All The World's A Stage

Letterboxing 16092006

I have pictures but no cropping/resizing software right now. I'll repost when I get it all together.

Today Fiona and I went out letterboxing. This was my first experience, and her second. It's the first time either of us have ever really used a compass.

The first place we went was to the big tire by I-94. There was some tromping into woods there that made me slightly nervous, but we both had on long pants and long sleeves and socks so I hoped no poison ivy got us (so far so good.)

It was very cool. Seeing the stamps in their book from all over the place was cool too. Fiona wants to put our own out now, and I know just where to do it, but I need to check it out to see if it'll work.

Being down under the big tire was real cool too. I'd never known there was a way to get back to it.

We looked for 3 more after that, but they were all on private property. This made me nervous, so I probably didn't look as thoroughly as was needed, and we didn't find any of them. I wouldn't be surprised if they've all been removed.

There are a ton in Ann Arbor, and a bunch out by another friend, and it's a great mother/daughter thing to do with her age (and he interest is keen) so we'll be doing this most of the winter, locally, I suspect. Then we'll have to start making daytrips to get the further ones out, and I'll have to start printing off ones for us to do individually on our vacations.

Oh, and we need to make our own stamps. I'm looking to do 2"x2" - any advice would be great.

A Chip Off The Ol' Block

Mini-me on the left, me, the same age, on the right.

Before the show started, I took this shot of Colin (Fi's secret admirer boyfriend) and Mary.

Front and center, with Boliver, the talking dog.

Pulling off the hat, pulling out the ponytail, and swinging the hair to reveal that "Jayson" is really a girl.

The grand finale:

Call for good food

Fiona's school is going to be doing a fundraiser in the fall - selling cookbooks. I know some of you have been through these before. I helped put one together when I was in the Ladies Auxiliary back in the Navy days.

So the call has been put out for recipes. Djinn thought some of you might enjoy sending some in for me to turn in, since I'm hardly a cook and I'll only have about five that I didn't just copy out of a cookbook.

The format is:

Ingredients

Instructions

Serves 1 - ?

this is all supposed to fit on a 3x5 card, which I think is kinda limiting, but that's what they want.

Just leave them in the comments (or email them) and I'll print them out the right size to be turned in.

And I'll try to remember when cookbooks are available in the fall to mention it, in case anyone wants one. Although really, my experience has been these are rehashings of typical recipes with little twists thrown in. I'm hoping my friend's contributions can make it more exciting for me, since I'm obviously going to have to buy one.

Oh, I have to turn these in before May.

I was wrong - they are using online donations!

Hello!

Hi! I’m joining in the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope For Heart event at my school. I will be jumping rope to help the American Heart Association raise money to fight heart disease and stroke. Can you help me by making a donation? Thanks!

The American Heart Association's online fundraising website has a minimum donation amount of $25.00. If you want to donate less, that's ok. You can just send the check right to me and I'll make sure the American Heart Association gets it.

Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support American Heart Association - Greater Midwest Affiliate

Fiona Trumitch

Act Your Age

At 11:59am, I will be 31 years old. I have also now officially been with Jeff for half my life. (On March 4th, I think.)

I'm feeling remarkably younger than 31, so I guess I had been wrong about what 31 would feel like. Example: Spontaneous movie-going last night. "When does it start? - 13 minutes - Let's do it. We can do it!"

Fiona was happy and we got there in time and it was a fun movie (National Treasure.)

Fi's 10th Bday Sleepover

Tonight, I am at a hotel with my mother, my kid, and her friends. I went in the hottub, and I'm just wiped out.

But... Pictures:

The girls playing dreamstar, which is abou the girliest barbie-fied game I've ever seen, but they love it...

My mother, Fi, and the flaming bday cupcake

The pool

Please Donate If You Can

The life you save may be your game-master's. Or someone really important to you. (grin)

We Want Your Money, Or We Want To Save Your Life, Or Something Like That

So here I am again, shamelessly promoting my kid's latest fundraiser.

