The Good Stuff - June

The house smells like cardboard.

We're mostly packed and the time has come to unplug the computer and wrap up the cords. I'm concerned about internet withdrawal symptoms but will face them bravely. The movers come tomorrow to finish packing and transport our stuff to a storage facility. Thursday and Friday night we camp at home, complete with stove-toasted marshmallows, living room picnic meals and stories by flashlight. Friday I clean the apartment and see the dentist for the molar that randomly broke during breakfast yesterday, love that. Saturday we go to Hazel's friend's birthday party then head upstate for the Younce family reunion. Next Saturday we drive to Virginia and stay at my parents' until the movers come with our stuff, sometime the first week of July. I forgot how moving raises the homeostatic anxiety level, but it's a good stress. And a good tired. I've scheduled a few posts to go up in my absence. But in the meantime, I give you this month's Good Stuff.

Grown-up Good Stuff
Life in Cartoon Motion by Mika - What a fun CD, got this recommendation from Dave. It's one of his few new CD's he listens to at work, so you know it's good 'cause it made the cut. We worked together to come up with the perfect description:

Queen on the happiest day of their lives meets ABBA on Ecstasy
in a disco club with a moon bounce.

I dare you not to shake it! Of course most of you will never have the ultimate Mika experience, which is listening to "Grace Kelly" at volume 11 in Dave's car with him singing along and doing the pistol dance. But you can imagine, and that's almost as good. Push PLAY on the sidebar playlist. You're doing the dance right now, aren't you?

Mentha Lip Tint and the Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale - I do love a good lip balm and this is the perfect one, been my favorite for years. Ask Katy, she got one in her Easter Basket. And the semi-annual sale is not to be missed. I love B&BW shower gel, lotion, hand soap and other goodies, but why pay full price? Just wait until June or January to get everything you need for the next 6 months, including any birthday gifts coming up.

Cape Herb Spice Blends from Chelsea Market Baskets - I discovered these at Chelsea Market in Manhattan early in our time here. Was intrigued, as any wannabe culinarian would be; tried a few. Loved them, gave some as gifts. Continue to be intrigued and want to try them all eventually. Check out the seven sins sugar grinders! What looks good to you?

Kid Good Stuff

Amazon 4-for-3 Promotion - I do believe in buying and keeping quality hardcover books for myself and my children, but I also believe in good deals. So when I've only got $20 to spend but we're dying for some new reads, I go the paperback route, and 4-for-3 is the ticket. Just got Hazel 4 new books for like $13 and while they may not last for her to read to her grandchildren, they're just what we need right now. You can search within the promotion for things you wanted to get anyway. I put books we want on our wishlists, and make a note in the comments if it can be gotten for 4-for-3. Then I can just scan the wishlists when I'm making a purchase and find the promotional items quickly.

Firefly toothbrushes - A random find at Target or somewhere but pretty cool. You push on the bottom of the handle and bright red lights flash for 60 seconds, marking how long a child should brush her teeth. Of course my kids just want to play with them but it's a good concept we can work with. And check out the Float N' Firefly toothbrushes at the bottom of the link page!

Justin Roberts - I'm glad to be parenting in an age that has a whole subcategory of Indie rock for kids. Dan Zanes, Milkshake, Laurie Berkner and many others have blown the genre wide open with rockin' music parents and kids can listen to and love together. But my personal favorite? Justin Roberts. Slightly geeky, this ex-Montessori-preschool-teacher has super clever lyrics and make-you-want-to-ska-dance-in-a-mosh-pit tunes. I admit we only have one of his CD's - Meltdown (my favorite track probably the title tune or "Cartwheels & Somersaults.") But you can bet we are on our way to picking up more, especially his Old and New Testament CD's. And we are quite likely to catch his show in DC with his "Not Ready for Naptime Players" on Sept 27.

All-of-a-Kind Family - You wouldn't believe the things I've come across lately as we sort, organize and pack up the house. At least they have mostly been pleasant discoveries. Take this book for example. I read this story about a poor immigrant family with five daughters on the Upper East Side many times as a child. My copy is from 1971 (75 cents) and when I picked it up the cover fell off. I looked it up to make sure it's still in print and what do you know? It's a 4-for-3 book. So I scanned the cover and will keep my copy but probably get a new one for the girls when they are older. It's a classic from my youth, up there with Taking Care of Terrific, The Westing Game, and The 21 Balloons.


But the girls choose their own good stuff, as we well know, and this month they are:

Moving boxes...

...and their old bouncy seats!

Eye Candy

Talented Brooklyn artist friend Kristin, mom to wild man Pierson who looks like he is Ginger & Hazel's brother, wife to fellow student of linguistics Mike, and one of the coolest people I know, has an art blog and new Etsy shop. Check them out!

Snapshot

Tonight, 6:36 pm. At the dinner table, Hazel is absent-mindedly kicking my leg. My shoes are on.

"Momma, do your feet hurt?"

"No."

"Why? Why do your feet not hurt?"

Stumped. Not sure where to go with this. Thinking, but nothing is coming.

"Momma, you better take your shoes off."

"Why?"

"So your feet will hurt."

I obey. There is no arguing with three-year-old logic.

Things I Won't Miss #4: Pigeon Poop and Dog Doody

OK, pigeons and dogs are in other places. But I don't plan to be quite as plagued by their excrement as I am here. I'm sorry, you don't have to read it, but I have to say it. I'll keep this brief.

There are few yards in my neighborhood, or NYC at large, so people take their dogs out on sidewalks and parks to do their business. Most clean it up but some don't, and it adds up. As soon as Hazel started walking I had to go on high poop alert and even then we'd come home at least once a week with one or both of us requiring some shoe cleaning. Once I just threw Hazel's shoes away because I couldn't get rid of the smell. I can't tell you how mad it makes me, especially when it's smack dab in the middle of the sidewalk by my car and I take one step back from strapping my kid in the car seat and land in something squishy, and now I have to deal with that when all I wanted to do was go on my monthly escape to Target. Or when I come home from the grocery store to find it all over my pants, my shoes and my car - I must have stepped in it at some point and not realized until too late. Spring is the worst, when all the doody from the last year that had been frozen all winter starts to thaw on the sidewalks and once again I find myself playing Frogger with the stroller.

I've only been pooped on by pigeons twice, which is not too bad for three years. I've heard some good pigeon poop stories, but I'll spare you. Both times for me were standing around under trees at the park. Once was on my shoulder; I was so grossed out I threw the shirt away. The other time I only got some splatter; the majority landed on the stroller sunshade and my bagel that was on it. It's just disgusting and annoying.

