My Mom, Barbie and Me

6 Comments / Daily Dose, Family Funk, Memories /

When I was a kid, I liked Barbie. I liked her a lot and I wanted the Dream House and the corvette and the airplane (I really had a thing for Barbie as stewardess, don’t ask me why.) I didn’t get the Dream House or the corvette or the airplane. My mom was soooo mean.

Except she wasn’t mean at all.

She made me tons of Barbie clothes — knitted or crocheted or on the sewing machine. And, while I didn’t have the Dream House, I did have a Barbie house/carrying case combo that I loved. It was the most awesome thing EVER, even though I still kind of coveted other girls’ Dream Houses.

Which is why when I had kids, they had the corvette. And the camper. And the plane. And some version of the Dream House.

They did not have homemade clothes because I was not that kind of mom. Obviously.

I think I had it better.

My house was portable, the Dream House is totally not portable.

I had just enough Barbie paraphernalia that it was fun to play with and easy to store inside of the special Barbie house/case combo. My girls had so much that the Barbie stuff was everywhere and it was hard to find the pieces you wanted, when you wanted them.

My mom was right. I was totally not right.

So when mom told me her granddaughter, Haley, wanted a Rapunzel Barbie for Christmas — I smiled.

When mom told me she was getting back into the Barbie clothes making “business” — I smiled. (And I laughed out loud when she kind of ranted about how many different patterns there are for Barbie clothes now. lol The internet is a glorious place that makes life very complicated for Barbie clothes-makers, and everyone else.)

When mom posted a photo of a Barbie with a handmade dress on her Facebook wall and said she had Barbie fever and needed shoes, and purses, and a stand and a case — I did more than smile and laugh. I went online and tracked down the Barbie house/case that I had (and loved) when I was a kid and sent it to her.

No Dream House for my mom, she deserves the best and the 1968 Mod Family House & Case is the best.

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The Shoemaker’s Wife

2012, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Favorites, Fiction /

If you’re an Adriana Trigiani fan, you won’t need any encouragement to read The Shoemaker’s Wife. It will be exactly what you expected and you won’t want to put it down. Probably.

I am a fan but I had a hard time getting into the book, at first – once the brothers settled into the convent, I settled in and I enjoyed every page. I think my problem was that I expected Catarina to be a lead character, I didn’t expect the boys (or just Ciro, really) to be the lead so the beginning threw me.

The ending came a little fast for me, too. I didn’t need to be “surprised” like Enza was. I knew it was coming and would have liked to see it happen, ya know? More of Laura would have been nice and it would have fit with the theme of best friends/replacement mothers.

Like she needs me to re-write her ending, right?

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

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Ducks Are For Carrying?

Animal Issues, Daily Dose, Family Funk, Holidays, Pets /

I forgot to check the front patio for packages yesterday so I wasn’t surprised to find a couple of package sized envelopes sitting on the patio this morning. However, I was surprised to see that one of those envelopes was for Skeeter, from Duncan.

You remember Duncan, right? She’s my mom’s dog? The one I dog-sat last year? The one who doesn’t bark? Right — that Duncan.

You might also remember that my mother left me a very, very long printed list of instructions for taking care of Duncan, Miss Priss, the fish, the plants, and the house. Most of the instructions were related to Duncan and one of the line items was something like…

“After you come home, she’ll grab her duck and carry it around the house for awhile.”

And it’s true. Duncan did that.

What’s also interesting is that Skeeter does this too. Or something very similar.

If we leave her at home, she will grab a stuffed toy of some sort and carry it around the house for awhile after we get home.

It’s cute. Even if Skeeter’s babies are a lot more dead than Duncan’s duck.

Anyway, back to the package for Skeeter.

I decided to hand her the envelope to see what she’d do with it.

Duh. How dumb was that? She started chewing it. And eating the paper.

So I took the big envelope away and found a Christmas gift bag inside (which caused me to kind of roll my eyes) so I handed the gift bag to Skeeter to see what she’d do. (Right, that’s me, still being dumb.)

