I was tickled pink this morning to meet three new weekly folder volunteers. That brings our total new volunteers that have helped at least once this semester to five, which is pretty exciting since a few years ago we were really hurting for volunteers. One of them shares my appreciation of American Girls dolls and I am seriously considering making Molly's party pinafore for the little girl in her life. It'll be nice to dig into that stash of clearance rick-rack I bought for my birthday.

It was gently suggested to me that Laurel is getting a bit old to tag along with me to Cub Scouts, so I worked out the route to get to the nearest school with a Girl Scout troop. We can pick up a direct bus route that stops right by that school on the far side of the major intersection west of us. The downside is that said intersection is currently torn up for construction so unless we'd be walking there from her school (or going up and around that way) we would have to cross the torn-up intersection. We crossed it once north-to-south last month and it was a hot mess with the sidewalk torn out and the crosswalk signals/lights removed. I still have to find out how much joining and program materials will cost anyway, so nothing's set yet.

In good financial news, we are finally caught up on everything less some late fees with the apartment complex, who declined to waive the late fees for September accrued during the two weeks between me handing the rent verification form to a staff member and anyone telling me it had been lost so the form had not been completed and returned by fax. I am going to have to bring this up to the regional supervisor, which I really do not want to do, but I am tired of going in circles with the complex staff, who smile, nod and ask what they can do in response to anything I say. Some days I want to go in there and spout gibberish to see if they respond the same way.

In not-so-good financial news, we can't afford for Laurel and I to go to Colorado for winter break. I am a bit bummed about that since I haven't seen most of my family since last Christmas, but them's the breaks when your primary income-maker was out of work for six months. That artificial Christmas tree we haven't used in a few years will come out this year!

Facepalm moments of book fair:
- A lingering browser during class time that thought cents and dollars were interchangeable. (They were old enough to have done the "money math" unit and clearly understood the concept of hundreds, tens and ones.)
- An older student that, after noticing the day before we accepted checks as payment, brought in a cash withdrawal slip for the amount, not including sales tax, of a single title they wanted. They did attempt to fill it out like a check (made out to cash) but there wasn't enough room on the "signature" line so they signed it in the style FirstName LastInitial.

Sweetest moment of book fair:
- A preschool-aged sibling I usually sit and chat with while we wait for school to let out came gave me a sprig of holly-like leaves that were turning a pretty red. I tucked them into my hair and totally forgot about it until I was at the PTA meeting that night and we saw each other again.

In other school-related news, I was treated to breakfast this morning by a fellow weekly folder volunteer, I helped hang lots of bulletin board paper for student snapshot boards (each grade has a themed display; I'm working on "Adventures Through Imagination" with homemade enlargements of some graphic elements of the Reading Rainbow intro animation), and next Tuesday I will be sending two of my favorite dishes from Veganomicon to a fall teacher luncheon.

...

Vogon took photos of Laurel and I in our Halloween costumes for the Cub Scout pack meeting earlier this month, I just have to get off my duff and copy them and the PTA meeting pics to my computer so I can do stuff with them.

Laurel's friend that lives in a neighboring complex is now walking home with us in the afternoon and hanging out with Laurel until her older brother gets home from school, which will save her folks on after-school care and gives the girls some quality time together that's a little less overwhelming for me than the sleepover they had last weekend. (I love the kids, I just love sleeping in more.)

I gave Vogon a drive enclosure I wasn't using anymore and he cracked up when he opened it and found a sticky note over the drive label that read "crashed 10/2005 - partition table missing?". (I was able to recover the data from the drive, hence why it was in the enclosure.)

There's probably some other stuff I should post about but it is falling out my head at the moment.

Book fair is this week, so I'll be at the school all day helping kids write their wish lists, straightening the shelves, and later trying to encourage kids with money burning a hole in their pocket to hold onto it if they aren't going to use it on books because the school supplies are overpriced. (The 99-cent bendable pencils can be found for a quarter on Walgreens' clearance rack this past spring; the 3.99 miniature composition books, always a buck apiece at Family Dollar. The only non-book items I'd buy at book fair are bookmarks.)

I have planned ahead to avoid the lure of $3 hot lunch in the cafeteria (not that I wouldn't eat it, that's just too rich for my budget) and scored a packet of wheat flatbread on the bakery clearance rack so I will be eating PBJs on flatbread this week. Nom.

I am still debating whether to go to the PTA meeting/book fair evening on Tuesday. We can probably get a ride home if we walk over and it's already a given I won't be staffing the book fair evening, but the juggling/comedy performance for the kids sounds more interesting to me than the 40 Assets presentation for the adults. (After working with a now-defunct nonprofit that pushed them, whenever I think of 40 Assets I hear Billy Mays copypasta in my head. And I personally put two scoops in my coffee every morning!)

Nutshell: don't expect me to be terribly coherent if you catch me on IM this week. I will try my best not to ramble at you about new book titles if you do, though.

My back-to-school crud turned one month old earlier this week. It is less annoying now, the cough is much less frequent (and finally productive) and the perpetual sore throat has left.

