Cass Just Curious

What's better then Pie?

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:40:00 +0000

I love Pie. I do. There is only one thing better then Pie and that one thing is really many many things that fall into the bucket of HOLIDAY COOKIE.

I am baking for the Holiday's. I love to bake. I love cookies. It's a good thing. It's not a bad thing. But it is feeding into my anxiety...because I'm nuts like that. (see how lazy that was? THAT's decreasing my anxiety) Cookies.

So far I have these cookies in my freezer:

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

Spritz cookie dough

Tomorrow I am making:

Snickerdoodles

Pumpkin Bread (not cookie, but yummy)

Upcoming cookies include:

Peanut Butter cookies with kisses

Italian Anise Cake Cookies

Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling (think cakester)

Chocolate Walnut Flour Free Brownie Bites

Peanut butter rice crispy treat balls dipped in chocolate

Cornflake wreaths (made with Bran Flakes)

Fudge (from my favorite Jane in the whole world. who I miss. a lot)

Brownies stuffed with Peppermint Patty's

Cranberry Oatmeal Squares

There is one cookie I have never tried. It is my husbands very favorite cookie/cake. It's the Rainbow Cookie. Anyone have any tips?

It happened at the grocery store.

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:06:00 +0000

My frenzy has been well documented. I'm getting things done though and that's helping my spirits. I purchased Lexi's Christmas outfits today (thank you Mom and Dad for funding my adventure) and that was something looming that is now done. At the checkout a lady cut me off in line, she apologized and then proceeded to take 20 minutes - wanting to know prices, purchasing and then changing her mind and wanting a manager to do a refund. I was irritated. Pissy even. Waiting is not something I like to do.

So I went to the grocery store after this checkout lady fiasco. I encounter more assholes there. I'm fuming at this point. I get in line and I'm greeted with a really friendly hello from the bagger. He's probably about 16 years old, he has a mental disability of some kind, I'm not sure exactly. He asked me how my Thanksgiving was. I responded that it was delightful and I asked him what HIS favorite part of Thanksgiving was and he got REALLY excited and told me about stuffing. This kid loves stuffing and he was SO excited that someone asked him about it. We talked for about 4 minutes about stuffing. It was the end of his shift. And he wished me a happy December and then I witnessed this small interaction.

He reached out his hand towards the cashier and he said to her "thank you for allowing me to work with you, I really enjoyed it" and she smiled and I saw a tear in her eye.

Here is this kid thanking people for working with him. Bagging groceries. With miserable people all around him. A sea of focused hungry people. I had a moment in the grocery store thanks to him.

He changed my day. My outlook. Maybe even my life. Thank you for reading my blog today. Thanks for being part of my life. For being interested. For saying so occasionally. Just, Thank you for allowing me to be part of your life. It's really a pleasure for me and I don't say so nearly enough.

Anxiety City also known as Cassville in December

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:52:00 +0000

Tomorrow is December. I will pause here to give you all a moment to say "Holy Shit" about 100 times as I just did. I have anxiety about December. I am an anxious person. December makes me nuts. Here's why:

December 5th - The FH has the big 3-0 birthday.

December 14th - We go to Florida. My anxiety about this is off the charts. Packing, Baby on Plane, Weather, Meals, Sun, Beach, Planes, Packing, Travel, wahhhh. Throw in two cats that need to go down to the FH's Grandma's, it's the freaking WEEK before Christmas and I'm just a ball of anxiety. Florida is not a third world country but what if I don't pack things that we need. I can't pack NOW or even really get ready to pack because everything we'd need we still need before we go and the weather, well who knows about the weather. It could be ANYTHING. And then we have cars and carseats and bathtime and meals and I'm starting to question my sanity.

December 24th - Christmas at my Parents which is Griswald worthy in the way that we have Marathon De Christmas. It's fantastic, I love it, it's just a lot. A lot of Christmas. A lot of people. A lot. I love it Mom I really really do - it's just....a lot.

December 31st - the end of the biggest year of my life

Let's add some more anxiety ridden things in here:

Snow. It's December so it could SNOW at any time. I hate driving in the snow. I was in a bad accident in 2002 my car didn't turn around a curve correctly on the ice went into a dead spin four times before I hit a truck head on. Not good. I was fine thanks to some wicked trashy hooker boots I had on but it has done serious damage to my brain. Every single time it's snowing and I'm in a car I can feel the car starting to pull in the direction it did when the spins started. So it makes me nuts. Add in the fact that I have the most precious cargo in the car now and I think it's safe to say Snow Days will be spent indoors. All day. Period.

2009. Another whole year of my life has gone by. I need to put some goals into place for 2009 and we need to be more fiscally responsible so I have to really set up and stick to a budget. Anxious. To resolution or not to resolution that is the question.

Add in here some birthday's and celebrating holidays with friends and work and life and photo classes and I'm just freaking the hell out tonight. Anyone else freaking? Any advice (or assvice) you'd like to give?

Lexi Proofing aka HELP MEEEEEEE!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:36:00 +0000

I mentioned that Lexi is now rolling. Which has me thinking about baby proofing our house. So I have a call for help from the internet. What do I buy? What do I do? What shouldn't I waste my money on?

