Tangled Thoughts

Thankful: 1

Christina

November 1, 2012

Today I am thankful for the cold weather.

I normally hate cold weather, and I still do. I just am thankful for it because it means its easier to get rid of the pesky little rats hanging out here. They only stay where there is water – and since it is frozen outside, they are venturing out further and finally starting to run into our traps.

Plus cold weather means crunching ice puddles:

“The sound of barely frozen puddles cracking when you step on them.” – Neil Pasricha

Crisp breezes chip at your cheeks as you shiver and slide to school. Blades of grass are stiff with frosted dew on their tips, your breath puffs in cold clouds in front of you, and little puddles on the sidewalk get that thin film of ice across the tops, just waiting for you to do what you gotta do.

Yes, when you’re slip-shuffling half asleep, buried under your backpack, there’s just something sweet about stomping those frozen puddles and filling the still and quiet walk with a nice crisp CRACK.

After you do the deed, you trudge on against the biting wind with an extra spring in your step and twinkle in your eye, because came across the frozen puddle first and you busted it up good.

Let’s face it: that crack is so permanent, so satisfying, and so completely

AWESOME!

The Pickle Family

Christina

2 comments

November 1, 2012

Meet Mr Pickle.

Mr Pickle was born one night while I was babysitting. With 20 minutes to go before the parents got home, and three overly tired boys who were excited from getting to stay up late, and wanted only to throw couch cushions and drawn on the floor with markers – I was desperate to keep them somewhat calm so it didn’t sound like a nut house when their parents came home.

“This is Mr Pickle.” I started. I drew an oddly shaped head. Silence fell over the 6 year old. “He has little eyes and a BIG beard. He is going under disguise” I continued. A giggle erupted from the 4 year old, and the car he was about to launch stopped mid air. “Mr Pickle has a big smile, with only a few teeth. Because he ate too many pickles!” more laughter, then the attempts to help.

Mr Pickle sported two beards – one in his mouth, “Perhaps he has a hairy tongue?” I offered. The two year old scribbled something on his face. “HAIR! He has hair!” “NO HES BALD!” A happy compromise was met with two ‘tuffs on each side. Two ears. Some glasses, and a forgotten nose.

As the boys set off to make their own version of Mr Pickle, I turned my paper over.

“Whos THAT gonna be!” the 6 year old drilled me, while drawing “Mr Blueberry and Mrs Pickle.”

“This is going to be….” and I drew a giant circle. “Mr…Pumpkin.” Laughter erupted again, and more suggestions and offers to help.

In the end Mr Pumpkin, it turns out, was a very embarrassed pumpkin (as a side note – try explaining the word embarrassed to a 4 year old) who turned a deep shade of red and considered going undercover as a tomato. Mr Pumpkin sported a toothy smile, a giant nose, and a small crown of hair on the tip of his head. He also has a monocle. He has a very thin mustache, bushy eyebrows and tennis ball eyes.

“Mrs Football”

There were other characters. Mr Blueberry, Mrs Football (who started out as Mr Football, but then wanted long hair, ear rings, and make up, and it just worked better to call it…Mrs Football.) We had multiple versions of Mr Pickle, who seemed to be the most popular of the group.

And just when I had run out of steam and stories (about how the pickle family met, and how mr pumpkin was related, and what the word embarrassed meant) the car pulled into the driveway and I quickly gathered up the drawings – not because I was embarrassed to leave them behind (or was worried I didn’t spell Pickle right) but because I thought they were so funny, and too good to throw away.

…and we all have that one “Pickle” in our family.

Happy Halloween!

Christina

3 comments

October 31, 2012

I think the most creative costume I ever came up with was a box. Saying that now, it doesn’t seem very creative at all. But I worked hard all day trying to perfect my box costume. I had a giant box that went over my body, and a smaller box over my head. I was originally going to have box legs and arms but after not being able to stand without toppling over, I ditched that idea and went with brown jeans and a brown shirt. I think it was my favorite because as I walked down the street being guided by what I believe was my angel sister – no one could see me, but I could see them. At one door – a little girl opened the door and squealed “MOMMY! There is a BOX at the door!” I smiled. But she couldn’t see me.

The only other costumes I remember were those that we wore year after year. Depending on age/size we were usually a Pilgrim, angel, cat, or rabbit. Or, a box.

Im sure you can find the two pilgrims (Amanda and a friend) on the couch while the animals (donkey, tiger, cat (me!) pig and dog) gathered on the floor.

