the next 5k ...

tonight at 11:59. seriously. well, because if it were at midnight it'd be Saturday, right?

Husband is running in the 17th Annual EvaBank 5k Midnight Run. And after the run: pizza, drinks and entertainment. how about cots? can we get cots? It's supposed to be a pretty big event. There were well over 400 runners last year. That might not seem like a lot if you've ever seen the Boston or New York Marathons, but it's a lot for me to see around here.

It'll be fun and exciting and hopefully the kids will sleep in the double stroller most, if not, all the time. Yes, I'm going to be the mom taking her kids out at midnight. I'm pretty fortunate that while my kids make their own schedules, they are not slaves to them. they adapt well and will get a little extra sleep Saturday and all will be well again.

We've been a little lax about training to past two weeks because Husband's schedule has been more full than usual. I'm not worried he'll have a bad run. I'm more worried that he'll be exhausted before he even gets started. mid evening naps for the whole family? that would be nice.

results tomorrow.

the first of many: a busy day of blogging.

I finished reading _The Lord of the Flies_ last night. and I've decided that because I don't want to include any spoilers I'm not going to really talk much about the plot. Well, can I talk much about the characters? eh, not without giving away more than you can get on the back cover. now my "reviews" are going to be very bare bones, hopefully just enough to get you interested enough to make you go to your book shelf, public library or book store.

I first read this book in high school and there was one part at the end that was in the back of my head the entire time I was reading the book. but there was a completely separate instance before it that I totally forgot about. This really is such a great book. with the themes, metaphors and the fact that it's an allegory. It's easy to read and easy to follow. wonderfully written.

I'd say the part that bothers me the most about the entire book, is surprising. The boys are on the island because the survived an airplane crash (that killed all the adults) but the plane is NEVER mentioned again. seriously. They never returned to the wreckage to look for supplies or shelter. I would've at least liked a sentence that said something like, "the plane was reduced to thousands of little pieces, yet these boys survived, but will they survive themselves?" well, maybe not that sentence because it sounds more like the tag line for a movie than something William Golding would've written. how about, "and the wreckage was drug out to sea?" yes. I could live with that.

Anyway. My two favorite quotes are both on the same page. Ralph, Jack and Simon are exploring the island.

• He wanted to explain how people were never quite what you thought they were.
• They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate.

To me, the most interesting thing about this book is that is was written in response to _Coral Island_ a similar story where 3 boys are shipwrecked on an island. so now I want to find and read _Coral Island_.

Next, I'm reading _A Separate Peace_ I had to read it in ninth or tenth great for Honors English and loved it.

wordless wednesday: the fun single girl

Food Day Friday - For Husband

Mint Tea. Husband loves it. L-O-VES it.

I'm not much of a (sweet) tea person. unless it's a jumbo sweet tea with extra lemon from J&R's (the red building beside the Citgo) or mint tea from Nabeel's. I'd never even made sweet tea before I met Husband. And actually the first time he made sweet tea for me, it was so sweet I had to water my glass down with lemon Gatorade.

He loves sweet tea and can drink a pitcher in two days. When the Shapachs came to visit earlier this summer, we decided to eat Greek. Husband grilled Greek burgers and I made hummus and tzatziki. and I picked up some fresh mint for mint tea. Husband has been hooked ever since. (and I like mint tea better because I use 1/3 cup less sugar per pitcher and Husband doesn't seem to notice)

so without further adieu, Mint Tea:

what you need:

• 2 liter pitcher
• fresh mint
• tea bag (brand of your choice. I use Lipton because I always seem to have a coupon for it. I use 1 family sized bag or 9 little bags when we don't have family bags - bonus tip: when I have to use little bags I tape the strings together so they are all connected and not swimming around freely)
• sugar (1 cup or to taste)
• water (2 liters)
• pot

fill pot with 2 liters of water and cover on high

while the water is coming to a boil, add mint leaves to the empty pitcher. I use about a dozen depending on the size of the leaves.

next add the sugar. I use 1 cup when making mint tea and 1 and 1/3 cup when I'm making sweet tea. Husband likes it so sweet I could barf. now just wait for the water to boil.

after water is boiling, turn off heat and add the tea bag(s) to the water. wait 3 to 5 minutes to steep. I usually forget the pot by this point and sometimes it has steeped for 30 minutes to an hour.

I always squeeze the tea bag to get the last extra bit of flavor. before I thought to use the lemon squeezer, I just used a spoon to press the bag against the side of the pitcher. you can either wait for the tea to cool further or go ahead and pour it hot (hot is better for the sugar to dissolve)

finished, after a stir to dissolve all the sugar. refrigerate and enjoy. and when the leaves make it into a glass, feel free to eat them. or not.

it's good stuff. much like a mint julip without the bourbon. to which some would say, "what's the point of that?"

The Great Onesie Cutoff of August 2009

Son is growing. but longer than wider it seems. his onesies (that he only ever wears when we're leaving the house) are too short. I had a few options.

• pack them away and get out the 6 month clothes. but some of these onesies he hasn't even worn yet, so that seems like a waste of good clothes.
• onesie extenders but I didn't want to spend any extra money to make Son's clothes fit longer
• cut them off and make t-shirts. ding ding ding. we have a winner. t-shirts are easier anyway, when it comes to diaper changes.

