Unhistoric Acts

distracted

One of my biggest faults of late is my ability to be easily distracted. I set out to accomplish a task, and while I'm working on it...I think of one small thing I need to do (a phone call, an e-mail, etc.) and then I go do that "really quickly." And then I return to my previous task...which process makes the initial task take REALLY, REALLY LONG. Also, really, really tiring. I need to focus on what is in front of me and check some things off of my to-do list. Is there a pill for this condition? And could someone mail it to me?

I thought I was going to have a super-cool, retro, mid-century modern sofa to blog about today. I found it via Ebay classifieds and made an appointment yesterday to go check it out. I brought Sterling's truck. I brought a wallet-ful of cash because I just knew this was the sofa of my gameroom dreams.

I asked Debbie to go with me just in case the person selling the couch was an axe-murderer. Also, the seller was a good distance away...probably 30 minutes. When we arrived at the seller's apartment complex we had no code to enter the gate. I called the guy, who then hemmed and hawed and explained that he "had just left to run an errand and would be back in 20 minutes."

I agreed to wait.

He later called and explained that he had "an appointment" and couldn't show me the couch. I argued with him for a little and then hung up the phone. Debbie and I then began an intense conversation, scheming how we could see this couch. We tried calling him back three times in a row. He wouldn't answer. My blood pressure was rising. I could feel it.

Then Debbie made a sage observation. She said, "Maybe he is in his apartment trying his hardest not to murder us and we keep begging him to let us in."

And with that...I backed up the car and drove away.

It was mostly funny, but I've watched enough Law and Order to be wary.

So, my thought now is to go ahead with the Karlstad from Ikea. Sterling and I have looked at it twice, each time just not quite sure. But I recently saw it on Young House Love, and really like it.

You can see it in their living room here. (I'm not sure about copying their picture onto my own blog, so you'll have to click over to them...it's worth the click.) One of my major objections to the couch when I saw it in person was the light colored legs. The YoungHouseLove folks just stained theirs darker. Duh. I guess I'm not much of a problem-solver. That's why I need my BFF, the Internet.

Once I get the couch in, and I'm sure which way it looks best. I plan on installing one of these babies:
 
Awesome, right? You can find your own here. Let me know if you do. And no, I'm not joking. I want the rhino.

Enough gameroom talk. PJ and I are off to soccer, again. First game was at 8 AM. Yikes.

impatiens at twilight

I love twilight. For so many years it meant freshly-bathed little bodies in clean pajamas (with the promise of some quiet time for momma). Today it means one tired little boy showering off the dust from soccer practice, one little/big girl at the church, two highschoolers playing sand volleyball, and one hardworking husband still at work. But still, it's the winding down that I love. And I'm winding down, mentally at least. In a minute I'll go start the dishwasher, and wipe down the kitchen counters, and hope Sterling makes it home in time for me to go for a run (and if he doesn't I certainly won't be heartbroken).

I've been meaning to blog for a while about Parker's "disability." He thinks that he has a peculiar condition wherein he can't "feel" anything while he is sleeping. Apparently, he's under the delusion that other people are fully cognizant of their bodies while sleeping, but, alas, poor Parker was born without this ability. He reminded me tonight when we were having a short talk while he finished his dinner. I can't remember the exact lead in...something about sleeping...and then he said, "But, you know...it's hard for me...because I can't feel anything when I'm sleeping." As in, it's harder for him than other NORMAL people who CAN feel things while they are sleeping. I've tried to tell him before that he's really not such a different sleeper, but I don't think he believes me. What does an old momma know anyway?

At any rate, I find his disability entirely charming. Also, I find his ability to sleep through thunderstorms, screaming teenage girls, and home invasions (ahem...) refreshing and restful. He's a keeper for sure.

My kids are planning on me getting up at 5 AM to make them a BIG breakfast because they have testing at school. I plan to comply...not because I think the extra calories will improve their scores...but because I don't want them to hold the "neglect" (of NOT making the big breakfast) over my head for years to come. Yes, that's how I parent. It's called peremptory parenting, wherein one operates out of fear of future reprisals. I'm not yet sure how successful such an approach might be. I'll let you know in about ten years.

