I'm going to E1's class later today to read stories for Dr. Seuss day. Sometimes his tongue twisting rhymes leave me just plain exhausted! But they are her very favorite.
The Dr. Seuss book I like best is "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins," which is lesser-known. My favorite babysitter always brought it along when she came over and read it to us. I think my parents bought a copy too. I've never read it to my kids- I probably should.
A few years ago, we got the movie "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr T" from the library. That is a crazy movie! Almost the entire musical is this dream sequence of this boy who doesn't want to practice the piano. Dr. Seuss wrote the script and lyrics and the sets are all very Seuss-ian. I guess it was supposed to be the next "Wizard of Oz"- a child's dream world- but when they first screened it, it frightened the audiences too badly. They cut a bunch out and released it, but it still flopped. I've heard that now it has cult status some places- showing like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." It is worth a look-see.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
romance!
Wow- yesterday I watched part of "North and South" a BBC period drama, not the civil war movie, based on the Elizabeth Gaskell novel, while folding laundry. It is like "Pride and Prejudice" set in the industrial revolution- only bleak instead of witty? So very, very romantic! And if that wasn't enough, I was half-way through reading P&P and squeezed in another chapter before bed. Is it possible to overdose on period romance?
R saw all this and commented,"Uh oh. Your in one of those moods. I'm not being romantic enough for you I guess?"
"That's okay- your busy and tired." I replied. "Mr. Darcy's got you covered."
R saw all this and commented,"Uh oh. Your in one of those moods. I'm not being romantic enough for you I guess?"
"That's okay- your busy and tired." I replied. "Mr. Darcy's got you covered."
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Caught!
A few days ago, we caught the mouse. E1 discovered it and shrieked. Luckily, R was there to dispose of it.
A week earlier, I had run to the hardware store one minute before closing with a sick baby- looking totally frazzled and said, "I know you are closing but I just need some mouse traps really fast!" I was desperate to increase my already impressive arsenal because that stupid mouse would NOT be trapped!
The high school kids were building mousetrap cars and had pretty much wiped them out- the helpful employee explained. He was able to find me a kit with more snap traps and glue traps (and that worthless, blue-goo bait stuff!). I threw in several boxes of poison for good measure. Armed with another $25 of deadly, mousy weapons, I went home sure triumph was around the corner.
It was another few days before finally he took the bait. E2 manages to sneakily stash mouse-snacks faster than I can discover them. But we got there at last.
Back to the hardware store yesterday for drain cleaner. The same employee was there and asked "Did you catch your mouse?"
"YES!" said E1, waving her hands wildly in excitement. "I found it! It's eyes were squished out of it's head, POPPING OUT! It's head was almost snapped all-the-way-off!"
"It was pretty gross..." I mumbled- as I handed him my money- several other customers staring at us.
"I screamed!" E1 said proudly. "So did my mom."
Ah- victory!
A week earlier, I had run to the hardware store one minute before closing with a sick baby- looking totally frazzled and said, "I know you are closing but I just need some mouse traps really fast!" I was desperate to increase my already impressive arsenal because that stupid mouse would NOT be trapped!
The high school kids were building mousetrap cars and had pretty much wiped them out- the helpful employee explained. He was able to find me a kit with more snap traps and glue traps (and that worthless, blue-goo bait stuff!). I threw in several boxes of poison for good measure. Armed with another $25 of deadly, mousy weapons, I went home sure triumph was around the corner.
It was another few days before finally he took the bait. E2 manages to sneakily stash mouse-snacks faster than I can discover them. But we got there at last.
Back to the hardware store yesterday for drain cleaner. The same employee was there and asked "Did you catch your mouse?"
"YES!" said E1, waving her hands wildly in excitement. "I found it! It's eyes were squished out of it's head, POPPING OUT! It's head was almost snapped all-the-way-off!"
"It was pretty gross..." I mumbled- as I handed him my money- several other customers staring at us.
"I screamed!" E1 said proudly. "So did my mom."
Ah- victory!
Ring, ring
If you want to develop a thick skin, I recommend taking a job as a tele-researcher. This is a slightly more respectable career choice than a telemarketer- as you are trying to conduct surveys instead of sell products- but that distinction will be lost on the 90 percent of people whom you will interrupt while they are eating dinner.
Unfortunately, I speak from personal experience. I was in college, I was poor and only work study job I could find was cleaning bathrooms at 4 a.m. on campus. And market research actually had something to do with my major- so it would look good on my resume. (Stupid, young, naive me!)
Pretty much hated it. I sat next to a middle-aged woman named Eloise McNair who had frizzy red hair and smelled overwhelmingly like tea tree oil. It was when erectile dysfunction drugs were brand new on the market- so guess who got to do the Viagra survey?!
I had to ask couples over 50 about their sex lives in order for the drug companies to better market their product to said couples. So fun. And the survey lasted a painful half-hour. Who has that much time? If someone hung up, the survey was incomplete and I wouldn't meet my quota.
There was this younger guy there that was golden at it. He was like an old-fashioned snake oil salesman. Listening to him work was like magic- he was a tele-artist! He had these different personas he would whip out- each one tailored to get him results. He would be the pathetic, starving student; the cute grandson type; the angry and outraged "lets-stick-it-to-the-man-together" guy; the flirty, "you-have-a-great-voice" housewife-charmer; the "we need your opinion, sir" flatterer; etc. They kept a leaderboard of who was the most successful research up on the wall for all of us to see. He was always number one. I'm sure now he is out there somewhere as owner of a successful string of car lots.
