Homework Does Not Do Itself Observes Perplexed Eleven Year Old.

Anchorage,AK - Alexa is not sure how she came to the understanding that if she put it off long enough it would simply get tired of waiting and do itself. " I guess I just hoped for a miracle" stated the heavily homework laden preteen as she wearily rubbed her bloodshot eyes. " Oh for crying out loud in the night , if she would just get it done right after school on Friday we wouldn't have this problem." Alexa's mother told reporters while jerking the knots out of her daughters hair. Neither Alexa nor her mother could provide any further insight into why this same scenario seem to replay itself every Sunday night but both are open to further discussion on the issue pending a complete schedule overhaul.
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The Secret to Happy Marriage - Division of Labor

You've heard the phrase, "Too many roosters, not enough hens", or perhaps, "Too many chiefs, not enough Indians". These phrases are used to determine the cause of dissent and inefficiency within a group of people. To have an organization, a company, a family, or a team humming like a well-oiled machine, each person in it has to have a specific role that is suited to their strengths and abilities without too much overlap or interference with anyone else's role.

That's the foundation of a happy marriage. One person is the hunter, one person is the gatherer. So what happens when the hunter cannot hunt for whatever reason?

The gatherer might strangle the would-be hunter.

I've tried really hard to be a good supportive wife to my husband who is currently out of work. I'm sympathetic, I don't suggest that he's failed in any way to fill his role, I give him time and space to job hunt. But after three weeks of having him under-foot, I'm ready for him to go to work, and not just to earn money - that's the nice side-benefit. So here's the week-by-week unemployed husband progression.

Week 1
The first week was with filled with a flurry of emails, calls, and research as my husband contacted friends, former co-workers, and former bosses to see if any company was currently hiring. He also researched different companies and what they were currently developing. It's a rotten economy so there aren't too many places hiring and there are a lot of people looking.

Week 2
The next week yielded a few interviews with companies and a couple of recruiters. My husband actually shaved (I thought he was going to hold out until he got a job, but really, who's going hire Grizzly Adams?), got dressed and left the house. He felt good about how the interviews went and some of the anger and despondency of week 1 abated to be replaced by a nervous energy.

Week 3
Three interviews required follow-up interviews and requests for references and background checks. The digging up of contacts and research of week 1 has all but stopped since at least one of these follow-ups seems sure to yield an offer. The nervous energy has peaked. My husband has taken to pacing the house, throwing a plastic ball repeatedly across the room (practicing his curve ball, he tells me) and babbling (well, as much as he does). He did leave the house once to go snorkling with his sister, but he took his phone in a dry bag with him.

Don't get me wrong, it's really nice having my husband around so I can leave my little one home as I drive the big kids around to school and activities. He's been helpful doing dishes, folding laundry, vacuuming, tidying up, and it is nice having an adult to talk to all day long. But, he's always there when I want a little quiet time reading or on the computer, bouncing on his heels asking what we're doing, asking me to bat his curve balls, or suggesting beach-visits or kayak-trips. He's got all this excess energy with nothing to focus it on but me.

If absence makes the heart grow fonder, surely the inverse is also true.
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Humble Pie Blues

Wow, this economy is a real bummer. Everyone in the nation knows at least one person that has lost his or her job. In my case, the one person I know also happens to be my husband and the sole bread-winner for the household.

Adapting to our new financial (or lack thereof) situation, I've decided to cut back on discretionary spending. No more luxuries like cable TV, salon haircuts or pedicures. I will now only shop clearances and wholesale. No more eating out and only second-hand stores for clothing.

Wait a minute, that's how I've always lived.

The one luxury that I'm having a hard time giving up is the children's private school education, and those familiar with Hawaii public schools understand why. Luckily the current school year is already paid for, but the coming year is quite uncertain.

In the meantime, you will find me on the side of the road holding a sign that says, "Will work for pidgin-free education".

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Reunited....and it feels so good

When we ask the question, "my place or yours?", in the winter, there is no question. After more than a year, Ambie and Ray are actually within striking distance of each other, although we don't strike each other much anymore. Ambie is greatly enjoying not having to wear multiple layers and bracing herself for subarctic temperatures and Ray is enjoying having someone to talk to that is actually potty trained, mostly.

After ecstatically flinging herself, squinting and blinking, into the sunshine, Ambie is now nursing a 5-alarm sunburn. Experts believe that Ray may stop laughing sometime early next week.

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Baby Chihuahua

My little sister breeds Chihuahua's and I have to admit I am amazed that she can sell these little creatures for as much as she does. She makes a small fortune every time one of her females gives birth to a litter of what look to me like something closely related to the common New York Sewer Rat. People love these things, the smaller the better. My sister however has learned to hate them. She complains that they are nervous, shaky, and constantly in danger of being stepped on or plucked out of the yard by a hungry bald eagle which frequent her area. She and her husband carefully step around them and have only once had an incident which was when my sister accidentally let the back door close behind her and as it shut it broke one of the dogs legs..... I want one.
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