Sunday, December 31, 2006

New Year's Eve

This morning we all went grocery shopping before PoPo Pop went to work. Family grocery shopping is always fun. PoPo Pop gets annoyed when I walk away with the shopping cart in the middle of an asile and I get annoyed when PoPo Pop follows to close with the cart. (I have the scars on my heels to prove it!)


Then we picked up Tara for a half sleepover. We do half sleepovers, until 11pm or so, instead of whole sleepovers because the girls are always so cranky the next morning. Anyway, the girls were so cut playing in Snofie's room with their American Girl dolls. They had all their outfits and accessories laid out and were doing their doll's hair. We had brownies for dinner and then the girls played veterinarian. While the girls played I spent several hours working on my novel. I realized I hadn't worked on it much with the holidays. I can't wait to get back to our regular routine. When PoPo Pop got home we all watched the ball drop and then we took Tara home. It was kind of cool in a way, our first drive of the new year.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

There was a "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" marathon on TV today, yeah, I love that show.

Snofie played at Tara's house for a couple of hours and then Tara played at our house while Kelly and Tim went to the post office to mail their Christmas cards. That's funny because Kelly had made these very elaborate cards and I was wondering why I hadn't received one. Now I get it.

I can't wait until winter break is over an we all get back on a regular schedule again. I love my routines.

This evening Samantha and i watched the Lifetime movie called, "Why I Wore Lipstick to my Mastectomy". It was really good.

PoPo Pop's dad emailed us this morning, they have 1 1/2 inches of snow in New Mexico and it's 50 degrees here.!
There was a "Law & Order Criminal Intent" marathon on today. I stayed on the couch most of the day with a headache. I'm sure part of the problem was the fact that I was sleeping on the couch but, it's fun to do sometimes. I switched between "Law & Order" and the news.They executed Saddam Hussein this morning and former President Ford's body was flown from his home in California to Washington, D.C. Snofie went over to Tara's house for a few hours and then Tara came over while Kelly and Tim ran errands. I felt so bad because Snofie got a really sudden really bad headache and she lay down and fell asleep. Tara played Webkinz while she slept. I suppose Tara had fun getting to use the computer alone without her brothers bothering her. When Snofie woke up the girls had hot chocolate and ice cream.

Friday, December 29, 2006


Today was the last day of work for the year. I laughed when Snofie and the other 2nd graders were saying, "see you next year" after their holiday party but oops, there I was running around the office on my way out, "see you next year". That'll teach me not to laugh at my kid.


After work I went to the thrift store and I found a fox! A really big fox puppet from The Nature Store. He was $4.99. I was so excited that Snofie and I took him by the police department to show all the guys who had been in on the fox hunt what we caught. Snofie named him Foxy.


Thursday, December 28, 2006

Lynn quit today. Not Lynn the office manager but Lynn the sales rep. Yesterday was her last day. She didn't say anything to anyone and then we all got an email about it today. I wonder why she quit?

Last night Snofie and I took over the big bed and watched Lifetime. There was a movie on at 9pm that we watched called "Last Exit". It was so good, at least the part of it I stayed awake for. I asked Snofie what happened and she said she fell asleep as well. Snofie is just the best company. We fell asleep holding hands.

Boy was I tired today. I can't imagine why since I was asleep last night before 10pm.

After work yesterday I went to half price day at the thrift store. You know how they put the price tags on with staples, well, I cut my knee open won one of those staples while trying on a pair of jeans. It bled and the blood dried and made my skirt stick to the cut. Gross. I'll probably get gang green and have to have my leg amputated.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

After work I went to get my hair cut. When I walked in Dobris said that Nick was away taking college courses for the next two years. What? It turns out that "College" is Dobri's nice word for jail.

Snofie was so cute today at the grocery store. We went through the you scan lane and she did the entire process start to finish all by herself. One of the cashiers came over and complimented her on how efficient she was. It was so cute.

Monday, December 25, 2006

Christmas Day

Snofie after her presents...

A horse named Jingle for Sara, Snofie's American Girl Doll


Our Christmas Ham


Favorite tree ornaments, #1...




#2...




and #3...




Everyone's in on the fox hunt!


Fumble Fox and Sargent Fox have joined Father Fox and Foxy Fox in the hunt. PoPo Pop was talking about finding a fox at work and Dan said he would call around and see if anyone had one in the city and make arrangements to pick it up. Sadly though, there were no foxes to be had. That was on Saturday, then on Sunday the Sargent said he thought his wife had a beany baby fox and he drove all the way home to get it!

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Snofie's Note to Santa


Christmas Eve Traditions


We went to Wal Mart today. You might say were must have been crazy to go there on a day like today but we decided we wanted an adventure as well as needing a few things. It wasn't that bad.
PoPo Pop always works on Christmas Eve so Snofie and I go on a walk together. We love looking at the lights, the cold night air and then that cozy feeling when you arrive back home.
We baked cookies for Santa. Snofie was concerned that we did not have enough apples for all the reindeer. I told her that one was good because other kids give the reindeer only one apple and Santa collects them until he has enough to give each one an apple, then he starts all over again.
Snofie is putting her story on the computer, "The Midnight House". We worked on our writing together while watching "A Christmas Story". Then it was bed time for Snofie, the one night of the year she does not give me a hard time about going to bed.
When PoPo Pop came home we wrapped presents and watched the yule log on TV, you know, the logs burning on the fire. And it was more me, watching PoPo Pop wrap presents. I got mine done in about 2 minutes because I believe in gift bags and PoPo Pop does not.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

An All Girl Band

Snofie has stopped puking but is quite tired. She woke up long enough to open her present from my parents: a guitar. Snofie was so excited! She's going to have an all girl band. She will be the guitar player and lead singer. Tara will be the drums and backup vocals and Ann will be on the keyboards. Danny and Sean will be roadies, PoPo Pop will be security and Tim will be in charge of transportation logistics. Oh no, PoPo Pop's eyes lit up, "now Tim and I have a reason to buy a bus off of gov deals". www.govdeals.org is this site they love where you can find all kinds of crap, crap like, old file cabinets from the 1950's and old city buses. My parents left and PoPo Pop went to work. Snofie and I watched "Flight Plan" with Jodie Foster.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Yeah, my parents came to Ohio to visit today! They arrived a little after 2pm. After they got here we went to the furniture store to get our Christmas present. They are replacing the chair that Decker the Cat peed in and ruined. We were going to turn out of the neighborhood and go left but, oh my god, the traffic was backed up as far as the eye could see. Thus we were forced to go right even thought that is the long way. Going right means you hit a whole bunch of traffic lights and being 3 days before Christmas we had to sit through most of the lights 3 or 4 times. As we passed The Honeybaked Ham Store we couldn't believe the line. There were at least 100 people in that line and they had a police officer outside the door. Oh my god! We get to go pick up the chair on January 3rd, yeah, bye bye pee pee chair.

We had a pot roast for dinner and then Snofie played air hockey with BaBa. BaBa is Snofie's name for her grandfather. When she was about 9 months old my parents were visiting. Since Dad is hard of hearing Mom would say his name loudly and twice something like this, "BOB BOB". Snofie would try to copy her and it came out BaBa and it stuck.

Gretchen came by. They had just gotten the last of their possessions moved out of their house. She was all dirty because she'd been digging in the front yard for her St. Joseph's statue but she couldn't find it. I almost cried, not about the St. Joseph but about Gretchen leaving. I will miss them being across the street. They have been good neighbors.

