Not so Bright

“What is the stupidest thing you did this year? What about in your whole life? You can take stupid to mean: embarrassing, dangerous, funny, lame, whatever you consider stupid.” – Kassie

Hmmm, it’s hard for me to come up with an answer to this question because I always feel like I’m doing one dumb thing or another.

Lifetime stupid.  A lot of my stupid came out when I met Fish.  Like, one time we were eating late at a Denny’s and we were talking about shows that we liked when we were kids and I went on and on about the Muppets and then began shouting “Pigs in Spaaaaace!!!” and his face dropped.  And I was like, “WHA?” and he nodded behind me to the cop paying at the counter and giving me a weird look.  That was embarrassing.

I also almost crashed into a light pole after Fish kissed me.  Actually I did smash into the pole, but my tire was perfectly aligned with the cement bottom of the light pole and it took the brunt of the impact.  That was REALLY embarrassing.

I guess Fish made me all kinds of stupid.

Awkward

Recently, a friend of a friend posted a Facebook status about how she is always uncomfortable when people are doing a service in her home.  I wanted to commiserate, but I don’t know her very well and an out of the blue affirmation from a stranger may have been weird.  I’m probably completely over thinking here.  Obviously, I’m an over thinker.

This leads me to my question.  What DO you do when someone is in your house fixing an appliance, or installing cable, or even cleaning your house?  I don’t have anyone clean my house because 1) my house is too tiny to justify the service 2) even if my house was larger, I feel awkward sitting around while people clean my house.  I’m thinking I should get suggestions now since when we move I’ll have all sorts of people in my home doing various services as we get settled.

Currently, when someone is in my home providing a service I usually sit in the kitchen or living room keeping the kids away from said people.  If the kids are at school, I will act like my computer is the most interesting thing in the world.  I sometimes make small talk but when I’m home alone, without Fish, I don’t want to come off as a desperate housewife.  If you know what I mean?

As I was thinking about how I could provide a better experience for the service people who enter my home, my thinking started to go over the top.  Like, if you were a plumber, how awesome would it be to show up to streamers, air horns and the shouts of “SURPRISE!!!” as the occupant of the home you’re visiting hands you a plunger with a bow on it?  ”Now get to work, my toilet is clogged.”  Hmmm, maybe not so much?

Seriously though, am I the only person who finds this as awkward as I do?  I will concede that I don’t think normally about many everyday situations.  Close friends now know how hard it is for me to shop for zucchini.  Why should this be any different?

 

SPARKLEBALL!!

Oh how I love these.  When Fish and I were first married there was a Decorate Your Balcony for the Holidays contest at the apartment complex we were living in.  I decorated our balcony with luminaries, poinsettias and SPARKLEBALLS!!  We won first prize.

I don’t know what it is about these orbs of light that I find so appealing.  They have a little bit of trailer park flare but not quite as obnoxious as those beer can sculptures (windmills, airplaines, etc.)

Now that they make these little lights for just about every holiday, I think year round SPARKLEBALL!! just might be an option.

Behold, Fall SPARKLEBALL!! in all it’s glowing glory!!!

Who wants to know how these beauties are made?

It Didn’t Have Anything to do with Anything*

I’m continuing with the Bento.  This morning’s Bento was particularly bright and colorful so I shall share.

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It’s been unusually warm lately.  Wait, that’s not true, it’s been downright hot, which isn’t really unusual for Southern California in the beginning of Fall.  I’ve learned to not hate it so much.  The kids have already been working hard in school so Fish and I treated them to a day of fun.  We met up with my parents and took them to a small petting zoo, then to the library to see fish in their huge aquarium.  After fish watching we went outside to play in the water spout fountain, wrapping up our day doing artwork at my parents’ house.

