Smellyann Strikes Again

Sea World, Orlando, & Downtown Disney

Over the past two days (Monday and Tuesday), Team Odette traveled 4½ hours away to Orlando for a mini-vacation. Thanks to Anheuser-Busch for supporting our troops, because with their Here's to the Heroes 2013, Rob and three of his dependents could get in for free. We just had to buy a ticket for Jack. We also bought the eat-all-day deals for everyone but me, which is totally worth it, because you can literally go through the participating restaurants again and again and again and get way too much food for a normal person to consume. We are normally not wasteful people, so it was a little painful to throw away perfectly good food, but otherwise it was a really good value; do it!

To prepare for the trip, I packed tons of snacks (no-frosting strawberry Pop-Tarts, trail mix, a little chocolate, cereal, etc.) in snack-size Ziploc baggies for all three kids in their new bags (from Publix) with their names on them. I gave each child a clipboard filled with paper and enough writing and drawing implements, new sticker books, glitter and glue, and more to keep them busy. Finally, I ran to the Toys 'R Us outlet store at a mall about 5 minutes away and picked up these glow sticks, together with smelly-good bubbles and more cyalume light-up bracelets and necklaces, for use on Monday night after we left the park.

I let them open up their new goody bags on Sunday night before bed, giving them instructions on when and where each item was to be used. We had to leave at about 0400 to get to Sea World by the time it opened at 0900 Monday morning, or else I would have left them in their car seats and let them find them then. They were super-excited to find out what was in those bags!

We arrived at Sea World more than a half-hour early, thanks to only having to stop for potty breaks and drinks at the Florida Turnpike travel plazas once or twice. I'm definitely going to do this pre-planning packing for the kids' car trip needs when we road trip in the future. It worked out perfectly: there was no "I'm hungry," "Are we there yet?" or "I'm bored" whining whatsoever. Awesome!

One really nice thing about Anheuser-Busch parks - and Sea World was no different - was that, right after the park opened for business and while we were standing in line to redeem our vouchers for tickets, they stopped to play the National Anthem. Rob stood at attention respectfully, and as usual, tears welled up in his eyes. I love that my guy is such a true patriot. I really admire that. Sophia started talking about what a dumb song it was, but I hushed her up and explained to her what the song was and what it meant, and that shut her complaints up immediately. She stood quietly and respectfully throughout the song after that.

Entering the park was really easy, smooth and fast. The folks at Sea World have got it together. The first thing we found inside was a flock of flamingos, stinky and squawking like crazy. They have a distinctive smell, which isn't very pleasant, but they're absolutely beautiful. Sophia, our bird lover, was particularly captivated.

Near the flamingos, also-banded pelicans waited to be admired. Or as a Facebook friend called them, "the crows of Florida." Still, as aggressive and unpleasant as these fowl can be, I think they are pretty cool.

We moved along to the stingray tank (although there were other rays including this cownose), and of course my thoughts immediately went to the untimely death of Crocodile Hunger Steve Irwin, right? Apparently, though, the stingrays are de-barbed or something, to make them not dangerous to park guests. I don't know how I feel about that, but I guess liability would be a huge issue if a similar thing happened in the park.

There were oodles and oodles of penny press machines inside Sea World. They were everywhere! We spent about $25 on collecting these souvies everywhere we found them, which makes me cringe a little. However, they're really cool, a great thing to collect, and the kids have fun doing them. It's a take-away and a project in one experience, so I think it's worth it in the end. We have collections from here, now, along with Disney World and Epcot, and everywhere else we've been able to find them. I love 'em.

It took us less than two hours to fill our Sea World pressed penny book! The machines were so ubiquitous, it wasn't hard to do. We have about 10 more that don't fit in the book, plus there are another 10 or 12 on the back of this book, so we have plenty. We probably even missed a bunch of machines, since we didn't do everything there was to do in the park. It'll give us something to do on a future visit to Sea World, y'know? 

After we pressed our first set of pennies, the first thing we found was the dolphin feeding tank. It cost $7 per kid and was on Chloë's bucket list, so Rob and I talked it over and decided to do it. $21 for an experience like that was pretty cheap compared to other behind-the-scenes adventures Sea World offered, and we had zero fundage for souvenirs other than the requisite pennies and my shot glass collection (I got a shark one, natch), so this was the thing to do. I'd rather give the kids an amazing memory than more stuff we don't need any day of the week, too. Here, we were waiting at the dolphin tank for our turn to pet and feed them.

Soon, it was the kids' turn to step up and feed the bottlenose dolphins. It was an incredible, memorable experience for all five of us. I'm actually surprised Chloë didn't cry a little bit. We all got to touch them, and the girls and Rob (who stepped in for the too-nervous Jack) each fed them two fish after doing the instructed rub under the jaw. It was amazing; words can't do it justice.

We walked through the aquarium that goes over one's head after feeding the dolphins, and I pointed out the different fish we saw to the kids. Parrotfish, like this Stoplight one here, are among my favorite of the reef fish. 

We visited Turtle Trek, which was a breathtaking surround cinema, like the inside of a planetarium. Another Facebook friend highly recommended it, and she was right; I loved every second of this short 3D adventure through a turtle's life. Afterward, there was a staffer giving out trivia questions and discussing the lives and habits of turtles and other sea creatures. I answered one question correctly before anyone else did, so she handed me a baseball card-like information sheet on the Leafy Sea Dragon for a prize. Later, she talked all about conservation efforts in which Sea World participates and gave the kids a chance to earn their own cards. We walked away with prizes for the Bottlenose Dolphin, Florida Manatee, and California Sea Lion, too.

Speaking of manatees, I love that the iPhone 5 has such a great camera; I took this picture, which Steph snagged off Facebook for a background on her iPad, with it. It turned out beautifully, IMNSHO.

The kids played a little turtle game, "Race for the Beach," against other kiddos. There were lots of little educational and interactive exhibits around Sea World like this one. I think it's great the way the park is so focused on edutainment and conservation; they really make the effort to preserve our natural marine resources. That impressed me throughout the day.

A Florida gator adolescent taking a swim 

We found some upside-down jellies, Cassopeia frondosa, near the alligator holding pen. I learned about these animals long ago as an undergrad at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmopsheric Science (RSMAS), during my Invertebrate Zoology class with the wonderful Dr. Peter Glynn. I wonder if he's still teaching; he was an inspiration for me as a budding marine biologist.

I'm not sure what kind of Cnidarian this one is, but my question to you is: artistically beautiful species, or just ick?

We then visited some leopard sharks, and Rob asked me to drop some knowledge about them. You know what? I didn't want to; I just wanted to have a fun, great day without so much pressure to be the authority on anything. So I refrained and just enjoyed being in the moment.

By that point in the day, it was hot, we were sweaty, and the kids were red in the face. Sea World isn't too heavy on rides and play so much as shows and experiencing the natural beauty of the marine environment, so we didn't have a lot of that. Fine by me, but the children wanted more of it. We headed over to the little kiddie area on the far end of the park to let them play in the small waterpark area for a bit. It was just the cool-down they needed, so I'm glad we took the time out to do that.

Sophia as Queen of the World! 

Chloë and Sophia took a ride in Swishy Fishies, which is like Sea World's equivalent of Disney World's Teacups. Jack, who had been the most vociferous complainer about the lack of rides, chose not to go on any rides. Really? That's so Jack, but whatever, he still had a great time and thanked us for taking them on the trip, so it's all good. If you're a Teacup fan, by the way, they also had a similar ride that went high up in the air. We didn't do that one, though, because the kids have a bit of a fear of heights; they come by it honestly!

Chloë had to pose for a photo-op with a Shamu replica; she happily obliged my request. It's never hard to get this one to do so; it's always hard to get Jack to pose unless he's thoroughly pleased at the moment!

Oh, I lied. Jack DID go on one ride, the kiddie train. This was more his speed, literally and figuratively speaking. 

We opted to rent a double stroller for several reasons: Jack, who has taut Achilles' tendons, has trouble walking for long distances. Plus, we knew we'd have lots to carry and thought it would be easier to take them around with us than pay for a locker we might visit but once during the day. And also, it would provide some sun protection for the kids, who took turns riding during our visit. An unexpected bonus was that it provided some tush respite for Rob, who occasionally took a brief siesta when he could sneak the opportunity!

My friend from Portsmouth, Miss Lisa, requested a family picture in the park, so I stopped a woman to take one in front of the sea creature-themed carousel we all rode immediately after that. Sophia started to pull a stranger-child off a purple seahorse that she wanted to ride; the nerve of her! After a scolding from me, we went on the other side and found one for her. But talk about embarrassing...

Just for good measure, I had Rob snap another shot of me on my carousel ride for Miss Lisa. You know, we all wore bathing suits all day long, but I was the only one who wasn't asked to cover up with a shirt or shorts. If you ever visit Sea World, be prepared to have a cover-up of some sort for males and females alike, because they will say something to you if you're not 'properly' dressed.

A fun moment between Jack and Chloë that I was thrilled to capture

We walked through the Arctic exhibit and found ourselves there at just the right time for a short training session for the beluga whales. The trainer had the belugas spin, jump and play for fishy treats. What fun to watch!

This polar bear was lounging near the beluga whales. I'm sure there were more, but we didn't see any, and she didn't want to come closer for me to get a better picture. Brat. I jest.

Both Rob's and my phone died after that, so this is a shot of Shamu that I stole off Google Images. Hee. We walked around the beautiful Sea Garden - a replica of the undersea environment made out of land plants - while we waited for the Shamu show to start at 1730. It was completely worth the wait. I had gone to Sea World with my grandparents when I was five years old, but the only things I remembered were seeing the flamingos and having an alligator come toward us while we ate dinner. 

