Category: Friday Fun

Seven Quick Takes Friday is hosted at Conversion Diary.

Let’s get started …

This semester has gotten off to a rough start for GD. It looks like I’m going to have a conference with his shop teacher for the simple fact that he failed the very first test he was given and the teacher doesn’t appear to be answering GD’s questions about what went wrong (and he hasn’t received that test back yet and the teacher has been gone 12 out of the 16 days since the new semester has started [??]). I always encourage the boys to take care of their own scholastic problems by themselves because this is real life – I can’t hold their hand through difficult periods forever.

But enough is enough. The boy can’t very well solve this on his own if the teacher won’t give him the time of day – so now, it’s my turn to step in and enforce a little parental authority, I suppose. I hate doing this, but this teacher is not leaving GD a lot of options. The school, as a whole, prides itself on working through scholastic difficulties with the students – this dude is simply not responding and certainly not helping to work through anything.

However, I will not get bent out of shape and charge in there like an angry momma bull. After all, I’m only hearing one side of the story – GD’s side. And though I love my son and trust him, I know that he’s a bit lackluster when it comes to any sort of confrontation, so there’s no telling what’s really going on.

But he’s stressed about his classes this semester and I’ve always told him that I’m on HIS side – I will help him if he needs me. I will not DO any of it for him (like I did in elementary school – don’t do that, by the way), but I will certainly back him up if he needs me.

It looks like he’s going to need me this semester.

Summer can’t get here fast enough.

In the meantime, MK is waffling back and forth on his grades. Algebra and Band, of all things, are the classes giving him problems this semester.

Algebra is obvious – this crap is hard, even my accountant husband is scratching his head at times.

But band?? I think he’s getting a wittle burned out on the whole saxophone thing. Getting him to practice outside of school is like giving cats meds. But in MK’s defense, he does have two entire classes of band every single day, plus he’s gearing up for THREE ensemble competitions in two weeks AND he’s been staying after school and playing in pep band, so I can see where the boy is coming from. By the time he gets home, he’s sick to death of even LOOKING at his sax, let alone playing it.

Speaking of MK’s playing – we went over his freshman schedule this week. He’ll be taking the usual assortment – English, Math, P.E. Health, Social Studies, Intergrated Science …

But he’s also scheduled to take computer keyboarding, a cooking class, (which sort of freaks me out because this boy is scatterbrained! I hope they have fire extinguishers handy!) and he’s signed up for both marching band AND freshman band.

Yikes. This means I’ll likely have to make two trips, to the same school, in the same day, every day, for the next two years. Marching band meets early, like 6:30 in the morning early, before school every day to practice. GD can barely stand to get to school 10 minutes before he’s due in his first class, there’s NO WAY the boy will be willing to get to school that early every day to … nothing.

But I’m not worried about the extra trips. I’m worried about MK being able to handle it all. The band director has already warned us that being in band will take up a lot of time and energy. MK has trouble handling what he has now, in 8th grade. And he thinks assignment books (i.e. date books) are for girls – he absolutely refuses to use one.

So, he forgets a lot of things. And is usually scrambling around trying to get everything together before THE event. Which means, I’ve learned to be more spontaneous with this kid – I just never know what’s going on until he’s calling me on my cell phone to tell me.

But even though I have a feeling this is going to be chaotic and stressful, I also think he’ll have the time of his young life and THAT knowledge makes everything else all worthwhile.

Speaking of schedules – apparently, we weren’t supposed to schedule GD for Chemistry this year. Though it was an option on his schedule last year and his counselor never said boo about it.

He’s one of four sophomores in his Chemistry class. The rest of the kids are juniors. And this is bad for two reasons: 1. he doesn’t know anyone in his Chemistry class. 2. He doesn’t feel smart enough to compete with the upper upperclassman.

*sigh* Poor kid. He had been holding his own with the class until the first test, which he failed. He was very depressed about it last night (when we discovered how he did through the online grade system – LOVE that thing, by the way). He couldn’t understand why he did so poorly. He had put forth an effort, he said, but I’m thinking it wasn’t a big enough effort.

