robot•jumping•rope

just finished a homemade egg mcmuffin. smoked sharp WISCONSIN cheddar makes everything better, but i don’t need to tell you that, do i?

wouldn’t it be divine to pack a suitcase with nothing but spf and swimsuits and jet away to a sun-drenched, sea-soundtracked place where the houses are bright and the sun is brighter and there is no remodeling, no gray slush outside the door, dinner is prepared for you, every sunset is flickr-worthy and the biggest problem is sand in your sheets?

wouldn’t it?

here in kansas we are entering the Days of Bleak that make me want to read gothic novels and mainline orange juice and never take off my socks. dude, i know it’s not even february yet but can i join you under there? i got maker’s mark for christmas, baby.

the daughter, on the other hand, takes after her perennially chipper father and doesn’t seem to have a bit of trouble brightening things from the inside out. these little houses she’s making and propping up everywhere (”all the curtains are different, mama, did you see that?”) would put a grin on anyone’s S.A.D. face.

hope you’re staying warm and bright if you live in this hemisphere. i’ll be hitting the surf IN MY MIND if you need me.

love,

estea

since i’m up to my elbows, my double-income-no-kids friends (or the DINKS, which is how i will henceforth refer to them) have offered to post on my behalf about their recent trip to Wisconsin.

it all began when they called me from their car on friday night to say they felt like driving to milwaukee from kansas city and were in fact doing just that. since they have no children and weekends are only to frolic, this hair-brained idea presented no problem. LUCKY. anyway, i’m happy to say it turned out to be very enjoyable, if a wee bit chilly. (don’t tell them, but i checked the temps online and chortled.)

here is some valuable information should you be planning a visit:

[end guest post]

awwww.

hope you enjoy a delightful rest-of-this-tuesday.

i’m having pizza and spotted cow for dinner.

love,

me

i’m having strawberry fig newtons and espresso, just so you have an idea of where my blood sugar is residing (somewhere close to sugary caffeinated bliss, but you wouldn’t wanna be around me in 30 minutes). (i’ve decided for the moment to start posts with a brief description of my most recent meal or snack. hey, it’s my blog, and i love food.)

so about 3 months ago one of my kids (i won’t say who, but he’s the tallest) spilled an entire box of tapioca pearls off a pantry shelf and all over the kitchen floor. i don’t know if you’ve ever dropped tapioca pearls on the floor but those little suckers are the perfect size and weight and density to bounce like miniature ping pong balls. thousands of miniature ping pong balls. and then there’s the rolling.

we’re still finding them.

it’s a running joke now - they turn up anywhere and everywhere. i found a few in a box of cereal, a couple in the cat’s treats, some in the undersink cabinet and even a lonely little guy lodged in the handle of the stove.

they’re sort of like these house projects i’ve forced myself into finishing. every time i get one nearly done, another one pops up. and another. and they’re not big; if they were big they’d be dramatic, exciting, rewarding. no, it’s all little bits and pieces of catch-up that have been waiting around, needing attention for so long i can’t even find the tools or stuffs i bought ages ago to do the work.

so i’ll be away for a little bit longer, because i love to blog, but blogging is writing. and even though it mostly sounds like i open my head and everything sort of falls out here onto wordpress, i really do sit and ponder (stop laughing) and try to craft interesting and honest things to share in this journal of domestic excitement (i can still hear you).

of course all work, no play and etc. means i am forced to take short breaks and waste time with friends, and small bits of goodness turn my paint-splattered hands in a different direction at night. the daughter and i are plotting a special little project inspired by a special little book (i got a little teary reading it to her - oh, and look what i found.), and we’re shopping for a new-old car. yes, the honda, after much extensive and financially exhausting surgery, decided this wretched life was not for him. (my mechanic is not grieving the suicide.)

life is full. we are busy. things are being accomplished. soon the baseboards will be clean and fresh and benjamin moore “mountain peak white” eggshell finish. soon.

anyway, take care of yourselves - and keep the lid on that tapioca box tightly closed.

xxxx,

me

it’s 1:45 and i just finished an egg burrito with salsa and sour cream. and a fig newton. just thought you might want to know my blood sugar is stable.

anyway, all that house talk has again made me painfully aware of the many, many unfinished details in my kitchen: caulking and priming and painting and back-splashing - all need doing.  in my wrinkled shirt.  with help from my clunky new caulk gun, which i don’t like nearly as much as the old one but i loaned that to my dad and he won’t give it back (it’s that good).

so i’m taking a little break from online, because it’s a huge distraction and i already have 3 of those underfoot.

back soon. happy week to you all.

Dude®, STOP. i don’t wanna speak of my weirdness any more.

how ’bout a List® of some things i really want to do before my time is up?

1. sing or play in an alt-country or bluegrass band. i wanna be katherine whalen when she was crazy squirrel nut zipper girl.

2. hike the whole thing.

3. spend a month watching the surfers and otherwise relaxing myself into oblivion. (now THAT would be some lolling)

4. design and build one.

