Mint Makes the Derby

Mint Juleps are the official drink of the Kentucky Derby, and for those (like myself) who do not like Bourbon (I know, that is nearly enough to revoke my privilege to live here), I recommend using mint to make Mojitos.  The problem is that with all the drinking and running around to various Derby Fest-a-Ville events, a person starts to get worn out (Wednesday), before the real fun even starts (Thursday).  As every proper Southern woman knows, even the best Derby hat does not make up for looking haggard.  So, before turning in for some much needed beauty rest, treat your skin to this quick, easy facial.  The herbs soothe and refresh while the honey brightens and detoxifies.

Derby Mint Mask

Using a mortar and pestle, mix 1Tbsp local honey with a few mint leaves and several leaves from a Vick's plant.  Once they are ground to a fairly homogeneous mixture, apply all over face.  Allow to sit 2-5 minutes.  When the honey warms up from your body heat, it will begin to drip.  Wash off using a clean washcloth and warm water.

*Any honey will do, but local honey helps fight allergies.  For the locals, Thienemans garden nursery is where I found my Vick's plant.* 

I like to mix honey with mint and put it in a cup of chamomile tea while I wait for the mask to work.  This Derby week combo helps keep the Belles radiant inside and out. 

A stiff one

I just wrapped up a four day straight gardening blitz.  I fully landscaped the shade bed along one side of the house, fixed up the front beds, worked on the back bed which needs a lot more planted once the wild violets stop blooming and I can pull them out.  I desperately want a TON of ranunculus to grow in the back, they are so very lovely: 

Over my four day gardening marathon, I planted two hydrangeas:

 And two tomatos:

A cantaloupe:

A watermelon:

About 14 herbs:

As well as two pink azaleas, two scarlet rhododendrons, strawberries, garlic and 12 hostas.

We have very rocky ground here, and I woke up this morning almost incapable of moving or speaking, my body is so stiff and sore.  My eyes are a bit swollen from the allergies that mulching caused to flare up.  All in all, I'm not nearly as on top of things as I should be today.  I need to get a ton of work done this week, as next week is dedicated to getting ready for the fillies to run.

Ah, Kentucky spring!  Instead of pouring a stiff one, its my back that's stiff! 

Problems with scale

So, about that loose tooth. It's been a week, and that thing hasn't gotten any more loose. Everything still looks good, the damage to the gum from the swing incident has healed, so it actually looks even better than last week's photo. The tooth is still loose, it just isn't making much progress. I had a Mom tell me at a cookout a few nights ago that that's normal, that her son has had the same tooth loose for a month. Can anybody back that up? Our dentist tells me not to worry as long as it all looks healthy and E's not in pain. Frankly, I think it's gross.

Anyway, being the crafty Mommy that I am, I ran out the next day and made E a bag to put his tooth in once it comes out. A tooth bag. I looked them up online just to double check that I'm not entirely nuts, and lots of people make them. They are cute. Most are made of felt, but I wanted a bag that is washable (bloody teeth do NOT belong in unwashable bags), and also reversible so it can be used for other stuff in the future.

I often think that things are smaller than they actually are. I also often go off half cocked and craft something up without much planning. I have problems with scale:

On the appliqued tooth is a rock that I estimate to be a smidgen larger than one of E's actual teeth. Given my problems with scale, who the heck knows? That pebble might actually be the size of E's kneecap if we are trusting me to judge. Moving on; the stripey fabric is the reversible bag, that white tooth applique is just for kicks. Oh yeah, it also has a drawstring!

And that is the tooth bag in relation to my hand.

The tooth fairy is going to be hard pressed to find a teeny baby tooth in there.

In other crafty news, I made my own version of the Gardener's Hand Scrub recipe that I found on the House on Hill Road blog. I used peppermint Dr Bronner's, whereas she uses Mrs Meyers dish soap-- I just couldn't get myself on board with the dish soap thing. Other than that, I pretty much just followed her directions, then I made a little cardstock tag and tied that onto the jar with ribbon, and viola! I gave it to a neighbor who has been hard at work in her garden these two weeks.

Today, I picked up some lavender Dr Bronner's to make some for me because I have major plans for some serious landscaping and gardening activity to happen around here this weekend.

On a slightly more personal note, for those who know just exactly how much fun I've had sitting on the PTA board this year (seriously, some people take the PTA wayyyyy too seriously)-- I get to run the election tonight! I hope to be celebrating with wine spritzers by 8.

