Bald Is Sexy

As you all know, my mother is battling breast cancer.

Well, yesterday she had a "Hat Party" with LOTS of friends and family to mark the occasion when she would lose her hair. She had her first chemo treatment last Tuesday and knew that she would lose her hair eventually - so she wanted to take it off on her terms. As with any momentous occasion in my family, we have a party.

At first my mom wanted it to just be a small affair with her girlfriends, but then so many other people wanted to go she just opened it up to all. I couldn't be there and it breaks my heart still. I was always at every family party. To have missed this is hurting my heart still.

Since she was going to lose her hair, my brother decided that he would shave his head in solidarity. Then my cousin, Becky, (who was sporting a bright red mohawk) announced she would shave her head too. Isn't my family cool?

I guess everyone started out with red mohawks before the final shave. They are beautiful!!

Please check out the pics on my sister in law's blog. The pictures are priceless. I especially love the hat that my Uncle Doug got her that says "Bald is Sexy". She had gotten loaded up with tons of scarfs, hats and other head decorations. She told me she has enough to wear something new everyday for over a month.

My mom is so gonna whip this thing!

Boohbah

I don't know how many of you out there have ever heard of Boohbah - but it is bizarre.

Ginger, Danae, the kids and I all met up at the library and hung out for a while last week. While we were there, I checked out some videos that I saw on the shelves to take home and watch with the kids. I grabbed two of "Kipper the Dog" and one of something called Boohbah.

Boohbah is five alien things that like to jump around and dance and don't talk at all. Evidently it is by the same producers of Teletubbies. Alexis loves it!! She dances around the house with them and has been trying to memorize all of their names.

- Humbah
- Zumbah
- Zing Zing Zingbah
- Jumbah
- Jingbah

This show is bizarre to say the least. It is like Teletubbies on LSD. Lots of bright neon colors swirling around and lots of strange little squeaks and taps. Way wierd. And when they fly, it sounds like they are farting. We all crack up every single time we watch it.

I've seen this one video about twenty times so far so we are needing to go back to the library and find another one for some variety.

But if you want to check out their website and have a good laugh check them out here. If you have little kids, they will LOVE it.

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's has finally opened!

I, being the total nerd that I am, HAD to go yesterday on opening day. It is just so hard to explain why I have been so totally excited about some store opening up. It is stupid, really. But I shopped at Trader Joe's every two weeks for years and years when I lived in San Diego. It is like part of my old life came back to me. (I've been in withdrawals about Qualcomm and the Zoo for a while now.)

Katya and I lived off of their frozen foods and yummy baked goods. Not only were they healthier than anything I could find at the store, it was way cheaper and it cut our grocery bill by a huge amount.

I was hoping to get there when they opened at 9am, but the kids didn't want to be rushed. So, after taking Alexis to see "Horton Hears a Who" with Danae and Ginger (Logan was getting one on one time with Patti, Debbie and Bob's mom) we went to Debbie's house and the kids went down for naps. Debbie let me steal away and hit Trader Joe's in exchange for a package of carrot muffins. Done Deal!

It was insanely crowded!! I mean like cart to cart crowded with huge long lines for the registers weaving through the store. I've never seen anything so crowded in Bend yet. BUT I got some goodies!! I filled my cart with carrot muffins, tons of frozen dinners (Katya loves their orange chicken and chicken fried rice), coffee, bagged spinach salad, salsa, cereal (at $2 a box instead of $5), and some pre-marinated meats for dinner this weekend. I'm a happy girl.

I also picked up some re-useable bags (totally cool looking) which I intend to keep in the car and use to avoid collecting any more plastic grocery bags.

Welcome to Bend, Trader Joe's!! I'm so happy you are here.

Computer Doctor

My home computer is currently at the computer doctor. (I'm using Bob's laptop to write this.)

It has been running sooooooooooo slow, applications take a long time to start, some things freeze or close without warning...you know. It hasn't been reimaged in years and I'm sure that something needs to be upgraded.

I needed to do this now while Katya was in San Diego and wouldn't be needing the computer for homework and I had already done most of the business stuff for right now. Being without my computer is hard! Just knowing that strange people are messing with my data bothers me and I hope that my data makes it back to me intact. Yes, I've got issues.

I've decided to change a few things about my computing habits. I'm converting my Maxtor external harddrive (for disaster recovery) to a drag and drop. I just need to see with my own eyes that my files are there safe and sound. I'm also adding a separate internal harddrive for just my ITunes library and another for just business stuff.

If you have some good advice for keeping data clean and recoverable I'd love to hear it. You can never know everything. And when I get my computer back, I've got a backlog of blogs with pictures that I need to post to catch everyone up on what we have been doing in the great Northwest.

Easter

Let me just say here (since it is my blog) that Easter should NOT be in March. Although we had a lovely Easter, it didn't feel very Easter-y. Ginger told me that it won't be this early in the year again until something like 2080, which is fine by me. The leprechaun from St. Patrick's Day shouldn't be bumping into the Easter bunny in the same month.

That said, our Easter was lovely. It was supposed to rain, but it didn't so we could enjoy a little egg hunt with our neighbors in their backyard. I had hidden empty eggs, but Maya had put some chocolate in hers so Alexis had a bit of a chocolate ring around her mouth for most of the hunt.

Alexis loves being outside, but Logan not so much. Most of my pictures of him had him complaining loudly that he didn't like the grass, the breeze or the pine needles. I think that should he decide to walk one of these days, he might enjoy being outside a bit more.

Later that afternoon we headed over to Ginger's house for tacos - don't you all eat tacos on Easter? We hung out for hours and just visited and laid around like sloths on the couch while we watched the Veggie Tales "Jonah" movie for the umpteenth time (Alexis' favorite).