Mom went to bed around 9pm. Dad, Snofie and I stayed up and watched TV. When I was done doing stuff around the house I joined Dad in the middle of the movie and asked what was going on. First I must explain, growing up in our house you don't talk about certain things, sex, body parts, sickness or bodily functions. The movie was about a guy who had been acquitted of rape charges and was now on the loose raping people associated with the case. Oh, it was so uncomfortable when Dad tried to explain with out using certain words... oh so uncomfortable. Then Snofie got sick. She barfed up all the roast and kept throwing up. I called the doctor and asked if I could give her an anti nausea medicine I had. He said fine. Then it was just uncomfortable all the way around because the medicine is in suppository form. Poor Snofie. Poor Dad. Poor me.



The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip.

You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?The point is none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.

These are no second-rate achievers.They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies.
Awards tarnish.
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here's another quiz ... see how you do on this one:

1. List at least two teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name four people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with

Wasn't that easier?


The lesson:

The people who make a difference in your life are not the oneswith the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards.

They are the ones who care .
Pass this on to those people who have made a difference in your life.I just did.
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today.It's already tomorrow in Australia."

(Charles Schultz)

Snofie playing air hockey with BaBa


Thursday, December 21, 2006

Work Holiday Party


Our party this year was at The Boss's house. It was lovely. Everyone was there except for Susan who is in California. The Cheesecake Factory catered. I was so so good. All I had were the appetizers, I never even made it to the main dishes or the dessert because I was so full. My favorites were the fried dumplings and the quesidillias. I did swipe some strawberries off of Judy's cheesecake. Speaking of Judy, her daughter Sarah was there with her boyfriend. Sarah gets more beautiful every time I see her. Judy recently had a tragedy, her Jack Russell, Olivia died. She hung herself by her leash on the back porch. I wasn't sure what I was going to say to her and talked about it with PoPo Pop. He suggested I say: "Hi, how's your dog? Did you bring her or is she just hanging out at home?" He is so wrong even though he cracks me up. Back to the party... We had our annual gift exchange. I had drawn Patricia's name. We have this thing standing joke about snow. She hates it, I don't. Evey time I see it start to snow out my window I dial her extension and say, "Hey Pat, it's snowing." She usually says something impolite. If I remember correctly we began talking about the snow several years ago when we had been discussing the show "Gilmore Girls". Loralie on "Gilmore Girls" loves snow and there was a whole episode about it. Ok, now I'll really get back to the party... I got Patricia the same little baggie of snow I got the girls at the Conservatory, a great smelling candle and some organic dark chocolate. Lynn had drawn my name. She got me some awesome trail mix since I'm always eating it at work and a beautiful note pad since I love paper and making lists so much. It was the perfect gift for me. As I was leaving Ellen asked if I would bring my present to work next week. I love sharing a cubicle with her. Beth gave Stacey a box of chocolates that said Special Occasion Chocolates on the box. Well, Stacey had had a little too much to drink and read off the box, "special Caucasian chocolates". It was quite amusing. Among my observations of this year's part are how much thought everyone put into choosing their gift, how warm and inviting The Boss's home is and Ron's toast in Maria's honor. He gave a toast thanking The Boss for her hospitality and then gave a toast to Maria who was with us in spirit. Everyone almost cried.

Holiday Party at Snofie's School



I left work early to go to Snofie's party. I love her school and how involved the parents are in their children's education and activities. I mention this because when I arrived the parking lot was full and cars were parked way out in the grass toward the road. The party was lovely. Teacher gave each child a book which they are holding up in this picture. I met a few mom's I hadn't met before and one dad was there. The children had a really nice time and we all marveled at how quiet and well behaved they all are. Teacher has total control of the class and everyone really listened to what she had to say as well as following her directions. Even when it was free time for them they were not rowdy or disruptive. It was really nice. After the party Snofie and I went to the classroom next door to pick up Tara. Tara's teacher seems quite nice too. She was an elementary school teacher for 16 years in the city where PoPo Pop is a police officer. And, I'd bet money her students there were not as well behaved as her students here, nor were the parents as involved. That's sad to me because it is not the kid's fault. But I end this post totally thankful to live in such an awesome community.

A Holiday Outing




After school Snofie, Tara and I went to the Franklin Park Conservatory. They currently have a new Chihuly exhibit and the annual poinsettia tree. The girls had so much fun. Tara was cute, she heard the parrots talking and said she thought it was other people yelling. i told her they were the parrots. She didn't believe me until we rounded the corner and there they were. She was rally surprised to see them and then they squawked really loud. All 3 of us just about jumped out of our skin. When we were finished looking around we went to the gift shop. On the way to the conservatory the girls had been in the back seat discussing all the fun you can have in the snow. Snofie says that Daddy told her it was not supposed to snow this Christmas day. The girls were quite disappointed over this. Tara recalled that last year she had made her brother eat snow and then she sighs and says, "those were good times". Anyway, I see these packets of "snow", real snow. You add water, mix and voila, snow. So I decided to get each of the girls their own snow to make on Christmas day. While I was up at the register getting their surprise, Tara sees these little glass animals and asks if she can get one. I said no. Then I decided that I would get them each one to add to the surprise. I asked the girls which one they would choose if they could get one. they picked out their favorite and the girl rang them up too. We left and on the way to the car I give the girls their surprises. Tara was thrilled. Snofie started to cry. "What's the matter?" I asked. "I didn't want this glass animal, I wanted another one!" Oh my god, I almost strangled her right there in the parking lot. I told her that when someone gives you a gift out of the goodness of their heart that it is really really rude to cry about it, it hurts the gift givers feelings! Tara told her, "if it will make you feel better we can switch animals." Tara is always the peace maker. Finally Snofie realized she was being an ass and she apologized.

The Midnight House

Snofie is writing a book called "The Midnight House". It is about a girl who lives next door to a spooky house that eats her. Inside she finds all kinds of body parts, all of them except a heart. She then goes on a quest to find the house a heart. I took her story to work today. Everyone loved it. Cary had it last, she brought it back to me and it looked like she was ready to cry. She had spilled her cup of coffee on it. She felt awful. She said it was the first thing she grabbed when the coffee spilled, she left all her work papers in favor of cleaning off Snofie's story. I told her not to worry about it but she still felt really bad. After school I told Snofie what had happened and she said, "that's ok, you can still read it and now it smells good." She's the greatest kid ever. I called Cary who was so happy to hear that Snofie wasn't upset. She said she hopes I will bring it in again and she promised she wouldn't spill anything on it.

Music & Dogs

Mom took Pepper to the vet to have her teeth cleaned. She had an excessive amount of tarter build up on her back teeth. Keep in mind, we are talking about a dog here. So, she gets an estimate that I mentioned before of $500 and something dollars. When Pepper was finished with the procedure it came to $753 because she had to have a tooth pulled. As you recall, we are still talking about the dog.

So, Mom decides she loves the Bose CD player Dad got her for Christmas but instead of black she wants it in white. She paid $42 to send it back and exchange it for the white one. She just got the white one and she loves it.

Craziness I tell you...

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Poop

"Mom, you have poop in your hair" Snofie said this morning. I ran to the mirror in the bathroom and thankfully it was just makeup.

