Ughhhhhh!

Tonight - no cute pictures, no fun links and no serious, girly, chatty blog post. I am yanking my hair out here trying to get my email to send/receive in Outlook. ARRRRRRGGGGGGG!! That's Pirate for "Oh My Gosh, could somebody please just hang me upside down by my toenails and zing water balloons at me instead of this madness?" :-)

Of course, my internet service provider says to call Norton - like I'll ever end up talking to someone there. Funny thing is my neighbor is having the same issue. We're on a mission and we WILL get to the bottom of this. Haha. I did get a neighborly tip how to access my email without Outlook though. Something I should have thought of before but...didn't.

Maybe I should just fire Outlook. Less stress and I get to keep my hair.

:-)

Forget the Smartphone - Give me a Compass

I'm dying to upgrade my cell. I want a Treo so bad that I've gotten stupidly lazy updating my current calendar on Yahoo. Like I said - that is pretty dumb. But in my mind I've already moved on. Just don't actually have it yet.

But some snazzy new cell phones in Japan are making me think smartphones aren't quite as superior as I've been thinking. Sure I'd love to make little man's next appointment while we are still at the orthodontist after answering emails while waiting for him to get a band replaced or whatever they do in that back room - without digging through my purse for a Palm Thing, dropping my phone, spilling out old grocery store receipts and pieces of gum with missing wrappers. But it'd even be cooler to point my phone toward the backroom and have it tell me, "Back Room of Dr. Metalmouth's Office in Florida."

Then on the way home I could point it out the window and it could say, "Chick Fil A where you have fed your kids Chicken Nuggets 8 times too many this week" or maybe it'd say, "Super Saver Grocery Story where you really need to go so turn around right now and go buy your family some healthy food and soft drinks." If I drove by the Y it would say, "YMCA where you let your membership expire and...what were you thinking - can't you hear the stairmaster calling your name?"

:-)

Guy in the Tie

Go here and watch some pretty cute ads for Mac. (I'm the guy in the tie.) Sorry, didn't know any other way to post the link so you're gonna have to click on the ads individually. In your spare time.

:-)

Life as a Grown Up Girl

Life may not be very exciting (other than the ant convention held at my house yesterday) but I do have something on my mind. :-)

Today I must admit that I am confused over friendship. I watch my oldest daughter with her "friends" and often end up confused. In my own world, I skip along thinking I'm nurturing and growing deep and solid friendships only to find myself strangely out of touch with someone I thought to be a truly close friend.

With my daughter I think it's mostly an age thing. Although I've done my best to forget being in 8th grade, I still remember the schizophrenic-like place where many girls do friendship in middle school. Not that remembering helps me much in parenting through that. But I do what I can and I'm seeing (and, again, remembering) that largely it is a "live and learn" kind of thing. Drats - wish it wasn't.

But at 42...hmmm, can't say that I imagined friendship confusion at this age. And as far as I've come at being direct, well, what applies with the cashier girl at Walgreens doesn't always apply with the friend who no longer seems to have a spot for me on her calendar.

Sigh, life is life whether you are 14 or 42. And girls will be girls. But then I remember one teeny tiny important detail. My daughter is so watching me. When my friend began to cancel plans and not return calls and became more and more of a stranger even when we did meet up, my daughter would say, "She acted different." And I'd say, "Yeah, I know. Don't know why." And my daughter would say, "That is weird." And I'd say, "Yep, I should ask her about it." But I never do.

So I'm teaching my daughter nothing. Not true. I'm teaching her how not to do friendship as a grown up girl. And I'm being such a baby avoiding what could be an uncomfortable conversation. Let's see if I can do something about that.

But what if I'm not that big. What if all I can manage to tell her is that's what I should do but admit to her that I'm scared. That I'm afraid my friend will get mad at me and how much I hate when that happens. Oh my. So that's where my sensitive but outgoing little teenager gets that.

Here's what I think, 97.8% of the time doing the right thing, setting a good example, is the best parenting possible. But for the times when never in a million years is that going to be the case, there's always honesty. There's got to be some halfway good mothering somewhere in the midst of old fashioned messy honesty.

Or is that a lazy way out? I suppose a combination of tactics would be most killer. Dish out the honesty on how much of a 'fraidy cat Mom is but then pick up the phone and make a Starbucks date with my old friend. If nothing else to catch up.

Afterall, life is never the same from one day to another so what makes me think my friendships will be any different. I just realized this very second that I keep holding out for something in my life that does not change.

Duh. I'm such a dweeb. And as usual, I've rambled all over the place here. At least that hasn't changed.

