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Things I would do differently were I not married (hypothetically speaking:-):

On the cusp of being completely irritated with my family, I would like to compile a list of the things I would do differently in the event I only had my own self to worry about:
1) I wouldn't own a TV, just have a decent computer I can plug into speakers for my Pandora Radio and watch DVD's/Netflix streamed movies on.
2) I would almost never prepare an evening meal (except for lavish dinner parties in which I invite everyone I know and we'll laugh, drink wine, and engage in much debauchery). I'd live completely on large healthy breakfasts, medium sized lunches, and smoothies and juices for dinner. I'd be a vegetarian 85% of the time and only eat meat from local farmers.
3) My house would be small; I'd own very little except that which made me smile because it reminded me of something and plenty of useful things for preparing food-- and maybe some books.
4) My gardens would be lavish but manageable for a change.
5) I would invent my own holidays and ignore all the ones that I find tiresome: none of mine would involve buying anything unless it was something that could be used to make merriment after the consumption of too much alcohol. None of them will involve instant mashed potatoes or turkey, mythical animals, or guilt.
6) I would take at least 4 trips a year; somewhere different each time, with friends.

More later:

Bad, Bad, Blogger!

I must admit wholeheartedly that I suck lately as a blogger... only blogging once a week or less is unexcusable-- bizarre almost-- for a constant blabber and ruminator such as myself. I've started blogs, but finding them too morose or deep or someothersuch unpleasant stuff, have archived them in my "drafts" pile to be laughed at another day (or deleted, whatever comes first).
Anyhoo, that's where I stand when it comes to blogging lately, and if you are a regular peruser I do apologize for being a disappointment and all, as there are far too many things of a dull and disappointing nature this time a year and I certainly regret adding to the pile;-)
I have been languishing lately myself with the winter doldrums; nothing to do, too cold to venture out, tired of staying home with my frienemy the "Blockbuster rental club" (which to me is only the saddest and smallest step above watching television, sigh!) I discovered that you can watch bootlegged movies and shows on your computer recently, which was a naughty thrill for a minute or so, but with the fear of getting in big-ole trouble and not being too terribly interested in sitting there anyway, I quickly lost interest and was back to being pretty bored again:-(

So long story, short: I dragged the boys out to go ROLLERSKATING last night!!!
Soooo cheezewad, yet so dang cool, all at the same time.
Used to be we'd kick it old school style at the Red's Roller Rink back in the day, going round and round and round and round, over and over, bla bla. I remember the really odd arcade games they had-- old ones-- pizza and nachos at the snack bar, the dice game, Hokey Pokey, whatever.

I never was a very good skater, per se, never had the "moves" (and I vaguely remember taking a skating class of some sort there, wonder why??). Sooooooooo fast forward to today, where I'm once again the dork on skates, albeit older, and still trying not to fall on my ass and make a fool of myself (and all too excruciatingly aware of the $$ iPhone in my pocket).

And who'd a thunk it, but there were kids there who were the most AMAZING skaters: dancing to the funky beat of the music, skating sideways, doing choreographed moves, etc, like a really entertaining flash from my childhood in the 70's. I never knew that kids still hung out at the skating rink perfecting their moves, that white kids from the county were capable of gettin' their groove on to hip hop music, and it was completely fun to watch and not so bad a workout for my long neglected skating muscles. Jake and I even held hands and skated together, one of the most fun dates we've had in a while, yay!

Jake his own self then insisted that since he was sucha good sport with the skating, we were somewhat obligated to try something of his choosing: So off to Lapham Park we went today to try cross country skiing, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Now of course I have no idea how to ski, being somewhat of a hater of cold, frozen toes and the likelihood of breaking a bone. But it was a good time... Jacob did his little "Jacob thing" of making everyone wait over and over and over for him to catch up (no, he doesn't know how to ski either but the kid does that on the bike trail as well, making every trip somewhat lomger and less fun that if he weren't mr pokey), but all in all, it was a good time. I can totally see Jake and I taking up some of these sports and really having a good time with them, and I can't express enough how nice i is to be excited about the prospect of something new for a change:-)

Being the shopper/researcher, I had to check out the costs of some newer skis, some of those "skate skis" that almost everyone else had (which looked like a TON of fun!) online tonight. But wow! Expensive! And since I'd really like to go back, here's a list of groomed trails in Wisconsin for you to marvel at...

