Daily Dose

Zipporah

Zipporah

OK, it’s not The Red Tent. Let’s get that straight right up front. Zipporah is also not as good as whatever the other book I read at some point in the last two years about Moses & Zipporah. (It was really about Moses but the Zipporah character was better written than in this book). Now if I could only remember what the name of that book was… maybe it will come to me at some point in the next few days.

I did enjoy it. TW seems to have liked it more than I did because when I said “It’s ok.” She got sort of bent out of shape and said “I liked it more than just ok.” I also have to say that of all of the Marek Halter books we’ve read, this has been my least favorite. The story of Moses and Zipporah is an interesting one and I found myself skimming an awful lot. That pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?

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Daily Dose of Health – Lupus Awareness Month

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I know most bloggers are talking about Breast Cancer Awareness Month but I like to be different so I’m going to blog about the often overlooked Lupus Awareness Month instead.

1 in 200 Americans suffer from Lupus and 9 out of 10 of those are women. Lupus is an auto-immune disease and symptoms can vary widely. Everything from chronic fatigue to joint pain and mouth sores to severe nervous system problems.

People with Lupus often don’t look sick and I’ve heard many a story about family members, friends and coworkers who refused to believe Lupus was a real illness. If you’ve got questions about Lupus, there is a great Support Group on WebMD where you can find answers.

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Daily Dose of Family – Daughters

jenn.jpgTW, Michelle and I drove UP to Charleston for the weekend to see Jenn (and Ronnie too, I guess) and her new house (well I guess it is his too but he’s not the important one there). I was reminded of three things during this trip, three things I hope I will not ever forget:

1) I will not EVER book a room at the Red Roof Inn, on Northwoods BLVD, for any reason. NEVER. AGAIN. We stayed there for one night last month and hated it but apparently the learning curve is steep and it took a second trip to really make it sink in for me.

2) I’m getting too darn old for this 12 hours of driving over a 2 1/2 day period. It’s hard to believe it wasn’t more than a couple of years ago that we were driving all over the south following Melissa. This weekend trip is making me rethink the whole Melissa in Atlanta thing at the end of the month, even if TW is healthy enough to go. I AM OLD and TIRED!

michelle_puzzle.jpgAs much as my daughters adore each other, and they definitely do, they do not do well together when I am around. It’s not horrible but there’s some weird undercurrent thing that bugs me to death. I don’t remember it being there all those years ago when were all a big “happy family”. It happened after Michelle and I (and Chris) moved out and left Jenn (who was all grown up and going to college) with her dad (and boyfriend who is now her husband). Michelle was always jealous and wanted me to herself but she’s 15 1/2 and this is getting really weird. Maybe it’s time to reconsider that therapy thing again??? Maybe we could do some double sessions so that when we are all together for Thanksgiving it doesn’t feel crummy?

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I love banned books

I don’t really want to ban that stupid Modesty book because then that will just make it more beloved to the masses. We all know that’s what happens when a book is banned or challenged. It’s certainly happened for me. If we’re just talking about books and someone mentions Ordinary People, I’m likely to say “It was ok but no big deal” but as soon as I see it on the Banned/Challenged List I get all sentimental about it. Absence or the potential for absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

I’m thrilled that three of the most challenged books last year had gay themes or undertones. (Yippee! Next year let’s get four!) Not because I’m all that thrilled with the books themselves, (though The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a favorite around here), but because those gay and not really all that great books are getting more attention than if folks had just kept their mouths shut about them. I mean really, “King & King”? Who would have given that a second look if folks hadn’t made such a stink. It certainly wasn’t going to replace Grimm’s Fairy Tales in the classic Prince and Princess love story genre, was it?

And since I’m on the topic of Banned and Challenged Books, can someone explain to me how Song of Solomon is porn? Because I don’t get it. At all. It’s not even erotica. If I handed Song of Solomon to Michelle and told her it was porn, she’d laugh her rear end off. And I’m glad.

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Daily Dose of Life – Toilets and More

OK so once again, I’ve stopped blogging. I’m tired, sue me. I’ve had a lot of blog topics floating around in my head. I’ve had a lot of blog ideas saved in my RSS feeds from all of you really interesting bloggers who actually have time and energy to blog. Someday I might actually blog about those topics – they’ll probably be all retro and stuff but whatever.