Dear Lexi Month Four

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 01:23:00 +0000

Dear Lexi Doodle-

As I type this I am thinking back to four months ago this very moment...you had just been brought into my room - you were eating for the very first time - you were perfection. And you still are. This month has been a busy one for you my little bee. You continue to love life, waking with a smile, passing out smiles to everyone else that you get to see.

You are a very strong little girl - you like to pull yourself up to sitting and then to standing and you give me a big surprised smile when you are standing on your tip toes like "hey, look at me!" and I say hooray and you get so excited that you lose focus and you end up back on your tush. And then we do the whole thing over again. You also rolled over on accident a few weeks ago and since then you've discovered how to roll over on purpose and now you roll and roll and roll. We applaud your big moves and you are so proud that you did it. I will not lie to you Lexi, I cried a little the first time you rolled away from me. Since then I've made sure that you only roll towards me - my therapist (aka the internet) assures me that this is not going to cause you any permanent damage.

You growing and getting big and strong is my greatest accomplishment and I thank you for taking it easy on me. You love food, god bless ya because we love food too. Here's what you've had and what I think you thought about it:
- Applesauce was a little tart for you and you had the schuckles with each bite
- Sweet Potatos are your favorite, you LOVE sweet potato and if you taste them on your lips you open your little mouth like a baby bird every time you catch site of the spoon.
- Carrots are not as good as sweet potatoes but still pretty darn tasty.
- Peaches are very tasty but you get sick of the taste after a few bites
- Peas are yummy but lets be honest....it kind of grossed mommy out...not the eating but the, how do I say this delicately, the "after" shot
- Pears are nearly as loved as Sweet Potato....close, really close.

You are a very energetic eater and I really love your enthusiasm for food. With one exception. That little tug boat noise you make that involves spitting....that's not really "dinner" time activity. Sneezing is also not encouraged. I've been coated in carrot and also sweet potato because of this and I laughed and you laughed.

That's another thing you are into- Laughing. You have the best laugh too - it takes a LOT to get a laugh out of you but if you find that one magic noise of the day you will laugh and laugh and laugh. Your laugh just feels up every single space in my heart and I can close my eyes and hear it and it makes me smile. Sometimes while I'm working and listening to people on conference calls I hear you laughing downstairs with Val and then I end up saying something like "hey, could you repeat that?" like those people that used to really annoy me but you know what I think now? Whatever, I was listening to my girl laugh - that's WAY better then any stinkin conference call.

You are filling out your size 9 month clothes and I have your size 12 month stuff in your closet ready to fill in. I can't believe you're growing so fast....could you slow down just a little? It's okay though if you don't slow down. I'm capturing it all and by the time you're reading this you're probably going to be a little irritated by the endless amount of photos of you growing up and that tush shot I took of you last week, you probably won't like that one. But I'll let you in on a secret - there are a lot of people out there in this world that love to see your pictures every day (Hi Grandma Sandy!) and this makes you just a teeny tiny bit closer to them. It also helps me be in the moment with you and when I'm looking through the lens of my camera I'm really clicking the button on my memory too.

Every single day since you were born you have been the best part of my day - if it's your laugh or you big gummy smile or how your hand rests on my chest as you are nursing or the way you stop crying when you see me because you know I'll pick you up and love you or if it's the quiet time we spend snuggled before the rest of the world has woken up or if it's while we're singing and shaking it in the kitchen making dinner. You, my little girl are incredible, you make me proud. You picked us and I am so very glad because you have made our life full in a way I never knew possible.

I love you my sweet baby girl and I will love you forever and ever-
Mommy

Here's a picture of us on your first Thanksgiving

The new new math or Mom Math

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:56:00 +0000

It's like math...because it involves numbers. That's really the only thing it has in common with math. It's a reward system that Oprah would not approve of. It's brilliant.

Long powerpoint due at work = 3 cups of coffee with premium creamer
Long powerpoint put together for work = 1 slice of pizza
Fourth night in a row as single parent = 2 chocolate chip cookies
Baby learning to sleep without the swaddle = 1 lemon square + tea with honey
Baby still crying from learning to sleep = 1 lemon square
Thanksgiving = 1 serving Turkey, 2 servings Stuffing and PIE. I love PIE
Listing to baby cry for 3rd minute (we have a 3 minute rule in this house) = 1 York Peppermint Patty from the secret stash
Rejoice that baby stops crying at 2:45 on the clock = 2 additional York Peppermint Patty
Upset Tummy due to the above = 3 Tums

Dear Lexi - One Year Ago Today

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:19:00 +0000

Dear Lexi Doodle-

You're almost four months old...but that's not for this letter. This letter is about what happened one year ago today. Daddy and I found out about you. Here's the story: I worked from home that day before Thanksgiving and at the end of the work day I decided that I would color my hair and take a nice soak in the tub. I was working the dye into my hair and I thought to myself "let's pee on a stick" - the truth of the matter was that IF I wasn't pregnant I was going to start taking birth control because the holiday's can be a little tough to stomach without a martini....that's just me being real with ya. I actually was quite sure that I was NOT pregnant. I felt fine. I looked like me. I was coloring my hair and drinking a glass of wine afterall. And those are no-no's while you're "with child". But I pee'd on the stick and as I'm setting it on the counter to let it wait the necessary 2 minutes to process both lines popped up - like FAST. I remember saying Holy Shit about 1,780 times. Because HOLY SHIT. (I did ask the doctor if I should be worried about the hair coloring and the wine and she said you'd be just perfect. And she was right.)

