The incredibly boring adventures of a 21st century housewife

Video greetings for Scott

pafuts — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 03:39:42 GMT

Hey all!

Scott is turning the big 5-0 on the 17th. If you'd like to send him a video greeting, upload it to Youtube via this log in info:

Username: Christmasgoddess@gmail.com

Password: Ornament

xoxoxo

Feel free to pass on the info.

A place of my own

pafuts — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 12:56:01 GMT

Hey all

I'm moving my blog over here: http://putonlipstick.blogspot.com/

Specifically so I can do the ad space thing. But come on over. :)

a little spiritual thought today......

pafuts — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:07:20 GMT

"Truly those who believe, and the Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabaeans - whoever believes in God and the Last Day and performs virtuous deeds - surely their reward is with their Sustainer, and no fear shall come upon them, neither shall they grieve. " [Quran 2:62]

Turning Into Salt

pafuts — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:06:25 GMT

Road trip!

pafuts — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:10:50 GMT

The kids and I are now overnighting in Georgia on the way to visit grandparents in North Carolina.

We saw some interesting things on the way.

In Texas, we saw a kid in his early teens sitting on a truck tailgate with a handgun. In that same town, we saw a gallows, complete with mannequins, one with the noose around his neck.

In Louisiana, we saw a man talking so intently to his three year old his face had turned red. At this same travel center in Louisiana I got a Coca-cola in a glass bottle and poured in some peanuts. Turns out this is really yummy.

At a truck stop in Mississippi, we saw a very large man in overalls with a table completely covered with plates. He was eating a bowl of grits and telling the person sitting near him how you can't get grits on the west coast. At this same truck stop, one of the waitresses walked up to me and ran her hand down my new tattoo of Rosie the Riveter and said "Oh, beautiful". (By the way, I've counted six comments on my new artwork. All positive in nature. :) )

There were two guys at the hotel where we spent the night in Mississippi who hung out outside their room smoking cigarettes and talking to everyone who walked by. Will took a liking to them and wanted to run out of our room to tell them things throughout the evening.

At this same hotel, I discover that I did fill my toiletries bag but didn't get it into the car. This left me without any toothbrushes. Or a hairbrush. Or my skin cleanser. Or my make up. Or deodorant.

In the Waffle House across the parking lot, Will and Zoe saw a man with a four footed cane. They pointed out that the man in the movie UP has the same cane but his has tennis balls on the feet.

In Alabama, Will poked the man in front of us at Subway in the butt to get his attention. After we had our Subway lunch I had my first Red Bull. Whoo!

When we entered the state of Georgia, there was a traffic jam. Cars were reversing up the shoulder to the onramp, where they continued to reverse to get off the highway. Other drivers decided to just turn around and drive the wrong way on the shoulder to drive the wrong way up the onramp to get off the highway.

Tonight, we had dinner at the Waffle House across the street. (the kids love Waffle House. They beg to go there.) The woman who waited on us told me that she's been in and out of homeless shelters but she's got a job and a place to live. Her daughter will be coming to join her in two weeks. I said it must be so hard to be separated from her. And then this nice lady started to cry. Will and I put Crazy by Patsy Cline on the juke box and it seemed like everyone sang along.

We are now watching Shrek 2 on TBS with the lights off. I'm going to turn the movie off in about 15 minutes and we're going to go to sleep.

I'll miss you Martin

pafuts — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:31:00 GMT

This is a photo of my wedding bouquet. The excellent friend of my mother's who put it together and designed all the other flowers for my wedding died today at his home in Maui. His partner of almost 40 years found that he'd died in his sleep. He asked to be cremated and be spread at Haleaukala so he can be close to the stars. Martin, was his name. Crazy Martin who'd buy me booze and cigarettes. Was good looking and when you went to dance with him he'd do girl arms too. Martin who could copy any painting or piece of furniture he wanted to. Although I hadn't spoken to him in years, I'm crying and I'm going to miss him very much.

That was an adventure

pafuts — Sat, 22 May 2010 21:20:48 GMT

I participate in the behind_the_lens, well, I lurk mostly. Every month braddumm coordinates a photo challenge. This month's challenge theme is transportation.

I really wanted to go downtown to get a photo of the Segway tour, the horse and carriage or a pedicab.
I got a hall pass from Scott and headed down on Saturday morning. I parked at the capitol building and as I got out of the car, I saw the Segway tour leaving the area. Okay, no worries, I'll walk down Congress Avenue and wait for the next one to come by.

