Jami' Friday Feast

Feast 158 Appetizer Who is the easiest person for you to talk to? Hmm, mostly the Husband, though it's pretty easy to talk to Eddie, since he doesn't get most of what I'm saying. Soup If you could live in any ancient city during the height of the quality of its society and culture, which one would you choose? I don't know enough about ancient cities to answer that one. Salad What is the most exciting event you’ve ever witnessed? The birth of my beautiful god-daughter Ella. I was trying to think of some big world-changing event, but who knows? She may change the world yet. Main Course If you were a celebrity, what would you do for a publicity stunt? If I could be certain that it wouldn't come out that it was a publicity stunt, I'd appear to save a child from a life-threatening situation. If I couldn't be sure of that, I'd have to do something stunning, but in good taste - maybe auction off the opportunity to be my date to some big awards show and give the money to charity. Dessert What do you consider the ideal age to have a first child? This is a tricky one, because I don't think there's just a right number. I'd have to say, that you have to be old enough that:

• You know that parenting will be difficult and not all dressing them up in cute clothes
• You or your spouse has a good enough job that one of you can stay home and actually raise your own children.
• You have at least some small understanding of the mistakes you think or know your parents made and how you will be different. Also, you understand that YOU will make mistakes, but that's part of it.
• You are mature enough to put someone else's needs ahead of your wants.

BUT you also have to be young enough to:

• Accept advice and criticism from more experienced parents gracefully, and pick out what works for you.
• Get by on not much sleep.
• Have enough energy to chase around a toddler
• Realistically expect to live until the child graduates high school at least
• Be silly when you need to.

Whew, long answer for that one.

Happy Friday!

Jami's Random Ramblings

I haven't had much to blog about lately. I could talk about neighbors who rev their motorcycle engines for no apparent reason for 15 minutes before actually leaving on it. Or construction that starts at 7:50 am so that they can apparently be done by noon and not come back until the next morning. I could tell you how my adorable and perfect son decided that my arms are covered in sprinkles (not, he insists freckles) which he then pretends to eat. I could even explain how he's totally potty trained as long as he's naked from the waist down and in the same room as the potty. But none of those seems like a full post. I would like to say, to those women who need to hear it - stop dating and marrying like you have no brain. He's not going to change just because you're married. Cheaters still cheat, liars still lie, abusers still abuse. The first time he calls you the C- word, DUMP him and never, never, never look back. If he doesn't like your kids, he's not going to, and they need you more than you need him. Don't date a man who doesn't want what you want. Don't get pregnant by someone you aren't sure you want to marry. Don't date a man you have to support financially, unless you plan on doing it the rest of your life. Okay? Please? I'm starting to be embarrassed to be a woman. On a lighter note, the Circle of Friends Review blog took a bit of a break, but it's back and I'm working to keep new reviews coming up. The reviews are done by people with generally good taste, which of course, means people who like the things I like. The summer TV season is about over, and the fall season won't start for awhile (a whole MONTH until new Heroes?? Come ON!), so there's not much on the tube - not that I have the time to watch much. Why does Thomas the Tank Engine have an estimated 17 million friends? There are rarely more than 4 or 5 trains in the entire episode, plus, of course, the helicopter, the bus and the tractor. So why do we need all the minor characters? It can't just be so that I'll buy every stinkin' engine that comes out, can it? It can? Sigh. My friend Kristi and her husband Ben are having a baby boy - in the spirit of parents helping parents, I'd like to suggest James as the name, after yours truly. Or, if they want to get creative, why not combine your names and call him Krinjamin? Benti? Hey- if you're that person that won the Powerball? I'd really love just a little of that cash. I promise to put it to good use. Seriously, you won't even miss - let's say - 100 grand? And it would totally help me out. Let me know. I couldn't believe I didn't win, we had like TWO totally different numbers. TWO!!

Jami's Friday Feast

Feast 157 Appetizer Say there’s a book written about your life. Who would you want to narrate the audio version? Well, me, obviously. But if we mean someone famous, that I like to listen to speak? Will Arnett, Val Kilmer or Christian Slater. Oooh - or George Takei! Soup Take the letters from your favorite kind of nut and write a sentence. (Example: Perhaps every avenue needs understanding today.) Please, everyone, only pick little elderberries. Salad If you could go back in time and spend one week in another decade, which decade would you choose? If I were wealthy and had servants so I didn't have to figure out how to do things like laundry, I'd go back pretty far, sometime where I could wear one of those huge dresses - maybe the 1850s? If not, maybe the 60s so I could see some of the classic bands in concert. Main Course Name a song that brings back memories for you. When I See You Smile. Dessert Do you prefer to wash your hands in cold water or warm water? Hot, if possible. Warmer is better.

