Today’s lunch is brought to you by Marie Callender’s Chicken Pot Pie.

Though I’m not big into pre-packaged or frozen meals, in the past few years I’ve broken down and have added more of them to my shopping cart. The summer days, with the four boys home, always leads to a significant increase in our grocery spending and food consumption. I know that I often break down and will do take-out because I am short on time. But it isn’t like take-out is any more “healthy organic” than frozen.

I wish I had the time and discipline to be a better homemaker, meal-planning, gardening, cooking, cleaning. But with me working, now (out of the home and at home), my time for those things has lessened. And frankly, I didn’t feel I was doing all that well as a homemaker before I started working outside the home (which is why I figured I might as well get a job since I was wasting my time on my butt at home).

I wish I weren’t so confused.

The internet is a buzz over Jon & Kate plus 8 (reality TV show on TLC)and the sad situation their family is in right now. I don’t keep up with it, honestly, beyond what I’m not practically forced to know by the magazines at the check-out counter at the grocery store. It bothers me.

I just know that way back when they were first on television, something didn’t sit right with me. It just seemed like such a gamble, to have life be chaotic enough with twins and then the subsequent birth of multiples. I remembered my own house when the twins were born. Two kids in school, one in diapers, plus nursing twins. I couldn’t imagine having cameras flocking around us on a routine basis. It wouldn’t have been a pretty site – nor would it have been good for our establishing family.

If you watch the show you can see how the house transforms, how the mom changes from flustered new mom of a multiples, to a reality television star with frosty hair and metallic sunglasses. How on earth did it come to that? I mean, are you serious? Their faces on mugs and t-shirts? Videos? Like winning the lottery and completely imploding over the course of a few years. I’m convinced that people can have too much of a good thing. Children, especially. No child would likely benefit from a life where they are toted around Hollywood, jetting from city to city (to promote… yourself — how weird is that?!), in front of the media, made a spectacle of at sporting events, the list goes on and on.

Too many options, worrying about what sponsorships to accept, appearances to make, what trip to film, what make-up to wear — and way less focus on the precious years of raising children, stealing moments with your husband.

I suppose you could be envious of the sponsorships, the trips, the free plastic surgery. But then you can also see what “deal with the devil” had been made. At the sacrifice of a marriage, of your children’s childhood? Hindsight is always 20/20, but reality TV doesn’t really care about who they are filming and what the ramifications of the intrusion of their subject’s lives will be. But possibly more thought should be put into shooting reality TV when it involves children. Time will tell if these reality TV “child stars” face the same issues as the child actors who seem prone to confusion, drug-abuse and issues with parents and their hard-earned fortunes.

What do you think?

Ah, this is a great commercial for Chef Boyardee (full serving of vegetables). Love the expression on the mom’s face at the end. She did a great job.

I received an email from a woman named Sis. She said she used the Chunky Ribbed Hat pattern posted in the knitting section of my site. She said it was perfect for a knitting group she has that makes hats for homeless people in the Seattle area. The program she is working with is called, “Warm for Winter“  — A program sponsored by the Interfaith Council of Washington. Sis’ specific group goal is to make 100 hats by winter 2009. Can we help her?

I think we can.

Here’s a little information from Sis:

…I have been very involved with knitting, started two groups at my Temple and along with this I thought it would be nice to give an afghan to each new renter. I had labels made with my Temple’s knitting group name – “Knitzvah” which is knitting for a Mitzvah. Mitzvah in Hebrew is acts of good deeds. Most of the people we have put into apartments are women with children and each family gets an afghan. I started out having folks knit strips which I put together but it got to be so much work that I figured why not make the whole afghan and came up with a pattern. I have folks knitting in Florida, Arizona, Maryland, California and locally. We have made close to 100 afghans and have placed close to 100 families into apartments; mostly women with kids. Then… I also got my folks knitting for hats for the homeless. I watch for yarn sales and put together both afghan and hat kits and give them out to people I meet at book events, etc. around town.

If you’d like to knit a hat (or two, or three – with the Chunky Ribbed Hat pattern, or a pattern of your own) for the homeless, fantastic!!! Whip ‘em up.

Completed hats should be sent to:
Sis’s Homeless Hats
T.B.A. 2632 NE 80th St
Seattle, WA 98115

Thanks so much!!! Send me a picture or link if you have the time. I’d love to see your hats. Feel free to link to this post to help spread the word.

I live in Wisconsin, USA we practice daylight savings time (read up on it if you haven’t – pretty interesting). I wish we did not, honestly. It throws me completely out of whack.

Spring ahead, Fall back.

In Spring, you set your clocks ahead an hour and in Fall you turn them back an hour.

Fall, I can handle more than Spring – I mean, how can you not handle to gain an entire hour?! Besides, in Fall, you’re kind of cozing in for the season. The earlier onset of evening encourages my body and brain to start “tucking in” and doing cozy things like knitting, reading, cooking, relaxing.

Spring, however, throws my whole system out of whack, making me feel out of my element. Tired. No wonder people have Seasonal Affective Disorder (although, like I said, my adjustment really comes in with the Spring time change).

I’ve gone over a month without coffee (I switch between coffee and tea), but this morning – hadto have it. My internal clock is set to get to bed around 11:30pm-12:00am and I’m finding myself not able to sleep until 1am. Not good. And when I do wake up – it’s dark out. Gar!!

I’d like to purchase a hair straightener/flat iron. And a good one, ’cause I plan to use it.

