and we're...

up and running again.
When Andy sets his mind to computer fixin...well, he usually gets it running again.
He never really knows what he does...
BuT--that was good news, b/c I do not want to buy another computer right now,
that's for sure!
I have many blogs to post, but right now..I am off to read a book!
Hope your weeks are going great!

Stay tuned....

The computer (one and only) that Andy and I bought when Elena was a newborn..well, it is not wanting to work right now.
Now, I am a firm believer in sweet talking machines--my work buddy and I sweet talk the copier all the time...but I think my computer is just really needing something more than talk--like a professional.
Maybe the professional will know just the right thing to say, or do...
I knew a computer fixer one time, and he told me that sometimes when he did not know what to do..he really did talk to the machines--and IT WORKED!--I wonder if he said nice things, or mean things???
At my work--we think being nice to our copier will work better.
We would never utter the words "old dinosaur" copier--outloud when we are near the copier....oh no! might hurt its feelings...
get it?
Okay--so, talking to my beloved blogging facilitator has not worked.
Andy might get to it one day...until then..
well, no blogging, no facebook (I think that is a good thing), and no reading email--except at work.
I do miss blogging.
Facebook--might be on a permanent hiatus (oxymoron?).
Hotmail--no biggie--I get that at work.

One thing that concerns me is that Andy and I might be stuck in an old-timey bog...like
almost becoming Amish...
no cell buddies...no working computers...

Going out to get the paper first thing in the AM--has been nice, I must say. :)

A new fascination

Okay, since the beginning of my least favorite month, I have adopted a new habit.
Each day when I come home from school I lay down and I rest.
Sometimes I might even drift off to sleep...aaahhhh...
I am exhausted after working all day long, and this feels really nice--now,
this is not something one can do if you
1. have teeny babies
2. have mischievous children who will tear the house apart.

So while I am napping I watch Dr. Oz out of the corner of my eye.
At the beginning of the show I watch with all of my attention and get all
excited about the segments coming up.
No. Change that, at the beginning of the show I am begging Victor
to please not watch Arthur, and to let me watch Dr. Oz. :)
Then I switch it over and begin about 45 minutes of being very interested.
For one thing....Dr. Oz is not too bad to look at.
I just think he is a cutie pie! :)  (Old{er} man crush).
And for another, he is on a mission!
It is fun to watch all of his ideas.
Now, I usually am thinking...now, Dr. Oz, if
one were to take all of these pills and vitamins, one would be
taking a bucket load...
BUT--I guess the viewer can go online, to the Dr. Oz website and
then look into the segments a bit more--like the
recipes, and then try stuff!
So--I watch attentively for about 15 or 20 minutes and then
Dr. Oz tends to kind of fizzle out...and out I go, to tired mama
land. :)
Then at the end I wake up just in time for the summary, and to see a couple
of the segments, and then I go online and look the stuff up. :)

Yay Dr. Oz!!
Yay naps!

{February}

I have said this before, and I will say it again, ...February is my least favorite month.
It just seems to drag on forever!
We try to do things, and stay busy so that it will not drag on...
but seriously...
Isn't February over Yet??
Yesterday I thought it was going to be halfway warm outside so
I did not wear my heavy coat...and then all day long it was raining, and
the rain was a cold cold rain--that chills you to the bone.
I have had a cold for about 10 days...and I think the only thing that will make
the cold go away, is
March!

I like...

Oysters...and Barbeque, and pickles, and steak cooked medium rare, and olives...and raw veggies...
This is Elena by the way..who likes --well, what she likes and sometimes it amazes me.  She also likes egg rolls and egg drop soup..and well the list goes on...mostly topped by BUTTER!!
That is Eva's matted hair there.  :)  We had just bathed and her hair had not been {attacked} combed yet.
But this past Saturday night we all had oysters, and I will say that Elena wanted every one I would give her.
Since becoming a nurse, Andy is extra careful about cooking oysters and we grilled these and then steamed them...I hope all the sh*t germs were cooked away, but I will say they were DELICIOUS!  They are the filters of the sea, you know.. of course you do!  Despite the fact that I tell Elena this, she still loves them, and dip one in butter...she will claim it! :)   She will NOT eat MC --{anything}
Victor and Eva...not so much.
What I do find perplexing is that not one child of mine will eat Macaroni and cheese, or Chef Boyardee...
WITW???
I do not spend much time making those {and begging} anymore, or wondering...i just grab a jar of olives...and chill out! :)

I want one!!!

