Adrian's Crazy Life

Contest - Win a $90 iPosture System

2009-07-24T22:39:00.000-06:00

Hi all,

I have a great new gadget I've discovered. It's called an iPosture device. This is the coolest thing. It helps you correct your posture - automatically. It's a special computerized sensor you wear that detects when you are slouching and gives you a little reminder to stand up straight.

Here's how it works. It's a little sensor about the size of a quarter. You wear it on your upper body, either clipped onto your bra strap, on a necklace, or stuck to your chest with a little adhesive patch they give you. Then you stand up straight. When you find the posture that you like, you push on the sensor to activate it. Then whenever you deviate from that posture for more than one minute, the sensor vibrates slightly. That's it.

They sent me one to try and I've been wearing it all week. It's great. It's small and white and you can't see it under your clothes. The vibration warning is very slight, just barely enough that you notice it. In the beginning, they say to wear it for just a few hours until you get used to it, but I've been wearing it all day. I was a little worried that it might make my back sore to change my posture drastically, but it hasn't bothered me a bit.

Here are some interesting facts about your posture. Women with good posture are viewed as more attractive. Men with good posture are viewed as more successful. It helps women be less prone to osteoporosis as they age. And even better, your waist size is reduced by an average of 2 inches! That's better than a diet pill.

I was so excited to get this unit because I've always had terrible posture - really bad posture. I inherited it from my Dad - thanks Dad! I've tried the special bras, the posture harnesses, anything I could think of to get me in the habit of standing up straight, but I could never tolerate them for more than a day or so, because they were so darn bulky and uncomfortable. And no matter what I did, you could always see them under my clothes.

This sensor has been completely unobtrusive. I don't even notice it unless it vibrates, or once in a while I will forget and flip my purse over my shoulder and it will buzz a little. I haven't worn it as a necklace, but I've been experimenting with different ways to wear it. I've worn it on my bra strap - both high on the shoulder and down lower near the cup. The last couple of days, I've been wearing it with the adhesive, stuck up near my collarbone. That seems to get the best response and the adhesive is fine. It holds securely, but doesn't leave a sticky residue on my skin.

The people at iPosture were really great. They not only sent me one to keep, they sent me one to give away too. And you might the lucky one to win it. The package includes the iPosture unit, which normally retails for $79.95. (I did notice that it was on sale for $64.95 this week, so if you don't win one, this might be a good time to buy one!) Pop over to the website at iPosture.com. Plus, they have included this bonus item - a book called "Young, Sexy, and Healthy" written by the designers of the iPosture system. It's got all sorts of yoga and Pilates-type exercises that are specifically designed to improve your posture. Plus it includes all the accessories for the iPosture unit - extra batteries, a bra clip, a couple of sheets of the little sticky thingies, plus the book.

So, how do you win this little puppy? Well, all the usual things. The iPosture people have been really nice to me and I'd like to give them a little lovin'. So, you get one entry for each of the following things.

1. Leave me a comment about why you think you would like to have an iPosture unit.
2. Add yourself as a Follower to my blog (if you're already a Follower, let me know).
3. Tweet about it or do a Facebook update (include a link in your comment).
4. Post about it on your blog - a "real" post, not just a "go over here and win this thing"-type post. Worth 2 entries because this one is a bit more effort.

The contest will run until July 24th and it will be featured on the SITS Saturday Shoutout - hey SITSas! If you're coming to the SITScation event with me, leave a comment and I'll give you an extra entry!

By TwitterButtons.com

My Strange, Solitary Weekend

2009-07-12T20:25:00.002-06:00

I have had the most unusual weekend. Blake is off to Scout Camp for a week, Tony has been out of town for almost a week for a family emergency - his favorite aunt took a bad turn and we thought we were going to lose her, fortunately, it seems like she will recover. Matt, as usual has been working until the wee early hours of the morning. So that has left me on my own for most of the weekend.

The first night, I was kind of excited. It's pretty rare that I ever have the house all to myself and it's kind of a treat to be able to go to bed and get up when I want, eat when I want, eat what I want, and have full control of the remote control. Plus the quiet was kind of nice. Not only do my guys talk non-stop, especially Blake, but they always have something electronic on - TV, video games, computer, electric guitars, something is making noise around here just about 24 X 7. The chance to sit and read a book, or just listen to music with nothing else going on, is a real treat.

But it's also lonesome, I discovered. Fortunately, I've been able to do stuff with Matt during the day. We went to the Scottish games yesterday and had lunch and a movie today (go see UP!, it's so cute!). But in the evenings, it's just me 'n the cats. And all that quiet just starts to close in on you.

I start wondering if this is what it would be like if I ever got divorced. I've been married for 25 years, and I lived with my Mom for the 24 years before that, so I've never lived by myself - ever. Maybe the odd weekend or two, like this, or some time alone on a business trip or something, but I really can't imagine living alone for any period of time. It's really boring!

I think it would be really hard if I were ever divorced. Neither one of us has any family to speak of. Our parents and grandparents are all gone and both of our sisters live quite a ways away, and we aren't very close to them. Other than a few aunts, uncles and cousins scattered around the country, we don't have any family and not a lot of friends. We have some couples from church that we hang out with sometimes, but I hear it's a little strange when you have couples and singles together, so I don't know how that would pan out. Seems like I'd be spending a lot of time alone, or just with the kids.

You think about all the practical things - how would I get the lawn mowed or the snow taken care of, how would I get Blake to and from school - since schools never have hours that mesh with any normal working schedule. Would I keep the house? If I didn't, what the heck would I do with a six bedroom house worth of STUFF? Not to mention how I would manage the bills on one income and one kid's worth of child support? That doesn't even bear thinking about.

Makes you feel like being really nice to your husband, that's for sure. I like being married. I know how to do married. My husband drives me nuts sometimes, but he's really a pretty good guy. I don't think I'd know how to do single after all these years. Could you imagine dating someone at this stage? I've seen some of the guys my age and I rarely see one of them that I'd be interested in dating. Not to mention that my hefty little self is not exactly prime dating material to begin with.

