My Photo Hunt Vol. 12 - New

These are my older 2 sons. The photo's are 7 and 5 years old, but they were brand new when this was taken.

Sign me up for Gilmore Girls

I keep hearing about Gilmore Girls. Actually, I heard it when I went to see TUCK EVERLASTING years ago. I thought Alexis Bledel was gorgeous, angelic and wonderful in that movie. Between then and a few months ago, there was SISTERHOOD OF TRAVELLING PANTS. I cried buckets in that movie. I haven't read the book, but I sure love the movie.

I didn't really think of it. I have my list of movies I watch already. See my TV Link on my sidebar. That's a lot of movies already. With five kids, it's a miracle I get to see a single one at all. Sanna was just proclaiming how wonderful Gilmore Girls are. She lives in Germany and she loves this series. Shin from Malaysia loves it too! Then at Best Buy, I saw a lots of DVDs in there too about you know what. I couldn't possibly resist.

Netflix sent me the first disc of Season 1. I have all of it lined up. Just like my obsession with books, I'm going to see this in order. I just finished disc one. You're right, every single one of you. I love the series.

I almost didn't watch it. I watched the first episode, and got turned off big time at how rude the Rory was to her mother. It seems like they can't talk without disdain or put-downs or disrespect. True they love each other, and they're friends, but couldn't they converse nicer? Then my SIL told me she likes the series too, and so did her Mom when she was alive. I figure it's worth a second try.

I am hooked. I just watch disc 1 tonight. Straight. I would still think twice about letting my daughter see this series...though it's really good. I want my daughter to be a strong person, respectful, independent, and not rude until she has to be. Jump-starting her into this series is probably not a good idea for character formation. She's nine, and awesome, we don't want her to learn rude when she's just mastering the art of being bull-headed stubborn firm and nice.

I'll just wait a little longer before sharing this series with her.

Love Thursday #8

This is me being really brave about taking all my kids out by myself. It wasn't so bad. It went very well.

Wordless Wednesday Vol. 3

Is there a wordless video?

I am so thrilled! Photobucket made my video work!
Here is my DS2, he loves to sing. He loves to read, and we're learning fingering on piano too. He's multi-talented, and he loves helping me clean house! You can click on the "labels" on this post to see what DS2's up to.

My Darling Husband

with my camera, which I got from my secret tip money cleaning his mother's and our neighbors' toilets.

Related posts: one, two

DS1- Art in Colored Pens

DS1 art in color pens

Two days ago, DS1 decided to take down all the drawings on my wall done in crayons. He wanted to replace them with arts done in colored pens. Here's the first one.

I love it when my kids spend their time drawing. The sight never fails to cheer me up.

DS1 is into Dave Pilkey's Captain Underpants. He'd started illustrating a comic books in similar story line and some are really good. These he does on top of his chores, choir practice, piano, home works and all other stuff. When I find his latest work, I'm going to take picture of it and post it for posterity.

Right now, he's also working on his Sonatina on C which he's going to play in a contest next fall. His teacher believes he can go home with the highest prize. DD is going to play the second movement of the piece too. I have to start seriously practicing myself. Not for any contest, but just for leisure, and for playing duet with my babies. That and to know that they are practicing what they're supposed to.

DH also told me that he loves hearing me play the piano. I am trying to play Mozart's Turkish March. It's a playful piece, deceptively easy with it's C major key signature, then it changes to D major, and the counting is quite fast. I love it's lively tune. My fingers are lamentably out of practice, you can practically hear it creak as it goes over the ivory keys to warm them up, hoping to get them nimble enough to produce a sound resembling that of Mozart's composition.

MY PHOTO HUNT VOL. 11 - Lines

I have my Lil Bro and family here. Right now, we have 8 kids inside an 1800+ square foot house. It's nice and snug and wonderful. We went out last night to see the movie Borat. O.M.G. Hilarious! If you haven't seen it, go! You get to laugh and who couldn't use a laugh or two? As for theme this week, it's hard to find "lines" in my photo. Plus, I'm too lazy to go to my archived drive and truly hunt. So here's a few you can take a look. The sneaking lines of the trail we walk I love the lines on this playground, my kids love it there. I love how the lines on the brick, and the line on the stem, makes this little flower

A Post About Nothing

I upgraded my 7.2MP Sony Cybershot to a 10.1 Sony cybershot. I love this 10.1MP camera. It has much less button to screw up with. I was concerned with the touch-screen option, but it's actually very good. We've already establish that I am not the most advanced which it comes to tech, but Sony had made this particular cybershot idiot proof. The manual is a staggering...ok. It's pretty punny. Less than 50 pages!

