Guess What? (Not Chicken Butt)

Today's post has really no theme. I found this cute little Meme called the Monday Minute on Samantha's blog courtesy of her friend Ian and I thought hey, that's kind of neat...I think I'll do it.

Just as I was about to start it though I got an email. It was a return email from a feeler I had sent out about a freelance writing gig and you'll never guess-I got it(!). Starting later this week I will be THE resident expert family/marriage blogger (we're musing about better titles) on Today's Cliche! I'm so excited I'll admit I'm getting a little squeal-y. I already wrote my first post and everything-it's about how to get along with your in laws. Wanna read it? Of course you do! I'll tell/tweet you the second it's posted of course.

Also, you may not know this yet, but you want to send me questions for my SUPER COOL Q&A of Awesomeness wherein I will answer people's questions about family, marriage, and parenting. Ask me anything-just send me an email to contact.mrsm@gmail.com! I am (tentatively) going to be posting the posts on Wednesdays and the Q&As on Saturdays so hurry up and get your questions in my inbox.

You know, if you want to.

Not that I'm making you.

I'm just kind of going super spaz over my first job as a writer! Don't worry though, I'm not giving up on school. I plan to be the world's best (and busiest) homeschooling mom of three/freelance writer/law student in the world...

Now I'm off to set up my Diet Pepsi IV drip.

The Who What Now?

Apparently somebody won the Super Bowl yesterday. Uh...woo? Or not woo. Whichever way you feel I'm on your side. I mean, why not? I couldn't care less and here's the thing-I don't have to. Hubby has absolutely zero interest in sports of any kind including but not limited to football. I learned more about sports in 9th grade gym than Hubby has ever bothered to learn in his entire life-if it were possible to have negative interest in it he would-so I am never subjected to sports fanaticism, and for that I am truly grateful.

Actually, I have never been forced to "watch the game". I think the closest anyone in my family ever got to a sports team was when my sister played in the high school marching band. We're not against physical activity (not that there is really any activity involved in watching someone else play sports), and it's not like we don't have interests. My dad is fanatical about World War II planes. He watches History Channel like a fiend. My step mom is really into ancient Egypt and could literally bury you alive in the books she has about Pharaohs and mummies and stuff. Hubby loves LOVES cars and drawing (and drawing cars) and his sketch pad is never far away from him. Hubby and I both are into politics-we discuss political history, law, and current affairs on an almost daily basis. As for my own personal obsession, I'm a word nerd. I am interested in everything from classic lit to research papers to Scrabble, and I consider Googling to be a past time. We understand getting excited.

We just don't understand getting excited about sports.

We have gained a fanatic in my brother in law. He is genuinely interested in sports-and considering that he is 6'7 and has been playing sports since he was a kid there's really little doubt as to why. He watches and actively cares about every sport on the planet all the way down to ping pong, which I wasn't even aware counted as a sport. Naturally, my sister now does a lot of sitting and nodding. Sometimes she'll call and will tell me about it and I'll be honest-I get bored just hearing about other people watching sports...that's why Hubby's lack of sports team loyalty is just one of the million things I love about him.

I am thinking a lot about love lately, what with Valentine's Day coming up on Sunday, so I've decided that this week I am going to blog something on the topic of love every day. Today it's all about my love for my husband's NON love of sports.

Ours is a match made in nerd heaven.

Find A Cause

I haven't gotten any suggestions yet for good charities and/or causes to promote, so I don't have anything to pass on from yesterday's post-however I have found a really great site that might help you find a charity in your area and for a cause that you believe in. Go check out Global Giving and find out what you can do to help others!

Give A Little Bit

There are needs in every community, in every country, every minute of every day. Right now I think for good reason the focus for most charitable giving is disaster relief in Haiti, however after yesterday's post I felt like it would be a good idea to list some places where we can all give back within our communities if we ever find ourselves so inclined. Of course there is no absolute comprehensive list of good charities-there are many that I have not listed here which are very worthy causes-but here are a few of my personal favorite places to donate.

Good places to donate money:

St. Jude Children's Hospital
St. Jude's is a research facility and treatment center for children with chronic illnesses, and they treat all children regardless of their family's ability to pay. In these difficult economic times a hospital that helps low income families with chronically ill children is indispensable.

To A Maternity Home
There are many maternity homes in this country. For those of you who don't know, a maternity home is a place where young pregnant women with no support or resources can go. They give these young women a stable environment and help them get prenatal care, find jobs, and learn to take care of themselves and their child. They also, for those interested, help with the adoption process. You can go here to find a pretty comprehensive list of maternity homes state-by-state.


