Archive for July, 2004
July 31, 2004 at 11:27 pm · Filed under shopping
Okay, so yesterday I got up at 7:30, not 7. It didn’t really matter so much, because it was pouring rain and nobody was out looking for bargains. The morning was verrrry quiet, but Nichole came over to help out in the afternoon and things livened up a bit. Zan and Turbo hung out and tried to entice passersby over to the sale.
After we closed the doors for the day, Peter and his friend decided to have a sleepover. We ordered pizza and took the kids out to Cold Stone Creamery. The school principal was standing in line, which of course was kind of bizarre for the kids. School administrators eat ice cream! Who’d have thunk?
F (the friend) woke up sneezing in the middle of the night, which I suspect was due to the close proximity of dog hair. (He fell asleep on one of the sofas.) Eventually he got back to sleep, but I was a wreck in the morning. Days like this, coffee is a godsend. At least today was sunny, and we had more shoppers. Although we didn’t make a lot of money, we were most triumphant: we sold the chairs (the broken one was thrown in for free)! We also said goodbye to our oldest lawnmower (no, not the run over one), a broken teakettle, and one of our three vacuums.
It was decided to leave the sale up until next weekend, since the setup is the hardest part. So if you’re looking for rock-bottom basement bargains, stop by next Saturday. You’ll be amazed what a dollar can buy.
July 29, 2004 at 10:55 pm · Filed under shopping
Tomorrow morning I will be getting up by 7 a.m. to post signs in hopes of drawing bargain hunters to our garage. We are already wondering what the most oddball item to sell will be. Will someone take home the three okay kitchen chairs and the one broken one? What about the mini-vacuum full of fire extinguisher residue?
Just in time, the Onion features Tips on Holding a Yard Sale.
July 27, 2004 at 9:59 pm · Filed under animals
One of the advantages of having a reel mower is that when you run over a bunny nest, no one gets hurt. Pete found six babies huddled together in a shallow hole covered with a thatch of grass and fur. One of the bunnies hopped away and hid under our deck. I put on my garden gloves and tried to catch it, and eventually succeeded. I tried to put it back with its brothers and sisters, but the bunny had decided to face the world on its own.
At dusk, the mother returned, and the babies came out of their hole. Several more hopped to the bushes. This evening there are only two babies remaining. They are soooooooooooo incredibly cute that I can hardly stand it. I thought about them throughout the day, and they brought a smile to my face. I couldn’t wait to get home and have another peek at them.
July 26, 2004 at 6:43 pm · Filed under blythe
I loooooove special mail. Today I got an extra-special goodie from Wendy (aka honeymonkey) a fellow Blythie in Dublin, Ireland. She made a skirt for Angelica. It’s super cool, and I can’t wait to pair it with a black or pink shirt. I found a simple pattern at Puchimadam, and if I get brave enough I’ll give it a try.
I have had more international mail this month than I’ve had since my penpal days. (Once upon a time, I had penpals in India and Haiti. The Haitian boy only spoke French, and his language seemed so elegant to me. My rudimentary translation skills notwithstanding.)
Blythe – the new universal language.
July 26, 2004 at 12:26 am · Filed under shopping
Pete and I decided to sneak out yesterday morning and shop for a new mattress. The closest furniture store happened to carry Tempur-pedic mattresses, and as soon as we tried one out, we were hooked. Nothing else even came close. (It’s kind of strange, lying down on the test mattresses. It seems a bit forward or something.)
The store was in its final day of a Tempur-pedic special. We ended up with a free pillow ($89 value!) and bed frame. We’re getting a queen, which is about a foot and a half smaller than our king bed. It’ll be delivered next Saturday.
When we left the store, we headed downtown to Home Environment to get some organic cotton queen-sized sheets. The farmer’s market was still in full swing, so we walked around the capitol square and bought a few goodies: organic cheese, broccoli and scones. A completely lovely morning. I’ve now accomplished two of my summer goals, and the mattress wasn’t even one of them.
July 23, 2004 at 11:41 pm · Filed under family
Pete developed a migraine during his run this morning. The rest of us tried to be quiet for him, but the kids were on their own once I left for lunch with Carrie. We went to Imperial Garden (a favorite!) and she treated me for my (belated) birthday. It was awesome to have a chance to catch up.