Last semester was extremely easy for GD. He rarely had any homework and he finished the semester with nearly all A’s. Social Studies and English have always been easy subjects for him. And he also had Japanese. Even though Japanese is not easy to learn, he did well in that class because he wanted to learn it.

So, he got used to making minimal effort. But now, this semester, he has math, science and shop – all classes that require a lot more time and a lot more of GD’s brain capacity. When he says he studied for his Chemistry test, I’m thinking it was more of a cursory glance, at best.

So, he was depressed last night. And to my utter surprise, he wanted to talk to me about it. He didn’t come right out and SAY, “Mom, I need to talk to you,” but he hung around and he didn’t bite my head off when I said anything so that right there clued me in that the boy needed to get some things off his chest.

I reassured him. I told him that it was early in the semester and that now he knew what to expect from this teacher. Next time, he would have to spend more time on studying. And I also told him not to pass up any extra credit opportunities because being lazy ultimately comes back to bite you in the butt.

I also told him that he needed to accept the fact that there will be some things that come easy to him, and some things that won’t come so easily for him. That life is not about instant gratification, like in his video games, sometimes, you need to work harder, and be patient with yourself, to get something.

I told him to stop giving up on himself so quickly. That he was smarter than he gave himself credit for and that I had the utmost confidence in him – I KNEW he could do this. The question is, how badly did HE want it?

I also told him to pray. To hand God his fears and anxieties, to ask Him to give him the strength and courage to face these challenges. God is only too happy to help, but He won’t do it for him, he would have to work for it himself.

I think our talk helped him. His chest puffed out just a bit more and I could tell by his expression that what I was telling him was actually sinking in.

These moments don’t happen very often with GD – especially since he’s become a teenager, but when they do, I cherish them. I pray the kid does well on his Geometry test today.

Question: Is it all right to walk around the house naked in front of your teenage boys?

Of course not!

I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. 😉

You’re REALLY doing yourself a disservice if you aren’t following me on Twitter. 😉

Why, you ask?

Because I just now Twittered about the upcoming LIVE cupcake portrait assemble of President Obama at the Smithsonian. Check out my Twitter account for the link to the LIVE feed!

MK’s school had their Open House / Pancake Supper last night. I had to go by myself because Kevin had a business dinner he had to go.

I didn’t know anyone. So while MK was in the band room, getting his instrument and warming up, I sat on some benches near the door and looked busy texting messages to myself on Twitter.

Even though I was extremely lonely, sitting there, by myself, with no one to talk to and everyone ignoring me, it was sort of cool, too. Because I felt invisible, I had the distinct advantage of watching people without fear of being incarcerated.

There were so many young mothers. And I recognized their tired, tolerant and slightly apprehensive expressions – I used to be one of them.

I felt so old, sitting there watching all the activity buzz around me. And yet, it didn’t bother me. I had the hindsight of wisdom on my side, I suppose.

I had to smile though as a mother, with her two grade school children next to me, began quizzing her children on the solar system – I can only assume they had a test today.

The children, being distracted by all the activity, weren’t really taking it very seriously and shouted out ridiculous answers. The mother looked at me a few times and we exchanged the “mom” smile. You know that smile? The one where you want to throttle your kids but wouldn’t dare given the surroundings?

Yeah, I remember that feeling all too well.

I waited nearly an hour for MK and the rest of the pep band to perform. And though the performance only lasted 15 minutes, the thrill that my musically-inclined child looked more alive than I’ve seen him all week will stay with me for a very long time.

Seven Quick Takes Friday is hosted at Conversion Diary.

Let’s get started …

I’ve got strange men in the house with me and it’s freaking me out!!!

The husband just left for work, he stuck around long enough to greet the worker guys putting in our new house furnace and then took off. I’m now alone, with two chattering, noisy men.

I’ve NEVER enjoyed having strange people in my house and whenever we have to schedule maintenance issues like this, I tend to build up the suspense so that when the day gets here, I’m hyperventilating and putting on my polite, friendly face while all the while watching the precious seconds tick by and wondering when this torture will end.

