Blowing in the Wind

We have a new view from the front porch of the house at Adzentoivich Woods. Windmills. 13 of them to be exact.

HUGE windmills.

If you don't want to click the link I'll just tell you - they cost $70 million and are 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty.

Huge freakin' windmills!

Here is a photo of the new view (this is a mountaintop, not a hill, mind you)...And another (look closely)...One of the things we cherished about Adzentoivich Woods was the fact that when there you felt as if you were the only people in the world. You could see no neighbors, no roads, nothing.

Complete solitude.

Nature in it's natural state.

I have mixed feelings about these new addiitons to our environ. On one hand they are really, really cool. I mean really. They turn so slowly and silently. Giants on the hillside quietly bringing life through the wind to humanity. Harnasing the winds and squeezing from them electricity.

Clean power.
Responsible power.
Natural power.

Little or no by-products. No pollution (hello, co-gen plants?).

Almost majestic in their pursuit and stature.

Calming to behold and somewhat humbling.

Heck, we were even thinking of putting one up on the farm - though not nearly as large. And cousin Anne trekked halfway across the country in a gas-guzzling SUV to pick one up for her place.

Off the grid, self-sustaining power. Hope for the future.

On the other hand - HUGE FREAKIN' WINDMILLS SEEN FROM MY FRONT PORCH!

YouTube and Cat's Eyes

So I uploaded that last post from my digital camera to my computer, then to YouTube. I posted it to the blog straight from the YouTube interface. For some reason I have heard that several people have been unable to watch it. Sorry for that. It is really just a random video of the boys laying on their tummy-time mat while Vladi cries and Waylon pedals his feet. So, sorry about that if you can't see it. I am new at the whole YouTube thing - at least the contribution aspect of it. Maybe I did something wrong when I uploaded it.

Yesterday morning, Ernie and I were sitting on the bed feeding the boys when Godzilla sauntered into the room. I looked at him as he walked past my side of the bed and continued to schlep underneath the crib into what is known around here as "cat jail" (the slats of the crib make it look as if the cat were in jail). I noticed his right eye was completely swollen and discusting. The inner eyelid thing was all pink and HUGE.

I said "Ernie, go look at the cat and put medicine in his eye" (this is not the first time this has happened to Godzilla, he seems to have allergies)

He said "But I am feeding a baby"

I said "I don't care, give me the baby and take care of the cat. His eye is really bad"

He said "Wow, that's a first. Take care of the cat instead of the baby?"

I said "Look at his eye and you'll see why"

So Ernie gives me the baby, now I have two. He goes to get Godzilla who of course doesn't want to be gotten. Once he catches him he yells to me from the other room...

"I think he lost it"

I yell back "Lost What?"

He yells "I think he lost his eye"

Me "REALLY?"

He "I think so!"

Me "Well, call the vet! Call Rick and bring him over there right away" (Rick being our parent's friend who is a vet two towns over)

He "OK"

.....time passes

I think about where his eye could possibly have gone. Under the diningroom table? Under the refrigerator? Into the fireplace? And how would we ever find it? Would it start to eventually stink and lead us to it? Hopefully before the boys start to crawl...

Me "well, is it there?"

He "I think so. I dunno. I put some medicine in it so we'll see. I am going to watch him"

Me "OK"

Later....

He "Wow, his eye looks 100% better!"

Me "Oh good, so it is still there."

He "yeah"

Only that evening did I think about it and realize that it would be quite impossible for our cat to "lose" his eye. I mean, it is attached and all that. This I found to be quite comical. Both Ernie and I thought it was perfectly probable that our cat's eye could have fallen out from extreme paw rubbing or some such thing.

This is what happens when you are subject to extreme sleep-deprivation. Your cat can lose his eye and you don't really think a thing of it other than, I hope we find it before the babies do. It all becomes one big Fellinni film.

Playtime

New Post

I missed a few days of posts so I guess I am out of the NoBloPo thingy. I made it everyday for a week, at least! I think that is pretty good considering I have the babies and am working again.

