Hurricane Katrina

I am at turns shocked, saddened, fearful, and awed as I see coverage of the devastation that Hurricane Katrina brought to the southern coasts. That so few people have died (as far as we know now) is a major miracle. But tens of thousands of lives are now ruined for probably many years. What can we do? Pray, if that's your tradition. Or give, an impulse present in all traditions, as far as I know. This FEMA web page lists organizations that are handling cash donations and worker volunteers. I have several bags of baby clothes that I want to send to those in need, but I can't find any aid organizations taking anything other than cash donations (yet). I suppose as the week goes on I may find a way to send these items through a local group here in Delaware. If any readers know how I can get these things to the right people, drop me a comment, please. There, but for the grace of God, go I.

Ten minutes later...

The babe is awake, writing plans safely scuttled. Whew! Maybe I'll never have to finish that pesky novel. Instead, I've heated some Tasty Bite Bengal Lentils and thrown them over last night's Chinese takeout rice. I checked the foil package of the beans and saw that they are "Best Before: 0729059701." It will be difficult, but I think I can finish them before then.

And the weekend winds down

...so I'll make a few updates. The parents were here again this weekend and sent D and me out to eat at Harry's Seafood Grill, one of my two faves in Wilmington (the other being Moro), while they kept the kiddos. We split the fish taco appetizers, and I had the grilled salmon entree, on a bed of beet carpaccio, horseradish mashed potatoes and arugula pesto. Yes yes yes yes yes. I had a few bites of D's strawberry shortcake (cakes had poppy seeds and walnuts in them and cream had grand marnier or some citrusy liqueur). More yes. My parents are such wonderful, giving people. They cleaned the dirty kitchen floor for us, and they also dismantled and washed a sofa cushion that W had thrown up on. We thought we were going to have to purchase new foam and fiberfill, but my parents were able to salvage it for us by rolling up their sleeves and just washing. And we never ask them to do this stuff. It's as though they have special "need" detectors when they get here that guide them to the things that need to be fixed, and then they fix them. They really are special people. And the kids absolutely love them. Me too, by the way.

What else? I'm still trying to keep an eye on my diet, but with the loads of organic veggies we get every week, it's easy to keep it healthy in the main. I just put up about twenty tomatoes yesterday. There's still a watermelon, a spaghetti squash, an eggplant, some edamame, and some peppers left from last Wednesday's box to be eaten before this Wednesday rolls around. I think it'll be eggplant lasagne tomorrow. I made a key lime pie yesterday with some key limes my mother-in-law sent up from FLA. Just enjoyed a piece moments ago. And so there's the rub about the healthy eating. Parents. My parents brought three huge candybars with them, and I bought some bakery cookies and made the pie to provide yummies for them while they were here. So now, we just have this bad stuff around that neither of us needs to be eating. I guess I can freeze the two remaining candybars and we can finish the portion of the first. And the cookies, maybe freeze them too? The pie, of course, we will eat willingly to the point of licking the pan. I'm not joking. Almost.

First playdate tomorrow with some new mommies. I've been meeting with R and her 18mo for about seven months now, and recently the MOMS club we're in has added three new mommies and their charges to our little group. It just so happens that two of the new mommies are the new president and vice president of the MOMS club, so we'll see what that's all about tomorrow! I'm sure they're all fine gals. Just so their kids aren't smarter'n mine. I know, I know, silly me--how ever could that be?

AC has just fallen asleep, against all odds, because so has N! D is at work, and I'm alone with the whiny dogs. So, it's prime writing time, my friends. A bientot! (If I knew how to put the diacritical marks in, I would.)

Crush on Kohl's

I am not a shopper. Especially for clothes. Except sometimes on the internet. Then I can try them on here at home and send them back (or, in the case of Lands' End, drive them to Sears and return them). Imagine my surprise then, to discover yesterday that I had been to Kohl's and bought stuff three days out of the past four. And I will go again before it's all over. My new jeans and blazer from Lands' End that arrived last week set this all into motion. You see, when a woman goes down a size and gets a new pair of nice jeans, she needs something to wear with them!

Part of the draw was a magical coupon in last week's mail giving me 30% off EVERYTHING at Kohl's when I use my store card. Even the make-up, even the sale stuff, even the clearance stuff.

Thursday was charge customer preview day. I bought two shirts, an Arrow tie for D, a 3-pk of Jockey panties, a 3-pk of Reebok footies, and a pair of earrings. This cost about $45 with all the sale prices and the discount. I tried on a million bras, but none were right.

Saturday I went back to return the earrings and bought another shirt and a belt. About $12.

Sunday (yesterday), I got another pair of earrings, some nail polish, and finally found a Warner's bra that fit and that was appropriate for the shirts I wanted to wear it with. Can I tell you how thrilled I am to have a new bra that does not have flaps? I'm still nursing AC, but now for a few hours every once in a while, I can pretend that I am in control of my boobs. This purchase was $25.

Since I haven't even hit $100 yet, I believe I will go again tonight or tomorrow and look at shoes...maybe some fall clothes for little N. D is going to go at some point to get a pair of dress slacks. Get your shop on--sale ends Tuesday!!

Latoyia Figueroa's Remains Have Been Found

They have found the pregnant body of Figueroa and arrested her ex-boyfriend in the murder.

Saturday Anomaly

Saturday is my internet-free day, but I couldn't let another day slip by with that stupid Demi-Ashton post at the top of my blog. Ugh. So, here's a recap of the crazy last few days.