Jami Needs More Movies to Look Forward To

I'm out of "I can't wait for . . ."! I guess the new Star Trek, sort of, but the Star Wars are done, the Spider-Mans are over (I think), the Simpsons is out. All the movies I couldn't wait to see, that I eagerly watched trailers of, read articles about or strenuous avoided spoilers for - I've seem 'em all. Oh, cruel fate, what shall I look forward to? I'll see Iron Man, but I haven't worked up a real excitement for it. Balls of Fury looks like it could be funny, or very bad, but I'm not lining up a sitter for opening weekend. The rest of the Harry Potters? Haven't even read book 6 yet, I'm afraid and the books are always better than the movie. So what's a girl to do? Isn't there anyone out there making a movie I can mark my calendar for?

Jami Needs Jami Time

What do you do when you have one of those days that starts off with you dropping something that isn't sharp or heavy but somehow lands on your toe and slices it open to the point that you think you might die of blood loss and ends with you feeding your two-year-old bite-sized pieces of his dinner while he takes his bath because there's not enough time to get him bathed and fed separately and still get him to bed at a reasonable hour? You start with blogging an unreasonably long sentence. Then you answer a few emails, pop in disc 3 of season 1 of Ugly Betty and have a few "malt-ternatives" and a hot pretzel. And you know that tomorrow will almost certainly be better.

Jami's Friday Feast

Feast 156 Appetizer Describe your laundry routine. Do you have a certain day when you do it all, or do you just wash whatever you need for the next day? I don't have a certain day for our laundry, I just kind of do it when it looks like there's enough for at least two loads. I do all of Eddie's laundry every Saturday, unless I know I'm going to be out, and then I do it Friday. I carry it all down, run it through the washer and then put it on the line if it's nice out. If not, washer and dryer. Then I carry it all up, sort, fold and put away all at once. Soup In your opinion, what age will you be when you’ll consider yourself to truly be old? 87 Salad What is one of your goals? Is it short-term, long-term, or both? Short-term, to incorporate better eating habits in our whole family. Long term, to raise healthy, happy, kind, Christian child(ren) to an adulthood where they contribute to society. Main Course Name something unbelievable you’ve seen or read lately. A man is suing 1-800-FLOWERS because he used them to send flowers to his mistress and his wife found out when they sent him a thank you note for his business. Dessert On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how happy are you today? 9. I hurt my toe earlier, nothing serious, but enough to keep me from being a 10 right now.

Jami's iPod Ups and Downs

I spent the day bopping around to the iPod. Not to steal a quote from McDonald's, but I'm lovin' it. The burning question I know you're all dying to ask - what was the first song on the new iPod? Well, those who know me have probably already guessed . . .. Dancing Queen - of course! I AM the Dancing Queen, young and sweet only seventeeeeeeeennn! It's going to take longer than I'd hoped to get all the music onto Poddy (iPod's current and possibly temporary name). I don't know what I expected - of course, I have to put each CD in separately, I guess I'd kinda hoped Poddy would sneak into the CD collection and gobble all the music up, but somehow that didn't happen. I hate earbuds, but I already have headphones I like so we're cool. Does anyone love earbuds? Maybe my ears are misshapen, but I can't get them to stay in unless I keep my head perfectly still and that's just not something that happens all that much. I have a friend, and if you're reading this, you know who you are, who has the tiniest ears in relation to her head. I wonder if she can even put earbuds in. Maybe I'm dense, that's always possible, but my iPod has the 30GB, which means I can put that much on it, right? Okay, but do I have to put the stuff on my computer on the iTunes thing, first and if so - how is that going to work? I don't have 3O gig on it, so that won't work? I have to say, the "instruction booklet" that came with it wasn't as helpful as I might hope (it basically said, "Download iTunes. Plug in your iPod" and that's about it. Apple's basic online guide didn't answer that question. And lastly, I may be click-wheel impaired. I run my thumb over it, nothing. I run my thumb over it again in exactly the same way, it jumps down 6 places. I'm assuming this is just a lack of experience thing, right? RIGHT?? Lest you think I am not happy with it, let me say I love it. I love having the mix of music I want and I love having it follow me around the house. I look at all the many accessories for Poddy and I daydream of buying them all so Poddy can have all he ever desired. I love that I am going to be able to (as I save up to afford it) subscribe to and download the radio shows that I want to listen to and never get to. I can't wait to get some good video on Poddy and maybe a game or two. So here I am, finally joining the 21st century with my iPod. It's nice to be here.

