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Hausfrau Bourgeois

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a meme! because office work is delayed... [Feb. 25th, 2009|09:22 am]

44 Things I stole from Christy on Facebook:

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes, & pretty much all cheese, blue, yellow, hard, soft, goat, whatever.

2. Have you ever been drunk? I don’t think so. Not compared to really drunk people.

3. Do you own a gun? I grew up in a house with lots of guns, but there aren’t any Kodiak bears around here & I don’t feel the need to defend myself from the moles with a gun.

4. What flavor of Kool-Aid was your favorite? I thought they all tasted kinda the same. Perhaps “red”?

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No. I knit in the waiting room.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I eat them, but I try not to think about them.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? It's a Wonderful Life!

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Latte with splash of s/f vanilla

9. Can you do push ups?  Possibly a push-up.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? String of pearls. :D I like my wedding ring too, but for special, string of pearls.

11. Favorite hobby? Knitting. Watching tv. Reading. Or all of those at once.

12. Do you have A.D.D.? I don’t th—look a mole!

13. What's your favorite pair of shoes? Z-strap mary janes, all weather sort of shoes

14. Middle name? Kate

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? I have nothing to feed the kids for dinner, I hope to watch Heroes & I’m thinking about the Jaywalker sock pattern.

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Diet coke, herbal tea, espresso w/ steamed milk (I <3 beverage)

17. Current worry? My daughter thinks she knows better than everyone else, including me & she's very sick of being lectured, which isn't effective anyway.

18. Current hate right now? Computer viruses? It isn’t a hate so much as a mild annoyance, which is about as close as I get.

20. How did you bring in the New Year? Having trouble remembering back that far...hung out with Tami & Doug, but went home early because he had surgery that day & was heavily medicated.  Whoopie!

21. Where would you like to go? NYC

22. Name three people who will complete this? I do not obligate anyone.

23. Do you own slippers? Black, Chinese sort of carpet slippers, with butterflies on.

24. What color shirt are you wearing right now? Blue, under a couple of layers (brr)

25. Do you like sleeping on Satin sheets? No. Chilly.

26. Can you whistle? Yep.

27. Favorite color? Midnight blue.

28. Would you be a pirate? I am a retired pirate. But I was only a pirate under protest & because the money was so good.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? None. Not awake enough.

30. Favorite Girl's Name? Donna

31. Favorite boy's name? David, although DJ hates the full name

32. What's in your pocket right now? Coat pockets: a lip balm, keys, my parent pass for school, a paper towel & some bits of eggshell

33. Last thing that made you laugh? P.G. Wodehouse

34. Best bed sheets as a child? I don’t have specific memories of any sheets.

35. Worst injury you've ever had as a child? I have a burn scar on one wrist, but I don’t remember how it got there.

36. Do you love where you live? YES! I love the Pac NW & I love my pokey old house.

38. Who is your loudest friend? Uh, I am fortunate to have many loud people in my life.

39. How many dogs do you have? No dogs allowed.

40. Does someone have a crush on you? I don’t know. Does someone?

41. What is your favorite book? Possibly Thud! Or something deep like The Great Divorce.


42. What is your favorite candy? The assorted kind, Russell Stover or posher, in a box.

43. Favorite Sports Team? Um. The Mariners?

44. Favorite Food? At the moment I’m very fond of my chinese noodles-with-mustard sauce recipe. Also steak. And chocolate for dessert.

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winter "break" [Feb. 21st, 2009|10:28 am]

Note to self: working 5+ hours a day for a week when the kids are home for a vacation is total socks.

I did steal a few hours to dig in the dirt with Donna.  We put out stuff to repel the moles that are slowly redecorating the whole back yard.  There are yellow crocuses (croci?) blooming & daffodils shooting up!  I started some cherry tomato seeds in the house, but they're already looking droopy.  I've never had any luck with tomato seeds.  We had some nice weather this week -- very sunny & warm for February.  I spent most of it glued to my laptop.  I've gotten so used to the laptop that I'm liking it better than the desktop now.  Once this big project is finished, I can go back to variable days, flexible work hours, but the kids will be back in school by then.  It was just very bad timing.

