The Story of My Life

Sunday Dishes: Gifts From Friends

I have only been collecting dishes for less than three years now, but during that time I have met and befriended some very wonderful people...several of whom read this blog. And there are a few that I've had the pleasure to meet in person.

I met Wendy, Mike, and Rick last year at the height of Quinton's hospitalization. We had corresponded via the Medium Green message board, but one Saturday, Wendy urged me to take a break from the hospital and go dishing with them. We spent an enjoyable afternoon scanning the aisles of the Brass Armadillo in Phoenix. During this trip, Wendy gifted me with this vintage Fiesta sugar bowl. This little bowl was a nice pick-me-up at a time when I needed it most.

Yesterday, Q and I got together with Wendy, Mike, and Rick to go dishing in downtown Mesa. I bought a few goodies, but I'll save those for another Sunday. This time, Rick gave me this beautiful Riviera decaled bread plate.

And while I have never met Denise in person, we have enjoyed numerous fun (and lengthy!) phone conversations. During the recent Homer Laughlin China collectors conference in Pittsburg, Denise saw this Rose Fiesta Hostess Bowl, autographed by HLC president, Joe Wells III. Since my favorite bowl is the Hostess and my favorite color is pink, Denise immediately thought of me. When the bowl went up for auction, she bid on it and won.

When the bowl arrived, I joked with Denise that it would be perfect for serving mashed potatoes.

I love all my dishes. But these gifts from friends all have greater value than, say a serving bowl from Dillards...or even a highly coveted vintage piece from eBay. All of these pieces are on display in my home. Sort of. I have a place picked out for Rick's Riviera plate, but I need to buy a little display rack for it.

Like Father, Like Son

Here's Q acting goofy and trying a Renaissance-style mask in an antique store. Likewise, here's what happens when you let boys play with foil. The boy pictured with Kyle is his best friend, who we affectionately refer to as "GK".

Parking Lot Justice

This afternoon, Q and I met for lunch...because when you have kids, lunch for two at a non-chain restaurant is the equivalent of a big date. Anyway, the place we chose is located in one of these large "power centers" that houses several stores, a movie theatre, and many restaurants.

There's also an American Express call center, a hospital, and several doctors' offices nearby. That makes this strip mall a popular destination for office workers on their lunch breaks. Today, in particular was busier than usual, and parking was scarce. Q and I had to park out in the back forty, and we did so without complaint.

In the restaurant, we were seated at a table with a lovely view of the parking lot. As we dined on Caesar salad and tomato basil pizza, we watched as drivers jockeyed for empty parking spaces, and waited for the highly-prized close ones to empty out. We also witnessed a few near head-on collisions.

Then about half way through the meal, we spotted an older gentleman taking pictures of some cars. We weren't sure what he was doing at first. I thought maybe he was getting ready to sell his car in the Auto Trader. But then I noticed a patch on the sleeve of his blue polo shirt. It was the same emblem worn by the Phoenix Police. Suddenly, it hit me: this man is looking for handicap parking violators!


And he had one, too: a newer model silver Toyota. Q and I watched as the man photographed the Toyota from all angles. Then he returned to his pick-up truck, came back, and took a few more pictures. He then produced what looked like a ticket book. Yep, someone's going to be getting a $250 fine! And you thought parking at airports and sporting events was expensive.

We were hoping to see the parking lot scofflaw materialize while we were still there. We would have loved to see look on the person's face when they found the ticket on their windshield. Ah, it's fun to witness karma in action.

But no. Our check came, we paid for lunch, and the Toyota was still there. Anyway, Q had to get back to work. So we left the restaurant and made the trek back to our cars.

In the meantime, the parking lot guy had moved on to his next mark--a Mercury with a garish pink glitter paint job and gold rims. Go get 'em, Mr. Handicap Parking Monitor Guy! Even if he's parked legally, bad taste is still a crime!

Wood Floor Installation: Day 4

Today, we got a REALLY late start on the floors. For one thing, today was the boys' first day of school.