Years ago, one of my male co-workers gave me a bit of great advice. I was complaining about my husband for some reason and he said "You know, we're all the same. We're all a big, fat, hairy mess. You just need to pick a set of faults you can live with". That's actually pretty good advice. We've all got faults, but there are ones you can overlook and there's ones you can't and it's not like every new person comes with a list of them, so you can know what you're getting right off the bat. At least after all these years, I know that the package of faults I've got is one I can live with.

Does all this have a point? No, I don't think so. I'm just bored and lonely, so I'm blogging. But I am definitely staying married for the time being. It can be stressful and frustrating sometimes, but at least it isn't ever boring!

By TwitterButtons.com

Breaking Up with Food?

2009-07-08T23:23:00.000-06:00

I read somewhere about this lady who said she had "broken up" with cheese and had lost about 30 pounds. I guess that has stuck right in my little brain. I mean really, how do you "break up" with food? Do you send it a "Dear John" letter? Do you give back the ring (made out of swiss cheese holes, of course!) Just have the talk with it?

I think I must be a polygamist. Makes sense, that stuff is pretty popular here in Utah. I'd have to break up with both carbs and cheese to get anywhere. And then I'd probably starve to death. 'Cuz cheese and carbs are about all I eat. Well, except for fats and sugars. (Note to self - stop wondering why you keep gaining weight.) Well, I guess starving to death is kind of the point, isn't it?

I know you're supposed eat fruits and veggies and all these whole grains and stuff, but how exactly do you do that? I mean, do they make Veggie Helper? Do they have Stouffer's fruit plate with whole grains? Does Rice-a-roni come in Salmon flavor? Keep in mind that I was raised on TV Dinners - Banquet TV dinners, the real cheap kind. That's how my Mom did the grocery shopping, she bought a big stack of TV dinners and stacked them up in the freezer. I'm not quite that bad, but I definitely didn't pick up the cooking gene.

If it takes more than 10 minutes and two ingredients to prepare, I'm baffled. Not to mention that my family will not eat anything with onions, tomatoes, or any vegetables other than corn and green beans - especially mushrooms. Well, Blake will eat brocoli and cauliflower on occasion and I've can get Tony to eat zuchini a couple of times a year, but that's about the extent of it. You try cooking healthy meals like that!

Anyway, I've got to go. I've got a couple of Dear John letters to write. At least until I can fit back into my favorite pair of pants!

By TwitterButtons.com

Pics from Evanston

2009-07-07T23:53:00.003-06:00

Here are pics of some of the wildlife we found in Evanston - the non-alcoholic kind anyway! We did a lot of wandering around Bear River State Park and these are some of the cute critters we found.

Here are some of the other cute critters we found. I don't know what it is about Matt, but whenever he is in a good mood, he feels the need to wrestle with his brother. So he must have been in a pretty good mood ALL weekend!

Blake and climbing walls. I swear that boy is part monkey! You show him a climbing wall and he goes up it just like a little spider - again and again and again. Thank heavens for wristbands!

Here's the basket I won at the Bingo game. Lots of great lotions and shampoos 'n stuff. Just what I wanted.

This guy was the entertainment - Eric Dodge. He was great - kind of Garth Brooksy. We ended up getting one of his CD's because we liked him so much. It's actually a weird coincidence. Do you know who Flylady is? You probably do because she's about the most famous personal development and housekeeping coach in the whole US. (If you don't know who she is - pop over to Flylady.com and find out.) Anyway, this guy does most of her music. Yes, she has music now. She makes these great CD's to clean with. And I guess it features some of his music. He really is good - he has a song he did about his grandpa that reminded me so much about Tony's Uncle Joe. He and his wife have been like grandparents to both of us and he was a great old guy. You ought to pop over to Eric's blog and check him out - EricDodge.com.

By TwitterButtons.com

Unsafe and Insane Fireworks!

2009-07-05T13:58:00.003-06:00

Wow, we just got back from a little weekend trip into Wyoming and we had the BEST time! I think this is going to be a long-standing tradition for our family.

For those of you who don't live in the Western states, the fireworks laws vary considerably from state to state. Here in Utah, we are only allowed the "safe and sane" varity, while right across the border in Wyoming, it's pretty much an "anything goes" situation. A lot of people just slip across the border (about an hour's drive or so), buy their fireworks and then haul them back to Utah. There are two problems with this - one is that there are Highway Patrol troopers waiting right on the highway to nab people bringing back fireworks. Also, when you set them off you can be caught and fined for that. So to me, it makes a lot more sense to just buy them and set them off in Wyoming where it is perfectly legal.

Now Evanston is the first town you come to across the border and it's a cute little town with about 3 main streets, a whole street full of bars and hokey little restaurants, and a delightful little rodeo. They also have a big 4th of July bash at the local park, complete with bouncy things for the kids, bingo and a dutch oven cookoff in the evening. Just the sort of small town stuff we really enjoy.

Plus there are the fireworks! Not only do you get to DO all the fancy fireworks, but you get to SEE everyone else's and it results in about the best fireworks show we've ever seen. Just as soon as it gets dark, there are the most fabulous fireworks going off in every direction and it goes on until nearly midnight. If you get in just the right spot, you can see the professional and the amateur fireworks all around you. I do love a good fireworks show, so I was in heaven.

Then we went to find a place to set off our own fireworks. We found a parking lot outside a baseball field that had the most amazing scene. There had to have been 50 families all crowded into this parking lot and they were setting off every type of fireworks you ever imagined. It was CRAZY and beyond CRAZY. I'll bet that there were $20,000 worth of fireworks being set off in that one park alone. I'm not kidding you. It was dangerous as hell and we ended up with a couple of minor injuries to show for it. Blake caught a spark on his forehead and got a tiny burn, I had a bottle rocket flick by my ear and had a firecracker smack me on the back of the leg, but nothing major. Tony and Matt got multiple flicks from firecrackers, but fortunately, they both had long pants on so they were OK.

