Well, the lull is over.

I had all of these blogging ideas and plans, but I am just BUSY.  I can't say I'm thrilled about it, either.  I am in that adjustment period between a few weeks of relaxing and catching my breath after a whirlwind, and learning to keep a tight pace of juggling multiple workloads.  I started school, and it has been very stimulating but also demanding.  I am so out of practice.  I turned in two papers this weekend, and it took me forever.  It's usually my goal to be done with all of my coursework by Wednesday or Thursday, but then there is all of this other LIFE stuff that gets in the way of my career as a student.  Like ballet classes, after-school picnics, social events, violent reactions to a new fish oil supplement, sick kid, dinner, almost-daily shopping, and oh! The Cleaning.  It's strange-- my life pace is decidedly slow, but my workload is actually quite heavy.  Our apartment is huge, which means there is lots of cleaning to do.  This wasn't really an issue until I started making friends and inviting people over.  If I could have just put that part off...  But no, I just had to be so congenial.  Just kidding!  I have been pleasantly surprised that a number of people have initiated friendships with me!  Amelia has already gone over to another little girl's house to play, and we have been going to gymnastics once a week.  I have a language partner, and we have been getting together for a couple  of hours each week.  It's been really fun getting to know her, we both have one daughter and are hoping they can learn to entertain each other.  Jeff's work has been very stressful.  Politics.  He was going to be gone again all week for some trainings, and I was so relieved when the plans changed at the last minute.  Phew!  I hope to put some fun stuff and pictures soon, but if that doesn't happen right away, you'll know why...

In the in-betweens...

So there are plenty of big events, like going to Munich, starting school, flohmarkt-shopping, etc. But what about all of the spaces in between? Amelia is at school for much of the day, Jeff is gone before I wake up and back around dinner. I have zero social engagements, and ride in a car twice a week, tops (and it's usually a five minute drive to the grocery store,) and some weeks not at all.
So, what am I doing during all of that time when I'm not parenting, going to work or riding in a car?

Well, I would be sitting on a couch, if we had one. The only sitting places here are at our dining table or on our bed (mattress on the floor.) But my favorite spot to hang out and read (currently it's Molecules of Emotion by Candice Pert,) journal or "compute" is on one of our broad window sills.
Here I am right now. The view is great, and I get to be a nosy neighbor. I also get a little sunlight into my system, even if it's overcast, which it often is. My behind gets sore, but it's worth it. Also, down that street is a little cafe that roasts their own coffee. It's really sweet and cozy, and has coffee even Portland would be proud of. (The other places here, not so much.) The tables outside offer lap blankets on nippy days-- how adorable is that?! There is a little courtyard with a fountain and little bronze pig statues, with big chestnut trees overhead. I also like to take Amelia there so she can "bathe" and "feed" the piggies.
So, lots of downtime. I am sorely in need of that, after two months of being on my own with Amelia all the time, trying to get all sorts of things done. My life right now is an introvert's paradise-- no one else home most of the day, no friends, no work, no social obligations. I do like people, though, and so it is even more wonderful that I can talk to friends and family on our Vonage phone. I intend to make friends and somehow get involved in something here in Amberg. But in the meantime I am trying to recharge my severely drained batteries.

I would like to just stop and say that I love my life here. I don't think we stop and recognize that which is making us happy often enough. And there seems to be an unhealthy rule in many circles that you don't share your joys, for fear of making someone else feel bad for not having the same experiences in life. But we should tell each other-- happiness is worth expressing! Let me just take a moment and tell you:

I love walking Amelia to and from school.
I love having a great little cup of coffee and sitting for as long as I want to at the local cafe.
I love shopping at the open market, even if it can be difficult to communicate sometimes.
I love just looking out all of my windows-- it's so dreamy!
I love my daily schedule.
I love our big, empty apartment-- it is just beautiful.
I love not spending time in cars, and that I haven't driven for months.
I love walking everywhere, and biking is awesome too.
I love being alone.
I love all of the fresh, high quality food I can buy here-- wild venison was my favorite find this week.
I love that it's turning to fall-- I don't know what winter will be like, but I always have this giddy energy that comes with the nip in the air and the golden light. They call it "Herbst" here, which sounds so woodsy.
I love starting over with new people in a new place-- I am only the person I am today-- not the one I was years ago, and no one has ever heard of me before. That is liberating for me, coming from a big, well-known family.
I love that every view from any angle in my new life is a great one.

