January 2012
1 post
Easter in January.
Today I was cleaning out some of Colette’s old toys. Here was our conversation:
Colette: Mama! What’s this?
Mama: Well let’s see… that is half of an Easter egg.
Colette: A Measter egg?
Mama: No, it’s from Easter. Easter is a holiday. A special day like Christmas or Thanksgiving or your birthday.
Colette: OooooOOOOoooh.
Mama: On Easter we can paint eggs and...
May 2011
1 post
April 2011
2 posts
Run To Hear
Run to Hear is a benefit for deaf kids who cannot afford cochlear implants. And ya know what? It was organized by my fantastic younger sister (who also happens to be deaf) and some of her deaf friends. Talk about some teenagers with motivation! All I cared about at that age was who I was going to hang out with on the weekend!! I am so proud of that girl. Please feel free to share this...
In today’s random issue, the 40 wipe dookie, a forced competition, and pancreatic strife.
Today started with the alarm going off an accidental hour earlier than necessary. Did I go back to sleep? Naw. That woulda been sissy! Next stop was a three hour glucose test at the birthing center. Do you have gestational diabetes? Let’s find out by starving you, making you drink syrup that...
March 2011
3 posts
Simple Pleasures, #24
You know what I’m enjoying lately? Getting my butt out in the yard! You can probably imagine the sideways look I gave to Colby when he came running into the house a few days ago with a triumphant face proclaiming his victory about being allowed to put vegetable beds in our neighbors’ yards. Yes, um, that’s great, but what about our yard? How’s about we go ahead and fix...
The conversationalist
I know I put something about this in my Facebook status update earlier, but I can’t stand for it to just fall by the wayside the next time I put up some frivolous statement. No, people, I cannot allow this fantastic morsel to go to waste, gone with the wind like so much cyber trash! Today something special happened: I met a real, live, Golden Girl! No, it wasn’t anyone that has ever...
Efficiency and its effects upon personal standards
Sometimes, in the interest of time, you just have to let things go. If there’s one thing that skeeves me out it’s food or drink of any sort in the restroom. Not havin’ it. I even hate to bring a drink with a lid into the potty with me. And you will never catch me eating in there. Never. (I just threw up a little on my keyboard!) So you know that when I say Colette was...
February 2011
11 posts
Simple Pleasures, #23
I want to preface this post with a redefining of our relationship, Internet, as it pertains to these “Simple Pleasures” blogs. I said I’d do this once a week. I’m clearly incapable of that simple task. It’s not you, it’s me. Seriously. But I still like you, and if you’ll still have me, well, it’s gonna be on my time. Okay? I promise only one...
Simple Pleasures, #22
You guys. Run, don’t walk to the nearest healthy store place and buy a pint of Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss ice cream! You will thank me. That is, if you like coconut. And also not having to worry about gorging on something sweet. A few evenings ago, Colby strutted in the front door with a pint of it in dark chocolate format. People, it’s sweetened with agave nectar!...
Simple Pleasures, #21
I probably need to get back to writing some of these posts a little more regularly. It makes me feel good about the world. Today I want to write a little something about Wheatsville Co-op. I adore this place. I recently discovered that if I shop there, I don’t have to worry about so many danged choices. It’s kind of like going to the biggest European grocery stores… except...
Life's injustices! Post #3
This be but a short post. I just wanted to quote my dear, lovely, and so very astute friend Miss J. Hollis. She once said, “It’s like some sort of sick joke that you can have wrinkles and zits at the same time.” Well put, ma’am. Well put.
Nicole Labry Design! You know you love it!!
Now, go love me on the Facebooks. Or, “like”, as it were. Right here: CLICK! I’ve decided I’d like to take on whatever projects I can before the tiny mister gets here in June, so I’m doing something that I have never before chosen to partake in… a bit of an ad campaign. I’m not great at the whole selling myself bit, so puhleez don’t make me do...
