Guy Fawkes Day!

Sorry, I think I was high when I suggested the Moon Festival as my next holiday (maybe later this week). What I really meant was:
HAPPY GUY FAWKES DAY!!

For those of you not familiar with Guy Fawkes, he's known to have conspired to blow up Parliament in London! Here's what Brittania.com's got to say (oops, too boring) Wikipedia's got to say (ugh, too boring too!) Somehow, I thought this was a sexier holiday, mostly because people celebrate by BURNING THINGS IN EFFIGY!! Firefirefirefire!

Okay, continuing: In 1605, Guy Fawkes et. al. tried to blow up Parliament and King James I of England by setting up a room in the basement and filling it with gunpowder. This attempt was foiled on November 5, 1605, and Mr. Fawkes and conspiritors were subsequently hanged, drawn, and quartered (and their heads were put on pikes).

And of course, the CELEBRATION! What do people do on Guy Fawkes Day?

From Wikipedia:

"In the United Kingdom, celebrations take place in towns and villages across the country in the form of both private and civic events. They involve fireworks displays and the building of bonfires on which traditionally "guys" are burnt, although this practice is not always observed in modern times. These "guys" are traditionally effigies of Guy Fawkes, the most famous of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators. Although the night is celebrated in York (Fawkes' hometown) some there do not burn his effigy, most notably those from his old school. Before the fifth, children traditionally use the "guys" to request a "penny for the guy" in order to raise funds with which to buy fireworks.

In the United Kingdom, there are several foods that are traditionally consumed on Guy Fawkes Night:

• black treacle goods such as bonfire toffee and parkin,
• toffee apples
• baked potatoes, more commonly and traditonally referred to as jacket potatoes in the UK, which are wrapped in foil and cooked in the bonfire or its embers
• black peas with vinegar"

Awesome! So, to you all, go and light a fire tonight in the spirit of Guy Fawkes, or just toast to him, "The only man who entered Parliament with honest intent." If the spirits call, chant this verse:

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I can think of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

Happy Birthday Monkeyrotica!

monk-e_41
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

I love you, you crazy mofo. Keep keepin' it weird, straight up.

Oh, and since I used some FSM art, here's the requisite link.

Why celebrate?

What’s the difference between a celebration and a festival? A tradition and a ritual? Why do we crave them? In the next 26 days, I’m looking at celebrations. We want them. We need them. What else have we got to look forward to?

It’s humanity’s need to create order out of chaos, and to create meaning where there is none. We are compelled to set markers, to check the passing of time, to look forward to what’s coming in our near or extended future. With traditions that have intervals, we can compare our growth from point to point and have a reference for tracking our and others’ lives.

Before Hallmark and other religious/secular holiday calendars, the main method of marking time was to follow the path of the moon and stars, tracking seasons and agricultural growth periods. (Monkeyrotica’s sidebar: did you know that ancient man used to think that the moon caused pregnancy? Women’s menstrual cycles coincide with lunar cycles, so why the hell not?) Humans celebrated when the first blooms appeared on trees to show the advent of spring (vernal equinox) and again when it was time to harvest (autumnal equinox). Just when we think we can’t take the long, hot, days of summer and the short, dark days of winter we look forward to the solstices, which are the shortest and longest days of the year.

We celebrate with a prom or debutante ball to mark when young men and women in our community have come of age and are ready to enter society as adults. Marriage ceremonies are elaborate rituals celebrating couples who take vows of commitment, proclaim adherence to laws, and join their two families as a greater whole. Funeral customs honor, remember, and celebrate the lives of the dead and bring together loved ones to reflect on their own lives.

Without tradition, ceremonies, rituals, and festivals, there would be nothing to break the monotony of life. We need something to do while we are waiting to die, you know?

This week, I'm planning to focus on harvest festivals, as they are peculiar to this season and we'll actually hit a few specific ones during NaBloPoMo. Tomorrow, a harvest festival that's recently passed in 2008: China's Moon Festival.

World holidays & festivals, a theme

Native American Museum
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

A few other folks I know who are participating in NaBloPoMo have chosen a theme for their posts this month—this is totally at the blogger's discretion, only suggested as a tool for getting those posts written.

That said, given the content of my last two day's posts and some historical avoidings leanings of mine, my November theme is World Holidays & Festivals. I may or may not stick to it, bear with me.

If you have a favorite holiday/festival that you'd like me to feature, add it into the comments; I'd totally love that!

Some background to this theme idea: years ago, after college—but before marriage and kids—it was just me and my fine arts degree in graphic design. My dad, ever looking ahead, found the perfect way for me to rake in a boatload of cash (a way that I mostly stonewalled). It was a brilliant idea, only it was a lot of work, required an entrepreneurial spirit, and wasn't the direction that I saw my career going.

The Idea: design, illustrate, write, produce, and sell greeting cards for non-Hallmark holidays. Or, not even non-Hallmark but particularly celestial holidays that focus on getting back to seasonal rhythms. For example, a celestial event that would be appropriate (and that coincidentally falls on or near my dad's birthday) is the Vernal or Autumnal Equinox. I bought a few books on the subject of celestial events at the time and even threw an equinox party one year, complete with planting sapling trees and a harvest feast. Anyway, details on those celebrations will be saved for another post. Suffice to say, this is a subject that has been floating in my periphery, though I have not actualized the greeting card concept.

For the world end of things, I have access (through work) to many international projects, holidays, travelers, and customs that I may feature when I'm searching for a good topic. I'm looking forward to this!

I leave you with a delightful image of Rosie, with her gorgeous paper flower that we made at the Smithsonian's Dia de los Muertos Festival.

Day of the dead altar

Welcoming your dead loved ones back to your home.

Taking the train

On our way to the museums!

Happy Dia de los Muertos!

(And happy first day of NaBloPoMo, to all who are participating.)

Growing up in suburban Chicago, I knew nothing of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. My friend Kelly, who has lived all over the place, really brought the holiday out of the periphery for me and showed me what a wondrously joyful tradition it is, shedding a bright light on places other cultures prefer to leave in the shadows, celebrating the lives of the dead.

From Wikipedia:

"Many people believe that during the Day of the Dead, it is easier for the souls of the departed to visit the living. People will go to cemeteries to communicate with the souls of the departed, and will build private altars, containing the favorite foods and beverages, and photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so that the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. Celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.

Plans for the festival are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. During the period of November 1 and November 2, families usually clean and decorate graves; most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas, or offerings, which often include orange marigolds called "cempasúchitl" (originally named cempoalxochitl, Nahuatl for "twenty (i.e., many) flowers"). In modern Mexico this name is often replaced with the term "Flor de Muerto" ("Flower of the Dead"). These flowers are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings.

