I went to make my son some sandwiches the other day for his lunch and I was greeted with a bowl full of bread bags, each containing 1 or 3 slices of bread. The 3 finalists are usually both ends of the loaf and one stray inner slice. So I got to wondering...your typical sandwich uses 2 slices of bread. Most people, unless they are getting fancy, do not normally stack any higher than 2 slices. So, why is it that all the bread manufacturers package their loaves with an odd number of slices? Is it really so difficult to ask the slicing machines to slice in even numbers? One would think that given all the technological wonders that our generation has access to, that someone out there could build a slicing machine that slices in even numbers. Unless you have teenage boys eating you out of house and home, that lonely, last slice is going to be stale, or better yet, moldy, by the time you go through another loaf to find its soulmate. I do happen to have a teenage boy, but I also have kids, who, like many others, aren't so crazy about the end slices of the loaf. It is much more difficult to eat AROUND the crust (if you're picky that way) when the slice IS the crust. Therefore, it does not occur, nor appeal to them, to make themselves a half sandwich to put that lonely piece of bread out of its misery. Not only am I trying to raise 3 children here, apparently I am also the warden running an orphanage for wayward bread slices. Just what I need, another unpaid, thankless job, yeehaw.
I guess I will need to take pity on the lonely slices that pine away in my kitchen and start enjoying a half sandwich from time to time. Perhaps a nice, half PB & J with a glass of milk will be my snack this afternoon. Bon Appétit!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Bless my heart, I think I've become a southern girl
I realized something this morning. I don't like being cold. I have lived in NC for just a trace over 3 years now and I have become very enchanted with the hotter weather here. I love when it's over 90 and I can run around in just a pair of shorts and a cami. I love that I seldom feel the need to wear socks anymore. The sun and heat feel wonderful to me. But, I have to ask myself...what happened to my Yankee blood??? I used to be stronger than this!
I have spent most of my life up north, living with snow and blustery temps, happy to bundle up and pile on the layers of hats, scarves, warm mittens, heavy coat, boots...18 inches of snow on the ground? No problem! I lived in houses with radiators that I could drape all the winter gear over to dry them after being outside. Driving in snow and sleet? I can handle that! I scoffed at the folks who aren't used to it and can't drive in it...
But now? We have had several days now of more northern-like temps, most of the state actually getting hit with snow, my area getting the ice and freezing rain. The air here has felt like the "good ol'days"...and I don't like it! I don't even have a snowbrush in my car right now, mainly because I can't find it. I suspect it walked out on me from being ignored for too many months. I walk outside to get the mail and I come back inside shivering. The cold mocks me now. The snow rake that is being stored up in the attic because we just don't need to use it anymore, is up there communing with the cobwebs and counting splinters on the rafters. It suffers from chronic neglect. I am running an island for misfit winter toys and tools here.
Now, I do confess, the several inches of snow we did get the day after Christmas..THAT I was very happy about. Why? My Yankee blood is in hiding but it is not completely gone. I don't like green Christmases. It makes me crazy to have to listen to songs on the radio about white christmas and sleigh rides when it is green everywhere. However, that was enough winter for me. I am ready for it to be gone. I love my sweaters but I am ready for bare legs and shorts again and the chance to ambush my kids with the super soaker water guns.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make myself some tea and warm up again.
I have spent most of my life up north, living with snow and blustery temps, happy to bundle up and pile on the layers of hats, scarves, warm mittens, heavy coat, boots...18 inches of snow on the ground? No problem! I lived in houses with radiators that I could drape all the winter gear over to dry them after being outside. Driving in snow and sleet? I can handle that! I scoffed at the folks who aren't used to it and can't drive in it...
But now? We have had several days now of more northern-like temps, most of the state actually getting hit with snow, my area getting the ice and freezing rain. The air here has felt like the "good ol'days"...and I don't like it! I don't even have a snowbrush in my car right now, mainly because I can't find it. I suspect it walked out on me from being ignored for too many months. I walk outside to get the mail and I come back inside shivering. The cold mocks me now. The snow rake that is being stored up in the attic because we just don't need to use it anymore, is up there communing with the cobwebs and counting splinters on the rafters. It suffers from chronic neglect. I am running an island for misfit winter toys and tools here.
