Auto-Incorrect

Smart phones are so smart these days they can finish your thoughts for you!

For example, you can send a text and it will assume the word you are trying to type and fill in the blanks. It's called "auto correct" so you trust it to be correct. And sometimes you are in a hurry so you don't even glance at the words, you just assume it's correct and hit send.

Never assume.

When you discover the auto correct was incorrect, it takes twice as long to send your message because you are explaining the mistake!

Sometimes, though, it is hilarious. Confusing but amusing.

Last week I was telling a friend about kickboxing class and meant to say something about not showing until 5:20 because there is a class until then. But my "because" was replaced with "nevus." So my friend thought the instructor's name was Nevus. Ha.

What the heck IS nevus? Well, according to my online dictionary: a birthmark or a mole on the skin, esp. a birthmark in the form of a raised red patch.

At least we know the smart phone has an in-depth dictionary!

Tonight, though, was the funniest. A friend, who shall remain anonymous (see how I protect her identity in the photo below?) had an appointment so we knew she would be late to Book Club. About the time we were going to get going on the discussion, I thought I'd check on her status.

This was our brief conversation...

Ohmigosh. I laughed so hard I couldn't even read it out loud to the group!

Granted, she did just have her eyes dilated. But I suspect she just thought she was typing ShopKo and hit send without looking. We got a good chuckle out of that and gave her some grief when she did finally arrive.

With no bail money required.

It'll make me look twice before I hit SEND. Probably should proof my blogs better before I hit SAVE as well. Unless it's funny, then I meant it on purpose. :)

Words of Encouragement

Two notes of note this week:

Vigilance

Carter brought home a little card from Sunday School yesterday about focusing on "Vigilance" this third week of Lent.

It read: "This week I will make plans to discard possessions that are not useful or beautiful. Too many possessions weigh us down and prevent us from noticing God's presence, from attending to God's voice presenting us with possibilities. It is difficult to change direction and follow a new path if we are burdened with more than we need. Seasoned travelers travel light. A cluttered home creates a cluttered mind and heart. It's time to begin spring cleaning!"

Wow, is that packed with a dozen messages for Robyn Austin! Good thing it doesn't say we need to act on this advice and accomplish it all in one week.

I did start by gathering up some "extra" arts and crafts supplies to donate to Carter's school for a giveaway. I went so far as to add a note that urged them to contact me if they didn't get enough items. I'd be happy to donate more.

That's such a teeny, tiny start but as one of my sisters pointed out this week, sometimes we gotta start out with baby steps and maybe that's all we can do for awhile. I could waste time saying, "It's overwhelming! I don't know where to start!" -- then get nowhere.

The important thing is to start. Somewhere! Take baby steps. Be vigilant!

Spellbound

Carter got some mail today. It was a card and note from my mom wishing him good luck at his next spelling competition. She had good intentions (mailing it last week) but unfortunately it arrived 2 days after the contest. Trust me, though, it was worth the wait.

In it Grandma (who could be called "Grammar" with her perfect language arts skills) gave Carter some words of encouragement, then ended it by writing (in her perfect penmanship), "I wuz allways good in Speling and I stil am tooday."

That's my mom and her sneaky, clever humor. Carter thought it was pretty darn funny. I said, "Now you know where I get my sense of humor!"

I also know it probably took her longer to figure out how to misspell the words than it did to write the whole note. Gotta luv her!

Consolation Prizes

Today was the day Carter competed in the next level of the Knights of Columbus spelling contest. We headed to Plover with butterflies in our stomachs. Seriously, I was just as nervous as Carter!

The format of the competition was the same. He would have 50 spelling problems. Each "problem" was a list of 4 words. The contestants had to identify if any were misspelled, then spell them correctly. If all were correct, they would just write "none." When Carter got done, he was not as confident as last time. Much harder words. "I think they were making words up!" Well, I guess that means he hadn't seen them before so didn't know if they were spelled correctly or not.

Needless to say, when the winners were announced, Carter Austin (or Austin Carter as he was called last time) was not among the top 2 6th-graders going onto state.