Things I'll Miss #6: Jacques Torres

JT deserves his own post. It's the good stuff. It's my fix and addiction. I totally love this chocolate. And the specialty items, from hot chocolate to dark chocolate covered pumpkin brittle to chocolate corn flakes, light my fire as well. He does ship but the cost is exuberant due to the delicate nature of the chocolate. So I've got a few bars to last me awhile, but this is one errand I'll be sending Ed on whenever he's back in New York on business. Ah, Jacques, you've ruined me for (most) other chocolate.

DM Takes on Moving: This is it!

Countdown to movers: 4 days

Countdown to leaving NY: 6 days

Done or Doing:

• Lots of packing
• Netflix membership on hold
• Mail on hold and forwarded
• Medical records requested
• Living room mostly packed up
• Ed's clothes, kids books packed
• Storage unit cleaned out
• Air mattresses borrowed for "camping nights"
• Salvation Army pick-up scheduled for Tuesday
• Childcare arranged for Thursday (movers come) and Friday (cleaning)
• Utilities cancelled
• Air conditioners and microwave promised to friends
  

Need to Do:

• Final laundry
• Pack for trip, then pack the rest of the clothes in boxes
• Clean out dresser for S.A. pick-up
• Get new camera batteries
• Get marshmallows as promised to Hazel for "camping nights"
• Send a package sitting by the door
• Get a few final gifts to friends
• Get air conditioners and microwave to promised friends
• Set up utilities at new house
• Change address with magazines
• Return cable box and modem to Time Warner service center
• Hit a few favorite shops one more time?
  

BBQ Peanut Butter Chicken

I have about 5 regular dishes in my typical dinner meal planning rotation. In between we do no-brainers like spaghetti or waffles and once in awhile I try a new recipe, but it's rarely good enough to make again.

One of my ongoing projects this year is to make a Younce Family Cookbook using Booksmart, Blurb.com's book-making software. All family members are submitting only their very best, tried-and-true favorite recipes, and I'm copy-editing them into the most awesome cookbook ever, complete with photos of the dishes or family members making or eating them. Maren recently mailed me a hefty folder of double-sided copies from her copious cookbooks and binders, probably over 50 recipes. I called to make sure these are truly all her very favorites, not every recipe she's ever tried. Indeed, she assured me, all favorites. I knew she was a creative and experienced cook but I was doubly impressed, and inspired to break out and try more new things. Unfortunately it's bad bad timing with the move next week and trying to eat up kitchen contents and pack up non-crucial pans and appliances. We're down to some strange meals these days.

But anyway, back to the title. I was just putting the Smucker's peanut butter away tonight (yes, Hazel had PBJ for all three meals today) and noticed this irresistibly intriguing recipe on the lid. I had to share it. I'm not in a position to try it for at least several weeks but I'm begging you - someone please try this recipe and write in, tell us how it went. I'm dying to know.

BBQ Peanut Butter Chicken

1 cup peanut butter (it says Smucker's but I bet it will be the same with any)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp ginger, finely chopped
2 1/2 lbs chicken breast, boneless and skinless, cut into 1 1/2 inch strips

1. Prepare marinade 2 hours before ready to grill.
2. Mix the ingredients except for the chicken in a blender until combined. If too thick, add up to a cup of water to thin.
3. Marinate the chicken for approximately 2 hours.
4. Lightly oil the medium-hot BBQ grill.
5. Place chicken on the grill for 6-8 minutes.

I bet this would do just as well baking chicken pieces in the oven. I don't know, it's just a marinade. But I'm having a hard time imagining how it tastes so someone try it!

Mi Propio Spray King

Next week after the movers are done we're taking off to a family reunion way upstate in the Adirondacks, at a cute campy cottage "resort" place. It looks fun but a little rustic and you can imagine my disappointment when I learned there's no air conditioning. So I sent my mom on a (successful) mission to hunt down some battery operated misting spray bottle fans. Which reminded me of two funny stories.

Mi Propio Viento

Summer, 1996. I'm in an intensive Spanish program at BYU right before my mission, which included living in the Spanish house with a cursedly fast-talking Dominican, having classes all day, watching Spanish soap operas and ending with a 2-week trip to Mexico in enormous 14-seat vans. I thought it was hot in Utah that summer. Until we got to Mexico. It was hot in the vans. It was hot on the beach. It was hot in the hotels. It was hot in the restaurants. It was hot in the homes of Mexican church members with whom we stayed. My buddy roommate was Melanie Maddox (now Henrich) and she was hilarious, the stories we could tell! And our Spanish got pretty darn good that summer. Somehow one of us had a tiny battery-operated fan that came in a package labeled "Personal Fan", which we translated into "Propio Viento", having left our Spanish-English dictionary and Dominican roommate back home. We were so hot that whole trip we had that propio viento with us wherever we went, constantly desperate for a turn, and demanding of the other, "DA ME MI PROPIO VIENTO!" It became a standing joke, synonomous with "I'm hotter than hell!"

King Me

Summer, 1995. Cummings family reunion at Lake Winnipesaukee, NH. At the end of the week Dave and I take off in his at least 10-year-old no-guts Dodge Colt to drive to Utah for school. Power nothing, no air conditioning. It's hot. For four or maybe five days across the country in the summer heat, including creeping up hills and mountains in the far right lane with the hazards on as the Colt decelerates 40mph, 30, 25, 20, etc., barely making it over the ridge. Our only entertainment an unreliable tape deck and each other. And an enormous spray bottle Mom gave us that said SPRAY KING on the label. The passenger was in charge of spraying down the driver as needed, and then sometimes blowing on them for added cooling effect because the Colt was moving too slowly to create wind through the open windows.

As needed all the driver had to say was:
"KING ME."

Things I'll Miss #5: Favorite Shops

I've come to have a few favorite specialty shops here, and just like I didn't know how I would live without Mountain Man chocolate-covered pretzels and Good Times frozen custard when we left Colorado, I will sorely miss these few treasures I've found in New York.

1. A&D Turkish Market on 5th at 80th St (Brooklyn)- I came here the first time with my friend Nayat, who is French-Algerian and loves the lamb sausage they make at the butcher counter in the back.I pass on the sausage but all these bulk barrels of nuts, grains and spices enticed me - bought lentils, bulgur, cherry juice, smoked almonds, sesame candy, fava beans and more over the years. But the main reason I go back? Those smoked almonds, I cannot get enough of them.

2. Mideast Bakery on 3rd and 78th St (Brooklyn) - Cosmic pita. The store front is about 1/3 the size of the huge bakery in the back where they make their own pita and other middle eastern breads and sweets, and whole wheat on Wednesdays. Once they closed for two weeks because their daughter was getting married. I was there their first day back and people were lining up outside before they opened, suffering from withdrawals. We usually stop by on our way home from storytime at the library because otherwise it's out of the way. But we have been known to make a special trip. The pita is amazing plain, with brie cheese, butter & jelly, chicken salad, hummus, or anything.

