Carry on

Okay, okay, okay! Yes, we are alive and well but it has been a crazy week and I get to every night and literally fall into bed with no thoughts (or brain cells) left for blogging. Plus I can’t find my camera battery charger. I’m hoping to find that today and if I do I’ll be back with some photos from this week.

(I think it’s in the bin o’ junk still up in the attic from when we pretend-sold our house.)

My decision to switch (I know, finally!)

Several of you have asked me why I decided to switch to self-hosted WordPress. If you were one of those people, well, today is your lucky day!

There were a few major reasons, and then several little ones (icing on the cake) and I’ll get to both. But I need to state up front, if you are a beginning blogger and have no idea what CSS or FTPing is, stick with the training wheels of Blogger.com for now. It is the easiest and most beginner-friendly platform. I was (mostly) happy with it while I was there.

(Except, yes, you can shell out $150+ to have someone switch everything over for you and show you around your new and improved blog. I did not have the money to do that and so I did everything myself. Trust me, it’s INVOLVED. Shout out to Lisa, who helped me with a few tweaks.)

The first major reason was my pesky blog address. It used to be www.pleasepassthesalt1(dot)com. That “1” was a detail that people would have to remember. I wanted to drop it, but pleasepassthesalt(dot)com is unavailable, and has been as long as I’ve been blogging.

The next best option was pleasepassthesalt.net, which I’ve actually owned for over a year but couldn’t use it on Blogger. So there was a time-sensitive issue with my domain name (or “web address” or “URL”) and I decided to take the plunge and have it transferred, so I could actually use it. I can now tell a stranger pleasepassthesalt(dot)net and they can easily remember it. Or at least that’s what I hope.

The second major reason was the clunky photo uploads into Blogger. I HATED how when you upload a photo, it would automatically go to the very top of the post, even if you wanted it down under some text. And if you uploaded more than one photo, they’d usually be all out of order and I’d have to cut and paste several times. WordPress inserts photos how and where you want them. (I was running out of free storage on Blogger anyway, so there’s that (although yes, you can code them in from places like Photobucket OR purchase more storage space from Google).)

After I began writing for Chic Critique, which is run on WordPress, I began to notice how much better the photo uploading system is. There’s also a media gallery where all photos, videos, etc. are stored in a central location (instead of solely within individual posts on Blogger). You can also add or edit photo titles and descriptions. Oh! And you can edit or resize photos, even after they are in the post — no having to delete and start over.

The third big reason was the WordPress Preview feature. LOVE. On Blogger you can ‘preview’ a post but it’s within the posting box and you really don’t know where the text is actually going to fall within a published post. The WordPress preview loads a separate page of the WHOLE BLOG and it looks like a fully-published post. I can see EXACTLY what my words and photos are going to look like.

Now that I’ve been here a little while, I would also say the Dashboard is more streamlined and functional, once I got used to it. I can see recent comments, quick edit posts, add in sidebar links and all that kind of stuff very easily without having to click around much. Drafts also have their own little space.

I like that WordPress lists my permalink to a post, even in draft. Handy. WP gives you details like the word count for your posts. The Categories (like ‘labels’ in Blogger) are also a little easier to apply.

More technically speaking, I like that I can have static pages (i.e. the links under my About section right there to the top right) and WordPress also has thousands of plugins that make the platform even more customizable and functional. You simply have more control with absolutely everything. And it’s MINE. I host myself, Google doesn’t.

(Which brings me to another thought; there IS a difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. WordPress.com is another free platform that uses the WordPress software (but you’ll have wordpress.com in your URL and you have to purchase an upgrade in order to customize your stylesheet, etc). It is hosted (not by the blogger). WordPress.org is where self-hosters download the software to use on their 3rd party server and it’s an open source. However, you also have to pay for the hosting whereas Blogger and WordPress.com are free.)

A good explanation of the difference is here. I chose BlueHost for my server and downloaded WordPress.org onto my server. Then I chose a customizable theme on the internet, downloaded it to my computer, uploaded it to my server, and then made it look like my blog is supposed to look. (It’s a little bit more difficult than that, but I’m sure I’ve bored everyone to tears by now anyway.)

So basically, WordPress is better, more powerful software (“industry standard”), you have total control and ownership, more room to grow and way more options. BUT AGAIN, unless you’re wanting to take your blog to the next level and willing to pay someone to help you make the switch (or are committed to teaching yourself how to do it), I’d recommend sticking with Blogger. Especially if you’re just starting out with this thing they call blogging.

