Do a Google image search on chicken pox.
‘Nuff said.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Today, In Lizzie's World
Did you know that it is indeed entirely possible to be so tired that the area around your eyes puffs up to Epic Bee Sting Proportions?
I actually had to check - no missed bee sting (and I’m not allergic to anything either). My face probably looks like my poor, befuddled brain feels after just three hours of sleep. I should have napped today. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Instead of depositing my weary body back in bed after the school run this morning I found myself stuck in the classroom helping tie strings to kites. Okay, so my manual dexterity isn’t all that crash-hot at the best of times, but throw in several extra waking hours and my fingers just would not work this morning. Then after that, I had to go to the supermarket. Lots of impulse buying, you can be sure. Came home. Pottered. Mostly I ignored the breakfast dishes. Decided I’d better take a nap before I collapsed but then, O Stupid Internet, you sucked me in. I checked my eleventy-six email addresses and found myself typing out a lengthy reply on a forum on the issue of private health insurance. Yeah, ’cause my head is totally in the right place for that discussion. Then I looked at the clock and watched it click over from ‘comfortable stretch of time in which to take a nap before I have to leave to get the kids’ to ‘Will half an hour do the job?’ to ‘Good grief woman! Sleep when you get to the school!’
Sigh. Sleep. It mocks me (Nothing whatsoever to do with the fact I stay up too late. No, not at all….)
My answer to all this fuzzy-headed blech-ness? SUGAR. Lots and lots of sugar.
The answer to the massive downward sugar spiral I’m bound to be enduring riiiiiiight about the time the kids walk in the front door?
Lots and lots of PARACETEMOL.
I actually had to check - no missed bee sting (and I’m not allergic to anything either). My face probably looks like my poor, befuddled brain feels after just three hours of sleep. I should have napped today. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Instead of depositing my weary body back in bed after the school run this morning I found myself stuck in the classroom helping tie strings to kites. Okay, so my manual dexterity isn’t all that crash-hot at the best of times, but throw in several extra waking hours and my fingers just would not work this morning. Then after that, I had to go to the supermarket. Lots of impulse buying, you can be sure. Came home. Pottered. Mostly I ignored the breakfast dishes. Decided I’d better take a nap before I collapsed but then, O Stupid Internet, you sucked me in. I checked my eleventy-six email addresses and found myself typing out a lengthy reply on a forum on the issue of private health insurance. Yeah, ’cause my head is totally in the right place for that discussion. Then I looked at the clock and watched it click over from ‘comfortable stretch of time in which to take a nap before I have to leave to get the kids’ to ‘Will half an hour do the job?’ to ‘Good grief woman! Sleep when you get to the school!’
Sigh. Sleep. It mocks me (Nothing whatsoever to do with the fact I stay up too late. No, not at all….)
My answer to all this fuzzy-headed blech-ness? SUGAR. Lots and lots of sugar.
The answer to the massive downward sugar spiral I’m bound to be enduring riiiiiiight about the time the kids walk in the front door?
Lots and lots of PARACETEMOL.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Yum Cha Lizzie
Because I’m too lazy to do a ‘real’ post…
The vegie garden idea has morphed - I’m now looking at container varieties. The pots will be in the same spot (it’s bare garden bed at present) because of the sun situation but this way gives a little more flexibility as the shadows come across the yard and it lends itself better to ’starting out small’, at the request of Talented Hubby. Darn that practical man. Sigh.
Next week is TH’s week-long stretch of dayshift. I actually rather enjoy the way his roster is structured at the moment - it’s more or less a week of days, a week of afternoons and a week off. With the kids in school on weekdays, during dayshift I have five glorious days of being alone in the house. This week coming I have some housework-y projects on the horizon and I’m actually drawing up a schedule for the week in order to tick a whole heap of things off my Home Projects list. Sort of like a pre-Spring clean. It’s also a good week to do things like cooking for the freezer (though none of that lately…) TH’s ‘off’ week also spans the weekdays so it gives us a chance to get a lot of errands done sans children and as a bonus, we avoid the busy times such as after school and weekends.
