What a Weekend

Filed under: Life Unscripted — Karin at 10:51 am on Monday, March 31, 2008

Considering the only place I actually went this weekend was to church last night, it sure seemed like a jam-packed weekend.

Friday, Mike was home all day, but working in the garage on band equipment. Do not ask me what he was doing because I have no idea. He also ran some errands and came home from Home Depot with three bushes to plant.

Saturday morning we got up and spent the morning outside doing yard word. Mike planted the three bushes and I started a documentation project of all our desert plants. As in, I spent about 2 1/2 hours and over 300 photos (both full views and macro shots) of all the different species of desert plants we have on our property. Now I’m going to research them and find out all the formal (and common) names of each plant. Which is not always easy, especially when it comes to cacti, because there are so many different (and similar varieties) of each one. It’s going to take me awhile, but I think it will be worth it in the end. We’ll have our own little desert botanical garden. ;) We’re trying to teach LG the names of the plants, but it’s hard when we don’t know the correct names to tell her. So we’re working on it. She’ll be a botanist yet. ;)

One of the many loves Mike and I share is a love for all kinds of desert plants, so we enjoy getting new ones and talking about the ones we have and figuring out how to make our landscaping look inviting. So hopefully, as we get our property looking like we want it to, I’ll share photos and information about the many desert plants we have living with us.

LG stayed out with us for quite awhile, but then she got tired of being outside, so we let her go in the house, close the door to her room and open her window so we could communicate with her. She actually spent most of the time standing on a chair looking out her window watching us with her stuffed animals. And whenever we walked past, she’d “take our order” for “hamburgers” and “chocolate milk”.

Saturday afternoon, Mike and LG propagated some seeds in cups in my kitchen. So I now have about two dozen white cups covered with plastic wrap and containing seeds for Palo Verde, Desert Willow and Texas Ebony trees sitting on my kitchen counter until they germinate. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about that yet, but oh well. ;)

Yesterday, I upgraded all of my blogs to the new WordPress 2.5. Just to tell you how long it’s been since I upgraded this particular blog, it was on version 2.0. I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to upgrading because I’m always terrified I’m going to screw something up, lose important information or break something. But it all went well. Luckily, the other blogs were easy since I used my web host’s one-click install when I originally installed them. Why I did not do that with this one, I will never know, but because I didn’t, it means I have to go in and do the install myself. And that is scary. Anyway, everything went well and nothing seems to be broken, so that is a big relief. (By the way, one of the cool things about the new WordPress is that it periodically saves your drafts as you’re working on them, so they don’t get lost in the internet ether if something goes wrong along the way.)

Edited to add: I almost forgot the part about Melody waking up yesterday morning with a sore paw and limping sadly around the house all day. She seemed okay otherwise and there was no gaping wound or swelling that we could see, so it didn’t seem to require a trip to the emergency pet clinic, rather just wait and see until this morning. This morning, she’s pretty much back to normal and was running around the yard without a care in the world, so no vet bills, thank goodness.

Last night we had mass as usual, and other than the fact that the Youth Group bus was late getting back from retreat, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Which is always a good thing.

Hope your weekend was lovely as well!

Upgrade Completed

Filed under: General — Karin at 10:50 am on Sunday, March 30, 2008

As far as I can tell, everything is working. But if not, please leave me a comment so I can fix it. Thanks! And please scroll down for Surfer Sunday. ;)

I’m going to attempt to upgrade my WordPress (which I haven’t done in way too long because I’m a wimp). Unless I chicken out along the way.

Anyway, if all goes without a hitch, this post will be deleted when I’m done. If not, well things might be broken for awhile, but I’ll get them fixed. Somehow. Someway. Oh please please work!

Okay, the upgrade seemed to work nicely (thanks in part to a little hand-holding and advice from Mr. Syndromes). Now I’ve got to go in and tweak things and see which of my plugins still work. So, things might get broken or wonky for a few minutes here and there. So please be patient!

Surfer Sunday 63

Filed under: surfer sunday — Karin at 3:08 am on Sunday, March 30, 2008

Food! Glorious Food!

America’s healthiest casual restaurants. (Yes Rochelle, Macaroni Grill is on the list.)

The healthiest fast-food restaurants in America.

5 things to do with leftover Easter candy.

Buttermilk spoon bread

How to make butterscotch.

Creative Pursuits

How to make fabric switchplate covers

10 tips for photographing food.

Learn about lenses, light and magnification.

How to make inside out security envelopes.

