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Thursday Ten: Confessing My Love for Sharpies Edition

September 2, 2010 by 6 Comments

1. I had to go to a meeting the other day. One that might possibly require me to take notes. I decided to stop at Target on my way – pick up a cute notebook and some pens. I snagged a pack of black Sharpie pens. I have a love of Sharpie markers. I have a cup on my desk that is packed to the gills (if cups HAD gills) with markers. Unfortunately, the fine tip Sharpie markers still bleed through paper. THESE PENS DON’T. I’m in love. Next? Sharpie pencils. I’ll have to come up with an excuse to buy those. Anyone need me to take some notes?

2. Do you ever have one of those days where all you want to do is pull your hair out and wonder if you are speaking some nonsensical language because it seems no one seems to hear or understand you and instead does the opposite of what you are trying to say? Yeah. On THOSE days, the answer is to meet a friend for dinner at a Mexican restaurant – eat many chips with lots of salsa, maybe gorge on enchiladas, and indulge in conversation that has nothing to do with whether or not someone is hogging the couch.

3. While we were out of town over the weekend, we had the dog groomed. To account for the splint that matted all the fur on his leg for the past month… they shaved him down pretty close. It’s… not cute. We know it will grow back – but our furry fluffy pup? Gone.

4. Also gone is our pup who was starting to learn and obey commands and he was replaced by a dog who is seemingly on an invisible pixi stick drip. That is one ACTIVE puppy. He’s learning to fetch, though. A way to have fun and burn off some of the sillies… but whoa.

5. Tuesday was Day 365 of my 365 Project. And yeah, I just started all over again yesterday.

6. Upon completing the 365, I decided to set the whole shebang to music so I needed some new tunes. Recommended to me? “Happiness” by the Weepies and “We Are Okay” by Joshua Radin. Both very welcome happy additions to my iTunes playlist.

7. Speaking of iTunes… Ping. Are you in or are you out? I love me some social media but I buy a lot of music. I don’t know that I want everyone to know when the spirit moves me and I’m downloading something from the soundtrack to the musical “Oklahoma!”.

8. Last week’s Project Runway auf’ing… Okay – I saw that coming. I knew there was no way they would send Gretchen and her giant bag of crazy home just yet, but WHOA NELLY. What was that? And I realize it’s just a television show but I sat on my couch wanting to throw stuff at her. I’m mature like that.

9. The temperatures are supposed to drop to the 70s this weekend. I AM SO EXCITED. The summer humidity isn’t a friend of mine (my hair doesn’t like it either). When I woke up this morning and saw that the leaves had started to fall from our little tree in the front yard I may have gotten a little giddy. Okay. A LOT giddy.

10. Random question: If money was no object and you could go ANYWHERE on a dream vacation, where would you go?

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Thursday Ten: Away and Back Super Speedy Edition

July 8, 2010 by 6 Comments

1. I left at noon yesterday to venture to Northern Michigan to visit Rachel who was in town for the Cherry Festival. Less than 24 hours later, I was on the road headed back home. Totally worth it. It was fun to visit with friends, be some place different, NOT COOK DINNER (festival lemonade and pretzel for dinner! Yum!), and just relax and chat. Even running on about four hours of sleep, I’m kind of recharged. This is a good thing.

2. I returned home to the land of house training a puppy. The girls – those lovely children of mine who begged for a puppy – aren’t as much help as they SWORE they would be… but I’d anticipated that when we agreed to go ahead and get the pup. I do not, under any circumstances, take part in the shoveling of doggy…stuff. That is a job that belongs to pretty much everyone but me.

3. Despicable Me comes out in theaters tomorrow. I was pretty thrilled to have received free passes to see this with my fam – and it’s a fantastic movie. The 3D effects weren’t overwhelming as they are sometimes – which is good because I’m not normally a fan of 3D.

4. Music this week? Uh, the soundtrack of “Despicable Me”. Nah, I didn’t receive this for free – I paid for it – but I really like what Pharrell did with it. It’s kind of a fun (yet KIDSAFE) soundtrack. Pretty awesome.

5. Musically, I also picked up Joshua Radin’s “I’d Rather Be With You”, as that is the song my guitar teacher picked this week. I’d never heard this song before, and I like it – I look forward to checking out more of his music.

6. Strangest addiction of the week? The Boggle app for the iPhone. For just under two bucks, I can Boggle to my heart’s content. I’m not very good at Boggle, but it’s addicting.

7. I have started reading The Girl Who Played with Fire – and I find myself moving very slowly through it – afraid I won’t love it as much as its predecessor. Does anyone else do that when reading a sequel?