This time she's doing some jump-roping to raise money for the American Heart Association. I can't front a lot, but if you'd like to send her a donation to get here by Monday, February 7th, she'd appreciate it.

Those interested, be in touch with me!

And I Will Always Cherish Smiles

Because We Should Share The Adventure

I Will Appreciate Diversity

Still Have A Child's Heart

Releasing Dreams

In respect to emotional crap I've been dealing with today, this was very interesting to me. I think there is a short story in here somewhere.

"Yes, people do that. They shouldn't though."

"They're releasing their dreams," she says. "I love Ian, see, this girl loves him, but he doesn't love her, so she has to write it here to get it out."

I nod.

The whole time, I'm thinking, God, I wish I had a black marker. A big wet thick black marker. I could fill the whole fucking room.

I'm also thinking, God, my kid is a creative genius. What the hell is she going to be when she grows up?

I'm also thinking, No, honey, it's just like cats peeing all over the house...

Mission Accomplished

Christmas Shopping: Done.
$'s spent - way way too much, mostly on Fiona.

What I'd still like to get: Settler's of Catan for Jeff and Fi. Unlikely, considering everything else we bought.

Registered for ACUS. Registered for ConFusion.

Now... more homework.

Evil Aunt Liz and the Crying Baby

I tell you, that baby was smiling and happy until we decided to take a picture. That's my newer nephew, Kristian, a boy, who we call Kris, so far.

The Thanksgiving Dinner Table

You can't see the five people at the end this was taken from.

Fiona's Report Card

This is Fi's first report card with grades. She's always been a high achiever, measured in unconventional ways. Now there are letter grades. At progress report time, she had one 70% and one 75% - I told her I wanted harder, better work, that I would be happy with B's but that she really shouldn't get a C unless she wasn't understanding something - and she said she wasn't having problems.

So she brought those grades up to B- 's. She got an A+ in Spanish.

We're pleased. One of the things Jeff and I had to discuss was that although we were straight A students, we didn't have to work at all to get it. I think she's having to work for her grades (looking at the work she's doing) and I'm fine with that.

Fiona Again, With Teasing This Time

How Cool is R.L. Stein?

Fi was so nervous, in total fangirl nerves state.

Fiona gets up there. She says, "I really like your books. I must have 50."

He says, "Thanks, let's shake hands," and they shake hands.

She's all red. I tell him, "She's a little nervous, it's her first
time meeting one of her favorite authors."

He tells us a story.

"I had this same problem. A few years ago, I finally got to meet Ray
Bradberry. I was so nervous. When I finally meet him I tell him,
"You're my hero!" I almost died."

I said, "That's pretty much what I did to Roger Zelazny. He blushed a lot."

So now I told Fi we'd get her some Ray Bradberry.

Fundraising, Again

My kid is selling candles as part of a fundraiser all the 4-6th grade classes are doing to send them to camp for a week this spring. It's one of those confidence-building camps.

The candles are $7 each, and so is the metal chimey or base. If you order, I'm happy to front the money. If you're local we can get together, if you're from out of town you can drop me a check, and I'll deliver next con/vacation/ whathaveyou.

Good Christmas gifts for mothers-in-law. They're 10 oz each, btw. Just tell me the name of the one(s) you want.

Order Goes in November 4th.

You can't really read that, can you? Here are the types:

Spiced Apple (red)
Christmas Memories (red)
Pumpkin Patch (pumpkin)
Cucumber Melon (mint green)
Orange Blosson (orange peel)
Americana Apple Pie (red)
Fresh Linen (white)
Sweet Pea (chiffon)
Caramel Apple (caramel)
Creamy Vanillia (ivory)
Peaches and Cream (peach)
Watermelon Spice (watermelon red)
Kiwi Pear (lime)
Mango Guava (yellow)
Good Looking Man (midnight blue)
Cypress Pine (green)
Hot Cinnamon Rolls (amber)
Blue Hydrangea (blue)

Rose Chimney (metal)
Rose Base (metal)

Love that Precious little face!

