Happy new year!

I'm back from sabbatical!

Sorry I was gone so long. Things got nuts for a month with the holidays, visitors and life. But with the start of the new year, it's back to the grind!

We will return to regular programming this week. In the meantime, as we travel home today, I wish you all a happy new year!

Excerpt of the day

"So I also understand something of the thrill a man might feel if such a moment were to be reversed and a woman were to look at a man in the same way. In all my years, the only women I have ever seen do it with conviction are either drunk or professional. And while most men, if they were honest, would not refuse either, If they had the choice they would surely take the second, for it is only women like my lady who make the idea of desire as much a thing of joy and mischief as of sin and desperation."
-from "In the Company of the Courtesan" by Sarah Dunant

Wag of the Spoon: Lame App

Welcome to today's wag of the spoon.
I realize that typically I don't write WoS posts this often.

I'm feeling angry lately so it's suitable. Lack of sleep will do that.

Deal.

Moving on.

I'm writing today's WoS via my awesome blogger app. Important thing to note:

It's awesome because IT FREAKING WORKS.

And what app doesn't work?

PINTEREST.

Yes.

It needs to be stated that like 99% of the other pinterest users out there, I'm addicted. I'm not ashamed of this fact. I think it's better that I'm addicted to that than, say, meth, drinking dawn soap, or rubbing my own face into a carpet.

So, for the iPhone app for pinterest to not be working (btw, I realize how flawed that was but that's how upset I am that I'm not going to fix it) is UNACCEPTABLE.

Seriously.

It's like telling a kid he's getting a train set for Christmas an then giving him a pile of sticks.

So I say to you, dear pinterest of mine.

FIX IT.

This Wag of the Spoon is brought to you by the letter B.

For BLogger.

Cause their app works.

Check me out: Overcoming Obsessive Love

So, I think I've mentioned that I write book reviews for psychcentral.com. 

If not...

I write book reviews for psychcentral.com.

Wanna see?

Click here.

WHAT UP!?

Excerpt of the Day

"Some friends of theirs had rented their house for several months to an interior decorator.  When they returned, the discovered that their entire library had been reorganized by color and size.  Shortly thereafter, the decorator met with a fatal automobile accident.  I confess that when this story was told, everyone around the dinner table concurred that justice had been service."
-Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman
I can't help but concur as well.

Wag of the Spoon: Google What?! (cont)

Seriously?!

You may think that the Wag of the Spoon from yesterday was done.

Oh ho ho...FAR FROM IT.

Welcome to a continuation of Wag of the Spoon.

So you may be wondering why this is continuing?

Yesterday, I pointed out the flaw that the Google Reader has done away with the sharing tool.  One of the greatest aspects that WAS Google Reader.

And then this morning, I sucked it up and thought "Maybe it's not that bad".

I WAS WRONG.

WRONG.

WRONG

So, what's so wrong with Google Reader?  

Let's first talk about the hundreds thousands of articles that have disappeared.  I haven't checked into my reader in days which means that there was well over a thousand articles waiting for me to read them.  

I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt though.

I marked everything that was older than a day as read.  This means that whatever is left should be from the last 24 hours, right? 

WRONG

What was left you may ask?

Everything from a month ago.

A MONTH AGO.

In other words, SHIT I HAD ALREADY READ!

If I wanted to learn about the news from a month ago, or blog posts from a month ago, I would go to ARCHIVES.  NOT MY GOOGLE READER.

I feel like I've been in a blissful relationship for years with a lover.  And suddenly, I'm finding out that my lover has been plotting my demise with another lover the whole time.  I'm being broken up with, shamed, disappointed, and humiliated in public.  You might think that sounds a bit dramatic but think of all the people I have pressured into getting on Google Reader.  I've essentially been a Google Reader pusher for years and now suddenly, I have egg on MY face (not literally, I'm doing that DIY facial later).  

Dear Google Reader,

My heart is broken.

No one has hurt me more.

Well, except for some high school antics but that is a story for another day.

I can't even look at you!

We are SOOOOOOOOOOO over.

No more love.  

Wag of the Spoon: Google What?!

Okay if you are a regular reader, you know how much I LOVE Google Reader.  

Seriously, I've written about it:

• here 
• here 
• here 

and of course sporadically throughout the blog.

 

So it is with a VERY heavy heart that I write this post.

 

Today's Wag of the Spoon is devoted to Google Reader.

*sigh*

Google recently made a ton of new changes to their plethora of sites.  Good for them for attempting to streamline.