Life's injustices! Post #2
I’d like to tell you some more about the wacky crap children do to you. Today’s post is all about what happens in the wee-est hours when you are trying desperately not to have to wake up… just yet. This week was kind of the 7th circle of hell in terms of sleep. Le child decided that it would be TOTALLY AWESOME to get up at 6:30 every morning. RUDE! This is a time frame...
Simple Pleasures, #20
I know, I know. I slacked off for the entire week. But I’m sure you’re used to it by now, right? Right. So you know I’ll make it up to you. Frenzied multi-posting to ensue. For now, I’ve got one for ya.
Company. Don’t you love having people over? Okay, I do anyways. I’m a social creature, and as such… with a toddler… it gets difficult to...
Recent Toddler Talks...
Me: ”Yes, Colette, you are a GIRL.”
Colette: ”GIRL!”
Me: “Yes! And Mimi is a GIRL, too. How about Daddy?”
Colette: “BOY!”
Me: “Right! Good job! Daddy is a boy! Who else is a boy?”
Colette: “Ummm…”
Me: “What’s Arj? (Her grampa)”
Colette: “A chicken!”
HAHAHAHAHA!
...
Simple Pleasures, #19
Ahhh. Trash-be-gone. It’s Thursday, the day that the heroic men (I’m gonna go ahead and be sexist here because I have never seen a trash woman) come and pick up our garbage. I love them. It’s 21 degrees outside and they still come and do us that amazing favor. I hope they get paid a whole heck of a lot. My last trip to New York schooled me in the incredible phenomenon known...
Simple Pleasures, #18
Today I want to bask in the glory of having our outdoor plants inside for the winter. That may sound odd, or like more of a pain in the patootie than anything, but I like it. Besides the obvious challenge of finding ways for our 950 sq ft house to absorb such an intake of stuff, it’s great. I am surrounded by a small, verdant oasis of life that I otherwise pretty much overlook when it...
Simple Pleasures, #17
I know that I’m in the minority here, but I enjoy cold snaps. They’re memorable. I remember the last time it got crazy cold for a minute. The shelves were empty at the grocery store as though the weather-pocalypse were upon us. I had a brand new car… and Colby decided to “help” me by scraping the ice off my windows… with a metal spatula… that scratched...
Simple Pleasures, #16
It’s sad to say, but I’m not allowed any sugar during pregnancy. I’ll explain, briefly: I have hypoglycemia, which makes me highly susceptible to gestational diabetes, a nasty condition for which the victims of must treat themselves as diabetic and shoot themselves with insulin for the remainder of their pregnancies. Additionally, it makes babies huge, often necessitating...
Simple Pleasures, #15
I know, I know. I obviously don’t keep my promises of doing this blog daily. You try finding time every day in between the toddler screaming for milk and raisins and dollies and, oh, she just crapped her pants again…
Anyways, let me tell you something I really enjoy! This week, the evenings went thusly:
Evening 1) Hey, whaddya know? The thermostat didn’t come on all night...
January 2011
17 posts
Simple Pleasures, #14
Whew! After that last post about life’s injustices, I feel a burnin’ yearnin’ to write about something enjoyable! Right now I would like to focus on how great a homemade lunch is. In this day and age of hurry up n git r done, I like to remember that food doesn’t always have to be that way. In fact, I find it downright barbaric to eat a meal in the car. Settle down,...
Life's injustices! Post #1
I have been thinking lately that to add some balance to my somewhat euphoric Simple Pleasures blogs that I should really post about the small cryin’ shames that seems to also happen all the dang time. Now, I don’t promise to post every day like I did with the Simple Pleasures blogs (and poorly so as you may have noticed since I tend to forget or not have time and then bust out four...
Simple Pleasures, #13
I appreciate learning new things. I was given a ukulele for my 34th birthday by my dearest, most loveliest friend Miss Peggy G. All she did was listen to some booze-infused rant about how I thought it would be funny to know how to play one. Seriously, though, she musta wrote that one down, “good present for Nicole: ukulele”. Then, like a spider with her web-trap set, she waited....