I called your Daddy on the phone and on my 30th attempt and after a threatening e-mail he finally got off the phone with a customer and talked to me. He was shocked and oh so happy. We both were. Your Daddy left his office and I will say this for the record: Your Daddy can NOT keep a secret. If you have a secret. DO NOT TELL DADDY. He can't keep it. He is physically UNABLE to keep a secret. And if you have a secret don't tell him you have one because he will PEPPER you with questions until you reveal the secret and then he will make it NOT a secret because he will tell EVERYONE. In short, Daddy is not good with a secret. I told your Daddy that he could not call, talk, speak, whisper, sign, e-mail, text, write, send smoke signals to ANYONE before he came

home. And he didn't. This is the ONLY time on public record that he has kept a secret.

He came home and we called Gramma Sandy and Papa Greg and we told them and there were lots of happy tears and then we called Grandma Pat and Grandpa and THEY were so thrilled.

And then the secret was on until we could get "confirmation" from the doctor. As we were sitting down to Thanksgiving I had never been so happy to turn down a glass of wine.

Last year was the first year that I was Thankful for you. I was Thankful one year ago today and every single day in between - for you. You are my greatest gift. You are my Doodle Bug. You, my love, are my everything. Thank you for being that second line on that test. Thank you for being the light in my day.

I love you and I always will-

Mommy

Faces

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:56:00 +0000

New Haircut today. Told her I felt like Old Haircut (which I loved) grew out of the style too quickly....apparently in hairdresser speak that means cut WAY shorter. I think I dig it. I think.

The Secret strikes again

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:09:00 +0000

I really believe that you get what you truly ask for. I asked for an opportunity to learn. I asked for a photography class. And I received. I am a really lucky girl.

I had something that I didn't put on my list of 101 things. I was afraid to want it. I was afraid because it meant something to me as an individual. I'm very good at being a friend, a wife, a mom a daughter but I'm not always good TO me. So wanting this thing seemed selfish and unattainable. I want to be a photographer. Not necessarily a money maker (although that would be nice), not world renowned (although, again, would be nice), not necessarily featured by Martha or Oprah (although, again, would be SUPER nice) but when someone sees me with a camera, shooting at anything and they take a second to ask me "are you a photographer" I want to confidently say "yes, yes I am". I want to mean it. So this class, it means a lot to me.

My Papa Earl is a great photographer, because of him much of my life is captured - bad bangs and all. Over that weekend that I was up to my parents house my Uncle Jeff (hi!) called me "the New Earl". He has no idea that he made me cry. He made me cry because that made me proud. Really proud. I love my Papa - he knows this but I don't think he knows how much. He really inspires me. So to be compared to him, even if it was kind of a joke, meant a lot to me. A whole lot.

My mother-in-law (Hi Mom!) is also a great photographer. She inspires me too and it's largely her generosity that has brought the camera gear that I so love into my life. When I first walked into the FH's parents house there was a wall (literally an entire wall) of photos of the FH and JB growing up. It has since been pared down but every single photo on that wall was fantastic and the best part about them to me was that Pat took them. You could tell the person that took the photo loved her subject with her whole heart. You could feel it. I wanted Lexi to have that - the way I did and the way Ross did.

In high school this guy Jason (who I don't think reads this but totally could so hi!) took a picture of me and my friend Mike (who does read this, Hi!). I remember it so vividly we were at our Senior Picnic and he took a picture of us and he got down on his knee and shot it from the ground - it was so unexpected. It's one of my favorite pictures. I remember thinking that I want to get down and take pictures.

Shortly after I started shooting with my Nikon I took a shot down at my dad's farm and someone asked me for a copy of it. Their exact words were "Could I get a copy of that?" and it was the best feeling in the world.

So I guess what I'm saying is I'm grateful, I want to say "Yes, I am" to the photographer question and I want to say "Yes" when someone asks for a copy of a photo I took.

Tagged

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:45:00 +0000

Pocklock is coming home today and in celebration the sky let some snow fall. She'll be SO excited....NOT.

Meme

Where is your cell phone? Purse
Where is your significant other? Work
Your hair color? Mouse
Your mother? Miss
Your father? Happy
Your favorite thing? Coffee
Your dream last night? EliManning
Your dream/goal? Cure
The room you’re in? Bedroom
Your hobby? Sleep
Your fear? Death
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Home
Where were you last night? Couch
What you’re not? Patient
One of your wish-list items? WiiFit
Where you grew up? Medina
Last thing you did? Pumped
What are you wearing? Jeans
Your TV? DVRing
Your pet? Lazy
Your computer? Maggie
Your mood? Intense
Missing someone? Me
Your car? Full
Something you’re not wearing? makeup
Favorite store? Wegmans
Your summer? Lexi
Love someone? Lots
Your favorite color? Periwinkle
When is the last time you laughed? Morning
Last time you cried? Yesterday

My Nikon D40x and Me

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:26:00 +0000

Remember how I mentioned that I wasn't receiving a lot of e-mails? Well I finally got through them all last night and I flagged about 40 e-mails that all had questions about my camera - so I thought I'd tackle it in one giant post for man kind.

