The One About Downtown Abbey and Tea

I started watching Downton on a sick day while browsing Netflix.  I didn't know it would suck the King in too.  Let's just say Violet had him when she was describing Downton "Really. It's like living in a second rate hotel where guests keep arriving and no one seems to leave."  I also didn't know how truly lovely the costumes were going to be, or how much I was going to covet being tall and stick-like to carry those costumes off.  Since I won't be growing or losing my girly figure any time soon, I'll have to improvise.

This Saturday is my mom's tea party/birthday present, so Mom, if you're reading this, stop now, or the surprise you want will be gone.

I'll be wearing a blousy, dolman sleeved, lace number.  Mine is actually a blush color, not black, but one can't fight Polyvore.   For fun, I think I'll even try some Marcel waves in my hair.

The invitations that went out specified wearing fancy hats, I chose a fascinator.  Something I didn't own but ran across and decided it would be fun.  The rest of the outfit is Downton inspired, but without wearing an ill-fitting dress for my body type, I wasn't going to go all the way.

I've planned out a tea buffet with teas from a local tea shop called One Good Woman.  The king has been gracious enough to offer a hand and the minions will probably offer up some service as mini garçons.

Smaller scale but same idea

We'll be dining on tea sandwiches like cucumber with dill spread and hummus with sprouts.  I'll be making scones, because you can't have tea without them.  I'm thinking a sweet scone, probably pumpkin with maple icing because it's my favorite, and a savory one like olive and rosemary.  Some lovely little cupcakes (carrot) done up like hats.  Strawberries in a lemon lavender syrup to put something remotely healthy on the table and either french macaroons or cut sugar cookies.

cute cake I did last year

My mother 'gifted' me with my grandmothers china some time ago.  I lovingly refer to it as the ugly china.  We'll be using it for tea.  Yes, it's ugly as sin, but it's my sin.  My sins include way more pieces than I started with as I filled in broken and missing pieces over the years.  I have everything from berry bowls to teapots covered in pink 40's style flowers.

Homer Laughlin Priscilla Eggshell Nautilus 

I've been stumped on decorations, I'll admit.  I'm a total black thumb and don't do well with any plant that's alive, or even was alive at one time.  I know I like the big puffball flowers, and I adore the look of this table.  Obviously I'll scale it down as it will be on my coffee table and not at a large scale wedding. But I think I can manage some candles and fake puffball things in a vase.

Puffballs are pretty

No party is complete without something for the guests to take home, so mom and I have been collecting old tea cups and saucers from thrift shops all over the mid-state.  Each guest will be going home with a one of a kind candle in a teacup.  I just have to find a couple more, and soon.  Seriously people, donate more cups!

thrifty gifties!

And that's it for this week's post that covers everything from my personal crazy to fashion to food.  In there I think there might be some sort of tutorial for throwing a big girl tea party.  And don't forget, there is a link on a previous post for the printable invitations.

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Things My Boys Will Learn Before They Turn 18

We all try to impart things to our kids, be they morals, values, or just things you need to know.  I've taught mine how not to dress like an idiot, that chores aren't for suckers and why it takes all of us to keep things going.  But there is more to life than just the basics, and some of the emotional things, and things that aren't needed in the here and now are more difficult to teach.  Luckily, I've picked up a few things as I grew up and learned a few hilarious things from friends with teenagers.

Here are the things I hope my kids leave the nest with:


1. Scissors are to be used for opening bags of chips, not for your hair, on your head, or otherwise.  And if you decide girls don't want hair in their mouths - use shaving cream.

2. Cleaning is not experimental chemistry - mixing chemicals will kill you. Just use white vinegar and other things like I taught you.

3. Learn to cook a few basic meals, girls like that.  Also, learn to use a fire extinguisher - I've seen your cooking.

4. Do not tell a girl you love her unless you really do.  There's a lot of responsibility that comes with the word Love.

5. Good friends are there through thick and thin.  They have your back and know your secrets. Keep them forever, because they now know your secrets and murder is illegal.

6. Be prepared to hear everything running through a girls head when you ask her what she's thinking about.  And for the love of all things, you don't have to fix them all.

7. Your metabolism burns off all that pizza now.  It won't forever.  Learn to eat and like green things.  It's just a veggie, get over it.

8. Jumper cables, learn to use them.

9. Look at a girls' eyes and smile at her BEFORE ogling her boobs.  It's the polite thing to do.

10. Drinking hard alcohol from the bottle won't go well for you, ever.  You'll either never drink it again, or be too dead to worry about it.

11. Using your credit/debit card and waiting for the end of the month bill isn't budgeting.  Remember the lessons you learned with your allowance and apply it to real life.

12. You know what you wash with white clothes? White clothes. Also, Fels Naptha gets stains out of anything.

13. Learn basic first aid.  Someday you will be out in the woods, a mile from nothing with a kid who has a stick through her leg.  No wait, that was me.  Still...learn first aid.

