Note to Self October 30, 2009

• You were touched by Miley by extension when you tried on that skirt.
• You must purge all things Miley from your head.
• Listen to some Celtic Thunder, STAT!
• That’s right, Steal Away. 
• *sigh*
• You’re feeling much better now.
• Life can return to normal.
• Well, as normal as things can be when you’re gearing up to get in costume later for a party.
• Great.  Now you’re thinking about a party in your tummy.
• So yummy! So yummy!
• Quick, MORE CELTIC THUNDER!
• They will take you 500 miles from that party in your tummy.
• You’re feeling much better now.

Happy Friday!  Happy Weekend!

Miley Mania October 28, 2009

For the most part, I have been spared from being taken over by Miley Mania.  My older daughter heard a couple of songs from Hannah Montana (the show? the movie?  I don’t know) when she was at dance camp this summer, but for the most part she is still blissfully unaware of the tween scene.  If we’re watching a Disney movie on television and commercials for Hannah Montana or The Jonas Brothers come on, she asks that I change the channel.  I’m okay with this. 

It’s not that I have anything against them — that would be ever so hypocritical considering my NKOTB-loving past — I’m just not interested in them.  The Jonas Brothers’ videos make me giggle probably the very same way my mom giggled when Joey Joe belted out Please Don’t Go Girl, clutching the air with expressions of angst and heartache.

For the record, I was completely and totally upset with my mom when she would smirk at that video.  She was ruining my who-o-ole wor-orld.

Somehow, though, some of my friends (who shall remain linkless) have started to randomly quote Miley lyrics.  They’ve got their hands up.  They’re noddin’ their heads.  Like yeah.

I hope they’re gonna be okay.

Anyway, the other day I was shopping at Walmart.  (Which, by the way, is more difficult than it used to be because I’m afraid of somehow showing up here.)  I had a list, and I was focused.  Then a skirt in the clothing section caught my eye because it looked perfect for the costume I was trying to put together.  PERFECT!  I picked out a couple in different sizes and quickly headed to the dressing room.  I tried them on and one did fit well, but it just didn’t look right.  Mostly because I looked in the mirror and thought of something I heard quoted from the TV show, Modern Family: 

People know you’re a girl.  You don’t need to prove it to them.

So I took the skirts back, and it was then that I noticed the sign above the clothing that had caught my eye.

I have been touched by Miley.  Well, and the Max guy too.  But unknowingly, I put on something made by Miley. 

Ever since then, my tummy’s been turning. 

But I feel alright.  I’m gonna be okay.

Unless I start movin’ my hips.

Run Like the Wind! October 26, 2009

Running.  The final frontier.  This is the voyage of the earthship Vanessa.  Her five-month mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out sweat and new muscles, to go boldly where this Vanessa has never gone before.

I blame Facebook, really.  If not for Facebook, I probably would have been happy with walking three times a week, trying to increase the distance and decrease my time.  But no.  I had to look at my friends on Facebook and wonder what was so appealing about running?  Why were they paying good money to get up super early on a Saturday morning to run?  Was it the t-shirt?  The goodie bag?  The chance to carb up prior to running?

I shall soon find out.  Because soon, I will be one of them.  Maybe only a couple of times, but I’m going to do it.  Yes, just do it.  (But I don’t wear Nikes.)  I’m going to start off slow with a 2-mile run.  Then there are two 5K runs that I have my eye on, one of which I have already signed up and paid for — and it’s non-refundable.  That means it’s on like Donkey Kong.

I have tried to run a little during my outings.  Yeah, it’s not happening.  Nope, not until I get one very important item.

A sports bra.

Now, I’m not afraid of a little bra shopping.  I understand the importance of proper support.  But when I saw what I had to shop for, suddenly there was a tightness in my chest as I feared… Well, a tightness on my chest.

I won’t lie.  I’m skeered.

That is the most intimidating bra I’ve ever seen in my life.  Is that titanium underneath?!  Maybe it’s the model’s body.  It’s kind of sinewy.  And I think that’s supposed to be complimentary, but it is my goal to not ever be described as sinewy.  Even though I do plan on using some weights (light ones, as my arms resemble pipe cleaners) so I don’t create a breeze when I wave, I don’t want to be sinewy. 

Still.  That bra.  That scary, scary bra.  I may have nightmares.