I will say this first: I buy everything photo related from B&H because like their commercials say "You've got to go to B&H". If you're going to go and check out the store or buy something from them click on the ad below. I find myself always having a question before I make an investment in another piece of photo gear and the staff is always kind and knowledgeable.

Here is what I own:

Nikon D40x - which doesn't appear to be available anymore. The close cousin is the Nikon D40

My everyday lens is the 18 -135mm

I have an external flash: SB-800 Speedlight

And a telephoto lens with vibration reduction (which is VERY important in my findings) that is the 70-300mm

Why did I choose a Nikon?

Okay the whole truth is that Torrie over at I Pretty Much Hate Everything uses a Nikon and I admired her work and I thought "maybe if you had a great camera like hers you could take good pictures." I then went and did a ton of research and trying and decided that I really liked the Nikon. It's a feel thing to me.

How many pictures do you take a week or month?

I take a lot of pictures and every since buying Maggie my Macbook and Aperture I'm taking more and posting less. How does that work? Well Aperture allows me to pick out the BEST shot from about 30 that I might take in a 2 minute window. On average I take 300 pictures a week. I try to take at least 50 pictures of a subject other then Lexi. That's hard sometimes.

Did you take a class?

No. But boy do I need one. And I'm looking for an online class to take. Something that will push me to take pictures. Have you taken one? Do you recommend a class? A book?

What do you want to buy next?

The Nikon D90 - 12.3 Megapixels and the body will work with all of my accessories. I have a plan to buy this....it's 10 $100 earnings. I just need to find a way to make $100 ten different times and I'm determined to earn that $1,000 with my photography. I'll keep you posted.

Making Baby Food - The Fun Way

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:18:00 +0000

Lexi is eating food. That's not really putting it well. Lexi is demanding food of the non-boob variety. I embrace this, I'm tired of solving problems in my personal life with boobs. Work life problem solving of this nature is still 100% acceptable.

About three weeks ago I started the mission of making Lexi some food. I wanted to make it. I didn't want to turn to Gerber because I'm nuts like that - not because I think there is something wrong with Gerber. I liked the idea of me getting all Baby Boom on my kitchen and having my own "sweet little country baby" right here in Westchester. Plus I wanted to make sure that it was all vegetable and no preservative and when possible, organic. So I decided that I would try the following items and methods to see what works best. To save you the trouble of this experimentation in insanity I will share.

Subjects: Apples, Pears and Carrots

Method 1: Ziploc Steam Bags + Cuisinart

This was the fastest of all methods. The steam times averaged about 5 minutes for all three of my subjects. The items were appropriately steamed. The downside is the bags aren't recommended for re-use and I don't like using plastic in this way so frequently. That whole "we only have one earth" thing gets to me on occasion. The bags also provide PLENTY of opportunity for burning the shittake out of your fingers. The cuisinart, while the master appliance of most of my cooking, did NOT do the job well. The texture of all of the items were still too gritty and caused Lexi to make a face that said "What the hell is this? I'm on that boob for like ever. For reals." So yeah, this wasn't going to work for us.

Method 2: Old fashioned steam over boiling water + Cuisniart + Food Mill

This was by far the most time consuming method I tried. The steaming over water requires that you let water boil and because I don't have that Eletrolux* stove that brings water to a boil in 90 seconds this was a painful amount of time. Water finally boils, I steam the items and I had some items that were appropriately cooked and other pieces that weren't at all. Frustrating. I then stuck them in the Cuisinart and due to Method 1 I then proceeded to the Food Mill which made the texture MUCH better so Lexi's face said "Hmmm smooth and creamy and I think I might like Pears. I think I might like them very much. More. Now. SERIOUSLY GIVE ME MORE and sweet jesus put the girls away Mom, it's getting to be embarrassing."

Method 3: Expensive baby machinery in the form of the Beaba Babycook*

In life I tend to like the most expensive of things. It's kind of how I roll. But in this instance I hoped that I wouldn't love it - because it would be much better for my blog if I liked one of the cheaper executions. But alas I must declare my love of the Beaba Babycook. The steam basket provides enough room for a solid 4 servings of the subject at hand. The steamer automatically turns off by some magic that I don't even question. After the subject steams you use the handy European Spatula thing to empty the steam basket into the blender component. You blend. The resulting texture is Food Mill variety with ZERO Food Mill effort - not to mention the fact that you don't have to clean the Food Mill which almost always requires a toothpick. Lexi's face when eating the Beaba Babycook was very similar to Method 2 but she said nothing because she was too darn busy being a baby bird opening her mouth for another spoonful. The Beaba Babycook is compact enough that it fit very nicely in a smallish cabinet.

If you're interested in making your own babyfood and you haven't invested in another piece of equipment then I would provide a solid two thumbs up to Method 3. Certainly you could do it the other ways....and I'm sure there are another hundred ways you could do it. But in my kitchen I will be using the Babycook.

*Note that Williams Sonoma or Beaba Babycook did not pay me for this review. Although they could...I'd totally let them. And if Electrolux would like to send me that stove that does that water boiling thing, I'm game - I might even change the name of my blog to Electrolux. Just Curious.

