Random Thoughts #45

1. Whenever I go out in the evening it takes me twice as long to wind down to sleep at night. Do I quit going out or resign myself to being a zombie the next day?
2. I still watch old episodes of Who's Line is it Anyway? and laugh.
3. I am incredibly lucky and grateful to have the family I have.
4. Yay for my kids improving in school. I also planned with them to do some school things over their break time and they seem excited to do those things. Now if only their mother will follow through.
5. Seriously, what is wrong with Bear Grylls? I know I've asked it before but he is seriously screwed up.
6. Why do I watch his show? (I don't, very often, but obviously too often.)
7. I love how temperature perspective changes here in Minnesota. The same temperature that has us donning our jackets in the summer and fall (60?) has us tossing the jackets aside in the Spring.
8. It can always be worse.
9. Our book club selection for this month is Giants of the Earth. I'm sure it's a wonderful book but ye gods! it's 531 pages. If I finish this one in time I expect a medal. Also? I'm half-way through Water For Elephants and I want to finish that one first so that is going to eat into my reading time for the current book club book. Pretty much I'm screwed.
10. We're going to get new custom-made bathroom cabinets on Monday. Soon after the rest of our bathroom will get remodeled. I'm really, really, really excited. Also? I'm old.
11. Is it bad that I enjoyed the slight bit of startle that one of my kids' teachers experienced when she realized we know another of the families well enough to joke very sarcastically with one another? I have really grown to enjoy this family a lot. When our remodel is done I think we should invite them to dinner. Whooo! Look at me all planning meetings with people.
12. I'm thinking about my friend whose 22-month-old son is undergoing brain surgery this morning.
13. I'm also thrilled that D has started talking more and more. Still not nearly as much as her sister at her age...and not as much as her brother either...but much more than she has and it is so fun to hear. She brings our family so much joy.
14. Her sister and brother are so much fun too. They entertain me daily with their stories. They also frustrate me because they are so independent. Yes, I know it is a good thing. Yes. It is. But when they refuse to go to sleep at night (hmmm I wonder where they get that from?) and then are cranky in the morning (again, looking around innocently) it is hard. But these kids of mine are great kids and will do whatever they want to do, and do it well.
15. Girl Scout cookie selling is over. Wooo hooo!
16. I finally sold one of my notebooks in my Etsy shop. I have been slack about making and posting new items but I hope to get some new things done this weekend.

Random Thoughts #38

1. I have been exercising most days for a while now. I do take off a day or two now and then, but mostly I exercise even when I'd rather not. I have not lost ANY weight. In fact, the Wii tells me I gain more often than I lose. It's frustrating. I may have said that before. I am an exciting writer in that I repeat the same things over and over...and over.
2. On the bright side I am moving, trying to be healthier. I am trying to eat more veggies and attempting to force my big kids to eat them too. The baby eats anything and everything with delight. I hope she continues that way. Miss M actually uttered the words "I liked the cauliflower." She quickly added "I don't want any more though." K Man, as usual, was the opposite of M. He liked the broccoli better. These two were perfect when I made fried eggs too. K will only eat yolks, M will only eat whites.
3. We're reading Funny in Farsi for our book club this month. It was one of the books I voted for so I hope it is good. The last book we read that I voted for was Those Who Save Us. It was worth the read for sure.
4. I went to my book club meeting last night despite feeling bloated and cranky (gee, I wonder what time of the month it is?). I didn't participate much, but I laughed a lot, and I guess that's probably why I went. I am looking forward to getting to know these women better. It is hard for me to make friends because I am so quiet, but I always have high hopes.
5. I actually got my hair cut again on Wednesday. My mom met me at the salon to watch all 3 kids while I had my head massaged, my hair washed, cut and dried. It looks much better than the ponytail I had reverted back to.
6. With all the baby chasing and cleaning up after I do I shouldn't need to work out.
7. I enjoyed my tomato and mozzarella salad that I had for lunch yesterday way too much. I hope it gets warm again so more of the tomatoes in the garden ripen.
8. Do I post here too often? Should I post less? I don't know...looking to you to tell me.
9. Of course the day that I posted the kids were doing well in school K Man's teacher told me he'd had a terrible listening day. Not that I'd know what she's talking about, since he listens to me all the time. Or NOT. Supposedly he improved the next day and I didn't get a report yesterday. I do know that he is still wildly out of control after school at home.
10. I notice that I look angry in the few photos taken of me. That can't be good.

