Krafty Kitten

I’ve been burning through A Game of Thrones and actually finished it last night, curled up in bed with Big Guy.  I imagine by the time the weekend comes, I’ll have finished the second book.  I just need to prepare myself not to complain or else Big Guy will mock me.

As it is, he’s very insistent that I am a nerd like him.  He uses my reading against me.  Of course he also uses the fact that he dragged me into the gaming world against me.  He tried to use my video gaming against me, but I was able to point out that gaming is actually a pretty cool thing to do.  He then had to point out that most of the video games I enjoyed were pretty nerdy.

He said even my movies were nerdy.  This is not true.  He tried to say that since many of the movies I greatly enjoy are based on books, it made me a nerd.  I disagree.  I think it means I know what I like going in.  Yes, I have watched more than one movie based on Shakespeare.  And I have done so of my own volition. Yes, I enjoy movies based on Jane Austin novels.  That is not nerdy.   He then tried to use my love for the English language against me.

He said the simple fact that I teach courses in Lit and writing makes me a nerd.  He said no one but a nerd would harbor the deep emotions I hold for literature and grammar.  When I protested that English was cool, he said my arguments to the contrary (and my correction of his word choice) only served to enhance my nerdiness.  I’m sorry, but you can’t use odorous when you mean onerous.

I disagree most strongly with his views.  English and the study of grammar and literature is not nerdy but “muy awesome“.  We even watch the TV show Castle where the main character (played by the sexy and also awesome Nathan Fillion) tends to make me squeal like the grammar fan girl I am.  If discussion on proper word usage and how to properly define “irony” are so nerdy, then why are they discussed by such an awesome character?  And if loving English is wrong, then I don’t wanna be right.

Of course, in a world where the average American reads at a sixth-grade level, maybe being an English nerd is not such a bad thing.  In the long run, it doesn’t matter how nerdy others think I am, I know I’m cool and I know what I enjoy.  And, besides, I will never be as nerdy as Big Guy.

OK, maybe I’m wrong.

So, my mother in law sent over a bag of goodies for Little Guy.  Footie pajamas, which he loves and refuses to take off until we make him, an adorable “Kiss me I’m Irish” shirt, a pair of snow pants, and a set of “Hit Stix”.

These are drumsticks that make noise no matter what you beat them on.  He has tried them out on the wall, the floor, the doors, a car, a box, his bed, and anything alse he can find.  In fact, our house is chock full of taps and beats and other wonderful drum-type of stuff.  I must remember to thank her.

For Christmas, I bought Big Guy a set of books: The Temraire series by Naomi Novik.  We both burned through those books at record speed, though I finished the series first.  According to Big Guythis is due to the fact that I read “freakishly fast”.  I disagree.  It may be speedy, but I read everything.  Because I managed to finish the books in record time, we discussed what series we were going to purchase next to read and have decided on George R.R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice.  That was why we went to Barnes and Noble yesterday.

While we were there we purchased the first two books of the series and a couple workbooks for Little Guy to practice his writing skills with.  For, while I have no concerns about his potential writing ability, I do have concerns about his ability to write.  So, we’re going to take pencil in hand and practice starting tomorrow.  This ought to be interesting, especially when you consider that he doesn’t like following directions.  (He gets that from Big Guy.

As far as the new series, I’m reading the first book, A Game of Thrones, and made it to page 124 last night.  I told Big Guy that it may be true that I devour books.  His response was to say no.  Devouring would imply I stopped to chew.  I simply suck them in like spaghetti.  I know I read fast, but I do read everything.  That’s something most people don’t understand. I’m not just skimming, I am actually reading.  I do love reading though.

Last night there was a freezing fog advisory for our area and I noticed, when I looked out the window this morning, it was a bit hazy.  I also noticed that the branches of the trees seem to be coated in an icy glaze.  I wish it would choose something other than grey though.  Snow, I can handle and would enjoy.  Sun would be bright but nice.  Grey clouds that reflect grey off the snow and light the world in a grey, dismal light. This does not help in cracking the post holiday blues.

However, forcing myself out of the rut does.  As you can see, I am getting myself back in the habit of writing.  It would be poor form for a writing teacher to preach writing on a daily basis but not do so herself.  And yesterday, while G and Little Guy played Lego Starwars 2, I made more laundry detergent.  We haven’t had to actually buy laundry detergent for over a year.

