Thinking some more

Why I'm voting for Mitt Romney

2012-02-27T09:26:00.003-05:00

Our Republican Presidential Primary is tomorrow, and my vote will be going to Mitt Romney.

I saw him speak this weekend at a Town Hall meeting. My plan was to vote for him before the meeting, but that decision was finalized by the time the meeting was done.

Mitt Romney has years of experience, both as a businessman and as Governor of Massachusetts. Running a business and running a State transfers into good experience for "running a Country", when done well.

I have actually heard arguments that Gov. Romney's wealth is a reason for him to not be elected: "He can't understand what the common man is going through." His wealth shows that he worked hard and was successful at what he did. While Gov. Romney does not talk about any failures, like anyone else, I am sure he had some ventures that did not quite go his way. The American Dream is that you can work hard and be successful. Clearly he has achieved the American Dream. I don't think that means he doesn't understand us.

Then there's "Romneycare". It's a STATE run health mandate, which is different than a National one. It has worked reasonably well in MA, but that doesn't mean it's suitable for our country, and Gov. Romney acknowledges that.

At the Town Hall meeting, we were provided with a book, Believe i n America, that outlined some of Romney's plans, as well as the costs of some of President Obama's current programs. This book can be downloaded at mittromney.com

If elected, on day one Romney plans to provide waiver to states to opt out of Obamacare, while he works toward repealing it. That's the first step in getting health care out of federal hands, and saving taxpayers trillions of dollars by not funding it at the national level. Yes, some of these costs may come back to us via the states, but it will be up to state legislatures to decide how these programs are formed.

Our corporate business tax rate has not decreased in the past couple decades as much as that of other countries. That needs to be done to encourage small businesses to invest and hire.

So may other issues that have come up in debates are non-issues. Changing from pro-choice to pro-life? Have you ever changed your mind about an important issue? That's a normal part of growth and change, and Romney has been pro-life since the first bill crossed his desk as Governor that pertained to abortion. He realized he was pro-life, and could not sign it. From that point on, he has been consistently pro-life. Ronald Reagan was pro-choice before he was pro-life. Heck, Ronald Reagan was a democrat before he was a republican!

The book is full of great information - I suggest you take a look at it, and seriously consider voting for Mitt Romney.

I am the Tooth Fairy for this continent only.

2012-02-20T10:06:00.002-05:00

My son lost his third tooth this past weekend, and I thought I was busted.

He said that "Maybe YOU bring something and YOU'RE the tooth fairy." I asked why he would say something like that, and he said he saw me last time. I told him I was asleep, and that if he thought he saw something like that, I would think he would have mentioned it before. He said he was waiting for the next tooth to fall out.

I wasn't sure if he was testing me, so I took it to the ridiculous level, and I said "So you're saying I go all around the world delivering a treat to every child that loses a tooth?" He said "No, just North America." He later told me he was kidding, and that he knows I'm asleep when she comes.

Luckily, my son does not like to keep the tooth under his pillow - He puts it next to his bed, and leaves a note asking her not to take the tooth, just to "please leave me something, if possible". Since I was too worried about going in there after he went to sleep this time, hubby distracted him when he was getting in bed, and I left his tooth fairy gift on the floor at the foot of the bed. We figured he'd hopefully not find it until morning, but if for some reason he got out of bed and found it before he fell asleep, he'd figure she's just THAT good and snuck in while he was awake.

This morning he told me he saw me come in again, but this time I knew he was trying to set me up. :)

Snack police!

2012-01-24T10:23:00.004-05:00

Apparently my son has the snack police in his second grade classroom. I gave him a S pecia l K Peanut Butter/Chocolate granola bar today for his morning snack, and he asked me if it was a healthy snack. He said last time he brought one, a classmate told him it wasn't healthy. We compared it to a N utri Gr ain bar, and it has less sugar and more protein and fiber than a Nu tri G rain bar. He is armed with that info in case she questions his snack again. :) I realize traditional chocolate/peanut butter granola bars would probably be LESS healthy...But that's not what we're talking about here, so let's make sure all the 7 year olds who question people's snacks are properly informed.

Yes, I realize it has been 5 months since I last posted...Apparently you mess with the healthfulness of my son's snack, I will fire back with a blog post.

Avon calling

2011-08-16T12:37:00.002-04:00

Believe it or not, I've been selling Avon for over two years now. I've had some customers come and go, and some have been with me all along. I'm kind of reaching a turning point. There have been some changes made that will essentially require me to either get some new customers in the next couple months, or stop being a rep., as it will no longer be profitable at that time.

So, if you've been itching to try the latest product, now would be a great time to stop at my website and place an order. There you will find a free shipping code to be used on your first order.

I would be soooo appreciative! There are some great products. I recommend Magix face perfector, all the Naturals shower gels and the Frizz Control Lotus Shield products.

McBrilliant

2011-07-27T09:42:00.002-04:00

We have McDonalds about once every two weeks. When we do, our son gets a Happy Meal with Apple Dippers instead of fries (without the caramel dipping sauce, which, to quote him: "Why would people want to dip apples in caramel?") and white milk instead of soda. This choice has been available to everyone for years, but some people choose to give their kids fries and soda with it instead. This is their CHOICE.

But due to pressure to serve healthier food, the Happy Meals are being changed. In the near future, they will come with fries AND apples, with portions of both being less than half what they previously were. The article is here.

So, if am understanding correctly...In order to try to make sure kids eat apples, in case the parents don't do so, McDonalds is going to force apples on them. Additionally, they are going to TAKE away a portion of the apples my child would normally get, and replace them with fries. Awesome.

Dear McDonalds...I know what to give my child to eat. That's why we don't go to McDonalds daily, or even weekly, and why I choose healthy choices for him when we do go there. And guess what? When given the choice between milk and soda, HE chooses milk anyway. Your change is actually making my son's meal LESS healthy when we go there, since you're dividing the apple portion in half. You're not going to change the people who consistently feed their children junk. You might increase sales when they order an extra side of fries for their child to go with the Happy Meal, so bravo for that, I guess. Let people make their own choices. If it means some parents are feeding their children fries instead of apples, that's their burden. Don't take half of my son's apples away to try to make other kids healthier. You might lose our McBusiness.

Purple

2011-06-29T08:30:00.002-04:00

I feel unusually put together today. I repainted my toenails last night. I recently ordered some lavender nail polish from Avon, so I used that. Feeling in a purplish mood this morning, I wore a purple shirt. Coordinating shirt and nail polish has me feeling particularly put together.

The ants seem to have finally taken leave of our home. Thank goodness.

Friends were kind enough to gift us their 3' inflatable pool when they upgraded to a four footer. We're very excited about it, but having a heck of a time getting it set up. It acquired a few holes during the winter, so hubby patched those. Now it seems to be able to hold water (it is only very slightly filled so far), but the inflatable rim around the top isn't staying inflated, and we're having trouble finding any sort of hole. Hope we'll figure it out before summer's up...

That youthful look has gotten out of hand

2011-06-27T09:47:00.003-04:00

It is not uncommon for an elderly person to walk past my 7 year old son and say something cute like "Well, hello there young man." It's cute, and doesn't seem odd at all.

What seemed odd was this weekend. The three of us went out to breakfast. Hubby was on one side of the booth, our son was on the inside of the other side, and I was in the outer seat. Next to my 7 year old, who I still have about 14 inches on, heightwise. An elderly lady walked past, put her hand on my arm and said "How are you doing, young lady?" Now, I realize that compared to her 80+ years, I am a young lady, but hubby and I agree that she seemed to be under the impression that I was a child. That might give Avon a new slogan "Take 25 years off your face, so you can look 11 again." Ahem. I guess I'll feel complimented, as I have not been carded during any of our several visits to the local casino, and was starting to wonder if I was beginning to lose that knack I've always had of looking a couple years younger.

In which I diagnose myself

2011-06-21T10:21:00.003-04:00

For the past month or so, I have had pain in my left heel that has gotten progressively worse. It's worst when I get up in the morning; I hobble when I get out of bed, and most days it goes away until evening. Lately it's been getting worse. Yesterday evening, while helping hubby switch out a light switch, I had to stop standing because the pain got so bad.

I never know what should be attributed to MS and what shouldn't, but this I am pretty sure is Plantar Fasciitis. It sounds exactly like what I'm experiencing. I ordered a pair of heel seats, so hopefully they will help.

On the bright side, even though I wake up with a sore heel, I sure sleep well - A few weeks ago we finally got a new bed. A Therapedic Pure Touch latex foam bed. Soooooo comfortable. A huge improvement over 17 year old "old squeaky" generic mattress and box spring. I would wake up everytime hubby moved in the night on the old bed. Now I sleep right through the night. Comfy as a clam.

It bugs me

2011-06-20T08:39:00.002-04:00

So much for posting more frequently...

What better to get me blogging again than an ant problem? Last week we developed an ant problem. At first it was a couple...No big deal. Then a couple more...Then oh my gosh get those things out of here and I can't stand to have anything to do with my own kitchen.

We have never had ants before. We looked up home remedies. It turns out baking soda does not deter them. Bought some Raid traps. Finally, broke down and called an exterminator because we were going out of our minds. The exterminator came Friday, and put out some bait that they take to the queen. Ants have queens. How about that? He said the problem will get worse before it gets better, because the bait attracts them. It seems to maybe kind of sort of finally be subsiding. Let's hope.

In which I change lots of pronouns and call it Brownies

2011-05-12T09:15:00.000-04:00

Because I believe this post involves someone kind of unstable, let's pretend we don't know what gender my child is and call my child a daughter and let's call my child's group Brownies, instead of the comparable group that would involve the correct gender. And let's call the person in charge the Brownie leader. And let's use "she" everywhere we would normally use another pronoun. I already have enough concerns about this individual to not want them finding this post using the appropriate terms.

So, this post will be confusing. Do your best. :)

My..ahem...daughter joined a Brownie troop at the beginning of the year. The person in charge of...her first year Brownies age group was an individual who had progressed to the highest level of the group in their childhood and was very cocky about it, and thought that made them a beacon of wisdon regarding all things Brownies. My spouse and I also assumed leadership roles in the organization. She did not have a very good rapport with the children or parents, and sent rude emails to my spouse and other members of leadership, and was very rude to me in front of other parents at one of our child's meetings.

We complained to the person who kind of oversees the volunteers to no avail. Somehow this person was promoted to the highest volunteer level...Mostly because they were the only person who wanted to do it. A parent in our group expressed concern about this person being a role model, as they clearly have a temper. We passed this along, but nothing came of it...This person had stepped up, and how do you fire a volunteer?

It all came to a head at a meeting of the volunteers. We were doing some planning, and after hearing a whole lot of "from my experience in Brownies"...and "I know what the kids like to do"...and basically a lot of hype without substance, this person asked for feedback. A few of us began sharing the concerns about the direction things were going under this new leadership. This person pointed to my spouse and me and said "The two of you have had a problem with me from day one. Even my spouse (who I've seen twice, but never even spoken too because the person is not very approachable [read: stands to the side looking angry]) notices. You undermine everything I do." I questioned the undermining, and was given no example. Some concerns were presented about the fact that the person arrives 10 minutes late at Brownie meetings and leaves the kids hanging in that manner. When that was brought up, the individual stood up, said they didn't have time for this, and walked out of the brownie meeting, and out of the Brownie group.

After a shocked pause, we got back to planning, and had the most relaxed, productive meeting we've had in months.

We later discovered that the person had "quit" before, only to apologize and say they were upset and come back. We don't know if we should expect to see this individual at Brownie meetings anymore, but I just hope whatever issue causes them to lash out at people, and flip back and forth does not go beyond what it has already...It's time for everyone to get past this so we can focus on making sure our...Brownie...group is fun and productive for the kids.

On the plus side, our child was probably not going to get to continue in...Brownies...next year because of our concerns with the leader. That concern is now gone, so our child is free to proceed with Brownies.

Thank goodness for rib cages

2011-05-05T09:07:00.002-04:00

At soccer practice last night, my son slipped while dribbling the ball down the field during a scrimmage and ended up falling on one of the flat cones along the sideline. It looked like a pretty harmless fall, but when we got home, he had a wide scrape several inches long along his lower chest. It did not hurt much, and he took it as the proud soccer battle scar it was.