Toys are brought for dead children (los angelitos, or little angels), and bottles of tequila, mezcal, pulque or atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave. Ofrendas are also put in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto ("bread of the dead") or sugar skulls and beverages such as atole. The ofrendas are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased. Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the "spiritual essence" of the ofrenda food, so even though the celebrators eat the food after the festivities, they believe it lacks nutritional value. Pillows and blankets are left out so that the deceased can rest after their long journey. In some parts of Mexico, such as the towns of Mixquic, Pátzcuaro and Janitzio, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives."

Although Monkeyrotica has three relatives that are buried locally, his dad and his paternal grandparents, we have never celebrated this holiday in a cemetery. We've spent it with friends and have had quieter festivities, in a more "spiritual-essence-of-it-all" way.

Tomorrow, we're planning to head over to the National Museum of the American Indian, like we did last year. We'll be getting there early this time! Last year, we were late, missed all the demonstrations and dancing, but enjoyed ourselves anyway. The girls loved the paper flowers and wore them in their hair.

Rosie knows what she's doing.

RosieBakes
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

Just check out that confident look in her eye. Rosie knows more than you think. There's so much going on in that mysterious noggin of hers, we'll never realize more than a shard, a sliver.

Again, all we've been hearing in the past week from her school has been negative. She was sent to the principal's office twice in one day for several physical incidents (one that drew blood); we are all terribly shocked. Monkeyrotica and I met with her teacher today—our first official meeting—and learned that there is one specific child in her class, a boy, that she just can't resist tormenting.

She needs to work on curbing her impulses. We went over the behavior contract that will target keeping her hands to herself and completing assigned work, and look forward to getting the daily reports on her progress. We asked about the classroom and whether the teachers thought Rosie was a good match for their room; of course they said yes (I thought they might be objective, silly me). They've moved Rosie to a small desk at the back of the room and proclaimed that she loves her new placement, complete with fewer distractions and calmer, less distracting tablemates.

While we were there, Miss M. offered to show us her report for the academic testing that we were planning to review next week in a pre-scheduled meeting. Academically, the baseline for all the students in her classroom at this point in the year is 61. By the end of the year, they expect 165. What was Rosie's score?

155.

She scored 100% on most of her tests including math, reading, word/number/color recognition, and phonics. Despite all the trouble we are having, she is in the top of her Kindergarten class.

OMG, I am spinning. We have a delinquent. We have a genius! Must they come hand in hand?

I got my in-person, absentee vote on

VoteD
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

Yesterday I jogged to the absentee polling site to vote. Make yours count! If you can go early, go!

I only waited for 25 minutes, but I heard that there was a three-hour wait the day before. Many of the folks in the line with me were retired and several had walkers/helpers. This election is getting people motivated!

For more intelligent thoughts on the vote and political issues, try (and I'm just going through my links on hand here):
Hey, Ho, KellyGO!
The Journey
Margaret and Helen
Up From Sloth

(and yes, I have no make-up on, except a bit of lipstick. the close-up is not flattering.)

Jewelry sale, weekend recap.

SANY1856
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

Well, the jewelry sale was a bit of a bust. I had one sale by the woman who told me about the event (I think she took pity on me) that helped me break even with the cost of the booth. The few that stopped at all and offered any thought to what they were looking for wanted items under $10 that they could give as gifts to the under age-8 set. So, cheap and durable.

Not my forte. More later!

Adding On:
The rest of the weekend was a bit of a blur. We were invited to three parties the evening after the sale, one in D.C., one in Maryland, and one two doors over. Since Monkeyrotica was committed to smoking a pork shoulder in the Kamado for our work party on Sunday, I went to my neighbors' party with the kids and he stayed in. It was fun, an annual pre-Halloween party that we'd been to a few years running. All the kids are getting older, many teenaged, so there were much fewer of them in costume this year (which is A-OK with Rosie). I forgot to photograph my kids' costumes! There will be other opportunities, you'll be seeing my princess and pirate soon enough.

Sunday was the video screening party for my coworkers. The office had just finished a 30-minute training video for U.S. Marine Corps customer. Since we have a 120" screen for our home theater, the video team asked me if I'd host the party. Sure! And since Monkeyrotica had been instructing the DCist.com crowd on how to cook the best bratwurst, I offered brats as the main dish (pulled pork came later). A couple of my coworkers surveyed the abundance on the spread and said, "I'm just going to eat until I'm uncomfortably full." Rock on.

The video was fantastic! I work with some very talented people. The subject was a sad one: evocative training for Marines, preparing them to inform next of kin that their loved one had died (several folks were in tears throughout). Everyone there had participated, from direction, scripting, filming, editing, post-production, scoring, scheduling, scouting, and casting. It was a great gathering and we were all very proud of the final cut after it was screened.

We picked up some pumpkins: here are the kids in the patch, looking squinty on a very sunny day. AH, there's the pirate!

Nylonthread, selling her wares (in public!)

My new business card, do you like it? Designing this card is only one of many reasons I've been a little quiet lately.

Heedless of my better judgment, two weeks ago I signed up to be a craft vendor at a local holiday bazaar. I'm now two days and counting till my act must be together. I haven't done anything like this in 12 years (and even then, I shared a booth with a more experienced jeweler who has since made a very successful career of it).

For those of you who are local, here are the details:

October 25th, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
2008 Holiday Craft Bazaar
Good Shepherd Catholic Church
8710 Mount Vernon Highway
Alexandria, VA 22309

I'll have everything that's up on my Etsy site and more! This past weekend, I scoped out another craft event to get some ideas and a few things stuck with me: dramatic colors and interesting displays helped set off the items for sale; many of the vendors didn't have business cards (hence my newly designed card above); and also the vendors who had items that I was interested in did not accept credit cards. I hardly ever carry cash, and I know many people who don't as well, so I will be using Propay.com (recommended by users on a Etsy listserve I belong to) to accept credit and maybe make a few more sales that way.

Wish me luck, and stop by if you're local.

Blackbird singing...

NASA SR-71 Blackbird
Originally uploaded by James Gordon

At the Air and Space Museum yesterday, Rosie and Dash had their much anticipated viewing of "Starships." We plenty of space-themed Sci-FI movies on regular rotation at the Strings as well as a Starship-shaped tent in the basement and space-patterned bedding for Dash. Rosie liked the museum well enough, pointing out interesting items as we went through. They really enjoyed the large exhibits that allowed museum-goers to walk through and try out the equipment. All was fine, educational, and interesting. Until we got to the SR-71.

Dash stared. He caressed the glass. He wouldn't budge. He was entranced by the sexy sleekness, the dangerous, dark pointiness of the Blackbird on display, a USAF high-altitude, reconnaissance aircraft 1/16-scale model.

He wanted it. Oh, my GOD, he wanted it. With all of his 3.5-year-old existence.