Also, amid all the construction, the chores have been neglected. The house was a mess (still is) and the laundry really needed to be done. I knew I was in real trouble last night when Lucas was putting out his next day's clothes and he infomed me that he can't find any of his "good shorts".

We also had to drop the car off at the shop, go to the bank, take Q to the eye doctor, pick up some silicone at the hardware store, get a quick lunch, pick up the car at the shop, buy a new drill at Home Depot, and drop a prescription off at the pharmacy.

By the time we got home, it was past 2:00, and work on the floors finally began. Today's work consisted of installing quarter-round at the base of the perimeter walls, and T-moulding where the wood meets the tile.

After the trim work was done, we were able to bring furniture back to the living room.

We shoved old towels and sheets under the cabinets so we could slide them across the new floor without gouging it.

We got most of the big stuff moved in, but the accessories will have to wait until tomorrow. My feet hurt.

Wood Floor Installation: Day 3

'Sunday Dishes' will return next week, as we continue our ongoing series on re-flooring the living room. Or might write a dish post mid-week. It's my blog, and I can do whatever I want!

As Day 3 begins, we start by unloading wood planks and arranging them by size.


The name of the glue we used is Titebond. And they're not kidding because when Q wanted to remove a plank to adjust it, he couldn't. That piece is in there for GOOD! BTW, hon, I will give you $5 if you shave. Please.

One of MANY breaks. It was 113 degrees outside. Even with the air conditioning on inside these frequent water breaks were necessary.

As this is our first time installing wood flooring, there's bound to be one big screw-up. In this case, we had a 1 1/2+ inch gap left between the last full-width row and the wall. This gap was too big to be covered by quarter-round moulding. The only fix was to cut several boards lengthwise to fit into this area. So, Q called his buddy Tim, a carpenter, who owns a saw necessary for this job.

After a trip to Tim's house, we had enough 1 inch wide strips to fit into the last row. The rest will be covered with quarter-round. Luckily, this area will mostly be covered up by a couch or the wall unit...depending on how I choose to arrange the room.

It's looking good, but we're a long way from done. We still have to install the T-moulding where the wood meets the tile and put quarter-round where the wood meets three walls.

The boys love doing the dirty work! Here, we're ripping the old carpet pad into small pieces, and bagging them up for easier removal. Tomorrow is trash day and since there was still room in the can, I wanted to get as much pad into the can as would fit. I'm not sure if those spots are the result of floating dust particles or a dirty camera lens. I have a feeling it's dust because I took a dozen other pictures that didn't do that. And that pad ripping really was a dirty job!

Wood Floor Installation: Day 2

The first two pictures were actually taken at the end of yesterday. We did more demolition after Q came home from work.

Removing carpet is like picking at a giant zit. Once you start, you don't want to stop until all the crap is gone. Kyle's having a real good time at this job!

We got lucky that the carpet and the pad came up very easily. The pad was held down by what looked like Elmer's School Glue squirted into a giant zig-zag pattern. Qualitywise, I don't think that's a good thing. But it did make for easy removal. We just had to scrape a few areas to remove some stuck-on bits of the foam rubber pad.

The top of the carpet was bad, but the underside was WAY worse. I don't know what that stain was. I don't remember anything ever being spilled in that particular location. When we were maneuvering the carpet around, giant plumes of dust would puff up into our faces. Translation: nobody's going to bed without taking a shower...or at least jumping in the pool.

Ah, cement. Lovely cement. Notice the white painted areas with the line through each one. The builders rested the interior doors in this room while they spray painted them. I'm sure there are other spots like this throughout the house.

Installing the underlayment/sound buffer. This stuff was a little cumbersome to work with. It's certainly not as easy as putting contact paper in your silverware drawer. We used Q's weights to keep the edges from lifting up.

We did a rough pattern layout for the first three rows of wood.

Lucas took this picture. He thinks there's a ghost in our house.

The end of workday #2, and we are almost half done! Yes, that is a layer of carpet dust on the roll-top desk. That's really going to be fun to clean out of those little grooves.

