(recipe) only the best baked potato soup ever

It was brought to my attention that I neglected to post the baked potato soup recipe at the end of my previous post. Duh.

I have been making baked potato soup for years, and then I lost my recipe. I'm totally a "follow the recipe-- or at least try to" kind of girl. Usually I misread the recipe (or don't read it all the way through first) and then I screw it up.

This recipe is better than my last baked Potato Soup recipe-- less involved. I like less involved recipes. Simplicity is my middle name (actually, it's Christine, but you get the idea).

Only The Best Baked Potato Soup Ever

Prep: ~25 mins
Cook time (not incl. potatoes & bacon) ~30 mins
Servings: 6 generous portions

12 slices bacon
2/3 c. butter
2/3 c. all-purpose flour
7 c. milk
4 large baked potatoes, meat scooped out, toss peels
4 green onions, chopped
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 c. sour cream
1t salt
1t ground pepper

Directions:

1. Brown bacon, crumble, set aside (this is the most time consuming portion of this meal-- have your husband cook the bacon, if possible. Let him get bacon grease spit at him).
2. In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly until thickened. Stir in potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
   
3. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add bacon, sour cream, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until cheese is melted.
   

I serve this with a loaf of French bread (or is it french bread?).

Enjoy!

let it snow...

Well, be careful what you ask for.
All I wanted was a 2 hour delay of the school day, but instead, school was canceled. There wasn't even very much snow, but it was icy. People were sliding all over the damn road-- especially those super cool SUVs and pick-up trucks.

I drove Britt to a friend's house. Paige walked to a friend's house (she was being completely rude, so I refused to drive her). There's no school again tomorrow, so Kels and Brian were here for dinner, and the three of them are in the hot tub now.

The kids all loved my baked potato soup. You should try it. I'll put the recipe at the end of this post. For now, it's picture time!

I have yet to figure out how to photograph my house in a way that makes it appear even somewhat attractive. Having Wayne in the picture helps :-)

As you can see, we didn't get much snow, but it was enough to bring the entire puget sound to a halt:



to da left:



to da right:




I drove today, and while I was coming home (around 4:30), I took a few pictures. I was driving and trying to not rear-end the person in front of me. While on the cell phone.

Just kidding.

It was balmy today:



Nice color to the sky in the background:



I managed to avoid rear-ending this person:



The mountain (Mt Rainier) looked awesome. This time next year, a Lowe's will probably be in the foreground lot:



Happy Snow Day, to all!

potty pitchers

Okay, here is the downstairs powder room "before":



Luv-eh-leee.

Here's a weird angle. Wayne obviously took this picture because I am only 5'2", and this is an angle I have yet to see.



Now, the new and improved powder room (I'm thinking about changing the outlet and light covers to stainless instead of white):







The walls are green, which is hard to see because I suck at taking pictures. I love it! It seems bigger now, believe it or not. I don't know if I should put a framed print of some sort in there or just some shelves...hm. It'll come to me. It looks so much warmer now.

I'm so psyched to get moving on the rest of the downstairs. Next, wood floors in the front room and dining room. I think I've convinced Wayne to go with hardwood instead of laminate. Alcohol and sex-- that's all it takes to convince Wayne of anything.

Forgot to mention: it's still snowing! I'm hoping for another 2-hr delay!



It really only takes an accumulation of this depth to bring our entire area to a complete halt. Rain, we can do; Snow? We're screwed! Everyone around here knows that snow in the PacNW means: NO WORK!!! NO SCHOOL!!!

i'm a lucky girl

I got my two hour delay today. I was so happy. So, so happy.
It snowed last night (or this morning-- I was sleeping), and it barely dusted the ground, which was enough to keep me warm in my bed until 8:30am.
It was delightful.
It is snowing, again (turn to Monday Night Footbal, if you want proof!), so we may have another two hour delay tomorrow. I am absolutely gleeful.

I'm totally ready for Winter Vacation. Unlike a lot of parents, I love when my kids are out of school. I hate schedules and being in school requires some degree of scheduling, which stresses me out.

What else...

Oh, my powder room is finally finished. We put back the molding; we hung the mirror, secured the sink to the wall and put in a new towel rack and toilet paper holder. I even bought new hand towels: light brown, light purple and sage-y green. Nice.

