Oh Brussel Tree, Oh Brussel Tree

When I was shopping a few weeks ago, I came across this in the produce section:

I swear I laughed out loud, because seriously!?  When was the last time you saw a Brussel Sprout tree?!?  Me?  Never.  I've never seen a little tree full of brussel sprouts.  Okay, technically it's not a tree.  The correct verbiage would be a brussel sprout stalk. Whatever you call it, I think it rocks.  The lady next to me thought it was hilarious that I was so infatuated by a vegetable.  I was trying to explain that it wasn't the vegetable per se, but the packaging that was so intriguing.  She just shook her head and walked away.  Whatever.  I know she was secretly just as amazed as I was by the funky sprout tree, she just didn't want to walk through the store with the thing sticking out of her cart.  

There were stacks of these stalks piled on top of each other and being the fun mom that I can sometimes be, I thought I had to buy one of the Brussel Sprout Trees for my kids. It did stick out of the cart.  But I think it made me the most interesting person in the store that day.  I definitely got lots of looks and the cashier was at a loss for how to bag it. Apparently I was the only person at that point of the midmorning to purchase the item ( Really?  Am I really the only person in Boise who found these things cool enough to purchase?) and no one had discussed the bagging options with the cashiers prior to placing the stalk out for sale.  I opted to skip the bag and carry it out in my hand, kind of like a marching band majorette.  It was a great day at the grocery store.

I know...I totally geeked out over brussel sprouts.  Obviously I need a more exciting life.  But back to the story.

I've eaten brussel sprouts before.  I like them.  But I've always purchased them already cut off the stalk,  so I never once wondered, as I was picking out my "baby cabbages", how the things grew.  How old am I now?  47?  And I just now found out how brussel sprouts grow.  It also never occurred to me that someone had to do the work to get them to the little basket in the produce section as individual brussel sprouts for people like me to buy and enjoy.

After the hubby and kids also geeked out over the small tree, we decided to have them for dinner.  Which brings me to my next discovery about Brussel Sprout Trees.  They are damn hard to cut through!!  Now I know why the produce clerk decided to just throw the whole stalks out onto the display instead of cutting off the brussel sprouts.  I swear I was ready to have Big Man whip out the circular saw or his camping machete!  Cutting through the stalk with my knife was seriouly, ridiculously labor intensive!  Yeah...don't let the cuteness of the baby cabbages attached to the tree thing suck you in.  Because it becomes way less cute after twenty minutes of cutting, sawing and pounding on the knife handle to remove the little buggers. Of course, it didn't help that my knife hasn't been sharpened since my grandma gave it to me in 1996.  I never remember to get it sharpened until after I have to struggle through something like this. 

ANYWAY...I was almost finished cutting when my very smart 10 year old suggested that I just hit them at a downward angle ("just karate chop them, Mom!") to knock them loose from the stalk.  I tried that.  It worked really well.  On the last eight brussel sprouts.  Who knew?  And where was he 18 minutes ago? 

Whe I was done, I was left with an almost naked brussel sprout stalk.  That looked like this: 

Am I weird or does this look like a beautiful piece of greenery that could somehow be incorporated into a floral arrangement?  Don't ask me how to do it, I'm not good at flower arrangements.  I'm just the idea person here.  I was just really struck by the lovely patterns that the left behind leaves made on the stalk.  It seems like one could throw some flowers and ribbon and other cool florist type stuff in there and make something really unique and beautiful to gaze upon.  Just sayin'. You know how people put out pine bough wreaths and centerpeices for Christmas?  Maybe a shucked brussel sprout stalk could be the centerpiece for Festivus.  It's the centerpiece for the rest of us.  

I can't believe I just wrote a whole post about brussel sprout stalks. 

When Good Trees Go Bad

We knew when we moved here to Idaho that we would experience a different climate.  We have actually looked forward to the cooler weather and actual seasons, not just the hot and less hot seasons of Phoenix.  The leaves and trees and all the colors are absolutely amazing!  I feel like a kid sometimes in that I am awestruck by all the new scenery and sights and smells. 

Credit: Roadsidepictures/Flickr

It's all such a refreshing change of pace from the dry, brown desert we have lived in forever.  FOREVER.  FOR. EVER.

It's funny though, how things that look so cool on the surface can suddenly be not so cool in reality.  Like the changing leaves, for instance.  They are a canvas of colors and patterns that are so enjoyable to look at while we walk along the river banks.  When they started falling one by one from the tree in our front yard, they became individual pieces of art that the boys studied and collected.  Then we had an extremely cold night.  And when we opened the door to go to school the next morning we found this:

A Naked Tree!!  Just days before we were wondering why our neighbors' trees were all but bare, while ours was still full of green, healthy foliage!  Then BAM!  Just like that we have a 4 inch deep carpet of leaves covering our yard and driveway.  Apparently, our neighbors' trees have figured out that if they disrobe a little at a time, their owners can keep up with the raking and the bagging.  Our lovely tree  decided to give us a hearty fall welcome with a full-blown, leaf-filled ticker tape parade!  Which we missed, by the way, because it happened at night!  While we were sleeping!!   Either our tree isn't a very good event planner or it is an accomplished practical joker.  Either way we were shocked at how many leaves the thing had once worn! 

