Bits&Pieces

it's not nice to fool with Mother Nature

Because when you do, she gets real pissed off and does this, y'all.

Sigh.

Dan won't shovel in April. It's in his contract apparently.

He also won't remove the giant air conditioning unit that has been sitting in that very position on our deck SINCE NOVEMBER. I remember asking him, when we pulled it out of the wall it was sealed into, "Do you think that will still be sitting there in Spring?"

That's how we roll. We're saving it for when we retire. To a trailer.

But despite the snow, today is a special day because I'm not sure if you know this or not, but it's Crazy Hair Day at my kids' school.

Even Cole's teacher (who's also a friend of mine) got into the action. Nice devil nubs, Melissa!

So all's not lost.

But I think sweet Chester sums up how most of us Minnesotans feel about this April 1st shovel out:

Well said, furry friend. Well said.

out like a lion

It's the 31st of March and it's snowing buckets.

So I need something to life my spirits. Don't get me wrong. It's not like I pine for hot weather. Anyone who knows me will tell you I simply long for a perfectly controlled 72 degree climate year round. But the following photo is definitely lifting my spirits. Take a peek:

Meet Chester:

Who's a good boy? Who's a gooooood boyyyyyyyy?

No. Not mine. Just another fine specimen in a series of canines leaving their muddy little paw prints on my heart. Awwwwwwwww.

Chester belongs to another neighbor. Word is really getting around. "You know that woman who never leaves her house? Apparently she's like some Dog Whisperer. And SHE'S FREE!"

I will tell you this much, but don't tell my other dogs: I love him. He is the only dog I've watched thus far that actually walks well on a leash. We took a nice walk this morning, just as the few flakes were starting to fall and my arm is still comfortably resting in its socket. Go Chester!

This past weekend was a big one. We had six 12-year-old girls over for Aidan's Big Birthday Sleepover Bash on Friday night. It is a very loud age. Very loud. But still really giggly and cute. So very different from when I was 12 and the girls I knew were keeping busy trying to score their next bong hit. Sad, but oh so true.  (Mom, that's why I had to start hanging out with Molly. MUCH better influence than the girls who stole my lunch every day.)

Bring on the loudness. These are really good kids.

And the other bit of goodness?

I love buying presents for my kids that are really for me.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to practicing "Talk Dirty to Me" by Poison.

As the girls at the party would say, it's just so tight.

sometimes when I post under 'random blathering' i'm seriously NOT overstating the categorization

• I love how when Cole reads, he uses something to help him follow the lines.

• "WHAT IS THAT? MOOOOM! HELLLLLLLP MEEEEEEEE!"

(Aidan, it's called the SUN and it warms certain parts of our planet… possibly even Minnesota by May.)

• I didn't tell you this story: my new sweet little camera? Aidan broke it. Well, at least she and I have both agreed that it was broken on her watch, though we aren't sure exactly how it happened. I sent it back to Kodak. Kodak fixed it. Now I can take really AWESOME photos of myself again. YES!

•EGGS, Y'ALL!

And one final note:

I was in the basement this morning at 8 a.m., folding laundry while the kids ate breakfast, because I like to multi-task like that, and I was watching VH1, as I will often do while folding laundry in the basement.

I guess I'm always hoping for a glimpse of something good. Or new. You know, like maybe the musical mainstream has decided to pick up on the fresh new sound of Liam Finn who has more indie buzz than anyone out there (and I legitimately LOVE his new album, his musical pedigree aside). But I never see anything good during the 15 minute chunks that I occasionally catch. Just the same old lackluster musical offerings.

Although I did see a new Matchbox 20 video. (WARNING: If you are a Matchbox 20 fan, STOP READING NOW! Because no matter how much I comfort you afterwards, you're still going to think I'm passing judgement on you, and you'll be correct.) And I watched Rob Thomas, sing (and don't get me wrong, he CAN sing) his way through another mindless, pointless over-crafted stupid pop song. And I thought, he could record himself in taking a crap in a bathroom, and VH1 would air it. Seriously.

And I don't get it. I mean, don't I fit firmly into the VH1 demographic? Or not? Maybe I don't. Maybe I'm WAY older than the new VH1 target audience. Whatever the case, I always turn off VH1 with a sigh. Longing for the good old days. Remember shows like MTVs 120 Minutes? You know, where you'd see SOMETHING…anything… that was new or interesting.

Then the video credits come on and I see the name of the new Matchbox 20 album: Exile on Mainstream.