Did I mention that Talented Hubby got the promotion he had applied for? It only took seven weeks to hear the outcome (grumble grumble)but now we know and yay Hubs! Must say, I love his job. So proud of him.
I’ve been re-organizing my kitchen cupboards. I had intended doing this for BooMama’s “Before and After” carnival but then that went kaput so I procrastinated a little more. I finally got sick of the Tupperware Avalanche and dived in. I took a badly-organized corner cupboard and turned it into my ‘baking centre’ although time will tell whether this was a wise choice - we can sometimes have problems with ants and of course, brown sugar and icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar) stored down low might be a little too hard to keep ant-less during summer in a few months. We’ll see how we go. The cupboard in question is one of those really deep things with a funny hinged door. Two shelves. The bottom one got set aside for small electrical appliances, which had been residing in the pantry. This meant I could space out the pantry a bit. End result - much easier to find things.
Moved the cereal from the highest shelf in the pantry to one down low - I am determined to teach the kids how to pour their own cereal. This has been my own fault - the spilled cereal doesn’t bother me, but the spilled milk might. Have heard about the ‘trick’ of using a sauce (ketchup/mustard) squeezy bottle (a clean, new one!) and filling it with milk each night for the kids to squirt their own. My kids get up early. I do not. This would solve both the sleep deprivation (me) and the intense hunger (them - if you’ve seen the zombies in the movie 28 Weeks Later? Yep, that’s them). Though not nutritionally perfect (or even good, LOL) there are a couple of plainer cereals which we all prefer with a little sugar sprinkled on top so I’m going to look around for one of those large restaurant salt and pepper/herb shakers (Subway uses them for s + p)and stick a couple tablespoons of sugar in there each morning. Wha-la! Minimal mess, maximum sleepage.
Is it just me, or does anyone else get ‘mouse hand’? Think tennis elbow for computer geeks. Appearing mostly in the cooler months, mouse hand occurs over extended net surfing sessions. You’re not typing, but you’re still having to navigate between pages using your mouse. You suddenly realise that hand is freezing cold while your superfluous hand remains comfortably warm. It’s a great torture device. A ‘mouse hand’ down the back of a Playstation-playing spouse’s neck is fun for the whole family to watch. But I wouldn’t know anything about that. Nooooo……
The sun has been on holidays (or ‘vacay’ as the teen mags would have you say - what is up with THAT?)in my neck of the woods, so I’ve had to use the dryer quite a lot. It’s an itty bitty dryer and I am longing for Spring when I can begin line drying again.
I’m also really, really looking foward to the day when our fourth bedroom gets cleared of clutter (and The Beast - a rusty old home gym we have used exactly twelve times in the last decade)and Boofah moves in. He shares a set of bunks with his sister. Is it wrong that I’m less excited about my eight year old son finally having his own space and more excited about the prospect of not having to dangle precariously in mid air trying to manoeuvre a sheet onto the top bunk? ‘Tis true.
Hope your Saturday is sunny!
The vegie garden idea has morphed - I’m now looking at container varieties. The pots will be in the same spot (it’s bare garden bed at present) because of the sun situation but this way gives a little more flexibility as the shadows come across the yard and it lends itself better to ’starting out small’, at the request of Talented Hubby. Darn that practical man. Sigh.
Next week is TH’s week-long stretch of dayshift. I actually rather enjoy the way his roster is structured at the moment - it’s more or less a week of days, a week of afternoons and a week off. With the kids in school on weekdays, during dayshift I have five glorious days of being alone in the house. This week coming I have some housework-y projects on the horizon and I’m actually drawing up a schedule for the week in order to tick a whole heap of things off my Home Projects list. Sort of like a pre-Spring clean. It’s also a good week to do things like cooking for the freezer (though none of that lately…) TH’s ‘off’ week also spans the weekdays so it gives us a chance to get a lot of errands done sans children and as a bonus, we avoid the busy times such as after school and weekends.