Now, I do confess, the several inches of snow we did get the day after Christmas..THAT I was very happy about. Why? My Yankee blood is in hiding but it is not completely gone. I don't like green Christmases. It makes me crazy to have to listen to songs on the radio about white christmas and sleigh rides when it is green everywhere. However, that was enough winter for me. I am ready for it to be gone. I love my sweaters but I am ready for bare legs and shorts again and the chance to ambush my kids with the super soaker water guns.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make myself some tea and warm up again.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Taking a journey
I realized recently that I had managed to go nearly a year and half without adding anything new here. This coincided with the chaotic realities that had taken over my life. I had reached the point a year or so ago where I no longer knew who I was, who I had become and that self awareness came accompanied with an overwhelming emptiness and sense of feeling utterly lost that I knew needed to change. It is not healthy nor productive to float through life as a shell of a human being, especially with the many blessings that remained constant in my life. So I found myself at a crossroads of sorts and have been taking a journey over the past year and half ever since, in search of recalling who I was yesterday, who I am today and who I need to and want to be tomorrow.
I have always been interested in how the rest of the world lives. I was lucky enough during high school that my mom hosted exchange students during the summers and that fueled my love of learning other languages and about other cultures. I even got to spend time during college living and taking classes in Italy and visiting my international friends in France and Spain. Upon my return to the US, I discovered the infancy of the internet and was enchanted with how it let you connect with other people all over the globe in ways never before possible. While my years of being married and having children managed to deeply bury this part of me, this passion, it never completely disappeared.
Thus, when I joined facebook and starting playing a silly but fun game on it, I re-discovered my passion for connecting with other parts of the world. I have many international friends on my gaming list, some of whom have become dear and real friends to me. In it, I found a part of myself awakened and I found a place I could decompress from the stresses in my real life, a place that felt safe to me. I began to once again recognize some of the many blessings that both entered my life and those that were there all along. One of the biggest unexpected blessings for me came a year ago, on my way home from visiting family in Pittsburgh. I met this guy in army fatigues in the airport in Baltimore who was waiting on the same connecting flight as my sister and I. He was enough of a gentleman to offer me the seat next to me so I didn't have to stand to watch playoff football...you know me and sports. When I noticed him playing mafia wars, I couldn't resist commenting that I also played, and we friended each other for gaming.
It could have ended there, but since it was a novelty that I actually met a gaming friend in person, I helped him whenever I saw him on my facebook feed and one day, we started chatting. Over time, we became friends. It kind of started as a joke but Grant decided one day to "adopt" me as his little sister, and that is the slant our friendship has taken ever since, and one that works for me, because growing up I hated being the oldest and had always wanted a big brother. So, if you ever see or hear me refer to my brother, I am talking about Grant, and I really do think of him as my big brother, and he is a tremendous blessing to me. One day, our conversation turned to how I had lost faith in nearly everything from my years of struggling to cope with the impact a special needs child had on my life, and how overwhelmingly lost I felt. Grant invited me to attend church with him and his family one day last year and there, I came to find a sort of peace that I had not felt in a long time. I realized that any sort of personal journey would not be complete, nor relevant, if I didn't take it hand in hand with a spiritual one. I have been attending church ever since and it is something that gives me a respite from my stresses, even if for just a couple hours. My spiritual journey has had its ups and downs but I am still working on it. My quest to figure out God's place in my life and what He wants for me is very much a work in progress. I am also taking a bible study class that I have been enjoying a lot, and along with attending church, it has helped keep me going when I want to crawl into a hole and disappear, which has occurred more often than not. I have been falling into a proverbial ravine and clawing my way out for many years now, and even while some ravines have been deeper than others, I have kept climbing out and am determined not to leave the ravines behind in favor of an abyss. I have become too cranky and cynical to give up, so I keep fighting to survive, one day at a time. I discovered that I do best when I do so, living for today and not projecting too far ahead. That point of view may seem shortsighted to some, but for the time being, it helps keep my anxiety level from overwhelming me.