Looking out my window, I noticed that Fall is in full swing. I thought to myself, look how pretty those dead leaves are. Why not make your children sit there and take a picture?

That's exactly what I did. I even let my very allergic son joined in. The kids were game. They'd pose, smile beautifully and roll around the ground...except not together. We had a blast though.

My dream kids pictures with my super camera never materialized. It looks like to have a great kids pictures, I am going to have to learn Photoshop. That way I can put together their good poses into a picture for a poster I wanted. I took over 50 pictures, and I don't think a single one turned out like I wanted. However, now, I have pictures of my kids, and that's always good.

I noticed that with our baby, the last one, DS4, we're not in a hurry to see him do stuff. It's like we wanted him to be a baby just a little bit longer because there won't be another one after him. At least, not until the gran kids come along. That could take years and years.

He's going to be 9 months in 2 days, and already, he tries to walk. My daughter helped him walk up and down the hallway and we're like..."Oh no! Let him crawl a little bit longer!"

He's also just learning to eat solid foods. He's particularly attracted to black beans and rice. He dives for my plate if he sees those colors. I think it's the color. I tried giving him Gerber Squash. My mother bought like 30 jars of it. DS4 watches me open the jar. He eagerly opens his mouth, and in the squash went. His face crumples, he gives a shudder, and closes him eyes. He makes a swallowing action, then opens his mouth again.

I was so proud and tickled pink. My baby is eating vegetables! So I eagerly give him another spoonful, my face full of smiles when he purses his lips and makes a raspberry sound, squash flying straight to my face. My glasses gets it, so does my face, and my hair. If I am not fast enough, he grabs for the jar and shakes it really hard, so squash is on my chest, my pants, my floor and my walls. I have a giggling baby by this time. Half-blinded by squash, I staggered with my slippery bundle of joy for the bathroom so we can give him a bath.

My DS3 is 2.5 years old. He's been steadily giving himself haircut for days now. At the rate he's going, his long lovely locks will be all gone in a month! See that picture on the right? It's a multi-burst setting for my new handy-dandy camera. I have no idea it would collate the pictures taken at multi burst. It auto-sized to 1MP, and gives me that picture. On the other hand, I get music on my playback. I can see the screen even in noontime. I can write stuff on the picture too if I want to. Or stamp it with stuff.

There's so much more in this camera I've yet to learn. I love this little camera. It packs a lot of stuff for something I can hold in my hand. It takes awesome video too, except I've yet to figure out how to edit it so I can upload it to youtube and embed it on my post.

I am not giving up on that kids's group picture. Maybe I'll have them turn their back to me and take a picture and make a post of that. Then people visiting me can make a game of it. They can guess who made it farthest away from me in a short amount of time!

A Mile A Comment

I am borrowing this inspiration from fellow blogger Sunflower.

I will drag my husband with me a mile per comment. You think I'm going to take brisk walk by myself with 2 to 5 kids in tow?


Actually, for two weeks until January 2, it will be my husband and I brisk-walking behind our 3 older kids in their skates. I have a Walking Miles log on my sidebar, click on it, and you'll see that we will be walking at least 3 times a week.

So, day by day, I will see how many miles total I get to do by my deadline.

Book Review and a Tag

I impulsively joined a "From the Stacks" group, I even have a button on my sidebar! The idea is to pick 5 books from your "To Be Read" pile and then read it by January 31. I've finished 2 by last night...the other one was a re-read.

Nerd Gone Wild by Vicki Lewis Thompson is great. She's making it hip and cool to be a nerd. There's a rich girl, a nerd, an S/M-loving villains, and a cute town in Alaska populated with lovable residents. The sex was hot, the S/M scene attractive, makes me want to go out and get me a whip! The nerd? He's got a hot little body underneath his dorky clothes.

Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah is a magical story about a woman who's been betrayed by the people closest to her. It's a fun read, especially during the holidays. If you haven't read it yet, please do. It's a must-have feel-good book.

Now, onwards to tag.

My dear Vixen tagged me about this fun list. I doubt I have done plenty, but it's worth a try. I bet I've done 20 percent. What about you?

