Have you seen my taste buds?

They've gone MIA - my taste buds, that is. This cold has knocked them right out of my mouth. I can feel the textures of what I'm eating, but the flavor is gone. Let me tell you, it kind of took the wind out of my Thanksgiving sails.

I'm not loving this holiday, what with all of the sickness and such.

Today, being Black Friday, was a day of conspicuous consumption. I went out and joined the post-festive throng, but I bought fairly modestly. I hit Gymboree when they were still having their 30% off sale, and got a bag brimming with clothes for Miss Peanut for nearly half-price, once I used my 20% coupon. I love a score like that! I have to still find something for my mother and my stepmother, but other than that, I'm all done my shopping. The WCM and I agreed yesterday that we didn't want our gifts wrapped. What's the point of adults giving each other wrapped gifts? It's just a pointless waste of paper and effort. Feh.

But that's all I did today, other than slapping together some turkey sandwiches and smashing them in the George Foreman grill. They would have been fantastic if I could have tasted them...

But, tomorrow? Tomorrow, I take Miss Peanut down to her grandmother's for a sleepover, and the WCM is taking me out to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra! And then? We're going out to dinner at a really neat Brazilian restaurant!

For years, this man has refused to go to any sort of cultural event. See, if you didn't have anything tangible to take away, then it wasn't worth spending money in his opinion. I was raised on what seemed like a never-ending series of cultural events - ballet, opera, museums, shows, recitals, culture, Culture, CULTCHAH!!!! - so it's been a quiet 20 years with the WCM. He's just now gotten around to realizing that sometimes you just don't need any more stuff and can just have a nice experience. Quite a reversal in his thinking.

So please, if you're of the prayerful bent, lift one up that I get my tastebuds back in time for the Brazilian Barbecue? Or swing a chicken for me. Or take the pin out of the voodoo doll's mouth!

Ah, Blessed Wednesday

It's a lovely quiet Wednesday in my house. There's nobody here but me and my dogs, and we're all vegging contentedly in the bedroom. I have tentative plans to bake some pies later, and possibly put together a pan of brownies and a small pumpkin cheesecake. Today is the warm-up for tomorrow's sybaritic feast.

Yes, I'm going to my brother-in-law's. To his credit, he hasn't poked me even once about the outcome of the Presidential election. This bodes well for our peaceable consumption of roasted fowl tomorrow. Happily, I'm not responsible for cooking the entire dinner - I just have to make dessert and a couple of side dishes - stuffing, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes. My BIL is doing the turkeys. His job gave him a 13 lb bird, and I got a 21-lb turkey for free at the grocery store. My grocery store (not the lovely one with the Starbucks - I had to give them up because their prices were a scoche to dear for my pocketbook - but the cheapie one with the best deals) has a program that they run around every big holiday where if you spend over a certain amount in a given amount of time, you get a free turkey/ham/whatever is the traditional meat for that holiday. Since I hit the market every week, I spent the right amount and got a free bird! (FREEBIRD!!! HAHAHAhahahahahaha... or not so much...) Since Thanksgiving is all about the leftovers for me, we're cooking both turkeys. We're going to have grilled turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey salad, turkey croquettes, and hot turkey sandwiches in gravy. Mmmmmm, tryptophan coma, here I come!

In other news, I've been sick as a dog for the last 2 days. No fever, but nasty sinuses, no voice to speak of, sore throat, and no appetite due to horrific post-nasal drip. Ew. It was bad enough on Monday for the WCM to actually nurture me! I had picked up Miss Peanut from her after-care, pulled out some beef stew that I'd defrosted that morning, and then come upstairs and laid down on the bed, not intending to sack completely out, but in reality, doing exactly that. When the WCM got home, he not only took my temperature, but went out and bought me medicine, and then, unbidden, made me a cup of lemon-ginger tea with honey. I know, I know, my expectations are ridiculously low if an unexpected cup of tea qualifies as a huge nurturing gesture...

Thankfully, it's been a quiet two sick days, though, because we've had parent-teacher conferences. I had four very quick and painless conferences, and one nightmare one. There's always one parent who wants to blame me for their child's poor performance, but this one? Her son failed spectacularly, with a 32 percent, and she wanted me to justify how I taught vocabulary. Um, 'scuse me? Grab some reality, along with a marker and some index cards and lemme explain about the use of flash cards, lady. Sheesh. When your kid fails because he hasn't turned in over half of the homework assignments or any of the projects that I've assigned, has failed or barely passed four of the five tests I've given, and shows no interest in my subject, my methods of teaching vocabulary are not the issue.

And now, I've decided to get back to the vegging. I'm going to do some online shopping in a bit, and cross everything off my Christmas list. Then, since I'm still in my jammies, I think I'll coddle myself a little and have a nap.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve, y'all!

Meme

1. When you buy a greetings card are the words or the picture more important to you?
Words.

2. What's your favourite kind of cake?
Cheesecake

3. Do you ever make gifts for people, if so what, or do you buy them?
I've made some - crafty stuff, like cross-stitch or jewelry.

