Spring is awesome

I love spring! It's my favorite time of year. I love watching the plants get green. I love watching my roses bud and eventually bloom. I love planting my little urban garden. I love it all.

This year, Not-So-Ex is having a hard time reigning me in when it comes to the garden. I have a deep love of fruit trees, so when I found out there were all these dwarf trees I could plant in pots and bring in during winter, I was soooooo psyched. The fact that I killed my first one, a dwarf key lime tree, didn't even damper my excitement. So this year I'm gonna try a dwarf key lime, lemon, pomegranate, and blueberries (which I've tried before but Jake ate the plants before I could even pot them). And I just found a dwarf apple tree in a catalogue over the weekend that must be mine!

But anyway, I love the freshness of this season! Once I get stuff planted, I'll make sure to post pics frequently! Especially once my roses start to bloom! God they're gorgeous.

Throwback Monday

So I'm sitting in my office on a Monday feeling very old school. I cut myself some bangs over the weekend, and the new fringe, especially when paired with my new "Flashdance" shirt (only reminds me of Flashdance cause I can't seem to keep it up on my shoulders) makes me feel very 80s. And I guess that's a good thing since the 80s are all the rage these days.

I went to the movies with the fam yesterday and saw Clash of the Titans. When the original was big, anything referencing "the gods" was probably not allowed in my home, so I never saw the full original. Not-So-Ex was a huge fan, and I had seen bits and pieces, but the material wasn't as familiar to me as it was to most. It was a fun movie. And the popcorn was good. That's pretty much all I ask for.

The one thing I found funny was that almost every preview was for a new remake of an 80s movie. In general, I see this as a bad, BAD thing. I mean it's only a matter of time until Miley Cyrus is starring in a "re-imagination" of Pretty in Pink (OH the horror). Is Hollywood really out of good stories (hell I'll even take mediocre ones)?

But I have to make one exception here. One of the previews was for the new, silver-screen version of A-Team. When this preview came on, the 10 yr old fangirl in me shrieked in excitement. I started whispering in my daughter's ear on one side of me and then my son on the other side to convince them that this was a definite must-see. While both gave me a brief "you're such a geek" look, they both agreed.

But anyway, it's time to get the flashback over with. I've got grants to approve and a film to plan. Hollywood may be out of tales to tell, but I'm not!

It's so easy to fall back...

So yesterday I got a surprising email from my mom about my daughter. It basically said that her behavior had gotten out of hand and that she was really concerned that something was wrong.

Let me give the background here. I've talked about her Aspergers, and she has other issues as well, but her treatment has been working spectacularly for about 2 years now. Now before the treatment, she was completely unable to control her temper, her behavior, or her general emotions. She was often cruel and, at times, abusive to the people around her. And, when she would hurt others, she often was equally abusive to herself. She was hurting and anyone that came in contact with her was hurting. It was absolutely the worst experience I've ever been through.

When the email came yesterday, I panicked. What could we do? Who could we call? How could we insure that this wasn't history beginning to repeat itself?

In the end, it turned out to be a misunderstanding. But it made me think about how hard it is to believe the best sometimes. I'm an optimist by nature, but, at times, I've found myself beaten down to the point that it becomes hard to believe anything but the very worst. And that's just the beginning of a vicious cycle.

But I do have to admit that, after being faced with that fear and seeing the sun come out again, it made me appreciate today. And maybe it's a reminder that I needed. Maybe I need to make sure I remember that my worst day today is far, far better than my best day in years past.

So, for today at least, I do remember. And I'm fully aware of the lightness of my load today. And I am so, so thankful for that lightening.

Some late good news

So the lovely (if ornery) Lucy went back to the vet the other day and has a clean bill of health. That's right, our stubborn little redhead beat Parvo. And, when I'm not busy cleaning up after her, I'm totally thrilled.

And, while we're on the dogger thread, this weekend is the big fundraiser for the local animal shelter, the Fur Ball (I seriously couldn't make that name up). I'm actually psyched about it. Not-So-Ex and I will be providing a little food for the event and then look forward to taking part in some of the silent auctions and such. I'm sure a good time will be had by all and, hopefully, it'll provide the funds to care for a ton more dogs and cats.