The guys next to us were a couple of big Hawaiian guys and they kept giving us fireworks - roman candles, strings of firecrackers, bottle rockets, M80's, just all sorts of stuff. Blake and Matt thought they had died and gone to heaven. In our neighborhood, the 4th is generally pretty quiet and dull. Each family goes out and does their little fireworks thing - about $30-$40 worth of fountains and ground bloom flowers, maybe a few sparklers for the kids, and that's about it. This wasn't even close. The Hawaiian guys were doing bottle rockets right out of their hands, and there was an eight year old kid on the other side of us setting off a fusillade of bottle rockets and roman candles every few minutes. The sights and the sounds were just dazzling. But it was like being in a war zone. You had to be constantly on the lookout because a firework might go astray and end up coming right at you from any direction. We saw one group lay down a 30 foot roll of linked firecrackers that went on for about 10 minutes. Makes you want to buy stock in a fireworks factory!

Besides all the fireworks, we had a wonderful time. We stayed in a nice little motel on the main drag. It was about a block away from the Bear River Parkway, so we went over there for a little mini hike every day and saw all sorts of wildlife - lots of squirrels and cottontails, a couple of elk, a snake (that scared Blake to death even though it was a little garter snake), half a dozen bison, and some very pretty birds. It was very nice and peaceful. I've got some good pictures, but I'll have to wait until Tony gets them downloaded from that fancy camera of his.

Now the boys want to move to Evanston. They are fascinated by the thought of life in a small town - so are we. Salt Lake actually IS a small town to us. Tony and I both grew up in Orange County, so we can't even imagine living in a sleepy little small town like Evanston. I'd do it too, if I could figure out how we'd earn a living there. But for now, I think we'll just have to content ourselves with brief annual visits.

By TwitterButtons.com

Teach Your Child to Read!

2009-07-02T10:25:00.000-06:00

Blast from the Past

I haven't posted anything in a few days and I feel bad, but honestly, I am SO tired tonight. So I'm going to do the lazy thing and post one of my oldey-moldeys. Hope you enjoy this. I think it's some good info.

I'm a big fan of early childhood learning and fortunately, so is my daughter-in-law. I send her all the flash cards and educational materials that Blake has outgrown and she uses them for my grandchildren. Recently, she told me that Noah, my three-year-old grandson has started to read simple words and count well, which I think is delightful!

Young children are so eager to learn and they just lap it up when you can find a way to teach things in a fun and interesting way for them. Blake had some delays when he was starting out - he didn't speak well in his toddler years and had some coordination issues. I attended a week-long program in Philadelphia at the Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential. It's a fabulous place and they are near-miracle workers with children of all levels - from severely handicapped to near geniuses. Here is their website http://www.iahp.org/

When I came back, I started to teach Blake to read, do simple math, and a whole host of other things and he just ate it up. By the time he was four and a half, he was reading quite well and his speech had improved greatly. He also knew all of his states, presidents, Spanish words, and a whole ton of other things. If you are interested in early childhood learning, check out some of the IAHP books - look on Amazon under Glenn or Janet Doman. I always thought you had to be a stay at home Mom or a homeschooling Mom to be able to teach your kids stuff, but I soon discovered that there are a whole ton of things you can teach your child using just a few minutes consistently every day during your regular routine. We had Spanish tapes from the library in the car, maps and reading words all over the walls, flash cards in my purse at the doctor's office or the post office, educational videos to watch. You can sneak learning in all over the place if you're willing to try.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share with you this little article I wrote a while back for a mother's magazine. It's pretty cool stuff and it works like gangbusters. And it's a great way to prepare your child for school. Early elementary teachers are so pressed for time, it's hard for them to give much attention to a child who is struggling with reading, but if they can already have that skill in place, it just makes everything else so much easier and there is less chance of them falling behind by the time they get to the upper grades.

Teach your Child to Read by Adrian Gentilcore

Here is a simple little trick for parents to help you teach your child to read in a fun and painless way. Surprisingly this will even work with very young children and will help get them interested enough to sit still for a story. All you need to do is to make sure that the print is large enough for them to see the letters very clearly - otherwise you can choose any book that you think would appeal to them.

When you sit down to read your story, determine ahead of time several words you want your child to "read". Names of characters or other words that are repeated frequently in the story work best. It doesn't matter if it is a short word or a long one, in fact a longer word is easier to recognize because it is a more unique pattern. The first time you come to the designated word in the story, point to it and say the word clearly. Then each time you come to that word, simply pause, point to the word and look at your child expectantly. You may have to prompt them a couple of times, but they'll catch on very quickly and they'll learn to recognize "their" words. At the end of the story, praise them and give them a big hug, then put the book away.

The next day, they will likely BEG to read the same book. Let them read the same words and add two or three new ones. By the time they get tired of the book, they will have learned at least 8 to 10 new words and will be able to recognize them in other books as well. Keep this up and before you know it, your child will be reading confidently and easily.

Here is another trick I used to get my older child to enjoy reading. When he was 7 or 8, Matt could read quite well, but he wasn't particularly interested in books. So I went to the library one day and picked out a few books I thought he would enjoy (I think they were R.L. Stein's Goosebumps books). Then I casually dumped them next to him in the backseat of the car and said the magic words "Don't touch those, they're your brother's". Problem solved! He nearly ripped the covers off them, he read them so fast!

I think he ended up reading nearly every Goosebumps book the library had on the shelves and now that he is in High School, he scores in the top 3 to 5 percent in the nation on his reading comprehension.

Blake and his new instrument

2009-06-28T18:58:00.003-06:00

Lookie, lookie - my musical boy has a new toy to play with. Let's see if you can guess what it is. He already has a recorder, trumpet, keyboard and guitar, in addition to the FOUR guitars, plus the bass that Matt has. I just realized that we have twice as many musical instruments in this house as we have people.

Here's another hint - here's how you play it. Another hint - it's not from America - comes from clear on the other side of the earth! Australia mate!

Yep, you guess it, it's a Didgeridoo. Ain't it cool? I was going to get him one at the Scottish games. Our favorite Scottish band, The Wicked Tinkers, has a didgeridoo in their band and they sell them sometimes, but they were out. You wouldn't think a didge would sound good with bagpipes and drums, but it actually sounds great with them.

