Stop Lying To Your Children Already!

Why do we tell children that they can be whatever they want to be in life? When they are young, I think we encourage this type of thinking so that they will explore the different possibilities of adulthood careers; you don't want to sink their ships before they've even set sail. But at some point you need to be honest with your child and give them a strong dose of reality. If you're not super smart, you'll never be a neuro-surgeon. If you can't hold on to the football, you'll never be a star running back, at any level. It is what it is. Bottom line.

I have a 15 year old son who has played some type of organized sport for over half of his life. Why? Because he wanted to and as a parent, you don't want your child to sit around doing nothing. Now, the latter may seem like the obvious reason but there is more to the story here.

Let's discuss Little League Baseball. As a child I spent countless summer days at the ball field watching the neighborhood boys play baseball. And every spring there were tryouts. And you know what? If you weren't good, you didn't make a team. And if you did make a team but were having an off day during a game, you got benched. Furthermore, if you didn't show up for practice you didn't play, no exceptions. Sounds reasonable, enough, yes? Well...in this day of "everyone deserves a chance at everything" the seemingly logically approach to youth sports is GONE!

Devin "tried out" for baseball every year. And every year he made a team. This is not to say that he isn't a good ball player, he is. However, the tryout procedure was merely a technicality so the coaches could stack the teams. Furthermore, there was always the kid who missed practice on a regular basis but was always in the game. And lets not even talk about the post-season "All-Star" season where the kids who were chosen were always the coach's kid who sucked or the son of the mother who ran the concession stand who couldn't hit a baseball if world peace depended on it. But that is not my point here. Today, the Little League Rules, yes RULES, state that if you're on a team, you MUST play at least a little. One or two innings, I think. And no one who "tries out" gets cut. What does this teach our children? That just because you want something you get it? Is that how life works? Hardly. In my humble opinion, it teaches our children that those who are dedicated to the team, who work hard during practice and show dedication to the team by going to practice day in and day out, are rewarded no more than the slug who shows up late or not at all for their hard work. This is just not reality.

Now, lets touch on football. In our area, at the middle school level, if you want to play football, you show up for the first practice in the fall before school starts and you're on the team. They don't even bother with the fake tryout process. And if you miss practices or perform badly during a game, you still get to play. Whatever!

My biggest problem with youth sports is this...when a child plays just because he/she wants to play for half of their life with no true dedication to the team or no reward for exceptional skill, they get a huge smack in the face when they get to the high school level. Just imagine for a moment, if you spent years and years playing a sport that you supposedly tried out for, played in every game and then all of a sudden you try out (for real) for your high school team and are cut. Or you're having an off day and can't seem to do anything right at all and you're benched. After the game, the coach throws a fit in the locker room about how poorly you performed and makes the entire team run until they puke at the next practice. The kid is left wondering what the hell is going on, it was never like this before. Youth sports often leave a child with a false sense of the team concept because some dumb ass thought that everyone should have a chance just because they want it or because their parents dumped a wad of money into the program. Does that do anything to teach a child about life? What is the point of allowing a child to believe that just because they want something bad enough they can have it when they are no good at "it"? And even worse, what is the point of allowing a child to believe they should continue to pursue something they are not good at? The truth of the matter is, even most athletes with phenomenal skill will never be professional athletes.


Thanks to Nance for planting the seed in my head for this post.

Seems Like Only Yesterday...

My baby is not a baby anymore. In less than one week he will be 2. Where does the time go? The other day I looked at him and noticed that his legs are longer than they seemed to be only a week ago. Is that even possible? Of course I know he did not grow significantly overnight, but seriously, am I really so unobservant that I don't even realizing my child is growing? I didn't think I was. But it makes me sad to think about nonetheless.

He's talking more and more everyday. I'm sure every mother of a toddler says that, I know. But he says things like, "Turn that music off, mom" while riding in the car or "I want to go to Grandma's house." He tells me daily, "I wanna go downstairs and rock on the the drums!" (Not real drums, thank GOODNESS, just the ones for the video game Rock Band). I mean really, those are rather large sentences for such a little guy. The other day while on the phone with my sister Micah said, "That's amazing!" Really? Amazing? I, personally, am impressed. And yes, I know I'm biased. But just a few months ago his vocabulary was quite limited and today there is not too much he can not say. Very rarely does he have a problem expressing his thoughts for lack of vocabulary. Once again it makes me ask, where has the time gone?

