Spring

Friday night the children made suncatchers. There was a bin of them in the dollar section at JoAnn's when we went to pick up some paint earlier. The kids each wanted one, and things started looking pretty volatile when they found one and only one cat suncatcher. They both wanted a cat and neither was going for the variety of other very cute suncatchers that were there. I told the kids to look through all of the bins in the section, as sometimes things get mixed up. Meanwhile, I was trying to come up with a peaceful solution for when they finished looking and didn't find another. The miracle I was hoping for but not expecting occured. They found one more cat in a different bin. Whew. It's a really good thing, because I had nothing other than to say neither one could have it, which would leave me with two sulking pissy children.

I remember making these when I was younger, and I had made them with Dej when she was younger. It's pretty simple--just cut open the various bags of little plastic beads, fill each section of the metal form with the color of beads they desire, heat for 15 minutes to melt, cool, and voila--suncatchers. The kids spent a great deal of time chosing colors and placing the little beads in carefully, and then they decided that since they were all done, they would dump all of the beads into one container. That would have been fine, except that the kids bumped the pizza pan on which they were assembled, and Hunter's metal frame lifted just enough to let his beads roll all over. He was SO upset! He had to start the whole process over, but now the tiny little beads were in one big jumble.

He started to get a little emotional, so I told him to go down and play for a bit, and I would sort the beads back out so he could start over. My hands are no longer very dextrous. It must have taken me an hour, to sit there with my tiny tweezers and sort the beads by color. I did just enough to fill in his cats and left the rest a mess. He was able to reassemble his cat and was very happy with how it turned out. This time, however, rather than having each cat a different color (as he had previously, he decided to mix the beads all together. You know, the beads I just spent an hour hunched over my kitchen table separating. UGH!

That put me behind, so that when Dej & her friend came over to watch LOST with us again, I had to grade. I got it done by around midnight and then I was ready to relax and hang out.

Yesterday M & I went to the Green Owl in Madison. Finally. We've been wanting to go since it opened, but haven't had the chance yet. In short, we LOVED our food. Desserts were very weak. They definitely need more vegan dessert selections, particularly chocolate desserts. We were having a really hard time chosing which entree to try, as so many looked good. M ordered this: VEGETARIAN ITALIAN BEEF house-made seitan in a rich, spicy broth with giardiniera (pickled vegetables). Served on a roll. It came with a side of roasted potatoes seasoned with herbs. It was delicious. I ordered this: STUFFED RED PEPPER a stuffing of bulgar, lentils, slivered almonds and golden raisins baked in a fresh red pepper, topped with a Moroccan tomato sauce. It was also delicious. I couldn't finish it, so I have half my entree here in my fridge, and it will be eaten! We also got a cup of soup to start with. He ordered the bulgur chili, and I ordered the curried cauliflower. We each liked our soups, but his was a little too spicy for him, and mine was a little less spicy, so we switched. We're excited to go again and try some of the dishes that looked so good.

Last night I went out for a bit to a friend's 30th birthday bash. We met at the Opus Lounge (in Madison). I haven't been out to a bar for years (other than a quick drop by at students' graduation parties, so that doesn't really count), and haven't been out with a group of girls at a bar since--I think since we've been married, so we're talking a really long time here! I was dreading going into a smokey bar, which guarantees that I will have a horrible headache (and often a migraine) for the rest of the weekend. I was pleasantly surprised, then, when I saw the "No Smoking" signs on the door and remembered that Madison is ahead of the rest of the state and their bars are smoke free now. That made me SO happy!!

My voice was just starting to return, and was at the melodious three-pack-a-day-smoker voice stage, which in our family is called "a rhonda voice". I can't explain why. My husband used that phrase when I met him. Any woman with a raspy, husky voice or a hacking cough was called a "rhonda". He never really explained the association, but it has become kind of a B-D family shortcut to describe voices or people. In M's world, someone can just look like a rhonda, too, without a voice being involved. Fortunately we don't have any friends or relatives named rhonda. Anyway, so there are always certain stages in my laryngitis where he calls me rhonda. Can't tell you how much I love that.

I had fun talking to the women and drinking some really tasty, fruity drink that went down like juice instead of alcohol. It was much too delicious. It's also the first time I've surpassed my two-drink limit. I wasn't driving, though, so I could indulge a bit. I realized when I was telling M about it that I really don't do anything with my women friends that isn't animal-rights related or serving some practicial purpose (taking our kids somewhere together, etc.). It was a few hours of complete, pointless frivolity. It was kind of fun. I really enjoy hanging out with "the girls". I'm trying not to ruin my fun with the inevitable guilt that keeps trying to creep in over the wasted time and money! Hey, my sweet friend Kristin only turns 30 once, so that's not really a waste. If I repeat that to myself 50 more times, maybe I'll be okay. :)