Brain Junk and Tidbits.

Ok so here are a few crumbs I have collected this morning as I have speed cleaned my house.  Why I'm in a hurry, I have no idea because I have pretty much nada to do for the rest of the day.

I guess I could sew some.  I have some lunch bags to make.  See, I'm taking (and issuing) a zero waste lunch challenge.  Can you pack lunch for your children (and yourself) this coming school year without using things that have to be thrown away?  My pal Fer the wonder seamstress shared a link with me way back in April for nylon reusable sandwich bags.  I'm going to try this.  I think if I combine the nylon lunch bags and the refillable juice box shaped water bottles I should be REALLY close to the zero waste lunch.  My only glitch is the daily yogurt and cheese stick.

And speaking of going back to school...We are only 3 weeks away!  Can I just tell you how stoked my kids are?  Tuck is crossing off days on the calendar to count down.  Mo is just ready to see her friends again.  And Munch?  She is ready for some peace and quiet.  I'm ready for the grocery bill to drop again.  Holy Smokes!!  These kids have been vacuum cleaners this summer!  And they've grown about two feet collectively. 

But the back to school means time to go shopping and I think we all know how I feel about shopping.  Thankfully shopping for my children is not nearly as devastating for me as shopping for myself so it won't be that bad.  And who doesn't love new crayons?  This year we are filling a third backpack for a local charity.  With the economy being what it is, I'm sure there are some kids staring down the calendar wondering how they are going to face that first day of school.  I hope we can help at least one of them. I strongly encourage you to search out your own area for a charity that may need the same kind of help.

Which leads us to the concept of "new."  Remember way back when I chopped off all my hair in a fit of "I'm so sick of this being in my face!"? Yeah well, now I'm ready for the bangs to grow back out because they are in my face.  I have that dorky split down the middle flipped up thing going on and it's driving me bajonkers.

And I tried a new swimsuit top yesterday.  A bikini for the first time in my life.  I've had two pieces but they have been tankinis so there was no tummy showing.  I'll be going back to that, thank you very much.  My stomach is resembling a cooked lobster right now.  You know how people say they look like a lobster?  Well when you consider that a lobster is brown, that's not such a bad idea.  It's the cooked ones that get ya.

While we're talking about cooking, I'm going to brag a little.  My Christmas presents for my teachers are almost done.  My tag teaming pal and I have been working the last few weeks on mini jars of various jellies to create neat little assortment baskets for our teachers for the holiday.  You can be jealous because so far we have blueberry, strawberry, peach, blackberry and cherry and we have tasted them all and they are FABULOSO!!  We are still adding some mint, grape, fig and savory onion garlic to our repertoire along with some apple and pumpkin butter.  Tell me you don't wish you were a neighbor or a teacher right now and I will call you a big ole fibber.

Which leads me to my last little snippet.  What is up with the fibbing?!  Mo has entered the fibber phase and I am really not "down" with that.  Will someone please tell me that it is a phase and that I am not raising a criminal here?

By the way, it looks like the other Max will not be joining us after all.  I believe that he has found a new home without our help so I may have dodged a bullet there.  The kids have joined Daddy's dog campaign though so I have probably already been out voted.  I might as well start looking at breeds I will tolerate. 

Hey, thanks for letting me brain dump.  I'm sure you're a bit dizzy from all of that and wondering how it all fits together and I'll just let you know...It doesn't!  Have a great day!

(By the way, I just thought the picture was really neat!  No political commentary or deep meaning - although I'm sure I could come up with one if I thought on it.)

It Goes by Many Names

Certain people call it Blog Fart Friday. The really classy ones anyway. I think The Mom, Jen at Cheaper than Therapy calls it Friday Fragments (but what does she know about class?). I should probably call my Car Rider Crumbs since all this stuff came up while I was sitting in the car rider line reminding Munch 4,862,973 times that we can't go home until we pick up the big guys.

Anyway, what ever you call it, the concept is simple. This is the randomness that couldn't be stretched into a full post even by me - the self proclaimed Queen of Fluffy Filler.

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There is something about finding a recipe online or in some obscure cookbook and having the courage to tweak it to your own signature. Almost like vandalizing a neighbor's house on Halloween (not that I would know). There's always the chance that something will go wrong or someone will drive by and catch you. But in cooking it's the chance that a spice will go sideways on you or will be one of those "strengthens as it cooks" or "dried and ground is not the same as fresh grated" spices. And the whole world suddenly knows that you were the one who messed with the standard. And they never eat at your house again.

