Dollar Store Confessions

I still haven't done this whole blog-reformat thing, because honestly every time I google re-formatting blog I get back answers like "Just log on, then click 'Layout' then click the button shaped vaguely-unicorn-ish then type in 'hey5973@$%&#kkk/////%%%~~~~fehfiqdjqxbi' but ONLY if you are using Windows 10 or later then if your state has a population of more than 83,000 type in 'boo' and then sacrifice a baby goat.  So easy"

So then instead I log onto Pinterest for hours and eat chocolate.

Although only a little bit.  I've finally gotten fed up enough with the post-two-babies wubby (that's  a real word) belly to commit to getting rid of it.  I've been trying to introduce more vegetarian meals to the family anyway, and I've never really been a meat person.  Hold in your dirty jokes.  I don't really go for steak or pork or even chicken that much anymore, but I cannot be a normal functioning member of society that doesn't routinely stab people without chocolate.  Cue all the amazing vegan blogs out there that have dessert recipes without added sugar and some even include vegetables.  THANK YOU INTERNET.

I've also made friends with this bitch

I love to run but it is hard on your knees, and only really tones your legs.  So I alternate running days with Jillian.  It's only 20 minutes and it is crazy intense.  I also have her 6 Week Sixpack DVD and it is KILLAH.  Her voice does grate on my nerves after a while so I've been muting her and laughing when she starts yelling into the camera.  I can't hear you, Jillian.

Last night I set out all my running stuff and remembered to plug in my iPod and everything and went to bed early.  And then of course I slept until 7.  And rocketed out of bed yelling "OHMYGODeveryoneupwe'rerunninglategahhhhhhhh!!"  and hustled through the morning. 

The Co-op is a 10 minute walk from my work and we needed the organic apples that don't make me break out in hives, so because I didn't work out this morning I decided to walk there at lunch.  And 5 minutes in I realize the super cute pair of shoes I got from that shoe store who's prices make me cringe were rubbing my toes in all the wrong ways.  The shoes that were subconsciously convincing me in the store that they would lovingly cradle my feet because I was willing to spend a truckload of money on them.  I made it to the Co-op but on the way back was debating calling the Mister to ask him for a ride for the last 3 blocks.  Then I remembered - this crappy mini-mall that I'm passing has a Dollar Store in it!  Three whole dollars later and I was in bliss.

Dollar Store flip-flops, crafted by angels.  Complete with chipped pedicure and angry red welts left by Nazi-shoes.

 I adore flip-flops.  There was a fancy flip-flop store in our town that sold $50 flip-flops.  Fifty damn dollars?  It's a piece of rubber with two pieces of fabric.  And now I sound like my grandmother.

The moral of this story (?) is of course that the Dollar Store rules, expensive shoes lie and Jillian Michaels will yell at you but you can always mute her.  Or something like that.

If This Blog Was a Baby It Would Have Been Taken By the State By Now.

So neglected, this blog .... sooooo neglected .....

It's become obvious that there will be some changes in my life, that things need to change if I'm going to be truly happy.  Starting towards your dream career at 33 is exciting but also incredibly daunting when you think of just how long it could take.  I refuse to compromise the standards I have for how my children are raised for anything. 
I've talked before about the struggle of being a work outside the home mother.  I'm simply not around my kids as much as I want to be.  My husband is more supportive than most, but there are still implied jabs that I'm not "all about the kids" from him and others.  And you know what?  I never thought I would work after I had kids.  But things change and we are in a position where I need to work.  And now I will most likely be switching departments with guidelines that I have to go full time within the next two years.  These days it's more likely that both spouses have to work then one can stay at home. 
And that is NOT our fault.
The argument "well you could just cut back and then you could stay home" makes me see red.  We never go out, I cook for the family 95% of the time, and I'm wearing a dress right now that I bought 7 years ago.  And we still baaaaaaaarely squeak by every month.
My whole thought process on this started when I got back from Seattle.  My husband was rude and obviously annoyed with me when I got back.  Why?  Because I told him that I went out to events and parties the nights that I was there that were directly related to the conference I was helping out with.  Could I have stayed in the hotel?  Yes.  But why would I?  Why isn't it ok for me to enjoy a city that I wouldn't have been able to go to on my own?  Why is it STILL - in 2012 - not ok for a woman's first thought process to not constantly be putting someone else in front of herself?

I have two gorgeous daughters who are going to do big, amazing things.  And one day I'll have to send them out into the world and look on as their hearts get broken and they realize that not everyone has their best interests in mind.  But until then I can show them that it's alright to take care of yourself just as well as you take care of everyone else.  That they are worthy of every great thing that will ever happen to them and to enjoy this life, this one life that they have here to make their dreams come true. 
 Pictures from Easter with their favorite cousins ...

Hey There Strangers ...

I'm in the process of picking a new layout and design for this space, and the gracious and lovely Jen of Sweet Bliss, who just happens to be my best friend, has agreed to help me since she is more tech-savvy than me.  Not that that's hard.
And to tell you the truth it's hard to get excited about posting because I'm impatient and easily distracted and I want my shiny new awesome blog layout RIGHT NOW. 
I blame Pinterest.  It's addictive and makes you ask the big questions - like why did me and Daniel Craig never hook up and why the HELL don't I have a restored antique clawfoot tub in my bathroom?  And why have I never gotten around to converting that old bureau into a play kitchen/bunk bed for my kids?  Yes Pinterest - you maybe inspire us to set the bar slightly high.

These things do all make me happy, however -
http://pinterest.com/mamasthyme/moments-of-beauty/

And these things make me giggle -
http://pinterest.com/mamasthyme/heh-heh-heh/

And I can legitimately claim that I have made TWO WHOLE THINGS I saw on Pinterest.  Yes.  Don't be intimidated (I'm kidding, of course you are)
I'll leave you with Butterbean and her first attempt at lipstick.  Lord, BB, use liner first!

