10.30.06
I want….
I played one this past Saturday, and it was sweet!
Dear Santa…..
10.29.06
Use for Leftovers
We had chicken fried pork cubed steak smothered in gravy the other night, so of course, we cooked mashed potatoes to go along with that. As usual, we ended up with more than we could eat. Today, I decided to make use of them, so I made a casserole. I browned some ground pork with spices then assembled the casserole as such: mashed potatoes (packed in there), 5-cheese Italian blend, pork, cheddar, potatoes, 5-cheese Italian blend, pork, cheddar. Popped it into a 350 degree oven and baked it, covered, for 15 minutes then uncovered for 15 more minutes.
Yum!
Edited on Oct 29th 2006, 21:34 by entipy
A Date and A Special Meal
Jake’s mom and dad sent him a $50 VISA gift card for his birthday, so we decided to have a quasi-date last night and go out to dinner. My mom agreed to babysit Katie, so we could have a grown-up dinner. We were on our way into town to pick up something for the little bug to eat, and when we asked what she wanted, she said, “A hambooger!” Oh man… try not to laugh in the front seat at THAT one. I was dying. Luckily, Jake got the worse end of the deal because she could see him. I was able to hide my laughter. (She gets really pissed if you laugh at her, so we have to stifle our mirth quite often.)
So, we dropped her off at my parents’ with her hambooger, and we went on to dinner. It was very nice. 
10.28.06
Nectar of the Gods
Over the past few years, I have had the distinct pleasure of sampling all different types of Mead, most homemade. I have to say, the homemade stuff is SO much better than the store-bought varieties I’ve had. After pining away for this stuff and never seeming to get enough of it, I finally decided to start brewing my own. So, Jake and I are endeavoring to do that!
We started our first batch a few days ago, and the vodka in our airlock is bubbling along which means the fermentation has begun. I must admit, I don’t have high hopes for this first batch because we used champagne yeast, so it will probably come out quite dry. I don’t like dry wines or mead… at all. I prefer it very sweet. So, I’m going to try adding more honey at a later stage in the game. Luckily, I found a forum with lots of experienced mead makers, so I can go there for advice and tips.
We’ve ordered some more equipment, too, so as soon as that comes, we’re going to start another batch! Weeeeeeeee. We’re hoping to have some ready before our wedding in April. Not sure if it will be by then, but we’re hoping.
As for today, Katie and I are currently watching Shrek. (She watches one of the two Shrek movies almost daily. Crazy about them, I say, crazy.) Later, I’m going to take Logan’s rental sax to the music store and trade it in for a new one for her. 
Cheers!
10.23.06
What is that?
Sometimes, I hear music, and I get this… feeling. Like something major is going on or is going to happen. Something which will affect my life in tremendous ways from here on out. I’ve never been enlightened past just having the feeling, and it’s only with certain types of music. Folk, in particular.
I, honestly, don’t know a lot of traditional folk music, but I love what I hear, and almost every time I listen (whether I can actually make out lyrics or not), I get that feeling in the pit of my stomach. It’s not with every song, mind you, but listening to folk is just about the only time I get it… just BAM!
Sometimes it feels like the world is going to end, and sometimes it feels like so much hope I can’t hold it.
So, what is that?
10.21.06
Alone
You know, generally, I don’t really need or care to talk to people much. It’s funny how when you’d rather everyone left you alone, you can’t seem to take a breath. But when you’d like nothing better than to have someone to talk to, no one seems to be around. What’s up with that? I don’t get it.
I suppose that’s just fate rearing her ugly head and saying, “No! You can’t have what you need or want! You’ll just have to sit there alone, drinking vodka with grape soda and watching ‘Circle of Friends.’”
It’s ugly and just… am I pitiful? LOL. I don’t think so. It just seems odd that, in the times I really want someone to talk to, no one’s around.
Oh well. Movies and half an internet it is!
I shall cook chicken with pineapple sauce and rice tonight, and it shall be divine.
Edited on Oct 21st 2006, 17:06 by entipy
10.20.06
Quote
When you look at yourself from a universal standpoint, something inside always reminds or informs you that there are bigger and better things to worry about.
