What does Marty Bass Have Against the Buckeye State?

I listen to the same station every morning on my way to work. Back in December when the Browns BEAT the Steelers the weather guy commented that the only person happier than him about that happening (because it was good for the hometown Ravens) was Tim Tebow because he wouldn't have to go to Cleveland. At the time I thought he was rather obnoxious but that is par for the course, people around here think it was awful of the Colts to move to Indianapolis but its all Cleveland's fault that the lost the Browns. I can't tell you how many times I've been told "its just not the same, they didn't leave in the middle of the night." Okay, they left in broad daylight but it was no less of a tragedy to Browns fans left without a team.

This morning, I get into the car and again, Marty Bass is bad mouthing the Buckeye state, today he called the Professional Football Hall of Fame an overrated tourist attraction stuck in the middle of nowhere Ohio--paraphrased but accurate in its sentiment I do believe. Perhaps he'd like to move the Pro Football HOF to Baltimore too? How about the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame?

OK, end of rant. Come on Marty, what is up with the Ohio hate thing?

NaBloPoMo

Its NAtional BLOg POst MOnth, you know, NaBloPoMo. Which means I am supposed to blog everyday for the month of November. Its nice to get back into the writing groove, I have been so busy there never seems to be a moment to think enough to write anything I want, let alone anyone else would want to read.

It will be a quiet weekend (I hope) here at HQ. Gman is taking his car for new tires so I can drive it to meet up with Buildermama next week for our big race. I need to run 5 miles again so I know I am ready for the race next week. Sunday I am having a jewelry party so I suppose there is a little necessary cleaning and cooking involved for that. Mostly I'd like to stay in bed and watch football--no birthday parties, no sports, house in a relatively clean place (thank you Miss Betty!).

Running Thought O' The Day

It is really amazing to me how much your mind has to do with running. Tonight was my short run, 2 miles. It was dark almost as soon as I started but relatively balmy so I put on my shoes and went before dinner. I know that if I start off with a less than stellar attitude about a run it takes much longer to get into it and sometimes it just never surfaces, the whole thing is an exercise of mind of matter. On the other hand, some days, like today I was a woman obsessed, I needed to run. It was dark, there were leaves piled on the sidewalk, I really didn't care. I needed to blow off some stress, I needed to RUN. It felt good, the first half mile wasn't a struggle (other than half of it being uphill). When I got home I was sweaty and stinky but I was done and could actually start dinner without biting any heads off or feel like I was ready to implode.Nike might have been right when they said Just Do It, I can't say there has ever been a time when mentally I've felt worse after a run (or a ride or a swim for that matter) than before I started.

Swearing in German

Verdammt!

Why haven't I posted in so long? Well you see, Google thinks we are in Germany and all of the Google related sites, including blogger have all the menus in German which may be the land of my ancesters but I read not a word. Verizon says they bought IP addresses and Google just hasn't registered them yet. Not sure I believe it because none of the things they suggested have worked to correct the issue. Fortunately only Google is affected, unfortunately Google affects a whole lot of things. Thankfully we've stuck with German, some of the neighbors are now in France.

Cute things kids say:

Me: Okay, git 'er done (in my best 'Mater/Larry the Cable Guy voice)
Boobah: Did you say that because I am a girl?
Me (Quizzical look) Huh?
Boobah: Well you said "Get HER done" if I was a boy would have you said "Get him done"
Me: I said git ER done, ah just forget it and wash yourself

Running is good, I am in week 4 of the 8 week training program for a 10K. Buildermama and I are doing the 8K at the Richmond Marathon November 15 and I figure being a few Ks ahead is a good plan. I just want to be able to run the whole thing. My sister and I are doing the Country Music 1/2 Marathon in April and I am signed up for the Columbia Triathlon in May and Iron Girl in August--I can't believe I am planning stuff this far ahead!

