Trick or Treat?

We've survived the TOT evening. My kids had a good time, nearly all the playdough (a family tradition) has been given out to the masses who came to our door, now the Great Pumpkin needs to appear and turn the candy loot into toys (actually a CD for Ahren - aka the SheDevil and a computer game for Sean - aka the Mummy).

Tomorrow starts the daily posting for NaBloPoMo. I've got some dozies rolling around in my head...it will probably start off with the adventures of being in a car accident with an uninsured motorists. here's a hint: I don't suggest it.

Gearing up for NaBloPoMo

I've decided to go for it and participate in NaBloPoMo. So get ready regular readers. :)

Right now, I'm pretty much addicted to Brain Crack (if you are confused see this: the show with zefrank: 07-11-06
) That is one of my favorite Ze Songs, and I would love to put it on my phone, but I think if it rang out "where the fuck do ideas come from?" during my preschool class, that would not be good thing.

Gearing up for NaBloPoMo

I've decided to go for it and participate in NaBloPoMo. So get ready regular readers. :)

Right now, I'm pretty much addicted to Brain Crack (if you are confused see this: the show with zefrank: 07-11-06
) That is one of my favorite Ze Songs, and I would love to put it on my phone, but I think if it rang out "where the fuck do ideas come from?" during my preschool class, that would not be good thing.

One can only hope

Because today has been a very blustery, rainy, windy day and there was a huge high tide, we had to go and retrieve our boats from the river. The sunfish was caught upriver a bit and Pete was able to walk it back to our mil's house and we got it brought up and moved over to our house. Pete had to wade in to about waist deep - last time this happened, it was me wading in to retrieve pieces of the dock -- let me tell you wet wood is HEAVY! The Tin Drum was much easier because it is just a lightweight old metal boat, so we also got that home. I think there are still pieces of dock floating around, but it looked like most of it was tied down, we will get it all sorted out tomorrow.

As we were busy taking care these things, I couldn't help but hope that the fishing boat (very expensive and big fishing boat that sits primarily about 5 feet from the end of our mil's dock - kinda rude, like parking your car in front of someone's driveway) was rockin' and rollin' around. Would it be interesting if boat which belongs to the violence-threatening neighbors broke from it's mooring and drifted off to crash into the sea wall??? They aren't around this weekend (shockingly) so they didn't secure it with any extra lines, so it might just happen. :)

Another list.

I'm coping out and going with a question list I got from my friend Suna, since I'm too mentally spent to think of anything original. :)

"If the entire internet jumped off a cliff, would you?"
Probably not, I'm not fond of heights, especially if it is over water.

1. FIRST NAME? Barbara

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? no, not unless you count the song, sing it with me...BaBaBa..BarBarbara Ann...

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I think when I was telling the police officer about the neighbor threatening my cat in front of my dd. Makes me more mad than sad, but I was rather emotional at the time.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It's okay

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? eww, I don't really like lunch meat - I don't even really like sandwiches either - I'm more of a salad kinda gal.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I would hope so.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? I guess this would be considered my consistent journal, although I do do paper journalling, but usually only for short periods of time (while on vacation, etc)

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? no

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I think I would as long as I felt safe -- okay, so this doesn't make sense since I'm not fond of heights -- so I guess it would be more accurate to say that I don't like heights when I have no safety net -- make sense?

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? no really a cereal gal - but if I had to choose, it would be Cap'n Crunch - mmm, sugar with milk, since I don't let the kids eat it, I don't either (usually)

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no, they don't have ties.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Generally speaking, yes...unless I'm in rut (and they seem to happen more often than I'd like)

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Turkey Hill Chocolate Peanut Butter or Turkey Hill Party Cake

14. SHOE SIZE? 7.5-8 US

5. RED OR PINK? dark red

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? the obessive parts of me

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? good question

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? well, I'm not really sending it to anyone, but it would be fun.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans, light purple sweater with white trim, white socks with clogs (but the clogs aren't on my feet right now)

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Animal Planet Fruit Snacks (My name is Barbara and I'm addicted to fruit snacks...)

