I BLAME CHERI

Photo from On Second Scoop

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Eight days ago I hosted a baby shower for Cheri. She's decorated her daughter's room in pink and brown, so we used those colors on the cake, plates, tablecloth, etc. I felt that it was my moral obligation, due to the color scheme, to buy color-coordinated ice cream too, so I stocked up on Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches. Perfect, don't you think?

Well, it turns out that everyone had gorged themselves on salads, rolls, cakes, and cupcakes, so only three sandwiches were eaten. Three out of twenty-four. And I ate one of them.

That means that for the last eight days I've been eating lots of ice cream sandwiches. A couple days ago I ate so many that my reflux started up again. Knowing that I wasn't dying of a heart attack, I chose to keep eating. It was definitely worth all the tightness in my chest.

I'm generally a compulsive eater, particularly with sweets, with no one to blame but myself. This time, however, I'm blaming Cheri. If she hadn't chosen to adopt a girl (because I'm positive she wouldn't have done a boy's room in brown and pink), then I wouldn't have been forced to compulsively eat all the Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches that have been in my freezer.

JOBS, GADGETS, MUSIC, & RAMBLING

Tim's officiating at a basketball tournament and the kids are dragging lunch on forever, so I'm going to do a little blogging.

Last night was nice, much better than the first part of the day. I was able to take a nap when the kids went down. While that meant I was a little behind on some stuff in the evening, I no longer felt like bursting into tears or ripping people's heads off. I think that's a good trade, don't you?

Dinner was hot dogs and potato wedges, dessert was lemon cupcakes with lemon frosting. Three happy kids! Devon had chosen that meal when I made my last menu, so he frosted cupcakes while I worked on some math with Silas and Tim hung out with Naomi. Nice and mellow. We had a quick family meeting about some scheduling/household stuff while scarfing cupcakes, then buried ourselves in blankets for a family movie night. Once the kids were down, Tim played games online and I watched a random movie from the library. Read a little in bed, then konked out. Perfect evening.

Today's been pretty good too. We slept in, then tried a new muffin recipe for breakfast. Tim hung with the offspring while I got beans going in the crockpot and started cleaning some closets. Then he went off to work some games, the kids watched a movie while I cleaned some more, and now lunch is winding down. Perfect morning.

I realize you don't really care what every waking moment of my last 24 hours or so has been like, but there it is anyway. And now for some random things I keep thinking I should mention on here.

Music - We'll start with the movie the kids watched this morning. It was a Raffi concert from the library. Have you ever listened to Raffi? I'd never heard of him until I was an adult and it seems my peers who grew up listening to him had hippy-ish parents. My parents didn't fall into that category, so maybe that's how I missed him. Anyway, he's totally non-annoying, a real plus when it comes to kids' music, and the kids love him. Here's the concert they watched today, but we've seen other movies too.



Job - Tim recently found out he'll have a new job next year. He's spent four years sitting at a computer as a teacher for SK Online, which is one of the programs at Roberts High School, but next year he'll be a face-to-face teacher at the same location. I didn't think that he, a PE teacher, would like teaching online, but he's loved it. A lot. I know he'll miss it, but change is inevitable and we're thankful that he gets paid to teach, a job he loves.

Gifts - I often think of telling you two of the best gifts Tim's ever received, but it's always as I'm washing dishes or driving down the freeway. Well, I'm thinking of them now ... and I'm at the computer ... and Father's Day is coming up. Perfect timing for people who need some ideas.

The first is an electronic bug zapper. My dad gave one to Tim for his birthday last year and it's been a huge hit, no pun intended. Now, all of you "save the animals" readers can just pretend I never told you about this, but the truth is that Tim and the kids get a huge kick out of hearing bugs sizzle to their death. Fun stuff. Perfect for homes without window screens, camping, or any other situation where unwanted bugs abound.

The second idea is wireless headphones. Tim enjoys watching TV in the evenings, but I often need a break from noise by that time of day and nothing makes the boys want to stay awake in bed more than listening to whatever Tim's watching. So, we gave him headphones for his birthday last year and they're fantastic! Here's a link with several different models, but don't spend a fortune on them. Ours look similar to the ones below, were about $15 at Ross, and work well.

Popcorn - We eat a lot of popcorn at our house and love, love, love our popper. It's a West Bend Stir Crazy that my brother gave me years ago, maybe even before I was married. It's served us well, but a few weeks before we moved the lid fell and a handle broke off. We've continued using it, but kernels shoot out the side if you don't cover the gap and it's a hassle to flip over at the end. I see them go on sale for $25.00 a few times a year and a replacement lid cost $23 plus shipping online. Clearly it's a waste of money to just replace the lid and I would have just bought a new popper the next time they were on sale. However, in the midst of moving, getting it replaced simply wasn't a priority. Here's what they look like, since I know you'll want one for yourself.