*****
Sometime this past week I found myself watching the Rachel Zoe show.  Now if anyone asks me why we’re leaving California I can just answer, “To get as far away from the people of the Rachel Zoe show as possible.”  Just kidding, sort of.  It’s just a different scene than what I’m used to.  An example, her husband going on a “boys getaway” to Las Vegas.  While there he toasts his pregnant wife and unborn son, hoping that the baby “comes out masculine”  I would now like to replace my annoyance of the phrase, “At the end of the day” with the more annoying use of the word “Obvi” as in OBVIOUS.  ”I’m thinking that I should get a million dollar handbag to match the billion dollar dress I bought last week.”   “OBVI!!!!”

*****
Dexter and Homeland began last night.  Loved both of them.  I’m a huge fan of Mandy Patinkin and I’m already enjoying him in Homeland.  There was a part of me that wished upon wishes that he would throw in a “Peanut” to Claire Danes at one point in last night’s episode.  Of course, that didn’t happen.   Dexter has now added Colin Hanks and Edward James Olmos to their cast.  They are already showing signs of being sinister and creepy, traits that only that show can make entertaining.  Now I just need The Walking Dead and The Killing to start up again to become the Ultimate Couch Potato.  I do knit while watching so I guess I don’t get full Couch Potato Status.

*an homage that probably makes sense to nobody but me that is from an album by The Pixies.

Not Well

For the past 2 or 3 weeks I’ve been sick.  Some days I felt really sick, other days slightly sick, but never not sick.  On the worst days I really just wanted to go back to bed and sleep the day away.  Fish begged me to do so, but I was afraid to.  I felt like if I was laying in bed on a perfectly good summer day, I was giving in to whatever it was that was ailing me.  That would make me feel really sick.  Admitting that level of sick led me to worry about more than just a passing virus.  Did I have cancer?   Did I need an operation?  On the really bad days it would take great effort to get basic tasks done without breaking out in cold sweats.  It felt like I was having a hypoglycemic episode for days at a time.  Most persistent was the nausea.

It felt like I was suffering from morning sickness but 2 negative pregnancy tests ruled that out.  I finally decided to go to the doctor.  She wants to do blood work and see if my insulin resistance and turned into something more serious.  In the meantime, she told me that I could have acid reflux and I should get some over the counter zantac to see if that would relieve the nausea.  I did and guess what?  I’m cured!

Stupid acid reflux.

Dessert

In case anyone is interested I have started to write about Fish’s dream on my alternate blog….Dreamland  It is admittedly cheesy, but as close to the accounts of Fish’s dream as I could get, while putting my own spin on it.  If you’d like to take on some of the story, let me know.  I’d love to see what direction it can go in.

The reason I’m writing tonight is to share a dessert I made today.  ”Ice Cream” Sandwiches.  They turned out really yummy and I love the fact that there are so many possible flavor combinations to play with.  Different puddings, maybe some chocolate grahams?  I was even thinking this would be good with banana pudding sandwiched between Nilla wafers.

I found this recipe on the side of a Honey Graham box.  I put great stock into recipes on the side of product packaging, ever since I found the recipe for Cracker Crack on the side of a box of generic saltines.

“Ice Cream” Sandwiches

1 cup cold milk

1 pkg.(4-serving size) Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

1-1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip Lite

16 Graham Crackers, broken in half (32 squares)

Pour milk into medium bowl. Add dry pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.) Gently stir in whipped topping.

Spoon pudding mixture evenly onto 16 of the graham squares. Top each with second graham square to make sandwich; press together gently to secure. Place in shallow pan; cover with foil.

I also made pistachio flavored…

Freeze 2 hours or until frozen. Transfer to airtight container. Store in freezer up to 2 weeks.

Dreamland Is Not For the Weak

Fish had such a horrible dream the other night.  It was so bad that, as he told me about it the next morning, we were blubbering away trying not to freak Pix and Sprite out with our silliness.

The Dream.  Fish, Pix, Sprite and I died.  Clarabelle was somewhere else, not sure where.  Fish and I knew we were dead but we couldn’t find Pix and Sprite.  We were wandering around the ghost world and these two glowing orb-like figures were showing us how to navigate the ghost world.  We had a few encounters with other beings that were scary and threatening.  The orbs helped us and kept us safe, although they could not verbally communicate with us.  Finally, we completed all the tasks needed to enter the true ghost world.  We were introduced to a ghost elder and were finally able to talk to someone about where our children were.