I could tell Carter was really disappointed. And I felt so bad for him, I wanted to cry. We just want our kids to do well, ya know?

I think he's over it. He really would like to know his score so he knows if he was just a point behind the winners or if he sucked (those are his words). We won't ever know the scores so I tried to convince him that if he did the best he could, that's all that matters.

I don't know if I did a good job consoling him or not, but here are a few things that probably could qualify as "consolation prizes":

~> We went out to lunch afterwards at iHop. If chocolate chip pancakes can't cure what ails you, what can?

~> By coincidence, they finally printed the results of the first round of the competition in today's newspaper. Carter was in two photos and his name was listed 3 times: spelling, 1st place; math, 2nd place; free throws, 2nd place. So at least he has his 15 minutes of fame.

~> It was a beautiful day. Sunny with temps in the mid-40s. So Carter got to release some frustration playing hoops (and I got to go for a run). Endorphins are always uplifting.

~> Carter 'fessed up that he is "back together" with that red head. This is a relatively new development. About 24 hours old so I am wondering if that was what was on his mind today. Hmmm. This is the part where I'm still the mom wanting him to be happy -- but stipulating that I prefer academic satisfaction. More on this in a moment...

~> We rounded out the day with a campfire next door. While us grown-ups were there, Carter, the next-door neighbor girl and the red head were all at Skate City -- not skating, just "hanging out." So while it should have been a relaxing time, I couldn't help looking at my watch and thinking of the latest "report" Carter was seen holding hands with his gal pal the evening before (photo proof) and wondering what they are doing now. When they did return, he claims it was pretty boring, but I think I recognize that twinkle in his eye. It's got nothing to do with correcting spelling errors.

Yikes. Where's my consolation when I need it?

Pride and Joy

My husband is sooooo lucky. Not only does he have a trophy wife, he's got a trophy son now, too! (Stop laughing. Part of that sentence is true, honest!)

Today Carter participated in a Knights of Columbus math, spelling and free-throw competition for Wisconsin Rapids students. It was something he thought a few weeks ago that maybe he'd do and then decided last night before he went to bed that, yes, he'd do it.

I think he was a little nervous. He actually woke up at 5:15 this morning and then, so he wouldn't wake us up, he finished reading a book he has to test on on Monday. I know. Some days I wonder, too. Whose kid is this?!

Both the math and spelling competitions ended up being written tests. So there was no spelling bee, per se, just 50 groups of words where Carter had to identify which word (if any) was misspelled, then spell it correctly.

When they announced the winners, they started with math. "In second place for 6th-graders is Austin Carter!" OK, we knew who he meant! Carter got a medallion for that (pictured above).

When they announced spelling and someone else got second, I figured Carter was out of it. Math, after all, is his best subject. He says anyway. But then they said, "And first place in spelling goes to Austin Carter!" Whoo-hoo. Then one of the Knights (who knows Jim, 'cause everyone does) said to the announcer, "That should be Carter Austin. Austin is his last name." No biggie. Not like they were engraving the trophy or anything! We did find out that by placing first, he'll have to compete at the district level in March. Thankfully, that's being held in Plover, a town only 15 minutes or so away.


The free-throw competition was happening after lunch so we took a lunch break at Taco John's and headed back to the school. Unlike the first two parts, we actually got to watch the hoops action. Each contestant had to shoot 15 free throws -- 3 rounds of 5 attempts. When Carter started out 4 out of 5, we thought, are you kidding me? Is he going to win this, too???

Silly parents. You gotta wait until it all plays out. He got cocky in the second round and then choked in the third. But managed somehow to finish second among 11-year-old boys. So he got another medallion for that, too.

It was quite a day for our pride and joy! We hadn't even gotten out of the parking lot yet and Daddy says, "Now Momma's got something to blog about Carter!" Seriously, it's not all about the blog. Well, sort of. This is how I can send a message to my whole family without having Carter make 10 separate phone calls.

He did call all the grandparents, though. He says to my mom, who always excelled in language arts, "Well, my mom thought you'd be especially proud of me, Grandma, since you like spelling so much!" Of course, she was proud. They all were.

We are, too. Nice work, son!