Haunted by Lists

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:53:00 +0000

My friend Robyn wrote about something today that you know I am personally afflicted with (or by?). List Haunting.

When I list things I often feel centered, driven, focused, mission-centric. But I made a list here of 101 things I wanted to do in 1001 days. 1001 days in December 1st of next year. But this list bothers me every week. I have a printed copy that is always with me. I highlight the items that are "top of mind" and I cross them out when I get them done.

Let's take a look at what we've gotten done so far with items crossed off. And the items in RED are my TOP OF MIND items and the comments in italics are my freak outs.

30 day or 7 day challenges
1. Go on a 30 day purchase fast
2. Drink 100 oz of water a day for 30 days
3. Give up any carbonated beverage for 30 days
4. Spend 7 days without any television
5. Go one week without internet connection. And live.
6. Go one week without rolling my eyes or flipping anyone off

Buy it
~~7. Buy my own domain and setup my blog there~~
~~8. Purchase new dinnerware~~
9. Buy Balloons
~~10. Buy an external flash for my camera~~
11. Buy a King Sized Bed
12. Buy a Mac notebook
13. Buy a Bike
14. Pick out a new couch with the FH

Do it for fun
15. Stay at a 5 star hotel with the FH in the city
16. Go to a wine tasting
17. Have a snow storm party
18. Fly a Kite
~~19. Wear a color I've never worn before~~
20. Go see a movie and buy soda and popcorn
21. Go for a picnic
22. Watch a Law & Order marathon from start to finish
23. Make bread from scratch
24. Play Go - Fish
25. Bake a Layer Cake
~~26. Walk barefoot through a creek~~

Do it for me
~~27. Get the pass to the reserve and go at least 5 times each month when it's nice out~~
28. Have a full spa day
~~29. Sell the books that I don't reference on Amazon~~
~~30. Watch Singing in the Rain~~
31. Vote for the next President
32. Pay off one of our cars
33. Start a fire in a fireplace and enjoy the warmth and light
34. Sing at Karaoke night
~~35. Buy myself flowers once a month for 4 months~~
36. Pick raspberries and blueberries and eat as much as I put in the bucket
37. Make Christmas Cookies - but buy the icing
~~38. Have my teeth whitened~~
39. Get a new pair of glasses
40. Find a new hairstyle
~~41. Take a picture that someone would be willing to pay for~~
42. Learn Italian
43. Buy a comfortable pair of black heels
44. Buy a Teapot and enjoy the art of afternoon tea
45. Increase my blog readership by 50 readers (this is lofty)
~~46. Forgive someone that hurt me~~
47. Make an apron

Do it for someone else
48. Go to the Philharmonic
49. Help someone fulfill a wish
50. Give someone an opportunity
51. Help one of my husbands dreams come true
52. Complete a First Aid Class
53. Give someone not expecting it a compliment
54. Volunteer at a Food Bank
55. Stop using paper towels

Do it sooner then later
56. Re-pot the palm plant into a container that isn't so ugly
57. Call Polland Spring to get the mass of empty bottles in our basement
58. Hang windchimes

Dream It
59. Meet Oprah - HOW IS THIS GOING TO HAPPEN????
~~60. Learn to not hate taxes~~
61. Witness a Miracle

Family & Home stuff
~~62. Go through the box of medicine and get rid of expired stuff~~
~~63. Empty the freezer before buying anything else to put in the freezer~~
64. Create a large chalkboard and have it framed
65. Introduce my mom to her Grandchild
66. Take a picture of our baby with sand between his/her toes
67. Move into a house - HOW DO I MAKE THIS HAPPEN????
~~68. Plant flowers around the condo~~
69. Adopt a dog - I no longer even WANT this.
70. Create a book with the baby photos with captions
71. Convert some of the home videos to DVD's
72. Plant lilac bushes all around our home
73. Start a savings plan for our children
74. Buy Life Insurance
75. Make my own babyfood
76. Tell someone that I love them every single day
~~77. Create a new tradition~~
78. Learn to open and close a stroller with one hand
79. Make a Will
80. Elfa another Closet

Food & Health
81. Make the cake mix cookies that my friends mom made when we were kids
82. Run a 10k
83. Wear a Size 6 - otherwise known as be a MILF
84. Learn to do a flip turn in the pool
85. Stop eating any food that is processed for 14 days
86. No pasta for 30 days
87. Hike up a Mountain
88. Try at least 5 new recipes in a month from Ellie Kriegers new book

Professional
89. Consult on Internet Marketing Strategy for non profit organizations
90. Get promoted

Travel
91. Put at least two stamps in my Passport
92. Go to the Museums in the city that I always talk about wanting to go to
93. Run the stairs in Santa Monica
94. Take a road trip where we cross at least three states
95. Go to the Green Market in the city and buy honey
96. Float down a lazy river
~~97. Viist 2 states I've never been to~~
98. Jump in a lake
99. Rent a cabin on a lake and stay there all week without leaving
100. Row a boat
101. Visit my college

Things I love

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:36:00 +0000

Actual content is overrated. I mean do you really want to hear me talking about "being overwhelmed" having "too much to do" being "HUNGRY" needing more Coffee? No. You don't. So I give you things I love in pictures:

I special ordered three Klean Kanteen covers - they cover them perfectly and they are super sweet and they take the chill off of these stainless steel bottles. Make drinking water even greener. Visit the Thinking Mama etsy store. I HIGHLY recommend this purchase for the person that has everything.