I’m posting just a quick life update for those of you who might be wondering what keeps us so busy and distracted around here. Toilets mostly. TW puts in a lot of toilet time (she will love that I just said that) and we’ve been putting in a lot of doctor time and thinking about the doctor time recently because that’s all related to TW and her toilet time. You can read all about that umm stuff on TW’s toilet blog. As you’ll see, things will be busy along those lines all month long. Joys and blessings, our lives are full of them aren’t they?

And speaking of toilets, I took Michelle shopping last weekend for pajamas to wear to a pajama party and was instructed by TW to buy a new toilet seat. Well since she spends a lot of time there and Jackie has inspired me to take care of my IBS’d s/o, I went shopping for one. I’ve never bought a toilet seat before so I asked for guidance before I left. Luckily TW and I agree = no padded seats, no fuzzy seats and really we don’t want decorations at all. Just white is good and TW said not a wooden one and I immediately think wood grain and say so. She says no – no wood, like the one we have now, it stains too easily. Ha, I didn’t know ours was wood.

So I bought one, cheap and white at Target. TW installed it and all was right with the toilet world down here in the adult Flamingohouse Bathroom. Upstairs in the children’s Flamingohouse Bathroom they installed a Dolphin toilet seat that Michelle picked out and all of the kids love. It takes so little to please these kids. I can only imagine what games the little ones will play with the dolphin toilet seat…

The most interesting part about the toilet seat was the instruction page that came with it:

When cleaning your toilet seat, wash it only with mild, soapy water. Rinse the seat thoroughly with clean water and dry with a soft cloth. Never use abrasive scouring powders or detergents, disinfectants, or cleaning products in aerosol cans as they can damage the seats lustrous finish.

Ha, no cleaners on toilet seats? They must be kidding. Forget the lustrous finish (not that I have seen it looking lustrous and I looked really closely) we’ve got serious bathroom users around here. I am betting you have some in your house too. What kind of people do the toilet seat manufacturers think we are? No cleaners? Just soap and water and a soft cloth? Ha.

And last but not least, not related to toilets, TW and Michelle and I did a little live blogging experiment last night during the Gilmore Girls. It’s pretty darn amusing to see how the three of us chose to blog the show. Check it out, even if you don’t love the GGs and Stars Hollow like we do.

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Now back to my previously scheduled life, the fun never ends around here… Maybe next weekend I’ll go out shopping for some of these interesting dimmer switch covers, I bet they’ll look really great next to the sparkling toilet seat – wonder if they have them at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

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Daily Dose of Denise – Personality?

I was just telling some folks the other day about how a particular group of people are often surprised by some aspect of my personality. They claim to know me pretty well but when it comes down to it, they really don’t…

And look at this little quizzy – interesting, eh?


You Are French Food


Snobby yet ubiquitous.
People act like they understand you more than they actually do.

What Kind of Food Are You?

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Daily Dose of Kids – Pecan Roaches

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Michelle is home. 😉 We know this not just by the scent of popcorn or the music playing behind me while I work or the phone ringing late into the evening. We know this because the drama has begun.

While Michelle was in NJ, she was skateboarding and “hurt her knee”. No big deal, certainly not as big a deal as her Scarlet Fever issue. She came home and didn’t do anymore than the normal Michelle whining about her knee thrown in with the normal Michelle whining about her back, (she is sure she has Scoliosis, thank you school nurses around the world), and I am so use to her whining that I rarely listen.

I’m a bad mom. I’m not all that compassionate in general, except when I’m at work. I’m really not very compassionate when it comes to Michelle and her health dramas. I can totally understand the woman I heard on the radio the other day whose son flunked an eye test at school and she thought he was faking so she sent him to his room without dinner… he turned out to be blind in one eye. Anyway, that’s what life is like here. Michelle is “sick” or “injured” and I only half listen.