Anyway, my friend Toni had been asking around for a couple months about what type of popper people recommended and wrote to me last Friday to confirm the Stir Crazy was the one I liked. It turns out that her Goodwill had two brand new ones in stock, so she bought one for herself and I traded her cash for the second one when she came to Cheri's shower last Saturday. The cost? Fifteen bucks for a brand new Stir Crazy!!

I think that's it. It's past nap time now and I need to get some kids tucked in for naps and another settled for down time. Then I'm back to tackling the closets. Right after I eat a cupcake, of course.

5/27/10 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for public libraries.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

BOOKS I FINISHED - MAY 2010

Another lame month in the reading department. I realize the month isn't even over, but I'm choosing to put reading on the back burner over the next week. Not that it hasn't been here anyway, but whatever. I'm hoping that I'll be back in the swing of things next month, as moving and shower planning are done. Of course, summer is busy, so we'll see how it actually pans out.


Here If You Need Me, by Kate Braestrup
The author, after being unexpectedly widowed, ended up as the chaplain for Maine game wardens. While I don't agree with all her religious beliefs, I love her heart to comfort those who have a loved one lost or injured in the woods and to support the wardens as they search for those who need help.

Cool quotes - p. 119 (In response to a comment that it's nice she's there to keep loved ones from freaking out) "Ah." I smiled. "I'm not really here to keep you from freaking out. I'm here to be be with you while you freak out," or grieve or laugh or suffer or sing. It is a ministry of presence. It is showing up with a loving heart. And it is really, really cool.

p. 149 (Concerning someone's reflection on their drug use) "She thought she was a glass of orange juice, and that someone was going to spill her," Nate reflected later. "And my kids wonder why I'm so paranoid bout drugs?"

p. 150 Many if not most of the deaths I see are caused at least in part by drug or alcohol use. Here's a sobering, personal statistic: in as many years, I have responded to five deaths of people who drowned in water shallow enough to stand in, had they only been sober enough to stand.

TWO FORMS OF SUGAR & A NOTE

Marshmallows - Last Wednesday night I was given a bag of marshmallows by my friend Sachi. However, these were no ordinary marshmallows. They were ginormous!! Check these puppies out. My bandaged, wrinkly, non-wedding-ring-wearing hand is there to give you a little perspective on size.


She said she thought of our marshmallow gun wars when she saw them and figured we'd need a marshmallow cannon for them. I think we'd also need paramedic standing by to give mouth-to-mouth to people who collapse from all the air spent on shooting them.

Note - Both of my boys have been on a big note writing kick lately, asking me all sorts of questions via pen and paper instead of using their mouths. I have no idea what prompted this phase, but the latest note cracked me up.

A few days ago I was a tad bit crabby. Part of it was because I was overwhelmed with all the stuff I needed to be accomplishing, but most of it was because I was completely and totally exhausted. That same day we also had leftover pie from the meal Silas cooked and a bit of ice cream in the freezer. I had commented earlier in the day that we may finish it off after dinner. Well, dinner was over and Silas wanted to know if any sugar was headed his way. He also knew that I was on the verge of a meltdown. This is the note he handed me. I love it.

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Candy - I went to Brianne's baby shower yesterday afternoon. The people were great. The food was great. I survived the crafty portion. Definitely a great time.

There was one part, however, that was spectacular. You see, right in front of me was a little candy dish filled with pink balls. Curious about what they were, I popped one in my mouth and started chewing. Malt balls. That's what they were. I was happy. But wait? What's that flavor I detect? Strawberries!! Oh my word. I had no idea there were strawberry milkshake flavored Whoppers. They're wonderful. Simply wonderful. I think I'll have to buy some and secretly stash them away for days when I need a little morsel of sugary goodness.

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CHERI'S SHOWER

I've spent the last month planning a shower for my friend Cheri, who is hoping to bring her daughter home from Ethiopia in late June, and yesterday was party time. My friends Thea and Heidi, who were incredibly helpful in pulling this shower off, showed up around 10:00, guests arrived at 11:00, most guests left by 2:00, three friends hung out all afternoon, and the last person headed home at 8:30. What a fun day!

