Not So Good On The Swish

I went to the dentist today. You'd have thought it was my first time or something, I was such a dental-doofus. We had a new hygienist, and she was very nice. But she'd squirt my teeth with water and I'd close my mouth to do the swishy thing and *glorp* I'd somehow spew water all over. Not once. Not twice. Not even three times. I lost count of how many times I spit - not dribbled - trying to close my mouth.

I'd think maybe she underestimated the volume of my mouth, but ha ha ha ha we all know that's impossible. I have a very big mouth. People have been telling me that for years.

So anyway, when you're sitting tipped back in a dental chair and you spit, it does not dribble neatly down onto the paper bib stylishly clipped around your neck. Rather, it splatters you in the face as if to say, "You really ought to know how to swish by now."

And then, when the dentist came in to poke and prod at my teeth, he said, "How are you today?" just after she filled my mouth with water. Did I wait to reply? Oh no. I politely responded, "glllrrrlrrgg" and spit more gurgled water around the room. And quite possibly nearly drowned, I'm not sure, I was too embarrassed to notice.

I'm sure next time they'll make me wear an extra big bib with "DentalN00b" emblazoned across it.

If I wasn't so lazy I'd have a real post with real pix

Maybe not lazy. I might be sick. I don't know. Sick only counts if you are feverish or are throwing up, and I am neither.

But my tummy hurt today, for unknown reasons. And with all the gastro-intestinal yuck going around right now, I lay low, just in case. It hurt a fair amount, then a little, then almost none, now a little again. I don't know.

But anyway, here's some pictureless blog information to tide you over until I feel like messing with pictures and video.

1.) the no-bakes. Last night made as if to start a new batch, with the butter, sugar, cocoa, and milk, and brought it to a boil. I stirred in the peanut butter, then added the crumbled mess of the previous batch and sort of smooshed it in until it was more or less incorporated. Then added about 1.5 more cups of regular (non quick) oats. They looked about right, I dropped them onto Saran Wrap (or was it some other brand?) and they set up beautifully. So they were, indeed, redeemable. Yay!

2.) the squirrel. While home nursing my tummy this morning, a squirrel got itself caught in my bird feeder. I do not have pictures because it was fairly appalling and traumatic for both of us. He did not get stuck in some cute and comical way, like squeezing his whole body into the food. Instead he somehow got one tiny little squirrel paw caught in a wire loop, and the weight of the feeder and his body were, apparently, pulling the loop tight. He was frantically trying to chew the wire from which the feeder hangs, and chewing at a bead which, unbeknownst to him, would not have freed him had he chewed through it. We watched for a little while, hoping he could just pull loose, but he didn't seem to be making any progress. I tried to call the local Nature Center, but they do not open until 1:00 on Sunday. I would've called my parents to rescue me, but they, and the Grand Lunar, were at church and unable to rescue me. I thought, perhaps, if someone could lift the feeder a little, it might put enough slack in the wire to free the squirrel. But I'm a little too rodentophobic to even attempt it. Eventually I went over to my neighbors and quiiiiiietly knocked on his door, not wanting to *wake* him but hoping he might be awake. But no one stirred. I was tromping through the snowy lawn in my jammies and a sweatshirt and denim coat to try the other neighbor when I looked between the houses and saw the squirrel was gone. I was so relieved. He sat in the tree licking his paw for a long time. So that didn't really help my tummy ache.

3.) a sock - I finished the first of my pair of kool-aid dyed yarn socks. I took a picture, but at the time my machine was disassembled, so I didn't put the pix on the computer. Maybe tomorrow. It's a pretty sock and fits me well. I started the 2nd one.

4.) sledding - I took some of the kids sledding yesterday, and we had fun going down the Big Hill with the Big Jump. If you're interested, here's one video -- http://homepage.mac.com/kimanderson/iMovieTheater39.html -- I didn't put it on my youtube space because with my computer disassembled I didn't have the password saved, couldn't remember it, and didn't want to reset it. So I put it somewhere else. It starts kind of abruptly. But make sure to enjoy, especially, the squeaky-toy child at the end.

pictures coming ... soon?

Doesn't "No Bake" mean "Easy" ??!?

I've operated most of my adult life under the mistaken assumption that because they're "no bake", No-Bake Cookies must be easy.

Why else would someone invent cookies that you didn't need to bake, if not to make life easier on the cook?

I held that believe until I tried to make them.

Because, like brownies from a box, it turns out no-bakes are one of The Grand Lunar's favorite treats. And I figure a good wife ought to, at least occasionally, make her husband's favorite treats. Right? And what could be easier than no-bakes?

