Thrifty Mom in a Consumer World

kant resist, srry, lolz, kthxbai

2008-07-07T15:05:00.000-04:00

more cat pictures

Won't you blog about this song?

2008-06-26T06:35:00.004-04:00

I just had to share this.

As an internet entramanure myself, I found it hysterical (and telling).

Via my Blackadder List (thanks, Howie!):

Here comes another bubble

I wonder whose t-shirt that is at the end? I haz a jealous.

Last week of school! EEEeeeEEEeee!

2008-06-03T12:12:00.004-04:00

Just wanted to pop in and say that we're on our last week of school (YAY!) and so I should be able to blog a bit more soon (YAY!)

Today we had our evaluation by the school district to see if Bitty can get into 4 year old Kindergarten next year.

Since I suspect she's on the Autism spectrum and we can't afford to have her evaluated by a doctor (the damned thing costs $3000 and they don't take insurance. How effed up is THAT?), we are availing ourselves of the services of the school district.

I was pretty trepidacious going in. Last year, we met with a rather severe teacher in the middle of a hallway and she took THCTD down to her room for the eval and didn't allow me to come. I had no idea what they were looking at/testing for and the teacher acted stand-offish when I inquired - as if I was prying.

Fortunately THCTD is a social butterfly and had no problem going off with a stranger.

Bitty, I was sure, would freak.

See, Bitty hates changes in routine and take a bit to warm up to new situations. She is socially inept (won't make eye contact or speak), and if she gets flustered, she simply shuts down like a robot who's been switched off.

But, this year it was totally different. We all (me and the bubs) walked into a regular kindergarten room with two pleasent and helpful teachers. One lady began immediately with Bitty while the other walked us out and answered my questions and chatted.

The result was that Bitty never turned a hair and sailed through like a pro. I have no idea how she did as the 'tests' have to be scored and then they decide which 21 kids are the 'neediest', but I have high hopes that, if they feel Bitty needs more testing, we'll get it.

I'm also going to email the school principal and tell her how good the experience was.

Just a quick pic of Bitty and one of her v. fave lovies: "Big Manatee".

Yeah, I know she needs her fringe cut. I'll be cutting hair ... erm, this summer, sometime. ;)

Drama close to home

2008-05-22T10:55:00.004-04:00

So, my husband, the Mr Evil Genius, aka Bodog has put up and interesting blog post over on his personal blog about the bru-ha-ha over Irmo SC high school Principal Eddie Walker's resignation.

I had a huge, long post about it but could never finish it. See, I know the guy and I kept getting so damned angry at the idiocy (on BOTH sides of the argument) that I just couldn't get my thoughts together (Mrs Chili, I am not, lol! BTW, that's her design idea up top there).

Anyway, so, briefly:

I don't agree with Eddie. I'm sad that his narrow views of sexuality - which reflect the dogma of christianity - would cause him to resign his job. A job at which he excels. I'm sorry that Lexington/Richland district 5 will be losing such a good principal.

But, see, here's one thing that has been making me really angry about Eddie's resignation. Folks are so busy being outraged at his opinions that they forget that he has the right to have them.

Eddie can think whatever crazy thing he wishes. If he wants to believe that gay people have sex all the time willy-nilly he can. If he wants to believe the frankly ridiculous notion that is espoused by some christians that folks choose to be gay, then he can. If he wants to resign his job because of the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance ... then he can.

Eddie Walker is NOT trying to get the club shut down. He is NOT trying to ban gays at Irmo High School. He is just choosing to resign his job because they are asking him to support something with which he feels uncomfortable.

I DON'T AGREE WITH HIM, but I do agree that he has the right to his opinions - no matter how stupid I think they are - and the right to resign his job because of them.

Yet so many are vilifying the man rather than the idiotic religious pin-hole view of biology. He wasn't born with this bias, folks. It was indoctrinated into him by his church.

I can tell you, with the utmost confidence, that Eddie Walker would help out any fellow man regardless of race, creed, colour, or sexual orientation. He might disagree with a lifestyle but he would NEVER turn his back on another human being.

The media needs to instead tune into the voices of some of the TRULY prejudiced and bigoted parents whose children attend the district. These are the sick sorts who, instead of saying "well I don't agree with it but you have the right to get together as a club" are spouting hatred. THESE are the type of people who would happily BAN clubs that didn't match their ideals. Wrong sex, wrong race, wrong religion ... yer outta there.

Trust me. I've heard/read some mind-blowing moronic attitudes voiced around here recently.

Rather than attacking a good (if misguided) man we should be hacking at the root of the problem: those erroneous beliefs and an enormous group of people who have no grasp of SCIENCE.

Of dolts and duct tape

2008-05-20T12:29:00.004-04:00

Ohhh, have I got one for you today!

I almost posted this over on Blue's Blog because I felt the need, upon reading this, to use (v. bad word) or maybe (oh dear! naughty!), so if one slips out, forgive me.

Check it out. Parents whinge about tape on doors.

"At a heated meeting Monday, Michelle Mata told the Lake Local school board in Millbury that the tactic panicked her son during a recent weekend trip to Chicago.
Sylvia Keeler said she may file charges. Her son, Mark Hummel, said he worried he could be trapped during a fire."

Oh cry me a river, emo boy! Trapped? By one piece of duct tape?

Well, I am of an engineering bent and love science, so I was fascinated and wanted to explore this topic.

Let's take a look at this.

This is the door to the bathroom in my home. It is much lighter that the average hotel room door (a heavier door would be advantageous to opening).

I taped it shut with not one but two bits of regular 3M duct tape like ye get from Lowe's:

Taped thus, the door came open easily.

Well, I don't know details of the hotel door taping and I also wasn't trying to get out from the inside. What I needed was help for this to be as accurate as possible.

How could I simulate a 'panicky' high school student?

Like this:

Yeah. Ohio moms? Yer kids are SO playing you and you need to wake up and start parenting.

For your further entertainment pleasure, here's a hot discussion on the subject.

Here it is over on our own Evil Genius Woman boards. Feel free to join us and tell us what you think!