Of course I'm excited to watch my child grow and learn. There really does seem to be something new everyday. I'm just glad that I've always taken too many pictures, because I don't remember the day of his birth as clearly as I did this time last year. And that too makes me sad. Will I remember it vividly at all 20 years from now? I hope so. But just to be safe, "Say CHEESE!"

So Sad...

Recently my community has been witness to some devastating events. A police officer lost his life in the line of duty. As the community grieves the loss of the officer, is seems to me as though we are forgetting that another man lost his life as well. Do I think that any person has the right to take the life of another? Absolutely not. But I feel torn apart inside when I read the news, see the television interviews, and over and over you only hear, "I pray for the officer's family..." Why? Because a tragedy is just that, a tragedy. Is it is fair to put a value on any one's life? Is one life more precious than the next? Sometimes awful things happen and we tend to focus only on one side of the situation. But I believe that it is important to remember that 2 families lost a husband, a father, a son. I find it hard to believe, even for just one second, that either family is grieving any more or less than the other. Death is death. The loss of a loved one is painful no matter what the reason. If you truly are a God loving person, then do not judge. Pray for all the families involved. Everyone needs to be comforted during times of mourning. Everyone.

I looked outside into my back yard other day to see a tulip breaking ground. YAY! Spring is just around the corner, I couldn't be happier. I'm beyond tired of this long Ohio winter. I really hope that we don't get anymore snow, which I know is not an impossibility. But, we shouldn't have anymore snow storms this year, I think.

Although Spring is not my favorite season, that would be fall, I do enjoy watching everything turn from grey to green. It's a sign of the fun to come. I think that Micah can sense it too, he asks to go for a walk whenever I mention to him that it's nice outside.

And so...

I'm looking forward to the late nights outside chatting with the neighbors about absolutely nothing while sitting around a fire on my patio sharing a beer.

I'm excited about seeing Micah's face when he finds a random dandy lion and picks it for me; he gets overjoyed when he can give mommy a flower.

I'm anticipating having my windows open and the smell of fresh cut grass waifing though my house as all the neighbors manicure their lawns.

I'm really happy about the prospects of my muddy back yard drying up so I can give the dogs a bath that will keep then clean for more than a day. My white dogs look brown right now and they STINK!

I'm elated at the idea of the sun being warm enough to bump me up a few (hundred) notches on the color spectrum. I'm looking pretty pale these days. Seriously, the other day at the gym when we were doing some mat work and I was looking around at all the exposed legs in the air, I could not differentiate my own from any of the white women's in my class. I need a tan.

Most of all, I'm delighted about the longer days to come. There is just something intoxicating about the sun shining at 8:30p.m. It really seems like I can get more accomplished in a day when the days are "longer".

Happy Spring, everyone! What makes you look forward to the warm and sunny days to come?

For Me, Some Things Are Just Impossible to Understand

I do not consider myself to be someone who is technologically challenged. I try to stay up on the current ways of the world, otherwise, you just get left behind. Besides, I have a husband who is a bit of a tech junkie, as I've mentioned in the past, so I don't have too much of a choice in the matter. But even though I am quite capable of operating the tech gadgets that cross my path, I really am clueless when I try to imagine how they actually work.

I mean really, did you ever sit down and wonder exactly how you get music on your MP3player? I know the basics, of course. I plug the device into my computer, drag and drop a file and BOOM, there it is for my listening pleasure. But seriously, how does that happen? How is something the size of a credit card able to hold thousands of songs? Not to mention the countless pictures and full length movies. It boggles my mind!

And have you ever seen the inside of a computer? WTF? I turn the computer on and all the information I could ever want (plus some) is right there at my finger tips. But how? The guts of a computer just look like a bunch of scrap to me. Yet it really is the entire world, right there...crazy.