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More proof that I am NOT a good person. I will not flash my headlights to warn people of the cop who is about to catch them blatantly speeding in a school zone. Call it tough love or discipline. But for the sake of my children, their classmates, and the school bus drivers, I want their happy lead feet to get busted.

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I'm thinking that a lifestyle tweaking may be in order. Writing and reading into the wee hours of the night is leading to a disastrous home and a heavy dependence on caffeine and Hershey bars. At my current investment level, I should own Pennsylvania and Brazil by Christmas but they'll be buried under unfolded laundry and dirty mugs with coffee reheat rings.


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As if having Facebook and e-mail on my Crackberry wasn't bad enough. Dummy me decided that I should add Twitter Berry to my repertoire. Stupid little blinking red light.

**************
I forgot how much I love NPR. The music makes me feel smart; the personalities have sweet mellow voices and the news is actually pretty close to neutral in its politics. It's like a soothing oasis in the middle of media gone mad.

Under the Weather

*If you read from my Facebook page you may want to click through to the original post to get the full effect."

I woke up this morning feeling tired but otherwise ok. I got everyone out of the house safely and in a timely manner. Then I tried to do my workout and promptly got woozy, fell over from a Downward Dog, jumped up and heaved. Go ahead and laugh. I did while I brushed my teeth. I still haven't fully recovered so my day has been spent watching the Hallmark Movie Channel.

It's a veritable fountain of infomercials just screaming to be blogged!



There is so much to highlight in this one! For starters, the idea that a personal grooming product is referred to as a weapon does not conjure painless images in my head. Then you have the funky feet that they used to shoot this. Please tell me you were as grossed out by the calloused heel as I was. Maybe this is why I've been nauseous all day. And why exactly do I want two of these things? Do I really need to do both feet at one time? Somebody still has to paint the toes right? I studied the little attachment things and I didn't see a paint sprayer in there but I might have missed it.

But there's more! (Told you I've been watching all day.)



Boy I'm glad they included those other springs to provide different levels of resistence. I'm a little dissapointed in the bonuses. A carrying bag? That's it? But my hubby and I wanted his and hers. And how much can you put on a DVD to support a Thighmaster for your neck? Can you prop it between your shoulder and your ear to get an all around workout? Who wants to bet that the special cream is really just Vaseline intensive care lotion?

But call now and I'll double your order for FREE! Oh, and let's talk about that. They don't have to tell me "But Wait!!" I'm hanging on every word from the very start just to see what my bonus is at the end. It's like watching the roulette wheel. Am I going to get a double order or are they going to take money off? Are they going to send me a carrying case, video or special promotional umbrella made out of frog fur? The tension is palpable!

I remembered now why I don't watch daytime TV. Can't stand the recycled soap stories; don't feel like watching fake court and laugh entirely too hard at the infomercials.

And Here are your Headlines for Today!

I love it when a headline from the Odd News catches my eye and sucks me in. It's like a mental train wreck and I can't help but stare. The real question is how do I get a job writing some of these articles? I mean this stuff is priceless and I have to think that laughing at the stupidity in this world would be one truly awesome job.

(I'm no Walter but I'll dedicate this coverage to his memory anyway - I hear he had a pretty good sense of humor.)

Here's the one that sucked me in.
Chinese bride trains eye on wedding dress record
I'm wondering how giddy this little bride is going to be when she realizes that a train that is 1.2 MILES long weighs a ton. And why in the world did they stop at 9,999 roses? Why not go for that one extra rose that put them at an even 10,000? Would it have really made that big of a difference? I love Mom's reaction "It's a waste of money." Just like a mom to look at the practicality of the issue.

Fans urged to drink whisky to ward off swine flu
I'm sorry but this made me laugh in a big way. They actually thought they needed to tell Russian soccer fans to drink? I guess maybe they had to announce the switch from vodka to whiskey. See if that had been Ireland there would have been no issue!

One dead in ear-cleaning salon attack
This one just freaked me out. First of all there are ear cleaning salons?! I am grossed out on so many levels right now. And how can a person get so attached to their "cleaner" that they feel the need to follow them home and stab them and their family?! You kill a person because of stubborn ear wax? That's a whole new line of defense!

