Sunday, August 07, 2011
This One's for Me
I have lots of excuses reasons for not blogging. Time is a big one. I never seem to have any left over . At least not at the same time that I have the energy to string a sentence together. Facebook is another. Somewhat because it is sucking up some of the aforementioned time. I am a word game aficionado, as it turns out are many of my friends, and family. My word addiction is being sated through social networking. Mainly I think Facebook has superseded the need to blog, because it gives me an immediate outlet, and, I get immediate feedback.
Still, I miss this, sitting down to record some thoughts. Ones that I can save and recall at will. It occurred to me the other day , that the ZM is getting short shrift with this arrangement. She hasn't gotten near the post time that the CP had at her age. Not for lack of material mind you. She has provided me with plenty.
I am recording this memory for me. It made me smile when it happened and I am pretty sure that if I read through this post 10 years from now, it will make me smile again. If you get a smile out of it, that's a plus.
Sarcasdad suggested we take the CP and the ZM to the Jersey shore for a day trip, before our planned week long vacation. The CP has been , but this would be the ZM's first trip to the beach. At least then the ocean and the beach wouldn't be totally strange to her.
We had a great time, and the day went pretty much as expected. The ZM loved the big sandbox, and while not afraid of the ocean, didn't really seem to get the point of it. The CP was excited and wanted to do everything at once. With all the activity and new things to see, a nap was out of the question for the ZM, despite our efforts to convince her to lie down on the heat resistant blanket, inside the UVB filtering tent under the UVA blocking umbrella. When it was time to leave, she was beyond tired so taking her down to the water against her will to wash off the sand seemed inadvisable. I changed her into clean clothes in the car, but she still had sand stuck to her just about everywhere. We made good on a promise to get ice cream on the boardwalk before we left. The CP chose a superhero popsicle for himself, and a chocolate, vanilla & cherry Dora the Explorer on a stick for his sister. When they were done we cleaned them up as best we could with napkins and bottled water and headed home.
The ZM was asleep before we hit the causeway. "Mom Mom" the CP said, "isn't she cute?"
I turned in my seat to see him gazing at his little sister. Her head was leaning just slightly to the left, propped up by her car seat. Her blonde hair, wind blown, and full of sand was sticking up at odd angles. The faded trails of chocolate and cherry ice cream drips ran down her cheeks and chin. And, she was snoring. Pretty loudly.
Seriously, if the kid could find cute in that, then I pity the boys who will someday want to date his little sister.
Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
Still, I miss this, sitting down to record some thoughts. Ones that I can save and recall at will. It occurred to me the other day , that the ZM is getting short shrift with this arrangement. She hasn't gotten near the post time that the CP had at her age. Not for lack of material mind you. She has provided me with plenty.
I am recording this memory for me. It made me smile when it happened and I am pretty sure that if I read through this post 10 years from now, it will make me smile again. If you get a smile out of it, that's a plus.
Sarcasdad suggested we take the CP and the ZM to the Jersey shore for a day trip, before our planned week long vacation. The CP has been , but this would be the ZM's first trip to the beach. At least then the ocean and the beach wouldn't be totally strange to her.
We had a great time, and the day went pretty much as expected. The ZM loved the big sandbox, and while not afraid of the ocean, didn't really seem to get the point of it. The CP was excited and wanted to do everything at once. With all the activity and new things to see, a nap was out of the question for the ZM, despite our efforts to convince her to lie down on the heat resistant blanket, inside the UVB filtering tent under the UVA blocking umbrella. When it was time to leave, she was beyond tired so taking her down to the water against her will to wash off the sand seemed inadvisable. I changed her into clean clothes in the car, but she still had sand stuck to her just about everywhere. We made good on a promise to get ice cream on the boardwalk before we left. The CP chose a superhero popsicle for himself, and a chocolate, vanilla & cherry Dora the Explorer on a stick for his sister. When they were done we cleaned them up as best we could with napkins and bottled water and headed home.
The ZM was asleep before we hit the causeway. "Mom Mom" the CP said, "isn't she cute?"
I turned in my seat to see him gazing at his little sister. Her head was leaning just slightly to the left, propped up by her car seat. Her blonde hair, wind blown, and full of sand was sticking up at odd angles. The faded trails of chocolate and cherry ice cream drips ran down her cheeks and chin. And, she was snoring. Pretty loudly.