Did I mention that Talented Hubby got the promotion he had applied for? It only took seven weeks to hear the outcome (grumble grumble)but now we know and yay Hubs! Must say, I love his job. So proud of him.
I’ve been re-organizing my kitchen cupboards. I had intended doing this for BooMama’s “Before and After” carnival but then that went kaput so I procrastinated a little more. I finally got sick of the Tupperware Avalanche and dived in. I took a badly-organized corner cupboard and turned it into my ‘baking centre’ although time will tell whether this was a wise choice - we can sometimes have problems with ants and of course, brown sugar and icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar) stored down low might be a little too hard to keep ant-less during summer in a few months. We’ll see how we go. The cupboard in question is one of those really deep things with a funny hinged door. Two shelves. The bottom one got set aside for small electrical appliances, which had been residing in the pantry. This meant I could space out the pantry a bit. End result - much easier to find things.
Moved the cereal from the highest shelf in the pantry to one down low - I am determined to teach the kids how to pour their own cereal. This has been my own fault - the spilled cereal doesn’t bother me, but the spilled milk might. Have heard about the ‘trick’ of using a sauce (ketchup/mustard) squeezy bottle (a clean, new one!) and filling it with milk each night for the kids to squirt their own. My kids get up early. I do not. This would solve both the sleep deprivation (me) and the intense hunger (them - if you’ve seen the zombies in the movie 28 Weeks Later? Yep, that’s them). Though not nutritionally perfect (or even good, LOL) there are a couple of plainer cereals which we all prefer with a little sugar sprinkled on top so I’m going to look around for one of those large restaurant salt and pepper/herb shakers (Subway uses them for s + p)and stick a couple tablespoons of sugar in there each morning. Wha-la! Minimal mess, maximum sleepage.
Is it just me, or does anyone else get ‘mouse hand’? Think tennis elbow for computer geeks. Appearing mostly in the cooler months, mouse hand occurs over extended net surfing sessions. You’re not typing, but you’re still having to navigate between pages using your mouse. You suddenly realise that hand is freezing cold while your superfluous hand remains comfortably warm. It’s a great torture device. A ‘mouse hand’ down the back of a Playstation-playing spouse’s neck is fun for the whole family to watch. But I wouldn’t know anything about that. Nooooo……
The sun has been on holidays (or ‘vacay’ as the teen mags would have you say - what is up with THAT?)in my neck of the woods, so I’ve had to use the dryer quite a lot. It’s an itty bitty dryer and I am longing for Spring when I can begin line drying again.
I’m also really, really looking foward to the day when our fourth bedroom gets cleared of clutter (and The Beast - a rusty old home gym we have used exactly twelve times in the last decade)and Boofah moves in. He shares a set of bunks with his sister. Is it wrong that I’m less excited about my eight year old son finally having his own space and more excited about the prospect of not having to dangle precariously in mid air trying to manoeuvre a sheet onto the top bunk? ‘Tis true.
Hope your Saturday is sunny!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Best Vegies For The Beginner Gardener?
You gals on the net have been rubbing off on me for years - so this spring (remember, we’re south of the equator down here) I’ve decided it’s high time I plant a garden of some sort.
A couple of months ago a storm blew over the only tree in our backyard - it was a tiny thing, sure, but it was a tree, and now it’s gone, leaving a big ol’ gap. I had considered throwing some vegies in there but two things are holding me back. First, I’d have to seriously overhaul that portion of the garden, improve the soil, raise the beds and so on. That’s not exactly the ’start off small’ mentality I was aiming for. Second, while the space is a nice, manageable-but-not-tiny space, the sunlight aspect is a teensy bit questionable. It’s on the west side of the garden which means it gets a large chunk of sunlight in the morning but then shadows start to creep over. I’ve read vegies need at least 6 hours of full sunlight a day to grow best and better yet if that’s afternoon sun. We may get just that much but no full, bright sun all day long. Seasoned gardeners - will this massively affect the results? I’m not after massive prize winning vegies, just a little project that I can potter with that will hopefully bear ‘fruit’ with reduced grocery spending. I’m home tomorrow so intend marking the time off in that spot to be sure, but it would be a close call on the sun thing. I had considered container gardening but would have to purchase the pots in addition to the seeds/seedlings and the cheaper we can do this, the better. Seems silly to waste a perfectly good, vacant bed. Plus then there’s the issue of moving the pots to follow the sun
The bed has the advantage of being a clearly defined space (edged etc) and it has a sprinkler system running through it but I cannot presently use that for watering due to water restrictions (Australia is in a drought) - so it will all have to be hand-watered. Not an overly large space so that’s not a problem.
