I'm Still Here

Hutton and Harrison posing with Mommy. Actually, that's the snowman we made.
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For those of you wondering about my absences of late, I'm still here. I've been a poor blogger this month -- both reading and writing.

Some excuses: My desktop computer died, and I had to get Hubby to get my laptop to work for me in the meantime. (A few years ago, when Hubby started working from home, he had to turn in his old work laptop, and just commandeered mine -- which I didn't use much, but still, it was a gift from my MIL! --to go along with the other three computers he has on his desk. After he started back at a big software company here, he got a new work laptop, but still kept mine. I finally asked for it back, and he gave it to me, but without any way to access the Internet. Uh, thanks, Honey. I don't use the Internet at all! So, when my desktop stopped working, I asked Hubby if I could access the Internet on my laptop, and Hubby set it up so my laptop will hook up to our wireless network again.) Hubby got my laptop working, then, after about a week, he fixed my desktop! Wahoo! I was functioning OK with the laptop, but it took a long time to get used to the keyboard, as I am accustomed to the weird rounded ergonomic one at my desk, and I didn't have access to my Outlook calendar and email contacts on the laptop. I could check email online, but I still felt I was going to forget some world-changing appointment without access to Outlook. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Phew! But now, I have my laptop downstairs, so I can lounge on the couch looking things up online while the boys watch too much TV, and go upstairs to check email and do serious typing on my desktop. Ah, technology, I love you!

Second excuse: School, or the lack thereof. Last week was Martin Luther King, Jr. day, which I think is a very important holiday to remember. But, it means three days of school for Hutton versus four. Plus, this Monday, there was a teachers' only day at Hutton's school, and it snowed three inches here in addition, so Harrison didn't have school, either. Tuesday school was delayed because of lingering snow, so again, no school for Hutton as morning Kindergarten was canceled, and Harrison doesn't have school on Tuesdays. I don't know why, but just missing two hours of time to myself for a couple of days is enough to throw off my internal workings somehow. Plus, Hutton's home therapist couldn't make it Monday because of the snow (yes, we live in Washington state, where they don't believe in plowing roads or using salt -- at least not in the western half of that state -- in the event of snow. The world grinds to a halt. I still got out on the roads Monday and was fine. If nothing else, there wasn't any traffic, but I was worried about being hit by a driver who wasn't used to driving in snow.) Today, the therapist is sick and can't make it.

The problem with this lack of school and therapy is that I'm not exactly using our time wisely. Sure, we got Hutton's homework done, and played outside in the snow Monday, and went to the library Tuesday, but the rest of the time has been squandered in front of the TV. What's that, boys? You want to watch a fifteenth hour of Sponge Bob? Sure! No, I'm not even pushing the educational TV on them! The boys, to their credit, did manage to play together for some non-TV related activity. I got a package Monday that came in a gigantic box, filled with various packing materials that entertained the boys for several hours.

Anyway, I'm back, and I'm going to try to be better about posting more of this banal crap on at least a twice weekly basis, as well as reading all of your blogs, my blogging friends!

Oh, but I have accomplished a few things this month! I almost finished knitting a sweater, which is frumpy looking as it is too big in the torso, but fits everywhere else. Hmm. I'm sure I can reknit the torso section, but I think it will involve math skills. I'm not good with sweater math: "Using the larger needles, pick up 198 stitches along the upper yoke." Hmm, there are 223 stitches there now. How do I turn 223 into 198, while spacing the stitches evenly around? Agh! My brain hurts! So, if I do decide to reknit the torso, it will probably mean the sweater will not be ready until next year. But, I think the frumpiness is beyond the realm of blocking. (Blocking is when you wash the knit item, then leave it out to dry so that it will dry in the shape you want it to be. It's much easier to block a wool sweater to fit, as it will shrink or stretch a bit, but I don't think cotton/acrylic blends do that very well.)

And, I took the boys skiing for a second time last Friday. Hutton had a lesson with Outdoors for All, which does outdoor activities with kids and adults with disabilities. He had two instructors work with him for an hour, and the main instructor told me afterward that Hutton was great at following directions and had good balance. Who knew? So, having someone else teach him is definitely easier. Harrison didn't have as much fun. He got cold, fell on the "magic carpet" lift, got colder still, and ended his hour of skiing crying and fussing. Oh well, one kid had fun! Hutton was smiling afterward and told me he liked going fast. So, we'll have to see if I can convince Harrison to give skiing another try, and get him a personal instructor as well, instead of impatient Mommy.
Some exciting video of Sally running in the snow. Turn the volume off if you don't want to hear my loud, annoying voice.

Feeling Happier and Here's Why

Well, it's really because of the fine cup of coffee I'm drinking (really a double shot latte), but this brightened my day as well.

It ended up in my junk email somehow. The from field and subject of the email were:
vibrators snatching
agility dog


Already I'm feeling good. It would have been funny as "vibrator-snatching agility dog" as well, but I'll take what the random word generator gives me.

Of course with that to start with, I HAD to read the email attached.

Here are the best parts:

Bible astrology shop franchise. Elton racist overtime overseen cuffed ticket? Bono fucking brilliant globes janet jacksons globe. Spider superman villain collector achieve, look, work, upcoming birth. Stacy yaz large crafters choice saddle. Package parenting self coupon rainbow. Failed fees gnutella creators similar products, kazaas!

