DIDs and DIDN'Ts

I'm back home after another great scrapbooking weekend -- my 8th -- at Camp Crop-A-Lot!

No, I did not finish my 2010 album -- but I did make good progress! Here are some other things I did and didn't do...

I didn't get much sleep but did relax. With my usual 9:30 bedtime during the week, my body was in shock to get to bed at 1 a.m., 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. (Yes, I am going to bed early tonight!) For the relaxing part, there was a massage therapist on hand so I got a 10-minute chair massage each day!

I didn't get to see all of Carter's last basketball tournament, but did get up the road to Wittenberg to see his first game Saturday. They won that one so that was exciting. On the day, they ended up with a 3-1 record and a 3rd-place finish among 8 teams. That was their best tourney yet! Now it's onto baseball season...

I didn't get any exercising in -- walking, running, nothing -- but did exercise my creative mind. A lot.

I didn't have time to overeat but did get a few tasty treats, including my once-a-year chocolate-covered peanut butter balls. They are the best! Thankfully, I did not discover them until Sunday night.

I didn't have a friend or sister join me this year but did get a chance to catch up with friends -- including a long, late-night chat (make that early morning chat -- 3 a.m.) with my friend Becky. That's what makes it a "retreat" instead of just a weekend workshop.

I didn't wear my new pink hoodie-footie pajamas much because they are just too warm -- but did win the PJ Contest for warmest jammies! Who wouldn't vote for someone looking like the Easter Bunny?

I didn't get as many pages done as I wanted, but did manage to get 51 completed. And I am quite happy with them! Quality over quantity, right?

I didn't know much about the Cricut world before this event, but did get introduced to Cricut "Utopia" quite quickly. My friend Jenny let me borrow her 15-plus cartridges for the weekend so that was awesome. Then, I discovered quite a few more that will be going on my wish list! There's even one that will cut out the shape of a lighthouse (if you're into that sort of thing).

I didn't get a chance to get to my nephew Colin's birthday party but did see in the fridge that my considerate boys (and my sister-in-law, I'm sure) brought some cake (with frosting!) home for me. I think this is where I sign off...

Happy Camper

Contrary to some disbelievers out there, well one, I am packed and ready to go on time, just like I planned it.

While I didn't dream any award-winning layouts, I did awake at 5 a.m. and really couldn't fall asleep after that. So I got up and took Carter to school. Then stopped at the service station to order tires. Then stopped at the bank and was home by 8 a.m. Oh yeah, I'm that good.

All I had to do was frost some bars, hop on the treadmill, shower and pack clothes. I think the only reason I am on time is that I cut my treadmill time short. Way short. Priorities, you know.

Now I am set and debating whether I should take my Netbook along, knowing that the past 2 years I couldn't even get a cell-phone signal at camp, let alone wireless. So I may be cutting myself off from reality until I get back Monday afternoon. Wow, can I do that?

I might play it by ear and see if they have a connection up there at the Rosholt Lions Camp (yes, this really is a camp). If they do, I could have the guys take the Netbook with them to Carter's basketball tourney, which is up the road from Rosholt in Wittenberg-Birnamwood. If the weather cooperates, I would drive up to see one of his games since this is the last tournament of the season. We'll see. A scrapper can lose track of time really easily at one of these things!

Alright, I better sign off, grab my Cricut and leave town! Have a scrap-tacular weekend!

Waiting Game

Tom Petty had it right many years ago when he sang: "The waiting is the hardest part..."

I'm all packed for Camp Crop-A-Lot but I still have another 15 hours before the weekend starts! That's probably good. I need to recover from all the heavy lifting. Seriously.

By themselves, photos and paper and stickers don't weigh much. But pack them all in a rolling cart and it is heavy. Thank goodness someone invented scrapbooking carts with wheels. Now if only they could make that work going up a flight of stairs.

At least hubby will be carrying them out to the vehicle. I don't need to strain my back before the weekend even starts. It'll be bad enough hunched over my work and forgetting to stand and stretch. Good thing they'll have a massage therapist on hand. You know how I love my chair massages!

With all my scrap supplies ready I still had other prep work today. Us girls gotta eat, you know! So while my Hornet's Nest Cake was baking tonight, I whipped up my Best Ever Cranberry Bars. And while the bars were baking, I browned my hamburger to mix up taco meat. Just call me Martha Stewart on speed. It was multi-tasking at its finest. I even ran the dishwasher so my "TV crew" wouldn't have to clean up after me.

Now I just have to throw some clothes together. That part is pretty easy. Basically jammies, sweats and any clothing item with the word "scrap" or "crop" on it! What? You say "psycho scrapper" like it's a bad thing!

Only 14 hours and 50 minutes now...

Modern Family

Hubby and I don't watch a ton of TV together, but when it comes to sitcoms, there's a few we both find laugh-out-loud funny. Big Bang Theory is one and new this season -- Modern Family. It is a hoot and half!

Since the family is "modern," it reflects every possible familial situation from parenting to adoption and inter-cultural marriage to domestic partnership. Pretty much any role you have in your family is portrayed in the show.