But during this process, when they attacked Google Reader with this fancy clean new appearance, they did away with one of my favorite aspects of Reader.

Sharing.

Dear Google

I understand that it's likely that you did away with sharing because you want people to use Google+ and that most likely, if I hit that little +1 on the article, it'll go to my Google+ and show all of my silly circle friends.

And I might be whining about this but I don't care.  I liked it the way it was.  Period.  Plain and simple.

And all of my friends who converse with me through comments on our Readers all feel the same way.

So, there.  Here's your Wag of the Spoon, Google.  Shame on you for "fixing" something that ain't broke.

 

Staples: Not the Store or the Office Supply

No, what I'll be discussing is kitchen staples.

I am attempting to cut our grocery bill by $100 a month.  I have a certain amount budgeted for each week.  I'm not anal about this because I know that every now and then, we'll have to go over.  But I do my best to not go over by more than $5.

Fortunately, throwing in one "new" meal a week keeps us happy.  We have a constant supply of chicken and tilapia in our freezer.  Eric LOVES the manager's special at the store which is going to be maintained a bit better now that the budget is in place.  So, we also have a stash of some pork items.

However, I've noticed that, in the past, when we've gone overboard on groceries, it's typically because we've run out of certain staples, or I want to bake/cook something special.  That got me thinking: what if I make a list of staples for the pantry and fridge and attempt to keep stock of such items?

I'm not planning on being one of those extreme couponers.  But my thought is that if I can keep an eye out for these items and buy one or two whenever they are on sale, maybe I can keep us from having these huge splurge weeks.  

Here are some lists that I've found online that I plan to use to build my own list:

Families.com: A Prepared Pantry

MealsMatter.org: Pantry Staples List

The Perfect Pantry: 23 Pantry Items

Yankee Harvest: Kitchen Staples

The Simple Dollar: Well-Stocked Kitchen

What's Cooking America: Pantry

About.com: Pantry Basics

Real Simple: Pantry Staples

Once I develop my list, I'll post it for you guys.

So Readers, what are your pantry/kitchen staples?

Precious Sleep

So, have I talked to you guys about the fact that Stephen is not a good sleeper anymore?

No?  

That's unfortunate.  Let's rectify it.

When he first came home, he did the newborn thing waking every couple of hours.  When he was about 6 weeks old, that settled down and he started sleeping for four hours straight at least once a night.  It was glorious.

Those were the good ole days.

For the last month or so, he's gone back to his newborn sleep schedule.  Keep in mind, baby boy will be FOUR MONTHS OLD on November 11.  That's right.  And he's a whopping 18.5 pounds so it's not like there's some kind of eating issue.

We have tried all kinds of things to help him sleep better.

Cluster feedings

Bedtime rituals

Rice cereal

Full tummy before bed

Napping schedule

Warmer Sleepwear

Swaddling

Nothing helps.

Except for one thing.

Sleeping on the couch with me.

So he might get a good stretch of sleep in but I have a super sore body.

I still haven't decided if it's a good deal or not.

Happy Halloween!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!

Seriously, do you know how much I love Halloween? 

Who doesn't love an opportunity to dress in a costume!?

More importantly...

Halloween is the beginning of THE season for me.

What season is that you may ask?

It's the season of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

Get it on amazon if you don't have it already.  Which you should.

Basically, I've seen this movie an obscene amount of times.  I'm fairly certain the count is at or above 500 times at this point.  Yeah you think I'm kidding.

I'm not.

I sing the soundtrack to myself sometimes.

You're jealous and that is OoooooooooKkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.

So this is the time of year that I allow myself to watch this movie as many times as I like.  Why?

If you have to ask, you haven't seen the movie and that...is...sad.

But I'm nice so here's why: the movie is based in Halloweentown.  And Jack, the king of Halloween, decides to kidnap Santa Claus and do Christmas his way.

Hence...Halloween starts the season and Christmas ends it. 

Makes sense?

No?

Tough.

It's my excuse, it makes sense to me, and I don't care if people think it's weird that I might watch the same movie 100 times before Christmas.

Nuf said.

 

Keeping up with Pinterest!

So here's a look at some fun things on Pinterest this week:

This coat is fantastic!  I've been wanting a yellow winter coat for years!

This always makes me laugh.

Photography cheat sheet anyone?

I hate this!

 You can find these and more great things by following me on Pinterest!!  Need an invite to join in this crazy addiction?  Leave me a comment below!

 

BumGenius!

