Oy to the Vey! We are in a dismal funk at Hausfrau Haus. The four of us are sick of the weather, sick of our surroundings and sick of each other. Due to a spending oversight on my part, we are on a forced "austerity plan." This means that we will be going nowhere until Herr gets paid at the end of the month (don't get me started on how he gets paid once a month.) Sure, there are all kinds of free things to do around here, but Herr and I are lazy. I am so lazy that I walked on the treadmill for over an hour at the gym yesterday so that I could watch "Charade" with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. While walking for that length of time may seem admirable, it's not. I was too caught up in the movie to move to the elliptical machine(which had a television as well) or do some aerobics. And I think the highest speed I programmed the treadmill was 3.7 miles. Fortunately for me, no one seemed to need my treadmill. What's really sad is that I have seen the movie about six times. It wasn't as though I didn't know how it was going to end.
Classic movies on TCM aside, there is NOTHING on TV. What's that? The Olympics, you say? Blech. Aside from the brilliant two hour season finale on Arrested Development Friday night, I haven't watched any other TV at home. But all is not lost, I have a huge stack of books that I could be reading right now. What's that? Oh, right--the children. It seems that they are bored too. Any other weekend, Baby Girl would be THRILLED to rot her brain with hours of Dora. We finally let her this weekend so that we could read or stare at the idiot box. Unfortunately, Baby Girl wants to play her favorite games, "You Need to Tickle Me," "You Need to Chase Me," "You Need to Help Me Play Pla-Dough," and the always fun, "HELP!HELP! I am stuck in the SPOOKY FOREST! SAVE ME!" Peaches, who is no different this weekend than she is any other time, walks around the house screaming at us.
After I put the kids down for a nap this afternoon, I decided to do something useful. I realized recently that we don't get any type of family newsletters from our relatives during the holidays. As a matter of fact, we are lucky if we get cards from most of our family. My immediate family is scattered all over the world. Our distant family is HUGE, as are most Polish immigrant families. I think my mom's family is related to half of Chicago. Yet, we are close to virtually none of them. The blame is laid squarely on my mother who pissed off most of them over the years and shunned the rest, thinking they were trash. It's a sad state of affairs to realize that of my 14 first cousins, I would recognize only three of them if I saw them on the street. And one of them is dead. So, in the spirit of nosiness I thought I would Google some family members to see what they have been up to over the past couple of years. Here's what I found.
One of my cousins was quoted on Fox News stating that she wanted to see Tim McGraw's bare ass on film.
One of my cousins plays recreational squash in New Zealand.
One of my cousins attended a roast at MIT last year.
A couple of websites are monitoring my cousin's college visits to see where he will be playing football this fall. My guess is Princeton, but I hope Northwestern.
My nephew won first prize in a science fair. Damn my sister for forgetting to tell me.
One of my cousins went to the Indiana state finals in wrestling.
My uncle went on Lou Dobbs Tonight in December to straighten Lou out on some allegedly shoddy reporting concerning a study my uncle's trade organization did. Apparently Lou was surpised by how classy he was and intimated that while my uncle was on the show.
My ex brother-in-law is a grown man who plays with Legos. A lot. To be fair, I already knew that. He's even gone to a convention (helloo, Star Trek!!) I just didn't know the evidence was on the internet.
My second cousin (who is closer to my age than my mother) is on the Village Council where he lives in Michigan.
A distant cousin is playing Minor League Hockey.
My sister has been VERY busy on some geneaology message boards.
After awhile I got a little bored with Googling my family. I decided to check a couple of people from college whom we've not seen since we left. I didn't find many, but one that I did was absolutely hilarious.
One of the people Herr and I worked with at the restaurant in college was a very cordial and mature individual who was a couple of years older than we were. He had an adorable little girl from a previous marriage and an annoying girlfriend named Trish. He also had a fatal flaw. He was an absolute horndog. Bar none. He wasn't quite a predator, but he was close. Imagine my surprise when I looked him up and discovered that he is now an abbott for a Buddhist Zen Center (Mark and Laura--if you are reading this--there are even PICTURES of him!!!!)
So, if you're bored and trapped in your homes due to finances, laziness or the BLIZZARD that is kicking the Northeast's ASS, go on. Google your family. You might turn up something interesting. If not, than you will have at least fittered away a couple of hours.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Monday, February 06, 2006
Weekend Recap
This past weekend was one of the better weekends we have had in recent Hausfrau Haus history. Friday was the birthday bash for Peaches. It consisted of Gramma and some red velvet cake. That was it. Peaches got a couple of gifts that Baby Girl has claimed as her own, which was to be expected. Initially I was going to give Peaches a cupcake that had been in the freezer since October. Then I felt a twing of guilt for not making more of an effort. In addition, I got a verbal ass-kicking from my friend on Thursday after I told her about said frozen cupcake. That sealed the deal for me to get off my ass and get baking.
Since Gramma stayed the weekend, Herr and I were able to go out on a date for a movie and dinner. We saw "Good Night and Good Luck." Not a bad movie. It was interesting to learn more about the McCarthy witch-hunts, but I was puzzled by the lack of character development and a seemingly unnecessary subplot that involved Robert Downey Jr. Perhaps it would have made more sense to me had I known a bit more about the part of our American history. Nevertheless, I was at a movie, eating popcorn from a container the size of a bathtub. I would have been happy to see Porky's 12.
