Friday Favorite(s)

I've discovered a couple of new things in the past few weeks and this weeks favorites are very, well, random to say the least.

First, I've been eating diet frozen lunches for a while now and haven't found anything new or even somewhat tasty in this department since I burned myself out on the Lean Cuisine panini when it released a year or so ago. But, I recently tried a Lean Cuisine Margarita pizza that is more than decent. I'm sure I will eat enough of them in the next few weeks to remind myself that diet food should never be listed as a "favorite" food.

Okay, I admit it.

I love Contemporary Christian music, but I often listen to *gasp* secular music, as well. I love the nostalgic feeling I get when I hear a song from somewhere in my past and I like to think I'm cool enough to keep up with some Top 40 stuff, too.

So, today's other favorite is XM 22. It's my favorite satellite radio station. It's a great mix. Today I heard Coldplay's Viva la Vida followed by Prince's Let's Go Crazy and then Verve Pipe's The Freshmen. It was like experiencing a multisensory photo album. Where else could you find such a great mix?

I'm realizing that my "favorites" are so sad. I mean, really, a cleaning product, a diet pizza, and a radio station? My life is so sad....... ; )

I caved (a Friday unFavorite)

Well, I swore that I would never buy my children character shoes. But tonight I did. Avery saw these shoes in a magazine and was in love. When we saw them at WalMart tonight, she had to have them. And, what can I say, I caved. Not only are they *cringe* Strawberry Shortcake, they are *cringe* light up........... can you say ugh? Oh well, I 'm hoping she will settle for wearing them as play shoes, but..........


..... I'm afraid that the fact that she had to put them on before bed tonight with her gown is a bad sign. A quick Friday Favorite for ya..... I was looking for a way to make Tate's room more "thematic" without going overboard and I found this vinyl guitar on ebay and I think this might be just enough. He really likes it.

Sweet

A few weeks ago, I found out that Elmo was coming to town. You know, the stage show where an enlarged Elmo and Sesame Street entourage bound around on stage singing all your old PBS favorites. I so wanted to buy tickets for Avery and me, but just could not rationalize the $45 dollars that it would require.

I was a bit disappointed that we weren't going to go as we have been religious in the past about taking our kids to many of the traveling shows without once thinking about the cost. But this time, in the midst of remodeling the kids' rooms and recouping from some extra summer expenses, I just could not even consider it.

At the last minute, this afternoon, Amanda called and was gracious enough to share two tickets with us to go with her and Addie. FOR FREE! I was almost a little too excited about going. I always get a little teary at events like this....... I know I'm a freak, but I just enjoy seeing my kids get to experience something that I think they will remember. And the tickets were free, it was worth a few tears of joy.......

Anyway, we met at the Convocation Center and found our seats. As we waited for the show to begin, the peddlers started to make their rounds trying to taunt the children with various treats and toys. Amanda and I decided to split a bag of cotton candy but at the last minute I decided to treat both the girls to a bag in thanks to Amanda and Addie for having us along.

What sweet joy....... cotton candy. All the girls (including Amanda and I) were enjoying the cotton candy when I looked at Amanda and she diverted her eyes and grinned a shy smile. I looked and saw two children in front of us watching every bite that went into our mouths. I couldn't help but laugh. Amanda's face was enough and who hasn't seen a kid who wants something. But then I looked closer. They weren't just watching. They were staring. Almost in disbelief. I looked next to them and noticed their mother who looked terribly uncomfortable in the sea of bow-headed girls and Elmo backpack clad little boys being overindulged.

I immediately started wondering what we should do. We both had come with very little cash and were trying to be frugal in our own spending. And the thoughts of handing them a chunk of our moist, half eaten, squashed cotton candy just didn't seem appropriate at the time.

At first, I was quick to judge. My job often leads me to my calloused idea that parents like this probably don't work and that they are too lazy or too self absorbed to be able to give more to their children. But as I tried to clear that from my head, I thought about how she probably had the same desires as I do to make our children happy.

The cotton candy suddenly felt gritty in my mouth. I felt guilty. Guilty for the cotton candy, guilty for the free tickets, guilty for the $8 pennant, guilty for the gas to drive to Jonesboro........ just plain guilty. Although I probably did not do the right thing in the situation (which was nothing, by the way), it was a humbling experience.

But on the other hand, I felt grateful. What a blessing is to be able to have what I have - what a joy to get to experience the simple things like 2 year old girls with sticky hands and sugar induced wiggles.

As the show started, the kids in front of us lost interest in our treats and were soon clapping and laughing to the songs of Elmo and his crew. Maybe they won't remember their craving for cotton candy by tomorrow, but thankfully, I will.

