Blogging Versus Facebook

Once upon a time, I used to blog regularly. More or less. Then my friends all started jumping on the Facebook bandwagon. I eventually joined in the party. Which was fine for awhile. I was already well immersed in Twitter by then. But a funny thing happened along the way. The more time I spent on FB, the less I blogged. Pretty soon, it was only Wordless Wednesday images being posted. But then before long, that fell by the wayside, too. Then it was merely lamenting over the reality that I could barely manage a post or two in a month. IF that.

I've made it back to the blogosphere a couple of times. I've written a few posts. In a row, even. But I never quite get back to any sort of consistency there. Though I sure manage to scroll through update after update after update in my FB newsfeed.

Today I started looking at other blogs in my list over there on the right. One that I used to read (the second blog I frequented regularly ever) has gone private. So I removed her from the list. Another's blog is apparently gone. Which makes me a little sad. I liked what she wrote. I'm still connected with her via Instagram, FB, and Words With Friends. But still. Then I got to another blog which was always fun to read. Sometimes hilariously funny. She's still there. She's still blogging. And it made me very happy. I read her story about her father who passed away last year. Being that she's a very gifted story teller, it was a sweet and touching post. As if I were reading a novel. I really enjoyed it a lot. I also read about her son who is now 10. He was 6 when I first started reading her blog (I think). No, maybe he was 4. He wasn't in school yet, so it must've been 4 in the beginning and 6 later (cause that's how our chronological time works, no?).

And I think that's when it clicked. Facebook is like being at a big, huge party with lots and lots of people. Some you know from work, some from your childhood, some from church, some from your kids' school, and so on. You get to chat a little bit with a lot of people. Surface conversations. Good times for an extrovert (like me). But only for awhile. You don't really know anyone with those sound bites.

Blogging and reading other bloggers gives you more than 30 seconds to hear what's going in their lives and make a comment. You actually get to read more of their story. You get to know them much more than the jokes and articles they share. While I love the party, I'm really missing the move engaging venue of blogging. I've gone through my entire list blog friends and some are still there, some have left completely, and some blog only occasionally or haven't blogged in a couple of years. I've also found a couple of new blogs that I look forward to reading regularly. I know it won't be the same as it was. But I still want to go back. A little like going back to that small Nebraska town where we would visit my Grandma. Life was slower and calmer and different.

I've taken breaks from Facebook before, but I think the goal now is to minimize my time there. I don't see me leaving it entirely. At least not at this point. I'll pop into the party on occasion, I'm sure. But I'm eagerly anticipating my new adventures in blogging (again).

This is exciting to me, too. Another new beginning. My alium bulbs are sprouting and growing daily. And I can't post without a picture anyway.

920 is the new 1000

Yeah, that sounds a little odd. Apparently I didn't really pay attention to the numbers on this blog's dashboard a few months ago when I excitedly published my One Thousand blog post. One thousand was the number of posts I had written. The number published was actually 920.

Oops.

I guess I'll have to pay a little more attention to detail. Or something.

And since I can't seem to post without a picture, here's my Jeep.

I won't be posting another one thousand post, though, because that would be kind of silly. It's already been done. Just a little too early...eighty posts too early.

Oh well, it was still fun tracking down old posts to share. If you missed it, go check them out.

One Thousand

Holy moly! This is my one thousandth post. Who'd have thought back when I started blogging in September of 2006? Certainly not me. Of course, I'd have been here a lot sooner had I not neglected this blog so severely the past couple of years or so. But that's water under the bridge. Time for moving forward.

{randomly gratuitous photo}

I really came over here to continue my belated Dallas series (no, not the TV show - I never was a fan). But then I realized that this would be #1,000 and it seemed that I should at least acknowledge that. So what's happened in 1,000 posts over seven years? Well, here are a fewsome of my favorite posts. And because I apparently am not good at getting off the far ends of the over/under whelming spectrum, there are a bunch. Read a few. Read them all. But, please, read something. Those with asterisks are my favorite favs. Just in case you were wondering. Never mind that. I would have to asterisk all of them. Besides, 21 out of 1,000 is a pretty good culling, I'd say.