Its Days Are Numbered

E had a regular dental checkup on Monday, during which our hygienist noticed that the gum line over one tooth was a bit bruised looking. She asked me if he had hit his mouth or poked the gum or anything at all to cause it. Not to my knowledge. We asked E all the same questions. No, he said. As the exam progressed, the dentist informed me that we should expect E to start losing his baby teeth any time now. Our hygienist, who happens to be a family friend, chided me accordingly for the rest of the visit.

Tuesday, I noticed that the gum in question looked a bit swollen.

Tuesday evening, we were at a cookout. E walked over and put his head on my shoulder, after a couple minutes of which I noticed that he was bleeding from his mouth, and that the blood was mixing with his saliva and that it was now running down my arm as well as his face.

What happened?! I exclaimed

I hit myself with the empty, plastic baby swing. He replied

Upon investigation, we found this:



Turns out that tooth that had just a little bit of something strange going on while at the dentist on Monday is now quite loose. I checked with our dentist this morning and he informed me that it is not surprising.

That tooth's days were already numbered. Said he.

What's the current going Tooth Fairy rate per tooth these days, anyway?

All Grown Up

We brazenly went out into the world and purchased a brand new car. As in, it had 16 total miles on it.

It is the first vehicle Chris and I have ever purchased without any input from our parents.

And while my head is currently swimming, and I am exhausted, I am also not very worried about it. It had to be done. I think we handled it well. I think we made a good decision. I LOVE all the wonderful new safety features that will protect my guys in morning rush hour traffic from now on.

All in all, it really wasn't terribly stressful. We'd done research. We'd been psyching ourselves up for it for weeks (read: a year). We had a sense of what we wanted and what we need. We knew our financial limitations. We were a cohesive team. We took advantage of 0% APR!
We look like exhausted, grown up hell.

Back to the Bonfire

A lot has gone on since I abandoned this space. The most important being that my depression finally became so deep, so dark, so desperate that even I finally recognized what was happening to myself and my family. So, I found a decent doctor and got on medicine that works well to overcome the genetic infinite sadness that I inherited from my Grandmother. So, I'm a lot better, nearly whole. And my family unit is much better, and feels very whole, which is vital as the years of expensive infertility treatments added quite a lot to my depression and my family didn't feel whole and I didn't feel whole and the whole thing was really falling to pieces around me as I struggled to keep them glued back together.

Now Chris, and E, and I are the glue that holds everything else around us together. In a very good, very happy way.

See? Glue.

Along with becoming happy and whole, I started my own company! A little copy writing business that I love very much, and that is growing all the time. For the many friends who have been wondering where I am and why I never answer the phone and rarely return calls, here is the answer:

Chris made the logo; I love it! I have intentions of having that little inkwell tattooed above my elbow.

Which proves that I did NOT turn into a medicated zombie, and that I am indeed still my regular, fiery, The Flaming Maiden: Nicole! self. I turned 30, and my Mom gave me this for my birthday present:

That, my lovelies, is a tattoo on my right shoulder. It is a large (to me) fiery lion. As a matter of fact, it is THE fiery lion that pulls a fiery chariot that carries a fiery Prince, WHO, it turns out, is in fact my very fiery son.

He has learned how to ride a bike this Spring.

Though I don't have as much time as of late, we do still craft. I am currently working on lots of socks, and an afghan for Chris that is a tiny bit like one his mother made him when he was a boy. It rained Sunday, so E and I had time to hole up in the art studio.

I tried to make a pincushion from scrap fabric. I need to reopen it and add some stuffing-- the bottom is rather poky.

Chris's Granny has recently been in the hospital, and very on our minds and in our prayers (she is recovering). A combination of that, and a giant pickle jar induced me to come up with this:

I used a piece of a quilt top that I inherited from Granny's old sewing stash, then I sewed it- wait for it--- using zigzag stitch all around the edges to a piece of-wait for it--- that sort of grippy shelf paper! Do you know what I'm talking about? The shelf liner that keeps the rims of glasses from chipping? Only I have very pretty grippy shelf liner! So now we have a very pretty kitchen grippy for opening jars! And it pretties up the giant pickle jar too!
As an added bonus, Chris informed me that his Mama used to have a quilted jar lid cover that she used on giant pickle jars. Mine is grippy to make it easier to open jars, but it's the same concept. Folks, that's like two sweet things for Chris in one!