"Mommy, can I HAVE this?" he asked.
"No, sweetie, it's part of the museum displays," I answered.
"Well, we can just BREAK the glass then, and take it home with us," Dash retorted, with some anxiety.
"I'm sorry sweetheart, we can't break the glass." I said, the voice of reason.
[[sobbing]]
"We can check the gift shop, maybe there's another one over there."
[[sniff, sob]] "O-O-O [[snf]] kay," sobbed Dash, drying his tears.

Thank the lord there was one cast-iron mini SR-71 left in the A&S museum shop. It now belongs to the boy, despite the age-recommendation of 14 and up on the packaging.

Up Your Vitamin D Intake STAT!

Milk
Originally uploaded by pixiepie

Just in from The Washington Post: Kids should be getting a minimum of 400 IU of Vitamin D daily, double the previous recommendation of 200 IU.

The Post article states:

"Kids from newborns to teenagers should take twice as much Vitamin D as previously recommended because it may help prevent serious disease, a leading medical group said yesterday... In the past it had been recommended that kids get 200 units of Vitamin D a day. Now, the doctors are saying, they should take 400 units. Vitamin D can be taken in drops, capsules or tablets.

Most milk that you can buy in the store is fortified with Vitamin D. But most kids don't drink enough of it. You need four cups daily to meet the requirement. Other foods, including cereal, are also packed with Vitamin D, as are the oily fish tuna, mackerel and sardines.

But it's hard to get enough through diet. The best source is sunlight, because the body makes Vitamin D when sunshine hits the skin. The new advice is based on research showing that Vitamin D not only helps keep bones strong but might also play a role in preventing disease."

For more hard-line data, here is a link to the full news article.

They don't mention a detail in this particular article, but I've read in other places that Americans generally don't get enough D because of all the sunscreen we slather on, trying to avoid skin cancer. Sunscreen blocks our skin's absorption of necessary Vitamin D. Oh please, doctors on high, can you tell us how to balance good sun rays vs bad?

According to Nutrition News, to get an adequate exposure to Vitamin D through sunlight:

"Your body makes vitamin D when you are exposed to the ultraviolet B (UVB) rays in sunlight. You probably need from 5 to 30 minutes of exposure to the skin on your face, arms, back or legs (without sunscreen) twice every week. Since exposure to sunlight is a risk for skin cancer, you should use sunscreen after a few minutes in the sun and even in the winter and on hazy, cloudy days."

Got that? A maximum of 30 minutes sunscreen-free a twice a week. Thanks Dr. Jegtvig!

And drink more milk.

Week 6 K-12: Finally, some good news!

Rosie on the carousel
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

I just received a phone call from the Principal of Rosie's Elementary School. Now, the instinctual reflex of getting a principal-call is to flinch, right? You all flinched, didn't you? C'mon, admit it.

He expected the cringe, so started off the call with, "This is Mr. M., principal at Rosie's school, and don't worry, this is a call with a good message." Thank goodness! I have been wanting to hear something warm 'n' fuzzy so badly I wrote an email to her teacher earlier this week that pleaded for it; here's an excerpt:

"...Can you let me know if there are any positives to Rosie's kindergarten experience as yet? All I have heard so far is negatives (slow, unfocused, distracted, not-listening, twiddling-with-accessories) and that is getting us all pretty down. What is she doing well? How is she excelling during her day? I do need something to help pump her up, or she's just going to stop wanting to go to school altogether."

The very good news is not only that Miss M. is back from the hospital full time, but she let Mr. M. know (his quote was that she "fairly danced into his office to say") this afternoon that Rosie has really turned a corner this week and has been getting all of her work done during the school day! She's behaving well and is no longer under a threat to be on a "behavior contract" (yes, that was a threat at the beginning of this week). She asked that the principal call us—monkeyrotica got a call, too—directly and give us her good feedback.

We'll be following up on his suggestion that we give her a treat this weekend and let her know how proud we are, especially since she has shown in class that she's terribly proud of herself!

(green is my happy color)

I know, I know, this is such a small step, but Kindergarten has turned out to be uncharted territory for the Strings. We thought she was doing great—better than all the others in her Pre-K class, really—and were floored when Rosie didn't adapt well to public school. Just when I'm starting to feel like an old hand at this parenting stuff, I get whacked down by unforeseen events.

I know we're not out of the woods (you like all the hackneyed clichés I'm throwing in here? it's been a long week), and it's possible that we may see some relapses. At the moment, I'm sighing a big relieved breath and looking forward to a calm 3-day weekend that doesn't involve thrusting Crayolas into our daughter's face.

Mr. Happy

Mr. Happy
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

I've got waaay too much going on, plenty to blog about but no time to compose the posts for my thoughts.

I leave you all with a photo of Dash and a few of his favorite things: grapes, milk, and no pants.

I <3 Parent Hacks

burying the evidence
Originally uploaded by monkeyrotica

Monkeyrotica snapped this pic yesterday afternoon while I was still teleworking in our basement office. He let the kids blow off some steam while running and shrieking in the backyard after school. I'm sure they needed it! All the pressure we've been putting on Rosie for school as well as our switched-up schedules has to be released somehow. Otherwise, the stress shows up in unexpected ways: Rosie's been waking up weepy, asking where daddy is (he left for work 90 minutes ago, sorry), and Dash has been much, much more clingy at drop-off this week.

All last month, his drop-offs had been wonderful! I'd bring him in, wash his hands, set him up at a table, kiss, hug, bye! No fuss. But for the past few days, he wants me to stay and play or take him with me. Then he starts throwing a fit as I'm trying to slink away to work.

A tip I picked up at Parent Hacks gave me an idea. Yesterday, I got out a pen, and drew him a happy face on his hand. I told him that the happy face wanted him to be happy and that he could think of mommy whenever he looked at it.

When he started acting up today, his teacher came in close and asked, "Why don't you try that happy face again? He showed it to everyone yesterday and couldn't stop talking about it!" SCORE! Parent Hacks. They do come up with excellent tips. If you haven't been, go check out Asha Dornfest's site.

Maybe Mr. Monkey needs to draw her a little picture or write Rosie a note in the morning before he heads out the door? Just to let her know that he was thinking of her...

So incredibly universal...

WE THE ROBOTS
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

...This topic is the subject of today's WE THE ROBOTS cartoon by Chris Harding. Go check it out.

Thanks to The Bughouse for sharing this link on your feed reader!

Some perspective, far-away and close-in

Rosie Paints
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

Amidst all this discussion on the Kindergarten work with Rosie (which if you haven't noticed, has thrown me for a loop?), my mom came over with some (very) old papers the other day. What might they be? My very own elementary-school evaluations from 2nd through 5th grade.

To paraphrase, every single one had sentiments such as:

"Nylonthread is a joy to have in my room! She needs to concentrate on finishing her assignments more thoroughly." Mrs. Sobol
Or, "Nylonthread has a real gift in art and drawing. If she can learn to do her work on time that will help in her next grade." Mrs. Williams

I'm cutting her some slack, of course.