And I got hardly any knitting done!  *pouts*

This morning, however, I got some extra sleep (thanks to DJ) & woke up for a breakfast of a latte & a donut with that sticky coconut coating (DJ again!) over a book with the word Jeeves in the title.  And tonight we have a sitter coming so I can be completely relaxed at the Baudboys concert.  Is this not happiness?
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all skate all skate [Feb. 5th, 2009|08:22 pm]
I'm beginning to think I've been called to my particular church in order to build the character of my pastor.  I'm a bit of a wack job.  Does anyone else take deep breaths at stoplights because she is wondering if she will forget to hold down the brake pedal?  I also wonder at the ease of staying in the proper lane on the freeway.  I should start taking bets on how long it will be before I set something on the back burner of the gas stove & then turn the wrong dial & catch my sleeve on fire.
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my brain needs a break [Feb. 4th, 2009|04:44 pm]
But I won't be tagging anyone. 

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My middle name is for my paternal grandmother.  First name was random.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I tend to cry at prayer meeting.  I'm getting a jump on being an Old Lady.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Who uses handwriting?
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Turkey
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes, 2 kids
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I'm friends with Lee, & I'm friends with Sarah.  Between them I experience all of my own personality traits.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? Yes
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? I'll check.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Or else what?
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? bacon
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? chocolate with chocolate
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? I'm actually not very observant.
15. RED OR PINK. pink
16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? overal muscle tone (lack of)
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? brothers, sisters, parents
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST? Only if they are comfortable with that.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Jeans, hot pink knitted socks, z-strap shoes
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Ears open for kids arguing.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Crayola asparagus
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Co-worker. 
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? I really need some sort of plot to stay interested.
27. HAIR COLOR? brown with grey strands
28. EYE COLOR? blue
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? no
30. FAVORITE FOOD? Today my favorite food is Trader Joe's almond & coconut chocolates.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy, I guess.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Groundhog Day, as per annual tradition.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? off white
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? I usually like whatever season I'm in.
35. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No tagging!
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I have a no tagging policy today!
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Finished a P.G. Wodehouse yesterday, have not yet selected new.
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? a football
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Heroes, although it looked kinda like Lost.
42. FAVORITE SOUND(S)? six-year-old laughter
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.  Don't judge me.
44. WHAT'S THE FARTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Irian Jaya
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can knit socks.
46. WHERE WERE U BORN? Anchorage, AK
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? I am not pressuring anyone.  This should be a free an unadulterated choice, unmotivated by political or social pressure.
48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER? Jon Coose introduced us, I think.
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januarysh [Jan. 16th, 2009|09:00 am]
You know bullets? They don't work for me in the rich text anymore. The button just doesn't do anything. Which is alright, since when it did, it would bullet my whole post instead of just a list within the post. Like this one:
LIST (Friday)
  • It's down near freezing again. Might get actual (*gasp*) frost.
     
  • Is it just really hard to grow bell peppers? I've tried seed starts, plants set in the back (eaten by slugs) and plants set in the front (just didn't grow-- can't see why not, just never got taller).
     
  • Pandora has decided that I like the White Stripes.
     
  • No work this morning.
     
  • I've had half-the-flu for a couple of weeks. I'm not particularly sick, but I can hardly drag myself out of bed & I get occasional intense stomach cramps & heavy congestion (but only on one side of my head at a time).
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thank you! [Jan. 7th, 2009|12:41 pm]
( Christmas Sweaters! )
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i shouldn't listen to talk radio [Jan. 6th, 2009|01:36 pm]
Heard two things this morning that are buzzing in my hed:
  1. Paying off your home may not be the best thing because if your level of equity is greater than the amount you owe the bank, then it is less painful for the bank to foreclose. If you have more debt owing than equity, then it is in the bank's best interest to negotiate/ refinance/ make whatever deal to keep you in the house & making payments.
  2. Parents should begin administering weekly drug tests in their homes when their children reach the 7th grade or sooner, not because they don't trust the kids but because this gives the kids a legitimate reason to turn down an offer of drugs.-- There is a non-profit organization handing out free drug testing kids toward this purpose.