Shamu - probably the n^th generation - and other orca friends put on a great display of tricks with their trainers. We had a lot of fun sitting in the Soak Zone and watching all the people in the rows in front of us get up, pissed, to leave after they got completely wet from the killer whales' antics (they're really dolphins, though, you know). Um, duh? You sat there knowing you'd get splashed and then you get upset when you do? What kind of sense does that make? None. Plus it's hilarious to have a whale do a humongous belly flop in front of you that leaves you dripping from head to toe. Make sure to put away those electronics and purses if you go; "soak" is definitely the key word!

Shortly after watching Shamu, we headed to our nearby hotel for the night.  The Seralago has mixed reviews from friends and strangers alike who have stayed in the same place, but we had a really nice stay there. There is a big cafeteria-slash-convenience store near the main lobby; we were able to get pizza, burgers and gyros for dinner, and everything tasted great. We picked up breakfast in the morning from there, too, even though Expedia said there was supposed to be a free continental one. (That was the only let-down.) There was a tiki bar and playground in the pool area, and the room was spacious and comfortable. For less than $60 a night in a high-traffic resort area, we were not disappointed. Your mileage may vary. 

The kids played with their glow sticks and bubbles, went swimming with Rob and warmed up in the hot tub at Seralago. Meanwhile, Rob and I got drinks from the bar that we left mostly untouched. Oh, that was another thing - my piña colada? They must have thought I was fourteen, because I swear it was a virgin; if there was alcohol in it, it was undetectable by my highly sensitive system. And that's sayin' something. I'm actually kind of glad, though, because I no longer enough the buzz of alcohol and have pretty much decided I'm done with the stuff after this. I might have something now and again in the future, but for the most part, I see no need to imbibe.

For lunch on Tuesday, we headed back East to Orlando (we stayed just West in Kissimmee, which is pronounced "Kiss-IH-me," but which my silly grandpa always pronounced "KISS-amee" to be funny) for a mystery shop. The place was dead, so we were able to get in and out of there fairly quickly before heading to our next destination.

We didn't have any real plans for Downtown Disney other than something fun for Jack and possibly renting a paddleboat, so I asked Rob's dad if he wanted us to visit them instead at their place in Boynton Beach on our way back to Homestead. Only, Rob's dad was not actually IN Boynton Beach yet, so that didn't pan out. A weather check Monday night didn't look promising for Downtown Disney, either, but fortunately the rain held out and we had a beautiful couple hours of sun during our trip to the Marketplace.

After getting squirted with water by the giant Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) at World Of Disney, we stopped to listen to the orchestra play some tunes from movies and TV shows everyone recognized. I really enjoyed that and was grateful we didn't miss it.

There's a big LEGO store - one of Jack's few obsessions - at Downtown Disney, but instead he wanted go to Ridemakerz to build his own radio-controlled car. We spent a lot more there than I planned, but it turned out to be really worth it. The cars, accessories and chargers come with a lifetime warranty, which is good because later we discovered he had a bent axle and needed a new undercarriage. They swapped it out for him, no questions asked.

At the store, which is at the back of Team Disney if you want to find it, there was a huge selection of rims and wheels. Some are included in the price of the chassis, and some are extra. Jack happened to pick a set that were free-with-purchase, to my relief.

After he selected his rims, wheels and sound, Chris helped Jack assemble his new yellow Corvette. That was fun, to put it concisely. Jack could have been timed to see how long it put together the vehicle, just for fun, but he chose to take his time and not rush through the experience. I wasn't suprised at that; he's a pretty methodical kid when it comes to mechanics.

I wanted the girls to have an equitable experience compared to Jack's, and we didn't want to do the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique, so we walked around to see what they could do. First, they chose to have their faces painted. Artist Emily was really talented; Sophia looks adorable in her "Princess Kitty" make-up, doesn't she?

Chloë chose to have the "Music Mania" paint. They each opted to get the glitter lipstick after Emily verified with me that it was okay. Why not? Full package, baby.

After their faces were done, we went to the Ghirardelli store near the entrance and got a strawberry shake for Sophia and a chocolate one for Chloë. I didn't taste Sophie's, but Chlo's was really rich and delicious. They were a bit pricey, but since neither girl could finish hers and passed them to the boys less than halfway through, it was okay by me. We got chocolate samples when we walked in the door, too, which satisfied my sweet tooth!

Just like my dad, Chloë usually chooses to eat the stems of her maraschino cherries. I do it, too.

Stim (Steph and Tim, back in Virginia) are big fans of Sulley from Monsters Inc., so now that the new movie is coming out, she was hoping to have me pick her up some Sulley merch to send her way. We didn't find anything for her or the boys, though I had fun looking around and texting her pictures of all the latest offerings!

Even though he'd spent a small fortune at Ridemakerz and knew he wasn't getting anything else, Jack wanted to look around at the LEGO store. I figured I'd see if they had anything new in the LEGO Friends section (the girls collect those sets) for my lady-babies, because their shakes and facepaintings cost nowhere near as much as Jack's Corvette. Not that I wanted to spend money just to spend money, not at all, but I wanted both to be fair and also give them something to DO and something to HAVE, just like Jack.

Sophia, who's been gunning for the LF House for over a year now, surprised me by changing her mind and opting for the Stable instead. She loves horses, as well as the afore-mentioned birds (bugs, too, though all the kids love animals in general), so maybe it wasn't so surprising. Chloë went with a smaller set, the Café I think. When we got home that evening, they started building their sets out front on the patio, since their room is still crowded with unpacked boxes. Must remedy that situation soon!

There are many LEGO structures around the store in Downtown Disney, including a serpent in the water nearby and this family and their dogs. On our way back to our van, Penelope, Jack wanted to pose with this structure for me. Oh, see his gappy grin? He lost a tooth at Sea World the day before! Apparently I forgot to tell my progeny that they weren't supposed to leave body parts in the park.

After stopping for another potty break during the ride home, we spotted this fresh Florida oranges and grapefuit shop that I wanted to visit. We were out of oranges, after all, and I knew we'd find more local goodies from right there in Fort Pierce and surrounding areas. I was right. I spent more than I wanted to, but shopping locally is important to me, so it was worth it.

Along with my ¼-bushel of Valencia oranges, I bought some real Florida honey (mmm...), some orange honey, and jellies and preserves: Guava Jelly, Jalepeño Pepper Jelly for Rob (ew, but he'll love it), Tangerine Marmalade (omg, that sounds so good right now), Orange Pineapple Cherry Marmalade, and also Mango Chutney. I also picked up some Vidalia Onion Mustard for Rob, and some Habanero Beef Jerky that he gobbled down as soon as I got back to Penelope and handed it to him. I snagged a bag of saltwater taffy that the propietor described as "so good, it's addictive" to ship to NY for my BFF, Dr. Lisa. She loves the stuff.

When we finally got home after a quick stop at the Walmart Vision Center to pick up Chloë and Rob's new prescription sunglasses (theirs took longer than Jack and Sophie's because they're so blind), Jack rushed out to test out the new wheels. He drove it all the way around the block and had to be convinced to come in when it got dark. I'm glad he was so happy, but he seems to think we'll be going back every year to get him another one. Ha! I don't know where he got that idea, but it wasn't from me!

So now that it's May, it's time to really get serious and down to business. April was a full month of fun for Team Odette, but it's time to rein it in just a little bit. Oh, there will still be plenty of fun, but we have work to do. There's lots of homeschooling on which to catch up, jobs to get, unpacking to finish, VA paperwork to get done, a house in Virginia to sell, and college to get into (for Rob). Much to do, though like I said, we'll still be having fun in between the more serious stuff. Stay tuned for another post tomorrow, as I have fun mystery shops planned for today!

Fin.

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday: Earth Day 2013

It's super-annoying that Typepad doesn't seem to wanna auto-save anymore, and I lose almost an entire kick-ass post when the screen freezes. But anyways...

While I was going about my business preparing for our Earth Day picnic on Monday, Rob came out wearing this Navy-issue peacoat, with the Meerschaum pipe in his mouth, saying, "Picture me on the bridge of our boat, steering across the Atlantic..." and I totally could. Can you? Course you can. It's still our dream, y'know. In a heartbeat, we would...

I had been searching on the old innernet for Earth Day activities and crafts when I came across The Nature Conservancy's All Hands on Earth picnic website. The idea, in a nutshell, is to foster sustainable food-eating practices by buying local and in-season to reduce, you know, gas and energy consumption from the production and distribution of worlds-away, out-of-season, uh... I said that way better the first time, but you get the gist, right? Right.

I had no fundage available at the time to run out to the Farmer's Market and pick up some deliciousness, so I figured I'd just use what we already had on hand to reduce waste, live frugally, and other great things we try to practice on a daily basis. I had cooked a bunch of chicken tits in the Crock-Pot the night before and still had half a -Pot left, so I tore that up and added some gorgonzola cheese crumbles leftover after our salad fixin's were used up, along with some apples I diced to add some sweetness and crunch. Along with some seasonings and Miracle Whip (Rob's fave), it was aces all around. Total yummo.

We chose Biscayne National Park as the nearby destination for our picnic because, despite the fact that it's too far to walk or ride a bike for us, the idea of Earth Day connotes (to me, anyway) surrounding oneself in the beautiful precious natural resources of our planet, and so it seemed a fitting locale. The last time we were there, I'd gotten a wicked bad sunburn from being too stupid to put on SPF before lying down on a towel with my library book. I just discovered what appears to be a melanoma - for which I'm going to the doc in about 7½ hours - on my chinny-chin-chin Monday morning, so I wasn't taking any chances with those harmful UV rays. We took along everything from SPF 30 all the way up to 85+. Although, really? Is that fo'real?

 

Aside from our afore-mentioned chicken salad on both spinach and sun-dried tomato wraps (also already on hand), we had mango cubes (I'd searched for a YouTube video on cutting them perfectly:

 

and it was spot-freakin'-on. Worked like a charm, after many failed attempts on my part.)

Plus, I threw in a bunch of bagged cereal for snacks, and Sophia snuck in half a pound cake for good measure. We served everything on reusable napkins and wrappers, and a pitcher of fruit punch was served in regular ol' plastic kids' cups. Leave no trace, leave the place better than when you found it, and all that.