Good Places to Donate Time

Volunteer with a Foster Care Program
There are more than half a million children in the foster care system of the United States, and a fantastic way to help them is to volunteer! Especially by mentoring, you can forever affect the life of a child who probably doesn't have the love of a stable, caring adult.

Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen via The Salvation Army
The price of food has gone up. Hubby works in a grocery so I can say this with absolute fact backing me up. I can also tell you that the food given out by food pantries, while given with the best of intentions, is often (a)already expired (b)completely random food that people gave because they don't want to eat it themselves [what do you do with a can of pickled beats? Most people give them to a food pantry to get free concert tickets] and (c)something that homeless people cannot actually use [you can't cook expired hamburger helper without a stove to cook on]. Soup kitchens are absolutely vital to homeless people who truly need a hot, unexpired meal-and volunteering to help provide that meal is a priceless gift that you can give the less fortunate in your community.


Causes that Need a Voice
Sometimes we don't have money or time to give-but there is always one thing we can do-we can use our voices to support our causes. As bloggers we have an even better opportunity to spread the word about issues and causes that are important to us-here are two causes that are important to me.

Homeless Teens
For obvious reasons, this issue is close to my heart. We can never truly know how many homeless teens there are in this country because many of them are completely cut off from services, but it is estimated that there are as many as 750,000 chronically homeless minors in the streets of our nation. There are not enough services to attend to the needs of all of these homeless youth-as many as 22% of homeless teens are turned away from shelters and charities for lack of space or funding.

One of the biggest ways to help homeless teens is actually very simple-talk to your congressperson. Changing the laws so that homeless minors can obtain full time jobs and contract for living services such as rental properties and utilities can open doors for young people who are willing to work very hard but are legally barred from providing for themselves. Some states already have 'independent minor' laws in place to help remove the roadblocks to self sufficiency-check your local laws and talk to your representatives to find out more.


Joint Custody Laws
According the US Census Bureau, women are granted sole legal and physical custody in 90% of all custody cases and 70% of contested cases. From my own personal experience living with an abusive mother while my dad fought against a system that routinely adheres to the belief that "children are better off with their mother" for no other reason that pure gender bias, I can tell you that the laws regarding joint custody need to be changed. They are heading in the direction of equality-the fact that 30% of men are now winning contested custody cases is actually an improvement-but in the interests of children this process needs to go faster. Children need both a mother AND a father-this is just as true even after parents separate/divorce as it ever was. Maybe even more so.

A few states already have 'default joint custody laws' meaning that unless it can be proven to be harmful parents will be granted joint legal custody. This is an important step, and it is a step that needs to be taken farther to include default joint physical custody as well. Children with two loving parents should be able to spend equal time with both of their loving parents-talk to your representatives about the laws in your state and what you can do to help.

What charities, organizations, and causes are close to your heart? I'd love to hear about them. Because this post is so late (11pm! I'm really pushing my resolution aren't I?) instead of posting an entirely new post tomorrow I am going to post a new link to this post as well as links to YOUR favorite charities/causes-so comment here and let me know what they are and why you love them!

Spoil Yourself GIVEAWAY! Custom Home Spa Package

Am I trying to buy your love/forgiveness after being gone so long by having a giveaway? Maybe....would that work? If not, consider it a token of my appreciation for sticking with me through my spotty posting! And I do truly appreciate you....now I want you to take the time to appreciate yourself! So I've decided to give you a nice little spoil yourself package.

If you are like me (and I suspect you might be in some ways) then you're probably run ragged from the holidays. Nothing revitalizes a lady like some bubble bath time, so go ahead schedule an extra little bit of time to relax at home-or lock yourself in the bathroom with your headphones in and ignore the desperate pleas of your husband/children for an hour. I do. Here let me help you...

I want this giveaway to be something that anyone can enter and get something they like, so I decided to make it customized just especially for the winner. The first thing that the lucky winner will get regardless of their preferences is this nifty little spa in a tote bag!

This tote gives you all the helpful supplies you need to pamper yourself. Included inside is a sisal sponge, a loofa, a pumpkin poof, a wooden foot brush, a wooden foot file, a pumice stone, an exfoliating body wash pad, and a facial loofa. Heck-I don't even know what some of that stuff does! But I bet the results are loverly.

