I've decided to quit. No more blogs. I haven't had the heart to update regularly in a very long time. Maybe one
day, I will come back to it, but for now I'm done.
Fairwell, adios, so long. Thanks for reading everyone, I appreciate your feedback.
I'm going to tell you a secret. Irene Hall is my grandmother's sister. So, that makes her my Great Aunt. But
I always wished she had been my grandmother. She was so much more easy going than Grandma and I always loved visiting her.
It's crazy because I can still hear her easy laughter and the sound of her voice (it was always deep and scratchy).
Obviously, my Aunt Irene just passed away. She died last night in ICU. Luckily, she lived a long and happy life and was
surrounded by family when she slipped away.
I've lost a lot of family in my short years on this earth. None have been truly easy. My grandpa (Marvin), dad (Earl),
niece (Tori), grandma (Sarah), uncle (Victor), and now great aunt (Irene).
I have always believed in an afterlife, but I haven't a clue how it works or even if it truly exists...but I hope it
does. And I hope they are all happy somewhere knowing that they have a family that loves and misses them dearly.
Cirel may not remember her when she gets older, but at least they did get to meet each other.
It's finally happened you guys. He left me. Just like that, he walked out the door never to return....
well, until Friday, that is. Danny is in Sunny California for a convention because he has the type of job that does that
kind of thing. I am at home realizing how much better it is to have a 2 parent home and appreciating the hell my mom must
have gone through being a single mother. Not that Cirel has been trying (in fact, she's been an angel), but there's absolutely
no down time until she's asleep. And her chatter can wear a person out easily.
It's so sad to see her wandering around the house without a clue as to what to do just because Daddy isn't here to distract
her. I hadn't realized she truly spends most of every night in his presence. Following him from room to room...Danny and his
Shadow.
Anyway, new topic. I work with a bunch of ag oriented folks. (plant people and all). So, there's always free veggies
and fruits around harvest time. I was given 12 jars of plums, a grocery bag of fresh plums, and 20lbs of apples. Today, I
made applesauce. I have a lot of applesauce. Good thing I have a lot of apple recipes! I already have plans to create some
kick ass oat bran muffins. yum.
Well, have fun in Cali, baby. We miss the hell outta you. Everyone else...be nice.
I've been scouring Youtube for videos of cartoons I used to watch fervently as a child. There are the obviously
like Scooby-Doo and the Smurf's, but I recently came across one I haven't thought about or seen for years.
The Jena 6 stuff is making me sick to my stomach. How about a little perspective and some focus people? Is it
that hard? We have 2 seperate issues going on here. The first is the complicated timeline starting with the "white tree" and
the "black bleachers". The second issue is the assault and battery. Please do convict the boys who beat up a fellow student
of assault and battery. That is a necessary thing. You can't solve your problems by beating people up no matter how bad you
think they deserve it. And yes, charging the boys with Attempted Murder is extremely excessive. I'm also game if you want
to call it a hate crime, but only if you go back and charge the rest of the hate crimes that took place in that area.
Now the other issue. The racial issue. Really boys and girls?? Nooses? And the grown folks who think the only way to
deal with said nooses is to call it a fucking prank? We cannot allow our children to drudge up the past in such ugly ways.
Folks keep whining about how the past is past and I never own any slaves so stop looking at me. Well, how about telling those
kids that they should leave shit like nooses firmly in the past where they belong? And White Trees and Black Bleachers....
What about those black freshman who merely wanted to sit under the tree only to be met with nooses the very next day?
Seems like a clear message.
And last but not least...The FUCKING PARENTS. Where the hell are they? All of them...black and white. White parents,
how about some punishment of your little hooligans? Black parents, where the hell were you when your children were taking
their case to the school board? Where were you for Jury Duty? Where was the the outrage that should have had you making a
federal case out of the tree incident the minute you saw the school board was going to gloss it over? I'm so disappointed
in everyone. The actions and reactions are deplorable.
I will grant that I don't have the full story of everything because I don't live there, but I've seen enough. I've read
enough to know that so many people dropped the ball on this and it could have been nipped in the bud with strong, firm intervention
at the first sign of tension.
So suck it up adults of Jena, La. You deserve Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton camping out on your lawns. Next time fucking
take care of business.
