In which I realize that I'm not good with nail polish

I've been all about self-improvement lately.  I'm not sure what inspired such grandiose objectives, but I made about a half dozen summer resolutions to which I've stuck to with varied degrees of success.  And some degrees of outright failure, but let's not think about that right now, okay?

Many thanks.

One of my struggles is nail biting, so I've decided to quit cold turkey.  I've actually been pretty good about it, and my nails look a little better than Frodo's right now.  Since they are all peely and chippy and breaky, I've started applying clear nail polish to keep them looking halfway decent.

And this is how I know I'm no good at polishing nails.  Seriously.  I remember my mom painting my nails a few times when I was a kid, but since I always chewed on them, she decided that it would be best that I didn't attempt to digest whatever it is that nail polish contains.

Is it just me, or does anyone else read the word "polish" and want to pronounce it "Polish," like the people of Eastern Europe?

Just me then?  Okay.

Anyway, since I've painted them a few times now, my fingernails don't look so bad.  Plus, the PAH-lish is clear.

Today I attempted to paint an actual color on my toenails.  (Not that I bite my toenails, because ew, but I just never really got into the whole thing.)  It looks like my 21-month-old painted them.  Seriously.  Except she'd probably do a better job.  There is a lovely bronze sheen all over my cuticles, the skin surrounding the nails, and some inbetween the toes.  I'd post a picture, but I don't have nice feet so I won't inflict them on anyone.

I'm so ashamed.  I know I'm not all frills and ruffles, but sheesh!  Now I have to wear shoes until it wears off of the non-nail portions of my feet!  Closed-toe shoes at that!

Ugh!

Hellllooooo iiiinnnnn theeeeeerrrreeeee!

Um.  So.  Hi.

*Ahem*

I'm still here.  Sort of.  It's been a crazy past few months, but things might just be settling down for a little while.

Or so I think...

Let me sum up.

April was consumed by Easter and all the Church and family obligations it entailed, plus recovery.  Okay, so that was the beginning of April.  The rest of that month was basically spent preparing for May.  Here is why:

May 9th was Mass in my hometown for my grandfather, who passed away 6 years ago.  Wee Ninja Girl, my sister The Queen of Musicke, and I trekked to the Albany area for a long weekend, leaving EP Dude home all by his lonesome.  (He cried every night.  He told me so.)  We arrived home on the 10th, only to unpack and get the house ready for my brother, sister-in-law, and three nieces to descend upon us for one night only on their way through to New Hampshire.  That was the 12th.

May 16th was the ARS Recorder Concert, which required rehearsal, baking, practicing, and more rehearsal.  It went really great, by the way, except for the strange little bird that kept attacking one of the windows.

May 21-23 was the weekend that my ENTIRE FAMILY (parents, siblings, nieces) came to stay with us for my younger brother's graduation from the Rochester Institute of Technology.  It was insane and loud and a total blast, but I was exhausted afterward!

The holiday weekend was full of fun and parties, but also exhausting in its own right.

Whilst all this was going on, we were trying to get our house sided, changed our minds and went with windows instead, and are now looking to get the house painted.  We also had a cancer scare in the family, which of course caused much anxiety all around.  It turned out to be a serious cancer, but at the earliest possible stage, and it's been taken care of, to everybody's relief and joy.

So... I've been a tad busy.

I've also set up an Etsy shop which I am slowly stocking with yarncrafts and jewelry, and maybe even some sewn items, once I get around to taking pictures and posting stuff.

Otherwise, everyone is well and getting ready for summer.  May was unbearably hot.  Now that it's June, I'm actually wearing jeans and a sweatshirt because it's so cold and rainy.  Sigh.

Finally, a gratuitous picture of Wee Ninja Girl, because she's getting so big I can hardly stand it.

Oh, and I solemnly promise to post more than once every two months.  Honest.

Stop laughing, I mean it!

No fool!

It looks like my followers increased by 25% recently*, so I should probably actually post...

Although, if I was 9 years old and my mom were here and I wasn't in school for some reason or other, she'd probably kick me outside on a gorgeous day like today and tell me not to come in unless I've broken a bone or am otherwise bleeding profusely. 

