The Crab Chronicles

Skin and School

Well, the trip to the dermatologist yesterday was a relief. He was really a nice man, and Michael feels optimistic about getting his acne cleared up, finally.I just have to go get the prescriptions late this afternoon. None of the medications were available yesterday.

Two interesting notes. The derm is a TINY man - Michael looks like a gorilla next to him, and he's 5'5 and weighs 120.

The other thing of interest if that he is the dermatologist to the Atlanta Braves and is a huge baseball fan. His office is filled with autographed photos of players. I told him about my grandfather, Bob Hasty.

Most importantly, Michael liked him. The doctor gave a sheet of explicit instructions on how to wash the face and apply the different medications.

So Michael is hopeful the plan will work. I am too, although I cautioned him to pay particular attention to the derm's instructions that it will take 6-8 weeks to see big results.

When we were coming home in the car yesterday, Michael and I talked about why he hates school so much. He hates being confined to sitting at a desk for so many hours. I am looking into homeschooling him next year. The problem is that he will have to be self-motivated to get on the computer and get his coursework done, and I can't help him with higher math and science stuff. Homeschooling a high schooler would be challenging. I did find a website called Georgia Virtual School which looks interesting.

I am still in the exploratory phase of this.

I think Michael will miss being around his friends all day. OTOH, he will be 16 years old when he starts high school, so perhaps the homeschooling thing would work out better. Who knows. I'm praying for guidance on this.

Flashback

Two things happened this morning that were jarring to me. Maybe the universe is trying to send me a message. I don't know. I only know that grief will come out in many different ways as time goes by, and to try and deny that grief is useless.

My friend Jennifer Skiff, author of God Stories has a new book coming out called The Divinity of Dogs, and there's a story in there about my dog Coco, and how she helped my daughter transition to our new home. Coco and Alesia have a tight bond. Jennifer is trying to build up advance publicity about the book, so if you're on Facebook please find the Facebook page and click LIKE, and follow Jennifer on Twitter if you do that, too.

So I got the email from Jennifer this morning and I was thinking about that. I was thinking of my daughter and how much I miss her.

I went in to wake up my son for school and when I flipped on the light he wasn't in his bed. I had a moment of sheer panic. I called his name. No response.

I went out in the hall and HOLLERED his name, and I heard him in the bathroom. He came out in the hall in time to see my start crying.

I had a flashback to when my daughter was last living at home, last year, and I would go in her room and find she had snuck out in the night, or she had not come home all night, and I couldn't help but feel my gut seize up when I saw Mike not in the bed. He is always there in the morning when I go to wake him. Always.

I know he thought I was nuts to just start sobbing like that but I couldn't help it. All I could think was Thank God he is still with me. I haven't lost him.

My friend Cindy lives with this type of PTSD all the time, having seen several of her adopted children do the same things as my daughter [sneaking out, drug experimentation, dropping out of school]. Cindy taught me how to be strong, reading her blog. I will not enable my daughter, which is why she doesn't live here any more. I've told her she can come home any time, if she will follow my rules, but she chooses to live with a man whose name she will not tell me, and whose "profession" also remains mysterious.I know she's alive. She texts me once in a while. That's all I know of her life.

I worry about my daughter constantly and I pray for her.Y'all please pray too, or keep praying.

On to the cares of today. Michael has his first dermatologist appointment this morning. I pray this doctor can help.

Post Oscar Weary

TURBULENT is the best word to describe my life in the last few days. I feel like I've been put through a meat grinder. Too much on my plate. No time to myself. 

I told my boss this morning, it was so nice to be back in the office where things are peaceful. LOL

I had to go to a funeral this afternoon, and I came back and napped. I never nap. I couldn't keep my eyes open, however. I was up late last night watching the Oscars.

I have not seen the silent film that won all the awards. I really wished The Help and The Descendants had won more. Both are terrific films.

This was my favorite dress, worn by Penelope Cruz*:

Below is my least favorite dress:

These are some more dresses. I didn't really care much for any of them but the white one:

The red dress with the floppy thing at the neck?! ICK.

Not much more to report. Tonight: early to bed!