1. A little sisterly silliness from back in the day
2. My strangley inconsistent views of food expiration dates as they relate to garlic and guacamole
3. Thoughts about the little things in life
4. Hubby's Jeep
5. The phone call from my Dad about exploding eggs
6. My youngest niece dancing music at two and a half
7. The day I was brave enough to participate in the morning face challenge on my blog. Either that, or I wasn't awake yet.
8. No wonder I can never focus on anything for very long
9. The day my son wanted to put glue on the stairs
10. I seriously have a LOT OF HAIR
11. Yep, I still like listening to the Talking Heads while randomly meandering about
12. Trouble in Rivet City
13. As if my 13 year old son (at the time) really had any idea what old school meant
14. My interpretation of signs at the laundromat
15. Join Jenny and me on a trip to Crazy Tasty Town
16. The kid who wears shorts and sandals year round
17. More random silliness
18. The post in which I decide we need an extra month
19. My awesome manly man
20. Six Degrees of Fish
21. Lessons learned from a week of being psuedo-unplugged

Kudos to you if you got this far! Kudos to you if read any of these. And a big old thank you, from the bottom of my little bloggity heart.

Random Update

I almost titled this "February Update" since I haven't posted since January. But as soon as I do, I'll manage to post something else this month. Even though it's short. The month, that is.

So, Happy Valentine's Day. Ours was pretty much a bust. John woke up with a headache that just got worse as the day went on. Poor guy just spent the day in pain and mostly in bed. Sigh. I took the lazy way out and bought two heart-shaped pizzas from Papa Murphy's. Actually, my sister picked them up and dropped them off at my house (she was already going there and she had to bring something else over to my house, so it wasn't like I made her be my errand slave or something and I did pay for them). So the boys and I ate pepperoni pizza and had some red and pink Starburst jelly beans for dessert. And watched How It's Made. And Psych. Do we know how to party, or what? Well, party quietly, anyway.

Life is pretty low key right now. It's the slow season for John's business and the colder weather and little bit of snow make it even slower. So we have school, free time in the afternoon, and long, quiet evenings lately. I got some sewing done this past weekend. Made a tote bag and little zipper bag for me and the same for a friend. I also have some face cradle covers to make for my massage therapist.

I've purged a bunch of stuff out of my studio. It's amazing how much space there is in here. Although it still has too much stuff. I think I'm kind of on a purging binge. That doesn't sound right. On a decluttering jag. Maybe that's better? I love it, though. It's so freeing and wonderful to pass things along that I'm not using to someone who will appreciate them and put them to good use.

Wow. My life is seriously boring right now. Which is mostly okay. I'm really not looking for some major life events or anything. I've really enjoyed some of these long, quiet days at home. And it won't always be this way. But that's probably a big part of the lack of blogging. What do you write about when you don't really do much of anything? I need a repository for blog ideas, so I have something to fill in these gaps.

What I should be doing is getting organized. Getting rid of more things. Reading books. Scrapbooking. Working on business plans. There we go - instant to do list.

Well, Happy February! I'll be back one of these days.

Weekly Recap 2/5/12

I really miss the days of blogging. Writing posts, visiting others, and commenting. Even though it wasn't that long ago, I still look back at that time fondly. Every once in awhile, I take a look at my list of blogs I like to visit (over there on the right) and go check out a blog or two that I haven't been to in awhile. Tonight I popped over to catch up with Bev at Numbering the Days. She's the sister of the second blogger I ever followed when I entered the blogosphere. Anyway, I'm sort of rambling, aren't I (imagine that!)?

All that to say that I like the way Bev posts various recaps - monthly, weekly, etc. And I thought maybe I'd give that a whirl. Maybe it will get me blogging again, more than just once-a-week Wordless Wednesday posts.

