I've Moved!!

My blog has been moved over to a new site.

http://scifimama.wordpress.com/

Please stop by to visit me.  I'm still finishing up things like the blog roll.  You'll find all my old posts have migrated over as well as all comments.

Decisions, Decisions

I still haven't made a decision on the blog move yet.  I really like the app.  Now to research how easy it will be to migrate over to a new place.  No, tonight's decision is what to take to Antique's Road Show tomorrow.  They will be at the Biloxi, MS coliseum taping for early next year air date.

My family still lives along the Gulf Coast, and my Mom has always wanted to go on the show.  A friend from high school posted months and months ago that it was coming to the Coast and how to apply for tickets.  I think I applied for tickets in January or February, and winners were chosen in March.  The show uses a lottery system.  You apply for the event you would like to attend, and if your email address is chosen, you receive 2 free tickets.  Mom and I were lucky enough to get tickets.

Our ticket time is 2 pm, and we can arrive up to thirty minutes early.  We plan on arriving around 1:30 or so.  We can each bring 2 items with us.  Mom is bringing 2 violins that have been in my Dad's family for ever, or so it seems.  We've also picked a pair of pocket watches that were wedding gifts to my Dad's parents.  That leaves one more item we can take.

We had decided to take a set of dishes.  Ronnie's grandmother has been saving this set of dishes for him.  Every time she goes to give them to him, she changes her mind.  They are fragile and something could happen to them.  We've heard different stories about these dishes.  Our favorite is that Maw Maw's aunt brought them over on the boat from Sicily, and that she had hand painted them.  Sorry, Google search reveals they were made in Japan and sold in mass production.  Turns out the dishes were wedding china for Maw Maw's sister.  We think they were bought at Sears.  Either way, the dishes are still, well, ugly.  We've decided not to take them tomorrow, but as a consolation prize we will bring them out and use the ugly dishes for Thanksgiving.  It's never a traditional meal in our house so maybe they'll be fortunate enough to be used for a taco dinner or maybe chicken wings.  The menu is still undecided.

I called Mom and told her what we decided. Now she's trying to figure out what else she would like to take.  There's a couple of other contenders:  a music box my Dad bought in Japan in 1951 while he was there in the Navy as part of McArthur's honor guard.  Or there's my Great Grandmother's ugly vase.  When she passed away no one in the family wanted it, they all said it was too ugly.  My Mom took it and found out it's a Hull vase, whatever that means, and is a collectors item.   Mom gets to narrow it down and we'll make a final decision tomorrow.  I don't think my 3rd grade baton twirling uniform, or Ronnie's dog head bong he made in high school would be interesting to take.

Peep Toes

I think it's well established that Paige has a shoe fetish.  She has been obsessed with shoes since she was around a year old.  It really is all about the shoes in this house.  Some mornings I let Paige help pick out my clothes.  It's not a big deal to me.  Especially since I have a hard time deciding some mornings exactly what I want to wear.  Paige has been picking out my clothes based on what shoes I can wear with it.  She has to ask what shoes go with something before she picks it out.  At this point she's mostly figured out what type of shoe goes with what type of clothing.  She knows tennis shoes do not go with a dress or skirt.

Lately Paige has been completely fascinated with my peep toe shoes.  She keeps picking out dresses and skirts that will work with the peep toe shoes I have.  I have a pair of blue and white spectator style pumps with the ankle strap and peep toe.  Then there's the 4 1/2 inch black Candies' patent leather peep toe pumps.  She's picked those out twice this week.  I'm going to have to buy something else to go with the blue and white shoes.  They only match one dress, and I'm getting a bit tired of wearing it frequently.  It's also a bit dressy for work.  The other problem with that is my knee.  The arthritis in my knee doesn't like all these high heel peep toe shoes.  I'm glad tomorrow is casual Friday at work.  I get to wear jeans, a t-shirt and my Converse.  Sounds great to me.

Sci Fi Actors

I found this link from another blog.  It's all about great Sci Fi actors who were also war heroes.  You can read all about James Doohan, Rod Serling, Alec Guinness and a couple others.  I'm sure you already know I'm a HUGE fan of Rod Serling.  After all, I did name my child after him.  I already knew about his war hero status, which just makes him even more cool.