Hope your twilight is peaceful.

 

the flip side

I've been accused before of being inauthentic on this blog. I'll deny that to the cows come home. However, there are things I just can't blog about. Like, for instance, ummm...when my kids are naughty or frustrating or disobedient...I can't really expose their foibles to the world wide web. They are entitled to their privacy and should expect to live out their lives apart from outside comment. I respect that. Also, if ever I were to fight with my incredible, darling husband, I wouldn't feel comfortable putting that on the blog...because my incredible, darling husband would dislike that greatly. I, for one, think it would be endlessly entertaining. (Not that we ever disagree. Right, honey? Honey?)

What I can tell you is that I often let the ball drop. Many balls, in fact. The first thing to go? Housekeeping, of course. I hate it when this happens because I detest a messy house. None of the rest of my family seems to care about the mess one. tiny. bit. (And thus their reluctance to chip in.)

This is what met me when I walked in the door from A&M today:

This picture doesn't do the mess justice. You are missing out on two large counter areas completely covered with dishes and miscellaneous junk. I made sweet and sour chicken last night...but by the time I picked up the last kiddo a little after 8, I was done. I sent everyone to bed and finished my grading. The dishes would have to wait.

And wait, they did. They are extremely patient little stinkers.

I also saw this:

Hmmm. Half of the Easter breakfast set-up remains. The baggie on the right side of the table contains Jordan's inhaler. ???? Inside those adorable egg cups? Splashes of leftover egg dye. It's a little gross and crusty to tell the truth.

My first inclination is to walk past this entire mess and leave it for tomorrow. My second inclination is to scream at the kids to clean it up. My third inclination is to curl up in the fetal position and suck my thumb. In the past, I've tried all of these options, none of which is ultimately satisfying. You know, we talk a lot in our church about enduring to the end. And, of course, this means being good and faithful and living a Christ-like life in the face of adversity and temptation and trials. But even more often, I think enduring to the end means rolling up your sleeves and washing the day-old dishes when you don't feel like it.

Do you remember when you were a kid and you swore that when you grew up you'd never have to cook or clean because you'd have a personal chef and a maid and be super rich and famous? Sometimes I still catch myself thinking those things. And then I think..."Wait. I'm already grown up."

Still not ready to give up on the personal chef or maid quite yet...but the rich and famous? I can let that slide.

happy easter!

This is us, sunburns included, before jumping in the car for church. We are starting to get Easter-celebration-before-church down to an art form. Sterling and I get up and start on breakfast (table set the night before). Then we wake the kids and they come down to check out what the Bunny left. Everyone promptly gathers buckets and heads out to hunt eggs. Following the hunt we have eggs benedict with hashbrowns, fresh fruit, and juice. THEN....get ready for church. And hurry!

Heading out in a minute for Easter dinner at my parent's house. Got to make the hollandaise...

Hope your Easter is wonderful.

shark fishing. yes, really.

I'm a member of the JAWS generation. I grew up watching Jaws, terrified in the dark of night in my dry bed, dreaming that he would find me. When Sterling and I were on our honeymoon in Hawaii, we were snorkling and our guide wanted to take us to see some nurse sharks. I scrambled out of that water so fast I was practically back to our hotel before Sterling knew what was happening. If my new husband wanted to see some nurse sharks up close and personal, that was going to be a solo trip. No thank you sir. No siree. No way.

And yet, yesterday I let my kiddos swim in the ocean...while some friends CAUGHT SHARKS. Not even kidding.

The look on Parker's face when they pulled this baby up on the beach was priceless. It was like he'd won the lottery, been given a 6 pound Snicker bar, and found a new Corvette all at the same time. He's long had an affectionate fascination with sharks. He has approximately 37 rubber sharks in various spots in his room. But this. This was up close and personal sharking. Yikes.