Tonight, one of the female characters was getting a chair massage at the mall and was very vocal in her appreciation of it! Hubby looks at me and I am immediately on the defensive. "What? That is not why I get a chair massage every week!"

Well partially it is. I want them to work out the knots so good that it hurts and feels good at the same time. Since I am getting this done at work, though, I try to keep my moans of pleasure (or pain) to a minimum.

Chair massages work wonders, by the way. Now when my month is up and it's time to see the chiropractor again, it doesn't feel like I have to see him or I'll die. The massages really have helped get my back in order (as good as a person can anyway).

It's also a good time to either clear my mind or do creative thinking. Today, naturally, I had scrapbook layouts on my mind. I sense I will be dreaming about them for the next 5 nights at least. But I'm not complaining!

I did not get a chance to do any packing tonight. Had to chauffeur Carter into town for confirmation, run several errands and then shuttle him over to basketball practice.

We got home with 2 minutes to spare before Modern Family started at 8. Then Jim and I had our 31 minutes of quality time. It was nice.

Now if only I could get him to watch Glee with me! OK, we may be a modern family here, but not THAT modern!

Off-Line

We are getting the scope of our addictions revealed -- and tested -- in our household this week. On not the ice cream thing again. Honest, I have it under control. I'm talking about computer time.

We have our main (big) computer in to get fixed. It's not really broken. It just operates slower than molasses (even though computers were not even invented when that phrase was coined). So we are having a computer geek (read: anyone smarter that us) look at it to clean it up, de-frag it, whatever. We trust him.

In the meantime, we have a few nights with just my handy dandy little Netbook to satisfy our techno needs. I don't mind since I'm used to it. But now I have to share! It's probably good to learn to take turns and not spend so much time on the computer anyway. It's a time-waster and I have other things to do.

Carter had a ton of homework and only needed the computer to check e-mail. I had a ton of scrapping work to do, which I did, so I am just on it to supposedly check e-mail and blog and try not to get trapped in the Facebook Time Waster Vortex. OK, I admit that did happen momentarily. I can't help myself. I may have a tough time with no Internet for 3+ days this weekend during Camp.

But of course, I think we'll discover what we've known all along. There are better things to do than park it in front of a computer all night. Lots of better things.

Gotta go. (Just because I said this wasn't about ice cream doesn't mean I can't have some!)

Snow Day

When I got up this morning, I sort of thought the school district made the wrong decision to call a Snow Day. The snow had stopped in middle of the night, after all.

But then it started again. Lightly. And did that all day. And the wind was drifting it. So it was good we were all home so hubby could snowblow and Carter and I could each shovel a deck and keep up with the accumulation. It still wasn't that bad.

But then I took a drive into town to pick up my 500-some photos at Walgreens. What a mess out there! The roads were snowy and icy and just generally crappy. I can see why they didn't want buses running.

I figure I'd better get all my errands done. Stopped by the car wash to clean the hot tub filters, then dropped off some dry cleaning, then picked up my photos then, just had to stop at the scrapbooking store to get a few things. Just a few. Lord knows I have most of my bases covered.

I was happy to get almost everything for camp ready today. Mainly because I did not have to keep Carter occupied. He had a book that he had to read today. All day until it was done. It's about done now.

I think we're both due for a break. This time, though, I better delve into that 2-pound bag of cheese popcorn!

A Little Flaky

Well that darn weatherman was 100% right. So it seems anyway.

No snow when we got up, but by 10 a.m. or so it started. Hubby and I went to the store quick to get a few food items in case we couldn't drive anywhere later. By the time we got back outside, it seemed like it had snowed an inch!

It was sticking at a pretty good pace. The picture above was taken around 1 p.m., right before our first round of shoveling. The one below was probably around 4 -- about the time we should have been eating cake at my nephew Colin's birthday party. Unfortunately, that will have to happen another day.

It wasn't just the snow coming straight down, it was the wind, too, that was whipping it everywhere.

You can see from this lovely photo hubby took of me shoveling that it is not great visibility out there.

Don't Jim and our neighbor Mick look cold??

How about now? Brrr. I get cold just looking at this!

Right after this was taken, the snow stopped for awhile. We thought maybe the weatherman was wrong, but I checked the radar and we were just in a brief pocket of nothingness. You could see if the line of snow continued on course, we would get all of the 9 inches promised and perhaps up to the 14 guess-timated.

We'll see.

They already called off school for tomorrow -- due to weather not staff shortages -- so somebody must figure this is going to keep coming and keep piling on. I guess it doesn't matter to me. We have tomorrow off for Presidents' Day so Carter will have some supervision anyway.

Except for when I'm down in my Scrap Cave. I've got several hours of work left to do but since today was sort of a pre-Snow Day snow day, I made some good progress! So while I'm doing that tomorrow, the boys can handle snow removal. Ha.

Trust me. This is one of the few times I don't mind Mother Nature being a little flaky.

Red-eye Return

Hubby took the "red-eye" from Vegas last night so after a 3-hour layover in Chicago, he was back in Wisconsin at 9 a.m. And very tired. I know I can't relax enough to sleep on a plane, but he got a little shut-eye on the red-eye anyway.