Considering a move

Not from my house or anything.  It's a bigger decision than that.  I'm thinking of moving my blog to Word Press.  I have no issues with Blogger at all.  I've heard some complaints here and there about it.  I've also heard some complaints about Word Press.  Why am I considering the move?  Because there's an app for that.

There's an iPhone app for Word Press, but not one for Blogger.  I've tried to blog from my iPhone, but for some reason Blogger doesn't work well on it.  I have no idea why that happens either.  I can create a new post and title it, but I can't actually write anything.  It makes no sense to me.  I write all of my posts on my MacBook in Safari.  I use Safari on my iPhone.  But for some reason, it just won't work.  I would like the option of being able to blog from anywhere.  There are days at work when I could blog at lunch or when the computers are down.  I would like to be able to blog from a road trip while Ronnie is driving.  I just can't do any of that with Blogger.

I haven't decided yet.  I'm still in the research phase of this decision.  I want to see if I can move everything successfully to Word Press and if I can create a blog that looks appealing to me.  I've already secured my blog name, and that won't change.  If I do move, I'll still be SciFi Mama.  Any thoughts?

Diet Time

It's not so much a diet as a complete change of lifestyle.  Ronnie has had high triglycerides for a while now.  He's changed his diet and started working out.  He's running at least three times a week.  We do try to eat healthy around here.  Most meals are made fresh, no pre packaged meals and lots of fresh veggies.  It wasn't enough.  At his last check up the triglycerides are higher than ever.  And now it's time for a complete change.

We've cut pork from our diet.  Good bye bacon, my friend, I will really, really, really miss you.  Also gone are most of the starches, red meat and sugar.  We're now on a diabetic, heart healthy diet around here.  We're going for more of a natural change instead of a medication induced change.  The medicines have too many side effects.  A change of diet and more exercise will give make all of us healthier.

And let's be honest here.  I'm not going to be following Ronnie's diet completely.  Bacon?  Bacon is still my friend.  Paige is not giving up her bacon completely either.  I still drink my 1 can of Coke a day.  There's no way I give that up.  I tried once.  By the third day a coworker put a Coke and told me to drink it before he poured it down my throat.  Mommy needs caffeine.  But I will follow it pretty closely.  Hopefully we can get a little healthier. And just maybe I can lose these last 12 pounds.

Blueberries and more blueberries

Blueberry picking season is in full swing.  Most of our blueberries have been picked for us.  A family friend enjoys picking and picks before most of us can get out there and do it.  That's actually OK with me, for the most part.  It's really hot out there.  Last week my uncle delivered a Walmart bag full of blueberries to me at work.  We ate and ate, and I gave some away.  Then we froze the rest.  

Yesterday we went to Grammy's house.  Grammy gave us a gallon bag of blueberries.  When we left her house we went to Aunt Glennis' house.  We picked from only 3 of her trees and got another gallon of blueberries.  We've given one gallon away to Aunt Wii.  I still have a full gallon of blueberries sitting in my fridge, and I'm about blueberried out.  We're having a luncheon at work next week and I'm thinking of making blueberry cobbler.  That should get rid of some of them.  

Any suggestions?  I need to either use them up or freeze them soon.  We've had blueberry pancakes, muffins and straight from the fridge.  Now I'm thinking maybe a parfait or an afternoon smoothie.  And of course the cobbler for the luncheon.

Creative Gas Mileage

I was filling up my van this afternoon and thinking about what kind of mileage a mini van gets.  Definitely not as good as Ronnie's Accord.  But I love my van and I don't want to give it up.  I may cringe when I fill it up, but I still love to drive it.  I could do the regular math involving miles driven and gallons used.  That would be easy. 

Or, I could use some creative math.  My van has a nifty feature with the clock.  I can see how long the van has been on since I last reset the counter.  I reset each time I fill up the van.  I don't want to tell you how many miles I got to the last tank, but I can tell you I got 8 hours and 25 minutes to the last 14 gallons.  When I look at it that way, I get pretty good mileage.

Grilled Veggies

With summer grilling season in full swing, I thought I would toss this idea out there: grill your veggies.  I get odd looks when I mention we do this.  Grilled asparagus, grilled Brussels sprouts, grilled squash, it's all good.  And as an added bonus Paige will eat any vegetable we grill.  Even the ones she won't normally touch, put it on the grill and suddenly it's her favorite.