I have pictures of the completed room, but i need to upload them on my other computer, which is in use by one or more of the kids right now.

i have zero follow-through

Yeah, I pretty much suck at this NaBloPoMo thing. I messed up on the 15th (for good reason!) and forgot to post, but I thought I would redeem myself by continuing to post daily. What's one urp?
Yeah.
Then I slacked on Friday and Saturday. I seriously thought I did blog on Friday, and yesterday was too busy and then I was too drunk-- too drunk to even do a drunk blog.

Yesterday Wayne and I cleaned our garage. It was a monumental task, and we're still not done. It's better, though. We took 1,700 lbs of trash to the landfill. 1,700 lbs of trash from in and around our house. I feel horribly guilty about how much trash we create. It's sick.

I am giving away some things on 2good2toss. Some people will take anything that's free. Roll top desk--taken. 3 30" tall bistro chairs and a tabletop from fountain-- I've received about 6 emails from interested people. They usually want both the fountain and the chairs, even though they are listed separately. I have a push-mower I'm going to list, too, so we'll see how long before that is taken. It helps that I'm giving everything away for free. I imagine the people who want this stuff have 20 cats, a few cars up on blocks in the front yard and maybe a toilet that they use as a planter. Their home is over-run with tons of stuff that they will use "someday, somehow."

I gave a ton of shoes, clothes, books and toys to the Goodwill. Wayne said the lady at the donation station was thrilled because we have "great stuff." When he told me that, I started to wonder if I was getting rid of too much stuff. If I didn't, though, I would be like the person I described in the paragraph above-- sans cats because Wayne is deathly allergic.

The dump is an interesting place. I remember being so excited to go to the dump with my dad when I was a kid. Back then, it really was a landfill. Dad would drive to the edge and push all his trash over the edge to the depths below. It was kind of scary.

Now, we pull into a large warehouse-type area that is all concrete. We dump our stuff into a pile, and a front loader thing takes it all away to wherever. New Jersey, maybe? It is so much garbage. So many people. We rented a U-Haul to take our trash over, and there were at least 3 other U-Hauls while we were there, which pretty much grossed me out. We used the U-Haul to take away wet, nasty trash, and next someone may use it to haul their beautiful, brand new leather sofa set. Ew.

Last night, after a hard day of loading crap into a U-Haul, we decided we needed to get out. Maya was invited to a slumber party, so it was a great opportunity to go out for a nice dinner. We even dressed up. Yes, I wore make-up. That is a big deal. I had several lemondrops, which were double-shot lemondrops. That is a big deal. That is something I should have paid closer attention to. I did sleep well. And hard. I awoke with a minimal hangover-- nothing that 3 ibuprofen and a peppermint mocha couldn't cure.

We might get snow tonight. Cross your fingers for me because I don't want to get up and get Maya off to school in the morning. I need one more day. Please, please, please just give me a 2 hour delay.

gobble, gobble

It's Thanksgiving, so I think I will list some things I am thankful for, in no particular order.

1. My new Marie Antoinette Soundtrack CD that came in the mail yesterday
2. The pretty in pink iPod Nano with which I can listen to the new CD. The iPod is only the best thing ever. After flush toilets, of course.
3. Sleeping past 6:30 today. Yea!
4. Maya watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade-- damn near made me cry.
5. My family still sleeping at 9:59am (except Maya)
6. Wayne is off all weekend!
7. The rain. Everyone else hates it. I embrace it, love and am so grateful for it. Only because *I* didn't get flooded.
8. My mommy.
9. My daddy.
10. My wonderful husband. He really is the best. I love him the mostest.
11. My kids, even when they annoy me and make me cry.
12. My home, which I am grateful for every day. I never thought I would be a home owner.
13. My van. I thought I would be driving my damn '95 Tercel forever.
14. My sister, even though we have distanced.
15. My brother. He's always the same :-)
16. My grandma-- cancer free!
17. My grandpa-- getting better!
18. My niece and nephew-- good kids going through some tough adjustments.
    
19. My maternal cousins, even though I'm not so fond of them right now.
20. My paternal cousins: Jesse, Julia and Nathan. I miss them. I hope they are well.
21. My aunts and uncles-- those who are living (Donald, Debbie, Janet) and those who are part of my memories (Dan, Rita).
22. My paternal grandparents, who my children never got to know, but who are such a part of my childhood memories. It makes me sad that my kids will never see what a true K***** Thanksgiving is like. "AI-LEEN!" Bring on the Gallo, baby.
    
