I take it back

Remember when I said I couldn't wait for winter & snow & all that? The first thing I heard this morning upon waking was that A-Basin opened for the season today. The first resort in CO to open. I'm sure they made quite a bit of snow, but there's some naturally occuring stuff up there too. And then Maddie said that it frosted last night. I've had the heat on 3 mornings this week already. Um, yeah. Can I change my mind? I am not at all ready for winter. Let's face it, at $400 for a season ticket (yes, bargain compared to paying for individual lift tickets), ain't nobody in this house riding some fresh anytime soon (big sigh). In actuality, I could have 65 degrees all year long & be content. Maybe I should move to Cali. So Cal, in particular. Is the ocean still free of charge?

(okay, in the rush to be the first resort to open for the season, does it really count if only 1 lift is running & only 2 runs are open & there is ONLY 18 inches p/p on the ground? Hardly seems worth the effort. Boo to A Basin for jumping the gun)

housekeeping stuff

I am excited to say that Cody's "bed" (aka the reading room couch) has found a new home with T-rev & Lindz. Yessss! (see me pumping my arm in victory?). I'm looking for a larger dining room table & once found, it will replace the too small for company table which will then become my craft table in the former "reading area". Yesssss! (more pumping action) I will actually have a little creative space for myself for the first time in, oh, 10 years. How have I survived, you ask? I don't know. I'd have to say, barely. I'm also looking for a hutch in which to organize all my crafty supplies. I can't stand disorganization. Honestly. My house may not look like I have on ounce of organization in my being, but for the last year I've had space but no organizational furniture; before we moved here it was 3 years of not enough space. Once again, I have to say I've barely survived with my sanity intact. I have not been able to be 'myself' so to speak. Soon to be remedied....

And G's painted the t.v. room a lovely shade of pale sage green w/ darker sage green trim. It's very nice & I am awash in decorating ideas to further enhance the room. Now, if only money were no issue....

Does anyone know how to install insulation? I think it would be easy; I may be mechanically minded, but I'm no Joe Pro when it comes to house repairs. I can figure it out, sure enough, but I'd just as soon have reassurance that I'm doing it correctly. It definitely would help to have some of that pink fiberglass stuff between the crawl space & the floor here.

Speaking of which, why in the world are there 4 or 5 "vent" type openings in the crawlspace? Our last house here in Denver had the same type of vents. I have never seen these on houses with basements. I can only surmise that they are some kind of necessary component to letting fresh air in, but why are they necessary? They let in COLD air from outdoors. And alot of it. All the more reason to have insulation installed.

potty talk is all the rage

so we're potty training ovah heah. Sometimes. Like when there are m&m bribes upon waking. And when I mention that now Fi can wear Maddie's size 4 clothes AND Maddie didn't wear diapers anymore when she was almost 4 b/c there are big girl panties in the size 4 bin to prove it. It's hit or miss, really. She does prefer the big potty to the little potty. It's only a matter of time now. And Lib is likely to follow suit as she quite often takes her diaper off when it's soiled -sometimes without telling me so that I don't find out until I see her walking around semi-clothed. No mishaps yet, luckily. It's been a long almost four years of diapers, folks, and 3 of those years have been 2X the usage. It'll be nice to not have to budget for that weekly expense. I am so over diapers. So over it. It is one reason why I choose to NOT have more kids. Yes, really. These two have been the most reluctant to potty train out of the 4 girls. And girls are supposed to be easy. I do not want to go through this again. Seriously. There must be more to life than perpetual poo wiping. I'm feeling a little like a live-in nanny. But I don't get paid & I don't get much time off away from my charges. Ack!

A converstion between Fi & me while she was playing outside: "mom, cody's eating sh*t." "what did you say?", I ask calmly. "cody's eating sh*t." "say that again?" "cody's eating sh*t." ("hmmm, yes cody is eating something in the yard there; it could be sh*t...hmmmm. But could you really be using that word in context. Eeewww, Cody wouldn't eat her own sh*t would she? She may have psychological problems that I don't want to deal with right now," I mused.) "say that one more time.", while I inspect a little closer. "Cody's eating sh*t mom", she says exasperated. "Oh Cody's eating a STICK!", I say triumphantly & relieved. Doubly relieved.