They are going to call off the search for the climbers on Mt. Hood in Oregon today. I've been following this story as well as having become interested on the show on the Discovery Channel called, "Everest: Beyond the Limit". I can understand liking the cold weather and some activities that are associated with it like, skiing, sledding, building a snow man or going ice skating. I do not understand the desire to risk varying degrees of frostbite to climb a mountain in below zero temperatures. I do understand the thrill and challenge of it all but not the knowledge that in conquering the mountain your feet turn black and hurt like hell. Although I do not get these people's pastime I am thankful that we live in a world where we can explore our passions whatever they may be and that if we run into trouble in the pursuit of our goals strangers will band together to rescue us and/or cheer us on.

Going on a fox hunt...



Snofie wants a stuffed fox for Christmas. Sound simple doesn't it. Well, it wasn't! I made a list of things I needed at Target: 1) Gift Card for Teacher 2) (for PoPo Pop) Socks 3) A Fox. The list made me giggle. Target didn't have a fox and neither did, Hallmark, Wallgreens, Wal Mart or the Dollar Tree. Po Po Pop called me at work today and said he had been on a fox hunt also and no fox was to be found. I told him I would go by the thrift store after work. We made up code names for ourselves. He's Father Fox and I am Foxy Fox. So, I go to the thrift store. I find a pair of jeans and some chapter books for Snofie. Then I dig through all the bins of stuffed animals they have. It was icky and I kept imagining all the germs and god know what else I was touching. Sadly, there was no fox in those bins. I felt defeated, stupid sly fox. But then, I looked up. There, surrounding the entire store was a ledge filled all the way around with stuffed animals. I began to walk around the store with my head tilted back hoping for a fox. I saw: raccoons, bears, cats, dogs, a manatee, rabbits, snakes, iguanas, and then lo an behold, tucked behind a bear was a tiny little fox. I almost killed myself trying to get him down off the ledge. Victory, a 30 cent fox! I hope she still wants one!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Cold



It was warm last week and Snofie got to play basketball outside.

This morning it was cold. The wonderful kind of cold where you can smell the air mingled with the smell of a wood burning fire and there is frost on the ground.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Christmas is coming...

I made peppermint mocha's this morning. Basically that's a candy cane melted in a cup of coffee. It is so good.

Snofie didn't go to school today. I think she was faking but since it is the week before Christmas I don't think she'll miss much. I told her she had to stay in bed all day and her TV had to be on really low. Maybe she did feel somewhat yucky because she did not fight me on this and she slept most of the day.

At work we had our Monday Morning Meeting and I presented the re-cap of Travel Guy's year. It was amazing, he was on the road 49 out of 52 weeks. The other amazing part was that Boss didn't want Travel Guy to see the re-cap. Why? It's not like he can't figure it out on his own, after all, he was the one traveling it! So, after the meeting I had to collect all the copies of the re-cap from all the Sales People and shred them.

America's Funniest Home Videos should have been at Computer Guy's house. I was on the phone with him doing some sort of email re-configuration thing and I asked him how he was enjoying his Wii and he said he sliced his finger open. What? Playing a video game? He said he caught his hand in the ceiling fan while pitching on the baseball game. That is hysterical, I laughed all day over that one.

Yesterday, day 10, they found one of the 3 climbers lost on Mt. Hood and he was dead. Then today, day 1, they are continuing the search for the other 2. I can't imagine being lost and that cold. I can't stop thinking about those 2 missing men and hoping that they will be found safe.

After work I finished my Christmas shopping. I went to the post office, they were out of Christmas stamps so I got Hanukkah ones instead. Then I went to the health food store to get Mom some Emu oil and then to Circuit City to look for a CD for Dad. I had to ask where the classical music section was after roaming the aisles for a while. The clerk said, "over there" as she gestured to a rack. There I found the section between the "Mexicana" and "Gospel" sections. The classical section was about 20 CD's total where as the other 2 aforementioned sections were row after row. What is wrong with people! I left and went to Target. I skipped the classical as Target didn't have any either. Instead I got Dad a Diana Krall CD and a Frank Sinatra CD. Snofie mentioned the other day that she wanted a fox stuffed animal. I looked everywhere but could not find any foxes. Lastly I stopped at PaPa Murphy's for a pizza and also got their cinnamon bread. Oh my god, it was so so so good.

They say you learn something new everyday. Today I learned that beavers can hold their breath for 45 minutes. It made me remember when Mom and I used to go to Tift Farm, hike back in the woods and sit on the river bank, waiting for the beavers to return to their dam. Sometimes we would see one and sometimes we wouldn't but we always had a nice time.

Mom sent a giant envelope of newspaper clippings today, Buffalo News and NY Times. Among note was an article, actually some guy's obituary, that said he used Alka-Seltzer to relieve migraine pain. I will have to try this. (And, I have no idea why migraine remedies were in this man's obituary nor why Mom was reading the obituary of some man she did not know.)

Sunday, December 17, 2006

8 Shdes of Nifty

I heard that quote and had to write it down so I wouldn't forget, isn't it a good one!

January 3rd is the next new episode of "Top Chef", I can't wait that long.

I had every good intention of finishing my Christmas cards today but didn't. It's going on the list for tomorrow. Instead Snofie and I watched "Cold Creek Manor". That's another one of those movies that I can watch again and again and not get tired of it. I love that Snofie has the same taste in movies as I do, we have the best time watching together. You know, if Snofie and I had grown up together at the same time I think we would have been friends.

So, I've been working on my novel and I am at an impasse. You see, the one character that I really love needs to have something bad happen to her. Not letting the cat out of the bag or anything, I am planning on her daughter being kidnapped. The thing is, it would be much better if she were found, well, not alive. But, I don't want such a bad thing to happen to this one character. I thought about having it happen to her friend's daughter but what would the motive be then, huh, I'm in a pickle...

Snow



It snowed in Webkinz world. Snofie got her first Webkinz, a monkey she named CooCoo, for her Birthday from Tara. If you don't know what a Webkinz is, it's the coolest stuffed animal that you can play with online. Go to www.webkinz.com for a tour. You have to take care of you animal, buy it food and bed for it to sleep in. If your pet gets sick there is a clinic. And you can do jobs or play games to earn money to buy thing for your pet int he Webkinz store. Snofie has PoPo Pop and me earning her money, hey, she's no dummy... she figured out pretty quickly that her dad and I can earn her money by playing the games pretty quickly. I like Cash Cow the best because I can watch TV and play at the same time. Anyway, Snofie logged on to Webkinz and said that it had snowed. She dressed Coo Coo in his Santa suite and put him in his pool in the snow. I question her parenting skills. Ok, gotta go now, I'm having the urge to play Cash Cow...

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Do Nothing Day

I love days like these. Mom called in the morning. i talked to her for a really long time. Then I took a really long nap. Around 4pm I called and talked to mom again for a really long time. I was about6pm before I got off the couch.

Pepper, Mom's dog, has to have the tarter scrapped off her back teeth at the vet. I guess they have to put them under to clean their teeth. Mom said it's going to cost $575! Oh my god!

Snofie and I watched "The Parent Trap", the 1989 version. I think we've watched that movie at least 25 times but we never get tired of it.

