There's one in every town

I'm sure there is actually more than one in every town. There could be thousands. But there is usually one that is more vocal than the rest. I'm referring to the crazy zealot in your town/borough/block. The one who loves to make a political comment about everything, spout about the how "the gays" are ruining his rose bushes and complain that the Republicans are the reason s/he can't get a job at Target. You know the one. They know more about everything than everyone else on the planet: except they don't and they are super annoying. Yet, they always find the perfect way to spread either their hatred or illogical thoughts.

Who would give a platform to such a person? Week after week? Your local newspaper, of course. The resident crazy person loves nothing more than to write letters to the editor because they often are published on those last pages where space needs to be filled. I'm hoping that is the main reason - as it is scary to think someone thinks they are making valid points.

Living back in Leetsdale, we received a free copy of the Sewickley Herald every week. My favorite section was the police blotter, which I've talked about before. But I could always count on the same guy to make racist, outdated, politically-fueled rants in the opinion section. Whatever he wrote was always mean, judgmental and basically unnecessary. I get the feeling that people in his life told him to shut up years ago and the only thing that would listen was his letters to the editor.

 Case in point: the same week that there was a tragic death of our neighbor (I don't want to post his name although most of you in Sewickley will know who I'm referring to). He was in his early twenties and died in his sleep. This crotchety opinion-giver had just written a nasty letter in the paper, claiming that anyone who didn't have health insurance was basically a degenerate. I think it tapered off into some weird blame put on people who have HIV. Anyways, the next week, the aunt of the young man who had died of a heart condition wrote an awesome rebuttal to this a-hole. Our neighbor, being a recent college graduate without a job that offered health insurance, was NOT a loser and his aunt really stood up for him. It was beautiful writing and really put this guy in his place. She basically told him to stuff it and keep his stupid opinions to himself.

 Did it stop him? Not in the least.

 I don't think the newspaper should refuse any letters from the public, but it gets to the point of indulgence. These nerds get off on the public forum and I'm sure feel vindicated that their words are in print for the entire town to read. Even if the entire town reads it and thinks to themselves, "What an ass."

 Our new small town of Lancaster is no different. I pick up the free copy of  the Lancaster Source at our library every once in awhile. I finally found my local crazy person! His name is Jeff and he had THREE comments in the "Steam" section a few weeks ago. Yes, three, and each was better than the last. I'm sure he won't mind if I quote some of his most poignant points.

 About funeral homes: "You know when you die, apparently it costs $5,000 - $6,000 for the funeral...? It seems no matter where you drive... the funeral homes have two names on them.... get rid of all these names."

Jeff is really mad about business partnerships.

About Japan: "... the tsunamis are supposed to head towards the U.S. I don't have the television on, if they already hit, they hit, I don't know.... The mad scientists, they know what's going on. It's like a clock.... (he goes on to explain what a clock looks like) If you turn the clock where 4 is on top and drill straight down to get oil, you are drilling to where 12 would be and intersect with that. We don't have to fire a shot above ground anymore; just drill down below."

 Whhhaaatttt? Maybe Jeff is 14 years old and pretending to know what he is talking about. Maybe he's drunk. But I'm enjoying Jeff's Lancaster crazy much more than the old racist Sewickley man.

It may be below freezing outside...

...but it is certainly spring inside!

 I might be getting too ambitious, but without an outside job to keep my mind preoccupied - I have big dreams for our garden this year. Seedlings for broccoli, cauliflower, black simpson lettuce, mesculin lettuce, parsley, sunflowers, spinach, bell pepper, sugar snap peas and cucumber are growing quickly in our basement flourescent light set-up.

The pea pods always sprout quickly, but where are you red onion?

Ayla's seeds... unfortunately, we forgot to label them!

 Add the carrot and radish seeds that are going to be planted outside and the crazy heirloom seeds I just bought online (blue pole beans that turn from blue to green when you cook them and an indoor coffee plant that you can then roast the seeds!) and hopefully we'll have our own urban homestead this summer.

 Let's hope our landlords like berry bushes better than grass!

Dinner, Courtesy of the Food Network

 I've been rocking the dinner table since my new subscription to the Food Network Magazine has been gracing our mailbox. Not to pat myself on the back or anything.

 With the recent change to full-time "working from home" motherhood (as in, I don't get paid for this!), I've been focusing my efforts on (1) saving money and (2) having some sort of plan when I walk in the grocery store. Studies show that families spend less money shopping for food when they are following a menu plan or buying specifically for meals. It's true! How many times have I dropped $100 at the store and come home to nothing but snacks, Vitamin Water and tater tots? How about all of the time - before moving to Buffalo and writing a list every time I go to the store.

 I envy the women (and men, too - although I literally stared at the one guy I saw poring through coupons in the yogurt section... I've never seen a man so intent on getting the best bargain,) who have the insight to look through the store circular and then plan their meals according to what is on sale. Someday I'll get there - dream big!

But anyways, what I love about this magazine is that they divide the recipes into weekday vs. weeknight cooking. How smart - because I've gotten myself halfway through complicated recipes on a school night only to have grumpy, starving children with no patience for my wonton making skills. We've had homemade pretzels, Tilapia Milanese, Thai Pork with rice noodles, refrigerator fudge, to name a few. It satisfies my need to try something creative in the kitchen without getting too ridiculous and having to search for banana leaves.

 The magazine also includes a mini tear-out booklet of 50 ways to modify or use one type of recipe. What could be better than fifty different ways to make nachos or smoothies or uses for pesto? I have two huge bindersof magazine recipes (one that includes recipes I have successfully made and others that I'm still saving for when I have the time to make flaxseed crackers from scratch.) I haven't torn out a single page of this magazine because I want to save the whole thing.