23. My new tile floor, which proved that Wayne and I can work together in stressful situations and not want to kill each other. Yes, we may even be able to survive The Amazing Race. (I just spoiled myself when I looked up that link...dammit, Chos!)
    
24. Swearing, which really helps us be able to work together without killing each other. "ASSHOLE" goes a long way in expressing how one feels about another without having to resort to physical violence.
    

Okay, I have ton and tons of reasons to be thankful on this day. My life is better than I ever imagined it would be. I'm happy, healthy and have lots of people whom I love and who love me (hopefully I got that who and whom right).

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I wish everyone a nice hot meal with people who give half a damn about you.



(btw, the Marie Antoinette CD, which I finally finished listening to, is too awesome!!)

tastelessly hysterical

whew!

I have had seven inquiries about my class in two days. I can tell I'll be full by Xmas. Yay!!

I mentioned in an earlier post that people post a lot of recipes and photos of delish food on their blogs (bastards!), and I rarely cook. Well, thanks to the holidays-- and I guess my birth order-- I am a cooking fool this week. Today I made a three-layer carrot cake that is the moistest cake ever with a cream cheese frosting that is like biting into a cheesecake. It is the best frosting ever. The PTA is hosting a teacher appreciation dessert thing tomorrow, which is why I made the carrot cake. From scratch. Oh yeah, I'm in the motherf'in PTA, too. How bad-ass am I? Fuck yeah.

I also made chicken marsala, but it's so easy to make-- it just sounds like it would be complicated.

I still have to make squash soup, pecan pie and green bean casserole for Thanksgiving, which is Thursday, for those who don't live in the US o' A. Like, I never know when Canada celebrates Thanksgiving. I didn't even know they did until a few years ago. Did pilgrims land there, too?

Anyway, while I am working away on three different dishes, my younger sibs, who are both now in their 30's, are bringing lame stuff like cheese and crackers. Puh-leeze!

Speaking of pilgrims, I was watching the Mayflower show that aired on the History Channel (damn, I sound old!). It was good-- so far. I still have to watch about half of it. When I watch shows like that, it becomes so obvious to me how ignorant I am about American history. There's just so much to remember! I should be grateful I don't live in Italy or something and have to learn Italian history-- now that is really so much to remember.

We got a sauna today. I can't wait to use it, but first we must create a space for it. In the garage. Right here:



Yeah, we have to clear all that out. We rented a U-Haul to get the task done (Saturday), and I'm listing stuff on 2 Good 2 Toss.

And the floor that used to look like this:



now looks like this:



The walls are green now, too, which is hard to see in the pictures. Where there once was carpet, now lies tile. I love it, love it,love it! I am ready to tile the kitchen, but Wayne is so not there yet.

I love this angle (below)-- too bad I was too lazy to move the broom and the vacuum attachment out of the way. Oh well. You can see a little bit of my new favorite sucker, too (my Dyson). Laundry room is to the left and powder room on the right.



I am quite proud of how it turned out.

Well, I am going to go see my husband, who has made himself scarce around here the past 5 days due to his two jobs (he's clocked about 88 hours in the past 5 days--straight).

the end

Tonight was the final class of my fall Bradley series.

It was such a great class, too! They all seemed to learn so much, and I can't wait to meet their new babies.

Off to watch heroes...

Wind It Up

please note:

I'm a freaking blogging fool tonight! This is what happens when one is deprived of all media for a week. BINGE!!!!

Okay, I was using the NaBloPoMo Randomizer, which is a nifty little do-hicky, and I am impressed that someone made it up. It probably requires mathematical skills, of which I have few, to create something of that nature.

So, as I was perusing through the randomizer, I cam across this link about a BIG HORSE. It is no way ENUMCLAW -like, so don't be afeared to click that link. It's just stupidly funny.

I must mention that, in my perusing of blogs using the Nifty Little Do-Hicky a/k/a the NaBloPoMo Randomizer, I have noticed that a lot of people cook home cooked meals. I know this because they post recipes with pictures that stir up my salivary glands. I made tacos this week. They weren't very photogenic, however.

planning ahead

I am so doing this next year. I know you want to do it, too.

big meanies

Cops have been in my thoughts for two days now. Not constantly just passing annoyed thoughts.

There was THIS article in my local paper. I don't actually live in Tacoma, and there is most definitely a reason why I don't (won't) live there: I have three kids, and I have the option to live elsewhere. However, I think it is completely out of line for a Tacoma police officer to blow off the citizens of the city that employs him (or her). I can only imagine the citizens' frustration.