3. East Village Cheese on 3rd and E 10th St (Manhattan) - Admittedly I've only gone a few times because it's not in my neighborhood but I make a point to stop in whenever I'm close to it - amazing selection and astounding prices. A wheel of brie for $1.99! I try something new everytime - my favorite was walnut gouda, eaten with the cosmic pita mentioned above.

4. H&D Bagels on 3rd at 88th St (Brooklyn) - Early on I joined a neighborhood parents' yahoo group and asked where the best bagels can be got. The majority pointed me to H&D, which, like most of the best kept secrets in a big city, is nothing special from the outside. Or inside for that matter. A typical bagel deli, but the bagels are fabulous - my preference is an Everything with cream cheese and a half dozen mini plains for the kids.

5. Little Cupcake on 3rd at 91st St (Brooklyn) - I've mentioned this shop a few times and it really is something fun and special...and happens to be on our post-music-class route. We walk one block to the grocery store for a few essentials, cross the street and get a cupcake or lemonade, then walk home and eat the cupcake after lunch, split three ways, or only two if Ginger is asleep and she'll never know what she missed.

6. Intimacy on Madison Ave (Manhattan) - The best of the best in professional bra fitting. After 4 years of pregnancy, nursing, another pregnancy and more nursing, nothing fits like it used to, and bras are at the top of the list. What a treat to get personally and professionally fitted, no tape measures involved. Bummer there' s not one in DC. Maybe I'll be back.

7. Cavale Tonuzi on 3rd at 83rd St (Brooklyn) - I got my hair cut here a few times and was underwhelmed and overcharged but on staff they have a woman named Lucky who is a full-time eyebrow threader. God bless Therese (Sister Anderson), who on my mission taught me how to pluck my overgrown eyebrows. Then I waxed for awhile, but now I know threading is the only way to go. Lucky is a whiz with her twisted strands of floss, and I always leave feeling like a movie star. Northern Virginia has a large Asian population so I have high hopes of finding a place with someone equally skilled.

Hardships of Three

Hazel's growing up, and we have been caught off-guard. Child psychology doesn't come as naturally to me as some people but I've been watching and thinking and trying to make sense of new behaviors. She's adopted one of the moving boxes as her own, and walks around the house with it saying she's the mail carrier with a package, or she's the mommy and I'm the baby (and I have to call her Mommy). Experimenting with adult roles? Dealing with the move? Wanting to interact with me on a new level? Then the next minute she's sitting in the baby bouncy seat we have out for packing, and telling me she's a baby again, and Ginger's the big sister. More role experimentation? Vying for attention?

But the main thing that's been tough lately has been sudden and intense resistance and defiance at every turn. We're having spaghetti for dinner? "I want eggs!" I chose the red striped dress for church? "I want my beautiful white dress!" Ginger is sitting in her high chair for a snack - LIKE SHE ALWAYS DOES? "No! Ginger sits in my seat and I sit in your seat!" This is usually followed by much whining, slouching and forced or sometimes real crying. Our responses to this have been far from consistent - I guess we're testing the limits, too. Kindness and patience sometimes, firm discipline others.

Of course my parenting books are packed - one of the few things that have actually been put in a box around here and taped up - but anyway those are mostly for 2 and under. A long time ago I signed up for pregnancy updates from parentcenter.com and have since gotten monthly or occasional updates on Hazel's development by age. It's usually pretty relevant and interesting, and today I got one that included this article on defiance. Nothing too revelatory but some good direction and ideas.

When they're little they change so fast, every few weeks, and while it makes you crazy you come to expect it. Then as they get older some of the changes are farther apart - months or years. You get comfortable and forget they could change any minute. And especially with Hazel as the oldest, we never know what to expect when. So we're back on our toes, scrambling to keep up. Trying to understand and support. Crossing our fingers, loving with all our might.

DM Might Go Crazy Taking on Moving

Countdown to the move: 9 Days

Done or Doing

• Canceled utilities
• Stopped/forwarded mail
• Made packing list for family reunion we are attending while in transit between NY and VA
• Scheduled Salvation Army pick-up for furniture we're not taking
• Posted things to get rid of on Craigslist or arranged to give to friends
• Almost done downloading CD's to get rid of
• Backed up computer
• Packed some boxes
• Father's Day and summer birthday shopping
• A few farewell gifts
• Gave up on researching preschools until we get there
• Gave up on getting reimbursed for receipts to the ward
• Made a massive Goodwill drop-off (8 full garbage bags and several boxes)
• Resigned to the fact that moves are never perfect, and this one is especially far from it
• Planned out the remaining 2 weeks of meals and shopped for them (lots of pasta and leftovers)
• Unloaded much of the remaining cupboard contents on Lindsay
• Got Kelly to watch the girls on moving day (THANK YOU!)
  

Need to Do

• Organize! Pack some more! (especially books and toys...)
• Get motivated
  
• Clean out storage unit
• Get pack-n-play and air mattress we are borrowing from the Taylors for the 2 nights we'll be camping out in the apartment
• Back up computer again
• Check the moving checklists to see how behind I am
• Get moving insurance?
• Sort and organize the kids' clothes for the third time, this time to put away warm clothing we won't need and shoes they have outgrown overnight in the right boxes
• Fold 2 weeks of laundry
• Clean off this desk that is crowding in on the keyboard
• Finish those blog drafts waiting around!
• Finish costumes and props for primary class presentation this Sunday
• Write cards and wrap Father's Day presents
• Pick up pediatrician records
• Set up utilities at new place
• Get someone to watch the girls on cleaning day (day after moving day)
  
• Get a new swimsuit (afraid it's not going to happen...)
• Catch up on sleep (also afraid it's not going to happen...)
  

Things I Won't Miss #3: Window Air Conditioners

I guess I should be thankful we have anything. Two years ago there was a major power outage in Queens in the middle of summer and hundreds of thousands of people and businesses were without electricity for 2 weeks. Even so, I'm a spoiled brat and like my central a/c in hot and humid weather. But I've put up with window units ever since we got married seven years ago and I'm done.

First, they're loud. We tried to watch a movie the other night and had to turn it all the way up to hear over the a/c. But Ginger sleeps on the other side of that wall and it woke her up. Bummer. The white noise is nice to sleep to, though, if your husband would only leave it on all night.

Second, they're inefficient. When you "install" one in a rental place you can't make it very permanent so we jimmy-rig all kinds of foam, wood, cardboard, rags and towels around them to try to make them tight, but there are always holes and leaks.