Jami is Math Challenged

I love my new iPod, but this isn't about that. A mere quarter-century ago, I was good at math. I enjoyed it, even, as much as first grader can. Then second grade hit, and that's a whole other post, the Teacher Who Killed My Love of Math, so let's just say that by the end of the following year, I totally despised math in all its forms, even though I was still fairly decent at it. By the time I survived Trig in 11th grade, I couldn't even claim that. Some people have a head for figures, they can just see the numbers. Not so much for me. And here's why this is a problem: I found myself in the store yesterday trying to figure out if soap on sale - 3 bars for 2.49 is a better deal than "Buy One Get One Free" 4-packs for $5.98. So that's 3 bars for $2.50 or 8 bars for $6.00 - or, okay, lets say 6 bars for $5 or 8 for $6. So that's not much help - okay, they are 80ish cents each for the three or (8 goes into 60 - ennnnhgggh 7? that's 56 right? I think so) 70ish cents for the BOGO? Oh heck, forget it, I'm getting the bigger one. I think it's better, but even if it isn't, I won't have to come back as soon. Sometimes the store has a "per ounce" price, but that doesn't apply to specials, and then I'm screwed. People figure out stuff in their heads in front of me all the time. I never get to diagram out a sentence for them. Where's the love for the English majors?

Jami Can't Talk - Playing with New Technology

That's right, got my iPod. And it's a beauty. When I can put it down long enough to take a picture and upload that I will. Until then, I'll take podcast recommendations and song suggestions - what belongs on the beautiful, sleek, new iPod?

Jami's Photo Friday

Stumbled across this Crazy Hip Blog Mamas and it seemed like fun.

Today's photo theme is the Color Blue, so here's my pic. It's my baby shoes (the ones with the stripes) that I wore out and my mom saved, tied up with Eddie's shoes that he wore out - in ONE day!



I was going to use this one, but I didn't know if it was enough blue:

Jami's Friday Feast

Feast 155 Appetizer What is your favorite kind of pie? Probably blueberry. Or cherry, or apple. Oooo - strawberry, too. Soup Name something that made you smile this week. Eddie pretending to pull different kinds of food out from under a pillow and then "eating" it with hilarious sound-effects. Salad What do you do to cool off when the weather is hot and humid? Shower, or run through the sprinkler. Eat Popsicles. Now, I go into the one room with the air conditioner and lay down. Main Course You receive $1,000 in the mail with a letter that says you can only use the money to redecorate one room in your home. Which room do you pick, and what do you buy to spruce it up? That's just not going to be enough ;-) If I decided to be responsible, I'd put it toward the problem with the walls in the basement. If I wanted to just use it for fun, I'd get a nice new big TV and new TiVo for the living room. Dessert Fill in the blank: My _________ says __________, but I __________. My Husband says peanut butter tastes good on burgers, but I think he's insane.

