Going to school, we've hit that time of year when the sun is right in the wrong position for not one, but three stop lights on the way to school. It gets in the children's eyes, and it stays there while we wait through more than one light cycle sometimes, depending on traffic.
My son was the first to become very upset by the unexpected brightness. He would complain loudly as I tried to reason with him. I'd make sensible suggestions such as, "close your eyes," or, "put your hands over your eyes," or even, "hold your blanket over your face." I'd give demos of these options. But stubbornness, (or foolishness) prevailed and he suffered through the ordeal.
Now, he seems to have the hang of it. He will pull the hood down over his eyes so he manages fairly well. My daughter, on the other hand, grows continually more agitated by the "evil sunbeam situation." The passenger and driver sun visors don't go down far enough to help her. She thinks the blanket must be thrown on the floor when offered as a shield and she squints and complains loudly.
Since she's in the middle seat, I can usually put my hand back and block the light, but not always, especially when we're moving. Today, she had an alternate solution: she took one of her very flexible legs and raised it up so that her foot covered her eyes.
Today was partly cloudy too. The sunbeams were only half as annoying, but I think she's developed a fear of "the big bright" so she was extra upset, even after we'd turned away from the worst of it.
I'm looking more forward to Daylight Saving's time on March 10th than I usually am at this time of year.
The Big Boy Update: It was a good potty day, for liquids. He spent the afternoon in cotton underwear. I regularly looked for a wet front but all remained dry. Without telling him where we were going, I walked him to the potty twice and both times he went without argument, and then he used the potty...a lot. This indicates he can hold it for longer if he wants and that he has some control (or at least that's what I think it means. When it comes to the potty, I'm regularly proven wrong.)
The Tiny Girl Update: Lunging Baby Bird. Yesterday my mother and I made vegetable beef soup. Apparently my daughter liked it a lot. She would not only open her mouth wide for the next spoonful, she would lunge at the spoon. It was very cute watching my father feed her.
Someone Once Said: She was unblinkingly honest with herself, was her own self-judge instead of looking to others, did not lie to herself—but lied to others without hesitation when needed for kindness or to get along with rules she did not make and did not respect.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
The Luggage Consideration and the Bulky Family
Two adults, two toddlers, one ski trip. How many bags will we need to take on the plane? We don't know. I fear the worst. I envision massive bags and unruly children and a frustrating trip getting to our destination and back home.
But my husband says it won't be as bad as I think it could be. My concern stems from having to take the extra bulk of winter wear with us combined with the first time we've taken the children on a plane before.
I'm good at not over packing. And because we're staying in a house, not a hotel room, we'll have a washing machine we can use multiple times through the trip so we won't have to take more than a few days of clothes for each of the children and only a few repeats of ski clothing for my husband and me. But I can't envision it yet, so I'm in the fretting stage of vacation preparation.
Daddy did some pre-packing already and he says it's going to be much better than I'm thinking. He's calmed my fears. For now.
The Big Boy Update: Without the V. He can't say the letter V. Excabator, Ebin (Evan), Oben (Oven), or anything with a V just gets translated to a B.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: I have something to say about that. She's talking more lately. We don't know what she's saying, but she does. She babbles at you while looking you straight in the eye. Fortunately she doesn't get upset that you can't understand her.
Fitness Update: Six and Six. Six miles with Uncle Jonathan yesterday evening before the Super Bowl started while daddy made lasagna and six miles this morning with my neighbor.
Someone Once Said: A supersaturated situation will crystallize almost instantly.
But my husband says it won't be as bad as I think it could be. My concern stems from having to take the extra bulk of winter wear with us combined with the first time we've taken the children on a plane before.
I'm good at not over packing. And because we're staying in a house, not a hotel room, we'll have a washing machine we can use multiple times through the trip so we won't have to take more than a few days of clothes for each of the children and only a few repeats of ski clothing for my husband and me. But I can't envision it yet, so I'm in the fretting stage of vacation preparation.
Daddy did some pre-packing already and he says it's going to be much better than I'm thinking. He's calmed my fears. For now.
The Big Boy Update: Without the V. He can't say the letter V. Excabator, Ebin (Evan), Oben (Oven), or anything with a V just gets translated to a B.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: I have something to say about that. She's talking more lately. We don't know what she's saying, but she does. She babbles at you while looking you straight in the eye. Fortunately she doesn't get upset that you can't understand her.