Third, they distribute poorly. Even with the right size a/c for a large room, and a big standing fan in front blowing the air around, it only feels cool nearby. Other than that it just takes the edge off but the backs of my knees are still sweaty, and I hate that.

Fourth, and this is the real reason this is on my mind today besides that our temps went up 30 degrees in the last 2 days here - it's especially frustrating when your husband, who sleeps closer to the unit, puts the a/c on a 4-hour timer before bed, thinking you won't notice and wake up at 3am drenched in sweat and gasping for air, so disoriented from sleep and heat you can't figure out why you feel like you're suffocating.

I'm looking ever so forward to central air (and double checking it before we go to bed.)

The New York Mix

When we were getting ready to move here I made a New York mix CD. I didn't listen to it for most of our time here but it's been my theme music for the last month (again, love the ipod.) There are almost as many songs about New York as there are movies set here (another cool thing about watching movies now is recognizing stuff, especially Ed's building.) The mix represents well the crazy mixed feelings this place evokes. It's such an amazing place with energy, sites, and experiences to offer, but it can also be tough. It's nice to know I'm not the only one with such bipolarity.

Unfortunately playlist.com only offers a sampling of the songs for you to hear, and some of the more catchy ones are missing, but here's the list, plus a few of the more relevant lyrics:

#1 New York City - They Might Be Giants

Statue of liberty, staten island ferry, co-op city, katz’s and tiffany’s
Central park, brooklyn bridge, the empire state where dylan lived
Coney island and times square, rockefeller center
Wish I was there

'cause everyone’s your friend in new york city
And everything looks beautiful when you’re young and pretty
The streets are paved with diamonds and there’s just so much to see
But the best thing about new york city is you and me

#2 New York's Not My Home - Jim Croce

Things were spinning round me
And all my thoughts were cloudy
And I had begun to doubt all the things that were me
Been in so many places
You know I've run so many races

I know that I gotta get outta here
I'm so alone
Don't you know that I gotta get outta here '
Cause New York's not my home
Though all the streets are crowded
There's something strange about it
lived there about a year and I never once felt at home
I thought I'd made the big time
You know I learned a lot of lessons awful quick and
Now I'm telling you that they were not the nice kind
And it's been so long since I have felt fine

#3 Streets of NYC - American Ambulance

Folks down in Virginia
They could never see
Why the streets of New York City
Look so good to me
Lord, they look so good to me

(What are the odds of finding those lyrics?)

#4 Leaving New York - R.E.M.

It's easier to leave than to be left behind
Leaving was never my proud
Leaving New York, never easy
I saw the light fading out

#5 An Englishman in New York - Sting

#6 New York State of Mind - Billy Joel

#7 New York Groove - Kiss & Ace Frehley

Many years since I was here, on the street I was passin’ my time away
To the left and to the right, buildings towering to the sky
It’s outta sight in the dead of night
Here I am, and in this city, with a fistful of dollars
And baby, you’d better believe
I’m back, back in the new york groove
I’m back, back in the new york groove
I’m back, back in the new york groove
Back in the new york groove, in the new york groove

#8 A Heart in New York - Art Garfunkel

#9 New York City Rhythm - Barry Manilow

The poundin' beat of the city's streets
That keep my dreams alive
I'm lost, I'm found
I'm up, I'm down
But somehow I survive
It's got to be the New York City Rhythm in my life
It's got to be the New York City Rhtym in my life

#10 New York, New York - Ryan Adams

Hell, I still love you New York

#11 Fairytale of New York - The Pogues

#12 New York Boy - Neil Diamond

#13 New York - U2

In New York summers get hot, well into the hundreds
You can't walk around the block without a change of clothing
Hot as a hairdryer in your face Hot as a handbag and a can of mace
In New York, I just got a place in New York
New York, New York Irish, Italians, Jews and Hispanics
Religious nuts, political fanatics in the stew,
Living happily not like me and you
That's where I lost you... New York

#14 I Love NYC - Andrew W.K.

I love New York City
Oh yeah, New York City
love New York City
Oh yeah, New York City

#15 New York City - Norah Jones

I rode the train for hours on end
And watched the people pass me by
It could be that it has no end
Just an action junkie's lullaby
New York City
Such a beautiful disease
New York City
Such a beautiful, Such a beautiful disease

#16 New York Girls - Gaelic Storm

#17 New York, New York - Tony Bennett & Frank Sinatra

If I can make it there,
I’ll make it anywhere!

Things I Won't Miss #2: Ed's Job!

As with the parking, I've said it before, but it needs to be said again: I will not miss Ed's job. I know Ed will in some ways of course - he's made some good connections, gotten excellent training, enjoyed the buzz of working in a hotshot Manhattan investment bank. And it has given us the career and financial boost we came here for. But even he is getting giddy about kissing the cubicle, and rat race, buh-bye. It's a little thrilling to check the work calendar and realize anything more than 3 weeks out is not his problem.

I would guess that his average workday over the last three years has been about 9 to midnight (plus commute), and about 5-8 hours on the weekend. That means severe sleep deprivation and total life imbalance on both our parts, me managing one and then two kids all day from breakfast to bedtime, and overnight now that we think of it. Place that in New York with its own special little hassles and it's been tough. Ed's job is the first reason we're leaving.

We expect his new job to be better. Even if he works the exact same hours I will at least be near friends and family for some support, and have somewhere to park my car when I come home. But we expect those late nights to become more the exception than the rule, plus a shorter commute.

In our early years of marriage we used to go on evening walks along the Boulder Creek path and talk about our future - where to live, what to do, children and parenting. Ed was studying business and we would talk about the various career choices he would have upon graduation. Consulting sounded brutal, traveling 4 or 5 days a week. Investment banking didn't sound much better, with unbelievably long work weeks. Plus I didn't want to live in New York, a likely location. So of course that's what we did. When Ed was interviewing for jobs our friend Bryan Waite told us of his buddy who had come to NY in investment banking. He said the first few years were tough, then he started really raking in the money, bought a big house in Jersey, put the kids in private school, and found himself miserable but stuck in the life he had created. It was a great cautionary tale that we have kept in mind over the years, and I'm relieved to be getting out.

New Digs

I didn't post much on our new place before because I didn't take my camera so no pictures. But my parents did a walk-through with the realtor yesterday and took some shots.

My three requirements for a new place, besides being in our budget, were:
1) must keep Ed's commute as short as possible
2) must have parking
3) must have central a/c

Secondary preferences were:
1) three bedrooms
2) nice and/or big kitchen
3) laundry machines

Eric The Realtor said we were the perfect clients because anything we saw was bigger and better than what we were coming from, even places he thought were dumps, and we were not too picky. We looked at a variety of condos, townhouses and single family homes throughout Fairfax, Vienna, Falls Church, Arlington and Alexandria - 15 places in two days. We are renting for at least a year to make sure we want to stay in the area and/or at Ed's job before looking into buying. Plus we didn't want to be rushed on our first home purchase, and the market sucks right now.