The girls wanted in on the shark action as well. As you can see, Becca is reticent to touch the shark. She was also reticent to sit in the sand. I think she ended up doing both. It was a day of tremendous growth for my baby. Madison was not reticent to touch the shark and went so far as to repeatedly "pet" the dismembered shark head cast upon the beach once the cleaning and fileting were complete. The shark above was released...bull sharks are apparently not good for eating.

The whole day was super fun and not something this nervous nelly of a mother would normally participate in. I mean, they caught upwards of 7 sharks FROM THE BEACH. And yet, the kids were swimming and paddling and jumping the waves. Of course, when the line would pull and we knew they had a shark on the line...the moms would jump up and wave the kids in. "COME ON IN KIDS, SHARK'S A'COMIN'!"

No shark bites...but sunburn? Now that's another story altogether.

 

garden update

Hi all. Thanks for all of the kind birthday wishes. I had a very nice day and topped the whole thing off with a great dinner out with my own little family. The kids were on their best behavior, even going so far as to police their own snarky comments to each other "since it was Mom's birthday." Why thank you children. Momma loves a snark-free dinner.

I will freely admit that this birthday bothered me. I've never felt this way before about a birthday, and darned if I didn't fight the feeling with all of my logical powers. I self-talked, I self-encouraged, I self-medicated (just kidding there), but still...I was not a happy camper most of the morning. Part of that may have had to do with the fact that when I googled our newly announced English department head, I realized she's only about two years older than myself. This, coupled with my 40th birthday, just about laid me low. And I know, I have some good stuff going on my end too. But still, that's how I felt. There was no denying it. By the evening I was better. My kids were cheery, and Sterling was moving heaven and earth to show me a good time. I shook hands with 40 and wolfed down my steak.

I do have a nice, new morning routine, which includes surveying the garden with Parker. We step onto the back patio, watch Indie roll around on the wet grass, check on all of our little plants and comment on their growth. Sterling had been reticent to gush over my seedlings, so thankfully Parker has stepped up to the plate. I'm posting these pictures here mostly to document the garden...I call this...the beginning.

Do you remember that I planted those tomatoes with their stalks horizontal? My, how nice and straight they have grown. And the okra? Grew those from seeds. Parker and I are especially enthusastic about seed progression.

See for yourself:

That okra is so green and fuzzy and adorable. It only broke through the soil/gardening medium yesterday. I feel very protective of this little shoot. And yes, this is weird. Mid-life crisis, remember?

 
 
Those green beans are also from seeds. I wanted eight, but so far only six have emerged. I may have to replant. MORE FUN FOR ME!! And the cucumber I was so worried about? Fully recovered. Phew.

What you can't see are the zucchini and the eggplant. I planted eggplant last, and it has yet to come up, but I'm hopeful. Also, I have a whole packet of seeds and a long growing season should the eggplant prove stubborn. The cilantro needs some help. I've been picking off the yellowed stems, but it doesn't seem to be improving. Any cilantro pointers out there?

Bueller?

Bueller?

 

 

makin' some plans

Today, being Monday, I sat down at my desk and had a meeting with myself. I planned this meeting with a little motivation in mind. I'm not sure what is up lately, but it seems, at times, as if I'm swimming through mud. I'm paddling hard, but my limbs are heavy and mired and, well, sluggish. And in disrespect of said sluggishness, I felt some planning was in order.

First, I planned my work work (as opposed to housework or family work or fun work). I committed to grading five papers a day and working on additional research. Check. I then planned the menu for the week and made a grocery list. Then I decided what creative-type things I wanted to do for Easter.

Then I took a nap.

Just kidding!

Actually, I graded my five papers, collected some additional sources for my chapter, and went to HEB to procure the goods necessary for my menu. I also bought healthy snacks. And some thyme for my garden. And the above-pictured flowers to replace my worm-ridden geraniums. Here's one thing I know for sure...if I'm going to water the containers on my porch, they better produce something worth looking at. Worm-ridden geraniums are not worth looking at. Believe me. And this is where my black thumb sends the rest of me down a winding path of I-don't-care-about-gardening-cuz-I-can't-keep-anything-alive. I always start off every spring with high hopes and just a tad more knowledge (about killing) than last spring. One of these days I just know all of my killing knowledge is going to culminate in NOT KILLING. In flourishing. And nurturing. And beautiful, healthy plants. Just not exactly sure when said culmination will take place.