When Jack dropped a piece of his cereal, this duck walked boldly up to him and looked askance. Not in the "how dare you?!" sense of the word, but "how dare you not feed me?" sense. He stayed there, quacked a few times, and made Jack squirm and squeal a whole bunch. It was hilarious.

We really laughed out loud a moment later when the two ducks on the bottom and left waddled up in perfect unison, speeding zip-zip along the sand to get their pieces of the proverbial pie. They didn't get any from us, although I noticed Sophia "accidentally" dropped one or two their way. Soon a fourth joined the flock, and by then we were surrounded by Muscovies looking to join our Earth Day picnic. Fun times.

After lunch, I sent the kids off on a Nature Treasure Hunt geared for kids aged 8-11, which, hey, is perfect since that's what range my kids all fall into, hey? The first one (of ten) was: "Find a place where an animal made a home," so off they went toward the mangroves to find nests or burrows. The three quickly spotted deep, wide holes in the ground and decided something had dug its way in, and I couldn't argue with that, so I gave them credit.

The second one directed them to make fairy homes out of natural objects, so Sophie had the idea to make teepees out of dried-out palm leaves. Chloë and Jack quickly followed suit; all but Chloë got them to stand without being held.

3. Find a seed - Easy! They just had to look up at the big palm trees everywhere to find them hanging out like so many, um, testicles. (What can I say? It's where the mind automatically goes.)

4. Make a tool, like a hammer or drawing stick. Jack, not being terribly imaginative, picked up a stick and started drawing. Okay, fine. Sophia, surprisingly equally unimaginative, picked up a stick and started hammering the top of her fairy teepee. Okaaaay, Chloë? She picked up a stick and pretended it was a screwdriver, driving, er, screws into the dirt. Better, but totally uninspired. Still, we moved on.

5. Find or name two things that all living things need to survive. The kids shouted out things like, "A home!" "Air!" "Food!" "Water!" etc. This one was too easy for this age group, IMO.

6. Listen for five sounds, including both human ones and otherwise. They listened to birds singing, people shuffling their feet on a nearby path, folks talking, boats' engines starting up at the marina next to us, and the wind whispering through the trees. That last one was my favorite.

7. Find a place where a plant-eater would be happy. Again, in a national park, way too easy.

The eighth one was super-cute. They had to spy on a bug. Jack crouched down first and watched an ant go ten ways to Sunday, all over the sand. Sophia and Chloë traced their own insects, and soon they all met up, head-to-head, with their daddy. I was thinking he probably wished he had a magnifying glass to light 'em on fire, because that's just the kind of Bob he is, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe.

9. Find a pattern in nature. They all came up with A-B-A-B-A-B patterns, so I challenged them to find something other than that. Jack was the first to do so; he found spirals projecting out from the center vein of a leaf, and I was proud.

10. Find something other than an animal that can live in water. First, they named about 3400 different animals before noticing us crossing our arms over our chest, tapping our feet and rolling our eyes all over the place. "Ohhhhh! Like seagrass?" Yeah. Duhhh.

We were done with that, and rather than do sunprints, they decided to go swimming again. Fine and good, but I was freezing and wasn't joining in. The lifeguard came over to speak at us about letting them go too far out without a parent right there (in zero waves, with a lifeguard spitting distance away, but whatevs), so Rob went in while I lay in the sun and fried a little more. My SPF 85+ was failing me, y'all! I reapplied.

Then, Rob rigged up his fishing poles and took us to go fishing. Well, took the kids, while I followed along for some Instagramography of whatever they caught (big fat nothin', it turned out). But check this sign - crocodiles?! In Florida? Gators, sure - we'd seen an 8-footer the last time out, in the canal near our house - but crocs? Who knew? Not I, not me, not us. Jack was determined to find one, but we didn't.

Also, I'm pretty sure they stole that croc drawing from Peter Pan.

 

Rob didn't have any bait, so he used a Sabiki Rig to try and catch some. He cast waaay far out, and then near, and then far again... but not even the pinfish were biting. So the kids and I went exploring while he kept trying.

We went up to the end of the walk, which culminated in, like, a pier, and looked out at the water. Another fisherman was next to us, so they meandered over to him to see what he was doing. "Fishing." What do you have on your hook? "Bait." He amused me. The kids kept pressing. My kids are pressers. So we learned this about him: He was originally from Ithaca, New York, now lived in Texas, and was here in Miami on temporary extra duty. He had never fished here before and insisted that pinfish couldn't be used to catch snapper, grouper, or larger fish, but Rob taught him how to rig the baitfish for better success (not that he was having any, but he had on previous outings, after all). He was fishing with live shrimp. I had about seventy-nine more facts about him on the tip of my brain, but they all just scattered because of course, I need them right now. Oh, and he gave Rob a beer. That was nice. Maybe it was a consolation prize, since neither man was having any luck with the fishies that day.

 

Rob gave up for a while, and just then, a manatee came into view, swimming toward the harbor. Another, smaller (I'm guessing female) sea cow swam toward him, and they met nose-to-nose for a few moments before the female turned, and they both swam away in the direction of the marina. It all happened too fast, just like with alligator the other day, for me to get a good picture, so all I have is this one of the four of them looking and pointing. It was SO breathtaking, Chloë was near tears, Sophia couldn't stop exclaiming, and my heart was racing. What wondrous things we've seen in our month here so far!

 

And then, if that weren't enough, a pelican flew in and landed near us. The kids thought that was just fantastic; they walked over and got in the big bird's face, not knowing how aggressive those things can be. They want fish, and they want it now. The pelican squawked, flapped its wings, and moved toward them. They yelped and jumped back, while I laughed. A third fishergent caught a pinfish - at last! - and threw it in the center of the pier. The kids gawked while the pelican stormed over there and gobbled it up. Only, the fish was spreading its rays, and the bird couldn't swallow it. We all watched, helpless, as it gagged and regurgitated the fish repeatedly, struggling to get it down its gullet with no success. What to do, what to do? Call a park ranger? Finally, with one loud gulp, the fish was choked down and bulging in the pelican's neck. Whew! What a relief.

We went home, exultant in our beautiful day, reliving all the amazing sights we'd seen.

Hope you all had a happy Earth Day, recycling and reusing and reducing. Remember to link up here if you're wordless - or not - today, too!

Fin.

Just Beachy

After I came home from applying for a job at Publix - I have to get it, I just have to - Rob asked me, "Do you have any plans for today?" I didn't, so he insisted that we needed to find somewhere to immerse ourselves in some water pronto. I knew just the place: Biscayne National Park, just 10 minutes away, right here in Homestead! I'd never actually been there, so I didn't know what to expect, but a quick visit to the website told me we would definitely be able to swim. Perfect!

We didn't just jump right into that wondrous lagoon you see the kids - and Rob, floating - in, there, oh no! Definitely not. I made them work for it. At the Visitor's Center, we found an artist's rendition of all kinds of Florida marine fish on the wall, so Rob and I (with the help of a volunteer on certain fish - hey, it's been 15 years since I graduated, and that's the kind of "use it or lose it" knowledge I haven't used much since then) schooled them about identifying them, certain features, even some scientific names I still remembered. I told them all about the red musculature of tuna and why they are that way, their habits and so on and so forth. I dropped all kinds of knowledge on them, so when we got to this beach, I told them they couldn't go swimming unless they could each tell me something they'd learned that day so far. Each one was able to describe something new right off the bat, so they were able to swim. Motivation will do that!

In the water, I taught them about comb and box jellies (the ctenophore phylum) versus true jellies (the cnidarians) when we came across a few of those. Then a remora came to visit me, and we learned about those. It didn't stay on me for long, nor Rob after that, but it looooved Sophia, who hadn't had a bath in a couple days! Ha! It didn't visit Chloë - who showered earlier in the day - or Jack - who bathed the night before - at all, so Sophia was the "shark" it decided it needed to clean. At first, she was a little freaked out, but when I assured her it wasn't going to hurt her and was taking care of her, she said, "Aw, what a cute little fishy," and tried to catch it, unsuccessfully.  I tried to find more critters, to no avail, so I switched tactics and told them what I could remember about the three kinds of seagrass found here. Which isn't much; I didn't remember much when I was actually in school to begin with, so we'll have to look that stuff up later!

The restaurant was closed for the day, but they had this signboard out front. I know Rob will take advantage of that when he gets his kayak and fishing poles back in a few short hours! How great is that deal, huh? I don't know if they'll actually clean the fish for ya, but $7.⁵⁰ for your seafood dinner with two sides? Heck yeah, can't beat it!

Later, I took the kiddos over to the mangroves, where I explained that there were three kinds here: red, gray, and white. We learned lots more about the mangroves and what lives there (great hiding place for fish!), and I even let them lick a few leaves to taste the salt.

We went walking around the beach for a while, and the kids found this pretend-dig site. They immediately went to work scrounging for what Sophia thought, at first, were real fossils! She thought she was a "kid archaeologist" and was discovering something new. So hysterical. I love seeing the three of them explore, discover, and learn. It's so fresh and fun.

At that point, a huge storm cell rolled in, and the lifeguard announced that they were closing the beach. We hustled the kids into the shower, having heard lots of thunder and knowing the lightning wouldn't be far behind. They were super disappointed (as were we, gotta admit), but we assured them that it was close enough to home that we could come back soon, and often. That helped a bit.

On our way out of the park, we saw tons of vultures scavenging around, so of course we had a little discussion about those, too. Nasty little buzzards, but useful to the ecosystem, so hey.

I happened, at that time, to get a text alert from 7-Eleven informing me that new coupons were available in the app, so I checked and, what do you know? Free Slurpees for all! Of course, they wanted those bad boys, so I made them each tell me some new things they'd learned that day in order to get their treat. Jack and Chloë dropped knowledge on me right away, but Sophia, still disappointed, said, "I learned that the beach shuts down and you have to leave when there's a stom." Haha! Useful and important information, sure, but not what I had in mind. Try again, Toots. She came through for me, so rest assured, she got her Slurpee, too.

