Tuesday, February 24, 2009

New and Notable

Couple things.

1. I noticed that I have a blog follower that I don't appear to know! Woot! She is apparently a belly dancer too. Hi Crazed Redhead! You can email me! I would love to know more about you! I'm not scary! Although I use too many exclamation points!

2. Speaking of being a Raqstar! I made my first belly dance costume last weekend. It includes but is not limited to gold fringe and amber beads and tiny brass skeleton keys, because they struck my fancy. I wanted to wear it to work on Monday but the 8-year-old talked me out of it.

Is that over-sharing? Most of you who know me should recall that I tend to introduce myself to groups by saying "It's easiest for me to describe myself using this interperetive dance. If you could just clear the way here, I'll get started." And, for those of you who DON'T know me, that was a direct quote from the first staff meeting I attended at the architecture firm where I worked from 1999 - 2001. Yes. Not. Kidding.

Anywhoodle, I think I'm all amped up on the fact that Crazed Redhead likes my blog, and I don't even know her! Hooray for the tiny world, hooray for the interwebs!

Oh! The Amazing Nana Clara!

I can't get enough of these videos!

Things You'd Prefer Not to Hear When You Color Your Hair


"Oh. Um. That's unfortunate."

"But I liked your gray hairs."

"Wow, that's...different."

I guess I won't go with the Rosewood color next time... But for the record, I didn't like my gray hairs. And I like this color! At any rate, it's better than the cherry Kool-Aid I used in 10th grade. Trust me on that one. Also, this will wash out in 6 weeks or less, another advantage over the Kool-Aid.

What can I say? I was bored, and in the haircolor aisle.

Still, it's nice to have friends who aren't afraid to be honest.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Frankie Says Relax

I'm sort of taking the week off this week, and any work I do will be done from home. I had planned to not work at all, but apparently Fezzik's school district doesn't care that their mid-winter break interferes with major deadlines and activities at work.

Things to do this week (not necessarily in this order):
  1. Plant peas and spinach
  2. Re-grout the tile in the kitchen, then seal it
  3. Make a major dump run
  4. Put a bunch of random stuff we don't need on Craigslist and/or Freecycle
  5. Clean the house, spit-spot, in a manner we haven't done in a long time (cobwebs and dust bunnies, consider yourselves warned!)
  6. Put up the trim around the cabinets in the kitchen
  7. Touch up the paint in the kitchen and on the front door
  8. Clean out the chicken coop and replace their straw in the laying boxes
  9. Hit the library, hard
  10. Have my work friends over for a fancy tea (see above, "cleaning")
  11. Knit a freaking pair of socks already!
  12. Go to a really cool whirling dervish/Sufi lecture at Seattle University
  13. Maybe, if we're lucky, go to the Home Show
  14. Take the kids to the park every day
  15. Kick myself, at the end, for not getting everything done
What am I doing wasting time with blogging? I have things to do, people to see, places to go! I'll report back after a successful vacation. Have a good week!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Inside the Crafters Studio

James Lipton/Inside the Actors' Studio cracks me up. I do like the idea of a formatted interview. Bloggy friends, please feel free to post and answer these questions on your own blogs.

And now, a word from your host:

  1. What is your favorite word? Epiphany. I like how it looks, I like how it's spelled, and I love the definition.
  2. What is your least favorite word? Turd. My mom banned this word from our vocabularies when I was a kid, and I've got to say, that had an impact. I despise this word.
  3. What turns you on creatively? Beauty. Simplicity. The thought of making something for someone I know will appreciate my efforts.
  4. What turns you off creatively? Complications that arise in the middle of a project.
  5. What sound or noise do you love? The quiet of the woods on a camping trip, and my kids' belly laughter.
  6. What sound or noise do you hate? People speaking unkind words about other people. And repetitive small noises, especially in the car.
  7. Who is your favorite hero or heroine in fiction? Hmmm. Maybe Taylor Greer from The Bean Trees.
  8. What craft other than your own would you like to attempt? Pottery. Hands down.
  9. What craft would you not like to do? I don't like fiddly things like scrapbooking and card-making. They're too precious for me. I appreciate folks who have the patience and desire to do them, they are just not for me.
  10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? "You were wrong about the whole God thing, but we'll take you anyway. Your mom is right this way."