Underweight team told to eat at least 15 eggs a day
I get it that it's a rugby team and you want them to be big burly guys and all. But aren't you even the least bit worried that they'll have heart attacks on the field? 15 eggs a day?! That cholesterol level has to be off the charts!

Kiss warning issued for rock festival due to flu
No real commentary about this story in particular. I mean I think the name of the festival is funny - Wacken Open Air Festival but that's not what got me. No, open this link and look at the picture that goes with it. Do you see the two senior citizens in the windsuits in the very front of the crowd? They're there for Napalm Death - I'm sure of it!

And now this last one. Nothing funny about it. Just sheer amazement and chin dropping.
Police find train "suicide" woman in bed
She got hit by a train. She made her way home. She went to bed. HOW?! I'm sorry but if I get hit by a train I'll be lucky if I make it back onto the platform. And she only had a broken arm?! I'm blown away.

And there's all the news that's fit to report today! From the Research Room this is T.B. Maid saying "May your water be blue and always go down!"

How Long Before They Get Their First ROFLMBO?

Waterloo, Iowa has launched a program that allows people to text to 911.

Take a minute and think about this. I've taken 24 hours and I'm still a little cloudy. Texting 911.

Now I understand if you have been in a car accident and you have a facial injury that makes it difficult to speak or makes your speech indiscernable. But are you really going to be able to think clearly enough to send a coherent message?

And yes I get that the hearing impaired can use the service but didn't they have the TTY service for 911 already?

Well, what about the home invasion scenario? I'm pretty sure the invaders make a point to take the phones away, don't they? Maybe if you get not so bright home invaders. And yes Katie Couric says that there are instances of people texting to friends to call for help when they've been kidnapped but how many instances have there actually been?

I just wonder how cost effective this idea really is. How many people are really going to use this service? How much training is going to have to go into teaching 911 operators to translate these messages? Because you know there are going to be abbreviations created specifically for emergencies.

CC. 2A, 3C, 1 BA, 2 BL.

I mean you understood that I was saying "Car Crash involving 2 adults, 3 children. 1 Broken Arm and 2 Broken Legs," right?

I just don't think I get it completely. Would YOU ever send a text message to 911? Why do I think that I see yet another governmentally induced money sucking whirpool in the making?

The Age Old Question

And not the questions that a certain friend of mine has taken to asking of late. Nothing about trees falling, where people park their cars, or even the great chicken egg dillema. None of those earth shaking, world crisis averting questions.


How old does she look?


Every woman reading just had a collective chill run up their spine and felt that tightening nausea in their stomachs. Why do people ask that question? Don't they know the traumatizing potential in that answer? And don't they realize the position they are putting the interrogated individual in? Strip them naked on the Grand Old Opry stage, hook them to a polygraph and shine a spotlight dead in their face why don't you? It might be more comfortable.


We went to dinner with some friends Saturday evening and Beloved, apparently unaware of the emotional peril contained in the question, asked the other female in the party that very question about me.


27. And the answer came back fast and very matter of factly.


Now as the mother of three under 6 and a woman who tries (sometimes very hard) to stay at least in the shadow of fitness, there were two directions my brain went with this.


Path A - Nice! All that yoga and swimming and walking and water have actually come to serve some purpose this summer. My scale may be in denial that I did any of it but perception is reality people.


Path B - Come on already! Haven't I earned my stripes? Do I really still look like someone fresh out of college? Don't I at least look like I could be the responsible parent of one or two? I have worked really hard for my thirty (mumble, mumble) years!


And it's not the first time THIS WEEK that I have been mistaken for someone much younger than my thirty somethings. Thursday I was purchasing some adult refreshments at the grocery store and of course my children were with me. The lady behind me in line was giving me a shady look when I presented my ID to the cashier. He cleared me and her countenance visibly relaxed with the return of my ID. It was odd but I wasn't going to make a big deal. The cashier remarked that I was only 2 years older than him and he thought I was actually younger than him. I didn't take offense because I know him and see him at the store regularly.


But then Snarky Eyes chimed in with "Really?! Those children are yours? I thought you were the babysitter!" Because every babysitter I've ever hired takes the children out to buy adult beverages. What?!


But back to the question. What if the friend at dinner had come back with 37? What if she had given me EXTRA credit for my years? How would I have felt then? Would I have been motivated to come home and do midnight pilates? Would I have been proud of my maturity?


And why do I even care? I am as young as I feel, right? But then if that's the case the popping in my ankles, knees and hips has me at 92 with one foot on a banana peel.