I received my Nook (2 weeks earlier than expected, YAY) and I turn it on, type in my email address and instantly there are over 100 books ready for me to read. All I have to do is touch "read" and there it is, without ever having to connect it to anything. Somehow the information magically transmits itself to the palm of my hand without any physical evidence that it is occurring other than the the screen displaying the word "downloading". But were is it coming from, how does it get to me, and why can't I see it happening?!

Honestly, I try not to think about this type of stuff too often. It can make me feel crazy inside. It's almost as though it just shouldn't be. It's unnatural, in a sense. And even though I consider myself to be a pretty intelligent person, I don't think I could wrap my head around all of this even if I had the most gifted of all scientists offering the explanation. Does anyone else ponder this stuff or do I just have too much time to let my mind wonder at night when I'm trying to fall asleep?

Because There is Such A Movie Buzz These Days

I like to watch movies, sometimes. I go through phases. Sometimes I will watch a couple of movies a day and then I won't see anything at all for several months. And I very rarely go to the movie theater; it is way too expensive to sit through something that I ultimately don't like. So when I do go on a movie kick, I prefer it be at home, on my couch, in front of my television with a bowl of popcorn and a tall glass of Pepsi. With ice please.

Here are my top 3 movies that I will watch over and over. And No, none of them are up for an Academy Award. In fact, I don't think I've seen any of those movies yet.

1.Harry Potter 1,2,3,4,5 or 6. Yes, that is technically 6 movies on my top 3 list but it is what it is. I'm putting them all into one category. I love Harry Potter, in the book and on the screen. You should already know that about me. Moving on. I will watch a Potter movie several times in one day, if it's showing. And you better call in the back up dinner maker/house cleaner if there is a Harry Potter weekend movie marathon. Love it.

2.Crash. I've not been able to watch this movie nearly as much as I would like to. But that does not make it any less fabulous. Not only is the story line fantastic, it's true. All the stereo tying and racial slurs are spot on. They say things in that movie that we have ALL thought at some point in out lives but don't dare say out loud.

3.Pulp Fiction. I love this movie for the story, the actors and of course, the music. And I want someone to lie to me and tell me that they've never recreated the dance scene between John Travolta and Uma Thurman. Anyone who has ever seen this movie has done some form of this dance. And the quotes. There are so many fantastic quotes from this movie but I will share just one...

Jules: The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.


Care to share your favorites? Comment away.

A Truly Wonderful Day!

President Obama recently visited my area. I was absolutely overjoyed when I learned he was coming and equally disappointed when I learned that I'd missed my chance to get tickets to see him speak. So I did the next best thing, I bundled up my sweet Micah and we waited outside for the Presidential motorcade to pass by.

We waited on the main street he was to travel down for just over an hour before Our President drove by. I was so pleased to have my son, niece and nephew there to experience it too. I got a pretty decent video of the procession but it was kind of hard to do as Micah, naturally, had no idea what was going on would have no parts of staying in his stroller. So I had to hold him as I tried to capture this small, yet huge piece of wonderfulness on camera. I hope to share that video with you soon.

But in the meantime, I do have some pictures from that day's event that an old high school friend was kind enough to let me post here. This is Kim and her son Reece:
Kim's son wanted very badly to go see President Obama speak but she was unable to get tickets. For several days she was on Facebook asking anyone who had tickets to the event and couldn't attend to please pass them on to her so she could take her son. No such luck on that though so she was planning on taking him to see the motorcade like most of the people without tickets would most likely do.


I started hearing rumors late Thursday night about where President Obama was supposed to be going for lunch. I thought that maybe I'd take my chances and try to go there but I dismissed that idea just as fast figuring the Secret Service would have the place on lock down and wouldn't be the slightest bit swayed by Micah's sweet face and his chant of "OBAMA! OBAMA!" (Which eventually turned into a chant of OGRANDMA! OGRANDMA!) I never really thought of going to this place for more than about two minutes, literally. But Kim took her chances and headed to the restaurant/bar where Obama did in fact dine early Friday afternoon. Even better, she and her son were able to meet him and have this awesome photo-op! I'm so happy that her son will have such a wonderful memory and story to share with his own children someday. And I'm super grateful that she let me share the pictures with my readers!