Yes, I said profusely.  Skinned knees and small scrapes and cuts don't count.

I was just saying to EP Dude yesterday that the Rochester area has been lucky this year in terms of weather-related disasters.  While much of the Northeast battled blizzards, defied downpours, fought flooding, and sparred with sinkholes (what?), we haven't had any fun at all.  A snowstorm here and there... some drizzle... maybe a smidge of freezing rain... and now it's 74 degrees and sunny, and should remain so until Easter Sunday.

While I appreciate it, I find it hard to focus on the graveness of the Triduum when there are frolicking chipmunks and squirrels and chirpy birds all over the place.  Not to say that I can't focus or pray properly, but I am much more easily distracted.

Two weeks ago we planted impatiens, johnny jump-ups, snapdragons, and some rosemary in little Jiffy peat pods and already the snapdragons and johnnies are popping up!  I am so excited to move them outside where I hope they will manage to grow despite our overabundance of shade in all the prime garden areas.

Has anyone else started their spring and summer "Things That Need to Be Done But Keep Getting Put Off Year After Year But We're Really Going To Do Them This Year, We Mean It, Honest" lists?  I started writing one a few weeks ago, but I will probably have to put it into a spreadsheet where I can track things like cost, estimated time of completion, progress made, and such.  Plus, then I can spend all sorts of timei color-coding things and making them look pretty.

Aaaaaaaaand, now Wee Ninja Girl is awake from her nap and my free time is over!

A blessed Triduum and Happy Easter to all!

*In actual numbers, my followership (it IS TOO a word!) went from 4 to 5, but I prefer not to use actual numbers if it's all the same to you.

Warning: This post may contain child-related anectodes. Read at your own risk (of boredom).

I must apologize.  I blogged three days in swift succession, and then left you all hanging for a week or so.  I am so ashamed.

Here is the reason I don't blog as often as I would like: Wee Ninja Girl.

Yes, folks, Wee Ninja Girl is the true culprit here.  I'm the victim!

Stop laughing!  It's true!

I spend most of her awake time chasing her around while she tries to get away with stuff she KNOWS she isn't supposed to do.

How do I know she knows she shouldn't do things?  (Forgive me, English language, for that sentence.)  Well, she will actually shake her head and say "No," as she does them.  For example, WNG will try to take the Dirt Devil dustbuster off its charger so she can vacuum, all the while softly chanting, "no, no, no, no, no."

What makes it really adorable is that she actually says "oh" for "no."

WNG has been honing her ninja skills lately, trying to sneak into the bathroom and scrub the toilet with the toilet brush.  She will play peek-a-boo behind the dining room door, and then suddenly she will stop peeking.  When I open the door to find her, she's usually about halfway to the bathroom.  If she makes it all the way in or manages to grab the toilet brush, I just have to go in and give her "The Look" and she will hand me the brush (gee, thanks) and run out.

She also has developed an affinity for YouTube, particularly Muppet musical videos.  I hang my head in shame.

Why?  Well, I'll tell you.  EP Dude and I have both been very strict with "screen time" for WNG.  The only television she really watches is Wheel of Fortune after dinner (she has started to yell random letters at the screen, just like we do!) or some football during the season.  We don't have cable or anything, so there aren't many options for her, so we figured that every once in a while she could watch a YouTube video or two.

As I'm sure you can imagine, every once in a while has quickly become every single day.  And by a video or two I mean the same 6 videos over and over and over again until we are all singing "Mahna Mahna" in our sleep.

I limit it now to just before lunch and just after dinner, but WNG will still ask for it all the time.  She invented her own sign for the computer, although it took us a really REALLY long time to figure it out. She sort of pinches at her face with all her fingers, as though she is stroking some really epic mutton chops.  Finally, last week, she did that sign while saying "Tee tee?" (meaning "TV") and we thought she wanted to watch WoF.  She said no to that, and then signed again while wandering into the room where the computer is.  Then it dawned on us that she did that particular sign because the Muppet from "Mahna Mahna" has a wispy red beard, and that's what she related to the computer.

I know, random, right?  But I think it's pretty cool that she came up with her own sign.

