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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in blondemuse's LiveJournal:

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    Thursday, May 15th, 2008
    9:27 am
    The ongoing quest for Made in the USA - Sears and Lane Bryant Rock!
    My mother-in-law is in desperate need for some new clothes, and with a windfall recently, it's time to spend some moolah.  When I took her shopping, she wanted to go to Kohl's. Well, I had enough to deal with that day, so I let my morals go where buying Made in the USA is concerned. But now it'll be just me shopping for her. Where on earth to begin? It seems EVERYBODY sells Made in China (the one I'm really trying to avoid), or at least it's some other developing nation so you know it was a different kind of sweatshop.

    This morning I got the quasi-brilliant idea to look online for brands that had the Made in the USA label. I searched the websites of Kohl's, JC Penney, Belk's, Steinmart, and Marshall's, and found not one piece of womens' clothing made in the USA. I'm glad I saved myself the trip!

    A link from stillmadeinusa.com sent me to Lane Bryant, so I must give them some props, although it seemed mostly dresses and nothing really like my mother-in-law would wear. I might check it out, though... :) Oh, and to find the items Made in the USA, it appears the easiest way is to simply search "Made USA" - duh. Some of those aforementioned stores did not even have a search function. Stupid.

    But major props has got to go to the Sears website. Drumroll, please. Not only did they have the search function for "Made USA" but they asked at the bottom of the page if the search results were helpful! AND in the Made in USA result list, it broke down all the items by category, showing me how many came up in each set, so I could refine further: clothing - womens - tops. So I can see they also have a ton of other Made in the USA stuff.

    Needless to say, I'll be heading straight to Sears to do her shopping and maybe some for myself. I'll let you know how easy it'll be to find once I get in the store, but for now I'm hopeful.

    Oh, and it would be tons easier to simply shop online, I know, but she doesn't have a credit card and honestly doesn't need one, living in a nursing home and all. So, dammit, I'll have to go in. But I realize how inconvenient it would be for the company to ship online items on the promise of a check, so I won't complain a whole lot.

    Shop at Sears.com. SOMEBODY sells Made in the USA AND makes it easy to find nice clothes. 
    Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
    7:46 pm
    My Psychic B
     Today was one of those days you don't ever want to relive again. Totally. So on my way home from church choir tonight, I got the urge for a donut so bad. BAD. And me, on a diet, of course. I called a friend instead and she very graciously convinced me not to buy the hot 'n now Krispy Kreme donuts. I wasn't even going to buy a dozen - just four and split them with Clint.

    I came inside and Clint showed me a box of donut holes - "Guess what B asked for after her swim lesson!" Apparently they went to the Food Lion and bought not only donut holes, but a box of brownie mix, which is currently baking.

    Weird, huh? I ate one donut hole, and I'm holding out for the brownies. And we haven't even said the word "brownie" or "donut" in this house for weeks.
    Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
    7:50 am
    So much pain - here's a little joy
     Reading the paper this morning should move even the most stoic of us to tears: 62,000 people dead or missing in Myanmar, an evil regime keeping out those who would help; 12,000 dead in China's earthquake, 18,000 more buried in the rubble. Is that even a significant percentage of the world's population of (estimated by World Pop Clock)6,664,737,085? By my feeble math-inhibited calculations, that's .001 per cent of the world's population affected, not to mention the families left grieving. 

    Wow.

    But amazingly enough, a friend sent me a link to this, which made me feel so much better. Here's a man who has been mostly paralyzed since birth, who competes with his father in triathlons, the Boston Marathon, and more. His father was a tubby guy who didn't even know how to swim when they got started. Look at them now. It'll make you cry.
    Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
    1:35 pm
    Science Projects!
     It's that time of year again... science projects!

    Last year, T studied osmosis, specifically what happens to a raisin dropped in water and left to hydrate (mushy, heavier raisins, of course). B studied penicillin, specifically because she is allergic to it. She put bruised oranges in a bag on the counter and in the refrigerator, and of course the one on the counter grew more mold, faster.

    Now that we've done one science project the girls are more confident about how to do this. Oh, and B doesn't HAVE to do one this year -  mandatory science projects start in 2nd grade.