So here's a peek at my past week:

I started (yet another) planner/organizer/idea notebook. In a purple Moleskine. Long story, but I'll post about it (with pix) probably this week. Lucy and I attended the monthly homeschool meeting. Not without a quick stop at Starbucks first. So I could take my Iced Venti Nonfat Chai to the meeting and promptly knock it off a table and dump half of it on the floor. Definite sad face moment.

I completed a proofreading/editing project for a dear friend. Can't wait for it to be published. It's a good one if you're a woman who'd like to learn a little more about the elusive Proverbs 31 woman.

I participated in an online moon photography class. There's a very talented photographer here named Paul who has recently begun live streaming some free photography classes. The week prior, it was a night photography class. Since there's a full moon coming up this Wednesday, he wanted to get the moon class out for people to be able to put their newfound skills to work. So hopefully I'll have some moon shots up this week, too.

This is not from the class or this week, but last May. I just felt a picture was necessary here.


I had dinner with one of my dearest friends, Nan (we've known each other over half our lives now - we met as sophomores in high school). Mexican, of course. Because it's what she and I always have when we eat out together. Always good conversation and good food.

Friday we woke up to snow. And it continued to snow for a good portion of the day. Well, in parts of town anyway. Some parts of the state got loads more than we did. But I'm glad we got anything. We sure need the moisture.



Spent some time at Starbucks with my mom and Lucy in the afternoon. And some more time visiting at Lucy's house and introducing her to Choco Tacos. I mean, how can you go through life without having experienced a Choco Taco?

Today was pretty busy, but fun. Our nieces were over this morning. We had lunch with and visited John's mom. I picked up one son who'd spent the night at a friend's. John dropped off the other son at his writer's group. I worked on some school plans while at home. We headed over to my sister's home to eat pizza and watch the Super Bowl. John picked up the son at writer's group. And we came home and watched Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Or at least what was left of it.

My oldest niece and me


And of course, there was the toe incident on Wednesday. Goodness.

Thanks to the fact that I have not been getting to bed on time (yeah, big surprise, right?), I'm going to hit the publish button on this and go to bed. Early...er than usual. Perhaps I could start a much-needed trend for myself.

On a happy note, I find that just recapping my week already gave me a few things to potentially blog about this week. Hmmm...this could be the start of a good thing.

What did you do this past week? Anything exciting? Anything mediocre? Tell me about it in the comments.

It's Monday

...so I will just write some random stuff. Because I haven't done that in a long while. And I don't have any particular thing to write about tonight, but don't want to neglect my blog.

Vital Records and Such
The Comedian is ready to get his driver's permit, so I went to pull his Very Important Documents (birth certificate and SS card) out, only to discover that they're missing. UGH. So I go online and do a little research to find out what I need to get replacements. It turns out that a birth certificate is pretty simple. Fill out the form, have a picture ID (mine, since he's a minor and I'm requesting it), and hand over seventeen dollars and seventy-five cents. The very nice lady will go to her desk and do her magic and the printer will happily spit out a birth certificate. Easy peasy.

So it's onto the Social Security Administration where the sign isn't very readable that tells you to go the computer to have a number ticket for your turn. But the waiting area was quite comfortable and pleasant, with plenty of seating. They were on #119. We were given #161. Sigh. Going on a Monday was probably not the best option, but I had free time.

The Comedian thought we should try another time and not stick it out. I objected. Being the mom and the holder of the car keys, I won. He wasn't terribly happy about it, but I took the opportunity to explain that there are times in life when you just have to wait in a line or wait for a long time for something. It's not pleasant, but it's just the way life rolls.

Nearly an hour later, we walked out . . . failing completely to have the SS card ordered. It turns out that once 9/11 happened, everything became much more difficult to accomplish when it comes to important government documents. I have a birth certificate. I have the form filled out, completely with my son's SSN, DOB, and hubby's and my pertinent info. I have my ID. But apparently, that's not enough. They can't just look up his SSN on their computers, look at the info I've provided, and accept my request for a replacement card.

