Things Are Rosy.

These are my Valentine's roses...... I'm only two weeks behind in getting the pictures up.

Pet Peeves

So, after reading and totally enjoying everyone's "25 Random Things About Me", I really wanted to do it again.
Then after thinking about it, most of my random things are pet peeves. So I thought I'd list a few of my pet peeves and maybe some of you could do the same. I won't tag anyone in writing, but you know who you are.

1. I hate it when people misuse your/you're and there/their. ESPECIALLY on public things like signs and menus. And I also get really annoyed by misspellings used to be cute for marketing - ie, the "Kozy" Inn or "Kountry" Store.
2. I want to whip out a pistol on people who try to blow stop signs and have to slam on their brakes to keep from me hitting them.... And then they glare at ME like I'm the one who was in the wrong!
3. Cops that don't use their turn signals and/or exceed the speed limit when they aren't on their way to an emergency. How do they expect people to obey the laws when they're not even setting the example themselves?
   
4. People that yap on their cell phones in public. I mean, I talk on my cell phone. But I try to step away from other people, and ALWAYS hang up before I am checking out my groceries.
5. Kids with pacifiers annoy me. I'm okay with babies that have one - Nathan would never take one, but I tried. But after they're a year old, they don't need one. And I would be sympathetic if they just couldn't give it up at bedtime. But when you don't have a picture of your three year old's smile because he's always got one stuck in his mouth......

Sorry if any of these apply to you. And I don't judge my friends. Just strangers.
Let me know what bugs you!

Quote of the Day:

Me to Nathan: Are you pooping? (In silly voice.)
Nathan: NooOOoo-(fades into purple-in-the-face grunting), followed by a hillarious squeaky toot. To which he says, "Uh oh!"

I love being his Mommy. He makes me laugh.

Seriously.

I want to blog. I just can't come up with anything. And it seems like I've been really busy lately - whenever Nathan naps, I'm doing something (or napping myself). Plus I've been determined to spend more time with him and quit jacking around on the computer all the time.
But we're going to the Farm Show in Kansas City today. I will put up some great pictures tomorrow or the next day.

Sufferin' Succotash!

Last Friday while I was on a road trip to Bonner Springs with my dad, the subject of food came up. (Definintely an Eichenberger thing.) I was telling him Nathan's aversion to vegetables, and Dad mentioned "Dr. Phil's Omelet."
So yesterday when I was over at their house, I got out Dr. Phil's Cookbook (technically, it's "Ultimate Weight Solution" cookbook.... Just so I don't get in trouble), and copied the recipe for his "Succotash Omelet" down.
Being as I also commandeered two dozen eggs while I was out there, I decided to give it a try this morning. Nathan likes scrambled eggs, so I thought I might be able to sneak some veggies in on him while he ate them.
Well, Nathan wouldn't touch it. He's so high-maintenance when it comes to food! He probably glimpsed the green of the vegetables. Just like his father. (Actually, Paul's not that bad anymore.)
So I ate Nathan's share. Which means I ate an entire four-egg omelet on my own.
I'm a cow.
But let me tell you, it's amazing. Obviously.
Being as eggs are still pretty cheap, you could make this for your entire family for probably $2-3. (One recipe should be two adult servings.)
Here you go:

• small onion
• red pepper (green are actually cheaper, and I didn't have either on hand, so I skipped this one)
• 1 c. frozen mixed veggies (the kind with carrots, corn, beans, etc - this is the "succotash")
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp cheese

Stir fry your onion and pepper. When tender, throw in the spices and frozen veggies and cook until heated through. Transfer all this to a bowl, then omelet-ify your eggs (you can either do it, or you can't.... mine were closer to scrambled eggs than omelet, but it only affected the look). Sprinkle cheese on the top, pour the veggies on and fold the omelet over on itself.

It packs a bit of heat, so I'd maybe skip on one of the peppers if you're sensitive to that type of stuff. And I know..... Mixed veggies with eggs sounds totally gross, but the spices make it so you don't even think about the fact. It just tastes right.
Not that I'll fix it every day (takes more time than plain ol' scrambled eggs), but I figure it's a great way to start off your day with protien and vegetables if you do have the time. Typically, my day starts with carbs and sugar (they go best with coffee), but I'm trying to get better at that.

