Just a reminder that tomorrow is Movie Quote Monday! Come and join the fun, starting around 8am. I'll post the starting quote before I head out to work, and then let the quoting tag begin.
If you didn't play last week, the rules are simple: A movie quote will be posted and if you know it, respond in the comments with the movie title, and who said it. Setting the scene or others bits of info are fun as well. At the end of your comment, post a movie quote of your own (from a different movie), and see if anyone else knows where it came from. There may be more than one quote in play at a time. Please remember to use the first letter and some asterisks for any word that you wouldn't want the kiddies to say. Game ends at midnight.
Start thinking of your favorite movies and the lines that made them famous. Don't be shy, this is a great time to de-lurk, put off your own dishes and laundry, and have some fun.
See you tomorrow, and thanks for playing!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
A Fine Day
Clear back in August, when I was getting ready to go to Bear Lake for a relaxing vacation, I grabbed a bunch of books and magazines at the library. Beach reading at its best. I had a few of the Sweet Potato Queen books and lots of back issues of People magazine. There's nothing like curling my toes in the sand and reading about and seeing pictures of the messed up lives of celebrities, to make me feel all summery and relaxed and blissful about my own perfectly normal life. I like to eat Whoppers and steal drinks from Troy's Diet Coke while I thumb through the pages.
One day last week, I got a call from the computerized lady at the library, telling me that I had three items overdue. Two of them were books that my boys were reading - I knew about those, but the third was one of the Sweet Potato Queen books. Left over from August. Great.
The biggest problem was that I had long ago returned everything from that trip. I'd been so careful, keeping all the books in the truck for travel reading - which I can do just fine until we hit a canyon - and the magazines in my beach bag. I am always so paranoid about losing something from the library - it's never inexpensive, and I just knew that I had returned it. Felt it in my bones.
The book was not anywhere in my home. It was 6 weeks overdue, and I'd done plenty of cleaning, and organizing, and putting away since then. If it was in my home, I'd have come across it by now. I checked the cars, thinking maybe it had fallen in between seats or something. No book, but I did find quite a few french fries, some Pull 'n Peel Twizzlers that had been pulled, peeled, and dropped under the back seat, lots of trash and water bottles and a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup that had melted and re-hardened. Because I was so stressed about finding this dang book, I ate the cup. Yes, I have no shame when it comes to peanut butter and chocolate, and yes, it was still delicious.
Troy went up to the lake and brought the trailer home. Hoping against hope, I checked all through the cabinets and under cushions and inside cubby holes (trailers have loads of cubby holes) - still nothing. Ugh, I hate losing things - especially things that don't belong to me. Librarians can be a tad cranky when you lose their books.
Time to face the music of my lost book. Go to the library and fess up. I hoped it wasn't a rare copy of an out-of-print, first edition, signed by the author, kind of book. I had to return the other two late books (barely late - the boys need three weeks and three days to finish a book), plus I needed to get some mystery books for Aaron. I was gonna have to pay for everything before they'd let me check out any more.
Oh, and I also had a little fine from some overdue videos from long ago. 'Bout 8 bucks worth. This fine had been hanging over my head for some time, but with the new "check yourself out" feature at my library, I've just been ignoring it, scanning my books and getting outta there. I keep trying to be more responsible about the library due dates, but like I've said before, stuff come up!
I walked into the library yesterday, holding my head high and carrying my debit card and two books. I decided to put on a happy face. I wouldn't be bitter, I wouldn't be ashamed, I was just going to be super friendly and nice and apologetic and hope that the librarian wouldn't treat me badly.
I waited at the counter for someone to come hear my tale - you know I wasn't just going to say that I had lost a book and wanted to pay for it, along with all my other fines. It's the details that would explain how badly I felt about all of this, details about vacations and reading by the beach, and searching the house and car and trailer, and feeling it in my bones that I had returned this book a long time ago. The details would let them see me as more than just an irresponsible woman who can't get her life together enough to return things on time and keep track of books. I practiced what I was going to say.
