So much...

I'm so lazy about the blogging lately! When I get on the computer it's either schoolwork or mahjong for me. Not much else. No one emails me now that I live up here in the fly-over.

So we are in our new house. We got a nice sofa which almost didn't fit into our house but now we have a whole sofa, for awhile it was just half of the sectional, which was worrisome to me. Our house is coming together nicely. There are a lot of farm animals down the street, the lake across the street and geese and ducks flying over the house honking and quacking. I love it when they do that. I keep hoping a whole mess of them will decide to land on the house but so far none have. Maybe I should throw some corn cobs up on the roof. Sometimes in the mornings we hear gunshots. I guess it's duck season. Probably turkey season too. I haven't seen any wild turkeys but I'm sure they are around.

We have been plagued by ladybugs for the last week. Yes, you couldn't ask for a more pleasant plague I suppose. They mostly stay near the door and sometimes congregate on the kitchen light but don't venture much into the rest of the house. They are pretty and usually quiet.I've only seen one or two upstairs (this was the one loud one that was flying into the door over and over when I was putting Lydia down to sleep) so I'm not really worried, although we were out at an orchard last week and a ladybug landed on my arm. I felt a pinch and flicked it off and it had taken a little chunk out! Apparently when it gets warm and ladybugs get thirsty they try to eat people. I did a ladybug study at the Wildflower Center in Austin with Maeve and never learned that ladybugs bite. It freaking hurt and there was actually a small hole in my arm. Crazy.

What else? I'm working 30 hrs a week, only 2 full days, T and Th. So this is a welcome change from the last 7 years of 55+ hour weeks. I'm making almost as much as I was working those crazy hours in Austin so woot for me. This is my reward for 10 years of super duper wonderful doting references.

I haven't been doing so well on the healthy eating. I mean, I always stay away from unnatural stuff and preservatives, white flour, white sugar, etc... but there is lots of yummy preservative free cookies with lovely dark chocolate in them.... Brian is starting to get call backs to start jobs now and the stress is lifting from us. My nails are starting to grow back and the urge to crawl in the corner with a cup of soy and some num nums to dip them in is not as great. Brian and I will not be going to work until 2 most days so we are going to have family exercise times, or you take her and I'll work out and then I'll take her times.

One of my big "things" is I wanted us to have meals together at the table, with the baby. Brian's new job will have him working until 10:30pm M-F which upset me at first because I am really into this "family dinner" thing. We've been doing it every night and I love it. I actually get home early enough to cook and everything. We are going to do family breakfast or lunch everyday instead and have dinners on the weekend for now. This job Brian is starting is only going to be the until something better comes along job. We are still hoping for the library job to come through, though we are not sure how good the benefits are for that one. I want maternity and my current insurance doesn't cover maternity. Of course, I have to talk Brian into having another one. He is now saying he doesn't want another one. We will be in discussions I suppose in a few months. I'm getting too old for this shit so we need to get this straightened out soon!

That's all for now. I'll get around to posting on my Flickr one of these days. I have photos just not the time.

In Transition

We've finally moved in to our new place! It's lovely, the redone wood floors are so nice, much better than we expected. We just keep saying "I really like this house" Lydia likes it too now that we have installed a hall baby gate and a living room gate she is free when in either area. She can crawl into her room or the sleeping room or my office at will, though I keep the loo door shut as toilet play is too tempting.

I will try to get some photos and write more this weekend. It's been a busy week. I started my new job, which is only 30 hours but after being totally schedule free for 3 months hard to get back into the swing. I only work early on two days and we have a great route to get there through corn fields and small farms, we don't even have to get near the hwy. This may change with snow but we will see. They are usually pretty good at getting everything shovelled up here and if it's too piled up we get to stay home! I don't have to work until 2:30 tomorrow and Monday so we will get a little rest now until Tuesday. Actually this job is working out really well. The parents are a dream discipline wise, all Love and Logic based just like me. The little boy seems to play a lot of computer games and this probably directly affects his mood/energy outbursts. I'm going to try to wean him off the boob tube and computer and get him into some rock climbing classes and some nature hikes etc...

Oh yeah, they also have cabinets full of preservatives and chemicals but I can bring my own stuff for me and Lydia. I actually cringed at all the white flour in there. I had to give the little boy a bagel and it was so white and pale and icky. Maybe I can try to sneak some whole grain stuff in when I grocery shop for the kids and they won't notice.