He was so disappointed that the Tinkers didn't have them, so I went out to Ebay and found this one. It's actually made out of black PVC pipe and it has some authentic aborigine dot art on it. Pretty reasonable too - about $20 bucks. Not bad if it makes your kid happy.

I'll tell ya, this kid is a musical genius. Five minutes on the Internet and he was playing away on it. Sounds great. I just hope he doesn't want a bagpipe next!

By TwitterButtons.com

See the Tattooed Lady

2009-06-26T23:06:00.005-06:00

Remember HERE when I was having all kinds of anxiety about whether or not to get a tattoo? Well, I finally did it!

I tell you, I am SO pleased with it. It came out just exactly how I wanted it. The size and the shading are exactly what I had in mind. This is my right ankle, if you can't tell. I just got it a couple of hours ago, so it's still a little red and a bit ouchy, but I think he did a marvelous job with it.

The guy who did it is actually my friend's son-in-law. I found him on Facebook - of course! He is setting up a new mobile tattoo studio in a van he has and it showed up in her profile. I contacted him, explained what I wanted and after a few E-mails back and forth and one short planning session, we were all set. Originally, I wanted this:

This is a ring I've had for years and I just love it. It would have made a great tattoo, but in order to get all the detail in it, he would have had to make it about 2" in diameter and that's bigger than I wanted.

So, two weeks ago when I went to the Scottish Games, I found this necklace. Isn't that cool? I thought it would make a great tattoo design. And since it had so much less detail, it could be made a lot smaller and so was only half the price! Plus I liked it because it's kind of unique.

I was so nervous about it, I hardly slept last night. I was so worried that he'd get it crooked, or turn out to be a terrible artist or something, or worse, that it would hurt so much that I wouldn't be able to stand it, but it really wasn't that bad. The lines hurt quite a bit, but it was never that bad and he was really gentle with it. He'd do 5 or 10 seconds and then he'd stop and give me a little breather before he'd start another section of line, so it never got that bad. The shading part wasn't actually bad at all. I sat there and read my book and listened to some music and it was all over in about an hour.

Now I'm wondering what I made all that fuss about. But on the other hand, I'm glad I took my time and really thought it through to make sure that I got exactly what I wanted. After all, I'm going to be living with this baby for a good long time.

By TwitterButtons.com

Giveaway over at World of Wieners

2009-06-24T00:19:00.002-06:00

Hallie over at Wonderful World of Wieners came to me and asked me if I would help promote her raffle/fundraiser. She has over 90 donated prizes to win totaling over $3000.00! And who doesn't like to win?? She is raising money for organ transplants because her Dad received a donor heart 6 years ago and this is her way of giving back.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE clickover and enter her raffle!! You can truly win TONS OF PRIZES (totaling over $3000.00 - gift cards, Starbucks coffee maker, $600 in camping equipment, gorgeous jewelry). Tell her Adrian sent you.

It's for a great cause….

http://www.firstgiving.com/hallietwomey

http://wonderfulworldofweiners.blogspot.com/

By TwitterButtons.com

A New Storybook!

2009-06-21T23:08:00.002-06:00

I just made another Fishful Thinking storybook. This one is about my two cute little great-nephews Preston and Carter. Click HERE to see it.

By TwitterButtons.com

Techno-girl

2009-06-19T23:14:00.002-06:00

Did I ever mention that I am totally techo-girl? Seriously. I have been using computers for 8 to 12 hours a day for more than 30 years and I can do just about anything that a computer can do. All different kinds of computers, all different types of programs, all different websites. On one job, I literally had three different models of computers on my desk and I used them all at once sometimes - I looked like Captain Nemo with that crazy pipe organ.

I was thinking about that today as I was at work having my usual technology fest. I was E-mailing, faxing, IM-ing, texting, spreadsheeting, databasing, and using two different custom software packages to do my invoices not to mention jumping back and forth through half a dozen websites, all while taking multiple calls on both my desk phone and my cell phone. Then I go home to my blogs and my Facebook and my Twitter. Not to mention my Gmail, Google Reader, Calendar and the occasional computer game. Oh and I just discovered iGoogle (sigh).

No wonder I'm exhausted! With all this technology in my face almost 24 hours a day, it's a wonder I'm not psychotic. Oh.my.gosh! I think I need to go and spend about a month in the woods somewhere, far, far away from any technology whatsoever.

Yeah, like that's going to happen.

Fortunately, I do enjoy it, especially working with spreadsheets. I was telling someone the other day, I've literally been using Excel since BEFORE it was even invented. Yes, I am THAT old! I started out using an early ancestor of Excel called Visicalc. That was back in the day when there wasn't any such thing as a "personal" computer -you had one or two for the whole office and you had to reserve time to use it. Isn't it amazing how the technology has changed so drastically in just a generation or two? I think I had Blake using a computer before he was even two years old and now he Googles with the best of them. Really makes you wonder what things are going to be like when our kids and grandkids grow up? I don't think we can even imagine it.

Anyway, I'm going to go back and wallow in my technology some more. I just needed to whine about it for a while. On my blog - of course.

By TwitterButtons.com

Conversations with a Cat

2009-06-19T00:13:00.004-06:00

Some of my friends were teasing me because I said HERE that I argue with my cat. It's true though - I argue with him all the time. No, I'm not crazy (well, not entirely crazy, anyway!) he's just a darn smart cat and damned ornery too.

You know that we just got a new Saint Bernard, well Nike is not about to let any dog push him around, no matter that the dog is more than four times his size! He stood right up to Jojo and let him know who was boss! He's always been that way - he doesn't take any guff from anyone and if anyone comes into our house, he doesn't hide under the bed with the other cats, he comes right up to them and asks them their business.

I've had 20-something cats starting when I was 6 years old, but I've never had one as smart as Nike. For starters, he knows his name without doubt. Even if he is sound asleep, I just have to say his name and he'll look right at me like - what? He also understands some other simple words such as food, out, up, down, treat, etc. I can ask him if he wants to go outside and he will move unfailingly to the door - if he wants to go out, that is.