Then there was THIS FOLLOW UP article.

Really, is everyone just supposed to up and leave Tacoma, the third most populated city in Washington, simply because it's Tacoma? Tacoma, the land of gangs,within Pierce county, the meth capital of the western US. It's an urban area and has all the features and flaws of any urban area across the US. It's probably much quiter than most cities. There is crime, and police, for whatever my opinion is worth, should be working to forge relationships with stewards of the community rather than dismissing their concerns.

Asshole(s).

Then there was this video from UCLA. I know this kid was being disorderly or whatever. he was breaking the rules, pushing the enevelope, but he seemed to be trying to leave until they tased him over and over. I love how the students stand a safe distance back but are definitely trying to defend the guy. I like how the cop, towards the end of the video, says to one guy, "stand back or you'll get tased." They wave those things around like it's no big deal. Ugh. They need to take my friend's effective parenting class.

This video shows student reactions to the video. One kid says that the guy deserved it because he didn't follow the rules. Since when did not following the rules justify tasing? There was a time when civil disobedience was somewhat respected. We won't react until you act. That time has so passed us by. I just wonder: how easy is it to get up and walk away after being tased? They kept yelling at him to stand up. I don't think that would be very easy, but I've never been tased.

Tangent, sort of.

When I was in my twenties, I listened to a local radio station that played Crimestoppers PSAs, and they guy who read the details of the Crimestoppers cases was "Officer Lee Giles." He was always very Dragnet-y in his voiceovers. There was even a major radio dj duo who had a character based off of Officer Giles (at least that was what I always thought).

We were in South Carolina for a good two weeks in August, and when we came back to town, once we got over our denial of the end of vacation, we started reading the newspaper again. I was shocked to come across a story about Officer Lee Giles. Blows my mind.

I am off to catch up on Nip/Tuck.

sorry

I apologize for my lamest of blogs over the past several days. It's been hell week, but now it is (almost) over. Yea!

Ever since the girls (Paige and Brittani are The Girls) were little, we have, on occasion, taken them out of school for various activities: the fair, the beach, the tulip festival, the movies. It's harder now that they are older because they have after school activities and to miss classes isn't as easy as it was in 4th grade. Now there is major make-up work to be done when they miss a class.

The three of us decided we wanted to see Marie Antoinette together, but it is really being pulled from theaters, I assume due to low ticket sales. I was going to take the girls out of school last week, but Brittani was sick for, like, three days, so she couldn't miss anymore school. We decided to go to the movie this week, Thursday(Yesterday), instead. It was after school because they each had their clubs that they participate in on Thursdays.

Brittani and I had some time alone before picking up Paige, and it was good. She's been in a mellow phase lately. The lying seems to have decreased-- that or we aren't as good at catching her as we once were. She and her BF broke up Wednesday. She said she felt good about it but that he was really sad. She feels free, so I told her it must have been the right decision. I'm happy for her. She made a good decision and she didn't get her heart broken. She said dating this one boy has been affecting her grades, and he's too clingy. I told her it was mature of her to see her grades slip and to take action to remove her distraction.

Paige and I, of course, got into an argument before entering the theater because that's what we do. That is our dynamic, and no matter how hard I try to change it, she still continues to want to have that dynamic. She's well-trained, I guess. Our fight this time was over Tolo. I am no longer funding her dances because she acts like a Royal Bitch to me anytime around a dance. It isn't worth it, to me, to drive her everywhere to get whatnot done to her hair, nails, etc, find her the perfect outfit/shoes, accessories to only be treated like a big steamy pile of crapola. I. Am. Done. She's old enough to get a job to fund her own extravagances.

The movie was great. Paige and I loved it, but Brittani, in her post-break-up status, thought it was too depressing. I can see that, too. It was sad.

Paige and I were talking about the trend back in the day of wearing powdered wigs and powdered faces. The big dresses. Who decided that was trendy? Who decided to sway away from women wearing dresses? I know nothing about fashion history, but I would guess the "women must wear dresses" rule died during WWII. But even before that, poofy had deflated. I say, bring back the poofy dresses with corsets that accentuate the cleavage. I'd have killer cleavage in something like that, and it would hide the cellulite in my legs and the wideness of my ass. Oh, and the shoes in the movie-- gorgeous.



I'm not even a shoe person, but who could resist shoes that look like confections?! Delish!

