My Life in Photos and Less Than 140 Characters
September 27, 2009
An hour away from my home at 10am Saturday morning. Get a text message from teenager:Are the dishes in the dishwasher clean?
My reply: Do you have eyeballs?
***
Teen son texts me: Can reading text messages count towards my school reading log minutes?
Clearly all this technology has killed valuable brain cells.
Listening to the national anthem before the game.
***
Swine flu going around. 8% of the school is out with it according to some random person who probably heard it from some other random person who probably made it up. That doesn’t stop me from repeating it with conviction, however.
I think one of my kids had it but I didn’t bring him to the doctor because he wasn’t THAT sick. I didn’t want to spread the germs around if I didn’t have to. I am thoughtful like that.
It has a 7 to 10 day incubation period. I am making no plans for this coming week. Other than bathing daily in Purell to be followed up with a Lysol spritzer.
***
Today Miles helped me wash all the doorknobs and light switches in the house. On the one hand, I felt bad making him a party to my crazy. On the other hand, help with cleaning! Win!
Player from the other team pointing to my son.
My son who then sacks his quarterback.
Also, it is very confusing when both teams are wearing identical uniforms. I have quite a few photos of the kid on the OTHER team who wears a number 7 jersey. I asked myself if it really matters. And the answer: No it does not matter.
***
Second verse, same as the first.
The bobble heads were not intimidated. They won the game.
A little girl with a ribbon in her hair. Wearing a cheerleading uniform.
Bar-B-Q. Yes, this is Texas.
Orange soda in glass bottles.
He sticks his pinky finger up in the air.
Look at me, Mom, I am fancy.
As if that is all it takes. We are the polar opposite of fancy.
Food on wax paper, on a red and white checked table cloth. Soft American white bread with slices of brisket in between.
This is goooood, Mom. What kind of bread is this?
My poor sheltered children are going to go off to college and eat all the things I refuse to buy for them: white bread –the kind that sticks to the back of your front teeth when you bite into your sandwich, breakfast cereal that is really just tiny cookies, and Lunchables.
***
I am going to Napa in two weeks. As much as I love my children and generally enjoy their company, I am looking forward to getting away from them. And not just because there is going to be wine.
I have had this window open typing on and off for over 24 hours, I wander away and then come back and type some more. You know what? That is way too long. Even I have lost interest in what I was writing.
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Mmmmmmm, Rudy’s BBQ. The best EVER. I find any excuse I can to drive to Austin just so I can eat there.
September 27th, 2009 at 8:04 pmOh, I miss Rudy’s so much.
September 27th, 2009 at 8:13 pmHi Chris, I’ve been reading your blog for a few years now and I’ve never left a comment before. I guess I’ve always been too shy, but now that I have started a blog of my own, I see how important it is to both make and receive comments! Anyway, I just wanted to come out of lurkdom to say hi and tell you how much I enjoy your writing and your beautiful photos.
September 27th, 2009 at 8:17 pmhey - is this that famous [place in austin — I think I saw a profile of it in country living? the wax paper & liik of it reminds me ?? who knows !!?? yum BBQ. I loves me some BBQ ;)( when I drove across country with a friend , WE PLANNED THE WHOLE TRIP AROUND BBQ SPOTS) sad, so sad, really.
also : this saved my oldests life ( as in , kept me from killing him ) when he did HS algebra:
( because I COULDNT explain it to him. AT ALL. or, actually, maybe it was because he kept on saying “…..hmmm…. you went to HARVARD, right, mom?? )
SMACK
” algerbra survival guide” by josh rappaport –> on amazon for 9 bucks, REALLY good for students who need to ” see ” math differently
http://www.amazon.com/Algebra-Survival-Guide-Workbook-Rappaport/dp/0965911373/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254097309&sr=1-2-spell
Chris says: First off I am adding this book to my amazon cart right now. Because yelling at my son, “How can you NOT GET THIS IT IS SO PAINFULLY EASY!” is not working.
Second, I am adding this trip planned around BBQ joints to my life list. Yes, I really am.
September 27th, 2009 at 8:26 pmI enjoyed every bit of it! I have missed you all week.
September 27th, 2009 at 8:32 pmYou refuse to buy the same things for your kids that I refuse to buy for mine! However, I remember liking the cookie cereal A LOT when I was a kid!
Enjoy Napa; wish I were going, too!
