Peanuts and Cracker Jack ...

Yes! Today was a baseball day, which means, for me, experiencing heaven on earth.
The minor-league baseball game (Go T-Bones!) started at 11 this morning. Spouse and I met another couple at the stadium and for the next seven hours (no kidding ... there was a double header, and the first game played lasted 4 hours, 10 minutes) we drank beer and ate dollar hotdogs and laughed and behaved immaturely.
However, I did catch a rather miserable sunburn ... should have applied my sunscreen more liberally and more often ... .
But the best part of the day was spending glorious time outlining my summer writing project, which I did this morning, bored to distraction in my husband's office. I'd gone to work with him stupidly early (he arrives at his desk each morning at 6:15) and after listening to him talk through various telcons for ninety minutes, I sneaked off to the lounge and pulled out my pen and set to work.
Part cookbook, part memoir, the book will celebrate my blue-collar Midwestern upbringing. Tentatively titled chapters include "Broccoli-Rice Casserole," "Fried Egg Sandwiches," "Gravy," and "Recession Food." Of course one chapter will be devoted to my love and profound appreciation for Miracle Whip. If it's never published officially (Read: reputable publishing house) I'll just vanity press it and leave copies for posterity. I really don't want my mom to die before I get out of her how it is exactly she made her famous pork chops in brown gravy, or how to assemble the milk toast dish she talked about from her own childhood.
I'm jazzed to start the writing.
Stay posted!

Rainy days and Tuesdays ...

I'm extremely affected by the weather.
Today the sky is threatening rain and I'm feeling blue. I'd really wanted to head to the pool today to soak up the Vitamin D; also, being at the pool means not having my hand in the Doritos bag.
***
So I went shopping, which always improves the mood. First, I did some Internet therapy, ordering a cute/artsy Chico's top and a beautiful vintage-reproduction tea dress from my favorite Web site ever: www.victoriantradingco.com

Then, I headed over to Kohl's (the real store) and picked up two pairs of sandals. Very cute. Bought a new bag and a busy-print Vera Wang summer dress.

Saw my hairdresser at the appointed 2 p.m. time and sat, scalp burning, under the dryer while my color oxidized. Two and a half hours I was there, total, and when I left the salon the gray clouds dumped a deluge. Yippee! My hair looked salon-styled for an entire four minutes.

Fortunately, I have the newest Elizabeth Berg title to finish reading.
Must make some hot black coffee and curl up in my cuddly chair.

Coupla things ...

My sis turned 45 this Saturday. She and I and a few of the Bunco Babes met for biscuits and gravy (ohmy) at the local eatery. My sis wore a blinking rhinestone birthday tiara. Very fun. We then went back to my house to organize for a morning garage sale hunt. While there, Sis made a comment about the length of Husband's grass (my husband, not hers) ... about how long it was, and if he was holding out for me to do the mowing.
That was Saturday morning, around 10:30.
My husband is still not speaking to me.
He sucks. Male pouting is disturbing on so many levels.
My neighbor friend, Nancy -- also a teacher -- theorizes that Husband is pouty not just because his male ego was hit, but because I'm out of school for the summer and he still has to work Monday through Friday. There is definitely a transition time, that's for sure.
***
I've decided to start going to Overeaters Anonymous. Yes, I, Kate, am an overeater. I've been an overeater ever since I discovered bologna with the red string and Miracle Whip. So what was I ... four or five? I have a particular fondness for sandwiches, and all the goodies that go into the construction of a good sandwich. ... A local hospital hosts the OA meetings on Saturday afternoons. My sis (birthday sis) says she'll go with me. We talked briefly about stopping for breakfast first, but then we laughed at the same time and decided against that.
One of these days I'm going to write a memoir about my food addiction. For years I just thought I liked to eat, and then it occurred to me that my issues with food weren't just food related. It's that old "It's not what you're eating, it's what's eating you" philosophy. Sometimes I'll cook just to cook, as I love it so, but generally, I cook because I feel a compulsion to spoon warm bread pudding into my mouth at midnight. It's figuring out what triggers the compulsion that I need assistance with addressing. I'll let you know how the OA meeting goes, only I think I have to post anonymously or something ... I remember reading somewhere that what happens at an OA meeting must stay at an OA meeting, under punishment of death.
***
I am currently feeling compelled to sell my house and buy another, which is a stupid thought because the economy is in the toilet and real estate is suffering. Who might buy this house in particular when there are 467 other homes in the area available?
***
Yes!!!!! I just discovered one of my favorite writer's Web site: Elizabeth Berg. You'll have to check it out if you're a Berg fan: http://www.elizabeth-berg.net/.
Happy perusing!

