Rant and Raves

I have a terrible track record for these but I guess they’ll just have to be an intermittent blog feature.

Rants O’ the Week:

• To the two women with the pitbull at Carkeek Park last weekend who waltzed past the huge “No Dogs on Beach” signs and then were caught without any sort of bag when the dog defecated in the middle of the heavily-used beach trail. Two things: You make dog owners look really, really bad when you do that. Secondly, you must have also missed the signs that said: “The stream and beach are heavily contaminated due, in part, to bacteria from dog and cat fecal material”.  Throwing a wee pinch of sand over your dog’s mess in the middle of a busy, busy trail is not going to help that situation.  Granted, we’ve all been bad dog owners on occasion but this behavior seemed especially egregious. 

• To chickens that are nearing the end of their laying period. Pondering our options on this one. 

• Sanding plaster in an old house. What a dirty, dusty, messy, miserable process. 

Raves O’ the Week:

• Football tickets from an awesome relative.  

• Lovely fall weather. We’re in soup- and stew-making mode ‘round here. Getting ready to hunker down for the winter. 

• Babies that sleep 6 hours straight. This happens rarely in our humble abode but when it does… it’s pure bliss. 

Rant and Raves

I’ve yet to come up with a better title.

Oh well.


Rants O’ the Week:

Rant #1: Bad news -  I think one of our neighbors has taken up punk rock drumming. With all his windows open. So far, I’d rate his performance as enthusiastic, long-winded, and mostly devoid of musical talent.

Fortunately, we have a solution:

Rant #2: I’ve been getting a lot o’ calls lately from companies whose services I currently use (credit card, phone company, internet company, etc) who get me on the phone and say: “There is nothing wrong with your account BUT let me sell you this new, additional service we are currently offering”. I had one really tenacious guy this morning. “I know you don’t like getting these calls but I don’t understand that logic since what I’m trying to sell you is good for you. I’m really trying to help you”. For the life of me, I couldn’t shake him.

Finally I told him that if he (or his company) called me one more time than I would immediately switch to his company’s competitor. And then I hung up.

Talk about feeling like an ogre. Poor guy is just trying to do his job and I bite his head off.



Raves:

Sunny weather is HERE and with it come the raspberries!! My all-time favorite food. We picked a handful last night and had them atop Katherine’s* salad.

Yum, yum, yum.

Speaking of sunny weather, guess who is in seventh heaven.

That’s right, this guy:

He’s our canine sun baby.

And last but not least, my dad is just tops in my book. When we were on vacation he came over and did a mammoth amount of work in our yard, most notably taming the wild blackberry/ivy/laurel jungle behind the chicken coop. In true dad fashion, he cleared the entire area but left one, solitary ‘pretty’ weed. That bundle of actions describes my papa to a T.

Thanks, dad.


*In our household we assign ownership to delectable dishes. For example, we have Katherine’s Salad, Greg’s tacos, Karin’s sausage/kale dish, Cherie’s Chili and the original, my Nana’s Fantasy Fudge. It should be noted that these individuals didn’t create the dish, they just introduced us to it and for that we are forever grateful. This distinction stems from the fact that for ten years I thought my grandma’s fudge recipe was just the best thing on earth. There was nothing like it.  I used to tell everyone that her secrete recipe was spectacular and that it couldn’t be duplicated (or shared). And then one year I actually made it with her and found out that “her” recipe could be found on the back of every single can of Kraft jet-puffed marshmallow creme…

I was crushed. But on the bright side, it’s nice to know where to find the recipe, should I lose my paper copy.

Rant and Raves

First off, thank you for the birthday wishes. We'd had a rough night, baby-wise, the night previously, so we had a very low key birthday evening. Chris came home with a pizza, baked a cake, and most importantly, gave me a few non-Benjamin hours. I love the kiddo dearly but was so grateful for the brief respite. Best of all, he slept in three hour increments last night! Whoohoo!! A good birthday, indeed.

Raves
-To snow! That sticks (sort of).

Ready for cold weather walking

-To my mom for teaching me a bit of sewing wisdom this week. And for being so patient. "hey look mom, I'm done with my first seam! My only problem is that it morphed from 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch halfway through."
-To all you sweet peeps for the birthday wishes, thank you!

Rants:
-to our first diaper blowout. On our duvet cover. I guess it was time to wash the sheets anyway.
-To dog hair that seems to magically multiply and then appear... Everywhere.
-to seams that morph from 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch...entirely on their own. Well, maybe with a little help from me.

Rant and Raves

Ok, I’ll be the first to admit this week that my rants stink. Which, upon further reflection, isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Rants:

• To sleep. Or my lack thereof. Not a surprise, given that we have an almost-three-week old baby. Still, I would like to have some. 
• To other people around the country having awesome weather. What can I say, I’m jealous. 