This picture was on my homepage this morning and here is the link so you can read about this teeny tiny little chameleon.
I have always wanted a chameleon...and have blogged about it here--back in 2009 probably. :)
This morning I found this article about a newly discovered species of teeny tine chameleons that live in Madagascar--OMG!!  They are very very cute, and well, I want one. :)

So, if you want to read the article here is the link

Tiny Chameleon Article

Happy Wednesday....Mine is going to be...I am going to daydream about tiny Chameleons all day long, I just know it!

I do...and {we} did...

celebrate Valentine's day!
I have picture evidence, however, it is trapped in the camera--and will be for days.
:)
My biggest Valentine's day surprise was....
A dessert spread in the workroom at school!!
I mean full of yummy, beautiful treats made by school moms for us!
How sweet?!
I ate til my stomach was full and my sweet tooth content.
There were perfectly decorated sugar cookies...the ever-trendy whoopie pies --chocolate with pink icing...
there were pound cakes and all kinds of cookies....
The table was just gorgeous!
We all enjoyed it.

Thanks PTA moms!
Thanks thoughtful people.
I love a sweet surprise, and from the smiling faces around school,
I think nearly everyone did.

Pink, Red, White, Chocolate, Sugar, fun clothes, hearts, kisses....
I mean what's not to love?

My Town Monday {Jardines parte dos}

So these are pictures of {another} garden.

This one is at a very fancy house...wrought iron fence--

They have a gardener--I have seen him...

The pictures do not do this place justice--The picture in the middle--I tried to zoom in a bit

b/c in the backyard there are fountains..and all kinds of beautiful plants.

And I got a good shot of the palm tree--don't know when those started growing here...

but apparently sometime in the years we were {gone from here} it became a big trend to plant these, and they live--Maybe thanks to {global warming}?? 

Anyway, there is a world of difference b/t this and the plastic garden from last week, but they are both 

certainly beautiful. :)

I bet the lady who does her own {enjoys} hers more....

I think I do too, and her neighbor even came out to {speak}. :)

Today I did not get shots of the backyard b/c I was too tired to walk around the corner...I just 

sort of did a drive by photo sesh...

Okay--I am off to visit with Andy for a bit...

Happy Monday..

and 

Happy Valentine's day tomorrow!

Big days {update!} :)

Tomorrow will be a BIG day for us.
We are cooking 500 chicken plates... yes. 500 of them, all to benefit a beloved family.
When I say we I mean the circle at church..the one that I am the {leader} of.
Now...I know I just ended a sentence with a preposition, and yes it bothers me...but it
is the truth.
I am the leader of a circle at church.
Leader.
The chicken dinner was not my idea...I do not think {big}.
My idea was to do a donation or something to remember our friend Juliana each month for
13 months of grieving..but
one of my fellow circle members is a big thinker.
She said to me, "why don't we do a benefit dinner...??? we could raise lots of money to help
{this family}."
I am nothing if not {brutally honest}.
I said "ughh..okay..we could do this, but I have to warn you, I do not do
well on the grand scale.."
Luckily...she said..with all her guts, "I do."
I agreed we should and now we are...
Well, tomorrow we will be dishing up 500 chicken plates!!
yep..so here we go!
The plates will have a sweet potato, a roll, some seasoned green beans, and
a quarter of a chicken--barbequed to yummy perfection!
I am not even nervous.
:)
The chicken that the men at church make is the yummiest!!
All 500 plates are sold....

Go us!
Go us?
Go us!

Go Patrick and children and grandmas...

We did it!!
We all worked and worked, and cooked and waited and dipped...and smiled and handed out plates
and in the end we did something, together, that will mean so much to this grieving family.  All the comments that I heard were very positive--most people commented on how well planned the whole thing was.
There was a little confusion with tickets and making sure we had enough food. ...that was a bit hard.

Sweethearts

You know, these candies, made by Necco are some of my favorite treats, each Valentine's day I sure eat my share!
Here is a link with the story of these, of course, I did not write this article, so see the by line for who did --we do have to give credit where credit is due! :)
The story

I give these out to my students too.
The first graders have a good time reading them.
I have a good time giving them out.
Yesterday we ate some big ones--inside the purple ones--was blue!
A {mystery} for sure...we all laughed--the students and I.
Look at the messages..."text me"! and "tweet me"!

Now, there are whole boxes of Chocolate Necco hearts...talk about yummy!
and there are whole boxes of sour ones...yummy too!

Have a great Saturday!

Things I miss...