Tired! Have a good night, y'all:

Home Again:

Our trip to the Motherlands was very nice; the weather was beautiful and I tried to cram as much into our short afternoon as I could:

Burgers at the Spot ($20 for 4 burgers and 3 root beer whirls! ...and no-- they were NOT all for me-- I had 3 hungry adolescents and their raging hormones to feed. Boy howdy! It's expensive to eat junk...).

Surprise, surprise: turns out the kids didn't want to hang with me (snif!), and once I was able to contain my sadness, Maggie and I headed off to the lake for a walk.

She was AWFUL, btw:

She's a larger girl, so people don't think she's a still a puppy, and since she's a country dog, she's never seen so many people, animals, or citified (aka "not afraid") birds in her life... thus she was fairly HYSTERICAL the whole time trying to jump on, lunge at, and otherwise freak out every living creature who happened to be near us. Argh! Needless to say, my hands are raw from trying to hold her leash, and 1/2 of Kenosha thinks I'm a psycho "Dog Whisperer" wanna be, as I expected her to heel and not wander aimlessly on her leash as most pet owners allow their dogs to do.

Funny, tho-- there seem to be only two types of dogs who live in the city: little tiny pipsqueak/floofey dogs who pull on their leashes, dragging their (completely ridiculous looking) owners around, and scary looking pitbulls. Thank goodness, the pitbulls were far and above the best behaved; perhaps because their brains are larger than a co-co puff and no small children were in range for dining upon.

But where are the other kinds of dogs? The medium sized, Maggie sort-of *useful* pups (i.e. hunting dogs, etc)? Do you think there's an "ankle biters and children eaters only" ordinance on the city books?

Hmmmmmmm...maybe THAT'S why the nice city folks were looking at Maggie and I so strangely....yeah, that's probably it.

Other Kenosha highlights:

The kids and I drove around my favorite cemetery, and checked out the beautiful old tombstones and Dad's gravesite:

This one's my all time favorite:

We also made a visit to Isetts Park, playground of old:

Check out these AMAZING old pieces of playground equipment, upon which I learned at a wee age that metal is an excellent conductor of heat and gets booty blistering hot:

See the painful, sharp edges, perfect for slicing open your scalp? They just don't make 'em like they used to..

And the harsh laws of gravity, as in "when you suspend yourself from the monkey bars upside down and slip, you will not fly upwards like a fairy, but come crashing down on your silly head and see stars":

p.s. once upon a time, I remember my butt fitting into those *leeeetle tiiiiny* bebbe seats and screaming: UUUUUUUUUUNDERDAWG!!!

We also made a poorly advised trip to Woodman's, beloved Grocery Store of Bargains. They have the best organic produce/natural foods selection, and at super prices. Sad to say, tho, it was a fairly sucky trip for two reasons:

#1, the place was a mob scene; it was nearly impossible to get around without running someone over

and #2, grocery prices really HAVE gone up, boo! (somehow I thought this was some urban legend I would manage to escape; guess not)

The kids and I then picked up some food at "Pacific Wok", which was quite lovely. Their sushi was tasty, altho not nearly as bodacious as what we attempt to make at home (ours is always SUPERSIZED, prolly cause we don't really know how to make it civilized like you should), and the teriyaki steak was tasty. I would have liked more veggies, but I'm surely in the minority with that one... I would totally go again (but skip the "steamroller", that was yuckky times 1,000,000).

Ok... one more photo:

This sweet little girl had her rear leg AMPUTATED yesterday (the day before this photo was taken). Insane, truly. She's hopping around like nothing ever happened, trying to keep up with Maggie and just generally being the same happy go getter she was when she had all four appendages. Really, a huge testament to the indefatigable nature of dogs. Lovelovelove this girl!

Today...

I did a leeeeettle bit of something and a whooooole lot of nothing...

Since the MACRO portions of the gardens are complete, it was finally time to focus on the micro, as these are the last few details I need to complete before the weather gets hotter and I lose interest in all things garden-ey.

