Mariannes Motifs

I Cut the Boys' Hair

In an attempt to save money, gas, and time, I bought an inexpensive set of clippers designed for at home haircuts and I cut the kids' hair.  Ben's hair is very course and poufy, a lot like mine but without the curl.  So he need's haircuts pretty regularly.  Adam has fine blonde-ish hair that has a pretty curl to it, so his looks nice longer.

I was a bit nervous to do Ben's hair but I figured worst case scenario I would just give him a buzz cut so what's to lose.  I did a pretty decent job.  I left it mostly a bit longer but cleaned up around the ears and the back of the neck.  I am proud - its slightly uneven around the two ears but not enough to notice unless you get really close. 

My parents always say that you have to give your kids something to talk about in therapy.  I don't want my kids to have to send mesothelioma lawyers after me or anything, but I think they will survive a home-cooked haircut or two.  

Family in Town

My brother-in-law, mother-in-law, and niece are here to visit.  So we have three kids 6 and under in the house and they have been having fun running around and playing all day. 

I have been trying to take a good picture of all three kids, but one of the keeps moving or making a funny face.  Grr. 

You probably won't be hearing too much from me in the next week because we will be running around, at the pool, or hanging out with the fams.

Thrifting for Pyrex

Pyrex
Originally uploaded by mar1annec

I skulked around my local Goodwill this morning after dropping the kids off at camp. These days, you have to go first thing in the morning or it is so crowded there. I went in the afternoon last week and it was like going to the grocery store on a Saturday - - crammed. This is a direct statement on the economy - everyone is broke and thrifting.

I bought a cashmere sweater to try to take apart for the yarn. Of course the last time I tried that it was a huge fail because I cut the seams by accident and all I got was short lengths of yarn. Since this one is a bit thicker yarn, I hope i get a better result. If not, I will make it into something else - stuffed toy, pillow, whatever.

The other find of the day was two pieces of Pyrex. My other bowl did not sell on ebay so what else is to be done but to buy more for a dollar fifty to keep it company. I found a divided dish (which I think is actually pretty cool) and a small "Butterfly Gold" casserole.

I am too scared to ride a motorcycle, mostly because other drivers on the road have a hard time seeing them.  A bike is the same size as your blind spot.  Car drivers should pay attention and keep their eye out for people on cycles.  You don't want to have an accident and be on the wrong side of a Pleasanton motorcycle accident attorney.

Sunday Chit Chat

Oh my goodness my stomach was upset last night.  I take enough Crohn's medication - they are as big as horse supplements.  But something disagreed with me yesterday and all I can say is "ouch."

This morning we cleaned the kitchen and I made pancakes.   I have just about gone through an entire bag of flour in the last few weeks.  Cupcakes, pancakes, biscuits, peach cobbler...  I have done a lot of cooking.  What to make for dinner tonight?  I think pasta with Italian sausage.  Unless some other great idea presents itself to me.

Making Good Use of Time

Jin has signed up for a full course load of classes at Strayer.  He is 14 classes away from his Bachelors degree so we are taking this layoff as an opportunity for him to finish school. 

This of course means that I sure hope my job search becomes fruitful soon.   (Pray!)

In the meanwhile we are making good use of the time.  Cleaning and fixing up the house, cooking, blogging, knitting...

Making use of the TV wall mount by catching up on season one of Trueblood.  

Sunday Chit Chat

We had a nice 4th of July weekend.   We skipped the fireworks this time, and had a nice relaxing weekend.  

Here is a picture of the kids playing in the rain this morning.  We are having a nice mellow sprinkling - very good for the flowers!  (Have you ever noticed that it tends to rain on July 5th?  My theory is that all the fireworks smoke "seeds" the clouds to make it rain.)

We have booked a condo for our trip to the beach.  We will be staying in Destin.  Because there will be four adults and 3 kids, we figured out that a condo would be cheaper than 3 hotel rooms at something like a stratosphere hotel.  We got a 3 bedroom condo which is on the beach.  Well, the condo complex is on the beach and has a private beach.  There is a short walk to the water from our unit.

We've been living as cheaply as we could for months.  In order to pay off all the bills, I sold some stock that I had and we decided that it would be ok to take a short beach trip.  We deserve a bit of a break.

List of Terrible No Good Words that I Hate

I feel compelled to list some words and phrases that just irk me.  I don't know why.  They just do.

Peep
Lave
Broast
Jobless Recovery
Think outside the box

Sunday Chit Chat

Watching the fireflies tonight - - they are so cool.  No matter how old I get I still feel how magical these creatures are.

This weekend went fast.  We went out for lunch today at Steak and Shake.  Kids eat free on the weekends for their 75th anniversary.  The kids were very happy to get not only their short order cook hats but also very cool cardboard car boxes that came with their meals.  I has a turkey club which was very nice and light for a hot day.

I went to the grocery store and stocked back up on essentials.  All this cooking I have been doing has depleted my pantry but I now have the basics stocked back up.  This weeks menu includes stew, kielbasa, grilled cheese...  Got a really nice seedless watermelon on sale as well as California grapes. 

You would think I would be done with disposable diapers, but in fact, one kid still wears "Good Nights" at night.  Oh well... He's getting it all together, some kids just take longer than others.  I am sure he won't be wearing a pullup in college, right?

Happy Place

My mom is having radiation treatment tomorrow. I told her to "go to her meditative happy place." She said "I don't have a meditative happy place, I only have a meditative pissed off place."

Happy Birthday To Me

Hey look - Google put up a special graphic just for me!  What's that you say?  Igor Stravinski?  No - it's for Marianne.

Even the Beatles want to wish me a happy birthday.