The thing about Resolutions, is that I think they are supposed to be things that you work on to make yourself a better person-whereas I tend to "resolve" to do things. Call me a list maker (like my sister). The thing is, that I think of Resolutions as being things like, "Don't have road rage anymore" and "stop biting my finger nails." The thing is, that I kind of like the person I am. I dont see any parts of my personality that need work. All of you that beg to differ can shut your pie holes. Kthnkx.
So rather than resolving to be a better person, I am posting my 10 item list of things to do for 2010. Try not to be jealous.
1. Finish Dissertation. I think this would make my advisor happy. This would also make me one step closer to being able to say, "That is Dr. Bishop-Royse to you. I didn't spend 8 years in evil graduate school to be Mrs. Thank you very much."
2. Do awesome at new job. Given.
3. Start learning Russian. Dave and I have read several articles about language and early child development. Our consensus is that kids who speak languages in the home learn them easily- almost without effort. Its the reason that children whose parents have nannies and housekeepers who speak other languages acquire those languages so easily. So we want to speak another language in the house...while Dave is pretty much fluent in French, I dont speak it very well. So I was thinking we could learn another language together and teach Nico as we go. I really want Nico to know a *useful* language- one that might get him a job one day. Chinese would be useful since a quarter of the world's population speaks it. Russian would be useful because its a gateway to many of the other slavic languages (and well, I'm just going to say it, could you imagine the Beast being a spy?). I've got love for the romance languages, but for real... they are only useful if you're in South America or certain parts of Europe. Besides, spanish, french, italian, and portugues wont teach him anything that Latin or Greek wouldn't teach him about roots, etc.
4. Learn Multilevel modeling.
5. Continue decluttering my life. I actually got on a roll just before the holidays.
6. Run 5 Half Marathons this year. Run Muddy Buddy. Run Springtime. Get my guns back.
7. Start taking Nico to Baby Yoga. The yoga place I go to has mom/baby yoga on Saturdays. Nico says he wants to go as soon as the soccer season is over.
8. Academic stuff: submit Age paper. Finish aging paper. Submit. Poster at PAA (Dallas).
9. Read 24 non academic books. Including:
Soccernomics
Half the Sky
Holidays on Ice
Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy
War of the Worlds
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Between Zeus and the Salmon
The Boy who Harnassed the Wind
A long way gone
The Road
10. Make more stuff for Nico: baby sweaters, leg warmers, animal applique blankets, baby food, toys. etc.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
And I was runnin...
Define Irony: Deciding yesterday to start trying to write a blog every day- even if its short only to decide that I didnt have enough time yesterday to write anything. HA!!
So, what is cooking? I have a job. Yeah, I know. I can't believe it either. Someone is going to pay me. To work. Its at the Agency for Health Care Administration (or AHCA as we like to call it in the biz). Don't get your panties in a twist- its OPS. No, they are not turning the whole thing over to me- but I think it will be ideal as I finish my dissertation and try to structure a life post-FSU. Am currently refraining from adding to the list of stuff I am going to buy with my new income. Which include:
-frappe machine from Mr. Coffee
-a new blender
-ice skates
-a pony
-a shamwow
-snuggies for the dogs
-a snuggie for Nico (what? babies like to be warm too).
-space bag storage system
-inflatable jungle gym set for the pool we dont have
In fact, I made myself watch "Confessions of a Shopaholic" today, to remind myself that just because I will have a little money doesnt mean I need to get all Prada and Gucci and to remember that I am a grown ass woman with a kid and not to lose my damn mind just I can now pay my car payment and my cell phone payment in the same week.
Of course, this is all pending the outcome of a background check. DOH!! JK. No, but seriously, I should be fine. Of course, now that I have breathed mention of it, things are probably going to go to hell in a hand cart. Well, it was nice while it lasted.
So that is the big-big news of late.
The other news is that I went for a run today. My first since I got pregnant with Nico over a year ago. While I did do some athletic endeavors last year (won Kissimmee, won IMS, scoring a goal, etc.) they don't compare to running. The thing is, I never used to be a runner. Really. When my sister was doing track my senior year, I would go to track practice and do homework and wait for my best friend KK to come get me and we would go to Taco Bell, until I was recruited by the track coach to do track that didnt require much running (long jump, high jump, and shot put). I eventually "concentrated" on shot put, but I wouldn't have called that a career (despite PR-ing three times in the district meet).
I started running a lot in the off-season in college- to rehab after my first knee surgery. I have never been what you would call "swift" or "fast". In fact, I have seen concrete set faster than I run. But that is okay. I dont do it for the speed. Most of the reason why I don't run fast is that I am, as a general rule, in a lot of pain when I run- running faster makes it worse. For real- no joke, it FEELS like there is no cushioning in my left knee anymore. I can actually feel the bones crunching against each other. Its excruciating- and has been for while. True story: I fell asleep during the marathon I ran in Traverse City back in 2006 because I took *2* vicodins during the run. No joke. Its worse these days. Good thing I still have a bottle of Percoset leftover from the delivery of the Beast. But I digress.