I know it’s silly to feel this way, they are doing us a service and these guys are really nice and not creepy in any way, I’m just weird about things like this.

The guys have both the front and back doors open so I’m freezing. Luckily, it’s a fairly nice day – it’s sunny and supposed to get up to the mid-60’s, so it could be MUCH worse. One of the guys just went up into the attic for some such reason and now I feel totally violated.

In addition, one of the guys just went to our bathroom – was the toilet clean!? I’m thinking not because I didn’t have time to clean it and now I’m feeling embarrassed because this guy probably thinks we’re animals because our toilet wasn’t clean.

I must think about something else or I will implode where I sit.

While the husband was sitting around and waiting for the guys to get here, I overheard him on the phone. He called two different companies wanting an estimate on …

Are you ready for this?

Fencing in our backyard.

EEK! This man is SERIOUS about getting a dog!! We’ve been huddling around the kitchen computer the past few nights looking at, and reading about, dogs. I think he’s wanting to take advantage of my receptive mood and is really pushing the issue.

I was sort of hoping this would die down after a while, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to.

We’re really leaning toward a Shih Tzu at this point. My grandmother-in-law and my sister-in-law both have Shih Tzus and I just think the world of those dogs. And besides, how can you NOT fall in love with this face?!?

I also really love the King Charles Spaniels, too. Though from what I gather, they are expensive and a little fragile, health wise. But again, this face … oh my good Lord in heaven, this face …

Okay, enough dog talk. I’m already freaked out with the strange men in my house, I don’t need more grief.

I was going through the list of people following me on Twitter yesterday (Hi Tweets!!) and nearly had a heart attack when I noticed that one of the Tweets? Was none other than Chalene Johnson (Hi Chalene!). Chalene is the genius behind Turbo Jam.

Turbo Jam, for those that don’t know, is a super-effective exercise program that combines kick-boxing, body-sculpting and dance moves into one workout. It’s a really fun and high-paced workout and I thoroughly enjoy it. And no, I’m not just saying that because Chalene might see this. This workout absolutely does it for me. I feel powerful, and just a tad aggressive, after I finish it. It really helps shrink hips and tone up my thighs and arms. In fact, I wear the weighted hand gloves when I walk on the treadmill and have noticed a significant difference after using them.

At any rate, there is nothing quite like having a high-profile workout instructor in somewhat close proximity to motivate you. And believe me, I’m motivated. And a bit intimidated.

But I think I like that.

We got our tax refund back the other day. However, it’s going straight to our credit card so we can pay our cruise off, so the only thing I saw was a blur as it was being transferred.

That was exciting for about a second. *sigh*

I think the husband is so excited about getting a pet, that he’s willing to do just about anything I say at this point to keep me in the right frame of mind.

It’s quite the power rush, let me tell ya. And I’m not too proud to tell you that I’m taking advantage of that. *wink*

I’ve been doing some research on BlogHer. If you don’t know what BlogHer is, it’s a conference for bloggers – mainly women, but there are a few men who show up. Hey, the more the merrier.

This year will mark the fifth year they’ve been holding the conference and it’s scheduled to be in Chicago.

Which is only 8 hours from me. And the husband and I have been talking about making a trip to Chicago for quite some time.

So, I proposed we make a trip to Chicago the weekend that BlogHer is happening. We would drive up that Thursday, I would attend the BlogHer conference on Friday, we would tour Chicago as a family on Saturday and then drive back home on Sunday.

I think he’s going to agree to this!! So, there’s a strong possibility that I’ll be attending BlogHer, Friday, July 24th! I would LOVE to have a gal-pal to hang out with though. Is anyone else planning on going? Tell me so we can hook up and hang out that Friday!!

The husband and I were at our weekly lunch date on Wednesday when I started texting on my phone to send a Twitter notice. I said, “Eating lunch with the husband. Husband says hi.”

When the husband read this, he got annoyed.

“Why do you always refer to me in third person? Is that all I am to you, an object?”

“Well, no, of course not,” I responded. “I just didn’t figure you would want me to publish your real name.”

