Secret Pink Fingerprints

Oh yes you are!

Sometimes...

Sometimes it's the ones I understand the least I am able to appreciate the most.


Why is this?

The Ocean Is Wet

To say this school year has been difficult for our kids would be like saying the ocean is wet. Tyler Froats is fighting his leukemia for the third time. He got a bone marrow transplant from his sister. Kori Wiita was badly injured in a football game in late October. They are in out thoughts and prayers every day. Our dear, sweet, lovable Victoria died a few days after Christmas. She is embedded so deeply in my heart it leaves me unable to express my feelings. Last week, Erin and Andrew Erhbar both died after yet another car accident. In the other car was a fellow student, Jon Slifka. By the grace of God, Jon is physically fine.

Frankly, I just want to take everyone I love, and everyone they love, and tie them all up with a string and never let them out of my sight.

Here is what the Highland community did last night:

A Few Of My Favorite Things for Spring

My super giant George Foreman grill. It is 160 inches of sensational dinners. I hate kitchen doo-dads with a passion because most are a huge waste of space. The George Foreman grill is the single most useful kitchen gadget we own. It has earned every inch of space it occupies.

 Hooray for my Uggs. No, I do not care who thinks they are ugly. They are like a soft cloud of 'miracle' wrapped around my feet and they make me happy.

My Longchamp Lilac pliage bag. Love it, Love it, L-O-V-E  Love it. Lightweight and girly, it announces the arrival of spring for me.

My violet Kitchenaid mixer. It makes fast work of everything it does. How did I ever live without it?

My Spaceship. Some people call it a minivan. It's a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country. It has awesome EVERYTHING. I feel just a tinge of guilt over having something so awesome, but I am keeping it - just like my husband.

Here are a few other things I am glad I have:

My flip video camera.
My iphone.
My lamps - Gorgeous!
Good dish towels.
essee Nail lacquer.
Pureology shampoo & conditioner.
All the wonderful Lancome stuff I use to pull, peel, spackle and smooth my face. 
Pevonia Botanica lip serum and cream.

Apparently, You CAN Fool Me Twice.

Saturday, we needed help with the cable. Our new box, which just replaced the new box we got on Wednesday, wasn't working properly. I made an appointment for 'some time between noon and two.'

At 10:38 I was out and about, nearly done with my errands, when my phone rings. It was Dino with Time Warner Cable. He said would like to come to the house a little early. When I asked how early he responded '10:45'. I was not going to be home by then so I had him call my husband.

Flash forward to when I get home. Dino had already been there a few minutes, waiting for the box to finish doing it's thing. We talked about Adelphia vs. Time Warner and how he used to work for Cablevision. We talked about all sorts of cable related items. When he was ready to go I joked that I should take his picture because last time a cable guy was out he did not take care of things properly. He had promised to call first thing the next morning, and we never heard from him again. I told him I even blogged about it and saved the name, supervisor's name and number, and ticket number in my phone. I started taking out my phone as my husband ushered Dino out the door. You can read about the past ordeal here, I'll wait.

Yes, you read it right...

Dino, you sneaky, slippery little sucker.

Our cable box still isn't recording or pausing, so someone will have to come out again. I hope it's Dino. I'm going to tell him!

Hurricanes in Ohio

Who knew? We have a hurricane machine at Summit mall in Fairlawn, Ohio. Last night a couple of the kids took a turn inside. These were the preliminary results:

I Can't Understand

Today I waited in the parking deck. I chose an unpopular area facing outward so I would be as secluded as possible. There was a song on the radio. It doesn't even matter which one, does it? Anyway... I started to cry the crazy cry. The tears and sobs just didn't stop coming. I was just sitting there, in my blurry Saturday morning private escape, making deals with God he refused to acknowledge. Sounds like the work of a crazy lady, doesn't it?

Someone broke into my world. A little black car drove up beside me. I finally looked at it, something I feel compelled to do when someone parks next to me. The driver looked shocked when she saw my puffy, red, tear streaked face. She rolled down her window. I rolled down mine. "Is it VJ?" she asked. I nodded.

Did you send her? I needed the reminder to be thankful for all the blessings I still have. It didn't break my sadness though. It clings to me today in a desperate embrace.

Betsy McCall Will Be Your Doll

Lots of people enjoy doing the fun things they did as children. If there are children around and you can pretend it's for them, even better! Who remembers paper dolls? I do! If you don't, maybe you should go ask someone who Eddie Haskell is.

So, I found this website with ten years worth of Betsy McCall paper doll pages. They are cute and fun and you can print them right at home. Some of you clever gals may even decide to use them in frames and whatnot to decorate a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, or dollhouse. Maybe you will plaster them to the side of your car. Or your face! Okay, yeah. So have fun with these.