Marie Antoinette is a very pretty film. Kirsten Dunst was perfectly vapid in her role as MA. There really wasn't any depth to the film, but it was so easy on the eyes.

I need to read the book now. I love biographies.

When I got home, Wayne and I grouted the tile. Yeah, baby. Now my life can continue normally. I will post pictures after we get the new sink/vanity in.

finally

it is done!! I have two minutes to get this post in under the wire.
done.

Dammit!

I forgot to blog yesterday. I woke at 3am and remembered. I am so pissed at myself.

ugh.

Oh well. I lasted 14 days of daily blogging. It's not as easy as it sounds-- especially when one is super busy.

crazy ass mudder f'ers

I do enjoy reading blogs.
There is one blog that I read fairly regularly; the blogger is a friend of my sister's.
In her blog today, she wrote about how a blog another person wrote was commented (over and over) by crazy military wives. You have to read the other person's blog. You have to read what those crazy women have to say.

I don't agree with our presence in Iraq. I detest our President. However, I don't hate our troops. As far as I am concerned, they are men and women who are doing a job. They are contractually and legally bound to continue with their jobs until they are told they can go elsewhere.

I don't understand people who think that to be a Good American, you must support, unconditionally, whomever is president. Wha??? That's just crazy thinking. And to assume that every person in the American armed forces agree with and love the President is insane.

You will never see me hate on the troops. Never. I don't think we'll again see the military treated as they were during VietNam, but to state that only people inthe military or in government have a right to voice their opinions on American policy is just crazy.

Those chicks are crazy ass motherfuckers, man.

I had to teach my class tonight in Tacoma. Usually I teach out of my home, which is not in Tacoma, but my house is scary right now. Not conducive to relaxation, one might say. It looks kids of like a minor bomb went off here.

My friend, Jen, has been teaching at this chiropractor's office for a long time. He recently made an apartment next to the office available for her to teach in, and I love it. He wants to make it open for other groups, like LLLI groups, ICAN of Tacoma (that would have been so nice for us!) and Bradley teachers. He would also like a midwife and LMP have their practices there. It's a good, open space with enough room for a massage room and an exam room, plus a waiting area and bathroom. I thought it might make a good birth center, but that's a lot of work.

I'm thinking of teaching there instead of at my house simply because it is so easily accessible off of I-5. My house is out in the boonies. My students tend to complain about the drive, and I don't blame them. Traffic is a bitch, and class starts at 6:30--right in the worst traffic time. I'll have to think about it because commuting would really suck-- especially for a job where I make no money.

Paige had her final drive in driver's ed tonight. She can take her written test whenever and her driving test in two weeks. Wow. How did I get old enough to have a sixteen year old, anyway?

I am so tired again tonight. I got Maya off to school, and then Wayne and I went back to bed. We slept from 8:30 until 11:00. We so needed the sleep. I cannot wait for this job to be over, but we're already talking about tiling the kitchen and other two bathrooms ourselves. With those rooms, we'll add electric radiant heat.

Oh!!! One of my students had their baby; they had their first baby in 2004, and they took my classes, then, too. They had a baby girl on Thursday: 1olbs9oz and 20.5 inches long. She had her baby verrry fast-- she barely made it to the hospital. Half of baby was born in the elevator and the rest was born on the gurney as they entered the LDR room. No drugs. No tearing. Yea for them!! They are babymooning now. Have I mentioned that I love my job?

painfully dull

another day spent tiling. damn. this is so lame. I am simply unable to post a blog of any interest because all my creativity is disappearing with each screw I drill into the damn backer board. Thanks god for electric drills. Can you imagine screwing 600 screws by hand?

Wayne and I truly understand, and are beginning to appreciate, the high cost of manual labor. God, so I appreciate it. If we had paid several thousand dollars to have a pro come and do this job, it would have been done today. We hope to be done by Thursday. Note that we began the project on Thursday. One week to tile 120 square feet of space. Novices.

Okay, it's 11:32pm, and I am coming in right under the NaBloMo wire.

renovation continues

Okay, now I know why we usually hire people to do all the work around our house. DIY is over-rated. Highly over-rated.

We are on Day Three of our bathroom/mudroom/laundry room renovation. Wayne is working on zero sleep in 42 hours, and he is busting his ass. He was under the house today (always good times!), since we had to replace a section of subfloor that had water damage. He replaced that, which took hours, and now he is putting down the hardibacker for the tile. Painting is nearly done; I have two walls and edges that need a second coat. We are hoping that tiling can begin tomorrow afternoon.

