Friends don’t let friends have babies at St. Francis eastside.
There. I said it.
Author Archives: juliebyers
Cinnamon Apples
When I make cinnamon apples, I use, um, cinnamon and apples. What else do you need? Apples are sweet enough! I wonder what Chili’s puts in their cinnamon apples to make them three times more loaded with calories than their mandarin oranges. Chili’s cinnamon apples have 210 calories to be precise.
And while we’re talking about kid’s meals, did you know that Zaxby’s will not substitute celery for fries in a kid’s meal? Yeah. I’ll only make that mistake once. I’m learning if we must eat out, it is best to order from the adult menu than from the mac/cheese, fried chicken kid’s menu. Our favorite fast food is Salsarita’s. Norah gets little cups of lettuce, tomatoes, black beans, shredded cheese, and grilled chicken.
Wondering which kid’s meals are the best options? Check out this handy-dandy report my zest quest mother just sent me. Don’t have time to read it? The winner is Subway.
NOT Waxing Political
Disclaimer: This entry is not to be interpreted as a political endorsement. I’m fairly unenthusiastic about US presidential politics. I prefer politics for ordinary radicals.
I’ve admired Sarah Palin since I first heard of her earlier this year–of course, having no idea she would be thrust into the campaign spotlight. I liked her because she was a rare breed: a breastpumping, working mother in the governor’s office. And she brings her little one to work–in a pouch!
the GO
A few weekends ago, Scott got to borrow a SylvanSport GO. Our brilliant engineer friend, Tom Dempsey, designed this incredible trailer/camper hybrid. We’d seen his design but to feast our eyes on the finished product–Oh My! Scott took it to the NOC/Dagger Freestyle Shootout and it certainly drew a crowd.
The pic below shows the GO in its most compact form. The top compartment holds the tent and gear with storage in the middle. The GO is light enough to pull behind a small car or even an ATV.
Then it is stretched open to hold…how many kayaks? It could also transport an ATV, motorcycle, surfboards–you name your outdoor adventure.
And my favorite part: the living quarters. Tom thought of everything; even a welcome mat! It takes only minutes to pop out the Kelty tent. The beds include a self inflating air mattress. Everything transforms so smoothly.
Genius!! I wish we hadn’t had to give it back to Tom. It would be perfect for an extended family trip across Canada. Maybe to Oregon? Alaska?
Babywearing Benefit #503
Babywearing will keep your little carnivore close while on the Great Migration.
Scott and I found this herd while we were making breakfast this morning. Norah rigged up her headbands as slings so that the daddy and mama could carry their baby dinosaurs. Real Sharptooths wear babies!
ETA Aug 31: We found this back-carrying dino this morning. She used a ponytail.
Pickens Flea Market
I wanted to properly introduce my friend Abby to SC. She’s from Vermont. Nothing captures the layers of our unique culture better than the Pickens Flea Market. Where else can you find old cobalt blue apothecary bottles and gorgeous stained glass windows on the same table with beanie babies, guns, and saran-wrapped meat?
Today I bought some honey sticks, The Healing Foods Cookbook, Healing with Whole Foods, not-ripe-enough muscadines, yellowroot sticks, Yogi Bedtime tea (1.00/box!), and garam masala. The trick is…you must look past the haze of cigarette smoke and fried pork skin fumes to see the promising treasures.
Things we did not buy: baby turtles, exotic chickens, boiled peanuts, plastic toys, eucalyptus plant, socks, squirrel feeder, or a frightening mole trap (I did get a mole trap demonstration though).
How Bulgur!
Love was in the air last night. My parents and my sister/brother-in-law both celebrated wedding anniversaries. For Noelle and Zach, this night marked their one year anniversary. Aww. They pulled the top of their wedding cake out of the freezer and ever-so-sweetly smashed each other’s faces with it.
I prepared a feast for the happy couples. For once, Chef Willy’s famous alfredo recipe was overshadowed by a new appearance. I made Bulgur Salad with cherries as shared by my friend, Lauren. It was so beautiful. And tasty. So dust off that bag of bulgur and get cooking.
The Really Good, Really Big, Really Cheap Book Sale
I went to the GLA annual book sale yesterday. Even dragging my tired tot along, I found some great books!
For the gentle parenting lending library, I picked up Positive Discipline, Positive Discipline A-Z, and Punished by Rewards. I squealed triumphantly when I found the Alfie Kohn book. I startled the pregnant mom beside me.
For the UCEDS library, I grabbed The Premature Baby Book, A Child is Born, Mamatoto: A Celebration of Birth, and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.
For my husband, I snagged A Naturalist’s Guide to the Southern Blue Ridge Front, South Pole 900 Miles on Foot, Alaska Wilderness: Exploring the Central Brooks Range, and Still Waters, White Waters. He asked me if I was intentially trying to drive him away.
For Carey: Footprints by Denise Levertov. I finally found a bosom friend, kindred spirit who quotes poetry to me by email; not nearly as romantic as hand-written perfumed letters but who keeps stamps these days?
For Norah: only a tiny goblin book she sneaked into our bag. I’m a children’s book snob and the pickings were slim.
For me, I didn’t have much time. I mentioned the tired tot, right? I tangled with a football-playeresque guy over The Unicorn & Other Poems. Go figure. And, walking to the check-out, I reached back and grabbed Midwives.
Final bill: 25.00 Not bad. Until they announced that the “fill-a-bag-for-10.00” sale was starting in 15 minutes as I’m handed my receipt.
Lawbreaker
I found out this week that I’m a lawbreaker. If you’re still my friend after I confessed to eating oxalis, you may want to reconsider. Don’t let me near your children; I could be a bad influence. What is my offense?
I water my garden. Yes, our town has deemed watering the garden a $200 offense. Now I am all for water conservation. Fine the people watering their grass or pressure washing their house. Turn off the decorative fountain, drive unwashed cars, take quick showers. Give out rainbarrels and educate about how to build a graywater system. But really? Fining people for growing food? I live in a rural area and I know that many of my neighbors depend on their gardens. The food in my freezer may not make or break us, but it certainly helps.
As my neighbor, Mr. Police Officer, was picking tomatoes, basil, oregano, and a green pepper from my garden for his dinner pizza, he affirmed he wouldn’t enforce this rule for gardens. So there, city council.
5 Things
Because I was tagged:
5 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me
1) I have a talent for finding things of little importance. Things like four-leaf clovers and shark’s teeth.
2) I am an excellent mudpie maker. I’m talking about real mudpies made from earth. And as a child, I loved to eat them along with assorted plants and sketchy berries. Sometimes I still want to. I can remember the taste and grit.
3) I am not an excellent business person. While I can make mudpies, I have no talent for making money.
4) I love to eat sour things. Tiny green apples, lemons, limes, okra pickles, and oxalis from my yard. When I was pregnant, I once ate somewhere around 12 limes in one sitting. They were small limes; not quite keylimes but smaller than average. I was in Cambodia and well, I don’t really have any excuses except my sister probably ate almost that many and she wasn’t pregnant.
5) I despise Rod Stewart. His voice makes my skin crawl. My husband, who does a great RS impression, sometimes tortures me by holding me down and singing, “Have I told you lately…” I’ve been known to leave stores if his voice begins to screech from the speakers.
Does anyone still want to be my friend?
Inexplicable Ways 