I believe Kim will be stopping by and hopefully she will give us more details in the comments about how the experience was for the two of them...hint, hint!

Since the day that Oprah gave away Amazon's Kindle on one of her Favorite Things shows, my interests have been piqued in this new age of ereaders. However, I was never too serious about hunting around for the best product or to even see what was available on the market because of the high price tag. Until recently, that is.

And I'm so excited! I've been doing my research for the last several months and had my heart initially set on the Kindle, which I don't think anyone who knows about ereaders will argue, is the industry standard. It has all the bells and whistles, and I do like bells and whistles. But after further research and knowing my reading habits, I was quickly turned off to the Kindle when I realized that if I own this product, my book swapping days are essentially over. And avid readers know that books can be a huge social event as well as a self fulfilling pleasure. Not to mention that exchanging books with fellow readers saves lots of money for everyone involved. But then I stumbled upon the Barns & Noble Nook. WOOOHOOO! I immediately fell in love and found my ereader. It supports several different file formats and allows you to lend books to other Nook owners. Furthermore, it runs on the Android operating system which is growing by leaps and bounds daily. I could go on and on about the tech specs, but I won't. I'll just say that I'm in love! And mine is expected to ship on Feb. 12, just in time for a late birthday present, but right on time for Valentine's Day. And since my husband knows how much I've been drooling over this ereader, a combo gift is just fine with me, this year :)

If you'd like to check out the Nook for yourself, click here.

I've been thinking a lot about the power of music. The emotions that can arise when you take the time to listen to lyrics. Or the memories that seem to hit you like a ton of bricks because you remember that song was playing when (fill in the blank).

I was in bed the other day attempting to take a nap. I was listening to the radio spilling over from Micah's room. I couldn't fall asleep because my mind was racing from all the remembering. One song brougt back a memeory from high school. Just driving around aimlessly with my best girlfriend at the time singing at the top of our lungs just for the hell of it. But it is not only the memory that the song brings that I enjoy so much, it is the emotion. I can remember exactly the way I was feeling. I can remember how much fun I was having at that very moment and I can remember thinking that I want to remember this distinct moment for the rest of my life. And because of a song, I do. I think that is amazing!

Recently I was listening to my MP3 player and a particular song from my wedding started playing. I was on the verge of tears as I remembered dancing with my husband for the first time as a married couple. Then I realized I wasn't alone and needed to pull it together. Although I doubt most people forget special songs from their weddings, I am still surprised by the enormity of emotion that comes along with that particular song each and every time I hear it. You'd think that I would be used to it by now :)

Music speaks to me in so many different ways and on so many different levels. Music has the power to evoke tears of joy or make me sob like a small child who just skinned her knee for the first time. Music has the power to bring people together who would normally have nothing common. Music is truly magical.

Time to Reflect

The holiday season is coming to a close. The year is just a few days from being categorized as just another piece of history. Often this time of year brings us to a point in our lives where we reflect. We reflect on the things gone wrong, the things that have gone right and the things we hope to accomplish in the future...

It's been a trying year. My husband was out of work for almost half of it. But I can honestly say that it wasn't too awful. You learn to live on a lot less and be grateful for what you have.

Although finical difficulties can result in an overwhelming amount of familial distress, it can also result in some unexpected glorious times. My husband and I have been together for 7 years, married for 4. Never have we had the opportunity to spend so much time with each other or with our children. I am truly appreciative that my husband's time at home gave him the opportunity to watch our youngest child grow and develop in a way he never got to experience with our oldest. Time can't be recovered. Life only gives you one shot at the "firsts" and I thank God that we got to experience so many firsts as a family. From the milestones a toddler tackles to the puffing out of the chest as the teenage boy makes that awkward transition into a young man. Life is good .

As far as the future, who knows what it holds. Life is so full of uncertainty. I have learned that for sure. I can only hope that we can continue to remain, and grow to be an even stronger family. Of course, there are things that I hope the new year will bring, but as I reflect on the past, those "things" are of a different caliber this time. And THAT is a blessing.

Happy Halloween!!