Mmmm....Fiber One 90 calorie brownie bars look very good.

Sorry about that. Sad, isn't it? A commercial in a blog post. Ha! Ha! I'm sometimes distracted.

So the nice man at the SSA office went down the list of other documents which would validate my son for the government.

School ID: We homeschool. They won't accept the ID that I provide.

Passport: Nope. He hasn't been out of the country.

Permit/License: Um, no. That's why I'm in need of his social security card.

Military ID: No. We're not military.

Doctor's Records (within the last 2 years): My son's quite healthy and hasn't been to the doctor in the past two years. No records that recent.

Somewhere around this time, my son remembers that he's been to the chiropractor this year. Would records from her office work? Yes, as long as it has his name and birth date on it. Very much unlike the birth certificate that has his name and birth date on it. Whatever. At least the kind man says that will work.

So, it's off to get another document later this week so that we can go back and repeat the process, hopefully with a better outcome.

ClayGuy's Latest Venture
My other son is busily creating a new claymation story. Instead of a quick little 30 second effort with a few clay figures, four rolls of film, a camera on a tripod, and Mom, he and a friend are diligently working on a storyline. He has another friend helping create the set. And yet another friend will help with the video. I'm excited to see how this will turn out.

instagram
I've been having some fun with instagram. While I often have a camera on me, it's so handy and easy to whip out the cell phone and shoot something. Since it comes with filters, it's super simple to add one and upload it wherever you want - Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, etc. You can check out my images at instagrid. You'll probably see a more quirky side of me there.



I think I've run out of stuff. Either that, or it's bedtime.

I believe it's the latter.

G'night.

Monday on Friday

This week began with me in overwhelmed mode. Something I've learned, though, is that if I continually recount the enormous list of things I need to do, I make myself feel worse. So the first thing here is to smack myself upside the head and knock it off. Secondly, if there's that much going on, it's probably a good idea to do a big old brain dump. Grab a notebook and write down everything whirling around in my mind. You know, before it floats away from my colander brain. Once those things are on paper, they're far more manageable.



Ahhh . . . so much better.

Before I could begin my list, however, my dad showed up with some shoes that Mom was getting rid of, so I could take a look and see if I wanted any of them. Well, of course I did! My mom is the only reason I ever have any cool shoes. Her hand-me-downs are the best!

My particular favorite pair in this batch? The red shoes. Are those just the most fun or what? I promptly wore them for the rest of the day and every single time I looked at my feet, it put a big old smile on my face! Who knew that happy red shoes could diminish one's feeling of overwhelmedness?

Not only did I get new shoes, but he was on his way to the thrift store and took my four bags of donations with him. I definitely got the good end of that deal!

I even had to share them instagr.am and Facebook.




We also made a quick Starbucks run so the Comedian could use his gift card. They were a little slammed, so I had to play some more with instagr.am while in line. Like taking totally blown-out pix of myself from the afternoon sun.


This was also the same day that John's truck broke down. Even though it's never a fun thing, it could've been so much worse. Fortunately, he was in town and only a block away from his last customer's house. He also knows a lot of people, including someone with a towing company, so we got a killer deal on the tow. Yes, we have towing on our insurance, so we'll get reimbursed. But still. The weather was decent, which is always an iffy proposition in Colorado in early April. He waited for the tow truck driver, then went to do the job, and I greeted his truck when it arrived home without him. Then I headed across town to pick him up when he was done. John's Snap-On guy brought him a tester Tuesday morning, so he was able to determine that it was the fuel pump, bought a new one, installed it, and was back on the road by lunch time. It is a wonderful thing to be married to such a handy man!

I was going to post about my entire week, but by the time I finished with Monday, it seemed that it might be a good idea to just stop here. Goodness. What a day. But thanks to my new red shoes, I got through it with a happy face.

