Electronic Garage Sale

Yes, the Crosbys are at it again.  Craigslist and eBay, baby! I’m not sure where all the junk comes from that accumulates in our garage, but I had had it “up to here!” and the electronic garage sale commenced last night. 

I told my dear husband (the one who’s been HAD ~ Hockey Attachment Disorder) “SURELY, we should be able to sell some hockey equipment or sticks!”  Seriously, there are four full bags of equipment and at least 15 ice sticks and a bazillion street sticks.  He agreed and sauntered off to his lair.  He returned shortly with two sticks in hand.  They looked new… well, slightly used.. and I inquired (because inquiring minds want to know!) “How much can we sell them for?”  It was a normal conversation right up until that point.  No eyes bulging.  No rapid breathing.  Then he answered… “I think we could get about $150 for this red one…. it’s not available in stores yet…. and $120 for this silver one.”  Now the eye bulging and rapid breathing began.  When I regained conciousness, many questions were running amuck in my mind. “WHAT?!?”  Did he steal them?  Did we PAY that much???? How much stuff does he have in the garage that is worth over $100 a piece? I started envisioning nice, new patio furniture in brown and lime green stripes…. a day at the spa with the heated stones on my spine….

A story came forth….. Austin had been eyeing this silver Bauer Vapor X60 stick with Stick’um-dimple-grip (whatever!) for months and when he broke one of his previously used sticks he had enough money to buy it used.  So, after a practice Rick and Aus went into the suck zone store and were perusing the sticks.  They found these two aforementioned sticks that were practice-used by Phoenix Coyotes players and were engraved for them…. Lepisto and Lombardi.  (Whoever they are!) Then God stepped into the hockey stick store… and shut off the electricity.  Standing in the dark, Austin asked the salesman, “Can we still buy these?”  Come to find out the register was electronic…. and obviously wouldn’t work.  I’m not sure if the guy needed a sale to stay employed or what, but he offered, “If you have cash, you can have both sticks for $40.”  Total…. $20 each!

At that moment I’m shocked that my husband didn’t go into coronary stress for the pure joy of the moment.  The sticks were purchased and stashed in the hockey cave (where my van should be) until such a time as this.  I do hope some other member of the male species who has HAD will come across the ebay auctions and salivate on his keyboard while typing in his bid so the joy keeps being spread around.

Damping… Camping in the Rain

 

I made that up myself.  The creativity must stem from four straight days of fresh air stimulation.  A friend called on Tuesday and asked if we wanted to go camping for the rest of the week at a lake that is only 22 miles from our house.   “YES!”  And thus brings you up to date on our week right until last night when we dumped loads and loads of campfire-smelling articles into piles in our garage.  They are still there.

Funny thing was, I checked the weather report for the week on Wednesday morning AFTER I had shopped and packed and hauled and directed.  It reported “Major thunderstorm warning!  Avoid outdoor activity!  Stay indoors!  Unplug electrical appliances!”  Does anyone really do that?

So off we went to the lake.  All seems pretty normal, well, for homeschoolers who spontaneously school at unpredictable locations.  Why not the lake?  I read somewhere that camping is nature’s way of promoting the hotel industry.  HA!  That’s true for my mother, my sister, my sister-in-law and many others, but not for me.  Camping promotes wonder and awe at God’s creation…… wonder in the dark inside a flimsy nylon tent that is your only protection from those strange noises…. and awe that Lewis and Clark did this for a living (minus the nylon tent)!  I truly feel at home in front of the Coleman stove with recently caught and be-headed fish in the cast iron frying pan.  My kids have never caught fish while camping.  So I didn’t leave openings in the meal plan for freshly drawn bass.  After my sons snagged seven scaly specimens the first day, I casually mentioned to my friend that I had never cleaned fish or lit a Coleman propane stove before.  Proudly, I can check those off my bucket list now.

The thunderstorms didn’t materialize… however it did rain three times for 27 seconds each time.  We had a daily wind gust that blew anything and everything not tied down toward the lake.  The clouds made me wish, more than once, that I had a folded copy of the Cloud Formations poster that my husband memorized in flight school.  Cumulonimbus…. uh….. stratus….. cirrus…..

Wildflowers bring joy to my heart.  God made them especially for nature lovers like me.  Pink, yellow, purple, orange… LOVE IT!