Turns out they're not called "Easier Than Cookies Because You Don't Bake Them" for a reason. They're not baked, but they are cooked, on the stove. And they're actually trickier than cookies. At least for me they are. Maybe I'm a mutant.

The first time I tried to make them, they didn't set up. They ended up floppy, gooey, barely-holding-together blobs of chocolate syrup and oatmeal. Some friends sent me recipes and suggested it's all in the timing of the boiling. So I've been very careful ever since. And, usually, they turn out okay, but they always make me nervous. Like I'm making some tricky fancy gourmet thing that only accomplished chefs can handle. I'm always relieved and immensely pleased when they turn out.

So last night I decided to make some more. They might not be easy, but I had shown myself to be an accomplished chef who could handle them. Or so I thought.

It was looking fine right up to the very end. When I dumped in the oatmeal. And then - SHAZAM! - for some unknown reason the chocolatey syrupy part seized up and crystallized into a crumbly lump. Almost like dryish chocolate granola. Which isn't a bad idea, but wasn't the plan. In desperation, I tried to press it into a 9x13 pan, hoping it would hold together better if pressed down, since dropping into cookies was clearly out of the question.

The result was ... crumbly chocolately granola like stuff squashed in a pan.

What EVAH.

Apparently I am not the accomplished no-bake chef I fancied myself.

But, being the crazed mad-scientist chef that I fancy myself, I do have crazy half-thought-out plans to rescue them. We'll see if I can do it. I'll let you know. And, for the record, they do taste just fine. Which is, really, more important in the long run, isn't it?

In my defense, also, the low fat, whole grain banana bread I made this morning turned out quite well.

phew!

Same Snow, Slippery

Well, it's been bitterly cold, but the public school kids have today and tomorrow off, and the neighbor was going sledding, so we joined them for awhile.

These two still pix are compliments of my neighbor -- excellent work, Susan! I wish mine had turned out as well. I was busy taking videos, and didn't get in many still action shots before cold little ones and a head bonking sent me home with 2/3 of the children. My mom stayed with the other two for a bit more fun.

Susan's pics ~ Eminoodle going over the drop, and Iliacat in action:

If you want to see some video, here are YouTube links to:

Gark from above, going over the drop (5 sec - 228 K)

Gark from below, going down the lesser drop (5 sec - 220 K)

Iliacat going down the long run (8 sec - 360 K)

Me, going down screaming (8 sec - 328 K)

The Mom's Eye View of sledding (10 sec - 420 K)

A Little Snow

We got a heap of sparkly snow overnight. Public schools are closed. Big kids are finishing up some shoveling.

I tried to look up online how much snow we got, but it turns out that information is hard to come by. The weather advisory says "storm total 5-8 inches" but it looks like we got more than that already. I was guessing 8-12 inches on the driveway. Hard to tell when it's light and poofy. But from the stump I'd guess around 10"

The snow interrupts our about-to-get-back-to-Organizing plans. First we took a break for the holidays, then Hollie has been quite sick for quite a while! :( She's finally feeling better and we were going to ease her back in with a half-day of work today. But God overruled our plans, she gets another day of rest.

But in the meantime, I actually did do a little Kimorganizing, myself! No, really!

I can't remember if I told you I did the back bathroom by myself.

Hollie and I had also, at one point, sort of sorted The Grand Lunar's Desk.

Here's the before picture of that zone - I guess I don't have one of just the desk:

He said he was no longer happy with the wire 'college cube' shelving, so we figured we'd get some other kind of hutch for his desk. Only we couldn't find anything we loved.

In the end, I built a hutch/shelves out of some of those stackable cube units that Target and Meijer sell, and added some shelves. Here's his desk when I'd emptied out the cubes but before I removed them, the day I started building the new hutch.

We still need to finish sorting and organizing what went back into it, but this is it pre-organized:

The green and turquoise totes are ones we've emptied out as we've organized other areas. I offered the Grand Lunar red ones, since he likes red better, but he was amiable to use what we already had.

I should've turned on the cool light saber up across the top before taking the picture. Remind me to do that when I take the final organized pic of the desk.

Anyway. I guess I better get walking and doing laundry.

Hard Hats Not Required - Now With Ham!

My mom had a neat idea while we were at their house yesterday.

Her mini marshmallows were just a little stale, and she had appropriated some of Poppie's toothpicks from a project he'd done with a Youth Lay Speaking retreat. We modified the project to suit our group.