This afternoon I meant to start going through garage sale stuff, but instead I napped and messed around on the computer. Pete started feeling better, so we decided to go see Moon’s bass teacher’s band play at Cheeseburger in Paradise. It was quite the anthropological study. Peter was very excited to be there at first, but soon the noise was too much for him. I think Moon enjoyed the energy and the people-watching as much as I did. We stayed for the first set, which was about an hour and 45 minutes.
There was something strangely carefree about the whole experience. Which tells you I don’t get out much.
July 18, 2004 at 11:05 am · Filed under pete
Pete told me yesterday that he was worried about some on-and-off pain he’d been having in his chest and back. It had even interfered with his sleep. So yesterday was pretty low key. He still got up and ran, but the house was quiet because Moon was at a friend’s house and I took Peter shopping with me. (Looking for kickboxing shoes, unsuccessfully. He must have been pretty bored to agree to go on such a mission. We ended up at Cold Stone Creamery, though, so the trip was worth his while.)
Anyway, this morning Pete was wincing in pain. He had been up several times during the night. I heard him on the phone to his doctor’s office. After a long conversation with the nurse on call, he asked me to take him to the emergency room. Have I mentioned lately that it’s nice having kids who are old enough to stay home alone? It’s awesome.
He checked in, and they gave him a gown and one of those snap-on bracelets. I stayed in the waiting room while they ran a CAT scan and other fun stuff. Two hours and many shifts of position in the uncomfortable chairs later, I asked if I could see him. Shortly after I went in, they let us leave.
His scan looked clear, so it’s unlikely that he has kidney stones (which was the #1 scenario). Just in case, they gave him a little strainer to use when he pees, and a plastic jar for collecting rocks. Yay! They think he might have a musculoskeletal injury that was aggravated by his running. Considering that we moved our treadmill upstairs a week ago, that very well could be the problem.
He’s going to be walking for a few days. I suggested we go use the whirlpool at the gym. And I need some coffee.
July 14, 2004 at 11:25 pm · Filed under career
I realized today that my doll affection isn’t a completely new phenomenon. Back when Moon was small, someone gave her a poseable Madeleine, the classic storybook character. Moon’s red hair was even redder back then, and I think Madeleine’s giver thought Moon would enjoy the resemblance. But Moon never liked dolls. Instead, she spent hours dressing and feeding her stuffed animals. She even had a wooden high chair for them. I figured it must have been the fur. Maybe we’d have been able to get her interested in a doll… if Toys ‘R Us had sold a werewolf baby.
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July 14, 2004 at 12:06 am · Filed under blythe
Can you guess why I look so happy? My two eBay orders arrived today! The smaller box came from Hong Kong, the larger from Japan.
Peter assisted me with taking some photos to mark the occasion. He also helped get the teeny weeny clothing items detached from the boxes, although he insisted he was creeped out by the whole thing.
Have I mentioned I’m stoked about this? Angelica (yes, of course I’ve named them – duh) is an “I Love You It’s True” and Ginny is a Petit “Sailing, Sailing” Blythe. Ginny’s eyes don’t change, but they blink. But Angelica has the full-on pull-cord-activated eye-color-change feature.
Moon was just envious that her packages didn’t arrive yet.
July 12, 2004 at 11:03 pm · Filed under blythe
I just checked Blythe’s travel itinerary and discovered that she’s in Chicago! Yipee!
I bet I’ll have her by the end of the week, and I can take de-boxing pictures and basically turn into a scary doll enthusiast. Moon thinks it’s getting pretty creepy. She keeps catching me looking at the Blythe forums, where I am enthralled by discussions of abbreviations, customization and cool outfits. I’m even looking at name ideas.
Most of all, I can’t wait to pull the string and make her eyes change color. That will be so cool.
Yes, I am a freak.
July 11, 2004 at 9:04 pm · Filed under shopping
I’m one of these people who feels burdened if I have too much stuff. And believe me, I’ve got quite a burden built up over the years.
My solution? Why, I usually donate bags of clothes and doodads to Goodwill. Every few years, though, I get the urge for a garage sale. It’s 2004, and it’s time.
This afternoon, I convinced Pete to help me move the treadmill from the basement to the garage. It’ll be our showpiece – the big item that makes the sale-goers curious. We had used it religiously for several years, but then Pete started jogging outside, and I decided nothing was more boring than treading. It’s just been taking up space.