So far, we are running quite a bit ahead of schedule. We didn't expect to be laying wood until Monday. In fact, Q had scheduled to take the day off just for that reason. That, and to go to the eye doctor. No worries. After he picks out his new glasses and buys me lunch, we can go to Lowe's and look at flooring for our next project--tiling the den! :-)~

Wood Floor Installation: Day 1

After years of living with nasty carpet, we are finally replacing it with new Brazilian cherry hardwood floors.

We have never done a project like this before. But after reading countless how-to books, consulting the Internet, and watching hours of HGTV, Q assures me that he can do the job...with some assistance from me and the boys.

While the wood acclimates to its new environment, I'm spending the day taking the living room apart. I managed to pack up the tchotchkies, books and CDs, and move smaller furniture to the garage and other rooms. I'm waiting until Q gets home to disconnect the TV and video components and, we'll move the armoire and sofa.


The pictures really don't do it justice, but this carpet is really gross.

I have already begun to lift the carpet up in some spots. Underneath lies this lovely, thick layer of very fine dirt particles that ground deep into the carpet and even penetrated the pad! That's 8 years of accumulation right there.

Tack strip removal is fun!

I'll be spending the rest of the afternoon making a list of forgotten supplies we need from Home Depot...like wood shims, a rubber-headed mallet, and maybe a Sears ShopVac.

Family Jargon

Every social group, culture, and sub-culture has their own brand of slang that is known only to them. Below is a list of buzzwords and their meanings that we often use around here.

"Dog Food in a Barrel!": This is my "safe" cuss word. I use this in times of frustration when an F or S bomb is considered inappropriate. Translation: I use it often.

Valimony: Ms. Val's mad money. Valimony is mostly used to fund my little frivolities like new clothes, dishes, and my smoothie addiction.

"The Rule": Around here, it is a big no-no for one person to use two of the same color Fiesta dishes at a meal. Example: if someone is caught eating off a tangerine plate and drinking from a tangerine mug, he will be taken outside and dealt with accordingly.

Siamese Daylight Time: The time standard by which Jango thinks we should all be living. Someone needs to be awake by the time she deems appropriate. Sometimes Usually daylight isn't even necessary. SDT is controlled by the....

Siamese Alarm Clock: See above.



Q's Pets: Q's pets are a cache of old, worthless, outdated computer components that Q has acquired over time. He just can't stand to get rid of this stuff. Whenever his office attempts to discard a box of parts, Q gathers it up, brings it home, and adopts it like an unwanted litter of puppies. The pets include boxy monitors, cases, motherboards, dirty yellowed keyboards, and cables of every size and shape. The pets have taken up semi-permanent residence in our guest room. But once in a great while, one of the pets will be pulled from the herd and put into use.


Pig Tour: One of our favorite family rituals (Kyle goes nuts when I announce it) involves putting every ice cream flavor and topping we have on the dining room table and making ginormous ice cream sundaes that just about make us sick. A complete explanation with photos can be seen here.


Good Girl/Bad Girl: This is how I inform Q of how much money I spent on a shopping trip. If I tell him "I was a good girl at Target today", that means I only bought the necessities, spent very little money, or no money at all. If I tell him "I was a bad girl at the mall", that means I need him to help me unload the car.

Middle Age Sex Music: This is what Lucas calls the sappy 70s-era soft rock that I like to listen to. Examples include music by Captain and Tennille, Dr. Hook, Jefferson Starship, Roberta Flack, and Carly Simon. I like to refer to this music as...


Prozac Radio: See above.

Adam Carolla Moment: Lucas came up with this one. An Adam Carolla Moment occurs when I go off and start ranting about the injustices of life...just like AC himself often does on his radio show. One of my ongoing gripes pertains to a news story that comes up quite frequently in the Phoenix area: babies and young children who are bruised, shaken, beaten, maimed, injured, or murdered at the hands of their mother's boyfriend. Not husband. Not even fiancee. BOYFRIEND!!!! The guy's name probably isn't even on the lease, and.... Sorry. Back on topic: whenever I have one of these my little fits, Luke points out: "Uh-oh...Mom's having another Adam Carolla moment." Unfortunately AC is no longer on the radio in Phoenix.