So today was 2.4 miles, around Indian Head. In the dark (which, as a general rule, is never a good idea). But I managed to complete the run without twisting my ankle, falling down or otherwise causing serious damage to myself. So that was good. And actually a bit faster than I expected. Not Baller fast. But Fast*er*. So that was good. I did however, feel like I wanted to throw up for most of the run. But for me, that is just like old times.
I have committed to run the Pretty Princess Half Marathon in Orlando later this spring. Supposedly, everyone who runs wears princess dresses and/or tutus. Obviously, I will not be doing that (I think I would look ridiculous in a tutu... but I might be persuaded to wear a pink shirt.) And perhaps a tiara, if I could steal one from my mother). Theoretically, Julia, Kelly, April (and perhaps Lauren) will be running it as well... and by running, I mean, Julia is going to kick ass because she did a running class, April will kick ass because she's April, Kelly will probably win the thing (that is how she rolls). Its sort of a team thing (I think). Which means that April, Kelly, Lauren(?), and Julia will finish, have time to go grab several beers a piece, take showers, take naps, get lunch, do the rides at Disney and make it back in time for me stumble across the finish line, 15 minutes before they stop keeping time in the race. So I got that going for me. Try not to be jealous.
I also committed to run the Muddy Buddy in May with Leslie. This race is an event where you run with a partner and you switch running and biking at somewhat regular intervals (one rides, one runs, and you switch). The end is a wade through a mud pit. Am a little nervous because Leslie is kind of competitive. Dont know if she is aware of what she is getting into being my partner. But- there is no backing out now. She's stuck!! Sucka!!
.
So, what is cooking? I have a job. Yeah, I know. I can't believe it either. Someone is going to pay me. To work. Its at the Agency for Health Care Administration (or AHCA as we like to call it in the biz). Don't get your panties in a twist- its OPS. No, they are not turning the whole thing over to me- but I think it will be ideal as I finish my dissertation and try to structure a life post-FSU. Am currently refraining from adding to the list of stuff I am going to buy with my new income. Which include:
-frappe machine from Mr. Coffee
-a new blender
-ice skates
-a pony
-a shamwow
-snuggies for the dogs
-a snuggie for Nico (what? babies like to be warm too).
-space bag storage system
-inflatable jungle gym set for the pool we dont have
In fact, I made myself watch "Confessions of a Shopaholic" today, to remind myself that just because I will have a little money doesnt mean I need to get all Prada and Gucci and to remember that I am a grown ass woman with a kid and not to lose my damn mind just I can now pay my car payment and my cell phone payment in the same week.
Of course, this is all pending the outcome of a background check. DOH!! JK. No, but seriously, I should be fine. Of course, now that I have breathed mention of it, things are probably going to go to hell in a hand cart. Well, it was nice while it lasted.
So that is the big-big news of late.
The other news is that I went for a run today. My first since I got pregnant with Nico over a year ago. While I did do some athletic endeavors last year (won Kissimmee, won IMS, scoring a goal, etc.) they don't compare to running. The thing is, I never used to be a runner. Really. When my sister was doing track my senior year, I would go to track practice and do homework and wait for my best friend KK to come get me and we would go to Taco Bell, until I was recruited by the track coach to do track that didnt require much running (long jump, high jump, and shot put). I eventually "concentrated" on shot put, but I wouldn't have called that a career (despite PR-ing three times in the district meet).
I started running a lot in the off-season in college- to rehab after my first knee surgery. I have never been what you would call "swift" or "fast". In fact, I have seen concrete set faster than I run. But that is okay. I dont do it for the speed. Most of the reason why I don't run fast is that I am, as a general rule, in a lot of pain when I run- running faster makes it worse. For real- no joke, it FEELS like there is no cushioning in my left knee anymore. I can actually feel the bones crunching against each other. Its excruciating- and has been for while. True story: I fell asleep during the marathon I ran in Traverse City back in 2006 because I took *2* vicodins during the run. No joke. Its worse these days. Good thing I still have a bottle of Percoset leftover from the delivery of the Beast. But I digress.
So today was 2.4 miles, around Indian Head. In the dark (which, as a general rule, is never a good idea). But I managed to complete the run without twisting my ankle, falling down or otherwise causing serious damage to myself. So that was good. And actually a bit faster than I expected. Not Baller fast. But Fast*er*. So that was good. I did however, feel like I wanted to throw up for most of the run. But for me, that is just like old times.
I have committed to run the Pretty Princess Half Marathon in Orlando later this spring. Supposedly, everyone who runs wears princess dresses and/or tutus. Obviously, I will not be doing that (I think I would look ridiculous in a tutu... but I might be persuaded to wear a pink shirt.) And perhaps a tiara, if I could steal one from my mother). Theoretically, Julia, Kelly, April (and perhaps Lauren) will be running it as well... and by running, I mean, Julia is going to kick ass because she did a running class, April will kick ass because she's April, Kelly will probably win the thing (that is how she rolls). Its sort of a team thing (I think). Which means that April, Kelly, Lauren(?), and Julia will finish, have time to go grab several beers a piece, take showers, take naps, get lunch, do the rides at Disney and make it back in time for me stumble across the finish line, 15 minutes before they stop keeping time in the race. So I got that going for me. Try not to be jealous.