5. write a book with the husband.

• • •

truly toying around with that last one.

more details to come.

i’m not giving this meme to anyone. it shall die with me.

and if you’ve done anything on this list, you are, like, totally my idol.

• • •

another project in the works:

happy tuesday.

it’s 10:37 on saturday night and i’m sitting around eating plain yogurt with granola, chopped apples and honey on top, listening to crowded house and thinking about the movie starring the hottest dudes ever i just watched for the fourth time.

2 words, people: steve mcqueen.

3 more words: with a gun.

who in today’s moviestardom® even compares, seriously? all that cool with a crooked smile and sheepish charm in spades.

i love it almost as much as the original.

2 more words: toshino mifune.

all of kurosawa is so excellent i may have to ‘flix the lot of them. soon.

last night husband saw Blade Runner: THE FINAL CUT (or so ridley says. we bought THE DIRECTOR’S CUT thinking he’d tweaked all he was gonna. dude, make up you MIND.)

anyway, he said it was great and we’re going OUT to watch it together this week if the babysitter consents. excited about that.

is anyone into the latest version of jane eyre currently on pbs? i like it.

started the inspector morse series again. john thaw is amazing just walking around onscreen being himself.

• • •

in other news, the fridge died yesterday, or we thought it died until i poked around online and figured out i could take off the inside freezer panel and check things out, which led to emptying and cleaning as it hasn’t seen since the scratch ‘n dent showroom floor, letting it stand for 24 hours to completely defrost (despite the “frost free” badge, my appliance-guy friend says they all need it once in a while) and blowing hot water through a little piece of flexible tubing into the evaporator line, after which a yucky little bunch of food gunk came spurting out. i guess that’s what was keeping it from running cold enough because it’s humming now and ice is freezing and boca burgers are hockey pucks again.

isn’t all this fascinating?

so i’m feeling like the maytag guy, only busier.

i can’t count how many times we’ve taken a few minutes to look online before reaching for the repairman’s number. the internet diy boards are goldmines, if you can get the hang of sorting through far too much info., some helpful, some rubbish. we’d never have made it through the kitchen remodel without a lot of hand holding and much advice from the kind people on thathomesite.com and similar places.

of course, if we could afford to pay for it all to be done by experts, we would. experts are worth their weight in gold. we did hire a wonderful man to help us with the electrical (which we won’t touch with a ten foot pole sander) and drywall. he taught me everything he knew. and i loved it. if you need some mudding and taping, i’m your girl. you can’t see the corners from where you’re sitting, but i think my first job ever turned out pretty damn well, and it was so damn much work i’ve decided to brag about it whenever possible.

• • •

so that’s all that’s fit to print from robot headquarters.

what are you up to this weekend? seen any good flicks lately? repaired any appliances? stocking up on joint compound?

inquiring minds want to know.

loll. it’s one of my favorite words, right up there with plinth, serendipity, mandible, pickled, tributary and tomfoolery.

and i gotta be straight with you, we’ve been doing a serious bit of lolling about since christmas. couch, chair, floor, bed, bathtub, the nook in the back hallway, IN BOATS, under the kitchen table if you’re a toddler, tucked in the closet hiding from the toddler if you’re a cat - it’s all working splendidly. school will be back in session soon enough, so we’re basking in the nothing like lizards on an august rock.

homemade kettle corn helps pass the time, and good coffee and real hot cocoa, whipping up the world’s easiest caramels, trying out new watercolors and sketchbooks, hitting the library pile full-throttle, browsing a short stack of favorite magazines, netflixing merrily and generally making sure all my favorite accoutrements (now that’s a delicious word) for a life of pure leisure are at hand.

relaxed is a good thing.

now all this delightful sloth (ah, there’s another favorite) could have me feeling so renewed and rejuvenated that i might ponder up a steaming pile of resolutions, a list to gloat over then quickly lose in the bottom of my ginormous purse. lord knows i do love lists. and ginormous purses.

but excitable new beginnings are not how i roll. nope. all that hope and resolve gives me the willies. not that there’s anything wrong with feeling motivated by a fresh new year if that’s what trips your get-it-done trigger. my personal history with such matters involves crashing and burning by mid-february, or just about the time valentine candy goes on clearance at target.

i do want to think a bit about the year we just discarded, though, and some random stuff i discovered in 2007.

in fact, i think i feel a list coming on right now:

we are many
• • •
they are actually quite interesting
• • •
my swiffer and i have parted ways amicably. i don’t like the generic cleaning spray and i don’t like the square edges that push dirt into little ridges around everything with legs and corners. and i don’t like the pads, even my homemade ones. ymmv.
• • •
letting my hair gray has not been the death knell of my sassiness, despite the lamentations of my hair cut lady (that’s what i call her). in fact, i think it contributes greatly to my sassified appeal.
• • •
i can make actual wearable items without any help. but not without screaming, crying, or cursing.
• • •
some homeschoolers suck. some are cool. all are trying.
• • •
some places are just as beautiful the second time.
• • •
little boys won’t stay that way, even if you wish they did.
• • •
some of the best things in life are free
• • •
it never ends
• • •
if something were to happen to flickr i’d probably lie in the fetal position on my bathroom floor for a week, only bothering to come out for tapioca pudding and cheese nips.
• • •
i love minneapolis, and chicago, but could never live in either place.
• • •
clean is way overrated.
• •
this pie is the bomb.
• •
brushing my daughter’s hair is one of the sweetest things in life.
• • •
legos are inevitable.
• • •
a husband’s xbox can be a chick-flick-netflixing wife’s best friend.
• • •
youtube, you make me laugh.