I took the day off and decided to spread my germs at the Kindergarten. :) Don't worry, I used lots of Dayquil
and hand sanitizer. Plus, I didn't interact with the children much. I was invited into the classroom by the teacher and who
could resist her shining face (I know I couldn't).
I am amazed at what those kids can learn in 2 1/2 hours. Mrs. B is a real pro because she turned everything into a learning
moment. I had my doubts about the short time they spend in school, but I can see now that the time is used wisely.
I'm a PTA mom now. I went to my first meeting yesterday. It was surreal. Soccer moms and the Principal's speech.
I've already signed on to volunteer for 6 different things. Fingers crossed I don't fall flat on my face. I feel like such
an outsider when it comes to this stuff. I swear everyone I meet seems so much more polished than I feel. It's like everyone
has so much more experience at parenting and they seem to lack my social awkwardness. I can't believe it, years away from
adolescence and I still carry my inferiority complex everywhere I go. Ack.
Anyway, on to more interesting stuff. How about some new obsessions? Harry Potter will always be a top favorite for me,
but now I can't get enough of the newest Doctor on Dr. Who and Heroes is an excellent program. In fact, I'm in the middle
of watching an episode right now, but The Big D insisted I update my blog.
So there, I've updated. Now don't you feel sad that you wasted a good 3 minutes of your life reading this? :)
Okay, technically it's her second day, but who cares about the tiny details? We managed to keep her alive for her first
day of Kindergarten! For some reason it feels like a benchmark in parenting for me. Of course it's a huge milestone for her
since we all know that once it starts it's not over for at least 13 years.
I'm so scared for her. She's desperate for children to like her (what child isn't) and I still remember the pain I felt
every time I didn't make a friend. I fear the interaction with the older children who may want to tease her for whatever
reason. I am taken aback by the concept that I can't just drop in any time I want (I could at Pre-school).
And that's the crux of the matter isn't it? It's not the same as Pre-school, not by a long shot. I was still calling
the shots on that. I spent whole days with her in that classroom. But this is Kindergarten and I have to put a lot of trust
into these teachers that I can't just come into their classrooms and ask what's going on. This marks the first time I truly
turn her over to someone else.
I'm so proud of my girl, though. She has a fierce love of learning already. I just hope that isn't dampered by interaction
with the many other children I have no control over.
Cheers to my baby. May her disappointments make her stronger and her achievements always make her proud.
I love finding good eats and I think it's time I shared some more recipes.
A good friend sent me this recipe. It's quick, easy and simply delicious:
Robyn’s Peanut Noodles
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
½ cup soy sauce
5 tablespoons minced ginger
5 tablespoons minced garlic
½ cup honey
1-3 tablespoons chili paste
(to taste)
16 oz Chinese noodles
Combine first 6 ingredients
in saucepan. Heat on low, stirring occasionally but do not boil. Cook the noodles separately. When noodles are done, add the
heated sauce. Enjoy.
Feel free to add your favorite
veggies, chicken, or pork.
This recipe came from a co-worker. It takes
an overnight marinade, but it's so worth it:
Marinated Corn
1/3 cup oil
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
Pepper (to taste)
1 teaspoon sweet relish (or
more)
2-3 cans corn
1 Red onion, sliced into
rings (I use minced shallots)
Combine
all ingredients. Must be marinated 3-4 hours or overnight!!
The following recipes
all come from the All-Mighty Internetz. I love them ever so much. Credit goes to Danny for finding them:
Maple Salmon
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound salmon
DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, mix the maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, garlic salt, and pepper.
Place salmon in a shallow glass baking dish, and coat with the maple syrup mixture. Cover the
dish, and marinate salmon in the refrigerator 30 minutes, turning once.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Place the baking dish in the preheated oven, and bake salmon uncovered 20 minutes, or until easily
flaked with a fork.
Apple Butter Pork Loin
2 (1 1/2 pound) boneless pork loin
seasoning salt to taste
2 cups apple juice
1/2 cup apple butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Season the pork with seasoning salt, and place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish or small roasting
pan. Pour apple juice over the pork, and cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil.
Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. While the pork is roasting, mix together the apple butter,
brown sugar, water, cinnamon and cloves. After the hour, remove pork loins from the oven, and spread the apple butter mixture
over them.