Over the course of a couple hours, I walked from the capitol building to the south side of the Congress bridge without seeing one horse and carriage, Segway or pedicab. None. I did, however, see lots of bicycles and taxis.

I swapped my zoom lens for my general use lens and thought I'd shift my focus to taxis and bikes. As soon as I'd swapped my lens, all the taxis and bikes disappeared.

I adjusted my settings and thought I'd try for some traffic movement shots. I made the shutter speed slower and waited for a brightly colored car to drive by. I'd focus on the bright color and track the car as it went by. In theory, this would blur the background but keep the car in focus. Suddenly, all the cars were tan and grey.

No problem, I'll take pictures of scooters. Lots in Austin, many have gone by in the last several minutes, shouldn't be a problem. Nope, they'd all left. Ditto motorcycles.

When I got to the Congress Avenue bridge, it was closed to auto traffic. This was great as I got to stand in the middle of the street to take pictures of the buildings along Lady Bird Lake. I was also able to take some shots of a family canoeing. We waved at each other and I started back up Congress.

I figured I'd get some good photos on 6th. There wasn't much of anything going on on 6th street. Usually, there was a horse and carriage in front of the Driskell Hotel. Nope, not today. Just people standing around talking about where to have lunch. A couple gave me the stink eye. (Well, I'm sorry you are offended by my lack of creased khakis. :P) I did pause to take pictures of the very old Ford out front. People were pulling up the side entrance of the Driskell in Range Rovers and Cadillac Escalades to have a bellman unload their luggage onto brass carts.

As I'm making this frustrating, hot, sweaty, unfruitful trek all these men are saying hi to me. All of them are what I call 'semi-homeless'. They're obviously not homeless, because they're clean as are their clothes. But they just hang out and walk around like they have nowhere to be. And say hi to me. Non-locals walking near us look alarmed when I say hello back. I don't know why, I don't give them my number or anything.

I kept heading up Congress to the Capitol. When I got there I was hot and sweaty so I bought a mango frozen fruit bar from a guy with an ice cream cart. Then it melted down my arm.

But I got to see some very neat things. A couple, one dressed as a bird, one dressed as a bee waiting for a bus. I waved at the Duck Tour at least twice. A toothless black man asked me to take his picture. I used my zoom lens to take pictures of a wedding party getting their picture taken at the Capitol Building. Then they saw me taking their picture and I ran away.

But fitting into the 'transportation' category? Uh, not so much.

I now have 300 photos to wade through and see if I have one for the challenge. I dunno, I'm not optimistic.

Whoo hoo, creepy!

pafuts — Tue, 18 May 2010 17:39:54 GMT

I visited Bagdad cemetery today. Not noteworthy that I visited a cemetery, it's what I do. Bagdad was a town about 25 miles north of Austin. It did well for a while, but then slowly died out when the railroad passed it by.

This cemetery dates back to the 1870's. It's also the cemetery where "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was filmed.

In the older area, this place is creepy. I don't get creeped out in cemeteries. I LIKE cemeteries. I find them to be very peaceful. Not so in Bagdad. I got really creeped out while I was walking around. I can't explain it, it was just creepy.

I also swear I heard a person whistling. Now, I know the difference between birds, road noise and a person whistling. And I swear I heard whistling.

If you asked me to go out there at night, I'd probably go but I'd probably scream, run, trip on a stone, hit my head and break my camera.

Yes, old. Yes, very neat. Yes, the newer areas are unique. But I'm not sure I'm going to go back there.

Amanda waxes......

pafuts — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:28:11 GMT

I really like to visit cemeteries. History, shade, quiet and creepiness all in once place.

I'm always amazed at the older headstones, done by a person with a hammer and chisel. There's an entire symbolism to the figures also. Weeping willows, angels, lambs, certain types of flowers all have their own meaning in the Christian religion. Christians are buried with their feet pointing east, so that when judgement day comes they will be facing the correct direction. Persons who were suicides, criminals or crazy were buried facing a different direction.

I tend to have really deep thoughts about the generations of women who came before me. Specifically those who helped settle a region. The other day I took a walking tour of Oakwood Cemetery here in Austin.

There are women buried there who came to Austin prior to the Civil War. I really ponder what they went through to bring us to the present day.

Women who traveled to the west in wagons that made twenty miles a day. Women with rags between their legs or babies in their wombs. Giving birth in wagons, in tents, in the open. Helping build the houses they would live in. One room with a fireplace and an outhouse. No insulation, glass windows or climate control. Coming to Texas in the heat and humidity wearing long skirts. They cooked over fires, did laundry by hand, preserved their foods as best they could.