We ate tons of salads, breads, and desserts. We drank punch. We talked and laughed a lot. We met people from different parts of Cheri's life. The cake, which Beaverton Bakery made, was cute as can be and tasted fantastic!
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We also played one game. I'm not a big "shower game" kind of girl, but there was one game I wanted to do and one prize I wanted to give. So, we played a game. Everyone was given two pieces of gum and had to turn the gum into a baby. Using the wrapper was optional. So funny! Cheri chose the one she thought was the cutest and the winner scored a neapolitan popsicle soap from The Custom Soap Shop. Brown, pink, and white are the colors of the baby's room and the shower decor, so I absolutely had to buy some of those soaps for the shower. Let me tell you, they smell good enough to eat! Aren't they cute? Love the bite marks!



Let's see, what else did we do a lot of? Oh, Cheri opened a lot of gifts. This shower melded Cheri's life around her home with her online life of the Sonlight forums. The cool part about all those e-maginary Sonlight friends is that they tend to become real life friends. That means I've spent the last three weeks receiving gifts from all over America, and even one from Canada, to give her at the shower. I've also received money from all over America to put toward a group gift. So much was given that the "group gift" folks were able to buy her big ticket stuff and put money toward their travel/expense fund. How cool is that?!

There's one thing we didn't do a lot of. Well, at least that I didn't do a lot of. Any idea what it was? Take pictures!! It's shocking and scandalous, I know, but the pics on this blog post are the only ones I have. I was too busy eating at the beginning and writing the gift list during the rest of the time. Thankfully Cheri's sister was snapping her camera the whole time, so I'll be sure to share those pics when I get them from her. Meanwhile, I'll leave you with a picture of the Sonlight girls who were there, including two who drove over three hours to come.

L-R: Heidi, Robin, Cheri, Heidi, Toni, Thea, me

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Thanks to everyone who participated, whether or not you were able to come to the shower, in blessing Cheri with all sorts of fun stuff and some quality girl time!

MY LIVING ROOM

I'm almost 34 years old and have never owned a home. That means I've spent a lot of adult years in rentals. Never feeling a sense of permanency and being a bit frugal, I've never taken the time or spent the money to have a living room that I love.

Our move to an apartment a few weeks ago was solely for the purpose of saving money so that we can pay off Tim's school debt faster. Normally that would make me be even more hesitant to decorate the way I want. However, through random circumstances, our apartment complex painted one of our walls the color of my choice. A beautiful blue.

I love, love, love colored walls, white furniture and a few light/medium wood pieces! A lot. However, I've never had a colored wall in my life. Well, that wall inspired me. I figured that if I already had a little color and if we're going to be here a while, then I should spend a little money to really make this place something I love.

I hopped on Craiglist to look for the furniture that I've coveted for years. I periodically look for it there and drool over it on the IKEA website. Guess what? Not only was it on Craigslist, which it always is in some form, but it was the best deal I've ever seen. Ever. And it was about $10 more than the deposit we were getting back from our rental in Beaverton. Clearly it was God's will that I get the furniture. Don't you think? To make things even better, the sellers, who live over an hour away, ended up giving Tim a discount because of some little marks their kids got on the slipcovers. So, I got both pieces for less than half price. Love it!

Tim, who has the ability to figure out spatial stuff in ways that I'll never be able to, was able to load a couch and chair into our van. I'd never have been able to do that. Then, thanks to the e-mail and digital pictures, Beep and Sonja were able to help me figure out how to arrange the living room. Next up was a collage of pictures on the wall. A couple pics had to be matted and re-framed, so I got some cheap frames at Value Village, mats on sale at Freddy's, and busted out my black spray paint. Then Tim did about 75% of the work in getting the collage done and listened to me stress out while I did my 25%. The man deserves an award.

Here's the almost finished product. I have a couple little frames that we need to fill, but I love the way the collage turned out! The lamp on the left is ultimately going in the boys' room, but the living room is borrowing it until I find the lamp I really want. Meanwhile, the cave feel of the living room had to end. And the couch will eventually have some pillows with a little black and blue in them.
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Now, the whole living room isn't done, but the above view, taken from the hallway, makes me smile. Below is a picture taken from the dining room. All but one of the plants on the shelf will be put somewhere else and I need to figure out what to put on the wall. Maybe a mirror. The "5 Ws" frame was there, but we ended up adding it to the collage. The rocking chair, which my grandparents bought to rock my newborn mom in, doesn't fit in the main seating area, but it makes a cozy little reading corner by the window. And just as an fyi, the couch isn't normally pulled out from the wall and flaunting the lamp cords. I just forgot to push it back after hanging the pictures.
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This is the view from the front door. That big wall space is going to have something colorful and with a chunk of blue in it, perhaps a world map, hung on it. And that cord will get hidden. And something, maybe a lamp, will get put on the TV cabinet.
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So, it's not done, but it's getting there. I think I'm going to have a living room I love. Cool, huh?