The Return of Blogging for Books

About a year ago I joined a program called Blogging For Books. I reviewed two or three books through the program (Ahem... I still have a book belonging to a certain someone sitting here on my kitchen counter... You know who you are!) and then the program shut down for a reorganization. I was bummed!

A few months after the program shut-down, I saw on Facebook that the revamping was done and that it was returning. I had signed up for the new program, but I started seeing posts saying that the program was up and running, and I hadn't heard anything about it.

I finally went to their website and re-signed-up for the new program. Guess what? We're back in business! My first review book is on it's way and I'm so excited! Stay tuned for book reviews and maybe some giveaways!

E Is For Exercise

E is also for EWWWW, which kind of describes how I feel about exercise... That being said, we're on a new kick in our house... We've been eating healthier and exercising more and you know what? It's not so bad!


I *HATE* the word 'diet'. I don't even like the words 'lifestyle change'. I don't WANT to change my life style per say. I refuse to believe that I'm on a diet and since I've been doing Weight Watchers, I don't feel like it's a diet. I am being completely honest when I tell you that I eat the same things now that I ate before, just in smaller portions (and sometimes not even!). That, and I track every single thing I put in my mouth (Okay, sometimes not diet coke, water or gum, but you get the idea...)... And I'm having success! So far I've lost 13 pounds!


Exercise... Yes, I've even been doing that. I work long hours, I have kids to take care of when I get home, I'm tired, I have to get dinner on the table, I have meetings, etc., etc., etc. It's not always easy to squeeze in time to exercise, but you know what? Wii Fit is AWESOME! I've been (almost) completely faithful about exercising at least five days a week, and at least 3 of those five days I exercise using Wii Fit. I do step aerobics, I run, I bike, I ski, I hula-hoop, I play with penguins, and all in the comfort of my own living room. You can't beat that!


So... If you've thought about trying to get healthier, why not give it a try? It's not so bad... Take it from one of the laziest people on Earth! And if you're looking for an exercise buddy or someone to swap recipe ideas with, let me know!

Grammy's Birthday

Oh my goodness... WE. ARE. AWFUL.

When I say awful, I mean REALLY, REALLY AWFUL!

You won't believe this, but we forgot Grammy's birthday. YEP! COMPLETELY FORGOT IT! Her birthday was last Saturday and I realized it on Monday... MONDAY!! Can you believe it? (See... One more example of the fact that I'm not as organized and together as you all seem to think I am!)

When I realized this tragedy on Monday, we called her right away. I felt horrible! The kids left her messages but we never heard back from her. (Turns out they were out of town!) When we finally heard from them we invited them to come for dinner Friday night. Soo...

Last night we celebrated Grammy's birthday. The kids had a blast playing with Grammy and Papa and I think Grammy enjoyed her belated celebration! *WHEW!*

Happy birthday, Grammy! We love you VERY much! Please know that our forgetfulness is absolutely NO reflection on how we feel about you!

Rules For Staying Young

Looking for the 'Fountain Of Youth'? Not able to find it? Try these helpful hints for staying young!

1. Try everything twice. On one woman's tombstone she said she wanted this epitaph:
"Tried everything twice. Loved it both times!"

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!)

3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever... Never let the brain get idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' (And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!)

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with him/her.

6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. LIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever... Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it.
If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips... Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. I love you, my special friend.

11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second chance. Remember! Lost time can never be found.

See? You look younger already!

Writer's Workshop

Every evening I ask the kids how school was and make them tell me at least three things they did that day. I hear a lot of, "We did math, language arts, and worked on a project," or, "We ate snack, played outside and I played in the play house," and always I make them elaborate to tell me WHAT the math was or WHO they played with, etc. Tonight Big A told me that they did math, language arts, and Writer's Workshop.

Well, as usual I pressed for more information. I asked if they were still measuring things in math and he told me that they were. I asked what they'd worked on in language arts and he told me they'd worked on the letter 'P'. Then I asked what they'd written about in Writer's Workshop today and he said that they didn't write today, that they'd done partner reads.

Really?!?! Partner reads in Kindergarten?!?! (Reason number 6,372 why I LOVE Big A's school so much!) So I took it a step further... "What are partner reads?"

Big A - "Oh! It's where a partner reads your paper and you read theirs."

Me - "WOW! What do you look for when you read their papers?"

Big A - "We look for finger spacing, capitals, periods, question marks, exclamation points, all that stuff."

Me - "WOW! That's GREAT!!" (See?!?! I. HEART. HIS. SCHOOL.!!!)

Are You A 'REAL' Friend?

What does it mean to be a 'real' friend? Too often we meet people who we think are our friends and they turn out to not be 'real'. They turn on us, they hurt us, they only think about themselves, etc.

So what does it mean to be a 'real' friend? Merriam Webster Dictionary defines real as "not artificial, fraudulent, or illusory; genuine; being precisely what the name implies". Does that define you? Are you a REAL friend? Are you a REAL person?

I strive to be real in all that I do. I strive to be real as a spouse, mother, daughter, friend and person. With me, what you see is what you get.

Why are there so many people in this world who pretend to be something they're not? Why are there people who pretend to be your friend just to get something out of it? Why are there people who turn on you as soon as you say one wrong word but then pretend to be your friend again the next day? I don't get it... Thoughts? Ideas? Insights? Share them with me!

I am so thankful that I have so many real friends out there... You know who you are! I just want to say how much I appreciate you and cherish you! THANK YOU!

Children's Youth Group Afternoon At The Movies

Today was our January Youth Group event, "An Afternoon at the Movies". You see, I have to plan these events more than a month in advance so that I can get them into the newsletter and on December 15th, when I had to plan January's event, I was in the height of the holiday madness and all I could think about was wanting to relax.