He knows how to speak his mind too - typically he meows just once and then shows me what he wants. Here is a typical conversation:

"Meow" looking mournfully at the front door.
"Nike Sneakers, you don't want to go out there -it's raining"
He continues to sit there stubbornly looking at the front door.
"OK, but you're not going to like it." I open the door.
He sticks his neck out far enough to tell that it's raining, but not far enough that I can close the door. He gives me a disgusted look.
"Why'd you make it rain?"
"I didn't make it rain, you dumb cat"
"Well, you're in charge of everything else around here"
And he saunters back in the house with a sulky meow.

By TwitterButtons.com

The Dog Whisperer and Parenting

2009-06-16T00:15:00.002-06:00

I'm watching the Dog Whisperer and I have to say, this show really gives me hope as a parent. Do you know why? At the beginning of the program, they show these dogs with all these issues - barking, biting, misbehavior of all types. And these dogs just seem so out of control and completely hopeless, you wonder how Cesar is ever going to be able to get them under control.

But sure enough, Cesar comes on the scene and with a few simple techniques, the dog just turns around and starts behaving totally differently, literally in minutes. Yes, I know this is Hollywood and they script the show. I'm sure they don't show the failures, or the ones that don't fit the pattern of the show. I'm not that naive, but you can tell that there is an element of truth in his methods.

Obviously kids are much more complicated than dogs, but it's been shown time and time again that some simple techniques work for kids, dogs, inmates, just about any person or animal you can think of.

The key seems to be respect, discipline, a genuine caring, and a sense of purpose or accomplishment. I saw the same thing a couple of weeks ago with inmates who were raising dogs in prison to be used as service dogs. It was a great program for the dogs, but you could tell it was doing wonders for the inmates. Shows like Wife Swap and Nanny 911 - it's really interesting to see how the kids respond totally differently to someone with a different philosophy and a completely different parenting approach.

You just wonder if they took some of these kids that are trouble, in juvenile hall or whatever and approached sort of like a kid whisperer and gave them that respect and interest, and had the expectation that they could do the right thing and could make the positive changes, I think you'd see a big difference in them in a short time.

So, if you have a kid who is showing some problem behavior, how can you approach them differently and get a different response? How can you stop butting heads with them and get a dialogue going? I dunno - maybe you need to go and watch some episodes of the Dog Whisperer. I think Cesar has the secret!

By TwitterButtons.com

My Acting Debut

2009-06-13T14:50:00.002-06:00

I heard something on the radio yesterday that reminded me of my college days. When I first started college, I was a Performing Arts Major. Then I wised up and switched to a more boring, but more marketable Computer Science Major. The lady on the radio was in some kind of outdoor theater production and was upstaged by a raccoon. Can you imagine? Yes, well I could, but my nemesis was a mouse.

I was in my very first production with an actual speaking part. I had been in the chorus on a couple of productions, and done a lot of behind the scenes work as a Stage Manager and a Lighting Designer, but I had finally auditioned for a show and had been accepted. It was a different kind of show - 80's experimental theater at it's best. One of our student teachers pulled the show together using a series of monologues from our actual childhoods - some serious, some funny, some pretty off-the-wall. It was called The Circle Game and I was one of eight people in the show.

My first monologue was one of the serious ones and it was early in the show. I forget what it was about, but as I was delivering this big speech, the audience just started laughing! I was freaking out. I'm trying to maintain my character and remember my lines, all the while sneaking peeks at the audience, including my parents who were both laughing, but trying not to. I had a feeling that something was going on, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was going on. Was my zipper down? Were my boobs showing through my costume? Was someone behind me making faces at me? I had NO clue!

I finished up my speech and the audience settled down. Because we were all on stage in full view of the audience for the whole show, no one could clue me in on what was going on. I made it through the rest of the show, but my confidence was shot and I was terrified that people would start laughing again, but everything went fine. Finally, when the show was over, someone was able to clue me in on what was going on.

While I was doing my monologue, a little mouse came out and perched on a piece of scenery behind me in full view of the audience. Apparently, he was quite the theater buff, because he sat up on his little hindquarters and cocked his head and just sat there listening to me through my whole speech. It was hilarious - to everyone but me!

By TwitterButtons.com

June Projects

2009-06-11T23:06:00.001-06:00

Hi kids,

I just realized that it's been a very looooong time since I've posted any of my stamped creations on here. I haven't been stamping as much as I used to - mainly because I'm spending all my spare time visiting blogs and playing games on Facebook - yikes! But I am still keeping up on my monthly classes. I have a group of 3 or 4 very nice ladies who come and stamp with me every month and we have a lot of fun. So I thought I'd share some of the projects we did last night.

This color combination got a rave review. I like these darker, richer colors. I also thought it was kind of fun to emboss on the patterned paper and cut it up into random pieces.

This is similar to one of the cards in our monthly magazine they send us, but I used one of our retiring hostess sets. I think this was is really pretty.

This one is my favorite! I just love this little flowerpot and the invitation pulls right out the top. Yes, I know I should have stamped the You're Invited part, but it was late at night and I couldn't remember which set I had for it, but you get the idea... This is copied from an idea I saw somewhere, but typical me, I can't remember exactly whose design it was. I may use this one for my Convention swap. It's a fun design, plus it's a great way to use up all my scrap paper.

I always throw in a fun little 3D item just for giggles. I've been going through a lot of Tic-Tacs at work - I pop them like M&M's when I get bored! So I figured we'd make use of them for some little containers for little brads, eyelets, and buttons.

We also did a double layout for our progressive scrapbook, but I'll post those pictures at a later time when the scrapbook is finished. We've been putting together an "About Me" scrapbook and we do another set of pages every month, so by the end of the summer, we'll have a complete scrapbook.

It was funny - right when class was due to start, the heavens opened up and dumped about two weeks worth of rain in a 15 minute period. It was intense! We had rain, hail, lightning, and we had another similar storm again today. The first time I had my car windows part-way down, so my car got a little soggy and our basement flooded a little bit both times. We've got sandbags blocking the downstairs door now so it doesn't happen again - I hope!