Oh, by the way. Just a thought. Don't hotel doors open INWARD? That would make the whole thing moot. Even my 14 month old could the bloody damned thing.

The Human Crash Test Dummy: daughter of that woman who duct taped her child into the loo!

UPDATE! -

I just gleaned this from the Topix forum (abt page 133 I think) linked above:

"Okay people, i was one of the students in the room where the conflict arose. A simple strip wasn't all it was. It went from the wall around the handle twice back onto the wall. As simple as it sounds it was more. Yes, i agree everything has been blown out of proportion, but to sit there and riddicule everyone for not being able to open the door is rediculous. I don't for one beleive that this matter should have escaladed into a lawsuit, no. Personally i hope for everything to be closed and done sooner than what it seems to be. " (sic)

Uhm ...

I surely surely hope this is a joke. If this is an actual forum post by a student in this Millbury Ohio high school, then you Ohio Moms need to stop being concerned about duct tape! Not only do your wee delicate babes NEED to be taped in a room they need to be in there doing their English Homework!

More on the forums

2008-04-14T08:51:00.004-04:00

I was gonna jam all of this in my reply to Mrs Chili's comment on the last post, then realised I could just ... erm, POST it, LOL!

About the new Evil Genius Woman Forums:

I'd love for all of my readers (all three of you! ;) ) to be there.

Seriously, it's just a forum for women/parents (it is sort of gynocentric right now - it'll all make more sense when I get the website up) to get together and chat.

It's for practical parents, sensible women, REAL people.

You have the option to be UNmoderated which means you can use uncensored language, talk about adult stuff, etc. (You have to ask to be unmodded)

My goal is for it to be a relaxing hang out free from Big Brother, in your face adverts, little cliques, and trolls.

Impossible dream? Probably. LOL, but it gives me a place to talk to muh peeps during the day.

BTW, blokes are more than welcomed (especially dads), just bear in mind that the girly talk might be pretty intense at times. :D

How to make a piggy cake and we got forums!

2008-04-10T11:35:00.005-04:00

*waves*

Hey everybody!

OK, first I need to unveil my latest evil plan for world domination:

The Evil Genius Woman Forums.

Please take a peek and let me know what you think. I am still ~~breaking~~ slaving away trying to get my parenting website up. These forums will be the community that goes with that site. I'll also have thrifty tips, diet stuff, etc, etc (yeah, yeah, just like a bazillion other sites out there ... just humour me, LOL)

If you'd like to chat, by all means sign up - we'd LOVE to have you.

NOTE: there exist within these forums private, uncensored boards (if you are familiar with my other blog you know the sort of content I'm talking about). IF you are one of my Posse (and you know who you are) and/or you really feel you're a chick who needs a place to let it all hang out, then email me, PM me, or leave a comment here.

BTW, thanx for looking. I appreciate any suggestions!

-----

Right. On to playing catch up:

We've had 3 birthdays in quick succession!

First was Bitty Girl (turned 4) who is obsessed with pigs. This child has loads of stuffed piggies and adores our real pigs. Subsequently it was no shock that she demanded a piggy cake.

Ya only turn four once, so a piggy cake it was! Here's the initial cake(s) - two layer cake pans of pink (natch!) strawberry flavoured cake:

Next I carved out the ears and used a large glass to cut the nose. Here it is assembled:

Some pink icing, frou-frou sprinkles (also demanded), GummySavers for eyes, RedHots for nostrils:

Ta dah!

Then a scant few days later, Yeager had his first birthday (we did cupcakes). The aftermath:

On happy, messy, one-year-old.

THEN, the Human Crash Test Dummy turned the big I'm-starting-school-this-year 5:

Alas, NOT a home-made cake. *sad face* Our oven went tits-up just the week before so we went with store-bought. Not nearly as much fun.

AAAAAaaaaaand, Boy lost his first tooth just in time for the party:

*sigh* My bubs are getting so big. *sniffle*

OK, see ya over at the forums!

Empty gestures

2008-03-30T04:49:00.008-04:00

So, yeah, Earth Hour.

CHICAGO - "From the Sydney Opera House to Rome's Colosseum to the Sears Tower's famous antennas in Chicago, floodlit icons of civilization went dark Saturday for Earth Hour, a worldwide campaign to highlight the threat of climate change.

The environmental group WWF urged governments, businesses and households to turn back to candle power for at least 60 minutes starting at 8 p.m. wherever they were.
The campaign began last year in Australia, and traveled this year from the South Pacific to Europe to North America in cadence with the setting of the sun.

'What's amazing is that it's transcending political boundaries and happening in places like China, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea,' said Andy Ridley, executive director of Earth Hour. 'It really seems to have resonated with anybody and everybody.'

Earth Hour officials hoped 100 million people would turn off their nonessential lights and electronic goods for the hour. Electricity plants produce greenhouse gases that fuel climate change."

Right. Now, I have no problem with this gesture in theory. Any conservation is good and I suppose it could have 'raised awareness'. But here's my thing. What good is raising folks's awareness of anything: pollution, wildlife endangerment, climate change, cancer, etc if the people in question do nothing about it?

How many millions of people read the newspaper every single day, about things that they themselves could help change with almost no effort, and say: "Wow, that's a damned shame" then take another bite of toast and turn the page?

To me, Earth Hour is like a person who knows she's too fat so she says; "I'm obese! It is affecting my health! Today, I shall not eat ANY fast food!"

This sort of thing is tailor made by the ineffectual activist ("sign the online petition!") for the self-indulgent ("My plastic water bottles and disposable diapers ARE stuffing our landfills full, but I carry them to my SUV in an unbleached hemp tote!") to make them feel better about themselves. A way for the normally wasteful to balm their wee consciences with an hour of darkness before switching back on every telly in the house and firing up the Wii and anxiously checking the temp on their wine refrigerators.

So, no, I didn't turn my power off. I had no intentions of doing so.

Oh, Blue, aren't you concerned about the environment? About the polar bears?!

Hah.

I do three times more conservation of energy than the average person. This isn't a brag. If you read this blog regularly, you know it's just my chosen lifestyle.

