Thanks to Catherine for sharing this!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
My Kind of Logic
Me: "My doctor called and asked me if I had been taking my thyroid medicine."
Jeremy: "So, did they up your dose?"
Me: "Yeah, they doubled it... no wonder I'm still fat and cranky!"
Jeremy: (laughing uncontrollably) "You don't think it might be all the chocolate and the fact that you don't sleep?"
---
Jeremy: "So, did they up your dose?"
Me: "Yeah, they doubled it... no wonder I'm still fat and cranky!"
Jeremy: (laughing uncontrollably) "You don't think it might be all the chocolate and the fact that you don't sleep?"
---
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Oprah, Ratigan, and the Blame Game
Yesterday I was watching the Oprah show.
Disclaimer: I normally try not to watch TV during the day (I'm too busy blogging, yo) and, when I do, Oprah is not on my list. But she was having a show about couponing and since that's my latest obsession, I watched. Also, Jeremy's away so the TV might be on a tad more than usual. You do what you gotta do.
Oprah had Dylan Ratigan from CNBC on the show and he said the economic crisis in our country will be solved when we all learn to live within our means. He said we're all charging more than we can afford, borrowing more than we can pay back, and finding it impossible to pay the bills.
I wanted to strangle him.
Yes, many, many (too many) people are living this way. But what about all of us out here who have been working hard to stay within our means? And doing so long before this crisis hit?
When Chelsea was about 9 months old, I went back to work part-time. And it sucked. Everything fell apart. I was miserable at work and doing a horrible job. I felt stressed all the time at home and I was also doing a horrible job of parenting.
I decided I needed to stay home. Jeremy and I both calculated whether or not we could afford to live on just his salary and the short answer is that we could not. Even by cutting back all of our discretionary spending (no new clothes, no dinners out, no gym membership, no cable tv) our necessities were more than his salary. It was close, but not enough.
We decided it was important enough to do it anyway. We hoped that there would be some savings from my staying home and planned to take money out of savings if we needed it to get by. And we did.
We live in a tiny apartment. We pay our credit card bill, in full, every time. We drive old cars. We rely on gifts and second-hand shops to clothe our children. We have been doing anything and everything to live within our means.
It angers me that I'm now having to scrimp even more than I already was because of people who were not able to live within their means. No, that's not right. Some people were able; they were not willing to live within their means.
As our new President has said, there's plenty of blame to go around. I just wish when Dylan Ratigan lays the blame at the foot of the American people, he would at least acknowledge that people like us exist. I know we're not alone.
---
Disclaimer: I normally try not to watch TV during the day (I'm too busy blogging, yo) and, when I do, Oprah is not on my list. But she was having a show about couponing and since that's my latest obsession, I watched. Also, Jeremy's away so the TV might be on a tad more than usual. You do what you gotta do.
Oprah had Dylan Ratigan from CNBC on the show and he said the economic crisis in our country will be solved when we all learn to live within our means. He said we're all charging more than we can afford, borrowing more than we can pay back, and finding it impossible to pay the bills.
I wanted to strangle him.
Yes, many, many (too many) people are living this way. But what about all of us out here who have been working hard to stay within our means? And doing so long before this crisis hit?
When Chelsea was about 9 months old, I went back to work part-time. And it sucked. Everything fell apart. I was miserable at work and doing a horrible job. I felt stressed all the time at home and I was also doing a horrible job of parenting.
I decided I needed to stay home. Jeremy and I both calculated whether or not we could afford to live on just his salary and the short answer is that we could not. Even by cutting back all of our discretionary spending (no new clothes, no dinners out, no gym membership, no cable tv) our necessities were more than his salary. It was close, but not enough.
We decided it was important enough to do it anyway. We hoped that there would be some savings from my staying home and planned to take money out of savings if we needed it to get by. And we did.
We live in a tiny apartment. We pay our credit card bill, in full, every time. We drive old cars. We rely on gifts and second-hand shops to clothe our children. We have been doing anything and everything to live within our means.
It angers me that I'm now having to scrimp even more than I already was because of people who were not able to live within their means. No, that's not right. Some people were able; they were not willing to live within their means.