Cover, and return to the oven for 2 hours, or until fork tender.
So, I have finally gone to all my appointments. And my heart is in great shape.
The worst of my problems is Hypertension. As I told my doctor, I am now a statistic (go me!). How many black woman suffer
from Hypertension? Well...one more. hah.
Now I have to go to a doctor's appointment with a cardiologist (which I don't mind) in Spokane (which I do mind). It
takes over an hour to go to Spokane. And I know how doctors work...it'll be an "initial" visit. Then I will have to come back
for whatever reason. Heck, I went to see the OB/GYN yesterday for my post-op appointment from being sterilized. I figured
we would be doing the dye study to see how the implants are taking. Oh, no. After 30 mins, he comes into the room and asks
me how I am feeling. Then he tells me we need to schedule the dye study for 10 weeks from now. That's it. I didn't even get
a fucking lollipop. They didn't even take my blood pressure. He just said "How are you feeling?". Couldn't I have easily told
him that on the phone?!
Well at least I got a snazzy new pill box organizer! It looks just like this one, only I don't have that kickass cool
leather cover. Mine just rests in a tray. Oh well, you can't have everything in life:
Pill poppin' Momma! Woot.
In other news. My baby has a wiggly tooth and she's very sure the Tooth Fairy exists. It's weird because she knows that
Santa is just a guy in a suit. She knows that cartoon characters are not real. There have only been 2 things she has insisted
that are real: The Tooth Fairy and Paddy the Leprechan. It's absolutely hilarious. She's got a great imagination, but a firm
grip on reality (for a 5 year old). I guess she just can't resist the allure of teeny-tiny beings.
So I suppose even though we don't give her presents from "Santa", I could at least leave her a bit of coin when
her tooth falls out.
And she will also be an official Kindergartener in exactly 2 weeks. I will be down to working 2 hours a day and probably
8 more on the computer at home. (LOVE my job)
She's excited. I'm excited. But what the hell is up with only 2.5 hours a day of Kindergarten? Who's suck ass idea was
that? How are they supposed to learn anything in that short amount of time?
I thought for sure this week, I would be able to get back to scrapping and registering at Ancestry.com to do some Genealogy.
Unfortunately, remember me telling you in Ode to a Cervix that the docs harped about my high blood pressure and the results of my cholesterol test was suck ass?
Well, I went to my doctor on Tuesday and my blood pressure was 155/90. She went over my test results, prescribed
Cholesterol meds for me, told me to start taking baby aspirin, stop my birth control pills, and come back in 2 weeks to check
my pressure again. ("We gotta get that under control," she said.)
So the next morning, I woke up at 5:15am feeling about as sick as can be. I was super hungry...the kind that
makes you feel like your stomach has been empty for days. I got a banana and sat down. As soon as I sat down, I started feeling
dizzy and nauseous. I had no idea what was wrong, the room was spinning, my stomach was nauseous and painfully empty at the
same time. I thought for sure my blood pressure was fucking with me.
So we went to the hospital. The ER doc immediately told me it was Vertigo and was ready to let me go. He said
that I was too young to suspect anything else. Apparently, if I were 70, he would have checked me for stroke. *yikes*
Of course, he's a good doc so he ran some other tests: blood work, chest x-ray, and EKG. When he came in with
the EKG, he looked very different. He asked me if I had ever had one before (which I had), then he asked if those folks had
told me it was abnormal (which they didn't. But that was a decade ago...)
So, now I was told they would have to set me up with an IV, put on the hospital gown, and he was admitting
me after he called my doc. Which of course, my doc was all for it. So I became a heart patient at that moment. I had the whole
set-up. IV (no fluids though), air tube in my nose, and the electrodes all over my body accompanied by the annoying beeping
machine. Thankfully, in my room they replaced it with the remote machine so I didn't have to listen to it.
I spent most of the day there and my doc was going to keep me overnight. He wanted me to take a stress test
in the morning (run on the treadmill thingy). Luckily, after seeing my second set of tests (blood test and EKG) he said I
could decide to stay or go home, but come back in the morning for the tests.
I elected to come back in the morning. As much as I can joke about going to the hospital for a little "vacation",
the reality is, I quite like being with my family. Even if it pains me to admit it. ;)
So cross your fingers for me or give a shout out to your god. Hopefully, this stress test won't reveal anything
worse for me and I won't have to go to Spokane for "further testing".