I walk around smiling all of the time. How could I not? This is kind of a sweet time for me, after the very arduous move and time of adjustment... We still have plenty to do in terms of settling in. We're saving our money for a couch and some other furniture. We'd like to paint. I want to go to Paris pretty badly. But I am reasonably settled and don't have a sense of urgency for anything. I've made it! Now it gets better! Also, in a week or so I start school. I will be attending PSU online as a full-time student. I have no idea what this looks like, in terms of daily time commitment. But I'm looking forward to it, and hopeful that I may even finish my degree within a year! And I am looking for a German language class to sign up for here in Amberg. I will inevitably be much busier than I am now, so I am trying to just relish the open slots of time I have at the moment. Sure, I spend time cooking and cleaning a lot, but I can do it at an enjoyable pace, not crammed into the cracks in a busy, loaded schedule.
I am thankful.

Real Housekeeping

--Kitchen Floors--
Step 1. Thoroughly sweep tiled kitchen floor. Twice.
Step 2. Spray floor with light layer of cleaning spray.
Step 3. Apparently inflict cruel and unusual punishment on your four year old by asking her to "go around, not through" the kitchen for the next half hour.
Step 4. Fill bucket with hot water, and mop the floor. Realize that you used way too much soap and that you will have to rinse again and again.
Step 5. Rinse again and again.
Step 6. Walk out of the room backwards, erasing your steps with the mop, and wait....
Step 7. Tip toe back in on damp floors to make lunch for your "Super, SUPER huuuuungryyy" little girl.
Step 8. Underestimate your own strength while opening a bag of rice, sending it flying all over the kitchen floor.
Step 9. Turn around to see a child standing in the doorway with eyebrows raised, looking totally unimpressed...
Step 10. Briefly consider getting cranky. Laugh instead. Sweep, then make that kid some lunch!

HOW many hours left in this day?!

So, it's about 1:30, but it feels like forever ago that I woke up at five a.m. Once we had breakfast and Jeff left for work, this is how our day unfolded:

1. Meet with a friend (Yosef) of our landlord's who will take us to pick out some carpet-- but need to make a couple stops on the way.

2. Go to the bank, take out some money for lunch and carpet buying, etc.
For some reason, I can't get money from the ATM. It says 0.00 available, but I know we do have money in there.

3. Try to call the bank in the US on my cell phone. (The phone was passed on to me by someone who left.) I get messages in German about the call I am making, that I cannot complete it, but I can't understand the instructions. I also gather that I am about out of minutes on the phone, and that I need to buy more. Ah, yes-- that's another reason I'm trying to get money out of the bank! Most businesses will not use my Visa card-- they need a Euro card, which we don't have yet....

4. Go into the bank to change the American dollars I have, so I can buy time on my phone.
The teller tells me that I need to come back once the till opens, in half an hour. I don't want to be late to meet the guy taking me to the carpet store, so I head over to the apartment. He arrives shortly, and I tell him I need to go to the bank.

5. Stop by another bank that is closer to the apartment. They will not change my money, and instruct me to walk to the first bank.

6. Walk to the first bank and wait in line for 20 minutes. Amelia is whining and trying to lay down on the floor the whole time. She is not used to walking everywhere, and it's very hot. Finally, it is my turn. I give the teller my money, he does some slow calculations and... Asks for my passport. I don't have my passport with me. We go back and forth a bit, and he tells me he absolutely cannot help me.

7. I manage to call Jeff to see if he has my passport, or if I might be able to go back to the hotel and pick it up. Unfortunately, he has it with him on the army base. I have a few Euros, but not much, and still need to be able to buy lunch for Amelia and me.

8. I make a very wise decision to halt all activity and buy a scoop of watermelon gelato for myself and my tired, cranky, hot little girl. We sit down and eat it, I wipe a few tears away, and we both soldier on.

9. I go to a T-Mobile store and ask if I can buy some more time with my Visa. They say no. I ask the girl helping me to at least listen to the message I keep hearing from the company on my phone and try to tell me what it says. She tells me I have no minutes left, then talks to someone else. They decide there IS a way for me to buy some time with my Visa. She even does the adding of the time from the card I bought for me. I feel a little better.