So where does the "custom" part come in? Well, you have to have some yummy soaps and lotions to go with this of course...and I want the winner to get things they like. Now I'm not going to go out and buy you the designer label bubblies (I do after all have a budget) but if you hate stuff that smells like vanilla or prefer bath salts to bath bubbles or only wear blue nail polish I want to know so that this prize can be something you'll really enjoy! The customizable items that are in this prize package will include:

-1 bath scenter (either bubbles or salts)
-1 lotion
-1 soap/body wash
-2 nail polishes
-1 candle
-Your favorite candy!
-A book or movie of YOUR choosing (subject to availability, and up to $15)

You can light some candles, settle down in a yummy bath with a book that you love, and just relax. My gift to you-trust me, you deserve it.

So what do you have to do to win? The mandatory entry is simple-leave a comment on this post! If you want extra entries to win, try some of these out:

-Leave a separate comment on this post with a question for me to answer during my first ever Vlog.
-Follow (or refollow if I lost you) me through Google Friend Connect OR refer someone to me. If they follow me and send me a note that mentions that you referred them BOTH of you will get an entry!
-Follow me on Twitter
-Tweet this contest (limit 1 tweet/entry per day)
-Write a post about this giveaway linking back here (+5 entries!)

Of course, you don't have to wait to win my giveaway to relax and spoil yourself, but I'd love to help you out! This contest will run until the 29th and the winner will be announced DURING my first ever Vlog, in celebration of my 300th post~I just love how that worked out! Good luck to everyone!

Happy Happy Joy Joy

I received a little note yesterday from singedwingangel saying that she had given me two awards. Well, gee. That's so sweet...and after I've been such a slouch with my blog lately. I have lost four followers-justly so after my neglectful blog habits in November and December-sorry guys! I have resolved to do better this year I promise! But first things first-being thankful for my lovely awards!

The first award she gave me was the Lemonade Stand Award. Isn't this little button adorable?
The second award was the Happy 101 award. I love this button too.

The rules of this award are "List 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of them today, and tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day and link to the person who gave you the award".

This award is fun and easy-I have lots of things that make me happy (in no particular order):

My family



Books


Bubble baths


Cheesecake


Sunshowers


Snuggling


Blogging


Guitar Hero



Sleep...mmmmm...sleep


Baking

Let's see...who to tag. These bloggers always make me smile....

-Angela at Becoming Me
-Samantha at Apple Juice and Milk
-Kirsty at Momedy
-Lorraine at Ask Wifey
-The Crazy Baby Mama
-K at Interstitial Life
-Lesley at Project Mommyhood
-Elizabeth at Type A Mommy
-Jen at Buried with Children

and let's let random.org pick a friend to award.....

-Sherri at Luv a Bargain

Thanks for making me smile ladies!

P.S. Look at that-resolution NOT broken with 2 hours to spare. LOL.

Sucked In...

This will almost definitely come as a shock, but I've somehow managed to not really think or even talk about Twilight in the last...however many years it's been since the whole world went crazy. I did see the first Twilight movie by total accident-I hadn't read the books and I don't really keep up with movies, so Hubby and I went in on our date night thinking it was an action vampire movie (think Interview with a Vampire) and came out thinking it was a giant ball of cheesy corn. After that when people started talking glittery vamps I just excused myself from the conversation, convinced that there was no need for me to revisit it.

Of course now I realize it was only a matter of time.

Last week some internet friends of mine were chatting about Twilight and I put in my two cents about the movie. Later that night I made an emergency stop for diapers at 1am and saw that they had New Moon on sale in the book isle, and I thought 'why not?'. In order to form a real opinion I should probably read the books. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to be able to actually hold a conversation about this ridiculously popular topic. I'd already seen the first movie, so I just swiped the book up and went home...and finished it in 3 hours.

Okay so the writing quality is unimpressive, and the entire thing is more emo than a guy in eyeliner and skinny jeans. It definitely wasn't an intellectual pursuit, but I have to say as far as brain candy goes it was DELICIOUS. Now that I see them fully explained inside of the book, I love the characters. And the storyline! I know for a lot of people it's difficult to swallow the whole 'love at first sight' thing, but since it happened to me I am always susceptible to the meant to be love stories. I loved Jacob-and I understood Bella and Edward so much better. It was such a fun read.

The next day a good friend of mine came into town and we went out to lunch and-of course we went to see New Moon. I have to say (no offense to anyone) that it really truly wasn't nearly as good as the book. Like not even close-I thought that the movie, like it's predecessor, was corny cheese and I was disappointed in the things that they changed and glossed over. So what's a girl to do? I picked up Eclipse at the B&N on the way home.

I spent four hours last night (when I should have been working) reading it all the way through and I have to say, if it's possible, that I liked the third book even better than the second. It definitely made me switch sides-Jacob was so cool in the second book, but was sort of petulant and irritating in the third while Edward was so much better than he was previously. I'm not a big fan of Rob Pattinson's look, but Edward is a good character.

