Unproductive and Unapologetic

Well today was a complete and utter waste of my time. I did not one thing that was productive. Well, actually, I went and worked out, but after that it was timewaste-o-rama. Here's what I didn't do:

• call the doctor and have our prescriptions renewed
  
• take back stuff to Wal-Mart
  
• take back stuff to GAP
  
• find a coffee maker
  
• go to the post office
  
• work on my blog template
  
• clean my house in any way shape or form

Here's what I did do:

• dink around on the Internet
  
• check my e-mail
  
• check my status on blogtopsite (I've moved from 99 to 63)
  
• watch a movie (The Jacket with Adrian "Nostrils" Brody and Jennifer "I mumble all my lines" Jason Leigh)
  
• play Spider Solitaire
  
• get a much needed manicure
  
• watch another movie--this time with my kids (The Santa Clause 2)
  
• start at the top of this list and repeat the first three things to infinity

Yep. It's hard stayin' at home. These are the kinds of days that give us SAHMs a bad name. I really needed a day like today.

Oldies but Goodies and a Random Link for Me

I am linking to some of my very first posts. I'm linking to these because I wrote them before I ever let anyone even know I was blogging. I had my own little private blog. At least I assumed I did--I didn't have a site meter or anything and I couldn't imagine anyone stumbling across me on accident or even on purpose. So I give you these two entries because they are two of my favorites.

Movie Lines

and

What's Your Management Style?

They are the main reason I stopped blogging before Shannon encouraged me to start again. They are funny entries to me. I can't always be that funny. I can be funny in person, but I'm not always funny on paper (or web, as it were). So I stopped even trying. I wasn't inspired to be funny all the time and I couldn't always explain the humor I saw in a situation. Thanks to Shannon and the rest of you for just reading the blog. It's made a real difference to me to know that people come here and check out what I've been writing. It's quite liberating, actually. So thanks! And let me know what you think about the above posts.

And on a totally DIFFERENT topic: I show up in a Google search! How funny is that! Apparently someone googled " matt lauer a million little pieces" and I showed up as the 8th entry (under my former blog name Stuff I'm Thinkin' About). You can see it here. I'm sure this isn't a big deal to most of you, but like I said, I'm amazed who can find you.

THIS is why I love being a mom

Every morning my children come down to snuggle with me before we start our day. Today it was just the munchkin and me because the eldest (I really have to come up with a better name) was too busy playing video games.

Munchkin crawled up into bed and declared that she MUST collect something. I asked her what she wanted to collect and this is how our conversation went:

Munchkin: I don't know what to collect. What do people collect?
Me: Well, it should be something that you love. When you look at it, it will make you happy. What do you love?
Munchkin (after thinking for just a second): Well, YOU. I love you. And when I look at you I'm happy all over.

I swear I'm not embellishing. She then proceded to hug the life out of me. If this is any indicator of my day, bring it on!

Doodles and Drawings from the Kiddos

Over Christmas break I was sitting at our kitchen table doing free draw with my kiddos. I started just doodling instead of actually drawing. They were fascinated. I swear to you they had no idea what doodling was. I encouraged them to try it themselves. Here is what the eldest came up with:

 
I think it looks like Jack from The Nightmare Before Christmas. His drawings are usually much more detailed and I thought it was interesting that he even sort of doodled the person he drew (the people he "draws" look different, if that makes sense).

Munchkin drew the leopard warrior from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Not much doodling unless you count the leopard's paws.

Resolutions and a Flicker of Success

I made the same resolution everyone else does every year: get fit, lose weight. There are others, but this is the one I'm focusing on right now. I have done Weight Watchers in the past with great success. However, once I met my goal weight and my goal (wearing a particular dress to a friend's wedding), I promptly gained it all back plus some. I have that personality that requires a constant goal. If there is nothing to work toward then I will not work at all. All or nothing.

I have been "doing" Weight Watchers for the past week without attending the meetings. I keep track of my points, weigh myself once a week at the gym, and work out at least three times a week. Today I weighed and I have lost 2.5 lbs! I'm happy, but I'm also motivated to keep going. I realize the weekly rate will drop to about a pound a week and that I will also plateau. It's my body's way of asking me if I'm really sure I want to put forth the effort.

