Unique

Back in my joy school days we had a lesson, or maybe a bunch of them, on being unique. What a wonderful thing to be your self and know there's no one else quite like you. I took the knowledge of my uniquety to my heart and it has served me well.
Even through the conformist years of teenagerhood I valued myself enough to stand apart in the things that were important to me. I did my share of following and imitating to be sure, but never so much that I didn't know who I was. I didn't let many other people know my unique self but that is another story.
Here are a few other U words I've thought of today.
Urine- Baby Girl was trying to tell me about her imaginary Christmas tree and go potty at the same time. She didn't have enough focus on the latter and as a result peed while merely leaning against the potty instead of sitting on it. Just so you know, you do have to be sitting on the toilet in order for it to work properly. If you're a girl anyway, and she is.
Ugly- I can spot ugly a mile away. Sometimes things are so ugly I grow to love them. I have a skirt, one of my favorites, that I bought for just that reason. Ugly is one of my favorite words.
Uranus- I did a report on the planet Uranus in 3rd grade. We had an elaborate plan for a candy bar poster but it never came to fruition. One girl in our group flaked out and did a report of her own, traitor. The rest of us had a grand time. The poster wasn't made of candy bars but I snuck a bag of chocolate chips from the pantry to serve my guests so we did not suffer for lack of sugar.
Useless- were my efforts to get Baby Girl to nap today.
Undulating- The line from "10 Things I Hate About You" keeps coming to mind. "Undulating with desire, (I don't remember the name) removed her crimson cape"
Ultimatum- I issue these all the time "Eat your dinner or you won't get dessert!" "Don't walk away from me or you'll have to ride in the cart", "If you don't have a rest, you won't get to watch Wonder Pets" and so on...
Unrelenting- The first thing Baby Girl said to me this morning was "Did you make my apront" she didn't stop asking until I finally got around to making it. Then she said whenever she got the chance "Are you making my apront?" YES!!! I AM MAKING YOUR STINKING APRON! GO TO SLEEP AND LET ME WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Undaunted- Would that I had been

Tempting

I am so often tempted. Throughout my days temptations rise. Brought on my the silliest of things they tempt me to do things yet sillier.
A few hours ago I was tempted to make brownies with my daughter and 2 other young girls who were here playing. I can't imagine why that sounded so fun. Looking back on it, it sounds like screaming through a horrible cocoa mess. I was fortunate that the mothers of the friends came to fetch them before we got going on the project.
I am often tempted to waste time. This temptation manifests it's self in many different ways. I could whittle away hours reading blogs, sifting through etsy shops, checking my email, dawdling on my space...you get the idea. Then of course there's the television. As long as I don't turn it on I am relatively safe. Sleep is also a good time waster. I don't do as much of that because I can't do it as effectively while my children are awake. When I do venture to nap while they are not I end up being jerked from sleep by thwack in the head. Then Baby Girl faces groggy wrath. It isn't pretty.
There's the temptation to ignore the fact that I will have to make dinner at some point. The temptation to eat cookies all day while I ignore the never failing question of what to make for dinner. The temptation to make cookies while I ignore that same question. And the temptation to start the kitchen on fire to avoid the question yet again. The only problem is, If I lit the kitchen on fire how would I make brownies and cookies and all of the delectable goodnesses that I have no trouble thinking of?
Some things in life are just not fair.

sewing

One of the loves of my life. I haven't been doing as much of it as I'd like of late. I've been too busy feeling stressed out over all of the things I need to do and thus not doing anything very productive.
A few weeks ago I did finally take an hour to make a skirt I'd been planning for months, all the while telling myself it would only take an hour, but still not doing it. I like it very well but it turned out a bit too large so I need to fix it. I was wearing it, in it's largeness, on the plane coming home a week or so past. I'm pretty sure the passengers in the first five or so rows of the plane saw half my bum as I stood up to take Baby Girl to the lavatory. I didn't notice the slippage that had occurred until I was returning to my seat. I suppose that is why my mother taught me to wear a slip.
I am gearing up for Halloween. I think I'll start on the turtle costume for the lad first. I need to figure out where to get my hands on some good buckram. He will be such a cute little turtle!
The excitement over a project is quickening within me. I'll have to see if I can translate it into organising all of the sewing junk in my closet before I delve into turtledom.

