#130 - Working Mother

I've read two issues of Working Mother magazine, courtesy of someone I work with. It's particularly fitting that this it today's new thing because TLG has been home this week with Grandma and I've been battling a bout of guilt that I couldn't be home with him myself. (TLG does seem to be enjoying himself immensly, so thank you, Grandma!!!) The magazines were interesting, filled with lots of interviews with moms who work at very large national companies. One of the issues was the "green" issue which focused on ways to get your family to recycle, save energy, etc. It's not a magazine I'd probably subscribe to, but since I didn't even know it existed before I'd say it was pretty OK.

#129 - Broken Dish

On the subject of parenting, I remember being so frustrated as a kid when I broke something accidentally. Like I was a klutz and my parents were going to be SO mad. Tonight I was letting TLG help me load the dishwasher, and he dropped a plate and it shattered into a bunch of pieces. Of course, I've broken my fair share of things in my life, and TLG has also broken a couple --- but none of his "conquests" have been shattered and therefore a hazard to him. If I had broken it, I would have been really mad at myself, but I found with TLG that I was very calm, asked my dear hubby to keep TLG away so I could clean it up... and after rehearsal tonight, I hopped on eBay to buy a few more plates in our pattern (so we have a few spares, just in case). So now I'm prepared for next time!

#128 - Las Vegas Springs Preserve

Today I also visited the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. It's much like a giant nature park with a few buildings dedicated to environment-related displays. The Sustainability Exhibit was pretty cool, with samples of everyday household items that you can buy made out of recycled materials, games for kids to play that relate to renewable energy and recycling, and tips on making easy steps towards helping keep the environment safe. The also had a "design studio" with lots of samples of the household items so that folks who want to buy them can see them up close before making the financial commitment. I also ate lunch in the Wolfgang Puck-affiliated cafe on the premises, and it enjoyed a delicious Chinese chicken salad with candied cashews. Yum!

#127 - Major Gross-Out

I was in Las Vegas for work yesterday and today, meaning I had to stay overnight. I don't mind telling you that I stayed at a hotel called the Candlewood Suites and I would definitely NOT recommend anyone ever going there. This morning I was so distraught over the cleanliness of my room that I complained to the manager and got my room comp'd. It seemed dirty when I arrived last night, so I wore my socks with my p.j.'s to bed and didn't touch anything I didn't have to. But then this morning I was totally grossed out by a giant hairball in the supposedly-clean bath towel. I took a photo with my camera-phone but can't figure out how to post that for you, so suffice to say that it was traumatic and I won't ever be going back there again.

#126 - Fixing and Patching

This afternoon, during the Super Bowl, I helped my father-in-law and hubby patch two holes in the wall and hang a new coat rack. I've never been one to complete major house repairs, and while this wouldn't be "major" for either of the men I was helping, it was for me! We used a putty knife to patch the holes (which were from the coat rack pulling out of the wall a week or two ago)... this was the first time I've used anything other than toothpaste to patch a wall. (An old college trick!) Once that dried, I got to use a cordless electric drill/screwdriver to hang a fancy board my father-in-law had prepared for us to reinforce the wall. Then we screwed in the coat rack, and we were all done! It looks great and is much stronger than it used to be.

After patching the holes, it looked like this:

and then we hung the board and rack, and it looked like this:

#125 - Walking on Eggshells

In preparation for the Super Bowl tomorrow, I did a lot of cooking and baking tonight. TLG wanted to help in the kitchen because he loves cooking - so the two of us tried to make devilled eggs together. This was quite an experiment because you have to be very gentle with getting the eggshells off the hard-boiled eggs to preserve the whites for later. TLG isn't the most gentle kid, nor the most patient, so we wrecked a few. But he got the hang of it. Then he promptly spilled the trash can full of eggshells all over the kitchen floor! Once we cleaned up that mess, I stood him on a kitchen chair at the counter so he could help his daddy mash up the yolks... and he promptly fell head-first off the chair and smack! onto the floor. That was the end of my kitchen help because TLG was crying and wanted to read a book, so I was on my own. I'm happy to report that he's doing fine.

#124 - Wedding Redux

This afternoon, our family went to a wedding "reception" for a couple who were married a year ago. I've heard of this idea before, but haven't known anyone who did this until today. One of my hubby's friends and wife got married a year ago and today they held a nice, small-ish party at a local Italian restaurant. Of course, we were faced with the gift question: what do you get a couple who's been married a year already? They're not registered anywhere, and they're pretty settled. (We ended up going with a gift card.) The party itself was nice, we only knew a few people but the food was delicious and TLG had a great time trying long spaghetti noodles for the first time... he was slurping them and making a general mess. Wish I'd had my camera there!