8. While at the festival last night, I was craving an elephant ear and was able to resist its charms and eat a slightly less damaging meal. But I will get at least one elephant ear this summer because I LOVE THEM AND THEY BELONG IN MY BELLY. What is your favorite amusement park/carnival food?

9. Do you know how hard it is to not talk about puppies all the time when it seems like 80% of my life these days involves watching a puppy for signs he is about to pee on the living room carpet? I’m really not wanting to be a pet blogger (I don’t need no stinkin’ niche), but it’s just what life is these days. Soon, I hope to leave my house on a more frequent basis again.

10. The weather in Michigan has been insanely hot this week. Humid and hot and gross and yucky. Yes, yucky. I would take our meteorologists on the local news more seriously if they started legitimately employing “yucky” as the descriptor of our summer weather. Today, there’s a break from our 90+ degree weather. But mother nature has replaced stifling temps with… rain. Yucky.

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Thursday Ten: Developing Theories About Yogurt Edition

June 24, 2010 by 4 Comments

1. So you know my love for Greek yogurt and honey, right? It’s kind of MY THING. Fage 0% drizzled with honey has been my go-to snack for months and suddenly? It makes my stomach feel like it’s being jabbed with a hot stick. Now, I’m not a girl who has ever been even the teesniest bit lactose intolerant – so I thought maybe it was bad honey. So I tried with new honey. And then I thought it was the yogurt itself. So I bought more. And NOW, now I’m developing all these crazy yogurt theories and I’m making myself crazy.

2. I have to keep eating yogurt because it’s one of my healthiest favorite snacks. Beats the hell out of my love for chips. I am more than halfway through my hot-air balloon size bag of PopChips. I cannot be stopped.

3. Thunderstorms again yesterday morning and evening. I’m getting a little tired of this stormy summer weather. Fortunately, after the storms that ripped through Michigan Monday evening, I went to Target and stocked up on glowsticks. I find them easier and more fun than candles when the power goes out.

4. I finally started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo this week. I am not even halfway through, but I already picked up the second book in the Millenium series to start reading immediately after I finish this one.  And though I have never wanted a Kindle, this book has 600+ pages and kind of makes me wish I was reading this on an e-reader of some sort. {Yes, those are affiliate links. Why? So I can save up to buy a Kindle}

5. World Cup Soccer – ARE YOU WATCHING? Me? No, not so much. But: Go USA!

6. There was an earthquake in Canada and instantly Twitter and Facebook blew up with people in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio who say they felt it. Really? I’m thinking if the quake epicentered in Canada was 5.5, that it would be maybe mere tremors at the most at such a great distance from the epicenter. But maybe I’m just bitter because I didn’t feel it? Maybe my childhood in California has made it so my brain doesn’t register tremors? Anyway. I’ve talked about weather related issues twice in this post, so I expect that next I’ll have my AARP card and I’ll be putting my teeth in a glass before I go to bed at night.

7. I have renewed my summer addiction to Edy’s Lime Fruit Bars. If you live on the west side of the country, these are marked with the Dreyer’s brand name. Here, they’re Edy’s. And I love them. Just a smidge sour, kind of sweet. Pictures of fruit on the box so I can fool myself that they are healthy. No, they didn’t sponsor this or give me anything (but if they wanna send me free popsicles, I’ll take them. Hey Edy’s, call me. *wink*). And while I’m on the Dreyers/Edys love train – the Whole Fruit Lemon Sorbet was the cure to my morning sickness during both of my pregnancies.  That and Hot Tamales candy. And breadsticks from Papa John’s. And no, I really didn’t have the much morning sickness I just liked to eat. Don’t look at me like that.

8. I’m working on another Taylor Swift song on guitar for my kids. So far it seems that if you can play one, you can play them all. But The Princess and Pumpkin are happy, so, go me. Taylor Swift aside, I had a great lesson the other day with lots of praise about my progress from my guitar teacher, and that’s kind of exciting for me. I’ve got a long way to go — but I’ve come a long way – so I’m pretty excited about it.

9. My kids don’t want to see Toy Story 3. I may have to go see it without them.

10. I slept on my arm last night. I woke up this morning with that horrible “can’t feel my arm” feeling and actually had to LOOK AROUND to try to figure out WHERE my arm was because it had no feeling whatsoever. Then there was that fun moment of trying to move my sleeping arm with my other arm to get it out of the way so I could get up. Bodies are weird.

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Thursday Ten: Skipping Spring and Going Straight To Summer Edition

May 20, 2010 by 1 Comment

1. Um, spring? Hello? Helllllooooooo. We had winter and then a few springlike days and then WHAMMO! It’s 80 degrees plus today. Last week, sweaters. This week, shorts. I’m kind of bummed, because I love the “in between” weather – the breezy, spring like “not too hot not too cold” temperatures that make me so happy. Welcome to Michigan, I suppose.