Work In Progress

Yes, I know. Nothing matches now. But as is ever the case, I get bored with my blog design and feel the need to change it. It's time to go to bed, so that's all I've done this evening. It may not even stay like this. Or it might. Who knows. Since I only seem to post on Wednesdays, it may not even be seen by anyone before it's completed.

G'night.

Hot, Hot, Hot: the Story

Growing up, we always had a gas stove. Over the years, I've had a few electric stoves and some gas. But I really prefer a gas stove. Maybe it's because it's what I'm used to, I don't know. But one significant factor for me is that I like seeing the flame, not wondering which burner is on. Say what you want, but even after over two years with this lovely stove, I still manage to turn on the wrong burner. A couple of weeks ago, I nearly destroyed an empty non-stick skillet sitting on the back burner (covered), while wondering why my water wasn't boiling on the front burner.

And then there's always that issue of how long the burner remains warm after you've removed the pan. Yes, I know there's a light on the back of the stove that reminds me that the top is hot. I also know that there's a little drawing next to the burner knobs that tell me which burner the knob will operate. Apparently I have some sort of stove instruction impairment, I guess. But there isn't a gas line piped to my kitchen. So maybe I'll learn how to better live with electricity.

What about you? Do you prefer an electric or gas stove?

Stop Sign

Look what we got last week. A brand new stop sign.

I have no idea why it was replaced. The old one was perfectly fine. It handled the traffic out of our 6-house cul-de-sac quite well. It had no graffiti, no sand blasting, no missing pieces, and no gunshot holes.

I'm curious to know what this entire effort cost the taxpayers of this city. Were the stop signs in other cul-de-sacs also replaced? There are a lot of them in the neighborhood. Were those in a state of disrepair? Ours certainly wasn't. Even more interesting is the fact that our city, like many I'm sure, have been faced with a lack of revenue in recent years, and have had to make numerous cuts in city services. Yet for some reason, they're replacing signs unnecessarily. I can certainly think of some better places to have spent those funds.

I'm Still Here & a Tulip

Nope, I haven't fallen off the planet - I've just been very busy with a project. I'll be sharing more about what's going on later this weekend. I will, however, leave you with photos of my very first tulip. It's a beautiful yellow with pink streaks and I'm so excited that a tulip appeared in my garden this year. Especially because I didn't have any there last year.

Maintenance

I'm so tired of living in Camp Procrastination. What is it about maintaining that is so simple yet so hard?

If I load the dishwasher each night after dinner, I can use the delay set so that it runs during the night while we're all sleeping peacefully. In the morning, voila! We have clean dishes. My son puts away the clean dishes and we are ready to receive the dirty dishes of a new day.

My husband completes approximately 5-6 ROs (repair orders) per day in his business. It takes no more than 15-20 minutes - at the most - to enter those into QuickBooks per week. Add on the handful of receipts for parts and supplies that he purchases, and his books can be maintained in no more than an hour per week.

Homeschool records require a little more time on my part this year. Entering their completed work and time, jotting down some thoughts in the journal, and printing the next day's sheets (I use Homeschool Tracker) takes about 30 minutes per day. Planning a week's worth of assignments? About an hour (plus) on the weekend.

But what happens when I don't enter this week's ROs? Or I don't update the homeschool records today? Or tomorrow? Or this month? It multiplies and grows exponentially, becoming an enormous burden, which continually taps me on the shoulder. I am aware of this phenomenon. I am also acutely aware of the simplicity of maintaining something. I'm not an entirely unintelligent woman. Although my actions may prove me otherwise.

main⋅tain –verb (used with object)

1. to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain: to maintain good relations with neighboring countries


2. to keep in an appropriate condition, operation, or force; keep unimpaired: to maintain order; to maintain public highways


3. to keep in a specified state, position, etc.: to maintain a correct posture; to maintain good health


4. to affirm; assert; declare: He maintained that the country was going downhill


5. to provide for the upkeep or support of; carry the expenses of: to maintain a family