I am planning to take my blog in a different direction than before, when it was mainly a newsletter of sorts. When I feel my inner muse, I will write here, and I will use this space to document my personal journey and hopefully find my true purpose here on this planet. I know God has something in mind for me but I have not figured out yet what it is, or maybe I have not yet learned to quiet my mind to hear it. When I figure it out, I'll let you know. If you're still reading this, thank you for not giving up on me and know you are one of my many blessings.
I have always been interested in how the rest of the world lives. I was lucky enough during high school that my mom hosted exchange students during the summers and that fueled my love of learning other languages and about other cultures. I even got to spend time during college living and taking classes in Italy and visiting my international friends in France and Spain. Upon my return to the US, I discovered the infancy of the internet and was enchanted with how it let you connect with other people all over the globe in ways never before possible. While my years of being married and having children managed to deeply bury this part of me, this passion, it never completely disappeared.
Thus, when I joined facebook and starting playing a silly but fun game on it, I re-discovered my passion for connecting with other parts of the world. I have many international friends on my gaming list, some of whom have become dear and real friends to me. In it, I found a part of myself awakened and I found a place I could decompress from the stresses in my real life, a place that felt safe to me. I began to once again recognize some of the many blessings that both entered my life and those that were there all along. One of the biggest unexpected blessings for me came a year ago, on my way home from visiting family in Pittsburgh. I met this guy in army fatigues in the airport in Baltimore who was waiting on the same connecting flight as my sister and I. He was enough of a gentleman to offer me the seat next to me so I didn't have to stand to watch playoff football...you know me and sports. When I noticed him playing mafia wars, I couldn't resist commenting that I also played, and we friended each other for gaming.
It could have ended there, but since it was a novelty that I actually met a gaming friend in person, I helped him whenever I saw him on my facebook feed and one day, we started chatting. Over time, we became friends. It kind of started as a joke but Grant decided one day to "adopt" me as his little sister, and that is the slant our friendship has taken ever since, and one that works for me, because growing up I hated being the oldest and had always wanted a big brother. So, if you ever see or hear me refer to my brother, I am talking about Grant, and I really do think of him as my big brother, and he is a tremendous blessing to me. One day, our conversation turned to how I had lost faith in nearly everything from my years of struggling to cope with the impact a special needs child had on my life, and how overwhelmingly lost I felt. Grant invited me to attend church with him and his family one day last year and there, I came to find a sort of peace that I had not felt in a long time. I realized that any sort of personal journey would not be complete, nor relevant, if I didn't take it hand in hand with a spiritual one. I have been attending church ever since and it is something that gives me a respite from my stresses, even if for just a couple hours. My spiritual journey has had its ups and downs but I am still working on it. My quest to figure out God's place in my life and what He wants for me is very much a work in progress. I am also taking a bible study class that I have been enjoying a lot, and along with attending church, it has helped keep me going when I want to crawl into a hole and disappear, which has occurred more often than not. I have been falling into a proverbial ravine and clawing my way out for many years now, and even while some ravines have been deeper than others, I have kept climbing out and am determined not to leave the ravines behind in favor of an abyss. I have become too cranky and cynical to give up, so I keep fighting to survive, one day at a time. I discovered that I do best when I do so, living for today and not projecting too far ahead. That point of view may seem shortsighted to some, but for the time being, it helps keep my anxiety level from overwhelming me.
I am planning to take my blog in a different direction than before, when it was mainly a newsletter of sorts. When I feel my inner muse, I will write here, and I will use this space to document my personal journey and hopefully find my true purpose here on this planet. I know God has something in mind for me but I have not figured out yet what it is, or maybe I have not yet learned to quiet my mind to hear it. When I figure it out, I'll let you know. If you're still reading this, thank you for not giving up on me and know you are one of my many blessings.