Later, after he had gone to bed, he called me into his room and said "It's a good thing we have rib cages, or I would have fallen right on my heart." Ouch. Just hearing that made me wince, and it turns out that I too am thankful for rib cages.

~~~~~~~

We have this bluish/green headed bird group that is spending lots of time in our yard. At first I thought it was a really cool bird, then I realized it was bullying the sparrows and hogging the birdseed. By the wonders of the internet, I determined it to be a grackle. I mentioned it to a coworker, and he said grackles are known for laying their eggs in the nests of others so another bird will take care of the eggs. Wonderful. The deadbeat of birds is laying down roots in our yard.

Towels

2011-05-04T09:31:00.001-04:00

In conversation with a friend yesterday, she mentioned that she washes her bath towels everyday. After seeing my surprised reaction, she said she has had this discussion with many friends, and she just feels they need to be washed everyday.

Since my towel is drying my clean body, I am comfortable washing each family member's bath towel about weekly. How often do you wash your bath towel?

People prefer donuts to me

2011-04-27T09:18:00.002-04:00

I often walk around the neighborhood surrounding my son's school before it's time to pick him up. I have a couple of friends who sometimes walk with me. Yesterday as I arrived, one of those friends pulled up behind me. I approached her car and jokingly asked "Were we meeting and I didn't know it?" She had a donut in hand, and I asked her if she'd like to walk with me. She looked at her donut and said it probably wasn't a good idea. It was a cream filled donut and a windy day, so I can see how that would be messy...But I probably would have saved the donut for later. I got dissed for a donut, folks. I like donuts as much as the next person...But not LITERALLY as much as the next person. Oh well. I had a nice walk by myself.

This morning on the way walking my son into school, one of the kids kicked his shoe into a large mud puddle just after I walked by (why? I don't know). The splashback, although I was a couple feet away, was enough to leave a dozen or so muddy spots on the back of my cream colored pants. I stopped home to change and pretreat them, but the stains don't seem to be going anywhere. Ironically, the pants I had initially put on this morning had a small stain, so I changed into the ones I was wearing at the time of the incident. I should have kept the stained ones on.

Three!

2011-04-26T09:39:00.002-04:00

You all don't know how happy you made me by commenting yesterday (I'm talking to the three of you!). I got used to having maybe one comment if I'm lucky, and then maybe a couple more that say "You have good research done on this important topic. I read more can!" . More comments = more inclination to blog, so hey, I'm back for a second day in a row!

My son had three things that he hoped the Easter Bunny would bring: A book, some Crabby Patties (He doesn't watch Spongebob, but he eats the gummy treats associated with the show. Go figure) and his own bag of marshmallows. The Bunny was able to make that happen. His own bag of marshmallows. Not sure where that came from, but he was happy as a clam to get them. He also got other candy goodies, some Pokemon cards, a Mario shirt and a Pokemon stuffed animal. I got some candy, some Starbucks frappucino, and some grapefruit (on vacation, they had these single serve packs on Del Monte grapefruit in the hotel buffet and I LOVED it, but couldn't find it at the store. The Bunny found it, but has reported that it is ridiculously expensive and that I will likely not have more until another holiday or vacation. But, man is it delicious!). Hubby got candy, coffee, a new light to clip on when he runs in the dark (he lost the old one) and some earbuds. We made our own meal, then went to the inlaws' for an egg hunt. Fun. Really. The older "wild" nephews are finally simmering down and the younger group (2-10 years old) all play really nicely together.

Always being hounded by the paparazzi

2011-04-25T08:56:00.002-04:00

Hubby and I both had Friday off. Hubby because Good Friday is a holiday for him at work, and me because I am usually off Fridays. Our son had school, so we had a whole day to ourselves. We took one of the vehicles to the mechanic, went home and organized our sadly unorganized closets and dressers (4 boxes of clothes headed to Goodwill) and then celebrated our achievements by spending a couple hours at the casino about a half hour away.

The blackjack table was fun. Hubby and I were unable to get seats next to each other, so there was an elderly gentleman between us who felt the need to jab me in the arm at increasingly random times. It started out if I had an ace showing. While I am generally a "Don't touch me, strange person" type of gal, I gave him the benefit of the doubt because he was old, and it was kind of a "good luck" gesture. Then he started doing it randomly, like if I had a 2 showing, and it was all I could do not to glare at him. He didn't jab hubby randomly, and I kind of resent the difference. The guy also was the only person at the table smoking and he did not extinguish his cigarettes when he finished them - He set them flat in the ashtray, without grinding them out so they continued to smoke themselves.

Anyway, eventually there is a tap on my shoulder. A random dude is standing behind me and asks "Before you leave, would you mind having a picture taken with me?" What?!?!?!?!? Apparently I look alot like this guy's wife, and he wants a picture to show her. Um, no, I don't think so. He continues to talk, even though I'm basically facing the other way playing blackjack. He was playing at a table across the pit, and his friends spotted and me and were like "Dude, is that your wife?" and he is like "What, did she follow me here?" and he actually has to come over to realize I'm not her. Whatever.

So, he finally leaves, and we all get a good chuckle, and the dealer says to my husband "He's lucky you didn't intervene" and Hubby says "She can handle herself."

The guy on my other side's wife is standing behind him as he plays, and about a half hour later, she taps me on the shoulder and says "He's coming back." I appreciated the warning, and sure enough, there he is again, this time with his phone to show me a picture of someone who has the same color and length of hair, but otherwise really bears little resemblance to me. He said he wanted to show me before he missed me (as in before I managed to get the heck out of there without encountering him again?). I pointed across the table to hubby and said "Why don't you show my husband, too?" He did, then finally left.

The man on my left said "That was the worst pickup line I've ever heard. Maybe 'You look like my ex-girlfriend, but seriously, my wife?' ." I don't think he was necessarily trying to do any picking up, and maybe he thought the creepy factor went down by making it clear that he actually has a wife, but seriously - I didn't even look like the woman!

What I later discovered, is that hubby hadn't realized that the guy actually asked me to have a picture taken with him. He thought he was just telling me I looked like his wife. He said if he had known about the photo request, he might have stepped in after all.

I broke about even at the blackjack table, anyway.

Save One Life to Live - But don't stop buying sponsors products!

2011-04-20T09:09:00.002-04:00

I was very disappointed to hear that ABC is canceling One Life to Live and All My Children...Well, mostly One Life to Live. I rarely watch All My Children.

I've been watching One Life to Live for 20 years, and DVR it so I don't miss it. Sometime I watch the episodes a week late, but I always see them. I think the storylines have been even better than usual recently, and find it hard to believe that ABC thinks a couple of health/lifestyle/food shows are going to have the same type of longevity and following as those two soaps.

I thought it was really cool that Hoover pulled their advertising from ABC in protest, and has even set up an email for people to send letters to ABC to that they will pass along.

What is not cool is that people are boycotting products that are made by companies who have not pulled their advertising. Keep buying your cereal and chocolate and cleaning products. Most corporations can't afford to pull their advertising based on programming cancellations. They need to save their moves for bigger fish - Moral issues, contract disagreements...Someone is always going to be unhappy about a show being canceled. Just because the soaps have a huge viewership, myself included, doesn't mean their cancellation needs to result in a boycott and making companies who happen to advertise with them lose revenue because you, as a fan, are trying to prove a point.

Contact ABC, use Hoover's email address that they set up...But keep shopping. Someday you'll get over your shows being gone. I'm not sure this is the place to take a stand. Hundreds of people will lose their jobs if the shows are canceled. If thousands of fans stop buying products, they might cause employees of those companies to lose their jobs, too. Does that make you any better than the ABC execs?

St. Patrick's Day pressure

2011-03-17T09:30:00.002-04:00

I don't remember all the pressure around wearing green on St. Patrick's Day as a child. Sure, I usually wore green, and I've got auburn hair and am short, so I'm practically a Leprechaun, anyway...

But around this time of year my son usually comes home and says someone will get pinched if they don't wear green. I heard a kid in the hall at school say that someone would get punched if they don't wear green.

But what a classmate told my son this year really takes the prize. He said "*friend* says that anyone who doesn't wear green will be given a wedgie." I asked if he knew what a wedgie was, and he did. So, which is more surprising? That someone would say that, or that my 6 year old is familiar with wedgies?

Do you know of any other things that might go wrong if you don't wear green?

Rango tango mango

2011-03-07T11:45:00.002-05:00

I can't say the name of the movie "Rango" without thinking of Scooby Doo. The way he mispronounces most words by making them start with an "R"...I can't help but wonder if he named the movie and it should actually be pronounced "Tango".

We went to a movie this weekend, and my son was given the choice between Gnomeo and Juliet and Rango, and he went with Rango. It wasn't awful, but I can't help but wonder if we would have been better off with Gnomeo and Juliet.

First of all, I'm not a big Johnny Depp fan. Particularly when it comes to children's films. His versions of Willy Wonka and Alice in Wonderland creep me out.

Rango did not creep me out, but it was definitely a little more raw than it had to be. To quote my husband, "Could they possibly have used the word 'hell' any more times?" It was unnecessary. Also, their use of the word "damn". Most recent animated films have managed to not use even mild obscenities.

There is almost always adult humor in animated films, and normally it goes undetected by kids and is fun for the adults. The humor in this one didn't amuse me much. Rango had a "friend" which was the top half of a naked barbie doll. In a conversation with said friend, he asks "Are those real?".

The best parts were a foursome of singing owls (But that, too was ruined when they showed them all hanging from nooses while they sang about someone who was supposed to die. Poor taste.) and a wise armadillo.

If your child really wants to see it, I guess go for it, but if you can convince your child to see Gnomeo and Juliet instead, that might be a better idea.

I'm more comfortable with the notion that it's a giant rabbit

2011-03-02T09:30:00.002-05:00

My son, who will be 7 years old in a few months, commented the other day that we should leave carrots out for the Easter Bunny again this year "Because rabbits like carrots. And if it's a person dressed up like a rabbit who comes, maybe they will like carrots, too."

He's a smart boy. I know sheer logic alone will not allow him to believe in Santa or the Easter Bunny forever, but if he's anything like me, he will let the belief linger as long as possible just in case the end of those beliefs means the end of those holidays. Personally, I still see leaving things out late on Christmas Eve specifically from "Santa" long after my son stops visiting him and sitting in his lap. Even when you know he's not real, the magic can still be there.

Anyway, I was surprised to see the transition from pure belief in a huge rabbit barging into our house in the middle of the night with candy to the possibility of a person dressed as a rabbit coming into our home when we're asleep and eating our carrots. I'm glad he is comfortable with either notion, but myself...I think I'd prefer to believe it's an actual rabbit than some dude in a rabbit costume. :)

Who has the cutest baby?

2011-02-28T09:15:00.002-05:00

Since my "baby" will be 7 years old in a few months, it can't be me, because in this situation, the cutest baby has to be under 2 years old.

Avon is starting a line of baby items - Bath and body, clothes, toys - called Tiny Tillia. The product line kicks off in April, but beginning March 1st, go to tinytillia.com and enter your baby, aged two or under, in their Cutest Baby contest. You could win some great prizes!

Then in April, check out the product line. The items look great, and even though I am not personally in the market for them right now, I know a few babies who I will likely purchase some of the items for!

Good luck in the contest, and if you have any questions about the products, please ask me - I would love to be your Tiny Tillia representative. As with all Avon products, the items will be able to be ordered securely online through Avon and shipped to your home!

Random snippits from 2½ days without electricity

2011-02-24T10:11:00.002-05:00

Our electricity is back on, thankfully, so we are back home. We don't have phone, cable or internet, but we're so happy to be home, warm and with light that we really don't care.

When you're visiting random people who have heat, and staying with friends and relatives, there is bound to be blogworthy material.

The first night was spent with friends, which I would have rather done for the second night as well (and they were completely agreeable to it). Hubby thought it was too much of an imposition to do it for a second night, so we ended up at his mom's. At first we thought his sister and her family would be there as well, which I was not looking forward to. It would be quite crowded with 10 of us there. Thankfully their power returned, so it ended up just us, hubby's mom, and his brother who lives there.

My MIL led me to a room with a bed and an air mattress and said our son and I could sleep in there. I told her that all 3 of us would be fine in there. I'm hoping she was trying to be courteous due to a perceived space issue, because hubby and I have been married for almost 9 years...I think we can sleep in the same room at his mom's house without ruffling feathers.

Hubby's sister's friend who lives in our neighborhood, and has friends in our neighborhood, yet still seems to think we are the first people to call when she and her family need help fixing, carrying or rearranging something left a meesage the first day of the outage (which I just got yesterday) stating that she and her family were staying at her mother's house to stay warm and could we please call when the power was back on. Hello? Did she suppose we would be sitting home cold waiting to call her? And why doesn't she call her friend in the neighborhood? We are acquaintances. I'm not opposed to letting someone know when the power is on...It's just that assumption added with every other time she has called us first. I rarely ask people for many favors who I would not consider friends. That sounds really petty when I reread it, but you can't imagine how many favors that woman asks us for...and it's the only time we see her! It's sad when it gets to the point where a minor request is frustrating. That shouldn't have been frustrating...

I have not had coffee at work all week. I have been offered cups of coffee here and there at the various places we've been, and have savored them. This morning I made coffee, brought a travel mug of it to work...and it's awful. Bleck. What happened to my coffee making skillz?

I brought as many items to work to put in the refrigerator and freezer to try to save them as I could. Somehow I forgot the 2 containers of Sabra Hummus - One unopened. It is recommended to dispose of hummus that has been left out that long. Boo. That stuff's not cheap, either.

In which I talk about Taylor Swift instead of the fact that we've had no electricity since Sunday

2011-02-23T09:54:00.004-05:00

Electricity and telephone have been out since Sunday due to snow/rain/ice storm. Our house is 40 degrees. We've been staying with friends and relatives. But, that's all I've been talking about all week.

So, let's talk about Taylor Swift. My son loves her music. He listens to her CDs and sings along. I like her music a lot, too. Deep down, I think even hubby enjoys it. I know he appreciates that she writes her own music. I appreciate that her music is not offensive, and she doesn't dress trashy like some of the other young artists who also sometimes serve as role models. Her music is something I can safely allow my son to listen to and enjoy, and I enjoy it with him. When I found out she was coming to Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, I was excited. I was particularly excited that they were offering $25 seats. My son's first grown up concert! It's been years since we've been to a Wiggles concert, and it was time to move on.

I managed to get the presale code for the media presale, and checked it promptly at the starting time - No $25 tickets. The price for better seats were $50 then $70, which we couldn't really justify, but even when I checked it for the heck of it 5 minutes after the presale started, nothing. Before the actual public sale date, Stub Hub had over 1,000 seats for sale for $90+.

The day of the official sale, I tried right at the starting time - Nothing. No $25 seats, and none of the more expensive ones.

I can't stand that although the artists try to provide an affordable ticket price, it has gotten to the point that people who actually want to go to the concert can't get to the tickets before the scalpers. Nothing available in the presale, and nothing available on sale day.

Not to speak for Taylor Swift, but I'm guessing she'd rather see my adoring fan of a six year old son at the show than see the scalpers make a profit of 4 times the sale price.

And since we can't justify paying $90 for $25 seats, my son will not be going to see Taylor Swift. Shame on you, scalpers.

UNhappy meal

2011-02-17T09:32:00.002-05:00

Last night my son and I were on our own for dinner. I told him we could go out, and that he could choose the place. Since Cicis has been closed for a year, the next logical choice for him was McDonalds. This McDonalds has a playland, and we rarely go there, so it was quite the treat. My son had lots of fun.

EXCEPT for the crabby grandma who was there. She had hair the most unnatural shade of orange I've ever seen, and a granddaughter of about 4 years old who did not want to eat her cheeseburger. Our dinner was filled with listening to hear offer varying degrees of threats to her granddaughter (I tried, unsuccessfully, to talk over her at our table, even though she was on the other side of the play area.).

"Eat that cheeseburger or you don't get to play."
The girl said she didn't like cheese.
"I'm not taking the cheese off. Eat that burger or I'm going to take you into the bathroom and spank you."
The girl told her "I don't like you."
Grandma said "I don't like you much, either."
Grandma smacked her in the arm. I contemplated complaining to management, but I wasn't sure what they would/could do.
The girl told her "You're mean."
Grandma said "You haven't seen mean yet. Want me to take you into the bathroom?"

Eventually the girl ate her burger, and got to play, but goodness...Fun night out with Grandma.

I know some people still spank (I don't), and some people give a swat on the arm (I don't), but I don't like seeing it in public, and it all seemed a little over the top for what was going on. Makes me wonder what happens if she really does something wrong.

I wish parents and grandparents would keep their hands to themselves. It's what we teach our kids to do. Lead by example. I feel you can get your point across with words and other types of punishment, if needed.

At least his hair was cut well

2011-02-15T09:02:00.002-05:00

Hubby got a haircut yesterday. He's a pretty no-frills guy. He gets his hair cut every 4 weeks, keeps it pretty simple. He goes to a chain place where you get whatever stylist is available.

He had never seen this particular stylist before, and if he never does again, I think he will be okay with that. She engaged in the obligatory chit chat, including asking where our son goes to school. She hadn't heard of the school, and asked where it was. Every time he would try to describe it, she interrupted with "Oh, by *some random place*?" He would say no, and continue to try to explain and she would again interrupt with another incorrect location. Finally, exasperated, she said "Are you even from around here? I keep having to tell you where these places are!" Um, okay.

At some point she asked where he worked, and that went smoother than the school location. The haircut went on. At some point she stopped doing a certain area of his hair and he said that he likes that a little shorter. She tersely said "I have a method. I'll get back to it."

At the end, she asked him if he wanted gel. He never wears gel, doesn't like gel, so he said no. To which she responded: "An important businessman like you should wear gel." And she proceeded to put in the gel.

A couple hours later, hubby rinsed it out. He was happy with the haircut, at least, but the service? Yikes.

Blog Share!

2011-02-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Presenting a post from my anonymous Blog Share poster:

I Have No Clever Title For This

My Mom thinks I’m selfish. Actually, this isn’t anything new; it just seemed like a good way to start the story for this blog share post. My Mom thinks I’m selfish because I want to be buried when I die.

Look. I’m a pyrophobic. I’ve always been pyrophobic and I can think of nothing worse in the world than to have my remains BURNED TO ASHES IN A FIRE.

The topic came up over the Christmas holiday (because *that’s* totally normal). Somehow the conversation turned to what we want to have happen after we die. My husband and Mom both want to be cremated. They both have very specific instructions for where they want their ashes to be spread. When it was my turn to speak I said that I didn’t want to be cremated, that I want to be buried. My husband knows this. He accepts it and he even understands it.

My Mother, however, went into this whole speech about how burying me would be such a hassle and it’s not like I would even be alive to know what was happening and I needed to learn that the world didn’t revolve around me and what I want so if it was easier for whoever gets left behind to cremate me then they should be allowed to do whatever is easiest and the least bother for them and I should stop being so damned selfish.

I would like to tell you that this was because she was freaking out at the idea of her daughter dying (hopefully not for decades, knock on wood) but it isn’t. This is the same woman who, when I was little, said “if you ever want to have friends you need to figure out what people want and then give it to them because nobody is ever going to like you otherwise.” It was kind of a harsh lesson for a single digit aged human to learn.

In some cases being accommodating can be good. My best friend is a vegetarian so I don’t eat meat while I’m in her home. She appreciates this and has never once said a single bad thing about my omnivoriferous eating habits. This is when being considerate and accommodating of each others’ lifestyles can be good.

At some point though, it stops being about consideration and starts being about “I am more important than you.” And that’s where I get into trouble and start to feel big icky feelings.

Another friend of mine, for example, is not a fan of the internet. She has no use for Facebook or Twitter or blogging. It’s fine—she likes living in the analog world (no kidding, she sent her first and only text message four months ago. It was to me. To complain about how texting is stupid). I work at home and social networking and blogging is how I socialize during my day. It’s how I feel less lonely. Instead of just accepting that we view these things differently and that what works for one does not work for the other, I do not dare pull out my smart phone in front of her. I don’t turn on my computer when she comes over. Why? Because she gives me a lecture about how I need to stop spending so much time on frivolous things and start taking up more of the hobbies that she enjoys. Yep—she comes over to my house and tells me how I live is wrong. When I defend my way of life, I am asked “why are you so narrow minded? Can’t you see that your brain needs expanding?”

I guess that’s what this post is about. I’m really really tired of always being the one who isn’t important. I feel sometimes like I’m supposed to accept that I am lesser than everybody else. My plans are the ones that get changed to accommodate someone else’s needs or wants. I’m expected to keep my mouth shut when someone says something that is offensive because “that’s just how they feel. They’re allowed to feel how they feel.” What about how I feel? What about what I need? Why does it automatically matter less than someone else? Most importantly: why do I let it?

Someday, when I can afford it, some therapist is going to make a lot of money from me.

I don’t have anywhere specific that I’m going with this. I just needed to talk about it and my blog is read by several people who would feel the need to call me up and tell me my I’m wrong to feel the way I feel (some of them would use incredibly high volume tones to do so) and the whole point of this post is that I’m tired of dealing with stuff like that. So, instead, I guess I’ll just ask you guys: do you ever feel this way? What do you do when/if you feel this way?

The Facebook

2011-02-08T10:21:00.002-05:00

I'm still a holdout on joining Facebook. I'm sure I'll give in eventually, but for now, it seems more convenient not to. Not that I'm not eager to reconnect with the other 400 people in my graduating class who I've managed to not reconnect with by other means in the past 19 years...

Anyway, I was talking to my dad last night, and I hear his wife in the background "Ask her if she's on 'The Facebook'!" My dad repeats "*wife* wants to know if you're on 'The Facebook'." I told him that I am not on "The Facebook". I did say "The Facebook", because I love when they say things slightly off like that, and far be it from me to discourage it. I gave him my usual spiel about not wanting to put all my business on there for a couple hundred people to see, and he repeated it to his wife, and I heard her say "Well I don't put anything on there!" So what the heck is she doing on "The Facebook", then? Heh.

Blog Share, rescheduled is this Thursday, so be sure to check back here on Thursday for someone else's anonymous post. Mine will be found somewhere on one of these participating blogs:

The Time for Change
Bright Yellow World
Reflections in the Snow-Covered Hills
Totally Serial
Daily Tannenbaum
Andrea Unplugged
Malfeasance
From Kim's Desk
Rediscovering Me
Mama Bub
Being Five
Nothing Is Easier Than Self-Deceit
Molly's Musings
Heidikins
Snarke
Did I Say That Outloud?
The Reluctant Grownup
And You Know What Else
Bwildered
Thinking Some More

Not Blog Share

2011-02-03T09:00:00.002-05:00

Today I was supposed to be host to an anonymous post, courtesy of -R-'s Blog Share, but blizzards and such resulted than fewer than expected posts, so Blog Share is postponed until February 10th. Do you want to participate? Contact -R-. Blog Share is a fun opportunity to share something private or funny or whatever on someone else's blog, while giving someone else the opportunity to do so on your blog, all anonymously. I've participated several times, and it's always great fun.

In other news, I spent yesterday home with my son for a snow day, today is again a snow day (because of roads that are not perceived to have been cleared adequately) but I am at work and my son is at a friend's house (thank you! it has yet to be determined if she will be accepting compensation for this, but even if she does, it's less than walk in daycare rates). Hopefully they won't go for the trifecta and decide to close school tomorrow just to finish out the week. The roads are fine now, thanks. Hubby drove 20 miles to work; my bosses drove that far from more rural areas.

...and we don't even have a dog

2011-02-01T09:36:00.003-05:00

When I got home with my son after school, our lower level was flooded. We live in a quad level, so thankfully the lower level flooding isn't as dramatic as it sounds, though it's still a pain. The lower level has a garage (not flooded), spare bathroom/laundry room/litter box area/cat spends most of his time there (flooded), hallway (flooded) and office/storage area (only partially flooded, and nothing in there was damaged).

It took a lot of cleanup and a plumber to get it resolved. A floor drain was overflowing due to some sort of sediment clog in the outside pipes. By 9:00 last night things were mostly back to normal.

This morning, when my son headed down to the garage so we could leave for school, he gleefully exclaimed "It smells like Rusty down here!" Rusty is our dog who passed on over a year ago. I believe what he means to convey is that it smells like wet dog downstairs, but he seems much happier about that than I am. Apparently another round of cleaning is in order.

Phases

2011-01-31T09:30:00.004-05:00

Kids seems to go in and out of phases all the time. We had the phase where my son pointed out every truck he saw (about 2 years old), the phase where he always wanted to wear mismatched socks (3 years old) and most recently, the palindrome phase.

What, that's not a common one? It all started out with him pointing out 8:28 on the clock, and I explained that something that is the same backwards and forwards is a palindrome (though I realize by strict definition, this should be a letter combination...but I think numbers count as well), like mom, dad and wow. He now points out every palindrome he sees, and was delighted when I showed him "Madam, I'm Adam"

Palindromes aren't on the first grade curriculum, as far as I can tell, so all the better, as far as I'm concerned, that he has learned about them already at home.

While I acknowledge that palindromes may not be the most useful things in the world, they're certainly interesting as far as my son and I are concerned. Hubby fails to share our interest. He never learned "Madam, I'm Adam", which I thought was how palindromes were ever learned in the first place. He said that maybe palindromes were a much bigger sensation in upstate New York than they are in Michigan.

So, it begs the question...Did you know about "Madam, I'm Adam"?

Let's pretend it hasn't been over 3 months...

2011-01-26T09:24:00.002-05:00

Next Thursday, February 3rd, -R- is hosting another blogshare. Contact her if you'd like to join in. These are great fun, and I saw her post telling about it, and decided not to participate, because I've been having trouble committing to blogging. Then? She emailed me as a past participant and asked if I would be participating. Well, I think it was a mass email, and I won't pretend she was thinking of me specifically, but I got my typing face on and put a post together, so I am participating, thanks to -R-. Look here next Thursday for someone else's post, andlook elsewhere for my anonymous post.

Also, stop by and congratulate Jess on the birth of her gorgeous son, Callum Michael. Many blessings to them!

Clearly the zippers are against me

2010-10-19T10:33:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, my little wallet/change purse, which I adored, lost its zipper connection. Not being good with zippers, I had to stop using it. I looked for a new one, but couldn't find one similar, so I decided to wait and let Santa do the looking (if he would), and I started using an older, too wide, wallet that I used to use.

I found a zipper pull in the car this weekend, and had no clue what it was from. Hubby said it was from my wallet. Assuming it was from the previously broken wallet, I put it out of my mind. This morning I attempted to open the change portion of the wallet, and there was no zipper pull to be seen...and it was closed. I stuck a pen cap under it and got it open to retrieve the change I needed.

Then, when I was making sure my son had his homework/snack/lunch money, the zipper from the smaller pocket on his backpack came flying off. Apparently it happened at school yesterday, and my son was able to get it back on and working (Really?!? I tried this morning and I couldn't get it back on!), but the stitching at the end of the zipper was the problem, thus causing it to come off again. If my son is able to get the zipper placed properly again (Did I mention I can't do it? I am lucky to have a 6 year old who is good with fixing zippers...), then I will stitch the end, and the tag team effort might get the zipper in complete working order again.

However, with issues with three zippers in as many weeks...I think we may be switching to become an all-velcro family.

Hoot, hoot

2010-10-12T10:58:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine and I were walking in the neighborhood by my son's school before it dismissed yesterday, and a car full of teenagers drove by. One of them stuck his head out the window as it passed and hooted at us.

Um...High school boys didn't hoot at me from cars when I was in high school. More disturbing than flattering, since I have a friend with a son who is a junior in high school, so...um, yeah. That's just not right. Technically I'm old enough to be your mother. Save the hooting for someone even remotely near your age. Thank you.

But that does remind me, in junior high, when I walked home from school, there was a very long road that was part of the walk. Sometimes teenagers would drive by and honk and yell rude things at people walking (because apparently that's just how they roll in upstate New York), and once someone beeped at me, and I was just raising my hand to give possibly a not very polite wave...When I realized it was my great uncle. And boy was I glad that I gave a polite wave instead. Yikes.

Zap!

2010-10-11T09:48:00.002-04:00

We got a new TV last Christmas, which went in the living room. We also had a 20 inch TV/DVD combo in our bedroom, which we moved to the basement for the Wii, and moved the 11 year old 27 inch tube TV from the living room to our bedroom.

Last night I turned the bedroom TV on with the sleep timer, and just as I was dozing off, I heard a little "pop!" and the screen faded out but the TV started making a click, click sound. I got up and unplugged the TV, and noticed it had a funny smell. I think I was lucky that I woke up when the TV went out.

He can never tell those two apart

2010-10-07T11:19:00.002-04:00

My son has friends of different races, nationalities, family backgrounds, etc.. I like to think we have raised him to realize that people are all the same, and how they look and how they live is not what makes them who they are.

So, I was worried at the start of the following conversation, then amused by the end.

Let's call two of my son's friends Al and Ed for the purposes of this story. Al is from China and my son has known him for a couple years and Ed is from Korea and my son has known him since they were babies. My son was telling me about something that one of them likes..."Al likes pepperoni on his pizza...or is that Ed? I always confuse those two." Oh no. Where is this going?

I asked him why he always confuses Al and Ed, and he looked at me as though the answer were obvious: "Their names both start with vowels." Of course.

Food, food

2010-10-04T09:35:00.002-04:00

My son was eating some L ucky C harms yesterday. The only reason we had those was because we were given a coupon for a free box - We are totally a Kellogg family.

Anyway, he was admiring the marshmallows, and before popping one into his mouth said "I think this one's a balloon...or a bomb." He then quickly ate it before I could inspect the potentially dangerous marshmallow. Heh.