Then this evening we had a beauty night. I just got a foot bath. I gave Snofie a foot massage with coffee & cocoa foot scrub and foot cream. She smelled so good I could have just eaten her all up. Then she gave me a beauty-washing. A beauty-washing is when I take a bath. I sit with my back facing out toward Snofie and she give me a massage with all these tools she has. She has a basket full of sponges, brushes and massagers. She is quite good at it. It was a lovely day.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We put up the tree the other day. I love pulling out each ornament and remembering when we acquired it. My favorites include:

  • The seagull from Nantucket when I was 5
  • The police officer Lore gave PoPo Pop
  • The Harrods Santa from Mom's Judy
  • The Happy Holidays pillow from Susie's mom
  • The baby Jesus in the manger Mom made from a milk pod

And Mom and Dad are coming to Ohio next Friday, I can't wait!

THE SHIRT



I love family time like this! Snofie was in the big bed with PoPo Pop reading "The Night Before Christmas" to him. There were some other pictures of them reading that I wanted to post but couldn't because of PoPo Pop's tee shirt. See, this past summer Snofie and I went to a festival. It was in a very small town in the Hocking Hills. I thought it would be quaint with an artistic bent. It was not. Every hillbilly and his cousin turned wife was there. Everyone had lawn chairs lining several blocks as though there would be a parade. We were there over an hour and there was no parade. It was fascinating people watching but a little unnerving without PoPo Pop there. He would have gotten such a kick out of it and I decided to commemorate our outing by purchasing him a tee shirt. The shirt I chose has a rebel flag and says : Get 'R Done. This is his night shirt and we laugh about it. It is also what he wears to get out of answering the door when we have ordered a pizza for dinner: "I can't answer the door in this!" he says. So, there I am taking all these adorable father / daughter pictures and all of a sudden I realized... THE SHIRT!

Friday, December 15, 2006

I need to drink more water...

I only put this as the title of this post to remind myself. 10pm is NOT the best time to remember that you haven't had any water all day unless you count the 4 cups of coffee.

This evening Snofie and i went to The Columbus Children's Theatre for their production of "A Christmas Story". It was really good. The boy who played Randy was amazing. Snofie wore her red velvet dress with the white fur collar. I kept sneaking glances at her sitting there next to me with her legs crossed and her hands folded in her lap. She enjoyed the play so much and afterward got all of the actor's autographs on her program. After the play we walked into The Short North for coffee. We had egg nog lattes and talked. Snofie is so much fun to be with. On the drive home through downtown people were walking to their cars after the performance of Cats. I commented that I didn't realize Cats was in town and Snofie said,"It opened today and runs through the 17th." I swear, that's a direct quote. Sometimes I can't believe she's only 8 years old.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

"Get Fuzzy"

I love the comic strip, "Get Fuzzy". Bucky Katt and Satchel Pooch are hysterical! Knowing that they are waiting to greet me every morning is right up there with a steaming, giant mug of coffee. PoPo Pop doesn't think they are funny at all and he won't even humor me and read them, even when I beg. They are too funny! PoPo Pop calls them Bucky and Sucky, that is just wrong! Today's strip had Bucky singing:
Jingle presents
Beat the pheasants!
Reindeer tastes like Spam!
Kick the elf,
Engorge yourself, and
Ambush Santa's van -
Hey!
I laughed all day!

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Kids Night & Cheesecake

Po Po Pop is in school this wee. He is taking Spanish for Law Enforcement. (I guess that would be Espanol para la policia.) I helped him practice last night and it's amazing how much I have forgotten since college.

This evening we met Kelly, Tim and the kids at Skyline Chili for kids night. Is it somewhat pathetic that this is the highlight of my day? Snofie always orders the exact same thing every Wednesday so Ciera, our waitress, doesn't even ask her what she wants anymore. My order always goes something like this:
Ciera: Do you want Pepsi or Dr. Pepper tonight?
Me: I don't care.
Ciera: The usual to eat?
Me: Yes and I think I want a side dish too.
Ciera: Do you want it to be a surprise?
Me: Yes.
It remindes me of "Cheers" and the show's theme song... "sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name..." I would probably be Lilith or wait, maybe Norm.

After Skyline we all went back to our house. Kelly had baked a cheese cake for PoPo Pop's Birthday. I had just gotten out my Sopde Christmas dishes and was excited to use them for the first time this season. We had a lovely dessert of cheesecake and egg nog. ...And I will go to bed thinking about how thankful I am to have such great family and friends.

Out To Eat

So, last night we went to the new Mexican place with Gute & Sandy for Po Po Pop's Birthday. We had the best time. Even though Gute & Sandy only moved a few days ago and about a mile away it feels like much longer and much farther. Gute tried the green hot sauce that is really really hot so of course Po Po Pop tried it too. That was quite amusing. Our waitress looked and sounded exactly like Rachael Ray. Gute and Po Po Pop kept calling her Rachael. The guys let her in on their nick names for each other so every time she came by the table she called Gute Handsome Devil and she called Po Po Pop, Butter Bean. They crack me up! After dinner we went next door to Cool Cravings for some ice cream. I hope Po Po Pop had as wonderful a time on his Birthday as I did.

When we got home it was time for Snofie to go to bed. Po Po Pop and I watched the movie, "World Trade Center". It came out on DVD Tuesday the 12th at 12:00am. Po Po Pop was all excited because he had ventured out to Wal Mart at midnight. Remember, I thought he had gone out the other night. He said right at midnight a stock boy came out with the box of DVD's. Po Po Pop got the first one. The stock boy handed him the first one out of the box. I can just imagine him standing there waiting like a kid at Christmas. And, I am so thankful that it's the little things that make us happy, Po Po Pop, a movie and Snofie, a tiny little pebble. It's a good life!

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Gas

This morning Snofie took the car keys and said, "I'm going out to start the car mom." I finished up in the house and on my way out the door Snofie rolled down her window and said, "you need gas." Snofie has this fear that I'm going to run out of gas. I don't know why she is like this other than that she is prone to worry. I've never run out of gas in my life. I swear, every time she gets in the car she checks the gas gauge. On our way to school the gas light came on but I didn't say anything to Snofie. When we got to school she says, "bye mom, don't forget to go get gas, you're light's on now." The kid cracks me up!

The Things People Say

Some people can be so rude and some people just say things that sound rude but really aren't. Then there are the people who say things knowing full well that what they are saying is rude but they thinks that they are being cute. I have to say, they are not cute.

Morning Coffee

My oldest friend is Carolyn. We met in nursery school and have been friends ever since, oh my god, that's somewhere around 33 years. One of Mom's favorite Carolyn memories is when we were little and Carolyn was over for lunch. Mom asked about dessert and Carolyn said she'd like an apple instead because it's good for you. This morning Snofie came into the kitchen and asked if her coffee was ready yet. It made me giggle as I poured coffee into her Santa mug... I bet Carolyn doesn't send her son to school on a breakfast of coffee and chocolate donuts.

PoPO Pop's 39th Birthday

Snofie made him a Happy Birthday sign at breakfast. PoPo Pop must have gone out last night after I'd gone to bed because there was a box of donuts on the kitchen table and I don't think there is any such thing as a donut fairy. But I don think that there is such a thing as a donut carrying cop... hee hee.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Me & Snofie

My car at the apple orchard

Can't Wait For Christmas...

Mom got Snofie a guitar for Christmas. She has been wanting one for a long time and I can't wait to see her face when she opens up her present. Right now she is out in the living room watching "School of Rock" and she's in front of the TV playing the air guitar. She's quite good at the air guitar actually as well as having some great moves. I have dreams of Snofie forming an all girl band and me going to her concerts where everyone calls me The Cool Mom.