The first thing Little Man wanted to do was make a leaf angel.  I know!  What a great idea, right?  I was hormonal cold and grumpy when he asked and we were running late for school so I told him no.  Why did I say that?  I have no idea.  I just blurted it out.  It wasn't a complicated request.  It's not like he asked if we could snowshoe to Russia or use the leaves for toilet paper (oh, don't think he didn't think about that option, he's totally into Survivorman and Man Vs Wild.  It's only a matter of time until he tries it, believe me!).  It wouldn't have caused any harm.  What was my problem?  Gees, I've got to loosen up! 

Rather than start raking the minute I got home, I decided to ignore the leaves and check my email save the leaves for Little Man so he could have some fun before we disposed of the giant gift from our tree friend.  He and a few friends rolled around in them, jumped in them, made piles our of them and threw them for about an hour before they decided they were done. 

  (Leaf Angels)

The weather man kept saying it was going to snow, so Big Man and I left the leaves where they were for a few days, hoping that maybe we'd get enough snow to cover them and then they could just kind of hibernate and compost over the winter, thereby saving us from clean up duty.  No such luck.  We had no snow.   Just some rain.  Which made the leaves wet.  And heavy.  So the blower didn't work and we had to rake. 

Two hours and eight giant, stuffed bags later we had a clean yard again.  Actually, when I think about it, the tree kind of did us favor.  There are still a lot of trees around town waiting to shed the last of their fall foliage.  Everybody else has been raking intermittently for 3 weeks now and many probably have one more big clean up to do before the snow hits.  We got ours done in one shot.  Maybe this tree ain't so bad after all. 

So yeah...the fall colors and changing leaves are beautiful to look at, but not as much fun to clean up.  Still - I'd rather rake leaves in the crisp fall air that pull weeds in the hot desert sun any day.

PS - I forgot to do the Hexbug Giveaway, tune in Tuesday for the winner!!   

Veterans Day Thank You

(Grandpa Russ)

I have two grandfathers who fought in World War II. One of them, actually my step-grandfather, has spent the last month and a half in rehab after some health problems.  He's not happy there, it's not his home.  So we visit him often and ask him to tell us stories about his life.  He's told us some of his war stories. They are at the same time both interesting and horrifying. He barely touches on the part where he landed on the beach on D-Day. He said he could not even begin to describe the things he saw, other than there were hundreds and hundreds of bodies lying in the sand and the water. I'm guessing the scenes from Saving Private Ryan barely touched on the reality of what those men experienced that day. Despite the nightmarish memories that were part of his experiences as a soldier, Grandpa Russ shares some good experiences too and very fond memories of the years after the war that he spent working for the Veterans Administration in Idaho. That's where he met my grandmother. ; )

I have never met my other grandfather. It's a long story. Suffice it to say that he chose to isolate himself from his family and my mother has not seen him since she left home as a teenager during one of his rages. Now he lives about 30 minutes from where I recently moved and I have to make the decision about whether or not to try to establish a relationship with him. He flew bombing missions during the war. Apparently his experiences were pretty harrowing too, as my mom talks about episodes he had after the war that lead me to believe he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. His issues were so severe that in the end my grandmother had to leave him for her safety and the safety of her son. My mother had already moved out by then. So I don't know alot about him, other than the fact that my mom says he was such a fun person to be around when she was little and she remembers a very different person than the man he became later in her life.

Why am I telling you all this? I guess I'm pointing out the contrast in how each man was able to handle the experience of war. One managed to find coping skills that allowed him to get on with his life. Will the memories ever go away? No. They are a part of who he is now. But he was able to comparmentalize and put those painful thoughts in a box in his brain somewhere where he didn't have to face them all of the time so he could work and focus on raising his family.   He is such a good man and accepted us as his own grandkids from the minute we met him. 

Grandpa Bill( I guess that's what I would call him), my mother's real father, obviously had a harder time putting those memories to rest and they affected his ability to raise his family and lead a happy life.  His family suffered greatly because of that. And so began the dysfunction that has impacted more than one generation.  It makes me wonder if things would be different for us now had people known about PTSD back then and had he been able to get help in dealing with his emotional trauma. Doesn't matter I guess. We can't go back and change things.