Reminisce

I am getting ready to do Joy School with Baby Girl. It is the preschool program I did when I was little. I loved it so much. I have always planned to do it with my kids and now I get to.
Everyday in Joy School you talk about the weather and mark on a weather chart what it's like outside that day. I am making the chart for our group.
I had forgotten about the weather part of joy school until it came up as we were organizing our group. Even then I only faintly remembered. Today I looked at the pattern for the chart and now it's all there in my head. I am so glad they have not updated the pictures and things! I opened the file and there was the same tree bent in the wind for when it is windy and the sunshine, snow men, and umbrella to signify various kinds of weather. I love it! I am so excited to start making it.
The chart is round with hands like a clock with the weather pictures in place of numbers. So on a hot sunny day, one hand will point to the sunshine, and the other to the little girl wiping the sweat from her brow with one hand as she holds a popcicle in the other. Gee, I wonder how often the hands on our chart will be pointing to those 2 images? One of the things I remember about the chart from my childhood is how the hands would not stay put and so a piece of tape was stuck to the backs of them and the mom had to unstick and stick them where they should go, robbing the child who's turn it was to do the weather of that privilege. I do not intend to have that problem with my chart. I am going to make it with Fabric (surprise!) so the hands will stick to the face a la flannel board. I will fashion a small button hole at the base of each hand and mount them to the board with use of, you guessed it, a button. The holes will be too small to actually fit over the button so there will be no problem with children unbuttoning the hands and running off with them. Ah, creativity, you make a lovely mistress.

My mother in law gave Baby Girl a set of fake nails. She was looking for decals but only found them as part of this set. Baby Girl has been adoring the decals, in fact just yesterday we put a fresh set on her toes. The fake nails however, were meant for girl more in the 10 year old range and so are too big for her little fingers. Today as I was throwing them away I remembered how, as a girl, I longed for Lee press-on nails. These are the same thing. The stickum goes on and then you press-on the nail. I decided to try one. Now, on my left birdie finger is a pink plastic nail. I put it on and then, satisfied with my press-on nail experience threw the rest of them away. I never imagined that press-ons stayed on so well. At least not press-ons meant for little girls to play with. I can't get it off. The nail is too big for the finger I put it on and slightly askew. I was never planning to wear it for more than 5 minutes and so did not take much care in it's application. If ever I decide to wear press-on nails in the future I'll remember to be more careful.

As I dumped the nails into the garbage can a familiar smell reached my nostrils. It was the smell of popcorny garbage. Why is this smell a familiar one? Why Desert Star of course! The playhouse where I waitressed in high school. If there had been pizza in the garbage as well, and ragtime playing in the background the memory would have been complete.

And this, friends had been my day. Full of memories and garbage. Who could ask for anything more?

Quagmire of spirit

I have just finished reading Gone With the Wind. It really is an amazing book.
I often get caught up in books but my heart actually breaks with this one. Every time Scarlett fails to realize Rhett loves her it wrenches my soul a little bit more and the last chapter is absolute agony but I love it so.
My heart isn't broken over Scarlett she is strong enough she'll get through but Rhett! Oh Rhett! I just hope and pray that like everything else Scarlett puts her mind too she manages to win his love back so his broken heart can heal.
I realise that there is a sequel of sorts, "Scarlett" it is called, and at the end of it they patch things up but I do not accept the sequel as a true part of the story. (See the top entry of my pet peeves list) It is more a sequel to the movie than to the book. If you read the book you'll realize that it really is not possible at all.
It's premise is that she miraculously did not have a miscarriage after falling down the stairs and has another baby girl after Rhett runs off. Mean while she moves to Ireland, has an affair with a very Rhett-ish man and buys the "original" Terra before finally running into the real Rhett and sorting out their differences. Here are some reasons it is hog wash.
The falling down the stairs incident was months and months before Rhett told her he didn't give a damn so If she were still prego he would've known.
Then there's the matter of the affair. At the end of the book she has come to know not only that Rhett loved her all along but also that she's loved him for years without knowing it and vows to get him back. In such a state Scarlett O'Hara would never philander about with another man. Sure, sure, she married three other men while she was in love with Ashley but that was a different circumstance. She Used those 3 men for revenge and money. She doesn't need of those things any more.
Oh Margaret Mitchell if only you'd written another book and told us how she got him back! I do believe she got him back. She did everything she was determined to do so of course she found a way to get him back. True, he was the one person she couldn't bully but I have faith that she'll find a way to get him without bullying.

