Just Plugging Along

There's not a whole lot to post here at Bug's house. I'm still job hunting, Bug is still being cute, Doof is at summer camp for a week, and G is unreasonably happy, having downloaded the long version of the theme from The People's Court.

We survived a family shindig at BIL/W's house. It was my niece's eighth birthday. Only, the invitation wasn't pitched as a "let's celebrate her birthday" party. Instead, we got an e-vite that invited us to a party celebrating all the family's summer birthdays and summer anniversaries. Swell. I would have preferred to have attended a child's birthday party, thanks. And then I was asked if we could include my birthday. Given that my birthday is in November, that seemed pretty dumb to me, so I didn't bother to answer that question. It turns out, they thought I was a summer birthday too. Given that G and I have been together for 7 years, you would think they would know this by now. But then again, BIL/W are pretty oblivious.

So we went swimming and had burgers and birthday cake from scratch (which tasted a bit off, perhaps because W made it with soy milk and soy butter) and all was fine. Yeah, G's dad told off-color jokes in front of the eight year old. And yeah, G's parents smoked a lot near us (we were all outside so they figure it won't bug us). They were wrong. But whatever. We knew it was time to leave when BIL decided to announce in front of everyone that he thought we probably had enough money to buy a house near them. What he doesn't understand is that we don't want to live near them. We were pretty happy when they moved. Now they can't call us at the last minute to ask us to do favors for them. He just wants to run the family and take some credit for when they do well. He's the sort that were he to help me find a job, he would take credit for it for the rest of my life and never let anyone forget it that I was indebted to him. Thanks, but I'll pass.


In other news, I finished this scarf, which I think I will give to my aunt. I knit it with Be Sweet Magic Ball yarn on size 13 needles. I rather enjoyed how it kept changing textures, but it was a bit difficult to work with. It sheds. A lot.

Too Darn Hot

I'd like to sup with my baby tonight
and play the pup with my baby tonight
I'd like to sup with my baby tonight
and play the pup with my baby tonight
but I ain't up to my baby tonight
cause it's too darn hot
It's too darn hot
It's too darn hot ...

We spent a chunk of the last two days out by the pool because the condo we went doesn't have air conditioning and there is no fan in the attic to get the hot air out of the house. Oh and it hit well over 100. Luckily, Doof and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean before braving the heat.

Today, I got a sunburn. But that was better than sitting in the sauna that is my home. So we drove to the city so that we could have cooler weather for dinner. It was a joy. And a tasty meal.

Speaking of dinner, here is a list of things that Bug has eaten in the last week or so (in no particular order):

Chips and salsa with cheese
Edamame
Tofu from my miso soup
Steamed rice
Turkey chili
Prime rib (with and without mild horseradish)
Creamed spinach
Yorkshire pudding
Lemonade
Mashed Potatoes
Burger
Fries
Bread with a fabulous tomato and garlic dip sort of thing
Gorgonzola
Ravioli stuffed with fish and ricotta
Pappardelle with sausage
and Animal crackers because everything goes with animal crackers.

July 14, 2006

Today is the second anniversary of the day Mom died. And yesterday would have been her 62nd birthday. Together, those two dates make July a tough month. But I am doing ok. It helps that Uncle Jeff is here for a visit, the weather is beautiful, and my Bug is too cute for words.

See for yourselves:



Tonight, we will go out for Mom's favorite meal -- sushi -- and toast her, not with cocktails, but with Pepsi from a can, over ice. And we will miss her a lot, but go on.

Then, tomorrow I can get cracking on buying G his card and birthday present. I'm not going to go too crazy since I bought him an Ipod for Father's Day.

I got my Mother's Day gift on Tuesday. He offered me a spa day, but I chose this instead. It gets me knitting, sock yarn, and a few hours of Jen time. Thanks, G! Picking out your own gift can be a very good thing. A little guilt thrown in doesn't hurt.

Oh and for a good giggle, check this out. Bug enjoys it.

Socks!

Woo hoo! Behold my first, completed pair of socks. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. And no one but me will know about all of the mistakes or the fact that they might not be exactly the same length. They are socks -- they'll stretch. Tomorrow, at knitting class, I get to start working on my next pair and I can't wait. It's not often that I actually complete a knitting project, so this is big stuff.

In other news, I came home from work to the smell of smoke and the sight of firemen. Everything if fine. Some dumbass, probably a teenager, set a fire behind the baseball field near our house (read: across the street). A bit unnerving. And the firemen weren't that compelling. Honestly, if you are going to drive home to firemen, the least they could do is be hot.

On the Shelf

After emptying the bookshelf, I guess she figured she would try it on for size. She's seems pretty comfortable.

Fear of Heights

So we have recovered from family camp. I think I enjoyed it, but I am not likely to repeat the experience. I never went to sleepaway camp as a kid, but I imagine that this is what it probably would have been like. We had a room up at the lodge more than big enough for the whole family. Doof chose to sleep in the upper bunk and Bug slept in pher portable crib. We had air conditioning, a refrigerator, and a sink. But we did not have our own bathroom. No, we had to go outside and a walk a short way. It could have been worse -- we could have been in one of the other sets of cabins where we would have had to walk through woods to get to the bathroom. It was bad enough having to take a flashlight.

The other main problem was that meals were at very specific times and there was no flexibility. If you didn't get to the dining hall by 9 am, no breakfast for you. Doof wasn't whelmed by the food choices, but then she is 12 and picky. I didn't mind so much. We hiked and swam and went tubing (Bug slept on the boat) and read a lot. It was nice to be away from it all. Part of the appeal of the place was that it had day care for little ones, which we used a fair amount, particularly on our last full day there when G and I tackled the high ropes course. After a short hike, we crossed a creek and got to try to conquer our fear of heights. They call it the Leap of Faith. Essentially, after you put on the very attractive harness and helmet, you climp a series of pegs up a tree until you get to a platform. From the platform, you jump, hoping to catch a trapeze before they lower your harnessed-in self to the ground. I went first. The climb wasn't too bad. I think having small feet helped a lot since I never felt like my footing was unstable. After awhile, it seemed like I ran out of pegs, so I yelled down for advice and was told to use the tree branches. Okey dokey fine. Somehow, I made it to the top. 65 feet up.

And on the count of three, I jumped, having promised myself that, if I lived, I would lose 20 pounds. I missed the trapeze. Oh well. I was never very good at the standing broad jump. I can't say it was fun, but I'm glad I did it.

G went next and did great. Of course, he figured that after I did it, he couldn't not make the climb.

The other big thing that happened on our trip was that Bug figured out this walking business. Oh and she learned how to climb the ladder up to the top bunk. While I applaud how clever she is in figuring things out, I'm not all that excited about her climbing ladders.

I'll add pictures as soon as Blogger stops being so ornery.