- Albert Einstein
10.19.06
Katieisms Again
Evidently, a “hotel” is actually a “show and tell house.” (*)
Snoopy is named Snoofy
Presents are Pfresents
Sometimes kids just make things HARDER than they are.
(*) This one, I’m not positive about, really. She was talking about being with her Grandma and wanting her Daddy. I know that was when they were bringing her to meet us in Birmingham, and they spent the night at a hotel in Jackson, MS. I’m guessing her Grandma may have said, “hotel house,” at some point during the conversation, and it then became “show and tell house.”
Meatloaf + Tomatoes & Rice = Soup
I made a venison meatloaf the other night with black beans in it, and served it with tomatoes and rice. It was yummy! However, Jake didn’t care for the black beans in the meatloaf, so our leftovers weren’t getting eaten like they normally do. Yesterday, I decided to make use of them and made a soup using the meatloaf and the tomatoes and rice. I heated them up in a pot with a decent amount of chicken stock and added some more spices. It was YUM. I plan on having another bowl of it today for lunch. YUM again.
Love
Sometimes, this gripping fear takes hold of me. It makes me sick to my stomach, and it almost makes my head reel. Today seems to be one of those days. The fear is that something horrible & violent will separate Jake and me at some point (in the fairly near future). Something horrible & violent which will result in his or my death. How morbid is that? Luckily, when it starts to come over me, I give it a bit of credence (as the possibility is always there, of course) and send it on its way. It will peep over my shoulder occasionally, just to remind me it’s there, but it doesn’t burrow into my heart and make a nest or anything.
My hope, of course, is that this will never happen. We shall, instead, grow very old and crotchety together and die sitting on a porch somewhere calling each other, “Ass!”
10.18.06
Taking A Day Off
For the first time since I started my current job back in 1999, I took a day off to sit home and do nothing. I woke up at pretty much my normal time this morning, made coffee, and helped wrangle the kids a bit (Jake did most of that today). He left to take them to school & day care, and my day of ultimate laziness began. I watched television. I ate snacks. I smoked cigarettes. I had some awesome sex. I watched more television, ate more snacks, smoked more cigarettes, had some more awesome sexual activity. Now, I’m checking up on emails and online stuff. The day was great. I was happy all day and not worried or anxious about anything. Not ONE SINGLE THING! This, folks, is a super rarity for me.
I really enjoyed my day, and I’m so glad I took the step and actually asked for a day off for no reason. I might do it more than once every 7 years now. 
You Might Be a Redneck Jedi If:
You ever uttered the phrase, “May the force be with y’all.”
Your Jedi robe is camouflage.
You have ever used the force in conjunction with fishing/bowling.
You have ever used your light saber to open a bottle of Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill.
At least one wing of your X-wing is primer colored.
You have bantha horns on the front of your landspeeder.
You describe the taste of an Ewok as “jus’ like chicken.”
You have ever had a B-wing up on blocks in your yard.
The worst part of spending time on planet Dagobah is “them dadgum skeeters.”
Wookies are offended by your B.O.
You have ever used the force to get yourself another beer so you wouldn’t have to wait for a commercial.
Your father has ever said to you, “Shoot, son, come on over to the dark side…it’ll be a hoot!”
You have ever had your R-2 unit use its self-defense electro-shock thingy to get the barbecue grill to light.
You have a confederate flag painted on your flight helmet.
You ever fantasized about Princess Leia wearing Daisy Duke shorts.
You have the doors of your X-wing welded shut and you have to get in through the window.
You kinda think that Jabba the Hutt had a pretty good handle on how to treat his women.
You have ever accidentally referred to Darth Vader’s evil empire “them damn Yankees.”
You have a cousin who bears a strong resemblance to Chewbacca.
In your opinion, that Cee-Threepio fellow “just ain’t right.”
You suggested that they outfit the Millennium Falcon with a Lazy-Boy recliner.
The REAL reason you got into a fight in the cantina was because you ordered Bud Light…and they didn’t have it.