I had a loud cat wake me up too early. But that was a good excuse to get going on Saturday chores before Jim got home around 11. It turned into sort of a putzy day after that. Putzed around doing laundry. Then, when Jim took a much-needed nap, I hit the Scrap Cave for a few hours to organize stuff for next weekend.

I was sort of wasting time until 3 p.m. -- when The Weather Channel assured me earlier it would be close to 30 degrees. I checked it and it was so I had no excuse not to go for a run, except for the fact I had zero energy or ambition.

But I went anyway. I took a 4-mile route that took me forever and a day, but I had to get something in while the roads are still clear. Last report tonight says we're getting 9-14 inches of snow dumped on us Sunday. Yikes.

After my run and a shower, all 3 of us headed into town to see our middle school girls play in a basketball tournament. Carter had been summoned via the phone earlier in the day. So we figured we better let him cheer on some classmates and, you guessed it, meet up with some girls to sit with. I sat with some friends and Jim went to church. He got back in time to see the end of the game, though. The Assumption girls were shut out for the day, which is unfortunate when we are the school hosting the tournament.

Got home in time to watch some NBA All-Star hoopla on TV. Carter likes the contests they have for 3-pointers and dunks -- especially when some Boston Celtics are involved. Jim likes it for the same reason... but probably he just likes being home, sitting in his own chair and commandeering his own remote.

Looks our family life has returned to normal.

Confidence Builder

That 5 a.m. alarm came way too soon today. But somehow, Carter and I got out the door by 5:30 so he could be at school by 5:45 and off to Marshfield shortly thereafter for the district Solo & Ensemble Competition.

I didn't even care how tired I was, I was just grateful to see the full moon and clear sky -- no fog!

On the way into town I asked Carter if he was nervous at all. No, not at all, he said. He knows the songs and has been playing them well.

Excellent, good to know he's got confidence once in awhile!

And it must have showed because he got a 1st on his euphonium (baritone) solo -- despite a missed high note, says Carter -- and we're pretty sure he got a 1st on the brass ensemble. They performed at the end of the day so although he didn't see the actual score posted, he said the judges told his group they blended so well and they were such a treat to listen to, they hated to see the song end so soon. That sounds like a 1st rating to me!

I got out of work in time to meet the returning buses after 5. Quite a long day for both of us. But it was not over yet.

After I picked him up, we had to rush home so he could change out of his nice shirt and tie while I wrapped a birthday present for a girl friend (two words, I think). Then it was back into town so he could go to the Justin Bieber movie with that girl and 4 other girls and 3 other guys. Quite a birthday group.

Just a side note about my recent bout of Bieber Fever. I had successfully avoided hearing any of his songs on the radio and TV. Then this week alone, he invaded the Grammys, then MY Glee show (his songs anyway) and now tonight, the movie. Thankfully, I had a backup plan so I didn't have to subject myself to more of this teen sensation who hasn't really impressed me.

While Carter was with his drooling girl friends in theater #4, my friend Christine and I were in theater #3 enjoying The King's Speech. I had honestly never heard of the movie until the awards season started and it was winning Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild accolades. Now it is nominated for 12 Oscars. After seeing it, I'd say deservedly so. I'd give it 2 thumbs up!

Based on a true story, it was amazing to see what happens when one does or doesn't have any confidence. It could be the difference between a forgettable speech in the 1930s... or a first-place solo in 2011.

Today's Special: Pea Soup

When they say the "fog is thicker than pea soup" I now I have a pretty good idea what they're talking about. Mother Nature was serving up a generous helping today.

Yesterday was a sketchy drive in to work due to the fog. Today was just downright scary. I had heard on the radio a few schools in the area were 2 hours late because of fog so I was a bit nervous before I even backed out of the garage. I did wait until 7 to leave for work so there would be a better chance it would be kind of light out.

Not that that made much difference today. It was a white-knuckle drive and my visibility was pretty limited. Sometimes I could see as far ahead as the next 2 telephone poles. Sometimes not even to the next one. That was a bit frightening. Good thing I can almost make the 45-mile drive to work blindfolded. I just don't want to have to.

The fog didn't really lift by midday like they projected. It just lay there like a wet rug hanging on a clothesline. Not moving. And definitely not going anywhere soon.

I had expected to leave work a bit early today to go work concessions at the high school girls basketball game. Carter called me after school and said the game was canceled. The other team -- Marathon (about an hour north of Rapids) -- couldn't make the trip in the fog. Then you know it's serious.

I was grateful when I did leave work that I had stretches of road sometimes a mile long without fog. I got home and picked up Carter to run some errands in town and it was back in place, though, by the time we headed home. Good thing we no longer had any place to go.

Plus, we have to go to bed early to be up at 5 a.m. Carter has his first ever Solo & Ensemble Music Competition tomorrow and the bus loads at 6 a.m. Yikes. He has already been in bed for 90 minutes and, no surprise, is too excited, anxious, everything, to fall asleep.

Counting sheep won't work. Maybe if he starts counting the number of protesters in Madison today...

(Let's not go there just yet.)

Comfort Food?

With hubby gone for 5 days, I don't think we're consciously trying to fill the void with food (ice cream is a food). But it's just working out that way.