This was my first vacation ever where I actually read through every book and magazine I brought and still had a day and a half left over.  I didn’t stress about it…. I just stared at the lake.  The kids stayed busy kayaking, swimming, fishing, riding their bikes, gathering wood, building fires, playing games and laughing.  I never once heard, “Mom, there’s nothing to do!”  What an awesome week!

My Kids are SO Smart

It always makes my chest puff up a bit and my buttons strain before bursting when my children make a comment about something we studied together YEARS ago.  It means they were actually listening to me!  Glory be!  Some historical information was actually stored in their little heads.  And there is recall! Sweet mercy, it does a homeschooling mother’s heart good. 

It happened this week.  My oldest son who is 13 was asked to prune an unruly bush in the backyard.  He primarily does ball-shaped pruning, but this was a grassy plant with cat tail-like projecting sticks…. not the ball-shaped type of bush.  I was explaining to him that I wanted a diamond-shaped result and used repeated hand motions for clarification.

My 11-year-old son commented from the couch, helping his mother’s dismal explanation, “She means like a Russian onion dome!”  Immediately the older boy got it…. “Oh!  OK!”  And went outside with the electric pruning shears in hand.  We studied Russia in 2007!  My kids are so smart!  St. Basil’s Cathedral… that’s exactly what I meant!  I felt like yelling out the back door, “And could you please make the oleander bush into Khufu’s pyramid?”  But I restrained myself.

18 More Days!

Of homeschooling for the year!  Wahoooo!  I do not understand the folks that homeschool year round. At all.  My happiest days of the year are when my job for the past nine months has come to a close…. End of May, June, July and half of August!  Freedom!  This is the first summer, however, that some summer school will be occurring for two of my three pupils.  One just didn’t get her act together to start Algebra when she should have…. and the other needs some remedial spelling work.  Come to think of it, my third pupil could use some review on multiplication tables to speed up the math process.  But still, I don’t have to wake up at a certain time and schedules are optional.  Ok, Ok, those who know me well are laughing loudly and saying, “She doesn’t wake up at a certain time now!”  It’s kind of true, but not entirely.  We almost always get school rolling before 10 a.m.  Stop gaffawing.  That means we had a hearty breakfast and the dishes are washed and put away…. we are all dressed (most days) …. the chores are done and some piano lessons have been played.  10:00 a.m. means we are all sitting at the kitchen table talking about the same subject together.

Today I tested the boys on the spelling for the year.  They both improved over a full year’s worth in eight months.  That is great!  But we still need to keep at ‘er for a bit longer.  Spelling is definitely a born skill.  Some have it and some do not.  Those who do not have a fairly good chance of improving their scores by rote memorization and rule learning…. but then again, there is spell check and dictionaries and editors if need be.  I’m not the best speller on the planet and sadly, two of my children follow in my phootstepps.  Compensation skills can be taught!  And they are being taught.  I never knew any spelling rules except “i before e except after c or in sounding like A as in neighbor and weigh.”  When I started homeschooling I found out that rule only applies about 1/3 of the time.  Great!  I have since learned other rules like “G and J say their soft sounds when followed by i, e or y.”  That one works 99% of the time, but I never learned it in school!  That would have been beneficial to know! I could bore you with more, but I’ll spare you this once.

Anywho, 18 more days to sit at the kitchen table and learn together.  I haven’t announced it yet, but I plan to read a few novels aloud this summer.  We read Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome last school year and the boys loved it.  I discovered that it is the first in a series of ten or twelve books!  So we began Swallowdale this year, but have been distracted by scientists’ biographies like Pasteur, Lister and Jenner.  Also grand architectural stories of Wren, Pippo’s dome and St. Paul’s Cathedral.  There are simply too many books and too little time.

My Girl’s Pink Dress

My 16-year-old found out about a contest called Own Your Look put on by JoAnn’s craft stores where girls ages 14-18 make their prom dress!  She asked if she could enter…. and showed me the prize list…. unbelievably, first prize is $50,000 for college.  I said, “Of course you’re entering!”     Duh!

Larisa has sewn before… but not a prom dress.  She’s made quilts, purses, funky skirts, groovy t-shirt modifications, pillows, etc.  This was one small step for man and one giant step for mankind.  So……. Day #1….a day of prom dress shopping commenced, including lunch at the mall, of course.  She tried on all sorts of dresses and she fell in love with one.  A simple gray number with one rose-covered shoulder and a high waistband.  It fit her perfectly. 

Day #2… shopping for a pattern.  This sounds all easy and fun, and it kind of was.  It was just long and drawn out and we should have gotten ice cream first… or at least some chocolate.  We did locate and purchase a pattern however many alterations would be necessary to build the gray dress.