Also, he gets to eat the pickles. Unfortunately, we are crazy for giant pickle jars and Ezra and I need Chris to eat two of these jars of pickles as quickly as possible. I hope he's up to the challenge. To be fair, Chris started it. He uses a giant pickle jar to store corks for the miniatures that he carves. I have one giant pickle jar that I store ribbons in (it's so pretty!), and recently had a reason why I need another, though I can't remember just at this moment what it is. Yarn, maybe? Ezra wants one to fill with "pricklies" that he collects on his bike rides around the neighborhood. They are some sort of large, prickly seed pod that falls off, I think it's a ginko tree, maybe. Anyway, he collects them and wants a jar to store them in. He also has plans to grow one of these trees in our yard so that we will have a never ending supply of pricklies. I think we should start it growing in a pot so that it can grow into a sapling before we plant it in the yard so that it doesn't get cut down by the lawnmower.

See? Whole.

Decision Making

Okay internet, I might need you to weigh in on this one. I am considering applying for a full-time job. Realistically, I don't have much chance of getting it. I have the minimum requirements and not much else. But it's a great job. I'd love to have it.

The problem is, I don't know that my clan is ready for me to work full-time, outside the home. I really believe that a lot of the reason that Ezra is so well adjusted and intelligent is that I've been able to stay home with him and foster his interests. Of course, the same week that I am getting my resume in order, he got sick and has been home the last two days, which brings up a host of other issues to address, like childcare.

So, the problem lays out like this: Is it worth what I view as a major sacrifice on the part of my husband and child for me to go work full time at a totally freaking badass job? I admit that I am bored in my current situation. But, Ezra will only be little for a little while longer, and I have like, 40 more years to work.

*sigh* Tough decision. I should also note: If I go for it, and they do offer me the job, I will almost certainly take it. It's a matter of do I toss my hat in the ring, knowing that I will take it if offered?

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend, Chris moved a few tons of landscaping bricks, and together we moved about 4 tons of dirt and compost. We turned ourback yard from this:

To this:

That bed is where we will grow our own organic veggies for the summer. I think I'm going to need to learn how to can.

Let summer begin!

(No really, I'm tired of this school year and am ready to have my kid back-- Let Summer Begin!)

Are We There Yet?

I know I have been a bad blogger as of late, what with the not updating. Due to the poor economy, The Mister finds himself in the position of needing to find a new work position in the course of 5 weeks. As you can imagine, this has the entire household stressed to the max, what with the phone ringing off the hook and the iPhones beeping that Mister has email constantly. It's noisy, and stressful, and at the end of the day we all just want to collapse but the phones just keep rattling.

Which is great, we're just thrilled to have a sense that things will all work out alright in the end. But it is a long road to getting there. There are some very big decisions that must be made- like do we move and have to sell our house in this awful market when a comparable position is likely to be offered right where we are? If we move, with our sense of adventure flying like large red flags, will we regret it in a few years, only to find ourselves in a location with a smaller job market and longer commute? Perhaps most importantly, if we move to said location, can I have fancy-pants chickens? Where can I get some of those wooden shoes so they don't peck my toes when I feed them?

(Thanks to Curious/Funny Photos/Pictures for this guy.)

In the meantime, I am attempting to consider some Spring sewing that I had planned. I am currently coveting Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. All the sewing bloggers are going wild over it, and I really, really want this book-- on top of the clear instructions and detailed information explaining the point of what you are doing, it comes with actual paper patterns! Paper patterns! Say it again: Paper patterns! I am waiting for Mister's job mess to get cleared up before purchasing this fantastic wonder of a book, because I am a responsible adult like that. Geez, I hope it is very, very soon.

You're going to hate me for this

A couple friends and I have been on a fondue kick lately, namely of the cheese and chocolate varieties. Purely by accident, I found this nifty little, very simple recipe for pure indulged happiness. It's so good, you're going to hate me for it.

In a pot, over low heat, gently heat a bit of heavy whipping cream. Stir in a bit of baking vanilla. Using a wooden spoon (the wooden spoon is Very Important), slowly and gently melt in dark chocolate (often found with the baking chips, but in my Kroger it is marked 62% Cacoa, not 'dark chocolate'). This makes a very simple, basic chocolate fondue. You can eat it with strawberries, bananas (my favorite), nuts, bits of pound cake, and some strange persons even enjoy dipping marshmallows. Personally, I think marshmallows are much too sweet to go ruining a perfectly lovely fondue with. Marshmallows belong in hot cocoa and s'mores. But whatever. Dip whatever suits you. I'm sure your dentist will appreciate it when you're paying for the new addition on his home.

Now here is where things really get good. Store the unfinished portion in a covered something in the fridge. Several hours later, or the next day, get a spoon from the drawer. Use that spoon to taste the hardened fondue. It is creamy. It is wonderful. Keep that stuff around. I'm sure it will keep for a few weeks in the fridge. Give it to sad friends. That way you'll have a gym buddy when it's all gone.