Emphasis on chosen.

Why? I dunno. It just makes sense to me. I have an almost pathological loathing of waste. Why would you throw perfectly good clothes away when you can donate them? Why would you buy individually packaged food when you can divide up large packages? Why would you uses a clothes dryer so everything has that slimey softener feel and sickening fragrance? Why would you buy a monsterous SUV for your family of three? Why would you want to build a 400k McMansion 3 feet away from two almost identical McMansions in a neighbourhood where they tell what sort of post box you are required to put up? Why would you use snack sized ziplock bags, period?

These and other questions ...

But, seriously, it comes down to choices. We choose to do or not do, and that's cool. For myself, I'd MUCH rather spend my cash buying Zesto's ice cream cones and eating them in the park with my children than spend my cash for plastic nappies that will still be yucking up this planet when my grandkids have kids. I'd rather mush up the peas we're having for supper to feed to my baby than spend 50c on a ridiculous wee jar of the exact same thing from the store.

We all decide what sort of lifestyle we want to live and if yours is making you feel guilty about the environment then bloody well do something about it. Not some empty, quick gesture, but Some. Actual. Thing. Turn the heat down. Wash some dishes in the sink. Combine trips into town. Take your lunch. Recycle those newspapers and cans.

Conservation is no different from saving money or losing weight or supporting a cause like curing cancer or feeding the poor. You must actively participate. Sensational gestures without follow-up lifestyle changes amount to no more than signing online petitions. They soothe the guilty conscience and otherwise do ... nothing.

A fifth at one

2008-03-05T10:25:00.002-05:00

At sixes and sevens today what with us all having been sick forEVAR! My house looks like the county dump.

... ohhh, a lamp I can use!

Hey! Wait a minute!

Uh, anyway, today is my sweet baby Fiver's very first birthday! Yay! *CRY*

Where did the year go? How can this be my last baby? OMG you should see how big he is! Oh, me wee baby! *sob*sob*sob*

Why couldn't there have been THREE of him?

Please forgive the short post! We're having the party on Saturday so I'll post messy baby/cake pics. In the meantime, for your amusement/perusement check out EGH's new shop for things that cheese lovers need : Cheesy Needs! It goes along with his funny food review blog The Chi of Cheese, if you've not seen it.

Speaking of messy, here's a sneak preview of a special guest reviewer he just had in.

Mrs Evil Genius - filmmaker

2008-02-26T07:36:00.008-05:00

*whew* Busy!

Just wanted to duck in and say that I wasn't dead. :D

I've been having a ball with my new toy (actually a lovely and thoughtful xmas gift to EGH from TypeA SIL) a Flip camera.

Check out my v. first effort - an under-our-house romp by EGH - then go over to The Chi of Cheese blog/vlog and center your cheesy energy and seek the Way of the Cheese (and peruse the reviews on vid).

Making movies is so much fun! And time consuming ...

-----

In more mundane news I am now within 10lbs of my goal weight! I have lost just over 120lbs since mid March (2007)! I am SO CHUFFED!

In case you're interested, here's my post on my diet. I plan to do a lot more stuff on dieting, I think. Assuming I get two seconds to rub together. *rolls eyes*

I have decided one thing and it's this: You should never diet to LOOK better.

Diet to FEEL better; diet to increase your chances of being around to annoy your kids longer; heck, diet because smaller sizes cost less. But never diet so you'll look better. Cuz, y'know what? We all get old. And no amount of paste and paint, lotions and ointments, fad diets and fab fashions - and even surgery - will stop the process.

After a while everyone looks old.

The best you can do is be fit and happy. I personally want to be 85 years old and stomping determindly (if slowly) around my barnyard in my print granny dress, apron, and wellington boots whilst EGH sits in the house playing the latest incarnation of online gaming (probably brought about in virtual 3-D by an implant in ones head).

-----

And now, the gratuitus baby pics!

International cracker thief, The Human Crash Test Dummy (caught here on security camera), waits impatiently while technical expert, Fiver, rewires the door to the London National Bank of Bickies in an attempt to open it:

Meanwhile, weapons expert, Bitty Girl disguises black ants as bank patrons so they can sneak in unnoticed and plant tiny explosives:

Just another average day at the Secret Hidden Lair.

Ramen love and Drama hate!

2008-02-05T17:52:00.000-05:00

Just a few silly pics of The Brood enjoying some ramen noodles I made as a quick side for some broiled chicken.

Boy helps out his fork:

Bitty Girl and The Human Crash Test Dummy eat like young ladies. Sort of. Note the fancy cutlery work on THCTD's part.

The Incredible Bulk eschews cutlery:

Ditto Fiver, but at least he's eaten his green beans and chicken:

Well, let me get back to work. I've nothing to distract me now that I've abandoned my bulletin board due to high drama. *rolls eyes*

What? Oh, hell yeah, I'll share the story with ya, lol.

Get this: I apparently (read: supposedly) offended another board member with what was intended as a light-hearted college football rivalry joke.

Now, what would YOU do if you're on a bulletin board and come accross something offensive? I always immediately question it - that is, I ASK the person if she meant it that way. Especially if I don't know her (and understanding how nuances get lost with written media).

But this chick, instead of just going "whoa, I hope you didn't mean that seriously, cuz I found that offensive" (in which case, I would have apologised immediately) - climbs up on her high horse and pronounces down her nose that she went to that school and she's not that stereotype and we shouldn't bandy that sort of thing about lest we suddenly devolve into folks who think the 'n' word is acceptable.

I'm sorry? Excuse me?

The whole implication that my making a college rivalry joke meant that I really thought it was literally true, really shocked me and hurt my feelings.

So, I tried to make a joke and she tried to make me feel bad because SHE is hypersensitive.

I failed. She succeeded.

The amusing bit was that she condescendingly told me that her simply disagreeing with me didn't make her reaction ugly. Uh, no, honey. You're overreacting and being a pissy bitch; you are being ugly. Hello!