We're easily obsessed.

Nathan's new obsession: jelly beans.
Rachel's new obsession: Pepperidge Farm Pirouettes, cappucino flavor (they're cream filled rolled wafer....things)
Paul's new obsession: summer sausage.





Okay, so it's totally scraping for blog fodder, but I thought you all at least deserved something. It's been almost a week, and I've got nothin'.

What Is Wrong with Me? I'm Too Young for This!!

Rachel to Brooke on Monday: "I can't go to Lurenda's because we've got eye doctor appointments Wednesday afternoon."
Rachel to Paul on Thursday: "Oh, we have eye doctor appointments.............Yesterday."
And of course they close early on Thursdays so I couldn't call to apologize.
I don't know what's wrong with me! First Sunday's bulletin, and then this..... The fact we had an eye doctor appointment (I say "we" because both Paul and I had an appointment, back to back.) never crossed my mind on Wednesday, even when Paul asked me what we were doing that day. I told him we didn't have any plans, so we could take it easy.
The good news for Paul is, that after 5 years of telling him he needs to get his eyes checked and him insisting his eyes are fine, that he can put it off another three weeks 'til they could sqeeze us in again.
Seriously - I may be absent-minded, but complete forgetfulness is not normal for me!

Our Hot Date

I so enjoyed our date!
We left Nathan at my sister's where there was supposed to be a party going on for my Grandma's birthday. (Due to some cow birthing drama, my parents and grandparents were running about two hours behind.) He had a meltdown after they left, but got better and better as the night went on.
The AGC 20th Anniversary for the plant was at the Sheraton - can you say hoity toity? We turned into the wrong entrance, so went all the way around the building before getting to the right place. We pulled up and were told that the free parking was on the west side. After two rounds around the parking lot, we realized it was completely full. The back parking lot had some spaces, but I informed Paul that I wore heels that were too small, and I was NOT walking that far. So we scrounged and came up with the $9 for valet parking.
They had a buffet - the beef and chicken I felt left a lot to be desired, but the rest of the food was amazing. Especially the desserts. And the coffee. (Don't tell, but it was Starbucks and I actually enjoyed it.)
They had a live band after the little awards ceremony (retirements, perfect attendance, 5, 10, and 20 year employee anniversarys). The songs were fun and the band was great, but the lead guy just needed to shut up and not try to tell jokes between songs. I'm pretty sure they were plastered before they even came on stage - at least the lead. He played the keyboards with one hand and was holding a beer bottle in the other. Klassy.
Even though we made fun of the drunk people making fools of themselves on the dance floor, I really wanted to get out there and dance. I've never danced at a party before - in fact, I believe the only time Paul and I have danced was out on our deck shortly after we moved in. But I told Paul that we were going to learn, and next party - we would be dancing.
He didn't flat out say no. So I'll take that as a yes, he's willing.
My feet were killing me from being crammed into those shoes all night, but darn it, I felt like I was lookin' good. Paul introduced me to all of the guys on his shift (that were there) and his supervisors. I don't remember any of them's names - I know Doug and Carla, who I'd met before; Kenny and Dionne I can remember, and Dan and Kathy. Too many names! I did get lots of thanks for the snacks I've made for his shift - from the guys on his shift and even a few on the opposite shift!
And the clincher of the night - Paul won a $250 gift card to Best Buy. He was the next to last person to win a door prize. He chose one of the two envelopes left and as he passed the supervisor for A shift, he said, "You're winning the next one."
Joe did win the next one - he went up to claim the winning envelope, the one Paul hadn't chosen.... Joe opened it to find that he'd won an AGC lawn chair! (That was the joke of the night, there was all of these big prizes - a tv, a trip, and gift cards - most over $100 - and then there were like 5 of these "sports chairs" thrown in.) He and Paul gave each other a hard time about that.
Side note: Paul got a bunch of overtime on his paycheck at the beginning of January, so he really wanted to go buy a new TV. I knew they were giving one away at this party, so I convinced him to wait for a month. But then I felt bad for telling him no, because he's wanted one for so long, and we did finally have the money, so I told him we'd go buy one. And when we get to the party, he may not have won the TV, but what else are we going to use a Best Buy card for?? Figures.
I laughed when we left, and the valet pulled the truck up to the front door. The truck was so dirty! A definite contrast to the sparkling BMW's and town cars. We got home about midnight and went to bed. I woke up a little after 7 (before my alarm) and was at loose ends.... No Nathan to feed and get ready for church! I practiced the song set and took my time getting ready.
Mom said Nathan did GREAT at their house. After he drank his milk, he walked over to the crib and held his hands up to get in. He woke up at 5:30 and cried but went right back to sleep after Mom gave him his milk. He did, however, throw up in the car on the way to church for some mystery reason. It was probably a cough and gag, like he'd done earlier last week.
But if overnighters are always going to be that easy, we might do them more often!

