Archives for April 2011

My Journey Into the Role of Community Activist

And how you too can make a pest of yourself in YOUR VERY OWN COMMUNITY!

It all started on a walk on an autumn day. I walk a lot. Sometimes here, sometimes there. Sometimes through the neighborhoods around me. Sometimes on a treadmill.

On this particular day, I was walking through my town and I spotted this sign.

I’ll give you a moment to spot the problem.

Yeah. Do you see it?

No, it’s not just that the pastor gets prime parking – though this was a factor that bothered A LOT of people when I posted it on Facebook. Many people took issue with the sentiment behind this sign.

Me? I took issue with the fact that someone made this sign. Someone who didn’t know the difference between YOUR and YOU’RE made this sign. And someone who didn’t know the difference between YOUR and YOU’RE bought this sign and hung it.

Well, two years later…. that sign remained. And it remained uncorrected. Every time I would walk past it, I would bite my lip and say to myself, “HOW DO THEY NOT KNOW WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS THING?”

It bothered me so much that one day before my walk, I scrawled “you’re” on a post-it with a Sharpie and stuck the pad in my pocket so I could peel off the Post-It and stick it to the sign when I walked by.

I know what you’re thinking, and really I DO have better things to worry about – but tell me this: this would bother you too, right? Walking past this sign, having that error jump out at your face every time you saw it? I wondered if the church had even noticed – and if they noticed WHY they didn’t care JUST HOW RIDICULOUS THIS SIGN WAS.

*sigh*

I slapped on the Post-It and walked away. The next day, through heavy rain… the pink paper remained  stuck to the sign.

And the next day.

Finally, a few days later, I was driving by and not only was the Post-It missing, the sign looked a little different.

I saw the sign, with its grammatical faux-pas hidden by paint, and I laughed.

I did. Pumpkin asked, “Why are you laughing?”

I didn’t even know how to explain it – because while the whole thing was a petty little grammatical goof – the fixed sign feels like a victory.

While I wouldn’t necessarily equate this victory with fighting crime, bringing down a crack house, or even cracking down on jaywalking, I am still pretty sure my community is a better place to live in without that sign and its glaring error.

Okay, maybe not for everyone else… but it is for me.

Thursday Ten: Something’s Gotta Give Edition

1. HELLO RAIN. It’s insane. I feel awful for complaining about the rain when so many other areas have had it far worse. So while I don’t love the weather, my heart goes out to those who are in areas that have been hit worse by this weather, with tornadoes, wind and have had experience loss.

2. As much as I pride myself for staying on top of the things I need to do – sometimes… I slack. The lovely peeps at Freschetta sent me some awesome storage containers and some coupons to try some of their new products free – and since I am usually not the one to go grocery shopping, I hadn’t picked up the pizza until late last week. I was able to try their Pizza-By-The-Slice in the BBQ chicken flavor. First things first – I love pizza. Second things second – I don’t normally love frozen pizza, but I do love Freschetta, and I think it’s because I’m a carb girl – for me, the crust makes or breaks a pizza. I don’t like a flimsy crust. Freschetta kind of wins me over with their crust. I actually dig the idea of a “by the slice” pizza – partly (okay, MOSTLY) because it stops me from gorging on half a full size pizza in one sitting. If you would like to win a coupon to try this for yourself  as well as a three pack of storage containers from Freschetta – leave a comment below. I’ll randomly pick a winner on Saturday morning. (If I had posted this earlier, I would have run it longer. This is where that not being on top of things-thing just backfired). Anyway – it’s pretty tasty, you’ll want to try it.

3. Guitar lesson went…okay…today. We took a break from Jack Johnson and his bar chords to tinker with Ryan Adams and “Desire”. The good thing about this song? All chords I know and love. It’s a song I know and love. Oh, and it’s a nice brain-break from trying to coordinate mutes, bar chords, and weird goofy things that are probably really easy for those people who are lucky enough to be prodigies but for me, I feel like my brain and hands are trying to do twelve things at once and there is steam coming out of my ears from the gears in my head turning double-time. It’s okay. I’ll survive.

