Christmas Cards

Just so you know, I'm slashing my Christmas card list this year. I just don't have the time/money for my usual 40-50 cards to everyone. If you're tech savvy enough to be reading this, it means you probably aren't getting a card. But on the flip side, you know A LOT more about my life and have seen many, many more photos of the kids, so hopefully that's an even trade. I'll try to get a better e-mail card out in a few days. Sorry.

Holiday Concert

Nathan had his Christmas concert yesterday. Here's one song, the rest are up on Youtube.



I really must remember to get there early and bring the tripod next time.

Hockey Mania

Nathan started hockey a few weeks ago. It's been a learning experience for both of us. On the first day, I forgot his stick, so he starting crying when everyone else started practicing with the puck and we left instead. I also flubbed the uniform assembly, by putting his kneepads on outside of pants with nothing over them. But I'm learning. I even found a youtube video that showed how to wrap his stick in tape so that it'd be easy to pick up with gloves on. I had one awful moment when I had to be a mean, threatening mommy to get him on the ice because he was feeling shy. But I knew that once he got out there, he'd have fun.

He's learning too. From the first day they've been drilling kids on stopping, getting to their knees and back up, and parallel turns. We're a month into things and they're doing work on passing and controlling the puck. The kids are between five & seven, some are in their second year, but most just had basic skating skills. Nathan has been skating well, but he doesn't know how to hold the stick. We think that although he's finally settled into being righty for writing, that he may be a lefty for sports. So Dan keeps showing him how to hold his stick for a lefty, but then the coaches keep switching it around on the ice. The picture below has him holding it completely wrong, but he's about to score a goal, so that's cool.

This weekend, the kids got to do a little show at the period break of the Clarkson U Men's game. We went on Friday with Papa and Clair in tow. Unfortunately, Clarkson's method for revving up the crowd before the game is to blow a giant train-like whistle as they introduce the starting line-up, with a noise assist by the pep band. Claire immediately went into hysterics, and her wail "I want my blankie" could be heard across the stadium in the silence before Au Canada started. I managed to get her into the lobby and calmed down, and cajoled her back into the stadium a few minutes before Nathan's show started, when Clarkson had the temerity to score and that fricken-fracken whistle blew again. She was able to calm down enough to watch Nathan, but as further proof of my bad luck, I discovered the camera had gotten too cold in the car during dinner, and wouldn't work to film the event. Oh well.
We had a second chance on Saturday. This time I left Claire with the grandparents, and we had fun watching the game for awhile too. I could even explain most of the rules to Nathan, and he loved it when the puck skimmed the glass right in front of us. He's decided Clarkson is his favorite team, which could be a problem with Dan who's been a St. Lawrence fan all his life. And here's the video of him skating around the arena and not coming anywhere near the puck for two minutes. He's #14. (There is a second #14 with striped socks who I started to follow, Nathan just has blue pants on)

The Eighties are back

Can't believe that it's almost time for my 20 year high school reunion. The planners have started a facebook page and people have been posting old photos. The girls all have big hair and the boys have mullets and feathered bangs. I know that we're supposed to look worse as we age, but I'd bet that everyone's profile pictures look much better then the yearbook photos.

For now, I'm just struggling to remember anyone beyond the six friends I've kept in contact with over the years. There should be at least 40 people that I had regular contact with in band, class or drama club. And a slightly large group that my friends knew from other classes or teams. But out of a class of 240, that still leaves a lot of unknowns. Help!

Yes we carve

Dan made this from a template at Yes we Carve!!




VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!
VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!
VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!
VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!
VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!VOTE!

On with the snow

It's October. Not December.


The power was out from 9:30 pm yesterday to 6:00 pm today. And our lilac tree is probably unsalvageable. There's really nothing else to say. Except it's only OCTOBER!

Into the Leaves

Sorry the ending is so abrupt, the steadicam didn't like being thrust into the pile.

Fall day

I let myself get buried too. What a treat for the senses to be surrounded by the feel and smell of dry leaves. Plus, it was in the seventies today, so that's an even better treat.


