Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Jason's Vows





















Because She Likes Purple

There is this blog written by a girl named Jennie.
This blog is hilarious and poignant. This blog makes me laugh and cry. This blog makes me want to steal her post ideas and make them my own. Which I sometimes do. But always give her credit for.

Jennie is one of the coolest people I know. She is funny, articulate, and stylish. Otherwise known as the Fabulous Triple Threat. I want to hang out with her. Of course, her being in Texas and my being in Alaska, as well as the fact that we only know each other through the blogosphere, make that a little difficult.
The other day, the doorbell rang 20 minutes after I got home from work.

The UPS guy stood there with a Crate & Barrel Box.

(Did you think it would be Jennie? This is not a Garry Marshall movie, come on!)

Jennie had sent the most beautiful crystal. The only crystal I received for my wedding.

Picture from crateandbarrel.com since my camera is still broken.

Thanks, Jennie. You rock the hardest.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Goodbye, Yellow Brick Blog

My Blogging Life started the same as a lot of other mommybloggers: through reading a beautiful pink blog.

Amy truly is Queen of Everything to us. You laugh through an entire post; thinking, " This happened to me the other day, and you know what, it is hilarious!" Or you read of her son's therapy and doctor's appointments and cry as you send as many good thoughts as you can her way. She is the original RockStar, and if I wasn't so sure I would COMPLETELY HUMILIATE myself in some devastating way, I would rather meet her than anyone. Even Oprah. (gasp!)

Amy has this little blog called Mom's Daily Dose. She fills it with links to other blogger's posts that she deems worthy. The day she linked to my blog, my hits went from hundreds to thousands. She has THAT kind of power.

Mom's Daily Dose had its last post today. This, for me, is like selling your first car. My experience being Dosed was a confirmation; it was realizing that there are people out there who see what I have to say. People who will get a little ole' piece of my own personal opinion. This was truly the 4th proudest day of my life.

Goodbye, Mom's Daily Dose. You gave me the courage to write, the heart to bare it, the brains to be my own voice, and you made the blogosphere feel like home.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

'Laska

When I was 21 and teaching Kindergarten in a small private school in Kentucky, I decided to enroll in the University of Alaska Anchorage.

I had met my best friend at that time during my short stint at a private college. She was from a small town in rural Alaska, and was transferring to UAA. Since I had never been to Alaska, and I was realizing teaching 5 year-olds how to read, write, and behave wasn’t for me, I embarked on the pivotal adventure of my life.

Alaska is state like no other. In the lower 48, there is some rivalry between states, sure; in Alaska, they call everything else “outside”. As in “not in the hip arctic circle”. “Are you staying here for Christmas?” “Naw, I am going outside.”

Local TV ads are filled with hunters, fur coats, furnace companies, and both sides of the oil business. It is not odd to see a commercial endorsing exploration immediately following one condemning it. Our most famous Alaskan to other Alaskans is Ted Saddler, owner of the Mattress Ranch. He does a flailing chicken dance to his theme song. Every single person you meet up here will know the next line if you say, “Get more--sleep without counting sheep…”

I am surrounded on three sides by mountains on my drive home. The forth, way past downtown, is the Cook Inlet - icy and gray, with glacier silt and muck for a beach.

I have been in traffic jams caused by moose calves walking across the road. There were two bull moose sparring outside my office this morning. My office is in midtown, by the way. Not the woods.

In the spring (by which I mean mid May), the ground thaws and brings a pungent smell of dung and fertilizing earth. People who own dogs clean up the masses of poo accumulated over the long winter when it was impossible to get to. If you were so unlucky to have a pet die during the winter, you take them out of the freezer and bury them.

The leaves don’t stay for long, and they don’t change to gorgeous autumn colours. Vitamin D supplements are necessary from November to April so the short daylight hours (I believe there were 6 of them today) don’t cause SAD (seasonal affective disorder) which makes you, well, sad. There are more months spent in my winter coat than out of it.

But when you see the purple sunsets, the baby moose, the fields of wildflowers, the clear mountain streams…it is a little easier to swallow.

Friday, November 16, 2007

You Cannot Get Rid Of Me That Easily, Strep!

Yes, I spent the week on the couch with Strep. At least there was plenty of Law & Order to keep me occupied.

Every once in awhile, I am grateful for a few days of sickness. You sometimes need that time of uninterrupted sleeping that you don't have to justify, because, well, you are sick and you can't be forced to get off the couch and make dinner and do laundry so DON"T EVEN TRY.

I am lucky in the sense that because I work full-time, when I get sick, Violet can still go to daycare. And I can spend a Disney-channel free day completely zoned out. And, also, I have a lovely husband who complained only minimally that he had to drop off Mister Hayden and the Violet in the morning. He also rubbed my feet. For a few seconds. But it still counts.

I am better now. I am resuming normal life. I did try unsuccessfully to justify one more day one the couch. Jason and my conscience said no.