Speaking of God

I was watching the "Mad About You" episodes from this week that I had DVR'd. They play reruns on channel 51 which must be some sort of religious station because there were words every so often that were "bleeped" out. I kept thinking: they don't curse in this show. But then I realized that they were bleeping out the word "god". You've got to be kidding me. But now I have a new mission when I watch that show: to make a list of all the words they bleep. I bet there's more of them like, butt and suck...

The Real Chip

Snofie found the real Chip! Yeah! Chip is a pebble that Snofie found on the playground at school. She drew a face on it and named it Chip. She loved that little pebble and took it everywhere. One day a couple of weeks ago she came home in tears because she lost Chip! I was on the phone with Kelly and our conversation went something like this:
Me: Snofie lost Chip.
Kelly: She had Chip a while ago when she was at our house.
I'll ask Tara to look for him.
Me: No, that's Chip's Dad. She found him on the playground today.
Kelly: That's why she wanted to use my sharpies...she drew a face on Chip's Dad.
I thought that was Chip.
Me: She was so excited because Chip was going to get to meet his Dad.
Both of us: Oh my god, we are talking about pebbles!
Anyway, she found Chip underneath her bed and is overjoyed... literally, overjoyed. I've never seen her so excited. I wonder where Chip's Dad is? I'm not bringing him up to her though!

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Last night Kelly's kids came over while she and Tim did some Christmas shopping. Despite the fact that my house is too small for 4 kids we had a lovely time. I love Kelly's kids. They are so well behaved and I don't feel like I have to watch them all the time, I trust them. Snofie and Tara played in her room, Danny played on the computer and poor Sean had no one to play with. He had brought a tote bag over with some stuffed dogs and he sort of wandered around with the bag on his shoulder. I convinced the girls to let him play with them. I told them that he would probably get bored in a few minutes and find something else to do. The girls thought this meant that in a few minutes I would come over and tell Sean to leave them alone. Poor little guy. He looked so cute too, he had on a little plaid button down shirt and a pair of khakis. And, I love Danny now. He used to tattle on the girls all the time but now that he is in 5th grade he is such a nice kid. He leaves the girls alone now. Danny used to think I babied him but I think he's over that now because he talks to me now. Snofie didn't want the boys in her room and freaked out when they touched her Littlest Pet Shop village that she has set up on a book shelf. Sometimes I get so mad at Snofie because she doesn't share. I suppose that's because she's an only child. I didn't like to share either when I was little. Anyway, it was a nice evening.

This morning, Sunday, I am sitting here writing this (or as Snofie said, I am typing) and I am looking out the window. The new neighbors are moving in across the street. They appear to be normal...whatever that means. It's kind of exciting to watch but at the same time I miss Gute & Sandy.

As you can see I have given up not using people's names. But I still am going to us Snofie because 1. I call her that a lot and 2. because I like that name.

Saturday, December 9, 2006

A Lovely Saturday Morning

Snofie had Basketball pictures this morning. All the teams were there but we were the first ones there from Snofie's team. This made Snofie nervous, no clue why, but it did. The rest of the team arrived and everything was fine. Then comes tome for their individual pictures and Snofie freaks out and says she doesn't want to do it. Oh my god! I told her she had two choices: do it or don't do it. She whined and cried for a few minutes and then Coach decides to do the team picture. Snofie says she doesn't want to do this picture either. I said, "fine, then let's go home." Snofie didn't want to go home either. "SNOFIE, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO THEN?" And Snofie says, "I don't know?" Finally we get her to be part of the group picture. There is Coach wiping Snofie's tears with her sleeve and Photographer Dude fixing her hair. I knew she was probably freaking out over people touching her but I couldn't watch because I was afraid I'd laugh. Snofie HATES it when people laugh at her. When they were done with the team picture we talked Snofie into doing the individual picture. At first she wouldn't smile but somehow they got her to laugh.

I get so mad and frustrated with Snofie when she acts like this. She is 8 years old and in 2nd grade. She should be over all this by now but she's not. It's like she gets so anxious she can't get any words out. You can see the fear on her face but I just don't understand it. And, she won't talk about it. I feel bad for her at the same time I'm feeling frustrated with her. Poor Snofie.

Snofie Wants To Go To The Moscow Cat Circus

Roll Over, 'Cats.' The Real Thing Is Here.
By DINITIA SMITH
Published: September 17, 2005
The manager of the coffee shop in Midtown was sorry, but he could not let Yuri Kuklachev and his entourage come in; the New York City Department of Health does not allow animals in restaurants. In Mr. Kuklachev's hand was a cat carrier containing Marusa, his favorite cat. He had brought her to New York, along with 25 other cats, on the nine-hour trip from Russia to perform in the Moscow Cats Theater here, and he was not about to be deterred by details. After repeated promises to keep the carrier under the table and well out of sight, everyone was allowed to sit down.
Then, through a translator, Mr. Kuklachev started to describe one of the cat's most famous tricks, when he suddenly leaped up. He slid out the carrier, and in a moment Marusa was standing on her two front paws in the palm of his hand, her tail waving in the air.
Customers stood up, craned their necks and pointed, as the manager hurried over to Mr. Kuklachev - and laughed. Mr. Kuklachev, a small, muscular man with white hair and wide cheeks, smiled and put Marusa away.
The show, which opens tonight at the TriBeCa Performing Arts Center and runs weekends through Oct. 30, features 26 cats; Mr. Kuklachev's wife, Yelena, as the Queen of the Cats; and two small, outnumbered dogs. The theater has a total of nine different routines, including "Cats From Outer Space" and "Nutcracker." No one show is ever exactly like another.
"Cats are like actors," Mr. Kuklachev said. "They do what they want. Sometimes a cat doesn't want one trick, so he does another."
The next day, in rehearsal, Mr. Kuklachev gave a preview. A cat called Tamara was brought out onstage and began rocking on a glittering pink rocking horse, nearly tipping over at one point.
There would also be a "tightrope" act. Two people held a pole horizontally while Belok, who is white, walked across it, with an intent manner. A black cat named Charlie did the same thing, but upside down, grasping the pole from underneath with his four legs. Motia, who is off-white, outdid them both. She made her way across the pole from underneath using only two legs. As the cats worked, Mr. Kuklachev clucked and cooed encouragingly, rewarding them with gentle strokes of his curved palm.
The story of "Queen of the Cats" is a kind of allegory, Mr. Kuklachev explained. He plays a painter who goes to sleep and dreams that aliens arrive from outer space in a U.F.O. and try to steal his cats.
At one point, one of the cats stands on a mirrored ball that looks as if it has been borrowed from "Saturday Night Fever." She is emitting "rays of goodness," he said, spreading kindness throughout the world.
The idea of performing cats came to Mr. Kuklachev in 1971, he said, when he found a stray begging for food by performing on its hind legs and doing somersaults for onlookers. Mr. Kuklachev, the son of a truck driver and a factory worker, had attended clown school. He realized he and the cat might be able to do something together. He named her Strelka, and soon she was performing with him at the Moscow State Circus.
Mr. Kuklachev did an act which would become well known as "The Cat in the Pot." A cat would sit in a pot. He would take her out, and she would keep jumping back in again.
In 1988 Mr. Kuklachev left the Moscow circus, and in 1990 he founded the Cats Theater. It is very popular in Moscow, Mr. Kuklachev said, and over the years he has traveled to 80 countries and won many awards.
There are 120 cats altogether in the company. The other 94 are back in Moscow at the theater on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, where 10 caretakers and four veterinarians look after them. There, they live in the theater in glass-fronted spaces - not cages, Mr. Kuklachev insists - where they each have a bed and a chair to play on. They are allowed to roam but must enter and exit their rooms on his command, he said.
"We have no mice," Mr. Kuklachev noted.
Mr. Kuklachev's son Dmitri, 30, who is a member of the troupe, interjected: "A cat cannot live in a cage. If it lives in a cage it becomes wild, aggressive." Although Dmitri performs with the cats, he is allergic to them, he said; he controls his asthma through breathing exercises.
The cats are accomplished travelers, Mr. Kuklachev said. He did not sedate them for the trip on a Boeing 767, and they are not nervous about the location change. Translation: They still use the litter box.
For their visit to New York, a hotel was not really an option, so Mr. Kuklachev rented two apartments in Brighton Beach, where Russian speakers and Russian food are plentiful. The cats and the two dogs share one apartment with two caretakers that is directly underneath where the Kuklachevs stay, and they have free rein. It takes 55 cans of cat food every other day to feed them, with dry food and meat on alternate days.
Mr. Kuklachev does not worry about damage. If the cats ruin the rug by scratching it, he will replace it. As for cleaning the litter, he said he and the other members of the troupe all pitch in.
The only cat not in the downstairs apartment is Marusa, who gets to sleep with Mr. Kuklachev. "Marusa is like a guard dog," he said, adding that cats are jealous creatures. "She won't let anybody near me."
One day, Mr. Kuklachev said, he would like to found what he calls a "cat temple," where 1,000 cats would live and tourists could visit the "living museum."
Where does Mr. Kuklachev find new cats to replenish his, uh, stock? "It's a dynasty," Dmitri said, answering for his father.
The younger Mr. Kuklachev said his father trains the cats not by rewarding them with treats, as one might train a dog, but "by long, good words, touching them."
The elder Mr. Kuklachev bridled at the idea of rewarding cats with food. "A cat is not a dog," he said. "If a cat doesn't want to do something, he will not do it."

