No phone, no computer, no idea how it'll go

Sydney and I are having a day without electronics tomorrow. Well, a day without phones and a computer. Well, I'll still have my phone, but only for talking and texting because safety and life. But on the whole, we'll have a day with nothing to entertain ourselves but ourselves. And I'm actually kind of excited about it. I mean, it's a Super Secret Girl Day anyway, and now it'll be us really spending time engaging with each other. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really curious how this day will go. I'm as connected electronically as she, and I may go through just as much withdrawal as she does. But I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of trouble we get ourselves into. It's for sure that my list will get done, though!

Chocolate, molasses and marshmallows, oh my

I finally unpacked our bags from California tonight. I can't decide if I was in denial or what, but I did not want to admit that my awesome weekend was over. And I guess now it is over, since now all the clothes are either rehung or in the dirty clothes hamper. *sigh*
But today is St. Patrick's Day, and that makes it a very good day. I wore green, as did Brian, as did Sydney. If I had some green ribbon, my dogs also would have worn green today. I didn't have anything Irish and random to eat tonight, but I did drink a beer with my leprechaun Gramps, so there's that.
Also, there are only two See's molasses chips in my refrigerator. I don't know what happened to the rest of them, but there only are two left. One is dark chocolate and one is milk chocolate. When Mom bought the box, she asked me if I preferred milk chocolate or dark, and at the time, I had no real preference. But as it stands now, I think I prefer the milk chocolate. It tastes ... chocolatier, if that's a word (which Blogger is telling me right now it is not a word).
We've opened the Peeps, too. It's only a matter of time before we're totally and completely consumed by sugar. Too much sugar, my friends. We're standing on a precipice.

Tiny Thing #486: The devil's fruit

I'm giving myself 15 minutes to write up this post and put the computer away. All this because if I don't give myself the time limit, I'll end up sitting here with my computer for way longer than I want to, letting it get super late. But the hitch in my get-along is that I don't have a single idea of what to write about. I need to start keeping a better log of my ideas as I go through the day. I swear I had three different ideas today, and now I can't remember a single one of them. That's very disappointing. So, I'm thinking it's a day for a Tiny Thing to Write About: #486
You open your fridge and realize someone has replaced all your food with things you hate to eat. Describe what's in there.
First and foremost, there is the worst drink I've ever tried, banana milk. Brian tricked me into trying it in a misguided moment of trust, and it continues to haunt me. What else? Bananas in anything and everything. Coconut. Avocados. Rye bread. Dijon mustard. Horseradish. Bananas. Dr. Pepper. Cauliflower. Blue cheese dressing. Caviar. Egg nog. Bananas.

So now she's in charge of that, too

I read an interesting article tonight about a survey sample of kids who wanted their parents to not post as much about them on social media. Granted, it was a small segment of kids, but I have to wonder if all the posts I make about Sydney will come back to embarrass her later in life. It won't be long until she takes full control of her digital identity, and when she does, she may or may not like several posts I've written about her. At that point, I guess, we'll go through my social media and delete anything she finds offensive to her sensibility. (Although I know that nothing ever really gets deleted from the Internet.) I'm pleased to say that, at the least, I've never tagged her face in anything. I don't even know if that really means anything to the Internet, but it seems like somewhat of a protective move to me.
Anyway, it gave me food for thought in regards to her feelings about my posting to Facebook. So she and I discussed it, and I reminded her that she's in charge of herself online, and that if she objects to me posting something, I won't post it. (Just as I ask Brian's permission before tagging him or sharing a pic of him.) Her wishes are important, I told her, and I respect her feelings on the subject. So all it is, really, is my having to ask someone else before I post to Facebook.
Having said that, I hope she doesn't veto anything too funny. And oh my goodness, if she ever reads the blog. (But it's "anonymous," I guess, so I'm good to go there.)
By the way, yesterday she asked me when she'll be old enough for an Instagram account.

Blueberries will grow in the desert ... right?