14. Happy, that's what you need to be when you grow up.  What your job is doesn't change that fact.

15. Sex is like power, it too comes with great responsibility.  If you're not prepared for all the emotions, attachments and potential disasters, wait.  Your penis, and sex aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

16. Learn to tie a tie properly.  Suits and ties, or just a guy dressed really nicely is like lingerie to a woman.

17. Don't ever start a fight, but if you can't talk yourself out if it, know how to win one, quickly and without too much damage to either of you.

18. Learn to write thank you notes, love notes, and general letters.  Texting just isn't the same.

P.S. If I ever catch you walking around with your boxers hanging out, and pants hanging off your ass claiming to be a gangsta - I'm ripping your ears off.  You can claim it was a gang related injury if you want to be a gangsta so badly.

Love,
Mom

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And Then This Happened...

Have you ever had something happen to you that you just didn't even want to tell the truth about because it's so unbelievably dumb?  Sometimes I swear my life is a comedy of errors that I get to wear around.  This weekend was no different.
It all started off so innocently.  I was watching one of my guilty pleasures (The Dead Files) on Friday night, and I fell asleep with my glasses still on.  According to the King, Tucker, the fuzzy cat and I were fast asleep and just before midnight the Tucker let out an unholy screech, jumped up from a dead sleep, landed on my face, smashing my glasses into my eye and chaos ensued.
I sat up, not exactly realizing what had happened yet, other than my face/nose was hurting.  Then I realized there was blood, a lot of it.  After running to the bathroom and accessing the damage I came to a few conclusions.

• My cat is a fuzzy jerk, who has nightmares.
• Face wounds bleed like you've been mauled by a bear.
• Makeup ain't gonna cover that.
• Blood doesn't come out of white duvets.
• Wearing glasses to bed is both a good and a bad thing.

The next day, I had planned to do some ice skating, meet some new friends, etc.  Which worked out, we all giggled and decided that I took a hockey puck to the eye.  While walking around later with the King, we ran into a police officer we knew and of course they decided I had been assaulted, but I had it coming.  Sunday, as the eye was looking worse, we had another couple over to pick up some wood and mercifully, the wife thought it was a car accident.  The husband however... He was impressed that I didn't need to be told twice to do something (if you've heard that joke).

Accidental cat mauling just sounds lame...

The King thinks I should use the story of a bear attack - and we're eating the bear next week (rawr! I ripped it's throat out with my bare hands).  A few others have insisted roller derby was the way to go.  Either way you look at it, having a cat frightened by a nightmare land on your face while you're sleeping doesn't make for a good tale to tell.

Having a cat land on your face, and do some damage is a joke in itself - somewhere.  Being abused, living with abuse, or knowing someone who is in an abusive relationship is not.  Hotline advocates are available for victims and anyone calling on their behalf to provide crisis intervention, safety planning, information and referrals to agencies in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Assistance is available in English and Spanish with access to more than 170 languages through interpreter services.  If you, or someone you know is in need, please make that call.  You could be saving a life, maybe your own.  1-800-799-SAFE

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Attitude Adjustments

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

Today is Sunday. A day of rest, reflection and ambitions for fresh starts and new things in the coming week.

I always have a little think about what I aim to achieve in the upcoming week and what meetings or appointments I have on. I also try and think about deeper things I want to do, like show more appreciation to Matt or be more peaceful etc.

I thought that maybe this is a practise I could also translate onto my blog and every week (if you like it), we can have something that we all collectively strive for, to better our lives or ourselves. Nothing major, just small attitude adjustments.

So, naturally, I turned to my addiction- Pinterest.

These are the words of wisdom that I am going to try and live up to. I'll get back to you and let you know what situations I put these to use in and in turn, if you would like, you can tell me what you did too. If you don't want to share here, you can chat to me on Facebook or Twitter too.

Do you think you can add this to your life?

Toodlepip!

xx

This month my Ultimate Advertiser is DotComGiftShop . If you would like to find out more about advertising on this blog, click HERE.  

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The One About 2013 - So far

The holidays have come and gone, finally.  The new year has begun, and no new blog posts?  "What's up with that?", a few people have asked.  It's a lot of reasons, but here's what it's not:

• Planning to end the blog.
• Fallen into a cement mixer full of quicksand (thank you, Train)
• Autism was cured
• Baked my last cake or made my last meal
• Finished my home decorating and now live in a museum (minion #2 would love that though)
• Stopped caring about fashion
• Never travelling again

Life swallowed me whole for a while.  It's funny how mundane things suck the life out of you when you're not paying attention.  Stress lurks in dark corners and fear of the unknowns tends to make you turn inward.  As you do that you tend to do some serious thinking.  You think about a lot of negative stuff because it's what hits you first and foremost, and sometimes you dwell on it a bit.  Eventually you start finding the things that make you happy, or will make you happy.  Some of the happy things I've been putting off a long time.  A long, long, L O N G time.  So here's what's really going on around here:

• I've gone back to school.  I'll have a masters when I'm done.
• Finding a BFF and just some girl friends.
• Taking better care of myself.
• Constructing new chore charts and implementing them.
• Making menu plans each week with new things to try.
• Planning a tea party birthday for my mom and her friends (there are hats involved).
• Letting go of people and things that make me unhappy.