10. We go back to the apartment, and I tell Yosef I don't have any money today to shop with. He says it won't be a problem, that we'll pay when the carpet is delivered.

11. We drive to the carpet store, and, naturally, everything is very expensive. It will cost us almost $1000 to put carpet in two bedrooms, including labor. Everything just costs so much more, especially with the dollar being so weak. But we HAVE to put something down. I call Jeff, and he says to just go ahead. But, I don't have the special form with me to use to skip the German taxes (19%!) on this purchase. We can make the order and reserve it, but we'll have to come back soon to bring the form and make the payment. This will delay our move-in date for our apartment.

12. Yosef insists that he must take Amelia and me to an Italian gelateria close-by. Amelia can't believe her good fortune! We sit and chat and eat chocolate gelato-- the day is getting a bit better.

13. The original plan was to go to a furniture store after this to compare prices, etc. but it's getting too late now, and I need to meet our landlord at our apartment soon. We return to the apartment, meet with our landlord to give him a check. (Side note-- here, it is customary to pay a deposit of 3 months rent, in addition to the current month's rent, although it is later returned with interest.) We get that done.

14. I ask Amelia if it would be OK if I just gave her a Lara bar for lunch, and she thinks this is a great idea. We walk home, she eats, and now she is taking her nap (thank goodness!)

This afternoon we will be going to IKEA, thanks to a co-worker of Jeff's. Fortunately, Jeff was able to pull cash out of the bank while on base today. I am SO glad that tomorrow is Saturday, and Jeff will be able to spend two days with us while we try to figure it all out!!

Oh, the things she says...

Amelia has been cracking me a up a lot lately. Although her non-stop use of the word WHY can be a little crazy-making at times, I have learned to turn the question back to her to find out her explanations of how things work and why.
A: What are you doing?
Me: I'm cleaning.
A: WHY?
Me: Why am I cleaning?
A: Because you like a [high voice] teeny tidy house.
It's true. I do like a teeny tidy house.

We pray with Amelia at dinner, before her nap and at bedtime. It's fun to hear her compose her own prayers now and then, and this was yesterday's naptime creation: "Dear Lord... The Protector, (!?) It was lovely seeing all of my friends at preschool today. Amen."

She has also started composing songs and stories... I need to be sure to write those down.

Sad times for the Mullins family...

OK, so it's not that bad, but still fairly lame. I picked up a virus two weeks ago that really knocked me out. Then once I started feeling just a little better, Amelia started getting sick. Last weekend I powered through a massage course and then played nurse to Amelia. She got very sick. One night in particular, she had a really high fever (I couldn't find the thermometer to quantify, but it was probably about 105) and was actually hallucinating. I don't like to give her tylenol routinely, but even after a dose her fever didn't go down for several hours. She's been staying home from school since Wednesday and is still not feeling so hot.

I started getting sick again Friday, and by the night time had a raging earache. I have had an ear infection or two in the past, but the level of pain in this one was off the charts. We ended up going to the ER that night since I just couldn't stop crying --I like to think I have a high pain tolerance, but this certainly brought me to my knees. At the ER they said they found an angry eardrum and said they couldn't do much for me at the moment-- decongestant, antibiotics, and, after I asked, pain meds. By this time it was 12:30 a.m., and we had to get the prescription filled. Luck would have it that the pharmacy we went to was running behind and we had a 40 minute wait before the Rx could be filled. My awesome neighbor friend had come over with her baby to stay at our place so Amelia could sleep while we were gone, so Jeff brought me home to relieve her, then went out to get the meds. Those helped me relax, but didn't really take care of the pain, so I didn't sleep that night. Then, I had a reaction to the pain pills that resulted in some episodes of vomitting in the morning-- perfect! I started taking a good dose of Advil and finally had the presence of mind to do a hot compress, which made the pain more manageable.