ITEM!: Mom, Sydney and I ventured to and wandered through the nursery out in Ventura the other day, and came home with a whole lot of plants for the desert. They're not really for the desert, but we're bringing them to the desert. Two blueberry bushes, one raspberry bush, two lavender plants and two bougainvillea are now snug as bugs in my backyard, waiting to be planted. We bought pots for the raspberries and the bougainvillea so I can take them with me when we leave this house, but the lavender will probably stay. The blueberries will be planted in a plastic bin with drainage holes drilled into the bottom (like I saw online a while ago) so I can better maintain the soil, as well as transport the berries when we need to move. Sydney and I are super excited to plant the bougainvillea, lavender and raspberries this weekend. The blueberries may have to wait a couple weeks, though. New fruit project! Just as awesome as our apple orchard!
ITEM!: Oliver's tummy skin infection has returned, and I'm in full-on mommy mode about it. Looks like I'll be shampooing tummy every night for a week or so until it goes away. Lovely. It's only a struggle because he can't stand very well on his back legs. The whole thing is a process and a half, and he can't be helpful, really. It makes me sad he can't just be fine, you know?
ITEM!: Since today is Pi Day, we ate pies for dinner. I heated up both a pizza (pie) and a chicken pot (pie) for dinner that we all shared, and we baked a cherry (pie) for dessert. Never let it be said that we would ever deny ourselves a holiday for math, when we can eat something delicious, too.

It's not Saturday, but I'm spooning him anyway

Oh, I was so sad and now I'm so happy! I brought Oliver upstairs for bed but he was all antsy and wanted to go back downstairs. So I was all sad that he didn't want to sleep with me, but then he went outside, and now I can hear him coming back up the stairs! Yay sleeping with Mommy!

And now he's drinking a whole lot of water. And now, I've put him on the bed and he's settled into a comfy position. I feel so much better now.

I miss my boys so much when we're gone to California. Everyone will sleep better with everyone under the same roof.

Also, I spilled a Coke on my lap this afternoon, and while I was able to change my jeans, my panties were not easy enough to switch in the car, so I did a majority of the drive in slightly damp, soda panties. Gross.

Saturday was awesome

Sydney and I went roller skating today. We drive back to the desert tomorrow. That is all.

A Friday-night, Calfornia-based ITEM! list

ITEM!: Oh, happy day, my friends! I no longer have tons and tons of grey hair on my head. Malia has expertly and wonderfully covered up all my grey hair with the most delicious shade of brown. We tried to add some purple in there, but I didn't want to have anything bleached, so we thought that it may or may not be bright enough. And I don't think that it is, but that's okay, I've decided. As long as it's not grey, I'm a happy camper.
ITEM!: My brother kinda picked an ideological argument with me tonight regarding abortion, and he did his best to mansplain to me how Republicans don't really have problems with abortion and how I'm "confused" with my facts. I'm in a bit of a snit about it still, only because I hate, hate, hate talking politics with my brothers because we're on such opposite ends about everything, and they tend to look at me and talk to me like I'm still a little 9-year-old girl who they think doesn't know anything. And I know abortion rights, and I won't be condescended about it. So that's that.
ITEM!: The car issue from Wednesday seems to have resolved itself, and I didn't have to take it in to the VW dealer this morning. Typically, I'm super skeptical of a situation or problem just fixing, or just being okay. This isn't any different. Apparently, the kid that changed the battery left the power source unconnected too long and the computer had a fit of some kind. The random dashboard lights are the result of that. So, he told me to bring the car in to have the computer reset. But this morning, when I started the car, the lights were gone. Ted, the guy from VW, was all, "Great! You're in good shape!" I'm like, "What? Really? So the computer just needed 24 hours to reboot?" He's all, "Sure; it's all good." And I'm like, "Okay? Okay, I guess." And that was it. I drove the car all day today, and all was fine, so I guess all is good, as Ted said. Still, problems don't self-correct, in my experience.
ITEM!: It rained in Los Angeles today, and the people are freaking out.