Simple Pleasures, #12
Next up on the list of my miniature luxuries is an unexpected chore done by Colby. Last night I made some veggie goulash for dinner, and noticed that my stove had taken a serious hit. I mean, it was caked in yuck, y’all. However, it was time to put the baby to bed so I figured I’d either do it afterwards or in the morning. Bedtime came and found me sleeping next to Colette until I...
Simple Pleasures, #11
One of the most overlooked delights (in my opinion) is the anticipation of starting a good new book. I’m almost at the end of one that has fascinated me, but it’s like I’m already gone… I just keep looking over at the stack of books on my bedside table. Sigh. I have a sort of excited sense of delinquency, as though I’m cheating on my current book. It’s not...
Simple Pleasures, #10
You know what doesn’t bother me at all? Fresh flowers in the house. I don’t care if they’re from a roadside ditch or a fancy floral boutique. Colby is very well aware of this, but he’s still bad at buying me flowers. Like, maybe for my birthday. He’s good at a lot of other things, so the man gets a pass on this. Sometimes I just buy flowers with the groceries...
Simple Pleasures, #9
It’s really the little things that add up, right? There are so many of them. Right now I’m savoring the last bit of today’s topic: Almond milk. That’s right. I’m sure y’all are like, what? Who cares? I do!!! I don’t love cow’s milk. My kid does, and it’s great to cook with, but if I had to sit down and drink a glass, eat a bowl of...
Simple Pleasures, #8
Why, hello! And welcome to yet another edition of my newest blog endeavor, an exercise in appreciation. I have to play a little catch-up as I never found a moment to sit down yesterday, but I’ll just double up a little and write two of these here entries.
Right now I want to tell you about my pregnancy pillow. Yes, even if you aren’t pregnant, never were, or never will be, you can...
Simple Pleasures, #7
What’s the simplest thing that can make my heart dance? Something beautiful. Tonight it was the moon. I’m talking total werewolf-style-from-the-movies. Huge, looming, horizon-hugging, pearlescent-silver, full as a dinner plate, perfect lace clouds strewn about. I’m telling you, I think I heard howls on the way home this evening just looking at it. It’s a wonder I...
Simple Pleasures, #6
And now I want to tell you about one of my favorite past times. It makes me feel GOOD. It makes me feel liberated, as though I may actually be helping someone, and tends to unclutter my 950 square foot house. Yes, three of us, and now almost four, live in that small space. One bathroom. One. But I digress. I’m talking about getting rid of things. It’s something I find necessary...
Simple Pleasures, #5
For this post, I want to tell you how much and dearly I love the internet. Really. If you were born in the 90s, you don’t even know what it was like for us geezers. For those of us old farts born all the way back in the 70s, I’ll tell you right now that life without cell phones and internet, although not exactly nasty or brutish, was not easy. We had it rough. Maybe not uphill in...
Simple Pleasures, #4
Today I want to tell you about my stupid cat. He may have a brain the size of a walnut, but that sucker is a stand-up guy. I mean, he will just never let you down on the affection. He’s a regular addict for the pettings, he is. And you know what else? He even lets my toddler pull his hair, take a nap on his belly, and fold his ears until they’re just about inside out. He...
Simple Pleasures, #3
I know I fell down on the job, but people, lemme tell ya. The weekend plus that holiday with kiddo at home just did not find me in front of the computer! No matter, I’ve got a stock pile of pleasing things to remind you of just how great life can be sometimes when you take a look at the itty bitty pieces. You know, just lil things that are so fantastic and you totally overlook them.
I...
Simple Pleasures, #2
Oh, hello! So you’re back for more, eh? I’ll tell you what, there are so many of these, I’m pretty sure I could go on for a million years. I’m enjoying this exercise in gratuity so far. Often times when something is pleasing, I just enjoy it and then forget about it when some jerk cuts me off in traffic. So how about this enjoyable little tidbit filling my brain even...
Simple pleasures
I’ll try to do this every day for a month, because, you know, I think it’s good for us to be thankful or appreciative of our surroundings. It’s easy to figure out things that are bothersome.
