'Tis the Season

1st - Mom Bragging:
Giant, giant, Layout fly away.  Pretty!  Into the pit, but it looks like it won't be long until she sticks it.

1st middle school report card.  All A's, with a couple of +'s.  My kid ROCKS!

OK.  I LOVE Halloween.  I have 2 huge boxes of Decorations, as compared to one large and one small for Christmas, and 1 large for Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentines, 4th of July, St. Paddy's combined.  I LOVE this time of year.  This year I did basically nothing to get ready for tonight.  We hardly ever get trick or treaters, the girl child is going to a birthday/Halloween party, and we have a friend in from out of town.  I did make a few batches of Witchy Fingers, sort of a Halloween tradition around here, but I did not decorate.  This morning we have the neighborhood coming over for Brunch and pumpkin carving.  
I made "monster quiche,"  this is me chaneling "Betty," Martha Stewrat's creative minded, but delivery challenged twin.  I also have difficulty with computers and images.  So the pictures are popping up all over the page.
It is odd that the girl-child is not going to be with me for trick-or-treating.  And this is probably the last time she will even go.  Not ready for the growing up part.  I'm sort of languishing in "Mommy Mode"  best suited for toddlers and small children.  I need to start gearing up for "guidance goddess."  I trust that she has the base morals for good decisions, now I need to stay involved enough to guide her towards them, instead of protecting her from the opportunity to choose.  Ugh - "all knowing, total control Mommy"  is WAY easier.  
The fuzzy girl's boyfriend is visiting.  He is such a handsome man, and my house is total dog chaos.  They are in the "get re-acquainted" phase of the visit.  Sort of ignoring each other, but acutely aware of what the other one is doing, who is getting more attention, etc.  Even the cat, Ashe, is happy to have Jaxon around.  Funny - when other dogs visit, he hides, when Jaxon is here he rubs and pets on him like he is one of our dogs.


 

Scared Scaly

My last post was whiny.  I'd love to say it was out of character for me - but, well, I can be whiny.  I ate.  I am now significantly less cranky.

It really is fall now.  no foolin.'  Tomorrow photo girl and I plan to go to Myakka state park and brave the big scaly critters for our outdoorsy pleasure.   This is the one place I have ever been that the gators sort of freak me out.  It is my favorite place to take my northern relatives.  I once saw a 6 foot alligator being eaten by a much larger gator at this park.  I don't know what it is about Myakka, but there are LOTS of alligators.  They are everywhere.  Oddly, being on the river with them while gliding by (or over) them in a canoe does not bother me, but I do not like walking the trails near the river.  They are fast on land, faster than me, by a long shot. 

I will now impart a piece of wisdom that I like to keep close.  Mainly because I gained this knowledge through experience.  Painfully embarrassing, "what was I thinking," kind of experience.

NEVER WHACK AN ALLIGATOR

There.  Now you know.  Maybe the single most important piece of advice you ever gain from me.  "Of course," you think, "why would anyone do that?"  Well - here's the deal. 

My ex (husband, not photo girl's dad, way before him, when I was very young, and obviously, very stupid), and I went to Myakka to canoe.  Lots of big, fat lazy alligators sunning themselves in the autumn heat.  None of them moved, it was like watching koalas at the zoo.  We rowed up to a grassy hummock, covered by giant, lazy alligator hide.  His back was to me, nose in the water on the other side of the grassy little island, sort of in the way for turning the canoe around.   So, I'm thinking, that if I nudge him, he will probably slip into the water (forward) and we can be on our way.  And besides, how fast can they be?  So I nudged him.  Well, OK, I whacked him.

And things started moving.  I'm screaming "ROW" trying to force the canoe backwards.  These HUGE, SNAGGLEY TEETH, are framing all sides of the white open Maw of Death that I am staring into. The 'gators head comes down (and no, I have no idea how the head got UP, did I mention fast?) and the gator thumps its chin on the front of the canoe. I am thankful that we were pretty experienced canoeists.  We backed up fast enough that the alligator did not end up in the canoe for a snack, we managed to not tip the very rocky canoe that had been smacked at the tip by 1/2 a ton of 'gator.  And I did not lose any digits or body mass.  All in all a successful day of adrenalin and survival.

And tomorrow I take the daughter.  She's pretty smart - it would probably never cross her mind that whacking a gator is a good idea.  Besides, she knows this story.  Tells it more than I do.  Somehow, she is amused by it.

 

Stuff and Things

This week has been grueling at work.  My team/area is super slow.  To keep busy I have been running all over the county covering for other people.  Lots more miles on my car, much more frustration, since I get people last minute, and have to call on my way out.  I am a creature of habit, and driving outside of my box (it is a tiny box) is difficult for me.  I also don't like feeling like I am not "pulling my weight."  Our new boss is good, and is kind of kickin' butt in ways that are needed.  I am VERY not used to feeling like my butt needs kicking.  I do my job, I do it well, I mind my own business.  I only rattle cages and stir piles when the s**t effects me directly.

