Spoilers go here

So, if you've finished reading the final Harry Potter book, feel free to discuss it here.

WARNING: This thread has the potential to contain spoilers.

Jell-O doesn't work

I'm in the middle of trying to get my hair to a shocking pink color. Our grocery store doesn't have sugar free Kool-Aid in the color I want (unless I want to purchase enough to yield several gallons, which I don't) so I called A White Bear and she and I decided that Jell-O (sugar free, of course) might be a viable option.

It's not. While my hair does feel ridiculously good, it is still brown. I started to freak out just a little about 5-minutes into the process because my hair actually started to "set". I was worried that if I left it for a full 30-60 minutes I would be in big, big trouble- as in never-get-a-comb-through-my-hair-ever-again.

SO! The Tonklings and I are going to head up to the beauty supply store to traumatize the woman that works there a little more and I'm going to shell out $4 for a perfect shade of pink.

My childhood revisited

All of the toys I loved during my childhood are making a comeback: Strawberry Shortcake, Transformers*, Care Bears, etc. and the great thing** is that I have my own kids which allows me to play with this stuff all over again! Since we're revisiting the 80's here are a few more characters I'd like to see reappear:

1. Monchihichis
2. Smurfs
3. Rainbow Brite
4. Charmkins
5. Fraggle Rock
6. HeMan
7. Jem
8. Snorks
9. Alvin and the Chipmunks
10. Kissyfur
11. Get Along Gang

I could do this all night but will stop for now and will probably add more later.

What characters would be on your list?

*I remember being very upset one Christmas because I wanted Optimus Prime and instead my cousin got that one.

**Another great thing about being a parent: I can sit at the table and color with my kids and it's okay because I'm spending quality time with them!

Fun news

...for me at least.

We have an internet connection at last!!!

Morbid thoughts update

I am not, in fact, dead!

Since I'm still feeling the effects of anesthesia and am acutely aware that my "filter" is not quite working the way it should, I'm going to leave it at that for now. Oh, and no pictures of my bloody tooth as it came out in pieces. If begged I might post a shot of the bloody gauze I pull out of my mouth every 10-minutes. It's gross and my 4-year old is mightily impressed.

Morbid thoughts

Tomorrow afternoon I'm going to an oral surgeon to have a tooth extracted*. It's not a big deal. Really. So why am I thinking horribly morbid thoughts?

From what I gather, they're going to knock me out for the procedure. What if I don't wake-up? Should I write a letter to my kids telling them how much I love them? Is my life insurance paid up for this month? Does Mr. Tonks know that it's okay if he remarries, as long as Wife #2 is good to our children? Do my parents know I appreciate all they've done for me? Should I call my ex-friend and extend an olive branch?** My house could stand a good cleaning...if I die will people think me terribly disorganized and dirty?

I've been under general anesthesia three or four times before and am obviously still here. During those operations I wasn't worried about not waking up. The difference between those times and now is that I have JP and SG and when it's all said and done tomorrow, I want to come home to my babies.

It doesn't help that last week was not a good week. We had to have a new sewer system installed, our backyard is trashed and is now a big mud pit, I twisted my ankle while digging a trench under our deck (for the aforementioned sewer system), I lost a good chunk of the tooth that's coming out tomorrow and I discovered mold growing on the kids' 6-month old swing set. At this point I'm kind of feeling like, "Okay fate! What's next?"***

But, I can at least go into this "surgery" knowing that today was a good day: we slept in, played, went to JP's favorite toy store (no, not Toys 'R Us- bleh), the whole family saw the very excellent Surfs Up and we had a nice dinner with neighbors. This evening I went for a walk with my friend and enjoyed terrific conversation. In a minute I'm going to pop a couple Tylenol PM so I can actually sleep. Tylenol PM sleeps are always good.

So, should I snuff it tomorrow, I went happy. I love my kids and my hubby and life is pretty damn good. If I survive, maybe you'll get to see a nasty picture of a bloody tooth on Wednesday.

Cheers!

*It was either oral surgery or another root canal. The surgery is going to cost us around $140; the root canal would be around $1000. Since it's my back molar and no one will know it's gone, I opted for the cheapest route.
**If I were a better person I just might but I'm not. I saw her face-to-face a few weeks ago and could barely speak. I think I said precisely seven words. Hmm...if I don't die perhaps will discuss that situation.
**Naturally there are dozens and dozens of things worse in life than what I listed in the above paragraph...but it just felt like one thing after another. The Domino Effect of Life, if you will. I should suck it up and deal, no?