2. I was recently sent the One eskimO cd to review. On a scale of one to five, this album earns a 3.5. It’s amazing background music to listen to while working – it’s definitely mellow and there are some pretty layers and texture to the songs – my favorite cuts from this album are Givin Up and Astronauts. One eskimO has toured with Tori Amos and is now opening up on tour for another one of my favorites, Michael Franti & Spearhead. It’s definitely worth a listen – it’s available via the usual suspects (Amazon, iTunes…).

3. Pumpkin had a meltdown before my guitar lesson today – she went so far as to pretend as though she was going to bite my arm. You know, I didn’t realize how effective my “stern mommy face” was until that moment because boy howdy – she stopped in her tracks and grabbed on to me for a hug. Just from the mom eyes.

4. American Idol’s Final Two – Crystal and Lee… Y’all saw that coming, right? I have to say, I favor Lee – which is why I hope Crystal wins. The winner never really gets to put out “the right album” for them. Lee kind of has a bit of a Howie Day Collide vibe to me (or even Matt Nathanson-ish). I love acoustic-y singer-songwriter types — and so I hope that is what he’s able to release when he puts his album together.

5. If you didn’t see my post yesterday, you can enter HERE to win a Hanes Pink t-shirt (deadline next week Wednesday). Over on BD, there’s a Susan Wiggs book giveaway along with a $100 Visa Cash Card (deadline tomorrow a.m.).  So, if you haven’t entered to win stuff, you should totally get to it.

6. In guitar class, I’m working on Counting Crows’ “Shallow Days” – which is from the demo of “August and Everything After”. The song didn’t make the original album, but I still love it. I’m not surprised it didn’t make the final cut on AAEE, because it wouldn’t have fit in with that grouping of songs, but on its own, it works.

7. Someone from my high school graduating class posted a picture the other day of all the girls from our graduating class from prom. BOY, prom dresses used to cover a WHOLE lot more than they do today! Some of us probably could have worn those dresses outside in the middle of December and not been cold!

8. I haven’t seen any movies in awhile and was looking to rent something via iTunes – what’s good? Any recommendations?

9. The Princess’s teacher is on maternity leave. I was hoping she’d make it until the end of the school year (just a few weeks remaining), but she emailed me today to tell me that her doctors say she’s done for the year. And… I actually cried. We’ve been so lucky to have such an amazing teacher for The Princess – and truly, we’ll miss her. I did email her back and asked if she’d ever thought about teaching third grade. Hmmmm.

10. Planning my menu for the following week ahead of time is usually pretty great unless the weather changes and you end up with cold weather comfort food scheduled on a day that your temps are in the low 80s. Meatloaf? Ugh.

Yes, those were affiliate links.

Filed Under: Do Good Feel Good, Eats, Mom Shtuff, music, Thursday Ten Tagged With: , , , , ,

Weekly Winners: It was spring for about two minutes

March 21, 2010 by 12 Comments

I LOVE the Weekly Winners photo-blog-hopping-extravaganza. It really has become one of those things about my Sunday morning that I look forward to most – linking up to Lotus’s post and checking out all the amazing shots people have been taking all week.

So take a moment to visit the other participants – a lot of people doing amazing work with their cameras.

When you're driving and you have no barrette.... a binder clip is an acceptable alternative.

OUTSIDE! CHALK ART! SHORT SLEEVES!

My shadow has really long legs. Like whoa.

Chillaxin' in the sun. Outside!

Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away....

And then?

Yesterday it snowed. GRRRRR.

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Because I Think Mother Nature Is On Crack

December 27, 2008 by 1 Comment

The other day, we were knee-deep in snow (and I’m not totally exaggerating: it was NUTS). Last night we had a winter thunderstorm, and woke up to loud gusty winds, rain, and warmer temps.

Now, most of the snow is melted. It was raining so hard earlier, but now it’s stopped.

And where my kids’ sandbox used to be is now a wading pool, I guess. I’m not entirely sure why the lid wasn’t on but with the melted snow and the fresh rain, the water is level with the rim of the pool.

Winter in Michigan. You never really know what you’re going to get.

And I’m not complaining (today). Wait ’til the temps drop tomorrow and it all ices over.

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1-2-3 Holiday Weekend OVER!

December 2, 2008 by 2 Comments

Last week, the school was kind enough to give the kiddos Wednesday off for the Turkey Day holiday. By Monday, I was pretty much ready for things to fall back into place – for life to get back on track (I lie – I was ready by Sunday). But I guess I just wanted it too badly.

About 7:30 yesterday morning, my mother called me to tell me there was a snow day.