In Other News

I've got a very sick kid and I'm not feeling much better myself.

I know at some point she'll succumb to purging this stuff out of her lungs. If I was sure that wasn't going to be while we were at the gathering tonight, I'd bring her.

Actually, I'm still considering it. I mean, she's not contagious, and she's sick here or she's sick there. She just won't really enjoy herself, and she really feels better when she has all the small comforts of home. Plus, she'd be really embarrassed if her lungs decided it was time to clear out there.

So I think we won't make it. Which I'm sorry about because I get to see a bigger group of people at this gather than I usually see. (pout)

Our best to the birthday girl.

My own special geek

At 9:45 this morning, Fiona gets a phone call. I don't recognize the voice, except that it's a boy, and her 'boyfriend' sounds like a girl on the phone.

It's Edward, from camp.

He's calling because she gave him some tips on how to get past some scene he was having trouble with in Mario Brothers something star or the other. Rather, he's calling because her tips got him past it.

I come downstairs to hear this conversation and it is everything I can do not to pee my pants laughing. I think, "She's Carla!"

He calls back 2 hours later because he's stuck again. She gives more tips. He calls back an hour later - it worked!

I wonder how often this kid is going to call my house. I said, "Where does he live?"

"I don't know," she says.

"Well, find out next time he calls. If it's within an hour, maybe you guys can meet up."

"Oh, okay, but I really think we don't have anything in common but video games."

**blink blink**

"And farm camp," she adds.

eyetoy!

So Fiona got the eyetoy for her birthday. She has been on it ever since. 4 hours straight on Sunday. I let her - I haven't seen her exercise that much in a long time.

Tonight we started what I hope will be daily mom-daughter time. Discostarz - 1 hour a night. She's beating me. It's embarrassing.

My Star!

This is from the CMA Idol contest earlier in the year Fiona won.

Home Economics

So Jenn came over last night for Fiona's first lesson in 'how to cook.'

We made the list of what we needed to have to make dinner.
We went to the store and Fiona shopped for it.
We came back, and wrote down what we paid for everything, did some division on the costs we were only using half of, and figured out for 3 people the meal was ~$1.50 each. We then compared this to the cost of this meal at a diner, and we saved about $15.00 by making it ourselfs.
Fiona wrote down the list of steps to be done to prep the food.
Fiona made dinner, with some help.
We ate a nice dinner. She behaved pretty well.

Then she made brownies for dessert.

Jenn and I got some time to talk. I was in a much worse mood than she was. So that's good, and bad. We were both crashing hard before 11pm.

Anyway, I really enjoyed it. A lot. Jenn browns meat in a way I never thought of (I've always used a skillet - her way saves a pot having to be cleaned). Fiona was very excited, and had a good time, even though I was making her crazy with the 'cost accounting.' Must do again...

Girl Scout Cookies

Still taking orders.

Thanks for everyone who has generously offered to put on weight for my kid's troop. I appreciate it.

http://www.skyseastone.net/stage/oldplays/002679.html

The boyfriend

She has a 'play date' with the 'boyfriend' tomorrow while I'm out at the Auto Show.

I keep wanting to be concerned that they're talking to each other on the phone. Or that he bought her a Christmas gift. Or that they insist on planning their birthday parties around each other.

But really, it's just kinda cute right now.

I suppose I will save my concern for when I catch them kissing, or comparing parts, or something.

So much for knowing my kid

So I was going to buy Fi Dance Dance Revolution, and all the stuff that goes with, for her birthday. So far the best deal I'd found was at GameStop for $70.

So I took her in with me (because time is short) to buy it. She hated it. She wanted nothing to do with the game.

So I sighed, unhappily, because the truth is I wanted it for me as much as her.