And now, I must get back to straightening up my room and the rest of the house, so the movers can bring all our goods into a clean place. Woohoo, can't wait - à tout à l'heure, folks!

Fin.

Sunday Stealing On A Tuesday

Linky linky is here, pals, friends and chums!

 

Sunday Stealing: The 5000 Question Meme, Part Five 

 

101. What does happiness/joy feel like physically? 

Warm and fuzzy, like an itty bitty bunny ... ♥

102. List five things you love starting with the one you love the absolute most. (My interpretation: People aren't things, so I'm not including them!)

A - Yarn. Natural, vibrant, soft, knittable YARN.

B - My iPhone 5!

C - The beach

D - Singing a great song at the top of my lungs while driving with the windows down on a warm day

E - Itty bitty babies, whether they're people or other animals

103. How many movies have you gone to see this year? 

We just went to the movies on Thursday for a mystery shop! Once, so far in 2013. It was Escape From Planet Earth, and I really liked it. It was surprisingly good! I want to get the DVD.

104. If you could have 3 wishes...but none of them could be for yourself, what would you wish for? 

A - I would wish for lots more money for my husband. ;) (What? I didn't SAY he had to share!) (But he would.)

B - I would wish for an end to all the world's "issues" caused by the exponential population growth of human beings.

C - I would wish for mandatory parenting classes for all first-time parents. I've seen some bad shit, man.

105. In what ways do you relax and de-stress when you are really tense? 

If it's that bad, I have to pop a Klonopin. And then, if I can't nap, I'll read a bunch of magazines and/or knit something mindlessly simple.

106. How much money would it take to get you to sell your blog address?

I don't know. At least tuppence.

107. Have you ever been hunting?

LOL I thought that said "hurting," and I was all, have you met me?! No. I have never been hunting. I never will, either. Bambi's safe from me. 

108. Have you attempted this 5000 question meme in the past?

I don't know, but probably. I've been blogging for a while now!

109. What do you think of cloning? 

Everything in moderation. The world doesn't NEED another me or you, but repetition certainly has its place.

110. Do you read or watch TV more often? 

Since we don't have TV, it's pretty much reading by default.

111. With all this talk of terrorism going around are you willing to sacrifice rights and freedoms for increased safety?

Pfft. If you're not constitutionally allowed to go into a crowded movie theater and yell "FIRE!" then even the 2nd Amendment has its limits, thank you so much. Anyone who thinks that the right to bear arms should be absolutely limitless is a TOTAL FUCKING MORON, and I have no problems saying that to ANYONE. And yes, this is a bit of a passionate issue for me. ;)

112. What is the punishment you would have come up with for Osama Bin Laden if you caught him alive? 

I don't know, an eye for an eye, I guess. So would I put him on a suicide plane mission? No. Would I put him on the plane as a terrified passenger? No. Top of a tower about to be hit by a plane? Nope. I would make him love someone with all his heart and soul and then have to bear the pain when that person was tragically ripped from his life forever. Worst pain ever. I know.

113. Have you ever named an individual part of your body?

No. However, I am an odd duck, and I feel bad for my left hand for not getting as much use as my righty, so I often favor it to give it more attention. Wow. I can't believe I'm admitting such kookiness so publicly! 

114. Have you ever been on the radio or on TV? 

Yeah, both. I posted here recently about the rug store commercial I was on when I was a kid. I have also been interviewed on a radio station about my charity in memory of our son. Twice. That was pretty cool.

115. Have you ever won a lottery or sweepstakes? 

I have won a few things, but I'll be darned if I can remember any of them at the moment. Oh, and when I turned 18, I won about $3.50 the first time I played the lottery. The next two weeks, I didn't win anything. Haven't played since.

116. Have you ever won a contest or competition? 

Similarly, yes, several things, but I'm hard-pressed to name them!

117. Have you ever watched The Joy of Painting show with Bob Ross (check out this link if you don't know who he is.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ross_(painter)? 

Yeah, but I like the South Park version of Bob better than the real one! 

118. Do you know what your grandparents and your great-grandparents did for a living? 

My mom's dad worked at Tingue Brown as a factory laundry installer for many years. He was a hard-working man up until he died. 

My mom's mom was ... a stay-home mom, I guess? I really don't know if she worked before I came along, ever.

My dad's dad also did hard physical labor, but I can't remember the specifics. Both he and dad's mom died before I was born.

I haven't a clue what the greats did. However, my great-aunt (dad's side) was a longtime secretary for Exxon corporate.

119. Is there anything really interesting in your family history? 

I tend to think so. My dad's side of the family came from Germany to the Caribbean island of Saba several generations ago. It's a very tiny, not well-known isle, with historically unfriendly harbors, so you have to fly to get there. My dad's father was born there, along with his older sister. The great-aunt, Amy, mentioned above, was born in New York City, though. So I'm a 2nd generation American, right?

On my mom's side, my grandparents met just before World War II. My grandpa asked Grandma out, but she turned him down. She did NOT like him. Then he left to join the Navy and go fight in the war. When he got home, she had had a change of heart and started dating him. Three kids, five granddaughters, and six great-grandkids (so far) have come from that union!

120. Is there anyone you trust completely? 

Do I trust anyone 100%? Hmm. Not myself, definitely; I'm too impulsive. I couldn't think of anyone I trusted completely for a while, but now that I think about it, I trust my therapist that much. Maybe she's an odd choice, but she is absolutely fabulous. I'm really sad to be leaving her behind when we move in a few weeks. We've talked about doing remote therapy, though...

Oh, wow. I didn't realize I was at the end, here.

Welp, have a great week, y'all! I'll have more to post soon. 

Fin.

Aloha Friday

Aloha! Link up here if you've got questions for Kailani and friends today!

My question for you this week is:

Do you have a low-flow toilet? Either way, what do you think of them?

My answer:

We have one. As an environmentalist, in theory, I think it could be a great idea. However, in practice, I find they SUCK @$$!!!! Ours CONSTANTLY backs up and has to be plunged to within an inch of its life, and our landlord has even knocked some off the rent because of it! It's RIDICULOUS, gross, and a constant source of irritation and frustration for me. TWO THUMBS WAY DOWN. Ugh.

On that happy note, have a great Friday! ;)

Fin.

Who You Callin' A Cracker?

 
I'm in a Picasa collage frame of mind, lately. If you couldn't tell.

So I started this homemade cracker recipe on Monday night, around 0200, when I had expected to stay up all night. For various reasons.

I got out all my ingredients, mixed them properly in my lovely red KitchenAid mixer, and then... I started to go blind. Or, I thought I was going blind. My head was all pinched-in feeling, and my eyes couldn't focus right. There was no way those crackers were getting made, not then.

I thought for a minute about waking Rob up, and then I thought it was a horrible oncoming migraine.

And then, wait a minute! I know this feeling!

Yup. Sure enough.

I went to the cabinet where we keep all our meds, and looked in the spot where I reach for the same four bottles every night: Effexor, Abilify, Iron, Vitamin D. But the D was missing, and in its place? My Trazadone! My sleeping pill!

Sigh. Nope, those crackers weren't getting made right then. I quickly threw the mixer bowl full of ingredients into the fridge, stumbled heavily across the downstairs, and crashed on the the couch.

Zzzzzzzzz.

I didn't wake up for a very. long. time.

You see, before my surgery, I used to take a whole pill, and sometimes even two, to knock myself out at night. But now? I rarely take one (not that I don't need it), because it hits me SO hard. And when I do, I only take a half a pill, and sometimes only a quarter.

But I took a whole one, thinking it was my Vitamin D. D'oh! I blame Rob. It's at least 3% his fault, for moving the pill bottles around in search of his own. Right?

Right.

(He disagrees. Oh, that Rob, always refusing to take responsibility for my foolish mistakes. Some husband he is!)

Anyway.

After I roasted a marvelous 100% organic free-range chicken on Tuesday night for dinner, and Rob made the accompanying locally-picked green beans, plus organic mac & cheese for the kids, I decided to pull that mixer bowl out of the fridge, and continue with the crackers.

The pictures above are all Chloë's work. I ordered her suggested she photo-document the process. She eagerly complied. Didn't she do a great job?

And so did I:

That, there, is one satisfied customer, enjoying his homemade organic crackers topped with fresh, local, organic tomatoes and organic herbed cheese. (Yep, we're still doing the organic thing. Even though the world is going to end. Never mind. It's not. Carry on.)

He raved, at my prodding, about my creation. He said it was "the best snack I've had all night."

I almost forgive him for the Trazadone mix-up, after a compliment like that.

Fin. 

Back To Basics

Tuesday morning, I turned off my alarm instead of hitting the snooze button, so I overslept by an hour. Whoops! I could seriously kick my own butt when I do that; makes me so mad at myself and is NOT a great way to start the day. Luckily, Sophia wasn't late at all, as it was kindergarten registration day. We got to the school right at 0900, and the older two children picked up their "tardy" slips and headed off to class.

I took Sophia to her classroom ahead of time, letting them know that I would not, in fact, be registering her for kindy that morning, because I'm going to homeschool her next year. They were curious about that, whether it was going to be just her or all three kids, etc., but they were positive and supportive about it. I definitely feel like I need lots of encouragement right now, so that was good.

Back in the big school, after letting go of Jack and Chloë, I walked down to the cafeteria where the registration was taking place, to talk to Mrs. P. about it. I let her know, too, that I wouldn't be registering Sophia that morning, or any morning, and why. She got a sad, "We'll miss you guys" look on her face and wished me luck.

I kind of wish we could start tomorrow! I'm certainly not ready, materials- and curriculum-wise, but I am ready to pull them out of school and begin the next chapter. And, of course, stop the medicating with Adderall that I'm only giving them so they can get along in the "sit down and shut up" world of public schooling. That really bites. Fortunately, later this afternoon is their appointment with Dr. P., my prescribing shrink, to have further and more comprehensive evaluations for ADHD.