~~~~~

We had some friends over for dinner a few weeks ago, and they brought some crackers and hummus. I tried hummus about a decade ago, and remembered it as being flavorless and strangely textured. But oh my gosh, I loved this stuff. Either hummus has come a long way, or I have.

Excuse me, but I believe that is my stapler

2010-09-28T10:34:00.002-04:00

So much for the 4 truths and a lie post getting me to update sooner. If anyone cares anymore, the lie was #1. I've never worked in a bank. I wonder if things ever do get stuck in those, though? Not that I care to find out...

I arrived at work yesterday to discover my 3 remaining coworkers have been put back on temporary layoff, at the close of this, our supposed busy season. They had been working 32-40 hours per week all summer, while I never was brought up to more than 24, and I have been at 15 for a month. Because I'm all overhead. No billable time here.

Anyway, no one has told me I am laid off, so I have decided to just keep coming in. I came in this morning, bracing myself to be asked why I am here, but my boss seemed to be expecting me. Maybe they think the fact that I, a full time employee, have been working part time for 9 months, and part time keeps getting less and less, is close enough to a layoff and they might be pushing their luck to lay me off when I've received the brunt of the cuts all along.

Or maybe they simply haven't gotten around to it yet...

Or maybe in a year I will realize I haven't been paid in 12 months and that my office is now in a supply room.

For now, it's back to those TPS reports...

Copycat

2010-09-14T10:21:00.002-04:00

Flurrious and NPW recently did this, so I figured that I would blatently imitate them. As an added bonus, I will have to return within a day or two to tell you which answer was right.

So, four truths and a lie, work related edition. Which one of these is false?

1. I worked at a bank and while working the drive up window, a customer's deposit in the cylinder got stuck mid-transport, causing mass panic.

2. Just out of high school, I was excited to be promoted to supervisor at Record Town after only two months there, thus acquiring a key to the facility and to the register to wear on one of those springy things on my wrist.

3. I once worked at a Dunkin Donuts that was two doors down from my apartment. There was no excuse to be late for work.

4. I was forced to quit my waitressing job in high school for allegedly backtalking to my stepmom.

5. I volunteered for two months at a library before actually being hired to work for pay.

Good luck. :-)

Bittersweet

2010-09-02T12:53:00.002-04:00

I just dropped my son off to daycare for the last time in the foreseeable future.

He starts first grade next week, and had I been working full time, would have required an hour of care before and after school. I am working 15 hours. Because that's what I'm down to at my formerly full time job, the one I've worked at since the mid-nineties.

Hubby and I have decided that we want me to work part time, but this is kind of ridiculously part time. However, most 25 hour a week jobs would probably pay less weekly than I am making at 15 hours a week.

I may be laid off again within weeks, which will prompt an aggressive job search, as my unemployment was pretty much drained this winter. Right now I am very passively looking - Only for my "dream" part time job.

So why bitterweet? Is it because he has gone to that daycare for most of the first 6 years of his life? Is it because he is suddenly such a big kid? Is it because most of his closest friends were met there? Is it because the only job I've known for so long is probably about gone kaput?

Probably a combination of all those things. A few hours of work for me this afternoon, then off to enjoy a 4 day holiday weekend, and the first day of school...and whatever else is to come.

Stick it up

2010-07-16T09:15:00.002-04:00

I am so lazy with my hair. I've gotten to the point where I let it air dry and comb it into place. I don't have the time or inclination to do much more. I have always struggled with frizziness. About 10 years ago it was so bad that I looked like I was in a perpetual state of static shock. Now it's usually just some sticking up bits around my scalp.

I generally don't put product in my hair anymore, but when I got my sample of Avon's Frizz Control Lotus Shield Anti-Frizz Treatment, I figured I'd give it a try.

I love it! Apply it to damp hair and style (comb, heh). It dried much more controlled, and was soft to the touch. This will definitely become a part of my routine. {Shameless plug alert} If you want to try some, feel free to stop by my website and order a bottle.

~~~~~~~

Oddly, we have absolutely no plans this weekend. Of course, that can change quickly. What are your plans this weekend?

Not the Specialty Pharmacy's specialty

2010-07-14T10:17:00.002-04:00

At the beginning of this year, my health insurance changed and therefore so did the specialty mail order pharmacy that I use to get my MS meds.

6 months later, I'm still not impressed.

Before I even received my first shipment, there was confusion. They called to confirm that they would be shipping me an MS med that is different than the one I take. I told them that no, I take Copaxone. After a little arguing with me, they discovered that they have another patient with the same name as me who is on the other MS med. The said they forgot to double check the birthdate. Um...okay. Seems like a pharmacy would have safeguards about such things, but okay.

Since then, I have received two messages from two different people every single time they need to call me, they have returned calls to me when the message to them was from my doctor, and they have attemped to schedule a shipment 6 days after the previous one (should be sent about every 30 days).

On Monday I received a sharps container that I never requested via UPS. I didn't think much of it (except that it was wasteful, as I did not need it) until they called yesterday to schedule my next shipment. They asked if I had received my sharps container, and I said "Yes, but I don't know why." They said "We have a note here that you left a voicemail requesting one." I said that I had not, and there was a long pause. I then said "When I first switched to this pharmacy, I was nearly sent the wrong medication because you have another patient with the same name. Maybe she requested a sharps container." The cheerful response? "Ohhhh. That's probably what happened." Grr.

How to NOT save time

2010-07-08T12:04:00.002-04:00

If you tell me we have opened the last ink cartridge in the office for our large scale plotter when you open it, time it takes me to ensure we have a new one on hand: 5 minutes

If you do not tell me we have opened the last ink cartridge in the office for our large scale plotter when you open it, time it takes me to ensure we have a new one on hand: 90 minutes

I was notified, with a sense of urgency, that we needed black ink NOW! This did not allow me to order it online for delivery tomorrow. Instead, I went to Sam's Club's website and ensured that they had it available at our local store, which according to their website, they did.

Journeyed to Sam's club only to discover, by means of looking on the shelf and asking employee to look in computer, that they do not actually have it in stock.

Attempted to purchase other office items with company check, and was told that they no longer accept company check without photo ID from person presenting it. Went out to car to get license.

Came back to office with no ink cartridge and grabbed Office Max credit card (not before calling Office Max to make sure they had cartridge). Went to Office Max, obtained cartridge and happily went to counter to pay. Was informed that bank discontinued Office Max credit card, and all customers should have received a letter last year (didn't). Paid for cartridge with personal credit card.

Returned to office an hour and a half later, ink cartridge on hand.

If you take the last one, please tell me. Preferably before you completely USE UP the last one.

Sincerely,
Me

Everyone's in it for the comments, to some degree

2010-07-06T09:53:00.004-04:00

When I started blogging, several years ago, it was more of a journaling thing. Imagine my surprise when I started to get a comment...or two. And then a dozen comments became pretty normal, and every once in a while I broke 20 comments. I was never a big-time blogger, but I was big enough for me. I felt that the random stuff I typed was being read, and either enjoyed or disagreed with. And that was fun.

Then many of the bloggers who commented/whose blogs I read stopped blogging. Some migrated completely to Facebook (which I have still not joined). Then I was laid off from my job and didn't post for several months. Upon my return, I shouldn't have been surprised to see that commenters had all but disappeared completely.

I am thankful that there are still a few who visit and comment regularly, like Jess, Liz, Liz and Overthinking Mama.

Maybe a few more will come back some day...or newly arrive.

Anywho...Today I'd like to talk about how I just don't belong in a salon.

Many years ago, I got my haircut wherever I got the best deal, then a friend introduced me to the salon. After my initial shock "$25 for a haircut?!?" (circa 2000), I fell right into it. After my son was born, I switched to another salon that offered Saturday appointments. After my son started getting his haircut at a "place" rather than at home, I switched to a cheaper chain place to offset the cost.

Hubby and my son gave me a gift certificate to a fancy-schmancy spa/salon for Christmas. Hubby tried to get a friend of ours to get one for his wife, too, so we could go together, but the friend's husband said his wife was "Not really a spa person." "Neither is my wife!", conceded hubby. But bless his heart, he got me the certificate anyway. I finally used it this weekend, just for a haircut, because I needed one anyway.

I appreciated the gift and the sentiment, but this spa was kind of snooty. I waited over a half hour past my appointment time, the stylist drenched the collar of my shirt when she washed my hair. To make matters worse, I felt that she was making a dig at my Mackinac Island souvenir shirt when she said "I'm sorry I got your t-shirt wet." Perhaps a fancier shirt would have stayed drier. While all salons try to sell their products, I felt very much like I was stuck in a commercial when she identified the shampoo, conditioner and serum as she used it. Then at the end said "Would you like to purchase any of the products we used today?"

I like the haircut, but she shifted my part about 3/4" to the side, so each morning when I first comb my hair I have very long strands hanging over on one side until I fix it.

I never felt so much like I didn't belong somewhere before. I knew I didn't belong when the haircut came to $45. Dude, $20 haircuts are plenty for me. Even $15. I used the remainder of the certificate for a green bottle of OPI nail polish for my toes. Because I'm a little more funky than I am spa.

But thank you, hubby and son, for a sweet gift. :-) The best part - The gift certificate was a deal - They got double value for what they paid for it! Yippee!

The Methodist Church Needs More Catholic Priests

2010-07-01T08:56:00.002-04:00

As I've mentioned, our family attends a Methodist Church and a Catholic Church. I am Methodist, my husband, though a member of our Methodist Church, considers himself Catholic. Our son prefers the Methodist Church, and is involved there in Sunday school and other activities. As a family, we more or less alternate which church we go to, and that seems to work for everyone.

My husband's cousin is going to seminary to become a Priest. When I told my son about this, his eyes lit up and he said "Oooh! Where will he work when he's done?" I told him that the cousin wouldn't know until he was done. He eagerly said "Maybe he will work at {our Methodist Church}!" I said that he would not, since Priests are Catholic, he would be working at a Catholic church, so maybe he would work at {Catholic church that we attend}. I assumed this would warrant a pleased response, since he could still be working somewhere that we go, but instead I got a disappointed "Oh. Why can't priests work at a Methodist Church?" Then came a discussion and Priests and Pastors and Reverends.

Hubby and I told the cousin about this, and he thought it was funny. I jokingly told him that our son wouldn't convert for him, but if he wanted to consider converting... The cousin laughed and said "I guess you never know."

Darth Vader brings Michael Jackson to a whole new generation

2010-06-29T08:28:00.003-04:00

Is it just me, or has there been a lot more Michael Jackson on the radio in the past year than in the preceeding 5 years?

At Star Wars weekend at Hollywood Studios, at the end of each day they do something called "Hyperspace Hoopla". The Star Wars characters put on a little show. As a part of that, Chewbacca, the female Star Wars characters and Darth Vader each compete in a dance contest. Darth Vader danced to Beat It this year, compete with jeweled glove. As a result, my son now loves that song. Chewbacca danced to walk this way, which was hilarious for many reasons. I hope there was a cooling device in that costume, dancing like that on a 95 degree day!