I also committed to run the Muddy Buddy in May with Leslie. This race is an event where you run with a partner and you switch running and biking at somewhat regular intervals (one rides, one runs, and you switch). The end is a wade through a mud pit. Am a little nervous because Leslie is kind of competitive. Dont know if she is aware of what she is getting into being my partner. But- there is no backing out now. She's stuck!! Sucka!!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Things taking up my mental bandwidth 2
Things I am thinking about:
*Stoked that I downloaded "Soccernomics" last night on the Kindle. Pondering a career change (not really)- didnt realize that there were people who analyzed sports statistics for a living (outside of ESPN). Wish I would have known this before I started a PhD in sociology... just think, I could have been writing a dissertation on sports economics- why England always loses and why Germany and Brazil always win.
*Trying to break up "working out" into walking a couple of times a day- at least until Nico starts at FSU next week.
*Drooling over this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B2+Duo+Processor+-+Merlot/9556036.p?id=1218124204238&skuId=9556036
I want it badly.
*Trying not to think about all the stuff that has to be put away.
*Remembering a great holiday!
*Stoked that I downloaded "Soccernomics" last night on the Kindle. Pondering a career change (not really)- didnt realize that there were people who analyzed sports statistics for a living (outside of ESPN). Wish I would have known this before I started a PhD in sociology... just think, I could have been writing a dissertation on sports economics- why England always loses and why Germany and Brazil always win.
*Trying to break up "working out" into walking a couple of times a day- at least until Nico starts at FSU next week.
*Drooling over this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+with+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B2+Duo+Processor+-+Merlot/9556036.p?id=1218124204238&skuId=9556036
I want it badly.
*Trying not to think about all the stuff that has to be put away.
*Remembering a great holiday!
Friday, December 25, 2009
I've had a really lousy Christmas, you've *just* managed to kill my New Year's, if you come back on Easter- you can burn down my apartment.
So in the Bishop family, we have a tradition of Christmas Bowls. This arose out of the fact that we dont have a fireplace, by which to hang the stockings with care. Also, since us Bishop kids were so good, Santa often bought us too much stuff to put into our stockings. So a lot of times, we would get the standard oranges and walnuts, along with candy canes and other doo-dads and that would fill the stocking, plus Santa would have to rummage about in the kitchen for mixing bowls, or metal buckets in the laundry room or whatever. This seems perfectly natural in my house. Of course, you know Dave had to make fun of me: "I thought the story went, "The *STOCKINGS* were hung on the mantle with care" not "The bowls were hung on the mantle with care..." Shut up Dave.
So the family is all in. JJ surprised us by coming home for Christmas. I invited his girlfriend Amanda by on Wednesday. I said if she was going to be in town, then she should drop by. So, she did. She said that she had presents for us out in the car and went out to the car to get them. And when she came back in, she had JJ with her, who was carrying gifts and wearing a Santa hat. Holy What? It was completely unexpected. He had told everyone that he would be picking fruit in Melbourne and would be out of touch. Turns out he was scheming a way to get home. It was awesome. He totally had me going. I have been telling all the girls that he's picking fruit in Australia and that he wasnt coming home for Christmas. It was amazing!!
So we spent yesterday (Christmas Eve) cooking. I issued a cupcake Challange (said with French accent) to my sister and my mom. Nicole did her thing decorating the hell out of red velvet box cake cupcakes. Mom made hers from scratch- chocolate with peanut butter cups. I opted for the Cracker Barrel Coca Cola cake cupcakes. I also cheated a little, because mine was presented with the standard vanilla ice cream and hot fudge. But Mom ended up "winning". I say "winning" because I think she is sleeping with the head judge (my Dad). JK- her cupcakes were pretty awesome. Quite delicious.
Dave's parents and Aunt Rosie came into town last night. The brought some craxy weather with them. Hard gusty winds and rain. We managed to keep power on all night, but I am curious if any parts of the city lost it.
All for now. Have a big day of cooking ahead of me.
Hope you all have a great holiday!!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Ten minutes with Elton John and you're gay as a maypole!
So we hit up pagan hour at Borders this morning. I got Elizabeth Brantly's "No-Cry Sleep Solution" (my mom, IE, JL and everyone else who warned me about this the sleep monster I created: you were right, I was wrong. You are smart, I am stupid, you're incredibly good looking, me not so much <-- from Happy Gilmore!). So now we have to retrain Nico to have better sleep associations. Theoretically this can be done in 7-10 days. I guess there is no time like the present, right?
Aside from that, we've been in ultra-cleaning mode around here. Lots of family coming in this week. Its actually great, because it forces me to get rid of stuff... like, there would be more room in here (which we need because the house is small), if I got rid of these three boxes. Well, what is in these boxes? Oh, old cell phone bills dating back to 2006? SHRED. Old bills? Printed email battles? WHY DO I HAVE ALL THIS? I need to probably go through this process about once every six months- because I accumlate soooo much stuff. This was Drake's contribution:
Nico tried solids for the first time last night. By "solids" I mean we got the rice cereal and mixed it with breastmilk. He wasn't too impressed. But he "ate" some.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.
I am starting a new segment on the Nico Royse show called, "Things taking up my mental bandwith." These are the things that I spend time thinking about.
