Welcome back to Midland

Instead of bringing back t-shirts or art or pottery from Ruidoso, Alan and I brought back sore throats (thanks, Bailey and Marlee). So since neither one of us can afford to be sick right now, we're breaking down and doing the unthinkable - going to the doctor tomorrow. I don't do doctors, which doesn't mean I don't have sex with them because OF COURSE I do that, I just don't like to go when I'm sick. I feel so stupid going to the doctor for a cold. But what if it turns into something else and then it's two weeks later and I'm feeling worse, blah, blah, blah. So...we're going.

It's been about three weeks since I've posted a picture or video of Junior (what's wrong with me?), so here's Junior giving me his "I could care less that you're pointing that evil, shiny object at me, because look - I have the remote."

Ruidoso, NM

The tourney was fun, and the change in scenery was awesome. Bailey played great, and a couple of parents even commented that she was a critical player for our team. We had the tourney all day Saturday and then went tubing Sunday before heading back home. We had a great time! Click on the pictures for larger views.




The Ruidoso High School gym was really nice.








Bailey and her best friend Marle were so crazy and so much fun to be around.

Alan and I riding the tube lift:

After tubing, the girls just wanted to play in the snow. When Alan joined in, it became a snow fight.

Ruidoso at night was really pretty - they still had Christmas/Winter lights up in Midtown, so it looked very festive. Much more so than showing in this photo:

On the drive back home I had to get a picture of aliens in Roswell:

It was a fun but short trip. Lastly, here's a video of when the four of us hooked together and rode one of the tube runs. (I couldn't get Google to post the video, so hopefully the link will work instead.) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8053255165352757624

Trip

Still in Ruidoso and having a good time. Hope to post some pictures when we get back!

Froot Loops

Alan had been working his way through a box of Froot Loops for a few days and kept commenting on the red froot loops "on steroids." We'd laugh every time one of us would pour a bowl and joked about the different scenarios that must have been happening in the factory. And then my curiosity got the better of me and I had to check it out. I looked at the cereal box and noticed right there on the front in huge letters it said "Colossal Froot Loops" along with a picture of a GIANT red froot loop. It was more fun when we thought it was an accident and not some stupid marketing ploy. Would that really get people to buy the product? I'm trying to imagine being on the cereal aisle....."Let's see, I could buy these here copy-cat fruity loops in the bag....they're just as good, less expensive, you get more for the money....but WAIT! Original Froot Loops have these new colossal red froot loops! What was I thinking? I can't believe I was nearly seduced to buy the knock-off and therefore save money. That was a close one."

Super Bowl party anyone?

I wonder how many posts this morning are about the Colts/Patriots game last night. This will be the first Super Bowl in a long time where I'll finally be more interested in the game itself than the commercials. Go Colts!

Exiting

My goal for today: Leave the house. I haven't done so since Tuesday. This will require turning off Food Network, laying the books aside, and getting away from this here computer. I'm waiting for Alan to get up so we can go workout. If I don't get some endorphins pumping, I'm in danger of crawling into that deep black cave of self-pity and despair and lord knows I don't have any business being there. By the way, did you hear about that poor girl who was kept in the attic for two years for misbehavior? Not that I know diddly-doo about parenting, but those aren't parents dishing out that kind of punishment. Those are Hitler wannabes.

Finally

We take pictures when it snows here, because it melts away as fast as it arrives.

Tiki torch snowcone. Behind it is the little guest house:

Flocked Oleander:

Out my window:

Drugs and I don't mix, but...

Day seven with a headache. I think it's time to break into Addison's Lortabs left over from her surgery last year. I don't like the stomach ache it causes, but really....DAY FRIGGIN SEVEN! It's a good thing I'm not working anywhere with random drug testing, because there was that one really fun time in my life when I took one of Mother's pain pills for a migraine, got drug tested at work three days later, and had to go to rehab for two weeks in order to keep my job. Oh the fun memories and reputation I took away from that. Just another reason I was happy to take that sweet package from Chevron in 2001!

Incidentally, I finished Brian's Winter and recommend it for anyone who likes survivor-type stories or series such as Man vs. Wild or Survivor Man. Today I started 12 Sharp - a lucky find at the library!

Update: I opted for no drugs. Got a nice shoulder massage from Alan, laid on the couch, and Alan piled on blankets. When I woke up two hours later, the headache was gone.

Hunkerin' Down

School's out today and the library's closed, so I've got to find something to read since I will NOT be running around in the cold and could use something to occupy my mind. Plus I finished the book I was reading last week, Drowning Ruth (very good and suspenseful - thanks Elizabeth). All I can find around the house is Brian's Winter, which is the sequel to Hatchet, one I'd recommend for anyone if you didn't already read it in school. So all I need is my coffee, my down blanket, and my spot on the couch.

I just saw one of the Head-On commercials where they complain about how annoying their own commercials are. So it reminded me of another bad one lately - the pregnancy test commercial where they show a PRETEND STREAM OF PEE spraying the indicator. I can't wait for that one to play during dinner.

Winter exists in Midland

So this is Midland this morning. Bailey had three friends spend the night and they bravely stayed in the cold, cold guest house. I was pouring some rock salt on the sidewalk and steps that lead up to the little house and fell flat on my butt.

I may not ever make it out of my pajamas today.

Bumps in the road

Can't say that it's been the greatest week, so click away now if you don't want to hear my whining. For starters, I spent two days with some 9-yr old heathens (and some 9-yr old angels, but those get cast aside when your energy has to go towards the heathens). Really, the class would be quite manageable if it weren't for this one little boy. All the other discipline problems, and there are many, are still nothing compared to the havoc this one boy creates. I gotta say this for him though - he has nerve.