He sat there and thought about that for a while and then said, “I think I’d rather be called by my name.”

So, it looks like ya’ll are about to find out my husband’s real name. I’m going to make sure it’s still okay with him this weekend, and then I plan on revealing his name in the post I’m going to write about blog censorship on Monday. Stay tuned…

It’s REALLY getting cold in here. My lips are turning blue.

I need hot tea …. later peeps!

Once again, I found this gem at Instructables:

It’s a laptop case made out of an old hoodie!

I don’t know what it is exactly, but I just LOVE this idea!! Maybe it has to do with the fact that I live in hoodies and am a laptop freak, who knows.

Anyhoo, you can find out how to make one of these yourself here. If you make one, blog about it and send me the link! I’d love to see what you came up with.

I’d do it myself but …. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I don’t sew. The last thing I sewed was my finger (true story!)

Have fun!

Seven Quick Takes Friday is hosted at Conversion Diary.

Let’s get started …

God is amazing, isn’t he?

I’ve been having digestive problems on and off (mostly on) for about two years now. I won’t go into details – that would classify as too much information, but suffice it to say, it’s been bad enough that it’s disrupted my day-to-day life. And I’ve stubbornly refused to go the doctor because I KNOW it’s my diet – I just know it is. I’ve always read/heard that your body changes as you get older and considering I’m a hair’s breadth away from being pre-menopausal, I had sort of mentally braced myself for whatever my body threw at me.

I just hadn’t expected the ball to curve quite this much.

I’ve altered my diet drastically in the past year alone. I now know that I can no longer tolerate beans (goodbye peanut butter *SNIFF SNIFF*), broccoli, bananas (though I’ve always sort of had a problem with those anyway), apples, ice cream (it took me a long time to accept that one because I just couldn’t let go of ice cream!!), bran, and whole wheat products (I ate two whole wheat tortilla shells last week and about died for three days afterwards). Of course, it’s taken me months to narrow this list down but now that I know and I’ve been avoiding these foods, my body is rewarding me by acting more normally.

This past week has been terrible, horrible, actually. I’ve been in tremendous pain – bloating, very painful gas. I’ve felt like a walking balloon all week (this is how I figured out that eating whole wheat tortillas AND an apple in the same day is a huge no-no for me). So, I started researching …

And praying. Not necessarily in that order. *grin*

I bought Charcocaps and the husband suggested I drink some hot tea. Which I did. And now, two days later? Everything seems to be coming out normal for a change. *ahem*

My husband told me last night that he prayed for me. And suggesting tea just sort of “came” to him. I firmly believe God spoke to him and He healed me. I feel 100% better and I’m better educated, and prepared, to keep myself out of that awful gas bubble in the future.

The kids are finally back to school. Talk about a strange week – only going to school Monday and Friday.

They weren’t happy. But I can’t say that I blame them. That’s the biggest reason I sort of hated vacation/snow days when I was in school/working because it’s so hard to get back into the swing of things afterward.

We didn’t do much. The kids did not get out in the snow, they stayed in the entire time and goofed off; I was a little disappointed. I had visions of snowmen and hot chocolate dancing through my head these past three days but I just need to accept the fact that these boys are no longer little and are in fact, becoming young men and that sort of thing just doesn’t seem to appeal to them anymore.

*sigh*

Aside from the day the husband came home at lunchtime and took us out to eat, I didn’t get out, either. I was sort of glad they had school today just so I had an excuse to leave the house. I know people who don’t stay home all the time must think I’m nuts for thinking this and though it IS nice to stay home, it’s honestly not all it’s cracked up to be. I miss adult interaction and just breathing fresh air, or heck, just putting my shoes on for a change!

Since we have snow on the ground and I can see every little critter that walks through our yard, I was quite fascinated by one set of tracks. This one set, in particular, really puzzled and amused me. They looked like deer tracks and at one point, it looked like the deer turned in a complete circle, as if it were lost and trying to decide which direction to take. It’s really bizarre. The hoof prints are close together and sort of smudged which to me means it wasn’t in any hurry to get anywhere. But what do I know, it’s not like I track for a living or anything. *chuckle*

I also noticed human footprints. And they were cutting a diagonal path across our front yard. We live on a corner lot, so it looks like this person, instead of staying on the street (we don’t have sidewalks) and walking around our yard, simply cut across our yard to save what, a few extra seconds?