You knew Princess Leia was your sister all along
You think fast food is hitting a womp rat with your speeder at 65 miles an hour
10.16.06
More Katieisms
Jake, Katie, and I went to the park on Saturday so she could ride her bike. Afterwards, we took her to Dairy Queen for dinner and ice cream. She promptly told us she wanted a sundae… “Banilla with chocolate and a cherry.” (She said the chocolate and cherry part in a funny way, too, but I don’t remember what she said.)
On the way, we stopped off at the dump to get rid of trash, and she saw a big flock of birds flying overhead.
Katie: LOOK! Look at all those BIRDS!!
Me: Yeah, that’s a lot of birds, itn’ it?
Katie: Yeah!!…. Those are BEAGLES!!!!
Me: *turning purple from stifling laughter* Yeah?? Beagles?? Cool….
I figured she meant seagulls.
Jake gets back into the truck, and I tell him about the Beagles. He’s stifling laughter, too, then bursts forth into song, “I wanna FLYYYYYYY like a Beagle….”
After more giggling and laughter, I said, “You know… one day, when she’s about 12 or so, she’s going to hear that song and go, ‘…. wait a minute!!!’”
10.14.06
LOST and raving
I’ve been watching the t.v. show “LOST” for its first two seasons now, and the third is underway. The 1st season was great, the 2nd was so-so, and the 3rd is shaping up to be kinda meh. I’m watching the 1st episode of the season right now, and maybe it will get better, but there’s one thing I can say for certain: Jack needs to STFU!
I liked him OK in the 1st season as the hapless and reluctant hero. He started getting on my nerves in the 2nd season with his whining and hero-complex, and now they’re beginning the 3rd with him as the raving control freak ex-doctor savior of the island.
At least Sawyer has been pretty consistent throughout the life of the show. I suppose I could finish watching this episode before I judge everything/everyone too harshly.
10.13.06
Katieisms
Ok, here’s the setup:
Real Word = Katie Word
pop-tart = part-tart
skunk = stunk
mickey mouse clubhouse = mickey mouse cluvhouse
cubby = cuvvy
keats = kinks
Kids do say the darndest things.
10.12.06
ODD - Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Let me begin by saying… I am an advocate of psychology as a science. I believe in it. I think there are a lot of disorders and conditions which need to be named, broken down, and ways of treatment sought to “fix” them. I also believe that AD(H)D is a real disorder which is often misdiagnosed, leading to overmedication of children.
Now, with that out of the way, I heard this term, “Oppositional Defiant Disorder,” for the first time ever this morning. The first thought that went through my head was, “That sounds like a made-up condition for a child who misbehaves and isn’t being punished for it.”
So, I searched and found a page with some info. Here are the symptoms of ODD:
* frequent temper tantrums
* excessive arguing with adults
* active defiance and refusal to comply with adult requests and rules
* deliberate attempts to annoy or upset people
* blaming others for his or her mistakes or misbehavior
* often being touchy or easily annoyed by others
* frequent anger and resentment
* mean and hateful talking when upset
* seeking revenge
Now, call me old school, but that just smacks of “kid who needs to have his/her butt beat.” Ok, so that was dramatic, but the attitude is the same.
Kids these days don’t get nearly enough discipline from their parents (discipline, mind you, not punishment - although they don’t get enough of that, either). They’re allowed to make way too many choices for themselves, and they’re allowed to treat grown-ups as equals. Young children need structure and consistency, pretty much above all else, and we - as parents - are not there to be their “friends.”
On the page where I found the above-listed symptoms, it says:
“In children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), there is an ongoing pattern of uncooperative, defiant, and hostile behavior toward authority figures that seriously interferes with the youngster’s day to day functioning. [...] The symptoms are usually seen in multiple settings, but may be more noticeable at home or at school. Five to fifteen percent of all school‑age children have ODD.”
Five to fifteen percent. Are you kidding me? This is normal behavior for most toddler-aged children, and I would have to say that the only reason it becomes “ongoing” is that they’re not effectively taught how NOT to be that way from the time it starts.