I'm working with a mild hangover, so I've been hoping for Wayne to collapse in exhaustion all day, so I can sleep, too. But no, he's so fucking determined to get the hardibacker done, at the very least. He promises that after that, we can soak in the hot tub. yea.

Paige has two friends over tonight, and Brittani has one friend over. It's been busy around here today, and poor Maya was pretty much ignored and played with her Little Ponies all day. She is really good at entertaining herself, thank god.

We have no washer and dryer for an unknown length of time. In fact, the washer and dryer are sitting on our front porch! So white trash. I wonder if we will get a letter from the HOA.

Damn! Almost missed a day!

My internet was down all day today, which pretty much sucked for the whole family.
I had a candle party tonight, which was lovely. I miss so many of my friends; we get so busy with kids and mundane daily life that friendships take a backseat. It was great to reconnect. if only briefly.

Anyway, my friend and candle lady, Cassie, told me that ever since they started using a particular wireless modem (or whatever), they have problems connecting to the internet. We happen to have bought that same wireless modem, so I tried her tip (to disconnect the modem and reconnect it), and now I have internet. yea!

I painted and ran kids around all day, and now I am slightly inebriated. Damn you, red wine. Pinot noir. I have to get the kidlet to bed and resume painting. Consider this my slightly drunk post for the day.

Webbed

I took these pictures about two weeks ago. I just came across them as I was going through some of my photos from this past weekend.

I was taking Maya to the bus, and I thought there was frost all over the lawn. We got outside, and it was obvious that it was spider webs. There were webs all over the lawn, the roses, the pumpkins, our lights...everywhere. I assume that a sack of spider eggs hatched in the night. The webs were all gone by the afternoon.

18 Days

Paige turned 16 in August and is able to test for her driver's license on November 24th, but she has to wait until the 27th due to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

She has no job, and Wayne doesn't want her to have a job. I think she should, at the very least, work weekends. The child has a pretty high standard of living, and it keeps getting higher.

She wants a car, but I am so not inclined to gift her a car. Hell to the no, baby. She can be a sweet child, when things are going exactly how she wants them to go, but god forbid you ask her to:

• wash her dirty towels (or at least pick them out of the middle of the hallway)
• clean her own damn bathroom, which is just yucky.
  
• do anything around the house that makes life comfortable for anyone but herself.

I want her to drive; no, I need her to drive because if she doesn't start transporting herself places, she's going to drive me crazy. She doesn't understand that we won't be able to get her the 2006 Jetta that she has her heart set on (cannot believe she even thinks she will get anything better than a beater car). Insurance will be more, definitely. Gas, maintenance. The child simply has no clue how much it costs to have a car.

It was a bit of a debate last night. The fact that these kids just assume that they deserve a car once they turn 16 is crazy! Is the gift of a car at age 16 their reward for, what, surviving? I picked Paige up from school today, and I passed kid after kid driving cute cars while talking on their cell phones with anywhere from 1-3 passengers in the car.

I'm leaning strongly towards no car for Paige; get a job on weekends, save money and we help pay for a car. It will be hard on her, but welcome to life as we know it. I'm not quite sure how she will work out seeing her dad on weekends, if she has a job.

Oh, and my overly-indulged, Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister wearing daughter, who spends a great deal of time each day straightening her professionally bleached hair has decided that she wants to be a teacher and to pay for her education, she will volunteer to teach in needy areas in the US and (hopefully) internationally. I hope she continues to aim for that as her goal, but I can't see her giving up the luxuries that surround her in her daily life. I would be very proud of her.

Anyway, Wayne is trying to blow the roof off our house. How can one person snore so damn loudly?

Voting

Wayne and I performed our civic duty and put forth our ballots yesterday. We vote by absentee, and I deposited my ballot into the local drop box yesterday. I reminded Wayne several time to get his done, and he got his done in about half an hour or forty-five minutes after work.

He was putting his ballot into his secrecy envelope and then into the main envelope, which includes his name and address, and he signs and dates the envelope.

Well, as he was signing, he realized he had my envelope. I signed and turned in his envelope. I assume this means our well-thought votes are null and void. Dammit. He dropped his ballot off anyway.

