Answer

Good guesses!

Yes, it was a cardboard tube.  No it didn't have a slug trail on it and no it didn't used to be inside a roll of paper towels.

Drum roll please.....

It was the cardboard tube inside a roll of foil.  However, the cardboard tube was in the kitchen drawer where I keep the foil, waxed paper, etc.  The box (also empty) was found on the counter.  I don't even want to try to understand why my husband put the empty cardboard tube back into the drawer and left the empty box on the counter.  Wouldn't you at least put the tube back into the box before putting the whole (empty) thing back in the drawer for me to find when I went to pull out some aluminum foil?

Thanks for playing - it was fun to see your guesses :-)

What Is It?

Any guesses?  Here's a clue:  I found it in the kitchen.

I'll post the answer tomorrow.

Laundry Money

January 1 of last year I decided I would save all the money I found while doing laundry.  This is what I ended up with by December 31; it's $7.08. 

Part of this reason I did this was to show Hubby how much money he loses by leaving it in his jeans.  I generally give him the paper money back out of pity.  This year I also returned a flash drive and various pieces of hardware.  I cringe at the havoc a metal screw would wreak on the rest of a batch of laundry; thankfully it did not.

I think the eight years of nagging him may have made an impact because overall this amount is less than past years.  It'll still buy me two tall mochas from Starbucks, so I'm happy.

Where is the Off Switch?

"I wish I could not think once in a while"

~ MaryAnne Williams


Ahhhhh, wouldn't that be nice?  I've longed for an off switch for my brain since I was in college.  I was the responsible one; planning, saving, thinking, organizing, careful about my choices.   I had friends that used school loan money to go on vacation - Aruba and Hawaii to name a few.  They "deserved" it after all.  Me, well I did go to Ft. Lauderdale my junior year in college, drove down and split the room with two friends to save cash.  As I recall I brought a giant bag of grapefruit with me thinking I'd eat that for breakfast and save on eating out.

Another friend wanted to know if she was fertile so she decided after she was married to find out.  It didn't matter that neither she or her husband had good jobs; in fact her husband was still in college when she became pregnant.  They lived in her parents basement until her baby was about three years old because that's all they could afford.  She once told me "I can always continue my education at a later stage in my life;  I'm only fertile for so long".  I knew it was an indirect dig at my choice to wait to have kids.  Thankfully, even though I was in my late 30s before having my first baby I now have had two healthy children and a good, dependable job to help support them.  I have no regrets waiting and establishing myself in a career before hand.

I've saved for retirement since my first job.  Sure, I was only 23 years old but I listened when the old-timers at the office told me it was the best thing to do; that before I knew it time would be flying by and if I waited it could be too late.  So I did.  I also increased my contributions to absorb raises I received; I didn't miss the money since I hadn't see it anyways.  Another friend, she'd laugh and say "how do you know you aren't going to die tomorrow?"  Well... that's true.  But how do I know I won't live until I'm 85?  No surprise, I'd rather make the safer choice and save.  Funny, she started medical school married to one husband and finished it married to another.  Apparently in the second divorce she cleared a chunk of money (his since they were married hardly one year) and was able to pay off those school loans.  Funny how that works.

Which brings me to current day - raising two young kids with my husband.  I have less chance to stop thinking now that I'm thinking for both of us it seems.  Thinking about saving for college (again!), budgeting, making sure the property tax bill is paid.  Wondering are my kids developing normally?  Do they have good manners?  Should I sign them up for soccer?  Are they eating well-balanced meals?  Did they wash their hands before dinner?  None of these things would get done if I didn't think of them first and do something about them.  It's exhausting, as I'm sure many women would agree.  It also makes me all the more in awe of women who can do it alone; while my husband may switch his brain off when he gets home he does play with the kids, take them to the park, cook a good part of the meals and loves to read them stories before bedtime.  I'm grateful for that.

But I'd still, once in my life, I would like to know what it feels like to be able to turn my brain off.  Just for a day or two.

First Ever Giveaway

UPDATE: As of Dec 2 the shoes are clean! Congrats to theredqueen who guessed Dec 1 and was the closest guess we had. Your prize will be coming shortly!

This is what I came home to last weekend after Hubby and my little guy where doing yard work. Both of their shoes tossed outside along the driveway. Can you guess what is on them?? Come on, take a guess............

Nope, not mud. It's worse, much worse.