Daddy Pizza: The thin-crust pizza perfected by the man himself. Toppings include Italian sausage, yellow peppers, carmelized onions, black olives, and mushrooms. Q also makes a pepperoni version for the boys. He varies the crust recipe every time. Sometimes he adds more olive oil, sometimes less. Sometimes he includes chopped black olives. But the one mainstay is a dusting of corn meal on the bottom of every pie.

Fun Box: The boys came up with this contradictory term. We use it in reference to the cardboard kitty carrier we put Jango in when we have to take her in the car.

The Princess Perch: This is how we refer to Jango's window ledge/bed. The Princess Perch is located in our bedroom window, facing a very large tree. Jango likes to sit there and alternate between napping and watching birds.

Sunday Dishes: Harlequin Romance

When I started buying/collecting/acquiring Fiesta a few years ago, it was out of necessity. We had been eating our meals off of these cheap blue melamine plates that I found on a Target clearance shelf. That was fine when the boys were small--nothing ever got broken.

I discovered Fiesta in mid-2004. Q had begun cooking healthy, gourmet-style meals (we didn't know he had Cushing's Syndrome back then...we thought he was just fat). And the melamine just didn't live up to these quality meals. It certainly didn't live up to our very colorful interior decor. Also, the boys were now old enough to handle the privilege of eating off of big people dishes.

Fast forward to now. I have acquired more Post-86 Fiesta than I could possibly use...unless we adopt every child in the neighborhood. And while I still buy the new stuff, I have moved on to collecting vintage ware as well...specifically the Harlequin line.

The yellow salad bowl is a souvenir from our recent vacation. I paid $9.50 for it in an antique shop in Waukon, Iowa. I could have gotten it for less on eBay, but not when shipping costs are factored in. Besides, this was my small way of contributing the local economy.

These double-egg cups are some of my very favorite pieces...the spruce one, in particular. Q bought me spruce and rose for Mother's Day. The blue one was a $2 eBay find.

Someday, Denise. Someday.....

My newest goodie--the rose novelty creamer--arrived on my front porch just yesterday.

The basketweave nut dishes (left) are another favorite. In fact, it was this item that originally got me interested in Harlequin. These little cups are similar in size to those soy sauce dipping bowls at sushi restaurants. I use my single egg cup (right) for holding toothpicks.

Thirty

I watched VH-1's new show, I Hate My 30s this week. Having been in my 30s for...a few years now, I really wanted to like this show. But I had a hard time getting through the entire episode. That could be because I was in bed nursing a headache at the time. Or maybe it was because I simply couldn't relate to the characters.

I Hate My 30s is about a bunch of unmarried office workers who likely don't have kids, and appear to be afraid of the big three-oh. No diversity there...except maybe for the token black guy. He was pretty cool. Anyway, stating that you hate an entire decade of your life is a very harsh statement...especially when you haven't lived it all yet.

On the other hand, it is OK to hate some facets of being 30. Or 40. Or any other age. Below, I have compiled a list of things I don't like about being in my 30s:

--You're too old for acne, and too young for wrinkles...Yet you have some of both.

--At the mall, it's hard to find clothes that fit your age. Everything looks like it came from either Hollister or Talbot's.

--If you return to college, you're most likely the oldest one in the class. Sometimes you're even older than the instructor.

--You've worn out your IKEA furniture, but you can't yet afford to buy a new living room set from Ethan Allen...or even Levitz.

--When the door-to-door salesmen come knocking, you can no longer look doe-eyed and lie that your mom and dad aren't home. They KNOW you're the homeowner.

--You have two choices: too-tight, panty-peeking, low-rise jeans or mom jeans...neither of which flatter the typical thirtysomething woman's figure. There's very little in between.

--The music you enjoyed in your teens is now being played on the oldies station.

--You no longer get carded.

--Instead of saving up for goodies like a new handbag or an iPod, you're now saving for boring necessities like window screens or a new vacuum system for the pool.