1,000 Tiny Little Kisses

Yesterday when the snow landed all over my face I accepted it as a thousand little kisses. For some reason yesterday, things were okay. It felt so good. I could feel happy without feeling bitterness creep in. Don't mistake this for lack of sadness. I am still the most disappointed I have ever been in my life. Somehow yesterday I managed to embrace the good without repercussion.

Your mom is so great, but you already knew it. When I told my mom yesterday about how she is still hosting the party after the dance we shared our celebration of what a one of a kind family you have. I know it will be good for your mom to host and she is bringing comfort to so many of us by accepting us/our children into her world like she has always done. I have been learning where you learned to be such an organically loving person. Wow - what a family. I wish I had learned this much about them under different circumstances. I'm learning to move my own feelings of inadequacy out of the way so I can reach out to people more. I'm thinking less about how they will measure me and find me failing and more about what I can do for them or with them.

Tonight I will take as many kids as I can fit in my van to dinner, then to the dance. After the dance the cool kids are going to your house. When the party is over the guys are all spending the night together again.

P.S. More cupcake treats for your house tonight, with a few Oreo type thrown in.

P.P.S. We got fifteen inches of snow last night! The Snowball will be snowy this year.

Ice, Ice, Baby

     Auntie Kitten is at it again, kiddies! A little back story to start: One time we were at Great Wolf Lodge and some toilets were having issues. The maintenance crew brought giant buckets of ice and flushed them down the toilets, clearing the lines. It was icy magic, I tell ya'!

     Fast forward to today at my house. The toilet seemed a little hesitant to do its' thing. I remembered the ice lesson and poured a lot of ice into my toilet. Guess what? I had a toilet FULL of water and ice. I know you're wondering what I did next. I did what any logical person would do. I flushed it. Then I stood there saying "Oh noooooo. Oh noooooo. Lather, rinse, repeat a couple of times. My husband and son were of very little help. They were kind enough to laugh at me and tell their friends, respectively. I poured hot water in the toilet. Three times. It just welded the ice together.

     I offered to make ice cream in there, but sadly, I had no takers. Weirdos.

I Got Nothin'

It has been one month plus one day. It feels fresh every day. It feels like forever. It hurts and it doesn't seem to be getting 'better'. Sure, there are moments when I think about the wonderful things and they fill me with warmth and even laughter. The problem is even the warmth turns cold and when the laughter fades away the blinding, stinging pain is still right there with me. I do not know what to do.

Now two days because I sat staring at this last night, but did not post it. I am slowly giving up on wishing for this to all be a dream because I have never had a dream last this long before. But if I could wake up and find this was a terrible dream of some kind, I would be thrilled.

Friends and Angels

Suck: You are gone.

Rock: You left behind a bunch of great people to hold up one another.

We're all trying our best, but you didn't make this easy, did you?

Victoria Mackenzie Jackson, You Doll

     Wow. I have no idea where to start. I love you. I miss you. I am so glad we went to see "She Loves Me" at the same time. I am glad we got to share a hug and our sentiments. I wish you had not left us so soon, I had big plans for us, starting with more hot fudge cakes and continuing into sharing your babies with you and watching them grow up. I still hope God sends me a grandchild just like you. I am allowed to hope for anything I want.

     Thank you for being a part of our family, for teaching us so much, for not judging my terrible singing voice, for calling me mom, and my mother grandma, for sharing your wonderful parents and punky little brother with us, for always making me feel like you love me, for always letting me love you like my own third daughter, for throwing that wheat penny at me, for sending huge beautiful snowflakes at just the right time, for enjoying mini cupcakes, for sharing bags of mints from Abuelos, joining our family at Great Wolf Lodge, being a witness to Zachary, and your enthusiasm for everything.

Exploiting the Recession, or Exploiting the Public?

     You learn something new every day, or so they say. Here's today's lesson, from me to you:

     You've seen this everywhere, I'm sure. They want to share the 'trick' a mom figured out for whiter teeth. Don't pay hundreds, even thousands, just use this simple trick. Strawberries and baking soda? No. Scam-o-rama? I think so.

     They tell you to go to http://www.karensteeth.com/  and check out the news. They make the page look like an official news site. "Consumer News Weekly" it reads across the top. They use every trick in their arsenal to make it look like it is a news site, or at least a helpful, newsy blog.  They tell you how you can even get the shipping for almost free. A mere 99 cents a site. Of course there are two sites because this  mom learned to use both products together for some unexpectedly great results. Just order both trial products with coupon codes for 99 cent shipping and you're in!

     You're in alright. In a trap. They will send you the free trial stuff, but you have to cancel within 10 days of ordering the product. How many days does it take to arrive? We shall see. Yes, I ordered it. As soon as I ordered (with a 'special' credit card number they can't abuse) I called them to cancel my order. They refused. I will have to receive the product and then call them. Then I will have to return it. This was pretty much what I expected. I ordered it 15 minutes ago. I just got a call from a lady verifying my order. I told her I had already called to cancel and had been refused. She said "Oh, some of them do that. They make you receive it and return it." Now, mind you, there are two such offers. Each offer is for a free trial. Each offer will bill you what will be hundreds of dollars if you do not cancel. If you are lucky, one of them will renew it and ship out the product to you at timely intervals!