Yeah, it's pretty sad when this cheers me up more than the beautiful sight out my window:

Snowy Days Just Lead to More Rain

Well, it's the end of the week, but it seemed pretty slow and mellow. Probably because Hutton's school was cancelled every day but Monday due to our huge blizzard. Cough. Really, it was just a few inches of snow, but that was enough for our district to be overly cautious. Monday I went out with Harrison to buy a hat and gloves for Hutton, and some boots for both boys. Tuesday we didn't leave the house; we stayed inside in a snow coma. Wednesday we went outside and played in the snow a bit. Hutton attempted to sled using a cardboard box. It wasn't ideal for sledding, I found. Note to self: buy a sled for the next time it snows.

Thursday was back to the routine in terms of speech therapy, but still no school. My friend and her kids came over to play, then the boys and I went to Target so I could spend money on things I don't really need. I like to alternate my Target trips -- every other time I buy things I need. The other times I get sucked in by, "Oh, that's new! I think I'll get that." I bought a "winter" slipcover for the couch, some Christmasy tablecloths, and a poinsettia. So, not too bad -- they're somewhat useful, though I could have definitely survived without them.

Today was the really fun day, though. Fun in the sense that it was crappy. Well, not that bad, but the worst of the week. It started out with the fact that I had to -gasp- drink tea instead of coffee, since I forgot to buy coffee the last time I went shopping. Then I was late getting in the car to take Hutton to ABA therapy. Then my car started acting wonky when I got on 520. The "ESP" warning light lit up. ESP in this case stands for Extra Stability Protection, but it could have been that the car really does have ESP, had an idea it was going to have some big issues in the near future, and was giving me a heads up.

Now, I'm going to share something a bit embarrassing with you: I name my cars. Yes, I'm one of those people. My cars have been: Cecil, the powder blue Civic hatchback, Elliott, the "titanium" Escort (titanium is a fancy car paint name for beige), Jackson the black Prelude (I didn't like any P names for alliteration, so went with Jackson as Jacksonville was his point of entry in the country), Sven, the silver Volvo C70 (I didn't really call him that very often, and I think I should have named him Mulva - you know, the rhyming version of the part of the female anatomy that you get from changing a couple of vowels in Volvo), Jimmy, the green Jimmy (that was a given, as he was already named), and lastly, Maddox, the green Acura MDX. This was before my current car, the goldish/beige Volkswagen Jetta stationwagon, who hasn't really clicked for a name yet. Though all of my previous cars have been boys, Jetta is definitely a girl. She's bitchy and temperamental, you see. I've thought of just calling her Jetta -- like Jimmy, she already has the name. It's the name of the bitchy girl on Clifford the Big Red Dog, too.

Back to the car warning light situation -- Jetta started with the "ESP" light. I, of course, had no idea what that meant - a triangle of arrows with a big exclamation point in the middle. I don't speak car German. I don't even speak human German, other than my favorite word, gemutlik. The triangle of arrows corresponded with Jetta making funny noises and not having decent acceleration. Which is great when it happens as soon as you get onto a highway. Pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor, hearing the car not upshifting, and seeing the speedometer stay on 40 is really fun. Jetta continued to do this off and on, with the warning light staying lit, the entire way to the UW. Since I was late for Hutton's appointment, I didn't want to pull over and try to figure out what was going on. Jetta managed to get up to 60 sporadically, and I stayed in the right lane. I managed to get the owner's manual out, and found the warning light page which I read in bits and pieces as I drove. (Yeah, I'm all about safety on the road!) We made it to the UW a mere twenty minutes late, and I brought the manual in with me to read while I waited. I wasn't too concerned. Figured the ESP light came on because of some slush I drove over getting on the 520, and maybe it would go off when I turned on the car later.

After lunch, when I turned on the car so we could drive to another of Hutton's appointments, which conveniently enough, I was also late for (hey, we were all enjoying our lunch, and I lost track of the time!) the light wasn't on. Phew. Wait, scratch that. There's the ESP light again. Oh, and here's a universal symbol I know -- the engine light! Joy. Jetta revved and made all sorts of fun noises while refusing to go over 35, and we arrived 15 minutes late to our next appointment. Fortunately, I had the perfect excuse both times for my lateness. Darn car troubles! During the second appointment, I called Hubby and he said he'd meet me at the car dealership in an hour and a half, that he had a conference call. I then called the car dealer, and was told they were "shutting down for the day" -- at 2:30 on a Friday. Yeah, it's one of those dealers. Then he said, "I'll put you down for Wednesday. How's that?" Uh, great. Really amazing how you fit me in like that.

I drove home on the back roads to avoid being run off the road in my car, which I now knew was driving in "limp mode." It was OK until I hit Hollywood Hill. I put Jetta in third gear as she huffed and puffed. No go. Pull over to let three cars pass. I made it up to 20 mph again. The hill got steep again. How about second gear? No better. How about first gear? I managed to creak around a curve in the hill going 15. Pulled over to let another car pass. I finally made it to the crest of the hill, and practically coasted home in neutral. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the drive to the dealership Wednesday. There's another big hill the other way, too.

So, back to the car names. If there is a serious issue to these car warning lights and "limp mode," I'm thinking of calling Jetta Cassandra instead. She did give me those warning lights, after all. Didn't just stop driving all together on the 520 bridge over Lake Washington. For that, at least, I'm thankful.

We'll see....