6. to sustain or support: not enough water to maintain life

Origin:
1200–50; ME mainteinen < OF maintenir ≪ ML manūtenēre, L manū tenēre lit., to hold in hand, equiv. to manū, abl. of manus hand (see manual ) + tenēre to hold (see tenet )


So here I begin a new week, with a stack of paperwork and administrative responsibilities that makes me want to shirk, run away, and hide. Preferably on a sunny beach. With a good book. My challenge is to tackle this monster, piece by piece, day by day. I want to see at least some progress each day. Yes, we have homeschool. Yes, I have appointments and plans. But it's time to deal with this issue. And who knows? Perhaps one day, I'll move from Camp Procrastination to Camp Maintaining.

And there will be much rejoicing.

Unplugged Friday

Some days, you just need to unplug. For me, that pretty much means from the computer. No particular reason. It's just a very low-key, mellow Friday and if I don't unplug myself, I'll likely be absorbed here all day. So I'm taking this time to say "Later, interwebby peeps!" Have a gloriously blessed Friday!

Do something fun.
Blow bubbles.
Skip.
Read Calvin & Hobbes.
Lay in the grass.
Notice little things. Like water droplets on leaves.
Watch a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
Laugh.
Enjoy.

Little of This and Some of That

Today is Day 19 of the 40 Days of Water Challenge. Tomorrow marks the half-way point. In the beginning, I did very well drinking only water. Part way through, I waffled a bit. Yes, I found some excuses loopholes through which I stepped. But I am still drinking MUCH more water than ever. I need to update my little ticker up there, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to hit $100 by the end of 40 days.

Both my massage therapist and chiropractor could tell a HUGE difference in my body because of the water. They've always encouraged me to drink more. And they always knew that my veins were pumping with Dr Pepper. I know, I know, water is a good and necessary thing. Even though I doubt I'll give up the DP and chai lattes for good, I intend to keep up with "much more water." It's cheaper, healthier, and just all around better.

Yesterday, I won a Wacom Bamboo from the awesome folks at Play With Pictures!! It's a pen tablet that you use with your computer (click the link for more info). I've wanted one of these for quite some time now, so I'm super excited about that. The timing could not have been better. The Comedian just turned 14 and got a digital camera for his birthday. He loves taking pictures (hmm...I wonder where he got that from?). Last week, I ordered a unit study on digital photography. As soon as that arrives, we'll incorporate that into our school days. I figure ClayGuy can use my point & shoot and we can have some fun, fun, fun.

Oh, so back to the Bamboo. My sweet friend, Dawn, turned me onto this crazy fun program called Play With Pictures. It's a simple way to do wild things like this:

You can even download a free trial copy for 15 days to check it out and see what you think (It's inexpensive if you decide to purchase because you love it so much. Which you will.). I know, you're probably saying, "Don't you already have Photoshop CS3?" Yes, I do. But this is just a super quick and easy way to truly play with your pictures. You don't have to know all the ins & outs of PS or anything highly technical. Just jump in and have some crazy fun. Well, the PWP people are having all kinds of fun contests. They've already given away a digital camera, IPods, the Bamboo tablet, and now they have two IPhones up for grabs in the Gadget Givewaway. If you'd like to enter, head on over to their blog for more details. Oh, and be sure to click on the link to Dawn's site and see her fun and creative designs with PWP.

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog post for a PSA.

The Department of Redundancy Department really appreciates it when you continually use one word over and over and over and over and over without ever bothering to pick up or look up a thesaurus for something else. Therefore, the Department of Redundancy Department is very proud of this blog for using the word "fun" a total of seven times, yes, that's SEVEN, in the section.

Thank you for your time. We now return you to your blog post already in progress.

Speaking of photos, I'm still keeping up with my Project 365 - at least on the shooting side of things. The uploading and posting . . . well, I'm slacking a bit there. I'm in the midst of a bit of busy chaos (not to be confused with unbusy chaos?) right now, but I should be back on track shortly (famous last words. well, not really. here are more words. and a few more.)