Seriously, if the kid could find cute in that, then I pity the boys who will someday want to date his little sister.
Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Plaid is the New Khaki
The CP is intrigued by intrigue. He loves playing spies, and has amassed an impressive array of spy related gadgets. Such as binoculars that let you see behind you, and secret message writers and decoders. He has also been seen snooping through the house with a magnifying glass and a notebook looking for clues to a mystery he could be called on to solve.
The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia was offering an exhibit titled Spies, Traitors and Saboteurs, Fear and Freedom in America. They had the CP at "spy" and he asked repeatedly to go. Sarcasdad has a membership to the Center that allows us admission to all of the exhibits so we took him, even though we thought the content might be a little adult for a 6yr. old. As it turned out, there was enough to keep him interested as we walked through the exhibit. Some of the highlights for him were the FBI agents badge, which he claims to aspire to wearing one day; a pencil bomb; and, a piece of a police car found in the World Trade Center rubble.
To keep him engaged in the self guided exhibit, I tried to take the information presented and talk to him about it in 6 year old language.
Next to the glass encased pencil bomb was a display of French artillery shells. We talked about the big gun, "like a cannon" he said, that was used to fire them off. He looked at them for a while, touched them, and then asked a thoughtful question. "Mom Mom, do these come in other colors?"
It was hard not to laugh as I admitted that I did not know. In my head I pictured people huddled under cover, as artillery shells whizzed over there heads saying"oh look, a red one!". Admittedly, they did sort of look like a row a of crayola crayons when you open a new box and they all still have their unused sharpened points. Still, I wondered what he was thinking. What did he see when he looked at those man made weapons of destruction? Who knows ?
If the FBI agent gig doesn't come through perhaps he will channel his creative side. He could be an interior designer on a television show. Like Trading Spaces. Is that still on?1 When it is time for the big reveal the family will return home to find their bedroom redone in early WWI, complete with a wall studded with ordinance, repainted a calming shade of blue.
1. I Googled. The show ended in 2008. Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia was offering an exhibit titled Spies, Traitors and Saboteurs, Fear and Freedom in America. They had the CP at "spy" and he asked repeatedly to go. Sarcasdad has a membership to the Center that allows us admission to all of the exhibits so we took him, even though we thought the content might be a little adult for a 6yr. old. As it turned out, there was enough to keep him interested as we walked through the exhibit. Some of the highlights for him were the FBI agents badge, which he claims to aspire to wearing one day; a pencil bomb; and, a piece of a police car found in the World Trade Center rubble.
To keep him engaged in the self guided exhibit, I tried to take the information presented and talk to him about it in 6 year old language.
Next to the glass encased pencil bomb was a display of French artillery shells. We talked about the big gun, "like a cannon" he said, that was used to fire them off. He looked at them for a while, touched them, and then asked a thoughtful question. "Mom Mom, do these come in other colors?"
It was hard not to laugh as I admitted that I did not know. In my head I pictured people huddled under cover, as artillery shells whizzed over there heads saying"oh look, a red one!". Admittedly, they did sort of look like a row a of crayola crayons when you open a new box and they all still have their unused sharpened points. Still, I wondered what he was thinking. What did he see when he looked at those man made weapons of destruction? Who knows ?
If the FBI agent gig doesn't come through perhaps he will channel his creative side. He could be an interior designer on a television show. Like Trading Spaces. Is that still on?1 When it is time for the big reveal the family will return home to find their bedroom redone in early WWI, complete with a wall studded with ordinance, repainted a calming shade of blue.
1. I Googled. The show ended in 2008. Posted by Star
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Sunday, April 10, 2011
Do the Math
One hundred and five people run a 5K race. Sarcasmom is the 68th runner to cross the finish line. All things being equal, what number will Sarcasmom be when there are 30,00 people running?
Who knows?
When I ran the 5K (3.1 miles) it was a small group, gathered to raise money for the high school Sarcasmo & Sarcas-sis attended and graduated from. There were no wave corrals. Everyone just gathered at the starting line and took off when the horn sounded.
I could not figure for the life of me, why the race seemed so hard. It was only my second organized race, but from my training runs I expected to hate the first few minutes, then settle into the pace and enjoy the run. Those first few minutes sure seemed to be lasting a long time.
The reason for that became clear when my Runkeeper phone app signaled the five minute mark and announced that I was running an 8 minute, 11 second mile.
I didn't know I could do that.