I stuck it out a few months, but truth be told, only because my other cubical neighbor was a cute, older, world-traveller. He was in law school, knew Arabic and a few other languages and had been approached by some intelligence agencies about working for them as an analyst. This was pre-9/11. I have no idea why he was working there. One day, near tears after getting an especially brutal cussing out, I glanced over at him and he smiled at me and said "Let's quit!" In a daze, I followed him into the office. He explained we were both quitting and would be back in a week to get our last paychecks. The girl running the center didn't bat an eye- they had really high turn-over. He drove me to his place and made me some lentils and rice dish he had learned how to make on his travels. And then introduced me to his younger roommate he thought I would hit it off with. Doomed to "like a kid sister"-syndrome!
Unfortunately, I speak from personal experience. I was in college, I was poor and only work study job I could find was cleaning bathrooms at 4 a.m. on campus. And market research actually had something to do with my major- so it would look good on my resume. (Stupid, young, naive me!)
Pretty much hated it. I sat next to a middle-aged woman named Eloise McNair who had frizzy red hair and smelled overwhelmingly like tea tree oil. It was when erectile dysfunction drugs were brand new on the market- so guess who got to do the Viagra survey?!
I had to ask couples over 50 about their sex lives in order for the drug companies to better market their product to said couples. So fun. And the survey lasted a painful half-hour. Who has that much time? If someone hung up, the survey was incomplete and I wouldn't meet my quota.
There was this younger guy there that was golden at it. He was like an old-fashioned snake oil salesman. Listening to him work was like magic- he was a tele-artist! He had these different personas he would whip out- each one tailored to get him results. He would be the pathetic, starving student; the cute grandson type; the angry and outraged "lets-stick-it-to-the-man-together" guy; the flirty, "you-have-a-great-voice" housewife-charmer; the "we need your opinion, sir" flatterer; etc. They kept a leaderboard of who was the most successful research up on the wall for all of us to see. He was always number one. I'm sure now he is out there somewhere as owner of a successful string of car lots.
I stuck it out a few months, but truth be told, only because my other cubical neighbor was a cute, older, world-traveller. He was in law school, knew Arabic and a few other languages and had been approached by some intelligence agencies about working for them as an analyst. This was pre-9/11. I have no idea why he was working there. One day, near tears after getting an especially brutal cussing out, I glanced over at him and he smiled at me and said "Let's quit!" In a daze, I followed him into the office. He explained we were both quitting and would be back in a week to get our last paychecks. The girl running the center didn't bat an eye- they had really high turn-over. He drove me to his place and made me some lentils and rice dish he had learned how to make on his travels. And then introduced me to his younger roommate he thought I would hit it off with. Doomed to "like a kid sister"-syndrome!
Laundry
I did six or seven loads of laundry yesterday in this new detergent I picked up and have been runny and sneezy ever since. I cheaped out instead of sticking to the tried and true brands. And I keep thinking I'd like our clothes to smell nice instead of like clean-nothing- but it turns out spring-time fresh isn't worth the drippy nose.
Also- I noticed my husband has been looking pretty rumpled lately- his shirts and khakis could use ironing. I broke our iron three weeks ago when I accidentally dropped it and all the plastic on the top shattered. I told R our iron broke and he said "Well- it wasn't from over-use!"
It is true. I am terrible at ironing his clothes. Ironically, I used to work at an industrial dry cleaners and that was my job. I would iron hundreds of shirts and pants a day. Sometimes I feel like I've done enough to last a lifetime and that he should just stick with polos and wrinkle free shirts if he cares! The problem is- he doesn't.
Also- I noticed my husband has been looking pretty rumpled lately- his shirts and khakis could use ironing. I broke our iron three weeks ago when I accidentally dropped it and all the plastic on the top shattered. I told R our iron broke and he said "Well- it wasn't from over-use!"
It is true. I am terrible at ironing his clothes. Ironically, I used to work at an industrial dry cleaners and that was my job. I would iron hundreds of shirts and pants a day. Sometimes I feel like I've done enough to last a lifetime and that he should just stick with polos and wrinkle free shirts if he cares! The problem is- he doesn't.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Dentist
I went to the dentist and it was a 2.5 hour appointment because I needed more work than they originally thought. ($40 more than I thought too :( ) More decay hidden under old fillings. My anesthesia wore off toward the end, so they had to give me more during the last 30 minutes so they could finish up. My nice dentist offered me this new product that helps un-numb you quicker, but I mumbled "No thanks, its not like I have any speeches to make." But within the next two hours, I went two different places and make comments in front of large groups of people. So stupid of me. It was hard to make the words come out with one totally numb, droopy, grimacing side. And I was threatening to drool at any moment. I will totally take the un-numb next time!
Prepared
I finally updated our will with E2 in it. I did it online through Suze Orman Will and Trust.com so I don't know how great it is. She seems to know her stuff pretty well. (I love the SNL spoof of her and her jackets!) I had gotten a free trial to the site, so at the very least it was free and lets people know our wishes. Now I just have to hit print and find a notary to sign it in front of.
I also updated our emergency / 72 hour kits. I had to throw out a bunch of granola bars, fruit leather and cans of chili. And E1 is now two sizes bigger than her emergency clothes, so that needed fixing. I put in diapers and jammies in the next size up for E2 so hopefully we are good. Also added were his birth certificate and shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, soap, combs, deodorant, razors and toilet paper. Because good personal hygiene will make a disaster less disastrous.
The real reason for these projects? To avoid other projects of course!
I also updated our emergency / 72 hour kits. I had to throw out a bunch of granola bars, fruit leather and cans of chili. And E1 is now two sizes bigger than her emergency clothes, so that needed fixing. I put in diapers and jammies in the next size up for E2 so hopefully we are good. Also added were his birth certificate and shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, soap, combs, deodorant, razors and toilet paper. Because good personal hygiene will make a disaster less disastrous.
The real reason for these projects? To avoid other projects of course!
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