5:30 A freakin M

Remember my list of the “things I can do while my daughter is in morning preschool“? Well, I haven’t accomplished any of them, none, nada, zero, not even #3! My schedule goes like this, after I drop her off I go to the gym and after that I only have time to run one lackluster errand before it’s time to turn around and pick her up.

So yesterday I decided I was going to wake up at 5:30 A freakin M and go workout thereby giving me my 3 well-deserved hours back. When the alarm went off I opened one eye and saw it was still dark. This can’t be right.  Of course I hit snooze and went back to sleep. Who doesn’t? The next time the alarm went off I dreamt that the mysterious banker from Deal or No Deal offered me $30,000 if I agreed to turn off the alarm, stay in bed, and not go to the gym. I took the deal. And every time my snooze alarm resounded he would up the offer.  It was up to $125,000 when I realized what was happening, my own subconscious was turning against me and trying to sabotage my efforts. She plays dirty. So I sat up, slapped my alarm, and said,”No Deal, Bitch!”

By the time I finally got out of bed I knew I was too late for spin class but I was determined to get some kind of workout in. I would reclaim those 3 preschool hours for myself, oh I would!

The gym was surprisingly crowded- who are these people? Apparently there’s this whole subculture of people that go to the gym in the morning…when it’s still dark. I had this “parallel universe” feeling that I can’t explain. I scouted out an elliptical and started to set up.

I put my iPod up in the holder and reached into my bag to grab my water bottle, only it wasn’t my water bottle I pulled out, it was my perfume- CanCan by Paris Hilton. And before you  judge me on my perfume choice, I have to defend it by saying that it smells really good, like sexy cotton candy good.  If you liked going to carnivals as a kid or if funnel cakes make you horny, I think you’ll like this.

Now if you’ll remember, last week I searched my Mary Poppins purse for a tampon and found a cheese stick instead. So having my perfume bottle but forgetting a water bottle was like, WTF? What the hell is wrong with me and my organizational skills?  When I start trying to pay for things with drink coasters, just lock me up.  Of course I looked in my purse and I had no money for the vending machine and the cafe was closed. Oh, and I had forgotten my towel. I WILL workout, I WILL!

However, given my lack of preparation, it became obvious that I would need to modify my activity level. It was obvious, right? So I spritzed myself with some perfume, got on the elliptical, and put the Black Eyed Peas on my iPod. Unfortunately, after 5 minutes I had to switch to Barbra Streisand  because I was working up too much of a sweat (remember,towel-less). So I exerted minimum effort for about 40 mins (while weeping and moving to “Papa can you hear me…”) until my lips cracked from dehydration. Afterwards, I wandered over to the cafe (fyi- it opens at 7am) and charged a very large coffee to my account, because nothing is healthier than a large caffeinated beverage after a dehydrating workout.

I came home, drank my coffee in silence (everyone was still sleeping), then made breakfast for the kids. Lovely! Then I realized that Collin was starting violin lessons that afternoon at school and we didn’t have a violin for him to play. Yup, forgot to rent one. ugh.

After everyone went to school nothing went as planned (and by “as planned”, I mean my plans to have no plans). Luckily, I was able to locate a violin to rent at a nearby music store. They set it aside for me and I rushed right down to pick it up. I had a violin in one hand and a music stand in the other when trying to leave the store,  I had to do that awkward exit where you turn around and push the door open with your butt. I turned around, made a very witty comment to the teen behind the counter, and pushed the door with my butt, it didn’t budge. So I stood there facing the kid, laughing at my own joke, and repeatedly smacking the door with my ass…over and over again.  He kept saying something because his lips were moving but I couldn’t hear him over my laughter (my comment really was genius). Finally I quieted down in confusion and I heard, “Ma’am, that door is locked”, “Ma’am, use the other door”, “Ma’am, it’s still locked”. Basically, I looked like a real unfunny asshole holding a violin.

Next I had to go to the grocery store, which thankfully did not leave me embarrassed.  Then I dropped Collin’s violin off at the school office. After all that BS it was time to pick Ana up at preschool. Damn it!  All that effort to wake up at 5:30 A freakin M and I still wasn’t able to accomplish #3 on my list!

Tips for Tuesday – Re-purposing

Once Ana was officially potty trained I had all these left over diapers and I had no idea what to do with them. None of my friends had babies and I didn’t think Goodwill would accept a Pampers box chewed open by dogs. But I couldn’t bring myself to throw them out either because I can’t stand wasting anything (unless it’s time, food, or money).

If you’re in the same situation, you’re in luck – I came up with a few useful ideas that have really worked for our family.

Bathroom Hand Towels – These hand towels are perfect for when you have company over.  They say to your guests, “I take your hand wetness seriously” AND you can write a little note on them such as “Welcome” or “Did you flush?”

 

Oven Mitts* – They’re great, they’ll absorb any liquids that spill and they’re flame retardant. (*do not use above 200 degrees or the chemicals inside will melt your hands off)

 

Wine Drip Catcher– Never worry about condensation or red wine rings on your table again. Because those stains can be so embarrassing.

 

Dinner Napkins – Don’t let your next dinner party be a messy event.  And your guests will be impressed with your resourcefulness.