I just happened to have BOGO coupon (buy one, get one) for DQ Blizzards, so Carter and I had to get those on Valentine's Day. I'm sure it would have expired otherwise! Plus, we both love ice cream!

Last night, since I had to run into town after voting anyway, I took Carter to El Mezcal, a Mexican restaurant he has wanted to visit since his parents (who had a lunch date without him) raved about the fried ice cream there. We ended up splitting a quesadilla and order of nacho supreme. So that left room for the deep-fried favorite. And yes, he was a fan. Good thing to know he takes after his mother and likes ice cream in all its forms!

Tonight, I got home and we had about 18 minutes to spare before heading into town for confirmation, so he threw a pizza in the pizza oven and we ate a few pieces before dashing out the door. No ice cream tonight (yet), but still not the best choices in food.

At this rate, I'll be filling out that bunny suit, I mean new jammies, by the time Jim gets home Saturday!

Thankfully, our Spring weather trend has continued so I've been able to counter our eating efforts with some running. Some, but probably not enough. I just know tomorrow won't be much better then suddenly it's Friday and well, I just checked shamrockshake.com, and there have been sightings in Wisconsin today so I'm just going to have act on that soon!

Really? Are you more surprised there's a website out there for that or that I'm not the only Mint Freak?

Now there's a comfort food... But don't get me started.

Hell Hath No...

Way back in the 20th century, we said: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Now in the 21st century, we say: "Hell hath no fury like a 7th-grade girl scorned."

I think you know where this going.

Just in time for the Oscars, we have a new nominee in the Drama category -- a documentary simply called Middle School. (I think this is a remake of that old Junior High movie, also made back in the 20th century before school structures changed.)

The bad news is that junior high -- even by a different name -- really hasn't changed that much. The good news is that junior high really hasn't changed that much -- and another generation can suffer the associated angst and acne and attitude that we all did.

We thought we made it through Valentine's Day unscathed. Carter, after all, has told some interested parties that he'd rather wait than have a "middle school relationship." Unfortunately, there are women out there (oh, we all know a few) who can't take "no" for an answer.

Girls, remember back in our school days when we'd like a boy how we tended to pick on him, be a little mean -- just to throw him off the scent, so to speak? Well that's still the strategy in 2011, but their tactics are a little bit different. Now when they pick on a boy, they can go global with it by posting it on a social media site for everyone to see. Then the boy (and I know one) doesn't think it's that funny and certainly doesn't embrace the sentiment that it was just a joke.

So when said boy says to said girl that he's not a fan, she can respond by posting something even nastier, then flip out. A bit. And in class, that's a bit too theatrical even for the drama teacher. So after a loud "Why don't you like me?" the estranged couple is escorted to the principal's office to sort things out.

Not something I want to hear my first day of 5 as a single mother again this week (hubby's in Vegas for work). But the issue was resolved. The boy wasn't in trouble, merely had to accept an apology from the scorned woman ... and probably vow to avoid her at all costs.

I explained to this young man that he better be taking the high road and not fight back with any negative comments -- verbally, written, texted or otherwise. Just ask Tiger Woods and Brett Favre (to name a few), anything can be traced and shared with anyone and everyone. Don't write something in an email about somebody, for example, and act surprised if it is forwarded to the person you are talking about. Don't "voice" anything you wouldn't want any one to hear.

Thumper had it right when he said, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." And Thumper probably got that reading the Good Book about "Doing onto others..."

I realize I am the pot calling the kettle black. Here I am blogging in a very public forum about inside information that could be embarrassing to a teenage boy. So let's not tell him!

Seriously, I have always lived by the mantra never write anything you wouldn't want your mother to read! I do my best to stay positive and project a Christian attitude, but sometimes, well, let's just say I'm glad my mom doesn't have a computer!

Because we all know a mother scorned trumps all!

Love is...

Since it's Valentine's Day, I could go on and on about the wonderful 3 1/2 men in my life, but I'll spare you just this once. Maybe.

Obviously, on holidays like this, we think about the people in our lives who we love. But the word "love" is used for so much more, isn't it?

I might hear a tune on the radio and say "I love this song!" Or read a good story and say "I loved that book!" Or see a broadway musical called Wicked and "love, love, love it!" I know I have friends and family who love the Packers. I still love them anyway (the people, not the Packers). And don't you just love Christmas? Hugs? Sunshine? Back rubs? Golf? And, of course, there's no doubt I love my ice cream.

I thought I'd share some recent snapshots of things we love in our family...

We love exploring our creativity. While I enjoy writing and scrapbooking, Carter still lets his imagination run wild when he gets "bored."

He recently created some domino chains -- I'm sure inspired by something he either saw on TV or on YouTube.

He set these up in the basement and as you can see, they fell like they were supposed to.

I think he took a short video of it on his iPod but I'm pretty sure I captured the level of excitement here just fine.

We also love music! While hubby likes his classic rock and playing air guitar, air drums, air keyboard and air harmonica, I still love my '80s music and just about anything. Carter enjoys a bit of everything and loves making his own music on his Euphonium (I just learned that's another word for the Baritone).

Here he is front and center along with some of the brass section playing in the Assumption Pep Band.