Tony was outside giving Jojo his ear medicine and it was coming down so hard and lightning so bad, he didn't want to make the sprint back to the house, so he and the dog both curled up in the doghouse until the rain eased up enough that he wouldn't get as soaked. Not the first time he's ended up in the doghouse!

My Health Secret

2009-06-08T23:08:00.003-06:00

Now that everyone is going into panic mode about the Swine Flu and all the other superbugs that are going around, I thought I'd share my big health secret with you. This is a big deal because I am the healthiest person I know - for reals! The last time I remember being sick was Christmas Day of 2007 and that was just a bad cold from pushing too hard to get all the presents bought and wrapped. Since then, nothing. No colds, no stomach flu, no anything. Even if half my family was sick with whatever crud was going around, I never catch it. The worst thing I've had is the occasional sinus infection.

Doctors say that you can expect to get 2-3 colds a year and the flu every 3-5 years, so I'm definitely ahead of the statistics. I get that many colds in a decade and I've never actually had the flu. Maybe a little 24 hour stomach bug once every few years, but that's never an actual fever and chills type flu. I even managed to go through my whole pregnancy without taking a single sick day except for the last two weeks when they made me stay home and rest because I wasn't sleeping. I really dodged the bullet there because my poor sister was sick all nine months with all three kids. She was even still hurling in the delivery room - I would have been so miserable, I doubt if I would have had kids #2 & #3! I never even threw up once through either one of my pregnancies. I guess she got my share!

So what are all the things you're supposed to do to ward off illness - get lots of sleep, evercise, eat right, take vitamins, spray Lysol and Purell all over everything you touch, and wash your hands dozens of times a day. Oh and drink at least 8 glasses of water and drink lots of Orange Juice and take antioxidants, etc. Naaaah! I don't do any of those things, or at least not often enough to do any good.

You know what my real secret is? I just don't believe in getting sick. Yep, that's it. My big secret. I just don't buy into it. Whenever people around me are hacking and coughing and and fussing about passing around all their nasty germs, I just say no. Whatever they're selling, I am not buying and for some amazing reason, it works for me. I know people talk about the power of Positive Thinking, but I really believe in it, and I guess it works pretty well for me.

Of course, now that I'm bragging about all this stuff, I'll probably come down with all kinds of crud, but hopefully not. Anyway, you might give it a try. Just pretend that germs don't even exist and if they do, they're too darn puny to bother you in the slightest and see if it works for you. What the heck - can't hurt, can it? And it's a whole lot easier than taking all those vitamins and dousing everything with antibacterial goop!

By TwitterButtons.com

I think my kids are pretty great...

2009-06-05T23:02:00.003-06:00

OK, I'm going to brag about my kids a little. We're all parents and we get to do that sometimes. It's payback for all those diapers and sleepless nights. I do like them - they're fun to be around- most of the time. But I also admire them. One of the things we do a lot as a family is volunteer. I think that's just a very important part of raising responsible kids.

It's a mixed bag, we have all sorts of things that we do and both boys have their little "niche" that they fit into. Blake helps the Sunday school teachers wrangle the little kids and likes to go to the retirement home to play Bingo with the residents. Last week, he helped fit kids with bike helmets at a bike giveaway for 1,000 kids. He even helped me work the Obama campaign during the election. Matt plays in the rock band at church, helps make and serve sandwiches to the homeless every month, and has made 3 week-long trips out of state to help low-income families with various things, partially at his own expense.

I think that's pretty cool stuff for them to do. Amazingly enough I can honestly say that not one time have they balked or complained - even if it's hot or tiring or boring. They get that even though they are just kids (well a young adult for Matt), they are doing something significant and something that helps other people. When your kids have gone somewhere and sweated in the hot sun to build a house for someone, or raked leaves for a disabled person, or seen the gratitude of homeless kids getting a big box of their cast-off toys and books, I think that really changes their whole outlook in a big way.

The nice this is that people usually show them a lot of appreciation for the work that they do. People usually make a big point of thanking them and praising them. If you want your kid to really feel like a hero, this is a great self-esteem builder. Kids these days are so self-centered and have access to so many material riches, I think it's a great balance for them to see that other people have challenges and struggles that we don't have and I want them to have an awareness and a compassion for them to want to help other people.

OK, bragging session over - we now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.

PS: If you think my little angels are getting a little too perfect, I'll be happy to post some scary pictures of Matt's messy bedroom, or Blake's report card - ugh!

By TwitterButtons.com

Our New Addition to the Family!

2009-06-03T00:01:00.005-06:00

If you are thinking I'm announcing I'm preggers, think again. Believe me, you would have heard the screams from whereever you are! Could you imagine? I'm almost 50. If I had a baby now, I'd be in a nursing home by the time he or she graduated from College - literally! Yikes! Doesn't even bear thinking about. Change-of-life babies are God's idea of a practical joke.

Anyway, to get back to the main subject, we do have a new member of our family - a new dog! Meet Jojo:

As you can see, he's already found a friend:

So far, we're really enjoying him. He's three years old and we bought him from a guy on Craigslist. He had a new baby and really couldn't afford to keep him. We did end up having to take him to the vet right off, but the guy told us he had an ear infection. However, he didn't tell us how bad it was. It was $200 worth of bad, actually (wince). But once we get him all fixed up, he should be just fine.

Why a Saint Bernard, you ask? Well, we like Saints. They are great dogs. They're mellow, playful, great with kids, get along well with just about anybody or any other pet, and are generally pretty easy to get along with. Here's our previous dog - Sasha. We lost her about 3 years ago to a gastric torsion, but she was our best girl ever!

I personally would have liked something a little bit smaller, say Cocker Spaniel or Shih-tsu sized, but Tony has a definite idea about dogs - bigger is always better! So far, we've had a Rottweiler, a Malamute, 3 German Shepherd mixes, a Golden Retriever and two Saints. And I can't count the times he's tried to talk me into a Great Dane or a Mastiff. He just loves the big dogs.

