Signs my dog is going through Adolescence

Non-compliance, she won't get up in the morning, I have to carry her furry butt to the door while the other two dance round the door eagerly, waiting to go out.
When I call her in from the yard she pretends she doesn't know me (As if her friends coud see me and I am embarrassing her).
She gets more mail to the house than me.
She has a crush love/hate relationship with the mailman.
We are always out of panty liners.
She claims whatever spot I want to sit in and will sit there regardless of whether or not I am already sitting there.
I swear she is talking about me behind my back to the other two dogs.
She goes in my purse and steals gum.
She came back from the groomers looking totally different than we discussed.

Why would you do that?

I do not understand people. They are their own worst enemies sometimes.

Yesterday, my sister came over to visit and I showed her the scarf I had made with her in mind. It was the one made out of Angora bunny wool, the one she informed she would be allergic to, after I was half done. The one that she wouldn't really like in Pink, because she doesn't like Pink clothes. Of course it was Pink, as soon as I saw the wool I thought of her, her name is Pinky- so Pink fit- right?

So she is over and asks to see ti anyway. Pinky grabs the scarf and feels it up, loves the softness and proceeds to wrap herself in it. Her whole face. I was shocked, and she did it before I could stop her.
See, I had had a little problem with the wool, it sheds like crazy due to some possible pre-knitting moth activity in the wool bag.
It took me weeks to make this scarf because it just kept shedding on me and then I would get all sneezy and my eyes would bother me. I may also be allergic to the bunnies, who knows? It's not like I am around them so I wouldn't know. My regular Angora and Alpaca scarves do not bother me at all.

When she wrapped herself in the scarf, my first thought was," Oh no! She is wearing black. Where is the lint roller? That is not coming off anytime soon." Of course she had trouble with it, she is truly allergic to bunnies. I just have nothing left to do but shake my head.

I tried the other angora wool and it didn't shed at all, so I will make a new soft scarf for myself. Guess it was the moths after all. Poor Pinky.

It's a Matter of Texture and Age

I have been trying to get my daughter to eat oatmeal for years, only to hear, "It gives me warm belly, I don't like warm belly. I'm not gonna eat it." She comes in last week with a Seventeen Magazine that has an article on how healthy oatmeal is for her. They dressed it up with bananas and nuts and drizzle of syrup. Is she eating it now? Faithfully! I guess I am just too old to know what is good for her. I have reached the point of no return and might as well juts keep my opinions to myself unless I can convince Seventeen Magazine to publish all the advice I want to give her.

And now for my brief review...

I bought the store-brand instead of Quaker oats this week, it was two dollars less expensive. There is a difference, the oats are all whole in the Quaker Container and there are many broken ones in the Shop-Rite brand. The broken ones add a paste-like consistency that is absent in the Quaker brand when you cook the oats. Oh, well, I tried to save money. I will switch back, the paste just doesn't thrill me, I will see if my daughter notices the different texture, under the honey and nuts and bananas... I bought Wheatina for myself; I needed a change of pace. put too much milk in it afterwards. Bummer. I had to chase the grains around in my mouth and I bit my tongue.
I also wasn't thinking about my coffee too hard this morning, I poured the hot water into the old coffee grinds in the press, don't know what I was doing at all, but that first sip woke me up, fast! Now I am gonna go brush my teeth, I am sure they are going to feel weird all day, what with old coffee grinds and little bits of wheat and bloody tongue. wonder what else awaits me today?


UPDATE: The store-brand talcum powder? DON'T DO IT! It is too thin and literally pours out all over the place. It is also slightly gritty.

Natasha Richardson

I am just so sad, I really like this actress, the first time I saw her work was back in the 80's when I saw a Handmaid's Tale. I just really liked her style. She depicted a character that I wanted to make friends with. I fell for her all over again in Nell; there she was, that actress I liked so much! When I saw her in the Parent trap, she was at her most charming. I do not know if it is the roles she has played that make her so likable, it's hard to tell when I have only seen a small percentage of her work. I hope that her family is able to cope during this awful time. I pray that she is able to recover and that the injuries are not as serious as they are being reported. Right now reports say that she is brain dead and being flown to New York. I cannot imagine it.