The flight museum's P-51 flew in yesterday while we were walking home from school, but I was not fast enough at grabbing my camera to capture it. Suffice it to say that it was awesome and loud. REALLY loud. Awesome nonetheless.

Laurel has settled into fourth grade and likes it all right, although her teacher is currently on maternity leave. I think it's something in the water as her teacher was the second of four teachers at our school due this semester.

I am unofficially an assistant den leader to help get the Tigers get underway this year. Their den leader is already familiar with the program, it's just her first year as a den leader, so I think she'll do well. Once they're off and running I might see if the Webelos (fourth and fifth graders) could use help since I've been a Webelos den leader before.

One month to my long-awaited meds appointment. I feel like a contestant on Press Your Luck repeating "no whammies", only I'm repeating "40 mg". I'm pretty sure my doctor will agree to return to that dose but the anxiety voice in the back of my head isn't so sure. (For those of you newer here, I have severe recurrent major depressive disorder. On the lower meds dose I've been at since May I've been struggling.)

It's been raining intermittently this week and got chilly today, so to stave off turning on the heat, I'm wearing a wool sweater over a long-sleeve tee and Laurel is wearing my Where the Wild Things Are hoodie over the clothes she wore to school today. Kevin, who is more sensitive to cold than we are, is hanging out in the study since it's always warmer in there from the server and other electronics. (The shelves holding the modem and routers put off palpable heat despite ample ventilation. It's a pain in the summer but welcome today.)

Here are a few photos of what we've seen lately:


The first couple of turning leaves I found for Miss May.


A ding in the sidewalk that looked like a heart.


The only Halloween decoration I've felt up to putting up so far. (Yes, it's beglittered.)

Dear Chase,

Thank you for charging me a $64.00 fee three days after going $4.62 overdrawn and two days after making a deposit to rectify that situation. You are doing your part to stimulate the economy!

No love,
Me

Laurel will be tickled to learn that pictures of her sleeping transcend the language barrier:
http://blog-neta.cocolog-nifty.com/neta/show/jyeWCPml5G?c=app.f.post&nwsThough=1

(If you don't want to click through, the blogger used a photo I took of four-year-old Laurel using her stuffed kitty as a pillow to sleep on a flight.)

Earlier tonight, I twittered: Dear get-rich-quick people that keep following me: I have a net worth of $104 (not a typo) and I am okay with that. Now go away.

That doesn't do justice to where I am right now. Financially, we are scraping the bottom and have our fingers crossed that an interview later today turns the months-long tide of underemployment without being overly optimistic.

What money can't touch is everything I do have:
- A healthy, funny and intelligent mini-me who still thinks I'm cool;
- A patient husband who practically worships the ground I walk on, even after two head injuries and the awkward process of getting him a continuity of care to keep tabs on his brain and blood chemistry;
- Amazing friends that know all kinds of things I've only got the barest cognizance of and have surprised me with their kindness when I've needed it most;
- A family that loves me unconditionally and lets me play with the kids even though I gave them strange nicknames;
- A cat that follows me everywhere and tolerates Laurel picking him up and putting him on her doll bed;
- Surprisingly nimble fingers for poking, prodding and stitching things together, which I am lucky enough to do for pleasure;
- An easy time acquiring new skills and memorizing things;
- Living in a place that is in a fairly walkable area and in the catchment for one of the best elementary schools in the state; and
- Good luck that shows up at the strangest times.

So there it is.

...

Also, I have a lot more canning jars than I thought I did, but as we get into vacuum-packed bags, they're handy for storing the contents of opened bags. All those jars of granulated sugar are another story. (We bought a 25-pound bag a few years ago. In hindsight, a giant bag of flour and a more modest amount of sugar makes more sense with the amount of baking I do.)

Children have been screaming outside my building for over twenty minutes. They're drowning out the TV (Kevin is watching Cops in the study), radio (NPR, of course) and two fans.

I'd give you three guesses, but longtime readers already know it's the feral children. If their father was ever around (I've seen him once in three years) and their mother was ever sober, I'd give them a piece of my mind. God knows they could use a few brain cells between them.

A few weeks ago my sister called me to ask where the cable to transfer video from Dad's MiniDV camera to the computer might be stashed. I told her it was labeled with a tape flag and my two best location guesses. A few days later, Mom told me Amy had uploaded her application video for Google Teacher Academy to YouTube and I should go watch it.

I was going to write a list of reasons why I think you should watch it, but instead I'll give you the highlights: my nephew riding a toy roller coaster and an adorable still at 0:49 of my niece and Laurel using a laptop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKFrRWv9qFQ

Vogon called to dictate a list of things he would like me to bring him tomorrow. He didn't want me to pick books for him [1] so I had to go into the stifling hot study and read titles off a pile of books. Much repeating and explaining where a particular title fell within a series ensued.

Somewhere after the end of that, he said "Oh, and I want [mumbles]". I asked him to repeat it.

