Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Blog-A- Rama

YES! We are still at the laundromat. Any more questions? I refer you to Maytag, and the class action....... It's still hot out there. . . in kitty land. It's hot everywhere. So, this horridly hot weekend, I went to the 'blogosphere.' It was like stepping into a room with many doors, and each door leads to a room with more doors, and more, and more. Like some sort of Harry Potterish room of magic.
I only usually visit a few websites:
Pioneer Woman, where I go to find recipes with butter for PPP and her baking frenzy, and Fatty, where I revel in the fact that I am neither hurtling down steep and rocky hills on a bicycle nor trying to climb steep and rocky hills on a bicycle (it's really the wonderfully pure yet wry writing.) But no more! My blog world is wide now.

This is an important aside.... someone, maybe even me, must come up with a better word than BLOG. It's so close to blob, backlog, blah...no appealing words.
I did this blog-0- discovery tour by simply clicking on "next blog" at the top of many blogs. Multi-lingual is good for a "next blog" tour (I got THIS, shockingly, just now). Not so many blogs are in English. There are lots and lots of blogs in Brazilian Portuguese, and many in Spanish. A whole lot appear to be German, but could also be Norwegian or Danish. And then a boatload in alternate-letter languages. Wait until you read this whole thing. . . OK, you can skim. Then.....next blog, next blog....

Lovely comments on what I have written began to appear, from people I don't know. I thought I knew who exactly reads this thing. My sister. But evidently, people were finding out about our fascination with luminaria, or our sunglasses, randomly, or when I happen to comment somewhere. I tell you what, I sometimes wonder how I find my...let me rephrase that in a more appropriate way... It seems at times that I am as dumb as a brick.
While busy reading random blogs, I found this group, which is like hitting girl-blog gold. When BigD asked me if I was 'blogging' I would just say 'yes' and keep my head down. . . for several days. I do have some hints for bloggers. because some of you think this thing is private. It's not your little pink diary that you lock and stuff under your mattress. Anyone can read it. Your blog is not private.
  • When you hit the words "Publish Post" anyone in the whole world can read it, IF they know our letter system. Probably not in France though, I didn't find many in French.


  • The BLOGOSPHERE is not private. People forward them to others. Go ahead, try it. There is a little envelope somewhere that you can click on - and send the hilarity on to someone else. I know this because BigD loves to forward. So, all those details about the diaper explosion on the 4th...not so much, thanks though.

  • You may think you are just "posting pix" of the grandkids for your parents in Idaho to see. Incorrect. The WHOLE WORLD can look and read. Your child will grow up, and will NOT be happy at the record you left out there for all the world to see at any time.


  • When you say things like "Goo-mimi and Big Poop want to see you pull up your big boy pants" (complete with sequential pictures) probably Big Poop hopes that the guy who works in the cube next to him isn't privvy to that pet name.
So, what ELSE is out there? Lots and lots of scrapbookers and crafters and home decorators and writers. Lots. Apparently, the scrapbook folks also make blog templates, because many blogs look like scrapbook pages. It's awesome, in a voyeuristic way. I couldn't even BEGIN to find my favorite scrapbook blog, because I only have scrapbook kits and supplies that I have bought and then lost. Somewhere.

Somehow, once, I discovered young women who make hand-sewn crafts in England. It was so cool, but I lost them. I have spent a few hours looking for them again. How were they so easy to find once, but lost now?

There are a whole slew of medical blogs. I located them because of Midwife with a Knife, (it's the name) Her rant on the wicked hours residents work? I agree, wholeheartedly. Somebody fix that please.

Lots and lots and lots and lots of people chronicle every instant of baby's life from the pregnancy test forward. I love you all, each and every one of you, baby people. I taught Lamaze Childbirth Preparation classes for 15 years, I am a professional lactator and lactation support person. I've been a doula. I was all up in those babies (not this linked - one specifically, let's be clear ) Literally - like in there with ladies having babies, and getting that first latch-on. (Enough graphic birth talk, my Young Son will be uncomfortable) My babies aren't babies anymore, and don't tolerate much graphic talk.