Big Guy has no complaints about the homemade detergent and is pleased that the clothes get just as clean for a fraction of the cost.  And, aside from the soap scent that I add to it, there are no other additives.  The clothes get clean, there’s no weird stuff in it, and we aren’t paying a ton of money for it.  This last batch, all I had to buy was the washing soda at a little over $3.  That should last me for the next few batches and the only thing I’ll need to buy will be the scents if I choose to add them.

Because today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I have no class tonight.  I don’t know what we’re going to do tonight, but it won’t involve school.  I’m holding out for a trip to Barnes and Noble, but it depends on Big Guy’s mood when he gets home from work.  In the meantime, while I wait for word, I’ll do some grading and see what pans out.  I’ll probably even do some laundry.  Little Guy is playing with his cars and animals and watching Thomas and Friends in the front room and will probably ask to play with his trains soon.  Later, we may curl up on the sofa together.

Right now I’m sitting on the sofa with Big Guy watching him play Civilization Revolution while I put together my blog entry for today.  Because trailers are not so good at maintaining heat, I am curled up under one of my two Snuggie gifts for Christmas. We’re also watching my niece, G, for my sister-in-law. She’s adorable, if a semi-picky and extremely slow eater. She and Little Guy are currently ensconced in the front room playing Lego Star Wars 2. Currently, they are on a roll destroying R2-D2 so they can hear him yell.

We’re a pretty tech-happy family. We love our PS2 and PS3 and, when console debates begin, of course support our brand of choice. It’s really not that difficult, though I do wish Sony had not eliminated backwards compatibility from the PS3. The Playstation series has a lot of great things going for it, not the least of which is the Blu-Ray player that comes with the Playstation 3. And, Big Guy and I are pretty dedicated gamers. The irony is, when I met him, Big Guy hadn’t had much experience with video games. I introduced him to my Playstation 2, and the rest is history. He became a video game addict like me.

Little Guy is proving to be a video game nerd like mommy and daddy. Of course, the poor child was doomed to nerd-hood anyhow. He runs through the house singing the Imperial Death March and, for a long time, recognized dinosaurs as “dragons”. His preferred weapons are the laser guns, lightsabers, or a sword and shield. He also would prefer to be a Sith lord rather than a Jedi. He can speak some small words in Mandarin and can count to 100 and does so on a regular basis. Not too shabby for a 4 year old. I’ve been trying to get him to read because he LOVES books, but he’s been giving me difficulties recently.

We went to the bargain book store the other day and he wanted a particular Pooh book, a level 2 book which contains higher level words and concepts. I told him that he could have it IF he showed me that he could read it. We went through the first couple pages and except for a difficulty with the word “heart” he read every word on those pages. The booger has been giving me difficulties, not because he’s having trouble, but because he doesn’t want us to know that he can do it. This ranks right up there with our issues with potty training.

Little Guy just turned 4 and is still in diapers. Everyone is full of advice and ideas, some of which we’re going to have to implement in warmer weather. I think, though, that the biggest stumbling block to potty usage, is Little Guy’s own determination. He adamantly refuses to use the potty, doesn’t want to have anything to do with it, and will tolerate no discussion of using it. If he chooses to, he could probably get this potty training thing down with very little effort.

Instead, he’s putting all his effort into avoiding it. When it gets to be spring and summer, I’m unleashing the child on the outdoors in a pair of underpants to try and learn potty time. I think it’s going to be a battle of wills. Luckily, I’m bigger, older and have a better concept of patience and time.

I have homemade chili bubbling away in the crockpot and Little Guy is (hopefully) napping.  It’s still a bit nippy in the house because I have to keep the heat set at 65 to avoid a massive heat bill.  But I also recognize that I am dealing with post-holiday crankiness.

Post-holiday crankiness happens to a lot of people.  The coming down from the build up and excitement of the holidays leads to depression and unhappiness.  I get cranky after the holidays.  Luckily, I recognize it and try to offset the crankiness.  But, the whole post-holiday crankiness bothers me.  Because it bothers me, it tends to make me crankier.  This makes for an unhappy downward spiral.  One thing I know I need to do, that will break the spiral, is get back into a routine.

