Happy Birthday!

To my sister La Sirena!
(This is her as Nancy in Oliver circa:1990)

Hmmmm. . . .

Does any one spot the similarities between this picture of my sister and my nephew taken last weekend:

And this one of her and Girl taken in 2004?

I've Just Got To Know

Do you see this picture of my sisters, my cousins, and me?
What the heck is going on here?
Did our parents plan to dress us all in red?
Why are Meander and I wearing completely non-matching pants under our dresses?
Why does it look like someone grabbed me by the front of my dress and roughed me up?
Why did my mom think it was super-fun to have us in matching dresses anyway?
And why is Sirena such a goody-freaking-two-shoes (I'm just kidding La Sirena I just wanted to fit you in somehow)?
Also, why am I so freaking cute?


I just wanted to say one more thing (see me, I'm the little one with green pants). Look how nicely my hair is parted. It makes me want to beat up Barry Dubin for trying to spit on me when I was 14 and was retriving a book from under the bleachers. Because of that incident, I sliced my scalp open on the metal struts, giving me a very prominant scar right across my natural part. So now, if I don't want to look like I have a big white X on my head, I have to part my hair on the other side. Thereby fighting my natural part for the rest of my life. DAMN, YOU BARRY DUBIN!!!!

All systems are go for your message to La Sirena!

Hey, La Sirena!
It's your birthday!
I'm in charge of the stars
And I'm here to say,
Hey La Sirena,
You're the BIG STAR today!
My name is Zoom
And I live on the moon
But I came down to earth
Just to sing you this tune
'cause La Sirena,
It's your birthday today!
A present for you
I wanted to find
An outerspace creature
A one of a kind!
A wild whop or a kukelchoo,
An snaffledrop or a buzzardoo
Or maybe a 3-eyed tickleshay
For your birthday
Did you ask: "uh, what's a kukelchoo?"
Well, up on the moon it's nothing new
But that won't do for you,
On your birthday!
I searched behind the clouds and stars
I even zoomed my bike to Mars
And met my friend the saucer man
And he said: "Hey Zoom I got the bestest plan!
What your friend needs is something new,
So how about a song, just from YOU?"
And so tonight when you're in bed
I'll be singing to you as I zoom overhead
Singing, La Sirena! Happy Birthday
Singing, La Sirena! Happy Birthday
Singing, La Sirena!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, La Sirena!
See you next year!

Shocking!

zzzzzzap
Originally uploaded by gardinergirl.

Meander thought I should give her (and Sirena) an assignment. So in true "me" fashion, I am asking for one of your favorite memories of being a kid. I personally have several that I want to talk about, but since I am assigning this to my sisters, I'll share one about my sisters.

When we were little, my sisters and I would don socks and slide all around the carpeted areas of the house as fast as we could to build up a really nice static charge. Then we would try and touch each other.
I think the most fun part of it was that you were (or at least I was) almost afraid to touch the other person because you'd get as much of a shock as the other person. Also, you couldn't run away because you'd lose your charge. Consequently you'd slide away as fast as you could without lifting your feet.
The place where you'd get caught the most was the doorway from the living room to the hall, something about the bottleneck or something.
Another part of that was sometimes we'd get too excited to wait to shock someone else, so we'd touch the metal brackets that held up the shelves on the bookcases and shock ourselves.
The best part about it was how hard we'd laugh.

Dear La Sirena,

Wheel Bug (assassin bug)
Originally uploaded by bcostin.

Yes, bugs always surprise me, especially when you move something and there they are. One time Mom sat in a chair on my deck and this bug was there, it was very surprising especially since they don't normally come this far north and they are VERY large. Also, although it is called a wheel bug, it is a type of ASSASSIN bug. It will often surprise one.
Woodlandmama

Place your bets folks!

So my sister Meander is due 1 week from today. I am opening the pool. I say December 3 and a boy (that's right we are getting a surprise), so step right up and cast your votes.

Dirty Girls!

If you read my sister Meander's blog, you'd know she has been posting pictures of us when we were little. So I thought I'd contribute and post this picture:
My mom has often hailed this picture as the ultimate definition of our personalities. I am the muddy one on the left, with the shirt tucked and too-high shorts. I think that the description is unfair. While yes, I am very dirty, Meander is not as innocent as she appears. She had just washed her face in the hose. As evidence, check out a close-up of Meander:

Please note the mud-spattered shirt and legs (and what is up with those ugly brown shoes). I think that it goes to show she wasn't a better kid than me. She didn't stay out of mud-puddles, but she was older and knew how to turn on the hose.
But on the other hand I love this picture. It is evidence of what our neighborhood looked like before all the trees were cut down. Also the tree directly to my left was really important in our lives. It grew up with us, and we always had our picture taken by it. This is us in 1999 on the day my mom moved out of that house.

The new people in the house butchered it, chopping off most of the bottom of the tree and destroying all the privacy that the tree was supposed to provide.

Sick and Other Things...

I stayed home from work today because Girl is sick. I used to really like my pediatrician, but lately I've started to think of her as a sort of one trick pony. Certainly not every time my kids get sick can they have an ear infection, or sinusitis whatever that is. And I thought Doctors aren't supposed to prescribe antibiotics because of supergerms or whatever.

Anyhow, I hate taking Girl to the doctor because she is allergic to cillins (as in penicillin or ammoxocillin) and we have to go over that every time. This time was particularly bad because after waiting at Walgreen's for 20 minutes (which really sucks because the pharmacy is right by the toy aisle and Girl wants everything) the pharmacist told me my prescription was going to be $43.50.

"What," I scream, "We have ninja insurance we're only supposed to pay $15 for medicine!!"