My version of running is more like an eleven and a half minute mile lope. Considering that a year ago I was alternating running one block with walking the next, I am happy to be logging miles, even at that pace.
It was like being in traffic. I didn't know I was going that fast because I was just keeping up with the runners around me. I had no expectation of winning the race, or even my age group. As I said, it was a small group that turned out, but we ran the gamut from "never ran a step in my life before this" to "all decked out in the running gear and has stretched every muscle in my body, twice'. So I slowed it down, and finished the race with a 9:52 min/mile average.
On the drive home, after doing the Rocky up the Art Museum steps with Sarcas-sis and the CP, Sarcasdad asked if I had taken in the pretty scenery on my run. From the car we could see Boathouse Row with all the trees blooming in amazing color. I hadn't . All I saw was the asphalt of Martin Luther King Drive and the back of the person in front of me.
The next time I went out for a 7 mile training run, I reminded myself that I only need to get to the end. So I kept to my 11 min./mile pace , listened to my music and enjoyed the journey.
On Sunday, Sarcasmo Jr. and I are taking part in the Broad Street Run, a 10 mile trek through Philadelphia. We have slotted ourselves into the yellow wave corral for the 10 to 12 minute milers. I am looking forward to enjoying the run. Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
Who knows?
When I ran the 5K (3.1 miles) it was a small group, gathered to raise money for the high school Sarcasmo & Sarcas-sis attended and graduated from. There were no wave corrals. Everyone just gathered at the starting line and took off when the horn sounded.
I could not figure for the life of me, why the race seemed so hard. It was only my second organized race, but from my training runs I expected to hate the first few minutes, then settle into the pace and enjoy the run. Those first few minutes sure seemed to be lasting a long time.
The reason for that became clear when my Runkeeper phone app signaled the five minute mark and announced that I was running an 8 minute, 11 second mile.
I didn't know I could do that.
My version of running is more like an eleven and a half minute mile lope. Considering that a year ago I was alternating running one block with walking the next, I am happy to be logging miles, even at that pace.
It was like being in traffic. I didn't know I was going that fast because I was just keeping up with the runners around me. I had no expectation of winning the race, or even my age group. As I said, it was a small group that turned out, but we ran the gamut from "never ran a step in my life before this" to "all decked out in the running gear and has stretched every muscle in my body, twice'. So I slowed it down, and finished the race with a 9:52 min/mile average.
On the drive home, after doing the Rocky up the Art Museum steps with Sarcas-sis and the CP, Sarcasdad asked if I had taken in the pretty scenery on my run. From the car we could see Boathouse Row with all the trees blooming in amazing color. I hadn't . All I saw was the asphalt of Martin Luther King Drive and the back of the person in front of me.
The next time I went out for a 7 mile training run, I reminded myself that I only need to get to the end. So I kept to my 11 min./mile pace , listened to my music and enjoyed the journey.
On Sunday, Sarcasmo Jr. and I are taking part in the Broad Street Run, a 10 mile trek through Philadelphia. We have slotted ourselves into the yellow wave corral for the 10 to 12 minute milers. I am looking forward to enjoying the run. Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Goals Are Good
I was watching the grandkids the other night. The ZM was already asleep, and the CP and I were watching the movie Cars. We were quite comfy on the sofa. The CP. although insistent he wasn't tired was snuggled under a comforter and using my shoulder for a pillow.
I don't remember what prompted it, but at one point the CP announced that his life is boring. He is all of 6 years old. How, I queried of him, could that be? With guitar lessons, and karate lessons, and acting lessons, when did he have time to be bored? He allowed that those thing aren't boring. And school, he added isn't boring. It is in fact cool. But other than those things. his life is boring.
What, I asked would make his life not boring?
He sat up straight and looked me right in the eye. With great sincerity he said.
"I want to be a spy"
And then he added: "and just once I would like to beat a bad guy in a fight, with a lightsaber. Just once. And then I could go back to being boring."
He returned to the movie and I was left to wonder how he could ever think he is boring. Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
I don't remember what prompted it, but at one point the CP announced that his life is boring. He is all of 6 years old. How, I queried of him, could that be? With guitar lessons, and karate lessons, and acting lessons, when did he have time to be bored? He allowed that those thing aren't boring. And school, he added isn't boring. It is in fact cool. But other than those things. his life is boring.
What, I asked would make his life not boring?