I went home, to find that Rob was still not back from work. Poor guy. I piddled on the computer for an hour, as I almost always do to start my day, and he arrived home during that time. I was hoping he'd finish cleaning up the kitchen so I could make my banana breads, but he was exhausted and pretty much knocked out immediately. The laundry monster was once again taking over our upstairs, so I resigned myself to a day of washing, drying, folding, and putting away.

And that I did.

I colored my hair in the beginning - I'm a little crunchy, but not so granola that I won't use chemicals to hide my roots, man - set my iPod to my latest obsession (the soundtrack from The Princess and the Frog), and got to work. First, I had to finish putting together all the girls' Spring/Summer outfits and hanging them in their closets (school clothes in Sophia's and non-school clothes, ie., dresses and short shorts with tank tops, in Chloë's, since they're both wearing a size 5T). Then it was time to tackle the rest of the wash. I had about four or five loads to launder, and about that many loads of clean ones to fold and put away. I showered, rinsed out my hair, dressed and straighened my 'do, but otherwise I worked on laundry straight up until the bus came at 1530. And I'm STILL NOT DONE. Oy-to-the-vey.

The laundry, it drives me to the crazy place.

 

As usual, once the kids came home, we were on the move. I had to wake up Rob then - but by that point, he'd gotten more sleep than I had, at least 7 or 8 hours, so I didn't feel awful about it - to take charge of The Littles, so they wouldn't have to accompany Chloë and me to Ballet class. She and I left late, because she took forever to change into her leotard, and arrived a few minutes after the start time. I know that irks her teachers, but I do the best I can.

I worked on knitting Luke's shorties during dance class. It was slow going; the yarn had gotten all messed up in my bag, somehow. Peas and carrots, that drives me nuts. I managed to get a couple inches knit up, anyhow, and soon enough I'll be needing to get some size 8 DPNs so that I can work the legs. Don't have 'em; it always surprises me to need a needle I don't have, since I have so many already! (Thanks to MIL for that, mostly.) :D

Immediately after we came home, we had to get ready for Chloë's Author Party. She and her classmates each wrote fables and published these Studentreasure books. I was going to show you the cover of her story, "The Cheetah and the Leopard," but my scanner is being a piece of dirty bathwater. It's cute, though.

Sadly, I don't have anything to show you from the party - during which the kids all read their books - because I couldn't go, and Rob had camnesia. Apparently Chloë did a really good job. However, I have the book, and without the author's permission, I am going to share her fable with you here:

 "The Cheetah and the Leopard"

A Fable by Chloë

Dedicated to My Mom and Dad

Once there was a cheetah and a leopard. They were very good friends,

but one day they had a really hard test.

During the test leopard and cheetah needed help, but they didn't ask for any.

They missed every question on the test. The next week they had some of the same questions.

This time they asked for help and got them all right.

Moral: If you need help ask!

"About the Author"

Hi! My name is Chloe Odette. I have a brother and his name is Jack. He is in first grade. I have a sister and her name is Sophia. She is in Early Discoveries. My dad works in the Navy. My mom is a substitute teacher. [snort] I am in third grade. I hope you like my book.

Cute, right?? Not the most fabulous story in the world, but maybe we can finesse that in homeschool next year.

Apparently there was cake and punch at the party, but Daddy didn't let them have any. I told him that he should have let them have a small piece, but he said nope! because they didn't have dinner yet.

Before the party, Rob and the kids had dropped me off at the Girl Scout Leader meeting down the road. I'm officially a Daisy leader now, for Sophia's troop! We even have our troop number assigned, and I have my approval letter. Exciting! I'm nervous about that, too, but somehow it'll all come together, I'm sure.

I had lots to take care of at the meeting. I needed to act as Treasurer and write the check for the Brownies (well, they'll be bridging to Juniors) to pre-register for next year, and submit the packet with all of their forms. I needed to get and fill out a pre-reg for Sophia and submit that along with Miss Nikki's youngest daughter's pre-reg, and pay for that. (I didn't have to pay for Chloë, because she earned it from selling cookies!) I had to take notes, since Nikki doesn't attend the Leader meetings, and I'll be acting as Leader of the Daisies and Co-Leader of the Juniors next year. And there was a lot more I needed to do, but I forget what now. I got a present, too! A little lanyard thing with a carabiner on it, for my keys. I got one for Nikki as well. A little gift for all the Leaders, from the Service Unit chairwoman. It says something about being a Girl Scout volunteer on it.

Anyway...

So I thought about homeschooling all day, while I was folding laundry.

First, I decided our little school should have a name, so it will be called Sweet Pea Academy, after the planned name of our boat. (That plan may be on hold for a while, but I can't spill the beans yet on just why right now. Hopefully soon!) Do you like the name? Well, I do.

(Oh, it was funny. I told Chloë about our new school name on the way home from Ballet. I jokingly told her I was going to print up t-shirts with the name and logo on them, for each of the kids to wear every day to school. Then she said, "Oh, and we can make up a poster and put it on the front door, so other kids can come to our school, too!" I told her that the school was just for the three of them, and she wanted to know why. I said, "Well, first of all, they'd have to PAY me to attend, and second of all, I'd want to at least practice on you guys for a year or so, so I can figure out if I even know what I'm doing!" She replied, "Of COURSE you know what you're doing - you have THREE books!!!!" I cracked up laughing and said, "You mean the ones from the library?" She rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, they're HUGE!"

Too funny. Well, at least she has the confidence in me, so that was reassuring!)

Most of what I was thinking about, though, was curriculum. I already know what they want to work on, so I thought I'd expand it a bit. For Jack, we'll not just learn about cars and boats, but we'll work on Transportation in general. We can study so many things, and I know he will just love it. The library will be our best friend. In time, we'll learn about not just boats and cars, but planes, trains, and every other form of locomotion we can think of. We can take field trips to look at these things, I hope, and it will be just the funnest thing for him.  

Chloë wants to study animals, and Sophia wants to study birds. I have a thick binder or two filled with beginner information on all sorts of animals, so I thought we'd pick one each (day? week?) to discover and learn more about in detail. I want to get some sort of family membership, either to the zoo or the aquarium or the children's musuem or something, but I'm thinking the zoo will be good for this area of study. I'd love to have family memberships to all of them, but I just don't think we can afford it. But think of it, we could go to the zoo all the time! It will be great.

Chloë also stressed learning about art and music. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do about music, but I'm going to talk to my friend Shana, who IS a music teacher, and see if she has any recommendations. But we are going to explore so many kinds of art. I'm going to teach them to knit and crochet! We have painting jobs that need doing in the house, so I'll do that with the kids and explore painting with them! There's a ceramics studio just down the road, so I thought I'd take them to that for one or more of our field trips. I'm also going to encourage them to keep a journal - not just for writing, but for drawing, too.

For physical education, and to boost our study of the natural world, we'll go on lots of nature walks and stuff. I'm also going to find out if the gym(s) on the Navy base(s) have anything for kids, so we can go and exercise for free. If not, I'm hoping we can find room in the budget for either a family membership to the YMCA or the local rec centers, which are pretty good. We used to be members, but we hardly ever used it; I'm determined to have them be physically active, though. Of course, the girls will stay in their dance classes, and I'm hoping to get Jack involved in something, too. Maybe karate?

For socialization, of course the Scouts (Daisies, Cubs and Juniors) and athletic pursuits will help fill that void. There are also a number of homeschooling groups in the Hampton Roads area, and I'm planning on contacting the ones that seem like a good fit soon, to find out how and when they meet up, what they do, etc. They'll get plenty of interaction with other people.

Of course, that all takes care of many things, but what about math? Reading and writing? Well, I'm still working on that. If you couldn't tell, I'm definitely not the unschooling type, I don't think.  I mean, some of what we'll be doing IS considered unschooling, but I have a concern about math and language. I need the children to learn those things. I can't have them NOT learn those things. It's important to me that they do, and so they will. I'll make it as fun as possible, without a billion worksheets and with a lot of hands-on manipulation, but they will learn. I'm going to go to the TAPS store and see what resources I can find there, I'm going to see what I can get from Mindware and elsewhere online... I want to make this whole experience as fun and painless as possible for them, but they WILL learn to read, write and do math. I insist upon it!

We're going to learn other things, too. As a family, we're going to tear up our backyard and make it more nature-friendly. Right now, it's a morass and only the dog is really able to use that. I want to change that. I want to rent a rototiller and tear up all the grass and then plant as much of our own local and natural and organic and sustainable food as we can.  And we are FINALLY going to have a compost pile. Or heap. Or whatever you call it. I've been throwing out our compostable food scraps behind the bushes in the front of the house for too long. It's time to change that and make it 'official.' Yay, I can't wait!

We're going to learn new recipes, and spend lots of time in the kitchen. They will become proficient at cooking and baking, and using what's local and at-hand to make a nutritious, wholesome meal. No more Red # 40 dye, no more high fructose corn syrup, no more genetically-modified whoosy-whatsit. We'll can our food and freeze it for later, when there are no crops.

We'll go camping. Fishing. If Rob wants to take them hunting, so be it, but if they want to become semi-vegetarians like their mama, I'll be pleased with that, too. We'll learn how to live a "greener" life. We're going to learn more about conservation and taking care of the planet.

And taking care of each other, too. We're going to learn how to be not only global citizens but community menbers. We'll visit the elderly, bring cookies to the firefighters and police, maybe work in a soup kitchen.

I'm terribly excited. I can't wait to start. Bring on the Sweet Pea Academy!!

Fin.

 

 

  

 

Shrinky Dink

So, my feet are shrinking, along with the rest of me. When we went to Great Wolf Lodge in April, I bought the size 6-7 brown Crocs. Now they're freaking humongous on me. Recently, I bought black Crocs in a 4-5. They're big on me, too! What the hell, Crocs? Is it my feet, or do you run really large?

