Trick, treat, or ??

Another year of tabulating which neighbors have taught their children manners has passed. After it was said and done, Todd and I had a few good ideas for next year:

For the moms who arrive holding out treat bags or plastic pumpkins on behalf of their dressed-up infants in strollers, we are buying jars of baby food. (I seriously almost asked a mom if she was gonna let her baby eat those Skittles.)

For the teenagers who don't bother to dress up, but still hold out pillowcases, we are buying school supplies.

Everyone else will still get candy.

We drove back up to the house after retrieving Emilie from a youth event, and some people were standing on our darkened porch ringing and knocking. We were like, Dudes, can't you see the lights are out, we're out of candy and we're not home?! Then we realized it was our friends and they just wanted to say hello and show off costumes. Hehe.

Just fodder

Wow, no soapboxes, no salad tales, nothing exciting here for over a week. If you consider that other stuff exciting, that is.

(OH WAIT! THE CHICKEN IS BACK IN THE EXTRA BOX AND I FORGOT IT'S IN ITS OWN BAG TOO THAT'S 13 PIECES OF TRASH!)

Sorry, just had to throw that at you.

Nope, just been dealing with normal stuff. Life. Home improvement. Parenting woes. Certainly nothing huge, just the usual guilt over whether I'm "doing it right." Yeah. That alone can take all the energy right outta ya. You wouldn't think a stray dog could cause so much guilt, not would you?

Enough about me. What do YOU think about my parenting skills? Hehehe.

Saw a fun movie this weekend. Dan in Real Life. I've been waiting and waiting for this one. The previews just got me because yes, I am a sucker for a good, sappy, emotional family drama. The scene in the preview where Dan hugs his little girl and sighs? Yep, I got teary in the movie, too. It also had some good laugh lines. Todd and I have been telling each other "Put it on my tab" for weeks now.

I wouldn't give this movie five out of five stars, because it did have its flaws (and also one of those weird things where a scene in the preview is NOT in the actual movie. How does that happen? Don't those people in Hollywood realize we'll NOTICE?), but I certainly came away with that feel-good sense of peace a movie like this ought to bring you. There's not enough of that in the world. A little "ripped from the pages of Pottery Barn" (thanks, Chris Kelly) is ok now and then, don't you think?

It's going to be another crazy month coming up, but in a good way. (See my blog over at An audience of me if you're curious) Between writing, great concerts, and the start of what's sure to be a hectic (what other kind is there any more?), yet joyous holiday season , I am looking forward to November.

What's your November starting to look like?

She thinks my shipping container's sexy

First, let me get this out of the way. Salad news! Mom brought the JITB salads today, and the chicken is back in the main container. I wonder if they've been reading my blog . . . . Nawwww.

They replaced the cardboard chicken container with a much smaller sticker on the plastic salad container that says, "Want your chicken on the side? Just ask!" So, I guess I was not the only consumer puzzled by the eco-guzzling, unfast fast food.

Next. Marylaine Block's Neat New Stuff newsletter (a must for librarians, but fun for us normal people, too) had a c-razy link today. Check this out. Another "Who knew?" moment. Is this for real?

I'm not sure how I feel about the long-term effects of making mass housing out of shipping containers. Yes, shipping containers. Now I know you're going to go back to that link after all. It reminds me of when people make homes out of old school buses. A few go a long way in terms of novelty and originality. A whole village of people living in school buses? Not so cute.

Now, I understand cute is not the point, but seriously, this is taking Habitat for Humanity to an entirely different level. Sounds like an insta-ghetto to me. "Hey, Johnny! Wanna come over to my shipping container to play?" And dude, have you seen what happens to those things during a tornado?

Yes, we need new options for the homeless, or for people who need temporary, inexpensive housing, and I am certainly not going to say it should never happen if someone needs a home and this is the only way.

But seriously? Someone please make me feel better about this.

Would you like a napkin with that?

Remember me climbing up a soapbox about the millions of disposables that come along with Jack-in-the-Box-salads a few weeks ago, and how I bragged on McDonald's a little for their 8 or 9 pieces of paper or plastic as opposed to JITB's 11?

Well, here's bit of irony for you. Why is it you get all that extra paper and plastic with salads, but after you drive away from the window with a simple burger and fries at McDonalds, you realize you would have had to ask to get a napkin and receipt?

Huh?

While I was waiting

I'm waiting for files to upload to a distant server for the project I've been doing for the last six weeks . . . trying to stay awake. (I am trying to stay awake. That is not the project, silly.)

When the files are there, I will be mostly finished, barring all natural or manmade catastrophes. For this, I am extremely grateful. I've clocked about 110 hours in the last 10 days, and I am exhausted, mentally and physically.

But, I'm proud of the effort I've made, and the resulting product for my customer.

If I only had a brain left.

Thanks to my readers for continuing to leave little comments here and there - sweet, snide, or otherwise - even though I've sadly neglected this thing for most of the last month. I promise more exciting things are in the works. I've gotten on and off the soapbox several times in the last few days! I only hope I can remember what irritated me, because I know you look forward to my rants.

I'll leave you with this funny story about my cute little nephew, the son of a stand-up comic. When my brother went for his show the other night, he took my five-year-old nephew with him. It was an early, family-friendly show. The emcee asked if the kid wanted to perform first, and of course, he obliged. You can tell he's been around my brother practicing his comedy for a while now. He's got the shtick down. His routine:

"You know what my favorite joke is, guys?!"

(pause for audience to yell back)

"Disneyland FREAKS ME OUT!"

~~~

He's got the right stuff. I only wish I could say I was as successful. The files are stuck in upload land. I think I'll take a nap here on the couch.