And then we learned that Karl, Alan's brother, is leaving for Somalia due to recent events and is probably en route as I type. His other deployments, although in the Middle East, seemed a lot safer than this one. He'll be gone at least a month, will come back for a month, and then return.

And now Addison is moving out by choice to live with her dad full-time. At least we're 99% sure it's going to happen. It's probably going to be a really good thing for her, but there's a whole slew of "mom" emotions that I'm going through that are just hard to explain and hard to talk about.

So no, life doesn't suck, but it's really hard some days.

I chose this career

God help me. I'm subbing today and tomorrow for the class I student taught in this past fall. The regular classroom teacher (and previously my mentor) warned me last night that things have gotten so bad that she seriously dreads going to work every day. She was right. It's bad. So when I get home tomorrow I may be drinking by 4:00 p.m.

Salsa

I get asked for this salsa recipe a lot. Other than boiling and peeling the tomatoes it takes no time to make, but you need a regular-size food processor.

Homemade Salsa

5 large or 7 medium tomatoes (the medium, nicely ripened tomatoes give a better flavor)
1/2 small onion
1 small to medium green bell pepper or 1/2 of a large
1 jalapeno pepper
1 serrano pepper
1 handful fresh cilantro*
Juice of one lime
1 clove garlic or 1/2 to 1 tsp minced garlic (optional)
Kosher salt to taste

Boil the tomatoes until the skins split. Remove from water and cool slightly for easier handling. Peel off skin, remove hard base of stem, cut in half, and place in food processor. Don't skip this step, because it's gross to have skins in your salsa. Quarter the bell pepper and onion, and cut off stems of hot peppers. If you want less heat, remove the seeds of hot peppers. Place in food processor with rest of ingredients (except salt) and pulse a few times to get large vegetable pieces broken down. Blend until desired consistency and add salt, usually a couple of teaspoons. Add a little salt at a time, because you can overdo it quickly. I think when I first started making this, the recipe called for a little sugar to counter the salt. I know that salt and sugar somehow work together, but I haven't been adding the sugar to mine.

*The amount of cilantro depends on preference. It's best to start with a little and add as needed.

Try it!

Team T&A

We've been hearing some noises in our attic for 2-3 weeks, and Alan figured out that it was likely a squirrel(s). And while I'm inclined to ignore the problem and pretend they're not going to bother anything up there, Alan's more inclined to take the practical approach: get them out before they chew wires, tear up insulation, give birth to more squirrels, spread disease, or get into our boxes of crap. So our Sunday morning project was working our way across the attic from end to end until we found the hole they're entering through. We found it, patched it with the recommended steel wool, and hoped for the best. (Really Alan is the mind and muscle behind these projects. I hold tools and flashlights.) Anyway, I felt pretty confident that the problem was solved until I heard some rustling above our bathroom yesterday.

Alan said not to tell him right away if I hear anything, because he wants to have a few days to believe our efforts paid off. So Alan if you're reading this, I think the steel wool was no match for our cute, cuddly friends.

Our other project was to hang the small fireplace mantle that had been sitting in the garage becoming a resting place for tools or work boots or whatever other grimy thing was in our hand and looking for a convenient place to be dropped. This is how it looks for now.

Ouch

I don't consider myself a devoted Dallas fan, but I am a fan of sorts and will pull for them against just about anyone (although it was hard to choose during the Colts game) and will continue to be a fan despite TO's presence. Anyway, last night's game was pretty heartbreaking. The only other person that's probably hurting as much as Tony Romo is his mom.

I should rename my blog, "Living with Junior"

Junior is attacking me, but missing and running into things. Volume is important, and notice the hairball behind him when it begins.

In all my glory

How nice of Alan to shoot this picture of me sleeping on the couch last night. Good thing I wasn't drooling. Of course I woke up from the flash and Alan said proudly, "There's one for your blog!" I'm still falling asleep way too early every evening and it's probably why I couldn't go back to sleep after 4:00 this morning. By the way, Junior really loves me but that's about as close as he's going to get when we nap together.

Seriously, why Midland?

I'm not really understanding the interest Hollywood seems to have in Midland. I heard that an episode of "Heroes" had Midland as one of its settings, and then a recent episode of "Monk" features Monk's dad (I think) as a Midland truck driver. It seems it all started with the movie "Friday Night Lights," although the television series is set in a fictional Texas town named Dillon. And then I did a little research and found that six other movies have been filmed here, although none of them were as popular as "Friday Night Lights."

I don't get it. I live here, and uninteresting doesn't begin to describe this place. Midland does have two claims to fame however: Jessica falling down the well and the Bush family's home town. Neither seems reason enough to keep namedropping Midland though. But here's a possible theory. For a population of only 100,000, you wouldn't believe the money in this town. Old and new money. Just take a little drive in the ever-growing affluent neighborhoods and see all the mansions. So maybe it's possible that some of these people invest their money in Hollywood and have a small influence on what gets mentioned? Regardless, maybe I shouldn't leave the house without makeup as often as I do.

Birds, just because

Alan is religious about keeping the birds fed around our house. This bird feeder hangs off the corner of the guest house and is in perfect view for Junior's perch in the kitchen window.

And then I tried getting a shot of this one but couldn't get a clear picture. I took both of these with my zoom without a tripod, so they're a little shaky. (This one was through a glass door.)

It still surprises me when pretty birds like this show up in Midland.