Kids, that M stands for MOM, not the MAID...
to my dear children,
I will love you unconditionally, feed you, clothe you, be sympathetic when you are sick and do what I can to support you and cheer for you. I will go to bat for you in a worthy cause and I would be willing to trade in my life for yours if ever needed. However.....I am not your butler, I do not run a diner, (if you do not like what I cooked, you know where to find the cereal or sandwich fixins), nor do I offer room service of any kind. I am not your valet and I do not carry a beeper around with me....I am not on call for you. If I occasionally behave like your chauffeur, it is at my personal convenience, not yours. God gave you talents and abilities and a brain. Please use them. 2 of you are high school teenagers and the other one of you starts middle school next year. I have faith in you that you can figure it out.
If you complain about boredom, too bad. I am not your personal cruise director. You have far more choices in front of you than I ever did. If you insist on choosing to be bored, I will be happy to provide you with a toilet brush or mop (or both) to distract you from your tedious existence.
If you whine and complain, kindly take note that my hearing aid no longer functions correctly and I may feel compelled to shove a piece of cheese into your mouth to soak up the whine. The complaint department has also been eliminated due to budget cuts; it's called one of life's cruel lessons...time to discover the usefulness of learning to adapt to your environment. Darwin's rule figured this out and you can, too.
If you are thirsty, you know where to find the drinking glasses. I can assure you that I pay our water bill every month, the faucets will pour out a drink if you just lift the handle. The magic of that still works even when you reach the ages of 16, 14 and 10. If you are hungry and it's not dinnertime, you know where the refrigerator and pantry are. You are old enough to use the stove safely and I promise you, the dishwasher functions perfectly. You will also always be able to find dishsoap available for handwashing the rest. As much as we all pine away for and long for the Kitchen Fairy to come and take away our messes, she is real as the Great Pumpkin. Get over it.
Love, Mom
I will love you unconditionally, feed you, clothe you, be sympathetic when you are sick and do what I can to support you and cheer for you. I will go to bat for you in a worthy cause and I would be willing to trade in my life for yours if ever needed. However.....I am not your butler, I do not run a diner, (if you do not like what I cooked, you know where to find the cereal or sandwich fixins), nor do I offer room service of any kind. I am not your valet and I do not carry a beeper around with me....I am not on call for you. If I occasionally behave like your chauffeur, it is at my personal convenience, not yours. God gave you talents and abilities and a brain. Please use them. 2 of you are high school teenagers and the other one of you starts middle school next year. I have faith in you that you can figure it out.
If you complain about boredom, too bad. I am not your personal cruise director. You have far more choices in front of you than I ever did. If you insist on choosing to be bored, I will be happy to provide you with a toilet brush or mop (or both) to distract you from your tedious existence.
If you whine and complain, kindly take note that my hearing aid no longer functions correctly and I may feel compelled to shove a piece of cheese into your mouth to soak up the whine. The complaint department has also been eliminated due to budget cuts; it's called one of life's cruel lessons...time to discover the usefulness of learning to adapt to your environment. Darwin's rule figured this out and you can, too.
If you are thirsty, you know where to find the drinking glasses. I can assure you that I pay our water bill every month, the faucets will pour out a drink if you just lift the handle. The magic of that still works even when you reach the ages of 16, 14 and 10. If you are hungry and it's not dinnertime, you know where the refrigerator and pantry are. You are old enough to use the stove safely and I promise you, the dishwasher functions perfectly. You will also always be able to find dishsoap available for handwashing the rest. As much as we all pine away for and long for the Kitchen Fairy to come and take away our messes, she is real as the Great Pumpkin. Get over it.
Love, Mom
Thursday, September 10, 2009
FOOTBALL TIME, BABY!!!!! ABOUT TIME, TOO!!
My Steelers are in da house again!!!! We're in the first quarter so far...0-0...
I am so happy!!! HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO!!!
I am so happy!!! HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO!!!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Girls Night Out!!!!