I've always liked to celebrate Halloween but I've never been a huge fan of dressing up and begging for candy. I prefer to decorate my house (in more of a harvest theme than Halloween) and buy candy to stash around the house. I do enjoy passing out candy to YOUNG trick-or-treaters. And I thoroughly enjoyed dressing my little one up and taking him to a handful of pre-selected neighbor's houses dressed as the most adorable lion I've ever seen before we passed out candy from home. (Yes, I know that I'm biased.)


The other side of Halloween is the Dark Side. And I do believe that there are all kinds of people out there who truly believe that the evils of the world freely walk the streets on All Hallows Eve. Which brings me to the point of this post...

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?

Honestly, I have mixed opinions about this topic. I've had some strange things happen to me, unexplained noises and things breaking that shouldn't. And our late Lacie dog used to stare into the same corner of the living room while barking and growling for hours upon hours sometimes. Micah often looks up to this same spot while pointing and talking his baby gibberish. IF there is indeed some type of something lurking in our house, it really doesn't seem to bother anyone. I do get a little weirded out when I think about it sometimes. But for the most part, ghosts, spirits etc., are not something that I take too seriously nor do I think every single person who claims to have some type of paranormal experience is making it up.

In the comments...what is your opinion on this matter or do you have your own experiences to share?

I think just may be time to let this blog go...I just can't seem to ever find the time...

I've Discovered a New Disease, Where Are My Millions?!?!?

I'm am waiting on the delivery of my 3rd cell phone in about a year and a half. I don't try to pretend that I take extra special care of my devices. I've been known to allow Micah to play with my handheld computer that no child should ever be allowed to touch let alone viciously throw onto the cement during a walk. But hey, after that one was rendered no longer viable because I could only make calls using the speakerphone (which is evidently considered to be rude in public, humph) I purchased another. This time I tried to be sensible. I bought the phone used in order to side step the outrageous cost of buying from T-Mobile before my contract was set to expire. I gave up some features that I really enjoyed (wi-fi, windows mobile) but I gained a touchscreen and a 5 mega pixel camera, super cool, eh? And ever better, I tried my hardest to take care of THIS one. Micah's sweet little hands only touched this phone if he was successful on one his his gazillion telephone robbery missions of the day. (My baby is obsessed with the telephone, he OBVIOUSLY gets this from his father.) And as far as I'm aware, he never dropped it. Well the other night the damned phone started acting like a touchy menopausal woman. Evey attempt at touching the screen yielded and unwanted and WRONG response. Never doing what I wanted. I tried to remedy the problem several different ways only to end up being told by the tech guy, "There are no other possible fixes. I'm sorry, you'll have to replace the device." WTF!!! Didn't I just go through this, not even 2 months ago!!!! So much for actually trying to take care of a phone properly. And don't EVEN tell me that I should have refrained from purchasing a used phone. I was being economical, remember? So anyway, this all happened last week. Mind you, the broken phone is a touchscreen with a virtual keyboard. When the screen is acting like a psycho by responding as though you've touched whatever option is to the left of what you're actually gunning for, texting is virtually IMPOSSIBLE! Alas, we come to the discovery of the new disease. Drum roll please...

TEXTING WITHDRAW

I text all day everyday and am very grateful for our unlimited texting plan (otherwise we'd be paying some serious overage charges). I have not been able to text in a timely fashion for about a week now. I'm getting a little anxious. I've even taken to using the husband's phone to text my sister just for the sake of texting when I don't really have anything to tell her because I just like to text. And the funny thing, I never used to like to text. I was all about texting being too impersonal, pick up the phone and talk to me dammit! But now, I really enjoy the convenience of it all and not being able to send a quick message about the awesome new thing my genius baby just did (LOL) is driving me insane!!

So just remember that you heard it here first. When something happens and the cell phone towers across the nation go down, millions of people all will find themselves experiencing strange sensations that will later be diagnosed as Texting Withdraw. Hell, it may even not even be too long before we see those in recovery on some funky VH1 reality show.

And So It Goes...

