My 100th Post

Not to be confused with my 100th blog written...because there are about 30 unpublished posts in my draft box.  My brain works on overtime but sometimes those thoughts are not publish worthy.  Trust me.  Unless you are a licensed therapist, you dont even want to open that bag of worms.  So what is on my mind these days?  Oh so much.  But after a marathon reading session that ended at 2:15 this morning of Eat, Pray, Love, I am strongly strectching the brain muscles this morning.  I am letting things go, relaxing the "Adaptaion" voices that talk back and forth, out of turn, rudely interrupting one another. 

With all that said, I am starting a new path.  (I do this occasionally.)  I gave up meat last week.  Not just red meat this time but pork and chicken.  I ended on quite a high note mind you--with Paul (soon to be Uncle Paul) breaking in the new Green Egg on some of the best Backyard BBQ ribs EVER!  Fish is still on the menu for now.  Not going straight vegan.  I might go into a coma if I had to give up dairy.  Besides with soy/tofu NOT on my list of edible I need my cheese and eggs.  I really have no major reason I can give you for this new path this time.  It was not because of my Animal Science class tour of the Meat Science Lab at A&M this time.  It was not because I had to use a bell scraper on a pig carcass this time.  It was not because I had to watch video of cow being processed this time.  It was not because I had a front row seat to the actual sausage making steps this time.  It was not a dire step to get my weight to under 110 this time.  (Not looking for that number any more) It was not to prove any kind of humane point this time. 

It is just because I decided to do it.  And oddly I don't even think about it, no craving, no "I wish", no crabby mood.  I am sure it won't last forever-the no meat thing not the no crabby mood part.  Just giving it a try.  We will see...

Anyway, lots more new things going on in the Arnold House with my career shift.  More on that later.  We are adjusting better than I thought we would.  And of course the new paycheck doesn't hurt.  I can say that after all these years and all that Zanex I am getting pretty good at flying "drug-free"!  Guess laying down those control issues that you never really had control of anyway has it's perks! 

Where did my baby go?

Everyone says little girls are so fun because you can dress them up like a baby doll.  No one tells you that you can do the same thing with baby boys!  And boy oh boy did I.  Have you seen all the photos of my boys in smocking and bubble suits?  What about the velvet overalls at Christmas?  Or Bradford's red silk Christmas shortalls he wore when he met Santa(see below).  Nothing is sweeter than a toddler in knee socks.  I always say they have their whole life to dress like a grandpa or a Frat Daddy!  Why do it at 9 months?  I remember one day Brandon came home and I showed off some pictures I had taken of Bradford.  After viewing all of them Brandon noted the many different outfits Bradford was wering in all the pics.  He asked, "Did you play dress up with him?"  Of course!

With all that said Bradford has drawn a line in the sand.  He is NOT wearing anything that remotely looks like a baby?  "Mom I don't want to wear that one anymore.  You can give it to Berk." If I am not careful he may even give up his preppy look too soon for me too. 

The icing on the cake was when he showed up at his first T-Ball practice this week in a striped Polo t-shirt and Gap shorts.  In NO uncertain terms we WILL be buying basketball shorts, "daddy socks" (the no show athletic socks Dad wears to the gym) and "work-out" shirts.  All per my 4-almost 5 year old!  No fancy clothes please for practice anymore.  It all started with his hair last year.  "Mom this is how I want my hair cut..." Next it will be "Mom this is where I want to go to college..."

blubber blubber

I logged onto a friend's blog for an update on her miscarriage grief tonight.  Then after clicking on blog after blog link, I now can hardly see from all the tears.  I know I know, Brandon reminds me frequently I should not watch the news because it makes me so sad.  Well I am thinking the same goes for sad blogs.  Actually my sweet husband just checked on me again and said to please stop reading those.  But you know when you understand someone's grief so profoundly you feel like you owe it to them to support them even if only by "listening" to them spill their hearts out via blogging.  So if ever you need a friend to lend an ear sometimes blogging can the best answer we have to offer.  I believe the only way to grieve a loss like this is to Grieve Outloud.  Every face of loss also has a face of hope.  Many prayers and hugs to you all tonight...Love,

All in the Family

Hello there from the mountain house.  We are loving the 58 degree weather in the higher altitude.  The entire Arnold clan has converged in Angel Fire.  Half of our crew has spent the last 3 days golfing and the rest of us have spent our days napping, hammick swinging and shopping.  I am sure you can guess to which group I belong.  Yesterday was our first Taos trip of the week.  If you ever find yourself in the area let me just highly recommend you pit stop with the kiddos at Twirl Toystore.  They boast the best toys around and I agree!  In addition, they have outdoor instruments the kids can play, a treehouse, outdoor climbing gym, art studio and plenty of organized activities.  Currently we are debating if we are going back for Sunday's Ice Cream Social and visit to The Harwood for a free art class or Saturday for the parade. 

Then on another note, we are thrilled to find out Larry Joe Taylor is hosting the Hot Chili Days, Cool Mountain Nights with Jason Boland, LJT himself, Josh Abbott, Roger Creager and so many many more.   

As you can tell we have plenty to do and so little time to do it!  For now I am headed to town for Yoga all by myself!