Ahh, well, there's always one or two on every bulletin board, I guess. *sigh* I just wish they'd stay off of that one. I haven't decided if I'm going back as my threshold for self-absorbed drama queens is low.

Blimey. Most of those folks were my friends and I miss them already. It's quite an eclectic group, clever and (usually) full of humour.

Jeez. How sad is it that those folks are the only adults I 'speak' with (aside from EGH) sometimes for days at a time?

Did I roll eyes yet? Did I?

In a rut, still digging

2008-01-24T07:57:00.000-05:00

Ugh.

So, we were having a convo on one of my bulletin boards about what someone called 'invisible people'. You know, waitresses, cashiers, baggers, etc; folks people tend to ignore.

Fast forward to this morning.

I was doing the morning washing up and, as I sometimes do, dwelling on the fact that I wash the same dishes over and over. Same plates, same glasses, same bowls; sometimes three times a day. Over and over.

And the same clothes. And I sweep the same floors, twice a day; let the dogs out; leave at promptly 12:45 to wait for Boy to get out of school; snacks at the same time; supper at the same time; watch a few minutes of a film; go to bed. Rinse and repeat.

I realised that I feel like one of those invisible people; like a photocopy of a photocopy, blurred and indistinct. I spend all day doing things that anyone could do, contributing nothing unique or valuable, making absolutely no difference in the world.

Heck, aliens could abduct me and replace me with a similar unit and no one would be affected. Are there no pictures of me because I really don't exist?

All the mommy websites, books, and magazines say "take time out to do something for yourself".

Yeah? What? And when?

I used to have a dozen projects going. I haven't gotten to work on an outside project in 6 months; or an inside project in a year (heck, I've got a burgeoning list of basic repairs that desperately need doing). I haven't been to the stock sale in months.

I used to do all sorts of crafts as well as draw and paint. I used to write. All of that's out the window. The crafts require a place to set it up and leave it out safely. And I can't do anything of that sort without uninterrupted quiet anyway or I lose my concentration and it's the opposite of relaxing.

I used to love gardening. I had a wee little garden (in the English sense - mixed flowers, trees, shrubs, and veg) that was just mine but the babies took it over. It's now strewn with plastic toys and beat up here and there.

Still, I stubbornly worked at my garden for a bit. I kept it as tidy as possible and kept replanting. This winter pretty much did it in, though, as the only thing I got time to plant - collards - suffered. I had six gorgeous plants and the gate got left open and the pony ate all of them but one (and smashed my pots and dragged stuff about).

Ditto with my books and collectible junque and furniture. Not that the pony got in and ate them, lol, but that they've been smashed, ripped, scratched, and lost.

I know one is not defined by stuff, but it gives one a sense of accomplishment, of worth, to be able to say "I made that", "I grew that", or "That is my meticulously researched and accumulated antique beer bottle cap collection". If I were to fall over dead right here on my Wacom Tablet, I doubt anyone would say: "Man, she sure got a lot of firewood in and stacked neatly!" or "Jeez, I can see myself in these plates!"

Would anyone even realise I'd croaked until they ran out of clean socks?

Anyway, so this morning, after I washed those same. dishes. again. I went out to get something out of the car and discovered ... the gate standing open and the pony in my garden.

Is it stupid to cry over a collard plant?

Flame on!

2008-01-18T07:23:00.000-05:00

Just popping in to say "Hi!" *waves* and toss out a cool new thrifty tip.

I have been working v. hard on a new webpage for Moms (yes, yes, I know that the 'net is inundated with mommy sites ... hopefully mine will be slightly different.)

Anyway, the going has been slow and between it and my stores and my babes, I've been swamped!

On to the thrifty tip:

For those of you who heat with wood (or just like a fireplace) and are of a frugal bent, this is a great recycler. Stuff all that dryer lint into empty toilet paper tubes and use them as firestarters!

I went one better and - after finding the motherlode of candles in the dump (big, pillar candles! Do you know how expensive those are?!) - I trimmed the excess wax off, warmed it in a leftover pie tin, and stood my stuffed TP tubes up in the melted wax. The lint and cardboard absorbed the wax and, when cooled, they made FAB firestarters.

Next time I do a batch, I will take pics.

-----

PS: disclaimer: be bloody careful heating wax and mucking about with the tubes and the lint. They're called firestarters for a reason - they're inflammable, they burn!

PPS: any of you tried and true lovely people who have stayed with me (especially if any of you have marketable products) who want some traffic, need some linky love, etc and would like me to include the links to your blog, store, website, whatever, please email me and I'll happily include you on the new site.

PPPS: assuming I get it done in any of our lifetimes. *sigh*

Thank goodness!

2007-12-26T07:06:00.000-05:00

Good morning everyone!

We have survived the holidays! Thank goodness they are OVER.

We had a lovely afternoon at EGH's sister's house (just the two sisters, their two kids, and Dr SIL's pleasant husband Soon-to-be Dr BIL), the day before Giftmas.

Then, yesterday, we went to FIL's.

The children's gifts were mostly OK, though we did get some electronics (which we repeatedly ask that they NOT get), and a lot of branded products (ditto), but they also got wonderful dinosaur toys; massive, sturdy trucks; art and craft stuff (including a FAB craft table!); etc.

Fiver loved the food, the babies all had a good time playing with their cousins, and I managed to not have a meltdown, lol.

I am no fun at gatherings. I feel sorry for EGH (who is v. patient with me), but I just have a problem coping with these sorts of things.

I don't mind crowds. I don't enjoy them, but I can handle them just fine. It's social situations where I suck.

I'm socially inept; I dislike loud, continuous, or repetitive noises; and, honestly, I don't like most people very much. It takes me about a half hour to get to the point where I want to find a nice dark closet in which to hide.

I never have enjoyed partying or clubbing, and holidays at the in laws fall in the same category. A tiny handful of people whom I enjoy talking to in a building full of people whom I don't know, don't care to know, or outright dislike? And I'm supposed to enjoy myself? Nope.