In other size news, pretty much all of my size 18 and XL clothes - the ones I JUST bought, at our thrift store shopping spree - are loosey-goosey on me. I can fit both arms down my zipped-up size 18 jeans, and the two pairs of size 16 pants I have fit fine now. Cool, huh? So I guess now I'll consider myself a 16  and a Large. That's pretty awesome. That means no more plus-size shopping for me. I will never shop at Lane Bryant, Just My Size, or Catherine's again. Not that I've ever been to Catherine's, but you know. Too bad I can't go out and replace the new wardrobe already, so I'll have to stick with the 18s for a while, at least until I get down to 14s, probably. Then we'll see.

Today was pretty uneventful, except for the mammy-grammy. My stomach was in knots this morning waiting for it, and I had the squirts. Eventually, I felt so worn out and tired from that - which hasn't happened, I don't think, since I had my surgery, so it was pretty unexpected and exhausting - I had to lie down around 10. We had to leave for the hospital at 1300, and we didn't wake up until 1240! Oops!

Rob went with me. He had to sit in the waiting room the entire time, because of the x-rays. All went well, I think he could tell by the big grin I gave him when I came out.

On the way home, I called my sister, my dad, Linda and Lisa... and texted Steph. And posted to y'all when I got home. It was nice to hear so much relief from everyone; nice to feel so cared about. Thank you!! ♥

The kids were due home just as we arrived (I'd set it up with the neighbor next store to get them), so I dropped off Rob to relieve J. and went to Wendy's to pick us up some lunch. I like the 99¢ crispy chicken sandwich, of which I can eat maybe half.

When I got home, I surveyed all the garbage produced by our meal: two cups, straws, straw wrappers, food wrappers, Rob's french fry container, and the paper bag. Oh, and the cup holder they gave me, which I didn't want (so why did I accept it??). That's a LOT of garbage. We don't really eat a lot of fast food anymore, unless it's for a shop, so that's good. But still, it's trash food, and trash for the environment. I'm going to stop eating it and live a trash-free life. No more food that generates garbage.

Which doesn't mean I'll never eat crap again, but it's a goal for which I'll continue to strive. And of course there will always be garbage. But... I'm going to work on it. I'm going to make an effort.

I'm also going to make the effort to significantly reduce the paper products we consume. I'm not one to really use paper towels, but Rob loves them, so I don't know how much I can change there. I'm going to switch to cloth wipes for the bathroom, cloth tissues and handkerchiefs instead of paper... and, I guess that covers it? Oh, and I'm going to make up clothe pads for the Swiffer instead of using the disposable ones, since I'm going to have to Swiffer on an every-other-day basis.

This won't all happen overnight, but rather in stages as we can afford things. I'm excited about it. I just hope I can get the rest of the family on board!

Anyway.

After school, the kids finished my chicken sandwich, we said good-bye to Daddy, and then the girls settled in on the office floor to color and draw. Jack has been so tired after school lately again, so he kind of just hung out on the couch, playing quietly with his cars.

We were supposed to go bowling for a shop at 1800, but when I called the bowling alley to see what time their open lanes were, it wasn't until 2100! Frick! I'd guaranteed I could do the shop tonight, too, so I really didn't have a choice but to take the kids out that late. It sucked. They were all ready to go at 6 pm, too.

Instead, I was having the chills and feeling wiped out, so I sent them upstairs to clean their room and find Sophie's missing books borrowed from preschool, so I could sneak in a quick lie-down. Not long after, the girls came down and complained of hunger. Jack had fallen asleep, no surprise there.

I hoisted myself back up, very reluctantly, and made them some hot dogs. I lay back down, and then Sophia reminded me I'd forgotten their drinks. Bah! I hate when I forget stuff like that. I'm lazy, dammit!

After they ate, I told them they could either go upstairs and lie down, or go upstairs and clean and find the books. I think they just played, but whatever, I stole in about an hour's shut-eye. I woke up frozen to the bone, so I had to break down and kick on the heat. I hate the heat. It's so dry...

Finally, it was time to go bowl. We woke up Jack, who was STILL sleeping at 2130, and got to the bowling alley around 2200. VERY late, I know. Sophie bowled the first game with me, Jack threw a couple balls here and there, and Chloë bowled the second game with me. I barely broke 100 both times - but again, we used the bumpers! I'm so lame.

I did manage to get a strike, and then a spare immediately after that - and the two dudes next to me clapped for me. That was amusing.

My camera absolutely SUCKS at flash-required pictures. They are always so blurry! Bah. I miss my old one. :(

When they weren't bowling, the kids were constantly at this claw game, trying to score some candy. And no, I didn't give them any change to play it, so imagine my surprise when both Jack and Chloë managed to "win" a piece of candy!

Sophie complaining about not getting any candy. Sorry, Tootsie.

Jack was beyond thrilled when his little roll of Smarties popped out. He was a grumpy pants after his nap, but the candy made it all disappear!

We didn't get home until 2330, at which point Chloë wanted to know whether she could stay up and keep looking at the scrapbooks I've made. Oh, I forgot to say, the girls were poring over them while Jack was sleeping, after I woke up cold. It was nice, talking to them about all the memories during their lives. Interesting to see what and who they remember, and what they don't. And Sophie was such a chubby baby!! ♥

Rob came home just after they went to bed, from the ER. He's got a nice, raging sinus infection and came home with all kinds of prescriptions. Poor laddie.

Oh! And the mailman brought a box from Grandma (MIL). Stuff for CARE Package - and yes, I can use the quilt! - along with goodies for the kids and our annual delivery of Hallmark ornaments. That's my favorite package of the year. I love seeing what she chose for us. Thanks, Mom!

Have a great weekend, y'all.

Fin.

Attitude of Gratitude

I don't normally post here often about my relationship with God and being a Christian, because I know several of you might not be comfortable with that and I'm really not very "showy" about my faith, anyway - good or bad. But I do have faith, I do believe, and I will say that there has been a lot of prayerful thought on my part lately. I mean, always, but especially lately while we are in this painfully broke phase.  I was being honest when I said I wasn't sure how I was going to feed my kids breakfast and lunch this week, or give Chloë any kind of special birthday. I still don't know how I'm going to fill my tank or put gas in Rob's truck to get him to work. It's scary for me, and I swear, it's giving me an ulcer!

So after praying about it a whole lot, I looked at all our finances and discovered some money I didn't know I had. Not a lot, just about, oh, $70 or so. What a relief! I was so thankful, like, fall-on-your-knees grateful.

I had that 50% off coupon for an item at Michael's, so Chloë and I skedaddled on over there Sunday afternoon, for her to pick out a special cake pan. It's becoming a tradition, I think, for the kids to pick a pan for their birthday cakes! After carefully examining all 35-40 pans, she finally settled on the Hannah Montana one. UGH! Her father and I hate Hannah Montana. Really? Are you sure you wouldn't like this Tinkerbell one? Or this castle one? Look how cute the ladybug is! But no... HM it was. And so we bought it: $6.50 plus tax.

Then we ran to Wal-mart, where I absolutely hate shopping for groceries unless I'm really po'. Well, we're really po'. To Wally it was, then.

I had a careful list. I had a menu planned for each day of breakfast and lunch for the children until the 15th, Rob's next payday. And we needed laundry detergent desperately. If there was anything left over, I planned to buy a few of the school supplies I hadn't picked up yet.

As we shopped for juice boxes and bread and milk and eggs and all that, I carefully added it up on my (iPhone) calculator. When I put the laundry detergent in the cart and calculated the tax, I was mere pennies under the remaining balance in our account! Phew. I mean, thank God, really, because there was absolutely nothing in that cart that we didn't really and truly need.

Somehow I over-calculated or something was mis-marked, because when it was all rung up, the total was four whole dollars under my calculation, but whatever. Good is good. Done is done. The school supplies will have to wait. I'll write a note to their teachers. (Unless someone wants to trade: I have about 3 dozen packs of glue sticks but no pocket folders with prongs!)

It was such a relief to walk out of that store with everything I needed for my babies. I can't even tell you.

********

On the way home, I wanted to stop at the new Harris Teeter down the road from us, which is now finally opened, and get a job application. I plan to start working somewhere, somehow, immediately. Even a couple hundred extra dollars every fortnight will make a huge difference in this first-half-of-the-month crunch we're experiencing lately. But we had the neighborhood picnic to go to, and Rob wanted to leave right away, so we went straight home.

Imagine my chagrin when we arrived home to find Sophie napping! Not that I didn't  KNOW she needed the nap, because I could tell before I left that she did, but I was annoyed he didn't let me know! Oh, well.  So it was hurry up and wait.

 

When she finally woke up two hours later, the five of us walked down to the pool area parking lot for the cook-out. I helped the kids get their food, and Rob got his own. I didn't eat. Protein shakes for me; the weight is coming off slowly again! Anyway, I absolutely LOVE this picture of Sophia. She just looks so babyish to me! And the expression cracks me up.

While they were all finishing up their dinner (and really, we never go to these things, so the only reason I took them this year was to get my family fed for free!), I went over and found the president of our community board of directors. I smiled and introduced myself, and then I asked him for a big favor. There has never been a recycling bin in the pool area, and lots of cans are thrown away during the swimming season. There was also no bin at the cook-out last night, and again, lots of cans were in the garbage. It hurts my soul. Could he please get some recycling bins for the community use? He promised that he would and thanked me for the suggestion! I felt better.

 

When everyone was finished eating, we went to the playground for an hour or so. Lots of kids were over there, including some, uh, rather well-developed girls. The playground clearly states, in several places, that it is for the 12-and-under set, and these girls were certainly teenagers. This annoys the crap out of me! (And not just because I'm a stickler for following rules, which I can be, but because I don't like when all the little kids, including mine, get trampled by older kids who have no business being there!)

 

It took Jack a little while to get going on the park, so he sort of hung out on this platform for a while, watching everyone else. Typical for him!

 

Whee!! Chloë slippin' and slidin'

These climbing walls seem to be at every park we go to lately! Good thing, because Sophie is pretty good at them.

