snakes... eeyyyywwwwwwww

The snake incident at my kids' school yesterday brought up a snake memory. Luckily, I only have one of those! When I was little we lived in Bedford in Upstate NY. There were rock walls all around the property and we had a pretty rock garden on the slope of a small hill in back of the house that we could see from the kitchen. It was tiered with the rocks that were dug up when the house was built, and every year my Mom would replant with all the annuals she loved. One day, while she was showing me some of the flowers she'd chosen, a litte garter snake poked its head out from between the rocks in one of the tiers to say hello. Yeesh, who'd think a woman could scream that loud?! She called the police (because that's what any non-country person would do, right?) and the officer promptly arrived. Here's the kicker. We were standing right behind him while he aimed and shot that little snakes head off. At the time, I remember thinking 'wow, that was going a little overboard', hehe! Regardless of that early drama, I prefer a snake-free school, home and yard and probably would have done just as my mother did! Yuck.

looking for the end

This week has been very busy, school-wise, and it's time for mom to take a breather. The teacher's birthday is today, party time follows lunch. The class will have a whooped up 40 minutes to sing Happy Birthday, open gifts, eat, run and scream then it's home. I saw them this morning and the excitement level is already at a critical level. My little one is giving this to the teacher. Just a pretty, mirrored box with the teacher's favorite candy (a necessary thing to know about your teacher!) and, of course, the mocha latte to go along with it. She'll need something to wash down those birthday muffins and to get her through to the end of the day, hehe! I fully realize that every mom isn't involved like I am and doesn't do what I do for the classes and teachers. Sometimes I'm jealous of their non-involvement but not at all in a bad way. It must be nice to not have this extra stuff to think about, and I would never fault anyone in any way for traveling the easy route. What I do is part of who I am - it's second nature (and it's a curse!). While I've tried to be less active, I just can't be. When I was young, first grade actually, I remember that was the one year that my Mom was room mom. Things were much simpler back then, but I absolutely remember the feeling of pride and joy when MY mom walked in with cupcakes and party makings. Such a strong feeling that to this day it's a driving force behind me. I see that feeling in my children's faces when I walk in the class ;). Hehe, and for the kids who've known me all these years, their faces also take on that dewey glow because they associate me with cupcakes!

Note to self: I've got to get out more with grown-ups!

busy day on the horizon

Don't you just love getting an early jump on the day? We're finally getting a good soaker of a rain today - the perfect backdrop for all I have to do. We've got a visit with the tax man tomorrow so I've some numbers to organize. That should be first on the list, hehe! Then we've got a small birthday celebration tomorrow for my little one's teacher so I'll be baking upwards of 100 mini muffins. How many mini muffins can each child eat without it being considered piggish? Better safe than sorry! Blueberry, Chocolate Chip and Cinnamon Crumble should do for the selection. Then its on to making my stew for tonight's dinner. While I'll hate to erase the sweet smell of all those muffins, a rainy day is perfect for a large pot of stew with some crusty sourdough. I put that particular meal off till today just so we could enjoy the rain ;). Now to get everything started...

In case you're wondering - no time at all today to get to those magazines, lol!

basket o' flowers

On my birthday my fab friend, Alex, sent flowers to me (boohoo! they made me cry!). The next day the beautiful tulips had already started to curl funny and the iris were withering into themselves. One tulip had committed suicide right in front of my morning tea. Not a good sign for birthday flowers to be giving and I was taking it personally, lol! As I walked past them this morning, the whole arrangement smelled like a swamp. Hhmmm, what to do. Alex wanted me to send a picture. They came from one of those places that 'guarantees' their flowers so I called them and discussed the odor the arrangement was transmitting. The chipper young man told me to bring them down. One quick trip and a 15 minute wait and a brand new basket of beautifully fresh flowers is making me feel so much better about starting a new year :)! I feel kinda funky for calling them on their less-than-fresh arrangement, but I know Alex would have been very p----- o-- if I'd kept the deteriorating tulips (for what they cost, they should last more than a day or two, don't you think?) and I was in just the right sort of mood this morning to go for it. Thank you, Al! I love my flowers!

ps. no, I didn't get to those magazines yet...

the joys of procrastination

How do children learn about procrastination? Mine, obviously, learn from me, lol! I've had piles of magazines building up for what seems like forever, and I have every intention of getting to them (sooner or later). I'm just showing the tip of the iceberg here - I hide the really big piles because it's embarrassing ;). All those turned pages that I want to keep for the fabulous ideas whirring around in my head. These magazines are going to help me re-find the things that will make my house the home it's always wanted to be. Kind of like 'The Little Engine that Could'. I'm at peace that I'll probably never read them all cover to glorious cover - that was a reality many years ago but llooooooonng gone. Boy, do these things multiply quickly! So my intention is to tear out all those dog-earred pages and file them in an accordian folder, by room. Yes, that sounds nice and tidy. Maybe I'll start that tomorrow, hehe! I dare you to join me...

happy birthday to me!

Let's all sing it together, lol!

Today's blog is about birthday cake and, specifically, the same birthday cake I've had every year since I-can't-remember-when. My Dad and brother used to dread this cake but had to eat a piece because Mom said they had to. Really, it would have been fine if they didn't - more for me! It's an angel food cake with Betty Crocker's Fluffy White Icing slathered all over. It's the stickiest of sticky marshmallow type of icing that's readily available. My Mom has mailed me a steady supply every year (until recently because it's finally stocked in the stores out here - someone must have found out how fabulously sticky it is!). I don't think of it as an indulgance so much as a comforting tradition that signals the passing of another year. My Mom must understand this. The number of candles means nothing. It's the number of sprinkles that matters ;) !