This is actually a very easy and healthy way to cook your veggies.  For most veggies, just a quick prep is all you need.  Asparagus is probably the easiest: cut the bottom from the asparagus, toss in a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Put on the grill for a few minutes, turn, leave for a couple more minutes and remove.  Asparagus is done.  Squash or eggplant requires a bit more cutting.  Cut them the way you would like: either long ways or across, which ever you prefer.  Once again the olive oil and salt and pepper, then grill just like the asparagus.  Brussels sprouts takes a bit more work.  First, you blanch them on the stove for about 5 minutes.  Remove from water and cut each one in half.  Add olive oil and salt and pepper.  Put them on the grill for several minutes, then flip.

Grilling your veggies is quick and easy.  As long as the grill is on, you may as well add something else to it, right?  Give it a try.  Maybe you can get your kids to try something they normally won't eat.

Day 3 No Voice

Yes, I still don't have a voice.  When I got off work yesterday it was just as bad as it was when I woke up Monday morning.  Only now it was also hard to breath and swallow.  It was time for a trip to the Doc in a Box, or Urgent Care, whichever you want to call it.  Some of my symptoms could be pointing towards strep.  I certainly didn't want to give it to Paige or Ronnie, so off to the doc I went.

I got a very thorough check up, and was told it probably wasn't strep.  I did ask to be tested just in case.  Have you been tested for strep lately?  Very uncomfortable!  Yuck!  The test came back negative luckily.  As the doctor and nurse practitioner were waiting for the results they looked at the Buffett concert pictures on my phone.  They both agreed that the concert was worth it.  The diagnosis? Laryngitis.

I was given a steroid to take now.  I give that a couple of days and if my voice isn't better I get to start an antibiotic.  I'm also not supposed to talk.  I'm supposed to rest my voice as much as I can.  That's OK at work, to a point.  I've had help in taking and placing phone calls to clients.  I email and text message my coworkers a lot to avoid talking.  At home is another story.  Do you know how hard it is to not answer your 4 year old?  Paige talks a mile a minute and requires an answer.  She knows I've lost my voice, but doesn't quite understand what that means.  When she talks to me, she wants an answer.  And while it's OK to text Kelli on the other side of the office, I fell odd texting my husband on the other end of the couch.

I'm doing my best and my voice is slowly getting better.  I will say though, that concert was worth the laryngitis no matter how long it lasts.  It was wonderful.  Being there watching Jimmy Buffett play for 2 1/2 hours with friends around me was a great time.  I would go back again right now and yell some more. What's a few more days of laryngitis?

Embrace your Inner Geek

Today is Embrace Your Geekiness Day.  There's still some time.  You don't have to actually embrace the Geek inside today.  Let's take baby steps.  Let's start by admitting you like something Geeky.  It's OK, you're at home.  No one has to see you.

Stop and think about it for a few minutes.  It may be something more mainstream like Star Wars or Star Trek.  It could be something more recent like TORCHWOOD or Eureka.  Well, TORCHWOOD is probably a bit out there for you.  I understand.  BBC America does like to push the envelope.  But they are considering an American version for Fox, so maybe it will appeal to more audiences over here at that point.  You could prefer books like those by Orson Scott Card, Stephen King, or Greg Bear.

It could be that you aren't into any of these things.  That does make me wonder why you even read my blog, but that's OK.  We don't all have the same tastes.  Since today is about Geekiness, maybe you could try one of these things.  A trip to the library would get you Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.  Flipping through the TV would probably get you one of the movies or shows.  Try something new.  You may thank me.

I mentioned Card a couple of times to a friend.  And then someone else mentioned him to her.  She finished Ender's Game and emailed me how good it was.  I shipped out the rest of the series to her.  In a book exchange of sorts, she sent me The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.  I devoured the book and can't wait for the sequel.  It's a book I never would have found on my own, so I'm glad she sent it to me.  Trying something new has found me a new author that I truly enjoy.  You don't have to go far out on a limb, maybe just push your comfort zone a bit.  Give it a try and let me know what you find.

It finally happened

The day people probably said my husband would enjoy: I have no voice.  It's the result of yelling, screaming, and singing for 2 1/2 hours Sunday night along with Jimmy Buffett.  Monday was a day of recovery for me.  I took the day off from work and literally lounged around the house.  I only got out of my jammies long enough to take Paige to daycare and then pick her back up.  I have absolutely no energy.