4. Vloggedy-vlog. Guh. I did one, and then never again. For some reason, video from my phone flipped sideways when I put it into the Sony Vegas video editing software I’m trying out, so I had to rotate it. Then I managed to chop a large portion of my head off. NOTE: I hate this software. I am using a trial version. This is NOT intuitive. It’s quite a bit of a pain. Also, I don’t think it compresses the final product very well, so the files take a VERY LONG TIME to upload. I should have just uploaded to YouTube straight from my phone. SIGH. Anyway… there I am. Down there. And yes, I totally cut off the end – where I then rambled on for FORTY MORE SECONDS ABOUT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Bad transition/end to the video? Yes. But trust me, you wanted me to be done. Guh.

5. And since I just told you how much I DO NOT LOVE SONY VEGAS VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE, what can you recommend that might work better?  I do have Windows MovieMaker – but I have had a real pain of a time importing both video and music to the software to put things together. Not sure what the deal is – but, it’s not really working for me either. SHORT OF TOSSING MY LAPTOP OUT THE WINDOW, BUYING A MAC AND USING iMOVIE – any other suggestions for PC-friendly video editing software?

6. Hold your look of surprise but… I HAVE NOT DOWNLOADED ANY NEW MUSIC THIS WEEK. I know. It’s crazy, right?

7. I actually watched “The Voice” the other night. Actually an interesting premise that is kind of intriguing, just in time for American Idol to have gotten so boring I can’t stand it.  I do find the camera constantly zooming in on Christina Aguilera’s cleavage to be somewhat gratuitous, though, and frankly… does nothing for me (Sorry, Xtina).

8. I’m done with my antibiotics and the sinus headaches are gone but my ears still hurt. A lot. I have got to make taking decongestants a regular part of my day (be honest, you like when I talk about my sinuses, don’t you?). I’m not particularly a big fan of medication of any sort really – but the ear pain? It’s like someone jabbed a Q-tip in too far, repeatedly and constantly for the past several weeks {I’m guessing. That’s never REALLY happened}

9. The other night, I was making dinner and The Princess said to me, “Why are you making it that way?” Yes, with a tone and a sneer. I told her if she didn’t like it, she could make her own dinner – and you know what? She did! I am not sure what her problem is with my (totally amazing from scratch whole wheat) pizza dough, but she preferred the stuff out of the box and she made her own little pizza and cleaned up after herself when she was done. It’s not ideal, but whoa, she’s getting older.

10. I’ve been watching “Chasing Amy” while I’ve been working out on the treadmill – because the weather has been all craptastic. And I used to really love this movie – partly because I really tend to love dialog driven movies – however, one thing that becomes more and more apparent to me with each minute of this movie? I really do NOT love Ben Affleck. I don’t know what it is about him – he always seems kind of smarmy. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Ben Affleck do anything I’ve ever liked in a movie.

___

While I was sent coupons for complimentary pizza from Freschetta, my opinions are, as always my own. 🙂 And yes, I’m pretty sure I just used an emoticon in a blog post which means that lightning will strike me soonish.

The Flip Side – Is that still a thing?

How lame am I that I don’t even know if The Flip Side is still a thing  (Kat? Linney? Are you still doing this? Oh well. If not, the internet just gets to see my face. Twice. For NO GOOD REASON. They’ll get over it. After some therapy).

Today has been one of them days.

First of all – spring in Michigan apparently means that from the time I wake up until roughly dinner time, the sky will be filled with bloated gray clouds and maybe there will be some rain (or more than some). Then the sun will come out right around the time I have given up all hope for seeing the sun EVER AGAIN. And then, if your day is like today, maybe you’ll get a tornado warning (because whee! Tornadoes!).

And so you will want to complain about the weather, and then something good will happen like… your brother will get released from the hospital (the diagnosis was sepsis and I think they are still just filling him up with antibiotics). So you think, well, how bad could today really be?

So, today has kind of been all over the proverbial map. Which is why up there on the LEFT? I am smiling. That was taken as I was driving home from Panera (they totally jacked up my lunch order BUT the baguette was hot from the oven, so I forgive them because as long as the bread was good, I am good). On the right? After cancelling with the book club girls and telling them I didn’t think I could make it. We were supposed to go see “Water for Elephants” (in lieu of actually, y’know, TALKING ABOUT IT), but I didn’t think I could sit up for two hours and watch a movie. I’d zone out for sure.

Tuesdays, y’know.

How  was your day?