*She used to date Tom Cruise and I always thought, what a great name if she married him - Penelope Cruz Cruise!

Oscar Night!

It's OSCAR night! Be still my heart. My favorite TV night of the year.

I've had a really busy day, including working all morning, so there's not much to blog about. I worked 3 hours. Came home and ate lunch. Went to Wally-world and picked up a few things. Went to Kroger. Came home. Dropped Mike off at the tennis court and went to the fish store for some shrimp. Now I get to put laundry away, clean up the kitchen, and then WATCH THE OSCARS!

I want to say one thing very clearly here. THE HELP should have gotten a LOT more nominations. It's a phenomenal film.

Here are the nominees with my choices for winner in red: [in some cases the highlighting didn't work except on the film's title but you get the picture.]

Best Motion Picture of the Year

Nominees:

The Artist (2011): Thomas Langmann

The Descendants (2011): Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011): Scott Rudin

The Help (2011): Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan

Hugo (2011/II): Graham King, Martin Scorsese

Midnight in Paris (2011): Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

Moneyball (2011): Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt

The Tree of Life (2011): Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner, Grant Hill

War Horse (2011): Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees:

Demián Bichir for A Better Life (2011)

George Clooney for The Descendants (2011)

Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011)

Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Brad Pitt for Moneyball (2011)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Nominees:

Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs (2011)

Viola Davis for The Help (2011)

Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (2011)

Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominees:

Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Jonah Hill for Moneyball (2011)

Nick Nolte for Warrior (2011)

Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010)

Max von Sydow for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominees:

Bérénice Bejo for The Artist (2011)

Jessica Chastain for The Help (2011)

Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids (2011)

Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs (2011)

Octavia Spencer for The Help (2011)

Best Achievement in Directing

Nominees:

Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris (2011)

Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist (2011)

Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life (2011)

Alexander Payne for The Descendants (2011)

Martin Scorsese for Hugo (2011/II)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen [I have no opinion here since I only saw one of these]

Nominees:

The Artist (2011): Michel Hazanavicius

Bridesmaids (2011): Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo

Margin Call (2011): J.C. Chandor

Midnight in Paris (2011): Woody Allen

A Separation (2011): Asghar Farhadi

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

Nominees: MONEYBALL!

The Descendants (2011): Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash

Hugo (2011/II): John Logan

The Ides of March (2011): George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon

Moneyball (2011): Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011): Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan

My Not So Joyous Romantic Weekend [LOL]

OK, this weekend is already in the territory of Weirdest Weekend Of 2012.. So Far. Maybe I'm just feeling ornery because there's a disconnect between my expectation of how the weekend should be, and the reality of it. The cold, hard reality.

Odd things keep happening, though..

I was sitting in my car last night, reading a book and waiting for Michael to finish tennis practice while I scarfed down my chicken sandwich, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when Mike's tennis coach, Tom, walked over to the tennis court fence and hollered "DEE!" I dropped my sandwich and hopped out of the car and looked at Tom, tempted to yell "SIR YES SIR!" Tom just hollered "Tell Michael to STOP TALKING!" Without really giving it any thought I glared at Michael and hollered "Shut your mouth and LISTEN TO TOM! Or you'll get a whuppin' later!"

Of course, I was kidding about the whuppin [whipping]. I would never hit my son. He looked embarrassed, which was far more effective.

Colton said afterwards "Is he gonna get a whuppin?! Can I watch?!"

"He will get a lecture, kiddo. You can listen."

But being hollered at like that really startled me.

This was supposed to be an AWESOME weekend. Really.

I read my horoscope every month on the Astrology Zone website. I know about 95% of it is just BS, but I have to read it anyway. So the other day I checked back on my February forecast for Cancerians because I thought I remembered it saying that this weekend would be particularly good. I was correct. Here's part of what it said:

I feel your most joyous romantic weekend will be February 25-26, when Jupiter will be in perfect agreement with the Sun. What a beautiful five-star weekend that will be for you! Your ninth house of travel will be brilliantly lit with four planets in gentle water sign Pisces at the time, and at the same time, elsewhere in the sky, a golden triangle will appear, linking Pluto in your seventh house of partners, to Mars your third house of travel and communication, and to Jupiter conjunct the moon in your eleventh house of friends, fun, and events.