Emphasis on ‘flex’ in flexitarian

Remember this?

I’ve been meaning to write an update ever since Kristin asked me at a day-after-Christmas party if we were still eating Vegan.

That would be a negative, Tower.

Silly as it sounds, the kicker was finding out about the peanut allergy in Drew’s preschool class. I could not think of an adequate send-to-school lunch that was kid AND vegan friendly but did not involve peanut butter & jelly.

And easy. (That’s the operative word.)

So I usually gave him turkey, cheese, crackers, and fruit. I figured it was only twice a week; it wouldn’t hurt anything.

But then Andy also mentioned he sort of felt like the substantial increase of gluten and other grains had possibly been irritating his stomach. He just generally felt less than 100%. So we added back in some dairy and poultry. There is really nothing like a good egg for breakfast.

I still do not buy red meat. I still do not give my children cow’s milk. I do put some half n’ half in my coffee, although I never really stopped doing that. (I mean, I have my limits.) Adelaide drinks rice milk, as do the other kids. And I still use Smart Balance in lieu of butter.

So, there you have it. It doesn’t affect the state of the Union but there it is, in case you wondered.

Christmas Trees and Hatching Spiders

Our very first married Christmas, Andy had this big idea to go chop down a tree himself somewhere near our house. He had a buddy that lived relatively nearby, in a tiny attic apartment in the middle of several acres of wooded land. They decided they’d easily find a suitable tree around there and set out together one day, saw in hand.

The tree Andy brought home looked like a scrawny, if tall, Charlie Brown tree. Apparently it was the best they could find. Ugly, but it smelled wonderfully fresh. Whatever; it was real, and that was the main thing I cared about.

Fast forward several weeks, around New Year’s. We had invited some good friends over for food and fellowship. We were still pretty ‘footloose and fancy free’ in our little circle of friends (i.e. no one had any kids yet), and planned on enjoying an evening together with no time constraints.

And in honor of having guests over, we had turned up the heat.

Big, big mistake.

Remember, our tree came from the woods, organically. It hadn’t been treated like all the other Christmas tree farm trees or the ones at Lowe’s.

All of the sudden, all the creatures hibernating in our tree warmed up and thought winter was over. I think I even heard a little “poof!”

Teeny, teeny spiders coming out, en masse. They moved like a blanket, slowly crawling outwards from the tree, covering everything. We sat frozen for a minute and stared, horrified. I’d never seen anything like it.

The next thing I knew, Andy and Nick had thrown open the front door and yanked the tree out to the porch — ornaments, lights, and all. I grabbed the vacuum and Stef helped me move all the furniture. I continued vacuuming until I thought surely I had gotten them all. (And then vacuumed a little more, for good measure.)

A little bit of a mood-killer, wouldn’t you say?

And yes, every year since then we’ve gotten our tree from Lowe’s. End of story.

Sick

I’ll get back to blogging when I’m not trying to blow my nose off and my head stops pounding.

I’m sure you understand.

Random and Unconnected

Happy Sunday to ya!

Couple o’ things. First, if you’re bored interested, you can now follow me on Twitter (note the little linkage on my left sidebar below the ads). It’s like mini blogging. And if you don’t have the time or desire to blog yourself, consider it – it’s quick, painless, and fun. Easy way to keep up. Send me your link if you do (or if you already have one!).

That means you, Dolly. Pressure’s on.

Yesterday as we were discussing possible plans for the day, Madeline asked to do something and I said maybe we would later. She looked up and asked “nexterday?”

I think she just coined a new word.

Nexterday, all my troubles seemed so far away…

And last night I listened to my ipod while I folded all the laundry (that never occurred to me before – what can I say? I’m slow about such things), and I realized I’ve finally come to terms with the laundry and the fact that there’s always more. It used to drive me absolutely crazy. We’re friends now.

Or at least tolerated acquaintances.

And, lastly, I stumbled upon a new food crush. Yesterday I felt like eating a big ol’ yummy sandwich just like the good ol’ days before we got hit by the vegan train. So I toasted two pieces of bread (9 grain), slathered one side with mustard and the other with mayo, and then stacked it with two fat slices of ripe red tomato, dill pickles, a few circles of red onion, and topped it with fresh spinach. SO GOOD! You never even miss the meat and cheese. Seriously, try it. (Make sure the tomato is right next to the mustard and the spinach (or lettuce if that’s what you have on hand) is next to the mayo. Yes, it matters.)