More Memories

It's summertime. The grass is green and smells of earth worms. The scent of cut-grass tickles my nose but makes me want to inhale deeply. The tree frogs buzz and hum in their jovial banter. In the distance a Blue Jay releases an angry tirade.

My brother and I are at the curb, kneeling on the concrete gutter between the boulevard and the tarred street. We make car sounds with our mouths, sputtering and tooting as we push Matchbox along intricate streets.

We have carved roads in the boulevard grass, long and winding topsoil paths that we cover with leftover sand from the previous winter. The roads arch into thinning avenues that abruptly end at a parking space--that "person's" home.

We can play like that for hours, barely registering the pebbles digging into our already skinned knees. The business of life goes on around us as we create lives in the dirt.

Heather!

I jump a little, so engrossed as I am in my game. I look up and smile as my grandfather saunters toward me.

Wanna go for a ride?

I'm up in an instant taking only a brief second to brush the gravel from my knees. I clamor into the front seat of the mammoth brown LTD and grin eagerly at this man who always has a twinkle in his eye. He tweaks my cheek and makes a goofy noise with his lips as he turns the key in the ignition.

The engine fires and he pulls the car into gear. The car eases into motion, the wheels carrying us on our ride.

A moment later the car stops. We are in the garage. The ride is over and hearing grandpa's merry laugh is worth the price of being the butt of the joke.



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If you've ever wondered how to do anything from re pot a plant to wrestle an alligator I know just the book for you! I have a review up at the Zoo Review. And thanks to Harper Collins you can win your very own copy!
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Aweigh post below!

With Love...another book review!

The wonderful Felicia at HarperCollins once again gave me the opportunity to review one of their latest offerings. This time it’s a compilation: With Love: Artists’ Letters and Illustrated Notes.

To be honest, I had no idea who most of the artists were whose letters are featured in this volume. I didn’t take Art Appreciation class in college (or, if I did, I don’t remember any of it!) I recognized Frida Kahlo and Jackson Pollock and that was about it. But it didn’t really matter that I didn’t know the artists or their work. Reading the love letters (some of them with illustrations) of people, just people who happened to be artists, was interesting.

The love letter is a dying (if not already dead) art form in itself. These letters, compiled from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art by Liza Kirwin and Joan Lord, offer a voyeuristic view into mostly ordinary lives at different periods in American history.

They are, in effect, a history lesson delving into the innocence (or not) of times past. They offer a snapshot of how each writer was feeling at one given time. The letters speak of longing, of passion. Some border on pleading.

The authors offer short background information about the writer and recipient of each letter, and in most cases, includes notes about what became of their relationship.

Each letter and accompanying information offer a unique story so the book can be read over a period of time without worrying about forgetting integral plot. It is the perfect book to have in your car while waiting to pick up your child at school.

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Next book review: Just Tell Me What to Say: Sensible Tips and Scripts for Perplexed Parents by Betsy Brown Braun.

I'm a winner!

I wrote about my memory of reading with my grandfather for a contest at CHBM last month.

I received my book prize yesterday from Kane/Miller Publishing. It is a really cute book and just so happens to fit perfectly with recent events at our house. The pictures are really vibrant and the story captured both kids' interest in moments after I started reading.

Thank you to CHBM and Kane/Miller!

Random thoughts #10

Tonight, as my son was rocking with me, he looked up at me and commented "Mama? When I go up I be fifighter!" He has big dreams at 2. He also loves to ask "kiss me Mama?" It's a total stall tactic, but a very effective one at that.
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My friends Sandy and Kurt voted me the winner of their tongue-in-cheek Christmas letter contest. Yeah, they said they didn't expect any entries and then Kurt badgered me until I wrote a letter. Then, now that I've won, they throw in additional stipulations. Geez. Good thing they're friends.
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My bunco night was last night and it went fairly well. It was slightly painful because my dessert plates and napkins did not match the colors or theme of the rest of the decor, but I'm probably the only one who noticed. Well, me and the rest of the people I told about it, soooo pretty much everyone. Note to self: Shut up.
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I finished reading The Kite Runner a few nights ago. Yeah, great read. Disturbing at points, but truly a worthwhile read. Thanks to Mrs. Chicken for making me place this higher on my reading list.
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I'm contemplating painting the walls of my living room and dining room/kitchen in somewhat dramatic colors. Currently, they are white. Pretty much stark and boring. I will take a before photo and if we get around to the painting, I'll post the after. I think it will look pretty good, but it's hard to take the plunge. Our house is pretty small, so I don' t know if it can take the bold color.
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Have a FAB weekend.