~~~~~~~

My son competed in a Fun Run this weekend. Traditionally, I have run with him in these races. This time, he ran the entire time for the first time ever, and he is now faster than me. Granted, my speed is nothing to write home about, but this being the first time I couldn't comfortably keep up with him was a big deal. He liked being able to be waiting for me at the finish line. Yay for him! :-)

Kids Bowl Free

2010-06-24T09:12:00.003-04:00

Have you heard about the kids bowl free program? Many bowling alleys in the US participate and kids can sign up to bowl 2 free games each day all summer (no charge to sign up)! Up to 4 adults can sign up for the family plan for $24.95, and they can also bowl 2 games a day. Shoe rental fees still apply.

If you do sign your child/children up, it asks if anyone referred you - People who give referrals get entered into a drawing to win a trip to Disney. So, if you plan to sign up, please contact me and I'll give you my email address to use as a referral and I'd appreciate it so much!

Disney was great, but FREE Disney would be even better. Ha! :-)

Summer vacation...and then summer started

2010-06-22T09:11:00.002-04:00

We went on our summer vacation last week, slightly before summer actually started.

We went to Disney World! I have been wanting to take my son there for quite some time, and everyone started saving for it last year. The week I was going to make the reservations, I got laid off from my job, and hubby read my mind when he said "Make the reservations anyway." I'm so glad we did. We had such a good time, and I can't wait to go back!

We stayed at the All Star Sports Resort. If you don't know, it's one of the value resorts. We will stay there again next time. We have a few friends who stayed at the value resorts before and loved them, but I was the tiniest bit hesitant, thinking that if we're going to do Disney, we should do it all the way. Well, there was nothing lacking here. We got upgraded to a preferred room that basically walked out to the pool, the food court had tons of offerings.

I highly suggest the dining plan. I did not keep track to see if we came out ahead by purchasing it, though I think we did. To me, the most significant part was not having to worry about it. Had we been paying for meals as we went, we would not have eaten as well as we did. It was nice to not have to worry about anything but tips, food-wise.

We had a suitcase full of snacks and cereal. Most days we had cereal in our room for breakfast. The dining plan included one table service meal per day, one counter service, and one snack per day. We brought tons of single serve packs of Cheez Its and animal crackers, and we carried our own water bottle. By the end of the week, we were actually scrambling to use our snack credits, as we had done such a good job of eating the snacks we brought ourselves.

The table service restaurants we ate at were:

Tutto Italia (Epcot, dinner) : Hubby and I liked our food (chicken and lasagna), but the spaghetti was a little too "authentic" for our son. Al dente and not saucy enough. He shared my lasagna.

Hollywood & Vine (Hollywood Studios, lunch) : Buffet, character meal, pretty good food. Nice premade sandwiches and salads, barbecue meatballs son liked the chicken nuggets.

Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom, dinner): Buffet, character meal, pretty good food. Carved turkey, again chicken nuggets for our son, lots of good salads and desserts.

1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian hotel, dinner): Buffet, character meal. Decent food. Questionable children's option of chicken wings. My son did not like the mac & cheese. He ended up eating roast beef. Desserts weren't as good as the other buffets. We won't be going back to this one for dinner. Maybe breakfast.

Ohana (Polynesian, breakfast): Family style character meal. This was our favorite meal. Lilo & Stitch were there, food was fantastic. Delicious sweet breads, eggs, bacon, potatoes, biscuits, bacon and Mickey waffles. Nothing but good things to say about this one - We will definitely go back there.

Garden Grill (Epcot, dinner): Family Style character meal. This was our least favorite meal. Unique restaurant in which the floor rotated slowly so you always had a different view. Rotation actually upset hubby's stomach. Son did not like a single one of the kid's platter items: Chicken drumstick (not so much into chicken on the bone, even though I cut it off. He likes grilled chicken breast and breaded chicken), mac & cheese and sweet potato fries. He ended up eating roast turkey and zucchini from our platter. Meal was average. Dessert was pretty good: Strawberry rhubarb crisp for adults, cookies & creme mousse for kids.

The parks were all great, and we visited Universal as well. My son rode every wild ride he was big enough for, and especially loved the water rides, Space Mountain and the Tower of Terror. The Toy Story Mania and Buzz Lightyear rides were family favorites, as well as Muppetvision 3D. The timing of our trip was based on Star Wars Weekend at Hollywood Studios, which was such a treat for my son. He got to participate in Jedi training. He battled Darth Vader, and won of course. :)

It was the best trip ever. We were lucky to have very little rain. I never knew a week could go by so fast! Time to start saving again!

Stop! Thief! (alternate title: It's going to get hot in here today!)

2010-06-21T08:59:00.002-04:00

I arrived at work this morning to be instructed to call the landlord. Someone dismantled our air c onditioning unit to steal all the c opper inside. There is a sad metal heap where the unit used to be.

The police have come and will be sending a technician to dust for prints. It's like CSI. Except hotter. More like CSI Miami.

The landlord, who is out of town, said he will call someone when he gets back in town tomorrow to see about replacing (repairing?!? is that possible?!?) the unit. Meanwhile, it will be about 90 degrees today. Our windows are full panel and don't open. So...It's going to be hot.

But...ugh. That's something it never occured to me that people would steal. I don't think it's a concern at home, as our unit is on the side of the house where the neighbor's bedrooms are, and they are always watching out their window.

Maybe she should go back to call center etiquette 101

2010-06-01T12:07:00.001-04:00

Scene: Lots of chatter in background, clearly a sales call.

"Is "boss" there?"

"He's on another line. May I take a message?"

"Is his wife available?"

"You've reached a business."

"Well, sometimes husbands and wives work together." Then she hung up on me.

Classy.

Letting me down easy

2010-05-26T15:16:00.002-04:00

I have the pleasure of chaperoning the kindergarten field trip this week. My son is excited that I am going, and weeks ago said "We can sit together on the bus!" I told him that we could, but that he may prefer to sit with one of his friends and he assured me that he would rather sit with me. This morning he said "If I sit with a friend on the bus, you can sit with one of the other moms on the bus - You can sit with one of your friends!" I thought it was very sweet that he made sure I would have someone to sit with if not with him, and even found a way to make it sound fun for me.

Little does he know, I am perfectly content to sit alone if it means he is enjoying sitting with one of his friends on a special day. Maybe he wants to make sure I won't be lonely. :-)

Only feels like 88

2010-05-18T09:29:00.002-04:00

Today is hubby's and my anniversary. 8 years. Where does the time go? We told our son we had been married 8 years, and he thought we said 88 (that would be something). Hubby said "No, it just feels like 88." Sweet as always. Actually, sweet indeed - I got to work and he had brought donuts and bananas for everyone in my office to share. Apparently we get married, and everyone celebrates with treats! :-) I had my donut, and my banana is waiting for me. :-)

Hubby got me the best present in the world. Anyone who has read this blog probably knows that I have coveted the Wii Fit for a long time. Now I have one! Yippee! He gave it to me early so I could enjoy it some on the weekend, and enjoy it I did. I've been doing the body test each morning. The first 2 mornings I weighed the same, and this morning I was 1.1 pounds lighter. Then hubby brought donuts to work. Ahem. Oh well...I guess I can eat 1.1 pounds worth, ha!

I have been doing 10 minutes of yoga and strength training each morning, which I am sure my back will appreciate, and last night I did about a half hour of aerobic type activities on there.

Tuesday for some reason is always an awful day at work for me, and hubby knows that. I can't think of a better way to take the awful out than with donuts and bananas. :-)

Fresh cheese

2010-05-17T10:39:00.003-04:00

We borrowed a DVD of Tom & Jerry episodes. My son loves that show. A couple years ago hubby and I turned it on and promptly turned it off, realizing that the cat and mouse spend a half hour injuring each other in every episode. We have eased up and realized that as long as everyone knows it's pretend, and not acceptable to injure anyone like that, it's still as funny as it was when we were kids.

We were all watching an episode together and Jerry ended up procuring an entire meal from a garbage dump. Hubby said "Yuck - He's eating garbage!" Our son's very defensive reply? "He's a mouse! He has to get food wherever he can. It's not like he can always have fresh cheese!"

Good point. When you look at it that way, Jerry really does the best he can, doesn't he? :-)

Next I'll be putting the remote in the freezer

2010-05-11T08:13:00.002-04:00

After I get showered and dressed in the morning, a whole kitchen routine takes place. I pack hubby's lunch, pack my son's lunch if he is bringing one, get breakfast ready for everyone and make coffee.

This morning I poured myself a bowl of cereal, and poured the last small bit that was in that box in a bowl for hubby, for him to add to later. I then put a filter in the coffee filter holder, took a spoonful of coffee...and poured it into hubby's cereal bowl. I got a second spoonful of coffee and held it over the bowl for a moment before realizing that something was not right.

The second spoonful of coffee made it to the filter, and I was even able to manage to salvage a large amount of the coffee in the cereal bowl.

Note to self: Make coffee first next time.

When something that has nothing to do with you shakes you up

2010-05-10T08:16:00.002-04:00

Trying to secure RSVPs for my son's birthday party brought me to emailing the mom of one of his friends. We've been friendly enough with the parents over the years, but our sons don't see as much as each other at daycare anymore since they go to half day kindergarten opposite times of day.

Their family is one of those picture perfect ones. Two sons, a dog, beautiful house full of pictures of a beautiful family. Both parents just as nice as can be. That's why I nearly fell out of my chair when her email apologized for not getting back to me, but that things have been pretty hectic since the parents had separated right after Christmas and filed for divorce shortly thereafter and that she is currently overwhelmed because the dad doesn't take the boys often.

My son has friends with divorced parents, but they've all been divorced as long as we've known them. To see a family that seemed idyllic going through this is...well, it's scary. Yes, obviously you don't know what goes on behind closed doors, but there are some couples out there that I don't know all that well and I could probably hear they were divorcing without feeling much shock. But these guys? I'm shocked, I'm shaken, and I feel bad for the sons, although as a child of divorce myself, I know my life got less stressful when my parents split up and there wasn't so much anger in the house.

Anyway...I emailed the mom back and let her know that I was sorry, and to let us know if we could help...Even if that meant just watching her son for an afternoon so she could spend some time with her other son.

And then I thanked God for my family, and asked Him to help me always cherish it and do my best to always protect it and keep it healthy in all ways and always keep it intact.

Vice...but I never watched Miami Vice

2010-05-06T09:08:00.002-04:00

I commented on someone's post earlier this week about my affection for SoapNet.

For lack of a meaningful post, let me tell you the story of how I got hooked on soaps.

When I was 14, my friend asked me to watch General Hospital for her for a week while she was at camp. Looking back now, I realize that was a ridiculous request, because you can go much longer than a week without watching a soap opera, and never really miss anything.

I continued to watch after she returned from camp. Once I turned on the TV a little early, and "Hey, One Life to Live is interesting."

Once I somehow turned the TV on much too early, and there was All My Children.

I occasionally catch a snippet of Days of our Lives, and I watch half of Young and the Restless in the mornings while I get ready and my son is still asleep.

Really, I can take them or leave them, and I have been known to stop watching for months at a time. Normally I only know what's going on in one or two of them.

So...Um. What a pointless post. Do I have a favorite? The answer to that changes with the storylines. I think right now I prefer One Life to Live.

I also watch the news. And Modern Family and the Office. But really, I don't watch much TV. Only early morning and later in the evening.

Annual birthday party planning post

2010-05-04T10:15:00.002-04:00

If you scroll back to May of various years on this blog, you will always find a post (or more) regarding the planning of my son's birthday party. There's probably even one on the old Ebloggy blog, but I don't know if I can even access that anymore, and I won't bother trying.

My son decided back in December of last year where he would be holding his party this year. That place was not allowing parties the weeked of his birthday or the one before. We were not available the one after, so we went with a party two weeks before his birthday. Between daycare, kindergarten, Sunday School and soccer, my son knows a lot of kids. For him to narrow it down to 9 took some careful consideration on his part. I was surprised at some of his choices. There is only one girl, who he has known since he was 2 months old and is one of his best friends, though he doesn't see her as often as he used to. Some are from daycare, some from kindergarten, and some from none of those places. Then comes the careful etiquette of "not discussing it too loudly at school, since not a lot of people could be invited". Two RSVPs so far. That's always kind of an issue, because people either forget, or just plain don't. If people can't come and let us know soon enough, I may let him send out a few more invitations, because I know he would have liked to invite some other people as well.

The last two years we've written "no gifts please" on the invitations. This year my son did not want to do that, and we were fine with that. While he has more than enough toys, two years of graciously not getting gifts from his friends after bringing gifts to half of the parties he attended is impressive for a 4 and 5 year old. For 6 years old, he can have his gifts. :-) Next year he is considering asking for donations to bring to the Animal Shelter in lieu of gifts (his idea). He is a planner, like me, planning a party over a year in advance. :-)

Like a hotel, but dirtier

2010-04-26T08:11:00.002-04:00

We have two hand towel holders in our main bathroom. One is above the toilet, and the other is installed lower near the door. We put it in when my son was potty training a few years ago. The rack is wooden and had a circle that can pivot. My son got in the habit of pulling the towel while drying his hands, which put a strain on the holder. I used to remind him not to do that, thinking that it could eventually pull the holder out of the wall. Since I am not usually in there anymore when he is washing his hands, he doesn't get that reminder.

Somehow the wooden circle part of the holder actually snapped this weekend. My husband tried to glue it unsuccessfully. I thought we would need to replace it, but then hubby came up with the idea of screwing the larger remaining portion back onto the base. The result is 3/4 of a circle, which has a very modern look to it, and actually looks like it was meant to be that way.

My son's reaction upon inspection of the newly remodeled towel holder? "It's very fancy. It's like we're in a hotel...only dirtier." "What?" I asked him in surprise. He pointed to a little dust that had collected next to the base of the vanity in which the sink sits "There's some dust there." There was indeed some dust. Some dust. Not a pile of dirt and other random things. Surely some of you have a bit of dust on your bathroom floor?

Welcome to our home. It's like a hotel. Only dirtier.

Is this thing on?

2010-04-21T10:24:00.003-04:00

I know at least two people might still read this, so I'll take a chance and post.

Tomorrow is my 5 YEAR blogiversary! 5 years! Half a decade! Wow.