As for the sluggishness? It comes and goes. A couple of springs ago I remember sitting in church and noticing that the woman sitting in front of me had on a pretty, hand-sewn Sunday dress. She was an older woman. In fact, I believe she was visiting her grandchildren that particular Sunday. I still remember thinking, I hope I have the chutzpah to sew my own dress when I'm an old grandma. I must have been feeling weary then too. And the only thing I can figure is to keep on keeping on. Keep reading. Keep cooking. And gardening. And making. And writing. Also, maybe aim for more than five hours of sleep a night.

Yeah, I'm thinking more sleep might really help things out around here.

Tomorrow...I'm 40. Maybe THAT'S why I'm feeling sluggish. Mid-life crisis, HERE I COME!    

Anyone care to join me?

sunday eve

It's Sunday evening here and Sterling and the kids are working on the dishes. I'm hiding out.

Our usual routine dictates that I make dinner, and then everyone else chips in on the cleaning. Personally, I liked it a tad better when Sterling and I cooked together, but his current meeting schedule makes that less than ideal...so I'll take what I can get.

Jordan placed third at the Regional UIL meet in Literary Criticism this Saturday! Most significantly, this means that she progresses to the state competition in Austin in three weeks. From what little intel I can gather, our region is typically the most competitive, so she should have a shot at placing at state. What's more, her third place score was only six points below the first place winner. That's a three question difference. And yes, tiger momma is emerging. I'll try to control myself.

On Wednesdays evening, while the girls and Sterling were at church, Parker and I whipped us this little crafty number. This project was a complete success on a number of levels. First, Parker is not-so-much a crafter, but was unusally content to sit up to the island with me and make colored salt. Secondly, I just happened to have all of the supplies on hand. While our jars are not quite so cute as the originals, they were free (cooking wine and balsamic vinegar bottles) and ready at hand. Third, I rescued Parker from the TV and instead had a good chat with him while creating. I think I get double momma points for that. Get the instructions here.

I planted cilantro, zucchini, summer squash, okra, green bell pepper, eggplant, and cucumber this weekend. The cucumber is struggling, so I'm watching it carefully. Sometimes, when I'm out at the garden I half imagine myself calling a code blue and shocking those cucumber plants with miniature defibrillators. But of course, that's silly -- cucumbers don't have hearts. We are in a wait-and-see pattern at the moment.

On the agenda this week: I TURN 40. Yes, years. Pray for me.

friday, at last...

Daughter #3 got a haircut this week. I think it makes her look older, which I don't want. Does this look like 13 to you? I'm heading to Walmart in a minute for fluffy bows and Dora t-shirts. I'll show her.

While I haven't shared my weekly menu...because...umm....I never made one, I do have a few food-related things to share with you. Last Sunday we had the missionaries over for dinner. I made Pioneer Woman's Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork. I served it on wheat buns with a nice avocado aioli as a spread. The pork is awesome, and it made a ton. Even after feeding a group of eight I had mucho leftovers. Because we are a wasteful family I was concerned with the bounty. But miracle of miracles, my girls ate that pork everyday after school and twice as resurrected tacos. I know. It must have been super good because my people are often not a fan of the LEFTOVER.

I also served some Mexican Corn-on-the-Cob alongside the pork. Everyone seemed to find this a little weird at first...but they ate it up lickety-split. For myself, I'd enjoyed the glories of mexican corn at a hole-in-the-wall in NYC with my friend Jane...so I was already a believer.

On Monday I made Baked Bree's Vegetable Pistou. The pistou is a basil pesto, and you take that beautiful pesto, place a healthy portion in the bottom of the bowl, and then pour the hot vegetable soup on top. I thought it was wonderful, fantastic, and stupendous. Sterling was not a big fan, which is completely upside-down because he usually likes EVERYTHING I cook. So, when he said he didn't like it...I began to question myself and my existential place in the universe. But then I ate a ding dong...and everything came into focus once again. Sugar can do that for you.