You’re welcome.

Bits of Randomness

Afterall, what’s a blog for?

As I was folding laundry this morning, the thought occurred to me: how many white tank tops does one woman need? Several, apparently.

Madeline has an accent that’s sort of a Bostonian/New Yorker mix. We have no idea where it came from but it provides us with an endless source of amusement.

I had run out of my asthma med. samples two days ago and finally got around to calling for a real prescription last night. No wonder I was so tired yesterday! Today I’m feeling much better. Breathing is sort of, you know, useful.

Did I ever mention we’re going to another cousin’s wedding? This one is in Florida. I KNOW! I feel like the Priceline Queen, too. I used their “name-your-own-price” feature and scored a hotel for $45-a-night and a minivan rental for $25-a-day. Oh, and the Southwest airplane tickets were only $49 per way, per person. So it really has turned into the bargain hunter’s dream vacation. I mean ‘wedding trip.’ Ahem.

Adelaide has taken to using the back of her neck as a napkin. I never know what I’m going to find back there. Spaghetti sauce, anyone? She also likes to hold toys behind her head and drop them behind her back and then she’ll turn around to look and see if they’re still there. She’s an odd one.

And, finally, look what happened to me yesterday, mid-stride:

Yes, in case you’re wondering, those are the same ones that were chewed on. (I had cut off the, uh, ragged part.) They were obviously destined for the trash bin. The same thing happened to me last year with a different brown pair. Good thing they’re so cheap! (Literally.)

My Favorite Things

* homemade sweet tea with real lemon slices (my summertime drink of choice)

* thick slices of ripe tomato right next to the mustard on my sandwich

* freshly painted toenails

* stand up comedy (if it’s clever and mostly clean)

* snail mail (excluding any type of bill)

* BLOG COMMENTS!

* naptime with a good book

* new clothes

* shoe sales

* a tan

* chips and fresh salsa

* impromptu dates with my hubby

* music turned on

* sunshine

Photo Dump

Woe unto my couch pillows:

Pouting:

Cheap entertainment:

Cookie helpers:

Drew’s parking lot:

Too big for baby Andrew’s carseat (but that didn’t stop her):

Future concert pianist:

Slightly used:

Bed hair:

Andy brought home some yummy treats once:

“Yes” does not mean the whole box:

When you send your kid off for a bath, make sure he can manage his own shirt:

More cheap entertainment:

Chasing groundhogs:

Home box office:

Homemade pizza:

Where is your mother?

Keeps him occupied:

Taking her baby “to the hospital” (with my purse):

Their version of a funny face:

Cheeks:

And we don’t even have a dog!

What’s a Pampers coupon doing in a Luvs package?

Adelaide, the wipe waster:

The End.

Whaa??

On the way home from the park the other day:

Isn’t that an oxymoron?

Why ‘Please Pass the Salt’?

Usually when Andy gets a harebrained idea, he talks big about it for a day or a week and then it sort of fizzles out. I’ve learned, from past experiences, not to take his outrageous ideas seriously and have perfected the art of what we call the ‘smile and wave.’

Sure, honey, we can move to Austria. I’ll start packing my bags. (Not really.) Oh, Japan? Well, sure, okay! (Not really.)

So you can imagine my surprise when I found myself here, up North, surrounded by a heap of moving boxes with a seminarian for a husband. How did this happen?!

And then I found myself missing my old friends and church and city so much I could hardly breathe. I started this here blog as a way to keep them in touch with our new lives here. And, also, as a way for me to process and record this new phase of life.

When Blogger asked me for a blog title, I wanted an easy-to-remember, everydayish sort of phrase. And I have a friendliness towards, well, salt, and my husband always asks me if I’d like some food with mine. Why yes, yes I would. So I use the phrase ‘please pass the salt’ myself quite regularly.

(And furthermore, I think good manners are an important part of any civilized society. Hence the “Please,” see?)

Oh and also, it’s an allusion to the salt and light reference of Matthew 5:13.

There. So now you know.

Coming Soon, to a Ch@ttanooga Near You

Sewage Disaster Update: the mess is gone, the smell remains. (In the bathroom, at least.) I need to go buy some bleach. I will save you the trauma of posting any pictures. You can thank me anytime.