Not to mention the noise. The cattle-yard cacophony of a party. The loud drunken laughter; loud obnoxious conversation; televisions blaring; holiday music; electronic toys and games honking, tweeting, and shrieking; children (that are not mine) running and screaming; and those idiotic holiday stuffed whatevertheyares that sing, talk, dance, and wriggle (which I have no objection to - in principle - except when folks think it's hysterical to activate them OVER AND OVER AND OVER and stand around, wineglasses in hand, and haw!haw!haw! like it was the bloody cleverest thing evar.)

AAAIIIIIIEEEEE!

...

...

See, I didn't do that last night. At all. Aren't you proud of me?

-----

Alright, enough drivel, here're some pics of the bubs in their jammies from aunt H and cousin E:

Boy, age 5, and the HCTD, age 4

The Incredible Bulk, age 2, and Bitty Girl, age 3

And my fave pic of all:

The Cowlick Kids - Fiver, age 9 mos, and Boy

Einstein

2007-12-23T06:52:00.000-05:00

OK, this has nothing to do with thrift or mommying, but it's COOL! I want one!

(PS, gather your babies around, they will love it.)

Is Christmas over yet?

2007-12-20T09:29:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone is surviving the season!

We're having our usual array of automotive failures, sickness, and injury. *rolls eyes*

More later. I promise!

For now check out this youtube vid of a hysterical singing stuffed reindeer.

THANKS for GIVING

2007-11-16T04:16:00.000-05:00

Have you ever noticed how sorting your husband's socks is like playing Mah Jong Solitaire?

Seriously, you need strong light to do it because you spend ages peering at 46 socks in a few subtle colour differences (all in the blue/grey/black/brown range) and many times the only way to discern differences is by identifying and matching tiny, arcane patterns.

Why are bloke's socks so dull?

Yeah, yeah, I know all about the whole 'dressed for success' thing, but female business people have cool clothes - rich colours, different fabrics. The poor guys only outlet for creativity is the tie - and many males still choose painfully boring ties. Evil Genius Husband is an exception - he loves neato ties - but would he wear purple socks with wee green Hulks all over?

They'd definitely be easier to sort.

-----

Hopefully the heater bloke will be out this morning. We've had the classic hat trick of bad luck, in our case: roof leaking, central heat broken, and, of course, one of the cars dead.

Sooooo, we have the front of the house shored up with a beam, have been living sans heat except for the woodstove (which is in the dining room and at the opposite end of the house from the bedrooms), and had to make not one, but TWO 2 hour-one-way trips to retrieve first EGH, then his car from the side of the road.

(That last one was fun - remind me to tell you sometime - sitting on the tarmac inches from Friday rush hour traffic trying to get the bloody strap tightened on the tow-dolly.)

Anyway, it's like seeing the dentist for an infected tooth: you want to see him but you don't want to see him.

-----

Thanksgiving's next week. Warm thoughts to those of you who celebrate it. Please be bloody careful driving.

I'm not looking forward to it. As those of you know who've stuck with this blog, it's a painful anniversary (of my dad's accident) coupled with a meal with folks I can't abide.

Yeah, yeah, I know I whinge about it every year, but I swear! I wish I could separate the two families like skimming the fat off of chicken broth. I adore the one group and look forward to seeing them - it's the loud, drunken, trashy, tasteless crowd that set my teeth on edge.

Bleh, it turns my stomach to think if having to grit my teeth and be polite to them.

Should I wear this funny thanksgiving t-shirt? No? Too much?

I have one for Christmas, Yule, and Chanukkah as well.

So, anyway, I was thinking about the 'giving' part of Thanksgiving. Yeah, i know it means giving thanks, and this is why I don't celebrate the holiday. I've nothing against it, but I just feel like one should gather with family all year long and be thankful for what one has every single day.

I got to thinking that Thanksgiving is a perfect time to think about GIVING. The consumer holiday is coming up, and the season is filled with greed, consumerism, and self indulgence.

Seriously. How many folks do you know who eagerly await this season all year? A time to over-eat, to sloth in front of the telly, to overspend, and, of course, to get gifts!

Even the people who are out buying gifts for others often indulge themselves with items ("Oh, these are on sale! I'll get one for aunt Mabel and one for myself").

Not that relaxing or indulging oneself is bad. OVERindulging is the problem. That's why so many folks can't pay their bills in January. And don't even get me started on parents who whinge about their kid's 'Christmas' (when did Christmas become a regular noun?) about how it won't be grand enough.

Bah!

I think that around Thanksgiving we all should, being mindful of the huge amount of stuff (food, presents, etc), coming into our lives soon, try to give back something.

- Donate tinned goods to a food bank (and not that 5 year old tin of asparagus that's been at the back of the cupboard).

- Cull all your ratty and old towels and blankets and give them to a pet rescue place or animal shelter.

- Haul all your old tree decorations and lights that you never use to the thrift store. There are lots of folks who like trees but can't go to the Lowe's, whip out a credit card, and buy all now matching stuff in this year's theme. (Like certain persons from an aformentioned family.)

- Take any women's clothes or baby clothes to your local battered women's shelter. Those girls are having a crap year.

So, I double dog dare ya: go though one closet, or one cupboard, or one chest of drawers - pick any one - and separate out the things you don't need. Do the Flylady thing and set a timer for 15 minutes. Even *I* can spare 15 minutes one day.

Spend 15 teensy minutes going through that cupboard, closet, or dresser, and ruthlessly take out the things you don't love. Does it not fit? Does it only 'work' with one thing? Have you not worn it in a year? Toss it! Is it a box of some exotic ingredient for a meal you never made? Four tins of creamed corn you bought on accident? Donate it! Picture frames you'll never use? That lamp that can be fixed but you know you'll never do it? Out of here!

C'mon. Take up the challenge. Give a bit back this season and I don't mean a few coins in the Salvation Army bucket or a gift-for-a-disadvantaged-child tree thingy at the mall. Do it in addition to those things.

My timer's set.

A sad day in South Carolina

2007-10-29T11:10:00.000-04:00

I just learned of this horrible thing.

(A) home erupted into a storm of fire and smoke Sunday morning in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. Six of the seven students killed attended the University of South Carolina; the other attended Clemson University. Six other South Carolina students in the house survived.