My naturopathic doctor is wonderful, and had an appt. available for me at noon. When she looked in my ear, she just kept saying "Oh dear. Oh no. Oh dear." When pressed for more descriptors, she said that I have something like a strep infection on my eardrum, that it had lots of little blisters all over it. I looked up the name of the condition and it was described as "exquisitely painful." Yes. Also something called glue ear-- fluid stuck behind my eardrum, kind of holding the eardrum back there-- not especially painful, but it makes it feel and sound like my ear is plugged, and can take a long time to resolve. She was very sympathetic and helpful, and had some good recommendations. I actually spent an hour and a half with her!

So, that was yesterday. Since then, the pain has gotten much better. And now Jeff is coughing. Amelia is still recovering, I am trying to catch up on sleep and kick this thing. We're a fun group to be around! In general, we don't catch a lot of colds and viruses. Amelia has never had an ear infection and is rarely sick. But it seems like we get all the crazy stuff-- Amelia was only sick twice last year, and both times it was with hand, foot and mouth disease. Last fall we went to the ER for Jeff. And I have stuff happen like this and broken-ribs-from-coughing-with-pneumonia-while-pregnant. Come on! At least we've had a long weekend to be miserable in, and I'm hoping for a more normal week ahead. I guess all of those projects I had planned out will just have to wait. And maybe we'll even be able to see people in a week or two...

Making up for a lack of pictures....

I think we may be getting to an age where I can get some reasonable pictures of Amelia-- especially now that she "gets" what I'm doing and realizes that she may have something cute to look at later if she cooperates. "Smile" still doesn't really work, but "Show me your teeth!" does!


Yesterday we went downtown for a long walk. This papier mache horse was a fun discovery! Then we almost knocked it over onto the fancy car in the background.
This one does really look like she's just showing us her teeth. She has a really interesting bite that will hopefully not end up being too expensive down the road. In the meantime, I love the big spaces between her teeth and this is just as good as a smile!

Reader Survey

Everyone seems to be talking about what they no longer spend money on, or how they are cutting back. Yet I know that, no matter how tight our finances are, there are certain things we choose to spend money on-- whether for luxury, idealism, or just-can't-live-without-it-ness. I'm really curious what these items are for other people.

So, what do you spend money on?

I'll go first. I buy fancy dish soap. It costs at least twice as much as the regular stuff, but it looks nice, smells nice, is easy on the skin and environment, and therefore improves my quality of life-- we don't have a dishwasher and so we spend a significant amount of time standing there washing dishes, smelling the soap. It's completely worth the extra $5 every 2-3 months.

On the more principled end of things, I buy nicer jewelry and shoes. This doesn't mean that I actually spend more money than most people altogether on these things. I have been known to save for two years, without having a watch to wear, in favor of buying the one I really wanted. Same with a pair of $100 earrings-- I just didn't buy any other jewelry that year (by the way, these would be next on my list.) I don't own many pairs of shoes, but almost all of them cost over $100. There is something very essential to me about having really good shoes that hold up and are comfortable but of course, stylish. And no buyer's remorse.... The other thing is that if I do happen to decide that I don't want to own something anymore, it still has value-- even after being used-- and I sell it on ebay!

In the can't-live-without category, Jeff and I love to eat out. We have a very small budget for this each month, and about 70% of our meals out are happy hour deals. If you are local, the best happy hour I have ever found is here. Whenever extra money comes our way, our first impulse is to go out to eat! We don't do fast food, and I try not to eat at places that serve food I could easily make at home, so we have to be super choosy about where we go to spend our precious dinner money. We could save good amount of money by never going out to eat, but we just enjoy it way too much to stop.

Addendum: For you Angelinos, our favorite happy hour spots there were Cafe Santorini and Ciudad (this one was actually my favorite restaurant, period)-- you should check them out!

There are so many things that we have to spend money on, but I am so curious what other people like to spend their money on, even when we're feeling some financial strain. Please share!

"Failure" is the best medicine.

I have spent an embarrassing amount of time today on a blog dedicated to mistakes. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time, and although it may not be funny to everyone out there, I would like to share it in the hopes that at least someone will be as delighted as I am by this nonsense. That is, assuming that I am not the very last person to have found this site.


There were so many great videos to choose from......

Four years ago...

We got married and had our very first marital miscommunication-- in front of all of our friends and family! I still get a kick out of this photo sequence.