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink - this is begging the question of "have I ever been in a bar?
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. 1Climbed a mountain - it's a small one, my grandpa owns it, but it's got steep rocky side, and I have to crawl to do it...so yeah, I'm counting it!
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. 2Held a tarantula - can't be in Texas and not hold one. Although it's inside a zoo exhibit, it was alive and still freaky. I was assured that it's not poisonous, but I am convince that these little creatures has someone fooled!
07. 3Taken a candlelit bath with someone.
08. 4Said “I love you” and meant it.
09. 5Hugged a tree. - who hasn't? I hope this isn't the "hugged a tree" as a form of protest and peeing into a bottle because then I haven't done it yet, and not very probable either.
10. Bungee jumped.
11. Visited Paris.
12. 6Watched a lightning storm at sea - can't live in an island all my life and not see one. It's scary, and spectacular!
13. 7Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise. - it's what night-owls do, or an addicted to books people.
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa - I wanted to do this. Even if I have to be in Europe to do it.
17. 8Grown and eaten your own vegetables - Papa is big on this. I have planted potatoes, sweet potatoes, peanuts and corn. What, you don't believe me? (After all, I've been a serial plant killer for a while now) Ask my Lil Bro.
18. Touched an iceberg
19. 9Slept under the stars - then I crawled into my tent because it's too cold and the mosquitoes just about killed me.
20. 10Changed a baby’s diaper - can't have 5 children and escape this fate! By the thousands, baby!
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. 11Given more than you can afford to charity - who hasn't at one time or the other?
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. 12Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment - at grade school, in a sectarian school, during a praying session. I would have been embarrassed and offed myself, but it was too entertaining to see the faces of the teachers who's trying to hush me.
27. 13Had a food fight - my mother does not approve, would not approve and will not approve. As a mother I won't approve, but it's actually fun, except when it's time to clean up.
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. 13Had a snowball fight - with DH. It's so cold! Not my thing.
31. 14Screamed as loudly as you possibly can - this is cathartic. Really!
32. 15Held a lamb
33. 16Seen a total eclipse of the moon.
34. 17Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run - don't like ball games other than bowling, but I don't think bowling counts.
36. 18Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. 19Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. 20Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. 21Taken care of someone who was drunk - and I am still freaked out by any drunk. Any. drunk.
42. 22Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. 23Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. 24Taken a road-trip - DH and I love to do this. It's fun.
48. Gone rock climbing
49. 25Midnight walk on the beach - everyone should try this. It's awesome and scary at the same time. It's all that dark water trying to grab you.
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. 26In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them - I was in 5th grade and my family is on the next table. I was playing translator to two Swedish tourist who can't seem to understand English...at least not Filipino English.
54. Visited Japan
55. 27Milked a cow
56. 28Alphabetized your CDs
57. 29Pretended to be a superhero
58. 30Sung karaoke
59. 31Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football - I don't do balls!
61. 32Gone scuba diving
62. 33Kissed in the rain
63. 34Played in the mud
64. 35Played in the rain - all the time when I was a kid. It's like taking a shower when it's tropical torrential rain.
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. 36Started a business
68. 37Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. 38Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. 39Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. 40Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. 41Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. 42Got flowers for no reason
84. 43Performed on stage - all the time while in school
85. 44Been to Las Vegas - yep, I even walked a whole store front!
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. 45Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. 46Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. 47Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. 48Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking 103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. 49Piloted an airplane - it was single engine, and I find it ver boring after a few minutes.
09. 50Touched a stingray
110. 51Broken someone’s heart
111. 52Helped an animal give birth - our cats, it was great.
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. 53Broken a bone - my right foot, so painful for weeks!
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. 54Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. 55Ridden a horse
119. 56Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. 57Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours.
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. 58Eaten sushi
128. 59Had your picture in the newspaper
129. 60Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. 61Touched a cockroach - ewwwwwwwwwww
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. 62Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. 63Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. 64Killed and prepared an animal for eating - chicken. The whole 9 yards!
137. 65Skipped all your school reunions
138. 66Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. 67Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. 68Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head - I left 2 inches all aound, so I guess not.
149. Caused a car accident
150. 69Saved someone’s life

I am tagging Momsquared, Ev, Ghee, HouseDad, and Ethel. You're not obliged to play, but if you do, let me know so I can take a look. :P

Wordless Wednesday Vol. 2

The Hick Meets Tech*

After agonizing days of choosing new cell phones, hours of pondering the qualities of each and every cingular cell phone offerings, we finally got phones. New, hip, stylish and very much technologically advance.