More later, sooner rather than later, though I have to go buy a new modem. We got the internets hooked up in Brian's office downstairs but when my router is on it totally slows down his internets. So I need a modem just for me upstairs. In order for me to use the internets he has to hook the router up at night. I can't really do more than a quick Google map check or email check unless Lydia is sleeping anyway so at night will be fine. I love my office, maybe some day I will actually get to set up my art table in here and my sewing machine, etc...

We've only had half a couch all week as the other half won't fit through the door with the legs on. Brian got the right tools to do the job now he just needs help lifting it. I tried but with my weakling, failing wrists cannot do it at all. I WANT MY NEW COUCH! It's lovely and light blue and, um, made of dead cow. I'm sorry veggies. I had to get it. It's so comfy.

Bedtime now.

Things

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

We are still in the basement, though a lot is about to change.

On Monday we signed a lease for the house by the lake. We move in on the 13th.

Brian is having a hard time finding a job and is super stressed about it. I really want him to get something decent and not end up taking some horrble 3rd shift gig so I went out and saved the day and got myself one. It will only be 30 hours per week and the family is OUTSTANDING! Attachement parenters, breastfeeders, consistent choice givers, etc... When I told them I was still breastfeeding and asked if that was a problem the mom said "I would be more offended if you fed your baby with a bottle in front of my kids." Ok, so they had me right there. They really seem great. Plus I will have full use of a mini van so I don't have to go out and buy a new car right away.

Also, they are paying me very well which really is the point, is it not?

I'm going to update Lydia's page soon but right now I have to log onto NBC.com and watch The Office and 30 Rock because Lydia decided not to sleep last night and she is napping right now.

Appleicious

It's apple season. Went apple picking. Lydia loved it and there were lots of kids there all picking apples and squealing and running around. We heard one little boy who had climbed to the top of a tree exclaim "This is the best day of my life"

Across the street there is a store full of apple goodies as well as other good homemade countryfied things. A bakery etc... I got a cranberry apple muffin to share with Lydia on the ride home. I also ate some pulled pork which was pretty good for yankee pulled pork. Who knew? It sounds like I have been chowing down but really it's been quite tame. I've been losing weight and feeling healthier. Well, except that Brian's dad keeps bringing those apple squares over. Those are really bad. He goes to an orchard on his weekend drive and gets them and last week no one else wanted them so I had a couple. O.K. 4. NO NOT AT THE SAME TIME. I ate them one at a time for breakfast last week. I'm going to tell him that no one is eating them so STOP THE MADNESS.

In the last few weeks we have had in this house:

apples
apple crisp
apple pie
fried apples (Laura Ingalls always had these with breakfast when they had a feast and they always sounded so good so I was making scrambled eggs and using the leftover potatoes to make potato patties and threw these in the pan)
roasted apples
caramel apples
apple squares

and my favorite so far: Lydia and I had my own version of Apple and cinnamon oatmeal this morning. It was DELICIOUS!

I bought on of those apple peelers that you mount to the table by suction and turn the crank. It peels, cores and slices the apple, and it's FUN. I just made some oatmeal and threw the sliced apple in. I practically melted in there. Lydia liked it too.

I've also used it for potatoes. I don't even break up the spiral of potato for my veggie roast. I just pull the middle off of the corer put that in the bowl, put the potatoes in the bowl and add sweet potatoes too, whole garlic cloves, asparagus, chunks of onion, fresh brussles sprouts (sliced in half), slices of big ol mushrooms or some little ones, and last week I threw on some spiraled apples. Toss everything in olive oil and pour them out on a big cookie sheet, or I prefer a baking stone, the onions caramelize better on this. Sprinkle everything on both sides with a little salt. Kosher is better. It has to do with the shape of the crystal. The salt helps the veggies to "sweat" so they melt a little and get sort of creamy and nummy. Then stick the pan in a 375-400 or so oven until they look done. Usually about 20 min. The asparagus is my favorite part. Sometimes you have to take them out a little earlier than the rest because they can burn.

This is really good piled up next to a big steak...eh, but I'm supposed to be cutting down on that so some fish or shrimp can actually be thrown in the oven wrapped up in a foil pouch and cooked along with the rest.

I lived on this when I was pregnant and had it at least a couple of times a week before we moved. We've made it a couple of times since we've been in the basement but their pans and kitchen SUCK here. Jessica doesn't cook AT ALL. As a matter of fact she has said that she doesn't know how to make mashed potatoes and when I was making blue corn black bean and corn nachos last week she said "How did you get the cheese like that?" Ok. SHE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO GRATE CHEESE. She just buys it in the bag already grated. Yes, it does cost the same nowadays but did you know that they add a "mold retardant" to that grated cheese...

ANYWAY....see next post.