I am thinking," Really? That whole bite? How am I going to get that down?"
Jeff is going, "Really, you're not just going to take a bite of this? How are you going to get that down?"
Me: I can't believe that whole piece is in my mouth. Right now. In front of everyone.
Jeff: Oink! Oink!

Me: Oh dear. Now what?
Jeff: Yikes!


Me: Be graceful! Be graceful!
Jeff: I think there was a misunderstanding... Sorry.

Both of us: OK, I think the worst is over.

Me: Can everyone see that I am dying to have a child? Am I really going aaah as I put food in my husband's mouth?
Both of us: Phew, we made it past that first hurdle! On with the show!

"It" Happens...

I had no idea I would be due for another Most Embarassing Moment so soon. And it wasn't even last night when we were eating out-- Amelia was yelling at our server while she was with another table, "HEY LAAAADY! I'M HUUUNGRYYYY!" That was embarrassing, but not too bad.

I was having one of those days today-- hoping I wouldn't run into anyone I know, just trying to fly below the radar while letting Amelia get out of the house. We went to our favorite kids consignment store, where I let her wander around and play while I was looking through things. There were a lot of ladies there, and I heard one of them, laughing, say "Hey, where's your mom?" Of course I identified myself right away and asked what was going on. She said Amelia had lost her pants. No big deal, but it's not really like her to just take them off for no reason. Then Amelia walked around the corner with her pants around her ankles, beaming. "I pooped!" Oh, no you didn't! Oh, yes,she did! She had made her not-so-little deposit in one of the kids potties on display.
This was already enough, but the store owner didn't even laugh when I told her (in front of many people) what had happened. In all of my routine humiliations, I don't remember the last time I blushed so badly that my eyes watered. She gave me a key to the bathroom, to take care of it. Then I ended up wandering around the courtyard with a giant potty and a toddler trying to figure out where the bathroom was. Someone came out of their store and told me it was all the way around the block. So we marched over there. And of course there were construction workers working on the sidewalk right in front of it. Of course it was occupied, so we had to hang out there with the laborers and our big pot of stink.
We cleaned up, returned the potty to the store, bought something as a courtesy and got out of there! Amelia was quite proud of herself, which I'm glad for-- no need to maker her feel bad as well! Anyway, This is just one of those things that you have to share so that people can just laugh and redeem the mortification. Enjoy.

Feeling Quite Conscious of my Subconscious....

I have a pretty active dreamlife. Most nights, I have a dream (or several) that I can remember in the morning. While this is sometimes something I dislike-- my in-sleep episodes can be extremely stressful-- I sometimes gain insight about myself through these visions. For example, I may be "playing nice" with a difficult person in real life, but in my dreams I'll really let them have it. Or I will act out in my dreams in other ways that betray the way I'm really feeling deep down-- good information! It can be really useful.

Last night my dream was not necessarily helpful in terms of information, but extremely pleasant and telling. I dreamt that I met these two really nice ladies who were massage therapists. They were very caring and one of them gave me a long massage (this took up most of the dream) while they both chatted with me in a really kind manner. Afterward, the other one told me that we should trade massage services each week, although some weeks she would like to just give me a massage and I didn't need to reciprocate. Then, the funniest and best part of the dream was that I would have to walk a ways to get back to my car, but they said, "Oh, Honey, we don't want you to have to walk all that way. You need rest-- we'd like to wheel you back to your car on a gurney!"

I woke up feeling good and encouraged, but also kind of embarassed that this is what I'm dreaming about. Last week, I also dreamt that someone came over and cleaned for me-- of particular note was the thorough mopping of my floors! I'm kind of hoping that tonight I may be prepared a fancy meal...

It's Been a LOOONG Week!

I don't think I have it in me to spin a good story, so I'll give you the bare bones facts-- also known as an outline. [I would like to note that I meticulously formatted this outline with all of the proper indentations and such --twice-- but it only comes out in one straight line once published. What a shame.]

