eBooks...eReaders...eEverything...

I, like so many other people these days have an e-reader device.
Mine just happens to be a Sony e-Reader.

To be able to read books on such a device one must purchase the reading material in digital form and then download it, either directly to the device or to a computer.

I use the Sony ebook store and Kobo and Amazon...

To purchase books, magazines and newspapers that you can carry with you everywhere you go...
without taking up valuable handbag or briefcase space is awesome.

However...
there is a problem that I have recently encountered...

If I want to purchase crafting or hobby-type books or magazines...

They just do not seem to exist!

Oh...
Don't get me wrong, there are some books out there...
It's just that...
Well, the choices are rather limited...
Or stilted...
Or uninspiring...

To me...

I mean, I am SURE there are those that have found the same titles that I have in my search for digital crafting publications that are thrilled with what is currently being offered...

 like...     Be the Man : The Man Registry Guide for Grooms

 or ...          The Really Useful Little Book of Knots

 or ...          Traditional Blacksmithing : The Fine Art of Horseshoeing and Wagon Making

 or  ...         Cyclops Monster Hat for Teens Crochet Pattern

I, on the other hand, am not.

This has brought me to this conclusion...
The only solution to this problem is to...
Either stop looking or ...
Publish my own, or find books written by others that can be converted into digital format and publish them...
With the permission and cooperation of the a fore mentioned authors certainly.

Which then brought me to the conclusion that...
I don't have time for that...
Unless I forgo ALL sleep...
and hire someone to handle the housework...
Or I put my kids to work and make them do CHORES!
(which is not a bad idea actually)

Or perhaps I'll just ask HeMan Hubby to find a way to make it happen...
I mean he is THE WORLD's MOST AWESOME COMPUTER GURU ...

And I'm sure he has plenty of time for another project...

Thank You Notes... ala BusyMom

I haven't taken the time to do a Writer's Workshop blog in quite a while so I thought I would jump in on this one... uh, yeah... maybe I should have waited for something a little easier to get back into the swing of things... oh, what the heck... how hard could it possibly be? 

The prompts this week were all interesting but this one seemed to call out to me... or perhaps that was the spanish rice I tried to eat for dinner... either way here we go!

5.) Who do you have to thank? Following Jimmy Fallon's famous thank you note writing style, write or vlog a list of 10 thank you cards you'd like to write this week.
 

This week I'd like to give thanks to...

1) Thank You Kimberly Clark for giving us Kleenex... pass me a kleenex sounds so much nicer than pass the paper hanky... especially when you have a stuffy nose... "paff de paypa haadgee" 

2) Thank You Lindsay Lohan... for ruining the name Lindsay for the rest of the girls, and guys, out there who have never done anything daring or risque', like drunk driving, three-peating at rehab, stealing jewelry that you have more than enough money to pay for... and going out in public in a leopard print onesie... Way to Rock On Linds! 

3) Thank You Wal-Mart People... for making me look good, even on a really bad hair day or when I forgot to do the laundry and had to pick something to wear from the 'sort-of' dirty pile on the floor... You know who you are and so does everyone else who has ever gone to this website! 

                                        peopleofwalmart.com

  

          

4) Thank You man who invented Air Conditioning... and it must have been a man because a woman would have come up with a way better name like... Chilled Air system or Frigid- Air or Hot-Flash-BE-Gone!

5) Thank You Jolly Green Giant... knowing you and Santa were related made eating canned vegetables in between the holidays that much easier... HOHOHO Green Giant! 

6) Thank You guy on the road holding the stop/slow sign... for knowing which one to have facing my direction... this time.

7) Thank You Madonna... for making cone bras and bustiers an acceptable wardrobe addition... on the outside... 

                                                                    and for making it OK to have Man-Arms even if you are 

                                                                    a woman!

8) Thank You Greek Yogurt making guy... so glad you finally found a way to make yogurt taste JUST LIKE pudding... almost... well, not really, but I have a really good imagination.

9) Thank You .. Baltimore Orioles who are only 1 game behind... for giving your faithful fans something to keep them going for another 15 years...