Traffic Hell

Really, my commute to work is only about 8 miles, the first drop off is only 4 miles from the house, really what is the idiots per mile ratio today? I had to slam on my breaks twice in that first stretch because people turned out right in front of me. The second time she saw me at the last minute and managed to pull onto the side of the road instead of right in front of me, otherwise it would have been really, really ugly, no way I could have avoided her expensive sports car. After those near misses there was another car who felt it necessary to speed through the left turn only lane to cut in front of the truck in front of me saving herself at least 2 seconds. I've said it before, driving around here scares the crap out of me but its nothing compared to the fear on the bike!

Five for Five

I borrowed this one from Annie.

FIVE PICTURES - FIVE WORDS PER PICTURE.Any 5 pictures, any subject, and any 5 words to describe and/or explain each picture.

Looks fast--don't ya think?

No cotton candy for me?

Think I'll make the Olympics?

Now, where *was* the goal?

Can they go home yet??

Thanks to Gman for the fab photos.

Thank you! You're welcome?

I read something not too long ago, I can't for the life of me remember where, (if it was your blog, speak up and take credit!) about the responses to thank you. If I remember correctly the author was admonishing the use of responses like "sure" and "no problem" when saying thank you. S/he thought that it diminished the thank you as a no big deal kind of thing. It has had me thinking and I've come to realize that I use those two responses a lot! Once I realized it I've been thinking about whether it was okay.

Here are my thoughts, when I hold a door open for someone and they say thank you (or thanks) for some other small nicety I don't think a "you're welcome" is always necessary, a "sure" is fine. Why? Because its small and sometimes in passing there just isn't time for "you're welcome." Sometimes it isn't even a full thank you, its thanks. The informal act and giving of thanks seems to reuire an informal response. In more formal settings or when someone does something on a bigger scale "you're welcome" is the proper response.

So, what do you think is "you're welcome" always necessary or is "sure" or "no problem" okay with you?

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmm....

I ordered a couple of things from Amazon last week, I got the shipping notice. It supposedly shipped from somewhere 45 miles from my house and its estimated arrival date---SEPTEMBER 5, 2007. How exactly does THAT happen?

On the way to daycare this morning
Boobah I broke the TV.
I turnoff the radio and ask her "what?'
Boobah: I broke the TV in the basement, but it still works.
PDQ: Yeah, I didn't do it, it was Ellie but Daddy took care of it
At that point I stopped listening the two of them launched off into some other totally unrelated conversation. I didn't remember until hours later to call Gman and find out WTF.

The insomnia from hell is back and worse than ever. This weekend I went to bed early, got up, went back to bed, got back up. I did get the pantry in the basement re-organized around midnight last night. It was 2:42 when I finally got in bed for the last time and at least an hour after that before I fell asleep. I put in the emergency e-mail to my amazing acupuncturist. He, thankfully, had an opening this afternoon. I certainly hope it helped get the energy flowing correctly 'cause I. need. sleep.

Check Out Maven Says for my review of Fathering Your School-Age Child: A Dad's Guide to the Wonder Years, 3 to 9 by Armin Brott featuring a little guest blogging from Gman.

You can take the girl out of the country and more

...but I don't think you can ever really take the country out of the girl. I headed back out to the farm this evening and picked another 5 lbs of blueberries. Its much quicker picking without my "helpers." It was almost as fun listening to the other people and their theories on the best way to pick. There are two distinct camps--pick everything that is ripe off one bush before moving on is the first. These people will scan the bush up one side and down the other not leaving a single ripe berry. Then there are the random pickers, they kind of mosey from bush to bush picking a little here and a little there. With the girls I followed the first method, it gave them some goals to work towards. Tonight I picked a little here and a little there--mostly going deep into the bushes for untouched berries that took a little work to get to or at the very top of the bushes where it took a little doing to bring them down to pick them. I was reminded that you can't be in too big a hurry or the really good ripe ones will fall off onto the ground--something to be said for slowing down, taking your time and experiencing the journey as well as the rewards. I stopped at the farm store and got a few more green beans and some just pulled onions as well. I am really trying to focus more on local food this summer.