At what point in life did you start to feel you're running out of time? Or have you not yet reached that point yet? I'm 31 and all of a sudden I feel as though I'm not going to get it all done. Things are starting to feel impossible. Starting to feel like I've got to do some rearranging. Is this just a phase because the end of my child bearing years are quickly approaching or maybe just because life in general has been so unpredictable the last 6 months or so? I'm not sure. But I don't like these feelings of uncertainty and maybe just putting them "out there" will help to dissolve some of the anxiety.

Yes, I'm Still Here. Promise.

I should probably be but on some kind of blog probation...almost 2 months since I last posted anything. Shame on me! Well let it be recorded that I have often thought of sitting down to write and something always comes up (kids,husband,dogs). Often I'm out and see a blog worthy situation and never quite make it to the computer (kids,husband,dogs). So I am here in attempt to redeem myself and hope that at least one person stops by to see that I am still here :)

So, a quick recap of the last two months, shall we?

~I've still been hitting the gym at least 3 times a week although I'd like to go more but I that isn't always possible (kids,husband,dogs). But more importantly, I'm sticking to the commitment I made to myself...yay!!!

~My baby boy is 16 months old. He's got an incredibly strong personality, which I absolutely adore, and it seems as though he's doing something different and new every single day. And he's turning into a "big boy" for sure, he's out of mommy and daddy's bed, sleeping through the night (FINALLY!) and he's not nursing anymore! Thank God for my sister and a little patience on my part that helped all this happen in just under 2 weeks. How wonderful it is to feel like a normal human being again.

~We put up an electric fence in our backyard for the dogs. Too many people freak out when Scooter gets loose and and Scrappy just causes trouble with other neighborhood dogs. I thought the training process was going to be really crazy and long. But it wasn't so bad. Scooter got it in about 3 days. With Scrappy it was a whole different ballgame. But they're both good now and I have to admit, when one of them decides to try and chase that random squirrel or rabbit and they run into the boundary line, it can be extremely entertaining. I know, I shouldn't enjoy seeing my dogs get shocked, but hey, I do. Because really, I haven't changed my mind, I'd like to just get rid of them all and reclaim my grass.

I suppose that is all for now. Just wanted to check in with the blog-world and say I am indeed still here. I'm trying to think of a new format for my blog that will allow me post more often...so look for changes soon!

I love to watch people. I can never drive past someone walking down the street without taking a peak. I like to wonder what there lives are about. Where are they going, where have they been. I wonder if the tall skinny man that I see several times a week walking with a drug mart bag who has a severe limp and deformed hand was born that way or was there some sort of accident. Is he bitter? Is is ever appropriate to ask? Probably not. I often feel sad for him. Not so much because of his abnormalities but because he always looks sad. I wonder why he looks so sad. Maybe he misses life as it once was or maybe he dreams of what life could have been. I am sad now just to wonder about it.

I wonder about the lady who wears the crazy glitter makeup and lines her lips, as well as most of the surrounding area, with a shade of red that is never truly appropriate for anyone who doesn't want to be noticed. She often acts as though she wants to be invisible, but she never presents herself in such a way. She wears her hair, or wig, I do believe it is a wig, piled high on her head and its always adorned with some type of bow or barrette that would be far better suited for a small child. I wonder why she would go to the local bar, order several beers, open one to drink now and stuff the rest in her over sized purse to drink later in the lady's bathroom. I wonder why she sometimes will speak and other times acts as if she is unable to speak and just stares. Is she able? I do not feel sad for her. Actually, she frightens me a bit. She seems to be the type who may go "postal" one day. But I do enjoy watching her, I really do. But I prefer her when she is in a non-speaking mood.

I wonder about the man who is young and handsome that walks past my house everyday to get his beer. The ambulance is called a few times a year because he often tries to commit suicide. Why would he do that? Is he just so drunk that he does not know any better? Is his life that bad and maybe that is why he is drunk all the time? He has children that he doesn't care for. That makes me sad. But from what I understand, he himself was not properly cared for as a child. That too, saddens me. Probably, I could get more answers about the handsome drunk neighbor, but then, what would I have to wonder about? And what would be the fun in that?

Some New Things, YAY!!!