Today's edition:
* I am pretty sure that double stuffed oreos are proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
* I really want to make a gingerbread house. But it seems like a lot of work, when in reality, I could just get a bunch of candy and it. And call it even.
* I wish the Cake Shop or Leo and Lucy's Cupcakery were closer to our house.
* I think it might be time to start introducing solids for Nico.
* Answers to questions like, "Can you name a circumstance where you dealt positively with adversity or a tough situation in a previous job? in preparation for a job interview I have next week.
* I am fairly certain that there is no softer thing than the cheek of a sleeping baby.
*What is a good christmas gift for someone who has saved your a$$ on several occasions?
* I am looking forward to my family being here next week.
*Wondering if I am going to be able to compete against Nicole's cupcake method (of decorating the hell out of cupcakes made from a box mix) in our cupcake competition.
Today's edition:
* I am pretty sure that double stuffed oreos are proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
* I really want to make a gingerbread house. But it seems like a lot of work, when in reality, I could just get a bunch of candy and it. And call it even.
* I wish the Cake Shop or Leo and Lucy's Cupcakery were closer to our house.
* I think it might be time to start introducing solids for Nico.
* Answers to questions like, "Can you name a circumstance where you dealt positively with adversity or a tough situation in a previous job? in preparation for a job interview I have next week.
* I am fairly certain that there is no softer thing than the cheek of a sleeping baby.
*What is a good christmas gift for someone who has saved your a$$ on several occasions?
* I am looking forward to my family being here next week.
*Wondering if I am going to be able to compete against Nicole's cupcake method (of decorating the hell out of cupcakes made from a box mix) in our cupcake competition.
You've got a program featuring America's favorite old fart. Reading a book in front of a fireplace. Now, I have to kill all of you.
So we are in full-on holiday spirit around here.
We played our last game before break on Monday night. We went to Taylor. We also lost one of our backs in the game. SR got knocked to the ground pretty hard and hurt her ankle. I thought she might have just sprained it- the way she was holding it on the field. But her mom took her to the ortho and we find out yesterday that her season is done. She's a senior so its pretty messed up. You know, its funny with this kid- she was on JV her freshman year and came up as a sophomore. Didnt play much her first two years- mostly because I didnt know where to play her. She is probably the fastest thing on two legs I have ever seen in real life. Last year we played her as a wing midfielder- which worked well for us against good teams- the teams that could switch the ball well. I have seen her run down forwards attacking on the backside from 40 yards away. She'd go jogging by and all we'd have to say is, "You gotta catch her, Stevey." End of story. Girl got caught.
When we lost our big center back this year (she graduated), we moved Stevey into the back because she was so fast. In fact, we even switched to a three back system, because we have one really tough back, one really smart back and one really fast back. It was an amazing combination. Except for our sophomore center back (the really smart one), she had the most number of minutes of anyone on the field (excluding our GK), if you dont count the 2 games she missed for a death in the family.
Its funny with Taylor. In the time that Dave and I have coached at Wakulla, we have played them 7 times. Just under half the games we play against them, we have serious injuries (we lost a girl to an ACL our sophomore year at home, our GK ran into the goalpost our sophomore year at Taylor and now this). One could argue that the ACL and the head injury had nothing to do with THEM, but rather an unlucky turn of events. This one, though, its hard to make that case, when the girl threw Stevey down. Of course, it is a physical sport, and perhaps it would have happened against some one else, or some other way. The girl that did it apologized, but that isnt going to get Stevey back her senior year. Its not going to help us figure out who is going to play back there now.
Of course, it makes my justification for doing IP (injury prevention) harder. Last year, I instituted a system of IP at practice- mostly just a few drills to help with agility and proper weight bearing- side to side shuffling, speed skaters, one legged hops. The girls hated them. But last year was the first year that we didnt lose anyone to a season ending knee injury- so I felt pretty good about making them do it. This goes to show that all the IP in the world doesnt matter if someone jacks your ankle hard because she is frustrated.
High school soccer tangent aside, we've been trying to get the house in order. Its hard, because Nico doesnt pull his weight very well. I sit him in his bumpo seat on the table and he's all like, "I'm gonna eat some pretzel sticks, if you don't mind". Yes, he actually helped himself to those pretzel sticks in the jar on the table. That is the thing about babies, you're doing work and all they want to do is get into the snacks.
I went to the post office today- dont know if yall know this or not, but I am currently partaking in a love affair with BookMooch.com, which trades books. Like, you make a wishlist and when people add those books available to mooch, you contact them and set it up. Its free, all you have to pay for is to send the books to other people... you dont pay to have books sent to you. Its awesome. In any case, I needed to send two books.
This is what I have come to figure out: there are not many things in this world that make me irate. But waiting in line at the post office sends me over the top almost every time. It makes NO SENSE. Why is there only one person working the desk and there are 12 people in line? What is priceless is that there were two people working the counter. As I got to the front of the line, one of them put up their little sign and walked away. As I got up to the counter someone behind me in line asked, "Is that other guy coming back?" To which I replied, "Its the post office. What do you think?" The PO guy who was helping me said, when "He'll be back when he comes back from lunch." It was 10:15.