This annoyed me and I thought it was quite rude. I would never walk into someone’s yard, ever. How presumptuous. Now if the person would like to ask me if they could cut across my yard, I would have no problem giving them permission, but the fact that they just did it anyway without any respect for our property/boundary/personal space annoys me. And it’s not like cutting across our yard would have been easier anyway – the snow on the streets was packed and easier to walk on as opposed to our yard where your feet sink with every step.

Would having someone walk through your yard annoy you? Or am I just being too sensitive here?

My nephew tweeted the link to this video and I really must share it with you:

That has got to be one of the coolest (and refreshingly clean and fun) music videos I’ve seen in quite some time. And I really dig the song, too. It’s called “Her Morning Elegance” by Oren Lavie. You find his MySpace page here.

It looks like we have all of our passport paperwork in order. I talked to our post office yesterday and they don’t require appointments anymore, we just have to be there before 4:00. Which is a stretch to make during a normal school day because I’m really not free to go anywhere until after I drop a boy I carpool off and the post office is all the way across town -we’d never make it. So, we plan on making a trip up there on Tuesday, after the kids get out of school two hours early for some sort of teacher workday thing (which is silly to me because they had three whole days to get caught up because of snow days – they were required to report to work – and I would have assumed they would cancel the early day but it looks like it’s still on and really, I’m not a teacher so I don’t really know what’s going on with that anyway).

I’ll be glad when this is over simply so we can start the ball rolling. It’s supposed take 8+ weeks to get them back and I really don’t want to stress about not getting our passports back before we take off for our cruise in June.

I’m feeling terribly guilty. I really MUST get my professional website back up and running. I also need to make more of an effort to drum up some business. I have had a few bites and need to follow through with those but I’m like the world’s worst self-employed person – I have no discipline to speak of, none. Pair that with the fact that I’m terribly shy and uncomfortable about tooting my own horn and doing what I do (website designer who specializes in schools) is quite painful and hopeless.

WHEN, and notice I said when, I get that back up and running, I’ll grit my teeth and toot my horn so loudly that you’ll have to cover your ears. *grin*

I’m on a Twitter high. I accidentally stumbled across a few articles about how to build your Twitter traffic and that got my wheels turning. Though I’m tickled pink about the 128 people who are currently following me on Twitter now, and would LOVE to have more, I’m not really doing this to increase traffic, per se, but rather, because I just have so much fun with Twitter. It’s really challenging for me to keep what I have to say to 140 characters because if you’ve been around my blog for any length of time you know, I just don’t know when to shut up. 😀

I made a private, Twitter-followers-only, page. You can find it here, but you’ll need a password in order to access it. And I will give my Twitter followers that password later on today, so stay tuned.

If you’re not currently following me on Twitter and would like to, you can find me over here or click on the cute bird button below:

On Twitter!

This private page will also be where I post special giveaways, just for my Twitter followers; these giveaways will not be announced on my blog. The giveaways will only be announced via Twitter; it’s like a private party for Tweets. I also plan on commenting on some of my Twitters because I plan on providing more links to interesting articles/videos, etc. and I don’t really have the space to tell you what I think about said links.

Anyway, join! It’ll be fun. And check your Twitter – I’ll give the password out later today.

So I’m haunting the Instructables site when I stumble across this cute little box.

And when I read the description:

There are all kinds of strange and wonderful boxes showing up across the Internet to promote the new Coraline movie.

I thought, Coraline whadda? Never heard of it. So, I followed the link to the Coraline website, watched the trailer and now I must see it because it looks totally cool and creepy (and probably not suitable for small children). If you don’t feel like clicking over, then watch the below:

Spooky, right?