10) Thank You Gummi Bears... the TV show, not the candy, although the candy is pretty awesome too... for countless hours of viewing enjoyment you provide my daughter when she is home sick... you know, the 27 year old one...but who can blame her... You Guys Are The Best at what you do!!!

Lou Gehrig.... Words to Remember and Live By

Yes...
I just made a baseball reference.

And being as the Orioles won last night...
and it IS baseball season I figured it was appropriate.

The words to which I am referring are the words now immortalized on film spoken by Lou when he retired from the game of baseball because he had become too ill to continue to play.

He had ALS... a disease that attacks the body and renders one unable to control their own muscles.
This disease is most commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease...
Go figure.

                           Lou Gehrig Speech July 4th,1939 Yankee Stadium


The part of his famous, and heart wrenching, speech that I find so motivating is the part where he says...
" Today I consider myself the Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth"

I feel like there are not enough people who can say that they have felt that way on any day in their entire lives

This makes me sad...
but TODAY I know that there are moms and dads all over the land who are breathing a sigh of relief as they sit down to their morning cup of joe...

Because today is the 2nd second day of school...
well, it's the 2nd second day because the 1st day was Monday, but it didn't really count since only elementary, 6th and 9th graders went...
Making yesterday the 1st second day of school...
the day that all the kids actually went...

As another long school year begins...
I look back at the trials and tribulations of years gone by...
as I look ahead to those that are sure to be coming and can't help but think...

If Lou Gehrig could meet his fate head one with such a positive attitude...
then surely I can look at this new school year and my new job and the changes in our family's routine and dynamics the same way...

Having a good role model is important...

Lou Gehrig is Mine...

Who is Yours?

The Beginning and The End...

When all else fails ... start writing.

This is a sure fire way to get your head on straight...
or at least to get your brain working.

This summer  I have spent quite a bit of time sitting by the pool, reading, soaking up some rays and dipping into the pool.

I have also spent a bit of time with and around teenagers.
This is probably because 3 currently live in my house...

but it is most likely because the 3 that live here have friends...
and because I work with the boy's youth group and spend a lot of time at the ball fields while the kids have football and soccer practice.

Spending so much time around these alien creatures that were once polite, quiet and, dare I say, shy children I can't help but wonder what being in high school now would be like.

And then I shudder, and possibly even throw up a little in my throat, and am so glad that I am not.

On a trip to the local merchandising mecca, also known as The Mall,  I was inundated with the fashions of today...
that look an awfully lot like those worn by myself and my contemporaries back in The Day.

Dolman sleeved tops, striped box-like tunic dresses, leggings and ankle boots...
all that was missing was the bi-level haircut and hair permed and colored to within an inch of it's natural life.

Polo shirts with logos on the breast , not of an alligator, but of an eagle taking flight; skinny jeans and boat shoes..." Mom, they're called Sperry's!" an exasperated BratChild and SIX say as they roll their eyes at me in unison...

These, too, were the dress code of choice in my high school life.

Listening to not only my children, but those of the other mother's looking as haggard and beaten down by peer pressure as I, I could only shake my head and wonder how, after so many years, things could possibly remain the same.

And then it hit me.
Teens today have the same desperate need to be individuals...
To set themselves apart from the crowd...
To define themselves...
within a certain band of similarly minded kids.

And thus the 'Clique' is born.
SIX and BratChild tend to travel in the same group, like a school of dolphins, or perhaps piranha...

While TeenBoy, although just as affable and friendly, within his own tribe that is...
although a bit more reclusive and quite often stand-offish...
runs to the less well-groomed end of the spectrum favoring the loose fit style of jeans, Vans and logoed t-shirts made popular by skaters and surfers in the late 80's and 90's.
Hair that is more 'bed-head' than styled and an aloof demeanor that does not invite needless banter,
he is the one that I worry will succumb to the dreaded peer pressure that runs rampant in high schools.

But, he is smart.
He is intelligent.
And he is enough of his own person that I hope he will stand up to those pressures and prevail...