Speaking of last words, we got a new game the other day which is "an uproarious way to have the final say!" (notice I didn't say it's fun) Guess what it's called? LAST WORDS. If you're a word person and can think on your feet (or quickly while sitting), this is a game for you. I picked this one up at Target, but I'm sure it's available at many other places. It's put out by Buffalo Games, those quirky people who create and sell all kinds of fun enjoyable and entertaining games.

Well, it's nearly Friday. Go forth and enjoy your weekend. Play a game. Shoot a picture. Play with pictures. Do something, er, FUN!!

Monday Miscellany

Brilliant title, isn't it? My astounding creativity just never fails to deliver.

Hubby is off today and tomorrow. Plus we didn't have any big plans over the weekend, so it's been nice having him home for a four day weekend. For me, Saturday and Sunday included going through the rest of my boxes of kitchen stuff. Although that also meant that I had to entirely reorganize my kitchen. It seems that when we first moved here (5 months ago), I just put some things away and that worked out fine. Except that there were at least a dozen boxes and totes in the garage -- with all the rest of my kitchen.

While it's not 100% done, it's about 90%, which is a huge relief. I actually have access to things I haven't seen in some time. I can grind wheat again. I can keep my tortillas warm. I can have a small glass of something to drink. And other such goodness.

Although there is this one shelf. The Shelf of Indecision. Sigh. That real estate could certainly be put to better use. But that would require me to make hard decisions. Which I will do. Eventually. It's partly motivation and frame of mind, though. When I'm in a hardcore get-rid-of-ALL-excess, it's much easier. Seems I'm a little soft right now. Here's the partial rundown:

1. My cobalt blue glasses. I love these glasses. I have 5 glasses and 3 stems. They're nothing fancy, but I've always loved them. However, if they live in my kitchen cupboard, I am the only one who uses them. And not all the time. Occasionally someone else comes to visit and uses one. But I can't bring myself to take up space in my very minimal kitchen cupboards to keep them there. Yet I really hate storing things that aren't used. Unless it's like my baby blanket, teddy bear, or high school yearbook. That's different. So. There they are.

2. These are the most fun Halloween mugs that my mom bought for the boys. They really love them, too. Although they have to be hand-washed. Which does detract from the fun factor. But they're cool and they're a gift and they're loved and they're big. Haven't decided if I'm willing to give up minimal cupboard space for them. I suspect the boys would be crushed if they went away.

3. The three mugs across the front were painted by the boys & me at a paint-it-yourself ceramics joint. August 18, 2003. Last day before school started that year. It's funny because when you look at each mug, you can see the personality of the artist. For many years, I used that mug every day for my iced chai latte at breakfast. Again, hand-wash.

4. This would be the tool caddy that I used for a long time. Until I got a Pampered Chef Tool Turn About. Which holds more and is more convenient. Although it does occupy more counter top space than the red caddy. And the red caddy totally goes with my kitchen when I have the whole red and white cherry thing going on. I haven't gotten there yet. I'm thinking maybe I could repurpose it (apologies to Antique Mommy . . . well, and me).