Pictured: Rosie in her patented "too close to the paper" pose. Looks to me like she is completely engrossed in her activity. I don't see any warning signs of dangerously deviant behavior here, do you?

Coloring to perfection

Yesterday afternoon, I learned that Rosie didn't finish her assignment again, and the teachers sent home a very disappointed note along with the incomplete work. I was determined to figure out what is going on, so I sat down with her and asked what was happening.

"I'm too slow, " she said. "And my fingers get tired. All that coloring is very tiring."

It dawned on me that all the work she's brought home is very densely colored and thick with crayon. She's holding the crayons too tightly!! And pressing down too hard!! She's also using multiple colors to fill tiny spaces, so is spending a lot of time making color choices.

We took out all her pages and spread them out at her new desk. There were 4 pages of work, with 3 images to color on the first, 6 on the second, and 18 on the third. Once the images are colored, then she's supposed to trim each of the little pieces out (27 total, mostly circles) and glue them to the fourth page. She spent the entire 45 minutes of classtime coloring in the first page alone! I really think this is crazy boring busy work, but I didn't get anywhere when I told the teacher my opinion about it.

I gave her some tips on how to satisfy her teachers. Press lightly on the crayon, use longer strokes, and use fewer colors to speed up the process. If her fingers get tired, shake out her hand and try holding the crayon in a different position. These suggestions are very dissatisfying to me, on her behalf, because she really seems to love the density of the colors and the process of choosing many different hues for a single shape.

She wants to talk about each (one-inch square) image and make up stories about it, carefully choose the right colors for it. While she's talking, she's not coloring. It took us close to an hour to finish the remainder of her work, with me right there, egging her on. The time quickly ebbs away. This is not creative work. All I can figure is that the teachers just want the students to whisk some scratches of color on, slice away at the paper, glue willy-nilly, and move on to the next segment of the day.

Rosie's first day at soccer practice

Excite Soccer, Kindergartners 9/29
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

Rosie's first day at soccer practice! She is wearing pink & is the only child holding the ball in her arms. I'm sure they'll be setting her straight soon enough.

It was so nice of the coach to send a photo! They said she had a great time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODD!

TODD!
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

Bonne anniversaire to one of my sweetest pals, Todd. It's wonderful to have such a delightfully funny, warm, and loving friend in our lives. On behalf of all the Strings, we wish you all the bestest with plenty of music, health, and engaging college classes in this coming year.

Visit his blog and wish him a happy day!

Week 5: Yes, another entry in the K-12 saga.

Lila & Rosie on the carousel
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

Thanks all for your suggestions on motivating Rosie. We have some action! plans! underway which I'll describe (eventually). After receiving that message from Rosie's teacher 2 posts (and weeks) ago, we were informed that the very next day Miss M. had been hospitalized (blood clot in brain--Yikes!). There is a substitute in place, but she may not be back in the classroom for possibly a month or more (Rosie painted her a lovely get well card). I left a few VM messages to the assistant and an email during the week to find out some details on Rosie's situation with the classwork, but didn't get any feedback. Until this past Wednesday.

On Wednesday, she was sent home with a large folder packed full of unfinished assignments, all coloring/cutting/glueing projects, each with a sticky note indicating the date that the assignments were to be returned. Oh, and a ziplock bag with a couple locks of HER OWN HAIR inside. WTF?? No explanation.

After leaving a freaked-out message with the school's office staff on Thursday, I finally talked with the substitute, Mrs. S, who had been substituting for one week at this point. She gave me this information:

"Rosie is distracted and unfocused. She hasn't finished a single assignment since the first week of school. When she is working, she leans forward so far, her nose is practically touching the paper. When she isn't working, she is fiddling with her hairband, her jewelry, her buttons, her chair. We would appreciate it if you didn't send her in with hairbands or jewelry. She ignores authority and refuses to work any faster no matter how we present the assignments."

When I asked about the hair, I was told that "she was working alone, separated from the other children in hopes that would eliminate distractions. When we discovered she had cut her hair, she told us that 'it was in the way.'" They had taken her hairband away...

The good news is that on Wednesday evening, we had a heart-to-heart with Rosie on how important finishing work is in the Kindergarten environment. Her preschool didn't mind if she wasn't engaged, but in Kindergarten, she is learning how to develop skills and habits she'll need to be a good student. On Thursday afternoon, she was sent home with "Terrific!" and "Nice Job!" on the assignments that she finished that day. Hooray! Progress.

Even so, that evening, getting Rosie to focus was almost impossible. We set her up at my craft table in the basement while I worked on the computer, but she would only color for a few seconds before announcing, "I'm done." It didn't help that Dash was watching cartoons in the next room.

Here's what we did:
Gave her a place to work. Her room is cluttered and distracting and there isn't a place for her to work. Friday, I went to the Container Store and bought the desk piece for her Elfa shelving (I've been meaning to do this for years). I also picked up several bins for her to stash all her stuff in.

Eliminated distractions. We declared that this would be a no-TV weekend, until she finished her assignments. No going to the pool, or playdates, or games as well.

Gave her a haircut. No explanation necessary. :-)

All Saturday, in between visiting Grandma Ikiko, ballet class, going to a work-BBQ, and helping Rosie along, I set up her room. I dumped out all her random toys and put them in the new bins, moved her old craft desk into Dash's room, and set up the new Elfa desk. The room looked pretty freaking cramped by the time the desk was in (the door won't open up all the way, for example), so I had to make further adjustments on Sunday.

Sunday, I moved her bed and wardrobe-closet to opposite sides of the room. I installed shelves to get items off the floor. I moved her largest toys down to the basement. Auntie M and I took Granddad Jim out with the kids for an after-lunch outing in Old Town (it was his birthday last week), and I finished up when we got back. By the time dinner came around, everything was done. Rosie's first few assignments were complete, her room was rearranged (hopefully easier for her to de-clutter on her own!), and she got to watch a TV show. I got to have a drink. Nothing else got done this weekend. No laundry, no dishes, no shopping, no maintenance.

Oh and by the way, Sunday was our 11th wedding anniversary. What did Monkeyrotica and I do to celebrate? Clink our wine glasses together over dinner (that he cooked) while the kids watched Spongebob. Happy Anniversary, baby! I hope we are getting the message through to Rosie: we do care and her schoolwork is important to us. She is a sweet little girl and this is new ground for all of us.

Don't Forget Tomorrow Is...

Talk Like a Pirate Day!!

The official site for Talk Like a Pirate Day, which is an annual international holiday on September 19th, is HERE.

If ye need some brushin up on yer Pirate lingo, best ye visit yonder site.

To celebrate in yer place o' work, check out Joanne's list!

Arrr, in the String's house, a favorite Pirate book for the kids is this one: How I Became a Pirate, by Melinda Long and David Shannon. Great for getting the kids to talk like pirates, too!

