Brave New World

There's a lot of talk these days about how difficult it is for us parents of teens to manage this brave new world of IPods, text messages, and Facebook. But I'm here to tell you, technology can also be our friend.

Anna needed me to take her somewhere yesterday morning. She stood in the front hall, anxiety exuding from her every pore because she didn't want to be late. So I sent her to start the car while I found my purse, my coat, etc.

I reached the car 5 minutes later, where she was sitting in the passenger seat, waiting impatiently. I got in and closed the door and buckled in. Then I said,

"You know, we can't go anywhere right now."
"Huh?" (accompanied by annoyed, confused look endemic to foggy-brained teens)
"We can't go anywhere. The windshield is covered with ice. I can't see to drive."
"Oh?" (another confused, "why is she talking to me?" look)
"Hey! I have an idea! Why don't you take the scraper and clear the windshield?"
(Glare)
"No, really, it might work!"

So Anna went outside and, with one hand in her pocket and the other aimlessly flailing the ice scraper, did her very best imitation of a floppy-wristed, one-armed imbecile attempting to clean off a windshield. It was pathetic. She was apparently hoping I'd get impatient and do it for her, but hey - I was sitting in a warm car listening to NPR. No rush...


When she finally got back into the car, I told her, "Next time you make yourself look that stupid, I'm videotaping it and putting it on YouTube."

And that, my friends, is what is so great about this brave new technological world we're living in...

Nobody Knows The Clutter I've Seen...

Because we were hosting clubs this afternoon, I spent yet another day stowing all sorts of household junk in my bedroom in order to make the main floor of my house presentable. One would think that, after 17 years, I could come up with a better method of housekeeping. But no - Larry and I have resorted to dumping things into boxes. The box that holds all the odds and ends he cleaned off the computer desk before our New Year's party? Sits right here in the den - I just keep tossing more stuff into it. The top of my dresser was covered with I-don't-know-what-all; so I grabbed an empty box, swept everything into it, and shoved the box into my closet. The clutter is utterly defeating us.

Don't tell me to throw things out. I throw zillions of things out every single day. I've read all the books. I do the Flylady thing. But we are still overwhelmed. The enemy is winning.

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On the bright side, Girl Scout cookies are arriving soon! When in trouble, eat Trefoils.

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The kids and I have had a fun couple of days. Our little bit of snow almost immediately froze to ice. So we went sledding again. Sledding is fun, even if you are middle-aged and out-of-shape and terrified of careening down an icy hill at breathtaking speed...it's fun, because it makes you feel like a kid again. So go! Right now! Just remember that second pair of socks, okay?

Kids? What Kids?

Time for a knitting update. I don't know why it is time, but it is. I even took pictures. Although, now that I look at them, I think I'll have to find a background less glaringly red than the slipcover on my beloved Ektorp ottoman (with removable top, so you can shove all sorts of junk in there before company comes).

I've been working on this top-down baby raglan sweater. If there is anything I hate, it is knitting something in separate pieces and then having to sew them together. If I wanted to sew, I wouldn't be knitting. Duh. This sweater is knitted in one piece from the top, leaving the sleeve stitches on holders to come back to at the end (like knitting a mitten with 2 thumbs) (sort of).

I am thrilled, thrilled, thrilled with the pattern; although I don't understand why I can never knit small enough for gauge. The pattern already calls for small needles (sizes 2 and 4), and I wanted to weep at the thought of knitting a sweater on needles even tinier than that. So I decided to use sock yarn instead of sport weight for the sweater. We'll see how that works out. Probably not very well...

I know it is hard to believe for the uninitiated among you, but the info in the above paragraph interests knitters. You non-knitting readers out there, just be glad I didn't start discussing the buttonholes. (Oh, but those are exciting, too! I've never done them before!)

I am almost done with the first sock of a pair (if I would ever get off this computer) (darn you, Facebook and Twitter!). I was surprised to find that the yarn I chose for the socks is self-striping (I am easily surprised, okay?). I am finding it to be a lot of fun, waiting for a new color stripe to come around again (also, easily amused).