I already know I want to grow tomato plants. They’d go against the fence, staked of course. No idea about varieties though, LOL. Any Aussies who want to chime in with suggestions, be my guest. There are a lot of things that I’ve read would grow really well but there’s no point in plant something like watercress or brussel sprouts because we’d never eat them. Our tastes are pretty simple but if I could grow some of the more expensive-to-buy things such as capsicums (peppers), tomatoes and fresh herbs, then yay. The herby stuff might go into a container attached to a wall. Lettuce is another thing that can get quite expensive here. We just buy the iceberg most of the time because the bagged stuff is horrid (and, I hear, covered in e-coli and pesticides). Carrots are rising but I’m not sure the bed would be suitable for them unless we raise it quite a bit higher. Potatoes the same. I can train some beans up a trellis.
Guess the first step would be to accurately guage sunlight and then measure the space. Does anyone know of a site with information for beginner vegetable gardeners on a very basic, almost ‘a child could do this’ level of explanation? LOL. Something that covers everything I’d need to know - from building the bed, to caring for pests, what to plant, how much to plant (we’re a family of two adults and three kids - we’d like plenty but not so much we’re throwing it out)?
Oh - and because the bed is a ’shared’ one with non-edible plants, should I be taking any precautions when sectioning off the spot for the vegies? I already intend building it up high and bordering it off with sleepers, but have no idea how this works with the soil underneath all the good vegie growing stuff - ie, the soil which was already in the bed that the new stuff goes on top of. Do I need to put down some sort of barrier mat before I put in the new soil, just to make sure? This will all make far more sense when you see photos of the section of the garden bed, by the way, LOL.
If you’re a gardener or have some tips, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
A couple of months ago a storm blew over the only tree in our backyard - it was a tiny thing, sure, but it was a tree, and now it’s gone, leaving a big ol’ gap. I had considered throwing some vegies in there but two things are holding me back. First, I’d have to seriously overhaul that portion of the garden, improve the soil, raise the beds and so on. That’s not exactly the ’start off small’ mentality I was aiming for. Second, while the space is a nice, manageable-but-not-tiny space, the sunlight aspect is a teensy bit questionable. It’s on the west side of the garden which means it gets a large chunk of sunlight in the morning but then shadows start to creep over. I’ve read vegies need at least 6 hours of full sunlight a day to grow best and better yet if that’s afternoon sun. We may get just that much but no full, bright sun all day long. Seasoned gardeners - will this massively affect the results? I’m not after massive prize winning vegies, just a little project that I can potter with that will hopefully bear ‘fruit’ with reduced grocery spending. I’m home tomorrow so intend marking the time off in that spot to be sure, but it would be a close call on the sun thing. I had considered container gardening but would have to purchase the pots in addition to the seeds/seedlings and the cheaper we can do this, the better. Seems silly to waste a perfectly good, vacant bed. Plus then there’s the issue of moving the pots to follow the sun
The bed has the advantage of being a clearly defined space (edged etc) and it has a sprinkler system running through it but I cannot presently use that for watering due to water restrictions (Australia is in a drought) - so it will all have to be hand-watered. Not an overly large space so that’s not a problem.