 

 

At one point, Rob had all three of the kids hanging at once from this turny-wheel thingy, but I didn't look up fast enough to take the picture. It was pretty cool to see them all let go and drop to the ground at once!

I thought of a number of one-liners when Rob pointed out this sign to me, but the one that amused me the most was, "Hands out of your pockets, guys!"

 

Daddy chased Jack all over the playground, and he was giggling his high-pitched little squeal the whole time!

 

I know this picture is a piece of poo, but you can sort of make out the kids holding a whole bunch of garbage. On the walk home from the playground, unprompted, Sophia and then the other two kids started picking up every piece of trash they found, "to make the planet healthy and save the polar bears," in the words of one! (hee) I am so proud of their concern for the environment, I can't even contain myself!

The short walk home was so lovely, Rob and I vowed to take a family walk every night until the weather turns chilly. Already, we have failed to stick to it, but we really ought. It's just so nice.

And one more thing...

 

Some of you may have seen the deal I posted about on Facebook? Four pairs of Crocs for $29! They arrived yesterday, and the girls were thrilled to the gills. Unfortunately, they didn't have any left in Jack's size, and all of these are 10-11s which are too big yet for Chloë - but she's wearing them anyway. I was surprised that they liked the green-yellow-orange ones as much as they do!

Stay tuned, another post coming right up...

Fin.

Go, Go, Go

Thursday, we drove from Jamestown to Liverpool, outside of Syracuse.  It was a four-hour drive that we lengthened to five. For the first part, before we hit the Thruway, it was all farmland and Amish country. My kids had no experience with the Amish, so this was all very interesting to them. For those who have never been to New York, and think the entire state is like New York City, no. Upstate is very rural! We passed many horse and buggies signs on the road, and a couple times we passed the real thing. More than once, we saw little boys of no more than four years of age, with their straw hats and denim overalls and a pack over their shoulders. Too cute, but surprising to find them walking along the main road alone.

I thought we would get on the road early, about 0600 or 0700, and get into the hotel by 10 am. Ha. No. I ended up NOT staying up all night at Stacey's and falling asleep in the chair reading my book. It was after 0900 before we left, with Hanna sobbing in my arms and Karen, nearly 10, completely indifferent and perhaps eager to see us go. We didn't get to the hotel until nearly 1400.  Much later than when we planned, but it was a really fun drive that we enjoyed thoroughly. (At least until I again fell asleep reading my book.)

So we checked in and unpacked quickly, before heading over to my BF Lisa's house. We only had a few hours with her by that point, since we had an 1800 dinner date. I had never met her four-year-old, Jacob, or her 20-month-old, Emilie, so I was ecstatic to see them! And they are both cute as cute can be. Jacob says such funny things, and Emilie is the most adorable girl on two feet. Her dark curly hair bobs as she runs and toddles around, and she, too, utters such cuteness! I was in love with her and definitely wanted to take her home, but Lisa denied me the privilege.

The kids quickly decimated her living room, and then we all moved outside to take in some sun and yard. They climbed in Jacob's tree fort, drove Jacob's truck around, and played with their lawn toys before Lisa suggested a swim. We'd forgotten all our bathing suits, but she brought out Jacob's clothes for the kids to swim in. All was going well, and I was taking pictures with my iPhone while Rob monitored the kids swimming. Suddenly, I looked up to see Sophie dumped out of the floaty she was on and treading water for dear life in the pool, with Rob jumping in to rescue her. I thought all was well until he sunk under the water and was holding her up high in the air, and I realized he was struggling. I threw down my phone and raced around to the deep end, snatched my baby out of his arms and then pulled him up. Hoo, boy. That was some unnecessary excitement! Needless to say, I didn't pick up my iPhone again until they were done swimming.

When it was time to go, we quickly dressed the kids and said our good-byes to Lisa and her husband, Faris, and their two cute little munchkins. We drove as quickly as we could into Baldwinsville to meet my old high school beau, Ben, for dinner. He was waiting when we got there, so we made our way in, and I got hugs! Big hugs! since I hadn't seen him in 10-12 years. His five-year-old son, Walker, and six-year-old nephew, Dylan, were along for dinner, too, as was his friend Lou. The nine of us supped and caught up on old times and new, and my girls charmed the pants off Lou, who only has two sons and wants a daughter. It was a decent visit, with hardly any awkwardness, and seemingly no hard feelings between my ex-boyfriend and my husband. Phew. I was kind of stressed and anxious about it, but I was dying to see him! It all worked out well.

After dinner, we hung out for a long  time in the parking lot until poor little Walker had a meltdown about wanting to go home. More hugs and good-byes, and we headed out. We decided spontaneously to go visit the house where I grew up. I knew the way (which is mostly not the case around here; I don't remember ANYTHING), so we found it with no trouble.  I didn't know whether my evil ex-stepmother still lived there, so I didn't recognize the lady who was watering the lawn and scrutinizing us as we scrutinized her, driving past. We drove around the neighborhood and drove past again, and then a third time before I stopped and found out she was the new owner. I asked to take a picture of my childhood home, and she happily acquiesced. Another minute to look back on my old life, and we were on our way back to the hotel. The kids were so exhausted by that point, they slept immediately and tightly. Thank goodness.

Today was even busier. We woke up peacefully around 0900, and Rob took the kids to the hotel's complimentary breakfast while I showered and dressed. We were running late to meet Erin at Beaver Lake Nature Center, always a big draw for the nature lovers in and around Baldwinsville. We met at the same diner we ate at the previous night, and she hopped in Vanna and directed us Beaver Lake.

It was a fantastic time there, a really big hit with the children. We went in the main building so the kids could check out all the exhibits and, as Chloe says, "make observations."  They ran around looking at beavers and skunks and opossoms (opossa?) and other critters, before going to the observation room to watch the finches and hummingbirds and squirrels enjoy a feast outside. We even saw bees in their honeycomb and listened to the hum!

Then, since the weather was holding out well and barely a trickle of rain was falling, Erin took us on a nature walk. She grew up at Beaver Lake and knows far more than I do about all the flora and fauna found there, so I deferred to her to do all the nature teachin'. She showed the kids pitcher plants and wild blueberries and orange fungi and cranberries in the bog and, oh, harvestman spiders! ;) She showed them poison ivy and poison sumac and ragweed. She showed the bog and the lake and how and why the trees feel like they did and ripped a leaf in half to smell it and determine what it was... all manner of cool things. I enjoyed it as much as the children, and we all learned a lot. Thanks, Erin!

When the kids tired of walking, we headed back to the building for a potty run and then out to the car for snacks. When they'd all had enough, we raced each other back inside to buy out the gift shop. Rob chose a nice walking stick - he loves to have them on walks - and Sophie chose a chirping goldfinch. Chloe picked a purple finch and a Beaver Lake patch for her Brownies vest. Jack wanted a stuffed fox. I got a pewter collectible spoon for my collection and some on-sale homemade cards. We bought a bottle of real New York maple syrup (YUM, but 53 g carbs per serving, so not a drop for me). :( And at 50-pence apiece, we bought three rocks that you crack open to find geodes inside. Oh, and a lollipop for everyone. Like I said, we bought out the place. And I didn't accept a plastic bag, so imagine my joy when I had to carry everything around as they again went to the observation room and looked through all the exhibits!

At last, we decided to go, and we headed to a park in downtown B'ville. Erin and I chatted on the swings while the kids climbed on all the play equipment. We caught up on each other's lives and just enjoyed each other's company. It was a good time and still, the rain held.

Then we went to Gino & Joe's for dinner, the best pizza place on the planet and a must-stop for all visits back "home" to B'ville. I somehow managed an entire piece, minus the crust, which is not necessarily a good thing, but man, it was delicious. The kids ate pretty well and were excited to have orange soda for a special treat! If you're ever in Baldwinsville, make sure you visit G&Js.

It was still early yet, and we didn't want to head back to the hotel just yet, so we decided to drive around and visit some old sights. We drove past my old high school and junior high school, both of which have new additions, and then way out to the small grocery where I worked in high school. Rob stayed out in the car with a sleeping Jack while we girls went in to shop. I wanted Italian bread, which I remembered as being really good. Unfortunately the store was under new ownership, so there were no familiar faces, but the bread was still good.

Then I wanted turkey pastrami from the locally-famous Plainville Turkey Farm. My ex, Ben, had a father and sister who worked there way back when (and still, now), and he introduced me to its insane goodness. So Erin directed me out to a Wegman's (best grocery store in the country, hands down) to get some at the deli, and we managed to find some of the (crappy local) Genesee beer that Rob wanted. Add in some fresh milk, and the shopping was complete.

My next idea was to go back to B'ville for some ice cream. We always got our milk and OJ from the Byrne Dairy there, and they had good ice cream, too. We passed my old middle school onthe way to the dairy. The kids each got a "baby" cone, which was every bit as big as an adult one, if not more. Silly. I even scored some low-fat, no-sugar-added vanilla, which tasted great. I surely didn't eat it all; it was way too much. I forget what Rob and Erin got, but we all enjoyed!

Chloe had to go to the bathroom, and Byrne Dairy didn't have one, so we went back around the corner to the pizza place. We decided to end our day there, so lots of hugs as we said goodbye to Erin - but not before I invited her along to Lisa's house to swim tomorrow (with Lisa's permission)! So there will be more catch-up with both of them for our mini-reunion. I can't wait!

Back in the hotel, Sophie had fallen into a deep sleep, so Rob took the older kids outside to play while I took a bath and read my book in the tub. Nice and relaxing. It was hot, though, so I took a fairly cold bath. (I know you'll like that, Nicole!) ;)  Felt great, and I was amused when Sophie all of a sudden shucked off her clothes and helped herself to my bath! Chloe and Jack were soon clamoring to join us, so I finished my chapter and then hopped out for them to take a dip in the cooling water.