Break A Sweat Daily

I have a few basic necessities in life – I need food, air, water, shelter. I need cookies on occasion, preferably fresh from the oven. I need an extra foamy cappuccino every few days (and I need them to get my order right and make a cappuccino NOT A LATTE – because, hello? They aren’t the same thing). And daily, yes DAILY, I need some sort of physical activity, exercise.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not an intense female body-builder-y type with scary muscles. I can’t bench press your minivan and I don’t think you would be intimidated if I flexed my muscles at you. You might even still win in an arm wrestling contest (I said MIGHT. I’m still strong).

BUT.

I believe that a healthy body is a happy one, and I believe good fitness and good health is also crucial for your state of mind. I jot it on my to-do list daily, and with few exceptions, it always gets crossed off the list, completed. Sometimes  I walk, sometimes I run, sometimes I throw myself at Jillian Michaels’s mercy and I Shred. I’ve also been known to lift weights, Tae Bo, Turbo Jam, dance around my office nonstop for thirty minutes, hit the recumbent bike, do pushups or situps. Uh, you get the picture. THERE ARE OPTIONS, AND I CHANGE THINGS UP.

One thing  I never want to change is being comfortable while I work out. Over the years, I’ve tried many different types of workout attire – the old baggy tshirt and shorts standby, the spandex jog pant (there is no photographic evidence of such), yoga pants, sports bras, sports camisoles that ride up to my rib cage and create a muffin top between the bottom of my top and the top of my pants (it ain’t pretty).

Prior to Blissdom, I was sent a few items from the Jockey Active wear line. I opted for the Modern Crop pant and the jacket.

The pants? SO COMFORTABLE. Whether I was exercising or just sitting cross-legged on my office floor avoiding work, these pants were not only decadently comfortable, but very stylish as well. The lines are clean, the fit is forgiving – and these pants have a tendency to make one’s booty look AH-MAZE-ING (I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true, because believe me, I never think my butt looks amazing in anything. But these pants? Yes. Very…YES).

These pants are so comfortable I even picked up another pair – as I intend for these to be my wardrobe this summer as I’m walking 39.3 miles in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I will wear these pants over the next few months while I train and I will wear them as I walk through the Bay Area with thousands of other people to raise money to fight breast cancer.

These pants don’t get soggy or gross when you sweat (and let’s face it, sometimes there’s sweat). They remain lightweight enough that they don’t hamper your workout. With a colorful short sleeve t-shirt and some flipflops, you could easily transition these from gym wear to just…lifewear. Hitting the grocery store or picking your kids up from school. I’m not one for wearing my workout clothes unless I’m working out – but these pants? These could make the transition to daily life. Jockey really got it right with this line.

***

Though I was provided with items of Jockey clothing for free to review, the opinions, as always are my own. I was not compensated to write this post.

Our Cracking Bones Make Noise

Sometimes I think it was easier to write a blog post before I knew anyone was reading. When I was just standing at the top of some virtual mountain shouting into the air around me, never knowing if anyone would hear me – sometimes it was easier to put my heart on display, to share fears , to truly open up.

So, sometimes it’s easier to not say the things that are weighing you down. It’s easier to talk about music and books and that funny thing my kids said.

But you’re here, and you’re reading and I’m still the me who likes to write – no, needs to write – and sometimes I wonder where to put the words that hover under the surface. I’m grateful that my words aren’t being swallowed into nothing.

My brother was admitted to the hospital last night.

Feverish, incoherent, heart racing.

This isn’t the first time he’s been to the hospital in recent years. There’s a routine to these matters, it seems. Something happens, my mom finds a way to get him to the hospital – she calls me, or texts me – I’m then charged with telling my dad somehow. After all these years, they still don’t get along very well.

Then we wait.

And his myriad of health concerns mean that a little thing can be little or it can mean a week in the hospital. And you never know.

So, while we’ve fallen into routines (“Oh he’s in the hospital again”), there’s that voice in the back of my head every time that says What if this isn’t routine? What if this isn’t the same as last time? What if…

It’s scary.

My brother’s health problems and difficulties have prevented that friendship everyone always talked about (“You just wait and see, when you’re adults, you will be good friends!”). Mentally, he’s younger than my children – it doesn’t make for easy friendships. But he was around since before I was born – and someday he won’t be – and that’s scary.

