Return to the Land of the Living

Whew.  Patty shared her cold with me last week and I was down for the count!  Thank goodness I made a turn for the better on Sunday and am happy to say I feel quite recovered today!  Although, I am wondering if that ground hog got it right, 'cause in my neck of the woods, it's not looking spring just yet. 

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, not because it's Valentine's day, but because it's Girl Scout Cookie arrival day!  I've been dreaming of those little yummies since Patty brought home the order sheet.  I wish I possessed the restraint (and the bank roll) to stock up on a year's worth of my favorites, but I am afraid I'd eat them all and gain, like, a zillion pounds by spring break!  I'm picturing Tim Allen in the Santa Clause, remember that one?

I am happy to report that I finished off the Beautiful Creatures books during my illness last week.  Now I have to patiently wait for the final book to arrive in paperback.  Can someone tell me why can't you find a release date when you need one?  I've been pretty pleased with this series, though, once I got into it.  It reminds me a lot more of Harry Potter than Twilight, and hardly at all like True Blood, but it's been a nice read.  I did discover that there were some serious changes made for the movie adaptation.  I'm never too fond of that, but I gotta say the movie preview looks good.  Think I can get Casey to take me to see it for Valentine's Day?

I grabbed a copy of Safe Haven, the newest book to movie offering of Nicholas Sparks.  Have you noticed how many of his books have become major movies?  To think it all started with A Walk to Remember, which I read and made Casey take me to see at the theatre.  We were the youngest people there.  That's partly because I have this thing about going to the matinee instead of a night show, but I remember it was just us and a bunch of grown up ladies; all of us crying into our popcorn!  Wow, that was eleven years ago.  I feel old all of a sudden.

Oh, and I am looking forward to the Valentine's snack for Patty's class tomorrow.  I was so proud of  her writing her friends names on their Valentine's cards.  Sure, some of them were hard to read, but she did it all by herself!  And we ended up two cards short of having enough for everyone, but thankfully I found one lonely box at the mart yesterday!

I know it's kind of late to mention new year's resolutions, but I wonder if anyone ever resolves to win the lottery?  I'd elaborate on that, but JT is in the bathroom with the door closed and i hear a clicking sound i can't identify.  Wait, i think that's my birth control pill...gotta go!

It's Official, I'm Addicted to my iPhone

A couple weeks ago I mentioned to Casey I was thinking about doing away with my iPhone at upgrade time and going back to a regular old cell phone.  To save money.  Because it made sense.  Right?  He kind of gave me that doubtful look and went on about his business.  I think he was worried this was going to turn into a family sacrifice that also involved his iPhone and he was just reverting into the "if we don't talk about, it won't happen" mode.  And he probably just knew my idea was crazy. ;-}

But, I was really intrigued by the idea that I could make the switch after having my iPhone for a couple years.  I thought, I'll be a pioneer, the first person to break the iPhone sire bond.  I figured my iPhone was really just a glorified iPod so why would it be so hard to go back to a real cell phone, the kind that only makes phone calls.  Right?  I mean, I had had my regular old cell phone since something like 2003.  So, for something like eight years I had survived without those fabulous little iPhone apps.

It sounded so easy and logical...for all of about half an hour.  Then, reality set in.  I probably use my cell phone more than my computer these days.  Really, i think my phone can do just about everything my computer can do.  No, really, my phone does more than my computer can do!  I was having serious doubts about my resolve to do away with the iPhone.  I really love those fabulous little iPhone apps.

So, what became of this crazy notion?

Yea, it went down in flames this morning as I upgraded not only my phone, but Casey's as well.  But, if the upgrade had cost more than 99-cents for a new phone I would have just kept the iPhone I have.  I have this thing about not paying big bucks for a cell phone.  Maybe I can hold on to that principal since I couldn't muster the courage to be a pioneer and start a cell phone revolution!  Guess I'll just be a slave to my technology like everyone else!

Now, what do I do with the old iPhone when my new one gets here?

FTSF: When it comes to reality tv shows I...

Happy Friday, y'all.  This is my first attempt at linking up to anything, so bear with me if this doesn't get where it's supposed to go today!  But, after reading a couple of these Finish the Sentence Friday topics I thought it'd be nice to throw my towel in, too!  So, here it goes.....

When it comes to reality tv shows I....

am a huge fan of several series! 

My absolute favorite reality series will always be Survivor, probably because Casey and I watch it together.  Casey deployed after the season premiere in 2010 so I dutifully recorded the episodes and we watched them when he returned.  Since we loved that experience so much, we record the entire season and then watch episodes back to back over a few days rather than being in suspense week after week!  The next season is set to premiere in just a few weeks, I better get the DVR ready!