A while back I promised to make myself a priority. When I made that declaration, I had no idea how difficult it would be. I mean seriously, why is it so hard to take care of yourself? Why is it so hard to take some time to do something nice for yourself? Since when did we (women) get so caught up in everyday life that we tend to forget we are actually a part of that life we strive so hard to not allow to crumble? I have a theory...motherhood.

So, obviously, I've had a difficult time since my little man arrived (nearly 14 months ago) making time for me. Because for some reason, I just wasn't as important anymore. Then I woke up. If I can't take care of me then I can't take care of my family. And so here we are. I'm trying a couple of new things and reverting to some old in order to but some balance in my life.

Priority one, get in shape. After I had Micah and things settled down a bit, I was able to focus on shedding those extra baby pounds. At first I did a pretty good job. And then something happened. Life happened; we all got sick and I of course had to be the "nurse". My exercise routine went out the window and my eating habits flew out right behind. I gained back the 15 pounds I'd worked so hard to get rid of and never really resumed my healthful ways. But I'm ready. So I've started doing Zumba. It is such a blast!!! I have never had so much fun working out. I look forward to going to the gym and some days actually wish it would last just a bit longer. Plus, it gets me out of the house. ALONE. And to top it all off, I lost 6 pounds after going just 3 times in one week. Yay!!!

Priority two, hmmm...I don't remember. Can I be honest? I've been trying to get this post up for about 3 days now. I have no idea what I was going to say which tells me that I need to re-evaluate my priorities. LOL! But I have still been making it a point to read. And I'm sorry to report (Nance) that I really don't have the time to dive into anything that is going to require tons of brain power. I have to take baby steps as my baby is running me ragged. I am thoroughly enjoying reading mindless vampire novels, for now. I have moved on to the Sookie Stackouse collection. Give me time, Nance. Give me time.

Confessional Is Open

Sometimes you just have to air some things out. I can totally understand why Catholics go to confession, free therapy. Maybe I need to think about converting to Catholicism...hmmm. Yeah, probably not. Anyway...

Confession #1
I really do not give a damn that our country uses torture to extract information from brainwashed psychopaths whose only goal in life is to kill Americans. If this keeps crazies from flying planes into buildings, I'm all for it.

Confession #2
I have a twitter account. I know, I know. But I don't use it to "tweet" about myself. I recently opened the account so I could follow Dr. Sanjay Gupta (don't you love him!??!) when he was discussing the Swine Flu.

**By the way, are we over that one already, the Swine Flu? Or have I just not been keeping up with the news, again?

Confession #3
I have been reading like crazy lately. It's been Fantabulous!!!! First I read the House of Night series. Its about vampires. Now I'm reading the Twilight series, also about Vampires. I have been completely immersed in vampires that I'm dreaming about flippin' vampires. I'm even starting to wonder if they truly exist. I mean, don't most stories/legends have truth behind them? How cool would that be? Ok. Maybe not so cool. But nevertheless, I'm obsessed.

Confession#4
I want to get rid of my dogs. Really. At least Scooter, the big dog. I do still adore Scrappy Doo but not as much as I used to, just as I feared would happen before my sweet Micah was born. These days I see the dogs mostly as a nuisance who screw up my back yard. I just found out that our local APL is a no kill shelter so I would only feel guilty for a couple of days about dropping Scooter off. He's beautiful. He's a pure breed that some people would pay some serious money for. I don't think it would take very long for someone to snag him up.

Confession #5
Sometimes Micah and I watch a show called Hip Hop Harry. Some days, I think I like it more than he does.

That is all for now. Feel free to step into my confessional booth/comment box.

Did You Seriously Just Do That?

My husband is one of the most intelligent people that I know. He's always on the top of my list when I have a question about something. But he recently had a day where he must have left a pretty substantial amount of brain cells on his pillow when he woke up in the morning. It was just one thing after another. All Day! I shall share with you one episode of Jason's blond day.

* *no offence intended to any blonds who may be reading...it's just a saying :)

We bought a new grill. Jason has been eyeing this grill for years. He oogles over it when he sees someone using it on tv. He can even spot it the background of a scene being used as a prop, it's quite sad really. He's always waiting for it to go on sale but that pretty much never happens. Until a few weeks ago. So naturally he ran right out to buy it. Now mind you, this is a charcoal grill. Because that is the only type of REAL grill. According to Jason, gas grills are cop outs and nothing more than an outside stove and lack that "grill" flavor. However, this particular grill does have a gas ignition to light the charcoal so therefore requires a propane tank.

