Em and the Possibilities There are no guarantees in life…only the possibilities

Him: Mommy, do you want to play this game with me?

Me: Honey, I need to finish the dishes right now. I will play Chutes and Ladders with you LATER – after I finish the dishes.

Him: Shits and Ladders?

Cedar Spray does NOT smell good when sprayed on an artificial Christmas Tree.

My daughter (13) has a friend that wears Axe cologne. She loves the scent so much that she bought a bottle, and periodically sprays objects in her room with it (like teddy bears). Our cousin is spending the night and doesn’t like the smell of Axe. So, why does our house absolutely REEK of the stuff?

Because our cousin sprayed it in the room.

So how’d the conversation go? A bit like this:

Thank you for spraying that lemon-scented odor killer.
You’re welcome. I thought you didn’t like the smell of Axe?
I don’t.
So…uh. Why did you SPRAY it then?
*sheepish grin*
Because, y’know…usually when I don’t like a smell, I do everything I can to AVOID the smell.
I’m going back into the room. Can you spray some of that lemon in the room?

Speed Dating at the Lone Star Steakhouse

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Let’s get some details, shallwe? I haven’t had a date since August, and I’ve never been speed-dating – but it could be fun, right? Can I ask anymore questions? *heh*

ONE SESSION OFFERED… Better act now!!!

7 – 8:30pm for the 27 – 37 age range Okay, I’m good.

Who: All Single Professionals, Oh wait. Nevermind

or
Billy’s Been Botox’d
or
…oh hell widdit. Just watch. Watch and cry, now that Billy’s not a Badass anymore. Can someone hand me a tissue?

No thanks to Holly for that. I’ll be busy bleaching my brain now…

You find out your final exam will be on only 3 chapters.

Three chapters that you have NOT covered yet in class.

You have three class sessions left before the end of the semester.

You get assured by your Prof that those three chapters WILL BE COVERED in class and that you will not be “left hanging”.

…to be continued

Most of you know of my long-suffering attempts at getting Daniel to eat ANYTHING. While wandering through the web one day, I Stumbled Upon the Top Secret Recipes webpage – and lo and behold the free recipe of the week is Jack in the Box’s Pumpkin Pie Shake.

Daniel likes pumpkin custard (pie without the crust), and he likes pumpkin muffins, so why not try the pumpkin pie shake??!!??

My recipe is slightly different than theirs, so if you want to make it EXACTLY like Top Secret does, go check out their recipe. Specifically – I used more pumpkin and milk, and left out the sugar completely.

Ingredients:

1/2 gal vanilla ice cream
1 can solid pack pumpkin
1 1/2 C whole milk OR cream (depending on how fat ya want it )
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves (can also use allspice)

Stick the ice cream in a bowl.

Measure out the pumpkin, then realize that DUH you’re using the whole can. Mutter under your breath while you scrape the absolute.very.bottom of the can and stick the measuring cup in the sink.

Mmmmm. Spiiiiiiices. Stir the whole thing together, then realize you left out the milk.

Pour it in and whip out the boatmotor for MORE POWER appeal for the boys…

Innit purty??!!??

Pour and enjoy!

If there’s any leftover, you can stick it in the freezer and make pumpkin picecream. Daniel, however, does not LIKE “piceream”, he likes “pumpkin milkshakes”, so I’ll be freezing his in individual microwaveable cups. I foresee experiments with other things like carrots, yams/sweet potatoes, and other squash. This recipe is VERY easy to divide. Also, if you’re not in the mood to measure out each individual spice, use the equivalent amount of apple/pumpkin pie spice mix.

ooh….apple pie milkshakes.

I’m making myself hungry again!

During this glorious Thanksgiving Holiday from school, I had made some rather lofty plans for getting homework done. Specifically, I wanted to finish reading my book and write the report on it; do more work on my Soc research paper (getting it close to complete); and I wanted to get some reading done in my History book. *IF* I got all that reading done, then anything I could read ahead was just icing on the cake.

So, what have I gotten done?

I managed to make it three pages into the second chapter of the book. After getting *that* far, I realized that I needed to stop and make notes on the FIRST chapter, because at this rate, I’m not going to remember enough detail to make an adequate report on the book.

Fear muh skillz, yawl!

And before you say a word: I’m usually the first one awake in the house. I get out of bed and sit in the quiet rocker with my book. That’s how I managed to get those three pages read. HOWEVER, once I get out of bed, it’s anyone’s ballgame – Joe’s usually not far behind me.

Taking the boys to the park so I can read is useless. If it’s not “MOMMY WATCH THIS!!!!!”, it’s “MOMMY’S THE BASE!!!!!”, or “Mommy, kiss my booooooboooooo!” or….ten thousand other “watch ME!!!” things that aren’t exactly conducive to studying AND retaining what I’m reading. (translation: just like home)

Because we didn’t have “company”* this year, our traditional dinner was surprisingly relaxed (for my family). The boys kept their usual eating habits – which is to say that Daniel had two breakfasts, “No Eating at the table for Me, Mommy!”**, and followed that up with snacks throughout the day. Joe, on the other hand, had one of Mom’s carbohydrate-bomb pancakes, two plates** at lunch, and then soup AND a pb&j for supper. My daughter dined en suite as has become her habit of late.

So what all am I thankful for, you might ask….

My children are happy, healthy, well-fed, and intelligent creatures and I delight in them every day. (Even right now, with Dan out of bed (at 10:24PM) asking me “Can I have something that tastes good?”)

Though living with my parents isn’t the easiest thing on the planet, we manage.

I still haven’t decided “what I want to be when I grow up”, but I’m enjoying school a LOT.

Though online friends still significantly outnumber IRL friends, progress has been made in that arena – some by pulling online friends through the Glowing Blue Box, and some through school.

I’m thankful for StumbleUpon – without which I’d probably get a lot more done.

And last but certainly not least, I’m thankful for the turkey-induced tryptophan haze that I’m going to succumb to right this minute.

Goodnight, everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving. *hugs your neck and kisses your cheek*

*“Company” is defined by Mom as “anyone who does not live in this house”. As such, The House MUST Be Spotless And Perfect (or as close as we can get). It makes for a rather stressful holiday, since she is also the Only One Who Knows How to Clean in this house. Over the years, I’ve learned that it’s *much* easier to stay the hell out of her way and listen to her mutter “lazy” than to attempt cleaning. And re-cleaning. And cleaning again. And THEN her going behind you saying “Get out of the way I’ll just doit myself!”.

**I do not, as a general rule, feed my children at the same table as my Dad. Eating at his table is a contact sport, and if you don’t defend your plate with knife and fork, your food WILL be messed with. Yes, I’ve asked/begged/screamed for him to stop. It’d be easier to dam Niagara Falls with Legos.