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The kids playing Harvest Moon.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Grey

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Cucumber and Melon; Vanilla; a home cooked meal (cooked by someone else)

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? a telemarketer

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? eyes (they are the window into the soul, or so they say)

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Yes, I do. :)

27. FAVORITE DRINK? non-alcoholic: Diet whatever; alcoholic: Mike's Hard whatever (yeah, get your mind outta the gutter)

28. FAVORITE SPORT? none really - although I played Judo in college

29. EYE COLOR? Green

30. HAT SIZE? huh? I have a smallish head so I guess small?

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? no, I can't because of my weird eyes, besides I only need my glasses for computer work, so far.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? pizza (or fruit snacks)

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? both - alternating :)

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer - definitely

36. HUGS OR KISSES? depends on who :)

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? cake with ice cream

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? probably noone - especially since Suna already it and I stole it from her. :)

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Nearly everyone.

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? I'm trying to decide what to read next, it's between: The Tale of Despereaux, Pictures of Hollis Woods and Inkspell. Suggestions?

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? I don't use a mouse pad

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? We had tivo'ed (with our fake tivo) My Name is Earl and The Office.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? My kids getting along with each other when they don't know that I'm listening.

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? San Fransisco (with some of my closest friends)

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I'm a good mom.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Pennsylvania

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I stole it from Suna's blog. :)

More on the neighbor situation...

Well, the situation seems to be getting worse now. Today I was on my way out to the door to take A. to a b'day party, when Mrs. R. yelled to me that "now that cat is pooping on the deck!" (side note: I've never heard of a cat pooping on a deck --- I honestly think it is probably those green nuts that the squirrels tear apart to get to the inside of the nut - we have them all over our walkway - and it looks like a pile of dirt and could be mistaken for poop) She goes on to say that "you will sorry when your cat disappears" -- I said, "Are you actually making a threat to hurt my cat?" Then Mr. R. runs out from the garage and says, "you bet we are! I'll kick the crap out of your cat!" I asked again, "Are you making threats against our cats???" and he says, "what are you going to do?? Call your lawyer??" I said, "no, I'll call the police again." - Then I got in the car and drove away. I am so mad that my daughter had to witness it.

Then later S. asked Pete why Mrs. R. had come over to our porch -- he had seen her come up to the porch and not knock or anything and then go back home. S said that he saw her but she didn't see him. Pete checked the door and yep, cat poop smeared across our front door handle.

So I filed another police report. The officier was very impressed with the log book that we have that documents all the things that have been going on. He said that they could file a citation at this point, but I said that at this point we just wanted a further record of what is going on.

I just am so flabbergasted that there are people in the world like this -- and that they live next door to me!!

My littlest neice...

Katie Lynn, has just had a preliminary diagnosis that she is blind. At her 2 month well baby check, the doctor asked if she had any concerns and Dawn said that they noticed that she never looks at people. So the doctor did some testing and said that it looks as tho' she is blind. They are supposed to have some further testing to determine the details. My sister really has her hands full these days. She has 3 kids ages: 3, 2 and 2 months. She is an on-again, off-again single mother, depending on whether her and the father of her children are together or not. I've been starting to scope out blind resources and finding suppliers for braille books. I hope that my sister beginning looking into resources like Birth to Three or whatever they have in PA. She is really going to need to work on her advocating skills and fight for what Katie Lynn needs and is entitled to wrt education and services.

Of course, when I told Ahren about Katie Lynn, one of her first comments was "oh, she can get a service dog!" Ahren is sooo into dogs these days.

Next stop on the tour....

Ruby Tuesdays. There was talk about going to the Shack but Ruby Tuesdays won out. Sean was thrilled to bump into one of his best friends there, so it was a bit of a bonus. This was probably the last stop on this year's Tour of SoutEastern Connecticut Restaurants because tomorrow night we are planning to have a ham dinner at home and I think Mom is leaving on Wednesday.

Some bonuses of mom's visit was that all the laundry in my house is now clean -- of course, with everything clean all at once, there isn't even dresser/closet space to put everything, but that's beside the point. She also redeemed all our recyclables for us - we accumulate them in the garage until we can't take it any more and make a big ole trip to SNS to cash them in. The tally this trip = $29 and some change - ca-ching! It's like finding almost 30 bucks laying around on the garage floor.