Thursday:
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware has screwed up again, and it will take probably...oh...a year to straighten things out, if the past is any indication.

I thought W broke (again) his $3600 bionic leg. Emergency trip to the vet with screaming, hungry 5mo girl in tow. All was okay, probably a sprained toe. Ended up picking the boy up from daycare (goes on a T-Th schedule) rather late due to the ruckus.

Friday:
NEW CLOTHES!!! I now have some fashionable jeans in a size 10, although I need a belt to prevent the gape in the back that you ladies know about. (Okay, I'll bet you MEN know about that too.) I have two cute tee shirts in brown and black. I also have a new camel blazer for this fall.

My children nearly drove me over the edge today. Not only did AC scream and cry after five minutes of ANYthing I tried to make her happy, N decided that the baby gate at the top of the upper stairs was just perfect for climbing on and hanging off of backwards. Visions of another emergency trip to the vet who is very nice and is much closer than the people hospital. And we had a kick to the face (N to AC's) that was a couple inches shy of connecting. That was fun.

And now, without further ado, I will get off the internet for the rest of the day, safe in the knowledge that Ashton and Demi are on their way down, down, down...

More distatefulness...

From CNN.com - Demi calls Ashton her 'soul mate' - Aug 15, 2005:

Moore says the couple, who recently moved into their new home in the Hollywood Hills, enjoy "sharing a bath with one another and watching 'Court TV.' Snuggling up naked."

Ewwwwww. I just ate.

As the Stomach Turns

Two gustatory notes:


I rescued my Italian Greyhound W, a fine example of trailer-park breeding, from a life of bloody flea bites and rope burns a little over eight years ago. Hard to believe he's been with me that long, surviving a broken leg and thyroid disease since coming to my supposedly safe haven. W has nasty eating habits--think backyard as restaurant. Well, I just discovered several weeks ago that he has added another delicacy to his menu: dog day cicadas. We are overrun with them just now (can you hear that racket?), which makes my doggy VERY happy. Around 9pm, he begins to jump and squeak and otherwise try to alert us to let him out for his yummy, crunchy dessert. Then he proceeds to harvest bug after bug, many of which are larger than his dainty paws. Here's a photo of the prized treat:


And another delight that should vibrate with you mothers out there. My 2yo constantly brings me teeny tiny things off of the floor. Some are microscopic, and I just pretend that I have received them and then pretend to throw them away. Some are fairly innocuous, like lint or hairballs. Some are bits of paper or plastic shreds from grocery sacks. Thanks for helping us keep the house so clean, kid. Occasionally a booger will get passed off, but hey I'm innured to that at this point. Unless it's wet. Today, however, a new corner has been turned in this little game of clean up, and the latest pass off nearly made me faint. N handed me a crusty bit of what I thought might have been from his nose. Except he said "booboo." I asked him to elucidate. He pointed to his mosquito bites, which were oozing, and I realized I was holding the former cover of one of those pitiful volcanos. I'm sorry I had to tell you that story.

Today Stuff

Well, my size 12 jeans continue to grow larger; even freshly pulled from the dryer they are now loose. I am forever pulling them up, which is a happy thing round here. Soon, I'll need to shell out the dough for some that fit, because my size 10s, who have been patiently waiting in the drawer for over a year, are hopelessly out of style in that straight-legged sort of way. Thankfully, they aren't as bad as "Mom Jeans", and although I can get them on at the moment, they look like the spray-on designer jeans we used to wear in the late seventies and early eighties. Not for me, thank you. I just measured myself and find that I've lost 1/2" in the waist and 3/4" in the hips since May. Slow and steady feeds my ego.

On a more serious note: Latoyia Figueroa is still missing. Here's the current info.

Now THAT's doing your duty

Our nephew J is currently in Kirkuk, Iraq, as a member of the United States Air Force. He is 21. This is his second deployment there in the three years he's been enlisted. We hope he makes it back again this time.

Imagine my surprise when we received a letter from him in today's mail, a thank you note for the wedding gift we sent him and his new bride when they wed in March of this year. In it, he apologized for not sending his thanks sooner. Makes me want to hug him really hard, as if I didn't already have lots of reasons to.

Hot enough fer ya?

Gawl-dobby-doobins it's hot! How many more days of 95-degree SUN can I stand? NOT MANY.

I hate that I haven't kept up on the blog, but you know my excuse: the heat. It's also the reason I'm not exercising, cooking, shopping, cleaning, etc.; you name it, I ain't doin it cause I have a handy excuse now. What I AM doing is reading blogs. I find at least two more every day that I have to add to my bloglines subscription list. Yep, I'm sitting very still, eating popsicles and reading lots of blogs (mostly about writing/publishing) and I'm also avoiding unnecessary movement by dreaming of being a writer. Because it's too hot to actually write, you know. Really, though, I am getting some writing and planning done, but the houseguest situation always slows down the wheels. Or brings them to a screeching halt. D's younger brother arrives tomorrow night for the weekend. I'm going to try to send D and his brother out with N to the art museum on Sunday so I can at least get a few hours of alone time, if not writing time (if AC cooperates). Funny thought occurs to me: Will people who see the three of them together think N has two daddies?

On a positive note, I am now pretty consistently at 150, which means I've lost about four pounds over the last two months. Or sweated it all off in the last two weeks. Whatever. Works for me.