I have several friends who either recently got pregnant or will be giving birth soon.  Several of them have sent me messages via FB on the cloth diapers we use and what I think.

Here are the ones that we use:

from here

These are the bumGenius Elemental One-Size Cloth Diapers.

Yup.  A bit of a mouthful.

Here's where we bought ours.

We bought 12 to start out with and got several different colors.  We might be able to do with a few more but 12 isn't terrible.  When they are in the washer, dryer, or drying in the sun, we use disposable diapers.

So, what do I think?

Here's the lowdown:

• 
  Financially, I love these.  In the long run, they save us a bundle!
• They are CUTE CUTE CUTE.  Period.
• Some people (who shall remain nameless) pretty much laughed at me when I told them we were going to do cloth.  They assumed that it's a huge workload.  Is it more of a workload than disposables?  Not really.  Because I have to do laundry anyway so what's a little more to the pile?  Is it grosser?  No, not to me.  But I'm a mommy.  Poo on my face doesn't gross me out so cleaning it out of a diaper shouldn't bother me either.  However, my feelings on this may change when Stephen starts eating solids but I can't imagine it'll be enough to deter me from cloth.
• A lot of people think this would increase our energy and water bills.  And it has.  But not dramatically at all because I dry these puppies in the sun often.  Which is great because the sun bleaches them and gets out most of the stains (although...what do I care about stains anyway?  THEY ARE DIAPERS!).
• Are they leak proof?  Yes.  Do they leak?  Yes.  It's the same thing as a disposable.  If too much is in it, it'll leak.  Plain and simple.  However, Stephen's poops can somehow defy gravity sometimes.  So if he's wearing a disposable, you can bet it's going all over his back even if he's upright.  When he's wearing his cloth diapers, that never happens.

That being said, I know some people who aren't as happy with their cloth diapers.  So reader be warned.  They are not for everyone.  

But we love them!

Readers: do you use cloth diapers?  Do you love or hate them?  Or, if you are preparing to have a baby, are you thinking about doing cloth diapering?  Share share share!!

Stephen's mobile: Link Up Party

So I mentioned here that I completed Stephen's mobile.  For the new readers, here's a look at it again:

 I used this tutorial from photojojo to create the mobile.  All in all, I spent roughly 10 bucks on the paper because I didn't have it on hand (plus it was on sale!!  SCORE).  Although the picture shows our temporary set up for the mobile, we do have plans to make it a bit more secure.


I wrote a guest post for Charlotte's Living Well on the Cheap when she was out of town.  You can see my guest post here!


And as I mentioned in my title, I'm linking up with the Link Up Party at Carolyn's Homework.  Check her out!

 

Hyperbole

...

Or what I like to call the most entertaining form of communication.

I'm fairly certain that there are a TON of people who would disagree with me on the above statement.

And those people would definitely be in the wrong.

So why do I rely so heavily on hyperbole?

Because it is ENTERTAINING.

Don't believe me?

It's true.  And I find when reading fiction, many great pieces of work rely on it as well.  For instance...

All great romance novels have "heaving bosoms" or "throbbing members".

Sorry if that's too graphic for you.

But isn't that the whole point of hyperbole?  To create a dramatic image to portray the emotion of the moment?

But would you really describe a woman's bosom as heaving?  Heaving, to me, implies that medically, there is something wrong with her.

And that's super dramatic.

Yummm....

I enjoy drama.  Not in my life but in the surrounding qualities.

For instance, I used to LOVE the hit soap opera "Passions".  BIG TIME.  Why?  Because out of all of the soap operas on TV, they REALLY pulled out all the stops.

For instance:

• there was a portal to hell in a closet
• a girl and her half brother had a baby together.  But they didn't know they were related at the time.  But even after they DID know, they still coupled a few times.
• But the the half brother started having a homosexual affair with a guy who was blackmailing everyone in town.
• Theresa offered to be the surrogate for Ethan and Gwen.  But then she tricked Ethan into sleeping with her and got pregnant with his baby.  So she was pregnant with two babies at once!  
• But then she fell down the stairs and it killed Ethan and Gwen's baby.  But her and Ethan's baby survived!
• There was a witch in town and she had a doll that could come alive.  His name was TImmy and his specialty drink was Mar-Timmy's (I always wanted to try one).

Is that enough?  Because I can go on if you'd like.

 

I also prefer dramatic paintings.  "The Scream" is one of my all time faves.  And who doesn't like Van Gogh??

You don't?  We aren't friends anymore.