I’ve recently gone from this:

to this:

Nine years of nappy natural hair. It was fun, and I may do it again. But before I went natural, I was relaxed; I wanted to revisit relaxing my hair. The lady who did it was skilled, and excited to work with “virgin” hair. She said that it was nice to be able to start with it and know what works. She learned (as I told her) my hair is VERY stubborn and hard to relax, and that she should have left it on the ends longer. Can’t blame her too much though. With her now knowing exactly what has touched my hair and how my hair works, I’m hoping to render even better results next time. She’d also like to use me for her next Relaxer Class in the fall, so I’ll get a free treatment, which is cool.

In the interim, I am on the search for a good, solid straightening iron for my hair. I have no clue where to start. I’ve seen them on QVC and infomercials, but have no clue where to start. Any recommendations?

I just wasted $15. It is my own fault, and my own choice to spend the money.

After work, I decided to swing by Arby’s to pick up a couple salads for myself and my daughter. The drive-thru was roped with cars; I was about fifth in line. As I pulled up to the speaker, another car pulled behind me. I eyed the menu, looking for old familiar: Arby’s Martha’s Vineyard Salad. I saw three salads. But none of them were my Martha’s Vineyard.

“Don’t you have Martha’s Vineyard?” I asked, when questioned on my order choices.

The answer was NO.

No? My favorite salad in the entire world of fast food?! Gone? The almonds, chicken, lettuce, cranberries and cheese salad sold by a chain restaurant directly on the path I take home from work? The salad that I add walnuts to and eat with oil and vinegar when I get home? The MAIN reason Arby’s even gets money from my pocketbook?

H-tothe-naw!!!

I ordered a consolation turkey-something salad and a crispy-ick salad instead. And some of the new eggrolls that they had, just because I was already down in the dumps, so why not? And a Diet Pepsi since I’d at least KNOW what that would taste like. My van sulked all the way to the “first window.” I could, should have just waited for an opening and burned out of there, spitting dirty snow in the face of The Man. Drove off. But I was lazy and hungry and trapped by the drive-thru.

Neither salad was worth $5, not even on a day when there’s no time and I’m lazy and hungry. Nu-uh. Nope. Sorry. I guess I have to pursue other means of fast-food salad happiness.

One-day in the office work week. Cramming.

Exchanging videos at Blockbuster.

A trip to the Dollar Tree.

Last minute cookie-making.

Online gift ordering.

Writing a Christmas/New Year/Annual family letter.

Stopping at a friend’s house for a cocktail and Christmas cheer.

Crab, shrimp, broccoli, asparagus, olives, bars, figs, chocolates. Yum.

Brushing my teeth with a brand new toothbrush.

A late night.

Call me a dork, but I’m totally excited that Gmail has (finally) added Gmail emoticons. Hoorah. I love my gmail, having had it when you needed an invite to get it. I use it for work and personal use, but it has lacked some of the traditional bells and whistles of rival web-based email (Yahoo, Hotmail). It is nice to see these little improvements coming along. Hopefully we continue to see improvements being made in Picasa as well. Keep it up, Google.

Congratulations to Courtney, she won the book!! There’s more where that came from; just keep checking back.

…

Is anyone else doing nothing this summer? I know summer is the typical time for “vacations” and all that jazz, but we don’t have it like that to take a family vacation to Destination Somewhere this summer (or, well, pretty much ANY summer). We contemplate going up north to my parent’s cabin, but with the prices of gas, we’re looking at $250-$300 round trip in our van. That’s some crazy stuff. Seriously. So, we’ve been trying to make the best of our mosquito-infested, non-vacation taking summer. Baseball games, trips to the public pool, bike rides, etc.

Anyone else doing Homecationing? Here’s a few suggestions:

1. Backyard camping – Set up a tent in the backyard (yours or a neighbor’s, if you want to make it more “destination bound.” You can even have backyard fires in most cities. Nothing screams camping like a tent, fire and s’mores. Maybe some swimsuits and a run through the sprinkler in lieu of a watering hole.
2. Grilling out/picnicking at a local park – We’ve done this many times before. With friends or without. Having a little picnic, even if it isn’t far away, spices things up a bit, breaking the summertime monotony.
3. Rediscovering the library – For some it is an underused free destination. If you don’t go there, make a point to do so. Ours has a ton of free programs for kids with reading incentives. Carlito just picked up free admission to a baseball game and a State Park for reading X amount of hours so far this summer.
4. Movie marathon – If you have a weekend, or a couple days off (great rainy-day stuff), rent yourself – better yet, borrow from the library OR note some movie times on TV and catch a couple a day. Pop popcorn, make some fun snacks and make it a special occasion. Watch with friends, watch as a family, or watch alone. But make the event around the show.
5. Utilize the State Park – if you live in the US, there’s probably a state, city or county park nearby. Many of them have activities throughout the summer (for free or for a minimal amount). Take advantage of the trails, ride your bike or just visit a part of the park you haven’t been to. Combined with a backpack lunch or picnic really makes a mini-vacation out of a simple trip.

Most of the above things can be done for free or for less than $50, which is only a hint of what a regular vacation can cost. Putting an activity on the calendar and sticking to it, as if it were a real vacation, makes it even more of an “event,” something special to look forward to. The simple act of marking a Me Day or Family Day on the calendar and thinking up 3-5 things you’ll do special for yourself/your family, turning off email, phone and centering only on the day together is a vacation in itself.