Fitness Update: Six and Six. Six miles with Uncle Jonathan yesterday evening before the Super Bowl started while daddy made lasagna and six miles this morning with my neighbor.
Someone Once Said: A supersaturated situation will crystallize almost instantly.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
The Unexpected Ring Consequence
I like to get our favorite Uncle Jonathan something I think he'll like for Christmas each year. He likes jewelry that's fun, and fitting for a guy. He's been kind enough to regularly wear the necklaces that I've made him over the years and he's even put up with my children breaking them because a shark hanging from your neck is a powerful little boy lure when you're holding him.
There's one gift I got him two Christmases ago that's had much more of an impact on me than I ever expected it would. I was out on the vast plains of the internet looking for cool rings and I visited the Human Rights Campaign web site. They have some great jewelry and clothing and it was a hard pick, that is until I saw the perfect ring:
Because just look at that ring. It's both cool and comfortable looking and it has the HRC equality symbol all around it. I was sold. And Uncle Jonathan has been wearing it ever since, with only a small break when recently it was "borrowed" by his roommate's son without permission.
The unexpected consequence is that I'm now on the email list for the Human Rights Campaign site. But they're not bothering me to spend more money on products, they're keeping me up to date on important events across our nation in the fight for equality.
I may have mentioned before that I'm not a big news person. Most of the news is sad or bad or people being cruel or foolish. I try to stay in my bubble of happiness, or rather, I try to have a bubble of happiness. Those who know me know I don't always succeed. But still, less sad, bad and terrible in my life is better for my overall morale.
But I do read the HRC emails and I am very glad to see that while there are people with a lot of prejudice and hatefulness, there are people who are fighting for equality and there is support from people all over the world in this fight.
I had no idea this one little ring present would have such an impact on me. Also, all signs seem to show that Uncle Jonathan likes his ring too.
The Big Boy Update: The trashcan disappearance. I came into their bedroom after nap the other day to find my son in his sister's bed playing the toddler version of peek-a-boo. He had their trashcan on his head and would hide his face saying, "Where's Greyson?" Then he'd lift up the can with a grand grin and say, "Here's Greyson!" He did this again and again while I changed his sister's diaper and exclaimed surprise every time he was "found".
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Melting. I've mentioned her love for the ice and ice machine. It persists with a vengeance. When our friend, Brek, was visiting the other week she got a small bowl and put a few pieces of ice in it for my daughter. And my daughter paid attention. Now, if she's particularly interested in ice, she'll go to their cabinet with the children cooking toys and get a pot or pan or bowl or cup or lid and take it to the ice maker, put some pieces in it and walk around slowly eating (and getting drenched) by the ice cubes.
Someone Once Said: Trouble is the normal condition for the human race. We were raised on it. We thrive on it.
There's one gift I got him two Christmases ago that's had much more of an impact on me than I ever expected it would. I was out on the vast plains of the internet looking for cool rings and I visited the Human Rights Campaign web site. They have some great jewelry and clothing and it was a hard pick, that is until I saw the perfect ring:
Because just look at that ring. It's both cool and comfortable looking and it has the HRC equality symbol all around it. I was sold. And Uncle Jonathan has been wearing it ever since, with only a small break when recently it was "borrowed" by his roommate's son without permission.
The unexpected consequence is that I'm now on the email list for the Human Rights Campaign site. But they're not bothering me to spend more money on products, they're keeping me up to date on important events across our nation in the fight for equality.
I may have mentioned before that I'm not a big news person. Most of the news is sad or bad or people being cruel or foolish. I try to stay in my bubble of happiness, or rather, I try to have a bubble of happiness. Those who know me know I don't always succeed. But still, less sad, bad and terrible in my life is better for my overall morale.
But I do read the HRC emails and I am very glad to see that while there are people with a lot of prejudice and hatefulness, there are people who are fighting for equality and there is support from people all over the world in this fight.
I had no idea this one little ring present would have such an impact on me. Also, all signs seem to show that Uncle Jonathan likes his ring too.
