Spa Day

Unfortunately not a real spa, but every once in a while Miss Serious likes to play Spa Day.  She writes an appointment for me in a little book, and allots time for various spa activities (massage, hair, makeup, etc.).  Well, she's done now, and I'm a little disheartened to realize that her ideal look for her mother is that of an aging prostitute.....

Dirt Is My Rosin

Well, it's been quite a week.  Last week, while putting away Christmas decorations, I fell off a chair.  Not like I was sitting on the chair and happened to fall off, no, I was standing on said chair and decided that I needed to find out what was in the back of the top shelf of my kids' closet.  Next thing I know I have fallen from midair and THUDDED onto the floor.  I cannot imagine what the noise sounded like from below, but as it was the middle of the day, hopefully my downstairs neighbor didn't have to hear it. 

It was one of those falls where it happens before you know it, and as I lay on the ground making sure everything moved the way it was supposed to, the only real thought that comes to mind is something along the lines of "Idiot.....".  I landed mostly on my left side, and apart from being a bit sore, no big deal.

Fast forward to today.  I made the mistake of vacuuming (see - putting things away, vacuuming - I knew they were dangerous, and thus why I try to avoid them at all costs...).  I was walking across my living room rug holding an empty coffee mug and took one step onto the hardwood floors.  Next thing you know, there was another fabulous THUD, and there I was on the floor again.  The mug was miraculously unbroken, and other than some bumps and bruises on my right side I seem to be ok.

Luckily, my bruises are now symmetrical, and I've sworn off cleaning until my skin has regained its former hues.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

It has been really cold here the last couple of days (I know this is relative, so some of you who live in scary cold places will think I'm a big pansy....).  The temperature was 20 when I left the house this morning, and sadly I was not dressed at all appropriately.  This is not because I was unaware of the temperature, but rather that I had a job interview and had on the dreaded pantyhose/suit combo.  I am a person who does not handle cold well, so wandering around New York in the freezing weather while wearing the equivalent of NOTHING on my legs is not my idea of a good time. However, I survived, and after a really hot cup of coffee, I have thawed.

I also snagged the mittens I knit for my mother for Christmas when she was here so I could get a picture.  I gave away all the Christmas presents I knitted this year without remembering to photograph a single one, so I was glad to get this picture.  They're from Mostly Mittens by Charlene Schurch; I've made a couple of other things from this book, and her patterns are really nice.  I used Knitpicks Palette for the solid color (I got a sampler of all the colors long ago, and am desperately trying to use some up - it isn't working, however.  I think the yarn might be multiplying in its container, because I swear there's more in there than when I got it....), and I think Louet fingering weight for the variegated.  My mom seems to like bright colors on her hands and feet, so this combination seemed to fit the bill.

Now for another cup of coffee...

Oooh, Sparkly....

My daughter, Miss Serious is 8 years old, and from about the time she could talk, she has loved anything that is sparkly.  The more eye-catching the better, and if she could, she would have something that sparkles on everything she owns, from bathing suits to shoes.  I'm hoping she can tone down her preferences a bit as she gets older, or she is going to be one fantabulous fifty-year-old.

So, when my mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I told her I wanted glitter, she commented that I sounded just like Miss Serious.  But, I very kindly received a sparkly package of all the colors of glitter I could stand on Christmas, and I finally got to try some out yesterday.

I must say, black glitter is really cool.  I originally put it on this card because I tried to just write the word "thanks."  Unfortunately, my handwriting leaves much to be desired, and I thought maybe if I made it sparkle it would look better (because, as my daughter often comments, "Everything looks better with glitter...").  After that, Miss Serious (of course) suggested that I make the tree sparkle, and we were off to the races!  I'm not sure if all the glitter will fall off onto the recipient's lap, (sort of negating the whole "thank you" thing), but who said opening cards was for the faint of heart?

Is Subbing our Favorite?

No, subbing is not our favorite.  Quite a few years ago I had a little boy in my class with autism.  He was a really interesting little guy who had a particular aversion to gym.  When I would walk the class down the hall for gym, he would keep his eyes closed, I believe on the premise that if he couldn't see us, we couldn't see him, and therefore wouldn't make him go to gym.  Also, on the walk down the hall, he would repeat over and over, "Is P.E. our favorite?   No, P.E. is not our favorite." I think of this phrase often when I'm confronted with a distasteful task...