I don't mind them so much, but I made it clear that I'm not having anything to do with another damned puppy, so I was happy enough to settle for a giant dog as long as he's got good manners. Jojo needs a bit of obedience and leash training and he's a little skittery in the house, but he doesn't jump up, bark, or tear stuff up and that's a big improvement over our last puppy, the Golden Retriever.

Welcome to the family Jojo!

By TwitterButtons.com

New Moon Video Trailer

2009-05-31T08:44:00.004-06:00

I was over at Tiffany's blog and she had the most amazing New Moon video up. Click HERE to pop over and see it and enjoy Edward's hot ab shots.

Naturally, I went over to YouTube to try and find it because I was going to post it too. I didn't find it, but I did find a different New Moon video that is also very cool. I will warn you that it won't make total sense because they pulled together clips from a bunch of different sources and they have some stand-in actor in some of Jacob's scenes, which I found a little confusing, but the video itself is amazing. Take a peek.

I can't wait for this movie - I think it's going to be head and shoulders above the first one.

By TwitterButtons.com

I am TOO popular!

2009-05-27T14:31:00.003-06:00

I dearly love my family, but oh.my.gosh these people are driving me crazy!!! For some reason, my guys have decided that I need to be available to them 24 X 7 and I do mean 24 hours a day!

It doesn't matter what I am doing, they think I am just sitting there waiting to solve all their problems. I got a call at work from Blake's school yesterday at 2:00. He had a concert coming up at 2:15 that he had forgotten about and he wanted me to get his trumpet for him. From home. Clear across town. 25 miles away. In 15 minutes. What does he think I am, the trumpet fairy?

I'm in back-to-back conference calls today and my other line keeps ringing. I can see it's my husband. I've told him not to call me multiple times in a row unless he is bleeding - literally. Since there have been several times when he HAS been bleeding, I take these calls fairly seriously. So I excuse myself from my conference call and answer the 2nd line, my heart in my throat. To give him credit, it was about a doctor - a doctor's bill anyway. The receipt that I requested to turn in to our insurance is going to be mailed today because they won't fax it. Are you KIDDING me? I about reached through the phone to strangle him. Uh gee honey, next time, why don't you text me, E-mail me, leave me a voice mail, fax me, write me a note, maybe even *gasp* wait until I get home tonight?

They just have no concept whatsoever that I have any purpose in life but to serve them. I finally had to make a rule because they kept interrupting me in the shower. I said if no one is bleeding, on the phone, or knocking at the front door, do not bother me! If you do, you will clean that bathroom from stem to stern. I am the only girl in the house, so you'd think they would be willing to give me some measure of privacy, but they will even interrupt me in the bathroom for the most trivial of things. Sheesh people, I only go maybe twice a week - are you sure you can't manage without me for that whole five minutes or so??? But no, they have to bug me every time. I think they have a special bathroom radar. Even the cats are in on the deal. More often than not, I'll see a little paw poking in under the door and hear a little meow. Et tu Buster?

Are all kids like this or is it just mine? It's not that I'm easy on them or anything. My boys know if they want to see steam coming out of my ears, just think about talking to me during a business call. Even if I'm in an hour-long conference call, staring off into space, I might be listening to the most important piece of information I've heard all week! And if I miss it, there is no rewind button. This isn't Tivo. I can't just wind it back 2 minutes and find out what the deadline is on the "do this or die" project. And I'm sure not going to be the turkey who pipes up and interrupts my boss in front of my whole department to tell her that I missed that vital piece of information, while my son was trying to tell me he wants to go play with the kid across the street. The same kid who is still going to be there an hour from now, a day from now, or a week from now!

And my husband is even worse than the kids. He doesn't believe that I may have someone important standing there in my office, or that I may be rushing out a report with a 5 minute deadline, or that I'm trying to squeeze in a few minutes of work between 3 back-to-back meetings, when he wants to talk to me, he just assumes I'm available. Typical conversation:

"Hi, myboss'sbossisontheotherline,andI'vegotameetingin2minutes. Ican'ttalkrightnow!"

"Oh OK, well, since I've got you on the phone....."

Oh man, I need a vacation. In a yurt. In Mongolia. Where there is no phone, fax machine, or E-mail. I've got to get away from these people!

By TwitterButtons.com

Fishful Thinking Storybook

2009-05-26T23:59:00.005-06:00

I just made a new storybook over at Fishful Thinking. Click HERE to go and see it. My son Blake likes to do several different kinds of volunteer service, so I made one about his work on the Bike Rodeo that we did last year.

I'm going to show it to him in the morning. I think he'll really enjoy it. Things that like that really boosts a kid's sense of self-worth. Maybe your kids could use a little boost like that too. They're really easy to do - it took me about 15 minutes to pull together and that's just because I couldn't find a picture of him on a darn bike! Creating a storybook automatically enters you to win a $10,000 scholarship for your kids. Not a bad deal for a few minutes worth of work!

Click the book to go straight to the Storybook Creator:

By TwitterButtons.com

I am an awesome Mom!

2009-05-24T20:44:00.004-06:00

I think I'm a great Mom. Friday was Blake's 11th birthday and as usual, I put together a really nice birthday party for him. Everyone keeps telling me how crazy I am to have a sleepover party for 7 kids, but actually, we had a great time. The boys were a bit loud and crazy - probably from too much sugar and laser tag, but after I had a talk with them, they calmed down pretty well and they were good for the rest of the time.

I got some great pictures, but since I don't have permission from the boys' parents, I probably shouldn't post them. Here is the birthday boy with his new guitar.

His brother gave him a very cool guitar strap for it. I'll have to get a picture of that too. Blake likes Egyptian stuff and it's got King Tut on it and skulls. What more could a boy want? We also got him the game of Risk that he had been asking for - both the PC version and the Transformer version. And the rest of the Fablehaven books. Plus a bunch of other stuff including that cool shirt he is wearing. Does Mom know how to pick 'em or what? I've always been able to pick out great clothes for my boys and they nearly always love them.