The Big Boy Update: The trashcan disappearance. I came into their bedroom after nap the other day to find my son in his sister's bed playing the toddler version of peek-a-boo. He had their trashcan on his head and would hide his face saying, "Where's Greyson?" Then he'd lift up the can with a grand grin and say, "Here's Greyson!" He did this again and again while I changed his sister's diaper and exclaimed surprise every time he was "found".
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Melting. I've mentioned her love for the ice and ice machine. It persists with a vengeance. When our friend, Brek, was visiting the other week she got a small bowl and put a few pieces of ice in it for my daughter. And my daughter paid attention. Now, if she's particularly interested in ice, she'll go to their cabinet with the children cooking toys and get a pot or pan or bowl or cup or lid and take it to the ice maker, put some pieces in it and walk around slowly eating (and getting drenched) by the ice cubes.
Someone Once Said: Trouble is the normal condition for the human race. We were raised on it. We thrive on it.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
The Hammock and The Retarted Child
What a crazy post title. And yet it's something that I lived as a child. I loved, and I mean loved with a capital L swinging in my hammock when I was a child. Initially the hammock was between two trees close to the front door and there's a whole story about my best friend, Jenny, losing her tooth in that swing, but this is about the years later when the swing got moved to the back yard.
I loved that hammock. I loved it because it was an occupation, practically, when I got home from school during my late junior-high days and early high-school days. I would take the cordless phone out to the back yard and sit in that hammock sideways, not the traditional laying down orientation, and I'd swing and swing and swing some more.
Part of the reason the swinging was as satisfying as it was was that the two trees were slightly too close together to facilitate a good hammock swing. The hammock was, as a result, more of a sling than it was a nice place to lie about, look at the sky and enjoy relaxing. But I was a child and I had no interest in relaxing. Today, there's nothing I want more than to relax, but I'm pretty sure the word, "relax" wasn't in my vocabulary when I was in my youth.
So I'd sit sideways in the hammock and I'd swing. I had to have the phone with me because I was a tween or eventually a teen and there were BOYS! If you noted the capital letters that the word boys was treated with, you have observed an important fact--boys were of utmost importance at that age.
Let's get back to after school and my typical routine. I'd gather up my cordless phone, a phone from Radio Shack that I remember with utmost clarity, and I'd go out to the hammock, and I'd start to swing. I loved swinging. Let me give you an example of how much I loved swinging. I had a swing with two chains that I attached to a single S-Hook on a tree when I was young. Wait, how do you swing on a swing that's just hanging off a tree, you might ask. And I have an answer.
You get in the swing, and then you push off the tree with your feet. You can't swing in the traditional sense because there's a big tree right in the way. But you can rotate around the tree left and right. You can push off, with enthusiasm, and you can do a sort of bounce left or bounce right and you can make a lot of fun from a single tree and a swing with both chain arms connected to a higher point up the tree. And if you're good, you can do 360 degree rotations as you sweep left our right. But that was when I was younger, before the hammock days.
So I'm in the hammock, and I'm swinging for hours. And we have new neighbors. We found out much later as we got to know those neighbors that they wondered if my parents had a retarded child who went out to swing each day. Oh, how I laughed at that.
But it did make sense. I went out to the hammock and I sat there for hours swinging. I would talk to my girlfriends and boyfriends on the phone and my social life as a pre-teen and teen was quite expansive, but it was mostly played out via that hammock.
I also remember that physically I would swing forward and look left, swing back and look forward. And I'd do that again and again for long periods of time. Why? Because I was looking for my love, crush, boyfriend, you name it, to ride up the road, on the left, on his bike. Sometimes, I was even lucky enough to see him.
The Big Boy Update: Where's the Shire? The other day Uncle Jonathan took him up for a nap. He came down and asked me if my son was a hobbit. What? He said he was asking "Where's the Shire?" Oh, Ah! I told him he was asking for his "fass sire" or pacifier. By the time we went upstairs to give him a pacifier, he was asleep
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Turn around. Last night my son was turning around, or dancing, or just being a kid and I expressed how he was doing a good job turning around. He said to my daughter, "turn around" and lo, she did. She started turning around in place. Her comprehension of things and ability to put requests into action is continually impressive. She understands so much more than she can communicate.
Someone Once Said: Life is too long when one is not enjoying now.
I loved that hammock. I loved it because it was an occupation, practically, when I got home from school during my late junior-high days and early high-school days. I would take the cordless phone out to the back yard and sit in that hammock sideways, not the traditional laying down orientation, and I'd swing and swing and swing some more.