Peace and thanks for reading. :-)

Invasion

My older brother once told me that living in Florida is like living on top of one gigantic anthill. And, as usual, he is correct. Here are my latest visitors hanging out on my carport column thingy. Looks like they were having some kind of meeting or maybe getting ready to spell out a secret message. Could be they just realized someone made a wrong turn back there in the grass and now they are all stuck on the side of a large white post.

So...life hasn't been too exciting lately. Can you tell?

:-)

Ringxiety :-)

Another favorite on my Sweeter Sites list is WordSpy. Most recently my favorite entry there is ringxiety. How perfect a word. Just the day I read that term, I had been in a meeting with my friend Rachael who has the same ringtone I was currently using. Her phone rang and I jumped out of my skin. My phone rang and she knocked over her purse trying to get to hers too quickly. Made us both laugh...nervously. Haha - we had "ringxiety". :-)

Links

I have a feeling I do things a little backwards in the world of blogging. Take for instance my "Sweeter Sites" list on the sidebar. I think it is more normal to list either blogs or websites or to separate them maybe. But since I'm not sure and wonder why in the heck it really matters anyway, I listed a variety. Places I think are sweet. Sweeter than here. By very very far. :-)

Jes MaHarry. Ever since I noticed her jewelry inside a Sundance Catalog, I vowed to one day (maybe) wear one of her creations. I love her jewelry.

This is one of my favorites. And this one. Oh, and this. Sigh...one day. Maybe. :-)

Movie Night

Woo Hoo - it's chick flick night. The Break Up or The Lake House. Never heard of The Lake House until tonight. Looks a little sad. :-(

My friend and I are both saying it makes no difference which one we see. I wonder if she means it. Because I actually... really really want to see The Break Up. :-) Only I told her it didn't matter.

And honestly, I think the X-Men would be the most fun to see but seems so un-girls night outish. Not sure if we can be that daring. We're kind of boring like that.

Anybody else seen a good movie lately?

A Good Day

For a day that started rather sadly (my little girl didn't want me to leave this morning) it turned out just swell.

She cheered up and chatted with me on the phone this afternoon. When I got home there was chocolate icing all over the kitchen and tiny spot of it still on her cheek.

Later on, I woke up my older two from their computer trances and made them interact with me. Although the air was awkward and uncomfortable for about 3 minutes, their brain cells soon reactivated and they found a full deck of cards. We sat outside and played Spit and some other game that was a lot like Spit only supposedly different.

The sun was still out. There was a breeze. Little kids were running around squealing. It was so nice that I forgot about making dinner.

I don't know that the chocolate, the cards, the breeze or the squeals would have meant anything to me if I hadn't had such an awfully hard time leaving home this morning. Maybe I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. Not sure what that means but I am very very thankful for all the ways I'm reminded that God is with me through thick and thin.

I knew that was true when I backed out the driveway this morning but I really didn't feel it. I knew that was true when my co-worker and friend asked if my little one was sad and I cried, but I really didn't feel it. I knew that was true when another friend dropped by the office this afternoon and talked about her son who is serving in Iraq, and I began to feel it.

But it took coming home again and soaking up the details of the late afternoon to chase away my blues completely. In the midst of all the craziness and seemly unavoidable chaos and confusion, my home is a pretty warm and happy one. And it has extremely little to do with me and everything to do with a loving and faithful God.

Night. :-)

Computer Stress

It's pretty huge for me to admit that being on a computer has stressed me out. But today is that huge day for me.

The very very few things that I do know about computers usually impress most of my friends and their friends, too. That's because they don't like computers. So the truth is that I actually know pretty much nothing but had no clue just how little. It felt good believing I was awesome with computers and every single time one of my friends said something like, "How did you DO that?" I got the Techie Big Head. Only I soooo never deserved it.

Today I've been sitting at my desk muttering things like, "Word has how many toolbars?" and "I think we click on 'Next' - do you think we should click on 'Next'? " Also, someone may have heard me saying to no one in particular, "Why doesn't it say 'decimals' anywhere on this cheatsheet?" or "I really need to sign up for some computer classes as soon as possible!"

Seems the only cure for Computer Stress, though, is more time on the computer. So here I sit blogging when I should be reading the Help Section in Word. Guess I still could go there - since I'm finished here.

:-)

The Gift of Sleep

My mom says the first night they brought me home from the hospital was very exciting. They put me in my little bassinet and then crashed in their own bed for some much needed rest. I think my brother was still up watching Mr. Ed or something. Kidding. But he is way way way older than me.

Oh yeah, back to me and the first night I spent at home as a newborn. Apparently my Dad woke up the next morning around 8:00 and jumped out of bed panicking and yelling, "Anne, Anne, something is wrong with Marianne. She never woke up last night." This sort of scared my poor tired Mom.

