Top Three Green-Living Tips

I'm embarassed to admit that while we, as a family, are trying to live "greener", it's been a slow transition. Ella, however, learned at school last year about recycling and being environmentally friendly. Immediately, she became our family "Green" ambassador. She is now an aggressive water saver, always at your elbow ready to turn off the faucet should it be on one second too long while brushing teeth or washing hands.

And when it comes to recycling, Ella saves everything. I mean every. Scrap. Of trash. "I can make something with it." she says. She's always been a collector - stones and rocks being her favorite - in fact, I was so lucky one day to find petrified dog shit in my coat pocket when Ella was about 2. Funny how things never change.

In the spirit of evolving to being more green, I'm joining TwitterMoms and LighterSaferGreener.com who are encouraging moms to offer 3 green-living tips. I'm happy to report that I have at least 3 to share!

1. Recycle your zipper lock bags. At least the larger ones. No need to throw these away. Just rinse them with soap and water, hang on a serving utensil in the dish rack to dry.
   
2. Replace all your standard lightbulbs with energy efficient ones.
   
3. Get those reusable grocery bags out and use them! Plus, some grocery stores give a discount per bag.

Future green-living enhancements? Composting. Yes, we'll be doing it soon enough.

MIA

I'm going through blog withdrawal! I've got all kinds of things to write about and no time. I just celebrated my 10 year wedding anniversary in the Berkshires so I'll be adding some photos and commentary tonight. I hope! If I can get out of the office.

Hot Chocolate & Peppermint

Most of the leaves have turned and fallen, and the cold is settling in - that means time for hot drinks fireside! Twittermoms and Lenox are having a Drinks of the Season contest so I'm jumping in for this one. There could even be a prize in it for you! (One of) My favorite winter drinks...

Hot Chocolate & Peppermint Schnapps
My dad makes a mean one of these.

Ingredients for 6 servings

1 quart milk (forget the skim, go whole) or half-and-half (even better!)
6 ounces chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (Or Hershey's syrup)
9 ounces Peppermint Schnapps
Whipped cream
Peppermint sticks

Directions
Heat 1 cup of the milk in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate, stirring constantly, until melted. When the chocolate has melted, increase heat to medium and add the remainder of the milk while whisking rapidly. Do not allow to boil.
Serve in small cups fortified with a jigger (1 1/2 ounces) of peppermint schnapps and a dollop of whipped cream. Add a peppermint stick to stir.

Make a batch of hot chocolate for the kids, and add the Peppermint for you! Enjoy in big mugs next to the fire or take in a thermos on a cool autumn walk. Oh wait. Can you walk around with alcohol? Oh who cares. Enjoy and Happy November!

Happy Halloween

Hope it was fun!

Hello, my name is ...

What has happened to common politeness? People no longer say "thank you". I suppose they feel entitled? I don't hear "excuse me" or "pardon me" when someone wants to walk by like at a baseball game or the theater when you actually have to stand up to get out of their way. Instead they just stand there, waiting for you to move. And introductions are far and few between. Yesterday I was at a school event. In a classroom surrounded by many parents I've never met. I was amazed to be standing next to parents who wouldn't even look in my direction. Even while having a conversation with one person, I wasn't introduced to the person next to her. I have no problem taking matters into my own hands, and I did actually meet two really nice, seemingly non-weird or snobby moms. I was with my sitter and I asked her, Is it me? Do I project something? No, she said, you're really friendly and not intimidating at all. The husband says not everyone is interested in meeting new people. That's fine. I'm not looking to be best friends with everyone, but our kids are in the same class and you're standing right the hell next to me. I don't get it. And if I don't introduce myself then I'm just as bad as they are! Have people just forgotten how? Are they too shy? Or do they really just not give a shit who you are? Rude. That's what it is.

My husband - the blogger

If you're into sports - really into sports - you will get this.

Over Beers

A tale of two daughters

My daughters are two completely different creatures. Ella is the oldest and very reserved with her emotions. She hides her face when she gets mad or sad. She doesn't like to be the center of attention or singled out. Even when she gets sick, she handles it better than most adults. She is content to play alone on the playground if she isn't interested in what her friends are doing. and she can talk your ear off. She loves to create and she loves to learn.