    So yesterday I took my little scientists to the library and asked what they wanted to learn about. Since we flew over the volcano in Hawaii, T wanted to study volcanoes. She let it drop, though, that Isiah did a mock-up of a volcano last year, so now, of course, I can't let her do something as simple as that! I think she's excited about studying the Ring of Fire (anyone else hear a snippet of Finding Nemo in their hind brain?) and plate tectonics. She checked out five books on the subject.

    B flipped through a science fair project book and saw one about timing the bubbles made by dish detergent to determine the most effective one. Of course we CAN'T do exactly as it says in the book - no, we're studying bubble bath instead. Which sounds like a lot of fun to me!

    We're behind the game this year, and the science fair is next Tuesday. So in between all the craziness that typically happens on a weekend to make our lives busy, we'll be conducting experiments and writing a scientific paper and making the display boards.

    I LOVE science. I'm so glad my girls aren't satisfied with cookie cutter experiments - taking it one step farther.  That's what life's all about. Unchartered territory, at least for them.
    Monday, April 28th, 2008
    11:15 am
    Fed Up With China

     http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/


    If you're fed up with not being able to find "Made in the U.S.A" products like I am, try this website out. I found others, but this was the most user-friendly.
     

    I

    Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
    7:56 pm
    My little Zombies
     Just got an email - T and B have an audition (not til June) to be extras in a web series horror movie. It has something to do with Zombies (I know what it has to do with zombies, but I don't want to name the project and jinx it.)

    How cool and awesome is that? Both girls are super excited about it. They won a costume contest at Con on the Cob 2006 for dressing up as a Cowgirl Princess Zombie and an Indian Princess Zombie. And with us as parents, well, let's just say they think zombies are cool. They practiced their screams this afternoon, and that was just because they had been submitted as possible extras. Now they have an audition - a step closer to the prize: Getting paid to dress up and act funny.

    Yeah, you can say I'm psyched about it too.
    Monday, April 21st, 2008
    3:11 pm
    Thursday, April 17th, 2008
    6:33 am
    Mer's Dad passed away today
     I got the text message at 6:17 this am: Dad's dead.


    Sad day, with beautiful weather predicted. I need to work in the yard myself - finally got the lawnmower back and the grass is 3 feet high in places at least. But hopefully I'll be driving to Greensboro today instead.
    Thursday, April 10th, 2008
    6:08 pm
    Land Wars

     Yesterday afternoon was an epic battle of war between myself and the growing things in my yard. Things which are older than I, wiser, more powerful, and which won, sad to say. 

     

    2:08 pm
    Fish Recipe

    Last night a friend came over for dinner for my Mommy Night Out, bringing her new Sweeney Todd DVD in exchange for a free meal. Todd was awesome, but that's not the point of this post.
    I asked B what I should fix for dinner.
    "Broccoli. And rice."
    Glad to know my kids want to eat healthy.
    "What kind of meat should I make?"
    She gazed up with big brown eyes.
    "Make the fish!"

    This is what she means:
    I keep those mega packs of frozen fish fillets around (any kind of white fish, since Clint hates salmon - tilapia last night)  'cause I never know when I'm making fish and rarely find fresh fish of the type I'm looking for. Kinda landlocked here. So pull out at least one fillet per person and set it to thaw in an ovensafe baking pan. I like glass best for this, too. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and white pepper, and let thaw in the open. It really only takes about an hour.

    Then I crush *something*, mix it with parmesan cheese, and pat both sides of the fish with the mixture. Then I drizzle a little more olive oil over it before baking for about 30 minutes at 350. Usually the *something* is whole wheat Ritz crackers, but last night the only thing crunchy in the house was pretzels, so I used that. It was a major hit.

    I can tell this stuff is good 'cause both kids generally eat a fillet and a half, whereas they won't even finish a whole chicken breast.

    Try it. Tell me what you think.

    11:44 am
    Supporting a Friend's Walk for Babies

    Friday, April 4th, 2008
    11:46 am
    meme to do
     
    ( meme )

    Heh Heh - Thanks [info]pinkleader! That was fun!
    Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
    8:31 am
    Perfect Storm

    ..of all life's greatest events happening all at once. Well, maybe not THE greatest, but it certainly is interesting here in the Muse household this week.

     





    Nope, not done yet.