As our new President has said, there's plenty of blame to go around. I just wish when Dylan Ratigan lays the blame at the foot of the American people, he would at least acknowledge that people like us exist. I know we're not alone.
---
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
What the H!
Ten things I love that start with H. Thanks, Robyn!
1. Horchata.
For those sorely lacking in decent Mexican food, this is a vanilla-flavored rice milk. My favorite place to get it is Juanita's on Highway 101 in Encinitas. Bean tostada and a large horchata. And for some reason, drinks at Juanita's are extra jumbo sized. The large must be 40 ounces and that much milk and rice and sugar is about all of your daily calories. And it's worth it.
2. Halloween
"Confound it all, I love it though." I once made a haunted house in my parents' garage and parked a car in the middle of it, hidden, so that I could blast the lights and horn to scare the bejeebus out of my "guests." Ahh, memories.
3. Harry Potter
Jeremy and I used to read these books out loud to each other. But I have no patience and he has no stamina so he'd fall asleep before I'd had nearly enough. Inevitably, I'd keep reading and finish the book on my own. Then read it again with him.
4. Hometown
Mine is Carlsbad, California. I went to school in Encinitas (which is the next town south) and so I consider Encinitas my other hometown. Both are dramatically different now than when I was growing up. The flower fields where illegal migrant workers lived are now fancy strip malls. The two-lane road with no sidewalks where my best friend and I cautiously rode bikes, is now a major thoroughfare with freeway access. I miss how it used to be, but there's enough that hasn't changed to make me always want to go back.
5. Honda
I've only driven Hondas (two) since I was 18. They're cheap and you can drive them forever and ever. I covet the new hybrid one, although I'm sure I won't get one for a long, long time.
6. Hats
Oh, I love me some goofy hats. It runs in the family.
7. Hazelnut
Hazelnut coffee or hazelnut creamer in my coffee, not actual hazelnuts. (I'm one of those "like my sugar with coffee and cream" types.)
8. Hydrangea
Aren't they pretty?
9. Hobbies
I miss my hobbies. I have no more time to do them (kids). And no more money to spend on them (kids! no job! crapola economy!). My hobbiesare were photography, knitting, beading, and general crafting.
10. Husband
I saved the best one for last. I shouldn't tell you what he is really like because you will die of jealousy. But I will anyway. He does laundry. He cleans. He holds small babies for hours in the middle of the night. He is an excellent judge of character. He thinks before he speaks. He eats healthier and works out more often than I do, but doesn't rub it in my face. He's very smart and very funny. And he looks wicked cute in a goofy hat. (See? Don't say I didn't warn you.)
---
1. Horchata.
For those sorely lacking in decent Mexican food, this is a vanilla-flavored rice milk. My favorite place to get it is Juanita's on Highway 101 in Encinitas. Bean tostada and a large horchata. And for some reason, drinks at Juanita's are extra jumbo sized. The large must be 40 ounces and that much milk and rice and sugar is about all of your daily calories. And it's worth it.
2. Halloween
"Confound it all, I love it though." I once made a haunted house in my parents' garage and parked a car in the middle of it, hidden, so that I could blast the lights and horn to scare the bejeebus out of my "guests." Ahh, memories.
3. Harry Potter
Jeremy and I used to read these books out loud to each other. But I have no patience and he has no stamina so he'd fall asleep before I'd had nearly enough. Inevitably, I'd keep reading and finish the book on my own. Then read it again with him.
4. Hometown
Mine is Carlsbad, California. I went to school in Encinitas (which is the next town south) and so I consider Encinitas my other hometown. Both are dramatically different now than when I was growing up. The flower fields where illegal migrant workers lived are now fancy strip malls. The two-lane road with no sidewalks where my best friend and I cautiously rode bikes, is now a major thoroughfare with freeway access. I miss how it used to be, but there's enough that hasn't changed to make me always want to go back.
5. Honda
I've only driven Hondas (two) since I was 18. They're cheap and you can drive them forever and ever. I covet the new hybrid one, although I'm sure I won't get one for a long, long time.
6. Hats
Oh, I love me some goofy hats. It runs in the family.
7. Hazelnut
Hazelnut coffee or hazelnut creamer in my coffee, not actual hazelnuts. (I'm one of those "like my sugar with coffee and cream" types.)