Monday, February 09, 2009

We Pillaged the Beaches











The clams weren't showing very well yesterday, but we were able to nab about 6 of them. Lucky for us, we have friends who live near the beach, who love to clam dig, but already have a freezerful. They felt sorry for us and gave us their catch, so we didn't drive 6 hours yesterday for only 6 clams.

We left Ocean Shores at about 5:30, and got home at 8:30. Lawnboy put the boys straight to bed, while my dad and I started cleaning the clams. It only took an hour, and we now have enough clams in our freezer for 6 meals - 30 in total.

I think we'll do it again soon.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

We're off to Forage for Food


Today there's a clam tide, which means we're hitting the road and heading west to the ocean beaches with our (new) rubber boots and our (borrowed) clam guns. Clamming combines my love of road trips, beaches, free stuff, food, and family time. How could we go wrong? I'm trying not to think of the sand worms. Sand worms you say? I don't think sand worms exist.

I was planning to use my old rubber boots, but they appear to have been filled with dirt since the last time I used them. That's what I get for leaving them in the garden/construction/Tonka Truck zone. The dirt has since turned into a concrete-like substance, so I'll have to run to Big 5 this morning to buy some new ones.

Have you ever eaten razor clams? They're delicious.

I've been clamming about a zillion times, but the last time we went, my mom was alive, so it's been at least 5 years. It will be a long day, but there's "free" food at the end, and I'm bringing our pirate ship kite. I'm hoping Fezzik will thoroughly enjoy sticking his hands into a wet, mucky, sandy hole to search blindly for an ugly clam, even though he doesn't enjoy eating them.

When my parents lived in England, we brought Fezzik over to visit in September of 2001, and we brought some frozen clams in a small cooler in our luggage as a hostess gift for my mom. Did you know that a Seattle to Manchester flight is long enough to melt frozen razor clams? Long enough for the razor clam juice to drip over the entire contents of your suitcase? We found that out the hard way. Their whole house stunk like razor clams while we were there, and we never did get the stench out of our suitcase.

Well, I'll report back soon with pictures and recipes!

Sunday, February 01, 2009

My Response to: Is Circumcision Wrong? | Momversation

Steel yourselves, you mothers of men. Then, please watch this video, and then, I'll tell you about it.

Is Circumcision Wrong? | Momversation

Posted using ShareThis

Ok. So. Let me just start by saying BLECH.

Thanks.

Now that that's out of the way, I'd like to over share with you, in my usual manner. Both Fezzik and Tiny Viking are circumcised. We are not (in any way) religious. We chose to circumcise our children at birth. In the doc's office. Without ceremony.

And.

I regret the decision.

If I could do it all again, I'd just, well, not do it that way. I would have said "So what?" to the folks who weighed in on the He Must Look Like His Father side. Do they need to have their dad's nose, his hair color (or lack of hair), his shape, to claim the vast inheritance when we die? No, they, do, not.

I wasn't secure enough in this conviction, with either one, to go with my gut. I even think, knowing what I know now, that given the chance, I'd change it even just for my baby, let him keep his skin, even after we'd screwed up his bro.

But I can't. I can't do any of it again.

Do you want to know the worst part, for me? Come on, I know you do.

The worst part is that this decision, the one I'd change, given a second (or third) chance, is quite likely not the worst regret I'll have, parentally-speaking.

Yep, I said it! I'm going to make bigger mistakes (I probably already have), doing more damage, having more impact, than removing my sons' foreskin.

And you know what? It's ok.

The one thing that makes me angry (not just the mildly annoyed that I am throughout most of it), is that no one mentions the word regret in this video. I think it's disgusting that Daphne hurled the word "mutilation" without thinking that she could hurt some really well-intentioned people. I hate that she tries to make up for it later by saying "Well, yeah, but you *thought about it*." But even more, I am mad that they didn't bother to include anyone who had the (ahem) balls to say "Well, I did this, and it was horrible, and I wish I hadn't done it."

We all have regrets. We're allowed to. That's how we learn.

P.s. Daphne? You're a real piece of work. Best of luck to you, lady.