I might have even swooned a little.

There was only one thing wrong.....I didn't grab the fourth book while I was at the bookstore!

So yes, I've been sucked in by wolves and glittery vampires and moody teenage angst-that's what's turning my pages these days. If you want to talk about the books you're reading (or you want to answer one of the other prompts from Mama Kat, my inspiration for this post) feel free to visit her and participate in the Writer's Workshop.

A Review of Jack Daniel's Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook

I know, I know-most of us just cooked our brains out for Thanksgiving and you're probably thinking that if you never saw an oven again it would be too soon. Trust me though-if anything could get you in the cooking mood again it would be the Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook.

It's easy to get caught up in the fact that this cookbook is brought to you by Jack Daniels-for some people this is a draw. For myself personally it made me a little more skeptical-I have a glass of wine or a girly drink once, maybe twice a year-but I do love cooking, I've enjoyed a Jack and coke in my day, and I do have a special love for southern cooking so I gave this cook book a shot.

I'm so glad I did! This book is boiling over with delicious southern recipes-many of which, to my surprise, did not include Jack. Of course there are drink 'recipes' in the book, but the recipes are overall very diverse including sections for appetizers, soups and salads, vegetables, breads, entrees, desserts, cakes and pies, sauces and gravies, and even a section specifically for outdoor cooking.

I have so far tried at least one recipe from each section of this cookbook and I honestly have yet to find a recipe that I don't like and have many, many more on my 'to try' list. This cook book is fabulous! Inside The Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook there is yet another special touch-interwoven amongst the delicious recipes you'll find both short writings and beautiful pictures that really show the unique lifestyle and culture that is the south, and which make this cookbook a multisensory experience.

You can taste, smell, touch, see, and learn a little about the south in the Jack Daniel's Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook...and if you're an amateur foodie like me you almost certainly won't be disappointed.

Oh-My-Birthday!

I am the first to say that the best things in life are free....but there are some pretty wicked awesome things you can get for money.

This birthday was the best birthday ever-I got some extra sleep, Hubby took care of all the meals all day...oh and I also finally got a laptop!!! Would you like to see my fourth child? Of course you would.

It's a....HP TouchSmart! Isn't it adorable?

Awwwww.....and do you want to see the coolest part? The reason the screen swivels like that is to pop it into tablet mode, like so:That stylus is there so that you can WRITE ON THE SCREEN. In your own handwriting. Then it types what you're writing on the screen! It's awesome to watch TV episodes and movies on too-just pop it in tablet mode, click on full screen, and it's like a mini portable TV. Call me old fashioned, but I feel like I live in Star Trek or something...I mean, the girl who doesn't even have a cell phone has a flippy touch screen laptop.

It's an ironic miracle.

I should be working right now...especially since that was part of the reason that I said I wanted a laptop....and I will. Right after I finish uploading a background, changing my admin name, putting in all of my bookmarks-important stuff like that.

The moral of this excited blithering? I have the best, most thoughtful husband in the world....and, thanks to him, a super awesome laptop to boot! Hooray!

What A Lovely Day!

Frankenputer went into the light.

It's okay, I've momentarily resuscitated him-unfortunately I didn't really fix anything so much as jiggle things and press the same commands three hundred times out of desperation...so he could go back to that big Intel in the sky at any point now. Why is this good news?

Becaaaaaaaaaaaause...since Frank is now officially the undead zombie computer Hubby says that I can get a laptop on the 16th! Thank GOD there are 5 paychecks in October, right? And of course, thank GOD that I have the most amazing Hubby in the world who would let me get a laptop rather than do responsible stuff like save money and buy new socks.

I want to get a Dell Insprion 15. It's a good fit for me. True, it's not the MacBook Pro I wanted, but hey-I get to keep all of my organs. The other option I posted about was the Toshiba A500 and, to be honest, I just can't live with that kind of battery life. What can I do online in 2.5 hours? Practically nothing! So, I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the Insprion 15....the hard choice now is which of the rainbow colors do I want?

Speaking of rainbows (do you like that segue? I do!) guess what we saw today? DOUBLE rainbows! Right there, in front of our house! I couldn't get great pictures of the double rainbow, but I did get a good one of the single, stronger rainbow in a nice sun shower picture.


MMMMMMMMMM-fall, laptops, sun showers, rainbows....give me a kitten and I'm a walking cliche of happiness.

Mommy's Fabulous Find Friday-I Love Ladybugs!