I am going to try to continue to post daily, or as close to daily as possible. I have enjoyed reading other people's daily blog posts. I think this NoBloPo idea is great though, it has gotten a few folks (including myself) blogging regularly again.

Keep up the good work, and I will try to do the same.

Plant For The Planet

This is a cool program being initiated by Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai from Kenya. She is the only black woman to ever win a Nobel Prize. Her goal is to have 1 billion new trees planted across the world in 12007 in an effort to stall global warming. All you have to do is click here and enter any trees you may plant during the year so that they may be counted.

You can read about it on Yahoo! News or at the United Nations Environment Programme.

Oh Britney

Is anyone surprised that she filed for divorce from that idiot? At least she got him a job (a.k.a. record deal) so that his sons won't think he is a total loser.

And it was sure smart of her to have both of her sons sired by the same (deadbeat) dad. She definitely put her thinking cap on for that one.

Why are celebrities such imbeciles? Is this really the best our society has to offer our youth as role models? I mean, if she were some sort of musical genius it might be a different story, but in reality she is just a piece of tail. And now she isn't even good looking - though she did just birth two babies in two years so I have to cut her some slack and give her some props.

But Britney, really, can't you hire someone to make your decisions for you? Surely you can afford it.

Addicted to HGTV

Hi, my name is Nancy and I'm a HGTVaholic...

Really.

Since I have been home nurturing my offspring I have also been feeding my addiction. And it isn't the home improvement or design shows that I am into. Nope. It's the real estate shows.

What You Get for the Money
National Open House
International Open House
What's My House Worth

You know. Shows that make me feel like an idiot for spending a gagilion dollars for a 1800 square foot 100 year old house on 0.10 acre. Dunce.

From what I can see we should be looking to move to Savannah, GA. Now you're talking about a nice place at a reasonable price.

But as my friend Krista says "but you have to live in Savannah (insert any town/city/state other than New York or one of it's suburbs)".

And of course she is right. We all know the sacred real estate mantra...location, location, location!

But moving somewhere like Savannah/Nashville/Pittsburgh would allow us to live in a mansion/estate/loft with every amenity, no mortgage and I wouldn't have to leave my boys to go to work if I didn't want to. Wouldn't that be worth the sacrifice of location? What would I really be missing? Starbucks (doubt it), Barnes and Noble (probably not), Walmart(absolutely not)?

So, when I start talking about taking a road trip to check out property in Memphis it may be time to stage an intervention.

Admitting you have a problem is half the battle, right?

What It LOOKS Like to Have Twins (at 5am) - 10 1/2 Weeks

What It Is Like to Have Twins - 10 1/2 Weeks

It feels like I have been hit by a truck.

All the time.

I eat things like salt and vinegar chips and Vienna Fingers because I am always hungry and cannot have; dairy, chocolate, spicy food, beans, gas-producing vegetables, too much caffeine.

I stink. Haven't bathed in days. Hair becoming like dreadlocks.

See my husband only on occassion, on which we yell at each other about things like; types of formula, adequate burping practices, poop diapers, vomit, showers, baths, dinner...

Have ungroomed eyebrows that are starting to look as bushy as they did in 1984.

Hairy legs.

Unmade bed.

No sex.

Jelly belly.

Dust bunnies, toilet bowl rings, dirty countertops, full litter box, dusty TV screen.

Stuffy nose, constipation, headache, backache, sore boobs.

General feeling of being overwhelmed and out of sorts.

Just when we think we are getting the hang of things and it is starting to get "easier", something happens like "uh ha! Gotcha mom and dad!! You thought you were soooo smart, now what are you going to do about this?"

Frustration.

I wouldn't give up my boys for the world. I am oh so glad that they came to join our family. However, I wouldn't wish this on anyone else. Unless they could afford a baby nurse, a nanny and a housekeeper. On most days there is at least a moment of amazement when I look at each of them and melt - that makes it all worthwhile. It's the days when I have had no more than 3 hours of disjointed sleep that make it difficult to see the forest for the trees.

"Big Box Stores" or "It Could Happen to You, Too"

Yesterday I did something I never thought I would do. In fact, I am pretty sure that I swore to never do such a thing.