Maybe I'll stick with the 27 after all.

Yeah it was me! What are you going to do about it?

That person who just unfollowed you? That was me.

Trust me; it's for the best. I wasn't reading you and you weren't reading me so we're even. Now you have room on your blog roll and I have room on mine. We'll call it guilt reduction surgery. Or blogroll bypass.

And while we are on the subject. All those networks that I was part of? You can take me out. I'm not interested in playing the games anymore. I'll write; the people who feel like it will read. The networking thing is garbage anyway. I don't want to listen to you whine and I certainly am not in the mood to pander to your ego. Numbers don't really mean anything in the long run for me anyway because I don't do all the crazy PR stuff that was supposed to take over the world and have a thunderbolt impact on marketing and business. I really can't tell you the last time I read a review that wasn't on a business site so you have a lot more selling to do before you get me to buy into your power trip.

Let's see. What else can I highlight as a complete waste of blog time? Oh yes!! The lecturing people to be nice. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Well, it has been proven in the bloggy world. People are going to envy people who are bigger and better than them. If they are small enough to try to tear the big people down they will stay small. You can't change them if you lecture them every single day of thier itty bitty lives. So move on. Be responsible for you and your attitude.

Wow. That felt good. I think I might be ready to return to bloggy land. I think I have a better grip on my goal now. Write. Read. Learn.

All it took was one good Flush!

I Got Nuthin'.

Nope.

Not a blasted thing.

Brain is empty.

Oh well.

It's spring break so this could happen a lot this week. Mo is home from school and we are playing a lot so maybe I'll see you all after our little vacay. In the meantime if you feel like you have a little soap box moment or bizarre "this is something that would happen to Sarah" drop it off. sarahc51977(at)yahoo(dot)com. I'll pass on the linky love and maybe even editorialize for you. Now THAT'S some motivation!

Have a great week all! If you need me I'm the playdough statue under the dining room table sucking her thumb.

Brain Junk on an Empty Brain

You thought that was impossible didn't you? Wrong!

It is Wednesday and that means Garbage Day. Who wants to take a guess at who took the trash out and to the curb? Frickin', frackin', mumble, grumble, gripe.

If you have missed The Pushers, you need to head over to The Zoo and check them out. Gena made the point that they really are what Rhino referred to them as - pushers. Upon further reflection, she's absolutely right. We push doors open, drawers closed, children out of the way when our hands are full of grocery bags and heaven only knows what. A mother's "pushers" are her extra hands. Don't think about that - just go with it.

Big pressure is headed my way. Sissy has asked me to do a guest post for The Martians while she undertakes a move next week. There's something about guest posting on someone elses blog. It can go two ways. If you are really great at it you can maybe steal - I mean SHARE - some traffic. If you louse it up too bad, you not only trash the other person's blog but you totally torpedo your own while you're at it. I never thought I would say this, but I sure hope my kids can channel a little Aiden and Asher this week.

In other news, I did a e-mail interview for Parenting Magazine about our road trip with 3 under 5 last summer. At the end of my response I offered to take a road trip with the munchkins and provide video, blogging and other nonsense for them if they wanted an online compliment to go with the in print article. Think it will work? How awesome would that be if I could take three children by myself to Boston with someone else footing the bill? I say I would make it there and then feed myself to the lobsters.

Don't forget that tomorrow's Show me the Funny is all about April Fools Pranks you've pulled, had pulled on you, or have managed to turn back on the prankster. Snag the button over there and add it to your post. I'll probably put up Linky tonite so that you can get your links up first thing in the morning. Come on gang! You have to have some good ones.

Told you you could get brain junk out of an empty brain!

You May Have Noticed

that my writing has slowed down a little lately.

I was losing my inspiration. I was tired of Bloggy Land and all the nonsense that goes with it. On top of that the entire family (dog included) managed to catch the flu. Add the financial crunch that everyone is finding themselves in these days and I just could not shake the funk.

So I took a day off. I went out after church and did some dream shopping for a laptop/netbook at Best Buy and priced the oh so necessary external hard drive. Not that the entire family who was all trying to look at the same box slammed right up against the shelf even noticed me on my tip toes trying to see price tags and sizes over their heads.

Then I headed over to JoAnn's to see if I could find a pattern for a skirt for Easter (only a month away! Eeek!) and ended up talking to my parents from the pattern counter (weird) and walking out with nothing.