Vogon: Hitchee goomee.
Me: Hitchhiker's Guide?
Vogon: Hitchee goomee!
Me: I still don't understand what you're saying, so I'm just going to pull the hardcover Hitchhiker's Guide. (I think that he has the pre-Mostly Harmless edition, but whatever.)
Vogon: That's what I said! Hitchee goomee!
Me: I think your mouth is too close to the receiver, because it sounds like you're saying "hitchee goomee".
Vogon: That is what I said!
Me: It must be an abbreviation that doesn't carry over well in speech.
Vogon: [slowly] H. 2. G. 2.
Me: I get that now. You could have just said "Hitchhiker's Guide".

--

1. I was going to pull Musicophilia, The Mind and the Brain, and Banvard's Folly.

As announced earlier on my Twitter/Facebook feed, Kevin has been diagnosed with diabetes. Friday morning he had a blood glucose level of 167 and blood pressure of 61/40; he was given insulin on Friday and had a blood pressure reading of 90/60-something this morning and a 'better' (he didn't specify) glucose level.

I only saw him for about five minutes Friday night because of bad connection timing, which I have planned better for today by taking an earlier local bus. Depending on where things are Monday, I may go down to Akard Station (and ride the train there, woo) and buy a weekly pass.

I am doing fine on my own, did a lot of decluttering Wednesday night and will put in some quality decluttering time again on Sunday. Squeaky has been showing some separation anxiety and has been scratching one of the door frames event though I refreshed the catnip spray on his scratch-friendly places (scratching post, kitty condo and cat tree) but I think he's getting used to it.

Kevin seemed a little embarrassed when I told him a lot of folks are praying or thinking good thoughts for his health, but I'd like to thank all of you for it. I believe every bit helps.

Looking back, I realize that most of my posting this spring has been friends-only or otherwise filtered because of sensitive things that have been going on. Rather than make them all public, here's the condensed version of what's been going on with Kevin (vogonpoet):

( Read more... )

Recent appearances of my photos, courtesy of my Flickr stats:

- A picture my friend Rich took of a sawfish at the Dallas World Aquarium last November appears in the Southern Bulb Company blog entry A Little “Garden Variety”.

- Laurel's 2009 science fair project board illustrates the HubPages article How to Organize a Science Fair Project.

- A picture of then 3-year-old Laurel sitting on her training potty and looking at movies in an armoire drawer opens the About Parenting Tips blog entry Potty Training Your Kids.

- Squeaky playing in the paper shreds makes another appearance in an environment-related article, this time Shred it at the Shred-a-thon, help a local food bank at the Beacon Hill Blog. (Hello, Seattle!)

One of my favorite things about Flickr is seeing where people use my Creative Commons-licensed photos. It satisfies my curiosity to see what people think about after looking at them.

Found via batspjs, the Sewing Machine Meme from Sew, Mama, Sew!:

( Read more... )

If you want me to follow you there, leave your username here so I can find you. (Comments are screened.) I'm using my OpenID there, so I will show up in your circle as oddharmonic.livejournal.com.

Vogon went to sleep around 0830 so I let him be and went to the ACE portfolio sharing lunch. The kids had made Powerpoint presentations and each had a laptop to share it on, so I watched Laurel's and a couple of her classmates while noshing on school lunch tacos. When we get a copy of her presentation on CD, I will extract the photos so you can see some of the projects she's done this year and the awesome Bessie Coleman puppet from the biography section that was this quarter's project.

Among the requisite paperwork sent home with the parents is a packet on the Duke TIP program, which has a 4th/5th grade program that is wholly new to me. I've been planning to start saving in case she wants to do CTY in middle school, but Duke TIP already? My PEGlets are still so young to me! I'm going to sit in a corner and feel old now.

I told him to go get some sun so he doesn't get rickets from staying inside with the blinds closed, so he's out with Laurel at the pool for a bit.

Laurel and I were walking this afternoon to run an errand and saw the B-24 Liberator (Ol' 927) fly out and back from Addison Airport. Crossing the parking lot by the dollar store, she looked close enough to touch and I had to fight the urge to yell "the sound of freedom!".

After that I told her about Uncle Stir, her great-grandmother Dorothy's brother, who was a waist-gunner on a B-24 during World War II.

Thanks for serving, y'all.

Things are in a holding pattern around here as school winds down and Laurel looks forward to flying "by herself" (as an unaccompanied minor) to visit her grandparents for the summer. Waiting to hear back on paperwork submitted with what seems like minute details of our finances. And the mama mourning dove, dubbed Isabel by the little miss, has laid another two eggs in one of our hanging baskets I haven't planted yet this year.

The downside of Texas spring weather is frequently painful sinuses and I'm trying to go easy on the Sudafed (it works, but it's spendy), so until then please enjoy the happy little trees around the corner from me.

Happy belated Mother's Day.

This is what I did with mine, although I'm not entirely pleased with some of the details I recreated:
( Old family photo restoration before/after, 79 kb image )

I keep forgetting the product line name because it's so horribly cheesy, but for smaller between-cup sizes these bras are made of win: Playtex Thank Goodness It Fits.

My favorite daily-wear bras for nearly ten years have been from this line. I will inevitably forget the name, so I'm posting it for future reference.