Does Baskin Robbins know this?

Last Friday we took JP and SG to Baskin Robbins to have ice cream with JP's buddy, Sophie. We all had something different but Sophie opted for an electric blue raspberry sherbet (I think that was the flavor) concoction. Sunday evening I received an e-mail from Sophie's mom that read:

Tonight before falling to sleep Sophie had a #2 in her diaper. I changed it as usual but was totally taken by surprise because her poo was bright, and I mean bright, electric blue-green!! I was like what the &*^%,and then I remembered her blinding blue ice cream from the other night!! I had a flashback of her bright blue mouth and face and then it all made sense!

Yesterday several of the neighborhood kiddos and their moms ended up at our house where we were discussing the blue poop. Lo and behold another mom experienced the exact same thing with her little girl.

So, if anyone feels up for an experiment, go to Baskin Robbins. Get a scoop of the blue stuff (you can't possibly miss it), eat it and see what happens a few days later.

By the way, this evening is "Scoop Night" and you can get an ice cream cone for less than a nickel.

Kicky new sunglasses

I think these are my most favorite sunglasses ever. It's hard to tell but they have sparkly multi-colored rhinestones on the sides. I have kind of a small head and it was suggested I try kids sunglasses. Hooray for Nordstroms! Cute sunglasses that fit for $10! Woo-hoo!

Happy day

Mr. Tonks, as I type, is en route to the Apple Store to buy an iMac.

I'm nearly as excited as I was the day we brought JP* home. I will finally be the proud owner of a Mac!!!

Now if I could just get rid of the buyer's remorse...


*Not that I wasn't just as excited to bring SG home- I was- but JP was premature and had to spend some extra time in the hospital so his homecoming was also a huge relief.

5 Questions part II

See this post for info regarding 5 Questions.

From CharleyCarp
1. How did you choose your undergraduate major?
My first major was my first love: theatre. My second major, after I left theatre*, was journalism. I don't love it but I'm damn good at it.

2. You've won a month-long vacation, half with the kids, half without. Where do you go (you don't have to be in a single place for the whole time, but you only get one plane round trip)?
I'm assuming money is no object so I'm going all out. We start in Australia with the kiddos. I'd take them to Australia Zoo, the outback and the Great Barrier Reef. We'd head to New Zealand for a week or so to explore, hike and raft (again, with the kids). The time spent in Australia and New Zealand would probably take the whole portion of the kids' vacation with us. Once they were safely in the care of my parents, Mary Poppins or Super Nanny* Mr. Tonks and I would spend a blissful five-days doing nothing on a beach in Tahiti. We'd spend a couple days doing Tahitian-type activities and then we'd go to Fiji and spend a few more days basking. We'd rip ourselves away from paradise a few days early to come back to reality so we could spend a couple days at home, alone, to recover from our jet-lag.

3. You're going to visit a friend in NYC for a long weekend (sans entourage) and pick up a copy of the paper to see what entertainment is in town: what is the most pleasing surprise?
A whole weekend with A White Bear? Woo-hoo! I don't know where to begin! A terrific Broadway musical, for starters (not Grease, The Sound of Music, Bye Bye Birdie or any other show I don't like). Beyond that, I'd let AWB take the reigns and follow her lead. I'd would like it, however, if she threw one of her famous parties and made me sorbet. I love her sorbet!

4. You can go back in time to 9th grade: what do you change generally, and what specifically with regard to school sports?
I don't change a thing, generally. As far as school sports go...I didn't do sports- at least not through high school. With the activities I did do, I would prep harder for a couple auditions my freshman and sophomore years, I would've bowed out of debate* my sophomore year before the season ever started. I would've campaigned harder to be the managing editor of the school paper my senior year (I didn't get the title but I got many of the duties in addition to my own section's). I would've thumbed my nose at my parents and gotten scholarships so I could go to the school I wanted to go to.

5. You can go back in time to the 19th century, any location and time, but you have to be a member of the same social class you are in now, and have to stay a whole year. Where do you go, and what work do you do (you may switch gender for the year, if you want)?
Can I just not go? I have no desire to be a man and being a woman in the 19th century in the middle class (no matter the locale) just doesn't sound like my idea of fun.