Tomorrow I'll be posting our new chore charts as well as a tutorial on how to get your household to run a little more smoothly without you having to do everything yourself.  In the meantime, below is a sneak peek at the Tea Party Invite.  If you have Photoshop or GIMP and would like the one with all the layers on it, just leave a comment and a way to contact you.

Anyone else a fan of hats?

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The One About The Fat Guy In The Suit

In the strange world we live in, we've never had the question, "Is Santa real?", come up.  Both of my minions have just taken it as certain fact that a rotund man in a red suit delivers one amazing present, to each person around the globe, in one night.  Seems legit, right?
The minions are 11 and 14 and thanks to NORAD and animated Christmas shows, they still have no doubts that:

1. Santa is real
2. He needs some of my cookies
3. He's bringing games for the Wii

Seems Legit...

I was hoping by now they both would have figured out that Santa couldn't be real.  Then again, minion #2 is holding out for a pet chupacabra or bigfoot, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised.  What it boils down to though is this.  We don't lie to the minions.  I've had to explain everything from incest (thanks NatGeo Mummy specials) to complex medical procedures and expectations of pain levels, but we don't lie.  So why do we pick things like this to be untruthful about?  

I've thought long and hard about this, and I think the answer is simple.  There is some magic that revolves around this time of year no matter what religion you follow.  Even if you follow one of the religions that doesn't celebrate the holiday or are atheist, chances are your spirit of giving or being with family is greater, and that's it's own type of magic.  Who wants to end that?  Yeah, I really don't either.

What we will be doing is telling them in a way that involves them being part of the Christmas magic.  I hope that in years to come, it also helps us come together more as a family as it has this year and makes it less about giving things to someone just because it's what's you've always done at this time of year.

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The One About SMART Goals

As another year comes to a close, I find myself in the same cycles of years past.  I take stock of the things I've done this year, see if I've met the goals I've set for myself both personally and professionally, and start writing the goals for the year ahead.

Some of the goals I've met, some I haven’t.  I really don’t sweat it one way or another.  They’re goals and things to strive for, not how I measure my success and happiness.  I know not everyone is like that, and that’s OK too.  Everyone is different and it’s that bit of different that makes each of us special and unique.

Each goal I set, no matter if it’s a short or long term goal follows a few rules.

The goal is Specific.  It will state what I want to accomplish, who is involved, why I’m doing it, where I’m doing it and list out any requirements or constraints.
The goal will also be Measurable.  I can give it how much percentages, or how manys to see what’s left to do yet.
The goal is Attainable.  If I can answer the question, “How will I accomplish my goal?”, with a realistic answer, it’s attainable.  Being the Doctor’s companion isn't an attainable goal, no matter how cool you think it would be.
The goal is Relevant. Is my goal worthwhile?  Am I the one that should be accomplishing this?  Is it the right time to do this?
The goal is Time bound.  Someday is not part of the goal making formula.  What needs to be done now, next week, next month to accomplish my goal in the X months I have designated to bring it to completion?

My personal goals for the coming year are pretty simple, barring of course the end of the world as predicted by the Mayans.

• Go back to school in January and work towards my masters. (long term goal)
• Make 5 new friends and have a girls' night out once a month.
• Attend one craft show a month, and make my jewelry a small, profitable business that can support 50% of my tuition costs by the end of 2013.
• Expand on my jewelry line to include some accessories for Thirty One bags.  Meet up with the rep and make sure she has samples by Jan. 15th.
• Finish the family room and move on to the dining room before Spring.

That’s it so far, but that list is ever changing, so the goals will adjust, change, be added to and some of those will be removed as they are completed.
What are your goals for 2013, or are you hoping the Mayans will be right and you won’t need to make any more goals?

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What A Blur!

I don't know about the rest of you, but the last week has been a total blur for me.  An office move, making a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner for 12 and all the things that go with those have kept me busy.

Due to me going vegan and my crazy dietary restrictions I decided to serve Indian food for thanksgiving.  For a family of carnivores that loves their meat, potatoes and gravy it went amazingly well.
The menu was fairly simple.  Crudités with homemade hummus was laid out as guests were arriving.  We chose a simple moscato wine to have, and served it chilled, but not ice cold.  For the starter we had a spicy lentil dahl with papadom and naan.  Then, a buffet style meal of jasmine rice, gobi mutter, chana masala, veggie korma, corn, a simple cole slaw and for the carnivores, chicken biryani and tandoori chicken.

All of the recipes for the meal can be found on my Thanksgiving Pinterest board, except the cole slaw.  I've included a recipe for it below.

If you live in Central Pennsyltucky and have no idea where to get some of the Indian ingredients or spices, Hampden Grocer carries all of it.  As an added bonus, the owner is friendly and helpful!

Yes, we did still have pie.  Minion #2 helped make an apple pie, and there was pumpkin and my famous pecan pie as well.