8. Hydrangea
Aren't they pretty?
9. Hobbies
I miss my hobbies. I have no more time to do them (kids). And no more money to spend on them (kids! no job! crapola economy!). My hobbies
10. Husband
I saved the best one for last. I shouldn't tell you what he is really like because you will die of jealousy. But I will anyway. He does laundry. He cleans. He holds small babies for hours in the middle of the night. He is an excellent judge of character. He thinks before he speaks. He eats healthier and works out more often than I do, but doesn't rub it in my face. He's very smart and very funny. And he looks wicked cute in a goofy hat. (See? Don't say I didn't warn you.)
---
Monday, February 2, 2009
Future San Diegan
Getting ready for a Superbowl party...
Jeremy: "Chelsea, which team are you going to cheer for? The Steelers? Or the Cardinals?"
Chelsea: "The Chargers!"
---
Jeremy: "Chelsea, which team are you going to cheer for? The Steelers? Or the Cardinals?"
Chelsea: "The Chargers!"
---
Friday, January 30, 2009
Meine Welt Sind die Berge
I've been trying to slowly teach Chelsea German... or at least expose her to some German, since I don't speak it fluently myself.
A little background: my mom is German and both my parents speak German fluently. I took enough German in school to get by but I wish I were more proficient. All of my mom's family still lives in Germany and I'm concerned that Chelsea will lose half her family tree if she doesn't learn to communicate with them.
A few months ago, my cousin sent Chelsea a little German songbook Sing Mit Heidi. It's a board book with German children's songs and each has a little button to push and the tune will play. Ironically, the one song that didn't work was the title song (and my namesake) Heidi.
Chelsea loved it and asked to hear it again and again. Eventually, she started singing them. I don't know why I was so surprised but it seems so amazing to me.
I asked my mom to order us a few more for Christmas and now we've got Sing Mit Biene Maja and Sing Mit Wickie. They are all huge hits with Chelsea.
The other night, we were sitting around trying to entertain the girls and distract them from their sore throats and runny noses. Jeremy had the idea to search for the German songs on youtube. I don't know how this had never occurred to either of us before.
Sure enough, there's Heidi. There's Biene Maja. And there's Wickie. (The singer of Biene Maja sounds like he's auditioning for Cabaret.)
After many months of skipping over the Heidi song, it's nice to finally hear the tune for it. It's very chipper and yodel-y, just as you would expect:
Jeremy gets a Pearl Jam song and I get this. I can't decide who wins.
---
A little background: my mom is German and both my parents speak German fluently. I took enough German in school to get by but I wish I were more proficient. All of my mom's family still lives in Germany and I'm concerned that Chelsea will lose half her family tree if she doesn't learn to communicate with them.
A few months ago, my cousin sent Chelsea a little German songbook Sing Mit Heidi. It's a board book with German children's songs and each has a little button to push and the tune will play. Ironically, the one song that didn't work was the title song (and my namesake) Heidi.
Chelsea loved it and asked to hear it again and again. Eventually, she started singing them. I don't know why I was so surprised but it seems so amazing to me.
I asked my mom to order us a few more for Christmas and now we've got Sing Mit Biene Maja and Sing Mit Wickie. They are all huge hits with Chelsea.
The other night, we were sitting around trying to entertain the girls and distract them from their sore throats and runny noses. Jeremy had the idea to search for the German songs on youtube. I don't know how this had never occurred to either of us before.
Sure enough, there's Heidi. There's Biene Maja. And there's Wickie. (The singer of Biene Maja sounds like he's auditioning for Cabaret.)
After many months of skipping over the Heidi song, it's nice to finally hear the tune for it. It's very chipper and yodel-y, just as you would expect:
Jeremy gets a Pearl Jam song and I get this. I can't decide who wins.
---
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
25 Things
Here's my first FB tagging, thanks to my friends Cons. I'm posting it here, too, see #24.
1. I run my fingers up and down and back and forth over the buttons on the TV remote if I'm holding it. I think it's a mild version of OCD and it drives my husband crazy.