Actually, DH did all of the above, I was watching him do all that, and I tell you, I was all stressed out looking at all the choices they have out there. I was so tired thinking of all he had to do to make it happen, I took myself shopping three times just to release all that stress. Whew! I survived the cell phone expedition...err, DH looking for cell phone.



I tell you, if it were me, I'd have gone cell-phone-less indefinitely if I have to decide. It was so much quieter without a cell phone. No obligation to answer...*cough*not that I oblige myself into answering*cough*...I mean, I am quite busy with the business of raising five children. Phone answering is not on my top 5, unless DH is out, then I dive for it, wherever my little children may have hidden dropped put it. It's because I really love my DH. He's the best there is. Just witness all the trouble he went through so we could join the land of the living again.



My phone has video, camera, music player and all other newfangled thingimagigs that I couldn't possibly understand! I leave that to my Lil Bro. He's coming next week maybe, and I'll pick his brains then. Yegads! Why must English language be so cannibalistic?

I was actually in the middle of my other obsession. I will give you two guesses what they are.

Just got back from sweating over my floors. I am very happy now. After spending over an hour trying to figure out how to extract images from this sucker, aka cell phone, I finally found an obscure folder NOT named "images". How user friendly is that!?

I'm really happy with the phone. My trigger happy fingers are too.


*All images taken by Sony Ericsson W810i.

MY PHOTO HUNT VOL. 10 - Annoying

I thought I was going to have to pass this week's theme of photohunt. I didn't have any pictures that I could post as annoying. Then, I was playing with tables and html. You have to see this to believe that it truly is annoying how this table just kept going down, and down, and down, ad nauseum! an·noy·ing adj. Causing vexation or irritation; troublesome Synonyms: These verbs mean to disturb or trouble a person, evoking moderate anger. Annoy refers to mild disturbance caused by an act that tries one's patience: The sound of the printer annoyed me. Irritate is somewhat stronger: I was irritated by their constant interruptions. Bother implies imposition: In the end, his complaining just bothered the supervisor. Irk connotes a wearisome quality: The city council's inactivity irked the community. Vex applies to an act capable of arousing anger or perplexity: Hecklers in the crowd vexed the speaker. Provoke implies strong and often deliberate incitement to anger: His behavior provoked me to reprimand the whole team. Aggravate is a less formal equivalent: "Threats only served to aggravate people in such cases" (William Makepeace Thackeray). Peeve, also somewhat informal, suggests a querulous, resentful response to a mild disturbance: Your flippant answers peeved me. To rile is to upset and to stir up: It riled me to have to listen to such lies.

Thursday Thirteen #10

Thirteen Things about Shoshana Well, I got another e-mail from my MIL. It's numbered and it would looks so great on my T13! So, here they are! 1) Schizophrenia - Do You Hear What I Hear, the Voices, the Voices? 2) Amnesia - I Don't Remember If I'll be Home for Christmas 3) Narcissistic - Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me 4) Manic - Deck The Halls And Walls And House And Lawn And Streets And Stores And Office And Town And Cars And Buses And Trucks And Trees And Fire Hydrants And... 5) Multiple Personality Disorder - We Three Queens Disoriented Are 6) Paranoid - Santa Claus Is Coming To Get Us 7) Borderline Personality Disorder - You Better Watch Out, You Better not Shout, I'm Gonna Cry, and I'll not Tell You Why 8) Full-Personality Disorder - Thoughts of Roasting You On an Open Fire 9) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells 10) Agoraphobia - I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day But Wouldn't Leave My House 11) Senile Dementia - Walking In a Winter Wonderland Miles from My House in My Slippers and Robe 12) Oppositional Defiant Disorder - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus So I Burned Down the House 13) Social Anxiety Disorder - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas While I Sit Here and Hyperventilate Bonus: 14) Attention Deficit Disorder - We Wish You...Hey Look!! It's Snowing!!!

Wordless Wednesday Vol. 1

It seems like a lot of fun...and wordless, very attractive!

And then there was soda

I wish, I wish I had my camera handy a little while ago.

DS2, my 5 years old was in the kitchen. I wasn't really paying attention to what he's doing. I think I was too busy sighing my self-satisfied sigh because I just cleaned my kitchen floor.