I am thinking about boycotting the Postal Service. Seriously. I dont do business with companies who I find it a PITA to deal with. For example, Wal-Mart. I know I should be all progressive and whatnot and disdain Walmart for their labor policies, etc (like a good hippie). I should, for all intents and purposes like shopping at Walmart. A place where I can get ice cream, a car battery, spray paint and jam? Forget about. But I dont shop there because mostly I hate the experience of shopping at Walmart. Its always an ordeal to go there. Why should the Postal Service be any different? In this age of email and UPS how in the hell does the USPS stay in business? Note to self: find out location of closest UPS store and figure out how to cut the USPS out of the picture. Snarky comment from my Dad about Government-run health care in 3....2....1....
In any case, the delicate leafy vines that I cut on Sunday to decorate the living room turned out to be a fail. The vines are all dried up now... they look dead. There aren't enough strings of little white lights that make that look good. Looks like I will get to pull that down this weekend and put something else up there. I thought about leaving it, hoping that it would look all artistic and whatnot. Turns out, it looks like some dead vines hanging up there with little white lights. Holiday decorating: FAIL!
We played our last game before break on Monday night. We went to Taylor. We also lost one of our backs in the game. SR got knocked to the ground pretty hard and hurt her ankle. I thought she might have just sprained it- the way she was holding it on the field. But her mom took her to the ortho and we find out yesterday that her season is done. She's a senior so its pretty messed up. You know, its funny with this kid- she was on JV her freshman year and came up as a sophomore. Didnt play much her first two years- mostly because I didnt know where to play her. She is probably the fastest thing on two legs I have ever seen in real life. Last year we played her as a wing midfielder- which worked well for us against good teams- the teams that could switch the ball well. I have seen her run down forwards attacking on the backside from 40 yards away. She'd go jogging by and all we'd have to say is, "You gotta catch her, Stevey." End of story. Girl got caught.
When we lost our big center back this year (she graduated), we moved Stevey into the back because she was so fast. In fact, we even switched to a three back system, because we have one really tough back, one really smart back and one really fast back. It was an amazing combination. Except for our sophomore center back (the really smart one), she had the most number of minutes of anyone on the field (excluding our GK), if you dont count the 2 games she missed for a death in the family.
Its funny with Taylor. In the time that Dave and I have coached at Wakulla, we have played them 7 times. Just under half the games we play against them, we have serious injuries (we lost a girl to an ACL our sophomore year at home, our GK ran into the goalpost our sophomore year at Taylor and now this). One could argue that the ACL and the head injury had nothing to do with THEM, but rather an unlucky turn of events. This one, though, its hard to make that case, when the girl threw Stevey down. Of course, it is a physical sport, and perhaps it would have happened against some one else, or some other way. The girl that did it apologized, but that isnt going to get Stevey back her senior year. Its not going to help us figure out who is going to play back there now.
Of course, it makes my justification for doing IP (injury prevention) harder. Last year, I instituted a system of IP at practice- mostly just a few drills to help with agility and proper weight bearing- side to side shuffling, speed skaters, one legged hops. The girls hated them. But last year was the first year that we didnt lose anyone to a season ending knee injury- so I felt pretty good about making them do it. This goes to show that all the IP in the world doesnt matter if someone jacks your ankle hard because she is frustrated.
High school soccer tangent aside, we've been trying to get the house in order. Its hard, because Nico doesnt pull his weight very well. I sit him in his bumpo seat on the table and he's all like, "I'm gonna eat some pretzel sticks, if you don't mind". Yes, he actually helped himself to those pretzel sticks in the jar on the table. That is the thing about babies, you're doing work and all they want to do is get into the snacks. I went to the post office today- dont know if yall know this or not, but I am currently partaking in a love affair with BookMooch.com, which trades books. Like, you make a wishlist and when people add those books available to mooch, you contact them and set it up. Its free, all you have to pay for is to send the books to other people... you dont pay to have books sent to you. Its awesome. In any case, I needed to send two books.
This is what I have come to figure out: there are not many things in this world that make me irate. But waiting in line at the post office sends me over the top almost every time. It makes NO SENSE. Why is there only one person working the desk and there are 12 people in line? What is priceless is that there were two people working the counter. As I got to the front of the line, one of them put up their little sign and walked away. As I got up to the counter someone behind me in line asked, "Is that other guy coming back?" To which I replied, "Its the post office. What do you think?" The PO guy who was helping me said, when "He'll be back when he comes back from lunch." It was 10:15.
I am thinking about boycotting the Postal Service. Seriously. I dont do business with companies who I find it a PITA to deal with. For example, Wal-Mart. I know I should be all progressive and whatnot and disdain Walmart for their labor policies, etc (like a good hippie). I should, for all intents and purposes like shopping at Walmart. A place where I can get ice cream, a car battery, spray paint and jam? Forget about. But I dont shop there because mostly I hate the experience of shopping at Walmart. Its always an ordeal to go there. Why should the Postal Service be any different? In this age of email and UPS how in the hell does the USPS stay in business? Note to self: find out location of closest UPS store and figure out how to cut the USPS out of the picture. Snarky comment from my Dad about Government-run health care in 3....2....1....