So then it was to Target to get the famous clippers (or they will be when the post goes up at The Zoo). And then I looked at the clock. I've only been out of the house for an hour and a half?! I can't surrender yet! I hate shopping and the mall makes me break out in hives so where will I go next? How will I make this brief recess last? I refuse to go to the grocery store. That's not recess.

And there it was. Beautiful B & N. Resist the urge to go snag a caramel machiatto. I was struck with some inspiration as I wandered through the stacks of books. There was a child laughing in the children's section and I thought, "I could use a good laugh!"

Tucked back in a corner there was the humor section. Entirely too small and not nearly enough copies of any one book for my tastes but at least it was still there. Smashed in behind the religious fiction and wedged in front of the "teach yourself to play the oboe" book.

So I started to scan the titles. An entire section of the shelf was dedicated to bathroom humor. You would think from the title of this blog I would be more appreciative but a whole rack of books about bathroom humor? I kept scanning. Now we come across Lewis Black and Dennis Leary and their cohorts railing against all things political. Here are two full racks of comic strips. I will not speak against them. My faves were there. Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, Baby Blues, Fox Trot and of course the Classic Peanuts. Bless you Mr. Schultz.

But just general musing about life humor was scarce. And then I saw them. Down on the bottom shelf in small pocket size paperback form were the four titles I was looking for. There was my muse for seven dollars a piece. Erma Bombeck. I picked up a copy and started to read and while I was not laughing out loud there was a poingnacy in her writing that made me smile. A real connection that just made me feel at home. A quiet humor that did not speak of bathrooms, or politics, or naked bodies (unless you count feet). It was not angry. It was not laced with foul language or explicit suggestions.

Call me old fashioned. Call me a prude. I'll wear both ideas with pride. Life is weird. It's strange and it's funny and when you really look at the nonsense that happens every day you have to laugh. You HAVE to. If you don't laugh about it your only other options are to get angry, give up, or cry. I picked one of the four titles out for myself and brought it home with me. Every time I pick it up I only allow myself to read one short chapter at a time. Like I'm savoring a bag of Lindor truffles one small bite at a time.

I have been inspired again. I have decided that how many posts I get out to you is not the critical part. I have to make sure that I make you laugh or at the very least, smile. I have to make people see that anger and vulgarity aren't necessary in life. There is enough ugliness in the world. It's time to laugh at just the general strangeness of it all.

You HAVE to laugh. You have to laugh because when you can laugh and you can share that laughter with other people, they get to laugh. Life is just too weird not to laugh and share the laughter.

Now You Too Can Take the Pledge!

For only $19.95!

Ok, so the whole pay for it thing isn't real but you CAN take the pledge! My wonderful creative and inspired pal Christy heeded the call for a Olive Pledge button and whipped this up. So feel free to snag it for your own blog if you need an occasional reminder to be better than drab. I would love the linky love back to The Pledge but that is entirely up to you.

<a href="http://isawitinbluewater.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-blogging-pet-peeve-pledge-and-olives.html"><img alt="The Olive Pledge!" src="http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k323/sarahc51977/Pledge.jpg" /></a>

And as long as I'm being a self promoting hussy, remember that we are about 36 hours away from "Show me the Funny!" If you saw something funny. If something made you snort. If it made stuff shoot out your nose I want it! Not the stuff you shot out - the cause of the said shooting.

I should stop shouldn't I?

Bring me your funny posts or funnies you have read and drop them in my linky. Right now I have no submissions for features so you might have to just look at all of my highlights from the past week if you don't get your acts together.

I'll also take suggestions for a topic for next week's funny if you have any inspired ideas!

<a href="http://isawitinbluewater.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Show me the Funny!" src="http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k323/sarahc51977/ShowFunny2b.jpg" /></a>

Have you Ever...?

Have you ever been in the middle of your bathroom cleaning routine only to turn around and find a naked child?

Have you ever sent a three line e-mail to a friend and when you were done found a child with diaper cream from eyebrows to mid scalp?

Have you ever reached for the milk only to find an empty jug?

Have you ever heard someone talking and suddenly realized in mid search that it's you - talking to yourself?

Have you ever decided that the smell really isn't worth finding anyway?

Just checking. I need to feel normal today.

Shhhh...Don't tell!

I think I might be caught up on my To Do list again!

No, I will not be dancing today. Although..that's not a bad idea. It's chilly and windy here so dancing and getting the blood flowing wouldn't be a bad idea. But for today I think I'll stick to the tea.