Moving right along.

Now what was it I was going to blog about?

Oh yes, that’s right. My mom is flying here to help me (and the kids) drive down to Ch@ttanooga. for a Grand Ole Visit, otherwise known as a Big Week o’ Nothing But Fun. If you happen to be a friend who lives in that Wonderful Town, er, City – send me an e-mail or give me a ring and I’ll add you to the Calendar o’ Fun.

I first need to get my brakes checked and the van dvd player fixed, obviously. Because I don’t think I could survive the trip without my friends Buzz and Lightning. Oh, and Benedryl, he’s my friend, too.

At any rate, I don’t think I need to tell you that I CAN HARDLY WAIT.

Labor Day is Sale Day

Andy promised me that this morning he’d do everything for the kids and I could sleep in. (Really it was his well-laid plan to sweet talk me into him hanging out with the guys after church last night.) So today started as a “Happy Labor Day” to me.

I did not feel one ounce of guilt about going back to sleep when I heard the usual “Mommy! Open the door!” coming from the peanut gallery.

The kids got both Daddy and Grandmom to take them out for a walk. Two walks in one morning, must’ve been a holiday. I did finally get up, got myself ready, and re-dressed Madeline (I knew that would be necessary when I saw what she was wearing and Andy said “look, I dressed her like a popsicle!” …he was referring to her various brightly-colored items of unmatched clothing) so that she would be presentable when we made our daily appearance at Target.

Of course we had to go, it being Labor Day and all.

Oh, the Labor Day sales, y’all. I had finally narrowed down my search of an acceptable TV cabinet and what better time to buy something than when it is on sale? We’re moving again soon, which I may have mentioned before, and so Sale Day was also the perfect time to pick up the kid bedding for the new rooms. And some fall clothes. And Q-tips.

It was a shopping day in heaven, as far as shopping days go. Well, except for the part where the Target employees had to actually get the armoire box loaded into my van. It was no small feat – I’ll leave it at that. And then I didn’t realize I had left the back hatch up and started driving off towards the road. I finally realized they were honking AT ME and stopped. A nice man ran over and returned the items that had fallen out the back. I had almost driven off without Madeline’s new quilt.

It was all a touch embarrassing.

After we move and everything is in its place I’ll have to host a virtual tour. And you can just pretend to be interested.

A Good Day All Around

Today was quite full of good news. Apparently one of the other wine reps just upped and quit and the bosses dropped her accounts into Andy’s lap.

Let’s all say a prayer of thanksgiving. This family will continue to eat.

Andy came home a little earlier this afternoon and since I’m terribly concerned with his emotional well-being, I dropped everything and left him to babysit.

Because the second he walked in the door I realized I could potentially use him being home for the much-anticipated and all-important matter of getting my hair cut. So I flipped through the yellow pages, picked out the best-looking ad, called to see if they had someone that could cut my hair RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE and grabbed my keys. All in about, oh, 4 minutes.

A new haircut. It does a mama good.

And then I took advantage of being out alone and ran in the mall to exchange some jeans I had bought for Madeline (because I’m pretending fall is right around the corner). And as I neared the store I read “25% Off Entire Store!” Well, this must just be my lucky day. They even let me have the sale price off of my receipt even though I didn’t have all the items there with me. The difference was exactly -$3.61. But it made me feel better. I mean, that’s a whole half a pair of socks or something.

Oh, and today was my mom-in-law’s birthday. And I’ve been prepared ALL MONTH LONG! I might have mentioned it before. Anyway, so she just opened her present and as far as I can tell is really excited about making rice the modern way.

And I’m excited about my hair. A good day all around.

(Very) Random Tidbits

I wore a flower in my hair today. Just thought you might want to know that. Andy liked it.

And then proceeded to tell me about how it reminded him of the Top 50 Celebrity Fashion Faux Pas something or other that he saw on TV. Something about a mostly-beautiful green dress but that it had a bow on the shoulder that was nearly the size of an elephant.

Apparently he did not think my flower was dainty or petite. But he liked it nonetheless. Men.

I also should mention that his orientation was today at the seminary. He starts class on Monday. Here we go! Last chance to take a peek around before the rollercoaster heads toward a looming drop-off.

