Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Sometimes I wonder about myself

I'm usually an averagely smart woman...I have a decent amount of common sense. I know to look both ways before crossing the street..I'm aware that if I'm on fire, I need to stop, drop, and roll. The other day I did something that made me shake my head in disbelief.

While looking in the kitchen for a snack for Floyd and myself, I noticed we had a can of crescent rolls and four hot dogs. Floyd suggested, "How 'bout making some pigs in a blanket?" I thought that sounded tasty, but never made them before. He told me it's easy--just slice the dogs in half, roll 'em in the crescent roll, and place the cookie sheet in the oven. Simple, right? Hahaha..not when you're Just Jenny.

I began slicing the hot dogs in half, like I was instructed, but as I was finishing slicing the fourth and final hot dog, I noticed that I had sliced them in half the long way, as if they were pickles from Steak 'n Shake. Don't ask me why. I never claimed to be Chef Kevin, but I thought I could at least pull off friggin' pigs in a blanket with ease.

Never one to be defeated, especially not by a bunch of cold, lifeless frankfurters, I said, "F**k it" and sliced them the correct way. I rolled them up, slid them into the oven, and before we knew it, we had some golden brown, deformed, greasy and slightly doughy on the inside pigs in a blanket in which to feast upon. Sigh...

If anyone needs to cater a party, Just Jenny is available...very available. Probably at a very low cost. :(

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Thursday, October 25, 2007

All Quiet on the Western Front

Aaaah, I love days off, especially since I hardly find any joy in my job, and there's nowhere else I'd rather be than with my family. I feel that a day off is a wonderful time to relax, enjoy some time to yourself, sleep in, perhaps gets some errands done and tidy up a little bit around the house, taking care of the clutter that accumulates throughout the week. Since Floyd is involved with the mock elections at WIU, which is taking place every Tuesday and Thursday night for the next couple of weeks, I get to stay home those days to watch Chloe. So here it is, 7:37 pm on a Thursday night, with the hubby at school and the kid FINALLY taking a long overdue nap, which is a plesant change from her crying jag from a half hour ago. The apartment is quiet, albeit the incessant buzzing coming from the computer. I realize I have time on my hands in which I can accomplish many things while I'm free. I begin to weigh my options..here are some possibilities:

~I could put away the baby's clean laundry which has been sitting in the basket since Sunday night
~ I could work on a couple of scrapbooking pages which I haven't done in probably a month
~ I could clean up the dirty dishes while there's only a few, instead of letting the stack grow higher and higher
~ I could stop being a lazy bum and hop into the shower and get out of the pj's I've been wearing since last night

I had all day to do this, and more. I always create these lofty goals for myself as my days off are approaching. 'I'm going to clean every room in the apartment top to bottom..I'm going to do twelve loads of laundry..' And honestly, what did I do today? Not a damn thing. Like I said, I'm still in my pj's. It so easy to squander time and be a lazy bum. But I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm going to get up and do something, while the night is still young and my place is still quiet. I'm gonna to pick up the living room. I'm going to go to the kitchen to tackle those dishes and...oooohh..I forgot we have turtle cheesecake. I think I'll have a quick slice and check out those magazines we got in the mail today. But after that, THEN I'll start cleaning...

Thursday, October 11, 2007

I love October

One of the main reasons I love to live in the Midwest (some days I wonder if it is the only reason) is the guaranteed change in seasons. The renewal of spring and the return of green grass and fragrant flowers, the seemingly endless daylight and the relaxing warmth of the summertime sun, as well as fall's colorful foliage and winter's snowy wonderlands. Even though I do appreciate the changes, there is one month that stands alone as my favorite: October.

I love the brisk autumn air and cold soggy rainy days. I love the rich vibrant red, orange and yellow leaves on the trees. I still enjoy Halloween, and every year I wonder, 'Hmm..what should I be this year?' as if I were a little kid. I love pumpkins, going to orchards, bonfires and hay rack rides. I look forward to taking Chloe to the park so she can crawl through the crispy fallen leaves as she experiences her first autumn ever. I love to see the leaves on the tree outside my church change to a lovely orangey-yellow, the exact orangey-yellow they were three years ago this month when Floyd and I took our wedding pictures under it. I don't know..I just get giddy every year when October begins. I feel it's a nice change after months of hot hot heat and it's a great time to throw on a blanket and get snuggly on the couch with someone. (Hopefully with someone you know..)

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Songs that will always remind me of Chloe Grace

I'm sure most people can agree that certain songs out there remind them of certain things, certain people, or certain situations. For instance, when I hear "I've Got You, Babe", I chuckle as I picture Bill Murray destroying his alarm clock over and over and over again in "Groundhog Day". I remember dancing to "Stairway to Heaven" with my high school sweetheart at our Vice Versa dance senior year, which is bizarre actually, because it was 1996, not 1976.