Dawn's Simple Cole Slaw
Serves 12

1/2 head of green cabbage, sliced thin
1/2 head of red cabbage, sliced thin
large handful of baby carrots, diced, matchstick, or tossed in a food processor
1 medium cucumber
rice vinegar
olive oil
pepper

Slice your cabbages and carrots and toss them together, mixing them thoroughly.  Add vinegar and oil to taste.  You want to taste the mixture, but not leave a lake of it at the bottom of your bowl.  Add just enough to coat the veggies.  Add a good bit of black pepper. You want to give it just a bit of a bite.  Slice the cucumber in thin rounds and top the slaw with it.

P.S. I did make all the food up a day ahead of time with my wonderful Sister In Law.  She and I cooked for 6 hours straight to get everything ready so I wouldn't have to be on my feet from the crack of Dawn (no pun intended) on Thanksgiving.  I doubt there are words to say how nice it was to have the help, but it was truly wonderful and a lot of fun!

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Developing Your Personal Style

Each time I've shopped with someone, no matter if it was helping them find a piece for an event, or filling in parts of their wardrobe, I've run into the same issue.  Few people know what the difference is between style and fashion.

Simply put, style is an innate part of who you are and doesn't really change.  Fashion, on the other hand is directed by other people and changes with the seasons.  If you're still not sure how to tell the difference, look at any movie star from the 20's on.  If what they are wearing looks great and would still be relevant today with some minor updates, that's style.  If you're giggling at what they're wearing, that's fashion.  Not that fashion is a laughable thing, but trends come and go darling.  Style is forever.

If you're like most people, you probably have a closet that's half full of trends from the last 5-10 years and the other half is stuff you don't like, doesn't fit and you don't wear.  Sometimes it makes for some seriously hideous awesome outfits.  Some though, manage to take what's in their closet and look amazing even if they've already forgotten about what they're wearing that day.  How do they do that?  Their closet is full of things that suit their style, mixed with a few trendy items.  That's how.  If you've ever wanted to reinvent your style but just weren't sure how here are a few easy steps to do so.

We've all had a "what was I thinking" moment, or ten.

The first step is to develop your own style.  If you're unsure about what your style is, you can take a look at magazines to see what the glitterati is wearing currently or even look back over the decades to see what the fashions were through the years.  You may find that some things from other eras are more to your liking.

Look through your closet once you have an idea about what your style is and see what's age appropriate.  If you're in your mid to late 30's and dressing like a teenager, you may have an issue.  Looking youthful isn't about your clothes.  Make sure too that you're dressing for your occupation.  Mom jeans and stained tees do not good office wear make.  Dress for your lifestyle.  If you walk all day, every day, 4" stilettos may not be for you.

Figure out what colors look good on you and what styles fit your body shape best.  Don't wear things that accentuate your worst attributes.  For instance, I don't wear baggy clothes.  I'm petite and they tend to make me look like I'm playing dress up.

If you're not sure what things you should buy and will hold up to multiple washings, or can't tell designer clothing from a blue light special, then what you really need to know are a few simple things.  How are things cut, how are they stitched and what fabrics are they made from?

• The cut should flatter your best assets and hide the worst ones.  Cheaper clothing sometimes will have  variations in size and even the material cuts may be different.  So if you're picking up trends on the cheap, watch for that.
• The stitching in the fabric should always be at least 1/8" from the edge and the edge should be finished.  If it's not, assume you'll be fixing a seam along the way, or just don't buy it at all.
• Cotton polyester blends are great for everyday, they barely wrinkle.  Silk is nice for dressing up, wools for winter warmth and linens for summer to keep you cool.

With what you've learned so far, edit your wardrobe.  Take stock of what you have left after the wardrobe edit.  Check out the wardrobe essentials at the bottom of that post and see if you have or need any of those.  Make a list of the things you need to create your personal style and get ready to shop for it.

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The Decisions We All Make

Every day, each one of us makes a lot of decisions.  Get out of bed?  Coffee or not?  Buy the shoes?  The list of questions and your decisions can go on to infinity if we let it.  We also make a lot of important decisions that have far reaching implications.  Those aren't done every day, and some are easy because we all have a set of values that define us and we make calm, largely unemotional decisions based on those.  Then, there are the other ones.  The decisions we make that are purely emotional.  The place where logic seems to have no influence and we can't seem to learn from past mistakes or even others and their downfalls.

I've seen a few of these bigger decisions go on around me in the last few months.  The decisions I saw were fueled by things like greed, narcissism, indifference, fear and stupidity.  Very few decisions were based in love, or kindness, or even whats right and wrong by the standards of society.  Some of the decisions I saw drastically lowered the respect I had for some or vanquished it completely, changed the way I live and work and sometimes saddened me greatly.

We've all have to make the decision between what is right, and what is easy.  Sometimes we have to look at a person we love and know it's time to walk away, for our own sake.  We have to know when we are entrusted to care for someone else, what the right thing is and do it, no matter what the cost to yourself.  We need to own our mistakes, and stop waiting for or expecting someone else to fix them.  We all have to know too that the decisions we make have led us to where we are.  If we are unhappy, only we can change it.