 I'm sure this is a win-win venture for the Food Network since they have a ridiculous archive of recipes already and all the celebrity chef power working for them. It's certainly working for me! I don't know if/how much money we have saved, but the fact that we have dinner figured out on a daily basis is saving my sanity, little by little.

Who you think you are...

 I once took a "sensitivity training" seminar at work and I remember the speaker asking a really interesting question:

What is it that you fear other people assume about you? 

 Where is the disconnect between what you believe yourself to be, and what others perceive to be true? If you were to pick one quality in a person and hope that others don't think that about you - what would it be?

 I've been thinking a lot about this lately during some soul searching and the realization that now in a new city, I've got to put myself out there and make friends. I have to go through all of the uncomfortable meet and greets with other preschoolers parents and my neighbors and even the staff at the closest grocery store.

 All the while, as we are trying to make good first impressions, other people have already made assumptions about who we are based on our clothes, families, race, gender, facial expression, car; it goes on and on. Some of the choices we make are based on putting out a certain image and some choices project something completely against what we truly believe ourselves to be. It's like buying a luxury car because it is top rated for safety... but everyone that sees you driving it thinks you are a pompous superficial jerk. (Not my situation though, although the Honda minivan is pretty luxurious to me.)

  Personally, it always drives me insane when a friend later tells me that they thought I was an indulged Sewickley snob or a primadonna. Why, when everything I feel and believe goes against those attributes, would anyone think those things about me? Okay, growing up in Sewickley - I'll give people that one. It's a beautiful,safe and overly wealthy community. Does that mean I've ever lived without a concern for money? No way.

 Is it my blonde hair, female body (and the assumption that I only obsess about shoes and handbags), relative youth or preppy clothes? I just like to wear classic stuff! And I either bought it at the thrift store or 75% off at Target. I hate when people give me a hard time, assuming that I don't know what its like to go through bad times. My life has been blessed in many ways - but I've also seen some pretty horrible shit. Just because I have it relatively together, does not imply that I have lived a flaky, easy, superficial or materialistic life.

 What bothers you? Do you hate it when someone says, "I never pegged you for a Republican/Democrat/accountant/artist/chef/mother/father/whatever."? Do you wonder what they thought you should be?

It's like Ayla on Repeat

Instead of everyone commenting that Elliot looks like me or Gregory or any one of our siblings (except you, Eve, even though I wish I could birth an Asian child... I just don't think my wildest dreams will come true!) - they are saying that he looks like Ayla. 

 It's true, especially when I dress him in pink - which is a frequent occurrence. But he really does look just like Ayla did as a baby. Our genes skipped around a bit and Jackson is just his own man, truly unique from the beginning. Elliot may have updated the Stanton/Abell look with some dimples and a birthmark, but sometimes the similarities are unnerving. Watching Elliot develop month to month, and as he uses each recycled toy, it's a little hint of Ayla all over again.

 Can you see it?

Hipster Highchair

How did we find ourselves with three kids and needing a high chair? One would think that we have every necessary baby accessory by now. But during this move, the high chair we'd used with Ayla and Jackson was left behind. It was a beautiful wooden (antique?) chair that had weathered the biter biscuits, yogurt and smooshed pasta. Before Elliot was born, Gregory's father thoroughly cleaned and refinished it.... leaving it in much nicer condition than our children did. And now that Gregory's parents are grandparents four times with babies visiting often - that beautiful highchair should stay at their house.

Unfortunately, that meant we had to buy a highchair! And I was not excited about the prospect of dropping the absurd amounts of money that highchairs require. $300!!! - no way, I could get a new washer for that! I thought about using our swing as an alternative... but it has toys attached to the tray and Elliot was more interested in eating those than his pureed carrots. I had hopes that we could forgo the chair and just hold him while he eats, but that is an insanely messy endeavor.

 Do you see now that I am cheap? Plus, this is too late to be making a major baby investment. I won't say Elliot is our last baby for sure (because if I declared that to the world, I'd be pregnant with twins in a minute as punishment), but I'd rather not spend money on things that we only need for a year.

 Finally, I found something on ToyRUs.com that seemed reasonable, the cute Inglesina table chair. It's perfect! The price point was a perfect compromise for me. I can spend $60 on a little chair that fits on our table at home, but can be easily taken off and travel with me to restaurants. I used it twice during my last visit to Pittsburgh and everyone in restaurants was intrigued.

 Elliot loves sitting with us at the table, as well as his opportunities to grab at everyone else's plates. It is surprisingly secure, not like past models that children used when I was growing up. Apparently those table chairs dropped to the floor constantly... a funny prospect when it's happening to someone else, but not my Elliot!

 Two drawbacks:

 (1) It doesn't fit on every table. I couldn't fit the "legs" all the way under the table trim at Azul's, but attached it to the table edge instead. Most parents wouldn't be comfortable with that, but I sat underneath Elliot to catch him in a disaster... but it held for the 45 minutes I needed it to!

(2) To secure the twist-tight coupling, you have to turn it LEFTY-tighty, RIGHTY-loosey. Now that messes with your brain!

  And while I wouldn't call it a drawback, Elliot loves kicking and bouncing in this little chair. His excitement shakes our Ikea table and spills drinks constantly. Oh well, I'll take spilled coffee over spending hundreds of dollars on a huge highchair anytime.

Things Gregory says in his sleep...

JUST KIDDING!

(Gregory gets mad at me for messing with him as he falls asleep... saying, "What? Huh? Say that again?" I wouldn't be so cruel to post what he says on my blog. But I am cruel enough to joke about it!)