Is it wrong to root for a team just b/c the manager kicks ass?

ok, maybe I'm just feeling a little over sensitive. But why oh why oh why have all my favorite teams taken a freakin' turn for the worst????

Right, so I have almost come to EXPECT the Pirates to end up near the bottom of the heap. (Won't Jim Leyland PLEASE come back???)

The Penguins too have been at the bottom for so long. Not to be sacreligious or anything, but if the team doesn't perform at least beyond mediocrity why in the world should the city spend a bunch of money on a new arena? Will a new arena guarantee a better team? I think not; look what happened with the Pirates. They're on the upwards scale of mediocrity even with a new stadium.

Then the Buffs start the season with a loss, then another and another...and not a win yet after 5 weeks. WTF?!?!?!?!?! And don't give me that crap about how Coach Hawkins is new & he's stuck with a team that he didn't build; not every new coach has a no win season. Find a way to work it, man; it's the reason you get paid the big bucks.

Well, at least I have the Steelers, no? NO! Not even the Super Bowl winning Steelers can appease my thirst for some notches in the win column.

It's sad. Pathetic. I can say it's a familiar feeling. Losing. My high school football team had (I believe) not one winning season the whole time I was there. Familiar feeling -the feeling of possiblity every week, then the miserable letdown. Not comfortable, mind you, but I have been here before.

It all cycles I suppose. My high school team won State a few years after graduation (with the same coach who took them b4 I started school there). The Steelers did just win the Superbowl. The Pirates have won a few pennants, a few world series. The Penguins won back to back Stanley Cups. And of course the Buffs have been National Champs too.

But you try living with someone who's alma mater has produced a winning team at least every year since you've been together. And his baseball team is a winning machine. It sucks. Alot.

For now I will be joyous that neither the Yankees (nor the Braves, for that matter) are in the running for the World Series (PGH could also have all winning seasons if they had the same budget). Jim Leyland kicks ass and takes names wherever he goes (except the Rockies; they must be some kind of freaks). Thanks for the memories, dude. GO Tigers GO!

top prize for worst kid product ever invented

at least the worst I can think of just now: the JUICE BOX and those darn juice packets ala Capri Sun. Yeah, it's thoughtful -portable, individually sized bevvies for folks on the go. Obviously marketed to the under 10 set. It is a poor design nevertheless. Anyone under 5 cannot manipulate the product properly so that the juice flows smooothly ONLY from container through straw into mouth. It is a potential mess in every serving. Try explaining to the little kids why only the big kids can have a juice box. They're tantalizing; like the cookies in the kitchen cabinet that my 3yo has been busted climbing on the counter to retrieve. The more they're told "no", the more enticing the juice box becomes. And yes, we only buy the real 100% juice types -no colored sugar water here. So we feel like at least they're getting a fruit serving. But that gosh darned trail of juice that leads from the beginning of the toddler expedition to wherever the forgotten box has found it's final resting place irks me to no end. Hence forward, I REFUSE to buy juice boxes for my household. The Madster will find in her lunch tomorrow a thermos (remember those? Used to be you couldn't buy a lunch box without one)(wish me luck on my quest to find one) filled with her beverage of choice (well, choice between milk or juice. duh) And those brand new juice boxes on top of the fridge? Going into hiding until some REALLY special occasion like a birthday party -an outside birthday party. 'nuf said.

while I was in PGH....

how cute are we??!?

school daze

So we finally got the letter of approval for Madster to ride the bus to school. Only a month after school started. Thankfully we weren't in dire need of transportation. Yeah, there are 4 kids total on the bus in the morning. Granted, it's a little bus. But I'm sure there are other kids in the neighborhood who could be on that bus instead of (as G so eloquently put it) participating in the car fashion show at the school. Why is it so important for folks to drive when there is a bus available? It must be the fashion show. I hate it. School shouldn't be about what kind of car a family has. Or how big one's camera is on the first day of school. But this school is like that. Grrrrr.

