I hope y'all have been well. It's been a lottle crazy round here.We went to GA for Thanksgiving and came back. We got to see pretty much everyone and a good time was had by all. I got to do a little bit of art with Eve. We climbed Stone Mountain (a first for the boys) and went to Waffle House. You know, to complete the GA experience.

I also went crazy. I don't think I'm back from that yet.

But I knew you missed my blogging and I thought I would share a few things that made my week more interesting.

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Conversations with Pickles

Jax (a buddy): Pickles has a secret. He said he's looking at naked ladies on the computer.
me: WHAT???? PICKLES! GET DOWN HERE NOW!!!
(imagine the sound of an alephant on roller skates coming down the stairs)
me: Pickles, why did Jax say you were looking at naked ladies on the computer?
Pickles: Oh, I just told him that so he'd go away. We were really looking at giant millipedes.
me: next time Honey try to be a little less creative and shocking when trying to get someone to go away, ok?

*note: Pickles is an incredibly honest kid. He does not look at naked women online. Apparently, however, we need to work on other issues.

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Pickles: I can't go to sleep
me: why not?
Pickles: Because my radio won't work and I always go to sleep listening to my stories.
me: Tell a story to yourself. Out loud.
Pickles: I said everyone else is asleep and they won't think my stories are interesting anyway.
me: I said say them to YOURSELF
Pickles: Well, I don't find them that interesting either.

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We have a snake. She's a ball python named Medusa. She's a good snake and the kids think she's interesting. Medusa eats mice. It's the circle of life, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, mice really aren't that cute, Mickey excluded of course. It was time for Medusa to eat again 4 days ago so I bought a mouse. I put the mouse in the cage with the snake. The mouse did not get eaten. The mouse did however, get named Pancake. So Pancake and Medusa are roommates. At least until Medusa is done shedding and decides that she actually is hungry. I'll keep you updated.

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Everything here is white. Our house is 109 yrs old, as are many of the surrounding houses. Most of them are painted very pale colors. Pale houses and their yards are covered in snow here. The clouds are heavy and full of snowman seeds. Everything is bright and fairly monochromatic. And it reflects all light. Last night, at midnight, it looked like it was dusk.

I forget about that here. 27 years of being raised in GA is still ingrained in me. Winter should be 60-70 degrees. Scarves should be bought based on their cuteness, not their heat conserving abilities. The sky should bright blue and the trees should stay green. Pansies should bloom.

Not in the Midwest. But I'm OK with that this winter. I'm not sure why; maybe I'm beginning to bloom (like a pansy - insert your own joke here) where I'm planted. Maybe it's wearing me down. Let's go with the blooming, shall we?

I'm taking a break for awhile.

-Michelle

Our president, finally mentions the shooting at Fort Hood almost TWO MINUTES into this address! He sounds disjointed, uninterested, and insincere...



Outrageous, saddening, inappropriate "shout-outs" - these are all just a few things that come to my mind when I watch this video.

What do you think about how Obama reacted to this tragedy?

For my amazing and talented aunt,

and

because I LOVE these soaps! They are truly wonderful.

Loaves of soap

15" long
2-2.5" across because they are tapered like so \_/
2" high

The loaves may be bought whole or sliced into 15 good-sized slices. You can gift them to people (teachers, co-workers, stocking stuffers, etc.) or sell them yourself!

The loaves are $35/ plus shipping. 5 loaves shipped priority costs $13 for shipping and is the most cost-efficient way to get them to you. Half-loaves may be purchased as well for $20/ plus shipping.