Today is election day in the US, and most of us are making a decision about who to vote for.  This isn't a political post, but an introspective one.  How do you deal with other peoples' decisions that affect you adversely, or worse, you know are morally wrong?  Maybe you've had the eye opening moment where you realized that you and you alone were responsible for your happiness and well-being.  What got you there and what did you do to better yourself?

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Everyday I'm Juggling

When you have kids, the saying is each day is something new.  I've found that to ring true from newborn to teenager.  Right now, our something new is getting used to CyberSchool.

The second minion is adapting a little faster.  His time management isn't great yet, but that's a learned skill and something we'll be working on through this week.  He only has to 'show up' for a few classes each day, and the rest of the time is his, to go at his pace, and accomplish things in whatever order he chooses.  Sometimes he chooses to daydream for an hour or so through history, so school can drag on a long time if he's not careful.

Minion #1 is a whole other scenario.  From what we can tell, he's not had to really work at school.  He's had an aide to do a lot of, as it seems, everything for him.  Right now we're working on thinking for ourselves instead of waiting, sometimes hours, for someone else to prompt him with ideas and thoughts.  I think if he can figure out how to play Skyward Sword and think his way through other video games, he can think his way through school work too.  Probably without someone to do it for him.  I know - shocking, isn't it?

This morning I got out my kitchen timer and dusted it off.  I haven't used it much since the days of potty training, but I figured we'd give it a try.  Granted, it will probably have the side effect of making them both need to run to the potty each time it dings, but they'll have to suffer until they learn to manage their time a bit better.

Normally by this time of the morning, I'm not sitting around with wet hair still, proctoring lessons.  I'm usually happily settled in my office chair, sipping some coffee and getting my day underway.  The last few weeks, I've been dealing with school(s), still working when and where I can and trying to keep up with a renovation, house work, the laundry monster and the usual other things that go on in every day lives.  Adding CyberSchool into an already busy schedule has been hard, I won't lie.  I can also say that's it's really been worth it to see the minions get back to enjoying school and enjoying learning.

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A Day of Errands And Randomness

Friends of ours had their 2nd baby early this morning, so Happy Birthday Ainsley!  I know where there are some cute jeggings and adorable shoes to go with the blinged out onesies that will make you look much more fabulous than the other babies in the nursery.  What?  This is a clothing post after all...

Unlike Ainsley, I won't be as blinged out.  I may wear a hat, but it won't be pink.  What I will be wearing is shown below.

My days have become a little less routine now that the boys have started cyber school, and my time at the office is shorter until the schedules are ironed out this week.  While I'm juggling that, I've also been prepping for a craft show this weekend, hence the errand running today.  I'm still in need of a sign for my booth and some round table cloths for my little tables.  I'm also making a few extra pieces of jewelry so I have plenty to show off.  

For any of you living in the area, this weekend the Make a Wish Foundation along with Concerns of Police Survivors are sponsoring Fall Fest at the Latimore Valley Fair Grounds.  Come out and show your support for both causes, and stop by my spot and buy something!  Below are a few of my pieces that will be for sale.

Knotty Love Earrings

Moonlight Sonata Bracelet

Nuts For You Necklace

Unnamed as yet Earrings

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10 Day You Challenge - Songs!

I'm very eclectic in my music tastes.  I like a bit of everything, some classical, a lot of old jazz, Patsy Cline, folk music, Matt Nathanson and even some harder stuff from bands like 3 Days Grace, Stone Sour and Godsmack.  There isn't a genre that I really hate so picking out just two songs is challenging for me.

Very challenging.  

What I have noticed is that I tend to really get attached to pieces that are evocative.  Things that have underlying meaning (to me), or a lot of soul to them.  Songs like Stone Sour's Hesitate, Papa Roach's Scars, or Linkin Park's Iridescent are always on my playlists.  One of my favorites and always will be though is Fuel, before they decided on getting a new front man.  Bad idea Fuel, bad, bad idea.

As I was flipping through the rest of my music I came across songs like Tonic's If You Could Only See, Vertical Horizon's Forever, Adele's cover of Lovesong, (The Cure's version is just as good), and Theory of A Deadman's Not Meant To Be.  I should also mention Chrostopher Cross' Sailing here, that song was played when I got married.  My current favorite 'love song' though is Matt Nathanson's Run.

Because it's my blog and I can do what I want, I'm adding one more.  My grandfather was a huge Patsy Cline fan, probably where I got my love for it, but she really does have a lovely voice.  Think Adele only an earlier version.

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The One About Super Heroes

About this time during Pumpkin Spice Latte Season we are usually starting the hunt for costumes for the minions to trick or treat in.  The older one always choses some cool super hero while the younger one...well, he liked undead or mostly dead things.  This year, however the minions have decided they are a bit too old and are forgoing the experience to hand out goodies to the neighbors minions.  Some of those other minions should probably be given junior valium, but that is a tale for another time.  Today we're talking super heroes.