Simple pleasure #1
The first snooze in your bed after you’ve put on clean sheets. I mean, really. It’s a wonder I don’t change my sheets every day for this bliss!
December 2010
1 post
Words, words, words...
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a talker. The other day I read something that said toddlers Colette’s age ought to be able to say between 10 and 50 words. Clearly they didn’t take into account genius children like the one I have. I mean, OBviously. Actually, I sometimes wonder on those online stats whether they dumb them down to make parents think their kids aren’t that low on...
November 2010
2 posts
Ruminations and ruminants
Two ruminants, to be certain. Colby managed to strike down two does a few weekends ago with his crossbow. Sitting in tree-blinds, waiting, sometimes enduring extreme temperatures, at length the deer eventually tread into his treacherous path. How could they know? (It rains candy every day, twice a day, at this exact location!) An advantage of using arrows (for crossbows, they’re called...
The foods. How to eat 'em.
Oh, hi. Here’s a great video about food if you’ve got 20 minutes to spare.
October 2010
4 posts
zzzZZZZZzzz
Oh, I remember this part. This is the part where I sleep for 10 hours at night, take a nap over the lunch hour, and still drag ass. Ah, 1st trimester, you so crazy! At least I’m not one of those poor fools that has to deal with morning sickness. No, mine is more a general appetite but nausea when I think about most foods. Don’t worry, seafood, I’ll be back to love you....
Lately
I’m not promising anything like, say, regular posting, but I do miss you folks here in the Internet. Times, they are a-changin’ over here in NiColby household. Not only do we have a full-time toddler on our hands, who, by the way, continues to delight us with her tricks (hey, I’m-a climb this highchair and then pronounce TADA when I get to the top!), but we also have…...
July 2010
1 post
Insomnia
Would YOU be able to sleep with THIS running around in YOUR brain? The cute… it burns!
June 2010
13 posts
Alive and well!
Wow, y’all. That was some kind of weekend. If you saw my last post about Colette’s brush with heatstroke, then you’ll know it started off hairy enough! Fortunately, it looks like her case of overheating was fairly mild since she was cooled off immediately and she is 100% back to normal. Hooray! She even has a new sign- she can definitely say “more” in American...
Zomb-baby, a tale of horror.
Scariest weekend ever. Yes, really, I’m not just being glib, so reader beware.
Yesterday I picked Colette up early from daycare. Alright, I need to preface this story with a little bit of an update about what’s been going on with her there. It’s been eating at me that she’s seriously hating the daycare. I mean, yes, I realize it’s normal for kids to cry when you...
The text message story of Madam Madcap
Last night, Peggy tried to persuade me to come in for an acupuncture treatment. She offered to watch Colette during all this. I explained that really, I’m not sure I would feel all right giving her over… not because I don’t trust lil miss Pegasus with the baby, but because that baby is totally out of control. Here, I’ll let the texts explain:
Pegs: But she likes it when...
A letter to Colette's daycare...
To Whom It May Concern,
When I enrolled my daughter Colette at your school last week, I neglected to fill out the last section of the packet which asked if I had anything special I wanted to share with your school. Before I get started, I want to give a nod of appreciation to the wonderfully welcoming and accommodating staff at your facility. My daughter is (so far) an only child, and is...
So maybe THIS explains it? →
Click title for link!
Caveat: If you’re reading this on my FB profile, these posts don’t always import very well. Click on “View Original Post” above the comment section if you’re having a hard time reading this or seeing the link.
Funny, they talk about the potential wealth of mining bonanzas in Afghanistan as being some sort of concession for the American people...
(Pre) schoolhouse Rock
From my FB note this morning:
Three-year-olds’ playground commentary this morning: (Four feet from where I am standing). Pulling on teacher’s shirt, tiny girl says, “She’s pretty!” Totally pointing in my direction. Way to make a grown woman blush!!! Seriously. A tiny child gives you a compliment and man… Your day is totally made! During all this? Little boy...
WatchOh, Mister Stewart. How do I love thee?