Starting next week, I am going to be a 24 hour a week employee. This after 3 months of anything varying from 0 hours per week to 12 hours per week. Surely it will be a transition, but I've had a great time of unemployment, so I certainly can't complain. Plus, I still get some extra time off.

It's National TV turnoff week. According to the statistics, children watch an average of 20 hours of TV per week. Really? What children? Yours? Certainly not mine. My son watches a half hour in the morning and a half hour in the afternoon. That's 7 hours per week. Tack on 45 minutes on the Wii each day, and we're up to about 12 hours. 20 hours is a long time.

At school, they are getting small prizes for each day they participate in TV turnoff and bring in the parent signed slip saying they didn't watch the previous day. The teacher said in past years, parents have signed off when children did watch, and that this sends a negative message. You think? I can't believe parents would do that. The sad part is, how do you think she found out in the first place? Of course the kids told her. Sad when the children have to tell the truth for their parents.

Anyway, ours has been off since Sunday night. We're having fun playing board games, playing outside, etc. Sunday night we're having a couple families of friends in his class over to have a little celebration of the end of TV turnoff. With no TV, of course. :-)

It's only funny because it's not true

2010-03-08T09:01:00.002-05:00

Hey there!

I'm still unemployed, and loving it more than I should, I'm sure. My son and I are having a blast; I'm getting lots done, helping lots at school, and even making new friends. I'm actually working this morning, as I get called in every week or so for bookkeeping tasks.

My back has been acting up for the last three weeks, which is never fun, but par for the course for me sometimes. It actually went a year with no problems, so I'm thankful for that. Yesterday it was doing a little better, but this morning, after being at my desk for an hour, I can feel it reverting back to its previous level of soreness.

Last week I got a filling in my tooth. I have very few fillings, thankfully, especially after this latest one. I don't know if my body didn't like the novocaine, or what. My cheek swelled up for a day and a half and was sore, and days later, I still have a large bruise on my jaw slightly larger than a golf ball. We had some new friends over for lunch yesterday. Last night, hubby asked if I had told the wife about what had caused the bruise on my jaw. I said no, that I had forgotten it was there. He said "Oh." I asked if he thought they thought he had hit me, and he said "Possibly." I laughed it off, and said "At least my back was doing a little better. If I had trouble moving around-" Hubby then finished what I was going to say exactly "It would have looked like I pushed you down the stairs, too." Yes, I know domestic violence is no laughing matter. I guess it's only funny because we know it's not true.

I'm a stay at home mom! (Alternate title: What a positive spin!)

2010-01-15T09:04:00.006-05:00

So, I'm laid off from my job. Funny thing is, things are busier here than this time last year. Blew me out of the water. Company meeting yesterday. I wouldn't have been shocked to be cut back another day, or even two, but I'm laid off. We all are. It's meant to be temporary, but what that means is anyone's guess. The hours that were cut last spring were meant to be temporary, too, but they never came back.

I get to come in a couple hours a week (like one or two) because companies don't function without the person who keeps the books at least making an appearance.

Daycare is being spectacular. I wanted to keep my son in a computer class that he is taking there, and they said if I stay outside the room while he takes it, then it won't be used toward his billable hours, so we can cut his hours down to the minimum plan just to cover the small amount of time I go to the office each week.

The upside is I get extra time with my son. I can volunteer more at school. With the blessing of Hubby's new job, it's not going to be a massive financial strain on our family.

I have never been laid off in my life. I have been working since age 14, and have never been more than a week without a job, and that includes during several moves to different states.

I know it will be okay, but for some reason I feel a little shaky (literally - my hands have been shaking - the weirdest thing).

There might not be many more posts from me here while I'm not working, but I'll still be checking email.

Excitement renewed

2010-01-14T10:37:00.003-05:00

My son has been excited about our eventual trip to Disneyworld that we have been saving for. He knew that we would be flying there, so it took me by surprise when I mentioned the monorail that runs between some of the hotels and he excitedly said "Hotels? We get to stay in a HOTEL while we're there?!? I thought we were going for a DAY!" Between flying back and forth, and going to Disney and Universal, he must have thought that was going to be quite a day! So now he's even MORE excited.

~~~~~~~

I baked a loaf of bread last night, and was glad when the oven didn't send out any toxic fumes after the melting frosting dish incident.

~~~~~~~

I guess that's all the excitement on my mind at the moment. What are you excited about?

~~~~~~~

Oh, and I just heard it was delurking day again, so please, leave a comment! Let me know you were here. :-)

Post 600!

2010-01-13T08:29:00.002-05:00

600 posts. Wow. Where did the time go? Apparently I've been spending it blogging...

Hubby received EA Sports Active for the Wii as his early birthday gift. He has other gifts coming on the actual day, but my son and I wanted him to have one thing to open during the early birthday celebration.

Lest you think it sounds like a selfish gift, since I've been chanting "I want a Wii Fit" for some time now, when I bought it for him, I actually thought I would also be getting a Wii Fit soon, so this was something more geared to him. He is enjoying it more than he thought he would (do I know him, or what?). I am also enjoying it very much, and luckily hubby doesn't mind sharing. My 30 day challenge seems to be focusing greatly on my quadriceps, and I expect to be unable to squat in about 3 days. It's so much fun, though, and the exercises change quickly so you don't have time to get bored (or exhausted) with one particular exercise.

Have you had Hot and Spicy Cheez Its? Oh my goodness. They're my new food love. Just the right amount of spicy. When I got them, I thought I would be the only one who liked them, but my son loves them as much as I do. Hubby can't stand them, so there are only two of us competing for them, anyway.

In which I wish hubby a happy birthday by creating various disasters in the kitchen

2010-01-11T08:28:00.003-05:00

Hubby's birthday is later this week. Due to various issues in our schedule, we celebrated (in part) on Sunday.

I started the day by making my family waffles. My dad and his wife gave me one of those super fancy hotel style waffle makers for Christmas, where you flip the cooking surface while the waffle cooks. I tried it the weekend after Christmas, but misread the temperature dial, so each time I opened the machine to remove a cooked waffle, it was not yet cooked and stuck. Hubby ended up finishing the waffles that day, but yesterday, confident in my new waffle making abilities, I mixed the batter, and poured some into the maker. The light clicked on that it was done, I opened it...and it stuck. I called hubby into the kitchen. He said I didn't use enough batter. He pried the waffle out for me, and I tried making another one. It still stuck. He finished making the waffles.

Later, I mixed some food coloring in frosting to make blue frosting that my son wanted to use to frost the cake. I stuck the tupperware bowl of blue frosting in the oven to keep hubby from seeing it. (Anyone see where this might be heading?)

Later I preheated the oven to bake some chicken for a salad for dinner. I always always look in the oven before preheating. Never once has there actually been anything in the oven, but I always do it, just the same. Except this time. Of course. I sat on the couch to read while I waited for the oven to preheat. I went back to the kitchen to check on the oven, and through the glass door of the oven, saw some little sparks. I still had no recollection of the frosting bowl, so I opened the oven to see if a piece of food had perhaps dropped the last time we used it and was sizzling down there.

What I found was a melty, scary mess. The bowl had melted to about half its original size, blue frosting was bubbling over the edge and the whole bottom of the oven was covered in a plastic, frosting covered mess. I panicked and called hubby out to help. He opened the kitchen window, turned on the exhaust fan, and started damage control. I'm lucky I didn't start a fire.

So, offering to make breakfast for hubby ended in him making breakfast, and making him dinner ended in him cleaning the oven and a bowl getting ruined.

The total irony of the situation? I was going to put that frosting bowl in the microwave to hide it, but there was a metal spoon in the bowl, and I didn't want the microwave to somehow turn on (as if it has a mind of its own) and start some sort of metal reaction. Um, yeah.

But really? You know I will never ever preheat the oven without checking inside again.

Who said it's not polite to stare?

2010-01-08T10:04:00.003-05:00

When I picked my son up from daycare yesterday, he was excited to tell me that he had a staring contest with a big kid on the schoolbus: "He blinked a lot and I didn't!" I asked him if he knew the boy, and he said no. I asked if they talked before or just started staring. He said they just started staring. He said when the bus got to my son's stop, he and the boy said "Bye". Those were the only words exchanged.

I wonder at what age a wordless staring contest with a stranger becomes weird instead of fun? :-)

Or maybe it's still fun, and no one told me. Go ahead and try it and let me know. Heh.

The Sun will not eat the Earth

2010-01-07T11:39:00.002-05:00

I picked up my son from daycare about 15 minutes later than usual one day this week. My reward for this was a groan from my son as he saw me enter just as he was waiting for snacktime (he got to bring his snack home with him) and an announcement from a boy in that class who I had never met before.

The boy, whose name I learned later, approached me and said "The Sun is getting bigger and bigger. It's going to eat up the Earth, but that's okay, 'cause there's going to be a new planet." The teacher was on the other side of the room, so the half dozen other kids nearby looked at me with furrowed brows. I told the boy "The Sun's not going to eat up the Earth." Then, to the other kids, who seemed to collectively sigh with relief "That's nothing to worry about." The boy said to me "The Sun IS going to eat up the Earth. But there's going to be a new planet." He then walked away.

Um...Perhaps a new hypothesis on the results of global warming? Information passed along by little green men? Regardless, don't worry, kids.

Is it evangelism or just unsolicited advice?

2010-01-05T14:51:00.008-05:00

For those of you who somehow missed the years long saga of my family's religion (which I'm too lazy to link back to), let me break it down. Hubby was raised Catholic, I was raised not going to church. We started dating, I was attending a Methodist church, he wasn't attending any church. We began attending Catholic together, got engaged. Catholic church did not wish to marry us without me getting an annulment from my ex, which I took exception to due to the Catholic church's lack of involvement in my first marriage (civil ceremony). We joined Methodist Church, I was baptized, we got married there, son got baptized there. Hubby decided he wanted to go back to his roots. As a compromise, we started attending a Lutheran church. Compromise didn't please either of us, so hubby started attending a Catholic service alone, and we all attended Methodist as a family. Last year, we settled into a routine that seems to work for us, generally alternating weeks at the Catholic and Methodist church. Wow. Maybe it would have been easier to find the old posts.

Anywho, currently I work in my son's Sunday school class about every 3 weeks. Those weeks he attends with me. On the weeks I am not in there, my son is allowed to choose whether or not he would like to attend Sunday school. We feel that Sunday school should be an enjoyable experience, and if he is being forced to go, it will become a chore.

Each week there is a "theme" at Sunday school. I emailed the director of Christian ed. to find out what this week's theme was, explaining that our son chooses whether or not to attend when I am not in there.

She replied with some comments about the importance of attending every week, and the struggle between letting your child choose to go to church/Sunday school and forcing them, etc...

My first inclination was to feel defensive. I explained to her that our family splits our time between that church and the Catholic one, and more often than not, on weeks I am not helping in Sunday school, we don't even attend the Methodist church, therefore we let him choose whether he wants to go to Sunday school on those weeks. She replied with understanding comments about how that makes sense, and how nice that our son is experiencing both styles of worship and getting the best of both.

When I told hubby about it, he was annoyed that she presumed to advise us as to what choices to make regarding our son and Sunday school. On the one hand, I figure it is part of her job, encouraging parents to keep their kids involved. On the other...Well, it's a personal choice. No one calls if we miss a week of church. I don't expect comments when we miss Sunday school...Particularly at 5 years old.

I'm pretty much over it, but I'm not sure it was necessarily appropriate for her to give advice when none was requested. Maybe I feel that way because our family works really hard to make our religious situation work. Attending two different churches, making sure hubby and I both feel we're at our preferred place of worship often enough and making an effort to get our son to Sunday school when he chooses to go on weeks I'm not obligated to be there. It takes effort and patience on everyone's part to make our "system" work...So I guess we don't really welcome the advice of others to complicate it further.

The Doors

2010-01-05T09:36:00.003-05:00

One thing I forgot to mention about winter break that was pretty awesome was that we got new doors! A new entry door and storm door. We have had a drafty house for years. Hubby has tried all sorts of weatherstripping, and we use a draft stopper, but no matter what, you could pretty much run your hand around the edge of the door and feel a nice breeze coming in in the winter. Hubby wanted no part of putting in a new door, as he had replaced the area under the threshold a few years back because of some rotting wood, and it turned into a huge pain in the neck of a project.

A friend of a friend used to work in construction, and agreed to be hired to install the door. When hubby and I went to purchase the new door, we realized that the new door would make our storm door look bad, so we bought a new one of those as well.

They were installed over two oh-so-cold days last week, and I felt so bad for the guy. I kept offering to make coffee or hot chocolate, and he said he only drank Mountain Dew. Of course we had no Mountain Dew, so I bought some for the next day, and he never wanted any. Luckily most of it was drank on New Years Eve.

Anyway, the new doors are beautiful, and not drafty, and we are very happy to have them. We are also happy to know someone who can do such projects, and we will likely be hiring him to replace our side door as well...When it gets warmer.

~~~~~

Our neighbor's Latvian language newsletter arrived in our mailbox yesterday. The good neighbor that I am, I carried it over to their house. I watched as my elderly, but active (she shovels her driveway better than we do ours) neighbor watched me out her window. I rang the bell. As I stood in the 20 degree weather at her door returning her mail, she didn't come. I stuck the newsletter in her door. I was unable to put it between her storm door and entry door because her storm door was locked. Therefore, I stuck the newsletter in the storm door so it stuck out like a flag. She watched through her window as I walked back home. Five minutes later when I left to pick up my son from school, the newsletter was gone. You're welcome.

Holiday peace offerings and other good stuff

2010-01-04T14:01:00.003-05:00

Miss me? Notice I was gone? Eh, no matter. I just returned from 11 days of no work, and I'm as happy as a clam.

I take this same week off every year because my son's daycare is closed. One year, only one day passed without me needing to put out a figurative fire at work. Last year I was called only once. This year I wasn't called at all. I couldn't decide whether to be pleased that I had been left alone, or concerned that they now function completely without me for a week and a half.

What did I do for my time off? Spent wonderful quality time with my son (and hubby for most of it - he had to work 3 days of it). Christmas was wonderful. We were abundantly blessed both in material goods and especially with each other. New Years Eve was spent with friends as well as New Years Day. My son got to have friends over to play a couple of times, we went sledding, saw the Alvin & the Chipmunks movie and enjoyed all the Christmas goodies. Hubby beat me handily at Scrabble last night, but I won the last time we played, so I guess he was due.

We got a Wii, which we are all thrilled about. I've developed a bit of a Wii tennis elbow, which feels like a rite of passage. Our library loans out Wii games, so we've had opportunity to try a few new ones without actually purchasing them.

Remember this mom? Our sons trick or treated together, which I took to mean the one sided cold war was over, although the awkwardness remained. My son was invited for a playdate (don't like that word) at their house in November. Still awkward interaction with the parents, but whatever, it's about the kids, right? My son had their son over to play during winter break, and I had nearly forgotten the chill existed, until I got an email from the mom the evening after her son's visit. Wondering what on earth the email could be about, I opened it. She apologized for having to call and ask to be late picking her son up due to snowy driving conditions (no big deal; the boys were having a blast), then she apologized for "creating weirdness between us". She said things have been strained between us as a result and she was sorry. Creating weirdness. I guess that sums it up. I responded to her and thanked her for her words, and said that when the boys were younger and we all had hung out together, we had always had fun, and it was strange to not be comfortable with one another anymore. She responded saying that she and her husband always had fun with us, too, and that we should all get together soon. I told hubby and he was...um...less than receptive. I told him that if they invite us, we definitely should do it, since she made the effort. Whether or not they invite us is a whole other story. It's nice to have an official thaw in the air, though I must say I was a little shocked. I suppose it was brave of her. If I had been somewhat snubbing someone for months and wanted to change that, I probably would have just stopped the snubbing and hoped it all swept itself nicely under the rug. I guess the holiday spirit got to her.

Hope your holidays were wonderful as well.

Like a basketball court in our basement

2009-12-23T09:47:00.004-05:00

The thing about this time of year is that we can't get outside with our son and run around as much as we'd like. Sure, we can go in the snow, but it gets dark early and sometimes it's too cold or sloppy.

Luckily we have a nice playroom in our basement, and we sometimes play a little soccer with a light ball down there.

Thanks to Hasbro and the great people at Litzky PR, my family was given a chance to try out Nerf Wall to Wall Basketball.

Assembly was simple, once hubby and I got past our problem with putting the nets on the rims. That was definitely more our problem than a problem with the directions, as once we actually looked closely at the directions, we got the nets on with no problem. We installed one net on each of two opposite walls. We put them at different heights, one that would be reasonable for our son right now, and one that he will grow into.

We played a family game of basketball for about 15 minutes, and it was so much fun. It got us running in the basement, and even though the basement isn't all that long, it felt like we were getting some good activity.

My 6'4" husband was like a wall when it came to blocking, but my son and I got a couple of shots past him. My son suggested that hubby squat when playing defense, but hubby determined that his knees wouldn't take that.

