Wordless Wednesday

It's that time again...

I'm back over at the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival, commenting like a mad woman! Once again, there are lots of great giveaways... even John has one going! He'll be representing the family this week. ;)

So get on over there and check things out. You just may be a winner!

True Confessions

After helping John with a little house project this afternoon, he said to me, "You know, that wasn't that bad with you helping."

I was thinking about what a great team we make when he added, "Of course, it would have been even better if you had done it yourself."

Wordless Wednesday

Just in the nick of time...

Happy Birthday, Karl!

You've worked really hard, and in this last year things have really fallen into place for you. I hope next year proves even better. You deserve only the best.

I love you, little brother!

This is John.

This is his blog.

This is what our local paper, The Daily Times, had to say about them on the front page of their Business section.

One Size Fits All

I had a wonderful opportunity to relive some old memories with my mother the other day, as we were going through a box of "stuff" that I had left behind when I moved out of their house. Among other things, we found sweatshirts from all of the productions I was involved with in high school, a vast and varied collection of keychains, my Tae Kwon Do gear and boards, and a black satin robe. As I started to put the robe on, I realized what it was. "This is my college graduation gown!"

And as I zipped it up, my mother excitedly proclaimed, "And it still fits!"

Breakin' the Rules

You may have noticed that, in all this time, this blog has only sported one single, solitary, tiny picture of JJ. It is primarily because I am the teensiest bit paranoid. I have this fairly irrational fear that somebody (let's call him or her a "bad person") will see JJ, and agree with me in my assessment that he is the most adorable kid on the planet. And then my not-even-two-year-old son will have a stalker. Truly, I am not prepared to deal with that kind of drama right now (or ever, thankyouverymuch).

But alas, I have recently heard tell that the world does not revolve around me, and the possibility exists that I may be just slightly prejudiced in my completely nonobjective opinion regarding the adorability of my son. I am not only shocked, but appalled as well. However, I am also just a bit relieved, because now I can show you what we did today...

BEFORE:





AFTER:

Wordless Wednesday

JJ needs a haircut.

As it is falling in his eyes, I'm reminded of a miniature "skater" from high school, circa the the ever-so-popular (in my world, at least) '80s era.

He's totally crush-worthy.

It is time.

I received this award a while back, with instructions to pass it on to a few of my favorite blogs. Instead, I held on to it, selfishly savoring it, peeking at it every once in a while, basking in it's glory. In case I haven't mentioned it before, I have an amazing sense of intuition, and I'm thinking perhaps it was telling me to hold on to this award for something special.



The creation of John's The Ultimate Job Search blog has helped bring about exactly what I was waiting for. Friends, both near and far, have chosen to help by passing on John's information. Many of them have posted a link on their blogs, and for that I am very grateful. Therefore, I have decided to award the Excellence in (Friendship and) Blogging award to the following:

* Casey at Casey's Commentary

* Emma at Charming the Birds From the Trees

* Frozen Star at Under Construction

* Kelly at Our Many Mumblings

* Kris at Devine Diaries

* Maria at Zanti

* Penny at A Little Of a Lot

* Stephenie at Zdrojewski Mom

* Tarin at The Keener Family

And these are only the blogs I know about. If you have posted a link, but were not mentioned, please send me a note. I want to be sure to thank you, because your help means so very much to me... to us.

I also want to express gratitude to all of my friends (and lots of people I don't even know) who have posted a link on their MySpace pages, or blasted their email address books, or just told somebody. With your help, John's blog has had over 400 hits in less than three days! And he has received several good leads which he is researching furiously.

For the first time in a long time, we are feeling something other than frustration and depression. It is hope. And for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Say what you will... I *heart* the internet.

Casey was my best friend, and according to my mother, the other half of probably one of the most beneficial and healthy relationships I have ever had. We had a lot in common, aside from the fact that we spent the most angst-ridden of early teenage years together. We were both cute, and funny, and sweet, and smart, and competitive. I know that she pushed me to work for a lot more than I ever would have aspired to achieve on my own. I can only hope I did the same for her. We had many of the same interests as well. I think the highlights at that time were reading, music, and boys - sometimes even the same boys. We spent every possible waking moment together. We were best friends.

But then... I guess life happened. Things changed. We changed.

And the next thing I knew, it was my senior year in college, and the phone rang. It had been over four years since the last time we spoke. Casey told me that she was a wife. And a mother. "Can you believe I'm somebody's mom?" (Those were her exact words.) A short time later, when I was home for a break, I met her daughter and her husband... her new family.

That was the last time I saw her - over 12 years ago. More life happened, I guess. It feels like a sad excuse.

And then, two weeks ago, she left a comment on my Roll Call! post. I followed it to her blog, Casey's Commentary, where I read all about her and her husband and their four children. I found that she is still cute, and funny, and sweet, and smart, and competitive. And I'm so very glad she found me here.

Hi, Casey! ;)

Welcome!

Yesterday morning, I received an email from Gwenn Garland, an editor for our local paper. It seems that somebody recommended she check here (no link, because she actually meant HERE here, not someplace else here) (extra thanks to those who already knew that) for an interesting and funny mom blog! She then asked if she could feature it on the paper's website: DelmarvaNow!, and it's sister site: DelmarvaMoms.

I blushed, giggled all giddy-like, and told her yes. And then I found this, which explains the extra hits I've been receiving within the last 24 hours!

Gwenn, thank you! And, for those of you new to my little corner, Welcome! You'll have to excuse the mess. I'm really not much of a housekeeper, but I hope you will find that what I lack in neatness and polish, I more than make up for in comfortability and warmth. Please, make yourselves at home.

Just be careful of the zebra.

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. ;)