I'm jumping right back in after my case of the yucks to bring you something entirely different. Let's talk about something yummy. More than yummy-so delicious it is practically a miracle.

I started feeling a little better a couple of days ago, so I decided to walk around one morning and do my errands. Fortunately, being as out of shape relaxed as I am, my morning walk turned into an afternoon walk in the 80 degree heat.

Now you know me-I would not normally use the word "fortunately" in relation to exercise of any kind, especially if said exercise was taking place in sweltering weather....but this time the tiny little oasis I found was so FABULOUS that it made up for every single fiery hot footstep. What is that fabulous?

Chocolate, of course!

I stepped in out of the sun and into a tiny piece of heaven called Ladybug Chocolates. This little shop is divine for several reasons, the first of which I noticed was the fact that it was very well cooled (which of course it has to be to preserve the delicious delicious chocolate in it's most wonderful non-melty form, but I appreciated it as if it was cooled just for me). Once I regained myself and looked around I decided that there was a lot more to appreciate than the fabulous temperature. This little hole in the wall is adorably themed around Ladybugs. Everything in the shop is black white and red, from the floors and decorations to the adorable little cafe style tables. As I walked up to the counters to peak inside I noticed that even the chocolates have little ladybugs on them!

I just had to try some of these chocolates. I had a Chocolate Covered Oreo (complete with edible ladybug on top), a Chocolate Coconut Drop, and a White Chocolate Truffle. What? No, I haven't forgotten or given up on my 30 Day Throwdown goals-these chocolates are locally made with fresh ingredients and are preservative free! Plus I had the small truffle...and I had walked a long way so I already burned the calories for it....and my blood sugar was low...and besides, I was just tasting them for you. It was all business, and scientific, and stuff.....

Okay, so it might not have been any of those things, but I can tell you for certain every single one of those was FABULOUSLY DELICIOUS-and I should know. I have tasted a lot of chocolate in my day. They were perfectly sweet-not so sweet that you have to choke them down, but they didn't have the bitter aftertaste that expensive chocolates tend to have either-the flavors were all perfectly blended (no need to fear the mystery chocolate spit-take), and have I mentioned how adorable they are? The white chocolate truffles had little miniature ladybugs painted right on them!

I think the most impressive part of all is that all of the chocolates are hand made with love. Ladybug Chocolates is a family owned and operated business, and the owners Shery and John (who also own Ladybug Chocolates Cake Decorating & Candy Making Supplies, found right next door) are right there to answer your questions and help you decide between all of the delicious options!

I cannot recommend Ladybug Chocolates enough-their family friendly shop is a treat we will definitely be indulging in with kidlets in tow. For those of you who don't live in the vicinity, you can order their delicious chocolates through their online store for special occasions-Christmas is coming up!-or for no other reason than just to sample the best chocolate I've ever had!

This little shop is worthy of both my repeat business and my Fab Friday recommendation, so go check them out and treat yourself and someone you love, if you can manage to part with a few!



[all pictures taken directly from the Ladybug Chocolates website]

Music To Your Ears

I'm still sick. The bad news/good news is that I'm not going to attempt to write a coherent blog post while I'm all barf-tastic. Sooooooooooooooo, today-please to enjoy my favorite Weird Al Songs (yes, I do in fact have a standing list of favorite Weird Al songs...I'm just that nerdy):

Smells Like Nirvana [Parody of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana]
I love the 90s. Heck, I love Nirvana...but not even I can figure out all the words to Teen Spirit!


Gump [Parody of "Lump" by Presidents of the United States]
The original song by the Presidents was fun, so this could only be more fun!


Another One Rides The Bus [Parody of "Another One Bites the Bus Dust" by Queen...see, I told you I couldn't write coherently.]
My very favorite of the really old Weird Al!




Ebay [Parody of "I Want It That Way" by The Backstreet Boys]
So true. So hilarious!




Honorable Mentions:
All About The Pentiums
White and Nerdy
Six Words Long

A Little Bit of "Help"! {Help! I'm A Newlywed...Book Review and Giveaway}

Hubby and I have been married about 2 1/2 years, so while we've obviously been together longer than that (Monkey is 5, after all) we are still new-ish-ly wed people. And there is no one I can recommend more to a new or newishly married person than my friend Wifey.