While SIX and BratChild are part of the same group of friends, TeenBoy is considered by them to be an outsider, although he too plays football and rides the school bus and knows all the same people.
He just chooses not to fit into their, again I revert to my youth and will call it as I see it, Preppy attitude of dress and behavior.

Does this make him the more independent one. or does this target him as just too different?

I guess this year will tell.
As we begin yet another hectic and. most likely harrowing, year of learning...
All 3 will once again be in the same school.

High School... a freshman, a sophomore and a junior...
all together, and yet not...
it is very likely that they will have some classes together...
something that makes BratChild cringe, SIX assure us that he will be the better student and TeenBoy?
well he's none too thrilled either.

For me it is the beginning of the end...
The end of their childhood...
The end of primary school...
The end of rec league sports...
The beginning of the end of child-rearing...
For you see, in 1 year they will be sophomore, junior and senior...
And the year after that... well,  there will be only 2, and then, only 1 and then...

I can only hope that they have learned the lessons I have spent the last umpteen years trying to teach...
that the choices they make, regarding each other and their friends, will be ones that I approve of and can be proud of...
And that they will find that despite, and possibly even because of, their differences they do like and respect each other...
and maybe, just maybe a little bit...
Need each other.

It is time to let them go...
And let them find out who they are meant to be.
And I believe that they will find out that they are exactly the lovely, compassionate and caring people that I know them to be...

The Rise and Fall... of a blogger... sort of

I think I may have missed the Social Media boat as it were...


And by this I mean that I was right there,
poised and at the ready,
blogging with uncertainty, 
reading the fledgling blogs of others, 
who like me, were trying to figure out how to be heard...


And then there was "Social Media"...
in my head it resonates and reverberates in a deep baritone voice like James Earl Jones or Morgan Freeman... but not the March of the Penguins narrator voice, more like his voice in Evan Almighty, you know, where actually IS the voice of God.


Suddenly there was facebook....
and then there was Twitter...
and then there were blogs on how to post on facebook and twitter ....
and how to use key words to drive traffic to your blog...
and Branding.... that has nothing whatsoever to do with fire-hot metal...


And then somewhere along the way...


I got lost.


My intention when I started blogging was to find a way to voice my thoughts...
Thoughts that I thought others like me may be having...
Thoughts that may help me, and those unnamed masses who I hoped might stumble upon my words of insight and self-evaluation....


To be better at being ourselves...
To feel better about being us...
To find a way to connect with those who are like us... 
no matter how near or far away they are.


But with the onslaught of newsletters and blogs with tips for branding and SEO-ing and give-aways and Tweeting and Pinterest-ing (again -I was there at the very beginning) and using sidebar buttons and Vlogging and link-ups and clicking through...


I lost my way and my drive and in a very real sense...
Myself.


I just stopped reading my blog lists, then I stopped visiting my favorites, ignored my RSS feeds, opted out of newsletters and blog post updates on self-promotion and Social Media-ing...
and let go the illusion that these other early bloggers and I had forged bonds of friendship simply because... because.


Let us just say life has been messy lately...
and I could have used a shoulder to cry on or a brain to pick ...
even if it was really just my own on the pages of this blog...


So, I have resolved to get back into the swing of things and...
1) start blogging several times a week 
2) read my RSS feeds 
3) pay attention to what Michael Stelzner and The SITS Girls have to say...
4) try not to be so hard on myself 
5) try to find out what I want to do when I grow up... 
     or at least try to figure out whether or not I have any marketable skills... 


so far, it does not appear so... 
but I am still looking.


BTW... 
Looking for Social Media for Dummies... 


Anyone ???

Random Things That Actually Make Sense... Or They Could

There should be a history class curriculum as outlined by Billy Joel ...


and every high school senior should be required to take it.


Is there an actual job that you get when you have a degree in philosophy...
or is it like getting a degree in Egyptology when you live in rural middle America...
it's just an expensive piece of paper?