Now, take all of that into consideration with Kyra and think of the extreme opposite. Except she loves to create (a huge mess) and she can talk off your ear if it has to do with her dog Barney, who goes on many adventures with his animal friends. And Kyra hates school. H.A.T.E.S. it. Just this morning from the bathroom to anyone who was in earshot, she went on a tirade about how school is so boring, and I know everything already, and my friends are boring, and they tease me. They tease you? They tease me about my white spots! This she said hoping to get a reaction. But really, it was one boy who said nanananabooboo to her. For no particular reason.

Ella has not once, not ever, complained about school. And I am not exaggerating. Kyra, on the other hand, complains daily. Full blown, whining with tears, and loudness. And yet, she comes home excited that she had a great day, and Hey look, I can read! And she does. And we're all proud of her and happy and give her high-fives and do a little dance. And I know, with every cell in my body, this is going to be my every day for the next 13 years.

What did I do to create such two completely different human beings?

Germs!

I'm on the train and people are coughing. And I picture little h1n1 germs flying through the air. I notice that I try not to cough so as not to seem infectious. Even though I don't have anything contagious. I walk behind someone who coughs or sneezes and I find myself ducking to avoid airbourne germs from landing on my face. They are everywhere. Sick people. Germs. I'm getting a little nervous here.

When you hear about these perfectly healthy, non-symptom-showing, young people dying ALL OF A SUDDEN, it makes me wonder what the hell this "swine flu" really is. Really. What is really going on?

I was on the fence about getting the girls vaccinated. But now I can't get them vaccinated soon enough.

The weekend unplanned

The husband is away. This weekend is the annual guys trip to Dallas to see a Cowboys home game. That's right. We live in Philadelphia, but he and his friends are Cowboys fans. I have no explanation for that.

My weekend sans husband was orignally booked solid and included a quick jaunt down to Maryland to visit a friend and her new baby (Hi Kellie!), back home for a sewing lesson from my mom and a visit from my sister and her kids (Her hubby also being away.), which was also meant to be a photo session. Then, my friend Rose (who's husband is in Dallas with mine.) was coming over for food, wine and catching up. That was just on Saturday. Sunday was meant to include soccer practice, a brief stop in at a friend's jewelry party, then chauffeur Ella to two overlapping birthday parties.

But. Things didn't go quite as planned.

I let my mom and sister off the hook as they emphathized with my lack of free time. Then, earlier in the week a pipe connected to one of our radiators blew and let gushing water flood our basement. Turned out the HVAC guy was available Saturday morning, and kept me trapped in my house until mid-afternoon. There goes the trip to Maryland. Sorry Kellie. Rose did, however, come over with snacks and dessert. After a gourmet meal of wine, chips and queso, and homemade cinnabons, I got sucked into "Marley & Me" and proceeded to tear up sob through the last half of it. Sunday, at about 4 am, I find Kyra hugging the toilet desperate to vomit. Then, Ella woke up not feeling well. All I can think of is swine flu. Kyra had no appetite all morning and thankfully no fever, and Ella eventually came around. But soccer was out. I couldn't bring Kyra to the jewelry party in her condition and I was afraid to take Ella to the first birthday party. What if she was on the brink of illness? So I cancelled everything. By lunch time, everyone seemed back to normal. Foolish thinking? Probably. Kyra took a nap and is still a bit out of it. Could it be one of those illnesses that trick you into thinking it's not all that bad and then WAMMO, the body revolts and catches you at the grocery store staring at a puddle of throw up? Well, I'm not willing to find out. Kyra will be camping out in the bathroom.

Aside from all of this, I like when the husband goes away. I can eat ice cream in the middle of the day - courtesy of Rose. I can stay up late watching pathetic movies and shamelessly cry my eyes out. I can blow off my workout for the 8th day in a row and not give a shit. I don't feel compelled to do much of anything. And I don't feel guilty about it. I did, however, do a ton of laundry. And that? I'm okay with. If it will get put away, is another thing.

So my stuffed weekend became unstuffed. And it was good.

I got an award!