The librarian that came over to help me was new. I had never seen HIM. That's right. It was a man. New gameplan. Now, I was not only going to be super-friendly and nice and apologetic...I was going to be charming. I can do charming.
"I owe you a whole bunch of money. Can you help me figure it out?" I started off with a smile.
"On these two?" He took the books from me.
"Yes, a little bit, but the computer also says that I still have a book from August. I can't find it anywhere." I told him all the details, all the charming details, emphasizing just how hard I'd been looking. I handed him my card and he looked up my account.
"Uh huh. Not much on these...it looks like there's an old fine on some videos...and yeah, this one is really overdue."
"How much does the book cost?"
"It's $12.99 but there's a $5 fee whenever a book gets lost. I'm sorry."
"My punishment...I understand." My lower lip may have jutted out, just a teensy bit.
"Tell you what...you don't have to pay that right now. I'll put a hold on the fines that are accruing and you can keep looking for it. You'll find it in the next month or so, right?"
"Well, I really don't think I will. I've looked and looked.... Is there a chance, I mean, does it ever happen, that a book gets returned and lost in all this?" I gestured at the stacks and stacks of books on the counters. "I really thought I had returned it."
"Stay right here - I'll go look for it." And he went off to do just that.
A few minutes later, he headed back towards me, waving the book in the air. He was smiling. I clapped my hands and smiled right back. My bones had not lied - I had returned the book.
Now he was the one apologizing. Silly library, losing books like that.
He added up the rest of my fines, and I couldn't resist asking,
"Since you had the book all along, do I get that $5 fee as a credit for all my worry and searching?" An eyelash may have batted.
"Tell you what," he said again, "I'll just waive the entire amount. Don't worry about it. I'm really sorry about all this."
I thanked him and told him that he was so so nice and that he made my day. I let him waive the entire fine.
Shameless? You bet.
Shameless enough to eat old chocolate, melted and re-hardened into a lump, shameless enough to charm my way out of a hefty library fine. That's me.
Have you ever talked/charmed your way out of something?
One day last week, I got a call from the computerized lady at the library, telling me that I had three items overdue. Two of them were books that my boys were reading - I knew about those, but the third was one of the Sweet Potato Queen books. Left over from August. Great.
The biggest problem was that I had long ago returned everything from that trip. I'd been so careful, keeping all the books in the truck for travel reading - which I can do just fine until we hit a canyon - and the magazines in my beach bag. I am always so paranoid about losing something from the library - it's never inexpensive, and I just knew that I had returned it. Felt it in my bones.
The book was not anywhere in my home. It was 6 weeks overdue, and I'd done plenty of cleaning, and organizing, and putting away since then. If it was in my home, I'd have come across it by now. I checked the cars, thinking maybe it had fallen in between seats or something. No book, but I did find quite a few french fries, some Pull 'n Peel Twizzlers that had been pulled, peeled, and dropped under the back seat, lots of trash and water bottles and a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup that had melted and re-hardened. Because I was so stressed about finding this dang book, I ate the cup. Yes, I have no shame when it comes to peanut butter and chocolate, and yes, it was still delicious.
Troy went up to the lake and brought the trailer home. Hoping against hope, I checked all through the cabinets and under cushions and inside cubby holes (trailers have loads of cubby holes) - still nothing. Ugh, I hate losing things - especially things that don't belong to me. Librarians can be a tad cranky when you lose their books.
Time to face the music of my lost book. Go to the library and fess up. I hoped it wasn't a rare copy of an out-of-print, first edition, signed by the author, kind of book. I had to return the other two late books (barely late - the boys need three weeks and three days to finish a book), plus I needed to get some mystery books for Aaron. I was gonna have to pay for everything before they'd let me check out any more.