Well, I awoke this morning to wonderful news:

• Nancy Pelosi is the new Speaker-- the first woman to hold this position!
• Maria Cantwell won (yea!)
• Hillary won by an overwhelming majority. Hillary in 2008
  
• Rummy is his-tor-yyyyyy. Happy dance!

I hope Darcy Burner will beat Dave Reichert. This morning, it was too close to call.

Other stuff:

My grandpa had surgery to remove his parathyroid yesterday. Recovery is slow but steady, my grandma said.

I bought the paint for our powder room and will, hopefully, be starting our painting and tiling of our powder room, laundry room and mud-area tomorrow. I think I'll start pulling up molding today. Yeah! Demo work!

This is the tile:



Originally, we were only going to tile the bathroom and later the laundry room. The project has since expanded. Of course.

Wish us luck with our DIY project; we've never done DIY before. We may be bruised and bloodied by the time we're done.

Randomly Before I Go

On our way home from The Mountain this weekend, I took some pictures. It was raining, so wayne held an umbrella over my head as I walked around and took photos. I felt like P. Diddy, or whatever he goes by these days.

Alder lake, where we went camping this summer, is drained or whatever. I guess it's probably dammed up. Anyway, here are some pics of the lake stumps.

Wiped

I am so freaking tired right now.

I had class tonight, and it went really well. We did a half hour labor rehearsal, went over second stage labor, watched a movie (Psalm & Zoya) and each husband gave his wife a 20-minute foot bath and foot/leg massage. I love that part of class; I love looking around the rooms, seeing the couples working together so well, smelling lavender and whatever massage oils/lotions they've brought. The wives are always so surprised because I have the guys get the stuff together secretly. One guy even had his wife buy the stuff he needed, but she was clueless as to why. She said that one year he had her wrap her own Christmas present-- he told her it was a gift for his brother. They crack me up!

Only two more classes andthen I don't teach again until January.

More tomorrow. I need to go to bed.

Finally!!!

I am back and able to post from the comfort of my own home-- not while parked in front of a grimy gas station. Mobile posting, while convenient, isn't easy. Wayne has a Treo, and I am just not comfortable using it. He's on that thing so damn much that I have started calling him Paris. I feel all fat-fingered when I use it.

Our anniversary was wonderful. It rained the entire time, which is fine with us. We had our spa appointments yesterday, and it was, as usual, awesome. I am so happy that I live here in the PacNW because it really is the most beautifulest place to live.

Oh, and really cool: I got a new Nano. Pink. My Mini got fried somehow or other. I am in the process of d/l new iTunes software now.

Okay, so I was getting a pedi on Friday before we left, and I was reading the November issue of my favorite magaine: Vanity Fair. I love VF because it has lengthy articles that I am unable to read in one sitting, but it also satisfies my disturbing fascination with all things celebrity. I love Graydon Carter's editorials, too. He knows how to say exactly what I think.

Well, there I am in the lovely pedi chair, getting my feet scrubbed, nails filed, feet and legs massaged (oh, so nicely massaged), and I am reading this article, Rules of Engagement. The article had me squirming in the pedi chair; I truly felt like jumping up and out of there. I wanted to discuss the article with the woman who was doing my pedi, but she barely spoke English, and I speak no Vietnamese. I was seriously ready to cry.

I think that we, our military, doesn't need to be over in Iraq right now. The time to leave has come and gone, but we are still there. They, the men and women of our country, are still there. It makes me sad to think of the things they endure while in Iraq. It saddens me to think of the things they are forced to do to others to preserve their own lives. A person cannot help but to become changed while in war.

I haven't finished the article yet, but I am almost finished. The photog whose photos are in the article has a website, too; his name is Lucian Read (coolest name ever). You can see photos of Marines in Iraq here. Some of the men that are mentioned in the article are pictured there. You can see some of the portraits of Kilo company here. If those don't work, try here.

One of the guys from the article, James Crossan, is from the town where I went to high school. He's so young. They're all so young.

I am going to finish that article now with my tissues at arm's reach.

Still out

I am sitting in front of a gas station outside of mount rainier to post this blog. It's raining but no sign of snow. Boring blog #2 done. Back to normal blogging tomorrow.

Getting away

I'm using wayne's phone to blog, which is no easy task. This is going to have to count as my blog for today. I will have pictures, maybe, tomorrow.

Blog test

Hi. Mobile blogging test. Do I pass?

Partying all night!