Part of the reason the swinging was as satisfying as it was was that the two trees were slightly too close together to facilitate a good hammock swing. The hammock was, as a result, more of a sling than it was a nice place to lie about, look at the sky and enjoy relaxing. But I was a child and I had no interest in relaxing. Today, there's nothing I want more than to relax, but I'm pretty sure the word, "relax" wasn't in my vocabulary when I was in my youth.
So I'd sit sideways in the hammock and I'd swing. I had to have the phone with me because I was a tween or eventually a teen and there were BOYS! If you noted the capital letters that the word boys was treated with, you have observed an important fact--boys were of utmost importance at that age.
Let's get back to after school and my typical routine. I'd gather up my cordless phone, a phone from Radio Shack that I remember with utmost clarity, and I'd go out to the hammock, and I'd start to swing. I loved swinging. Let me give you an example of how much I loved swinging. I had a swing with two chains that I attached to a single S-Hook on a tree when I was young. Wait, how do you swing on a swing that's just hanging off a tree, you might ask. And I have an answer.
You get in the swing, and then you push off the tree with your feet. You can't swing in the traditional sense because there's a big tree right in the way. But you can rotate around the tree left and right. You can push off, with enthusiasm, and you can do a sort of bounce left or bounce right and you can make a lot of fun from a single tree and a swing with both chain arms connected to a higher point up the tree. And if you're good, you can do 360 degree rotations as you sweep left our right. But that was when I was younger, before the hammock days.
So I'm in the hammock, and I'm swinging for hours. And we have new neighbors. We found out much later as we got to know those neighbors that they wondered if my parents had a retarded child who went out to swing each day. Oh, how I laughed at that.
But it did make sense. I went out to the hammock and I sat there for hours swinging. I would talk to my girlfriends and boyfriends on the phone and my social life as a pre-teen and teen was quite expansive, but it was mostly played out via that hammock.
I also remember that physically I would swing forward and look left, swing back and look forward. And I'd do that again and again for long periods of time. Why? Because I was looking for my love, crush, boyfriend, you name it, to ride up the road, on the left, on his bike. Sometimes, I was even lucky enough to see him.
The Big Boy Update: Where's the Shire? The other day Uncle Jonathan took him up for a nap. He came down and asked me if my son was a hobbit. What? He said he was asking "Where's the Shire?" Oh, Ah! I told him he was asking for his "fass sire" or pacifier. By the time we went upstairs to give him a pacifier, he was asleep
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Turn around. Last night my son was turning around, or dancing, or just being a kid and I expressed how he was doing a good job turning around. He said to my daughter, "turn around" and lo, she did. She started turning around in place. Her comprehension of things and ability to put requests into action is continually impressive. She understands so much more than she can communicate.
Someone Once Said: Life is too long when one is not enjoying now.
Friday, February 1, 2013
The Big Bang Theory Chair
My mother asked me if I wanted a chair they had that they were going to donate otherwise. I was all ready for this to be one of those, "it's really nice" type of offers when mom started telling me more about the chair and I grew interested.
First off she said, "It's the Big Bang Theory chair." I said, "What do you mean?" and she explained how there was the same chair that Penny sat in all the time on the show. I knew that Sheldon had a specific seat that was his and there was a leather chair beside it that Leonard sat in, but I didn't remember any other chair in the scene other than their desk chairs when they were working on their computers.
She explained how it was an older solid wood chair that was placed across from the sofa and leather chair that was regularly in scene on the show. How is it I missed this chair? I didn't remember a chair even in that location. Mom said when I came over next, she'd show it to me and maybe I'd recognize it then.
A few days later I came over and she took me downstairs to see this chair that dad said dated to probably the 1920s. It wasn't at all what I had in mind. It was a shortish wing-back chair that was solid and yet comfortable to sit in. And I had never seen it on the show. Nope, not once. Okay, not once that I had ever noticed. I didn't doubt my mom.
Mom had picked out a spot the chair would work well in our house, and until she mentioned it, I didn't even realize we needed a chair there. Our guest room had an empty corner, and no chair. No place to put your shoes on or read a book. And the chair would be a great fit for the corner.