Our assignment: Build things out of marshmallows and toothpicks.

This was one of the days where the candid pix delighted me even more than the posed ones. But here's a little of both:

Tobi-wan laying on the floor next to his self-made Tobi-Robot:

And Buzz wanting in on the floor-laying-photo-shoot. Would you like a little ham with your tower?

Mom and I took up the challenge to see how tall a tower we could make.

Here's mom after adding the final spike to hers. Where do those kids get their hamminess from?

The marshmallows made it tough to build very high before things got wobbly. Originally we were trying to beat Poppie's claim that the youth could only build about 1' tall ... as we worked, Poppie came through and mentioned more and more ridiculous rules they'd used that we hadn't. Like only using your 'other' hand (left if you're right handed) ... and working in teams ... and only having 15 minutes.

I was glad we hadn't started with all those rules, I would've quit before I started. Using both hands, not having to coordinate a team, and having as much time as we liked, Mom and I were both able to make structures around a foot and a half.

And then we piled her structure on my structure.

Look, it's as tall as my extended fingertips!

Yes, Yes, I know I look like a dork in that picture. Apparently hamminess does not skip a generation. Why am I doing that next to the tower? Because I'm mimicking this picture from my past!!

This is Randy-the-neighborhood-kid and I with our very tall block tower when we were 4. Nice outfit I'm wearing, eh? It was purple plaid.

Okay, really, ours wasn't that tall, I'm squinched down and it's on the table. Here's me leaning to get out of the picture before the tower tips over. I'm not pregnant, and not fat. Well, not that fat. I'm leaning. Leeeeaaaaning.

But really, the combined tower held up pretty well, even when iliacat carried it around the house, balanced on one hand. Can you spot the ham in this picture?

Or the ham in this picture?

Does it look like Buzz is building in the background of that last one? Look closer. He's just eating the building materials.

When we were all done, the marshmallows were divided up amongst cups of cocoa. A good time was had by all!

Thanks Mom!!!

Big Giant Manly Mitts

Ta Da!

I finally finished The Mittens, after several starts and re-starts.

I'd link you to a pattern, but I changed SO many things that they really aren't at all like the pattern I "used" ... maybe if I'm quick about it I could re-write what I did, if I haven't forgotten. Ha ha ha!!!!

I have to say that I really liked the two-at-once-on-two-circulars approach. I am wondering if I can/should transfer my one poor 1/3 done sock to a circ, knit up a 2nd 1/3 done sock, and then continue them together. Hm. Not sure if that would be more work or less, but I loved knowing when to switch them together, and knowing they'd be the same.

I'm not a big fan of pointy-tipped mittens. It seems to be trendy these days, at least many of the patterns had them. Somehow I thought I would avoid them if I switched from knitting two rounds between decreases to knitting one round between, and then kitchnering up the end. But apparently that's what makes the pointy tips. I guess. I don't know. Anyway, meh. I ended up pulling in the tips a little to reduce the pointy look. If I had to do it over, I'd do it differently. But they're done, so there.

Don't they look HUGE?!?!?!?

But I have puny little girly hands. And I used The Grand Lunar as my hand model, since he also has Big Manly Hands, and they fit him, so ... phew.

Next up in the knitting world ... um ... back to the sock(s) ?

Building A Habitat for Monkeys

Today we built a monkey habitat!

Here's the sweet 'n sappy version (the one I made):

And here's the wacky quickie version (the one The Grand Lunar made):

And here's the boring static final-result images for those of you unenthused, unwilling, or unable to view the movies:

And, lastly, the link to the teeny weeny soundless quick version for the DialUppy Friends (348 K)

6' Dome Kit from www.domeclimber.com

See me walkin ... walkin' out the door

... not really out the door. That's just the song, singing.

Actually, just in the living room. Mostly in one place. The place where the area rug is getting worn thin.

... believe me ... gonna make it, make it ...

Would I lie to you?

Yeah, so I'm walking again.

I was inspired to post about it reading Rosanne and Daisy's blogs. Those exercise Canadians! They're inspiring!

I did so well the first half of last year.

Then fell off the wagon and got run over. Then I kept trying to get up and chase the wagon. But couldn't get back on. That was discouraging.

But I'm back on now.

A little concerned that I won't STAY on. So I've been hesitant to post or make "goals" ... I tend to do well when I'm doing well, and not be able to get back to going if I stop for some reason.

But I'm up to 29 miles so far this month, and enjoying it so far. I'd really like to be someone who walks for the rest of their lives. But for now, I'll just try to take it day by day, week by week.