Maria's good high school friend Faye was in town for the weekend, and I know her, too, so Maria arranged for some girly fun out on the town. Our friend Tracy met up with us, too, driving to my house and I drove up to meet up with Maria and Faye. Of course, I had to drive my new Bug!! =) We went up to Chapel Hill and had dinner up there, then went to a coffeehouse, which was more like a restaurant/bar to have some wine. It was so awesome to have a reason to dress up for something and we had a blast!! I really hope we can do this again soon! thank you to Chris for keeping the kids so I could get out of the house!
Tracy and Maria
me and Faye
the 4 of us after some wine... =)
love my purple dress!
my sassy shoes and sort of sloppy nails..hahahaha...
Tracy and Maria
me and Faye
the 4 of us after some wine... =)
love my purple dress!
my sassy shoes and sort of sloppy nails..hahahaha...
saying bye to the old, hello to the new....
Car, that is. My van which had faithfully transported me and the kids around for over 13 years, finally needed repairs more expensive than its book value, so we had to go car shopping. I'd decided that since it is not often anymore that all 5 of us are in my car at once, that I didn't need another van, and I wanted something smaller, more fun..something that when you saw it, you thought Theresa, not Theresa the mom. So what else could I get but a Beetle!! I have plans to paint it a happy grape shade of purple, but for now it is white. I generally don't care for white cars, but it is cute on the Beetle. But I really want it purple, so that is the eventual plan. I have to say, I love, LOVE my new car! I love driving a stick again, too! the Steelersmobile has a new look now!
goodbye van...
hellooo, bug!
Dale & Dinah approve of my new back seat! =)
my Steeler car bling..inside
and out! When a front bracket gets attached, then I can add the Terrible Towel!
The next day, I added some friends to the back shelf...it started out as just Statler and Waldorf (for my own peanut gallery) and morphed into a gang on both sides!
My last bit of goofy fun was a car picture, which Maria has already made fun of me over...yes cheesy, but this year I am all about doing things that are different than the same ol, same ol, so why not? =)
goodbye van...
hellooo, bug!
Dale & Dinah approve of my new back seat! =)
my Steeler car bling..inside
and out! When a front bracket gets attached, then I can add the Terrible Towel!
The next day, I added some friends to the back shelf...it started out as just Statler and Waldorf (for my own peanut gallery) and morphed into a gang on both sides!
My last bit of goofy fun was a car picture, which Maria has already made fun of me over...yes cheesy, but this year I am all about doing things that are different than the same ol, same ol, so why not? =)
Birthday time at home!!!
Since Kristen's birthday was the day after we got home, and mine the day after, we tried to take it easy. I took her and her best friend Sam to the mall, which as you know, is not my favorite activity, so it was a gesture of love, for sure! hahaha...they then had a sleepover later on in the day...
I was happy the next day to have my friend Deanna over after heading to Locopops with Maria and the girls. She's Sam's mom, and her other daughter is buddies with Alice, so it was really fun. I actually had a really relaxing day for once! One of my favorite gifts this year was from Diana..a Sidney Crosby ornament!! He is too fabulous to only see at Christmas, so I hung him up near my kitchen sink with Big Ben. Having my Pittsburgh stuff around me makes me all kinds of happy! =)
I was happy the next day to have my friend Deanna over after heading to Locopops with Maria and the girls. She's Sam's mom, and her other daughter is buddies with Alice, so it was really fun. I actually had a really relaxing day for once! One of my favorite gifts this year was from Diana..a Sidney Crosby ornament!! He is too fabulous to only see at Christmas, so I hung him up near my kitchen sink with Big Ben. Having my Pittsburgh stuff around me makes me all kinds of happy! =)
Back to Syracuse before heading home....
The kids and I returned to Syracuse, this time to hang at Mom and Ed's. I unexpectedly received a happy surprise of Chris' best friend from college being in town with his wife's family, so I was able to meet up that first night with him...in Wegmans, well because Wegmans is the taj majal of grocery stores and they had a good cafe spot inside. John brought his daughter Emma, who is Alice's age, and it did not take long for she and I to bond...I cannot resist anyone who wants to play with my hair! hahaha....Anyway, Emma is delightful and I had a great visit with John! I hadn't seen him in 13 years, since his wedding weeks after Kristen was born.