We looked around and she made a big long list in her head of all the video games she'd like to own.

Well, by the front door there was a 'try out eyetoy' tv. So I showed her how to use it. She's a natural. 10 minutes later I was trying to get her out the door, and she wouldn't stop playing.

So I got her that instead. $50 is better than $70 anyway.

"Maybe someone will get you the dancing game for your birthday mom."

"I am not having a birthday."

"Oh, yes, I forgot about that. You're going to be 30?"

"I'm 29 and I'm staying 29."

"Well, I guess if I was going to be old I'd stop having birthdays too, but I don't think it really helps mom."

"Thanks for the sage advice, bugg."

"Isn't sage a spice?"

show me the money

Yes, I have a Girl Scout now (and she has braces).

Today the cookie form arrived.

If you are coming to ACUS and would like to buy cookies, let me know. Her troop gets $.60 a box (out of $3.50) The council gets 60%, and 20% goes into making them.

So, if you eat these things... I'll deliver at ACUS. $3.50 a box. But I'm real tight on money - so only order them if you're serious. Because Jeff does not make a cute Girl Scout Cookie delivery boy to those who order and do not pay.

Trefoils (old fashioned shortbread)
Samoas (Chewy and rich vanilla cookie covered with chocolate, coconut, and caramel)
Thin Mints (if you don't know what they are, you don't deserve them)
Do-si-dos (Peanut butter creams)
Tagalongs (Peanut Butter Patties, covered in Chocolate)
Reduced Fat Lemon Coolers *New* (cool lemon cookies in powdered sugar)
All Abouts - (Short bread with rich fudgie bottom)
Double Dutch (chocolate chocolate chip)

For the locals:

My first order must be in by January 20th - cookies in by February 10th.
Then I can keep on ordering up til March 2nd - don't know when those will come.

Fi in 2000

So, I looked at my kid this weekend, and I saw all these changes in her that I haven't noticed in a while.

And the future of her face. (She's going to be a stunner.)

So I had to go back and drag out all these old school pictures...

2001

2002

2003

More Cousins

These shots are from June of 2002.
Lisa, Angie, Me, Jeff, David
Rick, JD

Lisa and Rick are sibs.
Angie and David are sibs.
My sib, Alex, is not pictured.
Jeff's two brothers, Gene and Jason, are also not pictured.
JD is the only only child among the cousins. John Davis.

Also missing are sibs Kim and Steve and sibs Andy and Amanda (the youngest.)

Ladies, Mills

That's my cousins Lisa, Angie, Me, and Sasha (who is Angie's niece, my 2nd cousin.)

Santa List for Fi, 2003

I find her list very reasonable. I always made unreasonable lists when I was a kid. She's a good kid.

Spelling errors left in on purpose.

Although she totally got that colon right. I don't think I understood colons in the 3rd grade. I'm not sure I understand them now!

Dear Santa,

P.S. I liked the C.D., quile [quill] pen and everything else you gave me last year.

And for my own reference:
Yugigo (sp?) Sacred Card Game for the GBA (~30)
McFlurry Maker (~20)

Halloween

Fi and Jeff made a vampire pumpkin.

She's a punk singer for Halloween. I'm putting bright pink and purple spray in her hair (in a cool way.) The purple keeps reminding me of Folly from HoC.

We spent a total of $3 on her costume (that'd be the hairspray.)

Tonight:
5-5:30pm Our neighborhood.
5:45 - 6:30pm Jeff's parent's neighborhood.
6:30-8pm My parent's neighborhood.

I think it's about time to start telling these grandparents no. All this shuffling around is insane, and prevents us from handing out candy.

1st Place at CMA Idol

Well, she won.

She won first place.

She was so excited on the voicemail she left on my cell phone. I wish I could post that here. She got a trophy, and a $10 borders gift certificate, and a book that comes with parts you can put together in lots of different ways to make your own instrument.