On Tuesday and Thursday I kept offering shredded pork and vegetable pistou. I did this because I was tired and lazy and completely out-of-sorts. I didn't clean, cook, or do much in the way of English doctoral work. This left my house dirty, my family hungry, and my work neglected. Being out-of-sorts (and dirty) really doesn't work for me. So I stopped that silliness.

Which meant on Thursday I attempted Pioneer Woman's Vegetable Lasagna. Sterling had two gigantic helpings. I graded for two hours and completely unearthed the mountain of clothes in my bathroom. Vegetable lasagna is magic. However, on a side note, it took me just under an hour and a half to complete the meal (including bake time), which is a little silly for a mid-week meal when there are children to shuttle, and homework to muddle through, and things to buy at Target.

Also as a side note. In the middle of my chopping extravaganza, wherein I chopped an onion, a red bell pepper, four cloves of garlic, 24 ounces of mushrooms (that's a lot of mushrooms), and four squash, Parker told me this, "Mom, since I won't be eating the lasagna (cuz he thinks he doesn't like lasagna), could I have a bowl of Captain Crunch for dinner?"

At which point I entered into a diatribe that started something like this, "If I wanted you to have a gigantic bowl of sugar for dinner I would not be spending an hour constructing this lasagna. I would set out the sugar and a spoon and climb into my bed and watch Pregnant in Heels. So you are eating this lasagna! DO YOU HEAR ME?"

And then I remembered why I was out-of-sorts.

The end.

 

more dirt

After another episode of Sarah-Meets-Manual-Labor, I finally got my gardening table home. Behold:

Please disregard the trash behind the table. For some reason I didn't have the mental stamina to clean up and THEN take the picture. Although, strangely enough, I was able to take the picture and THEN clean up. I know. Weird. Today I painted the the grid, mostly because I want it to last in the weather. And although I may be chastized for this by my brother, I decided to run a length of twine long ways rather than use wood strips. This is primarily because I ran out of wood, but also because I didn't have a 10' long strip to begin with...I would have to piece from an 8 foot strip. And also, because I just needed to get to gettin' with this project. I can always tweak the grid later.

I purposely didn't remove my Sonic Route 44 Diet Coke with lime from the picture because I wanted you to see how nifty the table is. You can have your drink at your elbow as you garden. Folks, that's what I'm talking about.

This is the long view (obviously). See those eye screws? Ummm...I drilled a pilot hole and screwed those in myself. And the two foot strips that lay across the box? I cut those myself as well. At first I got this rusty old hand saw from the garage and spent approximately 17 years making two small cuts. After that I marched myself into the garage looking for a better method, which (better method) immediately presented itself to me in the form of a chop saw. Power tools do a heart good. My motto for this year is Get 'er Done.

Today I planted three varieties of tomatoes. I actually planted them horizontally (if you can imagine). I took this straight from Mel's book, which instructs that you strip the lower leaves of the tomato plant and then dig a 3-4" deep trench and plant the tomato horizontally with just the top peeking out at a diagonal. According to Mel, the entire stalk will sprout roots and this larger root system will produce a healthier, more vital, plant. Well, shoot, I'll try anything once...so horizontal it is. In a few weeks, when the plants are bigger, I'll need to construct a trellis system that will allow the plant to grow vertically. One of my favorite parts about Mel's book is when he talks about vertical gardening. He gives a list of the benefits of of vertical gardening. And first on the list? because it's SPECTACULAR (that's a quote). Mel, you had me at spectacular.

I also planted basil and rosemary. We use a lot of this when cooking, so I'm planning on saving oodles of money by growing my own herbs. With all of my savings I'll be jaunting around Europe in no time. Can't wait. (In all seriousness, I spent like $6 on basil alone last week. So...yeah...needed to plant the herbs.)

Tonight I'll be soaking some green bean seeds, which means that in the morning...I'll need another Route 44. It's required for planting. You understand.

Crossing my fingers on those horizontal tomatoes...