Too Many Words

Blog, I am sorry I've been missing. I am neck-deep in a work project which I am not at liberty to talk much about, but I can say it has me working day and night and weekends packing my brain with legal information. That's what I love most about my job- I get to learn so very much.

But it has put me in the position of not having enough words to go around. And since the blog doesn't pay me, my words have been going to the job that does.

Of course, life doesn't stop just because Mom is on a big project (though housework apparently does). We are also in the middle of school registration season and as the boy child will be starting Kindergarten in the fall, this situation bears much weight. In a nutshell:

"This whole application process is a bit stressful, and it seems that the parents are put into a position of trying to find the best school fit for their children with really very little information to go on. Add that to the pressures of combining a parent's own ways of thinking about education with the particular child's needs and interests. I actually think it's a great thing that we have some say-so and choice- it makes (our school system) very unique.

When I was a kid, we just went to the school that sent a bus by the house and that was it. Because of the new redistricting, it seems everybody I've come in contact with is a bit confused and stressed about enrollment this year-- and that bleeds over to the parents who, at least in my area, are frustrated that we have to make selections from the other side of town. So, I'm just generally uneasy about the entire process, trying to find the perfect match for my son and our family on the whole. I'll be glad when the letters come out in a month or so, and I feel like we at least know where we stand!" -- Taken from an ongoing correspondence regarding registration.

It's like there is some kind of hysteria going on amongst the parents. A friend of mine who has a toddler and is not yet in the throes of this frustration, told me that her best friend (whose daughter will be starting Kindergarten in the fall) literally THREW the paperwork at my friend and bellowed "Here's what you have to look forward to!" before crashing on the couch and asking if there was any chocolate in the house.

Here's a little extra special "go screw" to the asshole who sued the district and made them over-complicate the registration process and distribution of students. You owe us all some damn chocolate.

Ssshhh

Do you hear that? The sound of a quiet house? At the risk of sounding like a horrible mother, I really have to admit that I'm really enjoying the quiet now that school is back in session. I wish I didn't have so much work to make up- I'd love to take a nap in all this quiet.

As it happens, I don't really have time for a nap. Instead, I will take a minute to share with you some things I'm trying out this week.

Hanes Her Way panties. A friend turned me on to them, and yesterday I bought the Boy Briefs with ComfortSoft Waistband, and the No Ride Up ComfortSoft Waistband Bikinis. I tried them on when I got home, washed them, then showered and shaved my legs before putting them on. That's right- these are so good, I shaved my legs for them. I realize that they are not the pinacle of sexy, but a girl needs cute, comfy daily-wear underoos. And, the boyshorts are so comfy that they make me feel kicky and sexy. Suck it, Victoria's Secret.

I have thick, curly hair that seems to only get thicker and curlier the older I get. About a week ago, I noticed that my hair dryer of about 15 years wasn't really getting hot or drying anything exactly. Being that we are in the throes of winter, I have to dry my head every day, so yesterday I sucked it up and bought a Conair Ion Shine with Cord Keeper, for the exhorbinant price of $20 USD.

I guess in the years since I've investigated hair dryers, they've all gone Ion. I like it so far, and have to admit that it does indeed create less frizz -- really very important for a person known for having great big hair. I really love the cord keeper function as I don't keep my hair dryer out (that would be cluttery) and have to lug it out of the closet every freaking day. But the absolute, very best thing about this dryer is that the diffuser stays on. My old dryer dropped the diffuser on my head on a daily basis, and I'm pretty sure I've suffered brain damage over the years by being beaten in the head with this necessary attachment (remember, big curly hair. I have to use the diffuser).

I actually opened the box in the store, attached the diffuser to the dryer and proceeded to wave it around frantically. Ezra didn't even notice this wild display, but a few other customers regarded me with wariness. When it held, I knew I'd found what I'd always dreamed of. A dryer that really holds the diffuser. Not being maimed in the mornings is worth $20, and I must admit that I'm thrilled the old one finally died and allowed me the freedom to not get knocked in the head daily.