Carter gets a few pointers from his band teacher, Miss Thomas.

Is it just me or is the instrument getting "smaller" as he gets taller? It still seems like a whole lotta horn to be holding -- for 45 minutes!

We also love showing our love to each other... whether it's hugs or a helping hand or Happy Valentine's Day surprises...

Carter has wanted the National Treasure movies for quite some time. Lots of interesting history finds its way in the story lines. Who says learning can't be action-packed and fun?

Jim loves his Cincinnati Reds -- especially the 1975 World Series team! (You can find vintage anything online these days!)

And I love being warm ... and eating popcorn. Here I am with my life-size footie-hoodie jammies and my life-sized bags of cheese popcorn! I was not exaggerating, was I?

That's love!

Melt Down

I know Mother Nature is just teasing us, but I have to say I like it!

We had perfect Spring, yes Spring, day today! Sometime this afternoon the temp was at 49 and I'm guessing it tipped 50 at some point. It sure felt like it! Bye-bye snow -- let the meltdown begin!

I made sure Carter and I got up for 8 o'clock church so we could enjoy the day. Not that we spent a ton of time outdoors. Carter had to finish an essay on Russian history and thankfully I didn't have to read it!

When he and Daddy went to do some batting practice, I went out for a run. How could I not? This is my kind of running weather -- temps in the mid-40s. Definitely not too hot, that's for sure, and not too cold where it's painful to my lungs. Did a 5-mile route today with a 60-second walk after each mile marker. Am feeling woefully out of shape but it felt awesome to be there! It's too bad it's not going to last until the calendar says Spring!

I did have to spend plenty of time indoors. Had to hide out in the Scrap Cave and start getting stuff organized for Camp. I have a loooonnnnngggg ways to go! Good thing it's not next week already. I know how I'll be spending my free time anyway.

Tonight I was going to slip into my jammies and watch the Grammys. Lady Gaga's entrance almost scared me away, but I had to watch a little even if I don't have a clue who half the people are. This is what happens when we get old. We are no longer hip. And no longer hip enough to know hip isn't a hip word anymore.

But then my in-laws showed up to deliver a Valentine for Carter, and they watched a few minutes with us. Suddenly I felt hip again. Or cool. Or dope? Or fly? Or is it fresh now? ... Or today, just plain Springy!

Sweet!

Although the first thing I did after getting up after 8 a.m. was make cinnamon rolls and do my Saturday chores, I was not the hardest worker in the house.

Nothing slaved all day like my Netbook computer as I uploaded hundreds and hundreds of photos to the Walgreens website so I can get pictures ordered. When I have high-res photos like mine, it is a long, slow process. So I was uploading all day pretty much and, even now, I am getting my last batch of Christmas photos up.

Then, of course, comes the long process of picking what to print because I really don't need ALL of them just now. But I am not staying up late to do that tonight!

Did get a few things accomplished today. Got some cleaning done and laundry done and got outside in the above-freezing temperatures for a run. Managed 4 miles but had some scheduled short walk breaks in there. That was good. Leg feels good and I'm mostly crediting it to getting new shoes. Not that I know anything...

While the boys were taking some hitting practice, I went to town to run some errands -- including finding something for Carter for Valentine's Day. We are getting him some baseball gear but he has to have something to tide him over, right? Good thing I picked it up today because when I got home, those two were ready to exchange Valentine's gifts. That was fine with me. A big box with my name on it arrived the other day and I was pretty curious.

So after supper, the guys bring out two huge boxes for me. First one was from Carter. Two gigantic -- and I mean industrial size -- bags of cheese popcorn. Yum, yum, yummy! Do I have to share?

The second one was from hubby. A very cool container like a wire hat box and inside was a Pajama Gram. These are luscious, soft, footy pajamas for women. Oooh, they are nice and warm! Mine are pink so I sort of look like Ralphie from the Christmas Story movie, but I don't care. They're awesome! No one knows my cold feet like Jim!

What a pair of sweet, sweet, sweeties I live with!

Oh by the way, I got Jim a vintage t-shirt from the Reds' 1975 World Series and got Carter 2 movies he's wanted for quite awhile.

After all that excitement, we went to the Assumption boys game -- playing some Saturday evening hoops against Amherst. They got killed. Amherst is pretty darn good.

When we got home, Carter and I decided we needed an early Valentine's treat so I got out my rolling pin, crushed some regular and mint Oreos, and we had homemade Blizzards. Hey, nothing says love like ice cream...

Except maybe cheese popcorn and fuzzy jammies!

TGIF

Another week has flown by like Elphaba on her broom.

Yes, another Wicked reference -- I got the soundtrack in the mail today! Just a wee bit excited here! Listening to Defying Gravity as I type this and thinking tomorrow will be a good day to camp out in the Scrap Cave and listen to the whole soundtrack!

Just an uplifting ending to a pretty good day.

Had a productive day at work, capped off with dinner at Ponderosa Pines with our friends Mike and Christine. We decided to leave Carter at home so we could have a "grown-up" evening. So we were able to extend our evening at another establishment and not have to worry about a bored kid on our hands.