But better than any of that, she got to win. She really thrives on competetion, and even does fairly okay when she loses.

It is sick how excited I am for her. I can just feel what it's like to be 8, and win this thing, after three weeks of having to compete again and again. And on top of that, I have all that mother pride going on.

Yes, this one is mine. Isn't she smart? Isn't she talented? Isn't she beautiful? And isn't she still the kindest thing, despite all that? My baby. Mine.

CMA Idol

Well, my kid made the top 4 contestants in grades 1-3, so she is in the CMA Idol finals tonight.

I will be in class. It's the first session of a new five week class.

I'm going to feel out the proffessor before class, but if I don't get

a good feeling, I'm going to have to stay at school.

Sigh.

I feel guilty, even though Fi has known since she joined the competetion that I wouldn't be able to go. She has ten shows a year. I'm at 9. (Don't feel guilty. Don't feel guilty.)

I'm very excited for her though. She is so much braver than I ever was. I went to play tryouts my freshman year, and chickened out. She jumps right into the competetion, no problem. Maybe she's not braver - maybe she's just less afraid.

My Wonderful Husband

He's really been indulging me lately and taking care of everything.

Something very nice must be done for him. Ideas?

Piano Lessons - Level 3.

So after about a year in lessons, Fiona has reached level three, where she gets a solo book in it that has:

The March from Raiders of the Lost Arc.

How cool is that? And Miss Sara says once she gets down key signatures, over the next six months, she'll be able to start playing those 'easy play beginner' piano tunes. Which is good, considering I bought her a book full of Disney ones last Christmas.

Gender, again.

This study makes me a bit ill.

It's a dirty little secret that you'll want to hide from your daughters: Boys hold their parents' marriages together, while girls break them up.

That's the word from two leading economists at the University of Rochester and the University of California, Los Angeles who maintain that in the United States the parents of a girl are nearly 5 percent more likely to divorce than the parents of a boy, reports Slate magazine. The more daughters a couple has, the greater the chance of a marital split. For example, the parents of three girls are almost 10 percent more likely to divorce than the parents of three boys.

Dahl and Moretti insist that American parents have a strong preference for sons over daughters. This is the evidence they offer:

Mothers of daughters who are divorced are far less likely to remarry than divorced mothers of sons, suggesting that daughters are a liability.

Man, hello, it couldn't have anything to do with trying to protect our daughters, could it? We obviously have messed up with the first guy - perhaps we question our judgement now. I've always said if Jeff and I divorced I wouldn't remarry until Fi was out of my house, because you don't put my flirt of a beautiful soon to be teenaged daughter in the house with a middle aged man. Just don't eve want to deal.

Parents who have only girls are more likely than parents who have only boys to try yet again for a child of the opposite gender.

Which is an old gender bias that has nothing to do with girls' influence in our lives. And we didn't, and my husband is thrilled to have a daughter, so there!

When an unmarried couple is expecting a baby, they are more likely to get married if the ultrasound shows that the child is a boy.

I don't get this one either. Really? Is it because some women might think they can take care of a girl without help, but wouldn't know what to do with a boy. Girls are not harder to raise - society is harder for girls to live in. Well, that's a blanket statement - maybe not to such an extremity, but I do feel like I will worry more about Fi than I would have about a boy, but that's because I hear about girls being victimized more.

Sigh. When do females get to stop being blamed for everything, again?

Nice House

Very nice housewarming at J&P's tonight. I'm back there tomorrow for a game.

We didn't stay long (only 2 hours). Neither of us can really relax well when Fiona is with us - and I realized tonight that Jeff is worse than me about it.

Got to escape the crowd and talk to Carla and Kristen outside for quite awhile. I wasn't really up for big crowds tonight. I've been feeling socially inept this week - just making social mistakes I'm too old and experienced to be making. The kind of stuff that keeps Jenn up at night. I try not to let it do that to me, but in the fall, it does make me want to just stay in, away from everyone - and even stay offline - where I've been doing most of it, actually.