To keep me motivated I have discussed with my husband that I need to have rewards for every five pounds I lose. When I hit my goal weight there needs to be a separate goal. After that, for each month a maintain the goal weight I need to have a reward. He's behind me 100 percent, but I'm having trouble deciding what the rewards should be. I'm not interested in buying clothes until I lose a little more weight and my current ones no longer fit. I don't buy CDs because I have SIRIUS radio and it has everything under the sun. So, my request of you is that you help me come up with some small prizes (up to $20) and a monthly prize (not sure how much this should be, but reasonable). I'm thinking massage for the monthly reward. I'd pretty much stop eating completely for a regular message!

Let me know what you think.

Darn this OCD

OK, I'm forcing myself to step away from the blog. It's all I can think about. I think about what I will write. I think about what I won't write. When I'm out driving I see things and think I need to blog about them. The most heinous of all blog obsessions for me, though, is the need to customize my template. It is killing me.

I used to design and code web pages for a living. That was about 10 or 11 years ago before WYSIWYG editors, CSS, XML, etc. I'm a little behind the times. I have looked and looked and looked at code. I have been going line by line, comparing my template code to customized code. I think I almost have it. Then I don't.

Can someone please tell me how to make my banner customized? I have made the graphic, but I still have to have title from my setting page. These are the kinds of banners I mean:

Half Pint House

Soule Mama

Normally it would be against everything I am to ask for help. However, I am neglecting my family and housework to sit and contemplate my blog design. So in the name of my children and my stinky laundry: Please help me.

As I Said, I'm Freezing!

 

My son (I haven't come up with a blog name for him yet...) brought home the greatest literary achievent of any 2nd grader EVER. Well, I'm his mom so I guess maybe not EVER. But I thought it was good enough to blog about. His class was given the picture above and asked to write story about it. Here's his:

I am about to freeze! I cannot stand this winter day. I am covered in snow. I am frozen into an ice cube. I cannot even move. I want to go inside, but, as I said, I cannot move! The last thing I want to happen is get run over by a snow plow. Oh please let someone dig me up from this snow!

 

And the Blog-A-Thon Continues

I have blogged so much today even I can't believe it. I guess I'm definitely back in my groove. I feel like I have so many things to say and not enough time to say them. I need to pace myself. But before I do that, let me share with you my munchkin's request. Munchkin is 5 going on 21. Am I scared? You betcha.

This summer we were on the swing out back and she turns to me and we have the following conversation just as serious as you please:

Munchkin: Mom, you know those kids on TV?
Me: Which ones?
Munchkin: You know. The ones who sell stuff.
Me: You mean on commercials?
Munchkin: Yes. Mom, I want to do that. I know I could do that. I'd be good.

And let me tell you, she is QUITE the performer. Put a camera on that girl and she's all over it. Over Christmas she asked us to make up t-shirts with her picture on them so she could sell them at her shows. She also informed us that, if time allowed, she would be happy to sign autographs. Today she declared that she's GOING to be in movies.

My initial reaction is not no way, not no how. My husband, my son, and I are all introverts. Munchkin is most definitely NOT. I don't have any desire to be the mom that pushes her child into show biz or whatever. However, if I look at it more objectively, it's not me that's doing the pushing. Maybe the least I can do is look into what's involved and what opportunities are around town. As the adult I could have final say, right? So that is my challenge for this week. Wish me luck.

Sort of a meme. But not really though.

I just read this on a blog today and I thought it was fun.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don’t search around and look for the “coolest” book you can find. Do what’s actually next to you.

Here's the one I found:
"Farewell."

From The Last Battle (the final book in the Chronicles of Narnia).

What are yours?

I'm Goin' Meme Crazy!

Edit: I was just looking over my post and I realized I only put 5 things instead of 7. Doh. Let's see if I can fix that...

I've always been morbidly fascinated with what is apparently called a meme (though I just used to refer to them as "questions about you"). Now that I'm finding my blog groove, I'm in meme heaven. Bear with me while I ride out this wave and get it out of my system. And, of course, feel free to jump right in! I love to learn about other people.

