Returning

The seizures are back.  Not one.  Several.  Maybe more than several?  I am weary.

This Makes Me Happy

summer magic

Cole was getting a filling today so I perused a little Rachael Ray.  I read a booklet of summer fruit dessert recipes and stole one, right in public.

It was worth it. I will even share it with you. Just made it after swimming and before back to school open house.

• Melt a little butter in a skillet.
• Add a sliced nectarine.
• Flip and brown and all those weird cooking verbs for like three minutes, till there is some softening going on.
• Sprinkle on some oriental five spice (or cinnamon or cardamom or ginger).
• Pour into bowl. 
• Add handful of granola. I would recommend something with good chunks of nuts.
• That is it! You could probably eat with a gross dairy product if you wanted.
• Best eaten immediately while still warm

Enjoy!

And, I am officially not going on my writer retreat. We can discuss if you want to send me an email. Or I could get a patron like Harper Lee’s most excellent friends who raised enough money for her to quit work for eight (?) Months so she could write that one book. Because I am totally putting myself on par with her…

Wild Things

My males are returning home FINALLY in three more days.  This has been way too long of a separation.  They are in Salmon, Idaho till tomorrow, enjoying some quiet after lots of cousin time.  I talked to The Husband on the phone for ten hilarious minutes, listening to the boys bouncing and jumping and laughing all over the hotel room.  It made my heart happy and sad.  These kids!  They’re so great.  And bizarre.  Having them both in school all day come August 4 is going to be strange.

Miracle!

We have glass shower doors.  They were so lovely when new last summer.  Despite the daily spray and squeegee routine, Yuma hard water reared its ugly head.

I used the google and found the best solution since everything I tried was a bust.  Are you ready for it?

Bar Keeper’s Friend.  Powder, which is hard on things like doors but doable, or the glass oven surface cleaner which is a thick liquid.  (There’s a word for thick liquids but it is midnight and my vocabulary goes to sleep with the sun.)

The doors look amazing.  I should have done before and after.  I regret that.  I cannot even believe how effective it was.  And not difficult!  This is life changing.  I’m not joking.

I’m a Quitter

I think I’m not going to do Nebraska in a few weeks.  This is lame, I know, but I think I won’t go.

 

I have been doing clean eating since July 1, including no soda and only natural sugars.  I haven’t quit that.  I actually feel really good and it has been easier than expected.

 

How Do You?

I got a rejection letter for a grant I applied for.  Not great, but whatever.  Until I read more–rejected because of their error, not me.  I can’t do anything about it, there’s no one to call and complain, the process is over.  I’m super annoyed and disappointed and a little peeved.

Ordinarily this would be a brownie moment.  But I am doing clean, unprocessed eating for July and trying to get into better habits.  So I can’t have a sugar fix to satisfy my soul anguish.  What other options are there?  I’d like to go shopping, but since the Everything Is Breaking is ongoing at our house, shouldn’t do that.  Don’t want a tattoo.  Already have short hair or I’d probably cut it.

What do healthy normal people do to make themselves feel better when there’s a bit of Life Lameness?  Please advise.

Border Problems

If you want to have a secure border, do something real.  Seriously.  I have no problem with defending the border.  But how about we do it for reals instead of half way so it doesn’t really work.

For example, if you actually don’t want anyone to come into the US:

• put landmines all along the border fence.
• Take the billion BP agents and station them every 50 feet.  Seriously.
• Burn everything for 1/2 mile on either side of the border so it is freaky and obvious if anyone is nearby.
• Electrify the fence.
• Build guard towers and shoot people.

If you want to be nice, then you can’t have a secure border.  That’s all there is to it.  Without killing people, I don’t see how you can keep everyone out because there is such a super high incentive to cross and get away from a crappy life.

And that is what I think.

If this seems harsh, then maybe we should do something different and stop obsessing about the subject and take a different approach…like fixing Mexico.  Or breaking our country off to be a giant island.

Love Is All Around

As everyone on the planet knows, REM recently released a two cd collection featuring their appearances on MTV Unplugged from 1991 and 2001.  I have been wanting this to happen for pretty much every day since 1991, so I was quite pleased when I finally got the music in the mail (only about six months after pre-ordering).  This is one of the tracks that makes me happy every time I listen to it.  Back in the day, Todd made me a cd of Covers by REM that featured a different version of this song, but this one is still good.  Enjoy the Spanish language subtitles also–I’m all about education.

 

three kids

The eleven year old nephew has been here for over a week. It is not awesome. I am emotionally exhausted. I can’t even blog. If I did it would be a list of all the ways things are not going well, which would not be nice. So I will keep my mouth shut. You can send me funny and supportive comments and it would be nice of you.