Sooo.... That's exactly what we did! The kids brought their blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals, we popped up some popcorn, tossed in some M&Ms, threw in a movie, and kicked back! The adults worked, slept, chatted and played iPhone games. It was great!

Looks like the kids had a blast! Dads? Not so much... Or... Maybe that's their, "I'm having SO much fun," look!

Another successful event, I'd say!

Until next month....

Renovation...

So what do you think of the new look? Yes, I finally changed it up.

ShabbyBlogs.com, one of the sites that I use for backgrounds and banners, was making changes to their coding and asked that everyone replace the background code by January 31. (For those of you who aren't bloggers, this won't mean much...) I figured rather than grab the new code, I'd go with a whole new look! I like it... I usually like more color, but this is nice.

The biggest problem I have when I'm looking at new designs is that I find a background I like but can't find a matching banner or I find a banner I like but not a matching background. Oh well! Unless I want to pay someone to design my blog, I have to stick with what generous people are offering for free!

Birthday Bash

Today Little A had her gymnastics party. Now I'm not normally the type of person who pays someone else to throw a birthday party for my kids (Although let me tell you, this was MUCH easier!!!) but I bid on a gift certificate at a silent auction and got a GREAT deal on this party.


It was AWESOME! We showed up to an already decorated party area with a cake, juice boxes, snacks and paper goods, and two fine young men did the rest.

They started by warming up...

I love how these two girls are concentrating so hard... Check out their tongues hanging out!

After warm-ups the kids went to an area where they could hang on the rings and land in a foam pit, bounce on a small trampoline, hang from bars, fly through the air with ropes and a trampoline and do tricks on a L O N G trampoline...

Next we headed to the B I G foam pit where the kids ran and jumped and swung from ropes and jumped... I was having so much fun watching, that I barely got any pictures!

And finally.... THE ZIP LINE! This is the first party I've been to where every child tried the it!

2 years old and no fear! (Well... There WAS fear, but only from his grandma and grandpa!)

And then it was time to head to the party area...

At Little A's request Molly made her another perfect Hello Kitty cake... Thanks, Molly!

Cake, presents, a group photo and we were done...

All we had to do for clean up was toss everything in the garbage can... TOO EASY!!!

Thank you, Rohnert Park Gymnastics, for making Little A's party so fun!

Lexiphiles... GROAN...

Lexiphile... I know, right? Does anyone even know what that means? I looked it up, and according to Urban Dictionary, a lexophile (yes, they spell it with an 'o' instead of an 'i') is a lover of words.

So... That explains the subject of the email I was sent... "Lexiphiles". Are you ready for these?


* To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

* When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.

* A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.

* When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.

* The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.

* The batteries were given out free of charge.

* A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.

* A will is a dead giveaway.

* If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.

* With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.

* Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.

* You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

* Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.

* A boiled egg is hard to beat.

* When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.

* Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.

* Did you hear about the fellow whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.

* If you take a laptop computer for a run you could jog your memory.

* A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.

* In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your count that votes.

* When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds

* The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.

* He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

* Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

* When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

* Acupuncture: A jab well done.


I'm sorry, I had to do it! You're welcome!

Big Aism - Dirty Feet

Tonight we went to a dinner at our church. Little A was with Grandma and Grandpa and rather than wait for them to pick us up, Big A and I decided to walk over (just around the corner). For some reason, one half of one of the blocks on the way to church doesn't have concrete, just dirt. As you can imagine, it tends to be quite muddy this time of year. Right now, having had quite a few dry (but C O L D) days in a row, the dirt is MOSTLY dry. There was however, one small patch that was a bit muddy.

As we approached this mud hole I said to Big A, "Be careful, don't step in the mud," as I figured from experience (being a typical boy and all) that he'd head straight for it.

He replied, "I know, I didn't want to step in it because I knew God wouldn't want to have a dirty house."

Man, I love that kid!

Surprise!!

So you all know that Wednesday was my dad's 70th birthday, right? What I didn't tell you was that today we had a day filled with surprises for him. With his birthday so close to the holidays, it wasn't going to work out to have a big surprise party... It wasn't even going to work out to have a small surprise party... What DID work out, was to get all of the kids and some of the grandkids together for a short time, and that is what is most important to Dad, I'm sure.

Surprise #1... My sister from Utah flew out with her boyfriend. He was definitely surprised to open the garage door to leave for lunch and find my sister and her boyfriend and B and the kids and I all standing behind his car. I think opening your garage door and finding people there would surprise just about anyone!

We fixed him a super yummy lunch (Ina Garten's Blue Cheese Cole Slaw and Caesar Club Sandwiches) and sat and visited. It was super relaxing and we actually had him convinced that my brother from San Jose was NOT coming.

We finished lunch JUST in time for the next crowd of people. We managed to engage Dad in a bit more conversation and about that time in walked my oldest brother and another brother and sister-in-law and three of their four kids. Boy was Dad surprised!

After a fiery cake (with trick candles OF COURSE) we opened gifts and spent more time visiting (and watching the two youngest kids dance... CRAZY!).

Just about the time that most of the people listening to Dad's money talk had fallen asleep on the couches, the door bell rang. We made Dad answer it and you should have seen the look on his face when he found the babysitter on the other side of the door. He could NOT figure out why she was there.

We all got cleaned up and dressed up and headed out with Dad still very confused as to where we were going. Once we got into the city, he figured out we were going to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. The final surprise of the evening came once we were inside waiting for our table and the last sibling showed up with her husband.

We enjoyed a spectacular dinner with great company and I think that all in all, Dad had a pretty spectacular 70th birthday!