So since Andy was busy with school stuff and most likely going to be gone all day, I decided to use the last free kids’ meal coupon for Chick-Fil-A that we got sometime during VBS week. (Since it clearly does no one any good once it expires.) And if you think three small children by myself at a fast food joint sounds like volunteered torture, you’re probably right.

It really wasn’t as bad as all that. I let Drew sit in a real chair and kept the girls buckled snugly into the double stroller. That stroller is an old, trusty friend. The worst part was after lunch when Drew ran around unrestrained while I was trying to get the baby back into the sling and then I had to catch him to put him back into the stroller. I could feel the eyes watching me then. I’ve gotten used to the eyes. And the “wow, you have your hands full!” comment I know is coming as soon as anyone looks at me with their mouth open.

You know, sometimes I want to ask the old ladies huddled over in the corner eating their chicken sandwiches if they knew they were coming to the restaurant for food and entertainment. Because my kids are committed to providing them with only the best.

Oh! I finished picking out paint and carpet. So now I’ll just continue to hold my breath until I actually see it. The phrase, “nervous anticipation” comes to mind.

And lastly, as we were driving home from church tonight we smelled a skunk. And then I heard, “Mommy, my nose hurts!” Well put, Drew, well put.

Breath of (Very) Fresh Air

Today was a much-needed break of a day. Last week was just plain rough. I’m not even going to talk about it because I’d rather just forget the whole thing ever happened.

So! My mom-in-law had planned for us to go out to tea with one of her friends from the church. Andy was duly warned, oh about three weeks ago, and was buttered up good for his solo day with the kids. We weren’t even set to leave until after 1, but he took it upon himself to play with them all morning so I could take care of the baby and, also, get ready.

Which meant he was ready for a break right when we were ready to walk out the door. I think his words were, “now I know how you feel.”

Oh, buddy. You ain’t got a clue.

But! On the bright side, it was naptime. So he put them down for a nap and as far as I knew, went on his merry way.

[Now may I just interject here? One of his ideas was to take the kids (All! Three! Kids!) to the church pool party, also going on today. I'm not really sure what drug he was hallucinating on, but I talked him out of that idea right quick.)

Y’all. A couple of towns over is a shopping/dining extravaganza I never even knew existed! (And we only walked past the entrance to the tearoom three times before we finally realized where it was. It looked more like a flowery home-decor shop.) I don’t even need to tell you that I enjoyed every sip and every bite. Oh, and, without children.

And then the three of us walked around in the “feels like 104″ heat and window shopped. That’s the kind of ‘shopping’ that makes you break the Tenth Commandment even if you are trying really hard not to.

I didn’t spend a penny.

Not that I didn’t want to at times, mind you. And then we drove home. Sigh.

I walked in the house to find that instead of their usual three-hour nap, the kids had only slept about an hour. I kind of felt sorry for Andy but then I remembered this was a measly taste of the battering I get daily. So I put that thought right out of my little head. And, besides, he seemed in quite good spirits when I got home.

After dinner, we put the kids in their jammies and left them with the in-laws and went to see “The Bourne Ultimatum.”

I don’t even remember the last time I went out, alone, with Andy. So it was high time for a real date. And this time, since we’d just finished dinner, we actually refrained from the popcorn drowned in fake butter. I know, a true battle of self-control.

Oh, the movie. Well, you’ll just have to go see it.

Back In Business

After some minor connection problems (such as Andy slamming on the breaks and launching the laptop off the passenger seat and breaking the wireless card) we are finally back up and running. All I can say is thank goodness for insurance.

No Reservations

Now. Andy and I both saw the German original “Mostly Martha” and loved it. (Thanks, Nicky.) So, I was expecting to really not like the remake. But my mom and sisters are here for a few days and they wanted to see it (not having seen Mostly Martha).

Andy and I are not ones to turn down a free movie. Or popcorn drowned in fake butter.

So we all went last night and I must admit, we were more than pleasantly surprised. The trailer, in my opinion, made the movie look, well, not very good. But the movie itself was much better than anticipated. Andy and I both really liked it. (Which is saying something.) I asked him about all the restaurant stuff (since he knows about such things) and he said he felt it was pretty much spot on. Except she wouldn’t have gotten that phone call in the kitchen. And who really cares about that?!

And while I’m giving movie reviews here, my parents also recommended to us “Miss Potter.” We got it a couple of weeks ago through the mail from “The Blockbuster Netflix,” as Andy calls it.

Really liked that one, too.