A Blog to Get Things Going

I am blogging, but I'll admit my heart's not really in it. I've been putting it off. It's been a tough month, and I'm not in the mood. But I'm hoping that once I start, I'll get over the hump and post with better consistency. So here goes.

One good thing is that I'm knitting again. I'm working on this scarf (above) for my dad's birthday, which was yesterday. Needless to say, I didn't get it done in time. But I hope to finish it before too much longer, because winter should be back any day now. Yesterday, it was 63 degrees, but today when I picked up Daphne from school, there were snow flurries.

We celebrated my dad's birthday on Sunday, and there was pie:


My mom made it, and it was GOOD. Chocolate cream pie with meringue. I, on the other hand, did NOT make a pie, which is very disappointing because Saturday was National Pie Day and I had big plans. Unfortunately, Daphne had a bad cold over the weekend, and pie just didn't happen. In fact, dinner may not have happened, except Kev stepped up and made Guinness Beef Stew on Saturday and saved the day. Also GOOD. Anyway, I WILL make pie, but it will be late. Like the scarf. I never used to be late. Ever. I am diagnosing myself with adult onset ADD (most definitely without the "H"). I just can't seem to get organized or complete tasks efficiently anymore.

BUT, what I CAN do is play the drums on Rock Band. And, according to the game (which I am now very suspicious of), I can suddenly SING too. I got 100% on medium singing Fleetwood Mac "Go Your Own Way," and I KNOW I wasn't hitting those Lindsey Buckingham high notes. No wonder that poor girl who tried out for American Idol after practicing and getting high praise from Fake Simon on the A.I. video game thought she could sing. It's totally bogus. The drums, however, you can't really fake your way through. You either hit the beats or you don't. Man oh man, I love playing the drums on Rock Band. The only thing I don't like is that sometimes you have to play along with really horrible songs by bands like Motorhead and System of a Down and so forth. I can't sing, but at least I'm better than Lemmy. Good grief. Who LIKES that crap?


Pictured above are some of my Christmas gifts from Kev. The pot has gotten a LOT of use. The pannier is awesome, but I won't get to use it until spring. See those little hooks? It hooks right on my bike, and I'll be able to fill it with things like snacks and my camera and my new picnic quilt that my mom is making me and small knitting projects and whatever else one might take along on a bike ride. I can't wait. And last but not least, the fabulous daisy-printed thing, in case you can't tell, is a market cart. It's on wheels, so I can pull it all around town to the farmer's market or the grocery store and use it to carry things home. Yesterday, I got to use it for the first time. I promise you I had more style than anyone else at Safeway. OK, that's really not saying a whole lot, I guess. Safeway isn't really a very stylish place. But still. I love my market cart, and intend to use it regularly.

So, that's some of what's been going on around here. A couple funny Daphne notes: This morning, I went upstairs to get dressed, and I heard Daphne calling, MOM, with great urgency. So I called back down the steps, WHAT? And she hollered, "What are golashes?" Me: They're like rainboots. Her: When do you wear 'em? Me: Uh...when it rains. Long pause. Her: Do dogs wear 'em? Me: No. Her: OK. And that was that.

Then, she asked if she could make a Christmas list for next year. I said let's wait until after school, but she said, "Well, it's not a very long list." So I said OK and she dictated it to me:

1. A BBBBIIIIGGGG wall with ropes for climbing and a helmet.
2. A banana shirt.
3. Balloons.
4. The rest of the guys from Meet the Robinsons. (She already has the "Wilbur." And she already broke off one of his legs.)

I would like to visit Daphne's imagination for a while and see what goes on in there. She's so dang funny. The other morning, I went into her room when she woke up, and the first thing she said to me was not "Good morning Mommy," but, "I have a super large head." And she is making up a story that she's dictating to Kev about a guy named Parker Charlie (!) who has a pug named Bob, and who rides backwards through town on a two wheeled unicycle and always forgets to zip up his pants. So, I am very lucky and happy to get to spend time with my funny little kid. I need to remember this when she is having a meltdown or a moment (or two) of stubborness like she did today after school. There are times when we consider having her spend the teenage years in bootcamp. If she is this stubborn now, she will either outgrow it, or we're REALLY in for it. Let's hope she outgrows it. I don't think they let you bring your mommy with you to bootcamp.

OK, well, I feel sorta all nice and bloggy again, so I shall try to post again soon. Off to work on the scarf for a while. Or maybe practice my drumming skills. Sweet.