procrastination post

hello! i should be doing stupid computer printing work right now, so i thought i would update 18 strangers on my life instead.

the dumpling has been happily toddling around and screaming "nooo!" about all kinds of things, like not being able to play with the entire contents of our household while covered in tomato sauce, or having to wait 2.3 seconds for anything. parents these days, eh?

the queen is on a fitness kick, so everyday involves him working out and drinking the lemonade diet drink, followed by fiddling with a new server he is trying to create to store all of his data, instead of having 80 wires and external hard drives floating around. in theory, i applaud this; in practice, something is making him very frustrated and he declared last night that he really hates computers.

i have been working on the autumnal cleaning of the yard, and putting off the autumnal cleaning of the house. i am really kind of obsessive about cleanliness, so i actually clean the interior of my oven and kettle, and wash walls on a regular basis. but it's overwhelming me right now; the dumpling is exhausting, and i'm more excited to sew. however, missing this opportunity to clean means that winter will suck because i will feel grubby. i've struck a deal whereby i don't have to complete it until november, so screw the appliances and the pile of whatever behind the dryer, right?

i have been taking driving lessons! i am trading  lovely friend for olives and whiskey. she seems to really enjoy helping me out and hanging with the dumpling. they are both members of the "no wear socks!" club, so they bond over that. also, she calls the dumpling "my liege" as she feeds and fetches things. much more respectful than our term, "the tyrant".

i am finding myself short of temper today. i really want to kill the housefly in our kitchen. even if it means taking out the entire kitchen, it feels worth it.

i have been up for hours and have accomplished nothing, yet have been busy all morning. i guess i simply have not accomplished specific tasks. the dumpling had a great morning and i did a big favour for someone when they really needed it.

now i'm going to get that fly. and maybe throw out the dishes. yeah. 

"garby! garby!"

infrequent blog posting!

things have been really lovely. the home front is rich and fulfilling; the queen works on the bus, i do some sewing, the dumpling finds tiny crumbs and fluff on the floor and brings them over to me, proclaiming that she has found "garby", and watches me put them carefully in the garbage can. she in also quite interested in modes of transportation, and can be found pushing cars and trucks around, announcing planes and trains going by, and actually perambulating! staggering into the middle of the road and straight for the windshield cleaning station at the gas station is already taxing my worrisome heart. yes, i am that mom. it's okay, the queen is the dad who lets his daughter play in puddles and with fire, so we balance out quite nicely.

it's finally becoming sweater weather, which cheers me up to no end. i don't know why, but i just don't like august very much. too much socializing? too much heat... not enough sweaters or tea. so now, while i am sad that we have to close the windows at night, i am pleased by cool breezes, harvests, and the notion of needing to warm ourselves.

i suppose there is more to say, but i am not interested in saying it. but take heart in the knowledge that i am feeling pretty okay these days. hopes the same for you.

stuff! things! time!

thieving some time in the midday to blog.

brain kind of on overload. thanksgiving was successful with only one minor meltdown on my part and several cranky moments from the overstimulated dumpling. she was seated at the head of my mom's dinner table, with a mickey mouse plate for banging on, and mashed potatoes by the fingerfuls from my plate.

the awesomes' visit was true to their name, and they even brought a little bird, who left a pot roast in our fridge that i cooked up a couple of days ago. i had never cooked pot roast before (it's an hours-long thing with lots of opening of the oven to pour more meat liquid over the roast to prevent it from drying out. also, it comes with a string around it, which you cut off afterward), but the queen said good things and so did bijoux, who came for dinner with scalloped potatoes. of course the house is a mess and things have stacked up, but oh freaking well, right? because i successfully survived a holiday AND made a pot roast that received multiple accolades. so screw you, decaying apples.

the dumpling's hollow leg has been pounding back the carrots, apples, minced hormone-free chicken, avocados, sweet potatoes, green beans and my mom's canned peaches, among other things. adults wipe their mouths, but children need their entire faces wiped. i regularly wipe food off of her forehead, eyebrows and hair.

friends have been going through rough times, so my energy is there, not here. "this too shall pass", i guess. sometimes that's the worst of it. something totally sideswipes you in life, and even that tragedy passes. so you go back to work. you brush your teeth. how different is anything? things should be more different, you think. the difference should last, like the difference in your psyche.

we bottled the queen's first batch of wine. it's quite lovely. are you ready for halloween, then snow? oh of course. of course. the race is on. i'm stockpiling cuddles, myself.

warning! run-on sentences abound!

i've been wanting to post in the middle of the day when i'm doing stuff, and then at the end of the day i'm too tired to think with words. so this morning i got up early so i could say all the witty things that float through my mind. of course, by some shared bloodline creepazoid thingie, the dumpling can sense my conscious presence and is gurbling away in her crib instead of sleeping it off as a tame, not-yet-housebroken child should. oh who am i kidding, she's so not tame. one whose hobbies include grabbing onto my facial protuberances (lip being a faviourite; good for digging in with tiny talons) and then kicking me in the throat (my throat is getting to be mommy-tough) cannot be reasonably described as tame. the cat is tamer than that, and she eats flies.

the dumpling's latest feats include being able to take off her hats, which means sweaters are my saviour, though i did finally finish plasticking up the windows for winter. i also unpacked my winter clothes and am excited about woolly accessories because that's the kind of nerd i am. bring on the wrist warmers! scarves of varying thickness! leg warmers! classy gloves that remind me of my grandma but make my iphone inaccessible!

i retired hank for the season, which doesn't mean we won't take 'er on any more trips, but since the queen bought a used, right-hand drive safari (see how the steering wheel is wooden? classy, eh?) whose seats fold down quite well to fit an us-sized (okay, me-sized) mattress and one of the queen's bros gave us a portable crib, we figure we might downsize the travel accommodations for quick trips to the city. one camping stove for bottle heating - check. sorry hank. you're hard to park. but hank is still our awesome inlaw suite, where our friend fieldinbloom will be staying when he comes out in a couple of weeks! with his mother and daughter!

