Girls in the Mix

We are house of boys. There's Mensa Boy, of course. Then Nate, who is 19. And Taylor, who is 14. We've always just been a house of boys.

And now we have Erin, Nate's girlfriend. She is 18. We love having her around. She's not real girly so it hasn't really changed the dynamics around here much. But she does have a woman's mind, and so it gives me someone to roll my eyes with around the dinner table when they are all going on and on about "Survival man" or "really tall flagpoles that reach out into space and what it would be like to be sitting on the top of one."

The other night we were are the supper table and Erin and I started talking about haircuts. This caused Nate to just sit and move his head back and forth, like at a tennis match, watching us talk to each other. I think he was surprised that either of us would talk that long about hair.

My friend Paula has a house of girls. One in college, one just graduating high school and the other a rising sophomore. Her two older daughters have boyfriends. Her daughters are fairly girly and so she is she.

I bet it's much weirder to bring boys into a house of girls than it is to bring girls into a house of boys.

27 Years

This morning I asked Mensa Boy the annual anniversary question: "It's been (x) years, how long does it seem like it's been?"

"Well, maybe 21," he said. "It doesn't seem like 27 but for sure more than 20."

And there you have it. The question answered.

Family Meeting

We just finished a nice supper of turkey burgers (courtesy George Foreman...so glad I have him around for these days when the sky suddenly explodes), sweet potato chips (some rather charred, but great nonetheless) and steamed cauliflower. Oh, and of course the homemade hamburger buns.

May I never buy a hamburger bun again. I'm certain I will at some point, but for now, while I have a nearly endless bowl of bread dough in the back of the fridge, there's really no point in buying the tasteless, doughy variety at the grocery store.

I had a chat with the children about summer and am hoping to get the three of them involved in some painting this summer. Buddy Julie is coming for a week in June and she and I will get the two upstairs bathrooms done. Then the bonus room and guest bedroom will be left. It sure would be cool to get the guest room done before she gets here. Erin says she likes to paint. I wonder if she could get that done with Nate the week before Julie comes? Hmmmm.... I have to work 10-hour days that week, so I won't be wielding a paintbrush in the evenings. We'll be lucky to get a decent meal that week.

The hardest part, to me, will be getting colors chosen. I really need to come up with a plan for the master bath. The master bedroom is a rose-y brown. But it also could use a new coat of paint. I dread choosing.

Anyway, I've told the three of them that I will try very hard to find gas money for them to make a road trip back to see Grandparents this summer if they will help out with some stuff here at the house. We'll see how that all goes.

Mom? Is That YOU?

I think God's voice sounds like my mother.

Yup. But I bet this doesn't come as much of a surprise to most of you.

So last night I was doing my yoga. A long routine because there was no Jazzercise. The routine is a Yin Yoga practice, wherein one puts oneself into a pose and then attempts to relax every muscle that is not needed to maintain said pose. And then, of course, you are supposed to relax your brain too. Because once you are in that pose, whaddaya need a brain for anyway? As you stay in that pose, the muscles gradually relax and stretch more and more, and the pose naturally gets deeper and deeper.

It's quiet. And should be a great time for praying. But you are supposed be relaxing your brain too...like meditating. And to me praying takes a lot of brain cells. So I've been trying to meditate on the word "pneuma" these days. The sequence is about 8 poses, which I hold for 5 minutes each, so that's a long time to breathe in "pneu" and breathe out "ma," so after a bit I think to myself, "How about just trying not to think anything at all. I want to hear God speaking to me."

So I begin to pray "I'm here. I'm listening. Teach me. Move me." And I find myself saying this in my head over and over. Until finally I pause and, I'm not totally sure, but I think I heard God's voice. And he sounded exactly like my mother.

And he said "Well shut up then! Let me get a word in edgewise!"

Dinner and a Movie

Taylor, Mensa Boy and I went to Big View Diner last night for supper. It was an early one and I'm very glad. We got there a little after 5 and still waited about 30 minutes. It wasn't a bad wait, though. They took 2 stools at the bar and I stood while Taylor played video games on a countertop console. The woman next to me had a great, citrus-looking drink in a regular glass so finally I asked her what it was. "A margarita," she said. "And it's wonderful!" I like margaritas but I don't drink them very often. They never seem tangy enough to me and often are too sweet. And also usually don't have enough alcohol in them. But this one looked fantastic so I ordered it. It was fabulous. Like limeade with a little kick.

After we hung around for about 25 minutes the manager asked if we'd like to sit at the counter in the diner rather than continue waiting for a table. So we agreed. It was a little awkward, I thought. We were right at the pass for the kitchen and so everyone was bustling back and forth across the window getting food. I worried that watching the food being handled might ruin my appetite, but it didn't. The staff worked well together (there was a guy and a girl working the pass together, assembling plates and doing garnishes) and they were clean and efficient.

Taylor order spaghettini and meatballs that I thought didn't really look that great. But I didn't taste it so I can't really say. The meatballs are made on the premises and they do their own meatloaf so they are probably pretty good. He ate most of it, but left 2 1/2 of the 4 meatballs. That's normal. He's not really my meat eater.

MB had a philly cheesesteak. He said it was good, but I did see him put ketchup on it, which I think someone doesn't do with a really good one. And I had a reuben, which was wonderful! It was stuffed with meat, too much to eat. Good and hot and just the right amount of kraut and sauce.

But the big hit, I thought, was their vinegar potato chips. OH. MY. GOSH! I mean, I'm usually going for fries anytime I can, and normally would sub out chips for fries. But they had a big tub of them on the pass and they looked great so I figured they needed trying. They were absolutely delicious. Just a hint of vinegar and the chips were sliced so thin you could see through them and then fried to perfection.

So I think we'd go back there. I almost suggested them for breakfast yesterday when Rena and I went out, but I'm glad I didn't. They are not open for breakfast yet. I bet they will be wonderful when they do.

After that we met Nate and Erin at the theatre to watch Star Trek. I think I would have enjoyed it more if we were in the back of the theatre, but that's my only negative comment. It's a BIG MOVIE and I think being further back would have helped me take everything in a little more. We loved all the characters and the actors they chose to play the original series characters. They had just enough references to the old series to keep you delighted but not too many. And they left it wide open for more stories. We all agreed that it's time for a new Star Trek series.

THEN we hit Marble Slab Creamery for some ice cream. There was live music on the patio outside the shop so we sat by a fountain while we finished our treats. It was just a nice evening all around.