Sisterly Love

Seriously, I have a pretty amazing husband. He can fix practically anything. Even if he doesn't know how he will try. He repaired the sprayer at the top of the dishwasher last year. He has replaced both top and bottom burners in the oven. After much tinkering on the 11 year old lawn mower he did give in and buy a new one. Now he is wondering why he didn't do that 3 years ago! Sometimes you do not realize something has ended its useful life until you get a new one.


That same dishwasher he worked on last year is at it again. Mind you this thing is not even 4 years old. We bought as part of our kitchen remodel before Bradford's 1st birthday party. Remember that insanity I embarked on 2 weeks prior to the party? This would also be the dishwasher that Brandon picked. I wanted the Bosch and he was pushing for the Kitchen Aid. When we debated the two he won just like the washer/dryer where he was gunning for the Maytag. He tends to argue "performance/durability" better than I argue "eye appeal/brand loyalty"!

Back to the dishwasher that has given us more problems in 4 years than the old one gave us in 7+, it went out Friday night. Completely. After googling possible culprits, we quickly determined this was beyond our pay scale. Come Monday we are calling a repair guy or going to Lowes for that Bosch.

Meanwhile, the whole point of this blog is talk about my weekend full of hand washing the dishes. I did not grow up with an automatic dishwasher. Neither of my parents did either nor did my grandparents have one at their homes. When you get a handful of competitive sisters together to wash dishes EVERY night you can always bet on some kitchen drama. I mean there are rules to dish washing! First of all it's a given it has to be done every night. So the person that gets in there first to run the dish water gets to be the "Washer". While on the surface this may like look the lesser of the jobs, believe me it's the better. The "Rinser" has to rinse and dry and put away! How do you like them apples? Although there is one trump card Rinser has. That is you can send anything back to the wash sink claiming it is not clean enough. (Careful to not abuse this or Mom does get called) As a Washer who takes much pride it this job nothing will infuriate you more. To which the competiveness may lead to some cattiness which then could cause a little too much soap to be left on the dishes as they are passed to the rinse sink. In case you are unaware of dishwashing protocol please note: there is also a proper order in which dishes must be washed. Glasses, plastic ware, bowls, plates, silverware, knives, cooking utensils and THEN pans.

Poor Brandon. Even after 14 years around my family he still has more to learn. The one thing he did instinctively know was to claim himself "Washer" and a little too fast for my taste. After the first few items hit my rinse water with way too much soap I got my own dishcloth and politely took the dishes from him and squeezed clean water over them into his sink before I allowed them into my near perfect, clean and clear water. I think I almost tasted blood inside my mouth as I pushed my big sister voice deep down and refrained from enlightening him on his erroneous washing ways. I mean really, silverware first?

I can say it was about 3/4 of the way thru the whole experience before I passed my first dish back because there was still something on it. I turned around as I actually did laugh to myself. I know it was an evil big sister smile on my face!
Later in day he asked, "Did ya'll hand wash dishes all the time when you were growing up?"
Uhh yes!

May I VS Gimme!!

I am starting to think my zest for manners is backfiring on my kids. While I am teaching them to use their manners, use their words, hold the door or introduce themselves to new people, it's my kids that end up more often than not being the socially awkward ones. I go back to a day when Bradford, not quite 3 invited a guest at our house to watch TV with him. She refused to acknowledge him and turned her head away. He walked around the chair so he could see her face and repeated himself. Again she turned away and again he walked around to the other side repeating himself. After the 3rd or 4th time he told her she needed to look at him and listen to his words. Where had he heard that? During the whole exchange the mother never prompted the girl to respond. Hearing the situation from another room, I came to assist him. Here we are 2 years later and he introduces himself tonight to a boy his age, who just stares at him and does not say anything in return. Bradford does not get why others his age, even several years older "Don't use their manners!" I wonder the same thing. But I guess the more I ponder this dilemma it is impossible to teach what you do not know. Who would have thought that etiquette would truly go out of style or become a lost art form? Have no fear! At age 6 both my boys will be registered for The Fort Worth Club's Etiquette Class! Awkward as they may be perceived by some this mama is not throwing in the towel that easily.

Dead Dad's Club

I made my way to The Mama Mary Show by way of Ooph! Well on Friday, but my weekend was pretty busy, so Mama Mary has remained at the bottom of my computer since then. (Yes I am one of those that NEVER shuts down my computer) Today when I had some surfing time I opened her blog and the words flashed in NEON at me. For those of you not in THE CLUB she is referring to you may not have noticed the words. And if you had you probably wouldn't click on them for fear something bad would happen!


I, of course clicked. What did I have to loose? At this exact moment in time I am saddened to say I would need to use both hands and a foot to count how many friends I have who would do the same. Without hesitation. I love that Mama Mary uses the infamous Grey's line as her opening header:

“There’s a Dead Dad’s Club and you’re not in it ‘til you’re in it…..I’m sorry you had to join the club.”

Dr. Christina Yang – “Grey’s Anatomy”

More so I love that Mama Mary has written a compilation book of stories from other Club Members. Crazy thing is this is something that I have been thinking about doing myself. I have talked at length with my sweet friend Victoria, also 20 veteran in this Club about this book idea. Mary is still shopping for a publisher so once this book hits the press; I will have a couple on hand. Not that I want any more members in our Club, but truth is Life is Inevitable!