That pic is not from my drive

There's something to be said for driving out to California at night. First of all, it's totally awesome not wasting an entire day on the road. We left Scottsdale at 5 p.m. yesterday and were in California by midnight (accounting for the time difference). And this morning, I woke up at our destination, and we had an entire day to do real stuff, like hang out in Santa Monica with my dad. I also had more energy to have dinner with my girls.
I'm totally tempted to make this the way we always drive out to California. And driving through the desert at night isn't half as boring as during the day when you can see how much flat desert is in front of you. Also, having the entire time to chat with Mom was key to the speed of the drive time going by. Having said that, I'm still a super fan of doing the drive at night.
CAR ISSUES: I had to get a new battery for my car tonight because the car wouldn't start, and also because I've had a selection of electrical issues over the last couple days that I've been ignoring. In retrospect, the battery is maybe the reason behind all the issues, as I diagnose it. Anyway, now there are some random dashboard lights on. I need to Google them.

The perfect little pick-me-up

New Parenting Rule: Do not leave your kid and a tub of frosting home alone for the morning. One of them will not be there when you get home.
I'm not even mad that she ate it. I'm annoyed that she ate all of it. I wanted some, and the little punk powered through the rest of the tub all by herself. I was feeling all about sharing when I went to grab us a couple spoonfuls of the frosting after lunch today when I discovered that, hey now, the entire tub was almost completely empty. There wasn't even enough frosting left to fill up a single spoon.
I said to her, "Honestly? This is not even cool. If you're going to eat that much, finish it. Don't leave some cheesy little bit that won't even satisfy the next person to get it."
And that's the way to teach your kid how to be charitable to the next person. If you must take your fill, do it, but be sure there's enough for who's after you. Well, maybe that's not entirely true in the real world, but it should be law when it comes to tubs of frosting. I've been enjoying my fix of frosting over the last few days, and now I'm living without, and I'm worse off because of it.
The decadence of having a tub of sour cream in the refrigerator at all times seems to have mutated and grown stronger. I fear that a constant tub of frosting may be a little bit too much, but I'm not sure. I may have to experiment.

Putting a spotlight on a good movie

Brian and I watched Spotlight tonight, and it was a really good movie. I now totally approve of the film winning Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards. I think part of what made it so amazing is that, going in, you already know that they were successful in their quest to bring the scandal to light. Also, their processes, dedication to get the story right, and passion for telling the truth are everything that is right with journalism.
And while it's a good story to be told in a movie, I appreciate how it's brought the scandal back into the nation's collective conscious, and maybe taught the movie-going public on how much work real, investigative journalists do to get the facts straight. It's not all blogs and Twitter, people. Real journalists talk to people; they ask questions in person; and they use sources that have names, not handles. Granted, this story happened in the early 2000s, before all that was available, but still, it's nice that the people can see how real journalists do their thing.
I love that there are reporters like that out there. I never had the guts to be one. I always preferred writing the puff pieces and editing from my desk. I'm super envious of the reporters who do this kind of work, and I'm glad they exist in this world. This was a really good movie, you guys, and I highly recommend it.

T.G.I.Almost time to go to California

ITEM!: Sydney and I spent several minutes discussing the health benefits and drawbacks to picking one's nose this morning. I don't know what prompted the question of whether it is bad for you physically. But no, it's not really bad for you. But it's not something that is socially acceptable to do with other people around. If you have boogers, go get a tissue and deal with it in private. She knew that, and she does that. "It was just a question, Mom."

ITEM!: The day has come and the lower-estrogen birth control pills have worked their magic: I did not have a period this month! It's weird, to be sure. And I'm just paranoid enough to wonder if I need to pick up a pregnancy test this weekend. I did, however, still have the munchies and yearning for cheese like normal, but honestly, it wasn't as powerful as usual. Holy crap, you guys, what if it makes PMS go away, too?!?! Crazy!!
ITEM!: I'm going to bed early tonight though, because I was at work until 9 p.m., and tomorrow is Super Secret Girl Day. I can't tell you what Syd and I will do all day while Brian is working, but I will tell you that it'll be fun, secret and girly.