The king enjoys be likened to Tony Stark, AKA, Iron Man.  I can draw the similarities in a round about way.  He does have titanium in his body, he's nearly been electrocuted a time or two, set a few things on fire and then there was the incident with the dimmer switch... Anyway, when we think about the standard hero, comic book or movie variety they are nearly all created by men.  Granted some of them are pretty awesome.  I'm a fan of Captain Malcolm Reynolds, so thank you Joss.  Minion #1 loves him some Spider Man and Minion #2 is more than happy to watch the green guy Hulk out and smash things.

Did you ever wonder though, what we would get if women were to create super heroes?  Obviously I have, and put some thought into it too.  Think about all the things that we women could get accomplished if we had the help of super heroes to fight off the big bad laundry monsters, stacks of dishes ready to eat us alive and the dust bunnies from Planet X.

First hero I'd want to create is Dinner Dude.  He shows up right before dinner time and makes gourmet meals.  Granted he looks and sounds like a surfer/stoner but his brownies are to die for.  Oh, he even cleans up after himself before he leaves to save someone else from the evil perils of take out.

That's right,
slay those dishes!

I'd also want to see Laundry Guy!  He's down to his last pair of underwear and wearing them, and only them, while he saves you from your piles of dirty laundry that has been multiplying in the dark.

You can fight my laundry monster!

And then there is The Punisher.  Yes, I know there already is a Punisher, but he's just not what a girl needs.  No, we need someone that sniffs out lies and other forms of BS and calls shenanigans on the offending person, publicly.  Then because that's never enough, they say something like "No more BS from you!" and kick the offender down a well, Spartan Style.

I call shenanigans!

What about you?  Any super heroes you'd like to see show up to help you out?

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The One About a Beatdown with a Frying Pan

Today is all about books, four of them to be exact.  I'm a book addict.  I read voraciously, two, three, sometimes four books at a time.  It's a sickness and I admit to it.

Books are amazing things.  They can teach you about things you never knew existed, or take you to far off lands to meet exciting people.  Sometimes boring people too, but we just set those books aside and pick up something else.  I've had a number of stories really resonate with me.  Sometimes the characters found a place in my heart and at the end I was sad to see them go.  Sometimes the places were lands I wanted to explore.  Sometimes, the story line was fantastical and even knowing the impossibility of it, you want to be a part of it.

Most of my favorites are parts of a series.  I guess I just don't like things to end too quickly.  That said, the Dragonlance series is on my list.  It's also the only fantasy series that will grace this list.  There are rangers, and dwarves and barbarians, a kender who accidentally ends up with 'stolen' items in his possession all the time and a mage or two.  The characters are fabulously written, the story is engaging and even 20 years later I can distinctly recall a scene where one character, wielding a frying pan, put the beatdown on a few of the bad guys of the book.  Makes me chuckle to this day.

One of my favorite movies of all time is The Last of the Mohicans.  I've read the book.  The language is old and tired and the story isn't quite as engaging unless you're a twelve year old boy from 1870.  Then, it would probably be much cooler. Sara Donati decided she would write something to continue on from the movie.  What she wrote spanned six books starting with Into the Wilderness.  I'll admit to reading the series from start to finish, twice.

Diana Gabaldon is a big name in (as her website states)" Literature, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical NON-fiction (really.  Well, they are very accurate), Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Military History (no, honest), Gay and Lesbian Fiction, and…Horror."   She isn't kidding.  That does sum up her books rather nicely.  Seven books, two companion books, another four books about one of the characters in the main series, a few novellas and an eighth book in the series currently being written says something.  Mostly, that she's busy, but also that it's very good.  I'm not even going to say more about this story then this:  if you haven't read it, pick it up.  I'm betting you won't put it down.

Lastly, and because of the number of times I read this over a two maybe a three year period, every night, sometimes more than once a night, is How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight.  I don't know how many times I said the words "Does a dinosaur stomp his feet on the floor and shout, 'I WANNA HEAR ONE BOOK MORE!'  Does a dinosaur ROAR?!  ... No, Dinosaurs don't, they don't even try.  They give a big kiss, they turn out the light.  They tuck in their tails and whisper 'good night'."  It was a well treasured routine by my minion and I, and now that I'm thinking about it, I miss it a little more now that he's 11.

That's my list.  I hope it gives you an idea for something new to read!

P.S. for those of you wondering, yes I've read A Song of Ice and Fire, and still am.  Sadly, most people are choosing to watch it rather than read it and they are missing a great deal.  All I can say is do yourself a favor, never watch a movie of a book before you've read it.  You do yourself a disservice by letting someone else tell you how things and people should look and be interpreted.  You have a brain...use it!

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The One About Instagram

For any of you that know me personally, you know I work with a bunch of guys who really do not get my infatuation with Instagram.  That's okay.  I don't get their fascination with boobs or Starcraft, so I guess we're even.  What I have heard them say is why would you want to take a perfectly good photo and make it look old, dirty, and blurry?  What is the point to that?