Techno Geekery

How to tell when your hard drive is going to fail.

The Public Library of Law makes legal research easier for the rest of us.

I wasn’t sure whether to put the Kitchen Sync Cookbook in this category or food, but really, since it’s a personal cookbook for geeks like me, it has to go here.

Free Photoshop online - it’s pretty basic, but free is always good.

Life Is a Highway

45 cooking and baking tips

Help the bees (and get pretty flowers as well)!

50 things you can do with tennis balls (besides play tennis).

10 decorating don’ts

Top 10 foods for healthy hair.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

See Star Wars on Telnet.

Bar tricks to amuse and delight all your drunk friends.

Good Ideas

Talking smoke/carbon monoxide detector

40 things to do with old socks.

How to make fragrances last longer.

How to organize your first apartment.

Good Reads

A fascinating article on how the internet will never amount to much circa 1995.

For the Kids

Cutest. toy refrigerator. ever.

Poison prevention tips

Too Much Time on My Hands

It’s not all about “Men” and “Women”. Check out these really cool toilet signs.

Weekly Features

Pretty recipe of the week

Cupcakes of the week

Building Calluses

Filed under: Parenthood — Karin at 4:49 pm on Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Tap Shoes - Unused

When I was a little girl, I was shy - painfully so. My parents, out of love I’m sure, didn’t push me to come out of it. I truly believe that it would have been better for me if they had. I think I would have accomplished so much more in my life had they just pushed me a little harder to work through my shyness. I have mostly overcome my shyness as an adult, but it has been with conscious effort. I still sometimes feel like I want to turn around and run away when I am put in a new situation that feels uncomfortable.

Little Girl is going through a painfully shy period right now and I think it’s harder on me than it is on her because I just refuse to allow her to be debilitated by her shyness like I was. I know that shyness is a stage to a point, but I also know that it can build into a disability if it isn’t faced.

Today I took LG to her first day of tap dancing class at the parks and recreation center. She was fine up until we went into the studio. We got there early enough for her to observe the ballet class that was before her class - so she could see where she would be and what she would be doing and that I would be on the other side of the window where she could see me if she felt unsure. As I walked her into the room, the tears started. I gave her a hug, got her sitting down on the floor and distracted with other little girls and her teacher so that she stopped crying and quietly walked out the door to a seat on the other side of the window. She did okay for awhile - although she wasn’t exactly participating, she also wasn’t crying. At first. Then the tears started again. And when the teacher tried to get her to stand up and she refused, I was called back in. The teacher let us sit and watch the class from a chair inside the room and I spent the time whispering in her ear that she could surely do that! And oh, doesn’t that look fun? And would she maybe like to try again? The answer to every question was “no” until the girls started getting ready to go. Then she thought she might like to try. I had to tell her that it was too late this week, but she could certainly come back next week and try again. Her teacher kindly gave her a hand stamp and said we’d try again next week. And we will. And the week after that.

Because here’s the thing. It’s not about being the best. It’s not even about learning to tap dance. It’s about trying. It’s about stepping out of your comfort zone a little bit and being brave. It’s about building calluses.

I’m sure you’ve all seen a baby’s foot. So soft and perfect and pink and untouched. And some part of us might want to keep those feet perfect and pink and untouched for as long as we can by not letting our little ones go barefooted. But, look what you miss by not going barefooted! You miss the feel of the soft grass and the squish of the wet mud and the textures and tickles and touch of things that are new and different. Yes, you won’t get calluses and you won’t get scratches, but you’d miss so much more. Calluses on our feet are part of what make us human I think - and not just on our feet - but on our hands or our elbows or our knees or wherever we might build them. But more importantly, we have to have a few calluses on our hearts. Not enough that we can’t feel anything anymore, but enough to know that we have experienced the textures of life. When we’re little it’s easy to get our feelings hurt, but we build those calluses on our hearts and we learn that just because someone says something critical or hurtful, it’s not going to break us. We just learn how to let the calluses protect our tender feelings and grow stronger because they are there to protect us.

I always thought teaching was the hardest job I ever had until I became a parent. Don’t get me wrong - teaching is most definitely the second hardest job I’ve ever had. But parenting is much much tougher. It’s hard to know when to push harder and when to back off. It’s hard to always know exactly the right thing to say or do to help your kids grow into kind-hearted, yet strong adults and make good decisions. I’ve always believed that the most important ingredient in parenting is love, and I still believe that. But, when love causes us to keep our kids from building calluses, then love hinders rather than helps. Watching my daughter sit there and cry and not going to her was hard. But it was even harder to have to go to her because she was afraid to try. That hurt even more.