Thanks again, Amanda, for the tickets and the company. It was truly a blessing and, yes, I did choke back a few tears as I saw the girls dance and smile and get blue mouths from the yummy cotton candy. So many life lessons learned in just one little moment. But who could expect anything less from Sesame Street : )

Big Boy Room Redo

Tate and Avery's rooms were getting overrun with toys and furniture. We decided to downsize beds and clean out and clean up! It has taken us almost a month just to get one room "done". So, whether you like it or not, here are the end results for Tate's room. We are all pretty pleased with it. I wish I had taken before pictures. It was cramped, disorganized, and full of junk. Many of the toys have been moved upstairs to the "next on the list to redo" playroom. (I do still need to get a lamp. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to let me know.)

Avery had to pose on the bed.

Ignore the upside down bank on top of the armoire. Tate broke the bottom and now all the change dumps out. Papaw will have to fix that....... This armoire was my Mema's and she gave it to us to use in Tate's room. His Papaw Bob built some shelves for it and, voila! I bought the CD/DVD holders on amazon.com and they have been great. I hung two in the playroom and one inside Avery's closet doors. Shrek looks like he's about to climb right out of that toy storage area at the bottom :)

Inspiration from The Nester led to the creation of this window "mistreatment". It is so hard to figure out what to do with this window because to hang a rod would be next to impossible because of the width and the fact that there is no way to attach it to the center of the window (I'm afraid it would sag something awful). But who needs rods, right? Just hang those ring clips up there with some upholstry tacks! I got the panels on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond and found the striped fabric at Hancocks for next to nothing. The striped fabric is attached to the valance of the blinds with binder clips! I love being sneaky...... Consider yourself warned..... there are more mistreatments to come!

I'm thinking of backing some of these more open shelves with some nifty scrapbook paper for some more color in the room. What do you think? Tate's Papaw Bob gives him a wooden toy that he handcrafts for Christmas each year. He also made the bookcase.

My Child is a Genius......

Okay so maybe not. But I just didn't realize she could do this. She was drawing last night and this was her final product. She said it was our family. Sadly, we don't have legs but, luckily, we can fly.

Tateisms

For those of you who know my son personally, you know that he is a rather eccentric kid. Although his personality suggests "odd", we have always embraced his differences and hoped that others could view him as we do. This is a conversation from tonight:

Tate: "Mom, I just saw something cool on TV. It was a motocross vehicle. It had a steering wheel just like MarioKart Wii and you could steer it. And it popped a wheelie with just the push of a button."

Me: "Really? That sounds cool."

Tate: "Yeah, it was. You could steer it."

Pause

Tate: (in his best announcer voice, a bit under his breath) "Made by Tyco RC."

Prayer Request

Please be in prayer for my son, Tate. Although it's been said that "kids are resilient", I fear that childhood experiences can affect us emotionally later in life. Although I try to be a good parent and I am not EVER perfect, there are experiences and happenings in life that are out of my control.

I can not expound on what exactly he is going through, but I can tell you that he needs to feel the peace and love that only the Lord can give.

Thanks.

God My Shepherd, I don't need a thing!
(Psalms 23, The Message)

I have recently realized that I am a "wanter". Okay, enough with the snickers....... I know it's not an epiphany, but it has become more evident how much time I spend wanting things. I started wondering if there has ever been a day that I haven't wanted for something whether it be new shoes, a new bag, new floor coverings, a new bedspread, a new book, a new CD, clothes for the kids....... I go from one thing to the next.

With the rise in gas and food costs lately, my wants have become nagging. I worry about how hard it is getting to just "live" much less get what I "want". My spirits have not been too damp, however, and many times I am scrounging the house over trying to find something to sell on ebay to cover my next purchase.

But I question my desires. Is "want" a human characteristic that we can not squelch? Is wanting itself a sin or is it a sin only when those wants require so much that you can not rely on God for your fulfillment?

I want to rely on God for my fulfillment. I want to want less.

Just a Test......

This is simply a test to see if I can send posts from my phone....... Who knows if I ever will, but it's worth a try.

Friday Favorite

Well, I haven't been inspired to write great things lately. Not like I ever was writing great things but....... anyway, you're stuck with just another boring Friday favorite. This week it's Photoshop. The only place you can take a not so great photo and make it wall worthy. Or at least they are to me. But you know, I do have on my mommy goggles for one of these.

...... I love to see the pictures go to this



........from this.

.....or this nice picture of the nasty but infamous Bono bridge

......from this.

I've had Photoshop Elements 5.0 for about a year now and still know only a tiny bit about all there is to do with it. When I do discover one of those tiny tricks that can make worlds of difference in my photo, I feel like I've won the lottery. Now don't go thinkin' that you can just whip out the $80 bucks for the program, push two buttons and magically transform your pictures into a professional looking masterpiece. The learning curve is rough to say the least. However, it is rather gratifying to play around and know that you can always undo what mess you just created. I downloaded a free trial and played around for 30 days before I made the investment.

And if you are better at photoshop than me and you know all about layer masks and magnetic lassos and gradient maps and can see right through my shabby editing skills, save it for your own blog. But if you are a professed amateur like me, feel free to share your photoshop glories! I'd love to see them!