He's Done!!!

Peter is now officially a Boy Scout; his Cub Scout Pack had their Blue and Gold banquet tonight, and he and two other boys crossed over to their respective Boy Scout Troops.

Peter chose Troop 39, which is also the troop at our church; he looked at a couple of others, but had friends in 39, and just really liked them.

Troop 39 was originally chartered through UNC, and so has strong ties there, hence the blue and white neckerchief. The Scoutmaster made a big deal about telling the boys that the neckerchiefs were only being loaned to them; they have to give them back when they leave the troop...unless they leave with the rank of Eagle!

Peter and his loaner neckerchief

Whoo hooo!

When I had my physical last fall, my cholesterol was high.

Way high.

Now, I've struggled with cholesterol basically my entire adult live, as far as I can tell. I was first told I needed to watch it in 1992, when I was 25. It wasn't that high then (200), but given my age, it was worrisome. I've never been a fan of using drugs to manage a condition that can be managed by behavior, so for the past 17 year or so I've been trying to reduce my cholesterol via diet and exercise.

Now, granted, I'm no Twiggy. Never have been, never will be. I actually way less now than I have in awhile, but I know I should still drop some more weight.

And my exercise habits in the last, oh, 5 years or so (basically since my kids started getting involved in activities!) have waned.

But I've worked at it. I don't eat a ton of junk food or fast food. I try to avoid highly processed foods. I loves my veggies and fruit. I even eat oatmeal pretty much EVERY DAY for breakfast! Dang!

But last fall, I hit an all time high of 300 for a total cholesterol score, and my doc (who is a wonderful person, frequently laughs with me, occasionally at me, but always takes me seriously), very gently but firmly, told me it was time to give up the fight and accept some help.

So, I went on Lipitor back around Thanksgiving. I was not happy -- I wanted BADLY to be able to fix this myself; between my doc and David, though, they convinced me that there are some folks who simply process cholesterol differently, and need drugs. So, I swallowed my pride and my pills.

Well, I went in at the beginning of the week for my 3 month blood check.

My total cholesterol has dropped 120 points. One hundred TWENTY! Screw Cheerios and their measly little "I dropped my cholesterol 10%". That's 40% Four-Zero, baby!!!

I'm a little excited.

Now, for the record: This has not changed my opinion of the proper role of pharmaceuticals. I'm glad that I tried (and tried and tried) to reduce my cholesterol on my own first. But I'm glad that there are options out there for those of us for whom that just isn't working.

Where's Buddy, Feb 25th, 3pm

In the kitchen, when Peter got home
Not sure if Buddy was trying to eat the cats food, or if the cats were trying to eat Buddy

Can Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters be far behind?

Not sure how I haven't made this connection yet, but I suddenly, through the mind of Randell Munroe, have realized the wonderful implications of the Kindle:



How cool is this! I never even THOUGHT of this before, but I may need to suck it up and buy a kindle, just so I can run around throwing obscure Hitchhikers' references into my conversation (I'll keep it in a satchel, under a copy of Godspell and my towel....)

Where's Buddy, Feb. 25 6:45 am

Outside my bedroom door
(At least it wasn't a mouse)

Just an ironic Monday

(sung, of course, to the tune of Manic Monday, which was not ironic but DUMB since the singer was so NOT manic).

Anyway.

Monday's child is, apparently, full of irony, and it's ekeing out today. Witness:

IRONY NUMBER 1:
I had my regular cholesterol check today; my physician decided last fall that I'd fought the good fight, but that diet and exercise were just not working for me, and put me on Lipitor (ticked me off, incidentally, but that's another post and I've moved on, thanks!). Today I had to go back to see if said Lipitor is working nicely.

For cholesterol, they need a fasting sample, so no food for me after 9pm last night. My appointment was 9 am, I have a hard time remembering not to eat before these things (says so much, doesn't it!), so decided not to bring my breakfast with me to work, just to be safe.

Which, of coures, meant that at 9:15 when I was done with my I was HUNGRY. And most take-out breakfasts involve some combination of eggs, cheese, and your favorite breakfast-meat...all cholesterol producing! I supposed I could've gone with a muffin, but please, is an oversized, highly processed muffin any better?

IRONY NUMBER 2:
I saw a reference today to the simplified version of Wikipedia, a version of wikipedia with simplified language so that children or those learning English can more easily understand things. I love real-wikipedia, so went to it to check it out. One of the sections is a simplified version of Wikiquote, which I thought initially was ironic, till I read the blurb; the quotes themselves have not been changed, but the explanations following them have.

OK.

But then they had this quote, from Albert Einstein: "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." And the explanation? "Do not make things too easy to understand, or you might change what it means."