Thesis Statement: This week was super lame.
I. Last Friday Amelia got very sick with hand, foot and mouth disease (for the 2nd time in 3 months)
A. High fever
B. Sores in mouth, on hands and on feet
C. Misery
1. terrible sleep for everyone
2. serious and constant neediness and whining for days
D. Very contagious
1. my sister couldn't baby sit her, as offered and which I had perceived as a desperate need
2. we couldn't see anyone all week, there were many canceled plans
II. Jeff got sick on Thursday
A. Fever
B. Misery
1. general family downer
2. more canceled plans
C. Crazy, unusual swelling over a series of days
1. way more misery than before
2. more canceled plans and resultant cabin fever
3. serious impairment of the legs
4. disturbing distortion of face due to swelling
5. concerns about swelling moving to airway
D. Trip to the ER
1. who wouldn't want to spend their Sunday at the ER? Especially with this gorgeous weather?
2. Amelia was there, too!
a. five trips to the bathroom in two hours
b. two incidences of pee all over the floor
c. one busted lip from falling out of a chair
E. Steroids and benadryl
1. Jeff was out of commission for most of the day
2. we were forced to watch dumb shows online like "High School Musical-- Get in the Picture"
3. a week full of meds and their side effects ahead of us

Ugh! I'm not sure where this fits in, but our washing machine is also broken so we spent the better part of our most functional day doing laundry at the "mat." So, we're glad the week is over and are hoping for better luck next time. It wasn't all bad, though. On Saturday night we got out and went the movies. For $13.50, we got two tickets and two hours of babysitting-- exactly what we needed. We watched Get Smart, which was even funnier than we were hoping-- I love Steve Carell. We also spent a good amount of time this evening laughing about our super lame week and coming up with nicknames for Jeff's distorted visage-- "Dog Face" seemed to win the most laughs. We took pictures as soon as we got home from the hospital, which we will share for your sympathy and amusement.

As a point of reference, this is what my handsome husband USUALLY looks like.

I think this is the best one!

Where would we be if we had no sense of humor?

As if I Needed Help Embarrassing Myself...

I think I can safely say that I have more Most Embarrassing Moments than the average person. Partly because I waitressed for four years, with lots of potential for spilling wine on people or flipping trays over completely to shower my guests with salad (unfortunately already dressed.) There was also that time when I was doing marketing for our PT clinic, and had arranged lunch with a prestigious doctor in a swanky Newport Beach office. I had brought fajitas, and we were all sitting around eating and the owner of our clinic was chatting up the MD, when I somehow managed to flip my styrofoam plate into the air, flinging peppers and sauce all over the room, including all over the doctor himself! The worst part is that no one burst out laughing-- it was all very serious and quite the inconvenience. Or how about working in a hospital and casually referring to conjoined twins as "Siamese twins." Nice! I still blush and curse my 3rd world upbringing when I think of that one! Oh, there's more, so much more, but you'll have to ask me yourself.

Anyway, having a child pretty much triples the opportunities for public humiliation. Amelia had her two year old checkup with her pediatrician, Dr. Ed, last week. I really like this doctor, he is a naturopath and is very holistic in his approach. He is really into parenting techniques, and while I appreciate this and have valued his input, I feel rather self-conscious whenever I'm in his office, being observed so closely. Amelia also seems to reserve her clingiest, whiniest behavior for this very occasion, so that doesn't help. We're going through potty training right now, and Amelia is doing very well. She's really good about telling us when she needs to go, but she literally says she needs to go about 20 times a day. I suspect that it's out of boredom sometimes, but she can usually eke something out.

When we got to the office, I took her to the bathroom so that she would be ready for 30 minutes of continence when the time came. While we were with the doctor, she was asking to go potty again, but I asked her to wait a couple of times, since we were deep in conversation about her peculiarities. So she pooped her pants. We stepped out to address the matter, and I discovered that I didn't have any more diapers... Or wipes. I did my best, dumping the poop in the toilet and wiping her and her diaper with TP, thankful that it wasn't as bad as it could have been, texture-wise, and thinking that the visit would be over soon and I could search the car for another diaper. When we got back to the exam room, much to my dismay, Dr. Ed asked me to take off her clothes, INCLUDING her diaper, so she could be weighed! I casually asked if I could borrow some wipes, since it seemed that I had forgotten mine, and tried to take her diaper off as discreetly as possible, praying that he would go look at a chart or something and miss the poop streaks on her diaper. No such luck. But he didn't say anything, so I just died inside quietly. I'm sure there's plenty more of this to come, so I continue my practice of shrugging off these little mortifications.

Stop What You're Doing and Watch This Show!