I know my parents loved me very much, but they made mistakes. We all do, of course, but if one of the things I learn from them is to not make the same mistakes with my daughter that they made with me, well, that’s okay, too. Because in their own way, I guess they gave me the strength to build my own calluses.

And God Saw That It Was Good

Filed under: Holidays — Karin at 12:03 pm on Monday, March 24, 2008

It was a glorious, exhausting, wonderful Easter weekend. (Read on …)

Surfer Sunday 62

Filed under: surfer sunday — Karin at 6:46 pm on Sunday, March 23, 2008

Everybody Needs Gadgets

Chalkboard napkin rings

Food! Glorious Food!

8 alternatives to potato chips

Parmesan cheese bowls

Hurray for casseroles!

Blondies

Creative Pursuits

Photography and the law

Make custom color chalkboard paint.

Techno Geekery

Check to see if a particular website is down for everyone…or just you.

Organization for your .pdf files

Life Is a Highway

18 common phrases to avoid using in conversation.

If you’ve got teens, this blog is for you.

Calculate your “real age”. Even with the issues I’ve had with my heart, my real age came out to 26.5. That’s a positive sign that I’m doing something right somewhere.

How to remove pet hair from your clothes and other surfaces.

70 ways to save money at college.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

Energy efficient light bulbs contain mercury. So don’t break one!

I hate aphids.

The world’s most expensive foods

How nanotechnology works

Good Ideas

Host an outdoor movie night.

Use a price book to save money on groceries.

Vanishing nail polish

For the Kids

Workshop safety for kids

Paper doll templates

Summer reading for kids and teens

Weekly Features

Pretty recipe of the week

Pretty recipe of the week 2

Tip of the week

Bonus tip

Cupcake of the week

Looking for Surfer Sunday?

Filed under: surfer sunday — Karin at 12:49 am on Sunday, March 23, 2008

It will be posted later on Sunday. Too much Easter going on! Back soon!

Photo Essay: Easter Egg Hunt 2008

Filed under: Photo Essay — Karin at 4:58 pm on Saturday, March 22, 2008

This morning was the annual Easter Egg Hunt at our church. And this was the first year that LG was not in the first group of hunters. She’s moved from the toddlers to the preschoolers.

Here she is waiting for her turn. Notice there is already candy in her basket? That’s because it pays to know the Easter Bunny on a personal level. ;)

Waiting to Hunt

Here she is sitting on Rochelle’s lap getting instructions…

Getting Their Instructions

Unfortunately her good mood didn’t last too long as some of those wild and crazy preschoolers knocked her down on the way to the eggs. What did the mother of the year do? I stood there and laughed and called her a drama queen. But her dad was right there to pick her up. Poor little chickie.

Luckily, when your dad is a staff member at the church, then everyone knows you. That can work in your favor when you’re little because you get a little help when everyone feels sorry for you because you were crying.

A Little Help

Getting Eggs

You’ll notice there are plenty of eggs in the basket…

Walking with Dad

And the smiles came back…

Smiling with Daddy

She even posed with the Easter Bunny

Smiling with the Easter Bunny

And compared loot with a friend…

Eating Their Loot

Happy Easter!!!

Growling and Dyeing

Filed under: Baby Girl, Conversations with a 3 Year Old, Holidays, Life Unscripted — Karin at 7:55 am on Saturday, March 22, 2008

Thursday LG and I went to Target to get some candy for the church’s Easter egg hunt. (Of course, I bought several more things because it is impossible for me to just buy what I went in there for.) I told her she had to ride in the cart and she was not happy with me, so she “growled” at me. I told her that “we do not growl at people”. “But Melody growls,” she said. Good point, but Melody is a dog, LG is a girl, so no growling.

This continued throughout the day - LG growling whenever things didn’t go her way and me reminding her that “we don’t growl”. It did finally sink into her head by the end of the day and the growling went away.

Last night at dinner, Mike said or did something that irritated me, and I reacted with a “grrrr”. LG said, “Mama! Don’t growl!” Gotta love it. Called on the carpet by a three year old. ;)


Yesterday was LG’s first experience with dyeing Easter eggs. She pronounced it “fun” and after we had dyed our dozen eggs, Mike used the rest of the dye to make tie dye t-shirts. I have no idea how well they will hold up to washing and wearing, but it was pretty fun. Here are some pictures…

Getting Ready to Dye

Watching the Egg Dye

Working Hard

Egg

Dad and Daughter

Dad and Daughter

After

Tie Dye

Surfer Sunday on Friday: Easter Edition

Filed under: surfer sunday — Karin at 9:35 am on Friday, March 21, 2008

Some extra links for Easter because I’m nice that way.