I do not submit any opinion to either of the above at this time.
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the 2009 [Jan. 1st, 2009|05:05 pm]

I have a stack of receipts & patterns & filing here on the desk, but first I must attend to the important tasks of checking & updating Facebook & LiveJournal.  So far, it has only taken an hour.

Not having a washing machine is sort of fun.  We spent Tuesday at Lisa's (gung fu Lisa, as opposed to Lisa-Jonah's-Mom) & used her giant capacity front-loading machines & played with the kitty & drank tea by the fireplace.  Yesterday we spent at Erin's using her washer-dryer stacked on each other set, & at first we stood in the dining room with all the kids, Erin's parents-in-law, a brother-in-law & sister-in-law & the two Erin's & Ben the dog while 6-month-old Lily was crying because she fell off the couch & we were all trying to soothe her at once.  The rest of the time was chaotic too, but in a good, lots-of-kids playing way, and Lily did not sustain any serious damage.

Today Sarah & her kids came over here.  Because my laundry was finally done.  After 2 days of doing laundry, however, there hasn't been much of anything done here at my house.  I've kept up on work (the kind for which I am paid) well enough, but not having a washer definitely isn't going to work for the long term. 
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(no subject) [Dec. 27th, 2008|05:00 pm]

( pics of knitting )
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holiday [Dec. 25th, 2008|07:29 pm]
We had tickets to fly out of SeaTac on Dec 22nd, this past Monday.

Yeah, that didn't happen.  Not only did we not want to face spending day & night at the airport, we did NOT want to face the streets between home & there with all the Seattle-Area drivers who panic on snow & abandon their cars on the freeway when there's ice.

We stayed here instead.  Went to Randall's house to try some sledding, but mostly just to play while Sarah & I knitted & drank coffee.  Wednesday,  Dave took us shopping... at Central Market which is Mill Creek's version of whole foods, & bought me bars of soap.  That's what I wanted for Christmas: a stocking full of soap.  Sea Mud soap, Cucumber soap (I only like the Provence brand, others don't really smell like cucumbers), Vanilla Oatmeal soap & two kinds of Dr. Bronners, my perennial favorite. 

The actual evening of the 24th, we attended  KCN's White Christmas service.  I told the kids they had to come & enjoy because there won't be any more Christmas songs until next December.  Doug sang all the songs, in very good tune actually.  I liked it when it snowed in the sanctuary.  (I'm wondering what Pastor Mike is going to do with the snow machines during the rest of the year..)  Donna was very excited to hold a lighted candle.  I let her keep it lit when everyone else was instructed to blow the candles out (for the symbolic darkness thing).

Christmas morning we watched the cars try to drive up our hill & slide back down & get stuck in the slush at the bottom.  We enjoyed our Christmas tree (Lots of lights-- thanks Deb!).  I finished addressing cards-- something I was going to do on Monday or Tuesday, at my Mom's house.  Tonight I'll finish sewing the buttons on baby MK's angel sweater & hopefully tomorrow that can get in the mail along with my Grandma's new fuzzy slippers.

On an unrelated note, my washer broke.
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Sunday before Christmas [Dec. 21st, 2008|02:52 pm]
As my friend Sue says, it's not a matter of the quantity of snow, but whether or not a city is equipped to deal with the snow-- ANY snow-- which we aren't.  Other places do not shut school down for three days for mere snow.  Plows move it out of the way, & people go about their business.

All that to say, it's been very nice to have a Christmas vacation before our actual vacation.  Everyone has been lazy, for the most part, doing whatever he/she likes.  I'm knitting & making Christmas cards.  I call them my "I have all this stamping stuff, so I should really use some of it." cards.  It's much more fun to stamp cards when you have an embosser-heater thingy to do the raised designs.  Except the tool is one I borrowed from Rachel two years ago.  Are you seeing this, Rachel?  When will I see you, so I can return your gadget?

The rest of you are duly warned.  Don't let me borrow stuff.