Ready for purchase (also available by the slice $3.50)
Raspberry and Violet
Winter Morning Walk (think Pennsylvania mountains)
Lavender
Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey (hard not to eat!)
Mango

Other scents available to be ordered (in 1/2 loaves or more)
Daisy
Ocean Mist
Happy!
Rosemary
Almond
Clove
Strawberry
Vanilla
Plumeria
Mango/Papaya
Pink Grapefruit
Cinnamon
Green Tea
Citrus Medley
Secret Crush
Peppermint
Ginger Ale
"Angel"
Violet
Gardenia
Orange
Juicy Lime
Lemon
Rosie Posie
"Tide"
"Curious"
Sunflower
Stress Relief
Red Current and Thyme (one of my favorites)
Citrus Spice
"Escape" for men
Christmas Spice
Cherry Almond
Dandelion
Pearberry
Spearmint
Daffodil
Holiday Berry
Pikaki
Honeysuckle
White Ginger
Hyacinth
Lily of the Valley
Mistletoe

Please email any questions or special requests (regarding the soaps only. I mean, my aunt can't just fill any special requests ;P ) to wlpagani@aol.com or to me and I can forward them along.

And to any readers that live where I live, if y'all want to combine an order, and thus shipping, let me know!

Recent conversations with the kiddos

the Hamster (while he rubs his little hand on my arm): Mom, do you hab any money?
me (putting down my book and looking at him): Why do YOU need money?
the Hamster: For a cookie. If you hab some money, then you can buy me a cookie.
me: get a job, buddy

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Pickles: What's up with the dogs? Lately, Moki has been acting like Rowlf and Rowlf has been acting like Moki.
me: Well, while you were at school, they ran at each other really hard and smashed heads. When they got up, they had switched personalities.
Pickles: MOOOOOMMMM!

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Bud: I kicked and punched and pushed Jackson (his friend) and then he hit me for NO REASON!

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Sassafras: If there's something softer than the Hamster's belly, I'd like to know what it is

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the Hamster: Mom, I'm hun-gwee
me: What do you want?
the Hamster: I want a meat on meat san-wuch
me: James, the Hamster's hungry. This one's all yours :)
James: Here's your meat on meat. (he gave him 3 pcs of meat which the H promptly put together like a sandwich)
the Hamster: I want ketchup on my meat on meat
James: no, we only eat plain meat on meat in this house you little weirdo.

Here we go

BBQ ribs that will make you wanna slap your mama (but you won't cause we don't slap our mamas)

I have an ingredient list, but I don't have a specific recipe. Just make sure you make it good.


About 3 hours before you want to eat, start your sauce.
About 2 hours before this, call some friends you haven't seen for awhile and invite them over.

the sauce
tomato paste
water
apple juice (more juice than water)
apple cider vinegar (not too much, but you want the sauce to have a little bite)
brown sugar (between 1/2 C and a C)
mustard powder (lots of good shakes, or just use a little mustard)
a few drops of liquid smoke
a few drops of sesame seed oil
a few shakes of Worcestershire and soy sauces
about 1/2 C veggie oil
add some heat, I like cayenne and/or Tabasco
garlic and onion powder (but not too much, cause you want it to be a tangy sweetish sauce)
a bay leaf (you take this out at the end before you pour it over the ribs)

the rub
lots of salt and paprika (you want it almost pink looking)
black pepper
garlic and onion powder (less than the salt, more than the pepper)
thyme (less than the garlic powder)
celery seed (about the same as the thyme)

Rub the ribs let 'em sit for awhile. I like country style beef ribs, but you can use this same recipe for a rack on the grill.

Do the dishes and dance around the kitchen while listening to the Allman Brothers.

Make sure your cast iron skillet is clean of cornbread crumbs from the last time you made some of that and pour just enough oil in to coat the bottom so the ribs don't stick.

Sear those meaty guys and throw them in a roasting pan.

Occasionally yell at the kids who won't stay out of the kitchen.

When you finish all the ribs, let 'em sit in the roasting pan for about 10 minutes to let the flavors get all happy together.

Then pour the sauce over the ribs and bake them for 15 minutes at 425. Turn the heat down and bake for an hour more.

Make some homemade rolls, or go get some nice soft ones from Hyvee (Kroger for y'all in the South).

Do some delicious sides like potato salad and greenbean casserole.

Make sure you have some apple crisp for dessert and apple cider going on the counter in a crockpot (for extra good cider, slice up some ginger root and slice the rind of an orange and toss them both in)

Enjoy!

