chock-a-blog

Last Wednesday my Boss came over to my house to---as she texted---"bounce an idea" off me. We sat on the back patio while the kids played on the swingset and a monsoon breeze cooled the air. Boss told me they (I don't know if "they" is Boss and a few cohorts or the Board at large) had decided not to renew the contract of my Colleague, who happens also to be a good friend of mine. Friction between Boss and Colleague is no secret, and honestly the decision to let go my colleague comes as little surprise. When Boss sat down with me on my back patio, the first thing she said was, "I'm telling you this confidentially, but I understand if some of the information leaks. I know you and Colleague are good friends." Boss told me the reasons behind the decision, offered me my colleague's position, and gave me a time frame for informing Colleague. "I don't envy you that," I said. Boss replied, "Thanks. I'll talk to Colleague on Monda...

Back when the preschool was polling staff for summer employment I declined a position hoping against hope that DH would provide sufficient income for us to live on for 10 weeks. As the school year drew to a close in May I realized I'd made a tactical error. DH's income has been negligible for two years now. We've tightened our belts as tight as they go. I need to work. question: What can you do for 10 weeks when you have an 8 year old kid at home? answer: Keep more kids in your home. I put out my feelers, trolling my friends for interest, and discovered I could provide an economical solution to similarly strapped parents in addition to the drop-in daycare I'd originally envisioned. I thought I might have a few kids one or two days a week, but what happened is I've had at least 5 kids here, every week day, for the last 9 weeks, with one week to go. People ask, "How's it going?" My stock answer: "I'm exhausted, but it's the best thing I co...

This whole body image thing is so artificial. The skinny body the media promotes is impossible to attain without constant food monitoring and constant exercising. Exercise, as we know it, is completely artificial. Forty minutes of cardio, 20 minutes of toning, 20 minutes resistance training, target different muscle groups on alternating days. The right shoes, the equipment, the energy bars, the electrolyte replenisher. I want life to provide our bodies' exercise needs. You walk because you have to get from Point A to Point B. You tone your core muscles while carrying with you the things you'll need when you get there. Your job requires you to use your body and not just your brain. That's not what life is like. When your body faces what should be an everyday challenge, it's often unable to respond. Last night I picked up a giant load of books and other stuff from a freecycler in a second-story apartment. I carried 3 50+ pound boxes of books down 20 stairs, then helped ca...

Same morning. Same songs. Same route. I've been thinking about body image, health, and media sabotage; personal goals or lack thereof; negative versus positive energy. I've been channeling way more negative energy than positive energy. Rather than bitch about it, which is what I'd planned on doing, I'm instead allowing that negative energy to attract its opposite. Like the monsoon thunderheads rolling in from the northeast, I feel that positive energy on the horizon. Maybe it's just lightning and thunder. Maybe it's the climactic change that ends the drought. first Each morning on my walk I think to myself, "I could walk forever." But I don't. I walk my usual 2 miles and then go home, park myself in front of the computer, and fritter away 20 minutes or more playing "just one more round" of Pathwords. So I'm gonna walk. Today I walked 2.04 miles. Tomorrow I'll walk 3.5 miles. Gradually I'll build to 10 miles or so, time allowin...

Fell into A sea of grass And disappeared among The shady blades... Children all Ran over me Screaming tag! You are the one! ---Jane's Addiction There's just 2-1/2 more weeks and I'm back to work at the preschool. All summer long I've watched kids at my house, usually 10 hour days, and I'm about exhausted. Truth is, though, it's not hard work physically. They do most of it themselves. I just provide a place for them to play, sacrificing my house and my sanity. Sometimes I mediate disputes but often I just listen as they work it out themselves. My house is cleaner than usual because I vacuum and clean the bathrooms every day after they leave. But really, I have a lot of time to work on projects, like this one: T-shirt skirt fashioned from three extra large t-shirts cut in trapezoids sewn together to a waistband with a drawstring. A few things I don't like about it: I cut it too big but I tend to wear my clothes roomier anyway, and where 4 seams come toget...

Japanese eggplant in the garden $2 GO flip flops, $1 fun fur

I write like Daniel Defoe I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software . Analyze your writing! Maybe I should read him.

Because Kismet has somehow earned the moniker The Big Fat American Piz, we decided we should celebrate her birthday on the Fourth of July. We had a Piz Party on Friday, July 2. We kicked off the morning with cat head biscuits, which I dubbed Pizcuits. They looked the same coming out of the oven as they did going in, as they were little more than flour, salt, and water. But (most of) the kids liked them, anyway. Cassie had her Pizcuit in her kong. Then we baked cakes. When they cooled we cut them, arranged the pieces, and frosted the cake Pizmet-style. Then we sang Happy Birthday to The American Piz. Cassie enjoyed her cake, too.