So here's a slideshow and description of our new place that I'm SO excited about. First and most importantly, Ed's commute will be about 20 minutes if the bus schedules aren't lying. Amazing, I could cry. We're in a 1800 sqft single family house in a cute and quiet neighborhood, next door to a public park and playground. We're renting from a family who lived in the house themselves until now, and they've already been great resources on doctors and other neighborhood info. There are two levels: living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry, 1/2 bath on the first level, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths on the second. It's pretty straightforward. There's a cute back patio and then a great back yard with tall mature oak trees to keep us shady in the summer and busy with leaves in the fall. The master bedroom has a million closets and a built-in bed and armoire so we can go one more year of our marriage without buying bedroom furniture. The house definitely has an unusual layout but it's totally perfect for us right now - I like the quirkiness - and I'm constantly thinking about where things will go. Who's coming to visit first?

More on Mom Cards

In response to the last post my friend Therese emailed asking me to blog about mommy cards. Happy to do so but it forces me to admit I just recently even found out about them. Totally stole the idea from Mia's blog and have never tried them myself. But after reading her posts (and she also emailed me that people receive them well) I did a quickie web search to see what's out there and was overwhelmed with the awesomeness available. We all know I'm a sucker for a cool design. Of course doing the home print like Mia's husband Forrest did for her is the most sensible and economical way to go, but if you're going to hand out something that represents yourself, might as well make it representative of yourself.

According to Mia, you can leave them for babysitters, put in doctor & school files, exchange with other moms, hand out to church people, leave at birthday parties or anywhere you drop your kid off, give to teachers or other professionals like real estate agents. Actually quite handy. Therese is in London; she said she's thought of getting cards but has not seen other moms do it. Neither have I but I bet they do here. If another mom gave me one I'd think she really had her act together - exactly what I thought of Mia when I read her post. I have to wait until we get a new phone number but I think I'm getting some. Of the designs I've seen, here are the three sites I like best so far:

Touch of Whimsy
Little Piggle Wiggle
Mommy Cards (I've narrowed down to Swirls for Sarah or one of the Branches)

Post here if you find other designs to make my decision harder.

DM Takes on Moving: Yikes, 3 weeks!

Done or Doing:

• Woohoo, found a place to live! (Love it.)
• Booked movers
• Got packing/moving materials
• Have new tenant for NY apartment (80% sure)
• Trying to stick to our new healthy eating lifestyle, though the stress does not help
• Purged lots and lots of clothes, books, cd's, furniture
• Sorted through storage closets
• Backed up computer
• Got tote bags and t-shirts for Younce family reunion in 3 weeks (my assignment)
  

Need to Do:

• Uh, pack
• Organize and pack some more
• Look into preschool for Hazel
• Schedule massive Salvation Army pick-up
• Wash the last week's worth of dishes
• Figure out and schedule cable/internet/utilities hook-up at new house
• Cancel cable/internet/utilities at current place
• Change address with bank, companies and subscriptions
  
• Keep up with blog so people don't lose interest
• Finish Things I'll Miss and Things I Won't Miss blog post drafts
• Of course order my new return address stamp and possibly mommy cards if I can take them seriously enough (tell me which one on the page you like)
• Put together a class sharing time presentation with my church primary class
  
• Get Father's Day gifts (can't forget that in the midst of moving madness!)
• Continue to care for and nurture my neglected children

Dang, I was hoping my first list would be longer than the second.

All I Want to Do:

• Sleep
• Read my book
• Play on the computer
• Paint my toenails
  

Things I'll Miss #4 Good Tap Water

New York has great tap water - no weird flavors or funny aftertaste. It's piped in from reservoirs more than 100 miles away upstate. I have a Brita pitcher in my fridge but the filter is truly unnecessary, which is good because I often forget to refill it so I drink straight tap water most of the time.

Virginia has horrendously chlorinated nastiness coming out of the tap. Not to mention traces of medicines, lead, and who knows what else. It tastes like a swimming pool. Carbon filters do help with this, but now (or in 4 weeks) may be a good time to look into that home water cooler I've always wanted.

Scrapbooking Survey

I got this forwarded by email from a friend. I'm not a scrapbooker myself, and I honestly don't know which of my friends/readers are but thought I'd throw it on here in case there are any takers.

"Do you know anyone who is into scrapbooking that I can get to take a survey? I'm helping a guy at work who made an investment in a company called Scrapblog. They have an online application for laying out scrapbook pages. Would you be willing to take this 10 question survey and pass on the link to anyone else you know who might be willing to take the survey. You can check out Scrapblog at if you are interested."

Here's the survey.

This post was worth it just for the awesome scrapbook image I found.

The Good Stuff - May

Such good stuff this month!

Grown-up Good Stuff

Summer Concert Tickets - Namely, my secret lover George Michael at the Verizon Center in DC on July 29 - his first American concert tour in 17 years. Don't have a place to live, don't have our stuff packed, but don't worry - we have GM tix! I'd also LOVE to catch Lyle Lovett at Wolf Trap on July 2 but that very well might be move-in day so I'm afraid it's pushing it. I've seen Lyle in several outdoor venues and there's nothing like him - the man is all class and magic on stage. He transcends genre and description....(but George takes a better picture.)

TitleTrader.com - So I was taking care of a few ebay snipes when I saw an add for Titletrader and decided to check it out. Read the info and signed up, though too bad I just gave a huge box of cd's to Salvation Army. I still have some to get rid of. Here's how it works: you set up a free account and post the stuff you have. People request them, you mail them, you get trade points. Once you get positive feedback you can spend your trade points to get other cd's, books, movies and stuff you want that other people are getting rid of. I started posting my cd's and within minutes I had requests. And I've used a few of my earned points to get books I want to read but don't want to buy new or earn late library fees on. My kind of used bookstore.

Zojirushi Rice Cooker - I like rice. Unfortunately I can't cook it, at least not like regular people on the stove. Is it my stove? My pans? My rice? No, it's me, and I'm OK with that because it means I got this awesome rice cooker last year after 5 years on my Amazon wishlist. Truly perfect rice every time. And I made sure to get the one with a brown rice setting because I do go through healthy phases. We've been eating a lot of rice lately, and I love, love, love this cooker!

Flor Modular Carpet - Shortened backstory: Ginger, and Hazel for that matter, makes a disgusting mess under and around her chair during meals. Not a problem now because we have an eat-in kitchen. It occurred to me we have to find a new place with an eat-in kitchen or hardwood dining room because they will ruin a carpet. Solution: area rug. Even cooler solution: Flor carpet tiles.