I actually managed to finish (shocking, I know) a pink Cascades superwash wool hat for my friend's baby. I don't know if my friend really liked it, but she at least pretended she did; and that's good enough for me (thanks!). I forgot to take a picture of it, though.

There are other assorted projects lying around here, but I am trying not to think about them right now. Most of them are stalled out because I made some mistake (alas, my first lace project!) and am dreading the work it will take to fix it. Or because I was almost finished with something and realized I didn't like the way it was turning out. So I am ignoring them.

You can do that with knitting. Not with kids, though. So maybe I should go see who is screaming upstairs and why my teen daughter is sulking in the kitchen...

Three Cheers...

Three cheers for Larry! He fixed the dishwasher while I was doing the orchestra carpool last night. I think working appliances are so sexy, don't you?

And yes, that picture to the right shows exactly how we all feel today...

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Three cheers for Mother Nature, who finally delivered us some snow this morning. Although, I must say it is rather pathetic to see my poor deprived children dancing around chanting, "There's tons of snow!" when the grass is still showing. Then again, it takes some skill to go sledding in less than 2 inches of snow, doesn't it?

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Three cheers for Susie, who decided she would like to go sledding this year. That is, until her mother managed to dump her face-first in the snow. Whoops.

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Three cheers for my aging brain, which has forgotten everything else I wished to post today. Off to bake cinnamon rolls and make some hot cocoa - it's snowing!

Monday? Again?

For all of you who mentioned that you wouldn't be foolish enough to try to collaborate on things like FAFSA or taxes with your spouse, I agree - it is foolish. Our system has always been that I do the taxes - it has worked well for us for almost 20 years. Larry volunteered to do the FAFSA because, well, I'm doing the taxes. Unfortunately, there are points at which the 2 intersect. I could volunteer to do both, but we would still have to collaborate, as Larry has the non-tax financial numbers required by this fiendish form.

Any social scientists out there wondering why many marriages tend to fall apart at the 20-year mark? I think I've got your answer.

Speaking of which, a very pleasant-looking gentleman in his mid- to late-sixties came to the register the other evening to buy a book: How To Get A Divorce Without Ruining Your Life.

Hello? How about the other person's life? Did his wife know already what he was planning? I felt complicit in wrongdoing just by ringing up the purchase. I would have felt better if he had looked distraught and/or wracked by anguish as he placed the book on the counter, but this guy looked pretty darn pleased with himself, actually. Creep.

Maybe I shouldn't take these purchases so personally...

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Theo has been procrastinating on his last few college applications (and, oh, have I mentioned how much I hate these things? No? Don't worry, I will). Larry and I, not wanting to have to set aside next Sunday to proofread essays for an annoyed teen who doesn't understand why we are interfering with his life and checking his applications, decided to set deadlines for each application to be handed to us for proofreading. This news, of course, was not well received by the teen formerly known as easygoing and compliant.

Yesterday was the first deadline, and we were relieved to see Theo hard at work at the computer. Late in the afternoon, however, we found him wandering around the kitchen. "Where's the application?" I demanded.

"Which application?" he asked.

"The one that was due today. We need to proofread it."

"Oh, I sent it in already."

Well, he showed us who's in charge, didn't he? I can't wait until he's sitting around here all next year going to community college - every time he complains, I will remind him of the importance of having an editor.

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Those of you who think parents should not be involved at all in the college application process? I thought the same thing a few months ago. Believe me, I wish that were true. My parents never even saw mine.

But it's a different world today. Check out some of these websites, hey? Letting your kids send off those applications while every other kid's apps are being proofread by their parents or even professionals is tantamount to idiocy. It's also tantamount to throwing your 60-dollar application fee in the toilet.

When in Rome...

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I think I'm done complaining now. Really. And it's time to go wash some more dishes...