4. What's your favourite holiday - i.e. Christmas?
Halloween

5. Are you going on holiday this year? If so, where?
Spring Break 2009 - Paris & London (chaperoning a school trip, if there are enough students - keep your fingers crossed!!)

6. What was the best party you've ever been to?
Brother-in-law's 50th birthday party - Renaissance theme

7. If you are married, describe your wedding. If not, what would your ideal wedding be like?
Inexpensive and unpretentious was what it was. Ideal, it was not ;-) I was only 19 when I was planning it, though, and I had to pay for it myself. The attendees should consider themselves lucky that they weren't eating Fritos right out of the bag in my mom's back yard.

8. What's the most romantic thing that's ever happened to you?
The WCM's marriage proposal, by far.

9. What's your favourite romantic song?
Slave to Love by Bryan Ferry

10. Which celebrity would you like a dream date with?
Johnny Depp

11. Which female celebrity do you find beautiful?
Angelina Jolie - I told the WCM the other day that I'd go gay for her in a heartbeat. He was intrigued ;-)

12. Which male celebrity do you think is attractive?
Oh, loads - Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, George Clooney... the list goes on and on and on...

13. If you could be a fictional character from a book who would you choose?
Claire Randall Fraser from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

14. If you could be in a television sit-com, which would you choose?
Absolutely Fabulous

15. Which character would you like to be?
Edina Monsoon, of course!

16. What's your favourite girl's name?
my daughter's name

17. What's your favourite boy's name?
Graham

18. What's your supermarket of choice?
Super G

19. What is your best character trait?
Patience

20. What is your worst habit?
Procrastination

Asstacular

Once upon a time, I had a pilonidal cyst. It was ridiculously uncomfortable, then downright agonizing. I went three rounds with this thing - once in 1988, once in 1996, and once in 1997. I haven't seen or heard from it since. I, of course, got proper medical care for it all three times, including antibiotics and a visit to a surgeon to have the damn thing lanced and packed. This, though, brought back memories

We were all sitting around the kitchen table watching this show one evening when Kelvin laughed and said to his brother "Hey, aren't you glad you don't have to squeeze his butt anymore?"

I was shaking, snorting, and crying with laughter last night while I was reading the whole story.

Ah, good times. Good times.

Not All There

Sometimes I have days where I'm not quite all there. This is one.

The best way to describe being in my head right now is to imagine yourself in a turbulent ocean, clinging to an inflatable dinghy. You may catch this wave or that, be borne forward a little while, but be sidetracked by another. You also never quite know when one big sneaky wave is going to crash upon you from behind and sweep you under. There are bits of flotsam and jetsam in the water, detritus from the last time I was caught in the undertow. I'm collecting pieces of it now, with the intention of making a fabulously abstract sculptural post with it later on.

Flotsam

A very Happy Birthday to my friend Melanie! Hope the iPod that you got for your birthday is working wonderfully. Mine isn't!!

The WCM and I were trying to get all of my music on my laptop from my iPod. In the end, we had to use floola, and I have the sinking suspicion that it's going to be a lengthy and plodding process of adding each song individually.

Speaking of the WCM, he's outside right now assembling a second-hand behemoth of a swing set for Miss Peanut. It looks like a bitch of a job, and I'm really happy to be a delicate flower who has no appreciable body mass behind her. Since I've become all small and such, the WCM doesn't expect me to be as physical as before. Ironic, really, since there's far less danger now that I'll keel over from exercise-induced hypertension. But then, irony, it is by far the predominant spice in my life.

Ah, yes. Once again with the combining of the physical and the irony - you know that lube? The one I spent so much time and embarrassment picking out? Haven't needed it. Mother Nature has provided.

Well, Mother Nature also provided a visit from my Aunt Flo. Have you seen these new "Always" pads? They look like the next best thing to sliced bread! I don't know about you, but I've never liked tampons. My friend Monica always referred to them as "Peter Cheaters." I've only ever worn them if I've had to go swimming during Aunt Flo's visit. I may be hypersensitive in this particular area, but I can't seem to forget about that thing. I feel it there. DO. NOT. WANT.


Jetsam

One of my coworkers just sent an email telling me (well, and a bunch of other people) that she'd lost her grandmother. I had to send her one back offering my condolences. I still miss my grandmother every damn day.

And I cried when I saw this, because I'm a big sap:



That's Obama and his grandmother, who passed away right before the election.

And the election tension continues at Peevish Place, from many quarters! While I still don't discuss it, the WCM can't seem to let it drop. It's one of the reasons that I've been "frumious" recently. I may be running away for Thanksgiving, since the family I'd be spending it with may behave like the WCM, and needle me with snide republican remarks.

I also recently pissed off a friend by making a comment on his blog - he's a very political guy, and very conservative as well. Let's just say that it upset my personal apple cart when he snapped at me, and I haven't felt quite easy with him since. I probably just shouldn't have commented at all - after all, that strategy serves me pretty well at home.

And home is where I am right now. I should probably clean it up some, but I'm still being inundated with boxes from the after-halloween internet sales. The WCM can't seem to resist the deep discounts on fake skeletons and giant radio-controlled spiders.

Treading Water

In case my dingy gets sunk, I've been reading a bunch recently. It seems to be my escape. It's the end of the marking period, I've got a ton to do, and I don't wanna!

