A Slice of My Life

The Photo Thief

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Susan

The other day, Shaun posted a photo of our sweet puppies up on Facebook. I looked at the photo, and looked at it, then looked at it once more before finally realizing how come it looked so familiar. I had taken that shot and he was getting credit for it! (Not that I’m possessive, unwilling to share the limelight or anything selfish like that.)

When I told Shaun that it was my photo, he denied it. His reasoning was that the photo was on his camera. I have to admit that this was true. I confessed that I had grabbed his camera that he had left on the fireplace. He still denied that it was my photo, swearing up and down that all the pictures on his flash drive were ones that he had personally taken.

Although I suspected he was messing with me, I couldn’t help the steady stream of steam that was pouring out my ears and the fiery red that my eyes were turning. My husband, usually a very fair man, was stealing the glory of this adorable photo of our pups.

When I brought the subject of my pilfered shot up again this afternoon, Shaun couldn’t suppress it any longer and burst into laughter. He admitted that he knew as soon as I said it was my photo, that it really was.

He then told me about how he couldn’t understand how he had managed to take such a series of interesting, yet out of focus photos. (Yep, leave it to me to manage to take bad photos with a really nice camera set on automatic. I’ve got mad skilz, folks…really mad skilz!)

Fortunately, Shaun has mad Photoshop skilz and made the photo viewable. I don’t really care that it’s a poorly taken photos, I just don’t want my husband to take credit!

Posted in Love and Marriage, NaBloPoMo, Photography | Tagged facebook, husband, photography, puppy | 2 Comments

My Grand-Turtle Terry

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Susan

For Parent’s Weekend, one of our tasks was to bring our daughter her Mississippi Map Turtle. We had purchased Terry the Turtle on a whim when we flew KT home for the Reptile Expo back in October.

I have to admit that getting the tiny little turtle for KT was my idea. The rule for having a pet on campus was that whatever it was, had to be able to survive under water for twenty minutes. Unless you were very creative, that pretty much limited you to something like a goldfish. When I saw this small aquatic turtle, I knew it was the perfect pet for our girl. Aside of being adorable, it was cheap, lived in a shallow bowl and seemed easy to care for. Isn’t she/she/it adorable?

Of course, a little research when we brought her home showed that these turtles (who live around seventy years) require a bit more than a shallow bowl to thrive. A lot more money then I had expected to spend later, the turtle, who was named Terry, now had a beautiful tank, filters, heat pad, lamps, and a whole mess of stuff that I don’t even know about.

As much as KT wanted to bring Terry back to school with her right away, the airlines have gotten a little picky about what they allow you to bring on their planes. Being the doting parents that we are, we agreed to transport the small retile to college. Shaun loaded all the gear in the car and I carefully cradled the small container we transported Terry in on my lap for the entire 497 hour drive over the pass to KT’s school.

When we arrived at KT’s house, our first task was to set up Terry’s new home. It didn’t take long at all and she was one happy turtle when we put her back in the spacious tank.

We aren’t going to talk about what a horrible shot this is, ok?

Apparently, Terry very popular with college kids. KT tells us about how people are constantly stopping in to chat with the turtle. (I know first hand that she is a very good listener.)

Our KT came home on Friday evening carefully cradling Terry in a bigger plastic container. (I can’t believe how much she grew in a month!) Shaun had already set up a second “home away from home” for Terry. Then he put together a short video of Terry dancing.

Isn’t she beautiful?

We’ll be sad to she her (and KT!) leave when Thanksgiving is over, but they’ll be back for Winter Break.

Posted in Critters, Family, KT, NaBloPoMo | Tagged college, dorm life, grandparents, mississipppi map turtle, Thanksgiving, turtle, winter break | 2 Comments

My Wicked Child

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Susan

I may have to send my evil daughter back to school early. One of the first things she wanted to know was if we had put my puppy Maggie in the freezer. At my horrified “NO!” she popped her in there.

Today Maggie has been in the cupboard, the oven and the microwave.

Yep…KT needs to go back to school now so I can keep my puppy safe. We all have our priorities…

Posted in College, KT, My Dear Mother... | Tagged bad child, college kid, puppy, vacation | 2 Comments

Happy Day

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Susan

It was a busy, busy day ending with picking our KT up from her long bus ride from school We get to keep her for a week!

I’ll leave you with this photo Shaun took a couple days ago with my sweet puppy Maggie and our very patient cat, Buddy.