Pet peves

I have fewer of them than I used to because they really are unhealthy, but here is a list. Some I have out grown, others are as fresh as a spring morning. I'll let you decide which are which.

-When people write sequels to books other people wrote. Especially when they don't bother to read the story they're attempting to continue and make contradictions with the original work.
-Chipped toenail polish
-People who sew from a pattern and declare it was their own design
-When a person thinks they are singing harmony but is really just sitting on a single note as the melody floats past them.
-Being given direction on how to carry out a task I am perfectly capable of doing on my own.
-Having the TV on as back ground noise
-Chunks of soap and or toothpaste stuck to the edge of the sink.
-Sports

I could sit an think of more but as I've already mentioned pet peeves really aren't very healthy so if I've forgotten about a few it's all the better.

LMNOP

This is my favorite part of the alphabet song but as much as I love to sing it I've had a heap of trouble thinking of topics for each of the letters. Except of course L, but mnop is not the same without l so I included it. Now let me see if I can come up with a little something for each of the other letters.

M- I might mention how I love to have fresh mint in my lemonade but have missed out of the pleasure since my marriage due to the allergy of my mate (shudder at the use of the word mate)

N- Nice . My 5th grade teacher forbade us use the word "nice" in any of our writing assignments. She said that nice was so nondescript a word we might as well say nothing.

O- I get down right ornery when things are out of the order I put them in. That order is oft times quite a mess but it usually still makes sense to me.

P- As I ponder, I realize I actually have had a topic picked out for the letter p these 3 weeks. I think I'll save it and do it properly another time.

Laundry

My dear child is my letter L.
My first born, smart, sweet child. She is going through a difficult stage right now but even in the midst of it she is adorable and good.
She often sits next to me as I fold her laundry and exclaims at each item as I fold it. "Mom, you washed my Belle panties, thank you!" "Oh, thank you mom, you washed my pink dress!" She'll be entranced with a particularly serious wonder pets episode and all of a sudden as I pick up a lace- edged sock snap out of the television induced stupor and, in a voice breathless with gratitude, utter her deepest thanks for all of the effort I put into ensuring the cleanliness of that sock. It may not even have a mate, but by damn, it's clean and she is grateful!
I think I may start doing her laundry more often. I'll encourage the wearing of multiple ensembles each day just so I'll have things to fold.
Maybe I should always keep a basket of clean laundry close at hand so when she's wailing, making demands, and generally being unpleasant I can grab and fold a tiny pair of Curious George panties and be reminded of the sweet nature concealed within the bellowing creature before me. That might be the best idea I've had all day.

Kindred Spirits

Thank you L.M. Montgomery for introducing me to the concept of Kindred Spirits or people who belong to "the race that knows Joseph". It is a concept that I hold dear.
It's thrilling, isn't it, to meet a kindred spirit? It's so much more than having things in common. I have met people before who have quite a few common interests with me but are not of the race that knows Joseph. I generally have a hard time liking those people. I really have to try not to be annoyed by them and usually end up wondering, at some point, why I don't like them better.
I don't mean to say I dislike all people who are not kindred spirits. I have even, at times, considered non-kindred spirits to be my best friends. Those friendships just take a little extra effort to build. They are not so instantaneous as the kindred kind.

J is for Tiny

He is a J baby in real life. Otherwise know as Baby Brother, The Boy, Baked Potato, Tiny Boy, My Baby.
He's crying right now. I've got to go get him.

