Full House

Quote of the Day

After a particularly "lively" trip to seminary  at 6 AM this morning (thanks to Brady), I needed a little inspiration on  endurance and perserverance.  I found this quote and love it!

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. 

~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Do they really work?

Do your kids ever come up to you and tell you that you need to buy something advertised on TV?  My kids do.  It's not rare for one of them, usually the one that is 5 or 6 at the time to come up and say, "Mom, you need to buy The Betty Crocker® Bake'n Fill™.  It makes it easy to create beautiful and delicious filled cakes and desserts!"  Yes,they cite the commercial verbatim.  Am I letting them watch too much TV?  Probably.  One time Cooper came up to me (I think he was about 5) and said "Mom, you should buy the ????? (the name escapes me) it's great for weddings, proms and parties!"  Uh, excuse me???  Where did you come up with that?? You're a 5 year old boy!  Do I need to worry??? You guessed it, it was straight from the commercial. How gullible these little people are!  That's another post for another day though.

Anyway, I am always skeptical of those infomercials on TV.  You know the ones ....... you're up late channel surfing and stumble upon some obnoxious person with an accent (ok, Billy Mays doesn't have an accent but if I see him one more time I think he'll drive me to drink) who proclaims their love for the latest and greatest product that will save your life!  If you order within the next 10 minutes, they will cut you a once in a lifetime deal.  Only 3 payments of $59.95 + S&H!!!  Who could pass up an offer like that??  Just to be sure, they throw in another gadget absolutely FREE!!!!   Somehow they make you feel like you will be a better person if you throw them your hard earned money in exchange for their promises.

We all know the products rarely live up to their hype and the free gadget you receive, well it's usually such a piece of crap that you would pay someone to take it off of your hands.  I have found one exception. 

That's right folks!!  I have tried those Debbie Meyer Green Bags my kids told me about repeatedly and they actually work!!!!  Now, I can't take all of the credit.  I didn't actually shell out the money myself.  When's Joe parents were visiting last month, Marcia took a trip to a kitchen outlet store nearby.  She brought me back a box of Green Bags and I put them to work.  They actually work!!  I really am saving money because I don't have to throw gobs of fresh produce out!  I love these things! 

So, come on y'all!  Fess up!  What things have you bought off of TV?  Did they work?  Were they a complete waste of money?  Are you a sucker for an overly enthusiastic salesman with an accent????  Inquiring minds want to know (that means nosy me!). 

 

6 Quirks Meme

The rules are to link the person who sent it to you (Joanna at The Outlet), mention these rules in your blog, then (the fun part) tell us about 6 random, unspectacular quirks that you possess. Then tag 6 others to do the same.

1. I, like Joanna have this incessant need to clean my ears.  However, I think my case is probably worse than hers.  I go through a large box of Qtips about every two months.  I know it's supposedly dangerous, but it just feels so good to scratch my ears!  I use a minimum of three or four per day on my ears and then one or two for my makeup.

2. I am always worried that I forgot to put deodorant on.  This comes from my early days in middle school.  I'm always worried that I will have a major case of B.O. and I won't know about it.  If I left for school and wasn't ABSOLUTELY sure that I put some on that morning (and I most assuredly had), I would make my Mom turn the car around and go back home so I could give my pits a fresh coating.  Along with my B.O. worries, another thing I'm paranoid about is having a big whitehead/zit on my face and being completely oblivious to it.  I tend to pick at Joe and now Cooper (puberty is on it's way!) if they have one.  Nasty, I know.  If I'm in a conversation with someone that has a biggie on their face, it's all I can do not to say something or reach over and pop it myself (of course I wouldn't do that, it would be EXTRA GROSS). 

3. I  can't stand when there are left over food particles in my kitchen sink grates.  It just grosses me out.....especially when I'm at someone else's house and it's not my food.  I don't scrub down my sinks every day, but the grates are emptied multiple times a day at my house.

4. I also check my email several times a day.  I always leave a window with my email and GoogleReader accounts open.  If I'm passing through the office, I take a quick minute to see what new messages I might have. I have a lot of friends, and many of those I see and associate with on a regular basis, but I love the connections you can make on-line. I'm sure having Joe gone for so long and never wanting to miss and email or messenger chat didn't help my compulsions. 

5.  I am definitely NOT a great singer, but I'm always making up silly songs and singing to my kids. This drives them crazy (especially because I sing in weird voices), but if I want them to get something done, I just sing them a song and they get right to the job so I will quit singing. 