Thanks to Dr. Google I know what I have is hoarseness not actual laryngitis.  That's good, it means I don't need to go to my doctor or get antibiotics.  The old saying of gargle with salt water?  Dr. Google says that won't really work.  Dr. Google says to rest my voice.  After a day of resting it today, it's still no better.  All phone conversations were held by text message.  I haven't quite resorted to pen and paper to hold a conversation yet.  Of course after Paige got home that went away.  There's nothing like a 4 year old to get you chatting, whether you want to or not.

I also spent my day hydrating.  I've been lethargic all day.  Even after drinking as much water in one day I usually drink in two, I still don't have energy.  I'm hoping it comes back to me very soon.  I have to go back to work tomorrow.  I don't see me taking very many phone calls.  Hopefully things will be back to normal soon.  For now, I'm not sure if Ronnie is enjoying this or not.  He seems a bit frustrated by my lack of being able to actually speak.

Buffett was Awesome!

I could spend a lot more time trying to figure out a more clever title.  Or, I could go with the simple truth. All of my highs and lows of getting and not getting tickets became obsolete Saturday afternoon.  A good friend, Tim, called with the best news.  Tim had scored 4 VIP wristbands to the concert.  Tim is a member of the National Guard who was activated on May 1st.  He's been down on the beaches working to clean up the oil since the beginning.  I'm not sure who's idea it was to give the National Guard guys the VIP tickets, but I can tell you they enjoyed themselves.

We took a little road trip down to Gulf Shores with a van full of Parrotheads.  Deciding what to wear was the hard part.  Something comfy, and cool, but still provide coverage so you don't get too much sun.  I finally decided on my average beach attire: sarong, tank top, and flip flops.  Ronnie went with a Red Shirt from Think Geek and shorts.  Red was a good choice.  With his height, 6'3, and a red shirt, he was easy to spot.  Pig tails for me completed the outfit.  Being the OCD person I am, I packed extra sunblock, emergency rain ponchos (predicted 70% chance of rain), and chap stick.  I was ready for the day.

Once we got to the concert we found out what VIP wristbands meant:  We had a special barricaded off section close to the stage.  We were about 40 years from Jimmy Buffett.

That was a wonderful thing.  We were very close to the stage, with lots of room around us.  Not a lot of people were in the VIP section so there was room to dance and move without bumping into other people. We were in a larger group of other National Guard members and their guests.  But, the very best part of VIP wristbands?

That building you see?  That's an actual bathroom.  With stall doors, sinks, everything you would expect in a bathroom.  Yes, no port a potty here.  We got the real thing.  Is it sad that a bathroom at a beach concert made us all so happy?  Ronnie and I had a great time.

The concert lasted the full hour and a half broadcast live on CMT.  Jimmy Buffett then took a 5 to 10 minute break and came back out.  He played for another 45 minutes to an hour just for the 35,000 fans on the beach.  Some people have complained on Facebook about there not being other big name acts like Kenny Chesney or The Zac Brown Band.  These people have said they were disappointed in the concert.  I can say as a Parrothead, I was going to see Jimmy.  He did have some big names: Allen Touissant and Mac McAnally and Jesse Winchester may not be names that were recognized by the average concert goer.  But, they were recognized by those who like jazz (Allen Touissant is a New Orleans musician), country fans ("Down the Road" was a hit duet by Chesney and McAnally), and we all knew the songs written by Jesse Winchester, even if we didn't know his name before.  I can say that I was not disappointed in the least.

I yelled and screamed so much that I have no voice at all today.  Paige heard me talk and asked what happened.  I try to explain it to her.  She just looked at me and said, "Silly Mommy.  Next time remember to put your voice back in your mouth!"

Reusable grocery bags

I've used reusable grocery bags off and on for years.  I just hate that collection of plastic bags I would get.  Now, I don't claim to be completely green around here.  I do make an effort to be more green though.  I have a stack of reusable bags that I love to use.  I also have a sleeve for plastic bags.  I use them in my bathroom trash can.  Perfect size and free is the right price.