I got back on that subbing horse today, and it was actually a pleasant day.  I was in first grade, the class was amazingly well-behaved, and there was a bonus assembly which took up a block of time in the morning.

Even though the day went well, I'm still not a fan.  And here are some reasons why:

1.  Sub pay is excruciatingly low
2.  You get phone calls at 5:00 AM to ask you to come work that day
3.  You never know if there will be plans left for you (my personal favorite is that empty desk when you walk in, and an entire day with 25 little kids that you need to figure out in 15 minutes or less)
4.  I think the main problem is that I'm just not a change-on-the fly kind of gal - I like going to bed knowing what I'll be doing the next day, and flexibility has never been one of my finer characteristics

Good things about subbing:

1.  If you don't want to/can't work, you just tell the computer not to contact you
2.  No lesson planning
3.  No parent conferences
4.  If the class is horrible, you only have one day with them, and don't have to go back

And, of course, the fact that nobody pays me at all when I stay home, so I could do worse than a class of cute little first graders....

2000 what???

I had to write my first couple of checks of the New Year this week, and it's always a struggle.  I'm amazed at how fast the years seem to flip these days.  (And, I'm disturbed to hear myself saying things like that.  Soon it will be "In my day....")  All in all, 2009 was a good year, with ups and downs like any other.

We got a new dog, I got (and finished) a leave replacement job, the kids successfully moved on to their new grades, The Professor hooked up our church with a soup kitchen and has done fabulous work arranging (and hauling) food deliveries, and I think everyone has generally been pretty happy. I even got some knitting done (although I didn't take pictures of all the Christmas knitting I did before I sent it on its way..duhhh). 

It's been an interesting year.  Sadly, this was the year I had planned to re-enter the full-time work force, just about the time that all the schools started laying off teachers, and people put off retirement because their 401K's tanked. As in many things, my timing was impeccable... I know I'm in a better boat than many, because we have been living off one income for many years (while I've been home with the kids), so nobody's losing their house or anything.  It's just that I had always assumed that when I was ready to go back to work, work would be ready for me.  Staying home with the kids was a huge transition for me, as I've worked since I hit high school.  I finally got into the groove with that, but, as kids do, they kept growing and ended up in school!  Ahh, outsourcing. 

Now I find myself having to write essays entitled "Describe a challenge that you had to overcome in your academic or professional career" and taking tests with 22 year olds.  While age has given me (I hope!) wisdom, it's also made me more tired (and way more intolerant, but that's a whole other post...).  Now, off to write 500 words on that challenging experience - do you think they'll accept an essay about potty training?

The Never Ending Battle....

and I think I'm losing!  I had a commenter who asked about how we store the kids' toys in a small space.  We live in a 2-bedroom apartment (I think it's under 1000 sq. ft.), and it's a constant struggle to keep the amount of stuff down to an acceptable level.  Now, my acceptable level may be higher than yours, but I do what I can.

I think the biggest battle with living in a small space is keeping things from coming in.  I'm pretty good at going through old/outgrown toys and clothes and sending them on their way.  What is really hard is the constant stream of things that come in (the holidays are especially painful, although as the kids get older, their toys are getting smaller).

My kids share a room, and it's a decent sized space.  They have bunkbeds, and their room has quite a large closet in it (which is used by all of us, because the two closets in our bedroom are split up so you can't hang anything long in them - the previous owner was a man, and I think forgot that half the world might want to hang a dress....).

A couple years back, I got this for the kids room from IKEA.  I really like IKEA - I'm Swedish, so I'm amused by all the silly names on the furniture, and for something the kids are going to be banging on every day, the furniture is cheap enough that it won't break my heart if it doesn't last forever.  This unit is big (almost 5' X 5'), and I got the square drawers for the bottom squares - they each have a row, and they are supposed to use the cubes to organize (i.e. Barbies, cars, dinosaurs, etc.).  The top 2 rows have some tubs of things like Legos, and stacks of games.  It's worked out pretty well, although getting it up the stairs was a trick - the boxes were REALLY heavy, as The Professor can attest.  It also bolts to the wall, so I don't have to worry about anyone toppling it over on themselves.  It has a flat top, so all the pottery creations the kids keep bringing home (and can't bear to part with) have a place to live other than on my kitchen counter.

Dealing with "stuff" is definitely an uphill battle, but I've found some pretty good motivation - catch "Hoarders" on A&E - I've been watching it on the computer (being a cheapie, I don't have this channel on the actual television) and it always gets me going to clean out a nook or two!