My view of Times Square

As a species we enhance things all the time.  Just using drawing as an example we went from cave drawings to paper drawings that suffered from a lack of perspective.  Then, along came Filippo Brunelleschi in the early 1400's and poof we have linear perspective.  Since then it's been built on by others and now we have some amazing 3D CGI to show for our enhancements.

Market Street bridge
at sunset

Getting back to Instagram though, the popularity is driven by a number of things.  One is nostalgia, the viewer may recall the days of Polaroids and black and white film, or just like the feel of being a part of a different era.  Another is the ability to move the viewer away from reality.  Depending on the filter applied, or the blur and how much of it there is, the image can become very abstract requiring imagination from the viewer to give it a meaning.  Lastly it's a way for the viewer to connect with the image, or the photographer in feelings, memories, or even experiences that the photo is depicting as well as share their own photos with others to do the same.

Carlisle, PA mural of Molly Pitcher

Instagram isn't for everyone, and that's okay.  Turns out I'm still not a fan of boobs or Starcraft and that doesn't make me a bad person either.  And to answer their question of why do I want to do that to my perfectly good photos: by running it through those blurry, dirty filters, I've made that image mine.  It means something to me and I want to share it with others so they can enjoy what I see in it.

If you'd like to see more of my Instagram photos, you can look me up (drsizer), or the last few are always on the widget here on my site.

These are my favorite photos I've enhanced with Instagram so far.  The first is a vacation photo, the second is just from my drive home, and the last is a bit of home for me.  That caboose has been a fixture of the town I grew up in for as long as I can recall.

Boldt Castle Power House

Yellow Breeches Creek

New Oxford, PA Train Station

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The One About Science Class

Last Thursday was back to school night at the middle school.  Minion #1 who attends this school is in a special autism class for some of his day, and back to school night is usually a great way to introduce ourselves to his teachers, get their impressions and give them ideas if they are having trouble teaching him.  Usually, is the word though we want to stress here, because this year, as we've found out teaching isn't really what they are doing.  For those of you just tuning in, feel free to read a few other posts about our local school district and how we've had to file complaints for not following the IEP as well as contact the Attorney General's office to report them for medicaid fraud.

After speaking to his history teacher, it was his opinion that he simply change all the tests to things that he could pass without really having to work at understanding the material.  If he could just know names and dates, and that was good enough, and the best part is that he would gets A's too!  The science teacher informed us that he was only rehashing material from the two previous years, and that would be a struggle for him, since he wasn't sure how you could rehash the material and make it seem new.  Oh, and science class, wouldn't really be 'class' it was really more an online thing and they would do a project or something too.

I'm not entirely sure, but I think the King's brain may have imploded at that point.  The incredulous looks he was giving me coupled with the opening and closing of his mouth, rather like a stunned trout, while trying to form angry words was giving it away.  Whatever, it was time to go home.

We found out a number of other things that evening as well.  One was that the autism program that the school started is failing miserably and won't be continued at the high school level.  Another was that there still aren't any other students that are high functioning autistics, so minion #1's getting pretty far behind in his own studies due to the other kids not progressing.  My personal favorite though was that the school is simply neglecting to provide speech services this year, contrary to the IEP and the settlement reached (not monetary)  with the department of ed. over the summer.  So, I'll have to start filing complaints, again.

As parents, I think we all find faults with the public school system.  From teachers that care too little to bad food that's offered in the cafeterias at lunch time and all things between.  At this point though, we've reached our limits of what's acceptable.  We're looking into cyber school.  Which, while still public school it gives us the opportunity to be more involved and interact with our minions throughout the day while not being responsible for developing a curriculum.  With any luck this will allow them to achieve their potential instead of just whatever the school thinks they need to squeak by.

Has anyone else run into this sort of thing?  What did you decide to do?
If any of you have decided on cyber school what has your experience been like?

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Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Today is Six Places and anytime I think about going anyplace I think about Dr. Seuss

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself 

any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

Oh,The Places You'll Go! ~Dr. Seuss

1).  Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. - Robert Frost

I don't know about the rest of you, but mom and dad's place is really still home when I think about it.

The backside of the house I grew up in.

2).  Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action. - Mother Theresa

My own house, which is slowly becoming home as we remodel, make memories and watch the minions grow up there.

Formal Dining Room set with my Grandmother's China and my crystal.

3).  Washington, DC is to lying what Wisconsin is to cheese. - Dennis Miller

I love D.C.  There is so much to see and do there, from museums and art to little hole in the wall eateries and people watching.

Washington Monument, before the earthquake.

4).  "I need a vacation to recover from my vacation" - said everyone, always.

Your last vacation is always one of your favorite places.  The memory is fresh and chances are you did at least one thing that was a lot of fun.

Mount your whales, we ride at dawn!
Deep Creek Lake, MD

5).  There's a lot of fantasy about what Scotland is. - Sean Connery

Out of all the places I've been, it's by far one of my favorite.  There's a certain wildness and peace to the entire country.  The people are lovely, the food is horrendous (or good if you're smart enough to get what I did) and every day is a new adventure.

Eilean Donan - there was a drought the year I was there.
Hence the lack of water.

