I toyed with the idea of going on strike today, to protest low comment-age. But I wasn't sure if anyone would notice. So here I am, blogging like a schmuck.
Schmuck does not trigger spell-check. It is, evidently a REAL word.

Have you heard about this movie/documentary Expelled? Looks amazing, opens Friday. Go.

Tonight, I am going to a girls-night-out with my small group, a farewell party of sorts for me as I leave KC for 2 months. We are going to eat a sick, obsessive amount of chocolate in a glittery, shiny restaurant. Yessss... Actually, last night we tried out a chocolate fountain at our group. It was awesome. I heartily approve of chocolate fountains. This is an infant loss support group, I remind you. We need chocolate, for therapy.

So, since I will be out chocolating, I will have to tape American Idol. On my VHS VCR. Because ain't no school like old school.

One of the amazing things about this support group is that just talking about stuff seems to get you moving. Like, realizing that these other women still grieve, and that they get "stuck" spiritually, has been so encouraging that I don't feel very stuck anymore.

Well, Bedste is technically off to the airport. Actually, she's going to sit in the house of prayer for 3 hours with R1, but she already said goodbye to me and mine. We had a great visit. It's very surreal seeing people from home and then all of the sudden they're gone for months. I wonder how that translates to R2 and Toby's brains. Bean was not a fan of VKG this visit. She felt that Eva was the cause of me being gone for 3 days. Finally, today she smiled at her. Funny stuff.

Idol last night... my favorite didn't do his best performance, that being David Cook. But he's still awesome and I expect him to be in the top 3 and NOT win the whole thing. Then tonight is 2 and a half hours for the Idol Gives Back special, and tomorrow is the results show... lotta idol this week. Tonight will probably be pretty boring, however. Too many celebrities.

A sad development in my life: the day I got the plague last week, I had sampled the CinnaSnacks from Sonic. After sampling them again countless times that night, I don't know if I will ever like cinnamon again. This is life-altering, as I have cinnamon snack sites sprinkled across this city. Ugh. I'm feeling a little queasy even mentioning it.

Real queasy. Quick, somebody change the subject.

For anybody who's following American Idol.... David Cook rocked it last night. It was one of those shows where you keep waiting for someone to be amazing, and then he was. I liked a few others too... some are adorable but certain members of my household don't want to hear about him that anymore, so that's all I'm sayin.

I'm in a cooking slump. I love food. A lot. And I love the finished product.. but the making of the food and the ghastly horrible washing of the dishes... they detract from the pure beauty of the foods themselves. That being said, I have potatoes that are going to start sprouting eyes soon, I need to cook them. And maybe you're all earthy and you don't mind. Just cut the sprouts off! you say. Uh. No. That's GROSS. I did find a trick for preserving potattie freshness. You put an apple in the bag. They last like 3 times as long. So now you see how long I have made these potatoes wait to be a tasty meal. Potato chowder. That's the plan. And pot roast, tomorrow maybe. Once it's made I will glory in the fact that it's good, and that I made it. But right now it just seems like a lot of work.

Tonight, as far as I know, Richy's small group is going back to the original host home. I'll miss seeing everyone, but I don't have to clean the bathroom. So that's a plus.

That's all I got today. Chat.

Late blogging because I was doing stuff... we had a guest for lunch and I made a pot o'chili... the MOG's wee little tummy is hurting now. He must be allergic to chili powder or some such.
We watched Martian Child last night... it was excellent, folks. As my good friend Simon Cowell would say, "Loved it. LOVED it."

It is so healing to have people around... ever since we got married, people would come over and God would just minister to them. People would talk about the atmosphere being peaceful. And I think we lost that for a while because I was just so sad. But lately I've been feeling it again. People come over here and meet with God. And we aren't even doing anything! HA!
A new development that's fun... we will be going to Nashville for a few weeks in March May, (thank you Nate) to help with this! I love going places... especially for a chunk of time like that... really get a vibe for the city and new places.
So yeah, I am feeling good and encouraged in general.

And now, Smartypants needs advice column fodder!

Submit your questions for Ms. Smartypants... need advice? You've come to the right place! Ask and you might receive.. Monday or next week sometime!

My boys like to eat. Not my husband. He uses food for fuel. But my sons.... they know how to go to the trough.
I've been giving them cereal for break-tiss, but they are hungry again in 15 minutes. So today I did a big breakfast with french toast and bacon and such. Inhaled. Maybe an hour before I'm getting the "eat" sign from R2. (Sigh)

Eating out is getting expensive... no sharing plates with us, they eat it all. So we have started going to Cici's for our out-to-eat. You have to understand, I have always hated Cicis. Use the name as a curse and so on. But Toby the Vaccuum is free, and the rest of us are like 3 or 4 bucks. Nobody counts Carseat Bean, she just eats crusts, anyway. It is HILARIOUS to watch them eat. They put away probably 5-7 slices of pizza each. And then dessert. (oh, and on a side note, Cici's has awesome cinnamon rolls. Who'da thunk?)

I've been making big pots o' stuff meals, chili and beans and rice and such. And we're finishing them off. This is so funny...

Anyway, these little dollar pizzas, tony's or tonitos or something. They have been eating half a pizza each. So today I am experimenting with giving them an entire pizza each. Currently, Toby has pretty much just crust left and Richy has about a slice and a half. Awesome.