My current routine has flown to the winds.  It used to be: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays were teaching days; Wednesdays were my “at-home days”, used to get chores and the niggly bits out of the way; Fridays were my days with my mom.  Weekends were reserved for B ig Guy and our activities.  Then, two things happened.  Mom’s car broke down and eliminated the Friday routine for the time being, and the holidays hit.  This event nixed all other routines.

As Big Guy will attest to, I do not do well with change.  It is an unfortunate and unpleasant side effect of the ADD, but there it is.  A change in routine throws me off and affects me mentally and emotionally.  Even worse, the ADD also makes it that much more difficult to get back on track.  And if I’m not careful, my distraction can really upset the balance in the household.  Big Guy and I are not fanatic cleaners, and Little Guy, for as much as I adore him, is a hurricane and a tornado combined.

What this means is that if I get distracted, nothing happens until I throw a fit because now the house is a complete mess.  Big Guy and Little Guy watch me in complete and total amazement while I start slamming things around trying to get things cleaned up.  I know the easiest thing to do would be to pick up gradually, but it never seems to happen.

It’s times like this that I wish I hadn’t married a guy whose cleanliness threshold was so much lower than mine.  On the other hand, if Big Guy is the way he is and nothing happened around the house with Crazy Ex unless he did it, what must her house be like now?

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The holidays were, of course, really busy around here.  Thanksgiving came and went.  We ate turkey, visited with family, and had a great time.  Then the preparations for Christmas kicked into high gear.

I am in love with Christmas.  I love everything about Christmas.  In fact, Big Guy states that Santa probably doesn’t love Christmas as much as I do.  I can’t help it though.  How can you not love a season that promotes peace and joy?  I was the kid who embraced Santa beyond the age of rational thought, the one who knew “Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” practically by heart.  And, were you to ask me today, I would devoutly answer that yes, indeed, there is a Santa Claus.

It is immensely important in today’s fast paced world that we embrace and enjoy the spirit of giving and sharing.  There are probably none better than I who recoginize the difficulty involved in holding on to peace and joy.  The months leading up to Christmas 2009 were… difficult… to put it mildly.  But, Christmas gives us all an opportunity to embrace the better aspects of our personalities.

I made it a point, this year to share what I had, what extras we had, with others.  Selling them would have given us some much needed extra cash, but it would not have given us a much needed c balm to our spirits.  In sharing what we had without trying to earn money, I believe we made an important spiritual advance.  I felt better and people out there, most likely worse off than us, had a better holiday because of us.

So, yes, at 30 years old, I can proudly say that I do believe in Santa.  I believe that the spirit and potential lies in all of us.  And I think that if we were to each embrace that happy, peaceful, and giving side of our personalities on a more regular basis, the situation we find our world in would not exist.  But, I guess I am an idealist.

So, preparing for the holiday season is well underway.  I have Big Guy all shopped for and we’re working on Little Guy. I have a major weakness when it comes to Christmas shopping though.  I like to keep going.  Big Guy gets upset with me every year and tries to limit how much I can buy for him.  This year, when I made my first purchase, he immediately got irritated and told me I spent too much, even though it was under $25.  I think it’s because he’s somewhat flustered, having a wife who tries to dote on him on the holidays.

I have to figure out what we’re getting everyone else for the holidays and work from there.   It’s a different type of holiday than last year.  It will be our first Christmas without the kids.  Luckily, we have Little Guy to focus on and we can work to make it good for him.

Right now, I am also trying to plan my Christmas Eve dinner and breakfast.  For breakfast on Christmas day, I am strongly considering a meal of “Night Before French toast” (recipe to follow), sausage, bacon, coffee, and biscuits.  But dinner the night before is usually a good meal.  My mom comes over and we have our Christmas Eve family gift exchange.  This year, it looks like I am making a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes… I’ll have a few finger food snacks and we’ll have a wonderful night.  I am excited and looking forward to it.

The big meal the night before enables me to play around the next day and not have to worry about meals.  And Christmas Day is one of my favorite things to do.

Night Before French Toast

1 loaf Texas Toast
lots of brown sugar
about 1 stick butter
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash nutmeg

Directions:

Melt butter and brown sugar together stirring frequently.

Spray a 9×13 pan (important!) with cooking spray. Pour mixture on the bottom so it’s about 1/8 inch thick. Lay the bread slices on top of it.