Got the other tooth out finally. I'm teaching him "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, because he sounds funny with his new lisp. The new teeth have already broken through, so he should be all set soon.

i think the kids were playing a bit of CSI. Claire stuffed her doll in the branches, then covered it with leaves. Nathan had stolen my camera away, and he took the crime scene photos as they recovered the body. This is why we needed to add parental controls to the Tivo.

Claire's got a mean left hook

Nathan was energetically showing us his stop, drop and roll skills when he rolled right into Claire. Somehow in the tangle of limbs, she hit him in the face and knocked out his loose tooth. What a fun story to share.

 

Dora the Explorer

After this haircut, it seemed obvious that Claire should be Dora for Halloween. Would you believe I was able to find Orange shorts at this time of year. All praise Wal-Mart!!! And they were only a buck. Somewhere in the house is a bracelet we made to complete the outfit. And I love that almost everything will be used again, except for the orange shorts. They're a bit much.

 

Photo dump

September is about new schedules and new schools and no time for blogging. So here's some pics instead.

Family hike on Labor Day weekend to a waterfall in the 'Daks.

Waiting for the bus the first day of Kindergarten.

On the bus.....

Stuffing scarecrows at the Harvest Festival.

Birthday party for Brittany the pig. (the candles are carrots)

Dream a little dream for me

If someone had asked me during the long job hunt last year:
"Amy, what would be your dream job?"
I would have responded:
"I'd like to work in Payroll/HR for a big company. Not doing the hiring and counseling stuff, but managing benefits, keeping the paychecks accurate, maintaining the payroll records. I liked doing that in D.C., although the three unions and weekly payroll was sometimes stressful. But where, oh where, is there a job like that in the sparsely populated North Country?"

This week, there is an opening at my bank with a job description that pretty much matches everything I want to do. Every single thing listed in the "Major Responsibilities" is something that I already have experience in.

There are some obstacles though. It's a good paygrade, which means that everyone who's been putting in time as Tellers or in Data Entry will be interested. And technically, they're only looking for one year of experience in accounting/HR. So many people will meet the minimum qualifications. I would be very doubtful if there's anyone with as much Payroll experience as me, but someone with a little experience who's been with the company longer may get a chance to ahead of me. So I'm trying to relax about it and not start cleaning out my cubicle yet. But I really, really, really want it.

Political links

I'm trying to take the high road and not spend much time on the Uber-liberal Daily Kos, but I have to thank them for pointing out this poster.

Other sites I can't stop visiting are:
538 -An excellent site on polls. Even better now that I can look at the electoral map without cringing.
Mudflats -a political blog from someone who follows Alaska politics
Comics Curmudgeon on Wonkette -fun with Editorial cartoons!
TPM and Huffington Post - also ultra-liberal, but I can't resist.
Wake-up -Dan's spot for ranting
I was also sucked into a massive post on Metafilter with 5000 comments and hundreds of links that went up the day of Palin's selection. I won't link to it, just cause it's taking a few minutes to load at this point. But it was an incredible time waster for about two weeks.

Plus, I'm tuned into XM's POTUS channel every day. Although they have a Republican strategist on every morning, and I sometimes have to attack the radio to turn it off. I try to hear their side, but there always comes a point when I can't stomach the lies/smears/contempt for my intelligence any longer.

Donovan's review

The review of Dan's new restaurant was in the paper today. They haven't posted it online yet, but here's my favorite snippet.

"Upscale" doesn't have to mean "intimidating". The restaurant has a relaxed look and feel, a professional yet personable wait staff and a chef who definately knows what he's doing.

Also:

Applewood bacon-wrapped filet of pork was exceptional, with a smooth, smoked flavor, moistened with a sauce of caramelized onions. It was served with fried mac and cheese, an updated preparation of an old favorite, absolutely complementing the dish.

New York Strip - It was a generous portion of top-quality meat, cooked perfectly and topped with brandy mushroom sauce. An interesting and yummy side, a piece of potato pie made with bacon, cheddar and scallion, was a nice touch.

I need to congratulate Donovan and Dana for getting everything right. Dan's been so much happier since he started working there, but he's really going to be flying high after getting this public praise. 4 1/2 forks out of five. Great job!!