Day #3…. shopping for fabric, zipper, thread, mask, feathers, etc. etc.  We took Grandma along that time because she took home ec for 14 years.  (haha) As soon as we picked her up, she said we should start with Starbucks!  (See why we brought her!)  We wandered around and around JoAnn’s looking for fabric in the right color and right texture.  We wandered so long that Grandma had to go sit in the pattern book section while Larisa and I wandered some more.  THEN, with the cart full of goodies, Larisa casually commented, “Mom, you know I don’t have a date for prom and I’m not old enough to go alone.”  WHAT?!?  Maybe we should have talked through this little blip before Day #3!  All was finally settled.  She needed the money for college.  We would find a date.  Turns out the homeschool prom allows girls to invite girls.  Good!  (Good grief!)

Days #4-23 were spent praying on our knees before the sewing machine.  (I’m kind of kidding.)  Larisa did a marvelous job sewing this dress!  I did not sew one blinkin’ pink thing on the gown.  All her!  And her hand beading is meticulous and gorgeous. She designed fuchsia flowers, instead of the common roses, with beads hanging out of each one.  Beautiful.  She found a fuchsia drawing online and reworked it to fit the waist band…. I am so proud of her.  She also made a mask, as an accessory for the contest.  Enjoy the photos!

The contest isn’t until summer, but believe me, I’ll keep you posted!  Did I mention that I’m so proud of her!?!

Easter Surprises!

For Easter, I always have some theme gift for the kids’ baskets.  Past years have included: underwear, bubbles, toothbrushes/floss/toothpaste, comic books, pjs, etc.  THIS YEAR I found mini Chia Pets in the craft store at 50% off!  What a screaming deal.  The duck, elephant and frog were purchased.  My daughter, who is 16, is the only child who has embarked on her Chia Pet journey so far.  This morning I arrived in the kitchen to find her Chia Pet had “pony tails”…. well, isn’t that WHY you have Chia Pets???? To do their hair????  Then she told me that she has cut the hair twice already!  See!?!  Fun Fun Fun… all for $2.50! 

Yes, those are real shoe laces.  What would a Chia Pet be without shoe laces?  Yes, it’s true.  I never had a Chia Pet as a child, and I didn’t want my children going through life like I’ve had to…. Chia-Pet-less.  Making memories… that’s what this is all about!

The 2nd Gerber Daisy has Raised its Sleep Head

Gerber daisies take FOREVER to bloom.  Seriously, it’s only about 4 to 5 weeks, but the anticipation of a burst of beauty makes it seem longer.  WAY longer.  Back in March, my first Gerber daisy bloomed and was taken down by a wet towel thrown by a child that I gave birth to.  Unbelievable.  Then a bud appeared…. the promise of life anew….weeks later she opened her drowsy eyes and lifted her hot pink head.  FINALLY!  (Yes, I dragged my son out there to witness the beauty and miracle of nature to increase his appreciation of God’s hand in our backyard. He didn’t actually thank me, but I felt the thankfulness emanating from his little heart.)

The exceedingly good news is that there is already another bud forming….. so in May, I’ll have continual hot pink yummy eye candy to behold.

April is so wonderfully warm and inviting in Phoenix…. leads to the illusion that summer might linger off in the distance a while longer!  Makes me want to sit in the backyard swing and forget the laundry, the homeshooled youngin’s, cooking, cleaning, carpooling, etc., etc., etc.

The name of the following flower is still a mystery.  Please share your wisdom in the comment section concerning the name of said purple flower.

That is all.  Hasta luego.

Random Photos

I was uploading pictures off my camera yesterday and came across some interesting photos.  Here is a picture of our dog, Trixie, on top of the TV cabinet…. six feet up in the air.  Poor dog. 

I haven’t figured out why my kids take pictures of stuff they shouldn’t be doing?  Don’t they realize that it is my camera?  Who do they think is going to download the pictures???  I thought they were smarter than this, but obviously not.