The pièce de résistance of our weekend was the obvious. The Steelers winning the Super Bowl. We were incredibly hung over this morning because of all of the crap we ate--not because of anything we drank. In an unprecendented move, Herr Hausfrau (who NEVER picks up the phone willingly to call ANYONE except his mother) started dialing all of our Pittsburgh friends after the win, hoping to engage in a play-by-play discussion and some manly crying. Alas, most of our friends were already walking around the South Side, no doubt trying to tip cars over. He did get in touch with one of our friends who answered the phone by screaming.
When I woke up early this morning, I realized I didn't want the weekend to end, so I ate some leftover chili and velveeta dip on top of my eggs. That's some good eating right there--a little hair of the dog, if you will. It will be worth the extra 30 minutes on the elliptical machine when I go to the gym tonight.
In unrelated news, I took Baby Girl to her Monday Morning Art Class with Miss Sue. Out of the blue, Baby Girl announced that Krishna, the sweet boy sitting next to her, is BROWN and that she is WHITE. I've NEVER heard a room become so quiet, so fast. Discuss.
Friday, February 03, 2006
First Birthday!
This is a photo of two kids who REALLY want birthday cake. Actually, it is a picture of a big sister who really wants birthday cake. She has been dreaming of birthday cake for days. She can't stop talking about the birthday cake that she had two months ago. She has been trying to explain to her sister the joys of the birthday cake. But baby sister doesn't listen. Instead, she chews on a Tupperware lid.
No, this isn't a crime scene. It is merely a red velvet cupcake that I made for Peaches. As you can see, she totally went for it.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Jenette
This whole blog thing has been great therapy for me. I don't have time to go see a shrink (or a dentist or a gynocologist for that matter,) so that has been a nice alternative for me after the kids go to bed at night. Writing on this has often times been cathartic, creative and enjoyable. By putting what I say "out there," it has allowed me to think things out big and small that are normally jumbled up in my head along side my grocery list. The one thing I never really expected to learn was that there were people in the blogosphere who would not only read what I write, but care enough to occasionally comment on what I say. It has been reassuring to know that I am not always alone when it comes to my doubts in my ability to parent. I haven't had the opportunity to get much hate mail since I don't think I really write about controversial topics, but, you never know. All in all, it has been interesting and fun to communicate with people to whom I have a lot in common, yet we have never met.
One individual who frequently responds to my posts is Jenette. After reading each other's blogs, we realized that we live quite close to each other and have written emails back and forth trying to figure out when we should meet because we think our kids would play well together. Jenette was also such a great help to me when I asked her for advice on local preschools. As a teacher, she was able to give me really good advice on what I should look for in a preschool. I NEVER would have asked the questions I asked at the open houses I attended had it not been for her. As a result, I think I have applied for some really good preschools for my daughter, and I hope she will get in to one of them.
To say that Jenette is going through a tough time is an understatement. After a couple of years of trying to have a second child, Jenette got pregnant last fall after a couple of months of fertility treatments. This week she found out that her child has Potter's Syndrome. Simply put, the baby's kidney's never developed. Because of this, there is no amniotic fluid. The baby will not survive. Jenette and her husband have been placed in a terrible and heart breaking position.
Go. Visit her site and give her some love. If you know someone who has been through this, maybe they can give her some advice.
One individual who frequently responds to my posts is Jenette. After reading each other's blogs, we realized that we live quite close to each other and have written emails back and forth trying to figure out when we should meet because we think our kids would play well together. Jenette was also such a great help to me when I asked her for advice on local preschools. As a teacher, she was able to give me really good advice on what I should look for in a preschool. I NEVER would have asked the questions I asked at the open houses I attended had it not been for her. As a result, I think I have applied for some really good preschools for my daughter, and I hope she will get in to one of them.
To say that Jenette is going through a tough time is an understatement. After a couple of years of trying to have a second child, Jenette got pregnant last fall after a couple of months of fertility treatments. This week she found out that her child has Potter's Syndrome. Simply put, the baby's kidney's never developed. Because of this, there is no amniotic fluid. The baby will not survive. Jenette and her husband have been placed in a terrible and heart breaking position.
Go. Visit her site and give her some love. If you know someone who has been through this, maybe they can give her some advice.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
...And Then I Threw Up in My Mouth a Little
I was catching up on my newspapers this morning when I ran across an article in the Wall Street Journal concerning the use of the female Cochineal Beetle to make red dye for some popular foods such as Yoplait Thick & Creamy Low Fat Strawberry Yogurt and Tropicana Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice. As of now, companies are allowed to call the colorings carmine and cochineal (the colors derived from the ground up dried beetles) "color added" or even "artificial color." Too bad I lost my appetite for my waffles after reading this.
Thanks to the watchdogs, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a group of people who are allergic to the insect are pushing for changes in describing the ingredient in food labels. The article goes on to mention that vegetarians and Jewish people who eat kosher are also against its use. Let it be known that this carnivore is not thrilled with the use of this product either. But unless you research every ingredient you eat, most people won't know what carmine and cochineal are if they are printed on a label.