Mix together eggs, milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour egg mix over the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 and uncover the baking dish. Bake for 30 min. You can serve with toppings of your choice.

I’m still alive and kicking.  And around here, we’re preparing for the holiday season.  The past couple months have been exceedingly busy and involved classes, Halloween, and a dead computer.  Now, though, things seem to be settling down and I am trying to get a hold of myself in an attempt to prepare for the upcoming holiday season.

For Thanksgiving, we’re visiting family and eating heartily.  I made “Russian Tea Cakes” to take to both Big Guy’s parents and my mom’s meals.  These things are delectable, delicious, and completely fattening.  The recipe I follow is the same one my mom uses from Betty Crocker , with our own little differences of course.  We can never make a recipe without improving it somehow.

And on Friday, we did participate in the rampant consumerism that is Black Friday, but we also got something good out of it.  We ended up NOT buying at any of the major stores, for by the time we arrived, all the deals were gone.  What they had left was not enough to tempt us to brave those lines.  So, we went to breakfast and then went to Big Lots where there weren’t as many people and the deals were much better.  While there, we did find some good gifts for Little Guy to open Christmas Morning.

For the rest of the evening, I imagine we’ll play games, watch movies, and eat pizza.  And for that, I am truly thankful.

Russian Tea Cakes
1    cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2    cup powdered sugar
1    teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4    cups flour
3/4    cup finely chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1/4    teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar

1.    Heat oven to 350ºF.
2.    Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla in large bowl. Stir in flour, nuts and salt until dough holds together. (If it still seems dry, cover and place in a warm spot for a few minutes.  The butter will start to bind the dough together a bit more.)
3.    Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4.    Bake 10 minutes or until set but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool slightly on wire rack.
5.    Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar; cool on wire rack. Roll in powdered sugar again.

A chill is in the air as fall and winter begin to descend on Northern Indiana.  I should consider myself lucky that we had such pleasant weather lasting through September, but now I can see the leaves go from green to the yellow and red shades for fall.  The warm colors belie the coolness in the air though.  We had our first frost this week.

My tomatoes never did well, nor did anything else I planted this year.  I know part of it was the sheer distraction we experienced with the losses we suffered this summer, but I also blame the groundhog for eating my beans and the ground for sucking so hard.  There just isn’t enough good dirt to grow anything useful.  So, next year, Big Guy is building me a raised bed and we’re going to go through and add real dirt to the soul and hopefully do much better.

I finished my super secret project, which was a 9 square blanket for my sister-in-law for her birthday.  It turned out much better than I could have hoped for, considering the crunch I was under.  9 granny squares of 9 rounds, with each grouping 3 sets of triple stitches.  Clever enough for a birthday that occurred on September 9, 2009.

I’ve also been busy teaching.  I just finished a round of Composition 2 and am preparing to start a class for the basics.  This will be my first time teaching this particular class, so wish me luck!  I was telling Big Guy, I really do love teaching and it is rewarding to see people connect with the language.

We received our Angel Food Ministries box and already have made some tasty meals from it.  My personal favorite involved pork chops, pears and fresh sage from my garden.  It was truly delicious and the pears complemented the pork beautifully.  I also made chicken and beans in the crock-pot because we received two HUGE chicken breasts so I used one breast with beans and I think the other might be slated for some homemade chicken soup.  Yum!

Well, Big Guy’s job situation was finally clarified and his hours were cut.  Down to practically half.  He’s now on contractor status but can only work a total of 24 hours per week, no benefits.  So, we’re implementing some serious budgeting measures.

We’ve gone back to ordering from Angel Food Ministries and I am going to prepare weekly menus.  Angel Food Ministries is an excellent source for good cheap food.  $30 and you get an order of food that is billed as “enough to feed a family of four for a week”.  This month’s order comes with steaks, chicken, pork chops, ground beef, veggies and fruit, eggs and a dessert.  It’s pretty well balanced and you can come up with ways to stretch it.  We order one box at a time and can generally make it last the whole month.

I’ve also got a running tally of our funds on an excel spreadsheet to keep track of our budget.  We’re going to run into some issues because what we’re bringing in is less than what we need per month.   If we’re careful with the payout for his vacation time, we may be able to limp along until he either gets another job or they decide they need him full time.

He is looking for another job, both full and part time, and I’m working on teaching.  If we can keep it up, things should be OK.