I can't recall exactly how we heard about My Big Redneck Vacation, but the third season just premiered last Saturday.  The show chronicles the adventures of a proud redneck family from Louisiana appropriately named the Clampets.  Love it.

Oh, and who can forget Honey Boo Boo.  I just can't help myself, this show is strangely addictive.  I can never decide if someone should call social services, or if they should be applauded for their unusual antics.

Next week: ”The most-memorable Valentine’s Day I ever had was…”

Getting JT Ready for Kindergarten

JT would have been in his third year of preschool right now (he has a late birthday) if he hadn't been stricken with a bout of separation anxiety that I had really not expected.  His anxiety sparked right in the middle of Patty's anxiety about attending a new school, and we decided to let JT stay home with me this year.  Now, I am left to prepare him for Kindergarten and I was happy to see this little online tool in an email I received recently: Kindergarten Readiness Test. 

You can access your child's Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Auditory Processing, Visual Discrimination, Letter/Word Awareness, Phonemic Awareness, Math/Number Awareness, and Social/Emotional Development.  At the end, you're left with a tidy little table and a nice summary of your child's strengths and weaknesses.  That's a pretty handy little tool!

Obviously, we have our work cut out for us in the Letter/Word/Phonemic Awareness department.  But, we have seven months to master those 26 letters so I'm not worried that JT will be unprepared for Kindergarten this fall.  I'll search Pinterest for some cool ABC activities and get busy!

Book Club: Beautiful Creatures

I took a little blog break last weekend to read.  You see, I have an unofficial New Years Resolution to read one book each week.  Well, I got the month off to a bad start by not finishing War of the Worlds until about two weeks into January.  Whoopsie. 

Thankfully, I read one of the newest Sookie Stackhouse mysteries in just a few days and plowed through Beautiful Creatures by bedtime on Saturday.  So that puts me one book shy of being on track to reading 52 books this year! 

Have you heard of the Beautiful Creatures series?  There are at least four books and even though I'm just not up for a long series right now, I was happy with the first installment. 

So, why read yet another teen series?  Well, it's a book to movie opening in theatres next month.  The movie preview looks really good, and having been a fan of the Secret Circle trilogy back when I was a teenager (not so much a fan of the failed television show by the same name) and a lover of movies like The Craft and The Covenant, I thought this would be a book series to enjoy.

I can't say this book was a page turner for me, but I'm looking forward to reading Beautiful Darkness next.

One of the most intriguing things out of this story, for me, was the mention of haint blue ceilings.  I'd never heard the word "haint" before and when dictionary.com was no help, I turned to my good friend Google and found a really good explanation on a website called Between Naps on the Porch.  I'd never heard of painting the ceiling blue to ward off evil spirits, but I am in love with the idea.  The story gives a different reason, though.  When we painted our bedroom and kitchen a few years ago, we painted the ceilings a shade of blue to coordinate with the walls.  I guess the bathroom is protected too, since I painted the ceiling and walls the same color!  Who knew I was warding off spirits all this time?  I've given some serious thought to painting the porch ceiling, but I think Casey will veto me!

Another captivating thing is the charm necklace Lena wears.  She collects little mementos and wears them on a necklace which she never takes off.  If I were a teenager, I'd have to have a necklace like that.  I'm not so sure I won't have to have one now!  I've always admired charm bracelets but feared losing one of the little charms so I've never owned one.  I'm sure you'll find me checking out the jewelry making section on my next visit to Hobby Lobby.  A charm necklace might make a really cute DIY gift for a couple teenagers I know!

Wife-y Rant: Follow the Directions Already!

I love reading these eCards.  Sometimes, they are so utterly fitting to my life.

I shouldn't complain because Casey did make breakfast for everyone yesterday.  But, I am me and I just can't help myself!

I started noticing this a few weeks ago.  Casey never cooks the biscuits on the right temperature.  We buy the frozen kind and the package says to cook on 375. 

Yesterday, he had the oven cranked up to 450!
It gave new meaning to the phrase "brown as a biscuit".
I did feel a little bad as I snapped the picture and he said,
"I never complain about your cooking."

Then, I thought, "Maybe you never complain because I follow the cooking directions."  To be fair, I am very set in my ways.  And I am very happy when he makes breakfast.  I would be even happier if the biscuits were cooked on 375, but a brown biscuit is still a good biscuit, I guess!

3-Day School Week, 3-Day Weekend

An extra three days to practice this week's spelling words!