Desperate times call for desperate measures...

Click HERE to view our new tactic.

I am asking... no, I am begging for your help.

Please, please, please pass this on to everyone you know. Post it on your blog. Start a spam email. Tell all of your friends. I will love you forever...

Wordless Wednesday

Meme'd

Penny tagged me for a meme! I've done this before, so now I have to come up with six more random things about myself. No problem.

1. I have developed something that could almost be classified as dependence on McDonald's Sweet Tea. The good news is that one of my "special talents" is recreating tastes I like. I'm *almost* there with my homemade sweet tea.

2. A boyfriend in college was once warned about me, "She may seem all sweet and innocent on the outside, but there's a wild woman in those eyes." I think that's one of the coolest things anybody has ever said about me.

3. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Lately, I've found this revelation quite disturbing and depressing.

4. I miss the commercials where they sang, "You bet your Aspercreme!" As relaxed as the FCC has become in the past decade, why couldn't that continue?

5. Penny is on the brink of convincing me to train with her for a marathon. Me. I whine about having to drive 26 miles.

6. We have three big dogs, and I do not love them equally. There is a distinct order in my intensity of love for them. The first two are actually pretty close, but unless he saves my life, or something equally amazing, the third doesn't even have a chance.

Now, the rules state that I have to tag 6 other people, but I've never been one to follow the rules too closely. So, I'm going to repeat what I did last time: I am tagging all of you, dear readers. Please leave me a comment revealing at least one weird or random thing about yourself. And if you find yourself so moved, blog about it!

For Kaje...

Chipotle Ranch Pasta Salad

I start out by making a box of Betty Crocker Suddenly Pasta Salad in the Chipotle Ranch flavor... And because I have an aversion to both following directions AND leaving well enough alone, I then, add half a can each of black beans, corn, and petite diced tomatoes. Top it off with about half a cup of shredded cheddar.

Easy peasy.

I'll breathe again... tomorrow maybe.

JJ has this toy. He loves to bounce and spin on it, which is fair, because it's called the Bounce and Spin Zebra. What it's not called is the Stand Up On the Seat and Take Your Hands Off Of the Handles Thereby Giving Your Mother a Freakin' Heart Attack Zebra. Will somebody please tell my son that?

Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout.

I deserve a merit badge for this one...

After swimming at my friend's house yesterday, I was ready to change JJ out of his swim diaper and floaties, and back into his street clothes.

(As an aside... I just wanted to mention how very funny that just struck me. My 20-month-old son wears "street" clothes. We're not drug dealers, nor are we destitute... really.)

So, I had two bags and a naked baby in front of me. The swim bag was full of swim suits, swim diapers, towels, and pool toys. The diaper bag was full of everything... but diapers. As I always keep at least three diapers in the diaper bag, I was completely stumped.

(As another aside... I still have no idea where those diapers went. I would suspect somebody broke into my car and stole them, but that would just be ridiculous... right?)

Some of you may be asking, "What about the swim diapers?", and I will admit that is a valid question. But, those of you who didn't ask will be nodding your heads as I explain that swim diapers are definitely not a viable substitute. You see, swim diapers are designed NOT to absorb liquid. That is why they don't swell up in the water. It seems they are mainly designed to hold the poop in.

(Because I seem to be on an aside kick... For suddenly concerned pool owners and swimmers, I wanted to throw out the possibility that perhaps these swim diapers filter the pee as it passes through. Please note that I am not a swim diaper expert however, and cannot assure you that is the case. The thought makes me feel a little better, though.)

So, I had completely dumped both bags, and was telling myself off under my breath when I suddenly noticed the monster of all, super duty, truly, you should be dying if you need this maxi-pad in front of me. And I had an idea.

(You know the drill... Oh, yes I did.)

I removed the backing, stuck that maxi-pad in the swim diaper, and put it on my son. And we had a lovely evening.

(As a final aside... If you ever meet JJ later in life, and somehow end up playing a revealing game such as "Truth or Dare" with him, please try to refrain from using this knowledge against him. Unless, of course, he gave you a really nasty dare first. In that case, all bets are off. It's a dog-eat-dog world, son.)

Happy Independence Day!

I just finished making a yummy chipotle ranch pasta salad. We will be taking it to my friend's house for a cookout shortly. I'm going to celebrate the birth of our country... with an English woman... and Mexican food.

Thank You!

I really appreciate all of the comments left under Roll Call!. I wanted to find out who is behind the sometimes cryptic location information provided to me by SiteMeter, Map Loco, and Google Analytics.

Oh yeah, I have all three, discreetly located at the bottom of the page. ;)

Although they give me a bunch of interesting information, none of them tells me exactly who you are, how you came to find me, or what keeps you coming back. And I find that much more interesting than my hit counter, or even the span of hearts on my nifty little map.

Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday

Roll Call!

I need an ego boost, so I thought I'd look to you all. Back in January, I asked for a shout out to see who was reading, and I had 17 people comment. I think there are more of you now, but I want to check. So, if you're reading this, please send me some comment-love. And, as there seem to be several of you that I don't know personally, tell me how you found my little corner of the blogosphere here. I'm pathetically desperate AND curious.

Oh, and if I don't get more than 17 comments this time, I will be totally. bummed. out. :(

No pressure. ;)

Possession by Playskool

JJ owns this nifty little toy. It's actually very cute. The farmer and all of his animals are all removable. And when you snap them into place, it makes the sound of the animal, or in the case of the farmer, it starts to sing, "Old MacDonald". It even knows which animals are in place, and will tailor the song to reflect the present crowd. It's a smart toy.

John and I realized exactly how smart the other night when, long after JJ had gone to bed, completely out of the blue, the farmer proclaimed, "I can't drive!"

After our initial shock, because this toy chose to speak of it's own volition, John and I looked at each other and said, in our best farmer imitation voices, "'Cause I've been drinkin'!"

I told you it was a smart toy.

And on a more personal note...

Hi Jim!

Wordless Wednesday

Is there a shrink in the house?

I just finished "Dark Lover", the first book in this series. I really enjoyed it, but I did encounter one slight problem. I don't know if everyone operates like this, but when I am reading a book, I am not just reading the words. In the back of my mind, I am actually viewing the action as well - like a movie. But perhaps, like in all other things, I am a bit lazy in my creation of the movie. To the point where, instead of creating new characters, I will often take the description, and put in place a character I have seen before.

WARNING: If you enjoy this series, and you have the same movie-theater mind that I have described, you may not want to continue reading - lest I destroy these works for you.

J.R. Ward's main story characters were a prime example of my character regeneration. Wrath is a huge, burly, almost frightening beast of a vampire, and Beth is a beautiful, innocent woman who can take care of herself. And their inevitable romance didn't help me escape the forms of characters I already knew...

Beth = Belle (Beauty)
Wrath = the Beast

Yes, I have taken a book that, if books were rated, would warrant an NC-17, and played all of the scenes out with rated G characters. Overall, I guess it makes that a PG-13 story... and one very disturbed Disney fan.

Wordless Wednesday