"Well, your insurance isn't covering it." muttered the idiot with the bad facial hair

"Why," I scream (once again, I was being those people I hate) "They did last time."

"Well last time you had a medicaid card so they covered it."

"No, last time was like in January, when I know for a fact my insurance from Blue Cross/Blue Shield WHERE MY HUSBAND WORKS covered it. I know what our benefits are!" (I was really obnoxious, but you try sitting in a toy aisle with a sick,whiny 3 year old for 20 minutes and see how calm you are)

"No, no last time you had Zithromax and this is ceflecor (or something)"

"Well I don't want your crappy expensive medicine, come on Girl we're going back to the doctor"

"Why, " she sniffled "So she can make me feewuh bedder?"

Bottom line my doctor was scoffing at the stupid pharmacist's idea that she had ever prescribed Zithromax, but asked what was covered and we got that instead (after another 15 mins. in the toy aisle). Also, Mr. H. says that as long as we were getting a generic, it was covered so the idiot was truly an idiot, I wasn't just imagining it.

In other news, I had decided to cut down on how much TV I watch so I thought I'd do some crafts. I made some ticking curtains for my kitchen like I saw in Martha Stewart Living, and a nice witch that was a combo of this one, and one my Grandma had when I was little. I did learn one thing though and that is you can still watch TV while crafting and so it didn't really help at all.

These are the curtains, they are the same color, but the other picture didn't turn out so hot.

See I used the nylon witch's face, and her basic idea but I used the old witch's body frame and pose (though not her scale)
I think La Sirena is Juliet, Meander is Cleopatra, and I am Scarlett O'Hara.

Sisters in a Basket

img150
Originally uploaded by ejsm219.

My mom has been scanning her old negatives, and during a recent visit to the farm, I uploaded a bunch to my Flickr account.
I like this one, but if you think too much about the connotation you get into trouble. My sisters and I (I’m the cutest-I mean smallest) are hanging out in Yogi Bear's Picnic basket. What does Yogi Bear do with the contents of a picnic basket? That’s right, he eats them. AHHHHHH! We’re going to be eaten by a giant Yogi. It’s no wonder I’ve always hated that cartoon, I was subconsciously remembering the time my parents offered me as a sacrifice all for a cute picture.

P.S. Menader looks like Girl sans curls and with darker hair

Yay Reading!!!!

I've got to give a great big thanks to my sister Meander for buying an Amazon Prime membership and then adding me to her account. When you live in a town with a college, you'd think buying a book would be easy. Not the case, unless I want to pay BIG Bucks at the student bookstore or buy 30 year old Louis L'Amour paperbacks from the old lady on the square (and I am not my Grandpa W., so I'm passing) I am out of luck. And don't even get me started on the pathetic town library (I voted for expansion but though it passed, they've barely started building). I could go to the next town over and buy books from Waldenbooks. But with gas costing what it does, it isn't worth it.
This is why I love my sister Meander. I can order lots of books at cheap prices, and since I don't have to pay for the 2-day shipping, almost instant gratification at no extra cost! It's even better because Amazon often ships books from Indianapolis so I get them the morning after I've ordered them. Like this morning, 11 a.m. and I've already taken Girl for a long walk, played games, did laundry, had a tea party, and trimmed Giles's nails, and then boredom overtook me with no hope except cable television when who should mosey up my driveway but the UPS guy with the books I'd ordered yesterday at 1 p.m. My books weren't due 'til Monday! Yay! Weekend reading!!!!! Big kisses Meander!

A Family Thing

Wedding Weekend (9)
Originally uploaded by NKB.

Hey Meander, it's not just you!-L

Happy Birthday La Sirena!

A Weekend with the Family

La Sirena, Meander, Mr. Meander and Big D all joined us at the farm this weekend. On Saturday I made Spinach Manicotti which my family really liked. Here's the recipe. I've discovered that cutting the wine in the sauce makes it better. Meander says it had a zing that she didn't expect. I tripled the batch although I couldn't make all of it because my mom didn't have enough baking dishes to cook them in. But it was a lot of food and it was gone by lunch on Sunday. The thing I hate most is all the chopping involved. I don't like how the food processor cuts things and always do it by hand and it takes awhile.

We watched Pride and Predjudice with Kira Knightly, which I liked. I also watched Brokeback Mountian by myself because Meander had it and I wanted to see it. I didn't really feel much one way or another about it. Now keep in mind that it was late and I was sleepy, so I could have missed something, but I didn't feel like it conveyed their love at all. It was all pretty shots and missing the point as far as I could tell. But then again, I hated American Beauty and everyone loved that movie so maybe I'm just weird. We also played games. Overall, it was a fun weekend. I even took a couple pictures.

The Next Partridge Family

Once again my family sunk to new lows of geekdom by having another family karaoke night. This time we were at my mom’s farm and my mother, sisters, and nephew all participated in addition to Mr. Hobbitfeet, the kids and me. I think that the "Overall Entertainer of the Night" award goes to my nephew, Big D, in his 13-year-old boy rendition of Pieces of Me by Ashley Simpson. So far, Boy’s Christmas present has been a huge hit, well almost. My almost-stepfather hated the whole thing and hid in the garage until the karaoke machine was stashed away. I guess he just doesn’t appreciate a good song.

In other news, my family and I are going back and forth on whether or not we should get a dog. Both Mr. Hobbitfeet and I prefer cats, but thanks to his biological father, Boy is highly allergic to them. So we wanted a smallish dog. The nearby shelter had lab/beagle puppies but all of them are potentially adopted. The other dog we picked out, though one of the smaller ones there, is still a little large for the kids, and so they were pretty scared of her. For the moment, I think we’re passing on the dog, but who know what we’ll do in the future.