On the way home from said berry picking I stopped and bought a canning pot and rack. I am determined to make some pickles this summer with local pickling cucumbers. My grandmother made fabulous sweet pickles. They were bright green from a little added food coloring and so sweet. My father used the juice as his ingredient in potato and pasta salads. I've never braved canning before so wish me luck! I also requested the recipe for this great frozen pizza sauce my mom made when we had more tomatoes than we knew what to do with. If I hit the jackpot on tomatoes I might try canning a few quarts of those as well. In the serious 'burbs canning supplies aren't that easy to come by believe it or not!

Finally, I heard this story today and had to pass it on. The receptionist at work is a dear sweet woman who is in her early 70s. She is about the nicest person you will ever meet. She's been at the company for many, many years--she used to work with punch cards if that tells you anything. Gman stopped to get me for lunch on Monday and she was beside herself, a young friend of her family was dying of breast cancer that had spread. They called the whole family in saying she only had hours to live as her liver was shutting down. It was obvious that she was distraught over the impending loss. She stopped me this morning and told me that shortly after the announcement that she had hours to live another group of doctors came in and cleared everyone out but the woman and her husband. They had been pouring over her medical records and noticed that there was a sign of a fungal infection in the early days after she was admitted. No one had paid attention. This can sometimes cause it to look like the liver is shutting down. They started a treatment and her numbers had miraculously fallen over night. The nurses were running to get the doctors every time new lab work came back because they couldn't believe what they were seeing. I really felt like this, in combination with what I've been reading lately from Especially Heather, Schmutzie, and Toddler Planet was a reminder to slow down and appreciate what I have...every. single. day. You can join in supporting WhyMommy in her fight against inflammatory breast cancer by adding the Team WhyMommy button. Head on over to Canape Sun to get your button. She is starting chemo at 8:30 AM on Thursday, keep her in your thoughts.

Down with O.P.P.

I am so tired of finding little girl pee and less often poop sitting in my toilets! What is up with that? When they started potty training I was lucky to get them to go but they ALWAYS flushed. Now I feel like I have to be on potty patrol every time I leave the house so as not to stink the whole place up. They are doing better about wiping well and even washing their hands. Flushing takes what, a second? Isn't it a little ironic that the song by the same name was from Naughty by Nature?

When I was a residence hall director at my alma mater in the early 90s I also worked with the alumni association. They ran a story about the alumni part in the student paper The Marcolian. Someone came and took a decent head shot and it ran with the article. My mother was impressed, I'm doubtful anyone else was. One day I went into the newspaper office, I can't even remember why, I'd never been there as a student. Hanging on their bulletin board was that head shot of me with a thought bubble with that very line in it. The looks on the faces of guys that worked for me was priceless, they stammered and turned red.

Bad Bus Karma--Revenge of the Fish?

I. Am. Impatient. Not news to anyone who knows me. Traffic is the worst. I got annoyed with it at times when my commute was only 3 minutes long, now the 25 minutes, with stops, just about drives me nuts. Every day someone bonehead does something that makes me want to smack them upside the head. Apparently my pay back is bad bus karma. Two mornings in a row now I’ve been stuck behind a school bus on my way to drop off Boobah. Not just one bus but many buses, with many stops including a bus that has to use a lift to take on a boy in a wheelchair in about a quarter mile. This morning the middle school kids took the cake. The bus stopped at the BUS STOP, novel idea I know. The kids got on the bus after pushing and shoving each other. Then the bus stopped for a kid coming out of a house. I could see the babysitter’s house at this point, I think I was twitching just a little. Out came another kid, sauntering as slowly as humanly possible. Then the third, now she had the decency to run for the bus. Only to discover halfway there that she forgot something. She ran back into the house and I was beginning to wonder if she was ever coming back out. Now don’t get me wrong, I would want the bus driver to wait for my kid if they needed to run back in the house. I am glad there is a bus for the boy in the wheel chair but I swear it is payback for my impatience. See, I have been driving this route at about the same time, ALL YEAR LONG. And in the last two days I’ve waited at bus stops more than all the other days added together. Must be the fish coming back to haunt me.