Dinners

1. Stouffer's Lasagna
2. Tacos
3. Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
4. Spaghetti
5. Chinese
6. Pizza
7. Tuna Helper

Food List

Yogurt
Pudding
Milk
Cookie Dough
Iced Tea
Cereal
Flour Tortillas with Cheese
Apples
Bananas
Fruit Salad
Cup-O-Soup
Rice
Coffee
Trail Mix
French Toast
Grilled Cheese
Peanut Butter Sandwiches
Peanut Butter Crackers
Kraft Mac & Cheese
Stouffer's Mac & Cheese
Pretzels
Pepperidge Farm Cookies
Oreos
Dark Chocolate

The Warming Zone

The warming zone on our stove is the perfect place to put a candle. The whole house fills with the smell of pumpkin pie, it's amazing. Just don't mess with the melting wax... it splatters all over an is a pain to clean up.

Friday, December 8, 2006

Moving

I was cleaning up, putting dishes away and checking on Snofie when I walked by the front window. I looked out an saw that G & S's garage door was still open (it's after 11pm) and now I feel sad. They are moving, the closing on the house was today. They are moving into an apartment until their new condo is completed. They were the very first to move into our neighborhood and G was quickly deemed "The Mayor". Recently though he underwent a name change to "Handsome Devil". That was PoPo Pop's doing after being called Butter Bean by G. They would stand in their respective yards and yell each other's nick names across the street. And then there was S always out doing yard work in her nite gown. I will greatly miss them! Since G is retiring and S has problems with her knees a condo will be much easier for them without the maintenance and all. Several of us in the neighborhood offered to pitch in and take care of their yard if they would stay. When that didn't work PoPo Pop said he was going to sit out in the front yard naked with a rifle every time they had a showing on their house. For some reason we never knew about any of the showings until after the fact. I know we will definitely keep in touch with them and I am thankful for such amazing friends in our lives.

The Surprise Party

I called Dad who had the greatest time at his party. He said he found out yesterday because his secretary forgot to put "surprise" on the invitations. But, he only found out about it last night when they were at a charity ball and someone said, "I'll see you tomorrow at your party!" At least Mom was not within ear shot of that one.

Mom had given him an old man cane... it was all decked out with a horn, magnifying glass and little fold down stool. He was hysterical because he dropped the phone in all his excitement of beeping his horn for me. He was also thrilled with the 3 golf clubs his best friend gave him.

Then I spoke to Mom... and oh no... she is all pissed off at Secretary. She is mad because after the festivities were over people were thanking Secretary. Mom was offended even though the party was at Dad's office and Mom had requested that everyone RSVP to Secretary... So, what did she expect people to think. She told me she said something to Secretary... and that something was, "Do you think you were responsible for the party? It was my party and I find it rude that you took the credit." Oh my god! Poor Secretary. I will have to email her on Monday and tell her how nice Dad though everything was and how appreciative he was of all she did. I really did hear him say that although it was difficult over the beeping horn.

Why does Mom have to be so abrasive? I didn't dare say a word in Secretary's defense because she would have been mad at me for a long time. She is still mad at Aunt for voting for "the Republican" in the recent elections. She asked Aunt why she would vote for him and Aunt said because she could not in good conscious vote for a pro-choice canidate. Mom told her that was a stupid reason. At the time I stood up for Aunt... at least Aunt has principles even if they aren't the same as ours. Then I asked her why she wasn't mad at me for voting for "the Republican" and she said because I didn't vote for him for stupid reasons. She's impossible I tell you!

Pick Up

Pick up from school this afternoon was amusing.

In from of the building there is a typical horseshoe shaped parking lot area. There are 2 rows of parking spaces in the middle and room to drive around, in one way and out the other. There is an area marked off along the sidewalk and marked "Pick Up & Drop Off" and then there is the "drive through" area. The last item of note is a light pole at the head of the parking area and across from the drop off area. On this pole is a sign that says "No Parking Here".

You have to get there quite early to get a spot in the pick up lane. I always try to get one of these spots because you don't have to get out of your car. So, this afternoon I pull up and there is a woman sitting in the middle of the drive through lane and she's all angled funny. She wasn't coming in or out of a spot or anything, she was just sitting there like that. Finally when the handicapped bus came along she moved.

Pick up was hectic today because of the cold. No one wanted to get out of their cars. Today Friend was coming home with us so I had to get out of the car to get them settled in the back seat. I have an orange Honda Element with those back doors that are really only half a door and open the opposite way. I love my car except for those darn doors. When someone gets in the passanger side and into the back seat they are only able to close the back half door but not the front door... which, if opened all the way is nearly impossible to reach across from the driver's side to close.

So, on the way to our house Snofie takes out Mr. B. Mr. B is a very old blankie that has elephants on it and goes literally everywhere with Snofie. She told us she is taking Mr. B to the prom as her date. Snofie asks Friend where Big Bird was. Big Bird is Friend's version of Mr. B. Friend says that she doesn't take him to school anymore because her mom told her that if there was ever a real fire at school Friend would not have time to get him out of her back pack and he would be gone forever. At first I thought slightly evil thoughts about Friend's mom for telling her such a horrible thing but then I began to see the beauty of it all. What a good way to get Mr. B to stay home from school. I suggested this to Snofie but she said she'd take her chances.