If you've been reading this blog a while, you will notice that I have a thing for my floors. Some husbands might worry that their wife is going to cheat on them, spend too much money, or go shopping too much...not me. I am already heavily involved with my floor. This is one of the reasons why.

So, here I was, all sweaty and feeling accomplished when I hear an unmistakable sound of a pouring soda. I know soda shouldn't be given to kids. I know this. But my husband loves soda, so blame him! :) Honey, if you're reading this, I'll pay you back, 'k?

DS2 is a very independent, self-possessed and smart child. I don't think he had asked me to pour him anything since he'd learn the trick of pouring anything he likes into a glass at the age of two. So, tonight is no difference.

Accidents happened, and I hear the swoosh of a spurting soda. When I looked back at him, aglow with self-congratulations, it's to see the soda making a perfect arch as it spurt out of the bottle and down into my newly cleaned, orange-smelling, shinny, feels-good-to-the-feet-kitchen-floors.

I finished my drink, took a deep breath and commence looking for something to dry my floors with. My son, smart boy that he is, noticed that he'd just messed up my newly cleaned floors. He said:

Mommy, don't worry. I will clean it all up. Don't worry Mommy.

He disappeared towards the direction of my linen closet, where I kept my towels. A few minutes later, he came back with an armful of white face towels...


Now, let me tell you about my thing with whites and stains. I'm off to read my books.

To Braving Wet and Cold

If you're looking for a little family bonding time in this busy, buzzy electronic world, you have to be brave enough to turn off everything to get it. Turn the computer, cell phone, television, ipods, digital cameras...ad infinitum off. That's exactly what I did today. It's amazing what different creative activity kids can come up with without electronic distraction.

Of course, my house was in chaos, but it's all in the name of fun.

That's my DS3 on the above, with his new hair-cut, self-administered. Pay close attention to the hairline. :) Hover over the pictures to see the caption.

I am sure it's been discovered before. In my household, I have such intelligent and precocious kids, they somehow get around me. I have rules for how long they have to be on the computer, and only when they've read and practiced their piano lessons. If you're too young for a piano lessons, then only if you've read as long as you want to be on the computer.

DS1 flashes his dimples at me, and before I know it, he's vegging in front of the screen. He does earn it, but his little brothers take advantage of the computer being "open" and jump aboard.


DS2 at five years old can remember key-strokes for password up to 8 digits. I kid you not. He sees you logging in your password, and he's interested in doing the same, he'll remember it. I find it amazing as he doesn't read it. So off he goes and play when my attention is engage somewhere. Like when I was so caught up reading my sexy book for example. That's good for at least an hour before I would take a breather.

My daughter is not much into computer. She likes it, but she's just as happy with books as with computer. If she wanted to play she usually asks me for permission. Once she's on, her internal chronometer goes awry.

Today, or should I say, 5 hours ago, I had enough. D and I went out and went skating with all the kids. Actually, the kids skated, while we walked. It wasn't so cold, but it was drizzling hard enough to get the trails wet.

DS2 was having a hard time controlling his skates, we finally put him in the stroller. He can't walk, no shoes. It was funny when they were slipping around the little wooden bridge. Think spreadeagled legs, arms akimbo. Even the older kids went splat on the ground. They got their balance not long after that and we're skating like pros after.

My baby was getting cold in his stroller, so I put him in a sling and zipped him inside my jacket. He loved it so much, he fell asleep right away and stayed asleep until we're done. It was like being pregnant again, except I am more worried about waking him up. His allergic hives have gone away, his skin's clear today.

DS2 was walking, keeping abreast of his big brother on skates. Between keeping an eye on the kids and issuing an occasional grunt for the kids, D and I have wonderful time talking.

We must have walked and meandered over 4 miles following a river trail. We'll probably get runny noses from the being drizzled, but it was worth it!

SPECIAL NOTE:
I want to wish my Lil Bro and Momsquared a happy anniversary. Actually, they're married four years two days ago. D and I played matchmaker. Now, they have three wonderful kids, and one on the way, probably mid next year.

Happy Anniversary!

Feels Deja Vu All Over Again

Around noon today, the kids were all quiet and content to either read, play some computer games, or just playing with a toy. I feel great because my floors are clean.