I joined a big box store. You know the ones I mean. There are lots of them, depending on what part of the country you live in. But they are all the same, really.

COSTCO
Sam's
BJ's
...

Big, giant testaments to American Consumerism. I think they embody at least 4 out of the 7 deadly sins (is that right? Vices? Whatever they are - like the Brad Pitt movie, "7").

Gluttony
Greed
Envy
Sloth

And I am on the fence about Pride/Vanity. You could say that fits too if you stretch it. And Anger fits if you take into consideration the parking lots and checkout lines.

So basically, these stores are gateways to Hell in Earthly form. They are also SOOOOO suburban and just gross, to put it in layman's terms (speaking of Layman, I always wondered whatever happened to my friend Lisa Layman and her husband Brent....they were Opera singers and very cool).

But alas, I am a sinner afterall. I have never claimed to be otherwise. And I Have even been called a Heathen on occassion (by, of all people, my mother). So maybe I shouldn't be surprised by my actions. But I am. So maybe I don't know myself very well. Perhaps you all saw this coming.

This latest development is right up there with driving a minivan. I will Never, EVER, drive a minivan. N-E-V-E-R

Unless, of course, anyone knows of a good deal on one post 2001 with less than 70k miles on it? If so, please let me know 'cuz the two-door hatchback Hyundai isn't so cute anymore. Economical, yes. Practical, not so much. Did I just say that? Geesh.

Admitedly, I am coveting my dad's new Dodge Caravan. It is just so roomy.

Sinner!

I mean, I don't think it is so bad to be a sinner. Aren't we all? But I would like my sinning to at least be FUN. Right? Like sex, drugs and rock-n-roll kinds of sins. Not big box stores and minivan envy kinds of sins. Blech. How did this happen?

I need redemption. Can anyone help me out here? Any ideas on pennance? I am not big on confessions in the Catholic sense of the word, but let's face it, this blog is my running confession to the world wide web. Sort of the same as God, no??

So I ask you, please forgive me for turning that corner of no return. Please look beyond my suburban, mommy, consumerist facade and rather deep into my free-spirited, environmentalist, rockstar psyche. I promise to never, EVER pile the kids in the minivan and roadtrip it to Orlando. For another 4 years at least....

Dinner

8th Anniversary Dinner. Gads and gads of sushi. Delicous sushi. I honestly haven't had sushi in over a year due to pregnancy, blah, blah, blah. Ocha Restaurant in Stamford. YUMMY!!

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Wood for baby-sitting. Priceless!

Anniversary Song

Yes, today is my wedding anniversary. 8 years. Wow. Time really does fly. People say it for a reason. Because it is true. Time flies when you are having fun, and as far as I am concerned the fun is just getting started!

Anniversary Song (Cowboy Junkies)

Have you ever seen a sight as beautiful
As that of the rain-soaked purple
Of the white birch in spring?

Have you ever felt more fresh or wonderful
Than on a warm fall nightUnder a mackerel sky,
The smell of grapes on the wind?

Well I have known all these things
And the joys that they can bring
And Ill share them all for a cup of coffee
And to wear your ring

Have you ever had the pleasure of watching
A quiet winters snow slowly gathering
Like simple moments adding up?

Have you ever satisfied a gut feeling
To follow a dry dirt road thats beckoning you
To the heart of a shimmering summers day?

Well I have known all these things
And the joys that they can bring
And Ill share them all for a cup of coffee
And to wear your ring

And I dont know how I survived those days
Before I held your hand
Well I never thought that I would be the one
To admit that the moon and the sun
Shine so much more brighter when
Seen through two pairs of eyes than
When seen through just one

Have you ever seen a sight as beautiful
As a face in a crowd of people
That lights up just for you?

Have you ever felt more fresh or wonderful
As when you wake
By the side of that boy or girl
Who has pledged their love to you?

Well I have known all these things
And the joys that they can bring
And now every morning theres a cup of coffee
And I wear your ring
-

And now we have these two beautiful children to add to our family. It can only get better from here! I love you Buppa.