Which will make a better scrapbook page? Of course, if I go with Sage Advice, I can go with a herbal theme and
Pearls of Wisdom...well, duh.
I suppose both ideas sound pretty corny though. Luckily, the advice isn't. And it's all stuff I came up with considering
all the messing up I've done over the years. ;)
I shall share my Sage Pearls of Wisdom(TM) with you good folks. Feel free to add some more in comments. Maybe I will
put it on my corny scrapbook page.
Never let a friend borrow anything unless you can consider it a gift.
If you must do a job you hate--complain less, or you won't get through the day.
Try your hardest to be happy.
Look deep into your soul and ask if this is really what you want.
Take time to be pissed off. Take time to be sad. Then make the decision to be happy.
Don't stay in a relationship because you think you can change something about someone.
Always make sure you can take care of yourself before you try to take care of someone else. This includes: animals, friends,
lovers, and family.
There you have it. Nothing earth-shattering, but still good things to think about from time to time. I wish I had them
in mind for so many of my mess ups.
I didn't realize they would dilate the sucker! Duh! Oh well, I was totally anestitized so it's all good. ;) We
were cracking jokes and having a good time knowing that no more kidlets would pop out of me (woo hoo!). The last thing I remember
is the Anesthesiologist telling me, "this will dry out your mouth a bit" and I told him I didn't sign up for that kind of
hell and he would have to cancel the whole thing. He laughed, I laughed, then I woke up in recovery. It was so split-second
I didn't know what was going on.
Dude! This is one of the implants. I have no idea what all that spiky stuff is near it.
In case you are wondering, no, I don't hurt. I am slightly crampy, but I've had papercuts more annoying. So far, so good.
I think the worst part about the whole thing is the freaking dry mouth. It's been 2 days and I am still suffering from my
sinuses drying out! Oh, and I think I slept away all of Friday. I don't do well under whatever it is he used.
And, my freaking blood pressure is high...and I just got back my cholesterol results and they are through the roof!
So, I am happy and annoyed all at the same time. I suppose it's time for those cholesterol drugs. But at least my treadmill
is frickin' awesome.
But it's not gonna happen! Tomorrow is very anticipated day for me.
It's time to get fixed! That's right, no more kids. No more babies. No more of all that stuff that comes with having
a little person under the age of 5. Can you tell I'm looking forward to it?
There's a great procedure that doesn't involve actually cutting me open. It's called Essure. If you care, you can read up on it, I won't go into detail.
Now all I have to do is save up for that European Tour we shall take in about 13 years. ;)
I have been reading the Harry Potter series since 2002. I had just had a baby and was staying home and needed
something to read. I had heard the buzz about the books and thought, why not?
I picked up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and fell in love. It's an incredible book with the kind of longevity
I haven't found in a long time. I have been able to re-read this series over and over again.
I read the first 4 books rather quickly and then had a short wait for the 5th. As soon as I read that, I had to wait
2 years for the 6th and now after another 2 year wait, I am finally getting my hands on the final installment.
I've spent a long time "hanging" out with other Potter freaks on the internet and have met some crazy folks. It's been
a fun ride.
So, is there a point to this post? Nope. Just to spread some Potter Love! Have you read any Potter and how long have
you been reading it?
I love you! Thanks for being such a wonderful husband, father and friend.
And on a totally seperate note, the girls at Southern Sass have awarded me with the Rockin' Girl Blogger Award. How nice
of them...they must not be reading my blog. ;) No really, I am flattered. And now I have a shiny pink button to show off!
(Psst, it's on the right)
Sure it's not the midnight showing, but I do have a family to think of! But 12 noon is acceptable. I've had my tickets
since this weekend and can't wait to finally see the 5th movie. Of course, I am more jazzed for the book release a week later.
Joy, it'll finally be done and I can concentrate on something else. But I swear these books have ruined me for other stories.
I barely been able to get through any other book since Half-Blood Prince came out. *pathetic*
Although, I did read Jane Austen's Emma. So, I suppose I'm not a complete hopeless case. Reading has been my main
entertainment since, I figured out the alphabet. And I guess I read all the time seeing as how I am on the internet constantly.