Posted in College, Critters, KT, NaBloPoMo | Tagged cat, cuddle, dog, Thanksgiving break, Whitman College | Comments Off

Glory Days

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Susan

My daughter and I were out and about running errands when she decided to switch the radio station. She pressed it a few times pausing briefly before pushing the button yet again in search of one that could hold her interest. As she reached to switch channels once again, I said, “Wait!” I had heard the unmistakable gravely voice singing a song of my youth. To my delight, that voice was belting out the lyrics to “Born in the USA.”

I found myself instantly transported back as a giddy young girl crammed into a small white Ford Escort with several of my girlfriends. We were on a road trip to the Los Angeles Coliseum to see Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA Tour. With months of planning behind us, we could barely stand the thought that the day had actually arrived for us to see our idol. We had planned for at least a four-hour drive. Still traffic was even worse than we thought it would be and the trip seemed to be taking us twice as long as it should have. We didn’t care.

We had left in plenty of time, had brought along snacks and of course, every single one of Bruce’s cassette tapes. (And yes, we did call him Bruce. We didn’t think he would mind.) When were weren’t butchering his songs with our raucous singing, we were discussing what we loved most about “The Boss.” Some of us loved his dark curly hair, others were mesmerized with his dark brooding eyes. All of us agreed that his posterior, which had been so prominently featured on the album cover, was something to behold.

As we got closer to the arena, the excitement level rose. We started to see flags, painted windows and hand-written signs on the other cars professing their love of all things Bruce. In our enthusiasm, we started honking our horn and yelling out the window with the other fans. We could barely stand it.

The actual concert was all we had hoped for and more. Watching Bruce up on stage, singing with such passion that sweat was dripping off of him was something to see. We screamed at the pure joy of being in the same (very large) room with him until we all lost our voices. Just watching him…

“Mom. Mom. Can I change the station now?”

I found myself jolted back to the real world. As I grinned at my daughter and started to reminisce with her, I paused as I heard the beginnings of the familiar strains of Cyndi Lauper’s Time after Time.

“Oh my gosh, this is a great station. I’ve never heard it before, what is it?”

My daughter rolled her eyes and merely said, “It’s the Oldies Channel, Mom.”

Oh. Glory Days indeed.

Posted in Family, Humor, It's all about me!, Mimi, NaBloPoMo | Tagged Born in the USA, Bruce Springsteen, music, Oldies Station, The Boss, the oldies | 1 Comment

Searching For Sleep

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Susan

I hate to say this, but think I may be losing my Night Owl status. It’s only 10:30 but my eyes are drooping and my brain is trying to turn itself off. Is it possible that all those years of getting up at the Crack of Dawn with my girls is finally turning me into an Early Bird?

Actually, I’m not sure what you call it, but my most wakeful time seems to be in the wee hours of the morning. I’ve been noticing an interesting phenomena going on with…um…how to I say this delicately? Women of a certain age. Not old, mind you…just starting to head in that direction.

The older we get, the less we seem able to sleep. I remember my grandma being up at all hours, struggling to get doze off. As a teenager who could easily sleep in until at least noon, I simply couldn’t relate. Obviously, I didn’t know how good I had it.

It would make sense for me to use those wakeful hours wisely. I could do exciting things like clean out the garage, work on that novel I’ve been meaning to write or even just do laundry. After all, nobody else is awake and able to disturb me. Instead, I sit myself down at the computer and see if anything is happening on Facebook.

There is always at least one or two people asking if anyone else is wide awake too. One person even calls it the “4:00 Club” It’s amazing how many people are checking in. Not too surprisingly, they all seem to be women of a certain age.

I’m off to bed. Hopefully I can skip being awake in the wee hours.

Posted in It's all about me!, NaBloPoMo | Tagged insomnia, sleep, sleep rhythms | 1 Comment

Mashed Potatoes and Chilaquiles

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Susan

Nearly a year ago I received a message on Facebook from someone I had known in junior high school. It was amazing how easily the fifty-thousand or so years it had been since we had last seen each other fell away. I was happy to find that Mari and I still “clicked.” We emailed, texted and chatted with each other. It was really great having my old friend back in my life.

When I headed South for our Thelma and Louise Adventure, Mari insisted that I stop along the way to visit with her. It was a little off the main road, but well worth it. I was so excited to see my friend again.

After an early morning Farmer’s Market run, Mari decided that she would make me some Chilaquiles for brunch. (I hadn’t a clue what she was about to feed me, but I was open to trying it.) As she sat on the kitchen stool beside me tearing corn tortillas into bits, Mari expressed her admiration for my cooking. I have to admit that I was baffled. I’ve never really been known for my culinary skills.