My two favorite people. The FH and the FB (Fantastic Baby no F adjectives EVER substituted) - I mean seriously cute.

This photo desperately needs a caption - my vote is: My Mama's nuts.

My freshly Elfa'd closet. I love it! Thanks to Jason at the Container Store in White Plains for nailing exactly what I wanted. If you're in the Westchester area and you need a closet done see Jason. Seriously. See him personally. Don't go and call Chuck on the phone. Chuck's lost. Sorry Chuck.

I love this picture from Halloween weekend of Lexi and Ed reading the Belly Button Book. Hi BeeBo.

Holiday Hint #2 - Use your Google Docs

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 18:39:00 +0000

Do you have a Gmail account? If you do then you have Google Documents and I love them. I like to share my documents with people and this makes it super easy - but this document is TOP SECRET. At the beginning of the year I start a Google Document for Gifts. I put the name of each person on this list and then as the year goes by I note any little items the person says they would like...most of the time it's something small.

For example my Papa loves Sugar Daddy's the candy - they aren't easy to find so I noted it the last time I went to visit him that his stock is low. So it was on my list. Two weeks ago I was at a party store and they had Sugar Daddy's - hooray they are now going under the tree and he'll be all excited because "HEY, I just ran out of those". Now if it wasn't on the list I probably would have thought "hey, Papa likes those" and walked on by. Of course now I've blown the surprise. Sorry Papa - no surprises for you.

Example the second - when my Mom and I went to Reno, NV (which is a hole, sorry if you live in Reno) we went to Lake Tahoe (which happens to be incredible) she noted several things that "Oh, I wish I had one of those" I was able to add it to my Google Documents FROM my Blackberry and when Mom opens those presents under the tree she'll say "HOW'd you know I have always wanted one of those???"

Here's another important bit - NOTE when you buy things for people and if your a gift hider - NOTE where you hid them. I am constantly finding myself OVER buying for people because I didn't remember what or if I bought them something and oh yeah, where the HECK did I put it?

Google Documents Use #2 - people like to ask what you want/need. And what your family wants and needs. Answer the people. I know. It sounds so easy but in this economy gift giving is tough business and shouldn't you be asking people to spend their money on something that you actually want and will use? It's selfish NOT to offer suggestions. So I keep a Google Document of stuff that I think of that we'd like or use. This has become even better since Lexi was born because people are always saying "Do you have the X books?" or "Do you have the X gadget?" or I'm reading one of your blogs and you tell me about how your child LOVED "Fantastic Thing W" when they were 1 year old so I add that to the list. When people ask I can offer helpful suggestions of things that we'll really use. I think this is nice. I think they agree. Of course I only offer when asked - otherwise I think it's a little rude.

Shocking that I make a list, isnt' it?

Holiday Helpful Hint #1

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:51:00 +0000

The title of this post suggests that there will be more Holiday Hints. I love the holidays. I love them all. I do little things to make them even better here's my first Holiday Helpful Hint:

Points. Why you should keep score.

We put just about everything on our credit cards and pay them off each month. We do this to earn points. Some people have points that can only be redeemed through an airline or a hotel but I always make sure we pick cards that allow you to redeem points for giftcards to popular stores and destinations. Every year the week before Thanksgiving I go on a giftcard-a-palooza using our earned points. I buy $10 Starbucks cards, $25 Amazon gift cards and some specialty cards and I have them on hand for gifts. Our mail carrier for example will get a travel mug from Starbucks and a giftcard inside. It's a nice little gift that says "hey, thanks a lot for not leaving my package in the rain" or the girl that gives me a manicure once a month...she gets a $10 giftcard. The best thing about these gifts is they seem almost "free" to me - now I know they aren't free but it's not like I'm out the money so I'm not stressed about our Holiday budget being kicked in the balls because I want to say thanks to the snow plow guy. It's important to do this a good a month before the holidays though because it can take up to 5 weeks for some of these cards to be mailed to you.

Now, wasn't that helpful?

Cute Baby and Crazy Doctors

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:16:00 +0000

Yesterday we went to Lexi's doctor for her three month well visit. She is very well indeed. At 26 inches long at 19lbs 8oz she's a very healthy little girl but while we were at the visit the doctor asked me about a very sensitive topic here in the land of Mommy-hood.

Sleep. She asked how Lexi is sleeping. This isn't a topic I talk about much because it can get you hated in some circles. Lexi has been sleeping from 9pm-7am for the last 6 weeks. And now that the time change happened she's sleeping from 8pm-4am (how I lost two hours here I'm not sure) but she eats and then goes back to sleep until 6:30 so it's not bad at all. I've knocked on EVERY single wood surface in my home. So the doctor asked what we do...here's what we do:

-Bath every other night (she's got sensitive skin)

-Snuggle/Backyardigans/Play/Tummytime

-Eat

-Swaddle

-Turn on the sound machine to womb loud

-Place Lexi in the sleep positioners slightly cocked on one side

-Walk out of the room.