Um, yeah. That's ironic!

Where's Buddy, Feb 22, 2009

The front hallway

They know us here

Grace is having a sleepover tonight (with her friend Grace, no less, just to thoroughly confuse the situation), and I've been spreading mulch all day, so didn't feel like cooking, so we went to Elmo's for dinner.

We saw, between the four of us, roughly 5 separate parties of people we knew, and a grand total of about 20 - 30 people.

And that's not even counting the wait staff that we recognize!

And the sad thing is, I didn't actually see ANYONE I knew! They were all families the KIDS knew!

Sheesh.

Forget Buddy, where's DUSTY?

So, previously I said I was going to track where Dusty took Buddy.

Apparently, I need to track where DUSTY goes:

Yes, that's my kitchen window

The story?

He jumped to the fridge, jumped from the fridge to the top of the cabinets (not the ones above the fridge, the ones above the stove), walked along the cabinets till he got to the window over the sink, and was momentarily stymied.

Eventually, though, he very, very carefully walked across THE CURTAIN ROD, till he got to the cabinets on the other side, then walked to the end of THOSE cabinets, then walked across the curtain rods on THOSE windows, and finally jumped down to my table.

I told Peter it was like Lego Indiana Jones, where you have to jump to the hand-holds and shimmie across them!

Where's Buddy?

So, I've decided to start a new feature of my blog: Where's Buddy?

When Dusty takes Buddy and carries him somewhere, we'll take a picture and post it here.

Buddy and Dusty outside the playroom

Fridays are supposed to be GOOD days!

Here's my day so far:

• My kids were bickering
• We were all late
• I made myself a LOVELY lunch
• and left it on my kitchen counter
• I spilled toothpaste on my black turtleneck
• and coffee on my khaki pants

I'd like to be done now!

Dusty the...retriever?

Lots of animals carry things. St. Bernard's carry whiskey (OK, probably not really, but they SHOULD). Hunting dogs can carry game. Service animals carry all sorts of things; books, remotes, car keys. Even cats, big or small, have been known to carry things; kittens, usually, but occasionally prey.

Dusty likes to carry Buddy, mainly.

Buddy is Peter's stuffie; he's had him since before he was born. Buddy still hangs out on Peter's top bunk, watching the world go by.

Dusty LOVES Buddy. Dusty will go into Peter's room, climb onto his top bunk (using the ladder, of course) get Buddy, and take him...somewhere.

So far, he's been found in my closet, in the hall landing, in the den, in the living room, on the stairs, in the playroom, on my bed, and, today, facedown in the kitchen.

I won't be truly worried till we come home and there's a Buddy-shaped chalk outline, and bits of fluff on the floor....

Daddy-Daughter Dance

It's that time again -- Grace is all decked out for the annual Daddy-Daughter dance at church:

I heart free chocolate!

My employer is giving everyone a free candy bar for Valentines Day! What a nice treat!

<3 <3 <3 <3

Oh, the 80's just make me laugh.

I'm listening to 1st Wave on XMRadio "Classic Alternative", or so they say. Typically I love it, but every now and then something comes on that reminds me of just how PRETENTIOUS we all were in the 80s.

We took ourselves so seriously: making (and living in) shanty towns to protest apartheid, standing up for AIDS research, insisting that housekeepers be paid a living wage (or at least that's what we did at my college).

But then we listened to bands like Kajagoogoo.

OK, so:

• Silly Name
• Silly Lyrics (You're too shy shy, hush hush, eye-to-eye (which, yeah, I always heard as Idlewild)
• OMG, the HAIR!

And just look at how serious THEY were! LOL!! If you can be that serious wearing those clothes and that hair, there is just something wrong.

I'm just sayin'...

I have a good kid

Well, actually, I have two good kids! But I'm especially proud of Grace today.

As anyone with more than a superficial interest in ACC (perhaps even college) basketball knows, last night was the first of this years Duke-Carolina games.

The Duke-Carolina rivalry is a passionate one. We hate each other. Truly. And, yes, if it sounds like I'm repeating myself, I have blogged about this before.

But part of the fun of the rivalry is that we DO hate each other. Both fanbases are passionate about their school, and convinced they do it right, even though only Carolina really does. And we revel in provoking each other (witness that last sentence!).

Now, for the most part in Chapel Hill, folks are UNC fans. But not all, by any means. A few of the teachers at the kids' school are Dookies, while I'm saddened by their choice, I do applaud their undying loyalty; they wear their Duke blue and their Devils proudly, particularly on the days of the Duke-Carolina game.