We don't own a TV, but that's not as saintly/ deprived as it sounds, since we can watch shows online now. Tonight Jeff and I watched one of the funniest shows we've seen in a long, long time. "I Survived a Japanese Gameshow" is a show in which a bunch of Americans who agreed to be on a reality show are completely surprised by being flown to Japan and being put through humiliating shenanigans to amuse the Japanese audience. Have you ever seen a Japanese gameshow? CRAZY. CR-AZY!!

What, that's not how YOU mop your floors?

We do own a mop, but I have always been partial to scooting around on a nubby towel, spray bottle in hand, to get those tough spots. The best part of the experience is the spray, made of water, castille soap, tea tree oil and lemongrass essential oil-- nice! Cheap! I don't like filling up the sink and pushing dirty water around very much. Unfortunately, no matter what I do, our kitchen floor still looks filthy, thanks to weird pock-marked linoleum that would like to look like filthy tile instead. Do you have any quirky but effective cleaning methods?

That Silly Sub-Conscious!

So the other night, I dreamt that I won some kind of drawing for several free tanning salon sessions. This was REALLY GOOD NEWS, never mind that I have never even seen the inside of a tanning parlor. I guess my subconscious is totally embarrassed by how white I've become, and ready to do whatever it takes to get back to that healthy glow. OK, so maybe it's not just my inner self that is embarrassed, but I still think I'll wait for the real thing.

In other dream news, last night I dreamt about going to some kind of European deli and befriending a man named "Vintage."

So what do YOU do under pressure?
I'm not sure how I would have answered the above question before now, but I have had a funny revelation about myself this week. Tensions are very high. I wish I could push the fast forward button on the next few weeks (or maybe months, while I'm dreaming about it...) I'm not allowed to cope by staying in bed and refusing to participate in the whirlwind of my present life, so I am acting out in other ways. I can't think of a better way to describe it than to say that I am rebelling against my own personal principles. Keep in mind, these are my own personal quirky convictions, nothing serious. Since Sunday, here is a list of totally out of character behavior:
1. I went and bought Amelia a new carseat, FULL PRICE, without even really trying to find it cheaper or used. This is definitely the largest sum of money we have spent on her behalf so far.
2. I put bleach in my load of white laundry. I have never used bleach in my laundry before. I don't even know who this bottle belonged to-- I just had the compulsion to dump it in there, and the really annoying thing is that all of Amelia's stained clothes DIDN'T come out looking any better!
3. I baked a pan of brownies. I don't even like brownies.
4. This is the most embarassing one. I went to the drugstore and bought a lotion that "builds a healthy glow within 5 days and improves skin firmness." I don't use drugstore lotion! I don't put chemicals on my skin! I don't really believe in skin firming lotions! Also, I believe in REAL tans. And I bought some nail polish for the first time in five years, while I was at it.
Jeff is completely bewildered, and I am definitely feeling reckless. He is trying to think of some way to take advantage. Maybe we'll go to McDonalds, grab some donuts for dessert, buy a television, and dump our recycling into the regular trash bins... Yahoooo!

Who would YOU be?
So I have a fun reader poll.
Please participate.
Yes, even if you think that I have no idea that you even read my blog (yes, I know about you...)

Here is the question: If you could come back in another life as anyone you wanted, who would it be?
Here is the one rule: Please, no super- spiritual answers like Jesus Christ, or the Apostle Paul. This is supposed to be fun, not edifying. Thought- provoking is OK in moderation. And don't say, "I'd come back as myself, because my life is so great." That's no fun either.

I'll go first.
OK, so I would be Jennifer Lopez. I'm serious. Most people would be very surprised to learn that I am a closet Pop Music fan. It's just so upbeat. I love the attitude and the danceability. Back to JLO, not only is she gorgeous, but she is a singer and a dancer AND she owns at least two fantastic restaurants (I've been to two, there are probably more out there.) Madre's in Pasadena sealed the deal for me. It is a Cuban restaurant that has the aesthetic of a rich family's formal dining room, and you can tell that she got to choose everything, including the rose- covered wallpaper in the bathroom. Who else gets to do that just for fun, since they have the money and the fame?

Should we have named her Imelda?

Not even born yet, and she already has more shoes than her Momma. We won't even talk about clothes!