When my sleeve of plastic bags gets low, I stop using my grocery bags and get the plastic bags until I fill it back up.  Once it's full, it's back to my own grocery bags.  One of the biggest downsides to bringing my own bags is the cashiers.  Almost none of them know how to bag groceries.  I grew up in Granny and Paw Paw's grocery store.  I can bag some groceries.  My eggs are never crushed, my bread isn't smooshed, and everything fits nicely.  Most of the time when  I tell cashiers I have my own bags they roll their eyes.  The ones that do that I won't offer to bag myself.  The ones who cheerfully say it's great, I'll offer.  I'm a bit sadistic that way.  Truth is, I prefer to bag my own.  I can get more groceries in a bag than they can and all without ruining anything.

I have a new favorite bag.  I got this from my favorite website, Think Geek.  By purchasing other items from them I had built up Geek Points.  I traded in my points for this super cool shopping bag.  It's been amazing.  It clips onto my purse strap, so I always have it with me.  Yesterday after Tae Kwon Do practice we decided to stop for groceries on the spur of the moment.  Unclip my +10 Bag of Groceries, and loaded it up.  By the time we were done it held: bag of carrots, coffee, baking powder, large bag of all purpose flour, eggs, chicken nuggets and French fries.  And there was still plenty of room to spare.  The only thing I purchased not in the bag was the gallon of milk.  It already has a handle, so no need to put it in a bag.

I will admit, since I clipped this on my purse, I've gotten lots of compliments.  Also, it's a very versatile bag.  We're getting ready to head down to Gulf Shores for the Jimmy Buffett concert.  This bag packs up so small I've got it in my flight bag.  You never know when you'll need an extra bag for the stuff you pick up at a beach concert.  This one is super small so it's very easy to take with us. That left enough room in the flight bag I'll carry for sunblock, keys, ID, and an extra sarong.

Highs and Lows Updated

And for another high:

WE GOT TICKETS!!!!

The same guy who was going to sell them to us offered them again.  The other people decided they just couldn't pay the $50 a ticket he was asking.  He offered them to us for $25.  We said yes.  Aunt Wii is lined up to watch Paige Sunday afternoon.  Mommy and Daddy will be headed to Gulf Shores, Alabama for the Jimmy Buffett concert.

Check for pictures on Facebook! Yes, I'm very excited.  I haven't seen Buffett in probably 7 years now.  I need a live Buffett fix.

Highs and Lows

This afternoon was a roller coaster of excited and sad.  It started with a text.  A friend of a friend had purchased tickets from a scalper for the Buffett concert.  Because the concert was postponed and now he can't go.  He was willing to sell the tickets for $25, half what he paid for them.  I got excited.  Yes, the concert is supposed to be free.  But he's a local guy who bought them from a scalper.  It's his bad for doing that, but at least he was willing to sell them for cheap.  I was so excited!

Then, came the low: his friend sold them for $50.  Given the two offers, of course he took the higher offer. He's not making money, but breaking even.  I get that. But it doesn't mean I'm not disappointed.  I will not pay that much for the tickets.  He does have a few other friends who may not go, so he'll let them know if they need to sell theirs.

Then, another exciting moment: Paige got her first stripe in Tae Kwon Do!  Before she can test for her belt, she must do 5 things to prepare.  Reaching these achievements is marked with electrical tape on the current belt.  She got a green stripe for knowing all 5 stances.  Saturday she'll recite the white belt verse, about honoring your mother and father, and will get her black stripe.  We have to work on the next items to learn.

Also, you'll notice a new blog on my Blog Roll to the right.  Please stop by and visit.  It's a friend of mine.  He's a stay at home dad with 2 little girls. I've been following his more personal blog for a couple of years now.  The other was dedicated to his daughters medical problems, and oddly enough was hysterical to read most of the time.  So, stop by SAHD but not Unhappy when you get a chance.

Ouch!

I've been off my Wii Active for several months now.  Of course, I'm starting to feel like a fat slob again, right at bathing suit season.  Last night was my first night back on a 30 day challenge.  My thighs are so sore today!  They've hurt all day.  Moving in certain directions isn't fun at all.

On the plus side, my knee seems to be holding up so far.  Only one day, but at least it held up.  The arthritis in my left knee has been very bad lately.  I've upped my arthritis medicine, added two more, and been given pain killers and a muscle relaxer to help with it.  For me the fact that I exercised last night, and my knee isn't swollen to twice it's size and not bending in a normal manner is a big plus.  Let's see if this can keep up!