As Mari moved over to the stove and started frying the tortilla bits, she gushed about how she had been at my house for dinner once and my mom had asked me to make some gravy. She said she was amazed that I simply thrown some flour and stuff in a pan and it turned into rich and thick gravy. Mari added a spicy tomato sauce to the tortillas and set them to simmer as she continued about how she had watched I had taken some boiled potatoes and turned them into a bowl full of creamy, fluffy goodness.

Mari deftly fried some eggs, then grated cheese on top of them as she reminisced about the simple pot roast we had eaten that night. Moments later, Mari placed a plate full of heaven in front of me.

“That meal that I made so many years ago, that was easy stuff that I learned as a wee little girl.” I told Mari, “this…these Chee…chee-lay-key-lays? That is what fine cooking is all about.”

My friend laughed and said it was the kind of thing she had learned as a little girl.

My beautiful friend, Chef Mari. (Today is her birthday!)

Growing up in different cultures can sometimes cause problems and misunderstandings. Not with Mari and I. We’ve figured out that it’s the simple things, those lessons learned at our mother’s feet are what makes the world go around.

Mari is trying her best to get me to head down for a visit again. She taunts me with those chilaquiles that I fell in love with. I’m sure if I arrived at her doorstep right now I would be in authentic Mexican food heaven.

I think it’s time to do a little taunting of my own. I’ve got a ten pound bag of potatoes in the pantry and can whip up a roux in minutes for some fresh (but slightly lumpy) gravy.

What do you say Mari?

Posted in Food, It's all about me!, NaBloPoMo, Ya gotta have friends! | Tagged American cooking, chilachiles, Cooking, friendship, mashed potatoes, Mexican cooking, pot roast | 1 Comment

Five Minutes of Random Thoughts on Writing

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Susan

I’m at the halfway mark of NaBloPoMo. It’s been a lot harder for me to do then I thought it would be. I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been posting my best work. I can write better than the stuff that I’ve been putting up over the last two weeks. Sorry about that.

So…writing.

My mom, her sisters and my grandma used to write letters back and forth to each other to keep in contact. This, of course, was well before desktop computers were even heard of and calling long distance was very expensive. My mom and grandma always felt the need to use poetic license. I loved having their letters read to me. The embellished stories they told always painted such a wonderful picture in my mind.

Mom always wrote her letters in a steno pad with a blue ball point pen. Grandma wrote her letters on thin, unlined white paper using a fine felt tip pen. You had to be very careful not to get her letters wet or they would smear. It’s funny that I remember so much about those letters and nothing about the letters I know that came from my aunts.

I always felt lucky when Mom would hand me used steno pad and a pen for me to write my own letters on. I wrote stories to my grandma that were just as detailed as anything my mother wrote. Unfortunately my three year old squiggles and scribbles weren’t decipherable by anyone, including myself. I can only wonder at the wonderful stories I wanted to share.

Times up.

Posted in It's all about me!, NaBloPoMo, Writing | Tagged grandma, mom, NaBloPoMo, writing, writing letters | 3 Comments

How to Embarrass Your Child…Without Really Trying

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Susan

As my child has gotten older, soccer season lasts longer and longer. In fact, sometimes it lasts longer than us devoted parents really want to be out watching the game. Yet, because we are devoted parents, we still go and cheer our offspring on.

Last week’s game, was a beautiful sunny day. I was hopeful that it would be a great day for spectator sports, yet I’ve learned to be a little skeptical when it comes to the weather. So, before leaving for the soccer fields, I poked my head out the door to see what it really felt like outside. My worst fears came true when I nearly lost my nose to instant frostbite.

I was a Girl Scout and knew that I had best be prepared. I went into survivor mode and set about collecting blankets, heavy mittens, hot water bottles and anything I could possibly think of to keep Shaun and I warm. Mimi grabbed a sweatshirt as she headed out the door and said she was fine.

We were nearly to the fields when Mimi started rooting around in the mound of supplies I had piled in the back seat.

“Moooommm?” She asked cautiously

“Yes?”

“Are you going to wear that hat grandma made you?”

“Yes I am.” I answered

“Oh nooooooooo….”

For some reason, my entire family thinks my hat is hideous. I think it looks fine and it keeps my head warm. Besides, it’s great to embarrass my kid with!

Posted in Family, It's all about me!, Mimi, NaBloPoMo | Tagged frost bite, soccer, ugly hat, winter hat | 6 Comments

No Words Needed

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Susan

Posted in Random stuff | Comments Off