Spending the Egg Money

Well! Who knew that so many people would share the floating egg trick with me in the comments to yesterday's post? The kids and I put the eggs in a pot of water today and they didn't float. So I hard-boiled the eggs and fed them to the kids for lunch. No one died.

Experiment successful. Oh, and let's check "science" off the homeschooling to-do list for the week...

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We hosted clubs this afternoon. That means, my house is clean and my children are traumatized by our typical crisis cleaning this morning. I guess I shouldn't have threatened to throw out all their possessions, but I was feeling desperate. The threat of public shaming will do that to you, you know.

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I am anxiously awaiting my Knitpicks order...you see, my top-down baby sweater has remained unfinished because I have not been able to locate the four size-2 DPN's required to knit the sleeves. I didn't want to order new ones, because I managed to find 2 of the needed needles; meaning, the other 2 are around here somewhere.

But a few days ago I bowed to the inevitable: the missing needles will not show up until I have their replacements in the house. This is a law of knitting, I believe. Much like gravity is a law of nature...can't change it, just gotta roll with it....

So, since I was already ordering a set of double-pointed needles, I figured I should add a few items to get the free shipping, right? Like, say, an entire set of Harmony circulars? The ones with the smooth joins and flexible cables? And then there were the sock-yarn samplers from last year that are now on sale...had to pick up one of those, of course....

Yeah, I totally got carried away. I can rationalize everything except the Harmony circulars. I mean, the metal circulars set was 15 dollars less; in keeping with my thrifty nature, I should have bought those instead. (Knitters, at this point you might rush to comment that no, buying the metal set would have been a terrible mistake. I know I would do as much for you. Thanks.)

A Whole Lot Of Nothing

The weekly fridge post has to wait - I took the pictures, and then I realized that my photo program is loaded on the computer that is in the shop. I don't want to risk overwhelming our new little laptop here with that stuff. But I do have a food-storage-related question for all of you: today I found a dozen eggs whose carton's "sell by" date is 19 February (of this year, wise guys). So - do I cook them or throw them?

The font suddenly got larger while I typed - I don't know why. Magic, maybe?

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I went to Knit Night tonight for the first time in months. My best friend (who has 5 kids) reports that last week someone new showed up -a child psychologist who happens not to have any children of her own. So my friend said to her (and this is why she is my best friend), "You have got to be kidding me!"

Being from New York, she can get away with this sort of behavior. I envy her.

Why am I telling this story? I don't know.

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Hmmm....there's nothing funny going on here. I'm grasping at straws. And Anna is breathing down my neck, waiting for her turn so she can use Facebook. I love that Anna has Facebook. She did the dishes and wiped down the bathroom, all without complaining, just so she could get her fix. If she had to choose between Facebook and oxygen, she'd hold her breath.

What's not to love?

Odds And Ends

Um...is it my imagination or is the world sort of falling apart?

And will buying more Girl Scout cookies fix it? At least, temporarily?

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After 10 years of trying, tonight at yoga I managed to stand on my head without using the wall for support. Who says middle age isn't exciting?

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Anna's being nice to me again. Something's up. Nothing in life is free.

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A friend and I took our kids to ChickFilA for lunch today. Rachel came out of the play area to inform me that someone had peed at the top of the climbing equipment. And guess what? It wasn't Susie!

Whew. I mean, not that that's ever happened to us...

Snow Job

The comments on my Love Story post from 2 days ago have opened my eyes to just how strongly we women feel about our household gadgets. My confession of infatuation with a French-door fridge (ooh-la-la!) produced an outpouring of passion about the sleekness, the usefulness, and (yes) even the betrayals (who knew that stainless steel was so hard to keep clean?) of assorted household appliances. One anonymous commenter went so far as to call me a hussy for coveting what she claims is her one true love. Ladies! Let's be civilized here. We can share.

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Anna took to her bed after being forced by her cruel father to clear the snow off the windshield of our minivan. Larry was lucky enough to witness the one-armed imbecile routine himself, and he was not amused.

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Rachel screamed for half an hour (no lie) over a paper cut. I am not going to be there for her when she gives birth, I can tell you that right now. I felt it necessary to go outside and explain to our very nice neighbor (who was shoveling his front steps) that I was not, in fact, beating the poor child to death. I don't know if he believed me, however.

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It snowed last night and today. A real snow that accumulated enough to cover the grass - the first time this winter, in fact. Naturally, we spent the day reveling in it. Thank you, Mother Nature!

But, um, you can stop now. Really. We're done. Full steam ahead for spring! Easter and bunnies and jelly beans and Cadbury eggs, all right? Yum.

Oh, and Brian managed to make a little money shoveling a neighbor woman's front steps and walk. Susie "helped" him out with her little shovel for a bit, but she soon lost interest and wandered away. Brian stayed the course and left clutching his pay, dreams of new Legos dancing in his head. A few minutes later, Susie knocked at my neighbor's door. "I want a dollar!" she announced.

What a great way to get money - just ask for it. I think she's on to something there.

All The Good Post Titles Are Taken

To the person who Googled

Does wearing a girdle every day help shrink waist?

Don't you wish! In a perfect world, maybe...

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Hard to believe, but Larry and I actually managed to make it to the movies! Hooray! We saw Slumdog Millionaire. Maybe you've heard of it? It was amazing. Bursting with raw energy, it transports the viewer to the slums of Mumbai in the blink of an eye....

Sorry, channeling my inner movie reviewer there...


Unfortunately, not everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Apparently Salman Rushdie is shocked, shocked, that a hit movie had an unrealistic plot. I can't imagine how disgusted he felt after the original Die Hard. Has he even seen Sound of Music....Casablanca....Mary Poppins....?

Maybe he just doesn't get out to the movies much.

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Hear ye! Hear ye! Let it now be a matter of public record that my teen daughter Anna (aka What-Have-You-Done-For-Me-Lately) was graciously allowed to attend the movie Shopaholic yesterday with her friend. She apparently doesn't remember, judging from the way she shlumped around today because she didn't have a ride to the mall and her inconsiderate parents expressed an unseeming reluctance to brave near-blizzard conditions to drive her to youth group.

Yeah, the attitude bugs me. How could you tell?

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I am laboriously typing this on a laptop, a device I have never used before. Strange things keep happening while I attempt to manipulate the mousepad (or whatever you call that thing) - fonts get larger and smaller, strange boxes appear onscreen, cursors disappear. We bought the laptop on clearance because our one-year-old computer is in the shop, and we are not going to go through the charade of trying to manage without a computer for over 3 days. We barely made it 10 minutes, in fact. Anna had to call a friend to find out movie times.

So, yes, we're continuing our personal economic stimulus plan. Ask not what your country can do for you...

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It's here! The Women's Colony has been launched! Three cheers for Mrs. G! Don't miss the orientation - hurry on over there!