However, if my other nightmare ever really comes true, and someone jumps out at me from one of those crazy black vans that sit around the block, I think I can forget about gouging out an eye with my key and just swing my chest at them.  Because with a bra like that, they will probably be knocked unconscious. 

Anyway.  I will run.  I will either run like the wind or maybe just a light breeze.  But I’ll do it, and I am positive there will be a sense of accomplishment.  And maybe that is why people pay the money to get up early and run the race. 

That, or the chance to feel like they’re on COPS, chasing down a perp while wearing a bullet proof vest.

Note to Self October 23, 2009

• You are being stalked.
• Don’t worry!  It’s only blog-stalking.
• Put down the deadly key-between-fingers weapon.
• Besides, you may have stalked her first.
• But, speaking of stalking, please try to remember that the girl walking past your house every afternoon is simply a student on her way home from school, not a stalker.  Or a Peeping Tom (or Thomasina).
• Try very hard to remember that, because shrieking every time you notice her walking by the window is getting old.
• And, she might refer to you as “The Lady Who Screams.”
• There are many reasons why this is not a great nickname for you around the neighborhood.
• Especially since you have only actually met two neighbors.
• That’s actually not bad considering you lived in the apartment for three years, and you still don’t know The Guy Who Lived Downstairs’ name, and he lived there before you did. 
• Oops.
• Try to remember your current neighbors’ names…
• Try…
• Oops.
• *sigh*
• Mr. Rogers would be disappointed.
• Being known as “The Lady Who Screams” might only be fair then.
• Mention of Mr. Rogers made you think of The Electric Company.
• Shhhh, don’t tell anyone that you will watch that show even if the girls are in the other room.
• You wish you had a pocket full of H’s that you weren’t afraid to use.
• Happy Friday!

Two modern day Robin Hoods October 21, 2009

It’s 11:15 pm on Wednesday night.  I am not used to being up this late.  The Phillies are on, though, and this should be the game that sends them to the World Series.  There is no point in my going to bed, because whether they’re doing well or doing poorly, The Husband is going to be expressing himself.

And that’s okay.  It’s kind of fun.

But I’m tired.

So I’m online and I’m chatting with a friend, and she tells me about a dollhouse she had when she was younger, and how her little girl is going to get it when she’s a little older.  It’s a dollhouse that is no longer made and it’s worth a bazillion dollars now.

It made me think of the dollhouse I had when I was younger.  It was handcrafted by a relative — it could’ve been my grandfather, or maybe a great-uncle.  Either way, it was nice.

My dollhouse was not home to your typical Mommy, Daddy, Brother and Sister though.  It was home to a family, though.

The Dukes. 

This was Bo.

I was a 5-year-old girl who played with the Dukes of Hazzard in her dollhouse. 

I actually had two General Lees.  One opened at the top so you could fit the Duke boys in easily.  I preferred the one that didn’t open up at the top, though.  I would slide them across the hood and the boys would go in through the windows.  It was a little more difficult to get them in the car, but it was absolutely worth for me to do things the right way.

I also carried a Dukes of Hazzard lunch box with me to school.  In kindergarten.

Yes I did.

I didn’t watch the movie that was made a few years back, because I figured they would destroy my fond memories of Bo and Luke and the rest of the crew — especially Daisy.   So I didn’t watch it.  And I won’t.  You can’t make me.

Now I want to watch the show.  Or sing the theme song.  (Click it.  You know you want to.)

Since I can’t do either at the moment, I will sit here with my fond memories of two good ol’ boys making their way, the only way they knew how.

Note to Self October 16, 2009

• Today is Friday.
• Seriously.
• Not Saturday.
• Today is the day you normally do your little Note to Self thingy.
• Yes, today.  Friday.
• Not Saturday.
• Big Sister didn’t have school today, and you “slept in” until 6:30am before you got your tail out of bed to walk.
• Well, you tried to run at first.
• Until you get yourself to a sporting goods store to make a certain purchase, no more running.
• But then, after “sleeping in” and walking, you played all day. 
• Then tried to nap.
• Felt like a Saturday.
• The Husband being gone for three days must have thrown you off.
• Maybe if you hadn’t spent much of those three days simmering because he got to fly first class, you would’ve paid closer attention to what day it was.
• And maybe if you remembered today was Friday, you wouldn’t have already laid out The Girls’ clothes for church. 
• Oh well, at least you’re prepared for Sunday.
• Which is not tomorrow.

Happy Friday!

Life Lesson from Nike October 15, 2009

Just do it.