And Carter was far from bored at home. He claimed he practiced his baritone for half an hour. Not sure if that was before or after his phone call from one of his girl friends (2 words). Thank goodness for caller I.D. Our kids can't get away with anything these days! (But don't tell them that.)

Was relieved when I got home to learn that 2 gentleman in my extended family who I was praying for today both came through their surgeries OK. Now the really hard part comes. Chemotherapy for one and cardio rehab for the other. Not easy when they are elderly -- a term I give anyone older than my hubby but younger than my dad. Once they are my dad's age, they're just plain old.

No offense, Dad.

My parents flew home today after more than a month in Texas. At least they brought some warmth with them (according to the forecast). Of course, I thought that warming trend was going to start this morning so we did not give Carter a ride to the bus stop. On the way to work we learned it was 14 below zero. Whoops. I guess we've been abandoning that kid left and right today!

Something tells me we'll make it up to him this weekend. When I take a break from Defying Gravity... and quit defying motherhood!

Holy Cats

I've moved on from talk of Tiger Moms and Cougars to a new cat... the Jaguar. You'll see why...

One of the perks of working in a town 45 miles away from home is that gradually, over time, you get to know the "locals" -- community members you don't necessarily work with but see most week days at places like the fitness center, where I try to work out a few times a week and where Carter has "camped out" for the past 5 summers.


One of their native sons hit the big time last year when he was drafted as a defensive end for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who coincidentally are coached by one of my favorite Vikings, the former #55 Jack Del Rio.

I had heard Austen Lane (#92) was "home" in Iola for a few weeks and was seen by one of my co-workers at the fitness center. This is not a big deal to the locals because to them, he is just family. This is a big deal, however, to goofy people like me (and Carter) who just think of him as a larger-than-life superstar.

Today I went to the fitness center over lunch break and had all intentions of a light workout as I ease into my running routine. I'm trying to baby my stretched muscle while at the same time, break in my new running shoes. I'm always complicated.

So I start out walking today and then run, then fall into a routine of intervals. Then in walks Mr. Lane! The first thing I thought was I can't wait to tell Carter. The second thing I thought was there's no way I'm gonna let an NFL player see this old lady just walking. So I kicked it in gear and kept up a steady run -- no walking -- for the rest of my workout. He was on the machine right behind me so I couldn't exactly slow it down! (Did I mention I am always complicated and most often crazy, too?)

If the whole Phy. Ed. class wasn't in the same room, I would have probably engaged him in some sort of conversation (using Carter as an excuse -- I'm good at that). But I didn't want to look like a silly school girl among other silly school girls.

So maybe next time. After I go get my hair done... and shave my legs... and find something he can autograph. I'm kidding!

Sort of.

Counter-Productive

Is it Murphy's Law or Bizarro World where everything you say turns out the opposite? Perhaps it's just MY world some days.

I had figured with Carter at confirmation then basketball practice, that this would be one of those "free nights" to get a lot accomplished. Or at least something. So I put my A.D.D. skills to the test and multi-tasked the heck out of the night!

I'm still working on downloading/uploading photos from my digital camera so I can have them made into prints before scrap camp. While the images were "in progress" I would catch snippets of American Idol, since I haven't really got to watch any of the auditions. During commercials, I'd alternate between running down to the laundry room to check on clothes and going into the computer to check on photos.

At the end of the night, I accomplished 2 loads of laundry, burned 2 more CDs of pictures so all of 2010 are off the camera, and managed to see some good auditions for Idol (including tear-jerker stories), was able to watch my new favorite comedy Modern Family and got a little work done.

I guess when you add it up, it seems way more productive than I thought. However, now it's bedtime and I still did not get to a project for work that I literally have carried home each night this week... and carried back to work each morning. It just stays in my work bag waiting to get done. I guess I'll have to set aside my 25th hour of the day on Thursday to get it done.

Though I probably shouldn't have said that out loud. Now my Bizarro Murphy's Counter-Productive Law will kick in! Sigh...

Tough Competition

When we found out Carter could play in Pep Band tonight we decided to go watch the Assumption girls try to handle the tough Auburndale Apaches.

I made sure I had my camera packed so I could embarrass Carter by taking pictures.

I'm pretty sure it worked because my nephew Colin was sitting in the crowd and he was probably saying something like, "Look, it's Carter's mommy taking his picture!" I'm sure Colin wouldn't say anything like that, but when I was practically on the stage to get a good shot, there was no question I was there! I'm not even sure any turned out. I forgot my fresh batteries. So we'll have to see if I can post some on here soon.

That would be unfortunate if they don't turn out since he seemed to take an inordinate amount of time deciding what he was going to wear! This, only minutes after he had asked Daddy and me (separately, but we conferred later) about "hanging out" with some girl "friends" this weekend. Hmmm. Does he think we don't connect the dots?

So while our girls' hoops team struggled and lost against their tough competition, I'm wondering how the 12-year-old fared in the bleachers with his competition. From where I sat (with a good view, of course), I couldn't tell if he was competing with some other guy for some girl's attention or the 2 girls next to him were competing for Carter's attention.

Hmmm. I haven't connected those dots yet...

Blessed are ...

...Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth...