Walkin, walkin' ...

How about you?

did you see that tall woman with the long curly hair?

so I had to run an errand today

(not to fetch a peck of snide, though)

and I parked way way far away in the gihugic parking lot.

And I was walking in, enjoying the sun and the nice day, and I was walking with LONG brisk steps, and my hair was bouncing along ...

and I realized I was imagining being really tall and thin with long hair waving behind me in the breeze ...

I was cool, all tall and thin like that. You should've seen me.

Who left that roller coaster there?

So I was walking along, minding my own business, and tripped and fell into a rollercoaster.

I wasn't looking to add any "ministry" outside of what we already do. I have been, however, praying that God would show me what He wants to do, whatever that might be. Asking Him to use me, however He wants to use me.

I got a call inviting me to consider joining a ministry. I've been asked about it before, but successfully ignored/forgot about it, or didn't feel at all called to it in the past. I don't know what was different this time.

So I decided to pray about it.

at one point I was sitting somewhere unrelated, thinking unrelated things, and the thought wafted through my head "I will need the training that ministry provides ..."

Which was odd. Not like me. I didn't want to discount it, nor did I want to make too much of it. My brain is full of odd thoughts, although usually not like that. Was it the Holy Spirit? I didn't know.

I kept praying about it.

Two different days at different times I prayed the Lord would really show me, yes or no, and someone from the ministry called, or stopped me, and asked me if I was still considering it. On the same day that I had prayed about it.

but is that a sign? I tend to overanalyze things, and didn't want to make too much of a little thing. Nor did I want to be that guy in the old joke, waiting on the roof for God to save him. I'm sure you know the story.

So ... I gave it some more prayer, more time. Plenty of time to forget about it, really, which is my usual style. But I didn't forget. It kept bothering me that I didn't know. Kept praying.

Asked my husband, who, to my surprise, suggested I go ahead and fill out the application and see what happens. I did and they actually came over to pick it up when I wasn't able to get it in right away. And signed me up for an interview.

I went expecting the interview to confirm that it was where He wanted me ...

The interview was interesting and intense and there was much discussion of how I really wasn't sure ~ IF God was calling me to this, I wanted to respond with clear obedience. IF He was saying, "Yes, this is for you" I was ready and willing to jump in, fully committed. But only IF. And that IF swirled about. I had no CLEAR yes. No blinking green light. No lightning bolt. A lot of little things that maybe could add up to a muddled yes, especially if confirmed in retrospect. But I also had no flashing red NO. God had ample time and many ways to give me a clear NO, yet hadn't. Instead, this seemed to keep popping up when it could've faded away. And yet. I wasn't sure.

One of the ministry leader interviewers seemed to believe that God's leading is always clear when we seek Him on it, and that joy and peace in the decision-making is always there. I have not found that to be the case for me. I believe joy and peace DO come, but sometimes not right away. For me, sometimes, following God has been a gut-wrenching stepping out in faith, praying I've heard Him right, praying He'll stop me if I'm wrong.

Is it just me that has felt that way more than not?

In the end, I left the meeting still confused, drained, for awhile leaning towards yes, then leaning towards no, still praying for clear decision from the Lord. Not my will, but Yours, O Lord. I had a headache at the end, a migraine as I drove home. Squinting to see the lines on the wet road made me nauseated. I came home, tried to tell The Grand Lunar about the meeting, started to cry, and went to throw up. Then I went to bed. At this point I was feeling mostly like the ministry was not for me at this time.

i had weird dreams. I don't think they were prophetic dreams. But I dreamed the weird dreams were telling me no. I know that sounds strange. I think it was more a reflection of my mind than God Speaking Through Weird Dreams. They weren't the right sort of weird, you know? But anyway, when I woke this morning, I no longer felt the ministry was for me at this time. I think it's a wonderful ministry. I would love to receive the training someday and see where God might work through me, through it. I would love to have God glorified to others through it.

But apparently it wasn't for me at this time. In fact, tonight, I'm pretty certain of that. And I'm okay with that. I'm glad to know.

I'm just not quite sure why I had to ride such a roller coaster, just to end up at what appears to be nearly the same point I started.

Why would God leave a roller coaster there, right in the middle of my path?

Because I haven't rambled excessively about hair in a long time

well, unless you count the random rambling and yesterday's mention.

Which I guess should count.

So I need a new title, but will forget before I think of one. Sorry. Maybe I should call it "Random kim's hair thoughts that you probably already know" ~ an enticing title if I ever saw one!