Like most West Virginians, I have to admit to being just a bit off focus today. I keep waiting for news, hoping for the best but prepared for the worst. But I must say that I'm very proud of the way we've responded to the tragedy. We're a very loving people, really, although I expect Don Blankenship won't be one of the ones benefiting from that. But, in all honesty, I think he's benefited enough from us.

What year is it again Mr. Blankenship?

I was under the impression that we are living in the year 2010, but today's headlines seem more appropriate for 50-100 years ago.

It was through facebook that I became aware of what happened and, as it unfolded, I stayed glued to my iPhone. Despite being born and raised in rural West Virginia, I have no relatives that work in the mines (although my family is firmly tied to the equally dangerous and exploitative chemical plants). But a lot of my friends do. So far I know of one friend that lost a part of their family but, as the names start to be made public, I'm sure there will be more.

In a little while, I'll have to make a call I've been putting off and check on the various members of the White family. There were only a few members of the "family" (I put quotes because I am including the ones that may not be blood but are hangers on) that were miners and I don't believe any of them worked at this particular mine, but I'll still call and check.

While I have deep sadness for the families and communities that lost so many, I have to say that my overriding emotion this morning is anger. This mine was not safe and, sadly, we didn't know until too late. Mr. Blankenship, the blood of 25 fathers, brothers, sons, husbands, and maybe even some wives and mothers is on your hands. I would suspect the stain from that amount of blood will be pretty hard to wash out, no matter how much money you accumulate or how many judges you own. You should be ashamed.

This one's for my Peeps...

So we had a lovely Easter weekend. The Easter Bunny came through and left plenty of treats for all the kiddos (ever the four-legged ones), which means it was a good year. I will always remember the one year when my daughter was in big trouble and received nothing but school supplies from the Easter Bunny. Good times, good times.

But anyway, one of the best things about the weekend is that I was able to do some baking again. And everything I made had a theme. They were all about Peeps.

First off, there's the easiest recipe ever. Take some Peeps, line them up on a cookie sheet covered with non-stick foil, and bake them at 300 for 4 minutes. They are so freakin' good. The bottom gets all crunchy and the rest is just soft, gooey marshmallow.

Next come the S'meeps. These are almost as simple as the baked Peeps but are super messy and equally yummy. Take graham crackers and break them in half, then put a few pieces of Hershey's chocolate bar on them, and lay a Peep on top.

Bake at 300 for about 5 minutes or so (until the Peeps get puffy),

take them out, and put a graham cracker half on top. Squish them carefully (like I said... messy) and eat em up!

Last, but definitely not least, were my S'meeps cupcakes. I used my standard S'mores Cupcake recipe but, instead of putting marshmallow creme on top, I put a little chocolate frosting and then stuck a Peep on top.

Once we got to the in-laws' to eat, we used a torch and toasted the Peeps. The result was really, really good, not to mention the whole uniqueness thing. But it was definitely a recipe I'll do again.

OWWWW

So I didn't work yesterday because all the grass cutting going on around my place caused some hard-core sniffling, sneezing and sore throat. I knew that today, since it's Good Friday, I would be the only sad soul from my group in the office so I definitely needed to show up. Luckily I was feeling mostly better this morning so that shouldn't have been such a task.

Shouldn't have been anyway.

I was finishing getting dressed (brushing my hair to be specific) when I felt something weird happen with my back and then a sudden pain. And the pain hasn't stopped.

I did make it to work, although I look about as good as I feel. And, since my back was in such pain, I'm wearing flip-flops, the only shoes I could slip on without having to bend down.

Oh and once I got to work, I heard one of the secretaries asking some other people if they had ever had chicken pox since she had her daughter with her for a little while until she could get her to the doc to verify that she did indeed have chicken pox. Never had them. I've been vaccinated, so I should be ok, but I hightailed it to my office at the other end of the hall anyway.

Anyway, I just loaded up on tylenol so here's hoping today holds less pain and more good stuff as the day goes on.