Breaking Headline News

Yes, I’ve been absent from MSJ for a week!  Eeeegads!  I do declare that I’ve been a tad on the occupied side.  Here are the latest headlines that should shed light on my week:

Forty-Four Year Old is Elated with Chair.  This, of course, makes my fantastic, new, green, down-wrapped reading chair sound fuddy-duddy-ish, but it’s not!  It even came with an ottoman…. and it matches my bedspread perfectly.  If you know me at all, or even slightly, you may be aware that I am a reading fiend…. a book hound… honestly, I have a wanderlust for literature.  Up to ten tomes can be found on and under my bedside table at all times.  Topics range from Christian Historical Fiction to Adoption to Devotionals for Women to homeschooling to encyclopedias to Arizona History and even Strunk and White Elements of Style.  All that to say…. I can hardly believe that I waited until my 44th birthday to request a reading chair for my bedroom.  It is a little green slice of heaven for me sitting there in my room!

Sixteen-Year-Old Sews Up $50K!  This is a prophetic headline, as my daughter finishes hand-beading and sewing her prom dress that she is entering in the JoAnn’s Prom Dress Contest.  I knew this kid had talent…. but seriously, she can sew straighter lines than I can…. and I’ve been sewing for 127 years!  And Beading!  Be still my bead-loving-heart!  The contest prizes are almost unbelievable!  $50,000 + $1,000 JoAnn’s gift card for first place!  WOW!  Can you say C O L L E G E?  Second place: $20,000 + $500 gift card.  Can you say C A R?  Third place: $10,000 + $250 gift card.  Can you say A W E S O M E   V A C A T I O N    W I T H    M O M?  Ten runner-up prizes of $1,000 + $100 gift card EACH!  Can you say S A V I N G S   A C C O U N T?  The winner is not announced until July or August, but when Larisa wins one of these fantastic prizes, you can bet your bottom dollar it will be broadcasted live here!  A sneak peek:

Children Dragged Through Museum.  This, again, sounds harsh and un-fun.  But no.  Yes, it was my birthday yesterday.  You usually get to do things you love on the day celebrating your birth, right?  Well, I’m a closet history buff who stores trivial historical knowledge in my head.  Take me to a museum and I start to salivate.  Drop me off in an old cemetary with simply a canteen and I’ll be overjoyed.  It was my husband’s idea too, not mine.  When he suggested we tour a Native American museum on the day celebrating his wife’s birth, I was all for it.  A lively, minute docent leeched onto our family and was thrilled that I asked questions and needed detailed information about all the fascinating items on display.  My family slowly distanced themselves from me and my new friend.  Off in the corner I heard my husband tell our children while nodding toward the tour guide, “THERE is your mom when she’s 63!”  Grief!  And on my birthday!

There’s more… but I’ll save some for tomorrow!

Uuuuugh x27

Glory be!  It was wash the floor day today, which always brings joy to my heart because it is not my job while my children still live under this roof.  My 16-year-old daughter, bless her heart,  was sweeping the tile in preparation for mopping adventures when I remembered that I had seen something on the floor between the side of the fridge and the cabinetry that was a milky-yellow, semi-liquid, mysterious substance.  If you have ever seen Buckley’s Cough Syrup… LIKE THAT except a little more yellowish and thicker.  True confession time:  The first time I noticed it was weeks ago… but Mrs. Procrastination + Mrs. Hates Cleaning = It can wait.  Stop judging me.

So I pulled out the fridge from its cozy spot only to be met by the most disgusting slop of a mess I have ever witnessed outside of murky swamps in Florida in 1986.  It was not only yellow… but black and green and dark brown… and fuzzy and liquid and stiff……    Did I mention that the automatic ice maker stopped producing ice?…… come to think of it…. about the same time the yellow goo peaked out from the side of the fridge.  I’m still in a semi-gagging state just thinking about that being in my kitchen.  I apologize if you’re reading and eating.  To clean the grimy pile, and I do mean PILE, it took a broom, a dustpan, a razor scraper, lots of paper towel, a rag, lots of soap and water, and finally bleach.  It’s still not totally clean, but I’m not sure it ever will be.  I could only hold my breath so long and I wasn’t about to risk passing out on that mess.

Of course, my beloved husband is away from the house… so I called Dear Ol’ Dad and he stopped by to take a peak.  He fiddled, asked for tools, paper towel, a knife and then he left.  He wasn’t sure if he fixed it or not.  We’re waiting to see if more puss oozes from the back of the fridge.

I did feel semi-better about cleaning the floor under the fridge, even though it requires more attention before the fridge gets tucked back in.  Then I thought of the stove that hasn’t been pulled out of its hole for YEARS, and what must the tile look like under there????  I just can’t bring myself to do it today.  Mrs. Procrastination is back!

Before you pass judgment on me, when is the last time you pulled out your appliances and cleaned the floor????