All of Son's onesie bottoms. Does anyone have a crafty idea of something to do with these? I hate to toss them, but I haven't thought of anything yet. Does anyone want them?

Now, they've been cut off. I have a few more options.

• don't do anything to them. if they fray, they fray.
• fraycheck or another liquid bonder. it's inexpensive, but I didn't have any one hand and didn't want to go to the store to get any.
• serger or sewing machine, but I don't have either of those.
• but what I did have in the laundry room was Heat n'Bond left over from a busted pants leg hem project that turned out well

so, Heat n'Bond it is.

all my materials: ironing board, iron, scissors, Heat n'Bond and the shirts.

I just turned the shirt inside out, placed the Heat n'Bond, folded the bottom up for a straight line and ironed. And just worked my way around the whole bottom.

the puppy foot print onesie turned shirt, finished.

the first three finished. I had to take a break after these because Daughter woke up. and Daughter and hot irons don't mix. The lines don't look quite as clean as I'd like, but that's mostly because I wasn't taking as much time to make sure it looked great. My main concern is that they don't fray. a crinkled hemp doesn't bother me so much.

Son, modeling his new shirt.

he approves.

"Look Mom! I can play Where's Son with my onesie."

The Catcher in the Rye and Holden

my copy

I've really been thinking about this post for a few days. and trying the best I can to not make it sound like a 5 paragraph essay for Honors English 11 (even though I never had to read this book for school) or some dis conjoined piece of mush. While at the same time, not including any big spoilers in case you haven't read it. ugh, here goes.

I don't remember what I thought of Holden and this book, specifically, when I first read it in college. I just remember I liked it mainly because I didn't care too much for the phonies that Holden spent so much time whining about.

Now when I'm thinking about Holden I'm torn. There's the phony hating kid I can still relate to, there's the kid who lost his brother to leukemia that my heart breaks for but there's also the poor little rich boy who can't seem to apply himself well enough in school(s) to manage to not get kicked out.

Phoebe calls him out on all his tomfoolery when he admits he got kicked out of Pencey. I think you can tell a lot about characters by how other characters relate to them. with Holden we see him interacting with a roommate, suite mate, a couple of nuns, a schoolmate's mother, a prostitute, a pimp, a couple of former teachers, a former schoolmate, a girl he dates and his sister. I think he's a pretty unreliable narrator so the best idea you get of who he is, isn't who he tells you he is, but who other people tell you he is. each interaction gives you a little more of the Holden Caulfield puzzle.

but to me the difference between whether I like him or just feel sorry for him has to do with how his perception of life was BEFORE Allie died. Was he always the kid who never tried in school? Was he always the kid who couldn't be bothered to put forth effort? The passive kid who just ran away for the weekend instead of dealing with his problems? or is his massive depression the sole result of his brother's death? and seriously, image how torn up you'd be if your brother/sister DIED as a child.

eh, it's all up for debate. J.D. isn't telling anyone. and won't let anyone else publish their ideas either.

On the whole, it's hard for me to relate to Holden but I still definitely like _The Catcher in the Rye_ and I want you to read/reread it too. What do you think of Holden Caulfield? whiny rich boy or tragic figure or somewhere in between?

This is at least my fourth time to read this book (I can tell because there are three previous kinds of highlighter used - pen, pink highlighter and yellow highlighter. and before you ask, I NEVER mix kinds of highlighter on a single reading)

most of the stuff was things that pertained to personal experiences of mine or inside jokes I shared with others. I'll share a few of my past highlights:

• I'll just tell you about this madman stuff - I made a smiley face beside that in the margin.
• That's how I practically got t.b. - for all the Judson girls
• What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.
• All morons hate it when you call them a moron.
• Anyway, I keep picturing all of these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff-I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy.
• I mean you can't hardly ever simplify and unify something just because somebody wants you to.

Undoubtedly, the mystique of the book has so much to do with Salinger's reclusive lifestyle, the fact that because of the profane language and sexual references it's one of the most banned books in high school reading and the fact Mark David Chapman and John Hinckley Jr both heavily identified with it. but also, the book is something generations of teenagers could relate to.

I'd sort of like to see the story made into a movie. but then again, those phonies would probably just muck it up. ;-)

I think next I'm going to reread _Lord of the Flies_ I haven't read it since 9th or 10th grade. I'll probably like it a lot more now that AP Cards aren't involved.

Wordless Wednesday: sisters

HELP the puppy

that's right. we found a puppy. or rather, a puppy found us. Husband woke me up Sunday morning to tell me there was "a friendly puppy on the porch."

We're easing up on 30 hours of having a puppy on the porch. He's been splitting his time on the porch in our baby playyard that we bought to put around our Christmas tree last year and the backyard. He loves rolling around in the grass. He's pretty stinkin cute. and he seems to be somewhat potty trained. he hasn't gone to the bathroom in the playyard yet. He's been holding it until he's on grass.

As much as I'd love to keep him, we can't. He needs a good home, but that's not ours. Have I mentioned that Daughter is pretty smitten with him? She's been petting him and playing ball with him. She thinks he's a pretty great toy.

Our vet's office doesn't recognize him and he doesn't have a chip. No one has responded to my post on a community forum and no one but a few kids wanting to play with him has acknowledged our "Found Puppy" sign in the yard.

Want a cute little dog?

UPDATE:

Puppy has been reunited with his family. I cried.