Moving on. The grill was purchased, assembled and placed on the patio. He even went and got the propane tank (which he was happy to report that he got at an excellent price at Sam's Club)and we're ready to go! The following day it's time to put this baby to the test. We're going to grill up some steaks and corn on the cob. Sounds good, right? We're ready!!

Now, let it be stated that I do the majority of the cooking here. Even when we're cooking out, unless there are ribs on the grill, that's Jason's thing. And as much as I want to go cook on this shiny new grill, I know that I have to let the man be the man and try out his new toy first, so I wait patiently inside peeking out through the kitchen windows every once in a while to see how things are coming along.

Naturally there is a problem. Isn't there ALWAYS a problem when you try out a new product?! Anyway, it seems as though he's having a hard time lighting the charcoal. I can't tell why because I don't dare go out there. But it SHOULD be easy enough, there is a gas ignition for Pete's sake!!! So I wait, and wait and wait. Finally after about a half hour/45 minutes I ask what the hold up is (we're all getting hungry and it's about 7pm at this point). He assures me that it will just be a few more minutes, there must be something wrong with the connection of the propane tank.

After about another 10 minutes or so, he asks me to go come outside to assist him. He wants ME to hold a match to the end of the ignition while he turns on the gas. WHAT?!?!? I'm scared, but he insists it's safe and I go ahead. Nothing. We. Get. Nothing. And then the following conversation took place:

Me: Jason, where did you get that tank? Maybe it isn't any good?
Jason: No, listen...(and he turns on the ignition)...you can hear the gas coming out.
ME: Yes, I hear somethig but I don't smell anything. We should be smelling at least a little gas. You've been trying to light this thing FOREVER!!!
Jason: Huh, you know, I bought this gauge to show how much gas is in the tank but its not working.

I immediately begin to laugh and he just kinda looks at me with that "WHAT?!?!" face.

Me: Jason, where did you get that tank again? Are you sure that it has gas in it? (as I'm walking over to the tank to read the label) Maybe what you're hearing is nothing more than AIR!!! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. The label clearly states, EMPTY propane tank ready for filling blah, blah blah. Its empty Jason, the fucking tank is empty! You've been out here for an hour trying to light a grill with an empty propane tank because you didn't READ the label! WOW!!!

We laugh. He says it was an honest mistake. I say it was STUPID mistake. I continue to tease. He got a little mad. I teased him some more. It was fun.

YES!!! It is a big deal!

Evidently the Swine Flu has hit our area. One 3rd grader from a local elementary school has tested positive for the virus after having been in Mexico for a vacation. Evidently the boy is (thankfully) home and recovering well. My issue is this. I babysit a boy who attends that school. I drive him to school everyday.Since I have a one year old baby at home as well as a 13 year old, I'd rather take the week off if you know what I mean. I received information from a local health department official and she said the incubation period is 7 days. I'm not interested in being around anyone who may have been exposed to this boy knowing that he was in school most of last week. I'm really not into taking my chances when it comes to the health of my family or myself. Is this selfish? I'd prefer we call it smart. My guess is that if one student has been diagnosed, more are to follow. The student I watch is a 1st grader who supposedly doesn't come into regular contact with 3rd graders, according to his mother who had a bit of an attitude when I informed her that I would NOT be keeping her son this week. I'm thinking, so what! They eat lunch in the same room, they use the same bathrooms, they touch the same hand rails, yes? And we all know that children are super good about washing their hands in order to keep from spreading nasty germs. Uh huh. Right. No thank you, I'll pass. I'm sorry that if the said mother feels that I'm being overprotective, maybe I am. I really don't care. I'm sure if the situation were reversed she would take the same precautions. Seriously, I doubt that anyone believes that this is one isolated case. I hope that it is, but it's probably not. Otherwise the World Health Orginization wouldn't be having such a hissy fit.