Not sure there were any meek football fans in Wisconsin today. But thankfully Mondays are so busy in my little corner of the world that there wasn't a whole lotta time to replay the play by play.

Carter didn't have it so lucky. The deal on Friday was that if the Packers won, the kids could "dress down" today instead of school dress code. So even though he's color blind, he's still pretty sure all he saw was green and gold today.

And heard about it, too.

"I just wish there was a restraining order on how much they could talk about it!" he said. I guess it wouldn't be so bad but he said they keep bringing up the Vikings. And I say, what's the point?

It didn't take long, though, to remember that football is so inconsequential to bigger things happening in life. One of the families at school lost their home to a fire last night. It happened to start during the game when they had a full house -- but thankfully the family and visiting friends all got out safely.

Makes us realize once again, that whether we are meek or not, we are certainly blessed in many ways.

Today I am blessed to have a roof over my head. I'm blessed to have a job and a wonderful family. And blessed to have some friends who are pretty awesome (from February to September, anyway).

Land of Cheese (and assorted snacks)

Even us non-Packers fans had a busy day full of fun and eating and then some eating... That's what Superbowl Sunday is all about, right?

This morning we went to breakfast before church. We enjoyed a fund-raiser "Arts" brunch spotlighting the art students at Assumption. Carter had two pieces on display -- an illusion and and an abstract. Such culture so early in the morning!

After church, we ran some errands and prepared for the next meal out!

Went to our friend Chet's house. He has a Superbowl party every year no matter who is playing. We lounged around there a few hours for pre-game munchies, then got home just in time to park the car, grab so more food and walk across the street to our neighbor's for another party.

It's so nice that people love us just the way we are... that and the fact that we brought food!

Was not really cheering against the Packers -- other than the fact I was wearing hubby's vintage (yes, literally vintage) Mean Joe Green jersey. Was really just hoping to profit from them on one of the many pools I "invested" in. As far as I know (some of the numbers weren't picked when we left the first party), that didn't pan out.

Also was hoping the game would at least be close to keep it interesting for us neutral fans. It definitely was! Now I'm just plain full and happy for my friends and family who are jumping for joy tonight.

As for me, I'm already moving on to the next sport. Just 21 days until the Twins' first spring training game!

Simply OZ-some

I absolutely love when something lives up to its hype. And Wicked definitely did that!

As I was reading the book last night, I decided not to finish it after all. Whether the musical follows the book closely or not, I wanted to be surprised at the ending. And I was!

I realize I am just about the last person on the planet to see this Broadway play, but I still will be nice and not spoil it. I can say it's the story of friendship between the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good -- 2 characters we all know from the Wizard of Oz. And, as the promo trailers indicate: so much happened before Dorothy dropped in...

My friend Christine and I hit the road (not the Yellow Brick one) by 10:30 a.m. so we'd have time to grab some lunch in Appleton before heading over the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. Got there plenty early to snap some photos in the lobby. Then headed inside to our seats -- in the 4th row!!

Oh yes, we have been excited about this since we got our tickets in October. A long wait and soooo worth the wait.

Nothing compares to live shows with the orchestra playing and all the sights, smells and sounds. It was an incredible theatrical production -- not to mention the wonderful story line and phenomenal singing. We laughed a lot. And, well, we cried, too. I honestly was moved to tears at least 3 times. Some of it due to the story and some of it due to the power of song. After the end of the first act, I just sat there and said, "Wow!"

And really, no words can describe it justly. I'll just say I can see why people see it more than once and definitely can understand why it's a great show to see with your sisters and girlfriends...

Even the Wicked ones.

TGIF (Thank God it's Fun Day)

Since this week was Catholic Schools Week (locally anyway), it was capped off today with Student Appreciation Day. And how do we "appreciate" students in Wisconsin in the dead of winter? Send them to an indoor water park, of course!

So we gave Carter a ride to school since I had a 7 a.m. back-crackin' appointment. Then he had to endure 2 hours of school. Then hop on the bus and have fun the rest of the day. Lucky! He said he had a blast and, really, how could you not? A "Fun Day" beats school and definitely beats work!

We had some fun, too, tonight. Got to go see our nephew Colin play hoops. Assumption boys beat those (us) Lutherans in both the JV and Varsity game. It was fun to watch since we just don't watch enough basketball games in our lives.

Right.

I will actually miss Carter's tournament tomorrow since I am going to have a girls' day over in Appleton and see the Broadway musical Wicked. I have had the tickets since early October so you might say I'm a little excited to finally be just hours from seeing it.

I had not read the book that the musical is based on. My friend Christine, who is going with me, lent it to me back in December. I was not sure I wanted to read it or not. You never know if it's going to help you know some background or confuse you too much if the live version strays from the written word.

So I didn't decide 'til just the other night that I was going to tackle the inch-thick book. I am less than a hundred pages away now so I really better go finish it. Now!

I have a feeling between that and the play tomorrow, I am going to be dreaming in green all weekend.

And trust me, it has nothing to do with the Packers!

Monkey Momma

Have you checked your paper placemat lately? Today is the Chinese New Year! We now begin the Year of the Rabbit ... and just when I was getting used to writing Tiger on my check!