I'm quite certain I can not even begin to understand the amount of hard work and heartache these women went through for the reward of taming twelve acres. The reward of feeding themselves. The reward of keeping everyone alive.

Just the health risks cause me to shudder. Dipthiria, scarlet fever, smallpox, flu, infections, bee sting allergies, accidents all took their husbands and their children and themselves. Loved ones who were buried out on the prairies with no markers to indicate they even lived. Complications from childbirth or pregnancy must have overcome so many of them.

Women we'll never know the names of, but who paved the way for us just the same. The women who started churches and schools and carved out communities in order to bring civility to such a wild place. A place that wasn't even a state.

I wander around and look at the carved rocks telling me they lived, that they were here. Every one of them had a life. They were someone's mother, someone's wife, someone's daughter. They loved and cried and laughed. Entire lives buried under these slabs of granite, secrets I'll never know about how they endured, even enjoyed the life they made for themselves here in the wild Texas hill country.

Every one of them worthy of a biography. Every one of them worthy of my inadequate 'thank you'.

I should have posted this on May Day

pafuts — Mon, 03 May 2010 17:14:15 GMT

My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come
away.
For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come,
and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender
grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
-Song of Solomon 2:10-13

A few ha ha's

pafuts — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:18:18 GMT

Funny things happen to me. A lot.

Here's what has happened lately:

Sunday I went and got acrylic nails put back on and got a pedicure. The nail salon is one of those strip mall jobbers with the pedicure thrones and a big screen TV. At one point, I was the only client there. It was me, three employees and two children that belonged to one of the technicians. The big screen TV was tuned to the FX channel. And Snakes on a Plane was playing.

Now, that's funny enough.

When I first heard the premise: Well, Samuel L. Jackson has to battle these venomous (venomous means filled with venom to be injected into a vicitm, poisonous means filled with poison that will injure if ingested, get it right!) snakes on a jet plane. The plane is going from Hawaii to L.A. during a thunderstorm and the pilot's dead. Oh, and they're having these techincal issues with the plane because the snakes shorted out something with the steering or something like that.

I replied: You're a liar.

Seriously, doesn't that sound like an SNL sketch?

Anyway, the six of us are there, me with my feet having the dead skin removed by another lady on a very short stool. And we're all yelling when we see the snakes. Yelling and squealing in true, girl fashion. "Ooohhhh noooooooo!!!!" Then the techs would talk to each other in sing-song Vietnamese and laugh.

The UPS truck visited our house yesterday with a delivery for Scott. Will ran up to see if the package was for him. I said it was for his dad. Will ran out on the front porch and screamed "You're MEAN!!!" at the driver.

Day before yesterday I was driving home from the grocery store around 9:15. I like to listen to conservative talk radio because I don't really know any extreme conservatives. I'm interested in what they think, so I listen to the radio station. This is the same radio station that accused the "liberal media" of fabricating the rascist/homophoboic shouts and spitting last month claiming there was no video proving it happened.

As I'm driving home I tune in to hear the tail end of a call. They're discussing how the census is eventually going to show that the percentage of white people in the US is dropping.

The caller says "Well, it's all the illegal immigration. And the incredibly high abortion rate that's making the birth rate drop."

I yelled out loud in the car "No it's not! It's because everyone keeps on fucking each other and having gorgeous mixed race children!" before I started to laugh.

Bleeding heart liberal that I am.

pafuts — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:39:25 GMT

I just wrote this note to my congressman.

I would like to let you know that I am VERY happy that the health care reform bill passed.

Please, please do not take these new regulations away from the American people. To do so would only keep insurance companies in control of our health and well-being. For profit companies should not be making the decisions as to who receives medical treatment. Doctors should be making those choices.

Please, I beg you. Allow the bill to stand. Please make yourself a representative of the American people who are in need of health care as much as groceries. Please don't make them choose one over the other.

Please do not represent the insurance companies who are willing to deny coverage to patients with cancer, heart disease, diabetes, lupus and many other illness that make them the ones who need the coverage the most.

Our country is so far behind the rest of the world in health care. Please, please choose to move us into wellness and out of sickness.

Please.

Amanda Snyder
Austin, Texas

I'll go take my bleeding, liberal heart into the kitchen for more coffee.