Speaking of the fish—the body count is now up to three. Yes, I killed them all. I feel awful. I sent Gman out last night to get the last two from their watery grave. He, being always the innovator, used a lacrosse stick to get them out of the pond and fling them over the fence. Of course he did it from the middle of the yard. One made a stop in the middle when it hit the swing set. We are horrible people. The kids don’t know yet. They must sense it though. Both of them asked me for a puppy this morning independently. Should a 3 & 6 year old really be coordinated enough to gang up on me?! We can't keep 3 fish alive in the backyard (actually that would be the fourth that we've lost but the other just disappeared), what makes them think we can handle a puppy!

9 Truths and 1 Lie

I was tagged by Greeblemonkey to a game of 10 Things About Me meme running around the Net right now with a slight twist--only nine of them are true, you figure out which one is not.

1. I've lived in Maryland for 9 years and have never been to down the ocean (Ocean City).

2. Gman and I met on the internet playing backgammon on a bulletin board.

3. I can tie a knot in the stem of a cherry with my tongue.

4. I graduated from college a virgin.

5. I have a PhD in Higher Education administration and now work in program management.

6. I grew up and went to college in Marietta, OH.

7. I was in a sorority in college and managed to get through the whole experience without actually living in
the house. I got to go to the national convention in New Orleans the year I was president.

8. I worked for years at the Kent State University and was there for the 25th anniversary of the shootings--4 Dead in Ohio.

9. Gman and I were caught driving in a tornado on our trip to move me to Maryland and weren't sure that we were going to be able to get the moving truck out of my hometown due to low hanging trees.

10. My big dream for our house is to totally re-do the master bathroom into my private spa retreat.

Okay, which one is the lie?

So tag, you are it Gman, Soontobejustme, Yer Doing It Wrong, Mrs. Wheezer and Joansy Rambles.

What I've accomplished today

• The alarm went off, twice, finally I turned it off instead of hitting snooze, fumbled for the phone and called my boss to tell her I wasn't coming in today.
• Helped G-man get the girls ready and out the door.
• Took a bath, trying to steam the gunk out of my head.
• Cancelled my dinner plans with 3 women from an e-group that I've been part of for nearly 7 years! (boo hoo)
• Updated a project plan, 3 different times and had the server barf on me every time I tried to save it. I e-mailed the guy in charge of it and he reminded me it really hates VPN.
• Compiled a bunch of stuff for a meeting tomorrow and sent it out
• Made lunch for G-man and nuked my own Lean Cuisine.
• Played spy, taking pictures from our bathroom window of G-man constructing the swing set that Santa brought.
• Made the appropriate grimaces when he came in to show me the finger that he hit really, really hard with a hammer. It is pretty gruesome.
• Took large doses of ibuprofen to try and get the pain in my head to recede.
• Took a shower thinking that if I were cleaner I'd feel better (no dice).
• Read a large part of Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille. I usually read mindless crap but DeMille does a great job of making the potentially cataclysmic seem possible and makes you want to read all about it. I keep having to remind myself its fiction.
• Defrosted something for dinner
• Sat outside, its 78 degrees!?, and kept G-man company
• Read lots and lots and lots of blog posts

Doesn't that sound thrilling? Okay, off to blow my nose...

The Sunday Curse

I don't know what the deal is but I feel like we have a black cloud hanging over our house on Sundays. They are never the relaxing, recharge for the week ahead days that I imagine in my head. As often as not G-man and I end up disagreeing about something and spend the day in our separate corners. The kids sense something is wrong and either act up or are clingy. The crappy day then leads to no sleep Sunday night making Monday no treat either.