Seven things I plan to do before I die:
This is a hard one for me. My chemical imbalance is off just enough for me to think that if I make this list, I may actually die.
1. Visit Europe for several months at a time
2. Take my kids to the ocean
3. Visit NYC at Christmas time
4. Have healthy, happy, well-adjusted adult children. You know what I mean. (inspired by Brooke, I mean Shannon)
5. Have my grandkids on overnights (but NOT before my kids are of age and married for five years)
6. Own my own business and not get bored with it (also inspired by Shannon)
7. I don't know. This is hard for me! I mostly just want to travel the world.

Seven things I can do:
1. Intimidate people with my face in repose (not necessarily a good thing)-- thus the name Surly Mom.
2. Surf
3. Make people laugh
4. Wiggle my ears
5. Raise my left eyebrow
6. Sleep ALL day
7. Watch back-to-back-to-back movies and not be bored or antsy

Seven things I can’t do:
1. Sew or knit
2. Think on my feet. I need time to digest information and then respond. This makes it very hard for me to win any arguments or debates. My friends know they just have to bear with me and I'll get back to them in a few days.
3. Back handspring
4. Play video games (I'm talking about the ones on PS2, XBOX, etc.). I ROCK at Galaga, though.
5. Teach my children (meaning homeschool)--it's way too overwhelming for me to think about that.
6. Paint
7. Sing

Seven things that attract me to another person:
(I'm going to interpret this as "What do I look for in other people of either sex", not "What am I attracted to in the opposite sex".)
1. The most important thing is a sense of humor. If you make me laugh, you're in.
2. Having an open mind even if your ideologies differ significantly from my own. As long as we can discuss intelligently and give and take, you're in.
3. An interesting personality. You can be surly like me, but if you're surly and QUIRKY you're most likely in.
4. Kindness
5. Generosity
6. And have I said humor? I don't care. It's paramount.
7. OK, OK, something that attracts me to the opposite sex is hands. Take Johnny Depp for example. Ahhhh. You just know those hands know the right thing to do.

Seven things I say most often:
1. It's all good.
2. That's hilarious.
3. Hey! (as in, Hey! Stop that!, Hey! Cut it out!, Hey! Don't cut your sister's hair!)
4. I know. (Example: someone says to me, "Did you see that crazy guy?" I say, "I know! He was hilarious.")
5. Get out! (As in Get out of town! Are you serious?)
6. I love you.
7. Be good mom, not a perfect mom. I say this to myself all the time to remind me that I just need to do the best I can. And I know whether it's my best or not. It's a condensed version of a quote by Jill Churchill: The most important thing she'd learned over the years was that there was no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.

The "Four" Meme

Found this on Diary of a Desperate Housewife. I tag whoever is reading this. Let me know if you play.

Four jobs you have had in your life
1. Mazzio's cashier and salad girl (BTW, I never eat at salad bars b/c of that experience. I was the ONLY one who made sure it was fresh.)
2. GAP salesgirl
3. Web Designer
4. Technical Writer

Four movies you could watch over and over
1. Any of the Thin Man series
2. Dogma
3. The Butterfly Effect
4. The Harry Potter movies

Four places you've lived
1. Jefferson, Iowa
2. Anchorage, Alaska
3. Enid, Oklahoma
4. Tulsa, Oklahoma

Four TV shows you love to watch
1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (the LV one)
2. CSI: Miami
3. Devine Design with Candace Olsen on HGTV
4. Lost

Four places you've been on vacation
1. Hawaii
2. Wine Country
3. Disneyworld
4. Las Vegas

Four websites you visit daily
1. G-mail account
2. Rocks In My Dryer
3. Damn Interesting
4. Neal Boortz Nuze

Four of your favorite foods
1. Beef Wellington
2. Anything with caviar sauce
3. Camille's tomato soup
4. Enchiladas

Four places you'd rather be right now
1. On a beach
2. Reading
3. Shopping with friends
4. Eating out

Four Bloggers you are tagging
1. Brooke
2. Heth
3. Everyone (I'm still building up my blog friends; I don't have that many yet.)
4. Anyone else who wants to play

Don't forget to let me know if you play! I want to read what you say.