*swoosh*

I remember very, very clearly waking up one morning with an ache in my chest and a nagging in my heart.  I was in the midst of my divorce and had somehow come to the conclusion that the best way to make myself feel better was to drink and flirt.  Even though I had spent so much time relying on God’s faithful love to get me through the situation, I got tired.  I… grew weary of doing good.  So for a while (not long, but still too long), I took the easy road.  Drinking pretty colored drinks in funny-shaped glasses made me feel better, as did attention from the opposite sex.

But that one morning, I woke up and I could not deny that I was living a life that was a) just not me and, more importantly, b) so out of whack with what God wanted for me that I thought it was going to take forever to figure out how to get back into His good graces.  Well, what do you know, His compassions never fail and they are new every morning.  Including that morning.  So I stopped.

And, of course, I can’t tell you that I skipped merrily on my way down a yellow brick road to a life that was all rainbows and sunshine, but even as I screwed up over and over and over again, His compassions did not fail me.  I disappointed Him, but rejoicing did come. 

Those lightbulb moments have come for smaller, simpler matters too.   It doesn’t necessarily come easy to me, but I have found that for many things, I have to follow Nike’s advice.

JUST DO IT.

Walking: Just do it.  I have wanted to walk for a long time.  Walking has always been a great form of exercise for me.  Simple, yet effective.  I was walking regularly before I got pregnant with our second, and then I stopped.  One reason being an actual injury slowed me down, another reason being I used pregnancy (and then nursing) to get out of many things.  (I don’t know if I’m willing to apologize for that, though.  Pregnancy and new mommyhood are rough!)  Anyway, once the second child was through using me as her milk bar, I could have started walking again.  Could have.  Whenever I would make plans to walk, any little thing could stop me.   It’s too dark.  I didn’t get enough sleep.  I don’t have mace.  I don’t have music.  It’s too dark.

Then we moved, and I did feel safer (except for those crazy black vans), and then I found someone willing to get up at a time I didn’t know actually existed and walk with me.  So we walked.  Then one morning came and she wasn’t able to walk.  I STILL WALKED.  Then her work schedule and commute changed and she couldn’t meet me anymore.  I STILL WALKED.  Sometimes in the dark.  Sometimes without music.  Sometimes with the children.  I just did it.

And even though it’s not like I’m a total fitness freak (no offense to those of you who are, I’m just not there and don’t know if I ever will be — but more power to you, for real), I still know I’m doing more to take care of me.  First and foremost, to take care of the temple.  Secondly, I only have this one body, and I need it to last for many years with The Husband and The Girls, and I want to be able to enjoy that time.

Quiet Time: Just do it.  I have always been kind of all-or-nothing with quiet times.  Then I got to a point where I said, “If I’m just giving him a few minutes here or there, is it really worth it?  Does that really count?” 

Uh, yeah.

So one night, I went to my bookshelf and looked at the myriad of devotionals it held.  I had given myself and God one excuse or another constantly as to why each book didn’t work for me.  Oh. My. Gosh.  LAME, LAME, LAME, LAME, LAME!  So I took one out and decided I was going to just do it.  I wouldn’t just find the time, I would make the time.

Strangest thing happened the very next morning.  I got up, I walked, I got ready, and I had ten whole minutes before I had to wake the girls up.  (If you don’t have kids, please trust me when I tell you that ten whole minutes to yourself is a miracle in and of itself.)  I grabbed the devotion book that I hadn’t even cracked the spine of yet, and I told myself I would do however much I could in the time I had, but I wouldn’t rush.  If I needed to come back to it later, I would. 

Turns out that each daily devotion was only a page or two long, and I’m a pretty fast reader.  So on that first morning, I was able to read the devotion, the accompanying scripture, and then pray.  And I remembered requests that normally I would flip up to God throughout the day:  Oh yeah, so-and-so is having such-and-such going on…  And God has used that time to step on my toes, refresh my heart, and show me something new here or there.

Coincidence?  I think not.  (I don’t believe in coincidence anyway, really, but I like saying that.)

There are more things that I have just been struck with the “just do it” mentality, and maybe that’s just the Holy Spirit giving me a well-placed swift kick. 

But beyond just doing it because I’m supposed to be doing most of these things anyway, I am (too) slowly seeing that I need to be doing these things for God.  (If you leave me a comment that says nothing but “duh”, I will understand.)  How many times must I have read Colossians 3:23?!   Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.  Not for The Husband.  Not for my daughters.  Not for anyone else, but the Lord.  Improving my well-being and making family life run smoother are simply bonus blessings.