In any case, the delicate leafy vines that I cut on Sunday to decorate the living room turned out to be a fail. The vines are all dried up now... they look dead. There aren't enough strings of little white lights that make that look good. Looks like I will get to pull that down this weekend and put something else up there. I thought about leaving it, hoping that it would look all artistic and whatnot. Turns out, it looks like some dead vines hanging up there with little white lights. Holiday decorating: FAIL!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
I simply solved the problem. We needed a coffin... Er, a tree. There are no lots open on Christmas Eve. Lewis burned down my tree so I replaced it as best I could. Voilà .
So things have been busy around here. Our game at Suwannee was canceled this weekend due to the weather. It was cold and rainy here, and apparently was so all through the night in Live Oak, because the field was under water. Of course, I find this out on the drive on I-10- close to Perry. It sort of sucked for the JV girls and the Varsity girls since they had to be at the highschool at 745 to catch the bus. This pretty much bums me out because we're 2-10-1. Every game gives us a chance of digging out to .500. But it is what it is. Stupid weather. Note to self: Talk to Kelly the Baller and make her fix that for the rest of the season!
To recap: The Bishop-Royses are going to play a game this holiday called "How many people can we fit into Dave and Jessi's House?" Its great fun for all!! We've got my Aunt Judy coming from Washington, Mom and Dad from the 239, NiCody and the kids from Texas and Royse's parents and Aunt Rosie. So obviously the house needs to be cleaned, and I choose to procrastinate by doing crafts. Yay!! I bet you didnt know this: but there are some people that decorate the hell out of their houses at Christmas time. Like LH and DH. I only know this second hand from Julia- but they really do it up. Then last night, Dave and I went to a holiday party at his coworker's house- it was awesome. Like the house fell out of the Christmas Tree and hit every Christmas branch on the way down and fell into a pile of Christmas.
So- since I can't be productive in the locked-in-my-office-writing-brilliant-papers-pimping-data-and-being-an-awesome-researcher sort of way, I have taken to decorating the house festively with Nico. A sampling of our work:
I saw this and was floored, because three quarters of the Christmas ornaments that I got down from the attic and unwrapped where those glass ball ornaments. Which I like, but only if I am going to do a tree that is only glass ornaments. Otherwise, they look too random. So I thought about taking them to Goodwill when I found a blog post about doing this with your old ornaments. Of course, the point is to use up stuff that you already have.... I only had enough to cover about 80 percent of the foam wreath I had to buy. So that was kind of a sustainability fail. But it looks cool!! (Note to self: before you whip out your glue gun and proceed to copy my awesomeness, be advised that this project requires hot glue and its a pain in the ass... and that I fully expect to be picking up broken glass ornaments off the ground for the next two weeks.)
We also did this Christmas card wreath. I have a wonderful bell wreath that I got a couple of years ago, that I absolutely adore on the door. Every year, its about the first thing that goes up, somewhere on or near December 10. And Dave takes it down on December 11. Then I put it back up- is there anything better than the sound of jingle bells? Apparently, yes, the sound of silence, because then Dave takes it down. AGAIN. He is pretty ANTI. So I decided to fulfill the wreath need with something functional:
This week I have been painting clothespins green, in order to make the above wreath- which you attach Christmas cards to... which I love, because I like displaying the cards, but dont ever know what is the best way. Since going to the crafts store is kind of a production and since I am trying to be all sustainable and whatnot, I am trying hard to use items that I already have this holiday, for decorating, wrapping, etc.
So Nico and I have been working on this wreath, which is made mostly from items that I already had (except for the green paint and the red pony beads). Its a little droopier than I would like, mostly because I destroyed my wire cutters trying to cut coat hanger for this project... so I ended up twisting floral wire together to make the body of the wreath. This has worked pretty good for us- he sits pretty well in his bumpo seat for 15-20 minutes at a time, as long as I am standing up and moving around. He takes it all in- watching me cook, do dishes, fold laundry, paint a bunch of clothespins, etc. So far, he's not particularly interested in watching me write job market letters. JOB MARKET: FAIL!
But, on the upside- Nico is starting at the FSU Infant and Toddler Center in January. So I will have some time to devote to dissertating and job searches. He is definitely going to be a hot mess up in there! His schedule, as it were, includes cat naps in the car to Wakulla, eating every 2-4 hours (as he feels like), and me cuddling with him for inordinate amounts of time during the day. Needy Momma's boy? Yes, indeed. My apologies to the girls that have to take care of him! Awesome!!
To recap: The Bishop-Royses are going to play a game this holiday called "How many people can we fit into Dave and Jessi's House?" Its great fun for all!! We've got my Aunt Judy coming from Washington, Mom and Dad from the 239, NiCody and the kids from Texas and Royse's parents and Aunt Rosie. So obviously the house needs to be cleaned, and I choose to procrastinate by doing crafts. Yay!! I bet you didnt know this: but there are some people that decorate the hell out of their houses at Christmas time. Like LH and DH. I only know this second hand from Julia- but they really do it up. Then last night, Dave and I went to a holiday party at his coworker's house- it was awesome. Like the house fell out of the Christmas Tree and hit every Christmas branch on the way down and fell into a pile of Christmas.