6. I have to check my doors several times at night to be SURE that they are locked.  Being raised by a single Mom and being a geographical single Mom for long periods of time has made me a bit paranoid.  I think somewhere in my subconscious mind I think that there are little fairies that will unlock the doors when I'm not looking, but if I check them enough times, they'll stay locked.    I'm crazy, I know!

Now, I tag 6 people:  (if your name is not on the list, feel free to play along anyway):

1.  Sirk......Kris, my sister

2.  Nannie Jo......Nancy, my cuz

3.  Ammy, my other awesome cuz

4.  Mary......my Maryland sis-in-law

5.  Tasha......my Cali sis-in law

6.  Kimberly.....my "y'all" friend (she'll understand)

Things I Just Don't "Get": Part 1

I seem to be on a blog-roll tonight, so I think I'll finally get around to a topic I mentioned a few weeks ago.  Before I do that, I have to say that there are just some things in this world that I just don't get!  It doesn't mean that I think these things are bad or even great for that matter, but my mind simply just can't comprehend them.  Here are a few things that have crossed my mind lately.

• Why some people just never have the urge for children. All I have ever know that I wanted to be in this world was a mother. That doesn't mean that I think I'm the world's best mother, far from it infact, But, I do love my chillins with every fiber of my being and I can't imagine life without them. There are some women out there who want to be all kinds of things and mother just isn't on their list. How is it that we are all so different? Is it because of our upbringing? I'm sure that is some of it. Because I have always felt this way, I can't understand feeling any differently.
• Why do some people feel that they are truly more important than other people just because they are rich or famous?  Why is it that some view poor and even homeless people as less than human?  Does money really cloud our judgement that much?  I know that have's and have not's inclueding money, race, gender and even religious beliefs drastically effect our circumstances in life, but I'm talking about worth on a very basic level.  Aren't we all God's children and therfore valued and loved the same by him?  I just can't understand any other train of thought.
• Why does my husband love to run so much?  For as long as I've known Joe, he has liked to run.  It's always been his exercise of choice, and we've even had a "discussion" or two about my decision NOT to become a runner.  I've finally jumped onto the band wagon of consistant exercise, and I think it's great.......but I HATE to run!  There is just nothing appealing about it to me!  I would like to be able to run for a distance without dying, but I guess I'd have to practice running in order to do that.  Joe just has this inner drive to run.  He gets up early every morning and runs anywhere between 5 and 9 miles at a time.  Over in Iraq he would run twice a day if he could.  When he gets back, he is so wet from sweat that even his sock and shoes and drenched......yes, soaking wet with sweat!!! TMI???  Still, he returns having fully enjoyed his experience.  How can that be??  I just don't understand it?
• A few things that were on a decline when I was a little girl have now made a major comback.  Smoking and Tatoos.  I mentioned tatoos a while back, and I'm just now getting back to the subject.  Sure, I think some tatoos look cool, but what is so great that someone would want to lie or sit still and pay someone to PERMANANTELY mark their body with ink, all the while suffering in pain, and then turn around and pay that person for their services?  Joe had a guy he worked with once tell him that he should get all of his kids names tattooed on his body.  WHY???  Can't he remember them without a physical imprint?  Whatever happened to pictures and good old fashioned memories?  I saw a lady the other day who had a big tattoo all along the side of her face.  What kind of person decides to lay there while another person drives a needle in and out of their cheek and eye area thousands of times?  While I was shopping in a jewelery store with Hailey the other day, I noticed a nice looking lady with a tattoo of something (I didn't look close enough to see detail.....you'll see why) right in the crook of her clevage!!!  Wasn't that a little awquard?  People say that tattoo's are all about the "art"!  What ever happened to the art you put on your mantle or hang on your wall? I won't even begin to get into the people who have full arm tattoo's or a goal of tattooing their entire bodies.  These people usually have all kinds of piercings and purposefull disfigurements that I can't even fathom.  Again, this isn't a judgement, I just don't "GET" the attraction. 
• Why do people (usually young males) drive around with their stereo's blasted so loudly that the windows in my car begin to rattle 50 feet before they reach me?  How can they even think with that much chaos?  The real thing that I can't understand is why they think it is ok to impose their music on my ears?  Haven't they ever heard of common courtesy?  I just don't get why they like their music so loud and why they never think of how it effects other people.....especially ME!!

Well, it's getting late and I should really get off of my soap box now.  I'm sure there will be future installments of this subject at a later date.    What are some things that you just don't "get"?