Anyway, there are songs I will always attribute to my daughter, Chloe. I will never forget being wheeled into the operating room after 4 am on December 30, 2006 to have a c-section. The room was cool and blindingly bright. My epidural made me VERY happy. As I was being operated on, Floyd looked fuzzy to my left (couldn't wear my contacts) and as I heard all the doctors talking to each other, I remember hearing Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now" floating around the room. 'Cooooollll...' I thought to myself in my epidural-causing stupor. ' I loove Chiiicaaggo." Minutes later, the beginning of "When the Leevee Breaks" by Led Zepplin had taken over. 'Coooolll...' I thought to myself again. ' I loooovve Leeedd Zeppppliiin..' ( I really did feel high with that epidural. For a girl who had never gotten high or tried any drugs in her life before, I was feeeellliing gooood!)

So, in addition to those two songs that were playing in the operating room, here's a list of songs , in no particular order, that will always remind me of my sweet Chloe Grace:

Songs By Neil Young:

* "After the Gold Rush"

* "Long May You Run"

* "Tell Me Why"

* "Harvest Moon" (which coincidentally is Floyd and my song)

* "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"

Songs By U2:

* "Running to Stand Still"

* "Stay"

Songs By Bob Marley:

* "Is This Love?"

* "Kaya"

* *Actually..every song by him reminds me of Chloe..she was kicking and dancing to him while living in the womb. :o)


Another song that should be added to the list is a take on "Edelweiss" from "The Sound of Music". Floyd changed the word "Edelweiss" and put the words "Chloe Grace" in its place...so it's the "Chloe Grace" song now. Sorry, Julie Andrews.

These songs on the list are ones that we've listened to and that I've sang to Chloe over the past eight and a half months of her life in lieu of "traditional" lullabies or kiddie songs. Although she does enjoy hearing "Winnie the Pooh", and I love listening to Floyd struggle as he tries to remember the lyrics, it's those songs that got us through long, long, sleepless nights as we bopped along to Bob Marley's spirited cries for freedom or slowly swayed to Neil Young's distinct, somewhat nasally but emotional voice. It is those songs that I will always remember many decades from now, and those memories will simultaneously bring a tear to my eye and a smile to my face.

Monday, September 3, 2007

Just an observation....

My stepmom Julie called my husband the other day to ask if she could enter Chloe in something called "The Cutest Baby" contest at the Walmart in Washington. Floyd said, "Sure..why not?" There were atleast a dozen or so contestants involved. Walmart took the picture that you submitted of your baby and placed it on a jar, and people could vote for who they believed is the cutest baby by placing money in the jar. The contest runs until September 9th, and whoever has the most money in their jar will win a basket full of baby goodies (i.e. bath wash, lotion, wipes, etc.) Also, every cent collected will go to the Children's Hospital . I think that is splendid. I love a good cause. When there are "baby contests" like that which are all in good fun and support something wonderful like the Children's Hospital, I'm all for it. When it comes to those creepy JonBenet type "beauty" contest for little girls...eh, not so much. Those make me a little queasy.

Anyway, we stopped by Walmart to surreptiously scope out the "competition" and throw a buck or two in her jar. I must say, Julie picked a great picture of Chloe to send in and her jar has a very prominent spot on the table. If you happen to take a stroll into the Washington Walmart, check out the baby table in the front of the store by the customer service department. If you want to vote for Chloe, her picture is easy to spot. She's the cute one. :o)

Floyd threw a couple of dollars into Chloe's jar, and we talked about spreading the wealth a bit among the others. When I searched in my wallet, I discovered I had no paper money; however there was an insane amount of change in there. So I placed a good amount in every other jar, especially those that seemed a little empty. After all, every one of those babies were adorable. Each jar had a red lid with a big circle cut out about the size of a half dollar for easy money insertion...all but one jar. The single lid that was different than the other red lids didn't have a half dollar sized slot; instead it was a thin straight slit about two inches long. Here's the thing that stood out, and as I stated in the title of this post, it's "just an observation": The jar with the small slit in its lid also had a picture of the only black baby entered in the contest.

Now, I don't want to accuse anyone of what COULD be seen as a blatant racist move. I'm not one to blow the whistle on things. I'm usually an easy going, somewhat quiet person. But for some reason, that image kind of stuck with me.

It was actually Floyd that pointed out that there was a lid with a different opening. After I inspected the others, I told him "It's also the only one that doesn't have a picture of a white baby." He replied, "Yeah....I noticed that, too."

I mean, let's look at the facts. Washington is a nice, small town with what seems to be a predominantly white population. But then again, maybe Walmart only had fifteen jars with the bigger openings and had a last second entry into the contest, so they found a different jar. I just really, really hope it was pure coincidence.

