Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Baby Got Back

Lilly has started singing.  She sings "Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba"  and we finish with "Barbara-Ann".

Today a secret (post secret type) dream came true.  On the tv show Freinds, Mabel, Rachel's baby girl, would only laugh when you sang her Baby's Got Back.  Well, today was the first time that Lilly and I heard that song together.  She danced and laughed and informed me that I was a freak all at the same time.  I always wondered if my life would be like Rachel's.  It's not, and I would never spell the name Mabel, it's totally Mable.  Der.  Just so you know, I figured that out a few weeks ago.  Josh's grandma's name is Mable.

She wanted to dance to Hammer Time but she was busy nursing and nothing, not even MC Hammer will interrupt that.  She let me know.  She's a smart girl.

She is one week shy of 8 months.   8 months of me not working.  I have an interview next week to be the museum manager of the Seaman Rock and Mineral Museum at Michigan Tech University.  I don't know how I feel about that.  I have never been so down the middle of the road on an issue.  I only applied because it is my dream job...IF I have to work.  See? It's difficult. 

I made some homemade hummus.  I prefer store hummus, but it makes a good rye hummus sprout sandwich for sure. I also soaked some black beans and made beans and rice.  It's also good.  We are going to have sloppy joes for dinner!  I can't wait.  We bought sale buns from Bill's Shop and Save.  It was like 80 cents for 4 buns..perfect deal.

We were going to have tacos, but we are snowed in and can't get to the store to get corn tortillas...not that we couldn't make our own, but sloppy joes sound better.  Yeah, we are set for food, for probably 2 months at least, if we didn't try hard. Fingers crossed that the snow melts by then.  If not....well, then there are greater problems.

I've always wondered how my life would have been if I went to Mich Tech instead of CMU.  Not as good, I'm sure.  Josh went to CMU, not Tech.  Plus, CMU has good sweatshirts and I found a sweet tshirt in the Rock Room at CMU left by an old student and it's my favorite shirt to snuggle...even after 5 years.  That's got to mean something.

The Rock Room was three floors down and around several hallways...it's where I did all of my rock cutting and smashing and powdering and grinding. I  would spend 8 hrs a day in there during the summer, alone, doing my research (cutting, smashing, powdering) and listening to the CMU college radio station (BEST radio station ever, hands down) and I would call in and request songs.  Only I coudlnt' think of names of the songs I like that were current, so I would request the Eagles.  I would eat lunch with Matt and Asher out on a picnic table near the greenhouse and talk about our professors.

I COULD have been drinking and floating down the Chippewa River on inner tubes.  Did I miss out?  I'm not sure yet.  But to be honest...I've had more jobs than Josh and he DID do all the river tubing.  So..maybe I did good. Maybe.  Plus, I'm pretty much terrified of tubing down a river.  There are shit tons of spiders on all the banks and in the trees.  Truth.   And I did* love a good rock crushing. *do love

Josh is snow-shoeing to the end of the driveway to pick up the mail and check and see how bad the snow drifts are (we can't get out today).  I tried very hard to get to go too...but then there would be noone to watch Lilly and Josh said she couldn't come on a sled.  The roommates (parents) are out of town, so there is no one to plow and we are not allowed to work the plow-machine (skidster). 

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The Lamb is just a Sheep in the Long Run. ~Denmark Saying

I've been reading about raising sheep, and it's a lot of work.  It involves at least 3 sheep because you can't have just one, which is fine, but that's more tricky work.  And sheep involve gross things like infections, sickness, and tagging the ears.  Stuff you wish you could have the vet do, but you can't afford to, so you do it yourself.  I'm not sure I'm up to that stuff just yet.

When describing how to help a ewe birth a lamb, if it has horn buds, you should help the ewe out by pulling her vulva apart to make room for the horn buds.  I'm not sure I can handle lambing.

So there's a lot of thinking going on about that.  One thing I do know for a fact:  I don't want any sheep with horns.

I think my simpler goal to attain to help the sheep farm decision is to get into what I'm most interested in, and that's the fleece.  I want to start to learn how to work with the raw fleece.  Spinning it, carding it, etc.

And first, to attain that goal, I need money.  So my real goal is attaining money.  Lots of it too.

I can do that.

Lilly and I went to the Toddler Sit and Read time at the Library today.  She was so amazed at the 3 other children there!  She would make her I-See-A-Kitty noise and wave her arms around excitedly at them.  She even sat and read the book and didn't try to eat the book!

Josh and my mom laughed at me because of why I think Lilly is a genius.  She is a genius because she can drink water from her sippy cup!  She knows that if she tips it up, water comes out!  It's amazing.  But she is still working on holding the cup upright before tipping it up.

I watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics this year.  It's my first time ever seeing them and it's amazing!  I wish I hadn't ever missed any.  I loved seeing Russia put their best face forward and to learn about the history that they cherish.  It makes me want to learn more about Russia.  I must say this was probably the first time I learned about Russia from Russia and I knew there was no American Propaganda attached to it.  I can't recall the details enough to repeat it on here in a well thought out manor, but I liked the comments President Obama made about his relationship with Putin.  Vlady Vlad as he prefers to be called in private.  I'm sure.

Not too long ago we heard on the news that someone was in trouble for selling pig colon as imitation calamari.  Josh says I am wrong for never wanting to eat calamari again.  I'm not really that grossed out at all or worried, I just have no desire to eat something that can be confused with a pig's colon.  What if calamari is just imitation pig colon? 

Monday, February 3, 2014

Private Party Time

Yesterday Josh and I co-hosted the best Superbowl party I've ever attended.  It was an exclusive affair, a Private Party if you will.  Nathan and Mandy barely made the guest list...too bad they had other plans (too bad for them!). The other hosts?  My mom and dad. I guess that makes Lilly the sole guest.

The food was delicious!  My mom made bean dip and artichoke dip.  Josh made chicken legs in the style of barbeque and hot wings.  He made the hot wings sauce and it tasted just like hot wings!  Mmmmm.  I made mayonnaise and used that to make ranch dressing for the chicken.  I also made a hot fudge cake and made sure ice cream was purchased.

In the morning my mom and I went out to the garden, braving thigh deep snow, and dug up some parsnips.  Those and a sweet potato were made into chips, which were eaten during the game.

We pre-gamed with a match of Euchre, Josh and I losing spectacularly.

It's easy to get thigh deep snow if you're short.

It was really fun to make all the delicious food and then eat it all ourselves.  Plus hot fudge cake is my favorite and I haven't had it in years and years. 

I learned a lot preparing for this:
1.  I do not like homemade mayonnaise.
2.  How deep the snow really is. (I haven't been outside in a while)
3.  How easy it is to make hot wing sauce
4.  That hot fudge cake is still just as delicious with 3 tablespoons of coco powder instead of 6
5.  I'm a sucker for the Made in America/Detroit Pride truck commercials.

On another note, I lied about not being outside.  I went snow shoeing on Friday in actual deep deep snow.  I can now cross that off my bucket list.  Life goal accomplished.  It was hard as hell and more tiring than running.  I did not make it very far. I walked through the back pasture and into the woods and then out of the woods at the shortest path possible.