Oh, and I also had a little fine from some overdue videos from long ago. 'Bout 8 bucks worth. This fine had been hanging over my head for some time, but with the new "check yourself out" feature at my library, I've just been ignoring it, scanning my books and getting outta there. I keep trying to be more responsible about the library due dates, but like I've said before, stuff come up!
I walked into the library yesterday, holding my head high and carrying my debit card and two books. I decided to put on a happy face. I wouldn't be bitter, I wouldn't be ashamed, I was just going to be super friendly and nice and apologetic and hope that the librarian wouldn't treat me badly.
I waited at the counter for someone to come hear my tale - you know I wasn't just going to say that I had lost a book and wanted to pay for it, along with all my other fines. It's the details that would explain how badly I felt about all of this, details about vacations and reading by the beach, and searching the house and car and trailer, and feeling it in my bones that I had returned this book a long time ago. The details would let them see me as more than just an irresponsible woman who can't get her life together enough to return things on time and keep track of books. I practiced what I was going to say.
The librarian that came over to help me was new. I had never seen HIM. That's right. It was a man. New gameplan. Now, I was not only going to be super-friendly and nice and apologetic...I was going to be charming. I can do charming.
"I owe you a whole bunch of money. Can you help me figure it out?" I started off with a smile.
"On these two?" He took the books from me.
"Yes, a little bit, but the computer also says that I still have a book from August. I can't find it anywhere." I told him all the details, all the charming details, emphasizing just how hard I'd been looking. I handed him my card and he looked up my account.
"Uh huh. Not much on these...it looks like there's an old fine on some videos...and yeah, this one is really overdue."
"How much does the book cost?"
"It's $12.99 but there's a $5 fee whenever a book gets lost. I'm sorry."
"My punishment...I understand." My lower lip may have jutted out, just a teensy bit.
"Tell you what...you don't have to pay that right now. I'll put a hold on the fines that are accruing and you can keep looking for it. You'll find it in the next month or so, right?"
"Well, I really don't think I will. I've looked and looked.... Is there a chance, I mean, does it ever happen, that a book gets returned and lost in all this?" I gestured at the stacks and stacks of books on the counters. "I really thought I had returned it."
"Stay right here - I'll go look for it." And he went off to do just that.
A few minutes later, he headed back towards me, waving the book in the air. He was smiling. I clapped my hands and smiled right back. My bones had not lied - I had returned the book.
Now he was the one apologizing. Silly library, losing books like that.
He added up the rest of my fines, and I couldn't resist asking,
"Since you had the book all along, do I get that $5 fee as a credit for all my worry and searching?" An eyelash may have batted.
"Tell you what," he said again, "I'll just waive the entire amount. Don't worry about it. I'm really sorry about all this."
I thanked him and told him that he was so so nice and that he made my day. I let him waive the entire fine.
Shameless? You bet.
Shameless enough to eat old chocolate, melted and re-hardened into a lump, shameless enough to charm my way out of a hefty library fine. That's me.
Have you ever talked/charmed your way out of something?
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Scoot Down...a little more...a little more...a little more...okay, relax.
Went to see my new gynecologist yesterday. And I'm having mixed feelings about the whole experience.
For years and years, my entire married life, I've been seeing Dr. L. for all obstetric and gynecological needs. For the last 12 or so years, it's all been gyno - no more obstetrics for me, thank you very much. About 5 months ago, I decided it was high time for my yearly visit, seeing as I was approaching 3 years since my last one. I like to stay on top of these things.
For years and years, my entire married life, I've been seeing Dr. L. for all obstetric and gynecological needs. For the last 12 or so years, it's all been gyno - no more obstetrics for me, thank you very much. About 5 months ago, I decided it was high time for my yearly visit, seeing as I was approaching 3 years since my last one. I like to stay on top of these things.
Dr. L., whom I love, was booked out for what seemed like forever, and in a moment of feeling like I needed to simplify and find a doctor that was closer and easier to get in to see, I made an appointment with someone else. A woman. And I think she's a nurse practitioner.