Please feel free to leave any comments on what it seems like in your eyes. Perhaps I'm just being silly. After all, I am an overly sensitive artist who sometimes observes the world differently. Lemme know your thoughts, and if possible, check out the Cutest Baby contest at Walmart. :)

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Now all I need is a sweet pair of mom jeans to complete the soccer mom package. Woo-hoo!!!

Hello. My name is Jenny and I'm a minivan owner. Wow..it feels so refreshing to admit that. Yep, it was hard for me to accept that we were in the market to buy a minivan, but I think I've come to terms with it now.


We've been talking for a few months about upgrading to a minivan to help accomodate our rapidly growing family. We presently have an 8 month old Chloe, and for some reason, she seems to be getting longer. Can't figure it out. So we knew we had to trade in the two door Monte Carlo that my husband's been in love with since day one. We arrived into town this weekend, dropped the baby off at Grandma and Grandpa's, and Floyd said, "Well, we're off to buy a minivan." I thought we were still "just looking". Sho 'nuff, he was right. We're now the proud owners of a Dodge Grand Caravan Sport. Ooh la la! How sexy!!


It's not too bad though. It contains all the amenities any soccer mom in the making could dream of, from the hooks in the back of the seats to hang your shopping bags to the DVD player to entertain your 2.5 kids. Floyd was upset to learn the DVD wasn't attached to the dashboard so he could watch movies as he drove. I honestly wanted to find a minivan that lacked the DVD option. *gasp* Yes, I know. What kind of crazy lunatic mom would say that?!?! I must confess, although I am only 29 1/2 years old, deep down inside of me is a crotchety 78 year old man with a gravelly voice who says, " Why do these young whipper-snappers need them there DVD players in the car? We never had that when we was kids. Hell, we never even HAD a car! And that's they way we liked it!!" But anyway..that's just my humble opinion.



So, all in all, it's been an exciting day, but it's going to take some getting used to. The last minivan I drove regularly was my mom's 1988 Ford Aerostar when I was learning how to drive. They sure have come a long way since then. :o)

Another post to ring in the new month!!

One of my four regular readers informed me that y'all are anxiously waiting for a new post from me. So here it is. :0)

Sunday, August 12, 2007

People are funny

I was talking to one of my pharmacists the other day and she was telling me of a complaint we once had from an elderly woman in her 80's. The woman said she had received a phone call from our pharmacy to let her know she had a prescription ready, and she told my boss the woman on the phone was very rude to her. She complained, "I was trying to talk to her, and she wouldn't say anything to me! I said, 'Hello?? Hello?!' and the lady wouldn't answer me!! She was very rude to me!!"

Little did the sweet old lady know that it wasn't someone from our pharmacy calling her..it was our somewhat impersonal automated system.

I just had to laugh... not to make fun of senility or elderly confusion, but because that'll probably be me in 50 years. Also, being a "Simpsons" junkie since 1987 (when they were roughly drawn shorts on "The Tracey Ullman Show"), I can picture this happening to poor ol' Grandpa. (Abe Simpson is my hero!!)

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Where is the love?...Part One

I'm proud to say that I was born and raised in the Midwest. My parents taught me to always treat people with respect, be polite and use "please" and "thank you" when needed. Living by the Golden Rule became a no-brainer for me. It was second nature. The funny thing is that I always thought Midwesterners such as myself were famous for being kind and considerate people. I really don't understand people and the lack of courtesy they have for others nowadays. People rarely acknowledge each other as they pass on the streets, drudging along like zombies with their cell phones surgically attached to their heads.

Sadly, I must admit I work in a retail setting. (oh, the horror!) I spend the majority of my days behind a pharmacy counter. I get to see first-hand how people mistreat one another, and I'm not just talking about the trashy inbreds who wander in the store to scream and cuss you out because their Vicodin is not being covered on public aid (that's another post for another time). I'm also not necessarily discussing those rude people who refuse to get off the phone while I'm trying to assist them, because loudly asking their significant other on the line whether they want them to pick up skim milk or 1% milk is far more important than me trying to do my job. (That is for another post as well.) I don't know..I guess I just wish people were a little bit nicer, like they used to be.

Don't get me wrong...there are those rare gems out there who will smile as people pass by, those who will hold the door open for others, people who will look others in the eye as they speak to them. Those are the people who make me smile, the ones that make me proud to have brought a kid in this somewhat crappy, occasionally disheartening world.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Wow!! My first blog ever!!

Well, this is exciting. As the title states, this is my first blog ever! I figured since my wonderful husband, Mr. Central Illinois Gourmand-o-Rama himself (I'm advertising your blog, babe!) as well as my friend Katie both have blogs--check out her Musings from a Morton Mom--I thought I'd give this a go. I told my husband Floyd that I've been thinking about starting this up, but I was afraid I would be too boring. (So I'd like to apologize in advance if my fear comes true!) Otherwise, I hope everyone enjoys an occasional look inside my mind and the silly random thoughts that swim around incessantly.