Which leads me to the latest "I want": wheelies -$100 tennis shoes w/ wheels in the heels. So let's see, that's an ipod, a laptop, a cell phone, and wheelies - in 3rd grade. No wait, make that 5 WEEKS INTO 3rd GRADE!!! I remember wanting adidas tennis shoes like Starsky & Hutch. I'm pretty sure they weren't close to $100 -even with adjusting for inflation. I told her she should save her money. She was set on saving for the ipod but I haven't heard much about it lately. Now it's wheelies. I imagine she'll be wanting a motorized scooter contraption next. She'll have to make a xmas list soon. It may be a very short list. Or rather, it may be a very few gifts under the tree.

inspiration

I was dead tired last night b/c I had a Grey's Anatomy season one marathon on Saturday night w/ Nikki. So I hit the hay early. And slept through the night. I think I remember hearing Olivia wake slightly, but she got herself back to sleep w/o me; I was too wiped out to get out of bed. I awoke this morning with this one thought: "what can I do today to make my life better than it was yesterday".

Some of you may know that I have struggled w/ depression all my life...for as long as I can remember...even back into grade school. I dabble with the idea of going back on meds. But I continue looking for ways to deal with this without resorting to ingesting daily chemicals. So this morning when I had that waking inspiration, I decided it would be a good mantra for me to use for my life and maybe reminding myself of this mantra would help pull me through the rough patches. Maybe. 'Cause heaven knows I've tried everything. Once the downward spiral starts, it's so very difficult to climb back out of that pit. Yeah yeah, I know "this too shall pass" but that mantra doesn't even begin to address the pain that depression inflicts. You know, I just don't want to go there anymore. But b/c it's something to do with my brain chemicals & what not, it's difficult to circumvent without altering those same chemicals. However, meds not only eliminate the depression, they pretty much eliminate any extreme emotions. So there's no anger, no elation, nothing. It's like driving through Kansas or Nebraska. Blah. I'm just kind of there, the same me but even keel numb. And it's weird b/c I'm well aware of how I "should be" feeling (happy or angry or sad) but I just never can quite get there.

I'm thinking that this new mantra will help keep the monsters at bay before they even have a chance to attack. And I can have ALL of my emotions intact. Yeah, it's easy for me to write this now; we'll see what happens in reality.

Beer pt II

OMG. I have to say that was the most fun I've ever had whilst volunteering! I was pouring barley wine from this little brewpub in Gunnison (Gunnison Brewery). The stuff was tasty, very tasty. But funny how a few people knew what it was & made jokes about it & asked for just a little taste. And other people -mostly guys-turned their noses up at it, I think b/c it had the word "wine" in the name. Some guy even said to me "it takes alot of balls to bring wine to a beer contest". Dumbass. BUT as soon as I said it was 9% alcohol they were all over it.

The first guys at our table were of the frat boy variety & were merely going on down the line doing shots of every single beer. I'm sure they were wasted within the hour.

There was a pipe band at the beginning. And then 3 dudes wearing 1/2 kegs around their bodies w/ hard hats that had a 3 or 4 hose tap on the top (octopus tap?) Too funny. I saw Glenda the good witch & an oompa loompa. And other various characters. There was some schwag to be had, but by the time I got a break, it was mostly gone.

I got to walk around on my breaks & sample as much beer as I wanted. There were definitely drunk volunteers.

I tasted:
a stout from Puyallup, WA
a very tasty pumpkin ale from Brooklyn NY
a yummy honey-raspberry ale from Spanish Peaks Brewery in Montana
Penn Pilsner from PGH, PA
Odell's 90 shilling which I hadn't had in quite a long time & memories that coincide w/ that beer came back to me as soon as I tasted it
"the man beer" from Bull & Bush down the street here -it was slightly hoppy
A no taste pumpkin ale from Blue Moon
Hummingbird ale -one of my favorites from Mountain Sun in Boulder
A not so tasty "organic" IPA from TX
A meh stout from Rogue
A few more hoppy beers (so very scrummy)
A not so good beer from Rock Bottom that came with a taste of chocolate cheesecake; it actually didn't taste bad with the cheesecake, if you can imagine that, but it also wasn't tasty enough to ever drink again
winterfish ale from Washington state
a rye beer from ?? USA
Dam Straight lager fromDillon Dam Brewery; I ate there a couple summers ago.
And then there was the table that had so many people crowded around it-I think b/c it had fresh hops all over the table & it smelled incredibly like pot! The beer was good too. But the smell was incredibly addicting! I could've stood there all night.

It was all so good & almost overwhelming. I missed the Hawaii beer & all of the California beers. There was a fun KS brewery that was called Safari, or something like that & had fun costumes. I saw Fathead's stickers but couldn't find the Fathead's table.