Have at it tomorrow, and let me know how ye displayed yer pirateattude!

Here's a pic of my pirate, li'l Cap'n Patch! Avast!

Week 3, K-12: First kindergarten dilemma

Kindergarten Schoolwork 3
Originally uploaded by Noell

Rosie's teacher, Miss M., just volunteered this information to me:

"Rosie seems to work very slowly. She hardly finishes any work assigned during instructional time, and will not pick up the pace, despite the numerous amounts of encouragement given to her. I have provided her with one-on-one assistance, as well as positive reinforcement, but nothing seems to work. Today she had to sit and complete her morning work during storytime, as we got nothing from her to check over this morning. Please talk to Rosie about the importance of finishing her work in the allotted time."

We did encounter this non-participation issue around this time last year in pre-school and I blogged about it then.

Please, if anyone has suggestions on how to motivate a five-(almost 6)year-old to get it done, post them in the comments! Thanks!

Week 2 in K-12 World

School Bus
Originally uploaded by nikki.jane

We are at the end of Rosie's second week of Kindergarten and now can answer the question, did it rock our world? Answer: Yes.
Here are the big changes:

• We no longer commute together
B.K. (before kindergarten) We'd all pack up as a family into one car, drop me off at Metro, then Mr. Monkey would take the kids to daycare. We had extra family time together in the car and saved $$ on gas and auto repair bills.
• Mr. Monkey changed his work schedule (AWS, in Gov-speak)
He's leaving the house at 5:30 a.m. now, just as I'm getting up. We exchange a kiss and he doesn't even see the kids in the morning before he's out the door. He picks up Dash and is home by 4:30 p.m. We roughly see each other (awake) between 6 and 8 p.m. on weekdays now.
• Grandma Sheila takes Rosie to and from the bus
My mom is a saint. She's been arriving at my house at 6:30 a.m. so I can get Dash to daycare and on to work, then feeds Rosie breakfast, helps her dress, get her things ready for school, and takes her to the bus stop (with fewest dogs). In the afternoon, she retrieves Rosie from the stop and they wait at home for Mr. Monkey to show up. She's actually even done a bit of housework for me, and I'm just beside myself in my good luck here.
• I'm clocking a lot more Beltway time
I've gone from being a passenger in the family car and Metro rider to being a solo driver in my work commute. I tried using public transit once last week, but I was an hour late getting to work and then an hour and a half late getting home. I missed dinner and just arrived in time to get the kids in bed. That was on a clear day with no delays, so I don't see it getting easier. Our fuel budget is wrecked. Question: I need to let my auto insurance know this, right? And they will increase my premium? Aieeee!
• I'm teleworking, but just once a week
I've teleworked twice in the past two weeks and it really worked well! The first week I actually went for a mid-day run. I'm about to submit an application to make it a more formal deal with two days a week (mostly because everything about my previous bullet bites).
• Dash is starting to get jealous
Dash sees Rosie getting all the Grandma-time and Grandma shopping for her school supplies (the school will keep asking for more, all year round, right?) and asks, "What did you get for me, Grandma?" He actually insisted that my mom give him what she was eating this morning, because he HAD to get something, anything from Grandma.
• We're learning a bit more about Rosie's day
Rosie is not much of a talker and her preschool teachers seemed limited to "she had a good/bad day" in their feedback to us much of the time. We are now hearing a little more (still not much) about things like the playground, the library, her letter-B project, and her music class. I'm certain she's been doing well on the whole, based on her own abilities, but she prefers not to give narration on her day.

I'll put up more updates, as things progress!

the omnivore's one hundred

What a magnificent view for us omnivores - smoked and cured meats and cheeses galore
Originally uploaded by bonaireguy

I haven't done a meme in a while and just found this one on KellyGO's shared feed. Very Good Taste (via Postbourgie and Ezra Klein) gave a list of food items, plus the following instructions:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison (my nephews like to hunt, Monkeyrotica likes a cooking challenge)
2. Nettle tea (I'm a bit of an herbal tea tester)
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare (I'm not sure here, I rarely do rare or raw red meat)
5. Crocodile (or alligator beignet)
6. Black pudding (first in Ireland, and then at home. Dash likes it!)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht (one of Monkeyrotica's favorites!)
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart (DC half smokes, too!)
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (mead)
19. Steamed pork buns (mmmm, dim sum)
20. Pistachio ice cream (LOVE, LOVE!)
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras (Eve)
24. Rice and beans (practically a staple, how did it get on this list?)
25. Brawn, or head cheese (Eve called it tête du cochón. doesn't that sound better?)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters (mmm, oyster shooters at M&S)
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (not into cigars)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo (a Mr. Monkey regular menu item)
40. Oxtail (Mr. Monkey makes this as soup)
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (anyone remember "The Insect Club?")
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (hello, there's one down the street?)
50. Sea urchin (whuuuuah, terrible. but I ate part of it.)
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips (it was the 70s. my mom loved her the health food store.)
61. S’mores (I was a Campfire Girl)
62. Sweetbreads (Eve, again)
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (one of our kids' favorite treats)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare (that means rabbit, right?)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake (outside of Tempe, AZ)

I'm pretty sure that I've eaten all those things (or maybe I have trouble separating just watching "A Cook's Tour" from reality) and I won't completely write off trying the things I haven't bolded.

I tag my usual suspects, or at least a few folks who have commented here recently:

Dee, Dees, Hill Rat, Kelly, Catherine, Wreke, and PhilFree

Commuting to work by bicycle

Commute -1939-
Originally uploaded by sewin

With our new schedule, and me dropping off Dash at daycare every morning, a bike commute is virtually out of the question (I would be getting to work somewhere between 9 and 10 a.m.). But, I do like these statistics (that have a U.K. slant):

Pedal power

— A cyclist can travel 1,037km (644 miles) on the energy equivalent of one litre of petrol

— Regular cycling can make you as fit as someone who is ten years younger

— A cyclist consumes 1/50th of the oxygen of a car making the same journey

— A twice daily half-hour commute will, over a year, consume the energy equivalent of 24lb of fat

— In 1949, 34 per cent of all mechanised journeys were made by bicycle. Fifty years later that figure had fallen to 2 per cent

— The rate of serious heart disease for civil servants who cycle 20 miles or more a week is 50 per cent lower than for their sedentary colleagues

Hm, maybe I'll try it once or twice before it gets too cold? Dash might like the bike trailer ride and I can stay off busy roads.

Week 1, K-12: Coincidences

Mom's Kindergarten Classroom
Originally uploaded by BeerNotBombs

Each time I've seen Rosie's new teacher, Miss M., I keep thinking that she looks really, really familiar; she is a tall brunette with olive-tone skin and brown eyes.

Each and every time I've gone to a parent activity at Rosie's school, I've run into Ashley's mom, Heather, from Rosie's ballet class. I've known them for over a year now, chatting before and after ballet. Heather is a tall brunette with olive-tone skin and brown eyes.