So- since I can't be productive in the locked-in-my-office-writing-brilliant-papers-pimping-data-and-being-an-awesome-researcher sort of way, I have taken to decorating the house festively with Nico. A sampling of our work:
We also did this Christmas card wreath. I have a wonderful bell wreath that I got a couple of years ago, that I absolutely adore on the door. Every year, its about the first thing that goes up, somewhere on or near December 10. And Dave takes it down on December 11. Then I put it back up- is there anything better than the sound of jingle bells? Apparently, yes, the sound of silence, because then Dave takes it down. AGAIN. He is pretty ANTI. So I decided to fulfill the wreath need with something functional:
So Nico and I have been working on this wreath, which is made mostly from items that I already had (except for the green paint and the red pony beads). Its a little droopier than I would like, mostly because I destroyed my wire cutters trying to cut coat hanger for this project... so I ended up twisting floral wire together to make the body of the wreath. This has worked pretty good for us- he sits pretty well in his bumpo seat for 15-20 minutes at a time, as long as I am standing up and moving around. He takes it all in- watching me cook, do dishes, fold laundry, paint a bunch of clothespins, etc. So far, he's not particularly interested in watching me write job market letters. JOB MARKET: FAIL!
But, on the upside- Nico is starting at the FSU Infant and Toddler Center in January. So I will have some time to devote to dissertating and job searches. He is definitely going to be a hot mess up in there! His schedule, as it were, includes cat naps in the car to Wakulla, eating every 2-4 hours (as he feels like), and me cuddling with him for inordinate amounts of time during the day. Needy Momma's boy? Yes, indeed. My apologies to the girls that have to take care of him! Awesome!!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
They say less is more...
Blog posts two days in a row? Lucky!!
My favorite time of the year is the Fall...specifically the time from Thanksgiving to Christmas (okay- so technically its not really fall, but whatev!). I like most of the stuff about this time of year- people tend to be in a better mood, looking forward to time off, seeing family, etc. I also like giving gifts. There is something that is awesome about it. I think about it a lot, I consider it... hell, I have a 45 minute drive each way down to Wakulla. What else would you think about?
To me, the perfect gift is one that is used a lot, or where it is completely evident that the gift giver took some time thinking about you and what you would like. For example, 6 years ago, my mom gave me an italian charm bracelet for Christmas. It had flags for all the countries where I had been. It also had the year I graduated from highschool, etc. I have since added charms for the marathon I ran, the minutes I got playing in the W-League, Win-Loss-Tie records for the last three highschool seasons and two black paw prints for Drake and Gordon. Before Nico came, I wore it every day, except for when I went to Africa and only because I was afraid that I would lose it (I dont wear it now because it sometimes scratches and pinches Nico). It was truly a great gift.
Those are the gifts I try to give- ones that I think the receiver will use a lot (or appreciated a lot). If you've ever received a gift from me, know that this is how I approach gift giving. If I was ever wrong, sorry. But my heart was in the right place.
But it can be kind of stressful. A lot of times its hard to figure out a good gift because there are literally, too many that would be great. But I guess as IE would say, "That is a good problem to have."
However, this year in our family, we have decided to scale back Christmas. A lot. Part of it came from the realization that Dave and I cant have any more stuff in our house... it is out of control. And, I feel guilty about bringing more stuff into the house, especially if it is associated with a hoppy like sewing, quilting, knitting and or scrapbooking. Seriously, my dissertation isnt going to write itself as I work on a quilt. And obviously, the hippie in me fights about the wasted wrapping and packaging materials. But its also a realization that the things I enjoy about the holidays do not include fighting with holiday shopping traffic. Nor do they include waiting in long check out lines or dealing with pissy shoppers. Plus, I will shoot myself in the face if I become one of those parents who is in a tug of war with another grown ass adult over a Tickle Me Elmo.
Now, granted, the things that my family does during the holidays arent all hippy-fied. For example-we love food. We talk about it, we prepare it, we eat it, we compete over it. Hell, my mom was pushing me to nail down a Christmas menu back in October. Its what we do. We also sit around and watch Christmas movies. Even the ones that we've seen 20 times. Yes, we all know all the lines to Christmas Vacation. But its what we do. We play games like yahtzee and boggle. We used to play games like Taboo (until the Key West Incident) and Scattergories (until the double letter incident). But we could play just about any game. We are some game loving folk. But its what we do. I'd rather this kid have Christmas memories that involve getting his butt kicked by Aunt Nicole in Dont Break the Ice or his horror when Granny You and Grampy were inappropriate during Cranium.
So- we arent doing it. Not this year. My mom and my sister's need for Christmas lists has made it very easy this year- just go to a list and buy something. No need to obsess. To wonder if it's an appropriate representation of our "love". We made lists of stuff that we want/need. That way we're sure that when we do give something, its something that we know will be used. A lot. Or LOVED.
My favorite time of the year is the Fall...specifically the time from Thanksgiving to Christmas (okay- so technically its not really fall, but whatev!). I like most of the stuff about this time of year- people tend to be in a better mood, looking forward to time off, seeing family, etc. I also like giving gifts. There is something that is awesome about it. I think about it a lot, I consider it... hell, I have a 45 minute drive each way down to Wakulla. What else would you think about?