I wouldn't say I am obsessed with Chinese culture of late... just highly interested since the buzz about Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother began. Yes I said Tiger mother, not to be confused with Cougar moms. Sorry, guys.

I have not read the book by Amy Chua, but got a chance to read a lengthy piece about it (and more) in the Jan. 31 issue of Time magazine. The author calls herself a "Tiger Mom" because she was born in the year of the Tiger. If you pay attention to her mother skills, you might think of other adjectives for tigers including intimidating and ferocious.

The self-confession that caught people's attention was her story about forcing her 7-year-old daughter to practice piano for hours on end with no breaks for water or even the bathroom. She also admitted in her book that she has rejected homemade cards from her daughters if they didn't put enough effort into it and, on one occasion, called her older daughter "garbage" when she acted disrespectfully.

Not to defend her, but I have heard mothers call their children worse things than that. She does make some good points that caused me to pause a moment and think about how we are raising our son.

She points out that Western parenting (that's all of us) is shocking and horrific. In a recent interview, Chua said she couldn't believe "how much time Westerners allow their kids to waste -- hours on Facebook and computer games -- and in some ways, how poorly they prepare them for the future."

Raise your hand if you're guilty of that. Who isn't -- to some extent? I do agree with her contention that we (us Westerners) are so focused on self-esteem we do not prepare our children for real-world competition. Sure it seems "nice" to not keep score in a game when the kids are 5 or 6 years old and are learning it, but when everyone gets a ribbon for participating, what's to make these children strive for more? Even now, when Carter is on the competitive team for basketball, I wonder why they are bothering with games for 5th and 6th place. They still get a ribbon for that! (We have 2 of these at home!)

I wonder how his generation will know when they have truly been successful at something if they don't know what failure is?

Sorry, Ms. Chua, but as a Monkey Mom (yes, born in the year of the Monkey), I am guilty of trying to bolster my son's self-esteem when I can. And I don't feel bad about it. However, I do try to be realistic. He's not going to excel at everything he tries. He needs to know that and we (his Rabbit Father and me) need to know that -- and accept that.

When it comes to academics, we do have high expectations because we know he is quite capable.

When it comes to music, we don't require endless hours of practice each night, but he does have to practice. He accidentally acquired some natural talent with those brass instruments so we think he should honor the gift God gave him.

As for sports, that's a touchy one. He is capable but we often have to push him to practice so he can improve. When he does improve, he is so glad he put forth the extra effort. But it's taking that first step of pushing himself that takes our extra effort to begin with.

Chua said, "What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it." I tend to agree... but only to a certain extent. I can definitely say Carter had a blast last year during tournament baseball season when he finally started hitting the ball and making some plays! You work hard, you improve, it's fun.

But I also think the learning process can be fun, too. Sometimes there is a little joy when you finally just understand something -- even if you are not even close to mastering it. Take parenting for example. It's not always a barrel of Monkeys (or Rabbits or Tigers), but I wouldn't change a minute of it for all the chopsticks in China.

Would you?

Furry Forecaster

I confess I haven't always been loyal to Punxatawney Phil. Year after year after year, it's always the same thing on Feb. 2. Six more stinkin' weeks of winter!

I don't feel the least bit guilty jumping on his bandwagon the year he actually predicts an early spring. Nope. Not in the least.

Though I wonder if that is the case today when perhaps he didn't see his shadow because the snowdrifts were too high to let in the sun?? And here's a question: When he doesn't see it and therefore can't claim "6 more weeks of winter" does that really mean it's an early spring or do we just assume that? What if it really means there are 7 or 8 more weeks instead of 6?

You gotta wonder. Especially this week.

The weird thing about this "historic" winter storm is that, knock on wood, we are unaffected. I have friends and family stretching from Madison down to Texas and all points in between who are suffering the wrath of this monster (as they call it on the Weather Channel). In fact, the school district just 20 miles south of us was closed today, too. But we somehow got on the safe edge of the line and got nothing.

I am quite relieved but in a way, a little bummed that we can't say we were part of the Big One.

But that feeling doesn't last long. I hear about all those power outages and see the forecast for temps and windchills well below zero and I am no longer envious. I go turn on my electric mattress pad and thank God it was the One that got away...

Hope you all survive the next "less than 6 weeks" of this! Happy Groundhog Day!

That's Classic

As a lover of the written word, I always get a little enjoyment out of the hidden creativity behind real-estate ads. A tiny, run-down house becomes "quaint" or just a "cozy home that needs your love."

I guess if we all wrote like those Realtors we'd have more attractive descriptions of ourselves, wouldn't we? Instead of "pushing 50," as my hubby reminds me, I am merely "experienced" or "seasoned."

I heard a new one, though, from my dear son.

He was reading something I wrote that mentioned I had 20 years' experience in publishing. Holy crap, yes, I am that old, er, seasoned. Anyway, he reads it and says, "Wow, Mom, you're a classic!"

Nice, eh?

I suppose I'd prefer to be classy over a classic but there's little chance of that either. So I guess I'll stay this "cozy little classic momma that needs some love."

Going once... going twice... sold to the brown-eyed boys on Blue Jay Drive!