We can change things going forward though. We can ensure that there coninue to be programs and tools available for our warriors, so that regardless of what stage in life they find themselves, they and their families will have the necessary skills and ability to cope. Please donate your time or your dollars to a worthy nonprofit that supports our military families. The burden they carry is heavy to bear. Let's do all we can to let them know that we are willing to help lift that burden however and whenever we can.

From our family to the many veterans and military families stationed all over the world: We value your service and sacrifices and are grateful for your willingness to endure whatever hardships with with you are faced to serve this wonderful country.   Thank you. 

Independence Day

Ya know what this is?

It's Freedom, Baby!!  This was the first day EVER that they got to ride their bikes to school without an adult.  They were so excited they barely took time to give me a wave before they rolled down the driveway and wheeled off to their new school with the neighbor kid.  It was a great moment for all of us.  A real taste of independence for them and a realization for me that it was okay to let them have a longer leash.  Not to mention the rush of gratitude I felt that we are blessed to have found a good, safe neighborhood so the boys can have these kinds of experiences! 

I have to admit that the first morning was bittersweet.  I had mixed emotions.  My initial thought was that for the first time in 6 years, I wouldn't have to fight the traffic in the drop-off lane or worry about getting to the school early in the afternoon so I could find a parking space!  Whoo-hoo!  Then the emotions kicked in and started talking to me.  And my Mommy Heart felt kind of sad and heavy for a few moments because it heard this:

"Your little boys are growing up - they aren't little boys anymore. You're should savor these moments because one day they're going to drive off and not come back for a long time.  They'll be busy creating lives of their own and you'll be lucky to get a phone call once in awhile."  Wow.  Even typing the words out makes me want to start crying.  I cannot begin to imagine a life without some kind of daily interaction with my boys.

I remember what my life was like before the boys came.  And if I'm honest, there have been moments where I wistfully yearned for just a few of those "before the kids" days.  The days when I was free to do whatever I wanted to do, how and when I wanted to do it.  Usually those yearnings came after a week of cleaning up kid poo and vomit.  Or maybe after the 15 hour drive that left us all wondering which genius thought a road trip would be "fun."  But those wishes were fleeting thoughts that only lingered for a moment.  A grubby little hug and a wet smack on the cheek chased those wishes away, making space for warm thoughts and smiles about the life I have now -  "with the kids."

So while days like "the first day we rode our bikes to school" may evoke feelings of uncertainty about my future with them, I am trying to not dwell on what I will be missing and focus instead on what I have now - two really great boys who are enjoying their new home, happily pedaling through the neighborhood and looking for adventure.  And who doesn't need a little adventure once in awhile?

New Glow-in-the-Dark Hexbug Review and Giveaway

Technology never ceases to amaze me.  I was gonna say that I couldn't even begin to imagine what life was like before all these amazing advances, but then I remembered that I was born 47 years ago...before all of these amazing advances. 

I was amazed again this week when we had our Glow-in-the-Dark Hexbug Party, thanks to MommyParties and Hexbug.  The makers of the original Hexbugs took it up a notch with their newest creatures and tracks that truly glow in the dark! 

(I know, not a very good image. I had to borrow it because my camera could not pick up the amazing glow in the dark features, because my camera is old and it sucks. But that it a post for another day. For now, just bask in the glow of this neon bug thingy.)

We received our kit a few weeks ago, which was chock full of Glow-in-the-Dark Hexbug Nanos and Habitat sets, as well as some wicked cool Halloween Mutant Zombie Nanos.

 
A new addition to the Hexbug family found its way into the box too...Hexbug Larvae.  I know...just the name makes me squeamish.  Larvae.  If you click on the link, you can watch it squirm.  I don't like to watch it squirm, but be my guest.  The boys love it.

They really got a kick out of the Mutant Zombie Nanos with the glowing exoskeleton.  They all immediately ran into the garage where it is pitch dark and let the little bugs run around.  Again...lame camera couldn't get any of the action.  They fun with the lights on too though, as evidenced here:

I love that the glow-in-the-dark feature has renewed their interest in these little robotic toys.  I do have to admit that one of the larvae already lost it's life to experimentation.  The power switch was broken, so they performed a surgical procedure, which unfortunately for the larvae was unsuccessful, but it was very enlightening and interesting for the two amatuer scientists.  If I had paid for that Hexbug, I might have been a little peeved that it broke after 5 minutes of use, but the other two seem fine.    

The Zombie Mutant Hexbugs are availble for a very limited time at Radio Shack and the Glow-in-the-Dark Nanos and Habitats are in retail stores like Walmart and Target.   If your kids are Hexbug junkies, then keep an eye out during the upcoming holiday season for more cutting edge Hexbug products!

Win a Glow-in-the-Dark Hexbug Nano and a Mutant Zombie Nano!  Just leave a comment and let me know which of the Hexbug creatures is your favorite.  Contest will end at 12 Midnight PST November 12th.  U.S. Residents only.  Winner will be chosen at random.      