 

The Gym – Why use a wimpy towel at the gym?  My towel was always soaked with sweat before I was even halfway through my workout.  Well, no more.  I’m able to use the same diaper over and over again…they hold a lot of body fluid.

 

Repair Cracked Heels – Simply apply left over Destin rash cream on your heels at bedtime, then wrap with a diaper.  By morning your heels will be as smooth as a baby’s bottom. As an added bonus, you can spray the bottoms with Lysol and clean your bathroom floors on the way to the toilet.

 

School Lunches – Don’t use ziploc bags when you have all those snack sized diapers laying around. They’re my favorite thing to pack my son’s brownie bites in.

 

If you have any more ideas I’d love to hear them as I still have a Costco sized box left to use up.

The Mushroom Festival – Out of the crap and into the light.

We went to the Mushroom festival yesterday because…well, because that’s just what you do in these parts. Why couldn’t I live in wine or cocoa bean country? This is what I ask myself every time I stand in line buying a 5 lb box of portobellos for a nickel.

Anyway, it was a beautiful day to walk around and appreciate the under appreciated and often misunderstood mushroom. Though I have to admit, I spent most of my time walking around and wondering why alcoholic beverages weren’t being served. What I would have given for a Crimini Martini or a Button mushroom soaked in vodka.  I’m sure my grandmother has a recipe for that last one.

While there wasn’t much to do, I had a lot of fun saying cheesy things like “Hey Collin, you’re a fungi!”, “Ana’s as cute as a button!”, “Scoot over, I don’t have mushroom” and my personal fave “Where’s the bathroom? I need to take a shiitake!” God, I crack me up! I was high fiving myself left and right. I’m sure I embarrassed everyone else.

I saw the food truck for The Creamery (a local ice cream farm) and thought about getting some ice cream but I didn’t because I need to work off some of this summer poundage.  In hindsight though, I probably should have- we haven’t had their ice cream since “the incident” and I’m not sure if I’ll ever return to the farm.  Brian thinks I’m overreacting.  Maybe I’ll fill you in on “the incident” tomorrow, it’s much too layered to go into right now.

Of course it wouldn’t have been a festival without a giant mushroom walking around but Ana could give a rat’s ass. She was, however, very excited when she saw Google’s Android mascot.

She’s a marketer’s dream. There was a person inside the inflated costume and he stood there waving at everyone passing by. She was fascinated by his inflatedness and pulled me in his direction so she could say hi. He was a chipper little fella. Unfortunately, the next time we saw him he was being repeatedly punched by a gang of 5 year olds who were also fascinated with his inflated costume. Parents were nearby laughing and placing bets on which kid would deflate him first.  I have to say, that Android was no wuss, he was swinging back.  Wisely, he tried to make his retaliation look playful by dancing while he swung, but he made pretty good contact with a couple of heads. I took the opportunity to explain “mob mentality” to my kids. This made Ana very sad and slightly frightened, but Collin was too busy cheering to hear a word I said.

Overall, we didn’t stay long, maybe a couple of hours. But really, how much mushroom stuff does any one person need to see? It’s not like it was the Oatmeal Festival or anything- I hear that’s 3 days long, and rightfully so. The Bloggess tweeted about its heartiness here.

On the way out I snagged a free bag of Smartfood’s newest chip flavor, Fetal.

Mmm, placenta never tasted so good!

But when I tasted one I nearly spit it out. It didn’t taste anything like fetal!  Let me ask you this – have you ever gulped your beer, then realized you just drank from the cup your friends have been using as an ashtray?  You won’t die but it definitely wasn’t what you were expecting, right? Well that’s what happened. I was expecting Fetal and instead I got Feta Herb.

Yuk! Not even a hint of uterus:(

Apparently I misread the wrinkled bag. Feta herb? What kind of chip flavor is that? Dreadful.

When we got home Brian said, “Those chips smell like feet!” and with some kind of twisted hopefulness I said, “Baby feet?”

“No more poopy talk!” – Brian

Brian asked me if all my posts were going to be about poop (he cringes when I write the word SHIT). I had to really think about that one.   As a stay at home mom of two young kids, a dog, and two cats, it seems my days are spent either telling someone where to poop, when to poop, or how to poop. And then that’s usually followed by cleaning up the poop. It’s not very glamorous but not everything worthwhile is.

So I told him that we need to get out today and do some interesting stuff. Maybe the outside world will provide me with more than bodily functions to reflect upon. Where are we going and what are we doing you ask? We’re going to a Mushroom Festival!  Yeah, I know.

While there, we will take a tour of a working mushroom farm and our guide will talk in detail about growing mushrooms. And what do you suppose mushrooms are grown in? C’mon, guess,… drum roll…ready for it?…SHIT poop!  Are you kidding me?!?

I can’t get away from the stuff so I’m just going to embrace it (not literally, you’re disgusting). Who knows, maybe I’ll learn how to use our own natural poop resources to create a small backyard mushroom garden.  Wouldn’t it be fabulous if one day you came to our house for dinner and I proudly served you our family’s “special” mushrooms. They’d be completely organic (except for the growth hormones), free from pesticides (we’d use natural dog urine), and I guarantee they’d have a sweetness to them unlike any other (our kids eat a lot of pop-tarts). It’s kind of like “farm to table” dining.Yum.

It’s really a lovely family project when every member has something to contribute!

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