That's what we do. She falls asleep. She doesn't cry. She's the most amazing baby on the planet. And I would think that even if the world gives me the finger tonight and she's up all freaking night. Which, lets be honest, is completely possible.

The doctor said it's time to stop the swaddle and the sleep positioners. And I looked her dead in the eye and said "hell no" and laughed. Because CERTAINLY she is kidding. She wasn't kidding. She was talking about limiting Lexi's movement at night and scootching and about how rolling over in her sleep is important and blah blah bla-blah-bla-lalalaa. And the entire time she's saying this I'm thinking "HELL NO HELL NO HELL NO HELL NO HELLNO HELLNO HELLNO....HELLLLLLNO. NOO. NOO. Noo. No. I can not hear you. So, no. Nope. Not happening. Na-ah."

So my dear internet - do I listen to the doctor? Do we phase out the swaddle and sleep positioners? The answer I'm looking for her is no - screw the doctor and worship the gods of sleep that REALLY matter. But answer from your gut. What's a girl to do?

And as a prize I give you fresh baby pictures:

Seriously - could you resist this face???

And now for some real fun. The entertainment center that has taken over the last 2 feet of avialble surface area in our living room:

Turn Right to Go Left

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:45:00 +0000

Here are my thoughts from Blogvention 2008 and because I'm kickin it old school today lets go with bullets.

As I'm driving without the backyardigans on "So, this is quiet...I kinda dig quiet. This might be the new way to go. Yeah, total, complete, uninterrupted, quiet."
As I'm driving over the George Washington Bridge "HELLO NEW JERSEY" alla You've Got Mail
As I pass Newark airport "Jersey you smell....seriously you need that -byyyymenen- guy to come and sprinkle the shit out of you...literally."
As I'm missing my exit "oh, I'll just turn around at the next one....well the next one is here but it's another highway...I'll just turn around....I turned around....now I'll get off on the original right exit just the other direction....SHIT the exit doesn't EXIST on this side...what the hell new jersey what the flipping hell???"
As I pull into Wegmans "All these people are turning right - even if they want to go left they are turning right. You've got to wonder if they have kids navigating the hallways in elementary school in the same way."
As I step into Wegmans "Mama's home." I nearly cuddled with the produce guy.
As I pull up to AndreAnna's "I hope they like me."
As I met AndreAnna and her family "This basement looks to be perfectly sized for me to move in."
As I met Kristin "I feel like I know you, your kids, your day so I'm going to give you an extra tight squeeze...I hope that's okay"
As I met Lara "Well she's just plain awesome. I'm so very glad I'm meeting her in real life."
As I was holding Sawyer "I gotta go pump" that happened many many times.
As we're ordering drinks and AndreAnna orders a dirty martini "I don't like em dirty"
As the dull waiter was giving us the run down on the sauces and he gets to angry sauce "I don't like em dirty but I like em angry"
As I'm watching AndreAnna shake her ass on the side of the highway after dinner "Yup, that's my friend....how did I go my whole like without knowing her???"
I'll leave the MoHo commentary to AndreAnna because she'll do a better job with it. But all I have to say is MoHo MoHo MoHo.
As I wake up for the 5th or 6th time looking for my baby in the middle of the night "Oh this is difficult"
As I'm driving home "that was so so so much fun...I love that vodka doesn't give me a hangover."

I'm voting for blogvention 2009 to happen ASAP.

How I love Swistle's Brownies. Let me count the ways.

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 01:32:00 +0000

I like Swistle. I like how she owns who she is. I'm a fan. Like I said, I like her. But I LOVE her brownies. Her brownies are like walking into a clean house that you didn't have to clean. Her brownies are like a massage without the expectation of getting "any". Her brownies are the equivalent of never having a bad song stuck in your head. Her brownies are like a two hour NAP. Her brownies - ahhh - it's like - god whispered the recipe in her ear.

So today when I saw her enhanced recipe I knew it was destiny. I must bring these brownies to Blogvention 2008 New Jersey style. It was like Yoda was willing it to happen. I was simply Swistle's Luke and she was telling me to follow the force. See. Destiny.

Destiny however doesn't like my local grocery store where they didn't have Peppermint Extract OR a Mint Chip product. So I had to modify her enhanced recipe. So here's what I did:

- Peppermint schnaps for Peppermint Extract...I say Upgrade

- Ghiaradelli's Peppermint Bark sandwiched in the brownies for the Mint Chips....I say upgrade.

- Extra chocolate drizzled on top....well that was Yoda calling to me directly.

These brownies are worth a pound. Or four.

I love mail.

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:35:00 +0000

I love mail. Its something that really bothers the FH.

Doesn't seem rational does it? Someone being bothered by anothers love of mail but it's true - it bothers him deeply. Back when I worked out of the home I would come home and get the mail. In the rain, the snow, the heat, the dark of night. I got the mail. It was a great pleasure. And he would always say "WHY do you have to get the mail FIRST THING?!?!!" And I would tell him that "I HAD TO for the bills and stuff" but the truth is I love the mail because it's for me. Special stuff delivered nearly EVERY day with MY name on it. What's not to love??? When I started working from home I identified the sound of the mail postage stamp truck as it turned into our complex. This might seem unimpressive but it's two cul-de-sacs away. I love the postmen and Sam and Doug know me and Lexi by name because we buy stamps and we ship stuff and if you have a baby people suddenly want to know your name.