Treadmills are awkward and heavy objects. We almost were stuck on the stairs a few times, and Moon had to help me push. Triumphantly we dragged the beast out the door.
My spider sense tells me I have a lot of work ahead.
July 10, 2004 at 11:59 am · Filed under mememe!
I visited The Mini-Mizer and voila! Here I am as a Lego person.
The wings aren’t usually visible to the naked eye, just so you know.
(Note that LEGO© is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse the above web site. So there.)
Yeah, I know. “Get off the computer and do something productive.”
July 10, 2004 at 10:43 am · Filed under blather
It’s Saturday, but it feels like Sunday. I slept late yesterday, and Pete had the day off. I didn’t accomplish much besides taking Moon to the dentist and going to Patti’s to help her with her up-and-coming web site.
Today Peteis at a Reiki II class until 4 p.m., so I’m hanging out with the kids. Peter and a friend are upstairs playing video games, and Moon is in bed reading. It’s gorgeous outside, so maybe I’ll do some yard work later (weeding and mushroom removal). But I guess I’d better change out of my pajamas first.
In other news, there’s a huge Winnebago parked right outside my window. It’s been there for three days, and I have no idea who it belongs to.
July 8, 2004 at 10:34 pm · Filed under moon (rachel)
Moon started her day with two hours of summer school. But at the end of class, I didn’t pick her up as I usually would. Instead, Aimee (a newly minted driver) and Nicole surprised Moon, whisking her away in their mom’s truck for an afternoon of frolic and leisure. The three of them went to Best Buy, where Nicole treated Moon to a new CD (Incubus), and then to Noodles & Co. for lunch. Afterwards, they went back to Aimee and Nicole’s house to watch The Butterfly Effect (not something I’d have chosen, BTW). As if one movie wasn’t enough, Nicole took Moon to a matinee showing of Van Helsing.
In the evening, we had the traditional birthday dinner-at-a-restaurant. Moon chose China One Buffet, which made Peter happy. We went home for dessert and gifts…
- Tenacious D CD (from Peter)
- System of a Down CD
- two magazines—Buffy and Angel
- sheet music for tunes from Pirates of the Caribbean
- an 8×10 photo of Seth Green (which will arrive in the mail soon)
We then watched Austin Powers on DVD, for more Seth Green goodness.
July 8, 2004 at 12:09 am · Filed under moon (rachel)
It’s just after midnight, and Moon’s birthday is today. She reads this blog, so I can’t tell you what we bought for her or what’s going to happen. You’ll just have to wait. Things are pretty low-key this year. No big party or anything. But I’m already reminiscing about what I was doing 13 years ago … specifically, timing my contractions. Pete was asleep. I watched the digits on our clock radio, too nervous to close my eyes. (I might miss something, you know.)
At about 4 a.m., I woke Pete, took a shower and grabbed my stuff. We had about a half hour drive to the hospital, and I used the moon as a focus point during my contractions in the car. (Hmm, I just remembered that detail. Interesting.) By 5:30 we were checked in.
The rest of the day was a blur. I was exhausted from staying awake all night (shades of things to come!), and the whole labor thing was rather rough. Long story short, I had an epidural, pushed for four hours, and asked for a second opinion after my doctor recommended a c-section. The second doctor – who was, and I’m not making this up, the first doctor’s dad – agreed on the cesarian, but somehow I talked them into letting me try a forceps delivery. Suddenly, as if someone had yelled, “Hey! Difficult delivery in room 440!” about a dozen more people wearing scrubs gathered at my feet.
“Welcome to my birthing experience!” I announced. At least I hadn’t lost my sense of irony.
We went to work. Right as I had reached the end of my rope, as I was ready to say, “take me to the operating room,” Moon appeared. A beautiful, 8-pound 13-ounce red-haired cherub. In that moment, my entire life changed. I changed, too.
And now I’m going to be the mother of a teenager. Another new adventure with my MoonChild.
July 5, 2004 at 11:40 pm · Filed under moon (rachel)
Yep, MoonChild and I were de-fuzzed today. I originally thought I’d get my entire legs done… calves, shins, thighs. Heck, maybe even that elusive bikini line. But after the first ripppp! I quickly changed my mind. Our stylist did a fabulous job, mind you. It’s just that waxing frickin’ hurts. I did manage to have one knee done, but I winced so much that he wouldn’t do the other one.