--The last time you stayed up past midnight was to clean up after a vomiting child.

--In the past, you colored your hair to achieve a fun, new look. Now, you do it to cover the gray...not that I would know :-)~

--You find yourself going out for an early dinner to beat the crowds. Also, you simply must be home in time to watch Desperate Housewives...even if it is a rerun.

--You tune in to The Real World only to see what the house looks like this season.

--When shopping for a new car, you find yourself caring less about the coolness factor. Instead, you're interested in nitpicky little details like the size of the radio buttons, the location of the shifter, and how many cup holders the car has.

--You find yourself insulting "that crap" your kids watch on TV...just like your parents did to you.

--Same goes for music. You quit keeping up with new music sometime during the Seattle/grunge era.

--Waiters, cashiers, and other service workers now refer to you as "Ma'am".

Being in my 30s does have its perks, however. Lower insurance rates, for one thing. Also, people tend to give you credit for knowing more than you actually do. I find this to be particularly true in the college setting. Just because you're older, the other students assume you have all the answers. Boy, have I got them fooled.

But perhaps the best part is the fact that my age bracket isn't being represented by Paris or Britney.

Trash Rat

I've often been told that I'm a pack rat. My house is full of stuff that gets used very seldomly...if at all. I don't get rid of anything. I keep clothes that no longer fit. I have stacks of outdated magazines that I have no intention of ever reading again. And VHS tapes. We have LOTS of VHS tapes...most of which are unlabeled, but probably hold old recordings of VH-1's 8-Track Flashback.

I also have many unused bars of hotel soap, hand lotion samples, leftover fabric panels from old sewing projects, craft supplies, non-Fiesta dishes that I can't bear to part with, shoes that don't match any of my clothes, half-filled tubes of moisturizer that I no longer like, empty CD cases... The list is endless.

But I've realized that I'm more than just a pack rat. I'm a trash rat. I tend to hang on to useless garbage that should have been thrown away ages ago. Things like price tags, UPC stickers, boxes, and their ilk. These are examples of new item packaging that should have been discarded shortly after said item came home and went into use.

I justify keeping these things in case I have to return an item to the store. Not a bad idea, in theory. But when the Anthropologie or Banana Republic tags and stickers sit in my bathroom drawer for a three years--two years after I quit wearing the garment they were attached to--then we have a problem.

Same with our iron. When we bought a new one, I saved the box and receipt on the closet shelf just in case the purchase didn't work out. Five years later, the iron still works fine. We have no intention of returning it. In fact, Panasonic probably no longer makes this model. Yet for some reason, the dust covered box is still sitting on that shelf.

Back in March, we attended a couple of family weddings. Shortly before the events, I bought a new pair of pantyhose to go with my dress. Four months later, the cardboard pantyhose envelope is still in my dresser drawer.

But at least I'm not a completely hopeless case. A few weeks ago, I bought some new drinking glasses. As I unpacked them, I carefully peeled off the price stickers and lined them up on the kitchen counter..."just in case". After a week, I finally threw the stickers away. There was no point in keeping them. At this point, the worst thing that could happen is that a glass might crash land on the kitchen floor. That would be an accident...certainly not a defect of the glass that would warrant a return to the store.

Sunday Dishes: Viva La Purple!

Welcome to the first installment of 'Sunday Dishes'. I'm going start using each Sunday's blog post to show off my Fiesta and Harlequin dishes. This will be done in the same spirit as my previous 'Bargain of the Week', which I haven't done in awhile. That's because most of my recent deals have been boring non-bargains (like on Thursday when I paid $2.69/gallon for gas) or dishes. I've been having some good luck finding cheap very affordable vintage ware on eBay. Most of it will be showcased here.



One of the most fun parts of collecting Fiesta is the ability to experiment with different displays, layouts, and color combinations. I do more than feed my family with this stuff. I decorate with it, too. Here, I have Plum, Heather, Cinnabar, and Lilac on display in the kitchen baker's rack.