Fun on 6th

pafuts — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:20:07 GMT

Scott and I actually had a date on Saturday.

We've been lucky enough to find a teenage babysitter who's willing to stay late and her mom is fine with that. This Saturday was our first time having her put the kids to bed, so we went out early and came home early. Next time we'll leave a little later and come home later. (why do comb and home rhyme but come and home do not?)

When you leave downtown Austin at 10 p.m. you're really leaving when everything is starting. We went to Momo's because they have music starting at 6;30. Generally, the 'headliners' don't start until eleven or midnight. Austin is a late night kinda town.

Anyway, we'd had dinner and caught the first three acts at Momo's. We decided to take a wander down 6th to see what was going on. LIke I said, it was early for Austin, but we needed to go home.

As we're between Trinity and San Jacinto looking for a pedicab to take us back to the car park this couple walks by a pedicab. The driver asks if they want a ride. The guy turns and says "Uh, for free?"

I knew this wasn't going to go anywhere so I stopped Scott and waited for the driver to explain he works on tips, then we'd climb in and be on our way.

Then, the woman turns to us and says "Hey, wouldsh ya'll get a moohawk? I'm s'possed to get a mohawk today." just as drunk as she could be.

"Oh, no." says I "A mohawk is punk not rockabilly."

"Hey," she tells me "I'm shirty-shree years old. I don't know nothin' about that."

I leaned in to her and said "I'm forty-one!" to which she yells "Oh go girl!" and give me a high five.

I said "Here, slip me some skin." and spend a little while trying to show her how to slide the palm of her hnd across mine, hooking her fingers at the end to create a little flourish. (I have no idea if this is authentic or poseur behavior and I don't care, it's fun to do)

"Now say 'Go daddy-o!" I tell her

"GO DADDY-O!!" she screams. And we climbed into our pedicab and rode away.

As we're headed down to the car we tell our driver that woman was really drunk.

"She was? Isn't it kind of early?"

Oh yes, we agreed. But, sadly, time for us to go home and pay our babysitter. Next time, we'll leave the house at eight in order to have a chance to meet more happy drunk people.

Lots of no-nicotine vibes needed today

pafuts — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:15:35 GMT

Hard day for me coming up. :(

Need all the support I can get.

What to do, what to do.....

pafuts — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:11:30 GMT

I need to paint something to fill one or both of these spaces? But what?

What do you guys think?

The essay I wrote for my mom's club newsletter

pafuts — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:24:50 GMT

I write an essay for the mom's club newsletter every month.

Here's what I wrote for March:

In light of the plane crash on the 18th of Februrary, I decided to sit down and really think about my life and the issues within it that make me frustrated. I'm frustrated about our credit card debt. I'm frustrated about the expense of organic foods. I'm frustrated about the TAKS tests my daughter will have to take in the very near future. I'm frustrated at the very limited number of ways I can help increase our household income with my stay-at-home mom hours and only a high school diploma.

I'm frustrated about the fact that we have to do our taxes. Because I really hate doing our taxes. I live in fear of being audited and through some error of middle initials, we'll be found to have concealed $400,000 from the IRS and they'll seize all our stuff. By the time the error is discovered our lives will look a lot like the book "The House of Sand and Fog" and some journalist will be lauded for telling our story but we'll still have to live with my in-laws.

Am I frustrated about the bank bailouts, the health care debate, how the high income bracket seems to get all the breaks , the low income bracket gets all the assistance and those of us in the middle just seem to be left in the soup? Of course I am. I'm frustrated every day by the way our system is set up. I'm also frustrated at how there seems to be no chance of change because no one is willing to compromise. I'm frustrated at how many people communicate that they are not willing to chip in to take care of anyone else.

I'm sure that Vernon Hunter's family is angry and frustrated right now, in ways I hope I never experience. All I want to do is go to their house with a casserole and hug them.

But, even on my very worst days I never thought that taking another person's life would make me feel better or solve any of my frustrations as Mr. Stack obviously did. Even the days when I've had to lock myself in my bathroom to escape the small people in my house for whom I can never do enough. Even on the days when someone says "Oh, you don't work?" or "Well, that must be nice, staying home all day." Or the days when an unexpected bill shows up in the mail, causing my husband and I to look at each other wondering how we're going to pay it.

The fact that I have women like those in our wonderful mother's club in my life gives me a great sense of comfort. I get to see how we prop each other up, bringing meals to the moms with new babies, tossing our spare change in for charity, donating our children's outgrown coats so other children won't be cold, giving each other rides to playgroup so we don't have to go without our 2 hours of adult contact each week.