It's dog poop.

The good news is that the shoes have made it from the driveway to the back deck. The bad news is they are still in their less-than-dignified condition four days later.

Here is the giveway part - how many days do you think it will take Hubby to clean BOTH pairs of shoes and return them to the inside of the house? Count days starting from November 15, the day the poop incident occured.

Winner gets.... something yet to be determined but it will be a worthwhile little prize - possibly a handknit item from yours truly. One entry per person please :-)

So get to posting your guesses!

Computer Recycling

From my "Living Green: 365 Ways to Make a Difference" calendar (online version - no waste!)

"Although a number of computer manufacturers offer some form of recycling, Dell’s program seems to be a standout. Some makers accept their old computers only when you buy a new one; Dell will accept its old models regardless of whether you’ve made a new purchase"

This reminds me of the dinosaur I have in my garage - from 1995 - the year I learned ALL about what the internet was all about. My life has never been the same! I credit that time in my life with helping me leave my first husband and five years later find my Hubby - the man I'm married to and father of my two children. But those are post topics for another time...

Date Night

Ahhhhhhhhh, yesterday was Date Night. Before kids I thought it sounded silly/cliche/too cutesy to have a "Date Night". Then I had kids and realized that it becomes very easy to just not go out as a couple anymore. After our daughter was born in 2005 Hubby and I didn't go out by ourselves for 13 months so we decided we had better start Date Night in our family. I now understand the value in having at least one night a month when you do go out with your husband. Sometimes we go out by ourselves, other times with another couple. Although sometimes all the prep work(getting a babysitter, cleaning up the house, organizing what they are going to have for dinner, etc) makes me want to just stay home, but we persevere and most times it's actually fun!

This Saturday we went to see Gipsy Kings at Ravinia, a really nice outdoor venue with lawn and pavilion seating (we always opt for the lawn). What a romantic, fun, get-up-and-dance (and I don’t even dance) concert. I'm proud to say I liked the GK before they were popular here in the States - I have their first album and get this - it's on cassette. Man, that's a long time ago...

It was interesting to people watch and see all the young couples - women in long floaty skirts, some in heels. I was in shorts and a cotton sleeveless shirt - very suburban mom. As I sat there I tried to remember back when Hubby and I went to Ravinia while we were dating or before we had kids. It sure was a different experience and I did find myself a little melancholy for those days.

Still, by about 9:45pm all I could think about was going home, hugging my baby boy and getting to bed - I could hardly keep my eyes open. This seems to happen to me a lot on Date Night… I miss my kids and just want to get home to them and then go to bed. I think I need to work on that.

Anyway, if you aren’t familiar with the Gipsy Kings’ music I found a bunch of stuff on Youtube - these two are really good - Volare and Un Amor. Listen and tell me if you were able to resist dancing - or at least tapping your foot. I've had "Volare" in my head all day - but that's a good thing :-)

Todd Wins a Tony Award

Todd Won! Todd Won!!

Hubby's good friend Todd Rosenthal took home the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play yesterday. Since his category is technical in nature it's one of the awards that was presented earlier that day then the taped footage played during the live evening broadcast on ABC. They showed a quicky 2-second clip of Todd walking to the stage (please excuse my lame photos of our TV screen)

and then a little clip of him getting one sentence out of his speech before they jumped ahead to the next category. UPDATE: you can read his acceptance speech now.

Still, as short as it was it was thrilling and Hubby was yelling and jumping out of pure joy for his friend. Then, about an hour later reality set in.

Hubby used to do the same thing as Todd does now - he was a scenic designer. In fact he was a mentor to Todd when Todd first moved to Chicago years ago. After Hubby graduated from college he co-founded a theater and was self-employed for about 20 years. He won a few Jeff Awards - the regional theater equivalent of a Tony award, he was featured in a Chicago Tribune special on up and coming artists in Chicago and he had a bright, exciting future.

While he loved working in the theater it is a HARD way to make a living - the hours are very long and the pay is nothing to cheer about. I think like anyone in the arts many people that work in theater do it because they love what they do, not because they are making tons of money. After years of working with his own small theater he eventually decided to leave and work independently as a lighting and scenic designer.

Then a few things happened - I guess you could just say that life happened - he went through the emotional and financial upheaval of a divorce, then the tragedy of September 11 and business really slowed down. Things quickly went from being really good to really rough.