Raves:

• To amazing friends that brought us a hot dinner last night. I gorged myself silly. 
• To my mom, who (whom? help…) suggested that she and my dad watch Benjamin so Chris and I can go out for date nights. And a meal that isn’t eaten on the fly. 
• To my husband, whom (dangit, not again!) I overheard singing Christmas carols (among others) to the baby while changing his diaper. Don't ever change, Sweetie. 

Rants and Raves

This week's rants are as follows:

To our beleaguered city and the decimated operating budget: turning down the temperature of both the swimming pool and the showers in order to save on heating costs... Understandable and probably necessary. But damn it makes for a cold swim!

Wishing that this last month of pregnancy was a wee bit more comfortable. I'd also like to be able to see my toes again.



And the raves:

To my mom for informing me that the average American consumes 140 pounds of sugar on a yearly basis... And then promptly requesting a piece of my homemade apple pie. Yes, the stats might be appalling, but no mortal can deny the need for pie!!

For being 38.5 weeks pregnant. Baby J might make an appearance in the near future. Come on baby!

For the tradition that Chris and I started of going out to lunch after all of our midwife appointments. I look forward to our quiet little dates; I'm going to miss them once the (above-mentioned)squalling babe arrives.

Rant and Rave

So, I’m not loving the Rant & Rave title.

 “Rant” seems a bit harsh. I’ve seen Kisses & Disses before… but that’s already taken. “Love & Bug”? Too weird.. “Hits & Misses”?

Anyway, until I think of something else (suggestions welcome!), here are this week’s Rant & Rave items:

Rants:

• To snow that melts before you have even one day of proper out-of-doors play.
• To the carpet guys that dinged our freshly painted railing. This isn’t a big deal as it’s a tiny scratch but we did put many, many hours into getting the ‘perfect’ paint job on that railing. Good thing I’m so darn pleased with the carpet. 
• And, not a rant at all, but to poor Bailey who has had a tough week, thanks to all the house activities. He is an anxious dog (I suppose I would be too if I had a history of abandonment and street living) and things outside of his routine cause significant stress. He just about tied himself in knots when he saw that we were moving furniture and boxes from the upstairs. Moving again?! Please, whatever you do, don’t leave me behind! He dogged our every step until we firmly told him to park it in the living room. No amount of hugs, pats, or assurances that we weren’t moving would put him at ease.  

Raves:

• To NEW CARPET!!! So soft on the footsies. Love the color, the pattern, the bounce, and the lack of noise made by husbands and canines tromping through the house at various wee hours of the morning.
• To Megan, who was such a tremendous help this weekend with house stuff. Moving, painting, vacuuming, organizing. She was the only fully able-bodied person participating and we couldn’t have done it without her help. 
• To my dad, who came over and did a bunch of trenching in the hopes that we’ll avoid a repeat of our flooded basement incident. 
• To my mom, whose idea it was that Chris and I should go on a big date before Baby J’s arrival. We had so much fun downtown on Monday night. 
• And, as part of that, to the W Hotel for providing giant tubs in their rooms with lots of fun shampoos and bubbly bath products. My love affair with warm showers/baths during pregnancy continues unabated. 

Rant and Rave

I think I’ve told you before how much I enjoy reading the Seattle Times’ weekend Rant & Rave column? Yes?

The premise is simple: readers write in to celebrate an act of kindness (the return of a lost wallet, a kind word on a depressing day, etc) or complain about an offensive event (dog poo left in the front yard, the guy that took your parking spot, etc).

Today you are getting a slightly more personalized version.

Happy events in Sonjaland (aka Raves):

• To the Group Health nurse that patiently listened to my complaints about lower back pain and promptly approved me for free massages. Hallelujah! There is a special place in heaven reserved for you. 
• To Chris last night when he told me I was the cutest pregnant lady he’d ever seen. 
• To the dad-to-be on Tuesday night that asked the castrol motor oil question. It was such an easy mistake to make and I smile every time I think about it. 

And most importantly:

• To my sisters-in-law, mother-in-law, mom, friends, and family that came together last week for my baby shower. I am so very, very lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.

This week’s Rants are as follows:

• To the woman in the doctor’s office today who told me that my reproductive timing was off. I should have had the baby before the end of the year in order to collect the tax exemption. Lady, if I’m worried about saving a few thousand bucks on my taxes, then having a baby is probably not the best money-saving strategy. As I’ve mentioned previously: kiddos ain’t cheap. Not appreciated, Ma’am. 
• To the person that hit Pepe the Prius with a car or shopping cart, wounding him terribly. I hope somebody puts a giant dent in you too. Call it Car Karma, if you will. 
• To not being able to partake in this recipe for Cranberry Pomegranate Sorbet. The suggested substation of white grape juice for the champagne seems like a lousy substitute, in this pregnant lady’s mind.