My area is not busy.  This is not my fault, marketing is not my job - a good thing, 'cause I kind of suck at it.  I am not used to doing busy work, and sitting in a noisy office full of distractions doing chart review is brutal.  I am in no way detail oriented.  At least not with paperwork.  I have talents (and 2 inservices that I am supossed to prepare).  I can't be home working on those inservices and have it count as productive time.  We do not have computer or work space at the office, so I am doing the research/write-up on my own time, and frantically scrambling around looking for anything that keeps me seeing patients and out of the office on company time.  It is back to that "I'll work hard, but I don't like working inefficiently" thing.  It sort of burns my britches to be spending home time doing work stuff when I am excessively slow at work and could do it on their time.

Wow - did not plan on this being a massive bitch session. Hopefully I will get stuff done and post the funny happy stuff that makes up the majority of my world tomorrow.


 

A Noble Endeavor

Ok - I love Barak Obama. He is a visionary, a statesman, a forthright man with a true sense of patriotism. If he doesn't fall apart under the political storm, he has the potential to be truly one of the greats. Perhaps the most progressive president in my life time. To clarify progressive - not the new buzz word meaning tree-hugging liberal - progressive as in "can move the country forward."

But, the Nobel Peace Prize? Please. If his programs work. If any of them work. He may be a candidate. But now? This is supposed to be a celebration of accomplishment, not potential. Mother Theresa. Ghandi. Jimmy Carter (past president Jimmy Carter, a much more effective man than President Jimmy Carter). Martin Luther King. Mikhail Gorbachev - after the split of the Soviet Union.

On to my favorite political subject:

Anyone with access to AARP needs to read what they have to say about Health Care reform. This is one agency that I trust has only one political agenda - to protect the rights and future of older Americans. Lately they have been spending a lot of page space debunking the media schlock that gets pumped around about health care reform.

One editorial highlighted the similarities between the current proposal and the Nixon initiative. Ted Kennedy was absolutely opposed, but later regretted having not crossed party lines to support it. Now, essentially the same plan is being proposed by the Dems, and Republicans are screaming "Death Squad" and rampant government spending.

Which - with a non AARP source (the United Press) - the bill being proposed in the senate, which is probably watered down and won't make anyone happy, has just made it out of the finance community. It will help decrease the deficit. WHAT!?! It will insure 94% of Americans. It will take a VERY hard line on fraud, waste and abuse. Which may put my job in jeopardy. Home Health is a notorious area of waste and abuse. The problem with the government stepping in, it usually means more documentation, less staff. More "paper" accountability - but we'll see, they may have some better way of monitoring things.

Whatever - something needs to change, and now would be a really good time to put politics aside and make stuff happen. It is very difficult to change a stagnate system, but once the rock starts rolling, things can be tweaked to work, it is easier to direct a moving object than a stationary object, as long as the change happens slowly, carefully.

Oh - and if he pulls off Health Care reform in the US - I still don't think that is enough to be deserving of the Nobel Prize. If he can engineer peace in the Middle East (not really our business, but we keep jumping into the thick of it, until it is now REALLY our business), or if he can get the global political community to work together to reduce global warming, or negotiate commitments to stop genocide, child sex trafficking, female mutilations or something throughout the world, then Yeah - give him the prize.

Snippets

Somewhere in the Tampa Bay area a lady was attacked by Raccoons.  I'm sure it was very tragic for her.  I hope she recovers.  But C'mon - it is a little funny.  Of course the media is raging about out of control, dangerous animals.  They could play "responsible media" and post little public service announcements about securing garbage, not feeding your cats outside, keeping your neighborhood/home free of delicious smelling raccoon treats.  Instead, nature is something best enjoyed in zoos and on Discovery Channel, not something to share your neighborhood with.  Let's not remember that only a few years ago this was the 'coons 'hood.  They are just trying to adapt.

Gym Girl is moving into something called "prep-opt."  This is new for our gym, sort of like AAU's modified optionals, but run by the USAG.  Bottom line, she is moving up, and quickly, there is much more parental involvement, decision making and cost.  Luckily she is decisive.  She chose "old Time Rock and Roll" for her floor music.  Make's a momma proud.  From now on gymnastics meets will be FUN, even for me.  No more watching 45 girls doing exactly the same thing over and over.  No more listening to some horrible, janglie tune 45x/meet, 30x/practice.  I hope I don't start hating old rock tunes.

I have discovered that I am perhaps not as easy to get along with as I thought, and there are people that I have a difficult time working with.  And I cannot always avoid working with those that irritate me.  And I have a weird, compulsive "brutally honest" gene that can get me into  uhhhh situations.  I don't gossip, will not bitch about people and things, but if someone asks - and I mean someone in a position to possibly help the situation, or at least someone that should be aware - I kind of go into dump mode.  Seriously, if you don't want my opinion, don't ask me. Don't open that gate if you don't want the animals loose.  I won't volunteer.