I'd planned to get a bunch of school prep work done tonight, but with such a full belly (and full pockets) I just don't feel like it. I think I'm going to veg in front of the TV with a little CSI: Miami after I try to put away more clean clothes.

The Tour of All Restaurants....

In SouthEastern Connecticut Has Begun! This can only mean that my mother is here visiting. She does not eat at home, so whenever she is here, we out nearly every single meal. This will sometimes include both lunch and dinner (like today: Wendy's and Applebee's). Last night was Chinese take out. Not sure what the rest of the week will bring, but usually we make a tour of the rest of the local diners, although she has been mourning the loss of Bickford's because they had 'real potato pancakes'. It's kind a funny because we rarely ever eat out (usually only chinese take out 1-2 times a month, and an ocassional Sunday brunch with g'ma), so the last time she was here, we went to go to Bickford's and discovered that they had closed, so then she suggested we try Troy's Family Diner over near Walmart, we drove over there and discovered that they had closed (to make room for the new Lowe's - what I later learned was that they had reopened in another location), then went to go somewhere else, and I think that was closed also (but I can't remember which it was), we ended up at JR's in Waterford that night. She just couldn't get over the fact that I didn't even know that these placed had been closed for a while. Cracks me up.

Whew!

What a day yesterday was! We had our annual Tot Fair. It's our big fundraiser and it looks like it was a HUGE success! All the kids had a really great time. The games and crafts were a big hit! Both my 7yo and 9yo had a good time. The entertainment was awesome (Derek the Magician, Music with Miss Erin, Storytime with Miss Nancy). I think we did quite well as far as the finances go too. Which is great because this is the first year that we will get to have the money go back into the classrooms for furniture, equipment, etc. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see some former students, but it's okay. Some people are just able to move on and not look back. ;)

I just can't resist...

You know the Verizon commercial with the guy in the grey jacket standing with 'the network' behind him and the customer trying to be conned by the 'other carrier' who is standing in front of the largely cardboard facade of a network. At the end the customer knocks over the cardboard cutouts and the 'other carrier' says something like, "yeah, we haven't worked out everything yet."

It just seems to remind me of something....what is it? ....oh, I know a certain Web site that seems to have "not worked everything out yet". Give me a break! The last time that the Web site was redone (4 years ago?) the staff doing it was fairly minimal (I helped out a little converted some pages) and we (really my wonderful boss and coworkers) converted all the pages BEFORE we went live! Isn't that what would make sense? One would think. Honestly, right now it is so damn stark (and that is being kind) that it looks like there couldn't be any content and that it is a brand new site with minimal infomation - Not to mention it is hard to navigate, sterile and commerical looking. Blech, blech, blech!

(Maybe my eyes are just a symptom of my overall mood (at least regarding this) -- easily irritated. -- Then again, No - I think it is justifiably irritated!)

Is it allergies or what?

For the past couple of days or so, I have been having such problems with my eyes. They have been burning and itching like crazy, which makes me want to rub them, which makes it all worse. I'm trying to figure out if it is environmental allergies or what. In the meantime, I finally tracked down some eye drops which help after a few minutes - so that makes me think it isn't allergies (they aren't allergy type of drops). Long I was 'diagnosed' with having not enough of one of the layer of protection on your eye - apparently, there are three layers of liquid protection on your eyeball - the outer one is the one that helps to keep other two from evaporating into the air, I think the middle one is the salty one and I can't remember what the other one does. In any case, I don't have very much of the outer layer, which means that my eyes dry out (evaporate) easily. Generally, this isn't really a big deal - it does mean that I won't ever be able to have contacts and since I only use my glasses when on the computer, that's not a problem. But it does mean that my eyes are easily irritated. Maybe that's just it - they are irritated.

