Pay It Forward

In December, I was a lucky winner of Bunny's Pay it Forward. I am the proud owner of a jelly-bean pooping reindeer!

And I have been procrastinating as usual about paying it forward. But here goes my version.

I have 3 fabulous prizes:

1. My beloved copy of Stephen King's Duma Key (because books are falling off the shelves and I have to declutter) (and it's a great book!)
2. Something chocolate (probably both milk and dark)
3. or a Valentine-themed mystery gift

Leave a comment with your choice of prize. First come, first served. Then pay it forward on your own blog. For my non-blogging friends, what shall we do? Pay it forward to 3 of your friends.

Ernest's Error

I love alliteration. But "Frank's Fiasco" wasn't really a fiasco. Now "Ernest's Error," that is accurate.

• fi·as·co /fiˈæskoʊ / [fee-as-koh] –noun. a complete and ignominious failure.
• er·ror (ěr'ər) noun. a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention

Key word here: inattention.

Tuesday morning Ernest realized he didn't have his retainer. Working back in time, we established he hadn't had it since Sunday afternoon. Since the out of town pizza party. Since he wrapped it in a napkin and left it by his plate. Since the party trash was thrown away. So we've made a trip to the orthodontist for a replacement. It turns out our "retainer insurance" was on an annual basis, but they don't send out renewal bills. How would I have known! But the orthodontist kindly let us pay the insured price instead of the full price.

Finally, enough cowbell!

I picked Ernest up at school today. He was late, so I walked towards his classroom. What is that funny noise, I wondered? It got worse and worse. Clang-a-CLANG-A-CLANG-A-CLANG-A! Herds of middle-schoolers all shaking.....COWBELLS!

They had been to an assembly for the Amgen Tour of California, which will be in our town February 22. Every child got a souvenir cowbell. Give a child a noisemaker, and of course the child will make noise with it.

So I can truthfully say, I have finally heard enough cowbell.

Wind part 2

By morning the bluster has died down.
Still raining.
Trees OK.
Plastic lawn furniture blown around a little.
No new leaks! Yet. Knock on wood.

Ernest and I are leaving in 2 hours for McQueen's birthday party. We also have a present for Mr. Thomas.

Which Hogwarts House are You?

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

But I tied with Ravenclaw! Aren't they the smart ones?

Your in-depth results are:
Hufflepuff - 12, Ravenclaw - 12,Gryffindor - 10,Slytherin - 7

WIND

I might have mentioned it was blustery today, but now it is really freaking BLOWING outside.

The last time I remember this much wind (1998) we lost 4 trees.

• A beautiful huge California Oak tree on our patio fell toward our house, just on the edge of the roof outside Frank's bedroom, but he didn't even wake up! The sleep of the innocent. This was the saddest tree loss, as it was planted as an acorn by the son of the original owner in 1963-68.
• A pine tree fell on a car, but actually it was beyond our back property line. So not our insurance problem, thank goodness.
• Two already dead trees just tipped over, and smashed our bridge. Yes we, have a bridge to nowhere. There is a hot tub on the other end, but it doesn't work anymore.
• And Ernest did not like the resulting chainsaw noises because they were "youd" (loud). He was only twoish.
• A block away, a pepper tree completely crushed a garage.
• I've got photos.

I'm still hearing the wind blow. Update tomorrow.

I won't cook pizza ever again

So here goes. He suggested making homemade pizza. I bought all the stuff, but I was gone most of the day, so I hoped he would take charge. And let it be known, I hate making pizza. I'll do a Boboli if I have to, but it is stressful. It's never cooked right. You can get really great pizza from so many places, even in our Small Town or neighboring areas.

I cook dinner almost every night, usually a really good dinner that most of us eat. I hoped that since I would be gone most of the day, he would take charge.

So I got home at 5:30 tonight and he wanted me to help and I was freaking. The dough was recalcitrant. My portion would not spread out. And my old thin pans...the teflon was flaking off. When I saw the black mystery specks, I threw that dough away. I pulled out my other "good" cookie sheets, but warned, "These are the insulated kinds, they may not cook right? I have a pizza stone (which I think I suggested before) we could use?" Damn me for my questioning female voice but he gets mad if I out-and-out BITCH. Well, he says he's not mad but it sure feels to me that he does.

I prefer one cook in the kitchen.

I had possibly the smallest hissy fit of my whole life (I went in another room and actually shredded a piece of paper), because it's close to but not quite PMS time. I offered to get Bobolis. but no, he muscled the dough out with a rolling pin. Rectangular. I cowered at the edge of the counter and cut up the sausage and veggies.