If there are health conditions, like ADHD, that make you inelligible for military service...
why don't they tell you  BEFORE you sign on the dotted line???


Muscle Cars.... why?.




Did greek yogurt just get discovered? Or has it been out there all along and no one noticed?


Isn't fruit flavored sparkling water the same as drinking a soda?
I mean, really, it's all the same ingredients according to the labels!

If religion and state are separate...
why are politicians even talking about the moral issues ( in relation to religious beliefs) of birth control and planned parenthood?


America is a government of the people, by the people and for the people...
so, which people are they talking about these days, cuz I am pretty sure it's not anyone I know.

Don't get me wrong, I love America.


I love that I have the freedom to be whatever I want...
as long as I work really hard, scrimp and save, and maybe even find a way to put some of my kids, although probably not all of them, through college...


I'm just tired of feeling like a character in a Frank Capra film...
you know, the ones doing all the living and dying and working and saving for the chance to own a few rooms with a roof overhead and a yard for the kids to play in...


Does anyone else think Ron Paul looks a lot like Mr.Potter from It's A Wonderful Life?








So, about that high school history class...
We Didn't Start the Fire... but our kids are gonna get burned if they don't start learning about the events in that song...
HoChi Min...
Sally Ride...
Children of thalidomide...


They have NO IDEA what he's talking about...


Yes, these are the Random things that run through my head...
Usually when I am trying to nap before going to work...
Because I work nights..


And I find I frequently have difficulty turning my brain off at 7pm...
Don't you?

Planes, Trains and Automobiles... only without the trains or autos

Or something like that.

It's been a while since my last post.

Oh, alright!
It's been a month...
And a few days...

I've been busy.
Or not.
But mostly busy... sort of.

HeMan Hubby left today.
No, not for good...
Or, at least it better not be for good.

I.
Would.
Miss.
Him.
Terribly!

No, he left on a business trip.
To California.
3000 miles away.

On a plane!

And that my pre-tend friends is the problem.

I don't mind him going, it's his job and well, it's his job.
And it's not like he will meet a beautiful starlet named Poppy...
with long flowing red hair and a quirky smile...
and run off with her...
Right?

No, the problem is that he had to fly there...
or spend 4 days driving there...
but by then the week would be over and it would be time to drive back so...
Flying was the only possible travel choice.

But I am afraid to fly.
And apparently I am afraid for him to fly.
Like deathly afraid that the plane will suddenly plummet to the earth without warning.

I actually told him to not let the plane crash.
Like he has any pull with the pilot at all...
or that he could fly the plane should a problem develop?

But, being the HeMan Hubby that he is he promised that he would come back to me, no matter what...
Kind of like Jack in Titanic...
Only he didn't actually hold up his end of the deal there...

I know, right?

Good news is he made it to NY for his layover without any problems.
I know because we were texting while he was waiting to board his connecting flight.
I don't know why he had to fly north to fly west but apparently, he did.

More good news...
he made it safely to California.

I know this because...
1) there were no planes reported falling from the sky...at least between here and Cali between the hours of
        4pm and 11pm EST...

and...

2) I accidently left my phone at home when I went to work so we could not text.
            (No - that's not the good news...)
SO...
I was trying to email him to find out if he made it to the hotel okay... you know without being mugged or getting lost ...
But he did not answer the email so...

I called him.

From my computer.

There is this cool phone call thingy you can use from Google where your computer calls any land or cell phone...

So I did.

And it works!

HeMan Hubby answered on the 3rd ring...
I guess he was waiting for my call, or my text, or something...
Or maybe he found HBO and was watching the season finale of Game of Thrones....

He answered using his work voice and work name... which is NOT HeMan Hubby...
then he said Hello.
and then he said HELLO!
and then he said HELLO???

And then I realized that my computer has no microphone and I had inadvertently just crank called the love of my life...

I'm pretty sure he was already awake when I called...
at least he sounded awake...
and not too ticked off about getting a crank call...
at midnight...

ANYWAY...
back to #2...
He made it safely to California, and the hotel...
and that's all that really matters...

For now.