She started eating the gift bag. She did not particularly care what was in the gift bag, she was happy to eat the little rope handle and the tape and the tag and just the whole bag really.

I decided I’d better put a stop to that paper eating thing, so I nudged the bag and the real present fell out.

A duck! Like Duncan’s!

Skeeter loved it. For the three minutes it too, her to rip a hole in it and strip the squeaker.

And pull out all of the stuffing and bury it in the yard (briefly) so Koto couldn’t play with it.

Seriously. Three minutes.

She still loves the Duncan duck but not as much as she loved it while she was destroying it.

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I’m Trying Not to Complain — But Failing

1 Comment / Daily Dose, Pet Peeves /

We might not have snow on the ground, or have had any real snow on the ground, but it’s still freaking cold. I’m trying not to complain because it could be worse but it’s still freaking cold.

And I hate it.

I really hate it.

I also hate it when I’m reading Facebook or Twitter or a blog and someone is complaining because it’s too warm and it doesn’t feel like December. That really, really annoys me and it makes it harder for me NOT to complain about how darn cold it is here. Even though, relatively speaking, it’s not that cold.

Which is what I try to hang onto when I’m freezing my ass off. It’s not that cold. It could be worse. It has been worse. It will be worse.

I’m sitting here shivering at my desk, people, and I’m trying not to complain but… It’s cold.

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The Elementals

1 Comment / 2012, Books in Bed, Don't Read This, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

I was talking to some of my coworkers about books I might purchase for some of my kids for Christmas and during that discussion, Sassymonkey reminded me that Francesca Lia Block (who Michelle loves) has written an adult novel. Before I had the chance to figure out whether I should buy it or reserve it at the library to read, first – I found it sitting on the library bookshelf. That answered that question. And boy am I glad it was on the shelf.

The Elementals is not a long book so it should have taken me a day to read. Two max. It took a week. I couldn’t get into it. As TW said after she read it – nothing happened.

There’s not much action. There’s not much dialogue. There’s a good bit of sex. It’s also very much a Francesca Lia Block novel. Magic, fairies etc. Except, there’s not.  The fae weren’t real fae and the magic was (mostly?) not real magic. Which is maybe what makes this different from her YA novels and what makes this an adult novel? Allusions shouldn’t need to be explained to YA readers, much less adults. Block should stop doing that, it just adds to the word count and  annoys readers.

Blah.

I just didn’t like this book and I spent the enter time reading it trying to figure out why this is listed as an adult novel. (Hoping the 20 somethings/30 somethings who love Weetzie Bat will take a chance on her new book just because it’s not listed as YA?)

I’m glad I didn’t buy it. I wish that wasn’t the case, but it is.

I’ll leave it here on the library cart in case Michelle wants to give it a try while she’s home for Christmas but she’d probably be happier reading one of the old Francesca Lia Block YA novels. Weetzie Bat FTW – Ariel/Jenni/John/Perry/Tania (the Elementals), not so much.

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

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Too Fond of Vaginas?

3 Comments / Daily Dose, Day to Day /

Yesterday, KarenLynnn and I started a new Words with Friends game. It started out like most games do. A crummy word played first, a not great word played second and then everything went to hell — for me, at least. And it was my own damn fault for being so fond of vaginas.

After I played my first word, I found myself looking at all of the letters I’d need to spell “Vagina” and I was sure I’d be able to play the word on my next turn.

But I couldn’t. So I did something dumb, in the scheme of the game, I played one letter for something like 9 points. I laughed at myself and shrugged. My new tile was… an “S”. Hot damn! Surely on my next turn I’ll be able to use all of my tiles and play “Vaginas”!! How awesome is that?

Except I couldn’t. So I did something else really stupid, in the scheme of the game — something I NEVER DO. I passed.

Yep. I passed.

Next round, I still could not play the word I wanted! Damn that Karenlynnn! It’s like she knew what my tiles were and was intentionally blocking me from having my fun.