Thanks to the Hive Mind over at Ask Metafilter, I am also trying out a new (for me) cleaning product this week. Those who know me well, well know that I take my cleaning and cleaning products very seriously. I don't like harsh chemicals, but I do love a clean home. Many months ago I read a thread on Metafilter about Dr. Bronner and his magic soap. It's worth checking out just because the guy was such a nut. As it turns out, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap is good not only for cleaning your body (though I'm not about to try castile soap on my body, I need MOISTURE), it is also good for cleansing your soul. And your house. Mix a little of it with water in a spray bottle and go to town. Walgreens was out of the Lavender scent, so I got the Peppermint scent. So far I'm liking it, and I just have to say it-- now our shit don't stink. My bathroom now has a faint peppermint scent, and the stuff really did a decent job of cleaning without leaving yucky chemical residues behind in my shower. I'm usually a Method girl, and I doubt I'll give up Method entirely, but for cleaning sinks and showers I might be converted. It's just hard to argue with a soap that cleans, deordorizes, and saves your soul.

So, happy me roundup. I'm really following my dreams this week. Underpants that don't ride up, a hair dryer that doesn't beat me about the head and shoulders, and now our shit don't stink. The temperature is falling to 20 degrees Feirhenheit this afternoon, so I have to close up the curtains in anticipation of le Cheney sucking the heat out of my windows. And I have to get back to work.

6 Degrees of Mental Separation

The high temperature today seems to be 10. That's 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Whitney, Katie, Matt -- shut up. Also, the low tonight will be 1. That's the kind of thing they tell you when they don't want you to know the truth. If we think it's 1 degree, maybe we'll be fooled into being grateful for just how warm that really is. 1. Just 1.

It's been pretty cold around here for a couple weeks, and that mostly corresponds with the kids being back in school. So, I'm starting to get a little tweaky. It's so cold, I don't want to open the curtains because I'm convinced that when I open the curtains Dick Cheney comes and sucks the heat right out of my house via the windows. Really, with his big sucker-fish mouth and everything. It's very disturbing.

So, no open curtains means no sunshine, means these walls they are a closin' in. Also, we turned off the cable. So, I go to the gym every day now. The gym has big windows with no curtains. The gym has CSI right there on my own little personal tv mounted to the machine. *Sigh* I love the gym.

Also, say hello to Fannie:

Fannie used to be named Archimedes, until I decided that she is a she, and she most likely has little squirrely babies up in that big nest in the tree in the driveway. Fannie had a habit of getting into the shed and eating bird food. That was pretty okay with us, until she started searching our stuff to pilfer it. So, I had to move the bag of seed into the house. I felt bad about it (I mean, she does have those squirrely babies to feed, and did I mention it's going to be 1 degree tonight?), so I made her a feeder out of a toilet paper tube, peanut butter, and bird seed. This photo was taken about 10 minutes after I hung it out. About 10 minutes after the photo was taken, the entire feeder was gone. Squirrelled away up the tree to those sweet squirrely babies.

Also, this all happened while the guy was here last week turning off the cable. That guy may have overheard a conversation between myself and Fannie. I may have had to explain that there was a squirrell, right there on that branch, looking at me, and that I needed to explain some things to her.

(Ps. I just read the above and it appears that I think that eating will keep Fannie warm. I might have a screwed up relationship with food)

It is done! Sort of.

Yesterday we cleaned up the paint supplies, though we still need to paint the trim a fresh white. We can do that when we paint the kitchen cabinets and trim-- I couldn't wait any longer to get our art studio up and running!


The furniture is currently mismatched. That sewing table is a treasure given to me by my dear friend Regan. Appearantly her family has several of them just collecting dust, so they were kind enough to send me this one. I love it! It's my first real sewing table! A place for my machine to live, without ever having to be packed away!

This is Ezra's work station for now. He and I each have old card tables. I covered them with old table cloths because the card tables are in terrible condition. Plus, the purple cloths are kind of fun.

You can see Chris's work station to the right. He has the sturdiest table for now, because he carves miniatures and needs a sturdy table to work on. You can also see his new DayLight lamp that I got him for Christmas. It has a great magnifying glass on it too. Last night was the first time he was able to set it up. It's a winner :)

We are planning on figuring out just exactly what we need over the next few months, then doing an Ikea run. We are thinking maybe mounted cabinets above, with lights coming down, then something this like for work stations:
That's the Ikea Vika Amon/ Vika Annefors combination. We're giving ourselves a few months to use the space before we make any final decisions. When we do, Ezra will get his own new workstation too.

So, the furniture is mismatched, but even so, I really love it. It is great to have my sewing maching off my computer desk, and just to have a designated space for each of us to craft. We had to pry Ezra away last night to put him to bed, and this morning he took advantage of a few extra minutes before school to sneak in there again. Of all the ideas we've tossed around for the tiny bedroom next to ours, this is absolutely the best.