I’ve added an item to the list of things Sharyn should not do: baking while sleep deprived. Bad idea. But the little man and I were jonesing for more christmas cookies last night. I thought it would be an easy thing, to make more of a recipe that worked out so well for us the other day. Except that I started mixing the dry ingredients and realized it was the wrong recipe. And I couldn’t find the right one, written down or online. Naturally I decided to boldly, and badly, forge ahead. I just kinda winged it. The end result was a half batch of sad little brick-like cookies that aren’t just dry, they aren’t very sweet either. And I didn’t add enough food coloring so they came out a pukey seafoam green, which reminds me of my grandmother’s bathroom. How very appetizing. Still, the little man is scarfing them down with no complaints.
Plus: The wind chill is down to 11 degrees below zero. So while I may just make it out of my pajamas today (eventually), I’m certainly not going to make it out of the house. Besides, there will be enough of that in the coming week with all the holiday gatherings, and a rock&roll rollerskating party to boot.

I have been utterly useless today. All right, maybe not utterly. I’ve managed to keep the little man fed, in clean clothes, and fairly entertained. But there are towering stacks of dirty dishes threatening to engulf the entire kitchen. And I’m still in my pajamas. I wasn’t allowed to sleep in (to bed around 3am, up around 7am), but thankfully I’ve had the luxury of lounging all day after my big night out among adults. And it was totally worth it. I had a wonderful time at the holidayish party put on by Society Dome and partner. Though I’m afraid I reached dizzying new heights of spazziness, while dominating conversations. I was either falling on the floor laughing, or talking incessantly about the little man. I do have social skills. Just not entirely appropriate social skills. Let’s just see if I get invited back, hmmm?

Today’s highlight was getting the mail, and finding a wee little package included in it. Thank you Hillary, that was so thoughtful! I knew what it was ahead of time and so allowed the little man to open it. He was as delighted as I was, and excitedly hung his new handmade ornament on our wee tree. But then he was ready to tear into all of the other presents as well. Doh. So far I haven’t given in. Yet.
Bonus: I’ve started reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, just in time to include it in my “books of the year” list. Such lists should be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks. Yep, I have list-making on my To Do list. That’s sorta sad.

My head is going to implode. Too much to be done, and too many ideas to take in. And more important than impending holidays and looming deadlines is the question of the little man’s educational future. The husband is currently reading The Underground History of American Education by former schoolteacher, John Taylor Gatto. The idea of homeschooling the little man has come up before, and reading this book is only making that option more appealing. But I’m already counting down the days (17) until the lad goes back to school. So the question isn’t just am I capable of teaching my son, but also, could I handle taking him on, one and one, 24/7? Still, part of me is seriously considering the idea…and there are secular homeschooling support groups out there. But first we’ll have to consider the results of next month’s neuropsych assessment. On the lighter side, we made it to the Children’s Museum this morning in time for the Fabulous Fridays World Music program. Unfortunately the guys weren’t as interested in the Taiko drumming as I was, so I took in the performance alone. Afterwards we regrouped and had ourselves a pleasant little visit, as the museum was only moderately crowded.

When we returned home I feared we’d find one of those dreaded notices from a delivery driver. Instead we found one of the long-awaited packages itself, rather unceremoniously dumped upon our doorstep. A little while later the doorbell rang and another package arrived. Each contained at least one gift for the little man, which I had to make scarce in a hurry. But one box also contained gifts for me. Oops. Specifically a Jolly Roger sticker for my Powerbook, and a package of pirate bandages, with hidden treasure (a miniature monkey wearing a Fez).
Bonus: I couldn’t agree more with Receptionista’s post about “schizoid holiday madness” but at least she’s currently out bowling with her work boyfriend…while I shudder to think what my impending visit to the post office has in store for the little man and I. Chin up, old girl, chin up.

Poor Ursula K. LeGuin. I just read her essay, A Whitewashed Earthsea: How the Sci Fi Channel wrecked my books. There’s also an extended version, called Earthsea in Clorox (via Neil Gaiman). So in hindsight selling the movie rights was not the best move, but she explains her thinking behind it…and a bit about how and when things went very very wrong. And she offers this apology:

I’m very sorry for my readers who tuned in thinking they were going to see a film version of my books. To you readers, I apologise. I love movies, and I did want to see an Earthsea movie, so I fell for it. I’m sorry! We’ll do better next time.

I do hope so. Sigh.