Lately she has been trying to pull off the whole "if I can't see you I can't hear you" schtick, so when I tell her to do or not to do something she will turn her head away and go about her business.  So, I have started to preface things with "WNG, look at mama.  Look at me."  So far, she always does, and then will comply with my demandrequest.

When she wants me to do something now, she gets right up in my face and stares at my eyes before speaking or signing.  It's a bit disconcerting!

Anyway, happy March, everyone, and let's keep our fingers crossed for Spring!  Then we can actually be outdoors doing stuff in the sunshine, instead of sitting around inside shivering or scrubbing toilets.

Batten down the hatches, ma, there's a storm a-brewin'!

It seems that we here in westernish New York are finally in for a good, old-fashioned, winter storm.  Except it's going to be about 12" total over the next two days, which sounds more like a really long but not too intense snowfall.

Sigh.

I want snow!  I want to bundle the Wee Ninja Girl into her snowpants and sled down the driveway! 

Although I suppose I might need to purchase a sled...

Nah, I think we can just sit on a garbage bag and slide around.  I may have to put a pillow inside the garbage bag, since I nearly broke my tailbone last night falling on the ice in our driveway.  I was on my way to a music practice and when I went to put one foot in the car, the other just slipped out from under me.  My head ached all the way to the practice, and sitting on a folding chair for 2 hours didn't help either.

/whimpering

Back to the snow-induced panic!

WNG and I trekked to Wegmans this morning to do our weekend grocery shopping a day early, just in case people forget how to drive and the roads are messy tomorrow.  We usually go shopping on Mondays and Fridays, so it wasn't too bad to pop out a day early.  Now we can spend tomorrow SLEDDING!  Using pillows stuffed in garbage bags!

Seriously, how bootleg can one get?

Maybe we should use some cardboard boxes instead.  That would be much classier.

Most. Insane. Duet. Ever.

So. I caught the beginning of the Alabama/Texas game this evening, just in time to see the pregame inanities and hear the National Anthem sung by Josh Groban, accompanied by Flea, on bass guitar.

Josh Groban.

Flea.

Yeah.

Hold onto your hats, folks, the apocalypse is near!

So. Yeah.

Lest my faithful reader fear that I have succumbed in the Great Ladybug Invasion, I must put your mind at ease. 

It turned out that the "invasion" consisted of a grand total of five ladybugs.  Five.  I disposed of two all by myself, heroically and with minimal whining.  The others I trapped and waited for EP Dude to deal with as he saw fit.

I have my limits.

In the meantime, Wee Ninja Girl decided to cut three more teeth (including molars!) and is about to cut a fourth.  And as an added bonus, she is getting over another cold which, thankfully, wasn't as bad as her first.

I managed to rake the leaves from the neighbor's trees and create a compost pile in the backyard in between rainy days and might actually get the lawn mowed before it snows.  Except that the forecast has been hinting at snowfall tomorrow and I think it's safe to say that I will not be raking leaves on Thanksgiving morning.

I started to burn out on the knitting and crocheting after I made Wee Ninja Girl and my niece Sweetie-O square pink hats (not that the hats are "square" as in "L-7," but they are square shaped) so I've taken up sewing.  EP Dude gave me a lovely Husquevarna sewing machine for Christmas '06 and I'm finally using it consistently.  I've made myself a knit blouse and wool-blend skirt for tomorrow, and also this apron, which I haven't really used yet because I don't want to get it dirty.

Yes, I know that's the point of an apron.  But it's so pretty!

Tonight I kick off the holiday baking season with delicious (I hope!) homemade sour cherry pie with delicious (I hope!) homemade pate brisee crust.  Last year's was awesome, so I have a lot to live up to this time around.

Then it will be time for Christmas cookies and Figgy Pudding!

That's right, I said Figgy Pudding.  I found a recipe on the interwebs several years ago and managed to save it before the site took it down and I make it every year.  If you, dear reader, are very good and eat all your veggies, I promise I will post it for you in time for Christmas.

If you don't believe that it will be delicious, remember those enthusiastic carolers that not only demand that their audience bring them Figgy Pudding, but they refuse to leave the premises until they get some.

It is totally that good.  You'll see.