I am so sad about this one...

GRANTS PASS, Oregon (AP) -- The remote logging road that James Kim and his family drove down before getting stranded deep in the Rogue River Canyon is normally blocked by a locked metal gate, but it was open the night they got lost because a vandal had cut the lock, authorities said Friday.
The Kims were stranded more than a week with little food after driving 15 miles past the gate. James Kim was later found dead of exposure after setting out on foot for help. Kati Kim and their daughters, Penelope, 4, and Sabine, 7 months, were airlifted out.
"It's locked during winter so people don't mistakenly go down that road." said Patty Burel, spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Medford District and the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. (Watch Kim's heartbreaking journey )
The gate was locked November 1, after the end of deer hunting season, but later it was cut, and searchers looking for the Kims discovered the gate was open, Burel said. An investigation is under way to find out who cut the lock.
The one-lane paved route known as Bear Camp Road runs over Bureau of Land Management and Siskiyou National Forest land from the Oregon communities of Galice to Agness. It is regularly used in summer to shuttle vehicles for rafters descending the popular wild and scenic section of the Rogue. In winter it is used by hunters, cross country skiers and families cutting Christmas trees.
About a dozen miles up Bear Camp Road, the Kims took a fork to the right. They drove about 15 miles down that road, got stuck in snow, freed themselves, turned around, and stopped for the night, afraid they would run out of gas.
The family stayed with the car a week, burning tires and wood for warmth, and last Saturday James Kim struck out on foot. He was found dead in Big Windy Creek, after walking more than 10 miles. He had no way to know that the car was just a mile down a rugged road from a fishing lodge, closed for the winter but stocked with food.
"It's a tragedy," Josephine County Undersheriff Brian Anderson said Thursday after authorities released more details of Kim's death from hypothermia.
"I wish Mr. Kim would have found the place," said John James, who runs Black Bar Lodge with his family. "It would have been a Cinderella story. It would have been a beautiful ending to sad story.
"Certainly a person in desperation or dire straits could have broke through a window and found some sustenance that literally could have lasted them through the rest of the winter."
The Kim family had driven from San Francisco to Seattle for Thanksgiving, and were on the way home, planning to spend the night of November 25 at a luxury lodge outside Gold Beach on the coast.
After more than a week with little food and nothing but a car for shelter, Kati Kim and her daughters were spotted Monday by a search helicopter and were rescued in good condition.
James Kim was found dead Wednesday, after setting out Saturday. An autopsy attributed his death to hypothermia. There were no signs of injury. But state police Lt. Gregg Hastings said Kim had walked five miles up a road, then five more miles down rugged Big Windy Creek.
Deputy State Medical Examiner Dr. James Olson, who did the autopsy, told The Oregonian it was an "educated guess" that Kim likely died two days after leaving his family, based on the condition of the body.
"It's possible that we'll never know exactly when he died," Olson said.
Searchers said the body was a half mile from the Rogue River, about a mile from Black Bar Lodge, which is open May through October for people boating the Rogue River. (Watch an official's emotional reaction )
Despite his long hike, Kim was just a mile as the crow flies from the car, which was near the road to the lodge.
Kims missed road signs
Driving south on Interstate 5, the Kims had missed the planned turnoff to the coast south of Roseburg, Oregon, and after consulting a roadmap, turned off instead at Merlin just north of Grants Pass, following a thin gray line on the map through the Siskiyou National Forest that leads to Agness, then along the Rogue River to Gold Beach.
They passed signs warning Bear Camp Road may be blocked by snow, but kept going. At times James had to stick his head out the window to see through the falling snow, said Hastings. (Watch the treacherous route )
Kati Kim told investigators that they stopped at 2 a.m. November 26, but could get no cell phone service. They stayed in the car as it snowed and rained for three days.
They had only baby food, jelly and bottled water, Hastings said. When the bottled water ran out they melted snow. When the food ran out, Kati Kim nursed her two children.
Official: Kim 'did nothing wrong'
Kati Kim told investigators her husband thought he was just four miles down the Rogue River from Galice. It was closer to 15. But he felt he could follow the river to help.
"James Kim did nothing wrong," Hastings said. "He was trying to save his family."
The Kim house -- with a cheery, red garage door and windowsills, perched up a small hill -- stood dark and empty Thursday in Noe Valley, a sought-after San Francisco neighborhood. One of the Kims' two boutiques, Church Street Apothecary, is a few blocks away.
A sign on the shop, which sells skin products and children's clothing, said, "We will be closed for a few days. Please respect our privacy."
Below the sign, scores of flowers, cards and candles conveyed warm wishes from neighbors.
"Your dad is a hero. Your dad is a great, kind man. He will always love you very much," said a handmade card written in a child's scrawl, signed by "Malia."

TGIF

Today is Dad's 75th birthday. Mom is throwing him a surprise party and I can't wait to call and see how it went. I hope he was surprised. I talked to mom this morning. She was making his cheesecake and listening to Joe Cocker on her new Bose CD player. I didn't know she liked Joe Cocker.

While Snofie and I were sipping coffee and reviewing spelling words Friend called and asked if she could have a ride to school. This morning it was 11 degrees out. Snofie looked adorable. She had on her big down parka, a hat with her hood over top and a scarf wrapped around the whole thing making her look like that little boy in the movie "A Christmas Story" who's mom gets him so bundled in his snow suit that when he falls over he can't get up. Anyway, we pick up Friend who has on only a coat... no hat, no scarf, no gloves. She's a crazy kid. Snofie told her that her hat messes her hair up but she doesn't care because she's warm. I think, "yeah kid!" When I was younger I NEVER wore a hat because I refused to mess up my hair and because I looked dorky. (in the hat not just in general.) I must not care too much about looking dorky now because I had on my ultra heavy weight, super thick, floor length down coat. I waddle in it. When I ran back to the car after dropping the girls off I had broken into a sweat in that coat. If anyone had hit me with their car I would have bounced right off.