Turns out I was comfy cozy and still snoozing away. I'm a good sleeper. Until recently at least. Now a good night's sleep seems to come every other week or so. Which is quite the bummer.

I was beginning to feel helpless and wondered if I had to accept some kind of over forty sleep pattern I keep reading about in know-it-all Health magazines. Because surely my lack of sleep had nothing to do with my tendency to stretch the day as far as I could into the late late night and, sometimes, right into the next morning.

Maybe it was on one of those sleepless nights when I read Chris Rice's recent article on Sleep. You'll have to go read it for yourself, but one thing he mentions is how sleep is one of God's gifts to those he cares for and loves. Suddenly my late night marathons seem selfish and greedy. It's making me think about my bedtime in a whole new way.

So I may need to be brushing my teeth instead of googling - right now. Even though I know, from past experience, that it is definitely possible to do them simultaneously and still do them both quite well. But I'm liking this new approach to bedtime. And his personal twist on "counting sheep" has come in handy, ummm, twice I think. Seems to help and I'm all for getting to sleep quickly.

Sleep tight. :-)

More Pines :-)

Maybe this is a better pic, although I like the one with the sun shining through the trees. I'm no wonderful photographer. And these were taken back in April. But still, I drove "home" to wish my Dad a Happy Father's Day and the trees of my hometown always do wonders for my heart. Wish everyone could see them in person and watch the wind blow them around. It's beautiful. And peaceful.

Georgia Pines

I can think of nothing that ever will be more beautiful to me than Georgia Pines. They forever will remind me of the sounds, smells and memories of growing up in smalltown South Georgia. Even the tropical beauty of white sandy beaches and swaying palm trees can't compare - but I understand if you don't agree. :-)

Weather Channel Season Already?

Seems like we just got over that - just started our No Worries About the Weather Season. Augh! And, by now, I should be wiser by the time Weather Channel Season arrives. But, umm, not so much yet.

Do I have enough batteries? Maybe. Do I have enough water? Absolutely not. Is my pantry stocked with Pop Tarts, Cheez Its and Peanuts? (Hey, it worked for us during the aftermath of Charley.) Well, there is one box of unopened Cheez Its in there. What else? Oh, did I save up for a generator like I totally intended to do last Fall? Nope. Was Alberto supposed to turn into a Hurricane? No and I heard them say so myself on the news. Something happened today while I was in La-La Land at work. All of a sudden we're talking 70 mph winds. Not necessarily here. But I see where Lake County has cancelled summer school. Uh oh.

Camp. Lake County. Nothing like being away at camp when along comes a hurricane. And this is all just occuring to me tonight at 11:26.

No more blogging for me tonight - I've got some TV to watch. :-)

Bug Bites and Nasty Food

It's camp week again. I know because I can still smell Sharpie ink and it's been at least 8 hours since I wrote my son's name in teeny tiny letters on his toothbrush, bathing suits, towels, shirts, shorts, pjs, camera, bug spray (actually they are wipes) and, oops, I forgot to label his socks. And his shoes and, oh well, probably lots of other things.

At least I didn't boo-hoo the whole way home this year after dropping him off at his cabin (with their wildest imaginations they call that building a cabin). I think that's because I remember picking him up last year and he was totally not at all ready to come home. So being the smart woman that I am, I saved my tears for something truly sad. Leaving your quiet kid at camp and knowing he's very glad to be there is so very much a good thing.

So this week I'm thankful he's at a place where he is comfortable being on his own.

My oldest is there, too. She's a Jr. Counselor. Which mostly seems to mean we bought lots of arts and crafts and makeup and candy and whatever else she felt was necessary to have up her sleeve as a Jr. Counselor. In case of a planned Camp Activity Rebellion? I don't know. I finally had to cut her off or else we may as well have held our own camp with her in charge.

So this week I'm also thankful she's in a place where some little girls without Big Sisters can know what it's like to have a really great one - even if it's just for one week.

But that leaves little one here at home. Wishing camp was at our house instead. Growing up the baby in my family, I know her feeling of "when can I go to camp" only to learn later that Sissy and Brother will have moved on to something else that she, again, is not old enough for yet. Wonder if it will leave her as frustrated as it used to leave me? Or is she more determined and, one day, will camp actually take place at our house with Sissy and Bro in charge of her and her camper friends.

:-) Over my decrepit body. :-)

But I am thankful for time to spend with my little one and time for her to remember how much she adores her Big Sister and Brother.

Sorry if this is boring and serious. Camp week is still an odd week for me even if I no longer shed tears while driving back through the camp gates on drop-off day. Especially odd this year with Tropical Storms in the news and smoke from brush fires in the air - it's hard letting them go. Letting someone else watch over them. But it's good practice for me since I certainly don't expect to watch over them for the rest of their lives. And since they would never let me in a million years anyway. And it's a good reminder that, above all, they are God's kids and that he has his eye on them right this very minute anyway.