None of us are promised anything – we each have the moment we’re in and we’re not guaranteed a long life where we might die in our sleep in our 95th year. Just now, this moment, here.

While I stand on familiar ground, while this is a road I’ve seen before – I may even know the intricacies of this roads twists and turns – because yes, our family has traveled it – I am still very afraid of what is ahead.

I haven’t heard anything from my family yet this morning – and in the realm of “no news is good news” – that is a relief almost.

So, we move forward with the day with one step in front of the other – hoping good things, wishing good things. Hoping for another routine stay that will blend into the background of the many before it.

***

The title of this post is from Ingrid Michaelson’s “Breakable”:
And we are so fragile,
And our cracking bones make noise,
And we are just,
Breakable, breakable, breakable girls and boys

Writing About What I Want To Because I Want To

*Also known as: Sarah wants to write something but she doesn’t really have any connecting thoughts, just several random ones, and you totally don’t mind because you know that Sarah is random anyway and hey, that’s why you’re here.

I had a writing teacher in college who was fond of saying that 80% of what we all write is crap – but that you have to write that 80% to get to the good stuff. It was then that I developed the habit of turning off my screen when I write – choosing to let the words flow out of my brain and through the keyboard rather than analyze, second guess and hinder my writing process. Instead, I wait for the editing process to sort through my words and phrases and see if the 20% happened to fall out of my head. Somewhere in that big mess of crap, can I find the good stuff?

Sometimes I can.

So – that is what I’m doing right now. My screen may be on, but when I write, I barely look at it. To anyone who has ever received an epically long email from me, now you know how I managed to do it: I wasn’t paying attention. Instead, I just tried to slow my brain to keep up with my fingers so I could dump the thoughts out.

My brain? It moves quickly. It’s a good thing I type fast.

***

Other things on my mind today include the relief I feel at being one dose away from completing this round of antibiotics for my sinus infection (sinuses are so sexy). I am still having that sharp shooting pain in my ear (OW) but the headaches? Gone. The pain in my face every time I took a step? That’s gone too. What do I have instead? A gross taste in my mouth like I’ve been licking pennies.

This is a common side effect of this antibiotic (Biaxin, or clarithromycin) – and it’s a tradeoff because it’s what works for me to make me not want to pull my head off my neck, and yet… It’s vile. Different doctors and pharmacists have told me different ways to ease this gross taste. One told me to take it with marshmallows. Another told  me chocolate would do the trick. My doctor told me as she wrote the script that she’d heard that taking it with cherry-flavored stuff would help. I picked  up my prescription along with a bag of Wild Cherry lifesavers.

Uh. Didn’t work.

Fortunately (heh), I complained on Facebook. A family friend told me she’d had the same problem during pregnancy with her children – that awful taste in her mouth (I can’t even imagine 40 weeks of penny-mouth). She said the only thing that worked for her was sour citrus flavored stuff.

Well, I LIKE citrus flavored stuff. I picked up a bag of lemon drop hard candy and while I’m sure my dentist is going to be pretty mad about all this sugar I’m eating… IT WORKS. Also: yummy.

***

I vlogged this morning. And I am still not comfortable enough with the whole vlog process to not pick everything apart. I had decided when I woke up today that it was a baseball-hat-wearing kind of day. Baseball hats are great for ease and for comfort, not so great for vlogging. Also, I lectured y’all about earth day.

If you want to know my thoughts about Earth Day, without seeing me rocking the ball cap and without seeing me chew gum (Note to self: No one wants to see you chew your gum), I’m more than happy to tell you:

I kind of like the planet.

Having said that, I think that’s why Earth Day bugs me – while I hope that people learn something today that they will carry on through the rest of the year and not just limit it to today. And if that sounds tree huggy it’s because sometimes I do like to hug trees. And I’d like there to still be trees to hug when my daughters are grown.

Thursday Ten: When Your Kid Makes a Cake and the Dog Eats It Edition

1. I took the kids to Barnes & Noble last week. After much hemming and hawing (and an epic shower of tears) in the store, The Princess opted for two books on cake and cupcake decoration. And so this week, she made a cake. Yesterday, the dog jumped on the counter and proceeded to eat half the cake. Thankfully, there was no chocolate in the cake and I talked to the vet who told me to watch for “GI upset” — but the darn dog didn’t seem upset at all. Not even a little bloated (NO FAIR! I’d have bloated if I ate half a cake). My upset kiddo decided, “Okay. Guess I need to make another one.” So she did. Yep. I have a baker.