So. I played an “S”. Yep. I did that.

All the while, KarenLynnn is stacking up the points and I’m floundering around with like 30 points after five rounds.

Next round, I still could not play “Vagina” or “Vaginas” or “Vaginal”.

I might have let out a little sob. Maybe.

I said goodbye to my dreams of playing “Vagina” and tossed out a few letters.

Next round… there was the perfect place to play “Vaginas” and I no longer had the proper letters. I might have let out another little sob.

Someday I’ll get to play “Vagina” in a Words with Friends game.

Someday. Someday. Someday.

Vagina. Vagina. Vagina.

Too Fond of Vaginas? Read More »

She’s Great at School… But at Home, Not So Much

Animal Issues, Family Funk /

The puppy is just like a kid.

Charming and well-behaved at school and a holy terror at home.

I’m a pretty laid-back parent and have a high tolerance for rolling eyes, door slamming and backtalk from kids at home when they’re well-behaved outside of the home. I’ve always been of the mind that kids should feel that it’s ok, even encouraged, to lose their shit at home with the people who will love them even when they’re asshats. Everyone needs to blow off steam and meltdown. Everyone needs a safe place and safe people to test limits and boundaries with.

So yea, I’m laid back.

And maybe that attitude doesn’t really work with puppies?

The puppy goes to her training class and she does what she’s supposed to do, 90% of the time. Even when it’s a relatively new skill or command she grasps the idea quickly — do this, get treat, do this some more, get some more treats. Do this and get a treat at some point, keep doing this and yes the treats will come. Good dog! Yes!

At home, it all goes out the window.

YES! doesn’t necessarily get her attention anymore. Or it will get her attention but she’ll just stretch and yawn and then stand there and look at you. She probably will sit, if she’s sure you have a treat but she takes her sweet ass time about it. She will slowwwwwly jump down off of the bed, when she’s told to (and I do mean slowly, in case you change your mind or forget about her there) but when you’ve rolled over or gotten busy with work, she’ll be right back up there — testing you to see if you’ll make her get down again or let her stay.

I admit it. We’re letting her stay, sometimes.

That whole choosing your battles thing that works with kids, maybe isn’t the best idea for puppies? Oops.

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Things Change

3 Comments / Melissa Ferrick, Sights & Sounds /

We’re going to see Melissa Ferrick tonight, in Evanston. Yay for Melissa in Evanston!

Last night she was in Indianapolis and she’ll be heading to Ann Arbor next.

We’re only seeing her tonight in Evanston.

*sniff*

Back in the day, we thought nothing of driving all over the south — following Melissa from venue to venue. We’d get home at 2am on a work night after a show in Jacksonville and head out the next evening and do it again in Orlando or Tampa.

There were some weeks when we’d see her five times, in five different cities and sometimes in multiple states.

We’ve driven to Nashville (from both Florida and Chicagoland) to see her. We’ve driven to Atlanta, from Florida, several times for a show (and then considered following her to Nashville or Chapel Hill coming to our senses just in time to take the drive south instead of north/east.)

I don’t know how many times we’ve seen her in Hollywood, Florida. And then there were shows in Charleston and Tallahassee and Saint Augustine. Not to mention a couple in Gainesville. We’ve seen her in Madison and Milwaukee, too.

(I almost feel like I’m singing “Welcome to My Life” with this list of cities…)

A couple of years ago, we flew to Florida to see the big kids — or so we said. What we really did was fly to Florida to see the big kids AND see Melissa. Twice.

It’s very tempting to walk back to the bedroom and tell TW to get ready for a road trip and follow Melissa to Michigan… very tempting.

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ATT Uverse: The Ghost in the Machine?

2 Comments / Daily Dose /

My internet went out today, right in the middle of pulling a report — and in the middle of TW’s conference call where she would be asked to look at things online and provide feedback. Bad, bad timing.