After laser tag, we went up to the park and let the boys run around until it got dark. Then they played flashlight tag and ghosts in the graveyard. That got them nice and worn out so I could get them to sit still and watch a movie before bed.

This is what Blake looked like the next morning - apparently some of the boys decided to "decorate" him while he was sleeping. I thought it was hilarious!

Then we fed them some pancakes and sent them on their merry way. Or tried to send them on their merry way. An hour after it was all over, I still had two little stragglers left. It just amazes me when people don't think to pick their kids up after someone has watched them all night for you.

I finally called one of the Mom's and after asking me three times for my address (she lives about 3 blocks away), she said she'd be by in half an hour or so to pick him up. This was an hour and a half after the pick-up time already, so at that point, I just said I'd bring him home myself - sheesh! And this was the kid that was an hour and a half late being dropped off and we made 3 trips to his house looking for them. The Mom said she saw my husband's truck go by, but she wasn't sure who it was. I guess it takes all kinds...

That's why Blake isn't allowed to go to that kid's house to play. His parents seem like real airheads and I don't think they watch him very carefully. The last time Blake was over there, the kids were playing with BB guns and the kid shot him in the back with it. Crapola! The other kid couldn't get in touch with his Mom or grandparents, so we ended up running him home also.

I was getting a little worried at one point that I might have to run one of them to the ER. Two of the kids were doing double backflips off the benches at the laser place. It made me a little nervous, but mostly I was pretty impressed because I know these kids aren't gymnasts or anything. They're just naturally coordinated. Wish I'd brought my video camera.

But other than that, it was really a pretty fun evening and all the kids got along great. Birthday party #41 is marked mission accomplished! (I'm adding up all the birthday parties from all three boys).

By TwitterButtons.com

Winners for my Blogaversary Giveaway.

2009-05-22T23:07:00.003-06:00

Hi all - well it's Friday night! Time to pick the winners of my Blogaversary give-away.

The winner of the stamps is ---- Carma

The winner of the software is ----- CarolM

I'll be in touch to get your addresses.

By TwitterButtons.com

Whew, back to life as we know it

2009-05-21T23:30:00.003-06:00

OK, now that American Idol, Grey's Anatomy and Dancing with the Stars are over, we can now all return to our regular lives. Isn't it amazing how we get caught up in all these shows? I'll bet half the conversations I've had lately have been about American Idol or DWTS. It's bizarre.

Naturally, I've sworn off of both of them after the way the finales turned out. Nobody that I liked won anything. My Idol picks would have been Adam, Danny, and Allison and my DWTS pics would have been Gilles, Melissa, and Lil Kim. I just don't understand why all of America doesn't see it my way!!! I'm sure my swearing off will last at least until they start up again in the Fall.

And Grey's Anatomy? Yep, that was a FINALE. I loved the 007 thing. Usually I can see those kinds of endings coming, but that one totally floored me. I was still getting over the idea of George being in the Army. There have been rumors all season that George and Izzy were going to be written out so I guess that's it. I was kind of hoping they'd off Christina and Alex Korev. They are my least favorites. And I sure wish they'd lose the lesbian love story between Cali and Arizona. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for gay marriage and stuff - in theory. But I don't know if I'm up for two girls going at it right in the middle of my favorite show. Seems to be the fashion though. Seems like half the shows I watch now are adding in a gay angle. I guess they're just going for ratings.

Anyway, speaking of life as we know it, tomorrow is Blake's 11th birthday and we're having half a dozen 5th grade boys over for laser tag and a sleepover. Yes, I'm just insane! But I've done it before and survived. HERE are the pictures from last year and HERE are the pictures from the sleepover we had the year before. At this point, I'm either so experienced or so numb that they don't really bother me any more. I'll Tweet about it tomorrow.

By TwitterButtons.com

John Edwards is a dirty dog!

2009-05-19T22:29:00.002-06:00

OK, I haven't done a political post in a while. With Elizabeth Edwards book coming out and all the publicity she is getting, we're all hearing more about this whole scandal. And I am losing respect for him by the second. Can you get any lower than cheating on your terminally ill wife? I mean, in a year or two, you can do whatever the heck you want, why put her through all this unnecessary grief when she is already suffering the pain of having to say goodbye to her children and everything she loves?

I was really shocked at how he said the affair came about. I thought it was someone that he had just fallen in love with, not that that is any excuse, but it's at least understandable. Do you want to know how this one came about? This girl was standing outside his hotel and she said to him as he went past "You're so hot". And that's all it took to throw away his 25 year marriage AND the Presidential nomination. God, men are SO stupid sometimes!

Honestly, here's what I think. I think he was freaked out about the possibility of being President and this was his version of the chicken exit. But geez, what if this hadn't come out when it did? What if the girl hadn't gotten pregnant and skipped town? This might not have come out until he had won the nomination or God forbid, the election. This would likely have torpedoed the entire Democratic party if it had broken during the later days of the election. What a chance to take - stupid selfish man! With Elizabeth's illness, no one would have batted an eye if he had just quietly dropped out on those grounds, but he insisted on hanging on even though he knew that the reporters would get wind of this sooner or later, they always do.

And that ticks me off because I really liked him. He had some good ideas and I was a fan of his before I got on board with Obama. His stance on the issues was the closest to my beliefs and I think I even voted for him in one of the early primaries. That is really scary when you see what a shmuck he turned out to be.

I'll tell you, we need to do a MUCH better job of picking our Presidents. I think we worry far too much about unimportant things like the candidates looks, hair, and how their wife dresses. It's like Susan Boyle and Paul Potts. Even though they both have amazing voices, they would never have stood a chance on American Idol. Because Americans are SO obsessed with looks and their perception of people that we aren't willing to look beneath the surface. We need to put away the media spin and really take the time to get to know people. Not that anyone could have predicted what a boy scout like John Edwards would have done, even his wife of 25+ years. I guess you never really know someone. I feel terribly sorry for Elizabeth, but I guess everything happens for a reason and I think this turned out the best for the country.

By TwitterButtons.com