And then I lost it.

You see, I’m not a chick who loves winter. I don’t like being cold. I don’t like puffy jackets. I don’t like snow days. I don’t like when kids kick off their snow boots at my door and then I walk by in my socks and my socks get all wet. I don’t like the astronomical electric bill from heating the house in the winter. I don’t like it that the snow plow guy charges an insane amount of money for what boils down to maybe two minutes of his time every time we get more than a few inches of snow. And I could go on, but I won’t because you’ll just have to take my word for it: I was not cut out for living where winter involves cold weather.

But here I sit.

And my god, yesterday I was so frustrated – had things I wanted to do and just needed some quiet after FIVE days of “vacation”. Then no go.

Despite my whining, it turned out okay. The Princess ended up playing outside for most of the day (the kid grumbles about standing in the driveway in forty degree temps for five minutes waiting for the school bus, but will happily play in sub-freezing temps for hours on end with no problems). Pumpkin wasn’t TOO high maintenance. I survived.

I focused my eyes forward. TUESDAY would be my day.

Uh-uh. Maybe it’s a result of that cosmic planetary alignment thing (which I couldn’t see because of the BIG FAT SNOW CLOUDS), but I woke up this morning to find out that The Princess’s school had a two hour delay.

You have got to be kidding me.

Fortunately, we pay through the nose for Pumpkin’s school/daycare and they were perfectly fine. Kids five miles north of us in a different school district were out waiting for THEIR buses. Just our lame school district was being cautious. Got the girls in the car, took Pumpkin to school, dashed up to get some coffee and pick up a few things at Target, got The Princess home in time to play in the snow a bit more before the bus came. I drove about forty some miles this morning. The roads? Really not that bad. Big babies.

So, I guess we’re just EASING our way back on schedule. Here’s hoping to find no glitches tomorrow.

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Thursday Ten: The Detours Edition

November 6, 2008 by 5 Comments

1. This afternoon on the way home from my guitar lesson I ended up getting detoured about five miles out of my way around an accident (several police cars and a fire truck were at the scene), which added about fifteen minutes to my drive home somehow.

2. I don’t love detours. Scratch that – some detours are okay. The figurative kind. I can’t think of how many good things in my life were things that I had never planned on, things that sort of happened along the way. And I’m a planner – I love to know what’s going to happen when… (Ask my best friend who fed ex’d my planner to my when I was on my honeymoon. I’ve relaxed a BIT since having kids – because it’s a necessity – but… I still love having a clear idea of what’s in store for me). So, sometimes when something unexpected happens… it’s cool. And life is better for it. But the literal detours? They suck.

3. In guitar lesson today, I started learning “Sweet Home Alabama”. You can ALMOST recognize it, but still… it’s slow. Way slow. I’m gonna get it though.

4. New music this week: “Love Lockdown” Kanye West (And I don’t love Kanye West – AT ALL – but like this song), and “Spaceman” by the Killers. Slow week for me.

5. I took both girls to see “Horton Hears a Who” last weekend. My mom scored free tickets for me to take them to see “Madagascar 2” this Saturday (Free popcorn too – which is awesome because my girls eat a LOT of popcorn). I love going to the movies but go so rarely. It’s odd that I’ll have been three times within seven days.

6. This morning as I was leaving the library, I walked past my van and saw a dead bird hanging out of the grille of my minivan. Gross. I left it alone, got in the car and Twitter’d about it, figuring I’d deal with it later. By the time I got home, fortunately, the sucker had fallen out. Now just a lone feather remains where the little birdy was. There’s something you don’t see everyday.

7. Starbucks is not making a sugarfree version of their gingerbread latte this winter. Means I cannot get a gingerbread habit going again or I will end up needing someone to rip the roof off my house and pull me out with a crane. Starbucks, why did you let me down?

8. Just over two weeks until the “Twilight” movie comes out. My sister wants to go, and my mom is now getting drawn into the books. We may all go see the flick together. We’re such nerds.

9. Still having trouble adjusting to the time change. For example, it’s just after 6 p.m. and so dark outside now that I feel like I should be winding down and my kids should be tucked in their beds. No go. Two hours til bedtime. The Princess has learned to tell the time so I can’t even try to trick her anymore.

10. Thank you Target, Walmart, Toys R Us and Meijer for sending us your big ginormous toy catalogs for Christmas. My girls have gone through ALL FOUR of them and have circled EVERYTHING they want. Their wantyness is annoying the hell out of me on one hand – on the other hand, I could go online and be done Christmas shopping for both of them in five minutes. It’s that easy. I’ve already started buying stocking stuffers for the kids. Has anyone else started Christmas shopping yet?

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