Did we want to save the chair from donation and put it to use in our guest bedroom where it would be used and appreciated? Absolutely. Dad brought it over and here's a picture of it:
I still wasn't sure about the chair in the show because, wouldn't I have noticed it? I pulled up the first episode on our cable's On Demand list and within the first minute, there was the chair. The chair I'd never noticed that's now sitting in our guest room. And like mom, every time I see the chair on The Big Bang Theory in the future, I'll think of mom and the chair that's now sitting in our basement bedroom.
The Big Boy Update: ChickenFries...and football...and basketball...and hockey. This was unexpected, and funny a the same time. We decided to go to a sports bar for lunch the other day and as we prepared to turn in, my son could see the television screens on their porch playing some game or sport. We explained we were going to lunch and he immediately said, "chickenfries!" and then, as he looked at the screens he said, "Football!" We laughed because we didn't expect him to make that leap. We explained that football wasn't playing now and he immediately said, "Basketball!" and we were again impressed. Daddy said it wasn't basketball that was playing, but hockey, to which he shouted, "ChickenFries and Hockey!"
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Congestion almost, hopefully, gone. Her terrible yellow green runny nose has almost, I hope, gone away. She had hardly anything yesterday but it came back with a vengeance in extra dark and thick discharge this morning. Hopefully it will be the last days of the runny nose for a while.
Fitness Update: Five-and-a-half miles with my neighbor in thirty-seven degree weather. I overdressed, afraid of being cold and was too hot. I lost a pound in sweat in an hour. Next time, I won't wear two shirts and a fleece.
Someone Once Said: Always tell her she is beautiful, especially if she is not.
First off she said, "It's the Big Bang Theory chair." I said, "What do you mean?" and she explained how there was the same chair that Penny sat in all the time on the show. I knew that Sheldon had a specific seat that was his and there was a leather chair beside it that Leonard sat in, but I didn't remember any other chair in the scene other than their desk chairs when they were working on their computers.
She explained how it was an older solid wood chair that was placed across from the sofa and leather chair that was regularly in scene on the show. How is it I missed this chair? I didn't remember a chair even in that location. Mom said when I came over next, she'd show it to me and maybe I'd recognize it then.
A few days later I came over and she took me downstairs to see this chair that dad said dated to probably the 1920s. It wasn't at all what I had in mind. It was a shortish wing-back chair that was solid and yet comfortable to sit in. And I had never seen it on the show. Nope, not once. Okay, not once that I had ever noticed. I didn't doubt my mom.
Mom had picked out a spot the chair would work well in our house, and until she mentioned it, I didn't even realize we needed a chair there. Our guest room had an empty corner, and no chair. No place to put your shoes on or read a book. And the chair would be a great fit for the corner.
Did we want to save the chair from donation and put it to use in our guest bedroom where it would be used and appreciated? Absolutely. Dad brought it over and here's a picture of it:
I still wasn't sure about the chair in the show because, wouldn't I have noticed it? I pulled up the first episode on our cable's On Demand list and within the first minute, there was the chair. The chair I'd never noticed that's now sitting in our guest room. And like mom, every time I see the chair on The Big Bang Theory in the future, I'll think of mom and the chair that's now sitting in our basement bedroom.
The Big Boy Update: ChickenFries...and football...and basketball...and hockey. This was unexpected, and funny a the same time. We decided to go to a sports bar for lunch the other day and as we prepared to turn in, my son could see the television screens on their porch playing some game or sport. We explained we were going to lunch and he immediately said, "chickenfries!" and then, as he looked at the screens he said, "Football!" We laughed because we didn't expect him to make that leap. We explained that football wasn't playing now and he immediately said, "Basketball!" and we were again impressed. Daddy said it wasn't basketball that was playing, but hockey, to which he shouted, "ChickenFries and Hockey!"
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Congestion almost, hopefully, gone. Her terrible yellow green runny nose has almost, I hope, gone away. She had hardly anything yesterday but it came back with a vengeance in extra dark and thick discharge this morning. Hopefully it will be the last days of the runny nose for a while.
Fitness Update: Five-and-a-half miles with my neighbor in thirty-seven degree weather. I overdressed, afraid of being cold and was too hot. I lost a pound in sweat in an hour. Next time, I won't wear two shirts and a fleece.
