He's scared of storms. Scared of the dark. Has separation anxiety. The list goes on. Last year, I suppose in an effort to quiet his brain, he started chewing his tail. A tail that is so long, thin and strong, Indiana Jones could use it if he lost his whip. The tail whacks everything and everybody in its path. And man, that tails hurts when it hits you.

So I was seeing streaks of what looked like mud EVERYWHERE. On the walls, doors, appliances, furniture. I couldn't figure it out at first, since we didn't have mud in the yard. Then I noticed the tip of his tail was raw and bloody. Every time it whacked on something, blood would spatter. Thankfully it was easy to clean up even though I still found traces I had missed months later. If Luminol were ever applied to various areas in the house, I'd have a lot of explaining to do.

Of course we took Jack to the vet. This is what happened (note Sandy snickering in the corner):



Unfortunately, this didn't work. Jack's tail is long, his body is long, and he had no trouble curling up and chewing away. Apparently, in addition to being George Costanza, he's also part Ouroboros, only not as badass.



Somehow, he calmed down and quit chewing his tail. Maybe because we wrapped a dishtowel around it and sealed it with duct tape. It sounds awful, but no other tape worked. It didn't hurt him. He just kept shedding it off every couple days. But eventually he stopped the chewing and we put the duct tape away and washed the towel. I'm not sure how he dealt with his anxieties when in his crate, but as long as my house didn't look like the Manson Family had visited, I didn't care.

But now he's doing it again. Two days after we got back from vacation, there were blood streaks everywhere and his tail raw and bloody. Arrrgh! We pulled out the dishtowel and duct tape again, hoping he'd lose interest after a few days, but that didn't happen. Back to the vet he went, but this time, in addition to treating the wound, Jack was put on meds. Not for infection or soreness, but for his anxiety.

Our dog is on Prozac.

Sandy and Jack on the back porch today, hoping to spot the barn cat that lives on the farm behind us. There's also a huge ground hog that likes to taunt them from time to time.

I think Magic is jealous that Sandy and Jack are featured in a lot of my cooking posts...

Jack and Sandy love to lie on the steps and watch out the front window for scary intruders - you know, like if one of the girls' friends rings the doorbell. But once the sun comes through...



Jack is way too big for that step, but Sandy WILL NOT give up the larger step to him. EVER.

And last night, Becca put her pillow on the couch for a few minutes (she and her friend were going to sleep in the living room), and Magic claimed it for her own.

We are going on vacation, so the dogs are getting boarded. Chris took them this afternoon so I could get some cleaning done without them flinging hair and dirtying up behind me. Poor dogs; so excited about riding in the car but no clue where they were going.

Waiting for Chris to come back in from the garage and get them (he was putting a towel down in the car for them to sit on):



( A couple more pictures from today... )

Last night we grilled some little steaks wrapped in peppered bacon that I got from Market Day last month. Market Day is an on-going fundraiser our school uses, and I co-chair it with my bud Kelli. The food is usually really yummy, but these steaks weren't as good as others I've gotten. Still, they were tasty. We grilled them, along with potatoes and corn. We ate on our back porch, my favorite room in the house during the summer.



( This way for bad dog behavior... )

We went to Rita's! I got a dish of coffee custard. Meh, wasn't that great. I think I'll just stick to the ices. I was really wishing I had gotten the mango. Lauren got a disgusting mixture of mint chocolate chip ice and chocolate custard. Nasty!



And the poor dogs were just so worn out from being crated for an hour while we were gone:

He has such a fierce bark when someone comes to the door. But what does he do during a thunderstorm? Not protecting his family!

( Scaredy-dog )