I

Incorrigible
inept
illuminating
ill at ease
innumerable
infantile
illiterate
illegitimate
ill fitting
ill humored
inconceivable
irrefutable
irreverent
ice
island
Iceland
Ikea
Ike and Tina
Igor
Rockmonanov
I haven't been able to come up with anything for I. The Mr and I have been listing I words all evening but to no avail.
The exercise of typing whichever I words came to mind did make me realize that I am quite fond of phrases beginning with "Ill". I forced myself to stop typing them after 3 because, I told myself, I was trying to list words beginning with I, not phrases.
I am aware that Rockmonanov is not an I word. Not only does it fail to begin with I, it does not contain an I at all. It does not even sound like it could contain an I . But, somehow, it belonged on the list. Don't question such things, it will only make you unhappy.

Happy Husband

The saying is "mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy" but I propose that the same is true of daddy. Maybe this is only true because mama can't be happy if daddy isn't, but true is true.
I do not enjoy a grumpy husband. It makes me feel awful lonely when he's grumping around not talking and the like. I guess it does have it's advantages though. If he's grumpy when we're out shopping and I'm debating the practicality of an item I'd like to have, he'll often just buy it to get out of the store. If he buys it, I get to have it without feeling guilty for buying unnecessary items. Even so, I think I still prefer the cheerful version.

Garbage can

I have a lovely new one. The stainless steel variety. I've been wanting one for ages but just couldn't justify spending $40.00 on a garbage can. Seriously, how important is garbage?
Then last week, or so, I was walking through Target thinking about things I could do to make my house look nicer so that someone will like it the best out of the 100 and something houses for sale in the neighbourhood. My first thought was to get a rubermaid bin for the baby boy clothes stacked in teetering piles in the closet. Nothing says "storage space" like a closet full of teetering piles. In fact, teetering piles are one of the things I look for when house shopping. Anyway I decided to skip the bin as much better prices can be had at Big-lots for such things (ooo, remind me to tell the tale of disgust that was my last trip to Big-Lots for bins!) The garbage cans are on the same isle as the bins, so before I could think a second thought I snatched it up and brought it home and it is fabulous. Well worth all 40 of the dollars I spent on it.
The sad side of the story is that the house we wanted, the one that got this whole moving thing started, is sold. I had warning that the sale was imminent but was holding high hopes against it. I drove by a few hours ago and the sign is down. I am crossong my fingers that the buyers loan doesn't come through but that is not much more than a straw to grasp. I am pretty good at straw grasping though. It's a talent I have.

this is not letter G

Someone has stolen my child and replaced her with a very naughty facsimile. This afternoon she drew crayon lines hither thither about the house. I continue to find more as the day goes on. She sat in time-out for that one for probably ten minutes by the time all was said and done. She also will have to wash every last smudge off the walls as soon as I get a new magic eraser. Of course she did this when we are magic eraserless. The final portion of the punishment is the decree that she will not be allowed to use any kind of writing implement for a week. not even when we are at Grandma's house next week with her crayola addicted cousins. She colored on the wall for the first time last week. That incident only illicited time out and wall washing which obviously did not do the trick.
After the wall art situation was put to rest for the day I tucked her into my own bed to try and get some rest. She is going to play at the house of a very generous friend for the evening while we go to our "dopt a baby class" and I don't want her grumping up the place. She did not rest however. What she did do is apply great globs of cocoa butter lip gloss with the use of a crochet hook. Both items reside on my bedside table. She has done this twice before. The first time was months and months ago. I asked her not to do it again and she didn't. Until last week. That time I caught her before she had quite jammed the hook in to the lip gloss and she got off easy.
I have just now freed her from time-out. She has lost all her lip-gloss privileges. This is going to be tough on her. She is normally allowed free access to either of the glosses on my night stand and may use any found in my purse provided she ask first and I get it out for her. Well no more sweety! Lip gloss is a blessing. You have to show proper respect for it if you want to keep it in your life.
Now it is time to take the fallen-angel child to the baby sitter. Sorry Nicole, I'm afraid you have a rough night ahead of you.