 I miss sushi at Akai Hana in Carrboro

 I miss Spiced Chai ice storms from the cafe outside of Nordstrom--heaven in a plastic cup--all for four dollars!

 I miss hiking at the Eno river--hills and a creek...and rocks, and clear river water

 I miss Wavelengths hair salon on Ninth St. in Durham..and my favorite girl, Kate!! Haven't seen her in a year and a half--and it shows, trust me. :(

 I miss the Whole Foods in Durham that was just a zip away from our house...a zip--and nothing cures PMS like some expensive, rare, exotic organic veggies...I mean really..

 I miss Lara Bars--would you believe, you cannot buy these in Beaufort County...there are barely any in the big college town of Greenville either..I mean there are some, but there are two flavors to choose from.

I miss bubble teas from my favorite little Vietnamese restaurant in Durham, that is probably closed now.
:(
I miss all of these so badly...and really --we do not have money or time for me to zip to Durham to satisfy my cravings...

Would I leave Washington and living at home for all of these?
Of course not!
But let me tell you, this place is not big on variety of consumer goods...You better like the stuff here b/c it takes time and gas and money to go elsewhere to get different stuff...
And there is not a lot to choose from here...
I mean they have even changed our Dairy Queen to some other weird ice cream place--that is really not appealing to me...Not that Dairy Queen really was either...

Announcing!!!

Well, anything and everything that
has to do with the five senses.
Yep!  Eva is the family announcer.
"Mommy ur bref stinksssss."  (Eva does not have a lisp, and /l/ and /s/ are her favorite sounds to really enunciate.
"Dicter (victor) pooted.  OOOHHH Dicter ur stinky ur need a baf."
"Elena burped, ha ha ha, elena burped, Mommy."
"Daddy pooted, uuuu , ur butt stinks daddy, you pooted daddy ha ha ha ha!!"
"Mommy you feel soft, ur pretty mommy."
"I don't like dat hamburger, it is bery stinky, Mommy, it stinks, I not like it."
"Spot pooted, he needs a baf, mommy, he stinky."

She is very observant, and she also announces everything...don't even think you are
going to sneak anything by her...nope!  She is particularly keen on announcing bodily functions, and she is particularly turned off by them...so she won't be ur friend for a while if you are making noises, or if you are stinky...

80's flashback

To me fashion designers take the easy way out when they
re-visit an older decade and just re-do what was happening then.
The fashions deciders of the world have been trying to
bring back the 80's looks for about five years now it seems like to me....
But finally it is like there is a {BLAST} of 80's style, and the
copying is so obvious it is like someone opened a trunk of clothes I wore
in the fifth grade!!
Here is a pair of pants I have seen on my internet shopping trips
two times lately...these just keep popping out at me!!

They are not popping out at me b/c I want them...
Oh no!  People with Beyoncee{esque} legs like mine generally do not adorn
them with gigantic blooms, nor do we wrap them in day glo yellow denim...
EEEKKK!!
But I will say --I had a pair of jean shorts from CATO when I was in the fifth grade--there looked
almost exactly like this pair of pants!!! no kidding.  That was 1989.
So there.
Right now it seems like the trend makers are a bit confused...they also love to squeeze in 70's looks, and have been for a while now.... are the 70's gone {again}?  Oh.  No.  They are not, b/c I have seen the flare leg (bell bottom) jeans with the high waist on many jeans web sites....
Those are a direct contrast to the jegging, or the skinny bottom tight rolled jeans of the 80's ...so
maybe they are trying to tell us to just go ahead and wear what we like.
I am a fan of many styles of jeans--as long as my entire rear fits in the rear compartment, and they are not what I call {ass} pants--b/c they were designed by and A$$. :)

The ones up there are from Citizens of Humanity.  This is a brand of pants that I generally cannot and do not afford, but I have friend who do, and occasionally I shop with them, also they are from my favorite store--and website to shop on...

Right this minute...{updated}

I am on the phone in a town hall meeting with Rep. Walter B. Jones.
He is from Farmville, NC
He is my representative, I reckon...
This is very interesting.

He does not seem like a {bad guy} on the phone.
As a matter of fact, we probably agree on most things...

I am noticing that they are predominately asking men to ask questions...
and I am wondering if they can hear me eating in the phone.

hmmm...
Let's see what else this guy has to say.