He chose not to use the pizza stone. The pizza did not cook thoroughly. The boys ate theirs, we cut ours in half and baked it longer on some other non-insulated pans.

My point is, I cook dinner almost every night. We don't go out that often. I do not need dinner to be an ordeal. I do not need to struggle with it, and question it, and beat it with a rolling pin. I am pissed, but being the passive type I am, I will not say anything. He decided to throw out the leftovers. That says it all.

HH, if you read this, remember I love you, but I this is why I don't want to cook pizza at home anymore.

SNOW!!! Part 2

This is 2 days later, after the clouds cleared.

Clear this morning, and totally blustery tonight. Must....watch....Pooh....

Photo Credit: the Handy Husband. As I was driving the Ernests (their real names are the same, so they must have the same blog names, but the one that's not my son will be Ern for short) to their P2P meeting, I called my HH begging, "When you go to the hardware store, please take a picture of the snow! " He done good.

And to all of you who have REAL honest to goodness inches of snow on your streets, I apologize for getting so excited about this. Where I am, this doesn't happen every year.

The wind is blowing ultrahard... hope we don't lose any trees. That also doesn't happen every year, but this is the most wind we've had in a long time.

Cuddle up with your loved ones and some hot chocolate.

Frank's Fiasco in the Spare 'oom

My cell phone rang at school today. I don't talk on it a lot, so it's either a wrong number or a family emergency. "Private Number Calling." (That's us. I need to un-block us.)

Frank said, "We're locked out of the apartment." That's our spare 'oom. A friend stayed over and they left the key in the 'oom. Ernest visited them, and left the EXTRA key in the 'oom. (You're wondering why he was home on a Friday? He had the day off after finals.)

In the morning they left the 'oom. The door shut. Panic ensued. They tried to pick the lock (evidence of miniature screw drivers and straightened-out paper clips left on the counter). They were unsuccessful.

I told him I didn't think there was another spare 'oom key. He tried the two mystery keys in our key dish but they didn't work. (It's true, one is labled "Mystery" and one is "?." Why do I still keep them?)

So I said, get out the phone book and call a locksmith, and you can pay for it on your VisaBuxx. This 17 year old boy doesn't like to call people, but he did. And the locksmith came and opened the 'oom and everything was fine. And I have to compliment the locksmith, they were there in about an hour.

I was proud of myself for not rushing home and fixing things. For me, that's the hard part of being the mother of a teen: sit back and let him solve the problem. But that's what I need to do.

And his job tomorrow is to go to the hardware store and have some extra keys made.

P.S. the next day: he didn't get the keys made (which ended up to be job #3 on my final list), but he did clean up the room (#1) and figure out how to return his broken Rock Band guitar controller (#2). I gave him a pass on #3 until tomorrow.

SNOW!!!

Not in my yard, but in our mountains about 5-10 miles away. That's pretty exciting in California! I remember in high school, kids would cut school to go to the snow, and bring back a truckload. That still happens. Frank says there was a snowball fight at school until the security guards stopped it. In my day, there were no guards.

Zoolander Syndrome

About two weeks ago, Frank got a pair of Heelys. Yes, they are made in adult sizes. The stage band guys, (Kenny, Kyle and Stan), all have them. They heely around the band room, at school, in the house, in town, at the skate park, etc.

Ernest discovered Frank's Heelys last weekend. Now he is heelying around the house whenever he can get them off Frank's feet.

But both boys have one problem: they can't turn left! I've been calling it Zoolander Syndrome. They are trying hard to overcome this sad and misunderstood affliction.

As Ernest was zipping around the hall this morning, he said "I love the turning of the right path. It's EPIC, I tell you. It's NOT epic going that [i.e. left.]" He has a strange way with words.

Batter Blaster

This new product is a hit here:

It's great to be able to make 1-2 [who am I kidding?] 3-4 pancakes at a time, instead of a big batch. Really nice on a school/work morning!

However, both my kids are pancake chefs so they will continue to be responsible for making the big batch on the weekend.

Finals Week

It's Finals Week for Frank. The final for Stage Band was to master a song on Guitar Hero III. The grades depended on the level they played, something like this:

Easy - game score minus 5 points.
Medium - game score
Hard - game score plus 5 points
Expert - game score plus 10 points.

Frank (Cartman?) and Kyle played expert and passed (95 and 100). Kenny and Stan played easy, and failed. But get this, the teacher played on easy and ALSO FAILED. I'm not sure how much weight this is actually going to have on their grades, but it sure sounds like a fun class!

Let's hope he aces his REAL finals.

Photo Shop

The handy husband recently reconnected with Harold, a buddy from high school. Some of you remember Harold. HH wanted to send him a picture of our family. Do you know how hard it is to find a picture of all 4 of us? (That's why I always get the theme park pictures.) I found this one from The Pirate's Dinner Adventure* in 2006.