Wifey (aka Lorraine Sanabria Robertson) runs a wonderful site called Ask Wifey (you may or may not remember that she and her blog were featured in last week's Fab Find Friday). There she gives advice to wives about all of the hard-to-navigate hijynx of marriage, from dealing with first year fighting to coming to compromises on finances and everything in between. Her site is insightful, and supportive, and positive. I found her blog waaaaaaaaay back in the day during Blog Party 2008, a more than a year but less than two years after Hubby and I tied the knot, and I immediately loved her style-so when she said that she had written a book for newly married women, and was giving a copy away before it was even published, I was all over it.

Unlike every other contest I've ever entered, I actually won (!) and got myself signed copy of "Help! I'm A Newlywed....What Do I Do Now?". I read it in a single night. Even though living together was a little old hat for us (we had lived together for going on 4 years at that point) I found myself nodding and smiling over every page, and I still found some great insights laced in there for "Level Two" newlyweds.

In her book Wifey talks about how to survive the post-wedding withdrawls, and how to get over the "and they lived happily ever after" part and get down to business making ever after as happy as possible. She gives advice about sharing space, managing money and in laws, and how to deal with a Hubby addicted to sports.

The book is also peppered with quotes from wives of different levels of experiences-from newlyweds to real veterans-who all give their advice and talk about their experiences with their husbands. It's great to read so many perspectives and to see them all neatly woven together with Wifey's own words of wisdom and encouragement.

I just love this book....and you will love it too. You can go to Amazon and buy one, but I figured since I was lucky enough to win a signed copy I'd pass that luck along and give one of YOU your very own signed copy of Wifey's book [Don't worry, you'll get your own-I'm not parting with mine!]. Enter to win it for yourself, or for any blushing bride (or bride to be) that you love.

As with all of my contests, all you have to do is leave a comment to be entered to win. If you want to increase your odds, I have lots of ways for you to do that.

• Follow Wifey at Ask Wifey
• Follow me on my blog
• Follow me on my twitter
• Tweet about this contest (1 entry per Tweet, 1 Tweet per day, please leave a link)
• Fan me on Facebook
• Add my button to your sidebar/blogroll (please leave a link)
• Blog about this contest, with a link to this post and a link to Ask Wifey [+5 entries!!!]

This contest will end at 12am on September 30th~Good luck to everyone!!

Fall Season TV Premieres (Friend Makin' Monday)

It's time once again to meet some new bloggy friends with my gal pal Amber at aefilkins...that's right, it's Friend Makin' Monday!



This week I am totally stoked because she is asking about a topic near and dear to my heart-

What are your favorite fall shows?

Good thing it says 'favorite' instead of 'what shows do you watch most often' otherwise my list would be full of Ni Hao Ki-Lan and History International specials! [Poor Mommy never gets to hold the remote unless everyone else is asleep!]

Thank God for DVR, right? At night I get to cuddle up with my blanket and a snack (which, because of my 30 Day Throwdown goals are usually something on the healthier side like strawberries and low fat whip cream or honey roasted peanuts) and watch whatever I want to watch. Here's what's on the top of my DVR list:

How I Met Your Mother

I love this show. No, that does not do my passion justice-I am OBSESSED with this show. It is lengend....wait for it....and I hope you're not allergic because the last part of this word is-dary. It truly is by far the awesomest display of awesomeness ever. True Story. {And the award for most 'inside joke' TV show references in one paragraph goes to....me? Oh yeah! Fake-Award-Five.}

Bones

I have been watching this show since day one and I. Am. In. Love. With. It. Possibly because I also love David Boreanaz....in a platonic, I'm totally married kind of way. I've followed him around since the Buffy days and I think that his role as Sealy Booth is the best role he's ever been in.

House

You knew it was coming. Who doesn't like House? Hugh is awesome (if unintelligible off screen) and the train wreck/evil genius that is House MD couldn't be more compelling. This year it premieres the same night and time as How I Met Your Mother....again Thank God for DVRs, am I right?

Psych

Okay, so this has already started, but I love it love it love it so it goes on my list. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, please do! The quick back and forth banter is awesome, and there are so many pop culture references in it you could nearly drown.

So, what do you like to watch? Let me know! And, if you get a chance, stop by Amber's place and join in on Friend Makin' Monday!

A Parent's Art Review

I don't know how to feel about this particular piece. I call it "Cityscape with car, sun, and cloud"; the medium is "bedroom door":

Monkey's Newest Piece's Ratings:

+500 Creativity and Skill
(-20, since technically this is vandalism)

Friend Makin' Monday

I have just discovered something lovely! I love discovering lovelies-it's so.....nice. My new discovery today is Friend Makin' Monday. Amber at aefilkins is running this fun get to know you carnival-and you know how much I love making new bloggy friends, so of course I just had to participate!

This week's topic is 'What are some of your favorite things about fall?'