There are over 300 kids at the school, so with many families attending with both parents, there's potentially 600 people, and I keep bumping right into this mom. Coincidence?

Last night, we were chatting about which teachers our daughters have and she mentioned, "Oh, right, Miss M.'s my sister. She told me that Rosie's doing great!" That's cool that they were talking about the kids together. I wonder why Rosie's name came up though? Did she stand out? I don't think I mentioned earlier which teacher Rosie had, or she would have told me then that Miss M. was her sibling.

Ashley's not in her aunt's classroom; luck of the draw, she is in the multi-age classroom where we were hoping Rosie would be placed. Heather insisted that Miss M. is an excellent teacher, but likes the situation her daughter is in because the multi-age places her physically closer to her older brother Austin's classroom.

It's good to know, second-hand, that Rosie's doing well! My girl is not much of a talker, so all I know directly is that she thinks her new school is "okay," the playground is her favorite part, and she sat next to "a boy and a girl" on the bus.

Rosie Kindergartener

Rosie Kindergartner
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

Yesterday we went to the open house at Rosie's new school to learn the important stuff like, which classroom she's in, which teacher she has, what's the bus route number, and if she knows any classmates.

We'd signed her up with a preference for the "multi-age" classroom, but since only 16+ kids were likely to get in (out of 100? there were a lot of kids there), she was placed into a "straight" Kindergarten class. There was a main teacher, Ms. M, and an assistant, Mrs. B. Ms. M's creds: BS, Psychology, VCU; MT, Early Childhood Education, VCU.

Some of the kids there were already crying with fear at this transition, but Rosie, a classroom veteran since infancy, took charge and checked out all the amenities—like, "look Mommy, a small room with a potty" in the back, nothing else, just a commode. While comforting a weeping classmate, Mrs. B remarked that Rosie was ready for Monkeyrotica and I to be on our way! Not till next Tuesday, little girl.

Her bus picks up about a block away, just around the corner. Grandma S. will be taking her to the bus stop (thanks, mom!) and picking her up. Rosie is really, really looking forward to spending time with her beloved Grandma. I'm psyched because Grandma S., recently retired, has a teaching degree and can help Rosie with her reading.

Rosie's friend Katie has an assigned seat at the same table in their classroom! She's known Katie since we moved to the neighborhood and they were both one-year-olds. Katie lives very close to the bus stop and they'll be riding the bus together. I hope they'll help each other adjust.

Having a pal with you when you're adjusting to a new situation makes it much easier; am I right, my friends?

I like my country music angry.

Moving in stereo
Originally uploaded by Rune T

Today's run on the couch-to-5K was a 25-minute straight jog. And I forgot my iPod at home. The TVs in the office gym were playing "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," which has that great whistling tune, but sadly, wouldn't be enough to get me through 25 minutes. Eh, Blondie?

I mentioned my dilemma to the gym's trainer, whereupon she showed me her stash of abandoned music players, in various states of disrepair or power loss. The one I settled on was an MP3 player.

Quick discovery: the previous owner liked him/her some country ballads. The more lonesome and acoustic, the better. I spent pretty much the entire 25 minutes listening to the first 15 seconds of each song. Harmonicas? No. Lilting guitar? No. Soft piano? No. Banjo? Um, maybe...wait...No. I did listen to a tune about "California Girls" by Gretchen Wilson that had some angst. If I had it to do over, I would have stuck with Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" on repeat. That one had some serious attitude. Or it did at least compared to "Red Watermelon Wine" or "Stop Shaking Your Finger at Me, Woman." Aaaiiieeee, so very not my music of choice. No, wait, if I had it to do over, I would have had my own music. PLEASE GIVE ME MY PIXIES AND JANE'S ADDICTION BACK!!!!!

However, the distraction of being pissed off at all the stanky tunes, and clicking through them, may have helped. I did the 25 minutes straight, without really thinking about how hard it was. Yay me.

No More Nuks

NoNuk
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

Those of you following my Twitters already know what went down last night at the Strings' rez. Dash had a dentist appointment yesterday morning and per our dentist's strongest recommendation, little Dash, our happily addicted Nuk (Gerber Brand) user, was denied his fix. Permanently.

Over his lifetime, we've scaled back his nuk use from 100%, to only in the car and bed, and then to only his crib. Here's a clue to we can tell he's an addict: he actively goes to his crib upon coming home, just for "a little lie-down," then nuks away for a while until he gets bored, dinner's ready, or Rosie distracts him. I've been planning to cut the nuk out entirely for a while now, but for various reasons, eh, keeping the status quo, it wasn't a priority. I guess I'm just an enabler.

The dentist, however, could tell he was a user straight from her visual exam. The nuk's affecting his bite. I decided to embrace her advice and follow through with nuk-eradication immediately. It's a good enough time for it—he's also transitioning to the pre-school program at daycare, and I'm planning to convert his crib to a toddler bed imminently. No more nuk, no more crib! What a big boy! (Except for the withdrawal caterwauling.)

Funny stories about the nuk:
Dash has a toy duck, called Happy Duck, that always seemed to be right next to his favorite pink-nuk (pictured) whenever it was misplaced. So Happy Duck wanted the nuk! I would have Happy Duck chase Dash all around trying to steal his nuk away (much giggling!). After that became a fun game, I started placing the nuk on the beak or arm of different toys, so when the nuk went missing, Jojo the Bunny took it! or Robert the Turkey swiped it! (giggles galore!!)

Ah, good times.

Well, until further notice, I expect the wailing of grief to continue. Last night Dash told us while wet-faced with tears and hoarse with lamenting, "my lips and tongue miss my nuk-friend!" He'll get over it soon enough. Didn't we all? How did you all get your kids off their pacis?

Ever seen a dog chase its tail?

It's probably nothing like this, but it'll make you laugh just as hard.

Running on vacation and beyond

adi.itsf.fs
Originally uploaded by stradamitchell

Vacation
I brought my running shoes with me to the beach and mentioned to my dad en route that I might be interested in a run while there, to keep up with my couch-to-5K training. We arrived Saturday, had dinner, checked out some sights, and turned in.

The next morning, Dad was all ready to go, in gear straight out of his bedroom. So we ran on Sunday morning, which worked out very well because while it was beautiful and sunny when we left, after I got out of the shower it was thunderstorming. We biked in the afternoon, got caught in another prolonged rainshower, and then stayed in to recover from the wetting with our first (of many) viewing of My Neighbor Totoro, as well as some Olympics once the kids were in bed.

And again on Monday and Tuesday, my dad was all set to go running first thing in the morning! I hadn't really planned to run every day but since Auntie M was available to keep an eye on the kids (as well as watch endless repetitions of Totoro), we were good to go as long as we were back in 30 minutes. It's pretty motivating just to have somebody right there, saying "let's go!" The weather was beautiful, and we alternated routes daily from the neighborhoods to the boardwalk, to the shoreline on wet sand.