I started out on my back, propped up so I could watch what was going on. He worked quickly, and soon I was ready to flip over onto my stomach. My friends, waxing the back of the legs hurts more than the front. There’s a certain loss of control, because you can’t see what’s happening. On the other hand, it’s easier to bury your face in the pillow and pretend you don’t need to scream. Moon let me hold her hand. Toward the end, I started worrying. Moon’s turn was coming. Was she going to be able to take the pain? I wondered if she’d start crying.
The stylist and I could both tell she was nervous, so we reminded her that she could always stop if it was too much to bear. And you know what? She did wonderfully. Not that it was a piece of cake, but she said that she’d be willing to do it again. Me? I don’t mind shaving so much. Contrary to popular belief, waxing does not remove every last hair, and my obsessive-compulsive nature isn’t satisfied with that. I need absolutely smooth legs, so I’ll be shaving those missed follicles. (In fact, I shaved my knees and thighs as soon as possible after getting home. No more gorilla girl. What a relief!)
The verdict: Waxing hurts less than getting a tattoo. It also doesn’t last as long.
July 5, 2004 at 11:19 pm · Filed under movies
After my parents visited us this afternoon (we went out for pancakes, and they gave me a pretty Corgi plate for my birthday), Moon and I went to get our legs waxed. (More about that in a moment.) Then I took both kids to see Spider-Man 2. Moon actually had seen it with Nicole yesterday, but she was keen to go again. Peter was eager to go. He even called while Moon and I were still at the salon.
Anyway, all the hype is accurate. It’s a terrific movie; even better than the original. And I have to admit that Alfred Molina was strangely attractive in his role. While Moon was eyeing Spider-Man and Harry, I was waiting to see more of Doc Ock. I mean, Tobey Maguire is a baby. Give me the middle-aged guys, moobs and all.
July 5, 2004 at 11:08 pm · Filed under movies
Moon, Pete and I went to see Fahrenheit on Friday, July 2. I’m still processing what I saw. I had already heard a lot of the information (the bin Laden connection, oil profiteers, etc.) but nothing prepared me for the sight of limbless American soldiers returning from war, the helplessness of Iranian women witnessing a family member’s arrest, or the grief of an American military family after losing a son. I had to look through my fingers a few times. Moon said that the scary thing is that this stuff is real. For that reason it’s a thousand times worse than any stylized action movie violence.
“It makes you want to go out and do something about it,” she said.
By the way, the showing we attended was nearly sold out, and the line forming for the 7 p.m. showing was incredibly long. I’ll be curious to see what the box office was like for the weekend.
July 4, 2004 at 12:21 pm · Filed under blather
We’re heading over to our friends’ house tonight for our annual viewing of the Elver Park fireworks from their deck. Haven’t seen them for a while, so it should be fun catching up. We’re bringing a salad.
I love fireworks. In Madison, we have a gigantic fireworks show on the Saturday before the 4th, and it draws a huge number of people. Like, a hundred thousand. We’ve only attended once, because we’re usually busy that Saturday. Last night it was rained out… it’s rescheduled for Monday. Huh.
I once worked for a guy who was nuts about fireworks. He set up a fireworks stand every year, just for the fun of it. One year he gave me a bag of goodies and gushingly described the cool effects of each item. I was too paranoid at the time to actually light any of them on fire, but I came around the next year. Moon must have been about three or four. She and the neighbor boy (a year older) sat together on our lawn and oohed/ahhed as I put aside my fear of burned fingers and lit up our little cul-de-sac.
When all is said and done, we all have an adolescent boy living in our brains, and any holiday involving lighting stuff on fire is cool with him.
July 3, 2004 at 10:57 pm · Filed under family
We had a joint birthday party today for me, Moon and Sister #4. I’m now the proud owner of Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions, a Starbucks card and several cool new Italian charms. I also received some money for whatever strikes my fancy, so I just bought an inexpensive Blythe doll on eBay. It’s coming from Hong Kong. The total, including shipping, was only $27 – which seems very, very low and makes me wonder what I’ll really get. I figure it’s worth the risk.
I am all psyched up to watch the Matrix trilogy, but the kids wanted to see Josie and the Pussycats tonight. (A rental, of course.)
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