Please keep the families of these South Carolina kids in your thoughts. As a former University of South Carolina student and the daughter and daughter-in-law of USC graduates, I am particularly saddened.

Go hug your babies right now, folks.

Blue's penultimate diet post

2007-10-16T07:30:00.000-04:00

Alternate title: "I did come here to lose!"

(Ohhh ... that would make a great t-shirt*.)

I just wanted to pop in and report something great!

Many of you know that I have been dieting since March 14th (my last baby was born March 5th). Well, as of this morning I am two teensy pounds away from my target weight!

I have lost exactly 100lbs.

NOW I just need to get in gear and lose another 30lbs down to my goal weight. *whew*

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This is actually the second time I've lost a large amount of weight. I lost 180 lbs in 18 months after I got rid of my ex-arsehole.

Afterwards, I had no trouble maintaining my weight - I kept it steady without much thought for a couple of years - then I got pregnant and set off on a personal quest to keep the local chinese takeaways and Krispy Kreme in business, lol!

Anyway, over the years many people have asked me for the details on my diet. I'd like to do a webpage on it one day, but for right now here's the quick and dirty version:

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I call it the Denis Leary Diet after his bit where he says: "Big boned? You're big assed, OK? Dinosaurs are big boned ... put the fork down!"

Lol, anyway, the whole point is that you have to do it. You have to put the fork down. If you cheat on any diet it just fails to work. There are no magic beans. In order to lose weight you must burn more calories than you consume. Full stop.

If you whinge on about 'feeling deprived' or 'feeling hungry' or having 'no willpower', don't bother with this diet. It's bloody tough. It is NOT fun or easy. It is definitely not for everyone. But it works. :)

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The rules:

1) No fast food of any size shape or description. None. Not even a chip nicked from your kid's happy meal. Don't even drive through the drive-through for a diet coke. Seriously. All that grease in the air can probably be absorbed by osmosis, LOL.

2) No fried foods of any size, shape or description. No fried okra, no chips (f. fries), crisps (potato chips, doritos, cheetos, et al). Breading or no doesn't matter. No fried turkey at thanksgiving. Nothing that is deep fried or fried in oil. If it takes more than a squirt of no-stick spray to pan-fry then it is a no-no.

3) No sugared soft drinks or sports drinks. Either switch entirely to artificial sweeteners, or go to water. This means juice must go as well. Don't forget your tea and coffee, too.

4) No mayonnaise and no butter. This seems small but is quite difficult! Replace the mayo on all sandwiches with mustard (this got me because I eat certain sarnies with ONLY mayo), no frying with butter, no butter on toast, grilled cheese are out *big sad face*. I discovered that the low cal powder designed to go on popcorn is not only good for that, but works for jacket potatoes, steam veg like broccoli and cauliflower, etc. I also found out that many recipes that call for a Tbs or two of butter, tasted just fine with none at all.

5) No added oils and no peanut butter. I avoided any greasy foods like chili (LOVE) and BBQ (love, love, LOVE).

6) No sweets. Duh. No sweet drinks; no candy bars; no ice cream; no cakes, pies, puddings; no candy of any sort. Many folks have told me that this is the deal-breaker for them. "I just have to have chocolate!" Well, then this diet won't work for you. To me, personally, I had no trouble giving up sweets. I mean, you don't need sweets. It's like television (and you all know how I feel about that, LOL). Most of it is just crap. It's something one indulges in that one doesn't require. My thing was: do I want to lose weight or what? Can I live without Maurice's BBQ or Snickers bars for the time it takes me to do it? Answer: yup. Because I want it that badly.

7) Drink eight 8 oz glasses of water per day. I have no idea if this helps you or not but it kept me hydrated, regular, and made me feel more full. *shrug*

8) Exercise. The no brainer. If you are able, get out and do something intense every week-day. Run, cycle, go to the gym, row. If you are like me and not willing/able/don't bloody have time/lazy, then try just walking every week-day. Walk around the block 3 times at lunch. Walk down your street to some landmark and back. If you're like I am NOW and virtually cloistered in your home then get some hand weights and do exercises. Set a certain time (at 10:30 when the kids go down for naps) and make yourself do X amount of reps of 10 different exercises.
The point is NOT to make you buff - the goal is to burn calories and build muscle which will burn calories for you.

I had two friends who just did the above things and otherwise ate normally and both lost 20lbs (their goals) easily. One girl said she felt so much better not eating fast food that she never at it again.

There's a full spectrum of obsession possible with this diet. You can just follow The Rules and otherwise not worry about stuff (as my friends did), or you can write down everything you eat and carefully plan when to take meals and drink your water (done it!). Adapt it to your own use. Just follow The Rules. If you start saying: "well, I'll just stop at Burger King and get a plain hamburger and a salad," then you're on a slippery slope (the burger has almost 300 calories and a plain salad with croutons and dressing ONLY has almost as much as the burger! If you're on a 1400 cal per day diet you just ate almost HALF of what you get for the DAY).

Tips:

1) Eat breakfast. Better yet, eat 5 or six small meals per day. I have done this diet eating only one meal per day (I'm not a breakfast person and it was just more convenient), but eventually my metabolism slows down to the point where I'm starving myself and still not losing weight. (You regular readers have had to listen to me whinge about this, lol.)

2) Avoid refined sugars and flours. Buy whole wheat bread and buns and pasta. Refined flour (as in white bread) converts straight into sugars in your digestive system. Whole grains are also just better for you, your digestion, and have more nutrients.

3) Eat more veg. No, not potatoes, and corn. They don't count, lol! Steam (or order steamed) broccoli, cauliflower, squash, carrots, etc. Eat 'em raw. Keep them plus celery and cukes in the fridge for munching. Get some light salad dressing, cut it with water, and dip 'em if you don't like them plain.
If you must eat corn and potatoes try to keep them as simple as possible: jacket potatoes with a squirt of no stick spray and a dash of fake butter powder sounds icky but doesn't taste half bad. Try your 'tater with that light, watered down, salad dressing I mentioned. Boil corn on the cob and eat with just salt rather than whipping up a corn casserole.