Bonus: The talented Leslie Hall has created a CD called Bake Me Some Mama Drama. And from it there are some, umm, lovely video clips turned into holiday greeting cards, available via Beat Greets. Oh my.

I’ve been on pins and needles waiting for packages to arrive. Not all online stores were created equal. Some have super crapass® package tracking, or, more frustratingly, no package tracking at all. I realize there’s still time, but I’m ready to start gift wrapping in earnest. And I just know as soon I leave the house the delivery people will converge upon our doorstep, leaving behind their lame pickup notices before speeding away. In other news, today is the little man’s last day of school until, gulp, January 3rd. That means an extra lot of one on one time with the lad. I’ll have to somehow keep him occupied and amused while I attempt to wrap up a couple of client projects, deal with the holidays, spend time with friends and family visiting from out of town, and edit my novel. Can I kick it? (Yes, you can!) We’re going to start this party right by checking out Theater Mu’s Taiko Drumming performance at the Children’s Museum tomorrow morning. Should be a good time.
Bonus: This sounds like fun: Chicks with Sticks. Though I’ll have to learn to knit with the lights on before I try doing it in the dark.
Plus: Dave Eggers will be at Bound to Be Read Sunday night, at 7pm.
And: Calling all fiends, Episode 14 has arrived.
And another thing: Chuck rocks. That is all.

While out this morning I drove past many gaudily decorated houses, but there was one in particular that caught my eye, with such a dizzying array of christmas crap distributed across its front yard. The decorations ranged from multitudes of reindeer and multiple manger scenes, to several Snoopy Santas and evil looking elves. Naturally I stopped to snap a few photos, but something about the place made me uneasy…so I found myself fleeing sooner than I’d intended. Oh well. Not long after I returned home the little man came back from school, bearing a package addressed to Mommy and Daddy. Of course he tore into it without giving us a chance. The “gift” was a hand towel, decorated with the little man’s footprint in white…turned into a snowman. I think it’s cute (the other parental unit in the household is less gracious about it). Since then the lad and I have lazed about some, and made a batch of christmas cutout cookies. Which I’ve been washing down with Silk nog. Sadly I’m the only one in the house who will touch the stuff. The little man is leery of new things, in general, but the husband is just a spoilsport. About the Silk nog he asked “you do realize it’s just soy milk with oil?” Yeah, well, the flavor’s in the fat. So there.
Bonus: I highly recommend the fabulous Kage Baker. I’d already gotten totally hooked on her novels about The Company. But I just finished her book of short stories, Black Projects, White Knights: The Company Dossiers, also set in that universe, and it left me wanting more. The latest, The Life of the World to Come, has just come out in hardcover. Sadly the local library hasn’t got it yet.

Naturally I observe all of the little man’s behavior with great interest. Lately I’ve noticed his food choices in particular, and how they’ve been unduly influenced by the DVDs he watches.

Like many kids he is a little picky, and prefers to stick with a routine (like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch every day, no matter what). But a Caillou video compelled him to request Chinese vegetables and noodles for dinner. After watching Pee Wee’s Playhouse he’s been eating more raw carrots. And the other day a Pee Wee episode prompted him to try a vegan grilled cheese sammich for the first time (he loved it, and claims that Pee Wee is vegan, and won’t listen to anything to the contrary). I can’t complain. These are relatively healthy foods. I just wonder what he’d be asking for if we watched broadcast television, with all those fast food commercials. He seems to have some understanding of what it means to be vegan…in his own words, animals aren’t for eating. But he’s starting to make connections. Branding is so pervasive and invasive these days, even without television. In my pre-motherhood days logo spoofs started to become a popular way to mitigate the effects of branding. In that spirit I slapped a McVegan sticker on my microwave years ago without giving it much thought. I never foresaw having it backfire on me. The little man is starting to spell now, and he recognized the M and logo when driving past a McDonald’s. Naturally we haven’t taken him inside one, but the one nearest to our house has a “Playland”, with giant brightly colored slides visible from the street. Several times now he’s asked to go in, and I’ve tried to explain that it’s not a vegan-friendly place…but he the poor kid just wants to play. Thankfully we have other places to go for that, where food isn’t a factor.