September 27th, 2009 at 8:35 pmi haven’t lost imterest yet so feel free to keep writing. especially about the swine flu. i am waiting for it to strike our school and i wonder if i will know if my son has it (had it the week he spiked a fever for a day and coughed for the next 8 or 9)… i have never really understood what the flu is and how it is different from a cold. is there puking or not? yes, no, maybe… is there sire throats/coughs? yes, no, maybe… i can’t figure it out. most of the swine flu things i read fall into 2 catagories..one is.. they didn’t have it bad, the other is they died from it… i wonder if there is something in between… are you getting the shots for it??
September 27th, 2009 at 8:52 pmI know this was a random post, but I really liked it! The national anthem pic and the BarBQ pic both particularly struck me.
Have a great time on your trip, that area is just so incredibly beautiful. And there is wine! Yay wine! Enjoy!
September 27th, 2009 at 8:53 pmChris, I find everything you write interesting. I have to ask this question, is the grass REAL grass on the football field, the reason I ask is it just looks so perfect without a single blemish anywhere. I would do anything to have my lawans even look half as good as that.
Wouldn’t it be great if soft drinks all started to come in glass bottles again, at least it would save in a lot of things as all they would need to do is to wash and sterilize them and refill them, surely that has to be way more economical.
Enjoy your trip to Napa, can I be ignorant and ask where that is.
Look forward to your answers and look forward to your next entry, please don’t give up on your journal, I absolutely love coming here each and everyday to see how all you guys are doing.
Take Care.
September 27th, 2009 at 9:02 pmLots of Love to you ALL. Carolynn xxxx
that was way more than 140 characters.
September 27th, 2009 at 9:03 pmOrange soda in a glass bottle is THE BEST. The pinky up just makes it that much better.
September 27th, 2009 at 9:26 pmand even when you have lost interest, you are funny and your children are adorable and my kids are going to do the same thing when they go to college!
September 27th, 2009 at 9:38 pmMmmmm…Rudy’s. Best turkey in Texas.
And damn, I miss my days as a cheerleader with a ribbon in her hair. I love Texas high school football.
September 27th, 2009 at 9:38 pmI swear I ate at that restaurant once in college. I could never find it again, but I know that has to be it.
September 27th, 2009 at 9:55 pmI am painfully jealous of your dinner in THAT place! We, who used to live near the original and now live very far away, miss that place very, very much! Have you had the turkey? And I’m guessing that you can’t eat the creamed corn, but buy it for those in your family that can; it rocks! (and I’m generally not a cc fan)
September 27th, 2009 at 10:00 pmFootball. Rudy’s. Isn’t Texas great!
September 27th, 2009 at 10:23 pmOh man, I miss that BBQ joint. Even if there are flies EVERYWHERE. And it’s, you know, a gas station.
Chris says: Oh man, this made me laugh so hard. Becasue you know, it IS A GAS STATION. And the first time I went there I was all, WTH is this place??? But then I ate the food and died a little inside, because I am now the type of person who EATS AT A GAS STATION OFF A PLASTIC TABLECLOTH… with MY HANDS. I haven’t experienced the fly problem though, at all.
September 27th, 2009 at 10:39 pmIf you’re going to speak at an event or something like that in Napa, I’m in the SF bay area and would love to come attend…..?
Chris says: Nope, not speaking at anything.
September 27th, 2009 at 10:53 pmHey, after a week, I’m just happy to see you post!
September 27th, 2009 at 11:32 pmYou are going to love Napa, woman! I mean what is better than wine tasting???
Chris says: Nothing, that’s what!
September 27th, 2009 at 11:32 pmIs that Rudy’s? Love that place. Go there everytime we visit the son and his family in Phluggerville.
Chris says: It is!
September 27th, 2009 at 11:45 pmOMG!!! I grew up in TX. College in San Antonio. Going on 13yr as transplant to New England. That looks a helluva lot like Rudy’s BBQ. I am insanely jealous. Enjoy!!!
Chris says: It IS Rudy’s!
September 27th, 2009 at 11:50 pmWe love Rudy’s! We stop there on our way down to South Texas!
September 28th, 2009 at 1:04 amThe best bbq ever!