Mama's Got A Brand New Bag

... except the bag is actually a textbook which is much less fun.  (But more useful, let's be honest)

Sorry 'bout the glare, I am bad at Photo Booth.
So.  Actually starting this path towards the degree in Landscape Horticulture and Design, and the first step is MATH.  Which is in capitals because it is intimidating, like another class I have to take called CHEMISTRY. (dun-dun-dunnnnnnnnn).  What were my worst two subjects in high school?  You know, math and science.  Strangely I am enjoying math this time around, and figuring out I am not "bad at math" just "super lazy and unmotivated".  I also am thanking the baby Jesus for YouTube, because there are awesome tutorials on there for everything I'm getting stuck on.  Also super thankful that I work at a university and walked over to meet with a prof. in the Math department and told her I was studying ahead of my math class in the fall, and she straight up just handed me a $100 textbook to borrow for the summer, complete with a tutorial DVD.  And French Post Doc, aside from being annoying because he speaks French and I don't, is a math genius and happens to sit right in my crosshairs hallway, and will be SUPER happy to help.  Won't you, FPD??

When I'm not studying and finally wrapping my brain around prime numbers (oh, OHHHHHHHH) I'm reading the most beautiful and simply inspiring book I've read in a long time, Seeing Trees, by Robert Llewellyn and Nancy R. Hugo.  I randomly grabbed this off the new arrivals shelf at the library and could not put it down.  It's so simple - genetic traits and characteristics of everyday trees - maple, oak, sweet gum, beech, gingko, pine - photographed and described in vivid, simplistic terms.  She (Hugo) describes the fertilization process of these trees, bark characteristics, budding stages, root maturation processes, etc.  You will never be able to walk or take a run again without noticing these things you take for granted, whether Osage orange balls or dropped willow whips.  In fact, several early-morning runs have been delayed because I find horse chestnut buds or early sweet gum balls and have to stop and study them.  And sometimes this happens -

... where I am staring intently up at a bud on a branch, trying to determine if it is white oak or red oak (it was red), after a 4 mile run and do not see the slight rise in the sidewalk and trip and fall and bruise myself.  Read at your own risk, you guys.

Hey You Guys, My Husband Took A Picture Of Me.

Sigh.

Hi, we're in ..... Delaware

Delaware is the second smallest state (behind Rhode Island), and the silver fox of the White House came from here:

Well, hey there.

 

But other than that we're not known for a lot.  But I am FURIOUSLY PROUD of our lil' state right now:

From Delaware Online:
Wilmington City Council sent a message to lawmakers everywhere Thursday night: It's time to hold men accountable for the well-being of their sperm.The council passed a resolution that asks state legislatures and U.S. Congress to enact laws that forbid men from destroying their semen.
For Loretta Walsh, the councilwoman who introduced the resolution, it's a way -- an admittedly "tongue-in-cheek" way -- to call attention to "the absurdity of men making health decisions for women."
Two weeks ago, at the last City Council meeting, Walsh railed against Virginia lawmakers pushing to require women to undergo ultrasounds before having an abortion. So upset over the issue, Walsh said, she stayed up until 3 a.m. drafting her resolution.
Michael A. Brown Sr., the lone Republican council member, wondered before the meeting if Walsh was "going overboard" or showing "bias" against Republican legislators.
"It was cute to some folks when she lashed out two weeks ago, but a lot of people I spoke to and [who] spoke to me said that wasn't funny," Brown said.
Walsh dressed entirely in red Thursday to show her anger and wore her mother's pearls to honor the woman who taught her to stand up for herself, she said.
"I am standing up for women in this city, I am standing up for women in this state and I am standing up for the women in this country," Walsh said.
The resolution, designed to address "equality" issues, said that lawmakers have not introduced similar legislation regarding men in the United States. If some lawmakers believe the female egg is "bestowed with all the rights of personhood," government should think the same of sperm, the resolution notes.
"[E]ach 'egg person' and each 'sperm person' should be deemed equal in the eyes of the government and be subject to the same laws and regulations as any other dependent minor and be protected against abuse, neglect or abandonment by the parent or guardian," according to the resolution.
"What's good for the gander is good for the goose," Walsh said.

How fantastic is this woman??
This the day after this misogynistic dinosaur

His picture makes my blog feel dirty ... and not in a good way

 called a birth control activist and law student a slut and said if she wanted contraception she should post a sex video on the internet. 
The same man who once requested Jenna Jameson send him all of her videos for "research purposes" and then called her a whore. 
Hmmm, Rush - you sure you didn't kill off any viable sperm cells during "research"??

Anywho, I do have some lovely garden pics to share but my camera's batteries died as I was trying to upload them, so I leave you Butterbean belly laughing her head off over a party blower.

What, you don't wear rain boots and jeans with your party dress??

You Know When ....

You know when your boss who has a PhD doesn't read an email that was sent to him?  And then something goes wrong because said boss did not read through that email?  And then somehow it becomes your fault for not marching into boss' office, email in hand, and demanding they listen carefully as you loudly read through email, stressing important points?  Yeah, that.
OK, focus on the positive - since it's so warm I planted radish, carrots, and dill yesterday, and my 3 rows of garlic are good and sprouted.  I pulled the wisps of Butterbean's hair up into pigtails today and they stuck straight out, she looked like Cindy Lou-Who.  Mooch said, Bean I love you even though you look ridiculous - let's start wishing for some real hair for you.  And it's Friday.  THANK THE BABY JEEBUS.