As a side note, because this will probably amuse you:
I got to church before practice and noticed the bulletins weren't out. I know one lady that sometimes runs them will sometimes do them on Sunday mornings, so I figured she was just downstairs folding them.
After we got done with practice, Pastor asked me, "Did you get the bulletin copied?"
I said, "It's not my month."
He said, "You're doing it in February, right?"
"It's the 31st of January."
"It's the 1st."
Ooooh.
So Sunday school hour found me and Christina copying off the bulletin. Pastor was kind and started up his computer and printed it off in his office for me, making him 15 minutes late for his Sunday school class. It wasn't as polished looking as I like to do myself (with text boxes and fonts), but that way I didn't have to go home.
I was so embarassed. I've spaced it until Saturday night before, but I've never completely forgotten it was my turn. He even emailed me the bulletin on Thursday, and I was like, "Oh he just wants me to see how the order of the service will go."
Oh well.
But I won't forget this week!

Crayon in the Dryer

I don't know whose fault it was - either one of us could have been to blame - but when I pulled a load of jeans out of the dryer yesterday, I found them streaked with yellow. We decided it was either a grease pencil from work that Paul left in his jeans, or a half a crayon I remember picking up while cleaning (but don't remember putting in my pocket, even though it wouldn't surprise me).
Since I was a week behind on laundry, it was every pair of my jeans, half of Nathan's jeans, and about four pairs of Paul's jeans.
Of course.
This is what I get for being lazy and not wanting to take them out in the wind to hang them on the line, putting them in the dryer.
What to do??? Because I don't have a hundred bucks to go replace my jeans! (I'm fine wearing them at home, but wasn't keen on wearing yellow-streaked jeans out in public.)
I Google-d how to get crayon out, and found a bunch of recipes involving Borax, Oxiclean, Vinegar, Tide Ultra-strength, Rubbing Alcohol, and the like..... I decided to use what I have on hand and see how we came out. (I'm cheap.)
And it worked! I just pulled them out of the dryer, and there is nary a smudge even.
Here's what I did:

• 2 cups white vinegar
• 1 cup (measuring cup, not the provided scoop) Oxiclean (or equivalent, ours is the off brand, but I can't remember the name)
• hot water (remember our water heater is set on the not-quite-but-almost-boiling setting)

On the Hot/Cold setting, I filled the washer partway with water before adding the vinegar and Oxiclean (no soap this round). I loaded the jeans in and left the lid open for it to finish filling. It agitated, then just set there because it won't spin with the lid open. I left them to soak for a few hours.
When I went in to close the lid, I freaked out a little, because the water was a dark blue. While the washer drained, and then did the cold rinse, I was picturing me wearing acid wash 80s style jeans..... Not pretty.
Next I set it on the Warm/Warm setting and added about four times the amount of laundry soap I normally do. Don't know if that was strictly necessary, but it made me feel like it would be more effective.
I looked at them before I dried them, and didn't see any yellow, but was hoping it wasn't just hiding due to the wet fabric. But after drying them, I still see no trace!
I'm hoping this isn't a recipe I'll need again in the near future, but I thought it might be of use to another Mommy.

Blast from the Past (VII)

(1999)

Look closely - right in the middle of the picture. That is me, midair, after having jumped off the top of the waterfall - leaping from somewhere in the vicinity of Mr. Yellow Shorts at the top right of the photo.

Totally scared poopless, but an amazing high afterwards. Amazing.

This was in Mexico on one of our missions trips.