One thing that was really annoying while running on the beach was all the dogs. Especially because there are signs everywhere along the boardwalk that say in large letters, "DOGS PROHIBITED ON THE BEACH AT ALL TIMES." There were dozens of them! Running in front of me, leaving poop everywhere, chasing tennis balls into the surf, chasing birds, and hardly any of them leashed. I think I almost twisted my knee jumping out of a dog's way. Once the lifeguards arrive at 10 a.m. and enforce the prohibition, all the dog owners skedaddle.

Thankfully, when the kids were actively on the beach playing in the sand and waves, the only (scary) creatures around were the (oh so malevolent) seagulls and sandpipers. Rosie only jumped out in the street to avoid a leashed dog once while we were on the trip. That is so frightening for me, to have her running into traffic! Cars are much more dangerous than dogs, but her fear is so intense that she can't resist the flee-response.

We went for a long bike ride on Wednesday with the Dash in the bike trailer and Rosie in the trail-a-bike, no running. But back to running on Thursday and Friday! We were so active, with the running, biking and walking everywhere, that I allowed myself to eat some foods that I have been mostly avoiding, like fried things and in larger portions. My favorite meal of the trip was at The Cultured Pearl, with its fabulous new location and interiors. There were birds in cages, koi ponds everywhere (inside and out), waterfalls, which just inspired a relaxed meal with lots for the kids to explore. Monkeyrotica and I shared a sushi & sashimi platter, Dash enjoyed a "kobe" hotdog with star-shaped french fries, and Rosie ate edamame and steamed rice. Auntie M let her sample her teritaki chicken bento, while my dad had some crab soup and shu mai.

Rosie and Dash are already looking forward to going back next year!!

Beyond
Yesterday, Rosie told me she wanted to run to our local park, so we put on our sneakers and took off. I recalled that a new neighborhood boy, Ben, told me that he was on his 3rd grade track team, so we swung by his place to bring him along. His mom, who also has a one-year-old, was happy enough to let me take him. Rosie and he were fairly well-matched with the running, despite her height and lack of training. He was very proud of his sprinting abilities and liked to ask us to run ahead while he hung back to charge past after a minute or two. We were out for about 45 minutes, then dropped off Ben to head home for dinner. If he's interested again, I'll be glad to grab him more often. Maybe Rosie and he can be on the track team together!

Straight from the beach...

...To a birthday party. Happy 3rd, Adam T.!

On our way home

Don't worry, I am blogging while driving, but traffic is very slow over
the Bay Bridge. See y'all soon!

Rosie on the boardwalk horse

Sneaking up on the Atlantic

Dash has been content to make sand castles and
keep his distance from the crashing waves here
at the beach. All my entreaties have met with his
stubborn refusals to go near the water. Until I
thought of the technique Monkeyrotica used to get
Dash to go to his classroom at preschool. They'd
"sneak up" on his teachers and yell "BOO!", then
he'd be ready to start his day.

I grabbed Dash's hand, crouched down, and
whispered, "Dash! Let's sneak up on the waves!"

He hissed back, "Okay!" And we stealthily goose-
stepped up to the Atlantic shoreline and stomped
on the shallow waves lapping up around our ankles.
Then Dash would yell, "Here comes a bigger one!!"
And run, shrieking, back up to the dry sand; repeat
until exhausted. Dash was waist high in the surf
after a while and didn't seem to care.

The next day, I found Dash & Mr. Monkey with
shovels in the wet sand. Dash was shoveling sand
and tossing it into the ocean. I asked, "What're you
up to, Dash?"

"I'm feeding my wave-friends!"

Kids playing at Rehoboth playpark

I set the resolution higher; howz this, monkey?

Rehoboth's sunsets are pink

From Monday night.

Dash ate a footlong

Hotdogga. All by himself.

Staring at clouds, a dying dream?

While we were driving to the beach in Delaware, there were the most gorgeous fluffy clouds in the blue, blue sky. I was doing my best to just drive and stay in my lane on Rt 50, but the clouds kept coming up in the chatter from the backseat. Rosie kept finding shapes in them, like a snail or a camel, and I was intrigued by the cottony tendrils that the wind made with their edges.

If we weren't on a schedule, I'd like to think we could have found a grassy meadow and a blanket, and stared up at them from our backs to find as many shapes as our hearts desired. But really, it's pretty darned unlikely that I would have considered that. There are always so many things to do and places to go and schedules to follow that imagining myself spending a few hours or an afternoon staring up at clouds just wouldn't ever get worked in.

Doesn't everyone have memories of doing this as a child? Wouldn't it be sad if today's kids are so overscheduled that they never spend an afternoon under the sky, picnicking in a field apart from retail and sprawl? It's a little depressing to me to think that our lives are so full of commitments that I couldn't even be spontaneous enough to pull over and stare up and enjoy the awesomeness and sublimity of nature, letting my mind relax and absorb for a while.

Nope, not this time. I snapped the pic on my phone while driving. Eyes back on the road.

Dash gets a pirate hat

Dash tried to swipe a napkin at a restaurant we were at for his hat; our
waiter substituted a lobster bib for the napkin, as Dash was getting sad
when the napkin was denied. The paper lobster bib was adorable, but
short-lived. We stopped in a gift shop and found s whole assortment of
pirate-paraphernalia. Dash picked this bandanna, a gun and a rubber
shark.

Arrrrrr. Avast, mateys!

Ready for the Storm

I loaded my iPod shuffle with music to get me pumped up for my couch-to-5K training. The playlists are full of high BPM tunes by Public Enemy, Jane's Addiction, Breeders, Pixies, and others to keep me moving while running.

While I was setting up the library, on a whim I added "Ready for the Storm" by Dougie MacLean, thinking it might be good for cooldowns. In practice? It's exactly the opposite. The beauty and stark emotion in this acoustic guitar piece by the Scottish songwriter gets my adrenaline running even higher than JA's "Ocean Size." Seriously, just listen! And turn the volume up to feel it build. (and excuse the crappy video production.)

Almost by coincidence, I have seen Dougie perform "Ready for the Storm" live three times. I'm probably remembering the live experience, which is energizing and participatory, while I listen. He is famous for not leaving Scotland, so it's practically a miracle as I've never been there. Ach, enjoy his wee little tune already.

Let me tell you about 25.

Day 25, 365
Originally uploaded by asparagus_hunter

Another blog that I read, The Journey, sent a request out that her readers tell her about how our 25th year passed. I don't think I could possibly remember the birthday itself as it was, ahem, a little while ago, but I can to broad strokes. She wants our stories! And her 25th? Well, it kinda sukkd.