Anyway, as I was saying before my brain took a side trip, I think I might be caught up! Insomnia is good for something anyway. I got most of my housework done last night while I was trying to wear myself out and shut my brain down so now it is 5 PM and I get to sit down with a cup of tea and a book or my embroidery.

It's amazing what happens when one decides to focus. For the past two weeks I've had the focus of a goldfish. And though the beginning of this post does not reflect it, I think I've finally gotten my head together. But I was wondering...

How to you refocus? I can't be the only person on the planet that gets sidetracked and can't get anything done from time to time. I mean, there are days when I feel like I'm running up a mudslide! For me it's a matter of just making up my mind and setting short goals.

So what do you do to focus? How often do you have to dial in?

Selfish Vent!

So if you don't want to hear me whine, move on to the next post on your reader.

When I cruise by blogs I try to find something (current or older) to comment on. It may just be a "how funny" or a long thought out comment. But I try to let people know I've been by! It's just a courtesy!

If you have managed to avoid the blogging addiction, you are unaware of the time, energy and effort put into writing things. We bloggers are a sensitive bunch. We know that people are critiquing us and judging our personalities based on what we write. We try to be humorous, informative, inspirational, or whatever our genre lends us to. And to do that day in and day out is tough.

So the next time you pop by a blog, leave some sign that you were there. Your blogger will appreciate it!

A Lesson in Language

We all know that men and women speak different languages. I was not aware of just how different those languages are though until last evening.

My brother in law just returned from a fifteen month tour in Iraq two weeks ago. So I took a chance to catch up a little last night. He was telling me about a kit he got while he was there that would be ideal for my van. Here's where we started to speak different languages.

He said "Gerber kit."

Take a moment and think about that. If you are a woman, you have the same picture I do - a sweet faces, chubby cheeked, curly headed baby. If you are a man you have a completely different picture. You are seeing a multipurpose tool that hangs on your belt.

I was momentarily confused. "Why did he have Gerber kits?" But my brain started seeking out logic and it suddenly made sense to me. Perhaps they were out on patrols and came across families with small children in need. Perhaps the fine folks at Gerber made a donation to the humanitarian effort and put together packs for the soldiers to distribute. Makes sense!

But then he started telling me what was in the kit. Flashlight. (Logic seeker still active) Ok so I can change a diaper in the back of my car at night. Shovel. Ok so I can bury the dirty diaper if I don't have anything to wrap it up in and it's just THAT foul. But then he said the flashlight had a really heavy handle in case I was ever attacked. My brain shorted for a second and I started to think "man speak."

Duh!! It's a tool kit, dummy!! It's not a kit with diapers and wipes and food. I started to laugh out loud so hard my poor brother in law thought I had completely lost my mind. I'm pretty sure he was groping for his cell phone so that he could keep me on the phone while he called the men in the pretty white jackets.

Although I have to admit, that shovel idea could have some practical applications.

My Battle Against Stress!

Meredith Viera had a 2 minute interview this morning on the Today show that has been in my brain all day.



So we as women are taking this economic situation, plus our family stuff, plus our jobs, plus our children's behavior, plus our attempts to please others and we are doing ourselves in! I have read so many blogs, personal messages, and notes in the last 48 hours from friends and complete strangers that demonstrate this to me.

You may (or maybe not) know that I am blogging over at the BlubHer Overhaul. I have seen so many ladies struggling with stress eating or lack of motivation for working out or just being sick. And now I'm wondering how much of it is linked.

I have friends who have said to me on numerous occasions, "I just can't beat these blahs!" And I wonder if they really mean "I just can't beat this stress."

So of course having had all day and 2 loads of laundry (and the motivation of my own stresses) to ponder this, I started to ask myself "So what do we do to battle it?" Exercise? Eat right? Meditate? Pray? All very valid solutions I told myself. But I want more.

What can I do to help other women battle back against stress? Is it just a matter of leaving a comment on every blog I visit? Is it sending a random e-mail to tell someone I care? Is it praying for other people that I see hurting? But I still want more!

You may or may not have seen Copacabana last week -here's hoping you missed it! But that is what I want to do! I want to start a "Pay it Forward" style campaign. I want women to reach out to other women and make them smile. Even if it's only for a little minute, enough of those minutes from enough other people will make a difference.