A New Smile

I feel like a chapter in my little guy's life is closing and another one is beginning. In the past week or so, Sean has had his first front tooth come in! Now this is exciting because it has been a LONG time since he has had a front tooth in this spot -- almost exactly *4* years! This was the tooth that he had pulled during dental surgery when he was 3 years old. You can see more about that here. Shortly after he had the surgery which removed one of the front teeth and had a root canal and cap on the other front tooth (along with 3 other teeth), he was at preschool and while playing on the dinosaur on the playground, he whacked his mouth and lost the Very Expensive Other Front Tooth. So for a long time now, he has had NO front teeth. I think it is going to take me a while to get used to this new look for him. See for yourself:


Side note: the dinosaur that he lost other tooth on, was part of our preschool's former playground. It had a lot of memories, Ahren played on it when she went to Creative and then Sean. Even tho' we now have a beautiful new playground without the dinosaur, I'm happy to say that the dinosaur lives at the house of one of my former students. I'm so glad that he's not at the bottom of a dump somewhere. :) 

Another beautiful day

I just simply can't get over the weather we have been having. Although I do keep thinking that we will have to pay for it later with a very cold winter. In the meantime, I'll just keep enjoying it.

Today we went and did a corn maze with the kids. A little bit pricey ($6/person) but it was fun - there were 9 mailboxes and you get a puzzle piece in each box that makes up the map of the maze. You also got a map to use while you were in the maze. The kids loved the bridge - the raised bridge that you could use to see the whole spread of the maze. The kids also got a pumpkin and we got some little gourds. I picked out a dried gourd that I'm going to try and sand down and paint.

This is a goal of some folks on 43Things: Fall is here! This season I will let something go (let it fall away). I'll surrender a habit, a person, an excuse I keep using. I Choose to surrender it and move forward in my life. This will set me free. I'm working on adding this goal to my list, but I will need to get rid of something already on my list. So I'm putting it here to remind me to put it on my other list. About the goal itself? I like the idea and it would be a smart, good thing to do BUT (there's always a 'but' isn't there?) whether or not I'm capable about such a thing is a whole 'nother ball of wax. See this goal. Making smart decisions is not always what I'm good at. Fly by the seat of my pants - and go with what sounds good at the moment? Yeah, that's more my style.

The fall will already be a busy one, since Ahren is now in two plays. Believe (a Christmas type production) rehearsals started tonight and will be every Sunday and Monday evenings for 2 hours each night. Then next week, we will start rehearsals for Peter Pan on Friday nights (then after the new year, they go to 2x a week. I'm just hoping that she hasn't bitten off more than she can chew and doesn't burn out on theater.

A Little More Letterboxing

Today was just so beautiful, I just had to get outside and do something fun. Ahren and I decided to do a little letterboxing. We were going to go near where my nephews live, so I thought I'd call and see if they wanted to come along. (Sean was having the day of birthday parties and Pete was watching a football game [snore]). We did a lollipop loop at the Madison Land Trust that had 4 boxes, but we ended up doing it sort of backwards, so we missed one of the boxes. The trail at the Madison Land Trust must not be used very much, because it was not terribly well marked - we often ended up off the trail and having to backtrack to find our way back. It was supposed to be 1 1/2 miles, but I think we ended up doing at least 2 by the time we were done. But all in all, it was a lot of fun. Okay, yeah, so Ahren complained that she was bored a lot - she said that when Micah and Asher are around she can usually just play with them and didn't like that we were 'just hiking'. Sheesh! But the coolest thing was that we found two old bones, one was some kind of a leg bone and the other was a skull/upper jaw of maybe a coyote or something. Ahren is excited to take them into school for show and tell. I'd take them into my class but I guess some people are totally freaked out by them (neither Lucia or Pete thought they were as cool as Ahren and I did) - and it's likely that preschoolers might get freaked out. Here is a picture (along with a popsicle stick for a little perspective) - can you see the big tooth?? Too cool!
 

Now for a little fluff

I just have to share a small joy that would seem ridiculous to the average person, but made me happy today. I went to our brand spanking new CVS (no, that's not the happy thing) and picked up a bunch of things I needed - fairly random things. I got the mega collection (150+) of photos off my camera and onto disks (one with some of last years class pictures, one with this years class pictures, and one with the family pictures). Then, on a fluke, I went down the hair care isle. I spotted a new style of headband and decided to try it out. OMG! This is the headband that I've been looking for all my life! I have long since given up on finding a headband that fit like a pair of sunglasses on top of my head. I have often used my sunglasses as a headband when I desired such a look. But now I have found a headband that actually fits my head and hair like my favorite sunglasses!! Woo hoo!!! I'm totally pysched.

yeah, I know, it's little stupid things that make me happy.

Falling...