I love the weather here-it's cool enough that all the bees go away, but warm enough that you don't have to put on a parka. We still get warm rain in the fall, and always have some lovely sun showers (common and beloved in the Pacific Northwest). The trees are just the right color and the whole city just feels and smells clean.

(Picture by MadieRose)

I do love putting on sweaters though-that's another one of my favorite things about fall! Nice, big, soft, comfy sweaters to snuggle into...and snuggle up to the family in.

(Picture by A.J. Wilhelm)

For some unknown reason, fall is pie season in my heart...and I love making pies. Something about a nice warm pecan pie with some vanilla ice cream on top just does it for me, and the timing is never better than on a nice crisp fall night.

(Picture from Jeanniescookies.com)

I know it might be terrible, but there is one last very important reason I love fall-because the sun comes up later....which means the kids get up later....which means I might have a prayer of sleeping for more than three hours.

I. LOVE. Fall!!

Mama Needs A New Laptop (In Search Of a Fab Find Friday Cont.)

Remember when I told you about the eminent demise of Frankenputer? I reviewed laptops online, hoping to narrow down the search, and it came down to the MacBook Pro, the Dell Studio 15, and the Toshiba Satellite A500. It was a close race-until I went to Best Buy.

When I saw the MacBook Pro it was clear-this is, hands down, the drool worthy laptop of my bloggy dreams. I am telling you, it was probably embarassing how much I oogled that computer-but I am shameless, because this computer is perfect! The graphics are awesome, the touch pad is super responsive, it's super thin and ready to go anywhere.....

Oh MacBook, why do you have to be $2000?


I don't know about you, but I don't have $2000 just sitting around. Who am I kidding-we just paid rent....I don't have $20 just sitting around. All of our money is very carefully balanced and compartmentalized, but we use nearly every penny of it. So what's a broke MacBook lovin' gal to do?

I guess this will be a three part series:

Post One: Review Laptops

Post Two: Love MacBook!

Post Three: How I (someday) Manage to Buy A MacBook Without Selling a Kidney

If you have $2000 to spare or an already carefully saved computer budget and you're in the market for laptops I (a) am jealous and (b) highly recommend that you take a look at a MacBook. For anyone else like me, I'll let you know when I figure out how to get a MacBook and keep my organs.

Tell All Tuesday:Homeschooling Works!

We've talked before about how to deal with homeschool critics, and it's still a very important topic because come on-no one homeschools unopposed. There's always the Buttinski that makes it their personal mission to deter, undermine, or attempt to entirely prevent you from homeschooling....such is life. Still no matter how much you want to go all Maury-Povich-DNA-Test-Baby-Mama on them, it's important to come up with a calm, intelligent response when dealing with a Mr/Ms Know-It-All. It helps if you have research studies to back yourself up with.

Too bad the last homeschooling research study was done more than ten years ago. Even though it was an excellent study, people tend to look at old information as if it were no information at all. Good thing the HSLDA (that's the Homeschooling Legal Defense Association) commissioned another research study! The study included 11,739 homeschooled students from all 50 states who took three well-known tests—California Achievement Test, Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, and Stanford Achievement Test for the 2007–08 academic year. If you're anything like me, you're going to want to email these results to your personal Buttinski right away!

According to the Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics homeschooled children tested far above their publicly schooled peers on achievement tests:

National Average Percentile Scores
Subtest	Homeschool	Public School
Reading	89	50
Language	84	50
Math	84	50
Science	86	50
Social Studies	84	50
Corea	88	50
Compositeb	86	50
a. Core is a combination of Reading, Language, and Math. b. Composite is a combination of all subtests that the student took on the test.

What's more, factors that usually "make or break" students in the public school arena showed little influence over homeschooled kids core scores-

Income
$34,999 or less—85th percentile
$35,000–$49,999—86th percentile
$50,000–$69,999—86th percentile
$70,000 or more—89th percentile

Parental Spending
Spent $600 or more on the student—89th percentile
Spent under $600 on the student—86th percentile

Even the education level of the childrens' parents, while more noticeable, still did not produce the huge gaps seen in publicly schooled children
Neither parent has a college degree—83rd percentile
One parent has a college degree—86th percentile
Both parents have a college degree—90th percentile

So basically-no matter how much or how little a homeschooling parent spends, no matter what the parent's income or education level, homeschooled kids will rock the socks off you.

Academically speaking, of course.

I certainly think that's worth telling all and telling everybody about!

A big thank you to Jenny for bringing this study to my attention!