How to make golden chocolate Easter eggs.

Easter bunny rolls

Easter pans

Cadbury creme egg muffins

Easter turducken (It’s not what you might think!)

Easter coloring pages

Chocolate Easter bunnies - unwrapped.

Make your own egg dyes

Carrot bundt cake

Easter bunny cake

Edible Easter lilies

New uses for Peeps

Hot cross buns

How to make perfect hard-boiled eggs.

Sigrid’s Carrot Cake


You Are Jelly Beans


For you, Easter is all about fun and sweet treats. None of that Jesus dying on a cross stuff!

And lest we forget the real reason for the season, here is Michael W. Smith and “Above All”…

A very happy and blessed Easter to all of you.

Oh Look! I Have a Blog!

Filed under: General — Karin at 1:18 pm on Thursday, March 20, 2008

I haven’t forgotten this blog. Really I haven’t. But I’ve been busy posting my daily photo, my daily reflection during the Lenten season (which is thankfully coming to an end), and too many reality television show reports to count.

So, posting here will still probably be sporadic for the rest of the week, but it should get back to a fairly normal pace next week. If you miss me, though, be sure to click one of those links in the paragraph above and visit me there.

I promise there will be an Easter Egg Hunt photo essay on Saturday, though. Because I’m sure it will just be way too cute not to share! :)

And look for a Bonus Easter Edition of Surfer Sunday in the next day or two!

Surfer Sunday 61

Filed under: surfer sunday — Karin at 3:05 am on Sunday, March 16, 2008

Everybody Needs Gadgets

Oven rack guards - another one of those “why didn’t someone think of this sooner” gadgets.

Self-leveling measuring spoons!

Food! Glorious Food!

Ever realize you didn’t have something in the middle of making a recipe? Here are some recipe substitutions to save you!

These just sound really yummy.

Someone make these and then don’t tell me how good they are because I will be sad.

Oh these potatoes look so good.

Happy Holidays

St. Patrick’s Day foods

I’m part Irish. My husband is part Irish. In fact, it is estimated that 40% of Americans can claim Irish heritage. Here are some more fun and interesting facts about Ireland just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

Resurrection eggs to help you discuss the true reason for the season with your kiddos.

Creative Pursuits

How to make your own personalized paper dolls.

6 composition tips for portraits.

What an interesting idea for a garbage can!

Four good reasons to shoot in automatic mode.

Techno geekery

Organize your chores.

Are you using strong passwords? Find out with the password checker.

Share big files! Fast! Easy! (Or so it says.)

Send a link with highlights!

Manage computer file clutter.

TV shows and movies online for free.

Technology explained in plain English.

Life Is a Highway

10 most beautiful bridges in the world.

I’ve always wanted to do this. I probably won’t, but I’ve always wanted to!

How to remove different kinds of stains.

What you should know about getting a tattoo.

Where you can and can’t use a cell phone while driving. In Phoenix, we’re not allowed to text while driving but we can still talk on the phone.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

An end to the age-old debate on which came first - the chicken or the egg?

Mission to Mars?

A sprained ankle waiting to happen.

What the…?

Good Ideas

50 ways to get through to a live person on the phone.

Good Reads

Is there a better way to teach math?

How Cool Is This?

Club di Giulietta or The Juliet Club in Verona, Italy has volunteers who personally answer the thousands of letters that are sent to Verona for the fictional Juliet Capulet.

Too Much Time on My Hands

Photoshop disasters.


What Your Shamrock Says About You


You are brilliant, analytical, and somewhat of a perfectionist. You are ultra competent and knowledgeable.

At times, people find you intimidating. You can be a bit sarcastic and harsh.

You don’t really consider yourself a lucky person. In your view, people create their own luck.

You are creative, innovative, and complicated. You definitely have a unique spin on the world.

Weekly Features

Pretty recipe of the week

Pretty recipe of the week 2

Cupcake of the Week

More pretty cupcakes (Thanks Marlene!)