Checkstand $5 cookbook magazines - A few months ago I bought Everyday Food (Martha Stewart) at the checkstand because the dish on the cover looked delicious and simple enough for me to make. That month I made three recipes from it and they were all awesome. Mentioned it to Tona on the phone - she had bought the same one and tried several other recipes with thumbs up. Then last week at Rite Aid I bought Prevention Magazine's Slow Cooker Recipe Book because I am always looking for new good crockpot recipes. I love my slow cooker but honestly 2 out of 3 recipes turn out mediocre at best. This morning I thumbed through it with my post-its and marked TEN recipes I want to try. Also I'm into purging, not expanding, my cookbook collection. I'm all for these magazine-style cookbooks, both for taking up less space, costing less money, and also being seasonal and disposable if I don't like them.

New York Book Festival - Unfortunately I just heard about this and will be gone by June 27, but it sounds cool and the kind of thing I might make an effort to attend, so it's good stuff.

Ken's Light Accents Salad Dressing Sprays - We've been upping our salad intake around here lately, and that means testing out light salad dressings until we find something we can swallow without gagging. On our fourth try we found Ken's Light Accents. Ken makes good regular dressing so we had high hopes and have not been disappointed. So far Honey Mustard and Raspberry Walnut get the stamp of approval.

Kid Good Stuff

Puzzle Dinner Tray - I can hardly stand how cute this is! Where do I order, where do I sign? Oh, wait, it's $55?! As much as it pains me, I will be waiting for IKEA to put this out in the $12-20 range. But isn't it cute?

Munchkin Snack Catchers - Another winner from Munchkin! Their stylish and more voluminous improvement on the Snack Trap keeps the Goldfish debris on the carseats, stroller, and bottom of my bag to a minimum.

Recycled Leather Piggy Bank - I still keep my eyes out for good piggy banks to someday get the girls. I think this is the current front runner. Funky modern design, non-breakable, and hey, made from reconstituted leather!

Lights and Sounds Phone - This is one of our toys with staying power. It has been a favorite of one or both girls since Hazel was 6 months old. All kids love toy phones, right, or is it just mine? This seems to be just the right size, colors, noises or something because they love it more than any others. Yes, it's battery-operated but each button, when pushed, plays a little tune like Old McDonald or Oh Susanna at just the right volume to be heard when held to your ear, but barely audible across the room. Plus the flashing lights and stuff. It is a rare day when you don't find a kiddo walking around our house holding this to her ear, doing a little jig. We got ours (and our second and third one, since all the best toys get lost) at Target.

This month's favorite non-toy toys:

The Salad Spinner
And...

a Cardboard Tube!!!

Which Austen Heroine Are You?

Take the Quiz here!

(nabbed from Brother David - and I didn't cheat!-, who heard it from Cousine Marie, who got it from Chelsea's blog, whose second cousin's husband's aunt heard from her sister in London...)

Petey Q

Welcome!

Peter Quinn Mecham
May 20, 2008

Snapshot (another gender lesson from Hazel)

This afternoon, 4:43 pm. Walking home from the park, we pause at a grassy area so the girls can pick dandelions and clovers. Hazel approaches, holding a bouquet.

"Mama, we are getting married." Hugs my leg.

"Who is getting married?"

"I am getting married. Mama, I am getting married because I am a girl."

Wanders off to pick more flowers.

Isn't that why we all get married?

Silky Jammies Are Cute

I am so TOTALLY Disco Mom

In case there was any doubt.

For Mother's Day Ed gave me a card that said we're going out Saturday night, dress nice. I gathered we were going to a Broadway show but didn't know which one. I do love a surprise. We went to dinner first and he asked me if I wanted to know, or just be surprised when we got there. I wanted the surprise because I didn't even care what we were seeing and would like anything.

So as we walked down 44th Street the marquis began to come into view.
"Phantom?" I asked, looked sideways at him.
"Nope." We kept walking.
"Spamalot?"
"Uh-uh."
We passed under a construction scaffolding over the sidewalk and watched our step around some cars entering a lot. Then I looked up and just knew. There, up ahead, the rainbow bright beacon called to me:


That's right, I know, it's OK to start singing the song out loud. I'd heard it was fabulous, and had a hard time believing it, knowing how terrifically awful the movie is. But anyway what could be more fun than a night of roller skates and disco balls?

As soon as we entered the theater I felt the energy level rise. There was a guy selling glow sticks for $1 that we could use to participate in the final number. I ignored Ed's cringe as I bought two. I knew he was having fun watching me be excited.

The theater was pretty small and we had awesome seats. It's true the play has the same basic storyline as the movie - ancient Greek muse Kira comes out of a sidewalk chalk drawing to inspire frustrated 1980's artist Sonny Malone to create the ultimate artistic achievement, a roller disco, and along the way she falls into forbidden love with him.

Luckily it breaks from the movie early on by infusing the story with more threads, and thus substance. Having excellently talented singers/actors helps as well. But the real charm comes from what can only happen on live stage, and especially live stage spoofing a horrible movie - the comedic interaction between the audience and performers, and the private joke we were all in on together: that the whole thing is ridiculous, so let's have fun with it. I loved Kira's purposely bad Australian accent, the conniving evil muse sisters' unexpected improv comments that had the audience roaring, and of course the finale, complete with glow sticks, lots of metallic spandex and over 50 disco balls ranging in size from an apple to my double stroller. It was funny, it was sweet, it was rockin' 80's disco. It was the ultimate night out.

After all, as we learn at the end, the ultimate gift of XANADU is just what I had: artistic creation and someone to love.

Taxi, Taxi

There's a first time for everything. Today it's me uploading a video from the Sony Handycam I bought six months ago and still barely know how to use, editing it, then posting it on my blog. Here is Hazel singing the song "Taxi, Taxi." Words are below for those who don't speak Hazel.

Taxi, taxi, riding in the back seat
Roll the window up, roll the window down
Put the money in the slot
See ya later, thanks a lot
Sure beats walking cross town!

Aren't they cute? I think we can all look forward to more videos on here in the future.

Things I'll Miss #3: Brooklyn Botanic Garden

I've only gone a handful of times in our three years here, but the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a peaceful haven in the middle of chaotic downtown Brooklyn (and I always seem to park on the scary side.) Cherry blossoms start the warm season off with fluffy pink euphoria, followed by tulips, roses, lilacs and more. Plus it has a little kids garden area to play in. I know DC has cherry blossoms and a garden, but I will miss this special spot in Brooklyn.