I liked what he said about oil drilling...
Very {smooth} answer politically...
He said, "The states need to decide about
any kind of oil exploration within their states."
To me..this means..ugh..no...we do not want to drill off of OUR beaches..
b/c, to be honest, I really do not think we should...
I  think he agrees with me, b/c he did not agree with the
{question} asker--who stated, "Don't you think we ought to
just drill, frack, frick, and drill and drill some more here and there and
everywhere....Don't you think we should do that/??"
From what I could tell...he said, "no."
He said it in a politically astute way.

Okay...
Then I listened more..
I listened for about 40 minutes total.
It was interesting ---
He is very all about the border with Mexico, and making sure people do not cross it
without the proper paperwork.
He also told someone he has a number they can call, and have
someone deported???
Has anyone else heard of this?? sounds a bit...Oh, I don't know..
like the {inquisition} to me...
oohh... I am gonna call that number on you!!
{strange}.
People are still thinking that all the Mexicans are coming here and taking our jobs..
STILL.
I happen to be reading a book on that very topic right now...
so, you know, I feel like an expert and all. ;).
ha!

Finally Andy said to me, "are you still listening to that, Susan?? Hang up!"
You see, he had just gotten off work, and the kiddies were still running around the house.
Soooooo I had to hang up and help out my tired hubby!
Goodnight Mr. Congressman.

My Town Monday {gardens}

When I go to work/school from my Mama and Daddy's house, or when I leave work and go to my Mama's, this house is on the way.  Right across from the school there is a large section of {projects} or low income gov't housing, and they have been there for a long time.  One might even call it an established neighborhood, if these ever went up for sale.  They are well-maintained, and really don't look bad.  One little lady in this neighborhood takes her yard work very seriously, as you can see!
She has so many plastic flowers out there--it looks like a fairy wonderland!!
When I pulled up to take these pictures the girls were in the backseat oooohing and aaaahing and telling how beautiful it was, and then the neighbor came out and told me--"oh yes, that is Ms. Sarah's yard, she really takes that work seriously, she loves her yard, and works so hard in it...if only she could get some grass to grow!"  :)--this made me smile all over.
See the little fences, and the white, plastic geese?  Her lot is a corner lot--so she lots of room to work...
and she takes it all!
We talked a bit more about the grass, and the reason it won't grow is b/c of all of those giant trees! yay trees!  I bet Ms. Sara appreciates that shade too, lest her plastic flowers fade too fast, and have to be replaced constantly.
As I drove away I was just picturing a little old lady at the dollar general, and the dollar tree picking through the plastic flowers admiring them, and planning where to put them in her yard!
Isn't it beautiful!

Super {what?}

I am not even watching that thing...
Nope.
We had a whole {lazy} Sunday of eating...lazing, we did some
crafts, and watched Tangled together.
Now, we= Me, Elena, Victor, and Eva--oh, and Spot--Andy
had to work.

He is home now, and I think he is watching it.
Madonna for half time...
I hope she covers up those chicken legs of hers...the
last time I saw her dancing around in a leotard and leg warmers,
I just felt sorry for her,
1.  That she does not realize that she looks geriatric, and
2.  that she has no {friends} who will tell her she should really go with
yoga pants at this point...
Fine to dance--but those gams...look like Gram's.

Now, I will go and read a book...
See?  I really could not care less about the
Super...{what?}...

Does this freak anyone else out???

Whenever I see her on T.V--
I just sort of wince..
I mean that helmet...and that super-pointy face (which I know she can't help)
There is no balance there...
Hard hair, hard/pointy face...

EEeEEEk!!

Run around....

So, this morning, Andy is mad!
Andy really does not get mad that often...and when he does--well, it is impressive b/c
he is usually very calm.
The reason:
oh...think back to the auto accident I recently had.
Now, think of the most convoluted process you can {POSSIBLY IMAGINE}.
Then, know that that is what I am dealing with.
We have always used the same insurance company.
We have never had to deal with anyone from there with a wreck situation.
So there.
Now we have, and let's just say...we are {not} in good hands. ;).

It really makes me wonder--what is the point of having a local guy be
an insurance agent.
What is the point of his lovely little brick building up on 15th st.?
Since this wreck happened he has NOT DONE ONE THING!!!
Andy had to take my car to a different little brick building IN GREENVILLE to have it inspected.
Last Saturday a lady called me FROM RALEIGH, to record a statement, and then
my {claims agent} --also in RALEIGH has not even listened to the recorded
statement--nor has she bothered to get the police report.
So, ask yourself--did she have her ducks in a row yesterday when
I talked to her and she informed me that the girl who hit me
does in fact have insurance..and they say that the wreck was {my fault}...and
"do I want to just go ahead and accept liability?"--even though
they have not heard my recorded statement--nor have they
solicited the wreck report from the Greenville P.D?????