Its just been in the last few weeks that the pattern has become so clear to me. I have no idea how to fix it. A few weeks ago we played hooky from church, I had visions of a relaxing Sunday together as a family with nothing to do, no pressure to accomplish anything other than to relax. Maybe that is pressure in and of itself?

I feel crappy today over things that were said yesterday. I don't know how things got there, let alone how to make it better. It is frustrating beyond belief.

Anybody out there in the blogosphere have a similar pattern? Advice for breaking out of it?

Happy Valentiversary

February 19 G-man and I will celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary--sometimes it is hard to believe its only been 7 years, other times it seems like we've been together forever. We are not always very good about communicating what we expect when it comes to gift giving occasions. This year however, I had an answer for him--I want a camera of my very own. We've been out shopping, none of the stores have had the camera I think I want with power so I could try it out. I love internet shopping but I want to touch the thing that will allow me capture our lives now to reflect over later.

About 2 years ago Scott announced that he wanted a fancy camera for Christmas and, oh by the way, my sister was getting married Labor Day weekend and if he could get the camera before that he could be the official photographer. I got him the camera and ever since he's been carrying it with him pretty much everywhere he goes. He's taken thousands of pictures, he's done wedding pictures, family pictures, nature pictures, and lots of candid pictures. It has provided me with lots of git giving opportunities as well--flashes and light boxes and lenses oh my! So, given his equipment and skill, why do I want my own camera?

I've discovered that since ceding the picture taking responsibilities to Scott, the recording of our lives all comes from his perspective--what he finds cute, endearing, funny, beautiful or meaningful is what is reflected in all of our pictures. There has been more than one "discussion" of the fact that there is not a single picture of Boobah's face with her cake at her second birthday party but there are 20 of the frog who met its maker in our patio umbrella. Sure the frog pictures are cool, as are the photos of the giant green horned tomato worm, but these are not the pictures that I want to use to fill my scrapbooks. I want Mommy pictures.

Writing here has given me a place to express my perspective on our lives. Although we talk about things, its interesting to read our take on the same event. Someday I think the girls will appreciate our different takes on life. I can't wait to have a camera that I'm not afraid to take somewhere because I might screw it up or don't want to have to take a suitcase full of accessories with me.

Things I've Learned at the Gym

When I am an old lady I will worry more about athlete's foot than people seeing me naked.

The workout goes faster if I read and listen to music than if I watch the little TV attached to the equipment.

If I have the children with me, I will not be able to part anywhere near the building and must instead cross the entire parking lot with them.

The guy who smells, either B.O. or entirely too much cologne, will always pick the machine next to me.

There is nothing that feels better than a good stretch (at the gym anyway).

The worse I look when I go, the more people I see that I know.

It is so worth it when I am done, especially when it has taken an act of Congress to get there.

Ambiguous bits

I just attempted to run a meeting with 8 men at my company. The solution to the problem one of them declared--is analyzing the ambiguous bits. I just about lost it, the rest of the meeting I had the song from the Ambigously Gay Duo running through my head, very, very bad for standing in front of a room. I listened to the description of the ambiguous bits, I still have absolutely NO iea what the heck they are though!

What is in a name?

Last night Scott and I were doing our bi-monthly "oh crap, Betty is coming" pick up around the house and accumulated a gigantic pile of mail to be shredded. As Scott was stopping up, I mean using, the shredder he was laughing at the various incarnations of our name. Our last name is Maven-Gman.* Is that really so difficult to comprehend? It does add a certain element of surprise to our junk mail which comes in the following flavors (I am sure I've left some out):

• Maven H. Gman
• Mrs. Maven
• Mr. Maven
• Mrs. Gman
• Mr. Gman
• Maven Gman
• Mavengman
• M. Gman

It is an entertaining way to track where things have come from but it is annoying that very few people can get it right. My 80 year old grandmothers have accepted it and use it (they'd probably be offended, kinda like the Caveman in the insurance commercial but so be it). Even PDQ knows it and how to write it. To increase the fun, Gman's first name isn't Scott, that's his middle name. On his voice mail at work and often when he introduces himself to new people he is Firstname Scott Maven-Gman which is obviously a mouthful. The guys he works with dubbed him Firstname Scott Maven-Gman Jingleheimer-Schmidt.