Feline Dental Care

This week, I had to take Jango to the vet for her yearly check-up and shots. During her examination, the doctor noticed how dirty Jango's teeth were. She was also showing signs of advancing gum disease. Apparently, this is a problem among the oriental breeds (Jango is Siamese) and she really needs to have her teeth brushed on a regular basis.

I had no idea! I had been around cats my entire life and the idea of cleaning a kitty's teeth had never been broached. After all, cats are infamous for their meticulous personal hygene. They lick themselves clean, and bury their own messes. So naturally I assumed that dental care was also part of the package.

So, not only do I have to start brushing Jango's teeth, I also had to buy a special toothbrush and kitty toothpaste. This turned out this was easier said than done. No such products were found at Target or Fry's. I had to make a special trip to PetSmart.

And that's another reason why I knew nothing of feline dental care--the lack of selection and availability of products required to do the job.

And what a fun job it's going to be. NOT! Jango doesn't like being held, much less have a plastic rod shoved in her mouth. This is definately going to be a two person job. A job that nobody is looking forward to doing. That's why we haven't done it just yet. The vet took care of that just the other day and her teeth are not yet dirty enough to warrart putting Jango--and us--through the pain.

More, Please...

Recently, I had been making lists of TV shows and commercials that, to put it mildly, I could live without. Below is a list of shows that I wouldn't mind seeing more of:


--The A&E Saturday morning lineup. Shows like: Biography, Sell This House, Flip This House, Find and Design, and especially...

--...Big Spender! Or as I like to call it, The-Valerie-Spends-Less-Money-Than-The-Rest-of-the-World-Show. This is one show that Q and I like to watch together. It features individuals or families who are deep in debt due to frivalous spending. Typical episodes revolve around the 28 year old girlie girl who still lives with her parents, drives a little red roadster, has 200 pairs of designer shoes, and works 20 hours a week as a receptionist. And there's always the under-employed boyfriend who persuaded his girlfriend into helping him buy an Infiniti SUV (he downgraded from a Hummer H2). I believe this same couple spent $450+ per month on restaurant meals.

Anyway, Larry Winget--a style challenged self-help guy (and Dr. Phil wannabe)-- comes in and literally cleans house. He eliminates frivolities from the family budget, and advises the debtors to cancel the cable, hold yard sales, sell their plasma screens and expensive cars, repay loans from relatives, and get part-time jobs. Big Spender is on at 11:30 Saturday mornings in Phoenix. Everyone else, check your local listings.

--Also, I wish A&E would bring back Airline. There's nothing funnier than watching some skanky drunken lush of a woman get agitated because she was denied boarding.

--The Griswold family vacation movies. Except for European Vacation...that's the only one that didn't have Cousin Eddie in it. They can play Christmas Vacation all year long as far as I'm concerned.

--Caveman commercials!!!!!!

--For SOAPnet to bring 80's nighttime soaps back to its schedule. Drop the teen dreamy shows like One Tree Hill, OC, and 90210. Bring back Dynasty, Falcon Crest, and especially Knots Landing.

--Reruns of Love Connection on Game Show Network.

--For TV Land to bring Three's Company back to its line-up. Please. And show it during normal waking hours...not at 3:30 in the morning.

--For Cox Cable to add the Style Network to it's Phoenix station lineup. I'd be more than happy to give up SPEED, Golf Channel, AND Fox News for this ONE channel.

--More real estate shows that aren't House Hunters.

--Cell phone commercials where Mom reads her kids the riot act for running up the bill or dumping unused minutes in the kitchen trash. Kudos if Mom takes away the phone.

--VH-1 reality shows that feature former child stars. Train wreck TV is fun to watch.

--Speaking of VH-1, how about more of those "I Love The___" shows. The 70s, 80s, and 90s have been done to death, but how about the 60s? Even though most of the VH-1 key demograpic wasn't even born in the 60s, we'd love a chance to see what we missed. And while I'm at it, please rerun When Kiss Ruled The World.

--Superfriends cartoons on Boomerang!

--The TLC Saturday night lineup. Flip That House, Moving Up, Property Ladder, and The Real Estate Pros. All real eatate, all night long!