Friday, December 1, 2006

December

It does not feel like the first day of December, it is 58 degrees out and raining. The wind is blowing with gusts up to 60 miles per hour. I know all this because Snofie is a budding meteorologist. She’s eight and in the second grade; every morning she checks the weather in order to give me a full report.We have this morning routine for school days. It goes something like this: I wake up at 7am. My alarm is set for 7:15am but I always wake up before it goes off. I have no idea why or how I do this but I find it peculiarly fascinating. It’s like my ability to always know what direction I am facing at any given time. When I get up I go into Snofie’s room and wake her up and then go and get in the shower. Following my shower I go back into Snofie's room to watch Baby. Baby is this short 5 minute or so show on the Disney channel in between “The Wiggles” and “Baby Einstein”. Baby is real but must be computer animated. He is in an animated room and the whole thing is narrated by an odd sounding man. Snofie and I hate Baby but have this bizarre attraction to him like a train wreck where you can’t help but gape at the awfulness. Baby sits in this animated room with an inane grin on his face and I envision kicking him across that animated room, yes, he is that irritating. Of course I don’t ever mention these thoughts to Snofie, she already has a twisted little mind and I don’t want to say anything to encourage it. This morning it was Baby’s birthday and Baby’s friend, Sophie had come over to help him celebrate. When I say she had come over what I really mean is that she magically appeared in Baby’s animated room. As they sit on an animated rug with their stupid grins on their stupid faces, a butterfly flutters by. Then the narrator asked us to help them play pin the tail on the donkey and Sophie pined the tail on Baby’s nose. Each morning Snofie and I moan and groan over how strange Baby is yet morning after morning we watch Baby almost as though we look forward to him. After Baby we get dressed. I make lunches and coffee and we meet in Snofie’s room. While we sip our coffee we read or review Snofie’s spelling words. This is one of my favorite times of the day. There is something so reassuring about rituals like these. Often I find myself sitting in the blue fuzzy chair in Snofie’s room my hands encircling my coffee mug with my eyes closed and just savoring the moment. I look around her room and feel utterly content. Snofie’s room is beautiful. It’s painted a gorgeous soft green and the fabric drape across her closet and the valance above her window are a soft lavender color. She has a Tinker Bell poster on one wall and a Crabby Fairy on another. A Crabby Fairy is this delightful hand crafted fairy my mom gave Snofie. It has a crabby old man face and a pink flower petal outfit. We say that he hangs up there on her wall and catches all one’s crabby thoughts so that when you wake up you will be cheerful.Snofie’s room has her bed and vanity against one wall. Both are white and against the opposite wall there is a white bookcase and the blue fuzzy chair. This bookcase has 3 shelves that house Snofie’s Littlest Pet Shop. Littlest Pet Shop toys are a bunch of bobble-headed animals and little houses for them. She has an entire Littlest Pet Shop world set up on these three shelves. On top of the bookcase resides Hally the Hamster. Finally, next to Snofie’s bed is another white bookcase with her books on the shelves and her TV on top.
This morning I seemed to have quite a bit to carry into Snofie’s room so I asked her for help.“I’ll get the coffee if you would please bring these other things into your room” I said.“No.”“But Snofie, I can’t carry everything without spilling the coffee!”“But Mom, I’m not going to my room, I’m going to the bathroom to brush my teeth!”I stomp my foot and make a face. It must have worked because Snofie says she’ll take the things as I asked. We get to her room I say, “thank you honey, I’m so glad you helped me, otherwise I would have had to make two trips and I didn’t want to do that.”“Oh, so you used me then is what you’re really saying” she says with a huff. I try not to laugh.When she gets her outfit on Snofie says, “So, how do I look?” This is a loaded question. I know she is looking for a particular response only I have no idea what the right answer is. She is wearing jeans and her new pink shirt. The shirt has 3 hamsters in their exercise balls on it and says: Rollin’ with tha hommies. One of the hamsters has gold front teeth. Anyway, the shirt is big on her. I say, “It’s kind of big isn’t it?” Immediately she scrunches up her face and looks wounded. Shit, wrong answer. Right away I tell her, “Oh, but big works on you, looks really hot!” And thankfully her face faded back into a smile.We are kind of bummed because it’s raining and really windy. Our town Holiday Festival is this evening and we really want to go. They are going to have Santa, tree lighting, horse drawn carriage rides, an ice sculptor and chestnuts on an open fire. I would love to see it all in this high wind we are experiencing and have visions of the tree blowing over, the ice sculptor being blown into his ice sculpture where he gets stuck and the chestnuts blowing into the open fire. PoPo Pop called me at work and said that our trash can had blown down the street. When he went out to pick it up he noticed that some siding had blown off the Odd Couple’s house down the street. The Odd Couple are these two men. I’m not sure what their real names are but we call them Shim and Co-Cheese. Shim is a man with long nicely coiffed red hair who dresses as a woman and Co-Cheese is his part Native American friend. (He actually introduces himself as Co-Cheese but somehow I don’t believe that’s the name his mother gave him.)So, PoPo Pop said he was outside corralling our trash can when out comes Co-Cheese to fetch the siding from the middle of the street and oh my, he was in only his bath robe. This horrified PoPo Pop. I on the other hand have seen Co-Cheese out wandering the neighborhood in his bathrobe rather frequently. Often when Snofie and I are out in the yard playing we’ll see him in that maroon velour robe. I’ve never stuck around long enough to find out if there’s anything underneath that robe though. If I ever had the chance to look I totally would. It would be like that train wreck and I know I just couldn’t help but look.I forgot to ask PoPo Pop if Co-Cheese was limping or not. The rumor ‘round the neighborhood is that he shot himself in the foot while cleaning his gun. Co-Cheese with a gun, now that’s a scary thought! After work, on my way to pick Snofie up from school, I drove through the center of town. I wanted to see if they were setting up for the festival or not. I called from work and was told that they were planning on going ahead with it rain or shine. Still, I had to see for myself if they really were or not; I was having a hard time believing it was a good idea with the high wind and all. Despite the wind everything looked really festive with twinkle lights and fresh wreaths with red bows.Along with the wind the temperature has dropped to 34 degrees. As I sit in the pick-up zone at school my car rocks back and forth in the wind. There are these giant dark grey clouds overhead that are moving rather rapidly and look like hippopotamuses. I start to sing, “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas… Only a hippopotamus will do… No crocodiles… No rhinoceroses… I only like hippopotamuses… And hippopotamuses like me too…”Ring, Ring(Actually, it’s more of a jazzy tune.) It’s Kelly. Kelly is my best friend and the mother of Tara, Snofie’s best friend. Poor Kelly, she’s having a really bad day. She and Sean fought all morning. Sean is four and has very strong opinions about almost everything. This morning it was socks. He had a clean pair of socks on. Then he took a shower and wanted a new pair of clean socks. Kelly told him the socks he had on before were clean socks. That wasn’t what he wanted though; he wanted another pair. He demanded that Kelly get him some. Kelly was so mad at him that she got the sock basket and dumped it on his head. The whole ordeal made Tara almost late for school. Tara and Snofie are alike in that they crave routine ness and order. If something changes their routine it causes them to freak out. Thus, almost being late is a big deal; it pretty much throws off the whole day. When Snofie came out of school she said she had had the worst day ever. She is a huge drama queen. She told me that during lunch the leg on one of her Teddy Grahams had broken free from its body and became lodged in her throat causing her to have to go to the nurse’s office because she was choking.When we got home the drama continued. I asked Snofie to take her book bag and lunch box in the house and I would get everything else. I asked her this as she was getting out of the car upon which she collapses on the garage floor screaming that her knee was broken. Oh my God! “I highly doubt your knee is broken and I do not think carrying in your own things is too much to ask!” Now breathe; don’t loose your temper.“But Mommy, I can’t even walk!” She wails.I gather up my things, go in the house and leave her there on the garage floor writhing in her imagined pain. By the time she makes it into the house I am mad and start yelling. “I don’t ask much of you! You want me to do things for you but you can’t do anything for me! Well fine!” I reach down and grab her up off the floor. “If you’re knee is broken and you can’t walk then we are going to the doctor!” I shout at her as I drag her down the hallway. “NNNNNNNOOOOOOOO!” Oh my God, this day has come full circle! I am overcome with this feeling of déjà vu. Tonight, since we are not going to the festival, I will search the internet for an exercise routine to build up my daughter’s strength so she will be physically able to help carry things. And, I will attempt a conversation with her about how being helpful is a desirable quality. If there’s time I will see about a new Crabby Fairy since Snofie’s seems to be defective.