Mommy's Fabulous Find Friday:Magic Carpet (Cleaner)

First you need to know-this is not a paid post. I did not receive any free samples, or other incentives to talk about his product. The only reason I bring it up is because today is Friday and it's FABULOUS.

When you have kids the first thing to go is your ab muscles. Next, your memory. Then, coming in a not-so-distant third, your carpets. Getting your abs back will take grueling time and effort (but I hear it's possible), and getting your memory back? Let me know if you've been able to escape Mommy brain. Fortunately, salvaging your carpets doesn't require you to give up brownies or remember where you put your car keys (did you look in your hand?).

You will not believe what things I've tried on my carpet. Everything from vinegar to name brand carpet cleaners (let's call it "Schmorolve") which cost $10 for a 22oz bottle. Let's just say 22oz might clean under my dining table which, ridiculously, is carpeted-but what about the rest of my house? Not to mention Schmorolve smells like a chem lab and only works temporarily-as soon as my in laws are gone the stains come right back!

I was pretty much resolved to a life of yucky deep-stained carpets, at least until the kidlets were grown, when Hubby brought home a bottle of Folex. He picked it up a 32oz spray bottle on sale at Fred Meyers for $2.99 and he figured why not? Couldn't make our carpet any worse. Then we used it and discovered that Folex is magic.

Really. Magic. There's no other explanation for it. You spray the spot, you rub it with your fingers (because it's non-toxic, safe for kids, pets, and fingers-which also means no harsh chemical smell), blot it with a damp cloth or sponge for just a few seconds and voila! The stain literally disappears in a few seconds, and doesn't come back. Don't believe me? I wouldn't either if I hadn't seen it myself. Here-I bring photographic and video evidence.

BEFORE

All I Did Was...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Then, 23 Seconds Later

Gone. It's still a little damp for a bit, but the stain is totally gone like magic. I am talking deep, set-in grease stains with dirt on top of them (hey, don't judge me). Folex also works on any upholstery and clothes-if it's water safe and colorfast, you can Folex it-and you'll probably want to because just like it says on the side of the bottle, and on the Folex website, it's:

Non-Toxic, completely non-irritating to normal skin
Non-Flammable, contains no solvents of any kind
Odor-Free, no unpleasant chemicals
CFC and Petroleum Free

I have stopped using any other carpet cleaner (goodbye and good riddance, Schmorolve) because Folex is Fabulous! I can't recommend it enough.

Still, too bad it can't do anything for my abs.

Me=Crazy (but Loved)

Yep-that's the title of this post and I stand by it.

It's funny 'cause it's true.

This weekend has tipped the scales of craziness into might-possibly-need-some-bunny-slippers land. I have been busy wrapping up the designs from my Near and Far Giveaway, which has been fun but challenging...fun because it's been great to work with the fabulous winners, but challenging because it seems this is also the weekend that the kids chose to simultaneously LOSE THEIR FREAKIN' MARBLES. My bad for not checking the schedule.

I am not kidding you when I say that each of them spent 90% of their waking hours in some form of whining screaming stomping tantrum. Many times over this weekend they were all going off at once, making my house reverberate with the sounds of shrill child screams. Fun Fun. By the end of the day today I was nearly ready to pack their bags and suggest they run away to live with Grandpa when, as I was putting Monkey to bed, I was reminded why I never have gotten around to selling them on Ebay.

After I read him his story Monkey put his hands on each side of my face and said, "I'm sorry I was so mad today and yesterday. Thank you for helping me feel better, Mommy. You're my best friend and I love you so much." Then he snuggled into my neck and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I won't lie-I teared up, and said a silent prayer of thanks that while my children may sometimes seem like psychotic midgets determined to be my mental undoing they are actually in fact loving, gentle creatures who love me very much.

My kids love me.

I know that it seems like an obvious thing, but I guess it's not something that I ever thought about. I love them to the ends of the earth and I would do anything for them. I work very hard to teach them, and take care of them, and let them know exactly how much I adore each of them but I never really considered how they felt about me. Does that mean I'm not empathising with them enough? Maybe. I guess I just always assumed the kids liked me just fine, and left it at that. I'm the mom-I do what I do because of how I feel about them and because of what they need-but realizing that my children love me as much as I love them is by far the greatest reward I've ever received....even if it is something I never knew I really needed to know.

Looking back on this weekend, it's obvious the kids just went bonkers-but if I look hard enough I can also see that no matter how frustratingly, ridiculously insane they might act sometimes they love me-and look to me for love, knowing it will be there all the time no matter how they behave-and that touches me so deeply I am nearly at a loss for words.

And it totally makes up for my nervous twitch.