Well, one of the teachers who's a Duke fan decked himself out yesterday; undoubtedly at least partially to egg on the student body. He not only had on the pants/shirt/hat/socks, he also draped himself in a Duke flag and ran through the cafeteria.

He was soundly booed. Goodnaturedly (I hope), but soundly. And, yes, Grace as a good Tarheel, joined in...

...until she saw her friend Grace T (who, for some reason is known as Baby Bob). Baby Bob, who's also a Duke fan, was really, really upset by all the boos, and had started crying. My Grace immediately stopped booing, and tried to make Other Grace/Baby Bob feel better.

As much as I enjoy sharing my love for Carolina with my kids, I am far, FAR prouder that Grace realizes that it IS just a game, and isn't worth losing a friendship over.

But, yeah, I don't know if I'd've posted this if Carolina had lost last night! ;-)
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Tyler goes 4-0

Tyler Hansborough just got his 4th win at Cameron.

Yep, 4th.

In 4 years.

Now, granted, lots of GREAT players have left college after three (or two or one) years, so there are some UNC players who haven't had the opportunity to win there four times.

But Hansborough stayed, and he and Danny Green are now the only UNC players to win 4 times at Cameron under the Krzyzewski reign (there are only two other ACC players who've done it -- Rusty LaRue and Tim Duncan from Wake).

Gratz, guys!

This is why our children are FAT!

Hmm, it's been awhile since I've been on a blog-rant. Must be time for one!!!!

So, I'm driving to work today. It's Wednesday, so I didn't have my kids this morning, which means I frequently sleep in a bit, and I did again today. So, to be fair, I was leaving my house later than I do ordinarily.

More background: It's a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL morning -- it was high 50's when I woke up, and clear and sunny.

I leave my house, and pull out onto the main street that my neighborhood is off of, heading east. As I come close to the neighborhood just next to me, a car pulls out in front of me. I was a little close for them to be pulling out (and they knew it, because they ran the stop sign to get in front of me), but OK.

But then they drive slow. Like 5 miles below the speed limit slow (and, yes, I mean the school zone speed limit!).

And THEN they turn into the middle school parking lot. Which is, oh, 50 FEET from the neighborhood!!! Oh, and there's a walking path from the neighborhood to the school!


Here's a map showing exactly how far they went (may need to zoom out to get the full effect):


View Larger Map

So, in summary, on an absolutely beautiful morning, when it's not cold, raining, snowing, dark-of-nighting, this parent decided that they needed to DRIVE their kid the tenth of a mile or so from their house to school. And go slow to boot.

And we wonder why there's a childhood obesity problem!
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It's not easy being green!

But it's fun!!!!

I found a great new quiz today -- I'd say it'll eventually end up on Facebook, except there are too many answers for each question (which is probably why it's significantly BETTER than any of the quizes on Facebook!)

It's the Which Muppet Are You quiz!

I'm Kermit -- how cool is that!

Random Monday morning thought:

I have no idea what peplum refers to (cut, cloth, style, color) in clothing, but I really think they should come up with a better name. I just don't want to put anything called peplum on my body.

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In Case You're Wondering...

Paper towels CAN be used as coffee filters....

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Well, it IS an appositive...

Grace's reading homework tonight was to read a blurb on Paul Revere, then answer some questions; all having to do with finding the appositive phrases. Then they had to write their own sentence that contained an appositive.

Grace's sentence?

"I am My Own Worst Enemy, the first song I played on medium, is my favorite song in Rockband 2."

Let's just hope her teacher isn't a Lit fan....

Nom, nom, nom

Most days I try to pack my lunch. It's cheaper and healthier, both good things.

Some days I don't, but I know EXACTLY what I want for lunch. Not sure how it happens, but around 11:30 or so, the exact meal just pops into my head and announces itself. This is usually followed by an IM to Kathy along the lines of "Oooooh, I want Thai for lunch. Wanna go?"

And, yes then there are the times that I'm hungry, but don't know what I want, and just grab some random thing to eat. Usually OK, but nothing exciting.

Then there are days like today; didn't know what I wanted, but went to the grocery store, and somehow decide on a Peanut Butter, Banana and Honey sammich. With carrots on the side, and some milk.

A very Elementary school kinda lunch, but somehow, it was EXACTLY what I wanted! It was SO good, and I'm now very happy. Plus I still have carrots to nibble on this afternoon!

Nom, nom, nom....

Hmmm. I wasn't expecting THAT

I just got a text message from my Dad.

A text message.

From my DAD!

How odd.....
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Vampire Kitties

By now I'm relatively used to the nuttiness that exudes from Jack and Dusty. They are, as we've all recognized, the silliest, nuttiest, CRAZIEST velociraptors masquerading as cats in the entire world.