To me, the perfect gift is one that is used a lot, or where it is completely evident that the gift giver took some time thinking about you and what you would like. For example, 6 years ago, my mom gave me an italian charm bracelet for Christmas. It had flags for all the countries where I had been. It also had the year I graduated from highschool, etc. I have since added charms for the marathon I ran, the minutes I got playing in the W-League, Win-Loss-Tie records for the last three highschool seasons and two black paw prints for Drake and Gordon. Before Nico came, I wore it every day, except for when I went to Africa and only because I was afraid that I would lose it (I dont wear it now because it sometimes scratches and pinches Nico). It was truly a great gift.
Those are the gifts I try to give- ones that I think the receiver will use a lot (or appreciated a lot). If you've ever received a gift from me, know that this is how I approach gift giving. If I was ever wrong, sorry. But my heart was in the right place.
But it can be kind of stressful. A lot of times its hard to figure out a good gift because there are literally, too many that would be great. But I guess as IE would say, "That is a good problem to have."
However, this year in our family, we have decided to scale back Christmas. A lot. Part of it came from the realization that Dave and I cant have any more stuff in our house... it is out of control. And, I feel guilty about bringing more stuff into the house, especially if it is associated with a hoppy like sewing, quilting, knitting and or scrapbooking. Seriously, my dissertation isnt going to write itself as I work on a quilt. And obviously, the hippie in me fights about the wasted wrapping and packaging materials. But its also a realization that the things I enjoy about the holidays do not include fighting with holiday shopping traffic. Nor do they include waiting in long check out lines or dealing with pissy shoppers. Plus, I will shoot myself in the face if I become one of those parents who is in a tug of war with another grown ass adult over a Tickle Me Elmo.
Now, granted, the things that my family does during the holidays arent all hippy-fied. For example-we love food. We talk about it, we prepare it, we eat it, we compete over it. Hell, my mom was pushing me to nail down a Christmas menu back in October. Its what we do. We also sit around and watch Christmas movies. Even the ones that we've seen 20 times. Yes, we all know all the lines to Christmas Vacation. But its what we do. We play games like yahtzee and boggle. We used to play games like Taboo (until the Key West Incident) and Scattergories (until the double letter incident). But we could play just about any game. We are some game loving folk. But its what we do. I'd rather this kid have Christmas memories that involve getting his butt kicked by Aunt Nicole in Dont Break the Ice or his horror when Granny You and Grampy were inappropriate during Cranium.
So- we arent doing it. Not this year. My mom and my sister's need for Christmas lists has made it very easy this year- just go to a list and buy something. No need to obsess. To wonder if it's an appropriate representation of our "love". We made lists of stuff that we want/need. That way we're sure that when we do give something, its something that we know will be used. A lot. Or LOVED.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Oh Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree.
We got a tree on the way home from the tournament. I grew up with an artificial tree- so I was sort of ambivalent about getting a real tree (especially since I think having a real tree makes us bad hippies). Dave is into the smell of the tree- which I totally get. Its a great smell. Spent Saturday night, Sunday and today decorating said tree.
I think I am making Dave crazy. I keep tearing up the house with my projects. Even worse: I am not packing away one project before moving onto another. The result is that the house is STILL a disaster area - but I am trying. Right now I have two wreaths in the works. I know IE is reading this like, "How about a little less arts and crafts and a little more work on your dissertation?" To which I would reply- Nico gets very bored with the tapa-tapa-tapa, very quickly. Whereas with bigger projects involving me making stuff he is a lot more interested. Ce la vie. What are you going to do?
Am looking forward to Christmas. It will probably be pretty crazy. My family is coming, Dave's family is coming. We're planning on frying a turkey on Christmas day. While we are at it, we are gonna fry some other stuff too... twinkies, snickers and oreos (just to see how they are) and try our hand at boudin balls (from Randols). and fried green chilli wontons (from the Bristol up in the Lou). Of course, there will be a cupcake throw down. My sister, Mom and I are having a cupcake competition. My mom and I wanted to make our cupcakes from the jumbo muffin tins... Nicole is calling for the standard muffin tins. We may need to get a ruling in this. :)
Am also looking forward to beginning training on the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Julia, Lauren and Kelly and I are *running* it in March. I say *running* because there is no way in hell I could keep pace with Julie and Lauren (and definitely not Kelly- who RAN BOSTON. In fact I see it looking something like this: Kelly finishes 2nd of everyone with a time of 1 hour flat- wearing a pink tutu. Julia and Lauren run it in an hour and half- also wearing tutus and looking very graceful at that. And it takes me nearly three hours to complete it and am struck with the fact that there are some elephants who can rock a tutu better than me on any day of the week. What?
On an unrelated note: I have decided to start a baby book for Nico. After flim-flamming around with it, I decided to do it after seeing how Dave poured over his baby book. Of course, I have this here blog- which has been important for the videos and the pictures of him and whatnot. The book will be cool, but will be without video. I wont go over the top with the scrapbooking- but might print some pictures to go in. I think it will be pretty sweet. All for now. Headed to bed.
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