But I can't do any of that.

So I apologize where I need to, shut up where I need to, and talk the rest out with Carla so she makes me feel like up not so bad, but just struggling like we all do.

Part of it is being so busy that I'm having a hard time putting the effort into friendships they require. And part of it is trying to have too many close friends. I don't know why I feel like I need to be friends with everyone, but man, I do feel that pressure.

Jeff just doesn't like large groups at all. I think if it wasn't for me, he'd never go anywhere where there might be more than ten people. He came home and went straight to bed. He was totally drained, and must be fighting something.

Kristen gave me really NICE art stuff for Fi, who is playing with it as we speak - and full spectrum bulbs for me. (Must remember to take checkbook and pay her back at the game! Geez! I am miss forgetful lately.)

And she gave us wine glasses too - so for the first time in our married lives, we have 8 wineglasses that match!

CMA Idol

So it looks like it's not a talent show so much as a competetion. She understands she might not 'make the cut' but she wants to do it anyway.

They are taking 4 finalists from 1-3rd grades,
4 from 4-6th grades,
and 4 from 7-8th.

I have no idea how many kids in ther 1st - 3rd level signed up for this.

They can sing, dance, or play an instrument.

The top four from each group (and I have no idea how that is selected either) go on to perform at the CMA Idol 'show' on the 23rd - a night I have school. That's going to make me nuts if she gets in and I can't go - and likely I can't - it's the first night of a new class.

I said, "If you get last place you aren't going to be all hurt and cry, are you?"

She said, "No, but I'm not going to get last place."

Sigh. Jeff's child in confidence, my child in pain.

Roleplaying - Kid Style

Fi (age 8) and the two neighbor kids (ages 5 and 9) were playing McDonald's drivethru using Fi's playhouse tonight.

[Fi is the worker, the 9 year old is ordering, and the 5 year old is the one getting fed.]

"Welcome to McDonald's. What would you like to eat?"

"I'd like one chicken nugget, a small bucket of fries, and a soft drink."

"Do you want salt with that?"

"No."

"Do you want an apple pie?"

"No, but I want two toys in the meal."

"Okay, one chicken nugget, a little bucket of fries, and a soft drink with two toys. That'll be three rocks. Please pull to the second window."

[At the second window food is handed out, rocks in. Food is more rocks and some fallen leaves, plus two toys from the playhouse. The five year old starts 'eating' the food right there.]

"Excuse me, no eating at the window. Other people are waiting for their food."

Conflicts and Compromise

So Jeff and I got invited to Bride/Groom 'last night out' parties on the same night, (although Jeff only got the verbal invite - will there be paper/email invites to J's thing? Anyone?) and his parents, our usual Sat. night babysitters, are going to be out of town that weekend.

So if we can't find another babysitter, my dear sweet wonderful husband has decided he'll stay home with the kid while I go out to a strip club.

I love my husband.

CMA Idol

Fiona has signed herself up for the school's talent show.

She's going to play the Irish Jig on her keyboard, set on the Irish Flute, because she likes it best that way.

"It's the most Irish."

She's not perfect at it, but it is pretty close to fast fast and very recognizable.

Fantasy Football

Back some time ago I blogged about how the guys wanted me to play Fantasy Football as a Filler Team.

Well, I've been as high as 3rd place, and currently sit in 4th.

Without trying to hard either, so there, you pigs!

Of course, Jeff sat down to play Chess with Fi tonight, and first game he beat her in 4 moves. He tells her,

"Don't feel bad, I beat J in 4 moves yesterday."

Yes, this is the calibur of opponent I am competing against. Is it any wonder I'm in 4th place with barely lifting a finger?

But it was very nice to watch Fiona begin, slowly now, to understand strategy in chess. She'll soon, very soon, be beating my pants off. (NO WARFARE.)