Okay. Not really.
I am so freaking exhausted right now.
Maya came down with a cold last night around 1:30 in the morning. She was up all night-- in our bed. When she wasn't asking for tissues, medicine, water or the bathroom (or just shoving her fingers in my armpit), Wayne was snoring so loud that I couldn't get any sleep. Then his damn phone starts vibrating, which he missed, and so it vibrated every few minutes for several hours. He was impossible to awaken, for some reason. Note that he slept while I dealt with Sickie Maya.

I am a cranky bitch today; I can feel it.

Last night we watched Click. It was kind of cheesy and predictable, but it was good. Maya cried.

I have two teenagers, Paige:16 & Brittani: 14, so I know how quickly your children's childhood passes by. You think you want it to go by so fast-- get done with the clingy baby stage, the nursing all the time, the neediness, the attitude that comes waaaayyy too early in their lives, the general, "I have to put myself on the backburner" feeling that happens while parenting-- but then it's gone. Kids hit an age when you are not The Shit. They hit an age, usually prepubescent, when they want less to do with mom & dad and more to do with their friends. It's normal and natural-- how else would you ever get them to leave the nest--but it makes one wish for more time with their kids when their kids actually wanted to spend time with them.

It makes me sad when I see parents who, like I did, try to rush their kids through childhood or try to find any opportunity to spend less time with their kids because it's gone before you know it, and you can never get it back. I try to tell parents, as I was told, to enjoy your children today. It can be hard; I know. Trust me, angelic children have not been borne from my womb, and there were days where I thought I was going to kill someone (myself, usually).

All that said about enjoying your children, Wayne and I are going to enjoy ourselves without our children this weekend. That's important, too, btw. It is our anniversary (2 years married & 10 years together)!

NaBloPoMo

Okay, I'm doing it.
I am resurrecting my blog for NaBloPoMo.
Avtually, I have been blogging away on myspace, which really frustrates the hell out of me because it's crap; I don't even remember why I went back to blogging on myspace. Oh well. This month, I will be blogging here, and I will post the same exact blog on my myspace. I don't think anyone who reads my myspace really knows this blog ever existed.

Today is All Saints Day. The last time I attended mass was on All Saints Day in, maybe, 1993. Yes, I'm pretty certain it was 1993 because I was engaged to be married, and I thought I wanted to be married in the Catholic church. I only went that one time, and then I decided to get married at a winery.

Anyway.

It's not as though I haven't set foot in a Catholic church since then-- I've attended funeral masses and nuptial masses and baptisms, but never a tried and true weekday or weekend mass. I planned on attending mass this morning. Really, I did. There is a Catholic church right across the street from my development, pretty much. I drive past it daily, and last week, for some reason, I actually read the sign. I never read the sign at that church. They have mass masses, and I thought, I am going to attend a mass during the week-- you know, when only the elderly devout Catholics attend. I can sit quietly in the back, not receive communion and be unnoticed.
For some reason, horrible anxiety overtakes me whan I enter a Catholic church. It doesn't happen when I go to Protestant churches. I assume it is deeply seeded Catholic guilt. On one hand, I love the Catholic church. I love the ritual that is involved in mass, and I love the symbols that are used: statues, rosary beads, incense, saints. On the other hand, I don't buy the story. Of course, being a modern woman, I feel Catholicism is far too patriarchal, sexist, and kind of cult-like. The first time Wayne attended a Catholic mass, we went to a friend's son's baptism, and he was really weirded out. He was raised Baptist deep in the bible belt. The Catholic mass is completely foreign to him. He thinks all the "idols" at the altar area are bizarre and the ceremony and ritual during mass is weird.

All that said, I didn't attend mass today. Oh, well. Maybe some other time.

Last night was Halloween!!!
Halloween is a favorite holiday for our family. Every year we go to my grandparents' house for dinner, then we leave to trick-or-treat with whomever has brought their children (this year it was just my niece who came with us). This was a very quiet Halloween. It's amazing how much easier Halloween is when you have only one kid who is dressing up and trick-or-treating. We were out for about an hour and a half. It was fun; the weather was fab. It's been cold here the past two days (it was 21 degress at 7am today!), so it was chilly last night-- which I definitely prefer over rain.

We ran out of candy, there were so many kids out last night. Tons of teenagers, which is a bummer. Paige had onions and old shriveled apples to hand out to kids she deemed too old for trick-or-treating. Wayne told her that if anything bad happened to our property, she would be in trouble.

Okay...blogger is having issues with uploading pics, so I will do that later.