But we all know it's not the Best Mom of the Year Award. I forfeited that one on Day 7. And it's certainly not for the Best Friend of the Year, because well, I have no "local" friends. Well, if you don't count Mo or Roz. BUT. My bloggy friend, that's right my bloggy friend, over at Junius & Pippi gave me this. The Honest Scrap Award. Thank you Cyndi!!

And while the few of you who actually read my blog, probably think this is silly. I feel very honored to be thought of. Who doesn't like a little acknowledgement every now and then? Plus, this could not have arrived at a better time. I was feeling a little down and insecure this morning because of my apparent inability to make decent friends. Then, my dear husband, whose poor ear I bent this morning with my self-inflicted loser woes, sent me flowers "Just Because". I am now much happier. Screw all you potential "real" friends. Who needs ya anyway. I've got flowers and a blog award. :-P

According to Cyndi at Juni & Pippi, I'm supposed to come up with 10 Honest Things and share this award with 7 people. If I had 7 bloggy friends, I would do exactly that. But I don't. I'm a loser. I can, however, come up with 10 Honest Things which you may or may not already know.

10. I have reached a point in my career in which I no longer feel the need to get ahead. I am perfectly content watching other people work 60+ hours a week for someone else.
9. If I could do it all over again, I would not have children. Just to see what it's like.
8. I despise shopping for myself. Until I find something.
7. I'm never content. Ever.
6. Once I don't like you, I can never like you.
5. I don't floss.
4. I've had melanoma.
3. I want to be blissfully, romantically, sickeningly happy, but am not remotely capable. And, I'm just to old. I know better now.
2. I cannot watch TV without doing something productive, otherwise I feel like I'm wasting time.
1. I want to do much more with my life, but don't know what or how. And that bothers me on a regular basis.

So, happy Friday to you! I hope you have a fabulous weekend. I for one, will be a single mama dealing with contractors, sports and birthday parties. Can someone find me the liquor bottle? STAT!

When you're friends with your kid's friend's parents...

If that's not a mouthful.... Are you familiar with this scenario? You become friendly with your kid's friend's parents. You go to each other's homes for dinner, even go out once or twice, exchange playdates, carpool to sports lessons together, talk about a future when your kids can run to each other's house alone. Then, something changes. You're not sure what, but you notice you're talking less, emailing less, playdates aren't being scheduled, dinner plans aren't being made. What happened?

In one case, my daughter's friend now goes to another school. That future was bound to come to an end, so I'm not surprised. But, it didn't have to. The mom and I had become friendly - sharing our love of wine and eventually yard sales, although very brief. However, the playdates were happening mostly at our house, and then she blew me off to go yardsaleing with her husband - because he was so upset to be left out. You know, he just really loves yard sales. Uh huh. That's when I knew it was over.

Sad? Not so much. But I am, of course, taking an introspective look at myself. Am I so repellent? I don't usually have a hard time making friends. I'm finding it very hard to meet other parents, well, moms, with whom I have something in common, or even like. And I'm trying! People are nice, but I don't want to hang out with them. They seem snobby, fake, cliqueish, boring, or just plain weird. Do we reach a certain age when we no longer need to make new friends? I know it's much easier when you're at home with kids, and maybe I'm better off. My free time is very precious. But when I want a girls night out, or to meet a friend for drinks one night, I'd like to have an option. You know?

Phillies!

I was high-fiving strangers - it was that fun.Our seats? Not so fun. Right under the jumbotron. So I had to break my neck to see what was going on. Otherwise, I had no idea who was up. Also? Couldn't see if homeruns were truly homeruns without paying attention to crowd reaction. It was impossible to know where the ball was actually landing if it was coming to centerfield.

But. Who am I to complain. I was there. It was amazing. Now on to the World Series!

Nature walk

Three straight days of cold weather and rain, and we were all a little stir crazy. The girls were starting to get a little wild so we decided to go on a nature walk at Haverford College. The grounds are beautiful there, and the leaves here are just starting to change.
We were going to collect pine cones to make a wreath, but we all brought our cameras too. Not many pine cones to be found so it turned more into a photo walk than a nature walk.

The girls were very excited to take pictures of the geese and ducks and trees, which made me happy since I would love to see them get into photography. We walked off the path and came across a creek, which Kyra immediately stomped through. Rain boots rock!

I tried my hand at slow shutter shots, but I didn't have my tripod. Oh well.