I have seen so many references to medications, depression, and stress that I wonder if the tide can be turned. I am an optimist. I believe that it can be. But people have to look outside of their own meditation, exercise, dieting, and prayer and try to help other people. I come back to the gas situation I faced last week. I have no idea what effect if any my half a tank left behind had, but I have to believe it helped someone.

Help me. It's not an official campaign. I don't have a happy blog button for anyone to carry around. It's just what is right. So if you see someone today who needs a smile, tell them a quick joke or just smile at them. You may just save their life.

I Want to Meet the Woman...

Who has the guts to do this. Over at MomDot Trisha put up a post for Fox News. Check it out here. Apparently they are trying to do a special on Super Moms.

Now I know over at the Zoo I did a post about how we are all Super Mom but we all know that that was completely facetious. But just the same.

I know that there are women who try to be a real live Super Mom. They make sure their children are dressed to the nines for everything from playdough to family portraits. Their homes are spotless all the time (just in case someone should stop by) and there is always a treat of some kind freshly baked or baking. They may even be able to do all that and still balance a full time job. Their hubbys are thrilled to trot them out at company functions because they are always guaranteed to be witty, charming, polished and all around delightful. These are the moms whose minivans are always stocked with spare clothes, snack, juice and never have even a crumb on the floor much less a fingerprint on the windows.

But go ahead and ask them about it. Ask them if they think they are Super Mom. Even if they really do they are not about to admit it! We are women before we are mothers. And as women, we have a confidence problem. If we admit that we are Super Mom then someone is going to start watching our every move just waiting for us to mess up. The thought of failing as a self proclaimed Super Mom makes us swear off of PTA meetings for the rest of our child's career at the current school. If we admit we are Super Mom we will be branded as the egotistical too good for the rest of the playgroup mom who suddenly stops getting the invites or is sent incorrect times.

I want to meet the woman who admits that she is Super Mom and does it with such confidence that we all agree. I want to meet the woman who claims the title and then manages to live up to it. She really would be among the people I claim as superheroes in my life.

Now if you won't be too offended, my cape and I have to go wax the van.

The Roll Coaster of Randomness

Don't ask me. My brain was full and I had to dump. Good luck on the ride and keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times.

Unsolicited Product Testing
I was invited to test out Noodleboro (new games by Playskool). I agreed because a mom can only put so many floor puzzles together so many times before she starts looking for the sharpest fork in the drawer. I was contemplating which eye I could live with out the easiest today when the FedEx man rang the door bell. Why do they do that? Now the dog was going off; Mo was inviting him to "Cooooome iiiin!" and Tuck was screaming, "Is it for me? Is it for me?"

We got the Sharing game and I have to tell you it's pretty darn cool. If you really want my full review you can find it here. But I will say this much. If you need to teach some basic social skills (listening, sharing, manners) to preschoolers you'll be interested. It's a really cool set up. So score one for Product Testing.

I pushed my luck a little and went to neighbor's and borrowed his Dyson. I've seen the commercials; I've drooled (hey, I didn't say my life wasn't small!). Now I'm not so sure. Maybe it was the model he had (DC2007) but I am not impressed. Mr. Dyson either doesn't have toddlers or he failed to have a mother of a toddler test his product before market.

Sure it sucked the dust and dog hair out of the mat under the carpet but I ran over a string four times and still ended up picking it up myself. The Bissell Boys would have sucked it up from a good foot away! Granted it would have just wrapped around the beater bar and jammed up the works for other stuff later but out of sight....

Mark that off my Christmas list.

Jello. Not something I enjoy but today I tried again. Have you seen the new Blackberry Fusion? Pretty good stuff for Jello. And I learned that we have a Mickey. You know "try it you'll like it" Mikey? That would be our Munch. No one wanted to try the Jello until she tore into it like it was chocolate dipped chocolate. Same thing goes for cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, and pretty much anything she can beat the dog to.

Did I get anything done today? What do you think? With all this nonsense going on in my head I am not even sure if I made a to do list today! I did whack the tops off all the holly from Medusa's hair salon. Those things were out of control!! And I might be allergic. The spots where it pricked me (nasty stuff that it is!) keep turning red then fading then turning red again. Who put holly on the list of cool Christmas stuff anyway? Wrong answer people!

Are you dizzy yet? Did I send you for enough loops? I hope you enjoyed your ride on the Roller Coaster of Randomness. We here at Toilet Bowl Amusements thank you for coming. Please come again!