We missed our Katya since she was in San Diego. But her Easter secret is sitting on her desk waiting for her return. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter no matter what you did.

Spring Cleaning

What is it about those first few rays of crystal clear Spring sunlight that as they come streaming through your windows all you see are the smudgy fingerprints on the windows, the cobwebs that have somehow taken up residence in the corner, the dust bunnies that have accumulated under the couch and the general feeling that your house has turned into a pigsty?

Obviously it is a universal thing since we have a term known as "Spring Cleaning". It was never this noticable when I lived in San Diego. Probably because it was sunny and 70 - 100 every darn day. We never had a chance to get cooped up in the house and run the fireplace every night as we sat around and ate popcorn and played games or watched movies all winter long while the dust bunnies multiplied.

Well, Spring has sprung here and my little tulips are starting to pop up around my front yard and it will be amazingly beautiful in about a month. We put the carpet back on the front porch and we've pulled out the kid toys that go there so we can play there every day. I've been running around the house cleaning kiddy toys with Lysol wipes and dusting everything and berating myself for being so dirty every time that Swiffer duster comes back black.

So to all my fellow Spring Cleaners - I wish you much cleanliness. May your mop, wipe and washcloth pick up all the dirt that you can find. I hope your house has that lovely lemony scent from your cleaning products and I hope you get to enjoy it being in a perfectly clean state for at least an hour or two before your family runs back in and messes it up.

Freecycle

There is this awesome thing called Freecycle that I had read about in my Body and Soul Magazine a few months ago. Sure enough, we had one going here in Bend.

Basically, it is a way to post your unwanted items that you don't want to sell or to give to the Goodwill in the hopes that someone else wants them. Think old clothes, magazines, baby items (especially since Goodwill and Salvation Army won't take anything but baby clothes anymore) cords of wood...etc. I've Freecycled two old Sprint phones, baby spoons, an old desk that we had somehow ended up with, some cute but I would never use them snowman salt and pepper shakers, a few ancient fishing poles that I had inherited from my Grandfather and the like.

You can even post Wanted items that you are in need of. This has been working great for a few months, but lately the Wants have been quite hysterical. It is amazing to me how people want the nicest stuff for nothing and seem to act quite indignant if they don't get it. No idea where this is coming from. Just yesterday there was a post that someone wanted a full five piece drum set. Get real folks!

I still love the idea of Freecycle and I hope that all others out there try it out. It keeps things out of the landfill and helps others that just might need that box of nails you have been wanting to get rid of.

Calgon Take Me Away!

I have had the most insane, busy, whirlwind of days for 2008. I mean it, I have never been so busy since I moved up here.

- Sickness constantly attacking some member of my family
- Prepping for business taxes that took way too much time
- Prepping for personal taxes
- Dealing with some insane snow (lots of shoveling)
- Now prepping for spring (lots of pruning and raking)
- Painting
- Never ending cleaning
- Sports and more sports for Katya (including Saturdays)
- Unplanned work on the art room
- Trying to get time walking most every day to train for the 3-Day
- Attempting to get donations for the Campfire Golf Tournament

I have been awful about blogging, writing down all my appointments on the calendar, and keeping control of the pile of papers sitting in front of my computer monitor. Just too much!!

Then I get situations like last night. We were bathed, dressed and ready to get into the car to pick up Katya from Campfire and attend her basketball team dinner. Then Alexis comes over to me while I'm sitting on the couch putting on my shoes and lays her head in my lap and then pukes. Everywhere.

Ok, can't take the little sick one. Luckily Patti can come over to watch her for me and I am late picking up Katya. I know that life happens and you can't do anything about it. But MAN!!

So... I apologize to all of my blog stalkers for being a dud lately. I even had to miss a Bend Bloggers get together that I really wanted to attend. Bummer.

I hope that I can get my stuff together, somehow eraticate the sickness that keeps coming into my house (my hands are dry like paper from cleaning everything constantly), regain my small social life, and someday experience the bon bon eating, lounging on the couch while reading a book fantasy that so many people picture stay at home mothers doing all day.

Toddler Interpretation

You need to be careful what you say around toddlers. Really, really careful.

When I get irritated or annoyed about something I have been saying "Farvignugen". I think I had heard it off of a VW commercial years ago. And it is a really satisfying word when you feel irked.

Alexis has been talking more and more lately. Repeating words that I didn't even know she had been listening to. For example, she burped yesterday in the kitchen and promptly said "excuse me". So cute.

For the past few weeks though, Alexis has been saying something that sounds kind of like a bad word and we just figured it out this week. She had been saying something that sounds like "firef*ck". With special emphasis on the "uck" part of the word. It really caught our attention to say the least. It was only this week that we figured out that she has named a pacifier this most interesting word.

She likes this word and says it all the time.

It took some doing, but we believe she is trying to say "Farvignugen". Of course we correct her every time she says it, but she is not budging. That is what she wants to call her binky.

(sigh)

I get some interesting stares when I go out for sure!

Finally...A New Crock Pot Recipe

Remember back when I intended to have Crock Pot Tuesday and post a new and delicious recipe every week? Well, that sort of fizzled. Not from lack of trying out new recipes, but from a lack of any enthusiastic response from my own peanut gallery with all the new recipes. However, I have a new one and I think it is great.

I hope you enjoy!

Pork Chops to Live For

4 pork chops (I actually used six 'cause that is what I had in the deep freeze)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Garlic powder
Salt & Pepper
vegetable oil (enough to brown the pork chops)

2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can beef broth
1 envelope onion soup mix

1. Dip pork chops in flour mixture (flour, garlic powder, salt & pepper) and brown in oil.

2. Place pork chops in slow cooker. Pour soups and onion soup mix over the top and mix.

3. Cover, and cook on High for 4 to 5 hours, or on Low for 8 to 10 hours.