Bedhead: Do I smell a rat?

I was in Opoku trading today, a place where you can get western stuff ( but still get a whole dried grasscutter)cause I dont have any soap. I found a large sized bottle of bedhead conditioner, which I have only used once before but loved it. It sells for around $20ish for a bottle usually at home. It was 5 cedi here, which is like 3 dollars. SAB does not pass up a sale, whether in Ghana or Ann Arbor.

I used it after I went for a jog ( another strange occurence yes, and yet another that I passed a japanese man walking down a residential street while I was jogging) and it smelled still fruity but kind of weird too-not an american hair product smell, BUT to get to the point, my hair looks really nice, non frizzy and nice curls. So I am wondering, is it really bedhead brand or is it a fake, and my nice looking hair is just my imagination/a placebo effect from thinking I am using a fancy conditioner? Or if you get the title, do I smell a grasscutter?

Hear it every time I am in Ghana...

Spinal Cord Injury

I am out by the pool at the hotel- there are a bunch of day users here ( who brought like forty eight feet tall speakers- I took a video but it would take three years to upload it). They are diving and back flipping into the SHALLOW end of the pool. Why? I figured it out- cause they CAN'T SWIM. I even asked them to go the deep end, telling them I was scared they would break their neck ( between that and my momkini I am filling the motherly role here) and they just giggled at me. The shallow end is about up to my belly button.

RIP

Sai Baba RIP Easter 2011

I left my heart....

I just got off a skype call with my family. The big girls had written books for me, and they both read them to me. They were about how much they love me and miss me. Then Mere was on the screen talking away, saying "you come back mommy?, you come back?", only all I could see was her little head bc the screen wasn't on her face. Then all four sang me Happy Easter and then left to go play at the playground. Sob. I cried.

Dammit all

I just dropped my deodorant on the ground and it shattered into a million pieces. I have seven days left of serious sweat. I needed that.

Tay wit me

I told Meredith I am going on an airplane tomorrow ( assuming my passport and visa show up) and she looked me deep in the eyes and said "Tay wit me". It was so sweet and heartbreaking at the same time.

Homemade Goat Cheese

I havent made it yet, but I want to. This is from this blog
http://littlehomesteadinthevalley.blogspot.com/2011/04/basic-goat-cheese.html

Basic Goat Cheese

I saved up some more milk to make another batch of goat cheese and this time I photographed it for you.

Slowly heat 4 cups of fresh milk to 180F.

Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup lemon juice. Stir and let curdle for 30 seconds. It should very lightly curdle.

This batch curdled more than the last and resulted in a drier, more crumbly cheese.

Pour into a sieve (over a bowl) lined heavily with cheesecloth. Limey used 4 layers.

Tie it up and hang it over the sieve/bowl to let all the whey drip out.

After an hour or so gently squeeze out any remaining whey.

Mix in some herbs and a little salt. Pat into a mold or just smoosh into a ball. Serve with crackers or a nice crusty bread.

Always a classy choice, Ritz crackers.

That's it. Yummy goat cheese.

A Mother's Prayer for Her Daughters by Tina Fey

The Mother’s Prayer for Its Daughter
Tina Fey from her new book Bossypants, 2011

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her
When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short - a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day - And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.

Meredithisms

Today she activated the emergency system on my iphone AND logged me out of my iphone - it was in emergency only mode.

Other happenings

This was at a controlled burn at a park, see the fire in the top left in the grass?
They set it up as a learning experience for the kids. My girls were like whoop de doo a fire let's play on the snowpile and the playground and climb a tree ( see below).
Ice skating lessons. 1pm on Sundays. Not a convenient time. Glad they are done.
This was me trying to get Mad to take a passport pic of me. I could not shake the two little ones. They assumed since a camera was out it was time for them to pose ( by pose, I mean, stand in front of the camera but not actually look at it or smile).
Columbus, OH- I was raised to believe it was the armpit of America. Me in front of my poster.

First grade chorus show. They sang a rap song to a hip hop track called Digga Digga Dog. No joke. Fifty first graders rapping at the same time, it was a real treat.
Three little princesses-

Current happenings

I have exactly seven days left in this semester.

At the end of the seven days, I will have officially completed my first year.

At the end of the seven days, I will be officially half down with course work.

At the end of the seven days, I will be on a plane to Ghana.

In the next seven days, I have two papers and a final exam due.

As my legions of readers know, I am on a grant that is based in Ghana. They are supposed to pay my tuition, but since my fellowship paid it the first year, they planned to use the $ on other things (fair? Don't know, I just figured it is the plight of the doctoral student). So I just found out that my fellowship doesn't pay my tuition in the summer so I asked them to pony up for just the summer tuition. They said sure no problem but oops the research funds are in Ghana and they have been trying for 3 months to get them over here. So my tuition is due in two weeks and I, of course, am the only one that is freaking out about it. I am not quite sure how to politely go about this. We have a meeting Friday and I really hope there is at least some mention of it. I am trying to stay professional since I realize no one really cares or is focused on it but me- I dont think it even crosses their mind until I bring it up. Awkward.

Don't tell my Dad, or Patrick....

I cleaned out the pantry ( bc it no longer exists in its current state, I was forced to) and I found these. Patrick and Dad will never let me live this down.

This means that I moved an expired $.055 cent can of evaporated milk with us across the country three years ago. When I poured it out, it was chunky.

Meganisms

Mommy how can you become a grandma if you are finished growing?

Please.

Is it too much to ask for the temperature to go above 38 degrees? It is April 7 already.

Let's Go Swimming, Let's Go Swimming...

Megan's recital was last night. It was so cute!