Really? I am sitting here waiting for a guy to call me back who has agreed to come out and crawl under my house and try and fix the downstairs furnace, which has pooped out. The upstairs furnace is working, but the downstairs one quit yesterday, right about the time the temperature started dropping. Two days ago it was 75. Today the high is more like 55. When I woke up this morning, it was 35 outside and about 60 downstairs. We have gas logs in the fireplace in the family room and those are going gangbusters, thanks to Michael. Mom has a space heater in her room.

I am praying it's just that the pilot light needs to be re-lit and we don't need a whole new furnace. We don't have the money for a new furnace. I'm praying HARD.

I need to go to the grocery store.

I need to take my tax stuff to the accountant. I spent the morning pulling all that stuff together. What fun.

I need to go in and do some work [at the office] because there is so much going on next week, I don't know how I will get in all my hours. Thank God I have an understanding boss.

You may be going to a gorgeous wedding or festive party during that weekend, or you and your partner may travel to a highly romantic spot, one that you took much care in choosing. If so, what you do could be one of the most important weekends of 2012 for romance and thrilling love. The universe has not forgotten you, dear Cancer. In fact, it is about to shower you with sparkling silver dust over February 25-26. Accept any invitation you receive!

Romance and thrilling love, huh?! I'm not holding my breath. I might fling my arms around the neck of the furnace fixing guy if he tells me we don't need a new furnace. That will thrill me. Me slobbering all over him will probably horrify him, though... That's about as close as it's gonna get...

My mother and my aunt both sent me emails yesterday entitled "If you can put this puzzle together: say goodbye to Alzheimers!" If I were a few years older I would be working on that puzzle like a maniac, but I am 49 years young, people! I'm not worried about Alzheimers JUST YET. I'm more worried about whether my knees will hold out for another twenty years if I continue to workout by dancing around my room at 6:30 every morning.[And by "dancing" I mean a series of moves half-remembered from my many aerobics workout tapes of the 1980's and some Elaine Bennis-type dancing that looks like I've been electrocuted. That is why I will never be seen dancing in public again, in this lifetime anyway..]

At least I have one thing to look forward to. Sunday night I get to watch the Oscars. I don't throw Oscar Night parties any more because everyone I know goes to bed early. None of my buddies wants to sit around and drink beer and make snotty remarks about the bizarre outfits and idiotic acceptance speeches - good old-fashioned fun I used to enjoy every year when I was younger.

Back then I usually got around to seeing most of the big nominated films, so it was more fun to watch the Oscars. This year, the only films I've seen [after checking the list of nominees] are The Descendants, Moneyball, My Week With Marilyn, and Albert Nobbs. I sort of want to see Hugo on the big screen but there's no time.

Thank God I actually found something to laugh about this morning: Laughter is good and this from Jimmy Fallon made me laugh: "J.K. Rowling, author of the "Harry Potter" series, is set to publish her first novel for adults. You can tell the book is for adults from its title, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Activia.”

LMAO

UPDATE!! The guy came out and fixed the furnace downstairs, thank God! Didn't need a whole new furnace. It was some stupid piece of tubing that had broken and he replaced it. Of course, it wasn't cheap, but I didn't faint when he told me the price, either. We can muddle through this. At least I don't have to worry about Mother getting sick, in an unheated house! Thanks be to God!

Cauliflower, Roasted

I feel called upon to preach for a moment. The subject is vegetables. Sometimes I just crave them. This is a great thing - used to be, all I craved were Ruffles potato chips or Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Yikes.

I had a discussion with a friend at work yesterday about how her kids won't eat vegetables. I wanted to say [but good manners prevented it] do you SEASON your food?! I've eaten at the homes of people whose only seasonings in the house consisted of salt, pepper, and maybe some garlic salt. That's just wrong people.

You don't have to go crazy with all sorts of herbal knowledge. Just use some seasonings.

I ate an entire Stouffer's spinach souffle for lunch yesterday.

I was making burritos for dinner last night, but for a veggie I wanted cauliflower. I wanted to NOT have to smell it cooking in a yucky way, which is always a danger there. My usual practice is to boil it until soft, then mash up some cheese and spices in it, like mashed potatoes.