2. Though the weather in Michigan has been sporadic and we have had snow as recently as this Monday, I have been getting kind of tired on Pumpkin’s insistence on wearing her snowboots every day and everywhere. I’d tell her to wear her regular shoes. She’d whine. So… I hid the boots. I know, in the overall scheme of things, it’s not a huge deal but those boots have been through a lot and are looking kind of rough. They had to go.

3. This month’s book club selection is “Water for Elephants”. I’ve read it before, but loved it – which was why I didn’t mind the prospect of re-reading it…however… I’ve dropped the ball. I’ve been so busy lately that when I am reading, I want to read something NEW, not something I’ve already read – no matter how great it is. Here’s hoping next month’s selection is something different.

4. This week marks 21 years that I have lived in Michigan. Whee. Thanks, mom, for moving me to the land of never-ending winters. Eternally grateful I am. (Not so much)

5. Been spending a lot of time with the camera lately – in the past few weeks, I’ve done a few portrait sessions – and both have been such tremendously different experiences. Probably the most fun was photographing a two-year-old. I had FORGOTTEN just how high energy toddlers can be – I certainly got my workout chasing that little guy. On the contrary, when photographing a baby’s six-month shots last weekend, it wasn’t so much running around, it was clicking quickly before she tired of the experience. Every shoot is a different experience, and I’m really happy with the opportunities I’ve had and the photographs I’ve taken.

6. Tuesday evening, a friend was in town and she and I were able to catch up over dinner. We ended up talking so long the restaurant emptied around us. I ended up driving home in a tremendous rain storm – one that I might have avoided had I left the restaurant an hour earlier, but you know what? Sometimes you just need to sit down over dinner with people and talk and catch up and listen and just…chill out. It was super fun. Except the driving home part.

7. Guitar lesson today, we are keeping on with the Jack Johnson marathon with “Better Together”. Hey, Jack? You are wicked cute – but ix-nay on all the bar chords. I walked out of lesson pretty smiley and with this song stuck in my head.

8. Easter is this weekend. How do you celebrate, and more importantly are you Pro-Peep? Do you prefer the Cadbury egg? I have to say, I find Easter candy pretty disappointing in general.

9. There’s been a lot of new music in my ear but the most recent is Ingrid Michaelson’s “Parachute”.  I love Ingrid.

10. It has been a crazy week with crazy deadlines and I feel like I’ve been barely hanging on. I’m getting things done. In some cases, it’s been a miracle. Ready for this week to be over. O – V – E – R.

 

Ribbons and Judgement

We are coming to the end of The Princess’s first season of competitive gymnastics – and it’s been a tremendous learning experience. This whole past year has been one lesson after another for the whole family. Lessons aside, we’ve also gotten to see The Princess improve her strengths and skills by leaps and bounds (or rather, roundoffs and handsprings). Her dedication to practice means the living room is impromptu Handstand Land and when I watch her, I can see muscles she didn’t have before – her arms have this tone now – I watched her do chin ups at practice last week and was blown away that she was able to do them. I’m not even sure I can do them.

Along with practices in the gym and in the living room, there have been several meets so far this season. Each meet has been a completely different experience. At this level, the meets are deemed “fun meets” – each gymnast gets a ribbon for each event, though the ribbon color depends on how she was able to execute each routine. My daughter has received everything from a pink ribbon (the time she fell off the beam twice. I wasn’t at that meet. Correlation? Possibly – maybe my presence defies gravity for her) to blues.

At each meet, the set up is a little bit different – the judging is a little different.

As a parent, it’s confusing sometimes – especially when you’re not versed on the intricacies of gymnastics judging. How can your child get a blue ribbon at one meet, and then at another, perform that routine better than you’ve ever seen it… and it’s a red ribbon? How does that work?

This past weekend, The Princess had an evening meet. [As an aside, I’m not a fan of events for the kids that start in the evening. Everything about this meet was a little off… and the 6:30 start time stretched to 7…meaning the meet ended after 9. I think that’s too late for kids.] We’d already attended a meet at this gym before and so we had an idea of the lay of the land. Though things were running late, I really tried to hang on to my patience.

