Iridescent Viridescence

The holiday weekend couldn't have been more picturesque here in the Sierra Foothills. The Tankster participated in his second and third egg hunts of the season. I had one too many mimosas at the Saturday hunt and therefore didn't take one picture. But for those in the know, check out the Hub's page and you'll find a whole slew o pic's, many of which contain me and my drink in hand! Wheee!

On Sunday I was a bit more saintly, and managed to remember how to operate the old point n shoot! The Hub couldn't believe I was really planning on dressing our offspring in a baby blue seersucker shorts suit. But now that he's seen the pictures, he knows why parents dress their kids funny, because they are SO DAMN CUTE, that's why!



It was a gorgeous day at a friend's gramma's house where they've been holding the family egg hunt for over 35 years now. These folks are serious. They own 10 acres, and put out eggs for kids and young adults alike, with prizes that range from three jelly beans and two nickels to crisp $20 bills! They make up baskets of toys for the little kids and ALSO give out prizes after the egg hunt too! Its a win win win situation for all hunters!




By the end of the day, many participants were plum tuckered and ready for some serious lounging...



And on a similar greenery note, I would like to take a moment to document a stage in my son's life. He likes salads. Eats whole bowls. I'm not counting on this lasting long, nor on people believing me. So here it is, Tank vs. Salad, with salad losing big!

There's No Place Like Home

I think I mentioned my new sparkly red shoes. I heart shoes.

Heh Heh, She Said Keister!

Hello there! You'd think with all the sick, sitting-around-the-house I've been doing, I'd of gotten to the blog update sooner! Not so! The pesky thing about sickness is that it demands an astonishing number of hours of sleep. During good useable daylight hours! The nerve!

So despite the mind crushing sinus infection I've been enjoying, I muscled my way through my very first solo road trip since the Tankster arrived. I drove up to Tahoe for a bit of skiing, outlet shopping and (mainly) a baby shower, yay! It was such a great experience. That teeny tiny taste of your former life, that not only puts a spring in your step, but also shows how much you miss your family in two short days! (Remind me to show you the sparkly red patent leather ballet flats I got at 65% off!!)

Before the trip I'd been furiously knitting away at this...



...for the baby shower, but alas, it was still one sleeve and a collar shy of complete. But the baby still has another month before he's scheduled to arrive, so I might still make the REAL timeline! Lets hope...

This weekend I was finally feeling well enough to attempt the least athletic of all outdoor endeavors, gardening. Evidently our garden got sick of waiting for us to clean up last year's litter...



and was doing its best to make due!

Today was a funny day, as it was St. Patrick's Day, but also our weekly playgroup's early Easter celebration too. (Or Fecund Rites of Spring, for the un-Jesusy among us, like me.) So there was much green wearing, yet also the egg dye...



And the egg hunt! Notice Tank Boy clutching a found egg here. I was so proud of him, he even actually found one all on his own!



I can't express how cool this play group is, it is held at a completely enclosed playground with areas of both shade and sun, there is a pond nearby with very curious, mostly friendly, ducks and geese, and it is run by a local gramma who brings not only toys and buckets, but also a (relatively healthy) snack for all the kids! Today she also brought all the egg dye, towels, and paper bags to decorate for "baskets". I don't know of anywhere else, big city or small town, that has such a nice amenity! It makes us both very happy.



Happy Patric Keaster Day!

Honest Officer, I Wasn't Playing Hooky!

So three weeks ago I got myself motivated to organize a Women's Intro to Hockey Night, heretofore to be called WITHN. (How deep! How meaningful! And yet totally random.) I printed flyers, I contacted the appropriate folks at the park service and the park concessionaire to get the word out. I posted, I chatted, I emailed. And mostly I worried.



But last night it came to fruition! It wasn't a huge turnout, but it was an enthusiastic one. Three lady hockey newbies showed up to give it a try. Somehow I managed to get enough hockey skates, helmets and sticks for everyone. (Which is a trick, considering how far from civilization we actually live here.) And I'm so stoked, they all had a great time! There were wildly varying degrees of skating skills, but that didn't seem to bother anyone. Everyone skated, everyone passed the puck bit, and everyone worked up a sweat!



Unfortunately the powers that be decided to close the rink at the end of this week. So now I've gotten these gals all excited about skating and hockey and we have a whole 8 months until the rink opens again! Phooey. Though, perhaps we can get in a few days on ye olde 80's rollerblades between now and then. Polish up the skating skills...



It was a little touch and go this week as to whether or not I could even make it to the WITHN. See, I seem to have gotten sick, yet again! I'm feeling a bit guilty about the whole thing, because I didn't make it to work, but I HAD to go to WITHN! My justification is that I share a desk, phone, and computer with another woman at work, and had I gone, I surely would have passed my cooties on to her. That and the fact that I really couldn't remain vertical for more than a half an hour Tuesday or Wednesday. So that makes sense then, right? Am I going to burn in a special Julie the Cruise Director Work Avoidance Hell? Gosh I hope not. I bet there's no friendly Isaac at that bar...

Experiments In Communal Living

Hi there folks! (Folk? Is there more than one of you? Have I lost all of you in my neglectful absence?) We have been off galavanting around the state for a bit, up to South Lake Tahoe, out to Kirkwood ski resort and back home again. We made the trip extra exciting by driving during a huge rain/snow storm last Saturday. But it was all worth it because the friends we stayed with Saturday night had already hired a babysitter for their kids for Sunday morning (who was kind enough to accept one more) and we all got freshies (um Dad, getting freshies means skiing in fresh powdery snow...) at Heavenly until our little legs could take no more. (Which honestly was about three hours, but a very fun three hours!)