I got a small but necessary trip to the toy store before it started snowing yesterday.  If anyone is looking for alternatives to toys r us, check out Snapdoodles in Kenmore.  They have a free auto-latte machine in the corner, & a big variety of games (COOL games, no spongebob variations of the same old thing), including Flux & a whole section of Carcassonne (sp?) & Settlers of Catan variations, lots of art supplies & art kits, & scientific sort of things in boxes that look fun.  Okay, I sound like an advertisement.  But I hate the big toy shops & the bratz-heavy selection in malls & megamarts.
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december [Dec. 19th, 2008|05:11 pm]
And there is SNOW, quite a lot of snow for this area which is never efficiently scraped out of the way due to very, very few snow plows so we're set back every time it snows again, but it's okay it hardly ever happens.  Thus, we are shut into the house for three days & Christmas vacation has begun early!

I made more fudge.  I got to sleep late.  I miss contact with people in the outside world, but for the most part it's very cozy.  The only setback, or would-be, if I cared, is that I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet.  I am hoping that some of the stores will be open tomorrow morning in spite of the forecasted snow.

Time for pizza!  Dave is the bomb.
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Note for KarlaLou [Dec. 16th, 2008|05:19 pm]
Hi!  I'm ordering books for various kids & the lovely website says they will ship in five days AND they will arrive after Christmas.  I'm addressing the box to your house in the hopes that they are over-estimating the time it will take!

SO, if you open the box, be sure to keep the contents (books!  Auntie Erin gives books!  boo!) a secret from the girlies.  THANX.  See you soon.

love,
Santie Erin
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en pointe [Dec. 13th, 2008|07:11 pm]

I'm glad that Doug's teacher organized a field trip for the third grade class to see a performance of The Nutcracker in downtown Seattle, because I never would have found the energy to get my family there myself.  I think Donna is at a very good age to see actual ballet dancing.  It was not, as she pointed out, very much like the barbie movie.

Ballet is sort of its own world.  As Dave & I agreed later, it doesn't usually make very much sense.  While it is a Christmas classic, Nutcracker starts with something like a story, which is followed by a series of unrelated dance pieces, one of which, in this particular theater, involves a long solo dance by a very, very thin peacock.  Ballet, as an art form, doesn't often have a plot so much as an excuse to showcase one prima ballerina or another.  The only reason stage dancing has survived at all is that wealthy people want to see their daughters up there.  Not that I would want it to be extinct.  I just felt like the audience was supporting both ethreal beauty in art, and a tradition vaguely in the same category as footbinding or lead face paint.

My favorite part was actually the set.  It's sort of famous because it was designed by Maurice Sendak (sp?) & Clara's bedroom looked exactly like it was inside of Where the Wild Things Are & gave the impression of being built of paper layers & 3-dimensional at the same time.  Donna was excited that some of the dancers were children, a couple of them her own age, and she loved the dances with the whole chorus on stage at once with miles of white skirts swirling around.  Other than that we had to keep her from talking the whole time about the people sitting around us & the fact that she hadn't had any lunch.
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thursday [Dec. 11th, 2008|11:23 am]
Decided that we can't go to small-group/community group/ weekday church thing with numerous names.  Too busy, too busy, my kids need as much sleep as possible especially during these months that the sun doesn't come up or out or stick around.  Two weeks until Christmas.  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Okay, I'm calm.  I'm handling normal life. True, I can't seem to get the kids to keep up with their homework.  I don't remember having to be reminded when I was a kid, but I don't remember having daily homework in the third grade either.  

Things that have happened: Sarah & the kids came over to play.  We miss the whole days together.  My kids' school is feeling the pinch because their supporting church had to cut its funding & now the two first grade classes are merging AND the two third grade classes are merging.  This is not a bad thing.  It's just happening, & this is the part where I'm recording what is happening.