Another quote on how to deal with it:
“Treatment of ODD may include: Parent Training Programs to help manage the child’s behavior, Individual Psychotherapy to develop more effective anger management, Family Psychotherapy to improve communication, Cognitive‑Behavioral Therapy to assist problem solving and decrease negativity, and Social Skills Training to increase flexibility and improve frustration tolerance with peers.”
How about this for treatment. You do what I say when I say to do it, or you pay the consequence for it. Period!
When, exactly, did parents STOP actually being parents?
And before anyone says, “You’ve obviously never had a child who exhibits these symptoms,” think again!
*sigh* I just don’t know what to think about this. I mean, what are we going to name next? Someone isn’t lazy anymore, he/she has “Deficient Ambulatory Disorder?”
source: ODD Article
10.11.06
"I can see clearly now, the rain is gone… …
For those of you who read my bemoaning back in this post in September, I have some good news!
Apparently, the same ill effects don’t occur if I wear my contacts.
WOO PEE!
Watch out reading… here I come!
"Tu" pas "Vous"
I play piano at a small Presbyterian church, and my French teacher from high school leads the music. I was one of his “Pioneer” students in French, and he’s always giving me high compliments on my musical abilities and my French abilities (however misplaced that may be). Sometimes, after I perform, he will write me a sweet little complimentary note in French. I sang and played the guitar this past Sunday, and here is the note he passed to me:
Julie, ma bien aimée,
Tu es si spéciale! Je suis fier de toi!
Merci de tout que tu fais!
Dieu te bénisse!
I read through the note and thought to myself, “How sweet.” Then I looked more closely and wondered, “Why in the world did he underline each of the Tu and Toi and Te…?” Then it hit me.
This is the first time he’s ever used the familiar form of “you” with me. It means we have finally surpassed the teacher/student relationship and are now on more equal terms.
How cool is that!?
10.10.06
Bored
I am *so* bored with my job right now, I could just spit. Repeatedly. Onto passing strangers. JUST for sport!
It really sucks to come to an unfulfilling and unstimulating job every day of the week. The pay is decent, and my benefits are really good, considering, but still… there’s something missing. I need for these 40 hours I spend per week to do something to stimulate my growth mentally and emotionally. Something to at least challenge me. That never happens here. Instead, I’m just irritated… constantly! I used to really enjoy my job, but I guess it’s wearing thin after 7 years. I like the people I work with, and I have a great working relationship with most of them, so that’s a bonus. Plus, I can surf the internet all day and chat if I like. Another bonus. However, I feel I’d be willing to trade those things if I could get some more intrinsic rewards from what I do for 8 hours per day.
I’ve thought about going back to school, but my ultimate goal in that would be to teach college. That would require completing another Bachelor’s degree (in whatever area I want to teach because I don’t want to teach Music which is the area I have my completed degree in) and a Master’s and a Doctorate. That’s a LONG row to hoe! It’s also an expensive row to hoe because Ms. I-Already-Have-A-Degree-I-Can’t-Use isn’t eligible for any type of grant.
I’ve thought about opening up a bookstore here in my small southern town. We don’t have one, see, and the only place for avid readers to purchase their chosen desires is Wal-Mart or the internet. Wal-Mart… for books! Can you imagine?
Honestly, I’m not sure if I’d be successful in the school route. I’m not sure I can handle that plus a full-time job plus a family (with a school-age child and a toddler). On the flip side, I’m fairly certain I could make a successful business of the bookstore. However, that’s a major monetary investment, and it’s one I’m not sure I could find adequate backing to implement.
Also, I think about these things all the time. I decide to take actual steps. I get as far as researching and gathering materials. Then I fall back into complacency. Why is that, do you think? Is that some deep-seated fear of failure, or is it a subconscious defense mechanism telling me it’s just not a good way to go?
I’m worth more than what I currently am here; I know that much. My talents and intellect are just wasted. I feel I’ve made myself fairly indispensable to my company, however, and that makes the prospect of leaving for something different even more daunting. The idea of having to train someone to do all the things I actually do… not something I get excited about! More money might make it better, but 1) that won’t happen and 2) the compensation it affords would disappear rather quickly.
So, here I sit. Ponderence and reluctance.
Did I misspell anything? 