School's out

Whew! Another school year has come and gone, and I gotta say: Amen!
By late-May, I am exhausted at every level possible: mentally, physically, socially, even spiritually. Lately, no thought has come in solitude; I've been pulled in 99 different directions.
And I can't breeze right now into the summer holiday, as I still have four assignments remaining in my Project EXCELL class (I'm studying to become an ELL ... English Language Learner ... teacher!) The drop-dead due date for the lesson plans/reading responses is Tuesday, May 26.
But I'm back to this blog, which makes me sublimely happy, as I've missed writing --and reading -- others' writing.
Ah, sweet, sweet summer!

"The summer's flower is to the summer sweet." (Shakespeare, Sonnet 94)

Snowed in ... in all ways possible

Here it is, icing and snowing outside, and it's nearly April.
What is going on?
Weird weather has long fascinated me, which explains why I love the movie THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW so much. Check it out if you haven't seen it. Fantastic special effects!
***
So here I am, at home on a Saturday, which RARELY happens. Saturday's my day to spend my way. I tinker around town, window shop, get something decadent to eat (usually chocolate), drive somewhere I've never been, get the car detailed inside and out, watch my kind of movie.
But, NO, I'm stuck at home. Confounding!
Only good thing: I can finally update my blog.

School is consuming me. If it's not teaching seventh grade and preparing for the most-detested MAP test (standardized testing), it's attending night school and feeling overwhelmed with master's-level homework. This is what I get for waiting until my mid-40's to get the bigger degree.
***
Sadly, my mother's health is deteriorating. Hospice care has been called in. Mom imp[roves by two degrees and then slips back; gets better, gets worse. My sis and I went out to visit last Sunday. We played a few games of Scrabble. Mom's mind is intact ... it's her body that's giving out.

To the readers I have: hang in with me, please. Once school gets out I'll be all over this blog. Right now I'm snowed under -- literally!

Blessing to all,
Kate

Spilling my blog guts!

One of my favorite bloggers, Audrey, has recently conducted an on-line interview. Here are the five questions she has posed in order to learn more about Mom Sequitur.

1. What film best reflects your life and why?
THE BIG FISH, by Tim Burton (based on the novel by Daniel Wallace). Because I'm a Leo and therefore enjoy (at times) being the center of attention, I've longed to be a big fish in a big pond.
As it is, however, I turned out to be a medium-sized fish in one of those murky goldfish indoor ponds frequently seen in Chinese restaurant lobbies.
I consider THE BIG FISH one of the finest movies I've ever seen. I recommend it to nearly every person I meet. And, it is true when I tell them that this movie made me feel comfortable with death and dying.

2. Do you have any unfulfilled childhood ambitions?
Definitely! I didn't have enough children. As a child, I wanted to be the quintessential Catholic Mama, a stay-at-home-barefoot-and-pregnant-meatloaf-mixin'-breastfeedin'-rosary-prayin'-mother-of-nine. The children would wear Saints medals and hand-me-downs that always looked spiffy because Catholic Mamas are superb laundresses. I would have Priscilla Presley hair and wear lots of eye liner. My husband, who'd be named Michael or John, or Michael-John, would delight in my perpetually swollen belly and kiss me often in church. There would always be enough money, even though we sent nine children through Catholic Schools, Grade K-12, because we tithed our full percent and were good stewards of the treasure God had bestowed upon us!
Reality: I have three children. Two of them have "left" the church. (They are, however, named after Saints ... Catherine, Thomas, and Elizabeth!) My husband did NOT share in my childhood fantasy to parent so many children. Sometimes I feel a little resentful, especially considering I'm in my forties now and the window of motherhood has closed.

3. What is the most important object in your house?
One of my 800 or so books. I am a true bibliophile. I love the smell of a book, the weight of it in my hands, the feel of the pages. Finally, after YEARS of begging and pleading and, oh, yeah, I'll say it: NAGGING!, my husband constructed built-in shelves for the living room. Whenever I walk into the house, I am instantly calmed by the comfort and wisdom emanating from the shelves.

4. Do you have any secret talents or skills?
For some reason, I excel at leg wrestling. I think I could take down a pro wrestler. Really.

5. If you could travel through time where would you like to go?
The Victorian Era! I'd like to be a wealthy woman, however, and have lots of embroidery to do to while away the hours. Bring on the patterned wallpaper and abundance of ferns, let me wear the corsets and hats with feathers! My favorite Web site is http://www.victoriantradingco.com/. I peruse it frequently.

Would YOU like to be interviewed?
Write "Ask Me" in the response line, and I'll get some interview questions out to you!
Thanks for reading!

I {heart} Obama!

He makes me feel hopeful.
He makes me feel secure.
He makes me feel positive.
He makes me feel humane.
He makes me feel optimistic.
He makes me feel happy.

I can't wait to see what good will surely come from this administration.