This post isn't going any further.  Lately my inner life just seems to be a check list of the things I don't do.  That's not how I live.  It's only when I sit down to calculate that it seems like I'm not making enough effort.   
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happy birthday dj [Dec. 6th, 2008|06:37 pm]
  • The church trucked in a small slope's worth of snow.  My kids got to "go sledding" for probably the only time they can remember!
  • I'm guessing this is the first time there's ever been a bouncy castle in the sanctuary of my church.
  • I get to make lattes for people Sunday mornings.  I really like it.
  • Knitting group meeting tonight
  • Deb is here!  She's going to make DJ some birthday cupcakes.
  • We're expecting the Christmas tree any minute.
  • For his birthday, DJ asked for more squid-arms on his Seahawk's hat.  I'd better go sew the rest on.
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wednesday in december [Dec. 3rd, 2008|11:00 am]
Things have changed, see?  My Deep Thoughts & making light of ordinary things seems sort of flippant when 1 in 25 mortgages are in arrears right now.

Not ours, which is kinda the point.

Companies that have been around forever are going out of business.  Sharper Image,  Linens & Things, J. Jill, Talbot's??  I mean, I always wondered how we could sustain so many retail chains, but that's a lot of jobs.  So many jobs.

What am I doing?  I cook.  I walk the kids to school.  I wash the laundry.  I earn money working on my home computer.  I watch tv with DJ after the kids are in bed.  I knit Christmas presents.  I line-post on Facebook, because anything longer seems excessive.
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thankses [Nov. 27th, 2008|10:22 am]
I'm having too good a time skipping from facebook to chat to Ravelry.com to LJ.  The drawback to doing this is that I'm not actually doing anything, which leaves nothing to post about.

I'm happy to be in this very quiet corner of the country in a very quiet little town & that I'm not the Primary Cook today.  I'm sort of glad that I can't access my work from here, although it means this weeks check will be really short.  The book that I'm reading tells a very common story in a very satisfying way, although now that everything I knew was going to happen has happened, I find I'm not all that interested in the remaining half of the book.  I'm disproportionally pleased with myself because I can knit myself a funky new hat in a day.  Maybe later I'll force myself & the kids outdoors for some excercise, but probably not.
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I can post again now... [Nov. 21st, 2008|09:23 am]

Because Mom helped me write up the Christmas Exchange for the year:
  • Donna gives to Karla
  • Erin gives to Grandma
  • Lee gives to Erin
  • Karla gives to Elena
  • Elena gives to Lee
  • Evert gives to Lane
  • Dave gives to Evert
  • Garrett gives to Dave
  • Lane gives to Garrett
  • Grandma gives to Donna
Okay!  If you gave to the same person last year... uh, arrange a trade, because I can't remember who anybody gave to last year, not even me.
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issues I think [Nov. 8th, 2008|11:05 am]
There are numerous buttons on my social sites that aren't working today.  It's bizarre.  For instance, I can't get the bullets to work on LJ.

I like to chew strong, peppermint gum in the car, especially the kind with teeth-strengthening ingredients.  It makes my breath more sociable and it keeps me from getting drowsy behind the wheel.  However, chewed gum is everywhere.  Public places are plastered in gum.  Isn't it irritating?  Under chairs in auditoriums & on the floors in bus shelters & it's so yuck & it can't be removed without a big machine full of chemicals (according to Dirty Jobs).  I'm wondering if gum is really an environmentally friendly sort of thing.  It has all the little wrappers & the entire product ends up in the garbage.  Also, I tend to (unconsciously) chew it in a smacking manner that drives people nuts, so I should probably give it up anyway.

There are coffins for sale at Costco.  They are massive, like marble monuments, only made with metal alloys & lots of plastic.  Combined with the extensive preservative treatments which human remains undergo, aren't we simultaneously bilking the bereaved with unnecessary expense, and filling the ground with non-biodegradable substances?  How do I make arrangements for my un-embalmed remains to be buried in an untreated wooden box?  Someday, I mean.

I wonder how many businesses are already in existence to toilet train children?  There's already potty training camp, so I wonder how long it will be before there are businesses to discipline kids for their parents?  That's what nannies used to be for.  Obviously, the ideal thing would be for parents to be capable of disciplining their own kids: no matter now unpleasant it is, most kids can't respect anyone (and will find excuses not to do so) if they can't respect their own parents.  Maybe forward-thinking child experts or school bureaucrats could hire out all the currently unemployed social work majors to follow families around & teach parents how to be consistent.

Time to get off the computer now.
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