No matter what our political or religious views we are all mothers at the end of the day, looking up at the same sky saying "A little help here!" and getting a little help from the other women who have heard us.

I wonder if Mr. Stack had been able to shout at the sky and have someone answer him with a surprise latte and a renewed perspective would Mr. Hunter be going to work today?

And so, I say thank you to all of you for being there for me and all of us. Thank you for understanding that we're all in this together. Thank you for being willing to help out a little so none of us feel so alone that we might at well give up.

More opinion spouting and pretty stream of consciousness don't say I didn't warn you

pafuts — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:03:46 GMT

Yesterday in northwest Austin, about 4 miles from our house as the crow flies, a man deliberately crashed his small aircraft into a building that housed a number of government employees. His target was the IRS workers.

I won't repost his 'manifesto' as his admirers are calling it, but it can be read here: It's back here.

There are a LOT of people who are calling him a hero and a true patriot.

Some examples:

From Boston Craigslist:

TOO BAD IT WASNT A JUMBO JET !!!! YEA BABYMAYBE NEXY TIME SOMEONE WILL CRASH THAT MOTHER FUCKER INTO OBAMAS LIVING ROOM NEXT !! FUCKING CORRUPT GOVERNMENT, FUCKING GHESTAPHO IRS !! THEY GOT WHAT THEY HAD COMING !!!! GEE , I DIDNT SEE THE BULDING FALL LIKE THE TWIN TOWERS DID , MAYBE CAUSE THEY DIDNT HAVE BOMBS WIRED INSIDE LIKE THEY DID BEFORE, OH YEA THATS BECAUSE THAT WAS A GOVERNMENT INSIDE JOB, SO THEY COULD CREAT PANIC AND TAKE AWAY OUR RIGHTS WITH THE "PATRIOT ACT" SHOULD BE CAllED "THE GOVERNMENT SURPRESS ORDER" ANYWAY THIS GUY HAD ENOUGH GOVERNMENT BULLSHIT AND GOT TIRED OF BEING BULLYED BY THE IRS AND GOVERNMENT! SO THIS BUDS FOR YOU JOE STACK !!!!!!!! AND GUESS WHAT , THEY WILL ACTUALLY FIND REAL PLANE PARTS AT THIS CRASH SITE, - UNLIKE THE PENTAGON!! i GIVE HIM 2 THUMBS UP AND A TOTAL GIGGITY GIGGITY !!!!!

Via Facebook:
"Finally an American man took a stand against our tyrannical government that no longer follows the Constitution," wrote Emily Walters of Louisville, Ky.

Via Topix.com

Joe Stack is my hero, more guts than the average Marine

Via Austin Craigslist:

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE MORE JOE STACKS.

Via Austin Craigslist:

HERE A GUY WHO KNOWS HOW TO TAKE ACTION!! AND DEAL DIRECTLY WITH THE COMMIE MOTHER FUCKERS WHO ARE RAPING THE MIDDLE CLASS!!! the WHOLE GOVERNMENT IS CORRUPT AND CARES -NOTHING ABOUT THE AMERICAN CITIZENS!! AND THE GHESTAPHO IRS DESERVED WHAT THEY GET!!! GIVE ILEGALS FREE HEALTH CARE?!!!!~! DRIVERS LICENSES!!!?? WHILE HARD WORKING SINGLE MOMS HAVE TO FIGHT TO GET EVEN A LITTLE HELP?!!!! THIS GUY SAID ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AND SMACKED DIRTY OLD MAN UNCLE SAM IN THE CHIN!!! TAKE THAT BASTARD!! MAYBE THIS IS A WAKE UP CALL TO PATRIOT AMERICANS, WHO WANNA RID THIS COUNTRY OF THE SCUMMY ILEGALS AND DIRTY POLITICIANS! (99% PERCENT OF THEM ARE) COUNTRY GOING TO HELL !!! THIRD WORLD SHITHOLE !!!

Via Austin Craigslist:

Thanks, if there were more people in this country like Joe than we could take back whats ours. This should serve as a wake up call for the people all across this country, direct action is the only thing these motherfuckers can understand. Hopefully this is just the start of good things to come?

The following pages have been created on Facebook:

Joe Stack for PRESIDENT

From Landoverbaptistchurch.net

The philosophy of Joe Stack. Which features the quote: This page is NOT to glorify his actions, but simply to say that after reading his note, we can agree with and sympathise with Joe Stacks' thoughts.