also, the awesomes will be staying a night on this thanksgiving long weekend. they are bringing the possums, and i am rather excited since the dumpling has evolved to a new level of playing. she quite likes the possums, and of course they like her since she is little and cute and they are smart little possums. lady awesome is no doubt liked by all girls everywhere, with her pocahontas-lady-of-the-woods eyes and her crooning ukelele skills.

other thanksgiving weekend activities include visits to both families for dinner. i'm quite looking forward to it; it's a small enough holiday that i don't generally feel unduly stressed, and my mom's famous potluck dinner is reliably entertaining. i was quite sad to have missed it last year, though wisconsin was quite lovely... i will bring my gluten-free stuffing, and the queen will bring his homemade lager. or stout. or possibly wine.

what have i been doing? puréeing those mother-loving apples like there's no tomorrow (i think we actually have too many frozen apple icecubes. for realz. but on the other hand, dumpling has been impressive in her eating lately, so maybe i just don't get how much her appetite will increase), making more homemade baileys (second batch is super freakin tasty), being all homebody-ish and trying to conserve my sanity. it's nice that these newly developed hobbies of making booze covers our asses for the holiday season. except for the queen. what do you get the guy who has too many hobbies and buys everything he wants? you make something, with time i can't find.

one last link: i have decided to enter the world of makeup. blame/reward bijoux! she's turning me into a girl. we did at-home facials the other day. anyway. i found the awesomest place to order super lovely cosmetics: all fruit pigments, vegan (mild use of cruelty-free honey), made in canada and free shipping in canada when you spend a small truckload of money (which i totally did yay!). hey, it's an investment. into what, i'm not sure. stay tuned for feedback on effectiveness and ease of use! and don't worry, i'm still a belching, wig-stealing, hardcore hiphop fan who skulks around in black, fraying hoodies.

doldrums and ladybugs

doldrums? beat them back. constant vigilance, boo radley! earn your keep!

between a teething dumpling, fall cleaning, driving practice (i popped my highway two cherry! it was terrifying!) and the queen's family, days are passing. the queen and i take turns putting effort in and being moody. the dumpling, being the alchemical production and reduction of our combined essence, puts efforts into being moody (and does a wonderful job!).

the queen's family had a gathering and almost everyone came out, but without their kids. we rode hank out with the dumpling; she was pretty good that night, so i managed to stay up late enough to surprise everyone (they've mostly seen me pregnant, new mom and almost dead, so i think my natural energy level is a bit higher than i've heretofor revealed) and the queen got ragingly wasted, which was good for him. he's still working almost every day and feeling underpaid, which sucks big time. he recently got a raise, but when you're feeling underpaid, how often is the raise enough? not very often. it mollifies, but does not please.

i've been chatting with one of the girlfriends of one of the brothers more often recently. let's call her Bijoux. she's great for empathising with not being a member of a large, passionate family. sometimes i have trouble differentiating natural display of emotion and serious emotional trouble, or friendly ribbing and fighting. it's good to be able to share (and occasionally vent, not gonna lie) about loving a big irish farmboy when we've been raised in a quiet household to be nice polite girls. although she's been in fistfights, and seems surprised that i haven't, which i'm going to take as a compliment.

anyway, bijoux is helping me learn how to drive, but i have accepted that it's time to drive with the queen, even though i think he'll be impatient with me and spike my already over-stimulated adrenal glands. if i keep getting stressed out, will that eventually up my ability to tolerate stress? or will i just crumple/explode into a sobbing, screaming mess? stay tuned!

ladybugs, everywhere. we had an aphid infestation, and now i am literally stepping on ladybugs when i go out. i brought the laundry in and had to pick ten ladybugs just off of our clothing. it's kind of crazy; mother nature, gone wild. (returning to wild? never left wild?) i am out, picking up apples that have fallen and are soft, and i feel like i'm composting ladybugs. on a semi-related note, the dumpling is quite fond of dried leaves.

things that rock hard

- this. and delightful new webcomic discoveries in general.

- the peanut outgrew another set of clothes, and into a size where we have a lot of t-shirts. i guess she'll rock the t-shirt & hoodie with me for a while. also, i think she may have outgrown the peanut size. what next? dumpling? we call her the burgolator sometimes (because she burgolates, clearly).

- this. rocks. i've been looking for size-positive images and ideas to feast my eyes and mind upon and shake up my shiny-body-image magazine upbringing. plus who doesn't just want another intelligent blog to read?

- like this one, at its deepest and most meaningful. that is one of my favourite entries.

- it's autumn! decay! colour! dead bugs! cute sweaters! a fresh sense or organization! starting to think about holidays and lots of eating and gift-giving and stress-building!

- babies. okay, okay, i finally caved to the cuteness of babies. one of my friendquaintances gave birth the other day. cute baby! a good friend of mine is due about now with her second, and it's fascinating to hear about. she's great at describing a situation and getting to its essence. i think we also have really good communication, born from years of practice and a keen sense of how each other are feeling. and of course there are at least five other people i know who are pregnant. epidemic! careful, unfixed heteros!

- the queen is making beer and wine. i am helping, but it's definitely his thing. mostly, as i'm sure you figured out right away, i'm helping enough to justify my future quenching of thirst sans guilt. and of course because i love him and want to support his creativity. beer is way simpler, by the way. way simpler. you could do it. order the kit. the queen has this mini oak cask, and he has stored some of the beer in there. tasty. we have been talking of having a housewarming when it's ready. scandal - loud music! a fire!