A cold, damp autumn day that ended with hot chocolate and a fire. I could do this everyday.

Playdates

When I was much (much, much) younger and living in Maryland, my two best friends lived in the houses right behind mine. I remember running out the door shouting, I'm going to Kelly's or I'm going to BreAnne's, and never looking back. I don't remember organized playdates. Ever.

Nowadays, that's all there is. Playdates are fine. There's someone other than me to entertain my child. It's even better when they go to a friend's house. I can get stuff done. I love playdates, except for one thing. They have to be reciprocal. If I'm hosting playdate after playdate with the same kid and not getting the reciprocal invitation, we've got a problem. I am super conscious of returning the playdate invitation. I hate having it hanging out there...like I owe them. Of course, there are parents who don't feel the same way. If I thought my kids were misbehaving, then I'd understand. But they're not. I always ask.

One of my neighbors has it right. Two of her kids are Ella and Kyra's age, they come to my house for a couple hours and she gets some down time and then we switch. It's fabulous. The kids have a blast because they get a "double playdate" and the parents both win.

So, what happens then, after a few unreturned playdates? Your kid doesn't get invited to my house anymore. Sorry. I'm not here to provide free babysitting while you do your grocery shopping or get your nails done.

1,2,3 Magic

Now that we're a month and a half into the school year (God is that it?! It feels twice that long!)Kyra has settled down... a bit. She's not coming home with blood-stained shirts from anxious nose picking. And, the bathroom accidents have not quite disappeared, but dwindled in number.

It's been a couple weeks since we started using the 1,2,3 Magic technique with Kyra. The premise behind it is to get her to stop bad behavior, albeit whining, arguing, tantrums, by using no emotion (when you're ready to pack their bags and move 'em out, this is the hardest), no talking to her as if she's an adult (Reasoning with a 5-year-old mid-tantrum? As if they can hear you anyway.), count to 3 and then if they haven't stopped a time out in their room. You really have to shut yourself down, because there's this whole negotating thing that she tries during this process and you just have to ignore her. But, I'm following the book, so I have permission to be cold-hearted. We're still working on being consistent. I'm happy to say that it's working. By the time I get to 2, she's stopping. Of course, there have been days, where she would just keep going back in her room for a time out. We've also started the Token Economy by rewarding good behavior with tokens. The girls collect the tokens and can exchange them for money, toys, trips, whatever. It forces you to look for the good rather than focus on the bad. That's been helpful. And we've given them jobs. At the end of the week, they earn tokens. They take great pride in getting their jobs done (when they think of them) and marking them off on the chart.

However, I think because we're repressing Kyra's tantrums she's now unleashing them on Ella. Ella, who tried to help Kyra unbutton her pjs the other morning, received quite an earful. GET OUT OF MY ROOOOOOOOOM! RIGHT NOOOWWWWW! I DON'T WANT YOUR HELP!!!! GET OUUUUUUUT! Poor Ella, how she doesn't haul off and sock her one I have no idea.

Anyway, I highly recommend the book if you're kids are running the house.

Got any greys?

So back to that age thing... I took the girls to get their hair cut after work. Their stylist was the only one there with a customer who was having her roots colored. She was sitting there complimenting the girls - oh, they're so cute, so pretty, they look so much alike, such pretty hair. Turns out she was buttering me up because somehow the conversation led to her asking me if I had any greys. Wha?! *cough* GREYS?! Are you kidding me? Is it because I'm here with two kids, I'm supposed to be OLD enough to have grey hair? I'm 28 at heart, and who the hell are you? I mean, do I look old enough to have GREYS? Jesus!

Of course, vocally, I handled the question with much more dignity. I may have stuttered a bit, but I said, uh, no, maybe a couple stragglers every once in a while. And I stopped myself short of saying, Nothing that needs to be colored by any stretch! I mean, she was sitting there with color on her roots after all. Far be it from me to point that out.

Good God!

On another note, do you spell grey with an "ay" or an "ey"? Just curious.

