Going Rogue

I wasn’t sure what I’d think, because I haven’t been a huge Palin fan. I knew that some of my apathy was the product of media spin, but surely not all of it. I frankly didn’t have high hopes.

I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, to find myself enjoying Going Rogue. The book got progressively better until I was positively riveted by the events surrounding the 2008 US Presidential election and its aftermath.

While Palin still can rub me the wrong way on some issues, I now have a new respect for her.

It always bugged me that her ability to serve in Washington was questioned because she had children, while Obama’s young children didn’t raise the same eyebrows. In Going Rogue, Palin briefly mentions the double standard over the candidate’s families, but I think that she goes one better: she talks about being a mom and serving in politics. Juggling family and work, always wondering if both are being served well: I get that, and I appreciate the choices she has made.

The book made me realize that Palin’s voice is one that should have been heard. The media, as always, presented her to us with their own spin, but the degree of maliciousness behind that spin seems unusual in her case.

I’m also appalled at the aftermath of the election and how both she and her family have been attacked on almost every front. No one deserves that, and especially not the Palin kids.

So while I may not be a raving fan, there’s a large part of me that is cheering Palin on in whatever step she might be taking next. Go get ‘em, girl.

Bottom Line: Skip, Borrow, or Buy?

If you have a family like ours, this book is going to get passed around, so someone might as well go out and get the book for everyone else to read. It’s a read-once-and-talk-about-it kind of book. It’ll give you a new look at Palin, women in politics, and will certainly make you wonder about the profession we know as journalism.

The Numbers

Budget overspending: $0
Line of credit reduced by: 1.6%
Reduction in line of credit (since Sep 08): 26.7%

Gas tank refills: 2

Girls learning to read:  1
Girls learning to write:  1
Girls writing “Don’t Come In” Signs:  1

Lessons about interrupting:  50
Successful lessons about interrupting:  1

Visits to Santa: 1
Children enthralled with Santa:  0

Days with someone in the house sick: 30
Days with snow:  1
Times I wondered when spring is coming:  90
Days left until spring:  100
Estimated chance of me surviving (sane) until spring:  50%

Today our girls went to a mall with their grandparents and lined up to meet Santa.  Apparently they were a bit nervous, but they bravely sat beside him.

Our conversation this evening went something like this:

Hubby:  So, you met Santa today.  What did you think?  Was he nice?
Tasha:  Well, he didn’t push us or anything.
Hubby:  Ah.  And did you tell him anything special you’re hoping for at Christmas?
Tasha:  Yeah, I asked for chocolates and dress-up clothes.  But all he had were these moose crowns and candy canes, so I guess that’s it.

Santa, you’ve been measured and found wanting.

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Image by westerndave

My cake-decorating adventures have been made a whole lot easier, however, by finding this great icing recipe.  So for everyone else out there who has suddenly found themselves expected to create a cake that looks like a princess or a truck, here’s a recipe that won’t let you down.

Basic White Icing

1 c. softened butter
4 c. icing sugar
2 T water
1 t. vanilla

Combine the ingredients in a mixer.  Mix them at low speed for a while until it’s safe to move to a higher speed.  (You’ll know that it’s NOT safe if bits of butter go flying around your kitchen when you dial up the speed.)  Then beat the mixture at medium speed for five full minutes.

It will start out looking dry and lumpy, and then suddenly it will transform into this wonderfully creamy, light icing.  If you’re not going to add food colouring or use it to create intricate designs (and hey — if you’re doing the latter, you obviously don’t need my help here), then you can make the icing more spreadable for a cake by adding another 1 T of water.

That’s it!

By the way, I originally found this recipe here and have used some of the modifications suggested by other cooks.  You may want to check out the original and their comments.

So here’s a conversation I had with Tasha this week:

Tasha (highly indignant):  Mom!  Mom!  Charlotte is interrupting me!
Me:  Oh, dear.  What were you doing that she was interrupting?
Tasha (earnestly):  I was praying.  And she keeps interrupting.  I’m serious!
Me (obviously not getting the seriousness yet):  That’s strange.  What were you praying about?
Tasha:  I was praying that she would stop interrupting me.

I’m curious:  is this the first major piece that every child publishes?

Don't Don't Come In

The Numbers

Budget overspending: $0
Line of credit reduced by: 0.5%
Reduction in line of credit (since Sep 08): 25.1%

Gas tank refills: 2

Temper tantrums:  31
Temper tantrums handled calmly:  1

Slippers thrown out:  2
Months required to achieve the above:  9

Trick-or-treating fairies:  2

This is a wonderful trait when it comes to our marriage. I love it that I can depend on him.

His devotion is somewhat less charming, however, when it comes to old, worn out, ripped, tattered, and otherwise nasty articles of clothing.

My strategy is to focus on one article of clothing per year to cull from his closet. (And yes, it takes a year; and no, more than one is not possible.)

This year I’ve been working on the slippers. Right on track, we hit October without me budging him one bit. The slippers were irreplaceable! It didn’t matter that they had no soles; they were comfortable! Actually, it didn’t matter that they weren’t comfortable, either. They were -*gasp*- his slippers!

But a couple of days ago, I overheard the father-daughter conversation that changed things:

Hubby (who was wearing the slippers in question at the time): Charlotte, why are you standing outside of the bathroom door?
Charlotte: Tasha locked me out!
Hubby: Okay, but why don’t you have any clothes on?
Charlotte: I took them off.
Hubby: I see. And why are you hiding in the corner over there?
Charlotte: Because I peed on the floor and I don’t want to stand in it like you are.

Hubby threw out the slippers.

I found Classic Fairy Tales after sifting through recommendations on Amazon. (I love that feature!) I took a chance, ordered it, and am so glad.

Scott Gustafson has created one of the best fairy tale collections I’ve encountered. The large 12X12″ page size is perfect for reading with a child, and there is a picture on every page spread. The ten selected stories were ones that I wanted my children to be familiar with. (I’ve listed them all at the bottom of this post.)

And the illustrations! They’re gorgeous, detailed, and rich. Even though fairy tales aren’t always cheerful subject material, Gustafson manages to keep the illustrations from being too dark.

Bottom Line: Skip, Borrow, or Buy?

Buy it. No matter what the kid-to-adult ratio is in your household, Classic Fairy Tales is going to be treasured. If you can’t fit it into your budget, then at least take it out from your local library and spend some time re-reading these classic tales and enjoying Gustafson’s talent.

_____

For those of you who like details (like me!), the fairy tales included in the book are:

• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• Puss in Boots
• Little Red Riding Hood
• Snow White
• Tom Thumb
• Hansel and Gretel
• The Frog Prince
• Rumplestiltskin
• Cinderella
• Three Little Pigs

We’ve made a decision as a family to make our own costumes rather than buy pre-made ones, so I tend to encourage the girls along the lines of easy-to-make-from-things-we-have costumes.  Bunnies are good:  construction paper ears, a puff tail, and away we go!

Tasha is having fun mulling over different options, trying to select the very best one for this year.  Today her top choices were:

• a cat
• a bunny
• a ladybug
• a flower
• a princess

All manageable, and all quite cute.

Charlotte, on the other hand, has wasted no time in considering options.  She knows what she wants to be:  a giant.

Actually, a great big angry giant!!

So if I seem a bit distracted over the next couple of weeks, it’s because I’m trying to figure out how, with a few pieces of construction paper, I can turn the world’s smallest walking human being into a giant.

Ideas are welcome …