ARE YOU KIDDING ME PEOPLE????
THIS HAS TO BE A FREAKING JOKE!!!

Now, I did call our local girl up yesterday...oh, ,yeah...
a little Morgan sneaked out too..
I told her--I am so mad right now, I can hardly get a good breath...
and then I told her...I am just wondering why I have had to talk to four different people
--none of whom work in your office, and why THIS IS SO CONVOLUTED!!

Andy is really upset...yeah..
But I told him..you know what--the truth is the truth...
She came out of her lane--and sideswiped my car..SHE HIT ME!!
So, it was her fault--
And you know what else--people lie--and they get out of stuff..
So, you know what..it is Saturday, and we are not going to worry about this today.

We will think about this again on Monday--
When {I think} he is going to go in the lovely brick building on 15th st.
and give them the what for.
AND--when Andy has to do that--I love it...It works so much better when
he does it!! {Yippie}!

See a change???

So this is very interesting.

A while ago--as in last summer--in a bout of curiosity
I signed up for an acct. to put ads on my blog.

I filled in all the spaces, and then I clicked--"go for it"
or whatever...
Well, I guess it did not work then...but it is now???
That is fine with me.
You know, I do talk about stuff I like on here...and
if there are ads..well, they are everywhere else too.
Supposedly I might earn a little jingle in the process...and
I am sure this means..
LITTLE--and I am sure it will be mostly--change. :)
That is fine too...I am just going to see how it goes.

just in case you were wondering...
I am--sort of..???

A breakfast conversation

Yesterday morning Victor came out of the dining room into the kitchen and said:
"Mama?  Don't our brains tell us everything to do, isn't our brain what does our thinking?
Mama? Right, Mama?"
I said, "Yes. Victor, that is right, our brain is what tells our bodies what to do, our brain
is what we think with, it is what we use for thinking..."
Then he said, "Well, Mama, can you please go and tell Elena that, because she keeps saying that
our heart is what tells us what to do, and we think with our hearts..., so can you please go
and tell her...???"

These things...that children say!!
So, of course..you know I had to correct myself---and my son...
"Well, you know, Elena is right too, and our hearts actually do think a lot
and help us make decisions..so Elena is right too."

He didn't say anything back--he was probably off to his next something to do. :)

MRI {news}

So, this morning my father in law went with me to the Dr.'s appt.
He is a Dr.
He was also available to go with me--Andy had to work.
In this situation, I thought it might be really ideal to have another set
of ears listening when the ENT doc. was telling me the
what's up.
Well...
There is nothing growing in my head!! :)
Yay!
This means that the sudden loss of hearing that I experienced was a medical mystery.
This really does happen to people--and no one knows why.
So, I was just really glad about this--namely b/c I really
did not want there to be anything growing in there on my auditory nerve
or anywhere else for that matter! :)

Okay-- I am off to read kiddie books to kids--and have them read to me.

A yummy salad

Here it is:

Arugula --or if you don't like that kind, green leaf lettuce
Beets
Oranges
Pistachio nuts
Goat cheese

Dressing:
Olive oil
lemon juice
kosher salt
pepper
a bit of minced garlic

ommm...
Y'all this is the yummiest thing ever.

I saw some version of this recipe in a magazine yesterday when I took Elena
for her allergy shot.  I memorized the recipe--the best I could.
Last night after a meeting I could not resist--I went to Food Lion and bought
fresh beets--a first--
I bought pistachio nuts in a jar already shelled--9.00...{pricey}.
This AM---I put the beets in the oven while I got ready and they cooked until soft.
Then I put them in cold water, the peelings came off all by themselves
and I diced the beets--so they would be ready this afternoon.

This afternoon all I had to do was whip out the beets--
Make the dressing--which had a bit of beet juice in it, so it was pink (hello Valentine's day recipe)
Then I cut up an orange, and put all the salad ingredients together.
I chose green leaf lettuce b/c really, arugula--it is just too bitter for my taste buds..
I don't like for my lettuce bites to make me wince.

I am just saying--this is a WONDERFUL SALAD--and it is also
BEAUTIFUL.
I took pictures {of course} but they are in the camera and the battery is charging right now.

Beets are beautiful!
Also, they have a good dirt taste that I crave sometimes--like a raw peanut has...
sort of --well, like dirt..

yum!!