Joe Stack Fan Club

the Joe Stack fan club

So he wrote a note saying that he expected to die this year. That's not a suicide note, he we just expecting the rapture to come soon, as promised by Jesus in the Bible:

Matthew 16:28 "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

Mark 9:1 Then he said to them, "I tell you with certainty, some people standing here will not experience death until they see the kingdom of God arrive with power."

Luke 9:27 "But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God."

Revelation 22:12 "Behold, I come quickly!"

So he left his stove on or something, just because his house burned down he's not a terrorist. Ever hear about Bin Laden burning his cave down? Of course not!

And as for making flying planes into buildings as a form of suicide-bombing? Obviously his plane had a malfunction.

*******

I'm sure there are many more people who are saying "Well, I don't agree with flying his plane into a building, but I agree with his message." Or who outright approve of what he did.

This bugs me. It bugs me that an obviously depressed and angry person who had decided the IRS was to blame for this depression and anger, chose to fly his plane into a building with the intention of committing mass murder. Then many people applaud. Stick it to the man right?

The only person Mr. Stack stuck it to was Vernon Hunter, age 67 of Cedar Park Texas. He was the person who died in Mr. Stack's attack. I cried for Mr. Hunter and his family this morning. For the fact that the person who killed him is being hailed as a hero who stood up for the rights of his countrymen who refuse to see that we live in a fascist society.

I'm not going to debate that point.

Last night I heard a reporter from CNN demand of someone (I don't know who, I didn't catch) an explanation as to why Mr. Stack was not being called a terrorist and his actions a terrorist attack. It was answered that they could argue semantics but they were not going to consider one man with one grudge against one organization to be terrorism. Once you started to spread the definition that thin, then you could include the man who had a beef with his homeowner's association throwing rocks at a building.

But, a group of people who had gathered in a park down the block from a political demonstration were all arrested. The protest was out side a political party gathering of some kind. The people in the park were not shouting or holding signs or even standing up. but they were all arrested on charges of terrorism.

A man with materials he was using as research for his thesis on middle eastern leaders, was arrested as a suspected terrorist and held without charges for a month.

So, reading and hanging out are terrorist activities, but crashing your plane into a building with the intent of committing mass murder isn't.

(Here comes the opinion part) I really tend to thing that if Mr. Stack had been a person with brown skin, or a Muslim, he would be labeled a terrorist. Since I've heard nothing of Mr. Stacks religions affiliation, I am assuming he's NOT a Muslim. Because all criminals who practice Islam who make the news are identified as such.

I'm angry and sad and frustrated about this all at the same time. What do I tell my kids? I've been watching news and I've just been telling them a building burned down. What if one of their friends tells them a man did it on purpose?

What do I do about this world that is so nasty and fucked up that there are people standing up and clapping that this crazy mofo killed someone?

I can't figure it all out now, so I'm going to take a nap.

An entry in which Amanda spews her opinion on feeding a family

pafuts — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:37:11 GMT

I know that we should be eating organic, local, unprocessed foods. I know that local cuts down on transportation costs and pollution. I know that organic is free of pesticides. I know that whole foods are better for you. I think that the way salmonella is transferred into vegetables is from the cattle stockyards up river.
I know high fructose corn syrup is just empty calories and is more about the surplus corn harvest. I'm also of the opinion that it's contributing to the obesity epidemic.

But, I can't afford to feed my family of four all organic, local, unprocessed whole foods. I can make as much as I can, but there are only so many hours in a day. I still need to do dishes, laundry, help with homework, lead the Brownies, attempt to get some time to myself and sleep.

Here, I went to the grocery store today. I purchased 73 items. Of those 73 items, 7 were non-food items. 23 were a whole food if you count flour, sugar, baking soda and vinegar. Those last two items I will use mostly for cleaning. Only 1 item is local and organic. Leaving 42 food items that are processed and non-organic. . Carbohydrates mostly. Cereals, bread, pasta, a couple of snack items for the kids. Goldfish crackers, little cookies for their lunches. Not very many brand names. Goldfish crackers. I got the kids Dora chicken soup as a treat. Fiber One cereal because it's recommended by our doctor, Minute Maid juice boxes for the kids lunches, Del Monte canned fruits for lunches because the store brand is tough to open and a bottle of Kraft salad dressing that I got free with a purchase of Ritz crackers. Everything else is store brand.