    At least by pushing all these high-stress "Hell Weeks" together we're all crabby and trying to just get through it. It's a family bonding experience. Oh, and a huge thank you goes to the Best Babysitter in the World who has signed up to take the kids for their opening night performance, and give them the requisite flowers, and such. She also took them from rehearsal last night and put them to bed for us. Unlike Clint and myself, she never forgets to braid B's hair before bed, and she even took the girls to Sonic for an ice cream cone for their post-rehearsal snack. She's wonderful. 

    Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
    10:11 am
    Damn Wally World
    This megacorp just stiffed my PTO.  I was told that a request of $500 for materials for the Spring Fling was appropriate by the top management. I *very thankfully* picked up their donation of $25 yesterday.  And we're the closest school to this location! You can literally walk two blocks (across an interstate overpass) and get there from the school. Way to show your support, ye damn bastards. I'm going to KMart. I bet they'll give me a bike as a raffle item!

    This may be why I have a migraine today. Well, no rest for the weary. Off to run errands I go.
    Friday, March 28th, 2008
    9:46 am
    Spring Break
    It's Spring Break and the kids are out of school. Shouldn't this be relaxing and fun? Nope. It's just like any other week, apparently. 


    Oh, the busy life for me! How on earth do real people do this and work for paying the bills and all that? I can only assume that working parents just can't let their kids have the opportunity to do things like community theatre or take RV trips for a sudden funeral or help with a school fundraiser. 

    One more note - our RV trip was really relaxing. Really! As long as we were heading towards home, we felt we could stop anywhere and anywhen we wanted to check things out. I wrote down a list of interesting signs we saw on the back roads of Appalachia which I'll post later. The Hickory Choral Society is planning a trip next summer and up till last week we figured we'd be going wherever they go - they are fun group! But if the current proposal of $2500 per person to fly to Seattle and cruise to Alaska and then perform with an international group after the cruise stays at a $10,000 price range, we may just decide to take half that money and rove in the RV. We have friends to call on in Texas and Arizona, although I think that trip is better planned for a winter or spring outing. We'll see. We're at least contemplating it.
    Thursday, March 20th, 2008
    9:21 am
    Packing for 'bama
     Funeral for Mrs. Jackie is tomorrow am, and I've offered to sing Wondrous Love, so now I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off to get there. We're taking the RV and we'll do some camping and sightseeing on our way back. But at least I finally made my FIL cry. He was very touched by me offering to sing, and because I said "yes, we'll come to the funeral." He gave us all sorts of outs not to go. Looks like the other in-laws (the ones with my nephew) are coming too, just not with us. They'll drive down and back. Sam has pink eye in both eyes, and G is getting over a cold, so I'm very grateful they didn't want to ride with us in the RV. It's big and roomy, but not for 7 over 4 days. 
    Totally forgot my mum's b'day yesterday. Bad daughter.
    Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
    10:49 am
    Mrs. Jackie passed away at 1 am today
     I just got the call from Clint - his father's girlfriend's mom just passed away after battling lung cancer for about a year. Yes, she was a smoker, until right after her diagnosis. We last saw her at Christmas, and it was painful to hear her fight for breath then. That was 3 months ago. I can only imagine the slow decline to be like drowning. 

    Thank you, God, for freeing her from that pain. Please help her family and all others who knew and loved her to remember the gift of her life.

    I first met Mrs. Jackie about two years ago at Thanksgiving. I remember pulling up to my FIL's house in my "eating clothes" and feeling the dismay that comes from not dressing appropriately for a huge dinner party. Yep, I didn't know Linda's whole family was joining us - Mom (Mrs. Jackie), Dad, siblings, nephew... I was a little miffed and decided to try and enjoy myself anyway. The evening ended spectacularly, with everyone dancing and singing along to the Chicago movie soundtrack. They were super impressed when B encouraged me to belt out "When You're Good to Momma." And one by one everyone collapsed onto the couches until Mrs. Jackie and my girls were the only ones left dancing their best Hoochie-Momma moves. Hilarious. Didn't care what I was wearing by that point.

    We saw her pretty often after that, as Linda's family was invited to every family-oriented holiday. Even though my FIL and Linda will probably never get married (and after 3 wives, no offense Linda, but I don't want him to) they were family. I think I've seen Linda's family more often than my own in that time, and they lived in Alabama! Oh well, they were retired whereas me and my extended family are not.