So with that in mind, I plan to sleep peacefully this week and I pray that my campers will too.

How'd That Happen?

Whew tonight was a blur. Yes, my second day of work has come and gone. Pretty uneventful. But after work that became another story.

My girls and I piled into the car late this afternoon in a rush to leave town only to end up inching alongside some pretty grouchy drivers on the interstate. Let me tell you, NOT a good time to put a 5 year old in the car without snacks or water. Oops.

After what seemed like a gabillion minutes, we made it over to the beach, had dinner and then rescued their brother from some not so grouchy friends who took Clay along on their vacation for a few days. How sweet is that? Can think of not much else that is sweeter.

That is until we made it home. Having that mellow, sand in your flip flops, essence of coconut brainstain thing going on, my kids sort of rolled out of the car. Very slowly. Once inside, they continued in slow motion. Offering to get dressed for bed (without my asking), announcing they were taking bags and other miscellaneous junk upstairs (without my nagging) and peacefully lounging on the couch staring blankly at the TV without bothering to change the channel on Kim Possible. Which is what Buddy was watching while we were gone.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, so I was thinking that nothing is more heroic than someone else taking one of your kids to the beach for part of their family vacation. But then, I got home leashed the doggy and took him out front for...you know.

And then I saw it. It was huge. My mouth dropped open and I turned slowly in a circle thinking I would find the wonderful person behind such a purposeful act of kindness. But I saw no one. I did see all of my yard clippings piled on top of my neighbors' more modest yard trash pile. I ran over to my yard to see if it was true. Gone were the heaps of thorny (to put it mildly) branches which almost ran the entire length of my yard. I just couldn't believe it. I felt guilty but thankful. I felt happy but embarrassed. I felt cared for even though they may have just wanted to make sure my yard got cleaned up before their weekend company arrives.

Whatever the reason - it makes no difference. Someone did something wonderful that helped me out in a huge way. And it made me happy. Someone took my son to the beach which helped me out in another huge way. And that made him happy.

But I'm thinking that someone may want to send me my own clippers because I have a funny feeling it may be quite some time before my neighbors are inclined to let me loose with theirs again. :-)

Not So Bad

Considering how stressed out and upset I was at the prospect of completely letting down my kids by going back to work, today wasn't half bad.

The sitter arrived on time (of course), I was ready (that took work) and my youngest was fully awake and ready for the day (extremely important today). One thing didn't go as planned. Not exactly.

That would be the "thing" my 5 year old came screeching into the kitchen to share with me just the very second the sitter rang the doorbell. "Buddy just PEED in the Living Room. Just now. MOOOOmmmmy, he peed on my puzzles!!!"

I kind of didn't plan that into my getting ready for work schedule and so I was a wee bit late. I know, I know. First day of work. Oops. Pretty big Oops. But my story prompted a few more doggy pee stories throughout the morning. And that made people laugh. So I'm seeing it as possibly a positive first impression.

Anyway, the first day went okay. I think I've got the copy machine down pat. And tomorrow, I think I'll remember to take a lunch break. I sort of forgot about that today. :-)

Remedy

Okay, so since I'm all down and out tonight and worrying that tomorrow will be a totally Bad Day , I'm resorting to full-blown pitiful and pathetic. No, not a gigantic bowl of ice cream. Not a slab of chocolate cake. Something more like plopping my favorite sappy chick flick into the DVD player and scene selecting all the mushy sad parts. Feels better to shed tears over that than real life for some reason. And I've run out of time to watch the whole thing. :-)

Anyway, just wait, tomorrow I'll be typing you all of wonderful exciting things about my first day at work. I'll have stories to tell about all of the fun times my kids had without me. Let's all hope.

Here We Go

So tomorrow is the big day. Remember, up at 6:00, snooze bar, dragging the dog, Diet Coke and getting ready for my first day at work. I should be elated. But I'm not.

I'm sad to be missing the laziness and craziness of summer with my kids. My oldest daughter enters high school next year, meaning next summer she HAS to go to summer school (some insane rule for upcoming freshmen). So this is my last summer with her at home being a bum. :-) Sleeping in, being a camp counselor, MTV marathons - all of that is taking place this summer while I go back to work. And it's really not that big of a deal but tonight I'm sad about it anyway.

My kids have been through so much. Is this going to even phase them? I really don't know. I guess I'll have to wait and see. Could be a dream come true for them. Could be they've had just about enough of me. We'll know soon enough.

So wish me luck. Pray this was the right move for all of us if you do that kind of thing. :-)