But they're really nuts now.

I was packing my lunch today, and went to grab an apple out of the fruit bowl. The apples are a smidgie old, but not too bad. But this one had odd little holes in it, so I grabbed the other one...

... which also had odd little holes in it.

Then I realized, they weren't just holes, they were puncture wounds. From teeth. Itty bitty little kittie fangs.

Yep, one of the kitties (I vote Jack -- he's the most food obsessed) went and BIT my apples. He obviously didn't like it (since he didn't eat it), but he then proceeded to bite BOTH of them about 10 times each!!!

Craziness.
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I'm Appalled

I am usually very proud of my alma mater.

Not today.

NC State's long-time women's basketball coach, Kay Yow, died a week or so ago. Yow was an incredible woman; she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer over 20 years ago; went into remission at least once, became a very vocal spokesman for cancer research, was a tremendous coach, and always, always treated others with dignity and respect.

The UNC and State men's teams played basketball, in Raleigh, on Saturday. Carolina won, and with one exception, it was a clean, hard-fought game, as a State-Carolina game should be.

But apparently there are some utterly low-class, idiotic UNC fans out there. I'm talking waste-of-oxygen idiots.

Because sometime after the win Saturday, State's "Free Expression Tunnel" (a tunnel on campus where graffitti is not only tolerated but encouraged, up to a point) was defaced. With blue paint. Over a mural of Yow. And with profanity and "Cancer Rules" graffitti.

Now, to be honest, it's a bit of a tradition for the two schools to try to deface each other's property; State students splashed red paint on the Old Well a couple of years ago. So, the blue paint is not so much a surprise; not sure that I condone it, but it's not a surprise.

But please, people. I'm not going to say respect the dead, because my feeling is if someone's a jerk in life, they're still a jerk after they're dead.

But Yow was not a jerk. Not by a long shot. She fought for women's sports programs all her life. She ran camps, yes, partially to recruit players, but also to teach young girls the sport. She would personally come out on the court after State home games to thank...everyone. The band, the pep squad, the fans....EVERYONE.

This woman had a grace and dignity that are in really short supply these days. She deserved respect during her life, and deserves it after her death.

And don't even get me STARTED on "Cancer Rules". Please. What the hell kind of immature, arrogant, obnoxious little beast thought it would be funny to write that?

I hope that the people of defaced the mural were not actual UNC students or alums. I'd like to think that my alma mater produces better people than that.

But quite frankly, I don't know that it really matters. I don't want to be associated, in any way, with people like that, whether they're students, fellow alums, or merely misguided fans.

No, I'm not dropping my membership to the Alumni Association! Nor am I going to stop cheering for Carolina, or (heaven forbid) start cheering for State.

But what I am going to do is try to make it very clear that whoever did this is NOT a typical Carolina fan. And wish that whoever did it would grow a brain before they wear light blue again.

So now the toys play?

Someone has created a robot that solves the Rubik's Cube puzzle.

OK, no biggie. Kinda cool, but not real surprising, and probably not the first robot to solve it.

But this robot is built.....from Legos!

I can't decide if I think this is really cool, or really disturbing. Toys are now playing with toys!

A good weekend

I haven't had many really, truly GOOD weekends lately; they haven't been hideous or traumatic (at least not TOO traumatic), but there have been high emotions, exhaustion, whininess, etc. And, yes, pretty much all from me, though some of the emotion (and certainly some exhaustion) has come from other quarters.

Anyway, THIS weekend was really, really good. Even great, I might say.

First of all, I had a lazy Friday evening of Pinewood Dery final steps and Rockband. Grace had a fundraiser at school for her drum line; Peter needed to get the wheels on his Pinewood Derby car, so came to my house to do that; we got the wheels on, glued on the figure, and then grabbed a bite to eat. Then David and I played Rockband! Nothing major, but a good, calm, non-angst ridden night.

Then Saturday was pretty much a red-letter day. Peter won first place in Most Original at his Pinewood Derby. Both kids lost their basketball games, true, but Grace learned to set a screen, and did it well! Peter had a great (personal) game: 10 points, 8 rebounds, a block and a steal (and a turnover, but we won't talk about that). After Peter's game, I headed to David's house where I watched UNC beat State (always a good thing), then we went to a Hurricanes game. The 'Canes played really well, and really HARD! Tons of checks, very aggressive play, and they won.

Today was milder again; I rang in church, which means getting up early (ugh), but putzed around with David, then made chicken wings, nachos and pound cake and watched the Superbowl with him and his kids. And the Steelers won, so Peter, and by extension his mother, is happy!

I like good weekends!
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