New Record

Beating out the old record of 1.5 hours waiting time in the doctor's office when we have an appointment, the girls and I reached a new record today:

2.5 hours

Ah, these are the good days.

An Inspired Giveaway

Last weekend I taught a jewelry-making workshop thanks to a $15 class I took at Michael's a few years ago and an enormous bin of beading supplies I needed to pare down before the move. Creative juices flowed and we all ended up with some nice pieces, admiring them on each other at church the next day. Lindsay made 3 lovely pairs of earrings and, with virgin lobes herself, is hosting an earring giveaway on her blog, so get over there before Friday and join the fun!

It's true, blog giveaways are oh-too-fun, so it's gotten me thinking...we'll see what I come up with.

Things I Won't Miss #1: Parking Hassles

We've been over the parking issues here but that doesn't mean they've gone away. Parking continues to dictate where we go and when and I'm looking forward to a little freedom from that. It will be nice to at least have the option to drive somewhere after 4pm, or to go to the post office, library, or doctor's office and not drive around for 30 minutes looking for a parking spot. Not to mention the state our bumper is in after 3 years of parallel parking (though we've gotten good at it). Or the panic when we wake up and think, "What day is it? Where's the car?" Or the letdown of finally finding a meter spot only to discover you're out of quarters. No, the parking hassles are something I won't miss.

Snapshot

Tonight, 6:26 pm.

"Mama, what's your favorite color?"

"Green."

"No, green is Daddy's favorite color."

"Blue."

"No, blue is my favorite color."

Wait for further instructions.

"Your favorite color can be pink or red."

"Red."

"Yes, your favorite color is red."

I guess my favorite color is red.

Things We'll Miss #2: The UPS Man

Parking issues in NY plus having two kids of which at least one is usually napping during any given daylight hour has led me to do much of our household shopping online (diapers, clothes, paper and cleaning supplies, etc.) Therefore we see the UPS man, or as Hazel calls him, "The Package Man" often, sometimes several times a week. Sometimes it's a different guy but usually it's a friendly, ultra-Brooklyn, short & stocky Italian, named - you guessed it - JOE. Sometimes we chat briefly, he tells me what's up in the neighborhood since he does business deliveries on 3rd & 4th Avenue in the morning and residential in the afternoon & evening. He knows I'm always home so sometimes he even buzzes me when he doesn't have something for me but needs to get in the building. Hazel loves him, or maybe just getting packages, but when he buzzes up she runs to the door yelling, "The Package Man!" And when we open it up, he gives her a high 5 and exclaims, "Hey, how's my guhlfriend?!" I considered, then felt it would be crossing some kind of boundary, to take his picture, but anyway, we'll miss our UPS man.

DM Takes on Moving: Status Update

It just makes me feel better to write it down, and why not here? These lists are not exhaustive.

Done:

• getting moving estimates
• cleaned out girls' closet
• sorted through toys, girls' clothes, my clothes, kitchen stuff, craft/office supplies
• sold/selling stuff on ebay & craigslist
  
• made home inventory for movers
• packed away winter clothes
• working through food in cupboards
• downloading cd's then giving away or selling
• wrote letter to building manager announcing move

Need to do:

• clean out sewing bin
• choose a mover and lock in date (June 20?)
• take pictures of and list valuables for insurance purposes (these are not many)
• clean out storage unit and sort that stuff
• clean out Ed's clothes, coat closet, linen closet
• find a place to live in VA (minor detail), then do change of address stuff
• get broker to list our apartment as soon as building manager approves; hope to get new tenants in July 1
• finish a few planned good-bye gifts for friends
• back up computer on external hard drive and guard it with my life

Happy Mother's Day

Me and my Mom

Me and my girls

First of all on this Mother's Day, I'd like to give kudos to my ward, who handled it in one of the most tasteful ways I've ever seen. The sacrament meeting talks were not sappy - 2 out of 3 did apply to families and mothers but were based on General Conference talks and very appropriate and enjoyable (good job, Lindsay!) In addition, women over 18 were NOT asked to stand at the end of the meeting to receive some "token of appreciation" like a flower or plant. I think it was due mostly to lack of organization, but I'm not complaining. No woman I know likes this tradition, though it seems fairly common among Mormon congregations. I would consider chocolate a better token, but even so. From my experience, it embarrasses women who do not have children, and women who do have children need appreciation from them and their husbands, not the ward. During Primary sharing time, a woman from the Relief Society presidency snuck in the back and discreetly pinned a simple silk flower corsage on each of us. I thought it was nice of them to remember us. The only other better thing I've heard of wards doing on Mother's Day is rallying the Young Men or other men's group to take over Primary and nursery for the third hour so all the women can go to Relief Society. That would have been nice, but our ward is not quite that organized.

Continuing on the Mother's Day topic, my favorite GPT site is having a Mother's Day contest. They gave 10 questions to answer and will pick a winner for each question. Winners receive $150 Spa Finder gift certificates. I found some of the questions hard to answer, some easy. Here are my answers, and while I'm not asking all of you to answer all 10 questions - it takes a long time and I thought I was done with writing essays! - I'd love to hear from you on any of them that strike you.

1. What is the most embarrassing thing your child has ever done? When I was pregnant with my #2, my toddler often came with me to my OB check-up appointments, where they checked my blood pressure, the baby’s hearbeat, etc. Throughout the pregnancy I tried to explain to her the process of how the baby was growing and when she was ready, we would go to the hospital and the doctor would help the baby come out. She obviously made some extensions by toddler logic to this information and told everybody for months, including my husband, the doctor, the grocery clerk, etc., “The doctor put the baby in Mommy’s tummy.”

2. What is the best gift you have ever received from your child?

(I just copied this blog entry.)

3. What was your favorite moment with your child(ren)? Every hug and every I love you, I can’t pick just one.

4. What was the most important life lesson your own mother taught you? My mother fostered great emotional health in me and my sisters by teaching us to avoid unnecessary guilt. Not that guilt doesn’t have a place - sometimes it is necessary to right wrongs, learn lessons, and strengthen yourself – but to avoid the prohibitive guilt we as women sometimes lay on ourselves and each other.

5. What is the biggest sacrifice you have ever made for your children? Literally years of sleepless nights, starting from ½ way through the first pregnancy until my 2^nd child was about 10 months old. That’s a lot of missed sleep.

2^nd biggest sacrifice – The prep, experience, and recovery of two C-section births.

6. Of all the meals you have ever made, what was the least accepted meal by your family? Hamburgers and oven French fries, can you believe it? I was stoked making such a kid-friendly meal, “Wow, I’m such an awesome Mom.” But all I got were whines and whimpers, and a bunch of cold food.

