women "live"

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

-Dorothy Parker

cuppa joe joe, get a go go

I am not a fan of Mondays. Today started out to be a particularly unpleasant Monday...












woke up, day two of my period. -

had some coffee +

drove to work in the messiest car ever, the volvo of shame -

had to sit through a two hour office meeting -

bought doughnuts for the office minions +

ate two of said doughnuts -

and on and on it went.



In the middle of the day I went upstairs into my lair, otherwise known as the B breakroom, and did a little daydreaming. One of the items up for discussion at our well-intentioned office meeting was the idea of having everyone wear uniforms. Now, I am not against uniforms in general, or on principle. My father wore a military uniform for 20 years and it suited us just fine. I do object, though, to having to wear a prescribed "blouse" and particular color skirt/pair of pants as a front office staffer. The techies? fine. The practitioners? makes sense. But this body is not meant to be swathed in a beige or peach or light blue or mint green short sleeved sateen button down front collared monstrosity! So to protest quietly amongst myself I had a little "conversation" with my boss in which I told him in no uncertain terms I would not be wearing a uniform. That those shirts would look heinous on me. I told him, boss man, I can't wear a uniform. Part of the reason I went back to work was to dress nice! To wear some semblance of the fashion of the week or month or season. If I wanted to wear a uniform I could have stayed at home and worn a f***ing tee shirt and jeans!

I see my polyester imprisonment upon me, and I shiver.

cartoon voices

Thursday had a bad driving experience with the girls-cursed at a woman while heading off to work. Abigail just looked at me afterword and said "Mommy, that hurt my ears". I am going to rue the day that one learned to talk...

Friday balanced both days' deposits at work so I shouldn't hear too much bitching from the boss on Monday.

Saturday I actually got out and did some weeding and general tidying up of the front and back yards. It felt good to be outside working in the dirt and such. There are some really annoying allium in the flower beds, though, that are driving me crazy. I am not a fan of their foilage and the flowers are not the pretty ones I always see in Martha Stewart magazines-more like a drab tan color. So I yanked them out while pulling tons of evil clover weeds.

ps-if your child is under the age of five, don't ever make the mistake of telling them Mickey Mouse lives at Disney World. I told Abigail today and she was actually speechless, not a regular state for my daughter, mind you!

Happy Easter everyone!

oh, Alice

Coming soon...Abigail's 4th Birthday Party!

All mad hatters and rabbits welcome!

Bring tea cups, lead-lined hats optional!

We here at the H household may not have much money, but what we lack in currency we make up for in creativity! This April will be a birthday time to remember. I am excited to be looking forward to something again. And it's easy to feel that silly smiling joy when there's a 3 1/2 year old running around the house talking about her birthday spectacular to come!

Stone Soul Picnic

it has turned out to be a pretty good weekend...

got out with the kids yesterday and today for some errands, nothing exciting. It hailed and rained yesterday which was entertaining, but now it's sunny and a little chilly. I'm currently watching the movie Bewitched with Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrel. It's actually pretty funny in that "you don't really have to use your brain" sort of way!
Abigail has been acting like a 14 year old-mouthing off and generally being the water to my rock of patience. Slowly, slowly...
Charlotte has some sort of allergy/cold issue complete with every 30 seconds being a nose wiping issue. Poor baby...
Other than that they are in pretty good moods-especially when we had animal cracker circus at lunch-Charlotte is getting pretty good with the lion imitations!
I'm getting geared up for another work week. Should be a little less hectic now that the end of the month round-up is over.
Not much else to report-just some cleaning and tidying here at the house, listening to a lot of NPR and drinking coffee.
Hope all of you have had good weekends filled with some productive relaxation-time.

hugs everybody,
Erin

purty

I think I might like to try yoga... I enjoy dental hygiene...
How you doin'?!

Just a little update on the kidlings...sorry about the bibbed pic of Charlotte-I can't seem to get any good ones of her wandering around the house.

Take care, everybody, and have a good week!

-E.

it's shag, baby!

If you ever get the chance, or the inkling, to check out a new music scene, our classical station has a great new program every Saturday night at 7pm called Club Mod. As I write this, I know many of you will mutter something snide about not being home at 7pm on a Saturday but...for those of you who have wee ones to pack off to Nod Land, leaving you homebound, give it a listen-either here locally on 89.9 FM on the radio or online at allclassical.org It's worth a mention as I don't think "modern" classical music gets enough good press.

Also, my newest literary craze is the poetry of Pablo Neruda. Beautiful. Truly.

and so it was, etc.

the time has come, my little friend, to talk of many things...

1. movie night will be Friday or Saturday, depending on my mood.
Popcorn will be served, but only the 100 calorie packs because I'm neurotic.

2. the children will get a maximum of play time and a minimum of nag time.

3. the husband will get 40% less nag time, but only if he moves the trash can around by Saturday nights.

4. ironing will only be done on Sundays.

5. Erin will read more of her books, moving the bookmark merrily along.


On a side note:
thank you to zerd for her eloquent use of the word "jank", and for introducing it into my vocabulary.
thank you, too, to SnoopDogg's tv show, for teaching me that I can be the "boss lady".

goodnight, all

watch out for that first step, it's a doozy!

had the day off today. shuttled the little ones around. Charlotte will be starting at the YMCA by our house soon. now she and Abigail will be in the same school, which means less shuttling and more snacks-yipee! methinks she is going to like it there-lots of other little tots to play with.

it is sunny here in PDX-a rarity for this time of year. I am relishing it.

had lunch with the man, looked around dusty thrift stores and actually enjoyed it!

I was going to post new pics of the wee ones but I can't find the damn camera-just had it for our trek to the OR Gorge. Oh well, I'm sure it will turn up soon enough.

Now what to do with the rest of my day...

organize the office area, eat a cupcake, and make myself a really strong espresso. maybe hunt the cat down and give him a good brushin'. we'll see...



take care friends,

me

oh to be frank

sometimes we choose the wedding, sometimes we choose the funeral.

sometimes our backs are turned on what we should really be looking towards. breaking through the fog of our own delusions is often the most difficult barrier-glass ceilings be damned. where can I go with my life? why am I stagnating here? why don't I take risks? what are risks worth? where is the core of me? do I believe I have a soul? is that where "I" reside? or, like Freud, do I find myself split into three, with all the activity of my life focused in my head? I have spent too much time up there, in my head, trying to think it out, be rational, be judgemental and discerning.

I have been so angry lately, angry with myself mostly, for not taking chances, for regretting a large chunk of my life, give or take a degree or two. I think about my life and I laugh, that most of the lessons I learned only helped in hindsight, and most of the experiences I had I didn't really appreciate until years had gone by.

I am almost thirty and I have two wonderful children, a loving husband, a steady job, a nice car, a nice house, and a pretty sweet cat. What do I have to bitch about? well...

I want so much more. I want to live by the ocean and be outdoors every day. I want to have perfect skin and the perfect body. I want my children to have good teeth and good educations. I want my husband to be happy, to be healthy, to not have to struggle with diabetes and family grief every day. I want to have friends, people who really want to hang out with me and who share common interests, preferably people who have children and understand what it's like to have that be an all-consuming aspect of life. I want to go to really loud rock concerts and dance around like an idiot and not care what others think. I want to have a faith that doesn't make me sad. I want to bake a cake every week and give it to my neighbors. I want the wedding. I want the white, clean, fresh start.