6).  Yes, we’ll gather at the river, The beautiful, the beautiful river; Gather with the saints at the river, That flows by the throne of God. - Robert Lowry

I know I covered Scotland as a whole, but until you've seen Inverness, you've really not seen Scotland.  Its considered a city because of the cathedral, yet the size of a small town.

Cathedral Church of St. Andrew along the River Ness,
taken from Inverness Castle.

These are my places.  The places I most want to be, or the places I think of most often.  

What places do you think about?

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Time4Learning - Final Opinion

We're to our final few days of a month long free trial from Time4Learning.  I'd like to thank them for the opportunity to review their product and see how it really works before committing to it.
I learned a number of things this month from doing this.  One is that my youngest minion needs to be prodded, a lot, about his school work.  Some of that is the ADHD kicking in, some of it is that it's not fun for him without a specific purpose.  The older one though has really taken a liking to it, even to just go through the modules.  As a parent you can log in and see what your kids are doing, how long they spent on topics and what they are scoring on quizzes.

Screen capture of a history lesson - once on his own, once with mom.

Last week, the older minion had a dentist appointment in the morning, which when you have to take meds an hour before becomes a bit more of a chore than just picking up your minion and taking them. So he missed history that morning, but brought the homework back from class.  Lucky for us, the homework didn't match anything in the book and he was at a loss with what to do.

Even though minion #1 is autistic, we do not do his homework for him.  I'm not in the 8th grade, so why should I?  What we did find what that there was a nice little module about pre civil war USA in Time4Learning that matched up what they were studying that day.  We had to run through the material twice,(once on his own, I looked at the quiz, saw he wasn't getting the material, and then again with me) and do the quiz but he did learn it and was then able to do the homework on his own and understand it.  That in itself is a valuable tool and resource.  I couldn't be happier with that.  It also tells me that anytime he needs a little reinforcement, Time4Learning will definitely help.

We will definitely be keeping Time4Learning around as a resource and secondary learning tool.  As far as I'm concerned it's invaluable with an autistic 8th Grader.  As to minion #2, he thinks someday he'd rather be out of the classroom environment to learn.  He's not a big fan of the other kids (they really are bratty, mean, and generally bad mannered, so it's unsurprising) and chooses to not play with them or have much to do with them.  I can imagine it's a lonely environment for him anyway.  As weather gets cooler and we stay inside more, I'll be devoting more of my time to their studies (and my own if I'm lucky) so we'll see how things go.  Who knows, I may end up with homeschoolers yet!

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10 Day -YOU- Challenge

I loved this idea so much I thought I'd follow along for the Tuesdays I'm not blogging about travel stuff.  This week is fears, and I know we all have a bunch of them.  Be sure to stop by  Lauren @ Life.Love.Lauren and her co-host Tiffany @ The Austin Family Diary to see what everyone else has to say about themselves.

{one} 

Spiders.  I hate them and I fear them.  There isn't much that makes my skin crawl more than to see one of those hairy eight legged beasts crawling towards me.  What makes it worse is that we live in the woods and we have a few that are large enough they need to be sent back to their maker with the flat side of a shovel. *shudder*

{two} 

That I'll get sick again.  The journey back from my personal hell of undiagnosed celiac disease, a host of food allergies and food intolerance is not something I ever want to experience again.  Ever.

{three}

Losing my boys.  In any shape or form.  I don't think there is a parent out there that wouldn't agree that the loss of a child is the most heart wrenching thing they could ever go through.  I have a healthy fear of facing that again.

{four}

Failure.  I know this is a conditioned behavior left over from childhood, but it's still a fear.  I was taught from the time I could remember that even if something was good, unless it was perfect it wasn't good enough.  That spanned across all areas of my life and into adulthood.  It's also something I hope I never pass on to my kids.

{five}

Breaking my kids.  As a parent you do your best, you learn from your mistakes and you learn a lot from your kids too.  I can remember a lot of times thinking, great, I've probably just broken my kid from some of the ways I've or we've handled things as parents.  Some of which we look back on now and laugh like idiots at ourselves.  Especially if we were channeling our parents at the time. (My King, I know you are reading this and recalling the incident where after yelling at minion #1 he said 'you're right' and all you had was 'G-D Right, I'm Right!!!!' as you both stormed off)

{six}

Living a life filled with regrets about things not done. We all have have big dreams and plans when we're young and stupid.  Some we can filter out as silly dreams of youth, but some we chase for a long time.  I'm still chasing the dreams of travelling to far off lands and exotic places.

{seven}

Being late, unprepared and generally unprofessional.  Strangely people get really upset with me when I point out if they are any of those things, so I must be the only one with this neurosis. 

{eight}

Alienating my family.  I have very different views from most of my family.  I eat differently, speak differently, have a different religion, raise my kids with different rules and generally do everything different from them.  On the flip side of that, I have healthy, happy, well-adjusted and polite kids that I can take anywhere and I'm happy with who I am.  It's just that niggling fear that I'm not acceptable in their eyes.

And there you have it.  Those are my fears.

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