Honestly, when I was shopping for a gynecologist to be my obstetrician, I got lots of references and asked lots of questions. This time, I basically threw a dart at my computer screen showing the list of people that my insurance wants me to see. My requirements were pretty simple: Close to home, did they have a real person on the appointment line who could book me soon, and um, close to home. My time is just too darn valuable to have to drive very far.
So I got in with this lady named Jackie. The appointment booker said she was great. Good enough for me. When I had to cancel my original appointment and book with another nurse practitioner, the new one was apparently great as well. And finally, I cancelled the second appointment (stuff comes up, I swear!) and got another appointment with Jackie. Great. But here's the lame part - when I finally got in to see her, it was one day after my appointment with Dr. L. would have been. Curse my impatience! Why didn't I just stick with the tried and true?
Jackie was very nice. I can't fault her for anything. She did her job, she was friendly, but...I don't know, a couple of things, I didn't like. Maybe it wasn't even that I didn't like it, just that it was different.
When Dr. L did my exams, he always left me very covered up. It seemed that he did most of the upper exam (I'm just going to call them the upper exam and the lower exam - no risque ads!) under the sheet. If he looked at all, it was just a quick glance to make sure that things looked right. Other than that, I was well covered.
Jackie sort of whipped open the sheet and left me exposed on both sides while she did the exam. Like, because she was a woman, it was okay to have me uncovered. Believe it or not, I do have some modesty! Same with the lower exam - she might as well have tossed the sheet to the ground. I was out there! Felt like it anyway.
Dr L. was always super gentle and slow and apologized throughout the lower exam. He knew it wasn't the most comfortable thing, physically or emotionally, and he felt bad.
Jackie was, well, kind of rough. Too fast. And she didn't apologize, even when I said "ooo, that hurts".
Dr. L. asks about Troy, my boys, how I'm doing. He pats my back tells me how happy he is that we have a family. There's history there. He's known me since the first time I got pregnant, and he delivered both of my babies that didn't live. He was with me on the two worst days of my entire life and he knows what happened. He knows.
Jackie wrote down everything medical about me, nodded a lot, did an upper exam and a lower exam, and told me that things looked fine. But she didn't even ask how I was doing now, when I mentioned that I'd had some depression in the past. There was not, shall we say, a love connection.
This was just going to a be a light-hearted little post about improper draping and the differences between a woman gyno (sorry, nurse practitioner) and a man. The more I think about it though, it seems that this little visit of mine has sparked some other emotions.
Like, why did I cry a tiny bit after the visit? Did I really miss Dr. L. that much? Or was it from having to rehash our whole, sad pregnancy and loss history? I had been exposed, both physically and emotionally to a stranger. I think I'll chalk it up to that, and that later this month, we mark the date of what would have been our daughter's 14th birthday. I guess it's been on my mind a little bit. Bad timing to go a new doctor.
I'm pretty sure I'll go back to Dr. L. next time. There's a history and a connection with him that I didn't realize was so important to me. Now I know. Plus, he'll keep me covered.
So what do we want from our doctors? Compassion and connection as well as care? Or is a prescription pad enough? Do we have different doctors that fulfill different needs? And most importantly...what is your opinion on...
Woman gynecologist vs. Man gynecologist. Any thoughts?
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
It's the Great Can of Libby's Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Last week my friend, Angi , posted some pictures on her blog of the pumpkins in their garden. How much fun are home-grown pumpkins? Lots.
Back when the boys were little and I was running the in-home daycare, I had a garden too. I dabbled in strawberries and tomatoes, zucchini, and yellow squash. But the biggest crowd pleaser, by far, was the pumpkins. We grew pumpkins in our garden for about 5 years - big ones, little ones, bright orange and the never-did-turn-orange ones, misshapen ones and perfect ones. The kids loved them all. We turned them and babied them and watched and waited for them to grow and change color. Then we hacked them off the vine and sliced and sawed and scraped at them until they were no longer pumpkins - they were jack-o-lanterns! Whaaahahahaha! That's my evil laugh.