I had to try. I have 6 more Law & Orders on tivo.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Erg.

It is 40 degrees.
Since I have lived here in the great norther tundra, I haven't before seen a Halloween without snow. Now it is past Halloween, and though the sky is dark and the day is only 8 hours long, there is still no sign of snow.
Not that I am complaining; when the snow does come, it will be here until May. It is just...disorientating.
And I am wishing for the fresh, clean blanket of white that makes the dark easier to manage. This will be our last winter in Alaska, we hope to be in Florida by this time next year. I suppose I want to squeeze as much snow in as possible.
Says me now. I will be eating these words in January.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

The Hopkins Family Goes To The Sea







Why, yes, those are breasts, why do you ask?

NaBloPoMo Day 7!!!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Gamer

Jason is a computer nerd.
If given the choice, he would play first person shooter games from dusk till dawn. However, when I was pregnant, the very sound of the game would make me vomit. All those footsteps...clip, clop, clip, clop, clip, clop...blech. even the thought of it it now still drives me insane.
But he loves me.
So when the sound got to be too much, he invested in headphones. When Violet is awake, he puts away the violent games. He instead plays with us. When I tell him I feel neglected, he doesn't play for a few days. And he always turns it off if I need something urgently, like time to Internet window shop.
The thing is, the games focus him. The residual effects of his previous life of addiction leave him with scattered thoughts, and he becomes dull and cranky when he hasn't played for a while. He is honestly a better person when he plays; it is his form a therapy.
He doesn't watch sports, he lets me control the remote, and always listens when I talk.
Game on, baby. Game on.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Um....WHAT?!?!?

Last night, Jason’s cell phone rang at 11:50. PM.
As I stumbled through the house to find it, I anxiously debated in my head who it might be. My mother? Did my dad finally have a heart attack? No, she would have called my phone. Ali? Did she throw her husband off the balcony? I don’t know if she has my number in her new phone, but she did call Jason before, so that could be…

Me: He-hello???

Stranger Calling To Bother Me At Midnight: Hello, I am calling about the online ad.

Me: (Stunned Silence) um…What?!?

SCTBMAM: The ad about the Nissan for sale.

Me: It is midnight.

SCTBMAM: Oh, I’m sorry, is it too late to call? I am sorry to bother you.

Me: Um, yeah, just call back tomorrow. (Hang Up)

Me: Jason, if that idiot calls tomorrow, jack the price up a couple hundred bucks.

NABloPoMo Day 5!!!

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Bonnie & Clyde Go To the Pumpkin Patch

Beautiful Bonnie and Clyde


Violet rocks at knock-down-the-pins-with-your-hands bowling.

My Fabulous Flapper

NaBloPoMo Day 4!!!

Saturday, November 3, 2007

I can't make hollandaise.

Granted, it was my first try without using a store-bought mix (don't knock it till you try it, dude!) but it was not encouraging. There were chunks. And it tasted more like a butter-vinegar sauce. Which you won't finds on any restaurant menus. For good reason.
(Jason is watching the golden child on TV right beside me, so forgive me for any disjointed, 80's thoughts.)
A picture from yesterday morning...








NaBloPoMo Day 3!!!

Friday, November 2, 2007

Poppycock.

Darn you, Anti-depressants.

Darn you for causing insomnia till 3 am, thus allowing me only 4 hours sleep.

Darn you, minuscule amount of sleep, for allowing me to sleep in until I was supposed to BE at work.

Darn you, sleeping in, for letting the toddlers be fully awake while I was trying to get ready.

Darn you, toddlers, for getting into the trash, climbing into the shower with your toast, finding the toilet scrubber, for losing slippers all over the house, and basically being so adorable that I had to cherish my crazy morning.

NaBloPoMo Day 2!!!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Stick 'Em Up, and Give Me All Your Sanity!

There is nothing more adorable than my Violet girl in a sparkly purple flapper dress, complete with feather boa, sequined head band, and patent leather shoes. Except maybe ten-month-old Mr. Hayden in a grey pin-striped suit with a purple shirt and tie. Oh. My. Word.
She and her “cousin”, Jenny Jenny Jen Jen’s Hayden, went as Bonnie and Clyde; let me tell you, they were the belles of the ball.
We attended a fall festival at church. There were plenty of activities, but the only ones Mr. Hayden and the Violet were into were a)knocking all the plastic pins for the bowling game over. By hand. And b)being surrounded by cooing admirers taking a mass ton of pictures. Violet was hamming it up Tyra-style. She is so my daughter.
There was also the 20 minutes she climbed all over the indoor toddler playground, even stopping to take off her shoes to get better traction up the slide. Oh, well, at least she kept the dress on.
They were so frickin’ adorable. I’ll post some pictures as soon as I get them, though I must warn you, the sheer adorability may break your computer screen.

NaBloPoMo Day 1!!!