Jami's Pancake Problem

I can't flip pancakes. It's some sort of physical defect. I don't understand why, but no matter how hard I try, no matter what "sure-fire" technique someone has insisted I use, no matter what color, shape or size the pancakes, spatula and/or skillet the fact remains that this is something I will never be successful at. Sadly, I can remember when I discovered this defect in my character - 6th grade Home Ec (the bane of my Jr. High days - forced Home Ec classes). Our teacher - Mrs. Pratt, I believe - explained to us how you watch the center and the little bubbles stop and then in one quick, deft motion you glide them into the air, over and back down - viola. Right? Well, no, a pack of gawky adolescents will not be able to master this skill in just the one demonstration, and in my memory pancake pieces and batter ended up everywhere, like a diorama of D-Day with pancakes representing the soldiers. For Mrs. Pratt's sake, I hope my memory exaggerates, but knowing 6th graders, I'm not sure. By the end of the next 42 minute class, I believe most of my classmates had it down, and though I was not among the successful, I had no concern about it. Years passed though, and repeated attempts at pancake perfection yield essentially the same results each time - I butcher the first few, and tell myself that everyone says the first ones are supposed to be messed up. I pour one, two, or if I'm feeling crazy four more perfectly round pools of batter into a nice buttery skillet. I watch for the tell-tale signs that they have reached the height of flipping readiness. Somehow, this is where it will all start to go wrong. The spatula won't get the whole thing, or it'll push the front of the pancake into the middle. Or part of the pancake will magically not be cooked as much as the rest. Or the pancake will tear as I lift it. Even if, somehow, I miraculously manage to swoop up the whole thing, there is no doubt that I will flip it onto another pancake, thereby meshing the cooked side of one into the uncooked side of the other. Man, does that irk me, too. Of course there are the ones I've flipped just a touch too early and which will, for some reason, never finish cooking. Never. They will remain that unhealthy looking light beige even if I apply a blowtorch directy to the pancake. By the time I'm done, what remains is a plate of misshapen, mostly cooked, pathetic-looking "pancakes" and tiny droplets of batter in various stages of done-ness all around. Sadly, I keep trying. People tell me their little secrets and I try that next time. I preheat the griddle, I don't pre-heat it. I use butter, margarine, Pam, olive oil. I've tried every shape of spatula available in the free world. I believe the words my Home Ec teacher who said that it's just a matter of practice. But it isn't. It's a magical skill I never will master. I have to accept my short-comings and still love who I am, and let the Husband make the pancakes for our family. Actually, it's not a bad excuse to get out of making dinner, is it? "Hey, babe? I'm in the mood for pancakes . . . but you know how that goes. . . "

Jami is Melting . . .Melting . . .

Remember the scene in Biloxi Blues where Matt Broderick's character complains about how hot it is in Mississippi? I've been hearing that in my head for about two weeks now, because dang, it's HOT! The thing is, I try not to complain too much about hot, because I despise being cold. I hate being cold worse than being hungry or tired. I hurt when I'm cold and as I get colder, my instincts tell me to curl up somewhere and sleep. By the way, this is the exact wrong thing to do if you're faced with the possiblity of freezing to death, unless you want to wake up face-to-face with your Maker. So, since I kvetch plenty about the cold, I make a conscious effort to lay off whining as the heat index climbs. I will make a exception now, as we finish up what feels like our 103 consective day of highs in the 90s with humidity in the range that I belive is technically called "ridiculous". Cliche as it is, I don't mind hot when it's not sticky. We've visited Vegas enough times that I know I can be totally happy when the mercury hits 104, because the air in Vegas isn't retaining enough water to fill a new lake. In fact, I love Vegas and my biggest complaint there is that they keep the casino air-conditioners set to "Penguin Habitat" so that I have to take a sweater if I'm planning on being inside and that just makes me nuts. But I digress. The point my tired, sweaty, melting brain is trying to make is that it is that the combination of hot and humid is killing me. It's too unpleasant to clean. It's certainly too miserable to exercise. It's too hot to take a proper (read: hot) shower. It's too humid for my dang clothes to dry on the line - I've got a load on the line that's been hanging there for days and is still approximately as wet as when I put them there. It's too sticky to carry the baby around, too hot to get into the car, too exhausting to go to the park. It's even so bad that I haven't been able to bear the idea of putting a heat-generating laptop on my lap and blog. Here's what you've missed in my life: - Yesterday my son turned two. We had his party last week. I'll have plenty to say about this once I stop crying about how my baby isn't even a baby any more. - We went camping this past weekend. It's usually the one where we build the boat, but a combination of factors led us to ditch the whole boating thing and just hang out and camp. Good fun. - I managed to install an AC in the playroom, and even though I've always espoused a general distasted for conditioned air, I'm so in love with this thing now that the Husband is starting to look at it suspiciously. - I spent all last week dressed as a Viking, yelling "Ya!" and sweating off 1/2 my body weight, but somehow I still weigh the same. And the biggest one - My best friend M is engaged! Congrats to M and to the man brilliant enough to recognize her greatness and propose to her. So, how are you?