We should have "Wild Child" Calendars this week.  Photo Girl was too sick to go proof them with me.  I OK'd them - hope she is happy.   

Got to spend wonderful quality time with an old friend this week.  Good food, fun conversation.  Peanut Butter Pie at Ocean Prime maybe the single most satisfying oral experience of my life.  Seriously.  Prepare to spend a fortune, and only eat 1/2 of it.

So. . . . . .
My week in a nutshell - don't feed it to the raccoons.

Falling

It is finally here.  Yeah - I know, the first day of Autumn was last week sometime, and facebook posts from my Northern friends have led me to believe that it has been hovering for a while.  I live in Florida.  Fall does not happen by calendar, and sometimes it happens so subtly that you will miss it if you aren't paying attention.  But I pay attention.  It is my favorite season, and I am not going to miss it by not getting up early enough to feel that coolness in the morning that burns off when the sun hits it.

Around here, "Fall" means pumpkin.  Pumpkin muffins, with cream cheese.  Pumpkin pancakes (with caramel syrup if I am really ambitious).  Pumpkin cheesecake.  Hot spiced Pumpkin milk.  My neighbors start on me early - letting me know when the calendar says it is fall.  Calling me if they get up early enough to feel some coolness in the air.  But I have to FEEL it.  Wednesday it showed up.  Boom.  I wore  long sleeve shirt to walk the dogs, then hurried home to make muffins.  Called the neighbor boy and told him to stop by the house before school - he knows what that means, I did not even have to tell him why.

But there has been pumpkin drama.  I usually have cans in the pantry (I am NOT a purist, real pumpkin is too hard), but last week I went to check, 'cause I knew it was close, and we were completely out.  None of my local Publix markets carried it, something about two years of bad crops, seasonal item, no hold over from last year, will have some the middle of October.  WHAT!?!?!?!  But it is coming!  I feel it!  What if it gets here and I don't have any pumpkin?  Darling husband to the rescue - he bought Wal Mart's last 2 cans.  Big cans.  

Yay - one batch of muffins, and pancakes for breakfast.  Except, sometimes I don't pay attention.  For one - he got pumpkin pie mix, which is a much different animal.  While reading the recipe, which I only do for inexact ratio estimates, I mistakenly thought it said 1 3/4 cup sugar, which I reduced in my head because of the pie mix, then doubled to make more muffins.  Except that it was supposed to be 1 and 3/4 cups FLOUR, and I had already mixed in the sugar.  So - no pancakes, a quadruple batch of muffins.  Completely gone by Thursday.

The good news is Sweet Bay has pumpkin,  bought 8 cans and did not clean them out.  Plus - as a bonus, the people at the deli counter were not stupid.   Publix may have a run for its money with me - did I just say that?  I have shopped no where else for like 15 years.  Fall is about change.  But I'm not sure I'm ready to change grocery stores, it is not like changing your socks (which I do in the fall). Publix needs to step up, and hire people that know what Havarti cheese is, and can cut a block of American with a real knife instead of running it through the thick setting of the slicer.

 

Muffacino

The Gym Girls - collectively - not just mine, can talk me into just about anything.  They work hard.  They are young, innovative, fresh.  And - they love it when I bake.  Ok, it is a bit of an ego-boost to have pre-teens and teens LIKE something created by an adult.  If you have one, or are around them, or remember what they are like, you will realize that they are a tough audience.  Not easily impressed.

So when they compliment me  (:-), then start pouring out all the endless possibilities that their young minds can dream up; well, I do my best to make it happen.  Last week it was cookies and cream muffins.  Vanilla muffins, crunched up Oreo cookies, sweetened cream cheese filling.  They debated the pros and cons of the filling, but over all a hit.  For the record, I started making muffins for the car-pool girls when they needed healthy snacks on the way to gym, and my daughter had gone primarily vegetarian.  These muffins were packed with calories and tons of soy, nut and dairy based proteins crammed into the crevices.  Banana is the favorite, with pumpkin cream cheese (a seasonal item) running a close second.

There is nothing remotely healthy about the latest trend in muffining.  They are eliminated from cupcake status merely by the lack of frosting.  But they LOVE them. And I make them.  maybe they love ME.  In my delusional attempt to stay within the favor of the adolescents in my life - I am driven by taste, texture and their creative palates.  The Mufficino has been floating around in the coversation for weeks.  Coffee (yes with caffeine - dare I tell their parents?), chocolate, swirls of creamy vanilla.  MochaMufficino.

Last night was the attempt.  Today the judgment.  
Vanilla muffin batter (heavy on the sugar, I use a particularly fluffy recipe), divided into thirds,  instant coffee in one, baker's cocoa in another, equal parts in the muffin cups, swirl with a skewer - bake to perfection.  Sweet, Sweet Success.  They DO love me.