And then my garden stopped producing pumpkins. Or anything for that matter. Just a few (okay, just a few million) weeds. It was as if the soil had given all that it had. All the minerals and richness and goodness that make up a good soil were depleted. Our last few attempts at a garden yielded only discouragement and a paltry tomato or two. We stopped trying. We buy our pumpkins now.
(Note to self: Growing your own pumpkins was a blast! Don't give up completely - keep after Troy until he builds you that raised garden bed that you've been talking about. Bring in fresh soil. Start small, nurture and care for it...you can do it. Have faith.)
Well, home-grown or bought at the store or from a field, it is definitely pumpkin time. Feeling the weather get cooler and seeing the leaves change puts me in a mood to hang out with my favorite kind of pumpkin:
The kind to make yummy things with. Are you with me? Do you like pumpkin desserts? I do, starting with:
Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread (oh, just wait til I put my Mom's recipe for pumpkin bread on here!) pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie, and Tawnya's Pumpkin Dessert. Oh baby.
Years and years ago, I had a friend named Tawnya who made this fabulous pumpkin dessert. She gave me the recipe and it's a favorite every time I make it. I've given the recipe to lots of people and they probably call it Wendy's Pumpkin Dessert. If you make it and decide that it's a keeper for your family, go ahead and give it a fancy, delicious-sounding name - it deserves better than just the name of the person you got it from.
**********************************************************
Tawnya's Pumpkin Dessert
1 large can evaporated milk
1 16 oz. can of solid pack pumpkin
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Mix that all up with the beaters and pour into a greased or sprayed 9x13 pan.
1 box yellow cake mix
chopped pecans - a lot or a little. I like a lot.
1 cup margarine or butter, melted
Sprinkle the dry cake mix all over the top of the pumpkin mixture, and then sprinkle the pecans on top of that. Pour that melted margarine or butter over the whole thing and bake for 50 - 60 minutes at 350 degrees.
Top it with either Cool Whip or the real stuff. So dang good! The pumpkin part is sort of mild - not too sweet, smooth and creamy. The buttery, pecan-laden cake mix part is rich and sweet and decadent and kind of crunchy, and heaven help me, it's even a little bit salty from all that butter! You need the whipped cream to bring it all together. Don't you dare make it without the whipped cream!
**********************************************************
Whew! For a blog that isn't a recipe blog, I've sure been writing about food a lot lately. It's enough to make me do something in the kitchen besides the dishes and overseeing homework.
Do you have a favorite dessert that's made with pumpkin?
Back when the boys were little and I was running the in-home daycare, I had a garden too. I dabbled in strawberries and tomatoes, zucchini, and yellow squash. But the biggest crowd pleaser, by far, was the pumpkins. We grew pumpkins in our garden for about 5 years - big ones, little ones, bright orange and the never-did-turn-orange ones, misshapen ones and perfect ones. The kids loved them all. We turned them and babied them and watched and waited for them to grow and change color. Then we hacked them off the vine and sliced and sawed and scraped at them until they were no longer pumpkins - they were jack-o-lanterns! Whaaahahahaha! That's my evil laugh.
And then my garden stopped producing pumpkins. Or anything for that matter. Just a few (okay, just a few million) weeds. It was as if the soil had given all that it had. All the minerals and richness and goodness that make up a good soil were depleted. Our last few attempts at a garden yielded only discouragement and a paltry tomato or two. We stopped trying. We buy our pumpkins now.
(Note to self: Growing your own pumpkins was a blast! Don't give up completely - keep after Troy until he builds you that raised garden bed that you've been talking about. Bring in fresh soil. Start small, nurture and care for it...you can do it. Have faith.)
Well, home-grown or bought at the store or from a field, it is definitely pumpkin time. Feeling the weather get cooler and seeing the leaves change puts me in a mood to hang out with my favorite kind of pumpkin:
The kind to make yummy things with. Are you with me? Do you like pumpkin desserts? I do, starting with:
Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread (oh, just wait til I put my Mom's recipe for pumpkin bread on here!) pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie, and Tawnya's Pumpkin Dessert. Oh baby.