Her first routine of the evening was the balance beam. I nearly cried at how well she performed – legs straight, head up, arms extended just so. She held her balance. She didn’t fall. In short: It was phenomenal and it was the best I’ve ever seen her do.

Red ribbon.

Now, remember, I’ve seen her get a blue on beam before – so why was this, this routine that bettered all of the routines she had performed to date lower?

So, she went through the rest of the events – floor, vault, bars. Each time, I was boggled by her results. I guess I wasn’t the only one.

In the midst of The Princess’s team doing their vaults, a set of parents approached the judge. These are the parents of a girl on my daughter’s team – a girl who not only attends the standard six hours a week of practice, but a private lesson with the gym’s owner each week plus open gym practice time as well. Yes, pretty hard core.

Though we couldn’t hear the conversation, the audience could only assume that the problem was they didn’t like their daughter’s ribbon awarded for the event – that they were disputing her placement. This conversation with the judges held things up for several minutes, held things up while several girls awaited their turn at the vault. The whole while I was filled with this thought, I may not think this judging is fair, but I would never do that. What kind of example does that set for the kids. I mean, sure, they’re not throwing punches or yelling – but it’s the gymnastics equivalent of arguing with the ref! Who are these people? Just because their daughter is in the gym so much doesn’t automatically mean she should score higher. Frankly, if they’re concerned only with her ribbons then perhaps they should save all that money they’re spending on lessons and use it to bribe the judges.

Remember? These are called…FUN MEETS? The Olympic selection committee probably will never see these scores. Ever.

As a parent, I don’t want to become so focused on the winning, on the score, on the ribbon, on the END RESULT, that I take away from the experience of the journey. As a parent, I have to leave it up to the coaches to intervene on my daughter’s behalf with the judging process if they find it unfair (Frankly… I’m probably a little biased. I know, right?). I also need to ensure that I remain a good sport – so my daughter doesn’t get any obnoxious bad sports tendencies from me (that means that I can’t call the judge names – even behind her back).

We drove home from the meet – I was still over the moon excited about how well she did. There’s an excitement and a vicarious thrill of watching someone do something well. Of knowing the steps it took to get from point A to the point where she is. Watching my daughter on the beam, composed with all of those eyes on her. Watching her coach’s face, the gym owner’s yelps of approval when she completed her routine. I can’t imagine all of those things – those things were all there – and as her mom, there’s that automatic fascination with everything she does. Her successes bring me joy.

The next day, she was with my mother – unfortunately, my mom was not quite as fabulous at holding her tongue about the judging (naughty, naughty). The Princess matter of factly explained to her the whys and whats of each ribbon. The white ribbon because her leg wasn’t straight, toe wasn’t pointed, her this or that wasn’t this or that. There were reasons. Legit reasons. Things I might not have been looking for. To me? It was amazing. Knowing the judging criteria, I can still say that my daughter was TOTALLY AMAZING. Pointed toes, pffft.

The ribbons are not what matter to me. What matters is her joy and her accomplishments. I don’t need any ribbons for that.

Thursday Ten: Being Sick Is No Fun Edition

1. As I type this, I’m on day three of antibiotics for a sinus infection that makes my head feel like it’s caving in. I have a pretty high pain threshold, but this? It’s misery. I am waiting for the medicine to kick in while trying to alleviate symptoms with Advil Cold & Sinus. Not working.

2.  I actually started getting sick over the weekend while I was in Chicago. I had been looking forward to the trip for so long, to feel unwell at times while I was there was a bummer. I’m glad that the misery didn’t REALLY hit until I got home… because I love Chicago and I love to be happy while I’m there.
Millenium Park, The Bean

3. As a result of feeling rotten (are you detecting a theme, here?), my guitar lesson went HORRIBLY today. I could not get things together for the life of me. I finally told my teacher, “I hear what you’re doing, I understand what you’re saying, I just cannot do it right now.” It was a horrible feeling – this utter inability to figure out what I was doing and how to fix it. Anyway, still working on Jack Johnson’s “Banana Pancakes”.