On the food front, they won’t wait for college. In the 70s I decided to be Earth Mother and grew ALL our vegetables and baked ALL our breads (whole grain blah blah blah) and canned our fruits and veggies and made granola and dried banana chips and vowed MY children would never be exposed to phony food and chemicals blah blah blah. So as soon as they were old enough to walk places with their friends they sneaked off to McDonalds. McDonalds! Stake through my heart.
The good news is that as adults, they eat exactly the things mom gave them and won’t go near the places that seemed so appealing when they were young and thought it was sneaky and daring.
September 28th, 2009 at 1:53 amMy pediatrician, who’s very crunchy granola (we live in southern Cal) says that those who contract H1N1 will build up a stronger immune system.
Sorry to write such a boring comment to your as usual, great post. But I felt like I had to comment, I visit so often!
September 28th, 2009 at 2:59 amI feel like you and I traded places. We lived in Georgetown (where I also went to high school, lo, those many years ago) for four years, and Dallas for four years before that… and now we’re in New-freaking-JERSEY, where there is NO Rudy’s OR Mexican food and that’s the only part that makes me want to cry. Well, maybe that and this phenomenon that they call “winter”; it scares me a little.
Anyway, please, please, please eat some Rudy’s and Mexican food for me. Also, Georgetown BBQ is REALLY good - they have the best beans around. They’re at 29 & Scenic in Georgetown. Yum.
September 28th, 2009 at 6:11 amYou just lost interest because . . NAPA! But I think I’d find your writing interesting if you were rambling about cleaning out the bathroom grout, you are just that awesome.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:07 amThere are other mothers that *gasp* don’t let their kids have white bread and lunchables? I died laughing because my oldest often says, “mothers that don’t neglect their children buy them lunchables or at least they fix their lunches on REAL bread!” My daughter has recently taken to pointing out that,”now Lunchables are made with real whole grain…so you can buy them for us now, right?”
September 28th, 2009 at 7:17 amLove the pictures
CHEERLEADER in a bow. Is she cheering for one of the brothers teams or is she just dressing the part.
Chris says: She is just dressing the part. Her only option was to cheer for flag football and there was NO WAY I was going to add a fifth football game each week to the rotation. Especially flag. Mighty Mite is painful enough to watch.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:34 amI have to admit. I’m a slacker mom. My kid has had Lunchables because I’m too lazy to pack his lunch some days for school. Sometimes it’s just easier to toss a box in his backpack and be done with it. I try to save them for those nights where I was up all night with a sick toddler or some other random reason. As if that justifies it and makes it a better choice.
Chris says: Well someone has to make the rest of us feel superior.
Hiding the Oreos and chili cheese flavored fritos that went into my kids’ lunches.
September 28th, 2009 at 7:45 amFirst time leaving a comment. I love reading your posts and tell every mom I meet in Sacramento who may be slightly interested in blog reading to read your stuff. My husband had the dreaded swine flu for the whole month of August, it was ugly. Turned into pneumonia and now he has a residlual smoker’s hack. But with all the hacking and coughing he did in the house, my two little girls and I never got it. Good karma?
Chris says: That sounds exactly like what I had and my oldest son too, now that I think about it. We both went to the dr and were never tested for H1N1. Not that it really matters I suppose except from an epidemiological stand point.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:07 amNapa and wine? Heavenly! No school work for you while away? TOTAL BONUS!
September 28th, 2009 at 8:24 amMmmmm…. It’s 6:30 a.m.and now you’ve got me craving BBQ AND white bread that sticks to the back of my teeth…
September 28th, 2009 at 8:38 amRUDY’S!! I plan whole trips to Texas around trips to Rudy’s. God I miss Texas…I’m now stuck in a Corn state…and it’s always cold. Love your writing. Also, so glad I’m not the only mom who doesn’t buy white bread (my kids kind of freak when they are served bread that isn’t brown) or cookie cereal, I will however, cop to cracker and cheese packages on occasion for trips.
September 28th, 2009 at 9:31 amI know I’ve read that you do gluten free stuff, what did you eat at Rudy’s? Places like that seem like a land mine to us with all the cross contamination and such. Thanks for any feedback you share.
Chris says: Are you talking about Rudy’s in particular or just places like this? I have found the smaller non chain restaurants are much better. The first time I went to Rudy’s I asked about the gluten, I was shown their ingredients etc. The meat is kept completely separate from the other food. And thus far I have had no problems when I have eaten there. I had brisket, some chicken, and potatoes. And a cherry limeade soda.