It's specially great because it's like a personal accomplishment. I. Did. It. Myself. I could have hired my usual cleaning lady to do it for me, but the last one did me in so bad, I haven't recovered yet. I felt like my personal space and privacy has been thoroughly raped violated.

My darling husband took the three older kids with him this morning. They're all dressed up and looking beautiful. I, on the other hand, felt like an absolute crap. My baby had marathon cough last night, stuffy nose, and was generally cranky. Not to mentioned I was wearing eu-de-barf-n-snot. Not mine, the baby.

Did I also mentioned that my baby took an Anti-Histamine and end up with hives? Yep. Lovely!

So, I have my two younger kids at home all; morning. DS3 was in fine form. He's singing and was literally skipping around the house with a song under his breath. That was perfectly fine with me. Since I can't really do much of anything, I decided to veg out on my couch with a book and a baby. I am currently reading THE SHERBROOKE BRIDE by Catherine Coulter aka, the book that I can find on the spot I was stuck in. Great book. Great sex scenes. Who knows they can be so playful care-free in 1803? Take for example:

...Douglas went mad. His hands were all over her, everywhere he could reach, and he was pleased she was small and that his hands spanned her belly and at the same time his fingers were delving through the dark red hair that covered her woman's mound and she was wet ...His tongue was hot and wet and all she could think of was "Oh my God, something is going to happen to me!"...and she shuddered and she cried out...

Well, it does make for a nice reading between drying barfs and wiping runny nose.

When my baby finally slept, I was a whirling dervish with the laundry, the floors and the beds. Ninety minutes later, I had washed two floors, and had a nice shower. So when my DH and kids came home, I was all nice and pleasant. It's not so much that I am unpleasant when my floors gets sticky (and they're bound to get sticky with 5 kids in the house, all juice-addict!). I just get bent out of shape. It's my inner OCD. Not that I have OCD, but if I have, it will be manifesting on my floors. I come from a long line of women who washed their floors regularly.

The only problem with this lineage is that those other women in my family had household help galore to do their bidding. Or more like Household staff.

When DH suggest movie, I was out of the house and into the car before he could finish the sentence. Yeah, I have my baby with me. He's young enough to sleep through action films.

At the movie, DH and I get to hold hands and enjoy just being together. I had to stand and dance my baby five times before he went to sleep. DH would have done it, but DS4 prefers me. The movie date was great! Denzel Washington was fantastic to watch in Deja Vu.

Later on, DH was explaining concepts of time travel which I never got. I'd have to ask him to post it. It was neat except I get bogged down on one detail and can't get past it.

MY PHOTO HUNT VOL. 9 - RED

I would like to start this photo hunt with a poem my daughter wrote when she was in 1st grade. This picture below is from this summer's piano recital. I like red, red sleeps on my bed. He's sleepy, he's dreepy, and he's not going to get off. When it is my bedtime red pushes me off. So red, red it's all I can see. Red nose, red eyes, and also red feet. "Red, Red" is all he can say. I'd like to include DS3's stripy-red shirt. The hair's all improved now. He gave himself a hair-cut. I really like his hair.

Book List, Finished in 2006

I have no idea why it would not align on the top of the page. See how there's this ocean of space between the top and my lovely table of list?
With all these blank spaces, click here to see the list.


Related Lists:
Movies I've seen in big Screen. Meaning, I went out on a date with my husband!
Movies I've seen in which I've rented a DVD, or recorded a show on TV.