Vegetables in our house are frozen. We eat very little red meat. We'll eat white meat chicken. I do feed my kids hot dogs and chicken nuggets. Parts is parts and getting calories into them is a good thing. I am able to afford ketchup that's free of high fructose corn syrup, but I can't avoid it entirely.

Pure maple syrup is a big splurge so we have pancakes with syrup as a treat.

Zoe's lunch is usually pretty good. PB&J with all peanut peanut butter and all fruit preserves, fruit (but it's canned), a box of 100% apple juice and a couple of 'nilla wafers. She'll have crackers or popcorn for her classroom snack.

Will is tougher. He's a pickier eater. He usually gets chicken nuggets, a container of applesauce that he usually doesn't eat, juice box and a couple little cookies.

I'm starting to make dinners again, not many pre-prepared meals there. But I do feed them canned soups.

I try as hard as I can to feed them healthy stuff. Yogurt with cereal for breakfast. I'm lucky that they like granola. I sometimes buy fruit flavored rings because, believe it or not, the vitamin fortification is pretty good.

It's a pickle for someone like me who wants to do better but I just don't have the money to buy those kinds of foods. I really have to pick and choose which fresh fruits I buy. I weigh one plum first to see how many I will get to a pound. Then I pick the small ones so I get more servings.

Since the food that's affordable to me is processed carbohydrates, (warning, I talk out a hole in my ass here) we get calories but the energy burns off quickly so we eat more and the world goes round and round.

It's been marketed to us that tap water isn't safe. That fear sticks in your subconscious. If one can't afford bottled water it's cheaper and safer to buy soda. And it tastes good. And it makes you hooked on the caffeine so you have to keep drinking it to ward off the headaches. And it's loaded with high fructose corn syrup.

I know sugar cane is killing the everglades. But all that's available to me is cane sugar. Why can't I buy beet sugar? There isn't even just 'sugar' available. I assume because everyone wants pure cane sugar from Hawaii.

I tend to insist that food is not toys. Food is food. I will make Will goo from corn starch and water. But I don't dump out a bowl of rice for him to rummage around in. I don't use dried pastas for crafts.

Again, what am I gonna do? We gotta eat.

Oh my fucking GAWD! This is fantastic!

pafuts — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:19:51 GMT

For those who don't know. I collect souvenirs. I have them from all over the world that people have given to me. Paris, London, Toronto, New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Taipei, Quartzite Arizona.

But I want tacky things. The crap on the back of the shelf with the dust on it is what I want.

Lighters with boobies on them that light up when you flick on the flame. Snowglobes with calendars on them and not enough water. Plastic frogs sitting under plastic palm trees with a plastic beer mug that say "Las Vegas". A pin cushion shaped like a rocking chair from Hoover Dam. Black velvet wall hanging with glittery pictures of various landmarks in the state or city it comes from. A metal Empire State Building with a metal gorilla on the top. I own all these things.

Plastic, plastic is goooood.

I mentioned this to one of Scott's co-workers and his fiancee at a wedding a few months ago. They returned from a trip to San Francisco with a black velvet wall hanging.

Amy (the fiancee) returned from a business trip to Florida with THIS:

It's a clock! With the Pope on it! And little LED lights around him that light up! It says "Florida" on it.

Holy fucking shit this is the greatest piece of crap I've ever received. I've set it up on my kitchen window sill where I can look at it eeeeeveryyy day!

How to give Will a breathing treatment

pafuts — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:40:34 GMT

Will is back on his breathing treatments for a while. If you should ever need to do this here are the instructions:

Open the Albuterol and Pulmicort capsules and empty into the nebulizer cup, located under the face mask. Be sure the cup is closed so the liquid doesn't spill out.

Sit at Scott's computer with Will on your lap. Put mask on Will and turn nebulizer on, starting the vapor. Be sure there is a good seal on his face so he actually inhales the medication.

Open the web browser and go to youtube.

Watch the following videos in this order:

Funny cats
fart dance
Numa Numa spoof done by the crew of the USS Enterprise (the navy not the star fleet)
Numa Numa misheard lyrics
Verka Serduchka Lasha Tumbai
Verka Serduchka Gop Gop
Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal.

Before the Alien Ant Farm video is over, he'll be done. Repeat every four hours.

This pisses me off

pafuts — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:48:12 GMT

Alexis Neiers is a member of the Bling Ring. The group of 18 & 19 year olds who burglarized celebrity homes and will be going to court soon.