How the heck did we end up with the name? Well, Gman had a previous Mrs. Gman whom I did not want to be mistaken for--a good way to dodge conversations with her creditors if I can honestly say, nope I am not Mrs. Gman. I also desperately wanted to share a name with my new husband to celebrate our lives together and our family. About six months before our wedding I ran across an article in Cosmo about this couple who formed their own new last name, no hyphens but just their two names together so they had something for them. It was very sweet and it prompted me to bring up the subject with Gman for the first time. I told him that I was planning to use the hyphenated name and I would really like it if he would as well.

He promised to think about it and tell me on our wedding day. One of the hardest things I ever had to do was shut my mouth and let him think. Occasionally I would remind him how much I loved him and how much it would mean to me but for the most part I kept my mouth shut, which those who know me will agree is a real feat. So, the day before our wedding we met with the minister and she asked us how we wanted to be announced. I told her that Scott was deciding and he'd let her know tomorrow, he said no, he'd made up his mind and he was going to be Mr. Maven-Gman. I cried a little, it meant a lot to me that he'd buck tradition to do something new with me as we started our life together. He took more than a little ribbing from his groomsmen and former Army buddies when he told them. Somewhere in the lore he says I promised him favors (if you know what I mean) every time someone made fun of him. I don't remember that part.

It's a mouthful, annoying that people can't get it right, needs to be spelled for everyone and required explanation far more than I'd thought. Having no brothers it is a chance for the Maven name to go on just a little longer. But I love it because it is ours, a part of each of us and is unique.

*real names have been changed to protect the innocent

Tuesday Random Thoughts

Go Bucks?
So, you'd think if you win ever game all season and are in the National Championship game you'd at least show up--wouldn't you?! After G-man and I high-fived over Ted Ginn running back the opening kick off for a tocuhdown it was all f-bombs from there. I screamed and yelled at the TV and the players. He was amused by my ranting and raving and speculating that my Mother was acting the same way.

I feel good
Other than slightly sore abs and a few ratty looking stitches I have recovered from the gallbladder surgery from hell. Last night it hit me, this is the first time I've really felt good in over a year. What a waste of my life over fear. I did go to the doctor to find out what was wrong when I started feeling bad, when he assured me that lots of people had gallstones and told me to try and eat a low fat diet to see how much it would help I was all for it. There must have been 5 or 6 times when I was in discomfort for weeks when I was ready to call but then started feeling better. Why the hell did I wait? Fear, plain and simple. We had an administrative assistant who went to have her gallbladder removed and never came back. They nicked her liver during the surgery and she ignored how bad she felt. She went into a coma and died a few months later. It was a little easier living with the discomfort when I had that alternative in my head. So, in the new year I am going to try and take better care of myself, listen to my body and take care of things more quickly.

Netflix
Just gotta say, I love Netflix. I bet G-man and I hadn't seen 10 movies in the last 7 years and now we've probably watched that many in the last 6 weeks. The best part, he hasn't updated the queue so they are all my picks! We pretty much hate what the other likes on TV--me FoodTV and chef/design reality shows and him SciFi so its been nice to stop watching the junk and watch something together that might not be stellar but at least gives us something to talk about to each other and join the rest of the free world who seems to have already seen them and make reference to them. We watched The Notebook on Sunday night, I thought it was a sweet movie which G-man declared to be a weird chick flick you can read his take on it here. The funniest thing was the next morning seeing this on Dooce.

Okay, enough rambling for the morning!