Speaking of food…game maker Namco plans Ramen-Noodle Theme Park in Japan. Coming across this now is especially funny, since we just purchased their Katamari Damacy online this very morning. We’re opting for in-store pickup, and are leaving shortly to retrieve it…along with our copy of The Return of the King extended edition. Yay! I don’t think I’ll be leaving the house for a few days. Too much extra footage to take in.
Bonus: The trailer is now online for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake. There was no sign of the dreaded Oompa Loompas. Those little fuckers have always creeped me out.
Update: Stupid Best Buy. When we went to Customer Service to pick up our purchases, our game was nowhere to be found. But the husband did get an email, giving him a number to call if he still wants it. Thankfully our copy of RoTK was there, which I got a good start on this morning while the little man was at school. I’ll be squeezing the extras in after his bedtime every night. I suspect I’ll be getting even less sleep than usual, until I’ve seen it all. Yeah.

I have another deadline looming before me, but I’m just not feeling it. Lulu.com has a special offer, specifically for NaNoWriMo winners like myself. The offer is this, a free printed copy of my book, with color front and back covers and black and white interior. This offer expires on January 15, 2005. I was hoping that having a new deadline would motivate me to start editing my novel, but so far it hasn’t. I feel like I blew my wad in November, and my creative juices have run dry for the time being. (That sounds kinda gross, huh?) But maybe it’s because that window is still over 30 days. After the month long marathon of NaNo that’s just too easy. Perhaps I’ll give it a go again starting on Wednesday. Guess I need the pressure to drop on me.
Bonus: I still have not seen the Grand Canyon, up close and personal. It’s on my to do list, especially after seeing this photo. Also in that region…why does Utah have buttloads of snow, and Minnesota has none right now? We would like to go sledding, please.
Plus: Happy Birthday Abe Hartcrest, er, Barrett!
And: I would have loved to have seen the Ravenstein bij Kaarslicht last night:
“From 7-9:15pm tomorrow the street lights will be dimmed, and every house in the historical center (where we live) will put candles in their windows to illuminate the city with light.”
It sounds magical. Hopefully Rachel was able to take some photos.
And another thing: “i wish we could talk like we used to“

I’ve just realized…while my creative output has been on the rise these last few years, the little man’s has been in steady decline. When he was two and three years old the kid loved to color and fingerpaint, going at it for hours a day. On paper, tables, walls, himself. He took advantage of any available surface. And he used to press so hard that he wore marker tips down to little nubs. Crayons would melt in his hot little hands. But at four and five he’s shown less interest. Is he jaded already? Did I overwhelm him with the sheer number of choices in medium, with all the paints and watercolor pencils, chalk, the crayons of varying size and color, the vast array of markers? Thankfully he’s enjoyed a burst of creativity this past week. Not only has he been fingerpainting, he’s been drawing faces and scary scarecrows (the latter is something he picked up from a Bob the Builder video, apparently). And, this is most exciting, he started writing out his very first letters. At the prompting of no one and without assistance. Well, I think it’s exciting anyhow, and thus have photographed his recent efforts. As for the face in the bottom photo…I’ve nicknamed that the grumpy tadpole, and am considering turning it into a strange children’s book, or writing a short story about it. Or maybe both.
Bonus: I would love to see the results of Duluth’s Diorama-rama. Hopefully someone will post photos. Hint hint.
Plus: Speaking of results, the little man may or may not have freaking ringworm. After a trip to urgent care this morning, the lab tests were inconclusive. So we’re going with the prescription anti-fungal ointment, just in case. Fun. My life is so glamorous. Perhaps the story could be The Grumpy Tadpole Gets Ringworm.

And now for something completely different.

Our little familial unit just stopped by our local library. While the visit didn’t yield the books I was looking for, we did come away with a few other things, including two DVDs. Each with the potential to be brilliant or really really bad…or maybe a bit of both. First, Koi Mil Gaya, the first sci-fi film made in Hindi, looks like a Bollywood version of E.T. Secondly, Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl, which looks campy in an entirely different way. One of the more positive reviews has this to say:

“This film plays like a comic book with a few panels missing and a few pages out of order, but the comic’s so lively, so enthralling with its strange characters and colorful imagery that it doesn’t matter.”

And thus begins my hibernation for the winter, with the stockpiling of books, DVDs and foodstuffs. I might not leave the house for weeks at a time.
Bonus: I’ve been on a Blade kick lately, but Trinity is garnering the worst reviews of the trilogy. Another long-awaited sequel, Oceans Twelve, allegedly lacks the pizazz of the first. I’ll likely wait until they hit the second run theaters. Preferably in the spring time.