Then the Tank Family continued on to our fancy resort condo for a two night stay with another wee sporty family. Their daughter is only two months older than the Tankster, and they got along great! We took turns watching the kiddos and skiing for the next two days, enjoying lovely snow and perfect weather. It was kind of neat having four parents and two kids around. One couple could cook dinner, while the other two kid wrangled. One person could bathe both tots while the other three cleaned up from dinner, showered, or even read a book! Aside from the other tot having a terrible cold (that I hope we do not get) and not sleeping much during the three days it was perfect!



Flash through the trip home, the hurried unpack, the even more hurried rush out the door this morning, and a long day at the office, and we arrive at our third experiment in family dynamics. A close friend of ours just had her second child 6 weeks ago. For the first time since the birth her husband had to be away for two nights. I called on my way out the door from work to see if she needed anything from town. Turned out what she needed most was to get out of the house. So we all converged on our post-trip-disaster of a house. Chaos! But honestly it was giggling rollicking chaos!

Tank Boy and Train Boy had so much fun running around, bonking into each other and bouncing off the walls. The noise level was a notch or two above the regular din here at the Hoop Ranch, but it would have been criminal to squelch their fun! The new wee one was alert and cooing and scrumptiously sweet...



So the burning (and itching, can you feel it itching?) question that comes about from all of these recent experiences is this: To procreate, or not to procreate? I have heretofore been convinced that one tot was plenty for me, why would I need to make it harder on myself? But that rusty door that I thought I had sealed shut long ago is creaking open to the idea of the possibility of the potential of possibly having another kid in our lives. And I can't even believe that I'm saying that! Do you remember how miserable I was during the first six, no maybe nine, no maybe 12 months of Tankster's existence? The no sleep the sore boobies, the vulva of mashed potato! What am I thinking?

Or better yet, what are you thinking? Environmentalism, zero population growth, adoption, siblings, rivalry, heck have a whole hockey team? Lets hear it!

If You Can Dodge A Wrench...

Hey there! This is a really random assortment of events from the past week... Hum an inspirational tune to yourself and think of it as a photo montage, mkay?

Tank Boy enjoyed playing in puddles of all sorts...



I made an awesome quiche with local organic collard greens, fresh dill and eggs, store bought onions, goat cheese, and cheddar, that was the rockin'est quiche I've ever made, but they boys pretty much couldn't have cared less, so I had to eat the whole thing myself...


I got Tank Boy to grudgingly model yet another Foliage hat...


Have you guys seen this shot from The Drudge Reportof McCain nuzzling Bush? Poor kids, had their awkward slash tender moment forever caught on the digi!


And a quick snippet of our Sunday evening. Poor Tank Hub had a wrench sort of slip while he was yanking on a pipe and kind of smack him in the zygomatic arch (aka cheekbone). Ouch! One CT scan, some laceration irrigation, an ouchy shot or two, and four stitches later we were back at home eating pizza.


How was y'alls week?!

I'm Neck Deep In It Now!

It seems that lately I am a Wednesday night/ Thursday morning blog poster. And looky there, its Wednesday night. So tonight I have to bring up the fact that back on January 22nd I missed the Blog for Choice Day. (I also missed National Pie Day, but that's another subject all together.) The reason that I'm mentioning the BfCD now is that this year's subject was political in nature: "Why is it important to vote Pro-Choice?"

Sigh, so it seems that everything is political in nature these days. I'm arguing with my sister over the IM about politics, I'm arguing with my dad over email about politics, and I'm betting on what seems to be the losing horse (again) in the latest political race. Unfortunately I am one of those people who can be rather cranky when people don't hold the same political view that I do. Or actually even crankier when the just can't make up their minds, like my neighbor. (This is what the internet is for folks! Pop on, read about the issues, watch a debate, and figure it out, fer heaven's sake!) But I digress. I really do try to remain neutral. I do, but alas...

So to put this puppy to bed (and to mix some metaphors) I am doing an all politics post. And this is why: I really think Obama would be a better leader than Hillary. They both hit similar points on my hot button issues of the environment and pro-choiceism, but the devil seems to be in the details. So here it is in bullet form, Suzie's Incomplete and Cranky List of Why Obama Rules:

- He is polite. Unfortunately I have seen some clips from Hillary's speeches where she tried to make snarky jokes, and they just come out awkward and mean. As president that could spell international incident.
- He is well reasoned. For example, in the last debate and during the issue of driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, his final comment that it could prevent hit and run accidents by those avoiding deportation, well that clinched it.
- He does not have Bill Clinton making a fool of himself on his behalf.
- Hillary's stint as First Lady does not qualify as political experience.
- He will not force you to buy healthcare, just facilitate it.
- He does not have a large part of the electorate that already hates him.
- He did not vote to support the war in Iraq.
- He supports universal voluntary public service.
- He is not as divisive as Hillary.

I am not naive, I know that it is nearly impossible to get anything done in Washington, even as president. I know that ours is a paralyzing system of checks and balances. (Unfortunately that only works with those conscientious enough to follow the laws, unlike our last administration.) I know there are some people who will not vote for Obama because of his skin color. I also know there are some who won't vote for Hillary because she's a woman. They are not reasonable. I cannot address their issues.

But I can address a candidate who would like to unite our country, not divide us into separate red and blue country states. He is diplomatic and even occasionally willing to compromise on the wording of things when it does not affect the outcome. And you know what, Hillary's voice bugs the frack out of me. That is all. Goodnight.