This is where it became intense.  The ghost elder told us that our babies had been with us the whole time.  They were the light orbs.  They were learning how to break away from us because ghost children do not stay with their parents, they slowly detach emotionally to the point that they will no longer remember us.  As he was speaking the light orbs were drifting away from us and slowly forming into Pix and Sprite.  We kept calling to them, but they wouldn’t turn around, they were entering their ghost world.  They walked away, towards a line of other ghost children, waiting to enter their world.   Holding hands, looking curiously at each other, happy.  No longer a part of us.  Then Fish woke up.

Living the Dream

Something that made me laugh recently.  Fish went to the market to pick up, what was it?  Spinach!  and ice cream.  and cones.  and caramel.  Mmmm caramel.  That’s not the funny part.  I just miss the caramel because I’m back to tracking my Weight Watchers points and caramel is just fluffy extra points that I don’t want to use right now.

The funny is the license plate he saw in the parking lot of the market.  It read, “Never settle for less than a Fairy Tale” and it was on a beat up Ford Explorer.  Oh the irony!  Who am I to judge though?  Maybe that is somebody’s Fairy Tale?  To drive around in that Ford Explorer, meeting up with Princes for bowls of porridge and going home late at night to fall asleep on a pile of mattresses.  If not for that damn pea!  That Pea, so frustrating it is.

 

HoKay, So…..

I’ve faced my homebody demons and made myself more social this week.  I’m so glad I did.  Brenda and Sonja came by for a visit.  We had a house full of kids that were happy and giggling.  Except for Sprite who kept coming to me with various complaints.  I forget that she gets very overwhelmed with busy and noisy, which is kind of odd because if I was to describe Sprite I would say, busy and noisy.  The reality is that she really isn’t all that noisy and her busy has a lot of direction, so a house full of kids sets her off in some ways I guess.  Not in a horrible way.  Just in a slightly needy way.

It was nice to be among good friends and laugh.  Today the weather was in between storms with wonderful breaks of blustery clouds and blue blue skies.  We decided to walk down the street to pick up lunch.  I need to remind myself to go on walks on days like today.  It always puts a smile on my face.

So Spring Break is winding down.  I survived a week of kids home all day, a husband who has been working really hard, and updates from my parents who were both healing from various medical procedures.  I’ll be glad when Monday comes around and we’re back to the normal everyday schedule that includes me ditching my kids for a few hours a day.  Kidding!  I’ve really enjoyed my babies being around me all day everyday, but I think that they are missing the fun that they have at school.  Especially Pix who keeps asking when she can FINALLY go back.

Life

Poor Pix.  My heart broke for her today.  When I picked her up from preschool she was in the teacher’s lap crying.  Apparently during circle time they were singing a song and dancing.  The teachers were happy to see that Pixie was participating because sometimes she can be really shy.  Suddenly, she was crying and inconsolable.  I took her home and took her to her room (the only place in the house where she can tell me important things) and it took her 30 minutes to tell me that while she was dancing, one of her classmates elbowed her in the face by accident.  It was like she was physically unable to talk to me for long periods of time and she just kept staring at me like, “HELP ME TALK”.  It took everything in me not to start crying with her.  I just kept holding her and telling her she could tell me anything and I’ll just wait and listen.  She slowly stammered out the incident and then let out a huge sigh of relief.  Hopefully, in time, she’ll be able to just blurt out whatever happens to be bothering her.

THEN, Clarabelle was crying because she forgot her reading book for the night and didn’t want to miss her homework assignment.  I tried to find it on the Kindle but it wasn’t available and then we had this long drawn out drama fest that gave me a big ol’ headache.

Two sensitive kids with completely different ways of dealing with it all = mama in the corner making wacky noises.

Surprisingly, Sprite has been an angel all day.  Why wouldn’t she be?  She had Nick Jr. online and a big bowl of cheetos.  HA!