I think my code, my motto (sorry, still watching Horton) should be… Just do it.  For God.  Duh.

My Apologies October 13, 2009

I’m just in a mood.  Just a little one, but a mood nonetheless.  But instead of taking it out on the blog (and, by extension, the readers), I’m instead going to direct you to a few things that have made me smile…

From 1000 Awesome Things:

#660: Stomping dry crunchy leaves on the sidewalk.  One of my friends told me that her husband will point out the crunchy ones as they’re walking through parking lots.  That’s love.

#662: Fixing your wedgie when no one’s looking.  This has taken on new meaning to me since I’ve started walking, and if I’m not walking at the butt crack of dawn or later at night, there are likely people out in their yards or cars driving by.  I know they can see me.  I know it.  And I know they want to holler out, “Ya going to the movies?  I see you’re already picking your seat!”  (An oldie but a goodie.)

#733: Laughing so hard you make no sound at all.  Just for the picture.

From life:

The Husband bought the girls Horton Hears a Who over the weekend, and they have watched it over and over again.  And again.  And AGAIN.  But I tell you, I will come in from whatever I’m doing to watch the ending.

I found out that I walk a little bit faster to DC Talk.  Specifically, Jesus is Still Alright and Jesus Freak.

And in looking those up, I have a whole new respect for MercyMe.  (Please click on that, I BEG OF YOU!)

Hope those give you a smile if your day is going at all like mine — or just make you smile more if you’re having a great day!

Who Is This Woman? October 12, 2009

Productivity used to be foreign to me.  I know I’ve talked about this before, but I am constantly amazed at what I get accomplished, and how much I like these feelings of accomplishment, and then that just leaves me in awe of the moms who have figured this out before me.  Wasn’t there a class I could’ve taken?  Or was this something I had to learn on my own?

I mean, this morning I got up and got ready, got the girls up and ready (breakfast included, as usual, which is a feat in and of itself), got one off to school on time, then I met up with another mom and her little one for a walk.  Then I walked.  Some of it in THE RAIN.  (And as much as some of you would like for me to have LOVED that, I didn’t.  Had it not been for the great company, I would’ve marched my happy butt back to the car and gone home.  Some things don’t change.)  Then I came home and got out Play-Doh for my youngest (and I. HATE. PLAY-DOH.), and I vacuumed.  Then I showered.  Then I decided to do some laundry.

Then it was just 10 a.m.

What?!

Sorry, I’m still getting used to this.  And, many times feeling incredibly shameful that I’ve been married for nearly 7 years and a mom for 6, and I’m just getting this down now.

And actually, I can’t be writing for too much longer.  You see, I have to make cookies.  And dinner.  And put away the laundry.

AND… I’m… enjoying it.

WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?

Before I go, though, you can see what havoc I wreaked at Sounds Like Tomatoes, where I guest blogged.  (I don’t think she’s going to ask me to do that again…) 

Also, Jenny Loves You! has a great giveaway going on right now – just in time for a little holiday shopping!  (They don’t have to know you won it!)  And in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, WendiWinn is offering some sweet smelling soap.

Enjoy!

Note to Self October 9, 2009

• Your love for inanimate objects is starting to become a problem.
• First, it was the washer and dryer.
• Your fondness for them continues — nobody should enjoy doing laundry that much, especially when they’re actually doing laundry, and not using the term the way Chandler and Monica did.
• Now, though, you’ve moved on.
• To… THE BATHTUB.
• Even though it feels like the bathtub is giving you a big hug, it does not love you.
• Even though you have never had a more relaxing, comfortable bath that you’ve ever had, you must realize IT’S JUST A TUB.
• You must stop insisting that if you ever move, the tub comes with you.
• It’s just a tub.
• It’s just a tub.
• It’s just an awesome tub that’s the perfect size and the perfect shape.
• And somehow, SOMEHOW, you got to enjoy the tub while the children were home without them walking in on you!!!
• Clearly, this is a tub of miracles.
• Not a tub full of miracles, but a tub that creates miracles.  Just to be clear.
• So okay, the tub is pretty cool.  So are the washer and dryer.  Those points can be conceded.
• However, singing to the appliances and the bathtub — that must end.
• Fight the urge.
• FIGHT IT!!
• NOOOOOO!!!

Happy Weekend!