Thursday, April 14, 2011

Put on a Happy Face

I woke up with the worst headache on Tuesday morning.
THE WORST!
I was nauseous, my head was pounding, and I overslept. So, our morning was forced into hyper-speed. Hyper-speed mornings involve a lot of stress, yelling, rushing, and pressure. Not a great combination on a headache morning.
Savannah's 4th grade class is having a special "theme" for each day left in the school year. Some of them are dress up days, some are bring something days, others are just extra recess days or game days. Tuesday was Cast Day. So, they could come to school with a cast or crutches or something to make them look injured. I tried digging around in my box of childhood things looking for my sling from my broken arm. I couldn't find it. We went to walmart to see if slings are sold there. They are, but they cost $12. I wasn't willing to spend $12 for something that would probably be worn for around 5 minutes, even though Savannah thought it would be a reasonable investment. We ended up deciding to use a piece of fabric at home and make our own sling.
Then, Tuesday morning arrived and all the rushing and pressure. Suddenly in the light of the morning, our homemade sling seemed completely ridiculous to Savannah. There was no way she was going to wear it. I had to talk her down from tears and try to convince her that if cast day was a bust for her, we'd make another upcoming theme day the best. I'm not sure it made her feel any better, but we were late and it was the best I could do with a pounding head.
After dropping the kids at school, I made it to work. Part way down the hallway to my desk, I discovered that the shoes I had chosen to wear were making "shoe fart" noises with every single step I took.
Pfffhhhhttthththt
Pffhhhhhttthththt
Pffhhhhththththt
Pffhhhththththtt
Super!
If I walked very slowly and only stepped on the inside of my right foot and the outside of my left foot, I could avoid the fart. I looked like I had some sort of severe leg cramp, but the feet were quiet.
The head was still pounding, though. And I was reminded how much Excel spreadsheets don't help headaches.
I somehow survived the day, made it home with the kids, and immediately laid down on the couch to try to nap away this horrendous headache. I had to block out any light that was trying to get into my eyes, so I must have placed my arm over my eyes to block it out.
Unfortunately my extremely unsympathetic dogs cared only for their hungry stomachs and whined for the entire hour I tried to nap.
Uggggggghhhhh!
I got up dealt with the dogs, and took Myles to his baseball practice. Once his practice was over we ran over to Walmart for some groceries. I spent the rest of the evening doing some work and making a jello salad for a work food day on Wednesday.
Around midnight I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. That's when I glanced up into the mirror and saw the disaster that was my face. Apparently, during my very brief nap, my mascara had run all down the left side of my face. And my right eye was highlighted by a large black blob underneath it.
And that's how I'd been looking all night long!
Talking with baseball parents, shopping at walmart. Not pretty.
Did anyone clue me in to the disaster that was my face?
NOPE.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Springtime!!

We are finally feeling like spring is really here. I've been noticing the daffodils in my neighbor's yard and we have tulips coming up! So, to get into the springtime spirit we made some birdseed feeders to hang around the yard. And they have an Easter theme to make them extra Spring-y. Here's the very quick and easy instructions: Mix together: 3/4 cup flour 1/2 cup water 1 envelope of unflavored gelatin 3 Tbsp corn syrup Then, to this mixture add: 4 cups of birdseed Mix this up thoroughly. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. Then, spray the insides of some cute cookie cutters with non-stick spray and fill them up with the birdseed mixture. Be sure to pack it in really tight. I used a bamboo skewer to make the hole a little ways down from the top. Allow them to dry overnight. Add some twine for hanging. And viola! A lovely spring present for the little birdies. Of course, it rained all day today, so our birdies will be getting their presents tomorrow. I'm curious to see how many of our birdie presents are stolen by the crazy squirrels.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Granny Squares and Some Slaying

Ok, I haven't written a blog in a while. I have developed an addiction. To Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I got a free month of Netflix and all 7 seasons of Buffy are on there. I never watched the show when it was on TV. Not once. Now, I can't stop. And this is really how I like my TV series. All at once. None of this waiting all summer long for a new season, no surprise reruns when I'm wanting a new episode. It's fantastic. It's been a little over a week and I've made it into season 3. As a bonus, Savannah has learned some pretty vicious slayer moves that she has tested out on me. I guess she gets to be the slayer and I get to be either one of her sidekicks or a vampire needing a slaying. And speaking of vicious slayings, this is what we found on our front sidewalk this weekend. Bad kitty! Ok, I have completed my granny squares into what will soon be joined and made into a pillow after I weave in all the ends from all those colors. (My least favorite part.) I'm very happy with the results. And I tried making a hex pattern this weekend too. I'm not sure what I'm going to turn it into, but something awesome for sure. I also whipped up these fantastic flower magnets during my Saturday of non-stop Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Honestly, I haven't watched a regular TV show from this decade since last Thursday. And, because of that, we missed the Kids Choice Awards and I'm in some pretty hot water over that one. Luckily, Savannah's nearly as into the Buffy show as I am.) Anyway, our flower sprouts are growing and growing. So far I have no deaths to report. This might be a record for me. And I think I can see a pumpkin trying to poke up through the dirt. YAY! Ok, back to Buffy. Auf Wiedersehen!