Someone Once Said: Always tell her she is beautiful, especially if she is not.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Important Phone Apps
And by that I mean other than the phone app. Without the phone app, it's no phone. And I don't mean the browser. Without a browser it's a much less-useful phone because without many of the other apps, you can still use the browser to find the same information. So what apps are the closest to my heart? Which apps are the ones I love having and would be sad, no, a little bit depressed, if they ceased to exist?
I've gone back and forth on my list of "must have apps" over time. For instance, one of the apps I would be lost without is Endomondo. That name doesn't tell you much about what the app is, does it? It's a fitness tracker and I've been using it since close to the start of my recent exercise craze of running. It tracks my current run, including integrating with my heart-rate monitor to give me distance, route information, total calories burned, steps taken, and other things that are exercise-specific. This app also tracks my history and lets me know I've burned a total of 164 burgers and have gone a total of 960 miles. It lets me know what my friends are doing and it keeps me motivated because I like statistics and it keeps exercising fun.
Another app that has just recently become a favorite is the Starbucks app. I wasn't a coffee drinker this time last year, but I've grown to like coffee. Perhaps that's inaccurate. I love coffee, when done right. I like the fancy lattes and coffee options at Starbucks and they have a nice little app that lets me figure out just want I want to order and how many calories will be in my drink of choice. And then, it lets me pay with my phone so I don't ever have to get money out. Oh, and there are free drinks and rewards if you drink a lot of their coffee. And free apps. Oh, and free song downloads each week. Considering how expensive a cup of their coffee is, free is good. But, honestly, I love it for the pay by bar code option mostly.
IMDB. I think that app is important enough to be its own sentence. Who is that on the current episode of blah-de-blah? I know I've seen that maid in the movie Amadeus in something else, but I just can't place her. Oh! She's one of the main characters from Sex In The City. I would have never figured that out. IMDB is the nagging actor question answer machine, and I love it.
An infrequently used, but very useful app is our home security remote control app. Someone is coming over and you don't want to give them the alarm code? Just unlock the house remotely and when they pick up the envelope sitting on the counter and leave five minutes later, you can remotely re-arm the house.
I have lots of apps I like, like Sputnik! that tells me when upcoming Iridium Flares are happening given my current location. Iridium flares are reflections of sunlight off satellites or the International Space Station that appear suddenly in the sky. And that's just neat information to have and great to spot in the sky.
If I were to read this post a year from now, I wonder what my main, key, go-to apps will be then? Will they have changed? Will some be the same? What new amazing, can't live without apps will I have installed by then?
The Big Boy Update: Turning around in his high-chair. We don't know why he does this, but he likes to turn his torso to the right while he's eating. Not only does he turn right, he puts his right arm and elbow behind him. Is it his chair? No, we've switched chairs. Does he want to look at his sister who is usually on his right? We don't think so, because when his chair has been moved so he can watch television, he looks at the screen and still does it. If we figure it out, I'll let you know.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Sink sitter. We went to a gathering at school today to say goodbye to a retiring staff member. We heard a story from both of my daughter's teachers about how she used the stool to not only get to the sink, but to turn around and sit in it.
Fitness Update: Six miles with Uncle Jonathan. We had a nice run in some chilly weather and talked about lots of fun and funny stuff. We'll hopefully get a chance to run more together soon. Maybe I can convince him to keep some running clothes over here in a drawer?
Someone Once Said: Underneath the persona each shows the world lies a human being different from the masque.
I've gone back and forth on my list of "must have apps" over time. For instance, one of the apps I would be lost without is Endomondo. That name doesn't tell you much about what the app is, does it? It's a fitness tracker and I've been using it since close to the start of my recent exercise craze of running. It tracks my current run, including integrating with my heart-rate monitor to give me distance, route information, total calories burned, steps taken, and other things that are exercise-specific. This app also tracks my history and lets me know I've burned a total of 164 burgers and have gone a total of 960 miles. It lets me know what my friends are doing and it keeps me motivated because I like statistics and it keeps exercising fun.