Fun Sticks

This project is mainly for Mommy to do.  I modified a couple of ideas I've seen floating around the web to come up with it.  It's based on the wish jar and wish sticks.  Here's what you'll need:

• Jar
• Craft sticks or popsicle sticks
• Pen
• Paint, I used different colors
• Glass discs, marbles, pebbles
• Ribbon
• Foam stickers

I started with a larger hurricane glass used for candles.  I let Paige pick the ribbon from the ribbon bag.  She picked the pink flowers and butterflies, of course.  I used foam stickers to put her name on the jar.  If you have more than one child you could do a jar for each, or put Fun Sticks or your last name on the jar instead of a child's name.

Once the name is on the jar, hot glue the ribbon along the top and bottom.

Pick your activities.  Mine are varied and include crafts, skating, going to the park, riding the carousel at the mall, getting a Starbucks, and movie time.  Each child is different, so think of what your child enjoys most. I first tried to write with a Sharpie on the craft sticks.  I quickly found out that they bleed too much and are very messy.  I ended up using a Vision rollerball pen, and it worked great!  If I wrote a craft on one side, I put where the directions were on the other, such as the website, or what craft book and the page number.  This way, when the time comes to do the project, I won't have to rack my brains trying to figure it out.

Paint the ends of the sticks. It's not important that all sticks be painted to the exact same point.  Mine are all varied, depending on how much was written on the stick.  I found turning ramekins upside down and setting the sticks on them allowed both sides to dry quickly and not get paint everywhere.  I used different paints, painting 3 sticks each color.  This gives us some variation and color in the jar.

I let the sticks dry overnight.  I used glass discs in the bottom of my jar.  I found a bag of red/clear at Walmart for $3.  It was the closest I could find to pink.  I put a few in the bottom of the jar, and started putting in the sticks.  Once all sticks were in, I filled in the rest of the discs.  I didn't want Paige to start recognizing the words and picking out the sticks she wanted each time. 

Our finished project.

I ended up with close to 40 sticks when I was done.  I made a stick for each activity I could think of.  There is definitely some cheating going on.  If I know money is tight, before I let Paige pick a stick, I would remove the Starbucks and the carousel sticks.  (Not that the carousel is expensive, but if we go to the mall she'll want a cookie and a Starbucks.)  If it's raining outside I would remove the ride bikes or go to the park.  The only set rule is once you pick a stick, you do what's on that stick.  There's no putting it back and picking another one.  

Craft ideas are coming

Paige has finally gotten to the age where we can do really cool crafts together without Mommy getting upset at her non-listening skills.  I spent yesterday going through books, and my Safari bookmarks scoping out ideas.  I was looking for something to do on Monday when we have Girls Day.  I ended up with more ideas than we can possibly use on one day.  I stopped looking when I hit 20 ideas.  Those should keep us busy for a while.

We did our first project yesterday: Fun Sticks.  It seems that when we have time to do something fun, we have a hard time coming up with ideas. But when we don't have time to stop and play, like in the middle of running errands, I come up with the best ideas.  Now, those ideas of fun things, including crafts, are all written on sticks.  How to make the jar and the sticks, complete with pictures, will be posted tomorrow.

Most of my crafts that I've picked are geared towards the 4 year old age group.  There are a few parts, like using the hot glue gun, that are just for Mommy to do alone.  I have a very full to overflowing craft cabinet, which makes these pretty easy for me to do, and for cheap.  I didn't get it all at one time.  I've watched sales at my two favorite craft stores: Hobby Lobby and Michael's, and stocked up when I could.  Like paints.  You could buy the Crayola kids paints, getting a box of 4 small jars for $6.  Or, Michael's regularly puts their very large jars of washable tempra paints on sale for 99 cents each.  Other things that I consider part of a basic package:

• Googly eyes, wiggly eyes, whatever you want to call them
• Pipe cleaners, chenille stems, same thing
• Foam stickers
• Glue
• Pom pom balls
• Construction paper
• Thicker card stock for scrapbooking
• Ribbon
• Cardboard tubes from paper towels and toilet paper
• Stick on jewels
• Alphabet beads
• Colorful beads
• Bead string or fishing line
• Craft sticks, or popsicle sticks

Those items will get you through the majority of the craft projects I have planned.  Another great place to stock up on some basics is Dollar Tree.  They have a small craft section where you can pick up some good stuff.