This is a great toy to give your kids a little physical activity on a rainy or cold day, and if you don't have a long enough room to build yourself a little court, put the nets next to each other for a free throw contest.

It's reasonably priced and available at your local toy store. Perfect for a last minute gift!

Two weeks

2009-12-22T09:21:00.004-05:00

I've gone two weeks without posting. Not sure I've ever done that before. This might be my last post of 2009, so think of this as a year end recap...Or something.

Last week our living room looked like it exploded, thanks to a strange cycle of a gift from my mom leading to us buying something else which led to us buying a tv stand and selling the old stereo and cabinet I bought in 1992 that was being used as a TV stand. If reading that didn't frazzle you, seeing our living room in the midst of that would have - CD/DVD stand moved uncomfortably close to the tree with DVD player and VCR on top, stereo cabinet pulled away from the wall, two large speakers in front of the couch, TV on the floor, large box containing oak TV stand that required two hours of assembly also in front of the couch. Small area remaining in which to move.

By Friday, all was as it should be, except that the TV stand has uneven doors...We have decided to live with this. Monday through Friday I felt very disorganized and overwhelmed...Then it was fine. :-)

The Christmas countdown is in full force at our house. The Advent chain is nearly completely unraveled, the moose or reindeer with a little chalkboard proclaims that there are 3 days until Christmas, and our son is thoroughly excited.

Also exciting: 11 days of no work coming up soon.

2009 has been a wacky year. A good year. For anything that might not have happened exactly the way we would have planned it, we have been blessed with several things happening beyond any expectations or hopes we had.

I will go into 2010 feeling optimistic, happy, blessed and content. I wish the same for you. Merry Christmas!

By the way - Pop quiz - Two thousand ten or twenty ten? I'm hearing a lot of twenty ten, but if that's going to be the case, then why wasn't it twenty oh nine?

Giving

2009-12-08T09:01:00.002-05:00

Last year we ended up donating a toy to the Toys for Tots box at Toys R Us. Our family is very blessed, and we like to give back during the holidays. We feel this is especially important to teach our son, as it is easy to look at the many gifts under the tree and forget that some people are much less fortunate.

Prior to choosing to give to Toys for Tots, we attempted to get a tag from our church's angel tree. The only tags left were for adults, and we were looking for one for a child so our son could pick out something he would really like to have to give to someone else. The requests on the adult tags struck me as odd: "Karaoke machine" "Gift card for CDs". We expect to give toys to kids in needs, but for some reason for adults in need, it seemed different.

The next weekend, I was speaking to a friend of mine whose place of employment "adopts" a family at Christmas. Her opinion on the matter made a lot of sense to me: "They might be able to afford all their necessities, but not extras. They're being given an opportunity to ask for something they want, so why not be frivolous?" After that conversation, I was all for asking for donations of karaoke machines and the like.

My mom recently brought up a similar situation, where an adult in an "adopted" family at her work was requesting things like a Glamour Shots gift certificate (is Glamour Shots really still around?) and a gift card to a fancy salon. I brought up the point that my friend had shared, saying why not ask for something you want when you can afford only what you need. My mom brought up yet another valid point, referencing her own struggles years ago, and how my dad worked 18 hours a day to still barely make ends meet, and they never would have considered asking someone for something so frivolous should the opportunity arise.

When she makes it personal, it's hard to not accept her point as well. She made another good point: If the people can afford their necessities, why not ask for a grocery store gift card, then spend the cash they don't have to spend on groceries for that something frivolous, and then the givers wouldn't be involved in the frivolity.

It's a tough one. People should give with a happy heart...But I can see how donating a fancy salon gift card to someone in need when you yourself don't go to a fancy salon could be challenging.

The funny part is, I don't even think twice about this when it comes to children. If the person in need was requesting socks for their child, we would give them socks and a toy to go with them. Why does it somehow seem different to donate "toys" to adults?

Tis the season to get crabby while waiting to talk to Santa

2009-12-07T08:35:00.002-05:00

We took our son to see Santa at the mall yesterday. Santa arrived at noon. We arrived about 11:40, and the line was already forming, as expected. The wait was about an hour total. All the children seemed to be waiting very patiently, but my goodness - The parents. The way I look at it, if your child is able to be patient while waiting in line, then surely you should be able to.

The first thing that happened was just kind of silly. We weren't really in a position to see where Santa would be, but I said to my son "I think he's going to get here soon!" The man in front of me turned around and said "Oh - He's already there!" That might not have been so strange had the man not been in line alone, and finally left the line after about a half hour of waiting. Apparently he chickened out on the notion of a grown man waiting to see Santa on his own.

Several people behind us was a mother and daughter. After about 10 minutes of waiting, the mom said "This line is too long. Let's just leave." The line is only going to get longer later in the day and closer to Christmas.

Several people behind us, I overheard a mom say to another adult, while pointing at the overhead screen that advertised events in the mall "They should really be showing a movie up there. There should be a movie. They should show Nemo or something." All the while, her child seemed perfectly content to wait.

But the best, best example of adult impatience? The grandmother who was there with her daughter and grandchildren. She was not actually waiting in line, but wandering around watching the other children meet Santa, making comments and actually looking over another mother's shoulder as she looked at her child's photo with Santa. The grandmother's family was waiting behind us, and at one point she came over and said to the people behind us "I know what's taking so long! They're letting people take as many pictures as they want. One couple spent 15 minutes taking pictures of their kid with Santa." This had to be untrue, because if any one family had taken 15 minutes, the line would not have move as quickly as it did. She then went on to say "I hope they heard me. I said this is ridiculous and that people shouldn't be allowed to be there that long. I hope they do something about it." Because everyone knows the Christmas spirit is all about making passive complaint comments in hopes that they will be overheard and that action will be taken.

My son had a lovely visit with Santa. This must have been the same Santa as last year, because again my son was told "I have all those items in my workshop and I'll bring you everything you asked for." Um, really Santa? While that is completely feasible this year, what about the kid who asks for a big screen TV and an XBox?

After the boy before us was done visiting with Santa, Santa stood and had a conversation with the boy's dad while the boy stood with his mom, which was kind of funny. They seemed to be exchanging information in hushed tones.

Stay away scrooge

2009-12-02T08:34:00.003-05:00

For those who asked about the car, it's a Hyundai Santa Fe. It is actually a 2009 model, but it was previously a rental, so it isn't new, but has very low miles so it's as good as new but less expensive. :-) We were looking something with good cargo capacity for camping gear, and decent towing capacity for the hopeful eventual purchase of a popup camper. We also wanted all wheel drive/4 wheel drive, and this vehicle met all those wishes, as well as being a Consumer Reports recommended vehicle. We are thrilled with it!

~~~~~~~

One of my bosses came up to me yesterday and said "You got a new car? We must be paying you too much." And walked away. Isn't there some old saying about if you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all? Yeah. Well, anyway.

~~~~~~~

For segue from car to crabby people to Christmas, I'd like to talk briefly about my place of employment. As many of you know, I've been working on a forced reduced work schedule for most of this year as a result of the economy and slower business. Everyone here has been. I have worked here for over a dozen years and am the newest person here. Basically, we've all been here a long time. For most of that time, the economy has been good. The current owners, as well as the previous one, have always been very generous with us during good times. When things are good, we get really good bonuses. We get good wages and benefits.

Last year, things were not good, but somehow we still got bonuses. Not as big as before, but still wonderful - and unexpected. This year, things are worse, and basically I am happy to get a paycheck.

That being said, each year, employees have contributed a decent amount toward gifts for the owners. No one initiated it this year, and I didn't figure any of us really felt we could contribute like before, but remembering over a decade of generosity, I still wanted to do something. I suggested a baked good platter of sorts, where each of us contributed some sort of homemade goody and we combined them for a tasty gift. Most of my coworkers were receptive (acknowledging that their spouses would probably be doing the baking), but one in particular was surprisingly negative: "I don't bake and I don't want to do anything."

Sigh. I know he doesn't bake. His wife cooks/bakes by vocation. As far as not wanting to do anything? I have benefited from many years, as has everyone else here, of goodwill and generosity. The situation stinks a bit right now, and one of the owners in particular tends to take his frustration out on us, which I can't stand. But? I really don't appreciate them any less. When it comes down to it, they are sacrificing to keep us here as much and as long as possible. They were the first to have their own hours cut before anyone else's were touched. They pulled a bonus seemingly out of a turnip for us last year. If they have poor attitudes from time to time - Well, that's not for me to judge. I have choices. I choose to stick it out. I choose to be thankful, and I choose to celebrate Christmas. If that means making a batch of cookies or something to share with them, and making our homemade goody bags for coworkers - Even the scroogey one - Then bring it on.

I do bake, and I do want to do something.

Thankful...and then some

2009-12-01T08:52:00.002-05:00

Hope everyone had a great holiday. Ours was wonderful. We did the quiet just-our-family Thanksgiving dinner (went and saw the inlaws at another gathering on the weekend). In the afternoon on Thanksgiving, we went and fed ducks and geese at a local park, who seemed quite appreciative of visitors bearing food on a cold, blustery holiday that seemed to yield no other park visitors.

We went to a store that was open on Thanksgiving and took advantage of some sales, but other than that, we went to no stores the entire weekend. Take that, Black Friday!

Not to say that no shopping was done - I made some online purchases and yesterday we made a major purchase - We got a new (to us) vehicle! It was something we had planned to do this past spring, but with job situations as they were, it was not practical.

We got some great news last week that hubby will be starting a new job soon - A job he has been after for a long time at a company he was previously associated with. This is huge news for our family. He will be doing something he really enjoys, and it goes a long way toward easing any burden that may have been felt as a result of my employment changes/uncertainty.

We have been truly blessed this holiday season, and I wish the same for you. :-)

Tag Junior Giveaway Winner

2009-11-30T08:45:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Owen's Mom, comment #19, who has been chosen by random.org as the Tag Jr. Giveaway winner. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Thanksgiving, indeed

2009-11-24T11:25:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is upon us already. I was already thankful, but good things (hello, vague) are happening around here that have me feeling even more thankful.

My son is fine tuning his Christmas wish list, with sensitivity to everyone: "I'll ask Grandpa for this, I'll ask you guys for that...This thing is kind of expensive, so I'll ask Santa for it." :-)

Today there is a Thanksgiving feast in kindergarten. I made cinnamon swirl bread, which is one of my son's favorites. A quote from him from this morning: "I can't wait until all the other kids get to try the cinnamon bread and to find out if they like it and if you're a good baker. I think you're a good baker."

All the Black Friday specials have me feeling generous, so please check out the Thanksgiving special on my Avon website - You could earn some free product! :-)

GIVEAWAY: Tag Junior book pal

2009-11-20T09:38:00.005-05:00

As I've said before, I love Leapfrog products! My son is getting a Tag Reader for Christmas, and he always enjoys playing with his Leapster. I wish the Tag Junior had been available when my son was at that age, but your child can enjoy one!

From the LeapFrog website:

A love of books starts long before children can read – and its benefits can last a lifetime. Using the same amazing touch technology as the Tag™ Reading System, the Tag™ Junior book pal is designed to encourage toddlers’ natural desire to explore, while introducing preschool skills through playful book-based activities.

The Tag Junior book pal is easy for parents and children to use. Parents can download audio for up to five books to the book pal, then let their toddlers explore. Each Tag Junior board book introduces a different preschool skill – such as the alphabet, counting or social play – through 24 playful activities and more than 130 audio responses.* Open-ended questions and fun sound effects encourage children to take charge, as they touch any part of any page to bring words, pictures or activities to life. After their child has played, parents can connect the book pal to the online LeapFrog® Learning Path to see their child’s progress and get printable activities to expand the learning!

* Included sampler book, If I Were…, has 16 activities and over 70 audio responses.

THE PRIZE:

A LeapFrog Tag Junior Book Pal and 2 books, ABC Animal Orchestra and Pooh Loves To…. This bundle is valued at nearly $57!

TO ENTER:

Become a fan on LeapFrog’s Facebook page. You MUST do this in order to qualify as a winner and leave a comment letting me know you have done so. You must do this before the extra entries will count. (Clarification for Shannon and others who might question this: I am still refusing to join Facebook. This entry is Leapfrog's requirement. It simply means I would not be eligible to win it on any of the other blogs hosting the contest because I wouldn't meet their requirements. :-) )

EXTRA ENTRIES

1. Leave a comment on my blog telling me what your favorite children's book is.

2. Subscribe to my blog, then leave a comment letting me know.

3. Follow be on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment with the link.

This giveaway ends at 8:00 AM Eastern Time, Monday, November 30, 2009. Open to residents of the U.S. only. The winner will be chosen by using random.org. Winner will have 24 hours to respond to notification with shipping info. If no response, another winner will be chosen.

You can also enter the same giveaway on these blogs:

Blogging ‘Bout Boys
Frisco Kids
Ready Mom
Parenting by Trial and Error
Momma Mia

GOOD LUCK!

Well articulated anger

2009-11-17T10:20:00.004-05:00

We have a bedtime routine for our son that lasts anywhere from a half hour to an hour, depending on the degree of procrastination.

First, he has a snack (normally string cheese and a handful of oyster crackers) while we read a bedtime story. Then he goes upstairs and uses the bathroom, gets pajamas on, brushes teeth and flosses. He then gets in bed, where I read him a few pages from a longer book that we read over multiple days. Sometimes we stop reading at a particularly interesting part of the book. I try not to do that, and will sometimes read a couple extra pages, but sometimes it would take quite a few pages to get to another part, so we simply have to wait. Last night was one of those nights. As he often does, my son said "I wish we could read just one more page." I told him we couldn't this time. Normally that's that, but last night he persisted. Hubby and I said goodnight to him, and just as hubby closed the door, we heard "I'm going to be mad all night." We let him stew in his self-proclaimed anger. About five minutes later, he called me. I went in his room, and in a perfectly amicable voice he asked me "Did you hear me say I'm going to be mad all night?" I told him that I had heard him. He said "Oh, okay. I wasn't sure whether you heard me or not." I said "Yes. I heard you.", and again told him goodnight. He said goodnight, and we didn't hear another peep out of him all night.

In the morning, not a word was said about it. At breakfast, I asked him if he'd like to read more of the book after breakfast. His answer? A perfectly cheerful "No thanks."

Well, he never said he'd be angry in the morning, too. :-)

Poor jacket

2009-11-16T08:26:00.005-05:00

Remember when we all laughed at the notion of someone abandoning their clothing at the tailor? Um...I might be abandoning my jacket at the tailor. The fleece jacket is about a decade old, and while it's in fine shape, it's hard to justify paying a lot to have it repaired when I could get a new one for $30 at the most if I find a good sale. So, when these people said it would be $10 to repair if it was just the zipper pull, I brought it in for them to look at. They said it would be the zipper pull. I have a claim ticket that says it will be $10. $10 was the absolute most I was willing to pay. I wasn't even willing to pay the extra 2 dollars to get it more quickly. Last week I got a message from them saying that repairing the zipper pull didn't help at all, and that it must be the zipper. I called, and the manager was not there, but I told the person I spoke with that I would be picking up the jacket, as I was not willing to pay for a pricier repair. I then said "And there won't be any charge, since it's not fixed, right?" The lady stammered a bit, and asked "Is that what the message said?" I said "No, but I was paying to have it fixed, and I don't know what I would be paying for if I get the jacket back in the same exact condition." She said I would have to talk to the manager. I plan to stop in on my lunch break. I understand that they had some time into this, but I was told that I would pay a certain price to repair my jacket. If my jacket is not repaired, why would I be paying anything? It's really a tough call, but I am unwilling to spend more than $10 to repair a coat from the 90s that probably cost $25 new. If they insist on some type of payment, I may opt to donate my jacket to them instead. Is that awful?

