Don't Wanna Homeschool No More

Seriously. Can I be done? I want to get a job and put Kiwi in a full-time school.

So far, 12 is not my favorite age-of-my-child. She swings back and forth between being my sweet little girl to being.... well.... some snarly, nasty, angry little thing that is so not fun to be around.

I thought this year would be fun. Yeah. Call me crazy. Or, naive. I thought we'd go see all these amazing historical places and museums and just enjoy our time together...uh, yeah. Basically it's more just whining about how awful it is to live here and how much she misses her friends and she wants to go back home. Now. Today. With or without me and her dad. As if she'd last one day; but she thinks she's all big and grown up. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that airfare is completely out of my reach, I'd send her off, if only to teach her a lesson. Or, she really would be happy and I wouldn't have to deal with her.... either way, it'd be win-win.

Okay, I probably wouldn't. That would be mean. Right? Bad mommy-ish? Ah, but for some peace and quiet!! The real problem, bottom line, is that I am an introvert and Kiwi is an extrovert. She craves being around people; I want to be left alone. For awhile. Being that she is stressed from the move, lonely without her friends, and suffering from the mood swings of tween-ager-angst, she is more clingy than ever before, and what I need, given those same circumstances (okay, yeah, my mood swings are more of the pre-menopausal sort, but still) I just would really, really like to have some time alone, for-the-love-of-all-that-which-does-not-suck!! This is how bad it is - when I go to the bathroom - which, you know, really ought to earn ya some alone time - she follows me into my room and flops down on my bed so she can talk to me. Cripes. The only reason I'm on here now without interruption is because she is 10 feet away from me on the laptop. sigh

Homeschooling. What was I thinking??!

Deer and Cream Puffs

Today, Kiwi and I took the dog for a walk into town (For mochas, of course! What else could inspire me to walk so far?!) On the way there, we saw a groundhog ("cream puff" in Kiwi-eese - we didn't know what they were when we first moved here, so that's what she called them). On our way home, we passed two deer, right on the edge of the wood - like, maybe 30 feet from us! A mama and a young one... the little one just snacked, while the mama watched us closely, but didn't move - even tho I had the dog! Guess it didn't bother her. We stood there for about 5 minutes, until a large truck rumbled past and she trotted off into the trees. It was soooo cool! See, in Idaho, we have lots and lots of wilderness, so the wild animals don't hang out right in the midst of town.... we aren't used to seeing them if we aren't out camping somewhere.

Rain rain rain.....!!

My gosh! It is very wet and pretty dang chilly today! We need to get some wood for the fireplace (yeah, our apt. has a woodburning fireplace! How suhweet is that?!!) The not-sweet deal is having to take the dog out on her leash to...uh...do her business. I swear I'm gonna make a doggy-litter-box out on our balcony for the winter! (Watch me!) Because it's only gonna get wetter and colder, I'd imagine...

Currently girlie-dog is laying on her mat intently watching out the patio door - squirrel patrol, you know. The one thing that makes her crazy, and this apt. complex is loaded with them! Because of walking her, I have tedonitis in both elbows! I'm so not kidding. She never learned to properly walk on a leash. I tried, honest... I think it's her puppy brain damage, the poor dear. It's just one of those things she doesn't "get". Good thing she's so dang sweet :)

Recipe!! Dinner in a Pumpkin

Alrighty, as promised, here it is! You know this has to be easy, because cooking is about my least-favorite-thing to do. (not baking, I like baking...)

First off, let me say you need to use a good "eating" pumpkin, like a pie pumpkin, or sugar pumpkin... don't use a huge ol' jack-o-lantern carving one!

Also, you can use 3 - 4 small pumpkins if you want - that's what I did this time, so we each had our own to eat, which was fun! It took just about as long to cook, tho.....

Takes 2 hours/1 hour prep

Serves 6 (or 3 little piggies, like us! Well, we did have leftovers for lunch the following day.)

1 medium pumpkin
1 onion, chopped
2 TBSP veg. oil
2 lbs. ground beef
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 (4 oz) can sliced mushrooms
1 (15 oz) can cream of mushroom soup (NOTE! this is what the recipe calls for, but as far as I know soup doesn't even come in 15 oz cans... there are the little 'regular' cans, or the big 'family' cans, and 15 oz would be right in the middle. I used one 'regular' size can.)
1 1/2 cups cooked rice (I like brown basmati; nice flavor)
1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts

• cut off the top of the pumpkin and thoroughly clean out pulp and seeds. Butter and salt inside of pumpkin
• preheat oven to 350 F. In a large skillet saute onions in vegetable oil until tender
• add meat and brown
• drain drippings from skillet
• add soy sauce, mushrooms, brown sugar and soup
• simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
• add cooked rice and water chestnuts
• spoon mixture into cleaned pumpkin shell(s)
• replace pumpkin top and place entire pumpkin, with filling, on a baking sheet
• bake 1 hour or until inside meat of the pumpkin is tender
• transfer pumpkin to serving plate
• remove pumpkin lid and serve meat
• for your vegetable, scoop our pumpkin and serve

That's all there is to it! Sorry I don't have any pics for you.

Time for bed

So, I was going to post something interesting... or at least maybe my Dinner-in-a-Pumpkin recipe... but I just spent the last hour IM'ing with a friend from Idaho... so, instead of interesting, you get "good night".....sorry!

I think I'm better now

Alright, I think I'm over...well, whatever it was. I feel way better.

Maybe it was the memory of my late sister's birthday coming up earlier this week... or the changing weather affected me. Or it's just the stress of moving still getting to me... who knows.

The house (well, apt.) is tidier, supposedly the pest control co. is coming to spray the complex and I have to let them spray inside my home, so I had to clean a bit... one huge downside to renting - I hate the fact they are going to spray bug-icide indoors! We always just used the stuff all around the exterior perimeter, then the bugs never came inside. I don't really want it in here, but it's not my choice.

I made "Dinner-in-a-Pumpkin" last nite - yummmm. I love this as a fall meal. Okay, sure, it was after 8pm when we ate (I didn't plan so well) but it was good, anyhow. I even baked gingerbread for dessert.

See where the cat hangs out when I sit at the computer?

The squirrels are running on the roof, driving the cat a little loopy.... he can't figure out how to get up on the ceiling, and it bothers him! (He's not allowed on the table - don't tell Scooter!) Oh, and yeah, I said the apt. was tidied, not "done and decorated"...as you can see by my empty bookcase.

And here is the wonderhorse, all-time-fave stuffie of Kiwi, all dressed up to go "colonial". Too bad we don't have a trip to Williamsburg planned anytime soon.... hopefully in the near future, though....

All that worry and hanging around the house - do you know what that pest guy did?? He came in, put something under the sink, and left. That was it. OH, brother.

(the something was roach bait... and no, we haven't got roaches. guess it works)

Slogging thru

So I said I wasn't going to whine anymore. Fine. I will just be.....sad. Very sad. Today was a beautiful day, weather-wise, and hubby and daughter went for a walk at a historical farm site... I stayed home in bed. Sick, or depressed? I'm not sure.

I've got to pull myself together.

Wow....

...it's October. Holey Cow.