Where is this going? you ask. And rightfully so. I opened this magical blog door and fell into a world of blogging parents of babies born with heart defects. I cannot, as of today, find my way out. I follow links from one family to another, to another, to another. I am absolutely fascinated by all of the medical-ish-ness of it. Not the creepy stalker like stuff (I don't know who or where these precious families are - other than Salt Lake City ). I know about the Glenn, about cardiac perfusion, sats, stats, minute to minute. And, I am cheerfully reporting, I have woken up intermittently in the night for the past few nights, worrying about these babies and their families. I wake up and find my self praying for little baby sweet-pea and whether they got the line in. Seriously, I need a life. And you'll have to find the little heart babies on your own.And, I am getting one - my own medical-ish life, I mean. The Sophisticate has had a big tummy ache for a few weeks or perhaps months now, (I know it doesn't LOOK that way, but trust me on this...since I am going to 'publish post') We are spending a very early morning investigating, while she wears a paper gown that she made into a little blue paper dress with a sash - tied in a bow. I'll bet I can find a blog about it.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

So I'm curious--did you stumble upon my blog through random clicking? For some reason, the very idea makes me smile. I don't often do the "next blog" thing, but I do find myself clicking on the blog lists other people post on their blogs, which leads to a similar sort of pastime.

Anyway, thanks for leaving me a comment. I enjoyed your post, but must wag my finger at you and say, "drat you for making me worry about babies with heart conditions."

If you want to read a really moving and heartfelt blog, search for "audrey caroline." You'll be glad you did.

RURAL said...

Ann, its like reading something that I would have written, we both read Pioneer Woman, Fat Cyclist, scrapbooking sites. We both loose blogs and sites. This is hillarious. And yes I realize that this is not "a little pink diary that I hide under the bed".
Poopy pants! Oh my.
So looking forward to having new posts from you arrive when you write them.
Jen
Jen

Anonymous said...

Randomly found anyone - so, it's like an act of the Divine.

Rue said...

Hi Ann :)

So I would be "people" huh? LOL

Great post! Truthful and funny ;)

rue

Debbie said...

Hi Ann...This is a very very funny post. You must have found me through random blogging as well. This whole blogging thing is kind of mysterious.. When you find it, you feel like you become part of some secret underground world of mamas. It's fun, but can get a teeny weeny bit addictive if you let it. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!

Mozi Esme said...

This is hilarious! I spent about 8 months blogging for my intimate little family and then magically discovered the wardrobe door, too! And I subscribed to so many blogs I was overwhelmed to the point of tears that I couldn't keep up with them all. Not that I wasn't already in tears from reading all the heart patient stories, etc.

Hope your laundromat days are soon over!

Anonymous said...

I came over from the Pioneer Woman Site and thought I'd answer your question about what to do with Tomatoes after canning them.

The most used recipe I make is a "one pot pasta" dish where the pasta cooks in the juice from the canned tomatoes, but also a lot of salsa recipes call for "can of tomatoes" , and lets not forget homemade spaghetti sauce. My favorite use for canned tomatoes is in "Chicken Mango Curry" or any curry dish really.... and then there's always soups and chili's ....Basically anywhere that a recipe calls for stewed tomatoes or a can of diced/whole tomatoes, you can use homeade canned ones.

Kelly said...

Hi Ann!

I assume your asking me this as a result of my commenting over at Pioneer Woman.

I am often the cook without a recipe, especially when it comes to pasta. I lived in Italy for awhile and learned a lot about pasta and authentic pasta...and so I often wing it.

When I make homemade marinara, the same is true. In my garden, we grow lots of fresh herbs, onions, and garlic, so I basically load a pan with diced fresh tomatoes (that have been blanched with their skins removed and then seeded), and then I chop a couple of onions (often red) and add a ridiculous amount of garlic and sometimes finely diced peppers or zucchini. I then add lots of basil (goes well with tomatoes) Italian flat-leaf parsley, and maybe some fresh thyme or oregano. I have been known to add a little basil oil, too, just to increase that flavor. I salt and pepper it, maybe add some Tuscan seasoning or Pizza-spice seasoning, and then let it cook down for a few hours, skimming the juice off of the top and filling other containers with it (freezing it to cook rice in later...so good!).

When it is done cooking down, you could let it cook a little and then puree it in a blender or food processor to make it smooth, but I often leave it chunky.

I hope that helps! Sorry I don't have a real recipe for you.