No.	Title		Author		Notes/Series
1	Blue Dahlia		Nora Roberts		1st In The Garden
2	Birdsong		Sebastian Falks		WW1 fiction
3	Tatiana and Alexander		Paulina Simmons		Trilogy?
4	Unleashed the Night		Sherrilyn Kenyon		Dark Hunter
5	Deadly Pleasures		Brenda Joyce		1st in Pleasures
6	Rachel's Holiday		Marian Keyes		1st in the Walsh Sisters
7	My Sister's Keeper		Jodi Picoult		audio
8	The Thorn Birds		Colleen McCollough		audio
9	Manhunt		Janet Evanovich		hospital reading book, DS4 was born
10	False Premises		Leslie Caine		1st in Domestic Bliss Mysteries
11	Kiss Me, Annabelle		Eloisa James		2nd in Essex Sisters
12	Love with a Scandalous Lord		Lorraine Heath		Rogues and Roses
13	As an Earl Desires		Lorraine Heath		Rogues and Roses
14	When we Meet Again		Victoria Alexander		**
15	Black Rose		Nora Roberts		2nd In The Garden
16	In the Mood		Suzanne MacPherson		**
17	The Taming of the Duke		Eloisa James		3rd in Esses Sisters
18	Promise Me Forever		Lorraine Heath		Rogues and Roses
19	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time		Mark Haddon		Non-romance
20	Never Love a Cowboy		Lorraine Heath		Rogues and Roses
21	Runaway Jury		John Grisham		lawyer fiction
22	The Summons		John Grisham		lawyer fiction
23	The Last Juror		John Grisham		lawyer fiction
24	The Lake House		James Patterson		audio, children with wings
25	The Five People You Meet in Heaven		Mitch Albom		non-romance
26	These Old Shades		Georgette Heyer		audio, Regency Romance
27	Bad Moon Rising		Katherine Sutcliffe		audio, good
28	Something Borrowed		Emily Giffin		The Book Bitches Book Club Selection
29	The Secret Life of Bees		Sue Monk Kidd		audio, fantastic
30	Skye Cameron		Phyllis Whitney		audio, v. good
31	The Reptile Room		Lemoney Snicket		audio, A Series of Unfortunate Events
32	Magic Hour		Kristin Hannah		tear-jerker
33	Birthright		Nora Roberts		audio
34	Something Blue		Emily Giffin		next book to #28 above
35	Spindrift		Phyllis Whitney		audio, okay
35	The Maze		Catherine Coulter		audio, FBI Series
36	Poisonwood Bible		Barbara Kingsolver		audio, Fantastic, Must read!
37	The Dirty Girls Social Club		Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez		The Book Bitches Book Club Selection
38	The Maze		Catherine Coulter		audio, FBI Series
39	The Edge		Catherine Coulter		audio, FBI Series
40	Otherwise Engaged		Eileen Goudge		good
41	Hemlock Bay		Catherine Coulter		audio, FBI Series
42	The Red Tent		Anita Diamant		audio, Fantastic, Must read!
43	The Fortunes of Francesca		Betty Neels		comfort read
44	The Other Boleyn Girl		Philippa Gregory		The Book Bitches Book Club Selection
45	The Wrong Hostage		Elizabeth Lowell		audio
46	The Dark Side of the Moon		Sherrilyn Kenyon		Dark Hunter
47	Into the Storm		Suzanne Brockmann		Trouble Shooters
48	Constant Princess		Philippa Gregory		audio, prequel of The Other Bolyn Girl
49	Angela's Ashes		Frank McCourt		Memoir
50	Eleventh Hour		Eleventh Hour		audio, FBI Series
51	Cover of Night		Linda Howard		a favorite author
52	Wild Swan, The Three Daughters of China		Jung Chang		Biography, Autobiography
53	Daddy Long-Legs		Jean Webster		the letters are fantastic. It's meant for young adults, but it caught my attention just the same
54	Impulse		Catherine Coulter		hot sex scene, overshadowed by cheesy dialogue
55	Angels Fall		Nora Roberts		everything I like in her book. A tough, soft guy, a strong, vulnerable heroine, cunning villain
56	Angels		Marian Keyes		audio, about Margaret Walsh
57	Anybody Out There?		Marian Keyes		audio, about Anna Walsh
58	Lovely Bones		Alice Siebold		audio, dark-themed book
59	The Sherbrooke Bride		Catherine Coulter		Bride Series, small excerpt here.
60	Much Ado About You		Eloisa James,		re-read, 1st of the Essex Sisters
61	Nerd Gone Wild		Vicki Lewis Thompson		Nerds
62	Comfort and Joy		Kristin Hannah		****

Love Thursday #7

This is my husband and my only daughter. I love their clowning on camera.

This is father and son trying their best to make me share my ice-cream. I don't think so, though I love them both very much!