    She was a bright, energetic, enthusiastic woman, and she will be missed. I'll tell the girls when they get home tonight. Not sure how they will react.  In other news, Mer's Dad's brain surgery was rescheduled for today. Hope that's going well.
    Monday, March 17th, 2008
    7:47 am
    8 Seconds on a Bucking Bronco
     With Easter and Spring Break and Pinocchio rehearsals and Choral Society rehearsals, and the burning desire to get our taxes done before the end of the week, I'll make this short: I'm busy.

    Pray for Mer's Dad, who has surgery today on that brain tumor.


    There are "safer" sports out there than horseback riding, but it is so empowering to ride an animal 100 times bigger than you and have them obey your commands. And both girls have decided on this over dance or swimming right now - I don't think we'll ever try soccer again. I am so proud to see them perched on top of a big horse. And as long as they are having fun, we'll stick with it.  I'm kinda hoping they'll stick with it long enough to show. But really I just want them to have fun and get some exercise and fresh air. And build a lifelong passion for activity, so they don't have the same problems with weight as we do!
    Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
    7:48 am
    T's first audition, tossing dogs, horseback lessons, and ruminations on death and dying

    A lot has happened in the past week, including updates on the brain tumor people, but I'm afraid not much good news to report on that front. On the home front, however, I have a few interesting tales to tell:





    Soooo Obladi, Oblada, Life Goes On. 

    I have two days at home to do buy groceries, laundry, sweep, vacuum, and maybe try to get some taxes done. I better get started. We were thinking about going to StellarCon this weekend, but we decided to leave it open just in case we needed to drive to Alabama for a funeral - my FIL's girlfriend's mom is at Hospice now. I hate to hear about her declining health. At this point it would take a miracle for a full recovery. If I were in her situation, fighting for every breath and having had time to say goodbye, I think I would be ready to go. But I won't know until it's my time. 

    Sometimes I wonder if suffering would make Death a welcome guest. Is it "better" to go quickly, with no anticipation of death, no pain, but no time to say goodbye? Or is it "better" to have the time to say goodbye, suffer, and therefore welcome death with open arms and happiness? Well, like I said, I don't know and can't really theorize until I've been through it firsthand. In my prayers at night, I try to remember to acknowledge that He can take us anytime, anywhere, and there is no promise of tomorrow ever - so live for today. I seriously ask myself just about every night: If I died today, would I die happy? And honestly, yes. Yes, I would. Sure, I'd love being able to see my girls grow up, graduate, have children of their own, see what the world makes of them, and I'd regret not being a part of that, but I do believe those who have gone before know what happens after they leave, so it's not like I'd NOT see it, just not be an active part of it. But I'm thankful for every day I get to spend with my girls, my lovely husband (yes, I DO love the dumbass, even when he tries to kill me by neglecting his car), my friends, family, even those I'd call enemies have shaped my life into something unforgettable and wonderful. Every day has been a gift. No regrets. Seriously.

    [info]malawry, here's your meme: What do you think of death?
     
    Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
    4:38 pm
    Conooga
     First, Just a quick note to say how much we are loving the new RV! The first weekend we camped in our driveway. The second weekend we camped one night in Hiddenite - a 24 hour minivacation - and drove the next day to Love Valley, an interesting experience. Last weekend we drove over the mountains to Chattanooga, TN and represented at Conooga's inaugural weekend. Hoh Boy, was that an experience. I'll sum up as this: there was TOO much to do. it's their first year running the con. So they learned a lot. And we have decided not to commit to next year's, simply because the gas was outrageously expensive and who knows what we'll have lined up for next year? But we'll put it on the calendar.

    When we got home Sunday night we basically came inside and crashed, then discussed last night that we should winterize it (right now we have the furnace set at 45 degrees - the propane is very economical for a short term vacancy), especially in light of us not having any plans to use it for three weeks. But that was before I sat down to my computer this afternoon, cradling a bowl of creamy chicken noodle soup, and saw the girls have an opportunity to audition in Wilmington, NC, this Saturday. We haven't decided yet if the gas is worth the Mobile House of ----- taking on yet another weekend out, but... the beach in winter is truly an experience the girls should have at least once! We might even take my nephew too. Not sure how well he does on a long ride, but he'll have the cousins to entertain him if we do. Soo... maybe not going to winterize just yet. In fact, soon we'll be past the "it might freeze" problem and can just leave it in the driveway between outings.



    So stay tuned for the next adventures of the Mobile house of ----- and all the cons we can attend now that we carry our house with us!
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