September 28th, 2009 at 9:43 amNot bored with your train of thought … or your pictures of Classic Americana!
Really awesome.
September 28th, 2009 at 9:53 amNow I want barbeque. And I also want to sanitize my light switches and door knobs.
September 28th, 2009 at 9:58 amI love your random posts and I love that just as I thought, “Hey! Wait a minute! All those uniforms look alike!” You confirmed it.
September 28th, 2009 at 10:08 amMy 9 yr old says that on her way to college she will stop and buy a box of Little Debbies, Lunchables, and gum. She’s OK with the grainy bread.
September 28th, 2009 at 10:20 amI love Rudy’s, also I do the same thing leaving post open typing them for long periods of time.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:08 pmWhen they go off to college? Ha! What do you think they’ll be living off of when you go to Napa? (Especially if they can’t tell if the dishes are dirty!)
September 28th, 2009 at 2:12 pmHey Chris!
Love your blog–been reading for a few years now and it leaves me feeling giddy!
I have a silly clothes question-I have to know where you got your sons Under Armour shirt that says “football” on it. My 11 year old is obsessed with anything “Under Armour” and if it’s “football” themed, times that obsession by a million! We haven’t seen that one anywhere. Thanks so much!!!!
Chris says: I bought him that one at Dick’s
September 28th, 2009 at 3:23 pmhttp://sweeneymath.blogspot.com/2009/09/dance-steps-to-solving-equation-story.html
Check out the above link for the “solving equations dance/rap” … however, if your son is grade 9 it might be a bit ahead of what he needs.
September 28th, 2009 at 4:36 pm(I’m a math teacher, but in Canada, so I don’t really know what you cover at what age around your area)
Kansas City has some good BBQ. In fact, my personal favorite is Oklahoma Joe’s…which is also located in a gas station. Add it to your BBQ tour list, if you ever make it to the upper Midwest.
Have a great time in Napa!
September 28th, 2009 at 6:24 pmBy far the best barbecue place I have been to. Love that place and go when I go to Austin!
September 28th, 2009 at 11:25 pmI was not bored at all! thanks for the long post! (and the desire for BBQ, now…must figure a reason to travel to Austin…..)
September 29th, 2009 at 11:10 amI’ve heard of Texas BBQ, but KENTUCKY BBQ is really great (Moonlight BBQ in Owensboro - home of Johnny Depp!)
But it was the Napa mention that called to me. . . Be sure to stop at Viansa (wines are OK but the ambiance of wine and deli and scenery is fabulous) and Frank Family Winery (do try the chard - I’m a red wine fan and the chard is a red-wine-drinkers white wine) and pay the money to go up the mountain to Sterling. I’m so jealous!!!
September 29th, 2009 at 1:11 pmI remember when I found out that white bread existed and my parents had been hiding it from me. I refused to eat whole wheat for the next fifteen years.
September 29th, 2009 at 6:03 pmI am as excited about Napa as everyone else because…I live there! I am much more excited about Chris! Coming to Napa! I could stalk you at the Viansa winery (if only I knew where it was!) Cause I have only lived in Napa my entire life so wineries…not that exciting.
I was just telling my 13 year old daughter about my teenage career working at McDonald’s. Tourists would come in and ask “Where are the wineries?” “Um, that way,” we would tell them and point north.
So, forget the wineries. What could I show you?! Your own personal tour of the school where I teach? You could look in the desks of the painfully disorganized students in my class. I go to the library a lot, I could take you there! OK, I’ve run out of places that I go besides the grocery store. But I’m sure I can come up with something…
October 1st, 2009 at 2:02 amWell NOW you’ve done it…spilled the beans, so to speak, and now every time we go to Rudy’s it will be overrun with people who got addicted to the award-winning gas-station food on waxed paper at Rudy’s!! Mmmm.
I love the photos you take of your kids. And I would have gladly kept reading and looking at them, no boredom here!
October 1st, 2009 at 1:51 pmOh…and the flies at the outdoor restaurants around here. This was your first summer here, yes? There weren’t many this year due to the drought, but if we have a good rainy winter/spring…next year…LOOK OUT!
October 1st, 2009 at 1:53 pmDude, I am so jealous - ya’ll were at Rudys! Have you had their breakfast burritos yet? My husband insists we stop for breakfast anytime we’re near one.
October 1st, 2009 at 5:40 pm