***Disclosure:  I received a Hexbug Halloween Party Kit from MommyParties and Hexbug to facilitate this review.  As always, my honest opinions are my own.  ***  

A Few Things on My Bucket List

This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway. Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 things that I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health. Want to enter? Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details.

I have been so consumed with finding work and creating income since we moved to our new state that the thought of filling out just one more job application or revamping my resume one more time makes me want to slit my wrists.  Yeah...I'm that burned out.  So I thought I'd take a break from the job hunt and focus on some of the really motivating things I would like to accomplish in my life, in the hopes that I might regain some of my sanity and maybe win an awesome family vacation in the process!

There are about a billion things I'd like to do before I leave this world, here are 15 of them:

1. Write a book.  I know.  Everyone wants to write a book, right?  And actually, just about anyone can do it these days with all the self-publishing options and e-books, but I can't remember a time when I didn't want to write a book, so even if it seems like a trendy, "everybody's-doing-it" kind of goal, it is a goal I choose to keep on my bucket list.  Don't ask me about the book topic, I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete.  Although I had an amazing idea today for a coffee table book that involves Dog the Bounty Hunter.  Intrigued?  I know, right?  How did someone not think of it already!?!

2. Learn how to design and build a website.  Because then I could more easily pursue some of my other goals that are sitting and waiting for a finished website to call home so they can come to life. Which reminds me of #3 on this list.

3.  Go back to school and finish my education.  I have a 20 year old Associates degree in an industry where my skills are no longer relevant.  I learned ad design and graphics before the computer!  Ever heard of amberlith, rapidographs and Prismacolor markers?  How about a Varitype Typesetter?  Ever made a photostat copy of something? No?  I KNOW!!  Because all these things are obsolete!  Time to start over and learn how to use all the spiffy new design programs out there like Dreamweaver, Photoshop, InDesign and whatever video editing software the kids are using these days.

4. Learn to play the banjo.  The redneck in me needs an outlet once in awhile.  I have this vision of sittin' around on the porch Andy Griffith style with a cool guitar player, a fine fiddler and a rad harmonica-nista.  We'll be a pickin' and a grinnin' while the neighbors clap and the kids dance on the lawn.  I cannot WAIT to post the video one day to prove to y'all that this one actually happened.

5. Own a 1965-68 Mustang with a big V-8 and cool mag wheels.   Va-rooom!  I LOVE those cars!

6. Move to a farm where I can raise my boys and live out the rest of my life growing amazing things and taking care of funny animals.

7. Lose weight and get healthy...so I can learn to do things like #8.

8. Ski with my family!  Even when I am thin, I have never been really athletic, but skiing down a mountain of snow sounds like a hoot.  Even if I never make it off the bunny hill, I'd like to try it once before I die.  And the weight loss thing would also be of great importance when it comes to finding a snowsuit that wouldn't make me look like the Michelin Man's wife.

9. Travel across the country in a decked out motor home to visit places like Mt. Rushmore and The Bigfoot Discovery Museum while eating really cool road food like "Rippers" from Rutt's Hutt in New Jersey and tossed rolls at Lambert's Cafe in Missouri.

10. Buy a really great digital camera and take a photography class with Arizona Highways or National Geographic photographers. .

11.Accomplish something physical that I never thought I would be capable of doing, like running a marathon or hiking the Grand Canyon. 

12. Find a cure for cankles.  Seriously.  I hate my ankles.  Even when I'm not heavy, I still have cankles.  Not from fat or water retention, but from giant bones and muscles.  I have thick ankle DNA.  I will never look good in a dress and strappy sandals until cankles become a thing of the past.  Please donate today to the "Cure for Cankles" Foundation.  Your contribution will help women like myself, my mom and Hillary Clinton shun pantsuits and long skirts forever.

13. Visit Ireland and come home with a wicked Irish accent.

14. Become a published author in a magazine or newspaper.   

15. Visit Grandmother/Great-grandmother's old home in Virginia with Mom and Sister.  My mom has always wanted to know more about her mother's side of the family and where they came from.  She has relatives there she has never met.  It would be wonderful to help her reconnect with family there and learn more about her southern heritage.       

I'm Working on a Post

I have been working on a post for about 2 weeks now. For some reason I just can't get it right. It's one of those heartfelt, emotional posts and I just can't get what I feel into words. I hate when that happens. So, I just wanted to let you know that there is a new post coming sometime soon. As soon as I can figure out how to say what I want to say.

 

In the meantime, please enjoy these photos of my kids at the park by the river a few weeks ago.  It was one of those really great days when they actually liked each other and they spent the day laughing and poking things they found along the trail with sticks.