Last night, I roasted it. MAJOR YUM. So so easy, too.

I took a head of cauliflower, washed it, and chopped it into florets.

I took a large ziploc plastic bag and put all the florets in there. To that, I added the following, in generous amounts:

olive oil

sea salt

pepper

onion powder

garlic powder

I shook the bag up a bit. (This is the easy way to coat something you're going to cook. I used to watch my mother and grandmother do this with chicken pieces, coating them in flour prior to frying, except they used a paper bag.)

I dumped the florets in a 9x13 pan and roasted them, uncovered, on 400 degrees for about an hour. They were still a bit chewy. I pulled them out and admired the light brown color. I dumped on some cheddar cheese, and put them back in the oven on 200, until I had finished the burritos, about 15 minutes.

Olive oil is key. It's so good for you. Even if you have to watch your cholesterol, you can have some olive oil every day. It is good cholesterol. Even if you find it intimidating to read about it, buy some. I buy the cheapest kind, usually a store brand, and keep it on the counter near the stove. It never spoils. I buy a little better olive oil to keep to make Elva's Fabulous Salad.You can use it for other stuff, but don't get carried away.. LOL

Michael at a big helping of cauliflower, which did my heart good.

Other than that, yesterday was a pretty quiet day.

Bon Appetit!

Catching Up

This will have to be a quick post because I overslept this morning and I'm way behind already.

We have not had winter this year. Today is supposed to be 75 degrees! Even for Atlanta, that's ridiculous. It's February. I like a good solid 2-3 weeks of freezing temps overnight, to kill the bugs. My friend Patty from Indiana sent me an email complaining about not seeing snow this year. I'd be happy with coat weather!

I will say this, I was glad of a heavy sweater last night while watching Michael's tennis match.

FWIW, I am reading two books at the moment. I carry around The Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White, and read it when I have time. I like the fact her books are often set in the Low Country, specifically Charleston, where I've spent some time. When I'm at home lounging around [cough cough] I am reading The Prophecy. I like his books because I always learn a lot, there's a mystery to solve, and he writes his main characters very vividly. The story moves along well.

What am I listening to? I am liking Allison Krauss more and more. I found this song on YouTube, a duet with Vince Gill, and I love it: OK, I hope that worked. If not, click here. I also love Jubilee, which sounds more folksy than country. Her voice is just amazing. She's better than Adele in my opinion. [shhh, don't tell my son]

I love to sing along with her version of "I'll Fly Away" because I can sing melody or harmony. This video is particularly nice:

 

Last night, Michael and I watched an old movie I like a lot, High Spirits. It stars Peter O'Toole and Steve Gutenberg, and it was filmed in Ireland. It's silly, yes, but on long weekdays when I'm tired and trying to relax I want silly, not heavy drama.

Hope the videos worked. If not, go on YouTube and do a search for Allison Krauss.

Controlling Your Reactions

I am happy Michael made the tennis team, but the carpooling is wearing me out. Last night I picked up Michael and Colton and found out they'd had a really bad practice. They were both unhappy campers.

I took them to Waffle House for dinner, in honor of Shrove Tuesday, and I learned a little more. They had been separated in practice, then a friend of Mike's had told him to go play on another court. Hurt feelings resulted.

I told the guys, you cannot control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it. [Words I strive to live by, not always successfully.]

The beautiful part is that if anyone is mean to Michael, Colton is upset too. They are like brothers that way. They have each other's backs. We should all be so lucky to have such a friend.

Both boys ate 2 waffles, and bacon. Wow. They cheered up a bit then.

I had one waffle and bacon.

Back on the eating plan today.

I am seriously thinking of giving up sugar for Lent. Sugar substitutes, too, which will really be difficult. I can tell a difference in how I feel, though. Much better. Clothes are fitting looser. Face is slimming down a bit. Need to keep going.

BE CAREFUL

Got an email from a friend that was disturbing, but I want to pass it along as a public service:

"...a long time customer just told Jack that his wife was robbed only one hour ago at a gas station.  She was actually pumping gas and a man opened the passenger door and grabbed her purse.  Which means her wallet, cell,  all kinds of personal info, etc.  I know we hear the stories all the time.  I usually lock all doors at all times but at some time perhaps I have been guilty of forgetting to lock EVERY door.  This happened at a station close to the interstate."