In 2002 we decided to get married and agreed that we wanted to have a life together; working in theater makes having a romantic relationship really, really difficult, especially if your partner has a job with conventional hours. Working in theater requires long days, evenings, and weekends. After much discussion Hubby decided to close up shop and go to work for a small millwork studio as their staff designer. He was in his forties and it was time for a change plus we were considering having a family which would require that he was able to be home at predictable, consistent times. In order to do this he knew he would have to give up working on theater design for good. Instead he changed direction a bit by moving into designing exhibits, trade-shows, restaurants as well as acting as sort of a consultant to his employer by drawing on his 20+ years experience in the entertainment industry.

It's an understatement to say that he was worried about the change - he had never had to answer to anyone else but himself. I was worried too - was this the right decision? Was I pressuring him to do this?

It's been almost six years since the big change and he couldn't be happier - he is respected for his dedication, knowledge and teamwork at his place of employment. For once he can count on a predictable and regular paycheck, he has benefits and he doesn't have to wear all the hats he had to wear as a self-employed designer. He has had the chance to work on some really cool exhibits for a Chicago museum that enjoys a worldwide reputation. Best of all, and most importantly, he still loves what he does.

So, while sometimes he may be a little wistful at what might have been and while he may not ever win a Tony award he does have two beautiful, priceless awards that no one else in the world will ever have - he has an Indy and he has an Ander. They may not fit very well on a bookshelf but they do fit perfectly in his heart.

Happy Fodder's Day

My baby and my Hubby - what a handsome pair!

I have to admit that it always makes me smile when my daughter says mother and father as "mudder" and "fodder" - I love hearing that childish pronounciation of those two words.

For Fodder's Day we let Daddy sleep in and made him breakfast in bed. We also bought him a new hammock for the back yard - I kept telling her it was a surprise but of course Friday afternoon she blurted it out to her Dad the first chance she had "Dad! We got you a hammock!". Luckily, Hubby couldn't hear well (she was on my cell phone) so I think we would have gotten away with it except this morning she blurted it out again when we were taking him his breakfast. She doesn't really know what a hammock is, but I'm sure once she sees it set up we will not be able to get her out of it. Lucky for Hubby it's a hammock made for two :-)

I'm very grateful to have such a wonderful, caring husband who is such a great dad too. If you can't tell by the grey hair (which, by the way, started coming in when he was 19) he did wait a few years to have children. He admits he may be lower energy than other dads but what he may lack in energy he more than makes up for in patience and love for our children.

There are many things I admire about my Hubby but here are a few things I most admire about him as a Fodder:

• He is way more patient than me. Period.
• He rarely raises his voice with the kids, even when he is getting really frustrated.
• He has developed a treasured bed-time routine for our daughter - so much so that she requests that he put her to bed and not me (I try not to let this hurt my feelings ...sniff, sniff...)
• He really can identify with young children and adjusts his expectations down to their emotional abilities (I need to work on that).

"I love you Daddy! Can't wait to re-create some of the chaos you brought on Grandma when you were a little boy!!"

"I'm getting ready to head out with my Daddy. We like to go to Home Depot, Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and the motorcycle shop. I'm a Daddy's girl and proud of it!"

P.S. For more on the little yellow dress I'm wearing (yup, Mommy knit that) click Here

Tony Award Nominations

This isn't something I can write about very often - one of our friends, Todd Rosenthal, is up for a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play. You can see all the nominations here

Todd is a friend of my husbands and was the best man at our wedding. In fact Hubby was kind of a mentor to Todd when he moved to Chicago years ago. Todd has done phenomenally well in the business, works constantly and is now being rewarded with a show that went to Broadway and is now up for a Tony. Pretty exciting and we are rooting for him!! Too bad his award category is pre-taped but they do air that tape in the live telecast.

For more on "August: Osage County", the play that got him to Broadway (which started at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater) click here

Hubby Cooks!

Yummmmmmmmm, look at this - I only wish you could smell the garlic and shrimp!

Something my sweet husband just decided to "whip up" for dinner.

He worked all day long, then came home and since it was a Friday during Lent decided to cook shrimp sauteed in garlic then tossed it with some green peas and pasta. Not a gourmet meal by any means - the pasta was frozen as were the shrimp and peas now that I come to think of it! But it tasted great and was even better because MY hubby cooked it. I'm a lucky girl!