Update: Not only did they not charge me to retrieve my jacket, they tried to refund me the $10, which I had never paid in the first place. I explained to them that I hadn't given them any money, and took my non-zipping jacket with me. :-)

~~~~~

I am the first to admit that we are protective of our son. I don't think I'd go so far as to say we're overprotective, but I know we are more strict about some things than other parents. Regardless, I was very surprised when the mom of one of my son's new kindergarten friends invited him for a weekday playdate. The part that surprised me was when I said it wouldn't work out with my work schedule to bring him over from daycare midmorning she suggested that she pick him up at daycare. I'm sure she's a lovely lady, but I met her 3 weeks ago. I am not comfortable with her picking up my child and transporting him places. Luckily we were able to arrange a get together for one of the days on Thanksgiving break when I can bring him on my lunch break. Somehow there is a difference to me between leaving my son to play at someone's house for a few hours and letting that same someone drive him places.

Cutting costs

2009-11-11T09:33:00.005-05:00

Evil Twin's Wife has a post about things she does to scale back expenses, and I figured that was a great topic so I decided to copy her. Imitation being the most sincere form of flattery, and all.

So, what things do we do at our house to save money?

1. Don't pay what the cable company charges. I call and get the latest promotion. When that expires? I call again. And there's always another promotion. There is no reason anyone should be paying full price for cable and internet. Just call and ask.

2. The garbage company we use recently raised prices. I called and got a much lower price with another company, called my company back, and they lowered the rate. It never hurts to ask.

3. Tear dryer sheets in half. Half a sheet is all you need to keep the static cling away and keep your clothes smelling nice. A box lasts twice as long.

4. Pack lunches. Hubby and I eat lunches from home almost everyday. Peanut butter sandwich, apple, string cheese, crackers...Sound like an elementary school lunch? Maybe. Tasty? Yep. Healthier than most things we'd get if we went out? Yep. Cheaper? Heck, yeah! Every once in a while we go out, but very rarely.

5. Coupons. I usually have coupons for activities we participate in. I also use coupons in stores, but I am not as diligent about that as I should be.

6. Grocery shopping - I buy things we need no matter the price, but extras, like a certain type of cookies, are only bought when on sale. I also stock up on things we eat regularly when they're on sale.

7. Heat/air conditioning. Set your thermostat 2 degrees lower/higher (depending on the season). You really won't notice the difference. If you have a programmable thermostat, set it was low while you're gone, and set it to be at the regular temperature when you get home.

8. Clothes. We don't get a lot of new clothes. Our son basically gets a new wardrobe every season, since he's growing, but hubby and I? A new shirt here or there, but they don't wear out that quickly, and we tend to wear classic items that don't get outdated.

9. Coffee. We make it at home. We don't stop daily for coffee. Occasionally, but certainly not daily, or even weekly.

10. Water - Turn it off when you're brushing your teeth. That both conserves water and saves money, assuming you're on municipal utilities.

11. Haircuts. I stopped going to my fancy salon a few years ago and now go to a little place in a strip mall. Hubby started cutting his own, for the most part, though he gets a professional one every few times to straighten out anything he might not get quite right. I also get my hair cut only every 3 or 4 months, and do bang trims myself.

12. Make my own foaming hand soap. Those dispensers are expensive and wasteful. Buy one dispenser for each room, and to refill: Use a one cup measuring cup. Fill with water to the 2/3 cup mark. Pour in regular handsoap from big container to the 3/4 cup mark. Stir, pour into dispenser. I've been doing it for a couple years.

13. I make my own bread. Have been doing so for the better part of the year. This saves money and is healthier, but it's hard to find a container that homemade bread fits in, so I use large ziplocs. Rather than go through one of those a week just for bread, I wash them and reuse them. Since all they had in them was bread, I am comfortable washing and reusing them. This would not apply for all (or even most) items put in a ziploc.

I'm sure there are many more ways, and I may add some later...How do you save?

Just like there's a greeting card for all occasions, there's also a book

2009-11-10T12:47:00.003-05:00

Thanks so much to everyone for the comments and thoughts on yesterdays post. Each and every one was appreciated.

Telling our son actually went better than I would have expected. He was quiet at first, processing it. Asked a couple questions about when and how...Then the sadness hit. I had picked up a small stuffed dog for him that looked a lot like Rusty, which he kept with him all night and I believe offered some comfort, and I also remembered a book I bought when our other dog passed away a few years ago, Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant. Ms. Rylant is the author of dozens of children's books. We usually leave the library with a Henry and Mudge Book or High Rise Detective book, or her latest series that we discovered, Mr. Putter and the Tabby. I think Dog Heaven is a must read for anyone at the time of the loss of their pet (she also wrote Cat Heaven, which I haven't read). She paints the picture of a wonderful after life for the dog who has passed on, including unlimited biscuits shaped like cats, children to play with, inverted clouds for beds, and covert "invisible" visits down to earth to check on the family. My son felt so much better after reading this. This morning he referred to some of the things in the book that Rusty might be doing at that moment. I think we all felt a little better after reading that book together.

~~~

Hubby had an early lunch today and asked if I wanted to meet. We met at Taco Bell. We arrived separately, and he leaned in for a quick kiss when I arrived. I had forgotten about it by the time I was filling my drink, until the older gentleman who had been in line behind us asked "You do know that man don't you? I saw you kiss him when you came in." Heh. Who'd have thought the first time I was called out for a public display of affection would be 7½ years into marriage? :-)

Rusty 1994-2009

2009-11-09T10:38:00.002-05:00

A couple months after hubby and I got married, we discovered that a local animal rescue group had a storefront in one of those malls that was no longer was the retail mecca it once was.

We enjoyed going in and seeing the pets. We already had 3 cats and had no plans to get another pet, but we liked visiting with the animals. We never saw the same animal there twice.

One week there was an 8 year old Beagle named Rusty there, who had been found as a stray. He was so cute and sweet and we stayed there for nearly an hour playing with him. Then we left.

A few weeks later we went to visit again, and again Rusty was there. Again we played with him for a long time, and left.

After we left, we commented that it was unusual to see the same animal there twice. I can't remember which one of us jokingly made the comment "If here's there again next time, then he must be meant to be ours."

A few weeks later we returned, and there was Rusty. Hubby and I looked at each other, and knew we would be adopting him.

He was with us for 7 years, and was the sweetest dog there ever was. He started off nervous around all new people, and became a friendly, sociable dog. He loved our son and while he was overwhelmed, he even enjoyed when my son and seven friends all decided to pet him (gently) at the same time during my son's birthday party. We had a lot of good times with our sweet Rusty.

Over the past week, our sweet 15 year old beagle stopped eating (though he had two days in the middle when he happily gobbled his new canned food) and developed very labored breathing Saturday night which prevented him from enjoying his remaining favorite pastime, sleeping.

Last night we made the very difficult decision that the kindest thing we could do for him is let him go. Hubby brought him to the emergency vet's office last night, where he was euthanized.

Our son spent time with him yesterday afternoon, when we told him that Rusty would be going to heaven soon. He took it hard, but acknowledged that Rusty did not look happy or comfortable. We did not tell him about Rusty being gone this morning, because we didn't want to tell him that and then send him to school. He will get that hard news tonight.

I leave you with an article from the rescue group's newsletter, that has been posted on my bulletin board at work for the last 7 years:

Adoption Highlight: Rusty
Rusty, a male beagle mix, came into the rescue as a stray who was surviving out of garbage cans. He was thin from hunger and seemed happy to be in a warm home with regular meals. We soon discovered that this little guy was about 8 years old and heartworm positive. He had two big strikes against him for adoption. I fostered him thinking he might be a "lifer" and I was willing to keep him as long as it took. He was successfully treated for heartworm and soon found his energy and played like a puppy - his second puppy hood. He made many appearances at the store, on the cable show, and even a spot on the radio show, but no one seemed to want this little charmer. His age seemed to be a deterrent to some folks. Then an article was placed in the newspaper by our marketing team and one of the featured animals was Rusty. Well, all of a sudden applications started coming in for this sweetheart of a dog. A lovely couple came into the store to see Rusty and they fell in love with him. A match made in heaven. They came back twice to see him before making a commitment, but when they did, they could hardly wait to welcome him into their home. I had him for 6 months, and it was hard to say goodbye, but knowing that he had found his own forever home was very rewarding at the same time. For Rusty, there was truly a happy ending. I am so thankful to be a part of those moments. I am proud that we are making a difference in the lives of animals - even the ones that are sometimes considered hard to place.
~~~
We'll miss you, Rusty.

Blog Share!

2009-11-05T08:26:00.001-05:00

Following is a post written by someone else for today's Blog Share adventure. See one of the blogs listed in my previous post for a post written by me. Thanks again to -R- for hosting this, and to my anonymous poster.

When I was younger I don’t think I was a very good person. At the time I wasn’t incredibly conscience of how naïve I was to the rest of the world. When I think about who I was then it makes me shudder. The real issue was that subconsciously I thought the world should revolve around me. I worried about how everything made me feel. For some reason I didn’t seem too interested in understanding how things would make other people feel, or maybe why they felt the way they did.

I wasn’t always like this; I was quite caring of other people when I was a child, but somewhere along the way, it changed. I spoke before thinking; I made judgment without knowing the entire story. Is this something that being a teenage girl will do to a person? Is this normal for other people as well? Sometimes when an opportunity arises for me to be around the people I was friends with then, I will opt out. I do have friends that I have been friends with since then around me, but they have been around me through all of these years. I feel they know me now as opposed to just knowing me then and see how I am different. My fear is that the friends I had back then and who I only see occasionally will still think I’m that person and it makes me sick.

I’ve made enough mistakes along the way to encourage me to really get to know people better. I love having deep conversations with them; I want to know why they are who they are. I want to know what makes them afraid of certain situations or what makes them brave in other ones. It’s very interesting to me how the choices we have made or didn’t make have shaped us into who we are, and I mean that in all the positive and negative aspects. If I could have one wish, this would be it. I would wish that everyone could have the ability to at least try to wear someone else’s shoes. I’m not asking someone who prefers running shoes to run a marathon in high heels, but maybe they could just give them a nice long look. Are the heels brand new? Or have they been worn down, or maybe even broken off and glued back on? They might even just try them on and acknowledge they feel different.

I could list ten things right now that I’m disappointed in myself for not accomplishing. Ten things that I would still like to do before I leave this world, but the change I’ve made internally in the past 8 years is something I’m very proud of. Can I keep getting better? Of course. Do I still make judgments? I do. But in the end I always find myself empathizing with the person rather than hanging on to that first impression or seventh impression, whichever it is.

For once it is nice to recognize something good about who I've become rather than the usual battle with myself about who I haven't become just yet.

List of Blog Share Participants

2009-11-05T08:25:00.003-05:00

Following are the blogs participating in Blog Share today:

Not the Daddy
O is for Olson
Red Red Whine
Rediscovering Me
Reflections in the Snow-covered Hills
The Reluctant Grownup
Sauntering Soul
Serendipity Now
Snarke
So, This Is a Treadmill
Thinking Some More
Time for Change
Together They Come
Wondering and Pondering
And You Know What Else
Andrea Unplugged
Arctic-ulate
Bright Yellow World
Bwildered
Catheroominations
Did I Say That Outloud?
Dispatches from the Failed Mommy Club
Full of Snark
Heidikins
Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men
Just Below 63
The Little Goat

See one of these blogs for a post written by me!

Has it been a week?

2009-11-04T08:45:00.002-05:00

I know I could skip today and guarantee a post will be available for tomorrow because tomorrow is blog share day! -R-, the queen of blog share, has again arranged for a dozen or so blogs to post anonymously on each other's blogs. Tomorrow there will be a post here that someone else wrote, and I will have a post on someone else's blog. It's always great fun - The posts range from sad to funny to shocking and everything in between. I almost canceled out of blog share - I've been having trouble formulating regular posts, but I figured I'd go for it.

So, what's been going on...Halloween, the day my son looked forward to since October 1st. Thursday he had a fever, so we began the delicate game of which activities can we give up and still make Halloween fun, yet reserve enough energy and wellness that he can actually enjoy the day itself. Friday there were 4 (4!) parties. One at daycare for his class, one in kindergarten, one at daycare in the evening for all the school age kids, and one at my inlaws' house. I took Friday off, because I was helping at the kindergarten party and wanted to see the daycare costume parade. I brought him to daycare just for parade, party and lunch. Then I brought him to kindergarten. Our plan was for him to enjoy that party, go to the daycare party briefly, and skip the inlaw party. With 45 minutes left in kindergarten, it became clear that he wasn't feeling well. We opted to skip the rest of the Friday festivities.

Saturday we let him sleep in, thus missing soccer. He felt fine when he got up, so we let him go to a party with his friend that afternoon. When he got home from the party, he laid on the couch and said he was tired. I called the friend he was trick or treating with and told the mom we would be late. About 20 minutes later, he popped up and said he was ready to go. He trick or treated for 45 minutes, and said he was tired. He was in bed by 7:15 and never even had a piece of candy.

Sunday he slept in again. Woke up feeling fine, went to soccer and had a great time. Ate a good lunch, then actually took a nap. That boy has not slept in the middle of the day for about 2½ years. He was pretty worn out that night, but back to normal Monday, except for a slight cough.

I felt bad that he didn't get to do the major trick-or-treat-a-thon he had anticipated, but he was happy, and didn't feel as though he missed out on anything. I think we managed to salvage enough activities that it was indeed a happy halloween. :-)

The early bird gets the soccer ball

2009-10-29T08:40:00.003-04:00

My son is starting an indoor soccer league. The first game is Saturday at 8:00AM. Yawn. It will be pretty cool at 9:00AM when the morning isn't even half over, and soccer is already done for the day.

On Friday, my son will attend at least two Halloween parties, and possibly as many as four. Yikes. We definitely get our money's worth on costumes.

My son is going to a party with a friend and the friend's family Saturday afternoon before coming home to trick or treat with us. This leaves hubby and I with 3 hours of free date time. What to do, what to do??? I have no idea what movies are out right now, or maybe we'll head to the casino for a couple hours and play some blackjack.

I have a fleece jacket with zipper issues. I dropped it off to the tailor the other day, and she asked for a deposit. I hadn't brought my purse in with me, so I said I'd be right back. She said "Wait - Will you come back for your coat when it's done?" I said yes, and she said "Then never mind the deposit. Some people never come back for their items." Um...okay. I could think of easier ways to get rid of my coat, but I'm glad she trusts me. Ha! Of course I want it back - It's not cold enough for a heavy jacket, but too chilly at night for my other lightweight coat.

Playing possum

2009-10-28T09:13:00.002-04:00

Regarding my dog's pants, they are a rectangular piece of material that is flannel on the outside and vinyl on the inside. They fasten closed with velcro. Not all that pant-like at all.

~~~~~~~

I'm a city mouse. I've always lived in cities, though mostly small cities. Zoos don't usually have opossums, so I had never seen an opossum in the flesh, except...ahem...in the road.

So, I was very surprised when hubby mentioned seeing an opossum walking around the parking lot at his work recently.

Speaking of the dog (nice segue), since all he wants to do when he is inside is sleep, we've started giving him his dinner outside on the deck. Two nights ago, the leftovers were mistakenly left outside. In the morning I saw that the leftovers were no longer there. Our backyard is essentially a fortress, thanks to the 6 foot wood privacy fence and rocks that are along the perimeter of the fence. We constructed this when this dog and the other beagle that we had at the time were much more spry and escape artists. They never escaped.

So, we figured the missing leftovers must have gone to a squirrel, though that seemed like a lot of food for a squirrel to eat.

Last night I looked out to see if the dog had eaten yet, and imagine my surprise when I looked across the deck and saw an opossum staring back at me! I got hubby, who came just in time to see the opossum before he scurried under the grill.

A half hour of hubby cautiously trying to remove the grill cover and coax the opossum off the deck ensued. Eventually the opossum disappeared, and we brought in the dog's leftovers.

We enjoy the rabbits in the yard, as well as the squirrels. I haven't completely made up my mind about how I feel about the resident opossum. Although, so far, all he has done is eat leftovers. :-)

Now can we discuss my dog?

2009-10-27T12:24:00.003-04:00

Thanks for all the comments on yesterday's common cup post. I think I'm particularly germ conscious these days. :-) Mandy made a (noted as sarcastic) comment that we all attend different churches for a reason. True enough, but then some of us are in the unique church-sharing situation that our family is in. We started out with Hubby going to his Catholic service at 7:30AM and meeting us at the Methodist one at 9:00AM. Then we all got a little lazy and didn't want to get up quite THAT early, so he started going to a Catholic one at 9:00 while we were at the Methodist one. It started to feel very separate, and somehow we've begun mostly alternating, but always going together, which seems to work best of all. Especially because when we go to the Catholic service, we usually go on Saturday evenings, which is a slightly more modern service.

Anyway, on to our dog. He is a 15 year old beagle. In the last few months, he has really aged. This summer my son and I took him on mile and a half walks on our "special days off". Now he gets tired by the time we're at the corner. He seems mostly content, but very tired. Some days he spends most of his time sleeping. He's not very interested in his food. Some days he hardly touches it, then the next day he'll eat two big meals. Hubby added some bits of chicken cooked in water to make "chicken juice" to add to his food. The dog loved it. I bought some chicken broth yesterday to add to his food. He lapped that up, ate a bit of the food, and was done. This morning he drank the broth, and ate more of the food.

The dog stopped recognizing that he was housetrained (for "number one" only) a few years ago, so he wears these "pants" that have an adult incontinence pad in them. Two nights this month he was so tired that we couldn't convince him to wake up to have dinner and go outside, so we just changed his pad.

When he is awake, he is happy. Eager to take a walk, though he doesn't make it far, and eager to follow my son around. Mostly, though, he sleeps. As long as he's still eating and still seems content, we will let him sleep as often as he wants.

We've let our son know that it will probably be time for the dog to go to heaven soon, and he understands, but it's still going to be very hard for everyone when that time comes.