So the other day, Michelle was skateboarding here and she came in saying she “hurt her achilles tendon”. OK, let me see… no swelling so stay off of it and would you like some tylenol? Fast forward a few days and she’s limping down the stairs. I ask her what’s wrong, oh remember I hurt my achilles tendon. Ummm Ok, let me see… no swelling, stay off of it, would you like some tylenol?

I head back to the bedroom and hear her at the door asking if we have any crutches. I say no and then quickly say yes, we do from when TW’s sister broke her ankle a couple of years ago… they’re ummm in the garage. Michelle limps off as I chuckle.

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A moment later, she’s back. Umm where in the garage. I chuckle some more. TW says last time she’s seen them they were near the workbench. I am really chuckling at this point because there is no way that kid will know where the workbench is – no work has ever been done on it, she may have never even SEEN it. I jump in and say no, I think they are near the bedframes and mattresses. Michelle asks where the workbench is and where the bedframes are. I explain the bedframes are behind the freezer. TW attempts to explain the workbench by telling her what it looks like. Hahaha, you can’t see what it looks like – it’s on the other side of the washer and dryer.

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I’m still chuckling and continue to read my blog feeds when we hear a crash in the garage. Hahaha. Moments later we hear Michelle making some high pitched whiney noises and the garage door open and close. Michelle mumbling, high pitched moans. TW says – Is she crying?
I say umm, I dunno, maybe and I keep typing whatever it was I was typing.
TW says – well could you go check?
I say ummm sure, in a minute. (see, I’m a bad mom)

I head into the office where Michelle is mumbling and making these weird whiney moans. I ask her if she’s ok. I ask if she found the cruthes. She moans. She shivers.

I am not going in there ever again. Roaches. Dead roaches. Behind the freezer. Millions of them. (moaning, whining, horrible cringing, shivering accompanied this)

I tried not to laugh. Really I swear I did. I couldn’t help it.

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Michelle, honey. Those aren’t roaches. They are… pecans. They’ve been back there for a year. The cats knocked the bag off of the freezer and the dogs ripped open the bag and snack on them whenever they can’t find kitty litter crunchies to nibble on.

She keeps shivering, keeps moaning. She hasn’t found the crutches yet. 😉

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Daily Dose of Kids – Lisa Frank

Some of you may remember the infamous day last month when I celebrated E’s birthday with not one, but two trips to the store for replacement Lisa Frank backpack and lunchbox. (for those who missed it, the dog ate them). Well now you lucky folks get the update on this situation…

Exactly one week after the purchase of those replacement items, E came home with a completely busted zipper on the backpack. Argh. I was done with this situation so I dragged her to Office Depot and forced her to choose a real backpack. She was not happy about this. These backpacks were just plain old backpacks, sure to last more than a week, and there was no bright color beautiful (aka horrendous) backpack in sight. She pouted. She stomped. She whined. She refused to choose. She insisted I take her somewhere else for something pretty. The Denise voice was used and we came home with a plain powder blue backpack that has now lasted quite nicely for just shy of one month. Success. (I also purchased a real backpack for his highness, J, because he’d been walking around with a rip in the brand new backpack his other parents bought him and the zipper broke on it as well. Some folks need a lesson in back to school shopping or they ought to leave it to the professionals… whatever).

Fast forward a few weeks and we see E climb into the car after school with a broken Lisa Frank lunchbox! I’m not kidding. The little plastic ring that you slip the velcro tab to close it came off. Seemed relatively functional to me so I wasn’t all that concerned with it. Two minutes later I see whiteness floating in the air when I glanced in the rearview mirror and I hear RJ shrieking at E to stop throwing that stuff at her. Sigh. The child decided it would be fun to tear the lunchbox completely apart and throw it at her sister. Again the Denise voice was used and I decided to share a little bit of health news with the child…

That stuff she was happily tearing apart and playing with and throwing all over the place might just contain high levels of lead. And E, did you know that lead is really dangerous? The fluff stops flying.

Lisa Frank’s lunchboxes might not be on the list of death boxes but then again, we didn’t test the darn thing. Regardless, no more Lisa Frank products will be purchased by any member of the Flamingo House family. We’re done with Lisa Frank and her beautiful colorful madness. Good riddance is all I can say about it.

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