 

Ask Queenie if you think I'm dramatic for fun.

We talk every day online.  Seriously.  Those few days that we don't, she's likely to receive a text message from me.  And if she doesn't respond to it quick enough, that's ammo for me. 

 

I like to accuse her of cheating on me.  I go on wild tangents about why we can't be friends anymore and I get innappropriate.  That way, when she finally does get to her phone and reads the 10-12 text messages I've left her, I know she's probably going to be laughing when she responds.

No one gets my humor like she does...

 

And now after I've written that, I'm figuring you don't get it either.

This whole post just had a melt down like Kirstie Alley did when her assistants failed her fire drill and didn't get all of her pets out of the house on time.

 

*sigh*

Completed Mobile

I FINALLY finished Stephen's mobile.


Seriously, it should not have taken this long and I realize that. 


I'm really good at procrastinating.

You may be able to tell but if not, on the ball that is hanging the lowest, there are pictures of our family members in the center of some of those pieces.  


And the way it's hanging?  That's a temporary fix until we get the pieces we need to create the arm to hold it up.  But it works for now.

Pinterest Catchup

I'm on Pinterest.


Are you?


No?


Pray tell!  


WHY NOT?!


Find me and follow me. 


Here's what I pinned recently:

Seriously, why wouldn't you want to follow me on Pinterest?  I'm on it all the time and I "obviously" have great taste!  Plus, you follow me and I'll follow you.  It's brilliant!

Crunchy

Target brand crunchy peanut butter has super sharp peanuts in it.

Seriously.

I'm going to have scars.

"Wishful Drinking" tries a bit much

image via amazon

I read a lot.  It's kind of ridiculous and only recently have I accepted the fact that I should be a librarian.  And a therapist.  And a racecar driver.  And that Stephen and I will build a spaceship and move to Mars.  

That got out of control so fast!  Hence, racecar driver.

Moving on.

I was a bridesmaid in my friend Charlotte's wedding a few years ago (SHOUT OUT!) and she gave me a copy of Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking.  Sad to say, I hadn't read it until this recent trip to Louisiana.  Before you start judging, keep in mind that my collection of books is well over 500 now.  And I've read...maybe...30% of that?  

When I said "It's ridiculous", I meant it.  My obsession with reading and books.  And by "Ridiculous" I mean AMAZING.  You only wish that you were as big of a book worm as I am.

I promise I'm going to give a review of the book.

Starting...

NOW

I was excited to start reading Fisher's book because let's face it, that gold bikini was rockin' awesome and she was instantly one of my role models.  Who wouldn't want to be half naked and chained up for a giant slug that drooled and spit?!  The book is a memoir and wow to the memories.  From detailing the history of her parents marriage and subsequent divorce and marriages and divorces, to discussing her manic depression, she lays it all out.  Which is great.  Because let's face it, it's nice to know that a celebrity is "normal".

And that doesn't sound cliche at all...ugh.

If you've ever seen Fisher in an interview, you know she's a funny gal.  I sort of want to hang with her.  So, as expected, I chuckled out loud in certain spots reading her book.  

But I do have one gripe.  

Sometimes, it felt like she was trying.  Like, really trying to get a chuckle out of you.  There were about three pages in the manic depression section that seemed like she couldn't write three sentences without throwing in a one liner or a pun or sarcastic spin on it.  I just wanted to know what it was really like to be manic depressive for her.  Yes, I'm that nosy.  But then maybe that's her way of making the writing a little bit easier.  God knows I LOVE to use sarcasm to soften the blow of anything.  It's my favorite defense mechanism.  Screw Wonder Woman's steel bracelets to ward off lasers!  I've got SARCASM!

BAM!  PEW! PEW!  

(that was my SERIOUSLY weak attempt at making laser noises)

All in all, it's a good plane ride read.  It's quick and humorous, sad at times (dude, her friend DIED in her bed) and entertaining.  

ENJOY!

Pampers Pregnancy

I'm finally back from Louisiana!  Which means life is going to get back to "normal".


Whatever that is.


Sidenote: my 8 year old cousin uses airquotes appropriately.


For reals.


Also, BIG shout out to Liz H.  I can' t tell you how bummed I am that I didn't see you at the sip and see.


So...BIG announcement!  I'm now part of the Pampers Pregnancy Writers!  You can find it here.  Check me out sometime!

Succu much

It's not even 6 am and I'm thinking about succulents.