The rest of the time at Mom's was mainly chilling out and spending time together. Mom & Ed treated me to a massage at a place they go to, and that was really nice! I considered that my early birthday present. And living near the university allowed me to enjoy the sight of SU colored shopping carts at the grocery store!! Only in Syracuse...
We left Syracuse on the 6th to head partway home, to just outside Lancaster, PA, not too far from Hershey. Mom & Ed caravanned down with us. They'd gotten tickets to see this biblical show based on Genesis and creation. We stayed at this amish inn next to the theatre, where they had livestock. The show was pretty good, although waaaayy too much singing for my taste! The sets were elaborate and they used real animals in parts of it. My kids were remarkably well behaved, considering.
a couple pics of the place where we stayed...
Lemon sucking silliness!
do you think the kids have had enough of this trip? ha ha ha...
me and my mommy =)
We were very happy to get all the way home on the 7th. 2 weeks away from home is a long time!! I did not enjoy the delays getting through DC, but that is a necessary evil of traveling on 95 and since we left from near Lancaster, it did not make sense to backtrack to go down 81.
The rest of the time at Mom's was mainly chilling out and spending time together. Mom & Ed treated me to a massage at a place they go to, and that was really nice! I considered that my early birthday present. And living near the university allowed me to enjoy the sight of SU colored shopping carts at the grocery store!! Only in Syracuse...
We left Syracuse on the 6th to head partway home, to just outside Lancaster, PA, not too far from Hershey. Mom & Ed caravanned down with us. They'd gotten tickets to see this biblical show based on Genesis and creation. We stayed at this amish inn next to the theatre, where they had livestock. The show was pretty good, although waaaayy too much singing for my taste! The sets were elaborate and they used real animals in parts of it. My kids were remarkably well behaved, considering.
a couple pics of the place where we stayed...
Lemon sucking silliness!
do you think the kids have had enough of this trip? ha ha ha...
me and my mommy =)
We were very happy to get all the way home on the 7th. 2 weeks away from home is a long time!! I did not enjoy the delays getting through DC, but that is a necessary evil of traveling on 95 and since we left from near Lancaster, it did not make sense to backtrack to go down 81.
The North Country...part 4
It felt like our time together up north went by too quickly. Our last fun before heading back down to Syracuse was ice cream at Molly's, on the way to Malone. (for those of you not familiar with Malone, it is indeed the same Malone that Almanzo Wilder grew up in from the Little House books.) some final pics of our time there...
Alice & Kayley playing guitar hero
Ken mowing hay
Can I drive??? please? =) the wheels are as tall as I am, almost!
Doesn't this sunset look like a lollipop off a stick?
Parting was made a tiny bit sweeter after some ice cream....
Alice hamming it up with Stephanie
my awesome friend Lisa and I
Alice & Kayley playing guitar hero
Ken mowing hay
Can I drive??? please? =) the wheels are as tall as I am, almost!
Doesn't this sunset look like a lollipop off a stick?
Parting was made a tiny bit sweeter after some ice cream....
Alice hamming it up with Stephanie
my awesome friend Lisa and I
North Country, part 3
and more pictures...
Happy Birthday Cassondra!!
us and our friend Chris
me and my friend Johanne
Matthew with our former neighbor across the road
Happy Birthday Cassondra!!
us and our friend Chris
me and my friend Johanne
Matthew with our former neighbor across the road
More from the North Country
here are a few more pictures from our time up north....
Kayley, one of the Blues Sisters, hahaha...
Alice the other Blues Sister...
Kayley & Kristen
All of us...(I swear Matthew is NOT picking his nose, hahaha)Lisa, me, Kayley, Kristen & Alice..swimming at the rec park
Kayley, one of the Blues Sisters, hahaha...
Alice the other Blues Sister...
Kayley & Kristen
All of us...(I swear Matthew is NOT picking his nose, hahaha)Lisa, me, Kayley, Kristen & Alice..swimming at the rec park
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