7. When is the one time your child made you laugh the hardest? Her very first true laugh, when she was about 3 months old – we were in the car and I did some goofy face or sound that made her laugh, and when I heard that first ACTUAL, REAL laugh come from deep in her belly, a combination of pride, glee, amazement and love brimmed up and I couldn’t stop laughing with her the whole way home.

8. Of all the important lessons you've taught your children, what is the most important lesson you hope they carry on through life? That they are smart and strong and deeply loved by their parents and God.

9. At what moment in your life did it dawn on you that you are no longer living for yourself, but living for your kids? The first desperately sleep-deprived night home with a new baby, and every day since then. But there are times when something happens to make me re-realize it, like when a group of people are talking about movies in the theater and I’ve never heard of any of them, or when I look at my faded, stained wardrobe and can’t remember the last time I bought clothes for myself…and realize I don’t mind.

But lately I’m taking a new approach to motherhood, which is “When Mom is Taken Care of, Everyone Else is Better Taken Care of.” I’m not giving all the good blueberries to the kids anymore, but keeping a share for myself, too. I get a pampering haircut once in awhile, and sometimes we get together with my friends, and not just my kids’ friends. I’m still living for the kids 100%, but keeping in mind that part of that is treating their Mom right.

10. Name a time when you found yourself guilty of doing something that always bothered you when your own Mother did it. “Just a minute” followed by many, many minutes and sometimes never coming or forgetting what the kid wanted. Granted, I do it while I’m on the computer and my mom did it while doing something else, but the wrong is still the same.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Things I'll Miss About New York #1: Three Guys

The bittersweetness is really setting in. Luckily the blog is an excellent coping mechanism for things like this, so watch this space over the next few weeks for a couple of things I will really miss, and probably a few I won't, about living in New York City.

One thing I will miss FOR SURE is Three Guys from Brooklyn, the most amazing place to buy produce I've ever seen. When we first moved here, like the first week, we went to the Brooklyn library main branch and in the lobby they had an exhibit called something like "My Town" - there had been a photo and essay contest about Brooklyn and the winners in different categories were displayed. It was an awesome introduction to Brooklyn for me, learning about the city through current personal experiences of my neighbors. One essay really struck me - that of an 11-year-old boy writing about the weekly afterschool shopping trip he takes with his mom to Three Guys from Brooklyn. He told of asking the owner, who he had come to know well, the story behind the name of the store. Basically he and two of his buddies had decided to start a store selling top quality produce and rock bottom prices - "The Original Poor Man's Friend" is their subtitle. They worked so hard and took so much pride in their work that the other two died of overwork but he believes in what they do and loves his life. That is a poor recounting of the boy's essay. There was a picture of the owner and boy with mounds of fresh produce behind.

When I got home I looked it up, intending to go visit just for the essay's sake. But when I discovered it was close to where we lived, I made a habit of it. It's set up like a produce stand so there's not a lot of room, and you can't even think of going on Fridays when every Jew in Brooklyn is shopping for Shabbat, but if you hit it early on a week morning you can do OK and even find street parking.

Of course the beautiful thing about Three Guys is - it's SO CHEAP and it's SO GOOD! It's always fresh because they move their stuff so fast, and I don't know how their stuff is always more delicious and less expensive than the grocery stores, but I'm not complaining...until I move. For example, I went this week and spent $61.80. I got everything you see in the picture PLUS two gallons and one quart of milk, a dozen eggs, a bottle of salad dressing, and a 4-pack of the most amazing applesauce for $0.99 (they have a few grocery items.)

Produce: 4 ears of corn, 1 broccoli crown, 1 pineapple, 2 romaine lettuces, 3 lbs bananas, 1/2 watermelon, 1 cauliflower crown, 1.5 lbs mediterranean cukes, 0.8 lbs green beans, 3.5 lbs grapes, 2 lbs strawberries, 2 bags baby carrots, 1 yellow pepper, 1 bag clementines, 1.16 lbs asparagus, 1 lb black plums, 2.8 lbs gala apples, 2 grapefruits

How can we eat all that produce before it goes bad? Well it does take some effort (especially since Ed is only home for breakfast) but we've been working to change some of our eating habits - that's for another post. Bring on the fruits and vegetables! It also helps that so many things are coming into season now.

Three Guys is a Brooklyn establishment, a friend to the Poor Man, and a place I will very sadly miss when we leave.

Ratings??

What the...? Why are there suddenly "Rate It" stars at the end of my blog posts? I feel violated and confused.

Make a Wish

This afternoon we went to the park and on the way is a small field full of dandelions. Hazel learned early on to make a wish and blow and it's one of her favorite outdoor pastimes, so we stopped there for a long time. Ginger watched Hazel blow and tried her own version, which resulted in a mouth full of fluff, a yucky face and wiping her tongue with her hands. Hazel took turns bringing me one to blow and blowing herself, each time asking me for my wish or stating her own.

What did I wish for? Daddy coming home early, a week of great weather, and everyone eating their dinner and being happy the rest of the day even though it's bath night and neither one took a decent nap. So far I'm 0-2, waiting to see about the weather one.

What did Hazel wish for? A beautiful castle, a beautiful castle and a beautiful castle. Oh, to be three again.

What do you wish for?

Got Gas?

Last weekend we went up to Massachusetts for my niece's baptism. We filled up twice and passed lots of stations in different states. I heard on the radio this morning that the national average, currently $3.62, has gone up $.15 in the last two weeks and $.30 in the last month. Here's what I saw:

5/2 New Jersey $3.79
5/4 Worcester, MA $3.57
5/4 Connecticut $3.85
5/4 CT - NY border $3.97 ouch!
5/5 Brooklyn, NY $3.79

I'm not one for political-economic commentary on my blog, but I see that this is bad. It's also complicated. My dad looks at it this way - he remembers when he could fill up for $5. Now it's 12 times that but he makes much more than 12 times what he made back then, so he's ok with it. I guess any way you can find to be ok with it will save you some stress, but not everyone has the luxury. It makes me sweat to fill up but we can't complain too much because we drive so little relative to the nation at large - Ed commutes on public transportation and I walk almost everywhere. I also heard on the radio some people expect it to climb another $.30 before it peaks. I remember just before we left Colorado 3 years ago it was just breaking $2/gallon - an outrage! It helps to talk to Ed - my financial tutor - about things like this because he can put it in a broader, even historical, perspective. Even so, it's bad. Depression and inflation at the same time spell trouble. Boo for air travel going through the roof just as Dave moved to England! Hip-hip-hooray for food storage, paying tithing, public transportation and stockpiling rice and gas if that summer tax cut happens, which I am against, by the way. Even I can see it's pointless to solve a problem by causing ten more.

What's the damage where you live - how much are you paying for gas right now?