Dance of the Undead

I know it was a national holiday today because the traffic going in this morning was nonexistent. And there was no mail. Big hint there.

Michael has to go back to school tomorrow. He is NOT a happy camper.

I made the best pork tenderloin for dinner tonight. I put Hog Waller dry rub, a little salt and pepper, and stuck it in a pan with some water, in a 250 degree oven for 3 hours, and voila, fork tender pork. That plus BBQ sauce is very tasty. Prep time? 5 minutes.

I also made Elva's Fabulous Salad and re-heated some rice from last night.

Michael had eaten dinner at Colton's house about 6:30. I picked him up a few minutes later.

About 8, he had a big plate of salad and a little bit of pork. Two dinners sound weird to you? When my brother was in high school, for almost an entire year he would go to his friend Steve's house after school every afternoon. They ate dinner at 5:30. At my house, we ate between 7:30 and 8, or thereabouts. Steve came over and ate with us every night. One day my mother saw Steve's mother at the grocery store. [Knoxville wasn't a big place then.] Mother said "We surely do enjoy having Steve over for dinner every night." Steve's Mom said "Well, we enjoy seeing Bruce EVERY NIGHT." Then they both realized what had been going on and started laughing.

Speaking of high school, you remember those cameras where they shot the photo out immediately and you watched it develop? Mother had one of those when I was in high school and college. The problem was, those photos got murky after a while. I unearthed a couple of photos of me, though, from 1980-82, which were years I was so self-conscious there are very few photos of me in existence. I thought I looked hideous. However, I scanned in the two photos I found of myself and they are both sort of cute [from my advanced age of 49].

Me in about January 1983, with Molly Mac, our bassett hound. She was such a cute puppy. We hardly ever put her down. I was 20 and looked about 13?!

This one was made my senior year in high school when I was in the Westside Dinner Theater production of Hello Dolly for 6 weeks. I worked 6 nights a week, and went to school about 3 hours a day, which was all I needed to graduate. I didn't sleep much. They let me bring my costume home once or twice. Dad liked to dance around in his pajamas.

In looking at those two photos it just occurred to me, I am way too white. I should've gotten out in the sun more. I look like the undead. We lived on the lake. I was always too busy...

 

Night Driving

There are very few things that I fear or that make me really anxious, but driving at night, in the rain, is one of those things.

I had Colton and Michael in the car with me last night at 6:30 as we left Phipps Plaza after going to the movies. I generally avoid all malls. I hate shopping. Phipps' parking lot has changed a lot over the years, and I got turned around in the lot, trying to exit onto Wieuca Road and not being able to, Michael laughing at me from the back seat. "Let's use the GPS. You need it to get out of the parking lot Mom!" he'd chortled.

Very funny, son.

The only reason I'd ventured to Phipps was that it allowed the boys to see Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and me to be next door seeing My Week With Marilyn. Worked out perfectly.

I liked the film, and I think Michelle Williams totally deserved her Oscar nomination. She was brilliant. The film wasn't really a powerhouse, though. I love films about characters. I don't care if anything explodes. I have gotten used to seeing British films that have more oomph than My Week With Marilyn. Maybe that's unreasonable. Not every film can be as brilliant as The King's Speech. Maybe it's unfair to even say My Week With Marilyn is a British film, just because it was filmed there. Michelle Williams is American.

Another thing I didn't like about the film was actress Julia Ormond was cast as Vivien Leigh, which was horrible miscasting. She neither looked nor acted like Vivien Leigh. [I used to be be sort of obsessed with all things having to do with Gone With the Wind.]

Anyway, it was fun teasing the boys about watching Nicholas Cage in a big action movie. He's close to my age. I don't think much of his acting skills. I can't see him playing, for instance, a lawyer. He always exudes an air of crazy, that becomes really creepy the older he gets.

Otherwise, it's been a fairly quiet weekend. Rain is either falling from the sky or threatening, today. Good day to work on taxes...