All Shook Up

We've been doing some things differently at the House of Whimsy this past week.

Last week EP Dude and I made the decision to attend Mass at a different parish. It wasn't an easy decision but we are very happy that we did. The parish we had been attending since our wedding is no longer recognizable. We started going there because the ones in our own town were, quite frankly, dreadful. We thought we had found a parish home, something that is very important to us, especially me.

As an Army brat, I moved around a lot growing up. It was always a huge comfort to me that no matter where we went, the Mass would be there. We were always involved in the different parishes, whether in youth groups, choir, lectoring, religious education, etc.

At the parish we just left, I wanted to become involved, but before I felt comfortable enough to do so, things changed. The wonderful priests were replaced. The nun who took over the parish kept interjected herself into the liturgy and even started giving homilies. Scores of parishioners were alienated and left, but for some reason EP Dude and I hung on. I think I just didn't want to let go, to give up. This place that once felt so right was gone.

So, last week we went to a different parish, one that hadn't undergone a similar transformation. (Those parishes are becoming few and far between these days, sadly.)

For the first time in a long time, I was calm on Sunday morning. I wasn't worried about having to hear questionable messages or lay homilies. I was able to focus on the Mass.

Unfortunately, EP Dude didn't quite have the same experience, since it was his turn to wrangle Wee Ninja Girl and she was especially cranky that morning.

Actually, we're all kind of cranky. I came down with some kind of sinus infection on Friday night, EP Dude had it (to a much lesser extent) on Saturday, and WNG was a bit under the weather herself until Sunday. I think we went through two whole boxes of tissues.

The Single Nap Experiment with Wee Ninja Girl went better than expected. On top of her runny nose, she's apparently teething or hitting a growth spurt or just being a total poophead or something, because she was extra cranky this weekend. Still, we're getting the hang of her new sleep schedule. We may be able to put her to bed at 7:30pm rather than 8:30pm, since she's been sleeping in until 9 or 9:30 every morning.

I cannot express the extent to which my life will improve if Wee Ninja Girl starts going to bed at 7:30pm.

We keep a strict bedtime routine with WNG, so she knows what is coming and doesn't freak out when we lay her in her crib. EP Dude brings her up and starts getting her in her night diaper and pajamas, and I follow a few minutes later carrying all the stuff that she scattered about the house during the afternoon and evening. Once she's ready, she nurses (the only time she breastfeeds at all), we brush her teeth, turn out the lights and she goes to sleep. We've been doing this for months and it's worked like a charm.

Sunday night, WNG threw an absolute fit when I tried to nurse her. Clawing, screaming, kicking, the whole shebang. She kept making the teeth-brushing sound (ch-ch-ch-) and trying to throw herself off the bed. EP Dude and I figured that since she was a bit under the weather, that we'd let her brush her teeth first JUST THIS ONCE and then nurse her and put her to bed. She didn't go down easily, but we blamed that on her stuffed nose.

Monday night, same thing. After brushing her teeth and kicking myself for giving in the night before, I settled down to nurse her. Except she wouldn't latch. In fact, she didn't even want to be on my lap. So, I put her in her bed where she fussed for two minutes and fell asleep.

So yeah. It wasn't the cold or the teething. She just didn't want to nurse anymore. Ouch.

I always planned on weaning her around 12 months of age, since she's eating such a variety of food and loves cow's milk, but it just felt so harsh. WNG cut out the other feedings on her own as she ate more "people food" so it's logical that she decided when to stop it altogether.

I knew it was coming. Her nighttime nursing only lasted about five minutes total and she spent most of the time goofing around. It's like slowly peeling the bandaid to make it hurt less, but then ripping it off when it's still good and stuck. (There is your lame analogy of the day, folks. Enjoy.)

So why do I feel so utterly rejected? It's silly of me, but I just can't help it. I actually cried a little bit last night.

I'm such a baby. And my baby is not such a baby.

*sniff*

Okay, I'm totally depressed now. I'm going to go eat some oatmeal raisin cookies I made yesterday and watch another episode of Doc Martin on Netflix. I highly recommend the show, unless you don't like British stuff, because while it is hilarious, it's also very, very British.

