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Saturday, November 04, 2006

Random things from my random brain

Random thought #1: First of all, I wanted to say thank you to all those who responded so kindly to my last post. I expect I'll go through some rough spots in the coming weeks and months, and I've come to realize that one of my support groups is made up of you, my blog community. Thanks for being that. I wish I could tell you more about what's going on, but it's complicated, involves legal issues, and is just a little too risky to discuss in an open forum. If anyone is dying to know, feel free to email me and I'll tell you more. Just say "spill the beans" in the subject line, and I'll bring you up to speed.

Now, some more random stuff...

Random thought #2: Has anyone seen the movie The Prestige? If so, what did you think? I LOVED it. It's one of the best movies I've seen in awhile. I went to see it by myself on Friday night, when I needed a break from the mental callisthenics my brain was doing, and it was just what the doctor ordered. It's smart, full of intrique and drama, well written, unpredictable, and has a delightfully surprising ending. It's about 2 young up-and-coming magicians who become obsessed with outdoing and ultimately destroying each other. In an odd way, it helped me understand a bit more about the human psyche in relation to the difficult situation I'm going through. At the beginning, the non-linear fashion of it (it hops back and forth through time) is a little distracting, but when you get used to it, it adds to the quality of it.

Random thought #3: Even though I know that part of being a good parent means teaching responsibility and life-skills, sometimes it would be WAY easier to send the kids away for a day, clean like a fiend and then let them back in the house rather than involve them in the cleaning. The girls and I cleaned all morning (in preparation for out-of-town guests and a birthday party we're hosting for our niece tomorrow), and between settling arguments about who had to clean more, checking the 4 year old's bedroom about 15 times when she asked "is it good enough NOW?", helping them haul the vacuum cleaner down the stairs, and saying "if the cleaning doesn't get done soon NOBODY gets a Slurpee", I barely got anything done. But I suppose the long term gain should be worth the short term pain - when my daughters invite me to their homes and they're at least reasonably clean, I'll be glad I made the effort. (On another note, someone tell my WHY I'm bothering to clean the house for the birthday party of a one-year-old? Like she'll really notice?)

Random thought #4: I just traded an old bicycle for a phone. Some guys from our youth group showed up at our door, playing the trade-up game that's inspired by the one red paperclip, and when they offered me a phone, I said "hey - why don't you take this old bike off our hands?" They were thrilled.

Random thought #5: One of my newest blogging friends is a talented artist named Andrea Pratt. One of these days, when I have a little extra cash, I'm going to buy one of her paintings, and hang it on my wall to inspire me. If you've got a minute, why don't you go on over and look at her art work, and while you're there, congratulate her for being the featured artist in an upcoming edition of Cahoots? When I first saw her art, I thought "she would be PERFECT for Cahoots", and it turns out I was right, 'cause they've decided to feature her. What's even more fun is that the article I wrote about blogging (which some of you provided quotes for - thank you very much) will appear in the same edition. You really should go on over to Cahoots and subscribe so you don't miss any of the fun.

Random thought #6: My beautiful niece Abigail turns one year old today. Our whole family is totally smitten with this little girl. The girls love to remind people that she is their "double cousin" (her dad is Marcel's brother and her mom is my sister), and they dote over her every chance they get. It's fun watching her grow up surrounded by cousins who adore her.

updated to add:
Random thought #7: If you're desperate for a little mommy-quiet-time, you might want to try my new trick. When the kids are all downstairs, wash and wax the upstairs floor (which includes the space just above the stairs) and every time they start to come up, shout "Stop! You can't come up right now. The floor is wet." When you're done, curl up on the couch and read a good book. Or just stare out the window aimlessly like I just did. If you're lucky, you can convince them it takes an hour for the wax to dry.

19 comments:

Krista said...

1) You are loved.

2) I LOVED the Prestige!!! Christian Bale is one of my all-time favorite actors (Vergil likes to call him my 'boyfriend'). It was cleverly written, beautifully shot and extremely engaging.

3) Your kids will make sure their house is clean for you when they're older. I am obsessive about making sure my place is neat when my mom visits. :)

4) Ah 'Bigger or Better'. I'm sure you made their day!

5) Awesome.

6) I have double cousins too! So much fun.

Anonymous said...

I so wish that the floor wax trick worked on dogs. I am going to need to strip my floors to get all of the paw prints off.

Marnie

ccap said...

Good idea on the washing and waxing. Do you ever wonder if Mom tried some of those tricks on us?

BarnGoddess_01 said...

I know my mother used the wash/wax drying trick in us!

It seems as soon as I clean up one room and move on to the next, my toddler has already messed up where Ive been cleaning. I so badly want a live-in housekeeper like Alice from The Brady Bunchbut without the ALice hangups :)

I hope this tough spot goes quickly for you. I certainly understand keeping quiet about it. Keep your chin up.

andrea said...

Randomly fascinating. Thanks for the plug and thanks even more for putting me on to cahoots! As for double cousins: wow. (My kids just wish they had cousins period. :) Have you ever posted about the siblings marrying siblings thing? If so, direct me to it!

mmichele said...

Isn't that funny?! I sent cahoots an email just yesterday suggesting they check out her page!!

Pamela said...

Your number 7 had me cackling like an old woman.

Oh darn... I am an old woman

Dale said...

Your random brain is more coherant than most, even on a bad day. Gosh I like this blog!

Anonymous said...

I am always looking for a good movie.. I will have to watch for "The Prestige".
Love the wax floor trick. Too late now.. but I sure could have used it about 25 years ago. :-)

Linda said...

#7 is a great trick. But my kids would have asked, "What's waxing the floor mean mommy?"

Gina said...

We almost saw "The Prestige" yesterday. Good to know that it is a great movie, it looked good.

Heather, I hope the times coming up for you are smoother than you think they will be.

Liz said...

That is some very cool artwork!

Anonymous said...

Heather, I'm glad you're feeling better. And I can't wait to see that movie!

I was going to comment earlier but you sidetracked me with the one red paperclip link. ;)

Anonymous said...

Sending you giant hugs...especially for random thought number 7. Think it'll work even though I only have carpet?

Hope said...

Hey heather, just catching up, read your last post and went, amen. I opened a letter last on Friday that said.... this matter has been refered to our legal department. Love it.
I sent you an e mail.
Looking forward to your visit to Alberta, whatever the reason.

Anonymous said...

Abigail is a beauty! What a fabulous picture. And yes...the community is here for you.

Anonymous said...

First allow me to say I LOVE LISTS!! What's better than list? A numbered list!!
1. =)
2. I have not seen it. I did watch An Unfinished Life with my boyfriend Robert Redford. He's so pretty. Besides the eye candy he brings to the show there is beautifuil scenery. (I think it was shot in Canada somewhere)
3. Stop by and read "what would you do with this room?" It's easier to clean it for him.
4. I'm going to have my son try that trading up thing.
5. I stopped by Andrea Pratt and my favorite is roadside aspens .
6. =-)
7. I mop myself into the kitchen and HAVE to stay at the kitchen table until the floor dries.

off the subject. I love cheese popcorn. It is possible to eat so much you feel sick.

Unknown said...

Great list with oodles of fun information. And I soooo regret we didn't see "The Prestige" a couple of weeks ago when we had the chance!

karla said...

Oh Heather, I hope all is well.
{Hugs}!

And a big huge congrats about your article! I look forward to seeing it in the shiny print.