It sucks when friends move away

One of Sydney's best friends is moving out of the area next week, and Sydney is in a state about it. It doesn't help at all to point out how many times she's been the kid moving away, either. Instead, I've been dealing with tears and heaving cries for the last few days (Hannah just told her on Monday). And tonight she made Hannah this adorable card telling her how much Sydney loves her, and how much she'll miss her. "Mom, I wrote 'I (heart) you' on the card," she said to me. I guess that's not the right thing to do? I told her that I tell my friends that I love them all the time, and that especially since Hannah's leaving, she should know how much Sydney appreciates her as a friend. She liked that, so I hope she doesn't feel weird about it. Another line she wrote in the card? "I better be the one you miss the most." Which is frickin' hysterical to me, and shows me to what depths a 9-year-old will sink to turn another person's upheaval into their own personal tragedy.
What stinks is that Hannah doesn't seem to have a cell phone or email address for Sydney to communicate with her. And of course, they're all too young for any social media of any kind. So it's up to the parents to keep them friends. I'm hoping that we'll see them on Sunday this weekend before they leave, but after that, it'll be up to Hannah's mom and I to stay in touch and make lunch and/or get-together plans. It's easy enough for me, but Hannah's mom has two little babies to work around.
Sydney's going to be a mess tomorrow afternoon when I pick her up. I hope we're able to see Hannah on Sunday, but this emotional explosion is going to be a sucky way to start our spring break. It can't be said that I don't know what she's going through. I feel bad for her, certainly. And my heart breaks for her. I'll be doing lots of hugging and wiping of tears over the next few days. It's the first time she's had a friend leave her. It's harder being the one left behind.

It'll be cooler for the plants, too

The state of the flora in my home is beginning to concern me. You see, it's been super warm in my home for the last several days. I refuse to turn on the air conditioner in March, so the windows are open, and I'm hoping for breezes throughout the day, but by the time the afternoon rolls around, the sunshine is blazing. The upstairs gets toasty, and my plants aren't having it.
It's early in the cycle, but the greenery was looking very ... sad. Everyone was thirsty, and no one was happy. It was a good thing to walk through the house soaking everyone and perking them up. And I feel like a good plant mom. But now I'm worried about how quickly they'll all get dry, thirsty, sad and uncomfortable again.
Holy crap, it can't possibly be time to turn the a/c on again, can it? According to the nifty weather app on my phone, it'll cool down significantly next week, which should make everyone happier.
... I hate talking about the weather. At least, my plants will be happier, too.

By the way, this room in the photo here is almost perfect. It's all bright and Ikea-awesome, and chockablock with happy, green plants. I love all the white going on there. Some day, I'll have, not a living room like this, but a reading nook like this. Packed full of cozy chairs and sunshine, with so many plants and books. I can't imagine a better room ever.

Color that grey right outta my hair ... later

This month's avatar is brought to you by GREY HAIR. You see, she's dressed all old-timey like back before there was decent hair color, and all women who were married with children had grey hair that they could do nothing about.
Which is kinda like me, right now, because I have more grey hair than I can handle in a sane way. And I could color it myself, but I won't do it now because I see Malia next week. Although I guess, in theory, I should experiment now, since it would only be a matter of days until Malia could fix what I would screw up. But then I'd have messed up hair for everyone I see prior to a week from Friday. So, no, I'll deal with the copious amounts of grey hair I've got going on. But it is horrifying me, no joke.
I think I've found somewhere to get my color more regularly, after my visit with Malia next week, of course, and I'm eager to start having color-color in my hair again because I'll have a local place to maintain it.
But for now, I'm avoiding close contact with mirrors because I have too much grey hair, like the ladies in olden times.