The pilgrim was a favorite because it meant wearing one of moms old school dresses, it was sort of a right of passage – you were now old enough to wear moms school dress! It was handled with great care. And usually paired up with a bonnet. I guess we assumed mom was a pilgrim in her days. And she pilgrims wore bonnets. One year someone called me “Little bo peep” and asked where my sheep were. I was mortified.

Not exactly angel material.

The angel was a bit harder to pull off, and not just because I was far from being an angel. There were big wings that got stuck on and in everything. Plus the halo that made you twice your size and the fact that you wore a dress. I really didn’t like wearing a dress on Halloween because it restricted your movement. As if a box didn’t.

Check our her candy stash! She would always hide it. Then get mad if I ate it. Not sure how she kept track of it all!

I think the favorite was the cat costume. We wore that costume until it was probably illegal. It was simply a giant black T-shirt of dads, with a black tail sewed to the back. It was topped off with a black hat that had little ears on the top. And that was it. But it meant getting to wear make up. Mom would pull out her make up bag and apply the whiskers, the nose, and if you were lucky – the lipstick, because we all know cats wear lipstick.

Look! Its little me!

The rabbit was another favorite – mostly because of the make up I think.

This is JD’s (my nephew) first Halloween, and he pulled off his very own costume without any help from his mom or dad!

He is going as “Mr Messy Beard the Pirate”…and a cute one at that!

I think he steals the cake (or cookie!) on any costume – past and present!

Happy First Halloween Mr JD!

You Capture: Smile

Christina

5 comments

October 22, 2012

I finally made those cookies. They were good. But I would do a few things differently. And as always, I have stories to go with it. Maybe later this week I will get around to blogging about my midnight cookie episode.

“Keep smiling – it makes people wonder what you’ve been up to.”

Yoshi loves her friends. This is Sassy, she came in a few times this week and they always start their play time out with a big hug (and smiles). Yoshi loves hugs.

“There are over 7 billion people on earth and you’re going to let 1 person ruin your day?”

This is Honey, she spent the week with us, and came by to visit a few times too.

Yoshi makes Honey smile.

“I smile because I have no idea whats going on.”

The feeling is apparently mutual, because Honey makes Yoshi smile too.

“Smile like a monkey with a new banana.”

Silly pup.

“If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.”

“I smile because you’re my sister, I laugh because there is nothing you can do about it.”

Just Because I Love you (mostest)

Christina

1 comment

October 20, 2012

I feel as though I owe a tribute to someone today. To someone who puts up with me on the worse days, and listens to me rant and rave about things that make absolutely no sense. She also patiently continues to try and teach me about numbers – something that makes perfect sense to her, and absolutely no sense to me. But she tries, day in and day out – drawing pictures, making graphs, and attempting to teach the un-teachable. She doesn’t even roll her eyes when I get it all wrong (numbers and other such) again (and again) and again.

Someone who, during these past 22 years of my life – has yet to give up on anyone that is important. But doesn’t bother to waste her time on things that really don’t matter. I think life would be so much simpler if I could just realize that the things she spends her time on – are IMPORTANT and not wastes of time. Sometimes I am in too much of a hurry and roll my eyes at her idea. I rush by the good buys in the store and by the time I realize they actually WERE a good deal? They are gone. Sorry mom. I get annoyed. A lot. And since she is the one person I spend the most time around – shes the one that gets the brunt of it all.

Yet in all that, she has yet to toss in the towel. She continues to try to make me smile (and succeeds) and give me hugs – even though 99% of the time I push her away because shes interrupting me, or hugging me when I don’t WANT A HUG! And then of course I feel guilty because well, its mom, and shes hugging me, and dammit that was really rude to push her hug away – because moms hugs just make everything better, right?

I get frustrated too often. And annoyed, too much. Angry. And need alone time too. I send her off to find something else to do, get frustrated when she doesn’t see what I see, or doesn’t understand what I do. But then I have to stop and think about it – its just what makes life so interesting. We all understand something different. She knows numbers, and I don’t. She tries to teach me numbers, and they refuse to like me. But she doesn’t get upset, like I do.

So today, on a random day in October, I just want to say – I love you mom. I love you MOSTEST. No matter how hard you try to convince me that it isn’t true, and you love me mostest.

Thanks for loving me, and putting up with me. And all my nonsense.

– Favorite daughter, Chir