4) Go 'light'. Get light creamer; light salad dressing; lo-fat milk; light yoghurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese and so on. Ruthlessly trim every scrap of fat off of beef and pork, strip the skin off of chicken and fish, and remove all visible fat (from the chicken). Every little bit counts!

5) Avoid snacky/crackery foods. You've purged cookies and candy and crisps, what about crackers? Fiddle Faddle, chex mix, ritz bitz, cheezits, trail mixes, etc need to go as well. Full of fat, calories and refined everything. I also dumped nuts. They really are good for you, but they have TONNES of calories and are too easy to eat in passing.

6) Go easy on cheese. It's made from the fat of milk and has gobs of fat and calories. I just tried to avoid it altogether. I took it off my sandwiches and salads, for example.

7) Plan your eating. Don't just leave for work thinking: "Oh, I'll just pick something up for lunch." Pack a lovely turkey with mustard and lettuce sarnie and thermos of light chicken noodle soup. Pack yourself some raw carrots, celery, etc. Don't forget to check and see if your office has diet soda if you're going that route and artificial sweetener for the coffee!
Don't just wander into the grocery store and stroll around. Decide what you are looking for. Make a list - even if it's just suggestions. Don't shop hungry. Don't even go down the crisps/cookies/candy aisle!

So after all this you're asking: "So what the heck do you eat on this oh-so-fab diet, Blue?"

-Steamed veg
-Raw veg
-Broiled or baked fish, chicken, pork, or beef with every trace of fat and skin removed
-Whole wheat bread and crackers
-Raw fruit
-Microwaved jacket potatoes (butter powder, or fat free sour cream on)

So I might have a small potato, a broiled chicken breast, and steamed broccoli for supper.

I adapted my usual things, too. I still ate burgers made at home on my George Forman, but cut it back to one with about 10 oven baked chips, lost the cheese, lost the mayo, still pile on mustard, lettuce, pickles, and tomatoes.

I continued to make my beloved tuna salad sandwiches. I use 1 serving water-packed tuna (I'm the only one who eats 'em), 1 boiled egg, celery,dill cubes, and i replace the mayo with light ranch dressing. Warning; this is an acquired taste! All this on whole wheat bread, natch.

If you normally make a roast with oven-baked potatoes, broccoli and cheese, crusty bread with butter, then make a well-trimmed roast, leave the butter off the 'taters, separate your portion of broccoli out and eat with just salt and butter powder, and skip the bread or have a slice of whole wheat with no butter to soak up the juices. Easy peasy.

If you love tuna casserole, use light cheese, halve the amount of cheese, leave out any butter (I never used any), use whole wheat noodles and light cream soups.

You get the idea.

Bear in mind that some of my suggestions are for extreme weight loss. If you want to start slow or only have 20lbs to lose then eat your normal stuff ... just follow The Rules and The Tips.

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NOTE: This diet is much more difficult if you have a family. Especially if you are like me and cook their meals. It's tough. What I did was adapt all of my regular meals as much as i could without EGH noticing (half of the cheese, for example, or light soups and whole wheat pasta in recipes), then I will separate out certain things for myself (steamed broccoli before the cheesy sauce goes on), or cook his differently (I leave the skin on his broiled chicken), and so on.

The hardest part is saying "NO!" when offered food, candy, sweets, more helpings, etc. The holidays are really tough for some. I just adopt a slightly superior air when I repeatedly refuse food from married-into-the-family persons who are, I suspect, a bit jealous and hound me. *ahem* I just repeat to myself: "Put the fork down! Put the fork down!"

Eating after children is particularly tough for me. I cannot abide waste, as well you know, and it was affecting my waist. I would pick at each of my 5 children's plates without thinking as I conveyed them (the plates, lol) to the sink. Watch yourself. I used to stop for petrol and buy a candy bar and eat it without even realising I was doing so.

Anyone who can lose weight while cooking every day for folks who are NOT dieting is definately One Tough Mother.

I hope all this helps someone. I know it's a bit extreme (and I'm sure I'll attract some extreme comments) and I'd never publish it except it's worked so well for me twice.

Good luck!

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Fast food is defined as: burger joints (Mc Ds, Wendy's etc), chicken joints (KFC, Zaxby's,chick-fil-a), Italian including any pizza, Arby's, any chinese, etc. If it exists in drive through form, it's fast food. I do NOT count the sandwich chains like Sub Station II which rocks IMHO. You can get a good dinner of , say, a turkey half sub with mustard and vinegar, pickles, olives, peppers, lettuce, tomato (so no mayo or oil) on whole wheat.

*obligatory pimpage of my store although I'm seriously considering having a whole section on weight loss, for real. That would be cool!

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The times they are a-changin'

2007-10-08T05:25:00.000-04:00

Quick update!

Fiver has two wee teeth! He can eat a soda cracker by himself! He can caterpillar along on the deck (unbeknowst to me) and scare me witless by almost falling down the steps! He's been sleeping in his crib downstairs in his room (as opposed to upstairs in the pack-n-play next to our bed) for several weeks now!

Yep, it's amazing to me how big he's getting. Why don't I remember the others growing so fast?

Just yesterday he hiked himself up on his hands and knees and swayed there for a half a second before flopping back down again.

*sigh*

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Boy loves school. So far he hasn't conflicted with any of his classmates (although a few of them are pretty naughty and disruptive, apparently). He adores his teachers. Their schoolwork goes like this: each week they work on learning a letter of the alphabet. Lessons on familiarisation with the letter go home as homework, they colour a pic of the 'letter person', they practice writing the letter.

Meanwhile, at home, Boy is writing and illustration a book about dinosaurs entirely on his own. He's up to over 70 pages.

Their math work consists of learning to count to 50. Boy can do simple addition and subtraction including a bit with double digits and a limited amount of multiplication.

To say that he's not captivated by the current schoolwork would be an understatement.

Fortunately, he's totally absorbed socially, and probably will be for the rest of the year, learning things he needs to know; how to deal with people and the wide world.