Ms. Neiers has plead not guilty and is being backed by her daddy, who says she was caught up in a bad situation. She's also going to be appearing in a reality show on E! called 'Pretty Wild'.

What the fuck?

This would not be happening if these stupid assholes were not rich and white.

Amanda spouts her opinion, move along if you don't want to know

pafuts — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:10:16 GMT

For me, this was the most disturbing image from Hurricane Katrina, the President looking at the devestation out the window of his plane on the way to a paid speaking engagement in San Diego. At the same time that Condoleezza Rice was continuing her vacation, shopping for Ferragamo shoes in Manhattan.

We were living in Canada at the time. I was pregnant with my son. We were getting our information from Canadian news broadcasts that became more and more confused in tone. 'Why isn't the United States sending aid to their own people?' the Canadians were obviously wondering. And we as Americans wondered too.

Two years ago I read the book "The Great Deluge" that outlined the political squabble between the federal, state, parish and city powers. That told of the mayor ordering a mandatory evacuation but not making accommodations for those who had no way to escape the path of the storm. That told me the first bus to arrive in Texas had been stolen from a school bus parking lot by a 19 year old man. Told how the Red Cross volunteers looked at each other when they learned this and said, to the effect, "Oh shit."

Now, with the swift and aggressive aid being sent to Haiti I'm wondering how many people might have lived if President Bush had acted on behalf of his own people as swiftly and aggressively as aid is now being sent to a little, black, poor country in the Caribbean. A country that stereotypically practices voodoo and believes in zombies.

It makes me know that should any black and poor Americans, God forbid, become victims of a natural disaster they will be taken care of by their country and their fellow Americans. It gives me hope that I can be proud of our country.

I know many of you take issue with my embarrassment of America's actions. But I can't help but feeling that sometimes Jesus looks down at what we do to each other while we pledge allegiance to a flag, one nation under God and clutches his head.

But this time, I think the Powers That Be are proud of us.

switch in colors (x-posted)

pafuts — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:06:14 GMT

(I'm going to sound very artsy-fartsy, flighty today)

I've been really drawn to the color orange these days. I did the painting with no plan, just knowing I wanted to do something with orange. I didn't plan for it to be the finished product seen here, but I really dig the O'keeffe thing going on with it.

Joyful photo for today (x-posting to Lipsticksavior)

pafuts — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:48:30 GMT

We're very happy with the decision to add a furry family member. We've renamed him Gibson. Zoe says he goes to her room in the night to look at her and give her a kiss. When Will cries Gibson gets upset and has to make sure everyone is okay. He's just a great dog. Be prepared for lots of pictures and posts about him.

Amanda's beauty tip for today:

You don't need toner. Honest, you don't.

Nothing like making changes

pafuts — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:36:54 GMT

Even more spanky!, originally uploaded by Pafuts.

I saw in the new year with a small change and a big change. Well, some people will call both a big change, but let's see what you think.

On the second of January I went and got bangs cut. I like them, but think they need to be heavier. The place I went to had no stylist who had ever heard of Betty Page. I found this very amusing. I'm going to live with them for a few weeks and then see how I feel.

The BIG change is that we adopted a dog on the third. We'd been discussing a furry family member for a long time. Really, since we'd moved here. Scott was very clear that he wanted the kids to have a dog. We knew we wanted a rescued dog and one that was older.

We'd gotten in touch with a mixed breed rescue organization and even had a home visit. But, another family was selected for the doggie that visited. When I got back in touch to inquire about another dog, I was told they would not adopt any dog to a home with kids under 8.

So, we started over. I emailed a few groups to ask about age restrictions. One said any family would be considered as long as the dog was a good fit for the family and vice-versa. This particular group, Austin Pets Alive, had animals available for adoption at a big pet supply store near us. I told Scott about it and we went up, pretty much knowing we'd come home with a dog.

We kept telling the kids we needed to see if a dog would pick us. Well, we walked up to the pens. Will pointed at a white doge with a black spot over one eye and said "That one!"

And that was the one. Spanky came home with us four hours later. He was obviously someone's dog before he came to be in a shelter. He sits next to you as you eat at the table, resting his head on your knee hoping for a hand out. He's incredibly patient with the kids, sleeps on the couch or our bed. He likes to play with balls and ropes. He's everything we'd hoped for in a new family member.

The first 19 hours have gone well. We'll see how the next 9 years go.

Scott and I aren't sure that 'Spanky' is the right name for him. Suggestions are being taken....