I have this desire to have some sort of green thumb to speak of. At this moment, back home on the porch, the only thing really surviving is basil, rosemary, moss rose and petunia. My salvia plants are fried to a crisp and let's not discuss my gerbera daisies.

They make me weep.

Eric isn't a fan of my gardening attempts because of my lack of discipline. Which leads to dead plants. Ipso facto Columbo Oreo. More money to replace said dead plants.

So I've started to look more at succulents. Wondering if they would be easier for me to keep up with. And if they would do well in Colorado.

What do you think, blogosphere? Do you garden? Any favorite green things you like to grow?

Mommy attachment

I never thought I would be "that" mom.  

You know the one.

The mom who can't let other people hold her baby.  The mom who can't stop thinking about her baby while she runs an errand down the street.

"Is he okay?  Did so-and-so feed him yet?  What if he's hungry?  Or bored?  Or tired?"

But I had to face it recently.

Stephen isn't sleeping very well.  He wakes up every couple of hours at night.  Not always because he's hungry.  Sometimes he just wants to be cuddled.  Of course, everyone recommended giving him cereal before bed to help him sleep through the night.  

I didn't think it would be a big deal.  And rationally, I know it's not.

But the first time I was preparing his bottle with breastmilk and cereal, my heart started dropping.  I realized that we weren't going to have "our time" for this meal.  Of course, at this point, my mind went into warped speed and I was seeing him eating solids, going off to school, etc.  It was ridiculous.  Like this one event meant that he was no longer going to need me.

Honestly, I cried.

That's right.  I cried about it.

What the hell?!

Motherhood has made me crazy.

My fitness routine

Some people have learned that I've lost all of my pregnancy weight.  

That's right.  

All of it.


And then some.  


I'm sorry.  It may seem like I'm bragging and I am.  I'm not sorry about the weight loss.  I'm sorry if I'm carrying pom poms in my hand and cheering myself on.

Actually, I'm not.

I've never been good about achieving fitness goals.  Seriously.  I've been "trying" to jog a mile for essentially the last ten years.  To no avail.  Mainly because I quit.  I make excuses.  And they are great excuses.


"Have you felt how hot it is outside?"


"The phone rang."


"The lochness monster is roaming the neighborhood again."


I'm not saying that I can jog a mile (yet but I'm closer than I've ever been).  But I've really stuck to working out and getting fit post pregnancy.  So what do I do?

• I try to go to the gym and get on the treadmill 3-5 times a week.  This morning, I figured out I could bring Stephen and leave him in his bouncer.  He's fine.
• I'm besties with Jillian Michaels.  Okay not really but I do part of her DVD "No More Trouble Zones" every day.

And my secret weapon?

I dance to Britney Spears.  

Britney.

Turtle Cheesecake

Here's how it started:

Eric: Can you make something bad this weekend?
Me: Sure.  Anything in particular?
Eric:  Something with chocolate, nuts, caramel maybe...
Me: Turtle Cheesecake?
Eric: We are like one mind.

Here's the recipe that I used for it: Turtle Cheesecake from "The Girl Who Ate Everything"

My secret adaptation?

Yup.  That's what the crust is made out of.  If you wish to attempt this, it took about one and a half sleeves of Oreos to make the crust.  One and a half...give or take.  There were a few that had to be eaten disposed of because they were tainted.


It was quite the success if I say so.

Quick

My quick thought for this week:

Make no apologies.

Don't get me wrong.  It's not that you shouldn't apologize if you spit on someone, bump into them, drop an anvil on their foot, etc.

Or that you shouldn't apologize if you hurt someone's feelings.

But I spent a large part of my life apologizing for who I was, changing who I was to suit someone else, and constantly trying to match the mold that continuously seemed to change the moment I set foot in it.

  But I don't want him to grow up and do the same thing.

So now, I commit to myself to no longer make apologies for who I am.

I'm quirky.

I'm terrible at completing projects but GREAT at starting them.

My books are my most prized possession so I'll probably grab them before I grab a photo.

I'm making myself learn to like foods in the hopes that Stephen will like them too.

I think my husband could walk on water if he tried.

There are very few people I dislike because I find that the majority of people have something about them that is likeable.

It's only recently that I've realized a cousin of mine and I have so much in common that it's astounding.

I have faith in God.  I believe in Him.  But I have had that faith shaken so much by men who claim to be leaders of His Word that I want very little to do with organized religion.

But I still have faith.

That's why I knew when I was wheeled into the OR that regardless of what happened, Stephen and I would be fine.

And that's just a little bit of me.