Ok, let me stop procrasturbating and go accomplish some stuff.

Remember, "just keep swimming, just keep swimming!"

Mix carefully

The thing is, and I've said it before: I'm not a politically-minded person. I've got my issues and I vote with them. I'm happy with the outcome of yesterday's election.

Some in my household and in my circle of family and friends, are not so happy. Yes, I have a "mixed" marriage - the WCM is a Republican, and I am not. I am not one that says that birds of a feather necessarily have to flock together. I am more a variety is the spice of life kind of girl - and I enjoy my life spicy! Too much of the same thing can get bland, you know?

The last six months have been very tense at Peevish Place. I have managed to hold it together by simply refusing to discuss it. The only times I've strayed from that policy have been when directly provoked by the WCM's closest brother - possibly the most ardent Republican I've ever known. Believe me, it took A. LOT. of provocation to pull me out of my cone of silence, politics-wise, but it was what prompted my one and only post about politics. I certainly don't fault the WCM's brother for needling me. I should thank him for it, instead, for it made me look very deeply into the politics of all parties concerned. I found that all of my vague suspicions and intuitions were, actually, right on the money as far as my issues were concerned. So I voted with the full force of my convictions behind me.

This Thanksgiving holiday is going to be an interesting one, to say the least, as, traditionally, I spend it with the WCM's large, loud, Republican family. I daresay I shall be the only one not mooning into my cranberry sauce. It's said that elephants have long memories - I hope they hearken back to how they treated me when they learned of my Democrat status during the 2000 election, for it was not exactly kind.

We mix carefully in my family, but give us some credit - we mix.

Halloween Frightmares

There has been a lot of talk on the Weight Loss Surgery boards about Halloween Candy and the inherent evils thereof.

Pish posh, say I. And fiddlesticks, to boot.

I mainly roll my eyes at grown women (and to a lesser extent, grown men) who talk about candy like that. If they want to live their lives never tasting the glory of a Reese's cup again, then good for them - all the more for me, I say. What irritates me, though, is when they talk about completely depriving their children of candy. Oh, they say, my child never gets candy at home. We don't have cookies, chips, candy, or soda in the house ever. They have healthy fruit and whole grain snacks. They hear all the time from me how bad sugar is for them and how they should NOT eat it. Pardon me, but Get Real.

That shit gets on my nerves.

I understand the reasoning behind it - these are people that, like me, resorted to drastic measures to curb or cure their obesity. They don't want their children to suffer the same fate, naturally, so they eliminate all temptation from their homes. I get that, and I applaud the sentiment behind it. I don't want my Miss Peanut to have to cut out the majority of her stomach and reroute her guts, either.

That shit still gets on my nerves, because I want to scream at them that it won't work! Behavioral extremes rarely work. I should know - I grew up in a house like that. Sweets were rare - my tall, slender stepmother grew up constantly surrounded by them, and was a little chubby as a child. I've seen pictures - she was cute, and not at all heavy. Her family were what I call "pushers," though. If you didn't take seconds, you had to be feeling bad. You were sick, obviously, because you didn't want any more of the good food available. So my stepmother was probably a couple of pounds over where she should have been as a child. She was nowhere near obese. She, however, felt fat and phobic, so as a result, our sweets were severely limited. The only time we had cake, ice cream, or soda in the house was when it was somebody's birthday or a holiday. Even then, soda was rare. Cookies were limited to one a day, for dessert, after dinner. Halloween candy was severely rationed, and usually pitched by Christmastime, as it got old before we could eat it. Because I am a perverse creature by nature, I naturally rebelled, and ate all of the forbidden foods I could once I was able to purchase my own. Yeah, I developed "issues."

It didn't help that my mother, who was a stunningly beautiful woman, started telling me I was fat when I was seven years old. I have pictures. I wasn't fat. I was growing, and I'm built solid, like my father's family. My mother, raven-haired, ivory-skinned, fine-boned, and petite, was a delicate fairy to my sturdy gnome. I'm afraid I was a constant disappointment to her, rounded where she expected me to be slim, quiet when she expected me to be vivacious, clumsy where she expected me to be graceful. Our relationship has never really been mother-daughter, as my stepmother did the majority of the childrearing that I received. Even so, my mother's disappointment only reinforced my issues - even though I looked normal, because I wasn't slender, but instead sturdily built, I was fat.

So now that I have a daughter of my own, a normal-weight daughter, mind you, I am very careful not to forbid the candy and not to push it, either. I want her to learn how to live with it, and not to have to ban it from the house just to feel safe from it. I want her to know about moderation, and that no food is bad or good, but is all part of a balancing game that we play every day called "Healthy Nutrition." My daughter is all but a clone of me as a child - she's got the same big bones and chunky muscles that I had as a little girl. She's not a waif, and she'll never be a ballerina, but she will be healthy. She will have a positive body image. And as the Flying Spaghetti Monster is my witness, she will be allowed to eat her Halloween candy, as part of a balanced, healthy, realistic diet.

Just not before I've mined all the Reese's cups out of it. Motherhood has its privileges.