P.S. I've even found some time to crochet, but since it's a gift for the next family birthday, I won't post the pattern until after it's been received. But, rest assured, I will post the pattern! (I know you've all been wallowing in despair at my lack of pattern posing. Admit it.)

A Photo Essay. Or, Roo Shoes on a Cruise.

Are you there, blog? It's me, Jess...

Hi there.

I am still alive.

Tired, but alive.

Busy as all get out, but alive.

Last week, EP Dude and I celebrated our second anniversary. We decided to celebrate early so his aweseomer than awesome parents could watch Wee Ninja Girl, allowing us to dine *gasp!* alone. Our actual anniversary was Tuesday, the 15th, but we went out to dinner on the previous Saturday. Nothing too fancy, just dinner and dessert at Carrabbas and then home early enough to play a couple hours worth of The Secret of Monkey Island. It was our gift to each other.

It was much more relaxing than our anniversary last year, which actually provides a lovely segway into our second celebration we had last week.

Wednesday, the 16th, was Wee Ninja Girl's first birthday!

Thus, our very first anniversary was spent in the hospital with me in labor and EP Dude being the best labor coach ever. He was told by more than one nurse that he should teach the dads' class!

I remember thinking at some point during all the fun that I hoped WNG would be born on her own day so we wouldn't have to share our anniversary with her birthday, and she held on until 2:34am to get her own special day.

Really, though, 12:01am would have been just fine with me, but I guess she wanted to be sure!

At any rate, WNG's little party was lots of fun and she was very good. It took a little while for her to understand the whole "opening presents" thing, but she eventually got the hang of it. The cake... not so much. It seemed at first as though she'd inhale it, but after three smooshed fistfuls, on the floor it went!

More for me, I guess.

What's that, you say? Two little parties don't sound like they could keep me away from my blog for so long?

You are correct. There's more!

On Friday, EP Dude left work a bit early to pick up my little sister from college and then we all drove to my parents' house in Albany for a weekend visit. Relatives were in town for the first time in over a year and we just couldn't let them leave without seeing them.

The trip was... interesting. WNG is a pretty good traveller, but after a couple hours she just wants to run around.

Did I mention that she's walking? She started back in August and is now practically running everywhere. She prefers to dash around in haphazard circles while clutching random items, which she switches out every few minutes.

< /end brag>

Anyway, the trip was a whirlwind of awesome. We had tons of fun with the family, ate way too much delicious food, and I got to shoot arrows and actually hit really close to the bull's eye once!

Then, Sunday morning right after Mass we piled back in the car and drove home. Short and sweet!

This week, I've been experimenting with WNG's naptimes. I know, I'm completely insane a glutton for punishment just plain bonkers ambitious, but WNG has been fighting her late afternoon nap for a long time and her morning nap keeps getting bumped further in they day until she's going down too close to lunchtime. So, I've combined those two naps into an early afternoon snooze.

It hasn't gone well. She's cranky. I'm cranky. EP Dude is not cranky, so we have to make him cranky by the sheer volume of crankiness WNG and I exude.

Fun times.

As for yarncrafting... I hope to pick it up again soon! I have a few things in mind for which I would need to invent patterns, so perhaps I'll have some downtime soon!

The birthday girl!

On the road again...

Well, it seems that two road trips with Wee(py) Ninja Girl in tow just weren't enough for the summer, so now I am in Albany with her visiting my parents and family. Extraordinarily Patient Dude is stuck working in Rochester, but will be up on Friday afternoon.

Wee Ninja Girl is usually pretty good in the car, but 3.5 hours is a bit much for her, despite being the shortest trip yet. We only had to stop once since my youngest sister (Ms. T) and I were sitting in the backseat with WNG entertaining her the whole way. EP Dude will come and pick us up and we all return home Sunday morning.

I have been doing lots of knitting, crocheting, and beading lately, but most of what I've made have been from other patterns. Ms. T's birthday gifts were fingerless gloves and a little cell-phone sock. I made up the sock, so if I remember to jot down the pattern I could post that. I really like self-striping sock yarn.

My younger brother's (The Engineer) birthday gift was a cabled hat from Stitch 'n' Bitch Nation. It came out really nice in a lovely dark brown wool.