Common cup

2009-10-26T09:27:00.002-04:00

Flu is still going wild around here. Some schools are still closed today, Sunday school was canceled at the Methodist Church our family attends. Saturday evening we attended a service at the Catholic church our family also sometimes attends (but we choose one service per week, more or less alternating).

I do not partake in Catholic communion, as I am not Catholic. I will not get into my thoughts on the lack of open communion again. But, I must say, I have never understood the common cup thing. I would not ask 100 strangers if I can have a sip of their drink, even if I wiped the rim before and after. Churches I have attended have always used intinction (dipping the bread in the wine/juice) or had the little individual cups.

In this time of flu outbreak (at least locally), I really don't understand the common cup. When we got to church, I asked hubby if he was planning to drink from the cup. He looked at me as though I were crazy, and said yes. At communion, I noticed maybe one out of every dozen, at most, actually drank from it. Most just had the bread. Hubby did drink from it, but later said he would think about it next time, if the flu is still running wild.

I know at least a few Catholics read this, so what are your thought about the common cup? Particularly during a time of widespread illness?

The flu flew by

2009-10-23T10:33:00.003-04:00

But thankfully not by us. Schools around here have been closing like wild due to large numbers of people out with the flu. Thankfully, our family is healthy and our school has not closed as of yet. My son and I had our flu shots (still undecided about getting H1N1 vaccine). Hubby waited too long, and now they're hard to find.

The antibacterial hand gel dispensers are popping up everywhere. They are mounted on the walls at school, on the counter at the bank and restaurants. Everywhere! I have been using my Avon Naturals Antibacterial Hand Gel (vanilla scented! so much better than the regular stuff! shameless plug - only 99 cents - free shipping!). If I thought I was a compulsive hand washer before, you should see me now.

With MS, I am considered to have a "weakened immune system". For that reason, I don't get Flu Mist; I get the shot. What's one more shot anyway, ha! But the funny thing is, for someone with a suppoesd weakened immune system, I (thankfully) seem to get sick less than most people I know.

Hope the flu stays out of your home!

In which I acknowledge that I will never be a cool kid

2009-10-21T09:36:00.002-04:00

I just left a comment on a post that had nearly 70 comments. 70! I used to consistently get comments in the double digits, but looking back, my last double digit post was a giveaway post a couple weeks ago. That makes me feel...Um, generous?

Either I have become less interesting with time, people are more busy, doing less blog reading... Oh, I get how comments work. If you see something that interests you, you'll comment. If you don't, you won't. The lesson learned here is obviously MORE GIVEAWAYS!.

Ahem.

No giveaway today. Just me.

I can't stand when people lick their finger before turning a page. It drives me nuts. Yes, pages stick sometimes. Give it a couple tries, and you'll get it. If not, they do make a little page turning cream you can use. Please don't use your spit. Especially in this season of hand sanitizer on every counter or mounted on every wall.

We picked a peck of apples a couple weeks ago. Last night I made apple bread. It is identical to zucchini bread, except switch zucchini for apple. It's tasty...Tastes more like spice bread, though. No trace of apple flavor. Last week I made a breadmaker apple bread...Also no trace of apple by the time it was done. I make apples disappear in bread.

Burgh baby is in a contest in which the prize is $1,000. She plans to spend that $1,000 at Toys R Us for presents for needy kids. Can you imagine how many children would just feel so incredibly blessed to be on the receiving end of that? Please go vote for her here. You can even vote more than once, so if you feel inclined, click away!

Painted whiskers

2009-10-20T08:22:00.003-04:00

It's Mm week in kindergarten, and to commemorate that, the teacher painted a black nose and whiskers on each child to make each one a mouse. I'm not sure what type of paint she used, but the whiskers would only wash off of my son about halfway before bed, though the nose washed off well. When he woke up this morning, the whiskers were gone, so I can only assume that his colorful Transformers pillowcase has unseen whisker paint on it.

~~~~~~~

I had a dream two nights ago that involved seeing a friend who lives in Minnesota who I have not seen in over 5 years and who I only have email contact with about once a year. In the dream we were visiting her and she was renewing her vows with her husband and had an interesting contraption in her house that was a combination dishwasher and toaster. Because that wasn't weird enough, I emailed her yesterday and told her about it (and included the random update information that gets included in annual emails). She replied this morning. Apparently my mind reminded me to keep in touch with her via dishwasher/toaster combo.

Nags don't get props for their baked goods

2009-10-19T09:27:00.003-04:00

I think I've mentioned on here hubby's world class ability to hold a grudge. Yesterday morning I may or may not have complained a few too many times about something that hubby did that could have legitimately warranted a single complaint. I exceeded that number by about three. Hubby became annoyed. An otherwise lovely day with hubby and our son came after that incident, but hubby remained subtly, if not passive-aggressively, annoyed (and still is this morning - overkill, anyone?).

Yesterday I peeled and sliced apples, and after our son went to bed, baked an apple crisp. I offered hubby a dish of it warm, with vanilla ice cream on top. He ate it without comment. If I were one to hold grudges, I would be upset about that and blogging about it today (heh). Even when you're mad at someone, if you're going to choose to enjoy baked goods that they've prepared, a complimentary comment is in order. I had a dish of it myself, and it was delicious!

Actually, I guess I've just complimented myself. Okay, I'm over it.

Winter boots and a giveaway winner

2009-10-16T08:20:00.004-04:00

Fun stuff first - Per random.org, the winner of my Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters giveaway is comment 18, Julie. Congratulations!

~~~~~~~

When it comes to footwear for our son, we splurge. I have no problem buying him the $4 sweatpants at Target, but for shoes, we want something of great quality from a reputable company. Seriously, his shoes cost about the same as a pair of mine and a pair of hubby's combined (though hubby and I get pretty inexpensive shoes). We always buy his shoes at this great local store that specializes in Stride Rite shoes and offers a fit guarantee. If they are outgrown in the first month, they're replaced for free, in two months, you get a certain percentage off a new pair, in 3 months, you get 20% off a new pair. We've only used this guarantee once, and it's less likely that we'll use it in the future since his feet aren't growing as quickly as they were when he was younger, but it's a great guarantee just the same.

His winter boots are almost identical every year. The boy's boots offered are always navy blue or black. Needless to say, he has never gotten particularly excited about his winter boots. This year they had a pair that has a dinosaur print on them, with several types of dinosaurs on them, including his favorite, a stegosaurus. Wouldn't you know, it wasn't offered in his size. Since he liked them so much, I decided to track them down on the internet, because you can find anything there, right?

Yeah. Anything but those dinosaur boots, apparently. The only store that had them online was out of them in his size. I can't even find a link for the company, which is out of Canada.

I called our shoe store and asked them to special order them. They said that they special orders are such that you never know if they will actually get them until their shipment arrives. They suggested that I purchase a different pair, and have them hold onto them until their shipment arrives to make sure they wouldn't run out of the other style in his size.

So, I purchased a pair of boots, asked them to hold them, and they placed the order.

Yesterday afternoon they called me and said they didn't know if the boots would come or not yet, as the supplier said they were "in very low quantities". But, they had someone who wanted to buy the boots we had on hold, as they were the last in that size, and would that be okay?

Um...No? They're telling me the boots we special ordered might not come, but they want to give away the ones we paid for? The math is a little complicated, but I believe that leaves us potentially bootless.

I hope he gets his dinosaur boots, and I hope the amount he likes them is proportional to the effort put into tracking them down. :-)

Phil 'er up

2009-10-14T09:01:00.005-04:00

I'm all for catchy campaign slogans, but one for a local candidate has me shaking my head. The man's name is Phil, and there are yard signs peppering the local neighborhoods that proudly suggest that we "Phil the V oid".

Okay, there are two ways to look at this, obviously. The one that I'm sure they have in mind is: "Something's missing in our community! There's a void! Only Phil can fill that void. Hey...Fill...Phil...Phil the V oid! That's awesome! Put it on 500 signs!"

The second interpretation, and one that would have prevented me from ever printing such signs in the first place is this: "Phil...Dude's kind of goofy. Lights are on but no one's home if you know what I'm sayin'. Heh...Phil the v oid. Hey, did you hear he's running for office? Print some signs!"

I don't know Phil. One thing I can say I know, just based on those signs, is that he certainly has a sense of humor. I'm sure he's intelligent and well spoken and my above "lights are on no one home" comments are in no way a reflection on him...Just making an example of two ways something can be interpreted. I'm sure he would do a great job if elected and I'll have to find out a little more about him before I decide how I'm voting.

But tell me this...If your name were Phil, and someone suggested that slogan, would you use it?

The key to successfully postponing bedtime

2009-10-12T09:08:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we made our annual trip to the apple orchard/pumpkin patch place that has many activities for kids. We have brought our son there every year since he was born. The first year, when he was 4 months old, I remember having to stop pushing the stroller around the corn maze so we could give him a bottle.

Between daycare, school, soccer and church, my son knows a lot of people. The odds of not running into people we know at a place like that are pretty slim.

Yesterday we saw: A member of his soccer team, someone who used to be in his class at daycare, someone who is currently in his class at daycare, his soccer coach and his son, a first grade teacher from his elementary school who we seem to see everywhere we go, and a former neighbor.

We picked a peck of apples. We go through at least a 3 pound bag of apples a week just eating them. I'm hoping to make some pie, apple crisp and/or apple dumplings.

~~~~~~~

Today is my day to volunteer at my son's school. Nothing to boost the old ego like this comment: "I see you're dressed up because you're helping at my school today." :-) I'm not dressing any differently than any other work day, but a sweet compliment just the same.

~~~~~~~

My son has a variety of ways to postpone bedtime. He does not employ them on a regular basis, but he will use them as needed when he is not interested in sleep. These methods include calling me in after bedtime for the following reasons:

Asking for a snack. He has a snack with his bedtime story, and then he brushes his teeth, after which there is a strict "No snack after teeth are brushed" rule. This method never succeeds.

Telling me about something that happened at school that he forgot to mention earlier

Telling me what he would like for breakfast

Telling me that he had fun today

...and the list goes on.

Last night he discovered a method that is hard for me to resist. He was looking at a framed print in the hallway, and called me over to ask what the caption said. He has been very interested in reading lately, and when he sees a word he doesn't know, he has great interest in learning it. I also have great interest in him learning new words, so it's hard to resist when he finds one he wants to know, even when he should be headed to bed. Hopefully he won't realize what great success this method has, or we may find ourselves up all night reading the dictionary. :-)

I don't think she knows how many corndogs he eats

2009-10-09T08:53:00.004-04:00

I've mentioned my son's very close friend, who is the girl that he and two of his friends have all at one point said they are going to marry.

Her mom doesn't know how exactly she became the "girl to marry", but she is frequently the only girl invited to the boys' birthday parties. She's not a tomboy by any means - She wears dresses almost daily and is all about princesses.

The most recent boy to want to marry this girl brings his lunch to school everyday. Every day it is a corn dog. Apparently the class microwave malfunctioned this week while the teacher was heating the boy's corndog, and the corn dog "blew up". The microwave no longer works, so I think everyone is lucky that it didn't blow up.

Anyway, the girl no longer goes to my son's daycare, but we see her outside of school. My son was excited to tell her the story of the corndog. The story of his plans to tell her about the corndog was my favorite part:

"I don't know why boy thinks girl is going to marry him. I'm going to tell girl about boy's corndog blowing up. I don't think she knows how many corndogs he eats. But girl was at another boy's party, and she ate her whole corndog...So maybe she likes corndogs, too."

I don't know why, but I think my new favorite phrase ever is "I don't think she knows how many corndogs he eats." :-)

I always considered myself more of a couchperson

2009-10-08T10:08:00.002-04:00

On the first day of school, the efficient kindergarten teacher hnad sign up sheets for parent helpers for every party for the whole school year. My son eagerly suggested that I sign up to help with the Halloween party, so I did.

This week the teacher sent me a note asking if I would be the chairperson for the party. Kindergarten parties have chairpeople? Who knew? I read the note out loud and explained what a chairperson was to my son, and he eagerly said "Do it!"

Not one to disappoint my son, I am now the chairperson of the Halloween party. Apparently I will be getting a list of all the other parents who signed up, and I will be pestering them to help with supplies and activity planning.

I can't imagine how I got picked for that honor...I wasn't even the first person on the party sign up sheet. Maybe she figured that since I have no problem pestering her with various questions that I would have no idea perstering the other parents as well...Or that at the very least, it would keep me out of her hair for a while.

Where's my chair?

GIVEAWAY: Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters

2009-10-07T09:41:00.007-04:00

There are two items that we eat a lot of at our house: Nuts and granola bars. The nuts are mostly my husband, as he eats a ridiculous amount of peanut on a regular basis. My husband, son and I each eat a granola bar almost daily. So, when I was given the opportunity to receive and review Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters from MyBlogSpark and Nature Valley, I was thrilled. I was even more thrilled when I tasted them.

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters are a bite size blend of 100% natural ingredients that include select roasted nuts, whole grain oats and a touch of honey - a wholesome and delicious pick-me-up any time of the day. If you love nuts, you´ll enjoy this flavorful little snack featuring the perfect combination of sweet & salty flavors paired with a crunchy texture that you can see and taste. And with the first unique cluster-shaped granola packaged in a handy re-sealable pouch, it´s perfect for sharing on the trails or in your living room!

New Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters come in four easy-to-crave flavors: Nut Lovers, Roasted Almond, Roasted Cashew and Honey Roasted Peanut.

They are crunchy and sweet - but not too sweet. The only negative? They're a little easy to get carried away eating. Hubby and I sat with the bag of Roasted Cashew while watching a movie...and let's just say there wasn't much left in the bag by the time we stopped eating it. :-)

The Honey Roasted Peanut is my favorite, but they're just all so delicious!

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters are a great grab and go snack, and would be a great compact trail mix type item to take on a nice fall hike. :-)

Guess what? You could win the same great Nature Valley Granola Nut Cluster prize pack that I received which includes a bag of each of the four varieties of Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters, a sling backpack, stainless steel water bottle, flashlight and binoculars.

To enter this giveaway, tell me your favorite thing about nature in the fall.

For a bonus entry, you can follow me on Twitter, tweet about this giveaway and leave me another comment telling me that you tweeted about it.

The contest will run until Friday, October 16th at 8:00AM EST. I will randomly choose a winner and notify that person. They will have 48 hours to respond, or another winner will be chosen. US entries only.

Good luck!

Preference

2009-10-06T08:11:00.003-04:00

Since my son was invited to a "kids only playdate" with this boy, which he did not go to, he has gone to several birthday parties alone, including one at that boy's house. None of the invitations to any of the parties said "kids only". Parents used, as they should, their discretion in deciding whether or not to drop off their kids. At most events, some kids are dropped off, and some aren't.

This morning my son got a Halloween party invitation from this same child. On the invitation was a phrase I had never seen on an invitation before: "Dropoffs preferred". As I said, over the last year, my son and most of his friends have been dropped off at several parties - But always at the parents' discretion, not at the hosts suggestion.

The lack of supervision at that house continues to be an issue for us. At the birthday party, there were grandparents and aunts from out of town to help out.

Another issue is that in conjunction with the lack of supervision, I'm not really excited about seeing his costume (which is mostly white) get fruit punch and pizza and whatever else the kids are running around with on it before Halloween even comes. Also, most of the kids costumes require a little help getting on/taking off, and if anyone needs to use the restroom, I'm not really interested in the mom or her husband helping my son with that.

So, looks like we've got a couple choices. He goes, gets "dropped off", as the hosts so courteously suggested, and his costume possibly gets messed up before we make it to Halloween and who knows what goes on at that house.

He goes, and I stay, in violation of the hosts' preference.

He doesn't go, and we find something even more fun to do.

Lest you think I'm some sort of Halloween scrooge, my son generally gets several opportunities to wear his costume: School, a Halloween event at the zoo, a Halloween event at the mall, a Halloween party at my neighbor's house and Halloween itself.

Random and vague does not a blog post make

2009-10-05T09:22:00.002-04:00

I am stressing over a decision that I may or may not even have to make.

I may have inadvertantly caused a rumor about myself to begin blossoming at work. Luckily it is not the rumor I thought I may have caused to begin.

The grocery store had a special on day old muffins, so I bought one. Who glazes a banana nut muffin?

Our dog had an accident during the night which my husband discovered by stepping on it when he got up to turn off the alarm this morning. It takes a special sort of man to not even say anything negative (out loud) upon doing this, and during the subsequent clean up, and to still be cheerful first thing in the morning. The dog, in turn, decided to sleep in.

We went to eat dinner with some friends at their house last night. We brought macaroni salad and melon. My son disliked the look of the macaroni salad so much that he bargained eating extra melon to avoid eating a single noodle. Little did he know, that was a good trade for everyone. Melon is better for him. Booyah.