Upon further investigation, I discovered that this movie is based on Neil Gaiman’s book. I’m thinking this book, and the DVD of this movie, would be a perfect giveaway prize in October *insert scary, creepy laugh here*.

Anyway, I’m intrigued. And if you’re digging the box above, you can find how to make one of these boxes, for your very own, here.

Have fun!

Seven Quick Takes Friday is hosted at Conversion Diary.

Isn’t this graphic cute?? I love it and am glad to see one of my favorite memes is now “official” (meaning they have their own cute graphic now. *smile*)

Let’s get started …

Hi! Did you miss me yesterday? Did you wonder what was going on with me because I only posted once as opposed to the fifty times a day I usually post?

*sigh* Here’s what happened … I spent a good amount of time (I won’t tell you exactly how much time because it’s just pathetic) writing an entry about the movie I watched on the treadmill Wednesday night – “The Women.” And I was getting into it and I was about 1,000 words deep when it suddenly dawned on me, this is crap. Like really boring, preachy crap and I can’t post this because this stuff even puts me to sleep, what will it do to my visitors? And granted, this journal is about me, my thoughts, my life, blahblahblah, but come on, posting that would have been cruel and unusual punishment so I hit the delete button and from that point on? I was brain dead. You couldn’t have made me write something else if you had stuck a gun to my head.

But in case you’re curious to hear my thoughts on the movie, here are the highlights:

• It’s a movie about women, for women. There wasn’t one male spotted in the entire film. Not one male spoke. I thought that was a very interesting aspect of the movie.
• It’s a movie designed to make women think about their lives and their behaviors.
• The movie also points out that when things go wrong in a relationship, don’t automatically point the finger to the partner – face up to the part you played in the break up.
• It’s possible to be a strong, independent woman without being a bitch about it.

And those are my thoughts, in a nutshell. The End.

I now have 45 emails waiting on me. (And here I am, blogging instead of answering them – DEAR GOD, I’m a sad individual). And that freaks me out a little bit because WOW! So many requests and they involve more than a simple link or two. And I’m feeling a little overwhelmed and like a deer stuck staring at oncoming traffic and I absolutely, positively MUST get those answered today.

Today. And before Monday rolls around.

Seriously.

And just as I typed number 2, a utility truck pulled up in our backyard and it looks like they are preparing to install another pole in one of my neighbor’s yards to help lift the wires up so they aren’t hanging so low and shorting out the neighborhood every time the wind blows which means there’s a good chance I might lose my electricity before I’ve had a chance to catch up on my emails and I haven’t taken a shower yet and now I’m REALLY FREAKED OUT!

But not enough to stop writing this post …

So, moving on …

Though we’ve decided to take a cruise for our family vacation this summer, we haven’t actually made our reservations yet. We just haven’t had time to both sit down and DO it. Wednesday night, I HAD to walk because now that I know I’m going to have my picture taken in skimpy summer clothing (notice I didn’t say bathing suit because any pictures taken of me in a bathing suit are mysteriously deleted – I have no idea why that keeps happening), I must get this old body into some sort of shape or we’ll have lots of lovely vacation pictures with gaping holes where I was supposed to be standing.

Because I’m not too proud to cut myself out of them.

And last night, MK had his freshman orientation (more on that in a second), and tonight, the husband has band practice, so hopefully, we can get around to making our reservations tomorrow at which time I will explain, in excruciating detail, just what we’re doing and where we’re going – exactly. Lucky you. 😀

We went to MK’s freshman orientation last night. First, I feel compelled to do the whole girly squealing, tearing my hair out, reaction thing when I think about my BABY starting high school next year.

Seriously. I know it gets old when you read about people saying, “Where did the time go” but seriously, where in the world did the time go?! You young mothers out there with young children, just wait, you won’t FULLY appreciate what I’m trying to say until your kid starts high school. I can’t even explain the impact that has on you emotionally. The overall feeling is buried somewhere between excited-sad-scared-depressed. It’s just … strange. Just wait.

The orientation was long, and drawn out, and we had heard most of it before with GD’s orientation, and MK had even been present for GD’s orientation and was quite cranky we made him go, but I’m glad we did.