My mom's birthday gift was a black and white beaded necklace. It came out nice—she didn't think I had actually made it myself. I'm not sure if I should be insulted or complimented. I have a hard time photographing jewelry, but if I can get a nice shot I will post it.

I was so proud of myself for finishing gifts for ALL the August birthdays in the family when I realized that my oldest niece, Energizer Bunny, turned 8 today. Sigh. One more late present to go and then I think I'm home free until October.

Then it's time to think about Christmas...

Not quite back in the groove.

I have a very normal routine. Laundry is done every three days. Diapers are washed after Wee Ninja Girl goes to bed whenever we don't have enough clean ones to get through the next day. Every Monday I dust and vacuum the first floor of the house. Every Thursday I dust, dry mop, and vacuum the first and second floor of the house. One Thursday a month I wash the hardwood floors and the kitchen linoleum. Two Mondays a month I clean the bathrooms. All other cleaning is done on an "as needed" basis.


When my house is a disaster I can't concentrate or focus on anything. My mom and dad would laugh at that, since I wasn't exactly tidy when I lived at home, but it's true.


And yet, ever since coming back from our three-day vacation, I have had a rough time getting back into the swing of things. We're also in the process of re-organizing our study/computer room and cleaning out my craft room and the upstairs closets. Oh, and the dungeon basement, too.


Fun times.


So, once all the junk is cleaned out of everything and the house is back in order, I might get around to posting a new pattern for the Mountain Girl hat I made a few weeks ago. Here is a picture of it.


I know. I'm such a tease.

Random thoughts of summer

If I had to summarize the Rochester summer in one word, it would be "soggy." It's rained almost every day since the beginning of June. We can't go hiking anywhere without wading through ankle-deep swampland. So much for my plans to hike in Mendon Ponds Park three times a week.

All this rain has made my yard the home to about 35,678,345,637,887,435,890,001 mosquitoes. And every single time I step my big toe outdoors I get bitten.

Yesterday was the last day for our organist at our church and I am very sad. I know that when people think of music in a Catholic church they often think of shawled old ladies hunched over a little organ in a dark corner, singing Gather Us In in a shaky, off-key warble. That may be true in some places (*sigh*), but our organist was probably the most phenomenal musician I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. His fingers and feet danced across the keyboard and pedals. He accompanied the cantor and choir with grace and made the church ring out in praise of Our Lord. This past Easter, he came into the Church, much to the joy of the congregation. He will now be the new organist at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, California. They are so lucky!

I am also terrified that the lovely, traditional hymns we've been enjoying since joining this parish will be replaced with things like Digo Si, Senor! or Up From the Earth. *shudder*

I crocheted an adorable mountain hat for Wee Ninja Girl for our trip to the Adirondacks last week and I'm just waiting for a warm, sunny day so I can get some pictures of it to post along with the pattern.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from our vacation to Hoel Pond, near Tupper Lake.


Not sure if this is Hoel Pond or Turtle Pond. I think it's Turtle pond. Doesn't it look so peaceful?

Wee Ninja Girl trying not to get blown away on the back deck. It was really REALLY windy that day. And she kept taking her hat off and throwing it on the ground, so the Dude let her go bareheaded for a few minutes. (I promise it was just a few minutes, mom!)

Her hair is very random, too. She has three cowlicks, so I can never do much with it, but the windblown, messy look works for her personality.

This very hungry hummingbird sipped nectar from the feeders all day long, despite the wind.

Extraordinarily Patient Dude and I have been trying some new recipes lately, since we eat the same eight meals all the time. Sometimes it's worked out for us, sometimes we've had to hold our noses just to swallow the results, but it's been fun overall. My favorite place to find recipes is AllRecipes.com. The best part is that others who have tried them out will post corrections, variations, and other helpful commentary. I just made a yummy fresh sweet cherry cobbler and am eternally grateful to the comments regarding the overabundance of sugar in the recipe. I cut back on it and the results were amazing. And delicious.

Which is why all this summer rain and gloom is bad for me. I can't go out and hike or take walks, so I stay home and bake.

And now we've come full circle.