I did all of the things you’re supposed to do. Unplug, reset, reboot. No luck, so I called ATT and got the nice automated computer voice who asks you questions and does some “tests”. Then he tells you that you should reboot your computer and if there’s still a problem to call back. I find this nice automated computer voice person to be completely unhelpful and annoying.

But, I did what I was told – rebooted and called back. The nice automated computer voice person says “I see I was helping you troubleshoot a problem earlier, are you still having trouble?” My answer of “Why yes, yes I am.” seemed to confuse him and he had to clarify that my answer was “Yes.” and then told me an agent would be with me in eight minutes.

25 minutes later, a nice real human came on the line and asked me all the questions she should ask me and then “ran some tests” and then looked for any “outages in your area”. She said there were no outages in my area and decided that she would try to reboot my modem from there. She tried, it didn’t work. She could not control my modem and then asked an odd question, “You’re connecting to 2WireXXX” is that correct?” Huh. No, that’s not correct. My modem connection is 2Wire 824 not 2Wire XXX. She seemed confused by this, too.

I suggested that maybe when the uverse guy came out before, and brought us a new modem, that somehow they still had the old modem number on file? Or umm something. She said maybe, and then tried to find 2Wire824 and make that modem reboot. She was not successful and started to tell me she would send a technician out to bring me a new modem.

I told her I actually have another modem that the technician left me the last time he was here — just in case. At first, she refused to attempt to assist me with this new modem because of the type of “plan” that I have. I argued and said, “If it’s just a modem, why do I need a technician? I just plug in the power cord and the internet cable and you tell my system to look for the new SSID etc.” She relented.

I hooked up the new modem, the same lights came on that were on the old one. She tried to speak to this new modem … and failed.

At which point, she set me up with a technician who is coming tomorrow between 1pm-5pm. Happy day off to me, right? Gah.

So, I turned on my iPhone’s HotSpot and TW and I fought over that connection for several hours. It was slow but it worked (mostly) and it was fine.

Late in the afternoon, Jenn called. While I was chatting with her, I decided to reboot my iPhone after we got off the phone because everything was getting really slow. I turned it off, walked away to nuke some coffee, came back to my desk and started working.

Notice what I said there… I started working. Without turning my iPhone back on.

My uverse was back on! But here’s the really weird thing, I am connected to 2Wire824, my original connection — but the modem that is plugged in is 2Wire261! I didn’t change the Wireless Network Key, either.

How the hell does that work? I’m connected to the internet via a modem that is not plugged in at all?

MomofAli said @melisalw’s dad heard from ATT that there was a system-wide outage earlier today. Huh. I wonder why the tech I talked to didn’t know that? I also wonder whether I should cancel my technician visit tomorrow or keep the appointment so that he can explain why I’m connected to the internet via a modem that isn’t even plugged in.

There’s a ghost in my machine, isn’t there?

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The Cutting Season

2012, Books in Bed, Favorites, Women /

Nordette mentioned The Cutting Season and I’ll admit that I didn’t really pay a lot of attention to what she actually said about it – maybe that she saw the author speak at a signing? Or she heard an interview? I’m not sure, I was busy and tired – all I know is that there are some folks whose book mentions/recommendations I pay attention to. Nordette is one of those folks.

So, I reserved it right away and when it came, the author looked really familiar. I thought I must have read her first book – but nope, I didn’t. I still don’t know why she looks familiar but I’m going back to grab her first book because I enjoyed The Cutting Season so much.

I read some of the reviews for The Cutting Season and some folks were hard on the author and on the main character. I don’t get it. Maybe they aren’t from the south? It all made perfect sense to me. I will admit to being frustrated by Caren at the end – whether she wanted it or not, it was hers. Her great-great-great grandfather wanted it. Worked for it. Died for it. Gah. I know, it’s complicated.

Do you know who I didn’t like? I didn’t like Morgan. Odd character for me to have strong, negative feelings about, isn’t it? But there you go. A child character that just didn’t work for me.

Whatever – the book was good. I’m glad I read it. I’m thankful that Nordette mentioned it. I’m looking forward to Dark Water Rising.

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

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