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FollowWhy We Need a Puppy, Or Why My Children Will Need Therapy
January 11, 2008
Last winter, we became caretakers to a spider living on our porch.
This winter, I have captured–I mean, rescued–a dozen ladybugs and put them into a screened-in butterfly habitat.
To say I am obsessed with the ladybugs may be a tad understated. Every morning, I mist their leafy world and wet a piece of paper towel. Daily, I replace their hunks of apple or pear or pieces of raisins. I even move them to sit on the stove under the warm lights so I can watch them run around in the heat.
(the giant ladybug on top is not real; I thought it would make them feel at home)
For a few weeks, all was fine with our new pets. And then, a couple of nights ago, we settled down to a dinner of Dirty Rice, a name which seems pretty apt given what happened next: my oldest, Belly, was about to take a big mouthful when she screamed, “There is a ladybug in my rice!”. We all gasped and looked and, sure enough, there was a ladybug nestled there in the brown-colored rice.
I grabbed her plate and apologized to the poor ladybug. I cooked a pet! But, as I carefully removed it from her dinner, the little critter started running on my hand. Not cooked! Just enjoying a little Cajun cooking! Phew!
I returned the ladybug to her (his) home and decided to keep them away from dinner prep in the future.
Do you think they are planning a jailbreak?Remote Possibility
January 6, 2008
In this age of rampant consumerism, it is no surprise that some people have pledged to stop the madness. . .or the buying. I first heard about this concept from a group in San Francisco whose members pledge to only buy secondhand items. Then I read about this New York City man who has sworn off everything from toilet paper to taxicabs for himself, his wife and his little girl.
Recently, one of my favorite mommy-bloggers started an experiment called “A Year Off“. This mom of seven is going to attempt to spend a year without making any unnecessary purchases.
I spent a couple of days thinking about this. How could I pare back on my buying of things? What is the difference between a “need” and a “want”? Why did a brand new Target have to move a mile from my home? I was becoming all a-flutter over the idea of joining the army of low consumers.
And, then Fairly Odd Father came home from work and said, “Look what I got! Only $10!” And I screamed and then fainted.
(just kidding about the fainting part)
Can you tell what this is? It is a G-I-A-N-T universal remote control for the television/cable box/VCR/DVD. I sputtered something about not buying “wants” this year. FOF explained that this was NOT a “want” but a “need” because he could never find the right remote control when he needed it.
But, the joke is on him, because little man D thinks it is a toy and hides it in the back of his Tonka truck and then moves it all over the house. I have a feeling we may “need” a tracking system for the remote next.