I planted a few sedums, sempervivium (hens and chicks), and creeping thyme in the chicken coop walkway (that was the little bit, as the plants are *teeny tiny*):

Lookin' gooooood

I also raked as much of the nepeta out of the much neglected front gardens as I could (they're the oldest and most well established, and always seem to be overlooked. Must be because there's a swamp up there, complete with scads of mosquitoes, which dims my enthusiasm a wee little bit...).

And so LORRY BE, HALLELUJAH-- stick a fork in me, I think I'm done!

The boys are sleeping in the tipi tonight, hope the skeeters don't drain em dry by morning:

And here's a little something, just for funs:

Ride 'em, CharlieCat! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee

p.s. all trips for the weekend are OFF, boo. But it looks like dd is trying to wrangle me into a trip to the motherland (Kenosha) to visit her friend. It sounds like she lives in the vicinity of the finest dining in K-Town, the Spot (!), where greazy cheezeburgers with extra pickles and grilled onions await us. The neighborhood around the Spot is fantastic, too, so between the historic downtown area with it's amazing architecture and the gigantic cemetary, I'm hoping we can get some walking in, and maybe with Ms Maggie, who could use a little city walking for a change. I hear that the Farmer's Market is up and running, so I might just get my market fix, after all:-)

Grandmere asked a few weeks ago, too, if I could take some photos of the tree planted in Isetts Park when my Grandfather died, so that'll be a nice segueway as well; I don't think Grace has been to her VERY OWN park before (we used to tell kids that it was our park when we were little-- what a bunch of snot faces we were!) I myself haven't been there in manymany years, I probably won't even recognize it.

And if we stay long enough, it would be nice to score a patio spot at Villa D Carlo's and do some quality people watching. We had a great time riding our motorcycles there about this time last year; probably one of the best family trips of the year, and by far the simplest:-)

Sooooooooo, if you see a wistful mom roaming the streets of Kenosha with an unruly puppy and three teenagers doing their best to look disaffected and bored, wave hello; as a country girl lost in the city, I'll try my very hardest not to look too wierded out-- I promise.

Madison?

OhhhhhKayyyyyyy... who wants to go to Madison with me tomorrow? I have a hankerin' not only to visit this super cool store I've been blog stalking for over a year:
http://glitterworkshop.com/dish/

but to stuff myself on fantastic foreign foods (Thai on Willy St, Nepalese on State St, that African joint by the capital, French food, rah rah rah!). I also like Frieda's on State, but their food is only so-so-- but any place that paints larger than life reproductions of Frieda Kahlo paintings on the walls is my kind of spot, I just won't delve much further than their extensive margarita and tequila menu... wheeeeeeeeee!

I'm feeling antsy and a need to wander; must be my sassy new haircut that the sweet young girl tried to talk me out of... even Ms. Gracy pant's friends were like, "what's up with your HAIR, Grace's mommy?".
Well, truth be told, girlies, Grace's mommy needs to get her groove on, so get used to it, 'cause she's about ready to jump out her very own skin with Spring Fever and is in search of some adventure, even if it is only of the shopping and eating kind (must be why I'm broke and FAT, according to my "Health Risk Assessment" I had to do at work yesterday. Broke I can deal with, but FAT?! Egads-- nothing I can't fix, tho, with the help of my friend Ann Louise Gittleman). Maybe if I took a lovely stroll or ride on the Madison bike trail after my snacking, I'd be less likely to be a pudgy liability to my employer, tee hee).
Anyhoodle.

If ya'll are up for a trip, let me know-- I'll drive and EVERYTHING... but with the Farmer's Market being open these days, mebbe Saturday would be better anyhow.
Either way-- fun people who can actually get together and do stuff, where are youuuuuuuuuuu?
This is sortof my new 'do; dark brown with bright red streaks. Fiesty!

I'm Baaaaaaack!

My week at camp sped by lightning fast; I can hardly believe I was there and back, even tho I'm bone tired and mentally whipped from the chaos of the past few days.

It seemed like every time I gave myself the slightest opportunity to relax, some life-threatening emergency (or seemingly life threatening emergency...) was unfolding before me:

A late night anaphylaxis (or head cold, as I soon discovered; but the poor kid still almost got epi-penned by his traumatized counselor before he was dropped off at the Nurse's station-- wahoo!), an early morning bloody mess (is it ever appropriate to apply makeup before dashing out the door to get a kid off for stitches? While the thought crossed my mind, noooo...... I only applied a haphazard smear of lipstick before running out with my first aid kit), and an evening mystery accident involving an embarassed pre-teen boy, 3 different versions of what occurred, and a gaggle of crying counselors.