When Jesus went to minister to the Irish

We went to Pickles' good friend, Chan's baptism yesterday. It was beautiful. There were sweet talks by the Grandma and the boys' previous Primary teacher. The littlest brother and I said a prayer. After the baptism, as Chan and his dad were changing clothes and drying off, we watched a video about Jesus. In the video you see Jesus acting out scenes from the New Testament. He gathers his flock, he blesses children, he heals people wearing rags. At one point, Pickles leans over and asks, "Are those the leprechauns he's helping?"

No baby, no. They're lepers.

Have you ever had to explain the difference between leprechauns and lepers?

Sup witchoo?

1. I'm sorry baby, I know I haven't been pulling my own weight lately. I've been selfishly taking comments without giving any to you. I'll be better, I promise. I have been reading all your blog posts though, and they're wonderful.

2. OK, go here for truly useless inventions. I especially like the fake breasts and the baby cage. Oh, and I can't decide whether I like the mechanical cat or the kitty footy dusters better.

3. I did well in some of my classes. And not so great in others. This school session was terrible, and that's all that needs to be said about that.

4. I'm reading Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own. It's beautiful. When I'm done, I'm going to read it all over again. I never do that with books. I can't even listen to a CD twice in a row.

5. I've been painting lately. I meditate when I paint. It's my therapy. What's your therapy?

6. I got the Hamster out of the car tonight. He said "Thanks, buttocks!" So I popped his. I was shocked. He told me he didn't like spanks, so I told him I didn't like little boys who said rude things to their mommies.

7. Carrot, no, I'm not mean. Although my sisters may disagree.

just a quickie

Weird News Wednesday

you know those slashes in web addresses? look up above if you don't know what I'm talking about. Well, they weren't meant to be there. They're useless, apparently.

It may be just a time-traveling conspiracy, but some scientists think that some inventions, specifically the Hadron Collider, may be sabotaged by other scientists from the future. What? It could happen!

And now for something completely different. Very, very weird landscapes.

That's all folks!

I woke up Monday morning at 5Am to a tiny voice frantically telling me they had a nose bleed. My kids don't get nose bleeds. I activated the ejection button on my side of the bed at lightning speed so as not to wake the angry monster (with two finals to take that day) I was sleeping next to. I had already had my beauty sleep interrupted once that evening by wet jammie bottoms and a crying the Hamster, so I wasn't looking too pretty.

But bleeding 6-yr olds don't care how you look so I stumbled into the bathroom that was fast becoming a crime scene. Man! I was glad we had moved into a house with no carpet. Bud was crying, and I was trying desperately trying to remember what you do for a nosebleed and trying not to step on the blood.

Stuff the nostrils with something absorbent? Irrigate his face? My extensive medical training (yeah, right!) had escaped me, and my ability to think straight was directly proportional to my lack of sleep.

"Bud, it's OK. Sometimes noses just bleed. Did you bump your face on your brother's head? Did you fall out of bed onto your face? Did you put something in your nose? It's ok to lose a little blood."

MOM! This is NOT a little bit of blood. This is a lot. It's everywhere!"

"Dude, if you cut your arm off, THAT would be a lot of blood. See? It's not that bad, is it?"

"Oh, ok."

Oh yeah, tilt the head back! I got it. Sit the bloody boy on the potty and tilt his head back and pinch the bridge of his nose. I found out the next day that you tilt the head forward and pinch so blood doesn't go down the back of the throat. Anyway, we got it cleaned up and Bud was bathed and put back to bed until I realized that it was 6AM and my little day-flamingos (the opposite of night-owls around here) were bright and shiny and ready for the day to start.

The angry monster was even angrier at that point. Being woken up the alarm is bad enough, but being woken up by crying children 30 minutes before the alarm is even worse. But I yelled patiently explained that cleaning up bums and blood in the middle of the night isn't fun either. And that I had finals as well. And final projects due. And a landlord who hasn't given us back our deposit from 2 months ago yet who I'm going to have to take to small claims court.

But that's another post for another day...