Another app that has just recently become a favorite is the Starbucks app. I wasn't a coffee drinker this time last year, but I've grown to like coffee. Perhaps that's inaccurate. I love coffee, when done right. I like the fancy lattes and coffee options at Starbucks and they have a nice little app that lets me figure out just want I want to order and how many calories will be in my drink of choice. And then, it lets me pay with my phone so I don't ever have to get money out. Oh, and there are free drinks and rewards if you drink a lot of their coffee. And free apps. Oh, and free song downloads each week. Considering how expensive a cup of their coffee is, free is good. But, honestly, I love it for the pay by bar code option mostly.
IMDB. I think that app is important enough to be its own sentence. Who is that on the current episode of blah-de-blah? I know I've seen that maid in the movie Amadeus in something else, but I just can't place her. Oh! She's one of the main characters from Sex In The City. I would have never figured that out. IMDB is the nagging actor question answer machine, and I love it.
An infrequently used, but very useful app is our home security remote control app. Someone is coming over and you don't want to give them the alarm code? Just unlock the house remotely and when they pick up the envelope sitting on the counter and leave five minutes later, you can remotely re-arm the house.
I have lots of apps I like, like Sputnik! that tells me when upcoming Iridium Flares are happening given my current location. Iridium flares are reflections of sunlight off satellites or the International Space Station that appear suddenly in the sky. And that's just neat information to have and great to spot in the sky.
If I were to read this post a year from now, I wonder what my main, key, go-to apps will be then? Will they have changed? Will some be the same? What new amazing, can't live without apps will I have installed by then?
The Big Boy Update: Turning around in his high-chair. We don't know why he does this, but he likes to turn his torso to the right while he's eating. Not only does he turn right, he puts his right arm and elbow behind him. Is it his chair? No, we've switched chairs. Does he want to look at his sister who is usually on his right? We don't think so, because when his chair has been moved so he can watch television, he looks at the screen and still does it. If we figure it out, I'll let you know.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Sink sitter. We went to a gathering at school today to say goodbye to a retiring staff member. We heard a story from both of my daughter's teachers about how she used the stool to not only get to the sink, but to turn around and sit in it.
Fitness Update: Six miles with Uncle Jonathan. We had a nice run in some chilly weather and talked about lots of fun and funny stuff. We'll hopefully get a chance to run more together soon. Maybe I can convince him to keep some running clothes over here in a drawer?
Someone Once Said: Underneath the persona each shows the world lies a human being different from the masque.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Stomping Grounds
That phrase always makes me laugh inside. I always get a mental image of the person going to whatever area or place that's their, "old stomping grounds" and physically stomping about in the parking lot or rotunda or second floor ladies room. What an absurd image.
But that phrase came to mind today as we drove over to a birthday party my son was invited to. The party was initially to be held at a park I had spent many hours, across many years, playing at throughout my childhood. Now that I think about it, I probably did a fair bit of stomping in the sand when I was there more than thirty years ago.
I remembered what the park looked like very clearly, and then I took my children to play there this past summer. The park has been redone with newer equipment and I can't get the image of the old park back in my head with certainty now. Memory mutates so easily.
I remember one time much later on, when I was not a small child that I went to that park and got in big trouble. There was this boy, you see...you saw that coming, right? He could drive and he picked me up to take me out to dinner. I don't know where we went, but I had to be home at a reasonable time. We were well on schedule to get home when he suggested we go to this very park for a bit.
Okay, sounds like a good idea because we could be in the dark there and probably do a lot of kissing. The park was close to the house and we only had a bit of extra time so that worked out nicely. He was a gentleman and he wanted to make sure we could see to cross the little bridge over the creek to get to the wooden park playground so he left the headlights on on the car.
I don't remember if kissing ensued, it probably did, but when we went back to the car what seemed like just a few minutes later it wouldn't crank because the headlights had drained the battery. This was back in the day when there were no cell phones but it was also in a time where we felt no concern walking the streets at night. So we walked several blocks to the "Mini Mart" to try and get a jump for his car.
The guy I was with was very friendly as well as courteous. He found someone willing to drive over and with jumper cables to start the car so he could get me home. But not home on time. I don't know if I was an hour late or just ten minutes. I'd guess it was an hour or more because my mother or father (I think it was my mother) was waiting at the door looking out when we drove up. I was dreading explaining because how do you explain you went "parking" at a park to do some kissing and were dumb enough to kill the battery on your car.
I remember explaining about the dead battery and I don't think my parents were too hard on me. In general, I was fairly good about following their rules and respecting their expectations. Or at least I hope I was. They might think otherwise.