Oh. My. God. Are you kidding me? Liz Phair pulled off that play years ago, when she was still a cool artist and was paying her homage to the Stones. But Matchbox 20? Seriously? Are they kidding?

Why not just called it: Entrenched in Mainstream?

Then I realized my special time is due any minute and I took a deep breath, grabbed my freshly folded laundry, and found a life.

Have a great weekend.

this has been the toughest season EVER in the two seasons of Rock of Love

Yeah, that's right. You totally heard me.

I could stand up and lie to each and every one of you and say something like, "WHAT? Rock of Love? What's THAAAAAT?"

But it is what it is: a freaking train wreck of silicon-laden 'smokin' hot hotties' that you sort of can't look away from. (Well, maybe YOU can... but I'm here today to stand up and admit that I am powerless over MOST of VH1s offerings.)

You can ask Dan... I will sit there providing a one-sided, running commentary during the hour I spend with Bret and the girls, tossing out things like: where do they FIND these people? who would want boobs THAT big? I cannot IMAGINE competing with 11 other women and watching you make out with them every day! WHY WON'T HE TAKE OFF THAT BANDANA?

And yet, I still can't look away.

To be fair, I don't watch it on Sundays, when the new shows air. No… I wait, until at some point during nightly channel flipping, it suddenly appears. And then I have a DYING NEED TO KNOW if Daisy has been able to string together sentences containing both nouns AND properly conjugated verbs.

I'm almost more ashamed to admit all of this than I ever was to admit I was a smoker.

And if you didn't happen to catch this clip, it's so frighteningly real that I almost don't know if I should laugh, or scream: WHY WON'T HE TAKE OFF THAT BANDANA?

oh, I was just posting because there was one thing I'd forgotten in that last, moderately long and rambling post

Which is SO not true.

I just woke up. on my BIRTHDAY. The 8th Day of the Third Month of the Year. 42 years ago today, back in the friggin' 60s, I was born. That is just so groovy I can't stand it.

Because we just broke the bank on Disney, we aren't doing "gifts" this year, at least not traditional ones that cost money. My gift last night (now come on... I'm not going there) was to kick Cole OUT of his bed, and have a quiet, single bed all to myself. No loud breathers anywhere to be found. Or heard.

And I woke up to a cascading set of Bazzill Basics cardstock, each with its own letter, spelling out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" all the way down the stairs. They're making their second appearance this week. Aidan made them for Dan's birthday on Thursday, and set her alarm for 5:30 a.m. to get up and lay them out AND make him breakfast. How sweet is that? I had called her the night before just to tell her, "Don't forget to wish Daddy a happy day." She's such an overachiever.

I just demanded that Dan make me pancakes, and he has happily obliged. Love watching men cook. And besides, my points to weight ratio is SO not in any jeopardy. And do you want to know why?

Because as of today, I'm sitting at a whopping NET ZERO. Do you know what this means? It means that after all that healthy living, excercise and point counting, I've officially gained every bloody pound back.

My goal that I was going to tell you about that I've missed by a mile was that by my 42nd birthday, I was going to weigh 142 pounds.  A nice, manageable, healthy weight. Today? 160. For those of you who are math challenged, that is not the same number.

Now, I will save the rededication to all things healthy for tomorrow. Or maybe Monday. Today, I will eat my pancakes, chase it down with some Do-si-dos, and start looking at the Taste of India take out menu. Afterall, I've got the WHOLE next year for self-loathing!

Afterall, today IS my birthday!

Love,
C42

It has since been shaved off, but we couldn't decide: Lincolnesque? or Amish?

I'm thinking it's a bit plain, if you get my drift. Needless to say, as of 8 a.m. this morning, it's officially gone. It was a bit hard to look at him last night. Let's just say I'm not super into hooking up with dead presidents.

But not only were his creative shavings in honor of President's Day (go Presidents, go Presidents, it's your birthday) but the fact that he has removed the man-growth from his face signals one vital fact: my sweet friends' twin babies are home from the hospital! Let's hear it for Jack and Stella!

(Yes, I made the sign which I printed out on my rocking HP Photosmart printer, but opted NOT to also give them the Liam Finn CD. At least not before I give the babies my special "Steve Perry Loves You" Mix. I mean, you know, first things first!)

But the purpose of this post is far more critical, and here it is:

[edited: tickets have sold! } I HAVE TWO FOO FIGHTERS TICKETS I CANNOT USE! So as much as it breaks my heart to ask this…do you want to have my Date with Dave?