*I loved debate and I was good at it (state ranked my freshman year). The problem was that I didn't want to devote my life to it, I wanted to spend more time in the theatre and journalism departments. This ticked my coach off to no end and she stuck me with a horrific partner and we didn't even make it to a single tourney. A miserable experience that wasn't worth the effort.

Five Questions

Via Belledame...

Here's the scoop:
Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."I respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better. If I already know you well, expect the questions may be a little more intimate!You WILL update your journal/bloggy thing/whatever with the answers to the questions.You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Here are Belle's questions for yours truly:

1) If you weren't "Tonks," which literary character would you name yourself after?
Hmm...there are many but I think I'm going to go with Ibsen. I identify with his characters Nora (going from my father's house to my husband's, so to speak) and Hedda (her self destructiveness).

Other contenders: Darcy (I like to think I'm a bit like Elizabeth) and Anne for Anne of Green Gables. My very favorite book in the world.

2) How did you meet AWB?
A White Bear and I met about 15-years ago in middle school French class. She says I called her a bitch and it changed her life. We didn't like each other much back then. We were thrown together again in our high school theatre department and she quickly became one of my favorite people. Now she is JP and SG's favorite "aunt" and I practically count the days between her biannual visits.

3) What's the most beautiful language in the world?
I love French. It's smooth, lovely and even makes fights sound elegant.

4) Did you want brothers and sisters as a kid?
Yes. Being an only child sucks. I would go through catalogues and mark the babies, begging my mother for a brother or sister. In an ideal world I would've had an older brother and younger sister. The older I get the more I wish I had a sibling. It's hard to be an only child (married to a fellow only child) when your parents begin to age.

5) What's a typical day's menu look like at your place?
Breakfast: Carnation Instant Breakfast (chocolate) for everyone.

Lunch: Turkey dogs for me and the kids or (and this has been happening a lot lately) the kids opt for ham and turkey roll-ups* and I drink Carnation Instant Breakfast.

Dinner: Just about anything goes. I cook with red meat about once a year (if that) so there is a lot of chicken and turkey (ground, sausage, etc.) eaten at our house. I make really good ribs, baked beans and cheesy corn. My mac and cheese doesn't come from a box. I've successfully transitioned to whole grain pastas but still don't love brown rice. I prefer fresh veggies but will use frozen. I avoid canned unless I'm using corn or beets.

Snacks: Fruit, yogurt, crackers, I love pretzel chips, the kids love fruit snacks. Ooh, a yummy snack tip: popcorn, lightly sprayed with Smart Balance Buttery Burst Spray and sprinkled with Penzey's Taco Seasoning. Yum.

*Deli sliced turkey and ham wrapped around a stick of string cheese. JP refers to this as a "harvest lunch." I don't know why...

Anyone else want to play?

What did you do today?

We built a fire pit and then roasted hot dogs for dinner followed by s'mores for dessert.

I wish my kids could've seen that

I have decided that we (the kids and I) are going to start using our garage as a main point of entry into the house. I think it will cut down on some dirt and clutter. Maybe. Okay, probably not but right now it seems like a good idea.

Anyway, in an effort to make this change more feasible, Mr. Tonks and I worked on the garage this evening. I was putting some things in the loft area above the garage which consists mostly of wood joists.

Good thing those trusses were there.

I had just finished putting the leaf blower away and was getting ready to climb back down the ladder when the ladder fell. Using my swift, catlike reflexes* I grabbed one of the joists and held on for dear life. I dangled, about eight or nine feet above the concrete floor, for a couple seconds before Mr. Tonks (my hero!) rescued me and returned me safely to ground level.

My only regret, other than the big bruised knot on my shin, was that my kids were not awake to see my stunt work. I have no doubt that JP would think his mom super cool. I love it when he thinks I'm cool.

*Go ahead and laugh.

Easily amused

Confession: I love to go through the Sunday engagement and wedding announcements and study the couples and make predictions as to how long the relationships will last.

A LOT

When I was but a wee high school sophomore taking J-1 (the prerequisite journalism class) our advisor strode into the room and wrote the following on the board in huge letters red letters.

ALOT = TWO WORDS DAMMIT

A LOT

She went on to list other offending words: your/ you're, its/ it's, their/ there/ they're, etc . You get the picture. More often than not, when I see "alot" spelled that way, it makes me cringe. It drives me crazy and it makes me want to yell, "Two words, dammit!"

I feel much better having gotten that off my chest.