When I planned on writing this post earlier I had no memory of the dead battery and the boy from high school but as writing can do, as soon as I started typing that's what came out instead of the other things I'd been thinking about from that time and place when I was little.
The Big Boy Update: ChickenFries spotted. Yesterday morning when I was going through Starbucks drive-through he saw a McDonalds and called out, "ChickenFries!" I didn't know he knew what a McDonalds looked like. He wasn't able to eat breakfast and he was hungry. Perhaps he was motivated to find himself some food on the way to the hospital and was just trying to help me.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Face a mess, again. She toddled right into a face plant in the street yesterday. Today it looks like she's either got ketchup on her nose or a scrape that's gone red from her fall.
Fitness Update: Finally my neighbor and I got back together to run this morning. I think it may well have been three weeks or more since we've run together. It finally worked out that I wasn't sick, her husband wasn't at the hospital, it wasn't twenty-two degrees outside and I wasn't taking a small toddler to the hospital early to have an abscess lanced. We caught up or almost five miles. And it was sixty-seven degrees! In January! After an ice storm just last Friday. It was great.
Someone Once Said: Detailed instructions are the death of initiative.
But that phrase came to mind today as we drove over to a birthday party my son was invited to. The party was initially to be held at a park I had spent many hours, across many years, playing at throughout my childhood. Now that I think about it, I probably did a fair bit of stomping in the sand when I was there more than thirty years ago.
I remembered what the park looked like very clearly, and then I took my children to play there this past summer. The park has been redone with newer equipment and I can't get the image of the old park back in my head with certainty now. Memory mutates so easily.
I remember one time much later on, when I was not a small child that I went to that park and got in big trouble. There was this boy, you see...you saw that coming, right? He could drive and he picked me up to take me out to dinner. I don't know where we went, but I had to be home at a reasonable time. We were well on schedule to get home when he suggested we go to this very park for a bit.
Okay, sounds like a good idea because we could be in the dark there and probably do a lot of kissing. The park was close to the house and we only had a bit of extra time so that worked out nicely. He was a gentleman and he wanted to make sure we could see to cross the little bridge over the creek to get to the wooden park playground so he left the headlights on on the car.
I don't remember if kissing ensued, it probably did, but when we went back to the car what seemed like just a few minutes later it wouldn't crank because the headlights had drained the battery. This was back in the day when there were no cell phones but it was also in a time where we felt no concern walking the streets at night. So we walked several blocks to the "Mini Mart" to try and get a jump for his car.
The guy I was with was very friendly as well as courteous. He found someone willing to drive over and with jumper cables to start the car so he could get me home. But not home on time. I don't know if I was an hour late or just ten minutes. I'd guess it was an hour or more because my mother or father (I think it was my mother) was waiting at the door looking out when we drove up. I was dreading explaining because how do you explain you went "parking" at a park to do some kissing and were dumb enough to kill the battery on your car.
I remember explaining about the dead battery and I don't think my parents were too hard on me. In general, I was fairly good about following their rules and respecting their expectations. Or at least I hope I was. They might think otherwise.
When I planned on writing this post earlier I had no memory of the dead battery and the boy from high school but as writing can do, as soon as I started typing that's what came out instead of the other things I'd been thinking about from that time and place when I was little.
The Big Boy Update: ChickenFries spotted. Yesterday morning when I was going through Starbucks drive-through he saw a McDonalds and called out, "ChickenFries!" I didn't know he knew what a McDonalds looked like. He wasn't able to eat breakfast and he was hungry. Perhaps he was motivated to find himself some food on the way to the hospital and was just trying to help me.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Face a mess, again. She toddled right into a face plant in the street yesterday. Today it looks like she's either got ketchup on her nose or a scrape that's gone red from her fall.
Fitness Update: Finally my neighbor and I got back together to run this morning. I think it may well have been three weeks or more since we've run together. It finally worked out that I wasn't sick, her husband wasn't at the hospital, it wasn't twenty-two degrees outside and I wasn't taking a small toddler to the hospital early to have an abscess lanced. We caught up or almost five miles. And it was sixty-seven degrees! In January! After an ice storm just last Friday. It was great.
Someone Once Said: Detailed instructions are the death of initiative.
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