Update: Well it is over and we are all torn up about the loss of this beautiful woman. Apparently she has touched more of my friend's lives than I ever knew. One confessed that she actually felt like crying when she read the news. I don't blame her. It is a testament to her talent as an actor that she can make strangers weep.
We'll be waiting for the dimming of the broadway lights. Farewell Natasha...

google video uploader discontinued

I am so bummed. I knew just what to do, we could play the videos in school because Youtube is always blocked and google video wasn't. What a blow.

High-Quality Teenager for Rent

We were talking about how one of my daughter's former softball teammates has changed since last year. "She was always smiling and friendly, now she is different" my daughter complained.

I asked my daughter if the teammate was becoming moody. After a positive response I said, " I guess she is growing up and becoming a teenager, they all get a little moody."

My daughter looked at me almost like she was a bit hurt that I was making generalizations about teenagers. "We like you," I reassured her, "You are great!"

My son chimed in with, "Yeah, we like you, you are a high-quality teenager."

If the economy gets much worse I may have to rent out my high-quality teen to those parents stuck with the moody adolescents.
How much should I charge per day?


Update ( One month later): Daughter's science teacher informed us our "High Quality Teenager" is a bit moody. Should I try to get my money back?

Knitted Beanie

My first Beanie, made with that wonderful yarn, now I have to make one for my son, have to pick up some manly wool.
It only takes a few hours to do, I have to try one with ribbing at the bottom next. I keep losing count, and haven't mastered switching back and forth from knitting to pearling. The working yarn confuses me, where does it go, does it stay in the back or do I keep it in front? do I switch it back and forth? Help!

Another CandyPunk project

What do you do with the remains of the yarn after making a project? Make belts for your kids. I love this yarn and how it changes color, it has nice workability and a good feel, not bad for Walmart heart brand.

Latest Project from CandyPunk

This is our latest accessory, designed by my daughter and made by me. It is crocheted and I felted it just a bit with the iron to keep the flowers hanging on opposite sides of the cascade. The closeup picture would be clearer if I hadn't felted it. I made with fabulous homespun wool from our woolspinner friend in Waterford, Marlene Cicalese. Here is her website.

Snowhawk

What do you have when your husband cleans off your whole car except the top after a snowstorm? An embarrassing Snowhawk.

Coupon Conundrum

On my way to being thrifty and frugal I decided to give coupons a bit of attention. My sister-in-law handed me a bunch she wasn't using, so I figured "Hey, why not? The worst that could happen is that I save some money right?" WRONG! First, the best coupons are not on the internet, you have to buy a paper for $1.50. There is only one paper in my area with decent coupons for brands I may actually buy. I do not intend to change the brands I use, I am happy with my choices based on quality already. Every time I try something new, my husband or kids will say something like, "What is wrong with this tuna? It is different." I respond with something like "Well, I know we usually buy the canned variety, but the package was on sale, I had a coupon, and it was double-coupon day at Shop-rite. It only cost me like a quarter a package."
"Well, can we just stick to the one we like?" was the response from He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
"Sure, I just thought we were trying to save money, it is the same brand, I know the texture is a bit different, but is the taste off or something?" I tried, I really tried.
"No, It tastes okay, we just like it the other way more."

What am I supposed to do with that? I was inspired by the family that is trying to live on $1500.00 for the year in groceries and personal items. I really wanted to give this coupon deal a try.

It gets worse. I had a whole group of coupons for a $1 off of items I usually buy. Since it was double-coupon day, I thought I was going to clean up. I had spent the week preparing my list and knew exactly how much money I was going to save on sale items combined with coupons. The coupons were a $1 off, if I bought 2 loaves of raisin bread, two of this two of that, and three of the other. Guess what? Shop-Rite does not double coupons over 99 cents. I had to return everything, because I would normally never buy two loaves of raisin bread at the same time, they are way too expensive. It was embarrassing being at the register and not realizing the savings I had planned for, then I had to wait on line for the customer service and return everything.
Coupons are just not worth all that time planning. I will carry them around and see if they work out for me, but it is not going to be a way of life in my house. I need to spend the whole day just to make it all work out. I buy a few of whatever is on sale each week and record the prices in my price book. That will have to do for now.

The internet coupons cost too much in ink to print out so I will have to print them out at the library. Superfresh does not take internet coupons, but Shop-Rite does.
If anyone has a real plan for using coupons that won't take up all my spare time, bring it on!