Pro-Choice

Imagine you're a jury in a John Grisham novel. The Prosecutor has just unleashed a tirade that seems to damn the defendant, only to have the judge rule that it's all inadmissible. And of course, you, as a juror, are told to forget everything you've just heard. Yeah, right.

That's how this Palin thing feels for me now. Since Friday night I've been caught up in reading every detail or rumor that's been dredged up. But today, I gave myself a big slap on the head to remind me that "Hello, I'm a liberal feminist. What Palin CHOOSES to do during her pregancy is none of my business. How she decides to balance her family responsibilies and her job are none of my business. If I'm going to laud Biden for not quitting his job over increased family responsibilities, then I can't expect Palin to turn down a once in a lifetime opportunity just because of a messy family life."

That's my public opinion. How I feel in private is another matter. And I probably won't be able to stop trying to work out if the Religious Right's public statements of support may be different from the private thoughts they'll have in the voter's booth. They tend to not be as enlightened about feminist issues as me.

That said, here is a long list of reasons that Palin is bad for women, bad for our country and just a horrible, horrible choice.

Wants to have schools teach abstinence only.
Wants schools to teach creationism.
Tried to fire a librarian for not banning books.
Supported the bridge to Nowhere.
Supported indicted Senator Ted Stevens.
She continually injects God into Government.
She doesn't believe that human activity causes global warming.

You know there's more than that. I can't even imagine how much more will come out in the next few days. But I'm going to try very, very, very hard to NOT make this a big election about small things.

Were you in it just for me?

Very distracted during Palin's speech. All I could think about was how much she looked and sounded like Tina Fey.






She had me for a few minutes with her baby, and her "Hockey Mom" line. But I'd be really bummed if the first female president was a Republican. And I'd be furious if it was a woman who was anti-choice, pro-creationism, anti-gay and a lifetime NRA member.

I'm also a bit disgusted about the media playing up the fact that she has a down syndrome child as "proof" of her Pro-life credentials. I'm not sure where to direct my anger about that, because I don't know if it's really her promoting the connection or just the media.

Just tell me that the men and women of this country who were excited about Hillary's run aren't gullible enough to think that Palin's a good second choice. She and McCain are against everything that Hillary stands for.

Frozen River

I don't get to the movies much. But I'm intrigued by the fact that the Sundance Grand Jury winner for drama was set near where I live. So if anyone does decide to see Frozen River, you'll get a pretty good glimpse of the snow and cold that's waiting for me this winter.

What Have I DONE!!!

Good? Bad? Horrible different at first but I'll get used to it?

It was really necessary after the haircut she gave herself. And Dan doesn't like her screaming fits when he has to comb her hair and put elastics in. Now I just have to deal with screaming fits at the hairdressers every few weeks.

Any suggestions for different styles that aren't so "page-boy"? It's hard to think of what would work with her straight, fine hair.

Turn me Off

Got our electric bill from Jul 10 to Aug 11. Tankless hot water heater was installed Jul 3. Our usage dropped from about 1050kWH in June to 575kWH in current billing cycle. Turning off the computer more, changing lightbulbs and generally being smarter has helped drop us from 1165 last August to this low. Our Dec & Jan totals were almost 1500 kWH, I don't know how much of that was water, and how much was just the need to have more lights on in winter, but we should see an improvement there too.

I should update when I figure out the propane costs, but right now I'm looking at bills for the delivery of a bigger tank, installation, and a credit for the old tank. Can't quite figure out how that translates into how much was in the tank or how much we use each month for cooking and water.

Bullwinkle!

I know, I know, you can't see anything. But the brown smudge on the tree line (just to the left of the white post) is a moose. He's been hanging around this field for about a week. I kept forgetting to stop by and see, so a co-worker called me on her way home to say he was there.

Unfortunately, he wasn't being very photogenic. We could see his ears wiggling a bit, but he hadn't moved from the spot for at least an hour and a half before we came, and he decided to stretch it out by another half hour after we got there. I was just getting to the point of leaving when he finally stood up. And in the time it took me to get the kids back out of the car and across the street, he'd already disappeared into the trees. We got a brief glimpse of his tail (or booty, as Nathan has taken to saying) before he was gone.

I'm posting about it anyway, because HEY I saw a Moose!!!

(Much better picture of the Moose here.)