When: Feb.27 7:30 p.m.
Where: Target Center, Mpls.
Seats: Section 133 (lower seating level, above floor) Row Z (no, i didn't plan that) Seats 17 & 18.
Price: I paid $45 each for the tickets. Will gladly sell them for $30 each. (and that means you don't have to pay the horrible Ticketmaster taxes, because I already did. Go YOU!)
If you are local and are interested, email me at czdesign@comcast.net. There's plenty of time to mail them out to you via UPS and you know, you pay me etc.

And last but not least… Cole's new phase: Mount Everest. He sets up a fairly elaborate base camp in our family room. The comforter, in case you're wondering, is the Western Cwm. Thank God for imaginary crampons. That's all I'm sayin'.

Happy President's Day to all.

It's no shot of me in my bathroom mirror, but it'll do in a pinch

[outtake from a photoshoot for our Jan/Feb. Editors Note team shot]

I  haven’t done a tag thing in a coon's age. Thanks to Krista, now I can say I'm much more current with that:

1. Name your two favorite scrapbooking topics:
Me and myself.

2. Where are the two best places you’ve been to?
New Zealand and Cafe Rio.

3. Name two things you do every day:
Drink coffee and use the bathroom.

4. Tell us two things that pretty much everyone knows about you:
I drink coffee and use the bathroom.

5. Tell us two things that everyone DOESN’T know about you:
1) I make good decisions.
2) I was the Everett School District Spelling Bee champ in the 6th grade. I went to the state finals and made it into the final group of 30 after 9 or so rounds, and went out on the word, “cantilever.” I had never even HEARD that word in my life. I believe that I was robbed of my one shot at true glory—a trip to the national spelling bee. To this day, I refuse to use that word in a sentence.

6. Tell us two things that got you into the hobby of scrapping:
1) Walking into an Archiver's store.
2) Drinking the Kool-aid.

7. Tell us two things that you want to accomplish in the next six months:
1) I would like to become a more savvy photographer in the digital realm and to that end, I recently purchased Scott Kelby’s 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3.
2) I would like to have a smaller ass.

8. Name your two favorite scrapping tools:
Gin and tonic.

9. Name your two favorite sources of scrapping inspiration:
Fergie and Ali.

10. How has your scrapping changed since you started?
I do it far less.

11. What scrapbooking project have you yet to try but would love to?
I would like to alter Donna Downey.

I will tag Donna just for shits and giggles, as my mom might say.

yes…I'll have the burrito bowl, with black beans, and the barbacoa, a soda, and can you wrap that up in Neil, to go?

Who knew that Chipotle served up their goodness wrapped in Neil? (Oh… and I wonder if it's the blonde Neil? insert weird, pleasure-signaling shiver noises here.)

Thanks SO much for the Disney tips. Dan will be combing through them in the next few days. And I will be taking care of one very sick little guy this morning, while trying to knock out much work.

Happy Tuesday.

Edited to add: HEY... does anyone out there happen to have the Ovation Channel on their little old television system? Because I'm just one step up from rabbit ears, and I would LOVE to get a dvd or cassette of the Crowded House performance, which is airing for the first time this coming thursday. If you can do it, I'll send you a book (I know, lame, but really, what ELSE can I offer up?). And if  you burn me two copies, I'll send you two books! Woo hoooo! First to post in the affirmitive gets the dealio. Cool?)

February

So…it's February. The month of love. And possibly more snow. And more cold. And more pots of this amazingly delish lower fat beef chili (cut the meat by half, add 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 cup of beef broth and a cinnamon stick while simmering, and it's 5 points a serving...mmm.) And the month that will see the Zielske family travel to DisneyWorld.

What? What did you say? The Zielske's are taking a bonafide vacation? Together?

Indeed. It's all very last-minute-dear-God-can-we-REALLY-afford-to-do-this?, but in the end, you only go around once. Plus, a no-interest Disney Visa card gives us until August to pay the trip off. Let's hear it for America!

I really, really need this vacation. Time with just my family. We travel really well together, too. Despite the fact that I'm an actual member OF this family.

We are staying in a moderate Disney resort. We will be there for four park days, heading onto Fort Meyers to catch a Minnesota Twins spring training game, and…to swim in the Gulf. Any Disney tips you might have? Bring 'em on.

We really need to get out of this cold. My kids keep thinking they can master the Iron Lotus. I can almost smell the stitches. Florida…here we come!

I think having wookies in your pants would just make everything SO much more fun