Years and years ago, I had a friend named Tawnya who made this fabulous pumpkin dessert. She gave me the recipe and it's a favorite every time I make it. I've given the recipe to lots of people and they probably call it Wendy's Pumpkin Dessert. If you make it and decide that it's a keeper for your family, go ahead and give it a fancy, delicious-sounding name - it deserves better than just the name of the person you got it from.
**********************************************************
Tawnya's Pumpkin Dessert
1 large can evaporated milk
1 16 oz. can of solid pack pumpkin
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Mix that all up with the beaters and pour into a greased or sprayed 9x13 pan.
1 box yellow cake mix
chopped pecans - a lot or a little. I like a lot.
1 cup margarine or butter, melted
Sprinkle the dry cake mix all over the top of the pumpkin mixture, and then sprinkle the pecans on top of that. Pour that melted margarine or butter over the whole thing and bake for 50 - 60 minutes at 350 degrees.
Top it with either Cool Whip or the real stuff. So dang good! The pumpkin part is sort of mild - not too sweet, smooth and creamy. The buttery, pecan-laden cake mix part is rich and sweet and decadent and kind of crunchy, and heaven help me, it's even a little bit salty from all that butter! You need the whipped cream to bring it all together. Don't you dare make it without the whipped cream!
**********************************************************
Whew! For a blog that isn't a recipe blog, I've sure been writing about food a lot lately. It's enough to make me do something in the kitchen besides the dishes and overseeing homework.
Do you have a favorite dessert that's made with pumpkin?
Monday, October 1, 2007
Movie Quote Monday
A few weeks ago, at a family reunion, my brother-in-law, Tom, and my sister-in-law, Natasha and I were sitting outside reciting movie quotes to each other. Maybe it was because it was so late, maybe it was because the mosquitoes had sucked so much of our blood that we were light-headed, I don't know. But we were laughing our heads off. Yeah, probably the mosquitoes.
Anyway, I'm going to try a new feature here today - just a little something to keep everyone else away from their dishes and laundry too. Introducing...Movie Quote Monday! (And the crowd cheers. At least some of them do. The rest are exiting out and saying "Oh crap...I hate games.)
For those of you left, here's how it goes. On Monday morning, I'm going to post a movie quote. If you can identify the movie and who was speaking, leave it in a comment along with your own movie quote from a different movie. Then readers will identify your quote. Sort of a movie quote tag. There could be several quotes in play at one time, depending on fast everyone is. And I get to play too.
(Oh, and the management appreciates the prudent use of asterisks to represent foul language, if your quote happens to contain any. The beginning letter and some asterisks will do just fine. Thank you.)
So here goes. I think I've started off fairly easy. Your first movie quote is:
"I really love Rudy. He is totally enamored of me. I mean, I've had other men love me before, but not for six months in a row. "
Thanks for playing!
Anyway, I'm going to try a new feature here today - just a little something to keep everyone else away from their dishes and laundry too. Introducing...Movie Quote Monday! (And the crowd cheers. At least some of them do. The rest are exiting out and saying "Oh crap...I hate games.)
For those of you left, here's how it goes. On Monday morning, I'm going to post a movie quote. If you can identify the movie and who was speaking, leave it in a comment along with your own movie quote from a different movie. Then readers will identify your quote. Sort of a movie quote tag. There could be several quotes in play at one time, depending on fast everyone is. And I get to play too.
(Oh, and the management appreciates the prudent use of asterisks to represent foul language, if your quote happens to contain any. The beginning letter and some asterisks will do just fine. Thank you.)
So here goes. I think I've started off fairly easy. Your first movie quote is:
"I really love Rudy. He is totally enamored of me. I mean, I've had other men love me before, but not for six months in a row. "
Thanks for playing!
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