I want a snowball

I have been following this blog for about a year or so. I don't remember how I came across it, but I got sucked in and it's been one of the few blogs I read religiously. What keeps me coming back, I'm not sure. Possibly the fact that the woman is living a life in the midwest completely foreign to mine on the east coast. The fact that she's self-deprecating, which is always funny. Maybe because she's into photography, and so am I. Or she cooks, and I don't. Who knows. But she's doing stuff, and people are reading about it. In fact, she just published a cookbook, mostly with her recipes from her blog. And yesterday, on the front page of the Food section of the Philadelphia Inquirer, there was her cookbook with a short article. Here's a woman who started her blog 4 years ago just for the heck of it. And now she gets 13 million page views a month. Her cookbook is already #1 on Amazon's preorder list in the food category. I'm jealous! I want to find my thing. Why does it seem like this stuff just falls into their lap? I read about these "success" stories, and they all start off with someone simply doing something they like to do, then it snowballs into a fabulous business.

It might be time to revaluate my life. Or start making candles again. Or tighten up my photography skills. Hmmmm...

Dresses that make you disappear

I am not into fashion by any means. But, I came across this pic and had to share...optical illusion by Victor & Rolf.

What's going to happen today?

It has been a weird start to the day. A new school bus driver drove right past us and kept going. I suppose a group of elementary school-age children standing there didn't alert him. Or the map he had in his hand. Fortunately two parents were able to wait with the kids so the rest of us could catch the train.

We made it to the station just in time--the train was halfway there--but suddenly we noticed it backing up--all the way back to the stop before ours. I'm a little nervous what this day is going to bring.

Just wondering...

Is it wrong that I'd rather go to a knitting class than tennis? Must be an age thing.

Age

Teenagers want to be older. Everyone older than 29 wants to be younger. Yesterday, I got older. I'm not really bothered by it. I feel younger than my actual age; and I like to think, I look younger than my age. And this, I'm ok with. Even if it is just a couple of years. I'll take what I can get.


But I wonder, at point did I start to care? And I do care. That's why I keeping turning 34.

How well do you know yourself?

I wonder, how well do you know yourself? Or rather, are you in denial about some of your negative qualities? I'm wondering this because I work with someone who is apparently oblivious about two particular qualities. She exclaimed to me once, "I'm not a complainer." And yet, that's all she does. Literally. She's not talking if she's not complaining or bitching about something or someone. When she made that statement, I had to bite my lip from laughing out loud, "WHAT?!" She was serious. And just now, she actually said, "I'm in remarkable health." Um, yeah. Here's a woman who coughs everytime she laughs, and refuses to see the cardiologist because she doesn't want to hear any bad news, even though her physician said she should! She wears a mouth guard at night so she doesn grind away her teeth - from what? Stress probably? Not healthy.

Now, to be fair, I'm not perfect. I know this may come as a shock to some of you. But, it's true. My husband wholeheartedly will attest to this. In fact, just this morning he had the pleasure of experiencing first hand one of my most negative qualities...selective listening. Selective in that, it only happens with him. It appears that I'm listening--I nod in the right places, even throw in a "Mhmm"--yet I'm not really hearing anything. Of course, I don't realize at the time that I'm doing this. I like to think that I'm just not retaining it. But when the conversation comes back up, and I have no idea what's he's talking about, I know I'm in trouble. Could it be ADD? By the way people who know me? This post is in no way an invitation to share what you think are my negative qualities. Because you're wrong.

The only app I paid for...

I have been enjoying the camera in my iPhone, particularly with the CameraBag app. There are a bunch of filters you can play with. When I mentioned this to my designer friends, they all laughed and said, "That's what Photoshop is for!" This is much easier. My two favorite filters are Helga, which adds a little contrast to the photo and darkens the edges a bit, and Cinema which darkens the photo and shows it in wide screen.


Found on the side of the road. (Helga)

Vintage bathroom. (1962)

My downfall. (Cinema)

Lush

Girls Night Out...It was a good night, but should've happened on a Friday so I could sleep off my wine hangover rather than drag myself into work. You know how I know it was a good night? Lots of talking. Lots of wine. Lots of laughing. Plus, I missed my train stop on the way home. And not because I passed out thank you. My tunes were cranked to drown out the annoying twenty-something yapping on her phone in my ear. At 12:45, no trains are coming back the other way. Well, nothing like an evening stroll to wake you up. There should always be a funny story to tell after a night with the girls. Here's to Girls Night Out!