He sat up straight and looked me right in the eye. With great sincerity he said.
"I want to be a spy"
And then he added: "and just once I would like to beat a bad guy in a fight, with a lightsaber. Just once. And then I could go back to being boring."
He returned to the movie and I was left to wonder how he could ever think he is boring. Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Is There An App For That?
Out for some last minute Christmas shopping, Sarcasmo Jr. was using Sarcas-sis' iPhone to Google up which of the many locations of a major retailer would have what they were looking for. The phone apparently sensed she is not an iPhone devotee' and froze after she typed the letter "H" in the search field. Sarcas-sis was negotiating the "it's two days before Christmas and I need to get to the mall" traffic and couldn't help, so they just picked a store at random. As far as I know that worked out fine. At some point Sarcasmo Jr. picked up the phone to see if it had righted itself. This is what it read in the search field:
Hahahhhh
Yes, Sarcasmo Jr. was mocked by an iPhone. Apparently it is more that a smartphone. It is a smart*ss phone. Posted by Star
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Hahahhhh
Yes, Sarcasmo Jr. was mocked by an iPhone. Apparently it is more that a smartphone. It is a smart*ss phone. Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
Friday, December 10, 2010
Right This Very Minute ?
You know that song, "We Need a Little Christmas" ? I hear it over and over again every eight and a half hour day I spend at work, And pretty much I've come to the conclusion, that I have just about all the Christmas I can handle right now, Thanks very much.
Here's a quick run down of where things stand with my "Needs to Get Done Before Christmas" list.
1. Buy gifts- Going pretty well actually. I'm not quite done. I will remain not quite done until the stores close on Christmas Eve. Really, are you ever totally done Christmas shopping, or do you just give up?
2.Wrap Gifts- I really wish this was done. Every year I am astounded by how long this takes. The very efficient person might wrap as they go. I wait until I am almost done shopping (see #1) and then engage in a marathon wrapping extravaganza. It is is strange how back breaking a task this can be considering you are dealing with tissue paper and ribbons. The irony is that I hate to wrap ( and it shows in the finished product) but I love watching the giftees opening their gifts. Plus, it slows them down a bit, making Christmas morning last a little longer. When Sarcasmo Jr. lived at home, I would pay her to wrap the presents. Except for hers of course. Now she, can wrap. The job she did on a telescoping auto snow scraper and brush is legendary around these parts.
3. Christmas Cards- Whatever I am sending is out. I had thought about skipping it this year. Traditionally, our Christmas card has a mouse on it. Sometimes it is the focus of the artwork, and sometimes it is just a minor background character. But there was always a mouse. This year, I couldn't find a single mouse card, so my heart wasn't in it. But then we went to Key West and found some cute beach themed Christmas cards, And in that 80 degree weather it seemed the way to go. Besides, I figured that no one really noticed the mouse tradition. Two days after I mailed them out, the following message appeared on my FB wall.
4. Bake Cookies-Probably not happening. And that is really sad when you consider that the last couple of years I have resorted to the break and bake variety of confections. I am currently attempting to bribe Sarcas-sis by supplying the raw material and the kitchen, if she just leaves some here when she's done.
5.Clean the House- hahahahahahahahaah. No seriously. Be forewarned if you have accepted a holiday invitation to the Sarcas- abode, or plan on stopping in unannounced. Something had to give. This is it.
6. Attend a Myriad of Holiday Themed Events - A few years back I worked at a different location , and we all voted to have the Christmas party in January. We did, and we had a great time. Mostly because no one was stressed out about all the baking wrapping and cleaning they should have been doing instead of attending the party.
7. Decorate the House- Done. Sarcas-Dad had the good sense to put the outside lights up before the temperatures plummeted to icicles on the nose levels. I used my last vacation day to do the inside. As I left the house this morning I realized I had forgotten something I usually put up. As no one else has mentioned it , I am considering it one less thing to take down later.
8. Get the Tree- I can't wait. I really enjoy the tree. One thing we are really good at is picking a good tree. A real one. One thing we are not so good at is getting to stand up straight in the tree stand. Some years getting it to stay up at all. There is nothing like being nestled all snug in your bed and hearing the tree come crashing down.
9. Wish You All the Merriest of Christmases, the Happiest of Holidays, and the Shiniest and Healthiest of New Years.-Done.
Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
Here's a quick run down of where things stand with my "Needs to Get Done Before Christmas" list.