Fortunate

As we have been filling out adoption paperwork I've been reminded of how fortunate I am. I have led a very blessed life.
The paperwork asks questions about disappointments you've had in your life. The best I could come up with for that was not getting the part I wanted in the school play.
It asked about loss. Well, all but one of my grandparents have died. That's something.
The exercise led me to wonder how well I'll be able to help my child deal with the loss she will have already experienced in the little bit of life she'll have tasted before she comes to me. The answer is Faith. I am doing what I need to do to get the child I am meant to have. This I know. I will therefore be blessed with the understanding I need to nurture that child.

Energetic

In elementary school whenever the teacher asked us to think of a word that described our selves and stared with our first initial I always chose energetic.
Energetic really does not describe the little girl I was at school. I can't think of an e word that does completely. I was very shy. I spent my time either engrossed (there's a partial match) in my own thoughts or silently observing the people around me. It is amazing the information you can glean just sitting quietly in a room full of people. If you are not looking directly at the person you are listening to they tend not to notice you.
I do much less eavesdropping now that I did as a child. I did love it back in the day. During one conversation I overheard a friend of my sisters said "I've learned that you don't have to worry about saying things you don't want the kids to hear. If you just say them with out pausing or changing your tone they don't even notice". For the record, the topic she was discussing at the time was marijuana. I believe she was telling my sister about an acquaintance, perhapse her boyfriend or possibly her sister, who was making use of it. I don't remember the whole of the story she related, though I certainly listened intently to the whole thing. No amount of even tone and pace could throw me of the scent of an interesting conversation. It was my naiveté that confounded my memory of the story she was telling. I could probably have recited the conversation word for word at one point but details that one does not understand are difficult to retain, and it has bee upwards of 15 years. I suppose that means she was right to some degree.
If I were asked to do that exercise now I think I would chose the word enthralled. When something catches my interest I tend to be so enthralled I engross myself in it as completely as possible. My husband is kn0wn to groan at the sight of me picking up a book or snatching up the computer when I am particularly engrossed in a tale or a topic of research. I'm sure it does not help that even when he has guilted me out of actively pursuing the object of my obsession I continue to think about what ever it is and am not really fit for any conversation not centred around the topic. Poor man, I guess I must be pretty enough to make up for the crazy.

Daughter

She is not in bed as I wish she was. She did not nap today and I was hoping I could get her into bed early as she is driving me mad. It didn't work. It is not dark and so even though baby brother has been in bed for 45 minutes, we've read stories and scriptures, brushed teeth, had prayer, put jammies on, sang songs, and rock-a-byed. (not necessarily in that order) she knows it is not really bed time. In another 15 minutes it will be dark and then she'll be in bed before she knows what hit her. And she'll dream of delicious delicacies while I delve into my dreary evening of solitude. Yes, that is right, The Mr is mid air on his way to Austin. Luckily for myself he will be back on Tuesday.

The letter C

Color. I love it. I crave it. It makes my eyes open wider and takes my breath (see letter B).
I did not have a problem with depression after the birth of my second child like I did with my first. There were a lot of reasons for that. I am convinced that one of them, if only a small one, is that my house is no longer drenched in the horrid chalky white of builder paint. The color that sucks life from things around it and has the power to make the loveliest of lovelies seem rather common place or perhaps even dull.
Thankfully all but 2 rooms have been rescued from the clutches of the flat "Phonecian White" that once ruled the walls here. With any luck those will soon be liberated and the war will be over!
C is also for cookie. Chocolate chip coconut cookies which I have just now baked. They are truly delectable. How is that for a lead in to letter D?

Encyclopedia of Me Meme

For the month of August I am going to post every day (or so) with a letter of the alphabet and something about myself that relates to that letter. I got the idea here. I'm starting a day late so here are the first two letters.
A is for acrobat and artist. These are 2 things I've always wanted to be. I've succeeded more at the second than the first.
B is for breathtaking. I love seeing something and loving it instantly in so much that it takes my breath away like this table and this chair and this rug. Maybe I should have made A for Anthropologie.
I just realized that I am indeed not a day late but A and B are done so I guess I'm a day ahead. I love it when my flibbertijibbet like tendencies such as never knowing what day it is put me ahead of the game instead of behind.