It's 2325 now, and they're still up and watching Disney channel while I type. They're mostly being quiet, though, so I don't mind. Soon they should be drifting off... and so should I. I think I'll knit a while first. I'd like to finish that sleeve at least. I'll be right back with some pictures of stuff. Stay tuned.

Fin.

P.S. Oh! Did I mention that I colored my hair last night to get rid of the garish, trashy yellow and pink? I hated it and couldn't live with it a moment longer. Too bad I had to see Ben like that, ugh! It's now a VERY light red, in some places orange, so it's not great but it's definitely a huge improvement. Probably when we get back home, I'll make it even darker. We'll see. I'll post a picture of that, too.

An Excellent (Re)Post

My personal notes are below in blue.

No Impact Man's Top Ten Eco-Lifestyle Changes

1. Stop eating beef. Worldwide, beef production contributes more substantially to climate change than the entire transportation sector. Plus, a diet with no or less beef is better for you anyway. (I haven't eaten beef or pork since 1995 for purely environmental reasons.  Americans are the primary consumers of the livestock that the world's rainforests are destroyed to produce, and I didn't want to be any part of that destruction.)

2. Give up bottled water. The production of plastic water bottles together with the privatization of our drinking water is an environmental and social catastrophe. Bottled water costs more per gallon than gasoline. Plus, the health consequences of drinking water from plastic are not clear. (We have been buying bottled water lately, for the first time EVER, since our water filtration system needs repairs we can't afford at the moment, and every time I crack open a bottle, I feel terribly guilty. With good reason. I'm ashamed to even say it here, that I am buying it... However, I do bring canvas bags every time I shop, and have nixed plastic bags. Too bad the newspapers are still delivered in them!)

3. Observe an eco-sabbath. For one day or afternoon or even hour a week, don't buy anything, don't use any machines, don't switch on anything electric, don't cook, don't answer your phone, and, in general, don't use any resources. In other words, for this regular period, give yourself and the planet a break. Keep your regular eco-sabbath for a month. You'll find that the enforced downtime represents an improvement to your life. (I love this idea but would go crazy unplugging everything and re-plugging them, since appliances still use energy even when they are off. You can never stop consuming energy all the way, anyway - the fridge and freezer are always on, for instance. But I like this idea and will maybe make Sunday our best-as-we-can-eco-sabbath.)

4. Tithe a fixed percentage of your income. Currently, many of our societal health and welfare services, at home and abroad, are tied to consumer spending which, in turn, depends upon planetary resource use. But the idea of buying stuff to help people is crazy, especially when you consider that our consumption is harming the habitat that we depend upon for our health, happiness and security. If you want to help, don't go shopping. Just help. Commit to tithing part of your income to the non-profits of your choice. (I also love this suggestion, that the non-religious can still tithe to the charities of their choice. Now if only CARE Package was someone's choice!) ;)

5. Get there under your own steam. Commit to getting around by bike or by foot a certain number of days a month. Not only does this mean using fewer fossil fuels and creating less greenhouse gasses, it means you'll get good, healthy exercise and we'll all breathe fewer fumes. A city with pedestrian and bike traffic is a lot more pleasant to live in than a city filled with vehicles. (Too true. I only wish we lived in the kind of place where vehicles were not necessary. Although I used to rollerblade everywhere, before I had a license, for long, long distances. Even to buy my groceries. Or I'd carry them home on my back, while riding my bike. I guess it is possible, if I weren't so fat and lazy. And there it is.)

6. Commit to not wasting. Wasting resources costs the planet and your wallet. Don't overheat or overcool your home--a few degrees make a huge difference. Let your clothes hang dry instead of using the dryer. Take half the trips but stay twice as long. If your old cell phone works, consider not getting another. Repair instead of rebuy. The list goes on and on. (I am huge on not wasting. I absolutely abhor waste. I get on the kids, especially Sophia, all the time about wasting money, energy, time, whatever product they've just dumped out, etc. It makes me ill.)

7. Build a community. Play charades. Have dinners with friends. Sing together. Enjoying each other costs the planet much less than enjoying its resources. Let's relearn to joke around and play in ways that cost nothing to our pocketbooks or our planet. (I can't imagine hanging around with friends and singing together. Wait, yes I can, I used to do it in high school all the time with my chorus friends. And it was fun, too. Hey, friends, let's get together and sing!) ;P

8. Take your principles to work. The old adage "the cost of doing business" can no longer hold true. We must act as though we care about the world at work as much as we do at home. A company CEO or a product designer has the power to make a gigantic difference through their business, and so do the rest of us. (Let your wallet speak to your beliefs. I try not to buy anything from companies known to test on animals, for instance.)

9. Dedicate a day's worth of TV viewing to eco-service each week. The average American watches four and a half hours of TV a day. Take one day off from the tube each week and joining with others to improve our planet. Voluntary eco-service is a great way to find community who support your values and also a great way to learn about environmental issues and the quality of life issues that go along with them. (Harder for me to do. I never just sit and watch TV; I'm always doing something else when it's on, like knitting or crocheting. I could do those without the TV, but it would put me to sleep or drive me crazy! And I do those things in service to CARE Package.)

10. Believe with all your heart that how you live your life makes a difference to all of us. We are all interconnected. We make a difference to each other on many different levels. Every step towards living a conscious life where we consider the consequences of our actions provides support to everyone else--whether you know it or not--who is trying to do the same thing. We are the masters of our destinies. Let's act as though it is so. (Completely agreed, 'nough said.)

Fin.

1. Stop eating beef. Worldwide, beef production contributes more substantially to climate change than the entire transportation sector. Plus, a diet with no or less beef is better for you anyway. (I haven't eaten beef or pork since 1995 for purely environmental reasons.  Americans are the primary consumers of the livestock that the world's rainforests are destroyed to produce, and I didn't want to be any part of that destruction.)

2. Give up bottled water. The production of plastic water bottles together with the privatization of our drinking water is an environmental and social catastrophe. Bottled water costs more per gallon than gasoline. Plus, the health consequences of drinking water from plastic are not clear. (We have been buying bottled water lately, for the first time EVER, since our water filtration system needs repairs we can't afford at the moment, and every time I crack open a bottle, I feel terribly guilty. With good reason. I'm ashamed to even say it here, that I am buying it... However, I do bring canvas bags every time I shop, and have nixed plastic bags. Too bad the newspapers are still delivered in them!)

3. Observe an eco-sabbath. For one day or afternoon or even hour a week, don't buy anything, don't use any machines, don't switch on anything electric, don't cook, don't answer your phone, and, in general, don't use any resources. In other words, for this regular period, give yourself and the planet a break. Keep your regular eco-sabbath for a month. You'll find that the enforced downtime represents an improvement to your life. (I love this idea but would go crazy unplugging everything and re-plugging them, since appliances still use energy even when they are off. You can never stop consuming energy all the way, anyway - the fridge and freezer are always on, for instance. But I like this idea and will maybe make Sunday our best-as-we-can-eco-sabbath.)

4. Tithe a fixed percentage of your income. Currently, many of our societal health and welfare services, at home and abroad, are tied to consumer spending which, in turn, depends upon planetary resource use. But the idea of buying stuff to help people is crazy, especially when you consider that our consumption is harming the habitat that we depend upon for our health, happiness and security. If you want to help, don't go shopping. Just help. Commit to tithing part of your income to the non-profits of your choice. (I also love this suggestion, that the non-religious can still tithe to the charities of their choice. Now if only CARE Package was someone's choice!) ;)

5. Get there under your own steam. Commit to getting around by bike or by foot a certain number of days a month. Not only does this mean using fewer fossil fuels and creating less greenhouse gasses, it means you'll get good, healthy exercise and we'll all breathe fewer fumes. A city with pedestrian and bike traffic is a lot more pleasant to live in than a city filled with vehicles. (Too true. I only wish we lived in the kind of place where vehicles were not necessary. Although I used to rollerblade everywhere, before I had a license, for long, long distances. Even to buy my groceries. Or I'd carry them home on my back, while riding my bike. I guess it is possible, if I weren't so fat and lazy. And there it is.)

6. Commit to not wasting. Wasting resources costs the planet and your wallet. Don't overheat or overcool your home--a few degrees make a huge difference. Let your clothes hang dry instead of using the dryer. Take half the trips but stay twice as long. If your old cell phone works, consider not getting another. Repair instead of rebuy. The list goes on and on. (I am huge on not wasting. I absolutely abhor waste. I get on the kids, especially Sophia, all the time about wasting money, energy, time, whatever product they've just dumped out, etc. It makes me ill.)

7. Build a community. Play charades. Have dinners with friends. Sing together. Enjoying each other costs the planet much less than enjoying its resources. Let's relearn to joke around and play in ways that cost nothing to our pocketbooks or our planet. (I can't imagine hanging around with friends and singing together. Wait, yes I can, I used to do it in high school all the time with my chorus friends. And it was fun, too. Hey, friends, let's get together and sing!) ;P

8. Take your principles to work. The old adage "the cost of doing business" can no longer hold true. We must act as though we care about the world at work as much as we do at home. A company CEO or a product designer has the power to make a gigantic difference through their business, and so do the rest of us. (Let your wallet speak to your beliefs. I try not to buy anything from companies known to test on animals, for instance.)

9. Dedicate a day's worth of TV viewing to eco-service each week. The average American watches four and a half hours of TV a day. Take one day off from the tube each week and joining with others to improve our planet. Voluntary eco-service is a great way to find community who support your values and also a great way to learn about environmental issues and the quality of life issues that go along with them. (Harder for me to do. I never just sit and watch TV; I'm always doing something else when it's on, like knitting or crocheting. I could do those without the TV, but it would put me to sleep or drive me crazy! And I do those things in service to CARE Package.)

10. Believe with all your heart that how you live your life makes a difference to all of us. We are all interconnected. We make a difference to each other on many different levels. Every step towards living a conscious life where we consider the consequences of our actions provides support to everyone else--whether you know it or not--who is trying to do the same thing. We are the masters of our destinies. Let's act as though it is so. (Completely agreed, 'nough said.)

Fin.