4. As I type this, a lot of my favorite people are en route to New Orleans for a conference. Nope, not me. I’m bummed, but hope they have fun. I hope that their missing me doesn’t get in the way of enjoying themselves. *wink*

5. Martha Stewart has never had any reason to fear for her livelihood or fear that I would somehow take over her throne as domestic extraordinaire. Witness, a massive pile of laundry needing to be folded and the dishwasher I’m avoiding emptying. I can wash clothes all day – but folding it? UGH. Likewise, I don’t mind loading the dishwasher (Though frankly, I would prefer if the family helped out a little more in this arena) – but man, I really HATE to empty it.

6. New music this week… It’s invaded pop radio, but I like it anyway. This is the clean version of Pink’s “Perfect”.

7. The Princess was given a speaking part in the school play and doesn’t want to do it. It was a one-line role and she will automatically be in the play as a chorus part anyway. I declined on her behalf. Part of me thinks, It’s one line. I should have encouraged her to do it, but part of me just wants to respect that she doesn’t want to do it and that’s fine.

8. I feel like I should be emptying the dishwasher right now. Ugh.

9. We had 80 degree weather Sunday here in Michigan. Just one day and then it vanished. Now, 80 is hotter than I want it to be, but I’d sure love if it’d hit 60, 70… and stay for awhile.

10. I had the opportunity to shoot two year portraits yesterday and lemme just say… I had forgotten just how BUSY toddlers are. I spent a great deal of time running after that little dude. In the end, I got several shots that I’m very proud of. He’s adorable and so I knew I’d get some good ones – but BOY. I WAS TIRED when I was done.

 

Thursday Ten: Spring Break Broke Me Edition

1. It’s kind of fun to have spent a week on spring break so far and have my daughters decide that they will either be best friends or they will be snarling at each other throwing ‘bows. Admittedly, when they fight? I really REALLY hate that. The “she said THIS” and “she PUSHED ME” moments make me want to cry. And then… five minutes later they’re BFFs again. It’s really…tiring.

2. Katie’s LOVE DROP may be over, but I am still really loving the group and what they’re doing. This month, they’re helping the Kahlen Family – and to help them out, they’ve opened up a store on Etsy with some cool donated art stuff to help them out. Love it. If you are interested in purchasing some cool stuff, check it out. If you are an artist and want to donate, check out this link.

3. Sometimes I make myself laugh. I have no real NEED for an iPad 2. I have gadgets that do everything that the iPad does and yet… I still lust after technology. Part of me thinks, I can get the OLD iPad for crazy cheap now… I should just do it. I’m just a goof ball. I should probably focus on replacing this laptop first.

4. SPEAKING OF THIS LAPTOP… I finally replaced the battery because it hasn’t been able to hold a charge in like… forever. I’d unplug it to move it from one room to another and in that time, it would just decide, “Nope, that was enough. I’m tired now.” and the computer would shut down. Pffffffft. Fine, fine, fine. Battery replaced. Ouch.

5. I was supposed to do a portrait session for my cousin’s kiddo today. Little dude just turned two, and true to toddler nature, on picture day he bumped into something and goose-egged his forehead. So, I have the afternoon free of photo sessions. Honestly though, I was looking forward to it. Maybe next week.

6. Over the weekend, one of my favorite music-maker-y people, Chris Mann, posted that he had a new song available on iTunes. “Beautiful Life” is classic Chris – his voice gives me goosebumps – the good goosebumps. I have found this song stuck in my head repeatedly over the past week. I love the melody, and this song already has an absurdly high number of plays in my iTunes. Check it out.

7. My kids make lists of songs for me to download and make mix CDs for them with. My most recent list from Pumpkin included several Lady Gaga songs (My library now includes “Born This Way” which makes me want to scream. I do. not. like.) and The Princess just requested some Justin Bieber. Oh so fun.

8. Spring break means no guitar lesson this week. Sad face. You’d think I would practice anyway. Well, then you’d be wrong.

9. Once Pumpkin’s antibiotics were done, her fever and cough immediately rebounded. Would be nice if the doctor had called me back today as promised. *SIGH* Guess I’ll cross my fingers and hope to get a call back tomorrow.

10. I have a cake cooling on the counter. It’s funny how you wouldn’t think cake could talk and yet there it is down there, calling my name so softly, “Sarah… Sarah… You don’t even need to add any icing. Just tear off a piece and tryyyyy meeeeeeeee….” What? Your cakes don’t talk to you?