A friend of mine was recently writing about "falling in love", and it had me musing on the topic. I think that there really is something to the whole "FALLING in love" (note the emphasis on FALLING) process - that rush of emotions, the rollercoaster feeling, the sensation of not being able to catch your own breath. It's all just so fun, and reminds me of younger days. The problem with the "FALLING in love" feeling is that sometimes one can confuse it with "falling IN LOVE", which time has taught me is a much different thing. I think that people often confuse "FALLING in love" with "falling IN LOVE" and sometimes they don't find out until it is too late. I think, too, that sometimes when one is in a "FALLING" phase, they become blind to many things, being able to make smart, rationale decisions sometimes seems impossible. I think it's only when you come out of that FALLING phase and see if the IN LOVE phase is still there that one can really be able think and act clearly. Although, this is a bit of a double-edged sword since it implies some FALLING OUT aspect, or at least a bit of a lack of rollercoaster feelings, which leaves one wondering if they really are IN LOVE. So I guess the real question would be how does one know when a relationship has moved from Infatuation to In Love?? Honestly, I dunno. (These are largely nonsensical ramblings, so just nevermind me. As for my friend? I think she has a good head on her shoulders and is moving wisely and she sure as hell is enjoying the ride -- whee!!!!

Knitting Questions from Someone Else's Blog

Lacking anything else to really write and considering I have a little extra time (my car died this morning, so I had to catch a ride home when I could which meant that I didn't get to stay at work and finish up stuff and was home early), I stole a page from Suna's blog and did this:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? It depends on what I'm making. I really did love working with some Bamboo yarn, just yummy to work with. I also like Cotton Fleece (by Lamb's Pride) a lot. I'd like to do something in hemp, but I'd need to find a small project since it tends to be a bit spendy.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Seriously? They are mostly in half completed projects. :0 But when not tied up in yarn, I usually keep them in a case that I have, although I feel like I am comstantly looking for a better system -- anyone?

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? Ha! Good question! I became interested in knitting after attending a LLL International conference where all my friends were busy knitting socks and I thought that was just just the coolest thing and wanted to do it. So I picked a Learn to Knit Socks leaflet (which I didn't realize had been authored by a LLL Leader) and taught myself how -- yes, that's right the first knitted thing I ever made was a pair of socks!! They actually turned out pretty good too. I'd consider myself an advanced beginner, I can do cabling now and some complex stitches, but I can't read graphed patterns, only line by line ones.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I've got an Amazon one, but I use it mostly to keep track of books that I want to buy -- interesting to go back and dig through the layers of books that interested me once upon a time.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.) I like lavendar and vanilla. I also like crisp scents like cucumber and melon.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? YES! My coworkers would say ANYTHING CHOCOLATE!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I'd love to spin, but lack the equipment or funds to get started. I have done a considerable about of scrapbooking, but even that is on the back burner these days.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? All different stuff - lots of songwriter stuff, folk and rock, some more modern stuff. I use Napster on the computer and my phone has an mp3 player that use when I'm out and about.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I go through different phases - for a while it was purple, then it was green, lately it's been gray and red, but I think I'm heading back to green a bit.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I live with dh and our 2 kids: 9yo daughter and 7 yo son. We have 2 cats: Peanut and Jelly. We are on the waiting list for a prison pup (we will be weekend puppy raisers for a service dog program with our local correctional institute)

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Bags. Booga Bags to be specific.

13. What are you knitting right now? From The Purl Stitch, the Not-In-The-Round Round Scarf (more like a short poncho), a Prayer Shawl, a bag from Two Old Bags.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? definitely

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Always circular (except for socks), Addi Turbos are my favorite - followed by bamboo. The only plastic that I like are my Denise needles.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? no, neither :(

17. How old is your oldest UFO? I have an irish sweater that I started when dh was diagosed with heart problems - a few years back.

18. What is your favorite holiday? Summer - is that a holiday? seems like it to me.

19. Is there anything that you collect? not really

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? not really. But honestly, I haven't been to a yarn store in ages - too depressing not have the funds to buy the fun stuff.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I would like to learn how to read a graph.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? yes, but not as obsessively as my friend, Suna. :) I'm about a 7 1/2-8

23. When is your birthday? Jan. 26, '68. And if you remember that you are doing better than the other adult that lives in this house.