Today I got a package in the mail from a contest I had won from the lovely MoxyMama. I had been anxiously awaiting this package and when an unexpected delivery was brought to the door by Tony our mail carrier I was SO excited. I won some Bunnie Hunt show swag and I have to say she's got some good stuff. See:

See, Bonnie Hunt just continues to grow my love of mail.

Let Love be Love

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:37:00 +0000

A lot of you can say this better then I can. And you probably will. But this is what I've got to say: Let Love be Love. Be Merry Get Married. Love yourself a Lesbian. Love yourself a Gay guy. Let Love be Love. That's it. If you don't like it - you don't have to do it.

I have some good friends that are Lesbians. I love me some lesbian - hell if I didn't have the FH I'd want a wife. (and if you wouldn't want a wife I ask you to go commit yourself - everyone wants a stinkin wife) Now I'm not "into" girls but if you are god bless ya - we're hot and awesome. And if you're into Guys, Amen to that too. That's right I said AMEN. And if my Lesbian friends want to get married and have babies well then God Bless those babies because those would be some very lucky, very blessed children. Same thing goes for my guys that are Gay.

Let love be love. This post has been edited to remove a picture of me flipping off this situation....it's edited because my Mom asked me to remove it and I love my Mom....while I don't find a good flip off offensive - she did, as did some other people that I love. I'm not editing my opinion - just the picture.

Dear Lexi - Election 2008

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:01:00 +0000

Dear Lexi-

Today is November 5th, yesterday was election day. You will have a new president in a couple months in Barack Obama. I've made it no secret that your Mama's for Obama and I have to tell you that I'm very proud of our country today that he was selected to be our next President of these United States.

I love that I have to explain to you why this is a big deal because by the time you're old enough to really read this and understand these word you won't know that it once was a big deal. This is SO very important. There was a time in this country that people were not free, people didn't have the right to vote, people didn't have the right to see a movie or drink out of a water fountain or attend university. I know this must seem so bizarre to you - but it's true. Having a black man elected into the highest office as leader of the free world shows every single person on this planet that freedom, liberty and equality works. Democracy works.

So this election is an important message that equality is a priority and that a persons color does not disqualify them from anything. That's important. But this next piece is MORE important to me and your Daddy. This election was the moment in our lives that our entire country stood up and wanted Change. Our country committed to doing better for our citizens. Status qua is no longer acceptable to the majority of people in these United States and that is remarkable. Change can be a scary thing. Especially when it's needed as badly as its needed right now. Your Daddy and I are going to work very hard in our life so that you see the opportunity in Change rather then the scary - we're going to try to be the very best role models of this. We want to show you compassion so that you grow to be a compassionate person. We want to provide for you the best possible world to grow up in so that when you are grown up you will do your very best in this world. We are going to expose you to some places and things so that you appreciate the areas in which we are very fortunate and we will expose you to other places and things that will make you strive to do better. It's important to look both ways on the ladder and I want to show you how to do it.

I am so proud to be an American and I am so proud to raise you in this great land full of opportunity and promise. Just like you.

All my love, Always.

Mommy

Demonstration #532 of me being an idiot

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:51:00 +0000

Today as I checked my gmail account I saw the blinking *NEW* button so I decided to check it out. It prompted me to check out my e-mail settings. I then notice that while I can send e-mail from my cassjustcurious account I wasn't GETTING e-mails to my inbox - ooops. I updated this tiny button and the flood of e-mails started. HUNDREDS of e-mails that have gone unanswered. HUNDREDS. I am SO SO SO SO sorry! And I am so embarrassed. I'm going to try to get through them...but I'll be honest I might just ignore the ones that came in before December....a year seems like a long time to be waiting on a response.

This concludes Demonstration #532 of me being an idiot. Stay tuned instance #533 is sure to happen before the end of the day.

Yes We Can

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:21:00 +0000

I ask you to vote. I beg you to be part of the moment. I plead with you to make it a priority. I ask you to make a choice that will give my daughter a better world. I ask you to think about her ability to choose for herself. I ask you to think about her first day of Pre-K and about how with an Obama administration she will have that. I'm okay with paying higher taxes because I am lucky to make enough money to do so. I'm okay with it because we need this change. I ask you this because there are women out there not getting screened for cancer because they do not have health insurance. There are families that don't know how they will pay for their medical bills to save their children. I ask you to think about the friends I have lost in this war. I ask you to be part of the change.

And even if we're not on the same page I ask you to vote because you have the ability to do so. I can respect a difference of opinion. I can not respect you if you do not show up and vote. I can't. And I won't.

Family

noreply@blogger.com (CassJustCurious) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 13:16:00 +0000

The weekend with my family has been going really well. We've been enjoying all the company and tonight we'll be enjoying Turkey dinner - I can not wait for this meal. Lexi discovered balloons yesterday. Let me say this (Michelle, Pocklock, AndreAnna I'm looking at you and if you knew about this and you didn't tell me - don't tell me now that you knew) BUY A BALLOON I will be investigating a helium tank. This Balloon has brought HOURS of entertainment. She is mesmerized by the balloon. I want to make out with this balloon. Seriously. This is my life.