1. Buy gifts- Going pretty well actually. I'm not quite done. I will remain not quite done until the stores close on Christmas Eve. Really, are you ever totally done Christmas shopping, or do you just give up?
2.Wrap Gifts- I really wish this was done. Every year I am astounded by how long this takes. The very efficient person might wrap as they go. I wait until I am almost done shopping (see #1) and then engage in a marathon wrapping extravaganza. It is is strange how back breaking a task this can be considering you are dealing with tissue paper and ribbons. The irony is that I hate to wrap ( and it shows in the finished product) but I love watching the giftees opening their gifts. Plus, it slows them down a bit, making Christmas morning last a little longer. When Sarcasmo Jr. lived at home, I would pay her to wrap the presents. Except for hers of course. Now she, can wrap. The job she did on a telescoping auto snow scraper and brush is legendary around these parts.
3. Christmas Cards- Whatever I am sending is out. I had thought about skipping it this year. Traditionally, our Christmas card has a mouse on it. Sometimes it is the focus of the artwork, and sometimes it is just a minor background character. But there was always a mouse. This year, I couldn't find a single mouse card, so my heart wasn't in it. But then we went to Key West and found some cute beach themed Christmas cards, And in that 80 degree weather it seemed the way to go. Besides, I figured that no one really noticed the mouse tradition. Two days after I mailed them out, the following message appeared on my FB wall.
(thanks for noticing Chris)
4. Bake Cookies-Probably not happening. And that is really sad when you consider that the last couple of years I have resorted to the break and bake variety of confections. I am currently attempting to bribe Sarcas-sis by supplying the raw material and the kitchen, if she just leaves some here when she's done.
5.Clean the House- hahahahahahahahaah. No seriously. Be forewarned if you have accepted a holiday invitation to the Sarcas- abode, or plan on stopping in unannounced. Something had to give. This is it.
6. Attend a Myriad of Holiday Themed Events - A few years back I worked at a different location , and we all voted to have the Christmas party in January. We did, and we had a great time. Mostly because no one was stressed out about all the baking wrapping and cleaning they should have been doing instead of attending the party.
7. Decorate the House- Done. Sarcas-Dad had the good sense to put the outside lights up before the temperatures plummeted to icicles on the nose levels. I used my last vacation day to do the inside. As I left the house this morning I realized I had forgotten something I usually put up. As no one else has mentioned it , I am considering it one less thing to take down later.
8. Get the Tree- I can't wait. I really enjoy the tree. One thing we are really good at is picking a good tree. A real one. One thing we are not so good at is getting to stand up straight in the tree stand. Some years getting it to stay up at all. There is nothing like being nestled all snug in your bed and hearing the tree come crashing down.
9. Wish You All the Merriest of Christmases, the Happiest of Holidays, and the Shiniest and Healthiest of New Years.-Done.
Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
The Gift of Understatement
I am working on a longer post to bore you with highlights of my vacation. But I had to share this. We were at Mallory Square, where people gather to watch the sunset. After two beautifully sunny days, today was cloudy and there is a very strong wind blowing off the ocean. Also gathered at Mallory Square are the street performers. We stopped to watch one while we waited to see if the clouds would part so the sun could do it's nightly show. He was one of three jugglers vying for the attention and donations of the crowd.
He looked a bit like George Carlin. He said he was 64. For a finale he carried his juggling batons to the top of a tightrope wire, about 10 feet off the ground. He stood up, trying to get his balance, while 30 mile an hour wind buffeted his body. Thin and wiry of build, it seemed he was risking a lot for some dollar bills in a hat. One one side of the wire, brick and concrete, the other fathomless ocean.
As we watched and we waited, the woman behind me, from England by her own admission, stated the following. (please read with British accent)
" Ah, well, it's a bit breezy for all that then isn't it?". Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
He looked a bit like George Carlin. He said he was 64. For a finale he carried his juggling batons to the top of a tightrope wire, about 10 feet off the ground. He stood up, trying to get his balance, while 30 mile an hour wind buffeted his body. Thin and wiry of build, it seemed he was risking a lot for some dollar bills in a hat. One one side of the wire, brick and concrete, the other fathomless ocean.
As we watched and we waited, the woman behind me, from England by her own admission, stated the following. (please read with British accent)
" Ah, well, it's a bit breezy for all that then isn't it?". Posted by Star
Permanent Link |