     There is no mention of this on the http://www.karensteeth.com/ website. A real blogger would have told you all about the return/subscription portion of the deal and how to avoid it.

     Not surprisingly the comments are closed due to "spam".  I'm pretty sure that was a typo and the comments are closed because it's a scam. The referral links to this page are laced with special tracking so the 'right people' get credit for sending you.

Updates coming soon. We'll see how they behave when I call them again. Poor girl, she sounded ashamed of doing her job. It's no wonder. I bet their employee turnover is high.

Slanket/Snuggie Update #1

     Here it is! To quote my mother on Facebook:

 Water damaged polaroid but proof, none the less, that you did indeed begin wearing robes backward by the time you were 19 months old!

     Ladies and gentlemen, I submit to you that I did indeed deserve the Slanket/Snuggie patent.

Something Wonderful Has Happened!

     Since circa 1998 I have been without my trusty 9x9" glass baking dish. I took it to my Aunt Bonnie's house one time for a family gathering. I took it there and baked my used-to-be-famous hot fudge pudding cake in it. When I got it back a couple of weeks later it had shrunk to 8x8". I didn't even realize this until I made another hot fudge cake and it spilled out all over my oven. I asked about my 9x9" pan but was told it did not exist. Someone in my family has it, they must. 

     I have been looking to purchase another 9x9 pan all these years. Scouring the internet, factory outlet stores, discount stores, department stores, specialty stores. No luck. 

     Yesterday I was just minding my own business in JCPenney and what did I spy? A 9x9 ceramic baking dish! Close enough, pal! I can make my soon-to-be-famous-again hot fudge pudding cake again.

      It's a Christmas Miracle!

Snuggie/Slanket Tutorial

People, Auntie Kitten is disappointed in some of you. I really hate to be the one to bring a burgeoning industry to it's knees, but... seriously? A Snuggie/Slanket is pretty much wearing your robe backwards. I've been doing this for years. God knows I wish I had been the one to realize millions of people are not clever enough to realize this and capitalize on the dim-wittedness. I curse myself, really. Just not as much as I laugh at the millions of people who want a Snuggie/Slanket.

If you buy this - it's your own darn fault! Also, there's this bridge I want to sell you.

Don't say Auntie Kitten didn't warn you.

Why Yes, Yes We Are Spoiled - Northeast Ohio Edition

      How many things can we possibly take for granted? Here's another one for me and my lucky neighbors. Our local grocer, Buehler's, offers quite a few services. There's a Kid's Park, for ages 3-9, where you can drop off your littles while you grocery shop. In fact, since there's an Ace Hardware in Buehlers, you can even get paint mixed while your kids are happily  playing away. There is also a Kids Club, which is totally free. Each time you take the children to the store with you they get a special treat, which changes with the month. This month it is a trial size tube of Crest.

     Enough about the kids. Buehler's also has a nice little restaurant in the store. And a bank. And a dry cleaner. Oh, and a post office. Plus, you can drop off your library books at Buehler's. They also have an award winning florist. Carry out? Well, not really. At Buehler's you aren't allowed to take a cart outside. Because they send your groceries out on a conveyor belt and you simply drive up to the pick up lanes and they load them in the car.

     Oh, they also have something called "Click, Load, and Go." Are you ready to be jealous? You simply go online and order your groceries, telling them when you want to pick them up. Then you drive up to the pick up lane designated for Click Load & Go and just pick them up. How nice is that? Don't want to drag yourself inside and pick up everything, lug it up to the checkout and plop it on the counter only to take it home and carry it in and put it away? You don't have to - you can drive up to the store in your pajamas and get all your groceries. You still have to take it inside and put it away, but I guess that is to keep you humble.

Sending Out An S.O.S.

   While I readily admit that "Sending out an S.O.S. is a bit dramatic, what I really want is to "Save The Date" and a post titled "Sending out an S.T.D." seemed like it might garner the wrong sort of attention. 

   You see, a while back I decided to remove the dates from my blog posts. I can not remember why this seemed like a good idea at the time. Now I want to put them back, but I can't find the place to flip the switch. If anyone could be of help I would appreciate it.

All My Problems Are Solved!

Hooray! All of my problems are solved! Remember how I told you about the Gucci sunglasses problems I was having? I got really brave and commissioned someone to put coke bottles my prescription in them! I decided to do it and then order new ones online for the plain sunglasses. When I went to the site to order them I realized it is now a dead site. You can browse, but you can't buy. Somewhere in there is a 'Hotel California' reference just waiting to be made. You do it, I'm exhausted.

P.S. If you think the dead site issue is a problem, you are wrong. Because I just told you all my problems are solved.