Well, I think I'm going to make the switch to Wordpress. I'm going to take the rest of the year off to get my new digs ready and then sometime in early 2008 (WHAT?!?), I'll unveil the new site.
Who am I kidding. I'm sure I'll post again in the next few days. 'Cause, you know, I can.
I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday and that you got everything your little heart desires. Here's what was left under my Christmas tree this year. I'm quite happy...
Evidently, if anyone needs to know the answer to the question "Was Harry Potter's mother a mogel person?", I'm the one you need to see...
We are back! All the presents are open, most of the trash has been trashed, and now we begin the great 2007 Toy Dig-Out. I haven't had a chance to download any new pics so here's another ornament shot. How long do you think I can milk this ornament thing for?? I hope everyone had a great holiday!!
I didn't quite get to finish everything on my list. I'm only halfway through my last book. The schedule of the season just caught up with me. Here's what I thought of what I was able to finish.
An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England (Brock Clarke) - This book was just quirky. I ended up feeling bad for the main character...he was just so simple. While it wasn't the best book on my list, it wasn't that bad. I'm not sure I would see out another book by this author, though.
Up High in the Trees (Kiara Brinkman) - This was a very quick read. It's written from the perspective of an 8 year old and it was beautiful. Some pages were only a line or two long, just quick thoughts. The story follows the boy and his family after the mother dies in a car accident. It's just a very well written look into the grieving process from every angle. I would definitely recommend this book .
When Crickets Cry (Charles Martin) - I think this might tie with Nineteen Minutes for my favorite book on this list. I was hooked on the book from the very beginning and would fall asleep while I was reading it because I just didn't want to put it down. It's heartbreaking and uplifting all at the same time...it definitely tugs on your heart strings.
The Other Mother (Gwendolen Gross) - I'm only about halfway through but I'm liking what I'm reading. One of the major pluses? The main character's name is Thea. I love that name!
Nineteen Minutes (Jodi Picoult) - I will definitely be readinf Jodi Picoult again very soon. As a matter of fact I already went to the library and got another of her books to take with me when we head out of town for the several days. She's a great writer and I gasped out loud when I got to the twist at the end. This was a great, great book.
The Blessing of a Skinned Knee (Wendy Mogel) - I didn't really like this book at all. I felt like I was being preached too about Judaism vs. Christianity and I didn't like the tone. I agreed with the concept of "learn from your mistakes" and such...but I didn't like the approach.
A Life's Work : On Becoming a Mother (Rachel Cusk) - Another one I wasn't so keen on. I actually only ended up skimming the book because the language was too flowery for me. I enjoy a good dose of Parenting Cynicism, but this was just downright negative. One of the reviews mentioned "laugh out loud", which I never did.
The Read-Aloud Handbook (Jim Trelease) - I think the next book list might involve a little more research. This is a great book if you need to be convinced why it's important to read to your kids...which I already know the benefits of. I thought this would be a little more "how to" then "why". The book list at the back did give me a lot of great book ideas for Jake, though, so it wasn't a complete loss.
Charlotte's Web (E.B. White) - We got about a third of the way through this and Jake said he didn't want to read it anymore because "there were too many words". I think I may have jumped the gun a little bit on getting him to read chapter books. We started the Arthur series instead and I think I might start him on Harry and Mudge soon...although he still loves his Dora books.
See how other readers fared at Callapidder Days.
O.K. So I jumped on the scale and this is what I saw: 158.5 . Now, I'm leaving for a few days so everyone have a great holiday. My kids lift you a message...
Visit Tales from the Scales to check out other people's progress!
12/12/07 weight: 159
12/19/07 weight: 158.5
This week's goal - Carry journal with me everywhere I go (instead of writing stuff down after I get home) and complete Week 1 of a new 8 week walking routine (from WW Magazine).