5. Vases. Three of them, to be precise. A big one for a lovely bouquet of flowers. From the garden or the store, it really doesn't matter. A medium vase for a small 2-3 flower bouquet. And a bud vase. I don't have flowers all that often. But if I don't have the vases, will I wish I did? Or would I just find something else to suffice? Good question that remains unanswered.

~~~~~~~~~

Sunday afternoon, I went over to hang out with Mom for awhile so Dad could run some errands. She just came home on Friday after a stint at the hospital with knee replacement surgery. We played some Scrabble and watched part of a movie. So that was fun. We'd been Scrabble-less for far too long. I won the first game and she won the second. I also got to photograph her tulips. Many times over.

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That brings me to today. Now that the kitchen is 90% addressed, it's time to move on to the studio. Whenever I say studio, I think of Sussudio by Phil Collins. It's just how my brain works, what can I say? Taking a ride down my musical journey each day can be rather interesting. Anyway. We return to the randomness already in progress.

My awesome friend, the Gremlin Wrangler and her fam are coming for a visit next month. We'll be having a serious slumber party (Does that sound like an oxymoron to you? Maybe it's just me.) with 10 people in our house, which will be, like, total coolness. But I'm guessing that Carrie & Charlie would prefer sleeping in a room with actual floor space (there won't be much), and not sleeping on boxes. So I'm working like crazy to purge out some excess stuff. It's amazing the amount of accoutrement one can acquire when one has been rubber stamping and scrapbooking for thirteen years or so. Maybe not so much amazing as overwhelming. Once again, time to make the hard decisions and seriously pass on some stuff. That also brings me to a goal that I'm not doing very well with this year. USE WHAT I HAVE. Stop buying new supplies. It's different if there's something very specific I need for a layout, but I really have to start working on using what I already own. It's a good thing, I tell ya'.

I've made some pretty decent headway in here. Sussudio. Is it just me, or is that a very silly name for a song? Although I am noticing that it will probably be a little cozier for Mr & Mrs Wrangler than I first thought. Shhh. Don't tell her. Once she's here, she can't change her mind.

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I should really learn to break all this randomness into multiple posts. Somehow neither my brain nor my life work that way, though. That would look something like . . . oh, I don't know . . . BALANCE. That ever elusive concept that dares not to grace my doorstep.

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Speaking of scrapbooking (well, I was. awhile ago.), Lucy & I have been getting together every Friday and having ourselves some cropping fun. We made it to a crop at a local store one night and otherwise, have been working at our dining room tables. We used to crop regularly, but haven't done so in a few years. So it's been a good time, a time of accomplishment, and the kids love it, cause they all get to hang out together and play.

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Well, I guess that's it. For now. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

A Routine Life

I feel like I hardly post anything except photos these days. Well, not that I just feel that way, that's the way it is. However, I don't seem to be doing anything of interest lately. Not that my life is bad, it's just fairly routine.

We're getting back in the groove of homeschool after the holidays, so that occupies a good part of my day. I still need to better implement a couple of subjects, but we're getting there. At least the basics have become routine now. The boys do so much better when we have the structure of school in our days.

During times of independent study, I clean the kitchen, work on dinner and laundry, and pop online occasionally. We're usually done with school anywhere from 2:00 - 3:30 in the afternoon. That leaves a little time for further household chores, online surfing, or errands on most days. At least once a week we get together with some friends as well.

Most nights we're home. We usually just chill out in the family room together. I've been spending my free time in photography books, attempting to improve my skills. Although you can only read so much before you really need to get out and put it into practice. But I haven't done so much of that. I decided to get on the Project 365 bandwagon this year and that's coming along well. Head over to Photo Bunny to see the 31 days of progress.

Before I know it, it's bedtime. Fill up the dishwasher, shut down the laptop, and it's off to bed.

Thursday afternoon and today I made quite a bit of progress in the guest room/studio. I'm looking forward to getting that taken care of, for a number of reasons. First, I want to be able to scrapbook again - it's been too long since I have. Second, I have a dedicated place to work on grading papers and making plans for school. Third, the Gremlin Wrangler and her man will be sleeping there when they come to visit in a couple of months. I'm really looking forward to #3. A lot. I'm expecting a significant amount of hilarity.

We did get out for some letterboxing last week on our 70 degree day. In January. I love it. A nice summer day in the middle of winter. The leaves above are from that day. I suppose I could actually post that - our one activity this month. LOL!!

I guess that's about it. My life in a nutshell. Or in a blog post. While routines can sometimes be boring, I'm okay with it right now. There's always plenty to do at this point in life, but not always great blog material.

Thanks for hanging in with me, if you're still here. I'll try to get back to some regular posting. Have a great weekend!