The boy’s personality LIT UP when his friends showed up and he talked me out of $8.00 in order to buy a school ball cap. I have a feeling that kid is going to be very sociable. And after the speech was over and we were allowed to walk around the school and visit various tables of clubs, etc., he really acted interested. He wanted to know more about Japanese club and of course, band.

The band information? Disturbs me. Freshman band will have eight evening rehearsals and a full week, we’re talking 8:00 – 5:00, of band camp, in the summer!! All that work before school even begins! And during the school year, they will pretty much be gone every weekend in October/November, play at every home football game and will take an overnight trip to St. Louis and Tulsa.

ACK! I’m not sure I’m ready to let my baby go with a bunch of other wild kids over night and out of town!!

And the sheet warns that band will take a lot of extra time away from the kids and they are still expected to keep their grades up and MK doesn’t manage his time wisely to begin with … can this kid handle it?!

*takes a deep breath*

I can feel the gray hairs growing in as we speak.

While we were walking around at the orientation, I noticed my reflection in one of the dark windows.

OH. MY. FREAKING. GOSH. Where in the HELL did that gut come from?! Seriously, what in the heck is going on? Here I am, exercising, eating less, definitely cutting back on the junk food, drowning myself in water and juice and yet … and yet … *points in horror* I look like I’m three months pregnant.

In addition to my blubber, I think it might be the clothes I’m wearing. I’ve been wearing these stretchy jeans with a low waist and though they are comfortable as all get out, they don’t do much about holding my gut in. And then I wore this short-sleeved sweater thing that just didn’t compliment my body type.

I’m just going to have to get over my aversion to shopping and spend some time figuring out what looks good on me. Seriously, I am really depressed about this. And I completely disgust myself.

But apparently not enough to pass on the ice cream we had after the orientation last night. *sigh* I’m hopeless. And I have exactly 5 1/2 months to get toned up.

Another reason I never got around to posting anything else yesterday was because I made the mistake of updating my iPod Touch. Thereby visiting the iTunes store.

I shouldn’t be allowed to visit the iTunes store. I lost track after the fifth click. And even though I prefer to buy a hard copy of my music CDs, I really hate buying a CD for ONE song, so I go wild on iTunes.

And speaking of music, have you ever heard anything from Jem? She’s wonderful. I LOVE this girl. She writes all of her own stuff. And her voice … is simply amazing. Think grungy Enya.

I know that doesn’t sound very flattering, but trust me, she’s amazing. Here’s just one of the songs on her new album that I’m in love with. It’s called “It’s Amazing” and yes, it is amazing.

You can buy her new album here. Honestly, you won’t be disappointed.

Have a great Friday, everyone!

________________________

Okay, picture this – you’re trying to entice new readers to your blog. But they only have time to read one of your blog posts. Which blog post would you direct them to? Which of your blog posts really shines and says something about your life? Which blog post are you most proud of? Now take that blog post and submit it to the Blogger’s Best Carnival so everyone else can appreciate your greatness. 🙂

To learn more about the carnival, read this page.

The next Blogger’s Best Carnival: January 31st.

Prize: The satisfaction of reading quality blog posts. 🙂

I found this little gem over at Instructables.

Isn’t this cool? I wish I had thought of this when my kids were little and I had BOXES of old crayon stubs lying around the house, and in drawers, and on the floors and stuck in the heating vents.

But I digress.

What a cute, cheap and FUN thing to give away at your child’s school Valentine party! They could insert these into their valentine’s (thereby making them unique and a sure crowd pleaser), or into the kids’ goody bags. Wouldn’t that be so much better than sticking a bunch of gooey-chocolately-goodness in their bags?

Er, maybe not for the kids, but I bet the parents would prefer it. *grin*

Anyway, if have a few minutes, round up the kids, gather those crayon stubs and follow the tutorial to make fun crayon shapes!

In fact …

I bet I still have that old box of crayons around here somewhere. I wonder if I could talk my teenage boys into doing this with me.

Hey boys! Want to melt some crayons and make fun shapes??

I guess that’s a no?

Bummer.