THURSDAY THIRTEEN #9

Thirteen Things about Shoshana I am slowly going back to cooking. So, I dusted up my recipe books, of which I have plenty, deciding what things to cook that's easy and fast. As always with these things, all the food I wanted to make requires extensive shopping. My two-year old son, let's call him "R", disposed of my large collection of spices. I did find some cucumber in my refrigerator though. So, tonight's Thursday Thirteen is going to be about Cucumber salad that's real easy to make. I have no idea who originated this one, but it was in my head, and I have the ingredients for it. I'll have to shop for my recipe-book dishes another time. When I am not going to be carting around sick little baby. For Ingredients: 1. 4 medium cucumbers 2. 1 small onions, optional if you don't like these things 3. 1 small green bell pepper, optional too 4. 1/3 cup vinegar, you can use apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, but I'm not sure with Balsamic. It's too dark, and I am not sure how it will look. I like my cucumber all nice and natural. 5. 1/3 cup water 6. 1/3 cup sugar, can use Splenda if you're into sugar-free Instructions: 7. Slicer is much easier to use because you can cut the cucumbers and other ingredients into uniform sizes. 8. Peel cucumber, make sure to leave little strips of skin for decorative purposes. 9. Make think slices out of cucumber, onions, and green bell pepper, with a slicer if you have it, or with a knife. 10. Layer cucumber, onions and bell pepper in a casserole dish 11. Mix vinegar, water, and sugar. 12. Pour over cucumber layers 13. Marinate at least an hour. This tastes better the longer it sits in marinade. I even included a picture for you. :) Enjoy!

Lazy Winter Soup

I haven't been really cooking in a long while. The chefs at Boston Market, Chipotle, McDonalds [chief might be stretching it here], Wendy's and the likes have been really busy making food for me.

My baby is now eight months old. He's still having a fever, but now I know that he's caught the winter virus (not quite flu), and his ear infection is making his temperature higher than a viral infection would indicate. No infection showed on his blood test.

Anyway, back to my soup. It's not because it's ingredients were "winter" related. I only titled it such because right now, it's wintry cold for my part of Texas, and I am feeling lazy, but I need to make a soupy dinner.

Let me see if I can remember the ingredients correctly because I was making it up as I went along, and wasn't keeping a close enough attention.

Engredients:
1/2 pound ground beef, shaped into tiny balls*
2 med. potatoes, diced finely
1 med. onion, diced finely
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed
1 can tomato sauce
3 cups water [aka 24 oz of liquid]
dash of powder garlic
dash of paprika
salt to taste

1. Saute ground beef in a dry hot soup caserole. Swish it all around until it's brown. No need for oil, the ground beef will have enough.

2. Add the onions, swish it all around.

3. Add the potatoes until both are transluscent.

4. Add tomato sauce, beans, corn, and water

5. Boil high for 15 minutes.

6. Simmer in medium flame for 20 minutes.

7. Simmer in low flame for 10 minutes. Turn off fire, and let stand for another 10 until cool enough.

Serve.

I don't know how many servings this is, and I also didn't count calories. Half the quantity was enough to serve my 4 kids. It's actually quite tasty, especially if you're hungry and too lazy to go anywhere or make anything.

Can be eaten by itself, or with rice, or rolls, or other stuff.


*only if you have time because the little balls will unravel, and you're back to ground meat anyway.

Thankful Enough?

I got this e-mail from my dear MIL. At first, I thought, how crass! Not MIL, the e-mail! I have one of the nicest MIL there is. Then as I read it aloud to DH, I realized that it's actually good. I had to share it. Some of you might have seen this already in your mail. If you have, enjoy it again.

If you haven't, it's good to read.

I wanted to post something other than my baby who's still having fever. It's not raging, but still, it's been around since Wednesday night. Hence, the aborted date with my dear friends. Plus, there's that thing about the weather. There was sleet and some people around me went into panic buying.

It's hilarious if you think about it. I mean, it's much colder in other states, but then our excuse is we're not used to inclement weather.

inclement
adj 1: (of weather of climate) physically severe [ant: clement]

So, without further ado, are we thankful enough?

I AM THANKFUL:
FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME, AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.

FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME, NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING, WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING, AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH..

FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION .

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH WHO SINGS OFF KEY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.

AND FINALLY, FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

And isn't that beautiful?

Off to see the Wizard

Baby is still having fever. He has been having fever since Wednesday night, and today, we read 102. That's him minutes before he started having fever.

We're off to see his pediatrician in an hour. Poor, poor baby.

Last night, we spent another holding, swinging, dancing, reclining, and cooing, and nothing was good enough. He finally settled down around 3, woke up with no fever, and then spiked one an hour ago.

He's quite crabby, and my house is falling apart. Not really falling apart, I just think that because I couldn't go straighten things up. I really hope he's going to stop having fever soon. Tylenol and Motrin are not working at all.