Monday - .5 mile in 10 minutes (did .6 mi in 12 min)
Tuesday - .75 mile in 13 minutes (did .8 mi in 15 min)
Wednesday - .75 mile in 15 minutes
Thursday - 1 mile in 20 minutes
Friday - 1 mile in 17 minutes
Saturday - .5 mile in 10 minutes
Sunday - rest
Total miles - 4.5
When I started this silly little blog, I chose blogger because...well...I didn't know anything else existed. I lived in a lovely state of ignorant bliss, but that feeling is starting to wane a little bit now that I've gotten my feet a little wet.
Blogger is simple enough to use, but there are some things that are definitely lacking. My biggest thing is that it doesn't have an auto-post feature. I really would like to have that. Cause sometimes I don't want to wait around 5 days to put my "day specific" posts up. My Wordless Wednesday drafts are piling up, I tell ya.
So, I'm thinking of moving to Wordpress. But I don't know much about it either. So it's time for you to chime in, my loyal readers.
What platform do you use? What do you love about it? What do you hate about it?
Help me, PLEASE!!
After months of talking about it, we have finally booked our next Adults Only vacation! And while it's not Hawaii, it ain't too shabby!
From May 18th - 25th, 2008, we will be sailing the ocean blue on our 3rd Royal Caribbean cruise. We are sailing out of Los Angeles for a 7 night cruise on the Mexican Riviera. We will be stopping in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta.
Now, if I can just get through the next two weeks...then I'll be able to switch my focus to beaches. And water. And fruity drinks with umbrellas. And room service.
And of course, buffets!
I just couldn't think of a clever title. My brain hurts. I've got so much on my plate over the next week and a half that I can't even begin to right a post on anything in particular. So revel in these random happenings of the past weekend and marvel at our upcoming schedule...
O.K. I will be the first to admit that I have crazy hair. I've always had crazy hair. I will continue to have crazy hair for the rest of my life. Unless I shave it off which I would never do because if it's crazy now...God only knows how it would grow back.
It's thick. It's coarse. Some parts are curly, some parts are straight. And overall, it's pretty unruly. I know that, which is why I'm pretty comfortable making fun of myself as far as my hair is concerned. I can't find any right now, but I'm sure that somewhere there are pictures of me when I had long hair and I would do my Cousin It impression...
I know I sounded like a Scrooge when I said I didn't like Christmas music. But after having choir practice tonight, I realize that there are some songs that I do really love to hear...just not a gabillion times over a 3 month span.
Have you ever heard a song on the radio that took you back to a time in your life that you never really think about until you hear the song?
I've got one. And those who know me (and even those who don't) might find it a strange choice for a song that conjures up good memories. It's Closer by Nine Inch Nails. I never really liked the lyrics, but the song was good to dance to at the "club" I used to go to a long, LONG time ago. I use the term "club" loosely because this wasn't your typical college campus, meat market, everybody knows about it type of place. To say this place was on the fringe would be putting it mildly.
If there was any color other than black that was worn in the place, it would be the electric blue of the lint that showed up on your black shirt as you walked under the black light at the door. Things were displayed at the bar that make me blush just thinking about it (hot candle wax anyone?), but I really liked the music. It was music you could dance to without the implication that you were only there to find a date. It was just a place to go and hang it with your friends...who were all dressed in black and laid claim to several different body piercings.
But anyway, one of the songs that was played quite regularly was Closer, and it makes me smile and start to dance in my seat a little bit whenever I hear it on the radio. It just brings back this feeling of youthfulness...memories of a time when being home by 1am was early and the only person you had to worry about was yourself and where you parked the car.
On Monday, Dave and I had a parent/teacher conference at Jake's preschool and one of the things we discussed with them were the pros and cons of all day Kindergarten. We decided we needed to visit the classroom before registration in March so we can weigh the full-day curriculum against the half-day's program. We then went out to lunch where we finalized our travel plans for Christmas so that we could make a stop in Indianapolis to visit the children's museum there. And on the way to pick up the kids from the bad spellers is when I heard Closer.
How can these two lives both belong to me????