When I turned 25, Monkeyrotica and I had been cohabiting for a year and a half, and were about to move from Capitol Hill to Mount Pleasant in DC. Our friend Mat had just bought a large house and needed roommates, so we went in on the deal to help defray his mortgage. I'd been working for about one year as a graphic designer for the same company I work for now (so, unnamed). I'd met Mat at the office, although he had just quit when we moved in with him. Monkey was working for some small 8A firm in Rockville, MD and was hating it, but still took metro to a bus and back every day. We bought our first car together in the latter part of this year.

While in Mount Pleasant, we used to walk to the Woodley Park Metro together every day and count the morning cats, out sunning themselves or peering from windows. We had a mythology that the number of cats we saw was an indication of how complicated our coming day would be. Aiiiieee, a five-cat day!

Our six-year-old pet lovebird, Kita, lived in the sunroom right next to our bedroom; he adored Monkey above everyone else. Kita especially loved a stinky old rucksack of his and would get hilariously territorial if you put him inside it. Whenever we forgot to get Kita's wings clipped, he'd swoop from one end of the house to another and get cocky with power while we were trying to put him back in his cage.

Anyway, our move happened on the hottest day in July and Mat was responsible for reserving the moving truck. This is when I learned that "reservations" with truck rental agencies are ethereal. Our reservation was made, but there were no trucks available. Not one. I wrangled everyone I knew that had a car that morning and mobilized. It was hellish. I borrowed an ancient Chevy Suburban from a neighbor, Frank, and my friend Andrea J. and I drove it the 5.5 miles on vinyl seats with no air conditioning; it refused to move to make the trip back once parked. Somehow, we were moved by the very end of the day.

That's the same year that Andrea J.'s mom died of brain cancer. I flew to Las Vegas to help her deal with the funeral arrangements. Las Vegas was pretty blah when you weren't there to party. We did see the movie Babe in the theater while there, to get her mind off. Monkey and I saw Dead Man in the theater, a premiere, when they were handing out free Neil Young soundtrack CDs and we also saw Blue in the Face and Unzipped together. I'm pretty sure I saw Sense and Sensibility in the theater, but not with Monkey.

Music, I'm not sure. I think our ears were bleeding from the endless repetitions of Macarena. Knowing us, we probably saw Dead Can Dance on tour with "Toward the Within" that year.

With my family, my dad, sister and I would spend at least a long weekend every year in Vermont on a cycling tour, so I'm sure we did that. I was also working at the Torpedo Factory Art Center on Sundays and cycled to Alexandria from DC (20 miles round trip) every week to stay in good form. I was also really, really getting into and enjoying the intense step aerobics classes at my gym.

Well, that was 25. Busy, carefree, out there moving around and doing stuff that hit my fancy! Staying out late, going to Adams Morgan, the Lucky Bar, Big Hunt, or Metro Cafe for fun and drinks with friends. Occasionally working overnight or long hours to finish projects at the office. Monkey and I were engaged (rings and all) but there was no pressure and no date set. We were just enjoying our time together.

Next Season: MODERN

Alvin Ailey Dancer
Originally uploaded by Omega418

After the June dance recital was over, what to do? There was a 4-week summer session for dance and I had a choice to continue with Jazz, or dip my toes in something new. Over the past year, I had seen some of the choreography from the modern dance class and made a few notes. The moves are more athletic and flowing, and seem to require more strength and flexibility than jazz. The dancers in the modern class are more mature than the jazz classes (from 20s to 60s). And most importantly, they danced to better music; some of it borders on strange, but I'll take that over HSM2.

Two of the most experienced dancers from the modern class (which has been a small group anyway) moved out of state after the recital, and that left a large opening. Another way I've been thinking about it is that the much smaller class will give me a chance to get more focused instruction. Mrs. H., who tends not to be big on feedback (even when dancers are blatantly doing their moves wrong), told me that I had an affinity for modern and asked how much modern dance instruction I'd had. My answer? None. Good feedback!! And all I'll get, probably. One drawback to the modern so far: my feet have been cramping up even more than they were in the jazz class. I'll need to figure out how to solve that one.

The Fall session starts in September and I'll be continuing with the modern practice. It's a 90-minute class that meets on Thursday nights, so please note, my friends, that all my Thursday evenings for the next year are taken. Don't hold out any hopes that I'll ever look like the dancer in the picture, however. I'm just trying to have fun and enjoy making my body move.

Playground at the Mall

Dash made it about 10 feet into the indoor playground. It took him 30 minutes to get that far. I did my best to just be patient and let him ease into it at his own pace, especially since parents aren't allowed in the park. Maybe he'll do better next time.

Update: Once Rosie joined him (she wanted to ride the carousel first), they both disappeared into the upper levels of the playspace. I was worried when I didn't see either of them for several minutes. Then, I saw Dash's smiling face! Wait, no, that's a grimace of fear. Dash got stuck on a platform, abandoned by Rosie and couldn't figured out how to get down. We sent his play-pal, Matthew, up to get him, but he was very much done for the day.

Worst gifts ever file

eggplant and brick
Originally uploaded by lynnsterj

XUP wrote about her "worst gifts ever" today and encouraged her readers to contribute. As I got into the third comment I was about to leave at her blog, I realized I had a lot to say about the topic and decided to rant right here at home.

My worst gift (or set of gifts) ever was from my delightfully creative, energetic, spontaneous, usually-hopped-up-on-No-Doz college boyfriend. We'd only been dating for a few months around Xmas of 1990, and I have no recollection of what I'd gifted him that year, but here's what I received:

a plastic eggplant, 4 inches long
a large marcasite pin, shaped like a preettee liiteell bow
a wooden paintbrush, 2 inches wide
a tub of artifically flavored chocolate body butter (to be painted on with item above)
an original abstract acrylic painting, on the unusual canvas of the exterior of a Bausch & Lomb saline solution box.

What's wrong with that abundance, you may ask? You might think there may have been inside jokes involved, but no. I grew up in the Midwest & don't think I'd ever encountered an eggplant for food or otherwise, much less had any opinion about them at all. Regarding the pin, at the time I was a fine arts student, quite Goth and wore primarily black clothing with spider jewelry; bows were like, too prom-queen, dude. Bodybutter? Ew. And it smelled like it would quickly end anything with amorous intentions. The painting? I guess the product package made it kind of pop-art? Eeh. I had nothing against the paintbrush and still have it in a drawer somewhere to this day.

Overall impression? Speed-infused bf waited until the night before, ran through a quirky store to grab things, then packed it with a painting he had lying around.

On our last Xmas as a couple, I hinted around that I wanted some prints from his photography class (I was his model). He finally gifted me a set of abstract-y photographs that he had developed in our art school's darkroom. They were …interesting… He made sure to let me know several times that they were all his outtakes (i.e., not printed at my request but saved from the trash).

He was an entertaining guy and very spontaneous. Thoughtful? Not so much.

What were your worst gifts?!? PLEEZE, I WANT TO KNOW, tell me in the comments section.