Tip of the week

Priceless

Filed under: Parenthood — Karin at 9:22 pm on Thursday, March 13, 2008

Have you ever have one of those watershed moments as a parent where you just think, wow, having a kid is pretty awesome? I had a few of those today. Mine was being able to feel like I had a “daughter” and not just a “child”.

I took LG with me to Kohl’s today to shop for my Easter dress. She’s finally old enough to walk and not have to ride in a stroller or shopping cart and young enough that she doesn’t really want me to be out of her sight - although she does get distracted now and then (we still do the shopping cart thing at the grocery store and Target because it’s just easier). But she went into the dressing room with me, sat on the little seat, held my clothes for me while I tried the new ones on, gave me her opinion of what I picked out, and just generally was pretty awesome company. And it hit me, so this is what it’s like to have a daughter. Someone who wants to hang out with you, who you don’t have to impress because she loves you for being you, who will keep you company and converse with you (even if it doesn’t always make sense or have anything to do with anything). This is what being a parent is all about - what makes all the stinky diapers and screaming tantrums and spit up and sleepless nights worthwhile. This is the beginning of the lifelong friendship I hope to have with this sweet little girl. This is why I don’t strangle her when she’s having a “moment”. This is why my mom loved me so much. This is what I’ve longed for, what I’ve looked forward to.

Later on, after we came home, I was fiddling around with a melody and lyrics and she grasped onto it as I was recording it on my little digital recorder and we sang it over and over and I had this amazing warm feeling inside because I realized that this was the legacy I was leaving to my child. A love of music that may very well be a seed that’s planted now and blossoms into a beautiful flower of talent when she’s older. Who knows? But, the fact that we can share one of the things I love most in the world with each other is pure joy.

And then tonight when she went to bed, we sang our new bedtime song twice, because once wasn’t enough for her.

And yes, there were moments during the day that weren’t beautiful and picture perfect, but who cares? Those aren’t the moments either one of us will remember next week or next month or next year. But we will remember going shopping together and singing together.

Sometimes being the parent of an infant or a toddler feels like a thankless exhausting job because you don’t get a lot of positive feedback from your “boss”. Yes, you get cuddles and hugs, but five or ten or twenty minutes later, you have to start all over again and feed them or change them or attend to whatever need they might have. And I’m not saying that’s horrible in any way, I’m just saying that sometimes it’s lonely and tiring. But maybe if that exhausted first-time mom of a baby who doesn’t sleep through the night yet, had an inkling of the delight that is to come, it might make it that much easier to get up in the middle of the night for the umpteenth time.

Parenting is not an easy job, not by a long shot. But wow. Every year you get a promotion. An every day you get to see the world a whole new way. And the fringe benefits? The kisses and the hugs and joy and the giggles and smiles and the “I love you Moms” and the moments that feel like there is no else one on earth but the two of you? Those…those are simply priceless.

Happy Birthday Honey!

Filed under: Forty-something, Hubby Makes Me Happy, Life Unscripted — Karin at 11:54 am on Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Happy 43rd birthday to my awesome wonderful put-up-with-me-able husband!

I started off the morning by telling him that I’d just found out the mortgage payment on the rental house was due yesterday and I hadn’t paid it because I assumed it was due the 14th like it was last month, forgetting that February is a shorter month. STUPID CALENDAR. I called the mortgage company to 1) figure out how to pay it online and 2) beg them to take the late fee off because it was an honest mistake and I’ve never paid it late before. Well, they told me that they don’t put late fees on until 10 days past due. Which means I still had time to mail it! Hurray for me! (And I just saw the mail truck come and pick it up while I was typing this, so we’re good to go.)

I also told him if he wasn’t home for dinner by 6, so we could be done by 7 (in time for American Idol), I might have to kill him and that would be sad since it was his birthday and all. Am I a good wife or what? Edited at 7 pm to add: Of course, I just realized that American Idol isn’t on until 8. But he was home at 6!

On the other hand, on the way home from the grocery store, we stopped at the church where he was in a staff meeting, and decorated his car with a balloon and streamers.

I’m also making his favorite pasta dish for dinner and LG and I are about to go make this yummy chocolate cake for dessert. And I got candles and birthday plates even. So, I’m not totally rotten. ;)

Either way, Happy birthday honey. I love you more than I could ever say.

We Had a Weekend!

Filed under: Life Unscripted — Karin at 8:54 am on Monday, March 10, 2008

Yes, yes we did have a weekend. And some interesting things happened! Okay, talk to y’all later. What? You might like to hear about them? Um, sure! (Read on …)

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