The HH was disturbed by the "bald, fat guy." (His words, not mine.) So he put in his 16 year old head, which his friend would recognize:

Then he got creative:

*The Pirate's Dinner Adventure is a pirate version of Medieval Times. Frank thought that seeing pirates dance to "Y.M.C.A." was deeply disturbing.

Whack-A-Mole

The Kindergarteners just started staying in the afternoons. They haven't learned appropriate lunch behaviour yet. Their little bodies keep popping up at the tables, and one day I had this wild image of a giant Whack-A-Mole game.But I'd never whack them with a mallet! Just a gentle verbal reminder to "sit down and eat your sandwich, please." I wonder how many times I say that in 15 minutes!

I'm Feeling a Little Sally Fieldish right now....

"You like me, you really like me."

STORY #1
Last week I had a call from an insurance agent that sold policies for the company I used to work for. He offered me a job! How great is that? The only problem... I hate insurance. I did customer service for 15 years and I don't want to do it anymore. Even though I could make a lot more money.

But I told him thank you, I don't want to burn any bridges, but I just don't want to do insurance anymore, and I like love the vacation schedule at the school. I told him he made my day.

STORY #2

This week I was stressed about the lunch duty because the kinders are staying for lunch now and since one K aide quit, we are shorthanded for lunch. I spoke to our new "interim" principal about it, and besides a "wait and see attitude" about lunch she also asked, would I go back to second grade?

Second grade, my nirvana last year? With the teacher who loved loved loved me? And who communicated with me and treated me like a partner Of course I would go back to second grade, but due to budget cuts I will only be back with her for part of the morning. The other part will be with another second grade teacher (I volunteered for her when Ernest was in 2nd grade) who is very particular, but apparently she wants me too.

P.S. The school secretary called yesterday to say they were putting me on lunch duty all five days but I wouldn't have to do morning recess. WhooHoo.

It feels good .

Pissed Off

There are often little wet spots around my toilet. No one takes responsibility for them. But I know I do my business sitting down, so they are not mine. There are 3 "men" that also use MY bathroom and they all deny any knowledge of any the marks. Who splattered on the back of the toilet seat tonight??? (And left some rebound wetness on the seat, which I sat on, which pissed me off in the first place, which started this whole rant??) Who left a small puddle on the floor to the left of the toilet, between last night when I made Ernest wipe up the previous puddle, and tonight??? There are 3 of them. SOMEONE IS LYING. Do I need to be the bathroom police, and check it out after every pee? I think I do. I am irritated and they have spoiled my party mood.

Thanks, Friends

Thanks for celebrating my 100th blog. It was a big event for me. Thanks to my new and wonderful blog friends! Thanks to my LURKERS for finally showing up...even though I had to e-mail a lot of you! It was a great party and I am vicariously enjoying your food and drink. Maybe we'll do another [virtual] party for my birthday in May. And then there's the 25th anniv. in September. I think that will be a real party.

It's My [Virtual] Party for my 100th Blog

Yes, I've done it! WhooHoo! 100 blogs in just slightly over a year! For an introverted, non-communicative, average writer like me that is an awsome achievement.

I will pause for congratulations... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... thank you, thank you all. I'd like to thank the Academy--- oops, wrong fantasy. If I can find the picture of my 13 year old self accepting the pretend oscar from my BFF's pretend awards show, I'll add it here.

To celebrate, I am hosting a VIRTUAL party on this post. I invite all my loyal (or not) readers to post a comment with your favorite beverage(s) and appetizer(s). Remember, there are no calories at a virtual party! I will start with two choices each since I'm the party girl.

Beverage: Pomegranate Martinis and a Merlot from Sunstone Winery.

Appetizer: Alaskan Rolls from Kabuki and something really decadent like Artichoke Dip (mayo, parmesan, all that great non-diet stuff).

Next?

P.S. Please make a music selection, too. Mine is Bruce, and I'm sure the HH's is Led Zeppelin. Give me 2 songs and I'll put it in the mix for the big 25th anniversary party in September. Maybe the food too!

Thank you friends!

You know you live in a small town when...

...last week's biggest social event was the annual Christmas tree burning:

Watch out people, you're getting too close!

My husband took this picture. (Since I am the anti-social lazy type, I stayed home. Also because I was hoping Frank would show up at home, which he did.) It's hard to see, but on our original, you can see upside down silhouettes of the trees above the fire. Tree ghosts!

I don't know PhotoShop...maybe Ernest can teach me how to crop it so we can get a closeup of the tree ghosts.