• • •

and you?

this recipe is so good i’m considering a torrid affair with it.

and did you know costco (OF COURSE) now sells giant packages of pre-cooked organic sausages made by i-can’t-remember-the-name-cause-we-ate-them-all-and-threw-the-bag-out and the little darlings are like crack for carnivores?

and you know what else?

i’m pretty happy rolling into 2008. just plain happy. no strings attached.

so what if the money i saved for an SLR went toward the repair of my sad little vehicle now residing at the mechanic’s and only visiting us on weekends? and that ::whispers:: the other car appears to be dying as well.

so what if i just discovered i need serious bifocals and i’m only 38? a YOUNGISH PARTIES-IN-BOATS THIRTY EIGHT, i’ll remind you. by the by, figured it out playing piano for a special christmas event and spent 1/2 the performance doing a one-handed jerry lee lewis while trying to rotate my contacts with my right fingers, all the while saying WhatTheFrak? in my head and hoping nobody noticed.

so what if my 3.5 year old screams if we even APPROACH the toilet?

so what if my bathroom ceiling a)looks like it has chicken pox and b)is dripping shreds of insulation cause we pulled all the filthy acoustic tiles and mirrors off in the throes of a pre-holiday coffee buzz and the suckers were glued on with probably toxic/fatal 60’s glue and they wouldn’t go quietly, no, they came kicking and screaming and clinging to giant chunks of drywall?

so what if my jeans are tight and my muffin top is loose?

who cares if my rainy day fund is depleted and the tax man cometh? i mean, what are rainy day funds for, anyway? surely to fix cars that die?

i’ve so much to be happy about people. and for once i’m not being snarky.

i am married to a dream boat who loves to do dishes and our marriage is better than it has ever been.

my children are healthy and beautiful, so beautiful my heart hurts a little.

i’ve got friends who shine like gold.

i’ve got eyes that work, even if not perfectly, legs that walk all day long, teeth that show me a good time at the buffet table, and hair that belongs to me, gray and all.

so far i don’t have cancer, that bugger that follows my family around like a genetic pit bull.

my house is warm and i have money to pay the utilities.

i have 2 cars, and garages to park them in (when they’re actually running).

i’ve got good credit.

i have coke in my fridge, pasta in my pantry, books on my shelves and a babysitter i trust.

i have lovely and generous parents, and in-laws who adore me.

there’s a coffee press on my countertop and good beans in the freezer.

my meds do the trick.

my feet are warm, my cat is loving, the tree-skirt was heavy with presents and my childrens’ eyes shone with magic just over a week ago.

i live in a free and democratic place in this world, and i can have my say.

i have inspiring blogger sisters with which to share my ordinary days and small joys.

i have everything i need and far too many wants.

i am blessed, i tell you. my cup is full-up and spilling out the sides.

just count the ways.

happy new year from one tired little almost-40 rockstar housewife® who thought she could hang with the young ones last night and pretty much did just that but today, oh today it’s clear those young party hounds didn’t have to wake up to 3 small sweeties begging for attention because mommy and daddy were away from them for a full 16 hours and a kitchen floor covered with krispy kreme frosting droppings and a cat who won’t drink water from a bowl, o no he MUST HAVE a dripping faucet and won’t stop whining til he gets just that and man my head kinda still hurts. but it was worth it.

we started everything with a friend’s homemade pad thai so wonderful that i cannot even begin to describe the deliciousness to you (but i did snag the recipe and will spread the love very soon) then we hit our fave bar and listened to johnny cash covers and had bomb pops, then we crashed the coolest (way hipper than us but we kept a low profile and tried to blend in) party in somebody’s underground pottery studio/warehouse and there were hot dogs and popcorn and cotton candy and we enjoyed all of this SITTING IN A BOAT cause yeah, there was one in there. and a mobile home. and i might have played air guitar at some point but just cause the music was all hits from the 80’s and a girl’s gotta roll with what she knows best.

then we heard bluegrass and ate hot beignets at midnight.

dude, the only reason i’m telling you any of this is ’cause we’ve spent most of our 12 eves sitting around in jammies eating pork rinds and little smokies, drinking red stripe and hitting the hay at exactly 12:02 a.m., so i’m inordinately proud of myself for actually styling my hair. and that my entire outfit cost less than $22.

hope you are reveling in the freshness of a brand new calendar today.

i’m having waffles.