It was a relatively quiet camp, tho, with only 120 kids and 124 different medications (some given up to 4 times a day! Better living thru chemistry, I guess... poor little critters. What makes a parent put their 10 year old on 4 different psych meds? A wild parenting fantasy gone amuck? SPS {Stupid Parent Syndrome}?)

As usual, my assistant was incredibly helpful; God bless the fresh, uncluttered mind of youth. That girl has saved me from embarassment more times than I can count, considering she can remember not only the daily schedule but kids' names, medication times and the last thing our boss told me to do 15 minutes ago.

I have to tell you, though: for all it's foibles, camp is the greatest job I've ever had:

I have a dinky quarters to keep for my very own (easy to keep clean, and no one to care if I don't), a private bathroom, my own office, beautiful surroundings, delicious meals I only have to *show up* for-- and best of all, the peace of mind knowing my kids are off having a fantastic time with new friends and adult role models, doing things I could never expose them to due to lack of time, funds, or ability. Plus, there's nary a couch or computer game to be found, and I'm hoping the repetitive busy-ness will drive the urge to vegetate from their DNA. I also greatly enjoy the daily reminder that my kids are low on the Goofy Kid spectrum, and that I am only *marginally* on the SPS list, in the grand scheme of things.

I survived, my kids survived (Jacob had a wicked case of "I'm not eating enough fiber", if ya know what I mean...)-- and sans a broken collarbone, 6 stitches, and 3 cases of pink eye, everyone else survived as well. Halleulah!

Wanna Come?

Wanna Come?
This is where I'd like to go asap:

Horsefeathers
129 N Genesee StWaukegan, IL 60085
(847) 244-3100

I last went to this store probably over 15 years ago, and can hardly believe that it's still open. My ex and I used to hang out there occasionally, when they had a coffee bar (do they still? No clue.) and corny open mics that would make me shudder (speaking of cool open mics, check this out: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=584844 I sure wish I could go. I have notebooks full of teen angst to share, and high school newspaper articles as well. I was very prolific in the "angst" dept in my day, and even still have my own as an adult. Some habits die hard...)

These folks had the most AMAZING vintage clothing, for which I have an incredible itch. Not that I want to purchase any, mind you-- ownership implies responsibility I simply do not wish to undertake-- but just looking at it, hanging on a hanger amidst others like it, makes me melt. I would even PAY for the opportunity to browse, hands on, thru racks of vintage clothing: dresses, hats, gloves, cashmere sweaters, nightgowns-- yellowing acetate brassieres... I love it all, with an odd, indescribable longing. I even love the musty smell of old clothing, the more prim the better. My daughter shares my strange obsession, and I love her deeply for it. Plus, she currently has the perfect Audrey Hepburn physique, and everything vintage fits her as if God himself intended it.

I remember going with my ex-- and what was it about the place? The smoke, the ratty tatty couches from my grandmother's era? The exotic coffee drinks pre Starbucks, that you coldn't find anyplace else? Or was it the romantic clinging to the last vestiges of my pre-children existence, which I dove into so headlong I never came back up for breath?

Who knows.

I think of how I dressed back then, and it makes me smile. I remember having an elaborate headdress (yes, headdress. You can snicker, but it was actually kind of pretty. And why the hell not? Now I have NO hair... not exactly what I'd call an improvement) made up of braids, silk scarves, a crocheted snood (don't ask)-- all twisted and knotted. I would recreate it, if I still had a creative bone left in my body. And some hair.

I miss not being able to express myself thru my appearance, even though I know it is simplistic and not terribly mature.
I miss not being so caught up in the worry of consequences.
I miss not worrying about what other's think, even tho I know it is a necessary part of "participating"-- even tho I know it isn't very much fun.
I miss thinking that life can be fun.
I guess I miss being a kid. Boo.

I suppose, in the grand scheme of life, we experiment as children as our world is expanding exponentially, until the consequences of our choices catch up with us, and mature us into adults. It's bound to happen to us all...
It just isn't too much fun-- you know, with Pandora being out of the box and all.

Anyhoo: anyone up for a road trip? I always am.