I already know I want to grow tomato plants. They’d go against the fence, staked of course. No idea about varieties though, LOL. Any Aussies who want to chime in with suggestions, be my guest. There are a lot of things that I’ve read would grow really well but there’s no point in plant something like watercress or brussel sprouts because we’d never eat them. Our tastes are pretty simple but if I could grow some of the more expensive-to-buy things such as capsicums (peppers), tomatoes and fresh herbs, then yay. The herby stuff might go into a container attached to a wall. Lettuce is another thing that can get quite expensive here. We just buy the iceberg most of the time because the bagged stuff is horrid (and, I hear, covered in e-coli and pesticides). Carrots are rising but I’m not sure the bed would be suitable for them unless we raise it quite a bit higher. Potatoes the same. I can train some beans up a trellis.
Guess the first step would be to accurately guage sunlight and then measure the space. Does anyone know of a site with information for beginner vegetable gardeners on a very basic, almost ‘a child could do this’ level of explanation? LOL. Something that covers everything I’d need to know - from building the bed, to caring for pests, what to plant, how much to plant (we’re a family of two adults and three kids - we’d like plenty but not so much we’re throwing it out)?
Oh - and because the bed is a ’shared’ one with non-edible plants, should I be taking any precautions when sectioning off the spot for the vegies? I already intend building it up high and bordering it off with sleepers, but have no idea how this works with the soil underneath all the good vegie growing stuff - ie, the soil which was already in the bed that the new stuff goes on top of. Do I need to put down some sort of barrier mat before I put in the new soil, just to make sure? This will all make far more sense when you see photos of the section of the garden bed, by the way, LOL.
If you’re a gardener or have some tips, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Oh Yeah...It Could Be Chicken Pox
Miss Moo’s best friend has the chicken pox.
The two girls are like peas in a pod.
They share EVERYTHING. Lunches, frequent hugs - the lot.
If Moo hasn’t got The Pox by the end of the week it will be a miracle, sigh. None of the kids have had it yet. I still hadn’t caught it by adulthood and had to be immunized against it (and the possible complications it could bring to an adult sufferer) a few years back. For better or worse, I chose not to immunize the children. My reasoning was, chicken pox is rarely dangerous in kids their age and there is some evidence to suggest natural immunity (ie, contracting the disease through regular childhood contact) works a little better. If they still hadn’t had it when they hit high school, my intention was always to seek the shots then (just for the record, I’m not pro or anti vaccinations - just pro personal choice. All my kids have had the scheduled shots. I even have an autistic son and don’t put much stock in the whole MMR debate.) Moo’s afternoon off school yesterday may be related - I’ve heard that you can feel a little ‘off’ a day or two before spots appear, like you’ve got a cold brewing? Can someone jump in and clear that up/confirm that for me?
So on the one hand, I’ve panicked and checked Moo’s extremities for spots this morning and yet on the other hand I’m not too worried about the possibility of her getting them. Clearly a tale of Woe and Destruction will fall about the house (groan, groan, groan) but if it happens, it happens.
And if it doesn’t…well that’s perfectly fine as well!
The two girls are like peas in a pod.
They share EVERYTHING. Lunches, frequent hugs - the lot.
If Moo hasn’t got The Pox by the end of the week it will be a miracle, sigh. None of the kids have had it yet. I still hadn’t caught it by adulthood and had to be immunized against it (and the possible complications it could bring to an adult sufferer) a few years back. For better or worse, I chose not to immunize the children. My reasoning was, chicken pox is rarely dangerous in kids their age and there is some evidence to suggest natural immunity (ie, contracting the disease through regular childhood contact) works a little better. If they still hadn’t had it when they hit high school, my intention was always to seek the shots then (just for the record, I’m not pro or anti vaccinations - just pro personal choice. All my kids have had the scheduled shots. I even have an autistic son and don’t put much stock in the whole MMR debate.) Moo’s afternoon off school yesterday may be related - I’ve heard that you can feel a little ‘off’ a day or two before spots appear, like you’ve got a cold brewing? Can someone jump in and clear that up/confirm that for me?
So on the one hand, I’ve panicked and checked Moo’s extremities for spots this morning and yet on the other hand I’m not too worried about the possibility of her getting them. Clearly a tale of Woe and Destruction will fall about the house (groan, groan, groan) but if it happens, it happens.
And if it doesn’t…well that’s perfectly fine as well!
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