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I have already observed a few behaviour changes - both in Boy and THCTD.

As I predicted, the Queen of Crash quickly and eagerly took up the reins of Bossy-ness as soon as Boy was out of the house during the day. She now spends the entire day telling everyone what to do (including me: "Momma, (wee fists on hips) Fiver needs his bottle! You should give Fiver his bottle now!").

Then he returns home, hyped up, bursting to tell about his day, ready to be the centre of attention, and you have ... The Perfect Storm.

Every day.

I quickly instituted the same method of discipline that Boy's teacher uses; three 'tickets' (she has them shaped like crayons) one green, one yellow, one red. First infraction, you lose the green ticket and are 'on yellow' and thus at the warning stage. Second infraction, you lose the yellow and are 'on red' and lose such privileges as treats after supper, or getting to play outside, etc.

It works well because Boy knows it from school and the rest of the brood are awed by anything relating to school right now.

I also put up a chore chart and a 'going' chart (everyone gets to go with me, singley, for some alone-time-with-momma, any time I run an errand after EGH gets home.)

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On a related note, I have also noticed that *I* am more organised and tidy now. I keep my calendar marked, I get up early and fix lunches, I clean more consistantly, and so on.

Me, cleaning. What's the world coming to?

Grand Mom

2007-10-01T08:46:00.000-04:00

How frickin' cool is this?

Mom givs birth to her own grandbubs after her daughter - an only child - was unsuccessful at carrying to term. That just rocks.

Rosinete Palmeira Serrao, a government health worker, gave birth to twin boys by Caesarean section on Thursday at the Santa Joana Hospital in the city of Recife, the hospital said in a statement on its Web site.
Serrao decided to serve as a surrogate mother after four years of failed attempts at pregnancy by her 27-year-old daughter, Claudia Michelle de Brito.

Brazilian law stipulates that only close relatives can serve as surrogate mothers. De Brito is an only child and none of her cousins volunteered, so Serrao agreed to receive four embryos from her daughter.

Cool!

Would you do that for your daughter? I totally would. What about your sister, SIL, cousin?

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Low impact

2007-09-26T07:58:00.000-04:00

So, I found this cool article on a family that went 'deep green'.

They don't use electricity (washing clothes by hand - w00t!), ride on transport that depends on fossil fuels (planes, trains, automobiles), or buy anything new (ala The Compact). The bloke calls is 'no impact living' and blogs it here.

I find this fascinating - being a thriftychik - and inspiring. I also plan to wander back through his blog and see how they cope with having a child while doing this (their daughter is two). I maintain that people, mostly women, waste a STUNNING amount of money, energy, time, and resources on their kids.

What do YOU do to 'be green' or 'reduce your carbon footprint' (I already hate that trite phrase, taken up by pseudo-conservationists who pat themselves on the back for ordering in bulk; organic, non-bleached, hemp-waste-fiber-lined, disposable nappies for two bucks a piece) if anything, as a parent?

Do you do what you do for the environment? To live more simply? To save money? To be healthier? To reduce consumerism? To reduce waste?

Do you find yourself being less thrifty/waste conscious since you had kids (buying convenience foods, snack-sized ziplok bags, name-brand clothing) or more so (buying food in bulk and freezing, cooking more/packing lunches, yardsale shopping)?

I think I'm getting thriftier and thriftier, lol (and my motivation, btw, is mostly financial. I'm trying to save money and live as simply as possible. I think improving the environment and personal health will follow). I constantly search for ways to save money like buying washable containers for juice and snacks so that I can pack those things from out of bulk containers into lunches and snacks-on-the-go.

So please share your 'style'!

Right now I:

-Buy food in bulk, divide and freeze.

-Cook/prepare several meals at once and freeze/refrigerate.

-Cook from scratch as much as possible.

-Try never to use plastic cling film, aluminium foil, storage bags, baby wipes, paper plates/napkins. I also save what little aluminium foil I use, wash plastic storage bags (unless they've contained raw meat), AND disposable baby wipes (yes, you can launder them several times before they fall apart). I use one small box of plastic wrap and foil per year, have the same box of store brand ziplok bags I bought when we moved here 5 years ago, and don't have paper plates in the house.

-Cloth diapered all 5 children (same nappies, too, but *whew* some of them are falling to bits!)

-Buy all clothing and furniture at yard sales, thrift stores, via local buy-and-trade list, or free off of Freecycle (or hand-me-downs and freebies). Exceptions: mattresses and underpants.

-Use all compact florescent bulbs. The only incandescent lights I have are ones in the barnyard for heat (over baby animals for instance).

-Hand wash dishes and hang all clothes to dry.

-Do all household and automotive repairs possible myself.

-Scavenge!!!

Of course, I also:

-Farm, and so run a tractor and a pick-up truck for hauling.
-Drive a huge full-sized van.
-Have an online business and so run a desk-top, laptop, and many peripherals all day, every day.
-Am addicted to films which means a huge telly, DVD player, VCR, and hundreds of films which come in those ridiculous packages with all the plastic on (and don't forget the sticky bits!)
-Ditto Diet Coke which I consume in insane quantities and wonder why EGH is not actually COMPOSED of, like Hydro-Man, (Except he'd be, like, Diet Coke Man, LOL). I do recycle every single can, though.

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Sailors and soldiers

2007-09-11T09:01:00.000-04:00

Hey! That was my idea!

LOL, do you have or have you ever considered a tattoo with your kid's names on?

I've been wanting one for years!

Obviously I couldn't get one while I was pregnant and I also wanted to wait until I was done. NOW I can't figure out how I want it to look. I'd like one on my arm but I don't want to look like a sailor with a list of names down my arm, LOL!

Suggestions?

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I'd also like to take a moment to remember those innocent folks who died during 9/11 and all the soldiers out there fighting for our defense and freedom right now (and, of course, all those who have done so before).

We must be ever vigilant. The world is full of crazies.

I'm a huge patriot, as you can tell by the stuff in my shops. Anything patriotic, pro-American, or sporting the U.S. flag, I just love! Go USA!

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