I used to measure my hair every month ~ for those of you not in the know, you can measure from the hairline and stretch out any curls to get a more or less accurate measurement of hair growth over time. Did you know the average person's hair grows about 1/2" a month? As a curly girl, most of my growth sproings up and is difficult if not impossible to gauge.

So I started measuring it so that I could pat myself on the back and say "Look, your hair really IS growing!"

What I didn't forsee is how very uneven it grows. Between postpartum/hormonal loss over the last 12 years (I really don't think the idea that you only shed what you didn't during pregnancy is true for me, I think my hair has thinned considerably over the last 12 years) and whatever else might cause it, even when I've confirmed THAT it was growing, I've been disappointed with HOW it's grown. First I tried the "as much length, no trimming" method, and ended up with thinning scraggly uneven hair. So then I got it chopped way back and started trimming it every 3-4 months, which the stylist even said shouldn't be too bad if I were to grow it out. I didn't keep going to her, though, she really didn't seem excited about the prospect, I got very "yeah, whatever" vibes from her when I went back for a trim. I don't know. So anyway, I've been having The Grand Lunar or iCat use Feye's method to trim up 1/2" - 1" every 3-4 months. Which you'd think would be enough to keep the ends evenish.

But not so. Apparently much of my thinning and uneven V-shaped growth is 1.) just the way things grow and/or 2.) the results of my postpartum excessive shedding.

I guess I said all this yesterday, I apologize for rambling profusely on things you already read. here's the real point ~ here's what my hair looks like yesterday. The curls are slightly more uneven than usual because my hair dried while I was wearing a hoodie, so the curls bunched up over/on the hood. But still, you get the gist.

It's at 27" at it's longest, but, sadly, there's not much of it making it to that length. Or, like before, even a few inches up. I'd have to cut WAY back, again, to even up and have a 'blunt hemline'

So ... like before ... I'm left wondering what to do. I don't want to give up my long hair dreams. But it seems silly to keep trying to grow it out when it grows so uneven and scraggly.

So (and I am in no way implying I'll take anyone's suggestions, but it's still fun to read them) what do you think? What might you do?

Oh, and the color - interesting, eh? What you see there is "temporary lasts up to 6 weeks" color not fading out, which is why most of it looks a nice warm brown. If you look close you can see gray peeking through the roots. And look even closer you can see my burgundy streaks, which I believe I forgot to tell you about. I bought some burgundy permanent color, but applied it only in a few streaks. 8 total, most hidden NOT at the edge or part line, so I can either hide them or expose them as I see fit.

Here's a dorky picture of me looking up at the camera trying to take a pic of the stripes. Pretend the wrinkles on my forehead are because I'm looking up, rather than because I look very old.

What do you think?

It's not that I don't have anything to say ...

It's just that I'm too cold to blog.

It's so cold.

Even when it's not that cold, I'm cold. And now it's colder than that.

Here are some random thoughts:

-new years resolutions. ugh.

- I fell off the walking wagon totally last year. I ended with over 500 miles, which is good, but very few of them were in the 2nd half of the year. I'm trying to start walking again, being a new year and all. I'm hesitant to make any *goals* ...

- trying to eat healthy again, still. All the weight I "lost" in 2007 was the same pounds over and over and over. I'd really like to get the last 20ish pounds off. Blah blah.

- knitting - I'm back to just past the 'move the thumb stitches out of the loop' stage of the mittens. They're MUCH bigger this time. I keep thinking they're too big. Then I have The Grand Lunar try them on, with his Big Man Hands, and they fit him fine. It's a good thing I have a personal model for them.

- hair - stupid hair. Remember in '05 when i was trying so hard to grow it out to waist length, but between the curls and how much it tapered and thinned, it was pretty lame? So in April '06 I got it cut way back, in hopes of evening up the ends and getting it trimmed every 3-4 months to keep them evened up. And I HAVE trimmed it every 4 months or so. Not huge trims, because I really wanted it to grow. But trying to keep it even. But it hasn't worked. So now it's 27" long at the longest hair, but again, like before, it tapers and thins a lot. I'd give up and say I'm not able to grow long hair, except I still haven't had a year free of hormone-related hair loss. So ... maybe I'll keep trying a little longer. Or maybe not. I don't know. stupid hair.

- meme - I still have Rosanne's MEME to do. It's not that I've forgotten

- testing something: why won't this work for me?

Well, all this typing has not warmed me up, so I'll go wrap up in a blanket and knit. Or clean my kitchen. Whichever appeals to me more. Ha ha ha.