Thursday, April 27, 2006

I Want a Personality Transplant!!!

Sadly this is so me!

Slow and Steady

Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy.

They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder.

It'd really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment.

They expect you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then usually decide against it.


What can I say? When Dear Hubby and I were trying to decided whether to move back to our home state, I actually created a spreadsheet of pros and cons - AND assigned a numerical weight to them.

Pros for Louisiana: affordable real estate, my husband's large family
Cons for Louisiana: cockroaches, crooked politics, the humidity is awful for my hair!

Pros for Virginia: I love snow! Better public education system, my mom
Cons for Virginia: Very expensive real estate, very crowded (just outside Washington, DC)

On paper, moving back to Louisiana seemed like a stupid move. But as blogthings suggested, I disgarded all the data and went with my husband's "gut". I wish I had an instinct. Even just one. Haven't regretted it, although I do miss Va.

Blogthings: What should I major in?

I'm kind of at a loss for words right now. I'm highly ADHD this week, which is unfortunate because I'm juggling a lot of things. Rather than attempt my usual random musings, I thought I'd post the following because I got a kick out of it. I'm not sure I agree the results, but for the record, I have a BA in Communications and an MA in Organizational Development, but I've never been employed in either field. Still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. This link didn't help. :-)

Your Scholastic Strength Is Evaluating

You are great at looking at many details and putting them all together.
You are talented at detecting subtle trends, accuracy, and managing change.

You should major in:

Statistics
Speech
Conflict studies
Communication
Finance
Medicine

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

A Happy Camper




Son#3 and I went camping for the first time recently. Dear Hubby and Sons 1&2 have been going for years. I managed to avoid it until now. However, since Son#3 is now potty trained, he could finally go camping with the big guys. (Dear Hubby has a rule: no diapers on campouts.). It didn't seem really fair to send him with all three boys - tempting, but not fair - so I relented and went on a Cub Scout one-night campout to a Wildlife Preserve. It was closed to the general public so we had the whole place to ourselves (well, we shared with 30 other scout families).

The weather was perfect. Upper 60s in the day and around 50 degrees at night. Cool enough that there weren't any bugs. There were, however, caterpillars. Thousands of them. There were clumps of caterpillars in the trees. At one point during our nature walk in the woods, we stopped and heard what sounded like rain. When we watched carefully, we saw that it was the fuzzy 1.5-2" long caterpillars dropping from the trees. That was too much for Son#3, who's only 4, so we cut our hike short. In a couple of weeks, the site will be teeming with butterflies. Unfortunately, it'll be 80 degrees by then and also teeming with mosquitoes.

In his defense, Dear Hubby offered to buy an air mattress for the tent, but I thought we'd save the money and 'rough it.' Bad idea. I've learned that my bones are little too old to sleep on the ground with only a sleeping bag and the floor of the tent between me and the dirt. I felt like the Princess and the Pea. I could feel every little rock and pebble. How the guys managed to sleep is beyond me. Fortunately the tent was large enough that I could stretch my aching joints every 20 minutes or so. My yoga "child's pose" was especially helpful as were some of my Pilates stretches.

I also discovered that Son#1 talks in his sleep. I had to wake him twice to tell him to quiet down. Go figure. The guy one tent over snores loudly.

Fortunately there was also a pavilion with picnic tables and - thank you! - a bathroom. We pitched the tent relatively nearby (in case Son#3 had to make a 1 a.m. potty run). Andy cooked over his little propane stove: soy burgers for adults, hot dogs for the kids. We roasted marshmallows over the camp fire.

While I'll never be an outdoorsy girl, I'd consider going again on a single night campout if the weather isn't too hot, and if I get an air mattress. I don't think I could go any longer as I get very cranky if I can't wash my hair and shave my legs.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

I received this via email a while back...

When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard.
My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.

When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away.
My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile back.

When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune and don't have much rhythm so I sit self-consciously and listen.
My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don't know them, they make up their own.

When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk.
My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that.
My kids say, "Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don't want to go to Heaven yet. I would miss my Mommy and Daddy."

When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets.
My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross, and worms to play with.

I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from? No wonder God loves the little children! Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

I wish you Big Mud Puddles and Sunny Yellow Dandelions!!!

Author Unknown

Monday, April 03, 2006

My Painting Project

I spend the better part of the last 4 days painting my bedroom and master bath (again) - I tend to switch colors every couple of years or so.

The master bath is now a pale sage green (lighter than it was two colors ago). I also gave the ceiling a fresh coat of white paint.

I painted the bedroom a pale beige (a warmer shade the it was two colors ago). I also painted a darker brown border at the top of the wall just for a little color. This is my first time choosing more neutral tones for the bedroom. I usually opt for brighter colors. It was yellow - like color of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Pretty soon I'll have so many coats of paint on my walls that they'll practically be sound soundproof.

What took so long was the fact that I only have a 3 foot step ladder and an 8 foot ladder. The former doesn't help me reach high places (I'm 5'1"), the latter was a a pain in the butt to move around the room. I caved Saturday night and bought a 5' ladder. I should've done it ages ago.

By now, every muscle in my arms, neck and shoulders are aching, but I finally have the house just 'complete.' It's only taken 5 years.

Deep Thought of the Day: Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.