Movie Etiquette

There are some things that we all know are common sense and common courtesy, but not everyone seems to follow.  I hope when you go into a movie you turn your cell phone to vibrate, or turn it off.  You know not to leave your phone on ring, and at the loudest volume possible.  Another one we all know is not to repeatedly kick the seat in front of you.  A few bumps here and there are expected.  But sitting there bored and kicking the chair?  Not a good idea.

I saw Eclipse Friday afternoon.  I didn't see any of the other Twilight movies in the theatre.  Honestly, I didn't think the movies were that good.  I did read the books, and absolutely loved them.  Eclipse is my favorite of the books, so the one I decided to see on the big screen. I won't give out spoilers, but I will say I'm glad I saw it on the big screen.  It was definitely a good movie.  But, after seeing both Eclipse and Toy Story 3 recently, I think maybe some people need a refresher in movie etiquette.

• Put your phone on silent.  We don't want to hear it.  If you may have a call you must get, you can put the phone in your lap or back pocket, you'll feel it vibrate.
• Don't text during the movie.  That huge screen you love on your iPhone?  It's really bright.  When the rest of the theatre is dark, and it's a night scene in the movie, your phone is even brighter.
• Don't kick the chair in front of you.  Bumps here and there are OK.  If you're bored, go wait outside, don't just sit and kick the chair in front of you.
• Don't take kids to a more adult movie.  We each raise our kids our own way, but I somehow doubt a 4 year old really needs to see Eclipse.  Especially when she gets scared during a fight scene and screams.  We don't appreciate it.
• Don't talk.  If you just have to talk, try a whisper.  I don't want to hear your conversation.  It's not that important to me.
• Along with the above one: If you've read the book, you don't have to prove to us that you've read it and how much you remember.  Comparing the movie to the book during the movie, just annoys the rest of us.  And here's a hint: You aren't the only one to have read Eclipse.  I promise you aren't.  A lot of us have read it, but we manage to keep our mouths shut.
• If you're going to see a sequel, like Eclipse, and you haven't seen the first two movies: don't go!  Granted, you probably don't have to see Toy Story 1 and 2 in order to really understand what's going on in Toy Story 3.  But, if a movie is billed as a saga, and if you don't live under a rock, you know Eclipse is the 3rd installment of the Twilight series.  

As I'm sitting there watching the movie, an older lady behind me kept asking her friend questions.  Without giving away any spoilers, if you have to ask who Victoria is, and why she wants to kill Bella, Eclipse is not the movie for you.  Start with Twilight and work your way up to it.  You really will enjoy it more. Probably the worst time this happened was when I went to see Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.  It was the midnight opening of the movie.  Some guy obviously wanted to make his date happy by taking her to see it.  It was obviously her idea.  We get to the part of the movie where Arwen, Liv Tyler, is having a vision of her future, and sees her husband and son running through the woods.  It's beautifully done.  This guy who had been asking questions during the movie started asking who Liv Tyler was supposed to be.  I'll admit, I started the popcorn throwing.  He got the hint and didn't ask another question during the movie.  It may not have been as annoying as that, but still, see all the other movies first, don't start almost at the end.  

If you can't follow some basic common courtesy, you probably shouldn't go to the movies.  Movies are getting more and more pricey.  I don't pay to see one on the big screen only to hear your conversations and watch you text.  I give you the same courtesy since I'm sure you don't care who's picking up my child from daycare or what we're having for dinner.

Playing Paige Style

We encourage Paige to be creative.  Her idea of playing may not fit in with what every 4 year old girl normally does.  Last night we went bowling.  We didn't go with a huge group of people, just me, Ronnie, Paige and a couple of other adult friends.  Luckily, our adult friends are as warped on SciFi as we are.

Paige and I were wearing our Silly Bandz bracelets.  I'm currently wearing the Princess collection, and Paige is wearing the jungle animals collection.  One of my bracelets is a shoe; one of hers is a bug.  I'm sure you can see where this is going.  She took off the bug and had it attack me.  I certainly didn't want bug on me, so I took off the shoe to smash the bug.  It seems smashing the bug wasn't enough.  Paige pulled my iPhone out of my purse, opened the Sonic Screwdriver app, and used it on the bug.

Yes, my child used a Sonic Screwdriver app on a bug Silly Bandz bracelet.  Normal? Probably not.  Fun?  Most definitely.  We were giggling and having a great time.  At least she was being nice about it.  She didn't open the phaser app and set it to kill instead of stun.  That would have been worse.