2. In 2011, Jeremy and I will have been a couple for half of our lives.
3. Both my kids were born by C-section. First one was an unplanned section.
4. I took my class on a field trip to see the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia" while I was in labor with Chelsea. (I thought it was just cramps.)
5. I graduated from college a year early, with honors. (Super nerd!)
6. I am trying to teach my children German, although I am not fluent myself.
7. My favorite Red Sox player is Jacoby Ellsbury.
8. Between 1998 and 2004, we lived in 5 different cities, in four different states. (San Diego, Washington DC, Atlanta, Savannah, and Boston)
9. I love manatees and I think they are like puppies, I want to squish their cheeks.
10. I set off the smoke alarm whenever I try to roast meat.
11. When I lived in LA, I only saw B-list celebrities: Victor from the Young and the Restless, the Olsen twins, and John Ritter.
12. I also went to school with some B-list celebrities and I always call them by their character's names: Blossom, Winnie Cooper, Urkel, and Rudy (aka Samwise Gamgee).
13. I have to put an odd number of ice cubes in my drink.
14. I love black cashmere turtleneck sweaters.
15. I have never used illegal drugs.
16. I am not religious but I have a degree in the Study of Religion.
17. I would like to have a house with a yard, a washer and dryer, and at least three bedrooms.
18. I would like to get a PhD so when people call the house and ask for Dr. Long, I can say, "Which one?"
19. I like to eat breakfast and go back to bed (but I have two little kids, so I never get to do this).
20. Both our children are named after cities: Chelsea, Michigan (where Jeremy's parents lived when he was born) and Savannah, Georgia (where Jeremy and I lived when we were first married).
21. And each of their middle names are both a color and a thing: Amber and Rose.
22. I'm the first person in my family born in the US.
23. I can make Channa Masala without a recipe.
24. I will post this on my blog (because I am lazy).
25. It took me over two hours to write this list because I was interrupted to do a craft project, play Candy Land, wipe a snotty nose, make lunch, hold a sick baby, wipe another snotty nose, give medicine, call the doctor, and help someone pee.
---
1. I run my fingers up and down and back and forth over the buttons on the TV remote if I'm holding it. I think it's a mild version of OCD and it drives my husband crazy.
2. In 2011, Jeremy and I will have been a couple for half of our lives.
3. Both my kids were born by C-section. First one was an unplanned section.
4. I took my class on a field trip to see the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia" while I was in labor with Chelsea. (I thought it was just cramps.)
5. I graduated from college a year early, with honors. (Super nerd!)
6. I am trying to teach my children German, although I am not fluent myself.
7. My favorite Red Sox player is Jacoby Ellsbury.
8. Between 1998 and 2004, we lived in 5 different cities, in four different states. (San Diego, Washington DC, Atlanta, Savannah, and Boston)
9. I love manatees and I think they are like puppies, I want to squish their cheeks.
10. I set off the smoke alarm whenever I try to roast meat.
11. When I lived in LA, I only saw B-list celebrities: Victor from the Young and the Restless, the Olsen twins, and John Ritter.
12. I also went to school with some B-list celebrities and I always call them by their character's names: Blossom, Winnie Cooper, Urkel, and Rudy (aka Samwise Gamgee).
13. I have to put an odd number of ice cubes in my drink.
14. I love black cashmere turtleneck sweaters.
15. I have never used illegal drugs.
16. I am not religious but I have a degree in the Study of Religion.
17. I would like to have a house with a yard, a washer and dryer, and at least three bedrooms.
18. I would like to get a PhD so when people call the house and ask for Dr. Long, I can say, "Which one?"
19. I like to eat breakfast and go back to bed (but I have two little kids, so I never get to do this).
20. Both our children are named after cities: Chelsea, Michigan (where Jeremy's parents lived when he was born) and Savannah, Georgia (where Jeremy and I lived when we were first married).
21. And each of their middle names are both a color and a thing: Amber and Rose.
22. I'm the first person in my family born in the US.
23. I can make Channa Masala without a recipe.
24. I will post this on my blog (because I am lazy).
25. It took me over two hours to write this list because I was interrupted to do a craft project, play Candy Land, wipe a snotty nose, make lunch, hold a sick baby, wipe another snotty nose, give medicine, call the doctor, and help someone pee.
---
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